Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to Morton Gould’s violin concerto, which is very American and very lovely. Morton Gould, for me, is one of THE most underrated composers ever. I love his music, and he was also a great conductor, plus he did a ton of easy listening albums, too. There is a small box set of his Chicago Symphony recordings that is really excellent, but we need a big ol’ Morton Gould box set along with our big ol’ Arthur Fiedler box set. We just do. Today is a holiday, in case you were wondering. It is Columbus Day unless you prefer Indigenous People Day. I prefer BK Day, and I don’t care who knows it. But before I go any further, I did watch a motion picture last night entitled Night of the Juggler. It’s based on a novel by William McGivern, who wrote the novels The Big Heat and Odds Against Tomorrow. I have no idea if the film is faithful to the novel or not. Now, this motion picture came out in 1980. The credited director is Robert Butler, but he took over after the first few weeks of filming when the original director, J. Lee Thompson, quit. The film is rather typical of what J. Lee Thompson was doing back then – Charles Bronson exploitation films – they did quite a few together. Apparently, after the film played its brief run it disappeared, although it was released on VHS or Beta and on bootlegs. Because of that, the usual suspects declared it a gem and a masterpiece and Kino Lorber finally found the rights holder and did a 4K release. If ever there was a film that did NOT need a 4K release, it’s Night of the Juggler. There isn’t 4K of information on the negative. But still, they do it. It’s also shot by Victor Kemper, an NY cameraman famous for his gritty photography of NY movies like this one. They rave about this undiscovered gem and masterpiece, saying it has deep themes and is a portrait of NY in the late 1970s when it was filmed. Well, a gem it’s not, a masterpiece it’s not, it has no deep themes other than the usual I’m gonna make rich people pay for ruining the neighborhood and making life miserable. Like High and Low, he kidnaps the wrong kid instead of the kid whose father is rich. James Brolin stars as the father of the kidnapped kid. Yes, it’s a portrait of NY at its sleaziest, but the film is just another exploitation film. Richard Castellano co-stars, and Dan Hedaya is so over the top that it’s simply laughable. It seems much longer than it is, there’s a ridiculous “score” by Artie Kane, and the chase thing (the whole movie seems like one big chase), where gangs chase Brolin for no apparent reason, is a mess. Cliff Gorman is the malcontent and he’s very creepy, especially with the kidnapped girl. In the end, it is what it is and isn’t what it isn’t. But every film has hipsters who LOVE it and think it’s an undiscovered gem and masterpiece.
Otherwise, I got over ten hours of great sleep, got up, answered e-mail, had a few CD orders, then had a little steak from Ralph’s along with a baked potato. Steak was underwhelming but less than half the price at Gelson’s – the difference is the quality, of course, and Gelson wins for that. Then I just relaxed, dozed off for a bit, watched the movie, all pills were taken, and here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll just get ready for the busy week ahead by not doing anything but the usual watch, listen, and relax routine. Not sure what I want for food, so I’ll play it by ear.
Tomorrow is our second day of casting, Wednesday is callbacks, then we’ll see where we are and what we have to do to complete casting. And a couple of meetings and meals, too, plus resolving one way or another whether we stay or leave the publisher for my friend’s book.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, not do anything, eat, and watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What will you be doing for the holiday, Columbus or Indigenous or of your own creation? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, always happy to listen to Morton Gould’s music for there’s gold in them thar Goulds.