Friday Flashback: Rec. #97: Charade

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Charade is one of my favorite "Audrey Hepburn runs around Paris" films (there are several). In this one, she's being pursued by some sinister men who are after a mysterious fortune that was supposedly stolen by her recently murdered husband. 

Cary Grant runs around Paris with her, and the two Movie Stars are so charming you can almost forget the 25-year age gap that makes their on-screen romance kind of ooky. The mystery/suspense portions hold up remarkably well, thanks in no small part to the deliciously written bad guys.

Representative quote: "Of course, you won't be able to lie on your back for a while, but then you can lie from any position, can't you?"

Bonus representative quote: "She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!" 

[that's from Tex, one of the baddies]

You might not like it if: When it first came out in 1963, some critics hated the movie because of its drastic tonal shifts, from suspense to comedy to romance and back again.

How to get it: Due to a copyright omission in the released print, this film is actually in the public domain, so it's not hard to find. The fabulous score by Henry Mancini is under copyright, though.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Audrey Hepburn is also menaced in Wait Until Dark (Rec. #26). Poor Audrey.

See Audrey run around Paris some more in the aptly named List #41: Audrey Hepburn Runs Around Paris.

[Originally posted 4/6/11.]

Quote from a Fictional Character #91

"I had to wait 4 hours at emergency 'cause of someone queue hopping! Who cares if he was shot? He shot HIMSELF. Some people are so selfish."

--- Frank Gallagher,

Shameless (UK), 2004

(Rec. #14)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #324: Victory Over Japan

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Ellen Gilchrist's collection of stories was the winner of the 1984 U.S. National Book Award. 

The 14 stories are grouped into 4 sections: "Rhoda"; "Crazy, Crazy, Now Showing Everywhere"; "Nora Jane"; and "Crystal." All very different characters and situations, but recognizably the same sardonic universe.

Representative quote from the "Rhoda" section:"Rhoda woke up dreaming. In the dream she was crushing the skulls of Jody's sheepdogs. Or else she was crushing the skulls of Jody's sisters. Or else she was crushing Jody's skull. Jody was the husband she was leaving."

Representative quote from the "Crazy, Crazy, Now Showing Everywhere" section:
"Lenny Weiss had been sweeping sand for an hour. Was that any way to treat asthma?"

Representative quote from the "Nora Jane" section:
"Freddy Harwood was the founder and owner of the biggest and least profitable bookstore in northern California."

Representative quote from the "Crystal" section:
"Now King's run off to a hippie commune because Mr. Alter shot himself and Miss Crystal's going crazy looking for him. It's the second time he's run off since the funeral."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Gilchrist also wrote The Cabal and Other Stories (Rec. #216), Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle (Rec. #159), and Nora Jane: A Life in Stories (Rec. #25).

[Originally posted 1/22/14.]

Friday Flashback #296: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Sometimes it still feels like it could have been a dream. But no --- in the mid-'90s, we really did get a biopic about the wonderful, brittle, sharp-edged Dorothy Parker and her clever, clever friends of the Algonquin Round Table. Not only did the movie exist, it also seemed to include nearly every actor balancing at the mainstream / indie film fringe then.

A special note on the cast: I mean, really.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorothy Parker
Campbell Scott as Robert Benchley

Plus
Martha Plimpton as Jane Grant
Matthew Broderick as Charles MacArthur
Lili Taylor as Edna Ferber
Chip Zien as Franklin Pierce Adams
Jane Adams as Ruth Hale
Keith Carradine as Will Rogers
Rebecca Miller as Neysa McMein
Jon Favreau as Elmer Rice
Jennifer Beals as Gertrude Benchley
Peter Gallagher as Alan Campbell
Heather Graham as Mary Kennedy Taylor
Andrew McCarthy as Edwin Pond Parker II
Gwyneth Paltrow as Paula Hunt
Wallace Shawn as Horatio Byrd

... to name a few

Representative quote: "You don't want to turn into the town drunk, Eddie. Not in Manhattan."

Bonus representative quote: "Tragedies don't kill us, Woodrow. Messes kill us."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Read about Parker in the biography What Fresh Hell Is This? (Rec. #237). Read Parker's own writings in The Portable Dorothy Parker (Personal Wreck #3).


Also, did you notice Rebecca Miller listed up there? That's the same Rebecca Miller who wrote Personal Velocity (Rec. #278).

[Originally posted 6/13/13.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #276: The Heir

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Peregrine Chase manages an insurance company, and he really, really seems like someone who would manage an insurance company. Then he inherits a Tudor house with a moat and some peacocks, and everything changes. (Except his name, which was already pretty great.)

Comparable to: Cold Comfort Farm without the acerbic bite.

Opening lines: "Miss Chase lay on her immense red silk four-poster that reached as high as the ceiling. Her face was covered over by a sheet, but as she had a high, aristocratic nose, it raised the sheet into a ridge, ending in a point. Her hands also could be distinguished beneath the sheet, folded across her chest like the hands of an effigy; and her feet, tight together like the feet of an effigy, raised the sheet into two further points at the bottom of the bed. She was eighty-four years old, and she had been dead for twenty-four hours."

Representative quote: "What on earth were panage hogs, to which apparently he was entitled?"

How to get it: Buy it or borrow it.

Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously mentioned Vita Sackville-West's The Heir during Personal Wreck Week (List #5). And all the smirking bite of Cold Comfort Farm was Rec. #34.

[Originally posted 2/19/13.]

Quote from a Fictional Character #90

"Smells fishy to me."

"Well, even fish smells good when you're starving to death."

--- George Lumley and Blanche Tyler,

Family Plot, 1976

(Rec. #120)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #10: Territory

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: With Territory, Emma Bull retells the story of Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers. In doing so, she also introduces a subtle thread of magic into the action. I know combining fantasy with Western/historical fiction sounds iffy, but believe me --- it works. (No horses actually emerge from trees.)

Comparable to: Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series follows similar logic.

Representative quote: "Do you know why one can't take the law into one's own hands? Because the law is too big to fit in one pair of hands. So if you feel you've got a comfortable grip on whatever you're holding, you can be pretty sure it's not the law."

You might not like it if: Sorry, folks. No Jeff Bridges here. (Or John Wayne. Or Kirk Douglas or Burt Lancaster or Kurt Russell or Val Kilmer, for that matter.)

How to get it: It's downloadable, buyable, and borrowable.



[Originally posted 1/9/11.]

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #27: The Buccaneers

Stream what: In this Edith Wharton adaptation, new-money Americans head to England to buy themselves some aristocrats.

Stream why: It's soapy in the best way possible. [Don't take the puppy, Nan! It will not end well for you!]

Stream where: Netflix

Friday Flashback: Rec. #169: The Clothes They Stood Up In

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: One evening, Mr. and Mrs. Ransome return home from the opera to discover that all of their belongings are gone. More than just electronics and jewelry have disappeared --- gone too are the toilet paper holder, the carpeting, the curtain rings, the light bulbs, and the casserole warming in the oven (not to mention the oven itself). 

The Ransomes suddenly find themselves in the uncomfortable position of discovering who they are without their possessions. One adjusts better than the other.

Comparable to: The Clothes They Stood Up In was written by Alan Bennett. Like many of his plays, the story of this couple's struggle is witty, cutting, subversive, charming, and satirical.

Representative quote: "Once they had asked some newcomers on their floor around to sherry, but he had turned out to be what he called 'a big band freak' and she had been a dental receptionist with a time-share in Portugal, so one way and another it had been an awkward evening and they had never repeated the experience."

You might not like it if: You are not a fan of Bennett's style of humor.

How to get it: It's Kindle-able, and the print version is conveniently pocket-sized, which means this is an excellent book for a commute on public transit.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Watch The History Boys (Rec. #115) to see one of Bennett's plays in action. See also List #52: Happy Birthday, Alan Bennett.

[Originally posted 8/14/11.]

Quote from a Fictional Character #89

"Sharon Driscoll, my best friend and mentor at the travel agency, had been influential in making me believe that telling the truth and lying convincingly are more or less the same thing."

--- Patrick O'Neil,

The Easy Way Out, Stephen McCauley, 1992

Bonus quote from the aforementioned Sharon Driscoll:

"The fifth bite is the real test of food. Remember that. The fifth bite, the third date, the fourth fuck, and the sixth year of marriage. Everything else is inconsequential."

[Also from author Stephen McCauley - Rec. #360: The Object of My Affection.]

Rec. #399: The Last Five Years

What: Making a film adaptation of the musical The Last Five Years is a weird choice.

• It's a musical
• It has a very, very, very limited number of characters (2)
• In the stage version, the characters have a total of one (1) scene together
• The story is told from two viewpoints
• One viewpoint is a linear timeline
• The other viewpoint's timeline is in reverse
• ... at the same time
• It is not big or flashy, and no one dies
• It does not have a happy ending

But! They somehow pull this off.

• Anna Kendrick is wildly miscast as a blonde "Shiksa Goddess," but also she is excellent
• The music is really beautiful and translates surprisingly well to the big screen
• Jeremy Jordan is not at all bad to look at
• The characters seem like real people who do and say things that actual people really do (... and also they sing)
• Seriously, Anna Kendrick is so good
• Seriously, the music is so good

How to get it: Currently streaming on Netflix

Friday Flashback: Rec. #289: Psmith, Journalist

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: The perennially unruffled Rupert Psmith (the "P" is silent) decides to take over a syrupy hearth-side magazine and shift its focus to exposing slumlords and supporting underdog boxers. (As you do.) 

Psmith is enjoying himself so thoroughly that becoming the target of some New York mobsters barely fazes him.

Comparable to: This novel has the typical P.G. Wodehouse flavor, but don't assume Rupert Psmith is another Bertie Wooster. Psmiths probably eat Woosters for dinner, after talking them to death first.

Opening lines: "The conditions of life in New York are so different from those of London that a story of this kind calls for a little explanation. Not all of them eke out a precarious livelihood by murdering one another, but there is a definite section of the population which murders --- not casually, on the spur of the moment, but on definitely commercial lines at so many dollars per murder."

Representative quote: "Meanwhile, however, kindly knock that chauffeur down and sit on his head. He's a bad person."

You might not like it if: You keep waiting for Jeeves to make an appearance.

How to get it: Looooook at that pretty edition from Overlook Press (above).

Connection to previous Wreckage: Loooook at some of the other pretty Wodehouse editions from Overlook Press in Gift Idea. #7. Also see the "W" index for more Wodehouse wrecks.

[Originally posted 5/13/13.]

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #26: Best in Show

Stream what: Writer/director Christopher Guest does not particularly enjoy that his movies are referred to as "mockumentaries." But that's what everyone calls them, so ... this is a mockumentary about dog shows.

Stream why: The humor holds up pretty well 16 (!) years later. Plus, dogs!

Stream where: Netflix
(if you're in Chicago, it will also be one of the movies in the parks this summer)

Quote from a Fictional Character #88

"American millionaires must all be quite mad. Perhaps it's something they put in the ink when they print the money."

--- Charles Bonnet,

How to Steal a Million, 1966

(Rec. #205)

(List #28)

(List #41)

(SSoW #19)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #200 and Rec. #201: Brat Farrar and The Ivy Tree

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar and Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree are two glorious examples of mid-century suspense. Each novel centers on a fiendishly clever scheme to impersonate a missing heir. 

But as Brat Farrar becomes Patrick Ashby and Mary Grey becomes Annabel Winslow, the plans start to twist themselves inside out.

Representative quote, Brat Farrar: "But then he had never been interested in other people's concerns: their sins, their griefs, or their happiness. And anyhow, you couldn't be righteous with a man whose food you were eating."

Representative quote, The Ivy Tree: "There has to be luck, certainly, and there has to be careful planning. But it's like murder, isn't it? You only know about the ones that are found out. Nobody ever hears about the ones that get away with it."

You might not like them if: You're not willing to be won over by some charming, gutsy impostors.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Tey also delved into psychological suspense in Miss Pym Disposes (Rec. #75). Stewart also did neo-Gothic in My Brother Michael (Rec. #387). I previously mentioned The Ivy Tree during Personal Wreck Week (List #1).

[Originally posted 10/26/11.]

List #59: Great TV Shows, Terrible Titles

A.K.A., the spiritual successor to List #51: Great Books, Terrible Titles.

Better Off Ted (Rec. #147, QfFC #5, SSoW #18)

Streaming on Amazon and Netflix

Why the show is great: It is very possibly the wittiest workplace comedy ever. Endlessly quotable, with well-judged touches of the absurd.

Why the title is terrible: The main character's name is Ted.

Given the verbal dexterity of the episode scripts, I can only imagine that the title itself represents some kind of comedic double bluff.

Schitt's Creek

Streaming on Amazon

Why the show is great: Despite being about a wealthy family forced to move to a small town, the show is only partially about fish-out-of-water gags. The rest is actually kind of Northern Exposure-ish character study (but broader).

Why the title is terrible: Well, at least this terrible title is built in to the plot -- the family bought a town named Schitt's Creek for laughs, and now it's all they have left.

Scrotal Recall (List #57)

Streaming on Netflix

Why the show is great: Flouting all reasonable expectations, this show is sincere and wistful and British-charming-funny.

Why the title is terrible: This? This is what we've come to? Really?

HELLO. I am back.

The unexpected hiatus was due to moving and being without internet for a very long time because Comcast is terrible.

But! We are back! New content tomorrow!!







[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #78: Shadow of a Doubt

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Once you realize that Shadow of a Doubt is a collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Thornton Wilder, the whole film clicks into place.

It's the story of two Charlies: Uncle Charlie Oakley, who's a vague sort of success out in the world, and Charlotte "Young Charlie" Newton, his niece and namesake. Young Charlie is frustrated with the confines of her family's small-town life --- then her adored Uncle Charlie comes to town.

As she slowly discovers another side of her uncle, the film slyly highlights the hundreds of small darknesses that creep into even the most idyllic settings.

Comparable to: As if a Hitchcock killer wandered onstage during a production of Our Town.

Representative quote: "We're not talking about killing people. Herb's talking about killing me, and I'm talking about killing him."

You might not like it if: You like your Hitchcock heroines blonde. You might be interested to know, however, that Hitchcock often said this was his favorite film. (It's my favorite of his, too.)

Connections to previous Wreckage: See List #30 for more Hitchcock films starring non-blondes.

Also, it's worth noting that, like The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (Rec. #65), Shadow of a Doubt features a witheringly clever younger sister.

[Originally posted 3/21/11.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #248: Lincoln's Dreams

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: A historical researcher meets a woman who seems to be having (despite the title) Robert E. Lee's nightmares. This early novel from multiple-award-winner Connie Willis shows that the author came right out of the gate ready to wrestle with big life/death questions while armed with fiercely detailed historical research.

Comparable to: Lincoln's Dreams pivots around the Civil War and dreams, while the two-volume Blackout/All Clear centers on World War II and time travel. Both, however, demonstrate Willis's skill at turning our history into a shared, visceral, adventurous experience.

Opening lines: "Traveller died of lockjaw two years after Robert E. Lee died. I looked that up one day in February, the day I went out to see where Abraham Lincoln's son Willie had been buried. I had been looking for the grave for over a year, and when I finally found it in a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln, I ran out of the library still carrying the book. It set off an alarm, and one of the librarians came out on the steps and shouted after me, 'Jeff, are you all right? Jeff!'"

You might not like it if: It is very likely that this book will break your heart. Sorry.

How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able

Connections to previous Wreckage: Connie Willis can break your heart, yes, but she can also do satirical social comedy (Bellwether, Rec. #218) and mindbogglingly intricate sci-fi realism (Blackout/All Clear, Gift Idea #1, Rec. #355).

Or she can do all three at once (To Say Nothing of the Dog, Rec. #100).

Connie Willis can do whatever the heck she wants to, basically.

[Originally posted 6/24/12.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #97: Charade

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Charade is one of my favorite "Audrey Hepburn runs around Paris" films (of which there are several --- I have a whole list). In this one, she's being pursued by some sinister men who are after a mysterious fortune that was supposedly stolen by her recently murdered husband. 

Cary Grant runs around Paris with her, and the two Movie Stars are so charming you can almost forget the 25-year age gap that makes their on-screen romance kind of ooky. The mystery/suspense portions hold up remarkably well, thanks in no small part to the deliciously written bad guys.

Representative quote: "Of course, you won't be able to lie on your back for a while, but then you can lie from any position, can't you?"

Bonus representative quote: "She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!" [that's from Tex, one of the baddies]

You might not like it if: When it first came out in 1963, some critics hated the movie because of its drastic tonal shifts, from suspense to comedy to romance and back again.

How to get it: Due to a copyright omission in the released print, this film is actually in the public domain, so it's not hard to find. The fabulous score by Henry Mancini is under copyright, though.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Audrey Hepburn is also menaced in Wait Until Dark (Rec. #26). Poor Audrey.

And see more of Hepburn running around Paris with List: #41: Audrey Hepburn Runs Around Paris.

[Originally posted 4/6/11.]