Completely having kittens - and announcement of me joining another blogathon..

Here we are again.. The weekend is near..

 and here is a new issue for a meme hosted by Michelle @ THE TRUE BOOK ADDICT:

But first: Little Arya, Michelle's youngest cat, had a little accident and we wish the best for her. I know she is already fine by now - and certainly hope that never again she will have an accident like that. 

Before I will post my cat picture for this week I want to announce that I will take part in Monty's CINEMATIC WORLD TOUR BLOGATHON (<- there's a link in case you want to learn more or join us..) 

I am still unsure what to write about but I think I will write about some films set in Germany - and two of them will be actually German and feature some vacations.. I was also thinking about one or two reviews of films set in Italy - for since my childhood I wish for a trip to Italy - and there are so many great films set there..  Well.. I will see - and I hope you will see, too...

So - here is my guest for today - a really refined gentleman who I love so very, very much:

Edward G. Robinson..

And for he knows that for a voyage you better take your love ones with you 

- here he is with all he loves:

~ Isn't he gorgeous? I love how the glasses suit him  - and the cat.. ~

Thank you very much for listening!

Irene

R-r-r-aving about things with "R" .. - attending a meme without a name..

Via DKoren and her fabulous blog SIDEWALK CROSSINGS I found this meme.. (Her post is linked - so you can read about her favourite things beginning with the letter "M".. - I also think this is part of the rules - though it isn't actually said there..) 

Here are the rules:

"How to Play: Comment to this entry and I'll give you a letter. List ten things that you love that begin with that letter and then post that list on your journal."

Now this sounds like fun - doesn't it?

The letter I got was "R" - hence the title of this post.. Though it's no part of the rules I am trying to name ten "things" I love beginning with "r" which are related to films..

~ picture source: muppet.wikia.com ~

So - let's see - here they are in a random order just the first ten "things" with "r" that I can think of:

• R like Raft, George - I am more than just fond of this gentleman.. He is one of my altime favourites..

• R like RAVEN, THE (1963) - well.. of course I LOVE that one!! It has Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Hazel Court and Boris Karloff!! I am looking forward for THE RAVEN (2012) - a film about Edgar Allan Poe (Love him!!) which will be here released in cinema this year in September - I guess everywhere else it's by now almost forgotten.. 
  
  
  Of course I love the poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe:

  - and that corvids are some of my favourite animals you know by now anyway..

• R like Roscoe Karns - I love that guy! An appearance of him in a movie can brighten my day..

• R like Renfield - this is one of my favourite fictitious characters ever - performed by my beloved Dwight Frye in the 1931 adaptation of my favourite novel DRACULA of course. His laughter and his whole interpretation of this part was just magnificent!

• R like Romy Schneider  - another one of my favourites..

• R like Russian composers.. I love a good score - also very much when it's got some classic music.. (Tchaikovsky was always one of my favourites..)

• R like Robinson, Edward G. - another one I simply adore..

• R like Ricky Ricardo - I ♥ LUCY - I really do.. And I adore Ricky.. Like him I have troubles with my "slight accent" - though my isn't as cute as his is.. I guess I sound like a Nazi spy from the old movies trying to sound like a cockney flower girl..

• R like "Rosebud" ... think what you want of Orson Welles and CITIZEN KANE (1941) - for me that was a stroke of genius..  - and it had Agnes Robertson Moorehead.. 

• R like Ryn, Nicholas van - one of my favourite Vincent Price film characters. It's from the amazing DRAGONWYCK (1946).. I love that maniac..

Not bad - hm?

If you like to get a letter please leave a comment and ask for one - you can of course also comment without getting a letter..

Hope you enjoyed this..

Have a lovely day - and thank you very much for listening!

And thanks to DKoren for letting me join the fun!

Irene

“Yeah, put a muzzle on that ‘attaboy’, lingo.”

I am pretty sure that you all have heard of Damon Runyon.

In case your memory needs some refreshing or you are new to classic films: He was a journalist and wrote some stories which became movies – I think the best known is GUYS AND DOLLS (does that ring a bell?) – but there are so many, many more..

Let’s have a look at some of the things which are supposed to be not used in today's film:

In the 1930s Runyon paired up with Howard Lindsay to write a comedy play about a gangster who tries to become legitimate after prohibition is finished. The play opened in September 11, 1935 – with unknown actor José Ferrer playing a policeman.. Warner Brothers payed $ 50,000 for the rights of this play - which with a bit of rewriting by Earl Baldwin and Joseph Schrank as well as non-credited Mary C. McCall jr., the appearance of one of the most popular gangster performers at that time and also Lloyd Bacon as director became one of Warner’s biggest hits in 1938:

A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER

In a nutshell:

1933. The 13 years of prohibition are over and speakeasies are history. Remy Marco (Edward G. Robinson) – a big shot mobster making a lot of money with selling his beer (he just ruled the city – so there wasn’t any alternative for drinkers and barkeepers) – decides to go legitimate. From now on his mobsters are supposed to be salesman, talking refined and having a daily (..) shave – not to speak of clean shirts.. But due to the fact that his beer is really awful (Remy doesn’t know about that because he drinks no beer) he soon gets into financial troubles and money lenders Post (John Litel) and Ritter (Eric Stanley) are trying to overtake his brewery.

~ Remy Marco breaking to his boys that from now on they're legitimate. ~

Then his daughter Mary (Jane Bryan) comes back from the fancy Parisian (yeah - Paris, France..) school she was sent to – and the Marco’s are going to spend some months in their new bought summerhouse. With them come Remy’s personal staff Mike (Alan Jenkins), Lefty (Edward Brophy) and Guiseppe called “Gip” (Harold Huber) - besides that orphaned brat Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom (Don’t you just adore that name!?! – he is personated by Bowery Boy/Dead End Kid Bobby Jordan) is with them. Since Remy left the orphanage of Mrs. Cagle (Margaret Hamilton) he wants to help the orphans – so he takes the worst boy for the summer..

~ Bobby Jordan and Edward G. Robinson - and Margaret Hamilton's back!!

WOW! I AM EXCITED!! ~

Actually there is a slight problem with the summer house: Four other gangster are sitting in the guestroom - shot during a card game.. No good timing – especially because Mary’s fiancé Dick Whitewood (Willard Parker) - he just joined the state troopers - appears with his upperclass father (Paul Harvey) and Remy’s wife Nora (Ruth Donnelly

) wants to make a good impression on them.

~ Everyone carries about father Whiteman.. ~

Soon after Remy and his boys got rid of the corpses they find out that there is a high reward for those now dead hoodlums - so they have to get them back - and discovered without getting in trouble - they are after all now legit, see?

Oh - and there is the killer - with the lovely name Innocence (Joe Downing) - still running around the house trying to get a bag of money back he left there.

~ Innocence - looking not sooo innocent at all.. ~

Watch out for:

• George E. Stone, one of my favourite supporting players as Kirk - remember Toothpick Charlie from SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), Otero from LITTLE CAESAR (1931) or Andy Lee from 42^ND STREET (1933)? He was a close friend of Damon Runyon’s .
  
  
• Harry Wilson as Butch, one of Remy’s gangsters, who is told to have a manicure.
  
  
• Carole Landis in a bit role leaning towards the piano in the party scene.
  
  
• Betty Compson as Loretta in the party scene.
  
  
• The statuette of the Great Dane in Remy's anteroom - soo 1930's.. Just gorgeous..

Schmooze:

• Before he started acting Willard Parker was a professional tennis player under his actual name Worster von Eps. His most popular role was Ranger Jace Pearson in TV series TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS (1955-1958). He had a height of 6'5'' (1,96 m) - just as a comparison: Edward G. Robinson had a height of 5'5'' (1,65 m) and Ruth Donnelly a height of 5'6'' (1,68 m)..
• Ronald Regan was tested for the role that later went to Willard Parker.
• The German title VIER LEICHEN AUF ABWEGEN could be translated into „Four corpses going astray” – it wasn’t shown in Germany untill 1979 – then it was premiered in TV.

A REAL case of slight murder:

Hymie Miller (please don't mix him up with the boxer by the same name..) – one of the bit players who performed as one member of Marco’s gang was reportedly shot at the age of 30 in 1938 – three months before the film was released.

~ Hymie Miller listening to Edward G. Robinson.~

After closing the delicatessen he co-owned and arriving home he went to bed - there he was shot in his sleep. – Though his nose was shot off and many other parts of him were badly hurt (let’s skip those details..) he was still conscious and able to tell the police that he didn’t know the assailant.

He died in the hospital. Later it came out that he and his partner (with whom he owned the deli) were actual small-time gangsters, who like appearantly many others worked in bit parts in films.

The deli was a popular meeting place for shady fellas.. The night clerk of the house Miller lived in was able to identify the murderer from photos as Johnny Fisher – another not so kosher extra with whom Miller reportedly had a quarrel about a girl.. – Fisher was arrested just while working on the tournament scene in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) – and apparently the police just marched through the merry men to arrest him… must have been a lovely mix of outfits..

You should watch this film if you…

• … love gangster flicks – esp. LITTLE CAESAR (1931).
• … like 1930 party scenes.
• … adore Ruth Donnelly, Alan Jenkins, Jane Bryan and Edward G. Robinson - like yours Irene does..
  
  
• ... want to learn how to open a beer bottle and in the same second misuse a piano..

~ Bobby Jordan is mighty thirsty in this flick.. . no wonder: they keep taking all bottles away from the poor, poor kid.. ~

Know your stuff:

• Like Rico in LITTLE CAESAR (1931) Remy Marco is always speaking of himfelf in third person:

"Make over, mug, make room for Marco."

Neverending story:

There is a remake of 1952 with Broderick Crawford and Claire Trevor.

~ classic mobster boudoir style - please notice the elegantly placed guns.. ~

Let’s face the music:

Take a deep breath – there is a lot of music in this:

• • The film starts with “HOW DRY I AM” – well, what better song to end prohibition??
  
  
• • When Remy Marco is going to get “his orphan” the orphans sing for him: “HOW DO YOU DO, MR. MARCO?”
  
  The lyrics go like:
  
  “How do you do, Mr. Marco, how do you do?
  All the happy little orphans are welcome you.
  We are glad that you are here
  ‘cause you always bring us cheer.
  How do you do, Mr. Marco, how do you do?”
  
  ~ awww... I love the "all the happy little orphans" part... ~
  
  
• • You can hear “KINDERSZENEN” by Robert Schumann when Remy and Nora are looking at the apparently sleeping Douglas.
  
  
• • At the very lively party you can hear – some of them not directly because the storyline leaves the party scene then:
  
  “IT HAD TO BE YOU”
  
  “SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON”
  
  “THE MERRY-GO-ROUND BROKE DOWN”
  
  “MY MELANCHOLY BABY”
  
  “DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES”
  
  “BOB WHITE (WHATCHA GONNA SWING TONIGHT)”
  
  “I’M LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER”
  
  “YOU CAN’T STOP ME FROM DREAMING”
  
  

Quite a soundtrack isn't it?

~ Remy worried about Douglas health, Douglas worried about his beer, Nora worried about the piano.

Me

(not in the picture)

w

orried that no one is called Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom anymore. ~

Scene to watch:

Absolutely every scene with Alan Jenkins, Edward Brophy and Harold Huber – also every scene with the incomparable Ruth Donnelly is more than worth seeing. And I simply love the scene in which Remy makes his mob drink his beer – after he himself learned about how awful it tastes, of course – another scene you really, really should watch – because Edward G. Robinson is just awesome!

Gip's (Harold Huber) explanation why he looks greenish after testing Remy's beer:

“I always turn a little green this time of the year, boss."

...

~ Mike and Gip seem to be not very anxious to follow Lefty's example and test the beer.. ~

Have a look:

Here Remy Marco tells his boys that from now on they have to be legitimate:

Quotes corner:

“Yeah, they’re always passing laws interfering with people.”

I love the humor of this film - the dialogues are great - a lot of gangster talk - I LOVE that!!

And I also love how Bobby Jordan greets Jane Bryan when they are introduced:

“Hiya, toots!”

This film is made with a marvellous cast - including some of my favourite 1930s actors like Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Donnelly, Alan Jenkins, George E. Stone and of course my beloved Margaret Hamilton.

Oh – and Jane Bryan just looks stunning – when she comes down the stairs with that shiny, slinky dress to greet her fiancé – well.. I would call that positively breathtaking..

~ I wasn't able to find a proper picture of Jane Bryan from this flick - so you'll get this one.. ~

What I also love about this film is the pairing of Edward G. Robinson and Ruth Donnelly.

~ publicity still of Ruth Donnelly for A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER ~

Not only because they work so well together – I also like the fact that Mrs. Marco is no classic gangster moll – you know them from several other films:

the Gloria Grahame type - gorgeous looking a bit sneaky etc. ..

No, Nora Marco is Remy’s partner. In the moment she learns that he had lost his money she immediately suggests to sell her jewels – just to be told that she is wearing phonies for months now – just because Remy was ashamed to tell her about his failure.

Thank you all for listening,

yours truly

Irene

and remember:

“Now, stay kosher, keep your nose clean..”

~ and better stay away from Remy's beer for now... ~

"I'm quite safe - if you say nothing."

In 1946 film was released in which Orson Welles played lead and was also the director:

THE STRANGER.

In a nutshell:

Franz Kindler (Orson Welles) - infamous Nazi war criminal - lives a happy and peaceful life in the little town of Harper, Connecticut. He is known as Professor Charles Rankin, a very popular college teacher and weds Mary (Loretta Young), the daughter of Judge Adam Longstreet (Philip Merivale).

Then old Nazi pal Meinike (Konstantin Shayne) arrives. To avoid being unmasked by Meinike, Kindler kills him. When Mary's dog becomes far to nosey, Kindler slays him too. He now could be save but then War Crime Commision's investigator Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) appears, who was following Meinike to uncover Franz Kindler and is now trying to convince Mary that her husband is a Nazi.

Schmooze:

• You may know Richard Long (who is here perfoming the role of Mary's brother Noah) as Tom Kettle from the Ma & Pa Kettle series.


• Erskine Sanford, who plays one of the party guest was a regular at Orson Welles pictures. He acted also in CITIZEN KANE (Herbert Carter), JANE EYRE (Mr. Briggs), THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (Judge) and some others.


• This is the first picture to show concentration camp footage after WWII.


• Philip Merival died in march, 1946 - two month berfore this film was released in the USA. UK start was in August 1946.


• 
  
  There is a scene in the movie where Orson Welles lifts Loretta Young only onehanded - this was no trick and no stunt men/women were appointed.


• Loretta Young, born Gretchen Young, was 32-33 years old when she played in this movie.


• You may recognize Konstantin Shayne for he was playing the part of Pop Leibel in VERTIGO (1958).


• 
  
  In Germany the film was released in february 1977. It is also known to German viewers as DIE SPUR DES FREMDEN (= "The trace of the stranger").


• 
  
  Orson Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead (you know: Endora from the BEWICHTED series and also a Orson Welles regular) to play the investigator - gee, would I love to see that!!


• 
  
  Orson Welles was not pleased with this movie - he liked his other works far better.


• Sam Spiegel produced this film under the name of S. P. Eagle.

Murphy's Law:

• After the projected film is finished the light still flickers on Loretta Young face - though it might be a bright non moving light.


• The swastika Franz Kindler is drawing is in the wrong direction - maybe designedly.

Scene to see:

The final scene is worth to look at - though it is rather drastic.

Quotes Corner:
"Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass."

I have a feeling that when the last sentece is delivered it ends to abrupt. Two or three seconds fade out wouldn't have hurt. I like Edward G. Robinson very much so I naturally enjoyed his performance. If I was in place of Mary I would have left my husband after he killed my dog - even if he was as great as Orson Welles. Sorry, but hurting (to say nothing of murder) an animal is a BIG No-Go in my little world! Of course the movie would have been much shorter then..

And - again - I would have loved to see Agnes Moorehead doing the Edward G. Robinson part - she would have been a real mean anti to Orson Welles' devilishly Franz Kindler!

Goodbye, I'll go and watch another movie - or maybe this one again?

Remember:

"People can't help who they fall in love with."