Deconstructing from a distance

Recently a friend of mine shared an article about the Christianity Today podcast series The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. I had not heard of the podcast and just barely knew of Mars Hill -- all that I really knew amounted to, "that's a popular church in the USA, right?" I didn't know they had disbanded in 2014, much less any of the controversy surrounding the church.

The article fascinated me because the author had written about ideas the podcast provoked, primarily on the subject of legalism. I decided to listen to the entire podcast to hear it for myself and, not to be a spoilsport, but the podcast is not really about legalism. It comes up in the final episode, but it's only one of many facets which the podcast explores.

I listened to the entire podcast, fascinated to learn about this toxic side of Christianity. Many times I found myself thinking, "this doesn't sound like church - this sounds like a cult" - especially when stories of church members being threatened at having their dirty laundry aired in public. I've never really understood American Evangelicalism but this podcast gave me some helpful information.

My fear at the outset - knowing that this was the story of a toxic church that collapsed on itself - was that Christianity Today would try to make the story somehow neat and palatable. I do often find my fellow Christians are unwilling to really face something difficult or challenging in our faith without tying it up in a Calvinist ribbon that assures the listener that this problem isn't really a problem. There are plenty of passages in the Bible where good men of God simply lament; we should have a place for lament as well, and so I applaud this podcast for placing the focus on the lament. There is talk of what good the church accomplished, but it is not the subject of the podcast. As I learned, the church experienced plenty of laud and honour in its time - someone needed to try and make sense of what was done wrong. Kudos.

Many former members of the church who spoke on the podcast lost their faith as a result of what happened. In a discussion of how they were now deconstructing their beliefs, one commenter remarked that it's actually helpful for us to deconstruct our faith.

Having listened to the podcast, it makes me relieved that I come from the liturgical traditions. We're not perfect in the Anglican church, but our emphasis usually isn't on flashy messages delivered by charismatic figures. We work our way through the liturgy and we don't tend to place our pastors too far above us. I'm also fortunate in being a pastor's son in that I can separate my father as the head of my church from my father as the head of my family. I love and respect my Dad, but having lived in his house for 20 years I knew he wasn't perfect. A personal Christian faith become more approachable to me because I knew my Dad didn't have everything right. It sounds like a paradox, but it made faith accessible to me.

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill probably isn't for everyone. The people on the podcast make themselves very vulnerable; there is disgusting audio of the church's pastor delivering deeply wrong theology; and it's very long - the last two episodes take 2.5 hours. I think it might be my new recommendation to Christians who want something to study through Lent - it is challenging in the best sense.

Merry Christmas Vlog!

Christmas greetings from Angola!

New Vlog: More Junk Food in Angola!

My previous vlog about junk food in Angola was appreciated by many of my friends so I've made a 2nd video in that theme; this time I try five examples of junk food I had never sampled before. Enjoy!

Radio Recap: The Chase

The Chase was an NBC radio dramatic series which was originally broadcast for about one year from April 1952 to June 1953. The series was produced by Lawrence Klee, who also wrote most of the episodes.

My local radio station only broadcast one episode of The Chase as part of their repeating block of old-time radio shows. That lone episode was the debut program, "The Big Cat." I was intrigued by the series because the episode was an unusual type of thriller. The plot concerns a man who learns a big cat has escaped from the zoo. He finds inspiration in the cat's escape to freedom and decides to make a change in his own life by becoming bolder and brasher than before.

The intro to the series was as follows:

In the animal world, there is the hunter and the hunted; hound and fox, hawk and sparrow, chicken and worm. We, in the top-most species, have also joined the hunt. But who is to judge precisely which of us are hounds or foxes as we enter... The Chase!

I only recently went through and listened to all of the episodes of The Chase which I hadn't heard. It had been a low-priority for me because when I had tried before, I simply became bored. I complained before in my recap of cloak and Dagger that I find NBC radio a little tiresome because they repeated so many musical cues and didn't do much with sound effects. They also had a knack for bringing in voice actors who grate on my nerves. This is, after all, the network who produced Archie Andrews (for my money the most irritating program in old-time radio). And all of this is true about The Chase as well.

But it's difficult to talk about what The Chase was because, although nominally a thriller series, it lacked an identity. All episodes were centered around the loose idea of a "chase." In fact, most episodes contain a line in the script where someone says "the chase." But the show is hard to pin down. It isn't like Escape, Suspense or even Romance whose bill of fare was more-or-less explained in the series title. The Chase involves a chase of some kind. It could be a thriller, or a light comedy. This is not helped by the series' second introduction which seems to have been used at the opening of more episodes than the original:

There is always the hunter and the hunted; the pursuer and the pursued. It may be the voice of authority or a race against death and destruction, the most relentless of the hunters! There are times when laughter is heard as counterpoint and moments where sheer terror is the theme! ...But always, there is THE CHASE!

The line which bogs down this wordy intro is "there are times when laughter is heard as counterpoint." Against tense music trying to hype your audience on the adventure you're about to present, why would you pause to say, "oh, if you don't like that there's humour too." In trying to demonstrate how flexible their series is, the showrunners instead weaken the already shoddy-concept.

According to the Digital Deli, The Chase started out as a proposed television program but wound up on radio instead. Perhaps Lawrence Klee really wanted to get out of radio (a dying medium then) and was desperate to show his versatility via The Chase. But it's hard to imagine radio fans back in '52-53 had much interest in what he produced.

For instance, one week the show presented a light romantic comedy called "Cathy Sutter Meets James Carter" (the episode titles are pretty utilitarian). Suppose you listened to that episode by accident - you didn't know what The Chase was about and were pleasantly surprised by the romantic comedy you happened upon. So you tuned in next week, which was "Murderer Row," the story of a man who murdered his wives for their money. There is nothing in any episode of The Chase that prepares the listener for what the episode will contain or what to expect next week, nothing outside that awkward intro. And if you were a fan of the adventure and thriller episodes, the comedic and romantic episodes would probably leave you cold.

I suppose it's also worth noting that The Chase recycled a few scripts here and there; episodes included "Special Delivery" and "Long Distance" (both from Radio City Playhouse), "No Contact" (from Dimension X) and the two frequently-retold stories, "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Creeper" (I wrote about adaptations of "The Creeper" here).

For all that, the series is not all bad. There's an interesting crime drama called "The Apprentice" (not written by Klee; it might have been recycled from another program). And Nelson Olmsted starred in an interesting supernatural drama, "Professor Calvin and the Voice" (unfortunately it has a very disappointing climax).

If you haven't listened to The Chase I don't think you're missing much; but if you, like me, have already heard the best, you might want to try the rest.

New Vlog: Welwitschia!

I have a new vlog - this time I'm chatting about Welwitschias! As one does.

'Character Arc to a Cure'

Lindsay Ellis' recent video Loki, the MCU and Narcisssim is a terrific analysis of one particular mental disorder - but there's one thing Lindsay said which I wish had been a little more fully embellished, because I think it's a rich vein waiting to be tapped by people with expertise in mental illness (which is not myself). Near the end of the video, while discussing how narcissism has been used in Loki and elsewhere, Lindsay said of fictional characters who are identified as narcissists: "Either they character arc their way into a cure or we kill them."

I think what Lindsay was saying specifically about narcissism could be applied more generally to how mental illness is depicted in fiction. Again, I don't have a background studying mental illness but... I have watched a lot of movies.

It seems to me that Lindsay had her finger right on the pulse of why depictions of mental illnesses in fiction are so often found lacking. The need for characters to, as she says, "character arc" their way out of their illness. The conventional wisdom in Hollywood does seem to be that if a character has a mental illness then they have to confront it and by confronting it they basically accept and overcome it (if not, they die).

I think part of why Hollywood has a small bag of options in how they depict mental health is simply that the science used is so young. Heck, psychoanalysis is younger than movies themselves and it didn't gain widespread acceptance overnight. Shock therapy both rose and fell during the 20th century! In what I've observed of popular culture, the movies didn't really come to accept therapy as a positive thing until the 1940s. Even up until then, there was a widespread belief that people were simply 'born crazy' and you couldn't 'fix' them. The climax of the play/film Arsenic and Old Lace exhibits the protagonist's relief at discovering he's not a blood relative to the story's four insane characters; there are so many stories from popular culture of the time where in the climax the hero learns they were adopted and therefore not really related to the story's insane character (I've heard it a few times on Suspense) that I'm now all but convinced Arsenic and Old Lace was specifically satirizing what is now a forgotten trope.

But in the post-World War II environment a few films came along to promote the good work being done in therapy. Alfred Hitchcock was specically told by his producer, David O. Selznick, to create a film which would champion psychoanaylsis (the resulting film, Spellbound, was not what Selznick had in mind). Notably, John Huston's 1946 documentary film Let There Be Light which he made for the US Army took great pains to humanize mental patients. The film wound up being suppressed by the US government for about 30 years because they were still uncomfortable with frank talk about mental health. The film has been criticized for emphasizing what seem to be quick and dramatic 'cures.' In that sense, the film is of the same pedigree as Loki in that the solution to mental health is, generally, confrontation and acceptance. Of course, Let There Be Light was so laser-focused on positive outcomes for the mental patients featured because the film wanted to destigmatize mental illness and reassure families welcoming relatives from army mental hospitals that their loved ones were not dangerous. The film The Best Years of Our Lives also did a fine job of depicting what we'd now call PTSD (again, the protagonist confronts and overcomes their trauma).

From there, the 1948 film The Snake Pit did a reasonably good job of portraying a woman's recovery from mental illness. Although the movie follows a pretty standard Hollywood formula (and again, the protagonist confronts and accepts her problems), I give it a lot of credit. Despite being a very Freudian film, being even-handed enough that in the climax, although the protagonist identifies an original source of trauma in her past, she's quick to add that it wasn't this lone event but several in her life which led to her mental illness.

But as mental science has continued to progress Hollywood has never really progressed past this point. They still tend to really like Freud, childhood trauma, couch-based therapy sessions and, overall, some form of confrontation which allows the protagonist to overcome their mental problems. What's more likely to happen in real life is that a patient who confronts and accepts their condition will still have to attend some kind of therapy and possibly take drugs for the foreseeable future (or even the rest of their lives), lest they relapse.

That seems contrary to the American myth of the self-made man, so I understand why Hollywood tends to have mental illness overcome by simply confronting it. If a protagonist is in therapy at the start of a story, the creators definitely intend for them to get out of therapy by the end of the story (re: Falcon and the Winter Soldier). Therapy or drugs are treated as though they were themselves part of the challenge facing the character, rather than tools to help address the actual illness.

I suppose what unsettles me the most about all of this is not that characters 'character arc' their way out of mental illness but that therapy and drugs are not usual part of that character arc. Just as 1940s movies such as The Snake Pit were trying to destigmatize common beliefs about the mentally ill in its time, I think a lot of good could be done today by telling more stories where a character has a long-term need for therapy and drugs which is still presented as a positive outcome.

Lights Out Month Day 31: "The Author and the Thing"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's the end of October and All Hallow's Eve! I'm concluding this month-long look at Arch Oboler's Lights Out, with, appropriately, Oboler's final episode "The Author and the Thing" (September 28, 1943). This is another venture into meta-fiction as the story features Arch Oboler himself as the star, trying desperately to create a monster for an episode of Lights Out but succeeding a little too well! Lights Out would return after this broadcast but only to air a few recycled Wyllis Cooper scripts.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

I hope you have enjoyed this year's Halloween feature. Have a safe Halloween!

Lights.

Out.

Everybody.

Lights Out Month Day 30: "The Immortal Gentlemen"

Today's episode of Lights Out by Arch Oboler is "The Immortal Gentlemen" (August 31, 1943) is a science fiction yarn which feels a little like H. G. Wells' The Sleeper Awakens at the outset. A man finds himself in the far future where immortality is a virtual guarantee for all; unfortunately, this means mankind has stagnated as new people with new ideas are unable to replace the old ones. This is one of the best science fiction tales of 1940s radio!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Tomorrow is Halloween!

Lights Out Month Day 29: "Sub-Basement"

On today's episode of Arch Oboler's Lights Out we bring in dinosaurs! This one is "Sub-Basement" (from August 24, 1943) and features a husband and wife who journey into a building's sub-basement and find something prehistoric is alive down there.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 28: "Murder Castle"

Today's episode of Lights Out by Arch Oboler brings to mind a real world criminal - H. H. Holmes, who was the subject of Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City. Like Holmes, the villain of this episode, "Murder Castle" (August 3, 1943), has built a house full of death-traps which he unleashes against his guests. Of course, this story might just as well be said to be inspired by Bluebeard (I did so in a college paper). It's quite the revenge. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 27: "Profits Unlimited"

Arch Oboler leaned pretty far to the left; it got him into a little bit of trouble post-war when he was wrapped up in the USA's anti-communist hysteria. Perhaps no episode of Lights Out is a more on-the-nose exploration of left-wing politics than "Profits Unlimited" from July 20, 1943. A woman learns she is the heir to an island factory maintained by staff who are essentially slaves, having had all willpower conditioned out of them after centuries of servitude. The woman is intent on giving the factory workers back their humanity, but that might be a step they're unable to accept.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 26: "The Visitor from Hades"

Today's episode of Lights Out is "The Visitor from Hades" which was first broadcast on July 13, 1943. This episode concerns a couple whose apartment is invaded by a creature whom only they can see. I think Arch Oboler's script falters a little in that beyond the monster looking terrible we don't get a good sense of why the couple are so distraught at seeing him, but the final reveal is good.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 25: "Nature Study"

I've alluded in earlier posts about Lights Out this month to how writer Arch Oboler had a particular set of principles and in his stories would punish people depending on how they stacked up. In "Nature Study" (June 22, 1943) we have perhaps the ultimate example of Oboler in 'divine punishment' mode. This story concerns the internal evils carried by its cast and who should be punished for them. It's pretty bleak -- and has no subtext to speak of!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 24: "Prelude to Murder"

Today's episode of Lights Out is an Arch Oboler classic; "Prelude to Murder" (June 15, 1943) provides access to the protagonist's thoughts, leading to long stream-of-consciousness dialogue, the type of which Oboler was a master of writing. This episode is particularly good because as the audience can hear the protagonist's thoughts, they're contrasted against what is spoken aloud. In this case, the show being what it is, the protagonist is a jealous husband who is slowly making up his mind to committ murder.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 23: "The Ugliest Man in the World"

"The Ugliest Man in the World" (June 1, 1943) is a Lights Out episode, but very much in the spirit of Arch Oboler's other program, Arch Oboler's Plays. As the title indicates, our point-of-view character is a very ugly man as we learn of his heartbreak and how he's driven to his own destruction.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 22: "Little Old Lady"

Lights Out could really commit to supernatural horror. It was usually pretty light on explanations for how its supernatural transpirings came to pass, but Arch Oboler had no problem going into weird, inexplicable events. Such a story is "Little Old Lady" (May 25, 1943), in which a young woman goes to visit her aunt Harriet with a college classmate. But it seems Aunt Harriet has a pet cat - a very big cat. Enjoy the ride!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 21: "The Spider"

Today I'm featuring one of my personal favourite episodes of Lights Out. "The Spider" from May 18, 1943 concerns two men in the jungle trying to make money by capturing and selling rare insects. Then they see a very large spider and get some unhealthy ideas about capturing it. The last quarter of this play is a long, rambling stream-of-consciousness reading, the sort of writing Arch Oboler had mastered.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 20: "Murder in the Script Department"

Lights Out would, occasionally, get meta. Today's episode, "Murder in the Script Department" (May 11, 1943) is set in the offices where Arch Oboler's Lights Out is produced as two women in the script department have a very bad night. One of those women is played by Mercedes McCambridge, so you know you're in for a great performance!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 19: "The Archer"

Lights Out was always an unusual show, but this one is a little offbeat by their standards. "The Archer" from April 13, 1943 (we'll assume 'Archer' was one of Arch Oboler's nicknames) opens with a woman being held hostage by kidnappers. A mysterious figure comes to her rescue, wielding a bow and arrows. But this ain't no comic book so there's no chance it's the Green Arrow...

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 19: "Execution"

As I've mentioned before, Arch Oboler frequently used his radio series Lights Out to comment on the contemporary rise of fascism, particularly in Germany. Such an episode is "Execution" (broadcast April 27, 1943). In this episode, a German takes relish in ordering a woman's execution - yet the same woman keeps appearing before him, proving he is the one who has been condemned!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 17: "Superfeature"

Today's I'm looking at Arch Oboler's Lights Out episode "Superfeature" from April 6, 1943. We like to think of 3-D movies as a phenomenon of the 1950s - one which Oboler himself inagurated with his movie Bwana Devil. But here's a story which anticipates the craze; what should happen if the monster on a movie screen should just happen to step out of the projection?

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 16: "The Flame"

Today I'm looking at the Lights Out episode "The Flame" from March 23, 1943 by writer Arch Oboler. This episode concerns a man who likes fire; unfortunately, the spirit of the flame likes him too and has a, uh, dangerous way of demonstrating her affections.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 15: "The Ball"

Today's episode of Lights Out is "The Ball" from March 9, 1943. There are many episodes of Lights Out with very simple titles ("The Dream"; "The Flame"; "The Word"). This one concerns a ball - that is, a fancy dress ball being held in Paris. Two soldiers on furlough wander into the ball and find they're not exactly among the living. This is another episode where Arch Oboler's inflicts terrible things on subjects who really didn't deserve it.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 14: "They Met at Dorset"

A few times now this month I've featured episodes of Lights Out in which Arch Oboler took at fascism - particularly that of the Nazis - by way of a proxy. Well, this time there are no proxies. "They Met at Dorset" (February 23, 1943) is quite simply a story of two Nazis. But rather than being the ones who inflict horror on others, this episode subjects them to a special kind of horror.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 13: "The Projective Mr. Drogan"

Arch Oboler held strong feelings against the rise of fascism and many episodes of Lights Out reflect his beliefs. Such an episode is "The Projective Mr. Drogan" from January 26, 1943. This episode features a man who discovers he can do virtually anything by willing it to happen with his mind. But this doesn't lead to hijinks as in H. G. Wells' The Man Who Could Work Miracles -- this is a horror show, after all. Like other Oboler villains, this man sees himself as superior to others. But who could overcome his increidble psychic powers?

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 12: "The Fast One"

Today's episode of Lights Out dips into science fiction but only as a means for Arch Oboler to explore a different kind of horror. "The Fast One" from January 5, 1943 concerns a man who has the power to move at superhuman speed. Unfortunately there's a flaw with this ability which he discovers just a little too late...

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 11: "Valse Triste"

Today's I'm featuring the Lights Out episode "Valse Triste" from December 29, 1942. This is a story about chance - about 50/50 odds and just how badly they can pan out. The plot concerns two women who are lost in the woods. They meet a recluse who is on the hunt for a bride and wants one of them to fit that part; but first, one of them must kill the other. It's a harsh story - cruel even - but certainly in the best tradition of radio horror and very much an Arch Oboler triumph.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 10: "Meteor Man"

Some episodes of Lights Out have deep themes about subjects personal to Arch Oboler, especially those about man's cruelty towards man. But sometimes Oboler just liked writing a gruesome monster story, and such a tale is "Meteor Man" from December 22, 1942. This is the story of a meteor and the thing that crawled out from inside it.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

This episode was also adapted into comic book format, which I wrote about here!

Lights Out Month Day 9: "Knock at the Door"

Today's episode of Arch Oboler's Lights Out is a nasty piece of work called "Knock at the Door" from December 15, 1942. This episode concerns a wife who murders her annoying mother-in-law, but the woman doesn't seem to stay dead... I say seem as what has come back is less of a person and more an instrument of vengeance.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 8: "Come to the Bank"

Today I'm looking at the Lights Out episode "Come to the Bank" from November 17, 1942. It has a pretty simple yet far-out premise: a man wills himself to walk through a solid wall. Unfortunately, now he's trapped inside the wall. But it's not really his story, it's the story of his assistant trying desperately to rescue him and growing more and more frantic as the story progresses. This is Virginia Gregg at her best with the sort of stream of consciousness writing which Arch Oboler did so well!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

This episode was also adapted into comic book format, which I wrote about here!

Lights Out Month Day 7: "Across the Gap"

Today's episode of Lights Out is "Across the Gap" from November 3, 1942. Three people find themselves transported back in time and face-to-face with a neanderthal. It turns out neanderthals aren't reasonable people, go figure.

I wrote about this story before on my blog where I discussed the theme of the episode and what each person represents. As I stated there, I don't think Arch Oboler's cast was quite right for the message he presented here, which is ultimately an anti-fascism message.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 6: "Mungahra"

For today's episode of Lights Out I bring you "Mungahra" from October 27, 1942. It's a pretty familiar set up - man murders someone then sees his face everywhere. It definitely puts one to mind of H. G. Wells' "Pollack and the Poorah Man." But this program works because of the manner in which Arch Oboler tells it - the strong audio devices which get across how haunted the protagonist is. It also succeeds thanks to a great performance by Elliott Lewis, who was not one of Oboler's usual stars (his wife Cathy Lewis also appears briefly).

Strangely, this story was adapted for television twice but Arch Oboler wasn't credited. The first adaptation was in 1952 on Chevron Theatre and the second time in 1954 for the Pepsi-Cola Playhouse. The scripts for these programs were credited to "Peter Ogden." I wonder if this was an alias of Arch Oboler; it's well-known that Oboler didn't like television. Perhaps he had a substitute name so that his own wouldn't appear in the medium he disliked.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 5: "Poltergeist"

Today's episode of Lights Out is easily one of Arch Oboler's most gruesome scripts. "Poltergeist" from October 20, 1942 is perhaps the most disproportionate of all cases of retributive justice heard on the series - and there's quite a few. A girl accidentally dances on a grave. As consequence, she and her friends must die. Arguably the most nihilistic episode of the series.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 4: "Revolt of the Worms"

Today's episode of Lights Out is "Revolt of the Worms" from October 13, 1942. There are quite a few episodes by Arch Oboler wherein something becomes extremely large and menaces all life; this time out, it's earthworms. As usual, Lights Out's sound effects artists rise to the challenge!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 3: "The Devil's Due"

I said this month I'd be looking at Arch Oboler's Lights Out, although this episode is an outlier. "The Devil's Due" (April 26, 1939) won a contest where fans competed to write their own Lights Out story. Although this is from the Arch Oboler era it was written by Fred France and adapted by Hobart Donovan.

You can tell this isn't Oboler before the credits run; it has plenty of gore as two hardened criminals review their history with their "silent partner." That makes up most of the program and it certainly fits the sort of audio gore which Oboler made famous, but the identity of the "silent partner" is a little more obvious than Oboler would have treated such a reveal; I mean, heck, his name's in the title! It's good radio horror, although it lacks that extra terror which Oboler brought to his scripts.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 2: "It Happened"

Welcome to another look at the radio horror program Lights Out! "It Happened" (May 11, 1938) represents the series and author Arch Oboler at its peak. A young woman in Paris flees a kidnapper into the sewers -- and meets a man who invites her to join his business. He carves jewelry out of human bones. Lights Out had a reputation for how it employed sound effects to ghoulish ends and the noises in this episode are certainly in that tradition!

A friend of mine enjoyed this so much that he participated in a filmed version of the story, using the audio from the radio program for all the dialogue and sound effects. It was an interesting effect!

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Lights Out Month Day 1: "Cat Wife"

As I often do, I will spend October on this blog with a daily retrospective of a great old-time radio horror program. This year I've chosen the series Lights Out which was originated by Wyllis Cooper. However, as we have precious little of Cooper's stories still in existence, all of the episodes I'll be featuring will be those written by Arch Oboler.

The series began in 1934 under Cooper's direction, but has been supplanted by Oboler's lengthy run from 1936-1943. Most of what still exists comes from the 1942-43 run -- but many popular scripts were re-enacted so we have a pretty good idea of what the contents of Oboler's Lights Out were. The series looms so large that it tends to overshadow the rest of Oboler's work; I've frequently seen fans list episodes of Arch Oboler's Plays as episodes of Lights Out.

We're beginning with "Cat Wife" (April 6, 1938). I've discussed this one on the blog before; a husband is horrified when his wife transforms into an enormous cat. You might find this too silly -- after all, that's a ridiculous concept. However, I find this episode works because it's so unsettling and because Boris Karloff rendered a very fine performance as the husband. I don't think this is Oboler at his best, but it's a strong example of radio horror.

You can stream or download this episode from the Internet Archive here.

Marvel Appendix 20th Anniversary Wrap-Up!

Today is the final day of the month-long celebration of the Marvel Appendix's 20th year! All of the profiles I created to celebrate this occasion are now available online. Here's what I created for the event:

• AIDA (of Earth-712)
• AIDA (of Earth-199999)
• Arizona Kid
• Belag
• Clete Brandon
• Creighton H. Craven
• Major Cullen
• King David
• Dean "Deadman" Donnelly
• Gargantus
• Goliath
• Happy Hicks
• Hugo
• 'Lash' Larribee
• Laser-cannon
• Bobby Lathrop
• Jim Lathrop
• Marie Lathrop
• Cliff Macklin
• Nan Macklin
• Marak
• Mobius M. Mobius
• Private Tim O'Toole
• Omoro
• Packrat Pete
• Phil Parker
• Regulator
• Sigmar
• Spy Fighters
• Ted Stark
• Professor Stromm
• Lu Sun
• Freddy Sykes
• Adam Tyler
• Zadixx
• Zakka

Again, happy 20th Appendix!

New Essay: Yearning for Wakanda

I didn't intend for my next essay on Christopher Priest's Black Panther to take the shape that it did, but the idea for Yearning for Wakanda came to me while reading W. E. B. Du Bois soon after arriving in Angola and I found I had to get my ideas written down while they were fresh. I hope you like this essay!

Jessica Jones Season 3 Creator Credits

It's been a few years since the third season of Jessica Jones aired - I do normally try to be a bit more timely in posting the list of creators responsible for what was on screen. In my defense, I had cancelled my Netflix account and (let's admit it) the Marvel Netflix shows are no longer anyone's idea of what good super hero television looks like. Jessica Jones started strong, but not only did Iron Fist sap most the audience's goodwill towards the programs, it seemed to rob them of inertia in general. This season was pretty rote and predictable.

My complete list of Marvel Cinematic Universe creator credits can be found here!

Brian Michael Bendis: co-creator of Jessica Jones, a cynical, alcoholic, superhumanly strong private detective who runs Alias Investigations; of Jessica's relationship with Luke Cage (Alias #1, 2001); of Malcolm, the nearest person Jessica has to a secretary (Alias #6, 2002); Jessica gaining her powers in a car accident which killed her parents and brother (Alias #22, 2003); of Jessica having a past with Killgrave which left her with PTSD (Alias #24, 2003); of the Raft, a maximum security prison for superhuman criminals; of Foolkiller incarcerated at the Raft (New Avengers #1, 2005)

Michael Gaydos: co-creator of Jessica Jones, a cynical, alcoholic, superhumanly strong private detective who runs Alias Investigations; of Jessica's relationship with Luke Cage (Alias #1, 2001); of Malcolm, the nearest person Jessica has to a secretary (Alias #6, 2002); Jessica gaining her powers in a car accident which killed her parents and brother (Alias #22, 2003); of Jessica having a past with Killgrave which left her with PTSD (Alias #24, 2003)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of Patsy Walker wanting to be a hero (Amazing Adventures #15, 1972); of Patsy Walker being capable in a fight; of Patsy's mother Dorothy Walker (Avengers #141, 1975); of Patsy Walker gaining superhuman athletic powers; of Patsy as Hellcat, a costumed hero in yellow and blue (Avengers #144, 1976)

Archie Goodwin: co-creator of Luke Cage, superhumanly strong and durable hero for hire in Harlem; of Willis Stryker, Cage's one-time friend who became his enemy (Hero for Hire #1, 1972); of Spider-Woman, heroine Jessica Jones is based upon (Marvel Spotlight #32, 1977)

George Perez: co-creator of Patsy Walker being capable in a fight; of Patsy's mother Dorothy Walker (Avengers #141, 1975); of Patsy Walker gaining superhuman athletic powers; of Patsy as Hellcat, a costumed hero in yellow and blue (Avengers #144, 1976)

Michael Fleisher: co-creator of Jessica Drew's occupation as detective (Spider-Woman #21, 1979); of Dr. Karl Malus, a criminal scientist who experiments on both willing and unwilling subjects to grant them superhuman abilities (Spider-Woman #30, 1980)

Marv Wolfman: co-creator of Blake Tower, New York district attorney (Daredevil #124, 1975); of Mind-Wave, a criminal who can read minds (Daredevil #133, 1976); of Spider-Woman's Jessica Drew identity (Spider-Woman #1, 1978)

Billy Graham: co-creator of Luke Cage, superhumanly strong and durable hero for hire in Harlem; of Willis Stryker, Cage's one-time friend who became his enemy (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

Steve Gerber: co-creator of Foolkiller's face being disfigured (Foolkiller #10, 1991); of Foolkiller, an insane maniac who kills people he deems unfit to live (Man-Thing #3, 1974)

Steve Leialoha: co-creator of Dr. Karl Malus, a criminal scientist who experiments on both willing and unwilling subjects to grant them superhuman abilities (Spider-Woman #30, 1980)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of the Cat, a costumed identity assumed by Patsy Walker (The Cat #1, 1972); Daniel Rand, a young businessman (Marvel Premiere #15, 1974)

Joe Orlando: co-creator of Killgrave, a man dressed in purple who can control the actions of others through the sound of his voice (Daredevil #4, 1964)

Stan Lee: co-creator of Killgrave, a man dressed in purple who can control the actions of others through the sound of his voice (Daredevil #4, 1964)

David Finch: co-creator of the Raft, a maximum security prison for superhuman criminals; of Foolkiller incarcerated at the Raft (New Avengers #1, 2005)

Roger Stern: co-creator of Foolkiller, Greg Salinger, an insane maniac who kills people he deems unfit to live (Omega the Unknown #8, 1977)

Lee Elias: co-creator of Foolkiller, Greg Salinger, an insane maniac who kills people he deems unfit to live (Omega the Unknown #8, 1977)

Jeff Christiansen: creator of Mind-Wave's real name Erik Gelden (All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 10, 2006)

Val Mayerik: co-creator of Foolkiller, an insane maniac who kills people he deems unfit to live (Man-Thing #3, 1974)

Mark Gruenwald: co-creator of Patsy Walker being a teenage celebrity (Defenders #89, 1980)

Chris Claremont: co-creator of Jeryn Hogarth, a lawyer (Marvel Premiere #24, 1975)

Pat Broderick: co-creator of Jeryn Hogarth, a lawyer (Marvel Premiere #24, 1975)

Sal Buscema: co-creator of Spider-Woman, heroine Jessica Jones is based upon (Marvel Spotlight #32, 1977)

Ruth Atkinson: co-creator of Patsy Walker, a red-headed young woman (Miss America #2, 1944)

Otto Binder: co-creator of Patsy Walker, a red-headed young woman (Miss America #2, 1944)

David Anthony Kraft: co-creator of Patsy Walker being a teenage celebrity (Defenders #89, 1980)

Carmine Infantino: co-creator of Spider-Woman's Jessica Drew identity (Spider-Woman #1, 1978)

Frank Springer: co-creator of Jessica Drew's occupation as a detective (Spider-Woman #21, 1979)

Gil Kane: co-creator of Daniel Rand, a young businessman (Marvel Premiere #15, 1974)

Tom Sutton: co-creator of Patsy Walker wanting to be a hero (Amazing Adventures #15, 1972)

Steven Grant: co-creator of Patsy Walker being a teenage celebrity (Defenders #89, 1980)

Ed Hannigan: co-creator of Patsy Walker being a teenage celebrity (Defenders #89, 1980)

Don Perlin: co-creator of Patsy Walker being a teenage celebrity (Defenders #89, 1980)

Linda Fite: co-creator of the Cat, a costumed identity assumed by Patsy Walker (The Cat #1, 1972)

Marie Severin: co-creator of the Cat, a costumed identity assumed by Patsy Walker (The Cat #1, 1972)

J. J. Birch: co-creator of Foolkiller's face being disfigured (Foolkiller #10, 1991)

Bob Brown: co-creator of Mind-Wave, a criminal who can read minds (Daredevil #133, 1976)

Len Wein: co-creator of Blake Tower, New York district attorney (Daredevil #124, 1975)

Gene Colan: co-creator of Blake Tower, New York district attorney (Daredevil #124, 1975)

Junk Food in Angola!

I have an entry in my vlog series -- and it's all about junk food in Angola!

New Vlog: Where Do Products in Angola Come from?

I have a new vlog up on Youtube all about where products in Angola are manufactured. I hope you find it fun!

Happy 20th Anniversary, Marvel Appendix!

Everyone at the Marvel Appendix is celebrating the website's 20th anniversary! As one of the site's earliest contributors I was certainly happy to take part in the event. I wrote a few dozen profiles which you'll see over the next few days on the new stuff page! For now you'll notice my profiles on Headline Hunter, Lash Larribee and Jim Lathrop! More will come over the next week as the celebrations continue!

Radio Recap: Cloak & Dagger

The second actual episode of Escape (one of my all-time favourite radio programs) is quite unlike the bulk of the series and utterly unlike the other episodes surrounding it. It's titled "Operation Fleur de Lys" and it's a World War II story about two OSS agents (played by Jack Webb & Elliott Lewis) who go behind the lines to reinforce a French maquis against the Nazis. In the course of events they discover a traitor and have to execute a bloody sentence against them. Listen to it at the Internet Archive here.

But at this stage in its development, Escape was principally adapting older stories of fiction, particularly public domain works. "Operation Fleur de Lys" is based on actual events which happened just a few years before its 1947 broadcast. I understood the 1946 book Sub Rosa: The O.S.S. and American Espionage by Stewart Alsop & Thomas Braden was the source of this story so, out of my interest in Escape I recently read the book.

It's a very simple book - that is, it was written in very simple English. Like, if it had been placed on a shelf next to a Hardy Boys adventure it could have played pretty well to that audience. Even though the book is about espionage and spycraft during World War II, the very basic language makes the events it describes sound... not so bad. Many of the stories within were titled "Operation_____" but there was no "Operation Fleur de Lys" and I began to fear I wouldn't find it. The story finally appeared near the end of the book. Escape's adaptation was very faithful; the somber tone of the story really stuck out in Sub Rosa.

This reminded me that there was another old-time radio program connected to the O.S.S.: Cloak and Dagger. This one was also based on a 1946 book about the O.S.S., this one entitled Cloak and Dagger: The Secret Story of the O.S.S. by Corey Ford and Alastair MacBain (I couldn't find a copy to read for myself). I had never been able to finish that 1950 radio series before (even though there are merely 22 episodes; here they are on Youtube). When I heard the first episode I was very engaged and intrigued at what a series about wartime spies would be like. However, when I finally decided I would go through the series episode-by-episode I was soon discouraged.

You see, Cloak and Dagger was an NBC radio program. I've complained about them on this blog before. NBC fell into this pattern of using a lot of canned music, not only recycling the same musical score in every episode of a series but then recycling that music for other programs. They also had a tendency to use the same small pool of actors again and again. It does get tiring. But, as I have had some time to kill here in Angola, I decided to finish the series and hear every episode.

The series is certainly not one to 'marathon' because of the sameness between episodes. There are also elements which give one pause; after all, it's a series which celebrates the O.S.S. It's almost quaint, reading Sub Rosa, to learn of a time when the USA was cautious about the idea of employing an intelligence agency. But, natch, from the O.S.S. came the C.I.A. and a lot of international grief. Then too, it's a radio program of its time. As the adventures of the O.S.S. agents represented on the show were active in other nations it means the actors were frequently called on to supply accents. The various European accents mostly sound fake in a theatrical way; the various Asian accents, though, tip into racism.

Yet for all that, there are a few episodes of Cloak and Dagger which I think are worthwhile to mention: "The Swastika on the Windmill" relates a story which I read about in Sub Rosa about a spy who was caught but was able to both alert the Allies of his capture while making the Germans think he was cooperating with them. "The Last Mission" takes a welcome turn from the usual formula as it's about a civilian woman who is gradually recruited to help an undercover O.S.S. agent in China. And "Windfall" is about a grifter who ends up with vital intelligence that could help the Allies, but he'd rather sell it to the highest bidder.

Cloak and Dagger is... not bad. It's certainly great to hear Raymond Edward Johnson in nearly episode as the host and head of O.S.S.

Lubango Vlog: Walking to Work

I've mentioned Lubango a lot on this blog. But what does this city of an estimated 1.5 million actually look like? This video of me walking to work should help illustrate.

Lubango Vlog Continues!

My vlog at Youtube is continuing to update at odd intervals; here's my latest, a brief tour of where I live in Lubango:

Angola in the Comics #17: Biff Powers and the Missing Scientist

It's time for another entry of Angola in the Comics in which I, a comic book writer and researcher living in Angola, examine a comic book set in the nation of Angola and puzzle over whether it bears any relationship to reality.

I've already featured Biff Powers twice on this blog: in the first entry of this series he encountered the Wolf Man of Angola and in my most recent previous post I looked at his quest for the Giants of Angola. I have no idea who was creating this series (the Grand Comics Database thinks the artist might have been August Froelich but they have no clues to the writer's identity) but they clearly had an interest in Angola because, once again, I have a Biff Powers story to share with you - this one from Starling Comics Vol.2 #3 (April, 1941).

I took some time to skim over Biff's other appearances, wondering which of them might be set in Angola, so now I'm pretty well-versed in what Biff's stories are like and they certainly have a set pattern. As always, it starts with Biff meeting with the head of the Carson Circus. But instead of finding a new attraction for the circus, the owner brings up the missing Dr. Andrew Knight who, in the grand tradition of Dr. Livingstone, is missing in Africa. What's the circus' interest in him? (I mean, I don't think they want him in a cage) It's simply good publicity. Very well.

Usually Biff is opposed by a rival circus but this time men representing a "Fatherland" who all have German names like "Kassel" want to stop him. I have no idea what nation they might represent, it's a mystery. They send him a threatening letter which he ignores so they kidnap him and tie him up inside a house, then light it on fire. Fortunately his girlfriend Marcia (who appears in all of his adventures) comes to his rescue in something of a twist on the formula (usually someone kidnaps her to keep Biff from going to Africa). Biff and Marcia go to depart aboard a ship bound for Ambriz. And that's our connection to Angola! Ambriz is indeed a port city on the coast of Angola. I'm impressed that the author chose a real port and didn't even draw attention to it.

Aboard the ship, Kassel the spy tries to murder Biff by throwing him overboard but Biff narrowly avoids death. Arriving in Ambriz, Biff and Marcia are met by Weki, their guide. Weki has been in all of the stories I've featured on the blog so far. He's also in almost every Biff Powers story, or so it seems, but I'm still not sure if Weki is supposed to be Angolan. Still, he certainly seems to live around there, não é? Biff is attacked by an elephant but he kills it; that's a peril that lasts all of 3 panels (not the most dramatic man vs. nature battle ever put to paper). After that, Biff arms Weki and the other porters with rifles. Soon after they're attacked by "savages" but drive them off with the guns.

Investigating the men who attacked them, Biff encounters what looks to be some kind of python, but he kills it within two panels (seriously, man vs. snake can be a story in itself when done right). Arriving in a nearby village, Biff discovers Dr. Knight is a prisoner of Kassel who is apparently working with the men who attacked Biff's party. Kassel is whipping Dr. Knight for the location of paranium deposits he found (uranium asked for too much money to appear in this story?). Kassel's allies quickly take Biff prisoner.

But now we return to the real heroes of this series: Marcia and Weki. Deciding Biff has been away too long, they set after them. But by this time, Dr. Knight has given up the location of the paranium. As his reward, Kassel has Biff and Dr. Knight tied, half of their limbs tied to different bent saplings. When the trees are cut free they will tear the men apart! Fortunately Weki and the other men arrive and rescue them. Kassel draws a gun on Biff but Marcia pulls out a pistol and shoots Kassel dead (why isn't she the protagonist?). Dr. Knight apologizes for giving in to torture but Biff figures that mine "can produce enough explosive to make America supreme!" Well, that sounds like a happy ending!

This stories are certainly of their time but I do appreciate that the anonymous author did a little bit of research. And Marcia is certainly no damsel in distress this time out, which was pretty rare in 1941. But how does this entry score?

• +1 estrela for using a real location in Angola (Ambriz)
• +2 estrelas for using two animals found in Angola (elephant & python)
• -1 estrela for calling uranium "paranium" (but there's a lot of uranium in Namibia so this isn't such a bad call)

TOTAL SCORE: Dois estrelas! I hope you had fun!

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 20: 1957

1. 12 Angry Men (director: Sidney Lumet): Another great adaptation of a TV film, this one starring Henry Fonda. It's a pretty simple idea - 12 jurors get into a debate about the case they've been asked to provide a recommendation for. Slowly, one man changes the minds of the rest of the jury. It's also fascinating as a crime story which is told out-of-sequence as details about the murder being tried are only revealed as jurors mention them.
2. Paths of Glory (director: Stanley Kubrick): A film as rough and challenging as the original book. This is Kubrick's great World War I picture about three French soldiers who are chosen to be killed in order to set an example; Kirk Douglas plays the officer who tries to defend those men, but the system is more cynical than he imagined.
3. The One That Got Away (director: Roy Ward Baker): I'm really into this under-appreciated gem - the true story of a German pilot who repeatedly escaped the Allies and finally got back to Germany. It's an interesting companion piece to Paul Brickhill (The Great Escape)'s stories about various British pilots' escapes from the Germans.
4. Throne of Blood (director: Akira Kurosawa): This is Kurosawa's amazing version of Macbeth adapted to the culture of feudal Japan. It's a real trip, especially if you love Macbeth. Kurosawa would revisit Shakespeare later in his career and it was a win every time.
5. Witness for the Prosecution (director: Billy Wilder): A really fun adaptation of Agatha Christie's play with Charles Laughton as a defense lawyer; the film changed the ending (that often happened to Christie, it seems), but it's still a great mystery film.
6. The Bridge on the River Kwai (director: David Lean): Once you've finished Paths of Glory, how about another "feel-good" war picture? This one famously concerns British POWs who build a bridge for their Japanese captors, apparently oblivious to how they've become collaborators.
7. Sweet Smell of Success (director: Alexander Mackendrick): I've heard this film called a companion to The Bad and the Beautiful; whatever, they're both fine films about horrible men. This concerns Burt Lancaster as a newspaper columnist who seems to enjoy making Tony Curtis squirm as Curtis tries to curry his favour. It's very different from the other films on this year's list and well worth seeking out.
8. Old Yeller (director: Robert Stevenson): The childhood classic about a boy and his dog (most notorious for its climax). This film didn't register as strongly with me as it seems to have with others, but it's a very good children's film.
9. Night of the Demon (director: Jacques Tourneur): Tourneur ought to be a great adaptor of M. R. James' horror fiction which are about unseen menace; after all, he pioneered unseen menace with Cat People. Yet this film breaks from the original story by showing you the demon in all his glory. I should be upset, but dang it, that demon is instantly memorable.
10. The Devil Strikes at Night (director: Robert Siodmak): And here's a German film which is hard to get with English subtitles. This one is about a serial killer on the loose in Nazi Germany. The killer keeps getting away because the Nazi's are unwilling to admit to the public that serial killers exist in their "perfect" society. A very fascinating subject and a different kind of look at Nazi culture.

And with that, the lists are done. Thank you for following this series of posts, I hope I shed some light on under-appreciated films.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 19: 1956

1. The Wrong Man (director: Alfred Hitchcock): An oddity for Hitchcock, this film relates a true story and as such, it's not as neat as most of his films - the resolution is not tidy as although the protagonist clears his name, his life is in shambles. It's a different take on the "wrong man" theme which Hitchcock had visited so often. In the 1930s, it seemed like the worst thing that could happen to you would be to be chased by the police. In the 1950s, the worst thing is being judged by your peers.
2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (director: Don Siegel): This is one of the best Cold War science fiction thrillers; the concept of extraterrestrials replacing people is done in terrifying fashion. A great picture.
3. The Killing (director: Stanley Kubrick): Kubrick's first great movie, the story of a heist; like all heist films, it doesn't go according to plan. This one stands apart thanks to superb craft employed in putting it together.
4. Patterns (director: Fielder Cook): Like Marty, a television film which was remade for cinemas. This one concerns the heartless nature of business - of the ruthless ways in which loyal employees are cast aside in the name of progress.
5. The Ten Commandments (director: Cecil B. DeMille): One of the be-all-to-end-all Biblical epics with Charlton Heston as Moses. It's as overblown as anything DeMille ever made, but this is the one time I actually like DeMille's work; it seems to me that if you're going to tell the story of Moses, you pretty much do have to go ridiculously big.
6. Reach for the Sky (director: Lewis Gilbert): A fine adaptation of the true story of a pilot who lost both of his legs but through determination got himself back into the pilot's seat when World War II broke out. This film doesn't capture everything that I liked about Paul Brickhill's book but it's mighty good.
7. The King and I (director: Walter Lang): A fine family musical with some very catchy tunes; this was a childhood favourite of mine.
8. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (director: Fritz Lang): This is an unusual film which is in some ways reminiscent of Lang's Fury. A reporter wants to prove a point about the legal system by framing himself for a murder. His problems multiply when the man who was supposed to clear his name dies in an accident. (contrast against The Wrong Man)
9. The Harder They Fall (director: Mark Robson): Another good boxing movie, this one featuring Humphrey Bogart's final role. Bogart plays a promoter who exploits his boxer but his conscience gnaws at him.
10. While the City Sleeps (director: Fritz Lang): Wow, I really do like Fritz Lang's 1950s output! Somewhat similar to The Blue Gardenia, this concerns a newspaper office which tries to draw out a serial killer with seemingly little regard for the lives in danger.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 18: 1955

1. Les diaboliques (director: Henri-Georges Clouzot): The movie that outdid Hitchcock; you may not have seen this (after all, it's French) but I strongly suggest you give it a chance. A man is targeted for murder by his wife and his mistress, but in the fallout this thriller starts to creep into the horror genre!
2. Bad Day at Black Rock (director: John Sturges): This is a kind of contemporary western in which a one-armed man goes to a small town to find the father of a soldier who saved his life - but everyone in the town is extremely hostile to him and unwilling to aid in his mission. Much like a standard western film, it's one righteous man against a town!
3. The Ladykillers (director: Alexander Mackendrick): Another very fine Ealing Studios black comedy, this being the great film about a team of crooks living as boarders to a sweet old lady but find themselves divided when their success means her death.
4. The Court Jester (director: Melvin Frank): I believe this is the last comedy to appear in this series of lists. This one is a particular favourite of my brother - I think at one point he would test potential friends by showing them this movie and seeing if they liked it. It's certainly Danny Kaye at his utmost! It's zany and very funny.
5. The Night of the Hunter (director: Charles Laughton): A very offbeat film - so offbeat that it feels timeless. It's the story of two children who are terrorized by an insane preacher (Robert Mitchum) who pursues them through the southern USA. It has the feeling of a somewhat-askew fairy tale.
6. Pete Kelly's Blues (director: Jack Webb): Adapted from Webb's short-lived radio series, this is a great jazz picture with Webb as horn blower Pete Kelly brushing up against the mob during the days of prohibition. A great jazz score and some nice camerawork helps this movie stand out.
7. Marty (director: Delbert Mann): Adapted from a TV movie, this is a thoughtful film about two average people who fall in love. It suceeds thanks to the well-written and well-performed characters - it really showed a way forward for movies that focused on everyday relationships.
8. The Dam Busters (director: Michael Anderson): A very good adaptation of the true story of the development of the bouncing bomb, used by the British to destroy German dams. It's rare to see a World War II film that is about the development of new technology and the trial & error involved and that helps this film stand out from many similar pictures.
9. The Prisoner (director: Peter Glenville): An unsettling film in which a communist dictatorship attempts to break a Catholic cardinal (Alec Guinness). It is not a pleasant journey, but Guinness is compelling throughout the film.
10. Land of the Pharaohs (director: Howard Hawks): This doesn't really feel like a Howard Hawks movie, but it's interesting to see him attempt a film on the scale of a Biblical epic. This one concerns the story of building the pyramids and it's a pretty entertaining fiction (also Joan Collins in vamp mode does not hurt).

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 17: 1954

1. Rear Window (director: Alfred Hitchcock): Cornell Woolrich's story of a man who discovers his neighbour has committed a murder is given a slightly sleazy treatment by Mr. Hitchcock, who certainly seemed to love bringing out the voyeurism of the scenario. But it's such a great idea for a thriller (no wonder it's been ripped-off so many times). James Stewart is in fine shape, Raymond Burr is a very effective villain and I have seen people genuinely awestruck by Grace Kelly.
2. The Seven Samurai (director: Akira Kurosawa): A long but always captivating story - you probably know it: villagers face ruin at the hands of organized bandits; seven ragtag samurai agree to defend them. It's a very human story - neither the samurai nor the villagers are saints, but they are underdogs so you do root for them.
3. On the Waterfront (director: Elia Kazan): With A Streetcar Named Desire, one of those transformative 1950s pictures with Marlon Brando (and Karl Malden). This one is by far my favourite of the two, with Brando as a dockworker whose conscience gradually causes him to rise up against corruption.
4. Sabrina (director: Billy Wilder): Again, it's wild that Humphrey Bogart spent the last few years of his career as a romantic icon. Here he was opposite Audrey Hepburn which should not be credible but, gosh dang it, Bogart is so likeable that he succeeds.
5. Dial M for Murder (director: Alfred Hitchcock): This film is a bit stagier than Hitchcock normally was but it's a great thriller - the scene of the attempted murderer's attack is realized perfectly. It's a very satisfying thriller.
6. White Christmas (director: Michael Curtiz): This an extremely light and fluffy movie but it's one of my family's favourite Christmas films. Most of the songs are catchy (though I think "It's not my watch you're holding, it's my heart" is a lousy lyric) and Danny Kaye is always fun.
7. The Caine Mutiny (director: Edward Dmytryk): An interesting film that didn't entirely come together for me, but Bogart appears in the crucial role of a captain who might be out-of-line (prompting said mutiny). Bogart's breakdown in the climax handily stops the show.
8. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (director: Richard Fleischer): A great Disney version of the Jules Verne novel with strong special effects, particularly the nightmarish giant squid.
9. Father Brown (director: Robert Hamer): A pretty good adaptation of G. K. Chesterton's character, although it makes him a bit more physical and less cerebral. Still, Alec Guinness is a lot of fun as Father Brown and there's enough Chesterton to make me smile.
10. Them! (director: Gordon Douglas): There were a lot of movies about giant creatures going on a rampage but Them! is the one I'm most fond of. Here, the adversaries are giant ants, rendered using giant puppets. I'm sure it's campy to most, but I think this movie pulls it off.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 16: 1953

1. The Big Heat (director: Fritz Lang): A phenomenal film noir proving Lang was still on his game - in this film, Gloria Grahame easily overshadowed the rest of the cast with her performance as a disfigured gangster's gal who decides to help the law bring her boyfriend down. To look at recent video releases you'd have almost no idea Glenn Ford is the star of this film - pretty much all the box covers feature Gloria front and center.
2. Angel Face (director: Otto Preminger): Yes, I have a lot of noir on these lists; in my defense, most of the best movies in this period were noir. This one frequently ties with Out of the Past (also starring Robert Mitchum) as noirest of the noirs. It has what must surely be the most in-your-face nihilism of any noir. I'm impressed at how destructive this story is.
3. Roman Holiday (director: William Wyler): At the other end of the scale, a very memorable and charming romantic comedy about a member of royalty who tries to live like a commoner and unexpectedly finds love. It's simply charming.
4. The Band Wagon (director: Vincente Minnelli): So here's an interesting Fred Astaire musical - it has a lot of interesting numbers, particularly the dance sequence inspired by Mickey Spillane's dime novels. That scene alone makes this a departure from any other musical and therefore worth seeking out.
5. Peter Pan (director: Jack Kinney): It's a pity that this film was so racist in regards to Indigenous peoples, because it does have plenty of other great things going for it - fun songs and memorable character designs. If you can get past the racism, it's a quality kids' flick.
6. The Blue Gardenia (director: Fritz Lang): Another great noir from Lang about a woman on the rebound who takes a date with a stranger; the next day, the stranger is dead. A well-meaning reporter joins the hunt for the killer.
7. The Wages of Fear (director: Henri-Georges Clouzot): One of those films I was used to hearing about in hushed tones but no one ever seemed to describe. It turns out it's a thriller about four men transporting volatile cargo across a very rocky road and how it tests each man's strength of will. Quite a good film (the remake, Sorcerer, is an interesting odd duck too).
8. The War of the Worlds (director: Byron Haskin): Aw man, did I love this film as a kid! The Martian machines, although little like those of H. G. Well's novel, were instantly iconic and the Martians themselves really freaked me out. One of the best 1950s science fiction movies.
9. The Robe (director: Henry Koster): This was the film which kicked off the era of Biblical epics (also ridiculously large aspect ratios). It's an interesting premise: whatever happened to the Roman who won Jesus' robe while gambling over his possessions? This, to me, is one of the best of the 50s Biblical epics.
10. House of Wax (director: André De Toth): A fun horror remake of Murders in the Wax Museum with Vincent Price as the villain. I saw this before the remake and I think the reveal of the villain's true condition lands perfectly in each of them!

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 15: 1952

1. Ikiru (director: Akira Kurosawa): I think I mentioned at the outset that I'm game for sentimentality; at the same time, I can abide with cynical works as the many examples of film noir I've listed will testify. I suppose this film is a middle ground between the two - it has sentiment and cynicism living side-by-side. It has cynical figures who can't see the world beyond the tip of their nose and an aching sentimentality for life, for meaning, for sacrifice. I love this little film.
2. High Noon (director: Fred Zinnemann): One of the few westerns to rank high with me - it is considered one of the greatest as a sheriff looks for help in facing a band of killers -- but no one is willing to take a stand. Considering what was going on around this movie - the "Red Scare" - it's themes are all the more biting.
3. The Bad and the Beautiful (director: Vincente Minnelli): Another Hollywood insider-type film in the spirit of Sunset Blvd. This one concerns a filmmaker who became a legend but didn't mind stepping on his collaborators along the way. It's an interesting ensemble piece, although Kirk Douglas' leading role really takes the cake!
4. The Holly and the Ivy (director: George More O'Ferrall): As the son of a pastor I probably enjoy this far more than most - it's a British drama about a pastor's family gathering at the holidays as all their interpersonal drama comes out in a confrontation.
5. O. Henry's Full House (director: Jean Negulesco): An anthology which adapts many of O. Henry's best known stories such as "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Gift of the Magi." It's a neat little movie if you like O. Henry (I really do).
6. Ivanhoe (director: Richard Thorpe): A decent adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's novel; it's a fun adventurous movie, although I think it was later surpassed by the 1982 television version.
7. Limelight (director: Charles Chaplin): Chaplin's last great film, a drama in which he portrays a has-been who sees an opportunity to inspire a young woman and give her a chance at stardom. A very fine sentimental drama.
8. Singin' in the Rain (director: Gene Kelly): I'm not as into this movie as some and as a silent film buff I kind of resent how its version of silent film history has supplanted the much more interesting true history, but heck, I ain't made of stone -- this film is a ton of fun with great songs, great dancing and great jokes.
9. Beware, My Lovely (director: Harry Horner): Our favourite creep Robert Ryan plays a hired hand who is on the verge of a violent breakdown. It's adapted from an episode of the radio series Suspense ("To Find Help") which I like a lot more than this film, but this is an interesting gem worth reappraising.
10. Androcles and the Lion (director: Chester Erskine): An amusing adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play about Christians being thrown to the lions, with Alan Young as the titular Androcles, who just happens to be the lion's BFF.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 14: 1951

1. Scrooge (director: Brian Desmond Hurst): This phenomenal adaptation of A Christmas Carol simply obliterates the need to bother with any other adaptation. This is definitive and a staple of my Christmas - a perfect film.
2. Strangers on a Train (director: Alfred Hitchcock): One of Hitchcock's best, the famous story of two men who "swap murders." Or rather, one man decides that what they've decided to do, does his part then insists his "ally" follow suit. The protagonist is a lot more likeable here than he was in the book, but he has some interesting flaws which add to the drama - though the antagonist is the most meaty part in the film by far!
3. The African Queen (director: John Huston): A great romantic comedy and wartime drama with Bogart and Hepburn filmed in the actual Congo. It's amazing that at this point in his career, Bogart had basically become Clark Gable -- that is, a credible romantic lead, a tough guy with some hidden softness. Quite a feat!
4. The Lavender Hill Mob (director: Charles Crichton): Another great Ealing Studios comedy, featuring gold thieves who try to smuggle the gold in the form of souvenir statuettes, which tunrns out to be a bad idea!
5. On Dangerous Ground (director: Nicholas Ray): An interesting noir which quickly steps away from the city and into the country, which is not the usual setting for such stories. It concerns a cop chasing a criminal into the snowy wilderness; and since the cop is Robert Ryan, you know he's not a clean-cut hero. If you think all noir is the same, give this one a try.
6. Der Verlorene (director: Peter Lorre): AKA "The Lost One" this is the movie Peter Lorre went back to Germany to make, but by the time he got it into cinemas he found out audiences were basically tired of feeling bad about World War II. Lorre is terrific in this film as a scientist whose conscience is tormented over what did for the Nazis, but as far as I know it has no official subtitled release - I got my copy bootleg.
7. The Man in the White Suit (director: Alexander Mackendrick): A brilliant Ealing Studios comedy with Alec Guinness as the inventor of a suit which cannot become dirty -- and all the forces who want to prohibit his product from being released.
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (director: Robert Wise): This film did a lot to set the tone for science fiction of the 1950s. It's mostly remembered for the robot Gort, but the film's message of peace is still a worthy one and was a bit against the grain of its time. It's better than most 1950s science fiction, largely due to Robert Wise.
9. Native Son (director: Pierre Chenal): This film was so hard to make at the time that it was done in Argentina; it also stars the book's author Richard Wright in the lead role, who does well for a non-actor. It's a tough movie and one can see how, say, rape, racism and dismemberment might not be what US studios wanted to produce.
10. A Streetcar Named Desire (director: Elia Kazan): One of the definitive 1950s drama films, the movies where interpersonal drama and method acting gave a different sort of energy than the "classic" Hollywood pictures. The film holds up - it's not really one of my favourite but I admire the craft that went into it.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 13: 1950

1. Gun Crazy (director: Joseph H. Lewis): This film is not quite as unconventional as the short story it's based upon, but it's an interesting look at a Bonnie and Clyde-type couple whose mutual love of gunplay seems to naturally segue into a career in crime. The bank heist scene is a terrific single-shot sequence.
2. Rashomon (director: Akira Kurosawa): This is one of those movies you have see if only to be able to understand all the references made throughout culture ("Oh, it's like Rashomon..."). A man is dead; both of the witnesses testify and even the dead man testifies through witchcraft - but not only do none of the stories quite agree on what transpired, each implicates themselves more than any of the others. If you want a good conversation starter, this is your film.
3. Sunset Blvd. (director: Billy Wilder): This film has become so celebrated and ingrained in popular culture that although you might know about this film, you might not be aware how controversial it was on its release and how many Hollywood big shots despised this film for its unsentimental look at their business. So that alone should tell that yes, this film has some bite, it's become a nostlagic film but in its time it was anti-nostalgia.
4. In a Lonely Place (director: Nicholas Ray): Another noir that doesn't hit as hard as the original book, but this is a tough film and not as well known as most of Bogart's output from the time. It's a tough role as Bogart has to play a protagonist with some personal demons who is pretty much an anti-hero. Oh yeah, he might also be a serial killer. Even softened from the book, it's still not exactly a conventional Hollywood story.
5. Night and the City (director: Jules Dassin): A fascinating noir with Richard Widmark as an American heel in London trying to play a fast game against his creditors by investing in a wrestling scheme, but his house of cards collapses spectacularly in the climax.
6. No Way Out (director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz): Not as tough about race relations as two movies I highlighted from the previous year (Intruder in the Dust and Home of the Brave) but this was considered a tough film in its time with Richard Widmark as a racist piece of trash and Sidney Poitier as the noble physician who proves himself the better man.
7. Harvey (director: Henry Koster): An amusing light-hearted fantasy about a man who claims he's accompanied by an invisible friend named Harvey - who is a giant rabbit. It's quite fun.
8. Cinderella (director: Clyde Geronimi): A very good Disney film with memorable songs and strong animation.
9. Born Yesterday (director: George Cukor): A lightweight but fun movie about a streetwise woman receiving Pygmalion-style education (also a bit of Ball of Fire thrown in). It's won over primarily because Judy Holliday had a one-of-a-kind delivery and made her character the reason to see the movie.
10. House by the River (director: Fritz Lang): A very good thriller about a man who commits murder then gets his brother to help him cover it up, resulting in tensions which continue to simmer as the brother finds himself a suspect in the crime.

20 Great Years of Movies, Part 12: 1949

1. The Third Man (director: Carol Reed): This is my all-time favourite motion picture. The plunk of Anton Karas' zither music enhances the film's off-kilter look at post-war Vienna. Joseph Cotten as the American who stumbles around trying to find solutions as though life were as rote as a pulp novel is an amazing deconstruction. It's carefully made, tells a bold story and is immensely quotable.
2. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (director: Jack Kinney): Here's an oddball pairing - an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Both are rather charming, although the latter delves into some of Disney's best animated horror when the Headless Horseman appears. I'm very fond of them, odd couple and all.
3. Intruder in the Dust (director: Clarence Brown): An unusual film for its time and not very well-known, but considering the subject matter really ought to be. A black man has been arrested for murder; a white teenager is certain he's innocent and wants to help him, but the black man is much too proud to accept - or believe in - help from an outsider. An early sign that Hollywood was capable of getting into stories about racism against blacks.
4. Home of the Brave (director: Mark Robson): Like Intruder in the Dust. an early film about racism but not quite at the same level. This one is from the perspective of a black soldier who experiences racism in the service... or does he? It's much more concerned with the psychology than the other film but its conclusions don't hold up as well.
5. The Inspector General (director: Henry Koster): A silly and very fun Danny Kaye film in which he's mistaken for a high official. This was the first Danny Kaye film I saw as a child and it made a big impression. You need to have a heart for goofy humour to enjoy his films but if you do, they hold up at any age.
6. Kind Hearts and Coronets (director: Robert Hamer): A fun black comedy with an ambitious heir killing all of the relatives standing in his way - and all the relations portrayed by Alec Guinness (including the women). This is one of the movies that defined the style associated with Ealing Studios.
7. The Reckless Moment (director: Max Ophüls): Sort of an interesting companion to Mildred Pierce; a mother covers up a murder, thinking she's protecting her daughter. Then a blackmailer shows up but is so likeable he almost seems charitable.
8. The Window (director: Ted Tetzlaff): Compare to the previous year's Fallen Idol (and look ahead to Rear Window by the same author, Cornell Woolrich). A little boy witnesses a murder; the problem is, he's considered a notorious tatttletale and can't make adults believe his story, while meanwhile the killers are closing in!
9. The Accused (director: William Dieterle): An unusual noir; a college professor is almost raped by one of her students and, defending herself, kills him. The investigation leads the detectives directly to her, yet she is incredibly capable of bluffing through their methods.
10. The Set-Up (director: Robert Wise): Like many boxing films, this concerns a boxer who refuses to play along with the mob; unlike most boxing films, the bulk of the drama is concerned with what happens afterwards as the boxer tries to evade the coming retribution. A really solid film.