RIP: Val Kilmer

Actor Val Kilmer passed away this week, aged only 65.

I'm sure every film buff out there has a favourite Val Kilmer movie, but mine is his first film - Top Secret! (1984), the ridiculous comedy film in which he portrayed the Elvis-like singing sensation Nick Rivers, who journeys behind the Iron Curtain and gets involved in a spy plot that is very much like the 1944 movie the Conspirators. As Kilmer himself noted, being that he was a young actor, it was a huge challenge to take on such a wacky comedy role; Kilmer succeeded because he portrayed Nick earnestly, a straight man in a very, very wacky movie.

But I'm sure most film buffs are going to point to Tombstone (1993). And yes, even I - a man who does not especially like westerns - point to Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday as a terrific piece of acting. Perhaps Tombstone is the western movie for people who don't like westerns? Anyway, go watch Tombstone if you haven't already.

Obviously, there's much more I could mention; I have one friend who loves the Ghost and the Darkness (1996); my sister loved Willow (1988); my wife really likes the Saint (1997).

Rest in peace, Mr. Kilmer.

Columbia Workshop: The Recommended Listening List

With more than 300 episodes of the Columbia Workshop still in existence, it's pretty difficult to know what someone might like from the series. Everything I've learned about Columbia Workshop has confirmed how John Dunning summed it up in his encyclopedia:

"That this was not a show for the masses is especially true today. Some of these shows, on first listening, seem to move at a glacial pace; some seem quite old and date. The techniques they pioneered have become so routine, their high-tech counterparts bombarding people in radio commericals around the clock, that a listener seldom gives a thought to a time when they didn't exist."

Columbia Workshop was a pioneering, groundbreaking series, but people prefer to hear radio shows that implemented their solutions rather than listen to those early experiments. But if you're willing to dig through Columbia Workshop you'll find a massive vault full of compelling dramas, great performances and unusual uses of sound.

Here's what I consider to be the most worthwhile episodes:

• "The Gods of the Mountain" (December 19, 1936) an adaptation of Lord Dunsany's tale of beggars who masquerade as gods and the horrible fate they suffer.
• "Split Seconds" (March 14, 1937) a man struggles to swim to shore as scenes from his life echo in his ears.
• "Danse Macabre" (March 21, 1937) Death itself sets out to find companionship, killing everyone who refuses to dance to his fiddle.
• "The Fall of the City" (April 11, 1937 and again September 28, 1939) the drama of a great city's destruction, notable for the 1st version's cast of 200 voices and the 2nd version's 500+ cast!
• "R.U.R." (April 18, 1937) an adaptation of Karel Capek's play which introduced the word "robot."
• "S. S. San Pedro" (September 5, 1937) a story with heavy supernatural overtones as a ship at sea nears a disaster it can't survive.
• "The Killers" (October 17, 1937) a good adaptation of Ernest Hemmingway's short story of two gunmen and their willing victim.
• "The Horla" (November 7, 1937) an adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant story (although poor Alfred Shirley can't compare to Peter Lorre's majestic Mystery in the Air performance).
• "Night Patrol" (February 26, 1938) an Irish cop on the beat has various encounters with neighborhood folk one evening (at the time, an innovative use of footstep sound effects).
• "Seven Waves Away" (April 2, 1938) men on a lifeboat decide to sacrifice some of their fellow survivors believing it will better their odds for rescue.
• "The Fisherman and His Soul" (May 7, 1938) an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's fairy tale of a fisherman who sacrificed his soul so that he could love a mermaid, which proves to be a fatal error.
• "Bury the Dead" (May 28, 1938) an anti-war story in which the dead slain in war rise and society wonders how to make them rest again.
• "Mr. Whipple Is Worried" (January 16, 1939) a comedic episode in which a meek little man discovers he can hear statues talk.
• "Nine Prisoners" (February 20, 1939) an anti-war story in which nine soldiers are told to execute their prisoners and how each of the nine copes with their orders.
• "Jury Trial" (February 27, 1939) a look at members of a jury and how their personal prejudices and preferences interfere with justice.
• "The Law Beaters" (May 15, 1939) in which two criminals swap stories about their greatest triumphs- with a great twist ending.
• "The Man with the One Track Mind" (June 30, 1940) a whimsical story about a man who becomes a train and the unusual culture among other living train engines.
• "Carmilla" (July 28, 1940) an adaptation of Sheridan le Fanu's famous vampire story.
• "The Pussy Cat and the Expert Plumber Who Was a Man" (September 29, 1940) Arthur Miller(!)'s humorous tale of a talking cat who decides to run for public office.
• "The Plot to Overthrow Christmas (December 22, 1940) Norman Corwin's humorous bit of verse in which the fiends of Hades (ladies) attempt to snuff out Santa Claus.
• "Miracle in Manhattan" (December 21, 1941) a Christmas story of a cynical taxi driver who ferries around a mysterious man who might just be Jesus (this one was repeated several times as an episode of Duffy's Tavern).
• "Someone Else" (July 20, 1942) an offbeat supernatural tale about a man who is haunted by relics of the past.
• "Remodeled Brownstone" (October 19, 1942) a horror story in which new homeowners find their home haunted by a ghostly infant.
• "The Trial" (May 19, 1946) an adaptation of Kafka's most famous novel.
• "The Parade" (December 7, 1946) on the anniverary of the Pearl Harbor attack, a tale in which dead soldiers march silently through the city streets.

Here are some of the more "weird" episodes:

• "Maker of Dreams" (September 26, 1936) opens with a comedic drama about the spirits who give people dreams; it's followed by a discussion of how sound effects are created to give people the impression that ghosts exist.
• "The Tell-Tale Heart" (July 11, 1937) a very unusual adaptation that's less-faithful than most radio adaptations; the content of the story is the same but there's none of Edgar Allan Poe's prose - all the dialogue is unique to this production.
• "Surrealism" (June 11, 1938) a celebration of surrealism, with a variety of odd poems and songs with unusual musical accompaniment and sound effects.
• "So This Is Radio" (September 7, 1939) an explanation of how music is utilized in radio and the different means by which music is used in drama.
• "Double Exposure" (February 15, 1940) an adaptation of a Grand Guignol play; it's not what you'd expect, given the theatre's reputation for gore; it's definitely a horror play but it's very restrained and the horror doesn't really come until the climax.

Here's again is a massive collection of the Columbia Workshop at the Internet Archive.