"To Spring" - Happy Harmonies (1936)

This is a repost from a couple of years ago. I was doing cartoons each weekend at the time. After such a cold and snowy winter, this cartoon will hit home with many people- especially those who got foot after foot of snow!

The MGM series of Happy Harmonies cartoons were really not preserved as well as many of the other cartoons of the era. However, there are still some real gems out there. Like this one, “To Spring”, in which the elves are awakened from their winter’s nap by the dripping of the melting ice which slowly sets off the alarm clock to awaken them to their annual task. It is a very important one, too.

You see, these elves are in charge of putting color back into the world after the bleak period of winter has passed. They seem to be enjoying themselves until Old Man Winter makes one final push to regain control over the elements, keeping things cold and bleak. But the elves are up to the challenge, restoring the world to its colorful array of beauty and its natural cycle of life.

"Mrs. Miniver" with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon (1943)

I’ve been watching a lot of my favorite old films this past week; and realizing that here is yet another one I have never posted about before. Odd; considering that it is among my favorite films. Within just 3 years of her film debut in “Goodbye Mr. Chips”, Greer Garson was an established screen presence on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a down to earth quality about her that could not be ignored.

In this film, directed by William Wyler, Ms. Garson plays the role of Mrs. Miniver, who is married to a man named Clem, played by Walter Pidgeon. They are the picture of the rising middle class in England before the advent of the Second World War. If you are a fan of Downton Abbey then you are familiar with the changes taking place at the time of the First World War. By necessity, England was becoming fairly democratic, and the old guard was yielding territory to the new.

The Miniver’s have 3 children; two boys and one girl. The eldest is Vin; played by Richard Ney; who is a student at Oxford and home for a visit when the war breaks out. Since he is of age to serve, he enlists in the RAF and enlists at the outbreak of the war. The other 2 are just children.

They are also neighbors to the formidable Lady Beldon; played regally by Dame May Whitty; along with her granddaughter Carol; played by the lovely Teresa Wright. We first meet them when Carol comes over to ask Mrs. Miniver if she would consider coaxing the local stationmaster Mr. Ballard; played wonderfully by Henry Travers; to pull his new rose from the competition in the upcoming flower show sponsored by her grandmother. Lady Beldon has won the prize for best rose for as long as the contest has been around. She is old, and Carol argues that it would break the old lady’s heart to not win.

This sparks a spirited debate between Carol and Vin; in which the young man is rude in his presentation of his argument that this is a perfect example of what is wrong with the world. It smacks of the feudal system as far as he is concerned.  He storms off after having made quite an impression on Carol. The Miniver’s are embarrassed at their son’s outburst, but Carol is very gracious and you can see the beginnings of a romance budding from the episode.

By this time the war is on and bombs are falling in nearby towns and villages. The British are cornered at Dunkirk and all available boats are rounded up to evacuate the troops and bring them home. Mr. Miniver takes the family boat and joins the others for the daring rescue of several hundred thousand soldiers.

While he is gone Mrs. Miniver is walking in the garden when she spots a pair of boots sticking out from beneath the bushes. She realizes that it is the enemy pilot who was shot down the previous day and is still at large. He commands her to take him in the house and demands food; which she gives him; before he passes out form his injuries. When he comes to he realizes that she has called the police and that he is now a prisoner. She has taken his pistol while he was out. But before the police arrive he harangues her with the superiority of the Nazi’s over the British and she slaps him. This is one of the best film slaps ever; until Sidney Poitier does his bit in 1967’s “In the Heat of the Night.”

When her husband returns from Dunkirk she is silent about her own adventure with capturing the German pilot, until the maid spills the beans. Her husband; just back from his own brush with the war; is flabbergasted that his wife handled the situation alone so well. Now he challenges her to go meet Lady Beldon, who has arrived for a visit. That, he opines, will take real courage.

Lady Beldon is old school and likes it that way. She lords her position as the dowager of the town. She was married when she 16 years old to a man who went off to fight in the First World War and didn’t make it home. Now, when Carol and Vin are planning to marry, she is opposed to it for two reasons. The first is that Carol would be marrying beneath her station; which Mrs. Miniver ejects as foolish.

The old lady then objects on the grounds that the boy may never come home. Mrs. Miniver; in her inimitable way; convinces the older woman that it is best to have a snatch at happiness than not. After all, didn’t she marry at an even younger age? And, secondly, would she trade that love now, even years later, for anything else in the world? Lady Beldon caves in and declares that if Vin has any class at all, she now knows where he got it from. That is as close to a compliment as the old woman has ever come.

When the flower show comes up it is a true test of the changes the war is bringing to Britain. The old woman is adamant about winning and has stepped up her campaign to have Mr. Ballard pull his rose; which he has named the “Mrs. Miniver”; from the competition. He refuses. In his own way the old man is in love with Mrs. Miniver and this is his only way to show that. He is equally adamant about leaving the rose in the competition.

When the day arrives the judges judge and the old lady waits for the results she knows will be forthcoming. After all, this is her contest and always has been. She is the sponsor and feels she is entitled to win. But the judges have figured out a way to make her do what is right.

When Lady Beldon gets up to announce the winner, she has in her hands the judges written decision; which shows her in first place and the Miniver Rose by Mr. Ballard as second. To be sure she gets the message they place the two roses side by side where the audience can clearly see them. They then place the trophy behind the Miniver Rose; as if to underscore their true feelings.

Lady Beldon hasn’t got a chance. She can claim the prize or admit that the other rose is the better of the two. But will pride let her? In a wonderful scene, which always leaves me a bit teary eyed, she does the right thing and even manages to endear herself to the people of the town, while still holding on to her revered place in society. She is surprised that giving can bring so much joy to everyone; including herself.

There is one last dark chapter left in the film. That comes during an air raid when Carol is killed. Vin returns home and the family bury her. The next Sunday finds everyone at the bombed out church where the Vicar; played by Henry Wilcoxon is holding services under an open roof. The Miniver’s file in and fill their pew. But Lady Beldon; with all of her wealth; is accompanied by only a footman who covers her with a lap robe and then retreats to the rear of the church, leaving the old woman alone in her pew.

Vin cannot help but notice that with all her wealth she really has nothing. As the Vicar leads the congregation in a hymn Vin crosses the aisle and shares a hymn book with Lady Beldon and the two are almost united by their love of God, Country and the recently deceased Carol. Once again, this scene leaves me teary eyed as they two close the gap between the classes with their common grief.

This movie is a beautiful tribute to the changing of the guard in England after the war, as well as a salute to the perseverance and charm that have always managed to carry the British people through whatever crisis has beset them. And did I mention that it’s also a great movie?

John Prine - "The Happy Enchilada Song"

If you are a John Prine fan then you will know this song as “That’s the Way the World Goes Round.” It’s a staple of any John Prine concert and a favorite of his audience; which ranges in age from 9 to 90. But this is not the version you generally hear on the radio. It is, however, the one you will hear when you are in my car. 

We have all misunderstood the lyrics to different songs at various times in our lives. Usually the mistaken words are fairly innocuous; as in my own version of “Shine Little Glowworm.” I used to sing it as “Shine little glow worm, liver”, rather than “glimmer.” Hey, I was only 4 years old at the time and not yet familiar with the word “glimmer.”  Also, liver was a big thing in my life at the time; my parents were always at me to “eat my liver.”

There have been others along the way as I grew up that were equally banal. And I’m sure you have had some of your own, too. But, in this video of John Prine singing “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” he tells the story of a woman in San Francisco who just may take top prize for mistaken lyrics. 

The Yellow Kid - (1895)

It’s amazing what you can learn from a comic strip. March 2^nd marked the day in which a cartoon character was first introduced on a daily basis in the newspaper. That character was known as the Yellow Kid and appeared in the New York World regularly on March 2^nd, 1895.

Richard F Outcault's had previously been drawing a comic known as “Hogan's Alley” for Truth Magazine. It was actually his “Fourth Ward Brownies”, published on February 9, 1895 and later reprinted in the New York World February 17^th, which began one of the first comic strips in an American newspaper. The character of the Yellow Kid was at first incidental to the strip but in short order he became the focus of the entire strip, which even took his name. His balloons containing the dialogue were not the first to do so; they had long been in use for political cartoons; but his use of them in this manner set the stage for every strip that came after.

The Yellow Kid was emblematic of the slum kid; the child of parents who worked long hours in factories; leaving the children to fend for themselves. In a 1902 interview Outcault is quoted as saying, “The Yellow Kid was not an individual but a type. When I used to go about the slums on newspaper assignments I would encounter him often, wandering out of doorways or sitting down on dirty doorsteps. I always loved the Kid. He had a sweet character and a sunny disposition, and was generous to a fault. Malice, envy or selfishness were not traits of his, and he never lost his temper.”

The Yellow Kid had a name; Mickey Dugan. He was bald just as many of the children in the slums were due to the prevalence of lice and the lack of adequate bathing facilities. Most of the apartments of the time had nothing but a sink to wash in, with a toilet down the hall or in the backyard. 

Drawing the Yellow Kid in such a manner drew attention to the dire poverty which so many of the children grew up in at the turn of the 20^th Century. His shirt was meant to depict an old hand me down night shirt, which was at first drawn in white or blue. At first the dialogue was printed on the Kid’s shirt as a way of making fun of the myriad “sandwich board” advertisers of the time, but soon this gave way to the more popular dialogue balloons.

Outcault was eventually lured away from the World and went to work for Hearst’s Journal American at a much higher salary. His time at the Journal was marked by a shift in the character from the hapless victim to a more activist; and some say vulgar; character. Hey, he was working for Hearst, right?

The Yellow Kid was never copyrighted by Outcault and so Pulitzer was still able to run the comic in the World; which meant that Outcault was competing with his own character for about a year; from 1896-1897; when the strip appeared in both papers.

The only mention I have seen of the Yellow Kid was in Monday’s paper in the comic strip "Mother Gooses and Grimm"; which I usually skip. It was only the familiar profile of Dick Tracy which drew my attention to the strip. It was the only one that gave a nod to its roots in the work of R.F. Outcault and the adventures of the Yellow Kid. As a result I will be looking at this strip more regularly in the future.

Ike Turner, Rocket 88 and the Invention of Rock and Roll (1951)

It was March 3, 1951 when Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats; featuring Ike Turner on lead guitar; recorded what many believe to be the first real “rock and roll” record; “Rocket 88”. But, that’s like saying Chuck Berry invented the guitar break when he did his bit on “Maybelline.”

So many people had a hand in developing rock and roll; each one taking a little piece from here and there; that it would be just about impossible to credit any one individual with the feat of creating the genre. I think that’s true of all art. Shakespeare refined it; but the play had been around previous to his efforts. He just took it in a new direction.

But it would be hard to ignore the influence that this one record had; and continues to have; on music fans all over the world. It ranks alongside of “Rock Island Line” by Lonnie Donnegan as one of the rare records which influenced many future rock and rollers to buy that first guitar and learn to play.

I saw Ike Turner with Tina in Central Park back in the early 1970’s. It was one of the Schaefer Beer Festival concerts. They were always lively affairs. Between the excitement of the concert itself, along with the people trading acid and weed; which sometimes included me; plus the actual beer vendors, the crowd was; to put it mildly; very loose.

And the police were always on hand to guard “the rock” which overlooked the Wolman Skating Rink and offered a very clear; and free; view of the concert form the side of the stage. So, there was always kind of a friction between the police; who were trying their best to get the people off the rock in a civilized manner. But sometimes; depending on the combination of beer, acid and weed; this did not go smoothly. But it was all part of the attraction for these concerts.

 

Then there was the night I saw Ike and Tina Turner and someone tried to get up on stage to get to the Ikettes; the scantily clad New Orleans looking backing group known for their modest way of dressing. Ike saw the guy get past the security and climb up the stage front; then, between chords he managed to get his Stratocaster off and using the neck just bashed this guy in the head. The guy went down and Ike missed nary a note.

I think Keith Richards learned some of his moves from Ike. He had the same problem at a concert in Europe and did the same thing. By the way, Ike Turner was one of the opening acts for the Stones at the Garden in 1969. In his book, “Life”, Richards describes Ike pulling him into his dressing room at knife point; demanding to be shown “That 5 string open tuning shit.” Richards says it took him 45 minutes to get it down. The next Ike and Tina Turner album was done all in 5 string open tuning.

Anyway, whether or not you consider this recording to be the first actual rock and roll recording; or not; it’s one fine record and definitely a step ahead of all that followed.

"I'm Still Standing" by Shoshana Johnson (2010)

In this well constructed memoir Shoshana Johnson recounts her ordeal as an Iraqi Prisoner of War in the early days of the fighting to topple Saddam Hussein. If I countenance the book as unusual it is only because it is only in the past few years that women have been involved in combat roles in our military. This may be the first memoir I have read about combat which was written by an American woman-soldier. I don’t know why this book did not garner more attention at the time it was released.

Perhaps; and I offer this with a bit of cynicism, although there is some truth to it; we were all too wrapped up in the story about Jessica Lynch; the pretty blond white woman who was in the same convoy as Ms. Johnson.  If you recall she was the first captive rescued and has had books, movies and television specials lauding her courage under fire. The initial reports claimed that she fired her M-16 until it was out of ammo were later proved to be incorrect.

Much to her credit is the fact that she testified before Congress in 2007 that in actuality she never fired her weapon; which jammed at about the same time she was knocked unconscious. When asked about all the media hype that stated otherwise she responded by saying, "That wasn't me. I'm not about to take credit for something I didn't do. I'm just a survivor."

I could not go on to review this book without noting the inequity in the media coverage of the two women. And I can’t help but notice that when a white woman goes missing the word goes out a lot quicker than for an African-American one. It’s sad; but unfortunately true. I don’t know whether to blame the media or society itself; I can only note the difference. Now; on to the book.

This was a pleasure to read. It was written with alternating chapters; one would take place in Iraq; and then the next goes back to her childhood. There are chapters on her schooling; her decision to join the Army; and what it is like to be a woman in the Army. And of course, the clincher here is her account of how she was treated at the hands of her captors in a Muslim country. Surprisingly, they weren’t treated too harshly; although being locked in a cell all day could hardly be called humane.

The captives were given medicine for their wounds, as well as surgery in Ms. Johnson’s case. She had sustained serious wounds to both legs; leaving her at the mercy of her captors in matters like using the toilet, etc. Of all the POW accounts I have read, this may be one of the most interesting in respect to the treatment of women POW’s; which is a new thing for Americans.

Her description of the debacle which brought them under fire to begin with is interesting. Had they gone around the town where they were ambushed; rather than through it; the attack may not have occurred.   Also of interest is how the communications equipment did not function at all. The constant jamming of the M-16’s; which are designed for close range jungle fighting, and also urban warfare; were ill equipped to deal with both the distances involved in desert fighting, as well as the problem with sand jamming the weapon.

Having been in the service I can tell you that it is elementary knowledge that sand is a problem. Remember the attempted rescue of the Iranian hostages in the late 1970’s? It was either 1979 or 1980. But the point is that the helicopter which malfunctioned during refueling in the desert went down for lack of a burlap sack to act as  a filter for the sand entering the engine intakes. Sometimes the command decisions just don’t add up.

The book goes on to describe Ms. Johnson’s rehabilitation upon her return to the states via Germany; a place she was once an “Army brat” while growing up. Her father; a Panamanian immigrant to the United States was a career soldier I the U.S. Army; as is the author’s sister.

This book is an interesting and informative narrative of what it is like to be on the front lines of the war on terror as a soldier; a minority; and as a woman. The special needs of the woman soldier; leaving children behind, and more; are mind boggling. You can’t read this book without developing admiration for Ms. Johnson, and all the rest who serve.  Whether you agree with mission or not, people such as Ms. Johnson are highly motivated in their desire to defend the freedoms which we take for granted. 

"The Sea Wolf" with Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield and Ida Lupino (1941)

I can hardly believe that I have never reviewed this film here before. It’s one of my favorite books; as well as films; so you would think that I’d have reviewed it in the 6 years I have been doing this. But I haven’t. Well, no time like the present, so here goes.

In this film adaptation of the novel by Jack London, 'Wolf' Larsen; played by Edward G. Robinson; is the skipper of the ill-fated vessel “The Ghost”. With a fiery reputation as a hard and cruel man, Larsen doesn’t have an easy time in keeping a crew.  He resorts to “shanghaiing” unsuspecting prospects at the local waterfront bars. When his men try to do this to George Leach; played by John Garfield ; they are surprised to find him a willing recruit. He is on the run from the police in San Francisco, where this story begins at the turn of the 20^th century.

At the same time as these events are unfolding in a seedy bar, Ruth Brewster; played by Ida Lupino; is on a ferry in the Bay, surrounded by dense fog. A fellow passenger, Humphrey Van Weyden; played by Alexander Knox; is also aboard. The two are unacquainted with one another and so Van Weyden is surprised when Ruth snuggles up to him as two detectives are searching the ferry for a runaway prisoner. It is easy for Van Weyden to figure out she is the person the two detectives are seeking, but just as he is about to give her up the ferry is rammed by a ship and sinks.

Van Weyden and Brewster are picked up by a ship which is outbound for a long voyage to the seal grounds in search of skins. At least that is the story they are told. Van Weyden demands that he and Ms. Brewster be taken back to San Francisco, but the Captain considers this to be a waste of his time. He informs them that they are aboard for the duration.

As the two begin to know the ship and the Captain better they realize that they are in the grips of a mad man. Larsen discovers that Brewster is not the lady she pretends to be and mocks her for it. He correctly sizes Van Weyden up as a man who has never made a living with his hands and begins a deadly game of intellectual “one up man ship” with the hapless man.

The basic premise held by Larsen is that “might makes right”; and that only the strong survive, at the expense of the weak. To Larsen the two castaways are merely prey to be toyed with while he decides their fate. And why shouldn’t he? They are weak and he is strong; isn’t that the natural order of things?

As the relationship between the Captain and Van Weyden grows; so do the stakes at hand rise. Noticing that the Captain has a library stocked with the greatest literature ever written he decides to challenge the Captain in his beliefs. They use Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” to test one another’s beliefs.

While this is happening the crew learns that this voyage is not about seal hunting at all. It is, instead, a voyage of revenge. Captain Larsen has a brother who is also a Captain on a sealing vessel, and that brother intends to kill him; unless Larsen gets him first. But he has an Achilles Heel which only Van Weyden knows about; the Captain has a tumor of the brain which causes him blinding headaches. He has been able to keep this from the crew, but Van Weyden figures it out and uses this as a weapon against the Captain.

Meantime, a relationship has formed between Ms. Brewster and George Leach; arising no doubt out of the fact that they are both running from the law, as well as trying to escape the hell of the world inhabited; and controlled; by Wolf Larsen.

There are two characters worthy of note among the crew, as they represent two very different things. Pure evil is of course represented by Larsen himself; but he has a companion in his dark ways in the form of the ship’s Cook; known as “Cooky” and played expertly by Barry Fitzgerald. The other character is the ship’s Dr. Prescott; played by Gene Lockhart; a hopeless drunk who is constantly hounded by the crew and the Captain. He plays the part of innocence to the more aggressive part of Van Wyden as passively good. 

But true innocence is actually represented here by the relationship between Leach and Brewster, who; even as convicts on the run; never have the ill intentions of either Larsen or the manipulative qualities of Van Weyden. Their motives are pure.

When all is said and done in this wonderful adaptation of the novel, Wolf Larsen is proven to be correct when he says that everyone; when necessary; will resort to whatever is necessary to survive. When the choice is life or death, morals go by the wayside. And, inadvertently, Van Weyden proves him to be correct.

If you have never read the book you should. Next to “Moby Dick” by Melville, this book stands as a monument to the ever present battle between good and evil. And although the film adds two characters who were not in the original novel; the presence  of Leach and Brewster serves as a gentle counterbalance to the black and white struggle between good and evil.