"Pocketful of Miracles" with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford (1961)

Here’s a movie which captured my attention; as well as my heart; back when I was about 7 years old. As I grew up I was only ever to catch this one on late night TV reruns; and later on when it was released on VCR I was probably the only one to borrow it from the library. And that’s a shame because this is one fine movie.

From the original story by Damon Runyon (“Guys and Dolls”) to the direction by Frank Capra (too many films to mention) this movie has everything going for it. The acting is excellent, with none of the cast playing their roles “over the top” and chewing up the scenery. Even Peter Falk; who is known for being a bit too much like Peter Falk in all his roles; manages to pull off his role as Joy Boy with just the right mixture of comedy and pathos.

The story centers on the relationship between Apple Annie; played by Bette Davis in one of her finer roles; who is a poor street peddler selling apples on the corner during the Depression. Her best customer is Dave the Dude; a successful gambler played by Glenn Ford in one his most memorable roles; who is superstitious and never does anything without buying an apple from Annie before he does it. He believes in the power of luck, and that luck; as far as he is concerned; comes only from Annie’s apples.

Annie has a secret. The old woman has a daughter, Louise; played by Ann Margret; who lives out of town, where she attended a very prestigious school. Now grown, she is returning to New York City to see her mother, who she has not seen since she was a little girl. She believes her mother to a wealthy socialite named Mrs. E. Worthington Manville. She believes this because her mother has been writing her letters to this effect for many years. So, while Louise is excited, Annie is completely unhinged. Her daughter knows nothing about her mother’s real circumstances in general; let alone that she has been reduced to peddling apples in the street.

Annie has been conducting this ruse by obtaining stationary from the fancy hotel where she claims to be living. She uses that stationary to write the letters to her daughter and reinforce the fantasy of her life as a rich woman. But now that the gig is up Annie is terrified that her lies are about to be revealed. This is more than she can bear.

When Dave the Dude becomes aware of the problem he does what he does best. He’s a gambler after all; so he takes the long odds and with the urging of his girlfriend Queenie Martin; played by Hope Lang; he decides to help Annie. With Queenie coaching Annie on the refinements of being a socialite, Dave arranges for all their other friends to pitch in on the effort to save Annie’s reputation.

Pool hustler "Judge" Henry G. Blake ; played by Thomas Mitchell;  poses as Annie's husband. Dave also arranges for Annie and the Judge to occupy an out-of-town friend's hotel suite. Even the man’s butler, Hudgins; played by veteran character actor Edward Everett Horton; gets involved.

Dave, meanwhile, is having his own problems postponing a very important “meeting” with some very important “people”.  The whole film is pure Frank Capra as the two plots unfold and you are left wondering how all this will work itself out in the end. But it’s a Frank Capra film and everybody winds up being exactly where they should be. And along the way Dave the Dude learns that true luck; and love; don’t necessarily come from apples.

"August: Osage County" with Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep (2013)

This is a difficult film to watch. It deals with interpersonal relationships in a highly dysfunctional family; which is never an easy topic to tackle in a film, let alone view as entertainment. In this film version of the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tracy Letts, the Weston family comes to terms with the myriad of issues which confront all families. The real question isn’t about the issues; it’s about how we deal with one another concerning them, and the impact from that attempt at interaction.

The Weston’s consist of Violet, played by Meryl Streep, who is the mother afflicted with cancer and is dependent upon the pain relieving drugs she needs to take. Beverley, played by Sam Shepard, is her husband. He is a poet. They have 3 daughters; Barbara, played by Julia Roberts; Karen, played by Juliette Lewis; and Ivy, played by Julianne Nicholson. Rounding out the cast are Violet's sister Minnie, played by Margo Martindale; her husband Charles, played by Chris Cooper; and their son, Little Charles, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The movie is not easy to watch- I had to take a short break midway through; but the plot is fairly simple. When Beverly commits suicide the family comes together; or at least they make an attempt to do so. Violet has a drug problem and Barbara is having difficulties in her marriage. Ivy; who has been the one taking care of their Mom; has a boyfriend nobody knows about, and is about to leave with him for a new life in New York City. Karen brings her fiancée with her, and he is a little bit too interested in one of the sister’s 14 year old daughters.

The friends of the family are also involved, bringing their own set of problems to the table. The only ones who seems to even have it slightly together are Little Charles and also Ivy. They seem to be their own persons and you begin to look at them as the only survivors in this whole mish mash.

The movie is well made, written and acted. But I don’t recommend it as entertainment. It was more of an investment of time. The whole point of the movie seems to be to show how we screw up in dealing with one another as human beings. Families with a chronically ill member are particularly vulnerable to this trap. The dueling emotions brought on by health issues can devastate a family. I speak from experience. This is a great movie but one that will perhaps hit too close to home for some viewers; like me.

"Cold Comes the Night" with Alice Eve and Bryan Cranston (2013)

Riveting is the one word which bests describes this film. Chloe, played by Alice Eve, is a single mother living in a run-down road side motel. Her daughter lives with her. The local DSS wants her to move from the transient hotel or lose custody of her child. She plans on leaving but is trying to save enough money.

The motel doubles as a brothel run by local police officer Billy, played by Logan-Marshall Green. He is corrupt and ruthless. And though he doesn’t know it, he is about to meet his match in TOPO, played by Bryan Cranston. TOPO is a mysterious figure who is passing through town with a driver and a whole lot of cash. When the driver gets involved with one of the local girls at the motel and is killed, TOPO has no one to finish driving him on his mysterious journey.

As TOPO uses Chloe to try and finish the job he was paid to do, she realizes that his eyesight is failing; which is why he had a driver in the first place. Essentially trapped in the motel with no transportation he is forced to use both Chloe and her daughter as his eyes; as well as shields.

When the car TOPO was being driven in is impounded he must use her connections with Officer Billy in an attempt to retrieve the cash hidden in the car. But Billy has gotten to it first. This begins a deadly game of cat and mouse as TOPO looks to get back the cash, along with a bit of revenge.

Tautly directed and tersely written, this film will have you stuck in your seat for the full 90 minutes. Outstanding performances by all make this one a sure fire winner.

Sarah's Cactus - A Living Gift

My daughter, Sarah, brought this spiny looking cactus home from a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina something like 10 years ago. I think the town was called Duck. She was vacationing there with her friend Lindsey, and her family, and decided to dig the cactus up from the sand and take it home to me. Everybody laughed, saying that it would never survive. Ah, but he who laughs last, laughs best.

Every 2 years; like clockwork; this spiny little portion of the original mass which Sarah brought home to me, sprouts the most beautiful yellow blossom. And, for the short time it remains; which is something like a month; it reminds me of the hopes and dreams of children everywhere. And in that space of time, I really do believe that nothing is impossible.

Sometimes referred to as the “Yellow Rose” of Texas, this is what dreams are made of.

The Crustacean and the Bank Incident

Sandwiched, as it is, between Memorial day and the July 4th holiday, is Father's Day. I had completely forgotten about it until last Thursday evening, when Sue and I were eating out. I was looking at the lobsters in the tank at the restaurant while talking on the phone with my daughter Sarah. She asked me what I wanted for Father's day, and, eyeing the lobsters, I made an off handed remark to the effect that I wanted a Crustacean.

Well, you know the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." Yesterday evening Sarah and my son in law, Mike, stopped by to give me a Father's day gift. Imagine my surprise at receiving not one, but two hermit crabs, which are, after all, Crustaceans, though not as filling as lobster. No matter, dinner had passed and I wasn't hungry at the moment.

They came with a ten gallon tank and some shells and coconut fiber for their home. But I'm not really sure what I am going to do with them just yet. I might let them roam about the house freely, as I did with a couple of hermit crabs I bought for our kids at the beach years ago. I took them everywhere, the crabs I mean.

I used to let them roam about the house at will, sometimes not seeing them for weeks at a time. Then, just like kids, they would appear and embarass you at the most unexpected times. Initially people think they are looking at a spider of some sort when they first come out from under the sofa. Accordingly, they freak out a bit. But when I talk to them softly, the crabs calm down almost immediately.

By far the funniest thing I have ever done with a hermit crab involved the bank and the drive thru window. I used to work in Cockeysville, Maryland for an outfit called Anthem. I was the Estimator and also did the banking. At the time I used to carry one, or more, hermit crabs with me, placing them in my jacket pocket unti I needed them to do something. I cannot recall ever actually having used them for anything important, but the bank incident still stands out.

I was making a deposit of some checks to cover payroll and decided to use the drive thru lane rather than go inside the bank. Carefully placing my hermit crab in the carrier of the pneumatic tube, I sent my deposit, along with the crab, on what must have been, for the crab, something akin to a space shot.

"Whoosh", went the tube, sucking the carrier to it's destination inside the bank! The teller, with whom I was well acquainted, spoke into her microphone, "Hello, welcome to B, B and T." Then she opened the carrier and out came the deposit and a seashell. As she was recording the deposit and getting the receipt ready, the shell began to move. There was a slight exclamation of surprise as she realized what was happening, and then uncontrollable laughter as the crab was launched on it's return journey to my car.

So now, thanks to my joking about on the phone, and my daughter's sense of humor, I have two crustaceans roaming about the house. The last ones I had were about 15 years or so ago. I remember that one of them didn't do stairs well, while the other used to go behind the sofa and shrug it's shell off for a bit. I got it an even bigger shell, one with a guest room, but he didn't care for it much and stuck with the older, smaller one until he finally passed away from fright. Sue's parent's had come over with some crabs for a crab feast and I had placed him on the table as a joke. I'm afraid that he didn't get it, and thinking that his end was near, he siezed up and died right on the spot. Though no autopsy was performed, I have always maintained that he died of fright. I could be wrong, he may have simply been allergic to shellfish.