Charles Dickens, Pulp Fiction and Mickey Spillane

There have been many great books written throughout the centuries. Some of them begin with paragraphs that have become immortalized, as with Charles Dickens opening to "The Tale of Two Cities". It is a lyrical portrait of the age in which it was written. And, of course, it is still applicable today.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

I have always been highly cognizant of the first page of whatever I am planning to read. It sets the tone for the rest of the book. And sometimes, as with Dickens, the opening paragraph speaks to an enduring human condition.

I'm kind of taking a day off, but wanted to share with you one of the best opening paragraphs to a mystery that I have ever read. It is the opening page to Mickey Spillane's 2nd book, the 1950 bestseller "My Gun Is Quick." This is the book that got me yelled at in 4th grade. And here I am, 46 years later, still in awe of this runaway paragraph. With it's inattention to punctuation notwithstanding, it is still, to me, one of the most powerful openings of any mystery that I have ever read. And the rest of the book isn't bad either!

From "My Gun Is Quick" by Mickey Spillane (Page 1)

"When you sit at home comfortably folded up in a chair beside a fire, have you ever thought what goes on outside there? Probably not. You pick up a book and read about things and stuff, getting a vicarious kick from people and events that never happened. You're doing it now, getting ready to fill in a normal life with the details of someone else's experiences. Fun, isn't it? You read about life on the outside thinking about how maybe you'd like it to happen to you, or at least how you'd like to watch it. Even the old Romans did it, spiced their life with action when they sat in the Coliseum and watched wild animals rip a bunch of humans apart, reveling in the sight of blood and terror. They screamed for joy and slapped each other on the back when murderous claws tore into the live flesh of slaves and cheered when the kill was made. Oh, it's great to watch, all right. Life through a keyhole. But day after day goes by and nothing like that ever happens to you so you think that it's all in books and not in reality at all and that's that. Still good reading, though. Tomorrow night you'll find another book, forgetting what was in the last and live some more in your imagination. But remember this: there are things happening out there. They go on every day and night making Roman holidays look like school picnics. They go on right under your very nose and you never know about them. Oh yes, you can find them all right. All you have to do is look for them. But I wouldn't if I were you because you won't like what you'll find. Then again, I'm not you and looking for those things is my job. They aren't nice things to see because they show people up for what they are. There isn't a coliseum any more, but the city is a bigger bowl, and it seats more people. The razor-sharp claws aren't those of wild animals but man's can be just as sharp and twice as vicious. You have to be quick, and you have to be able, or you become one of the devoured, and if you can kill first, no matter how and no matter who, you can live and return to the comfortable chair and the comfortable fire. But you have to be quick. And able. Or you'll be dead."

Happy Birthday John Lennon -"C'est La Vie"

Today would be John Lennon’s 74^th birthday. Instead of some weepy tribute thing; or even a Beatles clip; I thought I would run something really cool by the man of whom John Lennon once said, “If you were to try and give Rock and Roll another name it might be called Chuck Berry.” He said that the week he was guest hosting the Mike Douglas Show from Philadelphia with Yoko Ono. Besides; having been born on October 18th; he's a fellow Libra, along with me. So, I figured John would enjoy this performance of one of Mr. Berry’s signature hits “C’est La Vie.” It was recorded in Germany at the Beat Club in Bremen during the 1972 tour.

Now, everybody knows this song but most people have never heard this version. The clarity and the relaxed way in which he handles his guitar make it a rare treat. Most of us are used to the faster paced version which became a hit for Mr. Berry and quite a few other artists. The song is even associated with Uma Thurman and John Travolta in the film “Pulp Fiction.” And Emily Lou Harris had a smash hit with it as well.

But this version tops any which I have heard over the years. The guitar weaving; done by Chuck solo; is creative and varied. He hints at his usual riffs but strays from them in a relaxed and less frenetic fashion than usual. Accompanied by Mike Snow on piano; Jimmy Campbell on guitar; Billy Kinsley on bass; and Dave Harrison on drums; this may be the best band he ever toured with during this period of time. He even has fun with the lyrics, describing the Refrigerator as a "Koolerader". (Something you put Kool-Aide in to make it cold.) If you have ever read his autobiography you already know that he loves to play with words.

His usual practice at the time was to pick up a local amateur band to back him in different towns as he toured the United States. Maybe because this was a European tour he took along one American band for the entire duration. The benefits of performing with the same group of musicians on a regular basis cannot be underestimated. And the results really show in this performance.

For a link to the Rooftop Review of Chuck Berry's 1987 memoir "The Autobiography", go here;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-autobiography-by-chuck-berry-1987.html

"The Bagman" with John Cusak and Robert DeNiro (2013)

This is one strange movie! A man named Jack, played by John Cusak, is hired by a man named Dragna, who is played by Robert DeNiro, to pick up a bag and bring it to him at a later date and location. No matter what happens during this assignment, he is not to look inside of the bag or even inquire as to its contents. He is to be paid a large sum of money for this, money which he desperately needs.

From the opening scene in which Dragna contracts with Jack to take the assignment, the film abruptly leaps to Jack already having the bag and waiting to meet Dragna at a run-down motel. The cast of characters there include a blue wigged hooker, a midget, and a pimp. The manager of the motel is in a wheelchair; his mother’s. And the local police are decidedly uninviting.

The hooker, Rivka, played by Rebecca DeCosta, has some sort of problem with her pimp and ends up taking refuge in Jack’s room. It is implied that she has looked into the bag when Jack was out of the room. She, of course, denies having done so. The two wind up being unlikely accomplices as the film progresses and Jack waits for the elusive and mysterious Dragna to show up with his money.

The film ends on a strange note and I will not ruin that for you. I will say this; I am getting a bit tired of films which seem to revolve around a mysterious bag or briefcase with something inside that can never be disclosed. This was the signature hook in “Pulp Fiction” and it worked well in that film.

But since that time we have been deluged with films such as this one, which contain a requisite cast of odd characters and something which cannot be opened.  In some films they even let you know what the package contained; the last one I saw used a head. Hey, who knows, that might have made this film work. 

"Violet and Daisy" with James Gandolfini and Alexis Biedel (2013)

In the grand tradition of movies such as “Snatch” and “Pulp Fiction” this film ranks among the best. With a bit of satire and plenty of sharp tongue in cheek wit, two young hit women; Violet, played by Alexis Biedel; and Daisy, played by Saoirse Ronan; decide to take on one more job before beginning a long overdue vacation.

But when their mutual idol; Barbie Sunday; releases a new fashion line the two women decide to take on the job they initially refused, all in order to buy themselves two new dresses. What happens next defies all logic yet somehow seems as if it could really happen that way. Well, maybe.

When the girls arrive to make their hit, they find the intended target all too willing to meet his fate. This intrigues them and they are hooked on finding out why. Of course this humanizes the target, played by James Gandolfini, making it all that much harder to kill him.

To complicate matters even more, there is another hit team on the way to kill him for another transgression. While Violet goes to get more ammunition to kill him with, Daisy is left with the target and finds that he has terminal cancer. This sort of explains why he is so eager to die, but it also serves to make the girls feel sorry for him.

Through a strange sequence of events Violet ends up killing the other hit team, who are also rivals who may have sexually assaulted her in the past. But still, amidst all of the killing, James Gandolfini’s character; who is a mysterious loner- I don’t recall him having a name; is still not dead.

As time moves on the people who have paid to have him killed look to Violet and Daisy for answers as to why he is not dead. What will they tell him? Will they tell him? Or do they have something up their sleeves that will spare the target and still enable them to get the coveted Barbie Sunday dresses?

Geoffrey Fletcher; the director of “Precious”, wrote and directed this offbeat comedy about offbeat people in an offbeat world. Don’t miss it.

"The Unknown Love" by Raymond Chandler (1908)

We all know and love Raymond Chandler for his hard-boiled detective novels, featuring Philip Marlow, as well as his other “pulp fiction” type stories; and also his screenplays; for films like “Double Indemnity” and "The Big Sleep." But what I didn't know was that he once wrote poetry. He was only 17 when he wrote this one, which was published on December 19, 1908 in Chamber’s Journal, a magazine out of London at the time.

I was reading a biography of Mr. Chandler by Tom Williams (no relation) when I came across the first verse of the poem in the chapter about Mr. Chandler’s years in London. He went to school there for a time, and evidently wrote poetry as well.

This poem places an unknown woman on a pedestal, much as he would do in his later writings. Actually; according to Tom Williams; the poem holds all the elements of a Philip Marlowe story. There is a seductive, almost unknowable woman, and then a man, seemingly trapped by his own passion for her, in a relationship which is always doomed from the start. That’s pretty heavy stuff for a 17 year old.

Anyway, here it is; a Raymond Chandler poem. I got the text from a website which has all of his early poetry. It’s unpolished, and some would say not that good. No matter; I really like it.

“The Unknown Love”

When the evening sun is slanting,

When the crickets raise their chanting,

And the dewdrops lie a-twinkling on the grass,

As I climb the pathway slowly,

With a mien half proud, half lowly,

O'er the ground your feet have trod I gently pass.

Round the empty house I wander,

Where the ivy now is fonder

Of your memory than those long gone away;

And I feel a sweet affection

For the plant that lends protection

To the window whence you looked on me that day.

Was it love or recognition,

When you stormed my weak position

And made prisoner my heart for evermore?

For I felt I long had known you,

That I'd knelt before the throne you

Graced in Pharaoh's days or centuries before.

Though your face from me was hidden,

Yet the balm was not forbidden

On your coffin just to see the wreath I sent.

Though no word had passed between us,

Yet I felt that God had seen us

And had joined your heart to mine e'en as you went.

Let them talk of love and marriage,

Honeymoon and bridal carriage,

And the glitter of a wedding   la mode!

Could they understand the union

Of two hearts in dear communion

Who were strangers in the world of flesh and blood?

In my eyes the tears are welling

As I stand before your dwelling,

In my pilgrimage to where you lived, my fair.

And ere I return to duty

In this world of weary beauty,

To the stillness of the night I breathe my prayer:

When the last great trump has sounded,

When life's barque the point has rounded,

When the wheel of human progress is at rest,

My beloved, may I meet you,

With a lover's kiss to greet you,

Where you wait me in the gardens of the blest!

R. T. CHANDLER.

"Catch .44" with Bruce Willis and Forest Whitaker (2011)

In this multi-layered thriller by writer/director Aaron Harvey, he heas taken the best parts of “Pulp Fiction”; with its plot twists and shifts in sequence; and blended it with a bit of Guy Ritches’ “Snatch”; and the result is a wild, enjoyable adventure.

Bruce Willis plays “Mel”, who is a crime boss; while Forest Whitaker plays a hit man in his employ, who is masquerading as a police officer named Ronny. The 3 women; Tes, played by  Malin Akerman, and her two cohorts Kara , played by Nikki Reed, and Dawn  played by Deborah Ann Woll, are also involved someway with Mel; just as Forest Whitaker is. The connection is vague; but clearly there. When Mel has the women go on an “assignment” 40 miles out of New Orleans to intercept a drug shipment and the money, something is clearly not adding up. Is it retribution for something they did wrong? Or, is it just an easy score to help them get back in the swing of things?

The film is dealt out in sequences, which all return to the fateful moment at the beginning of the film, keeping you guessing at what the real story is. Violence and “adult” language are dealt out appropriately; though gratuitously; in this film. This movie does not come near the level of violence of Quentin Tarentino’s “Kill Bill” series, which were way beyond belief to me. It also rises to the level of the Guy Ritchie film in that it challenges the viewer to think outside of the box in order to understand the plot. This is not an Agatha Christie “whodunit” by any means.

Bit by bit it becomes apparent that things have been pre-ordained. But for what purpose? And by whom? Can anyone trust the affable Ronny, or is he just another “shil” for the mysterious Mel? And why is Tes the only one spared from the initial carnage? Does Mel have special plans for her?

A fantastic musical score rounds out this colorful and exciting send up of today’s action films a la “Pulp Fiction”, while doing nothing to detract from that movie. Rather, this film may be the most coherent of the genre to date.

"Out of the Past" with Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Rhonda Fleming (1947)

Robert Mitchum is quiet, but tough, in this thriller set a few hundred miles from Los Angeles in the late 1940's. As a former Private Investigator, Jeff Bailey has a past which he wants to leave behind him. He works at a small town garage with a deaf mute, played by Dickie Moore. Life seems a bit boring, but sometimes boring can be a good thing.  All of that is about to change, however, when a stranger comes to town, summoning Jeff back to his old life, and his former underworld connection, Whit Sterling, played by Kirk Douglas.

Jeff has been seeing a local girl, Ann, played by Virginia Huston, and she knows nothing of his past. Before he leaves town to meet Whit at Lake Tahoe, Jeff calls her and tells her the truth about his past. He had been hired by Whit to find his missing girlfriend Kathie, played by Jane Greer, who has run off with $40,000 of Whit's money. Jeff finds her in Acapulco, but not the money. At the same time that he is trailing her, he falls in love with her. Making their escape from Whit, they hide out in a cabin in the mountains outside of Los Angeles. But a former partner of Jeff's finds them there, launching the pair into a series of double crosses and half truths, which result in his partner's death. When Jeff finds that Kathie does have the $40,000 he leaves her, setting off a chain of events that can have only one conclusion.