#across the bridge

[eli-void]

The Tiny is back on spotify!!! I now need nothing i will just lie down and listen

[what-even-is-sleep]

Could apply to be a paid intern for the prestigious museum archives near me but the bridge toll raised and it’d be 14 dollars to get there and back a day + traffic and parking 😭

[shiningwizard]

Across the Bridge (Ken Anakin, 1957)

Who knew one of the best Mexico/USA border noirs was British made? A none-too-pleasant wealthy cutthroat opportunist cuts all throats to get across that bridge and out of jurisdiction of an embezzlement crime. And it gets hideously complicated from there. Complications that tilt both sides on the level of humanity he’s able to shun or muster. Great on most fronts. I’ll list some. The camera work, especially closeups. The web it weaves narratively. Rod Steiger’s performance

[afrotumble]

Beenie Man - Across The Bridge - RMR Records Jamaica #shorts #danc...

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

A BRIDGE TOO NOIR

This past weekend Your Humble Narrator made his way west to attend the 25th annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival at the Camelot Theatre in Palm Springs, California.

As in past years, the fest offered a slate of black-and-white crime films from the '40s and '50s. Also as in past years, some of them inevitably strained the definition of noir; this year's schedule included a Sherlock Holmes movie, 1944's The Scarlet Claw, and a Western, Day of the Outlaw (1959). But so what? The definition of noir as a genre is nebulous anyway. The point is that the chance to see cool old flicks like these on a movie screen doesn't come along every day. For sheer entertainment, this may be the most reliably enjoyable film festival in the country.

Also on the schedule were such familiar entries as the John Garfield boxing drama Body and Soul (1947), Anthony Mann's outstanding and still relevant 1949 immigration thriller Border Incident, with George Murphy and Ricardo Montalban, and the hard-boiled thrillers Dead Reckoning (1947) and The Enforcer (1951), both starring noir king Humphrey Bogart. But some of us are most likely to be drawn to the relative obscurities.

This year, for instance, brought the opportunity to see No Man of Her Own (1950). In his onstage introduction to the film at the Camelot, TCM Noir Alley host Eddie Muller repeatedly referred to star Barbara Stanwyck as "the greatest actress in movie history." I'd certainly put her in the top five, anyway, and she's in fine, intense form in this adaptation of the classic Cornell Woolrich novel I Married a Dead Man (originally published under his pseudonym, William Irish).

She plays the heck out of a down-on-her-luck pregnant woman who, through circumstances generously described as coincidental, is able to pass herself off as the new daughter-in-law of a wealthy couple whose son has just died. Despite the obvious absurdities of the plot, the film is engrossing and even moving because of Stanwyck's impassioned star performance, and a fine supporting cast including John Lund, Jane Cowl, Phyllis Thaxter, Richard Denning, Milburn Stone, Carole Matthews as no-nonsense femme fatale and Lyle Bettger in a despicable turn as Stanwyck's sneering blackmailer.

The movie also had, for me, a madeleine of Proustian remembrance: Though I hadn't thought about it in years, the scene in which Stanwyck and Thaxter are upended in a train crash came back to me from childhood with the vividness of an acid flashback. I don't think I saw any of the rest of it back then, but that tidbit had been waiting in the memory banks to be revived for at least half a century.

Other gems this year included Escape in the Fog (1945), with the adorable young Nina Foch dodging Axis spies in San Francisco, and the compelling Southern thriller Woman in Hiding, from 1950.

The woman in question is Ida Lupino, who realizes she's made a major mistake marrying creepy Stephen McNally before the honeymoon even starts. Lupino's delicate beauty contrasts with her gutsy, heartfelt spirit, and director Michael Gordon manages a Hitchcock-worthy sequence set in the stairwell of a hotel. The cast includes, along with Lupino's real-life husband Howard Duff, a bit role by Joe Besser, a later-vintage replacement member of the Three Stooges.

But maybe the real oddity of the schedule was Across the Bridge (1957), a British feature based on a Graham Greene short story and starring a mannered and sweaty Rod Steiger--with a German accent, no less!--as a short-fused white-collar criminal dodging extradition in a Mexican border town. On his way south he's thrown another man, who he resembles, off the train and stolen his passport, but he ends up with this guy's soulful-faced spaniel, Delores, dogging his footsteps (sorry) and gazing reproachfully up at him.

Directed by Ken Annakin, Across the Bridge was shown in Palm Springs in a fairly crappy digital copy, but the presenter assured us that they're working to get it properly restored. I hope they succeed. It's just about the most Graham Greene-ish thing ever, full of moral limbo south of the border and Mexican women wearing prominent crucifixes. And of course it's via "Delores" (suffering) that Steiger's rotten fugitive finds a fateful sort of redemption. In terms of performance, by the way, even full-tilt Stieger is no match for the beautiful Delores, who steals the movie like a dropped potato chip.

[bitchfitch]

Hey I just realized I don't think I know any American irl who doesn't have an immigrant ancestor within living memory and want to see if that's a me thing or just an average situation

[dark-elf-writes]

There had to be at least one camper pre lightning thief that just fucking hated Luke but could never explain why so when it was revealed that he was a traitor there was a solid three seconds of “I fucking knew it” before the fear of Percy’s imminent death overcame their satisfaction.

[discordiansamba]

there's a boy standing in the garden.

iroh doesn't recognize him. he's probably a good ten years older than iroh. he's not dressed like one of the servants, and he certainly isn't dressed like a visiting noble. it's an unusually cold winter this year, and the boy is clad in the kind of parka he's only seen worn by the water tribes- but he's clearly not tribe. his features are too fire nation for that- even marred as they are by an ugly burn scar on the left half of his face. he's staring at the turtleduck pond, as if transfixed by it.

"...hello?"

iroh isn't sure why he calls out to him, but he does. the strange boy looks up, and blinks at the sight of him.

"hello," he says, "-are you iroh?"

iroh frowns, but slowly nods his head. he doesn't call him a prince. it's beyond rude. the boy just faintly smiles and introduces himself as zuko. iroh has heard that name before. his father had a brother who disappeared at the start of the war with that name. iroh has seen portraits of him before...

...they look like unscarred versions of the stranger.

"...who are you?" iroh asks.

"believe it or not," zuko says, "-i'm your uncle."

iroh blinks. he almost doesn't believe it. but his mother has always said he's more attuned to the spirit world than most. if he squints, he can feel something different about zuko- like he's not quite bound to the mortal world the same way everyone else is.

his uncle invites him to come feed the turtleducks with him. iroh hesitantly joins him. he tells him this used to be his favorite spot in the palace, and that he's glad it's still here. with an impish smile on his face, he tells him a story of how a mother turtleduck had chased azulon through the garden after he'd accidentally gotten carried away with firebending practice, and bent too close to the pond.

iroh laughs. he can't even imagine his stern father acting in such a way.

his uncle asks him if he's a firebender, and iroh nods. he just started bending last year, in the summer. his father said it was a very good sign- that he would be a strong bender. zuko asks if he'll show him what he's learning- away from the pond, of course. iroh nods and is happy to. he goes through his forms, only stumbling once or twice.

zuko tilts his head once he's done, and asks if he'd like to learn a thing or two from him. he says he's not nearly as strong as his father, but he's spent a lot of time with the dragons lately, so he's picked up a thing or two from them. iroh's eyes are practically glittering when he says that. of course he would!

the firebending forms his uncle shows him are like nothing iroh has seen before. he's fascinated. he imitates them the best he can, and his uncle smiles and pats him on the head as he praises him. it's far more warm than father's own praise.

eventually, his nanny comes and finds him. he starts to tell her about zuko, but when he looks back, his uncle is gone.

his father is not happy when he tells him about uncle's visit.

"you are not to speak to him again," azulon instructs, "-my brother is a traitor."

(iroh does anyways. he's always had a bit of a rebellious streak.)

[sceebybeeby]

⚠️AA3/T&T spoilers⚠️

i've been feeling artistically bankrupt recently so here's another redraw from 2021

[faunandfloraas]

Eternity, Bang Chan - 2024 // Eternity, Arthur Stace - 1932 to 1966.

In 1932, residents all over the city of Sydney started noticing something interesting, the word “Eternity” written on the pavement or wall, over and over again. The word was seemingly written by the same person each time, in a beautiful copperplate script. The mystifying and intriguing presence of graffiti before graffiti was commonplace had Sydney residents pondering who this "Eternity man" could be. In 1956, the mystery was solved- Arthur Stace, a former soldier and alcoholic, turned man of faith, had inscribed the word over Sydney's suburbs more than half a million times between 1932 and 1966. He chose to write the word in the early hours of the morning, when few people were around, managing to keep his identity a secret for over 20 years. Something about the word eternity, written in fleeting chalk on the ever-changing city streets, seemed to compel locals- Newspaper writers published account after account speculating on the identity of this unknown man and the occasional false confession helped to maintain the air of wonder and mystery that surrounded the anonymous "Eternity man". Even after his identity had been revealed, Mr. Eternity, as he came to be dubbed, continued writing his eponymous "Eternity" across the walkways and walls of Sydney for another decade, becoming a beloved character in the city until his passing at the age of 82, in 1967. Now, nearly 60 years after the final "Eternity" by Arthur Stace was written, his message of eternity still manages to permeate the minds of Sydneysiders- becoming a representative word of the city.

[neolithicsheep]

Got evacuated due to the Bridge Fire. Got the pets, electronics, meds, and vital docs. Didn't have time or resources to get the sheep out. They are safe and have food and water as long as the wind remains favorable until the firefighters get things under control. That northwest wind is my best friend right now.

I made a couple zines, one about my first anniversary on the ranch and one about being evacuated, which you can buy to help with evacuation expenses:

[pigdemonart]

The Hero of Hyrule

Little sketch of Linky while trying to scratch the TOTK itch,,

Patreon | Ko-Fi

[coyle-and-co]

anyone else get very paternal feelings towards Franco or am i going crazy. Like yeah he’s fucked up and evil but i’m a sucker for characters with terrible dads, i wanna give him a hug or something <\3

[grilde1chesse]

fictional men make me understand the old movie trope of “gentlemen” putting their expensive ass jackets over a puddle just so a girl wouldn’t have to inconvenience herself by stepping around it

[darkwood-sleddog]

Too hot to mush, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t on the trail for miles and miles.

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - The Land of Departure