#frank demarest

[letterboxd-loggd]

Red Hot and Blue (Red, Hot and Blue) (1949) John Farrow

May 7th 2023

[byneddiedingo]

Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in What's Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 1972)

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Michael Murphy. Screenplay: Buck Henry, David Newman, Robert Benton, Peter Bogdanovich. Cinematography: László Kovács. Production design: Polly Platt. Film editing: Verna Fields. Music: Artie Butler.

Peter Bodganovich's What's Up, Doc? is a tribute to the masters of screwball comedy,  Howard Hawks and Preston Sturges especially, but also the ones who made worthy contributions like Gregory La Cava, George Stevens, Mitchell Leisen, and Frank Capra. Bogdanovich followed a few of the rules of the genre: One, get stars who usually played it straight to make fools of themselves. Two, make use of as many comic character actors as you can stuff into the film. Three, never pretend that the world the film is taking place in is the "real world." Four, never, ever let the pace slacken -- if your characters have to kiss or confess, make it snappy. On the first point, Bogdanovich found the closest equivalents to Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn (or Clark Gable, Joel McCrea, James Stewart on the one hand, Rosalind Russell, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur on the other) that he could among the stars of his day. Ryan O'Neal was coming off the huge success of the weepy Love Story (Arthur Hiller, 1970) and a five-year run on TV's Peyton Place, and Barbra Streisand had won an Oscar for Funny Girl (William Wyler, 1968). O'Neal is no Cary Grant: His timing is a little off and he overdoes a single exasperated look, but he makes a suitable patsy. But has Streisand ever been more likable in the movies? She plays the dizzy troublemaker with relish, capturing the essence of Bugs Bunny -- the other inspiration for the movie -- to the point that you almost expect her to turn to the camera and say, "Ain't I a stinker?" As to the second point, we no longer have character actors of the caliber of Eugene Pallette, Franklin Pangborn, or William Demarest, but Bogdanovich recruited some of the best of his day: Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Michael Murphy, and others, and introduced moviegoers to the sublime Madeline Kahn. And he set it all in the ever-picturesque San Francisco, while making sure no one would confuse the movie version with the real thing, including a chase sequence up and down its hills that follows no possible real-world path. And he kept the pace up with gags involving bit players: the pizza maker so distracted by Streisand that he spins his dough up to the ceiling, the banner-hanger and the guys moving a sheet of glass, the waiter who enters a room with a tray of drinks but takes one look at the chaos there and turns right around, the guy laying a cement sidewalk that's run over so many times by the car chase that he flings down his trowel and jumps up and down on his mutilated handiwork. This is comic gold of a sort we don't often see -- and, sadly, never saw again from Bogdanovich, whose career collapsed disastrously with a string of flops in the mid-1970s.  

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 6.5 / 10

Título Original: Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For 

Año: 2014

Duración: 102 min

País: Estados Unidos

Dirección: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller

Guion: Frank Miller Cómic: Frank Miller

Música: Robert Rodriguez, Carl Thiel

Fotografía: Robert Rodriguez (B&W)

Reparto: Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, etc

Productora: The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films, Aldamisa Entertainment, Demarest Films, Miramax, Solipsist Film, Troublemaker Studios

Género: Action; Crime; Thriller

TRAILER:

[rocklandhistoryblog]

The new episode of Crossroads of Rockland History is streaming now!

Listen here:

Broadcast originally aired 10/16/23.

Frank Eberling and his brother Ray Eberling, New City natives, joined host Clare Sheridan for a discussion about the early days of New City and the wagon that their grand father used to carry mail on New City’s Rural Free Delivery routes at the turn of the 20th century.

Since the 1970s, when it was donated to our collection by the late Dr. Anthony Pavia, D.C., of New City, the HSRC has had in our possession this horse-drawn wagon. Ray and Frank are now working with the HSRC to restore it for display at the History Center in New City.

About the guests: Ray Eberling is a retired US Air Force lieutenant-colonel who holds a master’s in American studies from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and has volunteered for many years with the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. Frank Eberling has been a filmmaker in South Florida for fifty years, producing more than 3,000 film and television broadcast projects as producer, writer, director, or cinematographer. He is also the author of the New City-based mystery novels Low Tor, Demarest Kill, and Jimmy Van Meter’s Last Refrain.

Ray and Frank Eberling will be visiting the HSRC with a presentation on this project: “The Eberling Mail Wagon: Rural Free Delivery in New City in the Early 20th Century,” on Thursday, October 26, 2023, 7 pm, at the Historical Society of Rockland County. Admission is $FREE, but reservations are required. Donations toward restoration of the mail wagon are gratefully accepted.

For details and ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-eberling-mail-wagon-rural-free-delivery-in-new-city-tickets-706048328557?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios

Frank Eberling will also be appearing at the New City Library on Monday, October 23, 7 pm, to speak about New City-inspired fiction. This is an in-person and virtual presentation. Reserve your spot for that event at link below

https://newcity.librarycalendar.com.

***

If you aren’t local, you can still listen to Crossroads of Rockland History by downloading the TuneIn radio app and searching for WRCR. After the broadcast, the program can be streamed as a podcast on all major podcast platforms.

#newcity #localhistory #eberling #usps #mailwagon

[character-actor-tournament]

Round 1 Results

Jesse White vs Joe Besser

Ed Wynn vs Broderick Crawford

Halliwell Hobbes vs Lionel Barrymore

Charlie Ruggles vs Ernest Thesiger

Frank Morgan vs Frank Jenks - tie

Betty Garrett vs Rags Ragland

Josephine Hull vs Mischa Auer

S.Z. Sakall vs Tom Dugan

Patsy Kelly vs Al St. John

Margaret Hamilton vs Edward Everett Horton

Nella Walker vs Hans Conried

Hattie McDaniel vs Billy Gilbert

Thurston Hall vs Leonid Kinskey

Marjorie White vs Eve Arden

Edward van Sloan vs Jack Oakie - tie

Charles Winninger vs Butterfly McQueen

Alan Mowbray vs Zasu Pitts

Charlotte Greenwood vs Henry Armetta

Marjorie Main vs Pat Buttram

William Demarest vs Bert Lahr

Marie Dressler vs Beulah Bondi

Una O'Connor vs Martha Raye

Dwight Frye vs Charles Coburn

Ned Sparks vs Esther Muir

Thelma Todd vs Elisha Cook Jr.

Christian Rub vs Samuel S. Hinds

Doodles Weaver vs Gail Patrick

Sydney Greenstreet vs Alice Brady

Roland Young vs John Carradine

James Gleason vs Verna Felton

Una Merkel vs Eugene Pallette

Willie Best vs Conrad Veidt

Maude Eburn vs Scatman Crothers

Guy Kibbee vs Walter Brennan - tie

Nat Pendleton vs Clarence Kolb

Jane Darwell vs Raymond Massey

Erich von Stroheim vs Barry Fitzgerald

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson vs Jack Carson

El Brendel vs Reginald Gardiner

Joseph Calleia vs Warren Hymer

Walter Slezak vs Sam Levene

Edna May Oliver vs Richard Lane

C. Aubrey Smith vs Charles Laughton

Gabby Hayes vs Red Buttons

Franklin Pangborn vs Elsa Lanchester

Lionel Atwill vs Martha Mattox

Bill Robinson vs Jessie Ralph

Andy Devine vs Harry Davenport

Richard Carle vs Ernest Truex

Edward Arnold vs Herman Bing

Cliff Edwards vs Sterling Holloway

George Zucco vs Nancy Kulp

Warner Oland vs Jean Adair

Gregory Ratoff vs Grady Sutton

Helen Broderick vs Glenda Farrell

Lillian Yarbo vs Arthur Edmund Carewe

Marjorie Gateson vs Hugh Herbert

Phil Silvers vs Joy Hodges

Ray Bolger vs George E. Stone

George Davis vs Donald Meek

Warner Baxter vs Jerry Colonna - tie

Spring Byington vs Stuart Erwin

Felix Bressart vs Angelo Rossitto

Eric Blore vs Billy Barty

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Sullivan’s Travels 1941

[michigandrifter]

Whispering Smith 1948

[claudia1829things]

"WHISPERING SMITH" (1948) Review

"WHISPERING SMITH" (1948) Review For years, I had assumed that Alan Ladd starred in only three Westerns - one of them being the acclaimed 1953 movie, "SHANE". Yet, while perusing his filmography, I discovered that he had either starred or co-starred in a good number of "oaters". One of them was the 1948 film, "WHISPERING SMITH".

Based upon Frank H. Spearman's 1906 novel, "WHISPERING SMITH" told the story of a railroad detective named Luke "Whispering" Smith who is assigned to investigate a series of train robberies in late 19th century Wyoming Territory. However, the case becomes personal for Luke when his oldest friend, a local rancher and railroad employee named Murray Sinclair becomes involved with the gang responsible for the robberies. Superficially, "WHISPERING SMITH" seemed like the typical Western made by Hollywood studios during the studio era. If I have to be honest with myself, Westerns with any real depth seemed rare to me during the so-called "Golden Age of Hollywood" and now. I seriously doubt that any movie critic would regard "WHISPERING SMITH" as something unique. The movie possessed traits one could easily find in mediocre Westerns and a few really good ones: *Outlaw gang robbing either locals or businesses that dominate the neighborhood *Corrupt local businessman or rancher leading the outlaws *Rancher or businessman's main henchman, who happens to be a proficient killer *Lawman assigned to hunt down outlaws *Posse chases outlaw around neighborhood/county Yes, "WHISPERING SMITH" possessed these traits. It also possessed a first-rate dramatic narrative that elevated the movie from the usual Western tropes - namely the love triangle between Luke Smith, his best friend Murray Sinclair and Murray's wife Miriam Sinclair. This triangle was set five years in the past when Miriam, frustrated by Luke's reluctance to propose marriage to her, married Murray. The latter never realized that Luke and Miriam still harbored lingering romantic feelings toward each other . . . until the film's midway point. Between his resentment toward Luke and Miriam, and being fired by his railroad boss George St. Cloud - whom he disliked - Murray made a choice that proved to be disastrous for his marriage and his friendship with Luke. The developing estrangement between Luke and Murray also proved to be difficult for the former as well. This was especially apparent in the film's second half of the film. Due to his close friendship with Murray; Luke not only struggled and failed to save the other man's job, but also convince the latter to give up his new alliance with the main villain, rancher Barney Rebstock. "WHISPERING SMITH" not only benefited from this complex narrative regarding the Luke-Miriam-Murray relationship, but also the fine performances from its cast. Once again, Alan Ladd proved he was a better actor than many believed he was in his performance of the leading character, Luke Smith. What made Ladd's performance first-rate his ability to not only convey Luke's contrasting personality traits - soft-spoken, yet friendly demeanor and an intelligent ruthlessness - but also his varying array of emotions with a fluidity that still impress me to this day. Another superb performance came from Robert Preston, who portrayed Luke's best friend Murray Sinclair. Superficially, Murray came off as a one-note personality. But thanks to Preston's performance, Murray proved to a complicated character that transformed from a genial, yet sometimes pushy man to an embittered one, who had allowed his bullheadedness and temper to lead him to a bad choice. Brenda Marshall's portrayal of Miriam Sinclair also struck me as equally impressive. Her Miriam proved to be an emotional and complicated woman, who struggled to repress her lingering feelings for Luke and determined to save Murray and her marriage. Marshall conveyed these aspects of Miriam's emotional state in two excellent scenes. One of them featured her never ending frustration and resentment toward Luke's failure to propose marriage all those years ago. And other featured a quarrel between Miriam and Murray in which she finally convinced him to sell their ranch and move away from the neighborhood . . . and Barney Rebstock's orbit. There were other performances I enjoyed. One of them came from William Demarest, who gave an emotional, yet satisfying portrayal of Bill Dansing, a railroad employee who had been friends of Luke and Murray for years and served as their father figure. Donald Crisp gave an amusing and entertaining performance as Barney Rebstock, the rancher who hid his criminal and ruthless behavior behind a genial mask. Another came from John Eldredge, whose portrayal of George McCloud, the railroad official who clashed with Murray, struck me as subtle and intelligent. I also enjoyed the solid performances from the likes of Fay Holden, Murray Vye, Ward Wood and Will Wright. I have to say a word about Ray Rennahan's cinematography. What can I say? I thought it was beautiful looking. Rennahan, who had won an Academy Award for his work in 1939's "GONE WITH THE WIND", also shot "WHISPERING SMITH" in Technicolor. I have seen other films shot in Technicolor that struck me as rather garish. I cannot say the same about "WHISPERING SMITH". I found the photography sharp and colorful, without being garish, as shown in the image below:

Although I found myself impressed by the narrative regarding Luke's relationship with the Sinclairs, I cannot disregard some of the film's action sequences. There were two that really impressed me. One proved to the final sequence that featured the posse chasing Murray, Rebstock and the latter's gang around the countryside following a train robbery. Sure, I thought it was an unoriginal trope to use in a Western. But I thought it was exciting and well shot by director Leslie Fenton. However, I was more impressed by Fenton's work in the sequence that featured Luke's encounter with the Barton boys - members of Rebstock's gang - at a rail junction in the rain. It featured good action, good acting and great editing by Archie Marshek. As much as I enjoyed "WHISPERING SMITH", there are some aspects of it that I found unappealing. One of them proved to be actor Frank Faylen's portrayal of henchman Whitey DuSang. I realize that Faylen was a first-rate actor. I have seen him in other productions. But . . . I found his portrayal of DuSang rather one-dimensional. Faylen spent most of the film hovering around Donald Crisp with his arms folded and staring at people with squinting eyes. If this was his way of looking intimidating, I did not buy it. I do know whether to blame Faylen, the director Fenton, screenwriters Frank Butler and Karl Kamb or Frank Spearman's portrayal of the character in his novel. Another major problem I had with "WHISPERING SMITH" proved to be Mary Kay Dodson's costume designs for the female characters. Exactly what was this film's setting? Some of Dodson's costumes seemed to indicate the 1880s. And some of her costumes - especially for Brenda Marshall - seemed to indicate the 1890s. Nor did it help that the women's hairstyles seemed to reflect the late 1940s. Despite my quibbles with Frank Faylen and Mary Kay Dodson's costume designs, I enjoyed "WHISPERING SMITH" very much. Not only does it happen to be one of my favorite films starring Alan Ladd, I actually like it more than his more famous film, "SHANE". I am certain that many would find this sacrilegious. However, thanks to Leslie Fenton's direction, a screenplay that conveyed a complex love triangle and excellent performances from a cast led by Ladd, Robert Preston and Brenda Marshall; I cannot help how I feel.

[almanyalilar]

Escape from Fort Bravo - Bravo Kalesinden Kaçış

Escape from Fort Bravo – Bravo Kalesinden Kaçış

Escape from Fort Bravo – Bravo Kalesinden Kaçış

Ucuz ve basit, hem de kovboysuz kovboy filmlerinden biri daha demek doğrusu olacaktır. Yine Kızılderilileri vahşi, düşman, acımasız ve kötüler. Beyazlar iyi, askerler ise daha iyi, kahraman, asil ve en kahramandırlar. Bu kadar klişe Alman ırkçılarında bile bulamazsınız. Hollywood böylesi filmlerle özgürlükler ve hoşgörü diyarından çok ırkçı,…

[papermoonloveslucy]

MY THREE SONS at 60!

September 29, 1960

“My Three Sons” was a situation comedy produced at Desilu Studios. It premiered on ABC TV on September 29, 1960 and finished its first run on April 13, 1972, with 380 episodes making it the second-longest running live-action sitcom in TV history after “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett” (1952-66). 

Seasons 1 through 5 were aired in black and white on CBS.  In 1965 it moved to CBS when ABC declined to underwrite the costs of airing in color.  The series was initially filmed at Desilu Studios in Hollywood, but at the start of the 1967–68 season, the cast and crew began filming the series at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California due to Lucille Ball’s sale of Desilu to Gulf + Western, which owned Paramount Pictures. The sale also affected the filming location of another family sitcom, “Family Affair.”

Incredibly, “My Three Sons” ran concurrently through both “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” Both Steve Douglas and Lucy Carmichael (and later Carter), where single parents raising children. 

September 16, 1965 was a big night for CBS airing the very first episode of “My Three Sons” after moving from ABC titled “The First Marriage”. It was also the first episode of the series broadcast in color, something “The Lucy Show” did three days earlier with “Lucy at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1). The premise of the series is a widowed father (Steven Douglas) raising his three boys with help of his extended family.  Initially, the three sons were Chip, Robbie, and Mike, but in 1967 Mike was written out and replaced by Ernie, whom Steve adopted.  The extended family at first consisted of Bub, Steve’s father-in-law and the boys’ maternal grandfather, but in 1964, that character was replaced by Uncle Charley, Steve’s uncle and Bub’s brother. 

The leading role was played by film star Fred MacMurray, who the series was built around - including his hectic schedule. To suit MacMurray, scenes would be shot out of sequence and even alone on a soundstage and later edited to create a complete episode.  This was not MacMurray’s first time at Desilu. In 1958 he played himself on the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” set in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas. He was joined by his second wife, actress June Haver. MacMurray (1908-91) appeared in over 100 films in his career but is perhaps best remembered for the film Double Indemnity (1944), which Lucy references in this episode. MacMurray’s name was first mentioned by Ethel in 1953 in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20) when flowers arrive for Lucy mistakenly signed “Eternally yours, Fred.”

Although Lucille Ball was their landlord (and ultimate boss) she never acted on the show, but many of the actors who appeared on Lucille Ball’s sitcoms did appear on “My Three Sons”.

From 1960 to 1965, MacMurray was joined by William Frawley as Bub O’Casey, the family’s live-in maternal grandfather. Of course, Frawley came to fame on “I Love Lucy” as the crusty landlord Fred Mertz. Frawley had worked with MacMurray in the 1935 film, Car 99. When Frawley had to leave  the show due to ill-health (and it was too costly to insure him) he was replaced by another Desilu alumni, William Demarest, as Uncle Charley. Like his previous co-star, Vivian Vance, Frawley was not especially fond of Demarest personally or as an actor. Demarest had, however, done three films with Lucille Ball. Frawley kept watching “My Three Sons” on his TV set bitterly. He never really got over being replaced by Demarest. On March 3, 1966, Frawley died of a heart attack.

For Christmas 1959, Frawley and Demarest both appeared with Lucy and Desi in “The Desilu Revue” (above with “December Bride’s” Spring Byington). At the time, Demarest was working on the Desilu lot appearing in NBC’s “Love and Marriage.”

On “My Three Sons” two of  Steve Douglas’ boys had been seen on “The Lucy Show”: Don Grady (Robbie Douglas) had played Chris Carmichael’s friend Bill and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas) had played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold. Ted Eccles, who assumed the role of Arnold Mooney when Barry Livingston was busy on “My Three Sons,” also did an episode. 

The children of “The Lucy Show,” Ralph Hart (who played Viv Bagley’s son Sherman), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), and Candy Moore (Lucy Carmichael’s daughter Chris) were also on episodes of "My Three Sons.”

Other “Lucy” performers who were on “My Three Sons” include: 

Mary Wickes ~ Jeri Schronk (1964)

Doris Singleton ~ Helen & Margaret, 8 episodes (1964-70)

Shirley Mitchell ~ Sally, 2 episodes (1968) 

Barbara Pepper ~ Mrs. Brand (1966)

Verna Felton ~ Mub (1962)

Kathleen Freeman ~ Lady Checker (1967)

Jerry Hausner ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1966) 

Reta Shaw ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965) 

Elvia Allman ~ Maude Prosser (1967) 

Eleanor Audley ~ Mrs. Vincent, 9 episodes (1969-70)

Burt Mustin ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1962-70)

Olan Soule ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1963-70)

Alberto Morin ~ Professor Madoro (1967)

Herb Vigran ~ Caretaker (1967)

Maurice Marsac ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Tim Mathewson ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1962-63)

Bill Quinn ~ Doctors, 4 episodes (1964-66)

Barbara Perry ~ Mrs. Thompson & Mrs. Hoover, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Nancy Kulp ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962)

George N. Neise ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1960 & 1967)

Maxine Semon ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1967) 

Roy Roberts ~Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967) 

Lou Krugman ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1966 & 1967)

Richard Reeves ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965)

Dorothy Konrad ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1961 & 1962)

Ed Begley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1968)

Gail Bonney ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1970)

Rolfe Sedan ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1968 & 1971) 

Tyler McVey ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1967)

J. Pat O’Malley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Paul Picerni ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967)

Sandra Gould ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Richard Deacon ~ Elderly Man (1960) 

Mabel Albertson ~ Mrs. Proctor (1964) 

Joan Blondell ~ Harriet Blanchard (1965) 

Leon Belasco ~ Professor Lombardi (1966) 

Dayton Lummis ~ Dr. Blackwood (1963) 

Lurene Tuttle ~ Natalie Corcoran (1968)

Robert Foulk ~ Pop Action (1962) 

Dick Patterson ~ Bunny Baxter (1963)

Jamie Farr ~ Itchy (1964)

Larry J. Blake ~ Policeman (1968) 

Amzie Strickland ~ Cora Dennis (1968) 

Barbara Morrison ~ Mrs. Murdock (1969) 

Louis Nicoletti ~ Caddy Master (1962)

Frank Gerstle ~ Policeman (1964)

Gil Perkins ~ Painter (1963) 

Tommy Ferrell ~ Mr. Griffith (1964) 

Eve McVeagh ~ Clara (1966)

Remo Pisani ~ Pepe (1970) 

Dub Taylor ~ Judge (1963)

Frank J. Scannell ~ Emcee (1968) 

Ray Kellogg ~ Henshaw (1965) 

Romo Vincent ~ Charley (1964) 

Stafford Repp ~ Sergeant Perkins (1969)

Jay Novello ~ Vincenzo (1966) 

Leoda Richards ~ Restaurant Patron (1966)

CHILD STARS!

Other child stars who appeared on “My Three Sons” included Butch Patrick (“The Munsters���), Jay North (“Dennis the Menace”), Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, Angela Cartwright (“Make Room for Daddy”), Flip Mark (”Lassie”), John Walmsley (”The Waltons”), Tony Dow (“Leave It To Beaver”), Erin Moran (“Happy Days”), Maureen McCormick (”The Brady Bunch”), Ann Jillian (Gypsy), and Heather Menzies (The Sound of Music). 

On November 22, 1977, ABC TV (and Dick Clark Productions) brought together a reunion of two of television's favorite sitcoms "The Partridge Family" and "My Three Sons." Hosted by Shirley Jones and Fred MacMurray this would be the only time that the surviving cast members would get together to celebrate the series which included clips, a song from David Cassidy, and an update of what each cast member was doing in 1977.

Also in 1977, some of the stars of the series reunited on a morning program titled "The Early Show", including Stanley Livingston (Chip Douglas), Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas), Tina Cole (Katie Miller Douglas), and Don Grady (Robbie Douglas).  

TRIVIA

In “Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7) in 1965, there is a large framed photo of Fred MacMurray in the studio hallway.  He is joined by other Desilu stars like Jim Nabors (of “Gomer Pyle USMC”), Andy Griffith (of “The Andy Griffith Show”) and Danny Thomas (of “The Danny Thomas Show”). 

[sunbookie]

DEA Lured Seller to Lafayette Park 

By Michael Isikoff Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, Sept. 22, 1989

Drug Buy Set Up For Bush Speech

White House speech-writers thought it was the perfect visual for President Bush's first prime-time address to the nation -- a dramatic prop that would show how the drug trade had spread to the president's own neighborhood.

"This is crack cocaine," Bush solemnly announced, holding up a plastic bag filled with a white chunky substance in his Sept. 5 speech on drug policy. It was "seized a few days ago in a park across the street from the White House . . . . It could easily have been heroin or PCP."

But obtaining the crack was no easy feat. To match the words crafted by the speech-writers, Drug Enforcement Administration agents lured a suspected District drug dealer to Lafayette Park four days before the speech so they could make what appears to have been the agency's first undercover crack buy in a park better known for its location across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House than for illegal drug activity, according to officials familiar with the case.

In fact, when first contacted by an undercover DEA agent posing as a drug buyer, the teenage suspect seemed baffled by the agent's request.

"Where the {expletive} is the White House?" he replied in a conversation that was secretly tape-recorded by the DEA.

"We had to manipulate him to get him down there," said William McMullan, assistant special agent in charge of DEA's Washington field office. "It wasn't easy."

White House and DEA officials said they did nothing improper in their efforts to help Bush illustrate how widespread the local trade is. A senior White House official said the DEA was never asked to manufacture an arrest for the president's speech.

According to DEA officials, the suspect had been the target of a three-month undercover investigation before the White House request and had sold crack to agents on three previous occasions in other parts of the city.

DEA officials said yesterday they have held off on arresting the suspect in hopes that he would sell a larger amount of crack to undercover agents and could be charged with a more serious offense.

"We were negotiating for a kilogram of crack and we were trying to identify his organization," said McMullan. "We were going to make that undercover buy anyway. What difference does it make where it happened -- whether it was in front of the White House . . .or in front of the Supreme Court?"

DEA had planned to make an arrest this week, but the attempt fell through when the suspect failed to show up for a scheduled meeting with a DEA undercover agent. Another attempt will be made next week when a federal grand jury is expected to return indictments against him and possibly some of his confederates, said DEA spokesman Mario Perez.

Kevin Zeese, a defense lawyer who specializes in drug cases, said DEA's efforts to maneuver the suspect to the area around the White House may enable his lawyer to argue that he was a victim of "outrageous government conduct."

This would not help his defense against the three earlier crack sales, Zeese said. Nevertheless, "I think it's disgusting," he said. "The situation is not bad enough that they have to create a false situation? It's the government creating a hoax so they can rev up the war effort."

As described by White House and DEA officials, the trail that brought crack to the White House began last month in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the president was on vacation and preparing for the speech that would unveil his anti-drug program. The idea of the president holding up crack was included in some drafts and Bush quickly approved. "He liked the prop," said one White House aide. "It drove the point home."

Officials said that communications director David Demarest, who oversees the speech-writers, then asked Cabinet affairs secretary David Bates to contact the Justice Department about getting the drugs. Instructions to Justice were to find some crack that fit the description in the speech, not to go out and arrest someone just for the speech, aides said.

But little crack is actually sold around the White House, especially in Lafayette Park, according to local law enforcement officials.

"We don't consider that a problem area," said Maj. Robert Hines, commander of criminal investigations for the U.S. Park Police, which patrols the park. "There's too much activity going on there for drug dealers . . . . There's always a uniformed police presence there."

Hines said there have been about a half dozen arrests for marijuana possession in the park this year, but no record of any crack dealing in the park "except for that DEA buy."

The Justice Department official who got the White House call -- Richard Weatherbee, a special assistant to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh responsible for drug policy -- phoned James Millford, executive assistant to DEA Administrator Jack Lawn. On Aug. 25, Millford called McMullan in the Washington field office.

"Do you have anything going on around the White House?" McMullan recalled Millford saying.

"I don't know about the White House," McMullan said he replied, but said there was an undercover buy his agents were hoping to negotiate "four or five blocks away."

"Any possibility of you moving it down to the White House?" Millford asked, according to McMullan. "Evidently, the president wants to show it could be bought anywhere."

Millford did not return phone calls from a reporter. Frank Shults, chief public affairs spokesman at DEA headquarters, confirmed that Millford called McMullan and asked if there were any active cases near the White House. The location of undercover buys "are highly negotiable between the buyer and the seller," he said. "That vicinity was as logical as any other location."

At that point, the undercover DEA agent called the suspect and attempted to set up a meeting to buy crack in Lafayette Park. But making arrangements proved difficult. At first, the suspect seemed not to know what or where the White House was, McMullan said. When finally told it was the residence of the president, he replied, "Oh, you mean where Reagan lives."

The meeting came off as planned. At about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, the undercover agent met the suspect and purchased three ounces of crack from him for about $2,400, according to the DEA. Another DEA agent who was hiding nearby took color photographs of the transaction, McMullan said.

But there was one more worry for the DEA: Since the suspect had not been arrested, there was always the possibility that he would see Bush holding up the crack on television, figure out what was going on and flee.

When Bush gave his speech on the evening of Sept. 5, McMullan and the undercover agent were both at the White House. The undercover agent stood in the Oval Office to maintain "chain of custody" over the crack -- a legal phrase that refers to the government's requirement that it prove any drugs presented in court as evidence are the same drugs used in the crime.

Meanwhile, McMullan was in a Secret Service command post, worried that the suspect would be tipped off by Bush's speech.

"If there was a problem, we were going to take the guy right away," McMullan said. But, "he had absolutely no idea what went on."

[byneddiedingo]

James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939)

Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell, Eugene Pallette, Beulah Bondi, H.B. Warner, Harry Carey, Astrid Allwyn, Ruth Donnelly, Grant Mitchell, Porter Hall, H.V. Kaltenborn, Charles Lane, William Demarest, Jack Carson. Screenplay: Sidney Buchman, based on a story by Lewis R. Foster. Cinematography: Joseph Walker. Art direction: Lionel Banks. Film editing: Al Clark, Gene Havlick. Music: Dimitri Tiomkin.

Perhaps only James Stewart (or Gary Cooper, who turned down the role of Jefferson Smith) could have made Frank Capra's preposterous, sentimental, flag-wavingly patriotic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington into what many people still regard as a beloved classic. But now that we've spent some time being governed by probably the most corrupt man ever to hold the White House, a president elected on populist promises to "drain the swamp" in Washington but who instead spent his time wallowing in it and stocking it with still more alligators, maybe we can take a harsher look at the Capra film's politics. The people who elected Donald Trump seem to have thought they were voting for Jefferson Smith but instead elected the movie's Jim Taylor (played deliciously by that fattest of character actor fat cats, Edward Arnold). David Thomson, among others, has cogently observed that the film celebrates Jefferson Smith's bull-headed integrity, but that democracy necessarily involves the kind of compromises that Claude Rains's Senator Paine has made, and which have made him a popular and successful politician. True, he's under the thumb of the viciously corrupt Jim Taylor, who is even a manipulator of "fake news," but Thomson questions whether the people of Smith's state wouldn't have benefited more from the dam Taylor wants to put on Willett Creek, presumably one that would supply power and other benefits to the state, than from Smith's piddly boys' camp, which would benefit at best a few hundred boys. (No girls need apply?) Smith's dramatic filibuster also seems to be holding up a bill that would provide funding for some essential services. As it happens, I rewatched Mr. Smith on the night after the Senate reached an impasse on funding the entire federal government, and there could hardly be a better example of political stubbornness undermining the public good. Which is only to say that the merits of Capra's film -- and there are some -- transcend its simple-minded fable. Among its merits, it's beautifully acted, not only by Stewart, Rains, and Arnold, but also by Jean Arthur, that most underrated of 1930s leading ladies, and Thomas Mitchell, who appeared in no fewer than three of the films nominated for the best picture Oscar for 1939 -- this one, Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming), and Stagecoach (John Ford) -- and won the supporting actor award for Stagecoach. And just run down the rest of the cast list, which seems to be a roster of every great character actor in the movies of that day, all of them performing with great energy. Capra's mise-en-scène is sometimes stagy, but Lionel Banks's great re-creation of the Senate chamber gives Capra a fine stage on which to work.

[classicfilmfan64]

VARIETY GIRL

Paramount, 1947.  Directed by George Marshall.  Camera:  Lionel Lindon.  With Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelly, Frank Ferguson, Glen Tryon, Nella Walker, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, Elaine Riley, Charles Victor, Gus Taute, Harry Hayden, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Alan Ladd, Barbara Stanwyck, Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, Sonny Tufts, William Holden, Joan Caulfield, Lizabeth Scott, Burt Lancaster, Gail Russell, Diana Lynn, Sterling Hayden, Robert Preston, Veronica Lake, John Lund, William Bendix, Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Da Silva, Macdonald Carey, Cass Daley, Patric Knowles, Billy De Wolfe, Mona Freeman, William Demarest, Cecil Kellaway, Virginia Field, Richard Webb, Frank Faylen, Cecil B. DeMille.

[space-sweetheart]

[OLD]Romantic F/O List

Krieg [Borderlands]

DoomGuy [Doom 2016]

Fl4k [Borderlands 3]

Lilith [Borderlands 3]

Biker [Hotline Miami]

Flagellant [Darkest Dungeon]

Jospeh Seed [Far Cry 5] {ship name: the lion & the lamb}

Jane Doe/Soldier [TF2]

Tavish Finnegan DeGroot/Demoman [TF2]

Nero [Devil May Cry]

Ashley "Ash" Joanna Williams [The Evil Dead Franchise] {ship name: my hero}

A. Traveler [The Twilight Zone 2019]

Gabriel [Good Omens 2019]

The Wishmaster/Nathaniel Demarest [Wishmaster 1997] {ship name: make a wish}

Bill [Body Bags 1993] {ship name: kills and kisses}

Coach Bobby Finstock [Teen Wolf] {ship name: catch these kisses}

Frank [Subway Surfers]

Maleficent & Diaval [Maleficent]

Borra [Maleficent]

Paul [The Lost Boy's 1987]

Jester [The Jester]

The Dealer [The Outer Darkness]

Smiling Jack [VTMB] {ship name: sucker for your love}

Beckett [VTMB] {ship name: puppy love}

Caine/Taxi Driver/Cabbie [VTMB] {ship name: every king needs a queen}

Nines Rodriguez [VTMB] {ship name: lovebites}

Morpheus/The Sandman/Dream [DC] {ship name: bring me a dream}

Harley Quinn [DC]

John Doe/The Joker [DC]

Lobo [DC] {ship name: baby blues}

Spawn [Marvel]

Neena Thurman/Domino [Marvel] {ship name: lucky charm}

Johnny Blaze/Zarathos/Ghost Rider [Marvel] {ship name: burning love}

Sam Wilson/The Falcon/Captian America [Marvel]

Nick Fury [Marvel]

Raizo Kodo [Marvel]

Doreen Allene Green/Squirrel Girl [Marvel]

Ben Daimio [Hellboy Franchise]

Kung Lao [MK]

Shang Tsung [MK]

Johnny Cage [MK]

Kuai Liang/Sub-Zero [MK]

Raiden [MK]

Grey Cloud/Nightwolf [MK]

Frost [MK]

Baraka [MK]

Havik [MK]

Auron [FFX]

Dr. Facilier [The Princess And The Frog 2007]

Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini [Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001]

Captain Joseph Korso [Titan A.E. 2000]

Long John Silver [Treasure Planet 2002]

General Grawl [Planet 51 2009]

Piston Hondo [Punch Out]

Unsure/Crushes

Chucky/Charles Lee Ray [Chucky Franchise]

Ash Rivers [VTMB]

Barabus [VTMB]

Dale Talley [VTMB 2]

Samuel [VTMB 2]

Jennifer Susan Walters/She-Hulk [Marvel]

Axton [Borderlands]

[mousieta]

2019 Reading List

So I've decided to read at least 12 traditionally published books this year and hey whadda you know, I have 11 recently purchased books on a shelf waiting for me. So here is my reading list for this year, hopefully:

-The Odyssey by Homer trans. Emily Wilson

-The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This one by Amanda Lovelace

-Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

-The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan

-The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun by J.R.R. Tolkein

-The Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life

-Ancient Maya by Arthur Demarest

-The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

-Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

-Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

-Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

[rocklandhistoryblog]

The most recent episode of "Crossroads of Rockland History" is now in the archive. The episode aired Monday, January 21 on WRCR. Author and New City native Frank Eberling was interviewed. He previewed his new murder mystery “Low Tor” which takes place in Rockland County.

Frank Eberling is a fifth-generation New City resident who moved to Florida upon graduation from Clarkstown High School in 1964. He has been a documentary filmmaker for more than forty years. His earlier novel "Demarest Kill" was a local favorite as well.

Listen to the podcast (28 min)

To learn more about Eberling’s Demarest Kill, click here:

Crossroads of Rockland History, a program of the Historical Society of Rockland County, airs on the third Monday of each month at 9:30 am, right after the Steve and Jeff morning show, on WRCR radio at www.WRCR.com. Join host Clare Sheridan as we explore, celebrate, and learn about our local history, with different topics and guest speakers every month.

For an sound file archive of past programs, visit :