#project1952 day 74

[project1939]

I tried the Beef Pie recipe in the Carnation cookbook, and it really is delicious. (And I don't eat beef very often, because I've never really liked it!) I made the crust from scratch, and that was probably the best part- it may have been the best tasting crust I've ever eaten! The pie initially looked better than it does here- the inside boiled over a bit and swallowed up some of the pretty pinched edges.

[project1939]

Jello mold number 10! This one was unequivocally good! It took forever to get the membranes off the grapefruit and oranges, but I just listened to some radio shows, and it was totally worth the work. The tangy citrus with the cool refreshing Jello was divine. Because it's so citrusy, though, I'd say this is probably more a Citrus Cantata than a Fruit Symphony!

[project1939]

Saturday Evening Post, November 8th, 1952. More clock radios! Which must have been a bit of a status symbol- the cheap ones would be $210, and the expensive one there on the top was $464 in today's money! That expensive one does look cool though, because it hangs on the wall like a wall clock. So have your friends over and be a show off by giving them a look at the radio in your "rumpus room!"

[project1939]

Saturday Evening Post, November 8th, 1952. I don't know why, but I like this ad. It's also funny that they're trying to convince us how American the soda is. "We know it says Canada, but it's as red white and blue as apple pie on the 4th of July, we swear! Americans drink it from sea to shining sea!"

[project1939]

Saturday Evening Post, November 8th, 1952. This is another one of those articles that surprisingly complains about an issue that has become multitudes worse today. Yesterday it was about presidential campaigns being too long (four months!), today it's that television has made too many people famous who have no real talent. !!

[project1939]

Day 74- Film: The Steel Trap 

Release date: November 12th, 1952. 

Studio: 20th Century Fox 

Genre: Noir 

Director: Andrew L. Stone 

Producer: Bert E. Friedlob 

Actors: Jospeh Cotton, Teresa Wright, Jonathan Hale 

Plot Summary: Jim Osborne is a reliable husband and father and a reliable assistant manager at a bank. One day the monotony of reliability makes him start thinking he could run off with a lot of money from the bank’s vault if he did everything right. He plans a heist, stealing more than $1 million dollars ($11.6 million today), and sets up a flight to Brazil, where they do not extradite. But virtually everything goes wrong once he has the money. 

My Rating (out of five stars): *** 

Another day, another heist noir with a thrilling first half or so, and a disappointing Happy Ending. Grrr... There was much to like about this film, but also a lot to dislike. Have you ever had one of those days where every single little thing seems to go wrong? Well, watch this movie, and you won’t feel quite so unlucky anymore! 

The Good: 

This was a pacey, briskly moving film. The time flew by. It was enjoyable and engaging because something was constantly happening. Every time Jim cleared a hurdle, another one popped up. 

The suspense throughout. As above, Jim was constantly trying to clear hurdles- each time he went up to jump, you’d wonder, will he do it this time? Will he fall? It was easy to get swept along in the fear.

The plot was enjoyably simple and easy to follow. Guy steals money- will he get away with it? And what about his wife? That’s pretty much it, but it wasn’t boring at all. 

Some location shooting in New Orleans. It looked nice and was effective, adding some reality to the film. 

The Bad: (some spoilers) 

I don’t think Cotton was really the right person for this role. I like Joseph Cotton, but something about the role just didn’t fit him. He just didn’t seem like someone who would ever do something so reckless and crazy. I know that could be a plus in some cases, because his character was supposed to be above suspicion... I just think the movie might have worked better with a different lead. 

His motivation wasn’t well portrayed- it was very sudden. His change from predictable guy to someone who steals a million dollars and plans to go live in another country for the rest of his life happened way too fast. It wasn’t understandable or believable. 

The happy ending. Why? Why, especially, would Laurie welcome him back with open arms just because he returned the money? Wouldn’t she still be concerned that he had secretly planned and almost completely carried out a major crime without telling her a thing? I wished the end could have been darker and more complex. 

The unbelievability. Aside from the unbelievability of his motivation, the roadblocks he kept hitting almost became ridiculous. Every single thing seemed to go wrong, yet he somehow scraped by just in time. There were also a lot of very fortuitously timed phone calls. Laurie’s absolute morality was even a little unbelievable. 

The voice over. In a lot of noir's voiceovers can become overly obvious, and this one suffered that fate. 

I felt bad for Teresa Wright’s type casting. She’s a good actress, but she gets put in the most boring “good wife” roles. All her characters get to do is worry about their husband or child or suffer nobly for their husband or child. I wish she had gotten more opportunities for well-rounded roles. 

A hideous rooster lamp! In the living room of their house, there is a lamp with a plaster (?) rooster as its base. Once you see it, you can never never un-see it! It’s also subtly beneath a picture of a rooster on the wall. Apparently, the Osbornes love them some chickens! 

[project1939]

Desi Arnaz on What's My Line?, top, Marilyn Monroe getting ready to marry Charlie McCarthy (the dummy) on Bergen and McCarthy, bottom.

Day 74- TV and Radio: 

TV: 

What’s My Line?, season 3, “Desi Arnaz,” November 9th, 1952. 

I Love Lucy, season 2, episode 7, “The Courtroom,” November 10th, 1952. 

Radio: 

Bergen and McCarthy, “Marilyn Monroe,” November 9th, 1952. 

The Aldrich Family, “The Hand Me Down Suit,” November 9th, 1952. 

The Chase, “Career Girl,” November 9th, 1952. 

On Bergen and McCarthy the guest was Marilyn Monroe, and the schtick was that Monroe was going to marry Charlie McCarthy- the dummy. That idea was weird and awkward enough, but almost literally everything out of the men’s mouths was “hubba hubba” “she so hot” and “wowie look at that!” It felt really dehumanizing, and I can understand why Monroe might have felt that her only value to men was her sex appeal. It just made me sad. 

What’s My Line? was one of the best episodes yet. (Aside from Hal Block’s constant come-ons to female guests!) The first lady was a United States Marine, which didn’t take the panel too long to guess. The other guest was a buyer of maternity dresses. She won the whole $50 ($580 today), which I’d never seen before unless it was just given to them because they ran out of time. Desi Arnaz was the celebrity, and he fooled the panel for a long time, possibly the longest I’ve seen for a celebrity thus far. He was really cute and charming and hilarious, and he did amazingly well disguising his accent. He used a fake French accent throughout most of it. The audience gave him a huge reception when they saw him, which warmed my heart. He said he and Lucille watched the show every Sunday night, and that she would be watching right now. 

...And now a word from today’s best sponsor: Richard Hudnut Crème Shampoo! With eggs! Cause what sounds better for your hair than eggs?! And what sounds more glamourous than Hudnut?!

[project1939]

Day 74: “The difference between the honest and the dishonest and the stupid and the smart is a debatable line.” 

50s slang of the day: “It was a dilly!” (It was remarkable!) 

Best/worst quote of the day: “More and more, television is becoming a haven of amateurs. Talent is a handicap. The air waves are aswarm with folk who either have no talent- as we generally understand the meaning of that word- or people who have learned that it’s wise to keep it undercover.” Yes, this is a quote from an article from 1952. Fifty years before reality TV and shows like the Kardashians. 

Song of the day: “To Know You (Is to Love You),” by Perry Como. I don’t always love the extremely poppy style of Como’s music, but his voice! His voice!! It’s so rich and velvety I want to take a bath in it. The singles he recorded with the Fontane Sisters are my favorites of his from 1952. I already chose “Noodlin’ Rag” as a song of the day, and they were backing him up on that one too. The songs he did with them are more upbeat and swingy than some of his ballads, which can get a little saccharine. 

Highlights: 

Jello mold number 10 came out great! It also is probably one of the best tasting ones I’ve ever made.  

I made a “beef pie” recipe in the Carnation cookbook, totally from scratch. It was actually really delicious, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like beef very much. 

Working on the vintage puzzle some more. 

I Love Desi. Desi Arnaz was on What’s My Line? today, and he was one of the best celebrity guests I’ve seen so far. Funny, charming, and very difficult for the panel to figure out. 

Lowlights: 

Feeling empathy and pain for the constant crap Marilyn Monroe had to listen to from men. It would be hard to believe you were valued for more than your looks, the way men talked about her. 

Today was the last noir film on my list.