Dept. Q

 

(2025-)
Created by Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Jamie Sives, Katie Dickie
IMDB Entry

Dept. Q  is a UK TV series about a cold case. This is hardly new, but what makes it work and stand out are the characters involved.

Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a police detective who is returning to duty after being shot in a botched investigation. Morck barely survived, and his partner James Hardy (Jamie Sives) is paraplegic due to the attack. But it's clear that no one is welcoming Morck back -- and for good reason.  He's sarcastic and arrogant. His boss, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie), tells him he is to head a new cold case unit, but it's clear to keep him out of the way -- his offices are in the basement in an old locker room decorated with urinals. 

Morck is joined by Akrim Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a former policeman from Syria who is an civilian employee, not a cop, but who attaches himself to Morck's unit. He goes through the cold cases and finds one about Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a prosecutor who vanished four years earlier on a ferry ride. Morck thinks she's dead, but Akrim insists on following up. Soon Morck is drawn into the case and we learn quite early that Merritt is alive and a prisoner.  Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) is a detective assigned to desk duty after a breakdown, but joins Morck to do more than file papers.

It's not a mystery since we know quite early that Merritt is alive. The story is discovering where she is and who has captured her.

The acting is excellent. Matthew Goode's Morck is much like Gregory House, but more intense and sarcastic and with little sense of humor. Alexej Manvelov portrays Akrim as a fascinating character: quiet, polite, patient on the surface, but ruthless when necessary. Chloe Pirrie is strong as a character that has been broken down by her experiences.

The show is strong stuff. Some of the scenes, especially with Merritt, are intense and may turn off viewers. But the result is great television.

The main mystery is resolved, but a second season is planned.  I'm looking forward to it.

Smash Your Head Against the Wall (Music)

 

(1971)
John Entwistle (vocals, bass, keyboards)
Dave "Cyrano" Langston (guitars)
Jerry Shirley (drums)
Vivian Stanshall, Keith Moon, Neil Innes (percussion)
Wikipedia Page

It can be difficult when, as a member of a rock group, you can't get your songs on record. George Harrison was frustrated by it, and it was something similar for John Entwistle of the Who. He could have one or two songs on the albums. Pete Townsend recognized his ability, especially in creating dark characters and images, but Townsend was the main songwriters and Entwistle's music was not featured. So, in 1971, he did a solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall.

Entwistle was an odd songwriter, concentrating on dark and disturbing images. His two songs on Tommy, for instance, are "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About," both describing disturbing events. Smash Your Head Against the Wall is in a similar dark vein. Songs were about bullying, the devil, eternal life, and other dark subjects. It also includes the group's stage opener, "Heaven and Hell," which didn't get a studio recording by the Who until several years after.

Of note to me is the appearance of the primary songwriters of my favorite band, The Bonzo Dog Band: Vivian Stanshall and Neal Innes.

The Best (music)

 (1990)
Members Keith Emerson (keyboards), John Entwistle (Bass), Joe Walsh (guitar), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar), Simon Phillips (drums), Rick Livingston (vocals)
Wikipedia Page

In the mid-60s, the idea of a "supergroup" began to take form. It was coined to mean a group of rock musicians who had already been successful with other groups and who came together. Cream is probably the first example of this, and the term was probably coined to describe Blind Faith. These usually are short-lived, since the musicians involved end up going off in their own directions. But one lesser known example is the Best.

The name wasn't just bravado. The group consisted of Keith Emerson (the Nice, ELP), John Entwhistle (the Who), Joe Walsh (James Gang, the Eagles), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers), and Simon Philips (Jeff Beck Group). They added Rick Livingston, a Canadian singer who was not well known on vocals.

The group didn't stay together long, but did a tour of Japan which is available online. They didn't write any new music, but instead performed songs that they written individually, with new solos.  The joy is listening to how they chose to interpret the songs.

The tour was a success, and there was talk of an American tour but it never happened.  It was just to hard to keep together.

Dept. Q (TV)

 (2025)
Created by Scott Frank, based on the novels of Jussi Adler-Olsen
Starring Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Jamie Sives, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Katie Dickie, Tom Bulpett
IMDB Entry

I generally prefer cozy mysteries to dark ones, but something dark is well worth exploring.  Dept. Q is clearly one of those.

DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) has returned to the force after being shot and nearly killed and his commander, Moira Jacobson (Katie Dickie) gives him a special assignment to look up and try to solve cold cases. Morck hates the assignment, but a Syrian refugee and former policeman, Akram Salim (Alaxej Manvelov) starts to help, despite Morck not wanting him. Akram stumbles upon the case of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), who vanished off a ferry four years previously. Everyone things she drowned, but she had left her brother William (Tom Bulpett) -- who has aphasia due to a brain injury -- behind. Akram thinks it's more than just a suicide and prods Morck to look into it. Since he has to do something, he looks into the case, expecting to find that Merritt is dead.

Of course, it turns out she isn't and is trapped in a horrific situation. They are soon joined by DC Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), who suffers from PTSD and wants to do more than just paperwork.

Matthew Goode is superb as Morck. He's super smart, but also sarcastic and insulting to other detectives. In many ways, he reminds me of Dr. Greg House. He carries the show brilliantly. Also excellent is Alexaj Manvelov as Akram, soft spoken, polite, and not one to be trifled with. He could be a star on his own.

The show can be hard to watch, especially where Merritt is involved. But Morcvk, Akram, and Rose are fascinating to watch. It's currently streaming on Netflix.

Secrets We Keep (TV)

 

(2025)
Created by Ingeborg Topsøe
Written by Ingeborg Topsøe, Ina Bruhn, Mads Tafdrup
Starring Marie Bach Hansen, Excel Busano, Danica Curcic, Simon Sears, Lars Ranthe, Lukas Zuperka, Frode Bilde Rønsholt, Donna Levkovski, Sara Fanta Traore 
IMDB Entry

Netflix doesn't limit itself to English language shows and movies and I love to see what's being done in other countries. Secrets We Keep is a Danish production that shows an intriguing mystery with deep characters.

Cecilie (Maie Bach Hansen) and Mike (Simon Sears) are a wealthy Danish couple who have an Filipino au pair Angel (Excel Busano) to take care of their pre-teen son Viggo (Lukas Zuperka). Katarina (Danica Curcic) and Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) are their friends and neighbors, also with a Filipino au pair Ruby (Donna Levkovski). One day, Ruby vanishes and Cecilie becomes upset because the night before Ruby asked to stay with her; Cecilie sent he back. She worries that something bad might have happened to Ruby, and becomes more alarmed when she discovers the box for a pregnancy test near a trash bin where she had spotted Ruby nearby. She takes her concern to the detective Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), who begins to look into the case. Katarina and Rasmus do act suspiciously, but nothing is clear.

The mystery unfolds slowly. Cecilie keeps wondering what might have happened, but finds little satisfaction or any nead clue.  Aicha is stymied by the Rasmus and Katarina, who use their wealth to put up roadblocks. The mood is dark.

There is excellent acting throughout and the mystery is slowly revealed.  Maie Bach Hansen is excellent at Cecille, the only one with a conscience.

Worth seeing out.

The Cadaver Princess

 (2025)
by Chuck Rothman

My Novel, The Cadaver Princess, has been published.

London, 1831. The city teems with secrets, science, and shadows—and one of those shadows just opened her eyes on an anatomist’s slab.

She says her name is Victoria. She insists she’s a princess. But she’s missing her teeth, wrapped in a burial shroud, and undeniably… dead. Or was.

Thrown together with a streetwise orphan named Pablo, a skeptical doctor, and a tavern keeper with secrets of her own, this strange girl unravels a conspiracy that stretches from the slums of London to the halls of Kensington Palace. Someone is stealing bodies—not just for science, but for power. And someone else is playing a dangerous game with the soul of the British Empire.

Part gothic mystery, part alternate history, The Cadaver Princess is a gripping, witty, and darkly magical tale of resurrection, rebellion, and identity. If Mary Shelley and Terry Pratchett had collaborated on a Victorian version of The Princess Bride, with fewer weddings and more corpses, it might have looked something like this.

“…it is equally clear that vile plots are afoot. The ensuing tale is engrossing and satisfying. Recommended!” — Tom Easton, coauthor of ESPionage: Regime Change and Boondoggle.

Allen Steele agrees: “A dark mélange of fantasy, horror, and history, The Cadaver Princess hooked me on the first page. Like Dickens crossed with Poe, there isn’t anything else quite like it.”

Get it today!

Two Sisters from Boston

 
(1946)
Directed by Henry Koster
Written by Myles Connolly
Starring Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, Lauritz Melchior, Peter Lawford
IMDB
Entry

I stumbled upon a list of movies that Martin Scorsese thinks everyone should see. It's an eclectic list, but the one that stood out for me --  because it seemed so far from what Scorsese was known for -- was Two Sisters from Boston. So I had to check it out.

The story is set in the early 1900s. The Chandler family, a group of snooty Boston Brahmins, is scandalized to hear their daughter Abagail (Kathryn Grayson) is working as a singer at a saloon on the Bowery in New York (and -- even worse -- showing her legs!). They go to see her. Abagail tells them that she is actually performing at the Metropolitan Opera. The next day.  She gets help from her stage partner Spike (Jimmy Durante), who takes it upon himself to get her onto the stage, which he does by implying that she is the mistress of the opera manager. She sings, but incites the wrath of the company's tenor, Olaf Olstrom (Lauritz Melchior). Her sister Martha (June Allyson) discovers the truth, and goes to the opera manager, but meets with his son Lawrence (Peter Lawford), who believes in Jimmy's rumor and thinks it's  a blackmail attempt. 

The movie is inarguably fun. It plays with the stuffy Bostonian stereotype and the reaction to the rumor about Abagail. It's notable that they can imply that she's the opera manager's mistress, but it's never actually stated, so younger viewers of the time wouldn't catch it. The songs are also quite good and all of them are performed where they would naturally be singing.

Jimmy Durante, of course, plays Jimmy Durante. He has several amusing scenes where he convinces someone that he's a long lost friend so he can help Abagail. Kathryn Grayson was a leading star in MGM musicals of the 40s.  June Allyson* was also busy with musicals of the era. The two women are both overlooked today. 

Director Henry Koster has a long career in Hollywood, helming a lot of musicals. His best-known film these days is probably the classic Jimmy Stewart vehicle, Harvey.

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*Cast as a replacement for Judy Garland

James Bond (comic strip)

 (1958-1977)
Written by Henry Gammidge from the books by Ian Fleming. Art by John McCluskey, Yaroslav Horak
Wikipedia Entry

James Bond is a media phenomenon, the movies being the longest running series in film history. So it's not surprising that it was successful in other media. In 1958, the UK paper Daily Express noticed the success of his novels, and asked to serialize them. Ian Fleming was skeptical, but finally gave the OK.

The strip dramatized Fleming's novels. starting with his first Bond novel, Casino Royal. It was a straight adaptation of the book: Bond is assigned to bankrupt the Russian agent Le Chiffre by winning at Baccarat.

The strips follow the book quite closely.* Ian Fleming was given writer credit, but did little other than sketch out a drawing of what he thought Bond looked like -- which was promptly ignored.

The strip continued to dramatize the books in the order they were written, allowing for some decent continuity. For instance, when Felix Leiter is badly injured in one book, he retains those injuries from then on.

A new writing and art team took over in 1966 and continued adapting books. After Fleming died, they adapted his short stories and then eventually came up with new material.

The strip never made it to the US. 

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*I read a few of them back in the day. The movies quickly stopped using Fleming plots and just grabbed titles.

The Mystery of Mr. E

 

(2023)
Directed by Martyn Tott
Written by Sophie Hannah, Martyn Tott, Annette Armitage (music)
Starring Harry W. Knight, James N. Knight, Kevin Dixon, Martin Spendlove, Martyn Tott, Rachel Dobell. Anna Macleod Franklin, Nicola Wright
IMDB Entry

Finding things to write about here often includes a bit of serendipity. After I finished watching Nando Fodor and the Talking Mongoose, Youtube suggested The Mystery of Mr. E. I've been enjoying a lot of UK cosy mysteries and thought I'd give it a chance.  

But this wasn't just a mystery. It was a musical, and I love musicals.

George and John Danes (James N. Knight and Harry W. Knight) are generalists -- the opposite of specialists (it's explained in the first song) who are called to Idlewyld House, a country house and the home of the late Harriet Landrigan (Nicola Wright). Landrigan was a wildly successful romance novelist who died after falling down stairs. As they're about to go to the British manor, they are approached by the mysterious Mr. E (Kevin Dixon), who introduces himself as the murderer, then leaves. When the Daneses reach Idlewyld, they find that no murder has been committed. The house is run by Harriet's son Peter (Martyn Spendlove) and his wife, the overbearing Clemence (Anna Macleod Franklin), and their son Oscar (Aidan Broderick). There are also three obnoxious houseguests, Swithun Kirk (Martyn Tott), a hammy actor; Irene Coggins (Rachel Dobell), a fan who knows everything about Harriet's books; Max Russell (Judson Vaughan), her publisher; and several others to fill out the requirements of the cozy mystery. 

We find out that Harriet suddenly stopped publishing her novels. She wrote them, bound them secretly, and put them under glass for no one to read. The guests all had reason to want to see them.

Then there's a murder (of course).

This is just another iteration of the cozy mystery form, but the songs add an extra dimension. Sophie Hannah, who wrote the lyrics, is an accomplished poet and mystery writer.* Annette Armatage's music is just right.

As a quibble, the final scene where everyone gathers together and the murderer's true identity is revealed,** goes on too long, and the reason for Harriet's death is pretty tenuous.

But the movie is a lot of fun if you love mysteries and musicals.

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*The Agatha Christie estate has had her write new novels featuring Hercule Poirot. 

**As is the motive for Harriet stopping publication of her books.

Nando Fodor and the Talking Mongoose

 

(2023)
Written and Directed by Adam Sigal
Starring Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver, Christopher Lloyd, Neil Gaiman,* Gary Beadle, Tim Downie, Ruth Connell, Jessica Balmer
IMDB Entry

Nando Fodor and the Talking Mongoose. Sounds like the title for a whimsical children's movie. But it turns out to be a light drama with some interesting elements.  And it's based on a true story.

Nando Fodor (Simon Pegg) is a debunker of psychic phenomena. Fellow skeptic Harry Price (Christopher Lloyd) alerts him to a report of a talking mongoose living on the Isle of Man. Price had looked into it and never saw or heard the creature, but a sample of its fur seems to come from no known animal. Fodor and his assistant Anne (Minnie Driver) go to investigate, where they meet the Irvings, including the daughter Voirrey (Jessica Balmer), who also is a talented ventriloquist. The mongoose, named Gef (voice of Neil Gaiman), is elusive and shy, but most of the people vouch for his existence. except for the Irvings' hired man, Errol (Gary Beadle) who thinks it a fake. Fodor eventually talks to Gef, but is still unsure.

The title may sound like whimsical nonsense, but Nando Fodor was a real person and there were newspaper reports of the story. The film dramatises the incident.

And though the film is billed as a comedy, it's more dramatic and thoughtful that just getting laughs. Fodor's speech at the end is quite insightful.

This is a rather subdued role for Simon Pegg, who underplays Fodor, but still shows some good dramatic chops when they're called for.  I've been a fan of Minnie Driver for a long time and she does not disappoint. Christopher Lloyd also underplays, but still does a good job.

The film never got a wide release, and was mostly shown in the UK, if at all.

One note -- stay until the end of the credits, when the actors trash talk the director. The funniest part of a movie, though I don't think the movie was really trying to be a comedy at all.

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*The movie was made before his issues were publicly known.

North of North (TV)

 (2025)
Created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Starring Anna Lambe, Maika Harper, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jay Ryan, Braeden Clarke, Kelly William, Kiera Cooper
IMDB Entry

Netflix seems to think any half-hour live-action show is automatically a comedy. This can be misleading when it describes a show that is primarily dramatic, with a bit of humor to leaven it. Still, there are plenty of good ones, and North of North is definitely in that camp.

It's set in the town of Ice Cove in the Nunavut territory of northern Canada. Siaja (Anna Lambe) is married to Ting (Kelly William), her high school sweetheart. After his obliviousness causes her to fall into the water and nearly drown, where she has a vision of the Inuit goddess Nuliajuk and realizes she can't stay with Ting any longer. She takes her daughter Bun (Kiera Cooper) and crashes with her mother Neevee (Maika Harper). Her decision scandalizes the people of the town, all of whom think Ting is a prince and she's crazy to leave him. She gets a job at the local community center, helping its somewhat clueless director, Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub) Later she meets a Alistair (Jay Ryan), who is there to assess whether to set up a research facility in the town and who, to her embarrassment after she kissed him, turns out to be her father who Neevee kept secret from her (and him). 

The show is lighthearted as Siaja tries to remake her life despite the disapproval of many of the town's citizens. It's gentle humor based on character reactions.

The show was shot on location in the town of Iqualuit, the home town of Anna Lambe, leading to some beautiful vistas of the land. It shows Inuit culture in a current day setting; the producers even used Inuit designers for all the clothing. It portrays the culture in a current day setting.

Lambe is great as Siaja, as she tentatively explores life on her own. Maika Harper* plays Neevee as a prickly person, but who has a deep secret that is eventually revealed when she explains why she cut out Alistair completely. The show also deals with the cultural clash between the Inuit and white Canada, including some ugly truths. Kelly William is interesting as Ting; he's not a bad person, but can't see how his own self-centeredness is what cause Siaja to leave.

There are some nice touches. Many of the people are Inuit, so they still have the traditions of hunting. There's a cute sequence where Bun shoots her first caribou. I spotted the fact that the had a child-sized rifle -- and it was pink.

The show is quite charming, with interlocking stories and secrets revealed.

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*Who also comes from Iqualuit."

Wycliffe (TV)

 

(1993-98)
Based upon novels by W. J. Burley
Starring Jack Sheppard, Helen Masters, Jimmy Yuill, Aaron Harris, Adam Barker
IMDB Entry

The British love their mysteries. Now that there are so many streaming services, including those like TubiTV that unconnected with a network, and which have to dig up programming, some ones are making their way to be available to US viewers. One that I've been enjoying is Wycliffe.

The stories are police procedurals based on the novels of W. J. Burnley.*  Charles Wycliffe is a detective superintendent who investigates murders in Cornwall.** He is aided by DI Doug Kersey (Jimmy Yuill) and DI Lucy Lane (Helen Masters).

The actual crimes aren't the type of bizarre murders you find in Midsomer Murders. They tend to be more mundane. On the other hand, this is not the high-tech crime solving you find on CSI. Wycliffe solves them by straight investigation, questioning the suspects and gathering information that points to the killer. This isn't about clever twists, but discovering the facts and applying them, with Wycliffe being exceptionally good at ferreting out lies.

The show avoids something common in all British mysteries:  personality quirks. Wycliffe seems to have very few, other than an aversion to shaking hands. As the show continued, the stories starting including more about his personal life.

Jack Shepard is great as the stoic but persistent Wycliffe and Jimmy Yuill and Helen Masters make strong deputies and help counterbalance Wycliffe's no-nonsense demeanor.

The show ran five seasons in the late 90s. It is fun to see the cutting edge techology of the time -- mobile phone where you had to extend the antenna to talk, for instance.

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*The first season consists of direct adaptations but, like Perry Mason in the US, they started just using the character.

**The southwest part of England. Beautiful scenery.

Devil and the Deep

 

(1932)
Directed by Marion Gering
Written by Benn W. Levy (screenplay), Harry Hervey (story), based on the novel Sirenes et Tritons by Maurice Larrouy
Starring Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, Cary Grant
IMDB Entry

Tallulah Bankhead was a sensation off screen, both a major stage star and someone well known for her outrageous personal life. Despite making films, few were particularly memorable.* In Devil and the Deep, she gives a strong performance, alongside early appearances by three Hollywood giants.

Diana Sturm (Tallulah Bankhead) is married to submarine captain Charles Sturm (Charles Laughton), who is insanely jealous of her friendship with Lt. Jaeckel (Cary Grant). Nothing happens between them, but Sturm transfers Jaeckel away to quash any romance. Diana, distraught, wanders the city and meets up with a man (Gary Cooper) who is sympathetic. They have a one-night stand and she discovers afterward that the man is Lt. Sempter, Jaeckel's replacement.  Sturm's jealousy makes him suspicious of the two, and he quickly uncovers what happens.  Diana, realizing her husband is half insane over the revelation and will take action to destroy Sempter, goes aboard the sub to warn Sempter, who is remorseful about his actions.  Knowing Diana is aboard, Sturm orders the ship to sea, and maneuvers it so that it is rammed by a ship. The submarine sinks and Sturm -- fully insane now -- works to make sure that Diana and Sempter don't survive.

Bankhead shows why she was so well regarded as an actress.  It's one of her better roles, too. Laughton chews the scenery, but that was something he does best and he's perfectly fine as a man who is slowly going mad. And while Gary Cooper is a fine actor, he doesn't really ring true as a romantic lead. Grant would have been better, but he wasn't a star yet, and he disappears from the picture about a third of the way through. But you can believe that he could have had an affair with Bankhead.  Cooper, however, is fine as a man of action who has to take charge after the sub sinks.

The film also is accurate in its portrayal of the equipment used to escape a submarine.

We all know what happened to the actors, but director Marion Gering is an unknown. He was a stage director who directed several films in the 30s, but never anything memorable. He has previously directed Cooper in I Take this Woman, which was a hit at the time.

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*Other than Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat.

His Double Life

 (1933)
Directed by Arthur Hopkins
Written by Clara Baranger & Arthur Hopkins, from a play by Arnold Bennett
Starring Roland Young, Lillian Gish, Lucy Beaumont
IMDB Entry

I've been blogging here since 2006, with coming up on 900 entries.  And occasionally, I end up blogging about something I had already discussed. When I started watching His Double Life, I got the sinking feeling I'd seen it before. I hadn't -- but I had.

The movie is the original for the film Holy Matrimony, which I wrote about in 2020. Same story:  Priam Farrell (Roland Young), a reclusive artist, is mistaken for his valet Henry Leek when Leek suddenly dies of pneumonia. No one listens to Farrell,* so he gives up. By chance, he meets Alice Chalice (Lillian Gish), who had contacted Leek through a lonely hearts magazine. Leek sent her a photo of him and Farrell, so she immediately decides that Farrell is Leek. The two of them fall in love and marry, but Farrell, who hates any publicity at all, is forced to continue to paint. That leads to complications.

Lillian Gish was arguably the greatest actress of the silent days, but when sound came along, her image didn't match what was popular at the time. Gish prefered the stage, anyway, and this film was only her second sound film. It was nine years before she decided to make another. It's an interesting role: she is the support for Farrell and clearly loves him. There's one clever scene where she meets with Leek's wife and adult children and subtly dissuades them from blackmailing Farrell.

Roland Young is best known for playing Topper in a series of films about a staid banker being haunted by mischievous ghosts** that only he can see.*** He's similar here**** -- timid, but also extremely frustrated by his fame. He would have been content to paint and not worry about it.

Director Arthur Hopkins was primarily a stage producer; this was his only sound film.

How does this compare to the remake? Well Gracie Fields is a far greater comedienne than Gish, but Young is far different than Monty Woolley, who was more annoyed by fame than afraid of it. Holy Matrimony is also funnier, but this one still has plenty of charm.

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*Assumptions of class is a big part of it.

**Including Cary Grant

***I don't know if this was the source of this trope, but it's been done to death, so much so that the TV show Ghosts subverts it by have the ghosts being explained to those who can't see them. 

****Hollywood under the studio system loved to typecast actors.

The Intruder (Shame)

 (1962)
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Charles Beaumont
Starring William Shatner, Frank Maxwell, Jeanne Cooper, Robert Emhardt, Leo Gordon
IMDB Entry

Roger Corman is recognized as one of the kings of schlock horror of the 50s and 60s. But he occasionally got away from directing it to try something a bit more serious. The Intruder (also known as Shame) was a surprisingly strong dramatic film about a serious issue.

Adam Cramer (William Shatner) arrives in the southern town of Caxton, clearly with something on his mind more than visiting. Desegregation is now the law of the land, and most of the residents aren't happy about it, but are willing to go along with the war. Cramer is charming, and starts to go about changing everyone's mind. People start to get violent against the Blacks in the community and with people like Tom McDaniel, the local newspaper editor, who tried to help out. Vern Shipman (Robert Emhardt), one of the town's wealthiest men, support Cramer, even as the hatred becomes more violent. Cramer seduces the wife of a neighbor, Sam Griffin (Leo Gordon); he confronts Cramer and threatens him with Cramer's own gun, showing the man to be all talk but cowardly underneath. Still, things get even more tense when a high school girl, under Cramer's urging, falsely charges a Black student with attempted rape.

The movie is uncomfortable to watch, since it doesn't shy away from using racist terms and ugly mob scenes and violence. But it is a strong condemnation of racism in the darkest terms.

Shatner is excellent. He hadn't developed the mannerisms that are now his trademark and his Cramer is charming on the surface but ruthless in trying to achieve his goal of spreading hate. Robert Emhardt also does a good job and showing his character's racism, but in such a way that once he learns the truth, he is willing to admit he took it too far.

In the cast were several writers. Charles Beaumont, who wrote the script and the novel it was based on, has a small role. He, George Clayton Johnson, and William F. Nolan* were writers for The Twilight Zone; these are their only screen appearances.

This was clearly meant to be a strong stand against racism, but wasn't a big hit a

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* Nolan was a friend of Ray Bradbury and co-author (with Johnson) of Logan's Run. One of my favorite short story collections was one of his, with the charming "One Love Have I," one of the most romantic SF stories every written.

Lady of Burlesque

 

(1943)
Directed by William Wellman
Written by James Gunn, based upon a novel by Gypsy Rose Lee
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, Stephanie Bachelor, Pinky Lee. Gerald Mohr
IMDB Entry

Gypsy Rose Lee was quite a legend in her time. She was known for her strip tease act* and became a celebrity outside the Burlesque circuit, even being the subject of the Broadway musical Gypsy. And she even wrote a mystery novel, The G-String Murders, which was filmed as Lady of Burlesque.**

Dixie Daisy (Barbara Stanwyck) is the star of a burlesque company, wooed by comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O'Shea), though she refuses his advances having had bad experiences with other comics. During a police raid, someone tries to strangle her; she is rescued by a stage hand in the nick of time. But later, a member of the cast is found strangled, a g-string around her neck, after arguing with her gangster boyfriend Louie Grindero (Gerald Mohr). The plot goes out from there, with another star is found dead the same way -- on stage as Dixie starts her act.

The movie is full of twists and red herrings, but its strength is portraying the backstage life of burlesque performers. There are hints and quick glimpses of acts, but most of it stays in the dressing rooms, and deals with the issues of police raids and other things.

One of the actors is Pinky Lee, a baggy pants comedian who worked in vaudeville and burlesque, and who I remember for a kids show in the early 60s. Another name I recognize was Gerald Mohr, who did a lot of radio work, including a long stint as Phillip Marlowe.

Given the censorship of the Hayes office, this was a touchy subject to film. They refused to allow the title of the book attach itself to the movie, even though the term "G-String" is used throughout and the book was not only successful, but even had a feature article in Life Magazine. And, of course, the more risque parts of the acts were toned town; when Dixie sings about "bump and grind," the camera stays off her.

It's a decent mystery, fast-paced and with plenty of humor. Well worth a viewing.

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*Not stripping -- she joked and teased as she slowly removed her clothes, and didn't really show herself nude.

**Burlesque was low on the totem pole beneath legitimate theater and vaudeville, known for more adult and bawdy themes and very broad comedy.

The Villain Still Pursued Her

 

(1940)
Directed by Edward Cline
Written by Elbert Franklin, Ethel La Blanche
Starring Hugh Herbert, Anita Louise, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton, Richard Cromwell, Margaret Hamilton, Billy Gilbert
IMDB Entry

Sometimes bad acting can be fun. Plan 9 from Outer Space is a case in point. And withThe Villain Still Pursued Her, the bad acting is deliberate and very funny.

The movie is a broad parody of the idea of the old-time melodrama. It starts out with a stage proscenium, where the announcer (Billy Gilbert) comes on to introduce the play. Then we see Mary Wilson (Anita Louise) talking with her aunt (Margaret Hamilton) and laying out the situation: Edward Middleton (Richard Cromwell) has inherited the mortgage on their house from his kindly father and they are afraid he will foreclose. Cribbs (Alan Mowbray) comes by to tell them they will have to move. When Edward is on the way to the house, Cribbs intercepts him, pushing him to foreclose, but when he sees Mary, the two fall in love.

At their wedding, the scheming Cribbs inveigles Edward into trying alcohol for the first time. He immediately becomes a drunkard, and Cribbs tries to trick him into crime, which he refuses. Cribbs forges Edward's name on a check, but but Dalton (Buster Keaton), Edward's friend, exposes that crime. and others. With the help of Frederick Healy (Hugh Hubert), Edward becomes sober and all is well.

Everyone overacts. That's the point. Cribbs often addresses to audience to talk about his nefarious plans, while the others will soliloquize about their thoughts and feelings.

Mowbray is full-on Snidely Whiplash as Cribbs, moustache and all.  He was a busy character actor, appearing in movies and films for over 40 years. 

I was interested in the film because the many familiar faces. Buster Keaton was the big one, but he was given very little to do. Margaret Hamilton was Mary's kindly mother, a big departure from her role the year before in The Wizard of Oz. Billy Gilbert did a lot of comedy -- most notably as Mr. Pettibone in His Girl Friday -- and was the voice of Sneezy in the Disney Snow White. Hugh Hubert is forgotten today, but his ditzy character was very popular in the 30s, with his fluttery mannerisms and his catchphrase "hoo hoo hoo," which often was parodied in cartoons. I also spotted Vernon Dent, the Three Stooges' greatest straight man.

Director Edward Cline was responsible with several W.C. Fields features and also directed several of Keaton's short subjects.  

The joke does perhaps go on too long, and has one somewhat racist non-sequitur joke, but it does remain amusing as a send-up of  old-time stage melodramas.

"Pimpernel" Smith

 (1941)
Directed by Leslie Howard
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Ian Dalrymple (screenplay), A. G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm (Story)
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis Sullivan, Mary Morris
IMDB Entry

I'm a fan of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the template for modern superheroes. Leslie Howard played him credibly in a 1934 movie and once World War II broke out, he had the idea of remaking it and changing the time from the French Revolution to the current time. He directed and produced a current-day version, "Pimpernel Smith."

In 1939, Archeologist Horatio Smith (Leslie Howard) takes a group of Cambridge students on an expedition to examine archeological sites in Germany. They soon discover that the mild mannered professor is helping people escape from Nazi Germany. Gestapo General von Graum (Francis Sullivan) is desperate to stop the man. Discovering the person helping them is British, he blackmails Ludmilla Koslowski (Mary Morris) to ferret him out; Ludmilla's father is a Gestapo prisoner.  She finds Smith and urges him to save her father. Smith denies he has anything to do with it, but comes up with a plan to get him and some other prisoners out of Germany, with von Graum suspicious that he might be the man he is looking for.

The movie starts a bit slow, but eventually shows Smith and his students working to achieve the escape.  The Scarlet Pimpernel books showcased the Pimpernels' cleverness, and this version has it in spades. The escape plans are very worthy of the original.

Leslie Howard played the original Pimpernel a few years earlier and clearly wanted to do an updated version for the wartime audience. He is much like the original in most respect. Frances Sullivan makes Von Graum a decent antagonist, though he isn't quite as good as Citizen Chauvelin in the books. 

Overall, this is a nice update on a classic hero.

Krapopolis (TV)

 

(2023 - )
Created by Dan Harmon
Starring Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell, Hannah Waddingham
IMDB Entry

I don't watch Fox animated shows often. The older ones seem tired and the newer ones don't seem all that interesting. That's why I didn't pay much attention about Krapopolis. But when I saw it on a streaming service, I decided to take a look. And seeing it was created by Dan Harmon, the mind behind Community and Rick and Morty, I started to watch the episodes.

It's set in the ancient Greek city that gives the show its name. Tyrannis (Richard Ayoade) has declared himself king, and lives with his family. His mother, Deliria (Hannah Waddington) is a goddess, kicked out of Olympus and his father Shlub (Matt Berry) is a mantitaur, part human, part lion, and part scorpion. His sister Stupendous (Pam Murphy) is a cyclops with a patch where her right eye should be* and his brother Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell) has the head of a fish kept inside a fishbowl, with a baby walker ro move his weak body around.

Tyrannis lacks self-confidence, even though he's trying to do something special with the city. Schlub is only interested in sex and drinking, and isn't subtle about it at all.  Deliria is completely self-centered and doesn't care about mere mortals. Stupendous is a warrior, while Hippocampus is a scientist, whose schemes aren't appreciated until they're needed.

The show stars two of my favorite actors. Richard Ayoade came to my attention as Moss in The IT Crowd, as a clueless computer nerd. Matt Berry is a very busy actor, usually playing bombastic roles. He came to my attention in Snuff Box and later in Toast of London and seems to be showing up all over the place.

The show also covers contemporary issues like the problems with social media as a hydra** acts in that capacity.

As of this writing, the show is still in production. Give it a look.

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*An eye is painted on it.

**Voiced by D'arcy Cardin of The Good Place.

My Life is Murder (TV)

 

(2019-2024)
Created by Claire Tonkin, Rick Maier
Starring Lucy Lawless, Ebony Vagulans, Tatam Warren_Ngata, Marting Henderson
IMDB Entry

There's a lot of TV outside of the US and the UK and when you stumble upon something with a well-known actress in the lead, it requires a closer look. My Life is Murder is a gem from Austrailia/New Zealand, a cozy mystery with sharp writing and strong characters.

Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless) is a retired cop who is still a sharp investigator and is hired by the police as a consultant to look into crimes that seem a bit fishy. Alexa is assisted by Madison Feliciano (Ebony Vabulans), a computer hacker who finds information online.

The mysteries are cleverly wrought, but the big reason for watching the show is Lucy Lawless* as Alexa. She smart, clever, and witty, something of a pain, but willing to put herself on the line to solve the case. Ebony Vabulans is also excellent and the dialog between the two is always a joy.

In the third season, they added Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata), a friend of Madison's, who takes over when she is away and become part of the team. The third season also adds Will Crowe (Martin Henderson) as Alexa's ne'er-do-well brother.

The first season was set in Melbourne, Australia, but Alexa and Madison move to Aukland, NZ for the second season. Lucy Lawless is a New Zealander, and I suspect that had a lot do to with the move. A nice little touch is the way the title of the show is displayed in each episode as part of the background.

The show is on Acorn TV and -- if you're library offers it -- Hoopla. It's a charming little detective show that's a lot of fun.

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*I knew her from Xena, of course, and didn't realize she was a natural blonde.

No Good Deed (TV)

 

(2024)
Created by Liz feldman
Starring Lisa Cardellini, O-T Fagbenie, Abbi Jacobson, Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, Poppy Liu, Teyonah Paris, Ray Romano, Luke Wilson, Anna Maria Horsford

IMDB Entry

I sometimes wonder the decision process for categorizing a show on a streaming service. I've seen thing flopping because the expectations in the promotional material mislead audiences. No Good Deed is a prime example.  

It's billed as a dark comedy, and while there are quite a few darkly comic moments, it's better described as a mystery and a drama.

It's centered around Paul and Lydia Morgan (Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow), who are trying to sell their house.  Lydia was a concert pianist, but has developed tremors that make playing impossible.  Three couples are introduced looking over the house. JD Campbell (Luke Wilson) is an out-of-work soap opera actor whose wife Margo (Linda Cardelli) is having an affair. Leslie Fisher (Abbi Jacobson), a prosecutor, and Sarah Webber (Poppy Liu), a doctor, are a couple looking to move up. Dennis Sampson (O-T Fagbenie) is a best-selling author who is suffering from writer's block*; his wife Carla (Teyonah Parris) is pregnant and worried that Dennis's overbearing mother (Anna Maria Horsford) might come to live with them. Paul and Lydia are also visited by Paul's ex-con brother Mikey (Denis Leary), who is clearly up to no good, and plays a little blackmail game on them.

The concept doesn't seem like much, but the key to understanding it is that everyone has secrets they're keeping from their partner.  Some are small; others are enormous and everything centers around selling the house.

The main plot line involves why Paul and Lydia are selling the house, a mystery that is slowly revealed (and solved) as the show goes on. Most of the humor depends on plot twists, so there aren't a lot of laughs throughout (especially when we learn more about Paul and Lydia), but when there is one, it's a big one.

I've liked Lisa Kudrow as an actress since I saw her in The Opposite of Sex.  This is primarily a dramatic role; there's a scene in the final episode where she is spectacularly good. Ray Romano also shows some strong acting chips and the entire cast is wonderful. Lisa Cardinelli has a great presence also. Denis Leary also shows a great deal of depth as his character is not what he seems.

The story is extremely well-written, both in character and plot. It unfolds the mystery slowly, but it's not just finding the perpetrator, but is shows how it affects the people involved.**

No Good Deed is on Netflix, and deserves a binge.

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*Authors in movies often have this problem.

**I noticed a nice bit of foreshadowing in the first episode, and the title is a clever bit of wordplay

Naked Alibi

 (1954)
Directed by Jerry Hopper
Written by Lawrence Roman, from a story by Gladys Atwater and J. Robert Bren
Starring Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame, Gene Barry
IMDB Entry

I've been impressed by Sterling Hayden from when I first saw Dr. Strangelove. And Gloria Grahame was absolutely delightful as Ado Annie in the film version of Oklahoma! But neither had the type of career that made them stars. Naked Alibi allows them both to showcase their talents.

Joe Conroy (Sterling Hayden) is police chief in a small California city.  After a string of robberies, Albert Willis (Gene Barry) looks like a suspect and, under interrogation, he punches a cop. The cop punches back and they are separated, but not until after Willis vows revenge. The cop is shot; Willis is the obvious suspect, but he falls down trying to escape. Police brutality is alleged. Then two more cops are shot. Conroy goes after Willis, but there's another fight in front of a reporter and, due to the complaints about brutality, Conroy is fired. 

He's still certain that Willis is guilty and follows him down to Border City.*  Willis is there to meet his mistress Marianna (Gloria Grahame). Conroy is mugged and taken into an apartment to recover. Marianna lives in the building and comes to help him. She learns that Willis is married and the two of them work together to get the evidence that will connect Willis with the murders. 

Hayden is excellent as the hero, with some of the same qualities that made him effective as Jack D. Ripper and in The Long Goodbye. He's intense and obsessed with catching Willis. Grahame shows a neat vulnerability and is utterly charming throughout.

It's strange to see Gene Barry in the role as a sociopath. His TV persona was much more genial, but he does a great job of turning mean.

Chuck Connors has a small role as a cop. Connors was a two-sport pro athlete** who, while playing for the Los Angeles Angels (the minor league team), started getting small roles in films and quit sports for acting, eventually becoming a TV star.

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*Much like Los Robles in Touch of Evil, though with fewer Mexicans.

**He played for both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Celtics.

Lepke

 

(1975)
Directed by Menahem Golan
Screenplay by Wesley Lau, Tamar Hoffs
Starring Tony Curtis, Anajanette Cromer, Michael Callan, Vic Tayback, Vaughn Meader
IMDB Entry

I can't believe it took me so long to get around to Lepke. I  like gangster films, and this one was special for me. I had sat in the electric chair prop used in the movie, but now that I got a chance* I discovered that it was an interesting depiction, and a fine role for Tony Curtis.

The movie is a biography of the gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter,  a petty thief who eventually becomes the head of Murder Incorporated. Lepke is ruthless and a stone killer, starting out in the protection racket. He eventually becomes the head of it, and starts to branch out. If someone gets in the way, they don't last for very long. 

But Buchalter is a loving family man, kind to his wife Bernice Meyer (Anajanette Comer) and friends with the lawyer Robert Kane (Michael Callan), who is completely honest and goes to work for the FBI.  Eventually, through the work of J. Edgar Hoover and Thomas Dewey, Buchalter is sent to the electric chair in Sing Sing.

This is a strong role for Tony Curtis. He originally was just considered a pretty boy who couldn't act,** but managed to confound the critics and pick up roles now considered classic. Here he gets to play a psychopath, and is fascinating. Though the attempts so soften him by making him a loving husband and father don't really ring true. Anajanette Comer manages to sell the idea that she loves him despite his flaws. Milton Berle has a small role as Bernice's father, who doesn't trust Lepke. 

An interesting member of the cast was Vaughan Meader as reporter Walter Winchell. Meader was the man behind the smash record hit, The First Family, a series of skits parodying John F. Kennedy. After the assassination, Meader had no career. This was his only real film role, as he imitated Whichell, a famous reporter in his day.

Screenwriter Wesley Lau is well known to fans of Perry Mason. He played Lt. Anderson, the main homicide detective when Ray Collins couldn't continue.

The movie was produced by director Menaham Golan with his cousin Yoram Globus. This was an attempt to do a prestige film and he was willing to take on people who were pariahs in Hollywood, which is why Curtis (who was having trouble getting roles) and Meader took part. The film was supposed to be the first in a series of gangster films, but the genre's day had passed. One more was made -- a comedy -- but Golan and Globus's Cannon Films did a lot of schlock in the 70s and 80s*** and the occasional prestige film.

The reason the movie connects with me is that Lepke was a distant relative of mine. The connection added much to my enjoyment.

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*No thanks to Youtube, who interrupted it for ads every sixty seconds (literally; I kept track).

**"Yonda lies the castle of my fadder."

***Breaking 2: Electric Boogaloo

A Stranger in Town

 

(1943)
Directed by Roy Rowland
Written by Isobel Lennart, William Kozienko
Starring Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Jean Rogers, Porter Hall, Robert Barrat
IMDB Entry

"Film noir" is an imprecise term, and grows more imprecise as time goes by. It originally designated a dark film, both in lighting and in theme, usually about a man laid low by an evil woman.* Later, it developed films involving crime and private eyes.  Now, all too often, it just means a black-and-white movie. I tend to look to films that are billed as film noir for my posts, and came across A Stranger in Town, which has very little darkness, but is a surprisingly good movie.

John Grant (Frank Morgan) is a U.S. Supreme Court justice. The court term ends and he goes off on a duck hunting expedition, telling his secretary Lucy Gilbert (Jean Rogers) that he will be going incognito to avoid the press. While hunting, the local game warden asks for his license and informs him that, though the state license he shows is legitimate, he needs a special license to hunt in the town. The warden makes a deal: if Grant gives him five dollars, he'll overlook the violation and give him the license. Grant doesn't reveal his identity and refuses to pay the bribe; he's taken to court and fined $100.

While waiting, he sees lawyer Bill Adams (Richard Carlson) try to get justice for a man who is about to lose his farm.  The corrupt Judge Austin Harkley (Porter Hall) will have none of it. Adams is planning to run against the boss of the town, Mayor Connison (Robert Barrat) and Grant decides to help him out. He asks Lucy to come to town and she meets cute with Bill.** Despite harassment and other tricks, Grant reveals his identity and Connison is taken down.

Frank Morgan was, of course, the Wizard of Oz and in the early scenes it's hard not to think he's being a giant humbug again. The part here is similar to the kindly version of  the wizard at the end of that film. Richard Carlson reached fame in science fiction films of the 50s, most notably in It Came from Outer Space and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jean Rogers also has a connection with science fiction as Dale Arden in the early Flash Gordon serials with Buster Crabbe.  Porter Hall is also a familiar movie face as the evil Sawyer in Miracle on 34th Street.

The film is far to lighthearted to be considered noir, but it is a charming little movie with a message of the need to fight against corruption.

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*Double Indemnity is the prototype.

**An extended sequence of disasters that should make her stay well away from him. But we know better, don't we?

They Never Come Back

 

(1932)
Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer
Written by Arthur Hoerl, Sherman L. Lowe
Starring Regis Toomey, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Woods, Greta Granstedt, Earle Foxe, Gertrude Astor
IMDB Entry

In the 1930s, boxing was America's most popular professional sport next to baseball so there were a lot of boxing movies. They Never Come Back stays away from the cliches that marked boxing movies* to come up with something different.

Jimmy Nolan (Regis Toomey) is a successful prizefighter, but just before a bout, he gets a telegram telling him his mother has died. Distraught, he goes into the ring and manages to win, but he tears a ligament in his arm and is not cleared to box again. He brings his sister Mary to the city and he manages to get a job working for at Jerry Filmore's (Earle Foxe) nightclub. He becomes close to Adele Landon (Dorothy Sebastian), Filmore's girl. When money is stolen, Jimmy becomes the prime suspect and is arrested when he is found with the money; he believes Filmore has framed him for his interest in Adele.  Mary visits him in prison and also falls in love with Ralph Landon (Edward Woods). When Jimmy is released, he discovers that the money was stolen by Landon because he owed it to Filmore. Because Landon is in love with Mary, Jimmy decides to find the money and the most convenient way was to take part in a boxing match, despite the risk.

The story is fairly sophisticated for its time. Toomey, who later became a successful character actor in TV, was a leading man of the time, but never a star. Dorothy Sebastian is best known today starring with Buster Keaton, most notably for the routine when he tries to get her into bed once she's passed out drunk.**

Director Fred C. Newmeyer directed several Harold Lloyd films, notably his classic Safety Last."

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*"In the third round, you're taking a dive."

**It's hard to write the description these days without people getting the wrong impression. Sebastian plays his wife and Keaton is just trying to get her into a place to sleep. No sex is suggested or implied. Keaton loved the routine and re-created it elsewhere.