Spirit Lake, Idaho Theater Memories Recalled

It started at the Spirit Lake, Idaho, movie theater in 1947 where the Zarkins and Barers would go while on summer vacation at Sedelmeyers Resort. So I have been carrying around a snapshot in my head of a movie scene where Victor Moore emerges from  underground in a manhole. Those Spirit Lake days were an impressionable time for a lad starting a lifetime as a movie maniac. 
By dumb luck I was reunited with the scene when last night I watched the 1947 Allied Artist movie ‘It Happened on Fifth Avenue” with Gale Storm, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore and Dan Defore.  Briefly, it’s a sentimental Christmas yarn about a returning GI coping with the housing shortage and a self-absorbed captain of industry and his daughter (Storm) who falls in love with the GI played by Defore.  With high production values and a good script, it is quite enjoyable.
Spirit Lake’s theater was small and with primitive folding chairs or some other unusual seating arrangements.   The theater also featured “Luck of the Irish” with Tyrone Power which we also saw.  I have fond Spirit Lake memories.

Woman in Black: Unusual Choice for Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe makes an agreeable hero in the Gothic ghost horror movie “The Woman in Black” from the Hammer Studios which gained fame in the 60s and 70s with Gothic horror stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. 
Children are the victims in this British film and the lad who plays his son in the movie is in real life his God son.  Problem is he’s as blond as Mamie Van Doren in “Sex Kittens Go to College.”  Radclliffe with the soulful eyes makes this film somewhat enjoyable.  Also it reintroduces the Gothic horror genre to an audience reared on teen slasher horror.  I kind of liked it.  Interesting that 21-year-old Radlcliffe was cast in a mature role after being the Harry Potter boy hero for so many years.  Given the fact that some of the Glee high schoolers are old enough to have kids in high school you would expect Radcliffe to be hanging out at the drive in with the other “kids” in post Potter movie roles.

Lewis Book Helps Explain Current Market Scandal

What a timely read:  The best seller by Michael Lewis, “The Big Short:  Inside the Doomsday Machine,” is required reading to understand the current scandal with the missing $2 billion at J. P. Morgan Investment Bank.  Lewis tells the story of hedge fund managers in the early 2000s who went to Securities and Exchange Commission officials with the impending collapse of the lousy bad credit mortgage bond market.  They laid out  the story for the SEC.  The SEC “doesn't dare or bother to” investigate and “the smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear.”  Crooks and stupid people were running the markets and the rating services, S&P and Moodys, were afraid of losing business by asking the right questions.  The AAA bond rating meant nothing.  We know how that turned out.  The book will put you on edge as the current mess unfolds.  So who else has $2 billion unaccounted for?

“Best Hotel,” Republic Pictures and Monogram’s Judy Garland

A lot of gray heads could be seen at the matinee at the Edina Theater for the British/Indian/Dubai film, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”.  Some of our favorite actors from PBS/BBC , Maggie Smith and Judi Dentsch, star in this charming story that takes British seniors on a journey to India. 

Dev Patel, who was featured in "Slumdog Millionaire", plays the young hotel owner.   So few films focus on seniors that this was like finding an oasis in the Sahara.  The character played by Maggie Smith voices inspirational words to live by related to dealing with disappointment, moving on and being open to change.  Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Colin Covert in the Tribune panned the movie but Chris Hewitt in the Pioneer Press gave it three stars.  Wisely, it was promoted on PBS where it is most likely to find an audience. Elsewhere . . .

Gale Storm, best known for the inane 50s sitcom “My Little Margie”, was a talented singer and comedienne and was Monogram Pictures' Judy Garland in the ‘40s.  For her story, read “I ain’t down yet: autobiography of Gale Storm”.  Details are lacking about working at Monogram and Allied Artists except for her dislike of Roy Del Ruth but she made her best best movie with him, “It Happened on 5th Avenue” .   Some of her other Monogram screen credits include “Swing Parade of 1946” with Phil Regan, “Let’s Go Collegiate” with Frankie Darro and “Revenge of the Zombies” with John Carradine which is marvelously bad.  (Veda Ann Borg steals the movie as the walking dead).

Storm also made a horse opera at Republic Pictures which is the focus of a scholarly book,  “Republic Studios:  Between Poverty Row and the Majors” by Richard M. Hurst.  Prominent Republic historian Jack Mathis, who is decreased, had an extensive film collection extensive which includes “Captain America” serial that’s not available for purchase.  Mathis' collection is at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  Dick Purcell stared in Captain America and died of heart attack shortly thereafter doing his own stunts.  Dick is remembered as the handsome lead in “King of the Zombies” at Monogram.  Hopefully some day the Captain America serials will be available on DVD.

Outer Space Travel Can Be Hazardous

Frightening similar to the killing in Sanford, Fla., in February of an African American teenager is the plot of the 1951 independent film, “The Man from Planet X”.  Did director Edgar Ulmer plan a parable on race relations in 1951?  Who knows but this gem from United Artists is quite provocative with the earthlings taking the attitude, “If it doesn’t look like me, destroy it.”  One of the characters in the film observes:  Too bad we never got to know him.  He may have been a nice person.  That pretty much sums it up. 

 So before he became famous film director Peer Bogdanovich cobbled together a Soviet sci-fi space adventure with Mamie VanDoren and similar babes in clam shell bras and skin tight pants on a California beach.  The result is the amusingly bad 1969 movie “Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women”.  Dubbed dialogue allows for some amusing banter amongst the Soviet cosmonauts visiting a planet inhabited by the voluptuous ladies.  “If you don’t like it here why don’t you get on a bus and go home?  I would if I could find one,” is the response.

In Allied Artists’ campy 1958 hit “Queen of Outer Space” the stateside astronauts are smitten by the beautiful ladies who are sole inhabitants of Venus.   Zsa Zsa Gabor plays a “scientist” who is smartly attired.  In fact Venus ladies are ready to party in revealing cocktail dresses except for the evil “queen” who is horribly disfigured.  Costuming must have been inspired by Vegas musical reviews.   The male lead is Eric Fleming from “Rawhide” and he catches the Zsa Zsa roving eye.  Painfully atrocious acting.  Edward Bernds, a mainstay of cheesy movies, directed this mess which was probably filmed at the Allied Artists sound stage.

Broadcast Hall of Fame's Watson Feted

Hugs were exchanged and stories told Sunday in St. Paul Forepaugh’s at retired KUOM Radio Manager Marion Watson’s 90th birthday party and the reunion of the KUOM staff. Many wonderful friends from my year at KUOM (1981) were on hand including Andy, Carol, Vicki, Betty, Stuart and more. It was like 30 years hadn’t passed and we were in Rarig Center on the university campus. Connie Goldman approached me and I know that I have a connection to Connie and the wheels started turning in my head, finally mentioning my ex-wife’s Aunt Gae who is Connie’s cousin. So we made that connection and I was good to see Connie who was prominent at KUOM and NPR where she did a series on the pop psychology of Northern California, possibly in the 60s or 70s. And then I had a flash that I should know Andy Marlowe’s mom and so I asked his wife, Phyllis, about her. Yes, she worked as a secretary for 4-H at the same time I was an information officer on the campus doing public relations for 4-H. So of course I knew Eleanor Marlowe. Charles Brin was there who still can be heard on KFAI Radio and had a bit part in the Coen Brothers’ film “A Serious Man.” He and I are members of the same congregation. Curt Oliver hadn’t changed much and I reminded him of some of his witticisms. Steve Davis was also quite imposing and he still has that deep baritone that served him well as he spun classical music. The event concluded with Betty's homemade cakes, which were an office tradition on birthdays, Flashes flashed for group shots. Marion is rightfully concerned about the KUOM legacy and the many priceless tapes that are in University Archives care. Can the archives be trusted with this priceless treasure? Apart from my KUOM job, as a student I had transcribed World War Two news broadcast electrical transcriptions to tape from KSTP Radio in about 1970 so I volunteered to lend my support to efforts to chronicle the progress of this archive project. There never will be another reunion like this, certainly not at the Grain Exchange and the Medical Foundation, which were dramas that didn’t end well for me in the 80s. Then again if the Idaho Statesman wants to gather old hands together, I would welcome it.

“Macabre”, “Three Stooges”, “Moneyball”

“Macabre” is a low budget Allied Artist horror movie that I hadn’t seen in more than 50 years at the art deco Spokane Fox Theater so when it was reissued by Warners this month I bought it in a nano second. William Castle directs this black and white graveyard chiller with D list actors, a fog machine and skeletons cued by creepy music. AA insured our lives for $1,000 if we died of fright in the theater during the movie. (Chocking on popcorn or falling asleep from boredom didn’t count).

It was good to get in touch with my boyhood obsession for scary movies after avoiding them in my early childhood (too many nightmares). I can’t say that “Macabre” was all that scary compared to ”Psycho” but then I won’t spoil the plot.

Juvenile slapstick humor brought me to the multiplex here Friday night for a showing of the new “Three Stooges” movie from the Farley Brothers, one of which is quite buff. Anyhoo, my friend Jack and I nearly wet our pants from laughter. There’s nothing like a little eye gouging and a sledge hammer over the head to put you right with the world. Long live the Stooges, saviors of western civilization as we knew it.

Who would have known that the Oakland Athletics had a general manager named Billy Beane (thought he ran a mail order catalog) and who cares? Actually the Brad Pitt film was quite riveting and I don’t know why. I was actually disappointed when they lost to the Twins in the playoffs and no one is chagrin when the Twins win here. So what’s with that?

Watch this space for a review upcoming on “Cabin in the Woods” which should bring back fond memories of summer days at Loon Lake, WA.

MOVIE “GIRLS' TOWN” GETS NO RESPECT

Hollywood gossip monger Sheilah Graham refuses to mention it while jazz singer Mel Torme devotes a paragraph to the teen exploitation drive in movie “Girls’ Town” in his autobiography.

Albert Zugsmith produced several salacious thrillers at MGM, Universal and Allied Artist with Mamie Van Doren topping the bill. Ms. Graham played a sympathetic nun at a girls reformatory in “Girls’ Town” and Torme was a bad boy who dukes it out with singer Paul Anka and the son of film icon Charlie Chaplin. In the scene with Charles Chaplin junior the actor was to slug Torme and actually did, loosening a few of the singer’s front teeth.

If Ms. Graham suffered any indignities or loose teeth we may never know because in all the books written about her and her lover F. Scott Fiitzgerald there are no references to GT. Too bad. Then again Torme makes no reference in his book to Lana Turner with whom he is alleged to have an affair. Discretion is the better part of valor, I guess.

Interesting that by the mid 50s the once distinguished MGM had fallen on such hard times that it was catering to the drive in crowd as was Warner Bros., who distributed the Mamie musical effort “Untamed Youth” as well as "Teenagers from Outer Space" in the 50s.

Strange Radio Titles Come to Mind

Waking streams of consciousness have brought back names of radio and TV shows of the 40s and 50s and I needed to check Wikipedia to see if they were real, including IT PAYS TO BE IGNORANT, LADIES BE SEATED, JUKEBOX JURY AND ISH KABIBBLE.

It Pays to Be Ignorant was on Mutual for Philip Morris, Chrysler and Desoto. The show spoofed popular radio programs like Quiz Kids and Information Please. It obviously was a favorite on the Crosley at home and may have featured a character called “Park Your Carcass” but I need confirmation on that. Or maybe that character was on Fred Allen’s show?

Ladies Be Seated was a stunt game hosted by Minnesota native Johnny Olson and was on NBC in the 40s. I can’t see how this would work on radio.

Jukebox Jury had a short run on ABC TV and was hosted by disk jockey Peter Potter with celebrity actors on the panel. The panel judged newly released songs.

Ish Kabibble was the name of a comedian featured on the radio show Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge. He also appeared in movies starting in 1939. I probably remember the name from a popular song of the day (ish kabibble mit the ya ya). Anyone recognize this?

Life is Cruel and Conflicted at “Cairo Station”

A lonely sexually repressed obsessive newspaper vendor played by director Youssef Chahine longs for the country life and a sultry vixen who sells American Coca Cola to passengers at an urban train station. It’s an existential nightmare that doesn’t end well.

This is the premise for Chahines 1958 Egyptian film triumph “Cairo Station” which is not what you expect in a Middle East film. Chahine must have studied European masters of neo realism of the 1940s to craft a troubling mix of desperation as seen through shadows and light.

The newspaper vendor and women who sell soft drinks to middle class travelers at the depot are central to the drama that pits traditional Muslim beliefs against decadent western capitalism. Workers shed your chains preaches a union organizer who offers hope to those oppressed by their bosses. Women are used and physically abused with sex and sadism an underlying theme.

Against the backdrop of a billboard with a voluptuous woman, men gather on the public square to face Mecca for their daily prayers, not a hospitable setting for the devout. We are not far from pagan Western influences in the depot when we see on the wall a poster advertising the sexy 1953 Hollywood movie “Niagara” with Marilyn Monroe.

Beyond the depot, Chahine offers a glimpse of Cairo’s urban possibilities teaming with hope and poverty with western jazz making us forget we are in the Middle East. (“Cairo Station” is available on DVD with subtitles).

Game On -- Stop the Hate

MINNEAPOLIS -- About 500 people Sunday stood up for dignity and against tyranny and hate Sunday at a meeting in a suburban Minneapolis synagogue to kick off the campaign against the ill-advised constitutional anti-gay marriage amendment.

“My blood boils” said Minneapolis Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman as she recalled the plaintive plea of a toddler who asked if her two moms would go to jail if the amendment passes.

The amendment which will be on the Nov. 6 ballot would further marginalize members of the LGBT community to further the radical agenda of the Republican legislative majority.

Against formidable odds, like the corporate Catholic Church which is sinking a million dollars into the anti-gay campaign, the advocates of dignity and freedom need to convince 160,000 Minnesotans to vote against the amendment. or else don’t vote on the amendment. Gay and lesbian couples with children will have compelling stories to tell those wavering that could tip the balance in November.

The Minnesota Rabbinical Association on Jan. 18 adopted a statement opposing the amendment.

Seeking Edgar Ulmer’s Film Legacy

Movie director Edgar Ulmer from the 30s and 40s was worried about his legacy. Would anyone remember him for “Detour” and “The Black Cat”? Good question. Answer: yes and no, but an international documentary about Ulmer from Kino Video seeks to establish him in the lexicon of innovative directors with testimonials from contemporary directors Joe Dante, John Landis, Roger Corman and Wim Wenders.

Ulmer is a contradiction in that he resisted being ground up in the Hollywood “hash” machine of the major studios and yet he had an unsustainable faith that the “mythic Hollywood” would allow him to establish his legacy as a movie genius. So he chose a path less traveled. Ulmer signed on with poverty row studio PRC (Producers Releasing Corp.) And he said he enjoyed his years at PRC, making movies on a shoestring. Necessity is the mother of invention so with few resources he crafted at least one memorable movie, “Detour”, at PRC. (“The Black Cat” was a loan out to Universal).

Some of his movies dealing with desperate living are available cheap, like at the dollar store. (Two different DVDs that I bought of Miracle Pictures “Monsoon” (“Isle of the Forgotten Sins”) are un-playable. The Kino issue of “Isle” is playable but the soundtrack is distorted. Obviously it was made from a 16mm print but I am happy to have it.

The 1943 “Isle” movie is interesting in that it features a somewhat comical puppet as a deep sea diver searching for sunken gold. John Carradine and Gale Sondergaard spark romantic while Sidney Toler of Charlie Chan fame and handsome Rick Vallin (Ava Gardner’s fiancé in “Ghosts on the Loose” at Monogram) are evil doers. Toler in a swimsuit with sagging titties flopping in the breeze is amusing and not all that sinister. The villains’ shootout in the closing minutes is notable in that not a drop of blood was shed.

Like an earlier Ulmer film, “Moon Over Harlem”, it reveals incidents in the lives of people living on the edge.

So what happened to PRC and Ulmer? The notable director rests in peace at Hollywood Forever cemetery, a short distance from Santa Monica Blvd. and LaBrea Aveniue where once PRC made movies with Lash Larue and John Carradine. Now it is the undistinguished Movetown Plaza Shopping Center. Not even a plaque exists to commemorate a fascinating era 60 years ago when movies were made cheap in six days.

Reporter Leckie Pens Profound War Memoir

(USMC Leckie Photo)
The Emmy winning HBO series “The Pacific”, the World War II drama, is based on the biographies of Robert Leckie (1920 to 2001) and Eugene Sledge. Leckie”s book, “Helmet for My Pillow” is emotionally charged and compelling. In the miniseries, actor James Badge Dale portrayed Leckie, known as Lucky.
Leckie was very lucky to survive jungle rot, malaria, madness, scorpions, snakes and time in the brig while too many of his Marine comrades were sidelined by determined Japanese and suicide. His war resume includes Guadalcanal, New Britain and the Pelelu holocuast where he suffered a concussion that ended this sickening nightmare.
Private Leckie, a newspaper reporter, reaches deep into his soul, sharing his inner most thoughts in 1957, 12 years after the war. “I stood among the heaps of dead. They lay crumpled, useless, defunct” (in New Britain). His summation on the follies of war is profound: “Father forgive us for the awful cloud . . . rising over Hiroshima . . . burst a bomb, shatter a people, explode the world.” The war for Leckie was a “strength of ordeal" and was his “sacrifice ”.
One of the lighter moments in the book and miniseries is the “great debauch” --- wine women and song in Melbourne with very little singing. This memorable but gaudy scene was recreated in the miniseries: As the ship pulls out of the harbor to the shrieking din of thousands of girls, the Marines and sailors let loose a dramatic aerial display of inflated condoms. For the women of the west and Australia, Leckie observes: “We who are about to die insult you.” Many Australian ladies were generous in their appreciation to the “bloody Yanks” for keeping a stubborn enemy from their shores.

President Cooolidge's Packard at Florida Museum

Here's the Packard that President Calvin Coolidge rode in. It's on display at the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum.

"Until They Sail", a New Zealand War Story

My Auntie Pearl Davis Zarkin, who is long decreased sad to say, could tell this story better than anyone, but the 1957 MGM movie “Until They Sail” with Paul Newman and Jean Simmons is a good place to start. It is based on a James Michenor novel which may be worth a look. Despair and disruption caused by war are common themes and the Rank film, “The Way to the Stars”, is a compelling look from the British perspective.

“Loneliness everywhere and hunger” is the haunting refrain voiced by the Newman character as New Zealand women cope with World War Two, the Yank sailors and marines presence in their ports and the loss of their men in the Pacific and North Africa to the war. This would be known by my Auntie Pearl who at that time lived in Auckland, NZ, although I could never hear loneliness and hunger in her whimsical discourse. She brought joy and merriment to our family when she arrived in Spokane in the late 1940s with her husband, Uncle Morrie. I can picture her now with her Dame Edna glasses and spike heels. Uncle Morrie called her “Mary”.

“Until They Sail” is a yarn that tears me apart. The character played by Joan Fontaine asks the character played by Charles Drake: “Why did you Americans come here?” and he replies, “Because of the war.” Heartbreaking loneliness and desire drive New Zealand women to affairs with the Yank sailors and marines against the backdrop of perceived guilt in cheating on their brave New Zealand fighting men. At one point they pinpoint on a map where the American and New Zealand forces are fighting and as casualties mount they destroy the map.

Four sisters are central in the plot. Some want to remain in Christchurch, NZ, while one is eager to get to America. One has a child by a Yank marine who dies in the Pacific. U.S. Navy bureaucracy delays their marriage until it is too late. The American presence in this beautiful land is incredibly disruptive on many levels. In the HBO TV series Pacific, an Australian woman refuses marriage to a Yank marine because she foretells his fate.

My Uncle Morrie was a sailor on a US Navy supply ship in the Pacific when he met Auntie Pearl in Auckland where they were married. Lack of job opportunities and possibly annoying in laws in Auckland prompted my aunt and uncle to move permanently to Spokane, WA, where my uncle was in the scrap metal business and then managed a downtown bar. Auntie Pearl’s people skills and warm personality made her quite successful at Leed’s Shoe Store in downtown Spokane for many years. They had a cozy home on the South Hill with a bar and slot machine in the basement and a dog named Boozer.

What remains from Auntie Pearl is a silver cup inscribed “David” which belonged to her father David Davis. She was quite fond of her stepsister Gladys and made several trips to Auckland as I recall. Auntie Pearl may have seen “Until They Sail” and certainly she would approve of Paul Newman in his Navy uniform.

UPDATE from Sam Gurewitz: The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944. Three cousins, Sam Gurewitz (Seabees), Morrie Zarkin (Navy) and Louis Agranoff (Marine Corps) were reunited on the island of Trinian in 1943 for less than a day. All three survived the war. Sam and the Seabee sailors constructed the airfield in Tinian where the plane Enola Gay took off to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The three cousins were about 20 when they saw active duty.

Another Gloomy Biopic with Leonardo

Yet another depressing biopic about a tortured soul from the early 20th century graces the screens this winter, "J. Edgar" and one hopes there will be a sequel wherein we will learn about his discovery of the vacuum cleaner.
Quite reminiscent of Leonardo Decaprio's staring role in the "Aviator" about Howard Hughes is this Hoover yarn. Armand Hammer (a Gossip Girl hunk) is outstanding as Hoover's soul mate Clyde. In fact the scene where they brawl over Hoover's announcement that he had sex with movie star Dorothy Lamour is the high point of the movie. (One cringes at the thought of Dotty bobbing under the obese J. Edgar and where were Bob and Bing while all this was going on).
Muted color bordering on back and white set the scene about a hateful creature who is of little interest to most moviegoers. There's a very telling gay scene where Hoover and Clyde are in a mean spirited chat about style and a woman at the restaurant with flowers growing out of her head. Quite amusing.

Republican Sex? Scandal Rocks St. Paul

Given the current Republican scandal involving Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (married with children), the question on many minds is: Will the Republicans' antigay constitutional amendment on the next ballot be amended to define marriage as existing between "a man, woman and male legislative aide." Seems fair to me.
The hypocrisy of the entire antigay lesbian marriage amendment is raised by Doug Grow on MinnPost.com and what a wonderful Chanukah gift for the DFL and the gay and lesbian communities. The super religious antigovernment, anti-tax Tea Party Republicans took the Capitol by storm and accomplished a record long government shutdown and continuation of skyrocketing property taxes.
Also they got an antigay marriage amendment on the ballot for next November. They might recoup their losses with the Christian right by proposing legislation to make adultery a capital offense punishable by stoning on the Capitol Mall. Hello Amy! Makes sense to me.

"Rocky King", "Bundle of Joy" Recall 50s

Thanks to Oldies.Com, suddenly it’s the 50s again with the revival of “Rocky King Detective” and “Bundle of Joy.”
Before there was Charlie Sheen there was the Bishop Sheen Show and Rocky King on the DuMount TV Network, favorites in the Zarkin household on KXLY-TV in the early 50s. Rocky carried on annoying conversations with his wife Mabel who was off camera and when the actor playing Rocky (Roscoe Carnes) was sick his sidekick substituted that week. The sponsor was a breath freshener. Unfortunately, the DVD does not include the commercials and the DuMont logo. Amazingly Rocky has survived given the fact that ABC dumped most of the DuMount kinescopes in the East River -- a criminal travesty. Many of the original DuMont stations are now owned by the Fox Network, including KMSP in Minneapolis.
America’s two cutest marrieds, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, are the headliners in RKO’s 1956 “Bundle of Joy,” which has been remastered from its original RKOScope, released by Warner Archives and is available on DVD for the fist time. Luckily, RKO got the cuties on the studio lot before Eddie became distracted by Liz Taylor.
“The Little Bastard” would have been a better title for “Bundle of Joy” but the censors would not have been amused. The plot deals with a child born out of wedlock who is found on the steps of an orphanage by the Debbie character who falls in love with the handsome Eddie character. Before the RKO logo appears at the end of the movie, the Eddie character admits he is the father of the boy. And Debbie and the censors are okay with that startling revelation.
Tommy Noonan appears as the horny department store coworker of the Debbie character and Adolph Menjou is the Eddie character's daddy which is an odd bit of casting. Menjou appeared in Republic’s “Timberline” where he appeared to be reading his lines off the back of Vera Ralston’s wig.
Also now available (maybe for the first time) is the 1940s Universal serial “Green Hornet Strikes Again” with game show host Warren Hull as the green guy and Keye Luke as his pidgin speaking Asian sidekick Kato. Although not HD, this is a remarkable transfer. A TV series of the same name ran in the 60s. Hull was the MC on “Strike it Rich” on CBS in the 50s when unfortunates told their sad stories and got a chance to get help from benefactors who called the “heart line”. A wiseacre in high school Spanish class chirped “heartline ringing” when the phone distracted Mrs. Black from her lecture. Hull also appeared with the East Side Kids as a cop in “Bowery Blitzkrieg” and used a lot of Brylcream or Vitalis.

Pedicord, Where Dad and Grandparents Stayed

In the 1930s my Dad, Philip Zarkin, and my grandparents, Harry and Rebecca Zarkin, stayed for a short time at the Pedicord Apartments in Spokane which has been enshrined in an exhibit at the Weismann Art Gallery on the University of Minnesota Campus. I don't have any details about their stay in this grim hotel but some of the interior has been reassembled in the museum. Soundtracks provide a haunting picture of desperate lives and I hope that is only the artist's interpretation. Weismann was the son of Russian immigrants to Minneapolis, much like my Dad who died in 2004.

Glenn or Glenda? and Dressed to Kill

A Transgender Halloween
Cross-dressing director Ed Wood Jr. in 1953 gave us the ground breaking transgender movie “Glen or Glenda?”, a product of a feverish brain filled with conflict, guilt and self-doubt. G or G is worth a look since it was from a time when Christine Jorgenson’s sex change was commanding tabloid attention but Hollywood largely avoided the topic. This an independent exploitation throw away movie.
Then comes the intrepid Wood with all his transvestite baggage weighing heavy on his addled mind. So what we get are huge contradictions. A man can be more comfortable in a wig, woman’s clothes and pumps but can remain a manly man. We are reminded with stock war footage of Wood’s World War 2 service.
Wood actually uses the word “transgender” which I am sure was not part of the lexicon in 1953. Wood’s portrayal of gay life is homophobic, funny and disturbing: Two men meet in limbo and one offers to light the other’s cigarette while touching him on the hand suggestively and they exchange glances. One man recoils in horror.
Wood lets us know that this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Interspersed is Bela Lugosi in a set that could be the devil’s living room, repeating the line “pull the strings”. The narrator gives us a picture of Wood troubled by a remote father within possibly a traditional religious environment. So we get images of the devil fighting for his soul. Societal behavior codes requiring conformity are driving Wood crazy and result in heavy drinking which took his life. I think Wood needed to tell this story and we are somewhat richer for his effort.
Brian dePalma’s 1980 slasher thrilled “Dressed to Kill” is the tale of a conflicted homicidal transgender lady aroused by a sexy Angie Dickinson. What’s a girl to do? See these movies in tandem for a a fun filled transgender Halloween.