River Valley Blogs

Michael Welch Another Wild Wilder... wrote on Jun 13, 2008 2:16 PM:

" At least one more Wilder pic to recommend -- ANOTHER favorite of mine is his 1961 cold war parody 'One, Two, Three' which is really a 'screwball comedy' with an incredibly fast talking Jimmy Cagney (yet one more truly GREAT American movie actor) as a highly fraught Coca-Cola executive in divided Berlin who has to manage (and mismanage) his boss's wild teenage daughter who secretly marries an East Berlin young communist leaguer! The movie is chock full of cold war jokes that people my age will get but those Reagan era babies will puzzle over. Still Cagney, a versitile actor despite his tough guy-gangster type cast, is funny as hell and lots of gags about Germans who knew 'nut-tin' ('Adolf Who?'), sexy blond secretaries and Soviet bureaucrats in lust re: the latter. (The 'chase' scene in which the 'new' Soviet automobile literally comes apart is hilarious...) "

Michael Welch OY Nobodys Perfect... wrote on Jun 13, 2008 1:25 PM:

" Oddly -- or really typically -- this 'Billy Wilder' blog now has a discussion about of all things Ayn Rand! Well that's okay I think because it resonates with Joe E. Brown's line at the very end of 'Some Like It Hot' -- remember Brown's rich playboy is infatuated with Jack Lemmon as 'Daphne' and Jack can't discourage Joe E's determination to marry him, even by saying things like 'I can't have children' -- 'We'll adopt' is the rapid response. Finally of course Jack is just out with it -- 'I'm a man!' Whereupon Brown hardly blinks: 'Nobody's perfect.' And not Barack, not McCain, not Ayn Rand, not me fershure! (Not Jesus either really -- but he tries to be a good Jew; then again that's another discussion oy!...) "

Michael Welch The Rand Cult... wrote on Jun 13, 2008 12:22 PM:

" Ironically during the mid to late '50s and early '60s in NY City Rand gathered a 'group' about her that in many respects resembled a 'cult.' (Alan Greenspan, an economics grad student at Columbia U was a member by the way.) She also started an affair with a younger 'disciple,' Nathaniel Braden, and when Braden finally broke it off she denounced him, and the 'group' (an institute had been formed) divided into factions. Rand's own powerful personality and absoluteness in her views made her dictatorial really, demanding a slavish loyalty both to her personally and to her 'philosophy.' Rand became, ironically again, practically a 'Stalinist' sort of 'capitalist'... "

Michael Welch More Rand... wrote on Jun 13, 2008 12:11 PM:

" Rand wrote a denunciation of Soviet communism in an uncharacteristically short book, 'We the Living' but in two HUGE novels, 'The Fountainhead' of the early '40s and 'Atlas Shrugged' in the mid-50s she created 'Howard Roark' and 'John Galt' as hyper-individualistic heroes dedicated to 'selfishness' as a romantic realization of their abilities without ANY guilt whatsoever. Judaism and Christianity of course both emphasize collective responsibility and 'original sin,' which Rand utterly rejected. Capitalism in its purest form, as a 'philosophy,' she felt was the only means that allowed the 'superior' individual to 'rise' to his true worth... "

Michael Welch A Little More About Rand... wrote on Jun 13, 2008 12:04 PM:

" Krause, a 'rightist' on this blog I respect, provides an accurate sketch of Rand. She was born a Jewish Russian but as a child lost her faith to what she called 'reason.' She was intellectually precocious and her lower middle class family suffered greatly during WWI and the bloody chaos of the Russian revolutionS. (There were more than one!) She despised communist cant, its thought control and collectivism -- she came to idealize her own indomitable individualism into a philosophy she later named 'objectivism.' She was eventually able to flee to the US in the 1920s and by the way went to Hollywood (of course!) as a writer and a bit player -- she and her beloved future husband Frank O'Connor are both in DeMille's great silent pic focusing on Jesus' last days, 'King of Kings'... "

Bugs Raplin wrote on Jun 13, 2008 10:49 AM:

" Well, Chip Denure is a lot younger than I am and much better looking. "

Kenneth W Krause re Ayn Rand wrote on Jun 12, 2008 1:54 PM:

" A dichotomy regarding Ayn rand is that she was very anti-communism and also very anti-religion. She would often refer to people with any type of faith in a supreme being as "mystics". This is odd because Communism(as a political idealogy)very much pushes the idea of atheism(as a religious philosophy). Ayn was an interesting person, to be sure. I should point out that Rands philosophy if implemented would result is much less taxation, hence not really a need for a "rebate" in the first place. And, as a non-profit, churches would not be taxed in the first place, hence no need for a tax "credit". I think her phiosophy most closely resembles the Libertarians. "

Michael Welch Back To Billy... wrote on Jun 12, 2008 12:03 PM:

" By the way since we have discussions going re: sex and (oh!) SAME sex, one might note that in Wilder's 'Double Indemnity' critics have seen that the REAL 'love relationship' is between 'Walter Neff' (Fred MacMurray), the hapless insurance salesman who succombs to Barbara Stanwyck's cold temptation, and 'Barton Keyes' (Edward G. Robinson), the claims investigator par excellence who figures out the murderous scheme -- but for the correct suspect, his friend Walter. At the end the badly wounded Neff tells Keyes that the reason he couldn't figure it was because it was 'too close -- just across your desk.' Keyes: 'Closer than that Walter' -- lighting Neff's 'last' cigarette. 'Yeah I love you too' says Neff. What a movie for 1942 eh?!... "

Michael Welch The Degradation Of Conservatism -- Here... wrote on Jun 12, 2008 11:45 AM:

" It strikes me that some of the 'Johnny-Tess' creature's comments are so close to parody that any parody of them (Harsch's, mine) becomes nearly superfluous. 'J-T' muttered once that he/she/it is a disciple of Ayn Rand but Rand would abhor Bush's 'nation-building,' his Sovietized gulag in Guantanamo and elsewhere and his continual perversion of 'capitalism' through 'rebate checks,' tax credits for religionist organizations, government standards for education and on and on. Rand when alive dismissed Reagan as an incompetent and as even a crypto-liberal. 'Johnny-Tess' doesn't really KNOW what 'it' believes I think; he's played parody so long he only 'believes' in minimizing everything that he can't 'claim'... "

Harsch on Welch but not Literally wrote on Jun 11, 2008 5:12 PM:

" I could agree more. I don't like the free airplane tickets for people with so much oil. Maybe they could 'work it off' in the oil fields. Not being persnickety, just fine-tuning. "

Michael Welch Debating The Absurd... wrote on Jun 11, 2008 11:31 AM:

" Right dingies LOVE digs and pricks -- they practice them constantly -- and they rarely sleep at night, understanding that Obama's long term 'plan' is a la King Herod that ALL 'infants' up to the age of two are to be slaughtered so that eventually EVERY American will be FAR too old to defend the United States and the country will fall to al-Qaeda without a 'shot' fired! NOW THAT IS A PLAN! Whereupon all Iraqis displaced by the war and the occupation, now living in rubble and even ejected into the literal streets will receive free government-paid (that's socialism!) airplane tickets to the US in order to take over all the failed mortgages and then the United States will be declared 'the United States of Iraq' -- reverse conquest accomplished!... "

harsch wrote on Jun 11, 2008 10:10 AM:

" But Wilder's dead, isn't he. Then the Coen brothers must suffice: Bloody Simpleton, Miller's Flossing (remember the dental scene in Marathon Man), Raising Arizon on Life Support, No Country for Preemies, Forego, Barton!:Fink! (on your neighbor), The Big Legoffsky, O Mother, Where art Thou?, the Scudsucker Orthodoxy, the Foetus who wasn't There, All Cruelty is Tolerable, The Babykillers. And they are still young! And too old to abort! "

Johnny Hobo wrote on Jun 11, 2008 9:20 AM:

" Amen Brother, you give us patriots all hope. I think I have the resolve to put up with the hip-hop music and a film on Lenin before every major governmental announcement. "

Re Harsch wrote on Jun 11, 2008 9:07 AM:

" I never agree with Harsch, but I must hand it to him for his ability to make light of a tragic situation. That post was funny! "

To Harsch wrote on Jun 11, 2008 8:36 AM:

" Well said, Mr. Harsch! "

harsch to hobo wrote on Jun 11, 2008 2:15 AM:

" One word: Dmitrishostakovich.

Under Stalin he was the best composer of his century and perhaps ever. Creativity often flourishes under infanticidal tyrants, and human beings as individuals tend to be at their best under collectivist oppression.

Just change the Wilder titles: Red Sunset Boulevard, The Last Weekend (of the foetus), A$$ in the hole, Thanks for the Prosecution, Gulag 17, Single Indemnity, The Seven Year Infanticide, Subpoena, Some Like a Shot, Witness for the Persecution, Foetal Attraction (was that Wilder?), Balls on Fire, Five Graves to Planned Parenthood, the Bishops Little Boyfriend, the Apart-ment, Sinotchka, the Viable Spirit of Saint Louis, The Fortunate (uneaten) Cookie, The Private Life of Born Alive Infant Holmes, A Foreign Affair (starring B. Hussein Obama and Ahmadinejad).

Cheer up old sport! "

Johnny Hobo wrote on Jun 10, 2008 5:37 PM:

" Billy Wilder's sheer genius was that he was able to craft great performances from his actresses, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, that played into the leading men, Humphrey Bogart, Tom Ewell, Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon. It's a shame that under Barrack Hussein Obama's imposed socialism, all creativity would get sucked out of a genius like Wilder, instead we would see films on Lenin. Children, with Mr. Hussein's mandatory infanticide policy, would be non-existent. Sad that me must close a chapter on a great period of creativity, but, alas, that is "Change" that apparently we can believe in. Orwell should be proud. "

Now Michael wrote on Jun 10, 2008 3:01 PM:

" Why did you have to cut on our right-leaning brothers? I don't think any flap has to be "instigated" by anyone...the flap is already apparent on the McClellan Book blog. Try to stay on topic...I know you like to get your little digs in...sort of like pricks from a pin. A prick here, a prick there, until you simply wear down the other side. Perhaps Bugs comment to you was good natured. I can see that. As far as that catfight on the other blog.....I don't think so. Lets just leave it at that, shall we? "

Michael Welch Tiny Bubbles In The Toilet... wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:53 PM:

" By the way if attempting to instigate 'flaps' among Harsch, 'Bugs,' and myself are all that remains to 'thrill' the right dingies on Jimmy's blog then we can truly see that the Bush presidency is indeed flushing and the McCain candidacy is spinning in its wake. Small pleasures hmmm before The End of The World?... "

Michael Welch And Kicked Out By Freud... wrote on Jun 10, 2008 1:11 PM:

" I was so excited about discussing Billy Wilder I messed up a few things -- Wilder was born in Poland but in Galicia which was, a hundred years ago, part of the great but failing Austro-Hungarian empire, so he was a Jewish Pole, not really an Austrian but his language was German. (I also spelled 'semitic' and 'burlesque' incorrectly but oy!) Wilder by the way was an 'inquiring (gossip) reporter' for a Vienna newspaper once and knocked on Herr Professor Freud's door. He was brought in by the maid and Freud, with napkin tied about his neck (Wilder had interrupted his lunch), came out and when BW said he was from the paper Freud showed him the door swinging OUT. But before he uh left, Wilder glanced into SF's office and saw the famous 'couch'!... "

Michael Welch Funny Among The Rubble... wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:36 AM:

" Wilder also liked to do pics that weren't necessarily seen as his 'genre,' such as the adaptation of Lindbergh's 'The Spirit of St Louis' (interesting choice as Wilder was a Jewish Austrian and Charles Lindbergh is considered anti-semetic by many Jews for his opposition to US entry into WWII) and 'Ace in the Hole,' filmed in New Mexico of all places, with Kirk Douglas as the crassest, most exploitive and sensationalist reporter you ever will see. The end 'shot' of Douglas dropping like a tree right before the camera is one of the memorable. I also recommend the little known 'A Foreign Affair' with the magnificently amoral Marlene Dietrich playing her eternal survivalist female in post-war Berlin -- and it's funny!... "

Michael Welch EVERYBODY Likes It HOT... wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:26 AM:

" As for the two Wilder-Marilyn Monroe pictures, 'The Seven Year Itch' is certainly great fun and Marilyn's at the top of uh 'form,' in EVERY way, but I prefer that proto-'Crying Game,' the later 'Some Like It Hot' wherein MM is really 'upstaged' by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as the funniest drag queens in the movies. The 'joke' never stales and legendary film actors like Pat O'Brien and George Raft show up along with Joe E. Brown, the burleque comic, who finishes with the best gay icon line of all, 'Nobody's perfect.' NOBODY maybe, but who doesn't enjoy it 'Hot' again and again?... "

Michael Welch MUCH More... wrote on Jun 10, 2008 11:18 AM:

" 'Bugs' knows! Wilder is one of my very faves and one of the best of the MANY fine American directors. 'Bugs's own two choices have merit, especially the incomparable 'Double Indemnity,' which Woody Allen calls his personal favorite and 'the best movie ever made.' Fred MacMurray, so stereotyped as the mostly absent but understanding, wise old 'Dad' in 'My Three Sons,' plays a murderer! And a sympathetic one at that! Edward G. Robinson, a truly GREAT film actor, portrays Mac's betrayed friend-mentor and Barbara Stanwyck is, appropriately, the ice cold femme fatale. Fast, smart dialogue by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, the now classic 'hard-boiled' detective author. And the verbal 'seduction' sequences between MacMurray and Stanwyck contain some of the great 'lines.' How FAST was I going, Officer? FAST! Breathtakingly FAST indeed!... "

Wow wrote on Jun 10, 2008 9:40 AM:

" I have seen Bugs get feisty in the past(like his written beatdown of the intellectually diminutive Harsch on the McClellan Book blog), but I don't ever recall a cut by him on our dear brother Michael, who I am horrified to admit is starting to grow on me. "

Bugs Raplin wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:57 AM:

" I'll pick two that really contrast--Double Indemnity and The 7 Year Itch-- as my favorites. Good topic, Jimmy. Welch, of course, will be giving us all a much more detailed responses. "

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