Double Feature

Let’s start with great news. Headline from nypost.com: “Scientists developing implant to cure cancer in just 60 days — with goal to slash death rates by 50%.”

Doubling down on insanity, headline from newsmax.com: “Putin Calls Up 130,000 More Troops.”

Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on OTA in NYC, ran an entertaining double feature of low budget, black and white fare I’d not seen: Horror Hotel (1960) and Devil Doll (1964), total running time of the two less than 2:40. The former stars Venetia Stevenson, whose character’s interest in witchcraft leads to trouble. Christopher Lee and Patricia Jessel work the dark side. Born in London, Stevenson was once dubbed “the Most Photogenic Girl in the World.” Her mom was actress Anna Lee, who did 316 episodes of General Hospital and has 125 other titles under her name at IMDb. Her dad, director Robert Stevenson, received an Oscar nomination for Mary Poppins (1965) and has 65 other titles under his name. Venetia’s screen career was brief, 1954-’61, 22 credits. She moved to the USA and was married for less than a year to Russ Tamblyn, and to Don Everly for eight years, bearing him three children. She worked in production in the ‘80’s. She passed away at 84 in 2022. Photo from Google Images:

Devil Doll stars Bryant Halliday, one of his six credits, as a ventriloquist/hypnotist. It co-stars William Sylvester, who was so familiar but I was unable to place. I felt so dumb when I looked him up and saw that he plays the scientist who dominates the first quarter of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and who chalked up 87 other credits in a career that spanned 1949-’83. My main interest was Yvonne Romain, who plays the target of the protagonist. Born in London in 1938, her career spanned 1952-’73, 41 credits. Perhaps her most notable role was her final one — the titular character in the fun romp The Last of Sheila (1973). She was married to film composer Leslie Bricusse from ’58 until his death in 2021. She is a mom of one, still with us. Photo from GI:

I had just about given up on selling books when sunshine came through the blinds just as I’d sat down with a crossword puzzle. Since my car was a ways from the corner, I brought a shopping cart and filled it with Russian fare and CDs. My thanks to the gentleman who bought a translation of Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf, and to Crazy Joe, scourge of NYC radio talk show hosts, who donated four paperbacks and purchased a large cookbook; and to the Latino restaurant worker who parked his bike and selected seven CDs. I am blessed.

My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza