Double Feature & Newsreel

Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on over the air antennas in NYC, ran two more titles I’d never seen, part of its Thursday Night Noir series. The first, When Strangers Marry (1944), directed by future shlockmeister William Castle, stars Kim Hunter as a newlywed who suspects her husband, played by Dean Jagger, is a murderer. Although I anticipated the twist, it was enjoyable. A true B picture, its running time, minus commercials, was only 67 minutes. The second flick, Flight from Destiny (1941), was more satisfying. When I’d read the plot summary at the station’s website, it sounded similar to the thriller on which I’m working. I was relieved that it’s vastly different, the lead character jovial, not a misanthrope like the co-protagonist of my novella, and the body count minimal. It owes a lot to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in the moral question at the story’s center. Thomas Mitchell’s character has six months to live. He wonders whether killing an evil person would be a good way to go out. Running only 75 minutes, it was directed by Vincent Sherman, who had modest success at the helm of big screen productions and then, like so many of his contemporaries, segued to TV in the late ‘50’s. His most notable works are Mr. Skeffington (1944), starring Bette Davis, and Adventures of Don Juan (1948), starring Errol Flynn. He passed away at 99 in 2006. The femme fatale of Flight from Destiny is/was played by Mona Maris, with whom I was completely unfamiliar. Born in Argentina, she came to the states in 1929. Unfortunately, her career never took off. Only one of her 53 appearances is notable, a brief scene with Bob Hope in Monsieur Beauclaire (1946), which is listed as “uncredited.” She returned to South America in 1960 and passed away at 87 in 1991. Here she is:

Attention sci-fi authors looking for a story idea. Here’s a headline from nypost.com: “‘Cyberpunk 2077’ allows gamers to customize their own genitals.” There’s gotta be a punchline to go with this.

After the baffling disappointment that was Jeff Sessions’ tenure as Attorney General, William Barr seems to have been born for the job. Of course, one must always temper hopes regarding those in government, Dr. Fauci the latest example.

Here’s a link to a non-partisan Corona timeline that shows all missteps: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/from-new-york-to-canada-to-the-white-house-initial-coronavirus-responses-havent-aged-well

Here’s a sad FN headline for fiscal conservatives: “Trump poised to add more debt than Obama in first term.” The figure will reflect total dollars, not the percentage of increase, which is lower. Still, the debt/deficit is up to $25 trillion. Let’s hope that what some say — deficits don’t matter — is accurate, because it looks like there’s no solution. Expect Dems, who should be rejoicing at such spending, and the mainstream media to have a field day with this.

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