Friday Festivities

Christmas season at Verdala Palace in Malta, Reuters photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi:

Anyone who has been paying attention will not be surprised by the charges against Hunter Biden. Will he spend any time in jail? I doubt it.

This may be the most amusing headline of the day, from nypost.com: “Woman shot in butt after sliding into MRI machine with loaded firearm.” I bet a TV crime series uses it.

This sounds like fodder for screenwriters, from NYP: “Victorian-era ‘vampire slaying kit’ with wooden stake, holy water and crucifix hidden in Bible hits auction block.” As does the fact that it is Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day. “Excellent!”

More PC madness, caption from an NYP editorial: “California retail stores with more than 500 employees will soon face fines for failing to offer ‘gender-neutral’ toy sections.”

Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on OTA in NYC, ran Below the Deadline (1946), the story of a WWII pilot who takes over his murdered brother’s legal gambling operation. The only member of the cast I recognized was Phillip Van Zandt, the villain. It was routine, failing to delve into the protagonist’s obvious PTSD. The star, Warren Douglas, has 64 credits as an actor and 34 as a writer, career spanning 1938-’81. All his big screen credits seem of the B variety. Among his TV scripts: eleven episodes of Sugarfoot and ten of Cheyenne. He passed away at 86 in ’97. Below the Deadline was directed by William Beaudine, who has an astounding 402 titles under his name at IMDb in a career that spanned 1915-’76. He did 79 episodes of Lassie, and at least ten of six other series. Add the total up, and he was at the helm more than 500 times! He must have worked in his sleep. I believe all his big screen efforts are B movies. In ’66 he did Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula back-to-back. He passed away at 78 in ’70. Here’s Beaudine:

And Douglas:

RIP actress Ellen Holly, 92. Born in NYC, she is known best for her work in soap operas, 522 episodes of One Life to Live and 59 of Guiding Light. While she made only four appearances on the big screen, she did impressive work on Broadway, including several productions of Shakespeare. Well done, Madam.

It was a gorgeous day to do business curbside. My thanks to the mom and daughter who bought two paperbacks in Russian, and to the gentleman who purchased three hardcovers in that language; and to my Constant Benefactress, who selected The Testament by John Grisham, Dance Is for Everyone by Andrea Zuill and If Not For You by Bob Dylan and illustrator David Walker, a kids’ book based on the music master’s song; and to Candy, who donated three more cook books; and to the lovely elderly lady library volunteers, who delivered three DVDs.

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