Maestro & Others
RIP Ennio Morricone, 91, composer of more than 400 movie scores. He was nominated six times for an Oscar, finally winning for The Hateful Eight (2015). He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2007. Here is a quote attributed to him: “I’m not linked to one genre or another. I like to change, so there’s no risk of getting bored. I enjoy all sorts of films and I don’t consider myself a horror fan, although I do like Dario Argento’s and John Carpenter’s movies.” He was married to Maria Travia since 1956. They had four children. He will be remembered most for the quirky, haunting soundtrack of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1970). Here’s a rousing rendition performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuOArEfqGo
Grazie, maestro.
Here’s an about time headline from foxnews.com: “Anti-police demonstrations may have sparked new coronavirus cases, some cities now acknowledge.” Duh.
Here’s a good news headline and pic from FN: “Houston mom beats coronavirus before delivering healthy triplets.”
Movies!, channel 5–2 on over the air antennas in NYC, ran yet another flick I hadn’t seen, part of its Sunday Night Noir series. Destination Murder (1950), a true B movie, featured two actresses with whom I was completely unfamiliar. Although East Side Kids alum Stanley Clements had top billing, I thought Hurd Hatfield, playing a suave, brainy thug, was the star. In the female lead was Joyce Mackensie, who left Hollywood after 28 credits and became a high school teacher in 1976. She is still living.
Myrna Dell did a great turn as a chain-smoking, amoral opportunist. Her career spanned 1940-’90. She is credited, along with Marguerite Chapman, with originating autograph shows. She also did a magazine column for Hollywood: Then and Now. She passed away at 86 in 2011.
The first murder victim was played by Franklyn Farnum, who amassed an incredible 649 credits from 1916-’61, the year of his death at 83. He has moved into fourth place on my unofficial tally of screen appearances, behind Bess Flowers (913), Harold Miller (678) and Frank O’Connor (650).
At the helm of Destination Murder was Brooklyn-born Edward L. Cahn, who sat in the director’s chair 127 times, doing mostly shorts and B movies. He passed away at 64 in 1963.
Most of the floating book shop’s trade was in Russian today. My thanks to the folks who bought about 30 titles between them, and to the young woman who purchased Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; and to the gentleman who donated about ten books in Russian; and to the other who delivered a phenomenal cache in English that included huge tomes on the Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft and Grimm’s Fairly Tales.
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