Bildwasser

172, Better late than never. "What's happened to Godfrey? I sent him out an hour ago for two extra large pepperoni pizzas and he's still not back." "Apples? Check. Razor blades? Check. Urban legend. Let 'em take a bite into this urban legend." I also didn't notice that the curtains were on the inside, not the outside. Some of the stars were eccentric, but not that eccentric.

Aha. I was confused by Fred's description just above the photo. People who point out inconsistencies or whatever word one want to use have the advantage, since it's more difficult to to back and try to challenge them, especially if one doesn't have a copy of the film at hand. How did Mister E get out of the bell tower without running into Jimmy on the way down or being observed by others? Simple. He had a proto- type of a rocketcycle and in the confusion attending his wife's death he simply took off on it out the back way and was back at his desk in Frisco doing a crossword puzzle in pen before you could say Jimmy crack corn and I don't care. Funny how it's hard to remember the exact details. I believe it was out the arch too. It would have been humorous if the wife had landed on a station wagon, but one not full of nuns.

Maybe Joel had a thing for shiksas. It's a fairly common theme.

If that is the actress that played his actual wife, she does look just like Kim Novak, so there goes the idea that Scotty would have noticed the difference between her obit photo, assuming there was one, and Kim as Madeleine. Was it a window or just an open arch? Either way it was a nun who spooked Judy and caused her to fall to her death. Bad sister, bad, bad sister. Back in the day there was less concern about such things. Now that everyone wants to file a lawsuit, things are different. See, this is why Elster was such a clever duck and got away with murder and you might not have. If he hadn't hired Scotty and Madeleine, there wouldn't be the suicide angle. His wife just would have been a possible case of homicide and Elster would be an immediate suspect. Scotty followed her around and observed her weird actions, so suicide is an easy conclusion to come to. Way to go, Gavin.

Phyllis was always enjoyable and could be counted on for a good performance. I remember her mostly from her appearances on Alfred Hithcock's TV shows. It seems she usually played a wife who ran into some problem or another. I saw her in an episode of Bonanza just a few days ago. As often happens with actors, there is some dispute about her birth year. I've seen both 1921 and 1919. Guess it really doesn't matter all that much now. RIP.

Yep, Kim did do some weird sh*t, at least for 1958. I'll bet Judy didn't spend her weekends cleaning her waterpik. Hiiooooo.

I would have spent it on a rifle to shoot out that annoying neon sign. Another minor point is how Jimmy managed to support two separate households, after Judy quite her job, on his retirement pay. Maybe he only had to do it for a few months before that unfortunate visit to the bell tower. Hollywood economics.

Lefty Frizzell with an early hit, I Love You a Thousand Ways.

Even if Jimmy went to the cops, it wouldn't do much good. All he could say (leaving out the pauses and ums) was something like An old acquaintance asked me to follow his wife. He thought she might be having some *mental* *problems*. I did and she did do some weird stuff, and lo and behold, she committed suicide, just like someone who had *mental problems* might. And since Judy was dead, that's about all he could say. Not much of a case. From the evidence presented in the movie, I think Judy was addicted to tacky wigs and bargain basement sweaters. She probably didn't get much scratch from Mr. Elster. He has the look of a penny pincher to me.

It did have a lot of moving parts, but once everything worked out, it was done. The only loose end was Judy. Maybe if Judy had watched more film noirs, she would have taken advantage of her position, but evidently she didn't. She had changed her apperance and the odds of Scotty seeing her again were not that great, except in the movies. And killing Judy would only have added more problems. All in all, a job well done.

Traffic jam, Light Up or Leave Me Alone.

They should keep playing the same kinds of movies and just change the name to something like The Grade Z Drive-In Crapola Farm. The earliest James Bond movie was from the 1960s.

The man in the mac said You've got to go back, You know they didn't even give us a chance.....

Judy was a looker, at least after Jimmy spiffed her up, but she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Maybe Elster was counting on that. What I like about Elster is that he wasn't one of those flamboyant, out there, look at me villains. He kept things simple, got the job done, and got away with it. Could he have done things better? Sure, nobody's perfect, but he did what he had to do and he did it well. There might have been enough of a time lapse that the employees of the dress shop didn't remember who came there to buy what. And even if they did remember, they likely didn't give it a second thought.

Tom Petty playing Honey Bee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aeWC2mfWCQ

Yes, I'm guessing that in one form or another CliffNotes are still around. And as a last resort maybe Classics Illustrated are still around too. Back in high school the joke was that many students read CliffNotes instead of reading the book itself. Today with the internet there are a lot more opportunities, both for legitimate research and cheating. The more things change...

I remember many years ago reading about Caesar's magnanimity toward his enemies, something that came back to bite him very hard. Like that old saying No good deed goes unpunished, though the punishment is usually not fatal. Rome was definitely an oligarchy, with the top dogs in dispute among themselves. In addition to the fear that Caesar might try to become an all- powerful dictator, I believe some of the conspirators had personal and family issues that made them feel slighted and now it was time to get revenge. There is some similarity with the Corleones, though they were obviously working with a much smaller canvas. Some of the patron-client relationships in The Godfather also likely had to do with the immigrant experience, the newcomers from the old country looking for help from those who had come before, especially if they were powerful and could provide favors and jobs. A little bit like Tammany Hall, but on a more intimate level.

Jane's Addiction, Of Course. Viewer discretion is advised. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z48rC3-4xM

Since everyone makes mistakes sooner or later, it's best not to make too much of others' Speaking of mistakes, I'm still having trouble with this site. Firefox didn't work most of yesterday and, so far, not today. It's a minor annoyance, but still a pain.

Not to go all **** here, but the title of the song is just Flowers on the Wall.

I'm sure most American students remember CliffNotes with their distinctive black and yellow covers. In some stores they had their own individual display rack. I presume they're still around, though I haven't been in the market for them in some time. Of course they were supposed to be used as a supplementary study guide for the book itself, but it seems some unscrupulous individuals actually read them instead of the book. Hard to believe, isn't it? CliffNotes would seem to be the perfect product for George Costanza, though he was so lazy he may not have even made the effort to read them.

It is good to keep in mind that Shakespeare's play is a work of fiction and not of history and that he used the material to suit his own artistic ends and not those of a historian. I believe he was the one who popularized the Et tu, Brute line. I'm sure Coppola got some of the sweep of the film from the book and perhaps some from general knowledge about organized crime, its expansion into Las Vegas, its getting more involved in legitimate businesses, etc. This is just following the timeline of Mafia history. He likely added things from his own experience as an Italian-American, and then something from human nature, such as the fight for power and retaining it, which is a pretty universal impulse. Yes, Caesar was a pretty nasty piece of work, but considering the environment he was operating in, he almost had to be just to stay in place.

No doubt that when it came to sophisticated cunning, smarts, and general style, Michael was a few levels above old school knuckle draggers like Vito and hot- heads like Sonny. He was a pretty perfect fit for the family moving out into the larger world, heading west, and posing as semi-legitimate businessmen. He is definitely as cold as ice, especially when he's wearing that gray suit and homburg hat getup. Very chilling and calculating. But at the end of the day, it still comes down to violence and the threat of violence. Unless he also has someone in a financial hold, why do what he wants? Because he might just get someone to whack you, baby. In a very general way I can see somewhat of a relationship between Julius Caesar and The Godfather. It's in the specifics that there is a weakness. Julie was a much more cultured gent than Vito, and there isn't the family blood ties that there are in the film. Then it's hard to see Fredo in the Brutus role, as the poor lad wouldn't think of killing his pappy. And then there is the problem of Sonny as Antonius, as Sonny predeceased Vito, and Antonius stuck around for the war against Augustus, Michael. I think the Corleones using Roman references was just another way to sugarcoat their usual self-serving ways. Yeah, you should kill yourself (and keep us out of trouble) just like those old noble Romans did. Thanks, sucka.

The Pretenders, Criminal.

I kind of doubt thugs like the Corleone family really needed any pointers from Machiavelli. I'm guessing they learned most of their lessons from their environment. Violence, intimidation, and a little deceit and cleverness don't require much education. Hard to see Vito or Sonny with their noses buried in The Prince, though Mikey may have come across it in one of his college courses. Kill someone, threaten to kill someone made up a big part of their "technique" For the most part their methods were rather crude but effective. Don't forget that Vito divided all of Brooklyn into three parts.