Friday, November 24, 2017

Christmas Movies on Turner Classic Movies

Every December Turner Classic Movies shows a lot of Christmas movies. I know it is true of myself and many of my friends that watching holiday themed movies is a Yuletide tradition. Of course, as busy as most of us are, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with all the holiday movies that TCM shows during the month. Here then is a listing of the Christmas movies they are showing this December. I have to confess that I have included only movies in which the holiday plays a central role in the plot. I have excluded movies in which Christmas plays a role in only a smart part of the over all movie. It's for that reason that I don't list Meet Me in St. Louis (which I dearly love) or any version of Little Women (which, umm, I don't love...) on the list.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the list. All times are Central.

December 1
Period of Adjustment (1962) 7:00 PM
All Mine to Give (1957) 9:00 PM
Bush Christmas (1947) 11:00 PM

December 2
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) 12:30 AM
Never Say Goodbye (1946) 2:00 AM
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) 1:00 PM

December 3
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) 11:00 AM
In the Good Old Summertime (1949) 1:00 PM

December 5
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) 9:00 PM

December 8
A Christmas Carol (1951) 7:00 PM
Scrooge (1938) 8:45 PM
Lady in the Lake (1947) 10:15 PM

December 9
Lady on a Train (1945)  12:15 AM
Fitzwilly (1967) 2:00 AM
Larceny, Inc. (1942) 3:45 AM
3 Godfathers (1949) 11:00 AM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) 1:00 PM

December 10
Holiday Affair (1949) 11:00 AM

December 15
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) 7:00 PM
Holiday Affair (1949) 9:00 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) 10:45 PM

December 16
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) 1:00 AM
A Christmas Carol (1938) 11:15  AM
Meet John Doe (1941) 12:45 PM
Susan Slept Here (1954) 11:00 PM

December 17
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 11:15 AM
The Bishop's Wife (1947) 1:15 PM

December 21
Period of Adjustment (1962) 3:15 PM

December 22
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 7:00 PM
Remember the Night (1940) 9:00 PM

December 23
In the Good Old Summertime (1949) 1:15 AM

December 24
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) 7:00 AM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) 9:00 AM
In the Good Old Summertime (1949) 11:15 AM
Holiday Affair (1949) 1:15 PM
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 3:j00 PM
The Bishop's Wife (1947) 7:00 PM
The Cheaters (1945) 11:15 PM

December 25
A Christmas Carol (1938) 1:00 AM
A Pocketful of Miracles (1961) 2:30 AM
Meet John Doe (1941) 5:45 AM
Babes in Toyland (1934) 8:00 AM
Scrooge (1935) 9:30 AM
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) 11:00 AM
Fitzwilly (1957) 1:00 PM
Bundle of Joy (1956) 3:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) 5:00 PM

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. Those of you who follow A Shroud of Thoughts know that it is a custom here to post classic pinups. Without further ado, then, here are this year's pinups.

First up is Noel Neill, who is delivering produce for a Thanksgiving feast!

Next up is Vera-Ellen, who apparently doesn't realise you have to cook the turkey before serving him!

Next up is Forties starlet Peggy Diggins, who prefers to cuddle turkeys!

Here is the lovely Leila Hyams, who is also showing a turkey some love!

Janis Paige seems to want to make her turkey nice and strong with vitamins!

Finally, if I were that turkey I am not sure I would trust Angela Greene, lovely though she may be!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

The 130th Anniversary of Sherlock Holmes

Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
It is common knowledge that Sherlock Holmes first appeared in the novel A Study in Scarlet, first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887. As to when exactly the 1887 Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 was published, that is a bit more of mystery. Most simply guess that it was published sometime in November or December of that year. That having been said, the website I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere makes a good argument that Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 was most likely published on November 21. If that is the case, then today would be the 130th anniversary of Sherlock Holmes.

A Study in Scarlet would be published as a book in July 1888 by Ward, Lock & Co., with a second edition appearing the following year. It was first published in the United States in 1890. Regardless, A Study in Scarlet was not responsible for Sherlock Holmes's enormous success. Neither for that matter, would Sherlock Holmes's second appearance, which was in the novel The Sign of the Four, published in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. It would be a series of shorts stories published in The Strand Magazine that would ultimately be responsible for turning Sherlock Holmes into a phenomenon. Beginning with "A Scandal in Bohemia" in the July 1891 issue, short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes would appear regularly in The Strand Magazine for a few years.

Indeed, it was not long before author Arthur Conan Doyle and even his creation Sherlock Holmes would begin receiving massive amounts of fan mail. Some fan mail was even addressed to 221B Baker Street, an address that simply did not exist at the time the stories were originally written (Baker Street did not go up to 221 in the Victorian Era).

While Sherlock Holmes was phenomenally popular, as early as November 1991 Arthur Conan Doyle thought of killing the character off, maintaining in a letter to his mother, "He takes my mind from better things." Here it must be pointed out that Mr. Conan Doyle wrote many other works that had nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes. He wrote several historical novels, as well as fantasy and science fiction stories featuring Professor Challenger and humorous stories set in the Napoleonic Era featuring Brigadier Gerard.

Ultimately Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill off Sherlock Holmes once and for all so he could devote more time to his historical novels. It was in "The Adventure of the Final Problem", published in The Strand Magazine in December 1993, that Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty plunged to their apparent deaths over the Reichenbach Falls. Public outcry over Holmes's death was immediate. Both Arthur Conan Doyle and The Strand Magazine received tonnes of angry letters from Sherlock Holmes fans. Many people cancelled their subscriptions to The Strand Magazine.

Despite the public outcry, Arthur Conan Doyle would not write about Sherlock Holmes for some time. It was eight years before Holmes would appear again, in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialised in The Strand Magazine from April 1901 to April 1902). The novel was set before Holmes's apparent death. It would be with "The Adventure of the Empty House", published in Collier's Magazine in the United States in September 1903 and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in October 1903, that Arthur Conan Doyle would resume writing about Holmes. It is in "The Adventure of the Empty House" that it is explained how Sherlock Holmes faked his death in order to confound his enemies.

Following "The Adventure of the Empty House" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would write several more Sherlock Holmes stories, as well as the novel The Valley of Fear. The last Sherlock Holmes story, "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place", was published in the March 5 1927 issue of Liberty in the United States and the April 1927 issue of The Strand Magazine.

While the last Sherlock Holmes story was published in 1927, the character has never really been out of the spotlight since the 1890s. Sherlock Holmes would be adapted to the stage multiple times. Indeed, actor William Gillette made a bit of a career out of Holmes, first appearing as the detective in the play Sherlock Homes. Over the years there would be many more plays.

Of course, Sherlock Holmes would appear in several movies over the years, so many that Guinness World Records lists him as the character most portrayed in movies and the most portrayed detective on television as well. The first known film featuring Holmes was the one-reeler Sherlock Holmes Baffled, produced in 1900 by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. In 1916 William Gillette, who had played the detective several times on stage, appeared in the film adaptation of his play Sherlock Holmes. His play would be adapted again in 1922 by Goldwyn Pictures. This time it starred John Barrymore as Holmes and is historic as William Powell's film debut.

Perhaps the actors most famous for playing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who first appeared as the par in 20th Century Fox's 1939 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. It would be followed the same year by another Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 20th Century Fox had wanted to make more Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, but talks between the studio and the Conan Doyle estate broke down. Fortunately, Universal obtained the film rights for Sherlock Holmes and launched a new series of films starring Messrs. Rathbone and Bruce starting with Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror. Universal took the then revolutionary step of updating Holmes to the 1940s. Since then many more films starring Sherlock Holmes have been made. In fact, to adequately discuss Sherlock Holmes on the big screen would take and (and has taken) entire books.

Sherlock Holmes has also been adapted for radio several times over. On October 20 1930 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes debuted on NBC Red. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes would be followed by several more radio shows featuring the great detective in the United States, with the last airing in 1956 on ABC. Notably, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played Holmes and Watson in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Rathbone would continue until 1946, the role then being taken over by Tom Conway. Even after the demise of Old Time Radio in the United States, there would be many radio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. The BBC alone has aired several.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed detective on television. What is more, Sherlock Holmes appeared on television fairly early. In 1937 The Three Garridebs, starring Louis Hector as Sherlock Holmes, aired from the stage of  Radio City Music Hall on NBC as part of a field test before regular television broadcasts began. In 1951 the BBC aired a six episode series entitled Sherlock Holmes. An American series, also titled Sherlock Holmes, aired in syndication in 1954. Since then there have been several more TV shows featuring Sherlock Holmes, including the 1960s series initially starring Douglas Wilmer as Holmes and later Peter Cushing, the Eighties Granada Television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, the more recent series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and another recent series, Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller.

One hundred and thirty years after his debut, Sherlock Holmes's popularity shows no sign of declining. The character continues to appear in movies and on television regularly. The original books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the "canon", as it is known) continues to sell well. The Baker Street Irregulars, an organisation of Sherlock Homes fans founded in 1934, continues to thrive. While other literary characters might see their popularity fade until they are eventually forgotten, it seems that Sherlock Holmes will likely still be popular 130 years from now.

Monday, November 20, 2017

The Late Great Malcolm Young

Malcolm Young, founding member and rhythm guitarist for the legendary rock band AC/DC, died on November 18 2017 at the age of 64. He had been suffering from dementia and a number of other health problems. His brothers were George Young (founding member of The Easybeats), Alex Young (bassist for Grapefruit), and Angus Young (founding member and lead guitarist of AC/DC).

Malcolm Young was born on January 6 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland. He came from a large family, with several brothers and one sister. Of his brothers, two others would become professional musicians besides Malcolm and Angus. George Young was a founding member and rhythm guitarist in the legendary Australian band The Easybeats. Alex Young was a founding member and bassist for the British band Grapefruit. According to Malcolm Young, all of the males in his family played some sort of musical instrument. It was following the particularly severe winter of 1962-1963 (known as "the Big Freeze of 1963") that the Young family immigrated to Australia.

While Malcolm Young's older brothers George and Alex had already achieved rock stardom, his father insisted that Malcolm Young continue to work as a mechanic at bra factory after he had left school at 15. It was inevitable that Malcolm Young would have a career in music, and from 1972 to 1974 he was part of the Marcus Hook Roll Band. The Marcus Hook Roll Band had been formed by his brother George Young and his writing partner Henry Vanda. It also included Malcolm Young's brothers Alex and Angus. The band released one album and three singles. In 1974 Malcolm Young played guitar on Stevie Wright's single "Evie".

It was in 1973 that Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC. It was their sister Margaret who came up with the name after she noticed the abbreviation AC/DC on her sewing machine. The Young brothers then recruited drummer Colin Burges bassist Larry Van Kriedt, and singer Dave Evans. By 1974 Dave Evans would be replaced as lead vocalist by Bon Scott. The band built up a following and in 1974 their first album, High Voltage, was released exclusively in Australia and New Zealand. Its follow up, TNT, was released in 1975, also only in Australia and New Zealand. During this period, AC/DC regularly appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Company music show Countdown.

With a considerable amount of success in Australia, AC/DC was signed by Atlantic Records in 1976. Their first album on Atlantic was actually a compilation of songs from their previous Australian albums, High Voltage and T.N.T. Also titled High Voltage, the album was released internationally. It reached #7 on the French album chart, #31 on the Australian album chart, and #146 on the Billboard 200. Their next album was Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. The album was released in 1976 in both Australian and international versions. Strangely enough, the American branch of Atlantic rejected the album, and it would not be released in the United States until 1981. The album reached no. 5 on the Australian album chart and no. 15 on the French album chart. Released at the height of AC/DC's success in the United States in 1981, it reached #3 on the Billboard 200.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was followed by Let There Be Rock in 1977. Let There Be Rock performed well, reaching no. 17 on the British album chart, no. 9 on the French album chart, and no. 19 on the Australian album chart. Let There Be Rock was followed by 1978's Powerage and 1979's Highway to Hell. Highway to Hell proved to be the band's first major success in the United States, where it reached no. 17 on the Billboard 200. Its single, "Highway to Hell", peaked at no. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Unfortunately, lead vocalist Bon Scott died on February 19 1980, not long after they had begun work on the album that would become Back in Black. AC/DC considered disbanding, but reconsidered after Mr. Scott's family insisted that he would want them to go on. They ultimately hired Brian Johnson as Bon Scott's replacement. He had been the lead vocalist with the band Geordie. Back in Black would prove to be their most commercially successful album of all time, hitting no. 4 on the Billboard 200 and no. 1 on the UK album chart. The following, album For Those About to Rock We Salute You, also performed very well.

AC/DC would experience a decline in their fortunes with the release of 1983's Flick of the Switch and 1985's Fly on the Wall. Fortunately 1988's album, Blow Up Your Video, would see a return to their former glory. Unfortunately, Malcolm Young would miss most of the tour for the album. Suffering from alcoholism, he checked himself into rehab. His place was taken by his nephew Stevie Young. It was the only time Malcolm Young was absent from AC/DC until his retirement in 2014.

AC/DC maintained their popularity into the 21st Century. Following the release of Blow Up Your Video, their albums regularly topped the album charts in multiple countries. In 1990 their song "Moneytalks" even reached no. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Unfortunately in the Teens Malcolm Young's health began to decline. By April 2014 his health had worsened so much that he could no longer perform. By September 2014 it was reported that he was suffering from dementia. He would later develop lung cancer, with the tumour being successfully removed, and he had to wear pacemaker. Regardless, AC/DC continued according to his wishes.

While front man Angus Young has received most of the attention throughout AC/DC's history, Malcolm Young was a pivotal member of the band. He was in many respects the band's driving force and its leader. Former lead vocalist Brian Johnson described him as "...the man who created AC/DC because he said 'there was no Rock n' Roll' out there." A talented rhythm guitarist who co-wrote nearly all of the band's songs with his brother Angus, he was largely responsible for AC/DC's sound. As the band's rhythm guitarist he had a knack for developing very listenable riffs. In an interview in 2004, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth counted Malcolm Young as among the greatest rhythm guitarists of all time. While Malcolm Young may have shunned the spotlight, AC/DC simply would not have been possible without him.