What Movie Related Book Have You Read Lately?

[TikiSoo]

I collect those pulp paperbacks for the covers and used to own a few of the original paintings. Never read them, mostly keep the more unusual titles, some movie-related.

IMG_4012.JPG (83.65 KiB) Viewed 6244 times

...to use for making switch plate covers:

IMG_4013.JPG (63.57 KiB) Viewed 6244 times

(this has been in my studio's public washroom over 15 years & pretty worn, need to make a replacement!)

[EP Millstone]

Charles Willeford -- Miami Blues

I revisited the 1990 movie adaptation starring Fred Ward as Hoke Moseley, Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (AKA "Junior"), and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Susie Waggoner. I'd forgotten how much humor it had -- like for instance, Moseley's wolflish appraisal of Ellita Sánchez (Nora Dunn) after she returns his false choppers to him and he pops them into his mouth -- giving her the once-over. Ward's confident grimace cracked me up. IMO, Baldwin's standout acting ranks up there with the performances of Robert Mitchum (as "Harry Powell" in The Night of the Hunter) and Ray Liotta (as "Ray Sinclair" in Something Wild) -- each of whom created a psycho who is comedic, creepy, charismatic . . . and wholly terrifying.

Recipe for Vinegar Pie

[TikiSoo]

Recipe for Vinegar Pie

Why include the vinegar pie recipe?
Thanks for reminding me how much I love it, now I'll have to bake one.

[EP Millstone]

Why include the vinegar pie recipe?
Thanks for reminding me how much I love it, now I'll have to bake one.

Vinegar pie is an important "ingredient" in the movie (I don't know if it is in Willeford's book).

After learning that "Junior" has lied to her about his past, Susie Waggoner makes him a vinegar pie -- loaded with vinegar! When "Junior" takes a mouthful, his startled physical reaction is honest. But he tells her, "It's really great . . . one of your best," further confirming that he is a liar and untrustworthy.

[C*i*g*a*rTheJoe]

I have recently read Raymond Chandler's Short Stories "Killer in the Rain, "and "The Curtain" these two stories were "cannibalized" and used in his novel "The Big Sleep."

[speedracer5]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago. It was pretty good, but I couldn't help but come away with a somewhat unfavorable opinion of Veronica as a person. I love her movies, especially with Alan Ladd, but she doesn't seem like someone that I'd want to be friends with. She is so apathetic about life, which can be an admirable quality at times, but to me she comes across as selfish. She had 4 children, one of which passed at a week old. It seems that Veronica divorced her children when she divorced the husband. She is so blasé and nonchalant about the fact that she didn't have a relationship with her children, I can honestly see why none of them claimed her cremains upon her death in 1973. She barely devotes any pages to her children, or even her movie career, but many chapters are devoted to discussing her last partner, and drinking buddy. While I do find actors' lives interesting (e.g., Errol Flynn's and Desi Arnaz's), Veronica's was not. I would have liked to have learned more about her film career, but she doesn't devote a lot of space to it. She does go through her film career, but it's very brief. She devoted the most time to "Sullivan's Travels," so I will assume that that was her favorite film. I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

Now I am reading Lana Turner's autobiography. It is much more interesting and Lana seems like a person who you'd want to have as a friend. While Veronica just seemed to go through the motions of living her life (except for a few occasions), Lana seems to have a zest for life and loves being a movie star and all the perks that come with it. It is obvious how much she loved her career--she loved the clothes and going to the nightclubs. If only Lana had devoted as much time to picking a decent husband as she did to being a movie star. I'm just up to the point where she's filming "The Postman Always Rings Twice." She's 25, has had a pregnancy/birth from hell (due to a genetic blood disorder), and has been married and divorced twice. Artie Shaw sounds like a real p rick, which is exactly what another ex-wife, Ava Gardner, said about him. Ava and Lana were also BFFs.

[TikiSoo]

(Veronica Lake) She is so blasé and nonchalant about the fact that she didn't have a relationship with her children, I can honestly see why none of them claimed her cremains upon her death in 1973.

Now I am reading Lana Turner's autobiography. If only Lana had devoted as much time to picking a decent husband as she did to being a movie star.

I read Lake's book a long time ago & was left just as cold.
Nowadays celebrity autobiographies will not mention their children, their names/ages etc in attempt to keep their info somewhat private.
Although I bet every one of their kids has an internet account with pictures & names mentioned.

Agree about Lana Turner impressions too. Just wait until you get to the bad blood (literally) between her husband & daughter!

[BagelOnAPlate]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago.
I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

[LostHorizons]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago.
I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

I love that movie. My favorite character is the drunken grandpa warlock. You can definitely see the influence of that character on the mother in Bewitched (which the entire show is a remake of this movie).

[jamesjazzguitar]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago.
I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

I love that movie. My favorite character is the drunken grandpa warlock. You can definitely see the influence of that character on the mother in Bewitched (which the entire show is a remake of this movie).

I'm a big fan of I Married A witch. Lake and March have good on-screen chemistry regardless of how each might have felt about each other, off screen.

Cecil Kellaway was a fine supporting actor, and this is one of his best roles. We also get to see a young Susan Hayward. This is the type of role Hayward would be assigned in a lot of future films. That of the not so nice woman.

[speedracer5]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago.
I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

Yes. In her book she said that he'd made some disparaging remarks about her ability, though I also read (maybe in her book???) that she claimed he propositioned her and she turned him down and he was angry. I can believe that he criticized her more than I see him propositioning her; but who knows. Him being mad at her for not taking him up on the offer is believable, since it is still true today that some men (and women) can't handle rejection. However, I more believe him criticizing her ability because he does strike me as the type to be pompous and pretentious. Apparently during scenes where they were only shown from the waist up, she kneed him in the groin as payback. In another scene where he has to carry her, she loaded her costume with weights. She liked playing pranks on him throughout filming which definitely didn't endear her to him. In that case, I could see being annoyed with her as that is highly unprofessional behavior. Fredric March does not strike me as the jovial, fun loving type.

[speedracer5]

(Veronica Lake) She is so blasé and nonchalant about the fact that she didn't have a relationship with her children, I can honestly see why none of them claimed her cremains upon her death in 1973.

Now I am reading Lana Turner's autobiography. If only Lana had devoted as much time to picking a decent husband as she did to being a movie star.

I read Lake's book a long time ago & was left just as cold.
Nowadays celebrity autobiographies will not mention their children, their names/ages etc in attempt to keep their info somewhat private.
Although I bet every one of their kids has an internet account with pictures & names mentioned.

Agree about Lana Turner impressions too. Just wait until you get to the bad blood (literally) between her husband & daughter!

Yes. Veronica didn't seem like a happy person and much of her unhappiness was her own doing, so it was hard to feel sorry for her. She struck me as a bit immature at times and seemed to struggle with responsibility. I have to wonder if she would have been better off had she not become "Veronica Lake," but then I guess we would be deprived of some of the wonderful performances she gave. While she is not the best actress in the world, she has screen presence, which sometimes is more than enough.

I just finished reading about Lana's heartbreaking affair with Tyrone Power. He did her dirty leading her on the way he did. She seemed genuinely crushed by him marrying Linda Christian while they were (supposedly) together. She had just aborted their baby (something she felt obligated to do to protect Tyrone's career, since he was not yet divorced from Annabella; but she didn't want to do it. She wanted the baby very much) and finds out that he's with another woman. That was very sad and I was angry at Tyrone on her behalf. She wrote her memoir in 1982, some 25 years after Tyrone's death, and she still seemed to be longing for him; but emotionally and physically she cut herself off from him as soon as he walked out the door after telling her about Christian--back in 1947.

I also felt terrible for Lana that besides her mother and a few select people around her, she seemed to struggle with having friends, because she never knew if they were legitimate friends or were just using her. She discusses a woman with whom she traveled to South America, thinking that she and her were good friends. Lana would learn after the trip that her friend was selling information about Lana to newspapers and magazines.

Celebrities are probably smart to not mention their kids. Both Joan Crawford and Bette Davis' children exploited their names and respective mothers in an attempt to make a few bucks. There's also the whole stigma about achieving success due to nepotism, e.g., the "nepo baby" label, that maybe the parents are trying to shield their children from that. But some "nepo babies" e.g., Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Douglas... all had the talent to stand on their own. They didn't need their famous fathers to pull strings for them; but there's no doubt that their family connections helped them. Lana discusses Cheryl by name and discussed her horrible birth experience and how Cheryl had to get a full-body blood transfusion because Lana's genetic blood disorder was deadly. I'm about 10 years away from the Johnny Stompanato drama.

I'd read previously that John Garfield and Lana had an affair during "The Postman Always Rings Twice," but Lana didn't mention it. All she said was that she was looking forward to working with Garfield and that he was a ladies man. She then said that he died in his bed and she wasn't surprised. That seemed to be a little catty, so I wonder what that was all about.

So far, I'm really loving the tone of Lana's book. She comes across as generally being happy, but does have some regrets and is introspective. Unlike Veronica, she is much more self-aware of how her mistakes caused the unhappiness in her life, and she even seems to be upset with herself that she keeps making the same mistake over and over. Lana seems like she'd be fun to have a glass of wine with and gossip about her movie star co-workers.

[BagelOnAPlate]

I finished Veronica Lake's book a while ago.
I liked reading about her feud with Fredric March. I could see the two of them not getting along. Lol.

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

I love that movie. My favorite character is the drunken grandpa warlock. You can definitely see the influence of that character on the mother in Bewitched (which the entire show is a remake of this movie).

Bewitched was inspired by I Married A Witch and Bell, Book and, Candle.

In Bewitched though neither the man or the woman falls in love as the result of magic --- which was the case in I Married A Witch and (I think) Bell, Book and Candle.

In I Married A Witch,Veronica Lake's character was trying to put the love spell on Fredric March's character but ended up hexing herself!

[jamesjazzguitar]

I recently watched I Married A Witch.

I enjoy the movie a lot, but I can't help but think about how Veronica Lake and Fredric March couldn't stand each other when I watch it.

I love that movie. My favorite character is the drunken grandpa warlock. You can definitely see the influence of that character on the mother in Bewitched (which the entire show is a remake of this movie).

Bewitched was inspired by I Married A Witch and Bell, Book and, Candle.

In Bewitched though neither the man or the woman falls in love as the result of magic --- which was the case in I Married A Witch and (I think) Bell, Book and Candle.

In I Married A Witch,Veronica Lake's character was trying to put the love spell on Fredric March's character but ended up hexing herself!

The one major difference with Bewitched is that the witch doesn't lose her powers if she falls in love. Of course, the producers had to make this change since the major plot device of the show is when the witch has to use her powers (but only, when necessary, well,, based on what she tells Darrin).

Both movies end with the witch no longer having powers but feeling being is love is better (which is a very romantic concept).

[HoldenIsHere]

I love that movie. My favorite character is the drunken grandpa warlock. You can definitely see the influence of that character on the mother in Bewitched (which the entire show is a remake of this movie).

Bewitched was inspired by I Married A Witch and Bell, Book and, Candle.

In Bewitched though neither the man or the woman falls in love as the result of magic --- which was the case in I Married A Witch and (I think) Bell, Book and Candle.

In I Married A Witch,Veronica Lake's character was trying to put the love spell on Fredric March's character but ended up hexing herself!

The one major difference with Bewitched is that the witch doesn't lose her powers if she falls in love. Of course, the producers had to make this change since the major plot device of the show is when the witch has to use her powers (but only, when necessary, well,, based on what she tells Darrin).

Both movies end with the witch no longer having powers but feeling being is love is better (which is a very romantic concept).

Did Veronica Lake's character lose her powers in I MARRIED A WITCH?
It's been awhile since I've seen it so I don't remember.
I remember at the end Fredric March and Veronica Lake are a married couple with children and are sitting in their living room with the Veronica Lake character knitting or something like that.
I also don't remember if she ever falls in love with Fredric March's character "for real" or if it's just the effect of the love potion.