Ralph Richardson, film actor

[JackFavell]

I hope that my sweet local library can find a copy of the biography. This library has always been such a boon to our neighborhood, with great people working there. It's a really beautiful building as well.

In the last few weeks, they have charged us twice for books they say we were late returning... I don't think we were but I paid anyway because they have had their funding cut recently and I am firm believer in public libraries. Then, last time I was in, they told me that I never returned a book that was taken out from one of the other libraries in Connecticut, which I never got. I think the move to a completely computerized system has destroyed them - they moved things around recently, and when I asked where the card file was, they said they didn't have one anymore. I was heartbroken. I want a card file! - it's actually so much simpler than the computer.

[moira finnie]

I hope that my sweet local library can find a copy of the biography. This library has always been such a boon to our neighborhood, with great people working there. It's a really beautiful building as well.

In the last few weeks, they have charged us twice for books they say we were late returning... I don't think we were but I paid anyway because they have had their funding cut recently and I am firm believer in public libraries. Then, last time I was in, they told me that I never returned a book that was taken out from one of the other libraries in Connecticut, which I never got. I think the move to a completely computerized system has destroyed them - they moved things around recently, and when I asked where the card file was, they said they didn't have one anymore. I was heartbroken. I want a card file! - it's actually so much simpler than the computer.

The upside of all this is that the card file cabinets show up at book sales along with neglected books that have been taken out of circulation. I'm not sure what I'll do with the one I bought awhile back, except perhaps sigh and give it a pat when I walk by it in the basement. I think the long, narrow draws should be good for holding something. Just what, remains to be seen.

Libraries should be the last places cut off from public funding. I suspect that it may be a case of American Amnesia once again. Once some link from the past (like the post office) is taken for granted, funding is cut and only after it is gone do people realize what an incredibly vital service libraries and librarians provide all of us.

I remember seeing a great photo of an elderly Ralph Richardson on a motorbike looking happy as he sped along. (No sign of the parrot companion that I can recall). Wish I could find a copy of that pic for you.

[JackFavell]

Let me see if I can find that pic, Moira - I think I know which one it is, and I now have about 6 books to look through and see if I can find it.

I can't believe you have a card file - do you use it for your writing, or is it more practical storage?

I am so disappointed about my library. They may not have the most up to date books, but if you want to find anything by Thornton Wilder or Daphne Du Maurier, or any other 1930's or 40's authors, they always had the whole gamut...plus a lot of Vita Sackville-West. That card catalog incident almost drove me away completely - but I want to give them another chance to get it together. Plus, I can't very well give up going to my favorite place in town just because of a little computer snafu. I just don't want to look on the computer to find a book in a building that looks like a British gentlemen's club - I swear, there should be butlers in this place serving sherry. I want my card file back!Not the whir of a searching computer.

[moira finnie]

Oh, that library is beautiful. It looks like an H.H. Richardson design--is that possible? I used to use the Quincy, Ma library designed by him--in part because I loved the building:



I used to live blocks from the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.
It is one of the most beautiful old libraries I've ever seen. I

nside in nooks and crannies that the public rarely notices are frescoes by John Singer Sargent!

A detail of one of the murals (which may have been neglected in the past because Bostonians were a bit shocked.
You can see lots more of the Sargent murals, which have been undergoing a long process of restoration here.

Perhaps because the Rochester area is so geared to high tech industry, the library system here is very high tech. You can even go online and see etext versions of hundreds of books via the library. I would hate to see the day when real books are no longer available.

[JackFavell]

I'm sorry, Moira... I obviously didn't read your first post correctly - good luck deciding what you will use the card file for!

Our library was designed by William Higginson, who may have been influenced by H.H. Richardson. Here is the history of the building. The picture with the trees lining the road shown at the top of the page (in the mini slideshow) really makes my eyes bug out. There are late 1800 or early 1900 houses built all around the library now, apparently a whole neighborhood sprang up. I think there may be a couple of the old trees across the street in front of one of the more majestic homes.... and the house at the end of the street is still there.

http://www.mysticnoanklibrary.com/home-6.htm

[moira finnie]

Thanks for the link to info about Mystic's past. I have always kicked myself that I didn't visit there when I lived on the South Shore of Massachusetts. All that seafaring history is fascinating.

[JackFavell]

It's pretty cool living here - I love history, and we go over to the Seaport a lot. The kids love it, but especially when they have the sea music festival, the old car parade, the chowderfest or the dog show. My daughter knows how to roll a hoop and has seen Pete Seeger there!

[JackFavell]

I probably should have posted something earlier, because TCM showed The Four Feathers overnight last night. They will rebroadcast on July 21st, at 2:00 PM ET.

Today starting at 10:45 AM ET they showed The Divorce of Lady X, Clouds Over Europe, and Richard III, all with Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson.

I ended up with insomnia last night, and flipped on the TV just in time to watch The Four Feathers (1938) with the sound turned off.

I must say that even though John Clements is the star (and a superb job he does too), Richardson turns in an incredible star-making performance. He plays John Durrance, struck blind in the Sudan during battle and carried safely home to England by the man he branded a coward before the war. Watching him play Durrance, I was moved almost to tears by his struggle. The acting here is of a high calibre, his urgent despair after a case of severe sunstroke is put on hold while he must lead his men out of danger. His quiet depth of sadness back home when he realizes that the man he relied on to guide him was really the man he accused of cowardice was quite extraordinary, even without his considerable vocal ability on show. His blindness is played faultlessly. Richardson allows himself to fall, to look foolish and stupid at times, it's heartbreaking. His ability to crumple inwardly while remaining rather noble really moves me.

[MissGoddess]

The one I want most to see is The Silver Fleet - Googie Withers had this to say about Richardson:

I remember Ralph Richardson on that film - he was truly an adorable man, kind and funny and witty. He used to think up the most extraordinary things: for instance, he had to say goodbye to me in the morning, knowing he would never see me again but pretending he would be home that evening; and he said, ‘I think it would be rather nice, Googie, if I brushed your hair.’ I said, ‘What!? I’ve just had my hair done and what on earth will I look like after ten takes, with you pulling it about?’ ‘Oh, just a thought,’ he said. The hair brushing was in the film, eventually.

Wendy,
If you still haven't seen it, I found The Silver Fleet on YouTube:

[youtube][/youtube]

[JackFavell]

Oh thank you so much!

You know, it's ridiculous. I actually have had the movie for a year but it needs to be copied over to a US format for me to watch it and I haven't done it yet.

This will be much easier!

[MissGoddess]

I've been unable to do that myself (transfer a Region 2 disc to a Region 1 or "region free" DVD-R). If it works at all it only plays on my computer, but not on my (Region 1) DVD player.

That's why I have a stand-by DVD player dedicated to Region 2 discs.

[JackFavell]

We really need to upgrade, get rid of one of our players that doesn't work anymore and get an all regions one.

[moira finnie]

Thanks for posting that link, Miss G. I haven't seen The Silver Fleet yet either. Online viewing is better than nothing.

I guess that in addition to seeking out all region DVD players, we should also be trying to find Blu-Ray DVD players for the future too, huh? Where and when will all this tech obsolescence end? ...not to mention that the endangered species, the DVD recorder?

[MissGoddess]

Thanks for posting that link, Miss G. I haven't seen The Silver Fleet yet either. Online viewing is better than nothing.

I guess that in addition to seeking out all region DVD players, we should also be trying to find Blu-Ray DVD players for the future too, huh? Where and when will all this tech obsolescence end? ...not to mention that the endangered species, the DVD recorder?

Moira,

That last part is what has me really worried. If I could find a DVD recorder like Wendy's (Panasonic) at a reasonable price I'd buy one just in case. The Philips I have does a pretty crappy job but I've become rather dependent on its built-in hard drive. I don't like the idea of DVRs that are owned by the cable company and just rented to me. It would mean I can't watch anything if I'm late paying my bill.

I'm also bypassing the blu-ray route, I don't have room for another device and the only way I'd consider one is if they invented a Blu-Ray DVD recorder , which I don't think they have or ever will.

It would have been nice if my iMac had come with a built-in Blu-ray player, since it has such a nice, hi-definition screen. But alas, no.

[JackFavell]

I was upset that I couldn't find a recorder with a hard drive anymore. Are you telling me that recorders themselves are now becoming extinct?