Off we go... I don't know why I thought 1936's Dodsworth was based on a Charles Dickens novel. Maybe it's because the name sounds very British. But no, the novel was written by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1929, and includes Lewis's favorite recurring character, the ever-dependable, ever-surprising midwestern town of Zenith (Some English BA I … Continue reading Little Edith Cortright
Where’s Miss Froy?
Back to Britannia... In 1938 Alfred Hitchcock was really hitting his stride as a filmmaker, and The Lady Vanishes is a great example of his unique talent for presentation coming together. It was his next-to-last British film before moving to America and the next stage of his career. The movie starts in Bandrika, a fictional European country … Continue reading Where’s Miss Froy?
During World War Two: It’s An Expat Thing
Hollywood was rife with actors, directors, writers, and others who had fled Europe when Hitler came to power and who still had relatives living under Hitler's thumb. Those who stayed behind, especially if they were Jewish, were subjected to the same treatment as anyone else, often dying by execution, in prison or in death camps … Continue reading During World War Two: It’s An Expat Thing
Verne’s Extraordinary Voyage
Back with another page-turner... What Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is to crime fiction and forensics, Jules Verne is to sci-fi, and next to Around the World In Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is probably his most well-known work. First published in France in 1870, then translated into English in 1873, it's filmmaker bait because a … Continue reading Verne’s Extraordinary Voyage
Taking Up Room 