Big Weekend

Big weekend, visiting the old courthouse in Monroeville, AL. 

We came to see "To Kill a Mockingbird," staged on the lawn, two small blocks from where the novel's author, Harper Lee, grew up.

The second act was performed inside the courtroom which inspired the story.

Afterward, a dream was fulfilled....

I met and posed with the ham suit.

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Photos by Donna Durrett

Mikellaneous

My Recent Confessions and Observations on Twitter:

I have got to lose some weight. I'm getting too old to pull off the baby bump excuse. 

Why isn't Diet 7UP called 1UP? ... I guess I should have gone to church....

John Wayne kills Bruce Dern in THE WAR WAGON (1967), so how could Dern kill Wayne 5 yrs. later in THE COWBOYS? I should have gone to church.

Our youngest cat, Melvin, has been on the porch all day. He is mesmerized. He is watching a moth.

Odd thing about growing older is I now use words like "adorable" and "darling" in ways formerly taboo by me. I may even eat a marmalade.

@OMGFacts sez: "Red meats, cigarettes, alcohol, asparagus & cabbage will make your semen taste bitter." Gee, I think I'll just have a pizza.

We had no GA Aquarium or bottlenose dolphins exhibit when I was a kid. Once, Mom took me to the hardware store to see the needlenose pliers.

Dictionary.com Word of Day: corybantic: "frenzied, agitated, unrestrained." I went to school w/a Cory Bantic. Invented paint mixing machine.

ALVAREZ KELLY may be the worst Civil War song ever. Reverence for Johnny Mercer goes down a notch. Jeepers, creepers, my huckleberry friend.

I figured out why I don't care much for Civil War movies. Everyone saying "Suh!" ... And that must end my good tweet, suh!"

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W.C. Fields as 'The Pharmacist'

I'm amusing my way through the robust W.C. Fields festival at the Film Forum in New York, only I'm following along here at the love nest. We're equipped with a state-of-the-art lap cat and surround purr.

"The Pharmacist" is one of the short subjects Fields wrote and starred in for comedy legend Max Sennett. It also happens to be the first 16mm sound film I purchased for my collection during senior year of high school. In those ancient times before home video, the only way I could see obscure W.C.'s was to buy them from a magical underground of fans and/or vendors. I was thrilled to get the used print. I paid $16, concurrently pricey and a bargain.

I wish I had also received the attractive door prize the pharmacist bestows on each customer.



W.C. Fields: "The Pharmacist" (1933) via Internet Archive

I Got Nuthin'

Consolation Video: "Cookie the Little Penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo" via YouTube

How to Be in the Movies Theatre

We visited a theatre north of Atlanta. It was our first trek to the venue, so I pre-purchased  tickets online to be assured admittance. There were special instructions.

Step 1: Print this page containing your Print at Home Ticket and bring it to the theater.

Pssst... Donna printed our tickets at her office, not at home. We may have committed some kind of motion picture piracy. I'm in seclusion, hiding from the movie police. I'm also not silencing my cell phone or noting the exits.

Step 2: Skip the box office! Go directly to the ticket podium to have your Print at Home Ticket scanned.

We were happy to do so. It beat standing in line behind "Scream 4"-fumed gangly twits.

We entered the lobby in procession to the podium. Indeed, that podium, famous and revered from the above literature quotation.

"Tickets, please," said the podium potentate, engaging conversation.

"We have Print at Home Tickets," I said loudly, so all within the mile would be alerted. "We're royalty. We know people with ponies."

"Very good, sir."

"Ever hear of Buckingham Palace?" I queried.

"Yessir."

"If we had a carport, it would look like that."

"Auditorium 9."

"Without the big ears, fang teeth, and cravats," I added to avoid confusions.

"Next."

"Aren't you going to tell us to enjoy the show?"

The official handed over our valuable documents, adding, "The mandate is expressed specifically on your newly raggedy torn-in-half Print at Home Ticket remnants."

"You didn't say, "My lord."

"Good lord!"

"That's better and exactly."

Step 3: Enjoy the Show!

I am so glad they reminded us to do this! I am certain, however, it should not be a hard rule in order to attend that we enjoy the show. In fact, I do believe these exhibitor revolutionaries are overstepping their Constitutional boundaries. We were seeing "Atlas Shrugged" and we would loathe the show if we personally responsible individuals so chose, you controlling, government-loving flicker lackeys.

So there.

And we enjoyed the show.

Meet the Neighbors

Residing in a rural area, we expect to observe the occasional romantic rendezvous along the lane, but not next to our house! 

He's in love.

Going to Sleep During the W.C. Fields Film Festival

Checking in from the sofa with an update on my own private W.C. Fields retrospective. I'm mirroring the series currently underway in New York City at the Film Forum.


The weekend was solid, featuring three of my favorite Fields-created projects, "The Dentist" (1932), "It's a Gift" (1934), and "Man on the Flying Trapeze" (1935), all on one program and funnier than ever. His largely dramatic guest-star-for-hire gigs comprised another line-up with "David Copperfield" (1935) and "Alice in Wonderland" (1933). Fields surfaces in the classic literature roles of Micawber and Humpty-Dumpty.

He was a fine, nuanced character actor, and watching these movies again made me shake my head again, recalling a big cinematic loss. W.C. turned down the offered, eccentric part of The Great and Powerful Oz in MGM's 1939 "The Wizard of Oz." Frank Morgan is terrific, no argument, but Fields was born to play in the Emerald City.

The fest highlight for me so far?

I got to see what I call "The Insomnia Scene" from "It's a Gift" (video below). (Coincidentally, "Man on the Flying Trapeze" opens with somewhat of a continuation.) I hate to spoil the comedy, so I'll say only that our man in pajamas portrays Harold Bissonette in sleepy pursuit of some early morning shut-eye.

While the footage is priceless, I also love that the so-called plot of the farce stops to include this detour, encompassing 15% of the entire running time of the film!



W.C. Fields: "It's a Gift": Porch Sequence (1934) via YouTube
Also appearing: Baby LeRoy
Not appearing: Carl LaFong

Big Weekend

Easter egg hunt! 

I'm getting good at these explorations, hitting the mother lode almost immediately, 15-20 minutes tops. 

The Bunny colored the eggs my favorite, too! Eggshell White!

Good eats ahead.

And then things turned messy.

I've heard rabbits have trouble grasping "bring the water to a boil."