Stubs of Heaven

‘Casablanca‘ was running on TCM the other night and like a moth drawn to the flame, I stayed up to watch it – again. I know if there has been a film that has been worn thin by too many screenings, references, allusions to, special edition packages, parodies, reviews, commentary, analysis, short-listing and so on, ‘Casablanca’ would be it. I have watched it over 12 times; in b/w  & technicolour, in a cinema, on cable & regular television, on DVD and also noisily projected on a white sheet tacked to a barn door.  Suffice to say I know virtually every line in the script by heart. I have read up on it, had posters of it, listened to the soundtrack and generally done those things that creepy people obsessed by film generally do (except hop on a motorcycle and with a camera strapped round one’s neck, ride down film stars like a post-modern John Wayne lassoing a wayward steer).

The point in my weakness to ‘Casablanca‘ is that I simply love old films in general and Humphrey Bogart’s in particular. The cliché “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” couldn’t be more true. Classic film, unhampered by colour, special effects and juvenile actors bred on reality TV shows relied mainly on strong story lines and fantastic dialogue to carry them along.

Well, ‘Casablanca‘ inspired me to dig out the other ‘Bogie’ films I had around and mine them for memorable moments. From bit parts in ‘Angels with dirty faces’ [1938] starring another screen great, James Cagney to the cynical Sam Spade in ‘The Maltese Falcon’ [1941] and other memorable roles in ‘The Petrified Forest ‘[1936], ‘They drive by night’ [1940] ‘San Quentin’ [1937] ‘Black Legion’ [1937] ‘The African Queen’ [1951] ‘Key Largo’ [1948] ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ (1948) ‘The Barefoot Contessa’ [1954] Ernest Hemingway ‘To have and to have not’ [1944] ‘High Sierra’ [1941] ‘Dark Victory [1939] ‘The roaring Twenties’ [1939] and ‘The Oklahoma Kid’ [1939].

You could say I binged on Bogart.

The films also have loads of unforgettable supporting actors & actresses. Lauren Bacall’s sultry screen siren leaves the competition smouldering only equalled by a Peter Lorre so slimy it’s a wonder how he managed to hold any lines. Sydney Greenstreet’s carefree confidence in his size and ability to dispense casual violence like cheap confectionery is masterful only due to Bogart’s ability to take it. A motley crew of alcoholics and idealists serve to play off each other in not always believable but highly entertaining plot lines that have always had me paying more attention to what they are saying as opposed to they are doing.

All this without (I stand to be corrected) a single swear-word.

Sample some of the lines that have always made me smile

‘Casablanca’ [1942]

Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): “I don’t object to a parasite, only to a cut-rate one” – to Ugarte (Peter Lorre)

Major Strasser: You give him (Rick Blaine) credit for too much cleverness. My impression was that he’s just another blundering American.
Captain Renault: We mustn’t underestimate American blundering. I was with them when they blundered into Berlin in 1918.

Capt. Renault: What on Earth brought you to Casablanca?
Rick Blaine: My health, I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Capt. Renault: The waters? What waters? We’re in the desert!
Rick Blaine: I was misinformed.

Senor Ferrari: (To Rick Blaine) Might as well be frank, Monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you out of Casablanca, and the Germans have outlawed miracles.

‘To Have and to Have Not’ [1944]

Capt. Renard: “What is you nationality?
Harry Morgan: I’m a drunkard

Slim (Lauren Bacall): I’d walk home if it wasn’t for all that water- to Harry ‘Steve’ Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) when he asks why she hasn’t gone back to America

(Slim kisses Steve)
Steve: What did you do that for?
Slim: I’ve been wondering if I’d like it.
Steve: What’s the decision?
Slim: I don’t know yet.
(She kisses him again, this time he kisses her back)
Slim: It’s even better when you help.

Slim: You know how to whistle don’t you Steve? You just put your lips together and blow

Slim: I’ve been mad ever since I met you
Steve: Most people are

Amazing.

Audiophile: The Clash – Rock the casbah
Off my shelf: The ultimate racing car book – David Burgess-Wise
Midday Matinee: The Appointment [1969]
Starring: Omar Sharif, Anouk Aimee
Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Burn Rubber

The motorsport season is shaping up rather well, everything is so jumbled up in my sports of choice (see my faves) that vegging out in front of the telly on Sunday afternoons is finally worth it.

WRC

The WRC remains a bit predictable with Sebastian Loeb still leading the championship after 4 rounds and Subaru still hanging in there by the grace of Chris Atkinson.

F1

Happily unchanged is the simmering rivalry between F1’s Fernando ‘dog-in-the-manger’ Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso seems hell bent on single-handedly on preventing Hamilton from effectively competing when he (Alonso) ‘brake tested’ during the Bahrain GP causing Hamilton’s McLaren-Mercedes to crash into the rear of Alonso’s Renault in what has become known as ‘The Sakhir Shunt’. Despite all that, Hamilton still manages to hold 3rd place in the Driver Standings to Alonso’s 9th so there (in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t like Alonso one bit and I completely refuse to EVER be objective about him. He’s my pet peeve)

MotoGP

The MotoGP season is also off to a good start with former world champions Valentino ‘Il dottore’ Rossi and Casey Stoner both struggling on Bridgestone Tyres.

Stoner, with the no. 1 on his bike this season is also struggling on a dodgy Ducati (reliability has always been the bane of many an Italian marque).

The Hondas are looking good and the Yamahas better on Michelin rubber but that could quickly change when the series moves on to China where Bridgestone tyres have traditionally performed better than French sap.

Keep watching

Audiophile: The Clash – London Calling
Off my shelf: Nothing today
Midday Matinee: Closed

Sepia Memories

It’s raining outside.

I miss those sunny afternoons where with nothing else to do, my brothers and I would lie on our backs in the tall brown grass, staring at white clouds making fantastic shapes as they scudded across the deep blue sky.

Audiophile: Snow Patrol – Signal Fire
Off my shelf: Henry James – Portrait of a Lady
Midday Matinee: The Petrified Forest (1936)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Leslie Howard
Directed by: Archie Mayo

Run from the hills

I went mountain-climbing over the Easter holidays with a bunch of friends.

Bad idea. Ok, great idea (on flat surfaces like………..paper). I learnt so much just when prepping for it, the kit reqiured alone is quite something. There was the usual parkas, long underwear & boots but there was more; ponchos, gaiters, wads of chocolate, drinking water (silly me, thought we’d simply get that from streams & springs along the way and give the plug ‘bottled at source’ a whole new meaning).

Well you know us guys, we live for these sorts of things just so we have an excuse to splash out on flashy gear that’s promptly lost in the back of the closet once used. I got myself a fiddly freeplay flashlight that  one can wind up by hand or charge from the mains. It has HID bulbs for white light and 2 different settings for brightness. The best part about buying it was the bit when I was talking myself  into it figuring that I’d never have to buy batteries ever again (yeah, right).

Enough with the kit, we had a great time with a wonderful group of people, 3 of them gils who are triple-handely responsible for giving my ego such a hard time that I HAD to make it ot the summit. Sadly I cannot post photos of us going up (or down) because I’d prefer not violate their privacy. Anyway, I clambered up the mountain on a combination of blind ignorance and blithe optimism and cautiously made my way down with sundry cramps and a healthy respect for that piece of rock. Going up was pretty hard, my lungs worked like bellows all through and twice I was on the verge of turning back. Once when I ran completely out of breath and I could feel my body throwing the emergency shutdown switch and another time when I went round a bend along a cliff face only to be greeted by a sheer drop that had me convinced I must’ve had gone round the bend myself when I signed up for the climb.

It was pretty cold, dark and slippery up there. There was snow & ice everywhere so our footing was rather treacherous but with determination and a healthy fear of the razzing that the pansy who dared to give up would get. All seven of us made it to the top eventually but going back down was another experience entirely; we ran completely out of breath, suffered paralyzing cramps and gritted our way through splitting headaches followed by a 12 mile hike to a base camp at a much lower altitude much of it in pitch darkness (the hike and the camp as well). The next day saw a short hike to our pick-up point and it was a quick tumble into the waiting van and a drive back into the world of hot food and hotter showers.

I’d figured that the only was I was going up anything was by elevator but 4 flights of stairs faced us when we got back. Surprisingly they were child’s play compared to where we’d come from.

Now that’s perspective that can only be gained from a mountaintop.

Audiophile: Louis XIV – God killed the queen
Off my shelf: ‘Ducati’ – A history of Ducati Motorbikes in Racing
Midday Matinee: Frankie & Johhny (1991)
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfieffer
Directed by: Garry Marshall