Time to let slip the wolf

Either in 1953 or 1954, depending upon which source one utilizes, John Huston directed and, along with Truman Capote, did the screenwriting for a motion picture entitled, "Beat the Devil." Gina Lollobrigida portrayed Maria Dannreuther, Humphrey Bogart was Billy Dannreuther and Jennifer Jones played Mrs. Gwendolen Chelm as the lead roles. I watched the film a few nights ago for the first time, and fell in love with the story -- a comedy and a parody -- and the characters. I wish I could meet such people in real life -- and, in the meanwhile, find a few more films as special as this one to escape the bonds of reality for a few days.

Julius O'Hara (Peter Lorre) in the film, "Beat the Devil:"

"Time. Time. What is time? Swiss manufacture it. French hoard it. Italians squander it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook."

A tale with two purposes

I am not here writing this. What I mean is, White Bear is typing this as he takes dictation from me via cell phone. Obviously, I have no idea if he will publish what I say or, sneaky fellow that he is, he might publish whatever happens to be on his mind at the moment.

I wrote the following to a friend a few days ago: "I stumbled into a film, 'Beat the Devil,' a comedy. I usually do not go for comedies, but I love this one. (It was) Made in 1954 with Humphrey Bogart, Gina Lollobrigida, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lorre, Robert Morley and others."

The story centers around four crooks/con men, their accomplices and people they meet on their way to Africa from Italy, supposedly to sell vacuum cleaners, but actually to swindle the owners of uranium-rich land. I fell out of my chair watching the antics of Ivor Barnard as Major Jack Ross and Mario Perrone as the purser on the SS Nyanga. (It was) Written by John Huston and Truman Capote. I feel like the characters are all people I personally know. The film was sort of designed to be a spoof on the ever-famous, 'The Maltese Falcon'."

Capote was relatively young and relatively unknown when he was asked to drop everything and fly in to the Italian countryside to work on the script on a day-to-shoot basis. One story has it that he would speak to his pet Raven every day on the telephone. One time, the Raven refused to reply to Capote's voice on the telephone, so Capote hopped onto an aircraft and flew to Rome where the Raven was boarded in a hotel so he could visit the bird. Yeh, my kind of people.

Apparently, the film has become a cult classic. I can understand why. It is absolutely marvelous. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a copy, which is rare for me. I really recommend it to anyone who needs a bit of real, old-fashioned, genuine comedy in his/her life.

But, the primary purpose of this brief post is to say that I have been on the road a few days and, before the journey even had ended, I encountered a personal situation which has demanded my time and my attention. More importantly, it was a mood changer, a destroyer of my patience and a forecaster of the end of the particular trail I happen to be on at the moment. My emotions right now are ranging from anger to depression to frustration to a bit of confusion. I need a few days to read novels, to watch films, to escape long enough for my mind to push aside the fog.

So, please pardon me if I ignore you for a couple of days and fail to comment at any of your blogs until I slip the knots which bind me.

Petersen (Robert Morley) in the film, "Beat the Devil:"

"You mean Mrs. Chelm is an unqualified liar?"
 

Billy Dannreuther (Humphrey Bogart):

"Well, let's say she uses her imagination rather than her memory."

(For the record, I fell instantly in love with Mrs. Chelm and her imagination. What man would not?)