1950: Gregory Peck and Joan Collins in "The Bravados"

We remember Gregory Peck who was born in California in 1916 and died in 2003.

Peck and a very young Joan Collins are the two key players in this rather good western, "The Bravados" from 1950.

Peck is Jim Douglass, a man chasing the four outlaws who killed his wife.   Collins plays Josefa Velarde, a woman he met five years before and now runs her father's ranch.

The rest is up to you: Watch it because you will love the film's intensity.   

And Joan Collins looks beautiful!

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"Behold a pale horse", a movie about Spain years after The Civil War

We remember Gregory Peck who was born in California in 1916 and died in 2003.

Has anyone seen "Behold a pale horse"?   It is a 1964 movie about the Spanish Civil War.    

The story is based on "Killing a mouse on Sunday" a book by Emeric Pressburger.   I have not read the book but plan to check it out.

It is the story of Manuel Artiguez, a veteran of the Civil War, who returns from exile in France to see his ill mother.   He is confronted by Sr. Vinolas, a police chief who sets a trap to arrest him.

The movie includes Gregory Peck as Artiguez, Anthony Quinn as Vinolas and Omar Sharif as the local priest.   

It is a bit slow but very interesting.   I love these black and white films because they used choreography in such a unique way.   Also, the dialogue is very intense.   Frankly, the story could be difficult for someone not familiar with the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930's.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1614: John Rolfe and Pocahantas got married

It happened on this day in 1614:  Pocahontas married John Rolfe in Virginia.   

She was the daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy and he was a tobacco planter.   The marriage gave us their son Thomas Rolfe and peace between the settlers and the Powhatans for years.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

One hell of an April in 1968

Maybe it’s me, but certain events are frozen in my memory, and I remember them as though it was yesterday.

As I recall, I was reading my brand new The Sporting News, the weekly sports newspaper that we used to read before ESPN or the internet.  My parents had given me a birthday subscription, and I loved rushing to the mailbox to consume every bit of information.

At I read all of the columns, I asked myself the classic pre-season questions: would Yaz and the 1967 Miracle Red Sox repeat?  

Are the Cardinals now a dynasty?

After all, St. Louis had won the World Series in 1964 and 1967 and had Bob Gibson on top of their rotation.

And then the phone rang.  It was my school buddy Harvey with the news that Dr. Martin Luther King had been shot in Memphis.

Then President Johnson spoke to the nation!  By a crazy coincidence, he had just announced days before that he would not be running for re-election in 1968.

Then all hell broke loose.  Cities were burning from coast to coast.  I shared the frustration about Dr. King’s assassination but did not understand what looting businesses had to do with the shooting.  My guess is that all of the chaos boosted Governor Wallace’s campaign, or the “law and order” man that election.

Over the last years, we’ve created a national holiday to remember Dr. King, and his words are heard over and over again.

Nevertheless, I’ve asked myself a simple question: what would Dr. King say of the state of black America today? the collapse of the black family? the black on-black crime? the terrible black Democrat leadership that runs cities like Baltimore and Chicago? the dependence on government programs?

We will never know, but I’ll submit that Dr. King would have mixed emotions.  Yes, lots of progress here and there, but too many problems everywhere.

I can’t believe Dr. King would be very happy looking at the state of black America today.  I’m sure he’d be reminding the “identity politics” Democrats to judge people on their character, not the color of their skin.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

The Scarlet and the Black

We remember Gregory Peck who was born in California on this day in 1916.  He died in 2003.

War is hell but "The Scarlet and the Black" is a different sort of World War II movie.  

The story is about Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty (Gregory Peck) who saved Allied POW's and airmen in Nazi-occupied Rome.  

His German rival is Colonel Herbert Kappler played by Christopher Plummer of "The Sound of Music" fame.

It's worth watching.  The story has an amazing ending but you need to watch it.  

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

We remember Gregory Peck (1916-2003)

We remember Gregory Peck who was born in California on this day in 1916.  He died in 2003.

One of his movies was “Roman Holiday” and it opened on this day in 1953.  It was Audrey Hepburn’s first major role, a European princess who dumps royalty and falls for an American journalist (played by Gregory Peck) while on tour in Rome.  

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.