What Movie Related Book Have You Read Lately?

[TikiSoo]

I was merely expressing my opinion,
I don't care about other people's opinions,

That says it all.
I was trying to say that exact same thing, albeit a little more gently.

[BagelOnAPlate]

I just started reading Veronica Lake's memoir, the aptly titled, "Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake." I'm only at the beginning of it, but she seems very matter of fact and not at all enamored of Hollywood. She treated it like a job, in the same way that she treated her (later in life) bartending job as just a job.

When Veronica Lake was promoting her autobiography in the UK, she received offers to work on the English stage. One of the roles she played, to rave reviews, was Blanche DuBois is a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. In her autobiography, she candidly discusses her own alcoholism, and she probably drew on her own experience to portray that aspect of Blanche's character. She would have already been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver which would be officially diagnosed in 1973.

[Thompson]

Charles Willeford -- Miami Blues

[EP Millstone]

Charles Willeford -- Miami Blues

Should I ever regain my taste for fiction, Charles Willeford's stories will definitely be on my Must Read list.

The Life and Times of Charles Willeford—Miami's Weird, Wonderful Master of Noir

Nothing Is Inchoate (Charles Willeford)

The Complete Memoirs of Charles Willeford

Charles Willeford by Lawrence Block

[TikiSoo]

I collect those pulp paperbacks for the covers and used to own a few of the original paintings. Never read them, mostly keep the more unusual titles, some movie-related.

IMG_4012.JPG (83.65 KiB) Viewed 1605 times

...to use for making switch plate covers:

IMG_4013.JPG (63.57 KiB) Viewed 1605 times

(this has been in my studio's public washroom over 15 years & pretty worn, need to make a replacement!)

[Thompson]

Yeah EP,. he's a real original, Willeford. Fun as all get out to read.

[Thompson]

David Goodis is my hero because his characters say things without sound. They don't talk to themselves exactly, they talk out loud without sound. I talk to myself too but it comes out loud, and the landlord bangs on the door at 4 in the morning reading me the riot act . . . if I could just learn to talk without sound.

[EP Millstone]

Charles Willeford -- Miami Blues

I revisited the 1990 movie adaptation starring Fred Ward as Hoke Moseley, Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr. (AKA "Junior"), and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Susie Waggoner. I'd forgotten how much humor it had -- like for instance, Moseley's wolflish appraisal of Ellita Sánchez (Nora Dunn) after she returns his false choppers to him and he pops them into his mouth -- giving her the once-over. Ward's confident grimace cracked me up. IMO, Baldwin's standout acting ranks up there with the performances of Robert Mitchum (as "Harry Powell" in The Night of the Hunter) and Ray Liotta (as "Ray Sinclair" in Something Wild) -- each of whom created a psycho who is comedic, creepy, charismatic . . . and wholly terrifying.

Recipe for Vinegar Pie

[TikiSoo]

Recipe for Vinegar Pie

Why include the vinegar pie recipe?
Thanks for reminding me how much I love it, now I'll have to bake one.

[EP Millstone]

Why include the vinegar pie recipe?
Thanks for reminding me how much I love it, now I'll have to bake one.

Vinegar pie is an important "ingredient" in the movie (I don't know if it is in Willeford's book).

After learning that "Junior" has lied to her about his past, Susie Waggoner makes him a vinegar pie -- loaded with vinegar! When "Junior" takes a mouthful, his startled physical reaction is honest. But he tells her, "It's really great . . . one of your best," further confirming that he is a liar and untrustworthy.

[Thompson]

Why include the vinegar pie recipe?
Thanks for reminding me how much I love it, now I'll have to bake one.

Vinegar pie is an important "ingredient" in the movie (I don't know if it is in Willeford's book).
Oh yes!! It's the exit chapter in the novel and rollover funny. There is some mention of 'pie' earlier between Hoke, Henderson, and Susan's dad that will stay with you forever. The false teeth getting tossed out the window i just thought was classic funny. I haven:t seen the movie and I apologize for this flip phone i cant navigate with - Thompson.

After learning that "Junior" has lied
to her about his past, Susie Waggoner makes him a vinegar pie -- loaded with vinegar! When "Junior" takes a mouthful, his startled physical reaction is honest. But he tells her, "It's really great . . . one of your best," further confirming that he is a liar and untrustworthy.

[C*i*g*a*rTheJoe]

I have recently read Raymond Chandler's Short Stories "Killer in the Rain, "and "The Curtain" these two stories were "cannibalized" and used in his novel "The Big Sleep."

[Thompson]

Hey Cigar Joe!!! Good to see ya!!! Chandler and me never got along. I tried The Lady in Red , I think that's the title, umpteen times and tossed it in the corner with the other books that I'll never read.

[Thompson]

I know I keep harping on this gal Patricia Highsmith who created Tom Ripley. The first novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, was a semi successful movie that I didnt see. Patty, I call her Patty Baby, was another true original and master of language. Mean as all get out too.