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31 Days of Horror: 2015 – Revenge of the Bloody Shame
3 Comments on 31 Days of Horror: 2015 – Revenge of the Bloody Shame
We've passed October's midway point. The 15th has come and gone. The one-per day pace has officially slagged and I'm staring down the barrel of a final, grueling, monstrous, harrowing 16 final days to complete the 31 films required of me in the 2015 31 Days of Horror Shame-a-thon. I've been eyeballing a bunch of new non-horror DVD and Blu-ray acquisitions and wishing I could toss one in, just give it a quick watch. But alas. I've no time for anything other than horror. I've no time for Rock Band 4. No time to read the stack of books on my nightstand. There's kids. There's sleep. There's work. There's horror. There's me and this stack of shamefully unwatched horror flicks. I'm redoubling my efforts (what does that even mean?). I'm not only going to beat my record of 27, I'm going to hit that magical #31. I've even Jedi mind-tricked the wife into asking what's next on the horror schedule.
I've started this second post for ease of reading, simplicity of coding and preservation of sanity. The first post grew wonky in the saggy middle bits and constantly reformatted and ignored my header and paragraph tags. Clearly the work of a pesky poltergeist in the css.
THE great discovery of 2015 has not yet happened. Last year I viewed many new favorites. The Whip and the Body. The Lair of the White Worm. Night of the Comet. Vampyr. So much goddamn bloody goodness. But then again I've just skimmed the surface of my list of Shame. I've not even delved into the 1980's picks, and you know I love me some Reagan-era trickle-down terror. (I'm also expecting great things from you, Pakistani Dracula.)
Past #31DaysOfHorror Shame-a-thons: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 Part 1
Cat and the Canary (1927)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
La Momia Azteca (1957)
Scream of Fear! (1961)
The Innocents (1961)
Burn Witch Burn (1962)
Kwaidan (1964)
Nightmare Castle (1965)
The Living Corpse (Pakistani Dracula! – 1967)
The Living Skeleton (or another from When Horror Came to Shichoku Eclipse Set, 1968)
Koroneku (1968)
Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
Amuck! (1972)
Night of the Devils (1972)
A Candle for the Devil (1973)
Sugar Hill (1974)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, on 2014 and 2015 Shame lists)
Without Warning (1980)
Scanners (1981)
The Boogens (1981)
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981)
Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (1985)
Killer Party (1986)
Inugami (2001)
Romasanta (2004)
A Girl Walks Home At Night (2014)
Off the menu:
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Comedy of Terrors
MST3K – It Lives By Night
The Beast With Five Fingers
Bram Stoker's Dracula*
The Vampire's Coffin
The Tingler
Chamber of Horrors
The Fog*
– not a first time watch
(Hz ratings out of 5 Hz)
View the 2015 Shame-a-thon Part 1: entries #1-#13 here.
#14. 10/16 – Fright Night (1985, dir. Tom Holland)
"Marcy D'arcy! It's Marcy D'arcy!"
So I was disproportionately excited to see Al Bundy's uptight neighbor. I get like that when I unexpectedly stumble upon Marcy or Jefferson in the wild. Not so much Steve, though. Steve was a bit of a dullard. Did you know that Marcy (Amanda Bearse) also directed 30 episodes of Married with Children? #TheMoreYouKow, am I right?
But let's put aside the Marcy D'arcy euphoria for a second.
Fright Night rocketed to the top of the 2015 Shame-a-thon. An old-fashioned monster flick with a dose of self-awareness, reverence for classic horror and a jab or two at the contemporary (1980's contemporary, of course) slasher movies dominating the milieu. William Ragsdale's a bit of a stiff, but his rigidity plays against Chris Sarandon's hunka hunka mock-turtleneck sexy-time face. In the climax he also rocks a Nehru jacket-looking shirt thing, which, let's face it, not everyone can pull off.
The practical gore effects are top notch, used sparingly and to great effect — especially Evil's demise. And while we're doting on some boring technical aspects of the film, let's talk about the score. Brad Fiedel's music for Fright Night blends traditional scoring with moody synth roots the film in 1985 without slipping into that sour "dated" category.
Since I like my horror flicks with a dose of smarts (not to mention Marcy D'arcy in peril) this is kinda my jam.
#15. 10/16 – Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
So again it's not technically a shame. Not technically. But this is my challenge and I can bend the rules whenever I see fit. And I saw fit last night because the Bram Stoker's Dracula Blu-ray with the brand new 4K transfer arrived last week. As one of my favorite vampire films, I bent — nay broke the rules — of my own Shame-a-thon (again) in order to see how this transfer compared to the 8-year-old muddy Blu-ray dubbed "Dark-ula". The Shame of course is that I owned the new Blu-ray for about 10 days before tossing it in on. Shame!
I come bearing good news. The new transfer is as good as this movie is ever going to look. The darkest scenes have a far superior color balance — it's not just that they're brighter, it's that Coppola's vivid colors have returned and detail remains even in the darkest shadows without sacrificing the deepest blacks. The scenes early on in Dracula's castle provide ample proof that Sony has finally done right with this film.
Here's the lesser news. Some crankshafts have noticed that there's a small framing issue throughout the film. Before you go bridge jumping, let me attest that YOU WILL NOT NOTICE THE FRAMING ISSUE. I've seen this film enough to care about things like that. I thought one shot seemed a little… different. Not wrong. Just not what I remembered. Which is how I found these lunatic threads on DVD forums impaling this release.
If you want to join the hyperbolic legions of Interweb lunatics ranting about this new release, that's your right and privilege as an anonymous blowhard with a Twitter account. If you want my opinion, however, your time is better spent just enjoying the film for what it is — a flawed but visually stunning masterpiece of gothic horror with a legendary performance by Gary Oldman (and maybe the best Van Helsing ever captured on film in Anthony Hopkins).
Also blood geysers, you guys.
#16. 10/18 – Crimson Peak (2015, dir. by Guillermo del Toro)
After watching Bram Stoker's Dracula and Crimson Peak this weekend I had a very vivid dream last night about blood geysers.
— The #Bond_age_ McFly (@007hertzrumble) October 19, 2015
Thank goodness for Crimson Peak. Guillermo del Toro's timely release of his latest directorial effort allowed me to attack 31 Days of Horror on multiple fronts. Blu-ray. DVD. Streaming. Theater. I've got 2015 completely flanked. I don't often drag my carcass out to the theater for modern horror films because 99% of them are pure prefabricated shit meant to sell tickets to the lowest common denominator. People who will buy tickets to anything that promises a body count. There's more to horror that torture and death and general psychotic mayhem. The genre has a long tradition of style and visual creativity dating back to its origins. The earliest silent horror films — Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari just to have a couple of obvious examples — contain some of the most inventive cinematography ever captured on film. Horror does not equal gore, though that has its time and place as well (best used with equal parts comedy as unrepentant gore porn is just not my bag). Experiencing an effective horror film is the transference to a psychological state of persistent unease. Consider The Picture of Dorian Gray, a film I logged here as a horror film. Other than a stabbing and few unsettling shots of the decaying portrait, there's no overtly horrific imagery, yet it remains the most disturbing film viewed in my Shame-a-thon to date. Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak follows the director's traditional storytelling pattern (at least in his horror entries). Create unease and then punctuate that unease with flourishes of gore and brutality. Crimson Peak, however, is no Devil's Backbone, a film where the horrors linger, building to a final climax followed by the cathartic release of tension. Peak falls short of that modern classic, nor does it aspire to such heights. Like Dorian Gray, Crimson Peak is first a gothic romance, second a haunted house story, third a meditation on storytelling itself. The film proves largely effective at number 1, but only moderately effective at numbers 2 and 3. Peak undermines the gothic elements of the narrative with intermittently excessive and comical bloodletting. It is almost as if del Toro can't help himself when a choice moment arises. A simple pen stabbing results in a massive spurting of blood. In a different movie, I'd have been pro-hyperbolic blood geyser, but Peak's pleasures are found elsewhere. In the dark corners of the house (a masterpiece of set design), in the true motives of Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), in the practically-rendered (no CGI according to GDT) metaphors/apparitions that appear to Edith (Mia Wasikowska). Crimson Peak is the recipient of some critical negativity because it is largely predictable (true) and languorously paced (also true) and uneven (ditto) and because its visual splendors could not compensate for all of the above (poppycock). The power and purpose of "visual splendors" in film cannot be overestimated. The slower, gothic nature of the film will repel viewers hungry for a gory frightfest. I see why del Toro took to Twitter to normalize viewer expectation, insisting that the film is first a romance. Viewer expectation can be damning, so can the pre-existing baggage people bring into a moviegoing experience. No matter your expectation or disappointment with the elements of this particular ghost story, Crimson Peak should and will satisfy those patient souls willing to bask in the extraordinary "visual splendors" of this old fashioned, gothic yarn… albeit a gothic yarn dotted with a few potentially unnecessary blood geysers, face bashings and questionably stunted dialogue.
#17. 10/19 – The Living Corpse (1967, dir. Khwaja Sarfraz)
The more than 10-minute pre-title sequence depicts a doctor struggling to create a potion for everlasting life. After many failures (we know because the formula melted through the flask) he succeeds. Before taking the potion he leaves a note for his assistant to toss him in the basement coffin once she finds him passed out on the floor. Later he shows up to suck her blood. We presume, anyway, because the film cuts away just before his shiny new teeth contact her succulent flesh. After the wonderful, high-contrast title sequence (pictured above) we're treated to a lively rendition of "La Cucuracha" as a pimpmobile (color uncertain) traverses the rugged Mexican Pakistani landscape. And so it goes with Zinda Laash aka The Living Corpse aka Dracula in Pakistan. Though director Surfraz had clearly mastered the use of light and shadow, the film gives rise to many other questions: What are the logistics of the Dr. Aqil/Mr. Dracula situation? Hey girl, is that supposed to be sexy dancing? "Feed on this instead." Wait, was that a baby? So more full-clothed sexy dancing already? Well, alright. Did Burt Bacharach watch this before scoring the "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" scene in Butch Cassidy? The Living Corpse took obvious cues from 1958's The Horror of Dracula. Not having seen the film for some time, I can't actually confirm that the film goes shot-by-shot but it certainly feels that way. Sarfraz also takes specific details from Bram Stoker's novel that didn't appear in other films at this time. The way it processes these elements, inherently British and Christian, through the Pakistani cultural lens make for fascinating viewing. If you like your Dracula with a dose of kitsch and cultural transmogrification, The Living Corpse must be seen to be fully appreciated.
#18. 10/20 – Killer Party (1986, dir. William Fruet)
I'd normally give a resounding thumbs up to any movie prominently featuring Laura Branigan on the soundtrack. Then I met Killer Party. Taking cues from House on Sorority Row, Private School, and The Evil Dead or The Exorcist (hell, it doesn't really matter, just something with malleable rules about demonic possession), Killer Party resembles a meta-slasher movie. But Fruet's film is neither witty enough to succeed at the meta part or creepy enough to succeed at the slashing part. The opening promised something spectacularly awesomeful, like Night Train to Terror. It begins as a drive-in movie within a White Sister hair-metal rock video within a movie. Ten minutes in you don't know what's going on but you're digging it. Soon the movie settles into Private School meets House on Sorority Row and you're left wondering where all the cool, kitschy, meta bits went. I was kinda entertained… but at what cost? Even my shameful affection for all things from the mid-1980's has limitations.
#19. 10/21 – A Candle for the Devil (1973, dir. Eugenio Martin)
Lady butcher sisters enforce their strict moral code with knives, hatchets and the promise of raging, eternal hellfire. The movie's languid pace will challenge some, engage others. I fell somewhere in between, but confess I was duly impressed by the moodiness of the cinematography and the fascinating distortion of Catholic teachings about sex, faith and "perversion" — a distortion that seems to be playing out in 2015 through politicized "faith-based" pandering to the moral right. There's not a lot of exploitative gore — a stylistic choice that allows the unsettling mix of sex and religion to strike a nerve more squarely. One might rightly assume that there's some talk of Satan in a movie called A Candle for the Devil — but unlike Alucarda, which wasted no opportunity to reference the subversive bastard, Candle leaves that sort of chatter in the subtext (and presumably to pander to an audience expecting something more notorious than a meditation on the continued relevance of Catholic doctrine). This is the story of two emotionally damaged women struggling to carve their own place in an increasingly frivolous, libidinous and morally uncertain world. A fascinating and obscure entry in the Eurotrash cannon — Eurotrash as character study — something I certainly never expected to find in this Spanish cult sleeper.
#20. 10/22 – Housebound (2014, dir. Gerard Johnstone)
I've had this one on my Netflix Watchlist for many moons. Someone told me it was really funny. The Netflix description promised ghosts and haunted houses. Okay, so there's uncertain creaking and stuff, a Teddy Ruxpin bear gone rogue and some other freaky shenanigans. And there's some extraordinarily glib moments of Kiwi humor… but I wouldn't go as far to call it a full on comedy… or a full on horror movie. So now you're asking — So what is Housebound then, jerk? Housebound is just a cool little movie from New Zealand. … What, did you want more explanation? Sigh. Well okay then. (Slave driver.) Kylie is forced to return to her childhood home, under house arrest, after failing miserably as a petty criminal. Mum's a bit of a gossipy nutso and calls up talk radio tell stories about the spooks in the basement and creaks in the floorboards. It's not long before Kylie gets the heebeejeebies and jumps on the notion that the house is haunted… or she's merely becoming more like her mother the more she's stuck in the house. (Both frightening propositions.) Kylie becomes a kind of paranormal investigator and uncovers the house's violent secrets. Johnstone's film is all that and a bag of nacho chips. I mentioned the spooks and the tongue-in-cheek goofs, but there's also a measure of heart in this tale as mother and daughter reconnect. The film comes slightly undone during the climax which you might be able to overlook after being treated to a superfluous, but entirely welcome bit of gory bloodletting. The film succeeds most readily as it subverts expectation and twists genre tropes. So, if you're like me, and Housebound has been staring at you on that Netflix Watchlist, now's the time to cross it off. I definitely needed a fun and breezy flick after A Candle for the Devil. It's Day 22. I'm also trying to sneak this writeup in at work while also watching my next entry (which has been happening in installments for about a week). With October winding down, there's not a moment to spare. I'd also like to start reading books again at some point in the near future.
#21. 10/23 – The Vampire's Coffin (1958, dir. Fernando Mendez)
…aka El ataúd del Vampiro which somehow makes it sound far more appealing than Dracula if he were a gameshow host… in Spanish. Other than some inventive scenes using high contrast light and shadows, The Vampire's Coffin feels like a Universal film from the 30's or 40's, but less interesting. Static camera, smattering of close-ups, chiaroscuro. Also seemingly unrelated sick children worried about stuff. I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy this movie because how can you not love making "gameshow vampire" cracks to yourself… but it just wasn't very good and I watched it because it was available on Netflix while I wasted a couple of hours at work waiting for 48″ signs to print on the blotter. This is definitely a movie you watch while you're waiting for something better to happen.
#22. 10/24 – The Raven (1963, dir. Roger Corman)
If you've ever wanted to see an improv group attempt to continue the narrative of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" poem, The Raven might just be the movie for you. I'm pretty sure that Peter Lorre and Vincent Price weren't at any point reading from a script. Jack Nicholson arrives in full flummox mode and then there's the luminous Hazel Court. It's hard not to have a measure of affection for a production as ill advised as this. A raven drinking from a wine goblet. Peter Lorre in a bird suit. Vincent Price and Boris Karloff as accomplished witches (warlocks?) and Peter Lorre as the Daffy Duck variety witch (always a failed second fiddle). When you think the movie couldn't go more off the rails, it does somehow. And that makes it… well… worth something to fans of Corman and those lovable, huggable AIP productions from the 1960's. Nevertheless, you always believe that the actors had more fun making the movie than you had watching it.
#23. 10/25 – The Innocents (1961, dir. Jack Clayton)
…words coming soon…
#24. 10/26 – The Tingler (1959, dir. William Castle)
#25. 10/28 – Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir. Tobe Hooper)
This may be another case of a movie damned by expectation. Well, maybe not damned per say, but fricasseed, roasted and potentially boiled. TCSM had been held aloft as one of the most frightening experiences in cinema history. Unnerving, sure. I'll give it that. Tense. Solid effort there. Tremendous foreshadowing through somewhat casual (but mostly forced) dialogue. But TCSM won't keep me up at night like The Innocents, to name one very recent example that burrowed underneath my skin and lingered. Different goals. Different films, obviously. But it's all relative, anyway, is it not? The specific details that cause certain films to climb into you subconscious and reside there, forever sending chills down the back of your spine. I've got a few of those. Candyman, for example. I watched Candyman alone just after it was released on video. Afterward I walked around the house turning on every light. I haven't seen it since and I'm quite sure it wouldn't affect me in the same ways it did then. That's not the point. In specific moments in our lives we're more receptive to certain types of horrors. And those horrors just don't necessarily dissipate with time and tide. I will always think of that night and shudder, just a little bit. The same goes for the The Innocents. At age 37 I was fully ready to receive the chilling tale from 1961 in ways I wouldn't have as a teenager. I might not have been as involved with the story, invested in the character, identifying with the horrors of small, manipulative children being puppet mastered by the lingering spooks of dead lovers. So that brings us back to 1974 and to this "true story" of the systematic murders of a group of stranded young motorists by a family of maniac butchers/cannibals. Though I engaged with the story (Step 1 of being receptive to horrors), I was mostly humored by the stupidity of the film's "protagonists." I documented these thoughts on Twitter, as I tend to do:
So the takeaway from TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is that you shouldn't pick up hitchhikers that are f'ing insane. #31DaysOfHorror #lifehacks — The #Bond_age_ Guy (@007hertzrumble) October 28, 2015
More TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE #LifeHacks. If you find a human tooth on the front porch of a house, you should leave. #31DaysOfHorror
— The #Bond_age_ Guy (@007hertzrumble) October 28, 2015
I'm stocking up on these TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE #LifeHacks. If you fall on a floor full of bones and chicken parts, run now, puke later. — The #Bond_age_ Guy (@007hertzrumble) October 28, 2015
There were a few more of these, but you get the point. Hapless morons find themselves in a Murphy's Law-type situation and in order to expedite the Murphy's Lawness of it all, they just start flocking straight towards death like a moth to a flame. And the flame in this case is a guy wielding a chainsaw and wearing a skin mask of his victims. The parade of executions becomes preposterous. And then when there's just one left, we're treated to a "last supper" dinner scene featuring the entire family of deranged lunatics — truly a classic cinematic scene of the macabre. The final living protagonist is a girl named Sally — which is pretty much everything we know about Sally. This, the best scene in the film, is cruel, funny and believe it or not, humanizing… to the extent that you can humanize lunatic cannibals because he's only okay with cooking his victims but not killing them. I get that. We as a first world society totally get that. We're lunatic hillbilly murderers too. For the sake of bacon.
And this brings me to the not-so-subtext of the film. Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a pro-vegetarian propaganda piece. The characters document the horrors of the slaughterhouse and engage in a debate about whether its okay to eat meat but not kill it. They talk of headcheese processing and killing cows with two sledges to the head. This debate is so detailed in the various methods of cow executions, you know, YOU KNOW, this has to come back into the film at some point. And wouldn't you know… the cannibal family cook states his reservations about killing his own ingredients, i.e. Sally.
Tasty, eh?
Was I entertained? No doubt. And in the end, that's all that really matters… also keeping those TCSM #LifeHacks close at hand should you be presented with a situation where your van breaks down in the middle of Texas (how about let's just not go to Texas?) and you find yourself looking for help in homes with dead things on the floor. Hey, these things happen and when they do, you want to be prepared.
#26. 10/29 – Nosferatu (1979, dir. Werner Herzog)
Dracula returns to the realm of the purely gothic. Herzog's Count is a wretched cuss equated with the black plague. He's a pestilence of rats and unwanted sexual advances. Klaus Kinski's visage is the stuff of nightmares, rivaling only Max Schreck in the original 1922 F.W. Murnau Nosferatu that Herzog here aims to update. The movie lacks the eccentric, hyperbolic splendor or other Dracula adaptations. Every scene promises, eventually, the arrival of death. Every scene is carefully calculated forebode. Consider the scenes as Harker arrives in Transylvania. Herzog lingers on Harker's inability to reach the castle. Peasants will not drive him, they will not even allow him to buy a horse to make the journey. Harker must walk the long distance. Popul Vuh's haunting score (symphonic melodies and moans!) coupled with Herzog's long, static shots of the treacherous splendor of the mountains and countryside put a shiver in your britches.
Herzog maintains the silent film's languid pacing, allowing haunting visuals and extended silence to convey a creeping, menacing terror. Most striking is that Herzog doesn't cloak his cinematography with effusive shadow. Nosferatu is often bright and always high-contrast, to the point of appearing overdeveloped. Even the scenes with Harker (Bruno Ganz) at Dracula's castle are well lit affairs (relatively speaking). The most prominent visual effect of this lighting scheme, the blazing whites, bathe the character of Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) in chastity. She's seen on the beach, pale, washed out skin the color of the bleached sky and sand. Her face contrasting against her black hair, stark clothing. Adjani (and to a greater extent Herzog's mise-en-scene) here could be seen as a prototype for our modern Goth culture — and in that the culture as I understand it rose in popularity during the early 80's as part of the gothic-rock/post-punk movement, this notion has some merit. Furthemore, an argument can and has been made that German Romanticism itself is responsible for the visual tropes associated with the Goth culture. I'm going to conclude that thought here. I don't have the time or space for such rabbit holes here.
When Dracula arrives in London, proper darkness finally arrives with the beast. Our expectations of dread are met, duly. The events have been told dozens of times over. I should note that I've been listening to the film's score for the last hour and I'm sufficiently batshit loopy. Time to do some proper work now, which for me today is some simple graphic design. I hope my employer's in the mood for brooding, high-contrast blacks and washed out whites.
#27. 10/30 – Scream of Fear (1961, dir. Sean Holt)
A terrific film noir disguised as a Hammer horror flick. I'm not sure Scream's narrative twists hold up under multiple viewings, but Holt's film plays a fantastic game of misdirection. It allows the viewer to feel smart, predicting the first major twist, before pulling the rug out for a second. I won't go into great detail because I'm running out of time to finish this post-Halloween blast of Shame-a-thon words, and because any information about the story might inadvertently direct your viewing.
Let's just say that Scream of Fear is an underseen gem and you should watch it. Really. Go watch it.
I'll wait here.
You haven't left yet. I told you to stop reading my writing and go watch a movie. When a writer breaks from his solipsism to tell you to stop reading, you goddamn do it. That means he's serious. Deadly serious.
#28. 10/31 – The Fog (1980, dir. John Carpenter)
I had the opportunity to program our Halloween viewing. I had to pick something that was "spooky but not too scary." Some gore was permissible but it needed to be "kinda funny gore." With these restrictions in mind, I brought to the table four potential titles for my assembled family members to choose from: Demon Knight, The Sentinel, The Haunting and The Fog. I tried to sneak The Sentinel in there to keep the Shame-a-thon rolling along, but nobody would bite because I couldn't promise anything about the nature of the film other than the blurb on the case (which nobody really understood). I tried, Shamers… I tried. My wife campaigned for this John Carpenter favorite; I couldn't have been more pleased.
Some new things struck me about this viewing of The Fog. The simplicity of the premise for example. There's a fog. There are things in the fog. Some people figure it out. Some people don't. The backstory fully comes to light during the climax, but until then the audience doesn't need to concern themselves with anything other than Carpenter's staging and visuals. Adrienne Barbeau broadcasting on the AM radio subs for a narrator. (I think Grosse Pointe Blank took notes on how to best deploy a DJ as a narration device.) Carpenter uses the all-seeing DJ/narrator to describe the comings and goings of the fog. This allows him to worry first about mood and visuals without wasting time with establishing shots. Of course, there are plenty of shots of the fog moving across the coastline and on into town, but they don't seek necessarily to further the story — they set a specific mood, the portend the coming of doom. Carpenter also uses Barbeau's voice, in full Delilah After Dark mode, the same way he uses his synth-laden score. It's all about the curation of unease… and really, is there anyone better at this than Carpenter?
The Fog is expedient, enjoyable horror of the first order. If you want to scrutinize some of the narrative logic, that's fair. But why rock the boat (of undead lepers)?
#29. 11/1 – Chamber of Horrors (1940, dir. Norman Lee)
I picked this movie up one day at Half Price Books. When browsing shelves and shelves of DVDs I scan for any case that looks odd or out of place. With a 3yo and/or a 6yo laying waste to everything around me, I have something less than 5 minutes to idly peruse. On one such trip I found this little devil. Released by Roan, this British oddity called out to me. Roan Group DVDs imply a few certainties. An obscure film, presented without restoration, intermittently watchable — but sometimes brilliant and underseen. I gladly bought my $4 lottery ticket to Chamber of Horrors (aka The Door with Seven Locks) based on the statement on the back of the box that it was shown in the U.S. on a double bill with Bela Lugosi's The Ape. In the light of day, I must question whether that fact is actually a selling point.
Here's the cold hard facts about Chamber of Horrors. There's a chamber with an iron maiden. There's also a door with seven locks. But despite the promises of horrors the most frightening thing in the film might be the butler's bowl cut. Before dying some old, eccentric fellow leaves his estate to his oddly young son. He also stipulates that his family's jewels will be interred with him in the mausoleum and locked behind a door… with seven locks.
30 minutes of this 80 minute film are spent discussing heirs and the whereabouts of that rapscallion son. It's a bit of a let down considering we've got a spooky mausoleum with an obscene number of locks and a dead guy that's promised to return from the grave to hunt down any trespassers. Where are the trespassers to roust the dead guy from his eternal slumber?
Lilli Palmer to the rescue. You might know Palmer from Hitchcock's Secret Agent or Fritz Lang's Cloak and Dagger among many other notable appearances. She starred in a litany of noir films through the 30's and 40's, eventually marrying Rex Harrison and moving to Hollywood. Palmer acted regularly until her death in 1986 and made one of her last appearances in the Holcroft Covenant alongside Michael Caine, Victoria Tennant and Michael Lonsdale. Lilli Palmer hoists Chamber of Horrors up on her slight shoulders and turns a snoozer into a fairly entertaining Scooby Doo caper. She has some help in that department from Leslie Banks (as the naughty Dr. Manetta (The Most Dangerous Game) — and while they're both playing caricatures, it is Palmer that elevates the material she's given.
Chamber of Horrors turns out to be 90% murder mystery and 10% early British post-"ban" horror — we allude to and insinuate that fiendish things are taking place, but we're really quite polite about it. (The UK film board did not officially ban horror films so much as discourage their production with idle threats of censorship. As I understand it, this period in British cinema compares to the late pre-code years in American cinema — a lot of people ranting and raving about morality in domestic cinema without any specific traction.)
What was I saying? Eh.
Worth watching (with a little patience). Don't expect too much. Enjoy Lilli Palmer. Carry on Shaming.
#30. 11/1 – The Wicker Man (1973, Robin Hardy)
Instead of words I'm working on a .gif of Britt Ekland slapping her bum and singing a Scottish folk song… that would probably better reflect my thoughts about The Wicker Man than any slapdash collection of thoughts.
#31. 11/1 – La Momia Azteca (1957, Rafael Portillo)
The Aztec Mummy has a legend- wait for it- dary reputation due to the ways in which the character was regurgitated in films such as The Aztec Mummy versus the Humanoid Robot. Think classic movie monster as luchador and you're only barely halfway to this bizarro slice of Mexican cinema… which was skewered brilliantly by MST3K in the episode The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy. I'd hoped an equally so-bad-its-awesomeful origin story with La Momia Azteca, the first of the tremendously unrelated Mexican Aztec Mummy films.
La Momia Azteca takes an interesting entry point into the mummy mythology. Dr. Almeda believes he can tap into past lives through a new hypnotism technique. Because no one would be his willing guinea pig (he stresses that the procedure may cause irreparable psychological damage if the past life lingers into the present) his fiance Flor volunteers. She does this so that the can complete his research on the matter and then get married. Apparently you can't delve into the depths of past lives and be tied down by an old ball and chain. So it goes. Oddly, this is the interesting part of the film. It's filled with lovely spinny things and beeps and boops and the thingamajiggers we associate with 1950's OMG SCIENCE! And then Flor flashes back to Tenochtitlan of the Aztec civilization. She's a lovely virgin who's in love with a brave Aztec warrior, but here's the rub — she's scheduled to be sacrificed. The warrior plots an escape from Tenochtitlan before her execution, but their plan is uncovered by the Aztec prince (you can tell he's important because he's wearing a lot of shit on his head). He's mummified and cursed to forever guard the Aztec treasure reserves. She's still executed. Womp womp.
The Dr. and his associates, a rag tag bunch of scholars/cringing Harrys, use Flor's new memories of the temple to locate the Aztec treasure to prove the legitimacy of her visions. And get rich. Don't forget the get rich part. Up until this point in the film, I'm down with all of it. It's a fun 1950's low budget horror flick with a nice twist. Once we descend into Tenochtitlan — when this movie should just be getting good — the whole thing goes right off the rails. A scheming colleague of Dr. Almeda recruits a gang of thugs to follow the Dr. and his Merry Band of Thoughtmongers. The colleague, Professor Krup, rules these thugs from behind a black mask and calls himself "The Bat." A Batman/Mummy/Abbott and Costello/Luchador mishmash?!?! HOW HAVE YOU NOT BEEN IN MY LIFE? Well, not so fast. Even though Krup dresses as a bat and calls himself "The Bat" doesn't make him interesting. Think George Clooney as Batman, except Z-grade comic book villain that never makes a second appearance.
On top of this the movie is so dark in these scenes inside the pyramid that you can't actually see whats going on. All you've got is grammatically poor subtitles to guide you. The scenes are so dark in fact that I'm pretty sure the script merely read "…and yada yada yada things go bump in the dark." I would have just assumed poor transfer DVD, but part of me thinks that the budget only allowed for one or two interior rooms. In order to extend their utility Portillo cloaked the same rooms in complete darkness to squeeze some more blood from that stone. The final half of the film unfolds predictably, barely keeping you invested in the increasingly disconnected silliness. Yet, I'm still intrigued by the series. Enough at least to keep going through the set. I don't know what that says about these movies or my moviewatching tendencies.
Bonus watch with the kiddos:
#32. 10/31 – Toy Story of Terror (2013, dir. Angus MacLane)
31 Days of Horror: 2015
31 Days of Horror @ 30Hz
31 Days of Horror by Kerry Fristoe
Tags #31daysofhorror, 31 days of horror, 31 days of horror part 2, bram stoker's dracular, crimson peak, fright night
← 31 Days of Horror: 2015 → The Christmas Blues (aka The Creeping Holiday Terror)
by jdp time to read: 24 min
Cinema	The 30/007Hz First Watch 2015 Hertzie Nominations…
Cinema	31 Days of Horror: 2015


text:
POETRY LESSONS
PROSE LESSONS
NCERT SOLUTIONS FOR CLASS 12TH
NCERT SOLUTIONS CLASS 10TH
NCERT SOLUTIONS FOR CLASS 9TH
ESSAYS AND PARAGRAPHS
SMART LEARNING TIPS
Pygmalion : Summary, Characters, Outline, Questions
SUBMITTED ARTICLES / By smartenglishnotes
The story in Outline / Summary
Act-wise summary of the play
EXAM PREPARATION TIPS: A MUST- READ GUIDE
Pygmalion is the most successful play of Shaw both on stage and screen. It was first produced at the Halfburg Theatre in Vienna on 16th Oct. 1913. It had achieved wide popularity in all English speaking world. The film based on the play was produced in 1938. It had met a grand success. A musical version of the play was 'My Fair Lady'. A film version based on 'My Fair Lad' was produced in 1963. It was a great success. The play has been translated in Marathi language by Shri. P. L. Deshpande. Its name is 'Tee Phulrani'. The play achieved a grand success on a Marathi stage. Thus the play has got a universal appeal.
1. The main source of the play is a myth of Pygmalion in ancient Greece. According to the earliest version of the story, Pygmalion was a king of Cyprus. He fell in love with a statue of a girl named Galatea. Then he prayed Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She breathed life into the statue. Then he married Galatea.
2.	The play, Pygmalion is based on the old fairy tale of Cinderella.
3.	The play Pygmalion had carried the influence of the story of Adam and Eve from the medieval morality plays.
The myth of Pygmalion is symbolic. It is related to man's desire to do certain things which are superior to the things available in the world.
The setting of the play :
The story of Pygmalion takes place in London. The first act opens Covert Garden, at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. Then it moves to London slum locality. The second act takes place at the residence of Prof. Higgins on Wimple Street. The third act takes place in Chelsea Embankment; a fashionable locality in London. Then it moves to a foreign embassy in London. The action further takes place in the localities of London Cavendish Square, Hanover Square and Wimbledon Common.
The characters in the play :
1.	Henry Higgins – Pygmalion, a Prof. of Phonetics.
2.	Colonel Pickering – A student of Phonetics, studied the dialects of Sanskrit.
3.	Eliza Doolittle – The flower girl, the student of Prof. Higgins.
4.	Alfred Doolittle – the father of Eliza.
5.	Mrs Higgins – the mother of Prof. Higgins
6.	Freddy Hill – the lover of Eliza
7.	Mrs Pearce – the housekeeper of Higgins.
8.	Mrs Eynsford Hill – the mother of Freddy and Clara.
9.	Clara Hill – Sister of Freddy.
Structure of The Play
The play follows a typical Shavion formula – i.e. Exposition – Complication – Discussion.
The first act is a prologue. It introduces the main theme and characters in the play. It is an exposition. The first act is a prologue. It introduces the main theme and characters in the play. It is an exposition. The complication and its climax come in the II , III and IV act. They consist of Eliza's education, the tests of her learning at Mrs Higgins and at the Ambassador's party. The IV and V acts are concerned with the consequences of Eliza's education.
Structurally, we can divide the play into four parts.
1.	Prologue
2.	Eliza's education
3.	Tests of Eliza's learning
4.	Consequences of Eliza's learning.
The play progresses from ignorance to knowledge.
Pygmalion is the story of Prof. Higgins and a flower girl Eliza Doolittle.
It was a rainy night. A number of passengers were standing in the portico of St. Paul's church for shelter. Eliza was one of them. She was a flower girl. Mrs Hill, Clara Hill, Freddy Hill were standing there. Freddy was gone to search for a cab. While returning he collided against Eliza. Flowers in her hand were fallen in the mud. She shouted loudly in her cockney dialects. Mrs Hill gave her six pence. Eliza requested other bystanders to purchase her flowers. Prof. Higgins was noting down her dialects. Also, he was noting down the features of different- dialects spoken by the people standing there. The people suspected him. He said that he was a professor of Phonetics. He could identify the locality of the people from their way of speaking. There he met a military gentleman Colonel Pickering. He was a student of Cambridge University. Then he had gone to India. He studied Sanskrit there, He specialized himself in Sanskrit dialects. He came to London only to meet Prof. Higgins. Thus Prof. Higgins and Pickering became friends. Prof. Higgins invited him to stay at his house in Wimpole Street. While talking Prof. Higgins said that he could train the flower girl.
He could change her from a flower girl to a duchess at an Ambassador party.
The next day, Prof. Higgins and Colonel Pickering were sitting together at Higgin's house. Prof. Higgins was demonstrating him his methods of teaching Phonetics. Soon, Eliza, the flower girl, entered there. She told Prof. Higgins that she wanted to take a job in a fashionable flower shop. Prof. Higgin surprised but agreed her offer. Further, he boasted he would train her. He would transform her into a fashionable lady within six months. Colonel Pickering bet with Higgins He said if he could do so, he would pay all the expenses of her education.
Eliza stayed at Prof. Higgins's house for her education. Prof. Higgins instructed his housekeeper, Mrs Pearce to wash and clean the girl. Then she was given a new dress to wear. During the time, Alfred Doolittle arrived there. He was Eliza's father. He was a dustman. He was an immoral man. He sold his daughter to Higgins for five pounds. Eliza came there. She was completely changed. Even her father could not recognize her.
Eliza's education at Prof. Higgins started. He taught her lesson in phonetics with experiment. His lessons were difficult to learn for the girl because she was a poor girl. She was living in a slum area. She knew nothing about correct English and its correct pronunciation. Prof. Higgins used to shout at her. He used to lose his temper. Eliza was thinking to run away from him. But Pickering encouraged her. He taught her the manner of upper-class society. To your surprise, she proved herself a good student. Within three months she progressed well.
Prof. Higgins took Eliza to his mother's place. There was Mrs Higgins 'at home day'. Her friends were supposed to come there. Mrs Hill, her daughter, Clara and Mrs Hill's son Freddy were present there. It was a test of Eliza. She was well dressed. She was looking quite smart. She was easy and confident in her behaviour. Freddy fell in love with Eliza. According to Mrs Higgins Eliza needed to change more to be perfect. However, she was a triumph of his art.
After six months Eliza's education was over, she was taken to an Ambassador's party for a final test. Eliza created a sensation by her beauty and manners. Everyone gathered there, thought her like a princess. Prof. Higgins won the test the bet. Colonel Pickering and Prof. Higgins were happy about their grand success. Eliza was emotionally attached to Prof. Higgins. But he treated her just like a machine. He was a bully for her. After Eliza's success, he congratulated himself for his successful experiment. He ignored Eliza. She was shocked. She called him a selfish brute. She gave his jewellery to him and went out of his house.
Freddy was lingering out. Eliza joined Freddy. They wandered together the whole night. The next morning Eliza went to Mrs Higgins. Prof. Higgins and Pickering worried. They rang up the police. Then they reached to Mrs Higgins. Eliza's father also came there. There we learnt Eliza was his illegitimate daughter. And he was supposed to marry her stepmother.
There was a hot discussion between Eliza and Higgins. She told that she was going to marry Freddy. Though he was an uneducated man, he could be a good father to their children. She would live with him happily.
Now we will study the story of the play in detail. We will try to analyse each act. The play falls into five acts. The first act functions as a prologue to the play. It reveals the main theme of the play: i.e. education. The succeeding acts develop the action. They are related to Eliza's education, her two tests and her rebellion.
It was a rainy night in London. The time was 11.15 p.m. A number of passengers were taking shelter at the Portico of St. Paul's Church in London. Among them were Mrs Hill, Clara Hill, they were waiting for Freddy, the son of Mrs Hill. He was gone to bring a cab. As he came empty, he was irritated by his mother and sister. He rushed again. On his way, he collided against a flower-girl Eliza. Her flowers were scattered in the mud. She shouted at Freddy in her typical cockney dialect. Her dress was very poor. Mrs Hill gave her sixpence Prof. Higgins was observing the scene. He was noting down the varieties of dialect used by the people standing there. There came a military gentleman to take shelter. He was Colonel Pickering, Eliza requested him to purchase flowers. She was requesting other bystanders to buy her flowers. Prof. Higgins noted down every word of Eliza. He was mistaken as a spy. Eliza got feared. She shouted that she had done nothing wrong. She had the right to sell flowers. Then Prof. Higgins told that he was mistaken by them. He was a professor in phonetics. He showed his notebook to them. He had written the phonetic script of Eliza's speech. He added he could identify the native of the person from the person's (his) dialect. He told Eliza that she was from Lisson Grove. Prof. Higgins and Pickering got acquainted with each other. They became good friends. Prof. Higgins invited him to stay at his house. He told about his profession. Moreover, he boasted if the flower-girl could learn lessons from him he could change her into the duchess at an Ambassador's party. Eliza was listening to their talk seriously. She got money from Pickering and Prof. Higgins. The rain stopped. People departed Freddy came with a cab for his mother and sister until they went by bus. Therefore, Eliza hired the cab and went to her room.
She was quite happy and relaxed. She had got more money on that day. She would dream a lot about her life.
Shaw exposes the play in this act. The theme of the play is indicated in the act. All the major characters were introduced here. Prof. Higgins was a Pygmalion. He was a creator of Eliza. He was a professor of phonetics. He was boastful about his profession. He said he could change the poor flower-girl into a fine lady of the upper class. Accidental meeting of Prof. Higgins and Colonel Pickering made them good friends. Freddy felt delicate feelings for Eliza. As she had got money on that day, she started planning for her future.
The second act took place in Prof. Higgin's house in Wimpole Street. There was a laboratory in his house. He used to give lessons in phonetics to his students. He used to follow his own methods of training others. It was well equipped with necessary instruments of recording and reproducing sounds. He loved his profession very much. He was boastful about his work. He was showing his laboratory to his new friend Colonel Pickering.
Mrs Pearce, the housekeeper, informed the arrival of a girl to Higgins. She was told to send the girl in. As he saw the girl, he stunned. He shouted at her. Do you know, why? She was Eliza, a flower girl. She had the very poor pronunciation of her language. She told her purpose of coming over there. She wanted to take lessons in phonetics from him. She desired to take a good job at some florist. She was ready to pay his fees. He accepted her offer. Even Colonel Pickering took a bet that if Prof. Higgins could change the flower girl into a sophisticated lady within six months he would pay all the expenses of her education.
Eliza's education started. She was cleaned and washed by Mrs Pearce. She was given a new dress to wear. She was asked to stay in his house only. Mrs Pearce was told to take care of her. She taught her the ways of good manners.
Meanwhile, there came Alfred Doolittle, the father of Eliza to Higgins house. He was a poor dustman. He tried to threat Higgins for taking Eliza in his house. Later he confessed that he would not take Eliza back. He just wanted five pounds from Higgins.
Actual lessons started. Eliza was a slum-girl. She was illiterate. Therefore, it was difficult for her to take a lesson from Prof. Higgins. He was very strict. He was short-tempered. Sometimes she felt to run away to her own slum. But Colonel Pickering encouraged her. He taught her manners. She got parental love from him. She made good progress within three months. She was able to differentiate between human sounds. She could play on piano. Even she could identify and pronounce African dialect. Thus she was ready to face a test before Mrs Higgins, the mother of Prof. Higgins.
The act reveals various characters in the play. There is the conflict of ideas, opinions and problems raised by different characters. First, Mrs Pearce questioned her master when Eliza would turn into a sophisticated lady. How she could adjust herself with her changed circumstances. Secondly, Eliza's father raised his problem. He was 'an undeserving poor' and 'middle-class moralist' was thrust on him. He did not want to change his rank because he could not conduct properly in the changed condition. So he felt happy with five pence. Thirdly, the main conflict comes between Prof. Higgins and Pickering. Higgins boasted to change a flower girl in a duchess in a few months. Pickering challenged him that if he could do so he would make all the expenses of Eliza's education. Fourthly, Alfred Doolittle came to blackmail Prof Higgins but was satisfied with just five pence and went away. Fifthly, we see a cultural conflict in Eliza. Though she was changed in a sophisticated lady she could not give up her habits, even she could not adopt the free and easy ways of upper-class society. Out of all these conflicts, the story moves forward. At the and of the second act, Eliza was made ready to face her test before Mrs Higgins.
The third act took place in the drawing-room of Mrs Higgin's house in Chelsea Embankment. It was afternoon time four and five. Mrs Higgins was an old lady of sixty years. It was her 'at home' day. On that day she would remain at her house and would receive her friends and visitors. Prof. Higgins, Colonel Pickering, Mrs. and Miss Hill, Mr Eynsford Hill (Freddy) arrived at the party. Lastly, Miss Doolittle arrived and created a sensation. She was looking beautiful and self-confident. Everybody was impressed by her conduct and small talk. The party was over. Guests had departed. Prof. Higgins, Colonel Pickering discussed Eliza with Mrs Higgins. Mrs Higgins agreed that he had taken efforts towards her pronunciation. She required more efforts to improve her manner. Further, she warned him that if a poor woman had lifted to a fine lady what should be done with her? How she could live unless she had a fine lady's income. Prof. Higgins attempts were one-sided. He was thinking only of his experiments and their success. He would take more efforts to polish her manners. By the end of her course, Eliza was taken to the ambassador's Garden Party. There also she created a sensation. She was appreciated as a princess. Thus a flower girl had successfully transferred into a princess.
This act throws light on various factors. First, why Mrs. Higgins kept her son Prof. Higgins out of her house. Second, Freddy's attraction towards Eliza was suggestive about their possible marriage in future. Third, Eliza presented herself well. She impressed everyone present at the Higgins. However, she required more training regarding her manners. It was a half success of Prof. Higgins. Fourth, by the end of Eliza's training, she was brought by the Ambassador's Gardan Party. There she proved herself the best. Thus her transformation completed Prof. Higgins won the bet.
The fourth act took place at the residence of Prof. Higgins. The time was of midnight. Prof. Higgins, Colonel Pickering and Eliza were just returned from the Ambassador's Party. Prof. Higgins was very much happy as he won the bet. Colonel Pickering congratulated him. Eliza was laid aside. She was quite angry because Prof. Higgins had used her just like a speaking machine. She had expected that Higgins would propose her. But he had not thought her in that way. There was a serious quarrel between them. She threw her slippers on his face. She had a problem where she could go thereafter? Previously she sold flowers but now turned a lady and how she could sell flowers or anything. Thus she had a question before her how to live, what to do by being a lady. She was furious. She could not understand what to do. She gave everything back to Higgins that was given to her. She decided to leave him.
Then she went out for a night walk. She met Freddy. They wandered the whole night. Eliza decided to meet Mrs Higgins the next day.
The action reached the climax in the third and the fourth act. Education of Eliza was completed successfully. The problem remained what Eliza would to do with her changed rank. Prof. Higgins was not at all interested in her. His work was over. Though Eliza was Higgins creation he could not marry her. So Freddy was there. He loved Eliza like anything. The act throws light on the character of Higgins. He was selfish, boastful. He used Eliza to prove his knowledge. When it was proved he left her for nothing.
Eliza returned to Higgins house in the morning. She collected her things and went to Mrs Higgins. Now Eliza appeared to be conscious about her future. She expected guidance from Mrs Higgins. Here Prof. Higgins and Colonel Pickering were worried about Eliza. They asked Mrs Higgins about Eliza. Pickering rang up the police. Mrs Higgins called them nonsense.
Alfred Doolittle arrived at Mrs Higgins. He revealed his own situation. He was honoured as 'the most original moralist at present in England' but he had nothing to do with it. He was a dustman. He wanted to keep his job ahead. He was going to marry then first time in his life Eliza was his illegitimate child.
Alfred invited all of them to his marriage. Mrs Higgins, Pickering and Eliza went to marriage leaving Higgins back alone. The play ends there and then Pickering told Eliza to forgive Higgins and stay with him. Eliza had fatherly affection towards him. She had to agree. Also, she cared for Higgins but he could not understand her. He was making certain absurd proposals before her. So she became furious. She told him at once that Freddy loved her. She wanted to marry him in spite of all his limitations.
Then she would run a flower shop of her own. She could settle herself well in her life.
The act is concerned with the consequences of Eliza's education. She became a self-confident and strong-willed lady. Her education was over. Consequences of education on her became visible. She tried to search for her identity and position in the higher social environment. Prof. Higgins, the most practical man, was left alone. Actually, the play ends here but the story of Eliza has given a finishing touch in the epilogue.
The Characters :
There are five main characters in the play. They are :
i) Prof. Henry Higgins	ii) Eliza Doolittle	iii) Colonel Pickering iv) Alfred Doolittle	v) Freddy Hill
There are four minor characters. They support the main action of the play. They are :
i) Mrs Higgins ii) Clara Hill iii) Mrs Hill	iv) Mrs Pearce.
Now we will see the details of these characters :
Prof Henry Higgins:
We have gone through the story. Then guess who is Pygmalion in the story? Yes, Henry Higgins is Pygmalion of Shaw. He does not make a statue. He does not worship physical beauty like Pygmalion in Greek Mythology. He is a professor of phonetics. He desires to make his students perfect in their speaking. He knows peculiarities of different dialects spoken in the localities of London. He could identify the specific locality of the person from the dialect he speaks.
A Typical professor :
He is a typical professor. He is devoted to his subject. His only interest is to teach the students to speak English perfectly. He is enthusiastic. He is energetic even at the age of 40. He could not tolerate the rough use of dialect. According to him, one must speak English correctly. He has undertaken the job to refine Eliza. He dreams to transform a flower girl into a duchess. He thinks that it is a challenge to his knowledge.
Short-tempered:
He is a short-tempered man. Little things upset him, for example, repeated weeping of Eliza annoys him. He gets angry with Eliza on a small account. He threats her of punishment. He doesn't control his temper.
A careless person :
He is a very careless person. He is rude and untidy. He lacks culture and good manners. His mother had kept him away because of his ill manners. He is unfit to sophisticated society. He uses indecent words in his speech. He lacks table manners. He is rude and unrefined in his manners. Even he does not bother about mannerisms in genteel society.
Higgins – Eliza Relations :
Higgin is the professor of phonetics. Eliza is his student. He is cynic towards Eliza. He is indifferent towards her beauty and charm. He loves his subject like anything. Here his role is that of creator. He transforms a poor flower girl to a beautiful lady. He is using Eliza in his experiment. He wants intellectual satisfaction from her. That's why after the Ambassador's party, Higgins overjoyed on Eliza's success. He boasts on his success. He doesn't think about Eliza's feeling. Eliza expects emotional satisfaction from him. His lessons changed Eliza into a strong-willed woman. Higgins appears a weak-willed person. The two characters are two poles apart.
Higgins loves his profession much. But he could not love any young woman. He believed women upset everything. Therefore, he remained a bachelor at the age of 40. Even he will not marry thereafter.
2.	Colonel Pickering
He is an elderly gentleman of the amiable military type. He is an elderly person. He appears to be a sincere nobleman. He was from Cambridge. He is a student of phonetics. He has visited India. He has studied and specialized in the dialects of Sanskrit. He has written a book on spoken Sanskrit. He has come to London to meet Prof. Higgins, a professor of Phonetics. Coincidently, he met Prof. Higgins at the portico of St. Paul's Church. He was much impressed by Higgins knowledge of understanding dialects. Soon they became good friends. He stayed with Prof. Higgins at Higgins House.
Prof. Higgins and Colonel Pickering. :
Prof. Higgins was proud of his knowledge of Phonetics. He was boastful about his teaching and experiments in teaching phonetics. He claimed that he could train an illiterate flower girl. He would transform her into a duchess within six months by teaching her speaking English correct. Colonel Pickering challenged him about his boast. He was sober and generous. He took a special interest in Eliza's education. He supported her and encouraged her for good learning. He treated her with due respect. Whereas Prof. Higgins treated her as a machine. Colonel Pickering played the role of guardian in Eliza's education as well as in her life. He supported financial help to Eliza and Freddy to set up a flower shop and made them lead a respectable life.
3.	Eliza Doolittle :
Eliza Doolittle is a young girl of 18. She is the daughter of a dustman. She sells flowers to earn her living. Though she is beautiful, she is untidy, rude and dirty in her appearance. She speaks cockney dialects. She is a shabby and unromantic girl. Yet she became the heroine the play.
We met her in the 1st act. She was selling flowers at the portico of the church. On that day she earned enough money. Money made her dream about future. Therefore she decided to learn speaking correct English. She went to Prof. Higgins. She requested him to give her lessons in spoken English. She proved herself an obedient student. She took a keen interest in her learning. She proved herself an efficient girl. That is why she completed her education with grand success. She was made a beautiful lady.
Eliza appeared pathetic. Her transformation into a duchess created a lot of problems before her. She was helplessly asking questions –What I am fit for? Where am I to go? What am I to do? etc. Prof. Higgins didn't care about her. As her education had completed she was left for her own.
Eliza became a strong-willed woman. After her education, she realized life. She was expecting love from Prof. Higgins. But soon she preferred Freddy as her husband. Education made her live independently. It helped her to search for her identity. It transformed her into a self-confident and strong-willed woman. She could dare to marry an uneducated Freddy. She desired to overcome any difficulty in her way. She dreamed to lead a peaceful family life.
Eliza is the only character in the play, who changes, grows and develops her own identity.
4.	Alfred Doolittle :
Alfred Doolittle is Eliza's father. He is a poor dustman. His main business is to extort money from others and put it into his pockets. He himself is a lazy person. His name itself suggests his nature. He is immoral. He sells his daughter to Prof. Higgins for five pounds.
Alfred Doolittle is a comic character. He creates fun and humour in the play. He is Shaw's spokesman. He exposes Shaw's own philosophy of life, marriage, society. He is a social rebel. He feels everyone should get what he wants.
He is unconventional. He is a liar. He is a cheat. He is frank about his weakness.
He is a man of spirit. He is enthusiastic. His enthusiasm remains throughout the play.
5.	Freddy :
Freddy is the popular name of Fredrick Eynsford Hill. He belonged to a noble family. He is the young man of 20. He is introduced like another character in the first act. He is a poor chap. His mother calls him 'helpless'. Similarly, he lacks commonsense. He is uneducated. He has completed his elementary primary education at a cheap public school. He is not trained for any profession. Therefore he remains poor.
Freddy loves Eliza. A cab brought them together in the first act. He was impressed by the beauty of the flower girl. Then he met Eliza at the residence of Mrs Higgins. There was a small party at Higgins. Also, it was a trial test of Eliza before Higgins. There he was attracted towards her. He loved her small talk and her cherished personality. He wrote letters to her very regularly. He came to Wimpole Street to see Eliza every night. When Eliza came out of the house after her quarrel with Higgins, Freddy met her and smoothes her. He expresses his love for her. Finally, he marries Eliza.
6.	Mrs Higgins :
Mrs Higgins is the mother of Higgins. She is an old lady of 60 years. She lives alone in her own flat at Chelsea Embankment. She has maintained her house decently. She lives separate from her son, who is careless, untidy, Mrs Higgins could not tolerate his habits.
Mrs Higgins is a loving mother. She has taken a good effort to make her son a scholar in phonetics. She supports him to become successful in his subject with her guidance and encouragement. Yet her love for her son is not blind. She knows everything about him.
Mrs Higgins is kind-hearted and sympathetic to Eliza. She provides her with every help. She supports her. Thus Mrs Higgins is a loving woman.
7.	Miss Clara Hill :
Clara is Freddy's sister. She brings Freddy and Eliza together. She makes their marriage possible. Therefore though she is a minor character, she plays an important role in the life of Eliza and Freddy.
8.	Mrs Hill:
Mrs Hill was the mother of Freddy and Clara. She is a middle-aged lady. She is tolerant, calm and generous
9.	Mrs Pearce:
Mrs Pearce is the housekeeper of Prof. Higgins. She is sincere and devoted to her work. She plays an important role in the transformation of Eliza into a fine lady.
Now we will study the major themes in the play. Education, a quest for identity, search for belongings, loss of social identity, human relationship, love, etc., are the themes of the play.
Education of Eliza is the central theme of the play. Eliza is an illiterate flower girl. She belongs to a lower class of society. She is crude and ill-mannered. She speaks her cockney dialect. Prof. Higgins observes her. He notes down her cockney dialect. If she is given education she could be a fine lady Eliza goes to him the next day. She requested him to give lessons in spoken English. Prof. Higgins accepted the task. He decided to train the girl. He boasted that he could transform the flower girl into a duchess within six months. The exercises were taken. Eliza was changed. She successfully passed the two tests. One at Mrs Higgins 'at – home day' and the other at the Ambassador's Party. She passed her second test. Everybody appreciated her like a princess.
Quest for identity
Due to education, Eliza realized her own identity. She was progressed from ignorance to knowledge. She was completely changed. She was lifted from the lower-class environment to the upper class. So she had a problem what to do with her new identity. She could not return back. So she desires to live up to new social identity. She became confident. Therefore she could confront the problem of identity on her own.
Alfred Doolittle faced the same problem of social identity. He was lifted from his slum life to the middle class by Higgins accidentally. Higgins refers to him as 'the most original moralist at present in England'. Accidentally Alfred was lifted from undeserving dustman to a gentleman. It was true that it was not his spiritual change. Whether he became rich or remained poor it could not make any difference to him.
The success of the play depends on the nature of human relationship :
Prof. Higgins and Eliza :
Prof. Higgins is a man of genius. Eliza is a poor flower girl. Higgins used Eliza to his purpose. He lifted her from flower girl to a duchess. It does mean he loves her. On the contrary, his first love was phonetics. He was devoted to the experiment in the subject. He trained Eliza to show his knowledge. A man of genius could not think about emotional love/woman's love.
Eliza was living with Prof. Higgins for six months. She had a certain feeling towards Higgins. Therefore after finishing her education successfully, she expected the same from Prof. Higgins. But he could not understand her.
The life-force :
Both man and woman have different purpose according to their biological instincts. Woman's purpose is to pursue the man to marry him to make him the father of their children. Man's purpose is to raise life to a higher level. Shaw has presented this life-force as the central motif. The class between Prof. Higgins and Eliza was the result of the life force.
Eliza and Freddy:
Eliza and Freddy belonged to the same generation. Freddy was attracted towards Eliza in their first meeting at the portico of St. Paul's Church. Both of them were uneducated. Eliza was given education and lifted to a high standard. During her education, she was taken to Mrs Higgins at a home day party. It was her first test. She presented well. Freddy, his mother and sister Clara were present there. That was the second meeting of Eliza and Freddy. Eliza was looking beautiful. She was changed a lot. Freddy fell in love with her. He desired to marry her. Eliza agreed his proposal when she was ignored by Prof. Higgins after her grand success in the final test. She thought that Freddy could be the good father for her children.
Now we will appreciate the play by discussing the plot construction in the play, the title and the subtitle of the play. Then we will see problems in Pygmalion.
18.6.1 Plot construction:
The plot of Pygmalion is logically constructed. There are three main actions in the play.
2.	A consequence of her education.
3.	Discussion on the consequences of Eliza education and Alfred Doolittle's story as a sequel.
The task of Eliza's education was undertaken by Prof. Higgins. He made different phonetic experiment on Eliza. He transformed her from a flower girl to a princess. His task was over. Eliza had to face new problems as the consequence of her education. As Eliza was lifted high from her lower class. She could not return to her previous position. Also being an upper-class lady she could not sell flowers or anything. She had lost her previous identity. She had to search for her new social identity. Then there was a lot of discussion and quarrel on the problem. Education made her self confident and strong-willed. Eliza became independent. So she solved her problem in her own way. She had so many options for earning. The self-realization of Eliza signifies the success of education.
Alfred Doolittle's story is discussed in the play. It is a sequel to the main plot. These actions are skillfully woven together in the play.
The title:
The title 'Pygmalion' is attractive. It is taken from Greek Mythology. Pygmalion was a sculptor. He made a statue of a beautiful girl, Galatea. He fell in love with the statue. Aphrodite, the goddess of youth and beauty, poured life into the statue. Pygmalion married Galatea.
In the play, Higgins is Pygmalion. Eliza Doolittle is Galatea of the legend. Eliza is an uneducated flower girl. Higgins experimented over the girl in his phonetic laboratory. She was trained there. Then she became a refined lady. The experiment resulted in success. Eliza was taken as a princess. Thus Prof. Higgins is the creator of Eliza but he did not marry Eliza, his creation.
The subtitle :
The subtitle of the play is A Romance. It is ironical because Higgins, the hero, is anti-romantic. He is an old bachelor. Eliza, the heroine, is his creation. But he has used her only for his scientific purpose. The transformation of Eliza into a beautiful lady is quite romantic. But the hero Higgins does not marry her. When his experiment is over, his interest is Eliza is over. Shaw treated the play in his own style. He was an anti-romantic. He was an iconoclast. He made it clear in Pygmalion.
The love story of Eliza-Freddy has the element of romance. Eliza and Freddy fell in love with each other. Then they got married.
Pygmalion is mainly a problem play, Shaw has given a touch of romance only in the creation of Eliza as a new creature and the love story of Eliza and Freddy
18.6.3 Problem in Pygmalion:
Pygmalion is a problem play. A number of problems are presented and discussed in it. Here we will look into some of the problems in the play.
1. The problem of education: Eliza successfully completes her education. But it creates problems for her. Education has given her a new status. So she cannot go back to her former status. She has a dilemma. She has lost her identity and she is alienated in the new society.
The problem of education is not limited to Eliza but it has become a world problem. Education creates a desire for a new life. So it led towards personal and social unrest.
2.	Alfred Doolittle was called undeserving poor. The poor are divided into deserving and undeserving poor. What criteria should be used for such division?
3.	Alfred Doolittle grows suddenly rich. He is lifted to middle-class status. He has lost his former identity.
4.	The concept of middle-class morality is exposed in the play. Whether it is hypocrisy or reality?
Wit and Humour :
Pygmalion is Shaw's most amusing and popular play. It is full of wit, humour and paradox. He has transformed the science of speech into an entertaining drama. Shaw makes fun of conventional morality of speech. He has used wit and paradox for the purpose. He makes fun of characters, their habits and their relationship with one another. Alfred Doolittle is the most popular one. Shaw's dialogues are always amusing. There is humour, suspense in the play.
Paradox :
Paradox means self-contradictory statements. They are related to truth. In Pygmalion both the character and situation are paradoxical. First, the myth of Pygmalion is treated paradoxically. Pygmalion, Prof. Higgins, doesn't marry Eliza –Galatea. Secondly, the treatment of the Cinderella story is paradoxical. Eliza doesn't marry a prince but she marries Freddy. She works with him and supports him. Thirdly, Higgins is paradoxical. He is an eminent scientist. He teaches Eliza the refined way of speaking English. He uplifts her from the lower class. But he himself is untidy, ill-mannered. He is rude and insulting. Similarly, the play is rich in paradoxical statements. It is built on paradox.
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Give the meaning of "Lord! you are my hope and trust, lead me to the way of truth".
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The Majority Of Children Who Die From COVID-19 Are Children Of Color
By Jane Greenhalgh & Patti Neighmond • Sep 15, 2020
A child washes her hands at a day care center in Connecticut last month. A detailed look at COVID-19 deaths in U.S. kids and young adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the great majority are children of color.
Jessica Hill / AP
Originally published on September 16, 2020 8:02 am
The vast majority of children dying from COVID-19 are Hispanic, Black or Native American, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers analyzed the number of coronavirus cases and deaths among people under the age of 21 that were reported to the CDC between Feb. 12 and July 31 of this year. They found more than 390,000 cases and 121 deaths.
They also found a staggering racial disparity. Of the children who died, 78% were children of color: 45% were Hispanic, 29% were Black and 4% were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native.
"It's heartbreaking," says Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan.
"The 121 deaths are a tiny fraction of the more than 190,000 deaths that have been reported in the United States," says Malani. "But for a long time, it was believed that children didn't die from this."
The disproportionate number of deaths among children of color reflects the disparities among adults of color compared with white adults. Research has found that the death toll from COVID-19 is twice as high among people of color under the age of 65 than among white people.
Underlying conditions that put adults at higher risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19 are also a risk factor for children. Three-quarters of the children who died had an underlying condition that made them more vulnerable to complications from the coronavirus. The most common underlying conditions were asthma, obesity and cardiac issues. Seventy percent of those who died were between the ages of 10 and 20. Only 10% were infants younger than 1.
While the majority of deaths occurred after the children were admitted to the hospital, 39 children died at home or in the emergency room, which prompts a a lot of questions, Malani says.
"Is it because of health insurance? Or because their parents couldn't get off work?" Malani asks.
The CDC report also points to "disparities in social determinants of health, such as crowded living conditions, food and housing insecurity, wealth and educational gaps, and racial discrimination," as contributing factors in racial health inequities.
The report comes as some schools are returning to in-class instruction, potentially increasing children's risk of exposure and infection.
"What we really need to understand is why each of these 121 children died," Malani says. "We need to really dig into that and come up with ways to make sure this doesn't happen."
The take-home message, Malani says: "If your child is sick and you don't think they are doing well, don't wait."
"Make sure your child can be seen by a doctor or taken to the hospital," she says. "If you can't take your child to the hospital yourself, make a plan for somebody else in your social circle that can help you."


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Q: Breadth first search example I was wondering if the solution to the 8 queens problem below uses breadth-first search. It searches all possible nodes; however, when there nowhere the queen can be legally placed, the previous queen is deleted. If not, I am wondering how I could convert this to use breadth-first search.

A: I'd say the general format of a BFS solution to the eigth queens problem is to take some representation of a solution (like 8 numbers form 0 to 7, representing the row the queen is in for each column) and then just walking past the possible solutions (0000000 to 77777777) sequentially, noting each possible solution.
Depth-First-Search with backtracking, like you use, is more efficient. See this article for a comparison between the two techniques.
Edit:
On the topic of BFS: There are tricks to make it more efficient for this problem. For example, if you placed one queen in row 0, then you know that you don't have to try that row for the queens in other columns. etc.

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and for CityTime how many mayoral candidates implicated?
Actually of of them because none of them tried to stopped CityTime.
How many involved in green lighting CityTime corruption?
The answers have been posted over and over and over again on these blogs and in YouTubeland on my channel.


Chairman Joe Wilson of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel issued the following statement after the subcommittee passed its portion of the National Defense Authorization Act.
· Suicide Prevention – Our military families deserve all appropriate information surrounding the death of a loved one. Although suicide rates as a whole have decreased within our Armed Forces, further action must be taken to address the increase in suicides among Special Operations Command. This mark provides for additional reporting on suicide rates for immediate family members and requires an assessment by the Secretary of Defense on these increasing rates.
· Sexual Assault Prevention – Over the years, the House Armed Services Committee has made substantial progress in addressing sexual assault within our military ranks. This year, we suggest taking an additional step by making every commander's performance appraisal assess how the officer handled sexual assault cases and how unit members treat those who make allegations.
· Protects End-Strength – The significant force reductions proposed by the Administration earlier this year threatens our national security. This mark proposes smaller reductions that keep our safety in tact while America remains at war.
· Rejects Administration's Proposals – This year, the Military Personnel Subcommittee was able to once again reject the Administration's proposal to increase TRICARE enrollment fees. Our military retirees have dutifully served this great Nation. We must honor the commitments previously made to them.


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Andouille Sausage and Certified Angus Beef in a homemade marinara sauce topped with three types of cheese over spaghetti pasta then baked. This dish is served with your choice of one side.
A grilled to order 10oz NY Strip topped with grilled asparagus and lemon herb butter. This dish is served with your choice of two sides.