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Zack Kassian
Grading the Sabres: Adam, Chewy and those departed
May 2, 2012 May 2, 2012 Chris OstranderLeave a comment
This is the final group of forwards I will evaluate. This set of grades will actually include reviews of the three players who were traded at the deadline, plus a pair of centers who are still with the team.
Luke Adam – B-
Adam sort of got a raw deal this season. After a scorching hot start, he ended up in the doghouse and eventually was sent down to Rochester after the All-Star break. His demotion was permanent as he is still playing on the farm. I loved his play with Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville and I contend that line should probably have stayed together through the brief slump that eventually led to Adam being sent to Rochester.
Adam did struggle some along the way this year and may have needed more seasoning. However, I think he was handled poorly and I question if his confidence has been shaken by the way Lindy Ruff decided to ship him away.
All things considered, Szczechura proved he is a capable depth forward, perfect for the AHL and spot call-up duty.
Paul Szczechura – B
Just one game short of ten, I felt comfortable giving Szczechura a grade for his play. He was called up in the middle of Buffalo's injury crunch and actually outperformed some regulars. He had a few very nice games at center and proved that he is more than worthy of an early call up in the future. Like Derek Whitmore, Szczechura doesn't fill a fourth line role all that well but has that offensive touch that makes him intriguing to recall. Again, if the Sabres are in need of a bit more skill, Szczechura is likely to get a call. Continue reading →
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Grading the Sabres, Luke Adam, Marc-Andre Gragnani sucks, Paul Gaustad, Paul Szczechura, Sabres report card, Zack Kassian
The Instigator Podcast 1.6 – Codylicious
February 28, 2012 May 10, 2016 Chris OstranderLeave a comment
Darcy Regier went big at the deadline this year and snagged Cody Hodgson from the Vancouver Canucks. Eric and I discuss the Hodgson swap along with other deadline dealings from the Sabres and the rest of the league in this episode of The Instigator.
Buffalo SabresCody Hodgson, Darcy Regier, Sabres trades, The Instigator Podcast, Zack Kassian
Double Minors: Power play, Vanek spur victory against Leafs
December 17, 2011 Chris OstranderLeave a comment
It was the home game Sabres fans were waiting to see. The Sabres put forth the closest thing to a 60-minute effort than they had all year long at home and it resulted in a 5-4 victory over the Leafs.
In terms of entertainment value, last night was easily tops for the home schedule this season. Buffalo rode a four-goal second period to the victory. The Sabres' three power play goals were the difference, one of the few times this season the extra man unit has been the reason for a win.
Credit to the Leafs – who are massively improved – for creating chances and carrying a good portion of the play with their speed and creativity. That is a difficult to team to corral simply because of the speed they possess on each line.
Perhaps the most impressive part of this game was that Buffalo pressed down when their foot was upon the collective throat of the Leafs. Lindy Ruff was running his usual defensive shell in the third period, an easy decision with a two-goal lead, but the team didn't sit around and wait. While a majority of the third consisted of chip-and-chase, the Sabres stayed aggressive on the rush and had a few good chances.
Vanek's game-winner came as a result of the Sabres not falling into a prevent defense, although they did yield the Kulemin breakaway and the Grabovski tally as well. While it wasn't a clean third period, it was far better than the effort put forth against Ottawa on Wednesday.
Buffalo capped their five-game home stand with a 2-1-2 record, that is six of a possible ten points. Considering the way in which they lost their overtime games, the record could have been 4-1-0. While home games have been a chore this season, a .600 point percentage and that record could possibly be considered an improvement.
Thomas Vanek, aside from that dreadful turnover, was a complete monster. He had two great goals and made up for his brief cold spell with a four-point night. A fantastic outing from Buffalo's best player was just what the doctor ordered.
Zack Kassian had a couple good hits and used his body well. He is a beast on the wall and in the corners. He also had that tremendous takeaway that led to Vanek's first goal. In terms of momentum swings, Kassian's effort on the back check and eventual apple may have been the biggest for the Sabres.
Most Leaf fans were bemoaning the officiating last night. Not sure where they were coming from, however. The Phaneuf hit was clearly a boarding infraction, there is no debating that. Was it worthy of a major? Probably not, but the official had to make a choice then and there and he went with his gut. Considering that is the type of hit the NHL is attempting to eradicate, might help to explain why it ended up being a major. As for missed calls, that goes both ways. The other infractions in the Leafs' parade to the box were quite obvious. Just a tough night for the boys in white.
Ryan Miller allowed four goals and his save percentage for last night was .878. However, he was not only the best goalie on the ice, he was great between the pipes. He made some big power play stops, he had a great pad save on Kulemin prior to his PS and he robbed Joffery Lupul on the doorstep. Miller has looked like the goalie who started the season for the Sabres. By no means is that a bad thing.
Brayden McNabb didn't see too much ice last night. He was great in the time he was out there, but the limited time likely means a trip back to Rochester is nearing. That is unfortunate considering he has shown far more in-zone savvy than Marc-Andre Gragnani, who seems to have the uncanny ability to be horrible while still getting ice time.
Gragnani was much better last night than he has been in recent games. His power play contributions were noticeable and he didn't make any glaring defensive zone errors. That being said, his arrogance about his recent play is troubling and his lack of physical play is maddening.
1. Thomas Vanek
2. Drew Stafford
3. Tyler Ennis
NHL Links
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Sabres postgame, Thomas Vanek, Toronto Maple Leafs, Zack Kassian
The Morning Skate: Kassian set to make his debut
November 25, 2011 Chris OstranderLeave a comment
It is the debut every Sabres fan has been waiting for. Some have been saying to call Zack Kassian up since he signed his entry level contract and appeared in a handful of games for Portland last year.
Zack Kassian will make his much anticipated NHL debut in Columbus this evening. John Vogl reports the big winger will skate with Luke Adam and Matt Ellis. A wise choice by Ruff to put Kassian with the center he skated with for nearly the entire summer. That will give him some familiarity for this contest.
Kassian will need to play a physical game this evening. His draft position was determined by his physical play and scoring touch. He hasn't shown much physical edge since breaking into the professional ranks and he needs to find that side of his game if he has any hope of becoming an NHL regular.
Buffalo's biggest challenge tonight will be to find continuity as they enter yet another game with some sort of change to their lineup. While Kassian is the newest face; Jochen Hecht, Corey Tropp and Matt Ellis will all be shifted from their roles on Wednesday.
Columbus is entering the game with Curtis Sanford and Allen York as their goaltenders for the contest. That isn't necessarily a bad thing considering Steve Mason has had seriously terrible season (3.63 GAA & .875 SV%) while Sanford is sporting a 1.33 GAA and a .946 SV%, granted that is in only five games of action.
Buffalo's previous victory over Columbus came on the shoulders of a brilliant performance by Jhonas Enroth as the Blue Jackets out shot the Sabres 43-26. Buffalo's special teams were deadly in the last meeting and both units have been impressive throughout the year and will continue to key wins and losses for this team. Especially if they continue to struggle with injuries.
Highlighted Matchup
Buffalo penalty kill. The Sabres power play gave them a 2-0 lead on Wednesday night, T.J. Brennan made it 3-1. However, the penalty kill failed them, allowing a pair of goals (including the tying tally) as the Sabres found a way to lose to the Bruins. The penalty kill is missing plenty of pieces (Kaltea, Myers, Weber) and will need to shore up for this evening.
Projected Goaltenders
BUF: Jhonas Enroth 12GP 7-2-1, 2.13 GAA, .930 SV%
CBJ: Curtis Sanford 5GP 2-0-2, 1.33 GAA, .946 SV%
10/27/2011, First Niagara Center, Sabres 4 – Blue Jackets 2
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Sabres Pregame, Sabres vs. Blue Jackets, Zack Kassian
The Morning Skate: Sabres look to extend Northeast Division lead at home
The Sabres return to First Niagara Center today to face the New Jersey Devils, a team fresh off a trip to Boston last night.
Buffalo remains without Ryan Miller and it appears that Cody McCormick may miss the game due to an injury sustained in Montreal. While no word has come down at this time the Sabres have two options, call up a forward from Rochester or dress seven defensemen. Obviously option two is far more attractive, especially considering the play of Corey Tropp in his four-game debut. Many fans are clamoring to see Zack Kassian, but it may be too soon for that. Marc-Andre Gragnani could end up on the wing, but that just seems like a monumental waste. However, he is probably better served in that position than any other.
The Devils fell to the Bruins thanks to a three-goal third period from the B's. New Jersey is currently on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference 's top eight. Their position is due, in large part, to a shoddy start and an injury to Marty Brodeur. Of course, Brodeur wasn't stellar in his time before or after the injury either, so it could be a case of an aging core playing in front of an aged star.
Considering Johan Hedberg played in Boston, it should be expected that Brodeur will be in net for the Devils this evening. The Sabres will counter with Jhonas Enroth as he is expected to see the lion's share of work until Ryan Miller returns.
Zack Parise vs. Thomas Vanek. Both were NCAA superstars, both the Devils and Sabres offense run through them, respectively. Vanek has been on fire all season, Parise has decent numbers through 16 games. It will be interesting to see which player comes out on top tonight.
BUF: Jhonas Enroth 8GP, 6-0-0, 1.76 GAA, .942 SV%
NJD: Martin Brodeur 6GP, 2-3-0, 3.02 GAA, .880 SV%
3/26/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 2 – Devils 0
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Corey Tropp, New Jersey Devils, Sabres Pregame, Sabres vs. Devils, Zack Kassian
Buffalo Sabres season preview: Black Aces
September 16, 2011 September 16, 2011 Chris Ostrander1 Comment
This is part five of a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 season. This edition will focus on the wingers and centers expected to play in Rochester. Here are links for parts one through four: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Zack Kassian is on the fence between Buffalo and Rochester at this point.
It is fairly easy to write out a rough depth chart based on the abundance of talent the Sabres have at wing. It has a trickle-down effect to the AHL level based on the players who are assumed to make the NHL roster, and those who will be riding the bus in Rochester.
The centers are being roped into this equation simple because there is very little organizational depth at the center position.
Aside from Zack Kassian and Ales Kotalik, the rest of the wingers in the Buffalo Sabres system are penciled in to begin the year playing for the Americans. Even Kotalik is likely to be sent down due to salary constraints. Since Kassian has seen little time at the AHL level, let alone against NHL talent, some seasoning in the minors will do him well. I fully expect to see him playing in every situation for Rochester as he is likely the top candidate to snag the AHL Rookie of the Year award for the Sabres organization. Continue reading →
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 Season Preview, Buffalo Sabres prospects, Luke Adam, Marcus Foligno, Zack Kassian
Double Minors: Sabres prospects claim Traverse City championship
September 15, 2011 September 15, 2011 Chris OstranderLeave a comment
Count it as the first championship in the Pegula era. The Buffalo Sabres prospects claimed the 2011 Traverse City NHL Prospect Tournament championship in their first appearance in the event with a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers prospects. Be sure to check out Sabres.com for Kevin Snow's coverage and video highlights.
Buffalo sent a squad with numerous veterans, including the reigning AHL Rookie of the Year, and their dominance showed. The Sabres never trailed in the contest and asserted their victory with three third period goals. Nathan Lieuwen provided another strong performance as he ran his tournament record to 2-0 with five goals against.
The gamesheets are all kinds of incorrect on the Pointstreak website, so I can't give a full statistical analysis. For example, Zack Kassian was credited with the final Sabres goal which was clearly scored by Marcus Foligno. Still, Kassian finished with four points which ties him with Luke Adam, Nick Crawford, Jonathon Parker and Phil Varone. If my math is correct, Marcus Foligno led the Sabres with five points (3+2).
Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres, Buffalo Sabres prospects, Luke Adam, Marcus Foligno, Phil Varone, Zack Kassian
Buffalo Sabres season preview: Wingin' it
September 14, 2011 September 14, 2011 Chris Ostrander2 Comments
Thomas Vanek is a prime candidate to be the Sabres' next captain.
This is part four in a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 season. Part four focuses on the wingers. Read the previous three entries here.
Darcy Regier has a knack for acquiring wingers. It probably has a lot to do with the league-wide overabundance at the position. Still, the Sabres have a stockpile of talented wingers entering training camp this week.
There are eight openings available and at least ten players vying for a spot on the opening night roster. Based on the salary figures – the Sabres are still $3.5 million over the cap – the projected depth chart is fairly easy to lay out. There are a handful of players who a prime trade candidates, but without anything more than vague rumors it is unfair to speculate who will be part of the organization in a few weeks.
Although the top four wingers are likely locks, the remaining four positions are up for grabs, so to speak. Due to contract structure, intangibles and production; Tyler Ennis, Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek are all likely to be safe from a trade or demotion to Rochester.
Buffalo SabresAles Kotalik, Brad Boyes, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 Season Preview, Cody McCormick, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville, Matt Ellis, Nathan Gerbe, Sabres season preview, Sabres wingers, Thomas Vanek, Tyler Ennis, Zack Kassian
The Pegula Puzzle: Black aces
June 22, 2011 Chris Ostrander1 Comment
I am onto part three of my offseason look at the Sabres and how the roster may look when the season begins. I took a look at who Darcy Regier should resign in the first part and I broke down how the current players will fall into the 2011-12 roster in part two. The third piece of the Pegula Puzzle will focus on where the Sabres prospects will land for the upcoming season.
The 2011-12 season will be the first year that the prospect cupboard begins to truly stock up. The Sabres are well removed from their last European draft pick and the ease of moving picks into the minors is starting to pay dividends. In addition, Marcus Foligno, Zack Kassian, Brayden McNabb and Mark Pysyk all received entry-level deals as last season wound down. Those four players represent some of the most promising talent in the Sabres' pipeline, three of them will be playing professionally next year. Pysyk will be the only one to return to his junior team. Continue reading →
Buffalo SabresBrayden McNabb, Buffalo Sabres, Marcus Foligno, NHL, Rochester Americans, Sabres Offseason Gameplan, Sabres prospects, Zack Kassian

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Looking Deeper at The Best Classic Movies Together
GREAT FILMS
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932): Directed by Dorothy Arzner
Posted on December 15, 2020 by 4StarFilmFan
Bubbly is flowing, and the gaiety abounds. Alcohol is not an evil, just a tonic to loosen morals, tongues, and dour countenances. When Joan Prentice encounters Jerry Corbett for the first time at a party, she's immediately taken with him. He's a few drinks in and has let the merriment overtake him. It comes off charming if a bit dopey.
Merrily We Go to Hell feels like a provocative title, and it's true this alcohol-drenched drama is a predecessor to the likes of The Lost Weekend and Days of Wine and Roses.
Sylvia Sidney is about as winsomely sweet as she ever was and ever could be playing a socialite at a party. Frederic March has momentary glimpses of warmth and allure, though it's hardly his finest hour on the screen. However, it is a testament to how phenomenal his career was at points, and even a picture like this seems to suggest how often he is an underappreciated star of Classic Holldywood.
There's also a third far more surprising presence in the movie filling what might be considered a minor bit part. Cary Grant is all there, but it's a bit like seeing John Wayne in Baby Face or James Stewart in Wife vs. Secretary. We're there but not quite there when it comes to their career trajectory. He still needed to meet Mae West and then Leo McCarey to really get the wheels rolling, thus entering the stratosphere of quintessential screwball suavity.
As it settles in, Dorothy Arzner's picture is all for hitting the journalistic beats contemporary to the day and age. It's a perfect arena for modern, capitalistic America. An arena of vocation, class, and in this case, alcohol. One easily recalls Platinum Blonde though March, despite all his able acting prowess somehow cannot muster the same fitting charisma Robert Williams managed as a newshound. The former performer lent almost a screwball sensibility to Frank Capra's picture.
It's the same kind of affable charm that made Jack Lemmon so effective even as he dipped into similar depths of hell in Days of Wine and Roses. But back to Platinum Blonde. It's hard not to see the earlier movie's imprint being reworked within this material (even unconsciously) with less handsome results. Because some of the same dynamics are present. We have a lead infatuated by a platinum blonde (Adrienne Allen) and then opposite him is the endearing "other girl" we know full well will actually win out his heart. At least, in theory.
And if that isn't enough, both newsmen dabble in playwriting, suggesting the menial pavement-pounding, all for the sake of making a buck, giving way to a higher calling of art and patronage. It handily reflects rungs in the social ladder to mirror contemporary society, as the film's of the Depression-era all have a habit of doing. Obviously, they can't help it. This is their world.
However, in Merrily We Go To Hell, playwriting holds a more substantial role aside from being a narrative device for the sake of parallelism. It brings Jerry Corbett the highs and lows of such a career while throwing him back together with his former flame, the glamorous thespian Claire Hempstead. The scenario feels rudimentary and mediocre going through these typical dramatic progressions.
Before it becomes complicated, the film is a basic love story of the lowly working stiff smitten with the heiress, although not for money's sake. As it predictably dips into drunken stupors, strained relations, and infidelity, the film actually loses some ground. Corbett rounds up his chums, partakes of some merriment, and resigns himself to the platinum blonde rival. In an act of preservation more than rebellion, his wife deflects by digging up her own beau (hence Cary Grant) in an attempt to be equally "modern."
What resonates most fundamentally are some of the more curious shot selections by Arzner. She certainly manipulates the camera and the images in such a way we are aware of them as an audience, whether through early forms of product placement or a curious rear-view of two men sauntering through a mansion. It feels sporadically alive with invention and a very particular vision, even as it spirals toward an unimaginative soap opera denouement. The accompanying Pre-Code elements are there, but the picture doesn't entirely douse itself and drown in the melodrama.
This proves to be a key because any such digression could have been its final death. Instead, the sense of restraint and understatement proves a far more powerful tool of storytelling. It subtly undermines stock Pre-Code sordidness for something nominally more intriguing. This nor the actors, totally save the movie, but they keep it from completely sinking. More people are finally starting to talk about Arzner, and Merry We Go to Hell feels like a worthy touchstone in her career.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Misc., Romance	| Tagged Cary Grant, Dorothy Arzner, Fredric March, Pre-Code, Review, Sylvia Sidney	| Leave a reply
Merrily We Live! (1938): My Man Godfrey Redux
What a harebrained movie this is in all the best ways. The origins of Merrily We Live themselves are a tad murky or, at the very least, convoluted. It's purportedly based on the novel The Dark Chapter, which subsequently received a Broadway adaptation, They All Want Something. There was a film in 1930, What a Man, with a similar vignette about a chauffeur falling in love with a woman. But for the classic film aficionado, basic similarities to My Man Godfrey are obvious enough to warrant some amount of comparison.
It is a shame ensuing generations have mostly forgotten Constance Bennett. (I must admit to paying more attention to her sister Joan.) Our leading man and amiable Englishman Brian Adherne is obliging if generally uninteresting. Certainly, we don't have the pinpoint comic delivery of William Powell or the sheer frenzied force of comedic fury that is Carole Lombard so in this regard, Merrily We Live is a lesser effort, but that does not mean it can't offer up its own mercurial delights.
We trade out a supporting cast of Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, and Gail Patrick with one arguably just as good calling on the talents of Billie Burke, Clarence Kolb, and Bonita Granville. Alan Mowbray is one of the lone holdouts from the earlier picture. Thus, there is barely a drop in quality, which leads one to marvel at the sheer prolific nature of these character actors. It really was the heyday of the bit roles with actors building up such robust catalogues of appearances and seamlessly sliding into role after role.
The help, headed by Grosvenor (Mowbray), is constantly in disarray as the vexed valet threatens to walk out on his duties time and time again for all the egregious infractions he has to put up with. The latest affront was an unseen tramp named Ambrose (these character names are gold) who ran off with the family silver.
The breakfast table is an arena and a convenient microcosm for the wacky family dynamics to play out in farcical fashion. This particular morning, since there is a sudden lack of silverware in the house, the family must make do with any amount of ladles, chisels, and hammers. It's highly irregular, but they are no normal menage.
We are blessed with another ridiculously rich and dysfunctional family of bickering oddballs. Constance Bennett, as the eldest daughter Geraldine "Jerry," has a grand old time being mildly amused by the utter chaos that makes up their day-to-day in the lap of luxury and excess. She's not quite as high-strung as Lombard before her, but bouncing off her family members is entertainment enough.
Baby sister Marion (Bonita Granville) is ready to whine and prank her way into getting funds for her latest scheme. She's part whiny brat and certainly a budding comedienne. One need only remember her chilling turn in These Three to realize how starkly different she is. Then, their brother's always bickering and complaining about the siblings he's been saddled with.
Billie Burke is at her most ditsy-headed cycling through absent-minded hilarity and bubble-brained insufferableness. What's not to like? She even holds a dinner party a la Dinner at Eight. Consequently, she's also the source of some of this constant disarray with her most recent hobby of collecting "forgotten men" and bringing them on as servants. Ambrose was her latest pet project and also the most recent disaster.
Clarence Kolb is at his most physically brilliant given more than a mere scene or two to flex his comic talents. He doesn't disappoint alongside his wacky costars. I've never been so delighted with his characterization while attempting to eat his breakfast or taking a cab home after becoming completely wasted.
The family is rounded out by their two absurdly named pooches "Get Off The Rug" and "You Too," not to mention Mrs. Kilbourne's pride and joys "Fishy Wishy." It's not so much pure spastic energy but the off-the-cuff remarks and sudden jolts of absurdity and slapstick carrying the film to its conclusion. These elements are what drag the story along its merry path of craziness with or without major plot points.
Of course, we would be remiss not to mention Rawlins (Adherne), the most important new piece in the screwball equation, acting as a bit of a willing catalyst for all the mayhem inside the mansion's walls. There has to be one normal lout, and so he conveniently fits the bill as the resident straight man.
It begins when his car goes hurtling over the side of the road. He's an author with no means of communication. His only recourse is to find a telephone. His attire and Mrs. Kilbourne's dull-headed insistence pull him into the house quite by accident.
All he wants is to make his phone call, but he good-naturedly acquiesces when Mrs. brings him on to work as their new chauffeur. It's a bit of good fun. This is the key. He gladly enables their quirkiness playing along with their daily madcap rituals.
One moment he's assisting a fawning Jerry into the first-floor window after her flirtatious solicitation. Then, he's covering for Mr. Kilbourne when he comes home from a bender with his buddies, as a cabbie tries to take advantage of him. The list of duties could go on and on, and very few of them have to do with his recently acquired occupation.
One of my personal high points from the movie includes Grosvenor repeatedly clunking into the chimes in the dining room, matched by the breakfast chatter. It's not highbrow, but somehow I find this tromping around and people falling to the ground faint uproariously funny, in the right circumstances.
Merrily We Live is just the film, though one must admit it ends far too abruptly to do itself any favors. It's a movie that's never about the story anyway; it's the brief instances of near serendipitous comic verve seemingly bottled more by accident than any amount of scripting. These are the interludes to truly relish and they just might be worth another viewing — once my blood pressure has settled down again.
Posted in 1930s, Comedy, Romance	| Tagged Alan Mowbray, Billie Burke, Brian Adherne, Clarence Kolb, Constance Bennett, Norman Z. McLeod, Review, Screwball	| Leave a reply
Topper (1937): Cary Grant's a Ghost
Posted on December 8, 2020 by 4StarFilmFan
We know what kind of movie we're in for upon meeting Cary Grant, whistling a merry tune, as he drives his fancy wheels with his feet. His wife — a quizzical platinum blonde played to perfection by Constance Bennett — stares up at him in amusement. They are a picture of fun-loving decadence out of The Nick and Nora Charles mode.
Understandably, they are the main draw in Norman Z. McLeod's corkscrew fantasy comedy but like its distant relative, The Thin Man, someone else's name actually garners the title. In this particular instance, it is Mr. Topper (Roland Young), a highly successful businessman who is, nevertheless, enslaved by his rigid regimen, and it's not of his own accord. His stifling spouse has cultivated his humdrum life like clockwork to her own liking. We don't envy the man, hustled and harried as he is every day, with his breakfasts and innumerable sensibly scheduled appointments.
You quite forget Billie Burke can be insufferable in a different manner as the quietly exacting wife, giving the impression of a woman constantly on the verge of indignance, her voice teetering on the edge of fragility. I hardly believe myself saying this, but I like her at her more titteringly giddy spectrum. At least she's allowed to be sympathetic; bubble-headed but sympathetic. If the point hasn't been made apparent already, this enforced tedium is the baseline of the cinematic world needing to be spiced up by the Kerbies and their happy-go-lucky prodigality.
If we can hone in on a turning point, Topper really hits its stride in death — the death of Mr. and Mrs. Kirby, that is. Because as is the habit in the fantasy mills of Old Hollywood, our couple dies only to come back as ghostly versions of themselves, appearing and reappearing as easily as a snap of the figure.
They pull themselves away from the wreckage of their automobile and have their first out of body experience. Played straight, it would seem ghastly, but they are as gay and chipper as ever, nonchalantly debating how they'll get through the pearly gates. Everything they did (or didn't) learn in Sunday school says they need to do some good deeds. Regrettably, they've been living on the high horse for too long; they haven't actually gotten around to the greatest commandment: loving their neighbors.
Their pet project is "Toppy," and he's in need of vivification. His one act of rebellion against his wife is purchasing George Kirby's old automobile. This is the foot in the door after he gets into a near-death fender bender of his own. It leads to his first out of body reunion with his old friends.
The movie effectively utilizes old-fashioned special effects dating back to the days of George Melies, making it effortless for Toppy's two guardian socialites to drop in and out of his visual field. As an invisible Mr. Kirby makes himself useful changing the tire, Toppy is teased by the lady Kirby as she blows on a blade of grass like a giddy schoolgirl. It's our first chance to play with the logic, the fact only the audience and Toppy are availed of seeing the deceased.
Because what's really a treat are the ghosts and the ghosted. The ones who are oblivious to the somewhat explainable supernatural acts around them. We get similar moments in Here Comes Mr. Jordan and even It's a Wonderful Life when the concrete and ethereal collide in a most comical fashion.
Roland Young does an admirable job in the part, and he's on par with any number of the comparable characters of the day and age whether a Charlie Ruggles or Leo G. Carroll, though slightly less well-remembered for whatever reason. He finally has some pizzazz injected into his every day as the Kirby's indulge his budding interests in wine, dancing, and song. He's hardly a party animal, still, he gives it a go.
It leads to a brawl in front of a restaurant that they must bail him out of and then a handful encounters with a hoodwinked doorman. At best, Mr. Topper is the hapless figure caught in the spectral screwball chaos with the Kirbys pulling all the strings for him. Unfortunately, the storyline becomes too stagnant without the constant presence of Grant and Bennett, visually or otherwise.
Toppy finds a new standard of living and comes to reconcile with his wife. These are wonderful things, mind you, but it feels like the movie itself has compromised and gone away from what really makes it zing — that is the screwball antics of its true leading couple. Without them, it feels insipid and frankly trite, arriving at its unequivocally saccharine ending.
He is the one playing it straight, in a boring perfunctory manner because this is what is requested of him. But there are a handful of quality character moments of note. Certainly, a befuddled house detective played by Eugene Palette is always good for a lark. Alan Mowbray is his typical snooty Jeeves-like valet and even Hoagy Carmichael shows up (in his screen debut) to knock back a tune on the honky-tonk with Cary and Constance.
I couldn't help thinking, I wish our two dazzling leads had partnered in another rom-com. After all, Powell and Loy got together for over 12 offerings. Alas, it was not meant to be. It makes Topper even more crucial in charting the rise of the Cary Grant we would come to know and also an oft-forgotten starlet in Constance Bennett.
Posted in 1930s, Comedy, Romance	| Tagged Alan Mowbray, Billie Burke, Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Eugene Pallette, Norman Z. McLeod, Review, Screwball	| Leave a reply
Dancing Lady (1933): Joan Crawford & Clark Gable
Posted on October 29, 2020 by 4StarFilmFan
You know the drill. In the throes of the Depression, the idle rich fritter their wealth away at such social events as striptease and then attend the ensuing night court until they get bored with the whole affair. Tod Newton (Franchot Tone) is one of their ilk, but he's more engaged than others thanks to the pretty girl on the other side of the courtroom.
Down-on-her-luck Janie Barlow (an effulgent Joan Crawford) is a casualty of a police raid undertaken on the saucy dancing joint she's been working at. Beyond being smitten, Tone (Crawford's real-life husband for a time), is invested in helping give her a leg up, ulterior motives notwithstanding.
If it's not obvious already, Dancing Lady has a premise to rival Warner Bros' superlative successes with risque backstage, rags-to-riches musicals like 42nd Street. So, while the plot is nothing special, it somehow taps into Crawford's innate sense of ambition as an actress.
There's a feeling she's not entirely acting a part; she's driven to make it to the top. It's this impetus that leads her to stick to "thousand-to-one-shots" over any man — even Park Avenue know-it-alls swimming in cash. She's going to make it of her own accord. She's going uptown toward the art world.
The script purposefully bears down on the vernacular to differentiate the patricians from the plebians and with it Janie's attempts to make something of herself — first, through improved diction and then a newly cultivated wardrobe.
Without knowing it, she's probably aspiring to the entertainment funded by such nincompoops as Mr. Bradley and his roly-poly walking gag of a son Junior. They are a father and son comic echo chamber if you will, and they also hold the purse strings for one of the industry's latest productions.
It's not altogether glamourous stuff but Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable) and his taskmaster-like regimen, turning chorus girls into a full-fledged production, is the "big time" for someone like Janie. The only problem is getting an audition. The head honcho has his right-hand man Steve (Ted Healy) run interference for him — it didn't go so well for a wisecracking Eve Arden. Still, the "Dutchess" is an assiduous gal if there ever was one.
Director Robert Z Leonard is evidently enamored with his whip pans, but he does evoke pace rather well, especially when Crawford tries furiously to catch up with Gable as he streaks down the sidewalk. While it's a cliched rom-com montage that would be recycled time-and-time again, it still stands out within the context of the film. The leads don't speak a word to one another for several minutes at least.
In what feels like a non-sequitur, the Three Stooges make a lightning-quick cameo. Well, they actually show up twice, posing as stagehands. It's true they feel completely at odds with Joan Crawford's story arc, but it's delightful to see them, even momentarily, as she continues her ascension. This is only to be surpassed by the appearance of Fred Astaire! (And I nearly forgot to mention Nelson Eddy, so there you go).
Tone continues to go to great lengths to win her affections, secretly bankrolling her star vehicle, dancing and dining her, and flaunting his swimming pools. When all else fails, he resorts to taking her to Cuba, conveniently far away from the other man in her life and the career she's chosen.
The red-hot sparks are given a literal gymnasium to work themselves out in — positively buzzing between Crawford and Gable — as they get in their morning exercise to keep their svelte dancing figure and brawny physique respectively. It goes unspoken, but an unwritten rule of storytelling tips us off that antagonism usually denotes love. They have copious amounts ready-made to dish out at one another.
Unfortunately, by this point, the story gets less and less interesting by the minute as it continues to sink into the preconceived notions of the genre. In other words, what we suspect to be derivative proves itself to be precisely that. It speaks to the charisma of the stars who make the well-trod paces watchable, even engaging, and there are a few momentary delights around the fringes.
The final extravaganza is a not-too-veiled Busby Berkeley knockoff infatuated with beer. The surreal foray that follows offers up a luxuriant carousel of beauties and giant fan blades strapped with women — not to mention the surreal moment when a host of old maids go behind a curtain only to be dismantled to come out as gorgeous dancing ladies.
With Fred Astaire showcased prominently alongside Joan in a very fluffy ensemble, it felt strangely out of place. Astaire and Rogers had yet to be placed together and it's true their trajectories could have been so much different. I don't know a thimbleful about dancing, but at the very least, Crawford has an earnestness on taps. Though, she's not quite Ginger Rogers either. No one ever said she was.
With Tone's gigolo scorned and "The Duchess" going in to check on her dejected "Duke" after their stunning success, there's a sense the working-class heroes are being reunited in a triumphant victory for all the blue-collar folks in the audience. In other words, it's not just Depression-era pap, there's this genuine element of wish fulfillment.
The movie is gracious enough to supply one last obligatory scene between Crawford and Gable for contemporary audiences. Because there are a lot of distractions (and some unique surprises like Astaire), but the romantic chemistry is present and delivered on a silver platter with the kiss that the whole movie's been culminating to. Surprising, I know. What's the axiom? Give the people what they want? Dancing Lady is case and point.
Posted in 1930s, Musical, Romance	| Tagged Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford, Nelson Eddy, Pre-Code, Review	| Leave a reply
Possessed (1931): Joan Crawford and The "In" Crowd
We open up on the Acme Paper Box Co., which has a down-and-dirty industry strewn about its edges. If the people flooding out of the factory are any indication, this will be a dusty, grubby, little picture.
Two of their employees are Al Manning (Wallace Ford) and Marian Martin (Joan Crawford). He's a concrete worker with a penchant for bricks, and he's also positively smitten with her. Meanwhile, her gaze is focused somewhere else. She's not about to settle for "happiness on an installment plan."
It's summed up by the train tracks — a handy conduit for the luxurious upper classes who coast by with their dancing, music, and cocktails. They have no idea about a life like Marian's, nor do they have any reason to care about it. However, she gravitates toward them, peering in at their affluence from the outside. She would do anything to breach the space in between.
She does meet one fellow as he knocks a few drinks back and stares out at the sorry landscape. They strike up a momentary conversation; it's nothing more and nothing less, but it leaves an impression. Among other things, he tells her there two kinds of people: those who are "in" and those who are "out." And before he's whisked away, he offers her one of his cards like a (drunk) gentleman.
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, a character who ultimately becomes of minor importance, nevertheless fascinates me for some unequivocal reason. As best as can be described, he is the kind of actor who feels stuck in the 1930s, and I mean it as a kind of backhanded compliment. There's a frequency to his voice perfect for radio tones but somehow it's hard to see him existing outside the era. That's perfectly alright.
At any rate, intrepid Marian having eaten the fruit, so-to-speak, and gained knowledge about their world, can never go back to her simple ignorance. Instead, she returns to her mother and Al telling tales of what she's just seen.
In the city, folks see the world as a woman's oyster. Poor folks think men are meant to go out and get whatever they can out of life; women are meant to stay where they and get married. If anything is obvious, Joan Crawford's not one for the shabby status quo. So she goes out and does something about it.
However, she really is in a sorry state, showing up on the doorstep of the one man she knows in town. With nothing else to lose, she tries to sneak her way into a lucky break, fumbling around brazenly, foot in her mouth, but she's definitely got guts. There are no pretenses when she tries to get in with his friends; she's a straight-forward gold digger and she knows what she wants.
For some, that's a turnoff. For self-assured up-and-coming statesmen Mark Whitney (Clark Gable), he finds it oddly attractive and so he gladly leads her by the arm and allows her the benefit of his bounty. A few years down the road she's made strides in the life of a social hostess. For all intent and purposes, she acts as the perfect wife. Directing the servants, choosing the wine, throwing dinner parties like a seasoned professional.
What's the big reveal, you ask? They're not married. They have a mutual agreement and being pragmatic seems to have paid off. Even as she continues to educate herself in the finer things, including French and German loves songs, there's still something in her upbringing that sympathizes with a lowly tramp brought to one of their gatherings. The woman feels woefully, even uncomfortably, out of place, surrounded by so much class.
Marian realizes no manner of jewels or perfume can totally cover her own genetic makeup. The gravest development in the story starts in Crawford's own character. She settles in and softens up. In some ways, she wants marriage, because she's gone and fallen in love. It's no longer a convenient relationship with fringe benefits.
Right here, it's evident how it courts similar themes as Back Street or any movie about women trapped in somewhat unenviable positions in a society where their only recourse is to take what they can get by any means necessary. We pity them even as some of their actions feel unfortunate.
Al comes to the city bitten with the same bug that once got her, with the goal of making "the big time," asking favors from the man she's already attached to. He's utterly ignorant of what he's stepped into — what Marian's arrangement entails — still, he knows what he wants.
It should be noted Clark Gable never gets a lingering closeup as fine as the ones extended to Crawford. After all, her name is over the title credits, not his. But what's refreshing about his character — he doesn't feel like an out-and-out cad — there's some integrity to him. Still, life must complicate everything. Their relationship begins to disintegrate, on the behest of friends and advisors, as he must make a choice between a political career a woman.
A new normal is soon established. The wheels of the political movement begin to spin, unnamed naysayers look to stir up scandal against him, and Marian somehow evaporates into the background. The final scene is the lynchpin of it all. Joan Crawford feels like an anonymous civilian walking through the rain with her umbrella and mac amid the usual foot traffic. They all make their way to a grand pavilion with posters of her man plastered on all sides.
In a purely cinematic moment, she takes the stand on his defense and gives a tearful, overly sincere annunciation of his character. It wins over the audience as she's overcome with emotion and stumbles out in tears.
Again, the key is that we follow Joan. We are with her as she bursts through the doors and totters her way out onto the street with the rain pelting her as she labors up the stairs…That's when her leading man comes and wraps her up in his arms. It's what these old movies were made for. The final embrace propelled by emotion and buoyed by the attractive glamour of their stars.
Enough films of the era take a bleaker road; it's safe enough to give this one its Hollywood ending. It is Hollywood after all, the land where Lucille Laseurr could become Joan Crawford: one of the most indelible figures Hollywood ever created.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance	| Tagged Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Pre-Code, Review, Wallace Ford	| 1 Reply
You Can't Take It With You (1938): Quality Capra
This is my post in The 120 "Screwball" Years of Jean Arthur Blogathon put on by the Wonderful World of Cinema!
Mr. Kirby (Edward Arnold), or A.P. as his deferential colleagues call him, is a business magnate with innumerable successful endeavors. He has the full pockets to go along with a career full of shrewd decisions. And the latest scheme he's worked up just might be the granddaddy of them all, that is, if it weren't for the obliging grandfather in his way.
It stands to reason if Kirby can secure the 12 blocks around the Ramsey company, his one sole remaining competitor, he can cripple them out of business with a large scale monopoly, therefore controlling the munitions industry outright.
It's a representation of the ugliest strain of free market capitalism. This is not the type of carte blanche you want ruling business, especially in Frank Capra's world. Still, Kirby wants no interference and that means even Martin Vanderhoff must go. He throws one of his cronies, the perpetually twitching Clarence Wilson, at the problem to get it resolved by any means necessary.
But lest you think the man is merely an old crank who won't sell out, Lionel Barrymore (now crippled by worsening arthritis) walks into the picture on crutches and mesmerizes the entire audience with his instant charisma. This isn't quite UP, nor is he just a silly little man gumming up the works. Well, maybe he is, but he finds strength in family. That and his given temperament are all the better for doing battle with Mr. Kirby, indirectly though it maybe.
Lionel Barrymore is defined in modern generations solely by the curmudgeon Mr. Potter and little else. What You Can't Take It With You is a superlative reminder of is just how magnetic an actor he was in all sorts of parts. Here he serves as the affable glue holding the picture together at the seams and spinning wisdom throughout the neighborhood.
It begins by recruiting other "lilies of the field" including the timid Mr. Poppins (Donald Meek) who leaves behind the job he's been slaving away at to follow his passions. You see, he makes things.
There's something innately compelling about the life Mr. Vanderhoff leads. In fact, it's a bit of a practical utopia. He doesn't work. He follows his fancy, whether sliding down the banisters, playing his harmonica, or going to the graduations to listen to the speeches. Still, he gets by and feels deeply contented holding malice towards none. The prayers he sends up to the big man upstairs are irreligious, frank, but genuine in nature.
His family takes much the same approach ,and they've built for themselves a comfortable if altogether quirky family commune. Tony Kirby's not far off when he surmises it's "Like living in the world of Walt Disney.
Grandpa does all the aforementioned activities including collecting stamps because it's what he likes best. Mr. Sycamore makes fireworks because he never grew up and mother writes plays because a typewriter was delivered to the house by mistake. Mr. Poppins feels right at home in the basement workshop devoted to all sorts of fanciful tinkering with a raven hopping about. Meanwhile, the precocious Essie (Ann Miller) jaunts around in ballet slippers to her husband's xylophone playing.
Charles Lane's IRS income tax man paying a house call and grating up against the libertarian, pragmatism of Grandpa is a hint of conflict just waiting to come to a head. Of course, all of this would add up to nothing if it weren't for the central romance spawning the indelible chemistry between James Stewart and Jean Arthur.
Because they are a bit of the prototypical Romeo & Juliet passion. He's set up in his father's business with no aspirations whatsoever to take over the family firm, and she is his typist with no status to her name. But we never once forget who these people are, and they are adorable together.
They forego the stuffy ballet for two front row seats at a much more attractive park bench, complete with daydreamy small talk and a personal show by a pack of real toe-tapping tykes. Then, it comes to meeting the parents at a well-to-do restaurant and in the sheer awkwardness of the scene, one cannot help but reminisce about Hepburn and Grant's own high jinks from Bringing up Baby. This one involves a humorous tag, some phantom mice scurrying about, and so on and so forth (you get the idea).
However, the creme de la creme has to be his parents coming over for dinner to meet Alice's family under the most embarrassing circumstances, just as whimsical bedlam sets in. Xylophones, dancing, darts, exploding fireworks. You name it and they're doing it. In fact, it's enough for them to get raided by the police and serve time down at the courthouse waiting for bail — the Kirbys included. It's the proverbial nail in the coffin.
I'm not sure if he was genius or not, but Capra had a knack for capturing the organic mayhem of a bustling courtroom to a tee. You Can't Take It With You's finale uses the judicial arena to bring the story out of despair. There are words traded, a $100 fine enacted, and the passing of the charity hat, with the same outpouring of generosity from the common folk George Bailey would later be blessed with. Even the benevolent judge (Harry Davenport) throws into the pot.
And obviously, there is no Capracorn without the inspired quill of Robert Riskin. Watching more and more of Capra's collaborations with Robert Riskin, there is the sneaking suspicion that the screenwriter has as much to do with this American optimism we so often attribute to the director. Because the words, the scenarios, the characters are constructed in such a way to draw on these deep-running themes time and time again.
You Can't Take It With You is an unequivocal reminder that these prevailing themes of humanity never quite go away; they only reimagine themselves and return with a vengeance. The patriarch laments the fact nowadays most everyone says "Think the way I do or I'll bomb the daylights out of you." If this aphorism was true in a pre-war society, think how much more pertinent it remains in a hyper-polarized, antagonizing social media age.
You can scoff out their resolutions as needlessly naive or champion them as eternal optimists. Regardless, in the world dreamed up here, it's not just the lion laying down with the lamb. The banker can play harmonica with the country bumpkin and pick up the Russian in a fireman's carry. If that's not a bit of paradise, I'm not sure what is.
Posted in 1930s, Blogathon, Comedy, Romance	| Tagged Ann Miller, Edward Arnold, Frank Capra, James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Review, Robert Riskin	| 10 Replies
Drums Along The Mohawk (1939): Ford, Fonda, and Colbert
Recently, it's come to my attention there is really is a dearth of colonial America pictures between the likes of Disney's Johnny Tremain and Mel Gibson's The Patriot. The reasons seem somewhat obvious at least in the current day and age. Period pieces cost money and such material feels crusty unless you spice it up with ingenuity a la Hamilton.
For anyone who might want a dose of debatably historical entertainment, there's Drums Along The Mohawk. Because what it cannot claim in the realm of accuracy, it more than makes up for with the usual shading of classic Hollywood reined in by a consummate professional directorial eye like John Ford's.
This particular narrative begins with a newly wedded couple in Colonial America Lana (the always glamorous Claudette Colbert) and Gil (a severe-looking Henry Fonda). The ceremony takes place in a grand estate, and it's true Lana comes from a wealthy family. In this regard, it's easy to buy Colbert in this part given her image and even easier to comprehend her dismay when she is met with the stone-cold reality of frontier life.
Because, as it happens, Gil has sectioned off a plot of land near the Mohawk River, building a rudimentary log cabin just to get them started as they get on their feet as farmers. For his wife, it's a shock to the system with the pelting rain and a late-night visit by the generally benevolent Native American: Blueback.
Fresh off their honeymoon, they make the acquaintance of the dubious John Carradine with allegiance to the Tories, matched by veiled threats of a potential Indian uprising. Otherwise, all the rest of the local folks are amicable, welcoming the Martins into their tight-knit community with open arms.
Like any God-fearing populous, they have church on Sundays and a ragtag militia carried away by the "Spirit of '76." It proves inconsequential when their homes get ravaged and razed to the ground by marauding Indians, an admittedly faceless tribe, catalyzed by a loyalist.
Until this point, Along The Mowhawk is not altogether compelling, despite our director and leads. However, it settles into its own when our protagonists have nothing; it forces them to make a crucial decision. They seek refuge on the farm of a blunt widow with enough gumption (and covert kindness) to make a new life seem feasible.
The word from the church pulpit is the most hilarious foray in comedy as the preacher takes a dig at Massachusetts men and notes the battle at hand, meaning that all men are expected to report or else be hung! He ends it with a resounding Amen. It's old-time religion if there ever was such a thing, complete with an earsplitting "Hallelujah" from one of the good Christians.
A worthy image in the Ford catalog comes when the men march off in their column snaking down the dirt road, off into the distance, with the womenfolk watching them leave. It has the tangible sense of space — the assurance of a painting — informing the best pictorials of the director. The simplest measure of excellence is the fact it's pleasing to the eye.
But of course, when soldiers go off to war some die and the rest come back as changed men. We recall the horror, the almost shell-shocked nature, of war. Henry Fonda plainly detailing what they saw out in the thicket when they got ambushed is too real. You begin to remember this is right on the advent of WWII. WWI is still a heavy burden on America's mind as the war to end all wars.
Within the context of this film, it becomes an even more complicated comparison when you place the antagonism of Americans versus The British of the colonial era with the soon-to-be conflict between Britain and The Nazis. In fact, Ford seems to make a distinction between calling the enemy "Tories" versus the British. In 200 years allegiances have changed a great deal.
However, it wouldn't be a true Ford picture without folks kicking up their heels in a fit of merriment to fight off the dark tides with a joyful show of community. Ward Bond gets his finest moments opposite Mrs. McKlennar, calling into question her prowess in drinking and kissing. She gaily obliges. Meanwhile, in a lowly lit corner, Lana prays these good times might never end. Of course, they do.
Homes are burnt to the ground again. The townsfolk are forced to fall back to their fort to stave off the enemy onslaught in one valorous stand. It feels like a melding of apocryphal American Revolution history, "Remember The Alamo" sentiment and a moderate dose of Ford's own mythologizing about the frontier. It's not his very best, but there is a basic flare for the spectacle.
If we might try to encapsulate the reverberating theme to the last line, it would be fitting to evoke Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene who is quoted as saying, "We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Ford's film reinforces this as being the American way. The only question remains who really gains the right to this way of life.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Historical	| Tagged Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, John Carradine, John Ford, Review, Ward Bond	| Leave a reply
Jesse James (1939): Tyrone Power & Henry Fonda
Reputed screenwriting scribe Nunnally Johnson starts off on clever footing by giving his mythic western hero an obvious antagonist. It was the railroad — that lawless iron horse — forcing Jesse James into the position of a criminal. Though he would evolve over time into the complicated human being projecting his legend, at least in the beginning, he was all but driven to take the mantle of an outlaw. At least in this telling.
In making his hero fully sympathetic, Johnson has cast James as a western Robin Hood righting the wrongs perpetrated against him and others based the bloodthirsty land grabbing of railroad companies. Brian Donlevy, still yet to be promoted from his heavy roles, makes his rounds swindling the general populous and using more persuasive tactics to swipe their holdings.
Content notwithstanding, Jesse James is just about the glossiest possible extravaganza, you could offer a cold-blooded outlaw. The early Technicolor is gorgeous to behold, and in these prime early years of their careers, Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda aren't in need of any favors.
Jesse James (Power) is nothing more than a gee-whiz country bumpkin when we first set eyes on him. His big brother Frank (Henry Fonda) sits in the house lazily chawing on tobacco. Despite living with their concerned mother (Jane Darwell), they aren't squeamish about sticking up for their own. They also aren't about to be squandered out of their land without a fight, and they're ready to oblige any strong-armed tactics thrown their way. Dunlevy doesn't stand a chance.
As they flee into the night with reward posters calling for them to be dragged in for a hefty reward, they on take the mantle of fugitives almost out of necessity. It's not merely about absconding with payloads for their own pleasure. This is a form of just retribution to be enacted against the corrupt machine belching smoke and literally railroading every poor sap in its way.
A codgerly newspaperman (Henry Hull) is one of their primary champions, though each week spawns a new tirade, whether it be lawyers or dentists or any insufferable faction who are all destroying society as we know it. Rufus Cobb is one of the voices rallying the public on Jesse's behalf because it is his daughter Zerelda (Nancy Kelly) that the man has an eye for, but he also genuinely likes the lad.
Even as the James' boys notoriety grows, Jesse and Zee get hitched in an impromptu church wedding. They find out, even among this congregation, they have a great deal of friends.
For every conceited businessman represented by diminutive railroad baron Mr. McCoy (a comically demonstrative Donald Meek), there is another humble, salt-of-the-earth human being like local Marshall Will Wright (Randolph Scott). He knows the law, in all its strictness, calls for him to chase down James as a craven villain. In his own way, he's cheering for him to live another day, even as he turns the other way on at least one occasion.
It's this sense of good faith and the pleading of his wife leading Jesse to turn himself into the authorities for a fair trial. The judge has vowed for leniency as negotiated by the marshall. They're all for a fresh slate. Mr. McCoy is not such an understanding fellow. All he thinks of are dollars and cents. He uses his resources to bring in his own judge and make a harsher sentence stick.
However, he's hardly counting on Frank James. He happens to be a brazen fellow, and when he vows to come in and retrieve his brother from jail before the stroke of midnight, you better believe he'll keep his word or else be taken for a fool. Even after their thrilling escape — one of the most gratifying successes of the picture — we fall into a bit of a rough patch.
Not only has Jesse gone off on his own to leave his family to live without the specter of his reputation, he begins to change with the constant pressures and paranoia weighing on him daily. He's no longer the same good-natured kid who once went on the run in a righteous coup against extortion.
While not a film you look for poignancy in, Henry Fonda is present and he does deliver one monologue that speaks to something supremely candid. Jesse has become hard and crazed, systematically alienating all those around him. And if there's anyone who can speak to him, it's his brother Frank. Fonda handles the scene with his usual subtleness dumping all these obvious grievances in the lap of his own flesh and blood. He encourages him to draw if he needs to. Frank's not squeamish about it, but it's his last-ditch effort to speak some sense into his kid brother.
What will come of Jesse if he doesn't trust those who have still stuck with him? Of course, among the faithful, there is often a Judas. In this case, Robert Ford (John Carradine), intent on getting a payoff for stabbing his old compatriot in the back.
We understand implicitly we are reaching the beginning of the end. First, they get corralled in a town after a bank job and a hail of bullets comes raining down from any number of windows. This is not what does him in. If you're acquainted with the history, you're aware he got knocked off by a double-crossing skunk. Then, again, this is not the Sunday school truth. If anything, Johnson relishes tinkering with the details and coloring in the tall tales to fit his ambitions.
The verdict? Jesse James feels a bit sluggish as it runs its course. There's not enough action or bank robberies in the span of the film to make it really feel alive with the overarching aura of the James brothers. In its most watchable moments, it functions, fundamentally, like a family drama. Even if the movie is only a minor oater, Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda are the main attractions, and they rarely disappoint.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Western	| Tagged Brian Donlevy, Donald Meek, Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, Review, Tyrone Power	| Leave a reply
Dark Victory (1939): Bette Davis at Her Best
Posted on October 8, 2020 by 4StarFilmFan
Dark Victory reminds one how eclectic the Warner Bros. stock company was in 1939 because, in a Bette Davis vehicle, the first visage to present itself is none other than a wry Humphrey Bogart. The movie is a veritable grab bag of assorted talent from Bogart to Ronald Reagan and even kindly, bushy-browed Henry Travers. Despite still being a supporting player (his ascension would come in two years), Bogey is having a grand old time as a smart-mouthed horse trainer named Michael O'Leary.
He is under the employment of one Judith Traherne (Davis) who is coming off her most recent bender, living it up in local social circles. It's an obvious first impression although, as time goes on, we get quite a different understanding of who she is as a human being. It's often the case trials and tribulation mixed with romance have a habit of bringing out the truest essence of an individual.
For the Davis character, it begins inauspiciously enough. We expect her to be a frivolous, spirited socialite partying, drinking, smoking cigarettes, like any self-respecting belle in her position. In such a world the happy-go-lucky playboy Alex (Ronald Reagan) seems to be an impeccable match.
Her best friend Ann (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is the doting sounding board who might as well be a part of Judith. At any rate, she functions as a guardian angel constantly worried about the other's well-being. She never fails to be by Judith's side in all manner of circumstances — it's almost uncanny — but cinematically, she becomes the necessary foil on which our heroine transfers all her fears.
This is a crucial relationship as the story progresses. For it is Ann who bears the brunt of the sorrow, in effect, freeing Judith to push bravely forward. Ann cries the tears so her friend doesn't have to. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We must put it out there now that tragedy strikes.
The events are instigated in one frightening instance when Judith all but runs her horse through a jump out on the range. They are both shaken up, but the fall is written off as a lingering after-effect of the previous night's merriment.
Still, the incidents persist. One afternoon Judith takes a tumble down the stairs while later confiding in her friend about other isolated moments and the recent hangover-induced headaches she hasn't been able to shake.
While Judith remains peppy and bright, in all manner of speaking, there's no question these developments have left her frazzled — her nerves undone by this unexplained erratic behavior.
At about this time, our other important character is introduced, a well-respected brain surgeon (George Brent) who is all but prepared to give up his booming practice for a more relaxed mode of medicine. It is only as a favor to a friend he even takes a look at Ms. Traherne (As a minor side note, it's staggering to acknowledge this was the eighth out of eleven onscreen appearances Brent made opposite Bette Davis!).
His subsequent examination is basic but wholly conclusive, and it is a clever bit of exposition instigated by director Edmund Goulding. We learn instantly the doctor's new patient is losing some of her ocular and motor skills. It's evident something is wrong. Though he does not frighten her in the moment, he has suspicions she is stricken with cancer.
The consequence. She's going to die. It's only a matter of time. The main conundrum suddenly thrust upon the doctor and Ann is a deplorable one: To tell her in all truthfulness what is inevitable or let her live in ignorance so her final days might be blissful.
What do you expect to happen? Of course, they never get the chance to make the decision. Two words: prognosis negative, are all Judith needs to put it all together. She feels betrayed and disdains their pity. She will never be the same.
The way Davis approaches each of these scenes with almost a spastic giddiness makes it different than what one might typically consider mainline Bette Davis, whether The Little Foxes or All About Eve. If anything, it reveals her immense aptitude at projecting different sides of humanity. Because she seems so very superficial only to subvert all our expectations with an unassailable strength, bolstering her in her waning days.
The tear-jerking melodrama is a precarious affair because it must throw out all sorts of tragedies and sentimentalities while all the while compelling the audience such that they don't completely laugh off the whole idea as poppycock. After all, it's about the easiest thing in the world to dismiss such a picture — we've seen enough soaps in our days to grow weary of them — but the good ones take us through the paces and still manage to get to us.
Dark Victory is no person's idea of a perfect film, but it does what it sets out to do quite stupendously. Even as someone never quick to fawn over Bette Davis, there's no recourse but to laud her performance.
Not often am I fond of a Davis character, even the ones you're meant to like. Dark Victory teeters somewhere in the middle for a while, but the sheer tornado frenzy of giggling life in the face of death wins out. It's a testament to Davis more than anyone else as she all but sticks the landing, carrying the magnitude of the drama with her implacable performance.
The title itself, Dark Victory, initially sounds morbid or like it's indicating some form of vindictive revenge. And yet really, this is a happier story imbued with hope in the face of said tragedy. It is a victory over the dark even as the light dissipates for Judith.
In reality, the trills of lasting romance and fearlessness in the face of the great unknown offer her vindication over her struggles. We are not meant to weep over her lot in life. Instead, taking a cue from her own outlook, we must lean into the sweetness in lieu of the tragedy.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance	| Tagged Bette Davis, Edmund Goulding, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Henry Travers, Humphrey Bogart, Review, Ronald Reagan	| Leave a reply
Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939): Championing Education
"Chips" of Brookfield School is a bit of a human institution. Now over 80 years of age and retired from his esteemed post at the school, he still is afforded a decent bit of celebrity. The years have not slowed down his wit nor the warmth behind his words. His full life has been a testament to both.
Thus, in his waning days, as he sneaks onto campus for convocation, against doctor's orders, or takes a restful snooze in his parlor, there's little sense of regret. The world around him is full of traditions and lineage. After all, Brookfield is a boys' school with a certain classiness and pedigree. Reflected by the fact the professors dress in the garb we now only wear once in our scholastic career. They can be found in a cap and gown every day.
Likewise, the students are held to a certain standard of dress and expected to address their teachers in a manner customary in such environments. Still, the trilling voices of a boys' choir hearken back to those days of yore when I was afforded the opportunity to enter such rapturous cathedrals as Canterbury, York Minster, and Lincoln. The impression they left on me is indisputable.
If we were to be critical, we might label it one of those stodgy, medieval institutions of a bygone era best forgotten in the contemporary world. Even Repton School, which served as a filming location, demonstrated long-ingrained toxic traditions of discrimination and bullying.
However, with all things, there is good to be gleaned and chaff better left on the threshing floor to be disposed of. To be sure, the world depicted is open to such criticism, but if there is any form of antidote or satisfying counterargument it would be our unsung hero.
Because the disarming allure of this story is indebted to Mr. Chips (Robert Donat) and how he reflects all that is admirable about education. He singlehandedly removes it from a context we can never know first hand and makes platitudes and lessons universally understood. Progeny like Dead Poets Society are much the same. The time period does not matter so much as the message being preached.
The narrative succeeds in running the course of the years from his first day as a master at Brookfield up until his last, and this fluidity of time and space allows it to tell something as close to the scope of a real-life as is possible, within the time frame of two hours.
We come to realize Master Chippington was not beloved overnight. It was an arduous process full of failures and missteps. However, he does end up gaining the admiration of the boys in his stead, who were initially drawn to gags and partaking in their favorite blood sport — the undermining of their betters.
From the outset, as antiquated as these forms of British education are, we can immediately draw a bisecting line cutting straight through to the present. Because as long as there have been students and pupils, a war for supremacy has always been waged until the day where some form of mutual respect is settled upon. The struggle hasn't changed so much as it's evolved within new contexts.
In this age, it's a world defined by caning for bad behavior and the promising glories of cricket cups, making all boys want to ditch their arithmetic and pointless studies for something of real substance – bragging rights out on the pitch.
Down the road, further still, he has a fresh mustache and years of experience under his belt. The boy he once consoled on the train years before is now a grown man returning to the stomping grounds of his youth; he is more an equal than a pupil. However, even someone as beloved as Chips is passed over for a promotion for housemaster. It's the closest thing to an impediment in his career.
Gearing up for the second half, Goodbye Mr. Chips could very easily be a stuffy old drama under the watchful, if often moribund eye of Sam Wood. With leads so winsome and spry as Robert Donat and the ever effervescent Greer Garson, there's little danger of such a grisly fate.
It's true you only need one or two stellar pictures to have a career worth remembering for the ages. So it is with Donat. Despite being plagued by terminal asthma and dying fairly young, he stringed together several prominent roles, including Hitchcock's 39 Steps, all but canonizing him as one of Britain's finest leading men of the 1930s.
Meanwhile, Greer Garson still boasted a scintillating career ahead of her all through the 40s and 50s. The key to her enormous allure is on display front and center in Mr. Chips. She's likable in any manner of speaking, gaining the immediate endearment of the audience, and never doing anything to alienate them thereafter.
But one is led to ask, in all of this vocational work in a boys' school, where is one to happen upon Ms. Garson? The Alps, of course. What a lovely treat to have them both together propped up in the foggy mountainside sharing an amicable chat. There is still a certain propriety upheld when a man happens upon a woman. This is maintained and yet Katherine at the same time manages to be highly enlightened. Heaven forbid, she rides a new-fangled bicycle contraption in a dress (not side-saddle) and even holds aspirations to vote one day.
Regardless, she is a sanguine spirit who injects Chip's vocation with a newfound idealism (even bestowing him with his apt nickname). She makes it exciting and heroic, breathing new life into his seemingly humdrum position, and it bleeds into the entire institution.
But first, there is the hesitant romance born while dancing the Waltz in Vienna. With Greer Garson in arm, any man would fly at the chance, and Chippington does his due diligence, dusting off his college dance moves. The marriage proposal in the wake of a departing train is the delightful capstone to the courtship. There are more joys to come.
The newly minted Mrs. Chippington brings the teachers' room to a standstill with her utter radiance. In fact, it seems to happen just about any time she walks into a room or interacts with anyone. Garson leaves you glowing just being in her mere presence. They're stupefied Chipping could have such good fortune, and yet they deeply deserve one another. She grants his life a newfound warmth and levity…
What a life it is — even in the cinema — where times at once so vibrant can be so unceremoniously quashed by adversity. It's affecting in a very concrete manner. What's even weightier is how time marches ever onward without much fanfare.
The indiscriminate carnage of WWI is felt within the halls of the school — it's youthful ranks all but decimated by the bloodshed. One also recognizes Chips has witnessed so much. Generations, entire families, having passed under his tutelage. It is one of the wonders of education because I had the pleasure of having such a teacher in my life.
Being the youngest of three siblings, not everyone knows you as an entity connected with family. He might as well be our Mr. Chips, teaching at our high school for well nigh 50 years. The institutions of education have changed, but the merits of them have not. They become far more than facts and figures. They are a place to mature, cultivate character, and encourage individual thinking and fresh ideas to impact the world for the better.
Can we claim all of this is directly connected directly to education? I'm not sure, but I do know quality teachers have an immeasurable impact even as mediocre ones kill the same fertile grounds of knowledge. As the world changes, the need for excellent teachers is no less vital for the upkeep of our society at-large.
In his final hours, the frail Master Chippington is pitied for the lonely life he had. It's true he lost loved ones. He beget no children of his own, and yet he peacefully asserts he engendered thousands of children. Because every lad from the ubiquitous Colley family (all portrayed by Terry Kilburn) and every other Tom, Dick, and Harry, whoever came through the halls of his school, was like a son. It's not a mere sentiment. In his heart of hearts, he knows it. They do too. A life only has consequence based on how it is able to bless others. Mr. Chips understood this fact only too well.
What an amiable movie Goodbye Mr. Chips is championing pleasantness over any strain of abrasive negativity. It's hardly fashionable, provocative, or radically cutting-edge. Then again, maybe a dose of chipper, idealistic entertainment goes against the grain in this often disillusioned world of ours. It has the power to melt your heart in the best possible way. In its place is left a warm smile.
Note: Goodbye Mr. Chips features a special dedication to producer Irving Thalberg who died suddenly in 1936. His impact on pictures such as this one cannot be understated.
Posted in 1930s, British, Drama, Romance	| Tagged Greer Garson, Paul Henreid, Review, Robert Donat, Sam Wood	| Leave a reply
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Valley of Decision (1945): Greer Garson & Gregory Peck
Review: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Nun's Story (1959)
Rachel and The Stranger (1948): Indentured Servitude
The Chase (1966)
Classic Movie Beginner's Guide: Katharine Hepburn
You Only Live Once (1937)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Grace Kelly & Audrey Hepburn
AFI Corner: 2010 My Film Odyssey
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text:
package com.itakeunconf.codecraft.web;

import com.itakeunconf.codecraft.service.PairingSessionService;
import org.eclipse.jetty.webapp.WebAppContext;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
import org.mockito.Mockito;
import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
import org.springframework.test.context.ContextConfiguration;
import org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner;
import org.springframework.test.context.web.WebAppConfiguration;

import static com.jayway.restassured.module.mockmvc.RestAssuredMockMvc.given;

import static com.jayway.restassured.RestAssured.when;

@RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class)
@ContextConfiguration(classes = {WebAppContext.class})
@WebAppConfiguration
public class HomeControllerIntegrationTest {

    private PairingSessionService pairingSessionService;

    @Before
    public void setUp(){
        pairingSessionService = Mockito.mock(PairingSessionService.class);
    }

    @Test
    public void getHome() throws Exception {
        given()
            .standaloneSetup(new HomeController(pairingSessionService))
        .when()
            .get("/")
        .then()
            .statusCode(HttpStatus.OK.value());
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Kristan & Chris -
Married August 2015
It Came on a Horse and Carriage
"I really wanted to find my soul mate," Kristan says of her decision to post a profile on our site. Chris was similarly motivated. "I have tried other site before, looking for an amazing, sweet girl," he informs us. "I wasn't sure if this site would bring me any luck."
Kristan says she'd tried other sites and didn't think they delivered on her dating objectives. "I thought this site would better meet my needs," she explains.
And it did, because about 48 hours after signing up, she found a promising profile. "I reached out to Chris via message," she says. "He really seemed genuine and honest about wanting to find his mate." For Chris, there wasn't much doubt that he would reply to her email. "She was beautiful!" he exclaims.
Once a dialogue began, the duo didn't fall silent for long. "We spoke on the phone for two months," recounts Kristan. "I lived in Florida, him in Texas, but we were already dating over the phone!"
Of course, you can only do that for so long before you need to meet up in the flesh. "I knew she was the one," Chris declares. He was ready to schedule a real date. Kristan happily acquiesced and, before long, the big moment was here. "He was cute and sweaty," she laughs, remembering the first seconds they shared in the same room. Chris also has a clear memory of his initial thoughts. "She was so gorgeous, and tiny," he says.
As the date unfolded, these singles began to feel more like a couple in the making. "I was so comfortable with him," marvels Kristan. "I felt like we had been dating forever." Adds Chris, "She was just as she was over the phone."
There was little doubt that they'd meet again. "I believe that we both knew we wanted to be together forever," says Kristan. Her man nods. "I never went back to Texas, not for two months, and just stayed with her in Florida."
Nowadays the relationship just keeps humming along. There are many things Kristan appreciates about Chris. "He is the most calm and soothing person," she notes. Chris is impressed by her nurturing nature. "She is a good mother," he says.
One final update for you: these two tied the knot! The proposal came "on a horse and carriage, in downtown Chicago." Kristan cherishes her new life. "I'm a mother of two boys and a wife to my soulmate," she says, counting her blessings. Chris acknowledges that his life has changed in "so many ways. Everything has changed for the better. I have grown into a better person... I love my life now!"
For everyone with the as-yet unreached goal of a lasting romantic partnership, Kristan offers these suggestions. "You have to be very honest and tell the person up front what you want," she says. "Don't change yourself for anyone and if you do, it won't work. Be free, and you will find love."
Chris doesn't want to leave all the advice-giving to his wife and chimes in with this: "The right person is out there," he urges our members. "Sometime they come to you, and other times you find them. Either way, there are obstacles you must overcome. Meeting online, you have to be able to trust the person right from the start and if you don't, it won't work."
Kristan and Chris established that trust, and now they've established a new life together.
Click here to read more inspiring interracial couples stories.
View unlimited profiles
Read and reply to members who email you


Designer logo design costume to download apps software free to Gorgeous How To Make Fake Cards in high resolution for free. This wallpaper was added in Monday, November 12, 2018 and 110 users has viewed and downloaded this wallpaper. Gorgeous How To Make Fake Cards have Tags: how to make fake amiibo cards, how to make fake business cards, how to make fake cards, how to make fake cards look real pokemon, how to make fake cards look shiny, how to make fake cards of pokemon, how to make fake cartilage piercing, how to make fake cash, how to make fake cash online, how to make fake cast, how to make fake credit cards, how to make fake credit cards that works, how to make fake debit cards, how to make fake gift cards, how to make fake id cards, how to make fake insurance cards, how to make fake insurance cards for free, how to make fake magic cards, how to make fake pokemon cards shiny, how to make fake report cards, how to make fake scars, how to make fake snow, how to make fake trading cards, how to make fake yugioh cards and approximately 18 KB bandwith was consumed. If you like it, all you need to do is help us grow by sharing this logo design pictures Gorgeous How To Make Fake Cards.


How do I send folks a folder into which I want them to upload large files (say proposal documents)? I've created the folder.
Hey there (@kbdussom), you could easily accomplish your task by sending them a File Request 🙏🏼. This way, they'll be able to contribute in a project or send you the files you need in return. From there, let me quickly note that add I've also created this walkthrough, which could be helpful.
Please do let me know how you get on with my advice or in case you have any follow-up questions & enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again!


Two teachers crack the million dollar mark. Hear how they did it.
Jessica is age 32 and just got married. She and her husband are trying to figure out how to become millionaires in 13 years or less.
A new study showing the true costs of not shopping around for insurance.
Angela's husband wrecked her credit and she asks about getting out of debt.


text:
Webb Continues Hot Start Using Bridgestone's New B330-RX with Hydro Core Winning JTBC Founders Cup
LPGA Legend Notches 41st Career LPGA Victory in Comeback Fashion
Bridgestone Tour team member and LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb continued her hot play with Bridgestone's new TOUR B330-RX with Hydro Core technology this past weekend, completing another astonishing come-from-behind victory at the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix. With her 6-shot comeback win, Webb became the first woman to ever win the event twice.
Webb relied on the Bridgestone TOUR B330-RX golf ball in her dramatic victory, giving the brand's new Hydro Core technology its third worldwide tour win. Hydro Core technology produces 30% more gradation from the inside to outside of the core - creating greater spin-reduction for longer distance and improved accuracy.
Webb took full advantage of Hydro Core's reduced spin and Bridgestone's patented seamless cover technology to blister the Wildfire Course at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort and Spa this weekend, firing a tournament record final round 63. The win at the Founders Cup gave Webb 41 for her illustrious career, moving her into a tie for 10th on the LPGA's all-time career victories list with LPGA founder Babe Zaharias.
"Becoming the first person to ever win the Founders Cup twice is really special, because of what women like Louise Suggs, Babe and others did to pave the way for us players today," said Webb. "The new B330-RX ball continues to amaze me and it certainly gave me confidence to fire at some tucked Sunday pins, making this 6-shot comeback possible!"
"Karrie is doing some incredible things so far this season and we're happy to have played a small part in that," said Dan Murphy, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing – Bridgestone Golf, Inc. "To have 3 wins for the new ball on the LPGA before even reaching the first major of the year, is something special."
Visit www.bridgestonegolf.com to see Bridgestone Golf's entire 2014 Tour Team and to learn more about Bridgestone's innovative Hydro Core technology.
Editor's Note: High-Res images of all Tour Staff and all new Bridgestone equipment are available upon request.
Bridgestone Golf, Inc., based in Covington, GA, manufactures and markets premium golf balls, clubs and accessories under the Bridgestone and Precept brand names. Bridgestone is represented on a world stage by a number of internationally famed golfers including Fred Couples, Paula Creamer, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III, Brandt Snedeker, Hudson Swafford, Lee Trevino and Karrie Webb. Bridgestone Golf, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., whose headquarters are in Tokyo. For more information visit http://www.bridgestonegolf.com.


The University of Sydney Union (USU) was looking to rejuvenate their events business, as the existing brand no longer reflected the quality and range of heritage venues, catering and event management services available at the University of Sydney.
We developed a strategy to leverage the appeal of the University's iconic locations, using the themes of romance, intrigue and unforgettable experiences. Following a brand strategy workshop, we worked with USU to reposition the business and engage the corporate and bridal markets more effectively.
The new 'HostCo' brand allowed the business to showcase their range of exceptional events services, from venue hire to contemporary catering and event management. With the new brand name and personality in place, we created an elegant logo and brand identity, which was rolled out across the business. A style guide was also developed to ensure HostCo's uniforms, photography, print, wayfinding, website and videos remained consistent with their brand vision, values and personality.


text:
2019 Chairman's Award winner: Scott Campbell, Rainier Industries
November 1st, 2019 / By: IFAI / News
The Chairman's Award (originally, the President's Award) is an honor bestowed by the chairman of IFAI to an individual that has had an extraordinary and meaningful impact on the association. It is rarely given, and awarded at the sole discretion of the IFAI chairman.
At IFAI's annual meeting at IFAI Expo 2019, IFAI chairman Steve Ellington, president of Trivantage, presented the highly respected award to Scott Campbell, CEO of Rainier Industries Ltd. in Tukwila, Wash.
"Scott has been chosen to receive this award for the leadership and guidance demonstrated during last year's search for IFAI's new CEO; for his willingness to always step in when the association needs his help (he graciously volunteered to sit on the IFAI board of directors as past chairman when we needed him); he served on the Industrial Fabrics Foundation board of directors for several years, and is always a steadfast and true advocate for IFAI and for all of the members of the association," said Ellington.
To see a list of previous recipients of the Chairman's Award, please visit www.ifai.com/chairmans-award-recipients.
25th Anniversary Textile Roofs 2020
MMI Textiles names Jeff Papalia vice president
Sign up now for the 2020 Fabric Architecture Specifier's Guide
En-Fold® provides all-weather solution at new Pier 17 restaurant
IFAI president and magazines recognized with MMPA Excellence awards


The Bob Lake Trail runs for 1.3 miles between 48th Avenue and the start of the Robert White Trail where the trails converge near 65th Street. The trail follows the southwest shore of Lake Babcock, which is home to the giant American lotus, the westernmost range of this beautiful wildflower.
At its northern end, the Bob Lake Trail meets the Two Lakes Trail.
Parking for the Bob Lake Trail is where 68th and 65th streets meet at the trail's southern end and off 48th Avenue just south of the Loup Canal at the northern end.


text:
Q: Python SQLite3 fetch raw? I have a problem with this code :
cur.execute('SELECT Balance FROM accounts')
print(cur.fetchone())

That outputs: (0,) instead of what I want 0.
Can anyone help to fix the error? Any help is very much appreciated!

A: fetchone() would return you a single table row which may contain multiple columns. In your case it is a single column value returned in a tuple. Just get it by index:
data = cur.fetchone()
print(data[0])

A: It's possible there would be more than one value in your query, so it always returns a tuple (you wouldn't want an interface which changes depending upon the data you pass it would you?).
You can unpack the tuple:
value, = cur.fetchone()

See the last paragraph of the documentation on tuples and sequences for information about sequence unpacking

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Census Data Reflects Success of Welfare Reform
by Charlotte Hays
My colleague Patrice Onwuka has gone through the new Census data and presented some dazzling figures on a decline in the poverty rate, including and most notably among single-parent households.
Since single-parent households tend to be led by mothers, this means more women are finding work and improving their family's standards of living.
I urge you Patrice's "Good News! Poverty Falls as More Women Work".
Meanwhile, the Manhattan Institute's Kay Hymowitz has also taken a look at the Census figures.
Like Patrice, Kay sees work as the way out of poverty. She further sees welfare reform as one reason that more people (including women) are working. She writes:
A strong Trump-era labor market is one part of this story, but so is the 1996 welfare-reform law. Remember that the Clinton-period law overturned Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which had entitled poor single mothers to cash benefits. As a result, unemployment among the growing number of single mothers was high.
Essentially, welfare reform said no more free lunch, instituting work requirements and replacing open-ended AFDC with a time-limited grant to poor mothers (TANF, or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families). The idea was to promote self-sufficiency among a group depending almost entirely on government funds instead of a job to feed and house their families, to integrate a subculture of isolated outsiders into the mainstream of clocking in and meeting obligations to colleagues and bosses, and to discipline what appeared to be disordered and neglectful households.
From today's vantage point, it's easy to forget that welfare reform led to a dramatic decrease in welfare rolls, more single mothers in the workplace, and a decline in poverty rates among single-parent families. As time passed, progress seemed to stall; both the public and policymakers lost interest. The Great Recession undid whatever advances had been made, and disillusion with the work-and-save Protestant ethic set in. By the 2016 election, welfare reform was policy non grata; Hillary Clinton avoided it during her presidential run, though her husband had signed the bill during his own reelection campaign.
A new generation of voters, scarred by the Great Recession and perhaps by ill-informed teachers, were cynical. These days, left-leaning younger Americans consider welfare reform a failure or even a disaster, convinced that all of the reforms of the 1990s—from policing to charter schools—prove once and for all the racism and elite self-interest behind "neoliberalism." It's a sure thing that none of the Democratic presidential candidates will be flirting with welfare reform anytime soon.
Indeed, it sometimes seems to me that progressives are waging a "war on work," which deprives lives of meaning and creates dependence.