Monday, Monday

So here's an update on the challenges I wrote about in my last post.

1) The pre-code film I decided to try is The Widow from Chicago (1930). It came up on my YouTube recommendations and I wanted to watch a movie without any actors I knew of. I didn't recognize the starring actress Alice White from any other movies, which isn't surprising because according to some quick research I did, she left movies in 1931 seeking to improve her acting abilities. She did return a couple years later, but a scandal (or some sources say, a series of scandals) marred her reputation and led to her only being cast in supporting roles and bit parts. There aren't many details about the nature of these scandals, except they involved more than a few men. Despite her short-lived film career, she does have a star on the Walk of Fame.

                                      

Despite the leading actress's modern anonymity, it didn't take long for me to recognize one of the other actors, Edward G. Robinson. Robinson's distinctive voice and and mug established him as one of the most famous actors of the Golden Age, often portraying gangsters and tough guys, with a career spanning 50 years.

One of the reasons I chose to watch this movie was because of its length: 62 minutes. That's a pretty short movie, and I figured that if it was a bad one, at least I wouldn't have to suffer long. The reason for the short duration is because apparently, this movie had been filmed as a musical. However, audiences in 1930 weren't receptive to musicals so right before its national release, the film makers decided to cut all the musical numbers and promote it as a gangster movie.

I really can't imagine this story as a musical so that was probably a good choice. Let's leave the singing and tap dancing to guys that can pull it off:

 In Europe, where musicals had never faltered in their appeal, the movie was released in its original format. However, this full version of the film appears to be lost.

2) Last night I made a grilled cheese sandwich using goat cheese and balsamic strawberry jam. The strawberries lend some sweetness to the tartness of the goat cheese- pretty tasty.

3) I am almost finished with the canvas I was working on, but I need to buy some spray paint. I'm currently working on something using an old wine bottle.