The Writer's Life 6/11 - Earthy

For the third straight night I was captured by a film on Movies!, channel 113 on Cablevision in NYC. The Rose Tattoo (1955) was Anna Magnani’s most famous role. She won an Oscar for it. She did not attend the ceremony, certain she wouldn’t win. Born in Rome, she was the illegitimate child of a seamstress and a father who was either Egyptian or Calabrian. She was raised in poverty by her grandparents. She also spent time in a convent school, and learned to play piano and guitar. She sang in nightclubs before breaking into film. Her personal life seemed as turbulent as that of the characters she played on the silver screen. She had a son from an affair with matinee idol Massimo Serato, and a long relationship with director Roberto Rosselini, who dumped her for Ingrid Bergman. Somehow she befriended Tennessee Williams, who wrote The Rose Tattoo for her. Unfortunately, her command of English at the time of the Broadway rehearsals wasn’t good enough to allow her to take the role, which was done to great acclaim by Maureen Stapleton. By the time the film went into production, she was ready, and handled it expertly, the personification of earthiness. Burt Lancaster co-starred as an Italian immigrant and acquitted himself well, his pronunciation of the Italian words given to his character genuine. I assume he learned the language in his stay in the country during WWII. The Rose Tattoo was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two others beside the star’s, one for James Wong Howe’s black and white cinematography, the other for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. It was directed by Daniel Mann, who was never nominated for an Academy Award, despite the fact that he was at the helm of such notable and diverse works as: Come Back Little Sheba, starring Oscar-winning Shirley Booth (1952), I’ll Cry Tomorrow, starring Oscar-nominated Susan Hayward (1955), Butterfield 8, starring Oscar-winning Liz Taylor (1960), Our Man Flint, starring James Coburn (1966) and Willard, starring Bruce Davison and a bunch of rats (1971). Magnani was taken by cancer at 65 in 1973. She received an award for motherhood because of her devotion to her son, who was stricken with polio. (Facts from IMDb) Here’s a pic of Magnani:

Lately, a few liberal friends on Facebook have posted a photo of Barrack Obama that contains a caption that decries his treatment as the worst any president has ever been accorded. What short memories. Then again, those who post such nonsense probably believe President Bush deserved the scorn heaped upon him. As everyone knows, Obama is on the side of the angels and Republicans are evil. In keeping with my current policy on political posts, I did not respond. I have given a like to many of my right wing friends’ posts, however. Obama is being vilified more than Nixon was? Please.

Speaking of short memories, the sports press is placing Lebron James above all other NBA greats, even Michael Jordan. There's not more than a dime's worth difference between them. If James seems greater, it's because he is doing it at present. What nonsense.

My thanks to Herbie, who bought a Stephen King short story collection, and to Natalya and Benedict, who purchased two from the recent batch of books in Russian donated to yours truly. Weather wise, it was the first real taste of summer, strength-sapping heat and humidity, visible smog.

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