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Sunday, July 23, 2017

The Writer's Life 7/23 - Far from Thin

Last night PBS in NYC ran Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), the fourth of the six pairings of Hollywood royals William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Overall, they did 14 films together. No screen couple has ever had better chemistry. The Thin Man films are characterized by snappy dialogue. The screenplay for Shadow... was written by Irving Brecher and Harry Kurnitz. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke, who was at the helm of 93 movies in his short life. He died at 53. Here are some lines from a list at IMBd:
Nick Charles: I want to know something about apartment 25C. What I want to know is, how long did Rainbow Benny live in that apartment?
Greek Janitor: Oh, no long. He's move in last night at seven and he's a dead at ten.

Nick Charles: I tell you what, you go home, cold cream that lovely face, slip into an exciting negligee...
Nora Charles: Yes.
Nick Charles: And I'll see you at breakfast.

Lieutenant Abrams, played by Sam Levene: Is this your gun?
Paul Clarke, played by Barry Nelson, boyfriend of Donna Reed's character: No. No. It was Whitey's and it hasn't been fired.
Lieutenant Abrams: So it hasn't been fired? Then its usin' a new perfume! Burnt powder!

Nora Charles: Did Daddy read you a story?
Nick Charles Jr.: Yes.
Nora Charles: Tell Mommy the story.
Nick Charles Jr.: Son-of-a-Gun is 40 to 1.

Lieutenant Abrams: [Reading the "laundry list" found in Whitey Barrow's pocket] Three bloomers, twenty-five kimonos, ten slips, five panties, fifteen chemises.
Nora Charles: Sounds like wash day at Vassar.

Claire Porter aka Clara Peters, played by famed acting teacher Stella Adler: I haven't killed a jockey in weeks. Really.

'Link' Stephens: You're gonna see some great wrestling tonight.
Nick Charles: How do you know? Were you at the rehearsal?

Lieutenant Abrams: You know that jockey Golez, the one who was caught throwing the fourth race yesterday? He was shot.
Nora Charles: My, they're strict at this track!

Nora Charles: He's getting more like his father everyday.
Estrellita, played by Louise Beavers: He sure is. This morning he was playing with a corkscrew.



RIP John Heard, 72, consummate Hollywood supporting player. There are 178 titles listed under his name at IMDb, which include six that will be released posthumously. Equally at ease on the big or small screen, he was particularly adept in the role of white collar criminal, which he did on all three of the Law & Order incarnations. Well done, sir.

My thanks to the young Asian woman who purchased Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James, and to Bad News Billy, who grossly over paid for Bush league: a History of Minor League Baseball by Robert Obojski, and to the elderly couple who donated about a dozen paperback best sellers.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

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