Steven Vlad

I just got through watching The Maltese Falcon with Mrs. C. What a great movie! Bogart really was a great actor and this is such a great role. He’s funny, sincere, tough, emotional – you name it. He’s convincing, and a blast to watch. The movie is just so well made too. The end took Mrs. C. completely by surprise! What a not-Hollywood ending!

As soon as I heard about the new 3 disk set that Warner put out, I ordered it. Not only does it have the 1941 Falcon, it also has 2 other versions! The 1931 pre-code version with Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez, and the 1936 Satan Met a Lady with Bette Davis and Warren William. I actually can’t wait to watch those too! What a blast! I’m really curious to see whether the pre-code version is as sultry as the novel. (A great book too, by the way. Dashielle Hammett is one of the great American writers.)

And that’s not all! It’s also got three radio versions, a documentary, 2 cartoons, a short musical, a newsreel, and previews of a couple other 1941 movies. Heaven!

On a related note, I’ve been tuning in to this site recently. This woman is watching all the Oscar-winning movies in order and is cooking for each of them and publishing the recipes she’s cooking. Fun idea, eh? Her last post was on The Great Ziegfeld and she notes is got some great stars. One of note is Myrna Loy. I love Myrna Loy. She is an absolute goddess and I’ve never seen a movie with her in it that I didn’t like. If you don’t know about her, you haven’t yet lived.The other thing she notes is how bad a lot of Oscar-winning movies are. For instance she notes that the very boring Cavalcade won in the same year that saw a bunch of fantastic and better movies, like Little Women, Lady for a Day, 42nd Street, Dinner at Eight, Queen Christina, and King Kong!

Anyway, if you’re as into old movies as I am, tune in with me.  I expect to learn a lot and get some good recommendations. Maybe I’ll even try a few recipes.