Maria McKenzie

Twist Endings: Can You Figure Them Out?

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:29:00 +0000

Do you enjoy suspense, mysteries and thrillers? If so, please check out my two newest releases, Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave. Now, on to today's subject matter. Do you enjoy twist endings? I love them because they always come as a complete surprise to me!

I'm hopeless when it comes to figuring out the twist ending of a movie, but my husband can tell me what it is less than halfway through. "He's in on the scheme." "He faked his death." "She has a split personality." Sometimes he's wrong, but most of the time he's on the right track or nailed it completely.

I suppose our brains work differently. I enjoy seeing the story unfold. I love being surprised, shocked and scared. I'm too busy being entertained to think about unraveling the plot. Also, I'm vulnerable and tend to take things at face value.

In Derailed, Jennifer Anniston pays for Clive Owens's train fare near the beginning of the movie. My husband started suspecting something right then. Not me! If I'd had an extra $9.00 and someone (like a stranger who didn't look suspicious) had forgotten his wallet, I would've been a good Samaritan and helped him out, too!

When the twist is finally disclosed, I'll rethink my way through the movie to make sure the screenplay was consistent and the conclusion realistic. And sometimes, once armed with the knowledge of the ending, I'll watch the DVD all over again. Then I'll see information I missed the first time around, and understand little things I paid no attention to before. Shutter Island, The Sixth Sense and The Others all have to be watched more than once.

Despite my inability to figure out the twist, these types of movies are my favorites! Nothing like the element of surprise.

If you love a good twist ending, be sure to rent these if you haven't already seen them: The Prestige, Shutter Island, Derailed, The Secret Window, The Illusionist, The Sixth Sense and The Others.

Can you figure out the twist before a movie ends? What are some of your favorites (books or movies) that have twist endings?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Goodbye, Pete Rose!

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 17:00:00 +0000

I've been dealing with some life issues as of late and the blog has fallen by the wayside. I'm back today to reminisce about the late Pete Rose, also known by the nickname Charlie Hustle, who died on September 30. I'm a Cincinnati native and as a little girl, I had a crush on him. Don't ask me why, I just did. Back in the day, The Big Red Machine was a force to be reckoned with. I am not a sports fan by any means, but I loved watching the Reds play so we could see Pete slide onto the bases!

I must digress for a moment and do a little shameless self-promotion. I did attend a few baseball games at Cincinnati's River Front Stadium back in the 1970s with my parents, and beer was a big seller at those games. Cincinnati has a strong German heritage and the city is known for its beers. With that said, please be sure to check out my new mystery Growler to Grave (where Cincinnati's beer brewers play a role), as well as its prequal Cad to Cadaver.

So back to Pete Rose. How did he become known as Charlie Hustle? Here's the answer from The Cincinnati Enquirer:

According to the 2024 book "Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball" by Keith O'Brien, one of the first links to Rose and "hustle" in print came from Earl Lawson, a sports reporter for the Cincinnati Post, who in 1963 praised Rose's no-holds-barred playing style by writing, "Hustle is young Pete's middle name."

But the christening of Rose as "Charlie Hustle" was anything but complimentary. In a spring training game against New York that year, Rose bunted for a single, much to the amusement of Yankee's great Mickey Mantle and teammate Whitey Ford. From O'Brien's book:

Mantle and Ford ... intended the name to be an insult. They were laughing at Pete. They thought he was working too hard. But Pete refused to see it that way. He knew that hustling was the secret to his success, the key to every room he would ever enter. He happily wore the name. “The Mick gave it to me,” Pete bragged that summer. “He and Ford,” he crowed. “Mantle said to me, ‘Hey, Charlie Hustle.’ ” Pete told the press it was a compliment.

There's your trivia for the day! Any of this new to you? For the complete article click here.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

How Algiers Inspired Casablanca

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 23:17:00 +0000

I absolutely love old movies, and not long ago I watched Algiers. I'd read about it, and learned a few facts, such as the line "Come wiz me to ze casbah," wasn't even in the film, and even though Charles Boyer wanted Heddy Lamarr to star alongside him after meeting her at a party, he didn't realize she couldn't act. That subsequently caused some stress during filming. Also, the character Pepe le Moko inspired Looney Tunes Pepe Le Pew.

What I didn't realize is that Algiers, though not a big hit, inspired Casablanca, one of the greatest movies ever made, and one of my all-time favorites! It was even developed with Heddy Lamarr in mind for the lead. She was an otherworldly beauty, but Ingrid Bergman, the earthly beauty who eventually played the part was a brilliant actress. I can't imagine Casablanca without Ingrid Bergman or Humphrey Bogart!

Sidenote on Heddy Lamarr: Though she was a great beauty who became a superstar, she wasn't a great actress and didn't exude personality from the screen. However, she was highly intelligent and is credited with developing Bluetooth technology! (How Hollywood Star Hedy Lamarr Invented the Tech Behind WiFi)

Algiers centers around French thief Pepe le Moko on the run from the French authorities. Perhaps if my sleuths Tracy Black and Adam Slade had been around, they could have captured him long before the French officials arrived. Check out their Black OOps Mystery adventures Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave!

Now, let's take a look at Casablanca Never Would Have Happened Without This Forgotten 1938 Movie, an article from Screen Rant:

In 1938, the drama movie Algiers was released. Directed by John Cromwell, Algiers follows Pepe le Moko (Charles Boyer), a thief who after his last great heist escaped from France to Algeria. Pepe became a resident and leader of the Casbah of Algiers, and while French officials arrived to capture him, Pepe was starting to feel trapped in his prison-like stronghold. The feeling got stronger after meeting Gaby (Hedy Lamarr), a beautiful woman visiting from France, but his love for her sparked the jealousy of his Algerian mistress, Ines (Sigrid Gurie).

Algiers was Lamarr’s American debut, and it received four nominations at the Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography), but it’s most notable for inspiring Casablanca. Although Algiers wasn’t a big hit, the studio liked the idea and wanted to give the concept another try, hence the narrative and thematic similarities between Algiers and Casablanca. The latter was reportedly named in reference to the former, and it was written specifically for Hedy Lamarr to star. However, as Lamarr was under contract with MGM, the studio refused to release her, and Ingrid Bergman was cast in the lead role.

Both Algiers and Casablanca have love triangles, at least one character on the run, and cynical lead male characters thanks to Pepe le Moko and Rick Blaine. Pepe and Rick were also reminded of what they used to have and no longer can through their romances with Gaby and Ilsa, respectively, and both women were already in relationships with other men – Gaby had a fiancé, while Ilsa was married to Laszlo, who she thought had died when she met Rick.

Thanks to Casablanca being inspired by Algiers, it also owes everything it is and will be to the 1937 French movie Pépé le Moko. Directed by Julien Duvivier and based on the novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe, Pépé le Moko is an example of the French movement of poetic realism from the 1930s, and it was not only remade as Algiers, but it got a second remake in 1948 as Casbah, a film noir musical starring Yvonne De Carlo, Tony Martin, Märta Torén, and Peter Lorre (who also appeared in Casablanca as Signor Ugarte). The character of Pépé le Moko also inspired the Looney Tunes character Pepé Le Pew, who was introduced in 1945.

While Pépé le Moko is one of the most influential French films in history, and Casablanca one of the greatest films ever made (and both inspiring other movies and characters), Algiers has been mostly forgotten. Even though Algiers was recognized by the Academy and other organizations, its only legacies are introducing Hedy Lamarr to the American audience and making Casablanca happen.

Have you ever seen Casablanca or Algiers? Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Hawaii Five-O

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:28:00 +0000

Thought I'd travel back in time today and feature another one of my favorite cop shows from yesteryear.

Perhaps this was another inspiration for me to write my new detective series, Black OOps. Please check out Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave, written under my pen name Marissa Allen.

Hawaii Five-O was a fun show, although I don't remember enjoying it quite as much as Mannix or The Man From Uncle. However, it was truly a show with staying power! I didn't realize how long it aired until I looked it up to prepare this post. Hawaii Five-O aired from 1968 to 1980, twelve years!

A new version of the show aired in 2010 and ran for three seasons. I watched one episode for about five minutes. To me, the new version just couldn't compare with the original.

If you're not old enough to remember Hawaii Five-O, here's the lowdown from Wikipedia:

Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s.

Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett

For 12 seasons, McGarrett and his team hounded international secret agents, criminals, and organized crime syndicates plaguing the Hawaiian Islands. With the aid of District Attorney and later Hawaii's Attorney General John Manicote, McGarrett was successful in sending most of his enemies to prison... Most episodes of Hawaii Five-O ended with the arrest of criminals and McGarrett snapping, "Book 'em."... In many episodes, this was directed to

Danny Williams and became McGarrett's catchphrase, "Book 'em, Danno."
The Five-O team consisted of three to five members...and was portrayed as occupying a suite of offices in the Iolani Palace... Five-O lacked its own radio network, necessitating frequent requests by McGarrett to the Honolulu Police Department dispatchers, "Patch me through to Danno." McGarrett's tousled yet immaculate hairstyle, as well as his proclivity for wearing a dark suit and tie on all possible occasions...rapidly entered popular culture. While the other members of Five-O also "dressed mainland" much of the time, they also often wore local styles, such as the ubiquitous "Aloha shirt."

In many episodes...McGarrett was drawn into the world of international espionage and national intelligence. McGarrett's nemesis was a rogue intelligence officer of the People's Republic of China named Wo Fat. The Communist rogue agent was played by veteran actor Khigh Dheigh. The show's final episode in 1980 was titled "Woe to Wo Fat," in which McGarrett finally saw his foe Wo go to jail.

This television show's action and straightforward story-telling left little time for personal stories involving wives or girlfriends... Occasionally, a show would flash back to McGarrett's younger years or to a romantic figure. The viewer was left with the impression that McGarrett, at that point in his life...was wedded to the police force and to crime-fighting.

Do you remember the original Hawaii Five-O? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Film Noir

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 19:16:00 +0000

Time for a little more shameless self-promotion! If you love a mystery--and a good laugh--check out my new Black OOps Detective Mysteries, Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave.

Now, if you love film noir, read on!

I love old movies and the older, the better. I'm particularly fond of the film noir classics of the 1940s.

According to Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopedia, the term "film noir" was coined by French critics to describe motion pictures characterized by a "dark somber tone and cynical, pessimistic mood." It literally means "dark film."

The film noir Hollywood pictures of the 40s and 50s portrayed the dark, sinister underworld of crime and corruption. And both heroes and villains were cynical loners, insecure and disillusioned by life's circumstances, bound to the past, and unsure of the future.

Several scenes are shot at night, and dingy realism is portrayed through the interior and exterior set designs. There's nothing glamorous about these movies (aside from the leading lady's wardrobe), but the stories are extremely compelling, with intrigue, suspense and lots and lots of plot twists.

Two of my favorite film noir pictures star beautiful Rita Hayworth. Although Lady from Shanghai is hard to follow (you'll have to watch it more than once), it keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. Even if it seems too weird (or perhaps, thought provoking, since it's Orson Welles), it's worth watching just for the ending. That's when Rita's character is shot in the house of mirrors and then lay dying in broken glass (she deserves it).

My other favorite is Gilda, which, for film noir, has a relatively happy ending. In this film, Rita is glamour personified! As the hot and steamy Gilda, a woman with a questionable past, her dialog to leading man Glen Ford is topnotch. Her words actually had me saying "ouch" a few times for the poor guy!

Do you enjoy old movies too? If so, what are some of your favorites?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Morbid Curiosity or Fascinating Character Study

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 20:55:00 +0000

"I have, indeed, no abhorrence of danger, except in its absolute effect--in terror." Edgar Allan Poe

Call me sick, call me twisted, but I seem to have a morbid curiosity regarding true crime. I'm fascinated by what drives people to do such things. And a great way to develop fictional bad guys is by reading factual criminal accounts and watching televised reenactments.

And this provides a place for me to do a little shameless self-promotion. My new Black OOps Mystery series is now available. Please checkout books one and two, Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave.

Now back to business.

A tragic local story was in the news several years ago that involved a 17-year-old young man who strangled his 10-year-old brother.

During the courtroom proceedings the prosecution, as well as the public, displayed outrage because the young man showed no remorse, and never apologized for what he'd done. In response, he did make an apology. But the statement was chilling to hear as the young man read it with the same emotion he'd use to read a book report.

Although the youth never mentioned his sibling by name, he did say he was sorry for the murder and that he'd never forget how much his little brother meant to him and everyone else. (Really???) Another unsettling aspect of this apology was that he spoke of how he planned to spend his time in prison (receiving his GED, taking college courses and working toward a degree), and when released, he'd go back to work at the restaurant he'd previously been employed by before the murder. (Really???)

The prosecution didn't buy the apology, and neither did the public. The young man received life without parole, because he was only 17 when the murder was committed. What I learned after the trial was that the young man said he did it because he wanted to see what it would feel like to kill someone. He also mentioned that he'd fantasized about committing murder since age 13. I was flabbergasted upon hearing this!

When I brought the case up to my husband, he said, "I don't want to talk about it, I can't even think about it! How can you?"

Perhaps I'm just sick and twisted. But this case reminds me of another one; that of Leopold and Loeb. I first became acquainted with this infamous case when I was 16, working at the library during summer break. One of the reference books kept in the work room was called The Encyclopedia of Murder. I tried to get to work early everyday so I could read it. (Okay, pretty twisted, I know.)

Maybe this is when I realized I had a morbid curiosity about true crime. I'm not interested in horror movies, and scary books (sorry Stephen King) frighten me too much!  True crime, however, fascinates me.

If you're not familiar with Leopold and Loeb, I've provided a thumbnail summary below. But to learn more, click here.

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two wealthy University of Chicago college students who murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924. They were eventually sentenced to life in prison, and this case has inspired works of fiction, film and theater including Rope, a play by Patrick Hamilton, and a film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock.

Both men were exceptionally intelligent. Leopold was 19, and Loeb 18 at the time of the murder, and they believed themselves to be Nietzchean supermen, capable of committing the perfect crime. "A superman," Leopold had written, "is on account of certain superior qualities inherent in him, exempted from the ordinary laws which govern men. He is not liable for anything he may do."

The duo (residents of Kenwood, a wealthy Jewish suburb of Chicago at the time) spent seven months planning an elaborate kidnap and murder scheme of a neighbor, and distant relative of Loeb's. They even planned on a way of receiving ransom money without getting caught. Money wasn't something they needed, as their families were wealthy and provided them plenty.

The boy was kidnapped, murdered and his body disposed of. But when the corpse was discovered, also found at the scene was a pair of eyeglasses. Expensive ones, with a unique hinge mechanism, only purchased by three people in the Chicago area, one of whom was Nathan Leopold. So much for the perfect crime!

Clarence Darrow was hired by Loeb's family and the trial soon became known as "The Trial of the Century." It was later revealed that the men were driven by the "thrill of the kill," as well as to prove that they could commit the perfect crime.

Is it just me, or do you have a morbid curiosity, too?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:04:00 +0000

I love detective shows and The M an from U.N.C.L.E. was one of my favorites when I was a kid. As a six-year-old, I had a desperate crush on blond spy David McCallum, who played Russian Illya Kuryakin, to Robert Vaughn's American Napoleon Solo.

The women in that series were only eye candy, but then there was The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., starring Stephanie Powers, as Agent April Dancer. I vaguely remember that show, but it didn't last long. Critics claimed Powers was ill-suited for the role, a trifle limited on acting ability, and that she came across as a timid agent.

Too bad for The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. It was cancelled after only one season. Off topic here, but why was a female agent called a girl when she was a grown woman? I digress...

Stephanie Powers is much better remembered from Hart to Hart, as amateur sleuth Jennifer Hart, who solved crimes along with her jet setting husband Jonathan Hart, played by Robert Wagner.

If you enjoy a crime solving duo with a feisty heroin and a strong silent guy who aren't jet-setters, but a couple looking for their next paying gig, please check out my RomCozy Black OOps Detective Mysteries, Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave.

Now, back to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. If you're not familiar with the series, here's the gist from Wikipedia:

The series centered on a two-man troubleshooting team working for U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement): American Napoleon Solo, and Georgian (Georgia-USSR) Illya Kuryakin.

U.N.C.L.E.'s adversary was T.H.R.U.S.H.... The original series never divulged what T.H.R.U.S.H. represented, but in several U.N.C.L.E. novels by David McDaniel, it is the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity, described as founded by Col. Sebastian Moran after the death of Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in the Sherlock Holmes story, "The Final Problem."

T.H.R.U.S.H.'s aim was to conquer the world. Napoleon Solo said, in "The Green Opal Affair", "T.H.R.U.S.H. believes in the two-party system — the masters and the slaves," and in the pilot episode ("The Vulcan Affair"), T.H.R.U.S.H. "kills people the way people kill flies — a reflex action — a flick of the wrist." So dangerous was T.H.R.U.S.H. that governments — even those ideologically opposed, such as the United States and the Soviet Union — had cooperated in forming and operating the U.N.C.L.E. organization. Similarly, when Solo and Kuryakin held opposing political views, the friction between them in the story was held to a minimum.

The show was quite fun to watch with all the espionage and intrigue! And there was just enough humor to lighten the mood.

Were you a fan of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Mannix

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:45:00 +0000

I just finished my second Tracy Black Black OOps Detective Mystery Growler to Grave. Please check it out, along with the first book in the series, Cad to Cadaver.

While I worked on these mysteries, I thought about one of my favorite detective shows from long ago, Mannix. I loved that series! It starred Mike Conners as private investigator Joe Mannix, and Gail Fisher, who played his trusty secretary Peggy Fair.

Gail Fisher was one of the first black women to have a substantive part in an American TV series, and for her role in Mannix, she won two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. Mannix aired from 1967-1975, and perhaps one of the reasons I enjoyed watching it was because of Gail Fisher. I was just a kid back then, and there weren't too many women who looked like me on television.

If you're not familiar with the series, here's some information from Wikipedia:

Mannix worked on his own with the assistance of his loyal secretary Peggy Fair, a police officer's widow played by Gail Fisher. He also has assistance from the L.A. police department, the two most prominent officers being Lieutenant Art Malcolm (portrayed by Ward Wood) and Lieutenant Adam Tobias (portrayed by Robert Reed). Other police contacts were Lieutenant George Kramer (Larry Linville), who had been the partner of Peggy's late husband, and Lieutenant Dan Ives (Jack Ging).

While Mannix was not generally known as a show that explored socially relevant topics, several episodes had topical themes, starting in Season Two. In Season Two alone, there were episodes featuring compulsive gambling, deaf and blind characters that were instrumental in solving cases in spite of their physical limitations, and episodes that focused on racism against blacks and Hispanics. Season Six had an episode focusing on the effects the Vietnam War had on returning veterans, including the effects of PTSD.

Joseph R. "Joe" Mannix is a regular guy, without pretense, who has a store of proverbs to rely upon in conversation. What demons he has mostly come from having fought in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he was initially listed as MIA while he was a prisoner of war in a brutal POW camp until he escaped. Unfortunately, over the length of the series, a sizable percentage of his old Army comrades turn out to have homicidal impulses against him, as did his fellow running back from his college football days.

During the series, it is also revealed that Mannix worked as a mercenary in Latin America. Like the actor who plays him, Mannix is of Armenian descent. Mannix was shown to speak fluent Armenian during the series, as well as conversational Spanish. Mannix is notable for taking a lot of physical punishment. During the course of the series he is shot and wounded over a dozen separate times, or is knocked unconscious around 55 times.

Mannix frequently took brutal beatings to the abdomen; some of these went on quite a long time, particularly by the television standards of the era. Whenever Mannix gets into one of his convertibles he can expect to be shot at from another car, run off the road by another car, or find his vehicle sabotaged. Nevertheless he keeps his cool and perseveres until his antagonists are brought down.

The excitement was non-stop! Did you watch Mannix and enjoy it as much as I did?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Homicide Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 19:57:00 +0000

Do you love mysteries? Maybe with some comedy and romance thrown into the mix to take the edge off of murder? If so, please check out my new mystery series Black OOps. It really is OOps not Ops. Find Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave, written under my pen name Marissa Allen, on Amazon.

My mysteries are on the lighter side, but I do enjoy reading about and watching true crime, so I'm a big fan of Homicide Hunter.

Homicide Hunter Joe Kenda

I discovered this series several years ago when visiting my in-laws. It's a crime documentary television series that aired on the Investigation Discovery channel for nine seasons with a total of 144 episodes.

The series showcases the career of retired Colorado Springs, Colorado, police department detective Joe Kenda.

I find what drives people to commit violent crimes to be pretty fascinating. This also helps me when crafting a story. As a writer I can better understand the psychology of the criminal mind.

If you're not at all familiar with the show Homicide Hunter, here's an article about it and star Joe Kenda from The Columbus Dispatch (by way of McClatchy-Tribune News Service) by Luaine Lee.

Retired homicide detective Joe Kenda is an unlikely TV star.

With straight gray hair, a hounded look in his eyes and a minimalist way of speaking, he probably wouldn’t succeed at a casting call.

Yet he stars on Investigation Discovery’s Homicide Hunter, which began a new season this month.

Kenda narrates re-enactments of the crimes he covered from his years on the police force in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“When I arrested somebody, I’d have a gun in one hand and a badge in the other,” he said. “I say very quietly: ‘My name is Kenda. I’m with the police department, and you’re under arrest for murder. If you don’t do what I say, I’m going to kill you right here and right now.’”

Kenda spent 19 years on the force, working his way up from patrolman to commander of the major-crime unit at the time of his retirement at age 52.

There was no magic, he said, to his solving 92 percent of assault cases.

“I’m a student of human nature. People do stupid things; they do. And if you watch them and observe them and talk to them and deal with them — hundreds of different people — you become a student of what they do. And that’s all this work is.”

Kenda said he could sense when he was being told the truth — or just a story.

“You know when you’re getting lied to and when you’re not, based on what ... (people) are telling you, because you know what people do. Even though this person believes he’s very different, he’s very much the same.”

Kenda didn’t envision doing police work. He and his wife of 45 years, Kathy, met at college in their native Pittsburgh, where he tried for a time to work for his dad’s trucking business. They had two children, a boy and a girl, and struggled financially.

Finally, he said, his wife gave him an ultimatum.

“I couldn’t make ends meet, and I’m really good at making ends meet,” said Kathy Kenda, a nurse. “If he wasn’t working, he was with the boys, golfing and stuff, and I was stuck with the two kids. So he came home, and I was drunk one night, and I said: ‘This has got to change. I never see you. You never see the kids.’

“He said, ‘OK, I’ve always wanted to be a policeman.’”

So he applied and was accepted on the force.

Kenda’s brief official appearances on television in Colorado are what prompted producer Patrick Bryant’s idea for Homicide Hunter.

When his query letter arrived, however, Kenda ignored it.

His wife insisted that he reply.

When he arrived for the tryout, Bryant instructed Kenda to talk to the camera about murder.

“So I did, for about an hour — whatever came into my head. I reached what I thought was a natural stopping place, and I stood up and said, ‘Is that what you had in mind?’

“Everybody’s standing there with their mouths open. And I’m thinking, ‘Well, this didn’t go well.’ Nobody said a word. I said, ‘Let me ask you again: Is that what you had in mind?’ ‘Oh, yeah.’ And here we are.”

I loved this show, and if you love true crime and learning about what makes people tick, this is definitely a program for you!

Have you ever seen Homicide Hunter? And please give my Black OOps Series a try if you like mysteries. Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Shameless Self-Promotion, Plus A History of Private Investigators

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 20:39:00 +0000

My new Black OOps Detective Mystery series was just launched and I had an absolute blast writing it! Since these Rom/Cozy mysteries are a departure from my usual historical fiction, I used the pen name Marissa Allen (www.amazon.com/author/marissa_allen), my maiden name and my sister's nickname for me.

Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave feature ex-FBI agent turned detective Tracy Black of Black Ops Detective Agency, and her partner (and romantic interest) ex-Navy SEAL and all-around tough guy Adam Slade. Join them in a series of crime solving adventures that will keep you laughing!

I've always been fascinated by the world of private eyes, which is probably why I decided to write a mystery series. But I didn't know anything about the history of the profession. So after a little shameless self-promotion, Take a look at this article from North American Investigations at pvteyes.com:

It should come as no surprise that the history of private investigation is an intriguing and colorful tale that dates all the way back to ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations.

The first mention of espionage is even recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible in the Book of Numbers, when God told Moses to send some men to spy on Canaan. These twelve spies were the leaders of their respective ancestral tribes and were sent ahead by Moses to explore Canaan during the Jews’ long trek from Egypt to the Promised Land.

The Birth of the Private Investigation Agency

As a craft, private investigation has existed for thousands of years, for as long as people have required it. The first known private detective agency, however, was founded in 1833 by a man named Eugène François Vidocq, a French soldier, privateer, and criminal. Le bureau des renseignments, or the Office of Intelligence as it was called, was staffed by men of similarly patchy backgrounds with law enforcement. Most of these men were ex-convicts and, as a result, official law enforcement attempted to shut the operation down several times,

In 1842, Vidocq was arrested on charges of unlawful imprisonment and for accepting money under false pretenses after solving an embezzlement case. He suspected a set-up but was still sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and a 3,000 franc fine. The Court of Appeals later released him.

Vidocq was the one who introduced record-keeping, criminology, and ballistics to the field of criminal investigation. He pioneered the practice of creating plaster casts of shoe prints and is also the inventor of indelible ink and unalterable bond paper.

To this day, some aspects of his method of anthropometrics – the study of the human body and its movement – is still in use by seasoned private investigators and the French police. He was also a known philanthropist who claimed to never have informed on anyone who had stolen due to a great need.

Evolution of Private Investigators

The private investigation industry came into existence as a response to a specific need: in the olden days, clients went to private investigators with the expectation that they would do work and act as the police in matters where traditional and official law enforcement were ill-equipped or simply unwilling to do.

They were mostly employed by wealthy owners who effectively utilized and deployed them to resolve labor disputes. Their primary function was to control workers and keep the peace, especially those who had been inspired by the French Revolution. They also did mercenary work, as well as acted as private security.

Private Eyes in the United States

Meanwhile, in the United States, a man named Allan Pinkerton was making a name for himself as a criminal detective. After informing on a band of counterfeiters to the local sheriff of his town, he was appointed in 1849 as the first police detective in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

A year after that, he partnered with a Chicago lawyer named Edward Rucker and formed the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a company that continues to exist today under the name Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations. It is believed that the term “private eye” originated from Pinkerton’s choice of business insignia: a wide open eye with the caption “We never sleep”.

During the Civil War, Pinkerton became the head of the Union Intelligence Service – the predecessor of the United States Secret Service – and managed to successfully foil an assassination plot targeting Abraham Lincoln. He and his men often took on undercover jobs posing as members of the Confederate army and sympathizers in order to acquire military intelligence.

Today, private investigators fulfill an important role in society. Their services have become invaluable in everything from assisting crime investigations to finding missing persons. With the continuing advancement of technology, private investigation services are continually evolving to serve the public much better ways than ever.

That's your trivia for the day! Did you learn something new? Thanks for visiting and have a great week! Also, please check out Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave!

Black OOps: A Fun Summer Mystery Series

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 01:13:00 +0000

If you're looking for a fun mystery series to enjoy at the beach, perhaps Tracy Black and her partner Adam Slade of Black Ops Detective Agency can entertain you in Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave!

In the first Black OOps Detective Mystery Cad to Cadaver, life is in the pits for ex-cop Tracy Black, the floundering founder of Black Ops Detective Agency. Tracy is black, like her name, and trying to establish herself as a private investigator in her hometown of Cincinnati after leaving behind a bad relationship and a stressful career as an FBI agent in Atlanta.

Though not romantically interested in womanizing cad Dr. Terrance Jackson, Tracy reluctantly accepts his invitation to attend a medical reception. On high alert from her Terrorism Task Force days, Tracy wrongly accuses a random guest of being a terrorist. Oops! This leads to an embarrassing encounter with handsome white guy Adam Slade, security consultant and ex-navy SEAL. He thinks she’s hot, but Tracy dismisses him as a bumbling gorilla.

Eventually, Tracy comes to see Adam as less of a primate and more of man. And when she assists him on a lucrative out-of-state gig involving the Bosnian Mafia, Tracy realizes they make a great team–professionally and romantically!

Yet things take a drastic turn when Tracy is accused of Terrance Jackson’s murder. What will it take to get her off the hook? The dauntless duo encounter one misadventure after another as they put their lives on the line to clear Tracy’s name and find the killer who turned Dr. Jackson from cad to cadaver!

Ex-FBI agent Tracy Black and ex-Navy SEAL Adam Slade are back in Growler to Grave, the second in the Black OOps Detective series! This stand-alone sequel to Cad to Cadaver finds partners Tracy and Adam embroiled in another zany rom/com mystery. Adam, a man of few words, and Tracy, a woman of many, are arguably a match made in Heaven.

Catching brewmeister Blake Geist’s cheating spouse isn’t the most desirable job for these audacious private detectives, but money’s tight. Tracy is no nature girl, but that doesn’t stop this daring duo from following trophy wife Denise Geist and her bodybuilding lover Johann Becker deep into the woods in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. Tracy’s scrabble up the crook of an ash tree provides the proof of infidelity. Yay! Tracy’s fall from the tree onto Adam lands him with a concussion. Oops!

After the private eyes are swindled out of payment by cheapskate Blake, the brewmeister’s subsequent murder arouses police suspicion of the Black Ops duo. As bodies pile up, evidence mounts against Adam, whose mysterious disappearances and lack of an alibi trigger Tracy’s trust issues. Would a head injury lead him to commit murder? Tracy must find the killer to prove Adam’s innocence. Will she be able to crack the case? Will Tracy and Adam's relationship survive? Or is their partnership doomed to a "grave" demise?

Do you enjoy mysteries? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Writing Tips to Make Writing Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 23:34:00 +0000

Love to write? Are you just starting out? Maybe you've written several books. No matter where you are in your writing journey, you never stop learning. And Grammarly is a wonderful place to find lots of helpful information.

Today I've posted a brief snippet of an article by Karen Hertzberg entitled "30 Writing Tips to Make Writing Easier."

Take a look at first seven and click here for the entire article. Happy Writing!

Set writing goals.

Maybe you want to write a certain number of words per day or upgrade your vocabulary. You can’t reach a goal unless you have one, so write that goal down and work toward it.

Write in the morning.

For many people, writing comes easier right after a good night’s sleep. Grammarly’s research also shows early birds make fewer writing mistakes. (No matter when you write, Grammarly has your back. Try Grammarly to get more writing tips to help keep you on track.)

Write daily.

Getting started on a big writing project can feel intimidating if you’re not used to the act of writing. Practice this skill daily—whether a short sentence or full paragraph—to get accustomed to the mental and physical concept of writing.

Get inspired by research.

Before you begin writing, do some reconnaissance reading. Take notes as you read up on your subject material. Ideas will form as you research.

Always carry a notebook and pen.

Inspiration can hit you at any time. Don’t leave a gripping pitch for a client, poetic sentence, or catchy project name to your memory. Write it down in a dedicated notebook, or create a note file on your smartphone.

Experiment with writing prompts.

One of the best writing tips for aspiring writers is using a prompt. You can find endless writing prompts online that are suited for all types of genres. Pick one that stimulates your imagination and encourages you to get creative.

Outline.

If you often find yourself rambling on without a clear structure, start with an outline. Follow this simple, no-fail outlining process to organize yourself from the start.

Find all 30 tips here.

Do you use Grammarly? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Happy Fourth of July!

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:50:00 +0000

Way back in the dark ages, 1972, to be exact, when the United States was getting ready celebrate its Bicentennial Anniversary in 1976, a movie was released celebrating our country's independence. That movie was the musical1776, and I LOVED it!

Never heard of it? Wikipedia says: 1776 is a 1972 American historical musical comedy drama film directed by Peter H. Hunt and written by Peter Stone, based on his book for the 1969 Broadway musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Set in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776, it is a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The film stars William Daniels, Howard da Silva, Donald Madden, John Cullum, Ken Howard and Blythe Danner.

Portions of dialogue and some lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants of the Second Continental Congress.

For a synopsis, click here.

I was in fifth grade when my mom took me to see it. It was educational as well as entertaining! I loved it so much, my dad took me to see it again. That was in the days before VCRs, so when it was gone from the theaters, it was gone. But I did buy the album! That was the closest thing to seeing the movie again and again. I never saw it on TV, but I never forgot about the exciting experience of seeing this part of our history brought to life on the screen!

Well, silly me. When my kids were in junior high and middle school, I found DVD of 1776 at the library. So cool! I thought they'd enjoy watching it. After all, I was in middle school when I saw it, but I also loved history; my kids not so much. Needless to say, they fell asleep. My husband was so-so about it since he's not a fan of musicals, but I loved it just as much as I did when I was a little kid!

If you enjoy musicals and love history, I highly recommend watching 1776! It'll be a great way to spend some of your July 4th weekend!

By the way, Happy Fourth of July! Have you seen 1776? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Band of Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 21:39:00 +0000

I happened to read about this movie while doing a little research and thought it sounded interesting. I love historical interracial love stories, and this one is based on a novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. This is TMC's synopsis of Band of Angels, produced in 1957 and starring Clak Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier.

In antebellum Kentucky, the beautiful Amantha "Manty" Starr arrives home from finishing school in Cincinnati just after the death of her father, kindly plantation owner Aaron Starr. During the funeral, it is revealed that Manty's mother, who had died years before, was one of Starr's slaves and that Manty, now considered chattel of the estate, is to be sold by a slave trader to whom Starr had been deeply in debt.

At a slave auction in New Orleans, a wealthy gentleman named Hamish Bond pays a huge sum for Manty, intending to treat her as a lady in his household. Because she assumes she is to be a kept woman, however, she rebuffs his offer of friendship. Michele, the head housekeeper, who is herself in love with Hamish, secretly gives Manty a ticket to Cincinnati, but Rau-Ru, an educated slave who helps Hamish manage his business affairs, prevents Manty from boarding the boat.

Later Hamish confesses that he is tormented by his past, and Manty, who now sees another side of Hamish, kisses him. The next morning,

Hamish takes Manty to his largest plantation and offers to free her. She hesitates but decides to remain with Hamish. Soon afterward, Hamish learns that war has been declared. While he visits another of his plantations, Manty accepts the attentions of his wealthy white neighbor, Charles de Marigny, which leads Rau-Ru to accuse her of betraying her people by attempting to live as a white woman. When de Marigny attacks Manty, however, Rau-Ru strikes him, and subsequently is forced to run away to the North. There he becomes a Union soldier under the command of Seth Parton, a self-righteous minister who had courted Manty when she was at finishing school.

Hamish returns to the plantation and, in defiance of Union general Benjamin Butler's order, sets his own crops ablaze in order to keep them out of Yankee hands. As his fields burn, Hamish confesses to Manty that in his younger days, he had been a ruthless slave trader. With some reluctance, Manty leaves Hamish to begin a new life in New Orleans, and there she encounters Parton, who threatens to tell her new sweetheart, Ethan Sears, that she is black unless she makes love to him. Horrified, Manty returns to Hamish's New Orleans home, where she learns that he is on the run for burning his crops.

Rau-Ru, who despises Hamish for having treated him with kindness, which he calls, "the worst kind of bondage," discovers where his old master is hiding and holds him at gunpoint. When Hamish tells Rau-Ru that he rescued him from a slave trader's bullet when he was an infant, however, Rau-Ru decides to let Hamish go. At that moment, Union troops arrive and Rau-Ru, while loudly proclaiming that he has captured Hamish, quietly slips his former owner the handcuff keys. Hamish escapes from the Union soldiers as Rau-Ru leads Manty to the cove where Hamish plans to rendezvous with an old seafaring friend. Bidding farewell to Rau-Ru, Hamish and Manty embrace and then board the boat that will take them to safety.

Ever seen it? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

20 Writing Tips From Fiction Authors

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 18:16:00 +0000

For all the writers out there--published, aspiring and everything in between--here's a great article from iUniverse that I thought would be worth sharing!

Writing success boils down to hard work, imagination and passion—and then some more hard work. iUniverse Publishing fires up your creative spirit with 20 writing tips from 12 bestselling fiction authors.

Use these tips as an inspirational guide—or better yet, print a copy to put on your desk, home office, refrigerator door, or somewhere else noticeable so you can be constantly reminded not to let your story ideas wither away by putting off your writing.

Tip1: "My first rule was given to me by TH White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian fantasies and was: Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt." — Michael Moorcock

Tip 2: "Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you." — Zadie Smith

Tip 3: "Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel. If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction. Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development. Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution." — Michael Moorcock

Tip 4: "In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it." — Rose Tremain

Tip 5: "Always carry a note-book. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever." — Will Self

Tip 6: "It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction." — Jonathan Franzen

"Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet." — Zadie Smith

Tip 7: "Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 8: "Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out—they can be got right only by ear)." — Diana Athill

Tip 9: "Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." – Anton Chekhov

Tip 10: "Listen to the criticisms and preferences of your trusted 'first readers.'" — Rose Tremain

Tip 11: "Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 12: "Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too." — Sarah Waters

Tip 13: "The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement – if you can't deal with this you needn't apply." — Will Self

Tip 14: "Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!" — Joyce Carol Oates

Tip 15: "The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 16: "Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful." —Elmore Leonard

Tip 17: "Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong." — Neil Gaiman

Tip 18: "You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished." — Will Self

Tip 19: "The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter." — Neil Gaiman

Tip 20: "The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’" — Helen Simpson

Even famous authors sometimes have a tough time with writing; they also go through periods of self-doubt. Despite this, they always manage to come up with the goods. So take a lesson from them and stop putting off your writing plans and get started on your publishing journey today.

There has never been a better time than now to realize your dream of becoming a published author. Let your voice be heard and let your story be told. Never let your passion for writing wane.

I think all of these tips are wonderful, but 4, 5 and 9 are my favorites. Which of these do you like best? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Happy Birthday, Hattie McDaniel!

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:54:00 +0000

Today would have been Hattie McDaniel's 131st birthday. She died back in 1952, but she was born on June 10, 1893. Hattie McDaniel starred in one of my favorite movies, 1939's Gone With the Wind. Although this movie is a favorite of many, it is not without controversy. And, Ms. McDaniel, the daughter of former slaves, found herself in the thick of it.

If you are not familiar with Hattie McDaniel, here are some highlights from Wikipedia:

Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.

The competition to win the part of Mammy in Gone with the Wind was almost as fierce as that for Scarlett O'Hara. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to film producer David O. Selznick to ask that her own maid, Elizabeth McDuffie, be given the part. McDaniel did not think she would be chosen, because she had earned her reputation as a comic actress. One source claimed that Clark Gable recommended that the role be given to McDaniel; in any case, she went to her audition dressed in an authentic maid's uniform and won the part.

Loew's Grand Theater on Peachtree Street in Atlanta was selected by the studio as the site for the Friday, December 15, 1939, premiere of Gone with the Wind. Studio head David O. Selznick asked that McDaniel be permitted to attend, but MGM advised him not to, because of Georgia's segregation laws. Clark Gable threatened to boycott the Atlanta premiere unless McDaniel were allowed to attend, but McDaniel convinced him to attend anyway.

Most of Atlanta's 300,000 citizens crowded the route of the seven-mile (11 km) motorcade that carried the film's other stars and executives from the airport to the Georgian Terrace Hotel, where they stayed. While Jim Crow laws kept McDaniel from the Atlanta premiere, she did attend the film's Hollywood debut on December 28, 1939. Upon Selznick's insistence, her picture was also featured prominently in the program.

For her performance as the house servant who repeatedly scolds her owner's daughter, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), and scoffs at Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), McDaniel won the 1939 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first Black actor to have been nominated and win an Oscar. "I loved Mammy", McDaniel said when speaking to the white press about the character. "I think I understood her because my own grandmother worked on a plantation not unlike Tara". Her role in Gone with the Wind had alarmed some whites in the South; there were complaints that in the film she had been too "familiar" with her white owners.

While many Black people were happy over McDaniel's personal victory, they also viewed it as bittersweet. They believed Gone With the Wind celebrated the slave system and condemned the forces that destroyed it. For them, the unique accolade McDaniel had won suggested that only those who did not protest Hollywood's systemic use of racial stereotypes could find work and success there.

Ms. McDaniel received criticism from the black community during her lifetime for playing maids, but she said she 'd rather play a maid for $700 a week, than be one for $7 a week.

The 12th Academy Awards took place at Coconut Grove Restaurant of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. It was preceded by a banquet in the same room.

McDaniel received a plaque-style Oscar, approximately 5.5 in (14 cm) by 6 in (15 cm), the type awarded to all Best Supporting Actors and Actresses at that time. She and her escort were required to sit at a segregated table for two at the far wall of the room; her white agent, William Meiklejohn, sat at the same table. The hotel had a strict no-Blacks policy but allowed McDaniel in as a favor. The discrimination continued after the award ceremony as well; her white co-stars went to a "no-Blacks" club, where McDaniel was also denied entry.

For more information on the life of Hattie McDaniel, click here.

Despite the various controversies, Ms. McDaniel's outstanding performance as Mammy will never be forgotten!

Have you ever seen Gone With the Wind? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Love Against the Odds

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:43:00 +0000

A few years ago, my friend Lisa recommended three movies that she knew I'd enjoy, all from different time periods. Two dealt with interracial love (one of my favorite topics), while the third was a May/December romance.

Here's a brief summary of each film from IMDb:

All That Heaven Allows (1955): An upper-class widow falls in love with a much younger, down-to-earth nurseryman, much to the disapproval of her children and criticism of her country club peers.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974): A lonely widow meets a much younger Arab worker in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise-and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.

Far From Heaven (2002): In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife faces a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in the outside world.

I don't claim to be a movie reviewer, but I'll share my thoughts regarding each film. My favorite was the sappy melodrama All That Heaven Allows. Why? Because it had a happy ending!

All That Heaven Allows focused on socio-economic status and an older woman younger man relationship. I loved how the main character Carrie's detached/clinical social worker daughter couldn't handle the situation. Her WASP son wasn't any better. Ron, the love interest was a novelty to Carrie at first (a nice set of muscles, as her son said), and she was willing to let him go to keep her children's approval (and maybe that precious social status, too). But love conquered that in the end and they became equals who'd live a non-snobbish lifestyle. The doctor character was a voice of reason and support for Carrie, so that was refreshing.

Ali:Fear Eats the Soul was fascinating. It was interesting to see how the issue racism and ethnicity was addressed in Europe at that time. Also, the relationship of a much, much older (and not very attractive) woman and a younger man was intriguing. When the main character Emmi falls in love with Ali, she loses everything. It's even mentioned that she's not really even German because she has a Polish last name. Her children, neighbors, and workmates offer her no support and are quite cruel. Though this is difficult for Emmi, Ali is too important to her and she won't end their relationship.

After they return from a long vacation, Emmi is accepted back by her community because of what she can (monetarily) offer. She even participates in alienating a new co-worker from Yugoslavia. With her place restored, she wants to change Ali, perhaps assimilate him. At this point, he seems like more of a possession (and a nice set of muscles), and not an equal. He eventually becomes an equal in their relationship, but that doesn't happen until after she drives him into another woman's arms. Though I was happy Emmi and Ali reunited, I was saddened when she told him he had her permission to stray. The stomach ulcer told Ali's story. The discrimination and rejection he faced ate away at his soul. The landlord's son was supportive of their relationship early on, so that was nice to see.

Far From Heaven (inspired by the other two movies mentioned above) was a really hard hitting film! No age issue, just Yankee racism. NO happy ending here or even a supportive character, aside from perhaps the maid. This movie portrayed the ultimate relationship (black man/white woman) where no lines could be crossed in 1950s America!

Frank, the gay husband, is a fascinating angle. And when he hears talk of his wife, Cathy, being seen with a black man, he blows quite the gasket! He'd worked so hard at establishing the perfect life for his family (and hiding his gay affairs) and she was destined to destroy all he'd accomplished. Cathy has to lie about her excursion with Raymond, her black gardener. And though nothing transpires between them, when she does open up to her best friend, Eleanor, about her feelings of just thinking about him, Eleanor drops her as a friend.

Raymond seems to be a secret desire, one left hidden and best not discussed. He is a fantasy, something Cathy longs for, but knows she can never have. And knowing he feels the same and desires her makes it all the more heart-wrenching, especially after watching her live with an alcoholic husband who doesn't really love or desire her. The ending is sad, but realistic.

Have you seen any of these movies? If so, do you have any thoughts to share? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Happy Memorial Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 27 May 2024 20:21:00 +0000

I'm taking a day off from blogging today. Enjoy the holiday and remember to honor those who have served our country!

Janet Leigh: Beautiful Discovery

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 20 May 2024 21:55:00 +0000

Beautiful actress Janet leigh starred in three of the most iconic motion pictures of all time: Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958).

That's quite a resume! And with no acting experience, Janet Leigh's story is like a fairy tale. She was a pretty face that was discovered. Here's her story from Wikipedia:

In February 1946, actress Norma Shearer was vacationing at Sugar Bowl, a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains where Leigh's parents were working at the time. In the resort lobby, Shearer noticed a photograph of Leigh taken by her father over the Christmas holiday, which he had printed and placed in a photo album available for guests to browse.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Shearer showed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) talent agent Lew Wasserman the photograph of the then-eighteen-year-old Leigh (Shearer's late husband Irving Thalberg had been head of production at MGM). She would later recall that "that smile made it the most fascinating face I had seen in years. I felt I had to show that face to somebody at the studio."

Through her association with MGM, Shearer was able to facilitate screen tests for Leigh with Selena Royle, after which Wasserman negotiated a contract for her, despite her having no acting experience. Leigh dropped out of college that year, and was soon placed under the tutelage of drama coach Lillian Burns.

And the rest is history! To read more about Janet Leigh, click here. My favorite Janet Leigh movie is Touch of Evil. Do you have a favorite hanet Leigh movie? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Merle Oberon's Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 13 May 2024 19:38:00 +0000

One of my favorite movies is the 1939 film version of Wuthering Heights, starring the extraordinarily beautiful Merle Oberon, a talented actress during the 1930s and '40s.

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I enjoyed spending time with my mother, as I'm sure most of us did who are still fortunate enough to have our mothers. That said, I find it sad the way Miss Oberon treated her own mother--her dark skinned mother--by passing her off as a servant. Throughout her lifetime, Merle Oberon kept her ethnic origin a secret.

About.com says "Merle Oberon earned an Oscar nod for her acting in 1935’s “The Dark Angel” and more recognition for playing Cathy in 1939’s Wuthering Heights. But off screen, Oberon feared that her secrets would be exposed. She wasn’t solely white nor was she born in Tasmania like actor Errol Flynn, as she told people. Actually, she was born in India to an Indian mother and an Anglo father. Rather than disown her mother, though, Oberon passed her off as a servant. When the actress visited Tasmania later in life, the press hounded her for details about her upbringing, forcing her to admit that she wasn't born there. Still, Oberon did not confess to being Indian."

For a more in depth look into Merle Oberon's life and deceit regarding her origins, check out this article about the 2002 documentary "The Trouble with Merle".

Have you seen any of Merle Oberon's movies?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Barbara Bilingsley: Real Mom vs. TV Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 06 May 2024 21:14:00 +0000

Mother's Day is Sunday, so today I thought I'd republish a post about Barbara Billingsley. If you're not familiar with that name, she's the actress best known as June Cleaver, one of the world's greatest TV moms from the sitcom Leave it to Beaver.

While playing a mom on TV, she was also a mom of two boys in real life, so here's some interesting trivia about that, courtesy of Wikipedia.:

"She was the ideal mother," Billingsley said of her character in 1997 in TV Guide. "Some people think she was weakish, but I don't. She was the love in that family. She set a good example for what a wife could be. I had two boys at home when I did the show. I think the character became kind of like me and vice versa. I've never known where one started and where one stopped." As for the idealized TV family on Leave It to Beaver, which continues in reruns on cable more than half a century after its debut, Billingsley had her own explanation for the Cleavers' enduring appeal. "Good grief," she told TV Guide, "I think everybody would like a family like that. Wouldn't it be nice if you came home from school and there was Mom standing there with her little apron and cookies waiting?"

Billingsley, however, questioned her character's reactions to the Cleaver children's misbehavior, basing her concern on personal experience as the mother of two sons. As the co-producer Joseph Connelly explained, "In scenes where she's mad at the boys, she's always coming over to us with the script and objecting. 'I don't see why June is so mad over what Beaver's done. I certainly wouldn't be.' As a result, many of Beaver's crimes have been rewritten into something really heinous like lying about them, in order to give his mother a strong motive for blowing her lady-like stack."

I watched reruns of Leave it to Beaver while growing up and thought she was a great mom. My mom was and is still a great mom, but she never wore pearls and heels while doing housework! Did yours?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Star Wars Day: May the 4th Be With You

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 20:27:00 +0000

When my second son was born on May 4, 2001, I had no idea he was born on what was known as Star Wars Day, May the 4th Be With You. I didn't even know such a thing existed until he was in high school and happened to mention it.

This coming Saturday is May 4th and my son's 23rd birthday, even though it seems like he was just born yesterday.

If you're like me and knew nothing about Star Wars Day, here's an article you might find interesting from Starwars.com., "May the 4th Be With You: A Cultural History," by Lucas Seastrom.

The earliest uses of the phrase “May the 4th Be With You” that we have evidence for date from 1978, one year after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope. By then, Star Wars was firmly established within American popular culture and became “like a handshake,” as Professor Leo Braudy would later comment in the documentary, Empire of Dreams. That summer of ’78, clever newspaper writers used the phrase as a gimmick to mark Independence Day celebrations on the Fourth of July. “May the Force be with you,” as heard in A New Hope, had been appearing on licensed (and unlicensed) buttons, posters, and various items for months, enough to convince those writers that the joke would be well-received by their readers.

English-speaking audiences in the United Kingdom were familiar with it as well. It was on May 4, 1979, that the first known instance of “May the 4th Be With You” being used to mark the earlier date took place. Britain’s new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, happened to assume office that day, and another clever newspaper writer for The London Evening News declared in a full-page ad: “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!” (Coincidentally, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was in production at nearby Elstree Studios at the same time, and issues of the Evening News could have appeared in Lucasfilm’s offices.)

Another lesser-known instance came from within Lucasfilm in 1982. Randy Thom, who today is the director of sound design at Skywalker Sound and has been with the company for over 40 years, worked as a location sound recordist on Revenge of the Jedi (its title, of course, was later changed, and at the time of production it was known under the codename Blue Harvest).

Thom joined the production unit in northern California as they shot in the redwood forest doubling for the moon of Endor. May 4, 1982, happened to be a working day, and Thom recalled thinking of the pun on his own when contemplating the date. He shared it with others on the set, and would continue to write an annual message to the company declaring “May the 4th Be With You” for years to come.

In ensuing years, evidence for use of the phrase in public or private is hazy. As recently as 2005, it was used once again in context with the American Fourth of July holiday. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith had been released weeks earlier, and a marketing push to bring audiences back to theaters inspired a unique newspaper ad sporting Yoda, a background of red-white-and-blue fireworks, and “May the Fourth Be With You” (the ad was later made into a poster sold at StarWars.com).

As the laughable pun continued to circulate underground, an unofficial holiday emerged. Star Wars fans chose the day to hold themed parties or host community events and gatherings. Others simply used it as a time to revisit the films. It was not unlike other ways fans exercised their passion throughout the year, such as the popular “Blow Up the Death Star” watch-parties on New Year’s Eve. This point is essential because Lucasfilm cannot take credit for Star Wars Day. That belongs to the fans, along with the irresistible attraction of using the phrase to evoke laughter (or even an eye-roll) from bemused friends, relatives, colleagues, or even strangers on the street!

For the complete article, click here. Are you a Star Wars fan? If so, do you celebrate Star Wars Day? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

When Cigarette Companies Used Doctors to Push Smoking

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 21:46:00 +0000

When I was very young, smoking was still considered glamorous. Movie stars of years gone by were seen smoking. Cigarettes were fashionable, almost like an accessory.

My parents didn't smoke, but my chic aunt, always dressed to the nines, did. And she used a long black cigarette holder. My uncle smoked, so did my grandfather.

When my parents had parties, my sister and I could smell the cigarette smoke that wafted to the second floor. My mom had beautiful ash trays placed throughout the living room.

That was such a different time. But is it any surprise smoking was so popular when no one suspected it caused any harm, aside from a little throat irritation? Also, doctors were pushing smoking on an unsuspecting public. Take a look at the article below from History.com, "When Cigarette Companies Used Doctors to Push Smoking."

What cigarette do doctors says causes less throat irritation? In the 1930s and 40s, tobacco companies would happily tell you it was theirs. Doctors hadn’t yet discovered a clear link between smoking and lung cancer, and a majority of them actually smoked cigarettes. So in cigarette ads, tobacco companies used doctors’ authority to make their claims about their cigarettes seem more legitimate.

To the modern-day reader, the pitching of cigarettes as healthy (even to youth and pregnant moms) and the use of doctors’ endorsements may appear horrifying. Yet before 1950, there wasn’t good evidence showing that cigarette smoking was bad for you.

“People started to get worried in the ‘40s because lung cancer was spiking; the lung cancer death rate was going through the roof,” says Martha Gardner, a history and social sciences professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “People noticed that and were worried about it, but that didn’t mean they knew it was cigarettes.”

Yes, cigarettes did cause coughing and throat irritation. But companies used this to their advantage to promote their product as better than the competition. It wasn’t all cigarettes that gave you problems—it was just those other ones.

The first cigarette company to use physicians in their ads was American Tobacco, maker of Lucky Strikes. In 1930, it published an ad claiming “20,679 Physicians say ‘LUCKIES are less irritating’” to the throat. To get this number, the company’s ad agency had sent physicians cartons of Lucky Strike cigarettes and a letter asking if they thought Lucky Strikes were “less irritating to sensitive and tender throats than other cigarettes,” while noting “a good many people” had already said they were.

FROM THE COLLECTION OF STANFORD RESEARCH INTO THE IMPACT OF TOBACCO ADVERTISING

1937 PHILIP MORRIS ADVERTISEMENT CLAIMING THEIR BRAND CLEARED UP IRRITATION OF THE NOSE AND THROAT.

Unsurprisingly, many doctors responded positively to this biased, leading question, and Lucky Strike ads used their answers to imply their cigarettes must be medically better for your throat. In 1937, the Philip Morris company took that one step forward with a Saturday Evening Post ad claiming doctors had conducted a study showing “when smokers changed to Philip Morris, every case of irritation cleared completely and definitely improved.” What it didn’t mention was that Philip Morris had sponsored those doctors.

Philip Morris continued to advertise “studies” it sponsored through the 1940s, the decade that saw the introduction of penicillin. “The American public is thinking about medicine in such a positive way and science in a positive way,” says Gardner, who co-authored an American Journal of Public Health article about doctors in cigarette ads. “So framing it that way seems like it’ll help appeal to people.”

To this end, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company created a Medical Relations Division and advertised it in medical journals. Reynolds began paying for research and then citing it in its ads like Philip Morris. In 1946, Reynolds launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” They’d solicited this “finding” by giving doctors a free carton of Camel cigarettes, and then asking what brand they smoked.

FROM THE COLLECTION OF STANFORD RESEARCH INTO THE IMPACT OF TOBACCO ADVERTISING

1946 CIGARETTE ADVERTISEMENT LAUNCHED BY R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY.

By the mid-1950s, when tobacco companies had to confront good evidence that their products caused lung cancer, advertising strategies started to shift. “What happens is, all the different cigarette companies kind of work together to try to promote the idea that…we don’t know yet if it’s harmful,” Gardner says. In 1954, these companies released “A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” arguing that research showing a link between cancer and smoking was alarming but not conclusive. Therefore, the companies were forming a research committee to investigate the issue.

After this, cigarette ads stopped featuring doctors because this was no longer a convincing tactic. Doctors were coming out against cigarettes, culminating in 1964 with the U.S. Surgeon General’s report that smoking causes lung cancer, laryngeal cancer and chronic bronchitis.

Still, tobacco companies continued to maintain, through their research committee, that there was still a “controversy” over whether cigarettes were unhealthy until 1998. That year, the Tobacco Institute and the Committee for Tobacco Research (as it was then known) disbanded in accordance with a lawsuit settlement.

Read the remainder of the article here. Nowadays all the ill effects of smoking are widely known to the public and anyone who chooses to smoke is well aware of the risks. Was any of this information new to you?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

Where Love Has Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 21:47:00 +0000

I must thank my Goodreads friend Damon Evans for inspiring this post! It's an oldie but a goodie originally posted back in May of 2021.

It's said that truth is stranger than fiction. So perhaps that translates to a fictional work becoming a sensational bestseller, or a movie becoming a spectacular box office smash, when based on a true story.

I've posted previously about the scandalous account of mobster Johnny Stompanato's death. He was the abusive boyfriend of Lana Turner, who ended up dying at the hands of her fourteen year old daughter, Cheryl Crane.

That murder transpired in 1958. By 1962, Harold Robbins had penned the novel, Where Love Has Gone, loosely based on the Turner /Stompanato scandal. By 1964, a feature film was released under the same title, starring grand dame Bette Davis, tempestuous Susan Hayward and sultry Joey Heatherton.

The plot is a little more involved than the scandal it's actually based on, but you have to have something to fill up the pages of a book, or the time on the big screen! I haven't seen Where Love Has Gone, but it is now on my to watch list!

Courtesy of Wikipedia, here's the plot:

The film begins with headlines stating that 15-year-old Danielle Miller (Joey Heatherton) has murdered a man, Rick Lazich, who was the latest lover of her mother Valerie Hayden (Susan Hayward). Dani's father, Luke Miller (Mike Connors) describes the events that led to the tragedy.

Near the end of World War II, Army Air Forces hero Miller is in San Francisco for a parade in his honor, and meets Valerie Hayden at an art show where one of her works is being exhibited. He is invited to dinner by Valerie's mother, Mrs. Gerald Hayden (Bette Davis), who offers him a job and dowry as an enticement for him to marry Valerie. He storms from the house but is followed by Valerie who says she is unable to go against her mother's wishes but that she admires him for having refused her. A relationship develops and the two marry, although a former suitor, Sam Corwin (DeForest Kelley) predicts that the marriage will fail.

As time passes, Luke Miller becomes a successful architect and refuses another offer of employment from his mother-in-law, however the influential and vindictive Mrs. Hayden uses her contacts in the banking industry to ensure that Miller is refused loans to help him build his business. He relents and accepts a position in Mrs. Hayden's company.

Their daughter, Dani, is born but the relationship of the couple begins to deteriorate with Miller declining into alcoholism, and Valerie indulging in a promiscuous lifestyle. The marriage ends when Miller actually finds her having sex with another man and Mrs. Hayden insists she divorce him. Years pass and Dani eventually becomes her mother's rival for the same man.

Back in the present, Dani claims that she was defending Valerie against attack, and when the case is brought to court, a verdict of justifiable homicide is ruled. An investigation into where to place Dani begins, but neither investigator Marian Spicer (Jane Greer) nor psychiatrist Dr. Jennings (Anne Seymour) can persuade Dani to open up about her feelings. When Mrs. Hayden petitions for custody of Dani and she still refuses to reveal herself, Valerie reveals that Dani was trying to kill her, and that Rick was only killed when he tried to defend Valerie. Valerie returns home and commits suicide, and after her death Luke Miller tries to help Dani rebuild her life.

I'm looking forward to watching! Are you?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

The History of April Fool's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Maria McKenzie) — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 19:07:00 +0000

It's April 1st, aka April Fool's Day. I have a cousin whose birthday is today. But whenever she tells anyone it's her birthday, no one believes her because they think she's joking!

This morning, I heard a couple of news stories that seemed so outlandish I thought the commentators were joking, but they weren't. I won't mention those stories because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. However, I will delve into the history of April Fool's Day.

I heard the origin discussed on the radio this morning, so I thought I'd post an article here. Take a look at what I found on History.com:

April Fools’ Day—occurring on April 1 each year—has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools' Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools' Day prank. While its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools' Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.

Origins of April Fools' Day

Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.

People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

Hilaria in Ancient Rome

Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.

There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.

History of April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.

I hope you found that information as amusing as I did! For the complete article, click here. Were you familiar with any of this information?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!