- G.K. Chesterton
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
- G.K. Chesterton
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"(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover" is one of the most famous songs of the World War II era. The words were written by lyricist Nat Burton, and the music by composer Walter Kent. They wrote the song in 1941, when the war was already being fought in Europe but before the United States entered the conflict. The song was meant to encourage the British people, who were at that time enduring the nightmare of the Blitz and it was probably also meant to rally 'round the Americans to the cause. Kent and Burton were themselves Americans, which is probably why they erred in one point in their work: bluebirds are not native to England. Also, over the years, it has been suggested that Kent borrowed some of his tune from "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" but though there are some similarities between the two melodies, this seems like a bit of a stretch. Dover is a town in the county of Kent, which is in South East England. The cliffs of Dover form the coastline, facing France across the English Channel. The Cliffs are about 110 meters (350 feet) high, and are composed mostly of soft chalk, which is what makes them white. These cliffs are the point at which England is closest to continental Europe, and so have been the site of numerous invasion attempts over the years. It was from this direction that the German planes attacked England, and during the Battle of Britain, RAF and RCAF planes engaged in dogfights with them over the cliffs and Dover Strait. Actually, the little-known first verse of The White Cliffs Of Dover refers directly to this: "I'll never forget the people I met braving those angry skies. I remember well as the shadows fell, the light of hope in their eyes. And tho' I'm far away, I can still hear them say, "Thumbs up!" for when the sun comes up... (chorus) There'll be bluebirds over... " The "angry skies" are obviously where the dogfights were taking place, and "Thumbs up!" was the signal given to the pilots as permission to go. It has also been speculated that the "bluebirds" in the chorus actually refer to the fighter pilots, as the uniforms of both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force were blue. The rest of the chorus looks forward to the end of war, when the soldiers will be able to return home and life in a victorious England which will once again be safe, peaceful, and happy. Many singers of the time period performed The White Cliffs Of Dover, but the most famous and enduring version was recorded in 1942 by Vera Lynn, A.K.A. "The Forces' Sweetheart." Hers was the first version which I ever heard, on my grandmother's scratchy old LP, Vera Lynn: Hits Of The Blitz. Incidentally, Vera Lynn is still with us, at 99 years of age. She is regarded with great fondness - especially by the British- for her tireless efforts to entertain the troops throughout the war. It gave me great delight when, in 2009, a compilation album of her hits climbed to number one in the British charts, outselling everyone including the Beatles. So here is Dame Vera Lynn, singing The White Cliffs Of Dover: Related Posts: The 1944 film Arsenic And Old Lace is based on a 1939 play by the same name, written by Joseph Kesselring. The movie was actually filmed in 1941 but wasn't released until '44, because until then the play was still open on Broadway. The film was directed by Frank Capra, who originally had Bob Hope in mind for the role of Mortimer Brewster. As much as I love Hope, I can't really picture him in this role, and am just as glad he couldn't get out of his Paramount contract so that Cary Grant got the part. Abby and Martha Brewster were played by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair, the same actresses who played those characters on Broadway. Jonathan Brewster was played by Boris Karloff in the play, but he couldn't get time off to make the movie, so his part was filled by Raymond Massey. Massey is at his scary best here, creepy and evil. His reluctant partner in crime Dr. Einstein is played by the absolutely wonderful Peter Lorre (I'm a bit of a fan). He excels at playing oily, degenerate characters and Dr. Einstein is no exception. John Alexander enacts the part of Teddy Roosevelt/Brewster and is a delightful oddball, adding to the humour and general craziness of the Brewster household. Of course as mentioned, Cary Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, and he's great. A good deal of the humour in the film is derived from watching Grant deteriorate from the suave, handsome and put-together Mortimer into a disheveled, frantic, and nearly driven-'round-the-bend mess. All of the casting is pretty much pitch perfect. Even minor characters such as Mr. Witherspoon give memorable performances (Witherspoon is played by Edward Everett Horton whom I immediately recognized from a number of Fred Astaire films). Arsenic and Old Lace is filled with black humour. At first glance, serial killers with 13 bodies buried in their basement may not seem inherently funny, but implausibly, the film is hysterical. The Brewster family is a case study in dysfunction and insanity, and comedic eccentricity. Picture the family in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You if, instead of making fireworks in their cellar, they were burying corpses. The aunts are a dichotomy; sweet, caring old ladies who engage in charitable giving and acts of kindness, yet are also unrepentant killers. Ironically, Teddy- the most visibly nutty Brewster- is actually the most normal of the family. Not that that's saying much. On the topic of crazy Brewsters, there's Jonathan, Mortimer's long-estranged brother. Jonathan is a violent psychopath- an evil murderer who delights in torturing his victims. Meanwhile, Abby and Martha are also murdering people, but are doing so out of a skewed sense of charity. They think that they're doing an act of kindness, saving lonely old men from their sad, miserable lives. In the end though, however benign their motives, they've still racked up a body count which matches that of Jonathan, career criminal. Actually, one could argue that the aunts are more dangerous, since they have killed just as many men as Jonathan, but have totally gotten away with it. Jonathan has spent time in prison, had to change his face (plastic surgery) several times, and is now on the run from the police. The aunts have stayed comfortably at home, and have buried 13 victims in the basement without anyone suspecting a thing. This is, as I mentioned, my family's favorite Halloween movie, being appropriate for all ages, a little bit scary in places, and a whole lot funny throughout. It's one of those films that I can see every year and not get tired of. Even knowing full well all of the jokes and plot points, Arsenic and Old Lace still makes me laugh every single time. I love this film. Related Posts: After Jonathan turns the lights out, Teddy goes downstairs in the dark and carries Mr. Hoskins' body down into the basement to bury in "Panama". Meanwhile, Jonathan has gone outside and driven his car to the side of the house, passing Mr. Spinalzo's body to Dr. Einstein through the window. Elaine, watching from the manse, sees the car lights and thinks her missing bridegroom has returned. Receiving no answer to her knock, she goes in through the door, surprising Dr. Einstein. He just manages to shove the body into the recently vacated window seat. Jonathan grabs Elaine and starts to force her into the cellar, intending to lock her in. Just then, Abby and Martha come down the stairs dressed in mourning clothes, planning to conduct Mr. Hoskin's funeral. At the same time, Mortimer arrives back with the signed commitment papers. He intends to immediately call the director of Happydale- Mr Witherspoon- but is shocked to see his brother, who used to sadistically torture him when they were growing up. Despite his old fear, Mortimer refuses to let Jonathan intimidate him and orders him from the house. Jonathan refuses to go. Elaine, fearful and upset, tries to tell Mortimer about Jonathan attempting to lock her in the cellar, but he is too distracted by the argument with Jonathan and making the telephone call to Mr. Witherspoon to pay attention. Angry and hurt, she storms back to her house. Unable to help himself, Mortimer cracks open the window seat to have another look at Mr. Hoskins. He reels back in shock when he realizes that there's now a different body in the seat. He naturally assumes that Abby and Martha have been at it again, but they indignantly deny knowing anything about it. Jonathan's behavior alerts Mortimer that he is responsible for the body, and he issues his creepy brother an ultimatum: he and Dr. Einstein can take the stiff and disappear, or he'll call the police. It looks like Jonathan is going to concede, but then Dr. Einstein comes running up from the cellar... he's seen Mr. Hoskins. Jonathan now has something on them, making it impossible to blackmail him into leaving. Mr Witherspoon tells Mortimer that Teddy must be examined by a doctor, who must then also sign the commitment papers. He rushes out to locate a doctor. Meanwhile, as the aunts go to hold Mr. Hoskins' funeral, Jonathan and Dr. Einstein discover that there are actually twelve men buried in the basement. They bring down Mr Spinalzo to bury him, even though Abby and Martha are indignant about a stranger being placed among their gentlemen. Jonathan decides there should be one more body in the basement: Mortimer's. Mortimer returns with a doctor and brings Teddy out to the cemetery to talk to him. After a few minutes in conversation with "President Roosevelt" the physician unhesitatingly signs the papers. Mortimer then goes to see Elaine and tells her that their marriage will have to be annulled because insanity runs in his family. She is, understandably, less than thrilled, slamming her window down on his fingers. He returns to his aunts' house with the papers and is met by Dr. Einstein who, not wanting him to be murdered, tries to convince him to leave. Mortimer doesn't listen and ends up tied to a chair, about to be tortured to death by Jonathan. They are interrupted by Teddy blowing his bugle, which brings the policeman on their beat, Officer O'Hara, to the door because they've been warned before about Teddy bugling at night. He sees Mortimer tied up and gagged, but Jonathan convinces him that Mortimer is enacting a scene for a book he's writing. Mortimer tries to signal O'Hara to free him but O'Hara, an aspiring writer, takes the opportunity to tell him about the play he's writing about a heroic police officer. While he's talking, Jonathan sneaks up behind him, intending to kill him, but is knocked out himself by Dr. Einstein who thinks that this has all gone too far. He just wants to get out of there and escape. Some other police officers arrive, looking for O'Hara, because he didn't check in when he was supposed to. Jonathan comes to and, seeing all the police, thinks they're there to arrest him and so attacks them. There is a brawl, during which Mortimer manages to free himself. Once they subdue Jonathan, Lieutenant Rooney recognizes him as an escapee from the Indiana Prison for the Criminally Insane. Teddy is marching about in character, and talking about the bodies in the basement, but Mortimer convinces the police that this is just part of his delusion and assures them that he is going to Happydale that night. Mortimer has gotten Teddy to sign the commitment papers as well, but then realizes that his uncle has signed them 'Theodore Roosevelt'. As Mr. Witherspoon arrives to take Teddy to Happydale or, as Teddy sees it, on a hunting trip to Africa, Mortimer convinces him to re-sign the papers with his actual name, saying the secret service needs him to use an assumed name for security reasons. Meanwhile, determined to find out what's going on, Elaine sneaks into the house through the outside door to the basement. Abby and Martha are devastated at the idea of being separated from Teddy, and suggest that they go to Happydale with him, much to Mortimer's relief. Mr. Witherspoon doesn't want to admit sane people, but when they start talking about bodies in the basement, assumes that they're crazy too, and agrees. Needing a doctor's signature for their commitment, Mortimer gets Dr. Einstein, who's in the process of sneaking out. Einstein, sweating bullets, signs the papers and then escapes out the door. Abby and Martha confide in Mortimer their worry that his signature on the commitment papers might not be legal. They confess that he's not actually a Brewster; he was the son of a cook on a ship and a former cook of theirs... they adopted Mortimer. Contrary to their expectations, Mortimer is euphoric that he isn't actually a member of the insane Brewster family, and it's O.K. for him to stay married to Elaine. Speaking of whom, she runs shrieking from the cellar, having discovered the graves. Mortimer kisses her to keep her from spilling the beans. As Jonathan is taken away to jail and Abby, Martha, and Teddy are escorted to Happydale, Mortimer throws Elaine over his shoulder and runs off to their honeymoon, shouting that he's the son of a sea cook as the taxi driver, who has been waiting for them all this time looks on, nonplussed. Related Posts: |
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