What happened to opening credits?

There seems to be a lack of opening credits in modern movies these days. I can't remember the last new movie I saw that actually had a main title theme and credits. Now, given that you can count the number of new movies I've seen in the theater on one hand, I'm probably making too broad of a generalization, but there's been a noticeable trend over the last few years, even to me, for filmmakers to dive right into their movie, BAM!, without ever giving any credits beyond the title.

I hate that.

Oh sure, I understand all too well about needing to grab people's attention right away, etc., but you know, nobody's going to walk out of a movie four minutes into it because they had to sit through opening credits.

When I go to the movies, even when I pop a DVD in the machine at home, I'm coming from real life. From the stress of work, or dealing with the stupid drivers on the road, or the monotony of household chores, or an argument with friends, or a gigglefest with friends... it doesn't matter whether it's stress or cheer, I've got real life on the brain. I go to/put on a movie to get away from them. And you know? Opening credits are the transition point. The theater darkens, the music starts, the credits roll. The flavor of the music sets the tone, tells me what I'm in for. I loosen my grip on the outside world, let the score and the credits relax me... so that when the movie starts, I'm there. Ready to go. Movies that tend to jump right in? I'm doing that transition during the movie's opening. I have to discard my distractions as the movie starts. Oh sure, I get there, but I miss opening credits.

When I think of modern (but, er... not so new) films that did it right, I think of films like The Untouchables (1987). Perfect opening credits. Stylish and atmospheric letters and shadows, with Morricone's dark but catchy title theme putting me into the right frame of mind... by the time the first scene starts, I am so there, body and soul, ready to go. Real life is forgotten, and I'm eager to see what's coming. Or Dead Again (1991). Or James Bond films, that give you a teaser, but also a nice set of opening credits.

That's what I miss in movies that choose to toss you off a cliff instead of letting you enjoy the view a moment, before giving you that hard shove.

I always stay through the end credits of every film for the similar reasons. Well, for three reasons really. 1) before songs became so prevalent, end credits were a great place to listen to the composer's music again without dialog and sound effects overrunning it, 2) to give acknowledgement and salute to the makers of the film, and 3) to ease back out of fiction into real life.

Of novels and movies and opera, oh my

Work on my new novel, "The Traitor," had stalled out a few weeks back, mostly because I couldn't hear the voice of one of my lead character. I realized why yesterday. He's a she. I had the wrong gender. Now, she's not only talking to me, but large chunks of the novel rotated and fell in place. They had worked fine before, but they work better now, with the whole change in dynamics that the gender change brings. Now, I can't wait to get back to it.

My movie watching has slowed lately. Must be the back-to-school season. There seems to be a hundred things to do every day right now. But I did watch another couple of Tyrone Power films I hadn't seen before. The Black Rose and Prince of Foxes.

I've always liked Tyrone Power, though I don't have a crush on him, nor is he one of my favorite actors. But I have a great abiding affection for him. As I've been watching these films lately, I realized part of why that is.

He belongs in opera.

Seriously. Tyrone Power is everything I look for in an opera tenor, he simply lacks the singing voice. He's certainly got the dark handsome looks of an Italian tenor, particularly in some of the period films I'm watching, but more importantly, he's got the personality to play all my favorite opera tenor roles. And that's a hard one to explain in words -- spirit, a certain joy in life edged with darkness but not cynicism, bravado in the face of death and pain and despair -- but Tyrone has the necessary operatic ingredients in spades, where my favorite actors do not. Sometimes, my family has fun casting our favorite operas with movie stars from certain eras, or genres, or even from specific movies. I don't think we've actually done Golden Age stars, but if we did, I'd pick Tyrone Power for the lead in most of my favorite Puccini and Verdi operas. There wouldn't even be any contest. Tosca, Butterfly, Turandot, Girl of the Golden West, Rigoletto, Masked Ball, Traviata... he'd be absolutely perfect in a movie version of any one of them.

Tyrone Power in Prince of Foxes... could easily be the Duke of Mantua about to start singing La donna è mobile in that outfit

As to the two films I watched, both were entertaining, but I much preferred Prince of Foxes. The Black Rose had some good parts, but was brought down by the female lead, who is supposed to be the Black Rose, but looked about 12-years-old. She was very innocent and earnest and sort of cute in a daughterly way, but really. As a love interest? As the titular Black Rose??? Weird casting decision. However, Jack Hawkins played Tyrone's best friend, and he's much fun.

And then there's also Orson Welles. He got all the best dialogue, and he really makes up for the lameness of the rest of the movie. (Tyrone plays a Saxon, pissed at the Normans, who gets in trouble at home and splits with a caravan of goodies bound for the Far East. Ends up fighting for Orson Welle's charasmatic, but bloodthirsty Mongol warlord as one of his captains, gets imprisoned in China, then ultimately returns to England with gunpowder and other technological info... which he gives to the Normans.) Welles is also in Prince of Foxes (part of why I chose these two films), and has quite a bit of the best dialogue there too. Orson Welles is a compelling actor to watch at any time, but he makes these very intelligent, but decadent and conscienceless characters, quite fascinating. What better actor to pick to play Cesare Borgia in Prince of Foxes?

"I was thinking." - Don Estaban
"Good. Practice makes perfect." - Cesare Borgia (Welles)

Orson Welles and his calculating stare

Prince of Foxes was the far better film. It was better written, better acted, better scenery, better action, and I really enjoyed it. (Tyrone plays Andrea Orsini, working with the infamous Borgias at conquering Italy until he falls in love and has a change of heart and decides to lead a revolt against the Borgias, which doesn't exactly go so swimmingly.) Man, Tyrone Power sure gets himself in trouble in his films, doesn't he? I'm starting to think there isn't a period film he was in where he doesn't get either seriously wounded or tortured. The actress in Prince of Foxes (Wanda Hendrix) was like some blonde Gene Tierney knockoff. Wide set eyes, prominent cheekbones, big lips and overbite. Not perhaps so much in a still shot, but in action, when she talked, all I could think of was Gene Tierney.

Tyrone Power double feature

Captain From Castile (1947) and The Black Swan (1942). The first, I didn't particularly like. I have issues with sprawling movies that don't have cohesive plots. This one starts out okay, but then we get to the New World with Cortez and not much really happens after that point. Tyrone has minor random adventures, gets nearly killed twice, and mostly follows Smilin' Jack, aka Cortez, around the Mexico countryside while the latter prepares to conquer the Aztecs. There's no real point to it all, no conclusion either. Tyrone doesn't even get to take care of the Spanish Inquisition rat who murdered his sister, though he gets blamed for it. It's a rather sprawling, meandering, uncomfortable, and surprisingly brutal film. That's not to say it didn't have its good points. I liked the actors a lot, particularly Lee J. Cobb, love the scenery and the costumes, love the music, but other than Paricutin and Alfred Newman's famous and completely wonderful Conquest theme, there's not much memorable here for me.

I come from a family of geologists/astronomers, so one of the highlights of this film (and one of the reasons I rented it) was seeing the Mexican cinder cone Paricutin in action. It was erupting during this period, and the filmmakers made nice use of nature's display. The ash blocking the sun lends a different coloring to a lot of the outdoor shots and it's beautiful and atmospheric.

Paricutin erupting in the background, no CGI here!

The volcano's over the horizon in this pic, but look at that lovely ash cloud and the contrast it provides! Love it!

The Black Swan, on the other hand, I absolutely fell in love with. No pretenses about this movie. It's a rollickingly good, Technicolor, pirate adventure film. I don't think it's possible for Tyrone to look any hotter than he does in this movie. Being a ruffian suits him immensely, from the scruff to the outfits to the pirate attitude he tries to curb, to the swash on his buckle. And Maureen O'Hara is his lovely sassy leading lady, and there couldn't be a better match for him. They spark and rail against each other, beat each other up and fall in love on the high seas. It's just so much unrepentant and unpolitically correct (by today's standards) fun.

But really, the guy who steals the film is Laird Cregar. I swear, the man can do no wrong in a film. He's awesome in every film I've seen him in, and what a tragedy that we lost him at such a young age. He simply owns the screen when he's on, and not just because he's so physically imposing. He's got the charisma, the voice, the presence to go with it. I just love him. So many of the good moments in this film belong to him.

This is a film I'd definitely like to own. As far as pirate movies go, this one's way near the very top of my list.

Who is that guy??

So, I was watching Union Pacific (1939), with Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck not too long ago. Fun solid movie. I knew most of the actors in it but one. This guy:


I did not recognize him at all. He played a rather rougish gambler, not quite on the right side of the law. His smooth-talking charm was a nice foil for Joel McCrea's honest law-abiding character, and their scenes together were really good. Now, I'd even watched and read the credits in the beginning of the movie, seen his name go by... and I still couldn't put name to face. About 3/4ths through, I'd had it. He was driving me crazy. I had to know who it was. So, paused the film, looked it up on IMDb... it was Robert Preston.

Now, really, I actually wouldn't expect me to recognize him. I'm not familiar with him as much more than a name. I think the first thing I ever saw him in was The Last Starfighter, which I saw in the theater in 1984. No, I've never seen more than a few random musical numbers from The Music Man. I may love musicals, but never could get into that one. One of these days someone might force me to sit through the whole darned thing. So really, knowing him only in one of the last movies he ever made, how would I recognize him when he's 21 and quite the handsome young hunk?

Interestingly, his voice (if I'd paid attention) is very recognizable.

Since watching Union Pacific, Robert Preston has started popping up in all sorts of movies I've been watching. (So weird how that happens.) He showed up as the smooth-talking, ratfink bad guy in Best of the Badmen (1951) with Robert Ryan and Claire Trevor. He popped up in Wake Island (1942), in which, even knowing this time he was in it... I didn't recognize him in his first few scenes yet again. What is he, a chameleon?? Or is it just me? I had the Union Pacific and Best of the Bad Men curly-haired and moustached Robert Preston in my mind, and couldn't make the jump to clean-cut, burly marine. What finally gave him away in Wake Island was his voice.


And I notice he's also in Blood on the Moon (1948), with Robert Mitchum, which I'm due to watch next. Wonder what he'll be like in that one?

Desperate Journey (1942)

Well, there's not that much that's desperate about this journey. There should be, but Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan are having way too much fun single-handedly trying to win WWII. It's not all a light-hearted romp -- the long car chase at the end is quite nicely filmed and rather nail-biting -- but this film is pure "We laugh in the face of Danger! Hah-hah!" Definitely check any sense of reality at the door.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just depends on what you're looking for. I went into this film thinking it was going to be serious and was initially disappointed... but now I know better. This is a movie to watch when you want an exciting fantasy adventure. The plot's simple enough. Errol Flynn kicks off the story when he can't abide playing it safe. No, he's got to disobey orders and take his bomber down beneath the clouds to get the German target they're after, and promptly gets them shot down waaaaaaaay behind enemy lines. Kills their captain and a couple other chaps, and Flynn and the rest of the surviving crew go on the run. They don't make it far before the Germans capture them, but they don't stay captured for long. The rest of the movie follows their journey to get back to England. Things are complicated by a German Major (Raymond Massey, who's good here, but I can never quite get past his Arsenic and Old Lace role) personally after them because they stole his plans for some new messerschmitt factories, a side-trip to blow up a chemical factory in Berlin, because, really, when you're on the run for your life in enemy territory, you must strike a blow for the Allies while you're there. As Ronald Regan's character declares with a grin: "Look at us! We're a five man invasion!" And they are. They wreak havoc as they escape Germany, and nobody even ever stops them and asks them for their papers.

The only voice of reason in the film is Arthur Kennedy, who is young and cute and oh so very serious. He was the best part of the movie, and the only character I could relate to. He's a needs-of-the-many-outweigh-the-needs-of-the-few type of guy. He's Mr. Practical/Realistic. He's okay with their wounded comrade giving himself up to the Germans so the rest of them have a better chance to escape. Not Flynn, oh no, he must go rescue the poor chap, we don't leave our people behind, and all that. Arthur Kennedy likes to point out to Errol Flynn that there's more at stake, and Flynn likes to disparage him for Being Serious. They really do have some Serious discussions. Some viewers might think it bogs down the adventure, or that the dialogue's too tailored to get the home audience charging down to the recruitment office the next morning, but I liked whenever Kennedy and Flynn or Reagan butted heads over what it's all about. Brought a little balance to the film and gave me that more serious edge I was looking for.

Kennedy: "We haven't got the right to risk our getting back on side issues. Weigh the values."
Flynn: "That's what comes from having been a bookkeeper. You add everything up. Plus and minus. Then you stick in a decimal point and let it take all the fun out of life."
Kennedy: "Fun? I didn't get into this war for fun or adventure or because it was expected of me. I got in because it was a hard, dirty job that has to be done before I can go back to doing what I like. Before a hundred million other people can go back to doing what they like. It's no bright game to me."


At least Flynn has the good sense to admit a moment later he knows full well he's being reckless, and his logic makes sense to me. "I figure we have about one chance in 10,000 of ever getting out of here," he reasons. "If we are going to get knocked off, I just want to leave a couple of bouquets behind. To be remembered by, that's all."

I started liking his character more after that point. Sure, it may all be 1942 propaganda, but it works for me on a story/thematic level too.

The journey may not have been entirely desperate, but it was pretty suspenseful in places. I spent most of the film afraid Arthur Kennedy's character would get killed. The action in the last half is quite exciting. I really did dig that car chase. It was a good one. Maybe I just love watching those old cars and motorcycles tearing around on dirt roads. The Germans speak German with no subtitles, and I always love that. The actors are all good and look like they're having a grand old time. (Is Alan Hale ever NOT having a grand old time in any of his movies??) And for the fun factor, it doesn't get much better than Ronald Reagan, while being interrogated, pretending to cooperate and completely flamboozling Massey's character with some wonderful, made-up nonsense about how American planes can fly at high altitude. Priceless!

Guest blogging - Alfred Hitchcock

I'm guest blogging at Millie's lovely journal, Classic Forever, today! As August 13th would have been Alfred Hitchcock's 110th birthday, she's celebrating in fine style by having a series of posts on him, both by her and guest bloggers, during the month of August. My entry is on one of my favorite episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Be sure to check out her other Hitchcock posts, particularly this one, the first in her series. Millie always finds the most interesting photos of her subjects to share!

The essence of my favorite music

This is going to be a long post, and it's going to ramble on about my favorite film scores for awhile, so if that's not your thing, feel free to click on to something else!

Ever try picking a single favorite soundtrack cue for each of your favorite film composers? Yeah. I guess I felt like a challenge today. Trying to choose only one is a form of torture, sure enough, but there's also something satisfying about it. Interestingly, my favorite individual cues are not from my favorite score by that same composer.

I've never done this on my journal before, but I've seen other blogs do this, so where available, I've included a link to the music.

• Jerry Goldsmith - "Winter March" from Patton.

This one, amazingly enough, was relatively easy to choose. I think this has been my favorite single piece of music by him since I was in single-digits. Which, as Goldsmith is my favorite composer, also makes it my single favorite piece of music of all time. This cue, I believe, isn't even in the movie. I particularly love how it builds. I tried to find it online, but while the main theme from Patton is everywhere, I couldn't turn up this cue. Favorite score: The Wind and the Lion.

• Elmer Bernstein - "Main Title" from The Bridge at Remagen.

Gee, you think I have a thing for military scores? Yeah, you'd be right. This theme I heard for the first time when I watched the movie, and I was in love on the spot. A day rarely goes by when I don't play it. And yeah, I do have a thing for counterpoint too. And minor keys. This one was also fairly easy to select. Favorite score is Big Jake. And the only reason my favorite cue isn't also from Big Jake is because I couldn't choose only one cue.

Jump to 5:40 on this one for the theme... there were a couple versions of just the theme but I disliked the orchestration in them. This is the version I like.

• James Horner - "Genesis Countdown" from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Okay, Horner was damned near impossible to narrow down, but this cue features just about every element I love about Horner's music in one place, and it's been a favorite since I first saw the movie, so it's got longevity on its side! Horner's my go-to composer when I need an emotional fix. Favorite score is a toss-up between The Mask of Zorro and The Missing.

• Basil Poledouris - "Nuclear Scam" from The Hunt for Red October.

This one was mostly easy (though the Battle Montage from Farewell to the King was a serious contender). But this cue has everything. Although this is also one that I cannot divorce from the movie, not that that's bad, it just gives me a slightly different listening experience. Favorite score is Flesh + Blood.

• James Newton Howard - "Tarawa" from Snow Falling on Cedars.

Almost worse than Horner to narrow down to one cue. Couldn't decide between this cue or "Across the Desert" from Dinosaur or "The Hand of Fate" from Signs or several others. "Tarawa" won because I tend to beeline for it and it alone on its album, and because of the operatic quality of it. Favorite score is a toss up between King Kong and Dinosaur.

• John Williams - "Desert Chase" from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

This cue represents John Williams at his action-packed best. Also impossible to listen to without seeing (and hearing every sound effect) from the movie. But as it's my favorite scene in the film, I don't mind. Favorite score The Empire Strikes Back.

• Bruce Broughton - "Attempted Assassination/End Title" from Shadow Conspiracy.

This is one of those movies I refuse to see because I don't want the music ruined by images other than what's in my head, particularly the final cue. The main title is awesome too, but it's the final cue I play more than any others. Favorite score: True Women.

• Bernard Hermann - Main Title from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

There is so much fabulous Hermann music, but this theme was always so romantic and beautiful and transported me to adventurous places I wanted to go. If you mention his name, it's usually the first music I start singing in my head, even over Hitchcock scores, etc. Favorite score: Mysterious Island.

• John Barry - The Story Ends from Mercury Rising.

That distinctive quiet, pretty Barry style, but for some reason I particularly like this piece. I actually listen to this score a lot when I write, probably more than any other non-Bond Barry score, and I often put that last cue on repeat. Favorite score: You Only Live Twice.

• Miklos Rozsa - Main Title from Double Indemnity.

Because there is no way on living earth I could choose one favorite theme from Ben-Hur. Or any of a dozen other scores, all different flavors, that he's written, from noir to epic. I love the main title from Double Indemnity particularly grabs me, with that slow almost funereal opening that slowly speeds up. Favorite score: Ben-Hur.

• Frank deVol - "Gabriele's Death" from The Flight of the Phoenix.

This is one of those cues that never fails to make me tear up. Yeah, what's happening in the movie is sad, but that moment in the movie always got me because of the music, more than anything else. Favorite score: The Flight of the Phoenix. Hah! Finally got a match up of individual cue to favorite score!

• Maurice Jarre - Main Title from Island at the Top of the World.

This score isn't even available in any recording as far as I know. It's probably at the top of my want list for unreleased music. I've always loved the music from this movie, particularly the main title. Jarre is an interesting composer to me. He's got a unique sound, and I usually have to be in a slightly quirky mood to enjoy most his scores. Favorite score... don't laugh, but Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I fricking love that score. Almost wore my LP out, once upon a time. That and my LP of Shogun.

• Chris Young - Main Title from Jennifer 8

Ooh, this one always gives me shivers. So beautiful, so haunting. Favorite score: Jennifer 8.

Weekend roundup

I finished the final draft of my Combat! fanfiction story "In Little Stars" last week. Nice to have that one out of my brain, as it was started in January 2008, and it was emotionally taxing. It went through four drafts during that time, more than my usual for fanfic, ending up at nearly 18,000 words. But then I can rarely write short fanfic stories. My brain still prefers to work in "hour-long" episode formats when it can. I'm also glad this one's done because I have just two more fanfic stories left in me, and one's already done (first draft-completed during last year's nano), and the last story is two-thirds written. And that nicely leaves most of my free time available for the new novel.

The new novel is shifting, growing, even as I still work on chapter one. Hero's voice continues to elude me, but that's okay. With the overall growth it's doing, I'd rather keep everything fluid and open right now. I'm waiting for one more piece to click in place. When it does, I'll be ready to jump into it more firmly. But I've had that lovely bouncy excitement every day as I wait for work and daily commitments to end so I can work on it. I love that feeling!

On the movie front, watched Barbary Coast with Edward G. Robinson, Miriam Hopkins, and Joel McCrea. Meh. Not bad, not good. Just... meh. Edward G. was awesomely cool as ever (dig that earring), and Joel earnest and love-lost and spouting poetry while making horribly, terribly bad decisions. Walter Brennan adds suitable color and made me grin every time he appeared. Walter Brennan is just the best, he really is. When he gives the money he stole from Joel back to him, he's priceless! Brian Donlevy's lurking about as an oddly dressed thug... it's funny, I always think of him as a rather imposing man (a lot of that is his don't-mess-with-me attitude and the tough characters he plays), but you know, he isn't. Particularly next to Joel McCrea. Okay, that's not truly fair, cuz Joel makes most other actors look small, but still. Donlevy's still young and thin here too... and that outfit. Gadzooks, he needs to lose the unflattering, high-necked outfit. Really. Badly.

And now, to Nicole at Classic Hollywood Nerd, a very very HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY!!!! I enjoyed a slice of Stir-Crazy Cake this evening to celebrate! (A truly yummy cake, easy to make -- very highly recommended!) Hope your birthday is a fabulous one!

Joel McCrea in Barbary Coast, broad-shouldered and handsome, as always!

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

I'll admit, I am a complete sap and romantic (I think you have to be when you grow up on opera). I've got an unabashed love for melodrama too, and William Holden, of course, is my favorite actor. And so, you think I'd like this movie... and you'd be dead wrong. I absolutely could not wait for this snooze fest to end. If it wasn't for William Holden, I would have turned it off partway through, walked away, and not looked back. And this movie won 3 oscars and was up for quite a few more??

What did I like? The music (I've always loved that song, and I love Alfred Newman scores), and the Hong Kong scenery.

What did I not like? Everything else. The movie's premise was good, the dilemmas and conflicts good, it just absolutely failed for me. The dialog in particular was physically painful to listen to, very unnatural sounding, very forced, a lot of it poorly couched exposition. Blech and blech. I want to like Jennifer Jones, but each time I see a new film of hers, she just bugs me more. And unfortunately, this is her movie. She and William Holden had very little chemistry for me, and that also made the love story just not work. As much as I love him, he could not even begin to save this movie experience for me. What kept me watching was anticipating the end of the film, just because, with evil glee, I couldn't wait to see everything fall apart. How very unkind of me. Unfortunately, what I was hoping would happen, didn't. So even that disappointed me.

That's two hours wasted for which I'd like a refund, please.

(Oh, on a positive note, the DVD had a hour-long biography of William Holden on it. It's one I've seen before, on A&E or something, but it's been ages. Watching that made up for the movie, even if I did cry at the end of it.)

William Holden as a youngster, what a cutie!

The Cisco Kid vol. 2 (1947)

This disc contained three films: Riding the California Trail, Robin Hood of Monterey, and King of the Bandits. The first one was the best, but that's mostly because the last two changed format. Riding the California Trail technically belongs with the vol. 1 movies, where Cisco has his gang and the stunning Palomino horse, and Baby as his sidekick. In the last two films, there's no more gang, he's got a different Palomino (still beautiful, but not stunning like the other horse), and he's traded Baby in for Pancho. Granted, the latter is just about the same character with a different name, but we've changed actors yet again to do so, and this guy is written as even more of the comic relief than the last one.

The final two movies were still quite enjoyable for me, again, just to watch Gilbert Roland having so much fun. Robin Hood of Monterey had Evelyn Brent in it as a scheming money-hungry woman, which was quite cool. King of the Bandits had Gilbert Roland jumping off his cantering horse onto a moving stagecoach. I'm surprised, but glad they let him do his own stunt as it really makes it a cool scene. I kept expecting the camera to cut, but nope, it stayed with him in one nice shot all the way into the stagecoach's driver's seat. Gotta love that. Cisco was even more laid back in the latter two movies, doing even more wisecracking, some of it in Spanish, which I wish I understood. He's even got time to read poetry now. Actually, in all six films, we never actually see him commit any crimes. Makes me wonder how he actually got his name on all those wanted posters the local law enforcement keep getting a hold of.


Also watched Beneath the 12-Mile Reef this morning. Beautiful underwater cinematography, great Bernard Hermann score (and I know the main title so well, only I'm not sure from where. Maybe it was on one of the Bernard Hermann compilation records I had growing up? Must check.) Pedestrian plot (Romeo and Juliet... again? Do we hafta??) with a few nice moments, and a 2-minute change-of-heart ending that I just don't entirely buy. Gilbert Roland and Richard Boone made the movie for me... only neither were in it as much as I wanted, though both dominated the screen when they were there. And unfortunately, despite the movie description listing each as playing the head of rival sponge-diving families, they had one, one, scene together. And they were relatively nice to each other. Dude, that's just not fair. We're talking two tough screen hombres and... no head butting, no fireworks, no fist fights? Cheated!

Most of the movie revolves around Robert Wagner's character. It's funny, but I've never had much reaction to him in any of the films I've seen him in. I neither like nor dislike him. He's simply there. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him, and I thought he was perfectly fine in this movie, he's just overshadowed by the stronger, more charismatic personalities of Gilbert Roland and Richard Boone. Peter Graves is also in the film... he appears to have played quite a few unsavory characters in his youth, this one among them. I really wanted something bad to happen to him... alas, got cheated there too.

And for the moment, (pending how strong my willpower is) that ends my Gilbert Roland spree, so I can get back to more serious work on the novel.

(Cisco Kid vol.1 reviewed here.)

That wishy-washy feeling

So, started a new novel, currently titled The Traitor, a couple weeks ago. I was getting fair daily word counts in before vacation, and now need to get back in the groove and start making some steady progress.

Problem is, I've still got this Latin-flavored mood running rampant through my head right now (thanks to Gilbert Roland) and that doesn't jive with the original concept of the novel. Doesn't help either that I keep listening to scores like Horner's The Mask of Zorro, which is perpetuating Old California motifs and not letting me get into the right headspace.

And the bigger problem is that I have this incredible urge to write Cisco Kid fanfic right now. I can't help it! I've finished watching Vol. 2 of the Gilbert Roland Cisco Kid movies (reviews of those later), and I just adore him in this role. His Cisco is cocky and irreverant, and he handles everything that comes his way with easy self-confidence and my writerly brain just screams out to write him a story where that gets taken away. Where his happy little world of tequila and women and saving the day from unworthy villains crashes down around his shoulders. Because I desperately need him in a meatier story, where the villains aren't so eye-rollingly stupid and his sidekick isn't strictly comic relief.

Which, considering my novel starts with my hero's happy little world crashing down around his shoulders (well, duh!), these feelings should be satisfied by working on the new novel.

If I could get back working on it.

And that means getting my brain straightened out. I need to stop sitting at the piano and composing Spanish-flavored melodies. I need to return the Cisco Kid dvd to Netflix and stop watching Gilbert Roland movies and his really fun guest star appearances on Zorro on youtube. And I desperately need to stop hearing my hero's dialog in Gilbert Roland's accent. Or I need to embrace it and start hearing everyone else's lines that way too, LOL! -- there is that option, I guess. Hm.

And I find this current dilemma extremely vexing because it's so unsual for me. The voice of my hero is one of the first things I hear, it's one of the things that drives the creation of a book... and in this novel, despite the planning, despite the solid images in my head -- I can't hear him clearly. And it's driving me crazy. So, I'll just keep writing, cuz I know where the plot's going, and wait for him to find his own voice.

"Hey, little one, stop fighting it, eh?
I'd make a great hero in your novel."

Back from vacation

Had one of those amazing vacations I'm very sorry to see end, but end it did. Nothing stops time, alas. Spent most of the vacation hanging out in a rented house in North Carolina with a bunch of women friends (from as far away as Australia) who love the same television show (Combat!). We watched episodes, chatted, listened, goofed... I haven't laughed that hard in ages.

Thank goodness for great tv shows made in the '60s, and thank goodness for the internet for letting people with the same passions find each other. A better set of friends I couldn't ask for!