A Classless Act

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can't be bothered to attend the funeral of former President Gerald Ford.

It seems Reid would rather go on a South American junket. He left today, the day after Ford's death.

One would think that a certain level of maturity, common sense, and bipartisan good manners would be found in someone holding Reid's position. Those qualities are sadly absent here.

President Gerald R. Ford Dies at 93

Breaking news this evening...I link above to the Google News page on this story, which will be constantly updated.

Little House Music Lives On

A Vanderbilt University music professor is in the process of producing 10 CDs which will contain recordings of all 126 songs mentioned in Laura Ingalls Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE books.

Among the musicians helping on the project are the Grammy-winning Western group Riders in the Sky.

As Wilder fans know, music is an integral part of the books. Pa's fiddle and later Mary's organ hold great significance in the stories. (That said, I'm not sure what the linked article refers to when it says that a young Laura accompanied Pa while he played the fiddle...that appears to be a factual error in the article.)

THE LAURA INGALLS WILDER SONGBOOK, first published in 1968, is one of the treasures on my Wilder shelf. I enjoyed playing songs like "Highland Mary" on my flute when I was younger. How wonderful that someone is making recordings of the music that everyone can enjoy.

Tonight's Movie: Bachelor Mother (1939)

Though it's not precisely a "Christmas" movie, BACHELOR MOTHER's story takes place between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, which makes it perfect seasonal viewing.

BACHELOR MOTHER is one of my all-time favorite comedies. Ginger Rogers was never more beautiful or charming than she appeared in this picture. She plays Polly Parrish, a department store clerk who through a strange series of events finds herself caring for an abandoned baby, which is assumed by everyone to be hers. David Niven is the kind department store owner's son who falls in love with Polly and the baby, and the wonderful Charles Coburn plays Niven's father.

The plot is slightly risque for its day, with the incorrect assumptions made throughout the picture about the baby's parentage, but it's delightfully told. The baby is adorable, and there are few movie scenes funnier than Niven and Rogers pretending she can only speak Swedish when they meet his friends at a New Year's Eve dance. Rogers is chiefly known for her musical talents, but she was also one of the funniest women ever to grace the movies, and that scene in particular makes me laugh every time I see it.

BACHELOR MOTHER was filmed in black and white and runs 81 or 83 minutes, depending on the reference source. I should have timed it myself! :) It's available on VHS. It's also part of the Turner Classic Movies library.

Hopefully there will be a DVD release soon; the film certainly deserves it.

November 2010 Update: BACHELOR MOTHER is now available on DVD-R from the Warner Archive.

NORAD Santa Tracking

Merry Christmas to the wonderful folks at North American Aerospace Defense Command!

For over 50 years, NORAD has followed Santa's annual travel across the night skies. Even a blizzard can't keep the folks at NORAD from their important mission.

Click on the subject link to find out the latest news on Santa's journey.

Christmas Blessings

Happiest wishes for a very merry Christmas!!

Rudolph and Santa Restored

The original Rudolph and Santa puppets from 1964's RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, which resided in an attic for many years, have been restored and are on display in Atlanta.

I hope to one day visit these in the Smithsonian...which would be the ideal place for them to end up after their tour is completed.

Tonight's Movie: Remember the Night (1940)

I felt a real thrill of discovery this evening watching REMEMBER THE NIGHT. As a film fan, it's exciting to watch a movie for the very first time and realize that it's something extra-special. Directed by Mitchell Leisen from a wonderfully original script by the great Preston Sturges, REMEMBER THE NIGHT tells the story of a shoplifter who ends up spending Christmas at the home of the district attorney who is prosecuting her case. Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray portray the shoplifter and the D.A., four years before they costarred in the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY.

The story is improbable, yet it unfolds completely believably. I especially liked that Sturges didn't take any cheap shots in his script -- for instance, a lesser writer might have kept the shoplifter's background a secret from the D.A.'s mother, but everything is out in the open. As my husband commented, "That's good writing." The ending is optimistic but isn't unrealistically easy, either.

I've never been a Stanwyck fan, but I found her moving in this film; she is subdued and feminine, despite playing a shoplifter, without the brusque manner I find unappealing in some of her other performances. As for MacMurray, he was a revelation. I've seen him in a number of films over the years -- most recently in THE PRINCESS COMES ACROSS, reviewed here last July -- and found him enjoyable but not especially memorable. In this film he was a wonderful, romantic leading man, a true knight in shining armor. The movie gave me a whole new perspective on MacMurray.

The excellent supporting cast includes Beulah Bondi and Elizabeth Patterson -- two great character actresses -- and Sterling Holloway, better known to some as the voice of Winnie-the-Pooh.

REMEMBER THE NIGHT is available on video. It is also part of the Turner Classic Movies library. The movie is in black and white and runs 94 minutes.

Old Time Radio Experience recently posted an interesting piece on this film, which includes links to radio productions of the story.

Leonard Maltin writes in his CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE that the film is "Beautifully made...builds masterfully as it creates a very special mood." It does indeed.

Highly recommended.

November 2009 Update: REMEMBER THE NIGHT is now available on DVD from TCM.

2015 Update: REMEMBER THE NIGHT also had a release on Blu-ray but copies seem to be limited.

December 2015 Update: I had a wonderful experience seeing a 75th Anniversary screening hosted by the Academy.

Final Harry Potter Title Released Today...

...just the title, not the book!

If you want to know, go to JK Rowling's official website and follow these steps:

"Click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room — you'll see a window, a door and a mirror.

"In the mirror, you'll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. They click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a wreath appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you'll see a garland.

"Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman."

Alternatively, if you click on the subject link, the title is provided at the very end of the article.

Best Buy Changing for the Better?

Over the years I have avoided Best Buy as much as possible, due to a series of poor customer service experiences. There were a couple times in particular where the shelves were empty of a particular item and the sales guy shrugged his shoulders and offered no further help. I prefer to buy online or, in a pinch, my husband has kindly done the shopping there and dealt with the customer service know-nothings.

I was "forced" to return to Best Buy last October in search of a last-minute gift item, and I was amazed to have a salesperson approach me and offer his help. Not only that, but when the computer showed the item was in stock but it wasn't on the proper shelf, the clerk spent a good 10 minutes prowling the aisles until he found it. The improper shelving wasn't a good thing, but the salesperson's tenacity was, and I left that day happy. I don't think I'd ever had a Best Buy clerk offer his help before, let alone actually follow through and deliver.

Yesterday I again went in for a couple last-minute items there wouldn't be time to order. Once again, a salesperson asked if she could help me find what I needed. And the checkout clerk was so pleasant that my college-age daughter commented on his nice attitude with surprise. Friendliness is simply something we haven't experienced at Best Buy before this year.

Thus it was quite interesting to come aross an article in today's USA TODAY about the efforts Best Buy is making to provide better service, particularly to women. Where previously the store was designed as a loud "grab and go" environment with guys in mind, now "shoppers may notice a softer, more personal atmosphere. Music is quieter... Salespeople talk to customers..."

This contrasts with a business article I read about Best Buy a couple years ago, in which the store categorized customers as devils and angels, wanting to get rid of more casual browsers and bargain hunters, while focusing on tech-knowledgeable customers who would buy big ticket items. Obviously that rather rude and calculated approach didn't work for the store.

USA TODAY terms the recent changes the "feminization" of the store. While Best Buy's CEO also comments that "Women likely will notice and appreciate some of the changes more," it seems to me that this goes far beyond gender issues. This is about a company (finally) deciding that good customer service is a worthwhile investment.

And they're right.

Berger Hid Classified Documents Under Trailer

New details have come out about the methodology former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger used to steal classified documents from the National Archives.

Berger left the Archives with the classified documents and hid them under a nearby construction trailer. He later retrieved the documents and took them to his office, where most of them were destroyed.

Mr. Berger didn't go to jail for this because why again?

The documents probably contained information that made the Clinton Administration look bad. It would certainly be interesting to know what was in them.

Thursday Update: Scott Johnson of Power Line notes that the New York Times couldn't be bothered to cover this new development, instead simply running a wire service story.

Can you imagine what the coverage would be like were Berger a Republican?!

New on DVD: Walt Disney Treasures

At regular intervals over the last half-decade there have been new releases in a remarkable DVD series, WALT DISNEY TREASURES, hosted by Leonard Maltin. Each set contains Disney rareties, such as documentaries on DISNEYLAND USA or TOMORROWLAND, which mixed Imagineer Ward Kimball's programs on space with documentaries on Walt's futuristic designs for EPCOT. ON THE FRONT LINES featured Disney's WWII cartoons. The DVDs are packaged in special tins and typically have newly produced extras included along with the older material.

Among the sets our family has especially enjoyed are DISNEY RARETIES, which brought us cartoons such as PAUL BUNYAN, FERDINAND THE BULL, THE LITTLE HOUSE, and BEN AND ME, and SILLY SYMPHONIES which includes classics such as THE OLD MILL. (Disneyland's Storybook Land Canal Boats ride features the title mill, but we had never seen the cartoon until this DVD set.) My children have also loved spending time with SPIN AND MARTY, THE SWAMP FOX, and DAVY CROCKETT.

The sets are special in that they combine rarely seen "treasures" with entertainment enjoyed by the entire family.

This week sees the release of four new sets: YOUR HOST, WALT DISNEY (subject link), THE COMPLETE PLUTO, VOLUME 2, MORE SILLY SYMPHONIES, and THE HARDY BOYS. The DVDs, as described at Leonard Maltin's website Movie Crazy, sound wonderful, with commentary tracks and new featurettes among the extras.

My one complaint is redundancy: the Disneyland 10th Anniversary Show, included as part of YOUR HOST, WALT DISNEY, was included in the previously released DISNEYLAND USA set in 2001. It's a wonderful program, as Walt gives Disneyland Tour Guide Julie Reems a tour of the Imagineers at work, but I think it's reasonable to expect all-new material in each Disney Treasures set, not something we purchased five years ago.

Despite that one disappointment, I look forward to finding these under our Christmas tree. :)

For more info, please visit The Shelf.

Christmas Music: Perry Como

One of my early childhood memories is of Perry Como's smiling face staring out of an ornament on the cover of his record MERRY CHRISTMAS MUSIC. When I was about preschool age I had a little record player on which I played that album year-round. I especially loved his telling of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the song "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S."

I still love this album now. If you have one Perry Como Christmas album in your collection, that's the one to own.

Perry Como, of course, recorded other Christmas albums, and there have also been compilations released mixing and matching some of his Christmas songs. My collection has a number of Como CD's, including A PERRY COMO CHRISTMAS, GREATEST CHRISTMAS SONGS, CHRISTMAS WITH PERRY COMO and SEASON'S GREETINGS.

SEASON'S GREETINGS and A PERRY COMO CHRISTMAS contain Perry's rendition of "Home for the Holidays," which makes them particularly worthwhile. Another song I enjoy hearing Como sing, "No Christmas Like a Home Christmas," can be found on A PERRY COMO CHRISTMAS and GREATEST CHRISTMAS SONGS.

While I give my highest recommendation to MERRY CHRISTMAS MUSIC, any one of these albums are excellent choices to expand your Christmas music collection.

A Hero Goes Home

You won't be able to get through this story with dry eyes, but you should read it and contemplate the sacrifices made by so many of our nation's brave men and women. We owe all of them a great debt.

(Hat tip: Power Line.)

Is Mitt Romney Really a Conservative?

I have been skeptical of Mitt Romney's conservatism for some time now and have been unable to understand the adulation many conservatives feel for Romney. I suspect there is a bit of "Obama Syndrome" when it comes to Romney -- some party loyalists are anxious to rally around a personable candidate and see what they want to see when looking at Romney. Each party is looking for a fresh candidate who can snowball down the hill into victory, but I think both Romney and Obama are going to have some difficulty under closer scrutiny.

Byron York at National Review (subject link) takes up the subject of "recent revelations" about Romney's lack of conservative credentials. I think these aren't so much recent revelations as that people are finally taking a close look at Romney's history; I was sounding the alarm bell about Romney's very recent "conversion" to being pro-life back in August, and others have done the same. York, looking ahead to the primaries, concludes that "...it appears Romney has some serious repair work to do in South Carolina, and among social conservatives in general."

I don't know that the "repair work" can be done. I don't trust Romney to make sound judicial nominations, given his confused history of opinions on, among other things, abortion.

And a "conservative" who would disavow Ronald Reagan for political expediency, in an attempt to win office in Massachusetts, is not the candidate for me.

As a postscript, Newt Gingrich has different baggage of his own, but I'm starting to wonder if his strategy for 2008, described today at Captain's Quarters, might not be rather smart. Let the other candidates shoot at each other in the early going, and enter the competition later when some candidates are starting to fizzle out. If you set aside personal issues (unfortunately, Newt's not the only potential candidate with a checkered marital history), who emerges as the true conservative among, say, McCain, Giuliani, Romney, and Gingrich? That's an easy answer for me.

Barone on Obama

Michael Barone muses on Barack Obama, and concludes: "Obama has the ability to be a strong candidate. But it's not clear, perhaps not even to himself, whether he has the capacity to be a strong and effective president."

It will be interesting to see whether Obama Mania will be sustained long term or will fizzle out.

Monday Update: John Fund on "Why Barack Obama May Not Run."

Tonight's TV: Happy Holidays With Bing and Frank (1957)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS WITH BING AND FRANK is a wonderful 25 minutes of Christmas music. This 1957 TV special, in which Bing comes to Frank's for a Christmas meal, has snippets of dialogue that are a little hokey, but the show is wonderfully "retro" in appearance, and you can't beat the almost nonstop singing of the two great masters of 20th Century popular music.

Old Time Radio Experience recently had a nice post on this program.

This special is available on DVD (see subject link). Extras include a commentary track (the late Bill Miller, Frank's longtime pianist, is one of the commentary participants) and video of a Museum of TV and Radio panel discussion about the show with Frank's daughters.

Potential buyers should be aware that the run times on the box (90 minutes) and at Amazon (60 minutes) are incorrect. The program itself is 25 minutes long. Perhaps they were including some of the extras in the running time, which isn't standard practice.

Regardless of running time, this is a show that really adds to the Christmas mood, and fans of Crosby and Sinatra, in particular, will want it in their DVD collection for annual viewing.

The Wonderful Life of a Bailey Son

Jimmy Hawkins, who at age four played little Tommy Bailey in the 1946 film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, has written a children's book inspired by the movie.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE FOR KIDS! presents a story about Hawkins' character, Tommy.

Hawkins was recently interviewed (see subject link) and says he stays in close touch with his film siblings, played by Larry Simms, Carol Coombs, and Karolyn Grimes.

A 60th Anniversary DVD of the movie was recently released. Extras include documentary featurettes.

Thomas Sowell: "Judges Who Ignore the Law"

Thomas Sowell dissects Justice Stephen Breyer's recent claim that laws are "not clear," so judges must base their verdicts on "values" rather than the plain words in front of them.

He concludes: "It is shameless sophistry. But they are not going to stop until they get stopped. And the only way to stop them is to start impeaching those judges who go counter to the law.

"There will of course be outcries about a threat to an 'independent judiciary.' But the judiciary is not supposed to be independent of the laws, which is the dangerous situation today."

Tonight's Movie: A Christmas Carol (2004)

Tonight we enjoyed the 2004 TV musical production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL starring Kelsey Grammer as Ebenezer Scrooge.

While not the most moving or sumptuous production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL made thus far -- that honor, in my book, goes to the 1984 TV production starring George C. Scott -- this version is engaging on its own terms. Grammer is entertaining as the infamous crank whose life is changed one Christmas Eve. The film has a pleasant score and a solid supporting cast including Jane Krakowski, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Geraldine Chaplin. I particularly enjoyed Jesse L. Martin of LAW AND ORDER as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley.

If you're looking for a new version of a familiar classic to enjoy during the holiday season, this movie nicely fills the bill.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL runs 97 minutes. It is available on DVD. Additionally, the soundtrack is available on CD.