Author: The Hinoeuma
Flick Friday: George Washington, Jr. 1924
One hundred years, ago, today, the movie George Washington, Jr., was released. A black & white silent comedy film, it starred Wesley Barry, Gertrude Olmstead, Léon Bary, Heinie Conklin, Otis Harlan, William Courtright and Eddie Phillips. Based on the 1906 play by George M. Cohan, it was directed by Malcolm St. Clair, with the screenplay & story by Rex Taylor.
As described in a film magazine review, Count Gorfa, anarchist leader, steals the private records of a Senate Investigative Committee, the loss of which threatens the political fortunes of Senator Belgrave, whose daughter the Count wishes to wed. The Senator’s son, the young George Washington Belgrave and his friend Robert Lee Hopkins trail the anarchists. After many adventures and burlesques of historical fables, the documents are recovered and the Senator is saved.
A senator is trying to get his niece to marry a foreign count. The senator’s teenage son finds out that the count is not only a phony but, an international criminal. The boy sets out to break up the impending marriage, save his father from ruin and, his cousin from marrying a man she doesn’t love.
IMDb Storyline
George Belgrave is guided by George Washington’s principles of integrity and honesty. He exposes his cousin Dolly’s fiancé, Count Tyrola, to be a bogus count and an internationally sought criminal. [As] the leader of the Vassalini gang, [he] steals a secret treaty from George’s father, a United States senator. It is Tyrola’s intention to use the treaty to cause political strife in Bessarabia. George, his friend Bob, and Ham, the negro butler, subdue the Vassalini gang and, after recovering the treaty, lock them up. Tyrola’s treachery is revealed seconds before the wedding ceremony. George, to save his father embarrassment, tells his only lie in giving him credit for the whole “plan” to capture Tyrola. Cousin Dolly marries friend Bob.
This is a lost film. ~Vic
Trivia Bits:
♦ The original Broadway production of George Washington, Jr. opened at the Herald Square Theatre on February 12, 1906 and ran for 81 performances.
♦ The role of the servant Eton Ham was played by Conklin in blackface.
TCM: George Washington, Jr.
AFI: George Washington, Jr.
Exibitors Trade Review (Internet Archive)
Hell Is Freezing Over Day
This isn’t a National Day but, it is a recognized day…of some such celebration. I had to laugh when I saw this one. I like the weird and funky day observations. ~Vic
While we don’t know who created this cold holiday, it must have been someone who finally saw the unthinkable happen. All of us have used it multiple times in our lives. Hell freezing over has also been referenced in popular culture and is the name of the Eagles album that was released in 1994. In an interview, when one of the band members [Don Henley…1980] was asked when they will reunite again, after they announced their break, he said, “When hell freezes over…” implying that a reunion was highly unlikely. They did, however, get back together after a 14-year break and, thus, their second live album was named “Hell Freezes Over.” It was also used in a speech at the United Nations in 1962 by the late Adlai Stevenson ’22.
National Today
Every January 31st, hell freezes over. At least, that’s what Hell Is Freezing Over Day suggests. This holiday must have been created by someone who witnessed something they believed would never happen. After all, the phrase “when hell freezes over” is used to describe the improbability of an event occurring. It’s an idiom that originated in the 19th century and has remained popular well into the 21st century. [It] was first coined in Middle American English to describe an unlikely event. During this time, hell was depicted as one of the hottest places in the universe and a plane of reality that would remain hot for eternity. Thus, it would be seen as highly unlikely that it would ever freeze over. Now that we’ve explained the origins of this idiom, we decided to investigate and see if we could uncover the origins of this holiday. Unfortunately, that is just something we couldn’t accomplish.All that we know about this holiday is that it was created sometime after 2001. We still don’t know who invented it or why they did so. I guess we’ll uncover the entire history behind this holiday when hell freezes over.
Holidays Calendar
In honor of what are some of the coldest feeling days of the year for many people who live in northern places, Hell is Freezing Over Day is here so that everyone can share in the misery together. It’s true that it doesn’t always help to complain, because it certainly isn’t going to change anything but, sometimes it makes a difference to remember that no one is alone and everyone feels like hell is actually freezing over. So, get ready to enjoy the day as much as possible and celebrate the fact that winter won’t actually last forever!
Days Of The Year
Music Monday: Bedelia 1904
One hundred, twenty years ago, the Irish coon song serenade Bedelia was a number one song for the Haydn Quartet. According to TSort, this version of the song topped Billboard for eleven weeks. Written in 1903 by Jean Schwartz and William Jerome (Flannery), the song has been recorded many times by many singers.
Building songs around girls’ names has always been popular and this one may have been the most popular of this era. The sheet music bills the song as The Novelty Song of the Century and An Irish Coon Song Serenade. Coon songs were popular at the time but, steeped in racial stereotypes about African Americans. The song has more Irish influence than African American, so one assumes the publisher was trying to capitalize on the coon craze with the latter billing. The song was introduced by Blanche Ring playing the character of Liliandra in The Jersey Lily, which opened in September 1903. It was her first starring role on Broadway.
It is unclear who first recorded the song. Billy Murray [did a version that] went to #1. Considering his parents were Irish immigrants, it was fitting that Murray tackled the song, affecting a thick Irish accent to emphasize the song’s comedic nature. Murray’s was among four versions to chart in January 1904. It was quickly followed by a recording by the Haydn Quartet, which spent seven weeks at #1.
Throwback Thursday: Edward III 1327
Author: William Bruges (1375-1450)
Date: 1430 to 1440
Description: Illuminated Manuscript Miniature
Six hundred, ninety-seven years ago, today…
Edward III, also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 25, 1327, until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His fifty-year reign was one of the longest in English history and saw vital developments in legislation & government, in particular, the evolution of the English Parliament, as well as the ravages of the Black Death. He outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince and the throne passed to his grandson Richard II.
Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France and her lover Roger Mortimer. At the age of seventeen, he led a successful coup d’état against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland, he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne, starting the Hundred Years’ War. The first phase of the war […] would become known as the Edwardian War. Victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favorable Treaty of Brétigny […] and Edward renounced his claim to the French throne. Edward’s later years were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health.
Edward was born at Windsor Castle on November 13, 1312 and was described in a contemporary prophecy as “the boar that would come out of Windsor“.Wiki Summary
TV Tuesday: Middle Class Murder 1939
Published January 1, 1936
Eighty-five years, ago, today, the TV Movie Middle-Class Murder aired in the UK on the BBC. Written by Bruce Hamilton and Diana Hamilton, it was produced by Michael Barry. It starred Andrew Osborn (Tim Kennedy), D.A. Clarke-Smith, John Valentine, Grizelda Hervey, Marguerite Young (Esther Kennedy), Robert Rendel, Anthony Hawtrey, Pamela Sharp, Lawrence Hanray, Lewis Stringer, Roddy Hughes, John Turnbull & Paul Chesterton. Based on Bruce Hamilton’s novel of the same name, it is a lost film.
Tim Kennedy, a country dentist, has decided to get rid of Esther, his wife who, after an accident, has become an invalid. But, things are not as easy as it seems… Things will go very wrong indeed.
GoodReads Synopsis
POTD: August Sunset
This one isn’t mine. This was taken by my buddy, Ray. ~Vic
08-17-2020
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Picture of the Day
Flick Friday: The Heart Of Wetona 1919
One hundred, five years ago, today, the silent, adventure film The Heart Of Wetona was released. Directed by Sidney Franklin, it was written by Mary Murillo, basing it on a theatrical work by George Scarborough. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck, it starred Norma Talmadge (as Wetona), Fred Huntley, Thomas Meighan, Gladden James, F. A. Turner and Charles Edler.
“After the half-breed daughter of a Comanche Chief falls for a young engineer who deserts her, she turns to a white Indian agent who marries her.”
IMDb Short
“Wetona, the daughter of Indian Chief Quannah and a white mother, returns to her tribe after an education in a white school in the East, [only] to find herself torn between the two cultures of her heritage.”
IMDb Storyline
“The film tells the story of some Comanche Indians and their preparations for a Corn Dance. The father of Wetona finds out she loves a white man.
Wikipedia Plot
♦ Heart Of Wetona (World War One era song, sung by Wetona’s soldier)
Complete Movie
Music Monday: Victim Of Love (Eagles) 1976
For the New Year, I will be doing some blog-housekeeping. I have a tendency to stretch myself thin with headings and posts. I will be doing some consolidating. Song Sunday, News of the Day (NOTD) & Word of the Day (WOTD) are gone. I jettisoned some other headings about a year, ago. On to the show…~Vic
Returning to my Samsung playlist, submitted for your approval…
“Tell me your secrets, I’ll tell you mine…”
The second track, on side two, from the album Hotel California, Victim of Love was never released as a single. It was the B-Side to New Kid in Town, released December 7, 1976 and did get some airplay as an album track over the years.
By the time the Eagles reached the mid-1970s, they were on top of the world. They had been sorting their way through every rock trope they could think of and the album One of These Nights spawned three different singles. With success also comes pressure, though and the band had their backs against the wall when it came time to make Hotel California. When talking about making the concept for the album, Don Henley mentioned wanting to say something about the state of Hollywood, saying, “There’s a fine line between the American dream and the American nightmare.” The rest of the band were more than willing to comply, with Joe Walsh coming up with the original lick for Life in the Fast Lane on a whim.
Walsh had claimed to use the lick as a warm-up exercise but, it turned into its own piece once Glenn Frey got the title for the song. While guitarist Don Felder came up with the main chord progression for the title track, he had his sights on another song that he wrote for the album. Midway through recording, Felder said that he wanted to sing the track Victim of Love, which he claimed to have written by himself. As Henley remembers, what Felder presented the band with was just a collection of riffs, which was then turned into a song by Frey and J.D. Souther.
After one butchered take after the next, the band told Felder that it would be better if he didn’t sing the song, only for Felder to put his foot down. The band acquiesced and let Felder do his own take on the song but, they were also keeping a close eye on their manager as well. As the sessions were winding down, the band gave manager Irving Azoff a job…take Felder out to dinner while they re-recorded the entire track. When Felder found out that he was being erased from the song, he mentioned feeling betrayed…”It was like Don was taking that song from me. I had been promised a song on the next record.”
While Henley, to this day, disputes that there were no promises made to Felder, this started the dividing line between the band. As the touring got bigger and bigger, Felder started to get more resentful towards Frey and Henley for getting all of the songwriting royalties. By the time the band pulled into Long Beach for a benefit concert, Felder took it one step too far after making an off-handed remark to Senator Alan Cranston about the free show. Compared to the petty squabbling behind the scenes, there was audio taken of the infamous gig, which led to Frey and Felder threatening to kill each other onstage. When the house lights went out that night, Felder took his guitar, smashed it and drove off, never to be heard from again.
Once bassist Timothy B. Schmidt called Frey about the next rehearsals, he confirmed the worst. The band was history. The Eagles’ music may have reeked of California sunshine but, their final days ended with plotting, resentment and some of the worst drama a band could ask for.
Victim Of Love: The Song That Broke Up The Eagles
Tim Coffman
Far Out Magazine UK
February 12, 2023
♦The Treacherous Feud (Far Out Magazine UK/Arun Starkey/September 24, 2022)
After Christmas Batch 6.0
We have come to the end of the Christmas Countdown journey. I hope everyone enjoyed my posts. The very last house is noted as Reindeer Manor but, I don’t see any Reindeer. Oh, well. Have a grand New Year’s Eve and I will see you next year. ~Vic
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After Christmas Batch 5.0
One is really cool and the other one is hysterical. ~Vic
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12-16-2023
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After Christmas Batch 4.0
This one is not gingerbread but, it is interesting. The second one is another take on Barbie. ~Vic
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Click for a larger view.
After Christmas Batch 3.0
I’m not entirely sure that the Earth Globe thing is gingerbread. I think the gingerbread people are stuck into a styrofoam ball. If that is a gingerbread ball, I want to see the “ball” cake pan.
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