Still relevant, sixty years later

The Fat and the Thin (1961)
Starring: Roman Polanski and André Katelbach
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A scrawny slave (Polanski) labors to keep his slovenly, obese master (Katelbach) happy... until one day, he decides to escape to the promise of a better life in the city. His master, however, has a plan to keep him obedient and trapped...

Great works of art continue to feel relevant decades and centuries after they were made. The relevancy may or may not relate to the circumstances under which the work was created, nor the message the creator was trying to convey, but the fact that it speaks loudly to future generations and continues to feel fresh is the hallmark of an artistic masterpiece.

"The Fat and the Thin", one of the first works Roman Polanski completed after leaving his homeland of Poland for France. Sixty years after its release, this feels like it could have been made yesterday. The events of this absurdist silent comedy can be taken as an allegory for several different social conditions, most of which originate with power structures and how they can be abused. (One can even see the film as a statement about commercial 

As with all short films from the dawn of Polanski's career, "The Fat and the Thin" is a silent movie, and one so well-executed that no dialog would even be needed if it wasn't, nor were any intertitles required. Everything the audience needs to know is communicated by the actions of the characters on the screen. The only problem with this film is that it drags a little close to the halfway mark. I understand that Polanski was trying to drive home the sense of drudgery and boredom that slave felt, but he was perhaps just a little too effective... or maybe not effective enough. Regardless, the film could have benefitted from some trimming in the middle. 

 But why don't you take a look at the film for yourself by clicking below? Watching this true classic from one of the 20th century's best filmmakers is well worth it; maybe you can even leave a comment below with a few words about whether or not you think "The Fat and the Thin" still has relevance today, and why.

Musical Monday with Leo Moracchioli

 It's been a while since we last visited with the great Leo Moracchioli... but his cover of "In the Air Tonight" reminds us that we really should bring him around more often!

Bones Coffee: Sinn-O-Bun Blend

It's time for another coffee review--because the world has been waiting with bated breath to learn how I'm feeding my caffeine addiction!

Drink Coffee! It's Fashionable!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: SINN-O-BUN

Sinn-O-Bun is another one of the many 4-oz. sampler packs I ordered with making this series of posts while feeding my caffeine addiction in mind. The gimmicky name and skeleton-themed drawing on the packaging.

The ground coffee had cinnamon bun aroma I would expect from the name, and a similar pleasing smell was evident as the coffee brewed. It was off to the promising start of other Bones Coffee releases I've tried. In the end, though, this turned out to be my This is my least favorite of their blends so far.

The blend basically does what the name brings to mind: If you dip a cinnamon roll in coffee and take a bite, that's what a hot cup of this coffee tastes like. Adding some milk (or in my case, almond milk) to your cup brings out the flavor even stronger. Unfortunately, the taste is as if you were dipping a stale cinnamon roll rather than a fresh one. That puts damper on the experience.

Unsurprisingly, this sweet-tasting blend works well iced, especially with a bit of almond milk added. Curiously, there seems to be a salty aftertaste that isn't there when you drink it hot, and it gets stronger as you sip the coffee. For this reason, you want to consume iced Sinn-O-Bun in small doses. (I thought that maybe I'd mixed up blends, or had not rinsed or washed the pot and cup properly between review samplings, and that I wasn't drinking Sinn-O-Bun at all or had perhaps "tainted" the brew somehow... but a second brewing brought the same shift in flavor between the hot and cold coffee. I don't think I've ever encountered something like this before--although the enhanced bacon flavor when drinking the Maple Bacon blend is similar, I suppose.)

Sinn-O-Bun is probably my least favorite of the Bones Coffee Company blends I've had so far; it's not one I'm likely to try again. That said, if you like cinnamon in general and cinnamon buns in particular, I think you'll enjoy it... just be sure you drink it hot. (I am giving a 4-oz. sample pack to a friend who's CRAZY about cinnamon to get her opinion on the Sinn-O-Bun blend. If she has anything to say that changes my recommendation, I'll provide an update in a future post.)

The Avengers Dossier, Page Seventeen

Here's a look at one of the many talented guest-stars who appeared in episodes of "The Avengers".

LIZ FRASER

In "The Girl From Auntie", Liz Fraser is Georgie Price-Jones, an actress hired by a shadowy organization to pretend to be Mrs. Peel. 

Born in 1930, Liz Fraser began her acting career as part of a touring theatre company in the early 1950s. In 1955, she was part of history when she appeared in commercial television's first live play, "The Geranium" on ITV. From that point forward, most of her work-life was split between the television screen and the big screen.

Fraser's early career was spent mostly playing blondes busty blondes with low IQs. She is best remembered for her roles in the entries in the "Carry On...", "Adventures of..." and "Confessions of..." comedy film series during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1970, she was also regularly spotted as one of the sexy ladies who would either chase, or be chased by, the star of "The Benny Hill Show."

As the 1970s drew to a close, Fraser made a hard push to leave the ditzy blonde she had been typecast as behind, and, her skills as a dramatic actress finally came to be appreciated. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, she balanced dramatic character roles with comedic parts, primarily on television but also increasingly on stage.

By the early 1990s, investments in stocks and rental properties had led to Fraser being financially comfortable to the point where she became very selective in the roles she accepted, and by 2000, she had all but retired from acting and public life. She continued to act, however, with her final role being in an episode of the long-running police procedural television series "Midsomer Murders".

Fraser passed away in 2018 at the age of 88.

Felix turns babysitter with predictable results

Felix Minds the Kid (1922)
Director: Otto Messinger
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

The world's most irresponsible father asks Felix the Cat to watch his baby.

"Felix Minds the Kid" is a fun bit of nonsense from beginning to end. It gets a little too nonsensical at one point for me, but not disastrously so. It's also one of those shorts where if I say too much about it, I will ruin the fun of watching it. I'll just make the comment that anyone who asks a stray cat (even one that can talk and use tools) may be the worst parent ever. It's both funny and troubling. 

One nice thing about this cartoon is that while Felix generally tends to be a bit of a trickster and a troublemaker and almost 100 percent self-centered, here he does seem to be genuinely concerned about the baby's well-being. Sure--he's going to get rewarded or punished depending on how successful his babysitting efforts are, but he goes beyond the call of duty more than once here. 

Without spoiling the cartoon, I think I can mention that one of my favorite bits in the cartoon is how all human babies look alike to Felix; sort of like how a litter of black kittens look alike to humans. My least favorite parts involve gags that make me think no one who worked on this production know why some inflated balloons float in the air.

With that said, I highly recommend you bring a little joy into your life by checking out Felix's turn at baby sitting. I am embedding a version of it that can be found on YouTube, below. However, the image is so degraded, washed out and blurry that you'll barely be able to follow what's going. This is the case for all the YouTube uploads I looked at... because they all seem to be taken from the same source.

A much better source for watching "Felix Minds the Kid" would be "Felix the Cat: Early Cartoon Classics" from Alpha Video. The version on this disc is in much better shape than the one you might find on YouTube, and it's one of ten Felix episodes contained on it. So far, each one that I've watched on the disc has been in better shape than any of the versions I could find on line, since they were digitized from the personal collection of film preservationist John Carpenter. I think this collection is more than a bargain at the asking price 

  

Roman Wives #3: Emmanuelle Seigner

 Emmanuelle Seigner was born in Paris in 1966, the daughter of a journalist and an internationally renowned photographer. She began modeling at the age of 14, landed her first film roles soon afterwards.

By the age of 20, Seigner was beginning to climb the ladder to international stardom, having appeared in a few French dramas and playing teenaged characters younger than her actual age.

In 1988, she was cast opposite Harrison Ford in the Roman Polanski-directed thriller "Frantic", and it was while working on this film that the two fell in love. Within a year, they were married--despite Polanski being 33 years her senior. (Once again, Polanski was robbing the cradle...)

While Seinger has maintained a thriving film career separate from her husband, the pair's relationship has been fruitful on both the romantic and professional front. Seinger starred in some of Polanski's most successful and/or acclaimed films--such as "Venus in Furs" (2013), "The Ninth Gate" (1999), "Bitter Moon" (1992), and the aforementioned "Frantic" (1988).

The couple have been together almost 33 years now--their wedding anniversary is on August 30--and they have two, now-grown, children together. By all accounts, they remain as in love with each other as they were when the first met. Seigner recently demonstrated her fierce loyalty to  her husband when she publicly condemned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts as hypocrites when they expelled Polanski as a member in 2018 while they band-wagonned with the "#MeToo" movement. (She also very publicly turned down their invitation to join the organization.)

Seigner and Polanski make their home in France, out of reach of U.S. law enforcement who still seek to imprison him because of his rape conviction. Seigner acknowledges that Polanski was found guilty of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, but she says that, to her, he has always been a wonderful husband and a great father to their children.

This post was part of the Shades of Gray Roman Polanski Month.

'Mammals' is Polanski's tribute to by-gone era

Mammals (1962)
Starring: Henryk Kluba, Michal Zolnierkiewicza, and Voytek Frykowski
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Two weirdos (Kluba and Zolnierkiewicza) take turns pulling each other on a sled across a frozen wasteland... until fatigue sets in and tempers start to flare.

"Mammals" was Roman Polanski's final short film before his career as a professional writer/director launched in earnest. Like all his shorts, it is a silent movie, as Polanski reportedly believed that dialogue would distract from important story points in a short film. Unlike the previous ones, this one is a straight-up homage to the comedy shorts of the 1910s and 1920s, with weird characters engaging in even weirder antics for inscrutable reasons.

There really isn't much of a plot here--the film is a string of loosely connected gags, some of which play amusingly with the white-out effect created by filming in black-and-white on a sunlit snowfield--but, like its main characters, the film is constantly in motion and there's not a dull second during its 10-minute running time. As a pastiche/homage to early film comedies, it's excellent... as a short film, I wish there had been a bit more of a through-line to tie the action together.

My desire for a little more story mixed in with the absurdity aside, "Mammals" is another clear demonstration of Polanski's raw talent for filmmaking, one which he would hone to unquestionable greatness as the decades progressed. (It's too bad he seems to be a terrible human being.)

Take a look at "Mammals" by clicking below. Feel free to let me and world know your take on it in the comments section.

Musical Monday with The Kooks

The Kooks are a British indie rock band who's been around since ca. 2004, with Luke Pritchard and Hugh Harris being the group's lead performers, and only remaining founding members. Pritchard is also the primary lyricist and composer for all the band's songs.

Today's offering is a song and an amusing and sexy video in support of their 2014 album "Listen".

Interestingly, there was a Swedish band that also went by the name of The Kooks and also played indie rock. They broke up in 2002, however, so that could be why no one's gotten sued? 

Bones Coffee's French Vanilla

It's time for another review of a flavored coffee blend. This time, I'm trying their version of a classic -- French Vanilla.

It's a French Hottie with French Vanilla Coffee!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: FRENCH VANILLA

French Vanilla is a go-to flavor around here; it's a rare and unhappy day that there isn't a bottle of sugar-free French Vanilla creamer in the fridge. Since coffee with some stripe and degree of vanilla flavor added is my go-to, ordering the Bones Coffee French Vanilla blend was a no-brainer. I've tried similar blends from other companies and they've ranged from "that wasn't just a straight medium roast?" to "meh... there was some vanilla there, but what's with the stale taste when I literally just made it?". 

The only blend French Vanilla blend I recall being any good was the one from Seattle's Best Coffee, but I'm assuming its long gone, having been absorbed with its maker into Starbucks and the land of bitter-tasting coffee. So... how did the Bones French Vanilla blend stack up to my memory of a coffee from over a decade ago?

Quite nicely, in fact. 

This review is based on a 4-oz. pre-ground beans, and the coffee was brewed in a drip coffeemaker. This blend has as its basis medium-roasted beans, which I imagine surprises no one reading this. 

As the coffee brewed, I didn't notice anything other than the aroma of coffee coming from the pot, and it wasn't anything beyond what I usually experience or expect--there was no scent of vanilla wafting down the hall into my office as has happened with some previous Bones products (like the Jingle Bells blend, for example). Once poured into my mug, however, I noticed a very vanilla aroma--and when I took a few sips, the coffee was very smooth and the vanilla taste was pleasing and noticeable. If you're the sort of person who likes your coffee black with perhaps just a little sugar or milk in it, I think you wouldn't mind starting your day or ending your dinner with a cut of this. As for myself, I could have continued drinking it straight, but it became far more enjoyable after I added some unsweetened almond milk. When I tried it with a unsweetened almond milk and a dash of sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream coffee creamer, I liked it even more; the vanilla flavor seemed to be slightly enhanced in both cases.

Iced, the French Vanilla blend was smooth and sweet enough that I could drink a cup without feeling like it needed any milk or creamer. The vanilla flavor wasn't as detectable as it was when this coffee was consumed hot, but it came out more clearly when I added unsweetened almond milk.

This is another Bones Coffee blend that I recommend to you wholly and without qualification.

Future high school graduation test leaked!

Oregon recently eliminated any standards for what a high school student needs to know in order to get a diploma until 2022. Shades of Gray has obtained a draft copy of the new standardized test that will be given to all high school students in the state starting with 2022.

(Okay... so that's not the actual test that high school students will have to pass to graduate in Oregon in the future. It's a page of cartoons from 1985 by Ward Batty that was originally published under the heading "Games for the Simple." The reality is that the test will probably be even easier.)

In observation of National Potato Day...

... we present Marilyn Monroe posing with a sack of potatoes while she wears a potato sack.

The Avengers: The Thirteenth Hole

The Thirteenth Hole (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Patrick Allen, Victor Maddern, and Francis Matthews
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

When a government agent is murdered, John Steed (Mcnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are charged with bringing the guilty parties to justice. Their investigation leads them to an exclusive golf club where a traitor is passing state secrets to the Soviets.

"The Thirteenth Hole" is one of the weaker episodes in Season Four, if not the weakest. The problems are many and severe, and they all originate with the sloppy script.

First, the scheme of the bad guys is complex to the point of ridiculousness. Although I sit down expecting an over-the-top espionage or criminal conspiracy yarn that sometimes is only believable or sensible in the pulp-fictiony, cartoonish universe in which the Avengers exist, what I got in this episode was so over the top that it didn't even work as a spoof of the 1960s spy movies where bad guys had elaborate secret hideouts in the weirdest places. Maybe I could have been more forgiving if the script had been better.

Second. something needed better editing here, be it the script or the final product. The story just doesn't hold together, even by the sometimes fast-and-loose logical standards of "The Avengers". This is mostly because characters who seem significant are introduced, only to vanish without further development or explanation, but it occurs to me that maybe that wouldn't have bothered me so much if the characters that do stick around were more interesting. No one seems particularly menacing or amusing... even some comedic antics by Steed on the golf course fall flat.

One saving grace of the episode is that director Roy Ward Baker kept things moving as quickly as possible--perhaps a little too quickly, as touch on above--but that still doesn't make up for the lameness of the characters and the writing in general. Second, there's a gun that fires golf balls' I really like this idea, and it was perfect for causing "accidental deaths" on a golf course. (Well, except for when the dimwitted bad guys star shooting people with it after the course is closed and in the middle of the night.)

All in all, a disappointing outing for the Avengers.... but they can't all be good when you're on the grueling schedule of episodic television.

It's Roman Polanski's birthday!

Roman Polanski--the celebrated writer, director, convicted child rapist, and fugitive from justice--turns 88 years old today.

And to close out this birthday observation, here's Mr. Polanski's theme song.

A fine silent movie with a timeless message

Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958)
Starring: Jakub Goldberga, Henryk Cluba, Barbara Lass, Stanislaw Milchalski, and Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A strange pair of men emerge from the sea (Goldberga and Cluba), carrying a wardrobe. They try to get along with the people on land, but are rejected everywhere they go.

"Two Men and a Wardrobe" is a story that's equal parts amusing, sad, and infuriating. It also features a heavy dose of surreal fantasy in the form of our mysterious protagonists--the men and the wardrobe of the title--but the magic and joy that seems like it's trying to emerge in the film is, instead, crushed over and over by the vicious or indifferent citizens of the seaside town. The men are either rejected for their strangeness or outright abused. The only ray of positivity that remains by the end of the film is that the men from the sea that not had their kind natures blunted by the abusive townsfolk... but it's a nonetheless bittersweet conclusion, because the town will not benefit from it.

The message of "Two Men and a Wardrobe" isn't delivered in a subtle fashion, but it is still entertaining and clever. It's also a timeless message that is just as worth taking to heart and paying attention to--it's worthwhile to be attentive and considerate of immigrants or visitors who find themselves in a strange land or culture where they don't understand the "rules". If no one is willing to take the time to engage with them and explain what they are doing wrong or how they might be able to fit in, whatever contributions those individuals might be able to make will be lost. 

This is an early film from writer/director Roman Polanski that's well-worth the 15 minutes it will take to watch it. There are a few badly executed edits (exclusively involving the scenes by the seashore), but otherwise it's an effective and entertaining silent film 

 

  

Musical Monday with Julie Newmar

Today, Julie Newmar turns 88 years old. Although she is best known these days for her turn as Catwoman in the 1960s TV show "Batman", her road to stardom began the the theatre as a dancer and a singer in the 1950s and early 1960s.

And so, in observation of Musical Monday, and in honor of Newmar's birthday, we bring you samples of how she was early in her pre-Batman career via clips from televised variety shows, as well as pictures!

And here's Newmar delivering the weather report with Danny Kaye and Harold Morris...

Felix fights because Feline Lives Matter

Felix Revolts (1923)

Director: Otto Messmer

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

After the mayor and the city council resolves cats are useless and decides to drive all cats out of a city, Felix organizes his fellow felines to fight back.

"Felix Revolts" is a silent animated short film that has stood the test of time. The plot line feels like it mirrors the "social justice movements" that have been sweeping across western nations in recent years. It even captures the stupidity of extreme positions, with a "happy ending" that is the status quo that existed before the beginning of the cartoon is put in writing.

All that said, this cartoon is one of those that both adults and little kids can enjoy, perhaps even taking away different stories from what unfolds on the screen--but certainly taking away different lessons from the results. The best sequences are enjoyable no matter how old, mature, or immature the viewer is, and they all revolve around Felix organizing the cats, and, subsequently their normal enemies the rats, to squeeze the humans. My adult, logical mind couldn't help but wonder what a horrible place that city must be to live in--and how dumb the human population must be--but the kid in me is vastly amused by the protests Felix stages.

I might have given this a rating of Eight Stars if it had just been a couple minutes shorter. There's a sequence involving Felix sabotaging a seafood shop that is so nonsensical that it crosses the line from absurdism to just plain stupid. Since it was Felix's abuse at the hands of the fish-monger that triggered the events of the story, it makes sense that the character and his shop are among the targets the cats go after, but the way it's executed is just dumb. It's not funny, it's not dramatic... it just feels like time-filling nonsense.

Animation-wise, there's nothing particularly outstanding or bad about "Felix Revolts" in comparison to other films from the time, as well as other Felix films. It's cute and it gets the job done--although I could nitpick a couple points for what looks like excessive looping but they're funny so I can be forgiving.

"Felix Revolts" is one of ten early Felix the Cat cartoons contained on Alpha Video's "Felix the Cat: Early Cartoon Classics". The version featured was digitized from a copy held in the personal collection film historian and preservationist John Carpenter, and, although it's a little washed out, it's in far better shape that the ones you can find on YouTube (such as the one embedded below).

If you're not familiar with Felix's antics, and you enjoyed the sample above, I strongly recommend ordering yourself a copy of the Alpha Video collection. The price certainly is one that can't be beat, and your financial support will encourage the making of more such collections.

As Friday the 13th comes to a close....

The Avengers Dossier, Page Sixteen

It's time for another look at a guest-star from an episode of "The Avengers".

BILL FRASER
In "Small Game for Big Hunters", Bill Fraser plays a reclusive retired Army officer whose charitable research foundation may be the center of something truly evil.

Scottish-born William "Bill" Fraser was born in Perth in 1908. He trained to be a bank clerk, but by his late teens he had grown so miserable and bored that he headed off to London in pursuit of a dream of becoming an actor. His early years there were lean--so lean, in fact, that he often would have to sleep out-of-doors on Embankment by the Thames. By sticking  to it, however, he eventually found success as a comedic actor on stage and just before World War II began appearing in movies as either bumbling or sinister police detectives and other authority figures.

Fraser's acting career spanned from the 1920s through the 1980s, and, although he did most of it on stage, he still had more than 130 roles in both film and television, including lead roles in the television series "The Army Game" (1959-1960), "Foreign Affairs" (1950), and "Bootsie and Snudge" (1960 - 1974). He also had a recurring role as an obnoxious judge on "Rumpole of the Old Bailey" (1978 - 1987).

Fraser also ran his own repertory theater company, and he gave Peter Cushing his first acting job while  working as a stage manager at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This, in turn, led to Cushing getting a scholarship to attend the school... and the rest is horror and sci-fi movie history.

Fraser's final role was in as Mr. Casby in the 1987 screen adaptation of the classic novel "Little Dorit". He passed away later that year.

It's Friday the 13th...

... but we're not afraid or superstitious here at Shades of Gray! Well... David Manners and Adrienne Ames are a little afraid...

... but only because the rest of us are doing this:

The Jane Birkin Quarterly

It's summer, it's hot. We should all do what Jane Birkin is getting ready to do: Lay around in a hammock, wearing just enough to not get arrested.

Circumstances may be such that isn't an option, though. Then, you can play with the kids in the pool. 

That way, they'll be tired, they'll go to sleep early... and you'll have some quiet time with the hubby (or to just lounge about in that aforementioned hammock)!

Roman Wives #2: Sharon Tate

Born in 1943, Sharon Tate's early life was that of a nomadic U.S. Army Brat. While her father was stationed in Italy, she began modeling and landed some work as an extra in Italian movies. This led to her being signed to a seven-year contract with the Filmways production company in the early 1960s. After giving her some practice as a recurring character on "The Beverly Hillbillies" television series from 1963 to 1965, Filmways began giving her larger parts in films, and her star rose swiftly.

In 1967, Tate met Roman Polanski while working on the horror comedy "Fearless Vampire Killers"; Polanski was both the film's director and one of her co-stars. They dated briefly and got married in London in January of 1968.

Horrific tragedy struck in August of 1969 when Sharon Tate was murdered by the psychopathic cohorts of Charles Manson. A collateral victim of her murder was her unborn son, as she was eight months pregnant at the time. Polanski has stated that the slaying of his second wife turned his worldview from one of boundless optimism to eternal pessimism.

--

This post was part of the Shades of Gray Roman Polanski Month.

Irony and twists abound in "The Lamp"

The Lamp (1959)

Starring: K. Romanowski
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A dollmaker (Romanowski) modernizes his shop with unfortunate results.

"The Lamp" was made by future super-star director Roman Polanski when he was still in film school. It is one of his first films that use sound... and it does so with varying success. It's still basically a silent movie, but it uses sound effects to note the passage of time, as well as the power of electricity when the dollmaker's shop is wired for such.

The reason to watch this film is for the creative cinematography and lighting that infuses a great level of spookiness into the elderly dollmaker and his shop, as well as the creepiest anthromophication of an old-school fuse box you're ever likely to see. The film is further elevated by the way it plays with the audience's expectations, and, finally, by an ending that's ironic on many different levels. Polanski's takent for filmmaking is on full display, even in this very early work.

Check out "The Lamp", below. I think you'll find it well worth a few minutes of your time.

(On a purely personal note, I found myself struggling to not interpret this film in light of Polanski's predilection for wanting to control and have sex with young girls. It adds new levels of possible meaning to the film, some of them really disturbing, some of them showing more self-reflection that I imagine a sick person like Polanski is capable of. It can be hard to separate the art from the artist...)

Musical Monday With The Interrupters

We interrupt your Monday to bring you the Interrupters, a four-piece ska band that's been playing and touring since 2011. "She's Kerosene" is from their 2018 album "Fight the Good Fight" and it's their greatest hit so far. This is their second appearance here at Shades of Gray.

Watch the video. Get pumped for the week that lies ahead.

Ska makes everything better. We now return you to your regularly scheduled week.

The Dude Would Name This as His Favorite...

This was among the first of the blends I ordered from Florida-based Bones Coffee Company, because I was amused by the artwork and obvious callback to "The Big Lebowski". It turns out that it ranks among my favorite so far.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: WHITE RUSSIAN

Bones Coffee's White Russian blend is another one of their flavored medium roasts that's just as tasty as its novelty packaging is amusing.

In preparation for this review, I first educated myself on what a White Russian is supposed to taste like. My liquor of choice happens to be vodka, and I am as enamored with flavored vodkas I am with flavored coffee. And like coffee, I rarely drink my vodka straight, even the flavored kinds; I tend to make mixed drinks with milk, fruit juices, or soda.

With that said, why would I need to educate myself on what a White Russian is supposed to taste like? Well, because my idea of a "White Russian" for years was vodka and milk over ice while a "Black Russian" was vodka and chocolate milk--which is what I did for myself at home. As you can tell, there's been a key component missing, namely Kahlua.

In preparation for this review, I got a bottle of Kahlua and mixed and drank a range of White Russians, using different milks and creamers and even matching the shade of the White Russian cocktails consumed by the Dude himself. 

Because I am all about self-sacrifice and going the extra mile for my readers. You take the trouble of clicking through to the blog and reading the posts, so I put as much effort into making them as humanly possible... including the sloshed on cocktails and buzzed on flavored coffee!

So--White Russian from Bones Coffee Company. Good or bad?

I say very, very good. 

While brewing, I didn't really notice any particular aroma beyond what usually issues forth from my drip coffee maker as it worked its magic. From the first sip of the White Russian coffee blend--as it had been poured into my mug--the flavor of the Dude's favorite cocktail was on my tongue. When I added a little unsweetened almond milk to the coffee, the flavor of the liquor and the edge of vodka popped even stronger. The blend captures the taste and sensation of White Russians perfectly, and it gets better if a little milk or creamer is added.  

The White Russian flavor remains strong and intact when this brew is consumed iced. This makes it even more satisfying, because that is how the cocktail the blend emulates is consumed. I recommend this highly to anyone who likes flavored coffees, and who might want to start their day with a White Russian but doesn't want to start the day intoxicated.

Can Bolshoi Ballerinas Binge Coffee? 'Course!

One thing I SHOULD have done in the course of this review was seeing what happened if I added vodka to a cup of this blend. I have a bottle of chocolate-flavored vodka in the freezer, and I think it would mix wonderfully with this blend of coffee. But, by the time I had this thought, I'd finished off all of the White Russian blend. Down the road, I will have to get some more and do some experiments. I will provide updates here when I do.

Early Disney version of 'Cinderella' disappoints

There's a new version of "Cinderella" debuting on Amazon Prime on September 3. To prepare, we're watching and reviewing some of the more obscure versions of the tale from yester-year. This time, it's an early effort from Walt Disney!

Cinderella (1922)
Director: Walt Disney

Rating: Four of Ten Stars

It's a modern-day (well, modern-day in 1922), slightly wonky retelling of a classic fairy tale about the abused girl who gets the prince with the help of a magical Fairy Godmother.

This is a cartoon that's really hard for me to like. Maybe it's because this isn't 1922. Maybe it's because I'm an adult... but between our introduction to the supposedly charming prince involves him massacring a clan of dancing bears who were literally just partying at their cave, and badly thought-out scene where the Fairy Godmother makes Cinderella's "carriage" appear inside her house yet Cindy gets in it and drives away with no issue, I was almost completely turned off by this before it had even reached the halfway mark. 

There are some very cute bits--almost everything involving Cinderella's talking cat sidekick, the portrayal of Cinder and Prince Charming's relationship, and a gag involving a duck near the end--and the way Cinderella reverts from an enchanted, high-fashion flapper girl to a down-trodden scullery maid is a cleverly and amusingly animated. These all add up to make this cartoon entertaining enough, but the opening sequence with the prince and bears--one that I have a hard time imagining anyone one but a psychopath finding that amusing--casts a shadow over everything that follows.

But perhaps I am reacting too strongly a bit of harmless fun. Why don't you take a few minutes to watch it and let us know what you think? If nothing else, "Cinderella" is worth checking out due to its historical significance: It's one of Walt Disney's earliest animated efforts... and I'm sure everyone will be able to appreciate that his output (and that of the army of animators he eventually had on the payroll to create the famous, feature-length remake of this short in 1950) was much, much better.

Click below... and watch the animated creatures go!

The literacy campaign poster that never was...

 ... but which would have made an instant bookworm out of teenaged boys and grown men everywhere:

The Avengers: The Girl from Auntie

The Girl from Auntie (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Liz Fraser, Diana Rigg, Mary Merrall, Alfred Burke, Yolande Turner, Ray Martine, and Bernard Cribbens
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Government "trouble-shooter" John Steed (Macnee) returns from vacation to find a strange woman (Fraser) has assumed the identity of his partner, Mrs. Peel (Rigg). When assassins start popping up, intent on getting rid of the imposter, Steed finds himself working just as hard at keeping her from harm, as he is at finding out what has happened to his partner and friend.

"The Girl From Auntie" is a really fun episode that strikes a balance between suspense and silliness with such skill that it's difficult to be sure who is and isn't involved with the villains until late in the episode. Even Steed has a more difficult time than average unraveling what's going on, due in no small part to the fact that an assassin who racks up an impressive body count during the episode appears to be a harmless little old lady.

The main mystery of the episode revolves around Gregorie Auntie, the owner of a brokerage house that promises it can secure any object the client wants--be it antiquities, modern art, rare collectables... or even people (although that last one is only known to a very select clientele). It's established early on that this organization that has abducted Emma Peel, and the action revolves around Steed trying to find and rescue her before she's sold off to a foreign power for the state secrets she knows, so I'm not breaking my "no spoilers" rule by mentioning it. Alfred Burke, as Auntie, and Yolonde Turner as his femme fatale sidekick are perfect as the operators of this mysterious business, being equally adept at playing silly or sinister as the moment of the story calls for--almost like personifications of what makes this episode work so well. (If fact, these characters are so much fun that they are added to the list of ones I wish could have come back for additional appearances.)

Speaking of things are the equal parts serious and silly, Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character spends most of this episode in a giant birdcage, dressed in a skin-tight, feather-festooned outfit, awaiting the auction that will decide her future. Watching this episode in 2021, I suspect there's less of a sense of danger surrounding Emma Peel's situation--there are many more episodes featuring her to come--but in 1965, it might have seemed to viewers that Peel was on her way out: Steed had never had the same partner for a sequential stretch of episodes as long the ones so far in Season Four. (I don't know if they were testing the waters with Liz Fraser or not.. her character certainly feels like she could be a replacement for Rigg's Emma Peel, especially with her strangely calm reactions to the dead bodies that keep dropping around her, but ultimately she's just one of the many quirky characters that come and go through the series. The actual reason for Rigg's light involvement in this episode and script is probably tied to scheduling realties; there's an episode coming up where she's at the center of the action for the vast majority of it.)

This is another excellent episode that's swiftly paced, features a strong script, and is a lot of fun. Even minor supporting characters--one of which even have names, like the cab driver who ferries Steed around for a good part of the episode--gets some very funny bits.

Roman Wives #1: Barbara Lass

Barbara Lass was born Barbara Kwiatkowski in a small country village during the German occupation of Poland in 1940. At the age of 17, she won a beauty contest and landed the starring role in "Eve Wants to Sleep" (1958). 

Barbara left Poland in 1959, changed her last name to the more-internationally-friendly "Lass" and found success in the broader European film market. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1990s, she appeared in German, French, and Italian films. Staunchly opposed to the Communist dictatorship in her country of origin, Barbara also lent her voice to Polish-language broadcasts of censorship free news by Radio Free Europe.

Barbara met future superstar writer/director Roman Polanski in 1958, while he was wrapping up film school and she was wrapping up "Eve Wants to Sleep". They were married in 1959, in Paris.

The union between Lass and Polanski was short-lived. The couple divorced in 1962, after roughly two-and-a-half years. Some sources state that Lass cheated on Polanski with a French actor, but others imply that it was Polanski's wandering eye toward young girls that caused the split.

Barbara Lass suffered a brain hemorrhage and passed away in 1995 at the age of 54.

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 This post was part of the Shades of Gray Roman Polanski Month.