The Avengers Dossier, Page Nineteen

Many British actors and actresses familiar to lovers of classic spy- and action-movies appeared on "The Avengers". Here's a brief look at one of them.

EUNICE GAYSON

In "Quick Quick, Slow Death", Eunice Gayson is one of several eccentric individuals operating a dance school that doubles as a matchmaking service... and possibly more sinister activities.

Eunice Gayson was born in Surrey in 1928 where she also grew up. She initially trained as an opera singer, but by the late 1940s, she mostly left music and the stage behind for an acting career in movies and British television.

Throughout the 1950s, Gayson was busy with roles in dramas, thrillers, and comedies, including being a recurring cast member in anthology series "Rheingold Theatre" and "BBC Sunday Night Theatre".  On the big screen, she even made a foray into horror with a key role in the very excellent "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1957).

As the 1960s dawned, Gayson settled into a successful groove as a character actress, but not before appearing in the role she is perhaps best remembered for: She played Sylvia Trent in the first two big screen Bond adventures, "Dr. No" (1962) and "From Russia With Love" (1963). The character had been originally conceived as a recurring "lady friend" for 007, but the idea was abandoned after those two films.

Among Gayson's credits during the 1960s include several appearances on espionage adventure series "The Saint", "Secret Agent, and, of course, "The Avengers." She also had small parts in a handful of comedy series, including a recurring part in the period comedy "Albert and Victoria" (1970). 

"Albert and Victoria" was one of Gayson's last appearances on screen. She essentially retired from acting  to focus on raising her daughter, Kate, who was born in 1971. Gayson did perform on stage every so often from from the late 1980s and into the1990s. 

Eunice Gayson passed away at the age of 90 in 2018.

Use the Melies Method to never again be lonely!

Over 120 years ago, French filmmaker and showman Georges Méliès discovered the perfect way to stave off loneliness and to make sure you could have companionship any time and anywhere. He used the emerging technology of film to record his methods and share them with the world for all time.

Study Méliès methods as he demonstrates them in this short video. If you master them, you will never be lonely again, no matter what! Méliès demonstrates not just one, not just two, but three methods by which you can create company from thin air, in the comfort of your own home/prison during the next Covid lockdown!

The Duplicate Illusionist and the Living Head (aka "The Triple Conjurer") (1900)
Starring: Georges Méliès and Jehanne d'Alcy
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

(In all seriousness, "The Duplicate Illusionist and the Living Head" is one of Georges Méliès best "performance" shorts. I always prefer those of his films that have a bit more plot to them instead of ones that are little more than showcases for his at-the-time cutting edge and dazzling special effects. This one, though, has effects that are so smoothly done and so alive with Méliès's creativity and exuberance that it's impossible not to love it. (I am sure you fell in love with it, too, if you spent the minute or so it lasts. Let me know! (Also, if you DO master the technique of conjuring companions from thin air by watching this film, let me know that, too.)

 

The Swank Quarterly

As Summer gives way to Autumn, Hilary sits in the open window and watches the change of seasons take place.

Of Wolves & Girls in Hoods: The Fleischer Bros

In 1931, as Fleischer's Betty Boop was soaring toward animated superstar status, she and her friend Bimbo co-starred in an adaptation of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story. It has some fun, surreal, and/or just plain crazy moments. The music isn't bad either.

It also makes you question Betty's taste in boyfriends. At the outset of the Betty comments to Bimbo that her mother doesn't approve of him... and as the cartoon unfolds, I think it's clear why. By the end, I think it's clear that Bimbo may be more dangerous than the wolf ever was... as well as a complete psycho. (Of course, if the assume that "Dizzy Red Riding-Hood" is a sequel to this one, we already know Bimbo isn't quite right in the head.)

"Dizzy Red Riding-Hood" is a zany take on a very familiar story that goes to very unexpected places. No matter what meaning you assign to the original story and the events and characters within it, this version subverts them all!

Dizzy Red Riding-Hood (1931)

Starring: Ann Little (Voice of Betty Boop) and Billy Murray (Voice of Bimbo, others)

Director: Dave Fleischer

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with All Hallow's Evil

 "Face to Face" is another one of those songs that we love dearly here at Shades of Gray, but which very few have done justice to when they attempt to cover this Danny Elfman-penned song; Souixsie and the Banshees nailed it so perfectly in the original versions that covers are mostly just copies or fumbled attempts.

This is not the case with the version that All Hallow's Evil recorded and released in 2020. His version captures the sensibilities of the song, has clear echoes of the original version, but he also makes it his own. Check it out.

(As for this writing, the YouTube version of this song only has 750 views. That's a crying shame! And it's why we aren't saving this for a perhaps more logical place in the 31 Nights of Halloween line-up coming in October.)

In observation of Talk Like a Pirate Day

 Yarr... here be pictures of pretty pirate lasses!

Bones Coffee's Coconut Rum

It's time for another of my coffee reviews. It's  Talk Like a Pirate Day so there was only one appropriate choice to write about.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: COCONUT RUM
This is another one of the flavored medium-roast blends from this great Florida-based company; so far, I have not been disappointed by any of their flavors, including a couple I've yet gotten around to posting reviews about. Their streak continued with the Coconut Rum blend.

When I opened the package, I could smell the coconut. As the coffee brewed, the aroma wasn't strong enough to reach my office, as has been the case with some of the other Bones blends, nor did I notice any particularly strong smell when I returned to the kitchen.

Is sweet enough that I could drink it black--and, as I've said before, I hardly ever drink coffee black. The dominant flavor here is rum, but the coconut is also detectable and very nice. When I added unsweetened almond milk, the coconut flavor retreated a bit, but the taste of rum remained as strong as before, perhaps even enhanced. This is a strongly flavored blend, and as you drink it, the taste of rum remains in your mouth.

When consumed over ice, the rum taste in this blend remains strong, even if the coconut taste is virtually undetectable. Still, the blend is sweet enough that it can can be consumed without any milk or cream added; in fact, it might be best if you just drink it straight when iced.

Bones' Coconut Rum is another excellent blend. It's probably not going to make into my personal Top Ten Bones Faves, but if you like rum and you like coffee, I'm sure you'll like this!

Some scribbles from Sarah

 A couple strips from Sarah Andersen about September (since we're mast the halfway mark... and closer to Halloween than not).

If those made you smile, you should consider getting some the collections of "Sarah's Scribbles", or one of her 2022 calendars or day-planners, so you can start each day with a little cartoon commentary and weird, often geekish, thoughts.

An even better book to grab is "Fangs". It's in a different style than "Sarah's Scribbles", but it's a perfect warm-up for Halloween, since it's about a vampire and a werewolf who fall in love with each other. You can read my review of it here.

Firearms Friday with Nicki Minaj

Firearms Friday is returning, because the online mobs and even the Biden Administration and their lackeys in the media are on the warpath against Nicki Minaj.

Rapper/songwriter Nicki Minaj recently incurred the wrath of the Mask Cultists and the Covid-19 fear-mongers because she had the AUDACITY to say that she has chosen to not get a Covid-19 vaccination. She laid out the reasons why (Some of which were pretty stupid but others which were perfectly sensible), but she but also said she was not opposed in any way to others get vaccinated, and that she even encouraged it. 

But that didn't matter. She failed to properly mouth the mantra of the Mask Cult and of the totalitarians who are using the pandemic to stoke fear, sow division, and do everything they can to break what little spirit us peasants have left. Unlike many other celebrities who have drawn the ire of the Outrage Brigades and Covid Cultists, she has stood her ground and fired back.

I can't claim to be a fan of Minaj; I can't even claim that I like her music. But I appreciate and respect her spirit and her willingness to be herself and say "screw you" to all of those in the media, in business, and in the streets who are bending over backwards to satisfy the demands of naked tyrants as they march us all toward totalitarianism.

And she didn't even set out to do that. She just wanted to be herself. And there are all sorts of media figures and Twitter-led outrage mobs who have gone out of their way to lie about what she said and did. The lies have even come from the Biden White House; disagreement with the Dear Leader and the Cult of Covid cannot be tolerated. I'm if they could get away with treating public figures the government doesn't like, they would do so. In fact, based on the behavior of the online mobs, they would probably love to be able to to do someone like Minaj like the Chinese government did to actress Shuang Zheng and LITERALLY cancel her.

But that's probably coming here soon enough. For now, they must satisfy themselves with trying to destroy Minaj's image with her fans and otherwise ruin her.

The video featured below is very fitting for this revival of the Firearms Friday, as is the whole current "controversy" involving Minaj since it let's this post be about several items covered by the Bill of Rights. 

The video for "Lookin Ass" is full of interesting (and sexy) visuals, and it's well worth checking out. While it didn't make me a fan of Minaj, maybe you'll discover her music is to your liking. At the very least, Minaj may get a few fractions of pennies via royalties and/or license fees. (Just DON'T watch it at work or around anyone who is easily offended; it could turn out badly.)

Lookin Ass (2014)
Starring: Nicki Minaj

Director: Nabil Elderkin

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

The Avengers: The Danger Makers

The Danger Makers (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Nigel Davenport, Douglas Wilmer, Adrian Ropes, Moray Watson, Fabia Drake, and John Gatrell
Director: Charles Crichton
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A retired highly respected general is killed while apparently recklessly joyriding on a motorcycle. Two of the British government's top investigators, John Steed and Emma Peel (Macnee and Rigg) are charged with determining if its connected to other strange accidental deaths and mishaps that have been befalling retired British army officers and soldiers.

This is one of the more serious-minded episodes, from the subject matter, how it's treated, and how the story involving it and surrounding it unfolds. What comedy we find here is generated by interactions between John Steed and John Steed involving friendly ribbing or assumptions of danger where there isn't any.

One of the most interesting aspects of the episode is that most of its villains are also victims. I don't want to give away some of the key plot-twists, but this episode and the threats that Steed and Peel face are ultimately borne from a group of soldiers that are unable to adjust to life off the battlefield, because they are suffering from various degrees of PTSD. In this way, society, with its expectations of what a soldier and a warrior is and must be, has failed them, but they are also subject to nefarious manipulation the the story's worst villain. It's something that's treated with a level of somberness and seriousness that's rarely seen in this series, and the final minutes of this episode feel weighty and intense as a result.

Although Patrick Macnee gets more screen-time, this is Diana Rigg's episode in many ways. Steed and Peel conduct parallel investigations, each with their own cover story and each of them uncovering important parts of the mystery as the trails they are following converge, but almost every scene that Rigg appears in during this show is full of great writing and acting, weighty symbolism, and thrilling action. (Although you know as a viewer that there's no way a main character is going to die during just another episode of a series like "The Avengers", I am certain that you will find yourself on the edge of seat as Emma Peel undertakes the potentially lethal initiation to join the ranks of the Danger Makers.

And speaking of Emma Peel... she's once again wearing some of the character's signature outfits that make her seem more real than many television females: That leather catsuit and those weird white boots with the stripe on the middle. You can see her wearing them in the picture used to illustrate this post. (I don't know if these recurring wardrobe items were a sign of budget limitations, intentional on part of the costumers, or because Diana Rigg liked wearing them, but I appreciate the repetition. Of course... it could be that this goes on in many shows and I just noticed it here.. because those boots are just so dumb-looking and yet she keeps wearing them!)

"The Danger Makers" is one of the great episodes in a great series. It is definitely worth your time to check out.