I just read John Buchan's The 39 Steps, and watched the Hitchcock movie of the same name.

Introductory Conclusion (ha!): While not starting out as a project, I would not recommend participating in absorbing both as one. Leave these units sole entities and enjoy them just the same, comforted in the knowledge that both have fallen off the copyrighter's radar screen and are now in the public domain.

The film version, produced by Michael Balcon, who produced one of my favorite films, Dead of Night, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock appears to be an almost completely new invention that utilizes only the main premise and some of the names of characters.

The novel, by proud Scotsman (by virtue of the portrayal of his countrymen and women, the opposite of Hitchcock's portrayal of brutsh stingy Scots) John Buchan, is a an extremely fast paced thriller that pits villains appropriate to today's one-worlder conspiracy theorists, against an improvised adventurer who is enlisted by a spy with several character-shaping pathologies and prejudices aiding his motivation and world view.

Along the way as we follow Richard Hannay the protagonist, there are plenty of Deus Ex Machina situations arising, such as stumbling upon the exact location at which he needed to arrive, accidentally meeting a reviled London colleague 12 hours distance from the city, and kindness from strangers that even Santa Claus couldn't engender.

This is all forgivable owing to the pacing and the tone of the writing. Hannay is the a protagonist in whose shoes on is willing to jump. The book adds up to a short thrill that grips one, and doesn't let go until the end.

Hitchcock's film, while wildly different in plot mechanisms and characters, maintains the best of the book, namely Hannay's pathological ingenuity in staying one step ahead of his pursuers. Equally gripping, with moments that provide a window into an England that is only 20 years and a World War since the original publication of the book, with the same Teutonic treacheries afoot, providing an analogous zeitgeist for the Mise en Scene, awaiting another global conflict, wile enjoying life in the interim.

So, on to the links:

Here's the book in it's entirety

Here's a link to a BUNCH of John Buchan novels I always have to laugh at the NO US ACCESS warnings!!!

Buchan's Wikipedia Bio, (he was a big shot!)

Wa-hey! Here's the Movie, and and here's where you can download it (on the left)and own the friggin' thing!




Radio Drama:
Mercury Theatre of the Air (Orson Welles)

A Criterion Collection obsessed fan's review of the Film.

Enjoy. It's the future - so far.

Labels: 1915, 30's, archive.org, England, film, Hitchcock, Scotland, Scots, Scottish, writing

Mitchell & Webb of Peep Show reknown.
Another one here

Labels: comedy, England, English, humor, youtube

Let me start by saying that I went through all my old vids and maybe only one or two weren't on YouTube already.

Having said that, I recently watched Pop Gear again. This movie has some phenomenally oddball performances. Annnnnd....90% of them were in fact on YouTube. So- I gleaned 'em and here's a bunch well worth a look.

It's introduced by Jimmy Savile - possibly king of the jerkoffs. (Okay, okay, great guy etc., etc.- but hey I ain't English!)

HOWEVER- first up is something from that film that wasn't on YouTube: the gold pants dance sequence - if you like gold pants like I do, then this video is for you. You're welcome for the upload, massive fan base!



Comes next, (as my son used to say when he was a baby) is the Honeycombs singing Have I the Right, which is notable for two reasons:
The friggin' mentally-challenged-cousin-type on rhythm guitar, and the fact that the drummer, I'm pretty sure, is a dude in drag....



Tommy Quickly gives a performance of Humpty Dumpty that can only be described as excruciating. I want to punch his face off every time I see it. If I didn't have such a nice TV, I might punch it. This video infuriates me so.......

I'm punching you in my mind Tommy Quickly! In fact, I'm punching punching itself!!



UPDATE could this be another version of a sort of cultural idiom? Help me, massive fan base!!!


The Four Pennies doing Where Did you Sleep Last Night ain't no Leadbelly, but their interpretation is such a screamingly loud (for the era) go at it, sort of an end-of-folk-Dylan-at-Isle-of-Wight event, that it's quite enjoyable.



Billie Davis singing Whatcha Gonna Do? is like watching a live Thunderbirds character singing. Exquisite. Dee-lish. Helium-y. Puppet - puppet - puppet.



Steve Winwood in the Spencer Davis Group stands as exemplar of some of the great performances from this film (The Animals, Herman's Hermits, et al) so I'm including it.



Last is the creepy butt dance being done by the Roger Daltrey clone in this performance of Tobacco Road by the Nashville Teens (whatta name!) The Butt dance is mesmerizing in a scoliosis/back brace/uncontrolled intestinal problem kinda way. The performance is good tho.


All the great performances, with the exception of Matt Munro, a super boring lounge singer, will be watched over and over by me.

Wanna buy it?
Go Here:

Labels: 60's, Bass Guitar, BBC, butts, England, ep, hits, Irish, Music Video, performance, punch, rock, rock n' roll, Scotland, television, Top of the Pops, tv, uk, video

From:Lady Peggy Morrison.
4 Old Church Street, Chelsea, SW3, England.

Here writes Lady Peggy Morrison, suffering from cancerous ailment. I am
married to Sir Richard Morrison an Englishman who is dead. My husband was
into private practice all his life before his death. Our life together as
man and wife lasted for three decades without child. My husband died after
a protracted illness. My husband and I made a vow to uplift the
down-trodden and the less-privileged individuals as he had passion for
persons who can not help themselves due to physical disability or
financial predicament.

I can adduce this to the fact that he needed a Child from this
relationship, which never came. When my late husband was alive he
deposited the sum of Twenty Million Pounds (20,000,000.00 Million Great
Britain Pounds Sterling)which were derived from his vast estates and
investment in capital market with his bank here in UK. Presently, this
money is still with the Bank. Recently, my Doctor told me that I have
limited days to live due to the cancerous problems I am suffering
from.Though what bothers me most is the stroke that I have in addition to
the cancer. With this hard reality that has befallen my family, and me I
have decided to donate this fund to you and want you to use this gift
which comes from my husbands effort to fund the upkeep of widows,
widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden, physically challenged
children, barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped
financially.

I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit
this money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons
and I do not want my husband hard earned money to be misused or invested
into ill perceived ventures. I do not want this money to be misused hence
the reason for taking this bold decision. I am not afraid of death hence I
know where I am going. I do not need any telephone communication in this
regard due to my deteriorating health and because of the presence of my
husband relatives around me. I do not want them to know about this
development.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the bank
in UK. I will also issue you a Letter of Authority that will empower you
as the original beneficiary of this fund. My happiness is that I lived a
life worthy of emulation. Please assure me that you will act just as I
have stated herein. Hope to hear from you soon.

You can contact me through my personal email address
;peggymorrison4@yahoo.co.uk

Lady Peggy Morrison.

Labels: England, Gambia Nigeria, scam, spam