A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SEVEN: Mistress of Media in the 80’s

When I was a student, focused on the study of literature and theatre, I learned a hard lesson: there was a schism between those works which are deemed “art” and those classified as “popular culture”. As a child, my love of comic books was derided as . . . well, childish. Studying drama at U.C. …

A HUNDRED YEARS OF CHRISTIE, PART SIX: Requiem and Rebirth in the 70’s

“What can I say at seventy-five? ‘Thank God for my good life, and for all the love that has been given to me.’”                                                                                                 Agatha Christie: An Autobiography “It’s sad really, but nowadays one is only interested in the deaths!”                                                                                                 Nemesis (1971) Six Novels Passenger to Frankfurt (1970) Nemesis (1971) Elephants Can Remember (1972) Postern of Fate (1973) Curtain (1975) * Sleeping …

A CENTURY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, PART FIVE: The Pendulum Swings in the Swinging 60’s

“You know . . . I really can’t think how anyone ever gets away with a murder in real life. It seems to me that the moment you’ve done a murder the whole thing is so terribly obvious. . . The murder part is quite easy and simple. It’s the covering up that’s so difficult. …

MAY I SUGGEST YOU READ A MURDER MYSTERY?

I have to admit I’ve been stressed for about . . . three and a half years. Bernie Sanders said recently that the current health crisis is “on the scale of major war,” but I’ve felt battle-scarred, mostly by tweet, for some time now. And now, thanks to COVID-19, I’m in exile: our schools have …

FOUR LITTLE WOMEN (AND ONE LITTLE MAN) AGAINST THE WORLD

Yesterday, the New York Times offered commentary on an article by Vanity Fair about Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of Little Women. The article, “Little Women Has a Little Man Problem,” by Anthony Breznican, discussed the concerns by producer Amy Pascal that the film was faring poorly in early awards nominations because, in essence, men were …

A HOLIDAY BLESSING, or Why I’m Not Going to See CATS

The holidays have oddly aligned this year. Today it’s Hanukkah, tomorrow is Christmas Eve/Mom’s Birthday, Wednesday it’s Christmas, and we (pun intended) wrap it all up on Thursday with Boxing Day/Kwanzaa. And let’s not forget that Saturday was the winter solstice, containing the longest night of the year, followed yesterday by a festival marking the …

KNIVES OUT: A Mystery Maven’s Perspective

I do have a few friends who care what I have to say about movies. And yet, while I stated right at the startthat I would talk about films in this space, usually when I want to offer an opinion about something I’ve seen, I dash off a paragraph on Facebook. It seems that Ah Sweet …

KEEPING UP WITH POPULAR CULTURE

It is July 12, and my summer vacation is flying by. As I gear up for one more month of joy, freedom, relaxation, I have been reading up a storm, something that is hard to do when I’m teaching and directing. But just in case you’re imagining me to be a one-note fella, I wanted …

THE EYES HAVE IT: Christie and Hitchcock and the Point of View

So much has been written about my favorite filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock – more than any other director, living or dead – that I would be hard-pressed to come up with any original thoughts about his life or work. That's because the French, including fellow auteur Francois Truffaut, elevated Hitchcock’s oeuvre from “mere” entertainment to art. …

THOSE ELEVEN DAYS

Personal tragedy or publicity stunt? This is the question that has run circles around Agatha Christie’s fans since December 3, 1926, when Christie disappeared from her home after a fight with her husband, Archie. He had informed her that he wanted a divorce in order to marry his mistress, Nancy Neele, and when Agatha refused, …