Oct. 19, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Well, I got most of the Halloween stuff up. Now to see what still works.  I also watched all my standard favorites this weekend: Dracula, Wolf Man, Mummy’s Ghost. I’d watched Frankenstein last week.

 

I’m always amused/appalled by the sloppiness of the old Mummy movies: In MUMMY’S HAND Wallace Ford has one last name, but when he reappears in MUMMY’S TOMB, his last name is different, as if the writers were in such a hurry they didn’t have time to check!  And how many dried tana leaves would it take to insure the mummy lived for 3,000 years, since the plant is said to now be extinct? Most amazing of all, at the end of MUMMY’S GHOST the mummy disappears under the water of a swamp in Mapleton, Mass.—Mass. Is, of course, known for its swamps!—and in THE MUMMY’S CURSE emerges near Houma! No explanation given.

 

I really sympathized with Lon Chaney, Jr. He was an excellent actor but once he got in to the mummy movies they just wrapped the poor guy in bandages and he never got to say a word. It’s no wonder he was an alcoholic. All they wanted was his name and a monkey could’ve done the honors. But he did memorable jobs of acting in OF MICE AND MEN, THE WOLFMAN, and HIGH NOON.

 

Well, Halloween is next week—Oh, my mistake—It’s the state elections. Oh, well, same difference.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M