Old-timers talking at the cafe: "Hey, you see that hahrah film? That byoo-di-ful pungkin really went through the warsher." Ah, a lovely dialect slowly disappearing into obscurity. I had a neighbor many years ago who was a salty old dog and he talked the old-timey way. I wish I had been a word collector back... Continue Reading →
Hyde and Jackson Streets Nov. 7, 2018 5:25pm Hot Sauce and Panko J and H Grocery and Liquor Sun Kwong Chinese Restaurant The Nook Cafe Powell and Hyde Street cable car tracks Stop lights and fire hydrants on all corners Apartments above all businesses Warm evening
Here's my apologia. I understand that these movies were progressive in the 1940s, showing women in roles, whether good or bad, that were out of the societal norms of the time. I acknowledge that these movies are important, but I watch movies for entertainment value, with only a dash of intentions to round out my... Continue Reading →
My favorite cozy horror movie is The Birds. Not too much gore and blood, just enough. It's even more of a terror after learning that Alfred Hitchcock demanded that they re-shoot the scene where Tippi Hedren gets attacked by the birds, over and over again, to exact revenge on her because she didn't play into... Continue Reading →
On a warm February night in San Francisco the streets teemed with people, stressed looking salary men and women with their jaws clenched tight, raving lunatics with pants hanging just a little too south of the equator, and a distinct crowd of sharply dressed, hat wearing people. These haberdashery fans were my people, and they... Continue Reading →
We're having our own personal San Francisco Noir film festival in our house as a warm up to the real noir festival coming soon, and found Portrait in Black on Youtube. We thought we had found the wrong movie because it was in color. Film noir in color (and with Sandra Dee in it)? Some people... Continue Reading →
Ah, the holidays are over, no more false cheer and shiny baubles, life is back to "noirmal." Instead of glad rags and magpie trinkets, I got this great book: San Francisco Noir by Nathaniel Rich. Published in 2005 by The Little Bookworm, New York. More about the book. There are over 40 movies to choose from in... Continue Reading →
There is a lot of noir in San Francisco. Not only what's on its fog stained surface, but in its raw, marrow filled bones. The gold digging hooligans and glassy-eyed dames that worked these streets suffered to make it what it is, they suffered big time in this little city. The darkness, rankness and seething... Continue Reading →
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