The Siren Plays Dominos

Ah, the joys of toddler twins, or Infectious Disease Vectors as we sometimes think of them at the House of Campaspe. Who says the Domino Theory is kaput? Last week we had a nifty demonstration of it, as first the daughter of the house, then the Siren, then the son of the house were felled by a stomach virus in neat little two-day increments. After waiting with pious patience for Mr. Campaspe to succumb, the Siren realized that this was a decidedly sexist virus. Two more days elapsed as she recovered from her pique.

She hopes that by now you have been over to Edward Copeland's place to check out the results from the Worst of the Best Picture poll. Going My Way did not make the top (bottom?) twenty. Over the weekend the Siren re-read City of Nets and was reminded, however, that her hatred for the movie gives her some august company. Billy Wilder, nominated that year for Double Indemnity, had high hopes of winning on Oscar night. When the priest movie's Leo McCarey was called to the stage as Best Director, Wilder "could not bear it...He stuck out a foot and tripped him."

Copeland incidentally has two more great pieces up, one on David Lean and another on Dog Day Afternoon. (Wonder if he has toddlers. Harrumph.) The Siren agrees with him on the Lumet, vehemently disagrees on Lean, but such is the fun of blogging. Assuming her Home Sweet Petri Dish stays healthy she may rise to Mr. Lean's defense in the near future. Copeland has also issued a challenge, as promised, to name the Best of the Best Pictures. That should be almost as much fun as the first poll. Results are due by midnight CDT on April 29. Address same as before, eddiesworst@yahoo.com. By the way--if you are wondering whether to differentiate between "best" and "favorite"--he suggests that you don't.

Meanwhile, Peter Nelhaus of Coffee Coffee and More Coffee has taken up the Siren's plea for another look at Lana Turner. This year, on the June 29 anniversary of her death, we're hoping to see some love for Lana. Peter is planning to tackle The Sea Chase. The Siren is having a bit of choice paralysis, as there are at least ten Lana films she could happily write about, from They Won't Forget to Portrait in Black. Maybe she'll do 'em all. We shall see.

Lastly, the Siren notes the passing of Henry Farrell, who wrote the novel Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? The bizarre 1960s trend of putting once-fabulous actresses in campy horror films just makes the Siren sad, for the most part. But Baby Jane, the first, was certainly the best and it did give the two stars a last hurrah, albeit at the expense of altering their images for all time. The Siren still prefers a much earlier Joan, and her small tribute is on its way.