Bebo

2008 Hurricane Season
The 2008 hurricane season had no catastrophic events such as Andrew or Katrina, although it did have its moments. The numbers were high for a single season with Tropical Storms and Hurricane names running from Arthur to Omar. Several left indelible marks and while Fay never became a full blown hurricane she brought heavy rains during her eight day sojourn through Florida and spent another two days in Alabama and Mississippi. Hanna, Ike and Josephine were memorable because they were all active at the same time. Of the three Ike did the most damage to the upper Gulf Coast leaving his mark on the Galveston and Houston area.

Flight 19
Excerpt from The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
December 5, 1945
NAS Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
‘…Using the only timeline we have, lets go back to 3:40 pm when Lt. Cox flying Fox Tare 74 heard a voice transmission from Flight 19 asking Powers, not once but several times for a compass reading. There was no answer, but eventually Powers said¸ ”I don’t know where we are. We must have got lost after that last turn.”
That’s when Fox Tare 74 made the blind transmission trying to determine who Powers was and if it was a boat or plane in trouble.
Now this could be simple semantics, but when Powers said, “We must have got lost after that last turn.” His language indicates to me that there had already been a turn or turns prior to that one. I suspect that Powers was in the lead and somewhere around 3:30 pm he determined that they were off course. At that point they should have been over open waters, but as I said earlier I suspect they were flying over several small islands. I figure he then made a left turn to correct from that possible drift to the south. Then after flying north for several minutes and it still didn’t bring them back to the open waters he was expecting he possibly made another turn.
It was about that time when Fox Tare 28, Lt. Taylor, having followed along through several turns led by Powers apparently looked down and saw an island that reminded him of the Florida Keys. And without thinking it through Taylor assumed Powers had led them far off course and down to the Keys. Then when he took over the lead he soon became disoriented and blamed the error on the compass…’

Let’s Go to the Movies
David O. Selznick was one of Hollywood’s best and brightest stars in the ranks of producers. Selznick will always be remembered for producing Gone With the Wind and in a later post I’ll talk about GWTW from purchase to production and premier.
But today I want to give you book lovers a Hollywood producer you can cheer for.
Selznick believed in bringing the actual book story to the screen, not just the title. And to illustrate his point here’s a small portion of a memo written to Alfred Hitchcock on the subject of Rebecca.
‘…It is my unfortunate and distressing task to tell you that I am shocked and disappointed beyond words by the treatment of Rebecca.' I regard it as a distorted and vulgarized version of a proven success, in which, for no reason that I can discern, old fashioned movie scenes have been substituted for the captivatingly charming du Maurier scenes. This is particularly true in the Riviera sequence.
We bought Rebecca, and we intend to make Rebecca. The few million people who have read the book and who worship it would very properly attack us violently for the desecrations which are indicated by the treatment; but quite apart from the feelings of these few millions I have never been able to understand why motion picture people insist upon throwing away something of proven appeal to substitute things of their own creation. It is a form of ego drawn upon Hollywood the wrath of the world for many years, and candidly I am surprised to discover that the disease has apparently also spread to England.’
Those words from Selznick might have had some effect because in recent years we have seen more

A verbal contract isn’t worth the paler it’s written on.
Sam Goldwyn

2008 Hurricane Watch

This week’s storm watch around the Atlantic Basin and Caribbean is typical for this time of year. In a word it’s QUIET.
I have a few things to say about this past hurricane season as well as fleshing out some of the onerous predictions made by the global warming crowd since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. But that can wait until we pass November 30th the official end of the 2008 hurricane season.

Let’s go the Movies

During the 1920’s and 30’s Greta Garbo’s name was movie magic. She had a string of hits during those years and beginning in 1930 she was nominated for best actress in pictures Anna Christie, Romance and Camille.
Paramount Pictures producer/director Ernst Lubitsch wanted to sign Garbo for a film he was preparing titled Ninotchka, but since Garbo shunned publicity and lived an almost secret life Lubitsch knew very little about the star with the exception of her stunning performances that he’d seen on the screen. Her last picture Camille was heavy drama and Ninotchka a comedy.
Lubitsch had Paramount arrange for Miss Garbo to come in for a sit down interview at his office and talk about the film.
Ernst Lubitsch had an outgoing personality and the interview went well, but Lubitsch had something in mind that went directly to his concept of the film, and it had to do with the female star.
Lubitsch got up from his desk and paced the room, when suddenly he turned to Garbo and said, “Can you laugh?”
A wry grin broke over Garbo’s placid face and she said, “Yes. I think I can laugh.”
Lubitsch continued to pace a bit more and said, “I’m not talking about just a little laugh. I mean a big laugh. You see the star of Ninotchka must be a character with a wide-open and completely spontaneous laugh. Can you do that?”
Garbo smiled and said, “Let me give it some thought. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
As Lubitsch escorted the star out of the office he was thinking well, it wasn’t a yes and it wasn’t a no.
True to her word Garbo was back the next day. And following the normal amenities including coffee the two of them manufactured small talk as they sparred around avoiding the subject of laughter.
Eventually though Greta Garbo’s grin changed to a wide smile and she said, “Your question and the idea – can you laugh is silly.”
Lubitsch chortled. “I think you’re right.”
“And I love it, “ she whispered. “The more I think about that silly notion the more I want to laugh.” And she began to laugh the most joyous outgoing kind of laughter Lubitsch had ever heard. In fact it was so infectious that he joined her in the celebration of the laugh.
And of course she signed a contract and they made the film.
The Paramount publicity people picked on the story and used the two-word phrase to spearhead their publicity campaign – Garbo Laughs.

Garbo was nominated for best actress category in 1939 for her performance in Ninotchka.
Of course everyone knows what happened at the Oscars that year – Gone With the Wind.

Tombstone, Arizona Territory 1881
Excerpt from Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone.
Continued from last week.

"My name is H. M. Matthews, I am a practicing physician, and Coroner of Cochise County.”
Price then asked, "Where were you on the 26th of October, 1881?”
"I was in the town of Tombstone on that day.”
"Did you see or were you made aware of a difficulty that occurred between the Earps and Holliday and the Clantons and McLowry’s on that day?"
"I was notified of the affray. I did not see it."
"At any time during that day, did you have occasion to observe William Clanton, Thomas McLowry, and Frank McLowry?"
Dr. Matthews nodded and said, "Yes. It was in the middle of the afternoon. And when I saw those men, Frank and Thomas McLowry were dead and William Clanton was in a dying condition."
"Did you know them by sight?" Price asked.

The average life of the movie is till it reaches the critic.
Will Rogers

2008 Hurricane Watch
Quiet is the one word summary for weather conditions in the Tropical Atlantic Basin over the past week.
There was a hint of some activity yesterday morning when ACCU Weather reported a tropical wave moving west across the southeast Caribbean. There are a few showers and thunderstorms moving through the western Caribbean and over the coast of Honduras. However, this morning it was reported that the basin remains quiet and does not favor a tropical system development.

Let’s Go to the Movies

Next week I’m going to begin a series of short Sketches about Hollywood, films, stars, directors, writers and maybe a few moguls.
First week features star Greta Garbo and director Ernst Lubitsch in a transition scene that takes Ms. Garbo from the heavy drama of Camille to the much lighter material in Ninotchka.

Talk on Tombstone Street about the Spicer hearing.
Excerpt from Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone.

Monday, October 31, 1881

Judge Wells Spicer walked into his courtroom at exactly three o'clock and he could tell, at a glance he had a problem. He had ruled that the hearing would be closed to the public. But from what he could see the order was being disregarded. The first two rows of the gallery were filled with backup lawyers, assistants and a few hangers on. And he recognized several members of the press who had apparently lied their way past the bailiff. It caused him some concern, but for the time being, he decided to ignore it.
Doc and Wyatt sat at the defense table wedged in between Tom Fitch and T.J. Drum. Beads of sweat appeared on Doc's forehead and he nervously toyed with a pencil and began to doodle on a note pad.
Ike Clanton was at the prosecution bench, his personal lawyer, Ben Goodrich to his right, District Attorney Price and his chief assistant, Earl Smith, was at the left end of the table. Doc sensed a more than confidant you might even call it a cocky attitude coming from the prosecution side of the room.
Judge Spicer rapped his gavel and called, "Order in the court."
E. J. Risley, the court reporter began taking notes as the Judge read the murder charges against the Earps and Holliday and immediately called the first witness. "Dr. H. M. Matthews, would you please take the stand."
A bushy browed man in his early fifties wearing a rumpled gray suit and horn-rimmed glasses walked forward. The gentleman was sworn in by the clerk and took a seat in the witness box.
District Attorney Price got out of his seat and walked to a position in front of the witness. "Would you please tell the court your name and what position you hold in the community?”
"My name is H. M. Matthews, I am a practicing physician, and Coroner of Cochise County.”
(To be continued)

Writers Notebook:

Words and phrases – the search goes on.
Ever get hung up on a word that’s almost but not quite right?

Peg Bracken has and she gives us some thoughts on the subject. ‘I do a great deal of rewriting. Almost never is a paragraph right the first time or the sixth or seventh time either for that matter. You are always looking for that right word. There’s a grave difference between a B and a B flat. And it matters too where it falls in the measure. I believe there’s only one best word. Of course one doesn’t always find that best word, but it is the thing to aim for.’

Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com