It started out innocently enough… I was sitting here, waiting for the storm to begin, and listening to two of my favorite people, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest, discussing one of my favorite films, Sullivan’s Travels, and, then, one thing led to another, and I ended up going one YouTube link too far. Now I’m all depressed.
Here, in case you’re interested it what got to me. It’s the trailer for Veronica Lake’s last film, Flesh Feast.
And, here, by way of comparison, is a scene from Sullivan’s Travels, some 36 years later.
It’s hard for me to reconcile the two… how someone could go from being that bright and beautiful to being so Edith Massey-like… but I guess that’s the kind of thing that can happen when mental illness and alcoholism intersect… Anyway, seeing her in Flesh Feast has sent me spiraling off into a sad kind of place, and, as a result, I don’t think I’ll be blogging tonight about Clarence Thomas and why he needs to leave the Supreme Court, like I’d wanted to. If you’d like to leave comments about that, though, be my guest. I’ll be watching Sullivan’s Travels.
update: Apparently, I’ve written about this before.
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When we attain a certain age, loss does become stark, prevalent. I’m starting to have pale glimpse at how loss, while still foreboding, becomes familiar enough for context and reflection to seep in. To quote Veronica Lake:
“I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s the little things that matter… I was always a rebel and probably could have got much further had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I’m happier with that.”
That almost sounds monkish in its sober assessment. Maybe age makes monks.
I read your “written before” post. It was incredibly honest and unguarded.
You’ve accomplished a lot. You have a strong voice and reputation. You speak clearly and compellingly. But, if I may, your speech is conscious of other voices. It is guarded. It’s changed. Today you write in hostile territory.
If you keep writing (and you should), it may be time to become a monk. For all their failings, the religious traditions were incredibly attuned to human psychology. They understood the importance of “spiritual disciplines.” Breaking habits. Making habits. Cycles of excess and austerity. Confession and indignation. Time outs. Feigned humility. We humans both need freedom and restraint. It’s good medicine.
I’ll boil it down.
One week, this year, only post like you did when you thought no one was reading. No defenses. No calculations. No headlines. Just your uncensored life. You are allowed to let readers know your Lent is coming.
Another week, this year, don’t post anything not written by someone else. Take submissions. Decide what to post. Comment like a reader.
In short, write who you are. Don’t write to insecurity. Write from yours. You’re growing old. Take hold.
Everybody! Stop aging! You’re making Mark upset.
What’s the matter? Don’t you like her little maggots?
I just got around to watching Sullivan’s Travels last week…what a wonderful movie!
It’s not just that she aged. Watch the clips. It’s horribly sad. It wasn’t just her stunning beauty and her hair that set her apart. There was a spark.
With that said, mental illness or not, she had a reputation for being terrible to work with. Joel McCrea, who was asked to star with her in another film, was quoted as saying, “Life is too short for two movies with Veronica Lake,” when he turned it down.
Anonymatt’s comment seems to apply better to the 2002 post linked to.
(I always had a hard time taking Veronica Lake seriously, but that may be because I was exposed to Looney Tunes versions of her before I saw her in a film. And she has a kind of cartoonishness in those supposedly sexy days, doesn’t she?)
From Think Progress, on Clarence Thomas:
I’ve had a thing for Veronica Lake for some 20 years– in fact, I remember stifling the unwise urge to question Andre de Toth about her when I met him, which was not too long before he died — they’d been married, had kids, got divorced. I could easily be in a very very small group in the entire world of genuine living Veronica Lake fanboys. Hmm. Yes she is lovely in Sullivan’s travels. That is all.
HARD TO PLEASE
I think she looks really great. Just because she’s playing a creepy part doesn’t mean that’s who she is. If she drank a lot, it did NOT show in that role. I am tired of people complaining about a woman’s looks. I heard someone say that Catherine Zeta-Jones had “too much junk in the trunk” in Chicago. Really? She’s incredibly beautiful. Why is everyone so fucking hard to please? She gave me the creeps in that clip and wasn’t she supposed to? Men don’t stay handsome either (Marlon Brando) but no one acts like they’ve lost their acting ability just because they’re not young anymore. Beauty ages but sometimes people transcend that. George Clooney is handsome no matter how he ages, he’s still George Clooney. Looking at that later clip I feel like saying “I’m Veronica Lake, bitch!” for her sake, for the sake of all older women. Go buy a barbie doll.