Clip-Joint Chatter

Visited the local Salvation Army store and picked up the following 2 hardcovers for a buck.

Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy Hughes. I saw the Robert Montgomery movie a few times and really enjoyed it. I never read any of Hughes books, but I heard good things about her. Will have to read this over the winter.

Grave Error by Stephen Greenleaf. Another author that I haven't read yet. The series has very good reviews. After glancing through the book, John Marshall Tanner might deserve a read. If anyone has thoughts on the novel and series, drop me a note.

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Secret Agent X-9 Just finished the 13 Chapter DVD serial . This was the second serial from 1945, there was an earlier one from 1937 with Scott Kolk as SECRET AGENT X-9. (different storyline) Lloyd Bridges is the title character in this one and you can't take it too seriously-but it was fun and had a noir-ish style. Might check out the earlier serial. Yearly, I will view 2-3 movie serials from that era. Since each chapter is approx. 15 min. , you can fit them in your schedule. Knowing that Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond created SECRET AGENT X-9 as comic strip, I sent for some reprints of the early strip. Hope they are as good as Lee Falk's The Phantom daily strips.

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Dick Tracy Films from the 1940s
Went to a "dollar store" and found a DVD that featured all four Dick Tracy movies from the 40's. Dick Tracy Detective, Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome. I enjoyed them as a kid when I first saw the films on TV and I know I'll enjoy them again. Ralph Byrd played DT on the last three and Morgan Conway on the first. DT Meets Gruesome is the best of the four, with Boris Karloff playing Gruesome. It is film noir and not a bad movie.

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Whatever happened to Hollywood
Didn't get a chance to see the Coen's "No Country For Old Men", wasn't playing in our area. Cormac McCarthy's novel was the best book I read in 2005. I've had it with Hollywood-I go to one movie a year (if that) A good movie like this should be shown in the major theaters. I guess people want to see crap......