TCM March Star of the Month: George Brent

I wish I had seen that George Brent was the Star of the Month earlier. He co-starred with Bette Davis in 11 films. I knew some of her films would be included. 

Here are a few that I caught.

First I watched: The Keyhole (1933) the first of six pairings between George and Kay Francis. Kay is unintentionally a bigamist. Her first husband is a blackmailer, and her current husband is suspicious of her activities. She sails to Cuba in a plan to get the blackmailer out of  the US. Her suspicious husband sends PI George Brent in pursuit. George's specialty is seducing married women. Of course, Kay and George fall in love and all obstacles to their romance disappear by the end of the film. 

There's a subplot with Glenda Farrell and Allen Jenkins. Glenda is a gold digger pretending to be a wealthy woman. Allen is working with George, posing at his valet. With Glenda, he pretends that George is the valet. I was hoping they would also get a happy ending.

The Goose and the Gander (1935) I selected this because of Genevieve Tobin. She was memorable as Mrs. Chisholm in The Petrified Forest. She was also good in another film with George Brent, Snowed Under. Here, Genevieve is planning a weekend getaway with George even though she's married to Ralph Forbes. Kay Francis, Ralph's first wife, overhears their plans and plot revenge against Genevieve who stole Ralph from her. After meeting George, Kay no longer cares about her ex nor getting back at Genevieve. They fall in love in record time.

Add in a couple of jewel thieves, and this film has has real potential as a farce. Too bad it doesn't quite make it.

Stranded (1935) Kay Francis works for Traveler's Aid which is more like all the social service agencies in one. George Brent comes in looking for a worker for the bridge he is building. George falls for Kay in record time (again) and immediately gets bossy and demanding. They want to get married but he insists she immediately quit her job. He tells Kay her work is useless. Kay breaks it off.

But trouble brews at the bridge construction site thanks to Barton MacLane. He's trying to stop the bridge construction because George won't pay safety money. Kay even rushes down to a workers' meeting to defend him.   

Miss Pinkerton (1932) Policeman George Brent enlists nurse Joan Blondell to assist in a murder mystery in a spooky house. Or is it a suicide? I never did understand what the sleazy looking/acting doctor was up to, but apparently, he was just a sleazy guy and not a murderer.

South of Suez (1940) I watched this for Lee Patrick, but she's only in the beginning and end of the film. At least, I think. I watched this film over a few days, lost my place one time, and later fell asleep. Maybe I need another try. 

Happy Birthday Bette Davis

When I saw the date this morning, I knew it was something I should remember. I give Jace his heartworm medicine on the 5th, but that wasn't it. Then I checked imdb.com--it was Bette Davis's birthday. Since George Brent was March's Star of the Month, I recently watched three of his films with Bette, In This Our Life, Housewife, and Special Agent. 

I've always enjoyed In This Our Life, even though it's not a great movie. I'm not even sure I would call it good. I enjoyed watching Bette with Dennis Morgan. Charles Coburn's performance is the highlight--he was great.

I haven't seen Housewife in years. Bette is the other woman in the marriage between George Brent and Ann Dvorak. Bette and George are so obvious in public--it's just ridiculous. Actually, the entire plot is ridiculous. 

Next, I watched Special Agent--one of two films Bette did with Ricardo Cortez. Bette is the bookkeeper to mobster Ricardo and testifies against him. George is the special agent posing as a reporter. Bette has a bigger role than I remembered. Not a memorable film.

Six Months

Today is the sixth month anniversary of our moving day. I still remember the details of that day and the days around it. They were intense. So many boxes. So much confusion. 

We didn't have to do anything with the condo itself. But we didn't bring a lot of furniture--we've slowly been taking care of that. Just Thursday, two dressers were delivered. The best thing about the dressers is that we can better use our closet. Now, we have piles of clothes on the shelves, and it gets messy. 

Then there are the little things. I'm surprisingly happy about my blue tablecloth with lemons (an Aldi find.) Another find in the Fuquay-Varina Aldi was matching dishtowels. I also bought some yellow tulips. Looking at the kitchen table makes me happy.

By the end of the month, we'll have a dining room set and a coffee table. I also found a nice end table online.

We're getting there. 

Closing Out March

Last week we visited Jeff's sister in North Carolina. We drove down on Monday, and were glad we got to spend more time with her than expected. We also visited with Jeff's other sister, our brother-in-law, and niece. We even met our three-year-old great niece. 

The visit was intense and tiring. The return trip was horrible, taking about two hours longer than normal. We picked up Jace from our friends' Thursday evening. It had been our first trip without him. It was nice knowing that Jace was happy to to stay with our friends. 

Traveling without a dog made things much easier. For one thing, we stayed in a hotel that wasn't pet friendly. It was just okay, but was in a great location. Every place we needed to visit was within a mile. 

Once home, I vegged for most of the weekend after I stocked up on food and wine. Laundry was also involved. I discovered that TCM's Star of the Month was George Brent. More on that later. 

A Time-Tracking Mishap

 I was glad to be nearing the end of my week time-tracking last night. As I made my entries, I realized I had an extra column. I was actually entering my Sunday information in the Saturday column. Somehow, I had erased the real Saturday information that I had previously entered. D'oh. I was bummed. I didn't want to try to recreate my Saturday. I just closed the file. 

I still have good information for most of the week. I'll take a look at that and decide if I should track another week. 

Book 6: How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin

The last of my books from the Essex Library. I had heard of N.K. Jemisin, but wasn't familiar with her work. This is a collection of short stories. I especially liked "The City Born Great," "Red Dirt Witch," and "Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints in the City Beneath the Still Waters."

Jemisin had been advised to write short stories by workshop writers. Their reasoning: "Learning to write short fiction would improve my longer fiction." For one thing, short stories gave Jemisin the chance to experiment with unusual plots and forms.

Maybe I should approach Merwinsville as a collection of short stories. I need to think about this.

Spring is Here!

Today is the March (or Spring or Vernal) Equinox--very welcome after a cold and snowy winter. It didn't feel springlike when Jace and went for a walk this morning with temperatures in the 30s. As we approach the official start of spring at 10:46 AM, it's warming up. It's now 50 degrees. 

I've been looking forward to this spring--our first in Maryland. We'll have more time and opportunities to explore all that the area offers.