A Dickens of a Carol!

My friend Deborah Tipton, Henry Winkler & I at Steel City Comic Con.

 

     Christmas has inspired numerous writers and artists.  One literary work which has had a profound influence on our traditional celebrations for the holiday is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  Released in 1843, the novella conjures up Christmas in the image of a cold, snowy Victorian landscape with lighted evergreen trees and seasonal carols sung to imbue humanity's sense of generosity.  It seems almost unnecessary to describe the plot detailing Ebenezer Scrooge's conversion from miser to eager philanthropist, as the tale has been adapted for radio, film, tv, sitcoms and cartoons. Surely everyone has seen some version, somewhere.
     There are several silent short versions of A Christmas Carol, but perhaps the most praised film production is the 1951 version simply called Scrooge with Alastair Simm in the title role.  His performance as the skinflint with a change of heart is greatly admired.  In 1970, following the success of the Ocsar winning movie Oliver, A Christmas Carol was transformed into a musical called Scrooge starring a delightful Albert Finney as the title character.  He changes heart and sings as he does so!
    TV has brought forth it own renditions of the classic holiday book.  One of the best is a 1984 TV film called A Christmas Carol which remains very faithful to the tale, delivering both holiday cheer and the chills of the story's darker side.  George C. Scott played Scrooge and David Warner was his clerk, Bob Cratchit.  Another later TV version retaining the novella's name and sticking close to both setting and plot starred Patrick Stewart as Scrooge and Richard E.Grant as Cratchit .
     A Christmas Carol has always been my favorite holiday tale.  As a youth I remember regularly watching and being enthralled by An American Christmas Carol from 1979 starring Henry Winkler.  The story was transferred from Victorian London to small town America during the depression with Winkler mesmerizing in a Scrooge like character a far cry from his popular Happy Days role of Fonzie.  Apparently regard for Winkler was present on set as I learned when I recently got to discuss An American Christmas Carol with Robert Sax, who was an assistant to the producer.

Sax said, "I love Henry’s performance and think it was one of his best. It showed how good he could be in a dramatic role. He was mostly known for his comedy roles at the time. Henry was a consummate professional on and off the set, even when shooting in cold outdoor locations. Most of all, he had to endure several hours of special effects makeup application on the days when he played the old Slade. All this happened before the set call, so he had to get up extra early. He accepted this demand of the role with grace and aplomb, although the makeup would become rather uncomfortable by the end of the day.

     At the start of December I got to see Henry Winkler at Steel City Comic Con, where it was obvious that his appeal has not waned as he spoke dynamically at a Q&A and met fans.

     An American Christmas Carol is a real gem, worth seeking out.  Almost all versions of Dickens classic holiday novella have special treats.  I find it fun reading a classic work like this (or Dracula) and observing what filmmakers select to use, cut out, or adapt.  It tells a lot about the film makers and the taste of the audience it is aimed for.

Jack The Ripper Strikes Again!

November 9th marks the date that the mutilated body of Mary Kelly was found in her Whitechapel lodgings in 1888. This horrid crime is the last officially attributed to the murderous fiend referred to as Jack the Ripper.
Jack the Ripper has become a legend due to his diabolical work, but everything about him remains a mystery – from his motivation to his identity. Suspects considered have ranged from Kosminski, a mentally unbalanced immigrant living in poverty in Whitechapel, to Great Britain’s royal family. Even the number of Ripper victims varies. Five female prostitutes are generally attributed to the Ripper’s reign of terror – but there are unsolved murders before and after the five crimes generally accepted to have been done by Jack which some experts blame the Ripper for. At any rate, Mary Kelly’s was the last officially labeled a ‘Ripper’ murder. Unlike the Ripper’s other victims who were found in the street, Mary Kelly was murdered in her lodgings, which allowed Jack the Ripper a better opportunity to mutilate his victim and he took full advantage of this opportunity.
I've long been fascinated by the legend of Jack the Ripper.  I've watched films, documentaries and more on the subject as well as read a few books concerning the Ripper.  In fact, I was even moved to write a fictional book of my own involving Jack the Ripper and my interest in vampires.  The book is called TERROR'S TASTE.  Jack the Ripper also appeared in a short story of mine of a more realistic nature called THE WHITECHAPEL WAGERS which appears in my collection of fiction and poetry called SUMMONED SECRETS.  I'm not alone in a little creative speculation on the subject. 
Filmmakers have had a field day on the subject of Jack the Ripper. In fact they’ve recruited such iconic British figures as Sherlock Holmes and H.G. Wells to face off against the mad murderer. In MURDER BY DECREE,  Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and Dr. Watson (James Mason) pursued the wicked murderer to the highest level of the monarchy. In  TIME AFTER TIME, Jack the Ripper steals the time machine crafted by H.G. Wells to flee from the authorities into the furture of 1979. David Warner is chilling as Jack the Ripper, who looks favorably upon society’s changes, and Malcom McDowell portrays Wells as a charming adventurer adrift in a strange new era in pursuit of the fiend he has unwittingly unleashed on it.
A more realistic view of the Ripper crimes can be found in FROM HELL starring Johnny Depp as the inspector matched against the vile Ripper. The film develops a jarringly realistic view of life in Whitechapel for its inhabitants. The film does indulge in a bit of fictional fantasy regarding the character of Inspector Abberline, who in Depp’s perormance is prone to visions and whose fate is different from real life history.
TV has had its own interests in the Ripper crimes. In 1988 to mark the 100th anniversary of the crime, a CBS mini-series simply called JACK THE RIPPER starred Michael Caine as Inspector Abberline. His hunt for the Ripper also found its way to Britain’s royal bloodline and its corridors of power.  More recent TV undertakings have been more interested with the Ripper’s legacy. RIPPER STREET deals with the policemen patroling Whitechapel immediately after the Ripper murders and WHITECHAPEL deals with policeman in current day Whitechapel.
The 1980’s comic book series BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT maintained much of the facts of the case while introducing Dracula for a gothic match up of evil.


                                 Below: Myself & Malcolm McDowell of Time After Time.

Below: Terror's Taste book cover.

 

 

 

Malcolm McDowell = Fantastic Films

Today, June 13th, is the birthday of actor Malcolm McDowell.  I've been a huge fan of his for years.  I first saw him in Time After Time, a film which wonderfully mixed sci-fi, humor and adventure.  McDowell played science fiction novelist H. G. Wells, whose time machine was stolen by Jack the Ripper (David Warner) in an attempt to avoid the authorities by escaping to the future.  Jack finds himself in an environment he happily calls home, while Wells in depressed by humanity's lack of progress.  Even a trip to McDonald's failed to lift the time traveller's spirits!

Malcolm McDowell also happens to star in my favorite film, O Lucky Man! which combines dark satire and whimsy in a plot about a coffee bean salesman inspired by McDowell's own youthful experience.  Alan Price, of Animals fame, provides a fantastically memorable soundtrack.  The film was directed by Lindsay Anderson.  Anderson was the director who brought McDowell to fame with the starring role of Michael Travis in the film if.....  McDowell returned to play the character twice more for Anderson in O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital.

The role which probably casts the greatest shadow across McDowell's career is that of Alex in A Clockwork Orange.  His appearence of a single false black eye lash and bowler hat accenting his tight white garb is iconic in the annals of cinema.  Director Stanley Kubrick's film offered abundant violence and nudity, but allowed Alex's unsavory actions an amount of appeal thanks to stylized scenes and McDowell's charisma.  It's shocked audiences and critics upon its release and still manages to do so.

Diverse is the best descripion applied to McDowell's work of the past 35 years.  He's portrayed villains with copious zeal in sci-fi pics like Star Trek Generations and Tank Girl.  He's been the lead in historic films with a tendacy toward drama like the World War I story of pilots - Aces High, as well as romps like director Richard Lester's Royal Flash.  Cat People presented McDowell as an odd indivdiual, desperate and cursed by a bizarre pedigree in an erotic reworking of the classic B&W horror film.  Along with other established actors like Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren, he took a chance to appear in the sexually graphic Caligula.  Whether in the past or future, as hero or villain, McDowell is always fascinating to watch.

Most recently McDowell has starred on the TNT series Franklin and Bash as the eccentric head of the law firm which employs the title characters.

I've been fortunate to see Malcolm McDowell in person at several conventions.   His Q&A's concerning his career are always entertaining.           

Malcolm McDowell & David Bowie - 2 Greats!

Reality forges links in mysterious ways.

As a teenager I became a huge fan of Malcolm McDowell, first for his work in Time After Time.  McDowell played the great science fiction writer H. G. Wells, but in the film Wells did more then write science fiction - he lived it.  Wells created a time machine, but bad luck had a friend (played by David Warner) turn out to be the infamous Jack the Ripper and the killer escaped into time via the machine.

Time After Time led me to seek out other McDowell films.  I was repeatedly transfixed by his performances in such productions as A Clockwork Orange, if.., and O Lucky Man!.  The later is my favorite film, a heady mix of first rate acting and  music provided by Alan Price of The Animals.  The film has a surreal flair as it follows coffee salesman Mick Travis (McDowell) on a series of adventures throughout England of the late 60's early 70's era.  Travis encounters everything from nefarious businessmen to mad scientists but always looks for tomorrow's oppurtunities.  Interestingly, McDowell himself worked as a coffee bean salesman.  His character in this film, Mick Travis, was the central character in if.., and would return in Britannia Hospital.

Malcolm McDowell managed to introduce me to two musical greats.  It was McDowell's role as offscreen narrator that led me to view The Compleat Beatles.  His voice added a lot to the story of The Beatles start, growth and eventual breakup.  The film is well researched with ample facts and happily does not delve too deeply into gossip or unfounded scandals. 

Malcolm McDowell introduced me to David Bowie's work with Cat People.  The 1982 film was a remake of a black and white Val Lewton film from forty years earlier.  The remake had more blood and a stronger interpetation of the story's central theme of sexuality.  And it had a killer tune by Bowie. 

Cat People (putting out fire) has mysterious and passionate lyrics that somehow maintain an immortal flaire.  Bowie's voice seems to me at it fullest here, able to utilize its deep richness to convey listeners to an eerie plane of existance where the supernatural rules. I found myself recognizing that voice elsewhere, a TV movie called The Annhilator used Ashes to Ashes.  And I couldn't help myself from seeking out his work in albums and film.
 

  
    Myself and Malcolm McDowell at Horrorfind Convention in September of 2012. (Above)

It was a great pleasure to get to meet Malcolm McDowell at serval local conventions.  And recently its been a great pleasure to write for davidbowienews.com - go there to find more of my musings concerning the great David Bowie.