Tag Archives: Bette Davis
Of Human Bondage (1934): Bette Davis Ascends
“There’s usually one who loves and one who is loved.”
Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) is a sympathetic man who made a go at an artist’s life in Paris. However, a mentor tells him to move on; worse than a failure, he’s a mediocre talent. Although he has the industry, he lacks the genius, so he resolves to devote himself to something else: pursuing medicine like his father before him. It also constitutes a move back to his native London in the process.
Although it has nothing to do with his individual strength of character, wherever he goes in society at large, he is forever marked by his club foot. His history of rejection sets the stage for the story at hand. Of Human Bondage is based on W. Somerset Maugham’s partially autobiographical novel from 1915. I know little about its source material, but the film obviously does condense the narrative and hone in on one relationship in particular.
On the behest of a medical school colleague, they strike up a conversation with an “anemic” waitress (Bette Davis) at a local tea room. There’s a shrill, hard edge to her — denoting the lower classes — and she wears a tough exterior. Howard’s corners are rounded and refined in comparison.
Davis uses certain ticks to her advantage, for instance, how she always tilts her head from side to side. She’s proud and aloof in spite of her upbringing. Philip gives her a playful going over, and yet can’t stop thinking about her. She holds a power over him.
After only one encounter he’s completely smitten, asking her out to the theater, then dinner, while she barely gives him the time of day. Her ploy is to keep him at arm’s length accepting his requests for companionship, even as she keeps company with other men (including Alan Hale).
For those who have been in love, it’s the greatest disappointment when feelings are not reciprocated. She becomes his mind’s primary obsession during medical examinations, totally commandeering his life. He is only a passing fancy for her. Nothing more. Given the circumstances, his hopeless devotion toward her can only end in one way: heartbreak. What’s worse than having it happen once, is the cycle continuing over and over again.
Because she tells him more than once, that she’ll never love him; they have no future together. She goes off and marries something else, only to get thrown back out on the street. Philip finds himself taking her in out of pity because her husband dumps her, and she has an infant child to care for.
Although he’s not well-off, he still extends his hospitality to her even as it scourges him to have her in his space. He knows he cannot give himself over to her again. It would only torment him more.
Even as his medical career progresses and he finds another woman, a decent woman, and one who genuinely loves him, the pull of Mildred is too great. Not that he loves her, but she is in need of someone, someone to have mercy and give her shelter to provide for her child. As there is no one else, it falls on Philip.
Thankfully, there are a few bright spots in his life. One of his patients (Reginald Owen) is a particularly jovial chap who welcomes him into his home after he’s received a good bill of health and even introduces his beautiful daughter (Frances Dee) to the eligible bachelor.
Mildred continues to be the noose slowly tightening around Philip’s neck. Despite all the generosity he’s shown her, she ultimately lashes out at him with a vindictive fury, trashing his apartment and desecrating the paintings he has cherished for so long. But he is a changed man and as Mildred sinks back into the gutter, he continues to rise out of it.
We have a budding love story on our hands and in the company of Thorpe Athelny (Owen) and his daughter Sally, Philip cultivates a life-giving bond with the makings of a happy ending. Suddenly, all the former heartaches and woes have passed away, and Philip is blessed with a new life. Mildred is not so lucky…
Leslie Howard is an able performer and his talents probably get overshadowed a bit today due to playing a supporting role in Gone With the Wind and dying so tragically during WWII. But in a picture such as Of Human Bondage, he exemplifies both a sensitivity of spirit and a capacity for love. Frances Dee holds what might be considered a token role, but she’s teeming with beauty opposite him as one of the unsung starlets of the decade.
However, as you might have guessed, there is no considering this picture in its full breadth without considering Bette Davis’s performance. In hindsight, it’s fascinating to think about how some of the greatest stars made their ascensions. If the role of Mildred acts as an inflection point for Davis, then it’s quite an extraordinary anomaly for the era, but also a stunning showcase.
In some way, Mildred runs very radically against the tide of the times — not the victim but the aggressor — and a femme fatale before they were thoroughly popularized by noir in forthcoming decades
We must marvel at the courage and foresight of Davis to fight for the part, to go at it wholeheartedly, and willingly play a so-called undesirable, unglamorous character. Because she realized in all the mess, all the vulnerability, there is a character worth considering. Frankly, she feels human and honest though we do see her most petty and debased inclinations. This is precisely the point. The actress’s own words do much to color her appreciation of the characterization:
“My understanding of Mildred’s vileness – not compassion but empathy – gave me pause … I was still an innocent. And yet Mildred’s machinations I miraculously understood when it came to playing her. I was often ashamed of this … I suppose no amount of rationalization can change the fact that we are all made up of good and evil.”
Davis seems supremely perceptive, and she touches on one of the keys to creating indelible performances. Great actors are able to empathize with all characters and find their core truth — the wounds and hurts and realities — making them into genuine, broken people. There are a handful of Bette Davis characters that are easy for me to dismiss; I usually look down on them because I don’t like them as people.
Only as I grow older do I realize their flaws momentarily look like my own. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see myself in Mildred Rogers or Margo Channing, but I’d be remiss to say I’m better than them or totally impervious to similar sins. Bette Davis is such a legendary talent because she forces me to have empathy with wretches such as these. Because on my worst days (and some of my better ones), I am one too.
Posted in Drama, Romance | Tagged Alan Hale Sr., Bette Davis, Frances Dee, John Cromwell, Leslie Howard, Pre-Code, Review | Leave a reply
Waterloo Bridge (1931): Pre-Code Edition
Posted on May 8, 2021 by 4 Star Films
Many might best remember Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor in the 1940 version of Waterloo Bridge. It’s immediately obvious this movie has a very different flavor from the outset. It’s an earthier more boisterous version of Waterloo Bridge before the Production Codes took their axes to the original material.
James Whale’s camera pans across a gay gang of chorus girls on the stage — they are alive and bursting with perky energy — putting on a show for their patrons. Behind the curtains and after-hours, the girls maintain the buzz as they chat in their skimpy Pre-Code attire. One of their ilk is Myra Deaville (Mae Clarke).
It’s delightful how the camera takes such a shine to our heroine though it’s so obvious to see she might play second or third fiddle to the band of big wigs and aristocrats in the world at-large. She really does feel like a nobody far away from home. Still, there’s something to be said for her way of life.
As is, London has a lovely artificiality that we can breathe in and still enjoy as the characters amble along the streets with car horns and horse carts to go with the post boxes and street lamps.
Likewise, the beats feel raw and unkempt in a way the 1940 remake would never have dared or been capable of to begin with. Somehow it takes on a grander more chaotic scale in the hands of James Whale. And yet the characters and vernacular are more casual even familiar.
Douglass Montgomery feels like an honest-to-goodness callow soldier boy. He doesn’t have the slightest sense of what he’s gotten himself into and with anything he does, there’s a latent fallibility you don’t get with Robert Taylor. He never feels endangered in the same way.
Likewise, Mae Clark is affecting yet generally capable of exuding an everyday ordinariness. We hardly remember her star compared to the likes of Vivien Leigh, who headlined one of the most grandiose, decadent epics of all time. Their trajectories and legacies could not be more disparate This is just the film to raise her reputation above one crackerjack scene playing opposite James Cagney and a Lemon.
She’s no star (the film coincidentally features a young Bette Davis), and the story seems to like it that way. Because both Clarke and Montgomery, by today’s standards, are hardly highly touted figures, but somehow they fit so genuinely here within the provided context.
It’s a youthful dynamic with a 19-year-old doughboy and the dance hall performer who’s been around. She also carries the forlorn look rather well even as Montgomery’s face is fresh and boyish.
They meet helping an old lady pick her potatoes off of Waterloo Bridge. It’s the same air raid from the earlier film with a certain frenzied uncertainty of war in the atmosphere. The gas runs out in her shabby apartment, and they talk to each other about their lives, mouths crammed with food.
It also cultivates a different dimension of ex-pats away from home. Because both Roy and Myra are born and bred Americans, and so there’s this inherent otherness they engender. It’s the type of visible difference that makes it all the more believable they would gravitate toward one another.
Furthermore, the film is not just consigned to the urban cityscapes but finds its way out into the countryside far from the signs of tumult and war. Because whereas the later version had the reverie of dance and “Aul Lang Syne,” this version needs its own escape valve, a respite before the final act’s guttural finale.
Here Myra is thrown in with Roy’s mother and an avuncular old step-father, hard of hearing and loving a good whiskey and soda. He’s a puttering scene-stealer — mostly because Bette Davis has nothing of import to do as an amiable sister. Her time would come in due time.
Meanwhile, the drama goes on behind the scenes as Myra is a woman of such genuine conscience — she admits she picked Roy up on Waterloo Bridge — she is no chorus girl. Though she could marry him, she chooses not to. She understands the mores of society and is willing to abide by them, even when it hurts.
You can call it the hooker with the heart of gold archetype to be sure, but what it really brings out is a culture so quick to label people as pariahs and outcasts — dirty and sinful folks not fit to be seen with the rest of God-fearing humanity. Then, behind closed doors, there’s gossip and what-have-you in the guise of propriety.
In the end, between passionate kisses, a crowded truck of onlookers shipping out to the front, and zeppelins raining down incendiaries, there’s not a moment to breathe before the curtain falls. This might be very well by design. Still, this movie zips along with a raw vitality worthy of consideration.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance | Tagged Bette Davis, Douglass Montgomery, James Whale, Review, Universal Pictures, WWI | Leave a reply
Dark Victory (1939): Bette Davis at Her Best
Posted on October 8, 2020 by 4 Star Films
Dark Victory reminds one how eclectic the Warner Bros. stock company was in 1939 because, in a Bette Davis vehicle, the first visage to present itself is none other than a wry Humphrey Bogart. The movie is a veritable grab bag of assorted talent from Bogart to Ronald Reagan and even kindly, bushy-browed Henry Travers. Despite still being a supporting player (his ascension would come in two years), Bogey is having a grand old time as a smart-mouthed horse trainer named Michael O’Leary.
He is under the employment of one Judith Traherne (Davis) who is coming off her most recent bender, living it up in local social circles. It’s an obvious first impression although, as time goes on, we get quite a different understanding of who she is as a human being. It’s often the case trials and tribulation mixed with romance have a habit of bringing out the truest essence of an individual.
For the Davis character, it begins inauspiciously enough. We expect her to be a frivolous, spirited socialite partying, drinking, smoking cigarettes, like any self-respecting belle in her position. In such a world the happy-go-lucky playboy Alex (Ronald Reagan) seems to be an impeccable match.
Her best friend Ann (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is the doting sounding board who might as well be a part of Judith. At any rate, she functions as a guardian angel constantly worried about the other’s well-being. She never fails to be by Judith’s side in all manner of circumstances — it’s almost uncanny — but cinematically, she becomes the necessary foil on which our heroine transfers all her fears.
This is a crucial relationship as the story progresses. For it is Ann who bears the brunt of the sorrow, in effect, freeing Judith to push bravely forward. Ann cries the tears so her friend doesn’t have to. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We must put it out there now that tragedy strikes.
The events are instigated in one frightening instance when Judith all but runs her horse through a jump out on the range. They are both shaken up, but the fall is written off as a lingering after-effect of the previous night’s merriment.
Still, the incidents persist. One afternoon Judith takes a tumble down the stairs while later confiding in her friend about other isolated moments and the recent hangover-induced headaches she hasn’t been able to shake.
While Judith remains peppy and bright, in all manner of speaking, there’s no question these developments have left her frazzled — her nerves undone by this unexplained erratic behavior.
At about this time, our other important character is introduced, a well-respected brain surgeon (George Brent) who is all but prepared to give up his booming practice for a more relaxed mode of medicine. It is only as a favor to a friend he even takes a look at Ms. Traherne (As a minor side note, it’s staggering to acknowledge this was the eighth out of eleven onscreen appearances Brent made opposite Bette Davis!).
His subsequent examination is basic but wholly conclusive, and it is a clever bit of exposition instigated by director Edmund Goulding. We learn instantly the doctor’s new patient is losing some of her ocular and motor skills. It’s evident something is wrong. Though he does not frighten her in the moment, he has suspicions she is stricken with cancer.
The consequence. She’s going to die. It’s only a matter of time. The main conundrum suddenly thrust upon the doctor and Ann is a deplorable one: To tell her in all truthfulness what is inevitable or let her live in ignorance so her final days might be blissful.
What do you expect to happen? Of course, they never get the chance to make the decision. Two words: prognosis negative, are all Judith needs to put it all together. She feels betrayed and disdains their pity. She will never be the same.
The way Davis approaches each of these scenes with almost a spastic giddiness makes it different than what one might typically consider mainline Bette Davis, whether The Little Foxes or All About Eve. If anything, it reveals her immense aptitude at projecting different sides of humanity. Because she seems so very superficial only to subvert all our expectations with an unassailable strength, bolstering her in her waning days.
The tear-jerking melodrama is a precarious affair because it must throw out all sorts of tragedies and sentimentalities while all the while compelling the audience such that they don’t completely laugh off the whole idea as poppycock. After all, it’s about the easiest thing in the world to dismiss such a picture — we’ve seen enough soaps in our days to grow weary of them — but the good ones take us through the paces and still manage to get to us.
Dark Victory is no person’s idea of a perfect film, but it does what it sets out to do quite stupendously. Even as someone never quick to fawn over Bette Davis, there’s no recourse but to laud her performance.
Not often am I fond of a Davis character, even the ones you’re meant to like. Dark Victory teeters somewhere in the middle for a while, but the sheer tornado frenzy of giggling life in the face of death wins out. It’s a testament to Davis more than anyone else as she all but sticks the landing, carrying the magnitude of the drama with her implacable performance.
The title itself, Dark Victory, initially sounds morbid or like it’s indicating some form of vindictive revenge. And yet really, this is a happier story imbued with hope in the face of said tragedy. It is a victory over the dark even as the light dissipates for Judith.
In reality, the trills of lasting romance and fearlessness in the face of the great unknown offer her vindication over her struggles. We are not meant to weep over her lot in life. Instead, taking a cue from her own outlook, we must lean into the sweetness in lieu of the tragedy.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance | Tagged Bette Davis, Edmund Goulding, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Henry Travers, Humphrey Bogart, Review, Ronald Reagan | Leave a reply
8 Underrated Screwball Comedies
Posted on July 25, 2020 by 4 Star Films
Screwball comedies, like film noir, have a fairly devoted following and although they were very much of their time, they still have descendants and influences on the movies coming out today.
Many of the heavy hitters from the 30s and 40s are household names, but I thought it would be fun to highlight a few titles that fewer people might think about in conversations surrounding screwball comedies. Let me know what you think!
Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
Irene Dunne is a great person to start this list off with because I always enjoy her films and yet she oftentimes feels woefully forgotten. In this zany vehicle, she is the eponymous title character who, while living a life of propriety in a small town, actually moonlights as quite the titillating author. Her life gets flipped upside down when one of the city slickers (Mervyn Douglas) finds out her secret.
Easy Living (1937)
It’s true a whole movie can be born out of a fur coat dropping from the sky, and it builds into a wonderfully raucous narrative thanks to the wonky scripting of Preston Sturges. Jean Arthur and Edward Arnold make a fine pair and send the town into a tizzy when rumors start circulating about the extent of their relationship. Ray Milland also proves why he was a much sought after rom-com lead.
It’s Love I’m After (1937)
It’s a dream cast with Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland in a dream scenario: a love triangle dressed up with Shakespearean theatricality. What better bedfellow for screwball comedy as Howard puts on a performance to rebuff a starstruck fan girl and earn back his jealous co-star. Eric Blore is stupendous as per usual.
True Confession (1937)
It’s courtroom drama meets screwball romance with Carole Lombard giving one of her most frenzied performances as a serial fibber who pleads guilty to an egregious crime so she can drum up some publicity for her husband (Fred MacMurray), a struggling lawyer in need of a big case. Una Merkel and John Barrymore show up to supply some added character.
Merrily We Live (1938)
Here is a movie that’s good-naturedly built out of the mode of My Man Godfrey. It’s about a family of idle rich: Constance Bennett, Billie Burke, Clarence Kolb, and Bonita Granville, of all people! They’re a constant whirlwind of ditzy entertainment around the breakfast table, and they quite unwittingly pull a passerby (Brian Aherne) into their comic vortex. Chaos ensues.
Vivacious Lady (1938)
Ginger Rogers and Jimmy Stewart have a glowing chemistry. However, their recent marriage has a wrench thrown into it when they head home to meet the parents. The word never got to them, and Charles Coburn, in one of his most obstinate performances, will never approve. Ginger uses all her tricks to woo her husband’s family over and fight off any rivals with her unparalleled catfighting skills. It’s as delightful as it sounds.
The Rage of Paris (1938)
Spunky Danielle Darrieux and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. spar across social lines with your typical screwball romance riddled with conflict transplanted to Paris and the French countryside. What Henry Koster brings is his usual heart-warming tone, and with support from the likes of Helen Broderick and Misca Auer, the material receives a dose of extra comedic oomph.
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
Here is the original undercover boss with the always cantankerous Charles Coburn slinking around his own department store. Not only does he come to understand his employees’ dissatisfaction with their work, through the eyes of Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings, he also learns what real friendship is. The movie is blessed with that wonderful one-two combo of uproarious antics and genuine heart.
Let me know what screwball comedies you would include!
Posted in Film List | Tagged Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Charles Coburn, Constance Bennett, Danielle Darreux, Eric Blore, Fred MacMurray, Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Melvyn Douglas, Olivia de Havilland, Preston Sturges, Screwball Comedy, Trevor Howard | 4 Replies
It’s Love I’m After (1937): In Honor of Olivia De Havilland
Posted on July 4, 2020 by 4 Star Films
There is a very significant reason to be watching It’s Love I’m After at this time. Her name is Olivia de Havilland, and by some brilliant piece of Providence, she has just recently turned 104 years old! She, of course, was in her early 20s when this movie came out and what a charmer it is.
A few years before To Be or Not To Be, here is another movie hamming up Shakespeare on the stage. This time it’s Leslie Howard and Bette Davis as they act out their version of Romeo and Juliet for a rapt audience. What makes the sequence is the dueling couple whispering snide asides to one another mid-performance. Barbs about garlic breath and upstaging come out because they’re both conceited and jealously in love.
But where is Olivia in all of this? She’s up in the balcony swooning over the sublime eye candy down on the stage. She’s seen all of his performances and is positively devoted to his very essence. Her boyfriend (Patric Knowles) looks on with frustration as he’s having to compete with a rival who has never even met his girl before.
This is soon remedied when she promptly goes backstage to pay her respects. It’s all quite innocent. Basil and Joyce continue their incessant bickering from their adjoining dressing rooms, still at each other’s throats, despite the wall between them.
Then, Marcia West presents herself positively agog by the image of her idol thoroughly in the flesh before her. He’s flattered but he hardly knows what he’s doing when he accepts her compliments. Worse still, Joyce sees the young woman on her way out. Harmless or not, it adds further fuel to their relational fires.
What a delight it is to see such beloved thespians and titans of dramaturgy like Howard and Davis doing comedy, of all things, and doing it quite well in the screwball vein. After all, this would be their third picture together following Of Human Bondage and Petrified Forest. There’s no comparison.
The movie is totally overtaken by bipolar swings in fortune. First lovers’ quarrels — it’s the worst New Year’s Eve ever — then there are marriage proposals, and finally, Basil resolves to help a young fellow out.
They do have some handy support. There were few better in this department than Eric Blore, and he has a readily available supply of birdcalls and advice on his master’s matrimonial habits on the “precipice,” as it were.
Being your typically theatrical, philandering type, Basil resolves to shirk his impulses and pursue his own moral salvation. In this case, his good deed is for a lovesick fellow whose best girl is smitten with the stagebound Romeo. The actor doesn’t know it’s the same girl. How can he? No one in these movies ever stops to compare notes.
Still, he resolves to turn up on her doorstep and rudely ruffle her illusion of him. He and his man Digges (Blore) pay a late-night housecall to the West residence. Their shouts of “ire” soon become “fire” and brief pandemonium sets in as an impromptu round of “We’re here because we’re here” comes out sounding a lot like “Auld Lang Syne.”
He schmoozes his way into the house, making himself at home in the company of the avuncular father, befuddled mother, and a gossiping sister (Bonita Granville) always peeping through keyholes. But in Marcia’s eyes, he can still do no wrong. Now he’s got quite the prompting audience, and he’s all but ready to do his part.
His bit of showmanship has him playing up his image as an egotistical malcontent tearing through the guests and their breakfast table with ferocity (and some help from the Bard). Digges does his best to complain about the lack of kippers and other inadequacies. None of it congeals as they were hoping, in fact, it has an adverse effect. Marcia agrees with his every word.
As someone fed on a steady diet of P.G. Wodehouse and Jeeves and Wooster, there’s something familiar and comforting about the picture’s comic situation. Basil is no Bertie Wooster. Digges is no Jeeves, but they are stuck in the same madcap realm of romantic entanglement mixed with comedic hijinks.
Whatever Basil tries is quite unsuccessful in quelling the ardor or the affection of Ms. West. The best-laid plans all too quickly go awry and poor Digges can do little to stop the inevitable. Joyce makes her reappearance at precisely the most inopportune time. She catches her man in the arm of another. The jealous boyfriend feels affronted as he watches his girl be ripped away from him, albeit unwittingly.
The story couldn’t look bleaker and further from its agreed-upon happy ending and yet, eventually, it comes, like any good rom-com. Don’t ask me how it happens. Maybe it’s the youthful fickleness of De Havilland’s ingenue. Perhaps cinematic serendipity gets in the way. Regardless, the partners shuffle around only to get back together with their ordained.
Leslie Howard and Bette Davis are, again, madly in love, then yelling and screaming and pushing each other across the room. Digges is busy packing the suitcases only for the contents to come tumbling out as future husband and wife make up and share a passionate embrace. What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East and Juliet is the sun! End scene.
Posted in 1930s, Comedy, Romance | Tagged Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Review, Screwball | 1 Reply
Classic Movie Beginner’s Guide: Teresa Wright
We continue our series chronicling the career of classic Hollywood stars with 4 films. This week our subject is Teresa Wright a genial actress with a high degree of success throughout the 1940s at MGM.
If memory serves, she remains the only performer to have received Oscar nominations for her first three roles. Her later career stalled mostly impart to her willingness to challenge the rigid structures of the studio system.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the often unsung talent of Teresa Wright!
The Little Foxes (1941)
What an auspicious way to begin a film career not only playing opposite Bette Davis but being directed by William Wyler in a spectacular ensemble including Herbert Marshall and Dan Duryea. Wright more than substantiates her reputation as a wholesome ingenue amid an otherwise treacherous menagerie. Mrs. Miniver would do much the same to uphold her image.
There’s not a better choice to play Eleanor the wife of the Iron Horse, Yankee legend, and ALS casualty Lou Gehrig. The chemistry between Wright and Gary Cooper is genial and playful from the beginning. This is what makes the hardship even more devastating. In her lady years, I heard Wright was quite the avid Yankees fan, and after this film you can see why.
The Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
This is arguably the pinnacle of Teresa Wright’s career pairing her with Alfred Hitchcock and giving her top billing across from Joseph Cotten as her treacherous uncle and namesake Charlie. It’s the height of rural noir where the darkness of the outside world seeps into idyllic Santa Rosa as the wanted widow murderer seeks refuge. Her own is quickly thrown into jeopardy when he begins to suspect she knows…
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
If I’m correct, this is the film that first introduced me to Teresa Wright, and I was immediately smitten with her charms as the grown daughter of Myrna Loy and Frederic March. She finds herself caught up in a romance with a returning G.I. stuck in a loveless marriage (Dana Andrews). What makes it so powerful is the fact this is only one relationship in the patchwork William Wyler creates out of the Boone City community.
Mrs. Miniver, Pursued, The Men
Posted in Beginner's Guide, Misc. | Tagged Bette Davis, Dana Andrews, Gary Cooper, Greer Garson, Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, William Wyler | Leave a reply
Jezebel (1938): A Bette Davis Southern Belle
The oldest movie theater near where I grew up was built in 1938 and by some peculiar coincidence, Bette Davis is said to have driven by the establishment time and time again. Being the iron-willed personality that she was, the rising star demanded they open with her latest movie. (I assume very few people crossed Bette Davis and lived to tell about it.)
Thus, the first film ever shown at the newly minted theater was her very own Jezebel. One of the attractions of the theater to this day is an old-fashioned parlor in the ladies room reminiscent of the days when women used to sit together while powdering their noses and sharing in the latest trivialities and juicy bits of gossip. At least that’s how I imagine it.
In truth, Jezebel would prove to be the actresses consolation prize for being passed over for the leading role in one of the biggest cultural attractions of the era, Gone with the Wind (1939). Though Davis was beloved and already extremely popular with the viewing public, the big wigs got the final say choosing Vivien Leigh instead. Of course, the rest is history.
But it’s difficult not to look at Jezebel in juxtaposition with its arguably more opulent and ostentatious rival. That begins with the differing palettes — black & white vs. color — and subsequently bleeds into the running times and comparative success as well.
Surely, Henry Fonda is no dashing rapscallion like Clark Gable, but I find him a more understated hero. More pleasantly reserved. Likewise, while Selznick’s behemoth production was a cash cow, you wonder how he was able to tie the picture together with so many moving pieces and names attached as directors, cinematographers, etc.
William Wyler guides Jezebel with his usual expertise and professionalism, cementing a long and fruitful partnership with Bette Davis. Not that they always were the perfect symbiotic relationship; he soon earned the nickname “99 Take Willie” and Davis was already known for her aforementioned recalcitrant nature.
But there’s little denying that they made each other better. He elevated her performance with his care and the collaboration with long-time cinematographer Ernest Haller lighting her in each scene, creates an ongoing continuity, while Davis brought something authentic and inherently obstinate, fearlessly commanding the screen.
This particular story takes us back in American history to Antebellum New Orleans in 1852. Davis makes a stirring impression as southern belle Julie Marsden arriving late to a fine to-do, not even changing out of her riding crop before bursting in on the company. The churlishness of her impropriety is startling and utterly appalling to the ladies and some of the gentlemen trained up by decades of Southern civility.
Ladies just don’t do such a thing. It isn’t decent. But you get the sense that’s precisely why Davis is impeccable for this role as a woman who willingly tramples over the normative without a second thought. She’s simultaneously an audacious nonconformist and a destructive force clouded by her own pettiness.
She currently resides with her hospitable and generally courteous aunt (Fay Bainter) who nevertheless has her hands full with such a strong-headed woman in her home. The most crucial personal conflict begins with Jezebel’s beau Preston Dillard (Fonda), an up and coming banker. They have a disagreement as he seems more taken with his work than with her.
However, for Julie, in her egocentric world, she is all that matters, and in a form of brash retaliation, she disregards traditional protocol again by ordering a scandalous red dress to wear to the forthcoming ball. Why is it unheard of? Because unmarried women are only ever seen in white. Never in their life would they dream of donning such a brazen symbol.
Throughout the entire film, Davis’ wardrobe, designed by Orry Kelly, essentially becomes an extension of her character, embodying her individuality and defiance of the culture she finds around her.
Henry Fonda maintains a quietly stern resolve much to his credit. Because at face value I always take him for a benevolent soul, and he is when the moments of sincerity are called for. But one cannot acknowledge his candor without remembering the other scenes in You Only Live Once or The Grapes of Wrath where his utter alienation with the world is palpable.
Thus, he’s able to hold his own with Davis even if, by design, this is her picture. The steadiness of his own demeanor is able to be her counterbalance while also confronting the blind devotees of southern convention. Of course, it can’t be helped even as he and his mentor, Dr. Livingstone (Donald Crisp), try and speak sense into those around them.
Julie and Preston weather the Ball together as he forces her to make the ignominious walk of shame and subsequently dance with him, as all eyes fall on them stupefied. Their engagement falls to the wayside after that and Julie will not have him back.
Time passes as Pres goes up north for a spell and Julie becomes inconsolate, clinging to the hope that her former lover will come back to her on his hands and knees. She’s desperate and terribly broken up. Eventually, he does return, just like old times, and yet on his arm hangs his new wife, a charming northerner (Margaret Lindsay), who nevertheless gets slighted by her jealous rival.
In one last-ditch effort to make Prez jealous, Judy tries to use a cocksure southern gentleman named Buck Cantrell (George Brent) to stir up any dissidence she can between the two men. To a degree, her disingenuous contrivance works out in winning the man’s favor with consequences she cannot be absolved of.
Although the conflict between the North and the South is rising to a fever pitch, the film is never actually embroiled in the Civil War. Instead, it is stricken by the peril of the Yellow Fever which fails to discriminate between the rich and the poor.
We see most clearly in these waning moments the arbitrary nature of the southern moral code which would deem two men would have to die in a duel for absolutely pointless means. It’s infuriating to watch because no one’s honor was even at stake. It’s all on account of the needlessly puerile ploys of a woman completely consumed by selfishness, ultimately destroying the relationships around her.
Bette Davis’ pursuit of redemption at the end of the picture generally ruins what we are left with. Especially because she was well-known for playing strong often uncompromising women verging on the unsympathetic. That was part of her allure as an actor, making her so very unlike many of the Hollywood standard-bearers. She had those iconic eyes but also an implacable bullish nature. She’s always a cinematic force to be reckoned with even if her performance gets slightly compromised in Jezebel.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance | Tagged Bette Davis, Donald Crisp, Henry Fonda, Review, William Wyler | Leave a reply
Three on a Match (1932): The Epitome of Hollywood Pre-Code
Posted on August 2, 2019 by 4 Star Films
The Pre-Code era of Hollywood is a legitimate marvel because in a span of only a few solitary years was a period of filmmaking bursting at the seams with vice, corruption, and licentiousness that we would never see again until the late 1960s.
One could say that each of these elements was merely an exploitive measure to get folks in the sits. No question about it. However, that’s not to say the era is devoid of meaning nor is Three on a Match any less evocative. In retrospect, we look at something like this and it’s not simply a cultural artifact for us to engage with, one could assert just as vehemently that it was more indicative of the human condition than many later films coming out of the Hollywood mills. Scan the contemporary news columns and you might have to agree. In fact, that’s much of what director Mervyn LeRoy does.
He rapidly spans time with a proliferation of news clippings. They are not simply a montage effect but a continual storytelling device that are almost sinews to this story which must function with hyperawareness of its timescale. Ricocheting with time jumps that you almost get used to by the end and each one is out of pure necessity. Remember with 63 minutes you have to scrimp with every minute. From a historical perspective alone, it’s an absolute goldmine with cinematic images to fit right alongside the current events.
The title Three on a Match seems a foreign concept now but it comes from the old wive’s tale that if three people light a cigarette from the same match the odds are one of them will die. It is often incorrectly cited as originating in the trenches during WWI. Instead, it was the advertising gimmick of a Swedish matchbox salesman to drum up more business.
The story itself ambitiously begins in adolescence with three girls. Mary Keaton (Joan Blondell) is the wayward one who looks to be headed toward a reformatory and sure enough, she grows up and winds up in such a life. Vivian Revere (Ann Dvorak) is the purported “good girl” who ends up with a fine education and marrying a wealthy lawyer (Warren Williams) but she finds her life and her marriage dull and unfulfilling. Meanwhile, little Ruth Westcott (Bette Davis) has grown up into a pretty stenographer who nevertheless is relegated to playing the third fiddle. No matter, Davis would get her revenge in an illustrious career to come.
The root of the drama crops up from Vivian’s dissatisfaction with life because being the understanding husband that he is, Mr. Kirkwood proposes she take a trip away with their little son so she can clear her mind and come back refreshed. She jumps at the opportunity.
Adultery is such an insidious thing since you never consciously think you are going to be unfaithful; I imagine it just ambushes you as it does for Vivian. She meets a man (Lyle Talbot) who is charming and the bubbly is flowing. She has few cares in the world and conveniently has neglected her son. Whom does she have to thank for this good time? Why, it’s Mary. Except Mary has changed; she’s a different person, chiding her old classmate to think before she throws her life away. The tides have changed with the reprobate teaching the classy one something about life.
To divulge any more would ruin the surprise but there’s little doubt, it’s sordid stuff with some mild sense of morality. We have drugs, adultery, scandal, and suicide all rolled up into one tightly woven package. Dvorak is devastating in her self-destructive spiral as Blondell commands the film’s stalwart center.
The most unexpected star is little Junior who is a precocious performer, lovable in every scene he shares with his bevy of costars but also a striking reminder of how innocent children are. To neglect them is to disregard the imperative of parenthood to provide for your progeny with an unselfish, unswerving, sacrificial love.
The rest of the gang are all assigned their assorted parts that became their mainstays. Humphrey Bogart becomes the quintessential heavy in a matter of moments. Ed Arnold is the exacting kingpin overseeing everything. Allen Jenkins is another tough customer with little heart or soul.
It might do well as a companion piece to Night Nurse, which also involves little children being exploited. Joan Blondell gives a spunky turn in both even as the plots verge on the utterly ludicrous and are remembered now as much for their louche content than the actual details of their plots. Part of that has to do with how unusual it seems, especially with the laissez-faire attitude of the production codes at the time.
But also in this specific case, the Lindberg kidnapping indubitably was still fresh in the minds of the viewing public, lending some credence to the believability of such a tale. That’s the key. However absurdly a plotline might slingshot this way or that, as long as something grounds it, even momentarily, in reality, it can captivate us. Three on a Match is not a phenomenal film outright but within its means, it manages to be economically diverting.
Posted in 1930s, Drama, Romance | Tagged Bette Davis, Edward Arnold, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Blondell, Mervyn LeRoy, Pre-Code, Review | Leave a reply
4 WWII Home Front Movies
Posted on June 6, 2019 by 4 Star Films
World War II gave rise to a whole cottage industry of war films during the conflict and for generations to come. There are, of course, so many facets of the war to explore whether it’s Europe, The Pacific, North Africa, and any number of elements.
However, something that always fascinated me was life on the Home Front. Now wars feel like proxies. They rarely affect us first-hand. During the 1940s the war was a concerted effort on all fronts. It affected not only soldiers but civilians living miles away.
Mrs. Miniver (1942) chronicles the exploits of a fearless mother who holds her family together during The Blitz and the threat of German invasion. More The Merrier (1943) takes a comical look at the housing crisis that plagued Washington D.C. and other metropolis areas. Even the likes of Stage Door Canteen (1943) and Thank Our Lucky Stars (1943) give a picture into the USO and entertainment efforts put on for soldiers.
Here is a list of four other films from the World War II years that function as time capsules giving us some element of what life was like during those impactful years in history.
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944)
Certainly, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek is another uproarious wartime comedy from Preston Sturges. But this other offering is equally memorable in how it takes on small-town jingoism and hero worship to outrageous proportions. Whereas most old war pictures look moth-bitten with age and overly saccharine, somehow this effort strikes a phenomenal balance between absurd satire and lucid sentimentality.
It’s not making fun of our war heroes as much as it lampoons how we try to exalt them in our own well-meaning blundering. There’s no doubt some of this was certainly acknowledged during the war although I’m not sure how the general public would have felt about the movie in that context. Now it looks prescient. Eddie Bracken, William Demarest, and company are absolutely hilarious
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
Actors Bette Davis and John Garfield of Warner Bros. famously set up the Hollywood Canteen as a haven for soldiers on leave. The perks were free and included dances with the most beautiful starlets and entertainment provided by the brightest comedic and musical personalities of the day. You could even win a raffle to kiss Hedy Lamarr.
Although the film is slight, sentimental propaganda, it does give at least a hint of what this group endeavor was all about. For old movie aficionados, it also provides a convenient opportunity to see just about every person Warner Bros. had on the lot in 1944. They all come out to the party to pitch in on the morale-boosting effort.
The Clock (1945)
Whirlwind romances feel almost commonplace in the war years. Imagine the scenario. You’re longtime beau or the eligible man or woman you just met is going off to war. Miles will separate you. All you have are letters. There’s an uncertainty of whether or not you will ever see them again. The only thing that does seem permanent (even if it’s not) is love.
The theme would crop up in any number of pictures from The Very Thought of You to I’ll Be Seeing You as the situation undoubtedly resonated with a contemporary audience. However, another favorite is The Clock, starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker. It encapsulates the moment in time so well with heightened emotions, an unceremonious courthouse wedding, and the open ending. We don’t know what the future holds.
If Since You Went Away was David Selznick’s WWII epic, this was certainly Samuel Goldwyn’s entry. Its title plays with this ironic ambiguity. The best years of our lives would seem to be ahead of us. The war is over. The Allies have won. The soldiers return home victorious. And yet even in their victory, there is so much to navigate in the civilian world.
Wyler’s effort is such a perceptive picture in how it makes us feel the growing pains and relational tribulations of an entire community. It might be the fact you barely know your wife because you’ve been away for the majority of your marriage. Maybe your kids have grown up in a different world and there’s a corporate job waiting for you to reacclimate to. It might be PTSD or tangible physical injuries totally changing your day-to-day existence. As such the movie is indicative of a certain time and place and a tipping point in American society.
What is your favorite WWII film, whether it depicts the war or some aspect of the home front?
Posted in 1940s, Film List | Tagged Bette Davis, Eddie Bracken, John Garfield, Judy Garland, Preston Sturges, Robert Walker, William Demarest, William Wyler, WWII | Leave a reply
Posted on June 19, 2018 by 4 Star Films
This propaganda extravaganza showcases Hollywood in all its glory from the Brown Derby to the Hollywoodland sign and of course the pride and joy of wartime morale-boosting, the Hollywood Canteen. It’s a bit of a faux reality, Hollywood’s rendition of what real life might actually be like since the Hollywood Canteen did in fact exist.
Historically, it began as an effort by John Garfield and Bette Davis of all people to support the troops and give them quality entertainment from the entertainment capital of the world. Though newsreel footage might serve as a better historical marker (albeit still biased), there’s no questioning the patriotic waves flooding through this picture.
True, even in this film there are anecdotes that point to a slightly different reality. Namely the fact that this was meant to be a Hollywood wide endeavor but all other studios balked and so the lineup is filled out by Warner Bros. catalog of stars and them alone.
Furthermore, it’s easy to surmise that far from being overcome by patriotic fervor, Joan Crawford probably took her role because the alphabetical billing conveniently put her above a couple perennial rivals in Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck.
Even with its authenticity in question, there’s no doubt that the film boasts talent. There’s an inexhaustible array of song & dance from the likes of the Andrew Sisters, Roy Rogers (with Trigger) and Jimmy Dorsey. The stars also come out in full force with cameos from everyone conceivably under contract to Warner Bros from Kitty Carlisle, Jack Carson, Joe E. Brown, Ida Lupino, Jack Benny, and of course Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet staying in character. Each one provides enough star power to fill in the idle moments around our main love story.
Still, there’s no doubt that Joan Leslie was one of America’s sweethearts and it’s no coincidence that our protagonist falls head over heels for her all the way in the South Pacific. The pair of lovebirds represents all that is seemingly good and upright about American ideals even if she is a movie star and he is only a common soldier.
That makes the prospect of actually meeting her beyond his wildest dreams, but Hollywood purportedly is in the dream making business and so Slim gets his wishes granted. A date with his dream girl is soon arranged by those tactful matchmakers Davis and Garfield.
Robert Hutton is almost uncannily reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart who was at the time leading bombing raids over Germany. It seems little coincidence that he would then land the crucial role as the universal soldier Slim — a man who saw his share of action and is home for a short spell — before heading out on his next tour of duty.
He represents all the boys fighting for not just the Red, White, and Blue but every color and creed. In his very starry-eyed and candid way, he mentions each one as the camera picks each out of the crowd. Curious the only group not mentioned were members of the Japanese-American infantry. Yet another incongruity with the world at large. But the red carpet that is rolled out for him at the Hollywood Canteen is meant to be only a small recompense for all his service to his country.
Delmer Daves’s picture much like Stage Door Canteen (1943) fits the realm of saccharine propaganda, even blatantly so, but if you allow yourself to be carried away by the historical moment it has its certain charms.
True, the Home Front or the Allied cause isn’t quite as unified and squeaky clean as it claims to be just as humanity on the whole and the stars behind Hollywood rarely could hold up to scrutiny. However, there’s still something here that can make you smile. Publicity stunt or not. Maybe it’s the romantic in me that likes to believe there’s at least a kernel of truth in here and if nothing else there’s honest to goodness sincerity.
Posted in 1940s, Romance, War | Tagged Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Eleanor Parker, Ida Lupino, Jack Benny, Jack Carson, Joan Crawford, Joan Leslie, Joe E. Brown, John Garfield, Peter Lorre, Review, Roy Rogers, Sydney Greenstreet, WWII | 1 Reply


Manager wants Stags to be more clinical
Stags’ boss Adam Murray says his side need to be more ruthless in the final third after they slipped to only their second league defeat of the season against Barnet this afternoon.
A closely-fought contest was eventually decided by Bees’ frontman John Akinde in the 57th minute when he slotted the ball past Scott Shearer from close range.
And Murray says his side need to start converting their chances after creating a number of goalscoring opportunities against Martin Allen’s side.
“It’s obviously disappointing losing a home game, I felt we created enough chances, or opportunities, to get more from the game,” Murray said in his post-match interview.
“I think we had something like 14 shots, but [we’re] not clinical enough. When you do have that amount of efforts at goal, especially [in the] first half, I felt we got in some good positions where we had to punish them and we didn’t.
“We’ve had goalscoring opportunities today and we didn’t take them. I felt there was a little bit of a lack of focus in that final third today, there wasn’t that ruthlessness there.”
The 34-year-old was dealt a blow when defender George Taft was forced off with a hamstring injury after just 21 minutes and he says his players showed signs of inexperience at certain moments in the game.
“This is the bit that we’re trying to explain to the lads that, at times, we can be very naïve. We played a square pass on the edge of their box I think it is and they’ve ended up scoring. So we’re missing that little bit of nous at the minute.
“Obviously when you’ve got to make changes so early on in the game, it doesn’t help. It wasn’t an ideal situation for us but again, I felt parts of our play was really good. We’ve got to get the balance of ‘why’ we’re playing because at times we pass for the sake of passing, but the boys have got to understand, it’s their responsibility – they’re the ones on the pitch.
“I felt at times today we were a little bit naïve; there was opportunities to ‘go for the jugular’ and we didn’t but for some of them, it’s a harsh learning curve.”
The manager believes there’s still much more to come from his players and has no doubts in regard to how good his squad can be.
“I said in my programme notes, we’re only at 60 percent and something needs to click because it’s still not where it should be.
“We’ve got high standards; we expect a lot. We’ve seen when we’re on it, the kind of performances we can put in," Murray continued.
“I felt today, if we had have upped the gear, just a single gear, we would’ve put them to bed but we didn’t manage to do it. It was kind of getting there, then we took our foot off the gas again, then it’s that little bit of urgency that we need to get it over the line.
“It’s frustrating because we know it’s in there, but this is where we’ve got to turn around to the players and ask them to come forward and stand up because we know it’s in there, there’s some very good players in there.”
Supporters can view Adam Murray’s post-match interview, in full, on Stags PlayerHD.


by Vanson Soo Feb 2, 2020 4 Comment
Shhhcretly is pleased to have the exclusive rights to release the English version of this coverage on Edward Snowden.
This original article was first published 1 December 2018 in German in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, which reserves the publishing rights.
Shhhcretly would like to thank Der Standard and Steffen Arora for their kind permission to share the translated piece exclusively on this blog.
(Above) Photo credit: Lindsay Mills 2018.
Edward Snowden’s warning cry
By Steffen Arora
Der Standard, 1st December 2018
Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations shone a light on the western world’s surveillance practices. But he, and those who helped him, are paying a high price. He talks to Der Standard about the need to fight on.
“This is retaliation.” In an interview with Der Standard, Edward Snowden spoke in no uncertain terms about the authorities’ treatment of the people who saved his life. In June 2013, the former US intelligence services contractor became a hounded whistleblower after he exposed the extent to which the US and its allies carry out global surveillance of the internet and digital communications, regardless of suspicious activity. He made these revelations from Hong Kong, never expecting that the moment they were published, he would become the world’s most wanted man.
It was the same moment that Robert Tibbo’s telephone rang. The Canadian had made a name for himself in the city as a dedicated human rights lawyer. He fought for the rights of asylum seekers living a pariah existence in Hong Kong – with next to no chance of their status being recognized and leading a decent life there. Tibbo saw Snowden as another refugee who needed help. To hide him from his pursuers, Tibbo found shelter for Snowden with some of his other clients; asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
“They were warm, welcoming and kind. When I had fallen to the bottom of the world, they helped me up without giving a damn about who I was,” Snowden says. In the current political climate, loaded with the fear of outsiders, Snowden holds the refugees’ actions in even higher regard. “Their example, their humanity, it gave me a reason to keep fighting.”
Refugees and their lawyer under pressure
Not only Snowden, but also those who helped him, are now paying a high price for their actions. The US continues to accuse Snowden of spying and demand his extradition – and President Donald Trump would like to see him executed. Meanwhile, the seven refugees and their lawyer Mr. Tibbo are under pressure from the Hong Kong authorities.
In 2018, it is no longer an exception that human rights lawyers like Tibbo become the object of persecution themselves, says Manfred Nowak, Austrian human rights lawyer and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture. Not only lawyers, but also journalists and activists from NGOs are being increasingly targeted, he says, even murdered, as records such as Russia’s show. “Human rights have not been in a crisis like this since the end of the Second World War,” Nowak says.
For Snowden’s helpers, the situation has deteriorated to the extent that this week, Tibbo turned for help to a selection of media outlets including the New York Times, Paris Match and Der Standard. He himself was forced to leave Hong Kong under diplomatic protection. He had to leave the seven refugees behind.
Effectively in exile, he continues working for his clients, who are living in constant fear of deportation. No country wants to take them in. Even Canada, which showed willingness to do so back in 2016, appears to have retreated in the face of pressure from abroad.
“Death by delay” is how lawyers such as Pascal Paradis from the NGO Lawyers Without Borders, which has been working on the case, describes this process. Snowden himself, fleeing US authorities, was left stranded in Moscow. Since then he has faced accusations that he is a Russian spy.
In fact he was aiming for Latin America, he says. “The Department of State failed to cancel my passport in time to keep me from leaving Hong Kong. But once they realized I was in the air en route to Latin America, they made public announcements to put every government around the world on notice that they intended to block my freedom of movement.”
No asylum in Austria
When he landed in Moscow for a stopover, he was stuck and could not travel further. All of his asylum applications in Europe were rejected, including by Austria. “This more than anything else is what prevents me from leaving Russia,” Snowden says in response to his critics. “If major powers of Europe can be induced by this or that secret promise to be violators of the asylum right rather than its guarantor, you can’t help but question the whole system. If you can’t count on a right now, can you count on a law?”
Manfred Nowak also sees this danger. “Democracy as a form of government is increasingly coming under pressure, as we can see in the US, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland or Italy. These countries are governed by populists, who came to power through democratic channels, but are now attacking democracy.” Nowak sees Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, as a particularly stark example of a fascist being voted in to lead a democracy.
Nowak stresses the importance of learning from history: Free elections have destroyed democracies time and time again. “Strident democracies” urgently need to defend themselves against “pseudo- democracies,” he says, pointing to leaders such as Trump, Viktor Orban and Bolsonaro.
The western world is currently experiencing a backlash, meaning human rights defenders must go on the offensive, Nowak says. “Everyone must do their bit,” he warns emphatically. “Otherwise it could be too late.”
Nowak sees this backlash in Austria too, where the center-right and far-right are governing in coalition. “Measures are being taken which are being seen, and therefore criticized, as restrictions on the constitutional state, democracy and human rights.”
“There’s a machine behind it”
Snowden sees the refugees’ treatment and his own as telling. “You can’t look at something like this without getting a sense that the mask has dropped, and behind all the pretense of civility and process we like to believe governs our little day to day, there’s a machine behind it that would burn everything we love to the ground without a tear if it meant making a problem go away.”
Snowden is convinced it’s no coincidence that those who helped him are now being targeted. “They’re worried about the example of these families, the symbol their moral choice represents. Anybody can look at this situation and see at a glance who is right and who is wrong.”
But if the “big governments” manage to rewrite this story with an unhappy ending for those involved, they will also succeed in changing the positive message of his work with a single blow, Snowden warns. He says he does not know how far state institutions would go to achieve this, “but they’ve already gone too far.”
Human rights lawyer Nowak has first-hand experience of the conditions in Hong Kong, where the seven migrants are currently stuck. He trained lawyers there; Tibbo was one of his students.
Nowak says he knew the Hong Kong Bar Association, which is putting the Canadian lawyer under pressure and sabotaging his mandate for the refugees, as an “independent institution.” He can only assume the bar’s current treatment of Tibbo is a result of “enormous pressure from outside.”
Snowden has called on his supporters not to give up on the fight for a free world. And above all the fight for those who helped him. “Take a look at the world. Before long, we’ll all feel like refugees.”
NOTE: Documents evidencing the Hong Kong Bar Association egregious treatment of Mr Tibbo can be found in the Der Standard article as embedded PDFs: https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000092725390/pressure-mounts-on-edward-snowdens-lawyer-robert-tibbo?ref=article
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Der Standard is an AUSTRIAN (not German nationality, though German LANGUAGE) newspaper.
Der Standard (Eigenschreibweise: DER STANDARD) ist eine in Wien erscheinende österreichische Tageszeitung mit liberaler Ausrichtung, wobei sie gemeinhin als linksliberal wahrgenommen wird.
Thanks for the comment Bill, am well aware and my bad. Have clarified it now.
Mary Naylor
Excellent article in that it helps one to see and understand the big (shocking) picture.
Intermezzo (994) | Blue Archive
[…] Shhhcretly Exclusive: Edward Snowden’s Warning Cry […]


International distinction of the Athens University of Economics and Business in the field of "Finance and Business Administration"
Athens, November 2nd 2022
International distinction of the Athens University of Economics and Business
in the field of "Finance and Business Administration"
The international evaluation agency "US News" ranked the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) in the 242nd place, distinguishing it as the only Greek University among the top worldwide in the scientific field of "Economics and Business" for 2022- 23.
It is worth noting that AUEB had a particularly high performance in the field criteria regarding the "percentage of publications from international collaborations compared to the corresponding percentage in the whole country", where it ranked 27th worldwide, as well as in the "research reputation of European Universities', where it ranked 36th globally for 2022-23.
US News collected data from the "Web of Science" bibliographic base during the last five years 2016-20, while the ranking evaluation criteria were: a) the research reputation of the University in its scientific domains, b) the number of publications , c) the number and impact of citations, d) the number and percentage of publications that are listed in the top 1% with the most citations, e) the number and percentage of publications that are listed in the top 10% with the most references, as well as f) the percentage of publications from international collaborations.
The Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Personnel of the Athens University of Economics and Business, Professor Vassilis Vasdekis, stated: "The continuous international recognition of the Athens University of Economics and Business is proof of our orientation towards excellence. The scientific work produced enjoys the trust of the international academic community and highlights the high- quality level of our research staff."
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/economics-business


Major League Soccer Coming Back To Casa Grande For Preseason Training
By Jose Romero Nov 13, 2011, 8:55am MST
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Grande Sports World in Casa Grande continues to be a destination for Major League Soccer clubs for preseason training.
Several teams are either committed or are moving closer to finalizing plans to hold camp at the multi-field facility between Phoenix and Tucson beginning in January, according to a source close to the dealings.
The list of teams apparently headed to the desert includes the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, Real Salt Lake (which has a youth academy based at the site), New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls and one lower-division club, FC Edmonton of Canada.
Chivas USA and the Portland Timbers said they’d return to Arizona this winter after last year’s training but have yet to commit.
This is in addition to the previously announced FC Tucson Desert Cup, which is in the works and will feature four MLS clubs playing matches against in each other in February/March 2012.


Pakistan To Enhance Security of Chinese Citizens In Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan
Saturday, January 07, 2023 by Indian Defence News
A Chinese worker in hospital after a terror attack in Pakistan
Gilgit-Baltistan: The Gilgit-Baltistan Apex Committee, comprising high-ranking civil and military officials on Thursday decided to enhance the security of Chinese citizens working in Gilgit-Baltistan, reported The Dawn.
The committee also decided to develop a comprehensive communication strategy to counter misinformation and disinformation in the media that might lead to a law and order situation.
The meeting was chaired by GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid, according to a press release issued by the GB chief secretary's office.
In the meeting, it was decided to increase vigilance to ensure the security of Chinese officials and personnel working on a number of projects in the region under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The meeting according to The Dawn, was attended by FCNA Commander Major General Kashif Khalil, GB Chief Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, GB IGP Saeed Wazir, Secretary Home Iqbal Hussain Khan, GB Scouts DG, Military Intelligence and ISI sector commanders and Intelligence Bureau's deputy DG.
The committee reviewed the region's existing security environment and resolved to ensure peace and stability. During the meeting, it was also decided to reactivate the National Action Plan (NAP) and ensure its enforcement in letter and spirit.
The meeting was told that the federal government has taken up the issue of capacity building and reinforcement of the police in general and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).
Concerns were expressed over the delay in reaching out to the Centre and officials were directed to take up the matter at the highest level as the CTD was "an essential component" in the fight against terrorism.
A new study that measures Beijing's expanding global sway has revealed that Pakistan is the country which is most influenced by China, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The China Index, a database relaunched on December 8 by DoubleThink Labs, a Taiwan-based research organization has ranked Pakistan atop a list of 82 other nations around the world and said that its links and dependency on China with regard to foreign and domestic policy, technology, and the economy make it particularly susceptible to Chinese influence.
Labels: China, CPEC, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, POK


Republicans push anti-union ‘Right-to-Work’ in both Washingtons
State, federal legislation introduced to cripple labor movement
By DAVID GROVES
(Feb. 2, 2017) — Republicans in the Washington State Legislature and Congress are introducing bills this week that would institute so-called “right-to-work” policies in Washington and nationally, an attempt to deliver a severe blow to the labor movement and weaken workers’ collective bargaining rights at the behest of U.S. corporations.
Right-to-work laws ban unions and employers from agreeing to union-security contract clauses, which allows workers to stop paying for representation while still requiring the union to represent them. It would be akin to allowing people to opt out of paying taxes, but still requiring the government to provide the same services to taxpayers and free-riders alike.
On Wednesday, state Sens. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) and John Braun (R-Centralia) introduced state right-to-work legislation, SB 5692. It is scheduled for a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee. Historically, state right-to-work bills have been introduced by a handful of extreme right-wing Republicans, but the bills rarely get hearings and have no chance of passage. The difference this year is that Baumgartner chairs the committee that will hear the doomed bill.
There’s also nothing new about such proposals being introduced in Congress. But given Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House, unions and their allies are more alarmed about this year’s effort. The nationwide right-to-work effort is being sponsored by Rep. Joe “You lie!” Wilson (R-S.C.) and Steve King (R-Iowa), who last year infamously wondered aloud what non-whites had done to benefit civilization.
Right-to-work laws have roots in Southern racism and the Jim Crow-era quest for super-exploited labor. They are used to justify racial exclusion, weaken established collective bargaining agreements, and financially cripple unions so they can’t help workers organize. Once confined to states in the South, Republican-controlled states like Michigan and Wisconsin have adopted right-to-work laws in recent years with the support of conservative billionaire industrialists like the Koch brothers. States where the GOP just gained control following the 2016 elections, including Missouri and New Hampshire, are making right-to-work laws their first order of business in 2017.
The following statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was released Wednesday regarding the national “right to work” bill:
Right to work is a lie dressed up in a feel-good slogan. It doesn’t give workers freedom — instead, it weakens our right to join together and bargain for better wages and working conditions. Its end goal is to destroy unions. Numbers don’t lie. Workers in states with right to work laws have wages that are 12% lower. That’s because unions raise wages for all workers, not just our members.
A recent Pew survey shows that 60% of Americans — an overwhelming majority — support unions. Americans clearly see the value of coming together with their co-workers to tackle inequality. Right to work isn’t the will of the people, it’s legislation pushed on working people by out-of-touch corporations that want to ship jobs overseas, cut health and safety protections, and pay lower wages. This is an attempt by corporate CEOs to further tip the scale even more in their favor, at working people’s expense.
Working people were loud and clear in this past election. We want an economy that works for all, not just corporations. We know we need to rewrite the rules of the economy so that policies like bad trade deals and right to work aren’t the new norm. President Trump has said he supports unions and the people who are our members. He has stood up to corporate Republicans on trade. We call on him to do the same on right to work, and to stand up for every worker’s right to join a union.
Posted by David Groves on Feb 2 2017. Filed under STATE GOVERNMENT, TAKE A STAND!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


Cardinals' Calais Campbell relieved about Ryan Tannehill's knee
Bob McManaman
azcentral sports
Cardinals defensive tackle Calais Campbell reached out to the Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill via text message on Monday to apologize for his hit that injured the Miami quarterback’s left knee the previous day.
Initially, the news on Tannehill’s knee didn’t look good as there were fears he may have suffered a torn ACL during the Dolphins’ 26-23 victory. An MRI exam, however, showed that Tannehill has a sprained ACL and MCL and won’t require surgery.
Campbell said he was relieved to hear the injury isn’t as serious as feared.
“Yeah, that’s real good news,” Campbell said Monday. “You never want to see a guy go down, especially with a serious injury like that. ACLs, they take a long time to recover and heal. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player. I know he’s a guy who works real hard and loves the game, so I’m glad it wasn’t as bad and hopefully, he has a speedy recovery. I’m praying for him.”
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Campbell said he was pushed into Tannehill and that there was no intent to hurt the quarterback, saying it was just hard-nosed football and an unfortunate play.
“Football, you know, injuries happen way too often and you try to eliminate them from the game,” he said. “It’s never on purpose; you just play as hard as you can and things happen sometimes. I’m glad it wasn’t as bad as it originally seemed. I’m definitely hoping he comes back this year. They’re a good team and I know they’ve got a lot riding on it so I’m praying for him.”
It’s the second time this season that the 6-foot-8 Campbell has run into the knee of a quarterback. It happened last month to Cam Newton when the Cardinals played the Carolina Panthers. He was fined $18,231 by the league for that low hit, but another fine shouldn’t be coming, according to Cardinals coach Bruce Arians.
“He didn’t get flagged, so (no),” Arians said.
The hit was unavoidable, Arians added, saying, “That’s what happens when guys are going hard and full speed and the guy shoves him toward the quarterback.”
MORE:Bruce Arians rips players, not special-teams coach
Nelson’s steady improvement
Wide receiver J.J. Nelson has scored three touchdowns in his past two games after losing his recent starting status because of a series of dropped passes. It’s an encouraging sign for the Cardinals moving forward given Michael Floyd’s uncertain future with the club, John Brown’s sickle-cell trait issues and Larry Fitzgerald’s age.
“Hopefully he continues to progress like he has been, he stays healthy and just continues to progress in his role,” Arians said Monday.
RELATED:Michael Floyd arrested on DUI suspicion
Nelson, who has caught 23 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns on the year, said he feels encouraged that he’s been able to re-establish Arians’ trust.
“It’s been tough on me, especially during training camp and with some of the injuries that I’ve had,” Nelson said. “Breaking my thumb and not being able to make the plays that I normally would make, that kind of hurt me from a confidence-level standpoint. I’ve just been taking it one day at a time and continued to try and come out every day and get better.”
Nelson said he plans on using the team’s final three games as a bridge into next season so that he can get the jump on things right away.
“I just need to keep taking advantage of my opportunities and continue to try and get better,” he said. “I want to finish strong.”
O-line shuffle
With left tackle D.J. Humphries in the concussion protocol and listed as day to day and new right tackle Ulrick John likely headed to injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder, the Cardinals’ patchwork offensive line figures to be even thinner for this Sunday’s game against the visiting Saints.
John Wetzel can be inserted at either tackle spot, should he be needed, and Arians said Givens Price is a likely option to sign off the practice squad for the other position. But the Cardinals might make more roster moves to shore up that area given what it means to the health of quarterback Carson Palmer.
“We’ll make those decisions,” Arians said, adding some signings could be coming as early as Tuesday.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Monday at 5:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Radio 1060-AM with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.


•EDWARDES SQUARE•SCARSDALE • ABINGDON •
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RBKC's report about the decision to remove the temporary bicycle lanes.
This report is being taken as an urgent decision under the Council’s Special Urgency Procedures as set out in Part 4 of the Council Constitution. The reasons for urgency are contained in the report. Key Decision Report Decision maker and date of Leadership Team meeting or (in the case of individual Lead Member or Executive Director decisions) the earliest date the decision will be takenLead Member for Planning, Place and Environment Date of report: 2 December 2020 Date of decision (i.e. not before): 2 December 2020 Forward Plan reference: KD05804/20/T/AReport titleREMOVAL OF THE KENSINGTON HIGH STREET CYCLEWAYReporting officerChief Transport Policy OfficerKey decisionYesAccess to information classificationPublicWardsAbingdon, Campden, Holland, Queen’s Gate1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. The Council introduced temporary light segregation cycle lanes on Kensington High Street in early October 2020. This experimental approach has been impacted by many contingent factors relating to the Covid19 crisis, the shutdown of retail sectors for part of this period and dramatic alterations in travel to work and travel to shop arrangements. Following feedback from residents, residents’ associations and business groups, the local Member of Parliament and others, the Council plans to remove the cycle lanes with immediate effect. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1. To instruct officers to remove the temporary cycle lanes from Kensington High Street.
3. REASONS FOR DECISION 3.1. One of the main reasons for installing the cycle lanes was to assist the recovery of local businesses in the High Street area by making it easier to visit by bike. Since the cycle lanes were introduced, many of these businesses have reported that the lanes have not helped and have in fact made the High Street a less attractive place to trade. Many of the key stakeholder groups who gave their backing to a temporary scheme before it was implemented have concluded that the cycle lanes have not been the success that they hoped for, and have asked us to remove them. 4. BACKGROUND
4.1. In July of this year the Lead Member for Planning and Transport took a Key Decision KD05659/20/T/A to approve the Council’s Active Travel Plan, which set out measures to support more walking and cycling in response to Government guidance on post-lockdown travel. These were to be introduced quickly and on a temporary basis. The Plan included a scheme to provide light segregation cycle lanes on Kensington High Street. It was hoped that the cycle lanes would support local businesses by making it easier for their customers and employees to travel to the High Street while public transport capacity was reduced. The Plan delegated authority to the Executive Director of Environment and Communities to approve detailed design, and this approval was duly given in September. The scheme was funded and supported by Transport for London using its London Streetspace Plan fund.
4.2. The Government encouraged local authorities to install such schemes very quickly, giving no time to carry out a consultation such as we would normally conduct for traffic schemes. However, the Lead Member shared the concept and subsequently the proposed designs with a number of local stakeholders including business and resident groups.
4.3. The cycle lanes were introduced between 28 September and 14 October. Minor changes were made to the junction with Earl’s Court Road, prior to a planned second phase of works that would include signalling changes at several borough- and TfL-managed junctions. It had also been intended to install bus stop bypasses at four bus stops on the route. Knowing that the lanes would impact on businesses’ servicing arrangements, we created temporary loading areas at side roads along the length of the route.
4.4. On 5 November, England was placed under a second Covid-19 lockdown.
4.5. On 12 November, a number of residents association and business group representatives attended a meeting with the Lead Member and officers to consider the cycle lanes. There was a strongly held view that the scheme was not working, and had not been helpful to businesses before the second lockdown. The principal concern was that since the cycle lanes’ introduction, traffic congestion on the High Street had increased substantially. By this time, a petition calling on the Council to remove the cycle lanes had been set up, and by the end of November it had well over 3000 names on it.
4.6. On 25 November, the MP for Kensington and Chelsea and the GLA Member for West Central London published a joint statement calling on the Council to remove the cycle lanes when the second lockdown ended on 2 December. The Council also received several hundred emails about the cycle lanes, both opposing and supporting them. The main themes of the objections were that they had caused a large increase in traffic congestion and associated pollution, that this was creating difficulties for the emergency services, that the cycle lanes were not being well- used, and that the Council should have consulted on the scheme before implementing it. There are strong views about this scheme and since the publication of the MP and Assembly Member’s statement, the Council has also received emails calling for the cycle lanes to be retained. 5. PROPOSAL AND ISSUES
5.1. In the past week or so, most of the groups who lent their support to a temporary scheme have said that they have concluded the scheme has not been a success, and should be removed. These include the Kensington Society, the Kensington and Chelsea Chamber of Commerce, and Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea. The Kensington Business Forum has fed back comments from businesses in the area that were predominantly negative about the cycle lanes. It is clear that traffic congestion on Kensington High Street in the weeks after the cycle lanes were introduced and before the second lockdown started, has been the single biggest complaint about the cycle lanes. There has been a strongly held concern that after the second lockdown is lifted, traffic levels across London would rise, and that we would see a repeat of the very long queues that were witnessed on Kensington High Street and Kensington Road in the last few days before the second lockdown.
5.2. Many residents have reported seeing emergency services vehicles being delayed in traffic, and both the London Ambulance Service [LAS] and the London Fire Brigade have told officers that they will not instruct their drivers to use the cycle lanes to move past slow-moving traffic. Both have made clear to the Council that they have been affected by the recent congestion and the LAS have asked us to review the scheme, while the local fire commander has stated that he does not support the cycle lanes.
5.3. Officers presented data to the Review Group meeting on 12 November that showed an increase in journey times on the High Street in the week of 26 October and especially in the first half of the week of 2 November, just before the second lockdown. Whilst this coincided with some roadworks in and close to the High Street that would have contributed to the longer journey times, we do know that the cycle lanes have reduced the traffic capacity of Kensington High Street by, for instance, reducing the number of lanes at key junctions, and by restricting the road to one westbound lane opposite the Royal Garden Hotel. Officers also presented data on cycling levels on the High Street. To date we have had to rely on manual counts by officers – both TfL and RBKC – at various times at weekdays and at weekends. They presented counts suggesting over 500 bikes an hour just before the second lockdown, and around 360 in one hour in the first weekend after it. We have not so far relied on data captured by an automatic traffic counter because officers found that it was under-reporting number of bikes. Following modifications officers report that this is now providing more accurate data and we are seeing over 3000 bikes a day on most days.
5.4. Because of all the roadworks, and the volatility in traffic patterns in inner London for the past couple of months, it is difficult to be certain how much of the congestion can be attributed to each of these different contributory factors.
5.5. This report recognises local residents’ and traders’ concerns that the end of the second lockdown is likely to lead to an increase in traffic demand on our roads to at least the levels we saw before the lockdown began, and potentially higher still as we approach Christmas. A great many businesses are very concerned that the High Street will not be able to cope with an increase in traffic if the cycle lanes remain in place.
5.6. Before the scheme was implemented and in its early stages, TfL had expressed concerns about bus journey times through the borough. Whilst we have yet to receive further data from TfL on bus journey times and it is too early to have air quality data, there is an urgency expressed by local businesses that swift action needs to be taken.
6. OPTIONS AND ANALYSIS 6.1. Officers consider that there are three options available at this stage: 1) Remove the cycle lane in its entirety. This would restore traffic capacity to the High Street’s previous levels, making it better able to cope with any increase in traffic movements after the end of the second lockdown. People cycling on Kensington High Street would no longer have the benefit of the cycle lanes. Transport for London has written to the Council to ask us not to remove the lanes at this stage. 4
2) Leave the cycle lanes in place at least until early 2021, as requested by Transport for London. This will continue to provide a useful benefit for the people who have been using the lanes over the past few weeks. However, this will mean that the High Street continues to have less traffic capacity than it had before the lanes were introduced, and will be less able to cope with the increase in vehicle traffic that is expected to occur soon after the end of the second lockdown. This would be a significant blow to businesses wishing to attract customers to the High Street in the crucial pre-Christmas period.
3) Removepartofthecyclelane,intheareaswhereitmaybehavingthegreatest impact on traffic congestion. This would have benefits for people cycling in those parts of the road where there would still be separation from traffic, but would not provide a continuous route.
7. CONSULTATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
7.1. As noted above, there was no formal public consultation on the introduction of the cycle lanes, and if we are to remove the lanes before Christmas in response to requests to support the local businesses, there is no time to carry out a consultation on the lanes’ removal. As noted above we do know that the cycle lanes have excited strongly held opinions both for and against them. For example, by the evening of 25 November, we had received over 1000 emails in the ActiveTravel@Rbkc.gov.uk email inbox, split roughly 58 per cent for and 42 per cent against the cycle lanes. Of people who identified as residents of the borough, the split was 31 per cent for and 69 per cent against the scheme. By the end of 30 November, we had received over 2300 emails in total. At least 1000 further emails were received and not yet counted on 1 December.
7.2. The Kensington Business Forum has informed the Council that three-quarters of local businesses that had provided feedback to Kensington Business Forum were against the scheme.
8. HUMAN RESOURCES AND EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS 8.1. Officers carried out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) on the introduction of the cycle lanes which found that the lanes would have neutral impacts for all groups with protected characteristics. The EQIA noted mitigation measures such as the provision of additional loading spaces in side roads that would help passengers with reduced mobility to be dropped off close to their destination. Removing the lanes would also remove the need for this mitigation. 9. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 9.1. In May 2020, the Department for Transport issued additional statutory guidance under section 18 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 entitled “Traffic Management Act 2004 : Network Management Response to Covid-19”. In this document, local authorities were encouraged to install lightly-segregated cycle lanes and were advised that a traffic management order was not needed to do so. 5
9.2. Section 16 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 imposes a network management duty on traffic authorities to manage their road network in such a way as to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on their road network and to facilitate the same on other traffic authority’s road networks. Such duty is to be carried out as far as may be reasonably practicable and such actions in performing that duty may include any action they consider will contribute to securing (a) the more efficient use of their road network, or (b) the avoidance, elimination or reduction or road congestion or other disruption to the movement of traffic on their road network or another traffic authority’s road network.
9.3. A similar duty is contained in Section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicular and other traffic (including pedestrians) when exercising a function under that Act. However, it is noted that no traffic orders were made in respect of the cycle lanes as there is no legal requirement.
10. FINANCIAL, PROPERTY, IT AND ANY OTHER RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS 10.1. Officers estimate that the cost of removing the cycle lane scheme is £30,000. The Council is likely to have to cover this cost from its own budgets. There is a risk that Transport for London will not fulfil its commitment to fund the cost of installing the scheme, estimated at around £320,000. Mahmood Siddiqi Director for Streets and Regulatory Services Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) – Background papers used in the preparation of this report None Contact officer(s): [Mark Chetwynd, Chief Transport Policy Officer, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, mark.chetwynd@rbkc.gov.uk Mandatory clearance requirements for all Key and Executive Decision reports Cleared by Finance (officer’s initials) Cleared by Corporate Finance (officer’s initials) Cleared by Director of Law (officer’s initials) Cleared by Communications (officer’s initials) [SH] [MC] [LP] [NPT]
Key Decision Report RBKC
EDWARDES SQUARE SCARSDALE & ABINGDON ASSOCIATION
This year we are celebrating 50 years of supporting our local built environment and amenities, 1971-2021.


Astronomers have just watched the most powerful explosion ever seen
A gamma ray burst about 2.4 billion light years away is being called “the BOAT” – the brightest of all time – and is so powerful it has even affected Earth’s atmosphere
Space 17 October 2022
By Leah Crane
GRB221009A is the pink dot towards the centre of the image
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. O'Connor (UMD/GWU) & J. Rastinejad & W Fong (Northwestern Univ)
Astronomers have spotted what may be the most powerful explosion ever seen. The gamma ray burst, called GRB221009A, was spotted on 9 October, and even its afterglow is brighter than most objects in the sky.
This type of gamma ray burst (GRB) is thought to occur when a massive star explodes in a supernova, leaving behind a black hole. The explosion creates an extraordinary jet of light which makes up the GRB itself, and then the supernova causes a dimmer afterglow. This particular GRB appears so bright partially because it is about 2.4 billion light years away from Earth, making it one of the closest GRBs ever spotted in addition to being the brightest.
“If we look at all of the gamma ray bursts that have been detected, this one stands apart,” says Jillian Rastinejad at Northwestern University in Illinois. “Informally, we’ve been calling it the BOAT – the brightest of all time.” She and her colleagues calculated that a GRB this bright is expected to occur only once every thousand years or so.
Gamma ray bursts could help unravel how fast the universe is expanding
We don’t know exactly how powerful this burst is, though, despite the fact that many telescopes around the world are looking at it. That is partially because it is so bright that it saturates the detectors of gamma-ray telescopes, so all they see are completely white pixels with no detail, says Andrew Levan at Radboud University in the Netherlands, one of Rastinejad’s colleagues. “If you had gamma-ray eyes, you’d be blinded,” he says. Current estimates put the energy of the GRB between 10^54 and 10^55 ergs, he says – in contrast, the total energy released by the sun throughout its lifetime is expected to be about 10^51 ergs.
GRB221009A is so bright that it is affecting Earth, even from billions of light years away. Naval radio transmitters recorded a strange disturbance in the upper atmosphere, which seems to have been caused by the powerful light from the GRB slamming into it. Detectors that search for high-energy photons – particles of light – have also seen extraordinary particles with energies far higher than anything produced at the Large Hadron Collider.
This has made a splash among astronomers. “It seems like pretty much every telescope in the world is starting to look at it,” says Rastinejad. But to learn more about the supernova itself and its home galaxy, they will have to wait until the bright jet fades, which could take months. Once that occurs, we should have a better idea of why this GRB was so extraordinarily bright.
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Supernovae might be a good place to hunt for alien broadcasts
Other intelligent civilisations may send transmissions after a bright galactic event like a supernova to make them more visible to others, according to SETI researchers
JWST has seen building blocks of life in a dark, cold cloud in space
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a frigid cloud of dust and gas where stars are forming, and it found frozen elements that are crucial for the development of life
The stunning filaments and coils of light that make up the Southern Ring Nebula were shaped by as many as five stars all orbiting one another in a complex dance
Up to 74% of planets in the ‘habitable zone’ may not be good for life
Many planets that have the right temperatures for liquid water on their surfaces used to be too hot or too cold, which may affect their ability to host life now