Darkness In Indian Summer

Began another lovely fall day with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special. As with the Bugs Easter special, this is a collection of clips from older cartoons, this one with the theme of the wily rabbit dodging Witch Hazel. At the very least, most of the clips are from cartoons that are either outright set at Halloween (the one about Witch Hazel turning Speedy Gonzales into a copy of herself) or at least horror shorts (the two variations on Jekyl and Hyde).

Spent the rest of the morning writing. A day or two later, Hank and Lance are working on turning the Falcon into a "pirate ship" for the local Boat Pageant. Hank offers the Falcon to Lance, as he intends to remain at the surfing contest with Leia and Luke. Lance takes the offer gratefully, and also thanks Hank for letting him stay at his and Charlie's cottage while he figures out what to do next. Lance swears he'll be good to the Falcon. "She won't get a scratch."

Broke at 1 for lunch and to get ready for work. Did one of the Max & Ruby Halloween episodes as I ate. "Max and Ruby's Perfect Pumpkin" will be the best of the bunch...if Max can stop chasing candy long enough for Ruby to choose one! Ruby wants their pumpkin to have a happy face for their Halloween party. Her brother disagrees. He thinks "Max's Jack-o-Lantern" should be scary! "Max's Big Boo" is his attempt to scare his sister before they go out trick-or-treating. His sister knows better...and even has a scare for him!

Work was, once again, a bit of a pain. On one hand, it was quiet enough when I arrived for me to finish organizing the gift card kiosk and mop the bathroom floors. Also got carts done with the head manager. Had more problems after a (too early) break. Once again, every time I tried to do something, I'd get called to do something else. I couldn't even finish doing the indoor trash. I had to help a customer to their cart.

Hurried home as quickly as possible. Had leftovers while watching another Max & Ruby fall episode. The East Bunny Hop Fair has arrived! Ruby's brother is too short to ride "Max's Rocket Racer." He keeps coming up with all kinds of creative ideas to make him taller. "Max and Morris Blast Off!" when they play with their rockets in the backyard. Their sisters would rather they stayed out of their way while they decorate for their Bunny Scout Leader's birthday party. The boys inadvertently end up giving her an extra special surprise anyway. Ruby wants to join the races at the fair in "Max's Candy Apple," but her brother keeps going after the tempting treats and not finishing.

Finished off the night with Bonnie & Clyde. "We rob banks," says Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), a handsome, if temperamental, small-time thief in the southwest in the early 30's. He manages to charm waitress Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) into joining him in stealing from local banks that are foreclosing on farmers and the poor. Also joining them are sweet-but-dim C.W (Michael J. Pollard), Clyde's brother Buck (Gene Hackman), and his perpetually screaming wife Blanche (Estelle Parsons). Things come to a head when they're attacked by a Texas Ranger they once humiliated (Denver Pyle), who mortally wounds Buck and wounds and captures Blanche. They end up at the home of C.W's dad (Dub Taylor), who seems to like them there. But fate - and the law - have plans to end their legendary crime spree for good.

I actually debated whether or not to watch this after the shootings in Las Vegas, but since I already had it out, I figured I might as well. I can see why this was a landmark film in the late 60's. The violence level was unprecedented then; there is a lot of blood in this film, and it's not glossed over or ignored. There's also some sex (or attempts at it - Clyde would appear to be impotent) and a rather dim view of the law. Awesome cast, too. Parsons won an Oscar as the horrified preacher's daughter; the outstanding cinematography, with its dusty, glowing stretches of endless cornfields, also won. (Look for Gene Wilder in his first role as one half of a couple who chase the Barrow Gang when they steal their car.)

Not the most historically accurate version of their story, but one of the best-acted-and-directed. If you can handle the blood and violence level and are interested in a well-told crime tale or are a fan of the cast or the movies from this time, this is highly recommended.