Friday, September 25, 2020

Foggy Day In Oaklyn Town

I couldn't believe how foggy it was when I woke up this morning. I could barely see the trees and lake from the windows in the living room/kitchen area. White mists rolled down the hill, drifting past limp green and gold leaves and sodden earth. It was kind of spooky, and even unearthly. 

Wasn't much cheered by the tail end of To Tell the Truth. The contestant was a man who'd been incarcerated by the Russians and finally escaped a few years before. Everyone said older number two, who looked like he'd been through a lot, but it was young and sturdy number 3.

What's My Line? was a lot more fun. Henry Morgan, a long-time veteran DJ and comic on radio and TV, got the first one right away - a company made an early videotape of their opening poems. The tape looked nothing like the long plastic rectangles many people used to record their favorite programming over a decade later. It was a thick, heavy square popped into a huge wood and metal TV and console. The next contestant was the attractive owner and operator of an all-woman gas station. Morgan got a little too distracted by her...attributes...to guess right. Arlene Francis caught on with her. Henry had more luck with the "Guess the audience members' occupations" game - it was Larry who couldn't get that right! Soupy guessed almost immediately that the Mystery Guest was his fellow TV comedian Jack E. Leonard.

Headed off to work just as Line ended. Once again, work was dead almost the entire morning. It picked up a little bit around 11:30, and I was late getting out due to a large order. Other than that, no problems whatsoever. 

Strolled over to Sonic for lunch as soon as I finally got out. It remained a bit misty and humid, though not nearly to the degree of the morning. It was just warm enough for me to eat outside. I enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich, tater tots, and a cherry limeade while a couple chatted and another man leaned over his own burger.

Went right back to the Acme to do my grocery shopping after lunch. Had really good online coupons for Simply Almond milk and two cartons of eggs. Dug two packs of tortilla-crusted salmon out of the seafood department. Chicken was also on a good sale; grabbed drumsticks. Restocked honey, pumpkin, white flour, yogurt, bananas, white cooking wine, red wine vinegar, parchment paper, butter, tomato sauce, and those peanut butter-oatmeal-strawberry natural bars I like.

Checked my schedule while grocery shopping. In good news, I have three days off, including Sunday. I'll be able to run errands tomorrow, see the Eagles game Sunday, and rest. I also have fewer hours, but it's not that bad, and it won't hurt me as significantly as it would have this time last year. 

Went straight home after I finished my shopping. Came in time for Super Password. Marcia Wallace is much better at Password than at Match Game, and she proved it by helping her contestant get almost all the way through the bonus round and actually win the extra money for the Ca$hword mini-game. 

Changed and put everything away while Tattletales was on. Jack Carter and his wife Roxanne were far and away the big winners today. No one on Press Your Luck got close to that. All of the contestants were hit with at least one Whammy in the first round, and two wound up with three. The previous champ Whammied out on his first turn in the second round. It came down to the other man and the one woman. In the end, he picked up 2000 that won him the game, along with a collection of early video games.

Worked on writing for a while next. Gene, who is an excellent fencer (and apparently was in real-life), uses a sword borrowed from Richard to hold one of the demons back, while trolls Sir Dick (Gautier) and Sir Robert (Waldon) handle the other two. Elaine convinces Bobby to give Malade's leg a healing hug, which she hates (and to douse her smelly fur with perfume). Charles and Brett sing in the hope of distracting Malade while Fannie conjures up a wind that'll blow her away...

Broke for a simple yogurt and peanut butter-stuffed celery dinner at 6:30. Richard Deacon catches the toupee bug from the previous occupant of his seat Charles Nelson Reilly on Match Game. Meanwhile, Brett struts her stuff after a she comes up as the contestant's answer to which Match Game panelist would be most likely to be a nude centerfold for MAD Magazine

Sale of the Century was even more exciting. The young man champ and the one lady were neck-and-neck the entire show. The other man was behind, until he got two big number cards on the Fame Game board that allowed him to catch up in a hurry. The Speed Round was a real battle. The lady would get an answer, then the champ would. It ended in a tie; she got the last question and won the game. She picked up a cute Norman Rockwell artwork on the match the prize board.

(Oh, and for you Buzzr fans out there, Sale of the Century moves to 7:30 as of Monday. Match Game PM takes over it's 7 PM spot, Concentration graduates to prime time at 8, and Password Plus is now afternoons and weekends only.)

Finished the night online after a shower, watching the 1948 romance Enchanted on Kanopy. Griselle Dane (Evelyn Keyes) arrives at her grand-uncle Rollo's (David Niven) house in London while stationed there as an ambulance driver during World War II. She convinces him to take her into his grand old house, and eventually learns why he's reluctant to leave it. He was raised there with his brother Peltham (Phillip Friend) and priggish sister Selina (Jayne Meadows). Selina plays mother and tries to control everything and everybody in the house, including her father's ward Lark (Teresa Wright), whom he took in after her parents died in a train crash. 

Lark grows up to be a sweet, vivacious young woman despite Selina treating her like a lesser being. She and Rollo have loved each other since they were children, but Selina would rather he focused on his military career and she married a rich Marchese (Sheppard Strudwick). When she lies to both of them and Lark ends up running to the Marchese, Rollo vows that he'll never forgive her. Now he lives with his bitter memories of what might have been...but he can help his niece avoid a similar fate with a handsome young American officer (Farley Granger) who happens to be Lark's nephew.

Jayne Meadows, who today is best known for her comedy work on TV shows alongside her husband Steve Allen, was a revelation as the cold, calculating Selina. I kind of wish they told you what happened to her. You find out what happened to Lark, but not Pelham or Selina. I presume she died alone and unloved in the house. Wright and Niven also do well as the young duo who have always loved each other and always will, despite everything. Samuel Goldwyn surrounded them with a sumptuous production, recreating London in the 1880's and World War II in all its genteel and gritty glory. If you love a good historical movie or tearjerking romance, you'll want to check around for this one. 

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