Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Spring Harts

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. Lola learns to "Look After Your Planet" when Charlie tells her to recycle her unwanted things instead of throwing them away. They're excited when they see a competition to win a tree mentioned in a magazine. Even getting their whole school involved, they're still short what they need...until Marv's brother Morton steps in, having braved their older brother's smelly room to get the last bits of recycling.

Headed to work after that. No wonder my hours have been so bad lately. We were dead almost the entire morning. I was able to easily gather the carts and sweep the store, and the trash didn't need to be done. I cleaned the bathrooms and wiped down the tables and counter in the employee room. The fact that it was a decent day may have helped there, too. It was supposed to rain late this morning. If it did, I didn't see it. It remained cloudy, windy, and warm for most of the morning. By the time I went home, the clouds had even cleared.

Changed and had a snack while watching Let's Make a Deal. The deals didn't begin that well. Three people were given a purse that might have had 1, 2, or 3 dollars. Only one ended up with a trip to Hawaii. One got a Zonk, and the other 2 dollars. A woman baseball player did better, also winning a trip. Little Red Riding Hood played the same game and ended up with an organ. They both traded their items in for the Big Deal of the Day. Red likely wasn't complaining about more than $3,000 in cash, while the baseball player got the big deal of the day, furniture, a huge projection TV, and a stereo system her whole family could enjoy. 

Relaxed and napped while watching They Died With Their Boots On. George Armstrong Custer (Errol Flynn) is a rebel from the moment he steps into West Point in his own lavish home-made uniform. His pranks and general disregard for rules doesn't make him popular in the Army. Libby Bacon (Olivia De Havilland) asks him for directions while he's on a silent punishment and ends up falling for him. He's called out to Washington before he can see her. He then becomes a Civil War hero first when he defends a bridge, and then in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Bored with civilian life after he marries Libby, Custer is assigned to the 7th Calvary in the Dakota Territories, which he proceeds to whip into fighting shape. He even makes a treaty with Lakota Native American Chief Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn). Not everyone is happy with the impending peace. Ned Sharp (Arthur Kennedy), who was at West Point with Custer, is in charge of the trading post and saloon at the fort and is selling rifles to the Natives. He and several corrupt politicians promote a fake gold rush in the Black Hills, The settlers who stream in are in violation of the treaty, but Custer won't let them cause trouble.

 Sharp gives his men liquor to embarrass them in front of politicians, which ends with Custer being relieved of his office, He tries to get the government to see reason, but they won't listen. President Grant (Joseph Crehan) is more understanding. Custer finally goes to battle with his men at Little Big Horn...but while he won't survive, Crazy Horse and Libby do, and they make sure that the right people get charged with having started the whole mess.

Um, yeah. This about as fanciful a depiction of history as you'll see in a western. Custer may have been a rogue, but he wasn't exactly a champion of Native rights. Even now, he's considered a colorful and highly controversial figure. Flynn and DeHavilland do very well with both the glory-seeking Custer and sensible Libby in their last of eight films together, Quinn is about as Native as I am, but he still does relatively well as Crazy Horse. The production is long, epic, and unwieldy, and goes on for way longer than it should. It's still recommended for fans of Flynn, DeHaviland, or those who are willing to take a ton of historical fudging with their westerns.

Tried writing for a while, but I was so tired, I ended up going out to dinner instead. Went around the corner to Crown Chicken and Gyro and picked up a tilapia sandwich with fries and a can of Diet Pepsi. Brought it home and ate it while watching Match Game '75. We got to meet Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jody Donovan in these episodes. Rich wasn't happy when Gene tried to give a kiss to the "new kid on the block" he happened to be dating! Fannie's post office-style outfit in the second episode prompted many jokes about the post office and postal services.

Finished the night online with more TV episodes. "Murder Among Friends" in the first season of Hart to Hart gets sticky when a lawyer and his sweet wife become suspects in the murder of a divorce lawyer who failed to promote the husband to partner. Johnathan thinks she did it. Jennifer thinks he did it. Even as they follow the duo, they discover that someone else may have had a hand in the murders, someone a lot closer to the victim than they think.

In the seventh season of The Love Boat, a mountain man (Dan Haggardy) hires a local girl (Elaine Joyce) to find out which of the officers is "The World's Greatest Kisser" who stole his fiancee. A kindly salesman (William Christopher) is "The Reluctant Father" who is awkward around his teen daughter (Danielle Briesbois). After he claims he'll send her to boarding school, she almost doesn't return to the ship. Vicki finally convinces her to talk to him. An executive (Parker Stevenson) wasn't supposed to bring his new wife (Kirstie Alley, who actually did marry him shortly after this episode aired) on this trip...and he's saying "Don't Take My Wife, Please" when his boss (David Doyle) flirts with her without realizing she's married.

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