It's Halloween, not sure how happy it is

(To the person or persons, who were kind enough to keep checking if I'd updated this post - I finally got enough fuel for the way back machine, so enjoy. )


Happy Halloween! I've changed my mind about costumes; this year I'm going as the spokes person for Tooth Decay (it's a large secret East Coast syndicate backed primarily by Big Sugar and Dental Schools.)

I'd have written more but I'm way behind in injecting rat poison into Snicker Bars.

( For all you parents - remember to sort your kids candy later tonight. It is not a crime to save all the good chocolate for yourself. Tell'em you have to sample it for poison.)


Henri the Existential cat on Halloween




October 31, 1945 -
René Clair's adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery And Then There Were None was released in the US on this date.



This movie, as all existent versions of "Ten Little Indians," is based not on the novel by Agatha Christie but on her very similar play. While the identity of the murderer is the same in both versions, the outcome of who survives the murderer's plot is very different.


October 31, 1949 -
Cecil B. DeMille's wonderfully campy (although not intentional) version of Samson and Delilah, Starring Hedy LaMarr and Victor Mature premiered on this date.



Sunset Blvd. was also being filmed around Paramount at the same time as this movie. In a scene where Gloria Swanson's character Norma Desmond visits the sound stage to see Cecil B. DeMille, he was actually directing a scene from Samson and Delilah and the actual cast members and crew are seen taking a break from this feature.


Today in History:
October 31, 1926 -
Harry Houdini died in room 401 of Grace Hospital in Detroit on this date.



The escape artist was killed by diffuse peritonitis, after having undergone an emergency appendectomy.



Contrary to popular belief, the fatal appendicitis could not have been caused by a punch to the stomach.


October 31, 1950 -
John Franklin Candy, the great Canadian comedian and actor,







was born on this date.


October 31, 1984 -
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was not having a good day. Daughter of Nehru, the first prime minister of the newly independent India and fashion plate of the 60's, Mrs. Gandhi was running late for an interview with Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. Two Sikh members of her bodyguard, annoyed with her involement in the storming of the Golden Temple (The holiest of Sikh sites) took this moment to express their vexation with their boss and assassinate her on the spot.



This sparked Hindu-Sikh clashes across the country. Four days of anti-Sikh rioting followed in India. The government said more than 2,700 people, mostly Sikhs, were killed, while newspapers and human-rights groups put the death toll between 10,000 and 17,000. Once again, people should be checking references for more carefully.


October 31, 1993 -
Federico Fellini, considered as one of the most influential and widely revered film-makers of the 20th century, passed away on this date.



He made some 24 films, including La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2 and Amarcord, all hallmarks throughout the 50’s and 60’s Art House world.



And so it goes