The Scarlet Coat

This exceedingly-rare film (not available on DVD *or* VHS, so far as I can tell) came to my attention through TCM. I TiVo'd it on a whim and gave it a look today. It was worth the effort.

The American Revolution is at a critical juncture, and the British plan to win the war by seizing the Colonial stronghold of West Point, New York, commanded by Benedict Arnold (Robert Douglas). Major John Boulton (Cornel Wilde), a member of the Colonial Secret Service, is assigned to infiltrate British Army headquarters and find who has been leaking military secrets to the British. Despite the suspicions of spymaster Dr. Odell (George Sanders), Boulton is accepted by Major John Andre (Michael Wilding), with whom he strikes up an unlikely friendship.

Surprisingly few films on the American Revolution have been made, and fewer still worthwile. John Ford's New York "Western" Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) probably remains the best, with the recent John Adams miniseries a respectable second. In between are some disposable "history for kids" films (Johnny Tremaine) and TV productions (April Morning), along with the pretentious bore Revolution (1986) and, of course, The Patriot (2000). Perhaps there are more hidden gems like The Scarlet Coat, but I haven't the time or resources to track them down.

Directed by John Sturges (The Eagle Has Landed), The Scarlet Coat (1955) is a good if unspectacular costume drama mixed with a spy film. The film is a bit slow-moving at times, with lots of talky bits and a superfluous romance, but the story is gripping and mostly well-told, helped by a fine cast and Karl Tunberg's script, both quotable and rich in character. And it gets extra points for the interesting Boulton-Andre dynamic, a respect between foes pleasantly reminiscent of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

One of the film's best attributes is Paul Vogel's beautiful Eastmancolor photography. The movie shoots on authentic New York locations, in the Sleepy Hollow Restoration and elsewhere, where many of the film's events took place. The wonderful locations, with beautiful mountains and lush autumnal forests, make for an incredible-looking film, and the sumptuous art direction and costumes (not entirely accurate, but who would notice?) provide an additional treat. This film ought to be a prime candidate for DVD or even Blu-Ray release; even in TCM's so-so print it looked ravishing.

Cornel Wilde is fine: not the greatest actor, he handles a very physical role well and comes off better than usual. Acting honors really go to Michael Wilding (In Which We Serve), whose Major Andre ultimately becomes more sympathetic and well-rounded than Wilde. George Sanders (All About Eve) ably plays (surprise!) a snidely urbane villain; John McIntire (Winchester '73) also has a nice part. Anne Frances's love interest feels tacked on and not wholly germane to the story; Sturges drops her from the film as soon as is convenient.

Despite its flaws, The Scarlet Coat is certainly worthwhile, provided you can track it down. By no means a masterpiece, it's still a good film about a subject ignored by Hollywood.

Exclusive: Bishops Conference 'Working Closely' with Apache Indian

Catholics in the United Kingdom, living in anticipation of the Papal Visit in September, have been bhoyed by the latest news sweeping across parishes concerning planned proceedings at Hyde Park.

Individual parishes with parties of parishioners eager to sign up to see the Holy Father at Hyde Park had already been informed that 'liturgical entertainment' would be an exciting part of the day when Pope Benedict XVI arrives to give his blessing the faithful in London.

It can now be exclusively revealed exactly what the Bishops Conference of England and Wales meant by 'liturgical entertainment'. Sources close to the Bishops had already mentioned that an exciting asian musical artist named may be involved in the planning and 'execution' of liturgical entertainment.

We can now exclusively reveal that the name of that artist is Apache Indian. The musician, whose hit record, 'Boom-Shak-Alak' reached number 5 in the charts in 1993 and featured in the Hollywood comedy movie starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, 'Dumb and Dumber' , is said to have been thrilled at being asked to perform and is said to have already begun choreographing the 'liturgical dancers' for new material to be presented before the Pope at Hyde Park.

A source close to the Bishops Conference said, "I can confirm we have been working closely with Apache for Hyde Park. We felt that his urban, cutting edge blend of ragga/synth music struck a chord with the liturgical preferences of the Holy Father and had already seen the video of the hit. We took one look at it and said, "That's the man for Pope Benedict XVI."

"Boom-Shack-A-Lak chimes quite nicely with the idea of 'Heart speaks unto heart' and we realised that Cardinal Newman would have loved this genre. For us, 'Boom Shack-A-Lak' is something of an anthem, a summation, if you like, of Christian belief, an expression of ethnic, cultural diversity and a musical meeting point, the theological references of which would be unlikely to go unnoticed by either Newman or Benedict XVI."

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina...

In the increasingly heated battle between the liberalism of the secular world and the Catholic Church, the culture of death has claimed an unlikely and surprising victim.

Now that Europe has largely thrown in the towel in defending Christianity, it looks very much as if Latin America, yes even Latin America, is going to fall, with Argentina the first country to cave in and 'legalise gay marriage'.

Both Europe and Latin America has been given so much, especially by Our Blessed Lady down the ages. How terribly, terribly sad that nations so highly favoured should reject Heaven's Messengers and embrace new ideas about love and marriage which run totally contrary to the Gospel!

Requiescat in Pace

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph has written about Mark Linkous, lead singer and songwriter of Sparklehorse, one of the few original songwriters in this age of terrible music. The singer/songwriter, who had a small but very ardent and loyal fanbase, committed suicide after years of depression, shooting himself in the heart in an alley in Knoxville, aged 47. The world has lost a tender musician out of whose sufferings came much beautiful music. Pray for the eternal rest of his soul.

All round, it has been a sad time. I lost my Godmother, Joan Sparks. She was a neighbour when I was growing up in Letchworth and was quite literally one of my favourite people growing up. She was very kind and I always remember that.

She was widowed many years ago but even death could not end her devotion to her beloved husband. On one of the very few occasions I went to see her in Norfolk, before her move to a nursing home in Swanage, a town she loved, I saw a massive photograph portrait of him in her room. She said to me, "Don't listen to what other people tell you to do with your life, follow your heart and do what you want to do."

That kind advise has always stood me in good stead, as I am still largely unemployed. She and her son, Peter, took my family sailing once from Southampton to the Isle of Wight when I was young. Apparently we came very close to capsizing in stormy seas and because I was little the whole family told me everything was under control even though the boat was at an angle of 45 degrees for most of the journey. Pray for her soul. May she rest in peace.

Pictured right is Henri Bossan, who I met at ATD Fourth World in London, one of many inspiring men and women who devote their lives to campaigning against poverty in the organisation founded by a French Catholic priest named Fr Joseph Wresinski.

A joyful man, full of warmth and compassion for the poor, he will be sadly missed by the charitable organisation that raises awareness of the scourge of poverty across the world. I don't know the full story of his life, barely anything, but I know that he met the founder of ATD Fourth World and was so inspired by his witness to the Gospel that he left everything to join him in Paris among the slums of the poor of post-war France, but his time in England was spent living in a poor and deprived area of Hull, living in solidarity with families in poverty and reaching out to them. A true hero, an inspiration to others, he committed himself to upholding the dignity of the human person and the human rights of those condemned to live in poverty. May he rest in peace.

Last, but by no means least, pray for Desmond Gregory who died recently. A kind and gentle soul, he was a historian and teacher. Fr Ray Blake paid a wonderful testimony to him on his blog.

Desmond employed me in the last six months of his life to do odd chores for him. After his very dignified and beautiful Requiem Mass, many paid tribute to his achievements, his travelling exploits and successes in the World, as well as his warmth and joy in human company.

I knew him only for the last six months of his life, so the Desmond Gregory I knew was Desmond the elderly, frail, weak but brave man, courageous in the face of grave suffering and death, patient and still kind and thoughtful of others, showing little sign of bitterness at the pains he suffered in his old age. He died fortified by the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, the Church to which he converted. Fr Ray and I would visit him with the Blessed Sacrament so that he may receive his Lord and God in Holy Communion. His last few weeks were agonising for him and painful for those who cared for him. He was able to eat only a small amount and was confined to his hospital bed. He was always so happy to receive visitors and friends in whom he took great joy. His nephew said I could have a picture of him and I found this one in his drawer, which is comforting as it looks like he's just about to go into his house in Heaven. May he rest in peace.

Reign of Terror

This underseen gem is one of Anthony Mann's best films. Reign of Terror (1949), aka The Black Book is essentially a film noir set in Revolutionary France. Perhaps not as ambitious as his Westerns or historical epics, it's nonetheless a unique and interesting film.

France, 1794. The Reign of Terror is in full swing, with the Committee of Public Safety sanctioning mass executions in the name of "the People." Maximillian Robespierre (Richard Basehart) plans to seize power, hoping to be made Dictator of France. His political rival, Francois Barat (Richard Hart), enlists Charles D'Aubigny (Robert Cummings) to pose as a pro-Terror leader and retrieve his "black book," which contains the names of Robespierre's enemies sentenced to death.

Reign of Terror is a remarkably oppressive and bleak film. John Alton's striking photography creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, with extreme use of shadows and close-ups out of Eisenstein; even outdoor scenes seem nightmarish and unreal. Violence lurks around every corner, from state-sanctioned murder and assassination to mob lynching to petty thieves. And needless to say, no one can be trusted. A few blips of black humor (many involving Robespierre's dog) do little to alleviate the atmosphere.

The vagaries of the plot are almost incidental to the portrayal of Revolutionary France, where death is casual and the country hovers between complete anarchy and fascist dictatorship. The movie is filled with extreme violence, some shockingly casual for a film of that era: two characters are shot in the face at close range, almost as a joke. It perfectly reflects the violence and anarchy of the Terror, and even the happy ending is qualified at best. Despite the hopeful speeches of various characters, we know that Napoleon is waiting in the wings, and France had at least eighty more years of tyranny before becoming free.

Robert Cummings (Dial M For Murder) is superb: he's likeable enough but the film makes him as cunning and slippery as his adversaries. Arlene Dahl makes a perfect femme fatale. Not surprisingly, the villains are the main attraction: Richard Basehart provides the mixture of cold-bloodedness and fanaticism he would later use to portray Adolf Hitler; Arnold Moss's slimy enforcer is a wonderfully devious character, changing sides at every opportunity. The ubiquitous Charles McGraw (Border Incident) shows up as a thuggish soldier and Beulah Bondi (The Furies) shines in a small role.

Reign of Terror is a great film that has been inexplicably overlooked. It may be Hollywood's best depiction of Revolutionary France, and it's certainly one of Anthony Mann's finest films.

RIP Aldo Sambrell

Spanish actor Aldo Sambrell passed away recently at the age of 79.

Sambrell appeared in dozens of Spaghetti Westerns, including all of Sergio Leone's, usually in the second-bad guy-from-the-left role. His biggest role was probably in Sergio Corbucchi's Navajo Joe, where he played the principal villain.

Sambrell also cropped up periodically in international productions. He can be seen as at least two bit characters in Doctor Zhivago, for instance, and plays Sean Connery's sidekick in The Wind and the Lion.

RIP to this memorable actor.

Royal Society Embraces Population Crackpots

Planet Earth. Isn't it beautiful? Earth. A planet on which tigers are a protected species but human beings in the womb are not. Who says there was no Fall?

Still, for all of our crimes and misdemeanours which spring therefrom there is something essentially wonderful about mankind, the pinnacle of all creation. It is just a shame that this view is not held by Royal Society.

I can't quite put my finger on why the Royal Society perturbs me. Perhaps its because there's too many people in it.

No, its not that. Perhaps its because there's too many people in it espousing Hitlerian solutions to the 'thorny' issue of population. Yes, I think that's it, though it has to be said that the population issue appears only to be 'thorny' to those who hate people.

According to the latest BBC report, who report some pretty controversial, highly contentious ideas more or less as articles of faith, they don't exactly say, "It's time for a massive cull of human beings," as if a massive cull of human beings wasn't already well under way, cleverly disguised as abortion and euthanasia by neglect, but you know its what they're thinking.

For instance, one would have thought that the near 200,000 humans beings culled every year in this country alone would satiate a group like the Optimum Population Trust, the patrons and trustees of which have been tasked by the Royal Society with overseeing a study to "shed some light" on world population trends, but, sadly, it appears not. How many more people do the Optimum Population Trust's patrons and trustees want to see culled? An unfathomable number no doubt. According to the article...

'The burgeoning human population is acknowledged as one of the underlying causes of environmental issues such as climate change, deforestation, depletion of water resources and loss of biodiversity.'

The BBC article reads like the awful propaganda that it is, but in a paragraph that would have had Orwell spluttering his tea and scones all over his laptop in apoplectic rage the BBC article uncritically quote Johnathan Porrit who says...

'Policymakers needed such objective studies, he said, in order to make effective choices - for example, deciding whether and how to support family planning policies in the developing world.'

Hang on. I thought throwing condoms at Africa was all about stopping HIV. Clearly, there's another agenda. Stop those blacks breeding!

In the wake of Britain's decline both as an empire and as a manufacturing giant, now that everything is made in China, perhaps abortion is the only thing we can export successfully to the rest of the World before China get there first. It is important to export it to developing babies in the developing world, first, obviously, because they're poor and black and we've always know what's best for them, haven't we?

Anyway, thank God the Royal Society doesn't fool the not at all racist and never have been, Royal Family. They'd never go in for those nasty Nazi ideologies would they? No, sir! Oh, what's this? Oh dear, it looks like Prince Charles is rather keen on this whole 'over-population-something-must-be-done' stuff too...Oh, dear.

'Policy makers need such objective studies..." What a load of total balls! As if these neo-eco-Nazis are going to produce an 'objective study' of world population trends and somehow not conclude that we should all have two children and abort the rest or get a third of the population sterilised! I'm serious, check out their website!

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