Separate Tables

As I hope you are noticing, I am continuing studying Burt Lancaster (boyhood idol) movies.  Separate Tables (1958) also stars Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Wendy Hiller and Gladys Cooper.  

The story takes place at a residential hotel in England.  Kerr reunites with Lancaster (From Here to Eternity) but in a completely different character.  Cooper resurrects her mean, domineering mother role from Now, Voyager.

Niven won the Academy Award for Best Actor.  Hiller won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

John (Lancaster), a writer and resident of the hotel, is having a relationship with Pat (Hiller), the owner and manager of the hotel.  One day, Anne (Hayworth), the ex-wife of John, pays him a visit.  

Anne invites John to her room and tries to seduce him.  He rebuffs her, but there is still an attraction between the two of them.

The residents of the hotel discover that the major (Niven) pleaded guilty to sexual harassment at the local cinema.  He is humiliated.  Mrs. Maud (Cooper) demands that Pat expel the major from the hotel.

However, Sibyl (Kerr), the meek daughter of Mrs. Maud, comforts the major with empathy.  Most of the residents come to support the major in his hour of need.  Sibyl even defies her mother for the first time.  

 

Paladin, Chapter 23

 EXT. STREET - DAY

PALADIN catches up with BIG DAN.

PALADIN: Are you trying to provoke CHARLES?

BIG DAN:  Well, if you will not kill him, I gotta do it.

PALADIN:  It might not end up as you think it will.

BIG DAN:  I gotta defend what is mine.  I am not worried about a cripple.

PALADIN:  What is yours?  If your wife prefers another man, you cannot really keep her.  Find a woman who wants you.

BIG DAN:  That is bullshit.  POLLYANNA is mine.  With CHARLES out of the way, she will come back to me.  I know it.  There have been others,

PALADIN:  That is just it.  There will always be others.  She will never be yours.

BIG DAN:  It is none of your fucking business.  Stay outta my way.

BIG DAN walks away from PALADIN.  BIG DAN gets on his horse and rides away towards his ranch.  

Lake Ontario

I grew up in Oswego, New York which is located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, the eastern most of the Great Lakes of North America.

The Canadian province of Ontario is on the northern shore of Lake Ontario.  The border between the USA and Canada runs through the center of the lake.

The name Ontario is derived from the Iroquoian word Oniatari:io meaning Beautiful Lake.  It has been the name of the lake since 1641.

The port of Oswego on Lake Ontario is the first USA deep water port from the St. Lawrence Seaway.  It is one of the most productive ports in North America.

The port of Oswego is the only grain export center on Lake Ontario.  It is home to 14 companies that utilize its facilities for both domestic and international operations.

The port of Oswego serves as an economic catalyst for the central New York region.  It provides transportation services, promotes growth and environmental stewardship.

I will always think of that lake in front of my home town as Ontario. 

September 11th

September 11, 2001 started out as a beautiful sunny day in New York.  I arrived (via bus and subway) at my office at the Anti-Defamation League on East 46th Street near the UN building.

Suddenly, a colleague walked by and told me an airplane crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center (WTC).  My first thought was that during WWII a small airplane crashed into the Empire State Building.  Pilot killed, small damage to building.  

However, soon after I heard that a second airplane crashed into the second tower of the WTC.  It was no longer an accident.  It was a terrorist attack.

I later learned that a third plane crashed into the Pentagon near Washington and a fourth crashed on a field in rural Pennsylvania.

Soon, our office and many others closed for the day and my colleagues and fellow New Yorkers headed home.  However, concern for more terrorist attacks shut down all public transportation.  

No buses, no subway.  I had to walk home.

I started walking north towards the Queensborough Bridge on 59th Street.  I walked across the bridge.  

The Queens bound lanes were made exclusively for pedestrians.  Thousands were walking with me.

When I got to the apex of the bridge, I could see smoke floating across the East River from lower Manhattan.  It was from the destruction of the WTC.

When I reached Queens, I started following Northern Boulevard.  I probably walked another 2 hours east towards my home in Bayside.

At a point, I found a phone booth (no cell phones) and called my ex-wife Bonita asking her to pick me up.  It normally was a 20 minute drive.  It took her more than an hour because of the extraordinary traffic.  Likewise, it took us a long time to return home.

It was an unforgettable day.

  

 

A Child Is Waiting

 A Child is Waiting is a 1963 drama film starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Bruce Ritchey, Gena Rowlands and Stephan Hill.  It was written by Abby Mann.

Dr. Clark (Lancaster) is the director of a state institution for intellectually disabled and emotionally disturbed children.  He hires Jean (Garland) as a music teacher at the institution.

Jean develops a close relationship with a 12 year-old boy named Reuben (Ritchey).  She believes that Dr. Clark's methods are too strict and are not helping Reuben.

Jean is very sad to learn that neither of Reuben's now divorced parents have visited him in the two years he has been at the institution.  Yet, he readies himself every weekly visitation day assuming his mother will come.

Without Dr. Clark's permission, Jean writes to Reuben's mother (Rowlands) asking her to visit him.  Thinking he is ill she comes, but leaves when she knows the truth.  

It is too painful for her to see Reuben.  He sees her car speed away and he chases it.

Dr. Clark tries to explain to Jean how important it is for each of the children to develop as much self-sufficiency as possible.  Also, she can't favor one child over all the others at the institution.    

Reuben's father (Hill) attends the annual Thanksgiving pagaent at the institution.  He is very impressed when he sees Reuben reciting a poem. 

Variety said "Burt Lancaster delivers a firm, sincere and persuasive performance as the professionally objective, but understanding psychologist who heads the institution. Judy Garland gives a sympathetic portrayal of an overly involved teacher who comes to see the error of her obsession with the plight of one child."

    

Paladin, Chapter 22

 INT. INSIDE RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT

POLLYANNA arrives at her ranch and quietly enters house and goes to bedroom separate from BIG DAN's.  She enters bedroom and quickly locks door behind her.  Soon, BIG DAN arrives at bedroom door and tries to open locked door, but can not.  He is angry and frustrated.  He yells, but to no avail.

EXT. STREET  - DAY

PALADIN walks the streets of Windfall till he comes to the store of GRACE and CHARLES.  He enters store.

INT. STORE - DAY

PALADIN enters store.  GRACE is busy with customer.  PALADIN and GRACE make eye contact.  She gives him a big blushing smile.  He nods.

GRACE: I'll be with you soon, Deputy.

PALADIN: Take your time.

PALADIN looks around the store for a minute till customer leaves store.

GRACE: Good morning, PALADIN.  I'm so happy to see you.  I was hoping you would come.

PALADIN: Good morning, GRACE.  How are you?

GRACE:  Wonderful.  I'm so full of hope today.  And it's all your doing.  Thank you.

PALADIN:  Don't thank me.  You deserve to feel good about yourself.   

GRACE:  And I do.

CHARLES comes out of his office and sees PALADIN and GRACE talking.

CHARLES (to PALADIN):  I thought I heard your voice.  What are you doing here?  

PALADIN:  Just doing my rounds as Deputy Sheriff.  GRACE tells me there has been no trouble.  Glad to hear.

CHARLES:  So you'll be leaving now.  I'm sure you have responsibilities elsewhere.

PALADIN:  Just tell me there has been no trouble.

CHARLES:  None.  Now please go.

Just then, BIG DAN enters store.  He goes up to CHARLES and punches him in the face, knocking him to the floor.  GRACE screams in terror.  PALADIN races to intervene.

BIG DAN (to CHARLES):  Don't go near POLLYANNA again or you'll get worse.

PALADIN (to BIG DAN):  That's enough.  Now, get outta here.

BIG DAN (to PALADIN):  Maybe I oughta hit you for what happened in San Francisco.

GRACE, while tending to CHARLES, shows curiosity about what BIG DAN meant by reference to San Francisco.

PALADIN (to BIG DAN):  I would not advise that.  Now, get going before I decide to arrest you for assault.  

BIG DAN grudgingly heads for door.  CHARLES gets to his feet.

CHARLES (to BIG DAN):  Next time, you'll not be able to walk away, you oaf.  They will have to carry you out.

PALADIN (to CHARLES):  Shut up.  Do not make this any worse.

PALADIN pushes BIG DAN out the door before he can respond.  

CHARLES (to PALADIN):  Now you can leave, too.  I can take care of myself.

PALADIN follows BIG DAN out the door.  GRACE helps CHARLES.

GRACE (to CHARLES):  Are you all right?  What can I do for you?

CHARLES:  I'm okay.  What's with PALADIN?  I heard you talking to him.

GRACE:  Oh!  He is such a nice man.  I like him very much.  I wish he would stay in Windfall.  

CHARLES:  Don't you know he is just a travelling gunfighter...a killer.

GRACE:  He's a gentleman.  He has culture...an education.

CHARLES:  You seem awfully fond of him.

GRACE:  What of it.  Do you care?

CHARLES:  I am suspicious.

GRACE:  Jealous?

CHARLES:  Not at all.

GRACE:  Really?

Hebron

Today, no Jews live in Hebron on the West Bank of the Jordan River.  In 1922 under the British Mandate, 430 Jews (2.5% of the total population) lived there.

In August 1929, at least 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron by Arabs.  Many more Jews suffered injuries.  Jewish homes were pillaged.  Synagoges were ransacked.

The massacre was instigated by false rumors that Jews were going to seize control of Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  The surviving Jewish families were evacuated from Hebron by the British authorities.

Hebron holds special significance to Jewish people.  It is the site of the Tomb of the Patriarchs.  

The majority of Jews in Hebron had rented homes from Arab owners.  Some of the Jewish families (Sephardic) had lived in Hebron for at least 800 years.

Newer Jewish immigrants from Europe (Ashkenazi) started to arrive in Hebron in the 19th Century.  Zionism (Jewish self-determination) started to take root.  

A key source of tension between Arabs and Jews was Temple Mount.  To the Jews, the Western Wall of the Second Temple is very sacred.  To the Arabs, the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque is very sacred.  

The massacre in 1929 had been caused by religious intolerance...and false rumors.