Hats

I recently watched a series on television about an historical event from the end of the nineteenth century.  A man rushed out of his place of business onto a busy street.  I was struck by the fact that he alone was hatless.  

In the summer of 1967 I started working as an accountant at Ernst & Ernst in Detroit, Michigan.  Among their rigid rules of conduct was the requirement to wear a hat (fedora) while travelling to and from work.  There were many hat stores where I could choose which I wanted to wear.

Today, the fedora has all but disappeared.  If a man wears a hat, as do I, it is a baseball type cap.  What happened?  Here are some answers.

We now have more control over our climate.  We don't have to wear a hat to keep warm.

After World War II, the distinction of social classes became less important.  The practice of wearing a type of hat to identify your social class became extinct.

With the advent of the automobile, headroom in vehicles changed drastically.  Modern cars are not built to accommodate the old fashioned hat styles.

President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) frequently appeared in public without a hat.  He set a new standard for modern, youthful elegance.

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.  

Boxing again

In my youth, I became enamored with sports.  And other than three years of Little League Baseball (1956-1958), my interest in sports involved spectator sports rather than as an athlete.  

In Little League, I suffered from fear of the baseball, either to be hit by a pitch (which I was once) or by a batted ball.  I have come to believe that we should never let fear control our behavior.  We need to have the courage to overcome our fears.  

Spectator sports in my youth mostly was what was on TV.  

Saturday was a Major League baseball game and/or a college football game depending on the time of the year.

Sunday in the fall was the New York Football Giants.

Friday night at 10 PM was boxing.  A ten round bout was perfect for a one hour TV program.  Gillette razor blades was the sponsor and the venue was usually Madison Square Garden in New York City.

I came to admire boxers, especially Floyd Patterson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Rubin Carter and Carmen Basilio.  But all boxers (now including women) deserve my respect. 

They face the challenge of one on one combat in which they suffer pain and the possibility of injury or even death.  

Boxing is a violent and dangerous sport.  It is a complicated sport.  When you go on offense, you open yourself up to being attacked.  

I have never been punched in the face...except once...by my brother Ted.  As avid movie goers, we discovered that actors did not really hit each other with a closed fist.  It was what we called fake boxing.  

Ted and I played at that many times and once it wasn't fake.  I received a bloody nose.

Ted told me of an experience he had while a student at Michigan State University.  He took a boxing class in which he sparred with another student.  Once, he was punched in the head and saw stars.  I wish I had had a boxing experience.  

At Penn, during a phyical education class, I was assigned to wrestle another student, much bigger than I.  I was able to evade him for  whatever the time limit was.  We were both exhausted.

It would have been nice to box once...for at least one round...to face a challenge, overcome my fears and survive...to prove something to myself.  

Nagasaki

Nagasaki, Japan is located on the island of Kyushu.  Its current population is approximately 400,000.

It was founded by Portuguese explorers in 1543.  Nagasaki became the sole port used for trade between Japan and both the Portuguese and the Dutch from the 16th through the 19th century. 

In the beginning, the little village of Nagasaki was where the Portuguese introduced such products as tobacco, bread and textiles into the Japanese marketplace.  

In 1663, a fire destroyed much of Nagasaki.

In 1720, a ban on Dutch books was lifted.  As a result, scholars flooded into Nagasaki to study European science and art.  

In 1889, Nagasaki was officially proclaimed to be a city.  Christianity was legalized, allowing it to become a center for Roman Catholicism in Japan.

During World War II, Nagasaki was an important industrial city.  Factories produced steel, arms, engines and ships.  90% of Nagasaki's work force was employed in such factories.  

Nagasaki was rebuilt after the war ended.   

Brute Force

Brute Force is a 1947 film noir produced by Mark Hellinger and starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Howard Duff and Yvonne DeCarlo.  

Before his untimely death at age 44 also in 1947, Hellinger produced other memorable films such as The Killers (starring Lancaster) and The Naked City (starring Duff).

The film was directed by Jules Dassin.  He also directed other films noir such as Night and the City and The Naked City.

In this film, Lancaster plays the leader of a group of prison inmates plotting an escape.  I can think of at least three other of his films in which he was in prison: The Killers, Birdman of Alcatraz and Judgment at Nuremburg.

Cronyn here portrays a sadistic prison warden, rival of Lancaster.  He played a very positive character in the Alfred Hitchcock film, Lifeboat.

In Brute Force, Duff is another prison convict.  In The Naked City, he is a jewel thief.  Years later, he is the lawyer of Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer.

DeCarlo played opposite Lancaster in another film noir, Criss Cross.

Paladin, Chapter 21

 INT - GRACE & CHARLES HOME - NIGHT

CHARLES starts to enter their bedroom.  GRACE sits on edge of bed wearing a nightgown pulled down to reveal her breasts.  When CHARLES sees her, he stops for a moment, then retreats closing door behind him.  His face shows disappointment.

INT - PALADIN'S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

PALADIN is sleeping when there is a knock on his door.  He rises quickly and grabs his gun.  He slowly opens the door and is surprised to see GRACE standing there.  

PALADIN:  GRACE, what are you doing here?  What time is it?

GRACE:  It's very late.  May I come in?

PALADIN:  Certainly.

PALADIN quickly puts on more appropriate clothing.  GRACE enters and sits in only chair in room.  Door is closed.

GRACE:  You said I was an attractive woman.  My husband doesn't think so.

PALADIN:  Your husband's a fool.

GRACE:  I threw myself at him tonight and he wasn't interested at all.  I need to reassure myself that I'm really a woman a man would want.

PALADIN:  You are.

GRACE:  You seem to be the only man who thinks so.

PALADIN:  You're a married woman.  Most men won't attempt to show you how they feel.

GRACE:  Most men?  What about you?  Are you only a talker?

PALADIN, upon reflection, approaches GRACE.  He holds her face in his hands and gently kisses her lips.  The kiss lasts for several seconds.

PALADIN:  I find you a very desirable woman, GRACE.  Unfortunately, you're married and in my line of work I cannot commit myself to a woman.  

GRACE:  CHARLES never kissed me like that.  Nobody ever kissed me like that.

The door is flung open and POLLYANNA is standing there wearing riding clothes as if she is on her way back to her ranch.

POLLYANNA:  Well, PALADIN, you are some hypocrite.  GRACE, strange to find you here.  CHARLES will be very interested to hear this.

POLLYANNA leaves.  PALADIN and GRACE look at each other and start to laugh.

George McGovern

George McGovern was born July 19, 1922 (104 years ago) in Avon, South Dakota.  The McGovern family lived on the edge of poverty for much of the 1920s and 1930s.  

Growing up so close to privation gave young George a lifelong sympathy for underpaid workers and struggling farmers.  He was influenced by the currents of populism and agrarian unrest, as well as the teachings that sought to fight poverty, injustice, and ignorance.

McGovern was listening to a radio broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra  for a music appreciation class when he heard the news of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.  In January 1942, he drove with nine other students to Omaha, Nebraska and volunteered to join the United States Army Air Forces.

As a B-24 pilot, McGovern flew 35 missions over German occupied Europe from an air base in Italy.  He received a Distinguished Flying Cross for making a hazardous emergency landing and saving his crew.

After the war, McGovern earned degrees from Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) and Northwestern University.  Later, he returned to DWU as a professor of history and political science.

In 1956 and 1958, McGovern was elected to the US House of Representatives from South Dakota.  In 1962, 1968 and 1974, he was elected to the United States Senate.

In 1972, McGovern won the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States.  He lost to the incumbent Richard Nixon by one of the biggest landslides in US history.  However, I voted for McGovern, the first time I voted for a Democrat.

On October 15, 2012, McGovern died at the age of 90 in his native South Dakota.      

A Nameless Girl Again

I recently saw a video on YouTube in which people my age (80) and above were asked about lessons learned over their lifetime.  One gentleman responded that he should have made love more often.  Nothing better he said.  Really?

Twice in my blog I have written about a Nameless Girl I met when I was nineteen years-old.  I was home on vacation from Penn and she was a student at the State University of New York at Oswego.  

I was driving her back to her sorority at the end of our second date.  When I stopped in front of the house, she threw herself at me and we engaged in heavy duty "making out."  Great!

When I returned home that night, instead of thinking about the end of the date, I focused on her behavior that afternoon when she had acted in a very bossy manner, which I didn't appreciate.  I decided to unilaterally end our budding relationship...without confronting her.  Ghosting!  Needs an apology.

I should have focused on the end of our date in which she showed she obviously wanted an intimate relationship with me.  Other than the bossy behavior, I liked her.  I wanted intimacy, as well.  

We could have talked about what had upset me that afternoon...and resolved it.  Maybe?

We could have gone to second base...or even hit a home run.  Maybe?  

Sweet Smell of Success

 Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis reunited (after Trapeze) in the 1957 film noir Sweet Smell of Success.  

The film tells the story of powerful, sleazy and sinister newspaper columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) who uses his connections to ruin his young sister's relationship with a man he deems unworthy of her.

In reality, because of J.J.'s obsession to maintain a close relationship with his sister (they live together), no man would be deemed worthy of her.

Manhattan press agent Sidney Falco (Curtis) scans the New York Globe for J.J.'s column which dominates the entertainment world. For the fifth day in a row, J.J. has not publicized any of Sidney's clients, as he has asked Sidney to end his sister's affair with a jazz guitarist. 

Sidney has been unsuccessful so far.  But, J.J. wants him to continue trying.

Similar to Trapeze, in the end. J.J. and Sidney's relationship is broken because of a woman.

Sweet Smell of Success was filmed on location in New York City in black and white.  Both Lancaster and Curtis were native New Yorkers, born in Manhattan.

Lancaster was reunited in this film with two actors from his first film, The Killers.   Sam Levene played the Swede's friend since childhood and now J.J.'s sister's boyfriend's agent.

Queenie Smith portrayed a maid in a hotel where the Swede stayed and now a personality J.J. wanted on his weekly program.  

Paladin, Chapter 20

INT. HOTEL - NIGHT 

PALADIN enters hotel and walks to reception.

PALADIN: In what room is POLLYANNA?

CLERK: I'm sorry, sir, but she's not here.  She's most likely at her ranch this time of night.

PALADIN: (grabbing the shirt of clerk) One last time.  In what room is POLLYANNA?

CLERK: 10.

PALADIN climbs stairs and goes to room 10 and enters it.

INT. ROOM 10 - NIGHT

PALADIN enters room 10.  POLLYANNA is lying in bed in her night clothes and is mildly surprised to see PALADIN.

POLLYANNA: Well, this is a pleasant surprise.  I can't say I'm disappointed either.

PALADIN: I wanted you to know your friend won't be coming tonight.

POLLYANNA: What friend are you talking about?

PALADIN: Well, it's not BIG DAN.

POLLYANNA: So, why is my friend not coming tonight?

PALADIN: I told him to go home to his wife.

POLLYANNA: And he did...just like that?

PALADIN: You could say I didn't give him much of a choice.

POLLYANNA: What a coward!  Well, you're here.  Why don't you stay.  We have a lot to talk about.

PALADIN: Look, if you want a new husband, get a divorce and look for a single man.

POLLYANNA: You're so old fashioned.

PALADIN: Perhaps.  But, I don't like to see people get hurt unnecessarily.  Especially somebody like GRACE.

POLLYANNA: Who cares about GRACE?

PALADIN: I do.

POLLYANNA: On the other hand, you're single.

PALADIN: Yes, I'm single, but I'm not interested in staying here.  Have a good evening.

PALADIN is set to leave the room.

POLLYANNA: (Shouting) PALADIN!

PALADIN: Quiet, POLLYANNA.  You'll wake the other guests.

Father's Day Again

Today, June 21, is Father's Day in the United States.  Happy Father's Day.

When I was a child, Father's Day meant my father, Harry Lasky, born September 7, 1901 in Troy, New York, the seventh of eight children in a family of first generation Jewish-Americans whose parents had emigrated from eastern Europe.

On December 7, 1975 (Rachel) and August 15, 1985 (Bret), I became a father.  As a result, Father's Day took on a new meaning.  

When my children were born, I felt an immediate bonding with them, something I had never experienced before.  Raising my children became my #1 priority.  

I also discovered that I totally enjoyed the experience of being their father. 

My children are grown now and I am very proud of them.  I consider Rachel and Bret to be the greatest successes of my life. 

On January 17, this year, Bret became a father when his daughter Macy was born.  Happy first Father's Day, Bret.

Trump again

Today, June 14, 2026, Donald J. Trump celebrates his 80th birthday.  Welcome to the club.

From September of 1966 until May of 1967, I was in my senior year as a student at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

I think my favorite course that senior year was an introductory one in real estate.  I learned its three rules:  location, location, and location.  

Our professor had us study an actual neighborhood in West Philadelphia, not far from the campus.  Each student was given an address of a house in the neighborhood and had to do various research related to the house.  

One was to go to Philadelphia City Hall (intersection of Broad and Market Streets) and look up the last three times the house had been sold (using old fashioned microfilm) to certify that each owner had signed on the subsequent sales document.  This is what title insurance is about.

Some time during that senior year, a colleague mentioned that one of our fellow students was Donald Trump, the son of a wealthy New York City real estate developer.  He was a junior transfer from Fordham University in New York City.  We never met.  

Trump was at Penn because of the Wharton School's real estate program.  He graduated 12 months after I did in May of 1968.

In November 2016, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States of America.

In November 2024, Donald Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States of America.  He is scheduled to serve until January 20, 2029 when he will be 82 years of age.

Trapeze

Trapeze is a 1956 American circus film starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida.  The film was among the top three box office earners of 1956 in the United States and Canada.

A trapeze is a short horizontal bar suspended by two ropes or metal straps from a ceiling or support structure. It is primarily known as an aerial apparatus used by acrobats and circus performers to execute swinging and gymnastic tricks.

In the film, embittered trapeze aerialist and former circus star Mike Ribble (Lancaster) needs a cane to walk as a result of a fall during a performance (shown in the first scene of the film). Brash, inexperienced Tino Orsini (Curtis) comes to Paris and wants Mike to train him to do the dangerous triple somersault. 

Mike, only the sixth man to complete the triple, brushes him off at first, but comes to believe that Tino is capable of matching his feat.  He starts to teach him. 

However, the manipulative Lola (Lollobrigida) enamors Tino, convinced he is a star in the making. Mike is pressured into adding her to their new act.

Tensions rise as Lola and Mike are attracted to each other.  However, Mike clearly sees how mercenary she is.  A love triangle forms. 

Tino comes to resent Mike's attempts to warn him about Lola. He breaks up with Mike.

However, during a performance attended by circus VIP John Ringling North, Mike talks Tino into attempting the triple. The French circus owner tries to stop them by having the safety net taken down, but Tino goes ahead anyway and achieves the highly dangerous feat. 

A greatly impressed North immediately offers all three a job with his circus in New York. Tino wants Mike back, but Mike leaves followed by Lola.

Lancaster, a former circus acrobat, performed many of his own stunts in the film, though the most dangerous (including the climactic triple somersault) were performed by technical consultant Eddie Ward from the Ringling Brothers Circus.  

Trapeze was filmed entirely in Paris, including at the Cirque d'hiver and at the nearby Billancourt studios.

I remember watching this film at the Oswego Theater during my youth.  

As a result of the film, I fell in love with the circus trapeze act.  It's thrilling.  I looked forward to it every time I took my children to the circus when it came to New York's Madison Square Garden.  

On the other hand, I don't like the high wire act.  It's scary.

Paladin, Chapter 19

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Later that night, PALADIN walks the streets of Windfall.

INT. STABLE - NIGHT

Finally, PALADIN enters stable to check on his horse.  Its seems well cared for.  The stable owner, an old man named SMITTY, is the only person there.  PALADIN notices another horse, well lathered, must have recently arrived in the stable.  

PALADIN: SMITTY, who brought this horse here?

SMITTY: POLLYANNA, BIG DAN's wife.  Bout ten minutes ago.  She must a bin in a hurry, I figer.  

PALADIN: Did you see where she went?

SMITTY: No.  I was too busy with her horse.  But, sometimes she takes a room at the hotel, I hear.  Pretty strange for a missus, if ya ask me.

PALADIN: Thanks.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

PALADIN leaves stable and heads to hotel.  Half-way there he see a man walking in the dark also walking towards hotel.  PALADIN rushes to cut him off.  It is CHARLES.

PALADIN: Good evening, CHARLES

CHARLES: (surprised) What?

PALADIN: Going my way?

CHARLES: Where?

PALADIN: The hotel.

CHARLES: Ah, no, just out for a walk.

PALADIN steps in front of CHARLES, preventing him from proceeding to the hotel.

PALADIN: I think we should have a talk.

CHARLES: Can this wait till tomorrow?

PALADIN: No.  We need to talk now.

CHARLES: What's this about that's so important?

PALADIN: Your wife.

CHARLES: My wife?  My wife is no concern of yours.

PALADIN: Well, sir, the way you're acting, she is no concern of yours either.  So, somebody has to be concerned.  And I am taking on that responsibility.

CHARLES: What are you talking about?

PALADIN: Sir, I know exactly where you are heading and who is waiting for you there.  And such a meeting is not in the best interest of Grace.  

CHARLES: I still don't know what you're talking about.  And you, sir, are not in charge of what is in the best interest of my wife.

PALADIN: I strongly suggest you turn around and go back home.

CHARLES: I'm sure I will in good time.  I don't need you to tell me this.  Am I violating any law at present?

PALADIN: No law of man, but perhaps a law of ethics and God.

CHARLES tries to push past PALADIN, but fails because of the impairment of his right arm.

CHARLES: You have me at a disadvantage, sir.  I'm asking you as a gentleman to let me pass.

PALADIN: If I let you pass, will you act as a gentleman and go home?

CHARLES: I'll do as you ask, but next time we meet, I'll be better prepared to confront you, sir.  

PALADIN:  As will I.

CHARLES retreats to his home.  PALADIN waits for some time to make sure CHARLES does go home and then PALADIN continues to the hotel.