view
Françoise Durocher, Waitress (André Brassard, 1972)
May
21
lunch break
Waitress Françoise Durocher, this may be Luce Guilbeault, on her lunch break. DP: Thomas Vámos.
“One grilled cheese, two slices of toast, two coffees. One pepper steak no chili and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Two glasses of milk. One plate of spare ribs. A chicken in a basket with three cups of honey. One lean smoked meat sandwich with pickles and mustard. One two-cream coffee and two club sandwiches. Two clubs.”
– Françoise Durocher
view
Si muero antes de despertar [If I Should Die Before I Wake] (Carlos Hugo Christensen, 1952)
Dec
19
National Hard Candy Day
Lucio (Néstor Zavarce) and his new friend sharing one of her fancy 10¢ lollipops. DP: Pablo Tabernero.
Lucio is the class clown, a ne'er-do-well relying on his police-dad's rank and classmates' homework. One of these classmates, a smart little girl, promises him fancy lollipops in exchange for protection. And she has a secret for him too, about the origin of the candy, and the nice man giving her those and other nice things. Under oath, she tells Lucio everything and then promptly disappears. With his friend gone, killed as he later finds out, and an oath weighing on his heart, what can Lucio do when another girl goes missing?
“Only a child can kill the monster.”
– narrator
Cornell Woolrich's haunting tales of childhood lost leaped from Ireland to Argentina. With some similarities with Fritz Lang's M (1931), this fairy-tale feels more oppressive; due to the helplessness of a boy's power in an adult world and his understanding of grown-up responsibilities. A restored version in wider circulation is long overdue.
view
Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (Les Blank, 1980)
Dec
12
National 12 Hour Fresh Breath Day
Three representatives of the garlic festival. Their tees read: THE GARLIC TO SHARE WITH A FRIEND, MINE DOESN'T STINK, and WE LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS. DP: Les Blank.
“When he shows the 1978 film Always for Pleasure, about the food, music and indigenous culture of New Orleans, [Les Blank] has been known to whip up a pot of red beans and rice in the back of the theatre. [cont. below]
“Can you smell the garlic?”
– Alice Waters. During screenings, the audience would reply with “YES!”
“At presentations […] Blank can occasionally be spied tossing several heads of garlic into a toaster oven so that the aroma wafts over the audience at just the right mouth-watering moment.” (via)
view
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (Les Blank, 1980)
Nov
8
Cook Something Bold Day
Herzog prepares his left suede Clarks in Alice Waters' restaurant kitchen. DP: Les Blank.
After boiling for five hours in a concoction of #garlic, herbs, and stock, the shoe was ready to eat and #Herzog could keep his promise to fellow director Errol Morris.
“More shoes, more boots, more garlic.”
– Werner Herzog
view
Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1966)
Nov
7
International Merlot Day
Nora (Salome Jens), seen from the back with her dress half unzipped, holds up a glass of red wine while kissing a reluctant Antiochus (Rock Hudson) during the ecstatic Bacchanal scene. DP: James Wong Howe.
At a bacchanalia, Rock Hudson's Antiochus Wilson finally strips down his hesitancy and realises he has a second chance at life, as a member of the new generation. To the Queen of wine! To Bacchus! To Pan!
“Bacchus gives us his blood so we may be born again.”
Director of photography James Wong Howe's very controlled framing of the (initially censored) pre-Woodstock #Bacchanalian scene beautifully frames this pinnacle moment and proved almost too much for American censors.
view
Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! [Mondo Hollywood] (Robert Carl Cohen, 1967)
Nov
1
World Vegan Day
Lobby card. Proto-hippie Gypsy Boots (Robert Bootzin), here going ape over a banana, outshocks polite society with his vegan (or is this vegetarian?) mindset In the background what appears to be a bed of nails. DP: Robert Carl Cohen.
view
Dutchman (Anthony Harvey, 1966)
Oct
3
Mean Girls Day
Clay (Al Freeman Jr.) reading a newspaper and minding his business on a subway train home. Just arrived on his car is Lula (Shirley Knight) and her endless supply of apples. DP: Gerry Turpin.
“Bet you can't eat just one.”
– advertising slogan
view
On the Bowery (Lionel Rogosin, 1956)
Sep
14
National Sober Day
Finnish poster. DP: Richard Bagley.
Someone mentions getting sober.
“When I get myself – cleaned up and straightened out, I'm going down and get a ship and I'm going to wind up in South Sea islands. That's where I wanna go!”
view
The Monster That Challenged the World (Arnold Laven, 1957)
Sep
7
National Salami Day
Coroner Nate Brown (Byron Kane) offering two cops a couple of nice cold sandwiches straight from one of the morgue coolers on his lunch break. DP: Lester White.
Arnold Laven's The Monster That Challenged the World is one of the earliest, if not thé earliest, example of this peculiar movie and television trope: the coroner's lunch break.
– You boys care for a sandwich? Got tuna fish and minced ham on rye.
– No, thanks.
– It's nice and cold.
Having some cold cuts over some cold cuts never gets old. Or appetising.