A Quick Hello

Come in from the cold

La Collectionneuse (1967)

The Sunday Letter #45

Just a late message to say that I came down with a head cold this morning, so today’s message is a short one. Hoping to be back next week with a brand new essay! See you then.

A New Year Message

Tin Bucket by Jenny George

What I’ve Been Watching From My Sickbed

Rope (1948) — Two men who believe they’ve committed the perfect murder host a dinner party the same evening. The original Secret History.

Adam’s Rib (1949) — Spencer Tracy as a district attorney prosecuting the case of a woman accused of trying to kill her husband. His wife, played by Katharine Hepburn, happens to be the lawyer defending the woman he’s trying to prosecute.

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017) — Joan Didion’s nephew directs this documentary about the legendary writer’s life, career, and unique artistry. Two huge takeaways: Didion shouting “Action verbs!” and her remark that she writes novels to face the things she’s most afraid of, to convince herself that she can face them.

La Collectionneuse (1967) — A womanizing art dealer and his friend take a summer vacation in a French villa, only to be interrupted by Haydée, a bohemian woman whom they accuse of being a man “collector.”

North by Northwest (1959) — Cary Grant as an advertising man mistaken for a spy in Hitchcock’s twisty Cold War thriller, with genuinely stunning Technicolor graphics. Please, please bring back movies that look and feel exactly like this.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) — A British agent (Richard Burton) during the Cold War refuses to “come in from the cold,” choosing to embark on one more espionage mission instead.

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) — Another James Stewart flick, this time with the actor playing a semi-retired attorney who agrees to defend Lieutenant Manion, a man accused of murdering the man who assaulted his wife. Inside lawyerly-sources tell me it was the most accurate portrayal of courtroom procedures they’ve ever seen.