Hey Aimee!

I've been meaning to ask, Have you seen the movie Mogambo?

Here's why I ask: Hollywood movie, starring Ava Gardner, Clark Gable and Grace Kelly, lots of big cats (black leopard, cheetah [yes, I thought of Nutty], lion and lioness.)

Here's the freaky part: it's impossible to look at the screen when Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly are on at the same time. They're like diametrically opposed ideals of beauty. Grace is classic and cool and perfect and classy. Ava is sensual and romantic and sexy and perfect. Your brain cannot contain all this information at the same time! Impossible!

Also, lots of handsome manly Clark Gable and baby elephants. And a baby rhino. And a baby giraffe. All of which play with Ava Gardner.

You'd like it, Aimee!

I've heard of it but not seen it! Must change this and quick!

I've heard of it but not seen it! Must change this and quick!

It's really pretty good, actually. Ava's best performance. It's a remake of Red Dust (I think) originally with Gable and Harlow. John Ford directed. Also? Lots of wild animals in technicolor and inhuman human beauty.

I hate Clint Eastwood, I think.

Even in the Leone films? This is unpossible!

Yes, Hec, it's Red Dust. Which is an excellent example of why Gable and Harlow were one of the great teams of the '30s.

And TCM is showing another of their teamings, China Seas, next Friday night at 12:15 a.m. (Eastern time). (It's a Gable festival -- Mogambo is on at 8:00 p.m.)

Man, I never come in here because we never, ever get to the movies anymore unless it's a kid flick, and I missed the whole Deadwood discussion! My Deadwood love is huge.

The period profanity would have been "goddamn" and that sort of thing (mostly religious). To make the effect for a modern audience, he translated it to "cocksucker" and "fuck".

He's claimed in several interviews that the salty language is accurate to the time and place (but I make no claims to the veracity of this statement).

I remember early interviews where the creator talked about profanity vs vugarity to a modern audience -- the relative weights of "Damn you!" and "Fuck you!" have switched over time. But since the viewers are living in a world where profanity is allowed on network primetime, "cocksucker" got promoted to Really Big Swear.

"Hooplehead" is an anachronism, too. It came from a 1920's comic strip.

He swears he looked it up, but...he used to do *lots* of drugs. lucky-to-be-here, OD on set kinds of drugs. Would hardly be the biggest lie he ever told in his life. Sometimes I get tired of the Sopranos scenes at the Bing, if you wanna know the truth. You know for no reason they have Implant Girl just going around the pole just to show a naked chick. At this point, don't we *know*? It was different when they were part of the story, but those aren't the ones I mean.

I think Deadwood is also best watched in marathon. I went through the first season getting the discs from Netflix, so it was usually two episodes at a time. I watched the second season in one day.