Intrigue and Illusion in War-Torn Vienna: Graham Greene's The Third Man

I discovered Graham Greene through a somewhat unusual path. I was on a quest to see all of Orson Welles' films. This proved to be an impossible task, but it did introduce me to a number of fine films, one of them being The Third Man, starring Welles along with Joseph Cotton, Trevor Howard and Alida Valli. I have never tired of the film with its Graham Greene DNA. 

Compelling plots, complex characters and atmospheric settings are all hallmarks of Graham Greene's novels. Recurring storylines revolve around universal themes--betrayal, corruption, moral failure, dignity, faith and redemption. 

While researching for this review, I learned that Greene himself had experience in the film industry previous to seeing his books translated to the silver screen. He worked as a film critic and wrote screenplays, which gave him an understanding of the cinematic medium and connections within the industry. (Ah, connections!) His experiences undoubtedly made it easier for his works to transition to film.

He was also one of several British writers who served in the British Secret Service (M6). This experience provided a level of authenticity to his writing. [Other well-known authors who were spies include Somerset Maugham, John LeCarre and Ian Fleming, creator of what is now the James Bond franchise.]

* * *

Graham Greene's novella The Third Man is a moral labyrinth as complex as the underground waterways of its setting, post-World War II Vienna. First published in 1949, it's a gripping tale of intrigue, deceit, and moral ambiguity. The story revolves around Rollo Martins, a hack writer of pulp Westerns, who arrives in the war-torn city at the invitation of his childhood friend, Harry Lime, superbly played by Welles in the film. Upon his arrival, however, Martins learns that Lime has been recently killed in a mysterious car accident.

Martins's initial grief quickly turns to suspicion when he hears inconsistencies in the various accounts of Lime's death. Determined to uncover the truth, Martins embarks on an investigation that leads him through the divided and corrupt city, encountering a host of intriguing characters, including the enigmatic Baron Kurtz and the weary British police officer, Major Calloway.

The novella masterfully captures the atmosphere of Vienna, a city struggling to recover from the devastation of war. Greene’s depiction of the bombed-out buildings, the black market dealings, and the pervasive sense of distrust and desperation adds a layer of realism and tension to the narrative. The setting is not just a backdrop but a character in its own right, reflecting the fractured and morally complex world in which the story unfolds.

As Martins delves deeper into the mystery of his friend's death, he discovers that Lime, far from being the innocent victim he imagined, was an illegal racketeer selling diluted penicillin on the black market, resulting in numerous deaths. This revelation forces Martins to confront the stark difference between the idealized image of his friend and the harsh reality of his criminal activities.

The novella's title refers to the elusive "third man" who was reportedly seen at the scene of Lime’s accident but whose identity remains unknown. This mystery propels the plot forward and symbolizes the hidden layers of truth that Martins must uncover.

The character of Harry Lime, charming yet deeply flawed, embodies the blurred lines between good and evil. Martins' disillusionment and loss of innocence resonates with readers and film buffs alike.

In the end, The Third Man is not just a thrilling mystery but a profound commentary on human nature and the consequences of moral compromise. Greene's vivid prose and intricate plotting keeps the pages turning, leaving readers to ponder the complexities of friendship in a world marked by chaos and uncertainty.

Test Your Wits: A Literary Trivia Contest

How well do you know your literary trivia?

It's intriguing how popular the game Trivial Pursuit became. Here's a bit of trivia you may not have known: the game has sold over 100 million units in 26 countries and 17 languages. What year was it created? I would never have guessed. Answer: 1981. It seems like it has been around forever.

I've always enjoyed creating games. Trivia is indeed fun to play with. During Duluth's Dylan Fest I've usually been the one to create the Dylan Trivia Contest each year. So while cleaning my garage a couple weeks ago I assembled this trivial excursion.

HERE ARE THE RULES
1. Take a piece of paper and number it from 1 to 15. 

2. Here's the challenge. For each name in the list below, name the book this character appeared in and the author who wrote it. (A few are plays, but I read them in book form.) 

3. To the right of the title and author, write the name of the actor who played this character in a movie version of the book or play.

Do not scroll below the photos until you fill out your answers.

CALCULATING YOUR SCORE
A) Score one point for each correct Book Title. (In one instance the movie has a different title but is based on the book.)
B) Score one point for each book author that you name correctly.
C) Score one point for identifying the actor who played that character in the movie version of the book.
D) If you correctly identify all fifteen book titles WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE CLUES give yourself a bonus of 5 points. The same goes for identifying all fifteen authors and the fifteen actors. TOTAL POSSIBLE SCORE is 60. 

EdNote: The Clues are below the two photos at the end of this list. For the Extra Points, don't look till you have given up.

* * * * * 

1. Atticus Finch

2. Rhett Butler

3. Stella Kowalski

4. Kurtz

5. Ishmael

6. Alden Pyle

7. Harry Lime

8. Ann Sullivan

9. Robert Jordan

10. Daisy

11. Winston

12. Billy Pilgrim

13. Henry Wilcox

14. Tom Hagen

15. R.P. McMurphy

EdNote: Some of these titles are red herrings.

CHOOSE TITLES FROM THIS LIST
Moby Dick, For Whom The Bell Tolls, 1984, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Godfather, The Quiet American, The Last Tycoon, Chinatown, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Great Gatsby, Gone with the Wind, Howard's End, Heart of Darkness, The Miracle Worker, To Kill A Mockingbird, Bugsy, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Third Man

EdNote: Some of these actors are also misleading.

CHOOSE ACTORS FROM THIS LIST
Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Kim Hunter, Vivien Leigh,  Richard Basehart, Mia Farrow, Michael Sachs, Brendan Fraser, John Hurt, Louise Fletcher, Holly Hunter, Faye Dunaway, Orson Welles, Gary Cooper

ANSWERS ARE BENEATH THE PHOTO BELOW

"We're just waitin' here for ya to finish. Take your time. We'll wait."

ANSWERS
1. To Kill A Mockingbird--Harper Lee/Gregory Peck
2. Gone with the Wind--Margaret Mitchell/Clark Gable
3. A Streetcar Named Desire--Tennessee Williams/Kim Hunter
4. Heart of Darkness--Joseph Conrad/Marlon Brando (Apocalypse Now)
5. Moby Dick--Herman Melville/Richard Basehart,
6. The Quiet American--Graham Greene/Brendan Fraser
7. The Third Man--Graham Greene/Orson Welles
8. The Miracle Worker--William Gibson/Ann Bancroft
9. For Whom The Bell Tolls--Ernest Hemingway/Gary Cooper
10. The Great Gatsby--F. Scott Fitzgerald/Mia Farrow 
11. 1984--George Orwell/John Hurt
12. Slaughterhouse-Five--Kurt Vonnegut/Michael Sachs
13. Howard's End--E.M. Forster/Anthony Hopkins
14. The Godfather--Mario Puzo/Robert Duvall
15. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest--Ken Kesey/Jack Nicholson

Please leave your score in the comments, either anonymously or publicly. Was this too easy? Too hard? Or just right?

Photos on this page courtesy Gary Firstenberg

Throwback Thursday: A Film Noir Favorite, The Third Man

This week I again watched one of my fave film noir movies, The Third Man. Film noir was a style of Hollywood film, popular in the 40's and 50's that sought to expose and exploit the dark side of life. Themes were ambiguous, often not pretty, and occasionally considered scandalous. 

 

They were primarily black and white and gritty. Many have been resurrected less successfully than intended (eg. Cape Fear), though some have emulated the genre with superb flare (eg. L.A. Confidential). 

The Third Man 

The film -- starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard -- is based on the novel by Graham Greene. The zither soundtrack is playful and somber simultaneously. If you've seen the film before the opening strumming will give you a lift as you know you're entering a story that has previously moved you. I have never tired of this interaction of these well defined characters with competing motives. 

 Unrelenting fascination is what I experience every time I watch this movie. It never seems old. It remains alive in my mind, haunting me, with its unearthly music, its dark, oblique photography and crisp, well-crafted storyline. 

Orson Welles excels, delivering some great lines and also one the best entrances in movie history to go along with a superb exit as well. It couldn't be better. I can't even express how I feel in words. If you've seen it it's worth re-visiting, and worth seeing if you haven't. 

The music track is Anton Karras on the zither. It greets you at the open and carries you through. When I hear the opening notes it awakens anticipation and memories simultaneously. 

Here's an informative review of the film from imdb.com 

Of all the movies during the studio era (pre-1960ish), there are three movies with cinematography that always stick out in my mind: Gregg Toland's work in Citizen Kane, Russel Mety's work in Touch of Evil, and Robert Krasker's work in The Third Man (all starring Orson Welles). 

I just recently saw a restored 35mm version of The Third Man. The vivid black and white visuals of a bombed out Vienna are breath-taking. Shadows are everywhere, a metaphor for the period detailed in this story. The unique way Krasker tilts the camera in some shots adds to the disorientation of the plot. And who can forget the first close-up of Welles with the light from an apartment room above splashing onto his face; one of the great entrances in movie history, made still more effective by the foreshadowing in the previous scene. Lime gives his old friend a smile that only Welles could give.

Here's my 2011 review of the film:  

Graham Greene The Third Man Continues to Satisfy

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Ten days ago I saw Graham Greene's The Third Man on someone's list of the fifty greatest films of all time and I felt compelled to rent it again. I've read the book at least twice, Greene being among my favorite novelists. I can't say how many times I've seen the film but invariably each time it's an enriching experience.

The story takes place in Vienna after World War II. The narrator is a hack writer of Westerns, Holly Martens (Joseph Cotton) from America who has come to Vienna to find his old college chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Upon arrival in the divided city (there is an American, French, Brit and Russian sector, as partitioned by the Allies) he learns that Lime has been killed in an accident outside the apartment house where Martens had been expecting to meet him. The witnesses, however, share conflicting details and Martens begins to suspect foul play.

It's not just the exotic settings that make a Graham Greene story such a thrill to read, but also the incredible way he allows the reader to see the story, even when the narrator doesn't get it. In this case Holly Martens, saturated with sentimentalism, believes only the best about his old friend, resisting all evidence to the contrary.

The third star in this film is the beautiful and somewhat unheralded Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt. Martens loves his friend because he doesn't know the truth about Harry; Anna is smitten by Harry in spite of the truth about him. Tumultuous tragic love smashes itself against the rocks with resigned futility.

I must also take a moment here to extol the cinematography. Shot in black and white mostly on location in Vienna, every frame is a work of beauty. So much of the film is at night, allowing wonderful contrasts and surrealistically stark scenes. This all works perfectly to set up the first appearance of Welles hiding in a dark doorway, his face suddenly illuminated when a light across the street flames to life.

At certain points in all our life stories light strikes from a new angle, revealing things we didn't previously understand. The clues were there all along, but until there is light nothing can be fully seen for what it is... whether we wish to see it or not.

* * * 

In case you can't tell, I really enjoyed this film. Each time I watch I catch subtle touches I'd missed previously. It's a film that has everything. Find it if you haven't seen it.

Is This True? Does Childhood Offer But One Glimpse of the Future

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."--Graham Greene, The Power & the Glory

I'd been assembling Graham Green quotes for a blog post on Medium, and this one in particular gave me paws. I began howling like a dog.

No, what I meant was it gave me pause. Caused me to stop and reflect. Is this statement really true? Was there a singular moment, perhaps a singular event, that showed me the rest of my life?

There's a Borges story in which Borges sits on a park bench and realizes his younger self is at the other end of the bench. The older attempts to convey something to the younger, giving a glimpse of his future in an unusual way.

As a reflect on my own life, there are many moments that reveal myself to myself, though I have difficulty pointing to a single moment when a door opened. In my very earliest years I had no real concept of "the rest of my life."

Other scenes come to mind and in retrospect I see my characteristic weakness and vacillation. Still other moments I see a singular confidence in the face of meager odds.

Perhaps my pneumonia experience gave me some premonitions. I missed the last five weeks of the school year in seventh grade. Also did time in the hospital, five days total. I missed the Little League All Star Game and the kid from Peapack-Gladstone who took my place at shortstop hit a grand slam home run. He hit it off that big fastball pitcher from Far Hills who had struck me out last time I faced him. Privately I was grateful to not have been a goat, though I never admitted this to anyone.

I look at my early relationships with girls and see patterns that followed for a lifetime. I was oldest of four boys with no sisters, so there was always something mysterious and fascinating about the opposite sex, even before puberty.

A fairly re-defining event for me was being pallbearer at my best friend's funeral in high school. Much reflection on that experience ensued, and I never fully released my bottled up grief till more than a dozen years later, a cathartic torrent of tears.

Perhaps some of my early dreams offered glimpses as well. One recurring theme from that time--one that took a variety of forms--still haunts me.

* * * *

Alas, did you ever have a moment in childhood when you saw your future with perspicacious clarity? Yes? No? Leave a comment. We'd like to hear more.

Swann's Way as Graphic Novel. Can You Believe It?

Marcel Proust is one of those great writers not often read these days. Maybe Hemingway, Jack London, Fitzgerald and other American writers were more approachable because they also wrote short stories and novellas. Proust's massive two-volume Remembrance of Things Past is even more intimidating than Tolstoy's War & Peace or Melville's Moby Dick.

I will be the first to admit I have not read Proust. And yet some critics have called him the most influential writer of the 20th century. Graham Greene called him the greatest writer of the 20th century.

As it turns out, Proust did quite a bit of writing besides his major novel. If he'd been translated to English he may have become more accessible.

Now, Proust is being introduced to a new set of readers by means of the graphic novel. It seems unusual, but then again, no more so than R. Crumb's Illustrated Book of Genesis.

Here are the first few panels of Proust's book, followed by a handful of quotes that reflect his ideas and style.

We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us.

*

We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.

*

Happiness is beneficial for the body but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind.

*

If enough time was left to me to complete my work, my first concern would be to describe the people in it, even at the risk of making them seem colossal and unnatural creatures, as occupying a place far larger than the very limited one reserved for them in space, a place in fact almost infinitely extended, since they are in simultaneous contact, like giants immersed in the years, with such distant periods of their lives, between which so many days have taken up their place – in Time.

 * * * *

Related Links

Six Reasons You Must Read Proust

Why do people gush over Proust? I'd rather visit a demented relative (Germaine Greer)

Twelve Great Quotes by Ten Great Writers... On Writing

Photo by Art Lasovsky on Unsplash

While looking for a quote to embellish my recent blog post on The Murders in the Rue Morgue, I came across this first quote below by Edgar Allen Poe. It was so true and so intriguing that I decided to scrounge around to find eleven siblings to accompany it. If you're a writer I'm certain you will enjoy these.

How many good books suffer neglect through the inefficiency of their beginnings!
--Edgar Allen Poe

Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in the human condition. --Graham Greene

A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction.--Graham Greene

Photo by Andrew Perfetti Photography

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
--Edith Wharton

Fiction pays best of all and when it is of fair quality is more easily sold. A good joke will sell quicker than a good poem, and, measured in sweat and blood, will bring better remuneration.--Jack London

Don't loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don't get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it.--Jack London

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.--John Steinbeck

In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom.--Joseph Conrad

There is a sort of man who pays no attention to his good actions, but is tormented by his bad ones. This is the type that most often writes about himself.--Somerset Maugham

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”--Anton Chekhov

“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.”--Ray Bradbury

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.”--Orson Scott Card

To my writer friends....write on! 

To all the rest, make the most of your day and,,,  

Thanks for reading. 

Two Film Noir Favorites: The Third Man and Sweet Smell of Success

This fall I again watched two of my fave film noir movies, The Third Man and Sweet Smell of Success. Film noir was a style of Hollywood film, popular in the 40's and 50's that sought to expose and exploit the dark side of life. Themes were ambiguous, often not pretty, and occasionally considered scandalous.

They were primarily black and white and gritty. Many have been resurrected less successfully than intended (eg. Cape Fear), though some have emulated the genre with superb flare (eg. L.A. Confidential).

The Third Man

Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard, based on the novel by Graham Greene. The zither soundtrack is playful and somber simultaneously. If you've seen the film before the opening strumming will give you a lift as you know you're entering a story that has previously moved you. I have never tired of the play of characters with competing motives.

1. Unrelenting fascination is what I have every time I watch this movie. It never seems old. It's in my mind, haunting me, with its unearthly music and its dark, oblique photography. And that great Orson Welles' speech, and also the best entrance in movie history to go along with the best exit in movie history. It couldn't be better. I can't even express how I feel in words. It's worth re-visiting, if you've seen it, and worth seeing if you haven't. The music track is Anton Karras on the zither. It greets you at the open and carries you through. When I hear the opening notes it awakens anticipation and memories simultaneously.

2. Of all the movies during the studio era (pre-1960ish), there are three movies with cinematography that always stick out in my mind: Gregg Toland's work in Citizen Kane, Russel Mety's work in Touch of Evil, and Robert Krasker's work in The Third Man (all starring Orson Welles funny enough). I just recently saw a restored 35mm version of The Third Man. The crisp black and white visuals of a bombed out Vienna are so breath-taking. Shadows are everywhere. The unique way Krasker tilts the camera in some shots adding to the disorientation of the plot. And who can forget the first close-up of Welles with the light from an apartment room above splashing onto his face; one of the great entrances in movie history (Lime gives his old friend a smile that only Welles could give.)
>>>Source: Reviewer at imdb.com

Here is my 2011 review. 

Sweet Smell of Success

The thick jazz intro by Elmer Bernstein is a perfect setup for this big film about power and influence. Who's got it? J.J. Hunsecker. Who wants it? Sidney Falco. Sidney's a publicity man from the slimeball school. He purportedly has the power to get PR for his clients, though the real power lies in J.J.Hunsecker's palm. And Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) takes pleasure in crushing people. "Hunsecker is the golden ladder to where I want to get," says Falco (Tony Curtis). Oh the games people play.

There are four main characters in the story. Falco, Hunsecker, Hunsecker's sister Susie, and a jazz guitarist whose stage name is Steve Dallas.

In scene one Sidney Falco finds that a story he promised a client will not appear in tomorrow's Hunsecker column. Falco knows why. Susie is in love with the jazz guitarist and Hunsecker is expecting Falco to break it up. So within the first ten minutes we see what everybody wants. The music and the gritty black-and-white texture of the film are a tip-off.

The screenwriting is A-plus, line after zinger line. Acting is spot on, too. The emotional tension tightens with each turn of the screw.

Here's my 2016 review of this powerful story.

* * * *
If you like Film Noir and you're looking for films to add to your queue, check out this list of 100 All Time Film Noir Favorites 

Three of my favorites from that list besides the aforementioned: The Killing (Kubrick), Touch of Evil
and Chinatown.

* * * *
Though this blog post is about films, the two films cited above were also powerful books, which I also enjoyed immensely and have read more than once each.

While thinking about books it dawned on me that eBooks do seem to have a shortcoming when it comes to Christmas. No one will buy my eBook The Red Scorpion and place it under a Christmas tree. On the other hand, if you get some Christmas money and own an eBook reader, it's currently only a $2.99 download for this YA suspense thriller. (I'm raising the price by a dollar in January, fwiw.) More info here.

Graham Greene's The Tenth Man

This weekend I watched again The Tenth Man, a made for TV film based on Graham Greene's novella of the same name. I'd been a huge Greene fan in the 1980s when I read anything of his that I could put my hands on. Favorites include The Third Man, A Burnt-Out Case, The End of the Affair, The Quiet American and The Heart of the Matter, among others.

A singular feature of his stories is their global settings, especially in regions of unrest. As it turns out, he worked for the British government as a spy, not unlike Ian Fleming, John Le Carre and a few other well-known Brit authors. The Tenth Man takes place in mid-century France.

It's a story about a wealthy French lawyer named Chavel who confronts his existential reality. That is, the book was written at a time when Existentialism held sway as a dominant philosophy, defined and re-defined by authors like Camus, Sartre and situation ethicist Joseph Fletcher. The story opens in Paris during the Nazi occupation of France. Chavel, played by Anthony Hopkins, is minding his own business heading to the office when suddenly a dispatch of Nazi soldiers blocks the streets to take captive a couple truckloads of men. The men are arrested randomly, for no other reason than the fact that they were "there."

Chavel, being the attorney that he is, cries out, "Whose in charge here," as if the normal laws of social justice should apply. But his appeals fall on deaf ears. This is man's lot, Greene seems to say. Chavez is caught up in circumstances beyond his control.

As an aside, this opening scene of Nazi-occupied France so reminded me of the current series The Man in the High Castle based on a story by Philip K. Dick in which the Axis powers won World War II and divided North America between them. It is 1950's America without Leave It To Beaver.

The next twist in Chavel's story comes when it is learned that several Nazis were killed in an incident involving the French Resistance, including an officer, and several prisoners must be shot in return, another form of absurd justice. The Nazi guards leave it to the prisoners themselves to determine who will be handed over to be shot. One in ten is the number.

There are thirty in the cell, and in the end they decide the fairest way here would be to draw lots. Chavel bristles at this, but accepts it, only to draw death by firing squad as his lot as well. Whereas the other two men who drew the same fate have resigned themselves to it, Chavel protests. And then he grovels. Being a man of wealth and property, he turns to his fellow captives and offers all he has to anyone who will switch places with him. The others are disgusted by this and point out that it is a ridiculous deal since the person who accepts it is going to die anyways so how could they enjoy it.

But a man accepts. He's ill and perhaps soon to die anyways, so he figures that if he takes the estate he could bequeath it to his mother and sister. Chavel the lawyer draws up the papers and has witnesses sign the document, after which he has second thoughts. But this change of heart is too late, as well, and the deed is done.

The story moves to after the war, and in time Chavel can't resist returning to the estate which once was his. What he finds is somewhat shocking. The place is in disrepair, the gardens neglected. As luck should have it, because he knew her brother, the mother and sister permit Chavel to stay on as caretaker. In short order Chavel discovers the degree to which Therese Mangeot hates the man who allowed her brother to die on his behalf.

At one point they are talking and she makes a statement of how much she hates the scoundrel, and senses that Chavel feels the same.

"Sounds like you hate him, too," she says.
Chavel replies, "No, I don't hate him. I just despise him for what he did."

As the story evolves the tension mounts when another man shows up at the house claiming to be Chavel. It's terrific storytelling. Like all Graham Greene's works the books keep you turning the pages, eager to see what happens next. Good books are like that. And good films the same.

To say more than this is to say too much, but it;s a compelling story and a really fine film.

If you can find it, you should take the opportunity. 

ThrowbackThursday: My Fine Feathered Friends (A Reading List)

One of the programs that I regularly listen to on the radio is The Daily Circuit on Minnesota Public Radio, primarily because that's what's on as I am in my car heading for lunch somewhere. It's a show that talks about books. The show's host Kerri Miller regularly has authors as guests and frequently opens up the phone lines for listeners' suggestions. 

This being Throwback Thursday, I thought it a good day to resurrect a 2008 blog entry in which I shared a book list of my own. It doesn't include more recent readings, but regular followers of this blog will find periodic reviews of current gems.

My Fine Feathered Friends

Woody Allen called his book Without Feathers a comic response to Emily Dickinson's statement, "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches on the soul..." In addition to the implied nakedness, he likewise signals the absence of hope in his heart. One might call him a tragic luminary.

Here's another poem by Emily Dickinson, about books along with short reading list of some personal favorites. May we never quit being a nation of readers.

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul.

The Short List

Here's a short list of some of my favorite Novellas and Shorter, Book-Length Fictional Works that have great power and are worthy of any reading list...

Death in Venice, Thomas Mann

The Tenth Man, Graham Greene

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

Cakes & Ale, Somerset Maughm

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

The Sybil, Par Lagerkvist

Barabas, Par Lagerkvist

Seize the Day, Saul Bellow

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, A. Solzhenitsyn

The Forged Coupon, Leo Tolstoy

Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

Welcome to Hard Times, E.L.Doctorow

The Great Divorce, C.S.Lewis

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Isabelle, Andre Gide

Theseus, Andre Gide

This is a list of stories and books that made an impact on me at key points in my life...

The Secret Sharer, Joseph Conrad

The Lagoon, Joseph Conrad

Too Late the Phalarope, Alan Paton

Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmund Rostand (play)

The End of the Affair, Graham Greene

A Burnt Out Case, Graham Green

The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene

Man of La Mancha, Dale Wasserman (play)

For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway

In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway (stories)

Demian, Herman Hesse

Beneath the Wheel, Herman Hesse

Martin Eden, Jack London

1984, George Orwell

Brave New World, Aldus Huxley

That Hideous Strength, C.S.Lewis

Crime & Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevski

Labyrinths, Jorge Luis Borges (stories)

Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges (stories)

The Bet by Anton Checkov

Radio Stories

Yesterday, while listening to the radio, I heard tell of a 101 year of man from India who ran a marathon. It was not the full 26 miles this year but an abbreviated race, six-point-something miles. He did, however, run a full marathon in 2011 when he was one hundred.

The story goes that he took up running at age 89 to deal with his depression after witnessing the horrific death of his son in a freak accident. It’s hard to imagine that in 2011 he ran 26 miles and didn’t receive any kind of acknowledgements from the Guinness Book folks, but here’s the rest of the story. He did not have a birth certificate. Problem is, he was born before they issued birth certificates in India. It doesn’t count that his passport says he was born in 1911. The decision-makers want that birth certificate. With or without it, in April he will be 102.

There was another story I heard yesterday on the radio that was also interesting. The correspondent was at a funeral home in Cleveland that spent $22,000 to deck out its parlors with monitors and a high tech system that allowed family members and close friends who lived far away to attend funerals conducted there via the internet.

Flying home for a funeral would be expensive enough, but tickets are doubly expensive when purchased at the last minute. Weddings may be placed on calendars months in advance, but I know of few funerals that are so scheduled.

So it is that there are a growing number of funeral homes that are creating setups where family members can Skype in from afar. I know that had it been possible I would have been present in such a manner at my own father’s memorial service several years ago.

This past week I watched two films based on novels by Graham Greene, The Third Man and The Tenth Man. The former is a stellar classic starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton. The latter is an exceptional story starring Anthony Hopkins. And so it was with interest that I listened to a radio interview with Keith Jeffrey, who wrote a book about the British Secret Service branch M16. The book has a three star rating on Amazon.com but that doesn't keep it from selling hard and fast. Perhaps it has something to do with last year's 50th anniversary of Dr. No, the James Bond film that initiated Hollywood's Bond franchise.

At one point they were talking about authors who had been recruited to be spies. I’ve known for some time that Greene had been used by the British Secret Service. What I did not know was how many other writers of note worked as spies, amongst them (and to my greatest surprise) Somerset Maugham and Malcolm Muggeridge.

I've not read Jeffrey's book, but I can imagine it was not an easy one to assemble. It is an "authorized" story, which means there must have been many people looking over his shoulder to approve what was left in and what was taken out. A lot of the reviewers expressed disappointment at the outcome.

For what it's worth, there’s a great line in The Tenth Man that gets repeated twice. “Everyone is tested sooner and later, and then you know what you are.” If your time of testing comes and you fail, may you be fortunate enough to get a second chance.

Intersections and Connections

Am currently watching Last Call, starring Jeremy Irons and Sissy Spacek, about the last days of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Last Tycoon was Fitzgerald’s last novel, incomplete but still made into a film. The Great Gatsby is probably his most famous story that years later resulted in a film starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow as Jay Gatsby and Daisy, told from the point of view of Nick Carraway played by Sam Waterston. Sam Waterston, as it turns out, played the journalist Sydney Schanberg in The Killing Fields which I just finished watching this past week. The Killing Fields is the tragic story about the Khmer Rouge regime that rose to power in Cambodia during the Viet Name War. My daughter bought the book for me as a gift after having spent three weeks in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos last year.

Another film about the Viet Nam War that I’ve found profoundly moving is The Quiet American, based a novel by Graham Greene. Michael Caine plays the role of a journalist in this compelling film. Caine is also a central character in the hilarious comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels along with Steve Martin, author of the autobiography Born Standing Up. Born Standing Up shows how Martin’s early life experiences, including doing magic tricks to sell them at Disneyland and playing banjo, later re-appeared later in his career as an entertainer. Now, Martin is performing his own music as a banjo picker and last summer we had the opportunity to see him live, playing tunes from his CD Rare Bird Alert with the Steep Canyon Ranger here in Duluth; it was fantastic.

Doc Watson is another banjo picker whom I once had a chance to see when I was a student at Ohio University. The occasion was a two-day folk festival that included the likes of Mary Travers and the Youngbloods. Peter, Paul and Mary were instrumental in bringing Bob Dylan’s music into the wider culture by performing and recording songs like "Blowing in the Wind." Dylan’s music permeates our culture today, endlessly covered by other groups and used in soundtracks for dozens of films like Henry Poole Was Here which was carried along by the somber "Not Dark Yet."

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Dylan’s "Shelter From The Storm" was picked up in the Tom Cruise film Jerry Maguire. Yesterday I brought home from the library the film Days of Thunder, which stars Cruise as a race car driver. Not sure which film first put Cruise on the map but Rain Man is one of the most memorable. Mrs. Robinson is probably the film that put Dustin Hoffman on the map. Hoffman once considered his Ratso Rizzo role in Midnight Cowboy as one of his two greatest.

Jon Voigt, the other central character in Midnight Cowboy, opened the film Runaway Train with the statement, “What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.” Trains are a central feature of countless Hollywood films including Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train and Murder on the Orient Express based on a mystery by Agatha Christie. Graham Greene, who wrote numerous novels that later became films, also wrote a novel called Orient Express.

Greene’s The Third Man is another of my favorite novels that has been translated into film, Orson Welles being the central character in that phenomenal story. Welles found his way to Hollywood by means of radio theater, capturing the imagination of a nation through his dramatic and terrifying presentation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. Among other things Wells also wrote a story called The Time Machine. Time travel is another recurring theme in Hollywood, one of my personal favorites being Twelve Monkeys starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Pitt gives the appearance of enjoying himself as a film star, playing roles as varied as a Major League Baseball manager, a goofy health club worker and a suave high-class criminal. Yes, crime does pay in Filmland where mucho bucks have been taken in through box office receipts from stories about gangsters like Al Capone. Sean Connery, who was shot down by Capone’s henchmen in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, established his fame as the original Bond, James Bond.

The Bond franchise has featured more than a half dozen actors if you include Barry Nelson and David Niven. In recent year Daniel Craig has proven himself exceedingly worthy of the Bond name and is a favorite of many. Craig was also the hero of Cowboys & Aliens, a surprisingly entertaining sci-fi Western. Cowboys have always been a staple of Hollywood, even before the days of Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger.

On my first visit to Hollywood two wheels were stolen off my rental car and I spent three hours in the Hollywood police station waiting for a replacement car from the rental company. The car was parked about a half block from Kinko’s right where Shirley Temple’s star is cemented. Shirley Temple was a talented little girl who no doubt raked in boatloads of money for the studios by dancing, singing and being cute. Shirley Temple’s middle name was Jane. The love of Tarzan’s life was also named Jane. My favorite Tarzan actor was Johnny Weismueller. When I was a kid we used to play baseball after school, but we always came home early when Tarzan movies were on.

Those were the days.

One Minute Book Reviews

Yesterday the notion entered my mind to write a series of one minute book reviews. I arbitrarily selected a set of books off my shelves and will now write for one minute about each. If I enjoy this exercise I may write one minute reviews of top news stories or artists, or U.S. cities.

A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
Tragic look at Africa's heartland, complex issues in an emerging Third World. Moving story and sad. Naipaul was criticized for his bleak portrayal regarding Africa's prospects as presented in this book.

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
A book filled with great insights and many quotable quotes. An ordinary longshoreman (if I recall correctly) and a wise man of his times, 1950's. I've quoted Hoffer many times over the years.

A Burnt-Out Case by Graham Greene
A world-famous architect is weary of the spotlight and hides himself in a remote corner of Africa's outback where he lives in a hut at a leper colony run by priests and nuns. Great story that explores the meaning of life.

Abel Sanchez and Other Stories by Miguel de Unamuno
These short stories moved me when I first read this book in my thirties. I forget the titles of the stories but remember the one about the priest and another about a writer who writes crazier and crazier things.

The Plague by Albert Camus
This was a required reading in our college Existential Philosophy class. The Plague creates a "situation" with no exit to which various characters respond.

The Sybil by Par Lagerkvist
Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize for Literature. This book is both disturbing and illuminating about God and humanity and the depths of sorrow.

Martin Eden by Jack London
Recommended reading for all who wish to be writers. Tells the story of a poor man who wants to "make it" as a writer and what it takes to achieve his dreams. And the consequences of this success.

The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy
Novella length Tolstoy story that shows the big consequences of "little decisions." Fast read, profound insights about life.

Demian by Herman Hesse
First Hesse book I read in college. Hit me powerfully, the story of a youth in a school away from home for the first time. He meets an exceptional person and... wrestles with life issues.

Isabelle by Andre Gide
This book is what the belles letres really means... beautiful writing. Unfolds like a Conan Doyle mystery, but is wholly other. Terrific book.

That's it. Today's recommended reading list from Ennyman.

Graham Greene

"There's always a moment in childhood when a door opens and let's the future in." ~Graham Greene.

You can tell who your favorite authors are because it is always such a delight to share their company. That is, the measure of what music or books or movies are your favorites is by how often you return to them and actually re-read or re-listen or re-view them. One favorite of mine has been Graham Greene.

Greene, 1904-1991, was a British novelist and Catholic whose works conveyed an unusual depth of insight into human character. His international settings offered fascinating backdrops for his stories, interesting to readers in much the same way Ripley's Believe It Or Not anecdotes seemed to fascinate because of their foreign features. Hence we find a Catholic priest struggling for survival in 1930's Mexico during a time when the State was suppressing the Church (The Power and the Glory), and a jaded journalist in Viet Nam during the French occupation who encounters a young American idealist in a complicated love triangle that is metaphor for much more (The Quiet American), and a naive American writer of pulp fiction who is lured to post-WWII Vienna only to have his superficial views shredded in the face of the corruption of his friend Harry Lime (The Third Man).

Exotic locations fit the bill for a second reason, beyond their interest value to readers. Greene had become a clandestine member of Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1941. The role of novelist provided excellent cover and gave him access to all kinds of material to work with. Greene had a front row seat at all the world's trouble spots, from Africa to Southeast Asia to Iron Curtained Europe at the outset of the Cold War.

I own ten Greene novels and a collection of his short stories, but equally compelling is his autobiography with the quizzical title A Sort of Life. As a boy Greene was severely bullied in school and suffered greatly with depression. On numerous occasions he went to the brink of suicide, several times playing Russian Roulette by himself with a loaded gun. Thankfully, he survived the turmoil of adolescence.

His writings demonstrate that literary giftedness, psychological astuteness and mass appeal are not mutually exclusive. He called some of his novels "entertainments" but whatever you touch with his name on it will leave you enriched. Here are two more quotes today to ponder. Even in bleakness, his work is founded on a bedrock of hope.

"The sense of unhappiness is so much easier to convey than that of happiness. In misery we seem aware of our own existence, even though it may be in the form of a monstrous egotism: this pain of mine is individual, this nerve that winces belongs to me and to no other. But happiness annihilates us: we lose our identity."
— Graham Greene

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation."
— Graham Greene

Greene's The Third Man Continues To Satisfy

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Ten days ago I saw Graham Greene's The Third Man on someone's list of the fifty greatest films of all time and I felt compelled to rent it again. I've read the book at least twice, Greene being among my favorite novelists. I can't say how many times I've seen the film but invariably each time it's an enriching experience.

The story takes place in Vienna after World War II. The narrator is a hack writer of Westerns, Holly Martens (Joseph Cotton) from America who has come to Vienna to find his old college chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Upon arrival in the divided city (there is an American, French, Brit and Russian sector, as partitioned by the Allies) he learns that Lime has been killed in an accident outside the apartment house where Martens had been expecting to meet him. The witnesses, however, share conflicting details and Martens begins to suspect foul play.

A reviewer who calls himself Snow Leopard wrote this about it:
This is a rare film that is flawless in every respect. It combines great acting and memorable characters with a fascinating story, taking place in an interesting setting and adding a creative musical score. "The Third Man" is remembered for many things - for Orson Welles' wonderful performance in his appearances as Harry Lime, for its wonderfully appropriate musical score, and for its nicely conceived plot surprises. Adding to these is Joseph Cotten's fine portrayal of Holly Martins, which holds the rest of it together - it is his character who initiates most of the action, and also through whom we view everything and everyone else.

Of this last statement I must comment. It's not just the exotic settings that make a Graham Greene story such a thrill to read, but also the incredible way he allows the reader to see the story, even when the narrator doesn't get it. In this case Holly Martens, saturated with sentimentalism, believes only the best about his old friend, resisting all evidence to the contrary.

The third star in this film is the beautiful and somewhat unheralded Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt. Martens loves his friend because he doesn't know the truth about Harry; Anna is smitten by Harry in spite of the truth about him. Tumultuous tragic love smashes itself against the rocks with resigned futility.

I must also take a moment here to extol the cinematography. Shot in black and white mostly on location in Vienna, every frame is a work of beauty. So much of the film is at night, allowing wonderful contrasts and surrealistically stark scenes. This all works perfectly to set up the first appearance of Welles hiding in a dark doorway, his face suddenly illuminated when a light across the street flames to life.

At a certain point in all our life stories, lights go on and reveal things we didn't previously understand. The clues were there all along, but until there is light nothing can be fully seen for what it is... whether we wish to see it or not.

The End of the Affair

The inevitable finally happened yesterday. “General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection Monday as part of the Obama administration's plan to shrink the automaker to a sustainable size and give a majority ownership stake to the federal government. GM's bankruptcy filing is the fourth-largest in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company. The company said it has $172.81 billion in debt and $82.29 billion in assets.” 172 billion in debt. Holy smackdown, Batman. Sad thing is that they were going backwards, too.

There were a lot of folks scratching their heads about the implications of this. Can the government really run a car manufacturer? What I seem to recall when this option was first being discussed is that it would be a "temporary" takeover till the automaker got on its feet again. What waits to be seen is exactly how temporary this will be.

I suppose they'll re-tool now to make earth friendlier vehicles that ivory tower types will say are good for us. Then they will pass laws that make it hard for us to afford the vehicles we currently drive. Those new cars won't be cheap, but they will be good for us.

Actually, I'm not going to predict tomorrow on this one. Instead I'll simply watch from the bleachers. With skepticism. All I know is that I'm glad I don't have to hold the reins. I don't want to be responsible.

This weekend, P.J. O'Rourke published a poignant piece of entertaining commentary on the matter which appeared in the Wall Street Journal. I want to apologize for any few cheap shots I took at O'Rourke on The Wealth of Nations in my essay Wooden Teeth & Romantic Scandals last Friday. Truthfully, I have enjoyed (from time to time when I stumble upon it) O'Rourke's incisive wit over the years and his essay The End of the Affair in the WSJ shows why.

The phrase “bankrupt General Motors,” which we expect to hear uttered on Monday, leaves Americans my age in economic shock. The words are as melodramatic as “Mom’s nude photos.” And, indeed, if we want to understand what doomed the American automobile, we should give up on economics and turn to melodrama.

Politicians, journalists, financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business. Fire the MBAs and hire a poet. The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of financial crisis, foreign competition, corporate greed, union intransigence, energy costs or measuring the shoe size of the footprints in the carbon. It’s a tragic romance—unleashed passions, titanic clashes, lost love and wild horses.

It's an essay I recommend vigorously.

I especially like the title of the essay, with its reference to Graham Greene's novel of the same. Greene's is, of course, about an affair between a man and a woman. Greene writes the book from the point of view of a man who is clueless so that the reader understands what the writer does not.

Truth is, anyone half paying attention could see that GM was on a doomed ride. But I doubt they could have predicted it would end this way.