Saturday 21 August 2010

Sunset Pass and Code of the West Zane Grey

I worked, I watched TV and I enjoyed food. At midday there were back to back westerns on Movies 4 Men, two of the kind of films shown as B first feature movies at the Odeon Wallington on Monday and Thursday evenings in the 1940's or may have been considered suitable for the Saturday morning Children's show. Both starred James Warren as the good guy and his Mexican sidekick Chito, played by John Laurens. In the first 1946 75 minute Zane Grey adventure Sunset Pass a basically nice lad is led astray and framed for murder but is saved by James Warren as an undercover agent for the express company who takes a liking for the sister of the young man. The highlight is when Chito is serenading Jane Geer as Lolita Baxter, discovers missing bank money and leaves her hanging on the branch of a tree for the greater part of a day, but she loves him. Code of the West was the second Zane Grey 75 minute offering originally published in 1936 and featuring James Warren and Chito again who return to the town where they have staked a land claim with additional grazing options just in time to prevent a merchant adventurer with £13000 dollars for banking investments in property development from being robbed by the town boss who has the Sheriff and in his pocket and is ruthless taking the land from the locals in an area where he knows the railway is coming and which can then be sold to the railway company for huge profits. The banker has an attractive and intelligent daughter who falls for James with marriage and children in mind and a wastrel of a brother spending his mother's inheritance on gambling and a chasing a saloon gal, who is in fact secretly married to the hired gun of the town's mobster. Surprise surprise all works out well and I presume this was the last of the series as wedding bells are symbolically sounded as the film ends. What great fun. The American version of Cold Case lacks the finesse and artistry of the British version but I have no idea which came first. The Unit is about an American special task force that is never admitted to exist and which demonstrates a code of brotherhood and loyalty between these highly trained assassins as we focus on the impact of their job on families including encounters of the fourth kind. Immediately following all this was an alleged true story of the difficult relationship between a selfish over indulged daughter who get a hard kicking when she discovers she has cancers but does not prove herself to be the great American woman until her own mother also contracts the diseases and she nurses the woman until the inevitable death and then in a footnote is shown to have lead a socially productive life as a photographer. There was also another Pro forty cricket match on Sky and I then listened to Sky music working on. I did not enjoy sausages with mash and onion gravy as much as I thought I would although is part of using up what is in the fridge. I eat grapes and the remainder of cherries and the rest of the prawns with salad. There was cuppa soup and bread and the rest of the Alpine cereal, the rest of the wine and some peanuts although was that the previous day? There were two versions of the half year losses declared by Northern Rock. Because more of the government loan had been repaid than anticipated the figures were considered good but a lunchtime analyst suggested otherwise as did a Conservative spokesman determined to show that the government cannot hide bad news during the summer hols. However a more positive slant was put on the situation here in the North East on the early evening magazine programme which had a curious in which a local personality suggested that we should like a dodgy and run down part of Newcastle.. The government also went ahead and published their analysis of the latest exam results although no one of any integrity has any confidence in the figures or results given the repeated spin camera of the body contracted to carry out the marking of exam submissions, alleging that the problem was small and would tackled quickly when it is said that there are thousands of papers still to be marked after boxes of them were returned to schools unmarked. The government tried to hide its embarrassment by refusing to respond to political and media questioning about this disgraceful and unacceptable situation because of complex legal and contractual issues arising. I am sure the Cabinet is even more appalled about this fiasco as they have been about all the others disasters which have flowed from the Brown Premiership since those first three months when he projected the right image of gravitas and decisiveness. However it is difficult to envisage a way out which will leave the political party with a chance of retaining power at the General Election. There was an interesting discussion which included former Cabinet Minister Norman Fowler. The main work of the day was set creation, registering the work completed since returning home and then focussing on albums covering the involvement of Durham and myself in the 2020 Final, one on the visit to the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth Harbour, a third on the visit to Nottinghamshire and the fourth a new volume on my involvement with Durham Cricket club this summer. Volumes were prepared for photographs and for registration as well as a ruthless going through the first part of the in tray. The weather forecast for the first day of the important county game between Durham and Kent starts on Wednesday when the weather forecast is a mixture of cloud and showers and where I have a dental check up midday the price of registering with the practice which is part of my local health centre development. This suggests another day as Tuesday although I am emotionally resistant. As our Olympic team heads for Beijing and the government adds to the pressure promising a bucketful for medals to make the nation proud and deflect attention from its unpopularity, one news report revealed how the Chinese government is ruthlessly restricting free speech, rounding up and keeping out of sight anyone who threatens to use the games for publicity. It is all about creating the right image and a far cry from what was envisaged when the games were resurrected. It is easy be critical and difficult to form a valid opinion without the first hand experience of what is happening across this vast federation and whose development will govern the future of mankind, replacing the USA in that position.

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