We have reached one other Wednesday right here at BCB After Darkish: the grooviest spot for evening owls, early risers, new mother and father and Cubs followers overseas. Rain or shine, we’re open. Come on in. There isn’t any cowl cost. We nonetheless have just a few tables accessible. The hostess will seat you now. Carry your individual beverage.
BCB After Darkish is the place so that you can discuss baseball, music, films, or the rest it’s good to get off your chest, so long as it’s throughout the guidelines of the location. The late-nighters are inspired to get the get together began, however everybody else is invited to affix in as you get up the following morning and into the afternoon.
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Final evening I requested you who ought to be the third starter within the Cubs first-round playoff collection. You went with trusty Matthew Boyd, with 57 %. One other 28 % of you selected David Peterson.
Here is the half with the music and the films. It is my favourite half. If it is not your favourite half, it is OK.
Persevering with to pay tribute to John Coltrane prematurely of the one centesimal anniversary of his delivery subsequent week, tonight now we have him teaming up with additionally legendary Duke Ellington in 1963 taking part in “In A Sentimental Temper.” Usually we consider Coltrane as being massive and brash in his sax taking part in, however right here he exhibits that he had a softer and extra delicate aspect to him as effectively.
Becoming a member of Trane and Duke are Aaron Bell on bass and Elvin Jones on drums.
I wished to look at a Western final week, so I assumed Santa Fe Path (1940) sounded promising. With Michael Curtiz directing and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ronald Reagan and Raymond Massey, it actually had the pedigree of one thing that could possibly be fairly good.
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Santa Fe Path is a horrible movie. Everybody concerned in it, aside from perhaps Raymond Massey, ought to have been embarrassed to make it. It is a unhealthy film, it is a unhealthy piece of historical past and it is racist to the core. Not solely that, however regardless of its title, it is not even a Western! I suppose it is form of partially set within the West, however it’s actually a Civil Conflict film about Bleeding Kansas and John Brown.
Flynn performs James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart, a Virginia West Level cadet who’s greatest mates with Ohio classmate George Armstrong Custer. To be clear, in actual life these future well-known generals by no means met. Custer was additionally youthful and nonetheless a cadet at West Level when the occasions of Bleeding Kansas came about. However I suppose the movie demanded a northern well-known normal to finish the story.
Van Heflin performs fictional cadet Carl Rader, who will get kicked out of West Level for spreading abolitionist literature. He is thought-about a menace as a result of he sows dissension among the many graduating class, which begins fistfights. Rader will finally be part of up with John Brown (Massey) in Kansas.
Each Stuart and Custer are despatched to Kansas after commencement. Equipment Carson Holliday (de Havilland) is a reasonably younger railroad heiress and each Stuart and Custer are smitten along with her. It is a ridiculous subplot as a result of from the get-go, you recognize there may be zero probability that de Havilland goes to select Ronald Reagan over Errol Flynn. Truthfully, I give Curtiz some credit score for not attempting to insult our intelligence by attempting to make this seem like a tricky resolution for Holliday. Once more to the movie’s meager credit score, it does not give de Havilland lots of display screen time.
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The remainder of the movie offers with Stuart and Custer, effectively, principally Stuart, attempting to carry John Brown, who’s terrorizing the territory together with his sons and band of abolitionists, to justice. Right here a minimum of the movie does get historical past proper in that Stuart was assigned to Kansas as a part of the anti-John Brown forces. Nonetheless, in Santa Fe Path, Brown is the one one committing any violence in Kansas. The professional-slavery bushwhackers whom Brown was responding to are fully absent. Or another pro-slavery violence, of which there was loads.
The racism of the movie does not cease there. Brown is a part of the Underground Railroad and is operating freed slaves by means of Kansas. (Brown was concerned within the Underground Railroad, however extra earlier than he obtained to Kansas. He actually helped these operating it by means of Kansas although.) However Brown can be portrayed as a hypocrite. He makes a lot of speeches to the freed slaves about their dignity, however he additionally does not deal with them very effectively. When the barn that he is conserving the runaway slaves in catches fireplace after an encounter with Stuart and his males, Brown flees, leaving his costs to die. Stuart, then again, dangers his life within the burning barn to save lots of the lives of the trapped slaves.
After Stuart saves their lives, it will get worse. An aged Black couple discuss, with the lady saying “If this right here Kansas is ‘freedom,’ then I’ve obtained no use for it” and her husband responds “Me, neither. I simply needs to get again residence to Texas and sit until Kingdom Come.” The movie repeatedly makes the declare that slavery, whereas unhealthy, wasn’t that unhealthy and it actually wasn’t price preventing over. Stuart, who in actual life was a slave proprietor, makes the case to John Brown if he had been to only cease his campaign, the Southern states will eliminate slavery peacefully. Ultimately.
Ultimately we get to the raid at Harper’s Ferry, which is stopped as a result of Heflin’s character betrays John Brown as a result of he hasn’t gotten paid. Which once more, portrays the abolitionists as hypocrites who do not actually consider within the trigger and are simply in it for fame, cash and glory.
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The one saving grace of the movie is that Massey actually performs John Brown out to the max as a bug-eyed zealot. Sure, he is the villain on this film and he should not be, however he is additionally essentially the most fascinating character within the movie by far. Brown is a troublesome determine in America historical past as a result of he was most likely mentally unwell and he did bloodbath some defenseless folks. He was additionally just about proper in all his beliefs. Santa Fe Path does a minimum of give Brown a measure of dignity after he’s captured and so they do let Massey quote his remaining phrases accurately: “I, John Brown, am now fairly sure that the crimes of this responsible land won’t ever be purged away however with blood.” It is the very best second of the movie.
Past all of the racism, the movie is simply unhealthy. The characters, aside from Brown, are boring and flat. The fixed have to insert cameos of people that shall be well-known just a few years later within the Civil Conflict is tiring. There’s additionally no ethical battle over the query of slavery that actually each American of the 1850s was coping with in come what may. Abolitionists are violent hypocrites. The military that enforces the slave order are simply doing their responsibility and are good and respectable folks.
The earlier yr, Gone With the Wind proved that there was an enormous market in America for pro-Accomplice films. However with World Conflict II underway in Europe and the specter of one other battle looming in America, the movie additionally makes the case that America must be united. If which means the freedoms of non-white People must be thrown beneath the bus, so be it.
Here is the trailer for Santa Fe Path. Discover how Custer is named “gallant” and John Brown is termed as “notorious.”
Welcome again to everybody who skips the music and films.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to do stuff that nobody thought doable. With two extra residence runs in opposition to the Braves tonight, he moved to 44 on the season. That is only one fewer than the present NL chief in residence runs, Kyle Schwarber.
So tonight’s query is just “Can Crow-Armstrong catch Kyle?” The Cubs have 9 video games left on the schedule. Three in opposition to the Reds at Nice American Ballpark and three extra are in opposition to Boston at Fenway park. There are simply three video games left at Wrigley in opposition to the Marlins.
The Phillies have yet another recreation left to play, however they appear to have the harder highway. They’ve 4 video games beginning tomorrow versus the Mets at Citi Discipline. Then three at residence versus the Brewers and three extra in opposition to the Rays.
Residents Financial institution Park is actually essentially the most homer-friendly of any of those ballparks. However the Rays and the Brewers have good pitching staffs. The Brewers are well-below-average in residence runs allowed and the Mets are about common. The Rays surrender a good quantity.
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For the Cubs, the Reds surrender a ton of residence runs, virtually as many because the Cubs. The Purple Sox and Marlins are beneath common in that class.
Nobody aside from PCA or Schwarber has a practical probability on the NL residence run crown. The Braves Matt Olson has 39 and the Rockies Hunter Goodman has 38. It is doable a kind of two goes on a 9 residence runs in 9 video games tear, however it’s extremely unbelievable.
So will PCA win a HR crown? So far as definitions go, when you assume PCA will tie with Schwarber, they each get a crown. So that you’d vote sure in that case.
Thanks for coming by tonight. We have loved spending time with you. Get residence safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And be part of us once more subsequent week for extra BCB After Darkish.