"Back to the Titanic" (2020)

I have been fascinated by the wreck of the RMS Titanic since I was a girl, probably in single digits.  My parents had subscribed to National Geographic for a while in the 1980s, and they had a stack of the magazines on a shelf in our upstairs hallway.  I used to pull them out and look through the photos when I was too young to read the articles properly.  And they had the December 1985 issue with a long article by Dr. Robert Ballard, the man who found the wreck of the Titanic.  It had amazing photos.  It was my favorite of all the issues on the stack, and I used to pore over it pretty often.

Because I couldn't really read the article, I didn't know the tragic story of the ship's sinking until I was older.  I only knew there was a huge ship under the ocean that had been there so long, fish lived on it.  Ever since, I've had a desire to swim around a wrecked ship for myself.  (I also didn't understand that this ship lay more than 3 miles below the surface, where humans can't survive.)  I think my fascination with historic artifacts and archaeology probably stems from that magazine as well.

When I was in middle school, I had to write a research paper on a historic event.  I chose the sinking of RMS Titanic.  I read several books about it, including Walter Lord's A Night to Remember.  I'd seen The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) by then, and I remember getting the 1958 movie version of A Night to Remember and the 1953 movie Titanic from the library to watch while writing my paper -- not as research, but for general atmosphere.  (This was in the early 1990s, before the Kate Winslet movie was released.)  Even though I am fascinated by the true story, I've never particularly enjoyed movies about the tragedy.  I think I learned too much about the real horror to find entertainment in seeing it portrayed fictionally.  (I do like Molly Brown, but probably because there is only a smidgen about the Titanic portrayed).

Man, that was a fascinating paper to write.  I did tracings of diagrams of the ship, both before and after the wreck.  I was so incredibly proud of that paper.  My teacher (who was also my mom, since I was homeschooled) thought it was macabre, though.  (The next year, I wrote a research paper about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which had a happier ending.)  

Through all of that, and through the thirty years beyond, what has really captivated me the most, though, is the wreck itself.  All the history it contains.  The ways that the ocean has both preserved and begun to deteriorate it.  This fascination has extended to making me intrigued by basically all shipwrecks that have been found and explored, especially if the explorers brought things back from them.  One of the great delights of my tween life was visiting the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City with my family and grandparents.  The Arabia was a steamboat that sank in the Mississippi River in 1856 and was discovered in 1988, still filled with its original cargo preserved in mud.  I want to go back there one day, because I remember it as being mesmerizing.  I've also visited the Mariner's Museum in Newport News twice, where items recovered from the 1862 wreck of the USS Monitor are kept and displayed and studied (and where they have a life vest from Titanic, too!)

ANYWAY.  I'm rambling, and I know it.  I've had a bad cold all weekend.  Sorry.  I will get back on track.

All of this is why I eagerly joined the Titanic in Pop Culture blogathon hosted by Taking Up Room this weekend.  And why I chose not to review a fictional movie about the ship, but the National Geographic Channel documentary Back to the Titanic (2020).  It's all about the wreck, not how it got wrecked.  It traces the events of the first manned expedition to the wreck in fifteen years, and how scientists are studying the way the wreck is slowly changing and deteriorating.

Aside from all the amazing videography of the wreck itself, which I was absolutely delighted by, the coolest thing about this documentary is that they had a descendant of Benjamin Guggenheim along!  Guggenheim was a fabulously wealthy American businessman who was aboard the Titanic.  He was very helpful in loading women and children into the lifeboats after the iceberg collision, then famously took off the life vest he was wearing over his formal evening wear, put a rose in his buttonhole, and declared he was prepared to die like a gentleman.  Which, by all accounts, he did.

Guggenheim had booked a stateroom along the starboard side of Titanic, in a section of the ship that broke off when the the ship sank.  That section was swept away from the rest of the wreck by strong ocean currents, and had not been found by previous expeditions.  One major aim of the 2020 expedition was to see if they could find the staterooms, with Guggenheim's descendant Sindbad Rumney-Guggenheim aboard to witness the finding.  And that was... really poignant. 

You can learn lots more about this documentary, including photos, right here.  And you can watch the whole thing on Disney+, which is how I saw it.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Titanic in Pop Culture blogathon!

Gearing up for Legends of Western Cinema Week 2025!

Gather 'round, lads and lasses!  Gather 'round!

Heidi of Along the Brandywine and Olivia of Meanwhile, in Rivendell... and I are pleased to announce that our beloved Legends of Western Cinema Week blog extravaganza is returning this summer!

This year, we'll be celebrating August 25-29, and you are hereby invited to join the party!  As usual, we'll provide some of the fun, such as games, giveaways, and a blog tag to fill out, but the rest of the shindig depends on YOU!

We don't have a sign-up sheet of any kind, as we like to keep this event informal and easygoing.  But I encourage you to start thinking now about what you would like to contribute.  Posts of all kinds are welcome, whether they be movie reviews, games, lists of favorites, your own fan art, or something else entirely that you dream up.  

The only real rule is that posts should celebrate western movies and shows, not malign or denigrate them.  It's fine to mention flaws in a review, of course, but the point of this event is to have fun and share our love for westerns on film.

Please save any and all of these buttons for use on your blog!  Share them with a link back to one of our announcement posts so other people can find out about the event.  And sprinkle your own party posts with them as freely as you like.

I can't wait to see what everyone brings to the party this year!

A Summery Sunshine Blogger Award

Sally Silverscreen of 18 Cinema Lane has awarded me with a Sunshine Blogger Award :-D  Thank you, Sally!

The rules of this award are pretty simple:  answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you, then nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 questions of your own.  Always good fun, because the questions can be new every time!

Here are Sally's questions for me:

1. Which actor or actress do you wish had starred in a historical fiction/historical period picture?  

Most of my favorite actors and actresses HAVE starred in period dramas.  But I do have a running list of actors I dearly wish would make a western.  And they are:

Chris Hemsworth

Luke Evans

David Boreanaz

Henry Cavill

Charlie Hunnam

Come on, guys, get yourselves some hats and horses and let's go!

(Not at all coincidentally, I have cast all of those guys in western books I've written).

2. What two shows would you pair for a crossover? 

I want a Perry Mason (1957-66) and Dragnet (1951-59) crossover!  I want Paul Drake (William Hopper) and Joe Friday (Jack Webb) working together to solve a crime involving someone Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is defending.  Please, and thank you.

3. Which food-related movie promotion would you bring back? 

Back when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) came out, they released a limited edition Snickers bar with coconut in it that I LOVED.  I wish they made those still.

4. You’ve been tasked with designing a popcorn bucket! What movie do you choose and what does its popcorn bucket look like? 

This year is the 70th anniversary of my favorite musical, Guys and Dolls (1955), and I would design a very cool bucket similar to this Dutch poster:

I want bright and cheery yellow streaks, little multi-colored stars, and the main characters in their vivid clothing all around the popcorn bucket.  

Actually, now I really want a coffee mug like that.  May have to go see if anyone has made one.

5. When was the last time you saw a made-for-TV movie? 

I watched The Shadow Riders (1982) with my husband a few weeks ago.  It's such a fun romp of a western -- I probably will review it for Legends of Western Cinema Week next month.  (Yes, that event is returning!  We will be announcing it pretty soon!)

6. What is your least favorite trend in movies? 

I am sick of the big Hollywood studios putting out movies that they think audiences should like instead of putting out movies audiences actually do like and want to watch.

7. Which movie would you like to see from a different character’s perspective? 

Hmm.  You know, I'd like to see what Dave (1993) would look like from the perspective of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver).  

8. Is there a movie poster or trailer you wish you could fix? If so, which one? 

The trailers for The Lone Ranger (2013) made it look like it was going to be a straight-up western and failed to prepare people for its quirky, fantastical twists.  Likewise, The Man from UNCLE (2014) trailers were dark and serious and totally missed both the humor and the retro panache of the film.  As a result, both films failed to land their target audiences and kinda fizzled.  And that makes me very angry because I would happily be watching sequel after sequel for both of them.

9. What is your least favorite film from your favorite actor’s or actress’s filmography? 

My favorite actor is John Wayne.  I will probably never watch The Shootist (1976) again because it's too sad.  I also don't care much for Rio Lobo (1970) or Legend of the Lost (1957).

My favorite actress is Maureen O'Hara, and I honestly didn't care much for How Green was My Valley (1941).  I know it's widely admired, so I feel like I should give it another chance.  Maybe I will, some day.

10. What movie-related mystery would you like to see solved? 

Who killed the chauffeur in The Big Sleep (1946)?  Author Raymond Chandler, who wrote the original book, didn't know.  Nobody knows.  I suspect a couple different people, but it sure would be nice to know.

11. Is there a “lost” or “partially lost” film you wish was recovered? If so, which one?

Many!  We have lost so many of Rudolph Valentino's early films, and even some made after he became famous.  I dearly wish someone would find prints of A Sainted Devil (1924) and The Young Rajah (1922) squirreled away in someone's attic.  We did find Beyond the Rocks in 2003, after all!  Parts of The Young Rajah have been found, and a version has been cobbled together from that partial print plus publicity stills and what is know of the script, but still... the whole movie isn't with us anymore, and I'm bummed.

And now, it's my turn!

My Questions:

1. What classic movie have you seen most recently?

2. What modern movie have you seen most recently?

3. What's movie that was made in your birth year that you really enjoy?

4. What's a movie you wish you had seen much earlier than you did?

5. What movie are you hoping to watch soon?

6. What's a movie you have been wanting to see for years, but still haven't?

7. Have you ever watched the same movie more than once in the movie theater?

8. What movie needs a sequel but never got one?

9. How do you watch most movies?  (Streaming?  DVD?  Theater?  TV?)

10. Have you ever changed your mind and started liking an actor/actress you formerly disliked?

11. Have you ever visited a filming location?  (Share photos if you can!)

And I Tag:

Along the Brandywine

Any Merry Little Thought

The Flapper Dame

Holds Upon Happiness

I Am Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read)

Maidens of Green Gables

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Musings of an Introvert

Sidewalk Crossings

Taking Up Room

VT Dorchester

Play if you want to!

Respect Me as a Human Being: Jackie Robinson

I spent a lot of years searching for my personal Civil Rights hero. History classes taught me the big names: Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, President John F. Kennedy. None of them connected with me. None had the mixture of goodness, integrity, and grit that makes someone my hero. 

And then, in my mid-twenties, I got Ken Burns’ documentary Baseball (1994) from the library. As I made my way through the series, I became fascinated by Jackie Robinson and how he used his athletic skills and personal courage to show the world that the color of a person’s skin had nothing to do with their worth and abilities. When I subsequently read Robinson’s autobiography, I Never Had it Made, I knew I’d found my Civil Rights hero at last. A kind, stubborn, dignified Christian, Robinson was everything I wanted in a hero. 

Born to Georgia sharecroppers, Jack Roosevelt Robinson grew up poor, but determined. His father left the family when Jack was still a baby, so his mother moved her five children all the way out to California, where she worked whatever jobs she could find and saved up enough money to buy a house in a nice neighborhood. They were the only non-white family on their street. 

Jack Robinson excelled at sports in high school and Pasadena Junior college, playing on various varsity teams. But he also gained a reputation for combativeness, standing up for other African-American students when he thought they were being unfairly treated due to their race. He nearly got suspended at least once over his resistance to inferior treatment. 

After junior college, Jack Robinson — nicknamed Jackie by newspaper reporters — went to UCLA, where he met his future wife, Rachel Isum. Although he did well athletically at UCLA, Robinson was restless. He quit school just a few months short of graduation. About that time, the US entered WWII, and Robinson applied for Officer Candidate School, graduating with a commission as a second lieutenant. He asked Rachel Isum to marry him, and they made plans for the future. 

But in the summer of 1944, Jack Robinson faced a court martial. The Army did not have segregated buses on the Texas base where he was stationed, but one day, a bus driver told Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused and got arrested. His court martial acquitted him, but he missed out on seeing combat duty because the rest of his unit shipped overseas while he was awaiting his trial. Later that year, the Army gave him an honorable discharge. 

In 1945, the Kansas City Monarchs signed Jackie Robinson to play baseball in the Negro League. Baseball was entirely segregated — Major League Baseball had been white-only since the 1880s, though there were no formal, legal rules prohibiting athletes of other races from playing. Rather, there was a “gentleman’s agreement” among the team owners and managers that prohibited hiring non-white players. In the mid-1940s, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey set out to challenge that agreement. He scouted the Negro League for someone who not only played excellent baseball, but who could withstand the scrutiny and abuse that would crash down on the first black man to step onto major-league baseball diamonds. 

Robinson had a reputation for not only refusing to back down in the face of racial aggression, but asserting his equality. The incidents in the military and his school days pointed to his being someone who would not stand still and endure racial taunts, threats, and aggression. But Robinson promised not to fight back against whatever abuse came his way, and Rickey signed him to play with the Montreal Royals, the minor league team associated with the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Jackie and Rachel Robinson got married at last. Robinson played in the minors until April 15, 1947, when he made his major league debut by taking the field with the rest of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was 28, old by baseball standards, but played so well he wound up being named Rookie of the Year. 

He endured the hatred of millions. Some of his own teammates didn’t want to play with him at first and threatened to sit out any game he played. People in the stands screamed racial slurs at him. One opposing player deliberately gashed Robinson’s leg with his spiked cleats. Others taunted him while on the field. Strangers sent death threats not just to Robinson, but to Rickey and others associated with the Dodgers. 

The American League also signed a black player, Larry Doby, just a few months after Robinson joined the National League. In 1948, both leagues accepted more black athletes, and the pressure on Robinson eased up somewhat. He played better than ever, and by 1949 he was voted Most Valuable Player in the league. A remarkable achievement, considering three years earlier, many in the league actively worked to keep Robinson and other black players out. 

Robinson retired from baseball in 1956, due to his age and ill health. He suffered from diabetes, and a life of constant athletic activity was catching up with him. After leaving baseball, he had a successful business and banking career. He was a devoted husband and father, and a regular churchgoer. And he was active in the emerging Civil Rights Movement, attending marches, giving speeches, and lending moral support to those engaged in sit-ins and freedom rides. He used his fame to gain attention for the movement and worked with leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and being active in the NAACP. 

Jack Robinson once said, “I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me … all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” I think that’s all any of us can ask from people around us — respect as a human being. Let my actions, my personality, or my words gain your like or dislike, but treat me with the respect you would give any other person because they are created in the image of God.

(This post originally appeared in Femnista magazine on February 15, 2018.)