MsDemimondaine

A movie that makes most standard-issue contemporary action or suspense movies look like rubbish. I love the fast-paced wit of the dialog -- by John Huston -- and very nearly flawless performances, though a contemporary actress could probably make Miss O'Shaughnessy's phoniness a little more nuanced, a wee bit less obvious. (After all, Sam Spade has to tell her, "Oh, you're good!") Humphrey Bogart's magnificent in this, and I never get tired of watching Sydney Greenstreet as Kaspar Gutman, the portly ringleader of the international criminal treasure hunters. He creates such a detailed, unforgettable character. This story of greed and the lure of a fortune, and what certain types of people will do to get it, is immortal -- one of the greatest movies ever made.

Every elementary and high school in this country should make at least one copy of this book available in their library -- because Americans are colossally ignorant about the rest of the world. (And I've heard that from people from elsewhere in the world -- we don't know Anything.) We're so selfish and self-absorbed. It was brilliant to choose to photograph the sleeping spaces (some could hardly be called bedrooms, and some could hardly be called Rooms) of children in many lands, with little bios of their lives and circumstances -- it just Says it. One 7-year-old child in Nepal had worked in a granite quarry since she was 3!. Three-years old! The book's out of print now, unfortunately -- but I finally shelled out money to buy a rare copy, and, for me on my income, it was danged expensive. I wish it would be brought back into print. And, I wonder if it would be possible to find those same subjects now. What happened to the lucky (read privileged) ones? What happened to those who had to beg for a living? Are they still alive? Oh! I just looked up James Mollison the author and photographer -- a new version will come out in 2021!