The Curse of the Cat People and E!True Hollywood Story: Tonya Harding

Got a chance to see The Curse of the Cat People @ Garfield Park Conservatory on Saturday, Dec 21st. The place was packed. I just think it's so cool that folks flock to see 16 mm and 35 mm films. Hosting the film was Indy's premier film historian Eric Grayson. Rain, rain, rain. Eric's films are such a treat! He hauls in  his own project equipment and he always has a vintage cartoon before each film; Tubby the Tuba was a delight!

Yes, the movie is a 1944 sequel to Cat People, but there really isn't a curse and there really aren't any cat people in this one. Having said that, there are a few characters who were in the original Cat People which sort of makes it more of a where-are-these-charaters-now kind of movie. Simone Simon and Amy Carter are both so beautiful.  Their beauty really adds an extra layer of magic to their scenes together. Sir Lancelot played Edmund, the personal cook and model ship cleaner, who lends an air of how wealthy the family must be. These sort of films are like the ultimate time capsule. Clothing, style of speech and hair products captured on state-of-the-art at the time media. We need to thank our lucky stars for folks like Eric who fight to save a these precious reels of history.

I admit, I cannot take my eyes off of a proper train wreck. I somehow stumbled on E! True Hollywood Story: Tonya Harding and watched the entire 1.5 hour documentary. I remember when this happened and I thought I knew most of the facts, but it turns out there were some head shaking details that I was not aware of that really makes this an even more ridiculous story than I already thought it was. My absolute fav factoid and their ultimate downfall was being so cheap they put their trash bags outside of Dockside Saloon & Restaurant for pick up. Kathy Peterson, the owner, had a way of dealing with these I-won't-pay-for-my-own-trash-pick-up folks by going through their trash and tracking them down. She found mail with Jeff Gillooly's name and address, envelopes with Tony's handwriting and doodles, and a check from the US Skating organization. Tonya - take a lesson from Survivor and the song Eye of the Tiger - "Rising  up to the challenge of our rival!"