That film has a special place for me. in those days, I was considered something of a doppelganger for Dustin Hoffman, and a lot of the action was filmed around Columbia University, where I did my doctorate. My wife did a photo exhibition of films made at Columbia and used an especially me-like photo of Hoffman taken a block from our apartment. People would occasionally ask me, “Is it safe?”
HA! Never seen this horrifying thing before! Love how the lunatic jumbles together a whole panoply of books and films into one utterly ridiculous mess of a story. Glad I went to the dentist last week, as I would not want to go for a few months after seeing this. :)
All hail the Bavarian Soviet Republic. I love their housing regulations and monetary policy. Plus declaring war on Switzerland. Woody Allen must have been inspired by them when he made the movie Bananas. A Fidel Castro type figure had just taken over a Latin American country, and immediately proclaimed three laws.
1. From now on, the official language of our country is Swedish
2. Everybody who is under 17.... is 17
3. Everybody has to change their underwear 3 times a day. And wear it on the outside, so we can check.
I was trying to make sense of the Vatican angle -- Switzerland is ripe for conquest because all their soldiers are off serving in the Swiss Guard protecting the Pope?
I haven't thought about B. Travers in ages. About 25 years ago I went through a period of fiction consumption that could be called "Virile Manhood Lit" in which I inhaled most of the output of John Buchan, Dashiell Hammett, Frank H. Spearman, Nevil Shute, Wallace Stegner, Graham Greene...and B. Travers. I had no idea he was such a shadowy figure. Most of libertarians I've known through the years cite "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" as one of their favorite films. There's another one, "Lonely Are the Brave" that might interest if you if you haven't seen it already. Screenplay by HUAC blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, from a novel by future eco-anarchist monkeywrencher Edward Abbey, starring tough guy Kirk Douglas -- and libertarians love it!
The guy was a nutcase who imagined that he and the Pope were tight. Probably delusional. He was pissed at Switzerland for refusing to lend Bavaria 60 locomotives.
Great article, as usual. Thanks
Whenever I read about the movie, I think about this animated film.
https://youtu.be/lJwRVeqZC5Q
Wow..Kept hearing Olivier’s voice in the back of my mind: ‘Is it safe?’
That film has a special place for me. in those days, I was considered something of a doppelganger for Dustin Hoffman, and a lot of the action was filmed around Columbia University, where I did my doctorate. My wife did a photo exhibition of films made at Columbia and used an especially me-like photo of Hoffman taken a block from our apartment. People would occasionally ask me, “Is it safe?”
HA! Never seen this horrifying thing before! Love how the lunatic jumbles together a whole panoply of books and films into one utterly ridiculous mess of a story. Glad I went to the dentist last week, as I would not want to go for a few months after seeing this. :)
The lunatic calls himself “Dr. McTeague.” If you’ve never read Frank Norris’s book “McTeague,” you might enjoy reading it, having seen this video.
All hail the Bavarian Soviet Republic. I love their housing regulations and monetary policy. Plus declaring war on Switzerland. Woody Allen must have been inspired by them when he made the movie Bananas. A Fidel Castro type figure had just taken over a Latin American country, and immediately proclaimed three laws.
1. From now on, the official language of our country is Swedish
2. Everybody who is under 17.... is 17
3. Everybody has to change their underwear 3 times a day. And wear it on the outside, so we can check.
I was trying to make sense of the Vatican angle -- Switzerland is ripe for conquest because all their soldiers are off serving in the Swiss Guard protecting the Pope?
What a great article! Really, really interesting.
I haven't thought about B. Travers in ages. About 25 years ago I went through a period of fiction consumption that could be called "Virile Manhood Lit" in which I inhaled most of the output of John Buchan, Dashiell Hammett, Frank H. Spearman, Nevil Shute, Wallace Stegner, Graham Greene...and B. Travers. I had no idea he was such a shadowy figure. Most of libertarians I've known through the years cite "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" as one of their favorite films. There's another one, "Lonely Are the Brave" that might interest if you if you haven't seen it already. Screenplay by HUAC blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, from a novel by future eco-anarchist monkeywrencher Edward Abbey, starring tough guy Kirk Douglas -- and libertarians love it!
The guy was a nutcase who imagined that he and the Pope were tight. Probably delusional. He was pissed at Switzerland for refusing to lend Bavaria 60 locomotives.
Imagine such a world, where lawyers weren't needed. Contracts were affirmed with handshakes, and breaches settled with handguns.
There’s a sizable economics literature on informal legal arrangements.