John Caradine, on the Queen Mary

John Caradine, the Actor was on the Queen Mary with me.

After leaving the graduate school of Education and going through a change in my life, I graduated from the same University as Steven Spielberg. I was not thinking about working in the film industry, but I did go to a lecture by Frank Capra and was impressed. Working with a Cable co., to produce a symposium on Media Art, I read that John Caradine, the Actor was on the Queen Mary, doing dinner theater. Thinking that, it would be interesting to interview Mr. Carradine, I did a little research and found he was very interested in Shakespearian plays, and later told me that he was the only Actor to have played Hamlet more times than any other living actor, based on the fact this was during World War Two, and there was a shortage of male actors. He toured with his own Shakespearean Company in the 1940s, playing "Hamlet" and "Macbeth".

I digress; I found an obscure passage, from a Shakespearian play, "Macbeth."

I called the Queen Mary, for contact information, I left the passage at the desk, and they said to call back. The next day I called back, to see about talking to John Carrdine's Agent, but the person on the phone told to hold on.

On the phone it was John Carradine, he was staying at the hotel on the Queen Mary, and said he would be happy to meet with me. He was doing the stage play or a dinner version of "The Fantastic". I went down to the Queen Mary, the next day, went to the hotel 's clerk and told him why I was there, and he made his phone call to the stateroom and out came. John Carradine.

In my mind, I was thinking about, John Carradine the movie star a man of many roles and parts. The star of the 30's an 40's and plus a "B" star , but with some style.

Dressed all in black, with a cape, at that time he must have been in his mid seventies, his hands were very arthritic, bend and deformed. We went over to the main QM hotel's lobbies were there is a very large heavy glass picture window and sit down. I told him about, working with the cable co. and I said that I was not a Actor, but a media specialist, we talked about my studies in right and left brain interaction to drawing and Art, I told him about my undergraduate degree in that area. He originally planned a career as a painter and sculptor. I realized I was talking to someone with someone who suffered from painful and crippling arthritic hands about drawing and painting, and tried to change the subject. I talked about the passage from "Macbeth" and the visual aspects of it and he said it is never talked about.

After a few minutes we were both more relaxed, and started to talk out about our life's, and what was going on now, he pull out a package of Players cigarettes and had a smoke. He started to look much more younger, good clear skin and very intelligent, not how a perceived him, Carradine's deep, resonant voice earned him the nickname "The Voice". We talked for some time, stopping only for water, a hour went by and he asked me what was the book that I had with me for reading, at that time I was reading "Raise the Titanic" he said: If it is a book so it could be on film. I agreed with that, as a media specialist and we both saw the Ironic facts of talking about the Titanic and sitting on a large similar ship. After some time, we know it was time to depart, and he offered me to come to the dinner show, that night, he walked me to the port exit and I took his hand and said, thank-you. A few days later I went back over to the cable co. and thy said why didn't I bring him back to the studio, I said: that it just was not that type of interview. Strangely I read in the paper, that the diner show was, closed and John Carradine was gone, A few years later David Carradine stared in the move version of "Raise the Titanic", it lost a lot of money for Paramount studios, but was a important film. To think the movie the "Titanic" is one of the highest grossing movies ever made? Paramount studios were John Carradine's was one of the longest contract players ever. Oddly John Carradine, played a character on a TV movie, where a ship was overturned, like the Queen Mary and sank to the bottom of the ocean, people survived in the water tight compartment and lived for years. There Carradine played an actor like himself, walking about the upside down ship at the bottom of the Ocean quoting Shakespeare. After that experience I try never to tell any one about my ideas for a film.

I was having a new look at the movie "It's a Wonderful Life"

and remembering...

It was the late 70's , I was finishing my course work on my masters
degree the weather was colder that year and the campus had that feel of
the end of the winder term. Student were dressed in the coats and
warmer gear , then the usual light wear. My mother had just died from a
hart attract, she should not have been working at the hospital, and
knew she had a hart condition, but my father was very sick and could
not stay home with him all day. My ex-wife and I were having
problems at this time, everything seem to be going down hill in small
ways little by little as the sand move under your feet.

Walking on campus, around the the falling leaves I noticed a post
about Frank Capra the Director was having a lecture and would be
screening his film "It's a Wonderful Life", I thought this would be fun
for me and my wife, something we could to together.

My ex-wife is Jewish and me not, so Christmas and the holiday sometime would bring out some underlying feeling in each of use.

The Screening room on campus was in a small auditorium, that evening
around 7:30, and there across from me was Frank Capra , Looking well
and with a smile on his face.

Frank Capra had a important and interesting life, form being a gag
writer to being one of the greatest film director of all times, Capra
was a populist, and the simplicity of his narrative structures,
in which the great social problems facing America were boiled down to
scenarios which were simple metaphorical constructs.myth and poetic
power of the movie to create proletarian passion plays. As with todays
culture the conflict between cynicism and the protagonist's faith and
idealism, a melancholy and baseless optimism.



As the lecture continued I was affixed on the person , as he
described the his life and films , his introduction to the film we were
going to be shown was a surprise , instead of seeing his classic "It's
a wonderful Life" we were to see the classic "Meet John Doe", I was not
going to be disappointed , some others seemed put out.

Until recently I did not fully understand why Frank Capra wanted to
show "Meet John Doe" , The story of "Meet John Doe" is about conflict
and faith, in the film a man needing money agrees to impersonate a
nonexistent person who said
he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a political movement
begins. As Capra explained, there was a problem with the ending and a
they had to call in a writer to rewrite the ending , filming the ending
in many ways , as he explained they had John go over the building ,
than have him and the leading women both go over then just her. "Meet
John Doe" was make in 1941 just before the war . The story is about
the great depression and how people can over come life problem by
simple golden rules, over the corruption of governments and the loss of
faith and love a story about redemption .

When the United States went to war in December 1941, Frank Capra
rejoined the Army and became an propagandist.Capra said he was against
"mass entertainment, mass production, mass
education, mass everything. Especially mass man. I was fighting for, in
a sense, the preservation of the liberty of the individual person
against the mass."

After the screening and talk Frank Capra said that we were know going
to hear the radio version of "It's a Wonderful Life" At the time more
that haft of the audience stood up and move to the exit, as if the show
was over. Frank Capra stood up ,red in the face and irritated and told
them " you well never learn anything about films or life if you can not
learn to listen " most just keep going some stayed , I was still in my
seat. I sat and listened to the radio version of "It's a wonderful
Life" with Frank Capra giving me a eye and enjoyed it , Capra had
written the directed the radio version also.

I went over and got a hand sake headed home. Not to long after I went through a divorce my father died and I lost everything I had and was homeless.

Being a Educational media specialist and artist , looking back what
was happen there was "It's a Wonderful life" make in 1946 , just after
the war. The continuation of "Meet John Doe" the story of a man fight
against corruption and loss of faith and redemption.

John Doe was to jump off the building Christmas eve and was saved , were as George Bailey
jumps and is saved through this redemption . If you see life or a film
but can not hear what the message is you can sometimes go out into the
night and not really see or understand what life is about, the conflict
between cynicism and the protagonist's faith and idealism.





Timothy Dougherty

Art and Proust :A Loss of Time

Art and Proust :A Loss of Time

I was doing some reading on Marcel Proust the French writer of In Search of Lost Time. and the promoter of the concept of Involuntary memory.

I feel a interest, because of the use of Art and mind as a visual creative formatting and processor of memory device. As Proust would have it ,within In Search of Lost Time , A large part of the novel has to do with the nature of art. A theory of art in which we all are capable of producing art, by taking the experiences of life and transforming them in a way that shows more human understanding .Involuntary memory is a conception of human Memory in which we encounter in everyday life that would evoke recollections of the past without conscious effort. As opposite is voluntary memory, a deliberate effort to recall the past. As when we try to recall something ,this is only a part of truth and not a true "essence" of the past.

Being transported back to an earlier time by sensory experiences of memory, triggered by smells, sights, sounds, or touch. Understanding media is what the sensory experience is about and Artist uses the medium to create a trigger. Imagined or form a mental image of something that is not present . The artist only can be a maker of imaginary or dubious facts.

We remember what we want to be real, Art as the habit of memory as in learning a poem by heart, and spontaneous memory that stores up perceptions and impressions and than reveals them . So what is it touchy and feely and see it than it must be there. Reality is the sum total of our imaginary worlds. Nobody is a fixed state of being, life is all memory and imaginary view of what we feel. If this is true Art is the expression of the self: A memory of unconscious effort into remembering events, people, and places. that can and always will be a memory.

I was Shaw’s left shoe

I was Shaw’s left shoe

All great truths start as curse

The curse of walking on the side of the street were rain would not fall

Ask the old gang to tell the story of the lost ideas and ideals that smoke moves up and not down

No book of the truth will ever see the end as no word will ever see the light of darkness

The sound of stillness is always new and never old but always true

Saint Joan brings back my love and brings back my naked brain this beautiful earth

Bring back my bird the nest of old women of youth I can live on bread and clean water

The right shoe only walks on the streets of poets

When the shoes are old and forgotten in the closet of my mind the story brings a cast anew

Lost powers to the end of time to accept how long?