Hercule Poiroit

This evening I found Murder on the Orient Express (1974) on TCM. Monsieur Poiroit (Albert Finney) was in the midst of his evening ablutions. Applying his hairnet and moustache net/guard. Putting cream on his hands, then putting on gloves. Reading the newspaper. The robe adjusted impeccably. A neat travelling case with all his combs, brushes, bottles and jars packed away in their little compartments. He was greatly irritated by various people making noise in the corridor while he was attempting to sleep. Of course, the morning dawns with none other than Sir John Gielgud (as the ultimate butler) bringing the morning pick-me-up to his employer only to find his employer dead.

I had forgotten all of Poiroit's little quirks. He likes things to be just so. He's not angry about it, just particular and precise. He doesn't get loudly angry at people in the corridor. He doesn't even glare at them. He just opens the door and looks at the steward, as if to inquire how the steward could have allowed such disturbances to go unchecked. At all times he is exceedingly polite and precise. Even when he is telling people that he is, in fact, Belgian, not French. I like it. Never does he get flustered or raise his voice. That is certainly something to have as a goal.

And the rest of the cast in the film are thoroughly entertaining to watch. Anthony Perkins is presently trying to explain how he couldn't have killed his boss. He stutters and he's a bit agitated, but not at all the same sort of nervous that he was in Psycho. Lauren Bacall plays the part of the annoying American in Europe from loud demands to a purse that carries everything (possibly including a kitchen sink) and all the way to the open-mouthed chewing of gum. Other cast members include Ingrid Bergman and Sean Connery.

While watching this film, it has occurred to me what I dislike about reality shows. It's really quite simple. The answer is that the persons who are on reality shows are never people that you would ever admire or aspire to be. Reality shows are presented to show the failings and shortcomings of the people on them. People watch them for the purpose of jeering and cheering when people fail or otherwise have a horrible time. Nor can I imagine anybody I admire even *watching* one of these shows.

Why I dislike television: For the most part, the shows are not particularly intelligent, particularly on network television. The shows which attempt to be more intelligent are more common now with the advent of The History Channel, The National Geographic Channel, etc. It's like having PBS shows on multiple places simultaneously.

The other thing I dislike about television, and this applies to all shows, is that it keeps people from getting on with their lives. People park their ever growing behinds on their recliners or on the couch and spend hours a day bemoaning the lack of anything to watch on their monstrously sized (and priced) television with its 100+ channels of mind-numbing "entertainment". TV junkies don't have lives. They live their lives vicariously through the people on TV. Yes, you can live vicariously through the characters in a book too, but that requires imagination, comprehension and creative thought. And most folks do not read for 4-6 hours a day for entertainment, while it's not at all unusual for people in this country to watch TV for 4-6 hours a day during the week. No wonder Americans are becoming more and more obese and we are becoming less and less competitive in the business and academic worlds. We wouldn't want work to get in the way of the television watching, now would we?

Have you ever noticed that the people on reality shows almost never watch TV? Even they have more of a life than the TV junkies and their lives are scripted!

Stupid News Headline of the Day:

From the El Paso Times--"NY Bans Fatty Oils"
Far be it from me to point out the obvious, but from what I recall of my organic chemistry classes, *ALL* oils are fatty. In fact, they are 100% fat. The article was actually referring to the banning of *trans* fats from use in restaurants and other commercial food preparation in New York City. I hope folks don't start thinking there are oils which are non-fat or low-fat. Of course, I also hope that with the elimination of trans fats, people don't start to think that their "new" frie s, chips and other fried foods are now healthy.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You had a good version (the original?) of the Orient Express, girl. Each time I watch it I pick up more and more of the subtle subplots.

It's been too long - I apologise.

Deb

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