tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post4036830810149479233..comments2024-03-26T22:48:55.424-07:00Comments on Flying Totems: Queen Watch: "The Adventure of the Hardhearted Huckster"Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06590397694589547524noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post-73365550078114387012016-10-16T22:08:45.063-07:002016-10-16T22:08:45.063-07:00It's interesting to think about what storytell...It's interesting to think about what storytelling purely in sound does with your imagination, the way it visualizes and the way it doesn't. You "see" as much of a room or a person even as you need to. Beyond that the level of detail is pretty much up to you. Of course reading is often like this as well. While an author can go on and on in visual description, confident ones very often leave off while having actually said very little. And speaking of reading, yes, reading aloud is indescribably valuable. I worry about families where this doesn't happen.<br /><br />It's funny to think about how advertising on television became a big business so quickly so early in the medium's development. Millions of dollars were being spent, and they were already bringing in psychologists, when people watching could very easily lose reception in the middle of your ad and not get it back until the show was almost over. Anyway, it seems your right about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mAC9Yj6Wj8" rel="nofollow">dancing cigarette ads</a>, although I still have to credit <i>Ellery Queen</i> for coming up with such a hilariously tacky one. The part about Ellery smoking while stricken with writer's block I got from a book I read recently called <i>The Player on the Other Side</i> which was partly written by Theodore Sturgeon. Yeah, it's a bit of an adjustment. Jim Hutton came up with a new take on the character, and in a lot of ways it's deservedly become the definitive one.<br /><br />The culprit was pretty apparent from the beginning. The challenge was figuring out what the evidence would be. I liked the way that cooking show gave Ellery his moment of inspiration.<br /><br />Poor Frank, didn't think he'd get stage fright at all, never mind so bad. Kind of like when Peter O'Toole tries to bolt in <i>My Favorite Year</i> screaming "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!" Ellery has no illusions about being either, but he knows what he's talking about.<br /><br />I'm glad you've enjoyed this little feature. It's been fun.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06590397694589547524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post-66427584222974233352016-10-02T20:22:18.998-07:002016-10-02T20:22:18.998-07:00I've probably said so before but one of my bet...I've probably said so before but one of my better childhood memories is having been able to listen to the radio shows that my parents listened to in the living room once I was already in bed. What was really good about them was that you didn't even bother wondering what things looked like because your imagination provided the scene based on the sound effects. The actors were more than equal to voicing the drama or comedy routines - never mind the mysteries. Comedians went on doing it for a long time as I'm sure you remember (as in The Firesign Theatre and Bob and Ray). Radio as a storytelling medium actively encouraged us to exercise our visual imaginations and it's true television went a long way toward spoiling that aspect of our capabilities. Proof of that was easily determined when, rather than stay in bed listening until I fell asleep, I'd very quietly (I thought) climb out of bed and hide behind a loveseat near the door so I could see what was going on that was making my parents and the tv audience laugh. Yes, I was always sent back to bed but not until the particular show had ended. My mother was pretty cool that way. At the same time it was a good lesson that reading aloud would always be a good thing to do for children.<br /><br />Anyway, on to the show: It's true that advertising really took off once television came along as there were so many more ways to distract our attention than there had been with radio sound effects alone. I think there really were dancing cigarette box ads, or maybe that was just in cartoons. There's no doubt that smoking was so normalized that almost everyone indulged the habit. One of the things that was interesting about reading the Nero Wolfe books was that nobody in Wolfe's brownstone smoked although there were ashtrays. Inspector Cramer, like Velie, always had a cigar that he chewed on but never lit. That Ellery smoked in the novels is a surprise to me only because I never read more than a few of them and that was long ago. Mostly, Ellery Queen for me is Tim Hutton.<br /><br />While the story was entertaining enough the culprit was pretty easy to identify early on even though the details took a bit of explaining at the end. That the victim was indeed a total ass was proven in several details revealed throughout the narrative. <br /><br />I loved your description of Frank Flanagan's need to always be in the spotlight. He was always so annoying that it was really a delight to see how tonguetied he got when the tv cameras were switched on. That was such a perfect comedy performance he actually managed to steal the show for a few minutes. It was funny too that it took Ellery a few moments to pick up on the fact that Frank was at a complete loss for words - something Ellery never is. <br /><br />I agree it was likely more fun for him being on Simon Brimmer's show. <br /><br />Thanks for another great review.<br />susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.com