December 20th 1803, in Jackson Square, new Orleans, France turned over the Louisiana Purchase land to The United States. This treaty and sale, doubled the size of the United states, adding 828,000 square miles. While only 4¢ an acre, it still was a $15,000,000 purchase, headed by Thomas Jefferson. There was much intrigue, and concerns before, during and after the purchase.
I learned much of this history from yet another of my most used collection of school-aged books for baby boomers – Landmark Books. This is “The Louisiana Purchase” by Robert Tallant, published in 1952.
On December 20, 1946 “It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered at the Globe Theater in New York. To honor the main actor, I have the book “Jimmy Stewart – a Biography” by Marc Eliot, 2006. He has written biographies on many movie stars. Marc Eliot regularly visits the Peoria Riverfront Museum to host a history of movies. He talks about the movie and the actors, and then we see the movie on an Imax-type screen.
Eliot signed this book ‘to Super Grandpa and Nat… Thanks, Marc Eliot’ at a book signing. My granddaughter and I listened to his speech about an Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Man Who Knew Too Much”; and then we saw the movie. When we went to get a book signed he was taken aback at my granddaughter’s knowledge of the movies she had seen, along with her ability to speak about them (she was 13).
Eliot asked my granddaughter which was a better Hitchcock movie (from the last two we had seen there). She told him that she thought ‘North By Northwest” had some cool scenes-like the airplane, but she liked Jimmy Stewart better in “The Man Who Knew Too Much”. Eliot genuinely laughed, and said that he had to agree with her. That is why he added “Thanks” when he signed the book.
As we move a little more into movies, December 20th, 2008 marks the death of Robert Mullican. Mullican was the director of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. This movie is one that does a real good job of reflecting the meaning of the book it represents. I have watched this many times.
December 20th, 1976, marks the death of Richard J. Daley of Chicago. While his son also was mayor of Chicago (Richard M. Daley), all Chicagoans know of Hizzoner Mayor Daley. He ran the city for 21 years, through some turbulent times. He was a ‘big city boss” who most can say tried to make Chicago a better place, though he did have a misstatement (perhaps not a misstatement), “The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder.” He is honored in perhaps the best movie ever made. I quote:
- Elwood: This is definitely Lower Wacker Drive! If my estimations are correct, we should be very close to the Honorable Richard J. Daley Plaza!
- Jake: That’s where they got that Picasso.
- Elwood: Yep.
The climatic scene ends up at the Richard J. Daley Plaza and The City Hall building next door. The movie had driven, flew, and parked on the actual plaza: three Sherman tanks, three helicopters, three fire trucks, 50 squad cars, and 15 horses, along with 200 National Guardsmen and 100 state and city Policemen (and one broken Bluesmobile). It cost $3.5 million dollars just for that scene.
This picture by the Chicago Tribune taken during the 1979 Chicagofest, features the Blues Brothers-John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, with Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne and her daughter Kathy. The mayor was presented a check for $50,000 for Chicago charities, for allowing the filming.
My favorite scene in the movie is with Aretha Franklin, “The Queen of Soul”, named twice as the greatest singing voice in America by Rolling Stone magazine. In her only movie role ever, she was the owner of a diner called “the Soul Food Cafe”, and sang “Think” in a grease-stained dirty dress, and wearing pink fuzzy slippers. It is pure magic.
- Matt Murphy: But babe, this is Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers!
- Mrs Murphy: The Blues Brothers? Shit! They still owe you money, fool.
- Jake: Ma’am, would it make you feel any better if you knew that what we’re asking Matt here to do is a holy thing?
- Elwood: You see, we’re on a mission from God.
- Mrs Murphy: Don’t you blaspheme in here. Don’t you blaspheme in here! This is my man, this is my restaurant, and you two are just gonna walk right out that door without your dry white toast, without your four fried chickens, and without Matt “Guitar” Murphy!
Movie Magic. Thanks for reading, Now go watch.
Librarytomes 