Rudyard Kipling's KIM

1885 Lahore, India: Colonel Creighton, head of the British-India Secret Service receives a report that the Russians are planning an attack on India via the Khyber Pass…where and when they plan on attacking is unknown. With the help of “Red Beard” Mahbub Ali, their top agent who disguises himself as a horse trader; the “Fat Man”; and an orphan English boy named Kim they try to uncover the Russian’s plan before it is too late.

Rudyard Kipling’s thrilling adventure novel “Kim” was brought to the screen in 1950 in brilliant eye-popping Technicolor and boasted a splendid cast with Errol Flynn as the magnificent Red Beard, Cecil Kellaway as the Fat Man, Paul Lukas as the Holy Man ( a Tibetan monk with an unusually strong Austrian accent ), and Dean Stockwell as our boy-hero Kim -  a young man who learns how difficult it can be to play the Great Game of spying.

              

Filmed on location in Rajasthan and Utter Pradash, India ( as well as Lone Pines, California ), the movie gives us a tour of India during the Age of Imperialism, when British troops paraded on grounds outside city walls, and wily dangerous characters lurked in dark corners of crowded sadaks.

The rights to Rudyard Kipling's popular adventure novel were purchased by MGM in the mid-1930s with the intention of casting Freddie Bartholomew in the title role. For unknown reasons, this project was abanoned and not taken up again until the late 1940s.

During this time, Errol Flynn was loaned to MGM from Warner Brothers for two pictures. The first one was "That Forsyte Woman" where opposite Greer Garson he was cast as the unloved Soames Forsyte. His second feature though, was a choice between "King Soloman's Mines" or "Kim". Both were to be filmed on location. Errol opted for India over Africa, and the lead role of Allan Quartermain in "King Solomon's Mines" was turned over to English actor Stewart Granger. In a very enjoyable version of the story too, if I say so meself.

“Kim” on the other hand is a wonderful adventure film – enjoyable for all ages – but alas, it fails to be a truly memorable film, mainly due to its heavy reliance on voice-over narration rather than pictures and dialogue. However, when there is dialogue it is spoken right from the pages of Kipling’s novel and pleasantly plays on the ears in lyrical fashion.

“ You should believe only your eyes…and not the voices of others.”

“ This is a child’s game, Mr.Luzor “

“ It is part of a Great Game “.

Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the famous British Army scout and founder of the Boy Scout movement, would of fully approved of the lessons this film teaches…..key lessons on observation and judging character; always being prepared and aware of one’s surroundings.

                           

Dean Stockwell is particularly noteworthy as the English sahib living life as an Indian boy. Devoted to his Holy Man, Kim acts as his chelah ( a servant to a monk ) while travelling across India with him in quest of the sacred River of the Arrow.  Begging on the streets, climbing across rooftops, cursing passerby’s, and donning a dark tan, he is an unlikely suspect to his enemies and hence...becomes a master player of the Great Game.

A Pythagoras Quote

What have I learnt where'er I've been,
From all I've heard, from all I've seen?
What know I more that's worth the knowing?
What have I done that's worth the doing?
What have I sought that I should shun?
What duties have I left undone?

PYTHAGORAS

Henry Wood Elliott - Protector of the Seals

Not that many people were very active in conservation during the turn of the century, but one man....my grand grandfather Henry Wood Elliott, was a fighter for the rights of the lovable ( and hefty sized! ) northern seals of Alaska. Today he is remembered more as an artist, but it was his lifework to make sure the seals were protected.

Known nationally as "Professor" Elliott, he was the leading authority on the Alaska fur seal during the late 1800s when he began a 35 year long crusade in Congress to save the seals from extinction.

Elliott was born November 13, 1846 in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest child of Franklin Rueben Elliott - owner of a seed and nursery business in Ohio and life-long friend and associate of horticulturist Dr. Jared P. Kirtland.

In 1862, Henry, at the age of 16, became ill and confined to home he spent his time painting fruits and flowers to illustrate a paper his father planned to submit to the Department of Agriculture on an upcoming trip to Washington D.C. As a reward for this illustrative work, Henry's father took him along on his visit to the nation's capitol.

Elliott was fascinated with the Smithsonian Institute and so his father arranged with secretary Dr. Joseph Henry for Elliott to work as his assistant. Although he had "desk space" at the Smithsonian for 14 years he was in fact rarely in Washington at this time. In 1864 he travelled to the Northwest Coast as a member of the Telegraph Expedition surveying team; joined as a member of the scientific corps in the Yukon party led by Major Robert Kennicott later that same year, and then from 1869-1871 was a topographical artist for F.Hayden's U.S. Geological Survey Expedition to document the landscapes of the West.

Thomas Moran was the chief artist on this expedition. Soon after he became a well known American landscape artist. Alas...Henry did not. Although he produced hundreds of works in his lifetime which are stored at the Smithsonian Institute, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, he is not too widely recognized today.

The Hayden Expedition Camp, HW Elliott 1870

This field experience though, earned him an appointment as Assistant Treasury Agent for the Pribolof Islands as well as an assignment from the Smithsonian to study the fur seal and other animals of that Alaskan island. The beginning seeds of his lifework.

For thousands of years the Pribolofs have been the breeding grounds of the fur seal. They spend 3-4 months of the year bearing their young, breeding and teaching their pups to swim.

The females and their pups, nor the male bucks, are never harmed. Traditionally, it was the young bachelor seals that were clubbed by the Aleuts and then skinned for their furs.

The Northern Fur Seals

The fur itself was not in very much demand outside of the Pribolofs until a machine was invented in the late 1800s that made mass removal of its prickly "guard hairs" possible. Then it became popular for fur coats...and a prime source of easy income for pirate seal killers.

Henry Wood Elliott had estimated the fur seal population to be 4,000,000 in 1872, but by 1875 these numbers had drastically declined due to pirate schooners carrying on open sea sealing as well as the indiscriminate killing on the part of the North American Commercial Company. By 1897 there were only 400,000 seals left. Millions of dollars were being made on pirated skins.

Seal Drove Crossing, HW Elliott 1872

With Elliott's support, Treasury agent Charles Goff ordered an end to that season's land killings and the U.S government arrested open sea sealers in the Bering Strait. But lo! this aroused a conflict with Great Britain since the seized vessels were mostly Canadian. The fur seal issue was brought before an arbitrational tribunal in Paris and the United States lost the case for interfering with Canadian and British pelagic ( open sea ) sealing.

Killing the fur seals near St.Paul, HW Elliott

For the next decade, Elliott appeared before Congressional commitees pushing them to negotiate with foreign nations to stop the killing of the seals. With pressure from national journals, the American Humane Association,, and the Camp Fire Clubs of America, public indignation was finally aroused in 1911. The United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Japan ( yes, by this time it had become an international issue ) agreed to a treaty which prohibited pelagic sealing and a mutual sharing of the proceeds of captured vessels. The Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 became the first international treaty to address conservational concerns.

Henry Wood Elliott's fight was over and the seals were saved. For ten years no killing would be allowed, and in that time the fur seals were once again able to breed and survive. He had devoted a large part of his time and resources in the defense of the seal and it had cost him dearly. His frequent and extended absences from his wife of 30+ years, Aleksandra Aleksandrova Milovidov ( part Russian, part Aleut ) and his ten children eventually led to a seperation.

In his later years, Henry Wood Elliott resided with his son Lionel in Seattle where he died in 1930 at the age of 84.

The Reef Point, HW Elliott 1872

In 2005 the US Department of Commerce produced a short video on Henry's crusade, called "Henry Wood Elliott : Defender of the Fur Seal". It can be viewed by clicking HERE. 

More paintings of Henry's can also be viewed at the following locations...

NOAA Image Gallery

The Smithsonian Archives

National Museum of Natural History

The Northern fur seal population reached a high in the early 1950s but they have once again become endangered. Today, there exists but 1.2 million fur seals worldwide, 60-80% of which use the Pribolof islands as their home-base. A survey done in 2008 found the lowest level of pup population since 1916. Changes in the eco-system, pullution, killer whale preditation and net-entanglement have been contributing to their deaths, and their population is in a yearly decline.

Further Reading.....

Our Arctic Province, Alaska and the Seal Islands, by Henry Wood Elliott. New York, Charles Scribner and Sons. 1886

The Seal Islands of Alaska by Henry Wood Elliott, Kingston, Ontario. Limestone Press, 1976

Yellowstone and the Great West: Journals, Letters, and Images from the 1871 Hayden Expedition, by Marlene Merrill

 

The Great Race Anniversary

Today marks an anniversary of an historical event mateys!  Actually, everyday is an anniversary of some notable historical event.... but this one caught me fancy since last week my family and I saw Blake Edwards' 1965 film  " The Great Race ".  Yes, today be the anniversary of the actual Great Race. Tis 104 years since the extrodinary 21,000 mile tour-de-world auto race took place.

The French Team in a Sizarre-Naudin

In 1907 a Parisian newspaper asked its readers " Will anyone be wiling to drive from Peking to Paris next summer? " ( 10,000 miles)  and incredulous as it sounds, 25 teams signed up to give it a try. The day of the race however only five appeared at the starting line, and of those only four succeeded in reaching Paris...three of them 21 days behind the winner.  However, the media response was enormous....so much so that the day the Peking-to-Paris race was completed Le Matin ( the Parisian newspaper ) announced another race...an even grander race.

The crowd in Times Square cheering the racers

On February 12th, 1908 two hundred thousand people showed up in Times Square, New York City to watch six competitors start off on a 165 day race to Paris, France. A counter-clockwise circle of the world via auto. Of the six competitors, the American Thomas Flyer with its team comprised of George Schuster, Montague Roberts and Harold Briankes and the German Protos were the fan favorites. Kaiser Wilhelm II saw the race as a chance to assert Germany's surpremacy of the motoring industr and so urged the leading German auto manufacturer, Protos, to enter a car. The Protos was driven by Hans Koeppen, a lieutenant in the Prussian Infantry, military engineer Hans Knape and an officer, Ernst Maas. Other competitors included an Italian team driving a Zust, and three French teams driving a Motoblanc, a De Dion, and a little Sizaire-Naudin.

Scarfolglio and companions in Zust car

And away they went! Amidst cheers, and flag waving and back-firing smoke they took off in a flash. But alas, the flashy start slowed down quite a bit once they were on their way. The race was extremely difficult. Rain, mud, snow and ice immediatly tested the reliability of the cars. The Midwest was hit with one of it's worst blizzards in years and the racers went head first into it. Reportedly, it was so cold that the Italians had to break their sandwiches in pieces with a hammer and defrost them on the radiator before eating them.

The Thomas was the first to reach the Pacific coast ( after 41 days of road travel ) while the Protos was weeks behind. The other competitors were not even in the race - so to speak - they fared so much worse and were all having disputes among their crews. Although the Protos was built like a tank and was designed for all types of terrain, it was not prepared for good ol' American mud.

The Thomas Flyer

Knowing that the competitors were behind schedule, the race commitee considered allowing the cars to be shipped directly to Siberia, but then decided to stick to thier original rule : Drive across Alaska. As the Times pointed out " the attempt to cross Alaska at this late date is foredoomed to failure". But George Schuster thought not! And he was ready and willing to trek across the barren land.

The Protos stuck in Idaho

With the Thomas Flyer flying ahead by a 800 mile lead, Hans Koeppen made a decision that cost him dearly...in an effort to gain time he loaded his car onto a train and in this way covered 1000 miles. At first he was disqualified, but was later readmitted with 15 days penalty. Devious tricks like these he played throughout the race; in Vladivostock, Russia he disregarded the race commitees instructions and took off without waiting for the Thomas and later shipped the car by rail across Trans-Siberia.

Eventually, George Schuster and his Thomas Flyer had a breakdown in Manchuria and it was Hans Koeppen and his Protos that arrived first at the finish line in Paris. However, the crowds cheered for the intrepid American and gave him the winning hurrahs. George Schuster became the true winner when the race commitee revealed that due to "penalizations" the Protos was in fact days behind the Thomas Flyer. 

Blake Edwards immortalized this famous race and the sportsman-like behavior of Schuster with the character of the Great Leslie ( played by Tony Curtis ) in his 1965 comedy "The Great Race" and even included a devious opponent...Professor Fate ( Jack Lemmon ) and his tank-like gadgetry filled Hannibal 8 automobile.

Some say the movie had no resemblance at all to the real race but I must differ....the teams did in fact stop in a town in the west to recieve a rousing welcome ( alas, but there was no Dorothy Provine belting out " He Shouldn't-a, Hadn't-a, Oughtn't-a Swang on Me" ); the Thomas Flyer followed the railway tracks to save time at one point - much like Prof. Fate tried to; a reporter from the New York Times joined one of the crews to be there to report the latest news, just like Natalie Wood did;  the village folk of Germany came out in droves to cheer the passerbys ( especially Hans Koeppen ) and last but not least Professor Fate crossed the finish line first...just like Koeppen did. Gosh, how many more similiarites could you ask for? And with those catchy Henry Mancini tunes added in for good measure, the film was just as fun as participating in a GREAT RACE ourselves. ( Although, that doesn't mean I'll cross that item off my list of Things to Do ).

Words You Didn't Know You Need to Know

"You don't know what you know until you find out what you don't know."

                                                                                                                      - Unknown

1903 De Dion Bouton - Beauty on Wheels

Since I had recently written a post on the 1964 sci-fi classic "First Men in the Moon" what better than to do a follow-up Motoring Series post on the classic car used in that film.....the 1903 De Dion Bouton.

Oh and what a beauty she be! Katherine Callender ( played by the lovely Martha Hyer ) cheerily approaches Cherry Cottage in a smart automobiling habit whilst sitting atop this beautiful dark green De Dion Bouton. Did I say this was a beautiful looking little car?  It seems that dark green was the only color the body was available in that year since all the existing 1903 models are dark green.

De Dion-Bouton was a Parisian automobile manufacturing company formed by Compte Albert De Dion and Georges Bouton in 1883 to make boilers and other small steam-powered engines.

Within a year they were making automobiles and improving on the current models by utilizing front-wheel steering and rear-wheel drives. During the next ten years they continued making automobiles and steam-powered engines for towing horse drawn carraiges, as well as experimenting with internal combustion engines.

One of their most popular models was the Petite Voiture, a three-wheeled bicycle with a internal combustion engine, built in 1896.

1903 De Dion Bouton

By 1900 De-Dion Bouton was the largest car manufacturer in the world....and they soon expanded by licensing their engines for other automobile makers as well.

De Dion cars were always ahead of their time and were known for their reliability. Standard features of the early 1900 models included a water-cooled engine with electric ignition, a gear box in which each gear had its own individual expanding clutch which permitted smooth gear changes, tubular chassis and those cute little brass headlights. What more could any driver ask for?

These cars sold in significant numbers in their day and hence their survival rate is high. Some models can be seen at the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Races.

De Dion -Bouton became the first company to produce a car with a V8 engine ( in 1910 ) but unfortunately sales declined by the early 1920s, and in 1932 they ceased producing passenger vehicles altogether.

First Men in the Moon ( 1964 )

Charles Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, two of the foremost producers of sci-fi films of the 1960s, had in 1963 recently completed their sea-faring mythology extravaganza " Jason and the Argonauts "  when they decided to embark upon a screen-telling of H.G Well's famous Victorian fantasy novel "First Men in the Moon".

Filmed in astounding "Dynamation!" the movie begins in modern times with a UN space ship rocketing to the moon. Amidst cheers on Earth for the historic moment, the very first men walk on the surface of the moon.....but lo! within steps from their rocket ship these astronauts discover a flag - a Union Jack flag.  And along with the flag, a declaration ( written on the back side of a summons for Katherine Callender ) claiming British subjects had honorably walked that solitary surface in 1899....and had claimed the moon for her majesty, Queen Victoria.

Quickly a UN investigation team is dispatched to the tiny village of Dymschurch to question Katherine Callender, but when they discover that she had since died, they seek explantations from her husband Arnold who is now living in a nursing home.

After his initial shock at seeing photographs of the flag he had helped to place on the moon, he relates the story of their voyage.....

In the secluded country village in England, Arnold Bedford ( Edward Judd ) is working ( or rather....not working ) on his play. Always looking for a new way to make some money, he becomes fascinated with the scientific substance his neighbor, an eccentric scientist named Joseph Cavor ( admirably played by Lionel Jeffries ) has recently invented....Cavorite it is called. A liquid substance it be, and it deflects the force of gravitity on any object that it is painted unto. Seeing a very lucrative business opprotunity here, Arnold talks his way into becoming partners with Cavor.

Cavor explains that his main use for Cavorite will be to apply it to the surface of a bathysphere that he has constructed in his greenhouse with the intention of flying to the moon...and of course, Arnold is astonished at this fool hardy scheme...UNTIL that is, he hears the reason why. "There be gold in them thar mountains!" Ah yes, to the depths Man would fanthom for the pursuit of wealth.

And so, in no time at all our merry duo hastily prepare for their sojourn to the Moon. Unlike the book, where Bedford and Cavor remain the only passengers on this journey, the film added a female character - Bedford's fiancee, Katherine ( Martha Hyer ) known simply as "Kate" to tag along with the boys on their ride through space. A pretty addition she is too.

" Stop calling me Mrs. Bedford. We are not married! " ....." Not married?!... Madam ....kindly leave the room! "

Once on the moon we see the handiwork of model-maker extrodinaire Ray Harryhausen with magnificent space sequences, a gigantic brained Grand Lunar ( seated on a throne behind a veiled screen, much like the Wizard of Oz ), a caterpillar-like mooncalf, and a number of little Selenites....which are actually children in suits, so maybe that doesn't count as Harryhausen handiwork.

"First Men in the Moon" has always been my favorite of all of the Charles Schneer/Ray Harryhausen pictures because of the mood it evokes. There is a beautiful Victorian flavour throughout the film and the pre-moon scenes are my especially favorites ( oddly enough, these are the ones that have no special effects at all and make up about 45 minutes of the picture ).

" It's....simply.....imperial "

Laurie Johnson, one of England's most renowned television and film composers at the time, wrote a haunting and atmospheric theme to "First Men in the Moon" as well as a lovely romantic ballad that can be heard softly in the background whilst our characters are at Cherry Cottage and during the greenhouse sequences. The complete soundtrack to the film has been released on audio cd but unfortunately, is quite a rare album to find today.

Peter Finch happened to stop by the set one day to visit his good friend, Lionel Jeffries, and found himself being used for a guest spot as the baliff who serves Kate her legal summons. Aside from his appearence there are not too many well-known character actors with the exception of Milles Malleson who does one of his characterisitc dithery/absent-minded impersonations as the church registar.

" Poor Cavor...he always did have that nasty cold "

"First Men in the Moon" takes us on a wonderful light-hearted sojourn to a Victorian era, a period when the spirit of exploration was at its peak and there were new and exciting worlds just waiting to be explored....and conquered. Some say this film drags on until the scenes when they land on the moon and see the "creatures" but I disagree. But then, that may be because I have never been much of a sci-fi film fan.

Anyway, overall the film is a delight to watch and the recent DVD release has just astounding sound and remarkable color restoration. Details you never thought to notice stand out bright and bold. It is a relaxing movie and what I like best of all about it is the carefree way our heroes go about on their expedition to the moon. They pack a few cans of sardines, a couple of chickens and are off on their way in no time at all. Where modern scientists take months and months of planning and preperation for a routine space flight, Bedford and Cavor simply put on their jackets, hop in their sphere....and enjoy the ride! What comes, comes.

Quite right.....the only way to travel.

Two chumps having a jolly good time on the Moon



Unconquered Eldorados

Workman of God! oh, lose not heart,

But learn what God is like;

And in the darkest battle-field

Thous shalt know where to strike.
                     
                                      F.W Faber

Here on earth we are as soldiers, fighting in a foreign land, that understand not the plan of the campaign, and have no need to understand it; seeing well what is at our hand to be done. Let us do it like soldiers, with submission, with courage, with a heroic joy. Behind us, behind each one of us, lie six thousand years of human effort, human conquest : before us is the boundless Time with its as yet uncreated and unconquered continents and El Dorados, which we - even we - have to conquer to create; and from the bosom of Eternity there shine for us celestial guiding stars. 

                      -  Thomas Carlyle ( 1795-1880 )

A Royal Recommendation

Since Winter is such a cold season and one ideal for sitting by the fire and enjoying a good book, I'll give me readers a good book to sit by the fire with..... The Royal Scrapbook complied by the renowned Robert Opie.  

 

Robert Opie started collecting British memorabilia in 1963 and when his collection grew too large to house, he opened a museum. Today The Robert Opie Collection contains over 500,000 items dating between 1870 and 1970 which tell the tale of Britain's consumer society. These objects include everything and anything pertaining to brand images and retailing paraphanelia......bottles, tins, labels, signs, games, books, etc.

All the BEST of these nick-nacks were photographed by the author and gathered together in nine lovely large-size picture books....organized like a scrapbook. Hence, they are known as the Scrapbook series. Oh, and what a delight they are to look at!

There are so much to see on each page you can look at these books again and again and still notice something new. Below is an example from a page dedicated to the Royal family on tabloids. Other books in this series includes The Edwardian Scrapbook, The Victorian Scrapbook, The 1910s Scrapbooks, The Great War Scrapbook and The 1930s Scrapbook.

For more information about the Robert Opie Collection and these books visit the online shop at http://www.robertopiecollection.com/

Millionaire's Row During It's Golden Age

During the mid-1800s Cleveland was just a small lake-side city with a population of 20,000. The Ohio canal gave it it's industrial start by being a means to deliver raw materials into the city.... materials which were processed and refined in the big city.

One day two Clevelanders - Dr. J Lang Cassels, a chemist, and Ohio's geologist Charles Whittlesey, explored the wilds around Upper Michigan and came back with samples and facts and dream inspiring talk. The land was rich with iron ore. Cleveland's enterprise nerve twitched and men with money and courage pitched into what was to be the city's greatest industry - Iron and Steel.

The industrial revolution of the 1860s and Civil War demanded torrents of iron, and Cleveland delivered. Mammoth ore carrying ships were emblazened with the names of their founders, all of them industrial millionaires; steel mills and refineries were cropping up all over the city and steel rails for steam-puffing iron mistresses were being made to build tracks for the goods that would soon be coming in.

John D. Rockefeller and family in Cleveland

Cleveland was becoming a young financial Hercules. A produce merchant named John D. Rockefeller came to Cleveland and founded his fortune in oil refineries; inventor Charles Brush was supplying the streets with electric light and the very first electric streetcar; Jeptha H. Wade created the Western Union Telegraph Company to help people communicate faster; dry goods clerk Henry Sherwin and EP Williams were building grinders and painting the town; Alexander Winston was selling automobiles faster than hotcakes...and what did all these people have in common? They were entrepenuers and soon-to-be MILLIONAIRES....millionaires who needed big beautiful mansions to live in.

Entrance to Sylvester Everett's Mansion

Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, otherwise known as Millionaire's Row, became the residential street of some of the most influential families in American history and their lavish estates.

Samuel Andrews Estate

During the mid-1800s several hundred mansions were built between East 20th and East 40th streets.These huge estates had broad sweeping lawns, ornate architecture and wondrous landscapes. Philanthropists and industrial tycoons like Rockefeller, Mather, Wade, Severence, Gund, and Stone and political figures such as John Hay, Tom Johnson and Leonard Hanna all made Euclid Avenue their home and their playground.

Sam Williamson, a millionaire from the tannery business, started the trend in mansion building by erecting a new home at Euclid Avenue and Public Square in 1810. Truman Hardy, Cleveland's successful banker, continued the movement by building in th 1840s, the finest residence in Cleveland near East 19th street. From then on Euclid was considered the "in" place to live. To live in the Millionaire's Row was to be a member of an exclusive private club, and between 1875 and 1900 it was known as " the most beautiful street in America". Mark Twain went so far as to say " it is one of the grandest streets in the entire world."

Fashionable Victorian homes with architectural bric-a-brac, gables, towers, and tall windows were set back from the side walk in a suburbanized parklike setting. The street was lined with arching elm trees which the merchant princes of these fine residenaces kept and added landscaping to their huge grounds giving the area the majesty of a small town street while retaining a country-like atmosphere.

Amasa Stone, John D Rockefeller, and Sylvester Everett

Millionaire's Row was not only famed for its beautiful mansiones but for its famosu sleigh races too. During the cold winters of the 1880s, the rich - bundled in buffalo robes - raced their fastest horses in afternoon contests on the "track" from Case to Erie Street. Up to thirty or forty sleighs would compete against each other with the horses being some of the finest in the world and the carraiges rivalling those of royalty. Cleveland's "first" families were represented and the competition often involved the north side of the Avenue ( those called the "Nabobs" ) against the south side ( known as the Bobs ).

The arrival of the automobile brought the age of grandeur to a close. Industry and commerce pushed its way eastward into the very doorsteps of the rich and powerful, and Cleveland's financial giants quickly moved westward in an exodus, purchasing property and new suburban homes in the countryside or on Franklin Avenue.

By the 1940s, Euclid Avenue had become a chaotic and gloomy street. Majority of the mansions were razed to make way for factories, gas stations and slum housing and today only ten of the original homes exist. These are :

1. Luther Allen House (7609 Euclid Avenue)
2. Morris Bradley Carriage House  (7217 Euclid Avenue)
3. John Henry Devereaux (3226 Euclid Avenue)
4. Francis Drury House (8625 Euclid Avenue)
5. Hall-Sullivan House (7218 Euclid Avenue)
6. Howe Residence (2248 Euclid Avenue)
7. Samuel Mather Residence (2605 Euclid Avenue)
8. Stager-Beckwith House (3813 Euclid Avenue)
9. Lyman Treadway House (8917 Euclid Avenue)
10. H.W. White Residence (8937 Euclid Avenue)

Sylvester Everett's Mansion

These homes were all once stunning monuments to America’s growing prosperity, but now they sit like ancient relics of the past. And only a hint remains of what once was “ the most beautiful street in America.” 

Walt Disney's The Happiest Millionaire

"The Happiest Millionaire" is another one of Disney's fantasmagorical musical extravagances. After having completed "Mary Poppins" in 1965, Walt Disney's enthusiasm for musical films was at an all-time high, and with the recently purchased rights to Cordelia Drexel Biddle's book/play in his hands he couldn't resist turning the story into a musical. And how fortunate that he did! With a 172 minute run-time ( Disney's lengthiest feature film to date ) it allowed for over 80 minutes of musical sequences ( 14 different songs ). Every principle player got to showcase their talent with a song and dance routine - many who never sang before!

The film focuses on the family life of Anthony J. Drexel Biddle ( Fred MacMurray ), one of Philadelphia's most prominent citizens, albeit a bit eccentric... you see, he likes to keep alligators in the house ( the eldest, George, has a habit of escaping ) and he teaches boxing to students through his Biddle Bible Class. Within the walls of his ornate mansion resides a household of non-conformists; a beautiful family united in their belief that one should be true to oneself and not change to satisfy Society's expectations.

Before we meet the family, we are introduced to John Lawless ( Tommy Steele ), a newly arrived Irish immigrant, who obtains the not-so-coveted position of Biddle butler, and he becomes our on-and-off narrator throughout the movie.

After a brief appearence from the two sons ( Paul Peterson and Eddie Hodges ) performing the ' Watch Your Footwork' number, they are sent off the school and we see them no more. But this is where our heroine Cordy comes in ( the lovely Lesley Ann Warren ). She's reached the age of doubting whether being independently-minded is worth the price of being labeled a social outcast, for she's beginning to realize that boys do not like girls who can throw a left-hook. So naturally Cordy is enthralled at the idea of attending the finishing school her strait-laced Aunt Mary ( Gladys Cooper ) suggests she attend. While there she recieves instruction in the art of 'bye-yum pum-pum', that oh-so mysterio-so quality of making yourself alluring to me. But it seems that her first suitor Angie ( John Davidson ) finds her attempt at this laughable. In fact, he likes her just the way she is - different! Now isn't that how it always works out.

Geraldine Page ) expects him to follow in his father's footsteps.

And this is where we come to the basis of our film - to do or not to do. Hold on to your beliefs or follow what others tell you. Stick to your guns or bear the white flag. Yes, this is the underlying theme of the picture. If you are a Disney fan then the outcome is easy to guess, but just so there is an element of surprise left - I won't tell you.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

"The Happiest Millionaire" opened in New York on November 20th, 1956, starring Walter Pidgeon. Kyle Crichton and Cordelia Drexel Biddle's play was based on her novel, 'My Philadelphia Father' published in 1955.

Shortly after the premiere of "Mary Poppins", work began on "The Happiest Millionaire", and many of the Poppins Production team were brought together again to work on this movie, including choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood, cinematographer Edward Colman, songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman, art director Carrol Clark and special effects maestro Peter Ellenshaw.

Having a tremendous budget with which to work with, the team freely used it : over 3,000 complete outfits were made for the production, valued at $250,000, and an entire replica of Biddle's Philadelphia mansion was built, filled with more than $450,000 worth of furnishings and antiques.

When the film was released in theatres, close to 30 minutes of footage was cut; much of which was the overture, entracte, and closing credits. But one notable scene that was cut was the ending - Mr. and Mrs. Biddle ( Greer Garson ) are feeling down in spirit, now that their children are either married or away at school, and they sing the beautiful song, "It Won't Be Long 'Til Christmas". This was a lovely scene,so fortunately it ( and various other segments ) were reinstated in the DVD roadshow version released by Disney Studios.

"The Happiest Millionaire" is a bit long for one sitting, so I'd spread it out over two nights, but it is such as charming movie... colorful sets and costumes, lively tunes, bravado performances by talented actors, and an air of "fortuosity" hovers throughout it all. The movie also holds the significance of being the last live-action film Walt Disney saw completed before his death.

If you have the opportunity to see "The Happiest Millionaire" then by all means do so. Regardless of what some critics say about it, I thoroughly enjoy watching this film... over... and over... and over again... and "What's wrong with that?"