Silent movies - Ella Cinders

Do you know Ella Cinders? Sounds vaguely familiar, you think?
She's a modern Cinderella played by Colleen Moore in the film "Ella Cinders" from 1926.

Let's start with the plot (and spoilers ... there will be a happy ending, would you have guessed?).

Meet the family.
There's Ma Cinders and her two daughters from her first marriage, Prissie and Lotta Pill, and of course orphaned Ella who has to do everything around the house.

The only friend Ella has is the iceman, Waite Lifter.

Luckily, the "Gem Film Company" holds a "Movie Contest Ball" in town whose winner will be sent to Hollywood.
Ella "borrows" the book that Lotta got herself to ensure her win, "The Art of Motion Picture Acting", and starts the recommended eye exercises right away, with great success for the point "cross eyes" (a really funny scene thanks to a split screen).

Ella babysits the neighbors' kids for three evenings to earn the three dollars for the pictures needed for the contest and heads off to the photographer.
She tries out different poses, but the photographer doesn't approve. Then a fly lands on her nose, and despairing of her grimacing to get rid of it, he clicks without looking.

But how can she go to the ball without something to wear? Waite tells her to take a dress from a sister and she does.
Imagine the surprise - and shock for her family - when Ella actually wins with a fly photo.
"Not everyone can make people laugh, Ella. It's a great thing - making people happy."

So Ella goes to Hollywood and takes a cab to the "Gem Studios" where a sign says "Now working in Egypt".
An employee informs her that the contest had been run by sharpers who have been arrested.

She doesn't give up that easily, though, because she doesn't want to go back home and tries hard to get into a studio by sneaking into a group or using a clever disguise (as the tallest woman ever with a doll's head and a large piece of fabric).

Finally, she manages to enter a studio and crash several scenes in process, among them one with a cameo by Harry Langdon who helps her to hide from the janitor by using her as a table.

Running on, she stumbles into a lion cage and runs from him right into a fire scene. Caught between the fire and the lion, she has to confess to the director that she's not the actress for that scence, but he's so excited about her "performance" that he gives her a contract.

Meanwhile, we learn that "Waite Lifter" is really George Waite, "University of Illinois football hero and son of [a] wealthy businessman" (today I learned about "Red" Grange, "The Wheaton Iceman", a famous NFL player who worked summers as an iceman).
Despite his father's warning that Ella is just a gold digger, George travels to Hollywood to look for her. He finds her at the train station dressed up as a cleaning woman for a scene and whisks her off into the train thinking she's still poor. She explains that she stars in a movie and the director (played by the movie's director, by the way) runs after the train, but George yells at him to get a new star because they are getting married.
So Ella changes the fake happiness of Hollywood for the real one with her George ... "And later on, a new iceman came to Hollywood."

This is first and foremost Colleen Moore's movie. She runs, she falls, she laughs and cries, and she's hilarious. It's a cute little movie and who doesn't love a happy ending?
I do have to warn, though, that like so many movies from that time this one also has its cringeworthy moments for a modern audience.

"The Kid" anyone?

Even if you are not into movies that old, you may have heard of Colleen Moore without remembering her name. Or rather, you may have heard of her Fairy Castle like I had.
Moore was fascinated by dolls, doll houses, and miniatures. If you love miniatures and haven't seen pictures of the Fairy Castle yet, check out the story on the page of the Griffin Museum of Science + Industry, or even better, watch a long video on it here. I would love to see it in person.

And now a bit on "Ella Cinders". Huh?
Well, actually it was a syndicated comic strip that inspired the movie and ran from 1925 to 1961. I had never heard about it before and I don't think it ever made it to Germany, at least I couldn't find anything.

The story was changed a little for the movie, for example Ella didn't have a little brother and got a different boyfriend, but you can see that the hair and outfit were quite authentic.
You can find some of the older strips here.

Comic strips, fairy castles, football heroes, silent movies, and fairy tales - this was a lot, wasn't it? I promise next week will be completely different ... oh so different.


Sources and further reading:

1. Kathleen Rooney: On Colleen Moore's "Ella Cinders" (1926). On: National Film Preservation Board - Documents
2. Steve Smith: Ella Cinders Deserves Her Moment. On: Panels & Prose, November 25, 2023

Tell us about ... Superstition

It's the second Thursday of the month again ... time for the Global Writing Challenge.
My posts always go live a little early (to avoid collision with the silent films), so if the posts of the others are not live yet, please check back later.
The current membership consists of Deb’s World, Suzy Turner, Within a World of My Own, Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After, Marsha in the Middle, Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa, and me. It's fun to learn how differently everyone interprets a topic.
You can play along and link up with us (only posts related to the topic, please)!
If that's too short notice for you, maybe next time? Here is the prompt for the coming month.
December - Why do you blog?

Today we are talking about superstition. Who was the fool who chose that?? Oh wait, it was yours truly who quickly felt she had shot herself in the foot with that random choice.
I mean how superstitious can you be if you have surrounded yourself with black cats for decades (that's Esme up there, by the way, and it was just the angle that made her look mad)?
Who knows, though ...

From "Miss Buncle Married" by D. E. Stevenson:
"Neither of them had the slightest idea of the extent to which Trivvie’s life was governed and restricted by “taboos” and strange pagan rites of her own fashioning. She made them herself, of course, but, once they were made, she could not unmake them; they were fixed for ever to be a burden to her back, and a menace to her comfort and convenience. The “taboos” were multiple, and of all kinds. Sometimes they were “lasting,” like the touching of the trees, sometimes they were merely passing superstitions. She would say to Ambrose, “If that blackbird flies away before I count twenty, I shall die in the night.” And, if the blackbird flew away, she would creep to bed in fear and trembling, and find herself alive in the morning with surprise and delight. Ambrose, who was of more stolid make, would pretend to be scornful of these signs and portents, but sometimes — he had to own — they came true. He was always glad when the time passed, and some dire catastrophe, predicted by his sister, had failed to eventuate."

Ok, I wouldn't go so far to say that I have to go to bed trembling if I don't grab the lamp post at a particular corner in town ... simply because I always touch it. Actually I use it to "swing" myself around that corner. Just that one, though, I couldn't be more indifferent to all the others.
It started on a day when I was in a fantastic mood. Maybe I was channeling Gene Kelly.
In my very restricted, non-dancing way of course, also the song in my earbuds was "I Feel Good" and I didn't sing out loud. Oh, and it didn't rain.
Then it just became a habit. Or is it a "strange pagan rite"? 

It's not my only habit. I'm also an obsessive wood knocker to avoid jinxing, and of course I'm one of these "hilarious" people knocking on my own head if there's no wood around. It's a shame if a doctor's office is furnished in metal and plastic.
At least it's absolutely acceptable to knock on wood because people are so used to it. Sometimes they even join in. It can't hurt, can it?

You'll often find as explanation that this goes back to the ancient belief in tree spirits, knocking on wood - the tree in this case - was supposed to appease or call them.
It's kind of interesting we still do it because I'm not quite sure if spirits whose trees have turned into tables, desks or cupboards will be that easy to appease. Maybe they were even forced to move.
I'm even less sure about the spirits in my head ...
It's not difficult, however, to imagine whole generations of tree spirits living in gorgeous trees like these in my old neighborhood.

"Researchers at the University of Chicago and Harvard found that “undoing” actions — gestures that involve repelling something outward, like knocking or throwing — genuinely reduce anxiety about tempting fate." Realistic? Maybe. Much more boring than tree spirits? Absolutely.

I also admit having thrown coins into water before, but that was as a child and I can't remember making actual wishes then. It's not that I have become a miser and won't spare a coin, but I don't know any dedicated wishing wells around and wouldn't just throw coins into "wild" water.
On Instagram I follow several mudlarks, among them those who have a license for the River Thames Foreshore. As you can imagine, the finds are fascinating, votive offerings to the waters included.
Bogs, springs, and lakes were sacred places as well and offerings were not just coins, but also other objects ... and possibly more. You have probably heard of bog bodies who some researchers think were human sacrifices to appease the gods, for example in case of bad harvest.

There are a lot more superstitions (and a lot more sources I looked at, but I added just one compilation below).
Just some of them are the dreaded 13, even worse in connection with a Friday ... spilling salt ... a mirror breaking. Walking under a ladder!
And maybe you have been looking for four-leaf clover to bring you luck.
But do you really believe in these things? Or have those superstitions turned into an automatic ritual that you don't think about anymore instead of making you creep to bed in fear?

Public domain via PxHere

Yeah, I'm really not superstitious.
I don't mind a Friday the 13th, I don't throw spilled salt over my left shoulder, I can't remember ever having broken a mirror, so if it happened, it obviously wasn't a big deal.
I don't walk under a ladder if there's another way that's less of a hazard for both the persons under and on the ladder.
The only four-leaf clovers I ever owned were gifts by a gardener when I bought a plant. Thinking about it, that gardener isn't around anymore, maybe they gave away too much of their four-leaf clover?😜

And don't forget what has been going around as a Groucho Marx quote for a long time (more on that here):
"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."

Here's what the others have to say about superstition. Check it out!

Amy questions if she is a superstitious person and which superstitions, if any, she follows. 

Suzy writes about superstitions, black cats, lucky omens and why we still follow mysterious old beliefs even when we don't believe in them.

Debbie is sharing an Australian take on the old rhyme 'one for sorrow, two for joy'.

Sally discusses the Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit phenomenon and shares some bunny-themed goodness from her closet.

Marsha doesn’t consider herself superstitious, but there are some things that make her think twice!

Leslie shares a few superstitions that have adorned her life.  Hope you will stop by to learn more.


Further reading:

Natasha Sheldon: The Origins of 10 Ancient Superstitions We Still Follow Today. On: History Collection, April 25, 2018

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10 on the 10th - Muppets

I wasn't prepared for today's prompt. Marsha wants us to tell her about our ten favorite Muppets.

Who are the Muppets? I'm using "who" on purpose because of the impact some of them make. No one tell me that Kermit is not real.
Did you know that there is a distinction between the Muppets and the Sesame Street Muppets?
The first Muppets were created in 1955 (which quite surprised me, I don't think the show that introduced them made it to Germany) and the Sesame Street Muppets were added in 1969 when that show started. The Muppet Show, however, ran from 1976 to 1981 - thanks to a British TV channel!

The original Kermit from ca. 1955,
public domain via Wikipedia

I will pick my favorites from both, randomly as usual as I can only name one all time favorite and you probably know who that is.

1. Kermit.
Now didn't that come as a surprise? 😄
I have always loved Kermit.
 

Public domain via Wikipedia

2. Animal.
In 2010, I already complained about the Muppet mugs that my sisters and I got ... well, it must have been almost 50 years ago.
There were three of them and as the youngest of three sisters I got to choose last. Of three mugs. Right, I didn't have a choice, so I got Miss Piggy who won't be in this list as she's too overbearing for my taste (I still have the mug, though).
The other two got Kermit and Animal, and yes, I was jealous.

Kermit just isn't shown here because there are already
pictures of him above.

3. Count von Count - ah ah ah!
I'm not a numbers person, but who could resist him? In German, his name is Graf Zahl (Count Number), by the way.

Count von Count in an exhibition at the LBJ Presidential Library,
public domain via Flickr

4. Statler and Waldorf.
I think I'm sometimes a female version of those two. Do you think they take applications to turn the duo into a trio?

The Muppets, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

5. The Swedish Chef (who's actually Danish in the German translation because the voice actor was familiar with the Danish accent in German and who greets the audience with his song "Smørrebrød, Smørrebrød, røm, pøm, pøm, pøm").
I learned cooking from him ... now where did my spoons go ... 😜

The Muppets, CC BY 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons

6. Cookie Monster
My soulmate. In fact, I just had a cookie while writing this, even if Cookie Monster also teaches healthy eating habits nowadays.

Cookie Monster during a live
show 2011, United States
Navy, Public domain 
via Wikimedia Commons

7. Rizzo the Rat
You remember him together with Gonzo in "The Muppet Christmas Carol"? I think they make a great team. Add some chickens and hilarity ensues.

8. Beaker
My heart was always bleeding for him because he kept ending up in all those lab accidents!

The Muppets, CC BY 3.0
 via Wikimedia Commons

9. Janice from the band "Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem"
We already had their drummer Animal up there. Janice is the lead guitarist and background singer. I love how her hair dances when she plays.
 

10. Ernie and Bert. They are such good friends. I often feel more like Bert, though. Maybe I need an Ernie of my own.

Pictures of Ernie and Bert by thotfulspot,
 CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

There you have it, my ten favorite Muppets (actually more if you count them individually ... maybe Count von Count can help you with that!).
I'm a little surprised that I managed doing it!
What would your choices have been?

From my children's book cabinet - Die Abenteuer des starken Wanja

This time I chose another old favorite of mine and with old I mean 1968.
Let's talk about "Die Abenteuer des starken Wanja" by Otfried Preußler (translated into English (as "The Adventures of Strong Vanya" which I unfortunately couldn't find to read for comparing) and 15 other languages). You may remember Preußler as the author of "Krabat" which I wrote about here.
This is also a story based on fairy and folk tales.
I'll use the names from the German original as I only know how Wanja was transcribed in the English translation. Oh, and the pictures were taken at night in the light of my reading lamp. Sorry.

Wanja is the youngest son of farmer Wassili Grigorewitsch. His older sons Sascha and Grischa are hard-working young men, but the 17 year old Wanja prefers sleeping, eating, and daydreaming.

One day, Aunt Akulina asks him to go into the woods and cut her some brushwood for a new broom. Wanja first eats the lunch she has given him and then wants to take a nap when he's interrupted by a blind old pilgrim.
The pilgrim tells him that he's destined to become Tsar, and in order to gain the strength needed for the long travel to the White Mountains, he will need to take seven sheepskins and seven sacks of sunflower seeds and stay on the stove in silence (not that many alliterations in the original 😉) until he's strong enough to lift the roof with his bare hands.

You can imagine that Wanja's family, and in fact the whole village, is slightly irritated by that. The aunt thinks he's bewitched, but Sascha and Grischa think he's simply lazy and let the villagers' mockery get to them until they decide to burn the roof over Wanja's head.

This is prevented by the blind pilgrim, and after seven years Wanja can finally comes down from the stove and sets out for the White Mountains, guided by the three kopeck coin his mother once gave him.
On the way, Wanja helps a lot of people thanks to his strength, ploughing for them, digging wells, towing a barge all by himself, and more, but he also has one adventure after the other.

He defeats the evil Och, a disgusting green monster who haunts the villages once a year and destroys one of them by blowing it to shreds. This gains him the Iron Lance hidden in the Och's pine tree.
He helps the knight Wolok against the Black Batur's gang. Wolok invites him to join the knights at Kiev, but the kopeck coin guides Wanja to a different path.
The witch Baba-Jaga, who's living in the moor and rides on an oven that has four chicken legs, has stolen all the horses from the villages around her. Wanja fights her and wins the black horse Waron.
Wanja's last adventure is to set the prisoners of the stony knight Foma Drachensohn free. Thanks to his Iron Lance, he defeats Foma and demands the armor of Iwan Wassiljewitsch (which is his full name, by the way).

Baba Yaga as you may know her is of course a
very familiar figure in Slavic fairy and folk tales.

Finally the White Mountains are behind him and Wanja is nearing the Tsar's city. What he doesn't know is that time is running out. If he doesn't reach the old Tsar within seven years and seven times seven weeks after the task of bringing the armor to him has been set, the Tsar's daughter Wassilissa will have to marry the evil Grand Duke because he's the noblest man in the city.

As a child, I loved this illustration so much that I
kept trying to copy it ... I was only good at
doing the hair around the face, though. 

Wanja stops at an inn. The innkeeper is one of the Grand Duke's many spies, though, and is told to poison him. Luckily, Wanja has made the acquaintance of Mischa, a soldier who can also do magic. With his help, he doesn't only make it to the castle, but also escapes the attack of the Siberian bears the Grand Duke tries to sic on him before being attacked himself.

When Wanja enters the Tsar's room, he's surprised to see that the sick old man is actually the blind pilgrim he has met years before.
The Tsar says he can marry Wassilissa now if he wants, but Wanja says that Wassilissa must want him as well. He gives her the kopeck coin from his mother and she accepts saying she will wear it on her neck forever.

The book may not be a "regular" fairy tale, but it has quite a few elements of fairy or folk tales.
This begins with the three brothers who are part of several fairy tales from different countries. Usually the older ones are too sure of themselves and then give up quickly while the youngest is a bit stupid, naive or simply modest, but wins the "prize" - whatever it is - in the end even if the older brothers get jealous and try to prevent it.
Maybe you think that in this case it's understandable that Sascha und Grischa aren't happy about Wanja not pulling his weight on the family farm. If you think about it, though, Wanja's mission isn't that much fun, either.
To me as a child, it always sounded very boring having to spend all those years on the oven, eat nothing but sunflower seeds, have nothing to drink, and annoying to be mocked by the villagers and threatened by your own brothers without even being allowed to speak up!
It needs quite a lot of patience and resilience, well, and of course trust and the faith that everything is going to be alright if you are ready to alienate your family and community and risk your life just because a blind stranger has said that you are meant for greater things.
That's how fairy tales work.

Then there are of course the adventures.
Our hero has a pure and kind heart and helps others on his way for which they help him, for example by telling him about the Iron Lance, Waron, and the armor all of which he needs to tackle the last great obstacle.
Baba-Jaga and Foma try to fool him, Waron looks like an old nag and the armor is rusty. When Wanja chooses them over the stunning horses and the precious metal armors, anyway, they change to their real form which means the final defeat for his opponents.
To be honest, the only thing I used to wonder about is the question if Wanja went back home - after all he promised Akulina a golden samovar with precious stones - or if he sent a messenger to invite his family to live with him which would have been a nice gesture.

Although both books are inspired by folk tales, "Krabat" is clearly darker and deeper than "Wanja", but I love them both.

The same year "Wanja" was published, it was also made into a puppet show for TV by famous puppeteer Albrecht Roser, by the way. I have to admit, however, that the three parter was a little boring to me, not the puppeteering itself (I loved the horses), but the voices didn't do it for me.

That's it from Wanja and me.
I hope you will join me again for the next visit to my children's book cabinet!

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 181

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!
My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

You never need to fear to get attacked by sharks in your home if you have the Great Shark Hunter around who takes care of them for you.

Unless he fraternizes and Bruce becomes his best friend, that is ... (thank you to my family member for allowing me to use these pictures of their cutie!)

***

And now my contribution to Anne's and Olivia's "Friday Book Snippets" where you share a quote - a sentence or short paragraph - from the beginning of a book you read at the moment and one from page 56 (or another).

Today, mine are from "The Collected Tales of Nurse Matilda" by Christianna Brand which includes the three books "Nurse Matilda" (from which today's snippets are), "Nurse Matilda Goes to Town", and "Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital".
The books which were published between 1964 and 1974 are based on stories Brand and her cousin Edward Ardizzone were told by their great-grandfather. They inspired the Nanny McPhee movies with Emma Thompson.
I chose the book for Ardizzone's illustrations (see my post about Eleanor Estes's book "The Witch Family") after seeing them in the gallery on the "Edward Ardizzone Archive".

Beginning:
"Once upon a time there was a huge family of children; and they were terribly, terribly naughty.
In those days, mothers and fathers used to have much larger families than they do now; and these large families often were naughty. The mothers and fathers had to have all sorts of nurses and nannies and governesses (who were often French or German) to look after all their naughty children: and usually one poor, skinny little nursery-maid to wait on all the nurses and governesses and nannies ..."

Page 56:
"In those days, when there were such big families, they needed lots of people to look after them, and the houses were divided into two parts: very often by a door covered with baize - green or red - and studded with big, round brass nails."

Being from a large family myself (completely without a nanny or governess 😉), I wonder what these kids will be up to.

***

Back to the Weekend Traffic Jam.
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week our spotlight is on Grace Filled Moments.

Paula from Grace Filled Moments says: "Hey everyone, I’m just your ordinary Christian woman trying to navigate the beautiful chaos of everyday life. Just traversing through the wilderness of the everyday mess— and finding beauty from ashes.
I’m a retired social worker by trade (BSW, if you’re wondering!). I live in Western Pennsylvania with my furry best friend, Little Girl, a spoiled rotten beagle who brings endless amusement to my days. My two daughters are all grown up and on their own.
Life for me comes with a side of invisible chronic illness. Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, “complicated” migraines that seem to take on a life of their own, trigeminal neuralgia (don’t even get me started!), and anxiety for good measure.
But that’s just part of my story! And it’s a story I share because I know others are facing similar challenges. Those “you too?!” moments? Yeah, we’ve all been there. I love encouraging others battling invisible illnesses – to let them know they’re not alone in this messy journey."

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up (English/Dutch).

Kathrine is mad for plaid with a new shacket.

Mireille shows beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the Keys.

Nicole asks how many winter coats you need.

Jeanie shares pictures of the Skeleton Walk.


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Silent movies - Falling Leaves

I had planned to look for some autumnal silent movies, but only found this one to have a vague connection to the season.
Actually I had heard about this film before because it's one from the Solax Studios directed by Alice Guy-Blaché - "Falling Leaves" from 1912 (original title: Les Feuilles chéant).

This is the plot (with spoilers).

First, we meet bacteriologist Dr. Earl Hadley who "exhibits the result of his wonderful cure for consumption" by showing off patients he has cured.

Then we're with the Thompsons. Winifred, the older daughter, is sick with consumption. When she collapses, the doctor is called in and the news are not good.
He lets the parents know that "when the last leaf falls, she will have passed away".

Little Trixie is very worried and tries to think of a way to help her sister. Suddenly she has an idea.

She takes a ball of string, goes outside in the garden, and starts tying the fallen leaves back up to the branches because, if the leaves don't fall, Winifred will get well again, right?
Just at that moment, Dr. Hadley walks by and asks her what she's doing. She explains and he tells the family that he can help with his "wonderful serum" which he happens to have on him.

Three months later, Winifred is so much better that she eats with appetite again which makes all of them happy, also Dr. Hadley who comes by to check on her.
Trixie happily pulls their parents out of the room.
As the "Moving Picture News" put it "The doctor restores her lungs, but takes her heart".

The movie is said to be inspired by O. Henry's short story "The Last Leaf", but if it was, only that leaf stayed and the fact that a young girl is sick, those are the only similarities. Maybe only the title was the inspiration?
The young artist in the story has pneumonia and is convinced that she'll die when the last leaf falls, but her old neighbor paints a leaf on the window to give her hope.

It's a cute film (even if we might not be used to the actors delivering their speeches to the audience a lot, especially Trixie can't seem to resist having a look).
Who wouldn't be touched by little Trixie and her idea? Well, and the happy ending of course.
Okay, the idea of letting a stranger coming in from the street injecting your child may seem a little suspicious to us, but we believe a lot of things in movies, so why not that?
Although it looks as if Trixie isn't a fan of needles ...

Tuberculosis was a very real problem at the time (it'll come up again in a post later this year). I'm sure people would have wished for such a miracle serum.
How lucky Winifred was to have her little sister, too.
I'd recommend watching the film even just for "The Solax Kid".

I have written about Alice Guy-Blaché before. She's one of the big film pioneers (female and male) and was almost forgotten, but she's worth knowing about, really.