The Viewer's Bounty

I read the new Sirenia Digest to-day which contains the new Caitlin R. Kiernan story "The Beholder's Share". I think it's one of the best stories ever to have appeared in the Digest. It's a first person narrative describing a pair of lovers' encounter with a sinister stack of antique books. As someone who collects antique books myself, I could really dig it. It contains references to H.P. Lovecraft's "Haunter of the Dark" though I also found myself thinking of "The Uncommon Prayer Book", an MR James story I read recently. "The Beholder's Share" does a great job of conveying an impression of distorted reality and memory.

Lately I've had a frustrating tendency to fall asleep during movies, even movies I'm enjoying. I knew it was going to happen last night so I deliberately chose a movie to fall asleep to, 1953's Angel Face. It's nice just being in the presence of Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons as they perform a well written scene together. I'd forgotten Herbert Marshall has a supporting role in the film. I'd just recently watched him in Four Frightened People from almost twenty years earlier. Few actors gracefully transition from leading roles to supporting roles. Edward G. Robinson had to be coaxed into accepting the supporting role in Double Indemnity and it turned out to be possibly the best role of his career, certainly the one that's most remembered to-day. It still amazes me that Marshall had such a long acting career with a concealed false leg.