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#she said that Pinocchio sounded like an asshole and I’m just like YES! HE IS LITTLE BOY IS GOING TO BE AN ASSHOLE
kicksnscribs · 1 year
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Tried to get my mom interested in watching GDTs Pinocchio (she refuses bc she thinks its “creepy”) and when I tried to explain the plot to it and what happens in the movie all I got out of the deal was “maybe you should lay off of that sort of thing” and it’s taken me a full day to figure out why that fucking bothered me so much
Like these ppl watch movies and shows that have high levels of gore, violence, murder and whatnot without even batting an eye but heaven forbid they come face to face with a literal childrens movie whose main themes involve (among other things) life and the inevitability of death and how each of us should cherish that singular life that we have been given and to to do good whenever we can despite the pressures around us and to enjoy the things that life has to offer, but nooooooo suddenly that’s “too much?”
I AM CONFUSION???
.
.
.
((Bonus: I found out the reason why she never let me finish the Golden Compass:
Me: why did you never let me read that crap?
Her: oh It was because they kill God in it. *this was said in a hushed whisper btw as though my delicate constitution would suddenly crumble away from the mere thought.*
Me:*stares blankly in JRPGS* mom…mom that ship sailed when I was like…ten…I literally haven’t stopped since!
(She was legit shocked when I started telling her about the God of War series lmao) ))
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citrinesparkles · 3 years
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cat.
jason todd, eventually x gender neutral reader. 1,388 words. notes: this is part one of i don't even know how many and i cannot believe how wildly out of hand this got. this was a 500 word idea and it's gonna be at least three parts someone help (thanks to @angelz-dust for being so patient with me and encouraging on this!!! would never have made it out of the drafts without you <3) warnings: danger to kids, mention of a couple arguing, animal illness (spoiler alert: it'll be fine i Promise), a little (lot) different than my usual edit: part two here!
"let me be perfectly clear: if you even think about showing back up here, i will know, and i will make your life a living hell until i finally put you out of your misery. understood?"
"yes! yeah man i get it. understood."
"then i'd get going, if i were you." the man scrambled to his feet and bolted off across the playground, leaving jason to shout after him. "and warn any buddies you might have, too!"
he picked up the discarded knife and pocketed it. he then turned around slowly, hands visibly empty in a careful attempt not to scare the two kids behind him- well, careful not to make it worse, anyway. they, understandably, seemed a little shaken already.
"are you both alright?" he asked softly, slouching just a little to seem as harmless as possible.
probably would have been easier if they hadn't just watched him threaten someone.
the older kid- probably fifteen, if jason had to place a bet- nodded silently before glancing back at the little girl he was still hovering in front of protectively, who was just... staring.
she couldn't have been older than six.
"jazz?" the boy asked, voice tight. "are you hurt?"
he was ignored. "are you superman?"
the question, innocent and earnest and a little timid, made jason laugh. "not quite, kiddo."
she tilted her head like a curious puppy, furrowing her brow. "why are you wearing a jacket?"
jason glanced up at the boy, who seemed comforted by her mini interrogation. good.
talking was a good sign, too, so jason crouched down to meet her at eye level.
"because it gets cold out here!" he said, raising his hands up with a small wiggle of his fingers. "gloves, too."
"well, duh," jazz said with a giggle- a win, jason thought. "no fingerprints."
he nodded. "also helpful."
"and the hat to hide your face!" she said proudly, stepping forward a little to point at his helmet.
"wow, you've got the whole thing figured out, huh?"
"mhm! my friend ricky loves batman and his friends. he talks about batman and nightwing and spoiler and robin and red robin and red hood and batgirl all the time! they hide their faces like you, ricky thinks it's because of bad guys."
"they're kinda cool, huh?"
"nightwing's my favorite," she said firmly, as though it was something she had considered at great length and was fully prepared to defend.
"not red hood?" jason smacked a hand to his chest in mock hurt, shifting back dramatically. "i'm crushed, truly."
"no, ricky says red hood used to be an alien, but then got bored and now he annoys batman for fun instead. that sounds mean."
...well, okay, maybe he did annoy the big guy for fun a little. "that's an interesting theory, all right."
"ricky's got all kinds of theories. he thinks batman's a robot-" jason snorted- "and that nightwing was like pinochle."
"you mean pinocchio," the boy corrected quietly. "pinochle's what gramma plays."
"pinocchio!" she exlaimed, with a "ch" sound in the middle that made jason smile. "a doll that got turned human. that's how he does all the flips and stuff, he's got magic."
"hm, ricky seems like an interesting guy," jason said thoughtfully, making a big show of rubbing the chin of his helmet. "what do y-"
he was cut off by a loud, insistent meow, and jazz gasping even louder before taking off to the bushes.
"w- hey, don't rush off like that!" he said, shooting up off the ground as the boy sighed.
"there's this cat that she's been taking care of," he explained quietly. "the thing's got attitude for days but i think it's sick or something. jasmine's been bringing it little bits of tuna and chicken, but it's not like we can get it to a vet."
jason hummed. "why do you think it's sick?"
"it's thin, with its eyes all watery and sunk."
"might just be malnourished," he muttered.
"she's been trying to find it a home, y'know."
there was a wink-wink-nudge-nudge quality to the kid's voice that did not go unnoticed.
on one hand, it was good to hear something other than fear from him, but on the other... "what part of the tactical armor makes you think i'm an option?"
"the part where you just stuck around to check on us instead of running after that guy."
okay. maybe the quiet thing hadn't been so bad. the cocky 'amateur psychologist' thing was a little grating.
"you the real red hood?" the kid asked suddenly, shaking jason from his internal grumbling.
"what do you think?"
"i think you just saved our lives, and i wanna know who i'm thanking."
jason turned to him with a flourish. "red hood, baby saver extraordinaire. at your service."
"baby- dude, i'm seventeen!"
okay, so he would have lost his bet. "noted. still a baby, trust me."
"what are you under there, twenty something? whatever, grandpa."
jason chuckled, turning back to watch jasmine pet a small cat under one of the yellow lights littering the park. "you did well, looking out for her with that guy. you got a name?"
he scoffed. "would've been better if i'd kicked him between the legs right when he opened his mouth, instead of letting him get started on the whole 'what're you kids doing out so late?' bit," he muttered darkly, pausing for a moment before answering. "my name's jordan."
"well, jordan, what are you guys doing out so late?"
"mom works nights, and the neighbors were fighting. it was loud enough to wake jazz up, and it wasn't the kind of thing she needed to hear. i figured a trip to see her cat would be less awful than hearing them call each other things i wouldn't even call my friends." the breeze picked up, rustling the trees and catching on jason's jacket. "and then the asshole with the knife decided to make a bad night worse."
"is jazz your sister?"
"yeah, she's a good kid," jordan said, fond and warm. "sorry about the whole ricky thing, though. he's obsessed with those vigilante conspiracy videos and tells her all about them at school."
"no, no, it's fine. i can't wait to tell wing about his new origin story, he'll love that."
jasmine suddenly came bounding back towards them, grabbing their hands and yanking them to follow her. "c'mon, you need to meet cat!"
"you call it cat?"
jordan bristled subtly. "is there a problem with that, red?"
"no, no, it's an appropriate name. just making sure." jason waved his spare hand at his head. "helmet makes me hear things sometimes."
jordan opened his mouth, but his sister plowed right over whatever he was going to say, pulling on jason's hand again. "cat, meet... what's your name?"
"red hood."
"you can't be red hood!" she whirled around, indignantly putting her hands on her hips. "there's already a red hood in gotham. besides, you're not even wearing a hood, so it doesn't fit anyway."
jason turned his head to jordan, who was smiling- a good sign, but probably a bad omen for whatever he was about to say. "she's right, man. it's not a hood."
"tough crowd," jason muttered. "uh... then you can call me, uh-"
"bucket!" jasmine suggested happily, tapping his helmet. "because this looks like a bucket."
if there was one thing vigilantism had taught him, it was that sometimes you actually do need to pick your battles. this...
this was not worth fighting.
"sure, fine, whatever. hi, cat, i'm red bucket." he turned away from the kids- both of whom looked entirely too happy about the whole 'bucket' thing, he thought- and crouched down to finally look at the cat.
it did look a little sick, actually.
it was gray, and thin, and-
and now it was headbutting his knee like it was trying to push him over.
"cat likes you!" jazz cheered.
"sure does," jordan said pointedly. "isn't that interesting?"
jason opened his mouth, but his snarky comment died in his throat when the cat settled down right in front of him and blinked slowly up at him with a sweet tilt to its head.
...shit.
just- shit.
he sighed, standing up and looking back to jordan and his stupid, entirely-too-pleased-with-himself grin. "so, jazz," jason grumbled reluctantly, "where does cat live?"
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Rewatching “Fright Night” (the 1985 version)
No I ain’t watching the remake with David Tennant.  ‘Cause I said so.
*does Borat impression while loading the movie on Amazon Prime*
“Sit here beside me on the veranda.”  Is this the... TV show scene?  The show with Roddy McDowall?
SCARE CHOOORD!
“So... luminescent.”  *laughs*
Those were some... horrible kissing noises
I like the out of context implication that as soon as the woman asks the dude to lay on her chest, Peter Vincent’s like “NONE IN THIS HOUSE!”
“IF SHE BREATHES...”
What idiot puts their smelly ass soccer cleats on their headboard?
“We’ve been going together almost a year, and all I ever hear is ‘Charley, stop it.’“  Well then maybe that’s a you problem
Also what the hell is that map thing next to Amy?
“Let’s get into bed.”  *bug eyes*
Amy, that is not the look of someone who is ready to have sex.
“It says right here that the divorce rate is 76% higher among couples who don’t argue before marriage.”  Shut up, Mom.
“Thank you [Amy] for helping Charley with his homework.”  ...I was gonna make a sex joke here but nah.
Oh I hate Charley’s friend in his movie.
Charley’s car, while super nice, looks like a sunburnt cow
“My luck.  He’s [the neighbor] probably gay.”  AAAAAHHH THEY EVEN SAID IT!
I really Charley to slap Teach [Ed] at some point but I know it’s never gonna happen.
For a moment, I thought that the carpenter dude partner was gonna be like Kenny from “The War at Home” but nah.  He probably just uses his teeth a lot.
*silently jamming to the background synth music*
*Charley spots a woman removes her bra in the window*  What was this rated again?
AN:  It’s rated R
*yells when Jerry looks over to see Charley through the window*
*Shot of Jerry’s hand pulling down the window blind*  That... is a lady hand.
AN:  They were actually extensions that Chris wore and he helped apply them himself so that he could just rip them off after a day of shooting
*Charley’s mom ruins Charley’s cover*  DAMN IT MOM
This movie is basically “Who Cried Wolf” but with vampires?
“I’m his roommate Billy Cole.”  Can you believe just that the fact that this movie was made in the mid 80s when the AIDS crisis in the US was getting ready to happen and director Tom Holland and the screenwriter went “YES they’re gonna be GAY and THAT’S FINAL”
“You actually saw the body, Charley?”  Uh doesn’t that tone raise any suspicion from the detective STANDING NEXT TO HIM?
*snorts in hilarity when Billy jokingly does the sign of the cross*
Charley, I would not trust anything Teach tries to tell you.
AND OF COURSE CHARLEY’S MOM INVITED JERRY OVER
OMINOUS SYNTH CHORD
My God, Chris Sarandon...
What’s with the celery?
Charley’s mom is the most oblivious character in this whole movie, I swear
FISH EYE LENS
I forget, do we ever see Jerry in vampire bat form or do we just see him as Chris Sarandon with fangs the entire movie?
Why yes, Charley, use your tiny crucifix.
Doesn’t the whole “enter with permission” count with bedrooms too or just the house in general?  If it counted with bedrooms, couldn’t Charley just put up a sign on his door that said “NO ADMISSION WITHOUT PERMISSION” and that would keep Jerry out?
Jerry is the most casual vampire I’ve seen so far.  Someone would just throw a chair at him and he’ll just No-Sell it like “Listen... I was just saying...”
There’s got to be a logical way to explain this Christmas thing.
We just need a vampire that’s like Catherine O’Hara from “Schitt’s Creek”
I love how Charley’s like 80% out the window and yet he can still reach for an entire mug of pencils
NO WAIT WE SEE HIS [Jerry’s] VAMPIRE FACE NEVERMIND
Valium?!?
Christopher Lee!
THAT FRAMING [of Billy kneeling directly in front of Jerry’s legs] ISN’T OBVIOUS AT ALL TOM HOLLAND
The logic for this movie is something else.  Charley sees someone on TV perform a vampire killing ON A TV SHOW and thinks “YES I’m going to ask him to help me with this vampire situation!” 
This is like asking Drew Carey if he can assist in a vampire hunting
*imitates Peter Vincent shooing Charley away*
*snorts at Teach and Amy walking in on Charley setting holy stuff ALL OVER HIS HOUSE*
Also I absolutely forgot about the weird side plot with Amy being an incarnation of a past love.  What is it with this and Bram Stoker’s Dracula going this route?
Man, Roddy McDowall is just a masterclass in classical acting.  You can tell the different style between him and the other actors.
There’s a bust of Klaus Kinski’s Nosferatu in the glass box!
AN:  *in best Janet from ‘The Good Place’ impression*  Fun fact, Klaus Kinski was actually an asshole
I like the red and black plaid night coat
God, all those clocks going off at once reminds me of the scene in Pinocchio.  That would give me so much anxiety in real life.
WHO TOSSED JERRY THE APPLE?!?
OH AND THEY [Jerry and Billy] WALK OFF TOGETHER OF COURSE
*imitates Peter Vincent saying “Good evening good evening”*
*going through AO3′s Fright Night 1985 tag as Peter explains what he’s doing*  Wow there’s four pages.  I might have to bookmark some of these.
Ohhhh kay, nevermind on half of these.  Not into that.  Nope nope nope.
I forget, is Billy also a vampire?  Or is he like some ghoul?  Werewolf?
...Interspecies romance?
For a fact, I know that if CinemaSins covers this movie, they would award Jerry the “eating an apple because he’s an asshole” sin and I would laugh
Oh he’s [Jerry] gonna go for the hand kiss, isn’t he? 
OH GOD DAMMIT
*has to still register it*
Wait, did Jerry hold the bottle up in front of the fire in case there was actually holy water?  Would heating it up counteract the holy water inside?
WAIT DOESN’T PETER CATCH JERRY’S LACK OF REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR AS THEY LEAVE?
How did they do that?  Did they just... comp Chris Sarandon out or did they have him tuck out of frame but still say his lines?
AN:  Tom Holland originally goofed up the shot I guess but they ran with it
JERRY IS BI HEADCANON CONFIRMED
WAIT HE FOUND THE MIRROR SHARDS
The overhead tracking shot following Ed in the alleyway is actually pretty good.  And the way it slides to a normal shot is great.
Oh they do the creepy Dracula fog!
Wait, this movie came out the same year as Nightmare on Elm Street 2.  Dang.
And that movie also had a weird homoerotic tone to it.
You know what, the way Jerry offers Ed salvation only to attack him was actually pretty solid.  Just good acting from both of them.  I was sold.
WAIT IT’S THE CLUB SCENE!
*Peter presses a cross to Ed’s forehead*  Great prosthetic too, holy crap!
*jams out to the song playing at the club*
Why do Jerry’s dance clothes look like either my pajamas or really lame exercise clothes?
God, it’s [Jerry pacing back and forth watching Amy] like a cat stalking a bird holy crap
NOOOO I DON’T NEED TO WATCH THIS SHE’S LIKE SIXTEEEEENNNN
*jaw drops when Jerry runs his hand up Amy’s leg*  NOOOOOO
Not gonna lie, this song almost sounded like a remix of the Nightmare on Elm Street theme
NOOOOOOOO STOOOOOPPPP CEASE DESIST
Amy’s hair just gets wilder and wilder during this dance sequence
STOOOOOOPPPP
Quick, Charley, start a fight!  Just... punch someone!  Commotion!
*just yells when Jerry steals a kiss from Amy*
*Amy wakes up in a white dress in Jerry’s house*  NOPE
God and he [Jerry] took off his shirt too just *hides face in hands*
*covers mouth with hand in attempt not to say anything*
*Jerry’s dragging finger scrapes off wood on the banister*  Oh that’s just mean
*Jerry drapes his arms over the back of Billy’s shoulders*  HMM
They would be that duo who would pick up a phone and take turns to go “...surprise, Sidney...”
*A wolf walks out of Mrs. Brewster’s room*  WHAAAAATTT?!?
Dang they really just tossed a plushie wolf off the stairs
WAIT the guy that did the VFX for this movie also did “Ghostbusters” if I remember correctly
AN:  Yes
They are just... really dragging out Ed’s death scene
That kinda exasperated look Peter gives the smoking house is great
Wait is Billy a vampire too?  Zombie?  What is he?
I really just want Charley to reach out and just slightly poke dying Billy in the chest so that he crumbles backwards.  That would have been hilarious.
How long is Amy’s hair?
HE [Jerry] DOES TURN INTO A BAT!
Real plot twist would be that the bat bite also starts turning Charley into a vampire so Peter would have to kill three birds with one stone (heal Charley and Amy and kill Jerry)
Boss move:  Peter closing the coffin in front of Jerry
And it ends with the same shot as the opening!
“Oh, you’re so cool, Brewster.”  So is Ed alive?
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365days365movies · 3 years
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February 23, 2021: His Girl Friday (1940) (Part 1)
Oh, we’re going BACK for this one!
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Yeah, this is smack dab in the Golden Age of Cinema! Post-depression, the cinematic culture boomed like CRAZY. Obviously, this age had started before this point, but there was no stopping Hollywood here. I mean, in 1940 alone, Disney came out with Pinocchio AND Fantasia, films like The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, and Rebecca came out, and some of those were prefaced by short cartoons featuring a brand new certain someone.
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Oh, also, there was some war of the world 2 thing going on overseas, I dunno. But anyway! Another well-known film that came out that year was The Philadelphia Story, a George Cukor-directed film starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, and one of a subgenre of comedies called the screwball comedy.
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Arguably starting with the 1934 film It Happened One Night, these are romantic comedies that usually feature a self-confident and stubborn female protagonist inevitably falling in love with the male protagonist, who’s probably initially mismatched with her, personality-wise. You should also throw some slapstick comedy, disguises (cross-dressing’s a feature of a lot of these, weirdly), and class struggle. Yeah, also apparently a trend of these films, that were CRAZY popular from 1934 through the ‘40s.
And in case you’re thinking, “That plot structure sounds familiar, where have I heard that before?”, well, I just watched a later-era screwball comedy, Pillow Talk.
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But today, the screwball comedy’s mostly disappeared. Some tropes survive, but the reason for the genre’s extinction is simply because of lack of demand. Part of that is because the genre emerged due to questions of class struggle post-Great Depression. Yeah, seriously, the Great Depression is involved in this shit! Obviously, though, that’s not currently as much of a stressor now, so this genre is dead save for some conventions.
But OK, screwball comedy. Why not look at older members of the genre, rather than this film from smack dab in the middle of it? Well, a few reasons. One, this film stars leading man Cary Grant in his prime. And two, because this film was directed by the one and only Howard Hawks.
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Hawks directed yet another Grant-Hepburn vehicle, Bringing Up Baby. And yes, that IS a leopard in a car! I’d watch that this month, but I’ve already seen it. Anyway, Hawks is an understated but excellent director, and his female characters are an archetype in and of themselves, known as Hawksian women. They’re tough-talkers, and the main characters of most old screwball comedies.
OK, but Hawks had a lot of romance films with these characters, so why His Girl Friday? Well, other than knowing it from pure reputation as a good movie, it’s also been called one of the best romcoms of all time, and it’s one of his highest rated films as well. And honestly...I kinda just wanted to watch it based on the premise, which is...interesting. But OK, enough navel-gazing. On with the show! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Recap (1/2)
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We start in a newspaper office in the year 1940, where “Hildy” Johnson (Rosalind Russell) has arrives with her fiancee, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), a sweet man who clearly loves her. Shit. He’s the guy destined to be left behind for the actual love interest of the movie Goddamn it, OK.
Anyway, Hildy apparently used to work here, although I’m not sure of the capacity as of yet. She’s only here now to visit her ex-husband, chief editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant). Their reunion is a bt icy, although Walter still seems to be in love with her still, while Hildy’s absolutely not interested. For now.
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And as the two have a back-and-forth, I gotta say, GODDAMN is this some snappy dialogue! Fast-paced, but well-written and understandable all the same. It shuld also be noted that this film was adapted from a 1928 play, The Front Page, and it shows in how these two are playing in front of the screen. Their chemistry’s basically immediate, and you sense an unseen history between them easily.
What I’m saying is, it’s great. Anyway, the two have gotten divorced, and while Walter originally agreed, he’s now fighting the divorce to stay with Hildy, even though she doesn’t want that at all. He’s been calling her constantly, and bugging her. He also talks over her, trying to prevent her from getting a word in edgewise, and Hildy ain’t fuckin’ HAVING that shit!
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He asks her to come back to work for him as a reporter (THERE’S the connection to the office), and if that doesn’t work out...they can get married again? Yeah, Walter, Jesus, take a hint. She tells Walter that she’s not coming back to him, and not coming back to work on the paper.
The two, through increasingly impressive dialogue, argue intensely, which is capped off by this well-timed and impressive dodge by Walter, followed by a crack that her aim used to be better.
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This movie...holy shit, this movie. Anyway, through the argument, Walter gets a call and pretends that one of his reporters called out sick, in order to get Hildy to work one more job for him. Whoof, that’s manipulatiiiiiiive. But she breaks through his constant pressing to finally tell him that she’s now engaged, and is quitting the newspaper business.
Walter insists that quitting would kill her, s she’s a “newspaperman,” which is interesting. But she’s tired of it all, and wants to live a respectable, normal life, as she says. Her fiancee is an insurance man, which Walter notes is too boring. But Hildy notes that he’s kind, sweet, and considerate, and wants a home and children, and her mind is made up.
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Walter relents (seemingly) , and gives Hildy his blessings. However, he decides that he wants to meet Bruce in person, and goes out to say hello, That results in...what is legitimately a VERY funny interaction between Water, Bruce, and a random-ass dude named Pete Davis. It is...it is funny.
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So, for the record, Walter’s a verbally-manipulative asshole, and...I kind of like him? Like, he’s an ABSOLUTE DICK, but also a charmer. He quickly coerces Hildy and Bruce into getting lunch at a local place. There, we learn that the two are planning on moving to Albany, where Bruce is confident that the insurance business is strong. I’ve been to Albany, and I can see that.
Walter, during the lunch, is once again a DICK, doing his best to intimidate Bruce and sabotage their plans to leave for Albany that day. He makes his way to the phone, where he schemes with Duffy (Frank Orth) to keep her in town. Back at the table, he tells her of the case of Earl Williams.
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Williams is, apparently, a man recently convicted of shooting a police officer...who was black...and they use a word to describe him that begins with a C...that makes me uncomfortablllllllllllle. But it’s 1940, so it could be FAR worse. Anyway, he’s going to be executed, even though he claims that he’s innocence. And while Hildy’s intrigued by the case, she refuses to cover it for Walter.
UNTIL, that is, Walter offers to buy an insurance policy from Bruce for $100000 in 1940 money, which means a commission for $18,000 in today’s money. Uh...yeah. Yes, please. And yet, Bruce says NO, not wanting to involve his future wife in his affairs, like a GODDAMN GENTLEMAN. But Hildy don’t give a FUCK, and basically accepts the deal for him. And, uh, I DO NOT blame her, that’s a lot of goddamn money!
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Understandably not trusting Walter, she has Bruce give her all of the money that they have, to his equally understandable reluctance. Because there is NO WAY that she isn’t gonna lose all of that money. We find out from a group of reporters staying near the prison that Williams is to be hung tomorrow, and that he’s a bookkeeper that was recently unemployed.
Meanwhile, after a doctor’s check-up, Bruce and Walter write up the life insurance, and Walter tells Bruce to make Hildy his beneficiary. And Bruce is understandably awkward about that, but Walter ends up convincing him, the smooth and conniving DICK that he is.
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Duffy walks in to give Walter a check for more money than originally intended, and it’s even been certified! Which is...odd, but OK. Bruce calls Hildy to let her know, and she’s very suspicious. She tells Bruce to put the check in the lining of his hat, claiming that it’s an old journalist’s superstition (it is not). Looks like she’s right to be suspicious, as Walter brings in a short gentleman for unknown reasons. He follows Bruce out as he leaves the office.
Meanwhile, Hildy brides a prison guard to speak with Earl Williams (John Qualen) before his execution. He’s a shy and bookish man, who was thought to become radicalized by people speaking in a pubic park, where he went after losing his job. This, it’s believed by the press and court, eventually drove him to go insane and kill the policeman. 
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But Earl seems perfectly sane, and committing murder goes against his morals. He also wasn’t won over by said radical park speakers, although he admits one of them made some good points. But still, he had a gun, and he apparently did shoot the policeman. 
In their interview, Hildy learns that the man in the park was talking about “production for use”, which is the idea that everything produced should be used, basically in a way that production meets demand, and profit is less important than product. Which, granted, is an interesting idea. But Hildy uses that to convince Earl that he shot the gun because he had it in his hands. And since the gun was produced, it needed to be used, so...
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Well, that’s...something. We also learn about Mollie Malloy (Helen Mack), who’s been unfairly labeled by the press as Earl’s mistress and the witness to his case. And she gives a very passionate and heartfelt plea with the male journalists, who are...vicious. And Mollie’s hurt indeed. And while she’s there, they all treat her terribly.
But she breaks down in front of them even further when she sees the gallows being prepared outside. And as Hildy takes her out, the men left behind actually do seem ashamed. And in a single stroke, in a single scene, the film uses an immense moment of drama to show exactly why Hildy wants to leave, and the things that it makes people in this profession do. It’s...masterful.
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Good place to pause! See you in Part 2!
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