TCM has wisely decided that their Star of the Month for October 2026 is Myrna Loy. They've dedicated Mondays to Loy movies starting early today with her oldest surviving talkie:

118/2688. Noah's Ark (1928)

Technically, it's a "part-talkie," defined as films with synchronized sound but limited speaking scenes, the template established by Warner Bros' The Jazz Singer, released February 1928. (Loy has a silent cameo in that as a chorus girl!) The part-talkie format didn't last long; Warner's first "all-talking" picture, Lights of New York, came out in July of the same year. Loy made only five part-talkies, two before this and two after, but this is the only one with a surviving "talkie" soundtrack.

As you would expect from a film titled Noah's Ark, the climax of the film is a spectacular biblical flood. The rest, you might be surprised to hear, is a World War I romance preaching that humanity has learned its lesson about intolerance and will end all wars immediately. Whoops. The two halves don't really go together, and, worse, the dialogue is particularly ham-fistedly awful, like Hollywood had never bothered listening to people having actual conversations before they invented "talking" pictures.

Loy's part in Noah's Ark is not big. She's credited for two roles, but only one is identifiable in the existent film. She comes in at about the 53-minute mark and is on screen for only 39 seconds, emerging from behind the curtain of an improvised cabaret. For future reference, this is her whole part:

Myrna Loy as DANCER:
Why are you always staring at the soldiers? Who are you looking for?

Dolores Costello as MARIE:
Well, if you must know, I'm looking for an American soldier.

DANCER:
That ought to be easy. There are only two million of them over here.

MARIE:
Really? I thought there were more.

DANCER:
Now, tell me the sad story.

MARIE:
I don't think you'd be interested in my story.

Having seen your story, Marie, I can tell you that you're right. On the other hand, I'll be watching Myrna every Monday this month.

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104/2674. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
It's very accurate to describe this anime as a gender-swapped Groundhog Day (with a little Donnie Darko vibe). I found it quite charming.

105/2675. Chungking Express (1994)
I really didn't know what to expect from this, and I spent most of the film wondering why I was still watching it. Ultimately it's very much like one of Jim Jaramusch stream of consciousness films (Night Train springs to mind) and the influence on Tarantino is obvious. If nothing else, it's a great palate refresher for the typical Hollywood formula.

Production teams: This film has so many Coca-Cola products on screen, you'd think they bankrolled the whole thing.

106/2676. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
This is a ridiculously contrived thriller in which a former newspaper reporter decides to frame himself for a murder because... well, with a setup like that, you can probably guess. The Big Twist Ending makes it all so, so stupid.

Screenwriters: When your detective pumps the strip club bartender for leads, have him order something stiffer than a Coke.

107/2677. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
A triumph of style over substance! They wanted it so badly, they should have just gone ahead and titled this Lady John Wick. It gets the candy-colored ultra-violence right but rings emotionally hollow. Wick cheated, of course, as a murdered dog guarantees audience buy-in; maybe I just care less about human children.

Set decorators: Coke advertising builds retro vibes, and the red foreshadows bloody violence!

108/2678. Appleseed (1988)
I'd read the manga, but this is the first time I'd seen the anime. As good as Ghost in the Shell is, this is not.

More to come.

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It's nice when house guests finally settle in for the evening.

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I feel like Batman got short shrift this Batman and Football month. Since we're almost out of time, here's a link to the song that R.E.M. wrote in 1992 for Batman Returns:

Winged Mammal Theme

I don't love it, but at just just under three minutes in length, I find it a lot more palatable than the nearly twice as long and much more widely known One Word Wonder Batdance.

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I accompanied my father to his general practitioner appointment today. I had to. I took his car away last week.

If you recall last month's post about Dad's decision to sleep-drive through a mailbox you will understand why I judged it necessary to take away his keys after three days in a row during which he couldn't remember that he wasn't supposed to drive to the pharmacy to pick up pills I had already picked up. Dad didn't take that well and chose to start a physical fight with me, further demonstrating that he wasn't thinking straight. I'm no toughie, but an 80-year-old man who runs out of breath tying his shoes shouldn't even try stealing candy from babies. Dad gave me the silent treatment for two whole days before he forgot that he was supposed to be mad at me.

On the way out of the appointment, the doctor pulled me aside to helpfully suggest that if Dad was resistant to surrendering his keys, maybe I should contact the state to have his driver's license suspended.

"Why would I do that?" I asked.

"Because he can't drive without a license," the doctor said with a totally straight face.

Thanks, doc. Given that the problem is that Dad can't drive now with a license, I think I'll get a second opinion.

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