samhexum

One Agatha Christie mystery solved... The Mousetrap debuted on stage all the way back in 1952, and since that time it’s played at both the Ambassadors Theatre and St Martin’s Theatre since it transferred to London. Until its enforced shutdown, it was the longest continuous running show in the West End. There hasn’t been a movie of The Mousetrap though, which is something of a surprise given just what a huge commercial success the play has become. Yet that’s not been for the want of trying. The first attempt to mount a film of the play came at the end of the 1950s, when a deal was struck with United Artists. This attempt got as far as casting, but for reasons that were seemingly undisclosed, the project hit the buffers. However, over time it’s become clear just what the problem appears to be. The actual film rights to The Mousetrap were sold to British producer John Woolf back in 1956, just a few years after the play opened. He was pleased to land them, and signed off on the condition of their sale. That by snapping said rights up, he was agreeing that a film couldn’t be made until the show’s run had ended, and a further six months had elapsed after that time. Of course, nobody back in 1956 foresaw that The Mousetrap would then continue its run for a further six decades and change, but the condition of the original rights apparently remains in place. The reason for the condition goes to one of the things attendees of the show are told. (They) are very politely asked to keep the show’s secrets. That the production is a classic Agatha Christie whodunnit, and the reveal at the end remains a shared secret amongst those who’ve seen the show. The fear with a film version was that the cat would be permanently out of the bag (a consideration when it came to pressing ahead with the eventual movie of the more recent West End hit Ghost Stories a few years back). That with the film out in the wild as it were, there wouldn’t be any appetite for audiences to go through it all again on stage. That clause, then, was written in, and here we are. Still, it’s not stopped people having a go. Notably, at the end of the 1990s, Jonathan Woolf – the son of John – decided to have another go at getting a film made. He recruited director Stuart Urban to write and helm the feature, and as this Guardian report notes, it got as far as a screenplay being completed. Unfortunately, legalities ensued, and they would ultimately scupper the project. The producers of the play remained determined – as they were legally able to do – to dig in and refuse permission, given that the production was ongoing. One further film related story surrounding The Mousetrap, incidentally. Amongst the original cast of the stage play in London was a young Richard Attenborough. Even then, his brain was a sharp one. Sensing the commercial potential of the production, he struck a deal with the producers that was even smarter than the one the producers struck with John Woolf. Rather than take a fee for appearing in the play, he’d be happy to take a percentage of the production itself. With no great suspicion that the play was to become a juggernaut of the stage, Attenborough had a deal, one that would make him a very rich man. He talked in his memoir about this too, in particular that he would over time sell off small chunks of his share in the show to fund some of the projects he’d planned to make, and some of the things he wanted to buy. But he finally cashed out in the 1980s. Up against a lack of investment for a movie he wanted to make, he sold the remainder of his stake in The Mousetrap to help finance the film. That particular project? Gandhi, a hugely profitable and successful film, that would earn Attenborough Oscars, and put a few more quid in his pocket. All the while as he did so, The Mousetrap kept playing. And all the while, audiences kept protecting his secrets. So much so that if it does ever make it to the screen, there’s a sporting chance that the vast majority of attendees won’t have any idea who’s about to do it… Source: https://www.filmstories.co.uk/features/the-mousetrap-and-the-unfortunate-deal-for-its-movie-rights/

I guess humility is not a timeless value, since I assume the legend approved this.

Well, of course, the most famous Dorothy of all time is Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey, the youngest girl from THE FACTS OF LIFE...

Maggie’s Little Theater at St. Margaret Parish in Middle Village will be putting on a production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” this February. Thom Harmon is the director. This series of shows is scheduled to run Feb. 11, 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 12 and 19 at 2:30 p.m. Having run continuously in London (where I saw it and was bored to tears by it) for nearly 70 years before the pandemic, “The Mousetrap” is Agatha Christie’s longest-running show of any kind. (By the time it ended I felt like I’d been in the theater since opening night.) The play is about seven strangers snowed in a countryside guest house. Shortly after a police sergeant arrives, the group discovers one of them is a killer. As they work to solve this mystery, each character reveals their dark pasts. (There was a Cathy Gale episode of THE AVENGERS that followed the same basic plot. It was re-done and improved as an Emma Peel episode. There were about 5 Cathy episodes re-done as Emma ones and all but one were improved with the redo. There were only 50 Emma episodes.) Harmon mentioned that due to Hollywood not being able to get the filming rights to this play (I never realized that) and the fact it will only be coming to Broadway for the first time ever in 2023 (I shant be buying a ticket), many people who enjoy murder mysteries may not be as familiar with “The Mousetrap” and the story’s twists and turns. Tickets for the shows will be available at maggieslittletheater.org starting Jan. 2. Tickets will cost $20 for adults and $18 for kids and seniors.

BTW, that quote is also from the Henny Penny episode. The gift that keeps on giving.

The house she lived in for years before she died was sold recently and it has been demolished. Sadly, this is not the first time a house she lived in disappeared. Blanche: This is horrible. As Big Daddy used to say, "I'm feeling lower than the rent on a burnin' building."Rose: That's funny. I used to live in a burning building. And it was cheap. It was Charlie's and my first house. Well, scoff if you must, but it was warm and toasty. I'll never forget Charlie throwing me over his shoulder and dashing across the threshold. Oh, it was a beautiful place. Three bedrooms, two baths. Then two bedrooms and one bath. Eventually, we outgrew the place.

Admit it... the purpose of your post was to challenge me to come up with an appropriate quote. I accept your challenge and give you two from the same episode. But first we have to set the scene... Dorothy's first-grade class is supposed to stage the play Henny Penny, which will encourage them to learn to read. But when the kids are quarantined during a measles outbreak, the girls take their places in the production. Rose agrees to play the part, but is horrified to learn Henny is eaten by a fox at the end. Dorothy: Rose, the play isn't real. It's a fairy tale. Not all stories end happily, and children have to learn that.Rose: You call yourself a teacher? It's people like you who are responsible for all the evil on this planet.Dorothy: I guess I had that coming. Dorothy: Look, Rose, if you don't do the part, there won't be any play. Now, this is a project that I care about deeply, but I don't want you doing it for my sake, Rose. Do it for the kids. It's a chance to get them reading.Rose: All right, all right, I'll do it. And not just for the kids. I just feel it's time I gave something back to the chicken community. After all, a chicken once saved my life. [exits]Blanche: They are the stupidest birds.

Florida realtor finds trespassing couple having sex in pool of for sale house

Minx Cancelled at HBO Max, Reversing Season 2 Renewal

You never saw an ad for Qantas?

now the starting catcher for the Brewers.

I've never been able to call certain celebs by their birth names after hearing them called something else. For example, once somebody told me that Clorox Bleachman told a talk show host she had been called that, I never referred to her as anything else.

Both of my grandfathers died in 1929, 33 years before I was born. I don't miss them. Urethra Franklin had her first child at 12 in 1955.

Well, I've heard that many are considered sluts.

Rougned Odor has a brother named Rougned Odor. Wilmer Flores has a younger brother who's a decent pitching prospect for the Tigers named Wilmer Flores. I'm not sure, but Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez may have a brother named Orlando Hernandez, but that would likely only be because they ran out of names. His father had 38 kids.

Really?!?!? On a site begun to facilitate men spending large amounts of money to attractive (or at least, hung) men for sex, you can't figure out why? She's obviously one of the many perverted Aussies who can't get enough sex, and she blew all her money blowing...

The Mets have agreed to a five-year, $75MM deal with right-hander Kodai Senga. Senga’s contract also has no-trade protection and an opt-out clause following the 2025 season. There wasn’t any doubt that owner Steve Cohen was prepared to keep spending in order to keep his 101-game winning team in line to be World Series contenders. However, the spending spree has just continued to reach record levels, as the Mets now project to have a 2023 payroll of roughly $334.68MM, and a luxury tax number of just over $349.5MM.

You mean Australian society. You know how uncivilized those Aussies can be! 😁😇😁😇😁

A woman in the US has shared how she discovered her dad isn’t her biological father after a stranger texted her to get a DNA test. In a series of videos, TikTok user Lane (@laneiscool14) detailed her remarkable story. Last year, she received an anonymous message from an unknown phone number encouraging her to conduct an Ancestry.com test. “This f**king text message right here changed my life forever,” she said in a three-minute clip. “About a year ago now, on Jan 9, I get a text message telling me to get a DNA test from Ancestry. “And I think it’s fake, I FaceTime my friend, and I’m like, ‘Listen to this’. And she’s like, ‘I swear my gut is telling me this is real. You need to respond’. So I respond, and then they write me back.” The Brooklyn-based TikToker said the text conversation left her “shook”. And in need of grammar lessons. She added that the person made a “burner account on Facebook” to message her and her husband about the DNA test. “They would not provide me with any sort of proof that this was real, and, obviously, I called my mum immediately, saying, ‘What the f**k,’” she continued. Lane’s mother ultimately confessed that she had an affair with a 25-year-old man while she was in college at age 35 receiving her degree in education. So Lane is half-cougar? She admitted the man who raised Lane was not her father. “I almost fell off my f**king chair,” Lane explained in the video. “She had an affair with a guy ten years younger than her when she was in college. “It was a one-time thing, but he even saw her on campus and said, ‘Is that mine?’ and she denied it.” BITCH! Lane immediately ordered an Ancestry test. Six weeks later, she received her results. “I find out that, yes, this man is my father. So I message him immediately, and he lives in California. He’s British. What the f**k?” she said. “He said my mum sent him a Christmas card when I was two years old, saying my name in it and that he’s googled my name ever since. “In 2007, my name popped up, and he saw a picture of me, and he knew immediately that I was his daughter.” Lane said her biological father emailed her mother to get in contact with her, but she “threatened him” and said to “leave them alone” and never contact them again. I repeat, BITCH! “So what did he do? He followed me on social media my entire life,” she said. “He watched me date my boyfriend, get married, have babies, everything, all from the outside, not able to know me.” Lane then posted a side-by-side photo of her and her biological father, writing, “I’m telling you this picture freaked me the f**k out.” In a follow-up video, Lane revealed her biological father once called her place of work at the time and asked what time it closed in the hopes of hearing her voice. He also wanted to go get his haircut by her at the salon she worked at, but said his wife advised against it because she thought Lane would immediately know he was her father. see pic below Lane said in another video that it wasn’t her biological father who sent the text messages, but his nephew, who found himself in a similar experience. Lane said the family secret put a significant strain on her relationship with her mother. As a result, she cut her out of her life. “Cutting my mum off was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Lane said. “Never would I have ever expected it.” In a recent update, Lane revealed that she and the father who raised her haven’t spoken about the news, but he does know she isn’t his biological daughter. “One of my sisters who I’m estranged with, immediately told him. another BITCH! So, I don’t know what his reaction was,” she said. “I can only imagine he was just as devastated as me, but then there is also the fact that between him and [me], not a lot changes,’ she said. “That is still my dad. I am still his daughter. My kids are still his grandkids.” Lane explained that will talk to him about it eventually and is taking things at her own pace. “I just feel like I have two dads now, which is a good thing,” she concluded. https://nypost.com/2022/12/10/woman-discovers-dad-isnt-her-biological-father-after-stranger-texts-her-to-get-dna-test/

Lipstick on a pig... Making up Kathy Hilton apologizes for lipstick gaffe during Mariska Hargitay's PCAs speech

Or any of the REAL HOUSEWIVES editions.

Well, if I had to guess in which country (and time period) that had happened, Germany would be it.

What a pity. It seems like an excellent way to have disposed of a body if they had any disputes with neighbors.

Little Red Riding Hood: Grandma, what a lovely political topic you have here. Big Bad Wolf: The better to circumvent the locking of the political forum, my Dear!

ummm... somebody didn't get the joke. Jeez... not another one of those. 😁😇😁😇