Clue Game gets Update
Nice to see you again! Join in the discussion!Nothing can avoid the march of time, including the beloved Clue game of the past. Hasboro announced an updated version of the game supposedly with the thought to appeal to the younger set. Ah, but there are big changes in store that might make some of us cringe and moan. New rooms have been added including a guest house (OK), spa (hmm-mm), and a theater (c’mon). Not only that, characters have been changed, of course. My favorite, Miss Scarlet, is now Kasandra Scarlet who often finds herself featured in the tabloids. Alas, Colonel Mustard is no more either. He is Jack Mustard, a former football player.
Now as if that weren’t enough, the means of murder were also “updated”. The lead pipe, wrench, and revolver are no more. The lead pipe was a good murder weapon, efficient and quick. And the revolver. How can there not be a revolver at a country home? The wrench, I’ll give you. Kind of redundant with a lead pipe laying around. New weapons include a dumbbell (what?), trophy (maybe), or poison (finally a good one and one that was sorely missing).
All things have to change, I guess. Whether the changes were necessary to attract kids weaned on video games is subject to debate. Oh, but for the good old days.
Why I Like Classic Film Noir
Classic film noir is my favorite movie genre. I admit it influenced the creation of my current work, “Murder To Order”. I drew upon classic characterizations of chivalrous men and femme fatales for my characters. I wanted my characters to be classy, and where better to get inspiration than from the masters?
My atmospheres are not dark, however, nor my plots. Rather they revolve around classic themes. There’s that word again–classic. I gravitate to what works. I gravitate toward familiar waters. I swim in waters that I consider classic, that stand the test of time. It’s a good, safe investment.
What I do is this. I utilize the classics with a modern twist. I bring the classics of the past to present settings and let them go. More often than not, they do not disappoint. They aren’t cheap. They try to take the high road even if they happen to be a murderer.
Every new movie I discover teaches me more. Take the latest movie I stumbled upon, “Too Late For Tears“. You’ve probably never heard of it. I never did, nor the actors in it. Yet, the movie featured a positively ruthless femme fatale whose image I’ve stored away for a future character. My point is that these characters are drawn closer to the core, making them great fodder for drawing different, perhaps more complex characters. So, if you need inspiration, look back.
Photo by __Dori__
Classic Film Noir
I’ll admit it. I’m stuck in something of a fog like the dark atmosphere of a classic film noir. I rarely watch TV. Any given evening I’d rather puzzle it out with Humphrey Bogart or cringe at the ruthless of Barbara Stanwyck. I am a film noir junkie.
What is it about the genre that attracts me? I like the dark settings. To be very honest, I can identify with the strange personalities. I feel most human in the company of human characters. I understand their foibles. I take a strange comfort in their humanness. So, when it comes to a decision of a movie to watch, I’m always opting for something in the black and white flavor.
I appreciate a movie that is more about human emotion than special effects or blatant, over-the-top marketing. Marketing I feel works best when it is subtle and the prospect isn’t aware that he’s being sold. There’s also the intelligent factor.
Film noir can challenge viewers. Try and summarize the plot of “The Big Sleep” easily. I like an intellectual challenge. But it’s also about its dark nature. I shy away from the fads. I embrace the esoteric, which film noir epitomizes for me. Hence my love for a genre that touches the dark secrets in all of us.
My Favorite Character
His name is Whiskey Bob, which probably tells you a lot of itself. He’s a minor character, though he could be considered taking the archetypical role of the, Helper. His initial introduction to the main character is, “The name is Whiskey Bob, that’s Bob with one ‘O’”. You get the idea.
Whiskey Bob is a vet of the Korean War, so there’s a bit going on there. His inspiration is part real life, part whimsical, but leaning more to real life.
I wish that I knew Whiskey Bob in real life. He’s such a sweet man. I’d appreciate his wisdom, his common sense, his tell-it-like-it-is attitude. He’s a man whom I could love, in the platonic sense. More than anything, I wish that I could raise a glass with Whiskey Bob and listen to another story.
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