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DVD Quick Picks
The Mr. Moto Collec-
tion, Volume One and
Charlie Chan, Volume
1 (Fox Home Entertain-
mentf
Honorable ances-
tors can rejoice -two
detective series from
the inscrutable east
have been preserved
on DVD for our'delight
and delectation. Hon-
orable Charlie Chan,
the Chinese detective,
and wily Mr. Moto, the
Japanesedetective,two
of the stalwarts of the
Fox film series, stand up surprisingly well after nearly
70 years.
Addressing the issue of inherent racism and stereo-
typing first,yes, these films present Asians as outsid-
ers, very different and strange, but gifted with near
superhuman powers of observation. However, it must
be admitted that these characters are a far cry from
the blackStepinFetchits and gay FranklinPangborns
of the same period. Asians would suffer greatly at
the hands of Hollywood before, during and after the
Second World War, but these products of the '30s are
considerably more benign, than, say, the Fu Manchu
series, presenting an Asian as an arch demon.
Twentieth Century
Foxhasreleased four of
the earliest films from
each of the series, and
while they are, frankly,
B-movies,they are sur-
prisingly well-made
and entertaining. We
follow Chan through
London in the first ,
Paris in the second,
Egypt in the third ,
and finally Shanghai,
where the sleuth solves
avarietyofkillingswith
patient observations
and little interaction. On the other hand, Mr. Moto,
who must think fast, take a chance, be simply myste-
rious, and then allow a thank you, seems something
more of ahands-on secret agent than just a detective.
Moto actually kills people, usually in self defense, and
uses a bundle of disguises and subterfuges to solve
his cases, which usually point more to international
conspiracies than merely murder.
It's interesting than Chan was played by Warner
Oland, a Swedish actor, and Moto by Peter Lorre, a
German actor. As vehicles, the Chans seem a little
weaker; the Motos not only seem more tightly con-
ceived and cast, but also have the good fortune to be
all directed by the same man,Norman Foster,who was
one of Orson Welles' directors.
Inboth series,theusualsuspectsofHollywood'sstock
character performers pop up with alarmingregularity,
and Fox'sB-unit,churned out by SolWurtzelat the rate
of twice a month for over a decade, seems somehow
a cut above the similar units at Warners and Metro.
While none of these films can be called examples of
cinematic greatness, they each run roughly avery fast
70minutes,are engagingand unpretentious.Toperhaps
snag a bit of the dialogue from either series, weshould
bow slightly at the waistin the direction of Twentieth
Century Fox and say, "Thank you so much."
FOR THE RECORD
Candide (Sony)
In Arthur Lau-
rents' libretto for
Gypsy, one of the
strippers saysof an-
other: "Try Mazep-
pa, everyone else
has!" There must
be somethingin the
musical Candide
that makes every-
one want to try it.
There's another re-
cording out, bring-
ing the count now to more than a half dozen, which is
not bad for a show that was a complete fiasco when
first produced.
There have been three productions on Broadway,
a couple at Lincoln Center, and seemingly every light
opera andmusicalregionalcompanyhastaken awhack
at the show. This is the CD release of the 1974 Hal
Prince production, for which everything in the poor
old Broadway Theatre was ripped out and replaced
by stools, comfy chairs and couches strewn about so
the audience would be right in on the action. Ah, but
some audiences don't like to be right in the action,
especially in a rather loud and musically complicated
piece. However, the voices, as heard on the recording,
were young and vibrant, and the music direction, by
a veryyoung John Mauceri, is as good, or better, than
any recording.
And why have there been so many recordings and
productions ofthisshowthat isnever quite right,never
quite there,never quiteup to itspotential? Producers,
directors and singers seem to loose track of the reason
the pieceisso endlesslyfascinating. It'sthe music-not
the book,not the lyrics,not anyfancy-shmancy staging.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
HISTORIC HIGHFIELD. INC
ELEGANCE RESTORED - Highfield Hall in
Falmouth will share its splendor during a
grand opening starting this weekend.
COURTESY PHOTO
A PROGRAM AS DIVERSE AS THEIR
INSTRUMENTS -The Brentwood Brass gets
together with organist Babette BachSunday
at 3 p.m. in West Parish Church on Route
1
*9 inWest Barnstable for a livelyafternoon
of music by Buxtehude, Gabrieli (not the
gubernatorial hopeful), Percy Grainger and
Thomas"Fats"Waller.Admissionis$10;call
508-362-3779 for more information.
Art and architecture in
Falmouth
You could consider Highfield Hall
in Falmouth one big, beautiful art
gallery in the coming days as the 1878
buildingon the outskirts of downtown
celebrates its rebirth with a free open
house Saturday from 10a.m. to 4 p.m.
The party continues during those
hours through the 21s', with a great
variety of events (go to www.highfield-
hall.org for details).
Ory Boggy plays music for flute ,
fiddle and guitar Saturday at 1 p.m.,
and Four Guys in Tuxes stage an all-
request concert on the lawn Sunday
at 6 p.m. Both shows are free, as is
admission to the exhibit of works by
29 of the Cape's top artists.
Symphony's in season
Maestro Royston Nash steps to the
podiumtobeginhisfinalseasonasmu-
sicdirector ofthe Cape Cod Symphony
Orchestra this weekend. He's joined
by soloist Freddy Kempf for Brahms'
second piano concerto, a Hindemith
march and Elgar's "Enigma" varia-
tions Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday
at 3 p.m. at Barnstable High School
Performing Arts Center. For tickets,
call 508-362-1111,ext. 100or goto www.
capesymphony.org
Spectral analysis
A story that promises a"lustful ghost
that likes to have sex with the living"
either attracts or repels. Those of you
still reading may want to know that
Rosemary Ellen Guiley, investigator
of paranormal phenomena, will speak
about this shade and others trapped
in a house in New Jersey (now there's
a frightening thought!) Sept. 29 at 7
p.m. in Lecture Hall A at Cape Cod
Community College.Her talk ispart of
the monthly meeting of the Cape And
Islands Paranormal Research Society.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
ARTS NOTEBOOK i
Sarah Heather Son
Theroux settles in on
Cape Cod
By Brad Lynch
news@barnstablepatriot.corn
BRAD LYNCH PHOTO
SETTLING DOWN? WELL, MAYBE: a Cape Cod dynasty of arts and letters, the literary
Theroux family, has been augmented by a relative newcomer. Sarah Heather SonTheroux
was married last year to novelistAlexander Theroux of West Barnstable. They are building
a new barn on his farm to serve as their library, art studio and offices. Sarah Theroux
recently showed some of her landscape paintings at the Old Selectmen's Gallery inWest
Barnstable. This large canvas,"Cataract,"was painted enpleinairbesiAe a swift-moving
stream in Indiana. It is 36 by 54 inches, by no means her largest, but the artist admits
to feeling challenged when a stiff wind nearly blew her easel away.
Into
the fraternity of writers living
on Cape Cod has come a new
talent, for pictures rather than
words, the medium that has show-
ered renown on the talented Theroux
family.
The new talent belongs to Sarah
Heather Son Theroux, who has
taught art, exhibited and sold her
own work of wide variety (she prefers
oil paintings of the great outdoors).
One of her most ambitious projects
was to swathe rice paper and Xerox
paper images of people, places and
pastimes to be found in Seoul, the
capital of South Korea.
This art was then set in motion,
covering the interior of eight cars that
sped back and forth on their tracks
through the municipal subway system
in Seoul, keeping nodding commuters
awake with a dose of culture.
Sarah and her husband, the novel-
ist and teacher Alexander Theroux,
have been living at his farm in West
Barnstable since their marriage last
year in Our Lady of Hope Catholic
Church.The newest novels among
his dozen or so books include Laura
Waraholic or the Sexual Intellectual ,
Darconville 's Cat and Three Woggs.
His brother, the author Paul Theroux,
livesin Hawaii and Cape Cod.
Sarah Son was born in Pennsylva-
nia, one of six children. Her father
is South Korean and her mother
American. She is a graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania and
earned a certificate in fine arts from
the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts and a master's from Indiana
University.She has worked in Korea
as well as this country.She has taught
fine arts at Indiana University, the
Stony Brook School, Tabor Academy
and the Portsmouth Abbey School.
Her work is in galleries, schools and
private collections in the Northeast.
The painter met her husband-to-be
at a creative conference and retreat in
Vermont.Shyly she recalls his atten-
tions: Alex was a teaching writer in
residence. She was an art student at
the same place. Despite the proxim-
ity, he wrote a letter to her every day.
New artistic perspective in W.Barnstable
Visit H.K Cummings for a
new view of the old Cape
i
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;J
F-
/
A
t
¦
j
s
Glass plates at Snow
Library are windows to
a lost world
By Bethany Gibbons
arts@barnstablepatriot.com
One
collection of photographic
glass plates was brought by an
antiques dealer to the Cha-
tham dump after they failed to sell for
a few dollars each. Years earlier an-
other group was shipped by rail by the
photographer himself. Poorly packed ,
many of them broke before making
it to print. By a stroke of remarkable
good luck, 750 of these fragile nega-
tives, dating from the late nineteenth
century, survived to be archived,
printed, studied and enjoyed.
Snow Library in Orleans is offer-
ing the public a rare opportunity to
examine life on this unique peninsula
as it was more than a hundred years
ago. "H.K. Cummings Revisited Part
II: Working" is a collection of warm and
fascinating photographs.
Raised in Orleans,
Cummings was a w / /
photo hobbyist who y ML I
worked at the local BU
pants factory as a *^aB/
young man, then ran wj Kt
his father's dry goods ^1 K
store. He was a popu- ^B^3
lar town figure , especially WMmi
with the ladies, and was 'VBIJ
able to create a relaxed ^^
atmosphere during shoots
that is evident in the charmed
expressions of his subjects.
"People felt so comfortable
with him," said Snow Library ar-
chivist Bobi Eldridge.
Eldridge explained the origins of
this curator 's dream. "His niece in-
herited his property, including the
plates, after his death in 1953," she
said. "She had enough foresight
to donate it to a place that would
take care of it."
That place was Snow Library,
but the year was 1968. "It was
sort of buried," said Eldridge.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2