On Sunday morning I memorized the last verse of “Privé” by Serge Gainsbourg. All I have left to nail down is the final chorus.
I had Triscuits and cheddar for lunch.
I read most of part one of the Old English poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. That's only a little over half of the reading of that story that's required this week for my British literature class. There are also still some texts by Marie de France to read as well. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" takes longer to read than usual assignments because I’m also reading the Old English text along with the translation and taking time with each line to think of how it could have been done more faithfully to the original. A lot of Old English is fairly intuitive and sounds like modern English except that the arrangement of words is sometimes different. It seems to me that the translator sacrificed some of the alliteration and some of the rhythm just to dumb down the text for the modern reader. For instance he uses “French sea” instead of "French flood" even though “French flood" is fairly obvious and only needs a short foot note for clarification.
The story takes place in King Arthur’s court during the New Years feast. Suddenly a giant knight with green hair and beard and wearing green and gold while riding a green horse rides into the dining chamber. He is carrying a massive battle axe and offers a challenge for any knight willing to take his axe and strike him with it. He will then leave but the knight that strikes him must seek him out in a years time to allow him to deliver the same blow to him. Sir Gawain volunteers, takes the axe and chops off the Green Knight’s head. But the Green Knight merely picks up his head and while holding it the head tells Gawain that he can find him in one year at the Green Chapel. Then the Green Knight rides away with his own head under his arm.
It’s funny that I’d never heard this story before since it’s so old and so unique.
For dinner I heated two pork patties and had them on a toasted bagel with a beer while watching The Count of Monte Cristo. Suddenly the count has a new companion named Mario, replacing Carlo who only recently replaced Rico.
In this story a mysterious revolutionary pamphleteer named Veritas is striking fear in corrupt government officials. One of the pamphlets is nailed to the door of General Jean Beauclair and it reads, "People of Paris, The ways of life are strange indeed when politicians have agreed to steal the millions you provide, the gold for which you slaved and died. The key to this corruption rare is army General Jean Beauclair.” Upon reading this the general shoots himself. Next the count arrives at a casino where Minister of Justice Bonjean is waiting to gamble with him. Bonjean is winning but suddenly receives news of the suicide and leaves. We learn that Bonjean and Beauclair had appropriated two million francs of army funds. Beauclair before he died left a note for Bonjean telling him he’d learned that the Veritas pamphlets are being printed by a printer named Dubois. When the police come to get him he sends his daughter Charmaine out the back door where the count and his friends find her and take her to safety. She learns from the count that he is Veritas. Meanwhile Dubois is being tortured by Bonjean and his men so he will tell them the identity of Veritas. Bonjean needs to make two million francs to cover what he stole and so he goes to the casino. The count joins him in a game of Baccarat. The betting starts at 50,000 francs and the count keeps losing but since he’s the richest man in the world I guess he can bide his time so the bet keeps going up until Bonjean has won a million francs. The count bets a million and this time Bonjean loses. As Bonjean is leaving he is approached by Charmaine who says she will tell him the identity of Veritas if he will let her see her father. He agrees and upon hearing that Veritas is the Count of Monte Cristo he orders his immediate arrest. Bonjean is surprised when he comes home to find the count sitting and waiting for him. He tells Bonjean that he is finished and hands him his latest pamphlet, which reads: “The ways of life grow stranger still when by the stroke of one small quill the minister of justice true can steal two million francs from you. So men of Paris rise and fight. Rise in your wrath, demand your right.” Bonjean tells the count that he is under arrest but the count draws his sword. Bonjean reminds him that he is the finest duellist in Paris. They cross swords until Bonjean disarms the count. Bonjean takes the count and Charmaine to where he is holding Dubois. Bonjean then draws his sword and plans to kill the count even though his wrists are bound together. He argues that since he had already disarmed the count it is still fair. But suddenly Jacopo and Mario arrive and free the count. The count reveals that Charmaine’s betrayal was staged in order to bring about the duel which the count deliberately lost in order to locate Dubois. The count says they can finish their duel from where they left off with the count’s sword on the ground. The count holds up a pen as Bonjean tries to strike but the count parries once with the pen then quickly picks up his sword. They fight until Bonjean is disarmed and forced to sign a confession.
Charmaine was played by Mary Ellen Kay, who co-starred in “The Girl in Room 17” and “The Streets of Ghost Town”.
Bonjean’s girlfriend was played by Patricia Wright, who was in “Trail Guide”, “Chained for Life” and the Three Stooges short “Cuckoo on a Choo Choo”.
Mario was played by then sixty one year old Fortunio Bonanova, who started out as a baritone opera singer and was a star in that genre before he turned to acting. He starred in the silent film “Don Juan Tenorio” in 1922. He moved to the United States in 1936. He played the singing instructor in “Citizen Kane” and in 1955 he played the opera fan who had his priceless Caruso records smashed by Mike Hammer in “Kiss Me Deadly”.
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