The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

1

Wednesday’s Child: From the Web

“The past changes so quickly,” a Twitter pundit has observed, “you have no idea what will happen yesterday.”  Not very original, as the gentle reader may remark, seeing the thought is basically taken from Orwell or maybe a writer of a still earlier era, like Karl Kraus, but a sinuous phrase none the less, something undeniably well noted and prettily put.  Try trawling for a mot this juste in The Spectator these days, to say nothing of The New Yorker.

6

Ray Olson at the Movies

In the 1930s, MGM’s top directors were Clarence Brown (a favorite of Garbo’s), the prolific W. S. Van Dyke, of whom I’ve written for FF, and Victor Fleming. In 1939, MGM observed its silver anniversary. Since it was the biggest American movie studio, it launched a campaign to make 1939 known as Hollywood’s greatest year