Joseph Calleia: The Bit Part Actors' Actor From the Island of Malta

Joseph Calleia was born in Malta on the 4th of August, 1897. His official biography simply says Malta, but some of the people I have interviewed say he was born in the village of Rabat, others Sliema. Joseph had a very good singing voice and actually began his career as a concert singer in England and Paris. He came to Hollywood in 1931 and played the villain, Juan, in My Sin. His slightly menacing persona fit the role perfectly, and he was called upon to play similar characters often until his film career ended in 1963 with Johnny Cool. Perhaps his most famous role was the villain, Jeff Badger, in My Little Chickadee with W.C. Fields and Mae West. Though IMDb, which calls itself the world's largest Film Data Base, credits him with 57 films, he played bit parts in many others, including one of my favorites, After the Thin Man.

Although Calleia naturally spent much of his time in Hollywood making Movies, he remained true to his native country and returned there as often as possible. The people of Malta appreciated him and started a fan club in the early 'forties. Unlike many Hollywood actors of the time, he always faithfully answered his fan mail and happily sent autographed pictures to anyone requesting them. Unfortunately for him, his name was probably as little known in his time as it is now. Asked about it, he is reputed to have replied, Everyone recognizes my face, but no one knows my name.

One of his favorite roles was Buldeo in the 1942 version of The Jungle Book, starring Sabu. Buldeo as an old man tells a tourist about the jungle and the time when a young boy was orphaned and raised by wolves. Calleia liked playing the much older man and found getting made up to be enjoyable, though most actors and actresses of the time hated the process. He also liked h is role in A Touch of Evil, playing a friend of the corrupt Sheriff, Orson Welles. He felt it showed a vulnerability that was lacking in so many of his roles.

Joseph Calleia returned to Malta to retire and died on Halloween in 1975. His fan club is still in existence and has several hundreds of members around the world. In July of 1997, the government of Malta issued issued a set of two stamps in his honor.

John Anderson is a Maltaphile who is interested in every aspect of the ancient island's culture and history. His novel, The Cellini Masterpiece, which was written under the penname of Raymond John, borrows deeply from three of its most important periods--the 16th Century, World War II and the present. If you would like to read a sample chapter of the book, or would like to ask John a question, you may contact him at http://www.cmasterpiece.com

Author:: John Anderson
Keywords:: Malta, Joseph Calleia, Movies
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Sir Tom Stoppard the Early Plays If You're Glad I'll be Frank

Sir Tom Stoppard, the early Plays

4. If You're Glad I'll be Frank

In Sir Tom Stoppard's play If You're Glad I'll be Frank (Radio 1966), a change of direction is clearly seen. Here the central couple are, in fact, separated, and although they try to meet they are unable to do so. Their relationship is frustrated, it seems, not only within the play itself but also as a result of Stoppard's decision to sacrifice human relationships to metaphysics. With this play Stoppard abandons his mentors (Enter a Free Man being heavily derivative of Robert Bolt and Arthur Miller) and his real strength as a playwright starts to show through. The theme of individual liberty versus the established order is continued, but takes metaphysical flight as the established order becomes Time itself. Gladys, the speaking clock, reflects on the nature of Time while trapped at her desk metering out ten second intervals She sees through the usual human time-scales into a vertiginously disorientating vision of relativity.

The contrast between two concepts of time is reflected in the two forms of language used by Gladys. In performance her free verse is spoken simultaneously with the rigid repetitive rhythm of the speaking clock. In this way Stoppard makes his point directly on the audience's perceptions. The dual perception of these scales drives Gladys towards a mental breakdown; we might see her as trapped between excessive order and excessive chaos, She wants to rebel against her role as mediator between the two.

'At the third stroke I'm going to give it up, yes, yes - it's asking too much, for one person to be in the know of so much.' (p.22)

Ultimately though, she accepts the established order and continues to measure out ten second intervals under the guiding hand of the First Lord of the Post Office, who 'sets her right'. The story is of chaos trying to overrun order, but failing.

The 'depth' which Stoppard formerly tried to give his Plays by the characters and their relationships is now given by the complexity of structure, in which the themes are presented simultaneously on a number of levels. Gladys's frustration at the rigidity of our concept of time is paralleled by Frank's attempts to squeeze a few minutes out of his schedule as a bus driver, to rescue Gladys from the G.P.O. building. Every time he stops the bus, Ivy the conductress, frightened of the threat to convention (chaos disrupting order), chases after him shouting, 'Frank we'll get behind time . . . I ask you to remember the schedule . . . The passengers have noticed' etc., representing the pressure of established order limiting individual action.

Another level on which the accepted order is represented is the G.P.O. hierarchy, and the procedure by which a member of the public ought to approach its senior officials. Frank, like John Brown and George Riley before him, rebels against the accepted order and pursues his ow n course. He charges through a series of offices in the G.P.O. building and bursts in upon a board meeting presided over by the First Lord. Frank's rebellion is frustrated however, just as Gladys's was, by the authoritative voice of the First Lord.

'My dear fellow - there's no Gladys - we wouldn't trust your wife with the time - it's a machine, I thought everyone knew that.' (p.25)

Although these characters have struggled to rebel against order and authority they are quite relieved to have failed. On a metaphysical level this suggests that order and chaos co-exist in some kind of natural balance that cannot be violated. In human terms it suggests that the autonomy of the individual is limited by the order of the universe, physical and social, in which he exists, and that this is the cause of both frustration and comfort.

Another characteristic of Stoppard's work to emerge in If You're Glad I'll be Frank is deliberate ambiguity. Is Gladys really being h eld prisoner by the G.P.O. to act as the speaking clock? Or is the speaking clock just a machine and Frank's idea that it is his wife just a delusion? This question is unanswerable; it adds a deliberate quality of mystery to the play by throwing into doubt our assumptions about which aspects of the play represent objective reality, and which represent subjective, and possibly deluded experience. This important point will be further discussed in relation to Stoppard's major Plays Jumpers and Travesties.

Read the full version of this essay at: http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/stoppard.html

Ian Mackean runs the site http://www.literature-study-online.com, which features a substantial collection of English Literature Resources and Essays, and where his sites on Books Made Into Movies, and Short Story Writing can also be found. He is the editor of The Essentials of Literature in English post-1914, published by Hodder Arnold. When not writing about li terature or short story writing he is a keen amateur photographer, and has made a site of his photography at http://www.photo-zen.com

Author:: Ian Mackean
Keywords:: Tom Stoppard,Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,English Literature,Plays,Drama,British,Theatre
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Robinson Crusoe and the Middle Station of Life

The final state of Crusoe's plantation and the island can be reconciled to what Crusoe has learned about religion and value during his stay on the island. Some of the lessons Crusoe learns are the wisdom of his father in admonishing Crusoe to be content with the middle State, the importance of trade to the value of a product, the sinfulness of wastefulness, and the acknowledgement of God's providence and design for all things on eArth. Crusoe applies these lessons learned on the island after his return to Europe.

The first of these lessons Crusoe learns, which his father tried to teach him, is the security and contentment that comes from being in the middle state of life. Crusoe's father insists that this state is the most suited to human happiness in that people neither have the labour and sufferings of the lower class, nor the pride, luxury, ambition, and envy of the upper classes (Defoe 5). This station of life, his father tells him, is not subjected to so many Distempers and Uneasiness either of Body or Mind as the lower and upper classes are prone to suffer from (Defoe 5).

Crusoe discovers this admonition to be true when he is stranded on the island and must engage in hard, physical labor in order to survive and provide him with the items that he needs and wants. As his father warned him, Crusoe falls gravely ill as a result of his extreme physical exertions, and his spirits began to sink under the burthen of a strong Distemper (Defoe 66).

After Crusoe returns to Europe, he is confronted with the opposite end of the scale when he learns the riches of his plantation. Even though Crusoe has not pArticipated directly in increasing the value and production of the plantation, he still reaps the rewards issuing from it. This sudden wealth, which necessarily puts great responsibility onto Crusoe, causes him to turn pale and [grow sick (Defoe 205). Thus, Crusoe recognizes the wisdom of his father's advice, which after leaving the island, he is content to live in that middle state for many years.

On the island, Crusoe learns that trade is vital to establishing the value of a product, e.g. gold and silver. When Crusoe finds the gold and silver on the ship, he realizes that it has no use for him upon the island, because he cannot use it to trade the money for something he does have use for. His first inclination is to let the gold and silver sink to the bottom of the ocean, but on second thought, he does take it with him. But since Crusoe cannot trade the money, it lies in a drawer and grows mouldy with the damp of the cave (Defoe 95).

After Crusoe leaves the islan d and returns to Europe, he begins converting the value of all his goods into gold, silver, and bills of exchange (Defoe 207). Likewise, Crusoe decides to liquidate his plantation in Brazil because he has doubts about Catholicism being the appropriate religion for himself. He sells it to the children of his trustees, who fully understand the value of it (Defoe 218). Thus does Crusoe realize that products have no value until trade is involved.

Another lesson Crusoe learns on the island is the sinfulness of wastefulness. He realizes that the island offers abundant opportunities for food, fuel, etc. But Crusoe begins to see that :all the good things of this eArth are no fArther good to us than they are for our own use (Defoe 94). Therefore, if Crusoe kills more than he can eat, or plants more than he can store for later consumption, or cuts more trees than he can find use for, they will all just go to waste, as he cannot use them in time before they spoil or rot away.

When Crusoe learns the state of his Brazilian plantation, he does not know at first what to do with his sudden riches. But remembering the lesson that wastefulness is sinfulness, he immediately turns philanthropist. Crusoe cancels the debt that the old Captain owes him, and furthermore settles an annuity on him for a 100 moidores and 50 moidores a year upon the Captain's son (Defoe 206). Likewise, Crusoe sends a hundred pounds apiece to his sisters, and to the widow of Crusoe's first benefactor, with a promise of more money to come.

Crusoe also bestows 500 moidores on the monastery in Brazil and 372 moidores to be used to benefit the poor, as the Prior should direct (Defoe 207). It's very important to note that Crusoe does not send any money or presents to the trustees of his plantation because they were far above having any occasion of it (Defoe 207).

Since now Crusoe has more money than he has immediate use for, he distributes much on his family, friends, and religious institutions. After his return to England, he adopts two of his nephews and provides a home for them, setting them up in employment when they come of age. In this manner, Crusoe turns much of his wealth to benefit others who have need of it.

In the same way, Crusoe applies the lesson he learned while on the island about God's providence for all living things upon his return to civilization. Crusoe reconciles himself to the knowledge that God put him on the island, but comes to see that the banishment is not so much a punishment as it is a blessing, since Crusoe could have perished with the rest of the ship's crew. Crusoe comes to the conclusion that God put him on the island because he rejected the voice of providence that had designed Crusoe for the middle state of life where he could have been happy and easy (Crusoe 67).

When Crusoe leaves the island, he ensures that it remains inhabited by the mutineers and the shipwrecked Spaniards. In regards to the island, Crusoe takes on a role much like God, in that he provides the men with arms, tools, seed, and instructions on how to survive and prosper on the island. Later, Crusoe returns to check their progress and bring them more goods to help them on the island. Crusoe also brings them a carpenter and a smith, who could have been of great use to Crusoe when he was on the island. Crusoe sails to Brazil after engaging the men not to leave the place (Defoe 220). From Brazil, he sends more supplies to the island and women to marry the men. Crusoe's obvious purpose here is to populate and improve the island according to God's admonition to Adam and Eve to be productive and multiply.

Crusoe did learn valuable lessons on the island and he did change his attitudes. He became more religious, which is evident in his unwillingness to return to Brazil; before confessing himself a papist did not bother him, but later, when he was more religious, he could not submit to Catholicism. Crusoe also learned the value of hard work, and strove to make conditions easier for the men left on the island. These lessons he learned were not forgotten as soon as he stepped on the ship to sail away from his solitary existence on the island.

Mary Arnold is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Fiction Writing.

Her writing portfolio may be viewed at http://www.Writing.com/authors/ja77521

Author:: Mary Arnold
Keywords:: Robinson Crusoe
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Uncovered: The History Of The American Flag

For centuries, the American flag has been a symbol of freedom and pride in the United States. Ever since 911, they have become fixtures on many more houses and buildings across the country. It was as if our flag was letting us know that we are still one people and will remain standing strong against the enemy. Seeing our cherished flag blow in the breeze, gave a sense of comfort to so many after that terrible tragedy, as it still does today.

If you are an American, you surely know the story of how Betsy Ross sewed the original stripes and thirteen stars back in 1776, although no one really knows for sure who designed it. Some speculate that it was Betsy Ross herself who drew up a pencil sketch at the request of George Washington. However, most historians believe it was a New Jersey congressman named Francis Hopkinson, and that even though Betsy Ross was the seamstress who did sew the first flag, she was mistakenly given the credit for designing it also. Further, they dont even think George Washington was present when the request for the flag was made to Mrs. Ross.

According to records of correspondence that transpired between Mr. Hopkinson and the Board of Admiralty in 1780, it was written that he had indeed designed the flag while serving with the Continental Navy Board. And he was hoping to be compensated for his contribution and efforts. After a lot of back and forth between Francis Hopkinson and many depArtments of the Congress during that time, he never did end up being compensated, but they also never denied that he was the actual designer either.

Apparently, the original flags stars were not designed to be in a circle either. That was done by a painter named Charles H. Weisgerber who recreated the scene of the meeting with Betsy Ross on canvas. For many, m any years, the stars on the flag actually showed up in all different kinds sizes and formations as it was left up to the flag makers discretion to place them as they wished. But Francis Hopkinsons original design had the stars drawn in a staggered position just as they are on our present day flag. It wasnt until the Executive Order on June 24, 1912 that the precedent was set for a consistent formation of the stars on the United States flag.

At this point in time, the facts about who designed it are not really as important as the fact that the American flag continues to proudly wave, representing liberty and justice, for all!

Want to know more about the history of our American Flag. Visit ultra-interesting flag resources and find out all that you might not have known about Old Glory.

Author:: Nathan T. Lynch
Keywords:: American Flag
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The Real Dracula: A Monster of his Time

This Article Has Violent Descriptions, Not Intended For Young Readers

Contrary to popular belief, there was a real Dracula, who was known for his Evil acts while he reigned over his kingdom. His full name was Vlad III Draculea (which is transliterated into Dracula), son of Vlad II Draculea, born in Transylvania in 1431, and dying in 1476. He had three main reigns, his first in 1448, his second (the longest) from 1456-1462, and finally in 1476. He spent most of his time in Tirgoviste and Bucharest. Dracula built many fortresses, monasteries, and walls, the most famous of which was Castle Dracula, which was placed in a remote, isolated area. Many consider Dracula to be the ideal Machiavelli prince, in that he did anything to maintain his power. One thing he is famous for is holding off the Ottoman Empire from taking over Western Europe, but he is even more so famous for his atrocious acts of cruelty.

In the beginning of his reign, Dracula insisted upon reducing the power of boyars (noble lords), and did so by killing many of them. He gathered all the boyars and killed the weak by impalement, and used the others to build a fortress for him. Since somebody needed to replace them, he ingeniously gave peasants their position, thus making them grateful and loyal to him. While Dracula didn't have anything against peasants or merchants, he hated thieves, beggars (who he considered worse than thieves), sick, lazy, and old people. On one occasion he gathered all of them into one building, and then set it on fire and burned them alive, ignoring their screams of agony.

Dracula was interested in the Church, at least initially. He built many monasteries and Churches, and donated money and land to them. He also followed their customs and rituals, and was Romanian Orthodox. Per haps a reason why he was so involved with the Church was that he used it to atone for, and most of the time justify, his Evil acts. However, he eventually became suspicious of the Church, as he saw them as people who could elude his jurisdiction. The Church appeared to him as an obstacle, something more powerful than him. He burned down many monasteries, including some he built, and impaled clergy and monks.

All of this was done to preserve his power. One of the main reasons Dracula was so supportive of peasants was because they were 90% of the population, and Dracula needed their brawn and support for his empire to thrive. He founded new villages and reduced feudal dues (taxes) so that they would be more supportive of him. To defend them, he built fortresses around these villages so the people would have somewhere to go in case of an attack or other crisis. However, as was stated, he had no tolerance for the incompetent and lazy, and had no problem eliminating them. He saw this as a way to protect his kingdom and keep it pure. He would take some people, like thieving gypsies, and instead of killing them, enlist them in his gypsy army, so they could be of some use. Dracula didn't trust merchants much, and he tested them multiple times for trickery, and if they failed, they were killed. But for the honest ones, he made sure they were secure and safe, by protecting their trade routes.

Dracula maintained order in his kingdom through very harsh laws. The things he did would stop any person from even thinking of committing a crime.

WARNING: Graphic Description Immediately Follows

Dracula's methods were cruel but effective, and while some of the laws were fair, others weren't. For example, if a wife had an affair and was married, her sexual organs were cut off, w hich was then followed by her being skinned and put into the public square, while her skin hung from a pole. The same punishment was applied if a woman lost her virginity and was not married, or if a widow was unchaste. Another punishment, usually for lesser offenses, was the removal of a woman's nipples. According to a folk tale, on one occasion he had a red hot iron stake shoved up a woman's vagina until it exited through her mouth. She was tied to a pole in the public square and left there as her skin fell from her body. Another tale is that he boiled a gypsy in a pot of boiling water (although that was not an isolated incident), skinned her, and forced fellow gypsies to eat her.

His most famous punishment was impalement. In his courtyard and the forest surrounding it were hundreds of stakes, rounded in such a way to induce maximum pain. The stake was inserted through the anus and it exited out the mouth, although sometimes it was inserted through the stomach or upp er chest. He was fond of medieval torture, attaching horses to people's arms and legs, crushing people under wheels, and covering people in food and unleashing vicious animals upon them. He also exposed people to the elements, releasing them into harsh weather with no way of escape. Nobody could escape his violence; in fact, babies were impaled sometimes on the same stakes their mothers were. Another form of torture was the removal of limbs, noses, and ears by cutting. Besides how he killed people was how many people he killed, one man said a minimum of 40,000, maximum of 100,000, although a more realistic number is 20,000. While that is low by today's standards, it was extremely high back then, especially since Dracula killed that many in such a short period of time.

Considering the things that Vlad III (remember, that is his first name) did, it is not surprising that Bram Stoker named the vampire in his book, as well as the book itself, Dracula.

The author stud ies history and reads in his free time. He owns http://www.w4t3r.com, which hosts many very funny stories.

Author:: Justin Kander
Keywords:: Dracula, Evil
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They Lived in Despair but Just Didn't Know It

When a people believe through brainwashing or social programming that what they have is what they really want, then you cannot force someone against their will to seek a better life. In fact they will fight against the givers of Freedom at the bequest of their own purveyors of propaganda.

When a regime controls the media, knowledge and teachings, a culture may not realize that there is a better way or life out there and they can have it, if they will stand up together; power to the people. I would like to stamp our hunger and poverty, but not entirely. I believe that the life experience is about joy, happiness, pain and sorrow. And those choices should be allowed too. In other words if someone chooses to be Unhappy or live a life of pain and sorrow, they too should be allowed that choice.

An Individual should be allowed to live without things. Such as a minimalist or Buddhist Monk? Too much abundance is a choice in some countries such as the United States of Am erica, yet it can also be abused, causing fat humans, who also choose to indulge without responsibility. Democracy is about choice, but with that choice comes responsibility.

Many a learned man believes that the elimination of poverty and hunger are a by-product of a more efficient civilization, which empowers its people through choice and liberty. They believe that ONE of the major goals of Democracy should be to stabilize a civilization to function efficiently for the whole, while respecting, tolerating and allowing the Liberty of the Individual. In fact; I am they, I am with them, if they will come and see what the world has to offer if they will make a stand now.

I believe it so strongly, I am proud to be an American. Others should follow what we have built here. I believe we should better what we have built, improve efficiencies and further streamline it and bring it closer to its original roots without denying its faults or problems; sweeping nothing under the carpet. Then utilizing all the modern technologies available, seek perfection in every regard and then franchise this self-government method around the Planet to all. That is what I think. My name is Lance Winslow and thanks for asking. Tell me what you think of my observations here in the present period?

Lance Winslow

Author:: Lance Winslow
Keywords:: Lived in Despair, Freedom, Individual, Unhappy, Fought
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The Trickster of Folklore

Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself -- he seems always to be male -- identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa.

These tales feature a trickster-hero who may be regarded as both creator god and innocent fool, evil destroyer and childlike prankster.

Tricksters are usually small in size next to the large, strong animals that appear in the same folktales. Tricksters survive by their wits, but they do more than just survive. They constantly play tricks on the animals around them, outwitting and mistreating their powerful neighbours even when these larger animals haven't done anything to deserve it. Occasionally he overreaches himself and finds that he's been too clever for his own good.

It's the Trickster who points out the flaws in our carefully managed societies. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates complex schemes and generally plays with the Laws of the Universe. He constantly questions the rules, and causes us to question these same rules. The Trickster appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, when old ways need to be changed.

The Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer. We are most accessible to the gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at, or near, boundaries - when we are experiencing transition states. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience.

Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. They represent the underdog who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior. West African trickster animals have a significant presence in the New World , when they travelled as part of the Folklore of enslaved Africans. The rabbit is best known as Br'er Rabbit in the folktales documented by Joel Chandler Harris in the USA. We also find him in his modern avatar, Bugs Bunny !

The spider is best known as Anansi, and you find him throughout the former English and French colonies of the West Indies.

The role of the slave trickster tales was an important one giving a sense of pride and hope for the future. They showed that the weak could conquer the strong. The tales were devices that taught helplessness can triumph over virtue and mischievousness is better than malice. For the slaves, trickster Folklore was also a weapon by which they were able to take subtle revenge on their masters.

Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, grief counsellor and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions, and specialises in celebrations for women. http://celebrant.yarralink.com

Author:: Susanna Duffy
Keywords:: Folklore, traditional tales, Archetypes, slave stories
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