She changed, --- over the years...

 

   SHE CHANGED. BUT, NOT OVERNIGHT, LIKE IN THE BOOKS YOU READ. SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY. SOMETIMES, BRUTALLY. BUT, SHE DID. 

Roses are red... Knowledge is power...

 

   

   ROSES ARE RED... KNOWLEDGE IS POWER... GO SMASH THE PATRIARCHY, YOU BEAUTIFUL FLOWER.

Never trust these people...

 

NEVER TRUST THE PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS.

"The Beguiled," 1971, --- an absolutely sensational, unpredictable and sexy gothic thriller... (Beware: spoilers!)

 

   "COME, ALL YOU YOUNG MEN... TAKE WARNING BY ME... DON'T GO FOR A SOLDIER... DON'T JOIN NO ARMY... FOR THE DOVE SHE WILL LEAVE YOU... AND, THE RAVEN WILL COME... AND, DEATH WILL COME MARCHING, BY THE BEAT OF THE DRUM.... 

     COME, ALL YOU PRETTY, FAIR MAIDENS, COME WALK IN THE SUN... AND, DON'T LET YOUR YOUNG MAN  EVER CARRY A GUN... FOR THE DOVE SHE WILL LEAVE YOU... AND, THE RAVEN WILL COME... AND, DEATH WILL COME MARCHING, BY THE BEAT OF THE DRUM."

      

      ************************************************************

 Forget the remake of this artistic, unusual, --- and, yes, of course, very erotic film, the 2017 version with Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman;

 

it doesn't have even half the sinister, sensual aura of this one...

    Okay, --- I think Clint Eastwood, in his prime, as the Yankee soldier, John Mc Burney, is a lot more tempting than Colin Farrell, who does absolutely nothing for me.

 

I remember, one author, I don't recall who, saying that all her romantic heroes look like  Clint Eastwood. Ummm, yes, I can definitely see why... Well, then, there's Nicole Kidman who's very good, but she can't compete with the subtle, dynamic performance of the  brilliant, unique Geraldine Page, as tough, classy, passionate Miss Martha. Also, Kirsten Dunst isn't as good as Elizabeth Hartman, as sweet, naieve Edwina.

   And, in the 2017 opening scene Amy says, "Most of the students of the school went home, but some decided to stay here, farther up north.." Come on, --- with those enormous, snaky looking trees and the Spanish moss hanging from them? I could tell that was deepest Louisiana, not a more northern state of the South!  And, I was right. The movie's exteriors were shot in the bayou country of Louisiana.

     1971... 

This is one hell of an exciting, intriguing story, as a very handsome wounded manipulative liar cunningly works his way into the guarded confidences and tender affections of the secluded women at a deep South Civil War era upper class girl's boarding school. However, he's no match for them, as the story cleverly and violently unfolds, and the women's socially repressed hidden motives, lusts and their bitterness and, then, revenge finally surface.

    Mmmm... A cozy chicken dinner with a side dish of mushrooms, fresh picked from the woods...

It's not known if some obscure mushrooms are poisonous because nobody has been brave enough, or stupid enough, to try them. Other hurts from consuming toadstools are, after the hallucinations and convulsions: possible spinal and brain damage and kidney and liver failure. But, some people might survive with kidney and liver transplants.

  After Mc B collapses Miss Martha is shown picking marigolds out of the flower arrangement on the dinner table, holding them to her face, as her eyes shift, evilly. Marigolds are among the flowers of the dead, along with lilies and amaranth.

     I especially liked that in the 1971 version the ladies really don't poison Mc B; he just thinks they did. So, in his mind, he's dying, --- and so, he does. Afterwards, Miss Martha says, "He was in very poor condition." And, then we see the ladies harsh, cold faces outside the school gates, as they stitch the stone-cold dead and slightly pale blue faced Mc B into his shroud in preparation for burying him. And, Edwina thinks, --- I love you, as she covers Mc B's pale face with a delicate handkerchief.. Yes, I like that they bury him; chillingly, no one will ever know he was even there. Whereas, in the the 2017 version they also drag his body out past the gates of the school, but for the Yankees to find, a much, much weaker ending.

    Clint Eastwood read the novel of the same name by Thomas Cullinan, on which the movie is based, in one night, saying he couldn't put it down. (I'm reading the novel, and believe me, it's  GOOD.)

 

He does a delightful bit of soft creepy singing at the opening and ending of the film. I could tell it's him. I remember his voice singing, "I Talk To The Trees," in the musical, "Paint Your Wagon". Interesting that his special, gentle singing voice, which I love, seems to be in the tenor-to-baritone range, but his speaking voice is quite deep.

Uh, --- Jo Ann Harris, who plays the conniving, slutty Carol, had a long affair with Clint Eastwood. Their chemistry is obvious. He was in his early forties; she was barely twenty. But, I say if you're almost middle aged and you can get a young woman, --- go for it. We only pass this way once.

    The film was shot at a huge, fabulous Southern mansion that was especially restored at tremendous cost just for the 1971 "The Beguiled".

   (This is practically my favorite movie, --- 5 stars ***** Two more outstanding thrillers set in the South are "Eve's Bayou"

and "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil".)

Your first kiss from Clint Eastwood???...

   It can only go down hill from there. 😏

   From the gothic thriller set in Civil War time, "The Beguiled," Amy says she's 12, --- almost 13. Mc B says, --- "Old enough for kisses." 

   He's really just trying to distract her from alerting the Yankees who are passing near them. According to the script, Mc B was simply to put his hand over her mouth, but the director and Eastwood agreed he'd kiss her. Amy's surprised reaction is genuine, --- and the camera was rolling, rolling, rolling. 

The Myrtles plantation, St. Francisville, Louisiana, --- one of the most haunted houses in the U.S. : Part 2 ...

 

The Myrtles, Francisville, Louisiana, - one of the most haunted houses in America, - [Part 2] ...

Can ghosts have sex with people?  Really???...  The old nursery upstairs is the favorite trysting place for the Judge,---that is, Judge Clarke Woodruff, the rotten old lecher who would lead a pretty, young slave girl up the backstairs during the time of their affair.   Women who sleep in that room often report that the ghost of the Judge slips into bed with them and tries to seduce them.

Other hauntings: the room known as the Bridal Suite was once the bedroom of Sarah and William Stirling.  It is active most of the time, as are most of the rooms downstairs.  Footsteps, laughter, music that comes out of nowhere and the scent of perfumes are common throughout the house.  In the Spring and Fall parties are heard and seem to go on all night. Every Thanksgiving there is the sound of a string quartet.

Ghosts are seen on the grounds in broad daylight.  Some of them are dressed in period clothes of the Civil War South some are in present day clothes.  The ghosts look like regular people, until they suddenly disappear.  An investigator from the "Star" newspaper said, while she was  in it, staying in the Bridal Suite her bed floated off the floor.  A soldier dressed in Civil War Confederate gray silently and faithfully guards the Myrtles.

Hmmm... Sooo... Why are there so many, many ghosts at the Myrtles?  Some think it's because the house was built over a Native American burial ground.  Another theory is that so many emotional and passionate events happened there. Both guesses are maybe right.

Frances Kermeen wrote a book about the Myrtles, telling how she bought the plantation and of her experiences there. It reads like an exciting novel and I highly recommend it as fascinating. You can make up you mind whether you believe ghosts are real, of course...

Oprah Winfrey visited and didn't even last one night. The cast and crew of the T.V. mini series, "The Long, Hot Summer," with Don Johnson, were "uncomfortable" during the filming of scenes there.

The current owners of the Myrtles, since 1999, are John and Teeta Moss. They run the house as a bed and breakfast inn, but they don't live on the property, like Frances and her husband did. Yes, naturally, you can visit and plan a stay. The Myrtles has a fine  restaurant and an interesting  gift shop too. 

Going through it, and hiding it really well...