The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

("The very ideeeea!" huffs Ma Sweeney, glaring across the breakfast table as Uncle Frank laconically sips his cofffee. "You! Arrested!" "Now, Nora," sighs Uncle Frank with a dismissive smile, "I told ye beefore, I was not arrested. They mearrrly wanted to aaask me a few questions, that's all. And when I suggested they moit foind some interestin' aanswers if they called me good friend Councilman Sharrrkey, why, they joost tipped their haats and wished me a good aafternoon. Noothin' t' waary about a'tall." "Keep ye voice down," admonishes Ma. "Th' window's oopen, an' ye never know who's down in the street b'low. Now tell me, whaat did ye do with that race tickaaar ye had in ye warrehouse?" "Naaaat to worry, me dear," declares Uncle Frank with an expansive chuckle. "Oi've had Danny an' Jimmy put it in a saaafe location. Took care of aaaal that laaast night while ye was sleepin'." "Well," sighs Ma, as she rises from the table, cinches her robe, and heads toward the bathroom. "If ye sure of thaat. It's aaalmoost time to go down an' oopen the stoore. If ye wouldn't mind ronnin' down to bring in the boondles o' newspapaars, Oi'd like to take me a quick baath..." "Ahhhhh," calls Uncle Frank, "Oi wouldn' be plaanin' on thaat joost now. Ahhh -- oi think ye might foind that..." "FRANCIS!" comes a sharp yelp from the bathroom. "WHAAAAT'S THIS IN THE BAAATHTOOB!" "Well," wheedles Uncle Frank, "ye must agree thaaat's a safe loocation...")

Five Russian columns accelerated converging drives today toward the big German base at Bryansk, liberating towns and villages at the rate of five an hour, but heavy enemy counterattacks slowed Soviet progress in the Ukraine. Smashing along the Orel-Bryansk railroad in a frontal assault, the main Red Army column was only 16 miles from Bryansk after capturing Malyeluki, marking an eight mile advance from the defense outpost at Karyachev. Another force, 60 miles north of Bryansk, was threatening to outflank the German Desna River line where the Axis forces were expected to make their final stand before the Central Front bastion. Further Soviet progress would place the entire German positions along the Desna at risk. Meanwhile, Nazi reserves, backed by strong forces of tanks and planes, were counterattacking in Kharkov, and before Poltava in the Ukraine, in an attempt to halt the Russian advance short of the Dnieper River. The situation in Kharkov itself is obscure, with the Russians, at last report, in the northern and eastern suburbs but still believed to be facing strong opposition as they pushed to reach the center of the city.

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker stated today that he expects the war in Europe to continue until the fall of 1944, with Germany "not expected to crack" until then, and that it may take a year or so beyond that to defeat Japan. "Only a miracle can bring victory sooner," predicted the famed World War I aviator in his first public statement since his return from a fact-finding visit to Russia. Everywhere during that tour, Rickenbacker declared, he had seen "the spirit of the Allies on the ascendancy. Everywhere the results are in the right direction."

Navy Secretary Frank Knox told a press conference today that the U-Boat menace in the North Atlantic has been largely vanquished, with most German submarine action now confined to the South Atlantic, and even there the only ships being sunk are "either stray vessels or those in small convoys with inadequate protection." Those losses, he emphasized, "are of no great consequence to the Allies."

Fourteen retail fish dealers reopened their shops today after a half-holiday yesterday taken in protest of what they called the OPA's "no profit "ceiling prices on fillets. The shutdown ended after a conference with OPA officials at the Empire State Building led to "consideration" of the fish merchants' complaints. The dealers, all members of the Fish Fillet Dealers Association, announced that they would immediately submit for OPA examination full facts and figures concerning the sale of fillets. One of the fourteen dealers indicated, however, that if a satisfactory OPA decision is not handed down within two weeks, he intends to close his shop permanently.

("Kinda late t'be up read'n, ain'it?" queries Joe, as he pads into the bedroom just before 2 AM. "Good book," shrugs Sally, without looking up. "Oh yeh," nods Joe, unbuckling his overalls and tossing them over the chair. "I hoid about t'at. Lotta trees in Williamsboig, y'go oveh t' McCarren Pawk, t'ey got awlkin'sa trees. But," he continues, stepping into the bathroom to brush his teeth, "t'es one t'ing I neveh run inta in Williamsboig awla time I was t'eh." "Whassat?" queries Sally, her eyes fixed on the page. "Anybody," replies Joe, thru a mouthful of Pebeco, "named Smit'.")

(Cary Grant in a submarine movie? Well, that'll give Alfred Andriola plenty of new headshots for Dan Dunn.)

Lionel Atwill makes his return to the Brooklyn boards tonight when he opens a week's engagement at the Flatbush Theatre as the star of "My Dear Children." Mr. Atwill, in the role created on Broadway by John Barrymore, is back on the legitimate stage following a long sojourn in Hollywood.

The War Production Board has released approximately 450,000 yards of silk from rejected Army parachutes to civilian manufacturers. The fabric is to be used in the production of women's underwear and baby pants.

The Eagle Editorialist commends Emile Zola Weinberg of the WPB for the recent action taken to establish full authority over borough manufacturing by the Board's Brooklyn office, rather than the former policy subordinating local WPB operations to the Manhattan office. Expansion by 30 percent of Brooklyn's war production is cited by Mr. Weinberg for the change in policy, a decision which the EE cites as "forcible evidence that a city of 2,750,000 people is no whistle stop."

(They'll do fine as long as she can keep him out of Red Hook.)

A patrolman who arrested a "54 year old Negro" for gazing into shop windows on Utica Avenue drew a sharp reprimand from Magistrate Charles Solomon. Appearing in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court to charge Rodnick Lord of 1690 Union Street with disorderly conduct and failing to show identification while looking in the store windows "in a suspicious manner," Patrolman Ernest Meckel of the Empire Boulevard station was told by the Magistrate that he had treated Mr. Lord "offensively." The Magistrate, in dismissing all charges against Lord, called the principle of the case "more important than all OPA violations put together," and declared that "life is a shop window, and stores have windows for people to look into!"

("T'is Schultz guy," observes Alice Dooley, seated on an ash can in the basement of 1720 63rd Street, "is kin'a tawl, ain'ee?" "Yeh," agrees Krause the super, his voice echoing hollowly as he leans into the cold boiler to check the firebox for cracks. "I kin'a like a tawl guy," continues Alice. "I mean, I'm kin'a tawl meself. Awmos six feet, ev'n. Not too many gals is six feet tawl. Makes me kin'a whatchacawl self conscious, y'know? But when I'm wit' a tawl guy, well, f'rzample like t'is Schultz, why, it don' seem so bad." "Yeh," echoes Krause, poking his flashlight in a corner of the firebox. "Hey Sid," queries Alice. "Y'eveh see t'em, whatchacawl, t'ese elevateh shoes t'ey got? T'em Adleh elevateh shoes?" "Yeh," reverberates Krause. "Y'eveh t'inka tryin'em?" "Neh," nehs Krause, scraping at a caked-on chunk of clinker. "Howcum?" asks Alice, rising from her seat only to bonk her head on a low basement beam. "T'at's why," declares Krause.)

(Live a little, kid.)

(The return of coffee rationing?)

(Pinball? DOES BUTCH KNOW ABOUT THIS???)

(AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG IS ALWAYS KIND TO STRANGERS)

(Junior Tracy started out just like this.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And not to overlook...

The conclusion of one of Mr. Parrott's best columns ever. Give the boy an award!

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Mr. Dodge has been known to Page Four in the past. You can do better, hon.

"Coom now, boys, ye'll haave to do bettar'n thaat!"

Dignity for an indignant time.

"Y'know, there's lotsa ways to make it look like an accident." "What's that?" "Oh, jes' thinkin' out loud."

You do realize there were easier ways to do this.

"Honest! Why, I'm making ten bucks a week just running numbers!"

What did you think would happen when all the security guards got drafted?

"Arthur Murray taught me dancing in a hurry!"

I'd never thought of Plushie as a man of courage and principles, but hey...

"Bringing Up Father" is a great favorite in this household.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And finally,

We actually haven't heard all that much from Butch lately, but I guess that's getting kinda boring...

 

[Fading Fast]

...
("The very ideeeea!" huffs Ma Sweeney, glaring across the breakfast table as Uncle Frank laconically sips his cofffee. "You! Arrested!" "Now, Nora," sighs Uncle Frank with a dismissive smile, "I told ye beefore, I was not arrested. They mearrrly wanted to aaask me a few questions, that's all. And when I suggested they moit foind some interestin' aanswers if they called me good friend Councilman Sharrrkey, why, they joost tipped their haats and wished me a good aafternoon. Noothin' t' waary about a'tall." "Keep ye voice down," admonishes Ma. "Th' window's oopen, an' ye never know who's down in the street b'low. Now tell me, whaat did ye do with that race tickaaar ye had in ye warrehouse?" "Naaaat to worry, me dear," declares Uncle Frank with an expansive chuckle. "Oi've had Danny an' Jimmy put it in a saaafe location. Took care of aaaal that laaast night while ye was sleepin'." "Well," sighs Ma, as she rises from the table, cinches her robe, and heads toward the bathroom. "If ye sure of thaat. It's aaalmoost time to go down an' oopen the stoore. If ye wouldn't mind ronnin' down to bring in the boondles o' newspapaars, Oi'd like to take me a quick baath..." "Ahhhhh," calls Uncle Frank, "Oi wouldn' be plaanin' on thaat joost now. Ahhh -- oi think ye might foind that..." "FRANCIS!" comes a sharp yelp from the bathroom. "WHAAAAT'S THIS IN THE BAAATHTOOB!" "Well," wheedles Uncle Frank, "ye must agree thaaat's a safe loocation...")
...

The thing that's often misunderstood or under appreciated is that running an, umm, "off the books" business can be harder than running a legal one. I've noted this before, but years ago my girlfriend served on a jury of a large drug trial in NYC and she said that most of the senior guys (all guys) running the business could easily have been successful legitimate businessmen had they gone in that direction.

...

Navy Secretary Frank Knox told a press conference today that the U-Boat menace in the North Atlantic has been largely vanquished, with most German submarine action now confined to the South Atlantic, and even there the only ships being sunk are "either stray vessels or those in small convoys with inadequate protection." Those losses, he emphasized, "are of no great consequence to the Allies."
...

"You're welcome, happy to humbly do my part."

"Oh, shut up."

...

(Cary Grant in a submarine movie? Well, that'll give Alfred Andriola plenty of new headshots for Dan Dunn.)
...

No kidding on Andriola.

For a fun, not-nuanced, but entertaining "good guys vs. bad guys" propaganda movie, you can't go wrong with "Destination Tokyo." And it's got a heck of a cast.

...

A patrolman who arrested a "54 year old Negro" for gazing into shop windows on Utica Avenue drew a sharp reprimand from Magistrate Charles Solomon. Appearing in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court to charge Rodnick Lord of 1690 Union Street with disorderly conduct and failing to show identification while looking in the store windows "in a suspicious manner," Patrolman Ernest Meckel of the Empire Boulevard station was told by the Magistrate that he had treated Mr. Lord "offensively." The Magistrate, in dismissing all charges against Lord, called the principle of the case "more important than all OPA violations put together," and declared that "life is a shop window, and stores have windows for people to look into!...

Horrible cop; great judge who represents the authority of the state reprimanding a police officer for denying a citizen his rights. As wrong as America's treatment of minorities was, this (pic below) was just one small (and not the worst) example of how Jews were treated in Nazi Germany - no German judge is going to reprimand these cops.

...

(Pinball? DOES BUTCH KNOW ABOUT THIS???)
...

What does "...two slugs from a pinball machine" mean as I thought pinball machines took nickels?

And in the Daily News...

Mr. Dodge has been known to Page Four in the past. You can do better, hon.
...

Agreed, he's awful, but at least some of these women are playing for the $60k a year from the start. Sometimes it's Kissinger and the Iran-Iraq war.

...

"Coom now, boys, ye'll haave to do bettar'n thaat!"
...

My going rate is two cases of Coke, three boxes of Hershey bars, a case of cigarettes, you get no more than half an hour and someone has to watch my lamb the whole time.

...

You do realize there were easier ways to do this.
...

Not being psychotic, it's just a guess, but you would think people like Mrs. Pruneface would want to stay around and see their handiwork play out. But of course, that would make it harder for Tracy to have a miraculous escape.

And finally,

We actually haven't heard all that much from Butch lately, but I guess that's getting kinda boring...

The Eagle took a firm stand, that's for sure. The problem is that the people who want power, run for office, those who want it limited tend not to be interested in running.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn stars Joan Blondell, always my focus.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Slugs were used by some pinball operators as a way of getting around the pinball ban -- "we're not putting nickels in the machines, nyahh nyahh, they don't take coins at all!" Of course, the slugs were sold at the candy-store counter, which just amounted for one more thing for Leonora to put in her mouth.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Catehpillehs!" marvels Joe, with a sad shake of his head. "An'na NOIVE'a t'em people! Cawlin'a catehpilleh 'Joe!' What'd I eveh do t''t'em?? I grew UP in Williamsboig! I woiked f'YEEHS in Williamsboig! An' whatt'd I get f'rit? T'ey cawl a catehpilleh afteh me. I ASK YA!" "It's a sooooore trial," chuckles Ma. "Ain'neh one'a t'em plagues inna Bible about catehpillehs?" continues Joe. "Whatcha s'pose t'ey done in Williamsboig t'desoive t'at?" "Ohhhhhh," sighs Ma with a raised eyebrow, "naaathin' nobody's doin' anyplace else." "LaGawrdia oughta do sum'p'n 'bout t'at," declares Joe. "Strip teasehs, he done sum'p'n 'bout t'at. Doity magazines, he done sump'n about t'at. Awrtichokes, he done sump'n 'bout t'at. Pinballs, he done sump'n about t'at. Seems t'me he c'd do sump'n 'bout catehpillehs." "He's a busy man," agrees Ma. "Even bingo!" sputters Joe. "He done sump'n about T'AT!" "So he says," mutters Ma. "What?" "Naaathin'. What's that aaan ye shoolder?" "WHEH? BRUSH IT OFF!")

American and British forces today completed the conquest of Sicily, taking control of the bomb-ruined city of Messina to the cheers of frenzied civilians who crawled out of the rubble to greet them. Tremendous quantities of Axis war materiel and Italian prisoners were waiting to be taken, but hardly a German was to be seen. Abandoning their "allies," the Nazi forces had fled across the two-mile Messina Straits to new positions on the Italian mainland. American units were first to enter Messina, about six hours after the last of the Germans had ingloriously departed, and no sooner had they taken their new positions than the Axis began lobbing shells across the straits. Two civilians cheering the Americans were killed by the first shell to hit. American "Long Tom" field pieces were soon in place, returning fire shell for shell.

Huge Soviet and German armies today are locked in a titanic battle on the Ukrainian plains that will decide the fate of Kharkov and perhaps that of the whole Russian summer offensive on the southern front. Recoiling after being driven back into the outskirts of Kharkov, and to the outer defenses of Poltava, 90 miles to the southwest, the Germans were counterattacking with tens of thousands of infantrymen and hundreds of tanks in a desperate attempt to stop the Soviet onslaught. A Russian victory would not only liberate Kharkov for the second time this year, but would also probably roll back the Germans to the west back of the Dnieper River and probably doom Axis forces in the Crimea, and on a narrow strip of the northwest Caucasus.

A 34-year-old Manhattan press agent is out on $5000 bail after his arrest today on charges that he mulcted an Abraham Lincoln High School teacher out of $2000. Irving Lehrer is accused of claiming he was about to be prosecuted for income-tax violations and inducing Miss Martha Kramer of 63 Ocean Avenue, after courting her at an upstate resort, to give him the money by promising to marry her once he had resolved his legal difficulties. She subsequently learned that Lehrer was already married and had a child. She traced him to his place of employment and caused his arrest. At his arraignment, Lehrer entered a plea of innocent.

(Yeah, but how's your back??)

(Yes, this is indeed the show in which the late Mr. Barrymore administered a spanking to Elaine Barrie, and given Mr. Atwill's well-known proclivities, his appearance in this particular role is evidence that someone at the Flatbush Theatre follows Page Four very very closely.)

The close-cropped, up-tossed, and tousled coiffure worn by Ingrid Bergman in "For Whom The Bell Tolls" figures to be worn on many a Brooklyn head this fall, and has already begun to appear on local boulevards. The hairdo is short, but well-adapted to most any type of face, and is said to be ideal for wartime because it leaves no dangling ends to get caught in machinery or to detract from the tidy appearance of a woman in military uniform. Hair is cut to about two and a half inches in length and then waved in such a way as to produce a casual look, but can be worn longer if desired. Local makeup artist Eddie Senz suggests that the cut may become known as "the World War II bob," in the same way that Irene Castle's bob was so closely associated with World War I.

("Now if only they'd ration cheap rye.")

The Second Service Command has issued a warning to beware of a man, dressed in regulation Army uniform, complete with campaign ribbons, who calls himself "Sergeant Martini," and who is making the rounds of mothers of servicemen in New York and New Jersey to extort money under various pretenses. The "sergeant" claims to have served with the sons of those mothers in North Africa or Guadalcanal, and sometimes offers to show "secret films" of battle action on payment of a sum. He is said to obtained $180 from one Brooklyn mother on a promise to "help her son along" in the Army. The phony sergeant is said to be about forty-one years old, five feet seven inches in height, and weighs about 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

("T'is Schultz," declares Alice with a knowing smile, "is a good-lookin' felleh." "Ain' you loint nut'n 'bout bawlplayehs?" growls Sally, as the train jolts homeward. "Afteh awl you went t'ru wit' Higbe? You otta know awl bawlplayehs is bums. 'Cept f' Petey, o'couese. He's an actual gen'leman. T'at time he run inta me inna Prospec' Pawrk station, he said.." "Schultz ain' nut'n like Hig," interrupts Alice. "He's f'm out west. Minnesota. He ain' no unedjecated kadiddlehoppeh like Hig. He's been t' collitch. He's cultcheh'd. Refined. Y'c'n te'll f'm look'n at'tim he would'n run off wit' no blonde." "You ain' even met'tim," scoffs Sally, before pausing to consider. "Have ya?" "Oh, I been askin' aroun'," replies Alice. "You know t'at guy woiks inna clubhouse? T'at old guy, Commehfe'd his name is? Well, I know a gal knows his sisteh. An' she says she hoid t'at t'ey cawl Schultz 'Steeple.' Now if ya cawl a guy 'Steeple,' well, don'nat mean he's, you know, one'a t'ese guys awrways onna straight 'n narreh? Prob'y goes t'choich an'awlat. Not some bum hangs arouna Ol' Reliable wit'cha snotty blondes like Hig." "I 'magine'ney cawl'im 'Steeple,'" interjects Sally, "b'cause he's tawl.'""Well," acknowledges Alice, "t'at jus' means he's closeh t' Gawd.")

("Um, well, actually, I'm just going across the street to the Martha Washington.")

(Cheer up, kid, there's no way Nosferatu passes the blood test.)

("RoseLANE?" Well, obviously they'd never let him into RoseLAND!)

("I brought him home and fed him, and the next thing I knew we had to get married!")

(Nice to see Mr. Chigger is still around, and hey, with a better-looking toupee!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"Interpretive dancing!" snorts Butch. "We'll see about THAT! BRING MY CAR!"

Good old hard-boiled New York.

Whattaya bet Mr. Gray got turned down for a "B" card?

"Oh, and let's hit Abraham & Straus on the way to the doctor, they have a great deal on new shirts."

Just like molding Jell-O.

"Speak for yourself, kid -- I've got size 10 feet!"

"That's using his head!"

Does amnesia really work like this? I should have paid attention to all those other stories.

Ahhh, tell it to Havelock Ellis.

"Sure, that'll be $4.95 and Stamp No. 18!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

And also...

A badminton racket, a locking gas cap, and a Bible. Let's see Davega top that!

How to know when an adman has never met an actual woman.

 

[Trenchfriend]

And also...


A badminton racket, a locking gas cap, and a Bible. Let's see Davega top that!


How to know when an adman has never met an actual woman.

Barsoap for 5 cent, good idea!

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Patrick is off the Taffy hook it would seem. But is Taffy out of his thoughts?
''Who is Bathseheba and what is Bathsheba to me?''

 

[Fading Fast]

("Catehpillehs!" marvels Joe, with a sad shake of his head. "An'na NOIVE'a t'em people! Cawlin'a catehpilleh 'Joe!' What'd I eveh do t''t'em?? I grew UP in Williamsboig! I woiked f'YEEHS in Williamsboig! An' whatt'd I get f'rit? T'ey cawl a catehpilleh afteh me. I ASK YA!" "It's a sooooore trial," chuckles Ma. "Ain'neh one'a t'em plagues inna Bible about catehpillehs?" continues Joe. "Whatcha s'pose t'ey done in Williamsboig t'desoive t'at?" "Ohhhhhh," sighs Ma with a raised eyebrow, "naaathin' nobody's doin' anyplace else." "LaGawrdia oughta do sum'p'n 'bout t'at," declares Joe. "Strip teasehs, he done sum'p'n 'bout t'at. Doity magazines, he done sump'n about t'at. Awrtichokes, he done sump'n 'bout t'at. Pinballs, he done sump'n about t'at. Seems t'me he c'd do sump'n 'bout catehpillehs." "He's a busy man," agrees Ma. "Even bingo!" sputters Joe. "He done sump'n about T'AT!" "So he says," mutters Ma. "What?" "Naaathin'. What's that aaan ye shoolder?" "WHEH? BRUSH IT OFF!")
...

Re the bombers, they told them "We are coming by day, and by night."

Re Dodge, wife, jewelry and reconciliation gone awry, I expect Page Four will have more details and a pic.

...

A 34-year-old Manhattan press agent is out on $5000 bail after his arrest today on charges that he mulcted an Abraham Lincoln High School teacher out of $2000. Irving Lehrer is accused of claiming he was about to be prosecuted for income-tax violations and inducing Miss Martha Kramer of 63 Ocean Avenue, after courting her at an upstate resort, to give him the money by promising to marry her once he had resolved his legal difficulties. She subsequently learned that Lehrer was already married and had a child. She traced him to his place of employment and caused his arrest. At his arraignment, Lehrer entered a plea of innocent.
...

This is an evergreen scam. A friend of ours fell for it a few years ago.

...

(Yeah, but how's your back??)
...

It's 1943 and a woman is a securities analyst on Wall St. When I got to Wall St. in the '80, there where women in every type of professional and senior position, which means most of them had started their careers in the '50s and '60s to have gotten to that level.

Woman held about 20%-30% of those roles, which you can fault, but Wall St. was never as "all male" as is often claimed and, almost always, portrayed in the movies from that era. All that said, God bless Miss Smith as a security analyst is not an easy job, so kudos to her for giving up her vacation to do war work.

...

The close-cropped, up-tossed, and tousled coiffure worn by Ingrid Bergman in "For Whom The Bell Tolls" figures to be worn on many a Brooklyn head this fall, and has already begun to appear on local boulevards. The hairdo is short, but well-adapted to most any type of face, and is said to be ideal for wartime because it leaves no dangling ends to get caught in machinery or to detract from the tidy appearance of a woman in military uniform. Hair is cut to about two and a half inches in length and then waved in such a way as to produce a casual look, but can be worn longer if desired. Local makeup artist Eddie Senz suggests that the cut may become known as "the World War II bob," in the same way that Irene Castle's bob was so closely associated with World War I.
...

The original Bergman bob:

...
("T'is Schultz," declares Alice with a knowing smile, "is a good-lookin' felleh." "Ain' you loint nut'n 'bout bawlplayehs?" growls Sally, as the train jolts homeward. "Afteh awl you went t'ru wit' Higbe? You otta know awl bawlplayehs is bums. 'Cept f' Petey, o'couese. He's an actual gen'leman. T'at time he run inta me inna Prospec' Pawrk station, he said.." "Schultz ain' nut'n like Hig," interrupts Alice. "He's f'm out west. Minnesota. He ain' no unedjecated kadiddlehoppeh like Hig. He's been t' collitch. He's cultcheh'd. Refined. Y'c'n te'll f'm look'n at'tim he would'n run off wit' no blonde." "You ain' even met'tim," scoffs Sally, before pausing to consider. "Have ya?" "Oh, I been askin' aroun'," replies Alice. "You know t'at guy woiks inna clubhouse? T'at old guy, Commehfe'd his name is? Well, I know a gal knows his sisteh. An' she says she hoid t'at t'ey cawl Schultz 'Steeple.' Now if ya cawl a guy 'Steeple,' well, don'nat mean he's, you know, one'a t'ese guys awrways onna straight 'n narreh? Prob'y goes t'choich an'awlat. Not some bum hangs arouna Ol' Reliable wit'cha snotty blondes like Hig." "I 'magine'ney cawl'im 'Steeple,'" interjects Sally, "b'cause he's tawl.'""Well," acknowledges Alice, "t'at jus' means he's closeh t' Gawd.")
...

"He's been t' collitch. He's cultcheh'd. Refined." Just perfect.

I feel a bit badly for Alice, Higbe seems to have really gotten to her.

And in the Daily News...

"Interpretive dancing!" snorts Butch. "We'll see about THAT! BRING MY CAR!"
...

Had that fight taken place today, it would have been capture on a cellphone video and would have gone supernova viral.

I guess we know why Page Four didn't have room for the Dodge "reconciliation" story. I applaud the editorial choice.

...

Good old hard-boiled New York.
...

This could be the best one of these columns we've ever read.

...

Whattaya bet Mr. Gray got turned down for a "B" card?
...

Exactly what is this guy doing in his store that he can't even move rationed wartime goods?

...

Does amnesia really work like this? I should have paid attention to all those other stories.
...

Amnesia seems to work the way comic-script authors and screenwriters say it works as it was such a handy-dandy deus ex machina in the '30s and '40. We've come to expect more from Caniff, though. That said, can you imagine the pressure to come up with 365 interesting strips a year?

Barsoap for 5 cent, good idea!

You're not wrong as that would be about 88 cents today, which is cheaper than most bar soap cost now, unless you buy in bulk.

 

[Trenchfriend]

@Fading Fast
Come to Germany. Storebrand barsoap 150 grams 0,49 EUR. Germans still love real (natural) soap, NOT Dove.

 

[Madhouse27]

And also...

View attachment 540942
A badminton racket, a locking gas cap, and a Bible. Let's see Davega top that!

View attachment 540943
How to know when an adman has never met an actual woman.

Despite waiting patiently all these years, I’ve not yet been present when a spontaneous pillow fight breaks out between two scantily clad women. I feel like time is running out.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Blondes!" snorts Alice. "Hig betteh wawtch out, he's gonna be nex'!" "Neh," nehs Sally. "Nobody's gonna bot'eh knifin' a guy t'at's 8 'n' 10.")

Soviet troops have smashed and occupied the main German defense line along the right bank of the Donets River, 18 miles south of Kharkov, it was reported today in front dispatches. The Russians, resuming their general advance on the Kharkov front after breaking Axis counter-attacks in some of the fiercest fighting of the summer campaign, also swept across the Vorskla River a tributary of the Dnieper, captured Oposhnaya and pressed on to a point only 21 miles north of the big German base at Poltava.

The August grand jury today pressed a sweeping investigation into specific charges that residents and business owners have been terrorized, beaten, and robbed during a crime wave in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section. Almost a dozen detailed allegations -- one of which is that the caretakers of the Gates Avenue courthouse are afraid to venture out of the building at night -- are before grand jurors. The probe originated with a letter of complaint sent to grand jury foreman Leon Alexander by attorney Norman A. Silver of 472 Gates Avenue outlining the various incidents and alleging that there is evidence of "an organized and systematic criminal enterprise" at work in the neighborhood. Specific incidents identified in the letter include the wrecking of a bar and grill at the corner of Atlantic and Utica Avenues by a a group of men armed with knives and clubs, the "befouling" of a telephone booth in a Kingston Avenue luncheonette, and a threat to the operator of that establishment with a broken bottle by the man who "befouled" the booth, and a threat to a 60 year old rabbi who was riding on a trolley and reading a newspaper when he was accosted and threatened by a man who declared "I can see by your face that you don't like me! I'm as smart as you, and if you don't leave me alone I'll punch you in the nose!" Other incidents described in the letter include purse-snatchings, the beating of children, and the waylaying of churchgoers by bands of hoodlums. "Speak to the merchants along any of these streets," concluded the letter, "and they will tell you of robberies committed in their presence. Yet they say nothing for fear of reprisal and the lack of proper policing."

(What a movie this will make some day.)

Holders of B and C gasoline ration books must apply for new books starting next Monday, it was announced today by the district office of the OPA. The new coupons bear the words MILEAGE RATION, and a large letter B or C, and will include a space for writing in the vehicle's license number and state of registration. All unused coupons from the previous gasoline book must be turned into to the local ration board in order to receive the new coupons, and all previous coupons will become invalid as of September 1st. The new books are being issued in a deliberate effort to foil black marketers by rendering their current stocks of coupons useless.

("Yknow what else we neveh hoid of in Williamsboig?" chuckles Joe. "Anybody named 'Jones?'" suggests Ma. "Well, yeh," shrugs Joe. "I was -- um -- gonna say t'at, yeh.")

Rehearsals begin today for Gypsy Rose Lee's new play "The Naked Genius," under the production auspices of Michael Todd, the impresario who presented Miss Lee in "Star and Garter." George S. Kaufman will direct. Miss Lee herself will not appear in the play, which is to star film favorite Joan Blondell in the role of Gypsy-like burlesque star "Honey Bee," with Claire Meade as her mother.


The Eagle Editorialist acknowledges that the storm of criticism that has swirled this month around Branch Rickey following the departure of Bobo Newsom, Joe Medwick, Fred Fitzsimmons, and Dolph Camilli has subsided somewhat due to the fine performance of newcomers Howard Schultz, Luis Olmo, and Eugene Hermanski. "We doubt that the man from Missouri was disturbed by the recent outcries," says the EE, "for he had made his plans and doubtless felt if they had worked the way he hoped all would be well." And the EE commends Mr. Rickey for being willing to spend the money necessary to bring in young players "who will make the Dodgers the kind of team Brooklyn wants."

("Never mind that. Where's our daughter?")

("Telegram for Mr. Rickey," declares a young woman in Western Union uniform. "Mistah Rickey, he not here," declares Mr. Rickey, in a ridiculous phony accent. "Mistah Rickey he go far away, not come back for duration. Very sorry, you go now please." "Mr. Rickey," sighs the messenger, "you're standing right in front of me. I know it's you." "Oh yes," sighs Mr. Rickey. "Very observant, young lady, you are a credit to your organization. Here is a gratuity for your trouble." "Thank you," sighs the messenger, pocketing the dime, and making a dignified withdrawal. "Aren't you going to open that, sir?" queries Jane Ann. "I am not," declares Mr. Rickey. "Whenever Mr. Higbe pitches, I receive the same telegram, the same telegram every time. And what it suggests I do with Mr. Higbe cannot be done." "You mean trade him?" "No," sighs Mr. Rickey. "Ah," says Jane Ann. "That tall redhead again." "Indeed," sighs Mr. Rickey. "A large, vigorous woman. I wonder if she could play third base.")

Former Eagle columnist Clifford Evans, now a news commentator for Brooklyn radio station WLIB, has earned a profile in the latest edition of "Who's Who in America." Congratulations, Cliff!

(So much for "health care confidentiality.")

(I mean, he does have impressive shoulders.)

("Hmph," hmphs Burma. "He's no Pat Ryan, but, oh, what the hell...")

("Good stock?" LOOK CLOSER, AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG WILL NOT BE BREEDING.)

(Man Of The Land.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Ew.

"It's cases like this," sighs Magistrate Solomon, "that make it all worthwhile."

"Poor thing, she should know flyers are the only way to go."

"We're not hoarding shoes, of course. It's just old stock. Look, this one has buttons!"

"It's how much the boss bribed him, that counts."

"Silence, Emil! I'm up for a part in Gypsy's new play!"

"And if I'm really lucky, the one that kept the bathroom key five years ago will bring it back!"

I'm confused, isn't Z a woman? Or is this story taking a twist nobody expected?

"OW! MY SPINAL CORD!"

Wait, WIllie has an exciting and colorful past? All this time I thought he was just a bum.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And finally,

Hey Lucy, they need a new comedian in "Star and Garter!"

 

[Fading Fast]

("Blondes!" snorts Alice. "Hig betteh wawtch out, he's gonna be nex'!" "Neh," nehs Sally. "Nobody's gonna bot'eh knifin' a guy t'at's 8 'n' 10.")
...

The Eagle's Front Page took on a decidedly Page Four vibe today with a blonde knifing a band leader (like candy stores, band leaders were a big part of the 1940s zeitgeist) and another blonde coaching football, while a former Follies girl reconciles with her mob attorney husband. You can't make this stuff up. Over to you Daily News.

...the "befouling" of a telephone booth in a Kingston Avenue luncheonette...

"I was nowhere near Bedford-Stuyvesant, plus police kiosks are more my thing, the phones are just collateral damage." - Babs

...

Rehearsals begin today for Gypsy Rose Lee's new play "The Naked Genius," under the production auspices of Michael Todd, the impresario who presented Miss Lee in "Star and Garter." George S. Kaufman will direct. Miss Lee herself will not appear in the play, which is to star film favorite Joan Blondell in the role of Gypsy-like burlesque star "Honey Bee," with Claire Meade as her mother.
...

Blondell will be popping the amphetamines for this role.

"Where is the rest of my costume!"
"That's all there is, Joanie."
"Good God! Where are my pills?"

And in the Daily News...

Ew.
...

"Just want to make sure you notice my legs." - Arleen Whalen

...

"It's cases like this," sighs Magistrate Solomon, "that make it all worthwhile."
...

It's was quite the day for Magistrate Solomon. First, he had to rule in the great filet mignon caper and now a dog takes the Fifth. Did Solomon ever write his memoirs?

...

"We're not hoarding shoes, of course. It's just old stock. Look, this one has buttons!"
...

Exactly. Why can't this guy move rationed goods for God sakes?

..

I'm confused, isn't Z a woman? Or is this story taking a twist nobody expected?
...

I am lost. I have very little idea what is going on here.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't believe Magistrate Solomon ever did write an autobiography -- I imagine, if what we've seen of his career since 1939 is any indication, he just never found the time.

His obituary was headlined "Unorthodox Magistrate," and I guess that's as good a epitaph as any. Although his actual epitaph is even better...

For a man who spent nearly his entire life in Brooklyn, that he should end up buried in Queens, out in Glendale is -- well, unorthodox.