Written and directed by Shane Salerno, Salinger (2013) takes an in depth look at the life, career and mystique of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of "The Catcher in the Rye." Beginning with boyhood dreams, the film follows Salinger's troubled times as an aspiring writer. It looks at his service in World War II, where he fought from D Day, the Battle of the Bulge and up through V Day. The success of his short stories, which often featured traumatized characters drawn from himself, led to his masterpiece: The Catcher in the Rye. The astounding impact of Salinger's account of Holden Caulfield's weekend journey amongst phonies in New York City drew strong focus and pressure on the shy author. In the face of fame, he retreated to the woods of New Hampshire, not publishing a word between 1965 and his death in 2010, 45 years later. This great film provides great insight into the mystery surrounding the secretive man, whose writing has been a source of inspirational angst for generations of young people. Friends, former lovers and journalists provide commentary, assisted by celebrities like Martin Sheen, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton.
Directed by Bryan Goeres, Art Heist (2005) was first released in Spain and then went straight to DVD in the United States. The story concerns an art expert, who is sent to Barcelona to help investigate a series of Art Heists… and finds herself caught up in a dangerous web of deceit and greed. The film contains many art heist cliches, like masked robbers with sophisticated equipment, rolling up 500-year-old-paintings as easily as brand new posters, daring chases and commissioned thefts by wealthy gangsters and connoisseurs. The paintings stolen in the movie include four works by El Greco and one by Lucas Cranach. William Baldwin and Ellen Pompeo do their best in the lead roles, but the writing isn't on par. The supporting cast includes Ed Lauter, Rachel Laure and Abel Folk.
The Nightwatchman, 1962. by Norman Rockwell. Worcester Art Museum
by Travis Simpkins
In 1962, Norman Rockwell was commissioned to paint yet another cover for the Saturday Evening Post. This illustration was to depict a nonchalant late shift security guard at a museum. For a museum, Rockwell chose the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts as inspiration. Containing the second largest collection of arms and armor in North America, the Higgins was utterly unique, with a great hall built to represent an interior castle setting. Norman Rockwell visited the Higgins Armory Museum, took reference photos and met with staff. Back home in Stockbridge, he executed an enormous charcoal preparatory sketch for the finished work to be called "The Nightwatchman." The drawing depicts a late shift security guard amongst a display of arms and armor, perhaps just having awoken from a quick doze, pouring himself a cup of coffee and preparing to enjoy a meal break. His watchman's signal clock casually hangs on the ironclad foot of the display armor. It certainly recalls a simpler time in museum security… a line of work, that despite parody, has long held a certain mystique. To be in an empty museum at night is an indescribable feeling… especially if one possesses an interest in history. This illustration, "The Nightwatchman", sums up some of that… anchored by a collection established during the golden age of American museums.
The Nightwatchman, 1962. by Norman Rockwell. Worcester Art Museum
The Nightwatchman, 1962. by Norman Rockwell. Worcester Art Museum
On a related note, there is still one Watchman's Signal left at the Worcester Art Museum. It has been out of service for decades, but recalls the old practice of stopping in at regular stations that would've been employed by Rockwell's "Nightwatchman." It is fitting that the drawing of the Security Guard, along with much of the armor, came to the nearby Worcester Art Museum when the Higgins Armory Museum closed in 2013.
