Vintage Drugstore Carnival: 'Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic'... Does a body good!

In this chill tonic, which came out in 1878, Edwin Wiley Grove found a way to bottle a quinine (only known malaria medication of the time) mixture that would eliminate the bitter taste. This tasteless tonic, which some claimed wasn't all that tasteless, was quite an improvement over taking straight quinine for fever and chills caused by malaria. A sweet syrup and lemon flavor was added to the quinine, along with cinchonine and cinchonidine, which were the main ingredients in crystal form within the tonic. The chill tonic was so popular that the British army made it standard issue for every soldier going off to mosquito infested lands and, by 1890, more bottles of Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic were sold than bottles of Coca-Cola.

So much success... All achieved with a marketing campaign like that one??!
Boy, have times changed.


~ Image taken from the postcard book, "Just What the Doctor Odrered": Health and Grooming in the Classic Age of Advertising. Published by Prion Books Limited, London. ~

Movie Moments: 'Bigger Than Life'

I don't usually buy a movie sight unseen. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the very first one. Back when VHS tapes were so common, and therefore so relatively inexpensive, my mom used to buy movies left and right that she'd never even seen because to her it made more sense than going through the "trouble" of renting them. Forget that it wound up costing her much more in the long run. Much more. Not to mention the fact that most of those movies were never even liberated from their original shrink wrap! Oooh, I could go on... But what was my point to all of that? I know! It was because of my mother's whole weird, illogical movie collecting obsession that I swore to myself I'd never buy a movie I hadn't already seen and felt I had to own. Well, I stuck to that until just recently. After all, rules were made to be broken... Right?

Enter 'Bigger Than Life'. I can't really remember how it came across my radar, but once I heard about it, I just knew I would dig it. It was released in 1956, it's full of melodrama, and it was filmed in dynamic CinemaScope. Those few details alone pretty much sold it, but it was this plot summary that really drove it home for me:


"When a friendly, successful suburban teacher and father (James Mason, in one of his most indelible roles) is prescribed cortisone for a painful, possibly fatal affliction, he grows dangerously addicted to the experimental drug, resulting in his transformation into a psychotic and ultimately violent household despot. This Eisenhower-era throat-grabber, shot in expressive CinemaScope, is an excoriating take on the nuclear family. That it came in the day of 'Father Knows Best' makes it all the more shocking and wildly entertaining."


Now, how could I have possibly passed that up?? Once I knew that I wasn't getting it for my birthday (it was on my wish list), I ran out and got it for myself. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Well, actually, I did expect James Mason's character to be a bit more violent, but I think that's only because times are so much different now and I've become just as conditioned (or jaded) as the next person by today's high level of violence in almost every form of entertainment. Still, even with little to no physical violence, this flick gets pretty intense anyway! Most of the intense drama happens because of the psychotic mood swings of Mason's character and the resulting chaos. And what's not enthralling about watching a squeaky-clean, upstanding citizen (who's also a father and a school teacher) become an entirely drug-addicted psycho monster?? It's good, wholesome Family Film Festival fare, I tell you! No, not really...








Here we see Ed Avery (James Mason) at work,
grasping at the back of his neck in severe pain.
It's one of the first early signs we see that Ed is
going to need some serious medical attention,
and that something awful is about to start...







Here's Ed as a patient in the hospital. Looking on
quite concerned, is his wife Lou (Barbara Rush),
son Richie (Christopher Olsen), and Ed's two
attending doctors.







Now, this was a cinematic moment!
After returning home from the hospital, Ed (Mason)
expects to continue being pampered like he was by
the nurses. After about the umpteenth special
request he asks of his wife Lou (Rush), she just loses
it and she's the one who flies into a rage,
slamming the medicine chest so hard it shatters!
Needless to say, Lou's actions leave Ed a bit stunned,
and he takes a moment here to "reflect".







Did I mention mood swings?
Fortunately, the movie isn't just an intense downer.
It also has happier moments, like the one we see
above, when Ed happens to be experiencing an
upswing sort of mood. I love this scene because it's
so iconic, you know?







This is another great, happy scene. At least, it
is at first. See, Ed is treating Lou to a shopping
spree and it's all very exciting until... Lou thinks
about what it's all going to cost and that they really
can't afford it. The cinematography here is
just awesome!







I will not spoil the end for you, but I will tell
you that's a Bible and a huge pair of scissors
Ed is holding...





If you like drama and movies set in the 1950s, I'm almost positive that you'd enjoy this gem! Also, if you do decide to search it out, make sure and pick up the Criterion Collection version as it's absolutely pristine looking due to a high-definition digital transfer restoration. Plus, the DVD has all kinds of Special Edition extras!

Until next time, movie buffs, I hope all of your moments are happy ones!



~ All photos via Google Images ~

"OFF with (my) head!"

Lately, I've been suffering major headaches. Much more than usual. In other words, I've been miserable every single day for the last week-and-a-half! See, the last time that I saw my doctor I told him that I had been having real intense headaches more and more frequently than usual, and he asked me what I take for them. I said that I almost always take Excedrin, and sometimes more than once a day. Well, his professional opinion was that I was experiencing rebound headaches caused by the Excedrin! My basic understanding is that once your brain gets used to frequent doses of the high caffeine content in the drug, and then you stop taking it for a day or two, your brain throws a fit in the hopes that you'll take it again. Thereby, creating a vicious and oddly symbiotic cycle!

His remedy for this was for me to detox by not taking it at all for at least 2 weeks. And he warned me that it would be hell, much worse before it got better. Boy, was he ever right! It's been really tough! I usually have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but nothing could have prepared me for this. What I don't understand is, why wouldn't I just stop taking it for good, throw it away and never buy it again? If I went back to taking it, wouldn't the whole sick cycle start over? I guess that I should have asked the doc more questions...

Bottom line is, after about only 3 or 4 more days of this misery, I should be feeling a whole lot better. And I would be more than happy to permanently remove another drug from my daily medicinal regimen! In the meantime, let's have a good laugh with the following mix of both vintage ads and modern images, shall we? They do say that laughter is the best medicine!







"Poor Anthony" is more like it! But screaming
would just make my head hurt even worse.







"Will you pass the Brain Salt, please?
Mine is a bit bland..."







Just thinking about telling his
wife that he's really gay, made
his head hurt. Then he thought,
"Maybe, one of my boyfriends
will make my head feel better."







I love bulldogs! I hate headaches.







Just thinking about why her
husband never wants to have
sex, made her head hurt. Then
she thought, "Maybe, all he
really needs is more time out
with the guys, doing guy things."







This one's a bit creepy, but also fascinating. I
mean, it's like an x-ray of a headache, you guys!
And it's so pretty!







Maybe, taking off the hat and tie would help a little, grampa!







This is an old medical chart for trepanning,
a centuries-old surgical procedure that
involved drilling holes into a patient's skull.
It was believed to cure epileptic seizures,
migraines and mental disorders. Could you
imagine?! I need that like a hole in the head...







You have got to be a total sucker if you think
that this is gonna work! Aaaaand the television
commercial is so annoying it could make your
head hurt just from watching it.
"Head On... Apply directly to the forehead.
Head On... Apply directly to the forehead.
Head On..." Oh, just shoot me now!






Have a great Labor Day weekend, everybody! Remember, those of us who actually still have a job will be returning to work on Tuesday, so have some fun but don't go "losing your heads"!


~All images via Google Images~

Yes, I Like Madonna...

Liking Madonna does not make me gay. Nor does the fact that I am gay automatically mean that's why I like her. Make sense? The truth of the matter is that she is a very talented individual who I am drawn to because of her looks, charisma, confidence and music. I just happen to also be a dude who's married to another dude!

I've followed Madonna since her original rise to stardom in the early 1980s. I can remember the first time I ever heard her sing. She was on the radio and I thought that she was black. I guess that there was something in her voice back then that sounded "black"? It might have been just me, but I'd be curious to know if other people thought the same thing. Of course, now she uses her voice a bit differently, but it's still unmistakably Madonna. I know that she worked with a vocal coach while making the movie 'Evita', and ever since then her voice has been noticeably stronger.

This is from her 'Ray of Light' period.

That's one of my favorite albums, BTW!

My two absolute favorite Madonna albums are 'Ray of Light' and 'Confessions on a Dance Floor'. I felt that the latest, 'Hard Candy', was kind of weak. It does have a few gems on it, though! I like the tracks, 'Miles Away' and 'Spanish Lesson'. And, of course, the hit '4 Minutes' w/Justin was fun, but only for about 4 listens! I understand that she's continuing the 'Sticky & Sweet' tour outside of the U.S. through the end of Summer. I don't know where she gets all that energy! You'd think, even as fit and healthy as she is, that her schedule would be completely exhausting. I'm sure that it would be for us "normal" people. But Madge isn't just any mere mortal!

Here, she's posing on the 'Dance Floor'.

I seriously doubt that this dynamic performer takes any kind of enhancing drugs. She's just so into being like a super-human specimen that I can't imagine she would pollute her body in that way. Besides, how could she possibly keep giving such quality output if she was doing drugs? I think drugs of any kind would have such negative effects on her that it would be very outwardly evident.

I presume that Marie Antoinette was her

muse for this photo shoot. Either that, or she's

looking for a dangerous liaison...

I must say that Madonna seems to me like the definitive example of ambition. If only I could have a fraction of the drive she has... But I do wonder sometimes why she's still sooo driven at this point in her career? I mean, her monetary worth is in the millions upon millions and she's practically the biggest living entertainment legend on the planet! I guess that's not enough for her. And I'm glad it's not, because that seemingly insatiable hunger that propels her is what also makes her so unique.

This is an eye-opening read!

I'm sure, at this point, you must be thinking I totally worship this woman. But that is not entirely correct. See, I read the book that Madonna's brother wrote, and assuming that Christopher is telling the truth, I cannot like the private person she is at all! After reading about the way she treated him over the years, it makes complete sense why he would've written the book in the first place. Even if it is like his 'Sister Dearest' done out of revenge, you really can't blame him! I think that it was probably the healthiest thing he could have done for himself. It most likely did for him what it would have taken many years of therapy to do!

No matter how rotten of a person she may really be, I will always like Madonna for being the provocative and exciting performer that she is!