Movies In History: Quo Vadis

I was recently forced to spend some semi idle time in front of the television.  For reasons, I can't really explain, if I'm sick or injured, I don't read much.  I will listen to things like podcasts, and I'll watch television, but I don't do much reading.

Anyhow, during that period, I watched this 1951 "epic".  The plot surrounds a returning Roman general, Marcus, during Nero's reign who comes back from a long extended campaign just in time to experience, over a few weeks, the arrival in Rome of St. Peter and the great fire of Rome.

Condensing years of history into a few weeks, the plot is frankly improbable.  Marcus returns from campaign and stays at the house of a retired Roman general who has converted to Christianity.  He meets St. Paul there, but doesn't appreciate who he is.  He also meets Lygia, a captive in the household who was raised by her captors as their adoptive daughter, who is also a Christian.  In a matter of seeming hours, Marcus falls deeply in love with Lygia and vice versa, which leads to some drama.  Marcus is present when St. Peter preaches, having just arrived in Rome, but remains unconvinced.  Nero has Rome torched when he's at his out of the city estate, and Marcus races back, ending up being thrown in confinement with the Christians blamed for the fire. He saves Lygia and causes a Roman army to revolt against Nero.

This film was well regarded in 1951, but it's really just too thin on plot now.  Indeed, darned near any Roman epic save for Ben Hur really suffers in viewing.

Usually, I review these films for historical accuracy and material details. I really can't do that in regard with Roman material details, as I don't know enough about ancient Rome of this period to do so.  In terms of historic accuracy, Rome did suffer near destruction in a fire during Nero's reign, and he was blamed for it.  The Christians were too.  It was frankly most likely just a fire that spread by accident that was inevitable, given the conditions of the city at the time.  Nero, who became Emperor at an absurdly young age was emblematic of what was wrong with Rome at the time, but he was probably not as weird as portrayed in the film by Peter Ustinov, who really does steal the show with his depiction.  Christians were persecuted under Nero, but Nero's demise didn't come about in this fashion.

St. Peter did suffer execution, it is more than worth noting, following the great fire in 64.  The title of the film comes from St. Peter's encounter with Jesus outside of Rome, as he fled persecution there, with his encountering the risen Christ and, in the Latin translation, asking "Quo vadis?", to which Jessu replied "Romam eo iterum crucifigī", or "Where are you going", and "I am going to Rome to be crucified again".  This caussed Peter to return to Rome.

A much better film could have been made out of all of this, but at the time this one was highly regarded.  One thing of note is that it would be hard to make a Hollywood blockbuster of this type now, as this film was 100% Christian in outlook.

The Work Truck Blog: GMC New Design flatbed truck.

The Work Truck Blog: GMC New Design flatbed truck.:

GMC New Design flatbed truck.

This is a nice example, at least appearance wise, of a GMC New Design truck, the style of which is identical to the Chevrolet Advanced Design Truck.

The Advanced Design was introduced in 1947 and produced through 1955, although oddly you'll often see it claimed that it was produce through 53.  Indeed, 1953 seems to be associated with them, as people will often simply refer to the series as a "53".  We recently featured another example of it here:

Chevrolet Panel Truck

 Posted elsewhere some time ago, a beautifully restored Chevrolet panel truck.

Chevrolet Panel Truck

An exceptional example of a restored Chevrolet panel truck circa late 40s early 50s.

The one we're showing now is located out in front of the College Bar in Douglas, Wyoming, and it advertises that establishment.  It never moves, so I don't know if it's functional.  It's likely a 6100 2 ton truck or a 4100 1 1/2 ton truck.

The series was enormously successful and many examples of them remain in use.

Tuesday, June 12, 1923. Trouble in China.

The remaining eight hostages taken by train bandits in what became known as the Linceng Outrage were freed.  The payment of ransom by Shanghai mobster Du Yuesheng to Sun Meiyao of the Shandong Outlaws resulted in the final freedom of what originally had been 300 such hostages.

Du Yuesheng, who controlled the Shanghai opium trade, would become a significant supporter of Chiang Kai Shek, and has been honored with a memorial in Taiwan, where he died.

Sun Meiyao would be executed by the Chinese Army in December.

On the same day, Chinese general Feng Yuxiang issued an ultimatum to Chinese President Li Yuanhong to resign.  He himself would go on to briefly lead the country, and then support the Nationalist as well, before becoming, in later years, a critic of it.  While a Christian, he was comfortable with the Communist regime and was honored by it when he died in 1953.

Juneau Alaska, June 12, 1923.

Painted Bricks: Tumble Inn, Powder River, Wyoming.

Painted Bricks: Tumble Inn, Powder River, Wyoming.:   

Tumble Inn, Powder River, Wyoming.

 

As this institution is in the news, and as I knew I'd taken these photographs, I looked to see if I had posted them.

Of course, I had not.

The Tumble Inn was a famous eatery and watering hole in the small town of Powder River for decades.  As odd as it seems now, particularly as it would have been practically impossible to leave the establishment without having had at least a couple of beers, it was very popular for travelers and people in Casper, who'd drive the nearly 30 miles for dinner and then drive back.

Open well into the unincorporated town's decline, in its final years the restaurant, which had rattlesnake and Rocky Mountain Oysters on the menu, closed under new ownership and in its final stage was an alcohol-free strip club.   Apparently it recent sold and the new owner has taken down its famous sign in an effort to preserve it.

On that sign, I don't know how old it is, but from the appearances, it dates from the 40s or 50s.

Related threads:

Today In Wyoming's History: Tumble Inn Powder River, Wyoming

James Brown

There's been a lot of news on the passing of Jim Brown, the legendary running back.

Brown was a fantastic running back, and even in old clips it's impressive to watch him.  A nice retrospective of his life appears here:

Jim Brown, 1936-2023

I'll be frank, the thing that stands out in my mind about Brown were the allegations of assault against him, and then his featuring as one of the people, like Bill Cosby, that frequented the Playboy mansion in the big party days of that depraved institution.  That's hard to get around, and the stories that were related in the Secrets of Playboy are pretty much impossible for me to get around. 

One thing I didn't know about Brown was that he'd been commissioned into the Army Reserve and ultimately made Captain.  He enrolled in ROTC while in university and was inducted into the Army ROTC Hall of Fame (which I didn't know existed) some years ago.  Perhaps that military experience is why he appeared to be a natural in uniform in The Dirty Dozen.

So what to make of Brown and his life?  Well, I don't really have to make anything of it, but perhaps with such notable public figures we should.  His accomplishments were very real and cannot be denied.  He did act as a champion for civil rights, using his fame for that purpose.  He did translate a successful football career into other successful endeavors.  Like Bill Cosby, he's associated with the deprivations of the celebration of sexual exploitation brought about by the Sexual Revolution and advanced by Hugh Hefner.  Perhaps that's proof of just how corrosive the tolerance of that institution and acceptance of its perversion has been.

Saturday, May 15, 1943. Changes in Tunisian leadership, Flaming bats.

From Sarah Sundin's blog:'

Today in World War II History—May 15, 1943: 80 Years Ago—May 15, 1943: US Army ends experiment in using “bat bombs” as bats burn down newly constructed, unoccupied Carlsbad Army Air Base, NM.

Oops.

She also noted that the Germans launched an offensive in Yugoslavia against Communist partisans, and ABC was founded to enable the newly formed company to purchase the NBC Blue Network.

The Free French deposed Sidi Muhammad VII al-Munsif (Moncef Bey) from Tunis, and would ultimately, that following July, send him packing to Madagascar.  The Bey had collaborated with the Germans, who had in turn made him the King of Tunisia.  To his credit, however, he'd protected the Jewish population of the country as well as the Muslim population.  In context, his actions may have made some sense, from a Tunisian prospective.

When he went into exile, his 25 wives went with him, so at least he wasn't lonely.

His cousin, Muhammad VIII al-Amin (Lamine Bey), became the new Bey.

Moncef Bey retained fairly strong support from Tunisian nationalist, who in turn had an uneasy relationship with the same.  This began to change upon Moncef Bey's death in exile in 1948.  Lamine Bey became king in 1956 with the departure of the French, but he was deposed in 1957.  He died at age 81 in 1962.

He was married to a commoner, with whom he had ten children.

The SS Irish Oak, an Irish flagged vessel with Irish tricolors and Eire painted on the side of it was torpedoed by the U-607.  The crew was able to abandon the vessel and the U-607 waited to fire a final shot until they had departed it.

Operation Checkmate came to an end.

Saturday, May 13, 1943. The Germans lay down their arms in North Africa (after having sustained greater losses than they did at Stalingrad), Postwar careers of the Wehrmacht, Mary Wells born.

Today In Wyoming's History: May 13: 1943  A measles epidemic was raging in the state.  As everyone in my family has the stomach flu today, I can sympathize with epidemics.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

That was, of course, in 2013, when that entry was written.  Other health problems are visiting now, ten years later, of a more serious nature.

Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg (left), commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division, Brigadier Graham and Major General Kurt von Liebenstein at the surrender.

The German Army's 164th Infantry Division laid its weapons down and Major General Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein surrendered the unit, becoming the last Afrika Korps unit to do so.

Of significant note, in the few days that the final Axis surrender in North Africa took place, 267,000 Afrika Korps troops became POWs.

In contrast, the Soviets took 91,000 German prisoners at Stalingrad.  In fairness, the Germans lost 500,000 men at Stalingrad.  However, in fairness again, during the entire North African campaign, the Germans and Italians suffered 620,000 casualties.  The British Commonwealth lost 220,000 men and the United States 18,500, one of whom was the brother of one of my father's good friends.

I note this as, once again, it sheds light on the Soviet propaganda of the time that they were fighting the war alone. The Soviets lost 750,000 men fighting the Germans at Stalingrad, which is a massive loss, and the battle is regarded as the largest in human history, but in terms of campaign loss, if viewed that way, the Germans and Italians loss more men fighting the British (mostly) and the Americans in North Africa.

Von Liebenstein would go on to join the Bundesherr in 1955 and retire five years later at his World War Two rank of Major General.  He died in 1975 at age 76.  His career dated back to World War One.

This raises a question I've never been able to get a good answer for.  Did the Federal Republic of Germany recognize per 1955 military service for retirement purposes for West German soldiers?  I'm thinking it must have.

The early Bundesheer was packed with former members of the Wehrmacht, and even a handful of SS officers, capped at major for career advancement, were allowed into it, after first being declined.  I don't know the percentage, but a roster of Bundesheer officers reads like a whose who of former Nazi era Heer rolls. 

Indeed, amazingly, the West German government called upon ten senior former Nazi era officers in the early 1950s, including Erich von Manstein, about how to reestablish a German army.  In 1953 Manstein addressed the Bundestag on this topic, noting that he favored a conscript army with 18 to 24 months mandatory male service, thereby looking back to the pre-1939 German system.  This system was in fact adopted.  Von Manstein himself was not allowed back into that army, but it's well known that he had a veto power over former German officers applying to join it, and that he did not want "traitors".

One American historian, a former Army officers, has called this group a "handful", but that's far from true.  There were a lot of them.  And more than a few of them had a background like von Liebenstein.  He'd started off as a junior Imperial German Army in 1916, had gone on to the Reichsheer after the German defeat, had served the Nazi's after that, and completed his career in the service of the Federal Republic of Germany.

How did he view his loyalties?

On this, it ought to also be noted, the post World War Two German Federal Republic's offices were simply packed with those who had served the Third Reich.  Over 70% of its judiciary in that era had.  This really began to come apart with the upheavals of 1968, which gave us the Germany, culturally, we have today.

FWIW, the post-war Austrian Army also had officers who had been in the German Heer, and before that, in the Austrian Army.

Famous Motwon singer Mary Wells was born on this day in Detroit.

Mid Week At Work. The Danger of Ossified Punditry.

This slams a post by Robert Reich, who as readers here know I have sort of a love/hate reading relationship with.

Reich's an old liberal in an era in which it seems the ancient hands of the Baby Boom Generation just won't let go of the levers of government, even though they started operating those levers when they were mechanical rather than electronic.  Given that, like all people do, they tend to have an understanding of problems based on the world of their youth, rather than reality,

Witness:

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Robert Reich

@RBReich

This is the graph everyone needs to see for International Workers' Day.

2:01 PM · May 1, 2023

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

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6m

I suspect Mr. Reich doesn't appreciate what this illustrates, which would principally be the introduction of technology more than anything else. Technological advances are making individual workers more productive, and therefore decreasing their need, and depressing wages.

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

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4m

By way of illustration, how many workers in heavy industry in 1955, when this graph basically peaks for union membership, were needed to do a task, as opposed to 2023?

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

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3m

Additionally, this graph goes from the point at which US industry was the major western survivor of World War Two, and therefore serving the world, through the point where much of American industry left to go overseas. That was a joint project of the left and the right. . .

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

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1m

gave rise to Rust Belt discontent, and fed the populist movement the nation is now contending with. I'm not saying the decline in Union membership is a good thing, but I am saying that the way politicians and pundits seem to imagine . . .

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

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44s

American industry as frozen in time when in fact the march of time and technology has totally changed the landscape needs to be recognized. So, yes, Mr. Reich, this really is the May 1 graph people need to see and understand, yourself included.