Plagues generally affect the populace unequally. Not all.
The Antonine Plague (probably smallpox) of the 2nd century CE infected
commoners and aristocrats alike including the emperor Marcus Aurelius himself.
The germ theory of disease did not yet exist then, but it was well understood
that contact with a person who had it was dangerous. (There was some notion it
was carried by odors.) Galen, the leading medical scholar of the age and
Marcus’ personal physician, repeatedly excused himself from any town, home, or
location where the plague was present until he was actually ordered to attend
to Marcus. He prescribed aged Falernian wine (you still can buy Falerno Bianco
if you wish), which didn’t help but probably didn’t hurt. It perhaps kept that
very philosophical emperor even more philosophical until the plague killed him.
Most ancient and medieval plagues were urban events, so fleeing to the
countryside was usually an effective way to escape. Not always. The Black Death
was spread by flea-bearing rats, and rats were as happy in country homes and
barns as in cities; this accounts for the unusually high death toll at a time
when the population overwhelmingly was rural. Yellow Fever was very nearly an
annual event in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. In the footsteps of Galen, many New Yorkers believed that alcohol
was prophylactic, though they resorted to stronger stuff than white wine. Wrote
Dr. G. H. Smith about the 1819 outbreak, "Never, I believe, was drunkenness
so common."
The morbidity rate for Covid-19 is nothing comparable to
that of any of those diseases. It is high enough, however, to have prompted the
recent steps to block its spread. The effects of the virus on those who get it
varies enormously: scarcely noticeable in some people, life-threatening in
others. For the uninfected, the “social distancing” measures also vary in
effect. For some of us the measures make little difference in our daily
routines; if we are in an “essential” business other than health care we
continue to go to work as usual. (One should note that "nonessential"
businesses at some point become essential to keeping the essential businesses
running – they can't defer white collar services and rely on warehouse stocks
of replacement items forever – but we are not yet there.) For a small number of
us (especially in health care) our work load has soared. The rest of us remain
at home doing chores, reading, writing (some write blogs, I’m told), watching
movies, and worrying about money. Films such as 28 Days Later are probably not among the prime movie picks.
My own DVD pick this weekend was Volume 4 of Warner
Brothers’ Forbidden Hollywood pre-code
classics. The pre-codes were films made before 1934, the year the studios began
to enforce the Hays self-censorship code. They are often edgier than any
mainstream movie for the next 30 years. This volume contains the following:
1.
Jewel Robbery
is a romance tale with William Powell as a gentlemanly, dashing, and roguish
jewel thief in Vienna. During a jewelry store robbery he attracts Kay Francis
who enjoys romances beyond her relationship with her aristocrat husband. This
is a well-regarded movie by most modern viewers and reviewers, though I’m not
really the audience for it. I didn’t dislike watching it, but I’m not likely to
rewatch it. The 1932 reviewer for The New
York Times was also tepid about the movie, and even rude about the female
lead: “Kay Francis, who can be a good actress, is a definitely bad actress
opposite Mr. Powell, and that may be part of the reason why Jewel Robbery with its several
endowments is only mild.”
2.
Lawyer Man
with William Powell and Joan Blondell. Well-meaning but ambitious Powell runs
afoul of the city’s political machine when his weakness for pretty women makes
him accept the wrong client. Rather than stay defeated, he goes to work for the
machine in order to get political clout and become DA. The ends justify the
means. Thumbs Up. Not way up, but still up for its non-simplistic morality.
3.
Man Wanted.
This time Kay Francis is the hardworking editor of 400 Magazine. She has an open marriage with her polo-playing
playboy husband. She takes a fancy to her new secretary David Manners who has a
fiancé whom he sometimes remembers. Once again, Thumbs mildly Up.
4.
They Call It Sin.
The central character’s adoptive parents do anyway. Small town girl (Loretta
Young) discovers that she is the daughter of a showgirl, not of the fiercely
uptight couple who raised her. She goes to New York to get into show business,
is cheated by a producer who steals her original song, gets into a complicated
love triangle, and becomes ensnared in an attempted murder investigation. All
that melodrama in 69 minutes. Not bad though, in a B-movie sort of way.
I’ll defer commentary on this weekend’s books to the next
post. I’ll have time. I’m not going anywhere it seems.
Trailer Man Wanted
No comments:
Post a Comment