The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks, other than the obvious choices, which new Cub will have the biggest impact?
It’s another evening at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come in and get warm. We can take your coat for you. There are still a few tables available, or you can sit with a friend. The show will start shortly. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night, I asked you just how much better than Matt Shaw did you think Alex Bregman will be in 2025? Forty percent of you thought it would be between one and two WAR. Twenty percent thought it would be between two and three WAR and another twenty percent said it would be less than one WAR. I like the optimism of the 14 percent who said that Shaw will be better than Bregman in 2025.
Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. Those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we’re featuring the famous performance of the protest song “Compared to What” at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969 by pianist Les McCann and tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris. Joining the two in this legendary gig was Benny Bailey on trumpet, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Donald Dean on drums.
If you’ve never heard this one before, it swings.
You voted in the finals of the BCB Winter Hitchcock Classic and the winner is North by Northwest! I can’t say that I disagree with the choice, even though it was the number-four seed. North by Northwest is about as entertaining a movie as you can watch. Cary Grant is at his best and Eva Marie Saint is terrific as the cool sexy spy woman. I’ve said before that few actors could play both a hero and a villain with equal aplomb as James Mason.
So let me thank everyone who participated and followed along in the tournament. This is the third year we’ve done this and the first time that we dedicated to the work of a single director. It seemed to work and I hope those of you who followed along enjoyed it. And maybe I hope that some of you watched a few Hitchcock films you haven’t seen before.
I wanted to say a few words about some Hitchcock films that didn’t make the tournament. When you limit the field to 24 films, you’re going to leave out some good ones. So those of you who want extra credit, here are some more Hitchcock films to watch.
Now I’m going to admit that I have not seen every Hitchcock movie. But these are a few that I have seen and that you might enjoy even if they didn’t make the tournament.
Blackmail (1929/1930) Starring Anny Ondra, John Longden and Cyril Ritchard.
After seeing the Becoming Hitchcock documentary on Blackmail that came out during this tournament (and that you can catch on Max), I kind of regret not including it. It was maybe the final cut. This is a terrific movie about a woman who kills a man who was attempting to rape her and then gets blackmailed about the killing. There’s a big chase scene in the British Museum, which is the first time Hitchcock used a famous landmark as a backdrop for one of his films. (And the story of how Hitchcock pulled that off is a fascinating one, since they couldn’t actually shoot inside the British Museum.)
There are both silent and talkie versions of Blackmail. Both versions are worth watching with subtle differences. Anny Ondra was a Czech actress whose accent was too thick to use and they hadn’t invented a way to dub in sound in post-production yet. So in the talkie version, Ondra mouths her lines while English actress Joan Berry stands just off-camera and speaks the lines. Ondra would retire from acting when she married boxer Max Schmeling in 1933 and the two would stay married until her death in 1987.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best and Peter Lorre.
Some people like this version better than the 1956 version. They have the same basic plot, although Hitchcock was careful not to turn it into a straight remake. So if you like the 1956 version, you can watch this one and not feel like you’re watching the same film. They both have a big scene at the Royal Albert Hall though.
The best thing about this version is Peter Lorre as the villain. This despite the fact that Lorre had just fled Nazi Germany and didn’t speak English yet. He learned his lines phonetically.
Sabotage (1936). Starring Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka and John Loder.
While the country that the villains in this film come from is unnamed, it’s hard today and even at the time to not think that Hitchcock was taking early aim at Nazi Germany. A good spy thriller about a woman who discovers that she’s married to a terrorist. There’s a dark plot twist that was controversial at the time.
Stage Fright (1950). Starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding and Richard Todd.
You’re either going to love or hate Stage Fright based on your opinions of the plot twist near the end of the film. Some people love it and think it’s innovative and clever. Others think it’s manipulative and hate it.
Stage Fright is about an actor who is accused of murder and Wyman, who plays a fellow struggling actor who has a crush on him, tries to prove his innocence. It also features Dietrich singing an original Cole Porter song “The Laziest Gal in Town.” You’re probably more familiar with the way that Madeline Kahn parodied it in Blazing Saddles.
The Wrong Man (1956). Starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles.
Hitchcock couldn’t think of anything more terrifying than to be wrongfully accused of a crime, and here Hitchcock found a real-life case of a man who had been wrongfully accused. I found one of the plot twists at the trial to be unrealistic, but then I looked it up afterwards and discovered that’s what really happened at the actual trial! In fact, Hitchcock mostly sticks to the actual facts of the case with only a few dramatic liberties taken.
The film itself is only fine, but two great acting performances from Fonda and Miles elevates it. It was this film that inspired Hitchcock to make Vertigo as a star vehicle for Miles—and you can look back at what I wrote about Vertigo to see what went wrong there.
Family Plot (1976). Starring Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris and William Devane.
Hitchcock’s last film is a light-hearted crime story that follows two parallel plots that come together in the end. I preferred the more comedic storyline featuring Dern and Harris, who run a fake-psychic operation, to Black and Devane’s kidnapping jewel thieves. Harris especially shines and if you’re wondering who gets the last shot in a Hitchcock film, it’s Harris.
Once again, thanks for playing along and thanks for reading.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
Tonight, on the eve of the Spring Opener, our question is “Which non-Kyle Tucker/Ryan Pressly acquisition will make the biggest impact in 2025?’
Obviously if Tucker doesn’t have the biggest impact on the team among the newest Cubs in 2025, something has gone horribly wrong. Pressly should either be the closer or will share closing duties with Porter Hodge. Again, assuming nothing goes sideways. The Cubs did not make any big-name and big-contract acquisitions this winter, and it’s completely fair to criticize them for that. But I do think they made a lot of smaller moves that could have a big impact this season.
There’s Matthew Boyd who is expected to become the Cubs’ fourth starter and Colin Rea, who is in the mix for the fifth-starter role. Carson Kelly is expected to split catching duties with Miguel Amaya and will likely play a lot. Jon Berti and Vidal Bruján are fighting for a backup infielder job. Justin Turner will be a big pinch hitter and will likely get some time at first base against left-handed pitching. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman is looking to be the insurance policy for Matt Shaw and serve as a backup for Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner at short and second.
Then there is Cody Poteet, Eli Morgan and Ryan Brasier, who are competing for spots in the bullpen behind Pressly and Hodge.
If you want to vote for a non-roster invitee or someone I forgot, vote “other” and leave your player in the comments.
Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope you thawed out a bit. Please get home safely. Stay warm. Tell your friends about us. Tip your waitstaff. And join Sara Sanchez tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.