Oil's Well That Ends Well

It's a sunny day today in Austin, January 10, and the temperature is up to a toasty 45 degrees.

Here's a few cinematic celebrations commemorating this day in history . .

On this day in 1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont Texas erupted, spewing a gusher of oil. It signaled the change from Texas as a Cattle State into an Oil Giant. Commemorate the event by watching James Dean strike it rich as surly ranch hand-turned-Oil Baron Jett Rink in George Stevens' epic Lone Star soap opera, 'Giant' (1956), co-starring Rock Hudson and Elizabether Taylor. Also featured are Dean's supporting players from 'Rebel Without A Cause', Sal Mineo and Dennis Hopper (impossibly young and clean cut!) Dean's performance in 'Giant' was his last, and his most problematic. He's brilliant in the first half of the film - brooding, unpredictable, rebelious. But his makeup and emoting as an embittered middle-aged tycoon in the 2nd half conjures unfortunate comparisons to William Shatner in the Star Trek episode 'The Deadly Years'.

Still, the scene where Dean strikes pay dirt for the first time is classic, primal stuff - with him being baptized in black ooze, arms poised heavenward, as he's being showered in oil.

Want to watch the trailer? Here's where to go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2x6AT4mr3o
(If link fails, just copy and paste to the website address bar above.)

Also on this date, in 1863 the first public subway system opened in London. The next day, the first mugging was reported. Crime and subways go together like ham and eggs, and nowhere is that better illustrated than in the 1974 nail-biter 'The Taking of Pelham 123' , starring Walter Matthau as a grizzled New York City cop trying to thwart prototypical urban terrorist Robert Shaw. Gritty, suspenseful and engaging, the story was remade last year starring Denzel Washington, but the original is superior.

And happy birthday today to Ray Bolger, born in 1903, who co-starred as The Scarecrow in 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939) with Judy Garland. For a free copy of my book, 'A Movie A Day', be the first to send me an email and tell me what other musical co-starred Garland and Bolger! Reach me at sduhler@aol.com.