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Well, never mind. I would have liked to conclude my week of listening; but I am preoccupied this evening. My old Mac seems to have given up the ghost last night—or at least it refuses to give up my files. I had been iRecording “The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker,” when my Mac began to act up. Clinker, indeed, to pick up a word of thoroughly pre-Victorian crudeness! As of now, my library of recordings and images seems to be irretrievably lost. It has been about two and a half years since the last blackout, and I don’t seem to have learned a thing. If only I had taken the time to burn a few DVDs. So, I am just going to share this latest addition to my collection of Claudette Colbert memorabilia, which arrived here earlier this week as a loving gesture to mark the third anniversary of my move here to Wales.
What I noticed right away when I looked at the poster was that no mention is made of Colbert’s Imitation of Life co-star Louise Beavers in this announcement of the film’s rerelease. That just takes the pancake, doesn’t it? After all, Beavers plays Colbert’s business partner on whose recipe the entire venture depends as much as on Colbert’s savvy to sell it. Promoters of the film were apparently less inclined to tackle race relations as the picture’s distributors. Sometimes, beautiful images tell an ugly story. An old story, too, of art imitating life . . .
Harry Heuser 
As someone who lost a lot of valuable pictures and mp3 files in a crash in August 2004, I feel your pain, Brother Harry. I hope everything comes out in the wash.
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Thank you, Ivan. As of now, I\’m still looking for the right detergent . . .
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Though I\’ve never lost \”everything,\” through occasional computer quirkiness, I\’ve suffered significant casualties, so I can imagine what you\’re facing (or not facing). No Louise! Would Bea and Stephen be locked in embrace if there had been no Delilah? … I just checked imdb; Ms Beavers is fifth on the cast list – after even Rochelle Hudson and Ned Sparks. Unfortunately, even in the later re-release days, minorities were either poorly depicted or rendered invisible. I certainly hope that your files will be back \”to thrill you on the screen again.\”
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I\’m as grumpy as Ned Sparks, but remarkably composed all the same. The 1934 trade poster in my collection boasts of a \”Cast of Thousands\” (what is this, The Sign of the Pancake?), which, I guess, is meant to account for Ms. Beavers. A case of erasure more troubling than my present misfortune.
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