The WTC Was Erich von Stroheim, not Conrad Veidt, you Moron!

Cafe Society
1

I was just watching a rebroadcast of last night’s Ric Burns documentary on the Rise & Fall of the World Trade Center. I taped it; I’ll wach the whole thing when I feel more up to it.

But I turned it on just in time to see some “expert” say, “The World Trade Center was the Conrad Veidt of buildings–you know, Conrad Veidt was The Man You Love to Hate.”

Augh!! Does Ric Burns have no fact-checkers, no editors?! It’s bad enough no one at the taping stopped and said, “Ummm, excellent point, but you meant to say ‘Erich von Stroheim’–shall we take it again?” But the fact that no one in the entire editing process caught this and said, “Oh, damn–that would have been a good quote, if he’d have gotten the right actor,” and reluctantly cut it . . .

2

Though he was The Man Who Laughs.

3

Now you know how jazz fans felt about Ken Burns’s documentary. It runs in the family. :slight_smile:

4

I was under the impression that Conrad Veidt was The Man You Love To Commit Your Evil Deads For You, myself.

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I was under the impression that Conrad Veidt was The Man You Love To Commit Your Evil Deeds For You, myself.

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I was under the impression that Conrad Veidt was The Man You Love To Commit Your Evil Deeds For You, myself.

7

So what does that make Norma Desmond?

8

I’ve always said Willis C. Hawley was “the Man I Love to Hate”. But I realize not everyone’s as passionate as I am over trade issues.

9

Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays.”

(I’m sorry, I think of that whenever I see triple-posts.)

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[hijack]I had no idea there was a movie version of “The Man Who Laughs”. I must check that out… “when you’re smiling, when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you…”[/hijack]

OTOH, Erich von Stroheim and the WTC did both become legendary for GREED.

11

I’ve heard the variation that EvS was the Hun You Love to Hate.

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  1. Who the hell is Erich von Stroheim?

  2. Who the hell is Conrad Veidt?

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  1. Erich von Stroheim was a film director of the 1920’s, who is better known to many audiences for his work in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s as a character actor.

  2. Conrad Veidt was an actor, active from the late 1910’s to 1943, best known for “The Cabnet of Dr. Caglistrati” (the film I referenced in my triple-post) and “Casablanca”.

  3. I have a fairly evil computer.

14

I just recently watched (again) Sunset Boulevard and Foolish Wives as a double feature; a private Von Stroheim festival, so for me right now he’s the man I love to love. Might watch Foolish Wives again tonight; can never get enough of him in that. Maybe double it with Sunrise . . .

15

that’s Dr. Caligari, no?

16

Thank, lissener, my memory isn’t what I’d like it to be.

17

No. No. NO!

My brother is the Man you love to hate.

At least I love to hate him.

18

What he obviously meant to say, then, was, “The World Trade Center was the Zebra’s brother of buildings.”

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“The abbot used to say that the emotional health of a village depends on having a man that everyone loves to hate, and that Heaven had blessed us with two of them.”
–Number Ten Ox, Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

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I really should have paid more attention in college.