It’s the end of another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by tonight. We’re always glad to share some time with you. Come in out of the heat. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. 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 which pitcher should join the Cubs bullpen when the rosters expand on September 1. Seventy percent of you want Javier Assad back with the team. I suspect the Cubs would rather keep him stretched out to start in case of an injury, but we will see. I’ve been wrong before.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You can do with that what you will. Some people say they are their favorite parts. I guess I count as “some people.” I don’t know about anyone else.
Tonight we feature saxophonist Eric Alexander in studio recording “Is It You” in 2024. Joining Alexander are pianist David Hazeltine, Dennis Carroll on the bass and the drummer is George Fludas.
I swear I did not set out to watch 1950s serial killer movies this week. But you all know that I love noir and when Turner Classic Movies showed a noir I’d never seen from legendary director Fritz Lang, I knew that I had to watch it. When I saw the cast—Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price and Ida Lupino—I got really excited. It even has Drew Barrymore’s father as the killer. It was only after I started watching that I realized that While the City Sleeps (1956) was a fictionalized version of Chicago’s “Lipstick Killer” of the 1940s. So I ended up watching two mid-century serial killer films in a row.
But While the City Sleeps is no ordinary serial killer movie. In fact, what is so bonkers about it is that the Lipstick Killer is actually the B-plot to the film. The real heart of the film is a Succession-type battle for control of a media empire, with three characters believing that the key to gaining control of the company is the solve the Lipstick Killer murders.
Amos Kyne (Robert Warwick) runs Kyne Incorporated, a media conglomerate that owns newspapers, television stations and a wire service. Amos is on his deathbed when he tells the company to play up the murder and name him the Lipstick Killer. However, Amos dies almost immediately, leaving his son Walter (Price) in charge.
Walter is an arrogant and egotistical man who feels wronged by his father, who never let him in on the company business before he died. However, he’s smart enough to know that he doesn’t know enough to run the company by himself at this point. So he announces that he is going to name an Executive Director to run the company with him. The three big department chiefs are Loving (Sanders), in charge of the wire service, Kritzer (James Craig), who runs the television stations and Griffith (Mitchell), who runs the newspapers. All three of them are angling for the Executive Director job and believe that solving the Lipstick Killer murders is the way to get it.
In this fray steps our hero Edward Mobley (Andrews), who is a TV news anchor. He’s a bit of an arrogant playboy, but he is also the smarter than everyone else. He also is dating Loving’s secretary Nancy (Sally Forrest) and allied with Mitchell’s Griffith. Then there is the newspaper reporter Mildred (Lupino) who is dating Loving, but is really in it for herself. She eventually tries to seduce Mobley at Loving’s suggestion.
So Mobley and Loving go about trying to scoop the other on the Lipstick Killer, although Mobley doesn’t want the Executive Director job but rather he wants it to go to Mitchell’s Griffith. Meanwhile, Kritzer isn’t trying to solve the killings. He’s just sleeping with Walter’s wife Dorothy (Fleming) and hoping that she will manipulate her husband into giving him the job.
Got that?
So this isn’t your normal serial killer story as the main focus of solving these murders is to position the characters to take over the company. Along those lines, Mobley ends up putting his girlfriend/fiancée Nancy up as bait for Barrymore’s Lipstick Killer. Which, yeah. That’s going to be a happy marriage. “Remember that time you offered me up to a serial killer?” And he’s the good guy.
Lang’s later American pictures are not as good as his silent German Expressionist masterpieces (other than The Big Heat) but they were mostly better than your average film. Certainly that’s a good way to describe While the City Sleeps. It’s better than your average boardroom drama/serial killer film. The biggest reason that the film is so good (and better than The Sniper from last time) is the quality of the cast. Andrews’ hero is a pretty flawed but interesting hero. Despite Mobley’s love for Nancy, he flirts with other women and openly welcomes Mildred’s attempt to seduce him. Plus, he puts Nancy up as bait. I should probably emphasize that again.
Thomas Mitchell is naturally going to play the most sympathetic of the three men vying for the Executive Director job, but he’s not an angel and isn’t above some sabotage and subterfuge to get the other two out of the way. Howard Duff turns in a solid job as a police detective who is actually trying to solve the murders and not turn them into a way of career advancement. Then there is Lupino, who is up there with Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Grahame and Joan Blondell among my favorite classic Hollywood actresses.
While the City Sleeps is definitely a story of morally-questionable characters, which is something that Lang excels in presenting. This definitely isn’t his best work, but it’s one worth watching, especially if you are a fan of any of the actors or if you like boardroom intrigue/serial killer films. I’m not sure what other films meet that criteria, but there must be one out there.
Here’s the trailer for While the City Sleeps.
Welcome back to everyone who skipped my favorite parts.
A week ago, I asked you if you would try to re-sign Clay Holmes. Obviously it depends on his market and how much money he wants to sign, but to me, that was a no-brainer. Holmes has been a terrific starter the past two seasons and was a great reliever for years before that. He turns 34 next year, but he’s shown no sign of slowing down.
Tonight, I’m asking you about two other Cubs pitchers that turn free agents at the end of this season: Matthew Boyd and Kevin Gausman. I don’t think either one of them is the same kind of slam dunk that Holmes is. For one, both of them turn 36 next year (Boyd is just one month younger than Gausman) and neither one is at their peak anymore. To be fair to both of them, they’re both still quality major league pitchers. But they both have started their decline phase.
Boyd has been with the Cubs the past two seasons and has been a fan favorite for much of that time. Boyd missed time this season with that weird non-game injury, but he’s certainly been solid with a 3.99 ERA after today’s strong outing.
Gausman joined the Cubs at the Trade Deadline and has made four starts in Cubbie blue. The first one against the Royals was great. The next one versus the Nationals was bad. The third one against the White Sox was below average, but the Cubs got the win. The fourth one came against the Diamondbacks on Monday and he dominated.
I keep asking you about pitchers because the Cubs are going to need them next year. Jameson Taillon is already gone. Beyond Gausman, Boyd and Holmes, Shõta Imanaga and David Peterson are also free agents. Colin Rea has a club option for next year that will probably be declined. We hope that Justin Steele and Cade Horton are going to return to the rotation next year, but there’s no guarantee of it. After the news of Ben Brown’s setback in his recovery today, he’s no lock to return either. Plus, we all know with the injuries that the Cubs pitching staff went through this year, you cant have too much pitching.
So would you rather the Cubs try to re-sign Boyd or Gausman? Or neither? It should be noted that Kevin Gausman has made some noise about possibly retiring after this season, but he certainly wasn’t definitive about that. But both their age and diminishing (but still considerable) skills probably mean that both pitchers would sign a reasonable two-year deal or a one-year deal with an option. Gausman would probably command a somewhat higher salary than Boyd, but that’s just a guess.
You are familiar with both pitchers. Which one would you rather return to the Cubs in 2027?
Thank you for stopping by tonight. We’re so glad to see a friendly face. Get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.
