Belgian Chess History

Last week, we talked about one of the most well-known movies of all time. Today, we look at a far lesser known one: Robot & Frank, a 2012 movie about Frank, an old man living on his own whose son gives him a robot to nudge him towards a healthier and more fulfilling life. He is quite hostile to the idea, until he finds out that the robot could help him to go burgling again. It’s a pretty good movie: well-written, great actors, funny, clever, touching. And when the credits roll and you think it’s all over, you get to the best bit:

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Today, we dissect the greatest of the great, because The great dictator is probably the greatest movie by the greatest silent movie actor: Charles Chaplin. But it is a very atypical one: it is one of the latest, being released in 1940 only, and it is not a silent movie at all. I think the plot is so well-known that an introduction is not necessary. Some scenes, like the dictator dancing with the globe and Chaplin’s speech at the end, have entered the canon of Western culture. One lesser known scene occurring about halfway through the movie, has two older Jewish gentlemen enjoying a nice game of chess:

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Have you ever heard of the Crime doctor franchise? It is about doctor Ordway, a criminal psychologist who helps the police solve cases. Nowadays, it is almost entirely forgotten, but in the forties it was huge. For seven years, there was a radio series on CBS and Columbia Pictures made ten films. And they had some star power: Oscar winner Warner Baxter played the title role and this particular episode, Crime doctor’s warning, was directed by William Castle, who went on to produce among others The lady from Shanghai and Rosemary’s Baby.

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