Topical Guide 319
Mark Dorset
Goals & Aspirations: Appropriate & Inappropriate: “Overreaching”
Studebakers
“She wanted to buy a President tourer. Now, I had given a lot of thought to what kind of car would be best for her, just in case she ever did happen to walk into the showroom, and a big President was all wrong. I explained that a nice lightweight Erskine delivery car would be much more convenient for carrying the pies she makes, and that I was sure people would quickly become accustomed to her driving a delivery car.
“ ‘I would look ridiculous,’ she said.
“ ‘Oh, no,’ I told her. ‘You wouldn’t look ridiculous.’ ”
“And this is when I almost ruined it,” admitted Garth. “Ordinarily, I never interfere with a sale, but this was no ordinary sale. I came out of my office onto the floor and said, ‘Oh, no, Miss Decker, you wouldn’t look ridiculous at all! In fact, one of those big Presidents might make you look, well, not ridiculous exactly, but as if you were overreaching yourself.’ Well overreaching was the wrong word, I guess. All I meant was that the damned car was too big and impractical, but after all, she does sell pies, doesn’t she? You would have thought I’d called her a tramp.
“ ‘Overreaching!’ she shouted. ‘Overreaching! Why, why, why —’
“And I said, ‘Well, that may have been the wrong word.’
“She began reciting the family history. ‘The Deckers have been among the first families of Babbington since before there was a Babbington. Why, Ephraim Decker built the first house to have a stone-and-mortar foundation!’ ”
“They were one of the last families to have indoor plumbing,” said May.
“I began backing toward my office,” said Garth. “ ‘I’m terribly sorry, Miss Decker,’ I said. ‘I’m not myself today. I may be coming down with something.’ And you know what she said? ‘I should hope so!’ ”
When they stopped laughing, Herb said, “Now for the funny part.”
“Oh, she didn’t!” cried Lorna.
“She certainly did,” said Herb. “A seven-passenger tourer.”Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 10
See also: Cars: Studebakers, Chryslers TG 57; Studebakers, TG 12, TG 132; Studebakers: Babbington Studebaker TG 3
Currently watching on the treadmill: The Criterion Collection’s superbly restored version of Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday. (You can watch it for free on Kanopy if you access it with your public library card or university affiliation.)
One of the most original—and hilarious—comedies ever made, M. Hulot’s Holiday has delighted and disarmed moviegoers the world over since its first appearance in 1953. There’s little in the way of plot or dialogue to this French-made farce about a group of vacationers at a small seaside hotel. But an unconventional form has not stood in the way of audience appreciation of the film’s comic content—good, old-fashioned slapstick fun. Writer-director Jacques Tati’s penchant for physical wit has prompted many to compare M. Hulot’s Holiday to the silent classics of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. And truth to tell, the temptation for comparison is just about irresistible in light of the film’s hero, the hilariously accident-prone M. Hulot—played by Jacques Tati himself.
David Ehrenstein, “M. Hulot’s Holiday,” on the Criterion Collection’s website
[more to come on Thursday, August 18, 2022]
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