THOU ART THAT is the first volume in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL which contains materials gathered from previously uncollected essays, letters, diaries, articles and lectures. As such it represents a broad sampling of Campbell's work on mythology and the Western religions.

In one of the more interesting parts of the book Campbell describes the basic differences between the world religions of creed which are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam and the leading ethnic religions of birth which are Hinduism, Judaism and Shintoism.

Often Campbell points out that our ideas of the universe are being reordered by our experience in space. There are no horizons in space causing many people to retreat into fundamentalism.

For a small book THOU ART THAT is filled with much food for thought. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to reading future volumes in this series.

EXCAVATING JESUS is a very ambitious book. In order to fully appreciate the depth and seriousness of the effort it is essential to gain a good understanding of the authors' methods of research as described in the book's Introduction.

The most important thing I am learning from Crossan and Reed is that there is much more left to be uncovered about the historical Jesus. What I see in Crossman and Reed's studies are the possibilities for further explorations. However, I am sure they will be the first to admit that their approach may be refined in the future as more progress is made in archaeological finds and textual exegesis.

Crossan and Reed emphasize the itinerancy and commensality of the earliest Christians. Their theories are based on the existence of the Q Gospel and the independence of the Gospel of Thomas. In the future both of these assumptions may be altered due to additional discoveries. Meanwhile their greatest contribution may be simply in showing us the possibilities that lie in relentlessly digging for the truth.

DICK TRACY VS CUEBALL was a 1946 movie about a bald-headed robber and murderer who was sought by Dick Tracy. It was the second Dick Tracy film produced by RKO Radio Pictures and it marked the final appearances of Morgan Conway in the role of Dick Tracy and Anne Jeffreys as Tess Trueheart. The cast also included Dick Wessell in the role of Cueball and Ian Keith as Vitamin Flintheart.

THE BIG SLEEP was one of the most memorable films of its type during the 1940's. The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name written by Raymond Chandler. The book featured a famous hard-boiled detective named Philip Marlowe who lived by his own unique but high standards.

The movie was produced and directed by Howard Hawkes. William Faulkner contributed to the screenplay. THE BIG SLEEP was made not long after Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall appeared for the first time together in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT which was also produced and directed by Howard Hawkes.

The dialogue between Bogart and Bacall almost achieves a level of electricity equal to that of the earlier film. The suggestive scene between Bogart and Dorothy Malone in a bookstore is unforgettable to say the least. The same can be said for different reasons about a scene outside a gambling casino in which Bogart rescues Bacall from a mugging. Martha Vickers does a great job in the role of Bacall's mentally unstable sister. The other members of a strong supporting cast include John Ridgely, Peggy Knudsen, Charles Waldren and Elisha Cook, Jr.

THE BIG SLEEP received no Oscar nominations. The chief winner of awards in 1946 was THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

FLYING DOWN TO RIO is truly a pioneering musical made when such films were in the developmental stage. Many critics say that the movie is camp - but it is SO ENJOYABLE. Camp or not the movie is one of my favorites.

Ginger and Fred look like they have been dancing together for ages. It is hard to tell that this is their debut as a team. Dolores Del Rio is beautiful. Gene Raymond is a real pro.

The film has a huge cast with some great supporting actors such as Franklin Pangborn and Walter Walker.

I recommend FLYING DOWN TO RIO without reservation - especially if you like old musicals.

CASABLANCA is a favorite movie of many fans for good reasons. They can really be summed up in the numerous Academy Awards and Academy Award nominations given to the film. The combination of superior direction, acting, cinematography and a superb screenplay doesn't come together in one package too often. Bogart, Bergman and Paul Henreid work together beautifully and the supporting cast is incredibly deep in talent. In addition, few movies leave us with so many memorable lines such as "Round up the usual suspects" or "We'll always have Paris."

THE MALTESE FALCON is my favorite detective movie of all time. It is considered a classic today because so many different facets of the film's making seem to have come together magically in this one production.

John Huston was a screenwriter who wanted to remake the old MALTESE FALCON as his first film as a director. He not only did a superb job in his directing debut but also acted as screenwriter.

The selection of Sydney Greenstreet to fill the role of Kaspar Gutman at age 61 after specializing in playing butlers on Broadway was another fortunate choice. Greenstreet had no previous Hollywood experience.

The most important decision of all was probably to cast Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade after George Raft had turned down the offer. It helped that the film had an all-star array of actors to complement Bogart. It would be difficult to find more suitable picks than Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook, Jr. Even a mere cameo appearance by Walter Huston resulted in an unforgettable scene. The director's father portrayed the dying captain Jacobi of the La Paloma delivering the Falcon to Spade's office.

THE MALTESE FALCON is certainly not a love story in the style of CASABLANCA. The Bogart characters in both films , however, strike me as being quite similar. I see them both as ordinary men who rise to heroic heights by sticking to a few basic rules of decency - in spite of their many human failings.

I highly recommend THE MALTESE FALCON and am sure that I will no doubt see it again - and again.

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT is an unabashed sequel made for the purpose of capitalizing on the previous success of CASABLANCA. The similarities abound from the opening zoom-in-view of a Caribbean map to the assortment of characters which includes a cynical American ex-patriot entrepreneur, an irresistable female, a piano player, a gang of obnoxious Nazis and several locals who are fighting the Nazis. Besides Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, the cast includes Walter Brennan, Walter Sande, Marcel Dalio, Hoagey Carmichael, Paul Marion, Sir Lancelot and Dan Seymour.

THE GOSPEL OF MARY OF MAGDALA is a scholarly work written in a very readable style for the general public. The book includes an account of the gospel's discovery in Egypt near the end of the nioneteenth century. It also contains a translation of the gospel and a discussion of its importance during the early development of Christianity. The chapter on the history of Christianity is particularly interesting. An impressive array of notes and lists of terms and sources as well as works cited can be found at the end of the text.

THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is an excellent movie with a star-studded cast and plenty of action. There is also Olivia de Haviland and enough romance to lend balance to the story. The fact that it is not historically accurate does not bother me very much. It is still a great yarn. What upsets me most is the report that two hundred horses and one stunt man died as a result of the filming of the famous charge.

The motion picture received an Academy Award for Best Assistant Director (Jack Sullivan) and Oscar nominations for Best Score and Sound. The main competition for Oscars in 1936 came from THE GREAT ZIEGFELD, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN and THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR.