Can't Believe it's Not Butterfield 8

The "all the Oscars" quest continues... up to 55.8%. This is going to take my whole life. The good news is that I only have three left for 2005, having banged out Transamerica and Mrs. Henderson Presents this weekend.

But, back to the historical task: Butterfield 8 was pretty good. Ironic that Liz Taylor hated the role, which was a contractural obligation, and it netted her her first Oscar.

What I liked was her car: A Sunbeam Alpine.



An often overlooked car that I've always thought of a as a classic. As a kid, I enjoyed "Get Smart," and my dad, from whence I picked up the gearhead gene, always, without fail, commented on Maxwell Smart's Sunbeam Tiger. I wish I could get him one for his birthday, but, what the hey, he already has my old Miata...

Another part I found fascinating, as a former road geek (ask me about the history of I-95 and Washington DC sometime. I dare you.) were the shots of a then-fresh New York State Thruway.



At least... I think it's the Dewey. There is a sign in one shot...



And the toll plaza looks right...



And those rocky sides, they look a lot like the cut-throughs I remeber going up I-87 to Middletown to visit my grandmother... heck, could be the same stretch of road; according to The Thruway's web site, the part near Harriman was under construction right around when this film was being shot.

And speaking of grandmom... until the day she died, at age 103 in 2001, she referred to her phone number not as "343-xxxx" but "Diamond-3."

Must be a New York thing...