The Udo Treatment

It's snowing again. Not a block buster mega storm, but a teasing fluff that has already passed the 3 inch predicted limit. There's just enough snow to make driving a slushy, fish-tailing sort of E-ride on our rural main drag. I'm so sick of seeing the white landscape with margins of black carbon exhaust.  I want to give Ol' Man Winter the Udo Treatment.

That's my hero, Richard Widmark, in his film debut role as gangster, Tommy Udo,  in Kiss of Death. In the film, Udo pushes poor wheelchair bound Mrs. Rizzo (Mildred Dunnock) down a flight of stairs because she lied and refused to tell Tommy where her rat of a son skipped out to. (Rizzo the rat. Sound familiar Muppet fans?)

I'd like to see Tommy give Winter a good shove down the stairs. Winter, good riddance! And don't come back, ya squirt!

If you haven't seen this film noire classic, you need to get yourself edumucated. The wheelchair scene was quite shocking and caused quite a stir in 1947. Widmark received his only Oscar nomination for his chilling performance. His maniacal laugh which stemmed from a nervous giggle because he couldn't remember his lines became his trademark. The storyline holds up fairly well 64 years later though you have to overlook the fact that hero Nick's children (Nick played by Victor Mature) never age through the film.