Hands Over the Christmas Vacation

Among the seasonal traditions at the cocobode is the annual movie gorging, beginning with the ceremonial replaying of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  It's not Christmas without viewing Clark Griswold's Grand Illumination of 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights.  When he gets them lit, a nuke plant is rev's up and the Hallelujah chorus sings.  Remember Aunt Bethany brings her cat wrapped up as a gift?  And the cat gets fried chewing the tree lights?  Bethany was played by Mae Questel, a vaudevillian era actress and famous cartoon voice, in her last film appearance.   

Writer John Hughes wrote this, along with another on my favorite movie list - Ferris Bueller.  Says something, about taste and maturity, I know.   

Christmas presents included Hands Over the City for my growing collection of planning movies.  This is Francesco Rosi's 1963 story of Naples's real estate speculation and corruption.   The lead character is a developer and politician who votes on plan changes to benefit his housing construction business. 

Francesco Rosi, in a disc two interview, describes how one square meter - bought while in the countryside becomes worth a great deal if serviced with electricity and water- paid for by the state or the city.

All you had to do was change a color to change the purpose of at site and therefore its value would multiply enormously;  The "legislative plan of 39" was continually messed with and undermined.

The theme seems to resonate.