Barbara had something serious on her mind she wanted to tell Jeremy but instead of being all serious in front of him she took a more light hearted and conversational approach so he wouldn't be so quick to be defensive. This was a trait of his; if the topic became serious then he tended to get nervous, defensive and would back away.
"Jeremy..." she began. "I was thinking we could get a record player. Maybe even a stereo, with a radio and cassette player built in as well...like those home entertainment systems they sell nowadays."
Jeremy took a sip of coffee and nodded with a "uh-huh".
"And we could put it....oh, we can't put it in the lounge. There's no room." she said, baiting the trap.
"What about the study, or the bedroom?" Jeremy replied.
"That's no good if we want to have guests around, which we don't because we don't have much room."
"I see where you're going with this. You want to build an extension on the house?"
"Or perhaps get a bigger house..." there, she said it. Jeremy finished his breakfast and pushed the plate away from him.
"Now we've had this discussion before, Barbara. I'm attached to this area and there's still work to be done..."
"Against the Landgraabs? I know, sweetie, but we can't let them control our lives and it's getting to the stage where we've outgrown this place."
Jeremy got up and walked over to the couch as he gathered his thoughts. "But the tree! The planned demolition!" he said.
"You've never been through the tree and seen the glade and you can prevent the demolition of Foundry Cove whether you live here or not!" she said, getting up and going to sit next to him.
Jeremy took a deep breath before speaking. "I've checked the accounts and the boutique has had lots of outgoings this quarter. What with the stock, electrical repairs and taking on your first permanent employee our reserves of money aren't as large as it was a couple of months ago."
Barbara looked crestfallen. "I didn't realise it was that bad" she said.
"It's not bad, it's just not as much as we'd like in terms of upgrading our living arrangements."
"Spoken like a businessman"
"I am a businessman. I tell you what; how about we set up a housing fund out of our accounts? A bit goes towards that with each payday."
Barbara shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's the best we can do right now." She took a deep breath and slapped her hands on her thighs. "Well, I need to get to the shop early today because I want to greet Toni, my new employee, and show her the ropes."
"All the best with that...I've just got accounts, accounts and more accounts to deal with today so I envy you." said Jeremy.
Magnolia Promenade was coming alive by the time Barbara arrived there. It was a small but often busy retail park and judging by the amount of footfall through here she hoped that today would be a busy one...nothing like dropping the new shop assistant right into the action, she thought.
At 8:30am a perky young woman in yellow and white knocked on the door to Pack's Boutique. She even had a name badge on her blouse that read "Toni". Barbara opened the door and cheerily let her in.
"Hello...you must be Toni. I'm Barbara; the manager and co-owner of Pack's."
Toni looked momentarily startled at Barbara. "Oh" she said, beginning a sentence that she found difficult to complete as she didn't want to offend her new and very young boss. "I wasn't expecting someone...so...so..."
"Young? Don't worry about it. Lots of people are surprised to discover I run this place. Heck, even I am surprised sometimes...I have to pinch myself to remind me that I am!" replied Barbara with a smile and a laugh as she diffused the tension.
"I'll show you around the place...so, according to the agency you've done quite a lot of retail work before, is that right?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah...department stores for a bit, then in a furniture store the last six months. I really like fashion so I jumped at the chance to come and work here when the agency told me about you." replied Toni. "I hope this outfit is OK? The shirt is from my last employers and I didn't know whether to wear pants or a skirt or was there a dress code. I'm sorry, I should have phoned ahead and asked you."
Barbara was surprised that Toni was asking such a question. "Well..." she began to reply. "...I hadn't thought about a dress code myself. I'm just wearing one of my normal outfits but you look fine. Is there normally a dress code? I'm still learning the ropes of running a shop myself."
"Depends on the place. The department store insisted the female staff all wore skirt suits, smart shoes and nylons with guidelines for hair and make up. The furniture store just said I should look 'smart' but didn't specify what smart was. In London there's a fashion store called Biba..."
"I've heard of it; it's one of the inspirations for this place" interjected Barbara.
"Well their staff have a uniform dress. It's short with horizontal stripes." added Toni.
"I'll look into that. That might be a good idea to have a distinct look...mark us out from the customers."
Barbara liked it that Toni was keen, eager and had ideas. Because of her experience in dealing with customers she assigned her the task of handling them whilst she concentrated on stock and handling money. After that she opened the doors and switched the neon sign on the door to "open".
Barbara's hunch about it being a busy retail day turned out to be on the money. The shop was soon inundated with customers and between her and Toni, they had their work cut out for them...particularly when one or two customers demanded to be served first...
Barbara took that onerous task on herself...don't let the new employee have to sort out some customer aggravation, she thought. She cast a look across the shop floor to see how Toni was getting on. There was a young male customer, looking every inch like a missing Beatle, who was wearing a very stylish double-breasted shirt and was being stared at by some of the female customers. Barbara thought the guy, probably in his late teens, was very cute and could see his appeal but Toni was there handling the situation so that she could help this guy without being bothered. One little girl was just staring at him and to the young man's credit, he seemed to be bearing up with good grace.
When there was a lull in the number of customers that needed serving, Barbara went out back to get more stock out of the storeroom to replace the items that had been sold. When she returned she saw Toni sitting next to the cute guy and chatting to him. She put the pile of men's shirts she was carrying on a counter-top and was preparing to give Toni a polite rebuke for socialising with the customers instead of working when she overheard what they were saying to each other.
"I've got to present a youthful image...be less clean-cut." said the guy, who spoke with an English accent.
"Is that what your bosses told you?" asked Toni.
"Yeah, they get a bit heavy with me to get with the American look but it can be hard trying to find the right gear...it's 'cos I'm short"
"I'm sure we've got something in stock...did you know Jean Shrimpton shops here when she's in America? If we could find something for her, we can find something for you."
"Oh Jean's been in here? That's wild!" said the guy. Barbara picked up the stack of shirts and went back to stocking the shelves and hangars with a smile on her face: Toni, was charming this customer and helping him find something he liked. And by the sounds of it he knew Jean Shrimpton. Was he someone famous?
Eventually he found something he liked and in his size and Barbara let Toni seal the deal and ring up the sale. When Toni walked him to the shop door and saw him head off down the road she turned to Barbara, let out a "phew!" and fanned herself with her hand.
"Is it always like this, here? First Jean Shrimpton and now him!" she said. Barbara shrugged her shoulders.
"So who was that guy? He was kind of cute" she asked.
"You're kidding me!" said an incredulous Toni. "That was Davy Jones!"
"Is he famous?"
"Is he....I mean, yeah, kind of. I mean he will be." said Toni, trying to find the right words to explain who Davy Jones was.
"Sounds like you're psychic. How will he be well known? Is he an actor or a pop star?" asked Barbara.
"Both. There's a buzz going around that the next biggest thing in music...and TV...will be The Monkees."
"What, like chimpanzees?"
"No...like you've got The Beatles but they're not bugs well these guys are the Monkees: M-O-N-K-E-E-S. So I read all the latest music magazines and they did this big piece on them with an interview with Davy so that's how I...and that little girl...recognised him. They've got a single coming out next week and the TV show will debut next month."
Barbara made a long, whistling sound and nodded "Word's getting out...Pack's Clothing is the place to be...IF we play our cards right!"
"I hope I did well today..." said Toni. "Barbara, I really want to work here. Already I'm loving the vibe!"
"I'm happy for you to work here; you did well. And I'll follow up that Biba uniform thing...sounds like a good idea." said Barbara, smiling. It was such a benefit having a member of staff now; Barbara didn't feel as drained as she had been recently.
Her thoughts and conversation with Toni was abruptly disturbed by a knock at the door. The two women turned around to see a man in a dark business suit waving at them through the door: It was Jeremy. Barbara jogged to the door, unlocked it and let him in.
"Hello, Darling. A good day's trade?" He asked, stepping in to the shop. He noticed Toni in her yellow work shirt standing by the counter with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Yes...very much so" Barbara replied. "In part thanks to my new assistant. Come and meet Toni. Toni, this is my boyfriend and co-owner of Pack's Clothing; Jeremy."
Toni gave a little wave and said 'hi' in a soft voice. She was conscious that she didn't want to seem familiar or cocky to the boss and money-man.
"Did you enjoy yourself today?" Jeremy asked Toni.
"Yeah, it was groovy. This is a swinging joint. AND we had Davy Jones in the store as well!"
"Davy......?" he asked, puzzled.
"Jeremy isn't up to date on the latest pop stars or celebrity news. Unless it's Llamaman or Pat Boone." said Barbara. "Davy Jones is in a band called The Monkees. They're going to be on TV soon."
"Oh, OK. Yeah, Toni, I'm a bit of a button-down kind of guy. Barbara keeps me up to date with the trends."
"Well, if you don't need me for anything else may I go home now?" asked Toni.
"Sure. Thank you and well done today; see you tomorrow!" said Barbara, beaming a big smile as things went better than she expected and she'd liked Toni's company in the store. Toni grabbed her handbag, said her goodbyes and headed off to the subway station. That left Jeremy and Barbara alone in the now quiet store.
"She seems nice" he said.
"Toni? Yeah, she is a real blast! I'm going to keep her on. Well, I'm just going to do a quick inspection of the place, grab the ledger for today and lock up."
"OK, I'll wait for you outside" he said, heading to the shop door and opening it. Barbara scuttled around the shop making a note of what needed putting out on the shelves and mannequins for tomorrow and went to look for the ledger.
As Jeremy waited on the sidewalk outside, he saw a very familiar figure walking towards him in a brisk manner as if she was on urgent business. It was Suzy and she waved at him as she strode purposefully in his direction.
"Hey, Suz, what brings you here? I'm sorry but we're shut now...if only you'd come about 20 minutes earlier." he said, waving cheerily at her.
"I'm not here to shop, Jeremy. I've come to see you about a work matter." she replied, with a hint of seriousness in her voice. Jeremy's face went from happy and smiling to serious. When she said "work matter" he wondered if it meant his work or hers?
"What is it?" he asked.
"I've found a ton of stuff about the Landgraabs...I mean BIG revelations about them but there's still some gaps in their story I need to find out and you might be able to help there."
More digging around, more clandestine investigation, he thought to himself. Well, he was so far committed to uncovering their dirty secrets he couldn't stop now. "OK" he said, drawing a deep breath. "What information do you need?"
"Anything about their property; Affluista Mansion, and specifically the land it's built on. There should be some old mineshaft or cave that runs directly underneath it. I want to know what it is. It should be tucked away in some file in their building."
"If I can get access to the computer in the building I can see what information there is that's kept in company records." he said. "Otherwise it might be buried in a dusty file. OK, I'll look into it."
At that moment Barbara emerged from the shop, ready to lock up. She saw Suzy talking to Jeremy and by the looks on their faces it wasn't a social call she was making.
"Hey, Suzy, what's up?" asked Barbara.
"Oh, I'm buzzing with a new line of investigation of the Landgraabs. Jeremy here's kindly offered to do some research into their property for me."
Barbara's face went from smiling to grave. "Oh great, she's putting him at risk...again." Barbara thought to herself. "I hope something bad doesn't happen to my man because if it does then heaven help you; Suzy Humphries!"
"Do I need to spruce up my look?" thought Suzy as she inspected herself in the mirror. "Paisleys are in...maybe it's time to retire the Mod look?" She let out a sigh. Fashion could be so complicated sometimes.
"No way!" she said out loud at last. "I love this outfit!" was her defiant response to her own question.
She went from the bedroom to the study to resume work on her in depth expose of Malcolm Landgraab and his criminal activities but the article was proving more difficult to write for Suzy as she kept being distracted by thoughts of the mysterious book she and Neil had found.
She already had more than enough material on Malcolm to finish the article but that book...that people went to extraordinary extents to possess and hide...kept calling to her. She knew it contained enough in it to drive a man insane and it was fear that had kept her from reading it from cover to cover; merely contenting herself to read snippets lest the same fate befall her. But she also knew it contained a lot of information about the Landgraab family and a little more research would help: Help her understand why Nancy, Geoffrey and Malcolm were the way they were and why their estranged son, Johnny, was driven out of the family.
Suzy stopped typing and walked over to the bookcase to dig out "The Hidden History of Sim City" before settling on the study couch to read it. The preface alone sounded daunting.
In your hands you hold a book that a great many people would wish would never see the light of day.
Suzy took a sharp intake of breath. It was now or never; read on or bury the book once again.
Within you will learn the secrets of the great families of Sim City and the origins of the place. You will also learn about who they all pay tribute to and that, dear readers, is the most shocking revelation of them all. You may discount what I have to say as the ramblings of a madman and my very life is at risk for even sharing this information...but I feel it is my duty as a scholar to pass on to you what I have learned these last few years. Maybe this will drive the forces that operate in the shadows in to the light or maybe you will dismiss everything as mere whimsy. I leave that to you, dear reader...
PATRICK CORNELIUS
"In for a penny, in for a pound...as my grandmother used to say" said Suzy to herself. She continued reading.
CHAPTER ONE: LANDGRAAB
In the year of our Lord, Eighteen Hundred and Ten, the European continent was ablaze. Napoleon had control of a land empire that stretched from Madrid to Warsaw, Copenhagen to Syracuse. Those countries who had not been directly absorbed into France had become vassal states, bending their knee to him. However, a few held out and continued to defy him: The British and their Portuguese allies were taking the fight to him in the Iberian Peninsular so, in retaliation, his plan was to cut the British off from the thing they prized the most: Trade with the world. And this is where our story begins...
In 1810 Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Holland, disbanded its army and incorporated it into Metropolitan France. A valuable source of trade would be completely shut to the perfidious Albion.
Of course many Dutch men and women thought they stood no chance in defying Bonaparte and the French and so acquiesced to their rule. Many but not all...one enterprising young man had other ideas. His name was Dirk Landgraab.
Dirk was a sea captain of some renown and considerable experience. He had been at sea since he was a boy; learning the ways of sailing, ship-handling and trade from St Maarten in the West Indies, the Cape Colony, Java and even to the forbidden lands of Japan and their only trading port in Nagasaki. Dirk had made several fortunes but had also lost most of them. He had contacts in every port but, alas, many creditors as well and if the French were to take over Dutch maritime interests then Dirk's financial malfeasance would come to light under the harsh French bureaucracy and their desire to squeeze every ounce of tax revenue as they could to fund their wars. Nor did Dirk desire to serve in the French navy...or the Royal Navy for that matter for amongst those who desired repayment of his many loans was the firm of Lloyds of London. Defecting to the British would not solve his problems.
Dirk, as mentioned before, was enterprising and he conceived a daring plan to escape the French and all his problems. Moored in the port of Amsterdam was a ship, the S.S. Kansen and contained within its cargo hold was 3 month's salaries for the Dutch garrison in Java, East Indies. Dirk figured that as the Dutch army technically no longer existed and that the garrison was now officially French, then the gold stored in the Kansen was anybody's for the taking. So took it he did. One night, he bribed the watch to let him on board, promised shares of the booty to the crew and with their co-operation...often at gun or sword's point...he slipped the cables in the middle of the night and set sail across the Atlantic where neither the British nor the French would bother to find him: America.
"So the Landgraabs have always been thieves" Suzy chuckled to herself. She was engrossed in the story so she ploughed on.
When Dirk arrived in the city of New York he found that a little gold could buy you a great many things, including silence and not having to bother with awkward questions and difficult customs officials. Even after paying off the crew, renting a townhouse to establish himself and bribing various officials Dirk Landgraab was now wealthier than he had ever been in his life. The vast sum of gold granted him credit with all the banks in New York and on top of all that, he had a 2 deck privateer ship as well to start his new business as a trader and speculator. A few more gold coins were exchanged and the Kansen became the S.S. Main Chance, built in Boston, Massachusetts, of course.
Dirk found the Americans to be more...malleable...than their European counterparts when it came to making a profit. He put the Main Chance to good use; with it's fast speed and being well armed it could make the run to the West Indies and back faster than any other ship of its displacement if handled by an expert crew and Dirk found some of the best seamen to be aboard Royal Navy vessels. If he touched port where the British were moored as well, a little of the famed Landgraab gold would find its way into the pockets of some Jack Tars who could be persuaded to jump ship and join his company. Thus, in his way, Dirk Landgraab contributed to the cause of the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States of America.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" mused Suzy.
Dirk's company began as a shady little trading operation with one ship to a shady big trading company with many fine built vessels. By the time the wars between Britain, the United States, France and all of Europe were at an end and the tyrant Bonaparte defeated and exiled for the last time, Dirk Landgraab was firmly settled in America and had no desire to return to the land of his birth...even if it had regained its independence and King back.
Now in his mid-30s Dirk had the wealth but he had neither status in New York polite society nor a wife. There were many who started to ask questions about the origins of his wealth and his business practices so he needed to quash these rumours by acquiring a high status wife...and already he knew just who that should be.
Margaret McClochness was the only daughter of a Mr John Ross McClochness, a man of repute in New York society who could trace his lineage in the American colonies to 1715; his ancestor fleeing after the aborted Old Pretender's uprising in that year. The current Mr McClochness was admired for his manners, his honesty and generosity but, alas, he had made some poor decisions of late which had cost his family dearly in financial terms. He was a great friend of the former US Vice President, Aaron Burr, and after the Hamilton duel fiasco and Burr's aborted coup d'etat, John Ross found that although his fellow socialites forgave his errors in judgement they did not forgive his debts.
So a marriage was arranged between young Margaret and Dirk, which suited all parties very well. The McClochnesses could pay their debts and keep their good standing, Dirk gained that veneer of respectability he craved and he had a young and attractive wife on his arm to boot. And Margaret was happy that her father was content with having his burden lifted and having a handsome and dashing husband was a boon to her life...despite her having to deliberately turn a blind eye to his more dishonest practices. As long as he didn't get caught she was content.
The Landgraab Trading Company went from strength to strength and children were born to Dirk and Margaret: The ones who survived infancy were Malcolm in 1817, Gordon in 1819 and Beatrix in 1823. Dirk passed away in 1846 at the age of 66 and control of the company passed to the eldest son, Malcolm with Gordon highly placed in the company to ensure Landgraabs controlled every aspect of it.
It was Malcolm who expanded the company into other parts of America and diversified their activities. Trade had been disrupted during the war with Mexico in the 1840s and the Royal Navy's anti-slave trading patrols ended a part of Landgraab Trading's activities. The 1850s proved to be an interesting time for the family's fortunes.
The Landgraab brothers were even more calculating and ambitious than their father. Malcolm, the elder of the two, was placed in charge of the company with Gordon, who resembled his mother more than his father, as his right hand man. Malcolm felt he had outgrown New York city, if such a thing were possible. He was yet another wealthy man in an already crowded environment and property prices were soaring so what he desired was to set up home and business in a new and inviting place where he and his family would be the undisputed masters.
He met with a man named Hugh Sim; a prospector, cartographer, geologist and explorer and also an ambitious man.
Sim had tried to impress New York and Washington D.C. high society with tales of some land he had been exploring within the continental United States. It was a place that seemingly defied known geography: Where cool temperate zones, swampland, coastal harbours and arid areas all converged in a relatively small area. He had taken mineral and botanical samples to show what potential resources lay in the area in the hope that he could attract wealthy settlers to move to a place he had just founded: Sim's City, or Sim City as it later became known as. With the instability of the country at that time few wanted to take the gamble of settling in an area that could be unstable so many baulked at Sim's offer...many, but not all: Malcolm Landgraab saw his chance.
It was Sim's plan but Landgraab's money that made Sim City. Landgraab set up their first office there in 1851 and by 1857 the move had been so successful and the resources Sim had promised more than lived up to his claim that the entire company was able to move their headquarters there. Landgraab had bought up so much of the land that they ran all hotels, bars, general stores, stables, a small ironworks, a mining concession, the local newspaper and the entire port facilities. There was little that wasn't owned by them.
The third sibling, Beatrix, had initially stayed in New York where she married Lysander Goth; a man from one of the oldest established families in America and who was in publishing. Eventually, in order to have all his family exactly where he wanted them, Malcolm persuaded Beatrix to move to Sim City with her husband and children.
Suzy sat up in startlement. "Wait, the Landgraabs and the Goths are related?" She paused her reading and thought about this. Surely Mortimer, the keen historian, would know this yet there's a definite frostiness between the two families now. She must enquire about this connection more when she next saw him. She continued to read...
The Civil War came but Sim City was soon to become in reach of both side's armies. War was good for business, but bad if you chose the wrong side so between them Malcolm and Gordon conceived a plan: Malcolm would control all of the Landgraab Company's assets in the North and Gordon would do likewise in the South. That way, whoever won, the victorious brother would immediately forgive his errant sibling and both sides would reunite before governments could intervene.
The only stumbling block to this plan was Hugo Sim. The man of ideas had now found he was being sidelined from his own visionary project and started to complain...and drink...eventually Malcolm had to arrange an "accident" and blame Confederate raiders for Sim's untimely death.
There was tragedy in the family when Malcolm's eldest son and heir apparent, Malcolm II, was killed in combat in 1865. The spotlight now fell on his second son, William. However, William was not an industrialist or a money maker and as a second son was mostly ignored by his father, who adored the elder brother. William became an artist, and a struggling one at that, and eventually became estranged from the family...
"Just like Johnny Zest is now..." mused Suzy.
So Malcolm I and Gordon continued to run the Landgraab Company until awkward questions started to be raised in Congress about the brothers' activities in the Civil War and their more than generous payments to various figures in the Grant administration in return for favours. Landgraab was investigated and it looked like Malcolm could go to prison for corruption and bribery but the glare of the spotlight and the pressure of a Federal investigation brought on a stroke and his passing in 1876. Gordon now ran the company but with only daughters as his issue it would seem that the company's future was in jeopardy.
William Landgraab was only ever a moderately successful painter and he died, penniless and pickled in 1889 at the age of 42. In his short, tempestuous life he had one short, tempestuous marriage and that produced one child: Gregory, born in 1868. He was raised by his mother with virtually no input from William and father and son only ever met each other once...when Gregory was 4 years old. As such he wasn't aware of his heritage, that he was the only other direct male heir to the family business after Gordon. It was only after his father's death that his mother told him the truth about his heritage.
Gregory had become a school teacher upon entering adulthood. He was a studious, intelligent young man who was well liked in his little community, admired by the parents of the children he taught and generally respected by his pupils and he would have lived out his life as a small town schoolmaster had fate not intervened...
It was the Spring of 1890 when Gregory went out to explore a deserted part of Oasis Springs, high up the Acquisition Butte which in those days was uninhabited. He went up there an impoverished school teacher and came back...wealthy beyond his dreams. He had discovered something; exactly what folk couldn't say. Rumour has it that he stumbled upon a rich seam of gold or even diamonds but no mines were ever constructed up at the Butte. Others said he'd found an old treasure hoard left behind by the Spanish or French some centuries ago. Gregory himself never disclosed the source of his newly found wealth.
They say that he changed from that time on. He was no longer the charming but meek schoolteacher but a man of wealth and influence who found new confidence in himself...confidence bordering arrogance that was the hallmark of the Landgraab family. He eventually came to meet Gordon Landgraab who was now presiding over an ailing company: It had never quite got over the scandals of the 1870s and Gordon was managing a Landgraab Company that was a shell of its former self. Gregory presented himself as the saviour with his new found riches and it became apparent that here was the inheritor that Gordon had longed hope to see.
A suitable wife had to be found and so Gordon arranged for Gregory to be wed to the socialite, Bertha Vanderbilt; a cousin of the famous Cornelius Vanderbilt. By all accounts this was a very suitable arrangement for both parties.
Gregory rapidly rose in importance and prominence and, naturally, people became inquisitive about how he had found his fortune...even his uncle, Gordon. But Gregory never disclosed the nature of his good fortune to anyone. Not his wife, nor his uncle and cousins, nor any other confessor.
Then came perhaps the strangest moment in Gregory Landgraab's life and a mystery that had experts from that time to the present day baffled for an explanation as to what exactly happened: The Dirigible Panic of 1896-97.
Across the United States people claimed to have seen a mysterious dirigible in the sky over their homes. As this technology was so new and really in an experimental stage many had no idea what they had witnessed in the air. The airship came and went, sometimes flying low, sometimes lost in the clouds and where it would appear next...or whether there were an entire fleet of them across the nation, no one knew.
When one dirigible was sighted over Sim City one man took it upon himself to try to intercept it in his own hot air balloon: Gregory Landgraab. It came as a surprise that this businessman, a man of considerable wealth and status, would suddenly risk his life to take to the skies in a balloon to try to get closer to this mysterious craft but he did it and no one could persuade him not to. Witnesses saw him ascend and get closer to the dirigible, which in turn turned to intercept him and they both disappeared in a bank of thick cloud. Two hours later Gregory descended, alone, and said the problem was now over. The scare had not been about anything important and that was that...the story was forgotten about. There was another dirigible panic in 1909 and Gregory was asked for his assistance but even though he took to the skies in an aeroplane this time he returned to land and declared the crisis to be over.
Landgraab Company became the Landgraab Corporation. Gordon passed away in 1900 and now Gregory had complete ownership of the business. He and Bertha had children and built a grand mansion up at Acquisition Butte...far from the bustle of Sim City but high enough to overlook it. Gregory became the greatest Landgraab of them all in terms of wealth and success.
The couple had numerous children and weathered the tragedies of WW1 and the Great Depression well enough so that the company still controlled much of the land, utilities and industry of Sim City. When Gregory passed away in 1935 he left a vast fortune to his eldest son, Malcolm III.
Just as America was beginning to emerge from the Depression it was hit by entry into WW2. As a leading American company Landgraab "did its part" by turning it's manufacturing facilities to make war materiel. However, Malcolm III did make a lot of money for overcharging the US Army for land they wanted and Landgraab owned in Strangerville.
Now Malcolm, like his uncle Gordon before him, had no sons, only daughters but unlike in previous generations the idea that his eldest daughter would inherit wasn't such an abhorrent one. The daughter's name was Nancy, born in 1922.
"Ha! 'I'm only 39 years old' is pure bunk!" chuckled Suzy.
Nancy Landgraab was sent to the finest schools, both home and abroad. She went to Switzerland to finishing school and was a flighty and feisty teenage girl galivanting around pre-war Europe. At one stage she had a passionate affair with the son of a German count, who in turn was a highly placed official in the Nazi government, and it almost caused a diplomatic scandal at the time with a very worried U.S. State Department worried about the ramifications of a possible engagement between the teenage daughter of one of the wealthiest men in America with a 30 year old German baron who had close, personal ties to Adolph Hitler. She was called home by a very angry father in 1940.
It was obvious to Malcolm that Nancy was very gifted in a number of areas but her wild, risk taking side would have to be kept under control and as Malcolm was the custodian of all the Landgraab secrets as well he needed to make sure that any potential husband of his daughter could be trusted and brought in to the inner circle. Fortunately, he knew just the right man...
Geoffrey Osteer was a young man who acted as a liaison between the US War Department and the Landgraab Corporation. In the latter stages of WW2 he was assigned to the team behind Operation Paperclip, whose mission it was to capture leading Nazi scientists and technology before the Russians could get them. Geoffrey was known to be able to keep secrets, work in clandestine areas and was generally thought to have sound judgement. It also helped that he was a cousin of Malcolm's...being descended from Gordon Landgraab's second daughter. The Osteers were not wealthy at all, however. Geoffrey's father lost most of his shares and wealth in 1929 so the young man and potential suitor was very keen to be in the old family's inner circle and was even prepared to take his future wife's surname to cement his position.
Geoffrey and Nancy were married in 1945 and they produced two sons, not one as the official records have it. Jonathan, born 1946 and Malcolm IV, born 1949. Jonathan seems to have had a streak of his ancestor, William, in him in that he has an artistic temperament and has little time for the business shenanigans of his family. Instead of being a painter, Jonathan is in the entertainment industry and his estrangement came about in 1964 due to a row between him and his parents that led to his banishment from the family. Whether it was about Jonathan's career choices or, as some have rumoured, it was about the young man's personal life we currently do not know. Jonathan packed his bags, moved out of the family home and changed his name to Johnny Zest.
Since the end of the Second World War there are now more rumours about the Landgraab family and their business than ever before. For starters, there are still questions about what Gregory's good fortune was and what exactly was his involvement in the two dirigible panics? Then there's rumours of Nancy's involvement in organised crime; fuelled by her associations with various crime families in New York, Chicago and in Europe. And then there's the activities of Geoffrey. As was mentioned, he was working with the US government in getting hold of advanced technology in the post war years and certainly the corporation has been at the cutting edge of innovation. Has Geoffrey used his contacts in government to get an edge over his competitors? That is the simplest explanation but there is another...his association with another organisation other than the government.
But that is a story for another chapter.
"Wait? That can't be it! You can't leave it there, Mr Cornelius!" exclaimed Suzy, out loud so that Neil could hear her from another room. He came running in to the study.
"Suzy, what is it? Are you alright?" he exclaimed.
"This book! It's told me so much about the Landgraabs but the author has left their story on a cliffhanger!"
Neil sat down next to her. "So what you've learned...can you put it to good use?"
Suzy took in a deep breath before speaking. "Well...it's a lot of rumour in here" she said, holding up the book. "But it's given me pointers as to where I should be looking next: That old cave that goes right under Affluista Mansion, there's something there for sure. Nancy's got organised crime connections in other cities so I can investigate that as well...and there's lots more but the book hints there's more revelations later on. My head's spinning with all this new information!"
"I think we need a break from here..." said Neil, clapping his hands.
"That's for sure...do you have something in mind?" said Suzy.
"I've checked Villa Bovine and they're not busy tonight. I can put in a call, book us a table and we can treat ourselves. What do you say?"
"I say a definite yes! But I can't go there in this" she said, indicating her outfit.
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" quipped Neil. "Alright, let's smarten ourselves up then"
Suzy opted to wear her little black velvet dress with sheer sleeves and Neil wore his favourite formal suit; his white tuxedo. All dolled up to the nines, they were ready to go out and live the life of a sophisticated couple for one evening.
At the Villa Bovine they waited for their table to be ready but Suzy gasped when she saw who was in the queue in front of them: Nancy and Malcolm Landgraab.
Neither paid any attention to Suzy as they were having a stilted conversation with Mortimer and Bella Goth. Neil had paid the taxi driver that brought them to the restaurant and now entered the place, finding Suzy talking with the Maître d.
"Have they got a table for us?" he asked.
"Yes, but have you seen who is also here?" whispered Suzy.
Neil took a look around the foyer and noticed the Landgraabs. "Speak of the devils..."
"For one thing, how short is that dress Nancy is wearing? I found out her age as well in that book. 44 and she's wearing that!" said Suzy, looking Nancy up and down in disbelief.
"She's 44? She keeps herself in good trim then" said Neil. "To be fair, that's a nice dress" he added.
"It's so much shorter than anything I have in my wardrobe!" said Suzy.
"Jealous, are we?" quipped Neil. That earned him a slap on the wrist from Suzy.
"Mr and Mrs Humphries, your table is now ready" said the Maître d. "Zane will show you to it" he said, pointing to a nearby waiter. The couple were led to a cosy table for two and they were handed menus. The Goths were seated after them, across the other side of the dining room but within sight of Suzy and Neil. Bella looked relaxed but Mortimer shot Suzy a harsh look.
"What's that all about?" said Neil, who noticed Mortimer's stern expression.
"He hates journalists" was Suzy's nonchalant reply. "You have to remember he's very protective of Bella after all that's happened to her. But her life is a big mystery so, naturally, people ask questions about it."
"Goths to the right of us, and here come the Landgraabs...and here I was thinking we'd be able to get away from all the revelations and dark secrets of Sim City for one night."
"I think we're being taught a great, big cosmic lesson that we can't escape from them...but I'm actually fired up now; They don't know what I now know..." said Suzy with a look of excitement in her eyes.
At that moment the Landgraabs were shown to their table and Nancy glanced down at Suzy as they walked past. There was a look of contempt in her face, as if she had trodden in something deeply unpleasant.
After Suzy and Neil had placed their order and there was no one in the immediate vicinity to overhear their conversation, Suzy leaned in across the table and closer to Neil and spoke in a voice that was just about audible to him.
"I know we're meant to be taking a break from all the investigation this evening but, Neil, if what's in this book is true it'll give us more information about what's going on and where we...I...should focus my efforts." she said.
"So...have you had any thoughts about what you'll do next?" he asked.
"I need to tell Action and Burr about the tunnel under the mansion and I need to see if Jeremy can find out anything about the land around there; Maybe that holds the key to the source of Gregory Landgraab's wealth."
As they ate their meal Suzy brought Neil up to speed about what she had learned from the book. He didn't ask many questions but instead sat there, eating his food and taking in all this information. Suzy was wondering if she was boring him or it was sailing straight over his head because he wasn't responding straight away, except for the occasional "I see" or "that's interesting" comment.
"Neil...are you taking any of this in?" she asked. He didn't respond right away as he had his mouth full of food but he twirled his fork with one hand and held up one finger on his other to indicate a pause. Once he had swallowed what was in his mouth he picked up his napkin, dabbed his mouth and put his fork down. This all added to Suzy's tension as she waited for his response.
"It seems to me..." he began "...that the most fascinating part of what you've told me is about the Dirigible Panic."
"That?" she responded with some astonishment in her voice. "What do you find fascinating about it."
"Well...I'm not sure if we had dirigibles around that time for starters but let's say we did, but they're so uncommon that the public who see them don't know what they are exactly or why they're flying over their neighbourhoods. What I find most interesting is that Gregory Landgraab takes it upon himself to sort the issue out. I mean, he effectively says 'I'll sort out this mystery' and goes and does it...then comes back declares the panic to be over and nothing more is said about it. And he does this twice over the years. Most strange."
"Do you think I should prioritise researching into that?" she asked. Neil took another bite of food and nodded. Then, as he was chewing his food, he held his finger up again to indicate a pause.
"Right..." he said when he was ready to speak again. "That tunnel is going to take some manpower to unblock and you'll be digging right under the Landgraab's noses. The shady business dealings are a given; we knew that already, but if you want to link them to Advik's madness then the airships over America issue might be the connection."
"I'll definitely look into that" she said, nodding. She took a sip of wine and looked across the table to her husband. A warm glow rose in her as she thought about how thoughtful and perceptive he could be and that she felt bad thinking he was uninterested in her investigative work. And he did look so sexy in his white tuxedo as well! She slipped off one of her shoes and extended her foot forwards so that it brushed up against his calf...time for a little footsie, she thought.
"Oh...hello!" Neil said, suddenly sitting at attention when he felt her soft, silky nylon covered foot brush up against him.
After they'd finished their meal and had settled the bill, they got up to leave.
"Is Nancy still glaring at you?" asked Neil as he stood up.
"Just a little..." replied Suzy. "I'd better be polite and give the Goths a little wave"
Bella returned the gesture but Mortimer just curtly nodded, still with a stern look on his face.
"I wish Mortimer wouldn't see me as a threat; I just want to help them find out who got to Bella and who stole his diaries: I believe they're the same person." said Suzy.
"I think he knows that as well but his protectiveness is too strong. Come on, let's not cause a scene" said Neil, ushering his wife out of the restaurant.
Instead of going straight home they took a walk along the creek that was nearby the Villa Bovine. The sun was ebbing away, casting the whole area in a warm, pink glow and Suzy walked arm in arm with Neil, not saying much but enjoying the evening air.
Eventually Suzy broke the silence. "I appreciate your input on this case" she said.
"My pleasure. I find it very interesting myself. So are you going to tell the others what you've found out?"
"At some point" she said.
"I think you should. Poor Advik kept it all to himself and look what happened..." Neil said, sounding a note of caution in his voice.
"I hear you, and I'm better prepared...I think...than he was. I know I have Jeremy, Action, Barbara, Burr and, of course, you to help me. I won't be reckless, I promise."
They found a bench to sit down on and continued the conversation from there. Suzy was still buzzing from the date and her ideas were bouncing around inside her mind. Neil, by contrast, was unwinding and just enjoying the peace and romantic air.
They both enjoyed the tranquillity of this place and snuggled together, again without saying much but then they didn't need to fill the air with empty chat when each felt such warmth and secureness towards the other. It was fortunate that no one else was around as Neil hated public displays of affection where people could stare or tut when they walked past.
Finally it was time to head home and as they sat in the back of the taxi for the relatively short drive they quietly held hands with Suzy resting her head on Neil's shoulder. Once back at the house she stayed up a little longer, made herself a hot chocolate and browsed through the notes she had made on the book one more time. Neil headed straight for bed.
"What's the next part of the book?" she mused to herself, flicking through the pages past the section on the Landgraabs. She found the part where she had left of at, covering the events of the early part of the decade but stopping at 1964. The next part of the book had a blank title page about a 3rd of the way in. Blank except for one word.
FENG
Suzy tapped on the page and then looked around the study for a bookmark. Finding one made from yellow thick cardboard she put it in at that section, shut the book, drank the last of her hot chocolate and went to see Neil in the bedroom. He was fast asleep, still in his tuxedo...the poor guy was just drained and tired. She smiled lovingly at his sleeping form and decided she would just slip off her shoes and crash out next to him. There's was plenty to do tomorrow...
Author's note: I must give a big thank you to two people who helped with the visuals of this chapter.
Dirk Landgraab and Margaret McClochness were created by "Broken Record" of the Sims of History Discord group.
Gregory and Bertha Landgraab were created by Ms Cellophane also of the Sims Of History.
And a final thank you to all of you who have stuck it out with Sim 66 for 200 chapters.
There are little Easter Eggs in Sim 66 scattered here and there which are references to movies and TV shows from that era. I won't tell you which ones; you can discover them for yourselves, but I have watched a lot of Sixties shows and some have been a real inspiration for the story. I'd like to share my list of films and TV programmes that have helped my story along since it began.
1. BLOW UP (1966)
This movie, set in London and filmed in 1966 was directed by the Italian movie maker Michaelangelo Antonioni and stars David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, John Castle, Peter Bowles, Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin, Gillian Hills, the real life fashion models Veruschka and Peggy Moffit and the rock group, The Yardbirds. Hemmings plays Thomas, a self-important top photographer whose range includes high fashion and what he thinks is 'social realism'. One day he goes to a park and candidly photographs a couple frolicking around. The woman (Redgrave), sees Thomas and becomes panicked; demanding he hands the roll of film over to her. He refuses and heads back to his studio where he develops the photographs and discovers he may have captured a murder attempt on the man on film.
This isn't a conventional mystery thriller and you may be disappointed if you see Blow Up if you want something by the numbers. It's movie of moods, of psychological drama and, above all, fantastic visuals. The cinematography is fantastic but of note to aficionados of the Swinging Sixties are the fashions. Antonioni has captured the look of that period of Mod styling perfectly, which is showcased in the scene of him photographing fashion models in his studios, the two teenage girls who pester him for a photoshoot (and a bit more) and a nightclub scene where the Swinging Sixties style is everywhere. That part of the movie features one of the best bands of that era; The Yardbirds, here with both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page in the line-up.
2. HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH (1967)
My all time favourite teenage coming of age movie. A British comedy/drama set in the town of Stevenage and starring Barry Evans as Jamie, a teenage boy who is coming to the end of his time at secondary school and who is perpetually on the lookout for a girlfriend...to the point of distraction. He's not short of potential candidates either, as you can see from the publicity still from the film above, but the problem is that something always gets in the way or sabotages his chances. His story arc isn't just about a horny teenage boy...he learns that he can aim for "right here, right now" or he can be more discerning and not just fall for any pretty face but look for something lasting and deeper. It's an episodic movie, but fun throughout and even though there's plenty of Sixties "wackiness" with his psychedelic daydreams it's a very accurate depiction of a teenage boy on the verge of manhood and in a town just outside of London which is too far away for him to enjoy the Swinging lifestyle he hears about. There's a soundtrack by the pop groups Traffic and The Spencer Davis Group (the latter appear as themselves in one scene) but another star of the film are the fashions: Not just with the girls but the guys as well.
3. TO SIR, WITH LOVE (1967)
Another British movie made just at the right time to showcase the youth of the 1960s, this stars Sidney Poitier as a West Indian teacher who has come to the UK to teach in a school located in a run down part of London. Of course, he's not well liked at the start as he has to overcome the disrespect of his students (who are an unruly, hormonal lot), living in another country and, inevitably, racism. But he's persistent and dedicated and bonds of trust and respect are forged over the course of the film. Poitier's main co-stars are Judy Geeson (who was also in Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush) and the pop singer, Lulu (who also sings the title song). Again, you have some great looks among the students and Poitier, as always, looks so sharp in his Sixties suits.
4. COOGAN'S BLUFF (1968)
I love crime thrillers from the late Sixties and early 70s. I could have included such seminal crime dramas from that era such as Shaft, Villain, Get Carter, Madigan, Dirty Harry or The French Connection but on my recommendation list here is Clint Eastwood's first major Hollywood film after making the trio of Spaghetti Westerns in the mid-Sixties: Coogan's Bluff.
He plays the title character; a no-nonsense US Marshall from Arizona who is sent to New York to help recapture an escaped convict he once put behind bars. It's a fish-out-of-water scenario as Coogan's rural, wilderness and blunt ways of policing clash with the bureaucratic and slapdash style of his New York counterparts. It's also a contrast between Coogan's conservatism and the Swinging, psychedelic style of the times and this is why I recommend this film for the Sixties aficionado: It embraces the era and the fashions, especially in a scene set in a nightclub called The Pigeon-Toed Orange Peel.
5. HEAD (1968)
Hey, hey, that really is The Monkees in their only big screen movie. I recommend checking out their TV series as well but Head is something altogether different from that. It's a whacky deconstruction of the band and their personas via a series of short sketches and vignettes that don't really mesh into an overarching plot...there's no plot at all...to the point that their cute antics of the show are shown to be just a fake facade, like the band themselves. Sounds depressing watching your favourites bringing themselves down? Well, don't be because Head is filled with fun moments, brilliant editing, great songs and the whole thing feels like The Monkees' farewell gig and they want to go out in some style...even if a lot of that is silly. Again, enjoy the fashions, the music and the psychedelic visuals.
6. THE NAME OF THE GAME (1966. 1968-70)
Originally a TV movie made in 1966 called "Fame Is The Name Of The Game", starring Anthony Franciosa as crusading reporter, Jeff Dillon and Susan St. James as his plucky and resourceful assistant, Peggy, it was successful enough to spawn a series which ran for 3 seasons between 1968 to 1970, abbreviated to "The Name Of The Game". The format was tweaked from following a single reporter solving mysteries and crusading for justice to following 3 men who all worked for the same publishing company and the the cast was expanded to include Robert Stack as crime reporter, Dan Farrell, and Gene Barry as their boss, publisher Glenn Howard. This new format meant that each episode would feature one of the trio...with Peggy usually assisting them...either getting involved in some high society drama (Glenn), investigating an unsolved crime (Dan) or uncovering a scandal (Jeff).
The flexible format means that you get a multi-dimensional view of late 60s Los Angeles from the lowlife crimes on the street to high society and Hollywood royalty trying to bury a scandal and everything in between so the look and the feel of the show captures that late 60s aesthetic from various perspectives. Plus Susan St. James looks terrific in her mod gear and the guys? Well, just check out those threads in that publicity still.
7. THAT GIRL. (1966-71)
The crazy misadventures of aspiring actress, Anne Marie (Marlo Thomas) and her straight laced and accident prone boyfriend, Don Hollinger (Ted Bessel) pretty much is the definitive American sitcom of the late 1960s that doesn't involve magic or sorcery. Thomas is adorable in the lead role; often scatterbrained, great at fast-talking babble, cute as a button and she's well supported by Bessel who is terrific at deadpan humour and slapstick at the same time. That Girl is the prototype of the independent but goofy female sitcom character in American TV, influencing the Mary Tyler Moore Show right through to Monica, Rachel and Phoebe of "Friends" and Zooey Deschanel in "New Girl". Thomas' look in the series is fantastic; a real time capsule of late 60s fashion which came about because she was starring in the London production of "Barefoot In The Park" and became a huge fan of Carnaby Street fashions. Against the initial wishes of the network, who wanted a more conservative look for the character, Thomas started wearing miniskirts, go-go boots and fishnet tights on the show and popularised such fashion items in the U.S.
8. DEPARTMENT S (1968-69)
A detective show with a difference. Department S were a branch of Interpol who specialised in "unsolvable" crimes and mysteries and consisted of American detective, Stewart Sullivan (Joel Fabiani), computer expert Annabelle Hurst (Rosemary Nicholls) and playboy novelist turned detective Jason King (Peter Wyngarde). Most of the episodes are interesting and intriguing, especially as they all have cold opening pre-title sequences that hook the viewer in but the real stand out in the series is Wyngarde as Jason King. He's charismatic, gets all the best lines, flamboyant, vain, and a bit of a paper tiger but it's his wardrobe and style that are the real stars here. His clothing, hairstyle and moustache are all at the extreme edge of late 60s male fashion and it only got more extreme when the character got his own spin off series a couple of years later called "Jason King". Yes, that's Jason King on the right of that picture.
9. THE PARTY (1968)
Peter Sellars plays Hrundi V. Bakshi, an accident prone Indian actor now living in Hollywood. After wrecking the production of a remake of the movie, "Gunga Din", he finds himself on a producer's blacklist...or would be if the producer's secretary hadn't accidentally written his name on an invite to an exclusive Hollywood party by mistake.
Peter Sellars and Blake Edwards team up again as they had on the Pink Panther movies to create a movie where physical comedy, prop gags and Sellars' incredible penchant for accents are to the fore. There are so many memorable moments in this film from Steve Franken's increasingly drunk waiter, a lost shoe in the house water feature, a blocked toilet and a roast chicken stuck in a woman's elaborate hairstyle. Oh, and "Birdy num-num". Claudine Longet plays a French actress-singer who is being pestered by a lecherous producer and who Hrundi develops a friendship with but the main co-star of the film is the house itself. I've mentioned Sixties fashions in this list many times and the same goes for this movie but the house design is a mixture of 60s aesthetic but is also massively overcomplicated and over-designed so that comedy is milked from such a pretentious and ludicrous venue.
10. ADAM ADAMANT LIVES (1966-67)
Running for two seasons, Adam Adamant Lives was an action-mystery show where the titular character is a Victorian/Edwardian adventurer and crimefighter who is frozen in a block of ice in 1902 and is thawed out in 1966 where he has to adapt to the Swinging Sixties...and continue to fight crime...along with his swinging mod dolly bird assistant, Georgie. It was meant to be the BBC's answer to ITV's huge hit, The Avengers, in terms of outlandish style and mysteries but it was filmed in black and white on a mixture of videotape and film so not every episode survives to this day. Filmed on a lower budget than the Avengers but what it lacks in polish it makes up for with a superb urbane performance from leading man Gerald Harper as Adam with good support from Juliet Harmer as Georgie. Very hip, very swinging, very Mod.
Quintessential 60s viewing where you can see fashion and style change from season to season and it's full of charm and doesn't take itself seriously at all, verging on science fiction in a number of episodes. Macnee is wonderfully charismatic and urbane, and looks great in his tailored Pierre Cardin suits but Blackman, Rigg and Thorson shine in 60s designer gear as well. Part of the show's success is in the equal partnership between Steed and his companions, the witty banter and the women being experts at Judo and Karate.
12. KALEIDOSCOPE (1966)
"I design clothes for baby-faced Chelsea girls who like to show off their pretty knees"
A quote from Susannah York's character in this fun Sixties caper movie that sums up the setting very well. Warren Beatty plays a somewhat corrupt playboy who's hit upon the idea of using marked cards to cheat in casinos and who ends up having to work with Scotland Yard to bring down a powerful crime boss. York is a young fashion designer in Carnaby Street and the movie is a great showcase for the fashions of hip, Mod designers Foale and Tuffin. Looking to impress the American movie market, the film capitalises on the Carnaby Street scene and showcases the then new and radical mini-skirt. Pattie Boyd and Jane Birkin play trendy dolly birds in a couple of scenes set in the boutique.
13. THE MOD SQUAD (1968-73)
Look at that publicity still right there. It screams late 60s American youth psychedelia, or at least what Hollywood producers thought that was like. It's a detective show about young crimefighters: Cool, hip and in touch with the Now Generation but it's also an invaluable source of Sixties fashion and street slang. Custom content creators take note: That's your style guide right there in that picture.
14. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
The James Bond movies emerged out of the 1960s and took the world by storm and any list of inspirational 1960s movies has to include one of them, so I opted for this one because I think it's more of a time capsule of Sixties style and fashion than the previous 5 Bond movies. George Lazenby was a male model before landing the role of James Bond and he has a poise and swagger that a model has. The tailoring of his suits in the movie is exquisite and he manages to pull off wearing a formal, fitted shirt with a ruffled front. Diana Rigg's outfits and look are a softer variation of her look in The Avengers but she looks fantastic in this film as well. But Sixties style fans should look out for Blofeld's "Angels of Death", who wear a variety of late 60s fashions and the interior design of the villain base, Piz Gloria, is another inspiration for the Sim 66 look.
15. THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)
And to round off this list I include what I think to be the most stylish Hollywood film of the late 1960s. An unconventional tale about a bored millionaire, played by Steve McQueen, who has a vast intellect and plots bank robberies because he's bored with his life. Faye Dunaway plays a dogged insurance investigator who is determined to catch him by any means she deems necessary...which includes some pretty underhanded stuff and her smouldering sexuality.
It's wonderful to look at from the cinematography to the use of split-screen (a very Sixties thing) and with a cool soundtrack by French jazz composer Michel Legrand that includes the memorable song "Windmills Of Your Mind". But in terms of style this is a wonderful showcase for late 60s chic: McQueen's tailored suits are amazing and everything is of the highest quality including the shirts, pocket handkerchiefs, ties, tie pins and monogrammed brandy snifters. Dunaway looks sensational in her French fashion inspired skirt suits, dresses, hats, accessories and shoes and her makeup, hair and even fingernails are just the epitome of late Sixties style. The movie even manages to make chess sexy.
So there you have it: My top picks of films and TV shows that have, in part, inspired some of the looks and style of Sim 66. I restricted my list to shows of that era and not more modern interpretations of the decade such as the Austin Powers movies, Mad Men, Made In Dagenham, The Boat That Rocked and Queen's Gambit, to name but a few. The reason I've not included them is that they're interpretations of that era, not an expression of that time by the people that lived through it. The Austin Powers movies look like the costumes all came from Amazon's costume party collection (and don't get me started about what they got wrong with their depiction of "Swinging Sixties London") and although I am impressed by Mad Men's later seasons in depicting the look of the era, there's a detachment...sometimes a sneering disapproval of the era...that makes it a replica and not the real deal.
I hope you like this list and if you haven't checked out the shows on it yet then I recommend them all if you're a fan of the Sixties. If you have any favourites of your own that I've missed out on, then do drop a line in the comments section.
