Movies with Alabama Connections: Odds Against Tomorrow

Released in 1959, Odds Against Tomorrow is often cited as one of the last entries of

film noir's classic period that began in the late 1930's. Harry Belafonte, Ed Begley,
Jr. and Robert Ryan star in this dark and gritty piece about a small town bank
robbery. Shelley Winters and Gloria Grahame are also in the cast. 

In addition to that great cast and a tight story, the film has a couple of other pluses.
There's a side conflict between Ryan's racist character and Belafonte that adds
even more tension as the plot unfolds. Odds also has a wonderful musical score
written by pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet. In addition to band mates
Percy Heath [bass], Milt Jackson [vibraphone], and Connie Kay [drums], the
orchestration includes the fabulous Bill Evans on piano and Jim Hall on guitar.

The MJQ released a soundtrack album the same year.

This film has a possible Alabama connection and another certain one. The novel
that started it all by William P. McGovern was first published in 1957. I've
explored McGivern's supposed Mobile connections in a blog post. 

The other Alabama connection appears about midway through the movie. Robert
Ryan goes into a bar for a drink, and a soldier and his girl are horsing around. Ryan
takes offense and the final result is a fight in which the soldier ends up on the floor.
The soldier is played by none other than Wayne Rogers. 

He was born in Birmingham on April 7, 1933. After graduating from Princeton and a
stint in the Navy, Rogers began appearing in small roles in Hollywood. His debut was
auspicious, although credited only as a main character's "tennis opponent" in the
Alfred Hitchcock classic 1951 Strangers on a Train. His IMDB credits show a gap until
1959, when he made appearances on the TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow and
as that guy in the bar in Odds. In the 1960's he had numerous roles in TV shows
ranging from Have Gun Will Travel to Gunsmoke and Honey West. He even appeared
with fellow Alabama native Jim Nabors on Gomer Pyle USMC. 

Of course, Rogers went on to great fame in the popular M*A*S*H TV show where 
he was a regular for three seasons 1972-1975. He continued acting in
films and TV movies and shows until 2003. In one of those roles he played Alabama
native and attorney Morris Dees in the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi. 

Rogers died on New Year's Eve 2015.

Here are the three leads: Harry Belafonte, Ed Begley, Sr., and Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan and Wayne Rogers are about to mix it up in the bar scene.

A Visit to Scottsboro (2)

Last August my younger brother Richard and I made an abbreviated summer brother trip by visiting Scottsboro, a town neither of us remember ever seeing before. On our way there from mom's house in Huntsville we passed through Owens Cross Roads so we could check out Gibson Books. I've written about that fascinating emporium here.

We arrived in Scottsboro about 4 on a Friday afternoon. You can read part 1 of this post about our visit here. In this one I cover more of Saturday's activities.

So here is Scottsboro's shopping mecca, the world famous Unclaimed Baggage Center. We left the Scottsboro Boys Museum and drove just down the street to this place. Quite a disconnect, but that's America.

I was underwhelmed, actually. The place is huge, with seeming acres of men's, women's and children's clothing. Then there's the luggage, cameras, winter ski equipment, and just endless stuff. I went through the books section, which consisted mostly of bestselling novels from the past decade or so. I didn't find anything of enough interest to warrant a purchase, but Richard did get a sports coat and a hat. We wondered if they had a back room where the guns, knives, brass knuckles, booze, etc, were for sale....

You can read about the Center's history here and a "how it works" page is here. Since it was a summer Saturday, the place was packed.

Another Scottsboro attraction is the railroad depot and museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, so perhaps another day....

The depot was built by the Memphis-Charleston Railroad on a route that ran through such north Alabama towns as Tuscumbia, Decatur and Madison as well as Scottsboro. This building opened in January 1861 as the town's first brick structure. 

 

The Memphis and Charleston had built 272 miles of track between Memphis and Stevenson by May 1857. The first station was a wooden platform with a small building from then until the brick one opened. 

 

This depot served both freight and passengers until a dedicated passenger depot opened in January 1892. 

A historical marker can be seen that describes the depot:

The Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company constructed the Scottsboro Railroad Depot in 1860-1861 as a passenger and freight facility. The rail line ran throughout the Confederacy and the Union considered its capture vital to cutting off supplies to the south. On January 8, 1865, the Depot was the site of an intense battle between 101st U.S. Colored Infantry and the 110th U.S. Colored Infantry, who held the Depot, and Confederate soldiers led by Brigadier-General H. B. Lyon. The out-numbered Union soldiers defended the station until Confederate artillery fire drove them from the building. In 1870, newly incorporated Scottsboro designated the Depot as the center point of town when laying out the city limits. With the completion of a new building in 1891, the Depot stopped handling passenger traffic. The Depot remained important in the economic and social activity of the city until the 1960's. The Depot is one of only three remaining pre-Civil War railroad depots in the State of Alabama.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998

As noted on the marker texts above and below, on January 8, 1865, Union defenders and Confederate attackers skirmished at the depot. Cannonball and other damage is still visible.

 

The depot is the oldest existing business structure in Jackson County, and one of only three pre-Civil War depots still standing in Alabama. 

I failed to take a photo of side 1 of the marker below, but here's the text:

In late December 1863, Union Maj. Gen. John A. Logan established his Fifteenth Army Corps headquarters in Scottsboro, Alabama. On January 11, 1864, by command of Gen. Logan, Brig. Gen. Hugh Ewing, commanding the Fourth Division, was ordered to guard the railroad and telegraph line from Scottsboro to Stevenson. Gen Ewing sent his First Brigade under the command of Col. Reuben Williams to Scottsboro, and it set up four separate regimental camps on either side of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, adjacent to or within one block of the Scottsboro Depot. The regiments under Col. Williams’ command included some 3000 men of the 26th Illinois, the 70th Ohio, the 12th Indiana, and the 97th Indiana, as well as an Illinois artillery battery.(Continued on other side)

Near the depot is the abandoned Farmers Gin Company building

Another abandoned building near the depot, formerly the Scottsboro Wholesale Company. 

Memorial to Andrew Jackson on the courthouse square

Robert Thomas Scott bought 1240 acres in Jackson County between 1848 and 1858. He established a grist mill and saw mill for residents of the area and a post office called Scott's Mill opened in May 1854. The name of the community was changed to Scottsboro in 1860 and incorporated in 1870 after the county seat was relocated from Bellefonte in the previous year. More details are given on the marker above. The original city limits extended a half mile in all directions from the depot. 

Memorials to Jackson County's dead in America's wars

On our way back to Huntsville we had lunch here and a pleasant drive along Lake Guntersville.

A Visit to Scottsboro (1)

Last August my younger brother Richard and I made an abbreviated summer trip by visiting Scottsboro, a town neither of us recalled seeing before. On our way there from mom's house in Huntsville we passed through Owens Cross Roads so we could check out Gibson Books. I've written about that fascinating emporium here.

We arrived in Scottsboro about 4 on a Friday afternoon. En route I remembered that Alabama author and Scottsboro native Babs Deal is buried there. I suggested to Richard that we try to find her grave site, and he agreed. See the comments below for details on our Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning activities. There's more in part 2 of this post, including some history of Scottsboro. 

Back in July 2017 I wrote a blog post on Babs and her husband Borden Deal. Before, during and after their marriage the two published a number of novels and short stories. Babs died in 2004 and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Scottsboro. The cemetery has over 6600 burials, and since I had not contacted the office ahead of time, we did not find her grave. If I ever make it back to Scottsboro perhaps I can do some better planning. We did have a nice drive through the place!

There is a photo of her gravestone at the Find-A-Grave site. 

Once we finished in the cemetery, we headed downtown and drove around the courthouse square while I took a number of random photographs. This business has apparently been operating since 1992, but I'll bet the building is older. 

W.H. Payne opened Payne's Drug Company in 1869. The store moved to this location on the courthouse square in February 1891. The business stayed in the Payne family until the 1930's; a series of other owners has kept it operating since. The pharmacy closed in 1991, but the Soda Fountain and Sandwich Shop remains a popular place in Scottsboro. 

You can read more about Payne's and see other photos here and here. 

La De Da's on the square probably has some interesting merchandise.

This view of one part of the courthouse square shows the attractive, well-kept area. We noticed very few empty storefronts, too. 

A view of the Old Hickory Masonic Building with the Masonic symbol clearly visible. 

The old city hall building is now home to the Jackson County Legislative Delegation.

A view of a street off the square

The current Jackson County Courthouse was constructed in 1911-12. You can read more about it and the previous courthouse here. 

In April 1931 the courthouse was the site of the first of four trials involving the infamous Scottsboro Boys case. 

Unfortunately, McCutchen's is only open for lunch, so we weren't able to try a meal there.

One of Scottsboro's best known attractions is Unclaimed Baggage, where many possessions left by airline passengers end up. More about consumer mecca in part 2. This sign is visible from the Scottsboro Boys Museum. 

The former Joyce Chapel United Methodist Church, a few blocks from the Jackson County Courthouse, is now the location of the Scottsboro Boys Museum. The facility houses print and other items related to the trials and efforts to free the nine men who were accused of the gang rape of two white women. 

On Saturday morning after breakfast we headed to the Museum first. We were unable to take photos inside, but we did watch the 2001 "American Experience" documentary. The film is available on YouTube. This article "Who Were the Scottsboro Boys" is also helpful.

The museum, which opened in January 2010, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2020 and renovations are planned.The museum is worth a trip to Scottsboro by itself. 

Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama 

The Alabama Boxer Who Fought Muhammad Ali

Well, Muhammad Ali was Cassius Clay at the time, but still...

One of the professional boxers native to Alabama was heavyweight Herb Siler. According to most sources, he was born on January 5, 1935 in Brundidge. His Social Security record gives the date as December 20, 1934. That record also lists his parents as Herbert Siler and Catheren McCray. I've so far been unable to find any further information in census or other records.

I've also found nothing on Siler's early life--how long he lived in Brundidge, how he got into boxing, etc. We next find him in Miami at his first fight against Harold Brown on April 25, 1960, at the Palace Arena. He won that bout on his way to a final record of 20 wins [9 by knockouts] and 12 losses [8 by knockouts]. His last fight on May 4, 1967, was a loss, as were the previous five fights. 

Clay was Siler's seventh fight overall and seventh and last bout in 1960.  Clay faced only one previous professional opponent, Tunney Hunsaker, on October 29 in Louisville, Kentucky. Thus Siler had more professional fights, but Clay had defeated all four of his opponents in the Rome Summer Olympics earlier that year. 

Siler and Clay fought on December 27 at the Auditorium in Miami Beach. Clay won in a technical knockout in the fourth round. Clay was just 20 days shy of his 19th birthday. All of Siler's earlier professional bouts took place in Miami or Miami Beach. That pattern would continue for most fights over the rest of his career. 

Another gap of information appears in Siler's life after his boxing career ended in 1967 until 1972. In that year he was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of a friend and served seven years in the Belle Glades Correctional Institute in Florida. At some point he apparently overcame an alcohol addiction and by the late 1980's ran a successful construction company. 

Siler died, again according to his Social Security record, on March 25, 2001. He is buried in Ft. Lauderdale. His grandson is NFL linebacker Brandon Siler.

In November 1966 Ali visited Alabama during the midst of a tour of southern colleges. You can see one of the photographs taken during that visit below.

Our family has some connections to Brundidge which I've written about here. 

Soure: BoxRec

Source: Find-A-Grave

Siler is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Source: Find-A-Grave

Muhammad Ali is seen here on November 24, 1966, at the Turkey Day Classic football game played in Montgomery between Alabama State and Tuskegee Institute. You can see many more photographs taken that day here.

Source: Alabama Dept. of Archives and History

Alabama Photos of the Day: 1937 Brundidge Tornado

On April 8, 1937, a tornado cut a path through Pike County that included the town of

Brundidge. According to records of the U.S. National Weather Service, the tornado was

on the ground for eight miles. The Service records five tornadoes in the state that

year. This one caused the most fatalities, four, and 25 injuries.

My mother's grandparents Mollie and Joseph Flowers lived in Brundidge in 1937.

Joseph ran a general store on main street for many years. Mom remembers visiting

her grandparents when she was young, playing in "Papa's" store and taking a nap on

the bluejeans piled on a table. In July 2015 my brother Richard and I visited Brundidge,

their house, which still stands, and the location of the store, which housed the police

department at that time.

The photos that follow come from the digital collections of the state archives.

Residence of the Misses Bryant after the tornado

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History

Path of the tornado in Brundidge

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History

A severely damaged house in Brundidge

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History

Dickerts Planing Mill after the tornado

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History 

A house moved by the tornado

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History