Happy Birthday, Dear Kasper ...

Whoever cast Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon (1941) is a hero of mine.  It is the perfect casting of an excellent actor in a great role.  And the success of that movie, largely thankful to Mr. Greenstreet, enabled him to take over other great roles, particularly Alexander Yardley in Christmas in Connecticut (1945).  I just love the Sydney Greenstreets, the Peter Lorres, the James Gleasons, and the long list of great character actors that have made a movie great, or at least for brief moments on the screen have dazzled us with their greatness.

                      Sydney Greenstreet, b. December 27, 1879