WEBVTT - Frankly 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:07.400 Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:14.440 iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:18.440 the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:22.160 of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:28.880 waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:39.400 Frank Sinatra was one of the most iconic musical artists 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.440 of all time. His voice was synonymous with the idea 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:46.400 of a crooner or a dreamy singer who sings love songs. 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.840 You may know that he was also a successful dramatic actor, 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.600 but what most people don't realize is that he was 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:57.280 one role away from becoming an action star. Sinatra's acting 0:00:57.320 --> 0:00:59.640 career began all the way back in the nineteen forties, 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.480 but in nineteen sixty eight he was looking to challenge 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:05.800 himself to see if he could get outside of his wheelhouse. 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.880 Up to this point, Sinatra tended to play characters that 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.919 were kind of already in his DNA. He was a singer, 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.679 so he played singers. He had a lot of friends 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:17.720 in the mob, so he played mobsters. He played a 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.520 lot of criminals, But could he play a character on 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.280 the other side of the law. His new film, The 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.960 Detective would give him that chance. The Detective was based 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.160 on a novel by author Roderick Thorpe. It follows Detective 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:34.200 Joe Leland, a tired working class man exposed to heinous 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.280 crime after heinous crime. He doesn't like to listen to 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:41.560 orders from his incompetent superiors, and his marriage is disintegrating 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:44.399 as he gets pulled in deeper and deeper by his work. 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.520 It was the perfect role for Sinatra. It allowed him 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.880 to showcase his signature grumpy persona while in a mature, 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.280 nuanced package. The film portrayed police work in a much 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.800 more realistic way than most films, and even discussed some 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:02.680 at the time taboo subjects homosexuality and sexual violence. The 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:06.840 Detective was a critical and commercial hit. Seeing the wild 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.160 success of his novel being adapted for film, Thorpe was 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.519 eager to write a sequel so that it, too could 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.840 be turned into a movie. His second Joe Leland's story, 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.600 Nothing Last Forever, turned the drama up to eleven. It 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.720 took Joe across the country from New York to visit 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:26.520 his estranged daughter at her office in downtown La While there, 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.680 criminals attacked the office and Joe is forced to use 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:32.520 his skills as a detective to stop them. He manages 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.840 to succeed, but not before his daughter is killed. It 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.880 was a well received sequel and producers were excited to 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.200 turn it into a film. The only problem was that 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.160 by the time they were ready to make the movie 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:46.920 in nineteen eighty seven, Sinatra was seventy two years old. 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.840 No way could he reprise the role in such an 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.200 action heavy sequel. And the part that really stunk for 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:57.160 the producers was that Sinatra's contract from the Detective stipulated 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:00.000 that they had to offer him the role for any sequels. 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.960 So they approached him, hands likely shaking as they gave 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:06.720 him the script, secretly hoping that he would turn it down. 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.519 And Sinatra read the script with his usual grim expression, 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.080 not giving any indication if he liked it or not, 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:15.720 And then once he was finished, he looked back over 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.000 to the waiting producers and told them that this was 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.519 probably a little more than he could handle at this 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.840 point in his life, so he declined the role. I 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.639 can imagine the producers jumping for joy as soon as 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.600 Sinatra left their office, and what followed was an intense 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.800 casting call to find just the right successor to Sinatra. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.320 All the great action stars of the time were called 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:39.640 up too, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Gibson, Burt Reynolds, but in the 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.400 end all of them turned down the role as well. Ultimately, 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.960 the producers had to go with a newer, younger actor 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:49.480 who was more popular on television than film. They rewrote 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:51.720 the script to be a little less dark and a 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.600 little more funny too. For example, the detective was now 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.120 trying to save his wife instead of his daughter, and 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:00.280 he was successful in the end. Also, the criminals weren't 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:03.960 out for revenge, they just wanted money. And finally, the 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:07.040 character of Joe Leland had his name changed to reflect 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.040 that this was not really the same guy from the 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.680 movie from twenty years before. And I'm happy to say 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:15.720 that it worked. When it was released in nineteen eighty eight, 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.320 the film became an instant hit and is considered today 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.159 to be one of the greatest action movies of all time, 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.839 a film that should have starred Frank Sinatra but instead 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:43.320 starred Bruce Willis die Hard. As Winter rolls in, I've 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:46.680 found myself thinking of the emotions and feelings we associate 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.360 with the season. The winter months are a time of joy, 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:54.000 of celebration, Christmas, New Year's, winter revels, yule Tide carols, 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:56.840 and warm fires. You get the idea, breaks from the 0:04:56.920 --> 0:05:00.120 drudgery of work to spend time with family, friends, and 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.760 our communities. These things are universally beloved, even if you 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:07.760 don't describe to any particular holiday. But that's not all 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.160 the winter is made of. After all, we only light 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.600 a cozy fire in order to stave off the biting, 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:16.800 bitter cold, and many cultural traditions associate the cold with 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.960 ghost stories just as much as jolly El's. And you've 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.440 probably heard of Crampus, the goat like creature that follows 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:28.040 Saint Nicholas around in German Christmas stories. But he's merely 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.200 the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Christmas Boogeyman. 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.200 You see. German folklore is full of so called childhood 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.200 nightmare figures. These are the monsters that you tell your 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.640 children about in order to scare them into doing their 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:43.400 chores or going to bed on time, but some of 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:46.440 them come for adults too. In Central Europe, one of 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:49.800 the most well known of these beans is Frauperkta an 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:52.680 old crone who cares very much about the cleanliness of 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.320 your house and whether you've done all your weaving for 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:57.960 the season. It's said that if your house isn't clean, 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.679 she will come in with a pair of scissors, slit 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.520 your belly open and fill it with rocks. She also 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.760 disembowls lazy children upon occasion as well. Those who observe 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:11.200 her traditions make sure to leave out an offering dumplings 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.560 in some regions, or porridge and herring. Other regions say 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:16.800 that you must leave an egg on your roof as 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.640 a tribute. Why on the roof, while some say that 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:22.520 frau Perkta flies through the air on the darkest night 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.560 of the year, the winter solstice, and behind her is 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.680 a caravan of spirits. In some traditions these are the 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:32.440 spirits of unbaptized children, and others they are a parade 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:36.760 of monstrous crompus like creatures called perktin. And she flies 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.800 by writing on a distaff, a wool spinning tool that 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.280 looks very much like a broom enough so that her 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.040 image might call to mind that classical image of a 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.840 witch on a broomstick. But Frau. Perkta is not a witch. 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.719 She's a result of something that we would call syncretism 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:56.440 and assimilation. Perkta was originally something more resembling a goddess 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.480 or a folk deity. Her tradition can actually be traced 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.000 all the way back to the Norse goddess Friga, and 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:04.880 she was the goddess of in between spaces who guided 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.719 the spirits of the dead to the afterlife. In these 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.360 older stories, it said that she taught people how to 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:14.600 weave flax into linen. But when Christianity started taking over 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.240 the region, it went to work relegating the creatures of 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.800 folklore to secondary roles that fit into Christian worship. Crampus, 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:25.480 for instance, became Santa's helper, and Perkta became a figure 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.680 who haunted people not on the Winter solstice, but on 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:32.280 January sixth, the twelfth day of Christmas. But that day 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.920 still holds its own special name for those who prefer 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:39.120 to celebrate it the old way. Perkdinag. Like many classic 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.400 pre Christian gods or goddesses, Perkta has a sort of 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.520 duality to her. She is a creepy old woman who 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:48.680 may punish you for disobedience, but she is also wise 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.360 and elderly. She leads a train of ghosts through the 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.080 sky in the dark of night, but she also guides 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.000 those spirits that are lost to a final resting place. 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.280 And as the nights grow longer and the days grow shorter, 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.400 she makes you focus on the hearth and home, ensuring 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.160 all is ready not just for her, but for your 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.960 family as well. This duality makes her perfectly suited for 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.720 the winter months. It also makes her resistant to the 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.320 ways that Christian influence tried to demonize her, and to 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:20.320 this day, many Alpine communities still dress as Frauperkta in 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.520 holiday festivals and pay tribute to her just as enthusiastically 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.400 as they do to Saint Nicholas. Some figures from folklore 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.800 stand the test of time, and some survive by adapting 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.640 to a strange new world. So as the nights get 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.520 colder this month, keep an eye on the dark sky above, 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:44.920 and maybe keep an egg on your roof. I hope 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:48.240 you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.680 Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:56.240 the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:00.480 was created by me, Aaron Mankey in partnership with Houstuff Works. 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:04.040 I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.520 a podcast, book series, and television show and you can 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:11.600 learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:13.920 until next time, stay curious.