danny boy

coen brothers - miller's crossing - 1990

block 24

hendry, primitivo

city lights

charles chaplin - city lights - 1931

the melancholia of john barrymore

john barrymore in george cukor's diner at eight, 1933
(attempts at dipsomania between 30 and 45 minutes in the film)

with harvey at charlie's

from henry koster's harvey, 1950

elwood p. dowd and harvey at charlie's, jimmy stewart as a fine dipsomaniac

i intend to search your offices

drink from john huston's the maltese falcon, 1941

capering about most obstreperously

the liquor soon mounted into their heads, as it generally does even with the arrantest topers newly landed from sea, and they began capering about most obstreperously.

(from the spouter-inn chapter)


when stubb reappeared, he came with a dark flask in one hand, and a sort of tea-caddy in the other. the first contained strong spirits, and was handed to queequeg; the second was aunt charity's gift, and that was freely given to the waves.

(from the monkey rope chapter)


"that drove the spigot out of him!" cries stubb. "'tis july's immortal fourth; all fountains must run wine to-day! would now, it were old orleans whiskey, or old ohio, or unspeakable old monongahela! then, tashtego, lad, i'd have ye hold a canakin to the jet, and we'd drink round it! yea, verily, hearts alive, we'd brew choice punch in the spread of his spout-hole there, and from that live punch-bowl quaff the living stuff!"

(from pitchpoling chapter)


herman melville: moby-dick, 1851

whiskey and soda for me

"no ice in mine, steward. i can't think why you ruin good whiskey by putting ice in it"
nigel bruce in roy william neill's sherlock holmes in pursuit to algiers, 1945

kentucky, boone county kentucky

"its the water makes the whiskey fit to drink"

sterling hayden in john huston's asphalt jungle, 1950

pappy van winkle, 20 years old

and the place of action (drinking house)

francis lodwick: the forms of distinctional marks, 1647:
the actor (drinker), the action (drinking), the object (drink), the inclination (drunkard), the abstract of the demonstrative adjective (drunkenness), and the place of action (drinking house).

from imagining language: an anthology, edited by jed jasula and steve mccaffery, mit press 1998