Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Richard Henzel

Thirty years after his death, Capt. Stormfield is still speeding across the universe, on his way to the next life, though he doesn't know yet where or when his journey will end. It's not a spoiler to tell you that he does get into heaven (it's in the title after all), but you may be surprised at some of the customs, characters, and spectacles he finds there.

Great fun, interesting philosophy, and for a finale, a magnificent heavenly reception to welcome a deathbed convert: a barkeeper from New Jersey.

Public Domain (P)2019 Richard Henzel/Jennie Henzel

I only know one song to play on the harp

I enjoyed the phrase "says I" and "says he". I wonder why we don't use those phrases anymore. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn also use the phrase.

Extract From Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven by Mark Twain

Extract From Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven is aparently the last thing written by my favorite author, Mark Twain. Written at a time (early 1900s in its final “published” form, though there were many earlier drafts) when many, if not most Americqns tended to have simplistic views of thé nature of heaven, at least those who believed such a thing as heaven exists at all.
Which is why, it seems, Twain wrote this as a tall tail which serves as commentary about small mindedness without challenging anyone’s “Christian” views.
I was so taken by this Little story earlier in my own years that developed a script version of the story and submitted to a Vice President of the Walt Disney Company.
I should explain.
I worked in the Hollywood motion picture business as an assistant director and « knew some influential people back then (NOT do much Now as that was many years ago and I am old and most of them are just as old, RETIRED, if they are around Now at all of course.
Your réaction to that claim may well be skepticism. I don’t blâme you!
My name is Skip Surguine and you can look me up in one of those Hollywood staff directoires online like imdb.com to vérify my claim.
At any rate, I had a friend in Vice President named Herb Wallerstein at 20th Century Fox. I mentioned my script treatment and he asked to see it. And apparently je liked it but, as Fox dod not DO animation, hé passed it on to a friend, another VP but at Disney which, of course, DID animation of anyone did!
Well, to make a long story short, the idea was rejected. Stands to reason. Animation back then was still single frame - 24 hand drawn pictures every SECOND- a slow and tedious and expensive process to be sure. And, of course, anything to do with religion back then - well you can understand why it couldn’t be done back then.
But it can now with today’s technology and it would no longer be as controversial to do!
It is also past copyright restrictions now which is good and bad since anyone can write and develop the story if they choose to and have the resources to do so!
Things have changed and I would like to see a film made even if I don’t earn a cent or get any credit at all. It’s such a great story from such a great writer.
But there are problems with story as is when it comes to turning it into a motion picture with ANY financial viability for anyone and, of course, ANY animators of any level of skill at all, not to mention the many other resources still required for credible animation well - someone is going to expect to make SOME money. That’s for sure.
With all that in mind, and just because I like this story so much, I am going to attempt to write something of a “more workable” script based on this wonderful story and also attempt to honor Twain and his work in the process. And don’t expect to get paid even if my script is used (would LIKE to get screen credit or some stipend of some sort, of course, but if not, we’ll, I’d just like to see the story done as close to Mark Twain’s vision as possible.
And that’s about it!
If anyone wishes to chat with me about this, we’ll, I am not going to leave my email address here. For obvious reasons!
But my last name is unusual enough - I now live in Indianapolis- it shouldn’t be hard and should the folks at Audible allow this review to survive well - who knows what can be accomplished! At the very least, please read the story and - dare I say it? — support Audible!
Skip Surguine
PS please forgive typos and such things as missing words!. Somehow my iPhone changed “languages” and “thinks” I am writing in the “Romanian” language for some reason.