Last night I caught a great classic on TCM. The movie is titled "Slightly Honorable" and is from 1939. I started watching probably somewhere between the beginning and middle, so unfortunately, I didn't see the very beginning. Anyway, what really caught my attention was the actor Pat O'Brien. He was the main reason I really started watching. Honestly, at first I was sort of shocked to see him in this type of role. This time he is not acting as the perfectly upright wholesome type character I'm used to (from his role as Father Connolly in "Angels With Dirty Faces"), but as a sort of ladies man, shady-but not totally crooked (there is a distinction), "slightly honorable" politician named John Webb.
Pat O'Brien (leftmost)
The movie has a lot of comedy worked in, but is a murder mystery with John Webb trying to catch the killer while he is suspected of being the killer himself. Some of the scenes are pretty intense! And the ending WILL catch you off guard! - even if you, like me, are one of those people who is pretty good at navigating through all the twists and turns and has gotten pretty good at uncovering movie plots. You've got to check this one out!
Just got some time off for Christmas vacation! I'm so excited to have time off to spend watching movies and blogging! In the meantime, here's a favorite clip from the movie "White Christmas", one of the must-see movies around this time of year!
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have a great celebration today and enjoy your time off!
I've been giving my number one choice a lot of thought this week. I wanted to pick something perfect. So basically here was my thought process: Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday, so it is only fitting that my choice is also a great American film about Americans. Next I think genre. Great American film about Americans? My mind jumps to Western or War/Action, but I'm not particularly fond of watching westerns on holidays and well war/action might be a little intense. So...what about a great American film about regular everyday Americans. No hero needed. Maybe just a nice depiction of the American family. That got me thinking... How about *** ***** ******? That's got to be it!
My #1 movie pick for this Thanksgiving is . . .
"The Human Comedy" is the 1943 film based on William Saroyan's screenplay (Saroyan would publish the novel after writing the screenplay, but before the film was released). And while the title contains the word "comedy" I consider the film to be in the genre of drama. The film takes a very honest look at a small American town and the people living in it during World War II. Most of the story follows Homer Macauley, the middle son of the Macauley family. The father of the Macauley family has passed away, and the eldest son is off at war, so Homer is responsible for watching out for the family back home. There is no plot. The almost two hour movie is a glimpse into everyday life, with very real situations and emotions. One reason this makes an especially great Thanksgiving day movie is that it provides a powerful exploration of the importance of love and friendship in keeping a town alive.
Mickey Rooney plays the main character Homer, and shows off his versatility as an actor. For his performance he was nominated the Best Actor Academy Award in 1944. Other notable actors include Fay Bainter, Van Johnson, Marsha Hunt, Frank Morgan (aka the Wizard of Oz!), and James Craig. It was also in this film that the adorable Jack Jenkins made his debut as Homer's little brother. Later in the film, a rather young Robert Mitchum crops up as well. "The Human Comedy" was very well received by the movie community. At the 1944 Academy Awards, William Saroyan won an Oscar for Best Writing. And while that was its only win, the film was nominated in four other big categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (which I mentioned), Best Director, and Best Cinematography.
I know you're gonna love this film! (If you're looking for it, try HmnCmdy(youtube) or rent it or something). =)
Here's the trailer: I really didn't plan for it to say "The Great American Motion Picture", it just worked out that way! I guess we agree! Haha. Enjoy!
My second movie pick for Thanksgiving is "The Sound of Music." If you haven't seen this classic, I'll put it plainly, you've really been missing out. This 1965 musical is one of my all time favorites! "The Sound of Music" is the film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway production of the same name. Sadly, the stage show was the last musical collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein would die in 1960, five years before the release of this amazing film adaptation.
Produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Robert Wise, this film highlights the importance of friendship and family, and of course music, in good times and in bad. While the plot involves a very heavy subject, Germany's occupation of Austria immediately before the start of WWII (mostly towards the end of the movie), the frequent outburst of song keep the mood light (the mood at the end is much more somber).
The children of the Von Trapp family
"The Sound of Music" follows the Austrian Von Trapp family and the governess (nanny) hired to take care of the Von Trapp children. The head of the Von Trapp family is Captain Georg (not spelled or pronounced George) Von Trapp, a retired navy captain whose wife has died (not shown in the movie) and left him to care for seven children. The children are very well behaved with their father, as a captain's orders are not to be taken lightly. However, you know the story, once they are out of his sight and under the care of a governess, they prove too much for one person to handle. Now, this is where the whole movie basically begins. Enter Maria. Maria is a care-free just plain happy nun, who is given instructions to live with the Von Trapp family as the new governess to the children (a few of the last ones haven't worked out so well). Upon arriving at the very lavish home of the Von Trapp family, Maria encounters the quite serious Captain Von Trapp and his whistle (which he uses to signal for his children and others now and then). The confident Maria lets him know early on that answering to a "dog whistle" isn't for her. After being introduced to the children, Maria quickly learns that she is going to have to find some way for them to become friends. Naturally, music is the answer. Maria's talks with the children reveal how much they love their father, but how distant he is from them. Maria sets out to fix this problem as well. By fixing the problem though, she creates another situation for herself. Captain Von Trapp has a girlfriend (who the children don't like), and Maria is starting to fall in love with him (don't forget she's still a nun). I'll leave it at that! This is too good of a movie to spoil.
An estonished Maria and Captain Von Trapp with his infamous whistle
The main players are Julie Andrews as Maria, and Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp. I honestly can't think of anyone else who could have filled either of those roles as well. Julie Andrews perfectly personifies the spunky adventurous Maria, as Christopher Plummer does the confident and self-assured patriot Georg. Plus, they have great on screen chemistry! I love watching them act together!
The main cast singing away
Here are two clips from the movie that I especially love. The first clip is from a puppet show the kids put on with Maria. The second is of Captain Von Trapp singing Edelweiss after a request from Maria and the children. (In case you are wondering who the other characters are, the woman in pink is Georg's girlfriend and the other man is Uncle Max, Georg's friend.) :
So Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I'm super excited! That said, I've been thinking about what movies would make the best Thanksgiving movies, aka the best movies to watch on turkey day! There are six days until the big day and I've decided to have a blog countdown to Thanksgiving with three classic films that I recommend. I'll blog on my favorite pick Thanksgiving day, so stay posted.
#3: "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
This is a great movie to watch with the family, and practically any friend! That's basically why I chose this as a movie you should watch over Thanksgiving weekend. Well that, and there is a feast scene that reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner - haha.
Directors Michael Curtiz and William Keighley prove very successful at delivering an engaging plot and combining elements of action, comedy, and romance in a cohesive manner. Not many films can so easily switch the mood of a scene from comedic to dramatic or vice versa, as this Warner Brother's production does. A quick note, Michael Curtiz actually took over direction of this film, essentially replacing William Keighley who failed to impress Warner Bros. with his direction of the action scenes.
I hope most of you know the story of Robin Hood. If not, I'll let this trailer sum it up:
As for the players of this great epic:
The dashing Errol Flynn landed the main role of Sir Robin of Locksley (originally meant to be played by James Cagney). The carrot top playing the sly Prince John, brother of Richard the Lion Heart, is none other than Claude Rains (I was pretty surprised the first time I noticed this). The fair Lady Marian is portrayed by the always lovely Olivia de Havilland. And appropriately, Basil Rathbone again fills the role of the villian, this time as Sir Guy of Gisbourne.
At the 1938 Academy Awards, the film won three Oscars, for Art Direction, Original Score, and Film Editing. Unfortunately, neither the director/s nor any of the superb actors of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" were nominated. However, the film was notably nominated for Outstanding Production. The winner of Outstanding Production that year was "You Can't Take It With You" from Columbia Pictures.
Lastly, here's a funny clip someone put together. I'm sure it'll make you laugh!
So I've been looking forward to this post for a while. "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is a 1963 comedy directed by Stanely Kramer. The following year, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was nominated in six Oscar categories and awarded the Oscar for best effects and sound effects in 1964. It features a long list of famous comedians: Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers (one of my favorites), Terry Thomas, Jimmy Durante and Jonathan Winters. More comedians make short cameo appearances including: Tyler Fitzgerald, Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny, Don Knotts, and even The Three Stooges. There are so many other top names. The last one I'll mention is Spencer Tracy, who plays Captain Culpepper of the Santa Rosita Police Department.
The film opens with a car zooming along a winding road in the mountains. The man driving loses control of his car and goes "sailing right out there" off a cliff. Four cars that were on the road stop and a few of the drivers/riders go down to see what happened and to see if the man driving the car is ok. Obviously he isn't ok after being thrown out of his car which was going probably 100+mph. Before he kicks the bucket (both figuratively and literally, making for a quite comic scene), the man tells of $350,000 that he hid 15 years ago in Santa Rosita State Park under a big "doubleya" (W). Following the man's death, everyone returns to their vehicles and basically that's when the race to find the money begins. Now, I know what your thinking "$350,000? That's all?" Well, according to eHow money (not sure how credible it is, but I trust it) $1 in 1963 would be around $6 in 2009 (not sure I'm guessing it would be something more than $6 for 2011). So keeping that in mind, $350,000 is really like $2,100,000 in today's money. Now wouldn't that entice you to put all your plans on hold to race down to some park miles away to look for a big W and the millions underneath it? Haha. If so, you've got to see the end of this epic movie.
Now, who gets how much of the money?
Getting back to the plot, everyone's in their cars racing down to Santa Rosita, but little do they know that the man that told them about the money was a thief. Not only that, but Captain Culpepper of the Santa Rosita Police Department has been watching this thief Smiler Grogan for years. After the police find out Smiler died, and that the people at the scene of his death all seem to be speeding somewhere, it isn't hard for them to put two and two together. Captain Culpepper orders that they start their surveillance of the group right away, but it takes a long, long, long, long while before anyone in the race catches on. And surveillance of this group isn't easy mind you. The people in each car splinter off, each eager to reach the money before the others. Some ride faulty planes, one gets stuck on a tricycle for a while, and many end up on the maddest road trip of their lives. Again I'll say it: This movie is laughs all the way through! The characters are AMAZING, as are all the twists and turns. You've got to go see it NOW!
Here is a video of a few of the old promotional commercials for the film featuring a few of the many great comedians from the film:
And some quick trivia:
* Santa Rosita State Park is not a real location. The scene was shot in Rancho Palos Verdes in California at a place called Portuguese Bend.
* Some other locations filmed in this movie include Long Beach, California and Highway 74 and other areas near Palm Desert, California.
Ok, so I promise this is related. I've noticed that all the In-And-Out Burgers I've been to always have a pair of palm trees crossed in an X formation. For the longest time I thought it was because it was for "X marks the spot". But...it actually turns out that the founder of In-And-Out Burger, Harry Snyder, was a fan of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." And...wait for it...wait for it...the "big X" formation is meant as a tribute to the "big W." I know, I thought it was pretty cool too! Take a look:
Last week I went to Barnes and Noble with a friend and we got to the cd/dvd section and I saw a special classic movie section! It was pretty exciting! I mean usually at other places I have to look through aisles and aisles of subpar films to find just a handful of good classics, but here they were all organized making it convenient for me to browse. My friend knows that whenever there are classic movies in sight I will spend forever browsing for some good adds to my collection. But this time it didn't take long because all my favorites were sitting in their own section. We're talking "High Noon" with Gary Cooper, "The Night Of The Generals" with Peter O'Toole, even "Gone With The Wind" and "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner"! Not only were they all great films but they also were 50% off. Honestly who can pass up "Gone With The Wind" for around $12? Well, I did. I opted to hold off and not splurge just because of the overwhelming deals. So I didn't go back...for a week. And the whole week long before going back I was thinking about buying "The Night Of The Generals." I've only seen it once, but I remember I was watching it on TCM and it kept me up until it finally ended around 2am. Anyway, I went back to Barnes and Noble and the movie wasn't there! I looked through the whole classic section twice to no avail. Fortunately, I found some other great deals. I got a four pack of romance movies ("Love In The Afternoon", "Mogambo", "Splendor In The Grass", "Now, Voyager") for like $16, and "Random Harvest" for $10!! I was so excited! My collection is definately more complete with these additions! Can't wait to watch "Mogambo"! I love Clark Gable, but have never seen this film before! I've heard it's not one to miss, so I've got high expectations. I'll have to do a review of it after I watch it for the first time!
These past couple weeks have been super busy! I'm really looking forward to this weekend though. I'm definately going to get some movie time in and I will make sure to post a blog on whatever movie I decide to watch. I'm thinking the 1963 comedy "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," might be a good choice. Like the title, this movie is pretty long! But it's funny the whole 2 hours and 41 minutes. Also, it features all the great comedians of the 50's and 60's!
If not "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," my other choice is "Boy's Town," from 1938. "Boy's Town" isn't a comedy, but more of a feel good drama about a priest who puts his life into setting up and running a school for poor attention-less boys from rough citites. The big name in this picture is Spencer Tracy, one of my favorite leading men. Young, star actor Mickey Rooney also appears in "Boy's Town." Coincidentally, both an older Tracy and Mickey Rooney costar in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."
Anyway, here are the trailers for both movies:
"It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
"Boy's Town"
*I couldn't find a trailer with better quality so hope this works!
Vote in the poll (on the right side) for whichever of these choices you think makes a better weekend movie! Thanks!
For Audrey, time away from Hollywood was always spent with family. During her lifetime she was married twice. First she married Mel Ferrer, a fellow actor introduced to her by Gregory Peck. Together they had one son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer.
Audrey Hepburn with first husband Mel Ferrer
Audrey Hepburn with son Sean
Her second marriage would be to Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist. This marriage would produce her second son, Luca Dotti. Unfortunately, the second marriage would result in divorce as well. Eventually, she would meet the Dutch actor Robert Wolders. He would be her companion until her passing.
Audrey's marriage to Andrea Dotti
Audrey's children were very important to her and she was devoted to bringing them up the best she could. Later when her kids were grown, she adopted the children of the world, as she became UNICEF’s International Goodwill Ambassador. Her devotion to this role was unwavering and would remain her main focus for the rest of her life. She traveled the world to visit and care for those in need. Her last trip would be to Somalia. Shortly before her death, her humanitarian efforts were applauded by the United States, and President George H. W. Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Sadly, Audrey would pass away on January 20th 1993, at the age of 63. The motion picture industry recognized her humanitarian work posthumously by awarding her the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award.
Here is a link to the video from the Oscar award ceremony:
“Roman Holiday” was Audrey Hepburn’s first major picture in Hollywood. Her impressive performance as Princess Anne would win her the 1953 Oscar for best actress. From that point on, Audrey Hepburn became a respected favorite of movie audiences everywhere. Audrey Hepburn would play in more than 25 films in her lifetime. Her most memorable movies include “Roman Holiday” (mentioned above), “Sabrina”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Charade”, “My Fair Lady”, and “Funny Face”. In these films and others, she shared the stage and held her own with many of Hollywood’s greatest actors. To name just a few: William Holden, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Peter O’Toole, and Sean Connery. Check out some of the movie posters:
But Audrey Hepburn was not only admired for her acting. She was, and still is, noted as a fashion icon. In fact, the famous designer Hubert de Givenchy was not only the creator of her most notable onscreen costumes, but one of Audrey’s closest lifelong friends.
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4th 1929 in Belgium. Her given name was Audrey Kathleen Ruston. The last name was changed to Hepburn later, a name that came from a member of Audrey’s father’s family.
Early on, Audrey had her fair share of hardships. Only a few weeks after birth, Audrey suffered an almost fatal case of whooping cough. A few years later, she was devastated when her father left the family. Having been away in England for school, Audrey returned to the Netherlands to be with her mother and two step-brothers due to the acceleration of World War II. Unfortunately, she would still be a first hand witness to WWII, as Holland went under German occupation on May 1940. Her experiences with the war would leave a lasting impression on her, and influenced her later humanitarian work.
Before the war, she developed a love for ballet. She cultivated this interest for a time, during the war. This love of ballet would remain after the war, but Audrey would again be disappointed when she was told her opportunities to become a prima ballerina had passed. Audrey would continue performing though, working as a chorus girl and a small-time actress. Eventually, she was discovered by Collette, the author of the book Gigi which was just being developed into a stage show. Audrey would play the lead character of Gigi on Broadway and gain recognition for her successful performance. Soon after, she was cast in her first lead film role as Princess Anne in the movie “Roman Holiday”, starring opposite noted actor Gregory Peck.
As mentioned in my “About Me” section, Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress. I realize that drawing a complete picture of Audrey Hepburn will require me to post a very long entry. So, instead I have decided to break up the one post into three separate ones. I’m planning for the posts to cover Audrey’s beginnings, her success as an actress and fashion icon, and her life and work outside of film. I hope to put something up soon, but in the meantime here is a nice montage someone put together with clips from a few of Audrey's movies.
I'm hoping to do a post once a month on a famous actor or actress in film. So far I've been planning to do posts on the following stars:
- James Cagney - Clark Gable
- Ava Gardner - Audrey Hepburn
- Grace Kelly - Vivien Leigh
- Ginger Rogers - Jimmy Stewart
- Spencer Tracy - John Wayne
Many of the actors that I have picked are from the American Film Institute's list of 50 Greatest American Screen Legends. AFI put this list together for a series they did celebrating 100 years of film. You might know about the American Film Institute from the annual Lifetime Achievement Award they give out. It is a very prestigious award meant to honor a dedicated motion picture artist.
Forty-four years ago, in 1967, the AFI was created. According to the history page on the AFI website, the institute was started "as a national arts organization to train filmmakers and preserve America's vanishing film heritage" (AFI History). The first Lifetime Achievement Award was given to director John Ford in 1973. Their work is not only concerned with recognizing the great talents and works of the motion picture field. There is also an AFI conservatory that trains new artists of film.
Anyway, please comment and let me know which of the actors listed above you'd like to know more about.
On this 10th anniversary of September 11th, I'd like to highlight a movie that really helps capture the American spirit. The film is Yankee Doodle Dandy from 1942. An important role of the film was to boost the morale of Americans dealing with World War II.
The movie stars James Cagney. It was important for Cagney to take this role as it helped improve his reputation at a time when he was at risk of being blacklisted by the House of Un-American Activities Committee. However, Cagney was not a communist, but a liberal democrat. Later in life though, he would come to identify himself as an "arch-conservative." This wasn't his first turn around though. Often cast as the tough guy in movies, in this film Cagney does a 180 playing the American "song and dance man" George M. Cohan.
Cohan is the genius behind the patriotic songs "Over There," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," and "You're A Grand Old Flag." In the film, Cohan meets with FDR, who was president at the time. During their conversation Cohan shares with the president a reflection on his rise to success and the effect of his music on an audience dealing with World War I. At the end of the meeting (and end of the movie), Cohan is presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor for the positive impact of his music on the World War I society.
George M. Cohan was still alive when Yankee Doodle Dandy was filmed and seen by audiences everywhere, but he would die soon after on November 5th 1942. Today, a statue of Cohan can be seen in Times Square commemorating his contribution to theater. The recognition James Cagney would get for his portrayal of Cohan came in the form of an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. This would be Cagney's only Oscar win.
The scene I've included below is from the end of the movie. Cagney's joyful tapping down the stairs of the White House really sums up how it feels to be free and to be an American!
I'm planning to post a link to a longer clip at the end of the movie soon! It doesn't give any of the plot away, but does highlight the importance of Cohan's work for the country and conclude with a nice reflection on the ideals of the American people and our spirit.
Musicals have always been a favorite classic movie genre of mine. They are great to watch with the family, or just when you need to relax for a couple carefree hours. Many of my favorite movie musicals feature Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, an amazing dancing duo. The general movie plots could be very similar to each other when these two were paired together, but their dancing sequences were always unique and fun to watch. Recently, I got a chance to see the film Follow the Fleet, featuring both Rogers and Astaire.
It's a cute romance story from 1936 about two sisters and the naval sailors they love. The sailor Astaire plays is known as Bake. Bake is in love with Sherry (played by Rogers), but mistakenly keeps messing up her career opportunities. This becomes quite comical. Sherry's sister, Connie, is in love with another sailor known as Bilge. Unfortunately, Bilge loses interest in Connie when she mentions marriage, and he starts falling for another girl. A disappointed Connie is planning to put on a show and use the ticket money from the show to return home. Will Bilge realize how much Connie loves him? Will Connie and Bilge end up together?... I won't tell in hopes that you see this movie for yourself! It's not one to miss!
In the mean time, here's a nice clip from the film that shows off the immense talent of Astaire and Rogers. I hope you'll enjoy this sequence as much as I do! If you do, you'll probably find yourself cheering along throughout!
