Sunshine Blogger Award!

Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger Award! Thanks Hamlette!!

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Questions:

1.  What's something good that's happened to you this year? Everyone in my family is still healthy and have been able to keep working. And we've been able to go to church since May (a month or so of outdoor services followed by indoor with plenty of precautionary measures). And in the recent hurricane named after me (Laura), my relatives survived with only minor damage to their homes.

2.  What was your favorite movie when you were ten years old? Probably The Quiet Man (1952). John Wayne has been the guy for me for as long as I can remember ;)

3.  Have you ever discovered you now like a movie or book that you used to dislike? When I first saw The Maltese Falcon (1941) I was so disappointed by the ending I said the entire movie stunk. Then I gave it a second chance and realized how amazing it is. But usually my first inclination stays with me.

4.  How long have you been blogging? Well, I started my first blog, Solidmoonlight, in late 2012. I started my movie blog in October 2014. 

5.  What's your favorite joke? "Fat and Skinny went to bed. Fat rolled over. Skinny's dead."

 ~ Morey Amsterdam

6.  What's a movie or book that people are surprised to learn you enjoy? They might be surprised when they first learn I love Rocky (1976). I have three Rocky t-shirts so I don't always have to tell them ;)

Wearing my Rocky shirt on another set of stairs that Sylvester Stallone ran on. I didn't know it at the time, but Jack Lemmon chased Stallone down these stairs located at the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park in The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975). You can watch the scene below. 

7.  Do you play croquet? *opens mouth extremely wide and curtsy's* YES! Your Majesty.

8.  How many blog posts have you published? On this blog, 420.

9.  What's the next book you plan to read? Well, the next book I WANT to read is Straight Shooting by Robert Stack. As soon as my library starts letting people request items from other libraries I will!

10. What's the next movie you plan to watch? Whatever's next on my TCM watchlist :)

11.  Do you want to build a snowman? I'd rather go sledding :)

I always struggle to come up with bloggers who haven't already been nominated so I'm just going to stop here :)

Movies I Watched in August

King Creole (1958)

This month I finally got to see all of Duel at Diablo (1966). I caught the end of it on tv several years ago and have wanted to see it since. I started The Barbara Stanwyck Show (free trial of Amazon Prime).

I read three Classic movie books this month: Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood by Robert Matzen (his books are so informative), The Many Faces of Joséphine Baker by Peggy Caravantes (the first couple chapters were tough to read, she had a horrific childhood), and Images of America: Early Warner Bros. Studio by E.J. Stephens.

1. A Dog’s Life (1918) - Charlie Chaplin & Edna Purviance
2. Thirty Day Princess (1934) - Sylvia Sidney & Cary Grant, Edward Arnold
3. Romeo and Juliet (1936) - Norma Shearer & Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Denny, Edna May Oliver, Andy Devine
4. Phantom Raiders (1940) - Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Florence Rice, John Carroll, Cecil Kellaway 
5. Lady of Burlesque (1943) - Barbara Stanwyck 
6. Escape in the Fog (1945) - Nina Foch
7. Embraceable You (1948) - Dane Clark & Geraldine Brooks, S.Z. Sakall
8. *Room for One More (1952) - Cary Grant & Betsy Drake, George ‘Foghorn’ Winslow
9. Against All Flags (1953) - Errol Flynn & Maureen O’Hara, Anthony Quinn
10. Blackout (1954) - Dane Clark
11. The Weak and the Wicked (1954) - Glynis Johns, Diana Dors
12. Escape to Burma (1955) - Robert Ryan & Barbara Stanwyck, Reginald Denny 
13. Great Day in the Morning (1956) - Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr
14. King Creole (1958) - Elvis Presley & Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Dean Jagger, Vic Morrow
15. Sergeant Rutledge (1960) - Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke
16. *The Birds (1963) - Tippi Hedren & Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette
17. Fun in Acapulco (1963) - Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress, Paul Lukas 
18. Seven Days in May (1964) - Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, Edmond O’Brien
19. Duel at Diablo (1966) - James Garner, Sidney Poitier, Bibi Anderson, Bill Travers
20. Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) - Elvis Presley 
21. Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) - Elvis Presley, Dodie Marshall, Pat Priest, Frank McHugh, Elsa Lanchester
22. Foul Play (1978) - Goldie Hawn & Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith 
23. Protocol (1984) - Goldie Hawn
24. Little Nikita (1988) - Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix 
25. Submergence (2017) - Alicia Vikander & James McAvoy 

Charlie Chaplin shorts (1914-1922)
Screen Directors Playhouse: Rookie of the Year (1955) - John Wayne, Patrick Wayne, James Gleason
Theatre 62: Rebecca (1962) - James Mason & Joan Hackett, Nina Foch
Elvis Thru the Years (2007)

Least Favorite Film: Paradise, Hawaiian Style was not that great. Even the gorgeous Hawaiian scenery couldn’t save it.

Favorite Movie: Foul Play was hilarious!! I loved Embraceable You (1948). It was so sweet. I was really impressed with Elvis’s acting in King Creole!