Movies I Watched in January

Victor Mature in I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

This month... I fell for Kurt Russell. I've seen him in a few things before but never particularly liked him. He looked like he thought he was cool. But after watching Swing Shift I thought he was cute and started watching several of his movies (14 to be exact). I also watched a bunch of his interviews on YouTube and, turns out, he's a really down-to-earth guy with lots of great stories to tell about his seven-decade long career.

My library had Sidney Poitier’s The Measure of A Man: A Spiritual Autobiography, so I checked it out and read it. I would have liked to listen to the audiobook but chapter one was an hour long and I could easily read 3+ chapters in that time. I also started Dear Bob... Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II written and compiled by Martha Bolton and Linda Hope. I highly recommend it. 

1. Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) - Joan Crawford, Clark Gable 
2. *After Tonight (1933) - Constance Bennett & Gilbert Roland
3. Our Betters (1933) - Constance Bennett & Gilbert Roland, Anita Louise
4. The Good Earth (1937) - Paul Muni & Luise Rainer 
5. *Bachelor Mother (1939) - Ginger Rogers & David Niven, Charles Coburn
6. Women in the Wind (1939) - Kay Francis, William Gargan, Eve Arden
7. Gambling on the High Seas (1940) - Wayne Morris, Jane Wyman, Gilbert Roland
8. Irene (1940) - Anna Neagle & Ray Milland, Marsha Hunt
9. Play Girl (1941) - Kay Francis, Margaret Hamilton, Nigel Bruce
10. I Wake Up Screaming (1941) - Victor Mature, Betty Grable, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar
11. Silver Queen (1942) - Priscilla Lane & George Brent, Bruce Cabot
12. Thunder Birds (1942) - Gene Tierney & Preston Foster
13. Hit the Ice (1943) - Bud Abbott & Lou Costello 
14. In Society (1944) - Bud Abbott & Lou Costello
15. It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) - Don DeFore & Gale Storm, Victor Moore, Charlie Ruggles & Ann Harding
16. Flaxy Martin (1949) - Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone
17. Shane (1953) - Alan Ladd, Van Heflin, Jean Arthur, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Elisha Cook Jr. 
18. The War of the Worlds (1953) - Gene Barry, Ann Robinson
19. Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953) - Richard Todd & Glynis Johns 
20. The Power and the Prize (1956) - Robert Taylor, Burl Ives, Charles Coburn
21. *The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) - Harry Belafonte, Ingar Stevens, Mel Ferrer
22. *The Time Machine (1960) - Rod Taylor & Yvette Mimieux, Alan Young, Sebastian Cabot
23. *The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) - Dean Jones, Diane Baker, Ellen Janov, Kurt Russell, Morey Amsterdam, Fred Clark
24. The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) - Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Bing Russell
25. Now You See Him Now You Don't (1972) - Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Jim Backus, Bing Russell
26. The Strongest Man in the World (1975) - Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Eve Arden
27. The Quest (1976) - Kurt Russell, Brian Keith, Keenyn Wynn
28. The Quest: The Longest Ride (1976) - Kurt Russell, Dan O’Herlihy, Woody Strode
29. Elvis (1979) - Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, Bing Russell 
30. Escape from New York (1981) - Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes
31. Swing Shift (1984) - Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Ed Harris
32. The Mean Season (1985) - Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, Andy Garcia 
33. The Best of Times (1986) - Robin Williams, Kurt Russell 
34. *Overboard (1987) - Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell, Katherine Helmond, Roddy McDowall
35. Winter People (1989) - Kurt Russell & Kelly McGillis, Lloyd Bridges
36. Poseidon (2006) - Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss

Love this costume worn by Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift (1984). It says "ice dream."

Least Favorite Film: It took me four days to get through the 82 minute Our Betters (1933). The Quest: The Longest Ride (loosely based on Red River) felt like a TV movie (it was later edited into a two-part episode for the 15-episode TV series The Quest - of which The Quest (1976) was the movie pilot but not included in the episode list). For some reason they put Woody Strode in a hat that hid half of his face.

Favorite Movie: Lots of good movies this month, but I was especially impressed by I Wake Up Screaming and Shane (read my post about Shane here). And of course Swing Shift, which I mentioned above. I also really enjoyed the Kurt Russell as Dexter Riley Disney trilogy, especially the first one, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. And I thought he did a great job playing Elvis. His "dance" moves were a little over-enthusiastic and the song choices weren't the best (singing was dubbed by Ronnie McDowell) but I would definitely watch it again. It was fun to see his real-life dad, Bing Russell, playing Vernon Presley.

Favorite Line: Swing Shift (1984) - trying to decide what to do on a Friday night.