Movies I Watched in November

This month was William Holden month. For a long time I wasn't much on Holden but now I can say I'm a fan. I was actually surprised at just how many of his films I've already seen over the years. I'll definitely be rewatching some. I rewatched Sunset Boulevard for the first time in several years and was struck by how young he looks to me in it now lol. I am currently reading Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream by Sam Staggs. I also checked out Nancy Olson Livingston's autobiography, A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour.

I've also been watching some Powell and Pressburger films that I hadn't seen yet. The documentary has just been added to kanopy if your library offers that service and you missed it on TCM.

I read Ladd: The Life, The Legend, The Legacy of Alan Ladd by Beverly Linet. It was good, though I found the foreboding sentences ending in ". . ." to be overly dramatic. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Something Always Happens (1934) - Ian Hunter & Nancy O'Neil
2. Arizona (1940) - Jean Arthur & William Holden, William Wellman, Edgar Buchanan
3. Texas (1941) - William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Edgar Buchanan
4. ...One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1941) - Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Googie Withers
5. *A Canterbury Tale (1944) - Sheila Sim, John Sweet, Eric Portman
6. *Phantom Lady (1944) - Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis, Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cook Jr.
7. The Unseen (1945) - Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall
8. *Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara & John Payne, Natalie Wood
9. The Man from Colorado (1948) - Glenn Ford, William Holden, Ellen Drew, Edgar Buchanan
10. *Sunset Boulevard (1950) - William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Nancy Olson
11. Union Station (1950) - William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry FitzGerald, Jan Sterling
12. *Harvey (1950) - James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Cecil Kelloway, Jesse White, Peggy Dow
13. The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) - Moira Shearer 
14. Joe MacBeth (1956) - Paul Douglas & Ruth Roman
15. 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) - Van Johnson & Vera Miles
16. *The Story of Vickie (1954-German) - Romy Schneider, Magda Schneider, Adrian Hoven
17. The Key (1958) - William Holden, Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard
18. The World of Suzie Wong (1960) - William Holden & Nancy Kwan, Sylvia Syms, Michael Wilding
19. *Little Women (1994) - Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Susan Sarandon
20. Painted Lady (1997-TV Movie) - Helen Mirren, Iain Glen, Franco Nero, Lesley Manville

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024)

Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)

Least Favorite Film: Rewatched Harvey for the first time since college and, while it had several funny scenes, I'm just not much on it. It bothered me the way the patients were treated by the doctor. Painted Lady started out fine but got really disturbing in the middle (I actually still have one hour left). Gail Russell needed to slap Joel McCrea for trying to gaslight her in The Unseen. 

Favorite Movie: I enjoyed several movies this month, but especially Arizona and The Key. Neither were what I expected.

Texas (1941)