Movies I Watched in October

Eve Arden, Fashion Designer (The Arnelo Affair)

Not a lot of movies this month. Finished season 4 of Only Murders in the Building and rewatched season 1 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Also watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown twice. 

1. *Topper (1937) - Roland Young, Cary Grant & Constance Bennett, Billie Burke
2. The Saint's Double Trouble (1940) - George Sanders, Bela Lugosi
3. China (1943) - Alan Ladd, Loretta Young, William Bendix
4. The Arnelo Affair (1947) - Frances Gifford, John Hodiak, George Murphy, Eve Arden
5. Fearless Fagan (1952) - Carleton Carpenter & Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn
6. The Turning Point (1952) - William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmund O'Brien
7. *Stalag 17 (1953) - William Holden
8. *Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1955) - Jennifer Jones & William Holden
9. North West Frontier (1959) - Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall
10. Tiger Bay (1959) - John Mills, Hayley Mills

Alan Ladd: The True Quiet Man (1999) - The Hollywood Collection

Least Favorite Film: The only part about Fearless Fagan I didn't like is when they showed the lion being abused by his new trainer. It was hard to watch.

Favorite Movie: Hayley Mills was fantastic in Tiger Bay.

Favorite Quotes: (Hint - they're both Eve Arden)

I'm the repulsive type before I've had my morning coffee.

(After staying for breakfast) Thanks for the calories. 

I just love this soundtrack

Movies I Watched in September

A lot of rewatches this month as I dog-sat for my cousin and brought several dvds with me, including several of my kino lorber blurays.

* indicates a rewatch

1. *The Canary Murder Case (1929) - William Powell, Jean Arthur, Louise Brooks, Eugene Palette
2. Arise My Love (1940) - Ray Milland & Claudette Colbert, Dennis O'Keefe
3. *Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) - Anne Shirley, Henry Travers, Joan Carroll
4. *Love Letters (1945) - Joseph Cotten & Jennifer Jones, Cecil Kelloway, Gladys Cooper
5. *High Wall (1947) - Robert Taylor & Audrey Totter
6. The Steel Trap (1952) - Joseph Cotten & Teresa Wright
7. Terror on a Train (1953) - Glenn Ford
8. *Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957) - Robert Mitchum & Deborah Kerr
9. Equinox Flower (1958-Japanese) - Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Chishū Ryū, Fujiko Yamamoto, Miyuki Kuwano
10. The Truth About Spring (1965) - John Mills, Hayley Mills, James MacArthur, David Tomlinson
11. *Anne of Green Gables (1985) - Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Collen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Schuyler Grant
12. *Anne of Avonlea (1987) - Megan Follows, Jonathan Crombie, Collen Dewhurst, Wendy Hiller, Rosemary Dunsmore, Schuyler Grant
13. The Old Man & the Gun (2018) - Rober Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover
14. *Christmas Getaway (2019) - Bridget Regan & Travis Van Winkle

Least Favorite Film: The print quality was amazing but I found The Canary Murder Case to be somewhat clunky. It was filmed as a silent then changed to sound.

Favorite Movie: Not many new-to-me movies to choose from but my favorite was The Truth About Spring. It's not a Disney movie but with that cast it felt like one!

I feel like I have a screenshot of this blouse/sweater 

combo from another movie somewhere but can't find it...

Movies I Watched in August

Please sign this petition for the preservation of the Internet Archive, an essential resource for Classic Movie bloggers. 

Usually TCM's Summer Under the Stars is a heavy viewing month but this year's schedule didn't excite me. Of course at this point I've seen a great many of the films they showed already. What about you, did you find the lineup lacking?

*indicates a rewatch

1. State Fair (1945) - Jeanne Crain & Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes & Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter, Donald Meek, Frank McHugh, Percy Kilbride, Henry Morgan
2. Margie (1946) - Jeanne Crain, Glenn Langan, Alan Young
3. Young Widow (1946) - Jane Russell & Louis Hayward
4. *She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) - John Wayne (& the John Ford Stock Company)
5. Ten Tall Men (1951) - Burt Lancaster, Gilbert Roland, George Tobias
6. *Clash by Night (1952) - Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe
7. *The Swan (1956) - Grace Kelly, Louis Jordan, Alec Guinness, Jesse Royce Landis, Agnes Moorehead
8. The Miracle Worker (1962) - Anne Bancroft & Patty Duke
9. Little Treasure (1985) - Ted Danson, Burt Lancaster
10. *Ocean's Twelve (2004) - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, etc.
11. Love is Blind (2019) - Aidan Turner

And Then There Were None (2015 - Mini-Series) - Aiden Turner

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable (2018) - doc

Frank Capra: Mr. America (2023) - doc

Least Favorite Film: Ten Tall Men was a poor imitation of a late 1930s rollicking action/adventure Errol Flynn-type film. The first part of Little Treasure was good but then it was revealed that the female character's occupation was a stripper, so I had to skip some scenes. 

Favorite Movie: I really enjoyed the two Jeanne Crain films.

Favorite Quote: "Fellow sufferers, are you plump? When you walk in the sun, does your shadow look like a crowd following you?"

~ radio commercial in Young Widow

Love the beading on Stanwyck's sweater.

Movies I Watched in July

The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)

This month I watched season 1-3 of Poldark (2015-2019). I really liked the first season. The second season was still fine but during the third I considered stopping as it was pretty much constant drama and revenge. There was also a marital r*pe storyline introduced for a side character - I fast-forwarded those scenes even though nothing was shown. The series has gorgeous shots of Cornwall. I really want to go there. 

I really enjoyed all of the Bruce Brown surfing documentaries that aired on TCM this month. His commentary had me laughing out loud. The first one felt like watching someone's college home movies. I first watched The Endless Summer (1965) several years ago, so it was fun to see that again. I also want to watch The Endless Summer Revisted (2000) and A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story (2020). All three are on Tubi. I'm also finally read Gidget by Frederick Kohner. My brother found a copy that the real "Gidget" autographed!

* indicates a rewatch

1. *Berlin Express (1948) - Robert Ryan & Merle Oberon
2. *Quo Vadis (1951) - Robert Taylor & Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov
3. Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951) - Burt Lancaster & Phyllis Thaxter
4. *Artists and Models (1955) - Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine, Eva Gabor
5. The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) - Glenn Ford & Jeanne Crain, Broderick Crawford
6. Ice Cold in Alex (1958) - John Mills, Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms, Harry Andrews
7. *Three Days of the Condor (1975) - Robert Redford & Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson
8. The Fabulous Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1977) - Kenneth More
9. The Makioka Sisters (1983-Japanese) - Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yuko Kotegawa, Keiko Kishi, Kuniko Miyake
10. *Corrina, Corrina (1994) - Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Majorino, Ray Liotta, Don Ameche
11. *Gladiator (2000) - Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou
12. *Shallow Hal (2001) - Jack Black & Gwenyth Paltrow, Jason Alexander
13. Comeback Season (2006) - Ray Liotta

Slippery When Wet (1958) - had a couple shots of the real Gidget!

Surf Crazy (1959)

Barefoot Adventure (1960) - with narration recorded in 1990

Surfin Shorts (1960) - "Hangin' with Bruce" & "The Wet Set" + "America's Newest Sport" (1966)

Surfing Hollow Days (1961)

*The Endless Summer (1965)

Least Favorite Film: Well, The Fabulous Journey to the Centre of the Earth was a little on the corny side. I definitely prefer the Brendan Fraser and James Mason versions.

Favorite Film: The Bruce Brown surfing films.

The real Gidget

Movies I Watched in June

This month was Burt Lancaster month lol. A couple of Deborah Kerr movies and an impromptu rewatch of Run Silent, Run Deep led me to a From Here to Eternity rewatch (I just can't get with Kerr's "American" accent) which led to more Burt Lancaster. I also finally watched Band of Brothers. I covered up the screen a few times, especially in the Bastogne episode, but it was an excellent series. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Death on the Diamond (1934) - Robert Young, Madge Evans, William Demerest, Nat Pendleton
2. Singapore Woman (1941) - Brenda Marshall
3. Mission to Moscow (1943) - Walter Huston, Eleanor Parker
4. *Brief Encounter (1945) - Celia Johnson & Trevor Howard
5. I See a Dark Stranger (1946) - Deborah Kerr & Trevor Howard 
6. Desert Fury (1947) - Lisabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Mary Astor, Burt Lancaster, Wendall Corey
7. I Walk Alone (1947) - Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Lisabeth Scott, Wendall Corey
8. Whispering Smith (1949) - Alan Ladd, Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall, Donald Crisp, William Demerest, Fay Holden
9. *Mister 880 (1950) - Burt Lancaster, Edmund Gwenn, Dorothy McGuire
10. *From Here to Eternity (1953) - Burt Lancaster & Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift & Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine
11. *Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) - Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Don Rickles
12. Good Morning (1959-Japanese) - 
13. The Chalk Garden (1964) - Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills
14. *Destination Wedding (2019) - Keanu Reeves & Winona Ryder

Band of Brothers (2000) - Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlburg, etc.

We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company (2001)

Deborah Kerr: Getting to Know Her (2000) 

Least Favorite Film: Mission to Moscow was very much a propaganda film of it's time. I watched it for Eleanor Parker.

Favorite Movie: Once I got past the first few minutes I really enjoyed I See a Dark Stranger. It ended up being quite funny as well, which I wasn't expecting. I got a little teary reading Caftan Woman's post about it. 

Favorite Lines: "Spanswick, Margery's on the line about the dance tonight. She wants to know whether to wear the backless blue or the frontless white?"

~ I See a Dark Stranger (1946)

"A man's got to settle down on first base and raise a family before you call him 'safe'."

~ Death on the Diamond (1934)

I came across this video of Lloyd Bridges singing on the Ed Sullivan show and had to share!

Movies I Watched in May

Robert Ryan, The Set-Up (1949)

******The Mating of Millie is on YouTube!!!!!******

This month was apparently Robert Ryan month. I watched About Mrs. Leslie last month and then purchased the Franklin Jarlett biography about Ryan (I already own the J. R. Jones one). And then I kept seeing his films pop up on TCM and I had to watch them :) There's a man on youtube that has interviewed Robert Ryan's son Cheney several times about his dad's movies. I listened to the ones about The Set-Up and Odds Against Tomorrow. I finally read Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter. I have always had questions about the characters in the Disney movie and some of them were answered. I found it funny that in the book Mrs. Snow (Agnes Moorehead) is only about 40 and Aunt Polly just a little younger than that.

* indicates a rewatch

1. The Big Trail (1930) - John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill
2. *A Woman's Face (1941) - Joan Crawford & Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt, Osa Munson, Reginald Owen, Marjorie Main, Donald Meek
3. *The Set-Up (1949) - Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Wallace Ford, Darryl Hickman, James Edwards
4. *The Breaking Point (1950) - John Garfield, Juano Hernandez, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Wallace Ford
5. Roadblock (1951) - Charles McGraw & Joan Dixon
6. City Beneath the Sea (1953) - Robert Ryan, Anthony Quinn, Mala Powers, Suzan Ball
7. *House of Bamboo (1955) - Robert Stack, Robert Ryan, Shirley Yamaguchi, Sessue Hayakawa
8. *Men in War (1957) - Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith, Vic Morrow, James Edwards
9. *Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) - Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Shelley Winters, Gloria Grahame
10. The Notorious Landlady (1962) - Kim Novak & Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire, Estelle Winwood
11. Good Neighbor Sam (1964) - Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Edward G. Robinson
12. The Wrong Box (1966) - Michael Caine, John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Nanette Newman, Peter Sellers

Least Favorite Film: Don't get me wrong, the scale and scope of The Big Trail was immensely impressive, but some of the acting was definitely early 30s/cliche (especially the villain) and it's not likely I'll revisit it. 

Favorite Movie: The Notorious Landlady and The Wrong Box were both really funny. I had a grin on my face pretty much the entire time on the latter - very ridiculous. Robert Ryan is very flirty and fun in City Beneath the Sea. I watched all three films on tubi (The Wrong Box just left but I'm sure it will be added again). 

Favorite Line: "I'm in love with the back of your neck. I like the way your hair grows back there."

~ Patricia Neal to John Garfield in The Breaking Point.

(On noticing that Michael Caine has had to sell all his furniture) "Oh, I've always wanted an empty room of my own. Ours are so cluttered."

~ Nanette Newman in The Wrong Box. 

Aldo Ray, Men in War (1957)

Movies I Watched in April

Errol Flynn in The Sea Hawk (1940)

A few more rewatches than normal this month. I have a question mark beside Desperate Journey because I don't know if it's a rewatch or not. I have misplaced my 2013 & 2014 movie viewing list and so am unable to check and see if I watched it back then. A lot of Flynn's movies have the same cast (same with Bogart WWII films) and, when you've watched a bunch of a certain actor's filmography in a short span of time, they can become muddled. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. *The Sea Hawk (1940) - Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Alan Hale, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp, Una O'Connor, Gilbert Roland
2. ?Desperate Journey (1942) - Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale 
3. They All Kissed the Bride (1942) - Joan Crawford & Melvyn Douglas, Allen Jenkins, Billie Burke, Roland Young
4. Millions Like Us (1943) - Patricia Roc
5. *So Long at the Fair (1950) - Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, David Tomlinson, Honor Blackman
6. Wagon Master (1950) - Ward Bond, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joann Dru, Jane Darwell, James Arness
7. Kill the Umpire (1950) - William Bendix, William Frawley
8. The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) - Evelyn Keyes
9. *Young Bess (1953) - Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton
10. *Dangerous Crossing (1953) - Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie
11. About Mrs. Leslie (1954) - Shirley Booth & Robert Ryan
12. *The Detective (1954) - Alec Guiness, Peter Finch
13. Boy on a Dolphin (1957) - Alan Ladd & Sophia Loren, Clifton Webb
14. Gideon's Day/Gideon of Scotland Yard (1959) - Jack Hawkins, Anna Lee
15. *Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) - Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Naomi Rapace
16. *The Boys in the Boat (2023) - Callum Turner, Joel Egerton
17. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) - Henry Cavill, Alex Pettifer, Henry Golding, Cary Elwes (in theaters)

STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces (2024) - Apple TV+

Manhunt (2024-mini series) - Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle

Least Favorite Film: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Henry Cavill in it. And it had Guy Ritchie's signature humor, shooting style, and score, buuuut... it was missing the magic chemistry that's in his Sherlock Holmes films and of course UNCLE.  I knew it wouldn't be as good as those films but I was still hoping. My brother said it felt like they were trying to push some of the other actors into being the next big *star,* especially the lady who seemed to have the most screen time and lines. I hope I'll like it better on a second viewing now that I will go into it with lower expectations. My friend (who loved UNCLE but wasn't obsessed with it like me and has only seen it the one time) loved the movie though. 

Favorite Movie: Melvyn Douglas was hilarious in They All Kissed the Bride. I kept imagining how it would have been though with Carole Lombard (she died before filming and Crawford took her place, famously donating her salary to the war effort). I watched it on tubi - blurry but watchable (unlike the one on YouTube).

Favorite Line: "Aw, come on, everybody likes hot dogs. Even the Queen of England!" 

 ~ Melvyn Douglas in They All Kissed the Bride, referring to the time King George VI 

and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) visited FDR at Hyde Park and ate hot dogs.

"Boy on a Dolphin" - Julie London

Movies I Watched in March

Glenn Ford and Shirley MacLaine in The Sheepman (1958)

This month was pretty good! I wish The Boys in the Boat would have come out AFTER Masters of the Air because I would have definitely gone to see it in theaters. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Cottage to Let/Bombsight Stolen (1941) - Michael Wilding, Alastair Sim, John Mills
2. The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943) - Warner Baxter, Lloyd Bridges, Reginald Denny
3. The Years Between (1946) - Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson, Flora Robson
4. The Captive Heart (1946) - Michael Redgrave
5. Twelve O'Clock High (1949) - Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Dean Jagger
6. Don't Go Near the Water (1957) - Glenn Ford, Gia Scala, Earl Holoman, Anne Francis, Eva Gabor
7. The Sheepman (1958) - Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Neilson, Pernell Roberts
8. The Best of Everything (1959) - Hope Lange, Stephen Boyd, Diane Baker, Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Louis Jourdan
9. Almost Angels (1962) - Vincent Winter, Sean Scully, Peter Weck, Denis Gilmore
10. The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980) - Robin Ellis, Raymond Burr, Eva Marie Saint, Wendy Hiller
11. Father of the Bride (1991) - Steve Martin & Diane Keaton, Kieron Culkin
12. *Prince Caspian (2008) - William Mosely, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes
13. *Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) - Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter
14. Queen & Country (2014) - Callum Turner, Vanessa Kirby
15. Little Women (2019) - Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scalen
16. Tolkien (2019) - Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Anthony Boyle
17. The Boys in the Boat (2023) - Joel Egerton, Callum Turner, Hadley Robinson

Frasier (2023-present) - Kelsey Grammer

The Bloody 100th (2024)

Least Favorite Film: The Best of Everything. It was definitely written by a hard-core feminist because almost all of the men characters were creeps or rotten. 

Favorite Movie: Several winners this month. The Captive Heart made me tear up several times. Cottage to Let was another good British film with several of humorous scenes. Both were on Tubi. I thought The Sheepman was going to be your typical 'cattlemen vs. sheep farmers' but it was more along the vein of Support Your Local Sheriff (though not quite as funny - that's a classic). I didn't expect to love the 2019 Little Women as much as I did. I think it *just* beats the 1994 version (third place would be the 1978 TV mini-series because it has Greer Garson, Robert Young, and Dorothy McGuire). 

One of my favorite moments ♥

Sunshine Blogger Award #???

Rachel at Hamlette's Soliloquy nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger award and I was able to answer her questions quickly so I actually completed it (I legit have like three old awards in my drafts that I never finished lol). 

Rules: 

• Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. 
• Thank the person who nominated you. 
• Provide a link to your nominator’s blog. 
• Answer your nominator’s questions. 
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers. 
• Ask your nominees 11 questions. 
• Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.

I'm not going to nominate anyone but here are the answers to her great questions:

1. What's the first movie you have a memory of watching? 

Probably The Quiet Man (1952). My favorite scene was the kiss in 

the graveyard lol. I wanted to marry John Wayne when I grew up.

2. Have you ever written a fan letter to a celebrity?  (If so, did you get a reply?)

No. I've wanted to but never got around to it. I really need to write Robert Wagner...

3. What are the three funniest movies you have ever seen?

Off the top of my head: Son of Paleface (1952), Support Your 

Local Sheriff (1969), Robin Hood Men in Tights (1993).

4. What movie do you really want to change the ending of?

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959). I want Inger Stevens to explicitly 

choose Harry Belafonte. Also any movie where John Wayne's character dies.

5. What movie do you wish had a sequel, but it doesn't?

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2016)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

6. Who were your favorite actor and actress when you were a teen?

John Wayne and Judy Garland.

7. Who is your favorite actor and actress now?

It changes but if pressed I would say John Wayne for actor. I can't choose 

an actress. My favorite actress currently making movies is Emily Blunt.  

8. Does anyone else in your family love movies? 

We all watch old movies but my oldest younger brother is the closest to me in terms 

of the amount of old movies he watches in a year. He also owns the most dvds. 

Probably watching John Wayne.

9. If you could pick an actor/actress to play you in a movie, who would you choose?

That would be a really boring movie lol. Maybe Natalie Wood for little me.

Me at my 7th birthday party.

10. Do you ever watch a movie in the theater more than once?

Only one I went back to see a second time so far was The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2016).

My friend and I DIED laughing at this scene.

11. Are there any movies coming out in 2024 that you are looking forward to?

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - Henry Cavill and director Guy Ritchie 

(The Man From U.N.C.L.E. I know it won't be as good but I'm still excited).

Thanks Rachel!!

Movies I Watched in February

Young and Innocent (1937)

This month wasn't as good as last month... I read We'll Always Have Casablanca by Noah Isenberg. If you are watching Masters of the Air, I highly recommend Harry Crosby's memoir, A Wing and a Prayer. It is on both the Internet Archive and Hoopla (free with your library card) - both e-book and audio book. The Making of Masters of the Air Podcast is really good too. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Young and Innocent (1937) - Nova Pilbeam & Derrick De Marney
2. *Suspicion (1941) - Joan Fontaine & Cary Grant
3. The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) - Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum
4. *Notorious (1946) - Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern
5. Champagne for Caesar (1950) - Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton, Art Linkletter
6. The Lusty Men (1952) - Robert Mitchum, Susan Hayward, Arthur Kennedy
7. Track of the Cat (1954) - Robert Mitchum, Tab Hunter, Beulah Bondi, Teresa Wright
8. Guns of Darkness (1962) - David Niven & Leslie Caron
9. The Victors (1963) - George Hamilton, George Peppard, Eli Wallach, James Mitchum, Michael Callan, Romy Schneider, Mervyn Johns (father of Glynis!)
10. Ransom for a Dead Man (1971) - Peter Falk, Lee Grant
11. Gosford Park (2001) - Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren
12. The Lightkeepers (2009) - Richard Dreyfuss, John Brown, Blythe Danner, Mamie Gummer, Bruce Dern
13. *Mirror Mirror (2012) - Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer
14. *Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Kristin Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth
15. The Lucky One (2012) - Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling
16. Austenland (2013) - Keri Russell, JJ Feild, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour

Lost in Austen (2008 - miniseries) - Jemima Rooper, Hugh Bonneville

Masters of the Air (2024 - miniseries) - Austin Butler, Callam Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Barry Keoghan

Least Favorite Film: The Victors was good until about two-thirds of the way through when they killed the dog. It was crummy after that but I had already invested two hours in it so I finished it. I didn't care for Track of the Cat. I don't like movies about dysfunctional families where everybody is angry or hateful or rotten.

Favorite Movie: Not really any clear winners this month. The Lightkeepers was sweet. 

Mitchum with some luscious hair in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) - not a word I ever thought I'd use lol.

Movies I Watched in January

Kenneth More & Glynis Johns, No Highway in the Sky (1951)

I watched a lot of British films this month. Glynis Johns led to more Kenneth More and also Jack Hawkins. I discovered a "new" TV show, The Four Just Men starring Hawkins, Dan Dailey, Richard Conte, and Vittorio De Sica (they alternate episodes). There are several episodes on YouTube. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Beauty and the Barge (1937) - Jack Hawkins, Margaret Rutherford
2. He Couldn't Say No (1938) - Frank McHugh, Jane Wyman, Diana Lewis
3. Hold That Kiss (1938) - Maureen O'Sullivan & Dennis O'Keefe, Micky Rooney
4. *Rebecca (1940) - Joan Fontaine & Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, Reginald Denny, George Sanders, C. Aubrey Smith, Gladys Cooper
5. *I Know Where I'm Going (1945) - Wendy Hiller & Roger Livesey
6. Black Narcissus (1947) - Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Sabu, Jean Simmons
7. *Miranda (1948) - Glynis Johns, Googie Withers, Griffith Jones, David Tomlinson, Margaret Rutherford
8. No Highway in the Sky (1951) - James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Kenneth More
9.  Appointment with Venus (1951) - David Niven, Glynis Johns, Kenneth More
10. One Minute to Zero (1952) - Robert Mitchum & Ann Blyth, William Talman, Charles McGraw, Richard Egan
11. Second Chance (1953) - Robert Mitchum & Linda Darnell, Jack Palance
12. Genevieve (1953) - John Gregson & Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More, Kay Kendall
13. *Mad About Men (1954) - Glynis Johns, Margaret Rutherford
14. Front Page Story (1954) - Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan
15. *The Enemy Below (1957) - Robert Mitchum, Curt Jergens
16. The Two-Headed Spy (1958) - Jack Hawkins & Gia Scala
17. *The Defiant Ones (1958) - Tony Curtis & Sidney Poitier, Lon Chaney Jr.
18. The 39 Steps (1959) - Kenneth Moore & Taina Elg
19. The Angry Hills (1959) - Robert Mitchum, Gia Scala, Sebastian Cabot
20. How to Frame a Figg (1971) - Don Knotts, Yvonne Craig
21. The Lady Vanishes (1979) - Cybill Shepherd, Elliott Gould, Angela Lansbury
22. Dominick and Eugene (1988) - Tom Hulce, Ray Liotta, Jamie Lee Curtis
23. Miss Austen Regrets (2007) - Olivia Williams, Hugh Bonneville

Emma (2009-TV Mini Series) - Ramola Garai & Jonny Lee Miller

Sidney (2022) - a must watch!

The Power of Film (2024) - TCM Documentary series

Least Favorite Film: I did not like Black Narcissus. If I could un-watch it I would. I don't like creepy eye close-ups. Also, if you watch The Two-Headed Spy, skip the torture scene. 

Favorite Movie: I finally watched No Highway in the Sky after having on my watchlist for a long time. It was really good. I've always considered Emma my least favorite Austen heroine, but I really liked the 2009 mini series! I'm rereading the book to see if I like it better now than when I first read if probably 10+ years ago (I did not like the Paltrow movie either). 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) is one of my favorite movies from recent years so I'm excited for another collaboration between Henry Cavill and director Guy Ritchie. I wish Alicia Vikander was in it!

2023 Movie Stats

In the year 2023 I watched 158 new-to-me movies and 55 movies that were rewatches for a total of 213.

New to me: 158 (118 pre-1970, 40 post-1970)

Rewatches: 55 (31 pre-1970, 24 post-1970)

Total: 213 (149 pre-1970, 64 post-1970)

Where I watched them: 

TCM: 76 (11 rewatches)

Library (DVD & Apps): 8 (3 rewatches)

Personal DVD: 20 (13 rewatches)

YouTube & OK: 32 (6 rewatches)

Paid Streaming Services: 32 (15 rewatches) 

TV & Free Streaming Services: 44 (6 rewatches)

Theater: 1 (1 rewatch)

Here are my top ten movie discoveries:

Q Planes (1939) - Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Valerie Hobson

Good Sam (1948) - Gary Cooper & Ann Sheridan

The Mating of Millie (1948) - Glenn Ford & Evelyn Keyes

A Woman of Distinction (1950) - Ray Milland & Rosalind Russell, Edmund Gwenn

The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951) - Lloyd Bridges, Carlton Carpenter, Ernest Borgnine

Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957) - Robert Mitchum & Deborah Kerr

The Admirable Crichton (1957) - Kenneth Moore, Sally Ann Howe

Advance to the Rear (1964) - Glenn Ford & Stella Stevens, Joan Blondell, Melvyn Douglas

Nickelodeon (1976) - Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum O'Neal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens

The Cheap Detective (1976) - Peter Falk, Madeline Kahn, Ann-Margaret

Classics I finally watched: 

A Christmas Carol (1938) - Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart

Gilda (1946) - Glenn Ford & Rita Hayworth

Tokyo Story (1953-Japanese) - Setsuko Hara

The Big Heat (1953) - Glenn Ford & Gloria Graham, Lee Marvin

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1957) - Julie Adams, Richard Carlson

The Italian Job (1969) - Michael Caine

Airport (1970) - Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Van Heflin

Field of Dreams (1989) - Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta

         

Number of movies per decade:

1910s: 0 
1920s: 2 
1930s: 20 (9 rewatches)
1940s: 47 (9 rewatches)
1950s: 62 (10 rewatches)
1960s: 17 (3 rewatches)
1970s: 14 
1980s: 9 (4 rewatches)
1990s: 16 (4 rewatches)
2000s: 14 (7 rewatches)
2010s: 10 (8 rewatches)

2020s: 2 (1 rewatch)

Number of movies per month:

January: 17 (4 rewatches)
February: 17 (6 rewatches)
March: 9 (2 rewatches)
April: 13 (10 rewatches)
May: 18 (4 rewatches)
June: 19 (5 rewatches)
July: 15 (6 rewatches)
August: 30 (6 rewatches) 
September: 19 (2 rewatches)
October: 15 (1 rewatch)
November: 22 (4 rewatches)
December: 19 (5 rewatches)



Number of Foreign Language Films: 3 (1 rewatch)

Number of Documentaries: 6

Most Watched (Leading) Movie Stars: 

Glenn Ford - 19 films

Ray Liotta - 10 films

Alan Ladd - 9 films

Lloyd Bridges (+ season 1 of Sea Hunt), Orlando Bloom (LOTR, Hobbit, & Pirates) - 8 films 

Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Dennis O'Keefe, George Kennedy, Jane Wyatt (+ Father Knows Best) - 5 films

Sean Connery, Joan Fontaine, Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Viggo Mortenson (LOTR), Kurt Russell, Robert Ryan, Barbara Stanwyck - 4 films

Stars I discovered/grew to love/crushed on: Lloyd Bridges, Glenn Ford, Ray Liotta

*To see last year's stats, click here.

Did you keep track of the movies you watched in 2023? Was there a star or movie you discovered that you can't live without now? Let me know in the comments!

Double Feature: Two Hitchcock Remakes

I recently discovered British actor Kenneth More in The Admirable Crichton (1956) and, by searching Tubi to see what other films of his were available, that he had starred in a 1959 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), which is a great favorite of mine. This led me to also discover that there was a 1979 remake of The Lady Vanishes starring Cybill Shepherd, Elliott Gould, and Angela Lansbury. I ended up watching them back-to-back and decided to jot down a quick post with my thoughts.

While enjoyable, The 39 Steps, directed by Ralph Thomas, had none of the suspense of the original. More acted as if he were simply on holiday and there was never any real feeling that his life was in danger. The women in the film - the lady who was murdered in his flat, the wife at the house he took refuge in, and finally Miss Fisher (Madeline Carroll's role) - weren't quite right either. The first was too matter of fact, the second a "fortune teller," and Miss Fisher not nearly annoyed enough. All of the tenseness of the original scenes simply wasn't present. The impromptu political speech Hannay gives in the original is replaced with a botany lecture at a girl's school that isn't nearly as tense or funny and the final scene fell a little flat. It's still worth a watch and the color scenery was lovely, though not as harsh and dramatic as in black and white. It helped lend to the more "holiday" feeling.

The Lady Vanishes, directed by Anthony Page, faired better. I've only seen the original once (as opposed to I think four times for The 39 Steps plus the book by John Buchan). Cybill Shepherd plays the heroine differently than Margaret Lockwood (I do wish Sheperd didn't talk so loud the entire time) but it was a fun film. Again, not as tense as the original but that film also had more of Hitchcock's humor. I would say the remake had a slight screwball element to it as well with Sheperd's portrayal as a seemingly flighty heiress with multiple marriages and on her way to another.  It was set in 1939 and had a stronger N*zi presence - our introduction to Shepherd's character is her doing a H*tler impression. There was on-location shooting in Austria, so this film had lovely scenery as well. 

Have you seen any remakes of Hitchcock films (aside from the one's he remade himself)? What did you think of them? Did you like them better than the original?