The 1956 TV Theatre “Blithe Spirit” starring Lauren Bacall, Claudette Colbert, Noel Coward, and Mildred Natwick is on YouTube!!! I’ve wanted to see it for so long!!!
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Saturday, April 3, 2021
Movies I Watched in March
This month I started watching the 70s/80s show Taxi. I was watching SWAT but there was a certain storyline in season two that really turned me off of the show. I was finally able to watch the 1957 remake of My Man Godfrey. I've been curious about it for a long time. It wasn't too bad! June Allyson couldn't quite pull off that type of character (daffy but lovable) like Lombard could (I did have to skip her faked stomach ache or whatever it was supposed to be), but I could see watching it again. I finally watched Murder on the Orient Express. Albert Finney looked more like my idea of Poirot than Peter Ustinov but I didn't really like him. Last Sunday I had an unintentional Denzel Washington triple feature: two favorites and a new-to-me film. If you're a Denzel fan you MUST watch Deja Vu!!
* indicates a rewatch
- Indiscreet (1931) - Gloria Swanson
- *Jewel Robbery (1932) - William Powell & Kay Francis
- Mandalay (1934) - Kay Francis
- Show Boat (1936) - Irene Dunne & Allen Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel
- Fingers at the Window (1942) - Lew Ayres & Laraine Day, Basil Rathbone
- *The Fallen Sparrow (1943) - John Garfield & Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak
- Marine Raiders (1944) - Robert Ryan & Ruth Hussey, Pat O’Brien
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - David Niven & Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey
- Tea for Two (1950) - Doris Day & Gordon MacRae, Eve Arden, S.Z. Sakall
- *I’ll See You in My Dreams (1952) - Danny Thomas & Doris Day, Patrice Wymore
- Everything I Have is Yours (1952) - Marge & Gower Champion
- Big Leaguer (1953) - Edward G. Robinson, Vera-Ellen
- The Iron Petticoat (1956) - Bob Hope & Katharine Hepburn
- My Man Godfrey (1957) - David Niven & June Allyson, Jessie Rolls Landis
- It Happened to Jane (1959) - Doris Day & Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs
- Follow Me, Boys! (1966) - Fred MacMurray & Vera Miles, Kurt Russell, Lillian Gish, Charles Ruggles
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - Albert Finney, Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller
- Tequila Sunrise (1988) - Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell
- *The Pelican Brief (1993) - Julia Roberts & Denzel Washington, Sam Shepherd
- Just Like Heaven (2005) - Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo
- *Deja Vu (2006) - Denzel Washington & Paula Patton, Jim Caveizel, Val Kilmer
- Inside Man (2006) - Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Movies I Watched in February
I was excited that John Garfield was Star of the Month on TCM. I have already seen most of his movies so there were only two in the lineup I hadn't seen before. Now I just have three of his films left: two cameos (Jigsaw and Daisy Kenyon) and Under My Skin (1950). I also finally got to see The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp!!!! It did not disappoint. I read A Twist of Lemmon: A Tribute to My Father by Chris Lemmon.
* indicates a rewatch
- Let Us Be Gay (1930) - Norma Shearer & Rod LaRoque, Marie Dressler
- Smart Woman (1931) - Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton
- Their Big Moment (1934) - Zazu Pitts, Slim Summerville
- Vagabond Lady (1935) - Robert Young
- The Longest Night (1936) - Robert Young & Florence Rice
- This is My Affair (1937) - Robert Taylor & Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy
- *Knight Without Armour (1937) - Robert Donat & Marlene Dietrich
- *Joy of Living (1938) - Irene Dunne & Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Lucille Ball
- Spring Madness (1938) - Maureen O’Sullivan & Lew Ayres, Ruth Hussey, Burgess Meredith
- Destry Rides Again (1939) - Marlene Dietrich & James Stewart, Brian Donlevy, Charles Winninger, Una Merkel
- East of the River (1940) - John Garfield & Brenda Marshall
- Flowing Gold (1940) - John Garfield & Frances Farmer, Pat O’Brien
- The Falcon’s Brother (1942) - George Sanders
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - Roger Livesy & Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook
- *Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Henry Travers
- Faithful in My Fashion (1946) - Donna Reed & Tom Drake, Edward Everett Horton, Sig Rumen, Spring Byington, Margaret Hamilton
- *Humoresque (1947) - John Garfield & Joan Crawford
- An Ideal Husband (1947) - Paulette Goddard, Michael Wilding, C. Aubrey Smith, Glynis Johns
- If Winter Comes (1948) - Walter Pidgeon & Deborah Kerr, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh, Dame May Whitty, Binnie Barnes, Reginald Owen
- Mrs. O’Malley and Mr. Malone (1950) - Marjorie Main, Ann, Dvorak, Dorothy Malone
- The Brothers Karamazov (1958) - Yul Brynner, Claire Bloom, Lee J. Cobb, Richard Basehart, William Shatner
- Flower Drum Song (1961) - Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Benson Fong, Juanita Moore, Reiko Sato, Patrick Adiarte
- Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962) - Jim Backus
- Marriage on the Rocks (1965) - Frank Sinatra & Deborah Kerr, Dean Martin, Nancy Sinatra
- Frankie and Johnny (1966) - Elvis Presley & Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan
- Hotel (1967) - Rod Taylor, Melvyn Douglas, Merle Oberon & Michael Rennie, Karl Malden
- Downhill Racer (1969) - Robert Redford
- Change of Habit (1969) - Elvis Presley & Mary Tyler Moore
- Oh, God! (1977) - John Denver, George Burns, Teri Garr
- *Running on Empty (1988) - River Phoenix
- *13 Going on 30 (2004) - Jennifer Garner & Mark Ruffalo
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Movies I Watched in January
This month I watched more movies than normal as I had purchased a month of HBO Max and wanted to get my money's worth :) Notable this month: I watched my first Mae West movie, then kept going "mmm" to myself lol. I finally rewatched Twentieth Century - I thought it was ok the first time I saw it but a little too zany. I still think it's too much ;) Hamlette's Soliloquy will be happy to see I watched two Alan Ladd movies. The only parts of The Glass Key I remembered were the ones with Bendix, mainly the scene where Ladd gets beat to a pulp. I also noticed that the country house is the same set as Holiday Inn (1942)!! Parts of the set were also used in White Christmas (see this article on Hooked on Houses).
TCM showed several movies for Elvis Presley's birthday so already he's going to be on my most watched list this year. I also FINALLY watched Born Yesterday. My favorite Judy Holliday movie is still It Should Happen to You (which I also rewatched. See the end of the post for a note on that). I went to see an exhibit of White Christmas costumes (post on that coming soon) so when we got home we of course had to watch the movie again.
Read Blonde Venus: A Life of Marlene Dietrich by Leslie Frewin.
- Their Own Desire (1929) - Norma Shearer & Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone
- The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins
- Design for Living (1933) - Gary Cooper, Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Edward Everett Horton
- I’m No Angel (1933) - Mae West & Cary Grant, Edward Arnold
- *Twentieth Century (1934) - John Barrymore & Carole Lombard
- The Price of Wisdom (1935) - Roger Livesey
- Woman Chases Man (1937) - Miriam Hopkins & Joel McCrea, Charles Winninger, Broderick Crawford, (watched twice)
- Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938) - Robert Young & Ruth Hussey, Lew Ayres, Lana Turner
- When Were You Born (1938) - Anna May Wong, Margaret Lindsey, Lola Lane
- Down Argentine Way (1940) - Betty Grable & Don Ameche
- The Great Mr. Nobody (1941) - Eddie Albert & Joan Leslie, Alan Hale, John Litel, Dickie Moore
- Major Barbara (1941) - Wendy Hiller & Rex Harrison, Robert Morley
- Lydia (1941) - Merle Oberon, Joseph Cotten, Alan Marshal, Edna May Oliver, George Reeves
- *The Glass Key (1942) - Alan Ladd & Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy, Bonita Granville, Dane Clark
- Bride by Mistake (1944) - Laraine Day, Marsha Hunt
- Along Came Jones (1945) - Gary Cooper & Loretta Young, William Demerest, Dan Duryea
- *I Know Where I’m Going (1945) - Wendy Hiller & Roger Livesey
- The Blue Dahlia (1946) - Alan Ladd & Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard de Silva, Hugh Beaumont
- Criss Cross (1949) - Burt Lancaster & Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea
- Born Yesterday (1950) - Judy Holliday & William Holden, Broderick Crawford
- *It Should Happen to You (1954) - Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon, Peter Lawford
- *White Christmas (1954) - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes
- Flaming Star (1960) - Elvis Presley, Dolores Del Rio, Barbara Eden
- *Blue Hawaii (1961) - Elvis Presley & Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury
- It Happened at the World’s Fair (1963) - Elvis Presley
- Girl Happy (1965) - Elvis Presley & Shelley Fabares
- Harum Scarum (1965) - Elvis Presley
- Spinout (1966) - Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Deborah Walley, Cecil Kellaway & Una Merkel
- Stay Away, Joe (1968) - Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Katy Jurado, Joan Blondell
- The Trouble with Girls (1969) - Elvis Presley, Vincent Price
- The Towering Inferno (1974) - Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Wagner, Jennifer Jones, Fred Astaire
- Death on the Nile (1978) - Peter Ustinov, David Niven, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Jack Warden
- Murphy’s Romance (1985) - Sally Field & James Garner
- *Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - Steve Martin, John Candy
- Overboard (1987) - Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell, Roddy McDowall
- My Blue Heaven (1990) - Steve Martin, Rick Moranis
- Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) - Woody Allen & Diane Keaton, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston
- The Pentagon Wars (1998) - Cary Elwes, Kelsey Grammar
- *Ocean’s Eleven (2001) - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Carl Reiner
- Spy Game (2001) - Robert Redford, Brad Pitt
- A Good Year (2006) - Russell Crowe & Marion Cotilliard
- *Tangled (2010) - Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi
- Victoria & Abdul (2017) - Dame Judi Dench
- Ad Astra (2019) - Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Liv Tyler
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
2020 Movie Stats
New to me: 293 (241 pre-1970, 52 post-1970)
Rewatches: 43 (33 pre-1970, 10 post-1970)
Total: 336 (274 pre-1970, 62 post-1970)
Where I watched them:
TCM: 243 (22 rewatches)
Library (DVD & Apps): 11 (0 rewatches)
Personal DVD: 23 (16 rewatches)
YouTube & OK: 15 (1 rewatch)
Paid Streaming Services: 23 (2 rewatches)
TV & Free Streaming Services: 18 (2 rewatches)
Theater: 0
Other: 1
Here are my top ten movie discoveries:
4/17 Baby Boom (1987)
6/18 Blue Hawaii (1961)
8/5 Embraceable You (1948)
8/10 Foul Play (1978)
8/29 King Creole (1958)
10/17 The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
Classics I finally watched:
The Gold Rush (1925) - Charlie Chaplin
The Divorcee (1930) - Norma Shearer
King Kong (1933) - Fay Wray
Dodsworth (1936) - Walter Huston
Dark Victory (1939) - Bette DavisSergeant York (1941) - Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) - James Cagney
On the Waterfront (1954) - Marlon Brando
Magnificent Obsession (1954) - Jane Wyman & Rock Hudson
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) - Audie Murphy
Jailhouse Rock (1957) - Elvis Presley
The Blob (1958) - Steve McQueen
Spartacus (1960) - Kirk DouglasSergeant Rutledge (1960) - Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter
The Great Escape (1963) - Steve McQueen, James Garner
Viva Las Vegas (1964) - Elvis Presley & Ann-Margaret
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) - Steve McQueen & Faye Dunaway
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) - Gene HackmanAnnie Hall (1977) - Diane Keaton
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Drew Barrymore
Number of movies per decade:
1910s: 1 (0 rewatches)
1920s: 10 (0 rewatches)
1930s: 61 (2 rewatches)
1940s: 79 (15 rewatches)
1950s: 81 (7 rewatches)
1960s: 42 (9 rewatches)
1970s: 17 (1 rewatch)
1980s: 18 (1 rewatch)
1990s: 8 (2 rewatches)
2000s: 6 (4 rewatches)
2010s: 11 (2 rewatches)
Number of movies per month:
January: 31 (2 rewatches)
February: 37 (6 rewatches)
March: 22 (1 rewatch)
April: 21 (2 rewatches)
May: 30 (7 rewatches)
June: 24 (2 rewatches)
July: 32 (1 rewatch)
August: 25 (2 rewatches)
September: 31 (3 rewatches)
October: 27 (3 rewatches)
November: 28 (7 rewatches)
December: 28 (7 rewatches)
Most Watched (Leading) Movie Stars:
Robert Taylor - 20 films
Robert Ryan - 8 films
Stars I discovered/grew to love/admire: Elvis Presley, Robert Taylor, Mel Gibson, Robert Stack, River Phoenix
*To see last years stats click here.
Did you keep track of the movies you watched in 2020? Was there a star or movie you discovered that you can't live without now? Let me know in the comments!
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Movies I Watched in December
This month I had the typical Christmas rewatches and then randomly ended up watching quite a few “new” movies: nearly half of this list are post-1970 films! I even watched a movie on “opening weekend” (WW84). Oh, btw... HBO Max doesn’t offer a free trial anymore :/ Luckily there’s enough exclusive content on there that the $16 will be worth it.
I never got around to writing about the free classic movies on the Peacock streaming service. They had over 100 but as of Jan. 1, 2021 they have exactly two movies made before 1970 (not counting James Bond): a Columbo Movie and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol... So basically the only thing left for me to watch on there is Murder, She Wrote.
* indicates a rewatch
- The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) - Max Baer & Myrna Loy, Walter Huston
- Sabotage (1936) - Sylvia Sydney
- Desire (1936) - Gary Cooper & Marlene Dietrich
- A Yank at Oxford (1938) - Robert Taylor & Maureen O’Sullivan, Vivian Leigh
- Flight Command (1940) - Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Kelly, Red Skelton, Nat Pendleton, Marsha Hunt
- To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) - John Payne & Maureen O’Hara, Randolph Scott, Pat O’Brien
- *Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - Barbara Stanwyck & Dennis Morgan,
- Deep Valley (1947) - Ida Lupino & Dane Clark, Wayne Morris, Fay Bainter, Henry Hull
- Fighter Squadron (1948) - Edmund O’Brien, Robert Stack, Rock Hudson
- The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) - Joan Crawford
- My Man and I (1952) - Ricardo Montalban & Shelley Winters, Claire Trevor, Wendell Corey, Jack Elam
- Dangerous Mission (1954) - Victor Mature & Piper Laurie, Vincent Price, William Bendix, Bette St. John
- *White Christmas (1954) - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes
- Bombers B-52 (1957) - Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Karl Malden, Natalie Wood, Marsha Hunt
- *We’re No Angels (1957) - Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennett, Leo G. Carroll, Basil Rathbone
- The Cat O’Nine Tails (1971) - Karl Malden
- *Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) - Alan Young
- Explorers (1985) - Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Jason Presson
- The Mosquito Coast (1986) - Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton
- *Home Alone (1990) - Macaulay Culkin
- The Thing Called Love (1993) - River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Sandra Bullock
- I Spy (2002) - Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson
- *Elf (2003) - Will Ferrell & Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner
- *The Lake House (2006) - Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer
- Destination Wedding (2018) - Winona Ryder & Keanu Reeves
- Gemini Man (2019) - Will Smith
- Last Christmas (2019) - Emilia Clarke & Henry Golding, Emma Thompson
- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - Gal Gadot & Chris Pine, Kristin Wiig
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020)
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Movies I Watched in November
This month I started watching The Donna Reed Show (free with ads on IMDb TV - watched half of season 1 with my aunt last year) and season 4 of The Crown.
- Too Many Kisses (1925) - Richard Dix, William Powell, Harpo Marx
- A Successful Calamity (1932) - George Arliss & Mary Astor
- Penthouse (1933) - Warner Baxter & Myrna Loy, Mae Clarke
- The Vampire Bat (1933) - Melvyn Douglas & Fay Ray, Lionel Atwill
- *The Smiling Ghost (1941) - Wayne Morris, Brenda Marshall, Alexis Smith, Willie Best, Alan Hale
- *Whistling in the Dark (1941) - Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford, Virginia Grey, Rags Ragland, Eve Arden
- Whistling in Dixie (1942) - Red Skelton & Ann Rutherford, Diana Lewis
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - Joseph Cotten, Tim Holt, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead
- *Ball of Fire (1942) - Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews, S.Z. Sakall, Henry Travers
- Whistling in Brooklyn (1943) - Red Skelton & Ann Rutherford, Rags Ragland, William Frawley
- The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) - Irene Dunne & Alan Marshall, Gladys Cooper, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Roddy McDowell, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford, Van Johnson
- Mr. Skeffington (1944) - Bette Davis & Claude Rains
- Two O’Clock Courage (1945) - Tom Conway & Ann Rutherford
- *It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) - James Stewart & Donna Reed, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell, Gloria Graham, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond
- Deception (1946) - Bette Davis & Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
- Dead Reckoning (1947) - Humphrey Bogart & Lizabeth Scott
- *Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara & John Payne, Natalie Wood
- *Red River (1948) - John Wayne, Montgomery Clift & Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, John Ireland, Harry Carey, Harry Carey Jr.
- The Woman on Pier 13 (1950) - Robert Ryan & Lorraine Day, John Agar
- Harriet Craig (1950) - Joan Crawford & Wendell Corey
- *Mara Maru (1952) - Errol Flynn & Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr
- Top Secret Affair (1957) - Kirk Douglas & Susan Hayward, Jim Backus
- Good Day for a Hanging (1959) - Fred MacMurray, Robert Vaughn, Joan Blackman
- The Great Impostor (1960) - Tony Curtis, Karl Malden, Gary Merrill, Edmund O’Brien, Joan Blackman
- G. I. Blues (1960) - Elvis Presley & Juliet Prowse
- The Candidate (1972) - Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas
- Running on Empty (1988) - River Phoenix & Martha Plimpton
- Dogfight (1991) - River Phoenix & Lili Taylor
















