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?

Movies I Watched in December

Didn't watch as many Christmas movies this month as in past Decembers. I'm still watching Father Knows Best and started Frasier - I've been wanting to rewatch it for a while. Was very excited to receive Allison Macor's book, Making The Best Years of Our Lives, for Christmas! I also got the Wizard of Oz "Horse of a Different Color" Hallmark ornament (unfortunately the batteries it came with were already corroded and I haven't bought any new ones yet so I haven't actually seen it light up).

1. A Christmas Carol (1938) - Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Ann Rutherford
2. Q Planes/Clouds Over Europe (1939) - Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier, Valerie Hobson
3. 49th Parallel (1941) - Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, Glynis Johns
4. A Stranger in Town (1943) - Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson
5. Black Angel (1946) - Dan Duryea & June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford
6. Gilda (1946) - Rita Hayworth & Glenn Ford
7. Fun on a Weekend (1947) - Eddie Bracken & Priscilla Lane, Tom Conway, Allen Jenkins
8. I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948) - Don Castle & Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey
9. Good Sam (1948) - Gary Cooper & Ann Sheridan
10. *On Dangerous Ground (1951) - Robert Ryan & Ida Lupino, Ward Bond
11. All I Desire (1953) - Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Maureen O'Sullivan, Billy Gray
12. *White Christmas (1954) - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes
13. The Admirable Crichton (1957) - Kenneth More, Sally Anne Howes
14. A Night to Remember (1958) - Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, David McCallum, Laurence Naismith
15. *Sail a Crooked Ship (1961) - Robert Wagner & Dolores Hart, Ernie Kovacs, Carolyn Jones
16. Experiment in Terror (1962) - Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Stephanie Powers
17. Prescription: Murder (1968) - Peter Falk, Gene Barry, Nina Foch
18. *Elf (2003) - Will Farrall & Zoey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, James Caan, Ed Asner
19. *The Holiday (2007) - Kate Winslet & Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Cameron Diaz & Jude Law

Least Favorite Film: I only watched the noir I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes because it was a "rarely seen film." I definitely expected to see some dancing though and there wasn't any. Also have no idea how they were going to condemn him to the electric chair literally on circumstantial evidence!

Favorite Movie: A very good month. I highly recommend The Admirable Crichton - think Downton Abbey meets Gilligan's Island. Good Sam was unusual but very funny. I also really enjoyed Q Planes. And of course 49th Parallel, being a Powell and Pressburger film, was beautifully shot. 

Favorite Line: "Less enthusiasm, please! This is Britain!" ~ newspaper editor in Q Planes.

Keep an eye out for my end-of-year movie stats post!

Movies I Watched in November

I guess Alfred from Miracle on 34th Street still has a complex that 

compels him to play Santa Claus. Seen here with Thelma Ritter (who 

was also in Miracle on 34th Street!) in The Proud and Profane (1958).

It was a good Noirvember. I've never watched this many noirs in one month! After I watched Abandoned on Noir Alley I looked up more Dennis O'Keefe movies on Tubi. Cover Up is a good noir to transition from Noirvember to Christmas :) I also watched watched several Glenn Ford noirs. How many noirs did you watch? 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Thieves Fall Out (1941) - Eddie Albert & Joan Leslie, Jane Darwell, Alan Hale
2. *The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - Fredric March & Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews & Teresa Wright, Harold Russell & Cathy O’Donnell, Virginia Mayo, Hoagy Carmichael 
3. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Judith Anderson
4. *Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara & John Payne, Natalie Wood
5. T-Men (1947) - Dennis O'Keefe, Wallace Ford, Charles McGraw
6. Framed (1947) - Glenn Ford
7. The Dark Past (1948) - William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Nina Foch
8. Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) - Dennis O'Keefe, Raymond Burr
9. Cover Up (1949) - Dennis O'Keefe & Barbara Britton, William Bendix
10. Abandoned (1949) - Dennis O'Keefe & Gale Storm, Raymond Burr
11. Affair in Trinidad (1952) - Glenn Ford & Rita Hayworth
12. The Big Heat (1953) - Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin
13. Human Desire (1954) - Glenn Ford & Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford
14. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - Richard Carlson & Julie Adams
15. Storm Fear (1955) - Cornel Wilde
16. The Proud and Profane (1956) - Deborah Kerr & William Holden, Thelma Ritter
17. The Black Bird (1975) - George Segal ("sequel" to The Maltese Falcon)
18. The Cheap Detective (1978) - Peter Falk
19. The Concorde... Airport ‘79 (1979) - Alain Delon, George Kennedy, Eddie Albert
20. *Moonstruck (1987) - Cher, Nicholas Cage
21. JFK (1991) - Kevin Costner
22. *You’ve Got Mail (1998) - Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks

Least Favorite Film: I did not like The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. I had started watching it once and stopped it when Judith Anderson killed the cat. My brother told me it was good so I gave it another shot. I just didn't like it.

Favorite Movie: If you like spoofs than The Cheap Detective is a must watch. It spoofs The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, with a little bit of To Have and Have Not. It was so funny. 

Can you tell who this is a sketch of? From The Proud and Profane (1956).

Movies I Watched in October

What does Gene Tierney always see in Vincent Price? Lol

Checked off some movies I've been wanting to watch for a while this month. I’ve also been binging Father Knows Best (spotted a couple recycles-see one at the bottom of the post) and started reading Tony Curtis' memoir, American Prince, which I got for a quarter at the library book nook. A little TMI but still an interesting read.

* indicates a rewatch

1. Here Comes Happiness (1941) - Mildred Coles, Edward Norris
2. The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) - Fay Bainter, Edward Arnold, Richard Ney, Van Johnson, Spring Byington
3. Shadow of a Woman (1946) - Helmut Dantine & Andrea King
4. Dragonwyck (1946) - Gene Tierney & Vincent Price, Spring Byington, Anne Revere, Walter Huston
5. A Woman of Distinction (1950) - Rosalind Russell & Ray Milland, Edmund Gwenn
6. Boots Malone (1952) - William Holden
7. Bad for Each Other (1953) - Charlton Heston & Lizabeth Scott
8. Storm Center (1956) - Bette Davis 
9. *Operation Petticoat (1959) - Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Dina Merrill
10. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) - Todd Armstrong, Honor Blackman, Nancy Kovack, Laurence Naismith
11. Mirage (1965) - Gregory Peck & Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy
12. Who’s Minding the Mint? (1967) - Jim Hutton, Dorothy Provine, Walter Brennan, Milton Berle, Joey Bishop
13. No Escape (1994) - Ray Liotta
14. Corrina, Corrina (1994) - Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Majorino, Ray Liotta, Don Ameche (final film)
15. A Perfect Murder (1998) - Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortenson

Least Favorite Film: Storm Center, while not a bad movie, isn't a movie anyone's going to watch more than once. For a book lover, it was tough watching the library burn. 

Favorite Movie: A Woman of Distinction was funny, though I don't really see anyone falling that quick for older Ray Milland. Sadly, it's not on dvd. I watched it on tubi before it was removed, but I'm sure it will show up on there again. There's a fair copy on youtube. I finally got to watch Who’s Minding the Mint?, which I've been wanting to see for a while. It was very funny and a little stressful. My favorite moment was when Dorothy Provine was tiptoeing in her ballet slippers. Mirage felt similar to a Hitchcock film but without any of Hitchcock's signature humor. 

Leaf print couch in the Anderson's den on Father Knows Best...

...the same couch in Storm Center (1956)!! Both were filmed at Columbia Studios.

Missed My Blog Anniversary...

That face you make when you realize you've missed your blog anniversary... again. 

October 8th marked nine years since I began this blog. In 2019 I shared a list with my favorite film from each year starting with 1928 and the following year I filled in a few blanks from years I had skipped because I either hadn’t seen any from that year or the ones I had seen I didn’t really care for. Here are a few more “blanks” I've filled in: 

1929 - The Love Parade 

1970 - (I need some recommendations for this year lol. The only 1970 film I've seen is Airport)

1971 - Fools' Parade - James Stewart, Kurt Russell

1974 - The Towering Inferno (could change)

CHANGE 1984 from Protocol (Goldie Hawn) to - Swing Shift - Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell

CHANGE 1986 from The Three Amigos! to - Tough Guys - Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach

1991 - Oscar - Sylvester Stallone

2013 - Safe Haven - Jullianne Hough & Josh Duhamel

CHANGE 2018 from Like Father to - Destination Wedding - Keanu Reeves & Wynona Rider

2020 - The Lost Husband - Josh Duhamel

2021 - Jungle Cruise - Dwayne Johnson & Emily Blunt

2022 - Downton Abbey: A New Era

2023 - haven't seen any yet

One day I hope to start my different series up again and get back into hosting blogathons. Thank you to those who keep sticking around this barren landscape lol :/