Movies I Watched in August

This month I rewatched the first two seasons of The Nanny. I also watched season 1 of A Man on the Inside (2024-present) on Netflix starring Ted Danson. Highly recommend. Funny and heartfelt. Season 2 comes out Nov. 20th. 

1. *The Conspirators (1944) - Paul Henreid & Hedy Lamarr, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre
2. *To Have and Have Not (1944) - Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, Hoagy Carmichael
3. *The Captive Heart (1946) - Michael Redgrave, Mervyn Johns
4. The Walking Hills (1949) - Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, John Ireland, Arthur Kennedy
5. Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) - Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack, Chuck Conners, Marshall Thompson
6. Johnny Tremain (1957) - Hal Stalmaster, Sebastian Cabot, Richerd Beymer
7. Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) - Randolph Scott, James Garner, James Craig, Angie Dickinson
8. The Americanization of Emily (1964) - James Garner & Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn
9. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - Michael Caine, Steve Martin
10. Message in a Bottle (1999) - Kevin Costner & Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman
11. Enola Holmes 2 (2022) - Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter
12. The Thursday Murder Club (2025) - Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant

Least Favorite Film: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The beginning was funny. And the last 15 minutes of Message in a Bottle. 

Favorite Movie: I really enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club. I was afraid it might be too gory but thankfully it wasn't. I hope Netflix makes a sequel. There was one scene with Helen Mirren that I just loved. 

Movies I Watched in July

My brother bought a month of Netflix so I was able to watch the handful of things on there I've been wanting to watch for a while, including the show Manifest. It was so good!!! If you like suspenseful time-travel/save-the-world shows than this is for you. Here's the season 1 trailer: 

There were also several Netflix Original documentaries I wanted to watch. They are listed below the movies. I tried watching a WWII one but they colorized all of the black and white footage and it was really distracting. 

Started listening to season 6 of “The Plot Thickens” on the making of Cleopatra (1963). 

* indicates a rewatch

1. Hot Tip (1935) - James Gleason, Zasu Pitts
2. Day-Time Wife (1939) - Tyrone Power & Linda Darnell, Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie
3. This Side of the Law (1948/50) - Kent Smith, Viveca Lindfors, Janis Paige
4. *Roman Holiday (1953) - Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert
5. Cleopatra (1963) - Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Hume Cronyn, Roddy McDowell
6. For Love of the Game (1999) - Kevin Costner & Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, J. K. Simmons
7. *Safe Haven (2013) - Julianne Hough & Josh Duhamel
8. *The Lost Husband (2020) - Leslie Bibb & Josh Duhamel
9. Enola Holmes (2020) - Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helen Bonham Carter
10. The Dig (2021) - Ralph Fiennes, Carrey Mulligan, Lily James
11. Blackout (2022) - Josh Duhamel
12. Operation Mincemeat (2022) - Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Penelope Wilton

The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014) - Bing Russell, Kurt Russell

Sly (2023) - Netflix doc on Sylvester Stallone, HIGHLY recommend for Rocky fans

Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley (2024) - mainly about the '68 Special

Martha (2024) - Stewart

Least Favorite Film: I watched about half of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962). It was extremely boring and Glenn Ford had zero chemistry with his co-star. Poor Lee J. Cobb was playing his grandfather for the first 20 minutes and came across as a cartoonish character.

Favorite Movie: I was surprised with how much I liked Enola Holmes. The Dig was an interesting film (though the Lily James storyline could have easily been cut - it didn't really add anything). Eddie Muller may not have cared for This Side of the Law but I enjoyed the atmosphere of the film. And Day-Time Wife was cute, even if the plot is an overdone one. 

This Side of the Law (1950) - Janis Paige

Movies I Watched in June

90s month anyone? I had to rewatch Joe Versus the Volcano when I saw that Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges were in it. When I first saw it in my early 20s I thought it was just weird. I liked it better this time. Meg Ryan was very funny in it and was able to make each character feel unique. My brother wanted me to watch Hard Rain. He remembers acting it out with his action figures when he was little lol. Watched the very first season of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? It was a favorite growing up. I didn't recognize all of the episodes. The last episode of the season had "Sydney Greenstreet" and "Peter Lorre" villains. I started reading A Many-Splendored Thing by Han Suyin. The William Holden/Jennifer Jones film is based on the memoir. It has some lovely sentences describing the moon and stars.

* indicates a rewatch

1. The Skin Game (1931) - Edmund Gwenn
2. Paris Interlude (1934) - Robert Young, Madge Evans, Otto Kruger, Una Merkel 
3. Murder in the Fleet (1935) - Robert Taylor, Nat Pendleton, Una Merkel
4. *Summertime (1955) - Katharine Hepburn & Rossano Brazzi
5. Land of the Pharaohs (1955) - Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins
6. Armored Command (1961) - Howard Keel, Earl Hollaman, Tina Louise, Burt Reynolds
7. The Man Who Would Be King (1975) - Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer
8. *Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) - Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Ossie Davis
9. Point Break (1991) - Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze
10. *Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O’Donnell, Rita Wilson, Rob Reiner 
11. *Sense and Sensibility (1995) - Emma Thompson, Alan Rickma, Kate Wislet, Hugh Grant
12. Hard Rain (1998) - Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, Ed Asner
13. Penelope (2006) - Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Reese Witherspoon, Simon Woods, Richard E. Grant
14. *Becoming Jane (2007) - Anne Hathaway & James McAvoy, Maggie Smith

Discovering Sean Connery (2019) - really good documentary on kanopy!

Elvis... He Loved Me First (2023) - home video footage from 1955, also on kanopy

Least Favorite Film: I love surfing movies but Point Break did not make the cut. Wasn't much on The Skin Game. The topic is distressful for me - sacrificing beauty in the course of modernizing.

Favorite Movie: Really enjoyed The Man Who Would Be King. Highly recommend (it's on Tubi). Christopher Plummer is practically unrecognizable! Was hanging out with a friend and she put on Penelope. It was actually really funny!

Movies I Watched in May

This month ended up being Charlton Heston and Jack Hawkins month. I also started reading several movie star autobiographies including Ronald Colman: A Very Private Person by his daughter Juliet Benita Colman, Anything for a Quiet Life by Jack Hawkins, and Pieces of My Heart by Robert Wagner (with Scott Eyman). I picked up the Wagner book at a thrift store for a dollar but it's very tmi. I will probably donate it back. I really liked the book by him I read last month though. 

* indicates a rewatch

1. The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) - Vilma Banksy, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper
2. Personal Maid's Secret (1935) - Ruth Donnaly, Margaret Lindsey, Anita Louise
3. Fires Were Started (1943) - real civilian firefighters
4. *Force of Arms (1951) - William Holden & Nancy Olson
5. *When in Rome (1952) - Van Johnson, Paul Douglas
6. The Planter's Wife/Outpost in Malaya (1952) - Jack Hawkins & Claudette Colbert
7. The Cruel Sea (1953) - Jack Hawkins
8. The President's Lady (1953) - Charlton Heston & Susan Hayward
9. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
10. *Ben-Hur (1959) - Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Steven Boyd, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Finlay Currie
11. 55 Days at Peking (1963) - Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, Leo Genn
12. Planet of the Apes (1968) - Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Kim Hunter, James Whitmore
13. *Moonstruck (1987) - Cher, Nicholas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Vincent Gardenia
14. *Tequila Sunrise (1988) - Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell
15. The Man Without a Face (1993) - Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl
16. *Persuasion (1995) - Amanda Root & Ciaran Hinds
17. *Soldier (1998) - Kurt Russell, Connie Nielson
18. The Majestic (2001) - Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, James Whitmore, David Ogden Stiers
19. Sky High (2005) - Kurt Russell, Lynda Carter
20. *Austenland (2013) - Kerri Russell, JJ Feild, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour

*Pride and Prejudice (1995) - Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle

Least Favorite Film: I watched about an hour of Duel in the Sun (1946) but didn't care for it. I didn't like seeing Gregory Peck play a creep. I was in a Charlton Heston mood after revising Ben-Hur for the first time since I was in high school and so ended up watching Planet of the Apes. It was ok - the score was a little unsettling. 

Favorite Movie: If you're a Ronald Colman fan you HAVE to watch The Winning of Barbara Worth. Swoon! And I definitely recommend The Majestic. It's set during the McCarthy Witch Hunt. 

Cinema Wedding Gowns: Arizona (1940)

This post was one of the more difficult ones to put together because I had over 40 screenshots to choose from due to Jean Arthur wearing today's wedding gown for several scenes and the dress itself having so much detail.

We will start with some full-length shots.

It's difficult to know how to describe this gown. There are tiers and ruffles and lace and possibly some beadwork. The skirt is gathered and wonderfully full with beautiful movement. 

Jean Arthur appeared on the cover of the September 1940 issue of Arizona Highways wearing the wedding gown (sans veil). There was also a six-page spread about the film. You can view the entire magazine here! Click the download symbol to view a pdf of the magazine. This is the clearest picture of the gown I could find and it also shows the hem and tiers really well. It could easily look too fussy but somehow doesn't.

In this shot we get an excellent view of the waist and bodice detail. Note the lacework "stripes: on the bodice under the collar section, sleeves, and going down the skirt. 

This shows the "stripes" on the skirt a little better. 

The dress has a scoop neckline with drop shoulders and balloon sleeves.

Another shot. If you're wondering why Jean Arthur doesn't look too happy it's because right after the wedding William Holden has a gunfight scheduled. I have to say, she's taking it much better than I would have ;)

The veil doesn't look historically accurate to me but I love it so much. The lace is exquisite. 

She wears it almost as if it were a shawl.

It comes down to a point on the sides.

On most women the bow could look silly but Jean makes it work. Such a pretty curled updo!

Another look at the bow as well as her beaded choker.

Just because ;) *swoon*

Spoiler: He survives the gunfight.

Movies I Watched in April

The Passionate Friends (1949)

Not a lot of movies this month but, as you can see, I watched several documentaries. I read Robert Wagner's (with Scott Eyman) I Loved Her in the Movies (recommend!). 

My friend invited me to go see the 2005 Pride & Prejudice with her in theaters (20th Anniversary). I had seen it once before (one of the first Austen works I ever saw if not THE first - I literally only remembered the rain proposal scene and that Bingley looked stupid) and had disliked it at the time. I had no plans to ever watch it again but am very glad that I gave it a second chance. I really liked it this time and seeing it on the big screen, especially the lush English countryside, made it more special. The cinematography was lovely and some of the camera shots felt very innovative. I will definitely watch it again (I still didn't like Bingley though).

* indicates a rewatch

1. The Seventh Veil (1945) - Ann Todd, James Mason
2. Great Day (1946) - Eric Portman, Flora Robson, Sheila Sim
3. The Passionate Friends (1949) - Ann Todd, Claude Rains, Trevor Howard
4. The Thing from Another World (1951) - James Arness, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer
5. The Prowler (1951) - Van Heflin & Evelyn Keyes
6. Hell's Half Acre (1954) - Wendall Corey, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Marie Windsor
7. *Blue Hawaii (1961) - Elvis Presley & Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury
8. No, My Darling Daughter (1961) - Juliet Mills, Michael Redgrave, Roger Livesey, Michael Craig
9. *Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Kiera Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamond Pike, Donald Sutherland

The Liberty Story (1957-Disney) - clips of Johnny Tremain (1957) + Ben and Me (1955) animated short

Walt & El Grupo (2009) - Disney documentary

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (2022 mini-series) - Will Poulter

The Untold Story of "Mary Poppins" (2024) - 60th Anniversary documentary

Frasier (2024) - Season 2

Least Favorite Film: Started 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) but wasn't getting into it so stopped (I've never been much on Kirk Douglas). The end of The Seventh Veil does NOT hold up...

Favorite Movie: Not a movie but I really liked Why Didn't They Ask Evans? If you are an Agatha Christie fan I recommend it. I also really enjoyed No, My Darling Daughter. It was very funny. It's on YouTube. The location shooting in The Passionate Friends was gorgeous! Definitely have to keep an eye on your wife though if Trevor Howard is around ;)

Favorite Quote: There was a speech by Eric Portman in Great Day that I liked but I didn't write it down.

The Passionate Friends (1949)

Cinema Wedding Gowns: Joe MacBeth (1956)

This installment of Cinema Wedding Gowns takes a look at what one wears to marry the right-hand man of a prominent mobster - that also happens to be based on a Shakespeare play.

It's just a quiet afternoon wedding with no guests - and the groom has already missed his wedding multiple times due to his *clears throat* job. A simple midi-length sheath in ivory satin is satisfactory.

A fingertip length tulle veil attached to a beaded hat frames the face nicely and helps soften an angry face when he's late. Again.

A dramatic, beaded, stand-up collar should also help... maybe