RIP Leslie Nielsen

1926-2010

“You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.

A hospital--what is it?

It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.”

- Airplane (1980)

A great actor both in drama and comedy, Nielsen always exuded an easy charm and seemed totally down-to-earth despite being one of the most popular comedians of the eighties and nineties, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I would have loved to have spent a few hours in his company, I'm always looking for a great laugh.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

As always, I am thankful for channels like TCM and people like me who like to watch channels like TCM. Have a wonderful and safe holiday everyone!!

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Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Kay Miniver (Greer Garson) and her husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon) live a comfortable life with their three children in a village outside London. As World War II looms, the Minivers and people of the village can still afford to squabble over mundane issues. Like when Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers) enters his beautiful rose- the “Mrs. Miniver” into the village flower show causing the village to be divided by those who believe the working class man has a right to give Lady Beldon a little competition and those who think it outrageous for Mr. Ballard to challenge the current social status by entering the rose to compete with the the Beldon rose. Too, there is time for a relationship to grow between Vin (Richard Ney), the Miniver’s oldest son who is down from university and Carol Beldon (Teresa Wright), granddaughter of Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty) from nearby Beldon Hall. Despite initial disagreements over their ideals when it comes to class restrictions, they fall in love and eventually marry, knowing they may only have a short time to love one another as the war moves closer and closer to home.

When the war does come, we find a village united with the Miniver’s doing their part. Clem helps in the Dunkirk evacuation, Vin becomes a fighter pilot, and Kay deals with a wounded and hostile German officer who is in enemy territory. All the while they must suffer through air raids, bombings, and the ever increasing knowledge that they may all not make it out of this battle alive.
After the flower show competition where Mr Ballard’s rose wins, Kay and Carol are slowly making their way back when an air attack begins. Thinking it prudent to stop the car, Kay reassures Carol that all will be well however, Carol is wounded by gunfire from a German plane. When she dies a few minutes after they reach home, Kay is devastated. Here the whole focus has been on Vin getting safely back home from a dangerous mission and Carol becomes the casualty.

Once Vin returns home, the village gathers in the remains of their local church where the vicar (Henry Wilcoxon), affirms their determination in a powerful sermon:

"We in this quiet corner of England have suffered the loss of friends very dear to us, some close to this church. George West, choirboy. James Ballard, stationmaster and bellringer, and the proud winner only an hour before his death of the Beldon Cup for his beautiful Miniver Rose. And our hearts go out in sympathy to the two families who share the cruel loss of a young girl who was married at this altar only two weeks ago.
"The homes of many of us have been destroyed, and the lives of young and old have been taken. There's scarcely a household that hasn't been struck to the heart.
"And why? Surely you must have asked yourselves this question? Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness? Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed?
"I shall tell you why. Because this is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is the war of the people, of all the people. And it must be fought not only on the battlefield but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home and in the heart of every man, woman and child who loves freedom.
"Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves, and those who come after us, from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down.
"This is the People's War! It is our war! We are the fighters! Fight it then! Fight it with all that is in us! And may God defend the right."

Mrs. Miniver is a an emotionally moving film with unexpected results. I was unnerved at how wonderfully well Garson and Pidgeon displayed their fear and strength. The film realistically shows not only the terror of living in a war zone but how a people can rise against adversity. Simply a must see!

Trivia: Some may have been a little unnerved when they heard Mrs. Minniver married her son Vin shortly after they made this film. ;)


Tonight on TCM!
Mr. Imperium (1951) An exiled king and a film star try to rekindle a romance from the past.

Cast: Lana Turner, Ezio Pinza, Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan Dir: Don Hartman

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Camera Shot!

 Loy and Powell in The Thin Man

 Crawford and Robertson in Autumn Leaves

 Todd and Berrymore in The Paradine Case

 Bergman and Bogart in Casablanca

 Henry as Alice and Hollway as Frog in Alice In Wonderland

 Swanson and Holden in Sunset Boulevard

Davis in Essex and Elizabeth

Tonight on TCM!

The Terror (1963) A lost soldier discovers a mysterious beauty haunting a half-deserted castle.
Cast: Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Richard Miller Dir: Roger Corman

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Stiff Competition!

Alice White

Boris Karloff

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Classic Film Survey!

A big thanks to Bette over at Bette's Classic Movie blog for a great survey!

1. Favourite Actor? Fredric March
2. Actress? Joan Crawford
3. Judy Holliday: love her or hate her? Love her!

4. Steve McQueen, Errol Flynn and Laurence Olivier. Who out of the names listed do you think would be most likely to don a sword and shield and confront a dragon? Currently reading David Niven’s Bring On the Empty Horses and he used to live with Flynn and said the man lived for fighting.


5. From dragon slaying to sheer madness (not that much of a leap), which crazy movie do you like best: Sunset Boulevard or Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? Definitely WHTBJ! It has my two favorite actresses in it!

6. What do you think is the best movie book ever made? To Kill A Mockingbird
7. Who do you think is the most attractive male movie star? Fredric March
8. Female movie star? Vivien Leigh
9. If you had to be a maid/butler to someone, who would it be? Joan Blondell- I bet she would have been fun to work for.



10. Who do you think Cary Grant worked best with? Katharine Hepburn



11. Do you like black and white movies more than colour movies? Yes! Yes! Yes!
12. 1930s films or 1960s films? 1930s
13. Who would you rather be: a Margo Channing or an Ilsa Lund? Definitely Margot- so smart and independent!

14. Is there ever a film you have seen that you thought would be funnier if meerkats played the leads? Ha! Funny! Probably any of the Marx Brother films.
15. What is your favourite "Oh my goodness" phrase from a movie? Joan Crawford’s line in The Women: “There's a name for you ladies but it isn't used in high society outside of a kennel." Most classy way to call someone the b-word!



16. Favourite "Yee Haw" classic movie phrase? McClintock! Is full of great quotes. I especially like the scene that involved this one, “I know, I know. I'm gonna use good judgement. I haven't lost my temper in forty years, but pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got somebody killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't, I won't. The *hell* I won't!”
17. You and your family have to agree on a movie for a night in. What will it always be? Arthur
18. Doris Day: Dramatic or Frothy? Not sure what you mean by frothy. She was great dramatically in Man with a Horn and hilarious in That Touch of Mink. I prefer her funny though.

19. What male team did you think did a great job in a movie, but never made another one together? Gary Cooper and Fredric March in Design for Living.


20. You have been asked by your friend to choose your favourite movie title. What is it? Death Takes a Holiday.
21. This is just out of curiosity... have you at some point experienced rivalry on a I-have-seen-that-and-you-haven't level? Nope.
22. Most romantic film you have ever seen... The Quiet Man.



23. What was the film that really got you into old films? The Thin Man.

Tonight on TCM! Charlie Chaplin Magic!


The Kid( 1921)
In this silent comedy, an adoptive father schemes to keep his son. Cast: Jackie Coogan, Edna Purviance, Carl Miller, Charles Chaplin Dir: Charles Chaplin


The Pilgrim(1923)
In this silent film, an escaped convict poses as the new pastor of a small-town church. Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Kitty Bradbury, Mack Swain Dir: Charles Chaplin

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M (1931)

An absolutely stunning and absorbing film M is a must see! Lorre gives a chilling, yet very moving portrayal of cinema's first serial (not cereal) killer.

When yet another child disappears and is presumed dead, the police are faced with an angry city made angrier by their invasive investigation tactics- none more so than the underworld of the city who cannot conduct their crime per usual due to all the police raids. In a Capra-esque fashion, the viewer is treated to how such a case and the public’s hysterical reaction to it can have bother a positive and negative effect.
We have the police explaining why they must follow every clue, stirring up resentment amongst the locals while lamenting about all the useless information that floods in by those very same locals. We see innocent people wrongly accused due to prior prejudice and the mounting fear created by the latest disappearance. Most importantly, we see vigilante justice in the form of a kangaroo court ironically led by murderers and thieves.
A film very much ahead of its time both technically -with the use of voice-over narration and silence during the opening credits, and socially- as Lang plays devil’s advocate by giving Hans a voice to speak on behalf of the clinically insane. The viewer is exposed to the murderer’s point of view.

Hans Beckert: It's there all the time, driving me out to wander the streets, following me, silently, but I can feel it there. It's me, pursuing myself! I want to escape, to escape from myself! But it's impossible. I can't escape, I have to obey it. I have to run, run... endless streets. I want to escape, to get away! And I'm pursued by ghosts. Ghosts of mothers and of those children... they never leave me. They are always there... always, always, always!, except when I do it, when I... Then I can't remember anything. And afterwards I see those posters and read what I've done, and read, and read... did I do that? But I can't remember anything about it! But who will believe me? Who knows what it's like to be me? How I'm forced to act... how I must, must... don't want to, must! Don't want to, but must! And then a voice screams! I can't bear to hear it! I can't go on! I can't... I can't...

Filmed as the Nazi party was consolidating its power and shortly before Hitler ascended to the chancellorship, the irony of M’s kangaroo court is hard to ignore. As Hans speaks passionately about his disease, Schränker (played by Gustaf Gründgens, who subsequently had a successful acting career under Nazi rule) focuses on only one thing- that Hans (played by Peter Lorre who in 1933 fled Germany to take refuge in Paris) has admitted to being a compulsive murderer, prompting Schränker to declare that anyone who admits to such compulsions should be wiped out, eliminated. The irony extends behind the scenes with director Fritz Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou who had been married since 1922 and co-wrote both the futuristic Metropolis and M. Thea von Harbou eventually joined the Nazi party and became one of the top screenwriters for Nazi propaganda films while Lang, like Lorre eventually fled Germany as he too was of Jewish descent.

The film ends with a mother stating, “This won't bring back our children. We, too, should keep a closer watch on our children.” Indeed.


Tonight on TCM!
Spend the evening with Don Knotts!

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Speakeasy: Errol Flynn

For those of you that may be unable to see it, Flynn is reading from a sexual behavior book.

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Hooray Hurrell!

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The Many Mini Review

A little boring for an early Montgomery film.

Great lines in this movie, Bacall at her most seductive.

TRIVIA: Bacall and Bogie used the nicknames “Slim” and “Steve” as an homage to Hawks who his wife “Slim” called Steve. Slim is the one who discovered Bacall.

Not the most hilarious of the Lombard comedies but enjoyable nonetheless.

Kay Francis plays a nasty creature in this film. Very satisfying ending.

Hilarious film, especially Powell as a woman.

Trivia: William Powell had a mustache for the entire length of his career, but shaved it off when dressed as a woman.

A little too lengthy but worth the watch to see Cagney dance!

Slightly boring fare, but Brennan acting without his teeth is most entertaining.

Trivia: Known for being difficult on the set, Miriam Hopkins, from the onset did not get along with Robinson. She loudly complained to director Howard Hawks that Robinson was too short and demanded he stand on a box while shooting scenes with her. Robinson, in turn, requested she take her heels off. Well, tension was so bad on the set that when a scene that required Robinson to slap Hopkins took place, he did slap her…hard. It’s rumored that the rest of the cast and crew applauded.

Barbary Coast is also the vehicle that gave David Niven his screen start in a bit role as a Cockney sailor who is thrown out a window into the mud and moved Walter Brennan from a bit player to co-star status.

Barrymore scores another silent hit with his Mr. Hyde which is the scariest out of the three major DJMH films made. But March's is the best overall, in my opinion.

Trivia: Later in Barrymore's life, his fourth and last wife Elaine Barrie used to promise him a beer if he would do his Mr. Hyde impression. He was so successful in scaring the bejesus out of her, that in his triumph, he would forget all about the promised beer.

Was tedious and rarely funny for a Lombard comedy.

Russell and Redgrave are wonderful in this drama. Very good story line though a bit lengthy.

Trivia: in her book, Life Is A Banquet, Russell had this to say about Mourning becomes Electra: "I wanted to play the mother- I was a little too young, but I could have done it- with Olivia De Havilland playing Lavinia, the daughter, but Dudley [director] insisted I do the daughter. It was murder. Katina Paxinou [who played the mother] screaming and yelling all over the set; Michael Redgrave, a hell of a good actor, but nervous, taking pills to calm himself; Dudley refusing to change a single line because Eugene O'Neill was his idol. One gracenote in the discord of Electra: I received a rare, handwritten note from Eugene O'Neill telling me how he loved my performance as Lavinia."

Tone over Pidgeon? Don't think so. I could have done with less Tone and more scenes with Pidgeon in them.

A wonderful film. Hepburn is so beautiful and haunting.

With lots of wonderful cameos from big stars of the day, spotting them is worth sitting through the tedious plotline. Also, Blondell is always a treat.

Another thirties-like plotline involving money and divorce- this one has a interesting twist in the end. Don't expect much from Davis, she's mostly there for the scenery.

Good interaction between two great stars. It's funny to see Tracy playing a typical mug complete with bad suits, manners, and lingo.

TRIVIA: Kanin wrote this film specifically for Hepburn after seeing her ably play against tennis pros. He thought that her fans would like to see the athletic side of her.

A treat to finally see Navarro act and speak. He's absolutely adorable!

Not really hep to this film. Found it hard to believe that Henry Fonda got himself mixed up in it. Mostly tedious except for the sexual innuendo throughout.

Heartwarming story with some funny dialogue delivered by a cantankerous Barrymore and Watson who plays his adoring grandson.

A solid performance from Newman and Pidgeon but I kinda wish they had dug a little deeper into the past of the father and son, given more detail to why Captain Hall did what he did. Guess I am just used to court dramas from the 80's and 90's.

A good film and aptly performed by Tracy who plays a man with a serious and soon to be proven conviction.

TRIVIA: In his autobiography, Elia Kazan said of this film: "It's the only picture I've ever made that I'm ashamed of. Don't see it."

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