Category: Monday Movies

Monday Movie - July 25th, 2022 (Easy Come, Easy Go)

7/25/2022

Easy Come, Easy Go
starring
Elvis Presley ■ Dodie Marshall ■ Pat Priest ■ Pat Harrington ■
Skip Ward ■ Frank McHugh ■ Elsa Lanchester

United States Navy officer Lieutenant Junior Grade (j.g.) Ted Jackson (Elvis Presley) is a former U.S. Navy frogman who divides his time between twin careers as a deep sea diver and nightclub singer. Ted discovers what he believes could be a fortune in Spanish gold aboard a sunken ship and sets out to rescue it with the help of go-go dancing yoga expert Jo Symington (Dodie Marshall) and friend Judd Whitman (Pat Harrington, Jr.). Gil Carey (Skip Ward), however, is also after the treasure and uses his girlfriend Dina Bishop (Pat Priest) to foil Ted's plans.

(1967)

Excitement! Adventure Under the Sea!

I honestly don't know why but Easy Come, Easy Go is one of, if not the, my favorite Elvis movies. I sincerely enjoy the entire spectacle from the music, particularly the songs 'Love Machine' and 'Yoga Is As Yoga Does' to the underwater adventure and treasure hunt. Jo's crazy offbeat friends are a real hoot and I just love Elsa Lanchester's role in the film. This is one of those movies that I like to rewatch every so once in awhile just because. You don't have to think too hard, just sit back and enjoy.

As with many of Elvis Presley's movies the costumes are done by Edith Head, she's a real favorite of mine, and as a girl born decades after I get a real kick out those stereotypical 60s styles -- PVC anyone?

Whether you are fan of The King or just love 1960s rom-coms with some good music you can't go wrong with Easy Come, Easy Go. It's a fun movie and sure to entertain...just wait till you see that CRAZY car....

1 hour 35 minutes
PG

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Monday Movie - January 24th, 2022 (Carefree)

1/24/2022

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Carefree
starring
Fred Astaire ■ Ginger Rogers

(1938)

Together Again!

Dr. Tony Flagg's friend, Steven, has problems in the relationship with his fiancee, Amanda, so he persuades her to visit Dr. Flagg. After some minor misunderstandings, she falls in love with Dr. Flagg. When he tries to use hypnosis to strengthen her feelings for Steven, things get complicated

I have no idea why it's taken me so long to do Carefree as a Monday Movie, it is, after all, my favorite Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie. They did 10 movies together and they are all good in their own way, but, this one of is my favorite. Maybe it has something to do with the scene featuring a hypnotized Ginger, a billy club, and a plate glass window...

As the title implies there is nothing serious about this movie. It's a lighthearted feel-good story that's sole purpose is to amuse and entertain. And, boy, does it! From Fred's wild ride on a runaway bicycle, to the strangest dream-inducing meal in movie history, and on to Ginger's rampage that leaves a skeet shooting party cowering in terror, you're in for a real load of fun.

One fun fact about the film is that of the ten movies Fred & Ginger did together this is the only one where Fred isn't in show business of some kind. Yes, it is kinda funny thinking of Fred Astaire as a psychiatrist! One other interesting thing is that the final release doesn't feature very many dance scenes between Fred and Ginger, only four, though one of them is a fairly extended dream sequence brought on by one gastronomically terrorizing supper.

There's nothing to really worry about your kids seeing in Carefree, it's just all-around classic 1930s black/white good fun. It is all of the best in screwball romantic comedy from an era that knew how to do the genre up right...

1 hour 23 minutes

Principal Cast

Fred Astaire...Tony Flagg
Ginger Rogers...Amanda Cooper
Ralph Bellamy...Stephen Arden
Luella Gear...Aunt Cora
Jack Carson...Connors
Clarence Kolb...Judge Travers
Franklin Pangborn...Roland Hunter
Walter Kingsford...Dr. Powers
Kay Sutton...Miss Adams

Quotes

Tony Flagg: Say, Steve, when I went to Switzerland you never drank like this. How long have you been tight?
Stephen Arden: Three days: Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Tony Flagg: And all because this Amanda What's-Her-Name broke her engagement to you?
Stephen Arden: Yeah, for the third time.
Tony Flagg: What happened the other two times?
Stephen Arden: I got stiff.
Connors: I hope she changes her mind before you get DTs.

Tony Flagg: There's a Miss Cooper waiting for me. She's another one of those dizzy, silly, maladjusted females who can't make up her mind. I'll probably find out she hasn't got one.

Tony Flagg: Well, you do know that you have two minds: The conscious and the subconscious.
Amanda Cooper: Really?
Tony Flagg: The conscious mind is the ego. That's the thing that says, "I am I, and you are you."
Amanda Cooper: Mine never said that.

Tony Flagg: I wish you'd please understand that I'm only trying to help you find yourself.
Amanda Cooper: Well, if I ever get lost, I'll call on you

Aunt Cora: It seems silly to keep it a secret. He said he wanted to psychoanalyze you on your bicycle.
Amanda Cooper: Oh, so that's why we came.
Aunt Cora: I wouldn't mind being analyzed by him on my bicycle. Or on anything, come to think of it.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - December 20th, 2021 (It Happened On Fifth Avenue)

12/20/2021

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It Happened On Fifth Avenue
starring
Don DeFore ■ Ann Harding ■ Charles Ruggles
Victor Moore ■ Gale Storm

(1947)

A Guy With 50 Bucks Meets a Girl With 50 Million!
The World's Second Richest Man Changes Places With a Hobo!

Every winter, Michael J. O'Connor, the second richest man in the world, vacates his 5th Avenue mansion for his winter home in warmer climes. Every winter, Aloysius T. McKeever, a homeless man, and his dog moves into vacated mansions. This particular winter, McKeever meets Jim Bullock, an army veteran who has recently been evicted from his apartment and offers to share the mansion with him. It's not long before the mansion has a few more guests, including two of Jim's army buddies and their wives and children; runaway heiress Trudy O'Connor; her mother and even Michael J. O'Connor, himself.

I had never heard of It Happened On Fifth Avenue until I was given a DVD boxed set that just happened to contain it and some other black/white classic Christmas movies. Out of the four DVDs in the set three became favorites very quickly. With It Happened On Fifth Avenue I only had to see it once and I knew that it would be one of the handful of Christmas movies that we watch every December. Hey, we even watch it sometimes in the middle of summer when we want a break from the heat.

First and foremost, It Happened On Fifth Avenue is a comedy, pure and simple family friendly comedy. There's some romance, a few misunderstandings, a bit of family bickering, and enough shenanigans to keep you laughing. One of my favorite things about the movie just happens to be how multi-generational it is. There are essentially three generations living in the house and all of them have their ups and downs, their lessons and comeuppances, and romance also isn't just for the young...

You might recognize several of the actors in It Happened On Fifth Avenue. Michael J. O'Connor (Charles Ruggles) plays Hayley Mills's grandfather in The Parent Trap, Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) is Fred Astaire's best friend in Swing Time, and Don DeFore is Ozzie and Harriet Nelson's next door neighbor in the TV show The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet. There are several other bit characters who are also recognizable but those three are the most memorable in my mind.

If you are looking for a good movie to watch this holiday season and you enjoy rom-coms that are funny without being trashy and you are in need of a happy ending that makes you feel good...Take my advice and follow this prescription... Take a cup of hot cocoa, grab a fuzzy blanket, and sit down to laugh away a couple of hours with It Happened On Fifth Avenue...

1 hour 56 minutes

Principal Cast

Don DeFore...Jim Bullock
Ann Harding...Mary O'Connor
Charles Ruggles...Michael J. O'Connor
Victor Moore...Aloysius T. McKeever
Gale Storm...Trudy O'Connor
Grant Mitchell...Farrow
Edward Brophy...Cecil Felton
Alan Hale Jr....Whitey Temple
Dorothea Kent...Margie Temple
Edward Ryan...Hank
Cathy Carter...Alice

Quotes

Jim Bullock: I captured these handcuffs from a Japanese MP. Little did I know that this souvenir of war would become the instrument of resisting tyranny.

Hank: What have you got against children?
Apartment Manager: It's a rule of the house.
Jim Bullock: Naturally, you can't break the rule. If he lets your kids in, everybody'd start having children. Then what would happen to the human race?

Finkelhoff - the Tailor: Look, when the moths are learning I got here an all-wool suit... one moth tells the other. They're coming for a banquet. They're bringing their friends. Pretty soon, I got here a moth convention. A spray gun I gotta buy, insecticide I gotta buy... all night long, I am staying and spraying. I'm not coming home. My wife is getting mad. She's leaving for Reno. She's getting a divorce. What am I getting? Custody of the moths. Alimony I am paying. Payments I'm missing. To jail I'm going. My business I'm losing. I'm a bum. All because you are bringing in here an all-wool suit.
Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor: [to Trudy] Pay him quick before he names me correspondent.

Mary O'Connor: What does your father think of him?
Trudy O'Connor: Dad's going to have him arrested.
Mary O'Connor: Well, whatever for? Loving you?
Trudy O'Connor: No, for trespassing.
Mary O'Connor: Well, that's the same thing, isn't it? To your father.

Aloysius T. McKeever: Not in my twenty years of living as a guest in other people's homes have I ever been faced with a situation like this.

Farrow: Mr. O'Connor, what were you doing in that closet?
Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor: I like it in there. There's nothing so restful as a nice, dark, stuffy closet.

Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor: [Last Lines] Mary.
Mary O'Connor: Yes, Mike?
Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor: Remind me to nail up the board in the back fence. He's coming through the front door next winter.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - November 29th, 2021 (Pardon My Past)

11/29/2021

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Pardon My Past
starring
Fred MacMurray ■ Marguerite Chapman
Akim Tamiroff ■ William Demarest ■ Rita Johnson

(1945)

Hey MacMurray...your PAST is showing!

Recently discharged GI's Eddie York and Chuck Gibson are en route to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin to start their own mink farm. While in New York, Eddie is mistaken for wealthy playboy Francis Pemberton and taken to see bookie Jim Arnold, whom Pemberton owes $12,000 in gambling debts. Arnold confiscates Eddie and Chuck's $3,000 savings, and demands the balance by tomorrow. Eddie and Chuck go in search of Francis to get their money back, but with Francis away in Mexico, everyone in the Pemberton household believes Eddie is Francis..

A few months ago I was scanning through Youtube looking for something to watch that I hadn't seen before. Bored with short videos and wanting to watch a movie I did a search and found Pardon My Past in the results. I watched it because it was a comedy and particularly because it had Fred MacMurray in it. Wasn't halfway through the movie before I knew it was one to have my family watch. Of course, I just couldn't stop right there in the middle and wait for them, now could I? I've actually seen it 3 times now, and, you know what, it's just as funny as it was the first time.

Pardon My Past is one of those old fashioned comedies that does not require much for brainwork. Instead, you suspense belief a little, ignore the fact that it's a bit predictable, and just enjoy the fun and the zingers. Many of those zingers come from my favorite character in the film, Grandpa Pemberton. He's a crazy old coot and he makes the most out of it! Between him and William Demarest they really make the movie.

Cheesy and corny as this movie is, Pardon My Past is well worth watching. It's relatively clean, it's funny, and perfect for escaping the real world for an hour and a half. Fred MacMurray does a great job playing both characters in a dual role, the one guy you like and the other you just want to knock some sense into. The supporting actors are equally as good and hold up their end quite well.

I will make a confession here at the end... Every time they mentioned minks and the mink farm the lyrics from Bobby Darrin's song Multiplication kept running through my mind...
“Let me tell ya now …I say one and one is five. You can call me a silly goat. But, ya take two minks add two winks. Ahhh... ya got one mink coat. “

1 hour 28 minutes

Principal Cast

Fred MacMurray...Eddie York / Francis Pemberton
Marguerite Chapman...Joan
Akim Tamiroff...Jim Arnold
William Demarest...Chuck Gibson
Rita Johnson...Mary Pemberton
Harry Davenport...Grandpa Pemberton
Douglass Dumbrille...Uncle Wills
Karolyn Grimes...Stephanie Pemberton
Dewey Robinson...Plainclothesman
Hugh Prosser...Mr. Long
Tom Moffatt...Plainclothesman
Herbert Evans...Burch, the Butler
Frank Moran...Timothy - Chauffeur / Henchman
Charles Arnt...Clothes Salesman

Quotes

Chuck Gibson: What does a mink do? Does it baaa, growl, meow or coo?
Eddie York: It makes more minks.

Eddie York: Go on, get him a hat? Why don't you try to be nice to the customers?
Clothes Salesman: I've been nice to customers for 22 years. Now I don't have to 'til the war's over.

Jim Arnold: Mark Twain said, "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

Grandpa Pemberton: Oh, the doctor. That hypocritical old pill peddler. I'll out last him 10 years.

Chuck Gibson: We'll call the cops.
Mr. Long: Don't use that word. Mr. Arnold doesn't like it.

Jim Arnold: Is this his signature?
Grandpa Pemberton: Yes, that's his. When you going to beat him up?

Jim Arnold: Mr. Long, this is one experience I will not forget. All this money and not one sane person in the house.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - October 25th, 2021 (Blackbeard's Ghost)

10/25/2021

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Backbeard's Ghost
starring
Peter Ustinov ■ Dean Jones ■ Suzanne Pleshette

(1968)

EVERYBODY cracks up...when the Jolliest Roger of them All pops into the 20th Century!

In this comedy, Sir Peter Ustinov is the famous pirate's ghost that returns to our time. Blackbeard has been cursed by his last wife who was a notorious witch, so that he will never die. The only way to "break" the curse is to do (for once in his life) a good act. Is the famous pirate able to do something good?

Aaah, what to watch on Halloween even if you don't believe the holiday should even be celebrated? Face it, even if you don't do Halloween you've probably seen at least once, or watch it every year, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. But, Linus and the Great Pumpkin only last about 25 minutes so what can you do with the other 2 hours or so of your evening? Why, pick up a good old classic Disney film, of course! And in the genre Blackbeard's Ghost is my go-to film.

I recall the first time I watched this movie back when I was an early teen. Remember those days when if you wanted to watch a movie you didn't have you had to go down to the rental place and you'd walk the rows of movies arguing with whoever you were with about what you wanted to watch before finally choosing a VHS to take home? Yeah, me too.

Anyway, the movie itself... Blackbeard's Ghost is pure comedy fun starring some of Disney's regular comedy talent, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and Peter Ustinov. Dean Jones is a favorite of mine in Disney movies, I've been known to watch a Disney movie plotline unknown just because he was in it. As a side note, he was also in the 2009 adaptation of Christian girls author Lois Gladys Leppard's Mandie And The Secret Tunnel. Suzanne Pleshette isn't exactly a favorite by herself but she is the best paired with Dean Jones in movies like this one. The two have such great chemistry! And then there's Peter Ustinov, from Professor Snodgrass in my favorite non-Hayley Mills Disney movie, Treasure Of Matecumbe, to Hercule Poirot in the 1982 adaption of Agatha Christie's Evil Under The Sun. A man of major talent, he could and did take on pretty much any role.

Blackbeard's Ghost is quite a bit of spooky fun as the dreaded pirate Blackbeard seeks redemption so he can get out of limbo...and all of it at poor Dean Jones's expense. Fortunetelling, a centuries-old curse, an auction and kissing booth, some old ladies trying to save their home, a pretty pathetic sports team, one policeman's motorcycle, and a little gambling at a crooked casino...what more could you ask for in the way of family fun? So, matey, grab your bottle of cream soda, instead of rum, and pass around the bowl of bite sized candy...

1 hour 46 minutes

Principal Cast

Peter Ustinov...Captain Blackbeard
Dean Jones...Steve Walker
Suzanne Pleshette...Jo Anne Baker
Elsa Lanchester...Emily Stowecroft
Joby Baker...Silky Seymour
Elliott Reid...TV Commentator
Richard Deacon...Dean Wheaton
Norman Grabowski...Virgil
Kelly Thordsen...Motorcycle Officer
Michael Conrad...Pinetop Purvis
Herbie Faye...Croupier
George Murdock...Head Official
Hank Jones...Gudger Larkin
Ned Glass...Teller
Gil Lamb...Waiter
Alan Carney...Bartender
Ted Markland...Charles
Lou Nova...Leon
Charlie Brill...Edward
Herb Vigran...Danny Oly
William Fawcett...Mr. Ainsworth
Betty Bronson...Old Lady
Elsie Baker...Old Lady
Kathryn Minner...Old Lady
Sara Taft...Old Lady

Quotes

[telling Steve Walker about Blackbeard's tenth wife]
Emily Stowecroft: Aldetha was a witch, you know. She never forgave the Captain for denouncing her to the authorities. When they were burning Aldetha at the stake, she put a terrible curse on him. As the flames crept higher and higher, she screeched her dying words:
[raises her voice and startles Steve]
Emily Stowecroft: "*Edward Teach*, sometimes known as Captain Blackbeard, when you come to die, may your body and soul be racked between this world and the next, always to be alone! May this curse hold fast and true, may you be held forevermore in limbo, until such time as there be found in you, most wicked of all villains - "
[laughs maniacally]
Emily Stowecroft: " - some spark of human goodness!"
Emily Stowecroft: [in her calm, normal voice again] Well, good night, Mr. Walker. Sleep well! The dining room will be open for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Please be prompt.

Steve Walker: I don't think you're real and I don't think that sword is real. I'm going to walk straight through it and go to bed!

Captain Blackbeard: I did have a treasure. I had a big treasure. Lovely, I did. But I spent it all in one week. Among the flesh pots and gambling hells of Port Royal oh what a glorious week!
Steve Walker: Oh you know what you are? You are a total loss you're not even a respectable ghost! You're a phoney! A phoney!

Captain Blackbeard: By thunder! This raises my blood! There be a time for action! Hang on old ladies, Blackbeard's coming! Up the Jolly Roger!

Steve Walker: [referring to Blackbeard] You know something, I think I'm really gonna miss the old scoundrel.
Jo Anne Baker: You know something? I loved you even when I thought you were nuts.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - August 30th, 2021 (The Doctor Takes A Wife)

8/30/2021

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The Doctor Takes A Wife
starring
Loretta Young ■ Ray Milland

(1940)

Here's just what the doctor ordered... To make you laugh yourself healthy!

June Cameron has written a best seller about spinsters: women are men's equals and don't need them for fulfillment. Through a series of errors and misunderstandings, the press believes she's married Tim Sterling, a university instructor she's just met. Her publisher wants to let the mistake go uncorrected for a few weeks so she can write a best seller about being married; Tim cooperates because, in hidebound academia, being married may help with a promotion. The flies in the ointment are June and Tim's instant enmity, Tim's stubbornness, and his girlfriend Marilyn, who may not let the charade play out. There's no way everyone can get what they want

I found this 1940s romantic comedy gem while scrolling through old movies on Youtube late one night. I was bored, wanted to watch something I'd never seen before, and I've liked Ray Milland is several other old rom-coms so I decided to give this movie a shot despite the fact I'm not a Loretta Young fan.

Oh, my gosh! I did not expect this movie to be so funny or to like it as much as I did. As soon as I watched it I knew it was one that I'd share with my family, all adults, my dad in particular has enjoyed some of these old 1930s and 1940s rom-coms with me. As expected they laughed just as much as I did.

One of the things I loved about The Doctor Takes A Wife is how the two main characters take turns being unreasonable, funny, and they each have a few lessons to learn before the end credits roll. I've never been a fan of movies where one person or age group is stereotyped as stupid and the other is super smart. But this movie avoids that pitfall, he and she both have some very mistaken ideas and yet both have moments where they are entirely in the right.

I may have discovered this film on Youtube but it's one that I enjoyed enough to watch twice close together and it's also one that I'd love to add to my DVD collection to watch whenever I wish. . .

89 Minutes

Principal Cast

Loretta Young...June Cameron
Ray Milland...Dr. Timothy Sterling
Reginald Gardiner...John Pierce
Gail Patrick...Marilyn Thomas
Edmund Gwenn...Dr. Lionel Sterling
Frank Sully...Slapcovitch
Gordon Jones...O'Brien
Georges Metaxa...Jean Rovere
Charles Halton...Dr. Streeter
Joseph Eggenton...Dr. Nielson
Paul McAllister...Dean Lawton
Chester Clute...Johnson
Hal K. Dawson...Charlie
Edward Van Sloan...Burkhardt

Quotes

New York Editor: Oh - they're not married? Then we'll have to print that the man in her bedroom is *not* her husband.

June Cameron: Look, Johnny. I don't know anything about marriage.
John R. Pierce: Oh, what's that got to do with it? Dante didn't have to go to hell to write his "Inferno."

June Cameron: [to Timothy] Now, listen to me, my microscopic friend, you might be able to give orders to the barnacle you're engaged to, but the last time a man tries it on me, I was six, and he was seven, and for one solid hour I beat him over the head with my all-day sucker!

Dr. Timothy Sterling: Well, gentlemen, as you well know, 75 is the passing grade, and so far you've confined all your passing to the football field.

Dr. Lionel Sterling: Have you two had a quarrel?
June Cameron: Yes. Yes, he hit me.
Dr. Lionel Sterling: You didn't?
June Cameron: Yes, he did.
Dr. Timothy Sterling: Well, I only pushed her.
Dr. Lionel Sterling: You only pushed her? Tim, I shouldn't have to remind you that this is not the Neolithic age.
Dr. Timothy Sterling: Well, how would you like it if someone said that your father was a pompous, opinionated old windbag?
June Cameron: I didn't say that.
Dr. Lionel Sterling: I would be honest enough to admit that the person was absolutely right.
June Cameron: Pop, he's lying. I never said that.
Dr. Lionel Sterling: I don't care who said it, my dear, it's true. I talk too much. Your mother always said that.

4 MOVIE DVD COLLECTION

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - July 26th, 2021 (Easy Living)

7/26/2021

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Easy Living
starring
Jean Arthur ■ Edward Arnold ■ Ray Milland

(1937)

IT HAS NO RHYME...IT HAS NO REASON...IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE...IT MAKES LAUGHS!

When a wealthy banker throws his wife's expensive fur coat off a roof and it lands on the head of a stenographer, everyone assumes she is his mistress and has access to his millions.

When I think of classic romantic comedies from Hollywood's Golden Era Easy Living is one of the films at the forefront of my mind. I discovered this adorable rom-com gem a few years ago and if I find it somewhere I'll watch it just for the fun of it. But, I love lighthearted movies that make me smile and laugh...

Jean Arthur is actually one of my favorite 1930s actresses and I've watched several of her films, mostly in the romantic comedy genre. I haven't seen all that many Ray Milland movies but I've gotten a real kick out of his comedy movies like this one. I will say that it was a little weird when I figured out that Ray Milland was a villain in one of the stranger episodes of the 1970s Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew series.

If you are into romantic comedies that are fun, a little silly, have no great drama, but will make you laugh, and you think black/white movies are the best, I highly recommend Easy Living. Even my dad seemed to enjoy it. Just beware tall buildings the next time you take public transportation or are walking by on the sidewalk.... ;)

88 Minutes

Principal Cast

Jean Arthur...Mary Smith
Edward Arnold...J.B. Ball
Ray Milland...John Ball Jr.
Luis Alberni...Mr. Louis Louis
Mary Nash...Mrs. Jenny Ball
Franklin Pangborn...Van Buren
Barlowe Borland...Mr. Gurney
William Demarest...Wallace Whistling
Andrew Tombes...E.J. Hulgar
Esther Dale...Lillian
Harlan Briggs...Magazine Office Manager
William B. Davidson...Mr. Hyde
Nora Cecil...Miss Swerf
Robert Greig...Butler

Quotes

John Ball Jr.: That's one of the finest suppers I ever supped. What? That's not right. Yes, it is to. Supped.
Mary Smith: You know, it's just like Arabian Nights or something. Except you don't look much like a Prince Charming.

J.B. Ball: What're you gonna do?
Mr. Louis Louis: Well, I dunno, but I got a week to do it in.

John Ball Jr.: Why'd you take the coat?
Mary Smith: I didn't want to! But, your father kept saying I shouldn't be a smarty and that I shouldn't know all the answers and, besides, you don't know what a fur coat means to a girl who never even had a tippet.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - February 22nd, 2021 (Love Is A Ball)

2/22/2021

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Love Is A Ball
starring
Glenn Ford ■ Hope Lange ■ Charles Boyer

(1963)

The hilariously mad story of all the best things in life that are not free... and the one thing that definitely is!

On the French Riviera, a professional matchmaker assisted by an American adventurer arranges for convenience marriages between titled impoverished aristocratic men and rich low-bred women.

Ever get so bored that you watch a movie you probably wouldn't have under normal circumstances only to find that you really like it? Love Is A Ball was one of those for me. Normally I'm not a fan of either Glenn Ford or Charles Boyer, but I was bored. But, then again, boredom has actually lead me to several good Glenn Ford movies, The Gazebo, It Started With A Kiss, and this one, to name a few.

I watched this movie when I was in need of what I call “a fluff piece.” And Love Is A Ball is exactly that. Light, easy to watch, fun, amusing, humorous, and with the very necessary happy ending. A little while after I watched it I also put it on for my parents to watch. A little surprisingly, they seemed to enjoy it as much as I did and I heard more than one chuckle during some of the funnier moments. Of course, it is hard not to laugh at this little group of so charmingly mercenary people.

I will note that if you have little kids this 60s rom-com is aimed at adults, it's a little PG-13 in nature though it is implied only and absolutely nothing is shown. Seriously, you have to admire the extra skill it took to tell this kind of a story and get it by the censors.

Though I thought Hope Lange was a trying a little too hard to be Sandra Dee, and I could definitely have seen Maurice Chevalier in Charles Boyer's role, I did get a kick out of it. Oh, and if you choose to watch Love Is A Ball yourself, pay attention to the scenes with Hope Lange driving Glenn Ford and you just might recognize some of the scenery....To Catch A Thief, anyone? Oh, one more thing, you just gotta dig those snazzy race cars! There's some real automobile history there....

1 hour 51 minutes

Principal Cast

Glenn Ford...John Lathrop Davis
Hope Lange...Millicent 'Millie' Mehaffey
Charles Boyer...M. Etienne Pimm
Ricardo Montalban...Duke Gaspard Ducluzeau
Telly Savalas...Dr. Christian Gump (Millie's uncle)
Ruth McDevitt...Mathilda
Ulla Jacobsson...Janine
Georgette Anys...Mme. Gallou
Robert Bettoni...Milkman
Mony Dalmès...Mme. Fernier
Laurence Hardy...Priory
Jean Le Maitre...Carlo
André Luguet...Maurice Zoltan

Filming Location(s)

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
The South, France

Trivia

Based on a novel by Lindsay Hardy called "The Grand Duke and Mr. Pimm"

Glenn Ford was 17 years older than Hope Lange. Despite this age gap, Ford outlived Lange by 20 years, passing away in 2006 at age 90, three years after Lange died in 2003 at age 70. Ricardo Montalban was 13 years older than Lange, and also outlived her, in his case by 18 years, passing away in 2009 at age 88. Of the four actors portraying the two couples, Ulla Jacobsson had the shortest lifespan, passing away in 1982 at age 53.

This was originally announced as a Blake Edwards picture with Alec Guinness and Peter Ustinov starring.

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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.

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Monday Movie - January 25th, 2021 (Blue Hawaii)

1/25/2021

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Blue Hawaii
starring
Elvis Presley

(1961)

Ecstatic romance...exotic dances...exciting music in the world's lushest paradise of song!

Chad Gates (Elvis Presley) has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surfboard, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His father wants him to go to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but he is reluctant. So he goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.

This was the Elvis movie that started it all for me. I was bored, really bored, late one night a few years ago and after searching Netflix high and low I reluctantly decided to watch Blue Hawaii. And I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the movie. It was really, really good! I got some good-natured ribbing when my family saw my watch history but... I had no clue what I had started that night. My younger brother who teased me for watching Blue Hawaii has now seen every single Elvis movie at least once, has stacks of his CDs, and we both have an Elvis channel on Pandora.

If you've watched Blue Hawaii yourself you know that it is a light, fun, feel-good kind of movie. It's a romantic comedy with a touch of musical. It's amusing, it's entertaining, and it's the perfect movie if you are having a rough day or just want to unwind with some sun, sand, and Elvis tunes.

I think one of my favorite things about the movie is the hilarious role played by Angela Lansbury. Trust me, you can't get much more opposite of Jessica Fletcher! She gets some of the best lines and plays a snobby but lovable airhead to perfection.

What it all boils down to is that Blue Hawaii is fun musical romantic comedy that is sure to get your mind off all the stress going on around the world, at least for a couple of hours anyway. So, whether you are a fan of the King or even if you are not, why don't you just take a break and rock out with Elvis in Blue Hawaii...

1 hour 42 minutes

Principal Cast

Elvis Presley...Chad Gates
Joan Blackman...Maile Duval
Angela Lansbury...Sarah Lee Gates
Nancy Walters...Abigail Prentice
Roland Winters...Fred Gates
John Archer...Jack Kelman
Howard McNear...Mr. Chapman
Steve Brodie...Tucker Garvey
Christian Kay...Beverly Martin
Iris Adrian...Enid Garvey
Hilo Hattie...Waihila
Jenny Maxwell...Ellie Corbett
Pamela Austin...Selena (Sandy) Emerson (as Pamela Kirk)
Darlene Tompkins...Patsy Simon
Lani Kai...Carl Tanami

Filming Location(s)

Hawaii, USA

Awards

ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards 1990
ASCAP Award - Most Performed Feature Film Standards
Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss
For the song "Can't Help Falling in Love".

Quotes

Maile Duval: You can't spend the rest of your life on a surf board.
Chad Gates: Oh yes, I can. The G.I. bill of rights says I get my old job back. This is my old job.

Chad Gates: You wanna know something - on you, wet is my favourite colour.

Sarah Lee Gates: You put me in mind of my great grandfather on my side, Captain Matthew Polk. Oh, he was one of the bravest men in the War between the States. Oh, the daring deeds that man performed. His bravery under fire. His courage on the field of battle made us all proud to be Polks. Oh, it's such a shame Captain Polk was a damn Yankee.

Chad Gates: I like my job, mum. It's fun, it's interesting and I meet a lot of nice people.
Sarah Lee Gates: Nonsense. Tourists aren't people. They're... They're tourists.

Sarah Lee Gates: Land! My son, drivin' tourists around like a chauffeur! It's a dis-grace.
Jack Kelman: [chuckles] I don't know. When you married Fred, he was just a chauffeur - driving bananas around in my old truck. I'd rather drive girls than bananas any day.

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Monday Movie - December 21st, 2020 (Christmas In Connecticut)

12/21/2020

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Christmas In Connecticut
starring
Barbara Stanwyck ■ Dennis Morgan ■ Sidney Greenstreet

(1945)

It's the fun show that's the one show to see!

Journalist Elizabeth Lane is one of the country's most famous food writers. In her columns, she describes herself as a hard working farm woman, taking care of her children and being an excellent cook. But this is all lies. In reality she is an unmarried New Yorker who can't even boil an egg. The recipes come from her good friend Felix. The owner of the magazine she works for has decided that a heroic sailor will spend his Christmas on *her* farm. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, but what can she do?

I will start off by saying that Barbara Stanwyck has never been a favorite of mine. There have been a few movies that have been definite exceptions such as The Mad Miss Manton, Witness To Murder, Roustabout, I even thought Remember The Night and Ball Of Fire were OK, but this movie, Christmas In Connecticut is one of my two favorites, The Mad Miss Manton is the other, and I absolutely love watching them both when I get the chance.

Every year when December rolls around my family drags out our favorite holiday movies, and, since we've seen them way too many times It's A Wonderful Life and Miracle On 34th Street are out, however Christmas In Connecticut is definitely in.

I hadn't even heard of Christmas In Connecticut until I was a given a set of 4 classic black/white Christmas movies. We fell in love with this romantic comedy from an era when movies could be comedic without being crass and romantic without being trashy. Sure, it's a bit cheesy in spots but it is still so much fun!

One of the things that I really like about this movie is the chance to see Sidney Greenstreet, who will forever be 'The Fat Man' Mr. Caspar Gutman in my mind, in a comedy role instead of the usual film noir. And then there's one of my favorite secondary role actors, S.Z. Sakall as 'Uncle' Felix, who is so lovable in this movie. I still frequently quote him from this film by calling something bad a 'catastroff' (catastrophe) and then there is the funny scene between him and Norah the cook when he turns her Irish stew into Hungarian Goulash.

So, get out those popcorn balls, frosted cookies, or that pan of fudge and have a little WWII era style Christmas fun with a good movie!

1 hour 41 minutes

Principal Cast

Barbara Stanwyck...Elizabeth Lane
Dennis Morgan...Jefferson Jones
Sydney Greenstreet...Alexander Yardley
Reginald Gardiner...John Sloan
S.Z. Sakall...Felix Bassenak
Robert Shayne...Dudley Beecham
Una O'Connor...Norah
Frank Jenks...Sinkewicz
Joyce Compton...Mary Lee
Dick Elliott...Judge Crowthers

Filming Location(s)

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Quotes

Felix Bassenak: That coat! What's the meaning?
Elizabeth Lane: Don't worry, I'm paying for it myself. It'll take my next six months' salary. Nice, isn't it?
Felix Bassenak: Six months' work for a coat?
Elizabeth Lane: All my life I promised myself a mink coat. You know, Felix, it's very important to keep promises, especially to yourself.
Felix Bassenak: Do you have to promise so expensively?
Elizabeth Lane: But I need it!
Felix Bassenak: You need it? Nobody needs a minks coat but a minks.

Dudley Beecham: Liz, don't waste time with him. You have to decide what you're going to say to the old man.
John Sloan: What old man?
Elizabeth Lane: Oh, it's Yardley. He's sending me a sailor for Christmas.
John Sloan: Oh, how nice... A sailor? Really, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Lane: Don't you come near me, you seawolf, after the way you deceived me...
Jefferson Jones: I deceived you?
Elizabeth Lane: Yes! You're engaged!
Jefferson Jones: You're married!
Elizabeth Lane: That has nothing to do with it!

Elizabeth Lane: [Getting fed up with Mr. Yardley, who won't let her speak] Suppose you listen to me for a change?... I said listen to me! I'm tired of being pushed around. Tired of being told what to do. Tired of writing your god-darned articles. Tired of dancing to everybody else's tune. Tired of being told whom to marry. In short... I'm tired!

Alexander Yardley: What a Christmas! Ho, ho, what a Christmas!

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Monday Movie - November 30th, 2020 (Viva Las Vegas)

11/30/2020

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Viva Las Vegas
starring
Elvis Presley ■ Ann-Margret

(1964)

It's that "go-go" guy and that "bye-bye" gal in the fun capital of the world!

Race car driver Lucky Jackson goes to Las Vegas to earn money to pay for a new engine for his motor car. Working as a waiter, he still finds the time to court young Rusty Martin.

I'll start right off by saying that Viva Las Vegas is one of my top favorite Elvis movies and it's one that my whole family enjoys. I even know all the lyrics to the theme song and can sing along with The King when the song pops up on some of my Pandora channels. It is just so much fun! The glitz and glamour, the songs and sights, and, of course, the white-knuckle car race near the end. Plus, watching Ann-Margret backing Elvis right off the diving board and into the pool while singing “...the gentleman's all wet” is hysterical!

I'll admit that I am not usually a fan of Ann-Margret but I have to say that she more than held her own with Elvis in this movie. She gives as good as she gets and she has fun doing it! The King is also at his height in Viva Las Vegas and it really shines through on the screen.

The montage of the Las Vegas Strip during the opening credits is quite interesting when you realize just how many of those famous places no longer exist. I'm young enough that several of the casinos/hotels were gone before I was born, though I do remember when a few of them closed, but it's fun to talk with my parents who remember when they were THE place to go and see the famous faces headlining the shows.

Whether or not musicals are your thing you should watch Viva Las Vegas at least once. It's fun and funny, the actors have great chemistry, and it truly shows off an era when entertainment was over the top and was truly entertaining. Take my advice and let yourself take a break for an hour and a half and just check out from all the stress going on in the world right now...

1 hour 25 minutes

Principal Cast

Elvis Presley...Lucky Jackson
Ann-Margret...Rusty Martin
Cesare Danova...Count Elmo Mancini
William Demarest...Mr. Martin
Nicky Blair...Shorty Fansworth

Quotes

Rusty Martin: Can you help me, please?
Lucky Jackson: Can we help you? Yes ma'am.
Rusty Martin: Well, then, I'd like you to check my motor, it whistles.
Lucky Jackson: I don't blame it!

Rusty Martin: I heard about your money, Lucky, I'm sorry.
Lucky Jackson: It's only money.
Rusty Martin: Only money! Do you realise how hard it is to earn money?
Lucky Jackson: But I won it.

Rusty Martin: You answer it and if it's anybody, I don't want to speak to him!

Rusty Martin: Meet me at the University of Nevada tomorrow.
Lucky Jackson: You must be kidding?
Rusty Martin: No!
Lucky Jackson: What are they teaching you? How to stack cards, deal from the bottom of the deck, or what?

Mr. Martin: You kids came over here in a copter! They cost about $10 a minute!

Lucky Jackson: You won't understand, will you, baby?
Rusty Martin: Don't call me baby!
Lucky Jackson: Okay, baby.

Lucky Jackson: Oh, now I get it, you want me to use my 'bravado' to block for you so you can... come right through.
Count Elmo Mancini: That's right, I knew you were clever Mr Jackson.
Lucky Jackson: Well just a couple or 3 things wrong with your proposition. I don't work for anybody, I never come second to anybody, and one small thing - I intend to win.

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Monday Movie - September 21st, 2020 (Rio Bravo)

9/21/2020

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Rio Bravo
starring
John Wayne ■ Dean Martin ■ Ricky Nelson ■ Angie Dickinson

(1959)

You've seen nothing like 'em together and in the heat and hate of Rio Bravo nothing can tear 'em apart!

Sheriff John T. Chance has his hands full after arresting Joe Burdette for murder. He knows that Burdette's brother Nathan, a powerful rancher, will go to any lengths to get him out of jail. Chance's good friend Pat Wheeler offers to help but within 20 minutes of making the offer is gunned down in the street, shot in the back. That leaves his elderly deputy Stumpy, the town drunk Dude - once a deputy and a pretty good shot when he was sober - and a young hand, Colorado, who used to work for Wheeler. Nathan Burdette meanwhile has a couple of dozen men at his disposal. Chance does his best to prepare all the while romancing a pretty gambler who goes by the name of Feathers

Aaah, Rio Bravo. One of the first John Wayne movies that I watched as a kid in the early 2000s. It's also one of my family's favorites, from my dad who remembers watching John Wayne in the theaters to my younger brother in his late twenties. My mom and I also enjoy it, in fact, when I sent Angie Dickinson a request for her autograph I included a still photo from this movie.

What's so special about Rio Bravo? I guess it's a bit hard to pin down but I know we love it for a myriad of reasons. For one, it's a western for adults that doesn't resort to excess violence or sex. The acting is pretty good, with veteran actors such as Walter Brennan to relative newcomers like Ricky Nelson. Which brings me to one of my favorite scenes, the one where Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson sing My Rifle, My Pony And Me followed by a rousing round of Cindy. My family loves to quote John Wayne, and trust us, there's a quote for any situation, and we get some real mileage out of this film. There's also a lot of humor in here with Walter Brennan getting some of the best lines. He's also probably the only one who could ever get away with swatting John Wayne with a broom! And then there's the married couple, Carlos and Consuela who run the hotel, they're interactions with each other are hysterical. For any fellow Roy Rogers fans out there, you might recognize Consuela (Estelita Rodriguez) from her roles in several of his movies including as the memorable Two-Gun Rita.

I've always been a fan of stories where you can tell the good guys from the bad. The good guys may be flawed and make mistakes but there is no doubt that when the chips are down they'll do the right thing. There's no mistaking that they are the heroes. Rio Bravo is definitely one such movie. After having seen this movie so many times it's sometimes hard for me to reconcile the murderous Claude Akins from Rio Bravo with Jessica Fletcher's friend Ethan Cragg in few episodes of Murder She Wrote. I know he has many credits to his name but in my book he's best remembered as Joe Burdette.

Whether you are a big fan of westerns or not, even the National Film Preservation Board in 2014 recognized Rio Bravo as a movie to be watched and remembered. So go ahead and grab some popcorn...

2 hours 21 minutes

Principal Cast

John Wayne...Sheriff John T. Chance
Dean Martin...Dude ('Borrachón')
Ricky Nelson...Colorado Ryan
Angie Dickinson...Feathers
Walter Brennan...Stumpy
Ward Bond...Pat Wheeler
John Russell...Nathan Burdette
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez...Carlos Robante
Estelita Rodriguez...Consuela Robante
Claude Akins...Joe Burdette

Filming Location(s)

Old Tucson Studios, Tucson, AZ (exterior shots)

Awards

Golden Globes, USA 1960
Most Promising Newcomer - Female - Angie Dickinson

Texas Film Awards 2012
Star of Texas Award - Angie Dickinson

National Film Preservation Board, USA 2014
National Film Registry

Quotes

John T. Chance: You're not as smart as your brother, Joe. He sees Stumpy here sittin' around the corner locked in with you... and if that isn't plain enough, I'll tell you why. If any trouble starts around this jail, before anybody can get to you you're gonna get accidentally shot.
Stumpy: I can practical' guarantee that!

John T. Chance: [Referring to Colorado] It's nice to see a smart kid for a change.
Stumpy: Yeah, he ain't like the usual kid with a gun.
Dude: Wonder if he's as good as Wheeler said?
John T. Chance: I'd say he is. I'd say he's so good, he doesn't feel he has to prove it.

[after Carlos has a quarrel with Consuela]
John T. Chance: You take chances, my friend.
Carlos Robante: Because I know woman. If she will be mad or she will be sorry - if it is 'mad', she will be much pleasure to make right; and if she is 'sorry', it will be the same pleasure. You... you do not have women, so you do not know, senor. But me... Carlos Robante... I know!

Stumpy: Joe don't get no sugar in his coffee; he just gets water poured over the grounds.

Feathers: In case you make up your mind, I left my door open. Get a good night's sleep.
John T. Chance: You're not helping me any.

John T. Chance: Stumpy!
Stumpy: What? [Stops playing harmonica]
John T. Chance: They don't need any help with that tune.
Stumpy: What's the matter? Is it getting through to you? Yiuk, yiuk! [cackles]

Feathers: I thought you were never going to say it.
John T. Chance: Say what?
Feathers: That you love me.
John T. Chance: I said I'd arrest you.
Feathers: It means the same thing, you know that

[last lines]
Stumpy: You think I'll ever get to be a sheriff?
Dude: Not unless you mind your own business.
[Stumpy cackles]

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Monday Movie - August 24th, 2020 (Fitzwilly)

8/24/2020

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Fitzwilly
starring
Dick Van Dyke
co-starring
Barbara Feldon ■ John McGiver ■ Edith Evans

(1967)

Fitzwilly Strikes Again!

When Miss Vicki's father dies she continues with her charitable donations. Unfortunately, the family wealth is depleted and she is flat broke. Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, known as Fitzwilly, leads the household staff to steal from various businesses by misrepresenting themselves, charging goods to other wealthy people and misdirecting the goods shipments, all to maintain Miss Vicki's standard of living and her philanthropy. With Fitzwilly's encouragement, Miss Vicki is writing a "Dictionary for Dopes" which contains all possible phonetic spellings of a word, and gives the reader the correct one, and for that she needs a secretary. Juliet is hired and she is suspicious and she discovers what is going on while at the same time falling in love with Fitzwilly. Juliet agrees to allow Fitzwilly to carry out one more big caper before they get married that will keep Miss Vicki comfortable for the rest of her days.

I found this movie a few weeks ago while looking through Amazon's Prime Movies out of of boredom. I had little to do, and, even though Dick Van Dyke is not on my list of go-to actors, I decided to give the movie a whirl.

I am glad I did! It was so funny! Seriously, they can't make comedies like this anymore. I laughed out loud several times, especially when elderly 'Miss Vicky' takes a young policeman to task and tells him that she is a taxpayer so his time is her time! In this day and age it's hard to imagine anyone getting away that! (I do support the police, by the way, but the scene really was hilarious.)

One of the things that I found interesting is that this is Barbara Feldon's first credited role in a movie. I, of course, know her best from the three times I've watched all of the episodes of Get Smart where she plays Agent 99. Which, was roughly in its third season when this movie was released.

I got such a kick out of this funny crime-ridden movie that I had my family watch it as well. None of them are big Dick Van Dyke fans either but they laughed just as much as I did. And, I caught some more funny lines/scenes the second time around.

Seriously, if you are looking for a moral movie where everyone learns that crime doesn't pay, look somewhere else. If you want to laugh as only a 1960s comedy can make you laugh, if you need a break from all of the bad news, if you just want to watch a bit of fluff with a cute romance, Fitzwilly is the perfect choice. It's fun and it's funny!

1 hour 42 minutes

Principal Cast

Dick Van Dyke...Claude R. Fitzwilliam
Barbara Feldon...Juliet Nowell
John McGiver...Albert
Edith Evans...Miss Victoria Woodworth
Harry Townes...Mr. Nowell
John Fiedler...Mr. Morton Dunne
Anne Seymour...Grimsby
Norman Fell...Oberblatz
Cecil Kellaway...Buckmaster
Stephen Strimpell...Byron Casey
Helen Kleeb...Mrs. Mortimer

Filming Location(s)

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA (studio)
High Street, Moorpark, California, USA
Steinway Hall, 109-113 West 57th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (piano store exterior)
1275 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (Gimbel's department store)
Isaac L. Rice House, 346 W 89th St, New York, USA
(Woodworth Mansion)
424 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (exterior of Lord & Taylor - closed 2019)

Quotes

Claude R. Fitzwilliam: [Opening lines] Once upon a time, the very privileged lived the way we still do, in quiet luxury, elegance, grace. It's an almost vanished way of life. Not easy to hold on to. And, terribly expensive to maintain.

Juliet Nowell: Oh, my! I mean, hi.
Claude R. Fitzwilliam: Good evening.
Juliet Nowell: I didn't mean to sound so startled. It's just that I've never seen a butler in full reg before. Are there many of you left?
Claude R. Fitzwilliam: We're - getting scarce. Like so many things, such as good manners.

Grimsby: I hope you don't talk to yourself, Miss. She does and I do and we both hate it!

Juliet Nowell: Platypi? As in many platypuses?
Kid: We are the platypus troop. A manly and virtuous group. Opposed to almost every sin. We hate reefers, girls and gin. That's from our troop song.

Grimsby: Fitzwilly, when old Mr. Woodworth died, there wasn't a penny and you started all this. It was Miss Vicki and I understood. But, it's different now. You're robbing Altman's and Jensen's and lord knows who else; because, you enjoy it.
Claude R. Fitzwilliam: It's just - I'm so *good* at it.

Juliet Nowell: No wonder you're so fond of him.
Miss Victoria Woodworth: I'm not fond of Fitzwilly, I love him. So will you, when you get to know him better.

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Monday Movie - June 29th, 2020 (Anastasia)

6/29/2020

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Anastasia
starring
Ingrid Bergman ■ Yul Brynner ■ Helen Hayes

(1956)

WHEN THESE TWO MEET...it is the beginning of the most amazing conspiracy the world has ever known!

Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her he comes to believe she is really Anastasia. In the end the Empress must decide her claim.

Decades before the animated movie Anastasia there was a live action film of the same name it starred Hollywood greats Ingrid Bergman as Anna(stasia) and Yul Brynner as the man who finds her and wishes to profit from her resemblance to the long lost Grand Duchess.

I'll admit that I never watched the animated film but I did pick up the 1956 live action film when I found it on VHS at my local Friends of the Library book sale. I've long been fascinated by the mystery of what happened to Anastasia. I've read online articles, a non-fiction book, and a couple of novels. Like many people I pondered the story and wondered “what if she really did survive?” And, like those people I was saddened when the DNA tests were negative on the woman known as Anna Anderson as well as when the last two Romanov skeletons were found in Siberia.

But, back to the movie. I suspect that Anastasia may have been loosely based on the claims of Anna Anderson, as I noticed quite a few similarities and the timeframe the film is set in is pretty much lines up. The story is something of what I would call a psychological drama. The emphasis is not so much on romance, though there is some, and more on Anna's inner turmoil and the gradual transformation of those around her.

I can honestly say that Anastasia is not a riveting movie but rather it is an interesting one. One quickly comes to feel for Anna, her fear, desperation, and the flicker of hope that doesn't quite die out even as life kicks her around. The movie is a little dark, though not violent. And though I wish the ending had been shown rather than implied, I really do enjoy it each time I watch it. It's worth it just to see Ingrid Bergman outside of Casablanca and Yul Brynner in a role other than as a king.

If you are fascinated by the 'might have been' of the Grand Duchess Anastasia's life and death you really should add this movie to your collection of books read and movies watched.

1 hour 45 minutes

Principal Cast

Ingrid Bergman...Anna Koreff
Yul Brynner...General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine
Helen Hayes...Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
Akim Tamiroff...Boris Adreivich Chernov
Martita Hunt...Baroness Elena von Livenbaum
Felix Aylmer...Chamberlain
Sacha Pitoëff...Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Ivan Desny...Prince Paul von Haraldberg
Natalie Schafer...Irina Lissemskaia

Filming Location(s)

Copenhagen, Denmark
MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK (studio) (Studio interiors)
Københavns Hovedbanegård, Copenhagen, Denmark
Paris, France
Pont Alexandre III, Paris 7, Paris, France (Anna considers suicide)
Seine River, Paris, France
Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark
Île-de-France, France
Knebworth House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK
(Palace of the Empress)
Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Awards

Academy Awards 1957
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Ingrid Bergman

Golden Globes 1957
Best Actress - Drama - Ingrid Bergman

David di Donatello Awards 1957
Best Actress (Migliore Attrice) - Ingrid Bergman

National Board of Review, USA 1956
Best Actor - Yul Brynner for The King and I and The Ten Commandments Top Ten Films

New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1956
Best Actress - Ingrid Bergman

Quotes

General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine: [to Petrovin] Would you recognize the smile of a girl you knew ten years ago?
Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin: I didn't think of that!
General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine: You're both fools! You're examining her as if she was the real Anastasia. There is no Anastasta! She was shot to death ten years ago by a firing squad. We're not looking for her, gentlemen. We're seeking only a reasonable facsimile.

Anastasia: The poor have only one advantage; they know when they are loved for themselves.

Dowager Empress: We are most of us lonely, and it is mostly of our own making.

Dowager Empress: I like the past. It's sweet and familiar.

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Monday Movie - The War Wagon

5/25/2020

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The War Wagon
starring
John Wayne ■ Kirk Douglas

(1967)

The War Wagon Rolls And The Screen Explodes!

Taw Jackson returns from prison having survived being shot, to the ranch and gold that Frank Pierce stole from him. Jackson makes a deal with Lomax, the man who shot him 5 years ago to join forces against Pierce and steal a large gold shipment. The shipments are transported in the War Wagon, an armored stage coach that is heavily guarded. The two of them become the key players in the caper to separate Pierce from Jackson's gold.

I will confess that this is not my favorite John Wayne movie, but, it still isn't half bad. It has one of my favorite theme/intro songs in a John Wayne movie, and, of the few Kirk Douglas movies that I've seen this is by far the one I like the most. It's also, well, uumm, it's my family's favorite Bruce Dern movie. (Hint: He has very few lines.)

The War Wagon is one of John Wayne's more anti-hero roles, but, you really can't blame him. I mean, his character, Taw Jackson, unjustly goes to prison, loses his land, home, and livelihood to a real scoundrel. So, why not take back what's his? Morals aside, as I said before, the movie's not half bad. I will say that the movie is violent, it's a western after all, but it's not terribly gory.

One of the more interesting things about this move is that this was the first movie I saw co-starring Keenan Wynn and it was a bit hard for me to reconcile his character in The War Wagon with his other nice guy roles such as Dandy in the romantic comedy The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown. It just goes to show how versatile of an actor he was to be so convincing in two such opposing roles.

Two other interesting roles in here are Bruce Cabot as Pierce, Cabot was another of those talented actors who could play a good guy you love or a bad guy you hate, and Joanna Barnes as Lola, which it's rather amusing when you realize that this sultry voiced saloon girl is also the "very nicely put together" Vicky from the 1961 version of The Parent Trap.

All in all The War Wagon is well worth watching at least once. It's packed with a lot of talent, more than just the title stars. Though, after all, "there's no movie like a good John Wayne movie."

96 Minutes

Principal Cast

John Wayne ... Taw Jackson
Kirk Douglas ... Lomax
Howard Keel ... Levi Walking Bear
Robert Walker Jr .... Billy Hyatt (as Robert Walker)
Keenan Wynn ... Wes Fletcher
Bruce Cabot ... Pierce
Joanna Barnes ... Lola

Filming Location(s)

Durango, Mexico
Sierra de Organos, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico
Universal Studios, Universal City, California, USA

Awards

1968 Western Heritage Awards
Bronze Wrangler - Theatrical Motion Picture - Burt Kennedy (writer/director)

Quotes

Taw Jackson: In four days, Pierce is going to make the biggest gold shipment ever made out of the territory - a half a million dollars.
Lomax: How are we goin' to take it? With the Prussian army?
Taw Jackson: With three other fellas. Five of us.
Lomax: Five. I'm kind of glad I didn't kill you tonight - you're funny as hell!

Lomax: Do you always wear a gun over your underwear?
Taw Jackson: Just lately.

[after shooting down two bad guys]
Lomax: Mine hit the ground first.
Taw Jackson: Mine was taller.

Lomax: Now what am I supposed to do, live with the Indians for the next year and open up a bakery? And with Pierce dead, it doesn't even pay to kill you any more!

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Easy Come, Easy GostarringElvis Presley ■ Dodie Marshall ■ Pat Priest ■ Pat Harrington ■ ​Skip Ward ■ Frank McHugh ■ Elsa Lanchester

CarefreestarringFred Astaire ■ Ginger Rogers

It Happened On Fifth Avenue​starring​Don DeFore ■ Ann Harding ■ Charles RugglesVictor Moore ■ Gale Storm

​Pardon My PaststarringFred MacMurray ■ Marguerite ChapmanAkim Tamiroff ■ William Demarest ■ Rita Johnson

Backbeard's GhoststarringPeter Ustinov ■ Dean Jones ■ Suzanne Pleshette​

The Doctor Takes A WifestarringLoretta Young ■ Ray Milland

Easy LivingstarringJean Arthur ■ Edward Arnold ■ Ray Milland

Love Is A BallstarringGlenn Ford ■ Hope Lange ■ Charles Boyer

Blue HawaiistarringElvis Presley

Christmas In ConnecticutstarringBarbara Stanwyck ■ Dennis Morgan ■ Sidney Greenstreet

Viva Las VegasstarringElvis Presley ■ Ann-Margret

Rio BravostarringJohn Wayne ■ Dean Martin ■ Ricky Nelson ■ Angie Dickinson

FitzwillystarringDick Van Dykeco-starringBarbara Feldon ■ John McGiver ■ Edith Evans

AnastasiastarringIngrid Bergman ■ Yul Brynner ■ Helen Hayes

The War Wagon starring John Wayne ■ Kirk Douglas

Author

Follow Us

Get new posts by email:

Archives

Categories

Easy Come, Easy Go
starring
Elvis Presley ■ Dodie Marshall ■ Pat Priest ■ Pat Harrington ■
Skip Ward ■ Frank McHugh ■ Elsa Lanchester

Carefree
starring
Fred Astaire ■ Ginger Rogers

It Happened On Fifth Avenue
starring
Don DeFore ■ Ann Harding ■ Charles Ruggles
Victor Moore ■ Gale Storm

Pardon My Past
starring
Fred MacMurray ■ Marguerite Chapman
Akim Tamiroff ■ William Demarest ■ Rita Johnson

Backbeard's Ghost
starring
Peter Ustinov ■ Dean Jones ■ Suzanne Pleshette

The Doctor Takes A Wife
starring
Loretta Young ■ Ray Milland

Easy Living
starring
Jean Arthur ■ Edward Arnold ■ Ray Milland

Love Is A Ball
starring
Glenn Ford ■ Hope Lange ■ Charles Boyer

Blue Hawaii
starring
Elvis Presley

Christmas In Connecticut
starring
Barbara Stanwyck ■ Dennis Morgan ■ Sidney Greenstreet

Viva Las Vegas
starring
Elvis Presley ■ Ann-Margret

Rio Bravo
starring
John Wayne ■ Dean Martin ■ Ricky Nelson ■ Angie Dickinson

Fitzwilly
starring
Dick Van Dyke
co-starring
Barbara Feldon ■ John McGiver ■ Edith Evans

Anastasia
starring
Ingrid Bergman ■ Yul Brynner ■ Helen Hayes

The War Wagon
starring
John Wayne ■ Kirk Douglas