The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1945

Next Week

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

Today's movie!

The More the Merrier (1943)

We loved it--great, funny romantic comedy, with some classic scenes.

More later!

Week 14. Casablanca (1942)

Post pending.

Week 13. Sergeant York (1941)

Post pending.

Week 12. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Post pending.

Week 11. Destry Rides Again (1939)

3.7 STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“I liked it a lot, but I thought that Frenchy was too dramatic…wait…who am I to talk?”  --Syd

“You gotta love Jimmy Stewart--so cute when he was young..” --Stacy

The Film:  The Western town of Bottleneck is run by saloon owner, Kent, with the help of his heavy-handed henchmen.  He runs a crooked card game, cheating a local rancher out of his land, aided by the saloon chanteuse, Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich).  When the town sheriff goes to investigate, he’s apparently killed.  But Kent puts out the story that sheriff suddenly had to leave town.  The corrupt, tobacco-chewing mayor, appoints the town drunk, “Wash” Dimsdale,” sheriff, hoping not
to have any trouble out of him. 

But Dimsdale sobers up and sends for Thomas Jefferson “Tom” Destry, Jr. (James Stewart) to be his deputy and help him clean up the town.  Destry is the son of a much-respected former sheriff, but trouble is, he doesn’t believe in carrying a gun.  Worse yet, on stepping out of the stage to town, he's holding a parasol and parakeet cage.  The rough townspeople attempt to humiliate him, but Destry handles their attacks--verbal and physical--with calm and wit.  Then he starts wondering what happened to the recently departed sheriff….

Week 10. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

4.6 STARS - REEEALLY GOOD!!

“It’s way different than the Disney one.  It does not include animals.” --Sydney

The Film:  A familiar tale done up in the still-new Technicolor process that uses three layers of different colored film.  The conniving Prince John (Basil Rathbone) tries to usurp King Richard the Lion-Heart’s (Ian Hunter) throne while he’s away Crusading.  John, a Norman, oppresses the Saxon underclass with heavy taxes and heavier-handed law enforcement.  Earl Robin of Locksley, himself a knight, wages a guerilla war to overthrow John’s rule and improve the lot of his fellow Saxons.  Errol Flynn (as Robin Hood) also fills the screen with his own color--his acting irrepressibly joyful and his swashbuckling ever light-footed.  Another treat is Claude Rains as the evil, yet playfully mischievous, Prince John.  Rains is better known as the aging father to Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946).

Week 9. Captains Courageous (1937)

5 STARS - A FAMILY FAVE!!!


“I loved it, though I cried myself to sleep.”--Syd

The Film:  A spoiled rich kid, Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) gets kicked out of school and must accompany his father (Melvyn Douglas), a distant, preoccupied tycoon, on a steamer to Europe.  He falls overboard off the coast of New England only to be rescued by Manuel (Spencer Tracy), a likeable fisherman who becomes his mentor and protector.

Week 8. My Man Godfrey (1936)

4 STARS - REEEALLY GOOD!!

“I liked him as a butler.  Irene has a huge crush on him and he just ignored her blabbering.”--Sydney

The Film:  Godfrey (William Powell), the disillusioned scion of a wealthy family, lives anonymously in a dump with the humble, but goodhearted downtrodden in this Depression era comedy.  Things change when sisters Irene (Carole Lombard) and Cornelia Bullock, compete to grab him as a specimen “forgotten man" to win a tasteless scavenger hunt played with their idle rich friends.  When this leads to a job as the family butler, he must constantly spur Irene's compromising advances and dodge Cornelia's vengeful sabotages, all the while

Week 7. It’s a Gift (1935)

3½ STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“I felt sorry for him, and no wonder why he seemed to drink in many scenes.”--Kenz

The Film:  A classic W. C. Fields’ sight gag comedy.  A henpecked shopkeeper dreams of chucking it all, moving to California and buying an orange grove.  Each scene is a mini-comedy unto itself, rivaling many an SNL skit.  Several are painfully funny classics--the shaving scene, blind man crossing the street, sleeping on the porch, picnic on the mansion lawn.  Do you have QUMQUATS?!!!

Week 6. It Happened One Night (1934)

4 ¾ STARS - TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

“I kinda forgot how high that skirt got hitched!”--Ladd

The Film:  Heiress to a famously wealthy family, poor little rich girl Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), dives off her father’s yacht to escape his decree she shall not marry a business rival he despises.  Now penniless and on the run, she must somehow get from California to New York, dodging a hungry press and alert travelers anxious to score daddy’s hefty reward.  Grudgingly, she accepts the help of a cynical, street-smart fellow traveler

Week 5. Little Women (1933)

4 ¾ STARS - TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

“I loved it!!  It’s a classic story.  It makes me feel warm inside.  It’s like this romantic sad story.”--Syd

The Film:  The classic Louisa May Alcott story of young women as they move into adulthood while their father--he affectionately calls them his “little women”--is off fighting in the Civil War.  Despite wartime deprivations and anxieties, the girls find joy, sorrow, love and fun.  The drama centers around Jo (Katherine Hepburn) who must decide between marrying her best friend or striking out for a career as a writer.  Hepburn is still a young and inexperienced actress, but her range and charisma leap off the screen.

Week 4. Grand Hotel (1932)

3 ½ STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“It was a little boring through the middle because they went blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.”--Kayla

The Film:  Five strangers check in at the extravagant Grand Hotel in Berlin all for different reasons, but their lives come to intersect and entwine.  A charming ladies man and jewel thief (John Barrymore) falls for Russian ballerina (Greta Garbo), who is depressed over her fading career.  A desperate businessman (Wallace Beery) who is verging on bankruptcy, has hired a young stenographer (Joan Crawford) who must fend off his attentions.  And dying retiree (Walter Beery) has come to the hotel to spend his last days and life savings in luxury. 

Week 3 - Double Feature. Frankenstein (1931)

3 STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“Poor Frankenstein!  They were so mean to him!” --Kenzie

The Film:  The familiar story, of course:  Brilliant, driven scientist creates life from death, but something goes horribly awry, and no one is prepared to deal with the tragic consequences.  The movie and the monster, sympathetically played by Boris Karloff, was much imitated for years to come, even by the comedic re-make, “Young Frankenstein” (1974).  It’s interesting that “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” were so popular in this Depression year.  It was an era dominated by rich vs. poor comedies, crime thrillers, and horror flicks--all good ways to deal with the tough times created by high finance.   The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Week 3 - Double Feature. Dracula (1931)

3 ¼ STARS - GOOD SHOW!

“Somehow it made me stick to the couch.”--Syd

The Film:  The classic Bram Stoker story, in it’s first film version (not counting the 1922 “Nosferatu,” a German version that violated copyright laws.)  A Transylvanian count requiring fresh feeding ground moves to England.  Bela Lugosi forever set the standard for creepiness in the title role, and Dwight Frye, as Renfield, his crazed, once-bitten assistant, helps amp up the creepiness factor even more.

Week 2. Anna Christie (1930)

2 STARS - NOT SO MUCH.

“I walked out on it, but I saw all I needed”--Syd

The Film:  An aging father, the captain of a barge, is reunited with his grown daughter (Greta Garbo) whom he hasn’t known since childhood.  They both imagine each other quite different than they really are.  And a robust, young sailor, saved from drowning, lustily pursues Garbo, whom he hardly knows either.   A prominent star of the silent screen, Garbo appears in her first talkie which was promoted with the now famous catch-phrase, “Garbo Talks!”

Week 1. The Jazz Singer (1927)

4 STARS - REEEALLY GOOD!!


“The singing was O.K.  I got bored in the middle.” --Kayla

The Film:  Famous as the first “talkie,“ this film bridges silent and sound eras with the story of Jakie Rabinowitz, a Jewish boy determined to pursue his dream to sing jazz.  As cantor of the synagogue his father has dreams of his own--that son would follow father in the sacred calling.   He is outraged to learn Jakie has been singing the profane music in a neighborhood saloon and administers a stern beating.  But the boy flees home and his father disowns him.  Years later he is now a show biz veteran (played by Al Jolson) on the verge of his big break.  But once again finds himself torn between family traditions and the siren song of modern America.