JANE WYATT
Her best known role was as the wise and nominally pretty stay-at-home Mom in the 50's TV show, Father Knows Best, which is still kicking around on TV Land and its brethren. After this long-running success, Jane Wyatt’s work was mostly in TV. And yet, before Robert Young and the tube, she had an interesting career on the silver screen. Ms. Wyatt left this vale of tears at the grand old age of 96.
Lost Horizon (1937) is an absolute masterpiece and still very much worth seeing. Based on James Hilton’s captivating novel, it is the story of a place (discovered quite by accident) that is for all intents and purposes, perfect. Directed by the iconic Frank Capra, it features Ronald Colman as well as Ms. Wyatt in a fairy tale about the possibility of perfection.
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) is more than 60 years old, but is still a classic. Gregory Peck pretends to be Jewish to find out what it’s really like. He does. We do. Ms. Wyatt adds a nice note of stability as his lady friend. Ok, it’s a little dated, but aren’t we all?
Boomerang! (1947) is a good courtroom drama with a crime-fighting, straight-arrow District Attorney (Dana Andrews) who is the only one to question the guilt of a convenient suspect nabbed right after the crime. Ms. Wyatt is the supportive love interest in a fine film directed by Elia Kazan and based on a true story. Not to be confused with a really awful film of the same name with Eddie Murphy, released in 1992.
Ms. Wyatt is just fine as Aggie Hunter in None But The Lonely Heart (1944) written and directed by Clifford Odets. Pretty close to soap opera territory, but still a nice turn for those involved. You can’t go wrong with Cary Grant and Ethel Barrymore along.
One of Ms. Wyatt’s last feature film ventures was in the still-charming Never Too Late (1965) with Paul Ford and Maureen O’Sullivan as surprised middle-aged parents in waiting, and Ms. Wyatt as Grace Kimbrough, friend of the astonished family.
Ms. Wyatt is good in the pivotal role of Estella in the 1934 version of Great Expectations. But, in all honesty, this one pales compared to the 1946 classic directed by David Lean (though it is better than the weird 1998 one with Ethan Hawke).
All of the movies in this article are fine for children of all ages (boredom factor noted). All are available on DVD.
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Sunday, July 26, 2020
HOWARD KEEL
He was a great big handsome man with a great big glorious voice . When he was 66 years old, and hadn’t made a movie in 17 years, he was summoned to appear as Clayton Farlow in the mega-popular prime-time soap, Dallas. He stayed for 17 years, and this is the role for which many fans remember him.
But I remember Howard Keel, who died recently at 85, as the star of lots of wonderful MGM musicals. The 50's were the Golden Age of the movie musical, and he was in a bunch of the best ones.
As Frank Butler to Betty Hutton’s Calamity Jane, Howard Keel burst on the movie musical scene in Annie Get Your Gun (1950). The role needs a strong man with a strong voice and Mr. Keel filled the bill nicely. The song “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” includes many skills, the main one being sharpshooting. What fun!
The 1951 version of Show Boat is the best of several, and Howard Keel is on board with Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner (no, she didn’t really sing), Marge and Gower Champion and of course, William Warfield. Mr. Warfield’s “Old Man River” almost steals the show, but there are plenty of Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein songs to go around.
Kiss Me Kate (1953) is Cole Porter’s musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Katherine Grayson is the strong-minded Kate and Howard Keel the equally determined husband. Grayson and Keel play actors married to each other whose on and off-stage lives intertwine. Also on board for wonderful dancing are Ann Miller and Bob Fosse.
Keel teamed with songbird and big star Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953). She is Jane and he is Wild Bill Hickock. She owned a saloon and became the love of his life. If you Google Calamity Jane you’ll notice she wasn’t quite as pretty as Ms. Day! Only one good song- Secret Love- but that alone made Ms. Day wealthy.
Howard Keel’s favorite film was the rambunctious Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). The songs are fairly forgettable and the plot is hopelessly sexist, but there is a dance scene at a picnic that is one of the best ever put on film.
Kismet (1955) is the Arabian nights tale whisked from the Broadway stage to the silver screen, and brought us “Stranger In Paradise” and “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”. Ann Blyth is the lovely foil for Howard Keel’s roguish leading man.
All of these MGM movies have Technicolor that has never been bettered to this day. All are available on DVD. All are fine for all ages. And all are fun!
He was a great big handsome man with a great big glorious voice . When he was 66 years old, and hadn’t made a movie in 17 years, he was summoned to appear as Clayton Farlow in the mega-popular prime-time soap, Dallas. He stayed for 17 years, and this is the role for which many fans remember him.
But I remember Howard Keel, who died recently at 85, as the star of lots of wonderful MGM musicals. The 50's were the Golden Age of the movie musical, and he was in a bunch of the best ones.
As Frank Butler to Betty Hutton’s Calamity Jane, Howard Keel burst on the movie musical scene in Annie Get Your Gun (1950). The role needs a strong man with a strong voice and Mr. Keel filled the bill nicely. The song “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” includes many skills, the main one being sharpshooting. What fun!
The 1951 version of Show Boat is the best of several, and Howard Keel is on board with Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner (no, she didn’t really sing), Marge and Gower Champion and of course, William Warfield. Mr. Warfield’s “Old Man River” almost steals the show, but there are plenty of Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein songs to go around.
Kiss Me Kate (1953) is Cole Porter’s musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Katherine Grayson is the strong-minded Kate and Howard Keel the equally determined husband. Grayson and Keel play actors married to each other whose on and off-stage lives intertwine. Also on board for wonderful dancing are Ann Miller and Bob Fosse.
Keel teamed with songbird and big star Doris Day in Calamity Jane (1953). She is Jane and he is Wild Bill Hickock. She owned a saloon and became the love of his life. If you Google Calamity Jane you’ll notice she wasn’t quite as pretty as Ms. Day! Only one good song- Secret Love- but that alone made Ms. Day wealthy.
Howard Keel’s favorite film was the rambunctious Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). The songs are fairly forgettable and the plot is hopelessly sexist, but there is a dance scene at a picnic that is one of the best ever put on film.
Kismet (1955) is the Arabian nights tale whisked from the Broadway stage to the silver screen, and brought us “Stranger In Paradise” and “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”. Ann Blyth is the lovely foil for Howard Keel’s roguish leading man.
All of these MGM movies have Technicolor that has never been bettered to this day. All are available on DVD. All are fine for all ages. And all are fun!
Sunday, July 19, 2020
JOEL SCHUMACHER
He’s hardly a household word, but maybe he should be. Director Joel
Schumacher, who died recently at 80, has a sterling resume’ of fine films. The
Academy did not apparently know of his existence, but you will if you read this.
St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) set a high bar for coming of age films about a group.
Emilio Estevez. Rob Lowe, Mare Winningham, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson and Ally
Sheedy were pretty much unknown before this film. Mr. Schumacher got the most out of them and the story, which he co-wrote. 35 years later, it still rings true.
Falling Down (1993) is a strange little film that attempts to be a cautionary tale for our times. Michael Douglas plays William Foster, a basically normal guy who gets pushed and pushed and pushed and finally pushes back. He does so more and more violently as time goes on and more people annoy him. Douglas, always good, is perhaps near his best in this one. Director Schumacher has you believing it.
Mr. Schumacher directed two John Grisham stories. The Client (1994) stars Susan Sarandon as a lawyer trying to save a young boy who has seen something he shouldn’t have and there are very bad people wanting him dead. Good suspense in this one. A Time To Kill (1996) is one of Grisham’s best and also one of Schumacher’s. A young African-American girl is abducted and savagely raped in rural Mississippi. Her father (Samuel L. Jackson) waits for the defendants to attend their trial and guns them down in the courthouse. He gets a young untried lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) to defend him. An incredible cast also featuring Chris Cooper, Patrick McGoohan, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd and Donald Southerland brings this one home.
Phone Booth (2002) is an accomplished thriller revolving around the last phone booth in the city. Colin Farrell appears as Stuart Shepard, a sleazy publicist. He enters the phone booth and answers its ring to be told he will be killed if he leaves the booth unless he confesses his misdoings to those he has wronged. The suspense ramps up really well considering the limited location and the ending is a double surprise.
Mr. Schumacher’s Phantom Of The Opera (2004) gets all it can out of a fairly ridiculous plot that has somehow hung on for years. The music is very good and the principals do what they can. Gerard Butler is the phantom and Emmy Rossum the haunted Christine. Mr. Butler’s singing is, well, on key.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
He’s hardly a household word, but maybe he should be. Director Joel
Schumacher, who died recently at 80, has a sterling resume’ of fine films. The
Academy did not apparently know of his existence, but you will if you read this.
St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) set a high bar for coming of age films about a group.
Emilio Estevez. Rob Lowe, Mare Winningham, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson and Ally
Sheedy were pretty much unknown before this film. Mr. Schumacher got the most out of them and the story, which he co-wrote. 35 years later, it still rings true.
Falling Down (1993) is a strange little film that attempts to be a cautionary tale for our times. Michael Douglas plays William Foster, a basically normal guy who gets pushed and pushed and pushed and finally pushes back. He does so more and more violently as time goes on and more people annoy him. Douglas, always good, is perhaps near his best in this one. Director Schumacher has you believing it.
Mr. Schumacher directed two John Grisham stories. The Client (1994) stars Susan Sarandon as a lawyer trying to save a young boy who has seen something he shouldn’t have and there are very bad people wanting him dead. Good suspense in this one. A Time To Kill (1996) is one of Grisham’s best and also one of Schumacher’s. A young African-American girl is abducted and savagely raped in rural Mississippi. Her father (Samuel L. Jackson) waits for the defendants to attend their trial and guns them down in the courthouse. He gets a young untried lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) to defend him. An incredible cast also featuring Chris Cooper, Patrick McGoohan, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd and Donald Southerland brings this one home.
Phone Booth (2002) is an accomplished thriller revolving around the last phone booth in the city. Colin Farrell appears as Stuart Shepard, a sleazy publicist. He enters the phone booth and answers its ring to be told he will be killed if he leaves the booth unless he confesses his misdoings to those he has wronged. The suspense ramps up really well considering the limited location and the ending is a double surprise.
Mr. Schumacher’s Phantom Of The Opera (2004) gets all it can out of a fairly ridiculous plot that has somehow hung on for years. The music is very good and the principals do what they can. Gerard Butler is the phantom and Emmy Rossum the haunted Christine. Mr. Butler’s singing is, well, on key.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
FREDERIC MARCH
Movie fans who only remember the late Frederic March (1897-1975) from Inherit The Wind (1960), where he played a pompous bible-thumping William Jennings Bryan, might want to look further. Sternly handsome and with great range, Mr. March had a distinguished film and stage career which peaked in the 30's and 40's.
Frederic March’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is one of the best of a slew of attempts at the famous Robert Lewis Stevenson tale of double identity. Mr. March mines the nuances of the story extremely well and won his first Oscar for it. If it’s not quite up to the 1920 John Barrymore silent, it’s close.
Mr. March is at his romantic best as Robert Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), a fine edition of the affecting love story between poets Browning and his eventual wife, Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer). Charles Laughton as the imperious father is also excellent, but this is ultimately March’s movie.
Playing opposite Greta Garbo was always a challenge, but Mr. March was up to it in Anna Karenina (1935). He is the dashing, irresponsible Levin; Garbo the smitten, doomed Anna and Basil Rathbone the cold and hateful husband. This version is by far the best of the four made so far.
In Les Miserables (1935) Mr. March is the relentless, merciless Inspector Javert who chases Jean Valjean (Charles Laughton) across the years to enact the full vengeance of the law in revolution-torn France. This stirring version is superior to others and the principals are uniformly excellent. The 2012 version, based on the Broadway musical, has good music.
Frederic March is the has-been actor and Janet Gaynor the meteoric actress in the 1937 version of A Star Is Born. It is the compelling story of the hopeless marriage of two Hollywood actors rushing in opposite career directions. Mr. March was nominated for the Oscar but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. The Judy Garland-James Mason edition of this film, made in 1954, is almost as good. And the Bradley Cooper-Madonna version from 2018 though nominated for a truckload of Oscars only won for a couple of minor tech categories.
Mr. March won his final Oscar for William Wyler’s monumental The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946). It is the perfectly pitched story of the GIs returning from World War II to civilian life, and claimed seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Frederic March is a businessman who finds that the home folks just don’t get it, and his somewhat irascible character is convincing and moving.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for kids 10 and up.
Movie fans who only remember the late Frederic March (1897-1975) from Inherit The Wind (1960), where he played a pompous bible-thumping William Jennings Bryan, might want to look further. Sternly handsome and with great range, Mr. March had a distinguished film and stage career which peaked in the 30's and 40's.
Frederic March’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is one of the best of a slew of attempts at the famous Robert Lewis Stevenson tale of double identity. Mr. March mines the nuances of the story extremely well and won his first Oscar for it. If it’s not quite up to the 1920 John Barrymore silent, it’s close.
Mr. March is at his romantic best as Robert Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), a fine edition of the affecting love story between poets Browning and his eventual wife, Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer). Charles Laughton as the imperious father is also excellent, but this is ultimately March’s movie.
Playing opposite Greta Garbo was always a challenge, but Mr. March was up to it in Anna Karenina (1935). He is the dashing, irresponsible Levin; Garbo the smitten, doomed Anna and Basil Rathbone the cold and hateful husband. This version is by far the best of the four made so far.
In Les Miserables (1935) Mr. March is the relentless, merciless Inspector Javert who chases Jean Valjean (Charles Laughton) across the years to enact the full vengeance of the law in revolution-torn France. This stirring version is superior to others and the principals are uniformly excellent. The 2012 version, based on the Broadway musical, has good music.
Frederic March is the has-been actor and Janet Gaynor the meteoric actress in the 1937 version of A Star Is Born. It is the compelling story of the hopeless marriage of two Hollywood actors rushing in opposite career directions. Mr. March was nominated for the Oscar but lost to Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous. The Judy Garland-James Mason edition of this film, made in 1954, is almost as good. And the Bradley Cooper-Madonna version from 2018 though nominated for a truckload of Oscars only won for a couple of minor tech categories.
Mr. March won his final Oscar for William Wyler’s monumental The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946). It is the perfectly pitched story of the GIs returning from World War II to civilian life, and claimed seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Frederic March is a businessman who finds that the home folks just don’t get it, and his somewhat irascible character is convincing and moving.
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for kids 10 and up.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
IAN HOLM
Ian Holm ,who worked right up to his death at 88, was one of those character actors whose face you can’t come up with- until you see him in a movie and think “Oh, yeah- that guy.” A reader requested a column on him, and with over 136 acting credits there is plenty to choose from, so here goes:
Most recently you would find Ian Holm appearing in most of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as Bilbo Baggins.
In Alien (1979) Holm is cast as Ash, a really bad guy who tries to scuttle the mission along with the human crew. Fortunately, though maybe not so much for him, he is decapitated and turns out to be an android!
In Robin And Marian (1976) Holm is the hated King John, who hunted the noble Robin Hood like a dog and who was forced to sign the Magna Carta. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn shine as the title characters, middle-aged lovers, still charming.
In Chariots Of Fire (1981) one of the two British runners who are the movie’s heroes is Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross). In 1919 he breaks with tradition and hires a professional trainer. And that trainer is Sam Mussabini, played adeptly by Ian Holm. Later his protégé makes headlines by refusing to compete on the Jewish sabbath.
In Kenneth Branagh’s marvelous adaption of Shakespeare’s Henry V (1989) Mr. Holm is Captain Fluellen, the right hand man of the fighting king. I think this version is only a hair behind the 1944 Henry V with Olivier.
Franco Zeffirelli’s splendid adaptation of Hamlet (1990) has Ian Holm as the foolish and doomed Polonious. He is surrounded by a stellar cast including Mel Gibson as the title character, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield and Helena Bonham Carter.
Playing the part of a rather quackish physician is no problem for Ian Holm, and he is such as Dr. Willis in The Madness Of King George (1994). His idea of curing the king’s craziness is to strap him into a tight vest whenever he misbehaves. Right...
Ian Holm is the dastardly Pascal in Big Night (1996). Brothers Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are trying to succeed with a new Italian restaurant. Pascal tell them he will have a famous opera star appear there at a certain time, on the Big Night. I will just say that Pascal is a competitor and doesn’t play fair.
Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Herafter (1997) involves a horrific school bus accident in which many children are killed. Many of the parents are recruited by attorney Mitchell Stevens to file a class action lawsuit. That lawyer is played by none other than Ian Holm, and this is one of his best roles. I’ll reveal no more!
Joe Gould was a semi-famous gadfly in New York in the1920's and after. He compiled an “oral history” of characters he encountered and many people were intrigued by this opus. One of them was Joseph Mitchell, who put together this story and this movie. Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) is the result and Mr. Holm plays the title character. What is the secret? My lips are sealed!
Ian Holm can also be seen as the somewhat evil Gideon Largeman in Garden State (2004), and as the quirky Professor Fitz in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004).
All of these movies are available on DVD. All of them are adult films.
Ian Holm ,who worked right up to his death at 88, was one of those character actors whose face you can’t come up with- until you see him in a movie and think “Oh, yeah- that guy.” A reader requested a column on him, and with over 136 acting credits there is plenty to choose from, so here goes:
Most recently you would find Ian Holm appearing in most of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as Bilbo Baggins.
In Alien (1979) Holm is cast as Ash, a really bad guy who tries to scuttle the mission along with the human crew. Fortunately, though maybe not so much for him, he is decapitated and turns out to be an android!
In Robin And Marian (1976) Holm is the hated King John, who hunted the noble Robin Hood like a dog and who was forced to sign the Magna Carta. Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn shine as the title characters, middle-aged lovers, still charming.
In Chariots Of Fire (1981) one of the two British runners who are the movie’s heroes is Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross). In 1919 he breaks with tradition and hires a professional trainer. And that trainer is Sam Mussabini, played adeptly by Ian Holm. Later his protégé makes headlines by refusing to compete on the Jewish sabbath.
In Kenneth Branagh’s marvelous adaption of Shakespeare’s Henry V (1989) Mr. Holm is Captain Fluellen, the right hand man of the fighting king. I think this version is only a hair behind the 1944 Henry V with Olivier.
Franco Zeffirelli’s splendid adaptation of Hamlet (1990) has Ian Holm as the foolish and doomed Polonious. He is surrounded by a stellar cast including Mel Gibson as the title character, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield and Helena Bonham Carter.
Playing the part of a rather quackish physician is no problem for Ian Holm, and he is such as Dr. Willis in The Madness Of King George (1994). His idea of curing the king’s craziness is to strap him into a tight vest whenever he misbehaves. Right...
Ian Holm is the dastardly Pascal in Big Night (1996). Brothers Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are trying to succeed with a new Italian restaurant. Pascal tell them he will have a famous opera star appear there at a certain time, on the Big Night. I will just say that Pascal is a competitor and doesn’t play fair.
Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Herafter (1997) involves a horrific school bus accident in which many children are killed. Many of the parents are recruited by attorney Mitchell Stevens to file a class action lawsuit. That lawyer is played by none other than Ian Holm, and this is one of his best roles. I’ll reveal no more!
Joe Gould was a semi-famous gadfly in New York in the1920's and after. He compiled an “oral history” of characters he encountered and many people were intrigued by this opus. One of them was Joseph Mitchell, who put together this story and this movie. Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) is the result and Mr. Holm plays the title character. What is the secret? My lips are sealed!
Ian Holm can also be seen as the somewhat evil Gideon Largeman in Garden State (2004), and as the quirky Professor Fitz in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004).
All of these movies are available on DVD. All of them are adult films.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
FRED ASTAIRE DANCES
If you love good dancing (and I do) there is nothing close to the artistry and exhilaration of Fred Astaire gliding with Ginger Rogers or tapping like a machine gun on speed. If you do not like dancing, do not watch these movies. Take out the dancing and not a one of them is worth seeing. Ah, but if you like the dancing, these are the best movies there are! Mr. Astaire insisted that every dance scene be done in one take, without cutting, which is somewhat akin to working without a net. The results absolutely glow.
Any talk of dance movies should start with Top Hat (1935) with Ginger and Fred. There are at least four great dance numbers, including the famous “feather dress” duet, and Fred’s intricate tap routine to “Putting on the Ritz”.
Swing Time (1936) features Fred’s solo tap number in sync with his shadow in the background, and the wonderfully romantic duet with Ginger to “The Way You Look Tonight”. There are two other fine dance numbers to enjoy.
The answer to Shall We Dance? (1937) is, of course, “Please.” The finale with Fred and Ginger and a cast of thousands dancing to the title tune is great, as are two other numbers. But the highlight of this one to me is Fred and Ginger’s duet on skates to “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off”. How do they do that?
Ginger Rogers is not Fred’s partner in Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). Rather we have Fred paired with Eleanor Powell in a great dancing film with six super numbers. Not to be missed is their duet involving sliding down ramps in perfect sync,
and their closing tap duet to “Begin The Beguine.”
Fred and Ginger are reunited to great effect in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) featuring their duet to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, a super tap duet, and Fred’s incredible dance with the empty shoes in the shoe shop.
Also worth a look are Fred’s solos in Blue Skies (1946), Ginger and Fred’s first duet in The Gay Divorcee (1934), Fred’s solo tap number with firecrackers in Holiday Inn (1942), Fred’s solo tap number across the ceiling in Royal Wedding (1951), and Fred’s solo in, over across and upon the bar in The Sky’s The Limit (1943).
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. Many of these films are shown on TV frequently. All are suitable for children of all ages, subject only to attention spans.
If you love good dancing (and I do) there is nothing close to the artistry and exhilaration of Fred Astaire gliding with Ginger Rogers or tapping like a machine gun on speed. If you do not like dancing, do not watch these movies. Take out the dancing and not a one of them is worth seeing. Ah, but if you like the dancing, these are the best movies there are! Mr. Astaire insisted that every dance scene be done in one take, without cutting, which is somewhat akin to working without a net. The results absolutely glow.
Any talk of dance movies should start with Top Hat (1935) with Ginger and Fred. There are at least four great dance numbers, including the famous “feather dress” duet, and Fred’s intricate tap routine to “Putting on the Ritz”.
Swing Time (1936) features Fred’s solo tap number in sync with his shadow in the background, and the wonderfully romantic duet with Ginger to “The Way You Look Tonight”. There are two other fine dance numbers to enjoy.
The answer to Shall We Dance? (1937) is, of course, “Please.” The finale with Fred and Ginger and a cast of thousands dancing to the title tune is great, as are two other numbers. But the highlight of this one to me is Fred and Ginger’s duet on skates to “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off”. How do they do that?
Ginger Rogers is not Fred’s partner in Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). Rather we have Fred paired with Eleanor Powell in a great dancing film with six super numbers. Not to be missed is their duet involving sliding down ramps in perfect sync,
and their closing tap duet to “Begin The Beguine.”
Fred and Ginger are reunited to great effect in The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) featuring their duet to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, a super tap duet, and Fred’s incredible dance with the empty shoes in the shoe shop.
Also worth a look are Fred’s solos in Blue Skies (1946), Ginger and Fred’s first duet in The Gay Divorcee (1934), Fred’s solo tap number with firecrackers in Holiday Inn (1942), Fred’s solo tap number across the ceiling in Royal Wedding (1951), and Fred’s solo in, over across and upon the bar in The Sky’s The Limit (1943).
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. Many of these films are shown on TV frequently. All are suitable for children of all ages, subject only to attention spans.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
FOOTBALL FILMS
OMG we love football and as I write this we’re wondering if we’ll ever see it again. Football movies take some funny bounces, too. While nowhere near the fertile ground for films that baseball and boxing have been, there are some quite good movies featuring the gridiron game.
North Dallas Forty (1979), faithfully adapted from Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent’s book, is one of the best. It is funny and true; the football part is very well done. Nick Nolte and Mac Davis are just fine as players used and abused by the NFL system. Probably as good a look at the pro game as we’ll ever get from Hollywood.
Brian’s Song (1971) is about the short life and career of Wake Forest running back Brian Piccolo. James Caan as Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams as Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers head a uniformly excellent cast. The football parts are pretty good; the movie as a whole is one of the best made-for-TV movies ever filmed. A must-see for fans of football and of life.
In The Longest Yard (1974) Burt Reynolds plays a former pro quarterback serving time. There is to be a football game between Reynolds’ cons and the warden’s (Eddie Albert) hand-picked team of semi-pros. The battle comes much closer to a gang war than a football game, but it is hilarious and well done.
Semi-Tough (1977) features Burt Reynolds at his charming best, Kris Kristofferson as his best buddy, and Jill Clayburgh as their girlfriend in a very funny adaptation of Sports Illustrated’s Dan Jenkins’ novel. There are several incomplete passes and fumbles here, but also some touchdowns.
Even with headliner Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire (1996) took a huge risk. Millionaire athletes and their millionaire agents aren’t exactly at the top of the hero list for most Americans. Cruise is a sports agent and his best ( and eventually only) client is a star running back who makes more money per game than you and I will make in the next five years. But Cruise’s star power and the absolutely wonderful (and Oscar-winning) performance by Cuba Gooding, Jr., as the pro footballer, together with a smart and funny screenplay, turn this into a real crowd-pleaser. [Show me the money!]
Also worth mentioning is Rudy (1993) with Sean Astin dreaming to play for Notre Dame, and The Blind Side (2009) with Sandra Bullock rescuing a very large black kid via football.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The last two are suitable for kids. The rest are for grown-ups.
OMG we love football and as I write this we’re wondering if we’ll ever see it again. Football movies take some funny bounces, too. While nowhere near the fertile ground for films that baseball and boxing have been, there are some quite good movies featuring the gridiron game.
North Dallas Forty (1979), faithfully adapted from Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent’s book, is one of the best. It is funny and true; the football part is very well done. Nick Nolte and Mac Davis are just fine as players used and abused by the NFL system. Probably as good a look at the pro game as we’ll ever get from Hollywood.
Brian’s Song (1971) is about the short life and career of Wake Forest running back Brian Piccolo. James Caan as Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams as Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers head a uniformly excellent cast. The football parts are pretty good; the movie as a whole is one of the best made-for-TV movies ever filmed. A must-see for fans of football and of life.
In The Longest Yard (1974) Burt Reynolds plays a former pro quarterback serving time. There is to be a football game between Reynolds’ cons and the warden’s (Eddie Albert) hand-picked team of semi-pros. The battle comes much closer to a gang war than a football game, but it is hilarious and well done.
Semi-Tough (1977) features Burt Reynolds at his charming best, Kris Kristofferson as his best buddy, and Jill Clayburgh as their girlfriend in a very funny adaptation of Sports Illustrated’s Dan Jenkins’ novel. There are several incomplete passes and fumbles here, but also some touchdowns.
Even with headliner Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire (1996) took a huge risk. Millionaire athletes and their millionaire agents aren’t exactly at the top of the hero list for most Americans. Cruise is a sports agent and his best ( and eventually only) client is a star running back who makes more money per game than you and I will make in the next five years. But Cruise’s star power and the absolutely wonderful (and Oscar-winning) performance by Cuba Gooding, Jr., as the pro footballer, together with a smart and funny screenplay, turn this into a real crowd-pleaser. [Show me the money!]
Also worth mentioning is Rudy (1993) with Sean Astin dreaming to play for Notre Dame, and The Blind Side (2009) with Sandra Bullock rescuing a very large black kid via football.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The last two are suitable for kids. The rest are for grown-ups.
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