9.30.2011

guess who.

He first worked writing advertising copy.

During WWII he commanded a landing craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba and later ferried supplies to the Yugoslav partisans.

During his time in the theatre, he played 77 parts.

The qualities he claimed to most admire in an actor were "simplicity, purity, clarity of line."

He helped Harrison Ford find an apartment when he arrived in Englad to film one of their most famous films.

In certain prints of the film in which he won the Best Actor Oscar, his last name is misspelled.

He has played characters named Captain Crawford, Prince Feisal, Professor Marcus, Father Brown, Colonel Fraser, Major Sinclair, and (my favorite) Jamessir Bensonmum.

9.28.2011

abc's: q-r

Return to Me


The Reluctant Debutante


The Quiet Man


R.E.D.


Road to Morocco


Romance on the High Seas

Yours?

9.27.2011

best of: donald o'connor

There's No Business Like Show Business:


I Love Melvin


Call Me Madam


Anything Goes


and, of course, Singin' in the Rain

9.26.2011

the reluctant dragon


the year: 1941

the genre: comedy


The loose plot of the film features Robert Benchley trying to find (or, rather, avoid finding) Walt Disney so that he can, at the insistence of his wife, pitch to him the idea of making an animated version of the book by Kenneth Grahame. Dodging an overly officious studio guide named Humphrey, Benchley stumbles upon a number of the Disney studio operations and learns about the traditional animation process.



don't miss: the poetry slam. I still can't decide which one I like best...Sir Giles' Radish or the dragon's Upside-Down Cake.



did you know: the dragon was originally drawn with a navel which had to removed before the film could be passed, per the Hays Office censors.


Watch the entire piece (including Robert Benchley's tour of the Disney studio) here.


9.23.2011

abc's: p

The Pelican Brief


The Parent Trap


Pillow Talk


The Pink Panther


Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl


Pride of the Yankees


The Princess Bride

What are your favorite "P" movies?

9.22.2011

what a character

Name the animated Disney movie that includes the character:

1. Bruno
2. Trigger
3. Hera
4. Kay
5. Lucky
6. Kaa

9.20.2011

best of: david niven

Bedtime Story (the original DRS):


Bachelor Mother:


Around the World in 80 Days:


Casino Royale (actually, it's a miracle that the Bond series took off from this, but...):


Happy Go Lovely:

9.19.2011

quotes: are ya ready for some football?

Name the movie:

1. Hey, I grew up with five brothers, but I got no problem hitting a girl.

2. Sorry, Coach. I stopped when I heard the whistle.

3. No son of mine is gonna play any foos-ball.

4. You Bedazzled my football?

5. Sure. Yeah. These are a lot like your plays, only a little more... effective.

6. No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around.

7. Perfection. Let's go to work.

9.16.2011

guess who.

He was born Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen.

He made his acting debut at age 7.

At the age of 14, he severely injured his right arm in an accident when it went through a glass door. The injury greatly compromised the use of his lower arm and hand with irreversible nerve damage, which he later learned to hide.

With heartthrobs such as Clark Gable and stalwarts like James Stewart off to WWII, he was recognized as the romantic lead on the MGM lot.

He was a part of the Rat Pack and the one that brought the project of Ocean's Eleven to Sinatra.

His was JFK's brother-in-law.


9.15.2011

the omega/london connection

the year: 1979
the genre: suspense...er, comedy
the cast: Jeffrey Byron (Luther Starling); Larry Cedar (Roger Pike); Frank Windsor (McGuffin)

the plot: An exciting adventure begins for a young American government agent when he witnesses the kidnapping of a noted European scientist in London. The only item left behind is a gold ring, inscribed with an address, that leads the agent into a massive conspiracy of international proportions. A baffling series of clues and a high-speed boat chase in the Port Of London add up to a superlative Disney mystery thriller!

Laney can probably vouch for the fact that this movie is a little corny...I mean, it's a DISNEY spy movie. Regardless, this was one of our favorites growing up - and always on the summer afternoon/green bean snapping list. This is definitely a hard-to-find gem...as evidenced by the fact that I could only find one - yes, one - pic related to this movie on the internet. But don't let that fool you. This is good clean fun...



count: how many vehicles the Scotland Yard detectives lose.

listen for: "I once had a cat named Luther!"

don't miss: the great ball bearing escape. And the cross-dressing escape.

also don't miss: the hot air balloon, the motorboat, the motorcycle with sidecar, the oceanliner, the tank...

Here's the opening scene - tell me this isn't the grooviest 70s spy movie music you've ever heard:

9.14.2011

best of: joe pasternak

Joe Pasternak's career as a film producer spanned 40 years and earned him two Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations. He retired in 1968, having produced more than ninety feature-length films as well as three Academy Award shows. He was noted for producing numerous family-oriented fare and sunny musicals. Here are a few clips from some of his MANY movies:

The Student Prince:


Summer Stock:


Made in Paris:


Hit the Deck:


The Courtship of Eddie's Father:

9.13.2011

abc's: o

Ocean's Twelve


Ocean's Thirteen


Ocean's Eleven


On the Town


Opperation Petticoat

What are your favorite "O" movies?

9.11.2011

quotes: chicago

Name the movie:

1. Shane, look over there! He cut a patch in the li'l boy head; got him lookin' like "101 Dalmatians." You ever heard a' that movie? He look like a Dalmatian! That's one hundred an' two!

2. Ladies and gentlemen, you are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to play a little tune for you. It's one of my personal favorites and I'd like to dedicate it to a young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today - Cameron Frye, this one's for you.

3. Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now.

4. Sorry, Charlie. I think it's something I ate, you know? I think I'm just going to stay home, take it easy. What am I doing right now? I'm watching the Cubs game. What's the score?...Uh, the Cubs are losing.

5. You're disrupting the Mass!
Who made you the Pope?

6. Put some Windex.

9.09.2011

guest blogger: blaine

What's the best movie you've seen this year?
Unknown or Inception

What do you consider to be one of the most underrated movies?
The original Johnny Lingo

Best Soundtrack?
Pirates or Gettysburg

Have you ever watched a movie that changed your opinion about something? If so, what was it?
Bowling for Columbine changed my opinion of academia and documentaries. Metropolis changed my opinion of the 20s. Both for the negative.

Do you have a movie that's a guilty pleasure?
Poorly made movies like the early Bond movies and The Day After Tomorrow. I feel some guilt out of getting so much pleasure from their hoakeyness.

What's a movie that no one would expect you to love?
Up, El Dorado and Hitch

Name a movie that you didn't like at first, but that eventually grew on you.
Sense and Sensibility (Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman version)

What is your favorite movie based on a book?
To Kill A Mockingbird

Is there an older movie that you think would be great as a remake?
Xanadu, there are even more costumes and special effects they can work into that final number now.

What is the most hilarious movie you've ever seen?
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels or A Shot in the Dark

Name a movie that you love but everyone else hates (or vice versa).
Hate How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, others love it.

Which movie(s) do you wish you had seen in the theater?
I think I've seen all the ones I would have wanted to in the theatre.

9.08.2011

abc's n

A Night at the Opera


Nacho Libre


The Nutty Professor


Night at the Museum II: Battle of the Smithsonian


North by Northwest


A Night in Casablanca

What are your favorite "N" movies?

9.07.2011

director: blake edwards

Blake Edwards used his writing skills to begin producing and directing, with some of his best films including: Experiment in Terror, The Great Race, and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with the British comedian Peter Sellers. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he was also renowned for his dramatic work, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Days of Wine and Roses. His greatest successes, however, were his comedies, and most of his films were either musicals, melodramas, slapstick comedies, or thrillers. (more info)


Breakfast at Tiffany's: Struggling writer Paul Varjak moves into a New York apartment building and becomes intrigued by his pretty, quirky neighbor Holly Golightly. Holly's lifestyle confuses and fascinates Paul; in public she flits through parties with a sexy, sophisticated air, but when they're alone she changes into a sweetly vulnerable bundle of neuroses.



Operation Petticoat: A submarine commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) sub, a con-man executive officer and a group of army nurses. One of my all-time favorites. The Seaman Hornsby scene makes me laugh out loud every time.



The Pink Panther: Bumbling and conceited French police inspector Clouseau tries to catch The Phantom, a daring jewel thief who is right under his nose. I can't decide what's better: watching Clouseau or watching my Dad watching Clouseau.



Darling Lili: Lili Smith, a popular British music hall performer is regarded as a femme fatale. She is actually a German spy, and the uncle she dotes upon is really Colonel Kurt Von Ruger, a fellow spy and her contact with the German military. In hopes of gaining valuable information, Lili begins using her feminine wiles on Major William Larrabee, a top American pilot. However, Lili soon falls in love with Larrabee and...



The Great Race: The Great Leslie is the classic hero in white, handsome and successful. Professor Fate is the villain, Leslie's nemesis, dressed in black and dogged by failure. Leslie proposes an automobile race from New York to Paris, to prove a new car, the Leslie Special. Fate builds his own race vehicle, the Hannibal Twin-8, complete with hidden devices of sabotage. Others enter cars in the race, including New York City's most prominent newspaper. Driving the newspaper's car is beautiful photojournalist Maggie DuBois, a vocal suffragette.

9.05.2011

quotes: summer

Name the movie:

1. I don't want to waste my summer at some camp! I'm Shane Gray for crying out loud!

2. You must remember, young thespians, learning is never seasonal, so do allow the shimmering lights of Summer to refresh and illuminate your fertile young minds.

3. Chessy, I changed a lot over the summer, that's all.

4. I'm only trying to say that Amity is a summer town. We need summer dollars. Now, if the people can't swim here, they'll be glad to swim at the beaches of Cape Cod, the Hamptons, Long Island...

5. I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling. I can't take this no more!

9.02.2011

guess who.

He is a native of the Bahamas.

He is fluent in Russian.

He was the top box office star of 1967.

He is tone deaf.

Along with Gary Cooper, he is the most represented actor on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with five of his films on the list.

He became the first black man to win an Academy Award in 1963.

Since 1997 he has been the Bahamian ambassador to Japan.

On August 12, 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America's highest civilian honor, by President Obama.


9.01.2011

abc's: m

Man's Favorite Sport


The Man of La Mancha


Meet Joe Black


Moon Over Miami


My Fair Lady

What are your favorite "M" movies?

stay tuned...

Blogger and I (or more accurately: my COMPUTER and I) are coming to a meeting of the minds...the baseball bat is the next step.