the saint and the falcon

While I was hunkered down during Hurricane Sandy, I spent a fair amount of time flipping back and forth between storm coverage and fun things like (the original) Hawaii Five-O reruns, Looney Tunes cartoons, and even an Adam West Batman cliffhanger with Joker, Penguin, AND Catwoman!

Monday morning, I also stumbled across a few gems on TCM.  George Sanders (well before his time as the bad guy on In Search of the Castaways, or providing the voice for Shere Kahn) was the dashing, devil-may care Simon Templar (The Saint) and Gay Lawrence (The Falcon).  The Falcon movies were fun, but I have to say I loved The Saint movies best. 

Now I've got to see if I can find them on DVD...

once upon a honeymoon

 

the year: 1942

 

the genre: dramedy

 

 

the cast: Cary Grant (Pat O'Toole); Ginger Rogers (Kathie O'Hara / Katherine Butt-Smith / Baroness Katherine Von Luber); Walter Slezak (Baron Franz Von Luber)

 

the plot: At the start of WWII, Katie O'Hara, an American burlesque girl intent on social climbing, marries Austrian Baron Von Luber. Pat O'Toole, an American radio reporter, sees this as a chance to investigate Von Luber, who is suspected of having Nazi ties. As country after country falls to the Nazis, O'Tool follows O'Hara across Europe. At first he is after a story, but he gradually falls in love with her. When she learns that her husband is indeed a Nazi, O'Hara fakes her death and runs off with O'Toole.  But that's not the end of the story...

 

 

listen for:  "I was supposed to be investigating facts, not figures."

 

 

don't miss:  Pat telling the ship's captain that someone has fallen overboard.  Think "We're No Angels" telling Uncle Andre that Adolphe is poisonous.

 

 

did you know: The question of top billing was resolved by having half of the prints with Cary Grant listed first, and the other half with Ginger Rogers listed first.

 

government girl

the year: 1943

the genre: comedy

the cast: Oliva de Havilland (Elizabeth "Smokey" Allard; Sonny Tufts (E. H. "Ed" Browne); Anne Shirley (May Harness Blake); Jess Barker (Dana McGuire); James Dunn (Sgt. Joe Blake); Paul Stewart (Branch Owens); Agnes Moorehead (Mrs. Delancey Wright); Harry Davenport (Senator MacVickers)  

the plot: Set in Washington, the film tells the story of Elizabeth "Smokey" Allard, a take-charge secretary who has to help a volunteer businessman named Ed Browne deal with the mire and muck in D.C. He's trying to set up factories that will produce the planes that will be key in winning the war in Europe and in the Pacific. Of course, he's not used to dealing with the politics of D.C. and Smokey has to show him the ropes. They must contend with government sanctions, greedy investors, and a snobbish Washington matron.

you'll enjoy: Smokey and May's attempt to trap a spy for the feds.  Turns out the champagne isn't cider after all.

a fun meet cute: Smokey crawling under the couch in the lobby of the hotel looking for May's lost wedding ring (May and her beau had to get married behind the palms in the lobby because Ed, unbeknownst to them, was given the hotel room where they had planned to hold the wedding).  Ed, of course, is sitting on the couch waiting for his room to be ready - and with the female to male ratio during wartime at 10 to 1 - thinks she is crawling under the couch trying to get his attention. 

my favorite scene: is when Smokey has to find a way to get Sgt. Blake's motorcycle back to the base and is forced to ask Ed (who she does not realize is her new boss) to drop it off.  He agrees to do so, but only if she will hop on and give him directions.  He forgets to mention that he doesn't really know how to drive a motorcycle and is completely unfamilair with the streets in Washington.  

don't miss: Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Wright - see the clip below.

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.

the ghost and mrs. muir

the year: 1947

the genre: drama


the cast: Gene Tierney (Lucy Muir); Rex Harrison (Capt. Daniel Gregg); George Sanders (Miles Fairley); natalie Wood (Anna Muir)


the plot: Living in a haunted house by the sea is a less frightening prospect for Lucy Muir, a young widow with a small daughter, than continuing to live with her sisters-in-law. At first Captain Gregg (the ghost) plays the same tricks on Lucy he has used to get rid of previous tenants. And while he loves solitude, he soon comes to admire her spunk and to make it possible for her to afford to stay in the house by deciding she will write a best-seller - his memoirs. When Lucy visits a London publisher, she also impresses a famous author of children's books, Miles Fairley. Can a ghost be jealous?


did you know: Bernard Herrmann considered his musical score for this film to have been his best. Herrmann also did the scores for Psycho, North by Northwest and Citizen Kane.


don't miss: Mr. Coombe - realtor.


extra bonus points: if you know what the word "muir" means in Gaelic.


listen for: "You said I should see men." "I said men, not perfumed parlour snakes!"



The trailer can be watched here.

mrs. miniver

the year: 1942

the genre: drama


the cast: Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver); Walter Pidgeon (Clem Miniver); Teresa Wright (Carol Beldon); Henry Travers (Mr. Ballard); Richard Ney (Vin Miniver)


the plot: This is the story of an English middle class family through the first years of World War II. Clem Miniver is a successful architect and his beautiful wife Kay is the anchor that keeps the family together. With two young children at home, Kay keeps busy in the quaint English village they call home. She is well-liked by everyone and the local station master has even named his new rose after her. When their son Vincent, Vin to everyone, comes home from Oxford for the summer he is immediately attracted to Carol Beldon, granddaughter of Lady Beldon. Their idyllic life is shattered in September 1939 when England is forced to declare war on Germany. Soon Vin is in the RAF and everyone has to put up with the hardship of war including blackouts and air raids. Through it all, everyone displays strength of character in the face of tragedy and destruction.



extra bonus points: if you can name two of the eight movies (not counting this one) which co-starred Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon.



listen for: "She was a good cook, as good cooks go. And as good cooks go, she went."



did you know: Winston Churchill once said that this film had done more for the war effort than a flotilla of destroyers and the film's subsequent success had a profound effect on American sympathy towards the plight of the British.


also listen for: The vicar's speech near the end. It was reportedly re-written by William Wyler and Henry Wilcoxon the night before it was shot. It was translated into various languages and air-dropped in leaflets over German-occupied territory, was broadcast over the Voice of America, and reprinted in Time and Look magazines at Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's request. This speech has come to be known as The Wilcoxon Speech, in tribute to actor Henry Wilcoxon's stirring delivery of it.

casablanca

the year: 1942

the genre: drama


the cast: Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine); Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund); Paul Henreid (Victor Lazlo); Claude Rains (Captain Renault); Sydney Greenstreet (Signor Ferrari); Peter Lorre (Ugarte); S Z Sakall (Carl); Conrad Veidt (Major Srasser)


the plot: In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. The cynical Blaine comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, local police Captain Renault does what he can to please him, including detaining Czech underground leader Victor Laszlo. Much to Rick's surprise, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa, Rick's one time love. Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country - but will he?


don't miss: Dooley Wilson as Sam (ironically, he was the only cast member to have actually visited the real city of Casablanca) and the famous song "As Time Goes By".




listen for: "What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?" "My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters." "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert." "I was misinformed."



did you know: In the 1980s, this film's script was sent to a number of major studios and production companies under its original title, "Everybody Comes to Rick's". Some recognized the script but most did not. Many complained that the script was "not good enough" to make a decent movie. Others gave such complaints as "too dated", "too much dialog" and "not enough sex".



don't listen for" "Play it again, Sam." That line was never spoken in the movie. Ilsa says "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By"' and Rick says: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!".


also listen for: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" "Your winnings, sir." "Oh, thank you very much."






This one's a classic, for sure. But I have to admit, one of the reasons I like it so much is that without it we wouldn't have this: