remember the night

the year: 1940

the genre: drama


the cast: Barbara Stanwyck (Lee Leander); Fred MacMurray (John Sargent); Beulah Bondi (Mrs. Sargent); Elizabeth Patterson (Aunt Emma); Sterling Holloway (Willie Simms)


the plot: Just before Christmas, Lee Leander is caught shoplifting. It is her third offense and the DA, handsome John Sargent, gets the trial postponed because it's hard to get a conviction at Christmastime. He later feels sorry for her, arranges for her bail, and ends up taking her home to his mother for Christmas. Surrounded by a loving family (in stark contrast to Lee's own family background) they fall in love, which creates a new problem: how do they handle the upcoming trial?


don't miss: Willie's new hat.


listen for: "You know that's called arson?" "No! I thought that was when you bit somebody!"


did you know: this is one of four films where Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck co-starred.


You can watch the movie in parts starting here.

follow me, boys

the year: 1966

the genre: drama


the cast: Fred MacMurray (Lemuel Siddons); Vera Miles (Vida Downey); Lillian Gish (Hetty Seibert); Charles Ruggles (John Everett Hughes); Elliott Reid (Ralph Hastings); Kurt Russell (Whitey)


the plot: After one year too many on the road with a ramshackle jazz band, itinerant musician Lem Siddons decides to put down roots in Hickory, a small Midwestern town, by taking a job as a clerk in a general store. With the dual purpose of impressing bank teller Vida Downey and instilling values in the local boys and keep them out of trouble, Siddons starts a local Scout troop, which sets him on a lifelong roller-coaster ride as a Scoutmaster to a steady stream of high-spirited youngsters.



count: how many scouts are in the original Troop #1.


don’t miss: when the troop ends up in the middle of war games – “Show him how to tie a sheepshank and let him go.”



check out: the lodge the scouts build out at the lake.


listen for: “Holy jumpin' blue-eyed cow!”


also listen for: “Young man, you are a popinjay. And YOU, sir are an employer of popinjays.”


count: how many scouts show up for Lem Siddons Day.

the happiest millionaire

the year: 1967

the genre: musical


the cast: Greer Garson (Cordilia Bradley Biddle), Fred MacMurray (Anthony J. Drexel Biddle), Lesley Ann Warren (Cordilia Biddle), John Davidson (Angier Buchanan Duke); Tommy Steele (John Lawless); Geraldine Page (Mrs. Duke); Gladys Cooper (Aunt Mary Drexel)




the plot: John Lawless lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, and his family. His daughter, Cordelia, tires of the unusual antics of her father--especially since it impacts her reputation with the young men around town. Cordelia decides to go off to boarding school and promptly finds the man of her dreams – Angier Duke. Unfortunately, his mother doesn't approve of her, and her father doesn’t approve of Angier. Of course, it’s up to John the butler to save the day.



count: the alligators who are no longer “dead, dead, dead”.






don’t miss: Rosemary’s instruction on how to “Bayum Pum Pum”.





check out: how many wardrobe changes there are during the "Detroit" number - I left out a few.





listen for: “Big ugly beast! You'd be a handbag if I had my way.”




extra bonus points: The Happiest Millionaire was which actress' last film?




did you know: this was the last live-action film Walt Disney worked on.