pirates of the caribbean

the year: 2003

the genre: adventure


the cast: Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow); Keira Knightly (Elizabeth Swann); Geoffrey Rush (Captain Barbossa); Orlando Bloom (Will Turner); Jack Davenport (Commodore Norrington)


the plot: this swash-buckling tale follows the quest of Captain Jack Sparrow, a savvy pirate, and Will Turner, a resourceful blacksmith, as they search for Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth, the daughter of the governor and the love of Will's life, has been kidnapped by the feared Captain Barbossa. Little do they know that the fierce and clever Barbossa has been cursed. He, along with his large crew, are under an ancient curse, doomed for eternity to neither live, nor die - that is, unless a blood sacrifice is made.


don't miss: the "bonus" scene after the credits - *especially* if you downed a large soda at the beginning of the movie. (insert sarcastic tone here.)


listen for: no, I don't think I'll quote anything - what's YOUR favorite line?


did you know: one of the film's last lines - "Bring me that horizon" - was conceived by Johnny Depp on the morning the scene was filmed. Also improvised by Depp were the various "eunuch" lines, and Jack Sparrow's catch phrase, "Savvy?".


extra bonus points: if you can list one of the similarities between the movie and the ride at Disneyland.

in the details

Name the movie:

guess who?

His birth name was Leslie.

He holds two entries in "The Guinness Book of World Records". One is for having the distinction of being the entertainer with "the longest running contract with a single network - spanning sixty-one years". The second is for being the "most honored entertainer", with over 1500 awards.

His golf buddy was Prescott Bush, the father and grandfather of presidents George Bush and George W. Bush.

He was the only entertainer to have complete carte blanche to walk on whenever he felt like it on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".

He is among the select few non-band members who have had the honor of dotting the "i" during The Ohio State University Marching Band's 'Script Ohio' routine. This is considered the greatest honor the band can bestow to any non-band person and is an extremely special (and rare) event.

In November of 1948, upon the upset presidential re-election, he sent President Harry S. Truman a one-word telegram: "Unpack". Truman was so amused by it he kept it in his desk in the Oval Office.

He entertained the troops overseas in every war from WWII to the Gulf War and became the first 'honorary veteran' by Congress.

the mating game

the year: 1959

the genre: comedy



the cast: Paul Douglas (Pop larkin); Una Merkel (Ma Larkin); Debbie Reynolds (Mariette Larkin); Tony Randall (Lorenzo "Clarlie" Charlton); Fred Clark (Oliver Kelsey)



the plot: Irritated neighbor Wendell Burnshaw brings the Larkin family to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service. Lorenzo Charlton is assigned to the case and Ma and Pop Larkin warmly welcome him to their family farm in Maryland, at first unaware of why he is there. Lorenzo is aghast to learn that the Larkins have never filed a tax return. With their cooperation, he sets out to figure out what, if anything, they owe in the way of back taxes - a difficult task, as Pop usually just trades for what they need and keeps no records. Lorenzo and the eldest Larkin daughter Mariette become attracted to each other, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his work...at least not at first.




listen for: "Don't you boys have a project to work on?"





also listen for: "Lorenzo, what's holding you up down there?" "What's holding me up? The truth of the matter is I'm defying the law of gravity."




don't miss: Lorenzo's version of I've Got You Under My Skin.


also listen for: "You know, whenever I get in a nasty mood, I just come out here and I lie down and listen, and look. And in no time at all, whatever has been bothering me seems no bigger than one leaf on a whole tree. Now you tell me how much that's worth and I'll pay the taxes on it myself."






did you know: the film was loosely based on a British novel, The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates.

roberta

the year: 1935

the genre: musical


the cast: Fred Astaire (Huckleberry Haines); Ginger Rogers (Comtesse Scharwenka); Irene Dunne (Stephanie); Randolph Scott (John Kent); Helen Westley (Roberta / Aunt Minnie)


the plot: Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an engagement in Paris, only to lose it immediately. John and company visit his aunt, owner of a posh fashion house which is really run by her assistant, Stephanie. There they meet the singer Scharwenka (alias Huck's old friend Lizzie), who gets the band a job. Meanwhile, Madame Roberta passes away and leaves the business to John, who has fallen in love with Stephanie.


don't miss: Huck and Liz's reunion:



watch for: a bleach blonde Lucille Ball as one of the models during the fashion show.


listen for: "You don't appreciate her. I know she seems a little hard and sophisticated, but underneath she's a pearl." "And a pearl so I'm told, is the result of a chronic irritation on an oyster."


did you know: the film was based on the book "Gowns by Roberta". It's my second favorite Astaire/Rogers movie.

hello, dolly!

the year: 1969

the genre: musical


the cast: Barbra Streisand (Dolly Levi); Walter Matthau (Horace Vandergelder); Michael Crawford (Cornelius Hackl)


the plot: Matchmaker Dolly Levi takes a trip to Yonkers, New York to see the "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder. While there, she convinces him, his two stock clerks and his niece and her beau to go to New York City. In New York, she fixes Vandergelder's clerks up with the woman Vandergelder had been courting, and her shop assistant (Dolly has designs of her own on Mr. Vandergelder, you see).


don't miss: Just Leave Everything to Me - the lyrics are hilarious.
"If you want your ego bolstered, muscles toned, or chair upholstered: Just leave everything to me.
Charming social introductions, expert mandolin instructions: Just leave everything to me.
If you want your culture rounded, French improved, or torso pounded, With a ten year guarantee.
If you want a birth recorded, collies bred, or kittens ported: I'll proceed to plan the whole procedure, Just leave everything to me."


did you know: Walter Matthau detested Barbra Streisand so much that he refused to kiss her in the final shot where Horace kisses Dolly in front of the church. To get around this he leaned near her and the camera was positioned so that the angle makes it appear that he kisses her when, in reality, his face was several inches from hers.


listen for: "Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around, encouraging young things to grow."

sunday in new york

the year: 1964

the genre: comedy


the cast: Jane Fonda (Eileen Tyler); Rod Taylor (Mike Mitchell); Cliff Robertson (Adam Tyler); Robert Culp (Russ Wilson); Jo Morrow (Mona Harris); Jim Backus (Chief Pilot Drysdale)


the plot: Eileen is 22 and is smarting from her breakup with Russ. She comes to New York to visit her brother, Adam, who is an airline pilot. Eileen decides to see if she can have some fun for herself in New York, and seems to find the perfect candidate in Mike, a man she meets on the bus. But things get complicated when Russ pops in with a proposal and a mistaken assumption.


don't miss: Robert Culp as the obtuse Russ - quite a switch from his savvy role in I Spy.


watch for: how Eileen "snags" Mike on the 5th Avenue bus.


count: how many missed connections occur between Adam and his girlfriend.


also don't miss: dinner with Eileen, Russ, Mike (who Russ think's is Andy, her brother), and Andy (who Russ thinks is Mike).