Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Fred Astaire	Charlie Hill	Vera-Ellen	Angela Bonfils	Marjorie Main	Mrs. Phineas Hill	Keenan Wynn	Max Ferris

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1952
    Directed by Charles Walters.

Labels: dance, fred-astaire, marjorie-main, musical2, vera-ellen

# posted by gail @ 07:00    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This movie is a United States remake of the Swedish film starring Ingrid Bergman, also titled, in the English translation of the original Swedish name, "A Woman's Face". I've ordered both. I'm so curious to see which I like better and how the story was handled by two different directors and actors. I'll be adding that version, above, when I receive it.
    More later. Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Joan Crawford	Anna Holm	Melvyn Douglas	Dr. Gustaf Segert	Conrad Veidt	Torsten Barring	Osa Massen	Vera Segert
  Reginald Owen	Bernard Dalvik	Albert Bassermann	Consul Magnus Barring	Marjorie Main	Emma Kristiansdotter	Donald Meek	Herman Rundvik
  Connie Gilchrist	Christina Dalvik	George Zucco	Defense Attorney	Henry Kolker	Judge	Henry Daniell	Public Prosecutor

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film.
    Release Date: 1941
    Directed by George Cukor.

Labels: dramaG, joan-crawford, marjorie-main

# posted by gail @ 05:15    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    Another movie released the year I was born.
    In order to access the full article on this movie linked in the title of this post, you'll need to click into the beginning of it on TCM. It's worth it.
    Here is a shorter, kinder review.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Lana Turner	Fredda Barlo	Ezio Pinza	Mr. Imperium	Marjorie Main	Mrs. Cabot	Barry Sullivan	Paul Hunter
  Cedric Hardwicke	Bernand	Debbie Reynolds	Gwen	Ann Codee	Anna Pelan	The Guadalajara Trio	Themselves

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1951
    Directed by Don Hartman.

Labels: birth-year, debbie-reynolds, goflexA, marjorie-main, musical2, romance5

# posted by gail @ 04:37    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I just watched this movie this evening (8/20/21). I'd forgotten how absurd it is and, yet, despite it's absurdity, how compelling it is emotionally. Its ability to compel rests solely on the shoulders of two of the actors: Barbara Stanwyck as Stella Dallas and Barabara O'Neil as Helen Morrison Dallas. Yes, I know, there are actors in this movie who have more screen time than Barbara O'Neil, particularly the actors who play Laurel Dallas, Steven Dallas and Ed Munn. But none holds a candle to the ardent performances of these two actors.
    I'd love to be able to give you a good reason for my love of this film, for the fact that I can't seem to get enough of it. I'll tell you, though, each time I watch this film it's personally embarrassing for me to be overcome, yet again, by the gush of pure feeling I experience when watching it. Even as I'm sitting right in front of the screen absorbing it, I'm embarrassed by how I'm reacting. I'm not sure whether this means its good or bad, I just know that, every once in a while, when I feel the need to take a bath in sentiment, crazy and disjointed as Stella Dallas is, this movie does the trick.
    I did, some years ago, watch the Bette Midler remake, called simply, Stella. Even though I was looking forward to seeing it when I heard about it, I remember nothing about the story, the film or my reaction to it, which was probably insignificant. I haven't had the urge to re-view it since, even though, in the meantime, I've watched this Stella Dallas multiple times. I don't know why Bette's wasn't effective for me. And, "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
    Glenn Erickson of DVD Savant, whose reviews I often use, he's especially good with old and obscure movies, has written about the film twice. His earlier review is linked to the title of this post, above, and is dated 3/26/2005. Here is his later review, dated 1/1/2014. He has slightly different things to say about the movie in each review, although much of both reviews are the same.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Barbara Stanwyck	Stella Martin Dallas	John Boles	Stephen Dallas	Ann Shirley	Laurel Dallas	Barbara O'Neil	Helen Morrison Dallas
  Alan Hale	Ed Munn	Marjorie Main	Mrs. Martin	Tim Holt	Richard Grosvenor III	George Walcott	Charlie Martin

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for the film.
    Release Date: 1937
    Directed by King Vidor.

Labels: barbara-stanwyck, marjorie-main, melodramaA, mother-daughter-dynamics1, popcorn-and-soda7, women's-movie2

# posted by gail @ 16:15    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  The Collection contains the following movies:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Corn is Green - directed by George Cukor
    This was Mom's favorite of the collection. Of course it was. Mom was a teacher, not by default, as so many are, but by choice. She believes in the importance of good teaching. When she was in the Navy she was an instructor, in fact; a gunnery instructor. She was a crack shot, in and out of uniform. That's how she met my father. He was one of her students in the Navy.
    I think she would have liked to have been in a situation like the one laid out in the movie. In fact, considering that she taught in country schools in very rural areas before going into the Navy, perhaps she was.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Katharine Hepburn	Lilly Moffat	Ian Saynor	Morgan Evans	Bill Fraser	The Squire	Patricia Hayes	Mrs. Watty
  Anna Massey	Miss Ronberry	Artro Morris	John Goronwy Jones	Dorothea Phillips	Sarah Pugh	Toyah Willcox	Bessie Watty

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1979
  
  
  
  Morning Glory - directed by Lowell Sherman
    Although the idea of the movie attracted me because I have actors in my family, in many ways I find this movie uncomfortably jittery, rather like Hepburn's portrayal of Eva Lovelace. Mom found it too jittery to watch for long. I don't think she ever viewed the entire movie of a piece. I don't blame her but, frankly, I'm glad I have a copy of it, if for no other reason that to remind me of the crazier aspects of pursuing the acting profession. Not everyone who does exhibits behavior like Eva's, but, believe me, such aspiring actors are not in the minority.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Katharine Hepburn	Eva Lovelace	Douglas Fairbanks Jr	Joseph Sheridan	Adolphe Menjou	Louis Easton	Mary Duncan	Rita Verdon
  C. Aubrey Smith	Robert Harley Hedges	Don Alvarado	Pepi Velez	Fredric Santley	Will Seymour	Richard Carle	Henry Lawrence
  Tyler Brooke	Charley Van Duesen	Geneva Mitchell	Gwendoline Hall	Helen Ware	Nellie Navarre	Robert Adair	Roberts

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1933
  
  
  
  Sylvia Scarlett - directed by George Cukor
    Mom didn't find this one interesting, despite her interest in gender-bender movies, but I did. The caper part of the story was beside the point, to me, but Hepburn was able to play a superb boy, I think.
    Since Mom's death, though, I've learned more about the film itself and now that "we're" in an LBGTQ kind of mood, I find watching the movie for trans detail pretty interesting. I've done this twice within the last couple of years. It has a strong feminist undercurrent.
    Although the movie has certain peculiarities that could be (and were, at the time of its release) considered flaws, those same pointed-out flaws now seem more like societal misunderstandings that included both critics and audiences, like it just wasn't time, yet, for this movie or this idea.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Katharine Hepburn	Sylvia Scarlett	Cary Grant	Jimmy Monkey	Brian Aherne	Michael Fane	Edmund Gwenn	Henry Scarlett

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1935
  
  
  
  Undercurrent - directed by Vincente Minnelli
    I honestly don't remember anything about this movie, even though I'm sure we watched it. I have no idea if Mom does.
  Update 5/23/2022:  As of this day, I still don't know whether I, or we, ever watched this film. That's something I should do tonight. Maybe it's one of those movies, like Keeper of the Flame, that's so turgid that the only way you can remember it is by watching it yet again.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Katharine Hepburn	Ann Hamilton	Robert Taylor	Alan Garroway	Edmund Gwenn	Prof. "Dink" Hamilton	Marjorie Main	Lucy
  Jayne Meadows	Sylvia Lea Burton	Clinton Sundberg	Mr. Warmsley	Dan Tobin	Prof. Joseph Bangs	Kathryn Card	Mrs. Foster

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1946
  → film-noir2
  
  
  
  Without Love - directed by Harold S. Bucquet
    I found this movie minimally intriguing, because of Hepburn's and Tracey's IRL relationship, but for me, that was almost all that was intriguing about it. Mom liked it very much.
    I was disappointed because it was one of the few Tracy/Hepburn movies I hadn't seen and the description interested me...but, I don't know, their chemistry seemed off in this film, as though they were having a long personal argument underneath the script. It was distracting. However, Lucille Ball plays a fun part in it and Gloria Grahame (Violet Bick in It's a Wonderful Life)
    Mom really liked the character that Hepburn played in this movie, which didn't surprise me...I think Mom imagined herself as "that type".
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Spencer Tracy	Patrick Jameson	Katharine Hepburn	Jamie Rowan	Lucille Ball	Kitty Trimble	Keenan Wynn	Quentin Ladd
  Carl Esmond	Paul Carrell	Patricia Morison	Edwina Collins	Felix Bressart	Prof. Ginza	Gloria Grahame	Flower Girl

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1945
  
  
  
  Dragon Seed - directed by Harold S. Bucquet & Jack Conway
    I would have loved to have managed to link to a full copy of James Agee's review of this film. Not being able to find it, though, I did find a description of it that included excerpts, thank you Claude Rains Fan Club. The Dragon Seed review is the first review on this page. That being said, both Mom and I were a little off-put by this movie, almost too much to enjoy it. Both of us have always been annoyed with yellow-black-red-any/face. Although all were a common practice during a certain time period in Hollywood (and, sometimes, even now), it's very distracting. Hollywood, find actors who are of the ethnicity you need! If you can't find anyone, look harder! They're out there!
  Update 5/23/20:  Regarding yellow face: While putting together the Actor/Role table, below, my curiosity got the best of me and I searched for a really full cast listing of this movie to see if the one Asian American named among the first sixteen actors listed was the only Asian American. Turns out, quite a few Asian Americans appeared in this movie but, of course, not in any upper lead roles. The further down you go on the Cast & Crew list, the more likely you are to find an Asian American actor. Shameful for its time, indeed! The Asian American actors were out there, and, apparently, were enlisted in this cast, but only one appeared in an leading role.
  P.S  DVD Savant's article on this collection, linked to the title of this post, gives meticulous, interesting reviews for each one of the movies above. It's easy to find them in his write-up.
    This collection was clearly put together to make a little money off Hepburn's lesser known works. That's okay. I'm always interested in viewing odd movies by, so to speak, "even" (in this case, meaning "famous") people. This collection is a doozy! I'm surprised The Madwoman of Chaillot wasn't included! Yes, Virginia, I saw that film. 'Nuf said.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Katharine Hepburn	Jade	Walter Huston	Ling Tan	Aline MacMahon	Ling Tan's Wife	Akim Tamiroff	Wu Lien
  Turhan Bey	Lao Er Tan	Hurd Hatfield	Lao San Tan	J. Carrol Naish	Japanese Kitchen Overseer	Agnes Moorehead	Third Cousin's Wife
  Henry Travers	Third Cousin	Robert Bice	Lao Ta Tan	Robert Lewis	Captain Sato	Frances Rafferty	Japanese Official
  Leonard Strong	Japanese Official	Jacqueline deWit	Wu Lien's wife	Clarence Lung	Fourth Cousin	Paul E. Burns	Neighbor Shen

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1944

Labels: cary-grant, film-noir2, gender-bender, katharine-hepburn, marjorie-main, melodramaB, pre-code, spencer-tracy, teaching, tracy-hepburn

# posted by gail @ 19:30    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  This came as one of five in a Joan Crawford Collection (Click the part of the title that says "The Joan Crawford Collection" for a different summary and review). I've watched this movie three times, once, the first, on TCM. The link, by the way, will take you to TCM's "article links" page for their website, where you can access even more information on the movie.
    Mom and I continue to be transfixed by this movie, especially the clothes and the in-color fashion sequence. Joan Crawford is a riot as the seductress. The opening credits alone are worth seeing over and over.
  Update 9/23/21:  I just want to mention, I remain, since Mom's death, a staunch fan of Joan Crawford and this movie. You might notice that I also have the remake of this movie, The Women - (2008). Although I enjoy Annette Bening's performance in it, I love Bette Midler as The Countess, I'm glad they included a lesbian and I salute the attempt not to pay fealty to the catch phrase on the cover of this version, "It's all about men!", still, the comedy isn't quite as heightened in the 2008 version and the showing of Mary Haine's clothing designs is kind of a letdown. During that scene it's hard not to be distracted by the thought, "Couldn't they have gotten a better designer for this movie?!?"
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Norma Shearer	Mary Haines	Joan Crawford	Crystal Allen	Rosalind Russell	Sylvia Fowler	Mary Boland	The Countess De Lave
  Phyllis Povah	Edith Potter	Paulette Goddard	Miriam Aarons	Phyllis Povah	Edith Potter	Joan Fontaine	Peggy Day
  Virginia Weidler	Little Mary Haines	Lucile Watson	Mrs. Morehead	Marjorie Main	Lucy	Dennie Moore	Olga, the manicurist

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up on this movie.
    Release Date: 1939
    Directed by George Cukor.
  

Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, joan-crawford, marjorie-main, me-favorite3, popcorn-and-soda5, romance3, satire2, women's-movie1

# posted by gail @ 02:34    0 comments    email......this post