My Favorite Film Discoveries of 2023

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! We’re about a month and a half into 2024 now, but I didn’t want to get too far into the New Year without having talked about my favorite new discoveries of last year. Per my Letterboxd stats page, last year I watched 397 films. I really wish I’d managed to squeeze in 3 more so I’d have an even 400, but alas. Now that’s not to say that all 397 titles were unique. I tend to rewatch movies, especially my favorites. Last year’s most watched stars were Joan Blondell, Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. My most watched directors were Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Mitchell Leisen, and William Wyler.

All in all, it was a good year for movie viewing–especially since I got to attend my first ever TCM Film Festival and had the best movie viewing experience of my life–Casablanca in Grauman’s Chinese Theater. I’d seen that movie four other times in the theater, and nothing will ever top seeing it at Grauman’s. For the record, my second best movie experience of the year was seeing Barbarella in 35mm at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. Seeing a campy movie like Barbarella with an audience that was completely entranced and loving every second, was fantastic. There was even a girl dressed like Barbarella, in a short silver dress, knee-high boots, and big hair–despite it being January in Oregon! Now that’s dedication!

Anyway, without further adieu, these are all my new watches of 2023:

• The Apple (1980)
• Appointment with Danger (1950)
• Arsene Lupin (1932)
• Ask Father (1919)
• Barbie (2023)
• Because of You (1952)
• Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)
• Big Business Girl (1931)
• Big City Blues (1932)
• Billy Blazes Esq. (1919)
• Black Angel (1946)
• Born to Be Bad (1934)
• Born to Kill (1947)
• The Boy and the Heron (2023)
• Brute Force (1949)
• Captain Carey, USA (1949)
• Carnal Knowledge (1971)
• The Children’s Hour (1961)
• China (1943)
• Cops (1922)
• Deadline at Dawn (1946)
• Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
• Deception (1946)
• Deep Valley (1947)
• Desert Fury (1947)
• The Desperate Hours (1955)
• The Doctor and the Girl (1949)
• Dragonwyck (1946)
• Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
• An Eastern Westerner (1920)
• Enter the Dragon (1973)
• Experiment Perilous (1944)
• Fallen Angel (1945)
• The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
• Father Goose (1964)
• Female on the Beach (1955)

• The Five Pennies (1959)
• Flaming Star (1960)
• Flaxy Martin (1949)
• Footlight Parade (1933)
• Framed (1947)
• A Free Soul (1931)
• The Gilded Lily (1935)
• Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
• Grand Slam (1933)
• The Great Moment (1944)
• Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 (2023)
• Harvey (1950)
• High and Dizzy (1920)
• High Pressure (1932)
• Honky Tonk (1941)
• Houseboat (1959)
• The Iron Mistress (1952)
• I’ve Got Your Number (1934)
• King Kong (1933)
• Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
• Ladies in Retirement (1941)
• The Lady in Question (1940)
• The Lady is Willing (1942)
• Larceny, Inc. (1942)
• Life Begins (1932)
• The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
• Love Has Many Faces (1965)
• Love Me Tender (1956)
• Make Me a Star (1932)
• The Man I Love (1946)
• The Mask of Dimitrios (1946)
• Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935)
• Mr. Soft Touch (1949)
• Mrs. Parkington (1944)
• Naughty But Nice (1939)
• The Navigator (1924)
• Night Editor (1946)

• One Week (1920)
• Passion Flower (1930)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• Play Girl (1932)
• The Princess Comes Across (1936)
• The Purchase Price (1932)
• Race Street (1948)
• Red Light (1949)
• Rio Bravo (1959)
• Romancing the Stone (1984)
• Search for Beauty (1934)
• Second Honeymoon (1937)
• Secret Beyond the Door (1947)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
• Shakedown (1950)
• Shane (1953)
• The Silver Horde (1930)
• Singapore (1947)
• The Sky’s the Limit (1943)
• Stand-In (1937)
• Strange Bargain (1949)
• That Touch of Mink (1962)
• There’s Always a Woman (1938)
• Tight Spot (1955)
• Traveling Saleslady (1935)
• The Unfaithful (1946)
• The Unguarded Hour (1936)
• Union Depot (1932)
• Week-End Marriage (1932)
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
• Whiplash (1948)
• Wild in the Country (1961)
• Woman in Hiding (1950)
• A Woman’s Face (1941)
• A Woman’s Vengeance (1948)

That was a lot of new movies last year, 108 in fact. I discovered a lot of new favorites and discovered some films that I never want to see again (The Apple, I’m looking at you). I’m not going to include the new films I saw, but I want to go on the record to say that Barbie, The Boy and the Heron, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story were awesome.

Here are my Top 5 favorite new discoveries:

This is an incredibly misleading poster.

#1 Ladies in Retirement (1941). In September, Criterion Channel featured a series called “Gaslight Noir” which I took to mean film noir that took place during the Victorian era, but I think Criterion stated that it was “dark and moody film noir.” This film stars Ida Lupino, and was a movie that I’d heard about, but had never seen. I wasn’t even aware it was a film noir, the title makes it seem like it is a light-hearted film about rich women who live a life of leisure. However, that is definitely not what this movie is about. Ida plays spinster, Ellen Creed, who works as a housekeeper and live-in companion to her wealthy friend, Leonora Fiske. Ellen has two eccentric sisters who are about to be evicted from their apartment due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be homeless, Ellen takes them in and convinces Leonora to let them stay. The sisters quickly wear out their welcome and Leonora demands that Ellen force them to leave. Not wanting her sisters to end up in an institution, Ellen takes matters into her own hands.

I did not expect the turn that this movie took and I absolutely loved it. I loved the setting of this remote English home that seems perpetually encased in fog. This movie had a spooky vibe to it and I just loved it. I wish that someone would put it out on blu ray.

#2 A Woman’s Face (1941). This is a Joan Crawford film noir that TCM played earlier this year. I’d heard of this film, but had never seen it scheduled. In this film, Joan plays blackmailer Anna Holm, a woman who bears a large, disfiguring scar on her face. Because of this disfigurement, Anna carries a lot of resentment and hostility towards others, which is why she has no empathy or remorse for carrying out her blackmail scams. Eventually, she gets plastic surgery from Dr. Gustaf Segert (Melvyn Douglas) to cover the scar. Without the scar to hide behind, Anna is forced to confront her insecurities, her anger over her past, and her current life of schemes and crimes.

Most of the plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks, told through witness testimony in a court trial, where Anna is being tried for murder. Joan Crawford’s performance is fantastic as her character evolves throughout the film. Melvyn Douglas is great as the doctor who provides emotional support and sees Anna for whom she really is. Conrad Veidt as an excellent villainous role as the wealthy Torsten Barring, her partner in crime as well as her lover. The ending of the film is exciting and memorable.

#3 Harvey (1950). This was a discovery for my husband and I at the TCM Film Festival. I’d heard of this film, but I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing it yet. We absolutely loved it. In this film, James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a man who by all accounts is eccentric. His best friend is an imaginary friend, a 6’3.5″ rabbit named Harvey. His sister, Veta (Josephine Hull), is absolutely embarrassed and horrified by her bother’s behavior. Elwood doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior and insists that Harvey is real. Veta eventually is so fed up that she goes down to the sanitarium to have Elwood committed and she ends up being committed herself. Harvey is expertly crafted to make the audience wonder if Elwood really is delusional and Harvey isn’t real, or is Harvey real and only Elwood can see him?

Josephine Hull won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the 1950 Oscars race and while I don’t know that she deserved to win over Nancy Olsen for Sunset Boulevard or Thelma Ritter for All About Eve, Hull is hysterical as Veta. She very much seems like her character from Arsenic and Old Lace, except without the murder aspect. James Stewart is the true standout performance (aside from Harvey, of course) in this film. He expertly plays Elwood P. Dowd to be friendly and likeable, there isn’t really any reason to distrust or dislike him. He seems content with his life and best friend. Peggy Dow is also a lot of fun as the nurse at the sanitarium, she’s also gorgeous as well.

#4 Shakedown (1950). Speaking of Peggy Dow, she’s in this film as well. In this movie, Howard Duff plays a cock-of-the-walk photographer, Jack Early, who will do anything to get a great photo. He manages to use these tactics to score a job at a prominent San Francisco newspaper, headed up by Ellen Bennett (Dow), the photography editor and David Glover (Bruce Bennett), the editor-in-chief. David is unimpressed by Jack’s somewhat questionable methods for getting the photos, but hires him anyway. He gives Jack the impossible assignment of getting a photograph of the face of local gangster, Nick Palmer (Brian Donlevy), a man who notoriously does not want his picture taken. Jack easily scores the photo by appealing to Nick’s ego. Appreciating Jack’s nerve, Nick takes him under his wing and tells him that the head of the rival gang, Colton (Lawrence Tierney), is planning a job. He gives Jack the time and location. He easily gets the photo and brings it back to David. Colton gets wind of Jack and hires him to pull one over on Nick. Jack continues playing both gang members against each other, all while David and Ellen start becoming more and more skeptical as to how Jack keeps scoring these amazing photos. Eventually Jack gets in over his head.

This was such a great movie. I didn’t know what to expect from it and was so impressed by all the twists and turns that the plot took. I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves a good film noir.

#5 Shane (1953). I’m not a big westerns fan, but I watched this one because I’ve recently been on an Alan Ladd kick and I’d never seen what is probably his biggest, most well known role. Ladd plays the titular Shane, a drifter who arrives at a small town in Wyoming. Most of the town is comprised of homesteaders who moved west, taking advantage of the government’s offer to give free land to people wishing to move west of the Mississippi and set-up their own homes, farms, ranches, etc. Upon arriving in town, Shane encounters Mary and Joe Starrett (Jean Arthur and Van Heflin), a couple living off of the land they received from the government. Mary and Joe also have a young son, Joey (Brandon DeWilde) who immediately admires Shane. The main conflict of the film is a ruthless cattle baron wants to use force to push the Homesteaders off their viable land, so that he can take it over and grow his cattle empire.

This is such a beautiful film. Alan Ladd was great as the mysterious stranger who comes into town, helps out some of the folks, and leaves just as mysteriously as he came. His scenes with Joey are adorable and he’s great with Jean Arthur as well. Jack Palance was great as one of the cattle baron’s men, Jack Wilson, and he has a fun showdown with Ladd at the end of the film.

Honorable Mentions: Dragonwyck (1946), Enter the Dragon (1973), Larceny, Inc. (1942), Experiment Perilous (1944), and Deep Valley (1947).

Kayla’s Top 15 “New” Films of 2021

2021 is (finally) coming to a close. While the year wasn’t so hot as a whole, except for my fabulous trip to Southern California in October, it was another year of discovering new favorite films. One of the best thing about being a fan of film, especially classic film, is that you never run out of “new” movies to see. As Lauren Bacall says in an episode of Private Screenings with Robert Osborne, “It’s not an old movie, if you haven’t seen it,” and I couldn’t agree more. There is an entire world of movies to discover, a world of films just waiting to become someone’s favorite.

Without further adieu, in no particular order, here are some of my new favorites that I watched for the first time in 2021:

#1 Road House (1948) This was a fabulous film noir that I watched right at the start of the new year. It is the final volume in the Fox Film Noir DVD series (I own the entire collection). I decided to take a look at it, because I’m a big fan of Ida Lupino. In addition to Lupino, it also starred Cornel Wilde, Richard Widmark, and Celeste Holm. At first, it seems like Ida is going to be the femme fatale, but it is soon revealed that she is a woman who will not be made a pawn in the games of the men, Wilde and Widmark. Even though she was originally brought into the Road House by Widmark to be another of his fly by night floozies, she refuses to be used and becomes a big star and later saves the day. In a time when every woman who wasn’t Judy Garland or Doris Day was dubbed, Ida uses her own voice to warble out “One for my Baby (And One More For the Road)” and it was fabulous.

#2 Mrs. Miniver (1942). I know. This is a big Oscar winner. A major classic of the studio era, but I hadn’t seen it yet. I absolutely loved this movie and actually bought the blu-ray literally right after watching it. That’s how much I loved it. Greer Garson won an Oscar playing the titular Mrs. Miniver and infamously delivered the longest acceptance speech, a record which still stands today. Long-winded speech or not, Garson deserved her award. In Mrs. Miniver, Garson portrays a very stoic woman and mother who stays strong and protects her family even directly in the line of fire during the German invasion of Britain. She puts humanity above all else, even when directly threatened by an injured German pilot. The scene with Mrs. Miniver and her husband and children hiding in the shelter while bombs fall all around them is heartbreaking. This family does not know what they’ll find when they emerge, or whether their house will still be standing. Despite everything, Mrs. Miniver remains a calm influence even in the middle of a tumultuous event, like a World War. I cannot say enough good things about this film, it was fantastic.

#3 Girl Happy (1965). Like the esteemed Mrs. Miniver, this Elvis movie is another film that I purchased immediately after watching it. I loved it. For years, with the exception of Viva Las Vegas (my favorite Elvis movie), I wrote off Elvis’ movies as pure fluff, and not fluffy in a good way, and many of Elvis’ movies are ridiculous, like Girl Happy, but if you can suspend disbelief and just go along with whatever plot is presented, I’ve found that many of Elvis’ movies are enjoyable diversions. In Girl Happy, Elvis plays a musician (a premise setting up lots of opportunities for Elvis to sing) who, along with his band, is hired by his boss to indirectly chaperone his 18-year old daughter, Shelley Fabares. Shelley is traveling to Florida for Spring Break and her overprotective father is worried. Elvis happily agrees, because he gets an all expenses paid trip to Florida. Like how most movies with this plot go (see Too Many Girls), Elvis starts to fall in love with the girl whom he’s chaperoning, and the girl discovers that he was hired to watch her and gets upset. Regardless, this movie was charming, fun, and I loved it.

#4 History is Made at Night (1937) This was a movie that I’d never even heard of until I heard that Criterion was restoring it and releasing it as part of their esteemed (at least among the boutique label community) line of films. I first watched it on the Criterion Channel and must have seen a pre-restoration print, because it was pretty rough. After watching it, I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of it. It had one of my faves, Jean Arthur! And Charles “LUCY! RAWWWR” Boyer. How has this movie been hiding from me this entire time? In this movie, Jean Arthur plays Irene, a woman who leaves her husband, Bruce, (Colin Clive) after he falsely accuses her of having an affair. To prevent the divorce from being finalized, Bruce tries to manipulate a situation to frame Irene for infidelity. He hires his chauffeur to pretend to be Irene’s lover, so that a private detective walks in and catches them in a compromising position. While this is taking place, Paul (Charles Boyer) is walking by Irene’s window. He overhears the ruckus and comes to Irene’s rescue, pretending to be an armed burglar. It’s a weird set-up, but ultimately leads to a beautiful love story with an ending that I was not expecting.

#5 Naked Alibi (1954). This was another film noir that I’d never heard of until I was reading Sterling Hayden’s filmography and discovered that he’d made a film with one of my faves, Gloria Grahame. Fortunately, my library had this film available and I was able to borrow it. This was a great movie. Hayden plays a police chief who tails a suspect, Willis, to Mexico. Willis is suspected to be the mastermind behind a series of crimes in the small town from which he and Hayden hail. While in a border town on the Mexican border, Hayden meets Grahame, a singer with whom he becomes smitten. Unfortunately, Grahame is the girlfriend of Willis, despite the shoddy treatment she receives from him. Hayden and Grahame’s connection with one another continues to grow until the very end of the film. This was a wonderful film and I thought that Gloria Grahame looked absolutely gorgeous.

#6 Dead End (1937). Despite the appearance of the Dead End Kids, whom I cannot stand (I don’t get their appeal), I thought this was a great movie. This film is a story about social classes and the privileges that are afforded to those of a higher social standing. The neighborhood in the film is a “dead end” both figuratively and literally. The rich live in high rise apartments that overlook the slums and tenements. Those who are not privileged to live in the high rises literally have the rich looking down upon them. If you have the misfortune to be born into the slums, it is all you can do to get out. Some try to do so honorably, like Dave (Joel McCrea), who dreams of making a career as an architect. However, he can’t just seem to book the right gig, so he has to survive by doing odd jobs. Others, like Drina (Sylvia Sidney) have slightly less honorable means to get out of the tenement, she wants to marry a rich man. Then, there are those like Hugh “Baby Face” Martin (Humphrey Bogart), who did manage to get out of the slums, but he did so by becoming a big-time mobster. The Dead End Kids represent the next generation who most likely will remain in the slums, unless they can somehow be guided into making a better life for themselves. Marjorie Main has a heartbreaking role as Baby Face’s mother. Claire Trevor is fantastic as Baby Face’s old girlfriend, who was never able to get out of the slums.

#7 Klute (1971) This was the first film in Alan J. Pakula’s “Paranoia Trilogy,” which unfortunately I watched all out of order. I don’t think the films in the trilogy have anything to do with one another, so I think I’m okay. Anyway, there’s just something about the 1970s thrillers that I find fascinating. There’s a grittiness, a seediness, combined with the earth tones aesthetic that I just love watching. Anyway, in this film, Jane Fonda gives an Oscar-winning performance as Bree Daniels, a prostitute who aids police detective, John Klute, in investigating a murder. After finding an obscene letter addressed to Bree in the murder victim’s office, Klute rents an apartment in Bree’s building and begins tracing her. Concurrently, Bree is working as a freelance call girl to support herself while she tries to make it as a model/actress. Bree is also trying to find meaning in her life through sessions with a psychiatrist. This was such a fantastic movie and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who was responsible for the murder.

#8 Thunder on the Hill (1951) I am a big fan of Ann Blyth and this was a film of hers that I hadn’t heard of until I purchased Kino Lorber’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema box sets. Thunder on the Hill, by the way, is on the second collection in the series. In this film, Blyth plays Valerie, a young woman convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. However, on her way to the gallows, Valerie and the police officers accompanying her, are forced to spend the night in the hospital ward of a convent due to massive flooding. Running the hospital ward is Sister Mary (Claudette Colbert), a woman who is also battling with her own mental troubles involving her sister’s suicide. Valerie is understandably combative and angry, but confides to Sister Mary that she is innocent of the crime of which she was convicted. Sister Mary, who has been warned in the past about meddling in other people’s affairs, is convinced of Valerie’s innocence and sets to save her before she is executed. This was such a wonderful film. It was interesting to see Blyth in such a different role than that of Veda in Mildred Pierce or the mermaid in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. I loved the suspense of the story and the cinematography was gorgeous. I am also a big fan of Douglas Sirk, so this film fit the bill.

#9 King Creole (1958) A second Elvis film on the list? Yes! I watched a lot of Elvis movies this year according to LetterBoxd, so it was bound to happen. This was an excellent film. It was much higher brow fare than Elvis would be offered once he returned from his stint in the army. In this movie, Elvis plays super senior Danny, who has failed high school once and looks like he’ll fail it again due to his behavior. He is offered a chance to graduate if he agrees to take night classes, but Danny turns it down, much to the chagrin of his father, Dean Jagger. There is drama between Danny and his father, in that Jagger lost his job as a pharmacist after his wife died. The family is forced to leave their nice home outside of New Orleans for a much more modest flat in the French Quarter. To help make ends meet, Danny was working before and after school. Now with school out of the way, Danny starts working at a club. As how most Elvis movies go, he is coerced into singing and is offered a job performing at the club, much to the chagrin of the club’s main act. Danny is soon a sensation. Eventually his connection with the local gangs threaten to affect his family, his relationship with a young woman named Nellie (Dolores Hart), and his life. This was such a great movie with a stellar cast. Aside from Elvis, Dean Jagger and Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, Vic Morrow, and Paul Stewart also star in this film… and it was directed by none other than Michael Curtiz!

#10 Private Lives (1931) This was a fabulous pre-code starring Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery. In this film, Shearer and Montgomery play Amanda and Elyot, two ex-spouses who end up staying at the same hotel while honeymooning with their new respective spouses. Both honeymoons are NOT going well. Amanda and her new husband Victor (Reginald Denny) are already fighting due to Victor’s incessant need to talk about Elyot. Because yes, let’s talk about your new bride’s ex-husband on your honeymoon. Great idea, Victor. Elyot is dealing with the same thing from his new wife, Sybil (Una Merkel) who won’t stop asking about Amanda. Eventually, Amanda and Elyot find each other and begin to reminisce about “the old times.” They end up leaving the hotel together and head to a new place in St. Moritz. This was a fabulous pre-code that had plenty of racy moments. I am not as big a fan of Shearer in her production code movies like The Women, but I love her in pre-code. She and Montgomery also make a great pairing. Poor Una Merkel is wasted in her role, but she is wonderful in her scenes.

#11 Hold Back the Dawn (1941) This was an amazing movie. One that I’d always wanted to see but it seemed like it was never on TCM–then finally it was and the movie was everything I’d hoped it would be. In this film, Charles Boyer stars as Georges Iscovescu, a Romanian immigrant who is stuck in a Mexican border town. Per immigration laws, he is looking at up to an eight year wait to obtain a quota number for entry in the United States. Georges then runs into an old flame, Anita Dixon (Paulette Goddard), an Australian who married a US citizen purely to obtain US citizenship. As soon as she could, she divorced the man and retained her citizenship status. Anita suggests that Georges do the same thing, then he and she could be free to start a new life together in New York. Georges immediately goes to work and spots Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland), a California school teacher whose bus has broken down. The bus is set to be repaired shortly, but Georges manipulates the situation (by “losing” a vital piece of the bus’s machinery) and forces Emmy and her class to stay overnight. This gives Georges enough time to woo Emmy and they are married after a whirlwind romance. However, Georges is required to wait in Mexico a few weeks before he can join Emmy in California. Emmy returns unexpectedly and Georges takes her on a trip (under the guise of a honeymoon, but in reality he is trying to hide from an immigration officer who is looking for con artists like Georges and Anita). Georges’ plans are complicated when he finds himself falling in love with Emmy. This was such an amazing film. Even though we’re supposed to dislike Georges, it’s hard to do because it’s Charles-freaking-Boyer. It’s easy to see why Emmy falls for him. I love true, legitimate romantic films (with no contrived plot points), and this is one of the best that I’ve seen.

#12 Gaslight (1944) Another Charles Boyer film! Third one on the list! Surprisingly Boyer was not on my top 10 actors watched in 2021, per Letterboxd. This was an amazing film. I don’t know how I went so long without seeing it. This is the film that gave the name to a form of psychological abuse, where one partner mentally manipulates another into thinking that they’re losing their mind. In this film, Boyer plays Gregory Anton, a pianist who marries Alice Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), a famous opera singer. Gregory works as Alice’s accompanist. At first, Gregory seems sweet, he convinces Alice that they move into her deceased aunt’s old home #9 Thornton Square in London, seemingly under the guise that Alice loved her aunt so much and that her aunt would want her home to be lived in. However, Gregory has ulterior motives which are revealed throughout the film. To keep Alice from catching onto Gregory’s motives, he gaslights her by manipulating situations and then making her think she caused them. Alice begins to think she’s going insane. And while she begins to question Gregory’s actions, he’s gotten her mind so messed up that she can’t convince herself that she’s right. A young, 17-year old Angela Lansbury makes her film debut as Nancy, a tart of a maid who takes pleasure in observing Gregory’s manipulation of Alice. Nancy even plays along to exacerbate the situation. Ingrid Bergman’s performance was a tour-de-force and she deserved every piece of the Oscar that she received.

#13 I Want to Live! (1958) If there are two things I love, it’s classic film and true crime. I Want to Live! has both. This film is a biopic of Barbara Graham, a prostitute who was executed in California in 1955 for her part in the murder of a wealthy widow. Susan Hayward gives an Oscar-winning performance as the doomed woman who at the beginning of the film, works as a prostitute who is arrested for soliciting sex across state lines. She then receives jail time after providing a false alibi to two friends who committed crimes. Despite her growing rap sheet, Barbara continues to “make a living” by committing petty crimes and turning tricks. Eventually, she hits the big time when she gets a job working with a big time thief, Emmett Perkins. Her job is to lure men into his illegal gambling parlor. Meanwhile, her husband has a drug addiction and is unemployed–leaving Barbara as the breadwinner. Eventually Perkins ends up becoming involved with criminals, John Santo and Bruce King. Barbara returns to Perkins’ establishment which is soon raided by the police. Barbara surrenders to the police for her involvement in the gambling ring, but soon learns that she is being accused in being complicit with Santo and King’s murder of a wealthy widow. Barbara tries to give her alibi, saying that she was home with her husband and son, but her husband has skipped town. Unless he can be found, Barbara is toast. This was such an amazing film. I know that there was controversy regarding how Barbara Graham was portrayed in the film, versus the real life events. I can’t comment on that; but what I can say is that real facts or not, this was a great movie.

#14 Suspense (1946) I went into this film noir not knowing entirely what to expect. It starred Barry Sullivan whom I like and Albert Dekker who always turns in a good performance. Sullivan and Dekker’s co-star was British figure skater, Belita. Often when athletes are put into films, especially athletes whose sport is exploited on screen, the results can vary drastically–especially if the athlete has limited acting talent. Sometimes this is good, such as the case with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan series. Other times, it can be limiting like is the case with Belita in another film of hers that I’ve seen. However, in this film, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not saying Belita was amazing; but she was asked to play a figure skater, and Belita delivers on that front. In this film, Sullivan plays schemer, Joe Morgan, a newcomer to New York City who ends up taking a job at a theater as a peanut vendor. Belita plays the star performer, figure skater, Roberta. Albert Dekker plays Leonard, the owner of the theater and Roberta’s husband. Joe ends up suggesting a new act for Roberta, which revitalizes the show–as a reward he is made a manager. When Leonard leaves for a business trip, he puts Joe in charge. Joe and Roberta end up striking up a romance which Leonard soon discovers. This was a fantastic film. I actually was in suspense and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

#15 The China Syndrome (1979) This was another 1970s thriller that I watched which I really enjoyed. In this film, Jane Fonda plays television reporter, Kimberly Wells, who keeps getting stuck with the fluff stories during the local news segments. There is chauvinism present at the station, as it is thought that she couldn’t possibly handle a serious story. Her cameraman is the hot-tempered Richard Adams (Michael Douglas). One day, Kimberly and Richard end up getting a plum gig: doing a report from the Ventana, CA nuclear power plant. While visiting, they witness a malfunction in the nuclear power plant turbine operation and emergency shutdown protocol. Richard, despite being asked not to film, covertly records the entire incident. The incident is played off as not a big deal, but it becomes clear that the plant was thisclose to a meltdown. Jack Lemmon gives a fantastic performance as Jack Godell, the supervisor of the plant. Wilford Brimley was also excellent as the long-time employee, Ted Spindler, who battles with knowing what is right and his resentment over being passed up for promotion opportunities. I loved this movie. This isn’t normally my type of thing, but as a fan of 1970s thrillers and Fonda and Lemmon, I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. I was captivated from beginning to end and I especially loved Lemmon’s performance in the second half of this movie.

Honorable Mentions:

1. A Cry in the Night (1956). Raymond Burr, Natalie Wood, Edmond O’Brien.
2. Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018). A fabulous documentary on HBO Max.
3. The Caine Mutiny (1954). Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, Jose Ferrer.
4. Once a Thief (1965). Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin.
5. Walk on the Wild Side (1962). Laurence Harvey, Jane Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, Anne Baxter, Capucine.
6. Moonrise (1948). Dane Clark, Lloyd Bridges, Gail Patrick.
7. The Glass Wall (1953). Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame.
8. The Big Combo (1955). Richard Conte, Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace.
9. Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021) The Great Gonzo, Pepe, Will Arnett.
10. Die Hard (1988) Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson.
11. Confession (1937) Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter.
12. Three Days of the Condor (1975) Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Cliff Robertson.
13. I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955) Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert.
14. Possessed (1947) Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey
15. The Circus (1928) Charlie Chaplin.

Lovely Blog Party Blogathon: “Favorite Movie Couples”

February is the month of Valentine’s Day. A month to celebrate romance. A month to celebrate love. Typically, in lieu of the regular romance movie routine, I personally like to watch movies about obsessive love, like Leave Her to Heaven, where the antagonist, Ellen Berent’s only problem is that “she loves too much.” That’s putting it mildly. For this blogathon however, I’m going to go the more traditional route with a salute to my favorite movie couples. No, it’s not the most unique idea, but I hope that my selections are unique. These are the couples you hope will end up together. Even if they don’t, if the relationship ends on a satisfying note, it can still be a relationship worth coveting.

Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca”

#1 Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund- Casablanca (1942). This isn’t a unique choice. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) are often held up as one of Classic Hollywood’s greatest romances; but for good reason. Rick and Ilsa’s goodbye scene at the airport is iconic. Who can forget Rick lifting Ilsa’s chin as she sobs, then delivering the iconic line: “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Yes he’s repeating a line that he says to Ilsa in Paris, but it’s this moment where the line is the most poignant. It’s the final callback to the passionate romance they shared before World War II changed their lives permanently. Yes, Ilsa was married to Lazlo (Paul Henried) while they were in Paris and she’s married to him throughout the film. But who cares about Lazlo? This is Rick and Ilsa’s romance. They fell in love in Paris. They were torn apart by the war when Ilsa discovers that her “dead” husband, Lazlo, is actually alive. They’re brought back together in Casablanca when Lazlo’s work with the French Resistance takes him to Morocco. Rick and Ilsa’s feelings for one another come back and it’s such a passionate romance, it’s almost a shame that they don’t end up together. But the ending allows Rick to be the bigger man and to find his place in the world, with Louis Renault (Claude Rains) by his side. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship, indeed.

Lauren Bacall & Humphrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not”

#2 Harry Morgan & Marie ‘Slim’ Browning- To Have and Have Not (1944). I’d be remiss to forget about Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s iconic first film together. For not being known as a matinee idol, Bogart found himself part of many classic on-screen romances. In this instance, it was his appearance as Harry Morgan (Bogart), a fisherman working in the French colony of Martinique, a Caribbean nation. Because this takes place right after the Fall of France to the Germans during World War II, the island of Martinique is a mish-mash of Germans (due to the control possessed by the Pro-German Vichy France), sympathetic French, and other people trying to escape their lives. One of these people that Harry meets, is “Slim” (Bacall), a young American woman who is a bit of a wanderer and has found her way to Martinique. The sparks between Harry and Slim are obvious, especially after Slim teaches him how to whistle. Bogie and Bacall’s on-screen chemistry leapt off the screen and into real life as Bogie and Bacall fell in love and became one of Classic Hollywood’s most iconic couples.

Sandra Dee & James Darren in “Gidget” — Get it, girl!

#3 Frances “Gidget” Lawrence & Jeffrey “Moondoggie” Matthews-Gidget (1959). If there’s one type of movie I love, it’s the teen beach movie and Gidget is the all-time best teen beach movie, in my opinion. Part of the reason I love this movie so much is for Gidget (Sandra Dee) and Moondoggie (James Darren). In this film, Gidget (nicknamed bestowed upon Frances by the surfer boys, it’s an amalgamation of “girl” and “midget”) is a 17-year old incoming high school senior who feels inadequate next to her more physically developed, boy crazy girlfriends. At the beginning of the film, we see Gidget and her friends try to attract the surfer boys at the beach, with Gidget failing miserably due to her awkwardness. But there’s something endearing about Gidget. She’s genuine. She can’t muster up the ability to try and attract the boys, because it seems fake. She just wants to swim. She doesn’t want to play stupid games trying to get their attention. She ends up catching the attention of one of the surfer boys, Moondoggie. At first Moondoggie is standoffish, but it’s obvious that he’s doing so because he’s trying to keep up his “cred” with the other boys. But through being protective of Gidget and later having a chance to spend time with her one-on-one, he realizes that he really does like her. Gidget’s liked him the whole time. When they have a chance to be together, they are smitten. Frankly, they are adorable and I love them. In the end, Gidget’s friends are still single and Gidget’s hooked herself a hot college guy by staying true to herself. Get it, girl!

Joel McCrea & Jean Arthur in “The More the Merrier”

#4 Connie Milligan & Joe Carter- The More the Merrier (1943). Connie (Jean Arthur) and Joe (Joel McCrea) are adorable. They’re brought together by the meddling, Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn), a retired millionaire who sublets half of Connie’s apartment during the World War II housing crisis. When Sergeant Joe Carter shows up to answer Connie’s ad, Mr. Dingle sees an opportunity to fix the uptight Connie up with a nice young man. Mr. Dingle sublets half of his half of the apartment to Joe. After learning about Mr. Dingle’s arrangement, Connie is upset. Especially when the men start razzing her about her fiance, Mr. Charles J. Pendergast. Despite trying to impress the two men with Mr. Pendergast’s good points (he makes $8600/year and has no hair), it becomes even obvious that she’s matched up with the wrong man. By this point, Joe has a crush on Connie and wants to spend time with her. Later one evening, Joe and Connie find themselves alone together on the front stoop of their apartment building. What unfolds on the front stoop is one of the sexiest, romantic scenes in Classic Hollywood, and nobody had to lose any of their clothes. I love them together and hope that they lived happily ever after… without Mr. Pendergast.

William Powell & Myrna Loy in “The Thin Man” (1934)

#5 Nick and Nora Charles, The Thin Man Series (1934-1947). Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) Charles are the power couple that everyone wishes they were. They are part of society. They have a beautiful home. They have an amazing dog, Asta. And, they solve mysteries together, thanks to Nick’s background as a detective. Nick loves the thrill of the mystery and Nora desperately wishes to be a part of the thrill. Nick tries to keep her at home and safe from the danger, but Nora always manages to horn her way in, by finding a vital clue or having an alluring thought about a potential suspect. At the start of the film series, Nick had retired from his detective career when he marries socialite Nora. Nick and Nora have such an amazing rapport and chemistry with one another, that the mystery almost takes a back seat to their relationship. William Powell and Myrna Loy are so amazing together, that one wishes they’d been married in real life.

Jean Arthur Blogathon: “The Devil and Miss Jones” (1941)

I love Jean Arthur. I feel like she gets a bad rap sometimes because of her unique voice. There are those who find her voice irritating or unbecoming. I am not one of those people. I think her voice is adorable and I love it. It’s one of the reasons that makes Jean so unique and makes her stand apart from her peers. Jean started her career in silent film, but didn’t really find that one part to make her a star. It was only when she transitioned to “talkies” that we were treated to her amazing voice. And then her star just rose from there.

While Jean never reached that echelon of star like that of her peers like Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant, she was a big star in her day. It’s unfortunate that Jean is hardly known outside of the classic film community. However, of those who do know about Jean, we know that she was one of the Golden Age’s finest actresses, who could do both screwball and drama.

Original movie poster

One of my favorite of Jean’s films is The Devil and Miss Jones from 1941. This film doesn’t seem to be very well known and rarely plays on TCM, if ever. I cannot recall this film airing on the channel recently. However, my friends at Olive Films have made this film available to the masses, which is how I saw it originally. I purchased it as a blind buy, something I rarely do, but because I love Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn, I wanted to see it. I was not disappointed.

In The Devil and Miss Jones, Coburn plays tycoon, John P. Merrick, a crotchety man who finds out that one of the employees at Neely’s, a department store that he owns, is trying to unionize the employees. Wanting to put the kibosh on the union, Merrick decides to go undercover as “Thomas Higgins” and apply for a position in the shoe department. He zeroes in on the shoe department as he’s heard rumors that that is where the union discussions are the most concentrated.

After almost failing a minimum intelligence test to even work in the department, Merrick gets a job in the children’s shoe department. There is a funny running gag that shows Merrick making a list of grievances that he has after encountering various policies and employees in the department. One particular grievance he has is with Hooper (Edmund Gwenn), the department manager, whose patronizing attitude does not sit well with him.

While working at the store, Merrick befriends a fellow sales clerk, the titular “Miss Jones,” i.e. Mary Jones (Arthur). Mary introduces Merrick to her boyfriend, Joe O’Brien (Robert Cummings) who is the instigator behind the union talks and has recently been fired from the store. As he spends more time with Mary and Joe, he finds himself feeling sympathetic with their situation and reasons for wanting to be part of a union. Merrick also finds himself starting to fall for Elizabeth Ellis (Spring Byington), another sales clerk.

This beach is ridiculous; but look at Jean’s cute outfit!

There is a funny scene where the group visits the beach at Coney Island. First of all, who in their right mind would want to go to this extremely crowded beach? You literally cannot see the sand because there are so many people there. I would be claustrophobic at this beach and want to leave almost immediately. Merrick brings an expensive bottle of wine from his cellar to share with his new friends. They don’t take to the wine and think that Merrick was tricked into buying cheap swill. They end up mixing it with soda (blech) and then dumping it into whatever inch of open sand that was next to them.

Jean Arthur wears a two-piece outfit with a crop top and it looks fantastic on her. Between this film and The More the Merrier, I always envy her fantastic figure. I always find Jean’s birthdate of 1900 fantastic, because she was one of the older actors of the Golden Age but she sure doesn’t look it. She would have been 40-41* in this film and I wouldn’t have guessed it. She has such a youthful, beautiful face. Do we ever see Jean Arthur smoke in a film? I cannot recall. Perhaps she didn’t smoke and that’s the reason behind her youthful look.

*After writing this, I realized that I’m only 4-5 years younger than Jean in this film, but apparently I think that someone who is 40-41 should look so much older. People looked a lot older back then, so that’s what I’m going with…

Robert Cummings as Joe and Jean Arthur as Mary in “The Devil and Miss Jones”

Anyway, after spending the day together in the beach, Merrick ends up almost being arrested after he tries to sell his watch to get money to call his house and chauffeur. The storekeeper and the police officer assume that Merrick has stolen the watch and take him in. Mary comes to pick Merrick up and it is assumed she’s in cahoots with Merrick and part of his thievery ring. Joe comes in to rescue Merrick and Mary and saves the day. Merrick begins to see Joe in a new light.

The main conflict occurs when Joe and Mary break up. As he disembarks from the subway, Merrick drops his identification card stating that “Thomas Higgins is employed in a confidential capacity.” Mary finds the card and concludes that Higgins is a spy. She arranges an emergency meeting with her co-workers and Joe. They decide to forge ahead with their union plans.

Charles Coburn as John P. “Thomas Higgins” Merrick and Jean Arthur as “Mary Jones” in “The Devil and Miss Jones.”

I really love this film. Arthur and Coburn have such a great rapport with one another, as shown again in The More the Merrier. Jean is so sweet and funny in this film. It is easy to see why everyone would fall in love with her. I highly recommend this film as well as all of Jean’s other comedies like: The More the Merrier, Talk of the Town, Too Many Husbands, The Whole Town’s Talking, Easy Living, and More Than A Secretary.

My favorite part of The Devil and Miss Jones are all the scenes with international treasure, SZ Sakall, and the sweet scenes between Coburn and Byington when she offers him some of her homemade tuna popovers. I also love the scene when Mary talks about “Higgins'” advanced age of 55 and how he seems to be in good shape and has his faculties about him, despite his age.

Now I want a tuna popover.

Happy Birthday Miss Arthur!
P.S. I love your shoes!

October 17th- A Birthday Trifecta!

I discovered recently that three of my favorite performers (Rita Hayworth, Jean Arthur and Montgomery Clift) all share the same birthday!

Rita Hayworth

Born: 1918, Brooklyn NY

Died: May 14, 1987, New York, NY

Best known for: Gilda Munson, Gilda

My favorite films of Hayworth’s: Gilda, You Were Never Lovelier, You’ll Never Get Rich, Only Angels Have Wings, The Strawberry Blond, Cover Girl and The Lady From Shanghai

 Jean Arthur 

Born: 1900, Plattsburgh, NY

Died: June 19, 1991, Carmel, CA

Best known for: Connie Milligan, The More the Merrier

My favorite films of Arthur’s: The More the Merrier, The Devil and Miss Jones, Talk of the Town, Only Angels Have Wings, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford, A Foreign Affair

Montgomery Clift

Born: 1920, Omaha, NE

Died: July 23, 1966, New York, NY

Best known for: Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, From Here to Eternity

My favorite films of Clift’s: From Here to Eternity, A Place in the Sun, Red River, The Heiress, The Misfits and Suddenly Last Summer