Thursday, February 17, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks-Second Chance Love

 


I have never had a second chance at love with the same person which is what, I think, Wandering Through The Shelves, was thinking about with this week's theme. I have had a second...and 3rd chance at love but with different men and the last is the best. He is my peaches and cream even when I wish I had a cream pie I could throw at him. I know there are, probably, many films out there about people who get a second chance but I had a tough time to come up with them. Anyhoo, here are my 3...+1:))

1. THE LADY EVE-1941


I chose this one last year but it fits for this theme too so, why not. Henry Fonda plays a naive (ha!) man who spent a year in the amazon looking for snakes or something like that. He happens to be rich as well and every woman on the boat is looking at him but only one knows how to steal his heart, good ole Barbara Stanwyck. The problem is that she and her dad, nicely played by Charles Coburn, are grifters wanting to con the poor schmuck out of his money. She ends up falling in love with him but, when he finds out who she truly is, he dumps her like a sack of wet cement. This gal does not take this lightly and sets about screwing with his brain(and that's it, remember it's 1941 and the censors are on big alert) by posing as Lady Eve to make him fall for her all over again. A great screwball comedy directed by the equally great, and often forgotten, Preston Sturges. A film worth seeing. 

2. LYDIA-1941


I really like this unknown gem because it is about love and how the men all come to visit Lydia when they are now old and dried up like prunes..just kidding (am I?). Poor Lydia is a prune herself but we get to learn all about this beautiful lass, played by Merle Oberon, as she meets the main men in her life who are all good men but, although she cares for them deeply, she only ever loved one but did he truly love her. This is quite a good film and more mature given the time. How love can be so fickle.

3. LOVE AMONG THE RUINS-1975


I haven't seen this film in decades, probably since I was 11 yrs old which is when this TV movie came out. This is when the regular TV channels had some great movies. This stars Katherine Hepburn, Lawrence Olivier and it was directed by George Cukor about a famous actress who is being sued by her, very much younger, fiance because she decided not to marry him. She hired one of the best lawyers forgetting that they, too, were once lovers when they were much younger. He has not forgotten but she has. It's a very nice movie that deals with love in a more mature way than what we often see now because most love movies are with people in their 20s. John Barry composed the score to this as well. I mention him because he composed 2 scores I spoke about in my post the day before. 

Bonus...

4. MCLINTOCK-1963


This is an excellent Western comedy starring the great John Wayne as George McLintock anxiously awaiting the train that is bringing his daughter (played by Stephanie Powers) to visit him. What he does not know is that his long-separated wife is also on the train. The whole town is aware of their volatile marriage and her grandiose, snooty way of living and all wish McLintock would bring her down a peg or 2. What they don't know is that he could use it as well and she is the only one to do it. There are many funny scenes especially the one in the mud where many of them took a steep slide down into this very, very cold mud. The stars, both Wayne and O'Hara both did their own stunts including the last big fight scene between them when O'Hara lands in a horse's trough. Today, people will be aghast at the hairbrush to butt sequence but, personally, she deserved it...the character not the actress who did get the brunt of the brush but was all in for the reality. I would never take that for real but, this is a movie and it is not to be taken seriously. I would even say it is like a screwball comedy western. 

Which films can you think up?

33 comments:

  1. Hi Birgit!

    Yessum, I recall you discussing That Lady Eve in a previous post. I still have not watched it, even though I appreciate a good screwball comedy and like Barbara Stanwyck and Hank Fonda. (Thanks to him, I always buy GAF bulbs and film for my camera.) The trailer is classic. Just listen to that narrator's diction! Question: Do you, BB, consider yourself "that smoldering, simmering, exotic type"? When you posted about this film before, I probably mentioned that "Muggsy" is William Demarest who later played "Uncle Charley" on TV's My Three Sons.

    Lydia, released the same year as Lady Eve, would also certainly appeal to me. I appreciate films with mature dialogue, and I like actor Joe Cotten. Love Among The Ruins also boasts witty, natural, mature dialogue, and therefore goes on my list.

    Given that I don't like Westerns and don't like John Wayne, I'm surprised that I enjoyed those scenes from Mclintock so much. The dialogue is funny. Me likey Stephanie Powers, and never saw her do comedy before. She's good! I think I will make an exception and break down and watch Mclintock. Heck, just last night I demonstrated my flexibility and willingness to change and give the musical genre a try by watching The Dirt, the Mötley Crüe biopic, and Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park.

    I'm trying to remember the name of a movie in the "second chance love" category that starred Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. Oh, wait a minute -- that was real life.

    Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend BB!

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    1. Yes, William Demarest replaced William Frawley when Frawley became too ill to work. The shame of it is that William Frawley would not let go of his role and kept showing up to work causing much conflagration. The studio finally would not allow him on the set. When I read that I felt bad for the guy. . Lydia is quite a good film with a twist at the end that I did not expect. Well, you know I love John Wayne who gave Yvonne DeCarlo a [part in this film because he heard how down in the luck she was. It's rousing good fun with Jerry Van Dyke as a would be suitor to Stephanie.
      Me...exotic...hahahaaa, Mysterious? I'm about as mysterious as a black lab.
      Liz and Dick were quite the over the top couple.

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  2. I've never had a second chance either. I don't remember ever wanting one.

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    1. That's great because, I think, that is rare. you have your soul mate.

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  3. My first wife and I tried to get back together after splitting up, but it only lasted a couple months. The damage done by the break-up was something that we couldn't reconcile, but we tended to clash a lot anyway. We're still "friends" but I couldn't ever seeing getting back together with her.

    I'm pretty sure I saw McLintock many years ago, but the other three I can't recall having seen. And as is often the case, I'm sure I've seen films with this theme, but for now none come to mind.

    Forrest Gump maybe?

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out


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    1. There are some people you are attracted to but it just doesn't work, like Lucy and Desi. I'm good friends with my ex and that is aok.
      Forrest Gump works for sure

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  4. I love all the features Hepburn has going on there. I haven't seen any of these.

    I haven't needed a second chance at love yet so..we'll see for me lol

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    1. Hepburn is so good in this filnm and she can give "imperious" a run for its money:)). You are lucky to have one love.

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  5. LOVE your choices!!

    The Lady Eve is a great illustration of how Barbara Stanwyck was perhaps the most versatile of all the major actresses of her generation along with Olivia de Havilland. She could tear it up in drama, either a weepie or a noir, but then turn right around and apply her light touch to a fizzy comedy. Most of the others could do a very stylized brand of comedy, or they couldn't play drama, but none had her ease.

    I haven't seen Lydia in ages but I remember liking it when I did. If I recall correctly it was the final film of the divine Edna May Oliver who died unexpectedly before its release.

    Love Among the Ruins is from a time when the three major networks would do special event films during their sweeps period and we all benefited. Kate and Larry pair beautifully and the script is clever and witty. Kate's other TV collaboration with Cukor, The Corn is Green, is one of my favorites of these sort of films.

    McClintock is a raucous ride that's lots of fun. The Duke and Maureen O'Hara always paired well and Yvonne de Carlo is a delight in the film as well.

    The first thing that came to me was The Philadelphia Story which of course led to High Society which in certain aspects I prefer to the first though both a excellent pictures.

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    1. I am so glad you like my choices and Barbara was very versatile. You are right that many can do better in Drama (or vice versa with comedy) but, when they do comedy, it seems a bit out of place.
      Yes, The wonderful Edna did die right after this film was done. She is one of my favourite character actresses.
      I miss those times when the major networks did these types of films. I still have to see The Corn Is Green-both this version and the one with Betty Davis.
      I just love Mclintock!
      I almost went with The Philadelphia Story which works perfectly but, for some reason, I totally forgot about High Society which is also a gem.

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  6. I've never seen any of these, but would love to see McClintock. You must have an incredible arsenal of films because all but the McClintock are ones I've never heard of. As always, I come to see the synopses as much as, or more than, the movie trailers.

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    1. I hope that, one day, you can see Lydia because I think you would really enjoy it. It also came from a book but i never read the book.

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  7. The only one I saw was McClintock which I enjoyed except for the hairbrush and skillet scene.

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    1. Yes, Those scenes I don't care for because I don't agree with a man dominating a woman and i would have taken that hairbrush and used it on them!

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  8. I never did get The Lady Eve. I've seen it. I don't hate it. But for some reason it makes me scratch my head.

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    1. It is utterly stupid that no one believes Henry when he states that the woman on the boat is the same one as the one who comes to his home. This man is intelligent, if naive, but would never truly fall for that dame and the rest would not take her word over his no matter how beguiling she is but I still love this movie.

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  9. These are all new to me! Thanks for the introduction to all of them. :)
    ~Jess

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  10. Birgit,

    I'd like to see the first movie, "The Lady Eve". That looks like a fun film. I thought I had seen McLintock but after viewing the trailer I'm not sure now. I found it on Amazon Prime and put it on our Watch List. This is another fun looking movie. Thanks for the sharing these fine old movies with us!

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    1. I hope you like McLintock which is a lot of fun. The mud scene is hilarious even if the mud was very cold. Maureen did many of her own stunts.

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  11. BIRGIT ~
    Despite it including Charles Coburn, one of my two all-time favorite character actors (the other being Frank Morgan), I didn't really care for 'The Lady Eve'.

    I've not seen 'Lydia' nor 'Love Among The Ruins', but of course I own 'McLintock'. Describing it as a Western Screwball Comedy is spot-on! Brilliant! I'd never really thought of it that way, but that's precisely what it is. I've often described it as almost a Western take on 'The Quiet Man'.

    Two comedies I like a lot that match this description are 'HEAVEN CAN WAIT' (1943) and 'AIRPLANE'.

    And then there's the romance 'SOMEWHERE IN TIME'. Unfortunately, though, that one doesn't have a "Happily Ever After" ending.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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    1. I also love Frank Morgan and wish I have seen more of his films. I love the lady Eve even though no family would take the word of this woman over their scientist son's.
      McLintock feels like it's the same characters that we see 20 years later. It's so much fun and i always wished I could slide down to that mud pit but I would want it warmer.
      Oh My Goodness! Airplane fits perfectly!! I wish I would have thought of that as well as Heaven Can Wait. Somewhere in Time is also an excellent choice, very sad and haunting. I used the music for my choice in my post yesterday.

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  12. All of these are new to me, but I sure do enjoy classics.

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  13. I'm so clueless, I hadn't heard of any of these.
    I do love the photo of your lovey dovey parents below.
    Be well, sweetie.

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    1. I'm so glad you like that picture. There are many where they are just smiling and having fun. You be well too.

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  14. Love Among the Ruins sounds intriguing and Kathryn Hepburn is a classic isn't she?
    Hope your weekend is a good one and you're feeling great.
    Hugs

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    1. It's a good movie and she is a classic...much, much, much better than Meryl Strip..um...Streep. I am feeling well and enjoying being in my craft room.

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  15. I have some personal experience in this area. I'll pour it all into a trashy novel one day...

    There's always Casablanca and the many others it has inspired. Granted, it's an awfully bittersweet ending but frankly, it's true to life. There's a reason that story has resonated so deeply over the generations. Sure, the writing, the acting, the filming are all exceptional. But at the end of the day, it's a heartache and a heartbreak most people can understand whether they've lived the particular scenario or not. We all understand tough choices, loss and regret. Trust me, those are all crucial elements to a second chance story!

    I have to mention our family favorite, too: The Philadelphia Story.

    Watch the director's cut of Cinema Paradiso sometime. I kind of wish I hadn't because it makes for quite a different story and I so dearly love the original as it is. But it fits this category.

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    1. Oh My!! I totally forgot about Casablanca which is a perfect fit and you are so right, more true than the Happy Ending stories. Philadelphia Story is a great one and I almost chose that.
      I still have to see Cinema Paradiso and hope to one day.
      I love that your story would be a trashy novel. I think mine could be to.

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  16. Such interesting picks! I don't think I've heard of a single one of them before reading your post.

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