Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition-Con Artists

 

I am very late but we had a major travel day back home which took us about 8 1/2 hrs and it would have been 2+ hours longer f we took the 401 through Toronto because it is, frankly, nuts! It’s considered worse than the California freeways with the major congestion, the weavers and the high rate of speed…when you can speed which is usually over 140km hr. We try and do 120…if possible but it’s just crazy. Anyway, I had to think about this week, fast and am bummed that I still have yet to see any episodes of  “It Takes A Thief” that starred Robert Wagner so I found 3 that fit. Check out who else joined in on the fun over at the Brain child, Wandering Through The Shelves. Here re my 3…

1. REMINGTON STEELE-1982-1987

Stephanie Zimbalist plays a PI who creates her own agency but is not very successful until she invents Remington as the man behind the agency. When that happens, she becomes quite successful, sad but true,  but becomes perturbed when a thief, handsome, roguish and gentlemanly, steps in as Remington Steele. She keeps him on as the front to her agency but he becomes much more involved than she likes plus they both have an eye for one another. This made Pierce Brosnan a star and set him on his very highly successful road in acting. This was clever, fun and humorous. 

2. COUNTERSTRIKE-1990-1993

This starred Christopher Plummer as a very rich man who’s wife was brutally murdered in front of him and, once he recovers he starts his own task force to catch terrorists. He hires a man from Scotland Yard, played by Simon MacCorkindale  to be his right hand man who seeks out a thief who knows the underworld and where to get questions answered plus she is quite the beauty. Another is rescued from a South American prison since he is a mercenary who knows a thing or 2 about bombs, TNT etc… each episode we get to see how they work as a team to bring down the bad guys. It was a Canadian and French production that, I thought, was quite good.

3. GOOD BEHAVIOUR-2016-2017

This stars Michelle Dockery, fresh off of Downton Abbey as the imperious Lady Mary, to see her washing toilets in a icky diner. We realize that she is on parole because she is a conwoman who also has major addictions. Soon she goes back to her old ways and makes a mark on this dashingly, handsome man, played by ooh-La-La, Juan Diego Botto, taking him to her bed in quite the hot sex scene. The scenes work out well because part of this show is about her being a hot mess but another is her steamy life with this hitman. Oh, yea, he is a hitman who is really good for her and good at what he does but he has a heart. It’s very different and quite unique which is why it probably didn’t work…shame.

Which tv shows can you think of?

Guess What Happened To Me!

 

This is not. Good picture but….I just wanted to surprise ya! We are on vacation at my hubby’s Aunt’s place and I went for a walk not thinking much about the champagne flutes that Aunt Simone brought out. She will often have a toast to something and she has everything you can think of for entertaining and cooking. I came back and sat back down when my Michael asked to have a picture taken of Aunt Simone, me and him. When I mentioned that I can take a picture of him and his Aunt, he told me, impatiently, to just get his Uncle Roger to take the picture and then go sit down. So, I showed Uncle Roger where to click for the photo and sat down. Suddenly, Michael went down on one knee, opened the box and asked that question, “Will you marry me?” I just sat there, mouth agape not believing what I was hearing looking at the 3 rings that make one nice one and wondering how he got one over on me, not easy, let me say. Finally, I heard someone say, “Well, are you going to say yes?” That brought me out of my stupor and I, naturally, said yes! I am now, officially, engaged and am very happy.  So, I chose 3 songs that my hubby and I have loved from the get go with 2 that we have danced to, in the past, in our livingroom. Please forgive me that I don’t have the dates or who wrote the songs.

1. UNCHAINED MELODY BY THE RIGHTEOUS BROS..

Love this song…one of my favs and I loved dancing to this with my hubby… Love this sung by this team from the 50s I believe.

2. AT LAST SUNG BY ETTA JAMES

When we heard this together, many years ago, hubby said “This is our song”. I know it’s popular but I love it. I think this is from the early 60s

3. TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE SUNG BY SARAH BRIGHTMAN AND ANDREA BOCELLI

I love this song when it first came out and, when I met my hubby, I was pleasantly surprised to find out he loved this song as well. This is what brought Andrea Bocelli to the forefront.

We are still on vacation but leave for home Thursday. It’s been wonderful

Thursday Movie Picks-Sweltering Heat

 

We are now enjoying ourselves looking at the scene you see in the picture. We are at my hubby’s Aunt and Uncle’s home on the Richeleau river. We have not seen them since before Covid and I have not been away from work for a week since I started so I’m happy. We have been dealing with hot and humid days so I thought I would choose movies that deal with the heat. Here are my 3…

1. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE-1951

I equate this film with the play movies that were big in the 50s as well as the “kitchen sink” films also prevalent in the 50s and 60s. These films were named this because the kitchen sink was often shown in the films and was not depicting the wealthy…unless they were slumming…which they weren’t. This film stars Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter as a married couple who take in her older sister, played so well by Vivien Leigh. Marlon is a brutish, dumb ass jerk in a dirty, white T shirt who berates the older sister who talks about being a lady from the genteel south. Her sister lets her be what she wants to be and Marlon’s friend, played by Karl Maldon, falls under Viv’s spell. It’s hot, sweaty and nasty much like Brando who screams, “Stella!” When his wife leaves him, albeit, not for long. It’s not an easy movie to watch especially knowing that Vivien Leigh was dealing with her own bi-polar disorder during the making of this film and when she starred on the London stage of this theatre production. The make up department and hairstylists would hide the burn marks created by the shock treatments she was receiving but she was ever the professional winning her second Oscar in the process. When you see her fragility in this film and compare it to her beauty only 12 years before from “Gone With The Wind”, you can see how much her disability affected her.

2. REAR WINDOW-1954

I love this movie and spoke about this more than once but I couldn’t pass it up. It take place during a heat wave getting very itchy when we see Jimmy Stewart in a wheel chair with a leg cast all the way up to his hip. He is a photographer who has ventured everywhere but is now stuck…in more ways than one. He is engaged to the lovely Grace Kelly who is a socialite and loves nice clothes and loves him. All he can do during this summer is watch all the people in his apartment complex because their windows all face the courtyard they all share. We meet the blonde dancer, the newlyweds, Miss Lonelyhearts, the musician, a husband and wife who sleep on the fire escape and a broody Perry Mason, I mean, Ironside…oops, Raymond Burr who is caring for his invalid wife. When the wife disappears, Stewart suspects foul play but everyone thinks the heat is getting to his brain. Soon, Grace and the great Thelma Ritter begin to think like him but they may all be a bit batty. Hitchcock directed this film with his usual panache and it’s one of his best films.

3. 12 ANGRY MEN-1957

I love this film! From the very beginning, you know, just from the scared look of the kid, that he is innocent of the murder rap. Now these 12 jurors must decide on the kid’s fate. Right off the bat 11 out of the 12 vote guilty except for 1…Henry Fonda. He is the lone hold out who questions everything and from the get go we begin to learn about all the the jurors from the lonely old man, the guy who wants to get to his baseball game to the bigot who only sees a criminal. It’s an excellent character study with the short fuses made shorter due to the heat. I love the many character actors in this film-Jack Klugman, Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, Jack Warden, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb etc.. it is so much worth the look.

Which movies can you think of that take place during a heat wave? 

So the answers from yesterday’s Oscar songs? The winner was “The Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe”. The nominated song was “All Through The Day” and the one that came up Nadda was “Put The Blame on Mamie”. 

Oscar Songs 1946

 

Who won the Oscar for 1946 for best song? I'm often surprised which song was left out. I'm still going to join over at Monday Music Moves Me. Next week, I'm away on a small vacation with the hubby, staying with his Aunt and Uncle on the Richelieu River. I'll try to listen to some tunes but I hope to relax and I'll be away from work! Now...on with the show. Take a guess at who won the Oscar, who was nominated and who was unlucky in both.

1. ALL THROUGH THE DAY SUNG BY BING CROSBY

This is a lovely song from the film, " Centennial Summer" with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. 

2. PUT THE BLAME ON MAME SUNG BY RITA HAYWORTH( NOT REALLY)

Alas, Rita was an excellent dancer but her voice was dubbed, here, by Anita Ellis for the film, "Gilda". This was quite sexy and daring for its time and still packs a wallop, I think.

3. ON THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND THE SANTE FE SUNG BY JUDY GARLAND

This is a fun song from the film, "The Harvey Girls" that starred Garland and Ray Bolger ( he played the Scatecrow in "The Wizard of Oz"). Angela Lansbury is in this musical as well. The music was by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. 

So, take a guess...who hot the Oscar, who was nominated and who struck out on both counts?

What I Watched In June

 

I’m getting late writing this but I still love doing it. My pain has been bad and hate smelling the smoke from the forest fires, mind you, if I liked it, I would need to see a shrink. So, watching less movies but watch TV when I get home from work which is, often, late. I’ve been enjoying watching some shows I already spoke about plus the news. I don’t really enjoy watching the news but I like to keep abreast of what is going on. Here is what I have watched in June.

1. THE LADY IN WHITE-1988

I saw this in the theatre back in 1988 and really like this small time film. It centres on a small boy, played by Lucas Haas, who is trapped in the school closet by a couple of bullies. He sees the ghost of a little girl and sees her being murdered by an invisible killer.  Terrified, he almost dies when the all too human killer comes into the closet trying to retrieve something that fell into the grate. He sees the boy and tries to kill him but, thankfully, is unsuccessful. Now, the boy tries to find out who the girl is when he finds out she was the first victim of a serial killer. It is a ghostly murder mystery but  it is endearing because it takes place in a small town with kids and adults who live a simpler life in the 1960s. There is a sweetness to this movie despite the seriousness of the topic. I highly recommend it.

2. THE GREAT OUTDOORS-1988

I just spoke bout this film last week. It’s stupid, dumb but I enjoy it especially since it has John Candy in it.

3. TITANIC-1953

This is not “ A Night To Remember”, which is the best film about the Titanic, but this is a good film that stars Barbara Stanwyck who has decided to take her children back to America and teach them about true manners and to work for what they want. The kids have been spoiled because their dad is filthy rich. The dad, played so well by Clifton Webb, is able to get on the Titanic to prevent his estranged wife from taking his kids away from him. We also meet young students, one played by Robert Wagner, who takes a shine to Stanwyck’s and Webb’s daughter. We get to meet other fellow passengers and we see what happens when the ship is sinking. It is well acted with Thelma Ritter as a Molly Brown character, who shines in her role. I love this movie because the acting is great with some real dilemmas that, I’m surprised, the censors didn’t pounce on the topic. The special effects are quite good for its time too so it is well worth a look.

3. THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE, TWO, THREE-1974

This is a taut thriller with 4 older men taking a subway train full of people, hostage. The head of the subway, played by Walter Matthau, is now trying to deal with the hostage taking without any passengers dying. The leader of the hostage takers, played by Robert Shaw, is icy cold and demands money or he will kill a hostage. It’s. Exciting, gritty with no movie star look to it. I prefer this version over the remake which seems to have some gloss to it. This is the better film.

TV SHOWS

1. IMPOSSIBLE ENGINEERING-2015- PRESENT

This is a pretty cool show, on the Smithsonian channel, that showcases buildings, bridges etc.. built in unique ways. It’s hard to describe but pretty cool seeing a high rise with greenery taking centre stage. Mirrors to make sure parks below still receive sunlight etc…

2. DEPARTURE-2019-PRESENT

This is a Canadian backed TV show starring Archie Panjabi ( a woman) who is a chief investigator on a plane crash and finds out more than she bargained for. Christopher Plummer plays her mentor/boss who helps her. This was his last role before he died which is a shame because he was such a great actor. You find out all the intrigues and double dealings that take place. Hubby and I enjoy this show because it’s not a simple plot but there are various double dealings and other mishaps along the way.

3. A SMALL LIGHT-2023

This is about the Anne Frank family but through the eyes of the real life Miep Gies who  kept the family hidden for over 2 years at Otto Frank’s business. She has help of course, but you are on the edge of your seat how Miep and her, equally courageous husband, Jan, who was part of the resistance, helped save other Jewish people and their children. The Frank family and the others in the Annex actually take second billing because it is based on Miep who died at the age of 101. The only negative thing I have to say is when they were liberated. It was the Canadians who liberated Holland…CANADIANS!! Do they mention this…nope they just say they are liberated so it makes people think that it was the Americans but it was us! My dad was part of the liberation. 

so…what did you watch? What did you read?

Thursday Movie Picks-Book Adaptations

 

This is a popular theme over at Wandering Through The Shelves who loves reading as many of you do out there in the dark…oops sorry, I was channeling Norma Desmond. There are so many films that I decided to do a theme within a theme. Here are my picks…

1. ROMEO AND JULIET-1936

We all know the famous story of those young teenage lovers who are part of 2 feuding families-the Montagues and the Capulets. They meet during a masquerade ball and fall hopelessly in love but their affair is doomed and ends tragically because, well, it is Shakespeare and it’s a tragedy. This wonderful( hahaha) adaptation stars 43 year old Leslie Howard as Romeo and 34 year old Norma Shearer as Juliet as those Dooey-eyed teens..hahahaaaa…. Sorry as dooey-eyed oldies who fall in love. You have Basil Rathbone and John Barrymore as the friends who fight one another. Basil was an expert swordsman and Barrymore was an expert drinker often drunk while doing his scenes who were also way too long in the tooth to play youngins. The sad reality is that Shearer’s husband, Irving Thalberg, who wanted this film as a showcase for his wife spring no expense, died the evening it premiered at the young age of 37 which cast a giant shadow on the film.

2. ROMEO AND JULIET-1968

This is the best version of this tragedy starring actual teenagers, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting as the doomed lovers. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli who deserves the accolades for making this film a success. The music is beautiful as well as the cinematography and costumes. For decades and decades, Olivia Hussey had nothing but praise for her director and always claimed she was perfectly fine with the nude scene….same for Whiting so it’s a shame that just a year or so ago, they decided to sue the estate of Franco Zeffirelli for what they claimed was a deafening blow to their emotional well being for the nude scene. Now, they were young, she was 14 and Hollywood was not one to care about the feelings of young people especially girls but it just seems weird that after everything, they come out now. I a, one for the Me Two movement but this doesn’t ring right to me.

3. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE-1998

Ok, yes, this stars Goop, aka Gwyneth Paltrow, as a wealthy chick betrothed to a jerk ( luscious Colin Firth) who dreams of being an actress but there is one problem…she’s a girl and no girl ever acts on the stage. The performances, at that time, were played by men. Can you imagine a male Juliet? Well, neither can Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes ( Ralph’s brother) who owes money and is poor as dirt. He meets Goop and they fall in love. She pretends to be a boy so she can play the girl, Juliet, opposite Joey, playing Romeo. This is quite good, to be honest, but Goop never should have won the Oscar ( it should have gone to Cate Blanchett). It is actually quite funny especially with Geoffrey Rush who plays Shakespeare’s agent. Judi Dench won an Oscar for her very short role as Queen E #1. I don’t think she should have won here either ( I would have chosen Brenda Blethyn, Lynn Redgrave or Kathy Bates) but this is a good movie to watch. It won best picture…no, it shouldn’t have won, if I had to chose from the nominees, I would have chosen “Elizabeth”. 

So which movies would you pick?

Summer Vacation Songs

This was a fun one to think about. There are so many ways one could go with this. You can see the various ways over a Monday Musics Moves Me. I almost chose a Beach Boys song but it ends with " this is the worst trip I've ever been on". I can't say I have been on a bad trip and I'm not talking about magic mushrooms. By the way, the picture shows my friend who travels during the winter months usually involving an ocean. So here are my songs I chose...

1. I'M OFF ON THE ROAD TO MOROCCO SUNG BY HOPE AND CROSBY-1942

When I saw this theme, this was the first song that came into my head. I love the many road pictures Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made, this one being one of the best. It was written by Jimmy Van Heusen(music) and Johnny Burke( lyrics).

2. IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE BELGIUM SUNG BY R. P. RAGS-1969

Love the movie and this song was right in the middle of it when the young daughter can't wait to be with the hippies and listen to Donovan's song. I always thought Donovan was the guy singing it.

3. BEACH BLANKET BINGO SUNG BY DONNA LOREN- 1965

You can't have a summer vacation without these 2 swinging teens and their friends shaking their booties and ta-tas. Annette was quite the double D cup but still innocent and ladylike. This song was written by gal Donna Loren and is just perfect for the summer vacations. 

Thursday Film Picks- Summer Vacation

 

My friend is somewhere in Malaysia, just not sure where. Right now he is working, non stop being a Travel host either on a bus loaded with tourists who want to see Lake Louise, Jasper and Banff or taking day trips to Victoria, BC, Whistler or anywhere near Vancouver. He is off during the winter when he 5ake off to explore different parts of the world. I thought of my friend and  the end of school and the start of summer vacation. So many families decide to take the kids on a trip during the summer  and either go camping, take off to Disney, rent a cottage or go on a trip where they may meet my good friend V.J. With that in mind, I chose staying at a cottage/home with the family and here they are…

1. MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION-1962

I did talk about this film before but I love Jimmy Stewart and I really enjoy this film about a father, Stewart, who takes his beautiful wife, Maureen O’ Hara, and their 2 kids to an old home right on the beach. The home has seen better days from the dust to the plumbing but they decide to enjoy what it has to offer. When a luscious blondie decides to sunbathe near their home, Stewart is polite and his son in law is a bit too nice. We have some great character actors in this movie and I love the bird watching scene. It’s sweet, funny and the start of a few movies Stewart made in this vein.

2. THE SPIRIT IS WILLING-1967

I have to see this movie again because I really liked it when I watched it many, many years ago. Sid Caesar and Vera Miles are a married couple who, along with their teenage son, rent a home for their summer vacation not realizing that it is already inhabited by 3 unruly ghosts whom only the teenage son can see. The ghosts do what they can to be disruptive and the teenager gets blamed for the ghosts’ antics. I found it funny, cute and worth a few looks. I miss these types of films that were made during this decade with the character actors often seen in many of the other comedy movies.

3. THE GREAT OUTDOORS-1988

This is the weakest of the 3 but it’s still fun…dumb, but fun. You have John Candy who takes his wife and sons up to the cabin he used to go to and they are enjoying their time together until Candy’s brother and sister-in-law come up with their freakish twin girls. They all decide to enjoy the area even though they must deal with raccoons, bears and each other. Watching this again made me realize how much I miss John Candy who, apparently, was just the nicest to the people in the town who worked as extras ( as opposed to Annette Bening, in her first film role, who was a real b&@*). I love Bart the Bear, a famous bear who worked in quite a few movies, as the bear who causes some damage to Candy but gets a bum wrap ( nyuck, nyuck…you have to see the movie to get the pun). Whoever was the stuntman for Candy when on the waterskis, is amazing. 

Which summer movies can you think of?

End of School Song Fest

 

School’s out for summer! This is what I dreamed of doing when I was done with school since I was not a fan. Since school ended last week, I thought this was a perfect time to talk about music with school in mind. I was going to write about a brilliant piece of music, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” but, I think, I already talked about this song so I chose another I enjoyed. I will sign up to the Monday Music Moves Me post over at Curious As A Cathy since I enjoy it even though this is Wednesday. Here are my picks…

1. SCHOOL’S OUT BY ALICE COOPER-1972

There’s something about Alice Cooper I really like. He intelligent, loves old movies and songs and beats to his own drummer. I my not listen to all his songs but I bloody love this one. 

2. SCHOOL DAYS BY CHUCK BERRY-1957

I always had fun listening to this song and dancing to it and I would dance and dance.

3. HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL BY ROUGH TRADE-1980

This was a Canadian anthem for finishing the school year. It was written by Carole Pope and Kevin Staples and sung, brilliantly, by Carole Pope. It got a lot of flack when it was on the airwaves and even censored but, thankfully, it isn’t anymore…at least not in my neck of the woods. 

So there you are. Aside from Pink Floyd, what other school songs would you pick?

Star of the Month-Eva Marie Saint

EVA MARIE SAINT

BORN: July 4, 1924

AGE: 99 years!

NICKNAME: The Helen Hayes of TV and, also, Bubbles

MARRIED: Once, to Jeffrey Hayden from 1951 to 2016, his death

CHILDREN: 2 Children

OSCAR WINS: Best Supporting Actress for “On The Waterfront”

KNOWN FOR:  being one of the nicest actresses/people in the film industry

Since she could  blow bubbles from inside her mouth, she was called Bubbles which stuck with her in high school even when she was a cheerleader ( of course, she was). She fell into doing theatre and got a job in TV before landing a role, opposite Marlon Brando, in On The Waterfront. She found working with Brando quite fine and just thought of him as an actor, nothing more. She learned so much from the director, Elia Kazan, and just grew from there. Speaking of growing, she was 9 months pregnant when she won the Oscar and gave birth to her son 2 days later…talk about cutting that close! She starred in many movies before switching to, mainly TV although she did star in many TV productions from the 50s. I didn’t showcase all her TV appearances but she was nominated for 5 Emmys finally winning for “People Like Us” from 1990. 

She loved working with most people including Hitchcock, Brando and Colin Farrell who found her a Dream. She didn’t warm up to Warren Beatty who seemed aloof nor Montgomery Clift who was so painfully shy that it brought out her shyness so neither of them really spoke to one another.

She is one of the rare actors to have had a healthy, happy and loving marriage to Jeffrey Hayden who was a director and producer and both remained faithful to each other for over 60 yrs before he died at age 90. 

She is still acting and loves it! It is as a voice over but, who cares because she is bloody 99! 

MOVIES

1. ON THE WATERFRONT-1954

2. THAT CERTAIN FEELING-1956

3. A HATFUL OF RAIN- 1957

4.  RAINTREE COUNTY-1957

5.  NORTH BY NORTHWEST-1959

6.  EXODUS- 1960

7. ALL FALL DOWN-1962

8. 36 HOURS-1964

9. SANDPIPER-1965

10. THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING-1966