There is a Theme

 

September is Suicide Awareness Month so I thought my theme would be about this jocular  event that has touched ll our lives in one form or another. I decided to look at this in a more humorous vein and chose 3 films that strike a funny bone…

1. MEET JOHN DOE-1941

This Frank Capra film stars Barbara Stanwyck as a disgruntled former newspaper reporter who writes her last story, a fictional tale told as truth, about an ordinary man who decides to commit suicide on Christmas Eve as a protest against the ills of the world. Little did she or the men at the newspaper realize that this tale would create a storm amongst the readers. Now another Newspaper wants to show up the story as the fraud it is. Stanwyck and the guys look for the perfect bum to sell the story as true and in walks Gary Cooper. At first, he’s against this but soon convinces himself that he could be a force for good plus use the money he would make to get the operation he needs so he can play baseball again. When he wishes to tell the truth and holds a rally, the money men pull the plug so the average joes can’t hear him and believe the money men becoming a mob against Cooper. Of course, Stanwyck falls for this man and believes in the common man, even when they can turn against someone so quickly. I do like this movie but I  became disenchanted with the average joes who could turn so easily against their “hero”. I just didn’t buy into the common folk being nice people when they could turn on someone at a drop of a hat. Love the acting from everyone even though I am not a big Cooper fan and it is quite funny in parts even though it deals with suicide. It is worth checking out.

2. THE END-1978

This is one funny picture that stars Burt Reynolds who finds out he has only a few months to live. Upset by how his last days will be, he decides to take his life into his own hands by committing suicide. The only problem is he sucks at it. He wakes up in a mental asylum and is pissed off that he is still alive. He meets a real nutjob, played so, so perfectly, by Dom DeLuise and asks this crazy to kill him because he does not want to die the way the Doctor decried. Dom is all too happy to oblige even when they escape from the asylum, Dom keeps trying and Burt wants it but they keep fowling things up. This was very well written and quite funny. Burt was great in this role and this film deserved to win more than it did, which wasn’t much. I need to see this again.

3. A MAN CALLED OVE-2015

This is not the Tom Hanks film, which is good, but I prefer this Swedish film that stars Rolf Lassgard as the ornery goat who is not well liked in his neighbourhood which is fine because he doesn’t care for most of them. Little does anyone realize how much pain he is in from losing the love of his life, his beloved wife. He decides to end it all, but just when he is about to do the deed, a new neighbour knocks on the door and she, played by Bacar Pars, needs Ove’s help. Every time he tries to commit suicide, she needs him which wakes him up that his life is not over and he can let go his anger and sadness becoming part of the new family. I love this film because of the acting, writing, directing and that wonderful orange cat. Tom Hanks is excellent but I love this movie more.

bonus…

4. HARD LUCK-1921

I love Buster Keaton and this was supposed to be a lost film until parts were found, not sure where, and it was reconstructed but the pivotal last part was still missing until it was found in some Russian archive. Buster is down on his luck who loses his job and his girl and decides to end it all. After many, funny attempts, he joins some troop trying to catch a poor armadillo bolstering his confidence. He just is beginning to love life when he dives off a pool, missing it and hits the ground so hard a hole appears. It doesn’t end there and it is very funny. Remember, Buster Keaton did all his own stunts and it is very real since  there was no real trick photography and you find out how brilliant Keaton was because he had to be precise or, in my cases, he would have died. I hope you enjoy this famous short.

Which Song Won The Oscar-1938

 

I don’t think I have done 1938 yet, which will conclude the 1930s so, since it’s freebie week over at Monday Music Moves Me, I thought this will be the perfect time for you to figure out which song won the Oscar, which song was nominated and which came up with lint,,,,you know, empty pockets. Here we go…

1. SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN SUNG BY JULIE LONDON

OK, this is  a great song written by Harry Warren and Al Durbin and was in the film, “Melody For Two”  originally sung by James Melton. I love Julie London( no kidding)  so I chose her version from her album, “Calendar Girls” which I would love to own. This is a famous song that has been done by numerous singers and musicians and I understand why.

2. JEEPERS CREEPERS SUNG BY LOUIS ARMSTRONG 

Who doesn’t love the great Satchmo, Louis Armstrong’s nickname, in case you don’t know. He introduced this song in the film, “Going Places”  which was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. We get, not only his unique voice but his great trumpet playing. I always loved this song which seems to go with the mood of the upcoming month of October.

3. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY SUNG BY BOB HOPE AND SHIRLEY ROSS

This song became Bob Hope’s signature song that followed him on his many, many excursions to the wars to entertain the troops from World War 2 to the Persian Gulf. I always heard it on his many TV specials and when he did the talk show circuit. It first appeared on the, “ Big Broadcast of 1938” and it was written by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin and it’s such a Sweet moment in this movie. 

So…can you guess which song won the Oscar, which was nominated and which came up with nuttin’?

It’s Cat Month!

 

I found out that September is National Cat Month, so this movie theme is all about the Pussy cat. There are a ton of cat movies and I already spoke about “Bell, Book and Candle” with James Stewart and Kim Novak( I think a couple of times)m so I am going with these pussy cat tails…

1. THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE-1978

This is a silly Disney movie and I enjoyed watching way back when and would love to see it again. Basically, a spaceship crash lands on earth and out comes a cat. He has been separated from his mother ship and now must try to fix his ship so he can meet back up with his fellow felines. He hooks up with a scientist, Ken Barry, letting him know that his thoughts, while ridiculed by his fellow scientists, is right on track. Somehow, they get involved with gamblers and horse racing to make enough money to buy gold needed to fix the cat’s ship. You have Sandy Duncan, Harry Morgan, Roddy McDowell and McLean Stevenson in this silly movie, but the star is this cat who does steal every scene. Thank Goodness no AI is in this movie

2. THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS-1986

I came across this movie one day while channel surfing and thought I’d give it a a chance since it’s all about the exploits of these 2 main characters-Milo is an orange tabby and Otis is a pug. Milo is always getting into trouble and Otis follows him to help Milo out. Milo ends up in a box on the edge of a river and what is a cat to do with a box? Yup, he jumps in it only for the box to dislodge and travel down the river. Otis, scared for his friend, follows him. Milo ends up out of the box and meets up with all sorts of animals on his journey home. He ends up in a pit where Otis finds him and helps Milo out of the pit. Together they find their way home. It is a sweet film with real animals, not animated, not A. I., just trained animals which is so cool. I really love this sweet fairy tale movie and would love to see it again.

3. HOCUS POKUS-1993

I finally saw this movie a couple of months ago and it is fun, especially love Bette Midler as her evil witch self along with her nasty sisters, Kathy Najimy and Sara Jessica Parker. They have been, unwittingly, unleashed onto present day earth. They mean trouble and the only ones to stop them are these teens and this black cat. The cat can talk because it is actually, a young man who was turned into a cat by these witches after they drained the life force of the love of his life way back in the 1500s. Now, these bad witches need the teens life force so they can remain young and not die by the time the sun rises. It's, also, a bit silly but I did enjoy the dance scene where these ugly witches put a spell on all the adults to have them dance and dance. I love the cat especially since he is a black cat. Black cats get a bad rap as I always found them very affectionate.

Which cat do you love in movies? 

Happy Cat Month

 

Yes, these are our 2 pussy cats, Kaspar( not Hitler) and Lexi, my sweet little girl who can be devilish on occasion. Kaspar is my hubby’s cat who just moos like a sick cow when he sees my hubby outside. As soon as hubby comes in, Kaspar meow cries running to him as if my hubby was gone for a month. He is a real suck and sweetly sleeps on hubby’s legs in pure contentment. Lexi, my sweetie, follows me everywhere and tells me when she wants to go upstairs. Why? She loves to drink the water from the tap. She is my suck who likes to redecorate my home by scratching off the wallpaper. She also loves to play fetch using the plastic round piece that comes off when you open an orange juice container. She meows and I look at her and see the orange round thingy by her feet. I throw it and she chases it, grabs it and brings it back to me! Yup, she fetches like a doggie and makes me laugh. It is national cat month and over at Monday Music Moves Me it’s all about the pussy…..cat. 

1. MADEMOISELLE KITT SUNG BY EARTHA KITT-1956

I can not help but think of Eartha Kitt who loved to act like a sly, sexy kitty kat. She purred and moved like a black cat should. Just watch the old Batman TV show because Earthy Eartha took over the role from the purrfect Julie Newmar as Catwoman and was great in this sexy role. I enjoyed this song that was written by Mesi Julian which Ms. Kitt makes it her own. I hope I have the right song...oh well...

2. PUSSY CAT SONG ( NYOW! NYOW! NYOW!) SUNG BY LOUIS PRIME AND KEELY SMITH-1956

This is another fun song from one of the Andrews sisters and Bob Crosby. I found this very fun and engaging. What more can I say?

3. ROSSINI’S CAT DUET SUNG BY KIRI TE KANAWA AND NORMA BELLOWS-1982

When I first heard this song on the classical station, I started to laugh. It is so funny and you can tell the singers had a lot of fun.

What cat songs can you think of? Do you have a cat? What unique things do they do?

Who Should Have Won Best Actress-1943

 

This was quite a great year for movies as well as for great actresses and whom did they choose?  A long-winded movie with a boring actress. Anyway, here are the Best Actresses for 1943, the one who won, the one whom, I think, should have won and the one who was not nominated.

1. JENNIFER JONES IN THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

Jennifer Jones, a young, beautiful girl, in what the studios claimed was her first film ( she was in 2 other films under her real name, Phylis Isley) starred as Bernadette, the saint. So, before she became a saint,  Bernadette saw the image of Mary in a grotto. Soon the grotto has healing powers and helps cure people when they partake of the waters. She enters the nunnery, pious and virtuous despite others not believing in her and in what she saw. This was a loooonnnng movie and I found it, boring. Jennifer was nice but was just blah. Frankly, I think she excelled in later films but not her first as Jennifer Jones. I believe her “attachment” to David O Selznick helped her achieve this stardom and her Oscar….just saying.

2. JEAN ARTHUR IN THE MORE, THE MERRIER

I recently rewatched this funny and sweet romantic comedy that stars Jean Arthur as a regular gal who has a large apartment and decides to rent out the one bedroom since there is a housing shortage. Enter Charles Coburn, a millionaire whose hotel room is not available, so he sees the advertisement for the room in the paper and, after much tribulation, Arthur agrees to let the older man sublet. Before you can whistle Dixie, the older man meets a young, new soldier, played by the ruggedly, handsome Joel McCrea, who needs a room for a week before being shipped out to Africa so, he sublets his half of his room. This creates some chaos for the rule-oriented Arthur but they all do their best to get along. This is a funny and engaging comedy. Arthur is brilliant as the uber-time management, tense gal who has no problem showing herself with cream on her face, mouth full of toothpaste and awkward in her style. She makes her character believable and funny while falling in love with  McCrea. She has perfect timing as well as showing herself tenderness. I do think she should have won.

3. INGRID BERGMAN IN CASABLANCA

Ingrid Bergman was nominated this year, but not for her stellar performance in Casablanca as Ilse but for  the film, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” as guerrilla fighter, Maria. Amazing that she was not nominated for her sublime performance as the beauteous Ilse who shows up Rick’s Cafe with her Husband, Victor Lazlo, played by righteous Paul Henreid. There, she sees Rick, played by cynical Humphrey Bogart, whom she feel in love with when living in Paris. Now, Rick has the letters of transit which will allow 2 people to leave Casablanca and travel out of Nazi controlled countries. I love this film with all the characters, the intrigues, the humour..it is perfect in every way. In fact, if Bergman would have been nominated for this role and won, I would not have an issue with it but I still give it to Arthur. Bergman played a role that could have been one dimensional but she puts all these nuances into her role to make her character believable. 

So, have you seen any of these films? Do you agree or would you choose another? 

Oh, for anyone who loves old films, actors and scandals, you should go to YouTube and watch this podcast called, “From Beneath The Hollywood Sign.” It is a great podcast with 2 people who just love film and discuss the films the people made plus some of the scandal like Thomas Ince’s death. They have a star of the month and this month, they chose Linda Darnell. Joel, I think you would love this and should check it out. 

September…

 

I’m watching a CNN special on 9/11 about people saving people on that horrific day 25 years ago and it is very, very moving, so very sad and yet one of hope and love. You hear the stories of people being;g saved by others and meeting each other 25 years later. This is incredibly moving so, I am changing what I was going to choose today, for the Monday Music Moves Me Challenge, and used these songs…

1. YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE SUNG BY SHIRLEY JONES

When I watched the film, “Carousel”  when I was a teen and when this song came on, I cried because it was so moving. This was a Rogers and Hammerstein musical and another great musical that starred Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRea as the lovers who meet and fall in love around the carousel. I always find this song very inspirational.

2. TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM SUNG BY RICHRD KILEY-1965

This song comes from, “ The Man From La Mancha”  composed by Mitch Leigh with lyrics by Joe Darion and this song got me through my teen years. I still feel very close to this song and it has helped me through some tough times.

3. CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN SUNG BY PEGGY WOOD-1965

This is another famous song from  the famous musical, “ The Sound Of Music”, the last musical from Rodger’s and Hammerstein and, arguably, the most famous. It stars Julie Andrews as a novice nun sent to govern Christopher Plummer’s 7 kids. She was not prepared to fall in love with him( and vice-versa) and runs back to the nunnery only to hear this song. This is what we must do in our life and be inspired to keep moving forward no matter what hurdles are presented to us. 

I can’t believe it has been 25 years since 9/11. What songs inspire you?

Happy School Musicals-

 

Ok, yesterday I was so against school, today it’s all about how happy kids are where they find their true love and break out into song. We’ve all been there, right? I know, when I was bullied, I started to break out into song, sing about my right to be me and start to dance where every bullied student starts dancing in unison, ending in a fireworks light show. Too much? Ok, without further adieu, here are my 3…

1. STRIKE UP THE BAND-1940

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland star in this fun musical with the exuberant, ADHD high school student, Mickey trying to get his band to Chicago to win a best band trophy sponsored by Paul Whitman( who plays himself). First, he and Judy put on a show and make enough money to buy the instruments for their high school but now he must get his band and female vocalist to Chicago, and after many faux pas’s, they make it and put on a big show. This is fun, energetic with great singing and dancing led by the young leads of Looney er , I mean, Rooney and Garland. I love the one scene with animated fruit in an orchestra..yup, you heard me…animated fruit.

2. GOOD NEWS-1947

This high school musical stars Peter Lawford and June Allyson as high school students who deal with all the angst associated with high schoolers….love and football. Basically, Lawford thinks he is in love with a popular gal and asks the gal who works in the library what to do. Of course, she is played by Allyson who falls for Lawford even though he’s an idiot. You have a subplot with, well, the same thing, one gal loves an idiot who loves another. In the end, everyone falls for the right person and they break out in an exuberant sing and dance number. It’s another fun flick and the one dance number, “ Pass the Peace Pipe” is so much fun, led by the tragic Joan McCracken( she was a gifted, although odd, dancer and singer who died young from diabetes). Today, this song would never pass muster just the title alone, can tell you why, but you would lose a great scene and one I wish, did exist in real life.

3. GREASE-1978

We should all know about Grease that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as 2 high school students who meet and fall in love, before high school starts. Travolta is in some beach town for a family vacation where he meets Olivia and they have dreamy days and nights before he leaves. Now high school starts and she is a new student who is sweet and innocent and does not quite fit in with the tough gals in high school. She reunites with Travolta and is confused because he is not the sweet boy from summer vacation, but a leather-clad Rock’N Roller who is not the type of boy you bring home to meet dad. In between you have a lot of singing and dancing especially the high school dance. I love some of the staff, like Eve Arden, Sid Caesar and Joan Blondell that adds to this movie’s success. The happy ending shows Olivia giving up who she is as a person for the love of John wearing a slutty outfit so tight that Newton John had to be sewn into those pants. Mind you, she does look good and many young guys had the hots for Olivia but I just hate this ending. She conforms to what her boyfriend wants her to be leaving her own identity in the dust. What a crock!

So, any high school musicals you can think of? Did you ever break out into song? I bet you did😁