Midge

The Best Years of Our Lives A Star is Born (1937) The Big Sleep The Maltese Falcon Back Street (1941) Stagecoach (1939) Strangers on a Train Top Hat Dark Victory Mildred Pierce Umbrellas of Cherbourg Dr. Strangelove It's a Wonderful Life All About Eve The Miracle of Morgan's Creek Roman Holiday The Red Shoes La Belle et La Bête (1946) The Band Wagon Young Frankenstein 42nd Street Airplane!

Thank you for posting this, Jake. Great review! "The Barr boy" whose film debut made such an impression on the reviewer would later be known as Gig Young.

I'm also a fan of this film. I saw it in the 1970s, and I only saw it once, but that one viewing made an impression on me that has lasted to this day. I wonder why such an excellent drama seems to have disappeared down a rabbit hole.

"Blocked by X-Frame-Options Policy." Too bad. I really wanted to read the review.

I thought he was good but not great in noir roles. It is understandable that he wouldn't have enjoyed being a foil to Betty Grable or Alice Faye and wanted to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor. I have to admit, though, that I find him not as appealing in dramatic roles as in musicals.

I've had a crush on John Payne ever since I saw him in "Week-End in Havana," "Springtime in the Rockies" and "Tin Pan Alley."

Anthony Quinn was in Zorba the Greek with Irene Papas.

Only if you're not British. 🙂

Another cringeworthy scene in an Astaire film is Anne's dance audition in "Royal Wedding." Sarah Churchill is just awful - gangly, graceless and amateurish with windmilling arms. Yet somehow Astaire is supposed to be wowed by her.

Joan Crawford's awkward dance number with Fred Astaire in "Dancing Lady" always makes me cringe. It's obvious that poor Fred, in his first film appearance, has been forced to dumb down his choreography to accommodate Joan's decidedly limited terpsichorean skills. Like the class act he was, he always tried to make his partner look good but in this case she didn't give him much to work with.

Not necessarily in order, but these are the movies I've seen multiple times and never get tired of: 1. Since You Went Away 2. The Best Years of Our Lives (I'm with Dargo. This is my all-time favorite film, too.) 3. Casablanca 4. Swing Time 5. It's a Wonderful Life 6. Strangers on a Train 7. Singin' in the Rain 8. The Band Wagon 9. Dark Victory 10. Yankee Doodle Dandy

It's ironic that Dennis Morgan was known for "Irish style singing" when he was actually of Swedish descent. His real name was Earl Stanley Morner.

Yeah, Douglass Montgomery in lederhosen! That's definitely worth the price of admission. 😀 I watched King of Jazz on this website but had to fast-forward through much of it. It was colorful, but the musical numbers are terribly dated and the comedy routines were painful. John Boles' singing style was very much in the operetta vein, with perfect mid-Atlantic diction and rolled Rs. Much as I love John Boles, I didn't love the songs. It was fun to see a young Bing Crosby, though, with his original Rhythm Boys partners, Al Rinker and Harry Barris. And I loved that snake hips dancer!

I was happy to see the John Boles tribute as I've had a little crush on him for years. He wasn't the most exciting actor in the world, but he played all his roles with warmth, intelligence and sensitivity. And he could sing! He deserves to be better remembered.

Your mileage may vary, but knowing that the story is a take-off on Roman myth takes the edge off for me. That doesn't mean the sexism is OK or good, just that it puts the sexism into perspective knowing it is based on, essentially, a fairy tale and is not meant to be taken too literally.