Midge

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.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was based on the Stephen Vincent Benet story "The Sobbin' Women," which in turn was inspired by a tale from Roman mythology, The Rape of the Sabine Woman. This was an incident in which the men of Rome forcibly abducted women from neighboring towns and carried them off. Knowing that the story originated in ancient times puts things in perspective and takes a little bit of the edge off the sexism, I think. It is a parody of a parody of a myth.

*puff* That's funny, I don't hear anything. *puff* 😀 I'm not a fan of Westerns, but I stayed up until 3 am to watch The Naked Spur (1953) starring James Stewart and Robert Ryan. Beautifully photographed, and the story had me spellbound. The Technicolor scenery alone deserved an Oscar, but amazingly the film received only one nomination, for best original screenplay. It was fun to see Millard Mitchell as Stewart's sidekick, a grizzled white-bearded prospector, only a year after he played the studio head B.F. Simpson in Singin' in the Rain.

Dustin Hoffman was a New Yorker in the late 60s. I was so wowed by his performance in The Graduate that I wrote him a fan letter. He was listed in the Manhattan telephone directory, so I sent it to his home address. He lived just a couple of blocks from me in Greenwich Village. I still have the autographed photo his agent sent me.

Ayresorchid, you are echoing the thoughts of British writer Grahame Greene in his 1937 review of Wee Willie Winkie: The censored word starts with an r and ends with ump. Greene was widely criticized at the time for daring to suggest that Shirley Temple's movies might appeal to pedophiles. But I think he had a point.

I can't stand scenes where a character doesn't have enough money to pay the bill. Even in films where the situation is played for comedy, such as in Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940), those situations make me cringe. I also dislike any film or TV show of any genre where the hero resolves the plot with a violent act, usually by killing the bad guy. This type of storyline is very common and has existed since the very beginning of the film industry with The Great Train Robbery (1903). Violence as a solution to problems must appeal to some facet of human psychology as it has only become more prevalent in recent times. It promotes the idea that violence is the quickest and most effective way to get what you want, and that if you point a gun at somebody, you are suddenly the boss, in control of the situation. I don't think this is the type of message the film industry should be promoting. We have enough violence in this world as it is.

Flag Day used to be celebrated on June 14th.

I prefer Joan Crawford's early films. Back then she was sassy and smoking hot, and those eyes! It's too bad she lost that spark. In the 1940s her acting style turned overly mannered, grand and pretentious. I think winning the Oscar went to her head.

Mabel Paige was in Murder, He Says with Marjorie Main.

OK, if I can't live in a nightclub, then I want to live in one of those swanky hotels Fred and Ginger hung out in, such as the one in Top Hat. But I think I would gladly become a dishwasher to live at Rick's Cafe Americain. Didn't Rick have his living quarters above the nightclub? Move over, Ilsa, you've got competition! ?

I'd like to nominate Forrest Gump.