Two-Faced Woman

Two-Faced Woman
Released Date: September 30, 1942
Director: George Cukor
Actors: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Robert Sterling, Ruth Gordon, Frances Carson, and Robert Alton

     Greta Garbo stars in her last movie that will shock you! This movie is not your normal 1940s film. One that was condemned for the crazy situations and also the scenes, dialogue and even the costumes.

     Lawrence "Larry" Blake (Melvyn Douglas) takes a trip to a ski lodge and meets the woman of his dreams. Karin Borg Blake is a ski instructor and teaches Larry how to keep balance down the steep hills. Before you know it, this fast as lightning movie shows the two married. Which you would have never guessed, as Karin does not seem at all interested in poor Larry. After a conversation with his his coworker Oscar (Roland Young), Larry decides to go back to New York. Which is not at all what the newly married couple had agreed upon in the first place. The two split up while Larry goes to New York for work, and Karin stays near the Lodge during the winter months. After waiting too long and only seeing letters that say "I'm sorry dear, but I'll have to stay another week," Karin decides to go to New York herself. After Mrs. Blake sees her husband with another woman, she decides to pretend that she is her own twin sister and then split her husband and this other woman up! The other woman is Griselda Vaughn (Constance Bennett) who happens to scream every time she does not get what she wants... Which is usually a man. And that man is always Larry.

The Little Princess

The Little Princess
Released Date: March 17, 1939
Director: Walter Lang
Actors: Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Arthur Treacher, Mary Nash, Sybil Jason, Miles Mander, Marcia Mae Jones, and Beryl Mercer

     Shirley Temple was a huge star in the 30s. This would mark her first Technicolor film. Mary Nash has been in a few movies with Temple, the dress she wore in Heidi was used in this movie as well. Watching this movie, you will find yourself tap dancing along, singing, laughing, smiling and crying. This is a Cinderella like story with a hopeful ending.

     Sara Crewe (Shirley Temple) is taken to a private school while her father, Captain Crewe (Ian Hunter) goes to the Boer War. Amanda Minchin (Mary Nash) is the head of the school with money on the mind, and a hard heart. Sara is a happy go lucky girl, with a wonderful imagination. She is loved by a lot of the girls. Though she ends up having one little enemy. She becomes friends with her teacher Rose (Anita Louise), and her boyfriend Geoffrey (Richard Greene), who happens to be her horse back riding teacher. When Geoffrey ends up going to the war, he promises Sara that he will find her father. The war ends around Sara's birthday, and she buys everyone a present, with borrowed money, her father's check is to come and that will take care of all of the presents she bought. Bad news strikes poor Sara's birthday, and she is in a desperate attempt to find her father in the hospital. Will he be there? Watch this adorable movie, with the one and only Shirley Temple.

The Night Of The Hunter

The Night Of The Hunter
Released Date: November 24, 1955
Director: Charles Laughton
Actors: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, Peter Graves, Don Beddoe, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce, Gloria Castillo, Emmett Lynn, and Corey Allen

     The movie is a hit now, but when it was first released it was not. The director, Charles Laughton, said that he would never direct a movie again. Which was the truth. This was the director's last film. Robert Mitchum was never one to talk about his career, the different movies he was in, but later on in his life, Mitchum said that this was his favorite movie that he acted in, and that Charles Laughton was his favorite director that he worked with. Mitchum wanted to play a preacher, and wanted this part very badly. Good thing!!! He was perfect for the part. This has a great cast, and one that makes the movie even better. It made it even better, knowing that Mitchum really was in jail at one point. He made it that much more convincing.

     Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) starts the movie out. By talking to all of the children she takes care of, explaining life, and that you have to be careful who you let into your life. Taking the bible into the explanation and the wolf in sheep's clothing. After her speech, we go to a preacher, Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum). He is on his way down the road in a car. Talking to the Lord with his knuckles showing the words "Good" and "Evil" written on his fingers. He believes that everything that happens is for a reason, but that all of the things he goes through are God taking him in the directions. Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) has just lost her husband. He had been arrested and hung for murder. Her husband gave money he stole to his children. Who is in the same cell as the husband but Harry Powell. Powell overhears his cell mate talking in his sleep about the money. Powell tries to get the man to tell him where the money is, but never gets the actual location, except that his children know. After Powell gets out of jail, we see him in the same town as the widow and her children. If you said "Uh Oh" you're right. Powell marries Willa and brainwashes her. Powell tries desperately to get the children to talk, and to point him in the direction of the cash. It is a wild ride, and a great movie. Very creepy at times but well worth it. This movie is well directed, and well acted. You'll have goosebumps.

     One of my favorite things about this movie, besides the creepiness of it, is that the coloring in it is amazing. The black and white coloring is creepy and well done. The shading is great, all of it.

Dracula

Dracula 
Released Date: February 14, 1931
Director: Tod Browning
Actors: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Herbert Bunston, Frances Dade, Joan Standing, and Charles K. Gerrard

      You may have heard the rumor that Bela Lugosi could not speak English very well, and had to learn his lines Phonetically. That was not the case, he actually knew English well enough by this point in his life that he learned all of his lines by himself. You can see Bela Lugosi play Dracula again in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Nowadays, you would never put a light in someones eyes, but in Dracula the cinematographer, Karl Freund, put two pencil spot lights into Bela Lugosi's eyes to make his hypnotic stare more intense. Very well played however, his eyes were intense. Another cool effect: the castle's spider webs were made from shooting rubber cement from a gun, a rotary gun. Also, take a hard listen, the peasants you will see in the inn are praying in Hungarian, they are saying The Lord's Prayer.

     We follow Dracula (Bela Lugosi), of course, as he turns a man that is visiting the Vampire's castle, into a psychotic. Poor Renfield (Dwight Frye), he is scared to no end. Renfield is drug into a sea voyage and from there, a intituition where he can be looked after from now on. The sea voyage takes us to London, where Dracula starts sucking the blood from a young woman by the name of Lucy Weston (Frances Dade), she then becomes a Vampire. Afterwards, he turns his attention to Lucy Weston's friend, Mina Seward (Helen Chandler). Mina has friends on her side, they are doctors trying to take the attention away from Mina so she too, will not turn.

Thanksgiving

I Hope Everyone Had a Happy Thanksgiving :) 

Bette Davis made sure that the service men had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you Bette Davis for making our troops happy!!! Bette Davis started the Hollywood Canteen, and worked the canteen too. 

Robert Young

I was just watching Father Knows Best and I wanted to write about Robert Young. He was born as Robert George Young on February 22, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois. He was very quiet but always wanted to get into acting. He was getting into a Playhouse before movies in 1931. One of the first movies I ever saw him in was a movie called Navy Blue and Gold. And now, thanks to Netflix, Father Knows Best. He was a fantastic actor. In Navy Blue and Gold, which was made in 1937, he played a young man who wanted to get into the navy to get women. Thinking that the uniform was all he needed, he learned fast that it also takes being a man and a brave man at that. My personal favorite actor, James Stewart starred in the movie with him. In Father Knows Best, Young plays a father who takes care of his wife and kids, life is great and it is a happy home. The show came out and teaches us to be good honest people, just like Robert Young teaches us. Robert Young battled Alcoholism and depression in his old age. He was well loved by everyone he worked with. You can tell in the cast of Father Knows Best. Truly a happy cast.

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir
Released Year: 1947
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Actors: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best, Vanessa Brown, Anna Lee, Robert Coote, Natalie Wood, Isobel Elsom, Victoria Horne, Helen Freeman, Stuart Holmes, Whitford Kane, Buster Slaven, and Will Stanton

     This movie was done by 20th Century-Fox, who always uses trumpets for their opening numbers. This film and three others do not use the sound of the trumpets. The other films are All About Eve, Sounder, and The Sound of Music. Bernard Herrmann composed the music for this picture, he is also known for his work with Alfred Hitchcock as well. Herrmann has said that this was the best music he ever composed. Another cool piece of information is that this movie is about a seaman, which happens to be funny because the word "Muir" means "The Sea" in the Irish language, Gaelic. You may also recognize Victoria Horne, she was also in Harvey with Jimmy Stewart.

     The year is 1900 and Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) is tired of living with her late husband's mother Angelica (Isobel Elsom) and sister Eva (Victoria Horne). Which is not surprising as they are two irritating people. So Lucy decides to pack up and leave with her daughter Anna (Natalie Wood). The two end up moving to a beautiful house called Gull Cottage, and it is sitting by the ocean on a coastal village. Lucy soon starts to hear things inside the home. And discovers a ghost! The ghost is Captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), and the story is that he committed suicide. Which Lucy soon finds out from the source that it just isn't so. The two of them find themselves talking everyday and having a great time. For when Lucy first moved in, the Captain tried to get rid of the Muir's by trying to scare them. Which Lucy was just not afraid enough to move out. Realizing this, the Captain becomes friends with her instead. After a bit of time, Lucy's mother in law, and sister in law come to the house only to tell her that she will be having financial trouble which means losing the house. The Captain and Lucy end up writing a novel together to save the house. The Captain does not want to lose her, and does not want to have to scare away another family! The book is soon finished and Lucy is to take the book and get it published. At first, the publisher is not interested, he says that he gets thousands of women in every year trying to publish a love story. But this book is different, it is about a seaman and all of his travels. It is a book for men! Lucy gets the publisher to read her book, and he falls in love with it. Lucy ends up with the money and keeps the house. During this trip to the publisher's office, she meets Miles Fairley (George Sanders). He is an attractive man and he also tries to woo her. The Captain is pretty jealous of this, but decides to leave so he can stay away and not interfere with Lucy and her new life. But soon Lucy finds out a secret about Miles that may or may not mean wedding bells. He did propose, but does this secret mean no to the marriage? Lucy can't live forever can she? Will this mean that when she dies, she will end up with Captain Daniel Gregg, or will she have married Miles and end up with him as ghosts instead? Find out by watching this must see! I enjoyed it very much, and recommend it to everyone.