Casanova Brown

Casanova Brown 
Released Date: December 26, 1944
Director: Sam Wood
Actors: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Frank Morgan, Anita Louise, Edmund Breon, Patricia Collinge, Jill Esmond, and Mary Treen

     In Shadow Of A Doubt and also this movie, Casanova Brown, we see again, Teresa Wright and Patricia Collinge as mother and daughter. I have always felt that they played the parts perfectly. Patricia Collinge is a great actress, but you cannot hide true feelings, and she cared for Teresa Wright like a daughter. Wright said that she loved working with Patricia as well, and it was easy to act related. They also play relatives in The Little Foxes. However in that movie, they play niece and aunt. This movie is one of Teresa Wright's first movies, and like I have said in past blogs, she made many great movies for her firsts. This one is a great movie.

     We follow Casanova (Cass) Brown (Gary Cooper) as he is about to get re-married. But during the preparations of this next wedding, he discovers that his first wife, Isabel Drury (Teresa Wright) has just had their child. Cass worries that Isabel is going to put their baby up for adoption. So instead of allowing it to happen, or just forgetting his first wife, Cass kidnaps his baby to keep Isabel from putting their child up. Isabel's parents, Mr. Drury (Edmund Breon) and Mrs. Drury (Patricia Collinge) are in search for Cass and their grandchild. But they soon discover that even though Cass and Isabel are divorced, they are still madly in love. So why did they break up? You can't fight love, so why did they try? And do they end up back together, or does Cass re-marry? Find out by watching this movie, which if you have NetFlix, you can watch this instantly. 

The Stratton Story

The Stratton Story
Released Year: 1949
Director: Sam Wood
Actors: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Williams, Bruce Cowling, Cliff Clark, Mary Lawrence, and Dean White

     James Stewart was in a lot of movies and he played all sorts of characters. He was a war hero, and a truly amazing man. Everyone that worked with him loved him. And he always had a great way of looking at things. He is my absolute favorite actor and it is easy to see why. It is also very easy to imitate him, as his voice is very distinctive. This movie was the first of three movies in which June Allyson and James Stewart played a married couple. At first, the producers of the film wanted Donna Reed, who had played his wife in "It's A Wonderful Life." But because It's A Wonderful Life did such a poor job at the box offices, they decided against it. You will also notice that Agnes Moorehead plays James Stewart's mother, she in reality, is only eight years older than him.

     Based on a true story, Monty Stratton (James Stewart) became a pitcher for the White Sox. He started out as a farm boy living with his mother, Ma Stratton (Agnes Moorehead), while playing baseball with a bunch of friends on the side. But when Barney Wile (Frank Morgan) comes to town and sees Monty at his game, he decides to coach the boy for the rest of summer, through fall, winter, spring and then head to Chicago to try out for the White Sox. While in Chicago, Monty meets Ethel (June Allyson) and falls in love. The two get married and head for a lifetime of love and baseball. One day while out hunting for meat, Monty accidentally shoots himself in the leg. The leg is to be amputated, which also means the end of a career. Or is it? Monty decides to go with his wife, mother and friend Barney to Chicago to surprise all three of them as he tries to play again, in a all-star game. Can a man with one real, and one artificial leg play professional baseball? 

The Shop Around the Corner

The Shop Around the Corner
Released Date: January 12, 1940
Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
Actors: Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan, and Frank Morgan

     It is said that the director, Ernst Lubitsch, had wanted to wait till the main stars, Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan were ready to make the movie. Both actors had been busy at the time, and could not make the movie right away. As a matter of fact, in between them being asked, and waiting till the start of the shoots, Ernst Lubitsch made another movie in between the wait time. It is also said that the director felt like this was his best work. And it is a very good movie. One that has been remade. You've got Mail was the remake movie. The director also had spent his childhood based around this movie. The setting and also the fact that his father worked in a shop, made this movie the director's favorite and also his most personal.

     This movie is based on two people that have met at their job. At a store. They could not stand each other at all. And working together was a terrible job for both of them. They did have one thing in common, however, and that is the fact that they both had a boy/girlfriend. That they only kept in contact with through mail. They had never seen a picture of their significant other, and one attempt at the first meet did not go so smoothly. The company they worked for had been a very successful company, but because of a mishap, the big boss kind of lost his head. Please pick this movie up and let me know what you think!