Monkey Business

Monkey Business 
Released Date: November 7, 1952
Director: Howard Hawks
Actors: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe, Henri Letondal, and Robert Cornthwaite

     I would have to say, that even though Ginger Rogers is older in this movie, she only looks older. Meaning, that there is a scene where she has to act younger, and she does, without any problems. And so does Cary Grant. But Ms. Rogers also shows us an amazing part where she puts a half full water glass on her forehead and  she maneuvers herself to a sitting down position and then to a laying down one as well. It is very cool.

     Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Cary Grant) is a scientist and is trying to find a formula to make people younger. Which he is trying to make into a pill form for a chemical company. A monkey that is used to see if the experiment works, gets out of his cage and makes the concoction himself. And it works. Dr. Barnaby tries it on himself and becomes a teenager again. Miss Lois Laurel (Marilyn Monroe) is Dr. Fulton's secretary and gets to "take a ride" with Dr. Fulton while in a teenager frame of mind. Then Dr. Barnaby has his wife come in and try the potion herself. Mrs. Edwina Fulton (Ginger Rogers) becomes even younger because she takes double the dose. And gets a man that is in love with her, to feel that Edwina will divorce her husband which means Hank Entwhistle (Hugh Marlowe) a chance. Does that happen? Or will the couple stay together? Watch and see. This movie is very funny and will have you laughing all the way through. 

Meet Me In St. Louis

Meet Me In St. Louis
Released Year: 1944
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Actors: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, Marjorie Main, Harry Davenport, June Lockhart, Henry H. Daniels Jr., Joan Carroll, Hugh Marlowe, and Robert Sully

     You notice Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland are both a part of this picture? Well this movie is where they met, fell in love and soon after, they married. Judy Garland played a teenager in this film but was 21 when filming began. Miss. Garland was not a fan of playing parts of people she was not close to in age, or at least she said she was not happy about playing a teenager while being 20 and above. This movie has the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". But did you know that before Judy Garland made the writers change the lyrics around, the song went like this: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, it may be your last?" But because Judy Garland refused to sing that line to Margaret O'Brien, they changed it. Which the newer version is way better.

     This well loved musical is based around the Smith Family in St. Louis around the famous world wide fair. The first part of this movie is based around summer, a year before the big fair. All is well, with Tootie Smith (Margaret O'Brien) on the ice truck with her dear old friend and one of her sick dolls, who is about to die of four fatal diseases. While at home Esther (Judy Garland) is convinced that her sister Rose (Lucille Bremer) is about to get a call long distance from New York to get proposed to. Which makes Esther ask the family maid Katie (Marjorie Main) to serve dinner an hour earlier. Rose, sadly, does not get asked in her hand of marriage, and because Mr. Smith refused to eat dinner early, the whole family was sitting at the dinner table listening to the whole conversation. Esther finds herself falling for the boy next door too, after meeting at a party thrown by the Smith kids, John Truett (Tom Drake), whom is the boy next door, also finds himself falling for Esther too. Mr. Smith comes home one day and tells the family that his work is going to move him to New York. Around Christmas which also means that they will not be living in St. Louis for the fair. Everyone is so distraught and nobody wants to move except the father. The movie takes us through Halloween, and unto Christmas. Will the family move? Will Esther and John stay together? Will Rose get proposed to by the end of this picture? Find out by watching this famous movie. And one you will not soon forget. 

All About Eve

All about Eve
Released Date: January 15, 1951
Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Actors: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter and Marilyn Monroe

My grandma's favorite actress, she always said, was Bette Davis. And so I decided that the next movie I would write about is the one movie that by far has the greatest acting I have ever seen--All About Eve. It was made perfectly.

I think all the actors in this are absolutely perfect and Bette Davis still stole the show. Bette Davis had such confidence, she makes the rest of the women in the world look like insecure freaks. But the fact is, she was confident because she probably knew how truly wonderful she was at acting. She didn't just read the script but she became the script. Her most memorable line in this movie, and one of the best lines ever, was "fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."  The movie is worth watching just to hear her deliver it!

Another person I enjoy in this movie is Thelma Ritter. She was funny and very on key. Her and Bette Davis became great friends. Thelma Ritter was a big star back in the day. Although she was not the main character in anything she played, she acted in a lot of movies.

This was Marilyn Monroe's first big movie and because of her insecurities, legend has it that Bette Davis made her cry on the set one day. Bette Davis and Gary Merrill had enjoyed their roles so much and thought so much of the couple they played that they both decided that they would make a great couple in real life. It ended in divorce as Gary ended up being abusive and Bette Davis knew better than to stay.

The movie is about a woman who becomes completely infatuated with an actress. She wants to become her, she wants to be the same actress, have the same clothes, same friends, same boyfriend, same everything. She ends up meeting her favorite actress and completely takes over as her maid. Bette Davis plays Margo Channing, who is the star and is also the stalked. The stalker is Anne Baxter. Anne Baxter played the part so well that I truly thought she was evil. I used to call her Anne Back Stabber. I also refused to watch The Ten Commandments because she was in it and I did not like her.

Parts of it may ring painfully true to every actor today because so many in show business have a stalker. If I could, Jake Gyllenhaal would be stalked by muah. I'm just kitten, I know Jake Gyllenhaal is reading this and probably follows me. Right????

Well I hope you end up watching this movie and I hope you like it. It is not only a classic, but one for the ages.