The Letter

The Letter 
Released Date: November 23, 1940
Director: William Wyler
Actors: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard, Bruce Lester, Elizabeth Inglis, Cecil Kellaway, and Victor Sen Yung

     Lux Radio Theather presented in a sixty minute adaptation of The Letter. Reprising their movie rolls, is Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall. I'll tell you, it is always fun listening to the Lux programs. Even now. And being a huge old movie fan, the Lux Radio is my favorite. Have you ever listened to Lights Out? My second favorite radio program. It is always relaxing listening to a program before bed, or while laying in bed for the night. I especially love how the Radio was able to take a two hour, or more or less, movie and fit it into either a one hour or half hour program. But it's double awesome when the same actors play their parts again. I think it would be really cool to see the radio bring back the oldies. When I brought up Lights Out earlier, I wonder if that was the radio program coming on the night Grace Kelly's character was to be killed in Dial M For Murder. The Letter is a very fun and suspenseful film. Bette Davis is great at playing the "Bad Guy" and you can tell she has fun doing it! She is such a great actress that anything she did turned into gold. She even played a great Queen.

     Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) was at home one evening while her husband Robert (Herbert Marshall) was working. While she was alone, she claims that the man she shot and killed tried to make a pass at her. So the murder was in self defense. Now Leslie and Robert need to visit Singapore where they face the Attorney General who will make the final call of the trial. Leslie's solicitor, Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) finds out that there was a letter sent to the man who was murdered the day of his death. The letter contained a piece of vital information that will set the trials ending. Although Leslie's husband forgives her, the widow of the deceased  however has different feelings. 

Roman Holiday

Roman Holiday
Released Date: September 2, 1953
Director: William Wyler
Actors: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Tullio Carminati, and Paolo Carlini

     I always believed that Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn made a really cute pair. This movie is so cute, and so sweet, that by the end of it, you really wish that they end up together, in real life that is. This movie started off having Gregory Peck's name above the title of the film but, Peck told the producers and director that he believed Audrey Hepburn did such a great job, she needed to be above the title too. As you watch this movie, you will notice that piece of trivia within the first five minutes. At first, this movie was to be given to the great Frank Capra, guess who he would have chosen as his leads.... Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor. The chemistry is always there when dealing with great actors, but I think Peck's and Hepburn's was very real. As a matter of fact, Gregory Peck said he enjoyed very much working with Hepburn and it was easy to fall in love with her. Same words have been spoken about Grace Kelly. Funny that Kelly and Hepburn have both been compared many times before. You will see a scene in this movie about a statue that if you put your hand in the mouth of it, the mouth will swallow your hand. Audrey Hepburn had a little joke played on her. You will see Gregory Peck stick his hand in, then he screams, pulls his hand out, and his hand is not there. The reaction you see from Audrey Hepburn is real, and Peck's "are you alright" and laughing is all ad lib. Pretty neat huh?

     Have you ever wished you could play hooky for just a day? To be free and do something random that nobody would every imagine you doing? Well that is exactly what Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) had in mind when she decides to leave one night from her palace. Is she a rebel without a cause? I think not, I think there is cause. She is so strained from all of the work that has piled on her. Ann ends up leaving and walking around Rome. Because she has been tranquilized in the beginning of the night, she falls asleep on a public bench. Luckily for her Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) is the one that finds her. He is an American reporter, but he does not recognize her at first. He takes her home since she is not giving him her real address. I mean come on, this girl sleeping on a bench could not be royalty. Or he's the King of England. He ends up going to work the next day, at the newspaper, and see's her picture on the front page of the paper. Seeing what he has at his apartment, he goes back to see her up and confused. The two decide to take a day in Rome. See the sights. They easily fall in love, but can that be enough to stay together? This movie has won the hearts of many and let it be in your heart too.

How does this sound in a days work?

     If you talk to 100 people, no let me take this another way. If you talk to 100 women and then 100 men and ask them what their ideal woman/man is, what would they answer with? Men would most likely say Gwyneth Paltrow or Jennifer Aniston, and then women would say Jake Gyllenhaal or Brad Pitt. But to be honest, I look at what I watch and I have a different answer. Now don't get me wrong, Jake Gyllenhaal is a great looking man, but when I watch old movies, I dream of having a great man like James Stewart, with a Cary Grant type of romantic side, Gregory Peck looks, Lou Costello's jokes. And would it not be awesome to go back to that era and drive old cars, with the prices of gas? Absolutely!!! We all have that dream. Having a drive-in movie theater again, with only paying 25c just to get in. But how about going down the street and not worry about getting mugged? Getting a hamburger and chocolate milkshake with Marilyn Monroe, and then walking the grease off on the way home with James Dean. Wearing tights and a sweater instead of jeans and a jacket, dresses instead of short skirts. Playing basketball and golf with Katharine Hepburn, and swimming races with Grace Kelly. Talking football with Robert Young. Going to the movie theaters with James Stewart, and then having a drink with Cary Grant. Or having drinks with any one of those people, but having a cigarette with Bette Davis. Or maybe just watching Miss Davis smoke... Playing with and talking about my dogs with Alfred Hitchcock, but then talking about wild cats with Tippi Hedren. Getting into trouble with Lucille Ball, and having Vivian Vance pull us out of jail. Having Julia Andrews sing to me while just listening to Cary Grant talk. Taking dance lessons from Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair. Looking for ghosts with Abbott and Costello while talking about baseball with Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, William Frawley, and James Stewart. Riding horses with Tippi Hedren, but going out on a boat with Humphrey Bogart. Does that not sound amazing?? Having a day with any of these people would be a blast. Don't you think? 

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. 

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Released Date: October 19, 1939
Director: Frank Capra
Actors: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell, Eugene Pallette, Beulah Bondi, and H. B. Warner

     It seems that every movie James Stewart touches is magic. He is what every man wants to be, and every girl wants a guy just like him. Plus, being sweet, kind, funny, and smart, James Stewart also seems to pick out movies that have all of the good qualities a man can have. This is another movie that Stewart and actress Jean Arthur are in together. Although Jean Arthur was not a huge fan of his, and did not like working with Stewart. But that did not stop Frank Capra from thinking they have great on screen chemistry. What do you think?

     Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is a young, and naive man. But who also is a fan favorite of young boys all around. The Governor, of which state? I'm not sure! Hubert Hopper (Guy Kibbee) has to pick a new U.S. Senator for the now deceased, Sam Foley. Although Hopper, who is also nicknamed Happy in the movie, is asked by his boss, Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) to pick a not-so loved man. But the governor's kids tell him to pick Jefferson Smith! Why? Because he is the head of the Boy Rangers, and he is such a swell guy. Hopper becomes unsure as to who to pick, either his boss's man, or his kids. So he flips a coin and ends up choosing Smith! Smith is taken in, and taken care of by Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) who is also Smith's deceased father's friend. During his stay in the government, Smith tries his hand at passing a bill to authorize a loan to buy land for a boy's camp. Will it work? Hopefully, because holding a filibuster is a huge waste of time if the end result is not in your favor. Maybe Clarissa Saunders (Jean Arthur) can cheer the boy up?

Tippi Hedren Part Two

     I have written on my blog before that I got the chance to meet Tippi Hedren from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and Marnie. I got to meet her again today, on September 20, 2012 to hear some pretty fascinating stories. This today, was not about her movies. Today was about something that should make us all stop and think. Something that is pretty normal but scary. There are a lot of people that own wild animals. And we don't seem to understand how dangerous and stupid that really is. Tippi along with IFAW representatives, and another man you may know, the Ohio issue that happened not too long ago. Do you remember when a farm owner let go of his wild cats, Lions, Tigers? He killed himself and all of the animals had to be killed? Well the Sheriff was there too, and that was awesome.

This is me and my aunt with Tippi Hedren.

                                                                       

     Tippi Hedren started her own company, ROAR, her park is Shambaia, and she also made a movie on all the special creatures she has been able to own with her wildlife preservation. Her then husband got attacked, and she also got attacked. Behind her head, and if the animal had bit down any lower it would have killed her. And then she mentioned that there was a wild cat being held inside someones home, in his closet, and then the cat was transferred from their house in a zipped up bag, that was also put into the persons trunk of their car. She also mentioned that a little boy had been stepped on, on his foot, he screamed and then was killed right on the spot. Think about what we can do to make this a better world! Not only for our safety but also the fact that these wild animals should not be kept caged in, they should be set free, should be wild. Check out her documentary movie she made with her daughter. And also look up her preserve online. www.shambala.org. Also twitter.com/shambalapreserve. And also on facebook at www.facebook.com/roarfoundation. Thank you for reading this. I hope that you can see where these animals need our help.

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town

Mr. Deeds Goes To Town 
Released Date: April 12, 1936
Director: Frank Capra
Actors: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, Raymond Walburn, H.B. Warner, Ruth Donnelly, and Walter Catlett

     Frank Capra, from the start wanted Gary Cooper to play the lead, and also wanted Carole Lombard. But the latter backed out due to production for her other movie, My Man Godfrey. As a matter of fact, Columbia Studios did not want Jean Arthur being cast as the female lead. Did you know that Jean Arthur never actually saw this movie till much latter in life, when she was a guest at a 1972 film festival? This movie also is dubbed as the entry of the verb doodle, which means scribbling absent-minded, and is now in the English language. Have you heard of "Lux Radio Theater?" It is a radio program that is based on current movies. Which is very old, and has not been around for a long time. Anyway, this movie is also in the Lux Radio Program, and has Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, and Lionel Stander reprising their roles.

     We follow Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) as he finds out that he now owns Ten Million Dollars. Due to his uncles death. Longfellow knows of this uncle of his but not well. The money was given to him, because his uncle was not happy with his other family members. Mr. Deeds lives in a small town, and plays the Tuba with the town band. He is well known and very well liked. He has tons of friends, and is very kind hearted. He is taken from his small town, which is Mandrakes Falls, Vermont, and taken to a bigger city. Where everyone is not to be trusted. And everyone believes he is a small town idiot. But he proves he is so much more. And very smart indeed. He ends up falling for Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) whom is not who she says she is. And just when everything falls apart, the Capra touch brings everything back together. I love all of the movies I have seen by Frank Capra and this is a great one. Watch this movie, and fall in love. Gary Cooper does a fantastic job, along with Jean Arthur. :) You'll be happy you saw it!