My Annual Holiday viewings:

ENCORES:

One Hour With You (1932) Jeanette MacDonald, Maurice Chevalier, Genevieve Tobin, Charles Ruggles. A delight. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023303/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


WATCHED ANNUALLY:

Bachelor Mother (1939) Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn. Has one of the best Times Square New Years celebration scenes ever. Staged or filmed on a sound stage, it is a gem. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031067/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Remember The Night (1940) Barbara Stanwyke, Fred MacMurray, Beula Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, Sterling Holloway. Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay but didn't get to direct. Not yet, but soon. The scenes of Fred taking Barbara to his home town for the holidays are perfect. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032981/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Christmas In Connecticut (1945) Barbara Stanwyke, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. Lovely house, sleighs, Dennis sings, a great tree, and a funny and romantic script. One of the best. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037595/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The Bishops Wife (1947) Loretta Young, Cary Grant, David Niven, Gladys George, Elsa Lancaster, Monty Wooley, James Gleason. With such a cast how could it be anything but a 10/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039190/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It Happened On Fifth Ave. (1947) Victor Moore, Gale Storm, Don DeFore, Charles Ruggles, Ann Harding. A recent addition to Holiday films. The character actors are what make it a delight. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039502/

Holiday Affair (1949) Janet Leigh, Robert Mitchum, Wendell Corey, Henry Morgan. A little boy gets his wish. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041473/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Come To The Stable (1949) Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Elsa Lancaster, Hugh Marlow. Not really about the holidays, but a feel good, charming film. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041257/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

A Christmas Carol/aka Scrooge in England. (1951) Alistaire Sim. Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Kathleen Harrison. According to some experts the most accurate version in atmosphere and details of all the films of Dickens great story. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/

Christmas Vacation (1989) Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johny Galecki. Great cast of character actors make all the silliness fun. At the end , after everything that can go wrong, does, Chevy looks up in triumph and says "I did it." Anyone who has tried to give a huge family a great Christmas knows the feeling. Luv it!! 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Happy New Year to one and all.  Stay warm and safe.

MacDonald & Stanwyck - pre-code

FIRST VIEWINGS:

The Love Parade (1929) Jeanette MacDonald, Maurice Chevalier, Lilian Roth, Eugene Paulette. Director Ernst Lubitsch introduces delightful Jeanette as the queen of mythical Sylvania and marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying. He is dressed up in uniforms. But he has nothing to do. Trouble, trouble. Enjoyable and some nice songs, none of which have survived. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020112/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Monte Carlo (1930) Jeanette MacDonald, Jack Buchanan, Zazu Pitts. Mix ups, runaway brides, Princes and Countesses, mythical kingdoms and one great song. Jeanette sings "Beyond The Blue Horizon" twice and it is a delight. Still sung by choruses today, it is a highlight of this romp. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021153/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Ladies They Talk About (1933) Barbara Stanwyke, Preston Forster, Lilian Roth, Lyle Talbot. Barbara is in prison for being part of a bank robbing gang. A guy who is an evangelist, who says he loves her, turns her in. Barbara and Lilian are fine, but the story and style of film, does them in.. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024238/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

ENCORES:

I saw first 3 fiilms in a theater during their year of release. I barely remember the Sturges, but did remember the laughing scene and the pool scene, fun for a 9 year old..   Watched many times since then.


Sullivans Travels (1941) Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, William Demarest. Preston Sturges great comedy about the dark days of the 1930's depression and a Hollywood director who just wants to make a film about "real life." Cast of great character actors with the leads make a serious funny film. Love it and watch regularly. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034240/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The Unsuspected (1947) Claude Rains, Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett. Claude is suave and charming and menacing. The actresses are lovely in their fashions. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039941/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

We're No Angels) (1955) Humphey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennett, Also Ray, Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll. My favorite Christmas film for a little tart among all the sweetness. Leisurely paced, it's points well made. Every Holiday season at least once. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048801/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


NEW:  Never seen all the way through before. Rather long and really about uninteresting people, but a woman at the center of it all:

Far From The Madding Crowd (1967) Julie Christie, Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates. Gorgeous cinematography, but soooo slow that you really have to concentrate to keep from dropping off to sleep. Which I have every other time I tried to watch the whole thing. Made it this time, but really hated the middle part with our heroine besotted by the Uniform of the despicable Stamp. I have never been a fan of Christie so it was a chore from beginning to end. But beautiful scenery. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061648/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

A film with great rock & roll; plus pyramids and Australia.

Valley Of The Kings (1954) Eleanor Parker, Robert Taylor, Carlos Thompson. Location filming at the site of the tombs in 1954 is very interesting and worth seeing. Story is a muddle and rehash of various other films. Stars have neither the humor or spirit of earlier work together. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047641/

Let The Good Times Roll (1973) Documentary.  The greats of rock and roll before it was acknowledged as a cultural phenomena. Great music. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143367/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Romulus, My Father (2007) Eric Bana, Franka Potenta, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Marton Csokas. Based on philosopher and writer Raimond Gaita's critically acclaimed memoir of his early life in a small farming community in Australia, with his emigrant parents. His mother is distant and seems unconnected sometimes; and then full of fun and laughter the next. She always neglects what needs to be done. His father is stoic and uncommunicative but manages to keep a roof over their heads. A rather joyless story of what the 1960's was like for poor people trying to find their way in a strange land. There was no help of any kind for mental illness. The acting is uniformly good. Cinematography marvelous - all buffy browns and slate skies. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462023/

Much praised - but a dud to me---

Martha, MarcyMae, Marlene (2011) Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulsen, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes. I was disappointed. A confused and disjointed film about paranoia, after leaving a cult, where our heroine has been for 2 years. She somehow manages to find and join her sister and hubby in their retreat home and try to fit in with their friends and lifestyle. Going back and forth between her life in the cult, her escape, finding her sister and beginning a new life; this was a muddle for me. About half way through I no longer cared what happened. That is the directors fault I think. He must have left some of the good stuff on the editing room floor, so to speak. 5/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441326/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

2 with Crowe; 1 Downey; 1 ensemble cast---

NEW:

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan. I'm not sure what this is about, but Downey is fun and Kilmer is too. Michelle is pretty and there is a good atmosphere. All about guys and gals in Hollywood - not the stars - just the wannabees and has beens. Entertaining. 7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


ENCORES:

The Right Stuff (1983) Sam Shepard, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Scott Glenn, Pamela Reed, Barbara Hershey. The Mercury Astronauts are picked and go through training. Interesting and entertaining with performances by future stars. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Master & Commander: Far Side Of The World (2003) Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany. Great scenes of sailing vessels and islands. 9/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311113/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

State Of Play(2009)  Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright. Within the story of a corrupt politition and his downfall, is the tale of the downfall of a great newspaper. Mirren as chief editor and Affleck as the Senator, are both fighting a seemingly losing battle. The reporters, Crowe and McAdams, just keep on plugging away. Good story of our current scene. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473705/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1