ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[southendmd]

Starring a pre-I Love Lucy Lucille Ball, Van Johnson and Esther Williams

[MaineWriter]

==comment==

from IMDb: A little-known slice of life from the postwar era. Mark Stevens plays a war veteran who is having problems adjusting to his return to civilian life. Set in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, with some pivotal scenes on a footbridge to Manhattan. Not filmed there, of course, but the movie has realistic touches. Not so real is the leading lady (Joan Fontaine is no Bronx housewife) and the characters are ridiculously de-ethnicized. But the movie is genuinely touching and is a kind of time capsule of the sentiments of its era.

I couldn't find a movie poster, but here is Joan Fontaine.



A little bit of trivia...Mark Stevens played Olivia deHavilland's husband in "The Snake Pit" (played in the 1948 round). In real life, Olivia and Joan were sisters.

[oilgun]

I was waiting for this one!  It's in my top ten favourites of all time!  Rita Hayworth is at her sultriest & Glenn Ford is at his sexiest (Yes, he was sexy once, lol!).  There is even a homoerotic undercurrent in the relationship between Glenn and George McCready.  The movie also makes a strong statement against misogyny,  to wit, Gilda's amazing Put The Blame on Mame number!  I LOVE this movie!


 

[dot-matrix]

"I sent my picture into one of those Lonely Hearts Clubs and they sent it back, saying "We're NOT that lonely!" "

[MaineWriter]

==comment==

In my memory, "It's A Wonderful Life," is not the iconic Christmas movie. In fact, I don't have any memory of IAWL from growing up...and now I know why! Here's a very interesting article on the history of IAWL and it's "rebirth" in 1974. I definitely recommend a quick read!

http://www.failuremag.com/arch_arts_its_a_wonderful_life.html

[southendmd]

From IMDb:  "JOHNNIE FEDORA AND ALICE BLUEBONNET fall in love while for sale in the window of a fancy shop. Quickly separated by different owners, Johnnie begins an almost impossible search for Alice throughout New York City.

This poignant little film, originally a segment of MAKE MINE MUSIC (1946), is full of charm & spunk. The Disney animators have achieved the seemingly impossible - making the viewers sincerely care about the romantic fate of a couple of hats. The Andrews Sisters make the perfect singing narrators."

[oilgun]

Alaways had a thing for Burt Lancaster.

[MaineWriter]

==comment==

All these movies about readjusting after WWII...so very interesting.



from IMDb:

Andy Hardy, newly discharged from the Army pays a surprise visit to his family. He soon announces he's going back to college where he can reunite with and propose to all American girl, Kay Wilson.

Mickey Rooney is joined by the rest of the Hardy family players and a capable supporting cast to create an enjoyable viewing experience. I like the way Andy has matured and of course, the entire movie portrays a way of life gone by, if it even ever existed...

I still don't believe how Andy could get all those pretty girls, but hey, Rooney himself did marry Ava Gardner didn't he? Lina Romay is "muy linda" as Isabel Gonsalez who inexplicably has the hots for Andy Hardy. I'm guessing she wanted to do more than just dance with him. What a lucky stiff! The joke is that Andy is so preoccupied by pretty Bonita Granville that he doesn't even notice lovely Lina. Statuesque Dorothy Ford was incredibly sexy as Coffy Smith. Picture a 6 foot tall Jane Russell and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Worth the price of admission is the dance scene with our pint sized Mickey paired up with gorgeous amazon Dorothy. The choreographer delightfully made use of the size disparity to create a wonderful dance number, enthusiastically performed by Mickey and Dorothy. It's great, I've never seen anything like it.

Nostalgic entertainment, worth seeing.

[Meryl]

A Matter of Life and Death is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Powell and Pressburger. The US title was Stairway to Heaven, which was derived from the film's most prominent special effect: a broad escalator linking the other world and Earth. Reversing the convention of The Wizard of Oz, the supernatural scenes are in black-and-white, while the ones on Earth are in Technicolor.

In 2004, it was named the second greatest British film ever made by the magazine Total Film in a poll of 25 film critics.  It was beaten only by Get Carter.

[Fran]