• Culture and Entertainment

    People will Talk 1951

    At the risk of spoiling the movie, here are all my favorite quotes. Old movies always have such zingers.

     

     

     “You’re a professor and it’s hard to make you understand anything that ain’t in a book. Well most of what goes on in the world ain’t in a book.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “One of the reasons for my founding this clinic is a firm belief patients are sick people, not inmates.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “I can’t speak with as much assurance as I usually do because you just called me a pompous know it all.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “Debra, I uh, I have something to tell you. And as a pompous know it all—“

    “I didn’t mean that even as I said it.”

    “–as a pompous know it all it isn’t going to be easy.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “And why in the name of good sense tell her that she isn’t? Pregnancy, dear boy, is not a state of the mind.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “Noah is a cute name.”

    “My real name is Ludwig.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “I did have a reason you know.”

    “I know.”

    “No you don’t.”

    “You’re being pompous again at the moment.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

     “In the first place I’m not in the habit of marrying women I don’t really want to marry.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “Unhappily it will have to wait until Monday. Dr Pretorias is undermining a medical convention in New York and will not return until then.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “It’s just that I love you so much, and I went put all those candles on that cake when you’re really only 9 years old.”

    “According to this document I’m not the picture of childish innocence you imagine me to be.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “Noah, does it seem to you that I cry a lot?”

    “Truthfully there has never been anything like it since the little Dutch boy took his finger out of the dyke.”

    “He never took it out that is what killed him.”

    “Pompous know it all.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “I don’t pretend to be an expert about such things, but I’ve always thought I was always a fairly normal adult young lady who knew roughly what every fairly normal adult young lady should know. . . Right now I feel like a kind of idiot Elsie Dinsmore.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

     “You mean that as a doctor I was faced by a situation which I could only meet by marrying you, that I did it as a remedy. Debra, as you know I believe in using any form of therapy that would make people well, but it would be highly impractical to make marrying my patients a standard form of treatment.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

    “Noah, if you really suddenly fell in love with me.”

    “No if.

    “Why?”

    “I couldn’t say why.”

    “Haven’t you ever wondered?”

    “Falling as fast as I am I don’t have time.”

     

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     

  • Culture and Entertainment

    What I Watched May 2021

    Movies

    I’ve been trying to keep up with watching movies on the weekend. They’ve all been old ones this month.

    Dial M for Murder. Grace Kelly. I guess worth a watch, not really that intriguing to me as it wasn’t funny or or mysterious. And the suspense wasn’t all that extreme either.

    Listen, Darling. This was a cute for one watch. I wouldn’t rewatch.

    My Favorite Wife. I did a post on this, I thought it quite funny and worth rewatching, tons of witty quotes.

    My Favorite Brunette. A spoof of film noir mysteries. Too goofy a humor overall for me, but there were a few quotes I thought funny.

    ~~~~~~~

    “Ronnie”
    “Yeah”
    “I think you’re a very brave man”
    “I know a sniveling coward when I see one. ” Looks in mirror, “Hiya sniv.”

    ~~~~~~~

    “An hour later we were at the Poulet d’or, one of those real swanky cafes where they eat mink for breakfast.”

    ~~~~~~~

    TV

    When I first heard of My Family and Other Animals I’d also heard of the tv show which is The Durrells (and heard it was rather vulgar) but forgot about it. It came to my attention again, and I wanted something to watch while I knitted, so I started it. The tv show is described as being fictionalized, and I only read book one, the only similarities I’m seeing that I remember are the main character names and some of their interests, but I think I want to reread the first and then read the next two.

    While the show does have some vulgarity and coarseness (the worst is that captain, I mostly skip his parts), its mostly not too bad for me. It’s the soapiness that’s getting to me. I’m on season three and had decided to stop, and have skimmed a bit more. And since I can’t seem to stay away from Wikipedia synopses, I’m seeing more soapiness layered on. I thought maybe I’d skip and watch the absolute final episode. We’ll see. But, but, its a bit addicting. Edit: yes, I went back to watching, it’s just so bright and happy on Confu in spite of the attempts at drama, and the music is so cheery, also got another hilarious Spiros bit, this time fighting with Zoltan who is also funny (he would say the funniest). Also, I am skimming through stuff I dislike more.

    Spiros is hilarious, I think a lot (most?) of the best quotes are from him. And the way he always calls them,”Durrells.”

    ~~~~~~~

    “What have you got against Sven?”
    “Nothing. Except he is not Greek and he is not British.”
    “Some people aren’t Spiros.”
    ~~~~~~~
    During the massive storm, “Hello Durrells, welcome to England.”
    ~~~~~~~
    “You know I love the British, but you make everything so  complicated.”
    ~~~~~~~
    (Zoltan to Margo) “You make the stars come out at night.”
     “What does that mean?”
    “It’s called poetry, Greek peasant.”
    “It’s called bull****, Turkish cretin.”
    ~~~~~~~

    Speaking of soapy dramas. I’d seen Allen Leech in a Hallmark movie, so I looked up the Branson and Sybil bits of Downton Abbey. I’d only watched like 1.5 episodes nearly a decade ago in college (and felt like I’d lost IQ for that much) and what I’d seen of him in photos, his chubby baby face blonde boyish type hadn’t appealed to me, but in the Hallmark movie, oh, my. Well, I think he was rather tubbier in DA, and wow, the acting is horrifically bad. I watch Hallmark which is hardly superb acting, but I think because it’s light and fluffy, it’s fine to have fluffy acting. Also the DA acting is worse than the Hallmarks I like. So bad acting plus drama (which needs more solid acting anyway), yeah pretty bad. Not tempted to try any more of that.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    My Favorite Wife with Cary Grant

    I’ve been trying to work on my movie lists, watching a couple every weekend. I don’t know if My Favorite Wife was on my list or it just popped up on Amazon (I think it was a $1.99 rental, but then maybe that was because I wasn’t looking on my dad’s Prime, but on my own account which isn’t Prime). I’m so glad it did, it was quite funny (this is no Bringing up Baby or Monkey Business, but it’s still one of the funnier Cary Grant movies I’ve seen, and I’ve seen quite a few), and Cary Grant is in his best role, as a kind-hearted, befuddled man at the mercy of quicker witted, quicker acting women. I kept stopping because there were so many hilarious quotes to take down, usually at his character’s expense. Obviously, they are funnier to watch, and you get the benefit of all the facial expressions and situational humor. I highly recommend this movie.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “That takes a lot of love,  you sure you don’t love her?”

    “The moment I saw you downstairs, I knew-“

    “Oh go on. I’m sure you say that to all your wives.

    “I could strangle you.”

    “Hey, that’s a way out.”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “I feel sorry for the woman who marries him.”

    “Why?!”

    “Because he’s a heartbreaker, like you.”

    “Go on, I’m one of the most faithful husbands that ever lived.”

    “With a wife in every room.”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “My husband hasn’t slept since he heard you were on the island with me. He’s arranged this clever meeting to trap us into a confession.”

    (“What!” )(“Now wait just a moment.”)

    “He’s a very clever lawyer so beware. I’m gonna be very foxy myself.”

    “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

    “I know, but he has; you see, Nick’s married again.”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “So just make up your mind old man.”

    “I’ll make up mind.”

    “You’re not allowed to have two wives, you know.”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “How long were you married to Helen before the island?”

    “Four years, why?”

    “Well I was with her for seven, so I claim her on the basis on seniority, so I’ve got you there.”

  • Culture and Entertainment

    What I Watched: April and May 2019

    The Perfect Date. This was so awful I’m ashamed I finished it. The lines were like stereotypes of cliches of stereotypes. Just absolutely mind-numbingly stupid.

    Little Women (modern). This was adorable. I loved the switching between past and current times. I liked the professor and didn’t like Laurie, so I wasn’t near as mad about how things ended up. The portrayal of the March family and their uniqueness was just so stinking cute (also, love the homeschooling). All the individual girls portrayals were great, everyone a good age. The acting wasn’t great, I obviously think Laurie is a character worth doing well, and I wish John and Meg had more time, but since I frequently get so frustrated at how Little Women is portrayed plus the actual story, and this was quite a refreshing little movie.

    Khoobsurat. So, shallow points here, I think my sister and I were talking over attractive actors, and she told me I had to watch this. I’ve never watched a Hindi-language film, so that in itself is interesting. And then the setting, the clothing. The switching between English and Hindi and the switching between the speaking of actual thoughts and speaking was awesome (although confusing at first as I didn’t realize at first some things WERE just thoughts). The main actor is sooo handsome, also the serious type, so super attractive, and the film is just overall hilarious.

    The Proud Rebel. Hamlette mentions Alan Ladd all the time, so I decided to watch some Alan Ladd movies. This was not a hit, I was so bored, not sure why I made myself finish it. I’m still going to watch more of his movies, I’m particularly interested in This Gun for Hire.

    The Matchbreaker. An indie film from my list, I think I skipped a lot, I was mostly into the film for the friend (who was hilarious) and sister romance.

    Avengers: Infinity War. Eh. Mostly explosions and boring fight scenes. I was watching this online and was definitely on other browsers and tabs for much of it.

    The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy (two of my favorite classics actors but didn’t love them together), and Shirley Temple (what little I saw as a child of her child-acting annoyed me, and she’s still annoying as a teenager, her facial expressions heighten the annoyance, especially as she’s too old for that here). An uncomfortable premise to modern audiences, not any chemistry between leads, not hilarious enough for me.

    The Amazing Adventure. Cute glimpse of a young Cary Grant. His romantic counterpart was boring, but overall the plot was interesting, could be seriously improved upon though.

    Operation Petticoat. Tony Curtis and older Cary Grant (this is the Cary Grant* I saw too much of when I said I didn’t “get” his appeal; he’s good here as like a foil or something to Curtis). Hilarious screwball. Screwball is quite my cup of tea right now.

    When You’re In Love. I need to not watch blah movies just because Cary Grant is in them.

    Talk of the Town. I’m more for Cary Grant screwball comedies, but another person might enjoy this better. I think it’s worth watching for the last scene which I rewatched at least twice more.

    Holiday. I think Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn have great chemistry. This wasn’t my favorite movie, not quite hysterical enough for me, but I liked it. I’d also have liked it better if I wasn’t fighting with the absolutely awful itunes. Seriously, it was awful. I’m not buying anything on itunes again. The lag is so bad its unwatchable, and they have such stupid protections, so I can’t move the files easily.

    Royal Wedding. I just don’t care for Fred Astaire nor dancing movies too much really, I do admire the talent, but I get bored. I also didn’t find it overall that funny.

    Aladdin. I’m just going to copy paste my comment from Hamlette’s blog. “I didn’t love the animated Aladdin. I know I saw it a couple times growing up, but I’m not sure we owned it, so I didn’t watch it as much. It doesn’t have quite the nostalgia, I guess? Anyway, I didn’t care for it much rewatching it as an adult; the story overall, Jasmine’s brattiness, the Genie’s jarring modernity, Jafar was too much. I love the music though, and I think I’d forgotten about all the songs except “A Whole New World.”

    So, I didn’t thinking I’d see it in theaters. Some of my siblings went (they like the original). Then I heard a clip of Jasmine’s song, and was like,”No, I really need to see this in theaters.” So I did. And I greatly enjoyed it. A lot of what I didn’t like in the original was changed enough plus the overall costuming, setting, etc. is just gorgeous in live-action. Jasmine is SO much better. I loved Will Smith’s Genie and how they blended him into the story both in terms of his actual story and the lessening of the weirdly modern aspect that threw me off in the original. I liked that there was enough change to make the story richer (similar to the ever-perfect similar Cinderella) but not to distract from the story (like in Beauty and the Beast, also, that one was spoiled with star-struckness, too many stars)

    Because I’m me, and because this isn’t Cinderella 2015 (which is the most perfect movie ever made, I kid, maybe) I did have some quibbles, Aladdin’s jarringly modern North American accent. I guess I didn’t realize he grew up in Canada, I feel like his accent stood out more than anyone else’s?

    I think the music and vocals could’ve been better. Except for Jasmine’s song, that blew everything else away.

    …And then there is Jafar’s pipsqueak voice.”

    From Friend to Fiancé. A Hallmark, fun, but not a fav. I feel like a watched or rewatched another Hallmark with Mom, but maybe that was just when we attempted to find one, and I just didn’t care to see any we had. I have one more I want to watch from the Spring, but I’m doing pretty good and not relying on them. However, now I need to nip my mediocre oldies and regular moderns in the bud.

    *I’ve decided there are three Cary Grant “types.” His younger roles are the aware, slightly sarcastic, sweet-idealist types. His middle roles are the more cynical, sometimes oblivious, highly sarcastic types (the more screwball roles, my absolute favorite), and his older roles are the often humorless/not very funny, grouchy types (seriously, he seems like he’s always frowning in many of his older roles).

    Westside Story. Clearly didn’t make too much of an impression on me seeing as how I only remembered I’d watched it after I saw Studio C’s Bollyside Story. Like I said before, not overly crazy about too much dance stuff. Tony, well also Maria in theory, but Natalie Wood is annoying (also NOT Hispanic, neither was Bernard either, which made the love story drama just ridiculous, yeah, I know it was the 60’s but seriously?) were the only people I cared much about. Tony was too pure for that world, didn’t make sense that he’d be best friends with that other dude (who by the way played the precious Gideon in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, talk about opposite roles).

  • Culture and Entertainment

    Classic Hollywood Movies I’ve Watched This Quarter

    I’ve watched 8 classic Hollywood movies, most of them from my lists.

    To Catch a Thief, 1955
    A famous movie starring two famous actors. I think that its overrated. I found it interesting enough, and I laughed, but the humor isn’t particularly witty. The identity of the thief isn’t surprising (and I’m easily mislead or at least allow myself to be easily mislead), and I just didn’t find the mystery exciting or the romance strong.

    The Thin Man, 1934
    I wanted to watch this after this review highlighted the main couple. They are adorable as described. This mystery is more complex than the above movie because of all the characters and all the complex intrigue. The movie had some humor, but not tons or at least not my kind of humor. And I thought it quite dark and scary, especially near the end. However, I still would like to watch more of this series.

    Laura, 1944
    Dana Andrews plays the detective in this film, but with his looks, clothes, and worldly persona, he appears like a gangster. I liked that juxtaposition of “bad guy” feel on a good guy character. I enjoyed the film noir aspect of this film. But the dramatic, suspenseful music keyed my nerves so tight! The plot may seem absurdly convoluted and simple, but like I said, I’m easily fooled with mysteries, and I don’t think the plot is everything (or even the main thing).

    Holiday Inn, 1942
    I found the humor in this film to my taste; the sabotaging that goes on amongst the various characters is outrageous and hilarious. The dancing is excellent but of a different type than the grand numbers in White Christmas, but the music (except for the song I’m Dream of a White Christmas) is decidedly inferior. The plot is much inferior too. A younger Bing Crosby is nice to look at though.

    Funny Face, 1957
    Meh, and I’m not a Fred Astaire fan.

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
    Jimmy Stewart looks so sweet and often plays such sweet, honorable, naïve characters. I felt that his character in this film, Jefferson Smith, exhibits these qualities the highest I’ve seen yet. While the plot overall (not enough romance) isn’t really my thing, the naivete of Jefferson Smith and his endurance and sweetness added to the plot made the film enjoyable.

    The Ox-Bow Incident, 1943
    In comparison to Lonesome Dove, this Western seems almost saintly; it has a solid moral framework. It clearly indicates that vigilantism isn’t justice. However, I don’t believe that the guilty men murder the innocents in purely hot-blood mob mentality (as the film and DVD cover imply) because they have plenty of time to cool down and plenty of opportunities to listen and observe. It’s clearly murder, not manslaughter. I’m not sure that it is great to focus so solely on violence in movies.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    Classic Hollywood Celebration: Friendly Persuasion Review

    I am linking up here again.

    Former friends introduced me to Friendly Persuasion years ago. I watched it by myself first and enjoyed it and then more recently watched it several times with my mom and sisters. This 1956 film features actors Gary Cooper and Anthony Perkins and actress Dorothy McGuire (whom we’ve seen in the 1960 The Swiss Family Robinson which we also love). The film is very loosely based on Jessamyn West’s novel of the same name.

    The story is set in Civil War era Indiana and features a rural Quaker family trying to live in a quiet way and being forced to come to terms with the fact that the forces of war are approaching close to home.** Each of the mature or maturing members of the Birdwell household has his or her own particular views and connections to the war, and this produces some familial discord. Despite all this family love, faith, and honor prevail.

    Although the overarching plot leads to conflict with marauding Rebel troops, much of the film depicts the day-to-day struggles, activites and idiosyncries in this Quaker household. I love the depictions of the familial, neighborly, and outside world interactions of the Birdwells and how differently each member reacts to their Quaker responsibilities. Each person is a distinct individual and yet the conflicts tend to be small and humorous (until the end) and are always resolved.

    As an older movie, the film posseses some drawbacks frequent to this period including noticeably fake scenery, not noticeably period accurate clothing, etc. The music underwhelmed me, nothing unique or heart-stirring. The plot is more a string of vignettes leading to a climax as the war touches the Birdwells with graduating intensity than a perfectly wrough plot, so at times some scenes can feel a bit random. Nevertheless, I love the portrayal of the simple, homespun daily life interspersed with plenty of humor and a little love.

    If you need drama or a comprehensive Civil War plot, this movie is not for you. But if you enjoy simple, sweet stories and are interested in this unique perspective of mid-19th century American life and its gentle perspective on the war, you may enjoy the film. I had no knowledge at all of the story (a level of ignorance which I often love for books and movies) and love “homey” stories and so I appreciated the simple portrayal of Quakerism** and the war. Nothing too complicated or nuanced needing an intellectual conversation, but resting sweetness and simplicity.

    I loved the movie, so I got the book from the library, but after looking through it, I could see very little connection to the story I liked and decided I wasn’t interested enough to try reading it.
    **Because I must ALWAYS give a history lesson, I must point out that Quakers were not traditionally formal pacifists; they did place a greater value on overall kindness and humanness, but the stringent pacifism came far later. I learned this from Albion’s Seed, and I truly cannot recommend that book enough.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    A Celebration of Classic Hollywood Week: Film Review of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

    I’m linking up at An Old-Fashioned Girl for A Celebration of Classic Hollywood Week. Since I seem to be either criticizing or incoherently fangirling or only noting a few details when I write about movies, I thought I’d better look up some more formal guidelines for movie reviewing. I found two printouts from the Thompson Writing Program at Duke University (this and this). I just used the first handout and very generally, but I found it helpful.

    My sister and I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at a sleep-over with friends as young preteens or teens. I felt a bit shocked at what I then considered its coarseness (“Bless Your Beautiful Hide . . .”). You have no idea, little me. I don’t think I warmed up considerably as the film progressed either. But later, after hearing others mention it, I tried it again, and then even later watched it with my mom and sisters. I own it now, and we love it.

    Anyway, this 1954 musical features Jane Powell and Howard Keel (I’ve watched him in Annie Get Your Gun recently, and he looks SO different without a mustache) as well as several Broadway dancers and singers and an actress who later played Lois Lane in one of the Superman films (this we discovered after watching it with extended family and an aunt recognized the actress; I love how movies can be such an interactive experience). The film’s main plot revolves around the unconventional (what an understatement!) wooing of “seven slumachy back woodsmen” e.g. the Pontipee brothers in frontier era Oregon Territory. The brothers of course run into conflict with the proper townsmen, but eventually all the (wild, sometimes lawbreaking) boys marry their (incredibly fickle) girls.

    This movie is so silly, fun, and hilarious. Several of the songs are quite humorous and others are quite sentimental (these are NOT our favorites; we skip some out of boredom). Because Adam marries first, his wife Millie takes on the first part of civilizing the brothers, with considerably mixed results! The boys’ own ladies complete the polishing work. Millie, Gideon, and Hannah teach Adam his own separate lesson. I love the hilarity of course, but I also like the sweet familial and romantic scenes mixed in all the drama and fun.

    As is typical of old musicals, this film is short and the story is simple. Only a few of the brothers and only one of the wives show any great characterization. The film focuses on singing, (melo) drama, and humor. It is a light, short, fun film for when you aren’t in the mood for intensity of any type.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    More Old Movies on Amazon Prime and AFI’s Top Old Hollywood Actors and Actresses List

    Made for Each Other (1939)
    A little humor, sweetness, romance, and drama. I liked it much better than Penny Serenade (I considered the simple home life genre similar), but it received much poorer ratings. Jimmy Stewart (and what a man: Reagan Republican and WWII hero!) is much handsomer and nicer seeming than Cary Grant (who I think is fit for romantic comedy, emphasizing the comedy).

    An Affair to Remember (1957)
    Again, I like Cary Grant in comedy, not gushing romantic movies; I cannot take him seriously in a serious role. I found this plot boring and frothy. And wow, was the main woman stupid. And I thought her first boyfriend much handsomer . . . and he was probably nicer. She was just such a goose. However, this line from Grant’s character is hilarious, “I’ll just take my ego for a walk.”

    Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
    This was SO stupid. Howard Keel is handsome (he looks so different without a mustache) and the song, “I Can Do Anything Better Than You” is hilarious. But the music wasn’t very good, the acting and singing of the Annie Oakley actress was awful, and the plot was tedious. I skipped through much of the movie. I had watched a clip of the song before, and I should’ve just done that again. It was disappointing because the singers were not equal in talent.

    Also, you should check out the American Film Institutes 100 Years . . . 100 Stars. What do you think of the categorization? And how many of these have you seen? I feel like I have seen more men from this list than women. Even though neither Humphrey Bogart nor Cary Grant are my favorites, I can understand why they are near the top.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    State Fair (1945)

    Okay, Gregory Peck has a rival in Dana Andrews (okay, so Peck is probably still my favorite leading man, but Andrews comes in close second).
    I enjoyed this film. Dana Andrews is so handsome, Margie’s outfits are so pretty (I mean to make some similar), the Frake parents are hilarious, and its just fun. But I thought Margie and Wayne’s naivete rather disconcerting. Hers, because normally for a story like this, the guy is a Wickham or Willoughby who means naught, and his, because a grown man should not be that dumb. Also, I can understand Margie’s discontent; she had a unattractive, boring, maybe suitor, and wanted a more interesting life. But Wayne had everything he wanted and needed. I think their stories show the difference between not wanting to settle versus discontent. And I am glad of the ending, even though I think early Hollywood has a desire to make everything end unnaturally happy (more on this theme). I mean more often (Roman Holiday does exist after all) than modern films and more wholly.

  • Culture and Entertainment

    How to Steal a Million (1966)

    This post contains SPOILERS.

    ************


    With my accent I have trouble pronouncing “steal” so near to “million” in the same sentence. I want to say, “How to Still a Million.” I was somewhat confused as to how I was supposed to pronounce “million.” I normally pronounce “steal” as “stEEl” and “million” as “millyen.” If you pronounce these differently I would love to know how. I love English dialects, accents, word choices, and language patterns.

    I loved this movie. The plot is simple and ridiculous and paired with the personalities and tones makes for a sweet and hilarious romantic comedy. I am just not good at describing it, it is just simply delicious. I don’t normally like ridiculous (you know, anything in The Princess Bride line as far as humor or absurd melodrama, e,g, YA romance), but this plot paired with deadpan sarcasm and general wittiness is de-light-ful.
    Simon McDermott (O’Toole) is soooo funny (and handsome). I think the chemistry and interaction between Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn perfect and perfectly hilarious. The whole movie is brilliantly quotable as I noticed when reading through a quote list (and the list didn’t include everything), too bad I am not a good quoter. And I mean tons of pithy exchanges. But it isn’t just the lines, the timing, facial expressions, circumstances, everything makes it so funny.
    Watch it. If you have Amazon Prime, Prime video currently offers it free as of 8/23.
  • Culture and Entertainment

    A Few More “Silver Screen” Movies

    I had a brief period of Amazon Prime in the summer, so I watched some old films from my list.
    A Penny Serenade (1941)
    Boring, especially for the length.
    His Girl Friday (1940)
    -Both leading characters were hysterical . . . and that poor goof of a fiancé
    -I felt that the ending failed miserably-as a romance anyway-I guess if you looked at the film as purely comedy (I didn’t . . . maybe I was supposed to?), the ending was funny.
    -This is the role that I like to watch Cary Grant portray. Rom-com. Not pure romance as in Penny Serenade. He is not my favorite (and Bogart falls lower than him, horrors) old Hollywood leading man even if he was supposedly the most popular. I prefer real Americans (jk, sort of).
    The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
    -I did not love this film, but Gregory Peck was in it so that covers a multitude of boring aspects.
    -I believe that I read the short story, and this considerably changed the tone making Peck’s character much nicer than the story character; he doesn’t strike me as a villain, but his wife was a whiny, selfish, insecure, cowardly, childish weakling. I did not find him at fault in that situation or not much. But her! She is awful (but she did feel some guilt). Still, I love that he wanted to her back; I loved his faithfulness.
    -And that ludicrous old Hollywood happy ending. Total opposite of the book.