Today’s movie is a musical with a scene that happens on
April 30. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
In St. Louis, Missouri Alonso and Anna Smith have four daughters
Rose, Esther, Agnes, Tootie and a son Lon, Jr. Esther loves the boy next door,
John and Rose loves Warren. On Halloween Tootie returns home saying John
attacked her. Esther berates him. Tootie later confesses that in fact John
protected her and Agnes from the police when a prank of theirs went wrong. Rose
rushes to apologize to John and they share a kiss. When Mr. Smith announces that due to his job they are all moving
to New York the girls are devastated about leaving their beaux. John can’t take
Esther to the Christmas Eve ball as he’s left his tuxedo at the cleaners and
can’t get it back. Her grandfather takes her instead. There she fills up a
perceived rival’s dance card with losers, but has to switch with her when
Esther learns the girl likes her brother and not John. John retrieves his tux
and dances at the ball with Esther. Mr. Smith says they won’t be moving. The
family visits the St. Louis World’s Fair on opening day, April 30, 1904
[1:49:02 to 1:52:36] where John and Warren propose to Esther and Rose, ensuring
a happy ending.
One of the classic MGM musicals. They don’t make ‘em like
this anymore. Sentimental but watchable.
American Decades 1900-1909 ed by Vincent Tompkins
(Gale Research, Inc., Detroit, MI, 1996) at page 25 gives the date the fair
opened
Producer - Arthur Freed
Director - Vincente
Minnelli
Screenplay - Irving Brecher and Fred Finklehoff
Awards - The film was nominated for the Best Cinematography,
Best Original Music Score, Best Song and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars at the
17th Academy Awards
Today’s movie is a drama with scenes
that happen on April 29. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
127 HOURS
Aron Ralston goes to a hiking
trip to Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. He meets two girls Kristi and Megan
and they spend sometime together diving into an underground pool. After they
part Aron travels through Blue John Canyon, but he slips and a rock falls,
crushing his arm and trapping him. As he suffers from thirst and loss of blood,
he begins to hallucinate about his family, the two girls he just met and a
former girlfriend. On April 29, 2003 [56:02 to 1:02:26] Aron spends another day
trapped in the canyon. Two days later he sees a vision of a little blond boy,
who he thinks is his future son. This gives him the strength to break his arm
bones and cut off his arm, allowing him to escape from the canyon. He is rescued and recovers. Aron gets
married and has a son.
A very intense film. This is the
type of film that makes me cringe.
The film starts on April 25,
2003, a Friday (4:14–4:17), so Tuesday (56:02) is April 29. He gets stuck on
April 26, which is day one so day four is the 29th as per Between
a Rockand a Hard Place by Aron Ralston (Atria Books, New York,
2004) at page 187-213
Producers - Danny Boyle, Christian Colson and John Smithson
Today’s movie is a mystery with a scene that happens on
April 28. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
THESIGN OF FOUR
Miss Mary Morstan comes to see the celebrated private
detective Sherlock Holmes. She tells him that her father, an officer in the
Indian Army, who had traveled home to England, vanished ten years ago. Four
years after that she started to receive expensive pearls through the mail. Then
today she had recieved a card telling her to be at a certain place to get
justice and she asks Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to go with her. Holmes
learns that Miss Morstan started to receive the pearls within one week of the
death of Major Sholto, who was in the same regiment as her father, but denied
that Capt. Morstan had come to see him. They are taken to meet Thaddeus Sholto,
one of the twin sons of Major Sholto. Thaddeus says his father returned from
India eleven years ago with a great fortune. On April 29, 1882 [22:51 to 23:43
and 25:08 to 26:39] when Major Sholto was dying he confessed that he killed
Morstan and told the twins to send Mary Morstan the pearls, as Morstan had been
entitled to half the treasure. The brothers had only found the hidden location
of the main body of the treasure the day before. Holmes, Watson, Miss Morstan and Thaddeaus find Bartholomew
Sholto dead, a paper with “The Sign of Four ‘ on it and the treasure gone. Holmes
finds that a one-legged man and someone with a tiny footprint, who shot the
dead man with a poisoned thorn, carried out the murder and theft of the
treasure. Holmes uses a tracker dog to follow the murderers, who accidentally
stepped in creosote, to a boat. Holmes uses the Baker Street Irregulars to find
the boat and gives chase. The small companion is killed and the one legged man
caught. The one legged man, whose name is Jonathan Small tells his story.
During the Great Indian Mutiny he ended up in charge of a gate of the fortress
city of Agra with three Sikhs. They take him into a plot to steal a large
treasure from a rebel Raja. However, their murder of the custodian of the treasure
was discovered and the four were sent to the prison colony in the Andaman
islands. Then Captain Mostan arrived there. The four, Sholto and Morstan agree
to divide the treasure in return for the four’s freedom. However Sholto stole
the treasure and returned to England. Morstan was as upset as the four and
returned home, but was killed by Sholto. With the help of a very small statured
Andaman islander, Small escaped. It is revealed that Small tossed the treasure
in the Thames. Small is arrested for murder.
One of Holmes’s more baffling
cases. Told clearly and succinctly, without giving too much away. All in all a
good mystery story.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle (Doubleday & Co., New York, 1988) at page 97 gives this as Sholto’s
death date
Today’s film is a war movie with a scene that happens on
April 27. I hope you will enjoy this movie and watch it tonight.
THE BRIDGE
In the final days of the Second
World War, seven German teenagers are drafted into the army. They are tasked
with the defense of the bridge in their hometown, under the command of an NCO.
When he goes to inform the engineers that the bridge is ready to be blown up,
he is mistaken for a deserter and shot, leaving the boys with no leader, but
they decide to defend the bridge anyway. On April 27, 1945 the battle for the
bridge begins. [49:55 to 1:41:18] A
strafing American fighter kills the youngest boy. In an attack by three
American tanks and infantry four more of the boys are killed. After the
Americans retreat, the German sergeant in command of the demolition squad that
arrives critizes the two remaining boys, Hans and Albert for being nincompoops.
In a confrontation the sergeant and Hans are killed. The engineers retreat and
Alberrt returns home.
A moving film that points out the
tragedy of war. The boys die in a wasted effort.
The date is given in the film at
1:41:20
Producers - Hermann Schwerin and Jochen Schwerin
Director - Bernhard Wicki
Awards – Nominated for Best Foreign Language film
Screenplay - Karl-Wilhelm Vivier and Bernhard Wicki
Today’s movie is a fantasy film with a scene set on April 26. I hope
you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight. b
HEARTS IN ATLANTIS
When his friend Sully dies and leaves him a baseball glove
as he had promised many years ago, Bobby Garfield returns to his hometown and
when he learns that Carol Gerber is dead recalls what happened when he was
eleven. On April 26, 1960 [7:03 to
15:31] Bobby celebrates his eleventh birthday. He doesn’t get a bicycle, because
his single Mom says she doesn’t have the money since Bobby’s father left them
destitute when he died six years ago. Ted Brautigan moves into the apartment
upstairs. Bobby is friends with Sully and Carol. Ted hires Bobby to read to him
and watch out for the ‘low men’ who are looking for him. During the summer Ted
has mysterious fits and exhibits psychic powers, while Bobby wins big money at
the fair and kisses Carol. Bobby notices the lost pets posters than Ted had
warned him were signs of the ‘low men’, but says nothing as he fears Ted will leave.
When his Mom goes on a trip, she persuades Ted, even though she does not trust
him to watch Bobby. Ted forces the local bully Harry Doolin to back down by
threatening to reveal that Harry is a secret cross-dresser. Ted takes Bobby to
a pool hall to place a bet on a boxing match, and Bobby learns his father
didn’t lose money gambling and was liked and respected by everyone, contrary to
his mother’s portrait of Bobby’s father. Ted wins $2,000 by betting on the
winning underdog. Later Harry beats up Carol. While Ted is fixing her
dislocated shoulder, Bobby’s Mom returns and mistakenly thinks Ted is a child
molester. The fact that he can tell her that her boss raped her on her trip
convinces her not to call the police, but tells Ted he must leave. Bobby goes
to get Ted’s winnings, but when he returns, the ‘low men’ are carrying him off
thanks to a tip from Bobby’s Mom. Bobby later beats up Harry. Bobby and his Mom
move away after he tells Carol he loves her.
Back in the present, at his old house, Bobby meets Carol’s
daughter.
A mysterious film. You have to
figure out this plot on your own, since it is not spell out explicitly, like in
some films. A rather depressing film,
even for a Stephen King adaptation.
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (Scribner, New
York, 1999) at page 15 gives his birthdate
Today’s movie is a drama with a scene set on April 25. I hope you will
enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
MRS. BROWN
In 1864 after Queen Victoria has
been in deep mourning for three years after the death of her husband Prince
Albert, Henry Ponsonby, the Queen’s private secretary arranges for John Brown a
servant from Balmoral Castle to be brought to Osborne House, where the Queen
resides in the he can induce her to start riding again as a first step to
pushing the Queen out of her seclusion. When Brown arrives he seemingly offends
the Queen by saying she must miss Albert very much. After he stands outside
holding her horse’s bridle for several days she agrees to ride. Brown moves to
the head of the table in the servant’s quarters and takes over running things
‘below stairs’. On April 25, 1864 [22:42 to 26:14] the Queen and Bertie argue
on Princess Alice’s birthday about the royal family being more accessible.
Republicanism is on the rise as the court relocates to Balmoral in Scotland,
where Brown earns the eternal enmity of the Prince of Wales by not paying him
the deference he feels is due him. Gossip begins to swirl about Victoria and
John Brown relationship, if any. Brown rousts some reporters who were spying on
the royals and the royal family returns to Windsor. Thugs attack Brown and
Victoria refuses a request by her family to fire him. The Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli visits Brown at Balmoral and convinces him the Quern must
return to society, but when Brown suggests this to Victoria she gets angry.
However, the Prince of Wales gets typhoid fever and when he recovers, Victoria
attends a thanksgiving service. Brown saves her from an assassination attempt.
When Brown dies, Ponsonby destroys Brown’s diary, saying it must never be read.
An interesting film. It never
gives its opinion on whether Brown and Victoria actually had an intimate
relationship. Has very good costumes and sets.
Victoria: An Intimate Biography
by Stanley Weintraub (Truman Talley Books, New York, 1987) at page 175 gives
Alice’s birthday
Producer - Sarah Curtis
Director - John Madden
Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Actress(Judi
Dench) and Best Makeup Oscars at the 70th Academy Awards
Today’s movie is a fantasy film with a scene that takes
place on April 24. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
HOP
The Easter Bunny takes his young
son, E.B. on a tour of the chick run factory on Easter Island that manufactures
all the candy put into Easter baskets. While delivering an Easter basket, the
Easter Bunny is seen by young Fred O’Hare. Twenty years later Fred is an
unemployed twenty something, while EB does not want to take over as ‘the’ Easter
bunny and instead wants to be a rock –n-roll drummer. Fred is kicked out by his
parents, while EB runs way to Hollywood. Fred’s sister Sam lets him take over
her part time job as a housesitter for her boss’s mansion. On the way there
Fred almost runs over EB, who guilt trips him into letting EB stay at the
mansion. After creating a mess, Fred is going to dump EB in the wilderness
until EB claims to be the Easter Bunny. Fred’s job interview is ruined by EB
fleeing from the Pink Berets, an elite group sent by his father to return him
to Easter Island. Fred takes EB to an
audition for the TV show ‘Hoff knows talent”, where he is invited to appear in
the finals. EB disrupts Fred’s sister’s Easter pageant, but Fred saves the day
and decides he wants to be the Easter Bunny. EB laughs this off and leaves to
be on TV. Then the Pink Berets attack, capture Fred and take him to Easter
Island. He convinces everyone he did
not kill EB, but then the chick leader Carlos whose resentment has been
building launches a coup d’etat against the Easter Bunny. At the studio EB
starts to feel guilty and when he finds Fred has been captured goes to Easter
Island. EB uses his drumming skills to cause the chicks that magically pull the
Easter sleigh to crash, allowing Carlos to be captured. Fred and EB are made
co-Easter Bunnies. On April 24, 2011 [1:19:38 to 1:29:35] Fred and EB deliver
the Easter baskets. After his family sees the Easter sleigh they are
reconciled, as Fred now has a job with a lot of responsibility.
This is an amusing film. It is mainly for kids, but some
of the jokes are funny for adults also. If you want some mindless
entertainment, this film fits the bill perfectly.
Producers - Chris Meledandri and Michele Imperato Stabile
Director - Tim Hill
Screenplay - Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch and Cinco Paul
Today’s movie is a drama with a
scene that happens on April 23. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it
tonight.
CYBERBULLY
On her seventeenth birthday April
23, 2011 [00:01 to 8:56] Taylor Hillridge gets her own laptop computer. Taylor is friends with Samantha Caldone and
Cheyenne Mortenson, but does not get along with her brother Eric or the popular
girl at school, Lindsay Fordyce. Taylor has a crush on Scott Ozsik. Samantha
does not like Scott because she had dated his best friend who later dumped her.
Taylor uses her computer to chat online at a teen site named Cliquester. She
gets a friend request online from a boy named James. Then Eric hacks her
account and posts a mean comment about her online. Soon everyone piles on
posting terrible things about her, topped off by James claiming she slept with
him and gave him an STD. Scott, who had asked Taylor to the dance weasels out
of taking her. Samantha and Cheyenne also begin to turn their backs on Taylor
as people post terrible comments about Taylor online. Taylor becomes so
depressed she tries to commit suicide, but is stopped by Samantha. Taylor’s mom
tries to find ‘James’ and get an anti-cyberbullying law passed. Taylor goes to
a support group and learns how to handle the bullying. Then she learns Samantha
was the one who created the ‘James’ profile.
Samantha then becomes a target for the cyberbullies herself. Eventually
Taylor, Samantha and Cheyenne become friends again and they with Scott stand up
to Lindsay and her clique, while her mom’e afforts have gotten an
anti-cyberbullying law passed.
This is a preachy kind of film,
but a necessary one. It does highlight a problem that needs to be addressed.
All teens should watch this movie. This film is interesting enough, but more
character development would have helped make it a better movie and less of a
long PSA.
At 3:38-53 we are told is Shakespeare’s birthday, which is
this date as per Shakespeare:The Biography by Peter Ackroyd
(Doubleday, New York, 2005) at page 3.
Today’s movie is a drama with a scene set on April 22. I
hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
THE WAR OF THE BUTTONS
In Occupied France in 1944, the boys from the village of
Verlans, led by ‘Aztec’ rough up two brothers Petit and Grand Gibus from the
village of Longevergne. A new girl named Violette, the goddaughter of Simone,
the owner of the millinery shop, who for a time owned such a shop in Paris,
arrives in the village. Lebrac, the not very academically bright, but
charismatic leader of the Longevergne boys leads them to Verlans at night,
where they paint insulting slogans on a wall. Violette rebuffs Lebrac’s
attempt’s to talk to her, saying she likes smart men. The Verlans boys push
them in a lake, but Longevergne wins a counterattack and takes the buttons off
the one prisoner they capture. The
police, led by a not very bright former student of Paul, the village
schoolteacher, arrest a Jewish family. Violette changes her mind and tries to
befriend Lebrac, lending him a book about the Punic Wars. Lebrac does not get
along with his father, who he thinks is a coward for not resisting the Germans.
Paul and Simone were once close before she moved to Paris. Libra is assigned
detention for making rude comments in class. The day of his detention coincides
with the next planned battle with Verlans. The Verlans boys torment the Gibus
brothers and Camus who came to ask for a delay and steal their buttons. Lebrac
attacks, but is captured and overpowered, losing his buttons also. Violette
sews new ones on for him. On April 22, 1944 [43:11 to 47:46] Lebrac leads a
raid on the Verlans laundry and steals all their buttons. Violette tells Lebrac
she is actually a Jew and her name is really Miriam. They argue about their differences. Lebrac learns his father is
actually in the Resistance. Lebrac emulates the Battle of Cannae and surrounds
the Verlans boys. He and Aztec fight in single combat and Lebrac wins. The
Longevergne boys expel Bacaillé, the mayor’s son, as they consider him cowardly
for not filching some food for the inauguration of their new clubhouse.
Bacaillé is captured by the Verlans boys, who learn the location of the
clubhouse and burn it down. The Longevergne boys whip Bacaillé as punishment
for betrayal. Lebrac runs away to avoid punishment by his father. When Labrac
and the boys come to apologize to Bacaillé, he refuses to accept their
apologies and says Lebrac’s father is a communist and maybe Violette is a Jew.
The police investigate. Lebrac with the help of Aztec spirits Violette away.
The men, including Paul and the fathers of Aztec and Lebrac toss the police out
of the village. Lebrac leads Violette and Simone to a safehouse.
A film that is both serious and funny. Well worth watching.
At 32:57 the date is given as April 15, 1944. Lebrac is told
he will serve his detention ‘Thursday’ [32:46] which would be April 20, 1944.
The next Saturday [43:23] laundry day at
Valrens would be April 22, 1944.
Producers - Thomas Langmann, Daniel Delume and Emmanuel
Montamat
Director - Christophe Barratier
Screenplay - Stéphane Keller, Christophe Barratier and
Thomas Langmann
Today’s movie is a biography with a scene that happens on
April 21. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
THE RED BARON
A 14 year old Manfred von
Richthofen is enthralled when he sees a plane. 10 years later he gets a
dressing down from his commander when he leads his squadron to attend the
funeral of a British pilot that they knew before the war. They encounter a squadron led by Lanoe
Hawker, but Manfred shoots down Roy Brown, but Manfred helps save the life of
the injured Brown by pulling him from the wreck. Manfred later shoots down
Hawker and as a result is awarded the Pour le Merite and promoted to command of
his own squadron. He orders his men not
to kill enemy pilots unless absolutely necessary. Manfred’s younger brother
Lothar joins the squadron. Manfred is furious when Lothar kills a British pilot
who is trying to make a crash landing. Brown and Manfred are both forced to
land in no mans land and in their talk Brown tells Manfred that Kate Otersdorf, a nurse they both know likes
Manfred. Manfred is devastated to learn that his friend Jewish pilot Friedrich
Sternberg has been killed and Lothar has to talk him out of a deep depression.
Manfred is wounded in action and is nursed by Kate. Manfred and Kate have
dinner but she gets upset when he days he glad he got wounded so he could be
with her. She takes him to a hospital and berates him for treating war like a
game. Later he sneaks into her quarters, but they are interrupted by an air
raid. Manfred leads the squadron up against the bombers and his head wound causes
him to become disoriented. Manfred is
offered the command of the entire air service and Kate is overjoyed. Manfred
jokes with Voss that he wants Manfred at a desk job so Voss can beat his score.
While touring the Fokker factory, Manfred learns Voss has been shot down.
Manfred tells the high command that the war is lost. In the spring of 1918 the
Germans launch their last offensive. Manfred’s planes provide cover. Kate is
angry that he is still flying combat missions, but he says he will not betray
the men in the field. On April 21, 1918 [1:48:47 to 1:53:47] Manfred leads his
squadron on a mission, but is shot down and killed. The allies give him a full
military funeral. Kate crosses the lines with Brown’s help and visits Manfred’s
grave.
A very entertaining film.
However, much of the story is completely fictitious. As entertainment and not
history, this is a good movie.
The date is given in the film at 1:48:50
Producers - Dan Maag, Thomas Reisser and Roland Pellegrino
Director - Nikolai Müllerschön
Screenplay - Nikolai Müllerschön
Runtime – 2 hours 3 minutes
Released – April 10,
2008
Cast -
Matthias Schweighöfer as Manfred von Richthofen “the Red
Baron”
Lena Headey as Nurse Käte Otersdorf
Til Schweiger as Leutnant Werner Voss
Volker Bruch as Lothar von Richthofen
Maxim Mehmet as Leutnant Friedrich Sternberg
Hanno Koffler as Leutnant Lohmann
Tino Mewes as Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff
Steffen Schroeder as Oberleutnant Karl Bodenschatz
Axel Prahl as General der Kavallerie Ernst von Hoeppner
Joseph Fiennes as CaptainRoy Brown, RCFC
Tomáš Koutník as Young Manfred von Richthofen
Tomáš Ibl as Young Lothar von Richthofen
Albert Franc as Young Wolfram von Richthofen
Richard Krajčo as Major Lanoe Hawker VC RFC
Lukáš Příkazký as Oberleutnant Stefan Kirmaier
Gitta Schweighöfer as Kunigunde von Richthofen
Branislav Holiček as Leutnant Wolfram Freiherr von
Richthofen
Julie Engelbrecht as Ilse von Richthofen
Jan Vlasák as Major Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
Robert Nebřenský as Feldwebel Räuber
Ralph Misske as Menzke
Josef Vinklář as Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg
Today’s movie is a
biography with scenes set on April 20. I hope you will enjoy this film and
watch it tonight.
DAWN ANNA
In 1993 Dawn Anna Townsend is a
single mom with four kids, Lauren, Josh, Matt and Kristen. She works as a
substitute teacher. She gets a permanent job as a math teacher and becomes the girls’
volleyball coach. She also meets Bink, a salesman for a sports equipment supply
company and they start dating. Then she is diagnosed with a vascular brain
condition. Dawn undergoes surgery and has a long period of rehabilitation. Five
years pass and Bink and Dawn get married. Her oldest daughter Kristen gets
engaged. Then on April 20, 1999 [1:09:11 to 1:18:06] her youngest daughter
Lauren is one of the victims of the Columbine massacre. Dawn is devastated by
this loss, but eventually becomes a spokesman for gun control.
Debra Winger is very good in this film. This is a tragic
story. However, it is also a story of strength, hope and perseverence.
True Crime by Nick Yapp (Parragon Publishing, Bath,
UK, 2006) at page 150 and the film at 1:09:13-15 give the date of the massacre
Producers - Peter Lhotka, Arliss Howard, Jordy Randall,
Murray Ord and Tom Cox
Director - Arliss Howard
Screenplay - Robert Munic, Arliss Howard and James Howard
Today’s movie is a biography with a scene that happens on
April 19. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
MADAME CURIE
Marie, a poor Polish refugee in
Paris studies physics and math so intensely that she sometimes forgets to eat
and passes out in class. Her professor introduces her to Pierre Curie and
convinces him to let her use his lab for her experiments. Pierre considers
women a distraction to scientists. One rainy day when she has no umbrella, he
walks her home and after that he gradually falls for Marie. They are present
when Becquerel discovers X-rays and she graduates with honors. She plans to
return to Poland to teach, but Pierre invites her to his parent’s country house
for the weekend and to forestall her departure makes an unemotional proposal of
marriage, but she accepts. They get married and afterwards she starts working
on the source of X-rays in pitchblende. She becomes stumped when the only two
radioactive elements in pitchblende don’t give off enough radiation
individually to account for all the radiation pitchblende emits. The Curies
finally figure out there must be an unknown element in pitchblende that is
creating the excess and set out to extract it. They can only get the Sorbonne
to give them an unheated shed for their experiments. At the end they are trying to separate ‘radium’ as they call the
new element and barium, but 458 failed attempts they give up. Marie has burns
on her fingers that might be cancer. They switch to trying to remove the barium,
bit by bit, instead of all at once and the last experiment just leaves a stain
with no crystals. The stain is radium, which glows in the dark. They become
world famous and go on holiday to hide from the press. On April 19, 1906, the
day when they are to be honored for their discovery Pierre goes to buy earrings
for Marie. On the way home the absent-minded Pierre is run over by a wagon and
killed. [1:42:07 to 1:52:16] Marie goes
into a deep funk. She finally recovers and is honored on the 25th
anniversary of radium’s discovery.
One of the better ‘Hollywoodized”
biopics. Garson and Pidgeon play Marie and Pierre as likeable, sympathetic
characters. Entertaining, if somewhat fluffy fare. Interesting in that the film
manages to explain the science so even a layman can understand the problem and
the triumph of solution.
Marie Curie: A Life by Susan Quinn (Simon &
Schuster, New York, 1995) pps. 228-9 and the film at 1:42:32-33 give the date
of Pierre’s death.
Producer - Sidney Franklin
Director - Mervyn LeRoy
Screenplay - Aldous Huxley
Released - December 15, 1943
Awards - It was nominated for the
Best Actor(Pidgeon), Best Actress(Garson), Best Art Direction, Best
Black-and-White Cinematography, Best Original Music Score, Best Picture and
Best Sound Oscars at the 16th Academy Awards
Today’s disaster movie has a scene set on April 18. I hope
you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
SAN FRANCISCO
Blackie Norton is a saloon owner
with a heart of gold in 1906 San Francisco. He hires classicly trained
minister’s daughter Mary Blake as a singer at his club, the Paradise and they
have an instant attraction. His friends want Blackie to run for city council in
order to force through improved fire regulations for the city and at the urging
of his life long friend, Father Tim Mullin, Blackie agrees. Nob Hill resident
and slum landlord, Jack Burley offers to buy out Mary’s contract, but is
opposed to Blackie’s efforts to improve the fire code as this will cost him
money. She initially refuses, but changes her mind to avoid getting in a sexually
compromising situation with Blackie. At her debut at the opera, Blackie arrives
with an injunction to stop the show as Mary is still under contract with him.
However, after hearing her sing he does nothing and after the show when she
proposes to him Blackie accepts. Father Tim is upset when Blackie plans to have
Mary perform at the Paradise in a
skimpy outfit. After Blackie hits Father Tim, Mary leaves with the priest. Mary
returns to the opera and eventually becomes engaged to Burley. Burley uses his influence to have the
police raid the Paradise. At the annual Chicken’s Charity show Mary wins on
behalf of the Paradise, but Blackie angrily refuses to accept the money. Just
then, early in the morning of April 18,
1906 [1:24:04 to 1:41:57] a massive earthquake destroys San Francisco. Blackie wanders the devastated streets
looking for Mary and finds Burley’s body. Finally Father Tim leads him to where
Mary is leading survivors in singing hymns. The atheist Blackie has a
conversion experience and thanks God for sparing Mary. They are reunited as
word is received that the fires that had been sweeping the city are out.
A classic 1930’s melodrama and
not a bad one at that. The plot actually all ties together in the end. This
film also has some good musical numbers.
Encyclopedia of Earthquakes
and Volcanoes by Alexander Gates and David Ritchie (Checkmark Books, New
York, 2007) at page 294 gives the date of the quake
Producers - John Emerson and
Bernard H. Hyman
Director - W. S. Van Dyke
Awards – The film won the Best Sound Record Oscar. It was
also nominated for the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Tracy), Best
Original Screenplay and Best Assistant Director Oscars at the 9th
Academy Awards.
Today’s science fiction movie has a scene set on April 17. I
hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
THE AURORA ENCOUNTER
In the sleepy little town of
Aurora, Texas, Alain Peebles the local schoolmarm takes over running the town’s
newspaper when her father, the editor dies. The paper is about to go bankrupt
and needs a big story to increase readership. On April 17, 1897 [4:48 – 11:33]
a UFO lands near the town. That night the alien scares Irene, a widow. A little
girl sees the UFO and the alien and takes a crystal he left behind. Then the
alien introduces himself to Charlie, who makes and sells the alcohol loaded
“Neptune’s Elixir”. Alain seizes on the
story and prints articles to help sell newspapers. She goes to see the
governor, who says ‘no comment’, but later sends a Texas ranger undercover to
investigate. Alain’s attempt to build an airplane results in a crash into a
lake. The alien pays another visit to Charlie. Three little girl who try to use
the crystal fall into a cavern full of alien artifacts, where they end up
trapped. The alien rescues them. Alain organizes the townspeople to use crystals
to ‘summon’ the UFO which does appear. Then Ranger Sheridan shoots the alien,
who takes off in his ship, but crashes into a windmill. The townspeople bury
the alien in the town cemetery.
A very strange low budget film.
Amusing in its own way, its worth watching at least once. This movie had a lot
of potential and could have been much better. Based a supposedly true story.
The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence
by Peter A. Sturrock (Warner Books, New York, 1999) at page. 106 gives the date
the UFO crashed
Director - Jim McCullough, Sr.
Producer - Jim McCullough, Sr.
Screenplay - Melody Brooke and Jim McCullough, Jr.
Today’s movie is a
courtroom drama with scenes that happen
on April 16. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
QB VII
On April 16, 1972 [00:03 to 3:50]
the plaintiff, Sir Adam Kelno and the defendant Abe Cady arrive at the
courtroom. We flashback to Kelno’s story. In 1945 he escaped from eastern
Europe and made it to England. He starts a medical practice and gets married.
The Polish government tries to get him extradited as a war criminal. Their
agent Zaminski, learns that Zbotnik kept a log of the operations at Jadwiga
Concentration Camp where Kelno was a prisoner doctor, but Zabotnik says the log
was burned. The effort fails because an eyewitness fails to identity Kelno as
the doctor who castrated him. After his release Kelno, his wife and child move
to Kuwait, where his medical activities eventually result in him being
knighted. The defendant Abe Cady was
an American Jew and a volunteer pilot
in the RAF. When he was injured, he
started writing. After the war h marries his gentile nurse and moves to
California to write screenplays. After twenty years os success, he becomes a
jackass and starts committing adultery with other women. Cady separates from
his wife. When he travels to Israel to see his dying father, and visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum,
this brings about a crisis with his disinclination to confront his Jewish
identiry. Cady decides to write a book about the Holocaust while living in
Israel. The book is a worldwide success and his son becomes an Israeli citizen
and joins the Israeli airforce. Then Adam Kelno finds out he is named in Cady’s
book as a war criminal. Kelno decides to sue Cady for libel and gets Sir Robert
Highsmith to represent him again. Cady refuses to retract and renews his
relationship with Lady Margaret Wydman, who had previously been his lover. She persuades Tom Bannister to defend Cady.
On April 16, 1972 [2:58:35 to 3:16:55] the trial begins, with the parties
trading barbs. Sir Adam Kelno is the
first witness. He says he was ordered by the Germans to remove sexual organs
that had been destroyed by x-rays and that Dr. Tessler never saw him operate.
He says he always used anesthesia. However,
on cross-exam he is pressed that he knew the purpose of the use of x-rays on
the prisoners and willingly cooperated with the Germans. Dr. Lotaki comes from
Poland and supports Kelno’s testimony in all regards. Dr. Parmentier and other survivors of the experiments testify
that Kelno operated on them without anesthesia, made racist comments and
operated in the presence of Dr. Tessler.
She testifies that she refused to cooperate with the Germans. Then word arrives that Dr. tesslar is dead.
Cady, who has gone to Poland, with the help of Zaminski, tracks down Zbotnik
and takes him to Jadwiga. The Poles are going to expel Zbotnik, but agree to
let him return if he produces the register. The parties rest, but then Zbotnik
appears in the courtroom. The judge over objection, allows the register to be
introduced. Dr. Kelno is recalled and his examination establishes that he is a
liar and that he collaborated with the Germans. His son turns against Kelno.
When returning to court to hear the verdict Cady learns his son was killed in
battle. The jury finds for Kelno, but award him only one half penny.
A very good adaptation of Uris’s novel. It does add some
melodramatic touches, but only the adequately presents this powerful
story. Hopkins is very good as Kelno.
QB VII by Leon Uris (Doubleday & Company, Inc.,
Garden City, NY, 1970) at page 273 gives the trial’s start date
Director – Tom Gries
Producer – Douglas S. Cramer
Awards – This movie won the
Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama
Special (Anthony Quayle), Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting
Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special(Juliet Mills), Outstanding Film Editing
for Entertainment Programming for a Special, Outstanding Achievement in Graphic
Design, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special and
Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing Emmys. It was also nominated for
the Outstanding Special - Drama or Comedy, Outstanding Single Performance by a
Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special(Jack Hawkins), Outstanding Single
Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special(Lee Remick),
Outstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy, Outstanding
Writing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy – Adaptation, Outstanding
Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming for a Special and
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction or Scenic Design - For a
Single Episode of a Comedy, Drama or Limited Series Emmys at the 27th
Primetime Emmy Awards.
Today’s movie is a drama with a scene set on April 15. I hope
you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
ANASTASIA
On April 15, 1928 [2:32 to 26:04], which is Orthodox
Easter, General Bounine, a Russian émigré meets Anna Koreff, who bears a
remarkable resemblance to the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia,
youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, who was supposedly shot by the
Bolsheviks ten years ago. However,
rumors persist that Anastasia survived the massacre of her family. Bounine has
formed a partnership with two men who plan to use an Anastasia pretender to get
the £10,000,000 left in the Bank of England by the Czar. They have also been
extracting money from the Russian émigré community to finance their search for Anastasia
and using some of the funds for their own personal needs. Anna Koreff
reluctantly agrees to participate in the scheme. Bounine and his partners train
her to be able to impersonate the Grand Duchess. She convinces a few and then
many of the Russian émigré community of Paris that she is Anastasia. However,
the key is to get Anastasia’s grandmother to recognize Anna as the Grand
Duchess. They travel to Copenhagen where the former Empress lives. Bounine and Anna go to the theater when the
Empress is there. Anna meets and enchants Prince Paul von Haraldberg, a member
of the Russian imperial family and Anastasia’s fiancée. The Empress at first is
adamant about not meeting Anna, but finally goes to see her and is convinced
she is the real Anastasia. She plans to publicly recognize her. However, Anna
and Bounine elope together, as they have fallen in love during the course of
their time together.
An unusual film. Bergman does a good job portraying Anna.
Leaves unanswered the question of whether Anna is Anastasia, but hints that she
may be.
At 2:38 to 53 we are told it is Orthodox Easter, 1928, which
was on this date.
Producer - Buddy Adler
Director - Anatole Litvak
Awards – The film won the Best Actress (Bergman) Oscar and
was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar at the 29th Academy
Awards.
Screenplay - Guy Bolton and Arthur Laurents
Runtime – 1 hour 45 minutes
Released – December 13, 1956
Cast –
Ingrid Bergman as Anna Koreff
Yul Brynner as General Bounine
Helen Hayes as the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovona
Today’s movie is a disaster movie with scenes set on April
14. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
The RMS Titanic is launched and is called
unsinkable. She sets sail on her maiden voyage to New York. On April 14, 1912
[11:09 to 40:14] the SS Californian and the Titanic receive ice
warnings. Some steerage passengers on the Titanic celebrate with an
impromptu dance, while the ships first class passengers dine in ostentatious luxury.
A second ice report received by the Titanic is accidentally misplaced
and not given to the captain, while the Californian is stopped by ice
floes. The Californian tries to broadcast another ice warning, but the Titanic
cuts them off. The lookouts on the Titanic
spot an iceberg, but the ship is too large to turn quickly and it scrapes the
iceberg along one side, opening up a three hundred foot long gash below the
waterline and immediately starts taking on water. Captain Smith asks Thomas
Andrews, the ship’s builder, who happens to be on board, to inspect the damage.
He does and reports that the ship is going to sink in less than two hours. The Titanic
begins broadcasting SOS, but the Californian, which is only ten miles
away, turns off its receiver. The Captain orders women and children into the
lifeboats, even thought there are only enough lifeboats for about half of those
on board. The RMS Carpathia receives Titanic’s SOS and heads to
the rescue. Passengers reluctantly come out on deck in the freezing weather.
The Titanic tries firing rockets to get the attention of the Californian,
but fails to do so. The steerage passengers are kept below decks by locked
gates and many start to get angry. The Californian
tries to communicate by Morse lamp, but the Titanic can’t read their
message. Some of the steerage
passengers sneak into first class and onto the boat deck. The crew has been
lowering the lifeboats and generally only allowing women and children on. The
ship’s band begins playing on deck to calm the passengers, but the crew
eventually has to fire shots to calm the crowds trying to push onto the
lifeboats. When almost all the lifeboats are gone, steerage passengers are
allowed up on the boat deck. The
cowardly and despicable Bruce Ismay, president of White Star Lines, owner of
the Titanic, who was on board, got into a lifeboat. There is fighting
for the last spaces in the lifeboats. The portside collapsible boat finishes up
lying upside down on the deck. The band plays the hymn ‘Nearer, My God to Thee’
as its final selection. There is a mob scene as the remaining passengers
stampede to the stern as the Titanic sinks by the bow and go into the
frigid water when the ship finally slips beneath the water. “ Molly’ Brown a
domineering first class passenger in a lifeboat wants to go back and pick up
survivors floating in the water, but the crew refuses. Second Officer Charles Lightoller ends up
atop the capsized collapsible boat and by excellent seamanship saves lives. The
Carpathia picks up 705 survivors and they have a remembrance service.
An excellent dramatization of
this fascinating story. This one many not have the production values of the
1997 film, but the story is as good, with some outstanding performances. Well
worth watching.
The Other Side of the Night: The Carpathia, The Californian
and the Night the Titanic Was Lost by Daniel A. Butler(Casemate,
Philadelphia, PA, 2009) at pages 57-59 and the film at 11: 40 gives the date
the ship hit the iceberg.
Director - Roy Ward Baker
Producer - William MacQuitty
Screenplay - Eric Ambler
Runtime – 2 hours 3 minutes
Released – July 1, 1958
Starring –
Kenneth More as Second Officer Charles Lightoller
Ronald Allen as Mr. Clarke
Robert Ayres as Arthur Godfrey Peuchen
Honor Blackman as Mrs. Liz Lucas
Anthony Bushell as Captain Arthur Rostron(Carpathia)
John Cairney as Mr. Murphy
Jill Dixon as Mrs. Clarke
Jane Downs as Mrs. Sylvia Lightoller
James Dyrenforth as Colonel Archibald Gracie IV
Michael Goodliffe as Thomas Andrews
Kenneth Griffith as Wireless Operator Jack Phillips
Harriette Johns as Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon
Frank Lawton as J. Bruce Ismay
Richard Leech as First Officer William Murdoch
David McCallum as Assistant Wireless Operator Harold Sydney
Bride
Alec McCowen as Wireless Operator Harold Thomas Cottam, Carpathia
Geoffrey Bayldon as Wireless Operator Cyril Evans, Californian
Today’s movie is a biography with a scene that happens on
April 13. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
BIG DREAMS AND BROKEN HEARTS: THE DOTTIE WEST STORY
Dottie Marsh was born in poverty
as the oldest of ten children. Her father physically and sexually abused her.
She goes off to study music composition at Tennessee Tech, where she met her
husband Bill West. They move to Cleveland, Ohio, where she finally gets to sing
on the Landmark Jamboree television show. She gets a record contract
with Starday records and they move to Nashville. She and her husband become
part of a group of aspiring songwriters and singers including Willie Nelson,
Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller. She gets Jim Reeves to record her song “Is This Me” and helped get
Dottie signed with RCA records and fulfill her dream of sing on The Grand Old
Opry. At the Opry she meets Patsy Cline, the top female country singer of the
era. Dottie records “Here Comes My Baby”, which is a huge hit and she becomes the first female country artist to
win a Grammy on April 13, 1965 [30:50 to 33:35]. Resentment over her success
and over generosity with money leads to a break up with her husband. Dottie
soon married Byron Metcalfe, a drummer, twelve years her junior. She tries to
update her public image and records a series of successful duets. She is upset when her father dies in prison
and buys the mansion she always dreamed of, but she continues to spend more
than she makes. Dottie’s memories of being abused as a child causes problems
with her own kids. Her marriage to
Byron ends, but she marries Al Winters, who was 22 years younger than her.
However this marriage also ends and then she learns she owes $2 million to the
IRS for back taxes. She eventually loses her mansion to foreclosure and all her
personal possessions are auctioned off. She returns to her hometown and
confronts her past of abuse and remembers how she testified against her father
and got him sent to jail for 40 years. She was scheduled to appear on the Grand
Old Opry, but on the way she was killed in an auto accident.
An entertaining if somewhat
predictable biopic.
Producer - Michele Lee
Director - Bill D'Elia
Awards – This movie was nominated
for the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cinematography for a Mini-series
or a Special and the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a
Mini-series or a Special at the 47th Primrtime Emmy Awards
Today’s movie is a biography that
has a scene set on April 12. I hope you
will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.
ELEANOR AND FRANKLIN: THE EARLY
YEARS
The film starts the day FDR dies
April 12, 1945. [01:40 to 11:33]
Eleanor Roosevelt then recalls incidents of their lives. When she was a
small girl her family traveled to Europe. Her father was an alcoholic and after
her mother dies Eleanor is kept separated from her father, who she dearly
loved. Both her little brother and father die. She meets FDR. Eleanor is sent
to a girls school in England for three years.
When she comes back to the USA, he begins courting her and finally
proposes to her the weekend of the 1904 Harvard-Yale football game. They are married on St. Patrick’s day 1905
with her uncle US President “Teddy’ Roosevelt giving her away. They are happy
for a while, but while Assistant Secretary
of the Nay, FDR begins an affair with Eleanor’s social secretary Lucy Mercer,
which she learns of from some letters in his suitcase when he returns from the
Versailles Peace Conference. His mother tells FDR she will disinherit him if he
divorces and Eleanor agrees to stay with him on condition that he never see
Lucy again. After FDR develops polio Eleanor steps in and tours in his
place. FDR is elected governor of New
York and later President.
A mainly realistic account of the
lives of this famous couple from the early years until 1932. Not too melodramatic. Mainly concentrates on
Eleanor and not Franklin.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by
Conrad Black (Public Affairs, New York, 2003) at pages 1109-1113 gives the date
of FDR’s death
Awards - The film won the
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction or Scenic Design - Dramatic Special or
Feature Length Film Made for TV; Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for
Entertainment Programming for a Special; Outstanding Achievement in Costume
Design for a Drama Special; Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for
Entertainment Programming for a Special; Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound
Mixing; Outstanding Achievement in Make-Up; Outstanding Directing in a Special
Program - Drama or Comedy; Outstanding Individual Achievement in Any Area of
Creative Technical Crafts; Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting
Actress in Comedy or Drama Special(Murphy); Outstanding Special - Drama or
Comedy; Outstanding Writing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy - Original
Teleplay Emmys. It was also nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Film
Sound Editing - For a Special Program; Outstanding Achievement in Graphic
Design and Title Sequences; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special
(Hermann); Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special (Alexander);
Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Comedy or Drama
Special (Tedrow) and Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in
Comedy or Drama Special (Skala) Emmys at the 28th Primetime Emmy
Awards.
Producers - David Susskind,
Audrey Maas and Harry R. Sherman
