July 31 - Run Silent, Run Deep

Today’s film is a war movie with a scene that happens on July 31. Watch this motion picture tonight and enjoy.  

RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP                        

Early in World War II an American sub commanded by Commander "Rich" Richardson is surprised and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, the Akikaze in the Bungo Straits. A year later, when Richardson learns the captain of the Merka has been injured, he finagles his way into the job instead of Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe, the sub’s executive officer.  Bledsoe asks to be reassigned, but Richardson refuses. The crew wagers on their assigned area of operations and are dismayed when it is area 7, which includes the Bungo Straits, as four subs have been sunk there in the last year. The subs orders specifically require it to avoid the Bungo Straits. Richardson constantly drills the ship in diving and immediately firing a torpedo.  The crew questions Richardson’s nerves after he refuses to engage a Japanese sub. After an incident where a crewman almost drowns while throwing the trash overboard, Richardson doubles the drills. On July 31, 1943 [29:17 to 36:25] the U.S.S. Merka sinks a tanker and a Japanese destroyer, using the quick dive attack method. Richardson refuses to attack a convoy and heads for the Bungo Straits.  Once there they start to attack a convoy in order to draw in the  Akikaze. They are attacked by Japanese aircraft, almost get hit by a torpedo and depth charged by the Akikaze. Three men are killed in the attack and Richardson is severely injured. They jettison trash and the dead bodies and make the Japanese think they’ve been sunk. Bledsoe takes over command, citing Richardson’s earlier disobeying orders as justification.  When ‘Tokyo Rose’ announces the Merka’s sinking and names some of the officers, Bledsoe realizes the Japanese have been picking up some of their garbage.  Since the Japanese now really do think the Merka’s been sunk, Bledsoe takes the sub back to the Bungo Straits. While Richardson drifts in and out of consciousness as a result of his concussion, the Merka attacks the convoy as before to lure the Akikaze closer. They sink the Akikaze with a bow torpedo shot, but Richardson realizes that a mysterious radio transmission, also heard after the first Bungo Strait attack is from a Japanese sub. He orders a dive causing a Japanese torpedo to miss the Merka. By moving to continue the attack on the convoy, they force the Japanese sub to surface and then the Merka sinks it.  Richardson has achieved his revenge, but dies of his wound and is buried at sea.

                       

One of the best sub movies ever made. Very realistic action sequences. The script creates real and believable character based conflict that helps drive the action.

                     

Date given in the film at 36:39-41

Producer - Harold Hecht    

Director – Robert Wise

Screenplay – John Gay

Runtime – 1 hour 33 minutes

Released – March 27, 1958

Starring –

Clark Gable as Commander P.J. "Rich" Richardson

Burt Lancaster as Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe

Jack Warden as Yeoman 1st Class "Kraut" Mueller

Brad Dexter as Ensign Gerald Cartwright

Don Rickles as Quartermaster 1st Class Ruby

Nick Cravat as Russo

Joe Maross as Chief Petty Officer Kohler

Mary LaRoche as Laura Richardson

Eddie Foy III as Larto

Rudy Bond as Sonarman 1st Class Cullen

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 30 - The Caine Mutiny

Today’s movie is a war/courtroom drama with a scene that happens on July 30. Watch this film tonight and enjoy.

THE CAINE MUTINY                     

Ensign Keith, who comes from a wealthy family reports to the Caine, a battle scarred destroyer/minesweeper right out of officer’s school. The captain has dispensed with the spit and polish, but the crew is in fact first rate. Keith meets the exec Lt. Maryk and the communications officer Lt. Keefer. A new captain Philip Queeg takes over. He tries to restore strict discipline. While berating his officers over a crewman’s appearance, he fails to heed the helmsman’s warning and the ship circles around and cuts the tow rope of the target the ship was towing. Instead of taking the blame, Queeg tries to cover up the incident. The ship gets some strawberry preserves from another ship on July 30, 1944. [1:04:43 to 1:19:08] When some apparently turn up missing, Queeg goes to extreme lengths to try and find the thief. Queeg later, instead of escorting Marines all the way into the landing beach, drops a yellow dye marker and retreats. Keefer begins trying to convince Maryk to relieve Queeg on the basis of mental illness. During a typhoon, Maryk suggests sailing into the waves and taking on ballast, but Queeg thinks the ballast would contaminate the fuel lines. Maryk thinks Queeg’s inaction could cause the ship to capsize, so he relieves Queeg, with the support of Keith. Maryk and Keith are charged with mutiny and Lt. Greenwald serves as their defense counsel.  Keefer, by lying under oath avoids any complicity for what happened and a psychiatrist testifies that Queeg has no mental illness. However, on cross-examination Queeg breaks down and gives paranoid testimony.  The two officers are acquitted. Greenwald shows up and blasts all the officers for not supporting Queeg, wringing an admission out of them that if they had supported him, Queeg might not have “frozen up” in the typhoon. Greenwald blames Keefer as being the real instigator of the ‘mutiny’. Keith is assigned to a new ship, commanded by the prior captain of the Caine.

            A very interesting character study. Keith the young, naïve and easily led type; Queeg the paranoid type and Keefer, the master manipulator all interact. An excellent courtroom drama.

Date given in film at 1:04:33

Awards - The film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tully), Best Screenplay, Best Sound Recording, Best Film Editing, and Best Dramatic Score.

Director - Edward Dmytryk                   

Running Time – 2 hours 4 minutes

Released -  June 24, 1954

Starring –

Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg

José Ferrer as Lt. Barney Greenwald

Van Johnson as Lt. Steve Maryk

Fred MacMurray as Lt. Tom Keefer

Robert Francis as Ensign Willie Keith

E. G. Marshall as Lt. Cmder. Challee

Tom Tulley as Lt. Cmdr. William DeVriess

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 29 - The Winslow Boy

Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on July 29. Watch this film tonight and enjoy it. 

THE WINSLOW BOY               

Dickie, oldest son of the Winslow family doesn’t get along too well with his father. John Waterstone, an army officer comes to ask the father’s permission to wed his daughter Catherine. He lives on his army pay and an allowance from his father. Mr. Winslow says he will give some money to his daughter at her wedding. The younger son Ronnie returns from Osborne(the naval college), having been expelled, accused of theft and lying, but he says “I didn’t do it”. Their solicitor Desmond Curry, who has been in love with Catherine for years comes to a luncheon to celebrate the engagement. The father asks Ronnie if he did it and Ronnie says no. The father launches a legal and political campaign to have his son’s name cleared. It becomes a popular cause, with people taking sides.   The expense becomes such that Dickie has to leave Oxford and go to work with his father at the bank and it consumes all the money he was going to give Catherine. She doesn’t mind as she and the father are the ones who fight the hardest to clear Ronnie. Desmond gets them an appointment with the famous barrister Sir Robert Morton. Ronnie tells him what happened and after some sharp questioning, Sir Robert agrees to accept the case. Mrs. Winslow wants the father to drop the case, but he refuses.  It is clear that Sir Robert and Catherine are attracted to each other, but neither will admit it even to themselves. John Waterstone’s father says they must stop the case or he will cut off his son’s allowance if he proceeds to marry Catherine. The father decides enough has been sacrificed, but before she can tell Sir Robert to stop, he manages in parliament to force the Admiralty to agree to a new trial. John breaks the engagement. On July 29, 1908, the day before they expect the verdict Desmond proposes to Catherine, but she tells her father she will say no. That same day the government gives up and they win the case with an apology from the government. Sir Robert and Catherine part on terms that imply he plans on pursuing her. [1:15:35 to 1:41:10]

An interesting slice-of-life film. You do secretly wonder if Ronnie was guilty or not. The film is really more about ‘the Winslow girl’ Catherine.

Montague, Ewan. The Archer-Shee Case. London; David & Charles, 1974. This book at pages 168-171 gives the date the family in the real case this film is based on, learned the case was dismissed

Director - David Mamet

Producer - Sarah Green    

Screenplay - David Mamet

Released -April 16, 1999

Runtime – 1 hour 44 minutes

Starring - 

Nigel Hawthorne as Arthur Winslow

Rebecca Pidgeon as Catherine Winslow

Jeremy Northam as Sir Robert Morton

Guy Edwards  as Ronnie Winslow

Gemma Jones as Grace Winslow

Matthew Pidgeon as Dickie Winslow

Aden Gillet as John Waterstone

Colin Stinton as Desmond Curry

Sarah Flind as Violet

Neil North as First Lord        

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 28 - The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Part V - Catherine Howard

Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on July 28. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII: PART V – CATHERINE HOWARD

Catherine Howard, niece  of the Duke of Norfolk tells Anne Carey how she had a romantic fling with Francis Dereham the summer before. She is summoned to an interview with her uncle, who tells her that he wants her to become the new queen of England. Henry VIII is feeling old and lonely, with an ulcer on his leg that will not heal. The Duke of Norfolk suggests bringing new people to court, one of whom is Catherine Howard. Catherine acts as the kings nurse. On July 28, 1540 [from 25:27 to 35:14] Henry VIII gets married to Catherine Howard and on the same day Thomas Cromwell, the former chancellor is executed. The wedding night is not a success as the wedding is not consummated.  Francis Dereham shows up and with threats persuades Catherine to appoint him her private secretary. Dereham tells Thomas Culpeper that he had been in a relationship with Catherine. The Duke of Norfolk learns from her that Catherine was not a virgin before her marriage to the King. After she tells him the King cannot give her a son, he advises Catherine to get a son by any means necessary.  With the aid of Lady Rochford (Ann Boleyn’s sister-in-law) Catherine and Thomas Culpeper conduct an affair. When the Duke of Norfolk learns that the Archbishop of Canterbury is investigating Catherine he rushes to tell the king first. Catherine and Lady Rochford are arrested. Dereham and Culpeper are tortured to reveal their guilt. Catherine is convicted and executed, along with Lady Rochford. 

                       

This marriage of Henry is presented as all the others were: a marriage by design of someone, in this case the Duke of Norfolk. Catherine is not as innocent as she seems and this leads to her downfall. Catherine was very foolish. 

Henry VIII by Lucy Wooding (Routledge, New York, 2009) at page 244 gives the date of the wedding

Awards - . The film won the Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Michell) Emmy award. It was also nominated for the Outstanding   Drama Series, Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a leading role in a dramatic series (Michell) and the Outstanding Single Program, drama or comedy at the 24^th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Producers – Ronald Travers and Mark Shivas

Director – Naomi Capon                      

Screenplay – Beverley Cross                                 

Runtime – 1 hour 30 minutes              

 Released – January 29, 1970                                                   

Starring –

Keith Michell as Henry VIII of England

Angela Pleasence as Catherine Howard

Julia Cornelius as Anne Carey

Sheila Berrell as Lady Rochford

Ralph Bates as Thomas Culpeper

Simon Prebble as Francis Dereham

Patrick Troughton as Duke of Norfolk

 Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 27 - Adam

Today’s movie is a crime drama with a scene that happened on July 27.  Watch this film tonight and enjoy.

ADAM                                  

On July 27, 1981, young Adam Walsh and his mom go to the Sears store in Hollywood, Florida to buy a lamp. She leaves him playing video games for a few minutes, but when she returns Adam is nowhere to be found. [00:19 to 23:28] Many people search for Adam everywhere, but he isn’t found. His father eventually realizes that the police have no system for searching for missing children. Adam’s body is found and his parents are devastated. Adam’s disappearance causes problems between the Walshes. They start what eventually became the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They work to get the federal Missing Children’s Act of 1982 passed and later have a little girl.

A very sad and moving story. As tragic as Adam Walsh’s death was, it woke the country up to the fact that there was a problem. The changes that have been made to the system since then mean that, hopefully, his death wasn’t entirely in vain.

Tears of Rage by John Walsh (Pocket Books, New York, 1997) at pages 42-54 and the film at 00:17 give the date of his disappearance

Producer - Linda Otto

Director - Michael Tuchner

Screenplay - Allan Leicht

Awards - It was nominated for the Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (Travanti); Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special (Williams) and Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special Emmys at the 36^th Primetime Emmys. 

Runtime   - 1 hour 40 minutes

Released - October 10, 1983

Starring -

Daniel J. Travanti as John Walsh

JoBeth Williams as Revé Walsh

Martha Scott as Gram Walsh

Richard Masur as Jay Howell

Paul Regina as Joe Walsh

Mason Adams as Ray Mellette

Tony Frank as Lt. Richard Hynds

John M. Jackson as Det. Jim Gibbons

Alex Harvey as Det. Jack Hoffman

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 26 - Guadacanal Diary

Today’s film is a war movie with a scene that happens on July 26. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

GUADALCANAL DIARY            

On July 26, 1942 [2:08 to 5:30] the American Marine invasion task force is sailing towards Guadalcanal. The Marines land on Guadalcanal with no initial opposition. They find an abandoned village and capture an airfield, which the Americans work to complete.  Based on a tip from a Japanese deserter, a Marine platoon  leaves by boat for the village of Matanikau, where there are supposedly a large number of Japanese troops who want to surrender. On the way one boat is destroyed by a Japanese sub before it is sunk by onshore Marine artillery. The Marines walk into a trap and they are all killed except for Private Soose Alvarez who makes it back to the American lines. The Marines then march on Matanikau in force and on the way, Private “Chicken’ Anderson is wounded by a Japanese soldier who only pretended to be dead. The Marines enjoy mail call, but suffer through Japanese air force bombing raids. Army troops land to support the Marines. They launch a campaign to root Japanese troops out of a series of caves. They try to listen to the results of the game two of the 1942 World Series, but static unfortunately prevents them from hearing the final score. (FYI, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees 4-3)  The Marines are both shelled by the Japanese navy and bombed by their air force. A force of Marine fighter planes land on the island. All the marines write letters home.  They launch an attack on the Japanese, during which Pvt. Alvarez is killed. The marines are relived and evacuated from the island.

                

A decent war film. Surprisingly, even though it was made during the War, it does not engage in blatant anti-Japanese demonization. You can tell the battle scenes were shot in California, not anywhere tropical.   

                  

Date given in film at 2:20-23

Producer – Brian Foy

Director – Lewis Seiler

Screenplay – Lamar Trotti and Jerome Cady

Runtime   - 1 hour 33 minutes

Released – October 27, 1943

Starring –

Preston Foster as Father Donnelly

Lloyd Nolan as Sgt. Hook Malone

William Bendix as  Corp. Taxi Potts

Richard Conte as Capt. Don Davis

Anthony Quinn as Pvt. Soose Alvarez

Richard Jaeckel as Pvt. Chicken Anderson

Roy Roberts as Capt. Cross.

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 25 - Mussolini and I

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on July 25. Watch this film tonight and enjoy.

MUSSOLINI AND I                      

Count Galeazzo Ciano marries Edda, Mussolini’s daughter and rises to become Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ciano correctly predicts that Germany’s invasion of Poland would start the Second World War. Mussolini fights with his mistress, Claretta Petacci, while his wife gets a report that Ciano is betraying Mussolini. In spite of allied bombers flying overheard Ciano tries to pretend all is well. However there is tension between him and his wife over her gambling debts and her suspected infidelities. After the Allies land in North Africa, Ciano tries to tell Mussolini the war is lost. He is removed as foreign minister. The army starts planning a coup d’etat. The Allies land in Sicily. The Allies bomb Rome and Mussolini is blamed. A meeting of the fascist Grand Council is summoned and its members attack Mussolini’s handling of the war.  The next day on July 25, 1943 [Part 2 - 7:26 to 24:09] the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel bamboozles Mussolini into resigning. When Mussolini leaves the meeting he is arrested. Although his mistress and her parents try to flee they are arrested also. Edda tells the Germans where her father is being held. The Germans rescue Mussolini.  The Germans, instead of keeping their word to her, fly Edda and Ciano to Germany instead of Spain. Mussolini sets up a Fascist Republic in northern Italy.  The Germans rescue Claretta Petacci and pressure her to pressure Mussolini to arrange for Ciano to be tried, convicted and executed in Italy. Mussolini refuses to forgive Ciano. Edda and Mussolini return to Italy,  leaving Ciano all alone in Germany. He is returned to Italy and arrested. He stupidly begins an affair with a German agent, Felicitas Beetz, while Edda works to try and help him. Rachele Mussolini confronts Claretta Petacci. Ciano is offered a deal of his diaries for his life. Edda begs her father to save Ciano, but he refuses. A plan to save Ciano fails. Ciano is put on trial, convicted and sentenced to be shot by a firing squad. Edda escapes with the diaries to Switzerland. Ciano is shot. As the end of the war approaches, Mussolini tries to flee with  Claretta. They are caught by partisans and shot. 

                       

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson (Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2007) at page 140 gives the date of his dismissal

Screenplay - Alberto Negrin and Nicola Badalucco

Producer - Mario Gallo and Enzo Guilioli       

Director - Alberto Negrin         

Runtime – 4 hours          

Released - September 1985                                                                                                                                   

Starring –

Susan Sarandon as Edda Ciano

Bob Hoskins as Benito Mussolini   

Anthony Hopkins as Galeazzo Ciano

Annie Girardot as Rachele Mussolini

Barbara De Rossi as Claretta Petacci

Massimo Dapporto as Vittorio Mussolini

Kurt Raab as Adolf Hitler

Carlheinz Heitmann as Karl Wolff

Harald Dietl as Otto Skorzeny

Dietlinde Turban as Frau Beetz

Vittorio Mezzogiorno as Alessandro Pavolini

Hans-Dieter Asner as Joachim von Ribbentrop                  

Marne Maitland as King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.   

July 24 - Poor Little Rich Girl

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on July 24. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL

F.W. Woolworth, millionaire owner of the Woolworth Department stores tries to force his daughter to divorce her adulterous, drunken husband. Instead, the idiot commits suicide leaving behind one daughter Barbara, who discovers the body. Barbara is raised by nannies. Her father does throw her a hugely expensive [$824,000.00 in todays money] 18^th birthday party in the depths of the Great Depression. She goes to England to be presented at court and while touring Europe begins an affair with  Prince Alexis Mdivani, even though he is already married. Barbara’s father tries to prevent the marriage and forces him to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. They finally get married, but the marriage does not last due to his philandering. She finally turns 21 and is worth $50 million dollars [$886 million today] making her one of the richest women in the world. She meets Count Kurt Reventlow and they begin an affair. Barbara divorces Alexis and marries Kurt. Her only child, Lance is born. There are threats to kidnap Lance. Barbara and Kurt have problems due to his controlling personality and physical abuse. He persuades her to renounce her US citizenship to save taxes. Barbara starts her obsession with buying expensive jewelry and giving lavish gifts to her friends. Kurt takes her to see perverted erotic shows. Later he leaves with Lance and is arrested. They go through a very public and acrimonious divorce. Barbara returns to the USA where she meets and marries Cary Grant, the famous movie actor.  During World War II she is watched by the FBI who think she’s a Nazi sympathizer, while she buys the freedom of Baron Gottfried von Cramm, a friend of hers from before the war, from the Nazis. Her father dies and she learns she cannot have any other children. She fights with Kurt about the custody arrangements for Lance and divorces Cary Grant. Barbara lets Lance be raised buy others and goes to Paris and settles in Tangier, Morocco. There she meets and marries Leigh Lawson as Prince Igor Troubetzkoy. They later divorced. Barbara then had a 53 day marriage to Porfirio Rubirosa a notorious playboy who continued his affair with Zsa Zsa Gabor during his marriage to Barbara. She then was re-introduced to Baron Gottfried von Cramm and married him, but they divorced due to his homosexuality. Barbara argued with her son over his pursuit of what she considered a dangerous career as a race car driver. She had an affair with James Douglas III, but he left after being unable to help Barbara end her drug and alcohol dependence. She then marries  Raymond Doan, a con-man out for her money, but later divorces him. The death of her only child Lance Reventlow in a plane crash on July 24, 1972 [Part 6 - 43:04 to 44:18] sends her into a deep depression. She died in 1979 with only $3,500.00 in the bank.

                  

A really tragic story. For Barbara Hutton it was downhill all the way. No one ever really seemed to care about her. She ended up alone and broke. A real life example of the lesson taught in Citizen Kane: money can’t buy happiness.  

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legacy of Barbara Hutton by C. David Heymann (Lyle Stuart, Inc., Secaucus, NJ, 1984) at page 335 gives his death date

Producers - Nick Gillott and Lester Persky

Director - Charles Jarrott

Screenplay - Dennis Turner

Awards – The film won the Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special and Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special Emmys at the 40^th Annual Primetime Emmy  Awards.

Runtime – 4 hours

Released – November  16, 1987

Starring –

Matilda Johansson as Barbara at age 5

Fairuza Balk as  Barbara at age 12

Farrah Fawcett as Barbara Hutton (Adult)

David Ackroyd as Graham Mattison

Nicholas Clay as Prince Alexis Mdivani

Sascha Hehn as Baron Gottfried von Cramm

Burl Ives as F.W. Woolworth

James Read as Cary Grant

Kevin McCarthy as Franklyn Hutton

Bruce Davison as Jimmy Donahue

Anne Francis as Marjorie Merriweather Post

Zoë Wanamaker as Jean Kennerly

Brenda Blethyn as Tiki Tocquet

Jonathan Brandis as Lance Reventlow (child)

Linden Ashby as Lance Reventlow (adult)

Leigh Lawson as Prince Igor Troubetzkoy

Amadeus August as Count Kurt Haugwitz-Reventlow

Stéphane Audran as Pauline de la Rochelle

Tony Peck as James Douglas III

Miriam Margolyes as Elsa Maxwell

Debbie Barker as Jill St. John     

Neville Jason as Raymond Doan               

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 23 - The Music Man (1962)

Today’s movie is a musical romance with a scene that happens on July 23. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

THE MUSIC MAN                       

On a train to River City, Iowa a group of traveling salesmen both condemn and are in awe of Harold Hill, a con man who thrives by selling a town band instruments,  but after collecting the money, skips town, leaving them with instruments they can’t play. When they reach the town, it is revealed that Hill was on the train as he exits. In River City he meets a former associate of his Marcellus Washburn, who now lives there. Hill convinces the citizens that the arrival of a pool table in town will cause an increase in juvenile delinquency, but that a boy’s band will avoid this problem.  He dodges a request to produce his credentials by the school board by convincing the four men they are a fantastic singing quartet.   Hill starts signing up townspeople to buy instruments and uniforms. He tries to worm his way into the affections of Marian, the town’s librarian, her mother and her lisping brother Winthrop. She discovers evidence that he is fraud, but just then the instruments  arrive and the usually withdrawn Winthrop becomes very effusive. Marian hides the evidence as Hill tells his pupils that if they think about the music they want to play they will be able to do so. Hill also encourages romance between the mayor’s daughter and Tommy Djilas, who’s from the wrong side of the tracks. On July 23, 1912 [1:28:23 to 1:39:52] Prof. Harold Hill gets his overdue hotel bill and deflects another request for his credentials. Marian realizes she’s falling in love with Harold. Charlie Cowell, an anvil salesman shows up and convinces the citizens that Hill is a fraud. Marian and Marcellus beg him to leave, but Harold realizes he’s in love with Marian and won’t run out on her. The townspeople want to tar and feather him but at a town meeting were Marian speaks in his defense minds are changed. The boys band has learned to play Beethoven’s Minuet in G (very badly) on their instruments, but their parents are ecstatic. Harold stays in town and with Marian’s help the band becomes first rate.  

                 

A piece of pure musical fluff. The songs are all right, but the long dance numbers seem somewhat dated today. Still if you’re looking for pure escapist entertainment, this film will certainly fill the bill.

Date given in film on bill at 1:37:40

Awards – The film won the Best Musical Score Oscar. It was also nominated for the Best Picture, the Best Color Costume, the Best Color Art Direction, Best Sound and Best Film Editing Oscars at the 35^th Academy Awards.   

Producer - Morton DaCosta                   

Director - Morton DaCosta                                    

Screenplay - Marion Hargrove            

                  

Runtime - 2 hours 31 minutes   

     

Released - June 19, 1962                                                                

Starring –

Robert Preston as Harold Hill

Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo

Buddy Hackett as Marcellus Washburn

Paul Ford as Mayor George Shinn

Hermione Gingold as Eulalie Shinn

Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo

Vern Reed as Jacey Squires

Al Shea as Ewart Dunlop

Ron Howard as Winthrop Paroo

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

Juky 22 - Life As We Know It

Today’s movie is a romantic comedy with a scene that happens on July 22. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT                          

Holly Berenson, who runs an Atlanta bakery is set up on a blind date with Eric Messer, who is a television technical director with the Atlanta Hawks, by her friend Alison and his friend Peter, who are dating each other. To say the date is a disaster would be an understatement. However as Peter and Alison later get married and name Holly and Eric their daughter Sophie’s godparents, the two tolerate each other. Shortly after Sophie’s first birthday Peter and Alison are both killed in a car accident. Holly and Eric are shocked to learn they were jointly named as Sophie’s guardians. After no one in Sophie’s family is able to care for her, the pair reluctantly decide to take on the task. They live in Sophie’s house in a purely platonic relationship. They constantly bicker with each other, especially about their work schedules. Sophie is a late developer, but on July 22, 2010 [1:43:37 to 1:44:06] Sophie is filmed taking her first steps. Eric plays the field, while Holly develops a relationship with Sophie’s pediatrician, Sam. After Eric offers to give Holly the money she needs to expand her bakery, their date leads to sex and a relationship. The child protective services caseworker tells them they either need to get married or just stay friends. However, Eric is offered a job as the  television technical director with the Phoenix Suns. When he tells Holly about this, the discussion ends in an argument when Holy accuses him of looking for a way out of dealing with her and Sophie. Eric takes the job. Holly resumes her relationship with Sam. Eric returns for Thanksgiving, hoping to patch things up with Holly. They fight again, but Eric tells Holly he loves her. After he leaves Sam tells Holly she needs to work out her feelings for Eric and he leaves.  The caseworker returns for her last visit. Holly realizes she loves Eric and races to the airport to try and catch him. She fails but returns home to find him there. Eric again tells her he loves her and they are reconciled. We jump ahead to Sophie’s second birthday when Eric and Holy celebrate being together a year.  

A different kind of romantic comedy. As Eric says they do things in reverse. Instead of  getting married and having a child he and Holly’s relationship happens in exactly the reverse order. This is a funny and watchable movie

Date given in film at 1:43:49-50

Screenplay - Ian Deitchman and Kristin Rusk Robinson

Producer - Barry Josephson and Paul Brooks 

Director - Greg Berlanti

Runtime -  1 hour 55 minutes                                   

Released – October 8, 2010                                      

Starring –

Katherine Heigl as Holly Berenson

Josh Duhamel as Eric Messer

Josh Lucas as Sam ("Doctor Love")

Melissa McCarthy as DeeDee

Hayes MacArthur as Peter Novak

Christina Hendricks as Alison Novak

Jessica St. Clair as Beth

Sarah Burns as Janine Groff

Faizon Love as Walter

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 21 - Inherit the Wind (1960)

Today’s movie is a courtroom drama with a scene that happens on July 21. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

INHERIT THE WIND                                  

A high school biology teacher, Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching the theory of evolution in violation of state law. Matthew Harrison Brady, well known former presidential candidate and biblical scholar volunteers to conduct the prosecution. Cates is denounced by many including Rev. Jeremiah Brown, the father of his fiancée, Rachel. A reporter E. K. Hornbeck arrives and offers to get an attorney to represent Cates as he senses the case can be whipped up into a media frenzy. Matthew Brady arrives with a lot of hoopla, while Henry Drummond, well known attorney and friend of Brady is welcomed only by the members of Cate’s class. The trial begins and Brady and Drummond duel, with the judge subtly favoring the prosecution. That evening at a mass prayer meeting Rev. Brown denounces Cates. Brady and Drummond discuss why their formerly similar views have diverged. The state calls Rachel as a prosecution witness. In her testimony she reveals that Cates left the church because he was upset after Rev. Brown said that a boy who had drowned was going to hell. She breaks down and is excused. The judge refuses Drummond’s request to call several scientists as witnesses and ends up funding Drummond in contempt of court. Drummond apologizes to the court and calls Brady to the stand. Drummond’s questioning of Brady implies that Drummond’s beliefs, if carried to their limit would deny the right to think for oneself.  He also shows that the Bible and scientific fact are not incompatible. The next day, on July 21, 1925 [1:51:58 to 2:08:03] Cates is found guilty sentenced to pay a $100.00 fine. Rachel reconciles with Cates. Brady is outraged at the mildness of this penalty, and Drummond says he will appeal the conviction. Brady tries to speak to the crowd, but dies.

                       

A good presentation of the apparent conflict between science and religion. What the observer should take away from the film is that it is extremists on both sides of the issue who refuse to see that there is no conflict at all. This is a fictionalized version of the “Scopes monkey trial” where the names have been changed to protect the innocent (or guilty, as the case may be).  

                       

Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion by Edward J. Larson (Basic Books, New York, 1997) at pages 147-191 gives the verdict date in the Scopes trial, which this film is based upon

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Actor(Spencer), Best Black and  White Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing Oscars at the 33^rd Academy Awards.  

Producer - Stanley Kramer              

Director - Stanley Kramer                                

Runtime – 2 hours 8 minutes

Released – October 12, 1960

Starring –

Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond

Fredric March as Matthew Harrison Brady

Gene Kelly as E. K. Hornbeck 

Dick York as Bertram T. Cates

Harry Morgan as Judge Mel Coffey

Claude Akins as Rev. Jeremiah Brown

Donna Anderson as Rachel Brown

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 20 - Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Today’s movie is a science fiction film with a scene that happens on July 20. I hope you will watch this movie tonight and enjoy it

ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS              

Colonel Christopher Draper and Colonel Dan MacReady are on Mars Gravity Probe One. Orbiting the red planet they are almost hit by a meteoroid. Avoiding it takes them into the upper atmosphere, so they eject in their escape pods, but once they’re gone the main ship assumes a low, but stable orbit. Draper finds a cave and later some coal like rocks that he burns for heat. He finds the other escape pod. MacReady is dead, but their pet monkey Mona is alive. He discovers that the rocks give off oxygen when they are burned and uses this discovery to refill his oxygen tanks. He tracks Mona to an underground water source and edible Martian plants that she has discovered. On July 20^th, [50:09 to 55:03] Draper takes a bath. He later dreams of the dead MacReady. Then Draper discovers a humanoid body with a black bracelet on its wrist that was murdered and he causes the orbiting ship to self-destruct so there is no trace of him. Alien spaceships appear and begin blasting. He goes to the area and finds they are using humanoids as forced labor for mining. One of the captives escapes and joins Draper, who calls him Friday. He is wearing a black bracelet like the one Draper found on the body. The alien ships blast the area and leave. Friday learns English and provides Draper with pills that supply oxygen . When they return to the abandoned mine site, all the humanoids have been killed. The meteoroid explodes, burying them in ash, but Friday saves Draper’s life. Later the aliens return and track Friday by his bracelet. They blast the cave and Draper and Friday flee through underground caverns. They finally emerge near the polar ice caps. Another meteoroid crashes into the ice cap, causing it to start melting. Draper detects a ship, but it is from Earth. 

                    

A grade B science fiction classic. It borrows the plot from Defoe and puts it on Mars, instead of a deserted island.  This Mars is nothing like the real planet and the special effects are very cheesy. This movie is  corny, but it’s a guilty pleasure.   

At 50:27-28 he says it’s been “four months and three days” since the crash. At 50:10 a shot of Draper’s calendar shows 3/17 which is (I presume) the date he crashed.

Producer - Aubrey Schenck

Director - Byron Haskin

Screenplay - John C. Higgins and Ib Melchior

Runtime – 1 hour 50 minutes

Released – June 17, 1964

Starring –

Paul Mantee as Christopher Draper

Victor Lundin as Friday

Adam West as Dan MacReady      

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014. 

July 19 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Today’s movie is a fantasy action film with a scene that happens on July 19. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

        

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE   

The evil magician Voldemort’s followers, the death-eaters, are causing problems in both the magical and muggle worlds. Dumbledore takes Harry Potter on a trip to recruit Professor Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts as potions master on July 19, 1996 [2:51 to 5:26]. Slughorn reluctantly agrees. Narcissa Malfoy gets Professor Snape to make the unbreakable vow to protect her son Draco and complete his task if he cannot. On a trip to Diagon alley, Harry and his friends visit  Weasley’s Wizards Wheezes, the closed Ollivander’s wand shop and spy on Draco taking an interest at some item at Borgin and Burkes, a dark magic shop. On the Hogwarts express Harry spies on Draco but is discovered and immobilized, but rescued by Luna Lovegood. Ron and Harry take potions, with Harry using a heavily annotated textbook, the property it says of ‘the half-blood prince, that enables him to win a small vial of ‘liquid luck’ from Slughorn. Dumbledore enables Harry to ‘see’ the day he met Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. Ron becomes the Gryffindor quidditch goal keeper, with the secret help of Hermione Granger. Katie Bell is injured by a cursed necklace. After Harry makes Ron thinks Harry gave him a dose of ‘liquid luck”, Ron’s saves win the match. He starts a relationship with Lavender Brown, which causes heartache for Hermione. Harry overhears Snape and Malfoy talking about Draco’s mission. Harry learns Draco was interested in a vanishing cabinet. Death-eaters attack and burn the Weasley’s home. Dumbledore shows Harry an altered memory of Slughorn’s where Tom Riddle asked him a question about dark magic. Ron gets a love potion meant for Harry and this indirectly causes the end of his relationship with Lavender. Draco and Harry fight, with Harry using a very deadly spell he found in the potions textbook. Because of this he decides to get rid of it in the Room of Requirement with Ginny Weasley and they kiss. Harry drinks his vial of ‘liquid luck’. He meets Slughorn at Hagrid’s after Agragog’s funeral and persuades Slughorn to give him the real memory. Tom Riddle asked him about horcruxes. These are items that, after a wizard killed someone he could hide a piece of his soul in it, so that even if his body was destroyed he would keep on existing. Dumbledore says that’s what Voldemort did. Dumbledore has been looking for horcruxes and found one that when destroyed, hurt his hand. He has found another one and asks Harry to go with him to find it. The go to the lake of inferni and get a locket, but the effort severely weakens Dumbledore. Upon their return to Hogwarts they learn Draco has used two linked vanishing cabinets, one inside and one outside to get a group of death-eaters past all the school’s protective enchantments.  Draco disarms Dumbledore, but cannot bring himself to kill him. Snape appears and kills Dumbledore. Draco and Snape flee Hogwarts. Dumbledore is buried and Ginny comforts Harry and the start a relationship. The locket is empty, except for a note signed R.A.B. Harry vows to find the other horcruxes and kill Voldemort.            

                       

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic Inc., New York, 2005) Dumbledore comes to get Harry on a Friday (page 43) after he has been at Privet drive two weeks (page 44). The Friday that meets this definition in 1996 is July 19.

Producer - David Heyman and David Barron

Director - David Yates

Screenplay - Steve Kloves

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar at the 82^nd     Academy Awards.

Released – July 15, 2009

Runtime – 1 hour 33 minutes

Starring –

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange

Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn

Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid

Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore

Alan Rickman as Severus Snape

Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall

Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew

David Thewlis as Remus Lupin

Julie Walters as Molly Weasley

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.

July 18 - Glory

Today’s film is a war movie with a scene that happens on July 18. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

GLORY                                   

Captain Robert Gould Shaw is injured in the Battle of Sharpsburg and learns afterwards that President Lincoln is planning to free the slaves. Back in Boston, he is promoted to Colonel and made commander of the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment, which is to be the first all-colored regiment. Shaw asks his friend, Cabot Forbes to be his second-in-command. Many African-American men volunteer for the regiment.  Sergeant Major Mulcahy drills the men incessantly. When told that African-Americans could be executed if captured, none of the men request a discharge. The regiment finally gets their rifles.  Shaw has to browbeat a supply sergeant to get proper boots for the men. The men are told they are only to be paid $10 a month, rather than $13 like white troops. The regiment finally gets uniforms and are sent to Beaufort, South Carolina. The regiment and Colonel James Montgomery’s unit march on Darien, Georgia.  Montgomery’s men start looting and burning, in spite of Shaw’s protests.  Shaw blackmails Col. Montgomery and Gen. Harker into letting the regiment go into combat instead of serving as manual labor. They are sent to James Island, near Charleston and get their first taste of combat, driving off a Confederate attack, but suffering casualties.  At dusk on July 18, 1863, [1:35:55 to 1:52:20] the regiment leads the assault on Fort Wagner. Shaw is killed and the attack is repulsed with the regiment taking over 50% casualties. 

                    

An excellent combat film. The film is very historically accurate in its uniforms and equipment. All the actors give very good performances, making this a character film and not just an action movie.

Battery Wagner by Timothy Bradshaw, Jr. (Palmetto Historical Works, Columbia, SC, 1993) at pages 45-60 gives the date of the assault

Awards – The film won the Best Supporting Actor(Washington), Best Sound and Best  Cinematography Oscars and was nominated for the Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing Oscars at the 82^nd Academy Awards. 

Producer -Freddie Fields        

               

Director - Edward Zwick                        

Screenplay - Kevin Jarre                         

Runtime – 2 hours   2 minutes                 

Released – December 14, 1989               

Starring –

Matthew Broderick as Col.Robert Gould Shaw

Denzel Washington as Private Silas Trip

Morgan Freeman as Sgt. Major John Rawlins

Cary Elwes as Major Cabot Forbes

Cliff De Young as Col. James Montgomery

Andre Braugher as Private Thomas Searles

Jihmi Kennedy as Private Jupiter Sharts

Alan North as Mass.Gov.John Albion Andrew

John Finn as Sergeant Major Mulcahy

Donovan Leitch as Capt. Charles F. Morse

Bob Gunton as General Charles Garrison Harker

Jay O. Sanders as Gen. George Crockett Strong

Raymond St. Jacques as Frederick Douglass

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014. 

July 17 - Cobb

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on July 17.  I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.

COBB                             

       

A voiceover tells about Cobb and his career, giving info about his aggressive play and records. Sportswriter Al Stump is approached by Cobb to write his biography. In spite of signs involving guns and cars that Cobb is crazy, he takes the job.  On a trip through a blizzard to Reno, Cobb tells Stump that his father was murdered. Cobb plays an aggressive style of baseball that included sharpening his spikes, insulting the opposing team and betting on himself. Cobb tells Stump that his mother killed his father. Stump finds out Cobb has final editorial approval of the book. Stump is disgusted with Cobb’s crudity, racism and self-aggrandizement.  Stump writes two versions of the book. One is Cobb’s paean to himself, while the other tells the real story. They leave Reno and head to a testimonial dinner at the Baseball Hall of Fame. When this is over they head towards Cobb’s birthplace in Georgia. They visit the Cobb family mausoleum. Cobb tells Stump that his mother’s lover killed his father. Stump gets served with divorce papers. Cobb finds the second version of the book. He is so upset he starts to kill a passed out Stump, switches to wanting to kill himself and then starts to spit up blood.  Cobb checks himself into the hospital. Cobb tells Stump to do what he wants with the book.  Cobb dies on July 17, 1961 [1:59:54 to 2:00:16] and is buried in the family mausoleum.

Baseball: An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1994) at page 370 and the film at 1:59:56-57 give his death date

Producer - David V. Lester and Arnon Milchan

Director - Ron Shelton

Screenplay -   Ron Shelton

Runtime – 2 hours 8 minutes

Released - December 2, 1994

Starring –

Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb

Robert Wuhl as Al Stump

Lolita Davidovich as Ramona

Lou_Myers  as Willie

William Utay as Jameson

J. Kenneth Campbell as William Herschel Cobb

Rhoda Griffis as Amanda Chitwood Cobb

Roger Clemens as Opposing pitcher

Stephen Mendillo as Mickey Cochrane

Tommy Bush as Rogers Hornsby

Stacy Keach, Sr. as Jimmie Foxx

Crash Davis as Sam Crawford

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 16 - Someone Like You

Today’s movie is a romantic comedy with a scene that happens on July 16. I hope you will watch this movie tonight and enjoy it.  

SOMEONE LIKE YOU          

Jane Goodale is a production assistant for the Diane Roberts TV talk show. Eddie Alden is the show’s womanizing producer. Ray Brown becomes the show’s new executive producer. Even though he’s in a long term relationship, he and Jane start an affair. This develops to the point where he dumps his current girlfriend and asks Jane to move in with him. Then after she has ended her lease, he dumps her. Jane is forced to share Eddie’s apartment, as she can’t find anywhere else to live.  Jane develops the ‘new cow’ theory that men won’t commit because they’re always looking for new conquests. Jane’s friend Liz, who works for M, a magazine for men asks her to write a column about male behavior from a female perspective. They create the persona of the elderly “Dr. Marie Charles” to be Jane’s alter ego and the listed author of the articles. On July 16, 2000 [52:35 to 52:41] the issue of “M” magazine containing “Dr. Marie Charles” first article hits the newsstands.  The column becomes a huge hit. Diane Roberts wants Marie Charles as a guest on her show. Ray asks her out for New Year’s Eve, but stands her up and Jane learns his girlfriend is none other than Diane Roberts. She argues with Eddie over the new cow theory, but after seeing the love between her sister and husband after her sister miscarries, tells Diane that Dr. Charles will be on the show.  She had intended to do the interview over the phone, but at the last minute appears on the show and confesses. She says no theory can be one size fits all for all men. She races after Eddie and they kiss.

A decent romantic comedy. The leads work well together and have good chemistry. Just enough quirky cinematic tricks to keep it interesting.

Date given in film at 52:37, where if you zoom in and freeze, you can see the caption of an article which appeared in The New York Times on this date titled “Amid Race Profiling Claims, Asian-Americans Avoid Labs”.

Producer - Lynda Obst

Director - Tony Goldwyn

Screenplay - Elizabeth Chandler

Runtime – 1 hour 37 minutes

Released – March 30, 2001

Starring –

Ashley Judd as Jane Goodale

Greg Kinnear as Ray Brown

Hugh Jackman as Eddie Alden.

Marisa Tomei as Liz.

Ellen Barkin as Diane Roberts.

Catherine Dent as Alice.

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014. 

July 15 - One Day

Today’s movie is a drama that happens on July 15.

ONE DAY                 

Emma and Dexter  meet on July 15, 1988 upon their graduation from the University of Edinburgh. After a walk to Arthur’s Seat, they agree to just be friends. The next year she moves to London, while he heads off to India. By the following year she is working at a Mexican restaurant with Ian, a part time stand up comedian. In 1991 Emma and Dexter go on holiday together. Dexter becomes a television producer and presenter. The nest year Dexter goes to see his dying mother, while Emma finally agrees to go on a date with Ian. In 1995 Dexter is getting press over his image, while Emma is unhappily living with Ian and working as a schoolteacher. After a fight with Dexter, Emma suggests they end their friendship, but says she “loves him, but doesn’t like him”.  Dexter later gets fired from his TV job and Ian, who Emma had tossed comes back into her life. In 2000 Emma and Dexter meet at a wedding where she learns he is engaged to the pregnant Sylvie and they share a brief kiss.  Dexter and Sylie marry and have a daughter, but they divorce when he learns she’s having an affair. Emma and Ian also separate and she moves to Paris and becomes an author. In 2003 Dexter visits Emma and her new boyfriend. Dexter starts to leave, but Emma chases and kisses him.  Dexter and Emma get engaged and later marry. Dexter runs a successful organic café and they unsuccessfully try to have a baby. On July 15, 2006, Emma is killed in a car-bicycle accident. Dexter is devastated by her death and a year later provokes a fight in a disco where he gets beaten up. He meets Ian who tells him Emma really loved him.  At the end Dexter takes his daughter to Arthur’s Seat for a picnic. [the entire film occurs on July 15^th]  

                       

A decent romantic drama. You know I love the concept of having everything happen on one day of the year. This movie is like a series of snapshots of moments in a twenty year relationship.

                 

The date is given in the film at 1:20 and other times as the entire movie takes place on July 15^th , just in different years.

Producer – Nina Jacobson

Director - Lone Scherfig

Screenplay – David Nicholls

Runtime – 1 hour 48 minutes

Released – August 19, 2011

Starring –

Anne Hathaway as Emma Morley

Jim Sturgess as Dexter Mayhew

Romola Garai as Sylvie

Rafe Spall as Ian                  

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.