Tuesday, July 14, 2015

July 14 - Two Mules for Sister Sara ...

Today’s movie is a western with a scene that happens on July 14. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA

During the Mexican Civil War the mercenary Hogan is upset when he has to save a nun from three me who were trying to assault her, as well as from a French patrol trying to catch her for aiding the Juaristas. Sister Sara learns of a supply train for the French forces and together she and Hogan destroy it, in spite of Hogan being shot with an arrow by Yanqui Indians. Sara tells Hogan that the French garrison in Chihuahua will be drunk on Bastille Day, so they can be defeated and Hogan can steal their payroll. On July 14, 186_ [1:21:36 to 1:50:59] the Juaristas discover the garrison is not drunk and are on alert due to the attack on the train. Sara and Hogan devise a new plan based on surprise and dynamite. Hogan is very angry when he learns Sara is not a nun, but a prostitute. The attack is launched by the Juaristas and succeeds. Sara and Hogan leave together.

The date is given in the film at 1:28:33

Producers - Martin Rackin and Carroll Case

Director - Don Siegel

Screenwriter - Albert Maltz

Runtime – 1 hour 54 minutes

Released – June 16, 1970

Starring –

Shirley MacLaine as Sara

Clint Eastwood as Hogan

Manuel Fábregas as Col. Beltrán

Alberto Morin as Gen. LeClaire

Armando Silvestre as 1st American

John Kelly as 2nd American

Enrique Lucero as 3rd American

David Estuardo as Juan

Ada Carrasco as Juan's mother

Pancho Córdova as Juan's father

José Chávez as Horacio

José Ángel Espinoza as French Officer

Rosa Furman as Sara's friend

Monday, July 13, 2015

July 13 - 12 Angry Men (1957)

Today’s movie is a drama that happens on July 13. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

TWELVE ANGRY MEN

On July 13, 1956 [the entire film] a murder trial is held in NYC. Initially only Juror 8 has any doubts about the defendant’s guilt. He establishes that a witness could not have heard the accused say “I’m going to kill you” to the victim due to the noise from a passing elevated train. Juror 8 also shows that this witness could not have gotten to the door in time to see the accused run out of the murder apartment. Juror 8 later shows that under stress the accused might have forgotten the name of the movie he had gone to see at the time of the murder. Several of the jurors evidence ethnic bias against the accused. Juror 9 shows that a female witness who supposedly saw the murder wore glasses, but probably was not wearing them when she saw the killing. The last juror finally changes his vote, giving a unanimous “not guilty”.

In the film at 8:36 mention is made of an Indians at Yankees baseball game, which occurred on this date. It is established in conversation that it is a Friday, which July 13 was in 1956.

Producers - Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose

Director - Sidney Lumet

Screenwriter - Reginald Rose

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Picture, Best Diector and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars at the 30^th Academy Awards.

Runtime – 1 hour 36 minutes

Released – April 13, 1957

Starring –

Martin Balsam as Juror #1

John Fiedler as Juror #2

Lee J. Cobb as Juror #3

E. G. Marshall as Juror #4

Jack Klugman as Juror #5

Edward Binns as Juror #6

Jack Warden as Juror #7

Henry Fonda as Juror #8

Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9

Ed Begley as Juror #10

George Voskovec as Juror #11

Robert Webber as Juror #12

Sunday, July 12, 2015

July 12 - Flight Of The Phoenix ( 2004)

Today’s movie has a scene that happens on July 12. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX

Captain Frank Towns pilots a C-119 cargo plane to an oilrig in the Gobi desert. The rig is shut down and dismantled. The team flies out with Towns, along with a stowaway, Elliott. However, sandstorm forces them to crash land two hundred miles off course with only a month’s supply of water. They decide against trying to walk out. On July 12, 2004 [45:52 to 51:33] the survivors wait at the wreck. Then Elliott suggests they rebuild the wreckage into a new plane and fly out. They have to kill a band of smugglers who camp near them. The survivors are angry when they learn Elliott’s aeronautical engineering ability only extends to model aircraft. They finish the aircraft and fly off just before a large band of smugglers arrive to get revenge for the deaths of their comrades.

The date is given in the film at 45:55.

Producers - John Davis, William Aldrich, Wyck Godfrey and T. Alex Blum

Director - John Moore

Screenwriters - Edward Burns

Runtime – 1 hour 53 minutes

Released – December 17, 2004

Starring –

Dennis Quaid as Captain Frank Towns

Giovanni Ribisi as Elliott

Tyrese Gibson as A.J.

Miranda Otto as Kelly Johnson

Tony Curran as Alex Rodney

Hugh Laurie as Ian

Scott Michael Campbell as James Liddle

Sticky Fingaz as Jeremy

Jacob Vargas as Sammi

Kevork Malikyan as Rady

Paul Ditchfield as Dr. Gerber

Martin Hindy as Newman

Jared Padalecki as John Davis

Bob Brown as Kyle

Anthony Wong as Lead Smuggler

July 11 - Timestalkers

The movie for July 11 is a science fiction western.

TIMESTALKERS

A year after his wife and kids die in a car accident, Professor Scott McKenzie buys a trunk at an auction. Inside he notices in a photo from the 1880’s that a gunslinger named Cole, who was looking for a man who was carrying pistols with stars on the handles, is carrying a .357 magnum. Cole becomes convinced Cole is a time traveler, a theory that is confirmed by Georgia Crawford, who is from the 26th century and is trying to stop Cole, a renegade scientist from her era. Scott and Georgia deduce Cole is trying to kill Michael Crawford, an advisor to President Grover Cleveland and Georgia’s ancestor. Cole is looking for the “Star-Spangled Stranger” a gunfighter who saved the President and his retinue. Cole can’t keep Scott and Georgia from learning the date of his planned attack on the President. Scott and Georgia travel to July 11, 1886 [1:18:34 to 1:29:11]. Cole kills the “Star-Spangled Stranger”, but Scott uses his guns to kill Cole, who only wounded Michael Crawford. Back in the present Georgia sends the knowledge of the death of his family back to Scott’s earlier self so he is able to prevent their deaths.

The date is given in the film at 1:09:53

Producers - Charles W. Fries, Richard Maynard, John Newland and Milton T. Raynor

Director - Michael Schultz

Screenwriter - Brian Clemens

Released – March 10, 1987

Runtime - 1 hour 40 minutes

Starring –

William Devane as Scott McKenzie

Lauren Hutton as Georgia Crawford

John Ratzenberger as General Joe Brodsky

Forrest Tucker as Texas John Cody

Klaus Kinski as Dr. Joseph Cole

Tracey Walter as Sam

James Avery as Blacksmith

John Considine as Doctor Crawford / Matthew Crawford

Danny Pintauro as Billy McKenzie

Gail Youngs as Mrs. Laurie McKenzie

Patrik Baldauff as Callan

Ritch Brinkley as Barman

J. Michael Flynn as Michael

A. J. Freeman as Grover Cleveland

Tim Russ as Sergeant Filton

Friday, July 10, 2015

July 10 - Four Days in July

Today’s movie is a drama with a scene that happens on July 10. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

FOUR DAYS IN JULY

In Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 10, 1984 [00:01 to 12:31] there are two young couples, both of whom are expecting the birth of their first child. There are the Catholic Collette and Eugene and the Protestant Lorraine and Billy. Eugene was injured and is awaiting his disability check, while Billy is a British soldier who spends his time manning barricades. The next day Brendan comes to fix Eugene’s toilet and Brendan’s friend Dixie comes to clean the buildings windows. The three men and Collette sit around and talk for a time, and Eugene reveals his injuries were caused by the British military. Billy and Lorraine go a bonfire celebration of Orange Day. The next day, both women go into labor during the Orange Day events. At the hospital Billy and Eugene strike up a conversation. Their wives end up sharing a room.

The date is given in the film at 2:05

Producer - Kenith Trodd

Director - Mike Leigh

Screenwriter - Mike Leigh

Runtime – 1 hour 36 minutes

Released – November 29, 1984

Starring -

Brid Brennan as Collette

Des McAleer as Eugene

Stephen Rea as Dixie

Paula Hamilton as Lorraine

Charles Lawson as
Billy

Eileen Pollock as Carmel

Thursday, July 9, 2015

July 9 - Casino Royale (2006)

Today’s movie is an espionage thriller with a scene that happens on July 9. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

CASINO ROYALE

After Bond kills a traitorous station chief who had been selling classified info, he gets his 00 status. Le Chiffre, a banker for international terrorists, goes to Uganda and gets millions from Obanno, a leader of the Lord's Resistance Army. Bond goes to Madagascar where after a chase he kills a bomb maker named Mollaka, in an embassy, which causes an international uproar. Bond visits M who says she’s thinking of revoking his status and to lay low for a while. Bond goes to Nassau where by surreptitiously accessing the Ocean Club’s security tapes, he is able to identify a person who called Mollaka. Bond beats the man, named Dimitrios at cards and seduces Dimitrios’s wife. On July 9, 2006 [42:56 to 53:38] Bond follows Dimitrios to Miami. Bond kills Dimitrios after Dimitrios has passed a package to Carlos. Carlos goes to the airport and plants a bomb on a tanker truck that he drives towards the prototype Skyfleet airliner. After a vicious fight Bond saves the plane and kills Carlos. The non-destruction of the plane causes a $100 million loss to Le Chiffre, who had sold the stock short, but the stock does not go down, due to the non-destruction of the prototype. Le Chiffre had been gambling with his clients’ money. Le Chiffre sets up a high stakes card game in Montenegro. M enters Bond so he can beat Le Chiffre and force him to turn to MI6 for protection in return for turning state’s evidence. Bond meets Verper Lynd, a British treasury agent who has control of the $10 million entry fee. Bond loses the $10 million and Lynd refuses to stake him any more cash. Agents of the Lord’s Resistance Army attack Le Chiffre, but Bond kills them. Bond sets out to kill Le Chiffre, but Felix Leiter of the CIA offers to stake Bond if they can get custody of Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre’s girlfriend poisons Bond but Lynd helps save Bond. In one hand Bond wins the tournament and Le Chiffre is wiped out. Le Chiffre kidnaps Lynd and uses her as bait to get Bond. Le Chiffre tortures Bond in an attempt to get the access code for Bond’s winnings, which were deposited into a Swiss bank account. Mr. White kills Le Chiffre. Bond resigns from MI6 and goes to Venice with Lynd. Bond learns that the funds were never returned to the treasury and that Lynd is stealing them. He pursues her to a building under renovation where she allows herself to drown, as the building collapses Mr. White leaves with the money. Bond learns that Mr. White’s organization had kidnapped Lynd’s boyfriend and had forced her to steal the money. Bond finds a message from Lynd with Mr. White’s phone number, which Bond uses to track him down, introducing himself with the classic line, “The name’s Bond, James Bond”.

This is the surprisingly good first of the Bond “reboot” movies. This Bond has a harder edge than some of his incarnations. This film doesn’t disappoint action-wise, but keeps the gadgetry to a minimum.

Cell phone at 47:44 shows date and time

Producer - Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli

Director - Martin Campbell

Screenplay - Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis

Runtime – 2 hours 24 minutes

Released – November 14, 2006

Starring –

Daniel Craig as James Bond

Eva Green as Vesper Lynd

Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre

Judi Dench as M

Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter

Giancarlo Giannini as René Mathis

Simon Abkarian as Alex Dimitrios

Caterina Murino as Solange Dimitrios

Ivana Miličević as Valenka

Isaac de Bankolé as Steven Obanno

Jesper Christensen as Mr. White

Sébastien Foucan as Mollaka

Tobias Menzies as Villiers.

Ludger Pistor as Mendel

Claudio Santamaria as Carlos.

Richard Sammel as Gettler

Clemens Schick as Kratt

Joseph Millson as Carter

Ben Cooke as Williams

Darwin Shawh as Fisher

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

July 8 - Roswell

Today’s movie is a docudrama with a scene that happens on July 8. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

ROSWELL

At a reunion of the 509^th bomber group, Jesse Marcel flashes back to 1947 when there was a big thunderstorm. A few days later Mac Brazzel, a rancher brings material to the sheriff that he thinks might be from a UFO. This material displays unusual properties. Marcel and Sherman Carson go to the site. Marcel demonstrates the stuffs unusual properties to his family. On July 8, 1947 Col. Blanchard, the base commander issues a press release that a UFO had been found. [22:23 to 29:40] Marcel is ordered to fly to Ft. Worth where the story is put out that it’s a weather balloon and he’s ordered not to talk about it. At the reunion Marcel talks to a local radio announcer who says that when they tried to follow up with Brazel, Brazzel was arrested, interrogated for three days, and perhaps bribed to change his story to say it wasn’t a UFO. Marcel hears a story that a spotter plane found a second site where three alien bodies and one survivor of the crash were found. Marcel learns that a top secret commission was set up to deal with this. Sec. Forrestal went to Area 51 and the living alien passed him a mental message that others were coming just before it died. Forrestal later died under mysterious circumstances that could either have been suicide or murder. Marcel is told all this by mystery man Townsend who had been watching him and basically leaves him with the thought that Marcel has no proof, just stories.

An unusual film. It telling its story veers between a documentary and tabloid journalism. You can’t decide if it really happened or was just a story.

The Mammoth Book of UFOs by Lynn Picknett (Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., New York, 2001) p. 195 and in the film at 27:10 give the date of the famous press release

Producer - Jeremy Kagan

Director - Jeremy Kagan

Screenplay - Arthur L. Kopit and Jeremy Kagan

Runtime – 1 hour 30 minutes

Released - July 31, 1994

Starring -

Kyle MacLachlan as Jesse Marcel

Martin Sheen as Townsend

Dwight Yoakam as Mac Brazel

Xander Berkeley as Sherman Carson

Bob Gunton as Frank Joyce

Kim Greist .as Vy Marcel

Peter MacNico as Lewis Rickett

John M. Jackson as Colonel Blanchard