August 7 - My Week With Marilyn

Today’s movie is a drama with a scene that happens on August 7. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN      

Colin Clark, who wants to be a filmmaker goes to London to try and get a job with Sir Laurence Olivier’s production company. He’s initially told there are no open positions, but Olivier’s wife, Vivien Leigh, persuades him to hire Clark to find a house for Marilyn Monroe and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller to live in while she is in England filming Olivier’s new film, The Prince and The Showgirl. Clark gains some respect when after the press quickly discovers the house he chose, he reveals he has a second house in reserve and hires a bodyguard for Marilyn. Marilyn arrives to a media frenzy. Marilyn has difficulty at the read through. Colin meets Lucy, a wardrobe assistant.  On August 7, 1956, when Marilyn is late, [19:50 to 25:26] it’s a difficult first day of shooting. Colin and Lucy go on a date. Sybil Thorndike supports Marilyn when Olivier tries to get Marilyn to apologize for holding up shooting. There’s almost a riot when Marilyn is recognized when she tries to go shopping incognito. Marilyn leaves the set when Olivier insults her, but Colin asks him to be more understanding. He finds Marilyn upset by the draft of a new play written by her husband that seems to mock her and Miller later returns to the United States. Marilyn’s sex appeal drives a wedge between Olivier and his wife.  Colin and Marilyn meet and Lucy breaks up with Colin. Colin takes Marilyn on a tour on Windsor Castle and Eton. They go skinny dipping. Colin is called to Marilyn’s house as her staff thinks she’s taken a drug overdose. The next night she is in pain and thinks she’s had a miscarriage.  Marilyn completes the film. Lucy won’t get back with Colin. Marilyn thanks Colin for his support and leaves for America.

                     

A very interesting film. Purports to show us the world behind the scenes of a film production. Redmayne and Williams are the stars of this film. Both give natural, life-like performances that help keep this film fresh. 

The date is given in the film at 23:25 on a clapboard.

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Actress(Williams) and Best Supporting Actor (Branagh) Oscars at the 84^th Academy Awards.

Producer - David Parfitt and Harvey Weinstein

Director - Simon Curtis                      

Screenplay - Adrian Hodges                               

Runtime – 1 hour 41 minutes                              

Relased – October 9, 2011                                  

Starring –

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier

Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark

Emma Watson as Lucy

Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike

Zoe Wanamaker as Paula Strasberg

Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller

Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.

August 6 - Drums Along the Mohawk

Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on August 6. Watch tonight and enjoy.

DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK         

Gil Martin and his wife Lana move to his farm on the frontier near Deerfield, New York after their marriage. Lana is frightened by the appearance of  Blue Back, an Indian who is a friend of her husband. The couple are soon working together on their farm  and attend a militia muster. A community field clearing at their farm is interrupted by the arrival of Blue Back, who gives warning of an Indian attack. The settlers flee to the fort, but the stress causes Lana to miscarry. The Martin’s farm is burned, so they go to work for  Mrs. McKlennar, a wealthy widow. The militia march off and fight and lose at the Battle of Oriskansy On August 6, 1777 [51:46 to 1:01:29] the militia, including a wounded Gil arrive back at their homes. Things return to normal and Lana and Gil have a son. Then the Indians attack again, with the settlers again taking refuge in the now named Fort Herkimer. After the first runner sent to get reinforcements is killed, Gil volunteers to go. He outruns several Indian braves who pursue him. Reinforcements reach the fort just as an Indian attack is about to overwhelm the defenders. The settlers learn the American Revolutionary War is over and the Unites States is now independent.

                       

A pretty good film. The action scenes are pretty exciting and the film avoids slipping into the melodrama all too common in films of the era. On the whole this movie has stood the test of time and is well worth watching.

Although we are never told the name of the battle in the movie, in the novel Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmunds (Little, Brown and Company, New York, 1964) we are told that “they had an action… fetch down Herkimer. He’s hurt bad” at page 212 and that “the death of Herkimer shook the people” at page 259. In Almost a Miracle by John Ferling (Oxford University Press, New York, 2007) at page 230 we are told that at Oriskansy on August 5, 1777 St. Leger ambushed Herkimer’s force, and Herkimer 10 days later died of the wounds he suffered in this battle, which lasted six hours. So the battle referenced must be Oriskansy and due to the distances involved the Americans would have reached home early the next morning.  

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress(Oliver) and Best                  Cinematography Oscars at the 12^th Academy Awards

Producer - Darryl F. Zanuck 

Director - John Ford

Screenplay - Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti

Runtime – 1 hour 43 minutes

Released - November 3, 1939

Starring –

Henry Fonda as Gilbert "Gil" Martin

Claudette Colbert as "Lana" Martin

Edna May Oliver as Mrs. McKlennar

John Carradine as Caldwell

Ward Bond as Adam Hartman

Roger Imhof as Gen. Herkimer

Arthur Shields as Rev. Rosenkrantz

Chief John Big Tree as Blue Back

Francis Ford as Joe Boleo

Jessie Ralph as Mrs. Weaver

Copyright by Ivan Walters  in 2015.

August 5 - The Omega Man

Today’s movie is a science fiction film with a scene that happens on August 5. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

THE ΩMEGA MAN               

Neville is apparently the last normal human in Los Angles and perhaps the world. Two years before in a Sino-Soviet war, biological weapons had been used, causing a plague that killed off most of humanity and turned the survivors into night dwelling paranoid albinos. Neville lives in a fortified apartment building and patrols the city trying to find the daytime nest of the “Family” an anti-technology  mutant group led by Matthias, a former newscaster. On August 5, 1977 [25:44 to 49:24] Neville is at the Hotel  Premier. He later spots a normal girl. He chases her but can’t catch her. He is later caught by the Family and they plan to burn him alive, but the girl, Lisa saves him. She is the leader of a small band of normal humans. Her brother, Richie has the plague. Neville tells them he does not have the plague because after the outbreak he was injected with an experimental vaccine that prevented him from catching the disease. He and Dutch, a former medical student use Neville’s blood as a serum to cure Richie. Neville and Lisa begin a sexual relationship. Richie goes to Matthias to try and convince the Family to take the serum and get cured. Matthias refuses to believe it and kills Richie. Lisa suddenly succumbs to the plague and lets the Family into Neville’s building. Neville is mortally wounded. The other normal humans, led by Dutch discover the dying Neville and take the container of his blood he had prepared. They leave the city to start the process of curing humanity.   

This movie is a guilty pleasure for me. The plot is hackneyed and some of the lines are the cheesiest of cinema history, but I still like the movie. I don’t know why, but I enjoy the film and get absorbed in the story every time I see it.

He gives the date in his tape recording at 31:06-08

Producer - Walter Seltzer

Director - Boris Sagal

Screenplay - John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington

Runtime – 1 hour 38 minutes

Released – August 1, 1971

Starring -

Charlton Heston as  Neville

Anthony Zerbe as Matthias

Paul Koslo as Dutch

Rosalind Cash as Lisa

Eric Laneuville as Richie

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.

August 4 - The Flame Trees of Thika

Today’s movie is period drama with a scene that happens on August 4. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

THE FLAME TREES OF THIKA     

Captain Robin Grant, his wife Tilly and daughter Elspeth move to British East Africa (now called Kenya) to set up a coffee plantation. The meet Piet Roos, a Boer big game hunter and Njombo, a native who goes to work from them. The Grants face many travails in getting established, but these improve after they hire Sammy as the headman of the plantation. Hereward and Lettice Palmer move to the area.  There is a fight between Roos and Sammy. Then Njombo kills Kimon, who was the Palmer’s headman. As a result his chief strips him of his property and Sammy marries the girl Njombo wanted. Elspeth has a very interesting New Year’s Eve party with Mrs. Nimmo and a newcomer to the area Alec Wilson while her parents and the Palmers go to Nairobi. A big game hunter, Ian Crawford arrives in the area and becomes infatuated with Lettice Palmer, who gives a pony to Elspeth. We learn Lettice left her first husband to elope with Hereward and Elspeth develops an intense dislike for Hereward Palmer after he shoots a baby antelope on a hunt. Sammy arranges for a curse to be put on Njombo, and it literally takes an “Act of God” to get it lifted. After the railroad reaches Thika, Lettice gets a piano, but during a party held to celebrate its arrival, a leopard kills one of her dogs.  During the hunt to get it, Hereward kills the leopard, but is almost killed by its mate, but saved by Roos. The Palmers, Tilly and Crawford go on a safari, during which Lettice and Crawford have an affair. Hereward and Crawford are about to have a brawl when Crawford’s servant stabs Hereward. As a result Crawford leaves and Lettice stays with Hereward. Then on August 4, 1914 [Part 6 44:53 to 47:08] the Grants learn war has been declared on Germany. Robin joins the army, while Tilly becomes a nurse and Elspeth goes to school, where she is bullied for being a know-it-all. She runs away back to Thika. Ian Crawford is killed. Then Robin is transferred to France so all the Grants leave Africa and return to Europe for the duration.

           

The First World War by John Keegan (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999) at page 69 gives the date war was declared

Producers - John Hawkesworth, Verity Lambert and Christopher Neame

Director - Roy Ward Baker

Screenwriter - John Hawkesworth

Runtime – 5 hours 50 minutes

Released – September 1, 1981

Starring –

Hayley Mills as Tilly Grant

Holly Aird as Elspeth Grant

David Robb as Robin Grant

Ben Cross as Ian Crawford

Mick Chege as Njombo

Sharon Mughan as Lettice Palmer

Steve Mwenesi as Sammy

Nicholas Jones as Hereward Palmer

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015

August 3 - The Spy Who Loved Me

Today’s movie is an espionage thriller, with a scene that happens on August 3. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME       

Both a British and Soviet nuclear sub vanish under mysterious circumstances. Bond kills a Soviet agent, who is the lover of Soviet agent XXX. A device to track nuclear submarines is put on the market. Bond goes to Cairo to meet Fekkesh. Bond evades a killer, but Fekkesh is killed by Jaws. On August 8, 1977 [27:25 – 39:15] Bond goes to meet Kalba, who is killed by Jaws, but he and agent XXX set out in pursuit and get the microfilm containing the schematics of the sub-tracking device. This leads them to Karl Stromberg’s underwater base near Sardinia. Bond and Agent XXX’s  growing attraction is derailed when she realizes he was the one who killed her previous lover and vows to kill him after this job. The pair go onboard a US sub that is also hijacked by Sromberg, who plans to have a Soviet sub fire at the USA and an American Sub, both crewed by his henchmen fire at the USSR in order to provoke nuclear war that will allow him to set up a new civilization under the sea.  Bond and Agent XXX escape and retarget the subs missiles to destroy each other, averting the crisis. Agent XXX forgives Bond after he rescues her from Sromberg’s base.

This is the first Bond movie I saw in the theater. It is pretty good, except for a few glaring plot holes.    

The date is given in the film at 31:51

Producer - Albert R. Broccoli


Director - Lewis Gilbert


Screenwriters - Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum


Awards – The film was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 50^th Academy Awards.

Runtime – 2 hours 5 minutes


Released – July 7, 1977

Starring –

Roger Moore as James Bond 007

Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova/Agent XXX

Curt Jürgens as Karl Stromberg

Richard Kiel as Jaws

Caroline Munro as Naomi

Walter Gotell as General Gogol

Bernard Lee as M

Desmond Llewelyn as Q.

Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny

Geoffrey Keen as Sir Frederick Gray

Milton Reid as Sandor

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.

August 2 - Fire And Rain

Today’s movie is a disaster film that happens on August 2. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

FIRE AND RAIN      

This film is about some of the people who were in the plane and on the ground, before during and after the crash of Delta Airlines Flight 191 on August 2, 1985 at the Dallas -Fort Worth airport due to a downburst.

Air and Space Disasters of the World by Xavier Waterkeyn (New Holland Publishers, London, 2007) at page 108 gives the date of the crash

Producer - Richard L. Rothschild

Director - Jerry Jameson

Screenplay - Gary Sherman

Running Time - 1 hour 29 minutes

Released - September 13, 1989

Starring - 

Charles Haid as Bob

Tom Bosley as Derryl Price

Robert Guillaume as Carter

David Hasselhoff as Dr. Dan Meyer

Dean Jones as Jack Ayers      

Susan Ruttan as Sandra Thompson

Angie Dickinson as Beth Mancini

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015

August 1 - Unbroken

Today’s movie is a biographical film with a scene that happens on August 1. Watch it tonight and  enjoy.

UNBROKEN        

"Louie" Zamperini and his B-24 bomber return from a raid on Nauru and make a crash landing with one flat tire. Louie thinks back on growing up in Torrance, California as a troublemaker, but his brother re-directs his energy into running and Louie eventually sets the mile high school record. Louie and his crewmates are sent out in a decrepit B024 to look for another plane that is missing, but they end up crashing also. Louis thinks back to the opening day of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin on August 1, 1936 [27:12 –  26:23] and his participation in the 5,000 meters event. Louis and two other airmen end up in a raft and they float for 47 days at sea and the two survivors are captured by the Japanese.   In the  POW camp Louie is the target of "The Bird", a Japanese officer. Louie makes a broadcast to tell his family he is alive, but when he refuses to make a propaganda broadcast is beaten. “The Bird” is transferred, but when the POWs  are moved due to Allied bombing, the camp Louie is sent to is run by “The Bird” who resumes his harsh treatment of Louie, including making him hold a beam of wood over his head for an entire day. Louie survives the war and returns home.

              

Producers - Angelina Jolie,  Matthew Baer, Erwin  Stoff and Clayton Townsend

Screenwriters - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson

Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound  Mixing at the 87^th Academy Awards.

Director - Angelina Jolie

Runtime – 2 hours 17 minutes

Released – November 17, 2014

Starring –

Jack O'Connell as Louis "Louie" Zamperini

C.J. Valleroy as young Louis Zamperini

Domhnall Gleeson as Russell "Phil" Phillips

Garrett Hedlund as John Fitzgerald

Miyavi as Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watanabe

Finn Wittrock as Francis "Mac" McNamara

Jai Courtney as Charlton Hugh "Cup" Cupernell

Luke Treadaway as Miller

Travis Jeffery as Jimmy

Jordan Smith as Cliff

John Magaro as Frank A. Tinker

Alex Russell as Pete Zamperini

John D'Leo as Young Pete

Vincenzo Amato as Anthony

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015