Meet Me at the Movies - x 4

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with my own meme.  I started "Meet Me At the Movies" to take advantage of a wider variety of the 600+ channels we get on TV and I've watched quite a few - but haven't added them here.  So let's rectify that.  Here's a quick rundown of what I've been watching:

Christmas in July: (1940) An office clerk loves entering contests in the hopes of someday winning a fortune and marrying the girl he loves. His latest attempt is the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize. As a result, he gets a promotion, buys presents for all of his family and friends, and proposes to his girl. When the truth comes out, he's not prepared for the consequences.

Stars Dick Powell and Ellen Drew, staples in movies from the 1930's through the 1950's and on TV during the 1960's.  Cute "comedy of errors"-type story.

On The Town:  (1949)  Three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City look for fun and romance before their twenty-four hours are up. 

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Ann Miller with music by Leonard Bernstein - It just doesn't get much better than that.  Features the classic song "New York, New York".  As in many films of this style/era, the plot is a little thin, but the music and comedy make it so much fun that I didn't care.

Also starred Betty Garrett.  Took me a while to place her, but you might remember her better as Irene Lorenzo on All in the Family or Edna Babbish on Laverne and Shirley.

Going My Way: (1944)  Father O'Malley's (Bing Crosby) worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of kids looking for direction and handle the business details of the church-building fund and winning over his aging, conventional superior, Father Fitzgibbon. 
This was easily my favorite of my recent movie watches. The story of Father O'Malley's work with the "gang" (pretty mild-mannered gang by today's standards) is touching, but the music is still the highlight.  Bing Crosby singing Silent Night and Swingin' On a Star is a treat.

Mary Mary: (1963)  Nine months after they split up, Bob and Mary meet at his New York apartment to sort out some tax matters. He's getting married to healthy-eating Tiffany as soon as the divorce becomes final, and she is attracted by fellow tenant Dirk Winston, a Hollywood star.  Working through the tax records brings back memories and rekindles old feelings.

Debbie Reynolds is always a joy to watch. Her comedic timing is perfect.  Unfortunately, we don't get to hear her sing in this film, but the story and the writing are good.  Barry Nelson was another of those faces that I knew I should know but couldn't place, so I had to look him up.  He's another actor who guest-starred on nearly every TV show during the 60's - 80's, but I realized I recognized him most from the movie Airport.  

Meet Me At The Movies: Elvis!

Change of Habit - When I was young, back in the days when there were only four television  networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS), the "late movie" came on each night at 10:30.  If the movie happened to star Elvis Presley, I begged Mom to let me stay up and watch.  Because she was such a softy, I've seen most of Elvis' movies - some several times.  I even had the soundtrack album to Spinout.  But I had never seen Change of Habit - Elvis' 31st, and last, movie.

This movie was a definite change from most Elvis movies, which were basically a thin plot to string together lots of opportunities for Elvis to sing.  Change of Habit only includes two songs - the title number and Rubberneckin' - and the story focuses on some deep subjects.

Three nuns - Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair and Jane Elliot - move to an impoverished neighborhood to work in a medical clinic run by Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis).  Filmed in 1969, the story involves issues of race, women's rights, and autism - a condition mostly unknown at that time.

For General Hospital fans, Jane Elliott now plays Tracy Quartermaine on GH, and Barbara McNair appeared briefly on GH in 1984 as Aunt Bettina.  It took me a few minutes to recognize Jane, and I can't remember Barbara's GH character at all, but I thought it was a fun bit of trivia.  You can also spot a very young Ed Asner as the neighborhood policeman.

This was certainly the best written and acted of Elvis' movies, but I'll admit I wanted to hear him sing a little more.  I mean, it's Elvis...!

That Funny Feeling and Easter Parade

While the TV is overloaded with reruns and sports I don't like, I'm making use of the movie channels and DVR to catch up on classic movies.  Search your TV Guide, NetFlix or neighborhood Blockbuster and . . . 

Easter Parade:  (1942) Fred Astaire loses one dance partner/girlfriend (Ann Miller) but gets a new one (Judy Garland) in this delightful 1948 MGM Irving Berlin musical comedy directed by Charles Walters. 

Fred Astaire had announced his retirement before the cameras begn to roll on Easter Parade, but he decided to ccept the film's leading role when its original star, Gene Kelly, broke his ankle.

The highlight of the movie are the seventeen musical numbers, all written by Irving Berlin.  Ten were standards, seven new to this film.  Among the highlights are Astaire's slow-motion version of "Steppin' Out", the Astaire/Garland duet "We're a Couple of Swells", and the closing performance of the title number.

Plot is not necessary in a Fred Astaire movie - just watching him dance is draw enough - but this one actually had a cute story.  Fred's in love with Ann Miller, who's got a crush on Peter Lawford, who's got a crush on Judy Garland, who (of course) falls for Fred.  And through it all they sing and dance to songs by Irving Berlin and wear fabulous clothes. Hit!

That Funny Feeling: (1965) Aspiring actress Joan Howell, makes a living as a maid.  When Tom Milford, a New York City publishing company executive. asks her out she invites him to her apartment but, ashamed of her one-room residence, she borrows the apartment of one of her employers whom she has never seen. Tom (who is the employer) goes along with the ruse.

No music in this one except Bobby Darin singing the title song, which he also wrote, but it was also a romantic "comedy of errors".  

The best part - at least in my opinion - was the supporting cast. Donald O'Connor, if course, is wonderful no matter what part he plays.  The rest of the cast was a lineup of familiar faces with resumes that read like the history of television.  Included are Larry Storch (most famous for F Troop), Arte Johnson (Laugh-In), Don Haggerty (Bonanza, Rawhide), Larry J. Blake (The Virginian, Adam-12)...the list just goes on.  If you have time, look them up on IMDB.com  - it's fascinating how prolific their careers are/were.  

One of my favorite scenes involved four ladies gossiping around a phone booth:  Reta Shaw (Housekeeper in Mary Poppins, Aunt Hagatha on Bewitched), Nora Marlowe (Flossie on The Waltons), Kathleen Freeman (Sister Mary Stigmata from The Blues Brothers) and Minerva Urecal.

I didn't know much about either Sandra Dee or Bobby Darrin, including the fact that they were married.  Actually, I knew nothing beyond "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from Grease, and Bobby's songs Splish, Splash and Mack, the Knife.  They are both adorable.  Wish they had done more together.