Movies for the Day, Friday, July 31, 2020

Today's movies mark the atom bomb, the birthday of Farley Granger, and the birthday of Leslie Caron.



Which of today's movies would you watch?

The Day After (1983) is about the effects
of nuclear war on residents of a town in
Kansas.  The atomic bomb was tested
July 16, 1945.






The Day After












Zootopia (2016) is about a city
of anthropomorphic animals and a
rabbit police officer plus others.
This movie won an Oscar for Animated
Feature Film, 3D computer animation.
The first US zoo opened in Philadelphia
July 1, 1874.



Zootopia












The Suspect (1944) is a thriller about a
plot to murder wife to pursue another
woman.  A very good movie.  It stars
Charles Laughton, born July 1, 1899.






The Suspect

Movies for the Day, Thursday, July 30, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthday of Hilary Swank, a French holiday, and the atomic bomb.

Which of today's movies would you watch?








Boys Don't Cry (1999) is about a girl
passing herself as a boy in rural Nebraska.
This movie won an Oscar for Best
Actress, to Hilary Swank, born July 30,
1974.





Boys Don't Cry











Un Carnet de Bal (1937) (aka
Christine) is an excellent movie
from France about a widowed woman who looks up
former beaus.  Its episodic nature was
an inspiration for future episodic movies.
France's national holiday is July 14.





Un Carnet de Bal












The House in the Middle (1954) is a
short documentary about the effect of an
atom bomb on houses, especially a freshly
painted house as opposed to a poorly
maintained house.  The atom bomb was tested
July 16, 1945.  This documentary is on the
National Film Registry.



The House in the Middle

Movies for the Day, Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Today's movies mark a garlic festival, Mussolini, and Richard Linklater.

Which of today's movies would you watch?










Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (1980)
is a documentary about garlic filmed at a garlic
festival, mainly the Gilroy Garlic Festival in
Gilroy, California, held annually the last full
weekend in July.  This movie is on the National
Film Registry.




Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers










The Conformist (1970) is about
a man who conforms to Italian
fascism in the 1930s.  Benito
Mussolini was born July 29, 1883.
A very good movie.




The Conformist

Slacker (1991) is about a day in the life
of characters (slackers) in Austin, Texas.
It is on the National Film Registry.  This was
directed, produced, written, and acted in by
Richard Linklater, born July 30, 1960.





Slacker

Movies for the Day, Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Today's movies mark WW I and Booth Tarkington.

Which of today's movies would you watch?










Black and White in Color (1977) is about
French and Germans in Africa in World War
I.  World War I began July 28, 1914.  This movie
won an Oscar as Best Foreign Film.






Black and White in Color









Nurse Edith Cavell (1939) is about a nurse
in the Brussels underground during World
War I which began July 28, 1914.






Nurse Edith Cavell










Seventeen (1940) is about teenage
concerns- college, romance, etc.
This comedy drama is based on a story
by Booth Tarkington, born July 29,
1869.






Seventeen

Movies for the Day, Monday, July 27, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthdays of Helen Mirren, William Powell, and Beatrix Potter.

Which of today's movies would you watch?








Gosford Park (2001) is a murder
mystery set on an English estate in 1932.
It won an Oscar for Writing.  It stars Helen
Mirren, born July 26, 1946.





Gosford Park













My Man Godfrey (1936) is a screwball
comedy about a household who hires a
butler thinking he's a tramp who needs a job but
teaches money not everything.  This movie
is on the National Film Registry.  It stars William
Powell, born July 29, 1892, and June Allyson,
born October 7, 1917.  Filmed again in 1957.




My Man Godfrey














Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971) is a live
action classic of the beloved stories of
Peter Rabbit et al.  A very good movie.
Potter was born July 28, 1866.





Tales of Beatrix Potter

Movies for the Day, Sunday, July 26, 2020

Today's movies mark France's holiday, the birthday of George Bernard Shaw, and Cuba's national holiday.

Which of today's movies would you watch?






Rendezvous in Paris (1996) is three
tales of romance in Paris.  A very good
movie.  France's national holiday, Bastille
Day, is July 14.






Rendezvous in Paris












Androcles and the Lion (1952) is
a satire of ancient Rome and the
Christians and the lions.  It is a fable
by George Bernard Shaw, born
July 26, 1856.





Androcles and the Lion












The Mambo Kings (1992) is about a Cuban
band, especially two brothers, in 1950s New
York City.  It is based on the Pulitzer Prize
winning novel by Oscar Hijuelos Mambo Kings
Play Songs of Love.  Cuba's national holiday
is July 26, 1953.





The Mambo Kings

Movies for the Day, Saturday, July 25, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthday of Alexandre Dumas and France's holiday.


Which of today's movies would you watch?

Queen Margot (1994) is a very good
movie about a queen caught up in a religious
conflict between Catholics and Protestants and
about the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's
massacre in 16th century France.  An epic movie
based on historic events and the novel by Alexandre
Dumas, born July 24, 1802.




Queen Margot











Forbidden Games (1951) is a French
movie about a World War II girl
orphan and a boy entering their own
private world.  This movie won an Oscar
as Best Foreign Film.  France's national
holiday, July 14 (1789), is Bastille Day.




Forbidden Games

Murmur of the Heart (1971) is a
romantic comedy set in the period when
France is ending its involvement in the
Indochina War.  A very good movie.
France's national holiday is July 14 (1789),
Bastille Day.




Murmur of the Heart

Movies for the Day, Friday, July 24, 2020

Today's movies mark cowboys and Alexandre Dumas.

Which of today's movies would you watch?








When the Legends Die (1972) is about
an aging rodeo cowboy.  The National
Day of the Cowboy is usually the 4th
Saturday in July.




When the Legends Die












The Iron Mask (1929) is
based on an Alexandre Dumas
story of a Louis XIV protector.
Dumas was born July 24, 1802.
Reissued in 1940.







The Iron Mask












The Four Musketeers (1975) is a
comic take on the classic by
Alexandre Dumas, born July 24, 1802.







The Four Musketeers

Movies for the Day, Thursday, July 23, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthdays of Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Chandler.

Which of today's movies would you watch?









To Have and Have Not (1944) is a very
good movie about a romance amidst the
French resistance in World War II.  It is based
on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, born July
21, 1899.






To Have and Have Not

The Breaking Point (1950) is a
very good movie about a ship's captain
who turns to illegal cargo.  It is based
on a story by Ernest Hemingway,
born July 21, 1899.




The Breaking Point











Marlowe (1969) is about private
investigator Philip Marlowe.  It is
based on The Little Sister by
Raymond Chandler, born July 23,
1888.




Marlowe

Movies for the Day, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthdays of Isaac Stern and Hemingway.

Which of today's movies would you watch?

Humoresque (1946) is about a
violinist's romance.  It stars Joan Crawford,
born March 23, 1905, and Isaac Stern on
soundtrack.  A very good movie.  Stern was born
July 21, 1920.





Humoresque











The Macomber Affair (1947)
is about a safari, a hunter, and a
married couple.  This very good movie
is based on Ernest Hemingway's The
Short Happy Life of Frances
Macomber.  Hemingway was born July 21,
1899.



The Macomber Affair

Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012)
is a TV movie about a romance between
Ernest Hemingway, born July 21, 1899,
and Martha Gellhorn, WW II correspondent.
It won Emmys for Sound Editing, Music
Composition, and Dramatic Score.




Hemingway & Gellhorn

Movies for the Day, Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthdays of Hemingway, Don Knotts, and Robin Williams.



Which  of today's movies would you watch?







The Old Man and the Sea (1958) is about
a fisherman fighting a big fish.  It is based on the
story by Ernest Hemingway, born July 21, 1899.
It won an Oscar for Score.  See also the 1999
version which won an Oscar for Best Short Film,
Animated, and the 1990 TV version.





The Old Man and the Sea







The Shakiest Gun in the West
(1968) is a western comedy starring
Don Knotts, born July 21, 1924.






The Shakiest Gun in the West













Dead Poets Society (1989) is about
a teacher at a New England boarding
school.  It won an Oscar for writing.  It features
an American Film Institute quote:  "Carpe diem.
Seize the day, boys.  Make your lives
extraordinary."  This inspiring movie stars
Robin Williams, born July 21, 1952.




Dead Poets Society

Movies for the Day, Monday, July 20, 2020

Today's movies mark the moon landing and the birthday of Natalie Wood.

Which of today's movies would you watch?







From the Earth to the Moon (1958) is
about a journey to the moon in the 1860s.
It is based on the classic science fiction novel
by Jules Verne.  Man landed on the moon
July 20, 1969.






From the Earth to the Moon










Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
is about middle-aged couples and friendship and
more.  It stars Natalie Wood, born July
20, 1938.





Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice










A Walk on the Moon (1999) is about a family
that spends the summer of 1969 at a
bungalow colony in the Catskills.  An affair
intrudes.  Man landed on the moon July 20,
1969.







A Walk on the Moon

Movies for the Day, Sunday, July 19, 2020

Today's movies mark France's holiday and Robin Hood.

Which of today's movies would you watch?









La Boheme (1926) is a romance
set in 1830s Paris.  It is based on the
1851 novel by Henri Murger, not the
opera.  July 14 is Bastille Day in France.  A
very good silent movie.






La Boheme










The Story of Robin Hood and His
Merrie Men (1952) is the Disney
version of the classic adventure tale.
A Robin Hood Fest is usually held
in Sherwood, Oregon, every July.




The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men














One-Eyed Men Are Kings (1974) is
about a lonely middle aged man in Paris
who becomes the center of attention when he
pretends to be blind as he takes vicious dog for a
stroll.  The comedy won an Oscar as Best Short
Film, Live Action.  France's national holiday is July
14, Bastille Day.




One-Eyed Men Are Kings

Movies for the Day, Saturday, July 18, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthdays of Red Skelton and Ingmar Bergman and France's holiday.

Which of today's movies would you watch?









Whistling in Dixie (1942) stars Red Skelton
as radio sleuth "The Fox" is a comedy murder
mystery.  Skelton was born July 18, 1913.
See also Whistling in the Dark (1941).





Whistling in Dixie












Persona (1966) is about a
nurse and patient melding personalities.
This is a very good Haunting and
poetic movie.  It stars Ingmar Bergman,
born July 14, 1918.





Persona

It All Starts Today (1999) is a French
movie about a dedicated kindergarten
schoolteacher in a working class
community.  A very good movie.
France's national holiday is July 14,
Bastille Day.




It All Starts Today

Movies for the Day, Friday, July 17, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthday of James Cagney, Disneyland, and the Spanish Civil War.

Which of today's movies would you watch?

 Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) is about
a gangster and a priest played by James
Cagney, born July 17, 1899, and Pat
O'Brien.  The director was Michael Curtiz.
A very good movie.






Angels With Dirty Faces










Sounds of America (1961) is
an episode of the Bell Telephone
Hour at Disneyland, California,
which opened July 17, 1955.
It won an Emmy for Electronic
Camerawork.




Sounds of America












Ay, Carmela! (1990) is a farce
about the Spanish Civil War, which
began July 17, 1936.








Ay, Carmela!

Movies for the Day, Thursday, July 16, 2020

Today's movies mark the birthday of Barbara Stanwyck, an atom bomb test, and the moon landing.

Which of today's movies would you watch?








Night Nurse (1931) is about a
nurse in a home with sinister activities.
Barbara Stanwyck, born July 16, 1907,
stars.






Night Nurse












The Beginning or the End (1947)
is a dramatic story of the A-bomb,
first tested July 16, 1945, and
dropped on Hiroshima August 6,
1945.





The Beginning or the End









The Dish (2000) is about
a tracking dish in a remote Australian
community with quirky characters that
plays a role in the first moon landing
on July 20, 1969, launched July 16,
1969.






The Dish

Movies for the Day, Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Today's movies mark France's national holiday.

Which of today's movies would you watch?






Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953) is a
comedy about a man who goes to
a French resort town.  A very good movie.
France's national holiday, Bastille Day,
is July 14, 1789.





Mr. Hulot's Holiday














A Sunday in the Country (1984)
is about a painter and visits by
his offspring in the country including
a surprise visit by his daughter.  A very
good movie.  France's national holiday
is July 14 (1789).




A Sunday in the Country












My Father's Glory (1990) is about a rural
France vacation and the life of a little boy
and a summer trip with his family.  Storytelling
of the first order, a very good movie.  Followed
by My Mother's Castle (1990).   France's
national holiday, Bastille Day, is July 14,
1789.




My Father's Glory