Movies!

I got this from my old high school pal, Bill, who got it from Margaret who stole it from Tammy who admits she swiped it from Theresa. The only one of them I know is Bill. The man cracks me up and is simultaneously one of the nicest people I know. And I know a LOT of nice people! (I refuse to continue knowing the not-nice ones!)


Name a movie you have seen more than ten times: Top Hat (1935, RKO) with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Broderick, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. A classic Astaire-Rogers screwball comedy with music - songs and dance. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Fred plays a star of musical theatre and Horton is his sidekick producer. Fred's dancing annoys Ginger who is sleeping in the room below. She complains and they're attracted. You know they have to start dancing soon! Dancing and the comedic capers of their sidekicks, Blore as Horton's gentleman's gentleman, Broderick as Ginger's screwball aunt, and Erik Rhodes's stellar performance as dress designer, Alberto Beddini. The big production number is The Piccolino. Dreamy!

Name a movie you have seen multiple times in the cinema: Two for the Road (1967, Twentieth Century Fox) When it came out, my boyfriend and I (this was in high school) saw it several times in the theatre and then at the drive-in. OK, we attended the showings at the drive-in! But we actually did watch at least some of it!  Definitely in my top ten films. 

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a film: Most of the ones who would really draw me in are dead. Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Richard Burton. Gentlemen, I miss you! But I love Sean Connery and Harrison Ford (Oh, I'd love to see them together in another Indiana Jones flick!), Kevin Kline, Adam Sandler. Oh, you mean actor in the universal sense of the word? Rosalind Russell, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Myrna Loy, Marilyn Monroe, Ethel Merman, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon (thinking of more now... just think big stars from old Hollywood). From modern times, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis (I love you, you sexy dude!), and that hottie, Will Smith! Oh and Hugh Grant. Definitely Hugh.

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a film: Brad Pitt. No clue what anyone sees in him... or in Angelina Jolie for that matter,, not that she isn't a good actress or that she's been in a number of good flicks. They just do not appeal to me. Not a fan of Ben Stiller either though I love his mom and dad! Also not an Ashton Kutcher fan.

Name a film that you can and do quote from: Apparently Bill is a big fan of "Airplane!  All the time. And don’t call me Shirley." (1980, Paramount)  Bill, Mr. Huston did call me Shirley when we were in high school. Just to tease and annoy me. Teachers! Or maybe I should say guidance counselors! Umm... answer the question? Two for the Road (see above - or below - or the link!) "The bumble bee, the bumble bee. He didn't come home til early tea!" For some reason, now that I'm on the spot, this is the only quote I recall at the moment! Top Gun (1986, ,Paramount) comes to mind too. "I feel the need. The need for speed!" "You're not happy unless you're going mach two with your hair on fire." "Goose, take me to bed or lose me forever!" Eminently quotable. N'est pas?

Name a musical that you know all of the songs and lyrics to: Too many to name here. I'd forget some because it's pretty much a list of every Hollywood musical. It's my favorite genre! Just figure that I know all the songs in the Fred & Ginger movies and the rest of Fred's movies through 1960 and that will make for a good list. Then add My Fair Lady (1964, Warner Bros.) because I can hear and see that one in my head at will. Yes, I have memorized it. Meet Me in St. Louis (Judy Garland, 1944, MGM) Singin' in the Rain (Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, 1954, MGM) I could go on. But I won't. OK, two more! Call Me Madam (Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, 1953, 20th Century Fox) There's No Business Like Show Business (Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe, 1954, 20th Century Fox)

Name a film that you would recommend everyone see: Support Your Local Sheriff (1969, United Artists) One of the funniest films ever made! Who doesn't love James Garner? Joan Hackett is a superb comedienne. The supporting cast is a list of well-known actors and it's just a totally fun, escapist movie. (And, yes, we have plenty from which we need to escape!) And because I'm me, I must also include The Gay Divorcee (1934, RKO) with Fred & Ginger and my top fave movie of all time, Auntie Mame (1958, Warner Bros.) with the divine Rosalind Russell.

Ever walked out on a film? McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971, Warner Bros.) Robert Altman can be hard for the uninitiated to 'get'. With that in mind - and a little more Altman experience under my popcorn box, I have since tried to watch it again and again have had to switch movies/channels.

Name a film that made you cry: Again, too many to name. There are commercials that make me cry. If you don't believe me, ask The Sports Fan. He teases me about it and tries to change the channel when he notices them coming on. Ghost (1990, Paramount) comes to mind. Now that I know what's coming, I even sob in anticipation!

Popcorn? It ain't a movie without popcorn! And none of that fake butter shit. Another reason to stay home and watch where the popcorn rocks and the film stops when *I* have to go pee!

How often do you go to the cinema? Hardly ever. A couple of times a year. For some reason, even at the 10:35 PM showing, there's a woman with ten kids under the age of 12 with her and the one who didn't get any popcorn is sitting behind me, kicking my seat back and crying. Combine that with the cost, having to actually go outside in the Arizona heat to get there, and my answer to the Popcorn? question above, and you have the reason!

What's your favorite film genre? Musicals, the old time, big Hollywood studio musical comedies. I like Histories: Elizabeth (1998, Polygram), The King's Speech (2010, See-Saw Films), Romantic Comedies: Two Weeks Notice (2002, Castle Rock), The Proposal (2009, touchstone), Sweet Home Alabama (2002, Touchstone), Legally Blonde (2001, MGM) or anything that might be termed a Chick Flick), and SciFi too.

What's the first film you remember seeing at the cinema? An old Richard Widmark WWII flick with my mom when I was a kid, The Frogmen (1951, 20th Century Fox). It must have been a retrospective or something because I remember going when I was about 5 but the movie was made before I was born!

What film do you wish you had never seen? I've probably blocked it/them. I try not to hang onto too much old baggage that I don't need to remember!

If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be? Mimi Glossop in The Gay Divorcee (1934, RKO). Her aunt is fun, she has great clothes, gets to drive a super car, and can go to England on a ship whenever she wants without seemingly having to work. Best of all, she gets to sing and dance with Fred Astaire!


Total number of films you own on DVD:  200 - 500. I can't find them all to count. I found 200 but I know that there are a lot more! I've got some on my hard drive (so I can watch whenever I want, wherever I am), there are many more on our media server, and I'm sure there are some that haven't been put away.

Last film you bought: I think it was the Blu-Ray version of The Dark Knight (2008, Warner Bros.).

Last film you watched: Sweet Home Alabama (2002, Touchstone) because it was on TV the other night while I was working on a project. And because I totally love Reese. And the South.

Five films that mean a lot to you: OMG, only five???? At the absolute, top of the list is Auntie Mame (1958, Warner Bros.). This movie taught me things about how people should be. Sure, Mame looks like a flake. But she's a really nice person under the socialite dress. I've tried to be Auntie Mame to every kid in my family as well as to a few others. Then there's The Gay Divorcee (1934, RKO) for the pure unadulterated fun of it, Two for the Road (1967, Twentieth Century Fox) for people working through their troubles and always coming back to just how much they love each other, The Hellfighters (1968, Universal), The Taming of the Shrew (1967, Columbia) because Shakespeare wrote Katharina and Petrucchio for Liz Taylor and Richard Burton - he just didn't know that they'd be born someday, and Dirty Dancing (1987, Vestron) for it's instant ability to take me back to the 60s and that less complicated life. Ahhh. ;-)) Those are six of my top fifteen movies of all time. I have fifteen because I just could NOT limit it to ten!


So steal this idea yourself and get busy answering! If you do, leave a comment so I can go see what you said!