Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am a big classic movie buff. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is frequently on at my house if the television is on at all. My favorite movies come from the 30s and 40s, but I love classics from all eras. Here are some of my favorites. If you haven't seen them, you don't know what you are missing! Go to TCM to check out their movie schedule and catch these great classic movies with interesting movie commentaries by hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz, along with various guest hosts. Now for my Movie Picks:
The Women
(1939)
Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and an All-Star Cast of Women
Storyline: Wealthy Mary Haines is unaware her husband is having an affair with shopgirl Crystal Allen. Sylvia Fowler and Edith Potter discover this from a manicurist and arrange for Mary to hear the gossip. It only gets zanier, and the women's lives only get more chaotic and entangled from there...hilarious!
Photo courtesy of: http://www.thegeminiweb.com/babyboomer/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/The%20_Women_poster.jpg
**************************
Meet John Doe
(1941)
Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan
Storyline: As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement. At last everyone, even Ann, takes her creation seriously...but publisher D.B. Norton has a secret plan.
Photo courtesy of: http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/Releases%201.html
*************************
My Man Godfrey
(1936)
William Powell, Carole Lombard
Storyline: During the Great Depression, Godfrey "Smith" (William Powell) is living alongside other men down on their luck at the city dump. One night, spoiled socialite Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) offers him five dollars to be her "forgotten man" for a scavenger hunt. Annoyed, he advances on her, causing her to retreat and fall on a pile of ashes. She leaves in a fury, much to the glee of her younger sister, Irene (Carole Lombard). After talking with her, Godfrey finds her to be kind, if a bit scatter-brained. He offers to go with Irene to help her beat Cornelia.
Photo courtesy of: http://sites.google.com/site/mdonath2/bestfilms
**************************
The Thin Man
(Series, Starting in 1934)
William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta the Dog
Storyline: The Thin Man is a madcap blend of screwball comedy and murder mystery that inspired five sequels, with William Powell and Myrna Loy as married amateur detectives Nick and Nora Charles. The movies are based on Dashiell Hammett's book. The first Thin Man won an Academy Award. I own the entire series on DVD.
Photo courtesy of: http://blogs.woodtv.com/files/2008/12/the-thin-man.jpg
**************************
