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Movie Monday: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of my all time favorite films. James Stewart gave a iconic performance in this Frank Capra movie so it only made sense to review this movie on the week of the Fourth of July holiday! This film is full of impactful scenes and deep meanings. Like all Frank Capra movies, there is a deep sentiment of American pride laced within all of the actors lines. What we as an audience see and hear is the “American Dream” embodied in Mr. Smith. Besides the inspiring plot of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (which we will continue reviewing momentarily), the cinematography in the scenes where…
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Movie Monday: It (1927)
Long before “It” became synonymous with Stephen King and his scary stories, “It” was known for making Clara Bow a superstar! This Movie Monday I am reviewing a classic film from the silent era that not too many people mention. It was a highly influential movie, in my opinion, and deserves a lot more credit for changing the film industry. The movie It is very modern in a lot of ways. That is not something you would really except from a film made in the 1920’s, but here I am saying it. The storyline follows a very progressive way of looking at romance stories, and never puts Clara Bow in…
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Movie Monday: Jane Eyre (1943)
Jane Eyre, the classic film not the novel, came as kind of a surprise to me. Typically, I am not a fan of Orson Wells (sorry, Citizen Kane!) because I feel that he, much like Bette Davis, had the tendency to make the films he starred in more about himself as an actor than the actual plot of the film. Anyway, I am here today to review Jane Eyre from 1943 and why this film surprised me. I just happened upon Jane Eyre when I watched it the first time, and from the moment I started watching it I was hooked! In my opinion, this film was Joan Fontaine’s best…
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Movie Monday: Notorious (1946)
I have noticed that on Movie Mondays I do not feature the talented Alfred Hitchcock enough. Well, today I am going to change that! Today’s film review is all about the Hitchcock classic called Notorious. As with all Hitchcock films, Notorious is full of amazing camera angles and interesting audience perspectives. One of my favorite scenes is where the amazingly talented Ingrid Bergman looks through binoculars and you can see the race she is watching reflected in the lenses. There is something very mysterious as well as creative in that scene that makes you wonder if Bergman’s character is in fact on the good side or bad side of this…
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Movie Monday: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
I have been SO anxious to review the original Here Comes Mr. Jordan and today is FINALLY that day!! If you can’t tell, this is one of my favorite classic films and one of my movies of all time. Before giving too much away, let’s review this classic! If Robert Montgomery starred in it, odds are I am going to love the film. That, for some reason, always holds true with his films and Here Comes Mr. Jordan is no exception. This film is so clever and imaginative, I just can’t express that emotion enough through my words. Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a MUST SEE film! Now, I am…
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Movie Monday: Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
For today’s Movie Monday we are going all the way back to 1936. The film featured in today’s review is Wife vs. Secretary starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and the one and only Jean Harlow. Let’s get right into this review! Let me preference this entire film review by simply saying this first, I have only ever seen Wife vs. Secretary one time entirely through and it was pretty early on in my classic film watching days. Therefore, I was rather confused by the whole thing. Firstly, this movie seemed to be more about Jean Harlow’s character than anyone else. That was possibly the most confusing aspect of this film…
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Movie Monday: Sudden Fear (1952)
It’s time to take a moment and appreciate how amazing Joan Crawford was as an actress. Sudden Fear is one movie that she not only starred in, but also made up for the lack of co-stars who were equally talented. I’m not saying that the other actors were bad necessarily, but I will explain my position more in this review. Let me pick up where I left off above, Joan Crawford is undeniably the star of Sudden Fear. I am not trying to put down the other actors in this movie, but the reason such an awesome plot like the one in this film gets the justice it deserves is…
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Movie Monday: Bringing Up Baby (1938)
In my opinion, Bringing Up Baby is one of the most underrated classic comedies ever! I am so excited to review this Grant and Hepburn classic (no, not Audrey)! I have thought a lot about this film in relation to both Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant’s careers, and I have come to the conclusion that Bringing Up Baby was the training ground for Grant’s role in Arsenic and Old Lace. So many of the same comedic elements Grant used in Bringing Up Baby film he recreated for Arsenic and Old Lace. For Hepburn’s side of the acting coin, Bringing Up Baby really set her up for the roles she would…
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Movie Monday: A Woman’s Face (1941)
If you are looking for a good drama to watch, you have come to the right place! Today I am reviewing A Woman’s Face, a Joan Crawford classic. This movie has it all! Action, drama, sadness, love, and fashion! There is a lot to cover so let’s jump right in! At first A Woman’s Face seems like a horror/mobster kind of film. However, once you get into the thick of the plot you quickly begin to realize it is so much more! This multifaceted film wants you to root against Joan Crawford’s character. You already know from the moment she makes her debut on the screen that she has done…
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Movie Monday: Monkey Business (1952)
It’s time to take a moment to laugh and celebrate a comedy this Movie Monday! If there is anyone who can master classic film comedy it is definitely Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers! Monkey Business is a funny and adorable film from what could be expressed as the typical 50’s style comedy. In Monkey Business Grant brings back the coke bottle glasses he wore in Bringing Up Baby and his comedic skills. This isn’t the same style of comedy he used in some other movies, though, like Arsenic and Old Lace. Monkey Business shows us an older more mature side of Cary Grant until it doesn’t and everything just begins…