There are 14 Sherlock Holmes films made ranging from the late 1930's though the mid 40's. Theses films are detective stories with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. The duo solve mysteries together with suspense and trickery though out the films. Holmes is very observant and can often catch a person telling a lie just by looking at his clothes. Dr. Watson is a bit gullible and slow in comparison.
The first film produced was The Hound of Baskervilles (1939) which is a story about a man who was an heir to a family estate that was being threatened by a "family curse"; then Sherlock Holmes investigates the problem.Sounds spooky right? These films are in black and white which I actually think adds to the films because of the mysteries in the plot. Holmes is very smart and catches just about everything, and I'm often left wondering how he knew so much. You might have to watch the movies more then once just to get it all, but they are entertaining and creative.
If you enjoy mysteries and detective stories, then these are perfect. With 14 films, surely you haven't seen them all. Directed by Sidney Lanfield who was nominated for an Emmy in 1964 and won Star on the Walk of Fame in 1960. Below is a list of all the movies if your interested or want to watch one for Halloween.
1939- The Hounds Of The Baskervilles
1939- The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
1942- Sherlock Holmes And The Voice of Terror
1943- Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Weapon
1943-Sherlock Holmes In Washington
1943- Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
1944- Sherlock Holmes And The Spider Woman
1944- The Secret Claw
1944- The Pearl Of Death
1945- The House of Fear
1945- The Woman In Green
1945- Pursuit To Algiers
1946- Terror By Night
1946- Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Code or "Dressed To Kill"
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://www.imdb.com
http://www.morlocks.btinternet.co.uk
http://www.imdb.com
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
"Everybody has a heart. Except some people"- Betty Davis
Betty Davis was an actress from the late 30's through the 50's. She was hired by Universal and then signed a contract with Warner Brothers (1932). Davis won the Best Actress Oscar in 1935 for her performance in Dangerous, and later Jezebel (1938). It was said that the only role she didn't get that she wanted was for Scarlett O' Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Personally I do like Betty Davis but I think Ann Rutherford did an amazing job as Scarlett.
During the 40's Davies performances got worse with every movie she was in. In 1950 she made a comeback and an Oscar nomination for All About Eve (1950). Ive watched that movie maybe five times and still love it. At one point in the movie Davis is hosting a party and she says to her guests "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night" which I just love because its so perfect in the movie.
Davis played Jane in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Which she received an Oscar Nomination. In 1977 she won the AFL's Lifetime Achievement Award. I personally have not seen the movie but I really want to! Betty Davis accomplished a lot over her life time. Shes recognizable and I always get a kick out of her, but I have to admit it drives me crazy when her character tries to act flirty or sexy because it just doesn't look good on her. She really was talented but towards the end of her career you could tell she was a smoker, non the less an amazing actress.She had a unique laugh and would have made a perfect Halloween witch (not in a bad way). In 1989 Davis passed away from caner.
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://www.imdb.com
http://thinkexist.com
During the 40's Davies performances got worse with every movie she was in. In 1950 she made a comeback and an Oscar nomination for All About Eve (1950). Ive watched that movie maybe five times and still love it. At one point in the movie Davis is hosting a party and she says to her guests "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night" which I just love because its so perfect in the movie.
Davis played Jane in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Which she received an Oscar Nomination. In 1977 she won the AFL's Lifetime Achievement Award. I personally have not seen the movie but I really want to! Betty Davis accomplished a lot over her life time. Shes recognizable and I always get a kick out of her, but I have to admit it drives me crazy when her character tries to act flirty or sexy because it just doesn't look good on her. She really was talented but towards the end of her career you could tell she was a smoker, non the less an amazing actress.She had a unique laugh and would have made a perfect Halloween witch (not in a bad way). In 1989 Davis passed away from caner.
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://www.imdb.com
http://thinkexist.com
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock was a movie director in the late 1920's through the 70's. He is well known for his thrillers and suspense movies such as Psycho, The Birds, and Marnie. I think Hitchcock was a genius! Some movies are better then others, but they are all good. He could really get inside the mind of a killer or rapist, which made his movies truly special.That's why he is known as the "master of suspense."
Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades. My favorite movie of his was Rebecca; but there are still many films I have yet to see, (its on my to-do list). Hitchcock was nominated and won so many awards, I couldn't possibly list them all. I will mention that he did receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1979, just a year before he died (1980). He was originally from London and even won awards for best foreign film.
If you have never seen any of his films, YOUR MISSING OUT. Seriously, the man was very talented.
http://www.google.com/imgres
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://www.biography.com/
http://www.imdb.com
Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades. My favorite movie of his was Rebecca; but there are still many films I have yet to see, (its on my to-do list). Hitchcock was nominated and won so many awards, I couldn't possibly list them all. I will mention that he did receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1979, just a year before he died (1980). He was originally from London and even won awards for best foreign film.
If you have never seen any of his films, YOUR MISSING OUT. Seriously, the man was very talented.
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://www.biography.com/
http://www.imdb.com
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Thin Man Series
The Thin Man (1934) was the first out of 6 movies based on the same plot. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, it was shot in just 3 weeks and earned $2 Million dollars! The plot is based on Dashiell Hammett's novel that was written in 1934. The film is based on a detective and his wife who solve mysteries and save the day. Nick and Nora ( William Powell and Myrna Loy) have a great chemistry on screen and steal your heart as the story is untold. They have a playful banter and witty one-liners that make you laugh. The couple is fun to watch. They like martinis and their little fox terrier dog named Asta.
Nora is a smart classy wife with (in my opinion) a great style. Nick likes to have fun, but because of his job he knows some rough and tough people. Nora is always game to help her husband with his cases even though it gets the couple into trouble. In the movie the couples Christmas party is interrupted with detectives, reporters, and mysterious phone calls along with their house already full of Nicks drunken guests, Nora says "Oh, Nicky. I love you, because you know such lovely people."
After the first Thin Man, 5 more films were produced. After the Thin Man (1936) which became a best picture nominee, Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), and the last one, The Song of the Thin Man (1947). The actors stayed in the films and the plot stayed the same also. Always a new mystery to solve but what really keeps you coming back is that the couple is just so amusing and fun to watch.
The video below is from YouTube with lines from the Thin Man Series to give you a glimpse of the films charm and wit.
Always,
Avery
Sources Used:
http://classicfilm.about.com
http://www.filmsite.org
Nora is a smart classy wife with (in my opinion) a great style. Nick likes to have fun, but because of his job he knows some rough and tough people. Nora is always game to help her husband with his cases even though it gets the couple into trouble. In the movie the couples Christmas party is interrupted with detectives, reporters, and mysterious phone calls along with their house already full of Nicks drunken guests, Nora says "Oh, Nicky. I love you, because you know such lovely people."
After the first Thin Man, 5 more films were produced. After the Thin Man (1936) which became a best picture nominee, Another Thin Man (1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), and the last one, The Song of the Thin Man (1947). The actors stayed in the films and the plot stayed the same also. Always a new mystery to solve but what really keeps you coming back is that the couple is just so amusing and fun to watch.
The video below is from YouTube with lines from the Thin Man Series to give you a glimpse of the films charm and wit.
Avery
Sources Used:
http://classicfilm.about.com
http://www.filmsite.org
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
My favorite actor of all time, Cary Grant
http://images.search.yahoo.com
Cary Grant was a big movie start in the 1930's trough 60's. I really like him because he plays a different character in every movie. In To Catch a Thief he played a retired burglar who is being impersonated. In Father Goose Grant was a drunken hermit living on an island. No matter the part, he was always a good guy even if the plot made him out to be bad at the beginning. It was always a surprise to find out the truth at the end of the movies.
Grant has a certain charm and sophistication on film that I find attractive even if he was an older man. He had some of the best and funnest lines in every movie. He worked with the amazing director Alfred Hitchcock several times and starred in North By Northwest which was a huge success in 1959. He was in over 70 films and received the Academy Award For Life Time Achievement in 1970. He also received the second most distinguished actors award from the America Film Institute. The man was amazing!
Cary Grant worked with many actors such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, and Bette Davis just to name a few. He was in so many movies but some you might recognize are An affair to Remember, To Catch a Thief, None But The Lonely Heart, and Charade. In Charade (1963) Grant starred opposite Audrey Hepburn who played a confused widow that was much younger in the film. Grant had lines added into the script making it clear that Hepburn was chasing after him and even had jokes in the film about the age difference. He turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) because he though that at age 58 he was too old.
As I said before I love Cary Grants work and I hope this made you a fan also! If you haven't seen any of his movies, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Always,
Avery
Sources used:
http://www.biography.com
http://queerhistory.blogspot.com
http://www.imdb.com
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Introduction
This blog is about old movies in general. Eventually I'll talk about actors, directors, black and white movies and so fourth. I have been watching old movies for about four years and my favorites have been produced between the1930's through the 60's so that's what I'm going to cover.
The best way to watch these classic films is on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) which is shown on TV with no commercials (how nice) or you can visit your local library and check some out to view.
I chose to write about older movies because Ive become bored with the ones being produced in the past few years. You go pick out this movie and it sounds really good, then when you watch it you already know how its going to end or its just not as interesting as you thought originally. Movies produced in the 1960's and younger bring something different to the screen, in my opinion. Even quotes you hear today came from those movies; such as "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" in Gone With The Wind. These movies are almost a lost art that I just absolutely adore.
Thank you for reading
Always,
Avery
The best way to watch these classic films is on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) which is shown on TV with no commercials (how nice) or you can visit your local library and check some out to view.
I chose to write about older movies because Ive become bored with the ones being produced in the past few years. You go pick out this movie and it sounds really good, then when you watch it you already know how its going to end or its just not as interesting as you thought originally. Movies produced in the 1960's and younger bring something different to the screen, in my opinion. Even quotes you hear today came from those movies; such as "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" in Gone With The Wind. These movies are almost a lost art that I just absolutely adore.
Thank you for reading
Always,
Avery
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