December 8, 2008
Alphabet Meme: Reality Edition
It just so happens that the fantasy world of the recent Alphabet Meme intersected with the reality world of a certain bank-owned revival house in a certain large Midwestern city. Without further preface, here's Hollywood A to Z, coming in January to a theater near you, if you happen live near that particular theater. (Titles preceded by ??? are not confirmed yet.)
January 3: The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 1937). McCarey's other 1937 masterpiece.
January 10: Black Book (Anthony Mann, 1949). Noir's master takes on the French Revolution.
January 17: Claudia (Edmund Goulding, 1943). Dorothy McGuire down on the farm.
January 24: Dames (Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley, 1934). Early 1930s Berkeley; nothing else to say.
January 31: ???Executive Suite (Robert Wise, 1954). Boardroom intrigue, and Barbara Stanwyck.
February 7: The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1948). Was Gary Cooper what Ayn Rand had in mind?
February 14: The Goddess (John Cromwell, 1958). Stage legend Kim Stanley as Monroe, or Gardner, or something.
February 21: Home of the Brave (Mark Robson, 1949). Hollywood takes on racism in the military.
February 28: I Can Get It for You Wholesale (Michael Gordon, 1951). Project Runway had to start somewhere.
March 7: ???Jericho (Thorton Freeland, 1937). Paul Robeson escapes to the desert after committing murder.
March 14: Knock on Any Door (Nicholas Ray, 1946). Bogie as a defense attorney from the streets.
March 21: Lydia Bailey (Jean Negulesco, 1952). Romantic intrigue during the Haitian revolution.
March 28: My Sister Eileen (Alexander Hall, 1942). Earlier, nonmusical version of the story.
April 4: A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 1935). The Marx Brothers in a stateroom.
April 11: One-Eyed Jacks (Marlon Brando, 1961). Brando at his most self-indulgent. Or maybe that's an overstatement.
April 18: ???Possessed (Clarence Brown, 1931). Joan Crawford as a kept woman; not to be confused with the 1947 film of the same name.
April 25: Queen Kelly (Erich von Stroheim, 1929). Gloria Swanson at her most self-indulgent. Probably not an overstatement.
May 2: Reveille with Beverly (Charles Barton, 1943). Basie, Sinatra, Ellington, the Mills Brothers, and Ann Miller.
May 9: Sons of the Desert (William A. Seiter, 1933). Laurel and Hardy's best?
May 16: Tobacco Road (John Ford, 1941). I really hated Caldwell's novel, but I really like John Ford.
May 23: The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944). Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey in a haunted mansion.
May 30: Verboten! (Samuel Fuller, 1959). Postwar romantic intrigue, via one of cinema's most interesting directors.
June 6: ???A Woman's Face (1941). I have it on good authority that the first two-thirds are worth the price of admission.
June 13: X-The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963). There really aren't a lot of movies that start with X. But this is perfect.
June 20: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). I already said how much I love Cagney, and Cagney in this film.
June 27: Zoo in Budapest (1933). Will Loretta Young continue to surprise me?
alas. i don't think i can must to move to chicago for six weeks in late january and all of february. dang such things as jobs! and frigid temperatures!
Posted by: StinkyLulu at December 9, 2008 3:41 PMI figured "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" would be enough to lure my actressexual/fashion-loving blogging friends to the frigid north. Alas, I'll have to try harder next time.
Posted by: mike at December 10, 2008 12:06 PMI would so love to see some of these on the big screen. Too bad I don't have a private jet.
Posted by: Nathaniel R at December 11, 2008 10:57 PMThis is such an awesome idea, Mike. I can't wait to check out some of these movies and discuss with the Geek Squad. I heard the cinema was closing. I'm glad it's not so!
Posted by: Marilyn at December 27, 2008 1:44 PMHi Mike, I tried to send note to you in your ‘Contact Me’ area. FYI: there is no ‘submit’ button. Either that or I’m missing something. Here is my name & email: Steve, stbrownell@yahoo.com, 951 344 1400, Please let me know if you received this alert. Then I will send the note. Thanks for you endeavors here.
Posted by: Steve Brownell at December 31, 2008 5:06 AM