Presenting Lily Mars

I caught Presenting Lily Mars last night and I have got to say that I really, really liked it! I watched it for two things: Van Heflin, who is really close to edging Van Johnson out of competition for my favorite Van. (Oh, V-Jo, you know I don't mean it -- your big blonde good looks are no competition compared to Heflin. I just like him in a different way. And he reminds me of Gary Sinise.) And also Judy Garland, who looked absolutely stunning in this movie. It is movies like this that make me wish I had been born in the '30s instead of today.

Anyway, the plot is as follows: Lily Mars (Garland) is an aspiring actress stuck in Indiana. It just so happens that one of the hometown boys has made it big and is now a Broadway producer. John Thornway (Heflin) comes back to his hometown only to be pestered by Lily to be put into his new show on Broadway. To complicate things, he has brought along the playwright Owen Vail (Richard Carlson) and his leading lady Isabel Rekay (Mártha Eggerth). (I haven't heard of either of them either!) Despite John telling Lily repeatedly that he does not want her in the show, she still decides to come to New York with her mother's money to dog him for a job.

Once in New York, John feels sorry for Lily and takes her under his wing and gives her a job as the chambermaid with one line. Isabel doesn't like the way that John is taking to this country girl, and eventually she takes a powder (love that '40s slang!) and leaves the show. John decides to let Lily take Isabel's part, despite the fact that the part is of a sophisticated Russian princess. (As you can guess, Lily is a little more wholesome and naive to pull off such a gambit.)

At the last minute, John comes to his senses and manages to put the show ahead of his love for Lily. He convinces Isabel to come back to the show, and even Lily plays her old part of the chambermaid. Lily does, however, end up with a show of her own and there is a big (and somewhat tacked on) finale number.

Overall, it's pretty cheesy, but it's got a cute romantic plot and good singing by Garland. I could really live without the numbers by Isabel -- I am not a big fan of the operatic style of singing that apparently was popular back then. I love Van Heflin and think that he is absolutely adorable. In fact, he's probably the reason why I am so taken with the film. So, if you like Van or Judy, I totally recommend checking this out.

FILE UNDER: Classic Films

The War Wagon

The War Wagon is a pretty interesting Western. In the beginning Taw Jackson (John Wayne) is released from jail. He was a rancher, but was falsely imprisoned and all of his land was taken away by the evil banker Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot). Pierce found gold on the ranch and Taw is out for revenge!

Lomax (Kirk Douglas) is hired by Pierce to kill Taw, but Taw convinced Lomax to get on a heist of "the war wagon," a converted steel-plated wagon, complete with guard of men on horses and a Gatling gun. Pierce has hit the motherload, and will be sending a shipment of a half million dollars of gold dust!

Taw rounds up a gang of five men, including himself, Lomax, Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker Jr., who looks eerily like his dad), a detonation man, Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel), their connection to the local Indian tribe, and Wes Fletcher (Keenan Wynn), the get-away wagon driver. Eventually, they do get the gold dust, after a series of shoot-outs and saloon brawls. But the Indians double-cross them and steal back some of the gold. Taw manages to keep some of it, and says that they'll meet up in six months to split it up. Wes Fletcher gets killed and Billy runs off with Wes's wife.

The War Wagon was okay. Not the worst Western I've ever seen, but not the best either. I had high hopes for Keel's character because of the review in Leonard Maltin's movie guide said he was "hilarious." Eh, not so much. But it was enjoyable, and I loved Lomax's vaults onto the horses. Pretty fancy stuff for a fifty-year old man!

FILE UNDER: Classic Films

Howard Keel

I got some sad news on Sunday night. Howard Keel died on Sunday morning from colon cancer.

It was surprisngly fitting because my roommate and I had just watched four, yes four, Howard Keel movies in the past few days. It started with Three Guys Named Mike as yet another Van Johnson movie for me to check off. But I honestly very much enjoyed the film and felt that Marcie should have gone with the Mike Keel played instead of Johnson. But Keel wasn't a big enough star yet, so the girl went to Johnson.

Howard Keel when he was young and handsome!

Then we enjoyed -- well, enjoyed may be a bit too strong of a word -- watched Kismet. Uh, not so memorable. (Although once I finish up watching it, I will write a brief review.)

Then it was on to an incredibly cheesy late '60s western -- The War Wagon. Keel plays an Indian in this one -- although I have to say that after reading the blurb in the Leonard Maltin guide, I felt a little cheated. They said that Keel was hilarious as the Indian, but I didn't laugh too hard. But it was a fun movie!

Sunday morning TCM was showing Kiss Me Kate, a musical that is definitely better onstage. But Keel is great, despite the bad facial hair that he always seemed to sport in MGM musicals.

My roommate and I were discussing which actor was more well-known to the layperson: Van Johnson or Howard Keel. Unfortunately, the answer may be that neither is that well known. But Keel did have one very memorable TV role in his late 60s that you may recall -- Dallas.

So Keel was not only an actor, but he also sang a lot. And made some records, as the one below is evident. So let's not forget Howard Keel -- we can keep on singing about those sobbin' women.

FILE UNDER: News and Notes ; Van Johnson

More Lists

The Greatest Films has a list of the top 100 films. There is a sequel to this list and I believe the author is working on the next 300 films. Tim Dirks writes very comprehensive reviews and recaps of the movies, teasing out interesting details and including great quotes. It's an excellent site, and I remember using it frequently when I was taking film courses.

I've actually only seen forty-five of the first one-hundred -- that's worse than the AFI 100 List! Oh well, I know I have a lot of "classic" movies to watch.

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)*
2. The African Queen (1951)*
3. All About Eve (1950)
4. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
5. An American In Paris (1951)*
6. Annie Hall (1977)
7. Apocalypse Now (1979)
8. Ben-Hur (1959)
9. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
10. The Big Parade (1925)
11. The Big Sleep (1946)
12. The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
13. Blade Runner (1982)
14. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)*
15. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
16. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)*
17. Bringing Up Baby (1938)*
18. Broken Blossoms (1919)
19. Casablanca (1942)*
20. Chinatown (1974)
21. Citizen Kane (1941)*
22. City Lights (1931)
23. The Crowd (1928)
24. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)*
25. Double Indemnity (1944)
26. Duck Soup (1933)
27. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)*
28. Easy Rider (1969)*
29. Fantasia (1940)*
30. 42nd Street (1933)
31. The General (1927)
32. The Godfather (1972) (tie)*
33. The Godfather, Part II (1974) (tie)
34. The Gold Rush (1925)
35. Gone With The Wind (1939)*
36. The Graduate (1967)*
37. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)*
38. Greed (1924)
39. High Noon (1952)*
40. His Girl Friday (1940)*
41. Intolerance (1916)
42. It Happened One Night (1934)*
43. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)*
44. Jaws (1975)
45. King Kong (1933)
46. The Lady Eve (1941)*
47. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)*
48. Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
49. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
50. The Maltese Falcon (1941)*
51. Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)*
52. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
53. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
54. Modern Times (1936)
55. My Darling Clementine (1946)
56. Nashville (1975)
57. A Night At The Opera (1935)
58. The Night of the Hunter (1955)*
59. Ninotchka (1939)
60. North By Northwest (1959)*
61. Notorious (1946)*
62. On The Waterfront (1954)
63. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)*
64. Out Of The Past (1947)
65. Paths of Glory (1957)
66. The Philadelphia Story (1940)*
67. Psycho (1960)*
68. The Quiet Man (1952)*
69. Raging Bull (1980)
70. Rear Window (1954)*
71. Rebecca (1940)*
72. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)*
73. Red River (1948)
74. Roman Holiday (1953)*
75. Schindler's List (1993)
76. The Searchers (1956)
77. Shane (1953)
78. Singin' In The Rain (1952)*
79. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)*
80. Some Like It Hot (1959)
81. Stagecoach (1939)
82. A Star Is Born (1954)
83. Star Wars (1977) (tie)*
84. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)*
85. Sunrise (1927)
86. Sunset Boulevard (1950)*
87. Taxi Driver (1976)
88. The Third Man (1949)*
89. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)*
90. Top Hat (1935)
91. Touch Of Evil (1958)*
92. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
93. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
94. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
95. Vertigo (1958)*
96. West Side Story (1961)*
97. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
98. The Wild Bunch (1969)
99. The Wizard of Oz (1939)*
100. Wuthering Heights (1939)
101. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

FILE UNDER: Lists

Three Guys Named Mike

I have got to say that I did not have very high expectations for Three Guys Named Mike. But the movie was surprisingly funny!

The movie starts with Marcie (Jane Wyman) going off to airline stewardess school. She's a bit of a know-it-all and is always managing things for her family. This tendancy comes with Marcy to her new job, but she still manages to graduate and start being a real airline stewardess. But on her way to work one day, the cab she is in has a flat. So who drives by but the first Mike (Howard Keel), a pilot, who gives her a ride to the airport. She manages to insult pilots and not make him very happy. On this flight, Marcie also forgets to bring the lunches for the passengers, and they have to turn around to get them. Of course, Marcie almost gets fired, but Mike intercedes and she gets to keep her job.

Marcie then ends up flying the trips to and from Hollywood instead of her usual flights with Mike. On her first flight she meets Mike number two (Van Johnson) who helps her manage a unruly child. He's an intellectual -- into biology or chemistry or something like that.

But once in Hollywood and while Marcie and her roommate look for a bungalow, they get a run-down battery. And a man (Barry Sullivan) is available to give them a push to get the car started again. (How this works to restart a dead battery, I don't know...but it's a movie so I will accept it!) He is (of course!) named Mike and an ad executive. Marcie gets involved with creating an ad campaign with him for Gardenia Soap.

Eventually the Mikes find out about each other. They wind up being Mike (Johnson), Michael (Keel), and Mickey (Sullivan). Each courts Marcie in their own way, but eventually Marcie has to choose. Each of the Mikes ask her to marry her, but only Mike (Johnson) says that he loves her. Awww. The real Mike wins out in the end, and Marcie leaves with him in tow to her next destination.

The movie is not so surprisngly cheesy, but it's still cute. Johnson is quite endearing as the professor Mike. However, if I were Marcie, I would have gone with Keel for my Mike. He's adorable in this movie, although perhaps a little brash compared to the intellectual-esque Johnson. I would actually watch this one again! Cheesy goodness!

FILE UNDER: Classic Films ; Van Johnson

Pilot #5

I caught Pilot #5 a while back and actually took notes on it, but seriously, it's not really a good enough to merit a long review.

Pilot #5 starts somewhere in Japan during WWII. There's only one plane left and five pilots who are willing to fly it. (I don't remember the character names, except for Gene Kelly's, so I'm going to use the actor's names instead.) Vito (Kelly) , Van Johnson, and the other two actors portraying the pilots all volunteer, but Franchot Tone is selected to pilot the plane because he answers why he wants to go with "For my country."

Ah, yes, we've entered the world of WWII propagandistic films. Pilot #5 is pretty heavy-handed, and not very exciting either, at least to my modern and liberal thinking mind. The story is all about Franchot, pilot #5, and his relationship with Vito. The story is told through flashbacks about their life before joining up. It's all very melodramatic, and fairly forgettable. He and Vito were friends, but a girl separated them. Plus there is a whole story about a man running for governor who has a propagandistic outlook but masks it in populism (shades of G.W.B.!). But in the end, Vito gives up the girl to Franchot and he joins the army. They get married and he leaves to fight in the War.

Franchot flies his plane to the Japanese carrier but the bomb doesn't fall like he thought it would. What is Franchot to do? Oh, our Pilot #5 is ready to die for his country and he flies the plane into the carrier as the other pilots listen over the radio.

Pilot #5 is really only interesting as a curiousity piece -- a film about WWII producing during WWII. If you are a Johnson fan, like me, don't waste your time. Our boy Van doesn't have much to do in the film, and it must have came pretty early in his career. But if you are a Kelly fan -- it might be interesting just to see what Kelly could do other than dance. I haven't seen too many movies where Kelly doesn't either dance OR sing, so this was pretty interesting.

FILE UNDER: Classic Films ; Van Johnson

Eddie Bracken

I've become enamoured of Eddie Bracken of late. I rewatched Too Many Girls with my roommate earlier this week. He's just so much fun. And he also appears in one of my favorite musicals of all time -- Summer Stock.

Sadly, Eddie is not a big enough of a star to merit a biography yet. His successes in two Preston Sturges movies (Miracle at Morgan Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero) are not quite enough to win him fame enough that people want to read about him.

However, I did find a fun interview with him in the Austin Chronicle. The first paragraph was definitely enough to pique my interest (and also my disappointment that Eddie hadn't written an autobiography!):

"When an actor's bio claims 14,000 performances to his credit, you rather expect the fellow to have some good stories. After all, that's quite a load of firsthand experience of the genius and madness, the egos and excitement, that go along with showbiz and show people. And Eddie Bracken doesn't disappoint. He has more than a few choice yarns gathered from his 70 years on Broadway, in Hollywood, and beyond, and he appears ever eager to share them."

14,000 performances! That's craaaazy!

I just got Preston Sturges's autobiography from the library today (Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words) and it looks to be a fun read. Hopefully there will be some mention of Eddie -- or else I'll have to start tracking down his co-stars' biographies in order to catch a fleeting glimpse of what his life was really like.

FILE UNDER: Biography