Classic Movies I Have Seen Recently

Suspicion (1940)

Decent suspense thriller from directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine (in a role that won her the Oscar for Best Actress). Lots of scenes show Hitchcock as the spell-binding genius he is with Cary Grant giving an amazing portrayal of a man who is seemingly a narcissistic sociopath and Joan Fontaine as his frightened and increasingly paranoid wife.
Anyway, decent movie but I felt the ending was a bit of a cop-out. Even if it did get Fontaine the Oscar.

The Gay Divorcee (1934)

This is the first movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sharing top billing and its a pretty good outing. It starts a bit slow-ish (to me) but it gets very good. The plot is simple, Ginger Rogers wants a divorce from her husband she has not seen in a few years and who won't grant a divorce (different time) so her lawyer hires a man for her to be caught with. However, Fred Astaire has fallen for her. The best moment is the "Night and Day" scene. Here is where you see why Ginger was such a good dance partner for Fred. You can sincerely believe that a woman would fall in love with a man after dancing with him. 

Scene:

Only Ginger Rogers could make that stunned look as believable as she does. Some people's favorite scene is the big dance scene "The Continental" but I prefer the quieter one above.


Kelly's Heroes (1970)

Classic, tongue-in-cheek World War 2 action-comedy about a group of US soldiers going behind German lines to find some Nazi gold. It stars Clint Eastwood as the lead character Kelly who comes up with the plan, Donald Sutherland as a hippie tank leader (yes, a hippie), Don Rickles as the intel/accountant, and Telly Savalas as the Sergeant. The movie is a fun flick. Though it does contain some crude humour. Its a fun guy movie.

My favorite part has to be the song "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation!

Downton Abbey Ep. 3 Recap

Well, its three episodes into this season (or series in Brit speak) of ITV's Downton Abbey airing on PBS here in the states and I have decided to begin a recap.

First, a word on terminology. To identify between the story lines of the Crawleys and the staff I might be using the terms "upstairs" and Downstairs" for the two with "Upstairs" referring to the Crawleys and their story lines such as Mary/Matthew or the Isobel-Violet War and Downstairs for the staff such as John/Anna's relationship. I am including Tom Branson in the Upstairs for the most part because he has married into the Crawley's and most of his story lines involve the Crawleys.
Also, I've only seen about half of Season 2 so if I missed a great moment in the second half, I apologize. I hope to rectify this problem as soon as possible.

Now, onto the recap!

This week in Downton Abbey...

• Thomas (a homosexual) may have found a possible new avenue for romance in the new Footman, James. Unfortunately for him Mrs. O'Brien knows about Thomas's attraction to James and since Thomas has been treating her nephew, another footman, like crap for the past few episodes, she is likely to figure out a way to use it against him. 
• Tom Branson let his revolutionary "tear-down-the-establishment-despite-marrying-into-the-establishment" ideals got him into some trouble with the Irish authorities. Due largely to him attending a bunch of revolutionary "Free Ireland" meetings and possibly burning down a Lord's manor. Fortunately, his father-in-law was able to bail him out. 
• Middle-child Lady Edith, tired of being the family martyr in the areas of romance after getting dumped at the alter, decided to finally do something and, after hearing that the U.S. will soon be ratifying the 19th Amendment, sent in a letter to a newspaper (The Times, I think) taking up the cause of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom and Lord Grantham didn't like it too much. 
• Speaking of Lord Grantham. We learned that he apparently has no financial management skills whatsoever. Matthew, who has taken an interest in the place's finances since he pretty much bailed them out at the beginning of this season, has realized this and plans some changes. Just as Lord Grantham is hiring more help. So expect financial fireworks this season!
• Also, being a prostitute sucks. In more ways than one.
• I also believe that this episode provided further evidence for my case that the John/Anne story is the best romance on the show in an episode where the closest they came to actually sharing a scene together was a dissolve. In fact, the tender moment at the end when they finally read the letters the prison has been blocking is probably a more interesting and engaging moment than anything I've seen happen between Mary and Matthew. 
• We also learned that Lord Grantham isn't a big fan of Catholics, seeing them as a bit "Johnny Foreigner". 

Well, that's about it. Can't wait for next week!