Glenn Ford and Gene Tierney want to know “The Secret of Convict Lake”

The Secret of Convict Lake (1951) is an American Western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, and Zachery Scott. The cinematography was by Leo Tover (The Snake Pit, The Heiress, and The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Six convicts escape from a Carson City prison in 1871 during a blizzard. One freezes to death, while the others find their way to Lake Monte Diablo, where eight women are on their own while their men are away prospecting. At first, the women are reluctant to have anything to do with the convicts, but eventually, they break down and offer them shelter and food. One of the men, Jim Canfield (Ford) is looking for the man who lied about him on the witness stand, which resulted in him going to prison. The man Canfield is looking for, Rudy Schaefer (Harry Carter) happens to be the man one of the women, Marcia Stoddard (Tierney), is planning to marry. Carter stole $40,000 and perjured himself, which led to Canfield being convicted of killing a mine owner and stealing his money. The convicts traveling with Canfield are convinced he hid the money somewhere in Lake Monte Diablo. Canfield denies he has the money hidden and explains he is only out for revenge; he plans on killing Schaefer for putting him in jail.

Will Canfield be successful in his quest for revenge? And what about the other convicts? What will their fates be?

Gene Tierney with rifle, flanked by Ann Dvorak on her right and Ruth Donnelly on her left; Ethel Barrymore in the doorway with a pistol

Michael Gordon (1909 - 1993) was an American film director who directed a wide variety of movies including melodramas, films noir, and comedies. His career as a director spanned almost 30 years. Some of his films include Cyrano de Begerac (1950), Pillow Talk (1959), Boys' Night Out (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963). Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his grandson by his daughter Jane.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contract player, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. Ford came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Gene Tierney, Glenn Ford, and Ethel Barrymore

Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959) was an American stage and film actress and part of the famous Barrymore family of actors. Her equally famous brothers were Lionel and John Barrymore. Barrymore got her start on the stage and she was among its brightest stars for many years. Barrymore also had a successful career on the other side of the Atlantic in London, where she starred in Peter the Great. She achieved one of her biggest Broadway successes in W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy, The Constant Wife (1926). Barrymore was a popular character actress in film during the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart (1944) opposite Cary Grant, who played her son. Other film roles include The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), and Pinky (1949).

Zachary Scott (1914 - 1965) was an American actor on stage and most notably in film. He made his film debut in the film noir The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). As a contract player at Warner Bros., Scott was the perfect slick, film noir villain. Before his career in film noir took off, he starred in The Southerner (1945) directed by Jean Renoir. It would be his role as Monty Beragon in Mildred Pierce (1945) that would be his most enduring role with film fans. Scott worked in film, stage, and television until 1963. He died of a malignant brain tumor.

Gene Tierney in a costume test for the film, with the scenes listed for when it would be worn.

The Secret of Convict Lake trivia:

• Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell were originally set to star as Jim Canfield and Marcia Stoddard respectively.
• The story is fictional but it is inspired by a real incident where a posse had a shoot-out with escaped convicts from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California that was named after the incident.
• This was actress Ann Dvorak’s last film role

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, June 23, 2025, 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What do you think the film’s major theme is? Does it have one in your opinion?
2. Were you surprised by women’s roles in the film?
3. The film features a great cast of supporting actresses. Did one actress’s performance stick out to you more than the others?
4. Did Gene Tierney and Glenn Ford have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Did this movie remind you of other films you’ve seen?

Robert Donat and Greer Garson star in “Goodbye Mr. Chips”

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) is an American romantic drama directed by Sam Wood and starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson in her film debut. The supporting cast included John Mills and Paul Henried (billed as Paul Von Hernried). The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Schoolmaster Mr. Chipping, due to a cold, misses a first-day assembly. In his 58 years teaching at the Brookfield public school, he never missed a day. While convalescing, he falls asleep and relives his teaching career. It’s a life filled with many challenges, heartache, and much joy.

Sam Wood (1883 – 1949) was an American film director and producer. He established him self in the silent era, directing several successful films starring Gloria Swanson. Wood made the transition to the sound era with ease. Some of Wood’s most famous sound films include A Night at the Opera (1935), A Day at the Races (1937), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). He also directed several scenes in Gone with the Wind (1939), although uncredited.

Robert Donat (1905 – 1958) was an English stage and film star. During the 1930s, he was one of Britain’s top male stars. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in The 39 Steps and Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), winning the Best Actor Academy Award for the latter. Hitchcock wanted Donat for the role of Detective Ted Spencer in Sabotage (1936) and Secret Agent (1936); the latter role would have reunited him with Carroll. Donat suffered from severe and chronic asthma, which affected his film career. He only made a total of 20 films.

Greer Garson (1905 – 1996) was a British-American film actress and singer. Garson was a top box office star from 1942 to 1946. She received seven Academy Award nominations for Best Actress, winning for her performance in Mrs. Miniver (1942). A favorite of M-G-M’s studio head Louis B. Mayer, Garson was cast in some of the most popular pictures the studio produced, including Pride and Prejudice (1940), Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Random Harvest (1942), Madame Curie (1943), Mrs. Parkington (1944), and The Valley of Decision (1945). Later in her career, she was nominated for her seventh Best Actress Award for Sunrise at Campobello (1960), playing Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

Greer Garson and Robert Donat

Goodbye, Mr. Chips trivia

• Greer Garson’s performance is just under 25 minutes, but she was nominated in the Best Actress category.
• In the film, Donat’s character is 25 years older than Garson’s. In reality, Garson was six months older than Donat.
• Garson was signed by M-G-M in 1937, but rejected all the minor roles she was offered until the role of Kathy Ellis in this movie.
• The film was dedicated to Irving Thalberg.
• John Mills was 30 years old, playing a teenage schoolboy.
• This was the English-speaking film debut of Paul Henreid.
• Filmed in the United Kingdom, with exterior shots filmed in the village of Repton in Derbyshire.

 

Click HERE to watch the film on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, June 16, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation via email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. Robert Donat was up against Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind for the Best Actor award. Would you have awarded Donat the Oscar over Gable?
2. What did you think of Greer Garson’s film debut? Did she deserve the Best Actress nod?
3. Would you recommend this film to your friends?
4. Did you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue?
5. Did this remind you of any other films you’ve seen?

James Stewart, Lee Remick, and Ben Gazzara head the cast in “Anatomy of a Murder”

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) is an American courtroom drama directed by Otto Preminger and starring James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O’Connell, Eve Arden, and Kathryn Grant. The supporting cast includes George C. Scott, Orson Bean, and Murray Hamilton. The musical score is by Duke Ellington.

Lawyer Paul Biegler (Stewart), a former district attorney, is contacted by Laura Manion (Remick) to defend her husband, US Army Lieutenant Frederick “Manny” Manion. Manny was arrested for murdering innkeeper Bernard “Barney” Quill. Manny doesn’t deny murdering Quill, but he said he did so because he raped his wife.

Biegler, a small-town lawyer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, uses all his knowledge of the law to defend Manny. Will his folksy lawyer strategy get Manny acquitted, or will the sophisticated prosecuting attorney, Claude Dancer (Scott), get Manny convicted of murder?

Otto Preminger (1905 -1986) was an American film director who made more than 35 feature films during a five-decade career. Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a Jewish family. Preminger was drawn to acting from an early age and became the apprentice of famed stage director Max Reinhardt. In 1935, he was recruited by Twentieth Century-Fox to apprentice as a director at the studio. After a rocky start, Preminger established himself as an A-list director after Rouben Mamoulian was fired from Laura (1944). The film noir classic made major stars of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews and is considered one of the best film noirs of all time. While under contract to Fox, Preminger directed Fallen Angel (1945), Centennial Summer (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947). After he left Fox, Preminger became a maverick, constantly clashing with members of the Production Code. He released two films without the approval of the Production Code: The Moon is Blue (1953) and The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Both films were financial successes and helped bring an end to the Code entirely. Later successes for Preminger include Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Exodus (1960).

James Stewart (1908 - 1997) was an American actor whose career spanned almost five decades and 80 films. Stewart often portrayed the ideal of the average American who was decent and honest. Stewart signed a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he appeared in a variety of supporting roles in B and A pictures. It wasn’t until he was loaned out to Columbia Pictures to costar in Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You (1938) that his home studio began to take notice. Still, his best roles were on loan to other studios, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) at Columbia again and Destry Rides Again (1939) at Universal. M-G-M eventually cast him in The Philadelphia Story (1940) where he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, which cemented his reputation as a leading man and star. From there, he went on to make The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and The Mortal Storm (1940). After serving in the United States Army from 1941 - 1945, Stewart returned to Hollywood where he continued as a popular leading man. During the 1950s, Steward made two films with director Alfred Hitchcock, which are considered two of the director’s best films: Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958). Vertigo was voted the greatest film ever made by Sight & Sound in 2012.

Lee Remick (1935 – 1991) was an American actress and singer. She made her film debut in A Face in the Crowd (1957) directed by Elia Kazan. She quickly established herself as a Major leading actress in films like Wild River (1960), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination, No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), The Detective (1968), The Omen (1976), and The Europeans (1979). Remick also received a Best Actress Tony nomination for her lead performance in Wait Until Dark (1966), a role that Audrey Hepburn would portray in the screen version in 1967.She received Golden Globe Awards for her television work. She won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her performance in Jennie: Lady Churchill (1974).

Ben Gazzara (1930 – 2012) was an American actor, director, appearing on stage, film, and television. His big break came with his starring role as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955 -1956). This led to a successful film career starting with Anatomy of a Murder (1959). He starred on television in Run for Your Life (1965 -1968). Gazzara was a frequent collaborator of John Cassavetes, working with him on the films Husbands (1970) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). Some of his movies include The Bridge at Remagen (1969), Voyage of the Damned (1976), and Saint Jack (1979).

 

Anatomy of a Murder trivia

• The film pushed the boundaries of the Production Code by using words like “bitch,” “contraception,” and “rape,” words not heard in American films before.
• James Stewart’s father found the film offensive and took out an ad in his local paper advising people not to see it.
• Much of the movie was filmed on location in Marquette County, Michigan.
• Lana Turner turned down the role of Laura, leaving the door open for Remick, Preminger’s first choice.
• James Stewart received his last Oscar-nominated performance. It was George C. Scott’s first Academy Award nomination.
• The film was banned in Chicago upon its initial release.

 

Ben Gazzara and James Stewart

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Movie Archive.

Click HERE to join the discussion on June 9, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Lee Remick, Eve Arden, and James Stewart

Discussion questions

1. This film was shocking for its frankness when dealing with a subject like rape and murder. Did you find anything about the film shocking or surprising?
2. Three actors from the film were nominated for Academy Awards: James Stewart, Best Actor; Arthur O’Connell, Best Supporting Actor; and George C. Scott, also for Best Supporting Actor. Did you think their performances were worthy of the nominations?
3. What did you think of the jazz score by Duke Ellington? Do you think it worked with the movie?
4. What did you make of the Lee Remick character? Do you think she was telling the truth about her relationship with Barney?
5. Did the Michigan location add to the film’s authenticity?
6. Would you recommend this film to a friend?

Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney are trapped behind “The Iron Curtain”

The Iron Curtain (1948) is an American espionage thriller directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. It is based on the memoirs of Igor Gouzenko, a Russian code deciphering expert working at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Canada, in 1943. The supporting cast includes June Havoc, Berry Kroeger, and Edna Best. This was the first about the Cold War.

Dana Andrews plays Igor Gouzenko, an expert at deciphering codes, who arrives at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa to help set up a base of operations to spy on the Canadian government. At first, Igor is loyal to the Russian cause, but once his pregnant wife, Anna (Tierney), arrives, he begins to have second thoughts.

Is capitalism as evil as he has been taught? Does Russia deserve his loyalty?

Once it is decided that Igor is to be sent back to Moscow, he faces a difficult decision.

 

Gene Tierney and Dana Adrews

William A. Wellman (1896 – 1975) was an American film director. He started his directorial career in silent films. Wellman directed Wings (1927), which was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony. Wellman directed two classic films released in 1937: Nothing Sacred and A Star is Born. Other important films directed by Wellman include Beau Geste (1939), Roxie Hart (1942), The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), Yellow Sky (1948), Battleground (1949), and The High and the Mighty (1954).

Dana Andrews (1909 – 1992) was an American stage and film actor. During the 1940s, Andrews was a major star and leading man in Laura (1944), State Fair (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Canyon Passage (1946), Boomerang! (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947) co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda. During the 1950s, film roles were harder to come by, but he had success in Elephant Walk (1954) co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch, While the City Sleeps (1956), and Curse of the Demon (1957). In 1958, he replaced Henry Fonda on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw.

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. Tierney made her movie debut in 1940 in The Return of Frank James starring Henry Fonda. She worked steadily in the early 1940s but established herself as a top box office star with Laura (1944). She starred in Leave Her to Heaven the next year, which was the biggest hit of the year and Fox’s biggest moneymaking success until The Robe (1953). Other successes for Tierney include Dragonwyck (1946), The Razor’s Edge (1946), and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).

 

The Iron Curtain trivia

• The film was shot on location in Ottawa.
• Soviet sympathizers tried to disrupt location shooting, but were unsuccessful.
• The fourth of five movies Andrews and Tierney made together.
• The film was the number one movie in America during its first two weeks of release and was a commercial success.
• New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther said the film would negatively impact U.S. Soviet relations. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck responded to Crowther’s review in a much-publicized letter to the critic.
• Twentieth Century Fox considered The Iron Curtain to be one of their biggest films of the year; the film’s score was played with the studio logo instead of the Fox fanfare.

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on June 2, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. Considering this film was made at a time when the Cold War was just beginning, does it hold up as entertainment?
2. Did the film’s documentary-style narrative appeal to you?
3. Do you think the film was realistic in its portrayal of the Russian spies?
4. Did the on-location filming at to the film’s realism?
5. How do you think the film was received by audiences in 1948?
6. Did the film remind you of other movies you’ve seen?
7. Forgetting that the film is based on a true story, does it work as a political thriller?
8. The film was criticized for using music from Russian composers. What did you think of the film score? Does it work?

Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore star in “True Confession”

True Confession (1937) is an American screwball comedy directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. The supporting cast included Una Merkel, Porter Hall, Edgar Kennedy, Fritz Feld, and Hattie McDaniel.

Carole Lombard plays Helen Bartlett, a housewife and aspiring fiction writer. Helen is a habitual storyteller; she is often fast and loose with the truth. Helen bangs out short stories on her portable typewriter at home while her husband, Ken (MacMurray), tries to establish his fledgling law practice. He has a problem: he’s only interested in taking on clients who are truthful and innocent. He is the complete opposite of Helen. Ken’s refusal to take on “guilty” clients causes friction between the young couple struggling to make ends meet. Helen writes stories in an attempt to help with the family finances, which Ken resents. When Helen is conjuring up a lie, her tongue is planted firmly in her cheek, and you can see the wheels turning in her head.

When Helen applies for a private secretary position at an incredibly generous salary, her best friend, Daisy (Una Merkel), smells a rat. Helen’s boss, Otto Krayler (John T. Murray), really doesn’t want a secretary, but rather a playmate. On her very first day on the job, Krayler makes a pass at Helen and she quits in a huff. Later, she realizes that she left her hat and coat at Krayler’s lavish apartment. When she and Daisy go to retrieve them, the two discover that Krayler has been murdered and that, according to Detective Darsey (Edgar Kennedy), Helen is the prime suspect!

How is Helen going to get out of this mess?

 

Fred MacMurray, Carole Lombard, and John Barrymore

True Confession trivia

• Lombard lobbied to get John Barrymore hired to play Charlie Jasper. She also insisted that he get star billing.
• This was the fourth and final film that Lombard and Fred MacMurray made together. All four of their films were box office successes.
• True Confession was released within weeks of the more famous Lombard film Nothing Sacred. Ironically, True Confession was the bigger box office hit.
• The film was remade in 1946 as Cross My Heart starring Betty Hutton.
• This blogger thinks this film was a template for the I Love Lucy television situation comedy.

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Movie Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on May 26, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Una Merkel, Carol Lombard

Discussion questions

1. Why do you think Lombard fans preferred this film over Nothing Sacred, released the same year?
2. Was Lombard believable as a congenital liar?
3. What did you think of the girlfriend chemistry between Lombard and Una Merkel? Did their friendship remind you of another famous girlfriend team?
4. As noted in the trivia section, this was the fourth and last film that MacMurray and Lombard made. Did you think they had good on-screen chemistry?
5. What did you think of John Barrymore’s performance? Was Lombard right in insisting he be cast in the role of Charlie Jasper?
6. Did the film remind you of any other films you’ve seen?

Ray Milland and Jane Wyman star in Billy Wilder’s “The Lost Weekend”

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American drama directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. The screenplay was written by Wilder and Charles Brackett based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson. The cinematography is by John F. Seitz, and the music is by Miklos Rozsa.

New York writer Don Birnam (Milland) is packing for a weekend vacation with his brother Wick (Philip Terry). Don, who is an alcoholic, is desperately trying to get out of traveling out of town. When his girlfriend Helen St. James (Wyman) arrives with gifts and two tickets to an afternoon concert, Don suggests that Wick go to the concert instead of him. Don’s goal is to get drunk and forget about the weekend trip.

So begins a downward spiral into severe alcoholism, where Don will do anything for a drink.

Will Don be able to claw his way back to sobriety and a stable life with Helen?

 

Ray Milland and Jane Wyman

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) was a Welsh-American movie star and film director. He won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). Milland played bit parts at M-G-M and Paramount. While at Paramount, he was loaned to Universal to for a lead in the Deanna Durbin movie Three Smart Girls (1936). The success of the film led to him being cast in leading roles. He became one of Paramount’s biggest stars, remaining there for almost 20 years. Other films starring Milland include The Major and the Minor (1942), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), where he had top billing over John Wayne, the horror classic The Uninvited (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Later in his career, he starred as Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story (1970).

Jane Wyman (1917 – 2007) was an American actress. Wyman starred in movies and television and won a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Johnny Belinda (1948). She received four nominations for Best Actress between 1946 and 1954. She had a huge success with the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest (1981 – 1990), where she played the conniving family matriarch Angela Channing. Other Wyman films include The Lost Weekend (1945), The Yearling (1946), Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955), and  Pollyanna (1960).

 

Ray Milland

The Lost Weekend trivia

• Billy Wilder claimed that the liquor industry offered Paramount $5 million not to release the film.
• Ray Milland checked himself into Bellevue Hospital with the medical staff’s approval so he could experience what a drunk ward was like.
• Ray Milland didn’t give an acceptance speech when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He acknowledged the applause and left the stage.
• Billy Wilder read The Lost Weekend on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles. He thought it would be the perfect material for his next film.
• Ray Milland was advised not to take the role, fearing it would damage his career. Many leading men of the day turned the role down.
• Jane Wyman was loaned to Paramount for her role as Helen St. James. Wyman called it a “miracle.” Her performance received good notices, and she went from supporting player to major movie star.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

 

Discussion questions

1. How do you think audiences in 1945 reacted to this film?
2. Does the impact of this film hold up in 2025?
3. Was Ray Milland believable as an alcoholic?
4. Did he and Jane Wyman have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Was the film’s portrayal of alcoholism realistic?
6. Did anything about the film surprise you?
7. Did the film score add to the dramatic narrative?

2025 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival—Planning V. Reality: What Did I See? #TCMFF

Every year, I try to plan what movies I’m going to see at the TCM Film Festival. It’s tough keeping to the schedule you planned out beforehand, but there are challenges. Below are the films I planned on seeing and what I actually saw. The reality of what I ended up seeing is in red.

Thursday April 24

7-8 p.m. Teacher’s Pet (1958) – I’ve never seen this film, and I’m excited to see it on the big screen with an audience. And for this night only, it doesn’t conflict with any other movie I’d like to see. I actually kept to schedule on this one. I was determined to see this film. I had never seen it before, and I wasn’t disappointed. Day and Gable were great, and so was Gig Young, nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his performance; it was well deserved. It was entertaining, and it looked great on the big screen.

Gig Young, Doris Day, and Clark Gable

10 p.m. – 12 a.m. If I can stay awake, I may see Hud (1963) in the Egyptian Theatre. It’s been years since I’ve seen this film, and never in the theater, so this could be fun. Well, I wasn’t able to stay awake. I wasn’t too disappointed, but I would have liked to have seen it with an audience at the Egyptian.

Friday April 25

9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Thunderball (1965) starring Sean Connery as James Bond. Screening in the Chinese Multiplex House, and Luciana Paluzzi will be at the post-screening. Cinderella (1950) is screening at the El Capitan Theatre at 10 a.m. I’m tempted to go see it because I haven’t seen it since my older sister took me to see it when I was a kid, and the El Capitan is a really beautiful theater. I’ll probably end up seeing the Bond film. Odd decision between Thunderball and Cinderella, but that’s how it goes at the TCMFF. I ended up seeing Thunderball, and I was glad I did. It was a beautiful DCP presentation. The color was perfect; it looked brand new. It was a James Bond film I hadn’t seen before, so it was a real treat to see it on the big screen (you might be seeing this phrase often). Bond bad girl Luciana Paluzzi was interviewed after the film by Eddie Muller. Paluzzi, who is 87 years old, was a delight. She looked amazing and had wonderful stories about the director, Terrence Young, and Sean Connery. She and Connery remained lifelong friends after the film wrapped.

12:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. This is a toss-up. The Time Machine (1960) and Babe (1995) are both scheduled at the same time. The Time Machine is in the small Chinese Multiplex Theatre 4. I didn’t follow my plans at all. I chose Servant’s Entrance (1934), starring Janet Gaynor and Lew Ayres. The supporting cast included Ned Sparks and Walter Connolly. I had never heard of this film, a screwball comedy, but it packed out the Egyptian. The movie is a forgotten gem that includes an amazing animated dream sequence by Disney animators, three years before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was glad I saw this film; it may be my favorite from the whole festival.

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.; 3:15 p.m. -5 p.m.; 3:30 – 5:15 p.m. Three movies that I would like to see, but I have to choose one. In order of show times, it’s: Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Enchanted Cottage, and Edge of the City (1957). Which movie would you choose? I ended up seeing The Enchanted Cottage. I had seen Bringing Up Baby on the big screen just a few months ago, and Edge of the City was playing in Theatre Four, which is the smallest of the multiplex theatres, and it’s a challenge to get in sometimes. So, I decided to see The Enchanted Cottage. I hadn’t seen that movie in decades, so it felt like new to me. It was a restored DCP presentation, and looked beautiful in glorious black and white!

Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire

6:30 p.m. The Lady Eve (1941) is a movie I have to see on the big screen with an audience. It’s one of my favorite Preston Sturges films, and it stars two legends of the screen: Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. There wasn’t a chance I was going to miss this one. It was wonderful seeing it on the big screen for the first time with an audience primed to enjoy it, and we did!

9 p.m. – 11:15 p.m. Now, Voyager (1942); 9:15 – 10:45 p.m. Lili (1953). Another toss-up and two completely different movies. I may just flip a coin on this one. It might be tough getting into Lili since it’s screening in Theatre 4. Well, I decided on Lili. I remember seeing Lili when I was young. They used to play it at children’s matinees. I think they thought the puppets made it perfect for kids, but it’s a film that deals with some adult themes. The film was shown in 35mm.

Saturday April 26

9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Ben-Hur (1959) is being presented in a world premiere restoration in the Chinese Theatre. I can’t think of a better theatre to see this Academy Award-winning epic. If I see this film, that means I’m giving up a chance to see two other movies. I would like to see Daisy Kenyon (1947) at the Egyptian Theatre in a nitrate print. I opted to see Ben-Hur at the Chinese in a world premiere restoration that was absolutely glorious. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie as clear and perfect as this one. The color was so vibrant and clear, it was like seeing it for the first time. The chariot race on the screen at the Chinese was thrilling. As many times as I’ve seen Ben-Hur, the chariot race never gets old.

3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. To Be or Not To Be (1942) is screening at Theatre 4 so it could be tough getting into this one, but I’m going to try. This Ernst Lubitsch comedy is one of the best of the era. I got in and it was great. The audience was totally into it, and made it all the more enjoyable.

9 p.m. – 11:15 p.m. A Guy Named Joe is a movie I wanted to see as soon as it was announced. The film stars Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, with a star-making turn by a young Van Johnson. It’s in Theatre 4, so I’ll have to get in line early. I was determined to get into this movie, so I skipped the group of movies that started at 6:15 p.m. I ended up being number two in line. I shouldn’t have worried because the theatre wasn’t filled?! I could have seen any one of the movies before it and gotten in. I was glad I saw it on the big screen, regardless. I thought a film starring Tracy and Dunne would have been a bigger draw, but there was a lot of competition during that slot. Oh, by the way, I was number two in line.

Sunday April 27

Sunday can be a crap shoot with the TBA movies being revealed. As of this moment, I don’t know what I want to see. Nothing is a must-see for me, although there are some movies I’d like to see on the big screen, like Splendor in the Grass (1961) at 11:45 a.m. in Theatre 1. I may go see the silent version of Beau Geste (1926) in the Egyptian Theatre at 7:30 p.m. I ended up seeing at 9 a.m. All This and Heaven Too (1940) in Theatre Four (my luck getting into this theatre was extraordinary). I did go to see Splendor in the Grass in Theatre 1. Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, with her daughter were interviewed before the film by Alicia Malone. Natasha’s daughter had never seen the movie before, so she was seeing it for the first time on the big screen with an audience. She never met her grandmother. At 5:30 p.m., I went to see Moonlight and Pretzels (1933). This pre-code musical was a hoot. A low-rent imitation of 42^nd Street (1933), was so bad it was good. The audience ate it up, and so did I. Some memorable numbers from the movie included “Dusty Shoes.” Check it out below!

The last movie I saw was Beau Geste (1926) starring Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, with Victor McLaglen and William Powell. This silent film was making its world premiere restoration at the Festival. Shown in the Egyptian theatre with a small orchestra and a foley artist who provided sound effects. It was quite amazing to experience a silent film the way audiences would have when it was first released.

All in all, I saw 13 movies in four days, which comes to 3.25 movies a day. In past Festivals, I’ve seen as many as 16 movies. This year, I took out some time for lunch and dinner, something I neglected in past years.