Sunday Movie Review: "Julia Misbehaves" (1948)

Hello folks!

Before I get started with the very first SMR of 2012 (since I skipped it last week on account of New Year's Day), I have two notes I'd like to quickly mention:

1. The page for my 250 films in 2012 meme is now up! I've replaced my "What's my Line? Wednesdays" widget for a button for this page, so just take a peek into the tab bar. I encourage you to go over and there take to see what I'm watching. So far I've seen three films this year. Here's to meeting my goal!
2. Film Classics is hosting a poll for the best article of 2012. It includes the four articles that won the four different contests held at Film Classics last year - two by Kevyn at The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World, one by Natalie, and one by me :) The poll closes the eighteenth of this month. So be sure and go and vote for your favorite article. And as usual, please read them all! :)

Okay, that's it. Now onto the review. It feels so long since I did a SMR that wasn't a Christmas movie, lol. :)

***

The poster: Greer lounging in a martini glass showing off her Garson gams... surrounded by bubbles... and the tagline "Greer Garson misbehaves - Walter Pidgeon loves it!" It's just the best poster I've seen in a while, is all.

The plot:

English dancehall actress Julia Packett hasn't seen her daughter since Susan was a few months old, having given her up to be raised by her respectable and wealthy father William (whom Julia never divorced.) When she gets an invitation to her daughter's wedding, she "borrows" some money from a male friend and heads off to the south of France for the nuptials. While there she manages to establish a mother-daughter relationship, get another man to provide her with a lot of money, provoke her mother-in-law's ire, string along a potential husband and his mother, and rekindle the spark in William, all within a day or two. [from IMdb]

The starring players:

• Greer Garson as Julia Packett
• Walter Pidgeon as William Packett
• Elizabeth Taylor as Susan Packett
• Peter Lawford as Ritchie Lorgan
• Cesar Romero as Fred Ghenoccio  

The verdict:

★★★★

You all may know that I have been wanting to see Julia Misbehaves (1948) for forever. Okay, actually, since early November - which is when my obsession with Greer began - but I'm really quite an impatient person. Anyway, this movie was really appealing to me because Greer and screwball comedy, well, honestly, how could you turn something like that down? And this has such a spectacular cast. Besides Greer, you've got Walter and Elizabeth (another one of my favorite actresses), Peter and Cesar... yeah, it's hard to not want to watch this movie. Plus I heard a lot of good things about it.

Well, it did not disappoint. Oh my gosh, I loved it! It definitely wasn't perfect and I do think that the plot was lacking in places. But considering that it's a screwball comedy I'm willing to set that aside. The very first reason to love this film, first and foremost, is Greer. Greer everything. <3

Oh my goodness, Julia Packett. Instantly one of my new favorite characters. From the first time we see her scrubbing away in her tub you just love her! And if that wasn't good enough, Greer SINGS AGAIN. Like she did in Random Harvest (1941)! Yes, I still think "My Bonny Daisy" tops all for me, but Julia's song about joining the navy is still pretty awesome in its own right. Literally, every time Greer sings I swoon a bit. I love her singing voice, I just love how when she pushes the notes a little too high her voice cracks a tiny bit, it's actually quite appealing to me (but then again, I'm a total Greer fangirl).

And then if that wasn't enough, Greer also does some of the following in this film:

• She wears a tablecloth like a boss and slow dances with Walter whilst doing so (in a cabin)
• Takes a bubble bath
• Flirts shamelessly with Cesar Romero
• Meets a suitor at a casino and cons him into buying $600 worth of clothes for her (actually, for Elizabeth Taylor)
• Has super sweet mother daughter moments with Elizabeth Taylor
• Slaps a sea lion (not on film, but she talks about it) and teaches us about the superstitions of wearing the color cyclamen pink. 
• Tries (but does not succeed) to fight against a disastrous rainstorm and lands up getting covered in mud

Yeah, this is not your typical Greer Garson film.

Which is one more reason to love it. So one pretty blatant reason itself is to watch this film because of Greer if for no other reason. 

Then there are the others in this film! Walter is his usual self, likable and Greer's perfect suitor, playing a rich Englishman (or was it French?) who albeit has an American accent, as Walter always does (or should I say Canadian if you want to be technical). Greer and Walter play a much more fun and exciting couple than they usually do. I mean, in all of their past pairings - the Minivers, the Curies, the Parkingtons - they played couples with perfect marriages (there actually is a line like that in The Miniver Story, Greer says something like, "We've had what most people have never experienced, a perfect marriage," or something like that). And we loved those perfect marriages because they were dependable. But it's also nice to see them in a change of pace as the fun Packetts. They made a perfect pair and you couldn't wait for them to get together again!

Elizabeth Taylor was crossing the bridge from child roles to adult ones and this film was one of those coming of age experiences for her. Her character is almost at times too naive, or childish, to be of marrying age but considering this was the 1940s it's believable enough. Anyway, I liked seeing her in this role and I just loved seeing her and Greer together. The two of them had some really sweet moments. She and Peter Lawford have wonderful moments in this, too. I did find it kind of weird when I found out later that Elizabeth was just sixteen when she did this, and Lawford twenty-five, and then, they kiss in this - which probably would be illegal... but hey, if you choose to ignore that they're a real sweet couple. 

The film has some wonderful, perfectly witty lines. Like: "Well I jolly well hauled off and slapped that old sea lion right in the snout!" and "I can't I'm in the nude -- well, get out of the nude!" There's even a moment in this in which Liz says, "He said my eyes looked like wet violets - isn't that ridiculous? Nobody's eyes look like wet violets," or something like that.

There are faults in this plot, but I still liked it. I don't want to say that you have to be a big fan of Greer to really enjoy this film, but it's true that if you are a big Greer fan you're likely to love this a lot. STILL. I encourage everyone to give this film a try, because it's really awesome. I mean, slapping sea lions and wearing tablecloths and Greer singing about the navy and discussing the superstitions of wearing cyclamen pink? And top it off with that cast?

The bottom line:

I really really liked this film. <3

Some photos GIFS:

[ALL GIFS VIA Bridie Quility]


Some trivia:

• Greer Garson met her third husband, Buddy Fogelson, during the filming of this movie via the introduction of Peter Lawford. They would be married until Fogelson's death. 
• Peter Lawford gave Elizabeth Taylor her first onscreen kiss in this film.

A movie tidbit:

Someone honestly needs to put this film on Youtube! I would... if I knew how... and had the time. :)

***

      Well, that's it for today! But I have one more question for my fellow bloggers, those that are more experienced than me in this blogging thing ;) Lately I've been getting quite a few annoying spam comments. These people use stupid template comments and then add a link to their website (usually some foreign website) somewhere in the comment. They always use different commenting handles. Despite word verification I keep getting this and I was wondering if anyone had a certain system or filter they use or whatever for avoiding these. I love getting comments so it's really annoying when I go to check out a comment and find some stupid advertisement for LED Glow Lights! (And I have, by the way). Anyway, thanks to all of you who comment for real. :) There will always be those other stupid trolls on the net, I suppose.

5 Things I Loved: Madame Curie (1943)

So, because of my Four Sundays of Christmas blogathon, I haven't been able to do movie reviews for the movies I've been watching recently. One of these movies is "Madame Curie (1943)," with the Pidgeons (AKA, Greer and Walter) and I do want to talk about it. So I thought instead of doing a movie review like I usually do, I would take a little spin on "5 Things I Love," the segment I usually use for someone's birthday, and switch it around for a film. Therefore, I present to you five things I loved about "Madame Curie."

Over all, I give "Madame Curie," 4 out of 5 stars. Not an excellent film but I really did enjoy it all the while, and there were certainly points about it that I really loved, which I'll now point out to you!

5 Things I Loved: Madame Curie (1943)

Raising the biopic to new heights, director Mervyn LeRoy's Oscar-nominated drama stars Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon as the titular scientist and her French physicist husband. After young Polish student Marie and Dr. Pierre Curie fall in love and marry, the pair sets to work isolating a new element, radium. After years of painstaking research, their efforts pay off, but just as success comes calling, so does tragedy. [from Netflix]

#5: It made science come alive.

I'm really more of a English and history person than I am of a math/science person. I actually do make As in the two latter mentioned subjects, only they don't hold my attention or interest me as much as learning about the past or writing! However, this movie really made Madame Curie's story interesting to me. Now I'm really so impressed by what she did (and best of all - I understood how she did it!). And also, to do all she did in the early 20th century, which was a time where people expected women to sit back on their heels and let the men do everything - well, impressive is an understatement! For once, science was thrilling, and though a lot of it had to do with the fact it was Greer and Walter discovering radium, well, it was still exciting for once!

#4: "To catch a star..."

There's one line often used when Marie Curie's story is told, and that is this lovely lovely line: "To catch a star on your fingertips." Well, for the romanticizing writer that I am, that's one line that really sets me dreaming. Doesn't it? And add to that line Greer's expression, the dreaminess flitting across her pretty face, and all of that, and you can nearly feel the stardust on your fingertips. 

[via]

#3: The way nerdy scientists fall in love, and propose.

The one adorable scene in this movie is when Walter's character, Pierre Curie, decides all of a sudden to come out with and propose to Marie. It's the middle of the night and they're staying at his parents house in the French countryside, and he stomps up to her bedroom and bangs on the door, "Madame Skłodowska!" (her name before she was married). Then he goes in there, and she's sitting in the bed all confuzzled, and then in the most brilliant vocabulary, drawing comparisons to themselves and scientific compounds, he explains why the should get married (for it will be best for the world of science.). And then in the same, well, nerdy way Greer agrees - and happily Walter agrees to this, leaves the room, and then comes back, realizing he's forgotten something. He then plants a kiss on Greer's forehead. Here, watch for yourself (starts at 40 minutes and 55 seconds):

#2: The supporting cast.

This movie has a fantastic, fantastic support casting! Henry Travers, one of my favorite character actors and Clarence from "It's a Wonderful Life," plays Walter's father. Van Johnson, who was not yet a star (just three years earlier he'd played in his first movie role, a chorus boy in "Too Many Girls," the 1940 movie in which Lucy and Desi fell in love on the set of ;D), makes a really short appearance as a reporter (you can watch it here). And then there's Margaret O'Brian as their daughter. She's so adorable, really! And you know, Margaret was such a big star in her own right in the early 40's. I loved her in "Meet Me in St. Louis" - I think I like her much better than Shirley Temple. Here she is with Greer and Walter in a very sweet scene (the Curies have once more hit a glitch in their quest to discover radium): 

#1: It made me CRY.

Okay, so this is honestly a SPOILER, unless you know Marie Curie's life story, in which you might already know this was coming. Anyway, SPOILER. Now, let's get on with it - so after they discovered radium, the Pidgeons and the adorable Margaret O'Brian (and their new baby) go on a holiday for some much needed rest (they'd been working in a shed for five years, being exposed to radium constantly), and Greer and Walter have this short conversation about what would happen if one of them had to go on without the other. After this, and the movie continues, I just honestly knew in my heart that Walter was going to die. Thus comes a scene where Greer's getting all dressed up and looking gorgeous for a party, and Walter decides to go out and get her some earrings, and on his way back - he's walking in the street - and I just knew it was coming, I'd been saying it for ten minutes that he was going to die - well, he gets run over by a wagon and dies instantly. Then Greer discovers the news and has the most painful expression on her face and I just started crying! I think it's the first time I've cried over a human dying in a movie. There comes a certain part where Greer just clutches the earrings he'd bought for her before dying, and crumples to the floor sobbing, and I just cried harder and harder. So yes, it made me cry, that's simply how amazing Greer and Walter are.

Greer looking lovely, and Walter right before he sets out to purchase the earrings. You just know it's going to happen! :/

***

Well, there it is, five things I loved about "Madame Curie (1943)". And like I said, overall I really enjoyed this movie and I suggest you watch it. The full movie is on Youtube, and the link for it is up in #3.

Christmas vacation and the holidays are almost here! I can hardly wait! :)

Sunday Movie Review: "Mrs. Parkington" (1944)

Keeping with the theme of my Greer Garson obsession, I have one of her movies for this SMR. Actually, I wasn't sure whether to review this or "My Man Godfrey" (1936), but I decided to go with this one. There isn't much to say about the latter except it's a brilliant, adorable screwball comedy, Carole Lombard and William Powell were magnificent, and you really ought to see it.

***

The poster: Nothing spectacular, but that's a pretty portrait of Miss Greer there. 

The plot:

In this family saga, Mrs. Parkington recounts the story of her life, beginning as a hotel maid in frontier Nevada where she is swept off her feet by mine owner and financier Augustus Parkington. He moves them to New York, tries to remake her into a society woman, and establishes their home among the wealthiest of New York's high society. Family and social life is not always peaceful, however, and she guides us, in flashbacks, through the rises and falls of the Parkington family fortunes. [from IMdb]

The starring players:

• Greer Garson as Susie "Sparrow" Parkington
• Walter Pidgeon as Major Augustus Parkington
• Agnes Moorehead as Baroness Aspasia Conti

The verdict:

3.5 / 5

I have mixed feelings about this film! One of the first things I noticed when I began to watch it was, "Oh, no, Greer's playing an old woman!" And then in succession: "Oh no, Greer's gone brunette!" (Not like there's anything wrong with the latter - I mean, I'm a brunette myself but don't we all love to see Greer with her glorious red hair even if you couldn't really see it anyway because it's in black and white, but that's besides the point.). However, I tried not to let these things bother me and continued into the movie. I must say I liked this movie because it was sweet. It's always fun to see Greer as an American girl for me -;) and I get a one up! She was of course excellent as she usually is, I'm really appreciating her refined style of acting (among the many reasons I now adore her).  Not to mention that her character was really likable. And though at first I thought it was crazy for her to be in the old woman get up, I was watching this on my iPod, on Youtube, in fuzzy black and white so things turned out okay for me there. I'm alright with the idea now because I think it gave depth to her character, the movie being in flashbacks. Oh, and as for the brunette part - she was still gorgeous and I got used to it as the movie moved on (but still glad she returned to red after this). 

As for Walter Pidgeon: he I am also gaining a greater fondness for, though not exactly head over heels like I did with Greer. :D Still, I liked him and he and Greer always have excellent chemistry so no wonder they were paired so often together. As for his character, his character was much bolder and at times slightly harder to like, but at the end of the day you knew he meant well so I accepted it. Agnes Moorehead, who I love of course, I simply adored as the Baroness Aspasia. She bounced off some great lines. There were some other minor actors who played members of the Parkington family, but they were all kind of unlikable so won't get into them. 

Since I really enjoyed the performances of the three main characters, most of the problems I had with this movie fell in it's script and the like. The flashbacks seemed somewhat random and rough at points, and so did the plot line. Keep in mind that this film spawns sixty years or so, and so if you don't like those kind of movies steer clear. Because of that at times the plot seemed a little hard to follow, not to mention you had the contrasting storylines of what was happening in flashback world and what was happening in the present day (some corruption plot involving a Parkington family member due to a niece wanting to run away with her boyfriend?). I wish all of this had been slightly cleaner.

And it is slightly ridiculous when, a certain point in the movie, Greer runs into the jolly old Prince of Wales. Never good when famous people randomly pop up in movies. ;) So for some of those reasons, I cannot give this movie four stars. But it's not to say I didn't enjoy the movie - it was entertaining, to me it was kind of "Giant" except with a New York society setting. Well acted by the main players (of course), so most of the issues fall in the way the plot was conducted. But over all I did like it and I wouldn't discourage you to watch it.

The bottom line:

If you are a fan of the main players you will be able to enjoy and like this movie. If you're just in the mood to watch a movie and give this a try, you'll probably enjoy yourself all the while but the annoyances you'll find in the plot, etc., will become relevant. 

Some photos:

Some trivia:

• The fourth of the eight movies that Greer and Walter did
• Lux Radio Theater did a radio adaption of this in November 1946, with Greer and Walter reprising their roles

A movie tidbit:

You can watch the full movie here.

***

That's all for now, folks! I hope you enjoyed the review and have a good start into the week. :)

Sunday Movie Review: 5 Mini Reviews

I have watched so many movies in the past week or so, that I couldn't decide on just one to do for this Sunday's SMR. Therefore, I have decided to do something I've seen Sophie and Clara do. It's basically 5 mini reviews, and well, yeah, it's just like it sounds. I don't plan on doing this often, at least not for SMRs. But this week I couldn't help myself, so I hope you don't mind. And, oh, I did chose "Random Harvest" for my header because that's probably the most well known among the films here. (Most of them are Greer films, a la my current obsession).

With the exception of one of these movies, you can see all of these films online for Free! Clicking the poster (there is a reminder underneath) should take you to the links to watch it if you're interested.

Desire Me 

(1947, no director's credit)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Shortly after WWII, flashbacks tell the story of Marise (Greer Garson), her husband Paul (Robert Mitchum), and Jean (Richard Hart), who was imprisoned with Paul in a German camp. While attempting to escape from the camp Paul is shot, and Jean goes to see Marise, confirming the news she had gotten already about Paul's death. Jean has fallen in love with Marise through the stories Paul told him, and wants to stay with her in the seaside town in Brittany where Paul owned a small business. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: I actually think this plot has a lot of potential. Kind of like My Favorite Wife, except in a reverse and much more dramatic. MUCH more. Anyway, it's obviously got a good ensemble cast, too. My problem with this is the way the plot is depicted did not do justice to the story. Marise and Jean "fall in love" within a week despite the fact Marise had just been confirmed of her husband's death. [SPOILER: Paul turns out not to be dead after all, and when he returns we cannot be satisfied by his reunion with Marise at all, because there was not enough background on the two for us to understand their love for one another, despite the fact that the script tries to make it obvious that these two were madly in love before he set off for war.]. It's all a big flashback and the pairing of Mitchum and Greer are not utilized at all; they have, perhaps, five minutes of screen time together. Richard Hart's character was a big, fat annoying jerk. Entertaining albeit all but this film was worked on by four directors - one of them being George Cukor - and none of them wanted their name on this, so that ought to give you a hint! It is said one of these directors made Greer do 125 takes of the single word, "No!" - at which Robert Mitchum rolled his eyes and could no longer take Hollywood seriously. Uh, well, it's entertaining none the less - though sometimes at it's own expense.

2.5 / 5

Random Harvest

(1942, Meryvn LeRoy)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Wounded World War I soldier Charles (Ronald Colman) has no memory of his past, and when he meets Paula (Greer Garson), he's certain she's the one for him. They marry, but Charles is hit by a car, regains his memory of his life before Paula, and loses all memory of Paula. He returns to his wealthy relatives, and a desperate Paula takes a job as his secretary to be near him in this tragic romantic drama. [from Netflix]

Verdict: Like most everybody, I ADORED this film... and it made me love Greer even more, if it's possible. There really isn't much to say except it's just a wonderfully sweet film whilst still being so entertaining, too. Greer is just wonderful as the beautiful showgirl who takes Charles under her wing and cares for him so. A real sweetheart of a character without being too sappy (so of course, Greer is perfect to play it). And Ronald Colman (by the way, he looks like Clark Gable's twin at times for sure!) as Charles (or "Smithie", for those of you who have seen the movie ;D) - well, he's pretty much adorable, most of the time anyway. I thought he played the part quite well because you must admit, it's certainly a hard one to play. This movie is heartbreaking, glorious, entertaining, but the ending is so satisfying, above all. I strongly encourage you see it; and there isn't really much more left to say. (Except you must see it, seriously!) OH! And go right this instant and watch Greer being fantastically entertaining and adorable in her rendition of the Scottish song "She's Ma Daisy." Seriously, if you haven't fallen in love with Greer yet you will after seeing it. ADORED her and it. (You don't know how long I was going, "She's my daisy!! - My bonny daisy!!" to myself after that... :D).

5/5

Scandal at Scourie

(1953, Jean Negulesco) 

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: The big hearted Victoria McChesney (Greer Garson) meets a little orphan named Patsy by chance, but the two quickly become inseparable. Victoria adopts her and takes her home to husband Patrick (Walter Pidgeon), despite the fact that the McChesneys are Protestants and Patsy Catholic. This causes scandal in the town and puts strains on Patrick, who is trying to run for a position in the town government. This MGM vehicle is set in the 1890s small town of Scourie in French Canada.

Verdict: I actually quite enjoyed this. This film is based around religion so steer clear if you don't like "those" type of movies. I thought it was really sweet and gosh, Greer was wonderful as the gutsy Victoria. (There is actually a scene in here where she marches into a barber shop, red hair flaring, and beats a man with a wet towel - several times - and douses him oil. She then goes home and breaks the news to Patrick in the most adorable way. That scene alone is worth watching the movie!). And I liked Walter too as her husband, and the little girl who played Patsy was adorable. The Technicolor is gorgeous and this beautiful small town of Scourie comes alive excitedly. Plot is perhaps a little dated in some people's eyes, but I had no problems with this and I liked it. Agnes Moorehead makes in appearance as a nun (Sister Josephine), as well! I also think this was the last movie from the famous pairing of Greer and Walter, so if you're a fan of them certainly see it for that reason alone.

4/5

When Ladies Meet

(1941, Robert Z. Leonard)

[you can hit the poster to watch a tidbit of this movie - the whole movie is on Youtube, but you have to pay to see it :( ]

Summary: Mary (Joan Crawford), a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher, Rogers (Herbert Marshall). Her suitor Jimmy (Robert Taylor) is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife, Claire (Greer Garson), without telling Mary who she is - and the two land up liking each other. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: Anyone would get excited to see this film just by checking out that cast! Okay, so I won't call this movie disappointing because by golly it's entertaining. That is for sure. This movie actually had me gasping outloud and going, "Ohhh" because I knew something explosive was going to happen at points. ;) I mean, it's one of those ironic films that can be somewhat frustrating (appropriately so) because you know what's going on and you desperately need the characters to know as they sit there, having nonchalant conversations that are yet so ironic! (If that makes sense). My one issue though was Herbert Marshall. I just didn't like him :( He seemed quite cardboard, and it helped that I hated his character of course. Joan Crawford is good, nothing exactly special - this will sound biased because of the Greer crazy stage I am at currently that I did think that Greer shone brighter BUT this is not to say Joan was bad or anything. And to be fair, Joan and Greer's acting styles are completely different, but that makes it fun to watch. As for Robert Taylor, this was my first movie of his and I really liked him, so I'm certainly going to see more. Back to the plot, though: Another problem was this was the abrupt ending, I HATED it. Had it been done neatly, it may have been able to salvage this film for four stars. A merge between a screwball comedy and a drama, this is worth seeing to see Greer and Joan "meet" but far from being  an excellent film.

3/5 

Ball of Fire

(1941, Howard Hawks)

[this time I'm linking to the lovely Film Classics.com website, where the full movie is uploaded]

Summary: Gary Cooper plays a serious but lovable English professor working with his colleagues on a dictionary of American slang. When a red-hot nightclub singer (Barbara Stanwyck) on the run from the mob takes refuge in their house, she also finds a place in their hearts. But where there's a ball of fire there's bound to be trouble, and before they know it, the professor and his cohorts are learning a lot about language -- and life. Howard Hawks directs. [from Netflix]

Verdict: This has also got a really great cast. Besides Coop and Stany, you've got some of my character actor favorites among the "seven dwarfs" (AKA, Gary's professor colleagues), like S.Z "Cuddles" Sakall (I simply ADORE him and get excited whenever his name runs through the opening credits of a film), Henry Travers (who was Clarence in one of my favorite films, "It's a Wonderful Life"), and Richard Haydn (Max in another favorite: "The Sound of Music"). To top it off, Dana Andrews playing a mobster. ;) I really enjoyed this movie and I learned a lot of 40's slang, so I wish I'd seen it before I'd written my vintage vocabulary post last month. Gary Cooper was adorable and loveable as the nerdy professor ("I love him because he doesn't know how to kiss," Stany explains) and Barbara Stanwyck a lot of fun as Sugarpuss O'Shea. I know Lucy wanted this role really badly, and I of course would have loved to have seen her play it, BUT this is not staying Barbara was bad because she wasn't. She was really good. (Only you know the nutsy Lucy fan I am, I wish she was in everything (; ). Anyway, this was a fun screwball comedy directed by one of the masters of the genre, Howard Hawks (he needs no referencing, but "Bringing up Baby", for starters). I suggest you watch it, a daffy little modern take on Snow White and the seven drawfs. :) Also, watch it for the adorable "yum yum" scene with Stany and Coop. :)

4/5 

***

This post actually took me a lot longer to write then I thought it would! -;) But I had fun writing it and was kind of surprised with the variation of ratings I gave the films. Anyhow, I'm sorry I didn't just review one film but I hope you were able to get my opinions on all five anyway and enjoyed reading. Like I said, I don't exactly plan to make a habit of doing these mini reviews for the SMR, but for this Sunday I had to make allowances.

By the away, a quick plug for the blogathon Bette at Bette's Classic Movie Blog is hosting: it's called Mustaches for Movember, and the subject is basically to write anything pertaining to classic movies and mustaches. A strange topic, but it's in honor of this program called Movember which raises awareness each November for men cancers. Bette can explain it better than I can (in fact, I probably confused you) so go take a stroll over to her blog and be sure and sign up - if you write a blog, that is! ;)

Also a plug for myself: again, if you haven't voted in the Rebel Without a Cause vs. West Side Story poll, please do as we're tied currently with three votes each. If you care to break that tie, scroll up to my sidebar and vote for the better film (in your opinion)! Poll will end in four days.

One quick last note: Thank you for 40 + followers and to the rest of you that read my blog through other subscriptions :) My followers gadget is slightly screwing up at times, I think for the moment it's alright, but I am trying to fix some problems it may have with not displaying all of my followers. 

That's it, so have a great start into the week, everyone!