Drama Filled Thursdays (BETTE DAVIS)

Been awhile since I did a post on dramas for Thursdays. I decided to choose a singular star and focus on her top dramatic films. And who better than the grand diva herself, Bette Davis. Now if you have read my previous Drama Filled Thursdays posts, you know I set the list at only 5 films. We all know Bette had lots of strong dramas in her stellar career. So it was very hard choosing my five favorite of hers. But choose I did. So here we go. And in no particular order.

ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)

 

Without a doubt my favorite Davis film. She is marvelous as broadway diva Margo Channing, who is competing with the young ingenue Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). Watch and let Bette show you how it's done...Acting 101. She was robbed of an Oscar that night, I tell ya.

A+

THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987) 

 

Is the last great film did by the wonderful Bette. She and Lillian Gish are magnificent as two elderly sisters living in their family cottage home on the coast of Maine. Bette is Libby, who is blind and maybe senile. Lillian is Sarah and she takes care of her. This is truly a beautiful and amazing film. It's great to watch veteran actors still make such moving films. In addition to Davis and Gish, this film also stars Ann Sothern, Vincent Price and Harry Carey, Jr.

B

 OLD ACQUAINTANCE (1943) 

 

 For some reason I love this melodramatic soap fest. Call it my guilty pleasure. Bette is Kit Marlowe, a famous writer who is best friends with Millie (the wonderfully over the top Miriam Hopkins). Friendship soon turns into a bitter rivalry. Famous scene has Kit shaking the crap out of Millie and then saying succinctly...Sorry. Classic.

 B+

DARK VICTORY (1939)

 

  Easily one of Bette's most engaging performances and one of the best films from Hollywood's golden year of 1939. Bette plays Judith Traherne, a wealthy Long Island society girl who is having a ball with her lifestyle. Well fun and games come to an abrupt end when she finds out she has a brain tumor. Her secretary and friend Ann (played by Geraldine Fitzgerald in an understated but moving performance) and other friend Alex (Ronald Reagan) convince Judith to see a brain specialist, Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent) who informs Judith that the tumor will cause her to die within the year. Through the course of the year Judith falls in love with Frederick and accepts his marriage proposal but can't go through with it because she thinks the doctor is being sympathetic to her illness. Humphrey Bogart is on hand as an Irish horse trainer who tries to make Judith fall in love with him. When he realizes that will never happen, he convinces Judith to be with the doctor. Dark Victory is one serious melodrama with an excellent performance by Bette. This is easily one of her top 5 film performances ever. 

B+

THE LITTLE FOXES (1941)

 Excellent drama set at the turn of the century with Bette ruling as Regina Giddens, a woman who will go to great lengths for money and power in a family of cheats and liars. Regina though is on another level as she is the type of character that you love to hate. She is sharp and on point the whole time and I thought Bette's performance was the best of 1941, hence her winning a Montie.

B+

Other choice Bette dramas include The Letter, Jezebel, The Petrified Forest and In This Our Life.

My love of classic films is beyond measure

Monty

Drama Filled Thursdays (COP DRAMAS)

Another week and another batch of my favorite classic dramas. This time I chose the theme of cop/detective dramas. So let's get started shall we.

UNION STATION (1950)

 Exciting thriller set in LA, about a train station policeman named Lt. Willie Calhoun (super performance by William Holden) chasing down a ruthless kidnapper. The bad guy has taken the blind daughter of a millionaire and holds her for ransom. The kidnapping is seen by the rich man's secretary (a solid Nancy Olson). Calhoun swears that he will find the girl and put the kidnapper down, and everyone believes him because Calhoun is one hell of a cop. A very short film at about 80 minutes long, but it is packed with riveting drama and some terrific action. Holden is top notch as the policeman, this being one of his best performances ever. And Lyle Bettger is memorable as bad guy Joe Beacon, the kind you love to hate. Union Station is one of those little films that not too many people have heard about, much less seen, but it is one terrific movie. One of my personal favorites.

Marge Wrighter: Gonna send that kid home, aren't you, Joe? I mean after we collect?
Joe Beacom: She'll go home...they ever fish her out of the river. Let's have the coffee, huh?

A+

DETECTIVE STORY (1951)

 One day in a New York City police precinct where all kinds of people intersect. Kirk Douglas is the tough detective who is dealing with a case involving an abortionist. It also has a shoplifter, two dangerous burglars, and an embezzler. A taut in your face crime drama that features a strong performance by Mr. Douglas and another good one by Eleanor Parker who plays his wife. One of the best of the detective movies from the 1950's.

Detective McLeod: "Take a couple of drop dead pills".
A

BULLITT (1968)

Steve McQueen is San Francisco cop Lt. Frank Bullitt who becomes embroiled in a complicated case involving a witness who was murdered under his protection. The witness was a Chicago mobster who was going to turn evidence against his organization. Making things difficult for Frank is an ambitious congressman named Chalmers (played by Robert Vaughn) who wants to make a name for himself by taking on the mob in this high profile case. Bullitt is definitely a police procedural with scenes of collecting evidence and discussing cases and shaking down informants. But it is an excellent police procedural which benefits from a stellar turn by McQueen. He is so perfect in the role there is no doubt that this is his movie. But he gets outstanding support from Vaughn, Robert Fell, George Sanford Brown, Robert Duvall (as a wily cab driver) and the breath-taking Jacqueline Bissett as Frank's girlfriend. And let's not forget that awesome car chase sequence involving Frank's Shelby mustang and the bad guys Dodge Charger. It is arguably one of the greatest car chases on film ever made. And it's cool seeing McQueen doing most of his own driving. Bullitt is one of my favorite films of all time. It's awesome! Plus it has that cool jazzy music score!

B+

THE BIG HEAT (1953)

Top notch drama centering on dedicated cop Dave Bannion (superb performance by Glenn Ford) who takes on police corruption after a fellow officer commits suicide and his wife is killed. All that happens in the opening 30 minutes btw. Once Bannion figures out what gangster is involved he wants payback. Gritty and violent drama directed by Fritz Lang and co-starring Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin. This is one excellent film.

B+

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

Awesome cop drama set in a small Mississippi town where a murder has taken place. Police Chief Bill Gillespie (played by Rod Steiger) is a good officer with some racial prejudices. So when Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is waiting at the train station to leave town, he is actually arrested as a suspect. Once matters are cleared up and Tibb's captain tells him to offer his assistance to the local law in help with the murder, he and the chief begrudgingly work together. Masterful film that is even more impressive when you consider it was made at the time of civil  unrest of the 60's. Steiger and Poitier make a potent team and it's great seeing their characters getting past their racial differences to work together to solve this crime. Winner of  Best Picture Oscar as well as a Best Actor Oscar for Steiger. And followed by a long tv series in the late 80's thru the mid 90's.

B+

Drama Filled Thursdays (Military Dramas)

Another Thursday means more drama. Not personal drama, but good film dramas. It's the day I choose 5 similarly themed dramas and write a little as to why I love them. Last week it was family dramas. Today it is military, in honor of Veteran's Day tomorrow. So here are some of my favorite military films, set during peacetime or wartime that present some great drama. And I think it's great that they don't have to be combat films per se, but by focusing on how soldiers interact with civilians always make for great drama.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

This is one of my favorite films of all time, sitting right there nestled in my top 10. The story in this film centers on three returning WW Two veterans after the war has ended. Frederic March is Al Stephenson, who returns to his loving wife Milly (a magnificent performance by Myrna Loy), his two children Peggy (a terrific Teresa Wright) and Rob (Michael Hall). Al returns to an influential banking position, but finds it hard to reconcile his loyalties to ex-servicemen with new commercial realities. He has several scenes where he copes by drinking heavily. Dana Andrews is Fred Derry, an ordinary working man who finds it difficult to hold down a job or pick up the threads of his marriage with Virginia Mayo. He ends up falling for Peggy, and Peggy lets her mom know that she doesn't mind busting up the marriage to be with Fred. I was like, heck yeah, go for it Peggy. That's when I fell in love with Teresa Wright at that exact moment. And the last soldier is Homer Parrish (played by real life amputee Harold Russell) who unsure that his fiancée's (Cathy O'Donnell) feelings are still those of love and not those of pity. Each of these three men face a different crisis in their lives and try to cope and come through it emotionally sound. This movie is awesome. I can't find any faults with it. From the top notch cast to the expert direction by William Wyler to the epic music score by Hugo Friedhofer and the gorgeous cinematography by Gregg Toland. The Best Years of Our Lives is one of the best films ever made.

A+

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944)

This mammoth film which clocks in at just under 3 hours, and stars Claudette Colbert as family matriach Anne Hilton, who copes with family life while her husband Tim is away during World War Two. She has two daughters, Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget (Shirley Temple) that she watches after. Anne takes in a lodger to help make ends meet during wartime rationing and shortages. The lodger is Colonel Smollett, played by Monty Woolley. The colonel also happens to have a son named William (Robert Walker) who falls in love with Jane. Joseph Cotten appears as a friend of the family that secretly loves Anne. Rounding out the cast are Agnes Moorehead, Hattie MacDaniel, Keenan Wynn, and Guy Madison. Since You Went Away is top notch melodrama with solid performances, especially by Colbert and Woolley. But do not overlook Jennifer Jones in a truly emotional performance as the eldest daughter Jane. Look for her scene at the train station when she says good-bye to William before he goes off to war. If you don't get a little misty eye during that scene, then there is something wrong. Wonderfully directed by John Cromwell, backed by a powerful Max Steiner music score, Since You Went Away is one heck of a movie. A bit long, but never boring. It really couldn't been done any better.

B+

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)

 Top notch film with a super cast. It takes place at Pearl Harbor, a few weeks before the attack by the Japanese. Montgomery Clift who plays Private Prewitt, arrives at the base and immediately draws the ire of the commander, who wants him to be on the boxing team. Clift refuses and his life at the barracks becomes a living hell. A truly emotional and epic film with a cast that features Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, and Frank Sinatra. All give Oscar caliber performances especially Reed as a floozie who Clift falls for. And Sinatra is perfect as Private Maggio. A must see.

A

SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)

Top notch military drama with powerhouse performances. Led by Fredric March as President Jordan Lyman who wants to get a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union through the senate. He meets resistance with his own country military leaders. Specifially General James Mattoon Scott (played by Burt Lancaster). In comes Colonel Martin Casey (Kirk Douglas) who tries to help the President as a web of lies begin to unfurl all in Washington, D.C. Co-starring Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Martin Balsam, Seven Days In May is one hell of a film.

B+

SUNDAY DINNER FOR A SOLDIER (1944)

Quaint little seen gem that stars Anne Baxter as Tessa Osbourne, a seaman (Charles Winninger) grandaughter. The family lives on a boat in Florida and Tessa comes up with the idea to invite a serviceman for Sunday dinner before he is shipped out for duty. Because of their ramshackle lifestyle, Winninger's brood has trouble getting a soldier to accept their hospitality until lonely, defensive GI John Hodiak comes along. Of course Tessa falls in love and the family remembers this day like none before it. This is one film that doesn't get a lot of air time or that has been seen by a lot of people. I saw it once by accident and loved it immediately. It's a simple yet touching film that features an excellent cast. Along with Baxter, Winninger and Hodiak, the film also stars Anne Revere, Chill Wills, and Jane Darwell. If you have never seen this film, do yourself a favor and check it out immediately. Highly recommended.
A

Drama Filled Thursdays

As I promised I will be writing about great classic dramas all month long and I chose Thursdays as the day to do it. I will chose 5 dramas and write short views on them as to why they are some of my favorites. I thought I would choose a theme each week for that particular set of dramas. Up first family drama. You know where the family members are at odds against each other be it for financial reasons or just pure old jealously. I chose these 5 films as some of the best family dramas ever made. No rankings involved, just films I wanted to talk about with everyone.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958) Superb film. Liz is smoking hot in this Tennessee William's adaptation. And she gives a great performance, to boot. Easily could have won an Oscar for it. Liz is Maggie the cat and she's married to Paul Newman, who have come home to celebrate his dad's birthday. He's called Big Daddy , wonderfully played by Burl Ives. When a southern family like this get together, all kinds of drama starts to unfold. This is the type of film where you just sit back and watch the fireworks go off, because it's an actors showcase. One of my favorite films of all time.
A+

THE SUNDOWNERS (1960) Top notch family drama set in the Australian outback with the father (played by Robert Mitchum) who wants to keep sheep-herding from place to place. But his wife (Deborah Kerr) and son want to settle down. During one point, the family win a horse on a bet and name him Sundowner and race him. Hoping to make money so they can finally buy their own farm house. Things don't go as planned and it makes for some great drama. Loaded with a stong supporting cast in Peter Ustinov, Glynis Johns, and Dina Merrill.
B+

A RAISIN IN THE SUN (1961) Powerful film version of the popular play about a family living in Chicago's southside during the mid 50's who argue over how to use a $10,000 insurance check for their recently deceased father. The mother (Claudia McNeil) wants to use it to buy a home and move out of the apartments. But the son (Sidney Poitier) wants to open up a liquor store. So tensions arise quickly. Great acting holds your interest even though the setting hardly ever changes. Sidney is amazing as usual. Also stars Ruby Dee as Sidney's wife.
B+

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) Vivien Leigh in one of great film performances as Blance DuBois, a fading Southern belle who arrives from Mississippi to the French Quarter of New Orleans, where her sister Stella Kowalski (played by Kim Hunter) resides with her brutish husband Stanley (a powerhouse Marlon Brando). Blanche is damaged goods and prone to drink quite a lot. Things turn ugly between Blanche and Stanley and end quite nasty. Riveting stuff.
B+

GIANT (1956) Giant is an epic size movie that is very well done. It focuses on Texas ranger Jordan Benedict (played by Rock Hudson) who travels to a Maryland farm to buy a prize horse. There he meets the lovely Leslie (played by Elizabeth Taylor) and immediately falls in love. The film details their life together at Benedict's family ranch in Texas and their rivalry with Jett Rink (James Dean's last film before his untimely death). This is grand film-making on an epic scale. Director George Stevens unfolds this film at a good pace. A true epic in every sense of the word.
B+