Exploring Food and Movies

Tuesday: The Talk of the Town (1942)            Leopold was put in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He escapes and arrives injured at the house of his childhood crush. Nora is reluctant to help him. She tells him he can't stay because someone is renting the house and will be there the next day. Before they can figure out what to do the renter, Professor Lightcap, shows up. He was a day early. Leopold hides in the attic. Nora has to invent a reason to stay the night and prevent Leopold from being discovered. Lightcap is there to write a book on law. He has very strict ideas of how things should be done. Nora talks with Leopold's lawyer who says his best chance is if Lightcap represents him. He will need convincing. So Nora stays on as his cook/assistant. A love triangle forms and Leopold's case becomes more complicated.  I liked this movie. Wednesday: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)         Wilfrid is a lawyer recovering f...

Monday: My Man Godfrey (1936)         Irene is a ditzy socialite on a scavenger hunt. One of the items is a forgotten man. She finds a homeless man named Godfrey. Irene convinces him to be her forgotten man for the hunt. He agrees out of curiosity. Irene starts to feel guilty. She decides to hire Godfrey as a butler. Needing the work he takes the job. Irene's family is very eccentric. Godfrey has a lot to get used to, but he is a good butler. Irene starts to fall in love with him, even though it is clear he doesn't like her that way. As time goes on it is clear Godfrey is hiding something. I thought this movie was ok. It's a screwball comedy and I'm not sure if I like those. The character of Irene was really annoying. She talked really fast and wasn't very smart. I just didn't find it that funny. Tuesday: The Young Philadelphians (1959)         A young woman want to rise in society. Her upper class husband dies before she has the baby. She kee...

Monday: The Player (1992)           Griffin is an executive at a major Hollywood studio. He determines if a script is good or not. Griffin starts to receive postcards with death threats written on them. He isn't sure if he should take them seriously. But they continue and arrive in the most unlikely places. He figures out that they are from a writer that he turned down. Which writer is the question. After some investigating he thinks he  knows who it is. Griffin goes to confront the writer and ends up killing him. Now he has to do his best not to get caught. When he receives another postcard he knows it's not over. I thought this movie was interesting. It had this documentary/cult film feel to it. I'm not sure how to describe it. I don't think I would watch it again. Also it had a lot of cameos by different actors. Tuesday: The Valley of Decision (1945)          An Irish maid named Mary lives in a poor village near a steel mill....

Monday: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)            This is one of the early film adaptations of the Shakespeare classic. The Duke of Athens is getting married. As part of the celebration they will have a play performed. We see the idiotic actors preparing for the play. We also meet the young lovers. Hermia is in love with Lysander. But she is engaged to Demetrius, who is loved by Helena. Hermia and Lysander run away into the forest. Demetrius follows them and Helena follows him. The fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, are quarreling. Oberon is jealous of Titania's love of a changeling. He asks Puck for some help getting a magical flower. The juice of the flower is placed on the eyes of a sleeping person. Whoever they see first they fall in love with. Puck finds one of the actors and uses magic to give him the head of a donkey. This is who the queen sees when she wakes up. Oberon wants to help the young lovers but Puck gets them mixed up. Lysander is...

Monday: Fearless Fagan (1952)        Floyd is a circus perfromer. He performs with a lion. The lion trusts him and does what he wants without using the usual whips used at that time. Floyd is drafted into the army. He has to enlist or risk going to prison. He doesn't know what to do about Fagan. Floyd doesn't want to sell Fagan and doesn't trust him with the other lion tamer. He decides to bring Fagan with him until he can decide what to do. Floyd keeps Fagan hidden in a truck in the woods until he can come to let him out each day. One day he is discovered by a woman named Abby. She is coming to perform for the troops. Understandably she is scared and reports Floyd to the captain. He convinces them to help him find a home for Floyd. Abby reluctantly gets involved and helps with the press. They find a temporary home but it doesn't work out. Floyd has to figured out what to do. I thought this movie was enjoyable. I liked that there was a lion in it. Tuesday: Great E...

Monday: Intruder in the Dust (1949)        Chick is a young teenager living in Mississippi. One day he falls into a frozen creek. He is helped out by the black man who owns the land. The black man, Lucas, takes Chick to his house and gets him warmed up. Chick starts to question his prejudice towards black people. Especially when Lucas won't accept any form of payment for helping Chick. Chick realizes Lucas helped because he is a good person and did it simply to help. Then Lucas is arrested for murdering a white man. He is innocent. Lucas wants Chick's uncle, who is a lawyer, to help him. The case is not easy when Lucas won't tell the whole story. And the more they look into it the more they can see something is off. I thought this movie was ok. Tuesday: Act One (1963)        This is based on the true story of the playwright Moss Hart. Moss is a struggling writer. No one seems to be interested in his work. Several people suggest he should write...

Monday: Bright Road (1953)        Jane is a young teacher at her first school. She is nervous but determined to be a good teacher. Jane becomes concerned by a boy in her class named C.T. He has no interest in school. He is always late and never pays attention. She looks into his file and sees that he has been held back several times and comes from a poor family. Jane wants to help him and to get him interested in school. As she observes him she sees that he is a kind boy. C.T. cares for animals and works hard to help his family. She knows he could be a good student, he just needs to find something to hold his attention. I thought this movie was alright. Tuesday: Blackboard Jungle (1955)         Richard Dadier is the new English teacher at a inner-city school. The students are rebellious and chaotic. They have no interest in school. Most of the other teachers have given up. They don't even try. Richard is determined to help his students. He wan...