Back by popular demand, it’s Favorite Things Friday here on TMP! The first Friday of each month, I’ll share my favorite things about one of my favorite films. For July, we celebrate a joyful musical-comedy full of miscommunication… The favorite film: Top Hat, a 1935 musical directed by Mark Sandrich The synopsis: An American dancer meets a dressmaker’s model in a hotel and falls in … Continue reading Favorite things about… Top Hat (1935)
When a gang of street kids appears in his court, unwilling to tell on one another after injuring a man, Judge Clinton (Charles Trowbridge) decides to send the whole bunch to reform school. The school’s warden (Cy Kendall) rules through violence and fear — and it doesn’t take long for new resident Frankie (Billy Halop) to find himself on the warden’s bad side. When the … Continue reading Crime School (1938)
On New York’s East River sits the convergence of the “haves” and “have nots.” Luxury apartments with picturesque river views stretch several stories high, while just outside of that view sit the tenements. Drina (Sylvia Sidney) is a tenement-dwelling woman, raising her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) and hoping she’ll someday get them out of the tenement. She works hard to provide for Tommy and … Continue reading Dead End (1937)
“This is the story of a confidence-man — that often unsung but seldom unhung aristocrat of the old west.” Conman Candy Johnson (Clark Gable) is getting tired of running from town to town to escape trouble. He hopes the next city he lands in will be his permanent home. Hope grows when he meets Elizabeth Cotton (Lana Turner) on a train. She’s headed from Boston … Continue reading Honky Tonk (1941)
Michael Cassidy (Melvyn Douglas) is celebrating the 75th anniversary of his newspaper when he gets horrifying news from the paper’s owner, Matt Cooper: the paper is to stop publication immediately. When anger brews over the suddenness of the announcement and combines with Michael’s pride for the paper, he hatches a plan to solve a kidnapping case, get the scoop, and prove that the paper’s good … Continue reading Tell No Tales (1939)
“A journey into the absurd, with a delightful companion, and no consequences and no regrets!” Jean (Ginger Rogers) and David (Ronald Coleman) are passing each other on the street one day when he wishes her good luck. Soon after, Jean is given an expensive dress for free and becomes convinced the stranger genuinely brought her good luck. Sure that he’s a lucky man, Jean asks … Continue reading Lucky Partners (1940)
The favorite film: Dial M for Murder, a 1954 domestic thriller by Alfred Hitchcock The synopsis: When Tony Wendice’s plan to have his wife killed goes awry, he decides to instead get rid of her by having her locked up for murder. The cast: Ray Milland as Tony Wendice Grace Kelly as Margot Wendice Robert Cummings as Mark Halliday John Williams as Inspector Hubbard Anthony … Continue reading Favorite things about… Dial M for Murder (1954)
The day we’ve all been dreading has arrived: FilmStruck is officially closing up shop. I didn’t get to spend as much of November as I wanted eating up the rest of my FilmStruck queue, but I’ve found several new favorite films through the service in recent months, and throughout my time as a subscriber. To say farewell to my favorite streaming service, today I’ll be … Continue reading Farewell, FilmStruck: My Favorite Discoveries
Corky Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Gil Borden (Don DeFore) are looking for jobs in Burbank, California when they’re plucked from obscurity to champion the war effort at the very respectable Lockheed aircraft factory. Though the U.S. is technically still neutral when they’re hired on, it’s preparing for war, producing large numbers of fighter jets and bombers. While awaiting his first paycheck, Corky stays with his … Continue reading Wings for the Eagle (1942)
When her father and her boyfriend are killed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, pregnant and unwed Jenny Sandoval (Ruth Chatterton) must find a way to survive. She takes up residence in the Chinese district and is able to make ends meet, but not necessarily through legal methods. Mixed up with gamblers and running a brothel, Jenny finds herself in a world of trouble when … Continue reading Frisco Jenny (1932)
