John Hanson (Conrad Nagel) is the head teller at a bank by day, and studies for the bar exam by night. He’s engaged to Helga Larson (Betty Compson), a Swedish girl recently arrived in America and excited to start her life with John. But John’s work and studies keep him very busy. Enter Phil Wilson (Robert Ames), a womanizer who works with John at the … Continue reading Three Who Loved (1931)
Blacky Gorman (Joel McCrea) and Marje Harris (Ginger Rogers) are young and in love. They’ve been casually dating for a couple of years, and Blacky is finally ready to propose, having found success as a gas station owner. Their future is set. One day, though, Glory Franklyn (Marian Nixon) comes veering into Blacky’s life. She visits his gas station, nearly tearing the place down with … Continue reading Chance at Heaven (1933)
Alan Quinton (Joseph Cotten) is an officer on the front in Italy during World War II. A fellow officer, Roger Morland (Robert Sully), has enlisted Alan’s help with a personal project. Before heading off to war, Roger met a girl named Victoria (Jennifer Jones), and he needs help coming up with romantic things to say to her in his letters. Alan writes the letters in … Continue reading Love Letters (1945)
Valentine’s Day is not usually a day I care much about, as a perpetually single gal. But despite my life’s own lack of romance, I have a soft spot for romantic films. Tuesdays are usually a quiet day on TMP, but to bring some sweetness into the world for a moment, the blog is dedicating itself to on-screen sweethearts. Adding to my family’s growing reputation for … Continue reading Happy Valentine’s Day from TMP! Mom’s Sparks ranking + My classic hate-to-love favorites
In Manhattan’s high society, the salon is the place to go for a makeover… and for a heaping spoonful of gossip. Sylvia Fowler (Dolores Gray) is getting a manicure one afternoon when her manicurist, Olga (Alice Pearce), tells her that Steven Hilliard (Leslie Nielsen) is having an affair with a chorus girl named Crystal Allen (Joan Collins). Sylvia is friends with Steven’s wife, Kay (June Allyson), … Continue reading The Opposite Sex (1956)
Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) has inherited a farm from her uncle. Independent and fiercely determined, Bathsheba will do anything it takes to not only keep the farm in working order, but restore it to its former glory. But as a woman in Victorian England, Bathsheba is expected to do more than just farm her uncle’s land for the rest of her life: she’s expected to … Continue reading Period film: Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)
Born at the turn of the 20th century, Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) lives a charmed life in northern California. As she gets older, she finds love, marrying and starting a family. Everything seems perfect. But tragedy strikes one evening, during a rare occurrence of snowfall, as Adaline is driving to her parents’ countryside home. She loses control of the car, nearly losing her life as … Continue reading The Age of Adaline (2015)
Tonio Costa (Mario Lanza) is a famous opera singer who is mobbed everywhere he goes by crowds of eager fans hoping to catch a glimpse of him (and, usually, to convince him to sing). His manager, Ladislas Tabori (Kurt Krasznar), worries about the singer’s unpredictable behavior — which includes singing outside of the theater, for the fans who couldn’t get in, rather than for the … Continue reading For the First Time (1959)
Eddie Novoc (Dane Clark) is acting as the getaway driver for a killer when he accidentally hits Marie Willens (Geraldine Brooks) while fleeing the scene of the killer’s latest crime, which took the life of a gambler. Eddie, plagued with guilt, begins visiting Marie in the hospital. He poses as a concerned friend of her brother after being asked by a nurse whether he is … Continue reading Embraceable You (1948)
Lydia MacMillan (Merle Oberon) is an elderly woman who has never married, and whose life’s focus is philanthropy. After attending a dedication ceremony for a children’s home she’s given an endowment to, Lydia is visited by Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick (Joseph Cotten), a man she has not seen in nearly four decades. Michael had once hoped to marry Lydia, and the two reminisce about the past. … Continue reading Lydia (1941)
