Keep Your Powder Dry(1945).

Keep Your Powder Dry(1945). Drama starring Lana Turner, Susan Peters, and Laraine Day. The film was directed by Edward Buzzell and written by George Bruce and Mary C. McCall, Jr.

One sunny morning Valerie Parks, is told by the family attorney, that she will not receive her trust fund until she proves that she deserves it, so she decides to join the WACS. Next.. on the list to join, Ann Darrison, who decides to enlist after her serviceman husband John is sent overseas. Last, but not least is Leigh Rand, the daughter of a military family, who also decides enlists.

The three new recruits, meet on the way to the Ft. Des Moines training camp and Leigh and Val, instantly develop a dislike for each other and Darrison becomes the mediator, when all three are assigned as mechanics, in the same unit. Leigh challenges Val, saying she never will complete basic training. Val, proves her wrong and does very well in class. Val and Leigh, eventually become friends and all three girls are accepted into Officers' Candidate School.

One day, Capt. Bill Barclay, a friend of Ann's husband, arrives at their base to visit Ann. Later, Bill meets Val and asks her on a date, Leigh, who is attracted to Bill herself, reminds them that enlisted WACS are forbidden to date officers. Leigh arranges for Val, to be assigned to duty that night to prevent them from meeting. Which angers Val and so ends their friendship.

Later Val, receives a telegram from her attorney, telling her that he is in town, she goes to meet him. Instead, she is met by her old friends Harriet and a drunken Junior Vanderheusen. Val tells her friends, that she plans to stay in the military and gives them a piece of her mind. Insulted, Junior spills his drink on Val's uniform.

Knowing that she cannot return to the barracks smelling of alcohol, Val goes to see Leigh, who is on leave and staying in the next room. Val, begs her to bring her a clean uniform in the morning. Leigh agrees, but when she returns to the hotel the next morning with the clean uniform, she runs into Junior in the elevator.

After learning from Junior, that Val only joined the military to receive her inheritance. Leigh, launches into a campaign to get rid of Val. Two days before graduation, Val, unable to stand her abuse, slaps Leigh in the face and marches off the field.

Later when Val, refuses to stick up for herself to their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Spottiswoode. The officer calls Leigh, before the board and informs her that her platoon has rated her unfit to be an officer. Leigh, takes the blame for Val's outburst.

Col. Spottiswoode goes to see Anne and informs her that her husband has been killed in combat. When Leigh and Val, hear about Ann's loss, her courage shames them into staying the corps.



I recently saw this classic movie on TCM for the first time. I would call it a female version of a WWII buddy movie. Agnes Moorehead, Natalie Schafer and June Lockhart have supporting roles.

Susan Peters (July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952). Her first job was to read with potential actors in their screen tests. Before long she had impressed studio executives with her own talent, and they began casting her in films.

For the first two years she used her given name and played small, uncredited parts in the film, Meet John Doe (1941). Her first substantial role was in the film, Random Harvest (1942), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. MGM, cast her in the starring role in the film, Song of Russia (1943).

Peters was married to the actor Richard Quine on November 7, 1943. A couple of months after performing in the film, Keep Your Powder Dry, Peters and her husband were duck hunting when a rifle accidentally discharged, causing a bullet to be lodged in her spine. The accident left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Peters attempted to continue her acting career.

MGM continued to pay her salary, unable to find suitable projects, Peters left the studio. She returned for the lead role in, The Sign of the Ram (1948). Unfortunately, her disability made her a difficult actress to cast.

The Pride of the Yankees(1942).

The Pride of the Yankees(1942). Biographical film directed by Sam Wood about the New York Yankees baseball player, first baseman Lou Gehrig, who had his career cut short at 37 years of age when he was stricken with the fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (later known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The film was released the year after Gehrig's death. Cast: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright and Walter Brennan. Yankee teammates Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig, and Bill Dickey play themselves, as does sportscaster Bill Stern.

Columbia University student Lou Gehrig's, mother wants him to become an engineer, but.. Lou Gehrig has a gift for playing baseball. Sportswriter Sam Blake has a scout come out to see him play ball. Gehrig receives a contract offer from the New York Yankees. Lou Gehrig and his father decides to keep this a secret from his mother.

Gehrig wins over his teammates, and before long he is joining them in playing pranks on Ruth.

After a game in which he trips, he meets Eleanor Twitchell, who calls him a "Tanglefoot." It is not long before they fall in love and Lou and Ellie make plans to marry. The news, does not sit well with Gehrig's over baring mother. However, Lou finally stands up to her and marries Eleanor.

The Yankees start winning championships and all is going well for Gehrig. He hits two home runs in a single game as a promise to a sick boy in a hospital.(does that remind you of a Seinfeld episode?). But.. then without warning, Gehrig, baseball's "Iron Horse" begins to feel that somethings wrong.

Gehrig keeps on playing, keeping his illness a secret. But he is not the player he once was and one day he takes himself out of the game.

After an examination, a doctor tells Gehrig that he only has a short time to live.

In celebration at Yankee Stadium in his honor, Gehrig announces to his fans, saying that he has always felt like "the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

I thought this was a wonderful inspirational movie and a nice way to remember Lou Gehrig.

Teresa Wright's first performance was in the stage play, Life with Father. It was there that she was discovered by a talent scout hired by Samuel Goldwyn to find a young actress for the role of Bette Davis' daughter in the film, The Little Foxes (1941). Which was the film that she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, she was nominated again, this time for Best Actress for The Pride of the Yankees, that same year, she won Best Supporting Actress as the daughter-in-law of Greer Garson's character in Mrs. Miniver. No other actor has ever has received an Oscar nomination for each of their first three films.

Please click here to read Teresa Wright's bio.

Father Takes a Wife (1941).

Father Takes a Wife (1941). Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Swanson, John Howard and Desi Arnaz .

Shipping magnate Frederick Senior Osborne, enters his sons office one day and announces that he is turning the business over to him and plans to marry actress, Leslie Collier. later that night when he and his wife Enid meet Leslie, they talk about Senior and Leslie's age difference. After dinner, the Osbornes attend Leslie's farewell stage performance, where Senior becomes jealous over the attentions of Leslie's leading man. During their honeymoon cruise to Mexico, they discover a stowaway, singer, Carlos Bardez. Feeling sorry for the impoverished Carlos, Senior offers to help him. Once the three arrive home, Leslie appoints herself Carlos' impresario, which the Senior is not to happy about. On the night of Carlos' debut, Leslie comes home very late, angry Senior decides to move in with Junior and Enid. Trying to help, Junior invites Carlos to move in with him and Enid. Things don't go as planned when Leslie moves out of the house and refuses to speak to Senior.

Meanwhile, at Juniors house, same thing happens when Enid takes over the role of Carlos' impresario and Junior leaves in a jealous rage, on the night of Carlos' concert. Father and son then plan to rid themselves of Carlos once and for all, by sending him on a sixty-five city concert tour. Soon after, at their doctor's office, Enid and Leslie meet and both learn that they are pregnant. What will happen next?

Swanson looks gorgeous her beautiful clothes and I thought she gave a wonderful performance. Menjou is very believable playing the jealous spouse.  Arnaz gives a fun performance. This film did remind me a little of one of my favorite films,SUNSET BLVD. Trivia buffs may want to watch for unbilled performances by Loretta Young's ex-husband Grant Withers (as Judge Waters) and Ginger Rogers' future husband Jack Briggs (as Menjou's chauffeur).

FATHER TAKES A WIFE, deserves at least one viewing for the chance to see Gloria Swanson, in a sound motion picture.

Gloria Swanson

Florence Rice (February 14, 1907 – February 23, 1974), became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood. Rice was cast at first as the reliable girlfriend. During the 1930s, MGM gradually provided her with more substantial roles.

Rice never became a major figure in films, but performed in a number of screen pairings with Robert Young. Her best known  performances are in the films: Double Wedding (1937), Sweethearts (1938) and At The Circus (1939).

Since You Went Away(1944).

Since You Went Away(1944). Directed by John Cromwell. Produced by David O. Selznick from the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret Buell Wilder. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by Stanley Cortez, Lee Garmes, George Barnes (uncredited) and Robert Bruce (uncredited). Cast: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple and Joseph Cotten with Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Lionel Barrymore, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead, Guy Madison, Craig Stevens, Janelle Johnson, Keenan Wynn, Florence Bates, and Alla Nazimova.

Fun Fact:
At the time, the longest and most expensive Hollywood film since David O. Selznick's, Gone with the Wind (1939).

The story begins on January 12, 1943, when Anne questions her husband's decision to leave his family and his well paying job to fight in the war. Anne has to let Fidelia, the family's housekeeper go, as she can no longer afford to pay her wages. Because of the housing shortage they decide to take in a border by the name, Col. William G. Smollett, a retired army officer. Soon after, Fidelia asks to move back into the house, offering her housekeeping services as rent. To complicate matters even more, is the romance between Anne's daughter Jane and the Colonel's grandson.

This film captures perfectly the worry of those who with loved ones fighting in the war. Watch for the unforgettable scene when Mr. Mahoney leaves the movie theater. Also, one of my favorite Jennifer Jones performances. You will need a box of Kleenex for this film.

Robert Walker(October 13, 1918 – August 28, 1951). While attending the AADA, Walker met aspiring actress Phylis Isley, who later became the film star, Jennifer Jones. The couple were married in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 2, 1939 and moved to Hollywood to find work in films. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and they moved to New York. Walker soon found work in radio while Phylis stayed home and gave birth to two sons, actor Robert Walker, Jr., born April 15, 1940, and Michael Walker, born March 13, 1941. Soon after, Phylis was discovered in 1941 by producer David O. Selznick, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones. She landed the role in the film, The Song of Bernadette (1943).

The couple returned to Hollywood, where Walker started work on the war drama, Bataan (1943). Walker's charming demeanor won him roles as the "boy-next-door in films: See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) and Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945). He also appeared in the film, Since You Went Away (1944) in which he and his wife portrayed doomed young lovers. In real life, they divorced shortly after.

Also that year, Walker starred in the film, The Clock, opposite Judy Garland, in her first  dramatic film. Although Walker, continued to work steadily in Hollywood, he was distraught over the divorce and he suffered a nervous breakdown.

In 1946, Walker starred in, Till the Clouds Roll By, where he played the song writer Jerome Kern. He starred as composer Johannes Brahms in, Song of Love (1947), which co-starred Katharine Hepburn. Later, Walker starred with Ava Gardner in the film, One Touch of Venus(1948).

Soon after he was hired by director Alfred Hitchcock for one of his best performances, Strangers on a Train (1951).

Film Noir: Conflict (1945).

Conflict (1945). Film noir directed by Curtis Bernhardt, produced by William Jacobs with Jack L. Warner as executive producer from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman and Dwight Taylor, based on the story, The Pentacle by Alfred Neumann and Robert Siodmak. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith and Sydney Greenstreet. The film is the only one which Bogart and Greenstreet co-starred and Bogart, not Greenstreet, was the villain.

On Richard and Kathryn Mason's, fifth wedding anniversary, Kathryn accuses Richard of having fallen in love with her younger sister, Evelyn Turner, which he does not deny. At a party celebrating the couple's anniversary hosted by family friend and psychologist Dr. Mark Hamilton, Evelyn meets with Mark's colleague, Professor Norman Holdsworth.

On the way home, Kathryn suggests to Evelyn to go back home to pay a visit to their mother. Evelyn agrees. Distracted by watching Evelyn in the rear view mirror, Richard crashes their car and suffers a broken leg. He then decides to come up with a plan to kill his wife.

Richard pretends that he needs a wheelchair, even after his leg has healed. His physician, Doctor Grant, says the problem is psychological. He then suggests that he start swimming to strengthen his leg, so a car trip to a mountain resort lake is planned. At the last minute, Richard has to stay home to do some work, he suggest that Kathryn go on ahead by herself and he will meet her later. On the drive up the mountain she comes across a car that is blocking the narrow deserted road. Richard walks out of the fog and kills her. Afterward, he pushes her car down a steep slope. He returns home in time to set up an alibi and file a missing person report..

Odd things begin to happen that make him believe she still maybe alive. He smells her perfume, finds her jewelry, sees an envelope addressed with her handwriting. He must go back to the scene of the crime, where he finds someone waiting for him, but who?



Fun Fact:

Jack L. Warner had Joan Crawford, who had just joined Warner Bros. and was looking for her first role at the studio, in mind for the role of Kathryn Mason, and sent the script for the film to her. However, after reading the script, Crawford told her agent to tell Warner that "Joan Crawford never dies in her movies, and she never ever loses her man to anyone".

This is a really good film with Humphrey Bogart at his sinister best. Mystery loving audiences will love the psychological plot.

Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993). Her first credited role was in the feature film, Dive Bomber (1941), playing the female lead opposite Errol Flynn. Her performance in the film, The Constant Nymph (1943), which led to bigger parts. During the 1940s she appeared alongside some of the most popular male stars of the day: Errol Flynn in, Gentleman Jim (1942) and San Antonio (1945) (in which she sang a special version of the popular ballad "Some Sunday Morning"), Humphrey Bogart in, The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947), Cary Grant in version of, the life of, Cole and Linda Porter in Night and Day (1946), and Bing Crosby in, Here Comes the Groom (1951).

Among Smith's other films are Rhapsody In Blue (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), and The Young Philadelphians (1959).

Rose Hobart (May 1, 1906 – August 29, 2000), father was a cellist in the New York Symphony. Her first film role was the part of Julie in the first talking picture version of, Liliom (1930). She co-starred with Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins in the original film version of, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1931). Ironically, her co-star in, Dr. Jekyll and Mr, Hyde, Fredric March, starred in the 1934 film version of, Death Takes a Holiday.

Hobart often played the "other woman" in movies during the 1940s. Her last major film role was, Bride of Vengeance(1949).

During the 1950s she became an acting counselor. In the 1960s she took on television roles, including a part on Peyton Place.

Affectionally Yours(1941).

Affectionately Yours(1941). Cast: Rita Hayworth, Merle Oberon and Dennis Morgan. Also featured were the Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen.

Foreign correspondent Rickey Mayberry, is running all over Europe with other women,while his wife Sue, is alone in New York. Rickey soon learns that Sue has divorced him. It is then that he realizes he cannot live without her. He rushes home to win her back. His new flame Irene has plans of her own.

Rickey returns to New York to find Sue is engaged to Owen Wright. Sue did not like separation caused by Rickey's work. So, he figures the only way to make her happy is to quit his job. But his editor, Chester Phillips, does not want to lose his best reporter and Irene also does not want to lose Rickey. The two join forces to keep the Mayberry's apart and they come up with a plan to have a photo of Irene and Rickey together for ammunition.

Irene pretends to be on Rickey's side and offers to help him with Sue. He tells Sue that Irene is a girl from a dating service. Sue invites them to go out to dinner with she and Owen. The plan is ruined when Irene "accidentally" lets the incriminating photo be seen. Sue realizes they already know each other and decides to marry Owen the following day.

Irene and Phillips try and keep him from the ceremony. They invite him to Irene's apartment, where four thugs keep him trapped until morning. Will Rickey escape in time for the ceremony?

I thought this was a very cute movie. It's also always fun to watch Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen perform.

Merle Oberon (18 or 19 February 1911 – 23 November 1979) was an Indian-born British actress.

She worked as a club hostess under the name Queenie O'Brien and played in minor and unbilled roles in various films.

Her film career received a major boost when the director Alexander Korda gave her a role, under the name Merle Oberon in the film, The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). She was then given leading roles in the film, The Scarlet Pimpernel(1934), with Leslie Howard, who was her lover at the time.

Oberon's had a successful career, partly as a result of her relationship with and later marriage to Alexander Korda. He sold "shares" of her contract to producer Samuel Goldwyn, who gave her roles in Hollywood. Oberon earned her sole Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for, The Dark Angel (1935). Around this time she had a serious romance with David Niven.

She was selected to perform in Korda's film, I, Claudius (1937), but a serious car accident resulted in filming being cancelled. Oberon was scarred for life, but skilled lighting technicians were able to hide her injuries. She went on to perform in her most famous film, Wuthering Heights(1939), A Song to Remember(1945) and in the film, Désirée(1954).
Please click to read Lady Eves, Claudis(1937) The movie that never was review.

My Favorite Wife (1940).

My Favorite Wife(1940). Comedy produced and co-written by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick. The story is an adaptation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden"; in tribute, the main characters' last name is Arden.



After seven years, lawyer Nick Arden has his missing wife Ellen declared legally dead and now plans to marry Bianca. Ellen was shipwrecked all this time and was living on a deserted island. After being rescued she returns home and learns that Nick has just left hours before on his honeymoon.

Ellen finds him before his wedding night and Nick does not know how to break the news to Bianca. Meanwhile, Bianca becomes upset by Nick's behavior and calls her psychiatrist, Dr. Kohlman. Things become more complicated when an insurance adjuster shares the rumor that Ellen was not alone on the island, but was living with another man and that they called each other "Adam" and "Eve".

Nick tries to explain the situation to Bianca and Dr. Kohlmar, but they do not believe him ... until he is arrested on a charge of bigamy. In court, Judge Bryson , the same judge who had Ellen declared legally dead and also married Nick and Bianca, annuls the second marriage. By this time, Ellen is no longer sure of Nick's feelings for her. Stephen asks her to marry him and return with him to the island, but she still loves Nick and hopes that he will sweep her of her feet..

My Favorite Wife, is a wonderful movie. I do not know which version I like the best..Doris Day and James Garner,may not reach the sophistication of Grant and Dunne, but both films are worth seeing. Cary Grant's facial expression on the elevator when he sees Dunne for the first time after 7 years is very memorable.


Fun Facts:


The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Story, Best Score and Best Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk.

20th Century Fox began filming a 1962 remake starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, and Cyd Charisse under the working title of Something's Got to Give, which was to be directed by George Cukor. There were problems from the beginning, mostly due to Monroe's failure to show up on time for work. Monroe was fired and Martin backed out when the studio attempted to recast Monroe's role with Lee Remick. Following Monroe's death in August 1962, Doris Day and James Garner were cast, and the new version was released by Fox as Move Over, Darling (1963)

Second of three movies that paired Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.

Gail Patrick (June 20, 1911 – July 6, 1980), appeared in 62 movies between 1932 and 1948, usually as the leading lady's rival. Some of these roles include the second wife in, My Favorite Wife (1940) with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, Anna May Wong's competitor in, Dangerous to Know (1938), and Carole Lombard's spoiled sister in, My Man Godfrey (1936), Wives Under Suspicion (1938) and Disbarred (1939).

Patrick retired from acting in films in 1948 and later, with her third husband Thomas Cornwell Jackson, became a producer of the Perry Mason television series (1957–1966).

The Talk of the Town(1942).

The Talk of the Town(1942). Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Edgar Buchanan, and Glenda Farrell. The movie was adapted by Dale Van Every, Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman from the story by Sidney Harmon. It was directed by George Stevens.

Mill worker and political activist Leopold Dilg is accused of burning down a mill and causing the death of the foreman. In the middle of his trial, Dilg escapes from jail and finds shelter in a house owned by his old friend Nora Shelley.



Shelley has the house rented for the summer to law Professor Michael Lightcap, who plans to write a book. When Dilg is seen by Lightcap, Shelley introduces him as her gardener. Lightcap and Dilg quickly become friends.

Over some things that had been said during one of their lively discussions over politics, Lightcap becomes suspicious of what is really going on and begins to investigate. He finds that the former foreman is still alive and hiding in Boston. Dilg is persuaded to return to town and admit his guilt. Will Lightcap convinces Dilg give himself up and be set free?

The acting is very good. Cary Grant, plays a very different roll than I'm used to seeing him in..  Ronald Coleman is also good as his rival and Jean Arthur is great she steals scene after scene.

Fun Fact:
Lloyd Bridges' tiny role was one of 20 film appearances he made in 1942 .

Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971), came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent era. Farrell began her career with a theatrical company at the age of 7. She played Little Eva in, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

She was in the cast of ,Cobra and The Best People with actress Charlotte Treadway, in 1925.

Farrell was first signed to a long-term contract by First National Pictures in July 1930. She was given the feminine lead in, Little Caesar.

Warner Brothers signed her to re-create on film the role she played in, Life Begins on Broadway. Farrell worked on parts in twenty movies in her first year with the studio. She was known a the wise-cracking, dizzy blonde of the early talkies, along with  Joan Blondell, with whom she often would be paired with.

She went on to perform in, Little Caesar (1931) opposite Edward G. Robinson, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Havana Widows (1933) with Blondell, Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) opposite Pat O'Brien, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) opposite Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray and The Big Shakedown (1934) with Bette Davis.

She became one of Warner Brothers most popular actresses of the 1930s, solidifying her success with her own film series, as Torchy Blane, "Girl Reporter". In this role Farrell was promoted as being able to speak 400 words in 40 seconds. Farrell would portray the character Torchy Blane in eight films, from 1937 to 1939 when the role was taken over by Jane Wyman.

In 1937 she starred opposite Dick Powell and Joan Blondell in the Academy Award nominated Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley directed musical Gold Diggers(1937).

When her Warner Brothers contact expired in 1939 she focused more on her stage career once again. She said that working in plays gave her more of a sense of individuality whereas in films you get frustrated because you feel you have no power over what you're doing.

Farrell went out of vogue in the 1940s but made a comeback later in life, winning an Emmy Award in 1963, for her work in the television series, Ben Casey.

Foreign Correspondent (1940).

Foreign Correspondent(1940). Spy/thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann and Robert Benchley and Edmund Gwenn.

The film was Hitchcock's second Hollywood film, the first was Rebecca and had many writers: Robert Benchley, Charles Bennett, Harold Clurman, Joan Harrison, Ben Hecht, James Hilton, John Howard Lawson, John Lee Mahin, Richard Maibaum, and Budd Schulberg, with Bennett, Benchley, Harrison, and Hilton the only writers credited in the finished film. It was based on Vincent Sheean's political memoir Personal History (1935), the rights to which were purchased by producer Walter Wanger.

The film was one of two Hitchcock films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941, the other being Rebecca, which went on to win the award. Foreign Correspondent was nominated for six Academy Awards, including one for Albert Bassermann for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but did not win any.

Foreign Correspondent tells the story of Johnny Jones, an American newspaper writer who travels to England to report on the war as, Huntley Haverstock for the New York Globe. The young reporter's, first assignment is at an event held by Fisher, in honour of a diplomat named Van Meer. On the way to the party, Haverstock sees Van Meer and runs to interview him. Van Meer invites him to ride along in his car. At the party, Haverstock meets Fisher's daughter, Carol . Later, after Van Meer disappears, Fisher informs the guests that the guest of honor, Van Meer, will not be attending the party, instead he will be at a political conference in Amsterdam.

At the conference, Van Meer is shot by a man posing as a photographer. Haverstock, wanting to follow the assassin jumps into Carol and reporter Scott's car. They follow the assassin to a windmill in the countryside. Carol and Scott decide to go for help, Haverstock searches the windmill and is surprised who he finds. Will he be able to escape the kidnappers?


In my opinion the cast is very good, the settings are wonderfully put together. It has everything I look for in a Hitchcock film: action, suspense and humor.


Fun Facts:

Director Alfred Hitchcock wanted Gary Cooper for the lead instead of Joel McCrea, but Cooper wasn't interested in doing a thriller. Which he later regretted.

Alfred Hitchcock had wanted either Barbara Stanwyck or Joan Fontaine for the female lead.

Alfred Hitchcock's eccentric marriage proposal to Alma Reville was written into the script.

Herbert Marshall's, first film was, Mumsie (1927). The actor spent many years playing romantic leads opposite stars: Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Bette Davis, and starring in such classic films: Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Little Foxes (1941), and The Razor's Edge (1946). He was featured in both the 1929 and the more famous 1940 version of The Letter, first as the murdered lover, then the wronged husband.

Turnabout(1940).

Turnabout(1940). Comedy film. Directed by Hal Roach. Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis and John Hubbard. Based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Thorne Smith, the screenplay was written by Mickell Novack, Bernie Giler and John McClain with additional dialogue by Rian James.

Tim Willows and his wife Sally continually argue in front of Mr. Ram, an Indian statue given to them by a relative. After a hard day at work for Tim and Sally a day as a lady of leisure, get into a heated argument, both making a wish to change places. Mr. Ram begins to speak and grants their wish.

The next morning, Tim and Sally find themselves in the other's body. Tim, in the body of Sally, stays home and causes problems at home, while Sally, in the body of Tim, goes off to the office and creates problems at work.

When Sally returns home from her day at the office, the couple beg Mr. Ram to put them back into their original bodies. Using Sally's pregnancy as an excuse for their strange behavior, they go out to smooth things over with the clients and friends. Just as you think things are back to normal, the real trouble begins.

I really wanted to see this film because I'm a huge Carole Landis fan. I thought the main cast was very charming. Even the minor roles by Donald Meek, Franklin Pangborn and Marjorie Main, were wonderful performances. John Hubbard, was hilarious in his gender switching role. The situations and the dialog were rather colorful for a 1940's film.

John Hubbard, took acting lessons at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he received movie offers. He was signed by Paramount in 1937, but his contract was sold to MGM a year later. At MGM, Hubbard played a leading role in, Dramatic School (1938), which lead to a four-picture deal with Hal Roach, who used Hubbard in comedies such as The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939), Road Show (1940) and Turnabout (1940). Hubbard did a dramatic turn in Whispering Footsteps(1943), but returned to comedy. In 1950 he became a supporting actor, he played "Brown" in The Mickey Rooney Show (12 episodes), "Bill Bronson" in My Little Margie (4 episodes), "Col. U. Charles Barker" in the military comedy Don't Call Me Charlie (18 episodes) and "Ted Gaynor" in Family Affair (8 episodes), but most of his television appearances were in one-off roles. Between acting roles, Hubbard worked as an automobile salesman and the manager of a restaurant. He retired from acting in 1974 after a character role in Herbie Rides Again, although he made one more appearance in a television movie in 1980.

Other John Hubbard films I have seen:
1941 You'll Never Get Rich
1951 Bullfighter and the Lady
1957 Pal Joey
1958 The Buccaneer
1974 Herbie Rides Again

Carole Landis picture below.

This is the list of  other "Body switch/swapping", movies I came up with:
1. Being John Malkovich
2. Big
3. Freaky Friday
4. Mulholland Drive
5. Face/Off
6. Vice Versa
7. 18 Again!
8. Like Father, Like Son
9. Dream a Little Dream

Suspicion (1941).

Suspicion (1941).  Romantic/ psychological /thriller. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. It also stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans and Heather Angel.

Playboy Johnnie Aysgarth,  in a whirlwind romance sweeps Lina McLaidlaw, off her feet and convinces her into marrying him, even though her family does not want her to. After their honeymoon, she soon learns that Johnnie was hoping to live off her father. She tells him that he has to get a  job and he goes to work for his cousin, estate agent Captain Melbeck .

Lina soon learns that Johnnie has been  gambling on the horses and that he has sold her family heirloom chairs. Next, She goes to visit him at work and finds out that he has been  fired from his job. Johnnie's best friend Beaky tells her that her husband is a good man, but without much success.

Johnnie convinces Beaky to finance a land development project, Lina tries to talk Beaky out of it. Johnnie overhears and warns his wife to mind her own business, but later he decides to cancel the deal. When Beaky leaves for Paris, Johnnie travels with him. Later, Lina hears Beaky's died in Paris and she begins to suspect Johnnie in his friend's death.

Soon, she begins suspect she is next on her husband's list, so he can collect on her life insurance. Johnnie brings Lina a glass of milk before bed, but she is too afraid to drink it.



She makes up a story about staying with her mother for a few days and Johnnie insists on driving her there. He drives recklessly beside a cliff. Suddenly, Lina's door opens, will she be saved?

If you are a Hitchcock fan I think you will want to see this film.  Fontaine's believable performance allows the viewer to really feel her fear. I have read some negative reviews about the surprise ending, but it is worth seeing and deciding for yourself .

Nigel Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953), was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes). Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion. During his film career, he worked in 78 movies.

The Hucksters (1947).

The Hucksters (1947). Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner and Keenan Wynn .

War veteran Victor Albee Norman returns to New York City, wanting to land an advertising job with the Kimberly Advertising Agency. During his interview with Mr. Kimberly, Victor agrees to take on the company's toughest client, Evans Beauty Soap. Victor likes the idea of the new advertising campaign, in which twenty-five women, give testimonials for the soap in exchange for a donation to their favorite charity. At the photographer's studio, Victor and a representative from the Kimberly agency argue over how Kay should dress for the shoot. The argument results in an emergency board meeting, during which Victor meets Evans. To prove his point that consumers can be shocked into paying attention to advertisements, Evans catches the attention of the board members by spitting on the table. Evans shares his belief that the radio ad should irritate its listeners in order to be best remembered, Victor tell him that the soap should talk about cleanliness. Victor then impresses Evans with a new classier radio ad.



To celebrate, Kimberly and his wife take Victor and Kay out to the dinner club where Victor's past lover, Jean Ogilvie, is singing, Kimberly gets drunk and almost ruins the evening.

Later when they are alone, Victor and Kay make plans to spend a romantic evening together at the, Blue Penguin Inn. Victor is surprised to see that the hotel is under a new and less-than-attentive management. When Kay arrives, she takes one look at the hotel and misinterpreting Victor's intentions, immediately leaves. Victor is still waiting for Kay when he is called back to New York. His next job is to go to Hollywood to sign up radio personality Buddy Hare for the show.

While traveling Victor runs into Jean, after their conversation, Jean realizes that he is in love with Kay. Will Victor and Kay become engaged and will Victor complete his new assignment?

This was Ava Gardner's first big role in a major film. This was the first of three films she did with Gable, besides Lone Star and Mogambo. I think that you will love Ava's and Gable's, on screen chemistry.

Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was a character actor and member of a well-known show business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he very rarely had a lead role, he received prominent billing in most of his movie and TV roles.

List of Keenan films I have seen :
Week-End at the Waldorf
Easy to Wed (1946)
The Hucksters (1947)
Song of the Thin Man
Neptune's Daughter (1949)
Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Angels in the Outfield (1951)
Royal Wedding (1951)
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
The Glass Slipper (1955)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)
That Kind of Woman (1959)
A Hole in the Head (1959)
The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Son of Flubber (1963)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Bikini Beach (1964)
The Great Race (1965)
Stagecoach (1966)
Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
The War Wagon (1967)
Point Blank (1967)
Terror in the Sky (1971) (TV)
The Mechanic (1972)
Hijack! (1973)
Herbie Rides Again (1974)
The Devil's Rain (1975)
The Shaggy D.A.
Best Friends (1982)

Action in the North Atlantic (1943).

Action in the North Atlantic (1943). War film directed by Lloyd Bacon. Cast:Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II.

When their ship is attacked by the Germans while traveling in the North Atlantic, Captain Steve vows retribution. Joe, Steve and their men are rescued and return home to wait for a new assignment. Steve's wife Sarah is glad to have him home, although she knows that he will soon be back to sea. Joe meets singer, Pearl O'Neill, whom he marries right before he is called back to duty. The men learn that their new ship, the Sea Witch , is to be part of a convoy bringing war supplies to the Soviet Union. They are soon attacked by German submarines. Steve comes up with a plan to lure the submarines away from the convoy, they cut the engines and maintain complete silence, hoping that the submarine's sound sensors will not be able to track them.

The captain of the submarine knows where the ship is headed and radios for help from air bombers. The airplanes begin in battle, during which Steve is wounded and many other sailors are killed. When the submarine torpedoes the ship, Joe, orders the men to start a fire, hoping to trick the submarine to the surface, where the ship's guns can hit them. After the submarine surfaces, Joe orders the ship to ram it, and the submarine is destroyed just before Russian airplanes fly out to meet them. One of the pilots keeps gunning his engine in short bursts. There are three short bursts followed by a long one. Which is the Morse code "V". "V for Victory.



I' m not really a big fan of war movies, but... I thought this was an exceptionally good action movie. Bogart fans won't be disappointed. Dane Clark, plays the hothead role with plenty of spark.

Fun Facts: Cameo: Robert Mitchum, has one line of dialogue in the movie in a very early role.

Ruth Gordon(October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985), was an American actress and writer. She is best known for her film roles such as the neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the Clint Eastwood film Every Which Way But Loose. In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote many well-known plays, film scripts and books. Gordon won an Academy Award, an Emmy and two Golden Globe awards for her acting.

Blond Fever(1944). Gloria Grahame's first film performance.

Blond Fever(1944). Directed by Richard Whorf. Cast: Philip Dorn, Mary Astor, Felix Bressart, Gloria Grahame, in her first film performance.

Peter's wife Delilah, knows that Peter is having an affair with Sally Murfin, one of the cigarette girls at one of the nightclubs in Reno and decides to tell her that his Cafe, is losing money in hopes of scaring her off. Peter overhears the lie and denies it. Later, Delilah comes up with another plan to end their relationship when she hires Sally's fiancee, Freddie Bilson, as a waiter.

When a radio show announces the winner of a lottery, Peter and Freddie, who have both entered the contest, listen as the numbers are called. Peter has the winning ticket, which makes Peter and Sally very happy.

Later, Freddie accidentally walks in on Sally and Peter in the wine cellar, he awkwardly pulls a gun on Peter and threatens to kill him. Peter tells Freddie that he and Sally are in love and plan to marry.

That night, Delilah asks Peter for a divorce, and instead of alimony, she tells him that she wants the lottery check. While Delilah is packing her bags, Peter tells Sally's friend Johnny that he has made a big mistake and that he wants to win back his wife. Will Freddie find a way to win back Sally's forgiveness?

What a fun cast, Mary Astor and Gloria Grahame. This film does a wonderful job of entertaining. I think it is a very charming way to spend the afternoon, especially watching Gloria Grahame, in her first film performance.

Woman on the Beach(1947)

The Woman on the Beach (1947). film noir directed by Jean Renoir.Cast: Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett and Charles Bickford.



After waking up from a nightmare, Lieutenant Scott Burnett, becomes curious about the woman on the beach, named Peggy Butler, a married woman he sees on his daily patrol and the woman he sees in his nightmare. Scott asks his girl friend, Eve Geddes, to marry him that night, and though she agrees at first, she asks Scott to wait another two weeks. Later, Scott sees Peggy on the beach collecting fire-wood from an abandoned shipwreck, he stops and tells Peggy not to take the wood. She asks him if he is haunted by "ghosts" of the ship and then invites him to back to her house. Scott is touched by her understanding and compassion. Soon Peggy's husband Tod, a blind, famous artist joins them. Tod invites Scott to stay, but he thinks it best to return to his station. Later that night, Tod shows up at the station and invites Scott to have dinner at his house, and Scott, who is supposed to meet Eve in town, agrees, standing her up. During dinner, Scott and Tod talk about Tod's blindness. Later, Peggy confesses to Scott that she stays with Tod because she accidentally cut his optic nerve during a drunken fight and feels responsible for him. Scott, doubts that Tod is really blind and comes up with a plan to prove that he really can see..  Will he succeed?

I just saw the film, Woman on the Beach, for the first time yesterday on TCM. There is some beautifully haunting imagery and Robert Ryan, in my opinion, gives a strong performance as does Joan Bennett . There's an interesting love triangle going on here with a very well done mystery. Although, there are a couple of scenes that I could have done without like.... when the kids were whining about wanting candy.

Charles Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda (1948). Other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A Star is Born (1954) and The Big Country (1958).

His Girl Friday(1940).

His Girl Friday (1940). Comedy film directed by Howard Hawks. Cast:Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy. It is best known for its rapid-fire dialogue.

Newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson, recently divorced from newspaper editor Walter Burns, stops by his office at the Morning Post, to tell him that she is planning to marry insurance salesman, Bruce Baldwin. When she gets there, Walter is working on a story about Earl Williams, who has just been sentenced to die for killing a policeman. To keep Hildy from leaving, he tells her the paper needs her to cover the story. Hildy at first refuses, saying that she is tired of being a newspaperman and now wants to be a wife.

While having lunch, Walter learns that the couple are leaving with Bruce's mother, on the four o'clock train to Albany. Wanting to quickly come up with a plan to win Hildy back, Walter convinces Bruce that only a story written by Hildy can save Williams. Hildy agrees to write the story if Walter will purchase a life insurance policy from Bruce. Walter agrees and when he returns to the newspaper office with Bruce for a medical examination, Hildy goes to the press room at the criminal court's building, where she is welcomed by the other reporters, who warn her that she will never be able to give up the newspaper business. Walter does everything he can to keep Hildy from leaving. Will Walter prevent Hildy's up coming marriage and will Hildy get the big story?

This is a very charming/funny film. Cary Grant is, of course better than ever, and I've never seen Rosalind Russel in a role that suited her more perfectly. The supporting actors, down to the bit-players, are all perfect for this film.

Fun fact: Ginger Rogers wrote that she was offered the role of Hildy Johnson. She read the script, but this was before Cary Grant was cast, and she turned it down. After learning that Grant was cast, she regretted it.

Great Dramas: Mr. Skeffington (1944).

Mr. Skeffington (1944). Directed by Vincent Sherman, based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth von Arnim. Cast: Bette Davis and Claude Rains.

When Fanny learns that her brother Trippy, has embezzled money from Jewish stockbroker Job Skeffington, she would do anything to save him, including marry his boss. Disgusted by the arrangement, in part because of his prejudice against Skeffington being a Jew, Trippy leaves to fight in the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I.

Job loves Fanny, but.. she does not return his feelings and mostly ignores him. She becomes pregnant with his child, but, after she learns of Trippy death, she blames him and leaves his bed. She enjoys playing the wealthy socialite, with a long line of much younger lovers.

Lonely, Job has his own affairs, when Fanny finds out, she divorces him. Her daughter, also named Fanny, wants to be with her father and begs him to take her with him to Europe. Fanny is relieved to be free of her child and does not see her for many years.

Even though Fanny lives a fast party girl life, she keeps her beauty until she catches diphtheria, it takes over health and her appearance. In denial, she invites her old lovers (and their wives) to a party. Everyone is shocked by how much Fanny has changed. To make things more complected, her latest suitor Johnny Mitchell, falls in love and marries her daughter, who has returned from Europe because of the rise of the Nazis. Now, Fanny is left very much alone.

Fanny's cousin George Trellis, brings Job back to Fanny's home, unannounced. The Nazis have left Job penniless and blind, George tells Fanny and he asks her if she will help Job, as he has nowhere else to go..

When she enters the parlor, Fanny, sobbing, takes his arm and guides him up the staircase, she tells the maid that "Mr. Skeffington has come home." Job had once, long ago, told Fanny that, "A woman is beautiful when she's loved, and only then." George tells Fanny that, at that moment, she has never been more beautiful.

I thought Claude Rains was wonderful as the patient Job Skeffington. Bette Davis, seems to really take her part as Fanny very seriously. Even though this may not be one of the best movies of Bette Davis career, it is one of my favorite movies.