The Lady Vanishes

We watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes today and I think everybody was uncomfortable sitting in a science class. But we can't be comfortable all the time. The movie was enjoyed after the initial slow start and none of the students knew what was going on at the beginning of the movie. Hopefully, the rest of the film sessions can be either in the library or a different classroom (with a pulldown screen). Now we know why the humming guitarist was killed! We also learned what a "macguffin" is, according to Hitchcock. I didn't know if any of the students saw Hitchcock's cameo appearance near the end of the movie wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette (as usual). Orson Welles supposedly watched this movie 11 times!! Which we may view his most classic movie October 9th! VOTE NOW!

The Lady Vanishes - Sept. 25 - 3:45 pm

The Lady Vanishes is the winner for the next movie. The deciding vote coming from my wife because we had a tie and everybody has seen The Wizard of Oz. My Aunt Mary even said she wouldn't vote for Oz because she knows most people have seen it and she would want people see a movie that have not seen! NICE! While I'm at it, here's the line up for next film session on October 9.

Citizen Kane (1941) PG
Orson Welles reinvented movies at the age of 26 with this audacious biography of newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane (in essence, a thinly veiled portrait of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst), who rises from poverty to become one of America's most influential men. A complex and technically stunning film, Citizen Kane is considered one of the best movies ever made. -provided by Netflix

Casablanca (1942) PG
Of all the "gin joints" in Morocco, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), with husband Victor (Paul Henreid) in tow, had to walk into the one owned by Rick (Humphrey Bogart), a former beau she abandoned in Paris. War looms over them all, and in a much-discussed ending, Rick and Ilsa make heroic but heartbreaking choices. As time goes by, director Michael Curtiz's 1942 classic war noir only gets better. Peter Lorre and Claude Rains also star. -provided by Netflix

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) PG
Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock directed this tale about Charlie (Teresa Wright), a small-town girl consumed with finding out whether her unhinged Uncle (Joseph Cotton) is a serial killer. The arrival of detectives and a murder-infatuated neighbor (Hume Cronyn) only increase Charlie's paranoia. Tension builds as she draws closer to the truth, and in classic Hitchcock style, the film culminates in a nail-biting scene aboard a speeding train. -provided by Netflix

Double Indemnity (1944) NR
Smitten insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) plots the perfect murder with femme fatale client Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): Stage her husband's "accidental" death to collect double indemnity on his life insurance, then abscond with the loot. But the lethal duo must first get past a crafty claims investigator (Edward G. Robinson) who senses something isn't kosher. What ensues is a cat-and-mouse game with fatal consequences. -provided by Netflix

Film Club Movie - It Happened One Night

On Sept. 11, the film club officially kicked off the school year with It Happened One Night. The concensus was that the movie was good, as far as I could tell. But that's more for them to let me know by sending comments. Here's the line up for Sept. 25th's film club session.

The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938) NR
This 1938 swashbuckler, which won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Interior Decoration and Best Original Score, stars Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, champion of the poor and disenfranchised. Robin Hood goes up against his worst enemy, Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone), a cold-hearted royal who's after the woman Robin Hood loves, Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland). provided by Netflix


The Lady Vanishes
(1938) UR
Traveling aboard a transcontinental train, young Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) becomes alarmed when an acquaintance, elderly governess Miss Froy (Dame Mae Whitty), suddenly vanishes. Inexplicably, all the other passengers deny having seen the woman. So Iris turns to her lone ally -- handsome music scholar Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) -- for help. As the two search for clues to Froy's disappearance, they uncloak a sinister plot. provided by Netflix

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939) UR
When idealistic junior senator Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) arrives in Washington, he's full of plans and dazzled by his surroundings -- qualities he retains even in the face of widespread corruption on the part of his colleagues. Jean Arthur puts in a sharp performance as Smith's cynical secretary, and former cowboy star Harry Carey makes a fine vice president in this Academy Award-winning classic from director Frank Capra. provided by Netflix

The Wizard of Oz
(1939) G
Dreams really do come true. … Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Munchkins and all of Oz's other fantastic characters spring to life in this restored version of the 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. Featuring commentary from film historian John Fricke and several cast members, this renewed version will send fans soaring over the rainbow. Also included: a featurette about the restoration process, a storybook and more.

Start voting NOW! By the way...The Adventures of Robin Hood is my Uncle Rick's favorite movie of all time and The Wizard of Oz is, his wife, Aunt Mary's favorite movie of all time. So we are pitting them against each other!