Gigi (1958)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: 119 minutes
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermoine Gingold, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac, Isabel Jeans, & John Abbott
Oscars: Arthur Freed (best picture), Vincente Minnelli (director), Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay), William A. Horning, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, F. Keogh Gleason (art direction), Joseph Ruttenberg (photography), Cecil Beaton (costume), Adrienne Fazan (editing), Andre Previn (music), Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner (song)







I did not like this movie. The movie started out by an older gentlemen, Honoré Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier), narrating and talking to the audience. Ugh...so stupid!!! Anyway, the movie is a mix between The Princess Diaries and My Fair Lady. Gigi (Leslie Caron) lives with her operatic mother, who we never meet, and her Grandmama, Madame Alvarez (Hermoine Gingold). Gigi visits her high class Aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans) to learn how to behave in high society; how to eat lobster, sit down in a chair correctly, identifying fine gems and stones in jewelry.

Gaston (Louis Jourdan), a wealthy young man is bored with high society, visits Madame Alvarez and her granddaughter, Gigi. At first, Gaston just views Gigi as an annoying little girl, who asks inappropriate questions:

Gigi: Gaston, do you make love all the time?
Gaston: I beg your pardon
Gigi: Do you make love all the time?
Gaston: Good heavens, no. The only people who make love all the time, are liars.

 Gaston went to many parties, dated many women, but none of them lasted. Of course....the inevitable happens, without even realizing it, he falls for Gigi. I am very glad that the costume designer won an Oscar. The dress that Gigi wears in the end, is gorgeous!

The music sucked, it wasn't anything special and the did a lot of rhythmic speaking which was pointless and the music was poorly written. The melody wasn't hummable, and...forgettable. I like romantic movies, but this movie didn't do anything for me. I didn't feel the connection between the characters, and the plot line lacked substance. I really don't know how this movie won 8 Oscars.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 112 minutes
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison,Robert Gunner, Lou Wagner, Woodrow Parfrey, Jeff Burton, Buck Kartalian, Norman Burton, Wright King, & Paul Lambert
Oscar: John Chambert (honorary award- makeup)
Oscar Nominations: Morton Haack (costume), Jerry Goldsmith (music)




Planet of the Apes is one of the most interesting and creative sci-fiction movie I have ever watched. It's disappointing that the plot is based off Pierre Boulle's novel La Planete des singes, because I would have given a huge applause to the screen writers who thought up this story. The special effects and makeup were impressive for 1968. John Chambers, the make up artist, had a budget of $1,000,000!

The movie starts out with Taylor (Charlton Heston), Landon (Robert Gunner), Dodge (Jeff Burton), and Stewart (Dianne Stanley) on a space ship flying light years away. The ship crashes, and their clear, coffin like bed cover opens up and the 3 men wake up, they look at Stewart, and she's dead all shriveled up.

The three men escape from the sinking space ship on a life raft. The funny thing is, Landon and Taylor were paddling while the black man just sat there; ironic! With only 3 days of food, they started backpacking through the rocks, finding no life form, until they found this one teeny tiny plant, that they end uprooting (stupid). They find plants, and a body of water that they end up skinny dipping in (YOU SEE ALL 3 ACTORS BUTTS!) They hear noises and their clothes disappear, it is a group of humans dressed in loincloths.

They were attacked by apes on horses, shooting, netting and attacking these humans. They were killing them for sport, or enslaving them. Dodge didn't make it, and Landon and Taylor were enslaved, separately. Taylor and a slave girl Nova, were put in cages and under the care of animal psychologist, Zira (Kim Hunter).

Before and After shot of Kim Hunter

Taylor, getting shot in the neck, was unable to talk...making him look and act like all the other humans. Zira, became very attached to Taylor, nicknamed Bright Eyes, that she wanted Bright Eye to mate with a female, Nova.

Blah...blah, blah. Taylor heals and can talk. Zira and her archeologist fiance, Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) team up and help Taylor, even though it's being difficult since there's no proof that anything that is coming out of Taylor's mouth is true.

The greatest part in the movie is when Taylor and Nova are riding on a horse, and they stumble upon the fallen Statue of Liberty. It just opens the door to so many questions. The land where the apes live, was it once New York? Or was the statue of liberty moved or did it travel by water and land by the shore? The questions are endless... 

Tootsie (1982)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 119 minutes
Director: Sydney Pollack
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Terri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis
Oscar: Jessica Lange (actress in support role)
Oscar Nomination: Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards (best picture), Sydney Pollack (director), Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal, Don McGuire (screenplay), Dustin Hoffman (actor), Teri Garr (actress in support role), Owen Roizman (photography), Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp (editing), Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman (song), Arthur Plantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Rick Alexander,
Les Lazarowitz (sound)


Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a talented actor, who can change his persona at the drop of a hat. Michael went with his friend Sandy (Teri Garr), to an audition for a soap opera. Sandy wasn't in the room for more than 10 seconds when he dismissed her, saying she wasn't what he was looking for. Michael went to his agent, George Fields (Sydney Pollack) venting that he hasn't gotten an interview. George goes on and tells him he hasn't gotten a job in New York, because he has a reputation of being difficult. No one will hire someone with an "attitude". Michael, being insulted decides to audition for the same part as Sandy for Southwest General, meaning he has to dress up in drag. Dorothy Michael auditions for the part, and just like Sandy, she doesn't ever get to read
for the part.

Ron Carlisle : I'm afraid you're not right for this role. Thanks for coming by.
Dorothy Michaels: Why am I not right, Mister Carlisle?
Ron Carlisle: I'm trying to make a certain statement and I'm looking for a specific physical type.
Dorothy Michaels: Mr. Carlisle, I'm an actress. I'm a character actress. I can play it any way you want.
Ron Carlisle: I'm sure you're a very good actress. It's just that you're not threatening enough.
Dorothy Michaels: Not threatening enough? Listen, you take your hands off me or I'll knee your balls right through the roof of your mouth! Is that enough of a threat?
Ron Carlisle: [shaken] It's a start.

Dorothy, of course gets casted in the soap opera, and this is where the fun really happens! On set he meets Julie (Jessica Lange) a beautiful Nurse on the show, Southwest General. Immediately, Michael felt attracted to her, but of course, on set...he was a woman. Dorothy, surprisingly caught the eye of co-worker John Van Horn (George Gaynes), who kisses Dorothy, even though Michael tried his hardest to not let that happen.

Dorothy and Julie became very close, Julie asked Dorothy to come over to read lines, invited her to a weekend away at her dad's house, and Michael intimately falls for her, even thought nothing intimate can happen...because Julie thinks Dorothy is a woman.

This movie has so many great one liners, and Michael gets really deep into being Dorothy, wanting the nicest clothes, and freaking out that she doesn't have anything to wear, getting into the womanly psychi of his alter ego, Dorothy. While Sandy was showering, Michael saw a beautiful dress laid out on her bed. He starts undressing, so he could try on her dress. Of course, Sandy walks in and Michael covers himself by saying he wants to have sex with her.

I don't think that Teri Garr got enough credit for this movie. She was my favorite part in the movie. I'm glad that she was nominated for the oscar for best supporting actress. She's the crazy, jealous lover, who's spacey and doesn't know what's going on. She's great!

The movie has this crazy love pentagon, and it gets very complicated, but it adds to the drama and causes a lot of complications. I'm watching this movie for the 1st time, 30 years after it was made. It doesn't shock me to see 2 guys kiss, or see a man dressed up as a woman, but I guarantee that if I was a 26 year old, in 1982, going to the theater to see this movie, I'd be taken back and shocked to see that on screen.

Bill Murray is also in this movie, and surprisingly, he doesn't steal the show. He plays Michael's best friend and roommate, a writer. He's the one that Michael turns to for fashion advice, and gets him out of tricky situations he's in with Sandy. I never knew how toll Bill Murray was, until he stands next to Dustin Hoffman in the movie. Bill TOWERS over Dustin. I looked it up, and Dustin Hoffman only stands at 5' 5 1/2" while Bill Murray stands at 6' 2".

See the movie for the complicated relationships that form, the comical Teri Garr as Sandy, and seeing Dustin Hoffman's character becoming and acting more like a woman. This movie deserves to be on the list of 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

The Lady Eve (1941)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 97 minutes
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Colburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Melville Cooper, Martha O'Driscoll, Janet Beecher, Robert Greig, Dora Clement, & Luis Alberni
Oscar nomination: Monckton Hoffe (screenplay)







We meet our main characters on a cruise ship. Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) is a tempress crook who's trying to seduce Charles Pike, whose family own's Pike's Ale. At dinner, she spots Charles, but so does every other woman. Jean cleverly looks in her pocket mirror and commentates, each table, and what she thinks they're saying about Charles.

So how does this one lady get the attention of a man when there are many other ladies trying to get his attention? Well...she sticks out her leg, makes him trip and then invites him back to her room so she can get another pair of shoes, since he broke the heel off hers. As they're in her room, she sits down, and gives Charles her foot, showing much leg. Right then and there...Jean has him in her grasp! They were engaged in no time!

Ever since Charles was a child, he had a bodyguard/governess, Ambrose Murgatroyd, and he did some digging, showed Charles the proof, he broke it off with Jean. She was upset, not because she didn't get money from him, but because she loved him. Then and there...she decided to get revenge on Charles Pike. At a horse race, Jean and her father (he's in on the scheming) ran into another con artist, Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith (Eric Blore), and Jean poses as Sir Alfred's niece, Lady Eve Sidwich. Somehow, Sir Alfred gets the Pike's family to arrange a special dinner party to introduce Lady Eve to America. You see...she's only been in the US for 3 days, and came in by submarine!

The day of the party, the workers were running around frantically, getting things ready, and they forgot to serve Horace Pike (Eugene Pallette), his breakfast. At first, he got the attention of his servants by a bell, but after no one responded, he started throwing a fit, banging two lids together, like cymbals.

The night of the party, Lady Eve Sidwich walks in holding a white feather fan, a tiara, and full white gown. She looks absolutely breath taking, and of course...grabs the attention of Charles.



Charles couldn't get over the resemblance between Lady Eve and his Jean, but if Jean was trying to get revenge on Charles, he knew that she'd dye or cut her hair, to at least try to look different, but since she didn't, he knew it wasn't Jean. Charles was looking out the window, lcommunicating with a man, wasn't paying attention and stumbled right over the couch!

Horace: You haven't been hitting the bottle, have you?

Lady Eve: Of course, he hasn't. Anybody's apt to trip.

Horace: Not over a sofa. That sofa's been there for 15 years, and no one ever fell over it before.

Weeks went by, and Lady Eve and Charles got married. After the ceremony, the couple is on the train. Charles knocks on the door, and Lady Eve and Charles sits on the bed. She goes on an on telling Charles all about her past lovers. First there was Angus, Herman, verman, Cecil, John, Herbert and Hubert (who were twins). Charles got so upset, that he got off on the next stop. In the picture below you can see his face...and the exaustion.

And yes...I am going to leave you at a teaser moment. You'll have to watch the movie to see what happens. This movie has great humorous moments. I only told you two of my favorite moments (cymbals & falling off the couch) but there's much more. Barbara Stanwyck sucks you in, there's something about her that's really special and she shines on screen. Henry Fonda is great as well...he plays a shy, naive man who's very gullible.

Enjoy the Show!







Deliverance (1972)

Star Rating: 3

Length of Film: 109 minutes

Director: John Boorman

Cast: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey, Billy Redden, Seamon Glass, Randall Deal, Bill McKinney, Herbert Coward, Lewis Crone, Ken Keener, Johnny Popwell, John Fowler, Kathy Rickman

Oscar nominations: John Boorman (best picture), John Boorman (director), Tom Priestley (editing)

Ed- Jon Voight                

                                                  Lewis- Burt Reynolds

    

Bobby- Ned Beatty (film debut)

 Drew- Ronny Cox 

                  (film debut)                       

Deliverance is a movie based off of American writers, book of the same name, written in 1970 by James Dickey (who has a cameo in the movie as Sheriff Bullard). The movie is about 4 men, from the suburbs who decide to take a vacation, canoeing down the river. While Lewis and Ed talk to some of the locals to see if they could drive their car to their stopping point, Drew has a banjo battle with one of the locals, Lonnie, played by Billy Redden who was supposed to "look" like an inbred and retarded. Billy, the 15 year old actor did not actually play the banjo, the real musician reached around, from behind Redden. Drew, played by Ronny Cox, is an actual musician, what you see on screen, is actually him playing. Throughout the film, you will here the theme music, which is introduced by Drew and Lonnie. Below is a link, to the scene of "Dueling Banjos"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqxzWdKKu8

Once the men secured drives, they set off in the water. Lewis was full force down the rapids, with no fear. The next day, Lewis and Drew rode together, and then Ed and Bobby, they separated, and Ed and Bobby made it to shore first. They ran into to mountain men. One took Bobby, made him strip down to his underwear and squeal like a pig. This is the CRAZIEST part of the whole movie.

Mountain Man: Them panties, take 'em off. Get up, boy!
Come on, get on up there.

Bobby: No, no, no.

Oh, no. Don't. Don't.

Mountain Man: Hey, boy. You look just like a hog.

Bobby: No, don't.

Mountain Man: Just like a hog.
Come here, piggy, piggy, piggy.
Come on, piggy. Come on, piggy.
Come on, piggy, give me a ride.
Get up and give me a ride.

Bobby: All right.

Mountain Man: Get up! Get up there!

Bobby: All right. Oh, no, no.

Mountain Man: Looks like we got us a sow here, instead of a boar.

Bobby: Don't! Don't!

Mountain Man: What's the matter, boy?
I bet you squeal.
I bet you can squeal like a pig.
Let's squeal. Squeal now.

Squeal.
Squeal.
Squeal louder. Louder.
Louder.
Louder!
Louder!
Louder! Get down now, boy!
There, get them britches down.
That's that.

Ed, tied to a tree, being watched by the toothless man, watches his friend get raped by the mountain man. Of course, Lewis and Drew come to the rescue and Lewis kills the mountain man, and the toothless man escapes. The 4 men argue on what they should do with the body, Drew was the only one with a conscience who believed they should turn themselves in, he lost 3-1. So the idiot suburban men decide to bury the body right by a stream, so if ever there was a heay rainfall, the water pressure could break up the dirt and expose the body. Stupid...

After burying the mountain man, they got back on the canoes, and headed down the mountain. Drew did not put on his life jacket, he was reminded many times by Joe to wear the jacket, they got to strong rapids and he fell overboard. Lewis and Bobby's canoe split and both were spilled into the river. Both survived, except Lewis had a broken leg. Lewis is the macho man...the leader of the group, and once he breaks his leg...the characters personality changes. He comes this baby! At this moment, Ed steps up, and becomes the leader and the limelight is on him. Lewis believes that the toothless man shot Drew and that he's stalking the 3 men that are left, up on the cliff. Bobby stays with Lewis, and Ed travels up the cliff to kill the man who's threatening the safety of all of them. With a bow and arrow in hand, he sees the suspect. He has everything in place and then chokes, and soon as the toothless man spots him, he falls to the ground, stabbing his leg with his own arrow. (I can't make this up) The toothless man approaches Ed, and then collapes. The arrow Ed threw impailed and killed the man, but the man had his front teeth (duh duh duh!)

Drew died, Lewis has a broken leg, Bobby is emotionally distraught from being raped, and they just killed 2 men. To find out what happens in the end...rent the movie. :o)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 118 minutes
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Ballaver, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, John Dennis, Merle Travis, Tim Ryan, Arthur Keegan, & Barbara Morrison
Oscars: Buddy Adler (best picture), Fred Zinnemann (director), Daniel Taradash (screenplay), Frank Sinatra (actor in support role), Burnett Guffrey (photography), william A. Lyon (editing), John P. Livadary (sound)
Oscar Nomination: Montgomery Clift (actor), Burt Lancaster (actor), Deborah Kerr (actress), Jean Louis (costume design, BW), Morris Stoloff & George Duning (music)

                            Sgt. Milton Warden- Burt Lancaster

    Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt-             Montgomery Clift















            Pvt. Angelo Maggio- Frank Sinatra

 





Karen Holmes- Deborah Kerr

                                      Alma 'Lorene' Burke- Donna Reed

Sgt. 'Fatso' Judson- Ernest Borgnine










From Here to Eternity is a movie based on James Jone's best seller about life on the U. S. Army base in 1941, right before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This movie has the following themes: adultery, prostitution, corruption, bullying, and murder.

The movie starts out with Sgt. Prewitt arriving at the Army base, led by Capt. Holmes, who knows about Prewitt's background in boxing. See...there's a competition among the regimental boxing club, with a competition nearing on December 15. Prewitt refuses, so Holmes decide to make his life a living hell. Sgt. Warden works in the office with Holmes, and has a crush on his wife, Karen. He acts on his feeling and they have an affair together. The iconic beach scene is supposed to be the highlight of the movie. Netflix advertises it as "one of the hottest love scenes in screen history". Let me straighten things out. THEY DO NOT HAVE SEX. They roll around in the sand, fully clothed, just kissing. It was HIGHLY disappointing.

I am so happy that Frank Sinatra won an Oscar. He played his role perfectly! He was the guy that took the newbie under his wing, introduced him to a "members only" club, where Prewitt met his girl.  Pvt. Maggio is a loud mouthed, prideful man, that smarted off to the wrong individual, Sgt. Judson. To make a long story short, Maggio got himself thrown in jail with Judson as Sergent of the Guard. UH OH!

The "members only" club, is a gentlemen's club, where women will be the man's girl for the night. Prewitt saw Lorene from afar and immediately fell for her, and vice versa, except their relationship...well, they're not on the same page. Here's a quote from Alma(Lorene), a very selfish, 'I'm better than you' comment, which made my jaw drop.

Alma: Prew, it's true we love each other now, we need each other, but back in the States it might be different.
Prewitt: That ain't the real reason.
Alma: You're right, it's not.
Prewitt: What is the real reason?
Alma: I - I won't marry you because I don't want to be the wife of a soldier.
Prewitt: Well, that... would be about the best I could ever do for you.
Alma: Because nobody's going to stop me from my plan. Nobody, nothing. Because I want to be proper!
Prewitt: Proper.
Alma: Yes, proper! In another year I'll have enough money saved. Then I'm going to go back to my home town in Oregon, and I'm going to build a house for my mother and myself, and join the country club and take up golf. Then I'll meet the proper man with the proper position, to make a proper wife, and can run a proper home and raise proper children. And I'll be HAPPY because when you're PROPER you're SAFE!
Prewitt: You've got guts, honey. I hope you can pull that off.
Alma: I do mean it when I say I need you. 'Cause I'm lonely. You think I'm lying, don't you?
Prewitt: Nobody ever lies about being lonely.

A lot of stuff happens in the movie, but I'm not going to tell you on my blog, you're going to have to watch the movie. I will tell you what pissed me off. From the quotes above, I took it as Alma turned down Prewitt's engagement. Well...in the end, she and Karen are on a boat, traveling to the mainland, and she tells Karen about her fiancé, how "he was an Army Air Corps pilot killed in a B-17 during the attack. He was awarded the Silver Star, they sent it to his mother. She wrote me. She wanted me to have it. They are very fine people, Southern people. He was named after a general. Robert E. Lee... Prewitt."

First off...Prewitt was not a pilot, two...Prewitts parents died, and that's why he joined the armed forces, so mom wouldn't have been able to write back to Alma, giving the silver star to her. I don't know if Alma was just trying to impress this stranger (Karen Holmes), or if screenplay just lacked on the specific details, either way I ended the movie feeling indifferent.

Frank Sinatra and Montgomery Clift make the movie. The relationship between them is so special, that they go to EXTREME lengths to save and protect one another. I hated both of the female castmates, they were both bitches and very spoiled, and not likeable. They walked all over their men, and got away with inappropriate behavior; one's a adulter and the other is a prostitute.

Like always, make your own opinion, and enjoy the show.  

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 104 minutes
Director: Stephan Elliott
Cast: Terrence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pierce, Rebel Russell, John Casey, June Marie Bennett, Murray Davies, Frank Cornelius, Bob Boyce, Leighton Picken, Maria Kmet, Joseph Kmet, Alan Dargin, Julia Cortez, Daniel Kellie, Hannah Corbett, Trevor Barrie, Ken Radley, Sarah Chadwick, & Mark Holmes
Oscar: Lizzie Gardiner & Tim Chappel (best costume design)

Bernadette- Terrance Stamp    

                                Felicia- Guy Pierce    

Mitzi- Hugo Weaving





Hold on to your frilly little panties, this movie will take you on a ride! The make-up is absolutely atrocious! Especially their eyebrows, but the wigs and costumes are amazing! I give props to these 3 men, because the outfits are tight, and very girlie! These are real men who were comfortable enough in their own skin, to play these roles.

The movie starts out with Bernadette's life partner funeral. Feeling lost, she decides to join Mitzi and Felicia, on a show tour through the desert. Felicia buys a bus and names it "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert". Along the road, we meet Bob and Cynthia. A relationship where he over powers her, and does not allow her to be herself. Well...Cynthia surprises them all! After the 3 boys perform on stage, she walks in a sexy pleather outfit. In her top, she pulls out ping pongs. She runs the ping pong down to her little zipper opening of her va-jay-jay, the bends over, and the ping pong shoots across the room. (OMG!!!)


One of the coolest moments of the show is when Felicia is standing on top of the bus in a silver dress, lip syncing to "Sempre Libera" from Verdi's La Traviata. the dress had a long scarf and it just blew beautifully in the wind.

Watch the movie. There's a lot of surprises, but there's no sex, and there's no male on male kissing. It's men dressed up as women, lip syncing to an amazing list of songs.

"I've Never Been To Me"

"Go West"
"Billy Don't Be A Hero"
"My Baby Loves Lovin'"
"I Love The Nightlife"
"Can't Help Lovin' That Man"
"I Will Survive"
"A Fine Romance"
"Shake Your Groove Thing"
"I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine"
"Finally"
"Take A Letter Maria"
"Mamma Mia"
"Save The Best For Last"
"Fernando"
"A Desert Holiday"
"This Old Man"
"Ten Fat Trannies"
"My Darling, Clementine"


Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: Not even 15 minutes WOOT!
Director: George Kuchar
Cast:  Donna Kerness, George Kuchar, Andrewa Lunin, Hope Morris, & Steve Packard

This movie is a short film, clocking in at 14 minutes and 23 seconds.




It is a film about a pornography director. Its time is split filming the porno, and then behind the scenes filming the director. It's definately artsy. I really don't undestand why the director who stars in the film, is rolling around in the film reels, or why we need to see him taking a piss. The main couple in the porno, are having a shower scene, she's obviously wearing a wig, because it's sliding off her head, and she's randomly holding a pearl necklace. The hand that she's holding up, is holding the pearl necklace.

See the necklace? So random!

The movie direction of this film is ADD.  We see the couple making out in the shower and then it flashes to the director peeing. Flashes back to the hot couple, then to the director twirling underneath the shower head, wearing a plastic like toga. In the shower, we hear someone knocking on the door, it's George's mother. She tells him dinner is ready, he sits down, looks at his food and says, "there's a lot of things in life worth living for. Isn't there?" The movie ends.

I'm not sure if this is a fictional story, where George imagines that he was a director, or if this is a true, autobiography. Watch it for yourself. I found the short on youtube. Here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akMfsF7FGkM

Rebecca (1940)

Star Rating: 3
Length of Film: 130 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Glady Cooper, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Melville Cooper, Florence Bates, Leonard Carey, Leo G. Carroll, Edward Fielding, Lumsden Hare, & Forrester Harvey
Oscars: David O. Selznick (Best Picture) & George Barnes (Photography)
Oscar Nominations: Alfred Hitchcock (Director), Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison (Screenplay), Laurence Olivier (Actor), Judith Anderson (Actress in Supporting Role), Lyle R. Wheeler (Art Direction), Hal C. Kern (Editing), Jack Cosgrove, Arthur Johns (Special Effects), & Franz Waxman (Music)

Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) is am aristocratic widower, vacationing in Monte Carlo.  Joan Fontaine, (we never know her name) is at the hotel with her employee, wealthy Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates), who works for her as a paid companion. Mrs. Van Hopper notices Mr. de Winter right off and tries to make a move. She knew that Mrs. de Winter committed suicide. He of course, ignores the old lady, and looks at her sweet, innocent companion. Mr. de Winter approaches the young lady at breakfast, and sits down with her. They start this innocent flirtation. She is entralled with him, and he enjoys her company. They take rides together in his car, and a sparks fly. Joan Fontaine is so innocently beautiful. She reminds me of a mix between Anna Paquin & Scarlett Johannson.

Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper's daughter calls from New York to announce that she's getting married. Edythe packs everything up, and Joan's heart sank. She ran to the phone to call Mr. de Winter to tell him that she HAS to go to New York, but when she called the front office, he was out for his morning drive. It was adorably done, she kept running to the phone every 20 minutes or so, calling the front office, seeing if Mr. de Winter was back. When he finally was back, she rushed over to his room, and told him that she was leaving. He suggested that they get married. He rang the front office, to call Edythe up to announce that her companion will be staying with him, to become his wife.

Mr. de Winter drove his new bride to Manderley, their mansion estate, and was greeted by his staff. Everyone was welcoming and lovely, except Rebecca's (the first Mrs. de Winter) maid, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). Mrs. Danvers held Rebecca at a VERY HIGH standard. She kept everything in her room, exactly the same. It became very hard for the new Mrs. de Winter to live in a home where the "perfect" Rebecca once lived. She became paranoid and starting looking at things around the house and wondered if it belonged to Rebecca. When Rebecca was Mrs. de Winter, they had wonderful costumed parties, the new Mrs. de Winter, asked her husband permission to throw a ball. Mrs. Danvers showed Mrs. de Winter family portraits, and stopped infront of a painting, telling Mrs. de Winter's that this portrait is Mr. de Winter's favorite.

For the ball, Mrs. de Winter decides to recreate the dress. She tells no one about her idea, and reveals it on the night of the ball. Excited that she's going to impress her husband, his face was NOT what she wanted to see. He tells her the dress is innapropriate and she needs to go back upstairs and change. Mrs. de Winter was so upset! She ran upstairs and of course, Mrs. Danvers is right there to rub it in, that her dear Rebecca wore that dress, first. Politely, Mrs. Danvers opens the window, to give Mrs. de Winter some fresh air. She leans into the open window, and Mrs. Danvers tries to persuade her into jumping. Look at Mrs. Danvers...she definately has the crazy look in her eyes!!!

After Mrs. Danver's attempt to push Mrs. de Winter to suicide, this is the part of the movie where we FINALLY find more information about Rebecca and what happens to her. What you find out, is surprising, but not so shocking, that it leaves a lasting impression. I will leave you with one last picture...happy viewing!!!