James Stewart Movies

Jimmy Stewart's career in movies lasted five decades with many good movies.  

***** Mr. Kruegers Christmas. (1980). An annual ritual for me

**** The Shootist (1976). With John Wayne as the shootist.

**** Bandolero (1968). Character played by Stewart rescues his brother, and robs a bank

**** Anatomy of a Murder (1959). a good whodunnit

**** The Man Who Knew Too Much. (1956)  A rtemake where an innocent couple gets drawn into a spy movie when their son is kidnapped.  With Doris Day.

****^ Rear Window (1955) Alfred Hitchcock and murder discovered out the back window

**** Broken Arrow (1950)  Which deals with a broken treaty with Native Americans

***^ The Rope (1948). A Hitchcock murder story.

***** Its a Wonderful Life (1946) The best Christmas movie ever

Movie Review: ****Enemy Mine (1985)

 Two space warrior enemies become stranded on a distant planet.  Davidge (Dennis Quaid) is a human fighter pilot in the future war with the Dracs.  Jeriba (Louis Gossage Jr.) is also marooned on the planet when their ships collide.  They at first continue to b enemies but soon discover they are each other's best resource for survival.  They also have to learn each other's language.  The Dracs have a very distinctive language.  It is made with gurgling sounds.  Jeriba and Davidge  survive many perils.  Over time the become friends.  Jeriba becomes pregnant as Dracs are just one sex.  Somehow Jeriba knows that something is wrong, and that he may not survive.  He teaches Davidge his genealogy in song and has Davidge swear he will take his child, Zammis (Bumper Robinson) to his home world and recite the genealogy.  

However there is a group of illegal miners on the planet lead by Stubbs (Brion James).  They shoot Davidge and leave him for dead, and the child is taken as a slave to work in the mines.  Davidge is rescued by a patrol ship.  He returns to rescue the child.  In doing so he effects a rebellion amongst the slaves, and the alliance he is a soldier for also helps and the miners are destroyed.  Davidge takes the boy to the Drac world.  

This is a very good movie about getting along with others and finding that differences are not always as large as they appear.

Alfred Hitchcock, Sean Connery, Tippi Hedren Movie: **** Marnie (1964)

 Marnie (Tippi Hedren) is a thief with emotional problems.  This movie is a very good psychological thriller.  Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) placers a mark and business owner.  He falls for Marnie despite her propensity to steal.  And gives himself the task of helping her deal with her past so she can have a better future.  He does this by marrying her.  The solution, or the past divulge is very interesting and unexpected.  But before we get there Marne is always trying to run away.  She also does not like storms not red.  This involves her mother (Louise Latham) and mother's history of working as a prostitute serving Navy men, and one of the clients (Bruce Dern).  This all took place when Marnie was a child.

Rutland's sister-in-law (Diane Baker) is a meddler.  She wanted to marry Rutland.  She invites a past mark (Martin Gabel) of Marnie to a party.  This sets in motion events which could lead to Marnie's arrest, and perhaps then she can marry Rutland.  It puts into motion a series of events that leads to Rutland and Marnie confronting her mother.

James Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock Movie: ***^ The Rope (1948)

 Brandon and Phillip (John Dall and Farley Granger) are two roommates who kill a former college roommate, Peter (Dick Hogan) just for the joy of killing and the feeling of superiority.  They have a couple guests coming over to celebrate (for them) but a flimsy reason for others.  This includes a couple other former roommates, Peter's father (Cedric Hardwicke) and Peter's girlfriend Janet (Joan Chandler).  One of the former roommates is Kenneth (Douglas Dick), Janet's former boyfriend.  The other is Rupert Cadell (James Stewart) who was sort of an intelligent person.  Brandon has invitd him for the thrill.  He also has views on murder that it should be allowed for smarter people, similar to Brandon and Phillip.  Peter does not show up for dinner, and everyone is worried.  And Cadell's senses are heightened trying to figure out what is going on.  Brandon and Phillip are acting strangely.  The housemaid (Edith Evanson) has also noticed they are acting strangely.  Phillip is especially nervous.  The party leaves, but Cadell returns on a pretext of misplacing his cigarette case.  

The rope is the tool used to commit the murder.  It was lying around, and set away with some books, but Cadell brings it back.  And Phillip knows the gig is up.  The body is in a chest.  

Music Review: Gotan Project: La Revancha del Tango

 Gotan is a group dedicated mostly to tango.  There are three artists, one from Argentina, One from France and the third from Switzerland.  They are centered in Paris.  Their name is the word tango with the syllables backwards as would by in Lunfardo, an Argentine slang language.  The music overall is very good, but sometimes it starts becoming very repetitive.  La Revancha is their first studio album released in 2001 on XL Recordings and ¡Ya Basta! Records.  Two songs are covers, "Chunga's Revenge" (Frank Zappa) and "Last Tango in Paris" (Gato Barbieri) from the movie of the same name.  This is great falling asleep to music for a Sunday afternoon because of the music is very repetitive.  However at the same time, most of the music has that tango feel that gets your blood boiling.  It is very passionate.  The song Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre) was used in the movies Bourne Identity, Shall We Dance and Knight and Day.  The songs I liked the best are the first and the last, "Queremos Paz" and "Vuelvo al Sur."  The song "El Capitalismo Foráneo" is unique in that it quotes Eva Peron and has a recording of Eva saying capitalismo foráneo referring to get foreign business interests out of Argentina.  

Music Review: Christmas with Placido Domingo, Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Christmas with Placido Domingo, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, arranged and directed Lee Holdridge, CBS, Tokyo, 1981. 

Placido Domingo is the best singer for some songs, and then some songs just don't fit the opera style voice.  Cantique de Noel, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and Silent Night are examples of songs perfectly suited for Domingo's style of singing.  These three conclude this album and are beautifully done.  On the other hand I'll Be Home for Christmas just doesn't work.  He also starts off with a medley of traditional Christmas songs that are really nice, Joy to the World, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, Good King Wencelas, Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel all really pop.  I also like Mary's Boy Child.  This was C.D. has some beautiful singing.

  

Alfred Hitchcock Movie: **** Young and Innocent (1937)

 Young and Innocent is a delightful early Hitchcock movie.  Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) is accused of murder.  The belt off his coat was used, and two women saw him running away.  He maintains he was running away to get help.  However the deceased was a friend of his.  She was a movie star who was disaffected from her husband, but he would not give her a divorce.  The police commissioner's (Col. Burgoyne (Percy Marmont) daughter, Erica (Nova Pilbeam) has a liking for the accused murderer.  He escapes during police station confusion, and then convinces Erica to give him a ride in her car.  He is out to find his old coat so he can prove he is not the murderer.  The search many places and finally catch up with a bum, Old Will (Edward Rigby) who has the coat.   He describes who gave him the coat as a person with a twitch, not Tisdall.  They find in the coat a match and this leads them to a place to go next.  In the mean time the commissioner pressures his daughter to let him know where Tisdall is.  They follow her to the hotel/bar.  It is difficult to locate him, but they discover him in the band playing drum and in black face.  He admits to choking his wife.  This is in front of the police so Tisdall is no longer a suspect.  Our two love birds are free to pursue a relationship.  

I really enjoyed this movie.  It is a very good whodunnit with the romance added in.