Movie Review: ****^Pollyanna (1960)

This is one of those great positive feeling movies, with Pollyanna (Hayley Mills, who looks for the good, and the preacher (Karl Malden) who is converted to this thinking.  It makes a big difference in the town, as it becomes known as the glad town.
This movies comes from Disney and also features:
Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly
Richard Egan as her love interest Dr. Chilton
Agnes Moorehead as crotchety old Mrs. Snow, who Pollyanna also converts
As well as Mr. Pendergast, played by Adolphe Menjou
And Kevin Corcoran portrays Pollyanna's young friend from the orphanage.
The town is moving to raise money to build a new orphanage.  they feel it is a civic responsibility.  The current orphanage is in Herrington Hall, and Aunt Polly wants to give money to remodel the kitchen.  She has money, and willing to do her civic duty.  However that is the point, Aunt Polly attends to her duty, but doesn't love people.  Pollyanna brings that love into her life.

Movie Review: Love Me Tender (1956)

This is Elvis' first movie, and he is surprisingly good.  It is also the only movie in which he played that he did not receive top billing.  The title of the movie was changed so as to accept Elvis' new hit single.  Elvis, Clint, is the younger of four brothers, who has stayed behind to mind the farm, while the other brothers go to the Civil War.  Those brothers are part of a confederate group which steal a federal payroll at the end of the war.  Not knowing what to do with the money, they take it home, and the oldest brother, Vance, (Richard Egan) plans to marry his girl, Kathy (Debra Paget).  However the family heard that the oldest brother had been killed, then the younger brother married the girl.  There is some quick adjustment, which doesn't go very well, because the love flame is still there between Kathy and Vance.  Added to this is the federals coming to get the money from the payroll.  Some of the other men involved in this heist get inside Clint's head, and turn him against Vance.  They want to get the money and run out West.  however Vance wants to turn the money over so as to negotiate their freedom.  As luck would have it, Clint shoots Vance, but his heart wasn't in it and it is not a fatal wound.  Clint comes running to his brother with grief, but ends up getting shot and killed by the men who had gotten inside his head.
 

Movie Review: ***^ The 300 Spartans

***^"The 300 Spartans"  This is the movie I enjoyed as a boy.  The drama of the Spartans standing against incredible odds, and then only being defeated when they are overwhelmed.  The underdog, beating back the Persian hordes is a classic.  My only complaint was the narration.  Too pompous for me, but in those days that was what made movies. This movie also has betrayal, in that they had a defensible position, and only when a route through the mountains was revealed to the Persians were the beaten.  This movie stars Richard Egan as Leonidas.