A-AZ edited Jun 28, 2019

Abbot and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)  Lost Caverns Hotel bellhop Freddie Phillips is suspected of murder. Swami Talpur tries to hypnotize Freddie into confessing, but Freddie is too stupid for the plot to work. Inspector Wellman uses Freddie to get the killer (and it isn't the Swami).

The original script 'Easy Does It', was originally intended as a vehicle for Bob Hope. After the huge success of Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, Universal-International wanted another "horror" comedy with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, so the script was rewritten for them. Oddly enough, the role played by Boris Karloff was originally written for a woman.

After filming was completed, Lou Costello was bedridden for several months due to a relapse of rheumatic fever, which he originally battled in 1943. As a result, the duo did not make another film together until Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, a year later.

The role eventually played by Boris Karloff was originally a female character named Madame Switzer in the final shooting script which was then titled, 'Abbott and Costello Meet the Killers'. Five days before shooting, Karloff was hired and the character was changed to a swami.

The film was originally banned in Denmark due to the scene where corpses play cards. 

Absence of Malice (1981)  Mike Gallagher is a Miami liquor wholesaler whose deceased father was a local mobster. The FBI organized crime task force has no evidence that he's involved with the mob but decide to pressure him perhaps revealing something - anything - about a murder they're sure was a mob hit. The let Megan Carter, a naive but well-meaning journalist, know he is being investigated and Gallagher's name is soon all over the newspaper. Gallagher has an iron-clad alibi for when the murder occurred but won't reveal it to protect his fragile friend Teresa. When Carter publishes her story, tragedy ensues. Needing to make amends, Carter tells Gallagher the source of the first story about him and he sets out to teach the FBI and the Federal Attorney a lesson.

Paul Newman and director Sydney Pollack were both gourmet chefs and had a running culinary competition throughout filming with Sally Field as the judge. Though a good sport at first, Sally grew tired of eating gourmet night after night, and began begging off her judging duties in favor of hamburgers and omelettes at local diners.

The film's "Absence of Malice" title relates to matters of law where the truth of a story can be irrelevant. If there is no knowledge that a story is false, then the media are absent of malice. If the media have been reasonable and prudent in producing a story, then they are not negligent. As such, the media can say whatever they like about someone and the affected party can do the media no harm (i.e. is powerless to stop them). Democracy is served.

Adam's Rib (1949)   When a woman attempts to kill her uncaring husband, prosecutor Adam Bonner gets the case. Unfortunately for him his wife Amanda (who happens to be a lawyer too) decides to defend the woman in court. Amanda uses everything she can to win the case and Adam gets mad about it. As a result, their perfect marriage is disturbed by everyday quarrels.

Inspired by the real-life story of husband-and-wife lawyers William Dwight Whitney and Dorothy Whitney, who represented Raymond Massey and his ex-wife Adrienne Allen in their divorce. After the Massey divorce was over, the Whitneys divorced each other and married the respective Massey.

The Adventurers of Baron Munchausen (1988)  In the late Eighteenth Century, a European town is under siege of the Turkish army. Meanwhile, the theater company owned by Henry Saltis entertains the dwellers with the production of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Out of the blue, an old man interrupts the presentation claiming that he is Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen and the tells that he is the one to be blamed by the Turkish attack. The Baron Munchausen tells how he had won a bet against the Sultan with the abilities of his servants Berthold; Adolphus; Albrecht; and Gustavus and earned his treasure. Further, he offers to help the locals against the Turks and builds a balloon to seek out his missing servants. During his journey, he finds the girl Sally hidden in the balloon and they travel to the moon, where they meet the deranged King of the Moon Roger with his detachable head, and his wife, the Queen of the Moon Ariadne that has a crush on the Baron. They are arrested by the jealous Roger and find Berthold in the cage, but Ariadne releases them. When they escape from the moon, they meet Adolphus working to Vulcan inside a volcano. The Baron Munchausen seduces the gorgeous Vulcan's wife Venus and the jealous god throws them in a whirlpool. They are swallowed by a monster and they meet Albrecht and Gustavus in a ship inside the monster. They escape and return to the town to help the people against the invaders. But they are very old and their abilities are gone.

Forms an informal trilogy with director Terry Gilliam's previous films, Time Bandits and Brazil. The three movies represent the three stages of Man (youth, middle age, and elderly) and the impact of imagination on each. Jack Purvis also appears in all three films.

The role of the King of the Moon was intended for Sean Connery until the role was largely cut. Sean Connery didn't think it was "kingly" enough, thus the role was played by Robin Williams. 

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension (1984)  Buckaroo Banzai is a rock-star/brain-surgeon / comic-book-hero/samurai/ etc who along with his group, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil creatures from the 8th dimension (all named John) who are trying to conquer our dimension. He is helped by Penny Pretty, who is a dead ringer for his late wife, and some good extra-dimensional beings who look and talk like they are from Jamaica.  As told to me by John Bigbooty.

This is a movie for the true movie buff.  You can watch if a hundred times and still find something new in it.  All star cast, before they were big stars

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)  Two drag-queens (Anthony/Mitzi and Adam/Felicia) and a transexual (Bernadette) contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. They head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla. En route, it is discovered that the woman they've contracted with is Anthony's wife. Their bus breaks down, and is repaired by Bob, who travels on with them.

Group road trip of discovery.  This is a tender hopefull story based on real life people.

Won an Oscar for best costume.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)  Professor Moriarity has a scheme for stealing the crown jewels from the Tower of London. To get Holmes involved, he persuades a gaucho flute player to murder a girl.

The second of fourteen films based on Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.

An Affair to Remember (1957)  Handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante and beautiful night club singer Terry McKay have a romance while on a cruise from Europe to New York. Despite being engaged to other people, both agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion, and Nicky fears that she has married or does not love him anymore. Will he discover the truth behind her absence and reunite with his one true love, or has fate and destiny passed them by?

Was voted the #5 greatest romance of all time by the American Film Institute.

I first saw this movie in a theater when I was 9 years old.  Each time I see it Katherine Hepburn gets better looking.

Airplane! (1980)  This is a spoof of the airport disaster movies. When the crew of an airplane are struck by some form of virus, the fate of the passengers depends on an ex-war pilot who is the only one able to land the plane safely! The passengers represent a selection of interesting wacky characters who seem to take every word for its literal meaning.

Awesomely funny flick.  I have seen it over 30 times and I still find something new in it.  Shirley you will too.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) Despite admitting that she was scared of him in her never-ending quest to please him, thirty-five year old housewife and mother Alice Hyatt is devastated when her husband Donald is killed in an on the job traffic accident. With few job skills except that as a singer, Alice, along with her precocious eleven year old son Tommy, decides to move from their current home in Socorro, New Mexico to her home town of Monterrey, California, the only place she has ever felt happy. She plans on getting singing gigs along the way to earn money to get back to Monterrey by the end of the summer and the start of Tommy's school year. Alice's quest for a job at each stop leaves Tommy often to fend for himself, which may make Tommy even more precocious. His behavior is fostered by Alice, as their relationship is often more as trouble-making friends than mother and son. Alice's plans often do not end up as she envisions, especially as she is forced to take a waitressing job at Mel and Ruby's Diner in Tuscon, Arizona, which entails working with a disparate group, include Mel, the establishment's gruff owner/short order cook, and her fellow waitresses, the wisecracking, foul mouthed Flo, and the naive and shy Vera. Alice also falls into old habits, namely relying on men to make her feel fulfilled, specifically the much younger Ben, and farmer David. Those relationships may also provide her with a better perspective on her life and her bad choice of Donald as a husband.

I lived in Socorro, NM from 1980 thru 1983.

The actual restaurant that this movie is based on is located in Phoenix, Arizona at 1747 NW Grand Ave. This restaurant was at one time known as Mel's Diner, then later on Pat's Diner. It has recently changed again, and it is again Mel's Diner (as of May 2006).

Alien (1979)  In the near future, during its return to the earth, a commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress SOS from a distant planet. The seven-member crew are roused from their hypersleep and the spaceship subsequently descends on the planet. While exploring the planet, a three-member team of the crew discovers a derelict spaceship and a huge chamber inside it containing thousands of eggs. When a curious team member goes too near the egg the parasite inside the egg attacks him, rendering him unconscious. He is brought back aboard, the spaceship takes off. After a little while the parasite dies and his host wakes up seemingly unruffled. But other crew members are unaware of the living nightmare which is going to descend upon them when the alien creature planted inside its unfortunate host would emerge.

The tag line for this movie was "In space no one can hear you scream."  I worked at New Mexico Tech Computer Center in 1980.  I had tee shirts made for the support staff that said "In the TCC I can hear you scream."

Aliens (1986)  The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors -- if any remain.

The tension is nonstop in this movie.  Much better than the first movie (Alien) in my opinion.

This definitely is a must see film.

All the President's Men (1976)  In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.

This is a well done movie about the Watergate break-in that lead to the resignation of President Nixon.

Almost Famous (2000)  William Miller is a 15 year old kid, hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with, and write about Stillwater, an up and coming rock band. This wonderfully witty coming of age film follows William as he falls face first to confront life, love, and lingo.

Penny Lane asks William if he'd like to go to Morocco with her. He says, "Yes... ask me again." According to director Cameron Crowe, "ask me again" was Patrick Fugit stepping out of character and asking Kate Hudson to repeat her lines for another take. But Crowe liked the take as-is and kept it in the final cut.

Always (1989)  Pete is a pilot who drops water on forest fires at very low heights. His intended Dorinda is also a pilot who doubles as a radio controller for the pilots who do this work. Pete always takes chances, confident that his skill will bring him through. One day it doesn't and he is killed. He finds himself returning as an invisible ghost who's presence is barely felt giving advice to his successor. Pete then finds that his successor is also falling in love with Dorinda.

This film is a remake of A Guy Named Joe, which was watched on television in Poltergeist, which was co-written by director Steven Spielberg.

Although the training base in the movie was supposedly in Colorado, actual filming occurred at the Ephrata, WA Municipal Airport which is a former WWII B-17 training base. Many of the hangars at the airport are original from that era, and evidence of the base is still visible - foundations for buildings, plumbing, the roads and even rock lined walks to the foundations still exist unchanged in the desert. When John Goodman was doused with fire retardant, he was sitting on top of one of a series of earthen bunkers, and walking around the airport you can still see the red retardant stains on the earth. Dorinda's house was a shell built for the movie and sits abandoned at the airport edge. Overall a very interesting place to visit as everything is very well preserved in the desert. 

Amadeus (1984) Antonio Salieri believes that Mozart's music is divine. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. But he can't understand why God favored Mozart, such a vulgar creature, to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is set to take revenge.

A great biopic film of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's short brilliant life.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)  Peter Parker (Garfield) is an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

This was a delightfully good remake of the 2002 Spider-Man movie.  I was prepared not to like it, but I did.

For his role as the Lizard, Rhys Ifans wore a special motion-capture suit: "I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws. It was the most fucking insane thing I'd ever done..."

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)  Channel 8 WIDB-TV is airing the 1954 (or is is 1957? or 1955?) Universal International science-fiction classic "Amazon Women on the Moon" as part of its late night programming. The station is experiencing problems with the airing. To fill air time, the viewers are instead shown various other old movies, movie trailers, commercials, public service announcements, infomercials, talk shows and other programming in-between the few clips available of the featured movie. The viewers include a man being attacked by his apartment, a man with a special remote control, and a man whose life is reviewed by movie critics and who is given a tribute by a cavalcade of classic stand-up comics.

The cast credits are interrupted by a lengthy skit called "Reckless Youth". The credits then resume, beginning with the cast credits for Reckless Youth.

American Beauty (1999)  Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky, who lives with a homophobic father.

American Gangster (2007)  In 1968, the loyal driver, bouncer and collector Frank Lucas witnesses the death of his boss and mentor Bumpy Johnson and finds that Harlem lost its leadership. Frank decides to import heroin direct from the source in Bangkok, establishing a logistic of transportation using the US military airplanes from Vietnam to USA. The quality of his product associated to the trade mark "Blue Magic" and the lower prices bring Frank Lucas to the position of number one distributor of heroin in USA. Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America.

Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts were on-set consultants to director Ridley Scott and the crew throughout filming.

While filming on-location in the Chiang Mai province of Thailand, Ridley Scott hired many extras from the local villages, some of whom were actual participants in the drug-running operation of Frank Lucas during the Vietnam War.

American Graffiti (1973)  It's the proverbial end of the summer 1962 in a small southern California town. It's the evening before best friends and recent high school graduates, Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander, are scheduled to leave town to head to college back east. Curt, who received a lucrative local scholarship, is seen as the promise that their class holds. But Curt is having second thoughts about leaving what Steve basically sees as their dead end town. Curt's beliefs are strengthened when he spots an unknown beautiful blonde in a T-bird who mouths the words "I love you" to him. As Curt tries to find that blonde while trying to get away from a local gang who have him somewhat hostage, Curt may come to a decision about his immediate future. Outgoing class president Steve, on the other hand, wants to leave, despite meaning that he will leave girlfriend, head cheerleader and Curt's sister, Laurie Henderson, behind. Steve and Laurie spend the evening "negotiating" the state of their relationship. Meanwhile, two of their friends cruise around town for the evening. Steve has left his car to meek and mild-mannered Terry "Toad" Fields to look after during his absence. The wheels give Toad a new sense of confidence, which he uses to try and impress Debbie Dunham, a more experienced girl generally out of his league. And John Milner, who is seen as the king of the street race in his souped-up yellow deuce coupe, tries to get rid of precocious pre-teen, Carol Morrison, who has somehow become his passenger for the evening, while dealing with the challenge of bold out-of-towner, Bob Falfa.

A coming of age movie but well done.  Definitely a must see movie.

Amistead (1997)  Amistad is the name of a slave ship traveling from Cuba to the U.S. in 1839. It is carrying a cargo of Africans who have been sold into slavery in Cuba, taken on board, and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As the ship is crossing from Cuba to the U.S., Cinque, who was a tribal leader in Africa, leads a mutiny and takes over the ship. They continue to sail, hoping to find help when they land. Instead, when they reach the United States, they are imprisoned as runaway slaves. They don't speak a word of English, and it seems like they are doomed to die for killing their captors when an abolitionist lawyer decides to take their case, arguing that they were free citizens of another country and not slaves at all. The case finally gets to the Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams makes an impassioned and eloquent plea for their release.

 Anatomy of a Murder (1959)  In Iron County, Michigan, former District Attorney Paul Biegler prefers to spend his new found time fishing and playing jazz piano. However, he, with the assistance of his alcoholic aged colleague and friend Parnell McCarthy (who is past the prime of his professional life) and his no nonsense secretary Maida Rutledge, decides to take the case of Army Lt. Frederick "Manny" Manion, who is charged with the murder of local bar owner Barney Quill. Biegler's decision to try the case is despite his dislike of Manion's brash and insolent attitude, and despite the fact that Manion currently has no money to pay for his services (Manion agrees to sign a promissory note once out of prison). Biegler realizes that he will have an uphill battle as although Manion doesn't remember the actual act of shooting Quill, he knows that he did indeed kill Quill. The killing was prompted by Quill's alleged rape of Manion's wife, Laura. There is no physical evidence of that act beyond Laura's black eye. The rape may also be a problem for Biegler as Laura is a seductive woman who many may consider the instigator of an extra-marital liaison. Biegler instructs the Manion's not to tell a lie to him or in court, but he still plans on getting Manion off on the charge and having Manion plead not guilty. In court, he faces the unknown in the form of Judge Weaver. In court, he also faces not only the current District Attorney, but also the bulldog of an Assistant Attorney General, Claude Dancer.

James Stewart's father was so offended by the film, which he deemed "a dirty picture", that he took out an ad in his local newspaper telling people not to see it. The "law library" in the courthouse was actually filmed in the Carnegie Public Library in Ishpeming Michigan. The door that was opened in the Courthouse, which is in Marquette, Michigan, was the door to the men's restroom. The movie was filmed on location in Marquette County Michigan.

Part of the controversy surrounding this movie was because it included use of the words "bitch", "contraceptive", "panties", "penetration", "rape", "slut" and "sperm"

 Animal Crackers (1930)  Captain Spaulding, the noted explorer, returns from Africa and attends a gala party held by Mrs. Rittenhouse. A painting displayed at that party is stolen, and the Marxes help recover it. Well, maybe 'help' isn't quite the word I was looking for--this is the Marx Brothers, after all...Hooray for Captain Spaulding...Hooray, Hooray, Hooray...

 Andromeda Strain (1971)  When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found to have died after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. Many years prior to this incident, a group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone advocated for the construction of a secure laboratory facility that would serve as a base in the event an alien biological life form was returned to Earth from a space mission. Stone and his team - Drs. Dutton, Leavitt and Hall - go to the facility, known as Wildfire and try to first isolate the life form and to determine why two people from Piedmont, an old wino and a months old baby, survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device should it manage to escape.

The mission to the moon required the returning astronauts and their equipment, moon rocks, etc. be quarenteened in case they were contaminated.  This movie looks at that "idea" but asks, "What if the alien life form saw the barriers to escape as a food source."

The monkey was "killed" by being placed in a large set filled with carbon dioxide. When the monkey's cage, containing oxygen was opened, it was rendered unconscious by the CO2. An Assistant director was off camera and brought a breathing apparatus to the monkey who recovered immediately.

Animal House (1978)  Faber College has one frat house so disreputable it will take anyone. It has a second one full of white, anglo-saxon, rich young men who are so sanctimonious no one can stand them except Dean Wormer. The dean enlists the help of the second frat to get the boys of Delta House off campus. The dean's plan comes into play just before the homecoming parade to end all parades for all time.

This low budget movie is funny if you were a frat boy or despised them.

Anna and the King (1999)  This is the story of Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher who came to Siam in the 1860s to teach the children of King Mongkut. She becomes involved in his affairs, from the tragic plight of a young concubine to trying to forge an alliance with Britain to a war with Burma that is orchestrated by Britain. In the meantime, a subtle romance develops between them.

At first it seemed that the film would be made on location in Thailand, but even after some script revisions had been made, negotiations between the production company and the Thai government failed to come to agreement about the script's final content and the production crew was denied permission to film in Thailand. The Thai authorities maintained that there were still too many historical inaccuracies for it to be acceptable. Instead it was filmed in neighboring Malaysia.

Anna and the King (1999) This is the story of Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher who came to Siam in the 1860s to teach the children of King Mongkut. She becomes involved in his affairs, from the tragic plight of a young concubine to trying to forge an alliance with Britain to a war with Burma that is orchestrated by Britain. In the meantime, a subtle romance develops between them.

At first it seemed that the film would be made on location in Thailand, but even after some script revisions had been made, negotiations between the production company and the Thai government failed to come to agreement about the script's final content and the production crew was denied permission to film in Thailand. The Thai authorities maintained that there were still too many historical inaccuracies for it to be acceptable. Instead it was filmed in neighboring Malaysia.

Annie Hall (1977)  After breaking up with his girlfriend Annie Hall, neurotic comedian Alvy Singer goes on a stream of conciousness journey through his memories of their relationship, trying to find out what caused them to part ways. He often breaks the fourth wall, speaking to the camera, entering peoples' stories, and even using animation.

Nominated for five and winner of four Academy Awards, including best picture.

Alvy's (Woody Allen's) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much.

Diane Keaton's real name is Diane Hall and her nickname is Annie.

Antz (1998)  In an anthill with millions of inhabitants, Z 4195 is a worker ant. Feeling insignificant in a conformity system, he accidentally meets beautiful Princess Bala, who has a similar problem on the other end of the social scale. In order to meet her again, Z switches sides with his soldier friend Weaver - only to become a hero in the course of events. By this he unwillingly crosses the sinister plans of ambitious General Mandible (Bala's fiancé, by the way), who wants to divide the ant society into a superior, strong race (soldiers) and an inferior, to-be-eliminated race (the workers). But Z and Bala, both unaware of the dangerous situation, try to leave the oppressive system by heading for Insectopia, a place where food paves the streets.

Animated love story, predictable, but in a new surrounding.

Animal Crackers (1930)  Captain Spaulding, the noted explorer, returns from Africa and attends a gala party held by Mrs. Rittenhouse. A painting displayed at that party is stolen, and the Marxes help recover it. Well, maybe 'help' isn't quite the word I was looking for--this is the Marx Brothers, after all.

The party keeps trying to honor the captain by singing Hoorary for Captain Spaulding.  Captain Spaulding is the signature character played by actor Groucho Marx for the stage play and film Animal Crackers. The character of Captain Jeffrey (or Geoffrey, the name appears both ways in the film) T. Spaulding (the "T" stands for "Edgar") first appeared in the Broadway play Animal Crackers and later in the 1930 film of the same name. Spaulding is a famous explorer on return from a trek across Africa to be the guest of honor at a high-society party. Despite his hosts' frequent claims that he is one of the most courageous travelers in the world, his own accounts of his safari reveal his cowardice. He eventually gets caught up in the mystery of a stolen painting.

The character's theme song, "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", became forever associated with Groucho in the public mind. A jazzy instrumental version of the song was later the theme for his quiz show, You Bet Your Life. At Groucho's Carnegie Hall concert in the early 1970s, accompanist Marvin Hamlisch played the song as Groucho made his entrance onstage.

The song's most famous line is "Hooray for Captain Spaulding / The African explorer / 'Did someone call me schnorrer?' / Hooray Hooray Hooray!" Groucho also delivered two of his most famous lines in the Captain Spaulding role, both while recounting his exploits in Africa: "We took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. But we're going back in a couple of months!" and "One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know."

One line, Groucho's aside referencing Margaret Dumont's character, "I think I'll try and make her", as in "seduce her", was chopped from all known prints of the film during the 1936 re-release, due to its violation of the Hays Code.

The name may be a topical reference to a real Captain Spaulding, an army officer who was arrested a few years earlier for selling cocaine to Hollywood residents. See Hollywood Babylon, by Kenneth Anger.

Good story, lousy science.

Arthur (1981)  Arthur is a happy drunk with no pretensions at any ambition. He is also the heir to a vast fortune which he is told will only be his if he marries Susan. He does not love Susan, but she will make something of him the family expects. Arthur proposes but then meets a girl with no money who he could easily fall in love with.

"Some of us drink because we are not poets," is a great quote from the movie.

At one point during the production, Liza Minnelli is supposed to board a bus in front of Bergdorf's on Fifth Avenue. When a real bus came along, she boarded it thinking it was the "movie bus". Not until she was halfway down the block did she realize her blunder when she looked back and saw the whole crew cracking up.

The Artist (2011)   It's 1927. Arguably Hollywood's most admired movie screen idol, George Valentin, is enjoying the success of his latest picture, The Russian Affair. He enjoys his work and the adulation he receives by being a movie star, as witnessed by how he hogs the spotlight during The Russian Affair's post-premiere bows. Peppy Miller is an aspiring young actress, who literally and figuratively runs into Valentin at the premiere, which ends up being the launching pad to her Hollywood acting career. The advent of talking pictures brings a reversal to their fortunes as Kinograph, the movie studio where Valentin is under contract, is looking for fresh faces such as Peppy Miller to star in their talking pictures, while Valentin resists the entire notion of talking pictures. Peppy, who appreciates everything that Valentin did for her career, tries to help him as much as she can, but Valentin may have to decide on his own where and if he fits into the Hollywood machine, one where he doesn't think people want to hear him speak.

The opening credits are styled after the style of opening used in the 1920s and 1930s, complete with technical credits shown the way they would have been then.

In solitude, George views a reel from one of his silent swashbucklers through a film projector centered within his apartment. The film is in fact a genuine silent film, The Mark of Zorro, which established its star, Douglas Fairbanks, as a real life silent era action hero and matinée idol, the kind George Valentin is portrayed as being within the film. The scene from Zorro is altered, however, substituting actor Jean Dujardin as George for Fairbanks for the close-up shots.

Academy award for best picture 2011.

As Good As It Gets (1997)  New York City. Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer, finds his life turned upside down when neighboring gay artist Simon is hospitalized and his dog is entrusted to Melvin. In addition, Carol, the only waitress who will tolerate him, must leave work to care for her sick son, making it impossible for Melvin to eat breakfast.

Incredibly good tale with a balance of drama and humor.

Atonement (2007)  In 1939, Robbie Turner is a private in the British Army, he and his battalion who are heading to France to fight in the war. A stint in the army is not where his life was headed, which took a radical turn four years earlier at the Tallis estate where he grew up as his mother worked as the Tallis' live-in housekeeper. As such, he grew up with the three Tallis children: son Leon, and daughters Cecilia and Briony. Robbie and Cecilia were just getting to the stage of their lives of being able to confess their true love for each other. But then thirteen year old aspiring writer Briony also had a crush on the older Robbie. Based on two incidents she saw between Cecilia and Robbie (one only from afar), on reading a private letter Robbie wrote to Cecilia and on her own feelings for Robbie, Briony told some truths and half-truths about Robbie which resulted in this turn in his life. Robbie is able to reconnect with Cecilia before he is shipped off to France, and lives only to be able to head back to London to be with Cecilia and make up for the missing four years they could not spend together due to Briony's actions. A year later, Briony, now eighteen, also arrives in London to start working as a nurse to support the war effort. By this time, she is aware of the damage her thirteen year old self caused, and wants to atone for that error to both Cecilia from who she has been estranged, and Robbie who she has not seen since. She will make this atonement even if neither Robbie or Cecilia will ever speak to her, or if it takes the rest of her life.

Awesome tale of love, life and consequences with WWII as a backdrop.

Shooting the five minute Dunkirk beach scene was arguably the toughest portion of shooting. The shooting schedule dictated that the scene must be completed in two days, because the crew has limited time with the 1,000 extras. However the location scouts report indicated the lighting quality at the beach was not good enough until the afternoon of the second day. This forced director Joe Wright to change his shooting strategy into shooting with one camera. The scene was rehearsed on the first day and on the morning of the second day. The scene required five takes and the third take was used in the film. On shooting, Steadicam operator Peter Robertson shot the scene by riding on a small tracking vehicle, walking off to a bandstand after rounding a boat, moved to a ramp, stepped onto a rickshaw, finally dismounting and moving past the pier into a bar.

Avatar (2009)  When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

The theater is the best place to see this movie, but large screen HDTV works too.

The Aviator (2004)  The script begins as a young Hughes directs one of Scorsese's favorite films, Hell's Angels. Hughes was so obsessed with perfection in the aerial sequences that he waits forever for perfect conditions, right down to cloud formations. The Aviator ends in 1946, when Hughes was still a dashing young man and romancing actresses like Ava Gardner and Katharine Hepburn.

Cate Blanchett becomes Kate Hepburn in the movie.

Author! Author!(1982)  Playwright Travalian feels pulled in too many directions these days. He has a Broadway play in rehearsal and they want rewrites. His tramp wife is leaving him, leaving him as well with four children from her previous marriages plus his own son. And his lead actress wants to move in with him but isn't used to kids.

Really charming movie