Classic Musical Comedy Production Number of the Month - December 2022

As the year closes with a five Saturday month, we remember the late Angela Lansbury in this classic number from "Mame."

Dinner last night:  Steak and sauteed mushrooms.

Len's Juke Box of the Month - December 2022

 And, on the next to last day of the year, you expected what?

Dinner last night:  Eggnog French toast.

Hollywood Then and Now - December 2022

When I first started coming out to Los Angeles as a tourist, each trip had to include a visit to the wonderful Old Spaghetti Factory on Sunset.   It was part of a chain, but the food and the vibe was so good.

How inviting does it look?

And in the last several years?

This is what it looked like in the process of being redone or torn down.   I don't really know.   Except that it's another example of why we can't have nice things.

Dinner last night:  Leftover beef tenderloin.

This Date in History - December 28

 

Happy birthday, Charlie Weaver.  Hopefully, somebody gives you a new tie for the occasion.

1065:  WESTMINSTER ABBEY IS CONSECRATED.

When did they do the same for Winchester Cathedral?

1612:  GALILEO GALILEI BECOMES THE FIRST ASTRONOMER TO OBSERVE THE PLANET NEPTUNE, ALTHOUGH HE MISTAKENLY CATALOGUED IT AS A FIXED STAR.

A common mistake I make all the time.

1795:  CONSTRUCTION OF YONGE STREET, FORMERLY RECOGNIZED AS THE LONGEST STREET IN THE WORLD, BEGINS IN YORK, CANADA.

Galileo mistakenly thought it was an avenue.

1832:  JOHN C. CALHOUN BECOMES THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO RESIGN.

And you all thought it was Spiro Agnew.

1836:  SPAIN RECOGNIZES THE INDEPENDENCE OF MEXICO.

Funny because I don't.

1846:  IOWA IS ADMITTED AT THE 29TH US STATE.

If we hadn't, where would we be holding those caucuses?

1856:  28TH PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON IS BORN.

The only President to have a stroke in office.  At least the only one they told us about.

1867:  THE UNITED STATES CLAIMS MIDWAY ATOLL, THE FIRST TERRITORY ANNEXED OUTSIDE CONTINENTAL LIMITS.

No wonder why they defended it so much during World War II.

1895:  THE LUMIERE BROTHERS PERFORM FOR THEIR FIRST PAYING AT THE GRAND CAFE, MARKING THE DEBUT OF THE CINEMA.

And who was the very first movie patron to stick gum on the bottom of a seat?

1895:  WILHELM RONTGEN PUBLISHES A PAPER DETAILING HIS DISCOVERY OF A NEW TYPE OF RADIATION, WHICH LATER WILL BE KNOWN AS X-RAYS.

Before x-rays, physicians would simply guess...

1905:  ACTOR CLIFF ARQUETTE IS BORN.

This is Charlie Weaver.  Pay attention, gang.

1912:  THE FIRST STREETCARS TAKE TO THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Invented because they needed a place to put all the Rice-A-Roni advertisements.

1915:  POPS STAPLES, DAD OF THE STAPLES SINGERS, IS BORN.

And the man was never in need of paper clips.

1934:  ACTRESS MAGGIE SMITH IS BORN.

There is nothing like this Dame...

1944:  MAURICE "ROCKET" RICHARD BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER TO SCORE EIGHT POINTS IN ONE NHL HOCKEY GAME.

Ironically, he was nicknamed "Rocket" by his wife.

1945:  THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

Unless, of course, if you 're in a public school the last ten years.

1954:  GAYLE KING IS BORN.

I couldn't find a good adjective to add to her name.  Actress?  Personality?  TV Host?  She's really nothing.  Oh, wait, how about "Oprah Bedmate?"

1954:  ACTOR DENZEL WASHINGTON IS BORN.

I've got a good adjective for him.  Professional Shithead.

1958:  IN THE GREATEST FOOTBALL GAME EVER PLAYED, THE BALTIMORE COLTS DEFEAT THE NEW YORK GIANTS IN THE FIRST NFL SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME GAME.

Eleven years later, the Jets will avenge the Giants' loss for all of New York.

1971:  FILM COMPOSER MAX STEINER DIES.

Now, Corpse.

1973:  THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT IS PASSED IN THE UNITED STATES.

If they had done this two years before, this would have included Max Steiner.

1983:  ACTOR WILLIAM DEMAREST DIES.

Uncle Charlie!!!!

1983:  GOLFER JIMMY DEMERET DIES.

How weird is that to happen on the same day?  Two names that were probably confused all the time.

1983:  BEACH BOY DENNIS WILSON DIES.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

1984:  DIRECTOR SAM PECKINPAH DIES.

Riding off into the sunset.

1992:  BASEBALL PITCHER SAL MAGLIE DIES.

The Barber shaves his last customer.

1999:  ACTOR CLAYTON MOORE DIES.

Instant poll: The Lone Ranger was buried with or without the mask?

2000:  RETAIL GIANT MONTGOMERY WARD GOES OUT OF BUSINESS.

So much for those Christmas returns in 2000.

2004:  ACTOR JERRY ORBACH DIES.

Law and Order: Special Funeral Unit.

2016:  ACTRESS DEBBIE REYNOLDS DIES.

Two days after daughter Carrie passed, this was clearly a broken heart.

2017:  ACTRESS ROSE MARIE DIES.

I saw her a month earlier at the premiere of a documentary on her life.  And then she died.

2021:  FOOTBALL ICON JOHN MADDEN DIES.

Did he take a van to Heaven?

Dinner last night:  Veal Osso Buco at the home of good friends Amir and Kevin.

Len's Recipe of the Month - December 2022

 

This is what you call a Christmas leftover.   My meal from two days ago.  And it is as elegant as it looks.   As long as you have two hundred or so dollars for the beef tenderloin, it's worth it.

Yes, two hundred dollars for this cut which is involved in a recipe I got from America's Test Kitchen.   Officially called "Beef Tenderloin and Smoky Potatoes." Another perk for this meal is you get throw it all in a single roaster.

Start with a 3-4 pound center cut beef tenderloin, preferably from a butcher who will tie it for you so as to guarantee even cooking.   Yes, it will cost around 200 bucks.

Several hours before cooking, liberally season the meat with a rub of Kosher salt, pepper, and....yes...baking soda.   The latter will help create a crust so you don't have to sear the meat.

Let it stand at room temperature for at least one hour or preferably more.

While the salt is doing its thing to infiltrate the beef, scrub about 2 to 3 pounds of small red potatoes.  Put a roasting pan on a gas burner and add it to some EVO, five minced scallions, a few cloves of minced garlic and a tablespoon of smoked paprika.   Heat the pan and let the seasoning bloom.

Put your oven at 425 degrees. Add the potatoes to the roaster and add 1/2 cup of water.   Let it get a head start in the oven by 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the roaster.  Liberally brush some EVO over the beef and let the potatoes act as a rack for it in the pan.  Lower the oven temp to 300 degrees.

Let it cook for 45 to 55 minutes or until the internal meat temperature is 125.  Remove and tent it for 20 minutes.

You really don't need to add anything to the meat, but horseradish cream is good.   Also I made a Parsillade sauce which I will share the recipe for at another time.  As for now...guess what I had for dinner last night...

Dinner last night: Leftover beef tenderloin and potatoes.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - December 26, 2022

Let's watch my favorite, Oliver the Beagle, open Christmas presents last year. 

Dinner last night:  Beef tenderloin and smoky potatoes.

Merry Christmas From Len Speaks

 

No other words needed today other than...

Remember what Christmas truly is.

Dinner last night:  Had a church service so just a small sandwich.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - December 2022

I must watch this wonderful movie every year.   And so should you.   Perfect for Christmas Eve. 

Dinner last night:  Teriyaki noodles.

Your Weekend Holiday Movie Guide for December 2022

 

Christmas time used to be the best time to flock to the movies.   Whether it be Radio City Music Hall for the Rockettes and the Nativity or perhaps just your neighborhood flicker house.  There is no better way to enjoy the season.

Well, it used to be.   Now theaters have closed.   Films are premiering on your TV.  Oh, yeah, and people are still getting COVID.   Well, I plan to venture out regardless and I hope you do as well.   You know the drill, sports fans.  I'll cruise through the movie pages of the local news rag and give you my knee jerk reaction to what's playing.

Here's hoping there is something.  Anything.

Babylon:   Some Oscar buzz around this one from the LaLa Land folks.   Planned sequels are Bay Shore and Islip.  Warning:  it clocks in at 3 hours.

Avatar - Way of Water: Hated the first one, so what do you think?

Wakanda Forever:   Proud to say I am still COVID and Wakanda-free.

Violent Night:  Christmas Eve in a very rough neighborhood.

Strange World:   Disney tries their hand with a gay character.  Mickey now identifying as a ferret.

Devotion:  A Black Top Gun during the Korean War.   And a true story.   Aren't they all?

Black Adam:  And Hispanic Eve?

The Fabelmans:   And Steven Spielberg is the Beaver.

Spoiler Alert:  Decent enough but the whole movie is in the three minute trailer.

The Whale:  If you have seen current photos of Brendan Frasier, you know he plays the title role.

Empire of Light:   Starring Olivia Colman and I hate her.

Bones and All:  Cannibalism on steroids.  Eat before you go.

Puss N Boots - Last Wish:  My first wish would be...no more Puss N Boots.

Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody:  Will it include the bathtub drowning?   I hope so.

Women Talking:   What else is new?

The Menu:   I wonder if you need a QR code to see it.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Did You Get a Christmas Card From...?

 Dinner last night: Sandwich.

This Date in History - December 21

 

Happy birthday, Winch.  And you're not just putting words in my mouth.  By the way, Paul is the one on the right.

1140:  CONRAD III OF GERMANY BESIEGED WEINSBERG.

That Germans vs. Jews stuff started earlier than we thought.

1620:  WILLIAM BRADFORD AND THE MAYFLOWER PILGRIMS LAND ON WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS PLYMOUTH ROCK, MASSACHUSETTS.

And immediately went to Target for the day-after sale.

1832:  EGYPTIAN FORCES DECISIVELY DEFEAT OTTOMAN TROOPS AT THE BATTLE OF KONYA.

The Battle of Konya.  Now that's one that never shows up as a category on Jeopardy.

1861:  PUBLIC RESOLUTION 82, CONTAINING A PROVISION FOR A NAVY MEDAL OF VALOR, IS SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Even then, this brilliant President had the foresight to know that, years later, John F. Kennedy would need to get some award for PT 109.

1872:  HMS CHALLENGER, COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN GEORGE NARES, SAILS FROM PORTSMOUTH.

Hopefully, this Challenger fared better than the one in the second half of the next century.

1879:  THE WORLD PREMIERE OF HENRIK IBSEN'S "A DOLL'S HOUSE" IS HELD IN COPENHAGEN.

The mark-up on Stubhub was ridiculous.

1913:  THE FIRST CROSSWORD PUZZLE IS PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.

If it was a Sunday, you can bet it was hard.

1922:  VENTRILOQUIST PAUL WINCHELL IS BORN.

Oddly enough, Jerry Mahoney was born one year earlier.

1926:  FOOTBALL COACH JOE PATERNO IS BORN.

He thinks this was his birthday.  He never really told us.

1935:  TV HOST PHIL DONAHUE IS BORN.

Still, to this day, the best interviewer ever.  Yes, folks, even better than Larry King.

1937:  "SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS," THE WORLD'S FIRST FULL-LENGTH CARTOON, PREMIERES AT THE CARTHAY CIRCLE THEATER IN LOS ANGELES.

This was allegedly one of the grandest movie palaces ever built.  It's now an office complex.

1937:  ACTRESS JANE FONDA IS BORN.  

Could have been the eighth dwarf born the same day.  "Hippie."

1940:  MUSICIAN FRANK ZAPPA IS BORN.

Speaking of hippies.  The hell with his musical legacy.  This kook actually named his kids Moon Unit and Dweezil.

1940:  WRITER F. SCOTT FITZGERALD DIES.

Any guesses on the alcohol content in his autopsy?

1948:  ACTOR SAMUEL L. JACKSON IS BORN.

And speaking of bad actors.  No, wait, we weren't.

1954:  TENNIS STAR CHRIS EVERT IS BORN.

Back in the day, I would string her racket if she asked.

1957:  COMEDIAN RAY ROMANO IS BORN.

Everybody, including me, loves Raymond.

1960:  NEW YORK MET PITCHER ROGER MCDOWELL IS BORN.

While he didn't exactly set the baseball world on fire, he did ignite his foot once.

1967:  LOUIS WASHKANSKY, THE FIRST MAN TO UNDERGO A HEART TRANSPLANT, DIES IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, AFTER LIVING FOR 18 DAYS AFTER THE TRANSPLANT.

If he had lasted any longer, the bills alone would have killed him.

1968:  APOLLO 8, THE FIRST MANNED MISSION TO THE MOON, IS LAUNCHED FROM FLORIDA.

These astronauts found a neat way to avoid their families during the Christmas holidays.

1969:  THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE IS FORMED IN NEW YORK CITY.

Just in time for the holidays.  God rest ye merry gentlemen.

1969:  THE UNITED NATIONS ADOPTS THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.

As opposed to taking on discrimination one race at a time.

1974:  ACTOR RICHARD LONG DIES.

Nanny's Professor no longer has office hours.

1988:  A BOMB EXPLODES ON BOARD PAN AM FLIGHT 103 OVER LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND, KILLING 270.

The very first valid reason for blowing up the Middle East.

2001:  SPORTSWRITER DICK SCHAAP DIES.

Deaad.

2009:  NORTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT 253 WAS ALMOST BOMBED BY AL QAIDA---THE CHRISTMAS DAY BOMBING ATTEMPT.

The 125th valid reason for blowing up the Middle East.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Father and Son

 

I never was a big fan of Robert Downey Jr..  Oh, sure, he was great in "Chaplin," but his main claim to fame (other than some recent work as Iron Man) was showing up on TMZ.   Spotted in a drug-hazed stupor in his underwear on a street in Culver City.

But I became a true fan very recently when I binged on "Ally McBeal," a show I never watched during its first run.  Robert Jr. played Ally's love interest in Season 4 and was terrific.   Indeed, he and Ally were supposed to get married in the storyline but writers had to regroup when he again was fired for drug use.

Almost twenty years later, I marvel at another piece of his work.   A new Netflix documentary called "Sr."   And pretty much dedicated to his dad Robert Downey Sr., who had a career as an actor and director in some very avant garde movies like "Putney Swope" and "Pound."  

In this film, Father is trying to make one last documentary film on the streets of New York.  This is a difficult task as he suffers from a progressive strain of Parkinson's.  Son films at the same a documentary about his dad making his documentary.  This set-up allows them to speak frequently and, given Dad's dire diagnosis, work up some closure between the two.  The conversations between the two are loving and compelling and necessary.  At some points, Jr's young son is included and you wind up with three generations of symbiotic connections.

Both Sr. and Jr. clearly had their issues over time but they found a way to get ahead of them.   More importantly, Jr. is now with wife and children and a sober lifestyle that he has enjoyed for some time.  Good for him.  

The final scenes between Sr. and Jr., before the former's death in 2021, are as tender and poignant as you would want and hope.  The circle is closed.   Both of them had bumpy lives but, at the end, there is a special relationship that is to be envied.

Adding to the beauty of the story is black and white cinematography that fits the dialogue to a tee.  There are some intrusions of color when clips of movies are shown.   But, for the most part, it is cinema verite in all its film noir glory.

Kudos to Robert Downey Jr. for his work in this film.  And mastering life.

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover spicy chicken.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - December 19, 2022

Our Christmas tradition. 

Dinner last night:  Steak salad at Kendall's.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - My Annual Public Service To You

 

And what is that?   Well, read on.

Yes, it's back.   My annual holiday service to you.   And don't we all need a break today?  One more year and one more Sunday for me to push these wonderful holiday-themed movies.

Maybe the weather outside is frightful.  Or you're wrapping presents.  Baking cookies.  You might want to multi-task by watching one of these movie suggestions.  They're all available on DVD.  And Turner Classic Movies shows several of them every year. 

These are my 10 must-watch movies for every Christmas.  And please note that "Miracle on 34th Street,"  "It's A Wonderful Life," and "A Christmas Story" are not included.  Don't get me wrong.  They are all terrific films, but played to death everywhere but in my house.  These movies all have personal connections to me in some shape or form.  So, if you disagree, I hope there's some coal mixed in with your buttered popcorn.

1.  I saw "Meet Me in St. Louis" in a theater for the very first time two years ago.  They dragged out co-star June Lockhart for a post-film question-and-answer.  Ironically, most of the people were there to ask her all about the TV show "Lost in Space."  Hell, I want to know what Angela Cartwright is doing myself.  

None of that has anything to do with how wonderful a holiday treat this movie is.  Truth be told, Christmas only makes up one-quarter of the movie as it follows the Smith family through one whole year prior to the opening of the St. Louis World Fair in 1904.  Each portion is devoted to a calendar season and Christmas dominates the winter as it should.  

The scene where a dateless Judy Garland has to dance with her grandfather at the big Christmas Eve ball is priceless.  He twirls her around the Christmas tree and she magically reappears with her beau who was late in arriving.  One of those very simple cinematic moments that only director Vincente Minnelli could turn into pure gold.  

Of course, this is the film that sports my very favorite Christmas song..."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."   If you've heard countless versions of this ditty, you need to listen to the very best rendition by Miss Garland.

I remember watching "Meet Me in St. Louis" with my mom when I was about seven or eight.  In the middle of it all, she blurts out "if you had been a girl, I was going to name you Judy."

Okay.   So, there's that. 

2.  This is a mid-40s classic from the Warner Brothers back lot. In fact, they don't even get off a soundstage. For a movie from that era, it is still surprisingly modern. Because star Barbara Stanwyck plays a character very similar to Martha Stewart. A magazine writer who specializes in being an expert on hearth and home. And supposedly the greatest cook on the planet.

Her publisher hits on a publicity stunt where Stanwyck will provide a home-cooked Christmas meal for an injured soldier. Except nobody knows the woman can't cook and hasn't got one single domestic talent. The plot spins out into several directions from there, but it is all delicious screwball-y fun. And any movie that features S.Z "Cuddles" Sakall is okay in my book. This is a perfect film to watch while wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve day.  Or if you're finished off a quart of egg nog.   With popularity of the Food Network, this movie should be remade.   I want to work on that script now.

3.  This is technically not a Christmas movie, but it should be, since all the action happens around the holidays. This 1941 movie is another one that never leaves a Warner Brothers soundstage, but it really doesn't have to. You may know that this was originally a big hit on Broadway as written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. And two members of that cast, Monty Wooley and Mary Wickes, reprise their roles in the movie, which features the most razor sharp dialogue ever captured on celluloid. 

There's not one unclever moment in the entire six reels. Who can't identify with the holiday guest who just won't leave? In this case, it's renowed critic and lecturer Sheridan Whiteside, who sprains his ankle and then sets up camp in somebody else's house for the holidays. As portrayed by Wooley, Whiteside is loosely based on Alexander Woolcott and he has one great barb after another. He's described this way: "He would have his mother burned at the stake if that was the only way he could light his cigarette." I wish people talked like these characters in real life. 

When Whiteside's nurse (Mary Wickes) forbids him from eating some candy, he retorts, "My great Aunt Jennifer ate a box of candy every day of her life. She lived to be one hundred and two, and when she had been dead for three days, she looked better than you do now." If that's not enough, throw in the fact that this is the only movie in history that co-starred Bette Davis and Jimmy Durante! Grab a box of your own candy and savor this great Christmas treat.

4.  Yeah, yeah, I know.   An obvious choice.  And, gee, Len, isn't this movie shown to death already?  Sadly, "White Christmas" is starting to fall in that category---the Christmas movie that is starting to look like your tree on January 15.  Dried out and ready for the dumpster.  You can thank some cable networks like the woefully annoying AMC for playing it over and over and over.  

Gee, thanks, idiots.  Because you're destroying another movie that landed on the list of my Top 25 Favorite Films of All Time at slot #23.  Sure, after repeated viewings, this film starts to look like "Off White Christmas."  But, miraculously, recent digital restorations have made this look glorious all over again.  All of a sudden, it's the hot and in thing to run this movie in theaters.   Try to see it on the big screen if you can.  The Aero Theater in Santa Monica runs it every December and I plan to be there one more.  But if you can't experience it on a large screen, the Blu Ray edition will do.  I'd be happy to loan you mine.

Right from the moment that Paramount's Vistavision logo exploded onto the screen to the last frames of the movie when the Pine Tree Lodge is celebrating a snowy Christmas Eve, I was moved to tears all over again.  Just like the very first time I saw it about 26 years ago.  When I was having a pretty crappy holiday and this boosted my spirits like a Vitamin B-12 injection. 

I had both my parents housed in separate hospitals with illnesses. Unfortunately, my dad was in the final stages of his cancer and this year would be his last Christmas. My mom was sequestered elsewhere dealing with one more smoke-provoked bronchial episode. I spent the holiday season shuttling between semi-private rooms located on opposite ends of Westchester. And I felt incredibly alone.

"White Christmas" gave me a little bit of hope and brightness for some darker days that would come. And it still shines for me every year.  Plus it's my second "must watch" holiday film featuring Mary Wickes.

5.  Yeah, yeah, you've never heard of it.  I did list it as #25 on my list of Top 25 Favorite Films of All Time, but perhaps you missed that entry.  And you say it's not a Christmas movie??

Oh, pish and tosh.  The film opens and ends on Christmas day one year later.  Good enough for me.  And it embodies everything that Christmas is all about.

"Since You Went Away" came out in 1944 and it is 100% devoted to the homefront during WWII. For what "Mrs. Miniver" and "Hope and Glory" did for the London bombings (and I have a good friend who lived through that), "Since You Went Away" wonderfully depicts life in the United States when most men were overseas someplace and completely out of touch with their family and loved ones. David O. Selznick produced it and hoped to do for World War II what his earlier effort "Gone With the Wind" did for the Civil War. Yes, it's almost three hours long, but it sails by and, for me, is a big screen version of the best macaroni and cheese you can ever eat.

Claudette Colbert plays the mother of Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple (here, she's a teenager and Bill Robinson-less). The family is semi-well-to-do and lives in Everytown, USA. Hattie McDaniel, who was obviously highlighted in Selznick's phone book for all servant roles, is their housekeeper and there is not a single stereotypical note to her performance. You never see the father as he has just left for active duty on Christmas Eve as the film opens. What follows is a year in the life of the Hilton family with Dad gone.

You visit USO dances. You experience food rationing and scrap metal drives. You watch as neighbors lose loved ones in battle and then sense the uneasiness as others in the community grapple to find the right words to comfort them. It is probably the truest picture of life in our country as that war raged on in Europe and the South Pacific. The courage. The resiliency. The dread. It is all here in this terrific slice of Americana.

I came to see this movie for the first time about 20 years ago. I've probably seen it once a year ever since and always during Christmas week.  For me, it is a annual reminder of my grandmother, who was a mother during World War II. And she shared virtually all of the stories that are portrayed on screen. On cold winter Sunday afternoons, I would sit in her living room and hear about rationing and community dances and the fear that wrapped around you when a letter from the government arrived in the mail. She lost a son in France in 1945---I was named after him. This movie gives me more than a history lesson. It gives me back my grandmother one more time.

"Since You Went Away" turns up on Turner Classic Movies. It is worth three hours of your time. I defy you not to well up at the end of Act 1 or just prior to the finale. I double defy you.

6.  Forget "Elf" and any other Yuletide crap that Hollywood has passed off the last few years. The best Christmas movie to be produced in the last ten or so years is "Love Actually." It's one of those ultra-episodic scripts where about 15 characters have different storylines that may or may not be connected. It's a little confusing at first, as you meet practically the entire London phone book. But, hang on and you will get a wonderful present. 

Sure, there are about five characters and three storylines too many. But, they will scoot by quickly and you can revel in the more compelling tales. Laura Linney as a single woman who can't commit to any romance. Liam Neeson who is trying to be a parent to his young stepson as they both experience their first Noel without the recently-died Mom. The shaky marriage between Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, who breaks your heart as she listens to a Joni Mitchell CD version of "Both Sides Now." I even liked Hugh Grant as a Tony Blair-like British Prime Minister. And there is a rendition of "All I Want for Christmas is You" that gives you goose bumps. If you've ever wanted to spend Christmas in London, this is the ideal virtual way to do so.

7.  Okay, what's a Christmas without one Disney cartoon?  And this one is the best in my book.  Because it was my mother's favorite cartoon.  Curiously, I don't remember seeing it with her on one of the many Disney re-issues over the years.  But, when it came out on...wait for it...VHS several decades ago, I bought it and we watched it together one Christmas afternoon.  Suddenly, I was the child again and Mom was the parent again.  Indeed, as always happens with aging folks, the dynamic had reversed.  But, not on this day.  Thank you, Lady and the Tramp, for one of the very last good and lasting memories of my mom.

8.  And then there's Christmas with Dad.  Here's the movie that connects me to him every December.  And, no worries.  This rollicking World War II comedy has a set piece that happens on Christmas Day when Tony Curtis is trying to steal some Polynesian farmer's pig for dinner.  But, moreover, this is the movie that I remember hearing my father laughing out loud for the very first time.

I know I saw it with him in a theater.  I do believe it played at the RKO Proctors in Mount Vernon, New York around Christmas time.  This may have been the way that I was shuttled out of the house for a few hours so that Mom could wrap my presents.  A lot of the ribald gags might have gone over my head.  But I didn't care.

My dad was convulsed with laughter.  And this was not a sight I saw frequently.  Plus there was one line that he repeated over and over and over when we got home.

"Can this submarine go down?"

"Like a rock."

For some reason, Dad loved that exchange.  Meanwhile, I did the same thing with this film when it came out many years ago on....wait for it again...VHS.  I watched it with my father one holiday season. 

He still laughed.

9.  Okay, truth be told, I don't watch "Ben-Hur" every year.   Since I'm already devoting three hours to "Since You Went Away," I'm not sure I have the time to view this three-hour-plus epic.  But, frequently, I can hear the voices in my head.  Most notably that of my mother, who used to drag me to every Biblical movie ever made.  She may not have gone to church, but she sure did run to the theater every time Charlton Heston appeared in a gladiator outfit.  Oddly enough, this was not one of the movies she took me to.

But then there was one holiday season where Judah Ben-Hur and I finally crossed paths.

On December 30, 1987, I tripped on my sneaker laces coming out of my bathroom.  Falling forward, I landed on my right arm with pain so severe that it actually made me laugh.  Nevertheless, I still headed out for the evening, totally ignorant of the fact that I had fractured the rotator cuff in my right shoulder.

I was less ignorant in the morning when the excruciating pain and a neighbor drove me to the emergency room.

Happy F-ing New Year!

I couldn't raise a glass of cheer, because I could barely raise a pencil. So, I was cooped up for the frivolity. And, to get my mind off my chipped bones, I decided to rent the longest movie I could find at the video store. That would be the 1959 rendition of "Ben-Hur," which I had surprisingly never seen. And, so I sat in front of a 19 inch television, arm in a sling and watching, for the first time, one of the biggest and successful epics Hollywood had ever made. It was probably the worst way to sample this film. And I certainly have seen it several times since in much better viewing conditions. But, I can't say that I have enjoyed it more than I did that very first time.

"Ben-Hur" is total validation that, at one isolated point in the fixed universe, Charlton Heston could really act. For a movie that is so large in scope and long in running time, "Ben-Hur" is an incredibly intimate story. Because, indeed, it's about one man's spiritual awakening.

Many of the movie's sequences are so legendary that all I have to do is simply mention them and you can conjure up an immediate image. The ship's galley. The chariot race. The leper colony. But, for me, the most memorable scenes are the ones where Judah Ben-Hur encounters Jesus Christ. The first time finds a beaten Judah, enslaved in a road gang, and a traveling Jesus gives him a drink of water. Many reels later, Judah returns the favor when Christ falls in front of him while carrying the cross to his own crucifixion. The symmetry of those two points in the movie is truly amazing and wonderfully choreographed by director William Wyler.

Of course, this was in the day when Hollywood worked hard to never show Jesus Christ's face on camera. Today, they probably would have no shame and they'd probably even cast Tyler Perry in the part.

You can't truly appreciate "Ben-Hur" until you see it on a big screen. And a wide one. A really wide one like the Egyptian Theater had several years back when I saw it there.   But the Blu-Ray on the 42 inch-screen in my living room last year wasn't bad either. 

And my arm wasn't in a sling.

10.  Okay, one more and I'm saving the best for last.  Truth be told, I watch "The Apartment" every year during the week between Christmas and New Year's.  Both those holidays are featured in the film, but it's the really organic blend of comedy and drama that makes it perfect for the post-Christmas doldrums.  You will laugh.  You will cry.  You will be moved.  It is life itself and that's why "The Apartment" is my #1 favorite movie of all time.  To understand it is to understand what we all deal with every single day.

There's no magical story why I am so connected to this film.  I did not see "The Apartment" till well after I got out of college. Now, it's one I see every year. It is an essential part of my annual film viewing. But, every time I see it, there is some new emotion or nuance that reveals itself to me. Perhaps it's a look or gesture from Shirley McLaine or Fred MacMurray that I missed. Maybe it's a line of dialogue that I suddenly realize was set up by another line of dialogue one reel earlier. There's always some new discovery for me.

And maybe it will be a discovery for you.  As well as the rest of the movies on this list.  Sure to bring holiday cheer...and even a tear...to your Christmas festivities.  Watch them with friends and family.  Watch them alone.

Just watch them.   And, if the Christmas tree lights are twinkling in the background, even better.  

Dinner last night:  Spicy chicken and fried rice.

Classic TV Theme of the Month - December 2022

The classic use of a hit show for a TV theme.  Plus they used the originator one season.

Dinner last night:  Chicken noodle soup.

Put This On Your Christmas Turntable

 

Dinner last night:  Grilled bratwurst.

Christmas Back When There Were Newspapers and Magazines People Read

 

Santa sings, "I see London, I see France, I see Mommy's underpants."  This is what happens the moment before the song starts about her kissing him.

Celebrate your holiday with a mass murder.

Because we all had at least one sloppy drunk in our families.

I love Lucy...and nicotine.  "Call for...Lung Cancer."

And when Sammy has that holiday hangover....

The gift that just keeps on rerunning.

Now you open your smart phone first because nobody takes pictures with instant cameras anymore.

"Screw the hot chocolate.  I want a Coke!"

So Santa's outfit will be nice and wrinkle-free.

Santa smokes Pall Malls.  So should you.

Dinner last night:   Salad.