#they loved Sierra’s Gilda

[delicatesquashblossom]

Heartened that La Escola may be an opera queen, too

[whiteshipnightjar]

Does art make a difference?

Aw, sure. Of course there are degrees of extremity to the potential change that art can effect, depending on how many people are able to engage with it. The Beatles made a huge difference in the world. But Henry Darger, Jeff McKissack, Karen Dalton, Pauline Oliveros, Kenneth Patchen – there are so many folks who have made great art and not gotten massively famous for it, yet I think there are all sorts of ways their work informs and shapes other people’s work, and brains, and decisions.

Should politics and art mix?

Well, everything mixes, the New Statesman! That’s like asking if a knee-reflex hammer and a quadriceps tendon should “mix”.

Is your work for the many or for the few?

That’s for the many/few to say. I just crank out the hot jams.

If you were world leader, what would be your first law?

Gravity. I feel like we need to tighten up the constitutional protections that particular law enjoys. It’s a ticking time bomb, if you ask me.

Who would be your top advisers?

Cute angel on one shoulder, cute devil on the other.

What, if anything, would you censor?

Maybe we could all agree to not bust each other’s chops all cut-dang day.

If you had to banish one public figure, who would it be?

Don’t know, banishment might be a little extreme, but I’d sure like to take that Stephen Hawking dude down a notch or two. Right? Are you with me?

What are the rules that you live by?

Basically, “bros before hos”. I feel like if you stay true to that, everything else just kind of falls into place.

Do you love your country?

I love William Faulkner, Dolly Parton, fried chicken, Van Dyke Parks, the Grand Canyon, Topanga Canyon, bacon cheeseburgers with horseradish, Georgia O’Keeffe, Grand Ole Opry, Gary Snyder, Gilda Radner, Radio City Music Hall, Big Sur, Ponderosa pines, Southern BBQ, Highway One, Kris Kristofferson, National Arts Club in New York, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Joni Mitchell, Ernest Hemingway, Harriet Tubman, Hearst Castle, Ansel Adams, Kenneth Jay Lane, Yuba River, South Yuba River Citizens League, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, “Hired Hand”, “The Jerk”, “The Sting”, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, clambakes, lobster rolls, s’mores, camping in the Sierra Nevadas, land sailing in the Nevada desert, riding horseback in Canyon de Chelly; Walker Percy, Billie Holiday, Drag City, Chez Panisse/Alice Waters/slow food movement, David Crosby, Ralph Lauren,San Francisco Tape Music Center, Albert Brooks, Utah Phillips, Carol Moseley Braun, Bolinas CA, Ashland OR, Lawrence KS, Austin TX, Bainbridge Island WA, Marilyn Monroe, Mills College, Elizabeth Cotton, Carl Sandburg, the Orange Show in Houston, Toni Morrison, Texas Gladden, California College of Ayurvedic Medicine, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Saturday Night Live, Aaron Copland, Barack Obama, Oscar de la Renta, Alan Lomax, Joyce Carol Oates, Fred Neil, Henry Cowell, Barneys New York, Golden Gate Park, Musee Mechanique, Woody Guthrie, Maxfield Parrish, Malibu, Maui, Napa Valley, Terry Riley, drive-in movies, homemade blackberry ice cream from blackberries picked on my property, Lil Wayne, Walt Whitman, Halston, Lavender Ridge Grenache from Lodi CA, Tony Duquette, Julia Morgan, Lotta Crabtree, Empire Mine, North Columbia Schoolhouse, Disneyland, Nevada County Grandmothers for Peace; Roberta Flack, Randy Newman, Mark Helprin, Larry David, Prince; cooking on Thanksgiving; Shel Siverstein, Lee Hazlewood, Lee Radziwill, Jackie Onassis, E.B. White, William Carlos Williams, Jay Z, Ralph Stanley, Allen Ginsberg, Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, RFK, Rosa Parks, Arthur Miller, “The Simpsons”, Julia Child, Henry Miller, Arthur Ashe, Anne Bancroft, The Farm Midwifery Center in TN, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, Clark Gable, Harry Nilsson, Woodstock, and some other stuff. Buuuut, the ol’ U S of A can pull some pretty dick moves. I’m hoping it’ll all come out in the wash...

Are we all doomed?

If we keep our expectations pretty low I think we might be fine. I mean, we’re definitely all dying at some point. There’s no getting around that. But between now and then, things might start looking up!

— Joanna Newsom for The New Statesman, 2008

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Violetta (La Traviata)

Favorite thing about them: Her selfless nobility of spirit, her unconditional love, and her character arc as she initially seems like a sparkling, cynical party girl, but then reveals her inner vulnerability and her true capacity for feeling and for goodness. On a meta level, there's also the fact that she's a fully humanized, sympathetic sex worker heroine, whose story shames bourgeois morality for its prejudice against the likes of her.

Least favorite thing about them: That she has to suffer so much.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm emotionally sensitive.

*I sometimes feel afraid to love and be loved because I'm afraid of being hurt.

*I like camellias (they're always in bloom at my birthday).

Three things I don’t have in common with them:

*I'm not a sex worker.

*I have family still living.

*I don't have tuberculosis.

Favorite line: The full text of "Ah, fors'é lui... Sempre libera."

brOTP: Her maid Annina, Dr. Grenvil, to an extent Flora Bervoix (though that seems to be a shallower friendship), and by the end, Giorgio Germont.

In crossover-land, I might like her to befriend some other "fallen woman" characters who have things in common with her, like Mimí in La Bohéme, both Fantine and Éponine in Les Misérables, or Satine in Moulin Rouge! (although meeting her would be more-or-less like looking in a mirror).

OTP: For what makes her happy, I'll say Alfredo. But it's hard to fully ship her with him after the money scene, much like in Much Ado About Nothing it's hard to ship Hero and Claudio after the wedding scene. Above all, I ship her with health, self-esteem, and happiness.

nOTP: Giorgio Germont or Baron Douphol.

Random Headcanon: Her backstory is the same as that of her real-life inspiration, Marie Duplessis. She was born to a poor family in Normandy; her mother either died or left when she was a child, and her father was an abusive alcoholic who sold her to "benefactors" as soon as she hit puberty. She travelled to Paris at age fifteen and worked as a seamstress at first, but then her beauty was "discovered" by wealthy men, and at age sixteen she became a courtesan. All of this shaped her into the person we meet in Act I, who doesn't dare to love and thinks a life of shallow pleasures is all that's left for her.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't see her as much older than Alfredo, or as nearing the end of her glory days as a courtesan due to age rather than just her illness. The libretto repeatedly describes her as "young," and Marie Duplessis was only twenty-three when she died and was the same age as Alexandre Dumas fils. Part of the real tragedy of her life was that she became a "fallen woman" before she was really a woman at all – why shouldn't the same be true for Violetta? Of course the role should ideally be sung by a soprano at least thirty, since few younger singers can meet the vocal demands, but the same is true for teenage heroines like Gilda in Rigoletto or Madame Butterfly! It says nothing about the character's age.

Song I associate with them:

"Ah, fors'é lui... Sempre libera"

"Addio del passato"

Favorite picture of them:

Maria Callas

Anna Moffo

Teresa Stratas

Aylin Perez

Nadine Sierra

Irina Lungu

Lauren Fagen

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Thoughts on the Met’s 2022-23 Season

“But Savannah,” you say, “you basically already knew the entire season like two weeks ago because of the Future Met Wiki, if not for longer.” Well, but now we know for realsies. This is what’s actually happening. And so, here we go:

thank FUCK no Netrebko in Aida

unusual to do just one big run for Bohème in the spring instead of several smaller runs. anyway, some nice casting in there

I’m legit so excited for Champion y’all have no idea. if this is anything remotely like Fire it’ll be a MASTERPIECE

DIALOGUES!!! THAT CAST!!! SABINE DEVIEILHE IN HER MET DEBUT!!!

wait, Don Carlo is getting an HD with N*trebko??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I AM GOING TO SUE THE METROPOLITAN OPERA (not actually but yeah)

okay but the Don Giovanni cast (Peter Mattei heart eyes forever)

see, we could even have a Schultz/Camarena Elisir HD but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (also Maestri as Dulcamara *chef’s kiss*)

the Carsen Falstaff is GLORIOUS but not having Maestri in the title role is a CRIME (it’s Michael Volle)

FUCKING KNEW THAT FEDORA WOULD BE A MCVICAR PROD (also that cast and those set models *heart eyes*)

Cutler and van den Heever in Hollander whoop whoop

I’m so pumped for The Hours and the divas that’s all

OR YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING HD’D THIS IDOMENEO WITH MICHAEL FUCKING SPYRES AND YING FANG MY BELOVED

and that’s a top-tier group of individuals for Lady Macbeth

okay but the Girard Lohengrin looks GORG and the cast looks EXCITING

hope they keep this Taymor Flute at least for the holidays for a while

that Medea photo looks SO COOL and also that CAAAAAAAAAAST

that Norma cast looks EXCITING 

so excited to see Peter Grimes back on the Met stage (also am I like the only person who actually liked this production?)

THOSE RIGOLETTO CASTS (December 8 Lisette Oropesa and Benjamin Bernheim as Gilda and the Duke!!! the only time their runs overlap alas)

nice Rosenkavalier cast I must say

pulling out all the stops for the Toscas, I see

three lovely Traviata casts, but why did they pick to HD the one that didn’t have Enkhbat or Rucinski as Germont :/

and I’m quite intrigued by the Zauberflote, both cast and production

Met Opera Live in HD:

so on Monday, I made the following predictions for the Met’s Live in HD series:

October 8, 2022: Tosca (Kurzak/Fabiano/Lundgren)

October 22, 2022: Medea (Radvanovsky/Polenzani)

Met Premiere/New Production/First Time Live In HD

December 10, 2022: The Hours (Fleming/DiDonato/O’Hara)

Met Premiere/New Production/First Time Live In HD

January 14, 2023: Fedora (Yoncheva/Beczala/Feola/Rucinski)

New Production/First Time Live In HD

March 4, 2023: La traviata (Blue/Popov/Rucinski)

March 18, 2023: Lohengrin (Beczala/Wilson/Goerke)

New Production/First Time Live In HD

April 15, 2023: Der Rosenkavalier (Davidsen/Leonard/Morley)

April 29, 2023: Champion (Owens/Green/Moore/Blythe)

Met Premiere/New Production/First Time Live In HD

May 20, 2023: Don Giovanni (Mattei/Plachetka/Lombardi/Martinez/Fang)

New Production—note: not the first time Live in HD

June 3, 2023: Die Zauberflöte (Brownlee/Morley/Lewek/Oliemans/Held)

New Production—note: not the first time Live in HD

so as I turned out, I predicted 80% of the broadcasts and 90% of the operas (picked the wrong run for one) correctly. the two I missed were the two November broadcasts: Traviata is actually the November cast with Sierra (eee!!!), Costello, and Salsi (meh). 

and then of course, Don Carlo, HD’d on November 19 solely as a vanity showcase for Anna fucking Netrebko.

I do have to say, though, the rest of the cast is pretty great: Russell Thomas in the title role (about fucking time someone gave him an HD part bigger than Ismaele), Anita Rachvelishvili as Éboli (FUCK YES), Gunther Groissbock as Filippo (assuming, of course, that he is in line with the Met’s vaccination policies), Peter Mattei as Rodrigo (HOORAY!!!), and John Relyea reprising the Grand Inquisitor. 

but yeah, this is just so OBVIOUSLY a vanity showcase for Netrebko by the Met management, so...bad taste in my mouth. 

but otherwise, both the full season and the HD season don’t look half bad!

[tcm]

Six Classic Hollywood Actors Never Nominated for an Oscar By Kim Luperi

Tyrone Power, Jane Greer, Alan Ladd. What do these three stars have in common? Oscars – or more accurately, the lack thereof.

Not only did these performers never take home a golden statuette, they never even snagged a nomination! In honor of TCM’s 360 degrees of Oscar celebration, below are six Golden Age stars overlooked by the Academy during their careers, why that may have been and what performances I would have nominated them for.

Vincent Price

Like fellow Oscar-less pal Boris Karloff, Vincent Price is best remembered for his foray into the macabre; classics like HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (‘59) and THE RAVEN (‘63) sealed his Hollywood fate. While Price’s talent reached far and wide, his typecasting may have been his Oscar doom. Though early films such as LAURA (‘44) and LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (‘45) established his fine-tuned dramatic abilities, I’d like to have seen a nod for his dual role in THE HAUNTED PALACE (’63), which found the actor playing a relatively normal man AND his evil great-great-grandfather, who was burned alive and reincarnates himself through his ancestor’s body!

Myrna Loy

It’s easy to forget that Myrna Loy vamped it up for almost a decade before strutting into sophistication in the early 1930s. The comfort with which she glided from pre-Code insanity like THIRTEEN WOMEN (’32) to the charming Nora Charles belied the talent required for such tonal shifts, which may have accounted for her snub: She made it look too easy. Comedic turns are less likely to earn awards – just look at Lucille Ball, Danny Kaye and others who remained nomination-less. Though I’d personally bestow Loy with a collective Oscar for her William Powell-paired performances, her most realistic bet was the heart-wrenching WWII drama THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (‘46), which won seven of the eight Oscars it was up for. Nevertheless, Loy earned an honorary award in 1991.

Joseph Cotten

The fact that an actor who appeared in CITIZEN KANE (‘41), THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (‘42) and THE THIRD MAN (‘49) never scored an Oscar nomination is mind-boggling. Sensitive and practical in his craft, Joseph Cotten excelled in a string of 1940s dramatic roles. As with others on this list, I think the seeming simplicity with which Cotten shifted between nuanced characters could have contributed to the Academy overlooking his vast talents; Put simply, he was good all the time. His chilling performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s SHADOW OF A DOUBT (‘43) would be my nomination pick. Cotten balanced the delicate tinges of twisted charisma, manipulation and menace with such precision that his characterization still evokes praise 75+ years later.

Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino probably earns more acknowledgement today for her independent directing, writing and producing career at the time. Could her visionary path calling the shots behind the scenes have gotten in the way of Oscar recognition? Perhaps. As an actor, Lupino turned in striking performances in films like HIGH SIERRA (‘41) and ON DANGEROUS GROUND (‘51), and she even did double duty behind and in front of the camera in THE BIGAMIST (‘53). Her willingness to confront subjects like rape and unwed motherhood in her work is rightly celebrated today. I would have given her groundbreaking scripting and directing on OUTRAGE (‘50) a nomination for its insightful examination of the devastation and complex emotional response rape brings not only upon victims but those who care for them as well.

Peter Lorre

In a way similar to fellow Oscar-less emigre Edward G. Robinson, Peter Lorre is best remembered for his villains; despite his range, Lorre’s proficiency at playing peculiar rogues probably fell outside the Academy’s normal purview during the 1930s and ‘40s. The Hungarian-born actor jumped from the German film industry to Hitchcock movies to memorable menacing supporting roles in classics like THE MALTESE FALCON (‘41) and CASABLANCA (‘42). Though an early nod for M (‘31) would have been well-deserved, I’d have nominated Lorre for his first Hollywood movie, MAD LOVE (‘35). His unhinged, fanatical Doctor Gogol stands out profoundly among an impressive cast and darkly atmospheric, devious proceedings.

Rita Hayworth

I’m placing Rita Hayworth in a category of ‘bombshells’ without Academy nominations that includes Kim Novak, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow and Maureen O’Hara – all women whose beauty, and sometimes tragedy, outshined their talent. GILDA (‘46) easily stands as Hayworth’s best-known picture, the title role making her an iconic figure today. Turns in films like YOU WERE NEVER LOVELIER (‘42) and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (‘47) put the spotlight on Hayworth’s alluring and sometimes enigmatic persona, but the film I’d have nominated her for is SEPARATE TABLES (‘58). Hayworth breezes in with glamour and drama, but the subtle loneliness, yearning and desperation she brings to the part is striking.

Though I’m sure a statue from their peers would’ve been an honor, the fact that these performers remain so well-loved today is a testament to their illustrious talent.

[astrognossienne]

film noir lists for the signs

aries: high sierra, mildred pierce, they made me a criminal, angels with dirty faces, scarface (1932), the sign of the ram, brute force, act of violence, bad blonde, the set-up, the enforcer, the harder they fall (1956), johnny eager, the sign of the ram

taurus: the big sleep, kansas city confidential, the docks of new york, the petrified forest, not as a stranger, shadow of a doubt, the big clock, alias nick beal, angels over broadway, the treasure of the sierra madre, death of a salesman

gemini: double indemnity, the roaring twenties, the asphalt jungle, ace in the hole, scarlet street, dead reckoning, among the living, they won’t believe me, strangers on a train, the dark mirror, a double life, highway 301, nightmare alley, the spiral staircase

cancer: the postman always rings twice, gilda, detour, angel face, moonrise, the big heat, caught (1949), casablanca, rififi, the reckless moment, the naked city, niagara, rear window, the desperate hours, diabolique (1955), he walked by night, man on a tightrope

leo: notorious, you only live once, born to be bad, white heat, the big shot, human desire, sunset boulevard, the bad and the beautiful, i want to live!, all the king's men, portrait of jennie, dark city, fourteen hours, my name is julia ross, queen bee

virgo: laura, fallen angel, the woman in the window, sudden fear, brighton rock, ministry of fear, where the sidewalk ends, the night of the hunter, kiss me deadly, the accused, shadow of a doubt, rebecca, a stolen face, hollow triumph, the narrow margin

libra: the blue dahlia, the glass key, a woman’s face, rebecca, i am a fugitive from a chain gang, daisy kenyon, leave her to heaven, murder my sweet, the strange love of martha ivers

scorpio: the killers, underworld (1927), marked woman, kiss tomorrow goodbye, criss cross (1949), possessed, touch of evil, the killing, night and the city, another man’s poison, phantom lady, dragonwyck, i walked with a zombie, ossessione (1942)

sagittarius: humoresque, key largo, dark passage, crossfire, the hitch-hiker, gun crazy, they live by night, strangers on a train, pickup on south street, affair in trinidad, smash up: the story of a woman, detective story, edge of the city, the mask of dimitrios, no way out, odds against tomorrow

capricorn: m, the maltese falcon, in a lonely place, this gun for hire, ride the pink horse, the big combo, the narrow margin, sweet smell of success, dark passage, citizen kane, the lodger, out of the fog

aquarius: gaslight, la bête humaine, the lady from shanghai, crack-up, the stranger, vertigo, the prowler, odd man out, the set-up, elevator to the gallows, the strange woman, hangover square, odd man out

pisces: nocturne, spellbound, the letter (1940), the third man, out of the past, while the city sleeps, the wrong man, on dangerous ground, phantom lady, an act of murder, the lost moment, the lost weekend, possessed, the man with the golden arm

[murderballadeer]

Old movie recs? Delia said to ask you

yes!! i’m gonna divide them up by decade and genre, and i’ll put it all under the cut bc i sense it will get pretty long, although i’ll try to keep it as concise as possible. this is just a starting point! i’ll be including a variety of movies from the 1930s through the 60s, and hopefully this will encourage you to look into others. hope this helps!

1930s

pre-codes (i.e. made before the motion picture production code was passed in 1934. back in the day the modern rating system for movies (where a film is given a rating like g, pg-13, r, etc.) didn’t exist. instead, from 1934 to the mid-1960s, all movies were supposed to be appropriate for young audiences. the term pre-code refers to a film made between the emergence of sound film and the passing of the code, so roughly 1927-1934. these films involve more risqué subject matter than the ones made after the code, but they’re usually pretty tame compared to what we’re used to today.)

morocco (josef von sternberg, 1930)

design for living (ernst lubitsch, 1933)

baby face (alfred e. green, 1933)

queen christina (rouben mamoulian, 1933)

dinner at eight (george cukor, 1933)

screwball comedies

it happened one night (frank capra, 1934)

the thin man (w.s. van dyke, 1934)

my man godfrey (gregory la cava, 1936)

easy living (mitchell leisen, 1937)

bringing up baby (howard hawks, 1938)

ninotchka (ernst lubitsh, 1939)

musicals, or an intro to astaire & rogers with some other stuff thrown in

42nd street (lloyd bacon, 1933)

footlight parade (lloyd bacon, 1933)

gold diggers of 1933 (mervyn leroy, 1933)

the gay divorcee (mark sandrich, 1934)

top hat (mark sandrich, 1935)

shall we dance (mark sandrich, 1937)

horror films that aren’t at all scary but are still fun

dracula (todd browning, 1931)

frankenstein (james whale, 1931)

the mummy (karl freund, 1932)

frank capra gets political (kinda sorta)

mr deeds goes to town (frank capra, 1936)

you can’t take it with you (frank capra, 1938)

mr smith goes to washington (frank capra, 1939)

meet john doe (frank capra, 1940) i know it’s not technically from the 30s, but 1940 is close enough and it fits in this category so

misc. (three out of five of these are katharine hepburn movies bc i love her a lot and i can’t help it)

mary of scotland (john ford, 1935)

camille (george cukor, 1936)

stage door (gregory la cava, 1937)

holiday (george cukor, 1938)

the lady vanishes (alfred hitchcock, 1938)

1940s (the 40s are my favorite decade for film so this will probably be the longest section)

screwball comedies again

his girl friday (howard hawks, 1940) fun fact: my username is a reference to this movie!

the lady eve (preston sturges, 1941)

the devil and miss jones (sam wood, 1941)

to be or not to be (ernst lubitsh, 1942)

sullivan’s travels (preston sturges, 1942)

arsenic and old lace (frank capra, 1944)

film noir

the maltese falcon (john huston, 1941)

high sierra (raoul walsh, 1941)

this gun for hire (frank tuttle, 1942)

laura (otto preminger, 1944)

double indemnity (billy wilder, 1944)

gilda (charles vidor, 1946)

the big sleep (howard hawks, 1946)

the blue dahlia (george marshall, 1946)

dark passage (delmer daves, 1947)

the lady from shanghai (orson welles, 1947)

international thrillers 

casablanca (michael curtiz, 1942)

to have and have not (howard hawks, 1944)

ministry of fear (fritz lang, 1944)

the mask of dimitrios (jean negulesco, 1944)

the stranger (orson welles, 1946)

the third man (carol reed, 1949) 

more musicals

broadway melody of 1940 (norman taurog, 1940)

ziegfeld girl  (robert z. leonard, 1941)

you were never lovelier (william a. seiter, 1942)

for me and my gal (busby berkeley, 1942)

presenting lily mars (norman taurog, 1943)

meet me in st. louis (vincente minnelli, 1944)

easter parade (charles walters, 1948)

on the town (gene kelly and stanley donen, 1949)

misc.

rebecca (alfred hitchcock, 1940)

the shop around the corner (ernst lubitsh, 1940)

the philadelphia story (george cukor, 1940)

shadow of a doubt (alfred hitchcock, 1943)

gaslight (george cukor, 1944)

spellbound (alfred hitchcock, 1945)

it’s a wonderful life (frank capra, 1946)

adam’s rib (george cukor, 1949)

1950s

yet more musicals!

summer stock (charles walters, 1950)

singin’ in the rain (gene kelly and stanley donen, 1952) sidebar: this is my absolute favorite movie of all time. if you only watch one film from this entire list, make it this. 

gentlemen prefer blondes (howard hawks, 1953)

white christmas (michael curtiz, 1954)

a star is born (george cukor, 1954)

guys and dolls ( joseph l. mankiewicz, 1955)

jailhouse rock (richard thorpe, 1957)

south pacific (joshua logan, 1958)

some 50s hitchcock movies

strangers on a train (alfred hitchcock, 1951)

i confess (alfred hitchcock, 1952)

to catch a thief (alfred hitchcock, 1953)

rear window (alfred hitchcock, 1954)

dial m for murder (alfred hitchcock, 1954)

the man who knew too much (alfred hitchcock, 1956)

vertigo (alfred hitchcock, 1958)

north by northwest (alfred hitchcock, 1959)

misc. 

sunset boulevard (billy wilder, 1950)

born yesterday (george cukor, 1950)

in a lonely place (nicholas ray, 1950)

the african queen (john huston, 1951)

high noon (fred zinneman, 1952)

roman holiday (william wyler, 1952)

pat and mike (george cukor, 1952)

how to marry a millionaire (jean negulesco, 1953)

sabrina (billy wilder, 1954)

rebel without a cause (nicholas ray, 1955)

giant (george stevens, 1956)

twelve angry men (sidney lumet, 1957)

desk set (walter lang, 1957)

anatomy of a murder (otto preminger, 1959)

some like it hot (billy wilder, 1959)

1960s 

no more musicals after this, i promise

bye bye birdie (george sidney, 1963)

mary poppins (robert stevenson, 1964)

the sound of music (robert wise, 1965)

misc.

the apartment (billy wilder, 1960)

the manchurian candidate (john frankenheimer, 1962)

charade (stanley donen, 1963)

guess who’s coming to dinner (stanley kramer, 1967)

the producers (mel brooks, 1968)

[nathancone]

A Second Decade of Movies

Ten years ago on Facebook, I compiled a list of every movie I watched, in order, from the first decade of the network’s existence. Now, here’s part two, covering the years 2010-2019. There are 754 titles below, though some are repeat viewings. The movie I watched the most? Harold Lloyd in “The Freshman.” My favorite movie from the last decade? “The Tree of Life.”

But I began the 2010s with James Cameron’s mega-hit “Avatar.” I’ll go on record saying the movie is still enjoyable ten years later, as I watched it again in 2019 with my kids to prep for visiting the World of Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But--I also agree with those who say there’s little remembered from the film in the culture today. Can you name the stars? Recount the plot in detail? Mostly what we remember from the film is the spectacle of it all, game-changing when it was released in 2009.

At any rate, enjoy the list below! If a title is hotlinked, it will take you to an essay, interview, or related coverage on the film by yours truly.    

1.       Avatar 2.       I Walked With A Zombie 3.       The Paradine Case 4.       Whip It 5.       The Body Snatcher 6.       Coraline 7.       Everybody’s Fine 8.       The Blind Side 9.       The Hurt Locker                 10.   Citizen Architect 11.   Fantastic Mr. Fox 12.   Dance With the One 13.   The Happy Poet                 14.   When I Rise 15.   Mr. Nice 16.   Lemmy 17.   Haynesville 18.   Rashomon 19.   Cabin in the Sky                 20.   Toy Story 2 21.   Being There 22.   Modern Times 23.   Iron Monkey 24.   Kiki’s Delivery Service 25.   Alice In Wonderland 26.   WALL·E 27.   Goldfinger 28.   A Fistful of Dollars 29.   The Red Shoes 30.   M. Hulot’s Holiday 31.   When In Rome 32.   Toy Story 3 33.   The Godfather 34.   White Heat 35.   The Girl on the Train 36.   Mary Poppins 37.   Kapò 38.   Dr. Strangelove 39.   White Dog 40.   Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 41.   Scoop 42.   Katyn 43.   Metropolis 44.   Days of Heaven 45.   Shane 46.   Ramona and Beezus 47.   Duck Soup 48.   Pillow Talk 49.   Monte Carlo 50.   Persona 51.   The Powderkids               52.   Machete 53.   THX 1138 54.   Ran 55.   Fantasia 2000 56.   Contempt 57.   The Big Red One 58.   Mid-August Lunch 59.   McCabe & Mrs. Miller 60.   Casablanca 61.   The Last Song 62.   Close Encounters of the Third Kind 63.   Sherlock, Jr. 64.   The Thin Red Line 65.   Modern Times 66.   Fantasia 67.   Mon Oncle 68.   Stagecoach 69.   Hallelujah 70.   Mademoiselle Chambon 71.   Double Take 72.   Black Swan 73.   Tangled 74.   The King’s Speech 75.   TRON: Legacy 76.   A Safe Place 77.   The King of Marvin Gardens 78.   Wings of Desire 79.   Head 80.   The Social Network 81.   Drive, He Said 82.   The Fighter 83.   Gold Diggers in Paris 84.   The Gay Divorcee 85.   The Love Parade 86.   127 Hours 87.   Never Let Me Go 88.   Forrest Gump 89.   A Film Unfinished 90.   How To Train Your Dragon 91.   Modern Times 92.   Malcolm X 93.   When I Rise 94.   Inception 95.   The Kids Are All Right 96.   A Time For Drunken Horses 97.   Our Hospitality 98.   The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 99.   The Mikado 100.   Something Ventured 101.   Five Time Champion 102.   Natural Selection 103.   Kumare                 104.    F#$k My Life 105.    Hesher 106.    Small, Beautifully Moving Parts 107.      Win Win 108.     Beats of Freedom 109.     Topsy-Turvy 110.     Taken By Storm                 111.     I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang 112.  Army of Shadows 113.  The Life of Emile Zola 114.   Rio 115.  East of Eden 116.  The Drummond Will 117.  Cooper 118.  Marriage Italian Style 119.  Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 120.  Sunflower 121. Salt of This Sea 122. Casablanca 123.   The Happy Thieves 124.  The Art of Getting By 125. Patty Hearst 126. Breathless 127. The Tree of Life 128.  Nora’s Will 129.  Mr. Popper’s Penguins 130.                        My Man Godfrey 131.                        The Muppet Movie 132.                        Back to the Future 133.                        Back to the Future Part II 134.                        Back to the Future Part III 135.                        Rear Window 136.                        Q: The Winged Serpent 137.                        Cars 2 138.                        The Godfather Part II 139.                        Super 8 140.                        Dazed and Confused 141.                        All Night Long 142.                        The Tree of Life 143.                        Winnie the Pooh 144.                        M. Hulot’s Holiday 145.                        Snow Flower and the Secret Fan               146.                        A Thousand Clowns 147.                        Tokyo Story 148.                        The Smurfs 149.                        The League of Gentlemen 150.                        Malcolm X (1972) 151.                        Late Spring 152.                        Ladies & Gentlemen the Rolling Stones 153.                        The Princess Bride 154.                        Hud 155.                        The Boys 156.                        Poetry 157.                        Waking Sleeping Beauty               158.                        Martha Marcy May Marlene 159.                        Seduced and Abandoned 160.                        The Nightmare Before Christmas 161.                        The Third Man   162.                        Dressed To Kill 163.                        Echotone 164.                        Straw Dogs (1971) 165.                        Sapphire 166.                        Broken Embraces 167.                        The Wild One 168.                        La Belle et la Bête 169.                        The Tree of Life 170.                        Beauty and the Beast 171.                        Killer’s Kiss 172.                        The Producers 173.                        Camille (1921) 174.                        She’s Gotta Have It 175.                        La Belle et la Bête 176.                        The Descendants 177.                        Hugo 178.                        The Muppets 179.                        Another Earth 180.                        Rise of the Planet of the Apes 181.                        Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 182.                        The Artist 183.                        Arthur Christmas 184.                        The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 185.                        Midnight in Paris 186.                        War Horse 187.                        The Whistleblower 188.                        The Great Waltz 189.                        Manhattan 190.                        Annie Hall 191.                        The Help 192.                        Moneyball 193.                        Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 194.                        Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 195.                        The Lorax 196.                        Kid-Thing 197.                        Zodiac 198.                        Hunky Dory 199.                        Wolf 200.                        Tchoupitoulas 201.                        21 Jump Street 202.                        Crulic: The Path to Beyond 203.                        The Imposter 204.                        The Descendants 205.                        Victim 206.                        Revenge of the Electric Car 207.                        We Bought a Zoo 208.                        Titanic (3D) 209.                        Shame 210.                        The Jazz Singer 211.                        For Greater Glory 212.                        Lola Versus 213.                        The Avengers 214.                        Prometheus 215.                        Citizen Kane 216.                        Brave 217.                        Rio Bravo 218.                        The Black Hole 219.                        Thunder Soul 220.                        The Gold Rush 221.                        Children of Paradise 222.                        The Natural 223.                        An American in Paris 224.                        North By Northwest 225.                        Harold and Maude 226.                        Killer Joe 227.                        Gilda 228.                        Miss Bala 229.                        Bride of Frankenstein 230.                        The Graduate 231.                        Madagascar 3 232.                        Close Encounters of the Third Kind 233.                        Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier 234.                        TRON: Legacy 235.                        Rise of the Guardians 236.                        Lincoln 237.                        Finding Nemo 238.                        Hitchcock 239.                        The Illusionist 240.                        Les Misérables 241.                        A Christmas Story 242.                        Kit Kittredge: An American Girl 243.                        Silver Linings Playbook 244.                        The Apple Dumpling Gang 245.                        Zero Dark Thirty 246.                        Wreck-It Ralph 247.                        On the Waterfront 248.                        The Life of Pi 249.                        Argo 250.                        Bag It 251.                        Loves Her Gun 252.                        Good Night 253.                        Mud 254.                        Museum Hours 255.                        This Is Where We Live 256.                        Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story 257.                        Sake-Bomb 258.                        The Girl                 259.                        Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 260.                        Return to the Hiding Place 261.                        The Purple Rose of Cairo 262.                        To The Wonder 263.                        Epic 264.                        There Will Be Blood 265.                        Star Trek Into Darkness 266.                        Lawrence of Arabia 267.                        The Birds 268.                        Star Trek: First Contact 269.                        Barry Lyndon 270.                        Star Wars: A New Hope 271.                        Saboteur 272.                        Hell’s House 273.                        Of Human Bondage 274.                        The Flowers of St. Francis 275.                        Monsters University 276.                        Old Joy 277.                        Out of Africa 278.                        Safety Last! 279.                        The Killing 280.                        A Night To Remember 281.                        Singin’ in the Rain 282.                        Sherlock, Jr. 283.                        The Smurfs 2 284.                        Planes 285.                        Sicko 286.                        Brief Encounter                 287.                        Meek’s Cutoff 288.                        Wendy and Lucy 289.                        Side By Side 290.                        A.I. Artificial Intelligence 291.                        Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 292.                        Powaqqatsi 293.                        Machete Kills 294.                        Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 295.                        The Royal Tenenbaums 296.                        Moonrise Kingdom 297.                        Bottle Rocket 298.                        The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou 299.                        The Exorcist 300.                        The Darjeeling Limited   301.                        Dreamgirls 302.                        Dallas Buyers Club 303.                        Brewster McCloud 304.                        Cruising                 305.                        City Lights 306.                        Saving Mr. Banks 307.                        Frozen   308.                        Lili 309.                        The Gold Rush   310.                        Ninotchka 311.                        12 Angry Men 312.                        Lone Survivor 313.                        Her 314.                        The Nut Job 315.                        Cool It 316.                        American Hustle 317.                        Money and Medicine 318.                        Life Itself 319.                        The X From Outer Space 320.                        Captain Phillips 321.                        A Cat in Paris 322.                        Le Ciel est à Vous 323.                        Las Marthas 324.                        Rezeta 325.                        La Jaola de Oro 326.                        Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory                 327.                        Clue 328.                        Gravity 329.                        Nebraska 330.                        The Lego Movie                 331.                        Up 332.                        Liv & Ingmar 333.                        Before Midnight 334.                        Two Weeks in Another Town 335.                        Rio 2 336.                        All Is Lost 337.                        The Great Mouse Detective 338.                        The Adventures of Robin Hood 339.                        Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party 340.                        Belle 341.                        Bottled Up: The Battle Over Dublin Dr Pepper 342.                        My Dinner With Andre 343.                        Harry Dean Stanton Partly Fiction 344.                        The Lego Movie                 345.                        Bears 346.                        The Nightmare Before Christmas 347.                        Contempt 348.                        How To Train Your Dragon 2 349.                        Vertigo 350.                        Gojira 351.                        The Wizard of Oz 352.                        12 Angry Men 353.                        A Hard Day’s Night 354.                        Network 355.                        Picnic At Hanging Rock 356.                        Get On Up 357.                        E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 358.                        The Drop             359.                        The Match Factory Girl   360.                        Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 361.                        Superman 362.                        Horse Feathers 363.                        I Married A Witch 364.                        The Grand Budapest Hotel           365.                        Il Sorpasso 366.                        Conde Drácula 367.                        Boyhood 368.                        Fun and Fancy Free 369.                        The Freshman (1925)     370.                        Intimidation       371.                        I Am Love 372.                        Fantastic Mr. Fox 373.                        The Freshman (1925)     374.                        The Freshman (1925) 375.                        Safe 376.                        Invitation to the Dance 377.                        Captain America: The Winter Soldier 378.                        Bicycle Thieves 379.                        Sherlock, Jr. 380.                        Whiplash 381.                        Ida 382.                        Tron 383.                        Return of the Jedi 384.                        Petting Zoo 385.                        Western 386.                        Cinderella (2015) 387.                        Lamb 388.                        Babysitter 389.                        The Thin Blue Line 390.                        Vernon, Florida 391.                        Gates of Heaven 392.                        Purple Rain 393.                        Sullivan’s Travels 394.                        Star Wars: Episode I 395.                        Safety Last! 396.                        Jesus Christ Superstar 397.                        Anatomy of a Murder 398.                        Mary Poppins 399.                        Inside Out 400.                        Love & Mercy 401.                        A Star Is Born (1954) 402.                        The Princess and the Frog 403.                        The Freshman (1925) 404.                        Zazie dans la Métro 405.                        The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 406.                        Lilo & Stitch 407.                        Monkey Kingdom 408.                        Foreign Correspondent 409.                        The Princess Bride 410.                        Tomorrowland 411.                        Rome: Open City 412.                        A Hard Day’s Night 413.                        Star Trek: Generations 414.                        The Roaring Twenties 415.                        Following the Ninth 416.                        Samantha: An American Girl Holiday 417.                        He Named Me Malala 418.                        Wings of Life 419.                        Singin’ in the Rain 420.                        The Peanuts Movie 421.                        Spotlight 422.                        The Good Dinosaur 423.                        Fantasia 2000 424.                        Reel Injun 425.                        It Happened One Night 426.                        Star Wars: The Force Awakens 427.                        Star Wars: Episode II 428.                        Concussion 429.                        One Hour With You 430.                        Enchanted 431.                        A Room With A View 432.                        The Hateful Eight 433.                        Speedy 434.                        Time Out of Mind 435.                        Cinderella (2015) 436.                        The Lady Vanishes 437.                        Naqoyqatsi 438.                        Suzanne’s Career 439.                        Bear Country 440.                        The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window… 441.                        Bandidas 442.                        Star Wars: The Force Awakens 443.                        Virtuosity 444.                        The Big Short 445.                        Two Days, One Night 446.                        The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe 447.                        Bridge of Spies 448.                        Brooklyn 449.                        Michael Jackson From Motown To Off The Wall 450.                        Tower 451.                        Transpecos 452.                        Last Night at the Alamo 453.                        Claire In Motion 454.                        Zootopia 455.                        Bodyguard 456.                        W. 457.                        The Adventures of Pepper and Paula 458.                        The Jungle Book (2016) 459.                        Star Wars: The Force Awakens 460.                        Captain America: Civil War 461.                        What About Bob? 462.                        Love & Friendship 463.                        Dial M For Murder 464.                        Garfield                 465.                        Ben-Hur 466.                        To Kill A Mockingbird 467.                        Citizenfour 468.                        Finding Dory 469.                        Ant-Man 470.                        The Quiet Man 471.                        The Peanuts Movie 472.                        The BFG 473.                        My Dinner With Andre 474.                        Children of Men 475.                        The Last Temptation of Christ 476.                        The Secret Life of Pets 477.                        Chimes At Midnight 478.                        Brewed in the 210 479.                        Saturday Night Fever 480.                        The New World 481.                        Who Framed Roger Rabbit 482.                        Walt & El Grupo 483.                        Saludos Amigos                 484.                        The Jungle Book (2016) 485.                        The Last Picture Show 486.                        Beetlejuice 487.                        The King and I 488.                        Ride in the Whirlwind 489.                        Dracula 490.                        The Angry Birds Movie 491.                        The Sword in the Stone 492.                        Queen of Katwe 493.                        The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 494.                        Beetlejuice 495.                        Dracula 496.                        Arrival 497.                        Tron: Legacy 498.                        Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams 499.                        Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 500.                        Boomerang (1947) 501.                        Safety Last! 502.                        South of the Border 503.                        Honey, I Shrunk The Kids 504.                        Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 505.                        Jiro Dreams of Sushi 506.                        Rogue One 507.                        Moana   508.                        Once 509.                        Redes 510.                        Max Dugan Returns 511.                        Amadeus 512.                        The New World 513.                        13th 514.                        Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 515.                        Yarn 516.                        Paddington 517.                        Hidden Figures 518.                        Doctor Strange 519.                        The Lego Batman Movie 520.                        Clue 521.                        The Honor Farm 522.                        Mr. Roosevelt 523.                        La Barracuda 524.                        The Ballad of Lefty Brown 525.                        Beauty and the Beast (2017) 526.                        Cat People 527.                        The Adventures of Tintin 528.                        The Freshman (1925) 529.                        The Artist 530.                        Day for Night 531.                        Stranger on the Third Floor 532.                        Twentieth Century 533.                        Modern Times 534.                        Alien: Covenant                 535.                        Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul 536.                        Norman 537.                        Casablanca 538.                        Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 539.                        Alvin & the Chipmunks: Road Chip 540.                        The Man Who Knew Too Much 541.                        Cars 3 542.                        The Sugarland Express 543.                        Redes 544.                        School of Rock 545.                        Duck Soup 546.                        Cat People 547.                        Tower 548.                        War for the Planet of the Apes 549.                        Pete’s Dragon (2016) 550.                        Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny 551.                        The Double Life of Veronique 552.                        Dunkirk                 553.                        The Adventures of Robin Hood 554.                        Something Wicked This Way Comes 555.                        Young Frankenstein 556.                        Duck Soup 557.                        Tampopo 558.                        Beggars of Life 559.                        Tender Mercies                 560.                        The Princess and the Frog 561.                        Rogue One 562.                        Steve Jobs 563.                        Despicable Me 3 564.                        Close Encounters of the Third Kind 565.                        Koyaanisqatsi 566.                        Honeysuckle Rose 567.                        Wonder Woman 568.                        Creed 569.                        North By Northwest 570.                        Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 571.                        The Nightmare Before Christmas 572.                        Altered States 573.                        Dealt 574.                        Star Wars: The Force Awakens 575.                        My Cousin Rachel (2017) 576.                        Get Out                 577.                        Planet of the Apes (1968) 578.                        Tomorrowland 579.                        Justice League 580.                        The Disaster Artist 581.                        Thor: Ragnarok 582.                        Beneath the Planet of the Apes 583.                        Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 584.                        The Philadelphia Story 585.                        Escape From the Planet of the Apes 586.                        Ferdinand 587.                        Star Wars: The Last Jedi 588.                        Darkest Hour 589.                        Coco 590.                        Dunkirk                 591.                        Phantom Thread 592.                        Paddington 2 593.                        Arrival 594.                        Spider-Man: Homecoming 595.                        Conquest of the Planet of the Apes 596.                        Our Souls at Night 597.                        Mudbound 598.                        The Post 599.                        Germany Year Zero 600.                        Trading Places 601.                        The Shape of Water 602.                        Black Panther 603.                        Logan 604.                        The Simpsons Movie 605.                        Wings 606.                        Miss Congeniality 607.                        Never Cry Wolf 608.                        Something Wicked This Way Comes 609.                        Pride and Prejudice (2005) 610.                        Moana 611.                        Ready Player One 612.                        Viva Max 613.                        Red River 614.                        Bridget Jones’s Baby 615.                        Avengers: Infinity War 616.                        The Sugarland Express 617.                        Selena 618.                        Peaceful Warrior 619.                        Spider-Man 2 620.                        Stagecoach 621.                        The Godfather, Part III 622.                        Solo: A Star Wars Story 623.                        Jaws 624.                        Peter Pan 625.                        The Day the Earth Stood Still 626.                        Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 627.                        Won’t You Be My Neighbor? 628.                        Daughters of the Dust 629.                        Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 630.                        Time Bandits 631.                        Incredibles 2 632.                        Avatar 633.                        On the Waterfront 634.                        Forks Over Knives 635.                        It Happened One Night 636.                        Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 637.                        Ant-Man and the Wasp 638.                        A Quiet Place 639.                        Full Metal Jacket 640.                        The Thin Blue Line 641.                        The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez 642.                        Teen Titans Go! To The Movies 643.                        The Reluctant Dragon 644.                        Tokyo Story 645.                        The Karate Kid (1984) 646.                        Blazing Saddles 647.                        The Black Cauldron

648.                        Back to the Future 649.                        2001: A Space Odyssey 650.                        Blaze 651.                        In Old Arizona 652.                        Crazy Rich Asians 653.                        Ocean’s 8 654.                        Star Wars: A New Hope 655.                        The Tree of Life (Extended Cut) 656.                        First Man 657.                        Food, Inc. 658.                        Napoleon Dynamite 659.                        Halloween (2018) 660.                        Christopher Robin 661.                        Battle for the Planet of the Apes               662.                        Paris, Je t’aime 663.                        Breakfast at Tiffany’s 664.                        Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 665.                        Back to the Future, Part II 666.                        Koyaanisqatsi 667.                        Creed II                 668.                        True Stories 669.                        Ralph Breaks the Internet 670.                        Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse 671.                        The Last Command 672.                        Mary Poppins Returns 673.                        The Primary Instinct 674.                        Rise of the Planet of the Apes 675.                        An Inconvenient Truth 676.                        A Christmas Story 677.                        BlacKkKlansman 678.                        Annihilation 679.                        A Star Is Born (2018) 680.                        That’s Entertainment, Part 2 681.                        Close Encounters of the Third Kind 682.                        Teen Titans Go! To The Movies 683.                        Back to the Future, Part III 684.                        Stranger Than Paradise 685.                        On the Basis of Sex 686.                        Bohemian Rhapsody 687.                        The Favourite 688.                        First Reformed 689.                        Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 690.                        Cold War 691.                        They Shall Not Grow Old 692.                        The Iron Orchard 693.                        Free Solo 694.                        Captain Marvel 695.                        The Little Mermaid 696.                        Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End 697.                        Wasted! The Story of Food Waste 698.                        Green Book 699.                        La Bamba 700.                        Running for Good 701.                        Us 702.                        War for the Planet of the Apes 703.                        I, Tonya                 704.                        Avengers: Endgame 705.                        Amazing Grace (2019) 706.                        Shazam! 707.                        Testament 708.                        Vice 709.                        Raiders of the Lost Ark 710.                        The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 711.                        Planet of the Apes (2001) 712.                        Aladdin (2019) 713.                        The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez 714.                        Detour 715.                        The Hitch-Hiker 716.                        The Border 717.                        Toy Story 4 718.                        Flight 719.                        Do the Right Thing 720.                        Midnight Cowboy 721.                        Spider Man: Far From Home 722.                        Some Like It Hot 723.                        Strangers on a Train 724.                        Red Hook Summer 725.                        All That Heaven Allows 726.                        Cowspiracy 727.                        Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood 728.                        Zodiac 729.                        Wings of Desire                 730.                        The Blues Brothers 731.                        The Farewell 732.                        Super Size Me 733.                        Safety Last! 734.                        Hustlers 735.                        Raiders of the Lost Ark 736.                        The Game Changers 737.                        Downton Abbey 738.                        The Body Snatcher 739.                        The Lion King (2019) 740.                        Ad Astra 741.                        The Terminator 742.                        The Irishman 743.                        Frozen II 744.                        Our Dancing Daughters 745.                        The Castaway Cowboy 746.                        The Thin Man 747.                        Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice 748.                        Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 749.                        Doctor Sleep 750.                        A Hidden Life 751.                        Bombshell 752.                        Fed Up 753.                        Miracle on 34th Street 754.                        Brittany Runs a Marathon

[lifejustgotawkward]

365 Day Movie Challenge (2019) - #50: Nobody Lives Forever (1946) - dir. Jean Negulesco

Eddie Muller chose Nobody Lives Forever as one of his recent picks for TCM’s Saturday night “Noir Alley,” but this Warner Brothers crime drama is a disappointment for just about everybody involved. I expect a lot out of director Jean Negulesco, who proved his dramatic chops with Humoresque, Deep Valley and Road House; similarly, screenwriter W.R. Burnett (adapting from his own novel I Wasn’t Born Yesterday) had penned either the source material or the screenplays for such hard-boiled films as Little Caesar, High Sierra and This Gun for Hire. And, of course, star John Garfield was one of Hollywood’s elite players in the mid-to-late 1940s, on top of his game with such classics as The Postman Always Rings Twice, the aforementioned Humoresque, Body and Soul, Gentleman’s Agreement and Force of Evil. So the fact that Nobody Lives Forever is such a bust is frankly kind of hard to explain.

Garfield plays Nick Blake, a World War II vet and experienced con man who has recently returned to the States after serving his country in Italy. Upon landing in New York, Nick finds that his girlfriend, Toni Blackburn (perennial “other woman” Faye Emerson), has been two-timing him and lost all his money in some bad investments. Bitter over being double-crossed in such a way, Nick takes a “vacation” to Los Angeles and it doesn’t take much for him to be convinced to take part in a new venture organized by Doc Ganson (George Coulouris, chewing the scenery expertly). Nick, accompanied by his buddy Al Doyle (George Tobias), sets out to seduce widow Gladys Halvorsen (Geraldine Fitzgerald) out of her considerable fortune. Nick doesn’t anticipate falling for Gladys, however, and their sudden love affair poses a threat to the couple as Doc Ganson and his associates get antsy about cashing in on their scheme.

As fine an actress as Geraldine Fitzgerald was, she seems ill-suited to play her role, a little too mild-mannered for such a potentially gritty tale. (Remember, 1946 was the same year that Ava Gardner starred in The Killers and Rita Hayworth embodied the title role in Gilda.) The only real saving grace in the film is her acting and the performances by her peers, who also include Walter Brennan as another of Nick’s acquaintances, Richard Gaines as Gladys’s financial advisor and Richard Erdman as a bellboy with the inside scoop on Nick’s criminal history. With so many talented entertainers, one would think that Nobody Lives Forever would be a guaranteed hit, but its story is full of plot holes and with the exception of its climactic scenes of gunplay on a foggy LA pier, the film rarely attains a true noir mood. From the beginning up until the closing scene, it’s a struggle to take this film seriously.

[princesssarisa]

Fictional Character Ask: Gilda from Rigoletto.

I know it's been a while since you sent me this, but I'm ready to answer it now!

Favorite thing about them: Her sweet, gentle, loving nature.

Least favorite thing about them: The fact that she gives her life for an unworthy man, even though her death will leave her father all alone in the world. But I suppose this is one of those ethical dilemmas with with no "good" solution. Even disregarding the fact that she loves the Duke, does the fact that he's a rapist and a cheater mean he deserves to be killed? If you have the chance to save someone from murder, but only at the cost of your own life, is it your ethical duty to save him, or is it ever justified to let him die?

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm sensitive and affectionate.

*I had a fairly sheltered upbringing.

*I have a close relationship with my father.

Three things I don’t have in common with them:

*I'm less naïve about strange men.

*I'm not devoutly religious.

*I can't imagine myself walking willingly into an assassin's den, though to save someone I loved, maybe I would.

Favorite line: Her entire famous aria, "Caro nome."

Gualtier Maldè...nome di lui sì amato, ti scolpisci nel core innamorato! Caro nome che il mio cor festi primo palpitar, le delizie dell’amor mi dêi sempre rammentar! Col pensier il mio desir a te sempre volerà, e fin l’ultimo mio sospir, caro nome, tuo sarà.

(Gualtier Maldè...name of the man I love, be thou engraved upon my lovesick heart! Beloved name, the first to move the pulse of love within my heart, thou shalt remind me ever of the delights of love! In my thoughts, my desire will ever fly to thee, and my last breath of life shall be, beloved name, of thee.)

brOTP: Her father.

OTP: Safety and happiness.

nOTP: The Duke (even though they do sing pretty music together); her father.

Random headcanon: Everything would have been different if only her mother were alive. I imagine that her mother was a lower-class woman, maybe a "fallen woman" of some type, who was drawn to Rigoletto because he was a fellow outcast. She would have known that sheltering Gilda excessively and keeping her naïve and ignorant about men would only put her in more danger, not less, and she wouldn't have let Rigoletto do it.

Unpopular opinion: I don't judge her for continuing to love her rapist. Romantic love isn't easy to shake off. But neither do I think "Oh, how beautiful that she loves him so unconditionally and dies for him!" Her love is a tragic thing.

Song I associate with them: What else? "Caro nome."

Favorite picture of them:

Alisa Jordheim, from the San Diego Opera.

Anna Netrebko, Metropolitan Opera:

Nadine Sierra, Seattle Opera:

Patricia Ciofi, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden:

Amy Maples, with René Barbara as the Duke:

Aleksandra Kurzak, with Zeljko Lucic as Rigoletto: