A Current Trip Down My Mother's Memory Lane Thru Old Movies

My mother is an amazing woman.

For over 20 years now, she's been trying to get me to read certain books, sing certain songs,  watch certain movies, and get to know certain actors.  She never pushed them on me, and never felt slighted when I politely ignored her suggestions and watched whatever the newest, recent chickflickromcom was (surely a black and white war movie, or "western" would never interest me!) , or read only US Magazine or People (not that there's anything wrong with that--I still read them, I assure you!)

When my father died last year, the year of their 30th wedding anniversary, mom and I needed something, anything to put us into a different world, someone else's world, and the movies of today just weren't cutting it. I couldn't turn my brain off and be taken away.  So I listened to her.  I soaked up everything she put out there...and mom, boy were you right.  Just yesterday we began discussing just what makes a good movie to us (in our opinion).  Now there are good movies that don't fit this bill and there are bad movies that do, but these rules seem to be a thru-line in what WE like.

1.There should be a sexy leading man - not necessarily cover of People Magazine sexy, or Matthew McConaughey (put your shirt on already) "sexy", but effortlessly sexy,  in some way or another. Sexy in the way you are drawn to him. Maybe not conventionally handsome, maybe not someone you want to sleep with on the first date, but someone who captivates you...generally, as they say, "the eyes have it".

2.There is usually no major villain.  We're not drawn to super-hero movies. Sometimes, the villain could be the main character himself, (his own villain), or something on a larger scale: a war, a prison, that sort of thing.  But not an overt "I am good YOU are bad".

3.Most war movies we are drawn to (a lot being set during WWII) have little to no actual fighting in them. You feel what's going on through the characters and don't have to see blood and gore to know what they are going through. Most 'westerns' we watch aren't "really" westerns.  It's all about character. 


Here's a short list of what I've seen recently for the first time: 
"Captain Newman, MD" (1963)
"The Caine Mutiny" (1954)
"Twelve O'Clock High" (1949)
"Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (1960)
"The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner"  (1962)
"Mister Roberts" (1955)

Now I have to put the next few in a different category, because they star a man, I have become obsessed with.  For years, mom would swoon at the mention of his name and I had no interest.  Well, now I'm interested. I've read his biography and am almost through many of his movies.

MONTGOMERY CLIFT!  He deserves his own Blog Entry and will get one, but his movies should be included in this list of my recent finds (okay, I didn't find them my mother finally got me to watch them....)
"The Search" (1948)  (by far my favorite Monty Movie)
"Red River" (1948)
"The Heiress" (1949)
"The Big Lift" (1949)
"A Place In the Sun" (1951)
"I Confess" (1953)
"From Here To Eternity" (1953)

I've watched bits and pieces of his post-accident movies, but I have to admit they are hard to watch.  More on those later. If you want a great read about a troubled but amazing man read this.

Anyway, when mom picks movies, she picks them for the person she recommends them to, tailored to exactly what they need right now.  It's uncanny.  At times, I'll think I'm not sure I'll get into this and poof, about ten minutes in, if not right away, I'm hooked.  I've now seen all of the above movies several times.  And we are starting to create our own list of our Top One Hundred Movies.  (Some of my favorites being "Gigi", "Two For the Road", and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid").   I hope to compile that list as I continue to write this blog.
But don't think my mother or I movie snobs...she enjoyed "American Pie" just as much as I did, when it first came out. 

The past months (since Mothers' Day I believe), when I bought some DVD's as a present to convince my mother that yes, they existed now and she didn't have to save her VHS taped from TV copies.  We then watched them and thus began my journey through film through her eyes.  I've learned a lot about the past. I've learned a lot about the present ("they sure don't make 'em like they used to") and I've learned a LOT about my mother.

past:

present:

future:

More on all the books and songs mom was right about in a future post.....


I'm still on this ride, with a list of upcoming films.
I hope you take it with me! 

Journey On,
Em