Tag: monte carlo

2022: Year In Review + Top 10 Movies Watched

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve, everybody, and it’s time to take a look back at the year 2022. The year started off normally enough (although I did try to pull back from doing entries in my “What’s Old Is A New Release Again” series every week like I’ve done in the past, as that had felt like I was doing too much). I renamed my February 1 posts (which have generally been on films starring Clark Gable) as The King Of Hollywood And I: A Birthday Celebration, due to my shared birthday with him. However, that was as far as I got, as I never finished my logo for that series before events at home delayed a number of things I was trying to do (as I hinted at in my Upcoming Changes For The “Thoughts From The Music(al) Man” Blog post), and left me with no choice but to take the month of April off (apart from my Easter Sunday post). In May, I was able to resume my Thoughts From The Music(al) Man and Star/Genre Of The Month series on Sundays (albeit with biweekly posts as opposed to weekly like I had been doing since I started blogging), and I started doing roundups on multiple films (instead of individuals) for my What’s Old Is A New Release Again series.

Regrettably, those changes haven’t quite been enough, as I referenced more recently in my Changes Ahead Again post. I am still trying to continue into 2023, but, like I had thought when I wrote that post, I have to pull back even further by ending the Star/Genre Of The Month series that I’ve been doing since 2021, and just do one regular Thoughts From The Music(al) Man post per month (although there might be a few exceptions here and there). I will be trying to continue my What’s Old Is A New Release Again series as roundups, but with a few new changes. I’m going to finish out the series on 2022 releases the same way that I’ve been doing so far (which at most means one or two new posts along with some updates to the 4K UHD Roundup and Bob Hope And Dorothy Lamour Roundup, since they’re the only two posts with more releases that I haven’t seen yet). Once I start in on the 2023 releases (which is likely to be in May), I will be doing one post per month in the series (regardless of format, star, etc.). The plan will be to do either a regular review if I only saw one new release the month before, or do roundups for two or more titles (still debating whether or not I will impose a maximum of four films per post every month with the possible exceptions of November and March, although multi-film box sets *might* get their own posts). The big change is that this series will no longer be posted on Wednesdays, but Sundays. My plan is to do my Thoughts From The Music(al) Man posts on the first or second Sundays of the month (although there may occasionally be exceptions) and What’s Old Is A New Release Again Roundups two weeks after that, with the exceptions for the roundups in November (where it will be the last Sunday before Thanksgiving) and March (the last Sunday of the month). Outside of special posts (mostly the “Year In Review” and “Top 10 Disc Releases” plus whatever might be centered on special days), all other posts will also be on Sundays from now on. Hopefully, doing things this way will allow me to keep going for a bit longer.

But, enough about the changes to the blog. What we were all here for was the movies, and, even though I had to pull back on how many films I reviewed per month, I still got in a number of good movies for the year. Like in 2021, I spent most of the year focusing on various movie stars every month (albeit not in blogathon form after the first few months), featuring actors and actresses (and screen teams) like Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy (January), Deanna Durbin (February), Bing Crosby (March), Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (May), Frank Sinatra (June), Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (July), Audrey Hepburn (August) and W. C. Fields (November), with one detour in September focusing on musical screen teams. There really wasn’t much of a focus on anything besides that, since everything that happened forced me to pull back almost entirely in April, and, outside of this month’s two Christmas films and finishing up the Thin Man film series earlier this year, I didn’t really go in for anything specific (just watching a few of the movies I was given for Christmas 2021 and my birthday). I had a handful of big discoveries this year, particularly The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm (1962), a bunch of new-to-me W. C. Fields films and the new West Side Story (2021). Almost everything else was movies I had seen before (or films that I didn’t have *quite* as high an opinion of). But, I still enjoyed watching more movies with familiar stars and genres, so there was that!

And with all that said, here’s my list of the top 10 movies that I watched/reviewed for the year 2022, culled from the list of 2022 reviews, plus 2021 releases reviewed after January 1, 2021 and 2022 releases reviewed before December 31, 2022 (also a few films released on disc in prior years, but obviously they’re included in the 2022 reviews).  While I was able to enjoy watching a great many movies, some new and some I’ve seen before, the movies on this list are those I enjoyed the most, and would recommend to anybody that is interested!  And if any of these appeal to you, be sure to click on the movie titles to go to Amazon and support this site!

  1. Top Hat (1935) (Warner Home Video, DVD, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Top Hat (1935)
    • The top spot for 2022 belongs to the one and only Top Hat! Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers play a couple who meet in London, England, but quickly go to Venice, Italy when she mistakes him for the husband of her good friend. The plot may not be the film’s strength, but we’re not here for that, as we want to see Fred and Ginger dance! And dance they do, to a score of some of (in my opinion) Irving Berlin’s best music, including “Cheek To Cheek” and the title tune. Add in a memorable supporting cast, including Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore, and we’ve got a winner that’s always fun to see!
  1. Funny Face (1957) (Paramount Pictures, Blu-ray, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Funny Face (1957)
    • In this musical, Fred Astaire portrays photographer Dick Avery, who convinces Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), an assistant in a Greenwich Village shop, to go to Paris, France as a model for Quality Magazine. It’s a lot of fun, with the beautiful music of George and Ira Gerswhin (and a few newer tunes), plus the dancing of Fred and Audrey in their only film together. With all of that, it’s a film that can’t miss, and is highly recommended!
  1. Monte Carlo (1930) (Criterion Collection, DVD, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Monte Carlo (1930)
    • In Monte Carlo (1930), Jeanette MacDonald plays a broke countess who goes to Monte Carlo to avoid a marriage to a wealthy duke that she doesn’t love. In the process, she falls for her hairdresser (who is actually a count in disguise). As usual, Jeanette is in fine voice, especially for her signature tune “Beyond The Blue Horizon” (which was introduced here).  There are a few other very fun tunes and various bits of comedy to help fill out this wonderful pre-Code, making it well worth seeing!
  1. Can’t Help Singing (1944) (Universal Studios, Blu-ray, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Can’t Help Singing (1944)
    • In her only Technicolor film, Deanna Durbin stars as a senator’s daughter who goes west to marry the soldier she thinks she loves, but finds real love on the way with a card sharp. It’s a fun film, with Deanna singing a number of memorable tunes, including the title song and “Californ-I-Ay.” It might be a little too similar to the classic screwball comedy It Happened One Night (1934), but it’s still entertaining, and worth being recommended!
  1. Kiss Me Kate (1953) (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Kiss Me Kate (1953)
    • In this classic musical, Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel star as a divorced couple who co-star (and fight both on- and off-stage) in a musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew.  It’s an overall fun film, with the benefits of beautiful and/or entertaining music by Cole Porter, plus some fantastic dancing by the likes of Ann Miller, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van and others!  It’s a well-regarded film musical for a reason, and I can’t recommend it enough!
  1. West Side Story (2021) (20th Century Studios/Disney, 4K UHD, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2022) 4K UHD Roundup
    • With regard to this film, the needle may be stuck in a crack, but I can’t help repeating myself. I did not care for the original 1961 film and had no intention of seeing this one. But I decided to give it a shot anyway when it showed up on Disney+, and I was floored by just how much fun this film was! I thought the cast did really well, the songs were fun and memorable (and made me want to get up and dance to them), and the cinematography was beautiful! Plain and simple, this one was a pleasant surprise (and I can’t help but feel like it should have done better, not only financially, but at the Oscars as well), and highly recommended!
  1. Charade (1963) (Universal Studios, Blu-ray, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Charade (1963)
    • In this film, Audrey Hepburn stars as Regina Lampert, who has returned home from a vacation in the Swiss Alps, only to find her husband dead and several men trying to shake her down for some money he had stashed somewhere. I’ve said before that I’m no fan of director Alfred Hitchcock (or the types of films he was known for), but this film, Stanley Donen’s homage to Hitchcock, is a thrill from start to finish! I love seeing Audrey and Cary Grant working together, as she makes us cheer for her, while he manages to stay just mysterious enough that we don’t know whether he is a good guy or a bad one. I know the ending, and yet I still feel the suspense every time I see this film. So this is an easy recommendation because of the leads and the story!
  1. The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm (1962) (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray, My Rating: 9/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2022) Blu-ray Roundup #1
    • The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm tells the tale of the Grimm brothers Jacob (Karl Boehm) and Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey), as Wilhelm seeks out various fairy tales while his workaholic brother insists on doing their job of writing a duke’s family history.  This was very much a new film to me, and it was fantastic from start to finish!  The three fairy tale sections were the best part of the movie (especially with their more musical moments), but the film really shines with all of its scenery, filmed in its original Cinerama glory.  The recent Blu-ray release of this long-forgotten (and long thought to be too difficult/expensive to restore) movie made me a fan, and I heartily recommend it to others!
  1. Murder By Death (1976) (Shout! Factory, Blu-ray, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: Murder By Death (1976)
    • In Murder By Death (1976), a group of famous detectives and their associates are invited to dinner and a murder. After the murder is committed, the race is on to prove who is the best detective! I’ve seen this spoof numerous times over the years, and it’s one that continues to make me laugh from start to finish, with memorable lines and ridiculous situations. It’s not the most politically correct film (as I mentioned in the original review), but it’s enough fun to recommend it with great enthusiasm!
  1. The Ten Commandments (1956) (Paramount Pictures, 4K UHD, My Rating: 10/10)
    • Previously reviewed in: The Ten Commandments (1956)
    • It’s The Ten Commandments (1956).  It’s director Cecil B. DeMille at his very best, bringing all the spectacle and drama of the classic biblical tale to life on the big screen.  With Charlton Heston in the lead role as Moses and a host of many famous names in support, this film is certainly one of the greats of classic cinema.  It may run a bit long for some, but it more than makes up for it in entertainment value in my mind.  I would easily classify it as one of the better movies that I’ve seen this year!

Honorable mentions: You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man (1939) (Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Blu-ray), The Three Musketeers (1948) (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray), The Clock (1945) (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray)

So thank you all for sticking with me in 2022, and I wish you a Happy New Year as we head into 2023! And please let me know what movies you’ve enjoyed this year as well (whether those you’ve seen or whatever movies I’ve reviewed, whatever works for you)!

Previous Years

2021

2020

2019

2018

“Screen Team (Jeanette MacDonald And Nelson Eddy) Of The Month (January 2022)” Featuring Jeanette MacDonald in… Monte Carlo (1930)

Now that we’re into the New Year (and the new Screen Team Of The Month blogathon for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy), we’ll start off with one of Jeanette’s solo outings, the 1930 film Monte Carlo, also starring Jack Buchanan!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Pantry Panic (1941)

(available on Blu-ray as part of The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection from Universal Studios)

(Length: 6 minutes, 57 seconds)

Woody Woodpecker ignores the advice of the weather groundhog, and a cold snap hits, leaving him without any food. Then a hungry cat comes a-calling, but finds himself fighting with an equally hungry Woodpecker! Personally, I found this one to be a lot of fun! The way the winter storm comes in and takes away all the food Woody had stored up was fun (and VERY cartoonish), as were the attempts of both Woody and the cat to eat/cook each other. The character was now voiced by Danny Webb, but, in what may be my own inexperience with the character, I didn’t really notice, outside of Woody’s voice being different for one of his last lines (for whatever reason). Regardless, it was still fun (and funny)!

And Now For The Main Feature…

Countess Helene Mara (Jeanette MacDonald) is just about to get married to Duke Otto Von Liebenheim (Claud Allister), but when she finds that her wedding dress doesn’t fit, she uses that excuse to run away. Leaving via train with her maid, Bertha (Zasu Pitts), she decides to go to Monte Carlo, where she hopes to win a fortune by gambling. On her way to the casino, she is seen by Count Rudolph Falliere (Jack Buchanan), who tries to flirt with her, but is ignored. At first, she seems to be winning big at the roulette table, but then she loses everything she had gained. Rudolph is determined to meet the Countess, but he is unable to find an opportunity. Finally, he gets his chance when he runs into and befriends her hairdresser, Paul (John Roche), who helps him out. In his new disguise, Rudolph becomes the Countess’ new hairdresser (although she doesn’t like the name Rudolph and prefers to call him “Paul”). She grows to like him as her hairdresser, and she quickly fires her a few of her other servants when she learns that he can also do their jobs. However, her money quickly runs out, and she has no choice but to fire him, too. Right about that time, the Duke finally finds her, and she reconsiders her engagement to him (which the Duke is fine with, even when she tells him that she would only be marrying him for his money). Wanting to help her out of her predicament, Rudolph tells her that he has been extremely lucky playing roulette, and wants to use his luck to help her out. He takes her out to the casino that night, but they find the Duke there and leave. After they go out dancing and enjoy Monte Carlo together, the Countess returns to her room, and sends Rudolph to the casino to gamble. While she awaits his return (for him, not so much the money), he goes up to his room and grabs some of his own money to give to her as his “winnings.” When he comes back, they kiss, but she asks him to come back the next day. In the morning, Bertha advises her not to become involved with her hairdresser, and she starts to act more standoffish towards Rudolph again when he arrives (which stops him from revealing who he really is). After kissing her, he leaves. Will the two of them get back together, or will she resign herself to being stuck with the Duke, whom she does not love?

With the advent of sound, director Ernst Lubitsch made his first sound film, The Love Parade (1929) as a musical with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald (in her film debut). With that film’s success (both critically and commercially), Paramount Pictures and the director were ready for more. Due to his new fame in America, Maurice Chevalier was already busy with a few other film projects. Ernst Lubitsch still wanted Jeanette MacDonald for Monte Carlo, even though Paramount’s assistant production head David O. Selznick didn’t think she was a big enough star to carry the film (obviously, the director got his way on this one). With Maurice Chevalier unavailable, they instead cast British musical star Jack Buchanan as the male lead for the film. The Love Parade had differentiated itself from other early talkie musicals by integrating the story and the musical numbers to advance the plot, and the director wanted to continue that trend with Monte Carlo. The movie was successful, particularly for Jeanette MacDonald, as it provided her with what would become her signature tune: “Beyond The Blue Horizon.” It didn’t work out quite so well for Jack Buchanan, who didn’t make any more American films until he appeared in The Band Wagon (1953).

This was a movie that was new to me, which was part of the appeal of watching it for this month’s Screen Team blogathon. I admit, being a film from 1930, I was hesitant, since it seems like a number of the films I’ve seen from that era have struggled with the acting department (due to the then-new sound technology). I’m thrilled to say that the movie proved that idea wrong, and turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected! First off, the acting was superb here. The movie itself was quite funny, especially when making fun of Claud Allister’s Duke (or, for that matter, using the story of Monsieur Beaucaire as an opera to help explain what was going on, since the movie was partly based on that story). And, being a musical, mention must be made of the film’s music, which definitely worked for the characters and the plot. I certainly enjoyed Jeanette MacDonald’s song “Beyond The Blue Horizon,” and how the film made use of the train and its various parts to add to the song. I can easily understand how it became a big hit for her, and I know it’s been stuck in my head after seeing this movie for the first time! I would also say that I enjoyed the songs “Give Me A Moment, Please” and “Always In All Ways” quite a bit, too! The only song that felt dated and quite awkward was “Trimmin’ The Women,” and that does hurt the film just a little bit. So far, I’ve seen two of the four films Jeanette made with Maurice Chevalier, and all eight of her films with Nelson Eddy, so I can say that she doesn’t quite work as well onscreen with Jack Buchanan (although it sounds like she got along with him better off-screen than she did with Maurice Chevalier). That’s not to say that they were terrible together, as I thought they did pretty good. I’m just saying there was a reason she did more films with the other two. Overall, though, this was a very entertaining movie, and one that I am glad I was able to see! Even with its VERY MINOR issues (in my mind), I have no trouble whatsoever in recommending this one!

This movie is available on DVD from Criterion Collection as part of the four-film Eclipse Series 8: Lubitsch Musicals Collection.

Film Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

*ranked #3 in Top 10 Movies Watched In 2022

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Jeanette MacDonald – Love Me Tonight (1932)

Jack Buchanan – The Band Wagon (1953)

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