What I Watched in November
An overview of what I watched in November.
The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
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This was very charming and very fun! Jane Wyman plays a woman who prides herself on being honest, and she's climbed the corporate ladder in a male-dominated field, and it all goes to ruin when she accidentally runs into Dennis Morgan's character, a man on a secret government mission underwater who can't be discovered. Hijinks ensue after she keeps running into him and trying to prove that the fantastical tale she's telling is true. I must own this on DVD and I'm kicking myself that I didn't save this to my DVR.
Also features one of the hottest Old Hollywood kisses I've ever seen, and there's a Nova Scotia shout-out!
There Goes the Groom (1937)
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This was adorable if only for Ann Sothern. She should've left Burgess Meredith at the amnesia clinic in the end, and her family was terrible. But there were hijinks and fun and Mary Boland as the overbearing mother was a delight!
One, Two, Three (1961)
This one's been on my Letterboxd watchlist forever, so thank you TCM for helping me out! I'm a sucker for a smart, satiric Billy Wilder script and this did not disappoint! It's biting, it's sharp, and it's wonderfully acted by James Cagney et al., though he was the standout for me.
The Love Machine (1971)
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I will not be gaslit into believing this was campily bad, this was just bad. Holy shit. The leading man had about as much charisma and sex appeal as a plastic grocery bag and we're supposed to believe he had all these women flinging themselves at him?!
I should've tapped out after he sleeps with a model and she gets up to leave—because their tryst is over and she has a life to get back to, but will presumably see him again soon—and he grabs her and says "When you sleep with me, you stay with me," and keeps referring to himself in the third person (Robin Stone, which is just an awfully boring name to have to repeat. At least have an interesting name, like Gregory Peck or Paul Newman or Rock Hudson).
I stuck it out because of Dyan Cannon. She gets some fun campy moments, at least. The rest? Ugh.
Here's a great review I loved. They're more generous than I am, I think, but they still agree this is bad.
Foul Play (1978)
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I share a birthday with Goldie Hawn! And Marlo Thomas! Anyway!
This was funny but not farcical, which I appreciated. I loved that it fleshed out the story and made it believable; and God, Goldie is such a talented comedienne! Chevy... meh.
Best Friends (1982)
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This was more depressing than I thought it was going to be, there was no Ben Mankiewicz around to introduce this film and warn me! I was expecting something screwballish and instead I got a mature character-driven film about a couple who finally decides to tie the knot? I did appreciate the Keenan Wynn sighting!
PS. The way I grade Goldie Hawn movies is by this metric: is this a scarier premise than Overboard? If no, it gets a passing grade. It would suck to be trapped on a trip with someone you're coming to despise, but is it more horrifying than being abducted by Kurt Russell and turned into his housewife against your will? No.
ALSO WATCHED:
Ladies They Talk About (1933)
The Late Show (1977) — If I had a nickel for every Art Carney flick that a cat is a main plot driver, I'd have two nickels. Maybe more, I don't care enough to verify how much of his filmography was cat-based....
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