Classic Film Series

There are so many classic film series out there that I just thought I'd make a list of them. I love the Nancy Drew series and I have dabbled in The Falcon, The Thin Man, Charlie Chan and Philo Vance. I really want to try Andy Hardy, Blondie and Boston Blackie among others.

Which classic film series is your favorite and why? Which one do you want to watch but haven't gotten to yet?

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Andy Hardy ~ 1937-1958. Various DVDs available. 16 movies.
Blondie ~ 1938-1950. Not available on DVD. 28 movies.
Bomba The Jungle Boy ~ 1949-1955. Not available on DVD. 11 movies.
Boston Blackie ~ 1941-1949. Not available on DVD. 14 movies.
The Bowery Boys ~ 1937-1958. Not available on DVD. 86 movies.
Bulldog Drummond ~ 1929-1951. Various DVDs available. 17 movies
Charlie Chan ~ 1929-1949. Various DVDs available. 41 movies.
Crime Doctor ~ 1943-1949. Not available on DVD. 10 movies.
Dr. Christian ~ 1939-1941. Not available on DVD. 6 movies.
Dr. Kildare ~ 1937-1947. Various DVDs available. 16 movies.
Ellery Queen ~ 1935-1942. Not available on DVD. 9 movies.
The Falcon ~ 1941-1949. Not available on DVD. 16 movies.
Francis (The Talking Mule) ~ 1949-1956. Various DVDs available. 7 movies.
Henry Aldrich ~ 1939-1944. Not available on DVD. 11 movies.
Hildegarde Withers ~ 1932-1937. Not available on DVD. 6 movies.
Jungle Jim ~ 1948-1955. Not available on DVD. 16 movies.
The Lone Wolf ~ 1935-1949. Not available on DVD. 15 movies.
Ma and Pa Kettle ~ 1949-1957. Available on DVD. 9 movies.
Maisie ~ 1939-1947. Not available on DVD. 10 movies.
Mexican Spitfire ~ 1939-1943. Not available on DVD. 8 movies.
Michael Shayne ~ 1940-1947. Not available on DVD. 12 movies.
Mr. Moto ~ 1937-1965. Available on DVD. 9 movies.
Mr. Wong ~ 1938-1941. Available on DVD. 6 movies.
Nancy Drew ~ 1938-1938. Available on DVD. 4 movies.
Nick Carter ~ 1939-1940. Not available on DVD. 3 movies.
Perry Mason ~ 1934-1937. Not available on DVD. 6 movies.
Philo Vance Mysteries ~ 1929-1947. Various available on DVD. 14 movies.
The Saint ~ 1938-1954. Not available on DVD. 9 movies.
Sherlock Holmes ~ 1939-1946. Various Available on DVD. 14 movies
Tarzan ~ 1918-1960. Various Available on DVD. 29 movies
Thin Man ~ 1934-1947. Available on DVD. 6 movies.
Torchy Blane ~ 1936-1939. Not available on DVD. 9 movies.
The Whistler ~ 1944-1948. Not available on DVD. 8 movies.

He Made Me Watch It ~ Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

This is the first installment in a new short series called He Made Me Watch It. "He" refers to my beau Carlos who is coercing... errr I mean, encouraging me to watch some of his favorite films. Most notably, these are films that I have had no interest in prior to Carlos' recommendation. You may recall a couple months ago I wrote about The Hustler (1961). This is one of Carlos' all-time favorite movies and I was so impressed with the film that I was resolved to be open-minded and watch more films that Carlos recommended to me, regardless of any hesitance I had previously to said films. And because I have such a soft spot for the man, I'm even allowing him to take me to see It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - a film I've been avoiding like the plague - on the big screen around Christmas. So stay tuned for a post on that.

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My viewing of Dr. Strangelove (1964) came at the perfect moment. I had just seen Seven Days in May (1964) (read my post about it here) and had been thinking a lot about the Cold War and how it has been represented on film. I've also been watching the 3rd season of Mad Men and had been particularly interested in 1960s America especially the political and social changes that our country faced during that time. And here enters this Kubrick classic.

Now everyone and their mother has seen this film. So I won't pretend to be an expert or to give you any new insight. I just want to say that I enjoyed how this film manages to blend farce and suspence into this witty film. George C. Scott is a hoot as General Buck Turgidson, a man so on edge and so sensient that he is just bursting at the seams. His facial expressions and mannerisms are hilarious!

My favorite line of his is quite a naughty one. He says the following to his bikini-wearing secretary: "You just start off your countdown and ole' Bucky will be back here before you can say 'Blast Off'". Oh my!

I also have a soft spot for Sterling Hayden (The Most Beautiful Man in Movies) who plays General Jack D. Ripper - great names huh? - a deranged General who has just ordered several B-52 to drop atomic bombs on Russian soil. Eek!

When I hear people talk about this movie, they usually talk about Peter Sellers who plays three roles: The President, Dr. Strangelove and Captain Mandrake. I can't say I was all that impressed with Sellers (I'm waiting for someone to throw tomatoes at me). He's okay. I think Hayden and Scott were much more interesting actors to watch on screen.

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I think for me to truly appreciate this film I need to learn more about it. I want to spend sometime reading a few articles about it and watching the extras on the Special Edition DVD. If you have written a post about it on your blog or know of an interesting post or article online, please send me a link! I'd also really love to hear your thoughts on this film and if you have any tidbits of information to share or interesting observations, please please please leave me a comment. Speak!

Jean Harlow Films @ the Brattle

Okay, okay. I should have really titled this post Victor Fleming Films @ the Brattle but I didn't go to the Brattle because of Victor Fleming, I went because of my darling Jean Harlow. The Brattle Theatre was showcasing 2 Victor Fleming films, Bombshell (1933) and Red Dust (1932). Michael Sragow, author of the book Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master, was there to talk about his book and the Fleming films. The big coincidence here is that even though these are Fleming films, Jean Harlow happens to star in both. I wish I had stayed for Sragow's talk and Q&A, but it was a miserable day outside and a big crockpot full of beef stew was waiting for me at home.

I did however get to see Bombshell (1933) on the big screen with my beau Carlos and what a treat it was! Jean Harlow plays Lola Burns, a superstar blonde bombshell who graces the cover of every movie magazine read by her legions of fans. You'd think she has it all but she's surrounded by leeches. Her drunkard father and brother are gambling away her millions and her assistant (Una Merkel) is helping herself to Burns' wardrobe and everything else. The worst of them all is publicist/reporter Hanlon (Lee Tracy) who is so hell-bent on getting lots of juicy gossip and keeping Lola Burns on the headlines of newspapers that he willingly sabotages Burns' life whenever he can.

The film has a lot of rapid-fire dialogue. So much so, that it's very easy to miss a lot of great one-liners. It's a film that begs several viewings. In fact, they cram so much dialogue that when there is a moment of silence in the film it seems very strange, like the silence is out of place. The audience at the Brattle seemed to enjoy Franchot Tone's performance the best. He plays Burns' fake lover and the cheesy lines he uses to woo Burns made the audience laugh out loud.

Bombshell is not available on DVD and TCM shows it on occassion. So it's really a treat to have been able to see this on the big screen (I had seen it once before on a TCM Harlow marathon). I'm glad Carlos was willing to trudge through the cold rain, which later became snow, to see this hilarious film with me at the Brattle. And how lucky am I that there is a local repertory theatre like the Brattle that will show films like this to the public.