it's wonderful to have been loved so much - and to be so remembered

Three winners and ... well, at least some good music & dancing.

Second Chorus (1940) - "Friends Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor have been New England college students for seven years, purposely failing year after year so that they can remain in the somewhat lucrative position of playing in the college's big band, where they are somewhat rivals in both being trumpeters. That rivalry enters a new phase when they meet Ellen Miller to who they are both attracted. Ellen not only befriends the two despite her auspicious initial meeting with them, but becomes the band's manager. The band itself comes to the attention of Artie Shaw, both Danny and Hank believing because of himself, but what or who Artie is impressed with is Ellen's booking talent, she who he hires for his own band. Thus continues the misadventures of Danny and Hank as each tries to impress Artie to become a permanent member of his band, and tries to win Ellen's heart, all the while tries to thwart the attempts of the other in both matters which may have the opposite effect than intended."
source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: my parents and I seek out a unique movie for each holiday, and this was our Thanksgiving choice
IMDB: 5.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 32%
my IMDB: 5/10

notable quote: "'Danny, don't you think you ought to be warming up?'

    'I've been warmed up a long time.'"

MPAA rating: [Approved]

directed by: H.C. Potter

my notes: Fred Astaire (Danny O'Neill) was 41 when this was made, and Burgess Meredith (Hank Taylor) was 33. They were supposed to be playing COLLEGE STUDENTS. The dancing is charming, Artie Shaw is phenomenal - it takes a legitimate genius to play the clarinet as he does! - and Paulette Goddard is terrific in the snappy, smart role of Ellen Miller.

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Music, Original Song—Artie Shaw (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics), for the song "Love of my Life"
• Best Music, Score—Artie Shaw

overall: only slightly recommended

Tomorrow is Forever (1946) - "In 1918, Elizabeth MacDonald (Claudette Colbert) learns with shock that her husband, John Andrew MacDonald (Orson Welles), has been killed in the war. Elizabeth bears John's son and eventually marries her kindly boss. Unknown to her, John has survived but is horribly disfigured and remains in Europe. Years later, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth refuses to agree to her son's request to enlist and is stunned when an eerily familiar stranger named Kessler arrives from abroad and becomes involved."

source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I am fascinated by Orson Welles, and Claudette Colbert is a marvelous actress
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 60% Audience: 85%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "You give me no choice. I must help you to make this very terrible mistake. Yours is a great love - and you are doing it a great wrong."

MPAA rating: [TV-PG]

directed by: Irving Pichel

my notes: I loved it. Deeply meaningful, genuine, and heartfelt. Colbert is a wonder, and Welles is a force of nature. Richard Long, as Drew Hamilton, is very good. And little Margaret is Natalie Wood's screen debut!

overall: highly recommended

An American in Paris (1951) - "Jerry Mulligan, a struggling American painter in Paris, is 'discovered' by an influential heiress with an interest in more than Jerry's art. Jerry in turn falls for Lise, a young French girl already engaged to a cabaret singer. Jerry jokes, sings and dances with his best friend, an acerbic would-be concert pianist, while romantic complications abound."
source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: it's been a while since I last saw it, and having watched Astaire recently, I thought Gene Kelly deserved a look
IMDB: 7.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 95% Audience: 79%
my IMDB: 8/10

AFI:  100 Years…100 Movies (original list 1998) #68

    100 Years…100 Passions (2002) #16

    25 Greatest Movie Musicals (2006) #9

MPAA rating: [TV-PG]

notable quote: "There's only one real problem with a man and a woman. When one of them's in love and the other isn't. After that, it's all mechanics."

directed by: Vicente Minnelli

my notes: it's sweet, funny, a little sad. Oscar Levant (Adam Cook) is hilarious, and one of the best musicians I've ever witnessed. Nina Foch (Milo Roberts) is elegant and charming. Georges Guétary (Henri Baurel) is sophisticated and suave. And Gene Kelly (Jerry Mulligan) is, y'know, Gene Kelly.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Picture—Arthur Freed

• Best Best Writing, Story and Screenplay—Alan Jay Lerner

• Best Cinematography, Color—Alfred Gilks, John Alton

• Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color—Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames

• Best Costume Design, Color—Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunket, Irene Sharaff

• Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture—Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Director—Minnelli

• Best Film Editing—Adrienne Fazan

(also reviewed here)
overall: highly recommended

Dunkirk (2017) - "May/June 1940. Four hundred thousand British and French soldiers are holed up in the French port town of Dunkirk. The only way out is via sea, and the Germans have air superiority, bombing the British soldiers and ships without much opposition. The situation looks dire and, in desperation, Britain sends civilian boats in addition to its hard-pressed Navy to try to evacuate the beleaguered forces. This is that story, seen through the eyes of a soldier amongst those trapped forces, two Royal Air Force fighter pilots, and a group of civilians on their boat, part of the evacuation fleet."
source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: it's been a while since I've seen it, and I recently read a book that was sort of about the making of it. Far from "letting them all down," those who evacuated from Dunkirk were survivors, and endured incredible horrors to live to another day.
IMDB: 7.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 92% Audience: 81%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "'You haven't turned around.'
    'No, we have a job to do.'
    'Job? This is a pleasure yacht. You're weekend sailors, not the bloody navy. A man your age?'
    'Men my age dictate this war. Why should we be allowed to send our children to fight it?'
    'You should be at home!'
    'Well, there won't be any home if we allow a slaughter across the Channel. There's no hiding from this.'"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Christopher Nolan

my notes: this movie makes me sob. Mark Rylance (Mr. Dawson) is terrific, heading up a remarkable cast with no wrong notes.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Film Editing—Lee Smith
• Best Sound Editing—Richard King, Alex Gibson
• Best Sound Mixing—Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, Mark Weingarten
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
• Best Director—Christopher Nolan
• Best Cinematography—Hoyte Van Hoytema
• Best Music, Original Score—Hans Zimmer
• Best Production Design—Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis

(also reviewed here)
overall: highly recommended

[the title quotation is from Tomorrow is Forever]