My all-time favorite movie is “Singin’ in the Rain.” I have lost track of how many times I have seen it. Every time I see it, I enjoy it all over again. Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor are a great singing and dancing team. Nineteen-year-old Debbie Reynolds is beautiful, adorable, fresh, a wonderful ingenue. The music is delightful.
TCM has an excellent history of the movie, which is about Hollywood’s transition from silent films to talkies.
The plot hinges on Debbie Reynolds helping to save Gene Kelly’s first talkie by dubbing the voice of his co-star, who has a screechy voice.
Here is the great secret of the film, which I discovered only last year, while googling to learn more about the movie.
Debbie Reynolds’s voice was dubbed when she was supposed to be dubbing the voice of Lena Lamont!
From TCM:
“Ironically, Debbie Reynolds’ voice was dubbed by Betty Royce for the scenes where Reynolds’ character dubs Lina Lamont’s singing and speaking voice. And in one scene where Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is dubbing Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), Hagen is actually dubbing Reynolds dubbing Hagen on screen for just one line.”
So Debbie was dubbed when singing, and Jean Hagen (who supposedly had a screechy voice) dubbed Debbie dubbing Hagen!
Hagen actually had a beautiful voice.
She also had a terrible death. She was an alcoholic, in and out of rehab, and died of throat cancer at 54.
Knowing this makes my favorite movie even more enjoyable.
Current movies and a special that I enjoyed. They are all funny.
We’re the Millers. Hilarious story of a pretend family involved in a drug deal gone wrong.
Snatched. Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn are kidnapped by a gang while on vacation in South America. Hilarious.
The Heat. Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock team up for a great cop story.
Wanda Sykes, Not Normal. Fall off your chair funny.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
My favorite film is “My Left Foot.” It is the biography of Christy Brown, an Irish poet, who was born with cerebral palsy. Despite being rejected by school, he learns at home from his mother, brothers and sisters. He spent his entire life feeling trapped in his body, but he was able to express himself by writing with his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb as Brown, the brilliant, frustrated writer.
A second film I enjoyed tremendously is “Shawshank Redemption.” It is a tale of injustice, persistence, and friendship. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman bring this story of the triumph of the human spirit to life.
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One of my favorites is “Casablanca”. My late father and I memorized much of the dialog, and we used to recite parts of the film. The characters are unforgettable. The humor is a delight. I especially like when Capt. Renaud tells Rick “You shouldn’t treat women like that, someday they may be scarce”.
There is a legend that Ron Reagan was originally cast to play Rick, but Bogart was brought in at the last minute. That is only a story cooked up by the studio, to fluff some extra publicity for Warner Brother’s new actor. Bogart was going to lay Rick all along. And Bogie was born for the role.
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Every film released in 1939.
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Every film? That’s one loooow bar! 😇😂
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Apologies, I read “since” not “in.” 1939 was a particularly good vintage. I had forgotten about Destry Rides Again, loved that one. And Ninotchka is one I never pass by even though I have the dvd.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_in_film
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Truly Madly Deeply with Alan Rickman
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I saw Wanda Sykes Not Normal and I think I laughed so hard I may have split something! Rolling on the floor laughing, for sure! Laughter is the best medicine.
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My Top Ten of All Time
“Midnight Run” (1988) – DeNiro and Chuck Grodin have wonderful chemistry.
—after this they’re really just in any order
“All the President’s Men” (1976) – great political thriller.
“Heat” (1995) – one of the best crime films starring two of the best actors of their generation in the same film for the first time ever (the diner scene is classic).
“The Shining” (1980) – cuz it’s Jack…and Kubrick’s psychodirection gets into your head.
“The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) – the look, the time period, the story, the struggle, the soundtrack, the performances.
“Dances With Wolves” (1990) – .cinematography, soundtrack, bildungsroman.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) – Karen Allen’s the bomb in this.
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) – Great cinematography, Richard Dreyfuss and the mashed potatoes.
“The Big Lebowski” (1998) – C’mon, it’s The Dude…or Duder, His Dudeness, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.
“The Big Chill” (1983) – The standard-bearer for any and all reunion films that follow. Wonderful dialogue from Larry Kasdan, performances were excellent from a stellar ensemble, and of course, the soundtrack.
-Yossarian
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“The Shining” (1980) – cuz it’s Jack…and Kubrick’s psychodirection gets into your head.
I tried watching it a few years back and quit. I get freaked out by too much psychic weird. Nobody should build anything on Indian sacred ground. AHHHHH! [I’m sure it was riveting.] It was based on a book by Stephen King. Anything by King is freaky. HELP!!!!
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I’m sorry your viewing experience of The Shining freaked you out. Indeed, it is a freaky movie and it was all created using the camera lens, no trickery involved. To me, that’s what makes it a great film: the skills of the director and his crew to create such a visual masterpiece with such an audience response using the principal tool of the craft. Kubrick, like Hitchcock, really knew how to use the camera, especially editing in post, to play and prey upon our psyche, given the subject matter. I hope the other films on my list are enjoyable!
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Off the top of my tiny head:
The Great Dictator
Ninotchka
Fargo
Dersu Uzala
Stalag 17
The Lives of Others
Ikiru
High Noon
The Magnificent Ambersons
Pulp Fiction
What Did You Do In the War Daddy?
Favorite performances: Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis, Christoph Waltz in Inglorius Basterds, they’re both so deliciously evil.
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Some recent favorite films: https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/some-films-with-a-brain-on-netflix-and-amazon-prime/
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There are so many, & sadly, can’t remember them all, but some I watch over & over:
Get Out (I think I’ve seen this nearly 30x–so many layers, great performances, timing, direction, satire, serious issues &–a most satisfying ending)
Terms of Endearment
Lives of Others
Take the Money & Run (yeah, sorry, Woody Allen) But–it is brilliant comic parody–the chain-gang scene–?!)
Mrs. Doubtfire Can’t beat Robin Williams’ performance; strong message
Pitch Perfect–sorry–love the music, dancing, sarcasm &…read the book it was based on
So many others, so little time. BUT–& don’t laugh at me–Bad Teacher–I have seen it any time it’s on that I can watch. The tv version was just insulting & AWFUL (glad it was cancelled; &, BTW, feel the same about that stupid show on cable, “Teachers”).
Anyway, I found the movie fun w/a message (do you remember it actually illustrated the utter stupidity of “standardized” tests?). Loved the acting–Cameron Diaz, Jason Segal, Lucy Punch (following the principal {Michael whose last name I forget, but he was great, too}into the bathroom-?), Eric Stonestreet, Thomas Lennon, Justin Timberlake, Molly Shannon, Phyllis Smith–all a hoot!
Loved the kids, too (but unrealistic part that none of the kids around Garrett laughed when–inspired by “Abe Lincoln” {great acting from him, as well}–he declared his unrequited love {they also didn’t laugh when Punch confronted Diaz outside the school bus–more non-realism}).
Guess I liked it, too, because it took place in IL, Chicago area, & the middle school building reminded me of the one in which I last taught. (Sob! I still miss the kids!)
Lots of fun!
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Get Out is definitely one of the best movies of the new century.
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Miller’s Crossing is really under-rated Coen brothers movie.
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Did not know that about Singin’ in the Rain.
Astonishing how well that movie holds up.
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For all the time to laugh heartily, I would recommend all of the movies from the best actor Charles Chaplin.
For all sensational suspend and fantasy movies, I would recommend movie 007 with actors Sean Connery and Rogers Moore in two decades 1960 and 1970.
And all the best documentary movies about WWII
I hope that the above list will occupy our mind to forget about this modern chaos caused by corporate. Back2basic
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