A Few of My Favorites...

Here are, in order, the movies that the rest of the "Can you Guess" quotes came from. They are some of my very favorite, and too good to not know about!

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#1 Monkey Business (1952)

Barnaby Fulton (Cary Grant) is a research chemist working with chimps in search of a formula that will restore youth. His lovely wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers) is there for him every step of the way and rather unexpectedly gets caught up in what has to be one the most zany and fun "experiments" of all time. Marilyn Monroe stars in a small part as the secretary of Barnaby's boss, and it is she who inspires Edwina to shout that wonderfully delicious quote.

If you haven't seen this movie yet you really should try to find a copy to view. It gets me laughing every time, and it's so much fun to see the usually demure and sophisticated Ginger Rogers acting the complete opposite. It's worth it just to see her "hall dancing" routine!

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#2 The Longest Day (1962)

The Longest Day is the story of the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II on June 6th, 1944. Seen from the perspectives of the Germans, U.S., Britain, and the Free French, it places you right there with the men who took part in the five invasion points that made up the operation. There are so many wonderful actors who took part in this movie, it's easy to miss them if you blink! These include John Wayne, Rod Steiger, Sal Mineo, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Richard Burton, and many others--supposedly 42 international stars!

Though a bit on the long side (just shy of 3 hours) this wonderful movie is well worth seeing just for the fact that it pays tribute to the men who fought to preserve our freedom--men who were great, men who were willing to give everything for a good cause--men who's memories we should always keep alive.

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#4 Twelve Angry Men (1957)

Henry Fonda stars in this captivating and thought-provoking film as Juror #8. In what appears to be an open and shut case against an eighteen year old boy accused of murdering his own father, it quickly becomes apparent that there may be more to the story than what lies on the surface.

Full of great debating and wisdom about the truth behind people's motives, this movie is one on my "must-see" list. Lee J. Cobb is brilliant as Juror #3, and this was the movie that made me really start to like Henry Fonda.

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#6 A Lady Takes a Chance (1943)

This deliciously fun movie stars Jean Arthur as Molly J. Truesdale, a city girl on a bus tour of the West. Her trip is irrevocably changed when she runs into Duke Hudkins, a handsome rodeo cowboy with a disarming grin, who makes her forget all of the beaus she's left behind...and the time.

What follows is a hilarious series of "happenings" that Molly certainly was not planning on...

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#7 The Wild One (1953)

The Wild One stars Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler, the misfit leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, a gang that rides into the town of Wrightsville one day and sets it on its ear. They didn't mean to start any real trouble, but it happens nevertheless, and a group of overly-eager citizens are on the hunt for Johnny, ready to make him pay for crimes he didn't commit.

Mary Murphy is just lovely as Kathy Bleeker, the girl Johnny just happens to fall for, without knowing that she's the daughter of the local sheriff...and Johnny despises the law. I love everything about her...her hair, her makeup, her clothes...you should see how often she has to run in those heels!

Can you guess?

Clare posted this on her blog awhile ago, and it was so much fun I thought that I just might take a stab at it. The only problem was skimping my list down to the ten you were supposed to have. I easily had double that to start off with! *sigh* I guess I'll just have to do this game again...

Here are the rules:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.

2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.

3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.

5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

*And here are my quotes:

1. I heard what he said, you peroxide kissing bug! I'll pull that blonde hair out by its black roots!

2. I don't have to tell you the story. You all know it. Only two kinds of people are gonna stay on this beach: those that are already dead and those that are gonna die. Now get off your butts. You guys are the Fighting 29th.

3. Randolph, your father's warned you. If you make another bomb, you'll get spanked. ---Bye Bye Birdie, guessed by Meghan

4. Brother, I've seen all kinds of dishonesty in my day, but this little display takes the cake. Y'all come in here with your hearts bleedin' all over the floor about slum kids and injustice; you listen to some fairy tales; suddenly you start gettin' through to some of these old ladies... well, you're not getting through to me, I've had enough! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU GUYS? You all know he's guilty. He's got to burn! You're letting him slip through our fingers.

5. That's a good idea. Four unidentifiable high school students lost their lives early this morning when their toy rocket exploded. ---October Sky, guessed by Kaila

6. Remember what you told me? "Women is like socks... you gotta change 'em regular."

7. I don't get you. I don't get your act at all, and I don't think you do either. I don't think you know what you're trying to do or how to go about it. I think you're stupid. Real stupid and real lucky. Last night you scraped by, just barely; but a man's dead on account of something you let get started even though you didn't start it.

8. Well, that makes it necessary for me to stop in again. Matthew 5:39. Don't bother looking it up, it's the bit about the other cheek. ---Guys and Dolls, guessed by Mandy

9. But Pop, I've seen things that I know are so wrong. Now how can I go back to school and keep my mind on... on things that are just in books, that-that-that aren't people living? ---On the Waterfront, guessed by Clare

10. Oh... one other thing. If you guys ever have kids and one of them when he's eight years old accidentally sets fire to the living room rug... go easy on him. ---Back to the Future, guessed by Kaila

Seize the Day...

"Opportunities don't often come along.

So, when they do, you have to grab them."

~Audrey Hepburn

Lazy, Crazy, Day...

Elizabeth had a friend over this weekend. A sweet little girl that she considers another "sister". It was so nice to hear the sound of their laughter and to feel content knowing that Elizabeth would be getting her fill of dolls, dress-up, and such.

Somehow they get all sorts of ideas into their heads that would be "fun" to do, that (not so) surprisingly calls for big sis Em to help! I don't really mind, though. We don't get too many visitors way out here, so even if it's just a friend of Elizabeth's, it's still a nice change of pace.

They begged for me to take them down to the "swamp" to "collect snail shells". It's really just a marshy area down a hill in our woods, but they can easily spend hours there searching for the old shells that can be found there in abundance. They looked so cute, each wearing a pair of much too big galoshes, and carrying old, empty coffee tins. One carried a beat up, old butterfly net over her shoulder, while the other had her hands full enough with other essential tools they might have need of. I followed close behind, armed with a chair and a book or two to keep an eye on them and to be sure they wouldn't get into any trouble.

My thoughts kept straying from my book, though, as the sound of their laughter and their exclamations over "the pretty shells" reached my ears.

It made me almost wish that I was ten again; when life was still so completely carefree, when I was still young enough to think that hunting for snail shells was the most glorious way to wile away an afternoon. Sometimes growing up doesn't seem so wonderful after all...

Soaring...

Elizabeth Taylor

One can never consent to creep when one has an impulse to soar.

*Helen Keller*

Ballad of a Soldier...

Ballad of a Soldier is a sweet Russian film made in 1959. It tells the story of Aloysha, a nineteen year old boy serving in the Russian army during World War II, and Shura a girl he meets on his journey home to fix his mother's roof.

He rather accidentally merits a medal for a heroic act he commits on the front, but he asks for a few days leave to visit his mother instead. This movie is definitely one of my favorites and so absorbing that you forget that you are reading subtitles!

Though, really only covering a few days in Aloysha's life, you really get a good glimpse of his character and (at least for me) this movie is easily a tear-jerker. It shows how much you can touch a person's life just by a kind word or a brief meeting. Aloysha seems to belong to one of the class of diminishing men...kind, thoughtful, sweet, shy...his character is a favorite of mine.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I would definitely recommend it. It isn't easily found, but worth the hunt!

A Girl Should Be...

Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.

Coco Chanel