It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

"I wish I had a million dollars... Hot dog!"

"Buffalo gals won't you come out tonight..."

"She lights up like a firefly whenever you're around."

"A toast! A toast! A toast to Mama Dollar and to Papa Dollar, and if you want to keep this old Building and Loan in business, you better have a family real quick."

"George Bailey lassos stork!"
"What're'ya... You mean you're... What is it, a boy or a girl?"
"Mmmm-hmmm!"

"...and are the local yokels making with those David and Goliath jokes..."

"Well, you look about the kind of angel I'd get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren't you? What happened to your wings?"

"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

"Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!"

"Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."

"Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends."

...and of course the original Ernie and Bert. Four stars. Whether I see it next December or not, of course I will see it again.

(Yes, I know the pictures aren't all from the same scene as the quote... It's hard to find exactly what you want out there...)

From Here to Eternity (1943)

I think I was supposed to love this movie. I have certainly heard it mentioned a lot. I think the problem is that I just don't tend to enjoy war movies (I Was a Male War Bride notwithstanding). How did I not know that this movie involved the bombing of Pearl Harbor? How did I not know so many sad things would happen? I thought it was a love story...

Is this not the only picture anyone ever shows us from the movie?  It is definitely mostly a war movie.  So I guess I will not be seeing it again, but I will give it four stars for being cast entirely of brilliant actors and actresses.

My ambivalence toward war movies allowed me to get the following things done:

*Start sweet potato fries.
Wait, is this a war movie?  How did I not know this was a war movie?  Is that BurtLancaster or Montgomery Clift?

*Organize spice drawer.
Debra Kerr's husband is a real jerk.  Who's going to have an affair with Deborah Kerr?  Oh, Burt Lancaster.  Why does everyone want Montgomery Clift to box so much?  Why are they torturing him like that until he agrees to be on the boxing team?  What's the big deal?

*Make ingenious cardboard inserts to keep spice drawer in order.
So that famous scene on the beach is only five seconds?  Hey!  That's Donna Reed!!!  Is she a cooch dancer, or just a companion?  Oh, Montgomery Clift, does Donna Reed really love you?

*Prepare dinner.

Oh Frank Sinatra.  Things just aren't going to end well for you.  You can't run off and get drunk during guard duty.

*Eat dinner.
Oh no!!!  Oh no!!!  Frank Sinatra!!! I didn't know this was going to be a sad movie!!!

*Pack up left-overs to put them in the frig.

Hey, it's the night of Dec. 6th.  The Japanese are about to bomb, aren't they.  How did I not know this was a Pearl Harbor movie?  Oh no!!!  Why is Montgomery Clift doing that???  Why is he being so stupid?  Now everyone's going to be unhappy.  It's one of those movies.

If all of that sounded a little disjointed, it's because that's how my viewing was.  Thank you to my roommate Barbara for being so willing to answer all of my, "Wait, wait, what just happened?"s.  Maybe I should give the movie another chance.

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

Three stars...will have to watch again to figure out what was going on!

I have definitely learned my lesson that it is not a good idea to do other things while watching a Thin Man movie. Everyone talks too much and too quickly, and there are just too many characters to keep track of. So, unfortunately, I got a little confused until I finally gave up on the birthday present I was making for my friend's son.

Things I did notice:

Nora's hats! Despite the fact that everyone at the wrestling match Nick and Nora attended laughed and told Nora her hat was screwy, I love her hats. She wears so many great ones in this movie.

Fast motion effects! Was fast motion used in all the movies to try to make Asta's movements funnier? The culmination of the fast motion use was when poor Asta got stuck in a revolving door and kept going around and around really really quickly.

Toddler leashes! It is apparently not a new thing to parade your toddler around on a leash. The movie begins with Nick leading Nick Jr. leading Asta through the park.

A very young Donna Reed!

I did answer some of my questions from the previous Thin Man, too. Nick Jr. has not started to drink yet. In fact, he may be a good influence on his dad. "Drink milk!" he declares. Even though Nick protests, "But I can't drink milk now. I'm a big boy. I wear long pants and go out with girls," Nora makes him obey his son so that they can drink milk together. And yes, Nick does always seem to work by gathering up all the suspects and waiting for someone to slip up.

I must not do other things while watching Thin Man movies.