Highly entertaining/unusual-in-a-good-way Jimmy Stewart film
"Pot O' Gold" is a Jimmy Stewart film I watch repeatedly and I'm glad I'm not the only one who has heard of it. This film has been released so many time on VHS, and by all never-heard-of studios. United Artists released it to theaters at the time. Why didn't MGM buy the rights to the film years after? Great story about a struggling musician trying to save his father's music store. His notrious health-food obsessed uncle tries to pull Jimmy Haskell (Stewart) into the the health-food business. He meets a beautiful lady singer (Paulette Goddard) who with her other sister sing a band which her brother Willie plays in, and her mother runs it. When Molly McCorckle (Goddard) learns that Jimmy's uncle is the notorius C.J. Haskell, she becomes upset about it. She thinks of him as a trickster, and as a result, in a radio program she announces Jimmy will give away $1000 in cash to someone. Jimmy is faced with a tough decision: how to give away the money. If he doesn't, he coul be fined and imprisoned. After many tries, he thinks up a way. He'll give it away by telephone. The winner, when they call them up, is speechless and so is his wife. Mrs. McCorckle, C.J., Jimmy, and Molly all reunite on the radio program in a triumphant-sounding finale. The sound could be better, but an excellent film to enjoy anytime. Upbeat!
Madcap comedy meets musicals
As a big fan of James Stewart, I just had to see him in this classic musical. He is as good as ever, fighting against cruel big business and standing up for the little man, which in this case is a boarding house band. The swing music is fantastic, James Stewart's harmonica playing and occasional singing is excellent, the plot is remarkably coherent, and the whole film is absolutely hilarious. In this film, madcap comedy meets classic musicals.
Harmonica scenes
Jimmy Steward has taken a lot of time to be able to play the harmonica as if he actually is the one who is playing the instrument. The actual player is Jerry Adler, brother of Larry Adler. Jerry taught Jimmy how to handle the harmonica. All scenes are superbly done. Jerry's playing is immaculate. The harmonica band dubbings were done by the Cappy Barras, who also performed in "Mad about Music" with Deanne Durbin. Both movies are recommended!
One of the most charming and romantic films around, this 1940 comic romance finds James Stewart (Vertigo, It's A Wonderful Life) working in a small shop in Budapest and longing for a girl to call his own. His coworker, Margaret Sullavan, feels the same, and soon they are both corresponding and falling in love with their respective pen pals. What they don't realize is that they are writing to and falling in love with each other, but the problem is that they can't stand each other in person. The beguiling nature of the mistaken identity formula that influenced countless films is done to perfection here, and the wry combativeness and delightful banter between the two leads makes this a very special film. --Robert LaneMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Ernst Lubitsch DVD Release Date: Released the 01 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A classic screwball comedy with a supernatural twist, Topper stars the incomparable Cary Grant and sparkling Constance Bennett as George and Marion Kirby, a fun-loving couple who cap an evening of jazz and champagne by running their car into a tree. They return as ghosts with a mandate to liven up the straight-laced hen-pecked life of bank president Cosmo Topper (Roland Young), who's hungry for just such a shake-up. Before long he's boozing, dancing, and getting into fights, all of which gives him a rakish reputation--much to the consternation of his wife (Billie Burke, best known as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz). The sequel replaces Grant and Bennett with Joan Blondell, who can't quite compare, but she's charming in her own way. Topper Returns... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Constance Bennett - Cary Grant - Roland Young Director(s): Norman Z. McLeod DVD Release Date: Released the 17 June 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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After winning consecutive best director Oscars (for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve), Joseph Mankiewicz turned his attention to this extremely curious social comedy. Cary Grant plays a famous, idealistic gynecologist whose mysterious past is questioned by a vindictive colleague (Hume Cronyn). Meanwhile, the doctor falls for a pregnant patient (Jeanne Crain), whose unmarried status is daring for a movie of 1951 vintage. The title is an all-too-apt description of Mankiewicz's chatty style, but it also carries sinister echoes of the McCarthy era--specifically, an attempted right-wing purge of the Director's Guild, I which Mankiewicz was the main target. This subtext lends interest beyond the movie's rather tame romance. The Grant character, named Doctor Praetorius (no... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Cary Grant - Jeanne Crain Director(s): Joseph L. Mankiewicz DVD Release Date: Released the 06 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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James Stewart, at his warmest and most avuncular, plays the bandleader who rocketed to fame during the swing era. The Glenn Miller Story may be a whitewashed version of Miller's life, but it certainly is a pleasant example of the feel-good Hollywood biopic, with the usual conventions: early struggles, loyal wife (June Allyson at her chirpiest), personal sacrifice--Miller joins the Army when war breaks out, although he doesn't have to--and ultimate tragedy. All the Glenn Miller classics filling the soundtrack make the film pretty easy to take, too: "Moonlight Serenade," "A String of Pearls," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." Miller plays the great "In the Mood" with his military band during a World War II air-raid warning. Pure corn, but it works. Director Anthony Mann, better known for his... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Stewart - June Allyson Director(s): Anthony Mann DVD Release Date: Released the 04 March 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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