Author Archives: Jnpickens

About Jnpickens

Classic film lover and reporter in North Carolina.

Musical Monday: The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

fastest3This week’s musical:
The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) – Musical #726

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Michael D. Moore

Starring:
Roy Orbison, Sammy Jackson, Maggie Pierce, Joan Freeman, Lyle Bettger, John Doucette, Patricia Donahue, Ben Cooper, Ben Lessy, Iron Eyes Cody, Douglas Kennedy, Wilda Taylor, Victoria Carroll, Maria Korda, Domingo Samudio (billed as Sam the Sham)

Plot:
Johnny (Orbison) is a singing Confederate spy, who’s guitar also doubles as a gun. Johnny and his pal Steve (Jackson) are both working to rob the United States mint for gold in San Francisco to help the Confederacy.

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Musical Monday: Kid Galahad (1962)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

kid galahadThis week’s musical:
Kid Galahad – Musical #725

Studio:
United Artists

Director:
Phil Karlson

Starring:
Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Charles Bronson, David Lewis, Robert Emhardt, Ned Glass, Edward Asner (uncredited)

Plot:
Recently discharged from the U.S. Army, Walter Gulick (Presley) returns to his birthplace with the hopes of becoming a mechanic. However, no one is hiring. Out of a job and in need of money, it’s discovered that Walter can pack quite a punch and starts working with boxing promoter Willy Grogan (Young). Though Walter does well as a boxer, he faces problems when Willy’s sister Rose (Blackman) arrives at the training camp and Rose and Walter fall in love.

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Watching 1939: Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

three smart girls51939 film:
Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)

Release date:
March 24, 1939

Cast:
Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, Helen Parrish, Nella Walker, Robert Cummings, William Lundigan, Ernest Cossart, Felix Bressart, Grady Sutton (uncredited),

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Henry Koster

Plot:
With their parents (Walker, Winninger) back together, the Craig sisters (Durbin, Grey, Parrish) are all together as a family with their parents. Everything is happy when Joan Craig (Grey) gets engaged to Richard Watkins (Lundigan). However, the good news brings heartache to Kay Craig (Parrish), who also was in love with Richard. Seeing her sister unhappy, youngest sister Penny (Durbin) sets out to find Kay a boyfriend, which brings about family misunderstandings.

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Musical Monday: Love Me Forever (1935)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

love me forever 1935This week’s musical:
Love Me Forever (1935) – Musical #720

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Victor Schertzinger

Starring:
Grace Moore, Leo Carrillo, Robert Allen, Spring Byington, Michael Bartlett, Luis Alberni, Douglass Dumbrille, Thurston Hall, Olin Howland (uncredited), Arthur Hoyt (uncredited),

Plot:
Margaret Howard (Moore) comes from a wealthy family, who have lost everything. Opera loving hood Steve Corelli (Carrillo) hears Margaret sing and wants to make her a great opera star. Steve makes Margaret a great singing star, while falling in love with her; knowing she doesn’t reciprocate the feeling.

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Musical Monday: Ballad in Blue (1965)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Ballad in Blue (1965) – Musical #733

ballad

Studio:
Alsa Productions, distributed by 20th Century Fox

Director:
Paul Henreid

Starring:
Themselves: Ray Charles, The Raelettes
Actors: Tom Bell, Mary Peach, Dawn Addams, Piers Bishop, Betty McDowall, Joe Adams, Anne Padwick, Monika Henreid,

Plot:
While Ray Charles (himself) is performing at a school for a school for blind children, he meets and befriends David (Bishop). David’s mother Peggy (Peach) is overprotective of her son, which makes her constantly at odds with her boyfriend Steve (Bell), who thinks the child should have more independence. Ray tries to show Peggy that David can live successfully without his sight, but also recommends a surgeon who may be able to help them. Ray also offers a job to Steve as a music arranger and composer. Steve wants Peggy and David to travel with them, but Peggy is reluctant to uproot David.

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Watching 1939: Susannah of the Mounties (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

susannah21939 film:
Susannah of the Mounties (1939)

Release date:
June 23, 1939

Cast:
Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Margaret Lockwood, Martin Good Rider, J. Farrell MacDonald, Maurice Moscovitch, Moroni Olsen, Victor Jory, Lester Matthews, Leyland Hodgson, Herbert Evans, John Sutton, Jack Luden, Eddie Big Beaver, Chief John Big Tree, Charles Iron Breast, Chief Victor Coward, Chief Thunderbird, Tom Spotted Eagle

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
William A. Seiter

Plot:
Set in the 1880s, the Canadian Pacific Railway was being built, which upset the Native Americans as the railroad threatened their land. The Northwest Mounted Police had to keep the peace between the Native Americans and the railroad. After an attack on a wagon train, Susannah (Temple) is the only survivor. She is rescued by the Mounties and cared for by Inspector Angus Montague (Scott). While staying with the Mounted Police, Susannah befriends Blackfeet Native American, Little Chief (Rider).

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Musical Monday: Rhythm and Blues Revue (1955)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Rhythm and Blues Revue (1955) – Musical #732

rhythm and blues

Studio:
Studio Films Inc.

Director:
Joseph Kohn

Starring:
Host: Willie Bryant
Themselves: Faye Adams, Bill Bailey, Ruth Brown, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, Martha Davis, The Delta Rhythm Boys, Freddy and Flo, Lionel Hampton, Herb Jefferies, The Larks, Little Buck, Amos Milburn, Mantan Moreland, Nipsey Russell, Big Joe Turner, Sarah Vaughan

Plot:
A musical revue of top performers of the 1950s.

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Watching 1939: The Lady and the Mob (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

lady and the mob21939 film:
Lady and the Mob (1939)

Release date:
April 3, 1939

Cast:
Fay Bainter, Ida Lupino, Lee Bowman, Henry Armetta, Warren Hymer, Harold Huber, Forbes Murray, Joe Sawyer, Tom Dugan, Joe Caits, Jim Toney, Tommy Mack, Brandon Tynan, George Meeker

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Benjamin Stoloff

Plot:
Lila Thorne (Lupion) and Fred Leonard (Bowman) are engaged to be married. While Fred finishes business in town, Lila travels to meet Fred’s mother, Hattie Leonard (Bainter). Hattie is eccentric and particular. When Hattie realizes her laundry bill has raised a few dollars, she finds that her laundryman Zambrogio (Armetta) is paying the mob for protection. Hattie takes matters into her own hands to break up the gang by creating her own mob.

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Musical Monday: Stormy Weather (1943)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

stormy weatherThis week’s musical:
Stormy Weather (1943) – Musical #731

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Andrew L. Stone

Starring:
Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Dooley Wilson, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Flournoy Miller, Johnnie Lee, Emmett ‘Babe’ Wallace (uncredited), Ernest Whitman (uncredited),
Themselves: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe, Fats Waller, The Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown, Mae E. Johnson

Plot:
Told as a flashback, dancer Bill Williamson (Robinson) reminisces about returning from World War I and meeting (and falling in love with) singer Selina Rogers (Horne). Bill works to get into the show business.

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Watching 1939: Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

1939 film:
Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)

good girls

Release date:
June 30, 1939

Cast:
Joan Blondell, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Connolly, Alan Curtis, Joan Perry, Isabel Jean, Stanley Brown, Alexander D’Arcy, Henry Hunter, Clarence Kolb, Howard Hickman, James Craig (uncredited), Ann Doran (uncredited), Mary Field (uncredited), Robert Sterling (uncredited)

Studio:
Columbia Pictures

Director:
Alexander Hall

Plot:
Jenny Swanson (Blondell) is a waitress at a diner on a college campus, but dreams of traveling to Paris. One way Jenny thinks she can do this is through blackmail a college boy and get paid off. When this plan fails, she turns to Ronald Brooke (Douglas), a professor she has befriended, who advises she goes home. Instead of heading to Minnesota, Jenny goes to New York City and gets mixed up with the Brand family, who Ronald will marry into soon.

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