Fools Wanted: A Lesson from ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’

In the 1939 classic film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” the newly-appointed Senator Jefferson Smith is told by his secretary how important “fools” can be in Washington D.C.  Her support and admiration for fools is not an endorsement of sending uneducated persons to our nation’s capital. Fools, she believes, include honorable people who have faith in their convictions against political opposition and harsh criticism. The movie “Mr. Smith” and its message about “fools” serve as a reminder about what public service is really about and what integrity really means.

Even though I have lived in the D.C. area for a little less than three years, I recently watched  “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” for the first time. The movie revolves around an appointed Senator who brings his hopefulness and his integrity to Washington D.C. James Stewart plays Mr. Smith, the head of a boy’s organization, who is surprisingly given a chance to serve his country in the United States Senate. He is a Governor’s political appointee who some believe will cave to political pressure and make his voting decisions on the advice of a corrupt but highly-respected Senate colleague. Mr. Smith refuses to accommodate that fellow Senator and the demands of the political machine in his state that fights against him and he eventually loses confidence in the entire political system. (more…)

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Tags: health care, healthcare, James Stewart, Joe Lieberman, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Posted Nov 22nd 2009 at 6:55 am in Featured Story, Film, Political Humor | 26430241 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhanlon/2009/11/22/fools-wanted-a-lesson-from-mr-smith-goes-to-washington/Fools+Wanted%3A+A+Lesson+from+%27Mr.+Smith+Goes+to+Washington%272009-11-22+14%3A55%3A15John+P.+Hanlon

40’s Movie Stars: Better in Bed, Better on the Battlefield

I have been watching a lot of 40s movies lately. Being radically anti-celebrity, I was taken aback by how easily mesmerized I was by the movie stars of that period. 

After all, why wouldn’t any man (straight or gay) imitate Cary Grant’s walk up the stairs to save Ingrid Bergman at the end of Hitchcock’s “Notorious?”

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And why wouldn’t any honest woman try to talk and look like Barbara Stanwyck? 

I was at a pool party in the Hollywood Hills once where agressive supermodels were trying to seduce fake producers. That entire pack of semi-nude nymphs had less seductive power than the play of the anklet on Barbara Stanwyck left leg in Wilders’ “Double Indemnity.”  (more…)

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Tags: Barbara Stanwyck, brad pitt, Car Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart
Posted Sep 17th 2009 at 8:26 am in Classic Hollywood, Politics | 22530268 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ykochar/2009/09/17/40s-movie-stars-better-in-bed-better-on-the-battlefield/40%27s+Movie+Stars%3A+Better+in+Bed%2C+Better+on+the+Battlefield2009-09-17+15%3A26%3A40Yervand+Kochar

Movies We Like: ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959)

There was a time when an “adult film” meant a movie by, for and about adults, not a tawdry tale of some tatted-up, dead-eyed 19-year old with daddy issues numbly coupling in front of a video camera for the gratification of leering, backward-hatted frat boys and twitchy loners with DSL.  They don’t make many truly adult films anymore – to see what you are missing, a good place to start is 50 years ago with 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder. 

Let’s start with the cast:  James Stewart.  George C. Scott.  Lee Remick.  Eve Arden.  Ben Gazzara.  Even Big Hollywood’s own Orson Bean in a supporting part as a doctor who plays a key role in the story.  If you love movies, you only needed to get to the word “George” before you were adding it to your NetFlix queue. (more…)

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Tags: Anatomy of a Murder, Arthur O’Connor, Ben Gazzara, Duke Ellington, Eve Arden
Posted Sep 16th 2009 at 11:51 am in Classic Hollywood, Law, Reviews | 22518661 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/09/16/movies-we-like-anatomy-of-a-murder-1959/Movies+We+Like%3A+%27Anatomy+of+a+Murder%27+%281959%292009-09-16+18%3A51%3A19Kurt+Schlichter

TCM Pick O’ The Day: Wednesday, February 18th

Noon PST – Anatomy Of A Murder (1959) – A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife. Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O’Connell Dir: Otto Preminger BW-161 mins, TV-PG

Mature, very well-acted, classic courtroom drama, painstakingly directed by Otto Preminger and just as watchable a second time because knowing the outcome of a great film, even one that climaxes with a verdict, takes nothing away from well-crafted characters, top-notch dialogue, and individual scenes that become living things all on their own. (more…)

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Tags: Arthur O'Connell, George C. Scott, James Stewart, orson bean, Otto Preminger
Posted Feb 17th 2009 at 6:11 pm in Today's Pick | 5369829 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/02/17/tcm-pick-o-the-day-wednesday-february-18th/TCM+Pick+O%27+The+Day%3A+Wednesday%2C+February+18th2009-02-18+02%3A11%3A28John+Nolte