ALL ABOUT EVE (Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1950). Fasten Your Seatbelts For Movie Number 9: All About Eve.

ALL ABOUT EVE (Dir: Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1950). Fasten your seatbelts for movie number 9: All About Eve. This backstage drama made cinema history with 14 Oscar nominations, a record it held for almost half a decade until Titanic equalled the feat in 1998. Both Bette Davis and Anne Baxter we’re nominated in the Best Actress category, although both went home empty handed (see previous post). In truth the movie is more of an ensemble piece, with above the title Celeste Holm and George Sanders equally important to the narrative. Mankiewicz’s highly quotable screenplay is witty and waspish by turns and, as director, he elicits excellent performances from the entire cast, including a pre-stardom turn from ingénue Marilyn Monroe. 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (Dir: Robert Zemeckis, 1988). My New Year’s resolution is to watch more movies! Made a start this afternoon with the greatest movie of the 1980’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis / Richard Williams, 1988). 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog: jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

RIP Stan Lee

THE MALTESE FALCON (Dir: John Huston, 1941). Fourth movie of the year; the daddy of film noir and an absolute classic The Maltese Falcon. Also, one of the rare occasions when a remake is superior to the original. 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

RIP Albert Finney.

THE LOVES OF JOANNA GODDEN (Dir: Charles Frend, 1947). I will admit to knowing little about movie number 12 before watching. Yet The Loves of Joanna Godden is an Ealing Studios production of some pedigree, with a screenplay by H E Bates and music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Somewhat atypical of Ealing, Joanna Godden is a romantic period piece starring Googie Withers as a young woman who inherits a sheep farm and is determined to make it a success without the aid of a husband. This proto-feminist plot is unusual in post-war British cinema and especially so from Ealing whose protagonists are almost always men. This is certainly to be commended. As is the beautiful Romney Marsh locales and the realistic depiction of the devastation caused by an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. It is perhaps here where Joanna Godden most belies its Ealing roots as the studio was paramount in the British documentary and social-realist movement. Watching Miss Withers juggle the duel concerns of lambing and of finding or fending off potential suitors is not exactly thrilling; yet the film is enjoyable and worth a watch as an unusual release from the years when Ealing was at the peak of its powers. 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com