Today’s scene that I love comes from 1957’s Paths of Glory. In this scene, Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) fights a losing battle to save the lives of three soldiers who have been accused of cowardice after refusing to take part in a suicidal attack during World War I.
Douglas not only starred in this film but his also production company also helped to finance it. The film was co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick.
In this scene from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, David Bowie stops by the home of his old friend, Sir Percival Crosby, and meets Sir Percy’s long-lost American relative, Bing Crosby! A discussion of modern music and parenting techniques leads to them performing a duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.
This was Bing’s final Christmas special and he died just five weeks after filming completed. This scene is a holiday classic and has been described. by the Washington Post, as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history.”
When asked about David Bowie, Bing said he was “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well.”
Enjoy!
When Holiday Inn went into production in 1941, this song and dance was not originally a part of the script. It was added after the attack on Pearl Harbor so that the film could have a patriotic dance number. Fred Astaire did 38 takes of this scene and later auctioned off his shoes to help raise money for the war effort.
In this scene, from Sergio Corbucci’s Django, the film’s title character (played by my man, Franco Nero) reveals what’s actually in the coffin that he’s been dragging from town to town.
Since today is Otto Preminger’s birthday, I figured that this would be a good time to share a scene that I love from one of my favorite movies, Preminger’s 1959 film, Anatomy of a Murder.
In this scene, prosecutor Claude Dancer (played, in one of his first screen roles, by George C. Scott) cross-examined Laura Manion (Lee Remick), the wife of a man who has been accused of murder. Playing the role of the defense attorney is James Stewart. This scene is a master-class in great acting. Preminger could be a bit of an inconsistent director but his willingness to take on controversial subjects set him apart from many of his contemporaries. When he had the right material, as he did here, he could create the perfect mix of melodrama and art. Preminger’s best films, like Anatomy of a Murder, stand the test of time.
This is one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite Christmas movies.
We should all be as excited and happy for the holidays as Will Ferrell is in Elf.
Today, in honor of what would have been the birthday of French director Jean-Luc Godard’s birthday, our scene of the day comes from Godard Alphaville, a 1965 film that mixed philosophy with science fiction and film noir.
Let’s talk about love.
Goodfellas is totally a Christmas movie!
Charlie Brown isn’t the only one who gets sad around the holidays.
A lot of people do. I’m one of them. I love Christmas but I still get sad thinking about those who are no longer with us and that another year is coming to an end. I know that this holiday, just like last year, is going to be especially difficult for many people around the world. Don’t be ashamed if you’re feeling down this month. You’re not alone.
In this scene that I love, Charlie Brown is feeling down for the holidays too but he finds someone to talk to. Unfortunately, that person is Lucy. However, sometimes it’s most important just to have someone to talk to.
This year, I hope Lucy finally gets her real estate.
I reviewed the film The Highwaymen (directed by John Lee Hancock) earlier this week and there was always one scene from the entire film that I always go back to rewatching. It’s pretty much a sequence where Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (played by Kevin Costner) stops by a local gun store and begins naming off pistols and rifles that he wants to examine.
It’s a random scene, but it also shows how much has changed from how American treated the purchase and ownership of guns during the Prohibition and gangland era of the late 20’s and early 30’s. This was a time when any adult could go into a store and purchase any type of gun (from pistols, rifles, shotguns and all the way up to machine guns) as long as they had the money. No license required to purchase whatever one desired and no waiting period and background check.
All of this would just a month after the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde as depicted in the film when Congress would pass the National Firearms Act of 1934 when certain firearms would be heavily restricted (such as short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, short-barreled rifles aka submachine guns, etc.) requiring specific licenses and up to restricted for law enforcement use-only.
This scene shows a time that was still holding onto the ways of the frontier and the Old West, but was about to end as the government began to centralize regulation on the federal level and away from the states. It’s a scene that on its own was a small random one that almost borders on the ridiculous as Hamer just names off guns after guns then answering the store owner’s question of which he would buy with a simple answer of “all of them.”
I also love this scene being a gun enthusiast who has his own large collection. What I wouldn’t give to be able to just do what Frank Hamer did in this scene. Though my wallet would cry if I was given the chance.
Through the Shattered Lens 