Category Archives: Scenes I Love

Scenes That I Love: Steve McCroskey Realizes That He Picked The Wrong Week To Stop Sniffing Glue in Airplane!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Lloyd Bridges was born 111 years ago today.

Lloyd Bridges appeared in a lot of films and TV shows over the course of his long career.  He was the untrustworthy deputy in High Noon, for instance.  He was also the father of actors Jeff and Beau Bridges.  And, of course, he was one of the many Golden Age actors to be recruited to appear in the 1980 film, Airplane!  Airplane! was such a success that it launched a whole new career for Bridges, who went from being known for his serious roles to appearing in comedies, where he was often cast as well-meaning but clueless authority figures.

In today’s scene that I love, Lloyd Bridges plays the air traffic supervisor Steve McCroskey, who comes to realize that he picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

Scenes That I Love: Bonnie Meets Clyde in Bonnie And Clyde

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is Faye Dunaway’s birthday and today’s scene that I love comes from the film that made Dunaway a star, 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.

In this scene, Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) first meets Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty).  Interestingly enough, Warren Beatty originally wanted Bob Dylan to play the role of Clyde and, at one point, he envisioned Bonnie being played by his sister, Shirley MacClaine.  That would have been interesting, to say the least.  Fortunately, in the end, Beatty decided to not only produce the film but to play the role of Clyde himself.  Natalie Wood, Tuesday Weld, Leslie Caron, and Jane Fonda were among those who turned down the role of Bonnie before Faye Dunaway, who had done two films at that point, was eventually cast in the role.  And the rest is film history!

Scenes That I Love: Jeff Punches Out An Alien In Plan 9 From Outer Space

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Gregory Walcott, who was born 98 years today, appeared in a lot of good films over the course of his long career.  He had supporting roles in major blockbusters.  He was a friend and frequent collaborator of Clint Eastwood’s.  In 1979, he played the sheriff in the Oscar-nominated Norma Rae.

That said, he will probably always be most remembered for playing Jeff, the patriotic pilot, in Ed Wood’s 1957 masterpiece, Plan Nine From Outer Space.  Walcott gave probably as good a performance as anyone could in Plan 9, though that didn’t prevent the film from wrong being declared one of the worst ever made.  Walcott, for most of his career, was not a fan of Plan 9 but, in the years before he passed away in 2015, Walcott’s attitude towards the film mellowed considerably.  He even appeared in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.

In this scene from Plan 9, Walcott shows how to deal with a smug alien.

Scenes That I Love: The Nowhere To Run Montage From The Warriors

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is Walter Hill’s birthday so what better day to share one of the greatest musical montages ever? In the Nowhere To Run montage from The Warriors, a radio DJ lets every gang in New York City know that they are all now hunting for the same group of people.  What I love about this montage is how the gangs grow increasingly flamboyant as the montage continues.  We go from seeing relatively normal-looking gang members to a bunch of people dressed up like a phantom baseball players.  It’s quite a progression!

From Walter Hill’s 1979 film, The Warriors, here is a scene that I love!

Scenes That I Love: Sabata and Banjo’s Duel From Sabata

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been Lee Van Cleef’s 99th birthday.

Last year, I reviewed one of Van Cleef’s final projects, a television series called The Master.  On the show, Van Cleef played John Peter McAllister, an American ninja.  However, Van Cleef was best known for appearing in several Italian spaghetti westerns, where his icy stare and ruthless intelligence were put to good use.

Today’s scene that I love features Van Cleef as the title character in 1969’s Sabata.  In this scene, he faces off in a duel with William Berger’s Banjo.  Even when he’s playing the good guy, like in this film, Lee Van Cleef leaves no doubt that he’s not someone you want to mess with.

A Scene That I Love: Elvis Presley In Jailhouse Rock

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Elvis Presley would have been 89 years old today.

Elvis always said that one of his biggest regrets was that he never had full control over his film career.  While he had dreams of being taken seriously as an actor and admired James Dean and Marlon Brando, his management continually forced him into silly movies that only required him to sing a few songs.

Elvis’s early films, which were made before his military service and which allowed him to act as well as sing, were his best.  Today’s scene comes from one of those films, 1957’s Jailhouse Rock.

Scene That I Love: Tom and Tessio in The Godfather

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As we continue to observe Robert Duvall’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from my favorite movie, 1972’s The Godfather.

In this scene, Tom Hagen lets Tessio know that Michael knows that Tessio is the one who betrayed him.  It’s a short scene but one that is wonderfully acted by both Abe Vigoda and Robert Duvall.

Mario Puzo’s novel goes into a bit more detail about what is going through Tom’s mind while he watches Tessio being taken away.  Tessio was one of the last of the old breed of pre-prohibition era mobsters and he was someone who played a key role in Vito Corleone’s rise to power.  Tessio’s execution was not just revenge for betraying the family but also the end of an era, something that Tom full realized even if Michael didn’t.  When Tom tells Tessio that he can’t get him “off the hook for old time’s sake,” it’s a statement that those old times are gone forever.

Scenes That I Love: Rambo Returns from George P. Cosmatos’s Rambo: First Blood Part II

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this date, in 1941, future director George Pan Cosmatos was born in Italy.  Cosmatos would go on to direct some of the most financially successfully (if critically lambasted) films of the 80s.  He’s also credited as being the director on Tombstone, though it’s generally agreed that Cosmatos largely deferred to Kurt Russell on that film.  (Cosmatos was a last minute replacement for the film’s original director.)

Other than Tombstone, Cosmatos is best-known for the films that he did with Sylvester Stallone.  And today’s scene that I love comes from the 1985 film, Rambo: First Blood Part II.  In this scene, Rambo — having survived being abandoned yet again in Vietnam — let’s the CIA knew exactly what he thinks about their operation.  Whatever else you may say about the film (and I certainly prefer the first First Blood to any of the more simplistic sequels that followed), this scene is pure 80s action.

If you ever meet James Cameron, remind him that he wrote the script for this film and see how he reacts.

Here’s a scene that I love:

Scenes That I Love: Bugsy Attacks in Once Upon A Time In America

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In honor of Sergio Leone’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from his final film, 1984’s Once Upon A Time In America. 

In this scene, which takes place in 1918 in New York City, a group of young street kids who fancy themselves sophisticated criminals are ambushed by their rival, Bugsy.  With the combination of Ennio Morricone’s score and Leone’s haunting vision of New York City at the start of the 20th Century, this scene captures the loss of innocence that will eventually lead to all of the characters becoming ruthless (albeit successful) gangsters in their adult years.

Scenes That I Love: Burt Reynolds Meets Burt Reynolds in The Last Movie Star

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the national speed limit is 50 years old.

Boooo!

Yes, it was 50 years ago today that President Richard Nixon signed the law that set the national speed limit as being 55 miles per hour.  Perhaps this was Nixon’s final revenge on a nation that was making a huge deal out of Watergate.  Who knows?

In honor of the occasion, today’s scene that I love is from 2018’s overlooked The Last Movie Star.  In this scene, an elderly Burt Reynolds finds himself transported back to the days of Smokey and the Bandit, where he meets his younger self and takes a ride in a famous black sportscar.  It turns out that the two Burts do not agree when it comes to observing the posted speed limit.