Director Michael Powell brings us the 1941 film "49th Parallel". Thanks to our guest Arthur Sculco who selected this excellent film for the podcast. Emeric Pressburger developed the original story and wrote the screenplay. Mr. Pressburger said, "Goebbels considered himself an expert on propaganda, but I thought I'd show him a thing or two." The film accomplishes this as it shows the treachery of most of the raiding party of six Kriegsmarine sailors from the German submarine compared to the strong character of a variety of Canadians.

Maggie Smith gives the performance of a lifetime in "The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie". She plays the titular character backed up by an outstanding supporting cast led by Pamela Franklin, Robert Stephens, Gordon Jackson and Celia Johnson. The "Brodie Set" or "Brodie Girls" are played to perfection by Pamela Franklin, Diane Grayson, Jane Carr and Shirley Steedman.

From the 1952 short story by Daphne du Maurier, "The Birds" 1963 is a film that centers on surprising and aggressive bird attacks in and around the seacoast town of Bodega Bay, California.

"The Stranger" 1946 is a film noir involving the United Nations War Crimes Commission search for the notorious Nazi Franz Kindler, also know as Professor Charles Rankin, as played be Orson Welles. Mr. Welles is also the Director of the movie. For the first time in a Hollywood commercial movie documentary footage of the Holocaust death camps is shown and the horrific scenes play a pivotal role in the film.

Robert De Niro is Travis Bickle the former Marine who struggles to adapt to the city.

We conclude our review of "Blade Runner" from 1982.

Wow, what a great film.

"Blade Runner" opened in theaters in 1982. Director Ridley Scott creates a cityscape of Los Angeles in 2019. The film has many aspects of film noir blended into a future where synthetic humans or replicants are produced to work on planets, asteroids and other objects scattered throughout space. These replicants are prohibited from being on Earth. When four Nexus-6 replicants escape back to Earth, Rick Deckard played by Harrison Ford is persuaded to hunt them. Deckard is a former police officer and now a "Blade Runner" who is authorized to eliminate or "retire" the four fugitives.

Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel "Day of the Jackal" is brought to life in Director Fred Zinnemann's 1973 film of the same name. 

In the 1951 movie "The Lavender Hill Mob" four men, led by Alec Guinness as Henry "Dutch" Holland, plan and carry out the robbery of a load of gold bullion worth several million pounds. Director Charles Crichton has created one of the best British films as ranked by the British Film Institute.

“Bawarchi” (The Chef) 1972 takes us to Shanti Niwas (abode of peace) where we meet the large Sharma family.

We have some exciting announcements.

The first announcement is that we are offering a new Patreon Tier 4.

The second announcement is that we're hosting a virtual film festival.

Gwen Terasaki’s 1957 autobiography is the basis for “Bridge to the Sun” 1961. Director Etienne Perier creates a realistic film of the marriage and life of Gwen Harold from Tennessee and Hidenari Terasaki a Japanese diplomat stationed in Washington, D.C. Against the advise of several people Gwen and Hidenari marry in 1935. They have a daughter Mako. Following the 1941 attack at Pearl Harbor.

“Cover Girl” released in 1944 is a Technicolor musical that highlights the beautiful dancing of Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly’s choreography and dancing genius.  Director Charles Vidor gives Mr. Kelly the opportunity to create several wonderful dance sequences including the “Alter-Ego Dance” and a sound stage dance along an entire street that was accomplished in one take.  It was a foreshadowing of the marvelous rain scene in “Singin’ in the Rain” from 1952 Episode 20.  In addition, the movie gives us the popular original song “Long Ago (and Far Away).

“An American in Paris” from 1951 is one of the many excellent films starring Gene Kelly. The movie won six Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Director Victor Fleming did a masterful job bringing L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s fantasy to the screen.  King Vidor took over some of the work when Mr. Fleming was called to direct “Gone with the Wind”.  Together both Directors left us with an amazing film that is as engaging today as it was over 80 years ago.