My Ten Favorite Kid-Friendly Westerns

I've been watching westerns for longer than I can remember.  Naturally, I've shared many westerns with my own kids (who are teens now!).  If you've got some youngsters in your life that you'd like to introduce to this genre, but aren't sure where to start, here are some ideas for you!  I've limited this list to western/frontier stories that are aimed at children or families.  Obviously, there are many, many other westerns that are wonderful for kids to watch!  But these are specifically excellent for kids.

(Please remember, this is listed in order of my favorites, not necessarily the best kid-friendly westerns!)

1. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)  When three little swindlers kids show up in a slowly-declining California gold rush town, a gambler (Bill Bixby) just passing through winds up taking care of them. One gold strike, one marriage of convenience involving the local stagecoach driver (Susan Clark), one bank robbery by the bumblingest outlaws in the west (Don Knotts and Tim Conway), and one capture of a notorious outlaw (Slim Pickens) later, and they can finally live happily ever after!

2. The Sign of Zorro (1958)  Wealthy, sophisticated Diego de la Vega (Guy Williams) returns home to California from the university in Madrid to discover that his hometown has been taken over by the ruthless and greedy Captain Monastario (Britt Lomond).  Diego pretends to be a wimp while secretly fighting against tyranny disguised as Zorro.  This is the first 8 episodes of the Disney TV show cobbled together to make one adventure, and it's so delightful!

3. Across the Great Divide (1976)  Two orphans (Heather Rattray, Mark Edward Hall) team up with a gambler (Robert Logan) to cross the Rocky Mountains and claim the land their family owns in Oregon.  Nothing can stop them, not Native Americans, thieves, mountain men, or a grizzly bear.

4. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)  Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) fights in the Creek Indian War, gets elected to the U. S. Congress, and helps Texas win its freedom by defending the Alamo, all with his friend George Russell (Buddy Ebsen) at his side.  Some of the incidents are based in fact, and some are simply legends and tall tales.  This was originally a trio of episodes on the TV program Disneyland, and then it was put together and released as a movie.

5. Little House on the Prairie (1974)  Laura (Melissa Gilbert), Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush) Ingalls move from Wisconsin to the prairie with their Pa (Michael Landon) and Ma (Karen Grassle).  This is a 90-minute TV movie that served as the pilot for the classic TV show by the same name, and it sticks a lot closer to things that happen in the original books by Laura Ingalls Wilder than the bulk of the show did.  I don't know that it was ever released to theaters, but it was released to VHS when I was a kid, and we watched it over and over and over.

6. Savage Sam (1963)  When two brothers (Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran) and their neighbor (Marta Kristen) are kidnapped by Native Americans, their dog Sam and their uncle (Brian Keith) track them to try to rescue them.  This is a sequel to Old Yeller (1957) and a much happier movie.

7. Rango (2011)  A chameleon (Johnny Depp) accidentally winds up in a middle-of-nowhere town that's in desperate need of some law and order. It's an animated spoof/homage to all the classic westerns, with tropes and archetypes at every turn, and such a loving homage that I can't help but find it both funny and charming.

8. The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968)  A mild-mannered, hapless dentist (Don Knotts) gets involved in trying to stop gun-runners from using a wagon train as cover to transport their guns west.  It's basically a remake of The Paleface (1948), and I used to laugh so much while watching this that I cried.

9. An American Tail: Fievel goes West (1991)  A Russian-Jewish immigrant family moves to America's wild west, where their son Fievel (Phillip Glasser) gets separated from the rest of the family and is protected and mentored by an aging lawman (James Stewart).  The family just happen to be mice, and the lawman is a dog, and the bad guys are cats.

10. Old Yeller (1957)  Boy's little brother adopts dog.  Boy hates dog.  Dog saves boy's life.  Boy loves dog.  I don't even like to think about the ending.  But it's still a really good movie.

This has been another contribution to the 2026 Legends of Western Cinema Week party!

My Ten Favorite Marilyn Monroe Movies

Today is Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday!  To celebrate, I'm sharing this list of my ten favorite Marilyn movies.

1. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)  Three women (Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable) pool their resources to rent a swanky apartment so they can date rich men and each marry a millionaire.  The only problem is, they keep falling in love with guys who aren't rich.  It's sweet and funny and quirky -- and the first Marilyn Monroe movie I showed to my kids!  Marilyn's character is the funniest of the trio, especially her running gag about needing to wear thick glasses but thinking they make her look too studious and unglamorous... but when she doesn't wear them, mishaps always ensue.

2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)  Singer-dancer-friends Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) take an ocean voyage to Europe just for funsies.  Their steps are dogged by a private detective hired by Lorelei's fiance's father, who is convinced Lorelei is trapping his son in a disastrous marriage.  The girls sing, dance, and dodge would-be suitors.  Marilyn's "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" scene really is as iconic as you've been told.

3. Monkey Business (1952) A chemist (Cary Grant) tests an age-reversing elixir on himself and his wife (Ginger Rogers), with hilarious results.  I'm not sure why this movie isn't better known, because it's really funny.  Marilyn only has a small role, as the chemist's boss's secretary, but she's good fun while she's onscreen.

4. Some Like it Hot (1959) Two male jazz musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) witness a mob hit and try to hide out in an all-female jazz band by disguising themselves as women.  Absolutely nobody in their right minds would ever mistake Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon for women, which makes the entire thing ridiculous and genuinely funny.  Marilyn Monroe sings with the jazz band, and of course she winds up in a romance with Tony Curtis -- and the funniest part of the whole movie, for me, is Tony Curtis's Cary Grant impression.

5. The Seven Year Itch (1955) When a bored and imaginative man's (Tom Ewell) wife and kids flee New York City for the summer, he begins romanticizing what could happen with the cute girl (Marilyn Monroe) in a nearby apartment.  She sees him only as a friend, too old to be her boyfriend, and nothing serious ever happens between them, no matter how hard he imagines it will.  My husband and I can never mention Rachmaninoff without quoting this movie.

6. Don't Bother to Knock (1952) A lonely pilot (Richard Widmark) pursues a relationship with a sexy babysitter (Marilyn Monroe) who works at the hotel where he lives, only to slowly realize she is a very scary woman.  It's so cool seeing both Widmark and Monroe playing against type in this excellent noir film.

7. There's No Business Like Show Business (1954) A showbusiness family endures ups and downs over the years, including one son's romance with a singer (Marilyn Monroe).  This is one of those movies that is mostly just enough plot to string together a lot of really great musical numbers, but I like that kind of movie so long as there is a legitimate reason for the musical numbers to take place -- like in this movie, where they are the family's bread and butter.

8. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) One of the most famous noir films ever, and deservedly so.  A lot of desperate characters work together to pull off a big heist, but justice hunts them down relentlessly.  Marilyn Monroe has a very small part here as the girlfriend-on-the-side of the heist's mastermind (Louis Calhern), and she deftly steals scenes right out from under him.

9. Niagara (1953)  Technicolor film noir masterpiece about two married couples visiting Niagara Falls.  Newlyweds (Jean Peters and Casey Adams/Max Showalter) befriend an older couple (Joseph Cotten and Marilyn Monroe) whose marriage is deteriorating, with disastrous consequences.  I have a love-hate relationship with this movie, but I love it enough to add it to this list, anyway.

10. The Misfits (1961) A divorcee (Marilyn Monroe), an aging cowboy (Clark Gable), a bronco buster (Montgomery Clift), a pilot (Eli Wallach), and a landlady (Thelma Ritter) form a found family of sorts because none of them really quite fit in with anyone else.  This is mostly remembered today as the final finished film for both Gable and Monroe, and it's not exactly a pleasant movie to watch.  But it's a really fascinating bunch of character studies, if you like those.

How many of these have you seen?  Do you have any favorites that aren't on this list?

This post is my contribution to the Marilyn Monroe -- 100th Birthday Blogathon hosted by Kristen at Hoofers and Honeys this weekend.

Love blogathons and blog parties?  Check out my Upcoming Blog Events page every now and then to find links to all the events I plan to host or participate in.  There are lots of great events happening this month in particular!

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2025

It's that time of year again!  Time to sift through the movies I watched over the past year and figure out just which ones I liked best.

I really like that my list this year has movies spanning 97 years.  It's a pretty fun mix of genres too -- not shocking, as I am an eclectic and omnivorous movie watcher.

Anyway, here's my list!

1. Conagher (1991)  A rough-mannered cowboy (Sam Elliot) keeps crossing paths with a homesteader (Katherine Ross) and her adopted children, often helping them out of some difficulty or other, all while insisting he's going to be leaving the area any day now, he's totally not sticking around to look after her and figure out if her missing husband is ever coming back, nope, he's totally disinterested...  

2. The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)  A former military intelligence officer (George C. Scott) is asked to investigate a list of people, but before he can, the man who made the list dies mysteriously.  And then people on the list start to die, too.  What can the connection be?  Why do so many of these people have very peculiar faces?  How many ways can you disguise Kirk Douglas?  SO many questions!  Also, I've never found George C. Scott particularly attractive, but maybe I've just been watching the wrong movies...

3. Desperate Journey (1942)  A WWII British bomber crew (Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ronald Sinclair) survive a crash landing behind enemy lines and daringly attempt to sneak their way back to Allied territory.  This movie gallops along, flinging our heroes from one tense and worrisome situation to another, but somehow never feels rushed.  Instead, it feels like an exciting series of adventures, each one making us more and more invested in the characters.

4. Glass Onion (2022)  Quirky and laconic detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) attends a house party thrown by a gazillionaire (Edward Norton) on a private island during the Covid-19 shutdowns.  People die.  Blanc figures out how and why.  There are twists on twists on twists, one of which I loved so much, it bumped this much higher on my list than it would have been otherwise.  This is the first movie I've seen that deliberately included the Covid-19 shutdowns in the storyline, complete with the face masks and the social distancing and the special rules for rich people, which was pretty interesting.  Because I don't have Netflix, I only got to see this because our local theater showed it on the big screen for a couple of days.  So happy that they did!

5. Salty O'Rourke (1945)  A gambler (Alan Ladd) needs to pay off a debt fast, so he buys a race horse and hires a jockey and does some dubious paperwork shuffling and falls in love with a school teacher (Gail Russell) and makes a lot of other bad decisions, but it all works out okay because this is a comedy.  I especially loved the sidekick played by William Demarest, of whom I grow and more fond with every movie I see him in.

6. The Invisible Man (1933)  A scientist (Claude Rains) turns himself invisible and slowly goes mad.  This movie makes no secret of the fact that the special effects are the main star of the film, and I am absolutely here for them.

7. The Pirates of Penzance (1983)  A band of jolly pirates (but are they?) led by a Pirate King (Kevin Kline) bids farewell (but do they?) to their apprentice (Rex Smith) when he comes of age (but does he?) and decides he will stop being a pirate and become a law-abiding citizen (but will he?).  Absolute madcap delightfulness from beginning to end, in the best Gilbert-and-Sullivan-but-make-it-1980s-instead style imaginable.

8. Kim (1950)  A British soldier's orphaned son Kim (Dean Stockwell) passes as a native of India to spy for the British, aided and mentored by the mysterious Mahbub Ali (Errol Flynn).  It's based on the Rudyard Kipling classic, but streamlined, and with a lot more for Errol Flynn to do than his character was granted page time for in the book.

9. Libeled Lady (1936)  A rich young thing (Myrna Loy) is libeled by a newspaper, and the editor (Spencer Tracy) responsible for running the libelous story cooks up a doozy of a plot to convince her not to sue the paper.  It involves his fiancée (Jean Harlow) and a slick-talking writer (William Powell), a sham marriage, and all the screwball hijinks the screenwriters could dream up and toss at the characters.  I will probably enjoy this a lot more the second time I watch it, but I only just watched it for the first time a few days ago and haven't had time for a second viewing.  Still, it wound up on this list, which means I did like it more than most screwball comedies...

10. The Gold Rush (1925)  A hapless but plucky prospector (Charlie Chaplin) tries to find gold in Alaska, but mostly finds problems and trouble and a lot of snow.  We saw this in the theater with my brother and his family, and it was the first silent film my niece and nephew had ever seen.  (My own kids had seen a couple before that, but years ago.)  It took them all about ten minutes to get used to the storytelling style, and then they all had a rollicking good time enjoying all of Chaplin's hijinks.  And, as a bonus, we all went to Alaska about a month later, and my nephew was able to relate historical things we saw regarding the actual Alaskan Gold Rush to things he saw in this movie.  I love it when fiction can bring real history to life for people that way!

Well, that's my list!  Have you seen any of these?  Did you make a list of favorite films you watched in 2025 too?  Please share!

I've been collecting my top ten new-to-me movies in posts like this for twelve years now.  You can find all of them at the bottom of this page.

Ten Favorite American Civil War Movies

Every week, I watch a movie with my teens over lunch.  During the school year, they take turns picking the movie to watch each week, but during the summer, I get to choose them.  This summer, I chose to have us watch all kinds of movies set during the American Civil War.  I realized while out at the Manassas Battlefield on a field trip last spring that, when I was a kid and teen, I had a really great grasp of the major events of the American Civil War because I had seen quite a few movies set during it, particularly the mini-series The Blue and the Gray (1982), which encompasses the whole war.  And my kids didn't have that because we simply hadn't watched those movies yet.  Sure, we had studied the war repeatedly during school over the years, but it's harder to envision how everything fits together when you are reading about it.

So, we spent the whole summer watching movies set during that war, plus a few that take place shortly after it but are strongly influenced by it.  I eventually added a couple more to the list above as we went, and we didn't manage to watch quite all of them, but my teens now have a good grasp of the basic sequence of events in the American Civil War.  

Inspired by our summer viewing, I decided to share my list of my Top Ten Favorite American Civil War movies.  Here they are!

1. The Blue and the Gray (1982) Yeah, yeah, technically a miniseries.  Anyway!  This is a masterful piece of storytelling that focuses on a young Virginia artist (John Hammond) who has abolitionist leanings and family on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.  He and his extended family and friends end up mixed up in just about every major piece of the war, from John Brown's execution to the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.  It delves thoroughly and entertainingly into the difficulty of a war fought between brothers, cousins, and friends.  I grew up watching it every year or two, and I absolutely credit it with giving me a thorough grasp of the main sequence of events of the war.  Also, nobody but Gregory Peck should ever be allowed to play President Lincoln.

2. Gettysburg (1993)  A talented ensemble cast shows many of the events leading up to and during the battle that is now considered the turning point of the American Civil War. Jeff Daniels turns in a particularly wonderful performance as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, one of my personal heroes.

3. Little Women (1994)  Four sisters grow up in New England under their mother's guidance while their father is away with the Union Army.  People don't tend to think of this as a Civil War story, but the war influences everything in their daily lives, sometimes more overtly and sometimes subtly.

4. How the West was Won (1962)  A sprawling saga tracing the lives of two sisters (Debbie Reynolds and Carroll Baker) who move west as young women, and the lives of their husbands and children.  The Civil War is technically only shown onscreen briefly, but its echoes sound out across the rest of the movie as it follows the son of one sister, a veteran who heads west and uses his experiences in the war to inform his decisions from then on.

5. Shenandoah (1965)  A Virginia farmer (James Stewart) insists on his large family never getting involved in the Civil War that rages around them, but there is no way for him to keep them isolated from it forever. 

6. Friendly Persuasion (1956)  A Quaker family tries to remain neutral during the Civil War, but there is no way for them to remain uninvolved forever.  Anthony Perkins is so likeable in this.

7. The Horse Soldiers (1969)  A Union Cavalry colonel (John Wayne) sneaks his troops deep into Confederate territory to destroy the railroads and hasten Union victory, but he has this pesky medical officer (William Holden) along who keeps causing problems.

8. Harriet (2019)  Biopic of Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo) that portrays her escape from slavery and courageous rescue of so many others.  I ended up not watching this one with my teens this summer because it is pretty stern stuff and I think my youngest won't be ready for it for another year or so, but it's an excellent movie.

9. Gone with the Wind (1939)  Eating radishes straight out of the ground after drinking whiskey on an empty stomach convinces a spoiled Southern belle (Vivien Leigh) that she will do anything necessary to avoid repeating that sensation.

10. The Undefeated (1969)  A former Union cavalryman (John Wayne) teams up with a former Confederate officer (Rock Hudson) to get a herd of horses and a wagon train of people safely to Mexico.  Technically takes place just after the war, but the war echoes all through the film, so I say it counts, and it's my list, so there ;-)

Have you seen any of these?  Do you have other favorite Civil War movies?  Are you aghast that I left Gods and Generals (2003) off this list?  Do tell!

My Ten Favorite Val Kilmer Movies

My heart is still heavy over Val Kilmer's death.  I've been rewatching some of my favorites of his movies, and today, I'm sharing the list of my top ten favorites with you.  

1. Tombstone (1993)

A free-wheeling recreation of that one time Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) and his friend Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), plus Wyatt's brothers (Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton), had a showdown with Ike Clanton and his pals, and Tombstone, Arizona never got over it.  This movie is a wildly good time, particularly every scene Val Kilmer is in.  And the score by Bruce Broughton is one of my all-time favorites.

2. Willow (1988)

A small farmer (Warwick Davis) reluctantly teams up with a big braggart (Val Kilmer) to save a baby princess from a wicked queen (Jean Marsh).  Along the way, the braggart falls in love with the queen's daughter (Joanne Whalley) onscreen and off.  It was one of the first fantasy movies I ever saw, and it's still a dear favorite.

3. Spartan (2004)

When the daughter of an important American government official is kidnapped, an impressively capable agent (Val Kilmer) is sent to retrieve her before she's sold into slavery overseas.  It's a tense thriller that makes plain the all-too-real ease with which human trafficking occurs here in the U.S., and the difficulty in rescuing someone from it.  And it's cool seeing Clark Gregg work with Val Kilmer.

4. Real Genius (1985)

A teen genius (Gabe Jarrett) enters a school for the scientifically gifted, where he and his offbeat roommate (Val Kilmer) try to stay sane while also solving a mystery surrounding just what their scientific discoveries and creations are being used for.  My college roommates and I were obsessed with this movie for a while, and we used to wear these funny headbands around campus (even to classes) as a nod to Val Kilmer's character in this movie.

5. Batman Forever (1995)

Bruce Wayne/Batman (Val Kilmer) tries to stop Harvey Dent/Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Jim Carrey) from taking over Gotham, while also mentoring an orphan (Chris O'Donnell) and romancing a psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman).  Is this movie a dayglo comic book extravaganza?  Yes.  Does it also have a compelling storyline and some really good character development?  Also, yes.  I just rewatched it this week for the first time in a while, and was excited to find I still really love it.

6. The Saint (1997)

Simon Templar (Val Kilmer) is a professional thief who gets involved with Russian spies and a beautiful scientist (Elizabeth Shue) while just trying to do his job: stealing some nuclear macguffin or other.  The real treat here is all the disguises Templar uses, which lets Kilmer transform himself again and again in ridiculously fun ways.

7. Thunderheart (1992)

An FBI agent (Val Kilmer) with Native American heritage is assigned to solve a murder on a Sioux reservation, despite the efforts of others to either cover up the truth or use the crime to pursue their own agendas.  The fact that Val Kilmer had Native heritage himself (he was 1/8 Cherokee) is a total bonus for how perfect he is in this role.  The story is based on true incidents.

8. The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

A professional hunter (Michael Douglas) teams up with a British engineer (Val Kilmer) to take down two man-killing lions that have been attacking workers trying to build a bridge in Africa.  It often feels like a throwback to the adventure movies of the '50s and '60s, but with more realistic violence.  Maybe that's because the screenplay is by William Goldman, who wrote The Princess Bride (book and screenplay both), as well as screenplays for movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and Maverick (1994).

9. Prince of Egypt (1998)

Animated take on the life of Moses (Val Kilmer), growing up in Pharaoh's household and being tasked by God with leading the Jewish nation out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.  Excellent take on the historical account from the Bible, and the songs are really cool, too.

10. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

An Air Force pilot (Tom Cruise) has to train the wild son (Miles Teller) of his fallen wingman for a dangerous mission.  Val Kilmer gets a small scene as Tom Cruise's former rival and current superior officer, and it's a moving one.

Please note that Tombstone, Spartan, Thunderheart, and The Ghost and the Darkness are all rated R, so you may want to investigate their content levels further before watching them if that is of concern to you.

My Ten Favorite Musicals -- 2025 Update

I shared my original list of ten favorite musicals a whole decade ago!  I've definitely got some slightly different favorites now, though many of the same dear favorites are still tops.  Here is my current list!  As usual, all titles are linked to my reviews if I have reviewed a particular movie.

(Random note, but I find it amusing how this graphic color-coordinated itself.  I didn't try to arrange the movies so they would have white posters all in a block and colorful ones in another block!  So funny.)

1. Guys and Dolls (1955)

Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that he can't get social reformer Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) to go on a date with him. This movie made me fall in love with the stories and writing style of Damon Runyon, which the musical is based on. Personally (and that means in person), I adore the odd patter the characters speak. 

2. An American in Paris (1951)

An ex-GI painter (Gene Kelly) falls in love with a girl (Leslie Caron), not knowing she's engaged to his night club singer friend (Georges Guetary). The whole movie is an excuse to sing and dance to Gershwin tunes, which is one of the best reasons for making a musical I've ever heard. 

3. White Christmas (1954) 

A team of showbiz stars (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) try to rescue a retired general (Dean Jagger) from bankruptcy by staging a show at his ski lodge. Why yes, this heads up my list of favorite Christmas movies too. 

4. The Greatest Showman (2017) 

P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) gathers up the misfits of the world and gives them jobs, friendship, and a purpose.  And that includes his protégé Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), who falls in love with a trapeze artist (Zendaya).  The message of everyone deserving friendship and love and a place to belong, no matter what they look like, really resonates with me.

5. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

A talented young singer (Emmy Rossum) is mentored and stalked and abducted and generally haunted by a disfigured man (Gerard Butler) who lives under the Paris Opera House.  Thank goodness for her childhood friend Raoul (Patrick Wilson), who stands by her and helps her however he can, and eventually falls in love with her as well.  This production is overwhelmingly lavish and opulent and everything it ought to be.  I'm particularly taken with Patrick Wilson's portrayal of Raoul as a brave and manly young fellow who protects and defends and is generally awesome.  And his voice is like butterscotch.  I wish Wilson made more musicals.

6. State Fair (1945) 

A family spends a week at the Iowa state fair, where the daughter (Jeanne Crain) falls in love with a newspaper man (Dana Andrews), the son falls in love with an entertainer, and the parents take home prizes for their mincemeat and hog. There's a 1960s remake that stars Bobby Darin in the Dana Andrews role, but aside from dearest Bobby, that version lacks the charm of this one. 

7.  Hello, Dolly! (1969)

A fairy-godmother-like matchmaker (Barbra Streisand) finds love matches for two store clerks (Michael Crawford, Danny Lockin), two milliners (Marianne McAndrew, E. J. Peaker), an irascible businessman (Walter Matthau) and his niece (Joyce Ames)... and herself.  I have a penchant for fairy godmothers, and Dolly Levi has been an inspiration to me since I was in single digits. 

8.  West Side Story (1961) 

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1960s NYC, with rival street gangs taking the place of rival families. So heartbreaking and beautiful, with some of the coolest dancing ever -- I much prefer it to Romeo and Juliet. The soundtrack was one of the first CDs I ever bought, and I know all the words to every song. 

9.  Brigadoon (1954) 

Two hunters (Gene Kelly and Van Johnson) stumble on an enchanted Scottish village that only exists one day out of every hundred years, whereupon one of them falls in love with a local girl (Cyd Charisse).  I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. 

10. Oklahoma! (1999) 

A cowboy (Hugh Jackman) tries to win the heart of a girl who claims she hates him. Yes, you read that correctly: Hugh Jackman. This is the London stage version, not the famous Hollywood one, and I prefer it because, well, Hugh Jackman!

This post is one of my contributions to We Love Musicals Week.  I hope you've been enjoying the fun so far!

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2024

Here we are again, ready to reminisce over all the movies we've watched in the past year and figure out which ones we liked best.  If you've done a similar post this year, leave a link in the comments so I can check out what your favorites were!

If you want to see my past lists, I've got ten years' worth at the bottom of this page.  Meanwhile, here are my favorite ten new-to-me movies that I watched last year!

1.  Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter One (2024)  A variety of people have experiences in the Old West, many of them in or around the fictional town of Horizon.  It's a sprawling epic with lots of storylines and little or no closure to any of them, and I'm somewhat obsessed with it.  So much of it pleases me, from the authentic historical details to the filmography to the storytelling.  (I could do without the scene with nudity or the implied sex scene, though.  It's not a family friendly movie.)

2.  The Train (1964)  A bitter and disillusioned member of the French Resistance (Burt Lancaster) helps sabotage a train filled with precious pieces of French artwork that an equally bitter Nazi officer (Paul Scofield) is desperately trying to steal away from Paris before the Allies arrive.  My son is particularly pleased with all the very real train-related details, and I'm pleased by all the cool stunts Lancaster does.

3.  Murder on the Orient Express (1974)  Even though Hercule Poirot is not played by Peter Ustinov or Kenneth Branagh (my two favorite Poirots), but instead by Albert Finney (who gets a bit shouty), this is still such a fun time.  That's mainly thanks to the amazing cast: Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Perkins, Richard Widmark, Michael York... are you drooling yet?  What a lineup, huh?

4.  The Man from the Alamo (1953)  A Texan (Glenn Ford) is elected to leave the Alamo to warn the people of his town that something bad is about to befall them.  By the time he reaches the town, it's too late, and everyone assumes he ran away from the Alamo because he's a coward.  This makes him angry and vengeful, and the storyline took a few turns that surprised me, which I enjoyed.

5.  Emma (1996 -- Kate Beckinsale)  Yes, it took me this long to finally see this adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel.  I was surprised how much I liked it -- it's never going to rival the other 1996 version that stars Gwyneth Paltrow, but I liked it a lot better than the 2009 and 2020 versions.

6.  The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)  A bunch of military misfits are brought together to stop the Nazis during WWII.  Yes, that premise has been used oodles of times.  But this movie brings some fresh fun to it -- and it's based on a real people and real incidents, which bumps the whole thing up a notch.  I'm particularly fond of how Henry Cavill keeps trading up for better and cooler coats.

7.  Love Crazy (1941) A woman (Myrna Loy) suspects her husband (William Powell) is cheating on her and decides to get a divorce.  Her husband pretends to be mentally ill so she can't divorce him.  I'm not usually a big fan of screwball comedies, but I love Loy and Powell together, and this one never gets daffy enough to annoy me.

8.  Anastasia (1956)  A con artist (Yul Brynner) uses a mentally unstable young woman (Ingrid Bergman) to try to convince the world that the Russian princess Anastasia is still alive.  It's acerbic and twisted and melodramatic... and a lot more like the animated movie Anastasia (1997) than I'd expected.

9.  Christmas in the Air (2017)  A widower (Eric Close) who designs and makes toys hires a professional planner (Catherine Bell) to help him juggle his Christmastime family activities and work commitments so he won't disappoint his kids by forgetting anything important, but will also be able to help his brother land a big contract for their family-owned toy company.  Yes, it's a Hallmark movie.  Yes, I will willingly watch it again.

10. My Cousin Rachel (1952)  A wealthy young man (Richard Burton) becomes obsessed with his cousin's widow (Olivia de Havilland) because he's convinced she killed his cousin.  And then he's convinced she didn't.  And he loves her.  But he hates her.  But she loves him.  But she might be trying to kill him.  Come on, it's a very young and toothsome Richard Burton growling at a middle-aged and gorgeous Olivia de Havilland -- that's all you really need to know.

My Ten Favorite Movies About Writers

My being a writer probably explains my fondness for movies about writers.  Today, I'm sharing the list of my ten favorite movies about or involving writers -- some authors of fiction, some screenwriters, some columnists or newspaper reporters, but all writers!

1. Laura (1944)  While solving the murder of beautiful Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) falls in love with her memory, mainly thanks to the worshipful reminiscences of Laura's mentor, venomous columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb).

2. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)  Author P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) struggles to let go of her specific vision for her book Mary Poppins as Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) works to make it into a movie.  My favorite description of what writers do ("We restore order.  We instill hope, again and again.") comes from this movie.

3. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) needs money. And he needs his career to stop fizzling. And he needs these grumpy characters in his head (especially Scrooge, played by Christopher Plummer) to cooperate. And he needs people to stop pestering him so he can just write his next book. A completely charming, relatable look at the writing process!

4. The Gazebo (1959) A playwright (Glenn Ford) gets blackmailed over some scandalous old photos of his actress wife (Debbie Reynolds) and decides to kill the blackmailer rather than keep paying him. Which leads to very dark comedy that has me in absolute stitches, though my husband didn't find it nearly so funny because he said that Glenn Ford was too good at portraying fear and worry, and so my husband just kept feeling afraid and worried for him. YMMV.

5. Romancing the Stone (1984) Bestselling romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) sets out to rescue her kidnapped sister from the South American drug lords who kidnapped her.  A disillusioned mercenary (Michael Douglas) reluctantly helps her out in exchange for a treasure map Joan's sister sent to her before she was kidnapped.  Romance and adventure and some pretty funny dialog ensue.

6. Moulin Rouge! (2001) An aspiring novelist (Ewan MacGregor) falls in love with a consumptive courtesan (Nicole Kidman) and courts her with the help of Toulouse-Latrec (John Leguizamo) in 1890s Paris, while singing and dancing to modern 20th-century music because director Baz Luhrmann can make that work.

7. Paris When it Sizzles (1964) A screenwriter (William Holden) tries to cure his writer's block and write his next smash hit with the help of a typist (Audrey Hepburn) with quirky and funny results. I feel like Alex and Emma (2003) is basically a remake of this movie, though I suppose they might both just be inspired by the true story of Fyodor Dostoyevsky writing a book under a tight deadline with the help of a stenographer that he fell in love with and subsequently married.

8. Miss Potter (2006) Beatrix Potter (Renee Zellweger) falls in love, writes stories, paints cute pictures, publishes books, and refuses to let anyone stop her from doing any of those things. It's a sweet, fun mix of cuteness and determination.

9. Roman Holiday (1953) Bored and lonely Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) runs off alone in Rome to have a taste of what life is like for ordinary people.  American newspaperman Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) takes her under his wing before anything bad can happen to her, and he thinks he's got the scoop of a lifetime once he realizes who he's rescued. 

10. Knives Out (2019) A wealthy mystery author (Christopher Plummer) dies, and everyone in his large and weird family (Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, et. al.) suspects everyone else of having killed him. Only an enigmatic private detective (Daniel Craig) has any inkling of the truth for a long time. 

Are there any movies about your particular profession?  Or, are there any jobs you really love to watch movies about?

This has been my second entry for the On the Job Blogathon hosted by myself and Quiggy at the Midnight Drive-In this weekend!

My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2023

Here we are at the end of another year, the assigned time for rounding up lists of favorites in various categories.  I'll be posting my favorite reads from 2023 on my book blog on Tuesday, but today, it's time to talk about my top ten favorite movies I saw for the first time over the past year!

1. Fort Dobbs (1958)  A man on the run from the law (Clint Walker) rushes a pioneer woman (Virginia Mayo) and her feisty son (Richard Eyer) to the safety of a cavalry fort during a Comanche uprising.  I watched this movie over and over this year -- it's everything I want in a western.  Heroic and honorable hero and heroine, real danger and real courage, and a found family, with great dialog and intelligent characters.  And a few surprises!  Good, good stuff.

2. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)  A thief (Chris Pine) tries to rescue his daughter (Chloe Coleman) from a conman (Hugh Grant) with the help of a warrior (Michelle Rodriguez), a wizard (Justice Smith), and a guerilla (Sophia Lillis).  Another exceedingly smart script that delights me.  This movie manages to feel like a bunch of teens playing D&D while also being way smarter and more well-plotted than I ever expected.

3. Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)  A track coach (Dean Jones) accidentally awakens the ghost of the dread pirate Blackbeard (Peter Ustinov), who attempts to help the local track team win over long odds in a bid to find eternal peace.  This is a resoundingly funny and adorable movie.  

4. New in Town (2009)  A high-powered executive (Renee Zellweger) from Miami arrives in Minnesota to shut down a factory, only to fall in love with the workers, the town, and the union representative (Harry Connick, Jr.).  I avoided this movie for over a decade because I thought it was going to make fun of Minnesotans and Midwesterners, but it doesn't.  The love story is actually remarkably charming and natural, too.

5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)  Indy (Harrison Ford) tries to stop a former Nazi (Mads Mikkelsen) from traveling back in time.  Thought I was going to be disappointed by it, but I wasn't, which makes me really happy.

6. The Boys in the Boat (2023) True story about a rowing team of poor boys from Washington state who defy long odds and go to the Olympics.  Absolutely a feel-good movie in the best possible way.  It was an uplifting, pro-American, pro-hard work movie that felt like it could have been made in the '80s.  Or the '60s.  Really good stuff.

7. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) A young woman (Emily Mortimer) falls afoul of a witch (Lauren Bacall) and gets turned into an old woman (Jean Simmons).  She then encounters a mercurial wizard (Christian Bale) and his fire demon (Billy Crystal) and befriends them, with lots of adventures and a love story ensuing.  I read the book for the first time this year too, and I like them both about equally.

8. Lady in the Lake (1946)  Philip Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) tries to figure out who murdered a woman and dumped her body in a lake.  Yes, it's gimmicky -- the whole thing is shot in "first person" as if the camera is Marlowe -- but the storytelling is strong anyway.  I love the Raymond Chandler book more, but this is one of the Marlowe movies I like well enough to keep a copy for my shelves.

9. Rachel and the Stranger (1948)  A widowed pioneer (William Holden) marries a bondservant (Loretta Young) so she can take care of his house and son without impropriety, but when his old friend (Robert Mitchum) comes for a visit and shows interest in her himself, the pioneer has to decide just how married he really wants to be.  It's basically a pioneer romcom, and I didn't like it much the first time I watched it, but it kept rattling around in my head until I rewatched it, and I liked it much better then.

10. Botany Bay (1952)  Alan Ladd falls afoul of another sadistic sea captain, just like he did in Two Years Before the Mast (1946).  You'd think he'd learn!  This time, the captain (James Mason) actually keelhauls Ladd's character.  Twice.  Um, yes.  Not fun.  At least, not if you're a Ladd fan!  But it all turns out okay.

A few fun stats from my movie-watching in 2023:

Total movies watched: 137

New-to-me movies watched: 26

Movies re-watched: 111

Movies seen in the theater: 11

Movies watched more than twice this year: Fort Dobbs (6), Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (3)

Month with the most movies watched: July (19)

Month with the least movies watched: June (3)

Number of Alan Ladd movies watched: 9

My Ten Favorite Live-Action Disney Movies

This list was WAY harder to narrow down than yesterday's list of animated favorites!  I grew up watching so many classic Disney movies over and over and over.  I almost cried when I realized I had to leave both Davy Crockett movies off this list.  They were so formative for me!  But I haven't watched them in years now, so I'm leaving them off... but mentioning them here so they aren't entirely neglected ;-)

Once again, titles are linked to my reviews when applicable.

1. The Lone Ranger (2013)  John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his Texas hometown after years away at law school. Bad guys ambush him, his brother, and a company of Rangers -- everyone else dies, but a renegade named Tonto (Johnny Depp) saves John Reid's life, and together they try to bring down the greedy men responsible for the deaths of their family members. It's a twisty, fable-like origin story that I never tire of.

2. The Parent Trap (1961)  Twin sisters (Hayley Mills as both) with divorced parents (Maureen O'Hara and Brian Kieth) scheme to bring their parents back together. It's been one of my favorite movies since I was a teen.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)  Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) resorts to commandeering, raiding, pillaging, plundering, and otherwise pilfering his weasely black guts out, all to regain his beloved ship. More fun than a barrel of undead monkeys!

4. The Three Musketeers (1993)  Young d'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell) just wants to be a Musketeer, but he ends up embroiled in unmasking a plot against the king. His three Musketeer friends (Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Oliver Platt) are hilarious and awesome too. I actually like this better than Alexandre Dumas' book :-o

5. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)  When three little swindlers kids show up in a slowly-declining California gold rush town, a gambler (Bill Bixby) just passing through winds up taking care of them.  One gold strike, one marriage of convenience involving the local stagecoach driver (Susan Clark), one bank robbery by the bumblingest outlaws in the west (Don Knotts and Tim Conway), and one capture of a notorious outlaw (Slim Pickens) later, and they can finally live happily ever after!

6. The Swiss Family Robinson (1960)  A shipwrecked family (John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, and Keven Corcoran) builds a new home on a deserted island.  And fights pirates.  An absolute highlight of visiting Disney World last year, for me, was getting to explore the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse there!

7. Cinderella (2015)  Ella (Lily James) treats her stepmother (Cate Blanchett), a prince (Richard Madden), and her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) with courage and kindness. It's a straightforward, cottagecore retelling of the classic fairy tale, and it delights me.

8. Kidnapped (1960)  A young Scotsman (James MacArthur) gets kidnapped by slave traders hired by the uncle who has cheated out of his inheritance.  He and a fierce highland gentleman (Peter Finch) join forces to escape and make their way back to his home to claim what belongs to him.

9. That Darn Cat! (1965)  An adventurous teen (Hayley Mills) enlists her sister (Dorothy Provine), her best friend (Tom Lowell), and an FBI agent (Dean Jones) in her plot to rescue a kidnapped bank teller from two icky robbers (Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin) by following her cat around town.  Um, yes.  It's very funny and zany and sweet.

10. The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)  During the Great Depression, a young teen (Meredith Salenger) hitches rides across the whole country to find her dad (Ray Wise), sometimes helped by a wolf, and sometimes helped by a sarcastic young hobo (John Cusack).  I saw this when it was first released to VHS in the mid-'80s and have been a John Cusack fan ever since.

Spot any favorites of your own?  Any here you've been meaning to see, but haven't gotten around to yet?  Let's discuss in the comments!

This is my second contribution to the 100 Years of Disney blogathon hosted by Silver Scenes.  Be sure to check out their blog for all the delightful posts people have written to celebrate this event!

My Ten Favorite Animated Disney Movies

This list has only animated movies made by Walt Disney Studios.  No Pixar.  Why?  Because this post is part of the 100 Years of Disney Blogathon hosted this weekend by Silver Scenes, so I wanted to focus solely on Disney's animation studio.  

Titles linked to my reviews, where applicable (but I haven't reviewed that many animated movies, it turns out...).  Are any of these favorites for you too?

1. Robin Hood (1973)  Ye olde story of Robin Hood robbing the rich to feed the poor and battling Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham... except, they're all animated, talking animals. Hilarious and heartwarming and swashbuckling and wonderful. I have loved this movie so long I can't remember the first time I saw it.

2. 101 Dalmatians (1961)  Two dogs and their owners stop the evil Cruella de Ville from turning 101 sweet puppies into a coat. Much less grisly than it sounds but, at the same time, so dark it terrified me when I was very young.  But now, I love it!

3. Tangled (2010)  Rapunzel paints, sings, wields a mean frying pan, and dances her way into the heart of an errant knave and the audience.  I love the way this movie exudes -- and celebrates -- joy and enthusiasm.

4. Aladdin (1992)  A humble thief finds a genie, gets turned into a prince, and tries to steal a princess's heart. I was very nutty about this movie when I was in my early teens.  

5. The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (1977)  Actually, three adventures of a lovable, bumbling teddy bear whose brain may be stuffed with fluff, but whose heart is made of very sturdy stuff indeed.  When my brother was very young, this was his favorite movie.  When my son was very young, this was one of only two movies he ever wanted to watch.  So I have seen it many, many times, but I'm not tired of it!

6. Cinderella (1950)  Classic fairy tale princess story about a sweet, kind, hardworking young girl whose fairy godmother gives her a chance to go to the royal ball.  The rest is princess history.  When I was a kid, I really didn't care much for this movie, but watching it repeatedly with my daughters when they were younger gave me a real appreciation for it.

7. Frozen (2013)  Do I even need to tell you what this is about? Princess Elsa accidentally unleashes an eternal winter and nearly kills her sister, but it turns out all you need is love, just like the Beatles said. Visually stunning AND heart-warming (pun totally intended).

8. Lady and the Tramp (1955)  A prim and proper Cocker Spaniel tames a hound dog with her innocence and loyalty to her humans. Sweet and sentimental, yes, but sassy and funny too.

9. The Jungle Book (1967)  Mowgli just wants to live in the jungle forever, but his bear and panther guardians know he is in terrible danger there.  They are sure it would be much better for him to live in the man village... but I am never quite convinced they're right.  I do much prefer Kipling's Mowgli stories, especially for how they end, but the movie is a lot of fun too.

10. The Aristocats (1970)  A pampered cat and her mischievous kittens are cat-napped and must find their way back home to London with the help of an alley cat, some geese, and their own good sense.  I first saw this in college, and it quickly became a favorite.

Like I said, this is a contribution to the 100 Years of Disney Blogathon.  Come back later this weekend for my top ten list of favorite live-action Disney films!

My Ten Favorite Dramas -- 2023 Update

It's been ten years since I shared my list of my ten favorite dramas, and it is high time for an update!  Things have shifted around a bit from that last list, with several movies dropping off and getting replaced.

1. Ben-Hur (1959) When Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is unjustly imprisoned by his former best friend (Stephen Boyd), he vows revenge, but eventually learns revenge is less sweet than he'd expected. If you ever get the chance to see this in the theater, run, don't walk!  Spectacular stuff.

2. Jane Eyre (1983) A young governess (Zelah Clarke) teaches her employer (Timothy Dalton) about love, respect, and honor. My favorite adaptation of my favorite novel.

3. Chocolat (2000) A mysterious woman (Juliette Binoche) opens a chocolate shop in a sedate French village and teaches its inhabitants to reexamine their attitudes and customs, and even welcome strangers like Johnny Depp.  Sweet and a little tangy here and there.

4. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Three veterans (Dana Andrews, Frederic March, Harold Russell) find returning to civilian life much harder than they'd expected. Bonus: this movie contains THREE love stories! You get love between a husband and wife getting reacquainted, between childhood sweethearts, and between new acquaintances.

5. Apollo 13 (1995) The true story of three astronauts (Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon) who must survive a space ship malfunction on the way to the moon. Never fails to inspire and awe me.

6. Giant (1956) A spoiled East Coast beauty (Elizabeth Taylor) marries a stubborn Texas rancher (Rock Hudson), and they spend twenty-five years trying to figure each other out. One of the first movies I can remember watching!

7. Risen (2016) A Roman tribune (Joseph Fiennes) is tasked with unraveling the mystery about some Jewish guy named Jesus whose body had mysteriously disappeared from his tomb. It's the story of the Resurrection told like a detective story -- who un-killed Jesus?

8. North and South (2004) A woman (Daniela Denby-Ashe) from the pastoral north of England moves to the industrial south and spends months ignoring the fact that a wealthy manufacturer (Richard Armitage) is in love with her.

9. Witness (1985) Detective John Book (Harrison Ford) goes undercover to protect a little Amish boy who is the only witness to a murder. Taut and tender at the same time.

10. And Now Tomorrow (1944) A wealthy young woman (Loretta Young) loses her hearing due to an illness. Though her family and fiance (Barry Sullivan) try to convince her she needs to accept her condition, a young doctor (Alan Ladd) with an experimental treatment holds out hope that she could regain her hearing.

Any movies here you particularly love too?

My Ten Favorite Funny Westerns

Something about the western genre often lends itself to blending with comedy, which I find delightful.  Here are my ten favorite funny westerns -- some are spoofs or meant to be comedies, and others are more just westerns that have a lot of funny stuff in them.

1. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) A mild-mannered man (James Garner) who is basically just on his way to Australia takes on the job of sheriff in a goldrush boomtown.  His unorthodox methods and unflappable demeanor keep everyone bewildered and off balance, from baddies (including Walter Brennan and Bruce Dern), to the mayor (Henry Morgan), to his former-town-drunk deputy (Jack Elam).  One of the absolute funniest movies I have ever seen.  My family quotes it constantly.

2. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)  A card sharp (Bill Bixby) takes care of three orphans, marries a stage coach driver (Susan Clark), and captures a famous outlaw (Slim Pickens) while eluding the machinations of two inept would-be robbers (Don Knotts and Tim Conway).  One of my favorites when I was a kid, and still funny and awesome now.

3. North to Alaska (1960) A wealthy Alaska mine owner (John Wayne) brings a dance hall girl (Capucine) back to his claim to replace the woman who jilted his mining partner (Stewart Granger), only to fall in love with her himself.  A western romcom, basically, and one with an amazingly fun brawl in the mud at the end.  Thanks to this movie, I have basically been on my way to Alaska for the last thirty years.

4. Texas Across the River (1966).  A Southern belle (Rosemary Forsyth) pursues her European fiance (Alain Delon) to Texas, where she gets mixed up with an opportunistic gunrunner (Dean Martin).  A few of the jokes have not aged well, but most of them are still laugh-out-loud funny.

5. Along Came Jones (1945) A slow-talking, easy-going cowpoke (Gary Cooper) gets mistaken for a vicious outlaw (Dan Duryea) and falls for the outlaw's girl (Loretta Young). This is a charming western comedy that amuses me greatly.

6. The Sheepman (1958) A sheep rancher (Glenn Ford) insists on raising his sheep in an area dominated by cattle ranchers, no matter how much they pressure or cajole him to be rid of the wooly beasts. The main character's sense of humor and a stubborn and sassy woman (Shirley MacLaine) elevates this above turning into yet another range war picture.

7. McLintock! (1963) A rich rancher (John Wayne) battles his estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara), daughter, land-grabbing bad guys, and various other adversaries. It's actually a western version of The Taming of the Shrew.

8. Cat Ballou (1965) Cat Ballou (Jane Fonda) comes home to her family's ranch just in time to witness her father's murder by the notorious (and noseless) Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). She straps on a gunbelt and sets out to avenge him, eventually gathering up an outlaw gang of comically inept ne'erdowells, including washed-up gunfighter Kid Shelleen (also Lee Marvin). This is a wacky, wild movie, but I like it.

9. Three Amigos! (1986) Three silent movie stars (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short) are mistaken for actual gunfighters by the people in a small Mexican village being terrorized by a bandit (Alfonso Arau).  It's basically a really silly version of The Magnificent Seven.

10. Rango (2011) A chameleon (Johnny Depp) accidentally winds up in a middle-of-nowhere town that's in desperate need of some law and order.  It's an animated spoof/homage to all the classic westerns, with tropes and archetypes at every turn, and such a loving homage that I can't help but find it both funny and charming.

Yup, this is another contribution to this year's Legends of Western Cinema Week.  Hope you've been enjoying the festivities!

My Ten Favorite Action Movies -- 2023 Update

I'm narrowing my criterion for this list more than I did for my original list in 2013.  Only movies set in the 20th or 21st century allowed.  No swords.  Movies with lots of swords recently got showcased on my Ten Favorite Swashbucklers post anyway!

1. The Fugitive (1993)  Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is wrongly convicted of his wife's murder, escapes, and goes hunting for the real killer while U.S. Marshal Sammy Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) hunts for him. My second-favorite movie of all time.

2. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) An American (Henry Cavill), a Russian (Armie Hammer), and a German (Alicia Vikander) team up during the Cold War to stop neo-Nazis from creating a nuclear bomb. This is an unabashedly fun movie, and I love it ever so dearly.

3. The Bourne Identity (2002) Amnesiac Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) races across Europe, evading unknown pursuers, seeking answers about his past, and falling in love with a quirky stranger (Franka Potente). The movie that changed my mind about Matt Damon. And based on one of my favorite books.

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) tries to keep the Ark of the Covenant away from the Nazis. One of the finest adventure movies ever made. I had the deep joy of seeing this on the big screen a few years ago, and it was even more spectacular there than I had hoped.

5. Witness (1985) Detective John Book (Harrison Ford) goes undercover to protect a little Amish boy who is the only witness to a murder. Taut and sweet at the same time, and one of the very, very few R-rated movies I own.

6.  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) What's better than one Dr. Jones? Two Dr. Joneses! Indy and his dad (Sean Connery) try to keep the Holy Grail away from the Nazis. The chemistry between the two of them is as perfect as possible. This movie makes me laugh so much.

7. GoldenEye (1995) James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) battles his ex-partner (Sean Bean) to save Britain from an electronic meltdown. The first thing I ever saw Brosnan, Bean, and Judi Dench in -- and I became a total fan of all three.

8. Conspiracy Theory (1997) Paranoid cab driver Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) convinces the woman he loves (Julia Roberts) to help him uncover a conspiracy. I think this is the first thing I ever saw Patrick Stewart in other than Star Trek: The Next Generation. It manages to be twisty and tender, creepy and sweet, all at the same time.  And it's also another of the very small number of R-rated movies I own.

9. Skyfall (2012) James Bond (Daniel Craig) must confront, not his own bitter past, but M's (Judi Dench) when MI6 headquarters is attacked.

10. R.E.D. (2010) Retired black-ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), his new girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), and a bunch of his old pals (Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) and enemies (Brian Cox) team up to figure out who's trying to kill them, and why. Hilarious from beginning to end. You guys wanna get pancakes?

Do we share any favorites?  Do any of these surprise you?  I'm curious!

My Ten Favorite Alan Ladd Roles

Happy Alaniversary to me!  Seven years ago today, I fell hard for Alan Ladd, and I haven't recovered.  Nor do I want to ;-)  Today, I'm celebrating by sharing my ten favorite roles Ladd played.  I have seen about thirty of his movies (many of them over and over and over) by now, and reviewed nearly two dozen of them, but I've never really stopped to figure out who my favorite characters of his were, other than the top three, which I have long loved best.

It amuses me how differently things are ranked here from my Ten Favorite Alan Ladd Movies list and my Ten Favorite Alan Ladd Westerns list.  In fact, there are three characters on here whose stories don't appear on either of those lists!  So interesting how I can love a character more than the movie they're in, or a movie more than the characters in it.

1. Shane in Shane (1953)

Shane has so much dignity, grace, courage, integrity... it's no wonder that this performance is the one Ladd is remembered best for.  His past and future are mysteries, but we can tell he's haunted by his past, which clearly involved being a gunman.

2. Luke "Whispering" Smith in Whispering Smith (1948)

Luke Smith is a railroad detective, basically.  He's another upright, brave, uncompromising guy who puts others above himself and stands up for what's right even if it means great personal sacrifice.  It was watching Whispering Smith and Shane back-to-back that made me fall for Ladd in the first place :-)

3. Dan Holliday in Box 13 (1948-49)(radio show)

Holliday is a former newspaper reporter who decides to try writing fiction.  To get ideas for his stories, he puts an ad in the paper that says he's seeking adventure and will go anywhere and tackle any problem.  This leads to a whole lot of mysteries to solve, crimes to investigate, people to rescue, and other sundry adventures.  I've actually been a fan of this radio show longer than I've been a Ladd devotee!

4. Choya in Branded (1950)  

Choya is a drifting loner with a streak of decency.  Even when he's mixed up in something illegal, he ends up doing the right thing to help and protect others.  And standing up for others helps him realign his own moral compass in the process.

5. John Chandler in The Proud Rebel (1958)

Chandler is a kind, loving father who would do anything to help his young son be able to speak again.  He's a former Confederate soldier who lost everything but his son during the war, and his attempts to build a new life for them both are heart-melting.

6. Captain Webster "Web" Carey in Captain Carey, USA (1949)

Web Carey is a brave and honorable guy who believes he was betrayed by the woman he loved back when he was a spy during WWII.  When he discovers that everything he believed about that betrayal may have been a lie, he'll do whatever it takes to learn the truth.  Even if that might break his own heart all over again.

7. Thomas O'Rourke in Saskatchewan (1954)

O'Rourke was raised by Canadian Indians, but is now a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  He tries everything to keep peace between native tribes and white settlers, putting his own safety and reputation on the line repeatedly.

8. Dr. Merek Vance in And Now Tomorrow (1944)

Merek Vance is one of the characters Ladd played the most earlier in his career -- a cold, calculating man who is not interested in kindness or friendship or love... until he meets a girl who brings out the good parts of himself he's kept hidden inside.  In this case, he's actually a good guy, a philanthropic doctor who spends most of his time treating poor people who can't afford his treatments.  He just is more interested in science than his patients... until now...

9. Major Larry Briggs in Saigon (1947)

Briggs and his two pals, all ex-GIs, are only really interested in making money.  He definitely doesn't like or trust women, as you can see from the picture above.  He and his buddies are loyal to each other, but don't care much about anyone else until... 

10. Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (1949)

Poor Jay Gatsby.  Hopeful, yearning, always reaching for what he can't have, never ready to give up on his great dream.  Betrayed, hurt, wistful... Gatsby is pretty much tailor-made for Alan Ladd to play.

This has been a really fun list to come up with, and I may have to do similar gatherings of favorite roles for other actors and actresses I love!  It's rather different from just "favorite films," and I like that.