The Plot: A somewhat inept doctor (Robert Benchley) lectures a women’s club about his studies regarding the polyp’s reproductive practice, hemming and hawing his way through the more delicate details.
Why It Matters: The NFR cites no specific reason, but an essay by silent comedy expert Steve Massa tells us about the brief but memorable film career of Robert Benchley.
But Does It Really?: I give this the slightest of passes only as a representation of Robert Benchley. The film is intentionally droll, but some of the jokes still land. And hey, at least it’s short.
Everybody Gets One: A celebrated essayist and member of the famed Algonquin Round Table, Robert Benchley had been performing his comic lectures on stage for years before Hollywood came a-callin’. He went back and forth between acting in and writing for films before his alcoholism took his life at the age of 56.
Wow, That’s Dated: This film briefly depicts women’s clubs at the height of their movement.
Title Track: Benchley says the title once near the beginning of the film.
Other notes
What is the deal with the framing on this short? Am I just watching a bad print?
Such frank sex talk for 1928, how scandalous back now.
By talking around a polyp’s natural asexuality, Benchley inadvertently promotes transgender rights about 85 years before it was fashionable. Right on!
The success of “The Sex Life of the Polyp” led to several of Robert Benchley’s other comic lectures being filmed, eventually leading to Benchley getting his own series of humorous shorts with MGM.
Benchley’s years with the Algonquin Round Table were fictionalized in the 1994 film “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle”. Campbell Scott plays Benchley while wooing Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Dorothy Parker and wearing the hell out of a pencil moustache.
Further Viewing: A loving documentary on the Algonquin Round Table, “The Ten-Year Lunch” won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, one of the rare times a film not tackling a contemporary social issue won the prize.
The Plot: Arrogant weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) comes to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover its annual Groundhog Day celebration. After an unexpected blizzard strands him in town for the night, he wakes up to discover that he is reliving Groundhog Day again. Phil continues to experience the same day over and over, with varying results. Throughout his time loop, Phil starts to fall for his segment producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and begins to grow as a person. Let the theological speculation continue!
Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “a clever comedy with a philosophical edge to boot.” An essay by Steve Ginsberg gets philosophical as well and debates how the film will hold up 100 years from now. I don’t know how a movie about a groundhog will play to those DAMN DIRTY APES!
But Does It Really?: Oh yes. This is a film that just feels right on every level. You immediately buy everything this film has to offer (even its insurance policy!). A lot of that is Murray, giving perhaps his most underrated and surprisingly understated performance, but a lot of that is a simple yet memorable story by Danny Rubin, and Harold Ramis finding the perfect balance between the fantasy elements and a real-world grounding. Like many of the greats, it’s perfectly executed in a way that looks so damn easy.
Everybody Gets One: Special mention to Bill’s brother Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris “Cabin Boy” Elliott and (by virtue of archival “Jeopardy” footage) Alex Trebek.
Everybody Gets One – Bonus Round!: See that groom at the end that goes to Wrestlemania? That’s future two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. I’m not kidding. Go ahead, look it up. I’ll wait.
Wow, That’s Dated: Blue screens for TV weathermen rather than green screens. A non-digital alarm clock.
Take a Shot: Amazingly, they don’t say the phrase “Groundhog Day” in this film as often as I remember.
Seriously, Oscars?: While completely snubbed by the Academy, “Groundhog Day” did win the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. Its only stateside accolade was a Saturn Award for Andie MacDowell’s performance.
Other notes
Before we dive into the film itself, can I just say how much I hate the original poster? I know it’s the easiest way to convey the film’s plot, but “Groundhog Day” just isn’t that type of comedy. Also there’s a TV spot for this film that tells you to bring the family. They really didn’t know how to market “Groundhog Day” in 1993.
Of course Nancy Taylor doesn’t remember going to high school with Phil. She’s 12 years younger than him!
I always got the sense that Bill Murray wanted this film to be “Scrooged” with the kinks worked out. Both films are contemporary stories of redemption via the supernatural, but “Scrooged” relies too much on the effects and Murray has gone on record saying he wasn’t happy with the results.
I love a lot of the lines in this film, but the best is Phil’s “Maybe [God is] not omnipotent. He’s just been around so long he knows everything.”
Why does Larry turn into such a creep towards the end of the film? He was just kinda goofy and easy-going for the rest of it.
How long do I think Phil spent reliving Groundhog Day? About 100 minutes.
I usually don’t mention film reviews on these posts, but Desson Howe wins the “Most Short-Sighted” award for writing in his Washington Post review, “‘Groundhog’ will never be designated a national film treasure by the Library of Congress.” There’s one of these reviews for every classic film, but I have to mention this one specifically.
My own theological conclusions on the film? Phil learns to live in the present. He spent so much of his life focused on getting a better job and not being stuck where he is that he never took the time to acknowledge and appreciate whatever is right in front of him. When he learns to accept the now, he becomes a better person.
Legacy
A Broadway musical based on the film that, despite a star (and knee) turn by Andy Karl, recently went home empty-handed at the Tony Awards.
While definitely not the first film to feature the “reliving the same day” trope, “Groundhog Day” definitely helped its surge in popularity.
The phrase “Groundhog Day” as a reference to frequent repetition gets a lot of mileage in our government, specifically the military.
The film of course helped popularize Groundhog Day the holiday, as well as the town of Punxsutawney (even though the movie wasn’t actually filmed there).
Listen to This: How has “I Got You Babe” not made it into the National Recording Registry yet? It’s the perfect song choice for this film, as well as Sonny & Cher’s signature tune. Make it happen, people!
Directed & Written by George Seaton. Based on the story by Valentine Davies.
Class of 2005
Possibly my favorite trailer ever. They released the film in June, so they had to come up with a trailer that didn’t mention Christmas at all. The result is positively “groovey”.
The Plot: Macy’s manager Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) hires a man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) to play Santa Claus in their store. It turns out the old man believes that he is the real Santa Claus. After an incident involving the store’s psychologist (Porter Hall), Kris is sent to Bellevue. Lawyer/Doris’ neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) sets out to legally prove that Kris is Santa. They are aided by Doris’ daughter Susan (Natalie Wood), who has been raised without faith but needs something to believe in.
Why It Matters: The NFR calls it a “holiday favorite” and then explains the entire plot. Geez NFR, I know it’s a classic but it still has spoilers.
But Does It Really?: Full disclosure: This is my favorite Christmas movie. It’s just so infectious. Between an expertly structured screenplay and the most endearing Kris Kringle ever put on film, “Miracle on 34th Street” is wonderfully imbued with the Christmas spirit, with a cast of cynical New Yorkers thrown in for fun.
Everybody Gets One: Amazingly this is the only NFR credit for prolific writer/director George Seaton.
Wow, That’s Dated: Basic psychology tests, paper mail, smoking in bed, a shout-out to the B-29 bomber. But most importantly: Gimbels is gone. Long gone. You’re Gimbels.
Seriously, Oscars?: The film won three Oscars; Best Supporting Actor for Edmund Gwenn (Who said, “Now I know there’s a Santa Claus.”), Best Adapted Screenplay for George Seaton and Best Story for Valentine Davies (still not quite sure how you successfully judge that award). The film lost Best Picture to “Gentleman’s Agreement”, which I don’t see on this list anywhere**.
Other notes
That’s right, this perennial Christmas story was written by a guy named Valentine.
Isn’t having a complete stranger take over a parade float a major liability issue?
Boy, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade sure was different in 1947. Where are all the teen pop stars I’ve never heard of? And the performance from Broadway shows that will close in January if this doesn’t boost ticket sales?
Dear Natalie Wood, I know you hated being a child actor, but you are damn good in this film. P.S.: You have the best side-eye.
Fred’s kind of a creep at the beginning, but he’s charming so it’s okay!
Shout-out to Alvin Greenman as Alfred. He really was only 17 when he filmed this, and he is the last surviving cast member.
That’s Thelma Ritter in her first film role!
This film has perhaps the greatest use of the Dutch language in movie history.
Kris listed the reindeer as his next of kin? I guess he and Mrs. Kringle are having a rough patch.
I just want to point out that Susan chews gum all through the first part of the film, but then they do the bit where Kris gets gum in his beard and we never see her chewing gum again. That’s a long walk for a little bit.
Notice they don’t make Santa swear on the Bible. I suppose the universe would have imploded on itself.
Nope, just ignore the giant camera shadow on the pillar of the courtroom.
Oh Fred Mertz, you sarcastic buzzard.
Susan misspelled “beleeve” in her letter to Kris, but it’s still better than the spelling on most tweets.
Let the record show that this film (and Christmas) is saved by Jack Albertson’s character. Hooray for Grandpa Joe-ex-machina!
I had always heard that Edmund Gwenn’s final words were “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” While we may never know the truth, this website’s research shows that he may have said words along those lines to “Miracle” director George Seaton.
Legacy
The film has been remade four different times!
“The 20th Century Fox Hour” remade the film in 1955 as “The Miracle on 34th Street” starring Thomas Mitchell as Kris. Plus it’s got Hans Conried!
Ed Wynn took the reins in a live 1959 TV Special (footage not available).
A 1973 TV version unsuccessfully modernized the story with Sebastian “Mr. French” Cabot. And they made him sing!
“Miracle” got a big budget theatrical remake in 1994. It stars Richard Attenborough as Kris and makes the story more commercial. Because that’s what it’s all about!
In addition to the remakes, Meredith “Music Man” Willson turned “Miracle” into the 1963 Broadway musical “Here’s Love”. The only memorable song in the score is the one he wrote 12 years earlier.
The Plot: An educational short in which Bert the Turtle (voiced by Carl Ritchie) and a disembodied voice (Robert Middleton) teach children that in the event of an atomic bomb, the best thing to do is “duck and cover”.
Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film a “landmark…seen by millions of schoolchildren in the 1950s.” An essay by civil defense film expert Jake Hughes gives a detailed history of the film, as well as more historical context.
But Does It Really?: We can laugh about it now and write films like these off as propaganda, but the threat of nuclear war was very real and permeated America’s entire post-war era. “Duck and Cover” is one of many films that taught safety during an attack, but this is easily the best known and most-watched of them all. The film is included on the Registry with a stronger historical significance than most other films.
Wow, That’s Dated: Ummm…the entire thing?
Take a Shot: Oh no, please don’t make “Duck and Cover” a drinking game. For God’s sake it’s got a jingle!
Seriously, Oscars?: How that jingle didn’t even get a Best Song nomination is beyond me. I still got the damn thing stuck in my head.
Other notes
Archer Productions? Well any area attacked by the bomb would be considered a “danger zone”.
This is the film that dares to ask the question; Who gave that monkey a stick of dynamite?
“People who are walking”. Did they honestly think grade school kids wouldn’t know the word “pedestrian”?
Yes, just ask any older person to help you. They’re all qualified to do so, don’t ever question it!
So according to this film, protecting myself from the bomb is almost identical to protecting myself from an earthquake. Got it.
Legacy
According to Jake Hughes, “Duck and Cover” stopped being circulated to schools around 1957, though many schools and churches with their own purchased copy continued screening the film well into the Cold War’s resurgence in the 1980s.
The team that made “Duck and Cover” also worked on another Nuclear-era warning film; the more adult-oriented, noir-esque “Our Cities Must Fight”.
Bert the Turtle went into quiet retirement, occasionally being bothered by children asking about Tootsie Pops.
Sam Beckett used “Duck and Cover” to save a ‘50s family on an episode of “Quantum Leap”. But even that leap wasn’t the leap home.
In 2015, “Duck and Cover” got the Rifftrax treatment.
“Duck and Cover” shares a title with my rejected buddy cop screenplay. Frank Cover is a no-nonsense, by-the-book detective paired up with… a duck. I never got further than that.
So it turns out that even if you do “duck and cover” during a nuclear attack, you would still probably be killed. So if the bomb ever drops on me, I’m just gonna crank up the Vera Lynn and kiss my sorry butt goodbye.
Written by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on the biography “Patton: Ordeal and Triumph” by Ladislas Farago and the autobiography “A Soldier’s Story” by Omar N. Bradley.
Class of 2003
The Plot: The true story of General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) as he spends World War II trying to lead his men into a battle worthy of his idea of war. Along the way he earns the respect of his men and his country, but ends up irritating his colleagues; among them General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Michael Bates) and the always unseen Commander General “Ike” Eisenhower.
Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “one of Hollywood’s most enduring screen biographies” and praises the work of Schaffner, Scott, Malden, Coppola and North.
But Does It Really?: As an iconic piece of filmmaking “Patton” is top-notch. The main attraction is George C. Scott’s wonderfully layered, complex performance, but underneath that is a genuinely well-crafted film. What could have been a standard biopic that bordered on propaganda has been turned into a surprisingly insightful war epic. It may have lost some of its luster over time (the AFI kicked it off their revised 100 Films list), but “Patton” is a true piece of work that offers a unique perspective of a man who could only thrive in times of war.
Everybody Gets One: That’s Tim Considine from the old “Spin and Marty” show as the solider that Patton slaps in the medical tent. And special mention to Abraxas Aaran as Patton’s dog Willy. What kind of dog name that is I have no idea.
Wow, That’s Dated: “Patton” is one of only two films shot in the curved Cinerama process called Dimension 150. Interestingly enough, the other film, “The Bible: In the Beginning”, also stars George C. Scott.
Take a Shot: For a film whose title is the main character, they don’t say “Patton” as often as you’d think. Most people just call him “George” or “Sir”.
Seriously, Oscars?: At a time when America was divided over the Vietnam War, the Academy firmly embraced a film that, while showing a complexity about war, showcased the glory of a war that could be won. “Patton” took home seven Oscars, including Picture, Director and Original Screenplay (even though it’s based off of two different books. I just don’t understand these things.). George C. Scott won a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar, which he famously declined, telling the Academy he refused to participate in competition among actors. The film’s producer Frank McCarthy gracefully accepted the award, but returned it to the Academy the next day. The Academy held no hard feelings: they nominated Scott again the following year for “The Hospital”.
Other notes
For those of you curious about Coppola’s participation in this film, he had written a “Patton” screenplay draft in the mid-60s that got shelved. When Fox wasn’t completely satisfied with Edmund North’s draft, they brought back Coppola’s version and used enough to get him a co-writing credit. The two writers did not work together at any point during this film.
The WTF on the side of Patton’s vehicle stands for “Western Task Force”. Nothing else.
I appreciate a war movie were the Germans actually speak German.
It takes a while for George C. Scott to give us one of his classic explosive line readings, but it finally shows up in “You magnificent bastard I read your BOOK!”
Listen carefully for legendary voiceover actor Paul Frees dubbing a handful of minor characters throughout the film.
No wonder George C. Scott is perfect casting; Patton plays this war like it’s a chess game, and Scott loved him a good chess game.
Is anyone else seeing the bits of hair occasionally stuck in the camera lens?
Shoutout to cinematographer Fred Koenekamp. Camera hair aside, there’s some lovely one-take scenes at play here. Also worth mentioning is Jerry Goldsmith’s minimal, but effective score, which has been used and reused many times over the years. Sadly, no Oscar for either of them.
Karl Malden successfully sneaks in Sekulovich, his birth name, into one of the battle scenes.
I assume there will be a scene where Patton slaps his dog for being too cowardly.
If Patton believed in reincarnation, then swearing something upon your life has little to no meaning. Kind of an empty promise.
It’s a shame that Franklin J. Schaffner never again reached the same directorial peaks he did with “Patton”. “Papillion” and “The Boys from Brazil” have their supporters, but you’d think the man who helmed this and “Planet of the Apes” would have become the Ang Lee of the ‘70s.
Legacy
George C. Scott reprised his most famous role 16 years later for the TV Movie “The Last Days of Patton”, a sequel/prequel.
“Patton” was one of Richard Nixon’s favorite films. He viewed it several times during his years at the White House, especially while facing tough decisions regarding the Vietnam War. Spoilers: It didn’t help.
There was so much extra battle footage left out of “Patton”, a lot of it was reused for the 1972 TV Movie “Fireball Forward”.
Everyone has stood in front of a giant American flag and done a “Patton” parody, but the only one I could get a hold of (The Carson spoof costs money) is this teaser for “Smokey and the Bandit 3” back when it was going to be “Smokey IS the Bandit”. I was not expecting to reference this film on this blog…ever.
Listen to This: He received zero screen time in “Patton”, so listen to Dwight Eisenhower give a radio speech to European citizens regarding the D-Day invasion, preserved by the National Recording Registry in 2002.
The Horse's Head 