Historic Blasts From The Past!

At times I will be asking random friends and acquaintances for lists of movies to see what other people like and hopefully they will recall memories attached to the movies listed. As requested, my friend Bob made up a list of his favorite movies to be listed on the blog. Here they are in his own words:

#1 Bunny Lake is Missing
(1965)
My dad took the whole family to the Missouri Theatre on a cold winter night in 1965 to see this black and white mystery thriller, directed by Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a murder with Jimmy Stewart). It stars Laurence Olivier as Inspector Newhouse of Scotland Yard and Keir
Dullea (2001 Space Odessey) and Carol Lynley (Poseidon Adventure) as the two looking for Bunny. Instructions were displayed in the lobby that no one would be permitted to leave the theatre during the last five minutes! How do I remember the night was so cold? My dad locked his keys in the car and I stood watching him break in with a coat hanger while the bright lights of the theatre marquee played over us. 4 stars

#2 Alice Sweet Alice
(1976)
I first saw this film at the Hall Theatre on the corner of 9th St. and Cherry in 1976. Although the theatre in now sadly gone, I still have the film in DVD and VHS. Brooke Shields first screen appearance (10 years old) gets murdered early in the film, and her 12 year old sister Alice is the prime suspect. As family members and residents of their apartment building become victims, the police want to find out: is Alice the Blame? 5 stars

#3 Terror Train
(1980)
I also viewed this gem at the Hall Theatre in 1980. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis in her first headliner role. Ben Johnson and David Copperfield intense the plot. A group of college kids charter a train for the New Year's Eve to celebrate graduation and they all wear costumes. Right off the bat, someone is killed, and the murderer switches costumes with the victim. The viewer of the movie knows who is the killer by their costume, but not who it is! 4 stars

#4 Fright Night
(1985)
This shocker has everything! Stars abound in a great plot. A high school boy living with his mother, begins to suspect that the two men who moved into the house next door are vampires! He inspires the help of "Midnight Movie" star Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell) to help him fight the vampires. Great special effects and makeup! 5 stars

#5 Mr. Sardonicus
(1961)
In this black and white William Castle classic, we find out what happens when you dig up a dead relative to retrieve a winning lottery ticket that they were buried with. When Sardonicus takes off his mask you'll wish he didn't! 4 stars

#6 Night of the Demons
(1988)
Long respected, and rightfully so, as the best "kids spending Halloween night in an abandoned house" movie. These kids choose and old funeral house as their party site and demons are everywhere! This movie will stand out in your memory! 4 stars

#7 Tourist Trap
(1979)
When teenagers (including young Tanya Roberts, future Charlie Angel) have car trouble they end up at Slausen's (a roadside retreat owned by Chuck Conners, "The Rifleman"). The kids find nothing but trouble! Lots of special effects and creepiness! 4 stars

#8 When a Stranger Calls Back
(1993)
This television movie (but it doesn't look like a TV movie) a sequel to "When a Stranger Calls", is given top honors by all critics. Just watch it in the dark! 4 stars

#9 And Then There Were None
(1945)
This black and white Agatha Christie mystery portrays ten people who are invited to an island mansion for various reasons. When the boat drops them off for the weekend, they introduce themselves and realize that none of them know the host! They find a ring of ten ceramic Indians on the dining room table and a sheet music of "Ten Little Indians" on the piano. As the guests begin to drop, an Indian statue is found broken for each death! Intriguing mystery!! 4 stars

#10 Dr. Cyclops
(1940)
A group of scientists are summoned to a faraway country to aid Dr. Cyclops in his experiments.
Upon arriving, the visitors serve the Dr.'s needs and then become part of his experiments! Great special effects! 4 stars

The ten guilty pleasures in my movie library.

So what is a guilty pleasure? In my book it a movie that may not be great or well liked, perhaps even hated by a wide range of people, but for me it is film I enjoy no matter what people may think of it. It also may be a movie I would not readily tell people I have watched unless they admited to seeing it first. That does not mean I am ashamed of the movie, it only means it is one that I enjoy watching again and again but the title may not come up in normal conversation with everyday people. Enough explanations and on with the list. And by the way, they are listed in no particular order.

The Hangover
(2009)
I lied!!! This movie is my favorite guilty pleasure! I find it so entertaining that while I watch it I am taken away from real life (which sometimes sucks) and follow the antics of the three groomsmen who lost their groom during a men's weekend in Las Vegas before the wedding. Las Vegas becomes the fifth star after the four main actors as it is showcased in such wonderful detail it makes you want to fly there right away and follow in their footsteps. Alright, maybe I would not do everything they did, but it made Vegas seem like fun. And the movie's soundtrack, so darn awesome! It introduced music I have never listened to before and made me appreciated artists I would have never thought of listening to. I have met several people who absolutely hate this movie and I shake my head, but keep my thoughts to myself.

Clerks II
(2006)

Spirited Away
(2001)


O Brother, Where Art Thou?
(2000)

Dude, Where's my car?
(2000)

Dogma
(1999)

Candy
(1968)
My memory is a little fuzzy of when and where I had first seen this movie but I believe it was at the Liberty Theatre in Mexico, Missouri in 1968. During the late 60's and early 70's the Liberty was showing art house movies along with bigger named films which was not bad for a small town movie theatre. I think Candy was my first introduction to an "R" rated movie and it blew my socks off! It is a classic psychedelic 60's free love movie with so many big stars it made news in the mainstream media. People were wondering why Richard Burton, Marlon Brando, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Charles Aznavour and John Astin would star in such a sex farce. Even Ringo Starr of the Beatles had a role as a gardener who makes love to the star, Ewa Aulin, on a pool table while yelling out "Viva La Revolution"! The movie is quite dated now but the soundtrack will take you back with songs from Steppenwolf and the Byrds. So if you are a fan of that era in music and free love history, check out this movie and you will not be disappointed. And I sometimes wonder, what ever happened to the actress Ewa Aulin who played Candy? Perhaps someone can find out for me.

The Big Lebowski
(1998)

Be Cool
(2005)

A Little Princess
(1995)
This movie squeezes my heart as it is a Father/Daughter film of the highest quality. So many times I have watched it when my daughter was younger, and so many times I had to leave before the end so she could not see me choked up with emotion. What a wonderful bit of story telling by the Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, who interestingly made the soft porn movie "Y Tu Mama Tambien". The producers of the Harry Potter movie series seen the "Little Princess" and hired Cuaron to direct "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" with J.K. Rowling's blessing. The main character of Sara is played by Liesel Matthews who surprisingly has not been in many movies after the "Little Princess". It is interesting to note that she is heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the family has been caught up in a messy divorce battle. And I guess she preferred college over acting. In a personal note, my daughter was bound and determined to change her name to Sara whenever she could legally do so. That is how much she liked this movie although she still hasn't changed her name yet. Even now typing this I have a tear in my eye remembering such great times with my daughter.

Moving in a different direction

I have allowed this blog to lie dormant for much too long a time, especially since I have so many opinions about movies to share with the teeming masses. Earlier posts dealt with the many movie theatres that were once in Columbia and how I missed them all. So much time and money spent for such a wonderful entertainment but I have covered all I can remember. Now my posts will be about my favorite pasttime and passion of sorts, movies and all the details about them. Like politics and religion, almost everyone has opinions about movies and I will express mine in this blog. If you agree or disagree, let me know, just try to be nice about it. So here goes!

Campus Twin

The Campus Twin was at the corner of Hitt and Broadway and was a favorite of everyone. It may have been small but it showed a lot of good movies. It eventually started showing Art House movies and then closed down and renovated for shops. I think the Alpine store in in there now.

Biscayne III Theatre

One of my favorite shopping malls (and there are few) was the Biscayne which was on the West side of Columbia on Stadium Dr. Inside you found the Biscayne III Theatre which showed mostly second run or cheap movies. I think for a while they only charged less than $2.00 but I am not sure. I remember being herded into the theatre from the waiting area and there were times my friends and I would moo like cattle because of the situation. I remember seeing a lot of movies there but cannot remember any titles. It was torn down with the rest of Biscayne Mall to make room for another mall.

Broadway Cinema

The Broadway Cinema was the most comfortable of the local theatres until it's untimely closing.
The chairs would lean back a little given you a little comfort to watch your movie. It showed a lot of blockbusters because of the size and I remember seeing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" there in what would become one of my most memorable movie experiences. No one seemed to know what the movie was about and while the audience watched we all became as One. The audience seemed to all lean or gasp at the same time and no one talked. After the movie was over we gave it a standing ovation.

It was another sad day when it was demolished for the new Gerbes store. I had been coming to that theatre for years and now they were taking it away.

Columbia Mall 4 Theatres

The "gruesome" Columbia Mall started out with a movie theatre located at it's main entrance. It was a pretty good theater, especially if you had young kids because there was the Cafe Court with it's varied eateries and a arcade/game area which saw a lot of business. I saw a few movies there (once again I cannot remember the titles) but "Pocahontas" stands out because of the intermission. We went there during a stormy afternoon and half way through the film the tornado sirens went off forcing everyone to stand in a narrow maintenance hall. About a half hour later we were allowed to sit back down and finish the movie.