Revenge

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

It’s back to real movies. This month I turn to the revenge movie. You know the quotes, cold dishes, etc. Some are right on; some are just trite. But, revenge as the theme can produce great drama. I don’t think any one of us condones injustice, so while we watch a strong, or a suddenly strong, character wreak revenge, we tend to allow some latitude. What do you think? Do these films satisfy your vicarious need for justice, or do they go so far over the top that they disgust you?

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002): This classic story by Alexandre Dumas is beautifully told in this television movie. The cast is strong: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, and Dagmara Diminczyk  (ever hear of her?). This is definitely the “long con.” Pearce is the proper villain, in spades. Caviezel is the long-suffering hero who carries out his revenge inch by agonizing inch. Yum.

Gladiator (2000): Hunk Russell Crowe is deprived not only of his promised throne, but of his liberty. Forced to become a gladiator, he kills his way to fame and eventually fortune. Joaquin Phoenix plays his nemesis. This film won the Oscar for best picture.

Memento (2000): Guy Pearce again, this time playing a man with short-term memory loss. He knows his wife was murdered and wants to find her killer, but he can’t remember and must resort to notes written all over his body. Very clever.

The Limey (1999): Great cast includes Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman (enjoyed sitting at same table with him for dinner), and Peter Fonda. Professional thief Stamp gets out of prison, discovers his daughter has been murdered, flies to Los Angeles, meets ex-con Luis Guzmán, and eventually Fonda who was having an affair with daughter. Busy man. But who will receive revenge?

Death Wish (1974, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1994): You’d think that if Charles Bronson really had a death wish, it wouldn’t take five movies to do accomplish. But then he had the formula going and there are so many bad guys in need of being stopped.

Taken (2008, 2012): Ex-spy Liam Neeson must find his daughter who has been kidnapped in Paris by human traffickers. Obviously, they didn’t reckon with the rage of a father who knows tradecraft.

Rob Roy (1995): Neeson again, this time in another century, plays a put-upon hero in a classic story. (The hero came before the drink, ya know.) Villain Tim Roth betrays Rob Roy, who must then flee for his life. Stoic Jessica Lange stands by her man.

Leon: The Professional (1994): Hitman Jean Reno, witnesses a DEA team wipe out an entire family, except for a 12-year-old girl played by Natalie Portman. Reno ends up caring for her and she decides to follow him in his career to avenge her family. Watch for Gary Oldman as the dastardly villain.

Get Carter (1971): Michael Caine stars as Carter, whose brother has died in mysterious circumstances. He leaves London to go home to Newcastle to find out what happened. There he tangles with the local talent in his desire for vengeance. Caine is at his snarling best. Forget the newer version.

Carrie (1976): Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, and Amy Irving star in this adaption of a Stephen King novel. With King you know that revenge will take a different turn. Spacek is a mousy, unpopular high school student who uses her “special” gift to wreak havoc on her classmates after they play a particularly cruel joke on her. Everyone say, Yeah!

Cape Fear (1991, 1962): I like the version with Robert Mitchum; he can be very scary. Gregory Peck is the prosecutor who has dared to put Mitchum in jail for rape and assault. Mitchum starts a reign of terror against Peck and his family. Revenge and terror.

The Page Turner (2007): In this perfect little French film, revenge takes a while but is so very sweet. A young piano player who dreams of being admitted to a prestigious music school is distracted by the chairwoman of the admitting committee and fails her audition. Years later, she finds herself in the employ of that very same woman. Revenge plays itself out with quiet beauty.

Munich (2005): This should have been a great movie. This true story has all the elements needed for justifiable revenge. However, Spielberg messes it up. For one thing, it is mostly shot in the dark, so I had a hard time figuring out what was going on. Skip this one.

Honorable Mention: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (Swedish versions)

I would guess that nearly 90% of westerns are revenge themed. The old west where killings seldom get punished is awash in revenge. Here are just a few of those I consider the best:

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): Cold-eyed killer Henry Fonda is hired by the railroad to kill anyone who tries to stop its progress. He kills the wrong man. The widow, Claudia Cardinale, hires Charles Bronson and Jason Robards to hunt down Fonda and kill him. This Sergio Leone classic has all the elements of a great film. It could have been shot anywhere, but the bleak landscape is perfect.

True Grit (1969, 2010): I think both these versions are good in their own way. As for casting, John Wayne was the better. Jeff Bridges was just an imitation. As for Kim Darby, Hailee Steinfeld was much the better. Darby was so irritating I would not have been sorry to have her stay in the snake pit. Matt Damon and Glen Campbell were about even, although I much prefer Damon as an actor. All the bad guys were good.

Unforgiven (1992): This Oscar-winning movie starred Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Eastwood is hired by a group of whores to get rid of Sheriff Hackman, who has been brutalizing them.

Outlaw Josey Wales (1976): Eastwood again, this time with Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George and others, takes on the Jayhawkers who killed his wife and son. Who can stand a chance with Eastwood on the rampage.

Honorable mentions: Magnificent Seven, Nevada Smith, Man From Laramie, and Rio Lobo

Harry Martin Luther's Mineshaft Whiskey

This month, I’m writing a totally different blog. It will be a family story that I’ve often thought would make a nice, little movie. The story begins during Prohibition. In 1919, Harry Martin Luther and his family arrived by train in Jerome, Arizona. 

Today, Jerome is a tourist ghost town protected by the state. But, in 1919, Jerome was a wide-open boom town of about 10,000 people. The major business was the United Verde Copper Company. The open-pit mines were flourishing. The largest steam shovel in the world was in operation. The mine owners provided a dining room for employees, and the mine supervisor, E.E.Vanderhoff, made sure the food was good and plentiful. Lunch fixings were also available. A family could get better food here than at most of the local restaurants. There was a baseball park and ballplayers were given token jobs at the mine. They spent most of their time practicing for games with the neighboring towns of Clarkdale, Prescott and Miami.

Harry got a job as a steam shovel foreman. His son Chet, my father, was working on the Verde Tunnel and Smelter Railroad. The family, consisting of Harry, his wife Arathusa, daughters Laura, Doris and Nellie, and Chet, found a small frame house about two miles out of town near the old A& A Mine. 

All was going well for the Luther family until the mine owners decided to shut down for equipment repair. Many workers were laid off, including Harry. Fortunately, he was not without resources.

Harry convinced the boilermaker at the roundhouse (a railroad building for train engines) to build him a copper still. He found some 50-gallon brandy barrels and old, used whiskey bottles. At the general store, he bought corn meal, potatoes, and brown sugar. He also bought a chemical testing kit.

Behind his house was a brush-covered hill. After scouting around the abandoned A & A mine, Harry found a mine shaft behind a conveniently placed bush. The hole went back about 100 yards and opened into a small room. 

Harry and Chet set up the still and started the “mash” working. When it was through working, they ran it through the copper coils and through buckets of charcoal and sand and then into the whiskey bottles. A little brown sugar was added for color. Harry used the testing kit to ensure quality. The bottles were sealed and the product was ready to market.

Chet remembered staggering out into the fresh air after smelling the fumes. He also recalled feeding the mash to the family pig, Mike. Mike tried it once and swore off the stuff forever.

After dark, Chet would saddle his favorite horse, Whitey, stuff the pockets of a greatcoat and his saddlebags, and set off for town. He would ride by way of a canyon until just outside of town and then make his way to the back of the Chinese restaurant where he had permission to store the bottles in the refrigerator. He would then make the rounds—pool rooms, dance halls, and the basement of the Post Office Cigar Store where there was always a crap game going on.

One block of Main Street had been paved and the town held Saturday night dances. Corn meal was scattered on the street, a piano was put on a platform at the T.F. Miller Mercantile and the dancing would begin. 

While the dance was going on, Chet sold Harry’s Mineshaft Whiskey. He employed some of his friends to help sell the stuff. They in turn passed it on. A young fellow tried to sell Chet his own whiskey—told him it was good stuff. The prices for this “good stuff” were $4 a pint, $7 a quart and $25 a gallon. A gallon?

A good customer of Harry’s was Doc Carlson, the mayor of Jerome. Doc liked to have a “little social party” from time to time.  He always bought from Harry.

The only competition Harry had was liquor made in 5-gallon tin cans. The police in Jerome stopped that enterprise, but left Harry alone.

It wasn’t long before the” prohighs” (called revenuers in other parts of thirsty America) figured out who the big bootlegger in Jerome was and decided they better shut him down. They would come to Prescott from Phoenix and check in with Sheriff George Ruffner. George would call the police chief in Jerome, who would send someone riding fast to warn Harry.

The prohighs would ride out to the Luther home, but they never found anything. Harry was lying low. Chet used to smile when he told about hiding in the mineshaft behind the conveniently placed bush. He could see the prohighs riding within 10 feet of him. He could hear them talking. They never saw him. After a few unproductive days, they would return to Phoenix.

This went on until finally the prohighs, frustrated in their attempts to arrest Harry, devised a plan. They waited until everyone in the household had gone to town, rode out to the house and planted a still under the house. Later, when Harry was home, they raided the place and arrested Harry.

The prohighs took Harry to Prescott and turned him over to Sheriff Ruffner. The prohighs, satisfied with a job well done, headed back to Phoenix.

Harry was given 30 days in jail. The sheriff, knowing a good thing when it came his way, put Harry’s talents to work for the good citizens of Prescott. He convinced Harry to run off some batches of his fine whiskey using a confiscated still in the basement of the jail.

After Harry ran off a batch, he was allowed to go into town. There he enjoyed eating in restaurants and playing cards. When it was dark, Harry returned to jail to spend the night.

When the 30 days were up, Harry went back to Jerome and got his old job back. Arathusa, who had not been pleased with her husband’s private enterprise, put a halt to any further ideas of the production of Harry Luther’s Mineshaft Whiskey. 

The Western world lost Harry Luther’s Mineshaft Whiskey, but the still was never found. It may be there in the mine shaft behind the conveniently placed bush waiting for some enterprising person to come along.

Villains and Villainesses

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

It’s time for those hisses and boos. This month I present you with some of the great villains and villainesses (I know it’s not a word but I like the sound of it) in movies. The role of a good villain can make an ordinary film memorable. It can make or break a promising career for an actor. After Cuckoo’s Nest, did Louise Fletcher ever do anything important? Did Bruce Dern ever lack for work? Then there are stars that could play heroes or villains and still be loved. Angela Lansbury was the super villain in the Manchurian Candidate and the loveable Jessica Fletcher in television’s Murder, She Wrote.

Villainesses

Kathy Bates: A New York stage actress before coming to Hollywood, Bates hit it big as Annie Wilkes in Misery. She won an Oscar for Best Actress. As bad as it was for James Caan, it was really painful to watch this performance. My legs kept twingeing. What a truly terrifying film. In Delores Claiborne, Bates plays a suspected murderer. Mild stuff.

                                                                                                                                               

Angela Lansbury: At age 18, Lansbury played the maid in Gaslight. Her attitude toward Ingrid Bergman helped establish her as a villain. Her portrayal as Laurence Harvey’s mother in The Manchurian Candidate makes her one of the most despicable of movie villains.

Louise Fletcher: Who can ever forget Big Nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Here was a woman who really loved her job and the power it brought. Fletcher’s career went nowhere after this film.

Margaret Hamilton: As the wicked witch of the west, Hamilton cackled her way to stardom. Although a good villain in an enchanting film, her powers just evaporated.

Barbara Stanwyck: In Double Indemnity, she runs circles around Fred MacMurry and leaves him holding the bag. I rather liked this villain.

Glenn Close: She has two memorable villain roles: Fatal Attraction, in which she earned my dislike not by her treatment of Michael Douglas but her boiling of the family pet; 101 Dalmatians, in which she again has dastardly plans for small animals.

 

Bette Davis: In the horror film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Davis looks the part. She is very, very, wicked.

Villains

Sir Lawrence Olivier: As the angel of death in The Marathon Man, he confirms my belief in the evil of dentists.

Gary Oldman: In The Professional, he plays a crazy villain. The combination is terrifying.

Orson Wells: In The Third Man, Wells gives new meaning to the black market. His stealing of needed penicillin is so wicked I couldn’t appreciate his acting. In Touch of Evil, his portrayal of a slimy sheriff was delicious. Unfortunately, hero Charlton Heston was cast as a Mexican.

Javier Bardem: His role in No Country for Old Men may have been the consummate villain’s role. Bardem’s dead-eyed, unemotional villainy was second to none.

Robert Mitchum: Sleepy-eyed Mitchum causes real terror in Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter. Both films still haunt me.

Bob Gunton: Didn’t you keep wishing for come-uppance for Gunton as the prison warden in The Shawshank Redemption? And didn’t it feel great when it happened?

Sir Anthony Hopkins: Talk about delicious, Hannibal Lecter was too convincing in The Silence of the Lambs.

Charles Coburn: It’s getting more difficult to determine the worst villain. Coburn certainly gets a vote for the “kindly” doctor in Kings Row. Yes, he’s the one who amputated the legs of Ronald Reagan. He did this out of spite, not necessity. Ouch.

Bruce Dern: A villain in any number of westerns, his role in High Noon stands out. Also, he was responsible for the death of Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. Boo, hiss.

Anthony Perkins: Here’s another crazy villain. In Psycho, Perkins created a truly memorable character. This film is so familiar that almost everyone knows about the Bates Motel and why they wouldn’t want to stay there. This is one of the scariest films ever.

Gene Hackman: In Unforgiven, it’s the sheriff who’s the villain, not the gunslinger.

Henry Fonda: Cold-eyed Fonda is chilling in the classic Sergio Leone western, Once Upon a Time in the West.

Honorable Mentions: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Burt Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success, Paul Muni in Scarface, Raymond Burr in Rear Window, Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator, Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner,  and Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs.

Pirates

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Aarrrggh! Avast, me maties. Shiver me timbers. Where do they get this gibberish? Did any real pirate really say things like that? Yes, it’s pirate movies this month. Swash your buckle or buckle your swash. Suspend your belief. Enjoy, for Hollywood never let the truth get in the way of a good pirate movie. And, for all the pirate movies made, very few are in the “A” category. In your heart you know that pirates were never so appealing, so clean cut, so polite or so fair in their dealings.  You can like these pirates—not so their real-life counterparts. You know they were low-life, scurvy, double-dealing cut-throats.  Notice how many pirates end up being governors of Jamaica.

Treasure Island (1934, 1950, 1972, 1990, 2012): Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale is the classic pirate film. My favorite is the 1950 version with Sir Robert Newton as Long John Silver. This was Disney’s first live-action movie. Bobby Driscoll played the boy.

Captain Blood (1935): Errol Flynn plays Dr. Blood who is enslaved by Basil Rathbone on his plantation. He escapes, joins a pirate gang, rescues the girl, Olivia de Havilland, and somehow becomes the governor of Jamaica.

The Buccaneer (1938, 1958): The 1938 version by Cecil B. De Mille stars Frederic March. The 1958 version stars Yul Brynner as Jean Lafitte, the pirate who helped General Andrew Jackson fight the British at New Orleans. As a result Lafitte earned a pardon for his piratical ways. Claire Bloom and the great Charles Boyer co-star.

Reap the Wild Wind (1942): You knew John Wayne would show up sometime. Here he is fighting pirates in Key West in the 1840s. Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland support the Duke. This film did earn an Oscar for Best Effects (Wayne fighting a giant squid before Kirk Douglas fought his in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; maybe it was the same one).

The Black Swan (1942): The best part of this film is watching Tyrone Power. Household name Laird Cregar plays pirate Henry Morgan. Power plays his lieutenant and Maureen O’Hara the girl. Morgan becomes the governor of Jamaica and vows to get rid of the pirates. This film is rather fun to watch.

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952): And now for something completely different. Put Abbott and Costello in a movie, then add Capt. Kidd and you’re in for a really delightful ride. Through a switched letter, the duo gets a hold of a treasure map. Shiver me timbers, Capt. Kidd kidnaps them and insists they find the treasure.

Against All Flags (1952): Here’s Errol Flynn as a British officer who infiltrates a pirate gang in Madagascar. He becomes enamored of Maureen O’Hara who’s a pirate. What’s a bloke to do?

Crimson Pirate (1952): Here is a romp with Burt Lancaster as the pirate gang leader. He and his band of merry pirates pretend to have scurvy. Somehow this attracts royal ships to help, and bob’s-your-uncle, they get pillaged. Will they never learn?

Golden Hawk (1952): The great non-actor Stirling Hayden plays a French privateer. [A pirate works for himself; a privateer works for a country.] He takes Rhonda Fleming from a Spanish ship. She wants him dead, but, lo and behold, he turns out to be the governor’s son. Go figure.

High Wind in Jamaica (1965): Anthony Quinn and James Coburn star in this movie about pirates hijacking a ship full of children on their way to England to be brought up properly—full of swashbuckling fun.

Pirates of Penzance (1983): Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta, this film is absolutely delightful. Kevin Kline as the pirate displays his physical sense of humor. Linda Ronstadt is the demure young maiden. Angela Lansbury is the mysterious lady with a secret. Rex Smith is the male ingénue. Great music and good fun.

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003, 2006, 20011): These films have very good music and little else. They are silly to the point of embarrassment. Errol Flynn would be appalled.

Cutthroat Island (1995): Statuesque Geena Davis takes over her father’s pirate ship in the 1600s. Matthew Modine co-stars. This movie misses the mark on several levels.

Hook (1991): Here’s another miss. Great cast includes Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Bob Hoskins and Maggie Smith. Another Spielberg disaster.

The Black Pirate (1926): Douglas Fairbanks, the king of the heroic pirates, stars in this silent film.

The Light at the Edge of the World (1971): Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner star as pirates who capture a lighthouse in Argentina. The plan, dastardly it is too, is to lure ships to ground and then pillage.

Master and Commander (2003): This is not your typical pirate movie. The hero, Russell Crowe, is the master and commander who must fight a renegade French frigate from Napoleon’s navy. This film is sweeping in scope, beautifully photographed, and well-acted. Above average.

Scalawag (1973): Kirk Douglas again in a Robert L. Stevenson tale of a peg-legged pirate and his pixilated parrot who knows where the treasure is, but isn’t telling.

The Sea Hawk (1940): To me, this is the classic pirate movie. Errol Flynn plays a British privateer hired by Queen Elizabeth I to harass the Spanish fleet and the New World colonies. Brenda Marshall plays a Spanish lady Flynn falls for. He is captured by the Spanish, but escapes to warn England before all is lost. Claude Rains and Gilbert Roland co-star. If you only see one pirate movie, this is the one to see.

Tearjerkers

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Get out your delicate hankies, manly handkerchiefs or just plain tissues. It’s time for tearjerkers. I have never been sure why we subject ourselves to the inexpressively sad movie. The fact that we do says something about our humanity.

What makes us cry? For me, loss and courage are the triggers. Sometimes cruelty will cause tears, but most often it causes anger. Almost all the holocaust films make me cry with anger. I’ve only included two here.

Sometimes a good cry cleanses our hearts. Sometimes we find ourselves watching a film that we didn’t suspect was sad. I hate it when that happens. Sometimes, in order to watch a superior film, we have to pay a small price.

The list is long and varied and in no particular order.  Try to keep a dry eye as you read.

Elephant Man (1980): David Lynch directs this saddest of all sad movies. John Hurt plays the title role with Sir Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, and Dame Wendy Hiller filling out the cast. I’m sure there was a puddle full of tears under my seat. It is even worse knowing that it was based on a true story.   

Brian’s Song (1971): James Caan stars as Brian Piccolo, a Chicago Bears football player with cancer. Billy Dee Williams is his friend, Gale Sayers. A true and sad story.

Sophie’s Choice (1982): Meryl Streep at her usual best plays Sophie—who was forced to make a terrible choice during the holocaust. Kevin Kline plays the love interest.

                    

Imitation of Life (1959): The cast includes Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, and Mahalia Jackson. Two single mothers raise their daughters. Jackson’s daughter resents the fact that her mother is black, while she is much lighter. Sadder than it sounds.

The Champ (1979): Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway and Rickie Schroeder (Golden Globe winner) head up the cast for this weep fest. Voight, a retired boxer, must go back in the ring to earn money for a custody battle.

Terms of Endearment (1983): How can you lose with a cast that includes Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson? This film cleaned up in the Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress (MacLaine), Director (James L. Brooks), Best Actor (Nicholson). Two hankies at least.

Life is Beautiful (1997): The second holocaust film stars Roberto Benigni (Oscar winner), his real-life wife Nicoletta Braschi, and Giorgio Cantarini. Incarcerated in a concentration camp, Benigni pretends it’s all a game for his young son. With a tank as the grand prize, the boy is delighted to play along.

Brief Encounter (1945): This movie is about impossible love between Trevor Howard as a middle-aged doctor and Celia Johnson as a suburban housewife. The two meet on a train platform and start a love affair. Ending it is another matter.

Dead Poets Society (1989): Robin Williams (nominee for Best Actor) is an unconventional teacher who uses poetry to inspire his students. Sounds harmless, doesn’t it?

Gone with the Wind (1939): I know, I know, but I did cry.

A Star is Born (1954): This is the Judy Garland and James Mason version. There were also movies made in 1937 and 1976. As much as I like Kris Kristofferson, the 1976 version was not very good.

Ordinary People (1980): Robert Redford’s directorial debut earned him an Oscar for this film about a terribly dysfunctional family. Mary Tyler Moore plays a repressed wife who mourns the death of her favorite son while barely tolerating the existence of her living one. Timothy Hutton plays the living son and Donald Sutherland is the father. This film also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Hutton) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Red Pony (1949): Based on a John Steinbeck story, this unbearably sad film still haunts me. Robert Mitchum, Myrna Loy and Peter Miles star. Not for children.

Phar Lap (1983): This film about an Australian race horse has but one decent human being in it. This horse gave everything and was probably murdered by gambling interests.

The Yearling (1946): Another teary story about a boy and his deer. This one takes place following the Civil War when times were tough and food hard to come by. Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman play the parents.

The Way We Were (1973): My daughter and I had to sit in the first row and literally had tears in our ears from having to tilt our heads upward. Even from that angle Redford was beautiful. The movie sort of lost its way, but everyone I knew cried. Imagine, putting a cause over Redford. Unthinkable!

Bambi (1942): Everyone cried during this cartoon, right? Don’t deny it.

Hugo the Hippo: Not many of you have seen this cartoon. I hate to admit that I cried. My young son was rather embarrassed. I don’t blame him, but…

Little Women (1933, 1949, 1994): I prefer the 1949 version with June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh and Mary Astor. This is a great classic film based on a classic book.

Separate Tables (1958): The film centers on a group of lonely people at a remote English hotel trying to connect. With a cast including Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven (Oscar winner), Dame Wendy Hiller and Rod Taylor, one wonders what the problem was.

The Old Man and the Sea (1958): Oscar nominee Spencer Tracy stars as the old man who fights the sea and a huge marlin to a Quixote finish.

Dances with Wolves (1990): Oscar winner as Best Director, Kevin Costner is a Civil War veteran with nothing to live for until he is sent to the frontier. He makes friends with wolves, Indians and a very special horse. Needless to say that most are taken from him by cruel acts of men.