Friday, September 7, 2007

Classic Film Friday: Double Feature

In case anyone didn’t notice, I had a Netflix snafu a couple of weeks ago which left me with no movie then, and lots of classic movies now. To celebrate I offer two classic films this week (yes I know it's a bit late).

The first is family friendly and somewhat obscure Disney classic The Ugly Dachshund. This movie is a dog lover’s dream. A Great Dane puppy raised amongst a family of Dachshunds results in all kinds of compromising situations. Dean Jones (from the popular Herbie movies) plays an artist that finds life with his wife’s doting on their show dog dachshunds a little less than “manly”. When the opportunity presents itself to own a Great Dane it’s an offer he can’t refuse. There’s plenty of doggy mischief and good hearted fun in this 60’s classic.





Next up is a film that should be firmly on the list of “must see classic movies” of all time. I’m referring to the 1934 murder-mystery-comedy The Thin Man. This movie is the quintessential example of why movies don’t need big budgets or extravagant effects or gratuitous sex to tell a great story.

Nick Charles (William Powell) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) are a high flying, heavy drinking (swimmingly drunk even), and overly witty couple with nothing better to do than solve mysteries involving their murdered friends. The one liners and sarcasm come out by the truckload and the ending isn’t certain until the very last minute. The first movie in a series of six, The Thin Man entertains in layers of dialog, plot twists, and sharp comedy.

1 comment:

WileyCoyote said...

Yup, we've got all of the Thin Man movies (TG for Amazon - and the ability to record to DVD anything that comes up on Turner Classic Movie Marathons!) The Thin Man rox.
I had forgotten all about that old "Ugly Dachshund" movie, and I am a big fan of Dean Jones' innocent insanity. Thanks for reminding me! LOL