For most of July, I spent the month watching a bunch of movies starring or featuring Olivia de Havilland, as she was TCM’s Star of the Month in honor of her centennial. If I have time within the first couple of weeks, I’ll try to dedicate a post to some thoughts on the de Havilland films I watched. I’ve been quite busy this past week and am in the midst of moving out of state, as I got a job as a broadcast news producer! So I don’t know how much time I’ll have for blogging and movie-watching, but I did sign up for a number of blogathons in August (and I’d like to fulfill them). We’ll see how it goes once I’m settled in. For now, though, this post will be pretty short compared to my usual monthly wrap-ups.

New-to-Me: 23

Re-Watched: 11

New-to-Me Films by Decade:

• 1920s – 0
• 1930s – 6
• 1940s – 3
• 1950s – 6
• 1960s – 2
• 1970s – 4
• 1980s – 1
• 1990s – 0
• 2000s – 1
• 2010s – 0

List of New-to-Me Films:

1. Anthony Adverse (1936)
2. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
3. Naughty Marietta (1935)
4. The L-Shaped Room (1962)
5. Blonde Venus (1932)
6. The Irish in Us (1935)
7. They Died With Their Boots On (1941)
8. Cast Away (2000)
9. Ride Lonesome (1959)
10. Call It a Day (1937)
11. Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
12. Gold Is Where You Find It (1938)
13. Devotion (1946)
14. Lovely to Look At (1952)
15. Medium Cool (1969)
16. The Proud Rebel (1958)
17. The Ambassador’s Daughter (1956)
18. Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
19. Red Sun (1971)
20. The Wages of Fear (1953)
21. The Fifth Musketeer (1979)
22. The Swarm (1978)
23. Libel (1959)

A Few Favorite Discoveries:

The Proud Rebel (1958), directed by Michael Curtiz

One movie that stuck with me after watching it was The Proud Rebel, which was my favorite Olivia de Havilland discovery of the month. Starring Alan Ladd, this movie is somewhat similar to his most famous western Shane. Just like the 1953 film, this one has a young boy at the heart of the story, played by Ladd’s real-life son David Ladd. Throughout most of the film, the younger Ladd communicates through gestures and facial expressions as his character has become mute from a traumatic experience, and he portrays his emotions effectively. For his work on the film, he was recognized with two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Most Promising Newcomer (Male) and won a special Golden Globe as the Best Juvenile Actor. The father/son bond between Alan and David Ladd is obviously authentic given their real-life relationship, but de Havilland brings it as well, and she has wonderful chemistry with the two actors. Unlike most westerns, this one has a lot of soft edges, and the story is very heartfelt.

The Wages of Fear (1953), directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

I posted my monthly entry for the 2016 Blind Spots series a few days ago on The Wages of Fear, another great film I watched this month. My thoughts on the film can be found here.