Last update - Thursday, August 15, 2019.
My Own Private Collection and the dates indicate when I first watched*, purchased**, videotaped/downloaded*** or wrote a review/notes on them****
These films pass as old friends
1. The Picture of Dorian Gray* 8.8 1983
2. Thin Ice* 3.12 1984 - Lili Heiser
3. Sun Valley Serenade* 20.12 1986 - Karen Benson
4. The Sound of Music*** 25.12 1986 - Maria Von Trapp
5. Mary Poppins** 31.7 1987 - Best Actress Oscar
6. Meet Me in St. Louis** 4.8 1987 - Esther Smith
7. Gone With The Wind** 13.9 1987 - Best Actress Oscar - Scarlett O`Hara
8. King Kong** 10.10 1987 - Ann Darrow
9. The Birds** 31.10 1987 - Melanie Daniels
10. Easter Parade** 18.12 1987 - Hanna Brown
11. The Pirate* 18.12 1987 - Manuela
12. A Streetcar Named Desire** 18.12 1987 - Best Actress Oscar - Blanche DuBois
13. The Wizard of Oz** 21.12 1987 - Special Miniature Oscar for Best Juvenile Performance - Dorothy Gale
14. The Lost Boys* 8.5 1988 - Michael
15. The Unbearable Lightness of Being* 1.6 1988 - Tomaz
16. A Star Is Born* 10.6 1988 - Esther Blodgett
17. The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone* 20.6 1988 - Karen Stone
18. Little Nikita* 28.12 1989 - Nick Grant
19. Running on Empty* 9.1 1990 - Danny Pope
20. That Hamilton Woman*** 9.6 1991 - Emma
21. Caesar and Cleopatra* 9.6 1991
22. I Could Go On Singing* 12.8 1991 - Jenny Bowman
23. Waterloo Bridge*** 28.12 1991 - Myra Lester
24. Dogfight* 6.5 1992 - Birdlace
25 My Own Private Idaho* 21.6 1992 - Mike Waters
26. Ship Of Fools*** 5.9 1993 - Mary Treadwell
27. Benny and Joon* 11.2 1994 - Sam
28. Speed* 12.8 1994 - Jack Traven
29. Interview With the Vampire* 13.1 1995 - Lestat
30. The Goldwyn Follies* 26.3 1995 - Olga Samara
31. Don Juan DeMarco* 15.8 1995
32. Ed Wood* 18.9 1995
33. In the Good Old Summertime* 21.9 1995 - Veronica
34. Summer Stock* 22.9 1995 - Jane Falbury
35. William Shakespeare`s Romeo+Juliet* 18.3 1997
36. Titanic* 8.3 1998 - Jack Dawson
37. My Lucky Star**** 18.1 1999 - Kristina Nielsen
38. Song Of Norway**** 27.6 2000 - Rikard Nordraak
39. Eye Of The Devil**** 5.11 2000 - Odile
40. The Fearless Vampire Killers**** 5.11 2000 - Sara
41. Valley of the Dolls* 13.1 2001 - Jennifer
42. Marnie**** 26.7 2001
43. Moulin Rouge* 28.9 2001 - Christian
44. The Wrecking Crew* 3.4 2003 - Freya Carlson
45. Cleopatra*** 7.7 2004
46. Born Yesterday**** 12.7 2004 Best Actress Oscar - Billie Dawn
47. Iceland**** 13.7 2004 - Katina
48. North By Northwest**** 19.7 2004 - Eve Kendall
49. Psycho**** 19.7 2004 - Marion Crane
50. Take My Life**** 28.9 2004 - Philippa Shelley
51. Dear Murderer**** 28.9 2004 - Vivian
52. Louisiana Purchase* 16.10 2004 - Marina
53. Bells Are Ringing**** 20.12 2004 - Mel Scott/Ella
54. The Vikings**** 9.2 2005 - Morgana
55. And Then There Were None**** 20.3 2005 - Vera Claythorne
56. Journey to the Centre of the Earth* 16.9 2005 - Carla
57. Slightly Scarlet* 21.1 2006 - Dorothy Lyons
58. I Was an Adventuress**** 25.3 2008 - Tanya
59. Den hemmelighetsfulle leiligheten* 14.9 2010 - Dott
60, Wintertime**** 28.4 2012 - Nora
61. Edge of Darkness**** 29.12 2016 - Karen Stedsgard
62. Mr Emmanuel* 14.2 2017 - Elsie Silver
63. The Ringer* 14.7 2017 - Cora Ann
I adopted the drag name Judy-Viv in 1992 & the surname Risosha in 1999
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
SONJA HENIE AND JOAN DAVIS IN HIT MUSICAL, January 18, 1999
By A CustomerMY LUCKY STAR 1938 was one of Sonja Henie`s biggest hits. In addition to her wonderful displays on ice, Joan Davis made a great and wonderful comic impact as Henie`s roomie. In addition, Fox cast British import Richard Greene as Henie`s loveinterest, Billy Gilbert for comic relief and Buddy Ebsen for some dancin`a n d comic turns as well. I have always wondered about the fuss made of the Astaire-Rogers films at RKO in the 30s. The Astaire at MGM was much better. So for the 30s, the Sonja Henie films are those I would reckomend. They are truly great thanks to glossy production values and great supporting casts...
April 28, 2012
By 1942 Sonja Henie made two more films for Fox....
Darryl F Zanuck(head of Fox) and Sonja hated each others guts and he was so sure he was making his last film with her, when Sun Valley Serenade 1941 became a box-office champion:-)
He had even sold the icerink to Republic, so they had to freeze a smaller dancing area for her last two films.
Thus her space in both Iceland and Wintertime 1942 are relatively smaller than in the other films...
But why didn`t they connect? Well for starters, Sonja was an athlete and had finished her celebrated career in the world of sports... It had made her a tough cookie....
Zanuck had risen from screen writing to become a producer who eventually became head of 20th Century in 1933 - bought out Fox 1935 - which in turn became a new studio - 20th Century-Fox....
They looked for new talent and stars of their own and Sonja was already a supertar of the ice...
He tried to let her do a featured part..... No no no---- she wouldn`t have it.... why should she? Carry the burden of other stars? She was already a legend in her own time....
Eventually he relented and gave her a leading lady contract, but she was used to getting her way---- and so was he.....
Even so... back to focus....
Even so...
Sonja turned her best skating and best acting performances in Sun Valley, Iceland and especially Wintertime...
In this one her comic timing shines through the whole picture.... she is relaxed and in this she shows an actress at work.
Her skating is also at her best... artistic.... and really showcases her as Queen of The Ice:-)
September 17, 2005
This film has some reputation and yesterday I finally purchased it. I must say, that compared to THE OUTRIDERS and THREE LITTLE WORDS, in this film Arlene Dahl gives a good performance. Her icelandic dialect is quite good(her parents were Norwegian and she even taught son Lorenzo Lamas a prayer in Norwegian when he was still just a kid) though she appears a bit plump, but she recovered after given birth to Lorenzo in 1958...
The production values are spectacular and I must agree with fellow critics that surprises stand in line... It IS hokum.... but GOOD hokum:-)
March 20, 2005
I saw this in the early 80s and when I purchased it on DVD in 2003, I was not let down.
It STILL is as funny, exciting, dramatic, suspenseful and watchable as I rememeber it. The cast is excellent, though Miss June Duprez is not on par with the rest of the cast. This is vintage Rene Clair and every who-dunnit-film owes a lot to this 1.This the the 1, never mind the remakes.
February 9, 2005
In 1928 MGM released the film "THE VIKING" starring Donald Crisp, a Technicolor silent... Though it told the saga of Leif Erickson, it was a giant flop... In 1999, "The 13th Warrior" also proved not so great at the box-office.
But the 1958 "THE VIKINGS" became a champion at the box-office. Beautifully shot in Norway and with the guidance of Norwegian Viking historians, the ships, set design and costumes were admirably executed.
However! What is a great effort from the cast and crew in the first half, turns into a dissapointing routine finale and it looks cheap and made for cable-TV... The fighting scenes at the Aella castle is alarmingly amateurish... Whether it is the fault of the extras or how it was shot, I can`t decide...
It`s a pity, because the star power is great and so real(compared to MGM`s glossy IVANHOE from 1952.... Sadly... in MY MIND.. the last 30 minutes is a letdown and mind u: It could easily have been a trifle longer... the final scenes are much to hurried...
The featurette with Richard Fleischer is interesting, but sadly lacking behind-the-scenes footage... It looks that is was made in a hurry.
December 20, 2004
I saw this film in 1982 and never got over it... I finally saw it two weeks ago and I cried my heart out; the music, Judy, Dean, the glamour... the fact that this was Freed`s last musical...
Indeed it IS a like a filmed stageplay, but if u r in the mood for good old Hollywood - do buy this film:-)))) Minnelli didn`t shoot Judy in closeups - no wonder... she playes Ella as it was on stage... Arthur Freed gave Judy`s boyfriend, musician Gerry Mulligan the role of a blind-date in order to please her...
Judy was not in good spirits during the shooting. She loathed the script and asked Freed to replace her and NOT pay her... He didn`t... knowing the world wanted to see Judy playing her Tony-award(1957)-winning performance on celluloid. She was suffering from nervous exhaustion... Indeed when she leaves the reastaurant and her dress is caught on fire; resulted in her having her legs burned for real...She became tired and suffered from early symptoms of the breast-cancer that eventually took her... When she died; it was called throat-cancer - breastcancer was taboo i 1965.
Do join in and look at a film, JUDY HOLLIDAY in her last screen role, concerning an era that was... hilarious indeed - I mean - "an answering service"????? hehehe
July 19, 2004
I`ve seen this film numerous times and I have always found it a bit cold, made without passion. Sure the shower-scene in particular is a mind-blower, but Hitchcock was much better off in the suspense-genre... This story simply isn`t interesting enough. It reason may be that it always had a GREAT reputation and everyone who ever saw it knew if by heart and thus destroyed the first viewing of others... Another factor is that Janet Leigh is much 2 pretty and ladylike for her role. When I saw Anne Heche in the 1998 movie I realised that H E R Marion was indeed a low-life, tramp - sort of - who jumped at the chance of doing something stupid 2 her employer. Janet Leigh`s Marion is never at any moment stupid... Alas, Anne was much more satisfying, as were Viggo Mortensen and Julianne Moore.
John Gavin and Vera Miles are lifeless - cardboard stereotypes and that leaves us only with Martin Balsam and the great Anthony Perkins. THEY breath life into their characters and are the main reason I like this version. William Macy and Vince Vaughn repeated their roles, but eh..... hehehehe???????? Let there be silence. In 1983, Perkins reprised his role as Norman Bates to even better effect in the splendid PSYCHO II.
July 19, 2004
It seems 2 me that Hitchcock sort of stole many elements from his pre-chaser-films and said: "Good-eeeeevening..... You think you have seen my best efforts, but I must unfortunately dissappoint you.....!"
Indeed this is a neurotic and clastraphobic chaser and suspenser - maybe the BEST EVER - thanks 2 the talents of Ernest Lehman, Hitchcock himself, his crew and the entire cast. There are numerous highlights from this film; I prefer NOT 2 single out any of them in favour of others. This film belongs IN EVERY HOME:-)
July 13, 2004
In the wake of the brilliant Sun Valley Serenade, Fox again cast Sonja with John Payne under the helm of H. Bruce Humberstone. Iceland is not as good as Sun Valley, but her skating is her best. The music is first rate, though the words hilarious(promoting the girls to let soldiers have fun with them, they might not come back hehehe). Sonja proves once again that she was a comic talent, but the stagefarce-plot is much too much at times... However; the musicalnumbers are a treat and u should always watch it for that reason alone.
July 7, 2004
Although Miss Taylor is no match compared to Vivien Leigh in CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA; this i s by far the best epic from old Hollywood - and the most entertaining..... Enough said. Ok, I can`t shut up; the arrival of Cleopatra into Rome is a masterpiece in itself... and the choreography is by the renowned Hermes Pan:-)
July 12, 2004
Judy Holliday 1923-1965(Judith Tuvim) was the greatest comedy-actress in films. No question about it. Jean Hagen did a good "Judy-Holliday" in Singin` in the Rain after the real star reportedly turned it down.
But Judy`s Billie Dawn is flawless. Broderick Crawford and William Holden are also good in their thankless roles as a foil to Judy. Buy watch them! Their`e good! As a production it halts in the second half when it tends to wave the flag and gets preachy... I always thought, but wait a minute: Seeing what happening in the US today, one would like certain politicians to see this film... it might improve their personalaties...(ooooh I`m being naive here now hehehe)... so it`s subject is as potent as ever... The 1993 version? Let there be silence.
June 27, 2000
In 1970 Toralv Maurstad found himself getting fanletters from all over the world, especially Japan, after his role as Edvard Grieg. Now greyhaired but still good-looking he is back to being a star in Scandinavia thanks 2 his role as Georg Anker-Hansen in the sitcom "HOTEL CAESAR". Yes, he did follow Miss Henderson`s footsteps(The Brady Bunch). SONG OF NORWAY IS a good show. The music is wonderfully integrated into the story and co-star FRANK PORRETTA - great as Edvard Nordraak.
The film was disscted by critics because Andrew L. Stone gave Grieg the Sound of Music treatment.
Who cares? The film has a following and is a monumental commercial for my homecountry. The photographer has captured most of Norway`s landscape treasures. Even 2day, I cannot remember seing such shots of Norway in our OWN movies or TV-specials. Grynet Molvig was first given the part of Theresa, but declined and so Swedish actress Christina Schollin got the part. HER daughter Pernilla is a musical star of great importance in Sweden.
July 26, 2001
To think that this is Tippi Hedren`s second film is a miracle. A model with such acting recourses? None of his other cool blondes had what Tippi had. I`m sick and tired of the comparesings with Grace Kelly. Kelly was great in her own way, but so was Hedren. Indeed Hedren had greater depth in her expressions(as Hitch also pointed out). The score, production design, photography, co-stars and STORY makes this one of the most intriguing films ever made; its theme? - decades ahead of its time. But most of all. It`s a beautiful match between artist and performer; Hitchcock and Hedren. Unfortunately Hedren`s releationship with Hitch stranded on this film after he made several clumsy sexual turns against her and became a VEEEEEEERY obsessive man. In Hedren own words: "After Marnie, I was hot". But he kept her on her contract and refused to lend her 2ther producers AND she collected her little salery. In "the making of" on this DVD she never discusses this, but it was revealed on a 1999 documentary about Hitch. Well in 1967, she co-starred with Brando and Sophia Loren for another master, none other than CHAPLIN. The film was the ill-fated "A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG". But this is MARNIE. Hitch`s greatest female vehicle... A must see.
The Goldwyn Follies
