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Miracle in the Rain (1956)

“Miracle in the Rain” is a romantic melodrama starring Jane Wyman as Ruth Wood, a shy secretary whose life is devoted to the care of her ailing mother. Years before, Ruth’s father left them, and her mother tried to kill herself. Now she’s in a deep depression and Ruth only leaves her to go to work and to do the shopping. The rest of Ruth’s time is spent in the care of her mother, who uses her depression as a tool to keep Ruth close. She spends her time poisoning Ruth’s mind against men, telling her that men will bring … Continue reading →

Van Johnson Checks out While Tara Reid Checks In

Okay, even I will admit that Van Johnson was a bit before my time. But, I do have fond memories of the “I Love Lucy” episode where he waltzes Lucy across the nightclub to impress Caroline Appleby. Johnson, a heartthrob from the ‘40s, died yesterday at the age of 92 of natural causes. (This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.) Johnson often appeared in roles at the All-American boy, exhibiting a charm that earned him the nickname “the non-singing Sinatra.” Through a career … Continue reading →

Follow the Fellow Who Follows a Dream

The title of this blog is taken from the last musical Fred Astaire ever made, “Finian’s Rainbow.” In the movie, he’s chasing a rainbow in hopes of finding the pot of gold. But that’s not what I want to talk about right now. Throughout history, we see evidence of men and women who were dreamers. Edison dreamed he could invent a phonograph. Salk dreamed he could invent a vaccine. The Wright Brothers dreamed they could fly. Each of these individuals were laughed at and scorned, often by friends and neighbors, and sadly, often by family. We have examples of dreamers … Continue reading →

The Enchanted Cottage (1945)

The 1940s was a great decade for melodrama. Take, for instance, “The Enchanted Cottage,” a love story about appearances and self-esteem. Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire) has returned to the village where she was raised in hopes of starting over. She’s a plain girl, and love has never come her way. She believes herself to be ugly, and no one has ever set her straight on that point. She takes a job as a maid in a cottage near her old home, working for the enigmatic Mrs. Minnett, played by Mildred Natwick, who is very good at looking enigmatic. Together the … Continue reading →