I also watched a lot of flicks as a kid off cable TV. My parents were always okay with that because of the built-in editing (so my dad didn't have to create the clean versions himself...hahaha). So, a lot of my "film education" came that way too.
I've never seen this one, but it sort of speaks to how good Jimmy Stewart was as an actor. He basically played the same role in every film (the pacifist, aww shucks, simpleton) who by the end of any given flick must rise above that characterization and do something truly valiant. I see it in It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Shop Around The Corner, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. His Hitchcock roles were a little different, but even they played on his awkward physical characteristics (his bit trying to sit at a low table in The Man Who Knew Too Much is a relatable favorite of mine). I consider him one of the greatest actors of all time because even though he didn't exhibit a ton of range, the roles he did inhabit frequently he usually elevated to iconic status.
This isn't a must-see, but it's got things I think you'd enjoy... when Stewart meets Dietrich, she starts the old "how's the weather" joke and he says "you gotta do better than that." So that joke was already tired in 1939!
You saw Shop Around the Corner? That's not one I'd have predicted you'd like! A friend of mine really hates Stewart, and I keep telling him, see Shop Around the Corner.
There's nothing wrong with being good within a certain range. Would you want Bogart doing Shakespeare? Nooooo... but I love Bogart a ton.
I wanna do a few Christmas movies this month, but I don't think I can bear Wonderful Life. It's too intense! The way Stewart has a meltdown when a staircase knob comes off just absolutely brings back too many nasty childhood memories... but damn if he doesn't act the hell outta that moment.
As to kids missing out on older movies... I do think they could enjoy them. I did at their age. But I promise you, enjoying old 30s-50s movies as a kid, instead of the new Eddie Murphy/Chuck Norris movies and such, did not make me a popular kid in school! I'm happy I never had a kid, I would have loved them and shared things with them and made them the biggest Social Outcast Geek in the world...
"Who's seen the newest Marvel movie?"
"Um, my Dad showed me a 1940s movie with French subtitles..."
I also watched a lot of flicks as a kid off cable TV. My parents were always okay with that because of the built-in editing (so my dad didn't have to create the clean versions himself...hahaha). So, a lot of my "film education" came that way too.
I've never seen this one, but it sort of speaks to how good Jimmy Stewart was as an actor. He basically played the same role in every film (the pacifist, aww shucks, simpleton) who by the end of any given flick must rise above that characterization and do something truly valiant. I see it in It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Shop Around The Corner, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. His Hitchcock roles were a little different, but even they played on his awkward physical characteristics (his bit trying to sit at a low table in The Man Who Knew Too Much is a relatable favorite of mine). I consider him one of the greatest actors of all time because even though he didn't exhibit a ton of range, the roles he did inhabit frequently he usually elevated to iconic status.
This isn't a must-see, but it's got things I think you'd enjoy... when Stewart meets Dietrich, she starts the old "how's the weather" joke and he says "you gotta do better than that." So that joke was already tired in 1939!
You saw Shop Around the Corner? That's not one I'd have predicted you'd like! A friend of mine really hates Stewart, and I keep telling him, see Shop Around the Corner.
There's nothing wrong with being good within a certain range. Would you want Bogart doing Shakespeare? Nooooo... but I love Bogart a ton.
I wanna do a few Christmas movies this month, but I don't think I can bear Wonderful Life. It's too intense! The way Stewart has a meltdown when a staircase knob comes off just absolutely brings back too many nasty childhood memories... but damn if he doesn't act the hell outta that moment.
As to kids missing out on older movies... I do think they could enjoy them. I did at their age. But I promise you, enjoying old 30s-50s movies as a kid, instead of the new Eddie Murphy/Chuck Norris movies and such, did not make me a popular kid in school! I'm happy I never had a kid, I would have loved them and shared things with them and made them the biggest Social Outcast Geek in the world...
"Who's seen the newest Marvel movie?"
"Um, my Dad showed me a 1940s movie with French subtitles..."