Top 10 Father’s Day Movies

It’s Father’s Day, so rent a movie to watch with your dad. Here’s my list of my 5 favorite classic and 5 favorite contemporary Father’s Day movies.

Top 5 Classic Father’s Day Movies

Cheaper By the Dozen

Released 1950

Directed by Walter Lang

Starring: Clifton Webb, Myna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Betty Lynn

This is the best Father’s Day movie of them all. It’s touching, funny, sad, and nostalgic. If you haven’t watched this earlier version, you’re in for a treat.

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father

Released 1963

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Starring: Glenn Ford, Shirley Jones, Ron Howard, Stella Stevens

After his mother dies, a young boy plays matchmaker for his father. This is a great movie, but don’t watch it unless you have tissues handy. It’s a real tearjerker.

Three Godfathers

Released 1948

Directed by John Ford

Starring: John Wayne, Harry Carey Jr., Pedro Armenderez

This is a wonderful classic John Wayne movie where Wayne is an outlaw running from the law. He comes across a baby in the desert and becomes the child’s adoptive father. He risks his life and his freedom to save the child.

Life With Father

Released 1947

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor

Funny movie about the exasperations of fatherhood at the turn of the century. William Powell is a hoot in this, and Irene Dunne should have been a blond.

The Champ

Released 1979

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Starring: Rick Schroder, Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Jack Warden

This version of the classic movie about a father of a boxer is better than the original 1938 version. Keep tissues handy. This is a tearjerker.

 

There are a series of classic movies that I would like to also list that are the forerunner of every “Father Knows Best” TV Show. These are “The Hardy Family” Movies popular during the 1930’s and 1940’s starring Mickey Rooney as a teen-ager. I’ll list these movies on Thursday.

 

5 Favorite Contemporary Father’s Day Movies

Pursuit of Happyness

Released 2006

Directed by Gabriele Muccino

Starring: Will Smith

The best movie about a father and son and about the perseverance of the human spirit ever made. This is based on the true story of Chris Gardner who went from rags to riches to make a life for his son.

Frequency

Released 2000

Directed by Gregory Holbilt

Starring: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel

A great thriller movie about a father and son with a little sci-fi and time travel mixed in.

Liar, Liar

Released 1997

Directed by Tom Shadyak

Starring: Jim Carey

Comedy about the effects of lying to our children.

The Incredibles

Released 2004

Directed by Brad Bird

Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter

Great kid’s movie about the struggles of raising a family when you’re a superhero.

Daddy Day Care

Released 2003

Directed by Steve Carr

Starring: Eddie Murphy

Comedy about a father who starts a day care.

Another series of father/son movies not mentioned in the top ten list are The Hardy Family Movies made in the 1930′s and 1940′s. They star Mickey Rooney and are well worth seeing.

The Hardy Family Movies

Starring:

Lewis Stone as Judge James K. Hardy

 Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy

Cecilia Parker as Marian Hardy

 Fay Holden as Mrs. Emily Hardy

A couple of the movies also star Judy Garland as a family friend and love interest of Andy Hardy.

You’re Only Young Once (1937)

Judge Hardy’s Children (1938)

Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)

Out West with the Hardys (1938)

The Hardys Ride High (1939)

Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)

Judge Hardy and Son (1939)

Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)

Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary (1940)

Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)

The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)

Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942)

Andy Hardy’s Blonde Trouble (1944)

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946)

Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)

Most of these movies can be ordered on DVD through Amazon. Just click here to order from my website.

Tomorrow, I’ll list my favorite classic father TV Shows.

10 Rules to a Happy Life

Here’s a few rules to have a happy and fulfilled life. They are not the only ones. You can find the rest in the Bible.

10. Don’t worry so much. Most of what we worry about never happens.

9. Remember failure is an event, not a person.

8. Simplify your life. Keep what you need and what makes your life run smoothly. Give away the rest.

7. Remember that the story of your life is not about you. It’s about God in you.

6. Our lives are remembered by how we bless others.

5. If we don’t have anything worth dying for, we don’t have anything worth living for.

4. Love others enough to tell the truth.

3. Stay true to your convictions, but disagree agreeably.

2. God’s opinion is the only one that counts.

1. A life without God at the center is a wasted life.

So, can you think of any I missed. Leave a comment.

 

10 Things You Can Do To Show Your Husband You Love Him

1. Write love notes and tuck them in his lunch, briefcase, or on the visor of his car.

2. Text him on the cell phone and say “I miss you”.

3. Tell someone else how much you respect him or how proud you are of him in front of him.

4. When he shares his dreams, don’t tell him why they won’t work.

5. Say I love you everyday and mean it.

6. Initiate sex, and tell him you can’t get enough of him.

7. Wear nothing to bed.

8. Let him decide which movie to watch.

9. Ask him how his day went.

10. Make him his favorite meal and serve it on your best dishes.

So what’s on your top 10 list?

Top 10 Classic Romantic Movies

Here’s my list of my 10 favorite romantic movies. I couldn’t keep the list to 10, so at the end, I have 5 honorable mentions.

10. Miracle In the Rain

1956

Directed by Rudolf Mate

Starring: Jane Wyman, Van Johnson

This obscure film nobody’s heard of is guaranteed to put a lump in your throat.

9. Sabrina

1954

Directed by Billy Wilder

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn

One of my many favorite Humphrey Bogart movies. This one has an ugly duckling turning into a swan theme.

8. Gigi

1958

Directed by Vincent Minelli

Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan

Touching story of a romance of a girl whose been raised to be a mistress.

7. Notorious

1946

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman

Technically this isn’t a love story, but the passion between the two main characters explodes on the screen.

6. The African Queen

1951

Directed by John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn

Two unlikely people fall in love during World War 1. The acting can’t get any better than this.

5. West Side Story

1961

Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise

Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

Make sure you have tissues handy for this modern take of Romeo and Juliet.

4. Casablanca

1942

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

This movie is brilliant in it’s simple triangle love story in the middle of political upheaval and war.

3. To Have and Have Not

1945

Directed by Howard Hawks

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Becall

This was the first movie Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall starred in together, and it can’t be beat. It was based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner wrote the screenplay.

2. The Sound of Music

1965

Directed by Robert Wise

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

One of my all time favorite movies.

1. An Affair To Remember

1957

Directed by Leo McCarey

Starring: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr

This is my all time favorite classic love story. It brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it.

Honorable Mentions:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Starring: Gene Tieny, Rex Harrison

It Happened One Night (1934)

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

Test Pilot (1938)

Starring: Clark Gable, Myra Loy, Spencer Tracy

Made For Each Other (1939)

Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Carole Lombard

My Fair Lady (1964)

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison

Jolly Days of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I’m involved in a very special blog hop with some writer friends of mine including Linda Glaz from Hartline Agency, my wonderful agent. So let’s get started.

I’ve always loved Christmas. I wanted to get married on Christmas Day, but my mom insisted I pick another day. I compromised and got married on January 6th, Three Kings Day. We’ll celebrate 34 years on this January 6th. Red is my favorite color, and I had the bridesmaids wear red dresses with fur around hood that also went over the dresses as capes. They carried white fur muffs with poinsettia pinned to them. Here’s a picture of me and my husband at our Christmas wedding.

Useful Info: How to Prepare for Christmas in One Week

My Favorite Recipe: Chocolate Drops

Hand mix 1 lb butter, 3 lbs (10 1/2 cups) confectioner’s sugar, 1- 7 oz jar marshmellow creme, 1 tsp vanilla.

Form mixture in 1 inch balls and freeze.

Melt 3 lbs of chocolate in microwave or fondue dish. Works better to melt a little at a time.

Roll marshmellow balls in melted chocoate.

Dry on wax paper.

My Favorite Classic Christmas Novel: No contest here. I love A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It’s a timeless work of redemption. I’ve never seen a movie rendition that matches the novel. This link  has some more of my favorite classics.

My Favorite Christmas Read This Year: Although there’s a number of wonderful novels out there, my favorite Christmas novel this year was The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

My Favorite Christmas Movie: This is easy too. Although I love many Christmas movies, my favorite is It’s a Wonderful Life. Here’s a link to a few of my other favorites.

My Favorite Christmas Song: This is harder. I have four. In the classical genre, I love Carol of the Bells and A Christmas Canon both done by the Transylvanian Orchestra. My favorite contemporary Christian song is Breathe of Heaven. It reminds me of what Mary went through. Favorite traditional carol is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. When I was three, I sang a solo of one of the verses in church, and I’ve loved the song ever since.

My Favorite Christmas Video: Social Media Christmas is my favorite.

Check out a few favorites from the other Jolly Days Blogs:

Linda G – Dec. 6th
http://lindaglaz.blogspot.com

Lisa – 7th
http://livingourfaithoutloud.blotspot.com

Susan Craft – 9^th
http://historicalfictionalightintime.blogspot.com

Gail Kittleson – 10th gailkittleson.blogspot.com

Karen Wingate -Dec.14th – www.graceonparade.com/blog

Karla Akins-15th
http://envisionpublishing.tumblr.com

Patty Wysong – 18th www.pattywysong.com

Davalynn Spencer –19th www.davalynnspencer.blogspot.com

Favorite Books I’ve Read in 2012

Here’s a list of my favorite books I read and reviewed in 2012. Not all of these books were published this year, but I did read them this year. I separated them into novels and non-fiction. To read my review, click on the book link.

Novels:

10. Sarai by Jill Eileen Smith

9. Where Wildflowers Bloom by Ann Shorey

8. The Calling of Mike Malone by M.L. Archer

7. Placebo by Steven James

6. If We Survive by Andrew Klaven

5. The Rook by Steven James

4. A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman

3. A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman

2. The Pawn by Steven James

1. A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

Non-Fiction:

2. Flirting With the Forbidden by Steven James

1. The Resignation of Eve by Jim Henderson

Children’s Books:

The First Christmas by Janice D. Green

Top 10 Classic Christmas Stories

10. The Little Match Stick Girl by Hans Christian Anderson: A sad tear-jerker about a poor little girl who gets to have the Christmas of her dreams. Don’t read it unless you have tissues handy.

9. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: This newer classic tells a story about a boy learning the importance of belief.

8. Christmas Day In the Morning by Pearl S. Buck: A classic tale about showing love at Christmas.

7. The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke: The wise man who didn’t make it to birth of Christ in time finds out why Jesus really came to Earth.

6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” Who could ever forget this line from this classic story?

5. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: The best Christmas romance ever written. It shows how we sacrifice for the ones we love.

4. T’was the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore: The original story about Santa Claus

3. The Three Trees by Author Unknown: This story tells about three trees who served a great purpose.

2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: This story of repentance set at Christmas is the best Christmas story other than the real story in the Bible.

1. The Nativity Story (Luke 2:1-20): This is the story of Christmas. Without Christ being born in Bethlehem, this would be a very dark world.

Top 10 Classic Christmas Movies of All Time

These are 10 classic must watch every year Christmas movies. Since everyone has their favorite version of A Christmas Carol, I didn’t include those movies. To see my favorite 10 renditions of A Christmas Carol, check next Wednesday’s blog.

10. Remember the Night

Released 1940

Directed by Mitchell Leisen

Starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwick

A prosecuting attorney asks for a pretty thief to be let out on bail for Christmas. When the thief is placed in his custody, interesting things occur.

9. The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

Released 1971

Directed by Fielder Cook

Starring Patricia Neil and Richard Thomas

This movie became the pilot of the TV series, The Waltons, and tells of a family during the depression.

8. Santa Claus, The Movie

Released 1985

Director: Jeannot Szwork

Starring David Huddleston and Dudley Moore

The best film that tells the story of Santa Claus.

7. 3 Godfathers

Released 1948

Director: John Ford

Starring John Wayne

A Christmas western where three outlaws must get a baby safely to the cow town of Bethlehem while running from a posse. This is my personal favorite John Wayne movie.

6. Home Alone

Released 1990

Director: Chris Columbus

Starring Macauley Culkin

First of many movies about a boy accidentally left home alone at Christmas time.

5. White Christmas

Released 1954

Director: Micheal Curtiz

Starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye

Best Christmas musical ever made with great singing and dancing features the song, “White Christmas”.

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas

Released 1965

Created by Charles M. Shultz

Animated

This animated classic helps Charlie Brown learn the true meaning of Christmas. The best part is where Linus tells the Christmas story word for word from the Bible and ends with “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

3. Miracle on 34th Street

Released 1947

Directed by George Seaton

Starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gween, and a very young Natalie Wood

This is the best movie made about believing in Santa Clause. It also featured the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

2. A Holiday Affair

Released 1949

Directed by Don Hartman

Starring Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum

This is the best Christmas love story ever filmed. It’s sad more people don’t know about it.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life

Released 1946

Directed by Frank Capra

Starring James Stewart and Donna Reed

This touching story of an ordinary man who sacrifices his own ambitions for others is my all time favorite Christmas movie.

Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Movies

One thing I love about Hitchcock movies is they keep you on the edge of your seat with very little violence, blood, or gore. Hitchcock was a master of allowing the plot and our imaginations to do the work of scaring us. All Hitchcock fans have their favorite movies. Here’s mine.

10. Torn Curtain (1966)

Starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews

This Cold War era movie is one of the best. There are so many great scenes in this movie like when Paul Newman told Julie Andrews he wasn’t a traitor while agents were watching. She had to mask her reaction and pretend he was trying to convince her to defect. The most chilling scene was when Paul Newman, a scientist, had to kill a man to get away. But the man wouldn’t die easily.

9. Strangers on a Train (1951)

Starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker

On a train, a tennis pro tells another man who wants a divorce his plan. They each will murder the other’s wife. The man thinks the tennis pro is joking until his wife is murdered and the tennis pro orders the man to murder his wife.

 

8. Notorious (1946)

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains

A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazis in South America because of her immoral past. They send her in harm’s way, but she has to compromise her morals even more to get information. Then, when she’s in danger of getting caught, they don’t want to come to her rescue because of the kind of woman she is. There’s a lot of exposure of hypocrisy in this movie.

7. The Birds

Starring Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedron

This is the first Alfred Hitchcock movie I ever saw. I was a little girl at the time, and it gave me the creeps everytime I saw a bird for weeks afterwards.

6. The Trouble With Harry (1955)

Starring John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine

Hitchcock tries his hand at comedy here and is brilliant. Harry is dead, and everyone’s trying to hide the body because each one thinks they killed him.

5. North By Northwest (1959)

Starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint

An insurance agent is mistaken for a spy and chased across the country. It’s almost comical how he tries to convince them he’s not the man their looking for. There’s a great twist at the end.

4. Suspicion

Starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine

This is the best of Hitchcock’s earlier movies. An heiress believes her husband who she adores is trying to murder her for her money.

3. Rear Window (1954)

Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly

A man with a broken leg spies on his neighbors. When he sees what he believes is his neighbor murdering his wife, nobody will believe him. But the neighbor catches on.

2. Rope (1948)

Starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger

This movie isn’t as well known as some of the others. That’s a shame because it’s one of the best. In fact, it’s number two on my list. Two men kill their friend because they believe they are superior, and the rules of society don’t apply to them. This movie really delves into the mistaken notion that some people are superior to others and that morality is relative.

1. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Starring James Stewart and Doris Day

What would you do to protect your child? A man’s only son is kidnapped when he stumbles on a murder plot. If he stops the murder, his son will die. This is my all time favorite.

Of course, there are other Alfred Hitchcock movies I enjoy. Psycho and A Shadow of Doubt are two of them. Do you agree with my list? Are there any of your favorites I haven’t listed?

Top Ten Things You Should Do During Election Season

Warning: This top ten list will not tell you who you should vote for.

10. Get bumper stickers and yard signs to campaign for your candidate. Get involved in politics this year. Be a part of the political campaign of the candidate of your choice. There’s no better way to feel like you’ve contributed.

9. Go to a political rally. Political rallies are a lot of fun and very informative. There’s music, high school bands, cheers, and speeches. If one is being staged near you, consider going.

8. After studying, decide what role you believe government should play. This is vital to deciding who you should vote for. Do you think  the private sector should be responsible for making lives better or should the government be in control of that.

7. Watch the speeches. This is one way to become informed. But remember to check out the facts politicians give in speeches. It’s hard to believe, but sometimes politicians lie.

6. Watch the debates. Debates are one of the best ways to tell what each candidate supports because the candidates have the opportunity to challenge each other.

5. Listen to liberal and conservative news commentators. One of the best ways to stay informed is to listen to commentators on both sides of the aisle. That means listen to CNN and FOX. That way you get a balanced approach to the news.

4. Study the platforms and records. One minute commercials are not the best way to stay informed. Study the records of the candidates.

3. Be respectful of people whose opinions are different than yours. Not everyone who disagrees with you is stupid or uninformed. They may be seeing things from a different perspective. No matter who you’re voting for, be respectful.

2. Pray for our leaders. This is important no matter who wins the election.

1. Vote. Too many people died for your right to vote. Don’t give it away. Vote every election.