We Haven't Really Met Properly (2005) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

'We Haven't Really Met Properly' is a 2005 video essay discussing the stars of The Wizard of Oz' (1939)

Narrated by Angela Lansbury, we are introduced to:
- the great Frank Morgan
- Ray Bolger
- Bert Lahr
- Jack Haley
- the beautiful Billie Bourke
- Margaret Hamilton
- Charley Grapewin
- Clara Blandick
- Terry the Dog (who played Toto)

An interesting documentary which has lots of interesting trivia, including:
- W.C. Fields was almost cast as The Wizard Of Oz
- Ray Bolger almost turned down appearing in 'The Wizard of Oz' as he was originally offered the role of Tin Man

The Wizard Of Oz Outtakes & Deleted Scenes - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

'The Wizard Of Oz Outtakes & Deleted Scenes' is a 2005 collection of deleted scenes from the film 'The Wizard Of Oz' (1939).

Each clip is individually introduced by Angela Lansbury.

The following clips are featured:

• "If I Only Had a Brain" - entire song, including Ray Bolger's deleted dance break
• "If I Only Had a Heart" - audio recording by Buddy Ebsen, who was originally cast as the Tin Man; the recording is accompanied by production stills
• "Triumphal Return to Emerald City" - audio recording of this deleted musical number, accompanied by production stills
• "Over the Rainbow (Reprise)" - audio recording of a song intended to be sung while Dorothy is locked in the witches castle, accompanied by production still
• "The Jitterbug" - audio recording of a musical number cut after the first preview, accompanied by production stills and rehearsal footage filmed by composer Harold Arlen

Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook (2005) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook' is a 2005 short film consisting of an abridged retelling of the L. Frank Baum book, 'The Wizard Of Oz'.

Narrated by Angela Lansbury, with illustrations by W.W. Denslow.

I like how this short film remains faithful to the original book, rather than the 1939 film adaptation:

• The silver shoes, rather than ruby slippers
• Tin Man is known as The Tin Woodsman
• The army of mice rescue Dorothy from the poppy field - in the movie they are rescued by Glinda the Good Witch of the North
• The Wicked Witch of the West has one eye - in the movie she has two
• The attack of 40 wolves, 40 crows & 40 bees - this was not shown in the movie
• Battling through the china pottery people and hammerheads - this was not shown in the movie
• Glinda is the Good Witch of the South - in the movie she is of the North
• To return to Kansas, Dorothy chants "Take me home to Aunt Em" instead of "There's no place like home"

The 3 Musketeers (1948) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

Lana Turner as the beautiful yet dangerous
Countess de Winter

'The Three Musketeers' is the 1948 Technicolor version of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure novel. The film is directed by George Sidney and stars Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Angela Lansbury, Frank Morgan, Vincent Price, Keenan Wynn, John Sutton, Gig Young, Robert Coote and Reginald Owen.

Angela Lansbury as Queen Anne

D'Artagnan (played by Kelly) travels to Paris to join King Louis XIII's (played by Morgan) musketeers. The Musketeers are Athos (played by Heflin), Porthos (played by Young) and Aramis (played by Coote).  Along the way, he meets and falls for the beautiful Constance Bonacieux (played by Allyson), a confidante of Queen Anne (played by Lansbury), and the seductive yet dangerous femme fatale, Countess de Winter (played by Turner).

Did you know...

• Louis Hayward had originally shown interest in playing the role of d'Artagnan
• Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was rumoured to star as d'Artagnan
• William Powell was considered to play one of the three musketeers
• This is Lana Turner's first film in colour
• In order to appear as Lady de Winter, Lana Turner turned down a role in an unfinished film called 'Bedeviled'
• Deborah Kerr turned down the role of Constance

Closing remarks

Hot from the success of 'The Pirate' (1948), MGM wasted no time in casting Gene Kelly in yet another swashbuckler. Although not a musical and no dancing, Kelly's strong dance training and athletic physique gives an agile yet graceful portrayal of d'Artagnan. An almost unrecognisable Frank Morgan does a great job as King Louis XIII, and Lana Turner plays the ultimate femme fatale.

While the film is best remembered for it's brilliant sword duel choreography, the photography and choreography of the duel along the water, reminds me very much of a duel from the Warner Bros. film 'Captain Blood' (1935) with Errol Flynn. Speaking of Flynn, I am surprised Warner Bros. had not already produced a version of 'The Three Musketeers' in the early 1940s, as I feel it would have been the perfect backdrop for yet another Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland film.

I have now seen the 1935, 1948, 1973 and 1993 film adaptations of 'The Three Musketeers', and of the four I would consider this to be the best and most entertaining version.

Courage of Lassie (1946) - Star of the month... Elizabeth Taylor

'Courage of Lassie' is a 1944 family film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, and stars Lassie, Elizabeth Taylor, Selena Royale, Frank Morgan, Harry Davenport, Tom Drake & George Cleveland. It is the third of seven Lassie films produced by MGM.

A collie pup is separated from its mother and is forced to survive in the wild. After being accidentally shot by a young hunter, the injured dog is found by Kathie Merrick (played by Taylor) who adopts him and calls him Bill. Bill is trained to be a sheep dog by shepherd Mr. MacBain (played by Morgan), where he helps locate a missing flock of sheep for Kathie's family. After being hit by a truck, Bill is adopted by the army and trained to be a war dog, where he works closely with Sergeant Smitty (played by Drake).


Watch the trailer:

The opening sequence

With the exception of a very short appearance by George Cleveland, the first 20 minutes of the film, has no dialogue or human actors. It is primarily footage of the young pup growing up and surviving in the wild, where we see him make friends with wild animals such as a bear and a raven, and even survive a torrent.  I very much like this opening sequence with it's beautiful images of nature and of Lake Chelan in Washington.

Influence of World War II

The film was produced shortly after the onset of World War II. It uses the character Lassie, to show the psychological impacts war has on soldiers.

This is explained in the courtroom speech made my Mr. MacBain: "It just occurred to me that perhaps a lot of our boys would be coming back not quite ready to take up where they left off. They've gone through more than what most of us could ever think of, and they're going to need patience and love and understanding from all of us. But most of all perhaps they'll need time. They didn't become soldiers in a day, so we can't expect them to become civilians in a day."

This speech is intended to raise awareness and educate movie goers to be patient with returning war soldiers, as the man returning may not necessarily be the same as the man who went to war.

Did you know...

• Although the title features the name Lassie, there is no mention of the character "Lassie" anywhere in the film
• The dog who played Lassie was actually called Pal - Lassie was his stage name
• This was the second "Lassie" film which starred Elizabeth Taylor - however Taylor played a different character in the first film "Lassie Come Home"
• This was the first film where Elizabeth Taylor received top billing in the credits
• George Cleveland, who plays the old man in the opening scene would later star in the 1954 TV series of "Lassie"
• This film was shot on location in Railroad Creek by Lake Chelan, near Holden Village, Washington

Closing remarks

An average family film, sadly not as enjoyable as the first "Lassie Come Home". Frank Morgan as always is a delight to watch and Elizabeth Taylor delivers a fine performance. I found this entry in the 'Lassie' franchise a little too dark for children, who may not understand the world war II influence noted above. That said, the message within this film for adults is still relevant today with soldiers who may be returning home from Iraq.

White Cliffs of Dover (1943) - Star of the month... Elizabeth Taylor

'White Cliffs of Dover' is a patriot 1943 war-drama directed by Clarence Brown and starring Irene Dunne with Alan Marshall, Frank Morgan, Gladys Cooper, Van Johnson, Dame May Whitty, Roddy McDowell, Peter Lawford, C. Aubrey Smith and Elizabeth Taylor.

The film's screenplay was written by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, and his based on the Alice Duer Miller poem "The White Cliffs", with additional poetry by Robert Nathan.


Susan Dunn (played by Dunne) travels to England with her father (played by Morgan) for two weeks, however Susan decides to stay permanently after she meets and marries Englishman Sir. John Ashwood (played by Marshall).  

Narrative structure

The first act in the film is a delightful romance, with hints of comedy. The second act if the film is set with the break of World War I and becomes a little more serious. The third act is even more serious as World War II begins.

The White Cliffs of Dover...

The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France.The cliffs reach a height of 350 feet or 100 metres.

The white cliffs of dover

Award nominations

• Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography - Black & white

Did you know...

• Tom Drake appears in the film uncredited as a dying American soldier
• Ronald Colman owned the rights to the Alice Duer Miller poem, but sold them to Clarence Brown, who then sold them to MGM in order to make this film

Closing remarks

A beautiful, tender and powerful film boasting a wonderful cast whom all deliver fantastic performances. As usual Frank Morgan is a delight, Gladys Cooper is perfectly cast, and Dame May Whitty steals every scene she is in. With the current war in Iraq still continuing, this film is still as relevant today as it was in 1944.


My three reasons for watching this film are all related to actors within the film:

• Elizabeth Taylor in one of her first movie appearances
• Supporting actors stealing the film (Frank Morgan, Gladys Cooper and Dame May Whitty) 
• An amusing cameo appearance from Van Johnson

The 3 Musketeers (1948) - Star of the month... Gene Kelly

Lana Turner as the beautiful yet dangerous
Countess de Winter

'The Three Musketeers' is the 1948 Technicolor version of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure novel. The film is directed by George Sidney and stars Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Angela Lansbury, Frank Morgan, Vincent Price, Keenan Wynn, John Sutton, Gig Young, Robert Coote and Reginald Owen.

Angela Lansbury as Queen Anne

D'Artagnan (played by Kelly) travels to Paris to join King Louis XIII's (played by Morgan) musketeers. The Musketeers are Athos (played by Heflin), Porthos (played by Young) and Aramis (played by Coote).  Along the way, he meets and falls for the beautiful Constance Bonacieux (played by Allyson), a confidante of Queen Anne (played by Lansbury), and the seductive yet dangerous femme fatale, Countess de Winter (played by Turner).

Did you know...

• Louis Hayward had originally shown interest in playing the role of d'Artagnan
• Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was rumoured to star as d'Artagnan
• William Powell was considered to play one of the three musketeers
• This is Lana Turner's first film in colour
• In order to appear as Lady de Winter, Lana Turner turned down a role in an unfinished film called 'Bedeviled'
• Deborah Kerr turned down the role of Constance

Closing remarks

Hot from the success of 'The Pirate' (1948), MGM wasted no time in casting Gene Kelly in yet another swashbuckler. Although not a musical and no dancing, Kelly's strong dance training and athletic physique gives an agile yet graceful portrayal of d'Artagnan. An almost unrecognisable Frank Morgan does a great job as King Louis XIII, and Lana Turner plays the ultimate femme fatale.

While the film is best remembered for it's brilliant sword duel choreography, the photography and choreography of the duel along the water, reminds me very much of a duel from the Warner Bros. film 'Captain Blood' (1935) with Errol Flynn. Speaking of Flynn, I am surprised Warner Bros. had not already produced a version of 'The Three Musketeers' in the early 1940s, as I feel it would have been the perfect backdrop for yet another Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland film.

I have now seen the 1935, 1948, 1973 and 1993 film adaptations of 'The Three Musketeers', and of the four I would consider this to be the best and most entertaining version.