Harold Arlen's Home Movies (2005) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

'Harold Arlen's Home Movies' is a 2005 montage film of behind the scenes home movie footage shot by composer Harold Arlen on the set of 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939).

The short film runs 4m30s and is introduced by Angela Lansbury.

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

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"

National Velvet (1944) - Star of the month... Elizabeth Taylor

'National Velvet' is a 1944 family drama directed by Clarence Brown and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Anne Revere, Donald Crisp, Angela Lansbury, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins and Reginald Owen.

In 2003, 'National Velvet' was selected for preservation by the US Library of Congress National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, 'National Velvet' tells of the story of 12 year old Velvet Brown (played by Taylor), living in Sewels, Sussex, England, as her abnomrally close relationship with her horse, Pie. Velvet wins Pie in a raffle and aided by a young drifter, Mi Taylor (played by Rooney), Velvet is determined for Pie to win the Grand National horse race.

Did you know...

• An 18 year old Gene Tierney was offered the role of Velvet Brown in 1939 - due to production delays, Tierney returned to Broadway; when the film resumed Tierney had already signed a contract with 20th Century Fox
• Susanna Foster turned down the role of Velvet Brown
• Future British MP Baroness Shirley Williams auditioned for the role of Velvet Brown
• In 1941, MGM proposed filming 'National Velvet' with Shirley Temple and Spencer Tracy, however Temple's mother turned it down beliving it wouldn't showcase her daughter's talent - 8 years later Temple starred in a similar film 'The Story of Seabiscuit' (1949) which was not a success
• Most of the film was filemd in Pebble Beach, Calfornia with most of the scenic views are from the Pebble Beach Golf Links - if you look closely you can see some golf holes in the background
• Elizabeth Taylor was given The Pie as a birthday gift after filming was filming
• A spin-off TV series 'National Velvet' was broadcast in 1960
• A sequel called 'International Velvet' followed in 1978

Awards and nominations...

• Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress (Anne Revere)
• Academy Award winner for Best Film Editing (Robert Kern)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Director (Clarence Brown)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color (Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis & Mildred Griffiths)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, Color (Leonard Smith)

Closing remarks

'National Velvet' is a heartwarming family film, although it does get quite slow at times, and overall runs a little too long.

We do get some great performances from some of the great child//teen stars of the 1940s: Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Angela Lansbury and Jackie "Butch" Jenkins. I would say Jenkins steals the film with his brilliant performance as the youngest child.

The musical score sounds very much like the Christmas carol "What Child is This", which makes the film feel like a Christmas movie even through it isn't. I also found it a little corny hearing Velvet's parents call each other "Mr. Brown" and "Mrs. Brown", especially since they were married.

If you have a young daughter, I strongly advise agaisnt showing them 'National Velvet' as they too will want a horse of their own to ride to victory.

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.