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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 29, 2023 23:00:51 GMT
This is Halloween! This is Halloween!  What movies will be playing in your house this Halloween? We have a long list we print out to watch (because we have bad memories), mostly to watch throughout the month. Such films as: FRANKENSTEIN  THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY  THE GHOST AND MR CHICKEN  … but there are a couple so beloves to us that we save them for Halloween Night. These are: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE  IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN  The Disney version of THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW as part of the greater film known as THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR TOAD  THE HAUNTING  As you can see, we mix comedy and terror in our house 👻 🎃 🧙 So what are your Halloween Essentials? What movies do you watch every year without fail? What movies do you save for Halloween Night? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  |
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Post by Fading Fast on Oct 30, 2023 1:25:56 GMT
Most years, these are the ones we watch during the month, saving a couple for the Saturday Night before Halloween.
The Uninvited 1944
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947
Bell, Book and Candle 1958
I Married a Witch 1942
The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown 1966
The Others 2001
The Awakening 2011
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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 30, 2023 6:27:07 GMT
Most years, these are the ones we watch during the month, saving a couple for the Saturday Night before Halloween.
The Uninvited 1944
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947
Bell, Book and Candle 1958
I Married a Witch 1942
The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown 1966
The Others 2001
The Awakening 2011
All excellent choices! |
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Post by BingFan on Oct 30, 2023 16:57:27 GMT
I like the lists above - some really good movies/shows!
Here are Halloween favorites that I mentioned in the Halloween thread over on the Holiday Favorites board last year:
Arsenic and Old Lace — This Frank Capra/Cary Grant comedy is about two elderly sisters, Grant’s aunts, who have a kind-hearted but macabre way of relieving old men of their loneliness. It’s one the few movies I know of that’s explicitly set on Halloween. This broad black comedy has a great cast: in addition to Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, and, as the two sisters, Josephine Hull and Jean Adair.
Blithe Spirit — Based on Noel Coward’s stage comedy, this is the story of a mystery writer (Rex Harrison) who asks a “medium” (Margaret Rutherford) to conduct a seance as a way of getting material for his next book. I don’t want to include any spoilers, but I think it’s probably OK to say that an unexpected ghost story ensues.
Cat People (the 1943 version) — A horror story, produced by Val Lewton, about a Serbian woman (Simone Simon) living in New York who worries that her passion for her new husband (Kent Smith) may turn her into a different creature entirely, according to an old legend. This was, I believe, the first of several very effective horror movies that Lewton famously produced on low budgets. Among his other movies, I’d also recommend The Seventh Victim and I Walked with a Zombie.
Orphee — Jean Cocteau’s story of Orpheus going into the underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice. The film is set in 1940s Paris, where Orpheus is portrayed as a famous poet. A strange but fascinating movie.
Portrait of Jennie — An impoverished artist (Joseph Cotten) meets young Jennie (Jennifer Jones) in Central Park and becomes obsessed with her — but isn’t sure that she really exists. Ethel Barrymore, Cecil Kellaway, Lillian Gish, and David Wayne fill out the excellent cast. There’s really nothing like this engrossing fantasy.
The Spiral Staircase — A “horror noir” set against the backdrop of serial murders of young women with disabilities. The story focuses on a young woman (Dorothy McGuire) who is mute and works as a servant in a big spooky house. Ethel Barrymore, George Brent, Elsa Lanchester, Kent Smith, and Rhonda Fleming are part of the excellent cast.
The Trouble with Harry — Hitchcock’s dark comedy about a body that just won’t stay buried. John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine, Edmund Gwenn, Mildred Natwick, and Jerry Mathers make this one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. The beautiful fall colors of the Vermont setting make it a perfect movie to watch during this time of year.
The Uninvited — A brother and sister (Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey) buy a grand old house on the English coast from a retired naval officer (Donald Crisp), whose granddaughter (Gail Russell) is obsessed with the house’s connection to her late mother. This outstanding ghost story has a light-hearted tone that balances the more fantastic elements.
We haven’t watched Orphee yet this year, but we’ve watched all of the others. In addition, we’ve also watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Seventh Victim, I Walked With A Zombie, and The Ghost Breakers in the run-up to Halloween. And we’ll be watching Bell, Book, and Candle tonight and Meet Me In St. Louis tomorrow as segues between our Halloween viewing and our Christmas movies, which we typically start watching on November 1. (We have a ridiculously long list of Christmas movies, so we start really early on them.) We’ll probably squeeze in The Great Pumpkin, too!
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Post by sagebrush on Oct 30, 2023 21:50:02 GMT
All great films mentioned so far! Here are some I like to watch every year:
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Arsenic And Old Lace (1944)
Eyes Without A Face (1960)
The Innocents (1961)
Diabolique (1955)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 30, 2023 23:06:49 GMT
Such a great list, BingFan — I’m watching GHOST BREAKERS right now! I always watch this one with THE CAT AND THE CANARY. PORTRAIT OF JENNIE is a great addition to my Halloween list! ORPHEE reminds me to mention that lately I have added HADESTOWN to my Halloween music playlist. I also watcH BLITHE SPIRIT film, and sometimes also watch the TV version with Claudette Colbert, Lauren Bacall and Noel Coward himself. Thanks for mentioning MEET ME IN ST LOUIS — one of the best Halloween scenes in any movie! Also a fascinating look at Halloween from the early 1900s. The holiday sure has changed!  |
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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 30, 2023 23:11:05 GMT
All great films mentioned so far! Here are some I like to watch every year:
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Arsenic And Old Lace (1944)
Eyes Without A Face (1960)
The Innocents (1961)
Diabolique (1955)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Thanks for these! Never seen SHAUN OF THE DEAD, but now I’ll have to check it out. NIGHTMARE is also not only a movie fav but on my Halloween music playlist as well. It reminds me of another movie that dominates my playlist — LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS:  |
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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 30, 2023 23:42:28 GMT
Here are some more scary movies I like to watch this time of year: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN The Hammer Horror collection WAIT UNTIL DARK PSYCHO THE BIRDS THE LAST MAN ON EARTH NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD POLTERGEIST  |
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Post by lonesomepolecat on Oct 31, 2023 18:23:16 GMT
HAPPY OFFICIAL HALLOWEEN!!! Here are a few more films I enjoy: THE CANTERVILLE GHOST  THE GHOST GOES WEST  THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI  E.T.  HOCUS POCUS  GHOSTBUSTERS  Also… ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN All the other Abbott and Costello meet the monster films MURDER MY DEATH CLUE ONE BODY TOO MANY COCO DRACULA THE MUMMY PHANTOM OF THE OPERA |
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