Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

This film is probably best known as Frank Capra's last, not for reasons of health so much as interpersonal frustration on set and dissatisfaction with the end product. It also might mark the first use on screen of the criminal slang term "godfather."

In the early '30s, mobster Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) practically has the run of New York City, and he credits his success to the lucky apples he buys regularly from an old peddler, "Apple" Annie (Bette Davis). Annie learns that her daughter, Louise (Ann-Margret in her Golden Globe-winning screen debut), who hasn't seen her since infancy but has corresponded with her regularly by mail, is about to visit, because Louise is engaged to the son (Peter Mann) of a Spanish count (Arthur O'Connell). This causes Annie a lot of stress, because she's been lying about her financial situation and even her name all along. Dave thinks it's not his problem, until his on-and-off fiancée, Queenie (Hope Lange), points out what it could mean for his luck. Since Dave has a big deal with Public Enemy #1 (Sheldon Leonard) in the making, he will reluctantly pour his ill-gotten resources into passing Annie off as an aristocrat for the duration of the visit.

Old Acquaintance (1943)

Had I realized that the title evoked "Auld Lang Syne," I would have saved this viewing for New Year's. But while the song is played at the beginning and ending, no part of the film takes place at that time of year. We are to think of its actual meaning, not its holiday association.

The story begins in 1924 small-town America, when Kit (Bette Davis) has become a celebrity for her first published novel. Her long-time friend Millie (Miriam Hopkins, not dissuaded by previous experience with Davis) takes inspiration and becomes a novelist in her own right, far less favored by critics but far more prolific and financially successful. Alas, by 1932, Millie's husband Preston (John Loder) feels neglected enough to leave her and daughter Deirdre (Francine Rufo, later Dolores Moran). He courts Kit, but she declines for the sake of Millie's friendship. Most of the rest happens in 1942, when Kit and Preston meet again through the war effort, by which time Kit is finally if tentatively dating someone, the younger Rudd (Gig Young).

The Great Lie (1941)

Hmm, Bette Davis and George Brent. When did I last see them together? Oh yeah. And before that? Yup. I think they were in a rut, because there are definite similarities herein.

Aviator Peter (George Brent) learns on his "honeymoon" that his marriage is null and void, partly because he was drunk but mainly because Sandra (Mary Astor) was mistaken on when her divorce from her prior husband could be finalized. Since she would rather go back to work as a concert pianist than hold another wedding at the first opportunity, Peter returns to his ex-girlfriend, aristocrat Maggie (Bette Davis). Sandra hopes to win back Peter all the same by having his baby, but then he and his plane go unaccounted for in a dangerous region. The two women agree that Maggie will meet Sandra's fiscal needs and raise the baby as her own. But you know what usually happens when someone is missing and presumed dead on screen....

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

I realize it hadn't been long since the last movie I saw to include heavy focus on a British royal -- indeed, Queen Elizabeth I in particular. But this one is 32 years older, so I figured it would feel rather different.

Robert Deveraux, 2nd Earl of Essex (Errol Flynn), has had a victory in the Anglo-Spanish War, but not enough to satisfy Her Majesty (Bette Davis). Insulted and sensing support only from Sir Francis Bacon (Donald Crisp), he leaves the court and doesn't return until ordered back for more military expertise in the Nine Years' War. In truth, that's largely an excuse for Elizabeth to be close to the man she craves. But Sir Robert Cecil (Henry Daniell), Sir Walter Raleigh (Vincent Price), and Lord Burghley (Henry Stephenson) see an opportunity to get him out of the way of her favor once again.

Watch on the Rhine (1943)

Having watched a movie about Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett, I might as well watch a movie based on a play by Hellman and adapted by Hammett. OK, that wasn't my thought process when I picked it out. More likely I just wanted a vintage Academy Award nominee that wasn't unpopular these days. From the title, I had guessed a war flick, but while it is set during a war, there are no soldiers or battle scenes.

Sara (Bette Davis), an American, is married to Kurt (Paul Lukas), a German. In 1940, they and their three kids take a roundabout trip from Europe to the U.S., paying a visit to the ritzy D.C. home of Sara's mother, Fanny (Lucile Watson), and brother, David (Donald Woods). They confide to their hosts that Kurt has not worked as an engineer lately, because he's been too busy helping resistance against Nazism. Now they hope to find sanctuary, at least for the less politically active family members. But one "friend" of the family, Teck (George Couloris), is liable to find out and tell the wrong people if not given a selfish reason to keep mum.

Death on the Nile (1978)

Only after watching did I become aware that another adaptation of the Agatha Christie book is coming out this year. This information does not make me regret my choice; if anything, it makes me gladder. If the remake is reputedly good, I'll be in a fine position to compare both versions.

I was particularly interested in seeing how, besides the exact setting and vehicle, the story differs from Murder on the Orient Express, which I both read and saw the 1974 movie of. Once again, famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov herein) must figure out which of many passengers committed murder in transit. The first obvious difference is that DotN, at least in this version, doesn't have any death until about halfway in. Before that, we get pretty well acquainted with the guests, whose actors include Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, David Niven, Maggie Smith, and Angela Lansbury. Poirot does, too, observing them slyly as if he fully expects a murder. Hey, detectives should pick up on patterns in their own lives.

The Old Maid (1939)

I've seen enough late-'30s and early-'40s dramas about the love lives of class-conscious 19th-century women to conclude that it was a fad. This one debuted in between Jezebel and Gone with the Wind and had at least three of the former's actors.

Charlotte (Bette Davis, 3 years before her turn as Charlotte in Now, Voyager and 25 before starring in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte) develops an interest in Clem (George Brent), an old flame of her married cousin Delia (Miriam Hopkins). Clem dies in the Civil War (the Union side, FWIW), and Charlotte opens an orphanage for children of war casualties, with a special fondness for one child, Tina (Marlene Burnett) -- short for Clementina, which should tell you why. Delia also finds out why and jealously talks Charlotte's rich fiance (Jerome Cowan) into calling it off -- with a lie about Charlotte's health, just in case he would've accepted her anyway. Unable to sustain the orphanage, Charlotte allows Delia to adopt Tina unofficially. After being widowed, Delia allows Charlotte to move in as well. By this time, Tina sees Delia as her mom and Charlotte as her aunt. This spells tension between the sisters.

In This Our Life (1942)

This film is notable in part for inspiring the name of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley. Many viewers, as well as readers of the original book, wonder why Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) and her sister Roy (Olivia de Havilland) have masculine names; none of my sources provide a definite answer. My guess is that at least one of their parents or grandparents really wanted a son.

Regardless, at least one of these Virginian aristocrats has something wrong with her: Stanley, engaged to Fleming (George Brent), instead runs off with her brother-in-law, Peter (Dennis Morgan). Once the divorce is finalized, Peter and Stanley marry, and Roy tries taking up with Fleming. That could've been the end of it, but things don't work out so well with Peter, and spoiled Stanley, quite used to taking whatever she wants, makes another play for Fleming....

Kid Galahad (1937)

As you see from the year, it's not the Elvis Presley vehicle of the same title. (I doubt I'll ever watch a movie starring Elvis from start to finish.) This is one of the two earliest directorial efforts of Michael Curtiz that I've seen, as well as one of the two earliest acting efforts of Humphrey Bogart that I've seen. A precursor to Casablanca? Not really.

The headliners are Edward G. Robinson as boxing promoter/gangster (of course) Nick Donati and Bette Davis as his moll, "Fluff." Nick needs a new champion and discovers surprise potential in a clean-cut bellhop with a mocked name, Ward Guisenberry (Wayne Morris, possibly best known for Lt. Roget in Paths of Glory). Due to issues of jealousy, Nick sometimes plots against Ward's ring success, tho trainer Silver Jackson (Harry Carey) doesn't have the heart to let it work for long. But everyone's biggest concern is how "Turkey" Morgan (Bogart) and his hoods will react to Ward not fighting on his side.

All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

Since my last Bette Davis viewing, I've received several IMDb suggestions for more. I gave priority to one with Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture.

Based on a Rachel Field novel based on a true story, it takes a more personal look at the scandal that eventually led to the French Revolution of 1848. Henriette Deluzy-Desportes (Davis), a former governess to the four children of the Duc de Praslin (Charles Boyer, the only actor with a French accent), finds that ugly rumors have followed her across the English Channel, so she tells her disrespecting French class her side of the story. As we see in extensive flashback, Duchesse Frances (Barbara O'Neil) had lost her husband's love as well as her children's before Henriette showed up, yet she accuses Henriette of stealing them. While Henriette and "Theo" never even kiss, they do indeed develop feelings and must decide how best to minimize negative publicity. Theo...does not choose well....

Mr. Skeffington (1944)

I immediately found this title a little odd, because Bette Davis's face takes up the poster. Indeed, her character of Fanny Trellis/Skeffington gets the bulk of the screen time and is no less interesting than Claude Rains as Job Skeffington. Why not Mrs. Skeffington? Surely her marriage in the first act comes as no surprise to any viewer, especially those who read even the briefest summaries.

Fanny starts out as the most sought-after bachelorette in New York in 1914. Little do her suitors know that her aristocratic parties hide the truth: Her good-for-nothing brother Trippy has spent the bulk of their fortune, and his crimes to acquire more only dig them deeper. But Trippy's titular boss already takes an interest in Fanny and offers himself as a rich and forgiving husband -- even letting her continue to entertain suitors. Of course, marriages of "convenience" have a habit of being inconvenient in other ways.