Somewhere in Time was released in 1980 and directed by Jeannot Szwarc.  A captivating romantic drama that weaves together the themes of love, destiny, and the enigmatic nature of time. Set in the beautiful backdrop of Mackinac Island, and it’s Grand Hotel, the film was based on the novel, Bid Time Return, by Richard Matheson.

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The story begins in 1972 when young playwright, Richard Collier (played by Christopher Reeve), is handed a gift by an old woman at his college play’s after-party.  The Edwardian dressed woman, looks like someone out of a play herself, and taking his hand in hers, she says “Come back to me”, then turns and walks away. Richard is awestruck by the gold pocket-watch she had placed into his hand.  Years later, having achieved success and almost forgotten the incident, he vacations at the Grand Hotel and is completely infatuated with the photo of an actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Jane Seymore) from 1912.

The infatuation becomes an obsession. He tracks down any and all information that he can find on the actress. Eventually seeing a photo that identifies the old woman with his pocket-watch as the same Edwardian actress.  He returns to the Grand Hotel, where Elise’s photograph had first captivated him. Here he finds out details about the past, that push him to embark on a temporal adventure. Already madly in love, Richard travels to the past, to meet Elise.  She in turn, must fall in love with him. Their connection transcends the boundaries of time, raising questions about the power of love to overcome temporal limitations, and reality itself.

In addition to its philosophical themes, this classic movie captivates audiences with its visual and auditory aesthetics. Meticulous attention to detail in costume and set design skillfully depicts the contrasting eras of the early 20th century and the late 1970s. John Barry’s enchanting musical score adds to the film’s ethereal atmosphere, evoking a sense of longing and nostalgia that complements the narrative. Beyond the time paradox, it also delves into the notion of time as a social construct. Richard’s journey prompts the audience to reflect on the subjective nature of time and how it is influenced by our perceptions and emotions. Through Richard’s deep longing for Elise, time becomes a malleable entity that transcends conventional understanding. The film encourages viewers to ponder whether time is an objective reality or merely a construct influenced by our collective beliefs and experiences.

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As the story reaches its climax, it embraces a bittersweet conclusion that blends heartache and transcendence. The film poses profound questions about the nature of love, the power of human connection, and the limits of our understanding of time. Through its captivating performances, mesmerizing visuals, and thought-provoking themes,  One of my all time favorite films, this time travel movie is not determined to change the past, but merely to experience it, and perhaps that is the secret to the fluidity of time.

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Christmas in Connecticut is a romantic Christmas tale warns of the pit-falls of lying. A successful food columnist has created a fictional life for herself, living on a farm in Connecticut with a husband and small child, In reality she lives alone in an apartment in the city and can’t cook. It is war time and a war hero takes inspiration in her writing, thinking of home. Her publisher thinks that a televised special with her cooking a welcome-home feast for him would be a great moral booster both at home and overseas. (Ironically. it was released just after the war ended when men were all returning home, and women were going back to their kitchens).

Christmas in Connecticut is a comical blend of mistaken identity, best laid plans that go haywire and wise elders who know what’s best for their loved ones. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Elizabeth Lane. With the help of her uncle Felix Bassenak, who is a chef, she uses her column to give his recipes a life of their own. In a desperate attempt to save her job and that of her editor, Elizabeth hatches a plan to continue her charade by marrying a friend who just happens to own a farm in Connecticut.

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They borrow a neighbor’s baby to show the producer and are just about to be wed (in secret) when the war hero Jefferson Jones arrives ahead of schedule. Lane falls in love at first sight and the judge is dismissed. Another baby is brought in the following day, and when it’s mother arrives to claim it, the producer Alexander Yardley thinks that it is being kidnapped. What’s more, a case of mistaken identity has Elizabeth and Jefferson spend the night in a jail cell. When they return her producer is livid, thinking she is the most irresponsible woman he has ever met. She comes clean with her duplicity and he fires her. But before he leaves, Felix entices him into the kitchen with one of his recipes and then suggests that his niece has other job offers. Alexander afraid to loose out on a good thing, rehires her and soon after Jefferson declares his love making her Christmas in Connecticut, one to remember.

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Holiday Inn is a 1942 gem which showcases the talents of both Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It is a romantic musical to be enjoyed at any American holiday. It’s the old story about who is best to win a girl’s heart…a crooner who can dance or a dancer who can sing. Crosby and Astaire start off the film as part of a successful trio with Virginia Dale. Jim Hardy (Crosby) has plans to retire from the entertainment to run a little country hotel, his wants to start a more traditional life there with his partner Lila (Dale), but she isn’t done chasing her dreams in the entertainment world and chooses to stay with Ted Hanover (Astaire) instead. The trio breaks and Ted and Lila form a dancing duo.

Fast forward to December, Jim returns to the big city with an idea of turning his Country Inn into a holidays only venue for dinner and entertainment. He is laughed at by Ted and his agent, but the agent refers a girl Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), who has been harassing him for work, to the Holiday Inn. The next day Jim introduces Linda (and the world) to Irving Berlin’s award winning song White Christmas. She is hired on and the place opens up for New Years’ celebrations.

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Meanwhile Ted gets dumped by Lila, who has found herself a millionaire. So he goes to see Jim at the Holiday Inn because he can relate. There he gets drunk and entertains the packed house, with Linda in tow. His agent thinks he has found a new partner, but he is too hungover to remember the previous nights events, and Jim, terrified of history repeating itself hides Linda from Ted and his agent. The film plays out in a game of cat and mouse where Jim falls in love again and does everything he can to keep his old friend and ex partner away from his girl.

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Miracle on 34th Street is all American Christmas classic that reminds us that anything is possible with a little faith in our fellow man. It is heartwarming and highlights many of the season’s traditions under a backdrop of progressive thinking and the conflicts that ensue, This black and white holiday movie has been both remade and colorized, but here we are offering Miracle on 34th Street in it’s original beauty.

Natalie Wood stars as Susan Walker a show stealing, very practical matter-of-fact child who being raised by a single Mom (Maureen O’Hara) is all too familiar with the realities of life. The story of Miracle on 34th Street is ultimately a romance, but it centers around a certain Kris Kringle played by Edmund Gwenn (aka Santa Claus) who is hired by O’Hara to be the Macy’s Parade Santa. He is super popular with the public as he speaks even to the foreigners in their native languages, and has a real beard and will direct parents to other stores, instead of pushing merchandise they don’t want. But he really gets into hot water when he declares that he is the real deal, not just some department store stand in.

It turns into a highly publicized court case that ensues which threatens to see Kris locked up in an insane asylum . John Payne playing lawyer Fred Gailey, comes to the old-timers defense. He is the neighbor to the Walkers and with the encouragement of Susan is spending more time with them, but he is desperate to find a suitable government authority to recognize Kris Kringle as the real Santa before Christmas.

Miracle on 34th Street is a feel good movie that’s filled with vintage ideals and nostalgia. A simple time when shopping for gifts was a pleasure and had to be done in a bricks and mortar store. Plus the American Dream wasn’t out of reach for most people. So for purely a feel good about life, Miracle on 34th Street scores an 8/10

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The story follows two youngsters who are shipwrecked with an old sailor. He dies after teaching them basic survival skills but not much about life. Left on their own and going through adolescence together, the pair eventually fall in love and make natural discoveries about themselves and human biology. They even have a child together. They were once eager to leave the island, but now ignore passing ships, as it has become their home.

At the end of the movie, an incident sees the family cast adrift. When a long lost relative, who has been searching for them for years, discovers their boat: they are not moving. Asking if they are alive, the man is told, that they are just sleeping.

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A young American couple of college grads are spending 9 weeks in the Greek isles before beginning their respective professional lives. Cathy Featherstone, an fledgling photographer and Michael Pappas, who is set to take over his father’s business, have been dating for 5 years and known each other since their teens. Their vacation allows them to enjoy nude beaches and explore their sexuality, shaking off responsibilities and parental expectations.

Micheal gets distracted one day by another woman Lina, who is an archaeologist helping to unearth the Akrotiri excavation. (According to the tourist webpage, the site is still open for visits). They end up having sex and overcome by guilt he confesses to Cathy. She, understandably gets upset and yells at him to get it out of his system. She tries to be with someone else, but can’t do it. While Micheal stays out all night at Lina’s. Cathy confronts Lina, who explains that she isn’t looking for a complicated relationship, so she won’t be taking Michael from Cathy. Cathy likes Lina in spite of herself and she begins to be included in the couple’s explorations of the island.

The relationship develops all around, until they are an inseparable threesome. Lina gets worried that if she stays with them it will hurt worse when they leave. And she disappears. The couple search high and low for her for days, finally deciding that if she doesn’t want to be found, they won’t find her. Everything around them reminds them of her and they pack to leave 3 weeks before their lease is up.
Lina meanwhile realizes that she was truly happy with them and heads back, only to find the house empty. She rushes to the airport, they see her just before boarding the plane, and overjoyed celebrate her return.

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The title prince is accompanied by his son and mother in law. The 16 year old son is eager to take on responsibilities as reigning King from his father, who is acting regent until he comes of age. The family, loosely based on Romanian royalty is from the fictional Carpathia, a country in the Balkans. The Prince is given a political attaché named Northbrook to make his visit to London enjoyable. Northbrook takes the Prince Regent to a musical, where he becomes smitten with Marilyn Monroe playing the showgirl Elsie Marina.

Invited to dinner, Elsie is at first is less than impressed by the Rengent Prince. Distracted by responsibilities, he leaves her alone for much of dinner and she, encouraged to stay by Northbrook, drinks too much. When the Prince tries to make a pass at her, she rudely rebuffs him, saying she expected romance and gypsy violins. The Prince composes himself and brings in a violinist. Then just when Elsie is starting to swoon for him, the alcohol, she’d been sipping all night, catches up with her and she passes out.

Having spent the night at the Carpathian embassy, Elsie overhears the young King plotting to overthrow his father by making alliances with the Germans. Elsie goes to Grandma (the Queen mother) for advice and is asked to remain for the coronation in place of the her lady in waiting, who has taken ill. Elsie uses her time with the family to convince the young King to write up a contract and put off his political sabotage against his father in exchange for a general election. The Prince regent is impressed, and finds himself appreciating more than Elsie’s body. But first a reconciliation with his son, to whom he has failed to show real affection.

The film ends with the pair going their separate ways, vowing that in 18 months each will be free of professional obligations.

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Some like it hot follows two musicians, played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon who witness a valentine’s day massacre style execution in Chicago. They flee the gangsters by joining a all female band headed for Miami. On the train, in full drag, the pair befriend Marilyn Monroe’s character, Sugar and must contain their attraction to not reveal their true identities. Sugar admits that she has had it with saxophone players , much to Joe’s (Tony Curtis posing as Josephine) chagrin and that she hopes to snag a millionaire when they reach Miami.

Once in Miami, the pair continue their ruse. Lemmon posing as Daphne, attracts the attention of a real millionaire, while Joe tries to woo Sugar by pretending to be one. Joe convinces Jerry/Daphne to keep “her” suitor occupied, so he can use the real millionaire’s yatch to win Sugar. When he returns, Daphne has accepted a proposal from her millionaire, and Joe reminds Jerry that he can’t possible go through with his plan to marry, and get a big divorce settlement when the truth comes out.

Meanwhile, the Mafia have a big gathering at the hotel where the band is playing. Joe and Jerry are recognized, they hide in drag and witness the revenge murder of their pursuers. Fleeing to the millionaire’s yacht, with Sugar finally realizing that Joe and Josephine are the same person running after them. They make a get away, where Sugar professes her love for Joe and Daphne tries to explain to Osgoode, her millionaire, that she can’t marry him. He doesn’t care that she is infertile, and when Jerry finally tears off his wig to reveal himself, Osgoode simply says, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

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George Cukor directed The Philadelphia Story movie with Cary Grant, Ruth Hussey and James Stewart rounding out the principle cast. Tracy Lord, the principle character is used to things going her way and has high expectations for those around her. First born daughter to a well established Philadelphia socialite family, she divorced her first husband two years past for drinking too much, especially when she criticized him for it. Her ex, C.K. Dexter Haven, portrayed by Cary Grant, belongs to the same social group and is a successful yacht designer, while her fiance George Kittredge is Dexter’s opposite, a regular guy who struggles to fit into socialite circles with his personally earned wealth.

Hoping to cover the who’s who of Philadelphia at the wedding, is James Stewart playing a tabloid journalist. He shows up with his paper’s photographer, played by Ruth Hussey. She has a thing for him, but he is oblivious, taking her for granted, while she loyally gets what he needs to make his articles pop off the page.

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In a world made of steel Made of stone

What a feeling
Being ‘s believing
I can have it all
Now I’m dancing for my life

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