We are coming into the holiday season and all of the holiday movies and television specials are starting to appear. My greatest pleasure other than talking about movies is to set and watch great classic movies. I know we all have our favorite Christmas movies and we would stand toe to toe with someone and argue over what the best Christmas movie ever is.

I have to say that I have several favorites and I'm sure they're your favorites too, but for me to pick my number one, I have to concur with my wife on her favorite Christmas movie. It's a musical, it's a comedy, it's also a love story and it's about the relationships of friends and sisters. The star power that is in this movie is almost unfathomable today, even the character actors are famous. The stars of this picture are everyone's favorites, above the age of 40. It was shot in VistaVision (a version of Technicolor) which is so much better than what they're calling high-definition in theaters today as far as the color goes.

I can't help but look back on movies like this and wish they made more of those today. I'll keep you in suspense just a second or two longer to tell you that there is an anniversary edition of this out on Blu-ray and DVD. Okay, okay I will tell you now. It is "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. It also costarred Dean Jagger and Mary Wicks.

It came out in 1954 and is still broadcast today every Christmas. I must admit I am fonder of comedies than I am of romantic or dramas and I do have a fondness for musicals, but this movie encompasses all of the things that I love about movies. The great music by Irving Berlin and the extremely great color sets and costumes, oh and by the way the costumes are by the icon of movie fashion Edith Head, and it was directed by Michael Curtiz. It has great songs, great dancing, great comedy and gorgeous costumes.This is a movie that can be watched by the entire family without any thing offensive to anyone. So if you happen to see it listed in your TV Guide make it a point to watch this extraordinary Christmas classic.

"Oh Boy!” as Mickey would say

“Oh Boy!” as Mickey would say, I am so stoked. This news could not be any better if Walt himself had planned this collaboration. You know that I had been extremely upset with the Disney Channel when they ended “Vault Disney” that aired on the Disney Channel in the evenings and late-night several years ago for all of us that love the Disney Classics. I kept my feelings as controlled as I possibly could but I am not going to control the jubilation and the joy that I feel over an announcement that I read the past couple of days. For those of us that love classics like “Davy Crockett”, “Pollyanna”, the “Swiss Family Robinson” and the original Disney cartoon shorts that made Disney a household word, this announcement is magical. I don't know if any of you can feel the warmth growing in my heart to know that Disney's vaults have opened up once again and the public will see things that most of them have never seen or heard of that will put Disney back where it belongs entertaining everyone, not just children. Walt Disney said that it is for the young and the young at heart and that encompasses all of us, from children to grandparents.

We have all grown up with Disney and, for a while, Disney was denying the adults like me the programs that they so desperately loved and wanted to see.

Starting on December 21, 2014, the Walt Disney Studios is opening the vault and allowing Turner Classic Movies to showcase the best that Disney has ever offered. Turner Classic Movies has always been that classic and classy network lead by the wonderful Robert Osborne, just what Disney needs to showcase their classic collections. Turner Classic Movies has held their Film Festival cruises on the Disney Cruise Lines and that was an excellent match for both Turner and Disney. I know I speak for many of you out there excited about the combination of Turner Classic Movies and the Disney Classics collections of movies. It is not only an excellent fit, it was their destinies. I am overjoyed in the fact that we are going to see the Disney classic movies on TCM. I hope they keep in mind that we also want to see the Disney made for television specials that have had no place where they could be enjoyed properly, other than on a channel or network like Turner Classic Movies Network.

Support Disney and Turner Classic Movies as they celebrate the premiere presentation of the Disney Vault on TCM, Sunday December 21, 2014 at 8 PM. I believe they will start off with a “Chip’n Dale” cartoon, the “Reluctant Dragon” and then the “Third Man on the Mountain”. All of us that love Disney Classics need to support both Turner Classic Movies and the Walt Disney Company in this collaboration so that we can continue to get these wonderful movies and special television programs that the Walt Disney Company has put out for years.

I am so happy that this is going to happen and that this is not the only collaboration of TCM and the Walt Disney Company. They have also decided to join forces and refresh the “Great Movie Ride” at the “Disney Studios” at WDW. The changes are going to be subtle such as having Robert Osborne narrate a completely revamped introduction to the movies that is seen before boarding the “Great Movie Ride” as not to disturb but enhance this icon that the Disney Parks have to offer and I for one am sure that it will be one of the best joint ventures that Disney has ever entered into. It can only help to enhance one of the greatest TV networks, Turner Classic Movies. So all of you Disney nerds out there, all of you Disney historians, all of you lovers of Disney Parks and people like me that love everything Disney, let us all come together and support this venture that will give us back our “Vault Disney”. Thank you to the Walt Disney Company and the Turner Classic Movies network for this unprecedented collaboration. We love to watch you and support you in this endeavor.

 

With That Old Collie Dog

                             With That Old Collie Dog

I saw a flock of birds today. It took me back to a time when I was a little boy on my Papaw’s farm, walking through the fields with my BB gun in tow and that old collie dog following me the whole way as if he was protecting me. Between the fields were the pine thickets. They were put there as a windbreak to reduce soil erosion, but I didn't know anything about any of that in those days. I just knew it was full of critters to hunt because I wanted to be like the men in my family. They were all hunters.

Let's go back to the little boy and the dog marching through the fields. While traversing through the rough fields, that old collie dog and I noticed a flock of black birds waving to the sky as if they were all one solid sheet and waving in the breeze like a flag going from one side of the field to a pine thicket, resting for a minute and then again flying through the air as if they were swaying through the breeze, like a flag flying off the back of a speeding boat, to the other side to the other pine thicket. As we were watching the birds and walking along the field, there was a big huge old stump in the middle of the field. The collie dog and I sat on the shady side of that stump and decided that we would watch these birds. I sat down and the collie dog laid down beside me putting his head across my lap as if to say I'm glad you stopped, I was tired.

Had these birds gone crazy or was it some kind of acrobatic dance that they had to perform before leaving and heading south for the winter. There was a slight chill in the air and almost all of the leaves were off the trees except for the pine trees, they were still green. I thought to myself that must be why they call them evergreens. The collie dog had fallen fast asleep. I guess I had worn him out. I knew he was extremely old but he refused to leave my side any time we came to visit my Papaw and Mamaw. My attention returned to the birds as they flew frantically about. I was so enthralled with their aerial acrobatics that I too soon fell fast asleep.

I was awakened by the sound of someone calling my name. It was my older brother who had been sent by my mother to collect me for it was time to eat and the sun was now setting across that old pasture in the distance. I remember my brother and I running through the field and over the humps of the rows, as fast as we could because our Mamaw had promised us a slice of her Southern pecan cake and it was our favorite.

You know that old collie dog, he kept right up with us and by the time we got back to my Papaw's and Mamaw’s house, that old collie dog was totally exhausted. I knew he had to be hungry because he and I had not eaten since breakfast and I was starving so he had to be too. I went to my Mamaw’s dry safe and got out two dry biscuits and I got a scoop of dog food and the bacon grease from the morning's breakfast and a cup of hot water and mixed it all together and brought it out to that old collie dog. That dog looked at the food and looked at me and chowed down and didn't look back.

Those were good times. I really enjoyed dreaming of being a big game hunter with that old BB gun that would not even hurt a fly, even if you dropped it on that fly. You know, I can't even remember that old collie dog’s name, but I will always remember him, he was my partner. Isn't it silly how much thought we put into something like a flock of birds flying erratically through the air. The time that we spend sharing such memories is a gift to those we love.

   

What has Happened to the Movies

One of my favorite subjects to talk to someone about is movies. I love movies, new ones or old ones, it doesn't matter as long as they’re good movies. I have had my fill with movies that tend to bring you down. I so much love a movie that, when you walk out of the theater, you're feeling good about yourself and the world. I hate the movies that leave you with no hope and tear your spirits down to nothing. I grew up in a generation that had TV from the cradle to the grave. Movies have been a big part of my experience of life. The actors that Star in these movies are just people. I have met several that are outstanding human beings and I have met others that, well frankly, weren't worth meeting, but thankfully they are few and far between, those that aren't worth meeting I mean.

I had a day off and I spent the day watching a mixture of movies, new ones and old ones. The ones that are outstanding are usually the ones that use some kind of a storyline to tell the real human experience of relationships, love and loss and ordinary people just trying to get by. I love the comedies most of all, especially the mystery or detective stories that are mixed with comedy throughout. My second favorite is spooky comedies or better known as “The Old Dark House” comedies. There have been many genres which I have enjoyed watching, but I return time and time again to those that tell the stories of the inner workings of human relationships that solve the problems of living and loving one another and, yes, hating one another as well. It has always been my feeling that human beings are basically good and if given the chance they can be extremely good and that things will usually always work themselves out for the best. I know that's a bit naïve because things very rarely work out the way we want them to, but that doesn't mean that they don't work out for the best.

I love magic and mystery in comedy and well even drama. I won't turn down a chick flick but I prefer a movie that has a mixture of all of those elements in them. When a movie connects with all of the magic and mystery, comedy and drama, life and love, you just can't beat that movie. A lot of people will tell you that the Golden Age of Hollywood culminated in 1939 with some of the best classics ever made, but I'm afraid I would have to disagree. I don't think that movies have reached their potential yet and I don't think that movies will go out of style no matter how they're delivered to the consumer. I believe that when there is an open mind setting down in front of the screen or even a hologram that the magic that comes from a well-written and acted and directed movie will always be the best source of escape from reality that man has or ever will have.

I hope that the actors, actresses, directors and movie studios understand how much they mean and what kind of influence they have on the general public, because movies have become so dark as of late, even my beloved Batman has become more of a horror picture than a hero picture. I just don't understand the mentality that has to make everything look more evil than it really has to be. That's why I love movies like The Good Witch, My Life In Ruins, The Quartet and so many others that have been made here recently. I can't name them all and I'm not going to try. These kinds of movies leave you with a good feeling and hope for tomorrow. That's not to say that the action movies that are being made today are all bad, it's just that most of them are so horrifyingly dark and give no hope for the future of mankind.

I'm sorry but I can't help but think that our youth is getting so conditioned to life being meaningless that that's why so much violence is happening to and among our children. I remember watching the Lone Ranger which I considered a very violent television show that I cannot remember ever seeing blood, but people were shot, people were injured, but I wasn't being desensitized to human emotion and feeling and the fear of death like our children today. I even picked up a comic book which many of our movies and television shows are based on over the years just the other day. It would have been considered pornography or too violent for anyone under the age of 18 in my day. I am no prude. I love seeing a very beautiful woman in all the glory that God created her in, but there's a difference between being sexy and slutty. I wish I had the words to say this more elegantly but here's my stab at it, people look down on a female that gets ahead by using her looks, where nothing is said about a man who gets ahead by using his looks. I have never had what I call “executive hair”. My hair has always been curly and somewhat unruly, so I would never be picked for anything that a person with executive hair would have been picked for. So you see it's not just a double standard for women, it's also a double standard for men. If you don't fit the movie star looks, you're most likely not going to be in a movie. There are actors and actresses today that aren't what I would call raving beauties which gives some hope for the future of normal people like me but there will always be more attention paid to what society thinks entertainment should look like and that's okay with me. I just want, for lack of a better word, Hollywood to try and uplift our society rather than dragging it in the gutter. I see so many bright hopes on television and then all of a sudden they're gone. Maybe I'm the only one that likes a more favorable view of the future.

Those are my thoughts for today. You'll have to forgive me, I have to run, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is about to come on.