The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon Has Arrived!

Step into our tent and gaze into the crystal ball.....what you see before you will be the past that has never been. Fantastic film plots gathered from imagineers across America will magically take form in the eyes of your mind as you read their reviews of amazing movies that were never made. 

Welcome to the Great Imaginary Film Blogathon! 

Diana and I ( Connie ) are pleased to once again host this far-fetched event, giving bloggers a chance to play producer and concoct films that they wished had been made ( but never were )....and then review them. 

Everyone has exited a movie theatre thinking of all the changes they would have made to the film they just saw, or read a book and imagined the ideal movie adaptation of the story. Well, if you put your thoughts about that ideal film down on paper you'd have a Great Imaginary Film article. That's what this event is all about!

During the course of the next few days bloggers will be sharing with you, dear readers, their favorite films that have long existed only in their own imaginations. Be prepared for anything. Wallace Beery starring in A Streetcar Named Desire? It could happen here. Joan Crawford playing herself in Mommie Dearest? Ghastly to think of, but nothing is impossible. Freddie Bartholomew in the original 1938 version of Harry Potter? It's been conceived before!

If you just stumbled upon this blogathon today and thought of a jim-dandy movie idea you'd like to share with others, then have no fear, we'll be accepting submissions at anytime...down to the last stroke of midnight on November 13th ( Oh heck, we'll even accept entries after that date! )

Ready to read reviews about some imaginary films? Then look no further than below, where we have prepared a master list of participating blogs. 

Unfortunately, we don't have Professor Marvel's skill of telepathy, so if you represent one of these blogs and have your post ready for sharing, you'll have to drop your link in the comment box or send us an email so we could update the master list.  Enjoy!

MASTER LIST OF IMAGINARY FILM CREATORS

Silver Scenes - The Lost Hildegarde Withers Mysteries 

Edna May Oliver starred in three Withers mysteries during the 1930s, but did you know that Louise Fazenda and Agnes Moorehead also played the famous detective?

The Midnite Drive-In - Murder is Not Funny ( 1951 )

In this clever film noir from Quiggy, Robert Mitchum plays a private detective who must head to a circus to solve the murder of a bearded lady. 

Hamlette's Soliloquy - The Lord of the Rings ( 1960s style )

Hamlette fantasizes the ideal cast of The Lord of the Rings, had it been made into an epic film in the 1960s. 

Movies Meet Their Match - The Wizard of Oz starring Shirley Temple

We all know that Shirley Temple was up for the part of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but Movies Meet their Match tells us that she actually did star in the 1941 version!

The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog - "At the Mountains of Madness" ( 1940 )

Dan Day tells us all about this exciting imaginary Universal horror classic starring Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi.

Old Hollywood Films - The Original Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey would have been an ideal 1940s film, and Old Hollywood Films' brilliant casting makes you wish it had been made. 

Little Bits of Classics - Murder on the Orient Express ( 1956 )

What if Agatha Christie's classic thriller had been made in 1956? Little Bits of Classics tells us how this film would have turned out. 

Senseless Cinema - Bride of Peeping Tom ( 1961 )

Michael Powell's Peeping Tom shocked audiences when it was first released, but that didn't stop Edward D. Wood from creating a sequel! 

Silver Scenes - The Treasure of the Snake King ( 1942 )

Can you imagine that before Tomb Raider became such a popular franchise it was a 20th Century Fox adventure film starring the beautiful Vivien Leigh? We can!

Film Noir Archive - "The Twenty Year Death" A Modern Noir

Film noirs are making a comeback, and Robert Downey Jr.'s latest film may just snatch the Best Picture Oscar for 2017. 

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies - The Original "Conspiracy Theory" ( 1947 )

Phyllis gives us an inside look at Elia Kazan's Conspiracy Theory, the original film, released fifty years before the popular Mel Gibson version. 

Willawa - The Blue Castle ( 2016 )

L.M Montgomery's classic novel "The Blue Castle" is about to be a 2016 film release, and it features Tom Hiddleston and Robert DeNiro!

A Person in the Dark 

The Lady Eve's Reel Life

In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood

Want to read some more imaginary film reviews? Check out the original Great Imaginary Film Blogathon entries. 

Tomb Raider: The Treasure of the Snake King

Riding high from her fame as the fiery Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and as Myra in 1940's romantic tearjerker Waterloo Bridge, English rose Vivien Leigh enthralled audiences in the role of fearless siren Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: The Treasure of the Snake King. 

Released by 20th Century Fox in November 1942, screenwriter Philip Dunne crafted an exciting adventure story that inspired Toby Gard to create Tomb Raider, which has since become the world's best-selling video game franchise.

In the beginning of the film, a noted archaeologist is being pursued by thugs in a small waterfront outpost in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. He runs into a general store/post office and hastily puts a 4" terra cotta figurine into a cardboard box and addresses the box to his friend and colleague, English archaeologist and aristocrat Lady Lara Croft ( Leigh ). Shortly after he hands the parcel to the clerk and runs out of the general store, the thugs chase him into a dark alley whereupon he is beaten up and thrown into the sea.

After the credits have appeared on screen, Lady Croft is seen riding bareback on her fair steed over the rolling hills of her family's sprawling estate. At unexpected moments, a shooting target pops up from around tree limbs and in odd corners that allow Lara to whip out her trusty pistols and take aim. While Lady Croft is a proper young lady indeed, she knows a thing or two about the fine art of marksmanship and her daily practice sessions have trained her to become an expert shot.

When her practice has ended, her butler hands her a parcel and recognizing the importance of the artifact inside of it, she contacts her historian friend Dr. Henry Carlton ( Ian Hunter ) and requests his help. The pair discuss the possible origin of the intricately designed figurine and conclude that it is an ornament that may provide a link to the legendary lost Mayan empire of the Snake kingdom, who not only possessed a magnificent treasure of gold and jewels, but the power to control time as well, by means of a "golden cobra" statue.

Henry and Lara take a transatlantic plane trip and meet danger when both of the pilots parachute out of the plane, leaving Henry and Lara to save the plane themselves from imminent disaster. Once they make it safely to Mexico, they hire Enrique Lopez ( Cesar Romero ) and his companion Jose ( J. Edward Bromberg ) to act as their guides into the remote jungle. 

Lara is visited by an attractive fortune teller named Carlita ( Maria Montez ) who seems to know a lot about the desires of the human heart, including Lara's determination to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance. Carlita shows Lara another terra cotta figurine but, moments after Carlita leaves Lara's hotel room, she is attacked and Lara comes to her rescue. She fights the thugs and learns from one of them that they were sent by their "King" to stop Lara and Henry's jungle expedition.

As the team begins their journey in the deep jungle, David McMasters, a young explorer ( Richard Greene ) begs to join them in hopes that the discovery will provide him with a healthy paycheck to send his lady love Eloise ( Nan Grey ) back to England. 

They encounter monkeys, spiders, leopards, snakes, sickness, hidden passions and danger. Several members of their team run away, Henry nearly dies from a poisonous snake bite, and a fire almost consumes their entire camp! It becomes apparent that someone is going to great lengths to bring their expedition to an end. Eloise turns up unexpectedly and David, in a drunken fit, tells Eloise he is madly in love with Lara, which causes both women to get into a "cat fight", in which Lara wins.

The team finds a moss covered temple and the entrance to a dark tomb filled with gold, jade, and emeralds. A beautifully crafted frieze in the tomb provides definite evidence to the existence of the Snake kingdom, which was later taken over by the Mayan warriors. Lara solves a puzzle hidden in the frieze that says she must use a jade-encrusted mask as a guide to locate the underwater tomb which houses the glimmering golden cobra statue. 

Lara and the team face numerous obstacles in their quest to reach the golden cobra, including several lethal traps and a near cave-in! Lara hopes that the golden statue will allow her to go back in time just enough so that she can "see" what happened to her mother before she disappeared when Lara was a child. This natural desire does not come to pass, for it is when Henry takes hold of the ruby-eyed cobra, that his true nature comes to light. He is, in fact, the evil "King" behind the attacks and sabotage that have plagued the expedition from the start. He wants to possess the cobra's power to control time, so that he could go back in time and be like one of the kings when the Snakes were in power. This surprise turn of events shocks Lara and the others, but Lara knows she must stop Henry and his henchmen ( who are disguised as native guides ) at all costs. 

The overwhelming power of the golden cobra engulfs Henry and the earth beneath his feet gives way sucking him and his henchmen into a time warp never to be seen by modern man again. The intense eruption causes the submerged tomb to quake violently. Lara and David are badly hurt, but they and Eloise just manage to escape the underwater tomb before it collapses beneath the sea.

We learn that Henry's plan was to use Lara's superior knowledge of ancient history to help him find the location of the tomb of the golden cobra for his own wicked ambitions. He sabotaged the expedition merely to make the team believe that an outside force was against their mission, and not him. 

As the film concludes, Lara lets David take full credit for finding the artifacts the team found in the temple and they agree to give them to the museum in Merida with Enrique as the museum's new curator. David and Eloise make plans to return to England and Enrique and Carlita have formed a romantic attachment during the expedition. 

Vivien Leigh gave a wonderful performance of Lara Croft. She is smart, sassy, and courageous ( like Scarlett O'Hara ), but a bit of a tomboy. Richard Greene's David is brave and handsome and eager for adventure. Since the film appealed mostly to teenage boys and girls, Greene proved to be a role model for the boys in the audience while teenage girls found themselves swooning over this attractive Englishman. Considering the film's marquee names, Cesar Romero steals the show as Enrique with his trademark smile and carefree bravado. Ole!

Tomb Raider: The Treasure of the Snake King could have benefitted from better set design, instead settling for old stock footage and mediocre jungle sets created on the studio lot. It received moderate reviews from credits when it was released in theaters. The film was not a commercial success, but it allowed director Norman Foster ( who went on to make Journey into Fear and Rachel and the Stranger ), screenwriter Philip Dunne, and its cast to dabble in a project that was a bit ahead of its time. 

The character of Lara Croft and her incredible escapades would not gain popularity until young game designer Gard and his talented team debuted their highly-anticipated video game in 1996. New games were developed annually until 1999 along with several reincarnations with the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015. American actress Angelina Jolie brought Lara Croft to the screen in two thrilling films, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ( 2001 ) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life ( 2003 ), which featured location scenes shot in exotic foreign countries and the usage of modern computer special effects. 

Lara Croft remains a much-loved heroine in the gaming world and her next motion picture appearance is slated for March 2018 with actress Alicia Vikander in the coveted role of the one of the world's most talented and gutsy archaeologists, Lady Lara Croft. A role originally introduced by the lovely Vivien Leigh almost 75 years ago...

This fictional review is my ( Diana ) contribution to The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon, being hosted by yours truly, Silver Scenes. To read more articles about "imaginary" films, be sure to check out the Master List here! 

The Lost Hildegarde Withers Mysteries

Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who enjoys cracking murder cases, was the creation of Stuart Palmer who penned sixteen novels featuring the wise-cracking old broad. She was enormously popular with mystery readers throughout the 1930s, and with film-goers from her very first appearance in The Penguin Pool Murder ( 1932 ) which starred Edna May Oliver as Withers. 

Oliver was the perfect embodiment of the snoopy schoolteacher with her horse-like face and her no-nonsense attitude. She sauntered around dangerous territories with her Queen Mary attire and her silver-handled umbrella poking her nose where it didn't belong and treating all suspects like they were naughty schoolchildren. With the aide of crusty know-it-all inspector Oscar Piper ( James Gleason ) she would try to sniff the criminal out before they snuffed her out. Gleason and Oliver's barbed repartee didn't fool audiences, who immediately recognized what a great crime-solving team they made. 

Louise Fazenda with Edna May Oliver

RKO featured the duo in two more mysteries - Murder on the Blackboard ( 1934 ) and Murder on a Honeymoon ( 1935 ) before Edna May Oliver decided to quit the series and move onto other roles. This was a sore disappointment for Withers fans but, since Gleason was game for continuing on, RKO decided to recast the part with Louise Fazenda. 

Fazenda had a long career in Hollywood dating back to 1913, and she was particularly adept at character parts. While she lacked Edna May Oliver's comical facial features, she did a grand job of stepping into Oliver's very large shoes and making the part of Miss Withers completely her own. Fazenda even brought out Miss Withers' more romantic nature, and a good dose of sugar was often mixed into her many tart remarks to Oscar Piper. 

The first Hildegarde Withers mystery to feature Louise Fazenda was the most entertaining of the entire series - Murder Abroad, released in 1938. This sprightly whodunnit takes place aboard a steamer bound for London. We all know schoolteachers love to travel, but Miss Withers has not had good luck with vacations. On her last trip, she found herself enmeshed in the investigation of a dead man on a small plane. In this outing, a young woman ( Dorothy Lovett ) goes missing. She is either in hiding or has fallen over the ship's rails. While the passengers begin a search for her onboard, body after body begins appearing. The young woman's beau ( Kent Taylor ) is particularly worried, as is Miss Withers who is determined to put a stop to this killer who threatens her holiday abroad! With so few clues to work with, she comes to depending on the testimony of a particularly mischievous silver Persian cat to aide in the investigation. Murder Abroad was based upon Palmer's "Puzzle of the Silver Persian". Also in the cast were Leon Errol as an amusing Brit who has the sweets for Miss Withers, and debonair Tom Conway. 

Next came Scene One, Murder ( 1940 ), an entertaining backstage Hollywood mystery that featured a number of great cameos from some of RKO's biggest stars. Once again, Withers was hoping for a grand European vacation after a particularly distressing school year, but Hitler has other plans. The invasion of Poland puts an end to her tour and so she books a ticket to Hollywood, trading the Louvre and the Vatican for the Brown Derby and La Brea tar pits. She has only been in Los Angeles three days when she is offered a job at Mammoth Studios as a technical advisor to a film version of the Lizzie Borden story. The job is perfect, for no one knows murder like Miss Withers. But on her first day at the studio, the screenwriter in the next office dies of an apparent broken neck, and Miss Withers soon discovers that a killer as vicious as Lizzie Borden herself is loose on the backlot! 

Withers' Hollywood debut is a bust!

Scene One, Murder features a number of great character actors such as Charlie Ruggles as Mammoth's key director ( and our number one suspect ), Clarence Muse as the security guard, and Miles Mander as the aggravated screenwriter who gets tied up. Allan Jones and Sally Eilers also star as the requisite lovebirds. Most entertaining of all is George O'Brien's cameo. From the moment Miss Withers booked her Hollywood vacation she was hoping to catch a glimpse of "Gorgeous George", her idol of the silver screen, and she - literally! - catches him in her lap at the commissary....much to the chagrin of Inspector Piper. 

Despite steady box-office returns for these final entries in the Withers-Piper series, RKO wrapped up the films, focusing more attention on film noirs and westerns throughout the 1940s. It was not until 1957 that Hildegarde Withers returned to the screen for one final appearance, this time with Agnes Moorehead taking on the part. Moorehead was ideally cast. She had made a television pilot in 1955 for a proposed sitcom based on the Palmer novels, but the series was never picked up*. 

This feature film - Crossing Death - changed the character slightly, and added some new touches while retaining the spunk of the originals. The setting has been updated to the 1950s, and Miss Withers is no longer a city schoolteacher but teaches in a rural school outside of New York City. One wintry night, while driving to Miss Withers' country house for dinner, her good friend Inspector Piper ( Paul Kelly ) witnesses a roadster slam into a tree at a crossroad. The car is empty, its driver thrown a half block back. He is stone dead but his cigarette is still burning, and he has a noose tied tight around his neck. Can dead men drive? Oscar and Hildegarde certainly don't think so, and together they assemble clues that lead them to a barn theatre and its company of seven actors ( among them Hugh Marlowe, Barry Sullivan, Herbert Marshall, Elsa Lanchester and Martha Hyer ). 

Wither or not you are a mystery fan, you will find each of these three films immensely entertaining and perfect for a Friday night viewing. Unfortunately, none of these titles have received an official DVD release yet and finding a copy of them may prove to be the most difficult mystery of all!

* This TV pilot was actually made, but is now considered lost. 

This post is Connie's entry in The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon being hosted by yours truly, Silver Scenes. This event features reviews of "imaginary" films....in other words, what you just read was a fictional review ( accept for the * note ). We hope you enjoyed it! To read more reviews of imaginary films, simply click on this link. 

Upcoming Blogathon! The Return of the Great Imaginary Film Blogathon!

Abracadabra, ala kazam! 

UPDATE: This event is currently running and the list of participants can be found here. 

Look into my crystal ball....watch closely as beloved films of the golden age suddenly change before your very eyes, and sparkling new imaginary films rise before you. Poof!! With a wave of Madame Lasagna's hand and a generous sprinkling of pixie dust tossed into your face you'll be amazed at all the wondrous film plots you yourself will be creating. 

Three years ago, Silver Scenes hosted its very first blogathon "The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon". It was a resounding success, and today we are pleased to announce the return of The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon! 

This magical event is your opportunity to travel back in time and rewrite the films of yor....or speed ahead into the future and create an entirely new film. 

Have you ever read a great book and wished it had been turned into a motion picture?

Have you ever seen a silent, or pre-code film, and wished it had been remade with just a little more "punch" added to it?

Have you ever seen a new film and wished a version of it had been made in the 1930s, or 1940s, or 1950s?

Have you ever seen a film, loved it to death, but wished the main actor/actress had been someone different?

What silly questions...of course you've thought of this before! EVERYONE has exited a movie theatre thinking of all the changes they would have made to the film they just saw. Or read a book and pictured [ your favorite actor ] in the lead. Or wondered "What was William Castle thinking when he made Berserk? I could make a better film than that!" ( and you probably can ).

Well, here is your chance to play producer.....you pick the script, the stars, and the studio. Look into your crystal ball and conjure up an imaginary film and then review it for your readers. That's what The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon is all about. 

Now you can review about all those wonderful movies that have existed only in your mind.....and anything you can conceive, you can share!

Still confused? Check out some of the entries from our last Imaginary Film Blogathon here on The Master List. 

We can't wait to get started and see what scathingly brilliant pictures you see in your magic ball. But before you start to concoct movie history though let's talk a bit about some of the rules:

Rule Number One - If you wish to write about a film that was never made, please include the following..

- title
- year of production
- at least four cast members
- the studio that you hoped would have released the film
- whether the film is in color or black/white
- basic plot

Imaginary TV Movies are welcome as well.

Rule Number Two - If you wish to create a photo gallery of film ideas please attach a title and small plot summary with your pics. A tv guide sized nugget review will do nicely.

Rule Number Three - If you wish to create a gif...good luck! We have no idea how you would go about doing that.

Rule Number Four - All films created should be dated pre-1975. Afterall, this is a classic film site.

Rule Number Five - There are no rules. Disregard all of the above if you want to do something differently.

The Great Film Blogathon will run from November 11-13, 2016. Exact dates for posting will not be assigned, just so long as you post within that time frame you're good to go. We will post a master list of participants and their topics on the first day of the blogathon. That means you got a whole month to gaze into your crystal ball and conjure up an imaginary film.

Any questions? ...Then let the fun begin!

Look into your inbox this week for an invitation to the event, or sign-up by leaving your name and blog url address in the comment box below. ALL bloggers are welcome!

P.S. : If you don't want to join, please help spread the word about the event by placing a banner on your site anyway. 

Banners are free for the taking : 

Final Day - The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon

Oh no! Have we really reached the final day of the blogathon already? Well, all good things must come to an end, as the saying goes. To end things off with a bang we got a really good array of talented bloggers ready to share their fantastic film reviews...but WAIT!! don't pop that blank tape in your VCR just yet. We're afraid you won't be able to tape any of these films on the late-late-late show...they're strictly wishful-thinking movies. 

So bring out your fantasy television set, wiggle your rabbit ears just right, tune into a static channel and enjoy some of these never-before-seen ( and never-will-be-seen* ) classic movies! 

* Who knows? Maybe someday technology will advance to the point where old film clips of actors can be programmed as digital 3D characters and we can watch new films starring old actors. As Henry Aldrich would say, "Oh boy...Oh boy..Oh boooy...I caaaan't wait!".

Schedule of Posts : 

East of Constantinople and west of Shanghai you'll find Karavansara, Davide Mana's adventure themed blog. He will be taking us on an imaginary journey exploring the possibilities of a John Huston directed "The Man Who Would Be King" ( 1946 ). Hup 2, 3, 4...forward march men! Head on over there and investigate that on the double! 

The inimitable Lady Eve will be giving us a glimpse of the film version of Willa Cather's novella "My Mortal Enemy"...but take your time meandering over to The Lady Eve's Reel Life for she hasn't quite put the finishing touches on her post yet. 

Clara Guiliani has some Scribblings she wishes to share...she has envisioned a silent film adaption of Josephine Preston Peabody's drama "Marlowe". 

Millie of Classic Forever may or may not have time to make a posting ( she's a busy college gal ) so we'll check back later, but right now you can find a great gif there of David Janssen twitching!

Rich, creator of Wide Screen World, has concocted a great retrospective 1971 film about the Brooklyn Dodgers entitled "Bums". If we were giving out awards for the most creative title, then Rich would win it for this! 

Now is the time to get furious and head on over to Peter's Furious Cinema for his review of The Wizard ( 1974 ) starring the one and only Peter Boyle. 

Rich, host and maitre d' of The Classic Film and TV Cafe will share his version of "Goldfinger" ( 1964 ). Didn't care for Connery? That's all the more reason to check out his version and see whom he chose for Bond!

Lindsey will be sharing Part II of her "Classic Re-Castings of Six Favorite Post-1970 Films"  over at The Motion Pictures. If you didn't see her first post, click here. Her edited recasting pictures are too good to miss! 

Nitrate Diva has chosen to rehabilitate Louise Brooks and cast her in a 1940s film noir. A superb combination to be sure!

Also don't miss out on Hamlette's fanastic take on a 1956 William Wyler version of Marvel's "The Avengers". It's dynamic!

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And now the time has come to add a few final words.....our congratulatory speeches if you would like to call them that. We couldn't rent the Coconut Grove for the night so we brought it along with us. A speech just isn't proper when it ain't at the grove! 

To begin, we'd like to thank everyone who participated in this blogathon : those who took the effort to contact us, who shown interest in this wild idea, who pasted our splotchy banners on their own blogs, who took the time to conceive and write such great fantasy film reviews and those who put the effort into creating imaginative posters and photoshopped pics. My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you. 

For those who stopped by as readers...thank you for visiting here; we hope you were entertained with all the contributions and that you have remembered to leave a comment on each blogger's post. A few little words of appreciation mean alot to us poor souls. And lastly, we hope you will stop by again. We're sure we'll think up of something in the near future to tickle your fancy. 

If you have any comments, questions or complaints to make, please direct them to your nearest exit. Cocktails will be served in the dance hall. Thank you and have a good day! 

The Top Ten Literary Film Adaptations Never Made

Here is our contribution to The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon, a celebration of all the wonderful classic films that us movie bloggers wish were made but never were. For today and tomorrow, classic movie fans will be writing fantasy reviews to movies that exist only in their imaginations. Be sure to check out all the great submissions here. 

Below you see some of our favorite "Why didn't they make that??" films. We would love to hear comments and suggestions on alternative castings/ideas on how these films could have been made. 

Enjoy!

The Adventures of King Arthur ( 1941 )

Plot : The life and times of Camelot's most famous king, from his humble beginnings, the pulling of the sword in the stone, to his meeting with Merlin the Wizard and his eventual downfall.
Studio: Warner Brothers Pictures
Director : Michael Curtiz
Cast : Errol Flynn ( Arthur Pendragon ), June Duprez ( Guinevere ), Gale Sondergaard ( Morgan Le Fey ), David Manners ( Mordred ), Patric Knowles ( Sir Tristam ), Evelyn Veneble ( Lady of the Lake ), Alan Hale, Burt Lahr.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" was a box-office success upon its release and so Jack Warner decided to go ahead and follow it up with another great Howard Pyle adventure. This one was based on Pyle's four book saga on the rise and fall of the legendary King Arthur. The film focus on the exploits of Arthur himself and on the noble manhood of Lancelot but appropriately stays clear of indulging in too much romance surrounding Guinevere. Like Pyle's series, the film only hints at Lancelot's impending relationship with the queen in order to progress the story line towards the fall of Camelot. An excellent historical swashbuckler, with Warner Brother's usual stamp of high production values. 


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Anne of Green Gables ( 1967 )

Plot:  The stories are about the young red-headed orphan Anne and her uninhibited thirst for enjoying the beautiful in life as well as her adventures in growing up and becoming a schoolteacher on Prince Edward Island.
Studio: Walt Disney Studios
Director: David Swift
Cast: Shani Wallis ( Anne Shirley ), Michael Anderson Jr. ( Gilbert Blyth ) Agnes Moorehead ( Marilla Cuthbert ), Shirley Jones ( Minister's Wife ) Walter Brennan ( Matthew Cuthbert ), Rosemary DeCamp ( Rachel Lynde ).

When L.M Montgomery wrote "Anne of Green Gables" in 1908, little did she know that the book would become as popular as it did, but not one to ignore success, she quickly followed it up with a sequel, "Anne of Avonlea". In 1934, Anne Shirley ( who took her screen name from the book character ) starred in the RKO film version of the novel, which became a surprise hit for the studio and one of their top-grossing films of the year. "Anne of Windy Poplars" In the 1950s several Canadian production companies produced television adapations of the books and in 1965 a musical was made for the Canadian stage. It has since become Canada's longest running musical. 

However, it was time it was brought to the screen in full-color and so in 1965 Walt Disney purchased the rights to the stories and to the musical score and production began in late 1966. Walt's premature death did not put production on hold and it was released the same year as the studio's animated classic, "The Jungle Book". Shani Wallis, who became famous a year later in the Lionel Bart musical version of Oliver! starred as the young Anne Shirley and Agnes Moorehead, who had become a TV sensation as Samantha Steven's mother Endora, was perfectly cast as Marilla Cuthbert. 

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Howard's End ( 1947 ) 

Plot : Margaret Schlegel does an act of kindness to the aging Mrs. Wilcox, who in turn leaves her her beloved Howards End cottage to her when she dies. Wilcox's businessman husband and greedy son refuse to give the cottage to Schlegel but events take a turn for the better.
Studio : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director : Clarence Brown
Cast : Greer Garson ( Margaret Schlegel ), Joan Fontaine ( Helen Schlegel ), Ronald Colman ( Henry Wilcox ), Peter Lawford ( Leonard Bast ) , Mary Astor ( Mrs. Wilcox ).

E.M Forester's novel "Howard's End" fit right into MGM's line of novel adaptations they had selected for their leading lady, Greer Garson..films such as "Pride and Prejudice", "Blossoms in the Dust", "Mrs. Miniver" and "Random Harvest". This film also included her Random Harvest costar Ronald Colman, but unlike Harvest he portrays a rather dismissive businessman. A welcome change from his usual roles however. Joan Fontaine and Peter Lawford are perfect as the young couple, but it is truly Ms. Garson who steals the picture. The lovely Greer Garson personifies the gentle Margaret Schlegel and we can't help delighting in her gift of Howard's End. 

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Death on the Nile ( 1942 ) 

Plot : A passenger is murdered while on board a cruise through the Nile and Hercule Poirot must sift through the shipload of suspicious tourists to uncover the culprit.
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Director : George Waggner
Cast : Marcel Dalio ( Hercule Poirot ) Betty Field, Richard Denning, Reginald Gardiner, Lynn Bari, Douglass Montgomery, Mary Boland, Maria Ospenskaya, Martin Kosleck.

20th Century Fox's "Death on the Nile" brought Agatha Christie's thrilling Mediterranean set murder mystery to the screen with a dazzling cast of performers and it gave Paris-born character actor Marcel Dalio his first lead role as the inimitable detective Hercule Poirot.

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The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ( 1946 ) 

Plot : In a tavern in Bavaria, Baron Munchausen tells wild tales of his adventures around the world and during his days in the army. Hauptleute Boehmer calls Munchausen a fraud and sets out to prove his stories false...but surprisingly he finds many a strange tale to be true!
Studio : London Films
Director : Alexander Korda
Cast :  Ralph Richardson ( Hauptleute Boehmer ), Marius Goring ( Baron Munchausen ), Merle Oberon, Conrad Veidt, and Jean Simmons.

This is a wonderful and strangely amusing film from the fabulous Korda brothers. It evokes the bravado spirit of their previous successes, "The Four Feathers" and "The Thief of Bagdad" and yet has a childlike quality of humor about it that makes it very appealing. The scrumptious sets and vivid Technicolor filming add to its brilliance. In 1957, Danny Kaye added his signature comedic touch along with clever songs written by his wife, Slyvia Fine, to the Paramount remake of "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". 

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The Mutinous Wind ( 1939 ) 

Plot : A young woman learns powers of witchcraft from an old book found in a captured Spanish galleon on Massachusett's Cape Cod. She then hides on a remote island where she comes across pirates while waiting for her sailor lover. 
Studio : Columbia Pictures
Director : Charles Vidor
Cast : Miriam Hopkins ( Mistress Maria Hallett, the Sea Witch ), Douglas Fairbank's Jr. ( Black Sam Bellamy ), Ida Lupino, Dean Stockwell.

Elizabeth Reynard's moodily evocative tale of old Cape Cod folklore comes to vivid life in this glorious black and white Fox film adaptation. Dean Stockwell and Miriam Hopkins are excellent, but Douglas Fairbanks Jr. seemed a bit miscast in our opinion. We would have liked to have seen Louis Hayward, or even Errol Flynn in this role instead. 

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ( 1942 ) 

Plot : A timid schoolteacher comes to the quiet village of Sleepy Hollow, falls in love with one of his students and wishes to marry her, but must first contend with the village prankster who also desires her hand in marriage and seems to be using a disguise as a headless horseman to scare him away...or is the phantom rider real?
Studio : Universal Studios
Director : Erle C. Kenton
Cast : Lon Chaney ( Ichabod Crane ), Evelyn Ankers ( Katrina Van Tassel ), Nigel Bruce ( Van Tassel's father ), Brom Van Brunt ( Victor MacLagen ), Claude Rains ( The Sheriff ).

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is not one of Universal's most recognized works today and many people overlook this little gem but the studio pulled out all the stops for their rendition of the Washington Irving classic short story and brought it to vivid life. Great special effects, atmospheric sets, a snappy screenplay ( Leonard Lee's original screenplay bore little resemblance to the Irving story ) and a steady handling by "House of Frankenstein" director Erle C. Kenton ensured a box-office hit for the studio. 

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The Golden Compass ( 1972 ) 

Plot : A young girl, living with her uncle at Jordan College, hears rumors of a magical dust that could unite whole universes. With the aid of a band of gyptians and armored polar bears she seeks to find this substance before her unknown enemy gets their hands on it.
Studio : MGM
Director : Ken Annakin
Cast :  Kim Richards ( Lyra Silvertongue ), Christopher Plummer ( Lord Asriel ), Anna Quayle ( Mrs. Coulter ), Anthony Newley ( King of the Gyptians ).

A beautiful scoring by the Sherman Brothers highlights this colorful film adaption of Philip Pullman's beloved children's story. After the success of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli decided to invest in another children's film and this was the result! Little Kim Richards, who stars as Lyra, gained popularity on television as the daughter of Professor Everett in "Nanny and the Professor" and later, with the Walt Disney Studios, in the Witch Mountain films. Although the animation sequences - especially of the polar bears - are not up to par with Disney's standards they still remain a beautiful addition to this adventurous film. 

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The Riddle of the Sands ( 1938 )

Plot: While doing mapping studies onboard his yacht on the northern coast of Germany in 1908 a young man meets a rich German family and discovers a sinister plot against England! 
Studio: Archer Productions
Director: Michael Powell
Cast: John Mills, John Clements, Valerie Hobson, Anton Walbrook, Ludwig Stossel. 


Before Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made a name for themselves in the mid-1940s with their beautiful Technicolor productions, they were carving quite a niche writing and producing spy thrillers. Riddle of The Sands was one of their most popular and it starred some of their favorite studio players, including Anton Walbrook and Valerie Hobson. John Mills and John Clements would later make names for themselves in "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and "The Four Feathers", respectfully. Erskin Childer's novel, one of the first spy adventure stories ever written, was later remade in 1979 with Michael York and Simon McCorkindale.

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The Life of Edward Bok ( 1936 ) 

Plot: An autobiographical account of Edward Bok, editor of the Ladies Home Journal, founder of Bok Sanctuary and an influential man in American history. 
Studio: MGM
Director : 
Cast: Robert Donat ( Edward Bok ), Charles Laughton ( publisher of the Ladies Home Journal ), Ida Lupino (Mary Curtis Bok ), Donald Crisp ( Frederick Law Olmsted ), and Spring Byington ( Bok's mother ). 


When Edward Bok wrote "The Americanization of Edward Bok" in 1920, he was amazed to find that it rose to the top of the bestselling book list. His humble account of coming to America and his subsequent rags-to-riches-rise to national fame through his editorials captured the imagination of readers everywhere. It was no surprise then that in 1935 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the rights to Bok's autobiography and began rewriting his life for the silver screen. In all fairness though, Metro did a very good job on selecting the best parts of his life to highlight. The first half of the film focus on Bok's struggles and his desire to make a difference in America, and the second half covers the opportunities he had to do this as well as the building and designing of his beloved sanctuary, Bok Gardens. Donald Crisp has a wonderful, but all too brief, appearance as landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. 

Day Two - The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon

Get your popcorn ready! Now playing at the Silver Scenes Theatre is a variety of great posts starring some of the most talented and amusing film writers in the blogasphere. Pauline Kael step aside! 

We had a great audience yesterday and today we have people standing in line to see the greatest flicks that were never made...

Do you have a soft spot for horror flicks? Adore comedies? Love a good rollicking screwball? Whatever your taste there is sure to be something in the line-up to tickle your fancy, so grab your tickets early ( or say a good word to the projectionist ) and you can get a sneak peak at the coming attractions.

Recent releases: 

• Lindsey, the big boss behind the fabulous The Motion Pictures blog,  will be sharing her Classic Re-castings of Six Favorite Post-1970 Films done in two parts. Don't miss checking out those! 

• Brian, host of the shriekingly good Films from Beyond the Time Barrier will share his conception of Universal's "Chamber of Horrors" ( 1943 ), the classic horror film that was never brought to fruitation.

• Paddy-Lee, aka, the super-powered Caftan Woman, will expand on the possibilities of "Charlie Chan in Hollywood"...the film you thought was made but never was! 

• Leticia of Critica Retro will share her idea of a 1934 musical gangster film, entitled "Musical Mob" ( aka "Máfia Musical" ). Don't forget to click the translate button if you don't have a firm grasp on Portuguese . 

• More to come! 

• And lastly, our own humble contribution...The Ten Best Literary Films Never Made.

Also, be sure to check out the selection of great upcoming films, scheduled for release tomorrow! 

Enjoy!