Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Man found hanging at playground in Stow
Relatives doubt story of suicide
FBI asked to investigate attack on white family near Firestone Park
Robbery suspect's body left at Akron hospital
Man shot in back near Akron park
Blogs:
Pets:
Zeke, the basketball playing dog
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Six new scholarship offers
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
Tribe roster on hold?
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Baby Got Barack !
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Overwhelming Evidence
Akron Law Café:
New Wiretapping Revelations from Inspector General
Varsity Letters:
Report: Ontko selects Wisconsin
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
Video game sales drop in May
Fondly remembered film from World War II era might be 'Fighting Lady'
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Thursday, Aug 14, 2008
If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag . . .
Q: As a youngster growing up in Iowa in late 1940s and 1950s, a favorite family outing was going to ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' movies. I most remember ''Cheaper by the Dozen.'' I would love to share watching a Ma & Pa Kettle movie with my daughter, Emily (now 30). Are any of these movies available? How would I find them?
A: There are a couple of DVD sets, The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Volumes 1 and 2, which together have eight movies, starting with The Egg and I, a Fred MacMurray-Claudette Colbert comedy that introduced the Kettles to moviegoers. (There are also two other Kettles movies, but without the original Ma and Pa team of Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride). If your local retailer does not have the DVDs or cannot order them, the two sets are on sale at Amazon.com for about $15 each.
By the way, while the Kettles had a lot of children, Cheaper by the Dozen — whether the 1950 version with Clifton Webb or more recent updates with Steve Martin — did not involve the Kettles. But the Cheaper movies are also on DVD.
Q: I think the first movie I went to with my dad was called ''The Fighting Lady.'' It was a dramatic story from World War II and carrier war in the Pacific. I remember one of the heroes was called Smokey. I saw a movie recently on TCM called ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' but it was listed for 1954 and the movie I saw was no later than 1945. And I'm certain the TCM movie was not the one I saw. If you have any information, I would be deeply grateful.
A: While The Men of the Fighting Lady is a well-regarded film, it's not the one you saw as a child. (For one thing, Men involves the Korean War.) There is in fact a film called The Fighting Lady, from 1944, which was called a ''newsdrama of the Pacific.'' It won an Academy Award for best documentary, and one of the people in it was a young lieutenant known as ''Smokey'' Stover. (Smokey Stover was the star of a newspaper comic strip, so people named Stover tended to get tagged ''Smokey.'')
Getting back to The Fighting Lady, it is on DVD. You can also watch it online; I saw it at http://video.google.com.
Q: I am writing to ask you about a movie that starred SidneyPoitier. It was about the bomb that destroyed the world. Sidney and another man and a woman were the only people in New York City. Then the two men had it out for the woman. That's all I can tell you.
A: Let me tell you more, then. The movie is 1959's The World, the Flesh and the Devil. But it starred Harry Belafonte, not Sidney Poitier, with Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer.
Q: Years ago I saw a movie starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford called ''Gilda.'' I haven't been able to find it. I thought you could find it for me.
A: The 1946 movie, which cemented Hayworth's reputation as a screen siren, is available on DVD. In addition, Turner Classic Movies will show it on Friday at 9:45 p.m. as part of a daylong presentation of Hayworth movies. It also has showings scheduled for noon Sept. 27 and 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17.
Q: I am trying to find on VHS or DVD a Disney movie called ''Big Red'' or ''Big Red Dog.'' Walter Pidgeon played in it. By the way, we do not have a computer.
A: Big Red, from 1962, was released on DVD in 2000 but copies have become hard to find and rather expensive. A VHS release can still be found at a lower price. If you don't have a local tape seller who can get it for you, try to find someone with a computer who can order it from an online retailer like Amazon.com.
•
Do you have a question or comment about movies, TV and other popular culture? Write to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com or the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309. Please mark the note for Mailbag and do not phone in questions.
Letters may be edited. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in a blog at http://www.ohio.com. You can find more columns, questions and answers at http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/heldenfels.
If it's Thursday, this must be the mailbag . . .
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
