2010 TCM 31 Days of Oscar | See My 10 Best and Pick Your Own

This year for 31 Days of Oscar I will be tweeting my Best Oscar Pick from each days schedule and sharing a blogpost for my Pick. You can pick your own 10 Best and share them on top social networking venues, such as Facebook and My Space. As usual the TCM web designers have created a slick interface to choose from a list of Oscar movies and then drag and drop them in the order you wish. You just have to check it out for yourself. Although the visuals are awesome, it doesn't beat the TCM University theme from last year. I just don't think they can come up with much to compete with 2009.

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God's Little Acre | Watch Online Free

God's Little Acre is a 1958 American film of the novel of the same name by Erskine Caldwell. It was made for the screen by director Anthony Mann and lensed in black and white by master cameraman Ernie Haller.
The film was as controversial as the novel, though this time there was no prosecution for obscenity. Though both book and film were laced throughout with racy innuendo calling into question the issue of marital fidelity, it was the film adaptation that may have been the more alarming, inasmuch as it portrayed a popular uprising, or Marxist insurrection, in the southern United States by millworkers laid off from work and trying to gain control of the factory equipment which their jobs depend on. Philip Yordan was officially given credit for the screenplay, but it was actually by Ben Maddow. Since Maddow was blacklisted for suspected Communist activities during the 1950s Red Scare, working without credit was the only way he could successfully submit screenplays.
When first released, audiences under eighteen years of age were prohibited from viewing what were perceived to be numerous sexy scenes throughout, though in recent decades the film's scandalous reputation has diminished. Though ultimately a box office failure upon first release, the film has frequently been aired on television. Due to a lapse in copyright registration after the bankruptcy of United Artists in the mid-1980s, the film is now in the public domain in the United States

Cast

• Robert Ryan as Ty Ty Walden, a widower
• Aldo Ray as Will Thompson
• Tina Louise as Griselda
• Buddy Hackett as Pluto Swint
• Jack Lord as Buck Walden
• Fay Spain as Darlin' Jill
• Vic Morrow as Shaw Walden
• Helen Westcott as Rosamund
• Lance Fuller as Jim Leslie
• Rex Ingram as Uncle Felix
• Michael Landon as Dave Dawson, the albino

Bringing in 2010 with 2010! Future is Now!

2001: A Space Odyssey (occasionally referred to as simply 2001) is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous and often surreal imagery, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

The film has a memorable soundtrack — the result of the association which Kubrick made between the rotary motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes, which led him to use the Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II, and the famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss.

Despite receiving mixed reviews upon release, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today recognized by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films ever made; the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for visual effects. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in The National Film Registry.

Clarke went on to write three sequel novels. The only filmed sequel, 2010, was based on Clarke's 1982 novel and was released in 1984. Kubrick was not involved in the production of this film, which was directed by Peter Hyams in a straightforward style with more dialogue. The film was only a moderate success, disappointing many critics as well as viewers.

On New Yew Day 2010, let's analyze accuracy of predictions

The primary predictions that are central to the plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey, made in 1968, those about space travel and artificial intelligence, did not materialize by that date (and still have not). However, many secondary futuristic elements of the story that are somewhat marginal to the plot have been accurate apprehensions of the future.

Technology

One futuristic device shown in the film already under development when the film was released in 1968 was voice-print identification, although the first prototype was not released until 1977. A credible prototype of a chess-playing computer already existed in 1968, even though it could be defeated by experts. Computers did not defeat champions until the late 1980s. While 10-digit phone numbers for long-distance national dialing originated in 1951, longer phone numbers for international dialing became a reality in 1970. Personal in-flight entertainment displays were first introduced in the 1980s strictly for the purpose of playing video games, but then broadened out for the purpose of TV broadcast and movies in a manner like that shown in the film. The film also shows flat-screen TV monitors, of which the first real-world prototype appeared in 1975. Plane cockpit integrated system displays, known as glass cockpits, were introduced in 1979. Rudimentary voice-controlled computing exists in the early 2000s, although it is still not as sophisticated as depicted in the film.

Some technologies portrayed as common in the film which have not materialized in the 2000s include commonplace space travel, space stations with hotels, moon colonization, suspended animation of humans, common (non-mobile) videophones, and strong artificial intelligence of the kind displayed by HAL.

Corporate and political realities

In terms of corporate realities, many more BBC stations existed in 2001 than did in 1968 as shown in the film, although there is no BBC 12. The corporations IBM, Aeroflot, Howard Johnsons, and Hilton Hotels, all of which appear in the film, have survived till 2001 and beyond. On the other hand, the film depicts a still-existing Pan Am and still-autonomous Bell System telephone company. Pan Am declared bankruptcy in 1991. The Bell System logo seen in the film was modified in 1969 and dropped entirely in 1983. Political realities are also quite different. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is alive and well in the film, but was dissolved in 1991.

Several elements have also become anachronistic in the years following the release of sequel 2010, the most obvious being the end of the Cold War and the fact that the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991. Pan American World Airways went out of business in 1991. The Astrodome is mentioned in passing as if active; however, the Astrodome closed in 2004. The closing sequence of the film briefly depicts the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as seen from a small installation of fountains that was subsequently replaced by the National World War II Memorial.

Nick & Nora The Musical

Nick and Nora Charles, or Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Charles (which was changed from his father's original Greek name "Charalambides"), are fictional characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Thin Man. Nick is a retired private detective and Nora a wealthy society woman whose snobbish family thinks she has married beneath herself; Hammett modeled her on his lover Lillian Hellman. Their banter provides comic relief of the type that would later be seen between John Steed and Emma Peel in The Avengers. The couple have a pet dog, Asta, who is a female schnauzer (but became a male wire fox terrier when the book was made into a film)

The film adaptation of The Thin Man was a resounding success, and although Hammett never wrote another novel with Nick and Nora Charles, five movie sequels were produced.

In 1991, the Thin Man motion pictures were adapted into an unsuccessful Broadway musical, Nick & Nora with a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and music by Charles Strouse. It opened on December 8, 1991 and ran for just nine performances before closing on December 15. In his memoir Original Story By, Laurents confessed he didn't realize until the show was in previews that the characters of Nick and Nora Charles were identified so closely with William Powell and Myrna Loy that the public would have difficulty accepting anyone else in the roles.

Quotes & Pics from your Favorite Mister and Missus...Nick and Nora Charles

The Thin Man (1934)

Nora Charles: How many drinks have you had?
Nick Charles: This will make six Martinis.
Nora Charles: [to the waiter] All right. Will you bring me five more Martinis, Leo? Line them right up here.

Nora Charles: Pretty girl.
Nick Charles: Yes. She's a very nice type.
Nora Charles: You got types?
Nick Charles: Only you, darling. Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.

Reporter: Say listen, is he working on a case?
Nora Charles: Yes, he is.
Reporter: What case?
Nora Charles: A case of scotch. Pitch in and help him.

Nick Charles: The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.

Nick Charles: How'd you like Grant's tomb?
Nora Charles: It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.

Nora Charles: All right! Go ahead! Go on! See if I care! But I thinks it's a dirty trick to bring me all the way to New York just to make a widow of me.
Nick Charles: You wouldn't be a widow long.
Nora Charles: You bet I wouldn't!
Nick Charles: Not with all your money...

Nick Charles: Now don't make a move or that dog will tear you to shreds.

Nora Charles: [to Asta, as Nick and Asta are going out on a case] If you let anything happen to him, you'll never wag that tail again.

Nora Charles: You asleep?
Nick Charles: Yes!
Nora Charles: Good... I want to talk to you.

[last lines]
Nora Charles: Nicky... Nicky, put Asta in here with me tonight.
Nick Charles: [chuckles] Oh, yeah?
[throws Asta in the other bunk]

After the Thin Man (1936)

Nick Charles: Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm thirsty.

Nick Charles: You see, when it comes to words like that, an illiterate person...
Polly Byrnes: Whaddaya mean "illiterate"? My father and mother were married right here in the city hall!
Nick Charles: [Leans toward Nora] Having a good time, Mrs. Charles?
Nora Charles: It couldn't be better.

Nora Charles: Are you packing?
Nick Charles: Yes dear, I'm putting away this liquor.

[Last line, as Nick gapes at Nora knitting baby boots]
Nora Charles: And you call yourself a detective.

Another Thin Man (1939)

Nora Charles: I got rid of all those reporters.
Nick Charles: What did you tell them?
Nora Charles: We're out of scotch.
Nick Charles: What a gruesome idea.

Policeman with flashlight: We're going to have to shoot that mutt. We'll never find him like this.
Nick Charles: Wait a minute. He's not going to come running up to a lot of strange men with lights. What do you think he is? A moth?

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

Nora Charles: He's [ Little Nicky ] getting more like his father everyday.
Estrellita: He sure is. This morning he was playing with a corkscrew.

Nora Charles: Follow that car, quick!
Cab Driver: Yes, ma'am!
[Drives off after cab, leaving Nora and Molly on the sidewalk]

The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)

Nora Charles: Just imagine, four murders, all strangulations, no fingerprints, no clues. The police were baffled. All they had were four bodies. So what do they do? They dump the whole thing in Nick's lap. Nobody suspected Stinky, because he's been a cripple ever since some nitro went off while he was cracking a canister in Salt Lake. Everybody thought it was Rainbow Benny, but Nick knew that Rainbow was an expert with the shiv. Strangling was out of his line! Oh, smart Nick! Then they turned the heat on Slasher Martin who ran an dice joint down in China Town. But Slasher had an alibi with Squinty Burke and Studsy Green, so that took care of him. But all the time Nick was certain that Stinky Davis was the killer. Why? Because he had him pegged right away for a two timing double crossing rat! But the police listen to Nick? No! They told him it was a hophead theory, wild as loco buttons, because Stinky was a cripple and couldn't navigate. So Nick got the brushoff from the police. They cold-shouldered him right out. But did that stop him? No sir! He knew the case was hot and he was all set to start cooking on the front burner. He said: "Stinky, you're the two timing double crossing rat who strangled Knobs McClure and Reesy Joe and Horseface Dan and Denver Mike and then he turned his back on him. And the trick worked! Because Stinky got out of his chair and tried to strangle Nick with a piece of wire he had hidden in his mouth. But just in time, Nick turned around and gave him the old one-two and knocked Stinky colder than an ice flounder. Stinky wasn't a cripple at all! He was just using it to cover up his crimes. Now, what do you think of *that*?

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

Taxi Driver: Follow that car?
Nora Charles: Movie fan.
[ See Nora's line to Cab Driver in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) above ]