Movies in 2026 123

 

The Ghost Breakers (George Marshall, 1940)

After the relative disappointment of Phantom Thread I decided not to think, and instead simply watch a movie that I loved from childhood: The Ghost Breakers. It stars Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard (who I obviously have such a cinematic crush on) in one of the first horror comedies, which have been a staple of Hollywood for decades. Is it a great movie, of course not, nor even a good one, but it's also a film that I'd watch every time it popped up on the TV, and I eventually just my own copy. It also stars Willie Best, in one of those demeaning roles that black actors had to play for decades, as Hope's (Larry Lawrence) valet Alex. Apparently Hope said that he thought Best was one of the best actors he ever worked with, and other actors over the years said similar things, but Best was stuck playing certain roles. Later in his life he had pot and heroin busts, and the bad publicity brought an early end to his career. It makes me wonder if someone has written his biography, if so, I may track it down. The other interesting black actor in the film was Noble Johnson, who faced many of the same obstacles. Because of his imposing size, Johnson played a greater variety of roles, although none of them that gave him many opportunties: a zombie in The Ghost Breakers, a native in King Kong , an Indian chief in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, etc. What I didn't know, and which is very interesting, is that Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, an African American film company that made, what at the time were called "race films." The challenges of keeping the company afloat proved to much and Johnson eventually closed it down and went back to character roles. Again, I need to track down a biography.

Movies in 2026 122

 

Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)

I'm always beating the Paul Thomas Anderson drum, as compared to the Wes Anderson drum (as I've lamented in the past, my students love the latter's quirkiness and are put off by the former's complexity). I should point out that neither of them are close to being my favorite directors, I just tend to like PTA a lot more than WA. Having said that, last night I watched a Paul Thomas Anderson film that I simply thought was over-praised: Phantom Thread. It's odd, because when I break it down I like all the component parts: great performances by Vicky Krieps (as Alma Elson), Daniel Day-Lewis (as Reynolds Woodcock), and especially Lesley Manville (as Cyril Woodcock); beautifully filmed; a haunting soundtrack. I found the characters completely unlikeable, and not unlikeable in a way that would teach a valuable lesson. Instead, they were simply vaguely unlikeable, and not interesting enough to make me want to dig deeper into personalities. I'm clearly in the minority here because it's considered one of the great films over the last couple decades, but I just never warmed to it. Obviously, I'll give it another try at a later date, and it may simply be that I wasn't in the right mood at the right time. 

In the Feline Orbit

 Whenever Janet is out of town I, naturally, get a lot more attention from the cats. Mollie will usually track me down at some point, mainly because I'm a warm lap, but Cici may completely disappear unless she's bugging me to eat or she wants to climb on top of me at bed time as I read (standing in for Janet). However, when Janet is out of town they are a little more present. 

This is pretty normal, as Mollie follows me downstairs to watch movies. Cici has her own chair over by the pellet stove, if she deigns to come spend time with us. Oddly, neither of them came down last night at all, which may mean they didn't like the movie offerings.

This is the more traditional morning lineup, at least for Mollie, who, after an exhausting night of guarding the cabin, melts on me right after her breakfast. Cici is always keeping Janet company in bed, but, lacking company, she suffered the humiliation of joining us out in the living room (you can barely see her hidden away on the loveseat. 

Movies in 2026 121

 

Grand Illusion (Jan Renoir, 1937)

So, Friday night turned out to be quite a doubleheader: Emily Atef's More Than Ever and Jean Renoir's classic Grand Illusion.  It was a first viewing for More Than Ever, but I've seen Grand Illusion many times (and can't imagine a universe where I didn't want to watch it again). The other night I think the inspiration for Grand Illusion was that I'm considering films to show as part of the final exam for my Images of Fascism class, but I never need much inspiration to watch Renoir's classic. It's one of the great anti-war movies, which made it's release only two years before the outbreak of World War II all more emotionally jarring. Jean Gabin was great (I mean, he's Jean Gabin, FFS) as Lieutenant Marechal. If you've seen a great film several times you always find yourself noticing different things and reflecting upon different performances or aspects of the film. Dita Parlo gives an underappreciated performance as Elsa, the German farmwife, who is herself a widow of the war, and who takes in Marechal and Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio). I've always had this odd cinematic category of women in movies who play a character that I imagine myself cinematically living with: such as Stella (Jennifer Black) in Local Hero or Kate (Karen Silas) in Simple Men. I think that living with Elsa in the mountains is now part of that collection. As I was watching the film I began to consider the career of Marcel Dalio, who lived through the war and relocation, and eventually transitioning from leading roles to supporting roles, and the crazy variety of movies he's in: Grand Illusion, Casablanca, One Night in Lisbon, Flesh and Fantasy, Wilson, The Damned, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Flight to Tangier, Sabrina, Anything Goes, Pillow Talk, Donovan's Reef, Catch-22, etc. Most of these you wouldn't know he was there, but he's essentially ubiquitous. You know me, I'm never guilty of hyperbole, but if you haven't seen Grand Illusion, you can't be considered a civilized, let alone a sophisticated or educated, person. 

Movies in 2026 120

 

More Than Ever (Emily Atef, 2022)

In addition to their other rotating monthly collections, the Criterion Channel often has one that focuses on a particular actor. This month it is Vicky Krieps. She such a fine actor, so it's nice to see more of her movies. I think the only one of her films I had seen previously is Bergman Island, which I'll definitely be watching again (so prepare for that addition). The other night I watched her in Emily Atef's 2022 film More Than Ever. Krieps plays Helene, a woman who is dying from a rare lung condition, and also stars Gaspard Ulliel, in one of his last roles, as her husband Matthieu, who is trying to help/understand. She decides to head off to Norway to stay at the cottage of a stranger, Mister (Bjorn Floberg), that she met online. Matthieu eventually tracks her down there, trying to convince her to come back home for treatment, and she has other ideas. I found it very impactful, and not simply because of the fine performances and the stunning scenery. There are times when I think I'm, in addition to many other perfectly valid reasons, going to Europe to just fade away on my own terms. I think that Cary Grant and Great Garbo stopped acting and giving interviews because they wanted their fans to remember them as they were and not what age was turning them into. I'm "slightly" less famous and beloved than Grant or Garbo, but maybe I'd just like my friends to remember me as I was and not this increasingly crippled wreck (this also explains why I don't want any public celebrations of my retirement, obviously). The Italians or Portuguese will only know me as this, and will simply abide me and not pity me. There are times when I think I won't come back at all, but instead send plane tickets to Gary and Ali to come visit. I doubt it it will reach that level, but it is something I think about. I'm not going to go kill myself or anything that self-absorbed, because, despite the constant pain, I love life too much and am looking forward to what comes next, but I completely understood Helene's desire to be left in Norway to face her end on her terms. Anyway, More Than Ever is heartily recommended.

2

 Well, here we go. One week left in my long career. My friend Kevin scolded me, quite rightly, for presenting a flawed countdown. That is, I'm only counting my teaching days, and I didn't include the days I have to be on campus for giving my Final Exams. This is, of course, a Point of Excellence, and I am guilty as charged. My only defense is that my spring schedule changed very late, and thus last December i didn't now if I was going to have final exams on two or three days during the Final Exam week, and thus it seemed safer to tie the Countdown to actual teaching days. Plus, there is no active teaching during Final Exams (although I've had students say things like, "wait, are you introducing new material during the Final Exam period? - to which I usually answer something like, "well, duh," and "expect an email from me this summer with new things to consider"). Finally, I suppose I could have tied the Countdown to my actual days left on the payroll of Champlain College, but that would have made this whole thing seem like it was a job, which I completely reject. Essentially, as with most things, I am unrepentent.

Thanks to Davis Sanchez for loaning me his #2 for the Countdown. Sanchez was bon in Delta, British Columbia, and played his college ball south of the border at Oregon. Unlike a lot of CFL players, who ended up spending their time in the NFL on the practice squad, Sanchez was on the active roster of the San Diego Chargers for a couple season. However, his greatest success was in the far superior CFL (as all right-thinking individuals know), and over the years he played for the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, BC Lions, and three different stints with the Montreal Alouettes. Along the way he was on three different Grey Cup winning teams. Since his retirement he's played a very active role in the broadcast booth for CFL games.

Movies in 2026 119

 

Rango (Gore Vervinski, 2011)

As you might guess, I give my students a lot of film recommendations, none of which they take - and they, in turn, sometimes give me film recommendations, which I occasionally take. Lately one of my favorite students from this semester has been hectoring me to watch the animated feature Rango, which I did the other morning. It was OK, and I certainly smiled at a few of the film references. Over the years my friend Erik and I have hosted a number of film screenings in an effort to introduce the students the better films, but they inevitably led to the two of sitting alone in the Alumni Auditorium watching together - and there are far worse things than that. I always thought that if I watched enough student-suggested films I'd eventually discovered a hidden gem, but in the end retirement arrived first.