THE LONGEST DAY

The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. 

D-Day 1944, has inspired many films since then, including SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and to me, the best of all, THE LONGEST DAY, released in 1962.

I remember watching this movie around 1964 (back then, movies took that long to be released in Mexico) and, of course, my biggest interest was in watching Sean Connery's brief appearance, since by then, I had seen DR. NO and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and was eagerly awaiting for the premiere of GOLDFINGER.

Sean Connery asked that his scenes be filmed quickly so he could get to Jamaica in time to star in Dr. No (1962).

In addition to Sean Connery, who made his debut as James Bond the same year this movie was shot, two other actors in this movie were Gert Fröbe and Curd Jürgens, future Bond villains. Also appearing is longtime Bond actor Walter Gotell, who first appeared as the SPECTRE agent Morzeny in From Russia with Love (1963), and later appeared in six Bond films starring Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, in the role of Gen. Anatol Gogol, head of the Soviet KGB.

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)

I suppose I'm really showing my age when I say Halloween is not officially Halloween for me until I watch the 1944 Cary Grant film "ARSENIC AND OLD LACE".

In the age of Google, where you can find out everything about any movie, it's a bit useless and redundant to give some background info about this film, but anyway, all I can say is that Cary Grant gives the funniest performance of his career here and that Josephine Hull and Jean Adair are just perfect to play Mortimer Brewster's purported aunts Abby and Martha. 

                              

The rest of the cast is excellent, from Raymond Massey's mentally deranged Jonathan Brewster and his assistant Dr. Einstein, played with his usual creepiness by Peter Lorre, to the supporting players, who were familiar and beloved faces from the movies of that time, like Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason, John Alexander as "Teddy Roosevelt", Ed McNamara, John Ridgely, and Garry Owen among many others.

                                    

And of course, beautiful, young Priscilla Lane as Mortimer's fiancee Elaine Harper is the very picture of innocent beauty, charm and bewilderment at the unexplainable shenanigans unfolding before her.

It is almost impossible to pinpoint exactly who walks away with the picture, since all the performances hit the mark right on the button, but let's just say that Cary Grant especially runs the gamut from romantic boyfriend, to horrified nephew at his aunts' hobby of doing away with lonely old men, to befuddled playwright trying to distract policeman Jack Carson from the crimes around him and terrified victim of his "brother" Jonathan's intentions of getting rid of him by way of torture before murder, for a veritable tour de force of comedic acting.

But of course, it would be unfair to single him out here since the film is more of an ensemble work than a one-man show. 

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE ranks as one of director Frank Capra's better achievements and is regarded as a true classic from the Golden Era of motion pictures.  

So, be glad you're not a Brewster and have a Happy Halloween!

                                  

Enjoy the trailer here: