At The Cocoanut Grove

I'm again forgoing my usual Original and Remake and instead posting some animated Christmas specials. I made a post like this a couple years ago, this year has more specials from the 80s that I saw as a kid. Here's five to check out.  The Snowman (1982) A Family Circus Christmas (1979) Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) * Note: This is a TV trailer. The Berenstein Bears' Christmas Tree (1979) A Chimpmunk Christmas (1981) Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

I've made some Christmas playlists in the past and I thought I'd add another one in the mix.  I Like A Sleigh Ride (Jingle Bells) by Peggy Lee Last Christmas by Wham! Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon & Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by The Jackson 5 Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Dean Martin Joy To The World by Nat King Cole Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry Do You Hear What I Hear by Bing Crosby Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays by Perry Como Here Comes Santa Claus by Elvis Presley     Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

Since it's December, it's time for my annual gift guide. I tried to get different shows, movies and characters from classic TV and movies and here's what I came up with.  For The Golden Girls Fan: Golden Girls Tee For The Wizard of OZ Fan: The Wizard of OZ Soundtrack Vinyl For The Mr. Roger's Neighborhood Fan: The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King For The Christmas & Turner Classic Movies Fan: Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season by Jeremy Arnold For The Vintage Barbie Fan: Vintage Barbie Tee For The Peanuts Fan: Snoopy Mug Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

Here's December's schedule and monthly highlights.  Highlights For December: Dick Powell is Star of the Month airing Thursdays.  TCM Spotlight features Songs on Screen airing Friday nights.  John Landis is December's Guest Programmer on December 10th. The five films he picked are: The Monster and the Girl (1941), Towed in a Hotel (1932), Helpmates (1932), Paths of Glory (1958) and It's A Gift (1934).  Christmas Classics airs Saturdays and Sundays.  Treasures From The Disney Vault airs December 19th.  TCM Memorial Tribute to Burt Reynolds airs December 26th.  Films Airing This Month To Check Out: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) airs 12/1 at 12 p.m./11 a.m., 12/16 at 8/7 p.m. and 12/24 at 6/5 p.m. The Graduate (1967) airs 12/7 at 8/7 p.m. O. Henry's Full House (1952) airs 12/9 at 10:15/9:15 p.m. and 12/23 at 11:45/10:45 a.m. Singin' in the Rain (1952) airs 12/11 at 6/5 p.m. In The Good Old Summertime (1949) airs 12/16 at 8/7 a.m. ...

I'm forgoing my usual Original and Remake in favor of a holiday themed post. Thursday is Thanksgiving and I thought I'd make a post on some animated Thanksgiving specials. Last year I make a post that had a couple of these already so I left those out but here's a few to check out if you're feeling nostalgic for cartoons this year.  B.C. The First Thanksgiving (1973) Part 2 // Part 3  This Is America, Charlie Brown The Mayflower Voyagers (1988) *Note: This is a trailer, not the whole episode. Davey and Goliath The Pilgrim Boy (1962) The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968) The Care Bears Family Grams Bear's Thanksgiving Surprise (1986) Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

Keeping with the 80's theme I've decided to continue on with a series I did last year. I posted all my favorite films from the 1920's-1970's and stopped there, well, I've decided to continue on. Here are my favorite films from the 1980's.  The Never Ending Story (1984) Directed By: Wolfgang Peterson Starring: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach Running Time: 94 Minutes Prancer (1989) Directed By: John Hancock Starring: Rebecca Harrell, Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman Running Time: 103 Minutes Baby Boom (1987) Directed By: Charles Shyer Starring: Diane Keaton, Harold Ramis, Sam Shepard Running Time: 103 Minutes Look Who's Talking (1989) Directed By: Amy Heckerling Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis Running Time: 96 Minutes Irreconcilable Differences (1984) Directed By: Charles Shyer Starring: Drew Barrymore, Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long Running Time: 1...

I've decided to continue on with my favorite TV shows from past decades. This post focuses on mostly sitcoms from the 1980's. I don't consider the 1980's a long time ago but there are several shows I grew up watching or still watch. So here's my list.  The Golden Girls (1985-1992) Created By: Susan Harris Starring: Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty The Facts of Life (1979-1988) Created By: Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon Starring: Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Nancy McKeon, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn Growing Pains  (1985-1992) Created By: Neal Marlens Starring: Alan Thicke, Jonna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller Reading Rainbow (1983-2006) Created By: Cecily Truett Lancit, Larry Lancit, Twiia Liggett, Lynne Ganek and Tony Buttino Presented By: LeVar Burton Full House (1987-1995) Created By: Jeff Franklin Starring: John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Cand...

Here's November's Schedule and Monthly Highlights: Highlights For November: Glenda Farrell is Star of the Month, airing Mondays.  TCM Spotlight features The Art of Casting, airing Tuesday nights.  TCM Guest Programmer features former veterans on November 11th.  Pioneers First Women Filmmakers airs November 1st and November 8th.  Films Airing This Month To Check Out: Brainstorm (1983) airs 11/1 at 3:45/2:45 p.m. The More The Merrier (1943) airs 11/4 at 11:45/10:45 a.m. The Night of the Iguana (1964) airs 11/4 at 3:45/2:45 p.m. Susan Slept Here (1954) airs 11/5 at 2:30/1:30 p.m. Waterloo Bridge (1940) airs 11/9 at 10/9 a.m. The Nun's Story (1959) airs 11/13 at 5:15/4:15 p.m. Marty (1955) airs 11/13 at 10:30/9:30 p.m. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) airs 11/15 at 10/9 p.m. All About Eve (1950) airs 11/24 at 8/7 p.m. Of Human Bondage (1934) airs 11/25 at 11:45/10:45 a.m. Some Like It Hot (1959) airs 11/25 at 3/2 p.m. The Wizard of ...

I thought October's Original and Remake should be a horror themed post. I've already made posts on King Kong ,   Psycho and Carrie . Continuing with the times this time it's The Bad Seed. It's based on the novel of the same name by William March and the stage play and for this post I'm focusing on the 1956 big screen adaptation and the recent 2018 made for TV remake.  The Bad Seed (1956) Directed By: Mervyn Leroy Starring: Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Henry Jones Running Time: 130 Minutes The Bad Seed (2018) Directed By: Rob Lowe Starring: Mckenna Grace, Rob Lowe, Patty McCormack By far the original is the one to watch. Patty McCormack gives an outstanding performance as evil child Rhoda Penmark. Nancy Kelly is fantastic as Rhoda's mother, Christine who is unsure if her daughter really is a murder. The rest of the supporting cast is excellent, from the caretaker Henry Jones as Leroy Jessup who strongly believes Rhoda kil...

A while back Unique Vintage released a Barbie collection and they have recently released another collection. The entire collection is here and below are a few outfits I liked.  'B' Sweater // Red Skirt   Evening Coat // Sheath Dress Tweed Suit Set Sheath Dress & Jacket Flare Swing Coat Sheath Dress & Cape Set Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

Since we're in October and Halloween will be here in a few weeks I thought instead of making a usual Halloween flick post (which I've already made three of) I'd switch things up a bit. Personally, I'm a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and now is the perfect time to post my favorite flicks by the director.  Rope (1948) Starring: James Stewart, Farley Granger, John Dall Running Time: 81 Minutes Marnie (1964) Starring: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker Running Time: 130 Minutes Psycho (1960) Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles Running Time: 109 Minutes Rear Window (1954) Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey Running Time: 112 Minutes Strangers On A Train (1951) Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman Running Time: 101 Minutes Shadow of A Doubt (1943) Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey Running Time: 108 Minutes Until Next Tim...

Here is my second installment on my favorite tv shows from different decades, this is the 1970s.  Charlie's Angels   (1976-1981) Created By: Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts Starring: Farrah Fawcett (1976-1977), Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) Created By: James L. Brooks and Allan Burns Starring: Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper (1970-1974), Ed Asner, Betty White (1973-1977) Three's Company   (1977-1984) Developed By: Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernie West Starring: John Ritter, Joyce Dewitt, Suzanne Summers, Don Knotts Saturday Night Live (1975-current) Created By: Lorne Michaels Starring: Gilda Rader, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd *Note: The above is a clip from one of my favorite castmembers of the show, Gilda Radner.  Schoolhouse Rock! (1973-1996) Created By: David McCall Until Next Time, Ashley A. 

Highlights For October: Rita Hayworth is Star of the Month airing Tuesday nights.  TCM Spotlight features Funny Ladies airing Thursday nights.  Monster of the Month features The Mummy airing Sunday nights.  Treasures From The Disney Vault airs October 15th.  200 Years of Frankenstein airs October 22nd and October 29th.  Wednesdays in October are dedicated to a horror actor Lon Chaney (Oct. 3rd), Christopher Lee (Oct. 10th), Boris Karloff (Oct. 17th), Bela Lugosi (Oct. 24th) and Vincent Price (Oct. 31st).  Films Airing This Month to Check Out: The Thin Man (1934) airs 10/2 at 1/12 p.m. Show People (1928) airs 10/4 at 1:45/12:45 a.m. A Star is Born (1954) airs 10/7 at 2:30/1:30 p.m. Strangers On A Train (1951) airs 10/8 at 12 a.m./11 p.m. Gilda (1946) airs 10/9 at 8/7 p.m. City Lights (1931) airs 10/14 at 12 p.m./11 a.m. Singin' in the Rain (1952) airs 10/18 at 10/9 p.m. Gypsy (1962) airs 10/21 at 3:45/2:45 p.m.  Suspicion...

September's Original and Remake is These Three . It is based on the stage play by Lillian Hellman. There have been two big screen adapations of this play, These Three (1936) and The Children's Hour (1961).  These Three (1936) Directed By: William Wyler Starring: Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea Running Time: 93 Minutes The Children's Hour (1961) Directed By: William Wyler Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner Running Time: 109 Minutes Both of these versions have strong acting, particularly by the ladies. The Children's Hour sticks more to the stage play. In These Three the rumor that spreads by a malicious schoolgirl is Joe (McCrea) is seeing both Karen (Oberon) and Martha (Hopkins) Joe is seen leaving Martha's bedroom late one night. These Three was made when the Hays Production Code was established meaning films couldn't contain suggestive nature. These Three shows different scenes from ...

Saturday begins Hispanic Heritage Month and I thought I'd make a post on some films to check out. You should note that a lot of these films have white actors playing Hispanics and Latinos and some are sterotypical, but personally I feel that they should still be seen and know some history on the actors. Also, a few years ago I made a post on Hispanic actors that you can check out here . Salt of the Earth (1954) Directed By: Herbert J. Biberman Starring: Rosaura Revueltas, Will Greer, David Wolfe Running Time: 94 Minutes The Fugitive (1947) Note: The above is a clip, not the trailer.  Directed By: John Ford Starring: Henry Fonda, Dolores del Rio, Pedro Armendariz Running Time: 104 Minutes The Ring (1952) *Note: The above is a clip, not the trailer. Directed By: Kurt Neumann Starring: Lalo Rios, Gerald Mohr, Rita Moreno Running Time: 79 Minutes Tortilla Flat (1942) Directed By: Victor Fleming Starring: Spencer Trac...

Just like my decade favorite film posts I decided I'd make one on my favorite TV shows. Since there weren't really any shows I particularly love from the 1950's I thought I'd start with the 1960's. Also, I haven't decided if I want to stop at the 1980's or the 1990's, even though I don't consider those decades that old. But for now here's my favorite TV shows from the 1960's.  Bewitched (1964-1972) Created By: Sol Saks Starring: Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead * Dick Sargent replaced Dick York from 1969-1972. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) Created By: Carl Reiner Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966) Created By: Sidney Sheldon and William Asher Starring: Patty Duke, William Schallert, Jean Byron The Judy Garland Show (1963-1964) Starring: Judy Garland, Jerry Van Dyke The Flintstones (1960-1966) Created ...

Here's September's schedule complete with monthly highlights.  Monthly Highlights For September: Dean Martin is Star of the Month airing Wednesdays.  TCM Spotlight features The Black Experience on Film airing Tuesdays & Thursdays.  AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to George Clooney airs September 3rd.  TCM's Guest Programmer is Keith Carradine on September 10th. The three films he picked are: Captains Courageous (1937), Random Harvest (1942) and Performance (1970)   Films Airing This Month To Check Out: I Married A Witch (1942) airs 9/3 at 1:45/12:45 p.m. Imitation of Life (1934) airs 9/4 at 9:30/8:30 p.m. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) airs 9/6 at 10:30/9:30 p.m. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) airs 9/9 at 5:15/4:15 p.m. A Patch of Blue (1963) airs 9/13 at 12 a.m./11 p.m. What Price Hollywood? (1932) airs 9/27 at 2/1 p.m. Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano (1984) airs 9/27 at 7/6 p.m. Suspicion (1941) airs...

August's Original and Remake is The Great Gatsby. It is based on the 1925 book of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There have been several adaptations both on the big and small screen but for this post I am focusing on the 1974 and 2013 adaptations.  The Great Gatsby (1974) Directed By: Jack Clayton Starring: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern Running Time: 146 Minutes The Great Gatsby (2013) Directed By: Baz Luhrmann Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Toby Maguire Running Time: 142 Minutes If I'm being completely honest with you I really prefer the 2013 version to the 1974 version. The first time I saw the '74 version I fell asleep and after giving it another chance I was bored throughout the whole thing. There was pretty scenery but that's about it. Frankly, while Robert Redford is very handsome and he was a good actor I just feel like Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby to the point he is Gatsby. I also prefe...

This Thursday (August 16th) is National Tell A Joke Day, in honor of that I thought I'd make a post about my favorite comedians. I want to add that not all these people were or are stand up comics.  Gilda Radner June 28, 1946- May 20, 1989 Notable Works: Saturday Night Live (1975- 1980), Gilda Live (1980), The Woman in Red (1984) Mary Tyler Moore December 29, 1936 - January 25, 2017 Notable Works: The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977), Ordinary People (1980) Buster Keaton October 4, 1895 - February 1st, 1966 Notable Works: The Cameraman (1928), Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), In The Good Old Summertime (1949) Dick Van Dyke Born: December 13, 1925 Notable Works: The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), Mary Poppins (1964), Bye Bye Birdie (1963) John Ritter September 17, 1948 - September 11, 2003 Notable Works: Three's Company (1977-1984), 8 Simple Rules (2002-2003), Problem Child (1990)...