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This week on «Film Friday» I am celebrating Janet Leigh's 89th birthday, which was on Wednesday, by telling you a little bit about one of my favourite films of hers. Directed by George Sidney, Who Was That Lady? (1960) begins when chemistry professor David Wilson (Tony Curtis) is caught by his wife Ann (Janet Leigh) kissing one of his female students. To stop her from divorcing him, he asks for help from his good friend, television writer Michael Haney (Dean Martin), who invents a crazy story that David is working undercover with the FBI and kissed the student — a foreign agent — in the line of duty. To convince Ann, Mike tricks Schultz (William Newell), a prop man at the television studio, into fabricating an FBI identification card for David and supplying him with a gun. Ann is so thrilled by the idea of being married to a secret agent that she forgives David. Meanwhile, Mike sets up a date with the Coogle sisters, Gloria (Barbara Nichols) and Florence (Joi Lansing), and take...

In honor of Van Johnson's 99th birthday, which was on Tuesday, this week on "Film Friday" I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what I think is one of his greates t films, one that also happens to show "the guts, gags and glory of a lot of wonderful guys." Theatrical release poster Directed by William A. Wellman, Battleground (1949) opens in France in mid-December 1944, as battle-weary soldiers of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division await their long-promised leave in Paris. The pass is cancelled, however, when they are called back to the frontline to stop a surprise German breakthrough in Bastogne. Among those sent to plug the breach are Pfc. Holley (Van Johnson), a girl crazy soldier; Pvt. Jarvess (John Hodiak), a small town newspaper columnist; Pfc. Roderigues (Ricardo Montalbán), a Mexican-American enlistee; Pvt. "Pop" Stazak (George Murphy), an older serviceman awaiting a "dependency discharge"...