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In movieland, the month of February is almost entirely dedicated to the Academy Awards, the industry's oldest and most prestigious awards ceremony. In anticipation to the 89th Oscars on February 26, every «Film Friday» this month will be about a Best Picture winner or nominee. This particular one also serves to honour Ronald Reagan's 116th birthday, which is next Monday. According to most critics, this is the best of his films. Directed by Sam Wood, Kings Row (1942) tells the story of five young people living in the small Midwestern town of Kings Row in the late 19th century. They are: Parris Mitchell (Robert Cummings), a medical student who lives with his grandmother; Cassandra Tower (Betty Field), the misunderstood daughter of Dr. Alexander Tower (Claude Rains); Drake McHugh (Ronald Reagan), a wealthy and fun-loving orphan; Louise Gordon (Nancy Coleman), the daughter of the sadistic town physician, Dr. Henry Gordon (Charles Coburn); and Randy Monaghan (Ann Sheridan), a tombo...

This week on «Film Friday» I have decided to honour both Carole Lombard and Cary Grant, whose 112th birthday was this Wednesday, by telling you a little bit about the most notable and well-known of the three pictures in which they appeared together. Directed by John Cromwell, In Name Only (1939) tells the story of Alec Walker (Cary Grant), the victim of a loveless marriage to heartless social-climber Maida (Kay Francis). One day, he meets Julie Eden (Carole Lombard), a widowed commercial artist with a young daughter named Ellen (Peggy Ann Garner), and immediately falls in love with her. Julie is caring and uncomplicated, everything that Maida is not. Alec subsequently asks his wife for a divorce and she consents — but on the condition that she sail to Paris with his parents, Richard (Charles Coburn) and Grace (Nella Walker), and inform them of the break-up once they reach Europe. Alec foolishly agrees and follows Julie to New York, where they decide to marry.   Cary Grant, Caro...

Since Christmas is almost here, this week on «Film Friday» I thought I would bring you a Christmas movie. Well, it is set during the Christmas season, anyway. Directed by Garson Kanin, Bachelor Mother (1939) tells the story of Polly Parish (Ginger Rogers), an ingenious salesgirl who gets fired from her seasonal Christmas job at Merlin's department store. On her way home, she sees a woman secretly leaving an infant on the steps of an orphanage. Fearing the cold will harm the baby, Polly picks it up and is mistaken as its mother by an attendant who opens the door. After protesting that she is not the mother, Polly leaves the orphanage, but the authorities track her down at her work. Feeling sorry for her, David Merlin (David Niven), the playboy heir to the store, arranges for her to get her job back. When Polly still refuses to keep the baby, David threatens to fire her and she reluctantly accepts motherhood.   Ginger Rogers and David Niven as Polly Parish and David Merlin in Bachelo...

In honor of Joan Fontaine's 99th birthday, which is tomorrow, this week on «Film Friday» I bring you what she described as her favourite of all of her films.   Directed by Edmund Goulding, The Constant Nymph (1943) begins when composer Lewis Dodd (Charles Boyer) travels to Switzerland after his latest symphony is badly received in London. He stays at the home of his old friend and fellow musician Albert Sanger (Montagu Love), causing great excitement among his four daughters: Kate (Jean Muir), Toni (Brenda Marshall), Tessa (Joan Fontaine) and Paula (Joyce Reynolds). Despite the fact that she is only a teenager, Tessa is in love with Lewis and dreams of helping him reach his full promise as a composer. Worrying about his sheltered daughters' future, the ailing Sanger instructs Lewis to contact his wealthy brother-in-law, Charles Creighton (Charles Coburn), when he dies. Charles Boyer, Alexis Smith, Peter Lorre and Joan Fontaine in The Constant Nymph . Upon Sanger's dea...

My initial plan for today was to write about a Vivien Leigh film in celebration of her 102th birthday. However, since I already did that yesterday for The Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier Blogathon , I've decided that today I would honor Vivien's "birthday twin" instead. So, this week on "Film Friday" I'm going to tell you a little bit about one of Joel McCrea's most iconic films, which also happens to be the first film I ever saw with him. Theatrical release poster Directed by George Stevens, The More the Merrier (1943) concerns Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur), a young goverment worker who reluctantly agrees to rent out half of her apartment to an older gentleman, Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn), in order to ease the housing shortage in wartime Washington, D.C. Without Connie's knowledge, Mr. Dingle then sublets half of his half of the apartment to Sergeant Joe Carter (Joel McCrea), a handsome aircraft technician waiting to be shipp...