Tonight’s Movie: The Majestic (2001)

Last month I was fortunate to make my second trip to Alaska, spending nine days cruising the Inside Passage and more, including a day in Victoria, British Columbia.

I was also fortunate to have a good friend on board, and during sea days Molly and I had the chance to enjoy a couple of movies together thanks to her large iPad. We watched a favorite comedy, THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942), and later in the trip she introduced me to THE MAJESTIC (2001).

Jim Carrey stars in THE MAJESTIC. I don't believe I'd ever seen a Carrey film before, as most of his titles simply don't hold appeal, but I was intrigued by Molly's description of the plot and the fact that the cast included veteran actors such as Martin Landau and James Whitmore. As it turned out, Carrey was also quite good in what is mostly a dramatic performance.

My enjoyment of the film deepened when, in the early going, I recognized the small town where it was set as Ferndale, California, which we visited on a road trip in the summer of 2025. It's a beautiful town filled with Victorian homes, seen in my photo here, and I'll share some additional photos of Ferndale at the end of this post.

Bringing things full circle, Ferndale was the hometown of Guy Fieri, the chef behind a hamburger stand on our cruise ship! It really can be a small world.

Returning to THE MAJESTIC, which is set in the early '50s, screenwriter Peter Appleton (Carrey) finds his career crashing and burning due to suspected Communist ties, related to a girl he dated in college.

Peter gets drunk and then literally crashes out near a small town, coming to with no memory. The local doctor (David Ogden Stiers) expects Peter's memory will eventually return, but in the meantime there's a bigger story going on: Everyone in town believes Peter is the long-lost son of elderly Harry Trimble (Martin Landau), whose soldier son Luke went missing during World War II.

Peter moves in with Harry, who receives a new lease on life and is inspired to reopen his closed-up movie theater, The Majestic. Peter also slowly begins a romance with Luke's fiance Adele (Laurie Holden).

Months happily pass by, and then one day The Majestic shows a film which Peter wrote; as he finds himself curiously familiar with the dialogue, memories of his true life start flooding back...

I was very pleasantly surprised by THE MAJESTIC, though I shouldn't have been, given that my tastes are so similar to my friend Molly's! It was a true "feel good" movie in the manner of Frank Capra. 

The most negative I could say about the film is that some of its 152 minutes should have been cut for a tighter pace, but on the whole I quite liked this film, which was written by Michael Sloane and directed by Frank Darabont.

I particularly enjoyed Landau, in a sweet-natured performance as Luke's father; Gerry Black as the theater's longtime head usher; and Holden as Luke's fiancee, who has become an attorney. Holden was a new name to me, although she has appeared in a number of well-known TV series.

The cast also includes Hal Holbrook, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn, Brent Briscoe, Ron Rifkin, and Amanda Detmer.

The movie was filmed by David Tattersall and scored by Mark Isham.

THE MAJESTIC is available on DVD and Blu-ray.  I recommend that those who aren't familiar with this film check it out.

To conclude, here are a few more photos of lovely Ferndale, taken in June 2025.

Click on any photo to enlarge it for a closer look.

Around the Blogosphere This Week...

...will not appear this weekend, as I'm attending the Lone Pine Film Festival.

The column will also not appear next weekend, when I'll be on the TCM Classic Cruise.

I have a few posts prescheduled for while I'm offline, so please check back from time to time for new content.

Around the Blogosphere This Week will return on Saturday, October 24th.

For my most recent classic film links, please visit my October 3rd column.

Repost: Tonight's Movie: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

NOTE: A few days ago I attended the "Encore" theatrical screening of AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), which included a couple new "tag" scenes for the upcoming AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY (2026).

As I wrote at the end of my review of SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026), I'm not certain whether I'll be seeing DOOMSDAY, and the new scenes weren't the pull for my seeing ENDGAME again. 

Rather, I wanted to revisit what I consider a singularly brilliant conclusion to the Marvel movies which had gone before.  I deeply enjoyed revisiting all 181 minutes of this film, and I want to encourage any Marvel fans to do likewise.

And so, at last, we come to the conclusion of this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019), which I saw yesterday, was a remarkable capstone to the 20 Marvel films previously reviewed here since July 2015. (The total is upped to 21 previous reviews if TV's AGENT CARTER is included.) I can't imagine a better way to have ended the series.

This review will necessarily be relatively brief and detail free so that, as the Twitter hashtag says, I #DontSpoiltheEndgame.

When last we saw our heroes in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), arch villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) had just erased half of humankind with what is now called "The Snap." I wrote of INFINITY WAR: "How I ultimately feel about this film will have quite a bit to do with my reaction to Part 2 when it's released in May 2019. It's really all one big story, and it's far from over at this juncture."

The story is now completed, and I am more than satisfied. In rather a remarkable feat, the movie simultaneously wraps up not just INFINITY WAR but ideas lingering from past films. I was particularly grateful for the exquisite last scene; Marvel really did right by its fans.

The movie is simultaneously elegiac and funny, successfully straddling a variety of tones; it has a wealth of quotable lines which I suspect are already entering the popular culture lexicon. It allows for moments both big and small, with quiet, intimate scenes between closely connected characters, as well as epic sequences certain to gladden the heart of any Marvel fan. It's probably the fastest 181 minutes I'll ever spend in a movie theater, and it's very possible I'll go back and do it all over again, there is so much to take in and appreciate about this film.

Pretty much everyone who's anyone in the MCU is in this film, and the lengthy closing credits feel like a curtain call for the actors who've participated in the series over the past decade, with special credits tributes to the original six Avengers, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Each of these six actors shines in this film -- and who could have foreseen when watching the original THOR (2011) the extent to which the god of Thunder would become such hilarious comic relief?

I agree with Leonard Maltin, who wrote, "It is escapist entertainment of a very high order, and an achievement that has no true precedent in the history of motion pictures. No series...from Tarzan to James Bond, has ever attempted to incorporate so many moving parts in one conclusive film."

AVENGERS: ENDGAME was directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo and filmed by Trent Opaloch. The score was by Alan Silvestri.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13. As with most Marvel films, the violence is of the non-gory variety, though there are moments which could potentially upset young children. There is also some limited yet notable swearing. The many positive themes include love of family and friends, the value of kindness to others, teamwork, and placing others above one's own priorities.

I'm so glad I was persuaded to begin watching the Marvel films nearly four years ago, as they have given me so many hours of movie pleasure, and I particularly appreciate that the filmmakers honored their viewers by working hard to maintain the quality to the very end, and then some. Watching AVENGERS: ENDGAME felt a bit like unwrapping the biggest present on Christmas morning, and it turned out to be exactly what I wanted.

Previous Marvel reviews: IRON MAN (2008), IRON MAN 2 (2010), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), THOR (2011), THE AVENGERS (2012), IRON MAN 3 (2013), THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014), AGENT CARTER (2015), ANT-MAN (2015), AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015), CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), DOCTOR STRANGE (2016), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017), SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), THOR: RAGNAROK (2017), BLACK PANTHER (2018), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018), and CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019).

Update: My review of the coda to AVENGERS: ENDGAME, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019).

Eva Marie Saint Dies at 102

Alas, the time has come to say goodbye to the great Eva Marie Saint.

Saint has passed away today at the age of 102.

As I shared in my centennial birthday tribute, I was very fortunate to see her in person multiple times over the years, including on stage with Henry Fonda in THE FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER. I'm very grateful to have had those experiences; she was a delightful person in every way.

Eva Marie Saint had a wonderful long life, including not only a great career but a happy marriage and family. Still, it's never easy when one of the classic movie greats passes from the scene. I take comfort in knowing that her work will live on for as long as movies exist.

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Quick Preview of TCM in November

Here's a brief peek ahead at what's coming to Turner Classic Movies in November!

Burt Lancaster will be the November Star of the Month, with his films screening on Tuesday evenings.

The TCM Spotlight theme will be band leaders.

The November Noir Alley films will star off with a repeat of the Halloween Val Lewton triple bill on November 1st: THE LEOPARD MAN (1943), THE SEVENTH VICTIME (1943), and CAT PEOPLE (1952).

Over the following four weekends the Noir Alley films will be BREAKDOWN (1952), SLANDER (1957), NORA PRENTISS (1947), and THE GREAT FLAMARION (1945). BREAKDOWN, starring William Bishop, is a TCM premiere.

Filmmakers celebratesd with multi-film tributes in November include Ann Rutherford, James Stewart, Sally Field, Jose Iturbi, Edward Sedgwick, and Mike Nichols.

That's all the information I've been able to gather about the November to this point, but it's a tantalizing look ahead!

I'll have much more about the November schedule posted here around November 1st. In the meantime, enjoy Myrna Loy as the October Star of the Month!

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Warner Archive Collection November Blu-ray Releases

Today the Warner Archive Collection announced their late November releases.

Titles coming to Blu-ray on November 24th:

*BOMBSHELL (1933)

*THE DEVIL'S BROTHER (1933)

*DOUBLE WEDDING (1937)

*BACHELOR MOTHER (1939)

*BABES IN ARMS (1939)

*MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940)

*JOHNNY EAGER (1941)

*THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947)

*THE BELLE OF NEW YORK (1952)

*THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER (1953)

*THE YOGI BEAR SHOW (1961-63)

There are a number of "must have" discs here!  I also want to make readers aware that MovieZyng often has discounts on pre-orders.

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Tonight's Movie: The Human Comedy (1943) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943), one of MGM's most beautiful pieces of '40s Americana, was recently released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

William Saroyan won the Best Original Story Oscar for this "slice of life" tale about a small California town. The movie was nominated for four other Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a well-deserved Best Oscar nomination for Mickey Rooney.

Howard Estabrook and the uncredited Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay based on Saroyan's story; Saroyan fleshed out his story into a novel which was published around the same time the movie came out.

The book was part of my 9th grade curriculum here in California, and I was sorry when schools later dropped the optimistic tale in favor of a number of darker books. Although it wasn't part of the homeschooling curriculum I used with my own children, I omitted one of the books they were scheduled to read and gave them THE HUMAN COMEDY to read instead. The copy on our bookshelf looks like this one.

In the film version Rooney plays Homer Macauley, a high schooler who takes a part-time job delivering telegrams after his brother Marcus (Van Johnson) goes to serve in the war.

Homer's father (Ray Collins) has passed away, and Homer is helping to support his mother (Fay Bainter), sister Bess (Donna Reed), and little brother Ulysses (Jackie Jenkins).

Over the course of the movie's 117 minutes we also get to know Marcus's sweetheart Mary (Dorothy Morris), who lives next door; Homer's boss Tom (James Craig) and the telegraph operator (Frank Morgan); Tom's fiancee Diana (Marsha Hunt) and her parents (Katharine Alexander and Henry O'Neill); Ulysses' neighborhood friend Lionel (Darryl Hickman); and a trio of soldiers in town on leave (Barry Nelson, Don DeFore, and Robert Mitchum).

The movie, sensitively directed by Clarence Brown, is about everything and nothing; one of my favorite sequences finds Lionel and Ulysses simply wandering a library in wonder. The closest film I can compare it to is Powell and Pressburger's wartime paean to England, A CANTERBURY TALE (1944), which came out in the UK a year after THE HUMAN COMEDY debuted in the United States.

There are those -- probably the same types who struggle to enjoy RANDOM HARVEST (1942) -- who find THE HUMAN COMEDY too sentimental or too positive about our country, but don't count me among them. It's a moving story about a highly functional family, despite having difficulties to bear, and in depicting this family and their town the film also shows what was -- is -- fine about our country and why our nation was fighting. And no one did this type of film better than MGM.

It particularly must be said that this was Rooney's finest hour, in an understated, perfect performance as young Homer. Delivering telegrams forces Homer to grow up quickly, given that they often contained bad news during the war years.  Rooney plays the role in a quiet way which never hits mawkishness despite the situations in which Homer finds himself.

The entire cast is excellent. In addition to those mentioned above, the supporting cast includes John Craven, Mary Nash, Ann Ayars, Adeline De Walt Reynolds, Morris Ankrum, Alan Baxter, Frank Jenks, Clem Bevans, and Rita Quigley.

The movie was filmed in black and white by Harry Stradling (Sr.).

The Blu-ray print is from a 1080p HD master from a 4K scan of the "best preservation elements" available. Both the Blu-ray print and sound quality are excellent.

Disc extras consist of the trailer; an 11-minute Passing Parade short, DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT (1943); the cartoon BLITZ WOLF (1942); and two radio productions, a 1943 Screen Guild Theater broadcast with Rooney and MOrgan and a 1949 Screen Director's Playhouse broadcast with Rooney, Francis X. Bushman, and director Clarence Brown. Optional English language captions come standard on Warner Archive Blu-rays.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: The Teckman Mystery (1954) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Over the past year or more Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released several sets of both French and "Brit" Noir, providing classic film viewers with interesting films which many of us in the U.S. are watching for the first time.

As mentioned yesterday, French Noir III is coming soon, and since July Kino Lorber has released Volumes III and IV of Brit Noir.

As I continue to enjoy digging into these films, I've now watched THE TECKMAN MYSTERY (1954), which is part of Brit Noir Collection IV.

Echoing LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945), which finds Gene Tierney recognizing Cornel Wilde as the author of the book she's been reading on a train, THE TECKMAN MYSTERY begins with Margaret Leighton realizing that her seatmate on a plane, Philip Chance (John Justin), is the author of her current read.

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY goes one step past that in coincidences; it turns out that Leighton's character, Helen Teckman, is the sister of Chance's next writing subject. Is their meeting "chance," to use a play on the hero's name, or perhaps not?

Chance tells Helen that his publisher wants him to write a biography of Martin Teckman, a recently deceased test pilot, as the previously assigned writer has been hit by a car and seriously injured.

Chance arrives home from his flight to discover his flat has been ransacked, and shortly thereafter the body of a man (George Coulouris) he's interviewed for the new book turns up in his apartment as well.

Things become increasingly concerning and strange, but fortunately Scotland Yard is on the case, in the form of Roland Culver and Duncan Lamont.

Meanwhile Chance begins to develop a romance with Helen...but should he?

Though perhaps overloaded with initial coincidences, the script by Francis Durbridge and James Matthews starts out in intriguing fashion, as Chance continues to be confronted with perplexing situations.

I did think the film went on too long at 90 minutes, but I enjoyed the police procedural aspects -- Culver and Lamont were my favorite characters -- as well as the London locations. A climactic sequence was filmed at the Tower of London, which, having been there, I found great fun.

At times the movie is reminiscent of Hitchcock, to the point where my husband, near movie's end, inquired if Bernard Herrmann had scored it. (The composer was Clifton Parker.) And indeed, the climax seems to echo Hitchcock's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) and SABOTEUR (1942), while anticipating his VERTIGO (1958).

Drawing these types of connections with other films is part of the pleasure for me, even if the movie was a bit too lethargic.

The cast is good, particularly the previously mentioned Culver and Lamont, and I enjoyed seeing Margaret Leighton (THE HOLLY AND THE IVY) in a new-to-me film.

Justin's Chance seems curiously unbothered by the odd situations in which he finds himself, in a dashing "minor Cary Grant" sort of way which is interesting in itself.

It's of note that the movie was directed by a woman, Wendy Toye. The cinematographer was Jack Hildyard.

The good-looking, crisp black and white print is from a 4K restoration. Sound quality is solid as well.

Extras consist of a commentary track by Daniel Kremer plus a gallery of five trailers for other films available from Kino Lorber.

Previous reviews from Volumes I and II include CAGE OF GOLD (1950), THE LONG ARM (1956), and THE FRIGHTENED CITY (1961).

Look for additional reviews from all four sets here in the future!

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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TCM Star of the Month: Myrna Loy

The wonderful Myrna Loy is the October Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies.

A whopping 56 Loy films will be shown every Monday this month, in both the daytime and prime time hours.

Loy was previously honored as the Star of the Month at least three times, in May 1995, September 2004, and December 2016.

The entire schedule appears below. Please click any hyperlinked title for a complete review.

October 5th

NOAH'S ARK (1928)

THE SQUALL (1929)

THE GREAT DIVIDE (1929)

SHOW OF SHOWS (1929)

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUTH (1030)

THE NAUGHTY FLIRT (1930)

CONSOLATION MARRIAGE (1931)

REBOUND (1931)

LIBELED LADY (1936)

I LOVE YOU AGAIN (1940)

LOVE CRAZY (1941)

DOUBLE WEDDING (1937)

EVELYN PRENTICE (1934)

MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934)

THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936)

October 12th

VANITY FAIR (1932)

THE WET PARADE (1932)

NEW MORALS FOR OLD (1932)

LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932)

THIRTEEN WOMEN (1932)

THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932)

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (1932)

THE THIN MAN (1934)

AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936)

ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939)

SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN (1941)

THE THIN MAN GOES HOME (1945)

SONG OF THE THIN MAN (1947)

October 19th

THE BARBARIAN (1933)

WHEN LADIES MEET (1933)

PENTHOUSE (1933)

NIGHT FLIGHT (1933)

THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY (1933)

MEN IN WHITE (1934)

STAMBOUL QUEST (1934)

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

THE RED PONY (1949)

MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (1948)

THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER (1947)

THIRD FINGER, LEFT HAND (1940)

SO GOES MY LOVE (1947)

October 26th

WHIPSAW (1935)

WIFE VS. SECRETARY (1936)

PETTICOAT FEVER (1936)

PARNELL (1937)

MAN-PROOF (1938) (also here)

TEST PILOT (1938)

TOO HOT TO HANDLE (1938)

LUCKY NIGHT (1939)

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (1950)

FROM THE TERRACE (1960)

AIRPORT 1975 (1974) (also here)

LONELYHEARTS (1958)

THE AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER (1956)

There are many wonderful hours of entertainment ahead! I love many of these films; particular favorites include LOVE ME TONIGHT, PENTHOUSE, THE THIN MAN, LIBELED LADY, WIFE VS. SECRETARY, and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

For more on TCM in October 2026, please visit my posts Quick Preview of TCM in October and TCM in October: Highlights, along with TCM's online schedule.

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