Five Films For December 5th, 2021

1. Saving Mr. Banks

• Platform: Disney Plus

• Release Year: 2013

• Director: John Lee Hancock

• Cast: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell

• Genre: Drama, Bio

• Brief Synopsis: Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson bring to life the untold story behind Walt Disney’s 20-year effort to transform the beloved book “Mary Poppins” into one of the most treasured movie classics of all time.

I selected this film because today is Walt Disney’s birthday. He was born in 1901 and died in 1966 at the age of 65. Disney built an empire that continues expanding to this day through film, television, amusement parks, and more.

Alternative Title to Watch - Walt Before Mickey (2015) This film about Walt’s early years is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

2. Where the Sidewalk Ends

• Platform: CriterionChannel

• Release Year: 1950

• Director: Otto Preminger

• Cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill

• Genre: Crime, Noir

• Brief Synopsis: Ben Hecht’s hard-bitten dialogue, Otto Preminger’s morally ambiguous direction, and one of Dana Andrews’s finest performances come together in this dark, brooding procedural. New York City cop Mark Dixon (Andrews) is already in trouble with his superiors for his brutal tactics when he accidentally kills a murder suspect. To protect himself, he decides to cover up the crime and pin the killing on a racketeer (Gary Merrill)—a situation that grows complicated when the father of the woman (Gene Tierney) Dixon loves is implicated as a suspect.

I selected this film because today is Otto Preminger’s birthday. He was born in 1905 and died in 1986 at the age of 80. During his career, he directed some great classic films including:

• Laura (1944)

• Angel Face (1953)

• Carmen Jones (1954)

• Anatomy of A Murder (1959)

• In Harm’s Way (1965)

In addition to Where the Sidewalk Ends, Criterion is also currently streaming two additional Preminger films as part of their Three By Otto Preminger collection. Laura is perhaps the most well-known of the three, with Angel Face being the third film, but Where the Sidewalk Ends is my personal favorite out of the three.

Alternative Title to Watch - Man with the Golden Arm (1955) This classic film with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

3. M

• Platform: Criterion Channel

• Release Year: 1931

• Director: Fritz Lang

• Cast: Theo Lingen, Petter Lorre, Otto Wernicke

• Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

• Brief Synopsis: When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.

I selected this film because today is also Fritz Lang’s birthday. He was born in 1890 and died in 1976 at the age of 85. Like Preminger, he also directed some of the best classic films of all time including:

• Metropolis (1927)

• Fury (1936)

• The Woman in the Window (1944)

• The Big Heat (1953)

In addition to streaming on Criterion, M is also playing on HBO Max, but Criterion has several supplemental features in addition to the film.

Alternative Title to Watch - The Blue Gardenia (1953) This suspense drama starring Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

4. Bully

• Platform: HBO Max

• Release Year: 2001

• Director: Larry Clark

• Cast: Nick Stahl, Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips

• Genre: Crime, Drama

• Brief Synopsis: A group of tormented high-school teens finally decide to take a stand against their evil nemesis in this controversial Larry Clark film.

I selected this film because today is also Nick Stahl’s birthday. He was born in 1979 and has appeared in a number of movies including:

• Disturbing Behavior (1998)

• The Thin Red Line (1998)

• In The Bedroom (2001)

• Sin City (2005)

• Sleepwalking (2008)

Alternative Title to Watch - The Speed of Thought (2014) This science-fiction/suspense drama co-starring Taryn Manning and Wallace Shawn is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

5. Disconnect

• Platform: Amazon Prime

• Release Year: 2013

• Director: Henry Alex Rubin

• Cast: Jason Bateman, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton

• Genre: Suspense, Drama

• Brief Synopsis: A drama centered on a group of people searching for human connections in today's wired world.

I selected this film because today is also Paula Patton’s birthday. She was born in 1975 and has starred in a number of films including:

• London (2005)

• Deja Vu (2006)

• Precious (2009)

• Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

• Warcraft (2016)

Alternative Title To Watch - The Do-Over (2016) Patton has a supporting role in this Adam Sandler comedy that also stars David Spade. It is currently available on Netflix.