Mogambo

Happy Belated 100th Birthday Ava Gardner

by John Charet

Yes, I know I am two months late on this one (her 100th birthday was on December 24, 2022), but I could care less. I would like to wish a Happy belated 100th birthday to iconic Classical Hollywood era star Ava Gardner. Click here to view a wikipedia entry on her. Aside from being famously formerly married to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself Frank Sinatra (the widely acclaimed singer and actor), Gardner was so much more than that. Beyond her beauty on film, Ava Gardner also deserved to be celebrated as a woman with a big heart (read more about The Ava Gardner Trust by clicking here).

Click here to view a series of youtube video links that talk extensively about why Ava Gardner is such a national treasure, whether it be as a Hollywood star or human being

Click here to view the website devoted entirely to the Ava Gardner Museum located in North Carolina – the state she was born in

Now without further ado, below is a list of my favorite Ava Gardner films 🙂 All of them I gave * * * * (out of * * * *) stars to

  1. The Killers (1946) (Dir: Robert Siodmak) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  2. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) (Dir: Albert Lewin) Click here to view what may be the film’s original theatrical trailer (even though it was a 2010 revival showing). Click here to view the film’s Restoration trailer
  3. Mogambo (1953) (Dir: John Ford) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  4. The Barefoot Contessa (1954) (Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  5. Bhowani Junction (1956) (Dir: George Cukor) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  6. 55 Days at Peking (1963) (Dir: Nicholas Ray) Click here to view what may be the film’s original theatrical trailer
  7. Seven Days in May (1964) (Dir: John Frankenheimer) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer
  8. The Night of the Iguana (1964) (Dir: John Huston) Click here to view the film’s original theatrical trailer

Let me conclude this post with three questions below for all of my dear readers

Did any of you watch some of the videos on that first youtube link from the second paragraph? Not the movie trailers, but the videos about her legacy? And If so, which ones did you watch and what did you find fascinating about that particular video?

Did any of you visit the Ava Gardner Museum website yet that I mentioned in the third paragraph? And If so, is there anything you read or watched that stood out for you in particular?

Last, but not least, what are your favorite Ava Gardner films?

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My Favorite John Ford Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Sun Shines Bright (1953)

2.   The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

3.   Wagon Master (1950)

4.   7 Women (1966)

5.   Sergeant Rutledge (1960)

6.   The Long Gray Line (1955)

7.   Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

8.   Donovan’s Reef (1963)

9.   Two Rode Together (1961)

10. The Horse Soldiers (1959)

11. Gideon’s Day (1958)
(a.k.a. Gideon of Scotland Yard)

12. The Rising of the Moon (1957)
(Anthology)

13. The Wings of Eagles (1957)

14. The Searchers (1956)

15. The Quiet Man (1952)

16. Fort Apache (1948)

17. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

18. My Darling Clementine (1946)

19. The Long Voyage Home (1940)

20. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

21. The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)

22. The Whole Town’s Talking (1935)

23. Judge Priest (1934)

24. Pilgrimage (1933)

25. Hangman’s House (1928)

26. Four Sons (1928)

27. Upstream (1927)

28. 3 Bad Men (1926)

29. Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)

30. Doctor Bull (1933)

31. They Were Expendable (1945)

32. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

33. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

34. Stagecoach (1939)

35. Rio Grande (1950)

36. Wagon Train – Season 4 (1960)
36a. Episode: “The Colter Craven Story”
(Television)

37. 3 Godfathers (1948)

38. Mogambo (1953)

39. The Fugitive (1947)
(no relation to the TV series or the 1993 film)

40. Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

41. The Hurricane (1937)

42. Wee Willie Winkie (1937)

43. The Informer (1935)

44. The Lost Patrol (1934)

45. Flesh (1932)

46. Just Pals (1920)

47. Hell Bent (1918)

48. Bucking Broadway (1917)

49. Straight Shooting (1917)

50. The Iron Horse (1924)

51. Tobacco Road (1941)

52. Air Mail (1932)

53. When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)

54. The Last Hurrah (1958)

55. Mister Roberts (1955)
(co-directed with Mervyn LeRoy)

56. Mary of Scotland (1936)

57. What Price Glory (1952)

58. Arrowsmith (1931)

59. The World Moves On (1934)

60. Four Men and a Prayer (1938)

61. The Shamrock Handicap (1926)
(I watched it online)

62. Up the River (1930)

63. Riley the Cop (1928)
(I watched it online)

64. Submarine Patrol (1938)
(I watched it online)

65. Men Without Women (1930)

66. Seas Beneath (1930)

67. The Blue Eagle (1926)
(I watched it online)

68. Born Reckless (1930)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   How the West Was Won (1962)
1a. Segment: “The Civil War (1861-1865)”
(Anthology)

2.   By Indian Post (1919)
(I watched it online)