Thursday Thirteen

For this week's Thursday Thirteen I thought I would list 13 "not as well known" movies that I like (or that I liked as a kid). 

1. The Next Voice You Hear: "Joe Smith, American" lives in a Los Angeles suburb and works at an aircraft plant. One night Joe hears a voice cut in on a radio program: "This is God. I'll be with you for the next few days." It turns out, everyone in the world listening to any radio heard the same thing. More messages come; some people react positively, others negatively."

I saw this for the first time when I was in junior high or high school. I love it. I found it on VHS a few years ago. It stars Nancy Davis, better known to everyone now as Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

2. Anna to the Infinite Power: "Anna Hart was always an odd child, a genius, a shoplifter, desperately afraid of flickering lights, with strange prophetic dreams. Simultaneously, several strange things begin to happen. A strange, mysterious neighbor, by the name of MacKayla moves in next door to the Harts. And, most frightening of all, Anna sees her exact double on the television one night. As her investigation of the other Anna, Anna Smithson, progresses, she begins to learn the truth. 

I probably watched this movie 100 times as a kid. It was just released on DVD, I'm looking forward to buying it soon! It's been years since I've seen it! I never watched As The World Turns, but fans of the show might recognize a young Martha Byrne (who played Lily Walsh Snyder on ATWT).

3. Paris When It Sizzles: "Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his latest movie. Benson has been holed up in a Paris apartment supposedly working on the script for months, but instead has spent the time living it up. Benson now has just two days to the deadline and thus hires a temporary secretary, Gabrielle Simpson, to help him complete it in time."

I'm a huge Audrey Hepburn fan and I just discovered this movie a few years ago when it aired on TCM. I love it! It stars Audrey Hepburn and William Holden (they also starred in the movie Sabrina together).

4. And Then There Were None: "Agatha Christie's tale of 10 people invited to an isolated place only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one."

I think I've mentioned before that I like old, classic movies. This is the 1945 version of the movie (it's been remade a few times).

5. Fitzwilly: "When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living."

I only saw this movie for the first time last year. It stars Dick Van Dyke (and I've been over  many times how he's my favorite actor). :) It was great!! I'm hoping to find it on DVD!

6.  Remember The Night: "Just before Christmas, Lee Leander is caught shoplifting. It is her third offense. She is prosecuted by John Sargent. He gets the trial postponed because it is hard to get a conviction at Christmastime. But he feels sorry for her and arranges for her bail, and ends up taking her home to his mother for Christmas." 

Another movie I just discovered last year (during TCM's airing of Christmas movies). This stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. Four years after this movie, they would go on to make Double Indemnity together.

7. Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller: "Young Ralph James and his scheming friend Tommy Tricker collect stamps. But when Tommy snatches a rare stamp, Ralph discovers the secret of stamp travel to take him around the world and bring back the 75-year gone traveller Charles Merriweather."
I haven't seen this one since I was about 12 or 13, but I remember watching it a lot when I was younger. I wonder if it's on DVD...

8. The Quest (sometimes called Frog Dreaming): "American boy, Cody, whose parents have died, lives in Australia with his guardian, Gaza. Cody is very imaginative, inventive, and inquisitive. He comes across some strange events happening in Devil's Knob national park associated with an aboriginal myth about 'frog dreamings'."

I think I loved this movie because it had Henry Thomas in it (Elliot from the movie E.T.). I'm also looking for this one on DVD. I haven't seen it in forever! I just discovered someone uploaded it to Youtube though.

9. 18 Again!: "By means of an accident the soul of David and his swinging grandfather get swapped. While the grandfather's body is still in coma, he enjoys having a young body again and repairs some facts in David's life, who he finds not to be self-confident enough."

The only reason I watched this movie was because it starred a young Charlie Schlatter (who played Dr. Jesse Travis on Dick Van Dyke's show Diagnosis Murder). It's actually pretty cute. I found it on VHS at a video store about 7 years ago. It also stars George Burns, who made this movie when he was 92!

10. Necessary Parties: "Fourteen-year-old Chris Mills goes to court to prevent his parents from ending their marriage." 

Okay, so this was a made for TV movie that came out in the late 80s, but it starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, (insert teenage girl **sigh** here) who, as most of you know, went on to star in the TV show Saved By The Bell. I haven't seen it in years, but I would totally watch it again!

11. I'm With Lucy: "A woman experiences five blind dates in one year, but only one of them is "Mr. Right"."

I probably just made half of my friends pass out that I listed a "chick flick" (I'm not  usually a huge fan of "modern day" chick flicks, but I actually like this one).  It's cute. And it doesn't hurt that Henry Thomas is in it. ;) Until I borrowed the DVD from a friend of mine, I had never heard of it! It came out about 8 years ago.

12. Tiger Town: "Alex  and his father are devoted Detroit Tigers fans, even now as they are struggling. Alex's favorite player is aging star Billy Young, who is having a sub-par season, his last before retiring."

I watched this movie SO MANY times growing up. Are you really surprised that even at a young age one of my favorite movies was about baseball?? This movie was actually the first "made-for-TV" movie that the Disney Channel produced back in 1983.

13. The Canterville Ghost: "A young American couple inherits an English castle, only to find that it is haunted by the spirit of a disgraced ancestor, doomed to stay on the estate because of his cowardice. The only way he can escape is if one of his descendants performs an heroic act, something he intends to get the husband to do."

I have loved mysteries and suspense movies since I was little. Another made-for-TV movie, starring Alyssa Milano and Ted Wass (the father on the TV show Blossom). I think this came out in the mid to late 80s. Another one I would totally buy on DVD! I know someone has uploaded it on Youtube.