Family Friendly Movies

The Spell

by user
February 8, 2016January 31, 2022

The Spell (1977) starring Lee Grant, Susan Myers, Helen Hunt, Lelia Goldoni, Jack Colvin

The Spell is an NBC made-for-television movie, clearly, a rip-off of Carrie. However, it was actually slightly more than that. The Spell begins with a young teenager named Rita (Susan Myers, Revenge of the Nerds) who is being picked on by her fellow high school students for being “fat” — i.e. not being anorexic like them. As they’re tormenting her, the Phy Ed teacher stands by and watches, doing absolutely nothing. This prompted one of my children to comment, “The teacher’s evil! She’s just standing there!” Actually, she’s more right than she knows, but more on that later.

by user
February 6, 2016March 13, 2024

The Beast Within (1982) starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Logan Ramsey, Don Gordon

In short, The Beast Within is a 1980’s horror film that’s a mixture between The Curse of the Werewolf and any number of Southern Gothic movies. It begins with a newlywed couple (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) on their honeymoon. They have car trouble in the middle of nowhere, in the American South. Filmed in Raymond, Missouri, for those who care about such things. While the husband goes to find help, the woman is assaulted and raped by an insect-like monster. She conceives a child from the rape and gives birth to seemingly-normal Michael (Paul Clemens). He appears to be a nice, average, handsome young man. Until he turns 17 …

by user
February 5, 2016September 6, 2023

In City Lights, Charlie Chaplin plays the part of Charlie the little tramp, a homeless vagabond, who encounters a flower girl, only to discover that she’s blind. After Charlie rescues an inebriated rich man from committing suicide, the eccentric millionaire decides that Charlie is his best friend, and takes him out partying, gives him a car, etc. — only to totally forgot about him when he’s sober.

by user
February 4, 2016February 17, 2022

The Lost Weekend (1945) starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Howard Da Silva

Although I’m aware of the actor Ray Milland (Starflight One, X: the Man with the X-Ray Eyes), I’m young enough to say that I’d never seen a truly great performance by him. That was before I watched The Lost Weekend.

by user
February 4, 2016October 30, 2021

Five Star Final (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson, Boris Karloff, directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Five Star Final is a film that stands out primarily due to a great performance by Edward G. Robinson, who plays the part of newspaper editor Joe Randall, who is being pressured by his boss to increase the news circulation by running some sensationalistic news stories. Against his better judgement, he does so — and digs out the decades-old story of a convicted murderess, Nancy Voorhees (played well by Frances Starr) — the murder was actually a justifiable homicide, but that doesn’t sell newspapers. In the intervening time, Voorhees has lived quietly, married and changed her last name, and raised a daughter — who is about to be married.

by user
February 2, 2016February 17, 2022

Limelight (1952) starring Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Sydney Chaplin, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton

Limelight is a truly wonderful film; it swiftly became one of my favorites. In a nutshell, it’s the story of a once-great stage comedian (Calvero, a formerly great tramp clown, played by Charlie Chaplin), who’s been failing in his career, and has become an alcoholic, who saves the life of Terry, a despondent ballerina (played by Claire Bloom) from a suicide attempt. The film is a juxtaposition of these two personalities, one who rallies & goes onward, the other who falls further.

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February 1, 2016March 27, 2022

The Kid, produced & directed by Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan

Synopsis of Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid:

The Kid was Charlie Chaplin’s first full-length movie. It, more than anything else to that date, made Chaplin a living legend. It took over a year to produce, and was an incredible success for Chaplin. The opening title reads: “A comedy with a smile — and perhaps a tear.” As a woman (Edna Purviance) leaves a charity hospital with a newborn. She passes a church wedding, leaving her baby with a pleading note in a limousine. Then she goes off to commit suicide. She turns from suicide at the last moment to return to her child, only to find him missing. The limo had been stolen by thieves who dumped the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp finds the baby. After failing to pass the child on to someone more suitable, raises the child himself.

by user
January 30, 2016May 8, 2023

The Swarm (1978) by Irwin Allen, starring Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray

Irwin Allen did quite a few disaster movies (The Poseidon Adventure, Airport) that were commercial, if not always critical, successes. The Swarm, in contract, was a flop both commercially and critically — and a massive waste of some very good acting talent as well.

by user
January 29, 2016February 1, 2022

Fueled by hatred and jealousy, Lex Luthor masterminds an elaborate plot to kill the Man of Steel — and it works. Poisoned by solar radiation, Superman is dying. With weeks to live, he fulfills his life’s dreams — especially revealing his true identity to Lois Lane — until Luthor proclaims his ultimate plan to control the world with no alien hero to stop him. Powers fading, Superman engages in a spectacular deadly battle with Luthor that could truly trigger the end of Earth’s Greatest Protector. This startling and gripping DC Universe Animated Original Movie stars the voice talents of James Denton, Anthony LaPaglia, Christina Hendricks and Ed Asner.

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January 29, 2016January 14, 2023

The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) starring Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck

In The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Humphrey Bogart stars as a struggling artist, Geoffrey Carroll. He is (seemingly) happily married — until he meets Sally (Barbara Stanwyck). Apparently mentally ill, he returns home, where he paints a picture of his wife as the angel of death. Then he begins to poison her.

After her death, he romances and marries Sally, and all is well at first. Until he begins to fall out of love with her, and paints a portrait of her, as well … As the angel of death. Sally, however, begins to put pieces of the puzzle together, and realizes what her husband is trying to do. In the meanwhile, Geoffrey is being blackmailed by someone who’s found out about the first murder. And who finds out why it’s a fatal mistake to blackmail a mentally ill homicidal man.