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The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005)

This version of the classic “The Wizard of Oz” was originally aired on TV, but has since been made available on DVD for your enjoyment any time. Ashanti stars as Dorothy Gale, a girl who lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Kansas. Em runs a diner, and Dorothy works there every afternoon, but she feels trapped. She wants to leave Kansas and go to Hollywood to become a big singing star. When she hears that the Muppets will be in town for a star search, she begs to go, but Em says she’s needed in the diner. … Continue reading →

Surface Level Groans

Last week I talked about a different perspective, one from the teacher’s point of view. This view is not built on malice or spite but on ensuring learning and demonstrating the importance of digging deeper than the surface level of things. Those of you who can remember the first time you saw color television will know, better than I, about how amazing and important history can be when you actually lived it in the present. My mother still talks about being the first on her block to have a color television. AMAZING! Now, of course, I have students who refuse … Continue reading →

Just Around the Corner (1938)

Shirley Temple plays a bright, precocious, optimistic little girl with just one parent in “Just Around the Corner.” I do realize I’ve just described every Shirley Temple ever made, but hey, when you’ve got a winning formula, why change it? This time around, the storyline is set during the Depression. Penny’s (Temple) father, Jeff Hale, was an architect, but when stocks fell, he lost his job. He now works as the handyman at the posh apartment building where he used to rent the penthouse suite. Penny has had to come home from her ritzy girls’ school, and she “takes care” … Continue reading →

The Harvey Girls (1946)

Way back when the west was young and the Santa Fe Railroad was being built, entrepreneur Fred Harvey set up a chain of restaurants along the railway for the hungry, weary passengers to get a good meal and rest up. Each location boasted good food, efficient waitresses, and thick, juicy steaks. In this 1946 Judy Garland film, we see her as Susan Bradley, a mail order bride, come to New Mexico to marry a man she’s only met through letters. When she arrives in town, she finds that the man she’s supposed to marry is not the man who wrote … Continue reading →

In The Good Old Summertime (1949)

“You’ve Got Mail” (1998) is a remake of an old Jimmy Stewart movie by the name of “The Shop Around the Corner,” made in 1940. What I did not know is that “In the Good Old Summertime” is also a remake of “Shop,” filmed in 1949 and starring Van Johnson and Judy Garland. Set around the turn of the century, “Summertime” is the story of a young man named Andrew Larkin (Van Johnson), head clerk at a music store. In his eagerness to get to the post office one morning, he runs down a young woman named Veronica Fisher (Judy … Continue reading →