You know how I stayed alive this long? All these years? Fear. The spectacle of fearsome acts. Somebody steals from me, I cut off his hands. He offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike, raise it high up so all on the streets can see. That’s what preserves the order of things. Fear.
Those are the gruesome words of Bill “the Butcher” Cutting, played by Daniel Day-Lewis in the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York.
The Dead Rabbits Riot in 1857 on Bayard Street in the Five Points.
150 years ago, an area in lower Manhattan called the Five Points played host to gladiatorial clashes between US-born native and immigrant Irish gangs.
The Five Points gained international notoriety as a disease-ridden, crime-infested slum that existed well into the 20th century.
Once the domain of middle-class homes built on reclaimed land, it became a sprawling slum within a relatively short period.
Group of people gathered outside tenement house in Baxter Street, Five Points, New York, watch men carry out a coffin
Stories of violent confrontations were legion, giving the press a never-ending supply of gory material to write about.
Brick-bats, stones and clubs were flying thickly around, and from the windows in all directions, and the men ran wildly about brandishing firearms. Wounded men lay on the sidewalks and were trampled upon. Now the Rabbits would make a combined rush and force their antagonists up Bayard street to the Bowery. Then the fugitives, being reinforced, would turn on their pursuers and compel a retreat to Mulberry, Elizabeth and Baxter streets.The New York Times, July 6, 1857
Bandit’s roost – 59 Mulberry Street in New York City.
It is no unusual thing for a mother and her two or three daughters—all, of course, prostitutes—to receive their ‘men’ at the same time in the same room.New York Tribune, 1850
Every house was a brothel, and every brothel a hell.Five Points missionary Lewis Pease
Five Points, 1827, Engraving after a painting by George Catlin.
The George Catlin depiction of 1827 shows the Five Points intersection as a bustling, densely populated area.
The triangular building in the center is located on what would be known as “Paradise Square”.
Anthony Street veers off to the right, Cross Street on the left and Orange Street runs left to right in the foreground.
The below modified aerial view of the Five Points shows the area around modern day Columbus Park.
Paradise Square would have filled the space currently occupied by the New York City Supreme Court.
It’s hard to believe that in the 18th century the area that was to become the infamous Five Points was a beautiful meadow covering 48 acres, bordered by a hill known as Bayard’s Mount, and with the spring-fed Collect Pond at its center supplying the city’s fresh water.
People would picnic there during the summer, and skate on the frozen pond in winter.
This 1798 watercolor of the Collect Pond shows Bayard’s Mount, a 110-ft hillock, in the left foreground.
1798 watercolor of Collect Pond showing Bayard’s Mount
The Old Brewery in the Five Points typified the rapidly growing industries.
Tanneries, breweries, ropewalks, and slaughterhouses all began to use the water and dump waste in the neighborhood.
The pollution caused a major environmental health risk and the pond was eventually drained and filled with earth from the leveling of Bayard’s Mount.
A new middle-class residential community was built upon the landfill but was poorly conceived and engineered.
Buried vegetation released methane gas and the area lacked adequate storm drainage.
The ground gradually subsided, house foundations shifted, and unpaved streets were buried in mud.
Mosquito-infested pools of human and animal excrement became intolerable for middle-class residents, who moved out, leaving the doors wide open for waves of immigrant poor.
At its height, only certain areas of London’s East End vied with Five Points for sheer population density, disease, infant and child mortality, unemployment, prostitution, and violent crime.
Charles Dickens at his writing desk
Charles Dickens described Five Points in 1842 in his book American Notes for General Circulation:
What place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps? Let us go on again, and plunge into the Five Points.
Homeless people in slum neighborhood of Five Points
This is the place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth. Such lives as are led here, bear the same fruit as elsewhere. The coarse and bloated faces at the doors have counterparts at home and all the world over.
Debauchery has made the very houses prematurely old. See how the rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl dimly, like eyes that have been hurt in drunken forays. Many of these pigs live here. Do they ever wonder why their masters walk upright instead of going on all fours, and why they talk instead of grunting?
During the late 19th and early 20th century, a criminal organization known as the Five Points Gang inhabited the Sixth Ward (The Five Points) of Manhattan, New York City.
Members of the Five Points Gang of New York City
Founded by Paul Kelly (born Paolo Antonio Vaccerelli), an Italian American who earned his money prizefighting and running brothels, the Five Points Gang became a national crime syndicate with a reputation for brutality, and in battles with rival gangs, often fought to the death.
Kelly and his second-in-command Johnny Torrio recruited members from other gangs, including Al Capone who would later lead the Chicago Outfit.
Charles “Lucky” Luciano, also joined the Five Points crew and was later considered the most powerful criminal in the country.
Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and Frankie Yale were also recruited into the Five Points Gang and became prominent criminals of the 20th century.
20th-century Mobsters (Clockwise): Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Johnny Torrio.
Based on Herbert Asbury’s 1927 book, Martin Scorcese’s 2002 movie “Gangs of New York” received a host of awards and was generally praised for its historical accuracy, including the names of the original gangs of the Five Points—the Bowery Boys, the Dead Rabbits, the Plug Uglies, the Short Tails, the Slaughter Houses, and the Swamp Angels.
The challenge with historical drama for Hollywood movie studios is to make it appealing to a mass audience.
Too much historical accuracy and it becomes more or less a documentary. Too little and it loses the plot.
PBS’s Masterpiece is in many ways a better medium for faithful storytelling of historical dramas. The 2006 Masterpiece production of Jane Eyre, for example, won 4 awards with 14 nominations.
And documentaries can be as absorbing as a movie with the right combination of Computer Graphics, on-location filming, and engaging narrative.
Simon Schama and Lucy Worsley host very engaging history documentaries.
The Last of the Mohicans by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, 1850
Last of the Mohicans was no history documentary.
It was mastery of cinematography and soundtrack.
Press play to add atmosphere as we explore the Last of the Mohicans.
A sweeping romantic epic, with Homeric sadness to rival a Greek tragedy.
When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever.
If there is one moment in the entire film that captures the genius of director Michael Mann, it is the split second Alice Munro looks directly into the camera before jumping to her death.
Tragedy, despair, hopelessness … all in that one fleeting moment.
That’s powerful. That’s movie making.
The hauntingly beautiful score of Trevor Jones won the movie an academy award for best sound.
Clannad’s romantic ballad “I Will Find You” is like a Celtic promise of undying love.
Spectacular scenery from the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains and mesmerizing sounds combined harmoniously to create an atmosphere that could have been crafted by English romantic poets Byron and Shelley.
The action scenes were extraordinary—enough to satisfy even the most die-hard fight-scene aficionado.
In the final confrontation Chingachgook, the Last of the Mohicans, smashes Magua’s arms, rendering him useless, unable to do anything but stand there and wait for the final death blow.
Michael Mann’s attention to detail is second to none.
The whole production team hiked their equipment 45 minutes each day into the Appalachian wilderness to reach the breathtaking locations that make this movie special.
The tension Mann creates as the British travel across exposed terrain surrounded by Hurons, hidden in thick woodland … silent … waiting to attack, is extraordinary.
And the ensuing battle is something only Hollywood budgets can depict effectively.
The movie deserves praise for renewing interest in Native American culture and helping break the stereotype of the gunslinging cowboys and Indians westerns.
The set of Fort William Henry and the costumes were painstakingly researched for accuracy.
Daniel Day Lewis trained for six months to add weight and acquire the skills that a frontiersman like Daniel Boone would have learned from the Iroquois.
Madeleine Stowe has the timeless, delicate beauty that made her so perfect for the role of Cora.
From his scarred, weather-beaten face, to his evil stare and authentic Native American roots, Wes Studi epitomized the hate and vengeance that was Magua.
Steven Waddington is a fine British actor with the wonderful clarity of diction that comes with a Royal Shakespeare Company tenure.
His role as Major Duncan Heyward captured the obsessive sense of honor and duty that was so important to British culture of the time.
Last of the Mohicans was the No.1 movie on its opening weekend, was the 17th highest-grossing film of 1992 and won an academy award for best sound.
Landscape Scene from ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ by Thomas Cole, 1827
Audrey Hepburn was elegance personified. Her wistful expressions, her svelte figure, her impish charm, captivated millions and made her one of the greatest movie actors and fashion icons of all-time.
Audrey is today’s wonder girl…This slim little person with the winged eyebrows and Nefertiti head and throat is the world’s darling.—Vogue magazine
Her on-screen biography reads like a fairytale, but her off-screen life was often quite the opposite.
Here are 10 surprising facts about style icon Audrey Hepburn.
1. Her mother was a Dutch Baroness who wanted to be an actress
Audrey’s mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra (1900 – 1984) was from a long line of Dutch nobility dating back to the 12th century. Her grandfather, Baron Aernoud van Heemstra (1871 – 1957) was frequently at the court of Queen Wilhelmina. Portraits of Audrey’s ancestors hung in museums and country estates throughout Holland.
… in those times, a daughter of the nobility was forbidden to have a career. She was expected to marry well and have lots of children. —Alfred Heineken III.
Ella wanted to study for the opera, but the Baron forbade associating with actors, lest it would bring disgrace on the family. But Ella’s friend Alfred Heineken III, of the Dutch brewery family, thought she was a “born actress”.
I grew up wanting more than anything else to be English, slim, and an actress. —Baroness Ella van Heemstra.
Ella vowed that if she ever had a daughter, she would encourage her to be an actor.
And so it was. Audrey lived her mother’s dream and her noble background gave her the edge that movie directors were looking for in the glamorous fifties. Even Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother could see it, remarking to her daughter,
She is one of us.
2. Her father believed he was descended from Mary Queen of Scots’ third husband
Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
Audrey’s stage name ‘Hepburn’ was taken from her father’s name. He was born Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston (1889–1980), but later double-barrelled the surname to the more aristocratic-sounding Hepburn-Ruston.
His maternal grandmother’s maiden name was Kathleen Hepburn, and he believed himself descended from James Hepburn, third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, c 1535 – 1578. Third husband of Mary Queen of Scots
The Anglo-Scottish Hepburn clan can be traced back several centuries, but the name has many variants, including Hebburne, Hyburn, and Hopbourn. The origin of the name is thought to be from the Anglo-Saxon words heah, meaning high and byrgen, meaning burial place.
Audrey’s father, Joseph, was tall, dark, and handsome, with a little mustache and a calm manner. At the time he met Audrey’s mother, he was living off his first wife’s inheritance and hadn’t held a job for more than a few months.
The fact that one of the greatest appeals for Joseph was Ella’s title and aristocratic lifestyle throws serious doubt on his claim of ancestral connection to Earl James Hepburn. And the complexity of multiple branches on the Hepburn family tree makes it difficult for historians to verify.
But Audrey loved her father to bits, and even though he left her when she was just six, she tracked him down in later life and supported him financially.
3. Her parents were Fascists—her father a true Nazi sympathizer
Audrey Hepburn & Harcourt Williams on the set of Roman Holiday (1953)
In the mid-1930s, fascism had gained a toehold in Britain through the British Union of Fascists (BUF), led by Sir Oswald Mosley.
Before the BUF became too radicalized, even the Daily Mail newspaper supported them, running the 1933 headline “Hurrah for the Blackshirts!” (a reference to their black uniform). At the time, the owner of the daily mail, Lord Rothermere was openly friendly with fascist leaders Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, believing that the Nazi party would restore the monarchy to Germany.
Audrey’s parents were both members of the BUF, her mother Ella being friends with Mosley’s wife, Diana Mitford. They donated to the BUF and even accompanied Mosley on a tour of Nazi Germany where they met Hitler at his headquarters in Munich.
As the BUF radicalized and its violent anti-Semitic views came to the fore, Ella and the Daily Mail distanced themselves, but her father Joseph’s involvement deepened. He joined an even more extreme splinter group.
Joseph’s radicalism caught the attention of Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, who urged Ella’s father, Baron Aarnoud van Heemstra, to help get him out of the family.
Shortly after returning from the tour of Germany, Joseph walked out on his wife and the six-year-old Audrey.
It was the most traumatic event of my life … a tragedy from which I don’t think I’ve ever recovered. I worshipped him and missed him terribly from the day he disappeared. I always envied other people’s fathers, came home with tears, because they had a daddy. —Audrey Hepburn.
4. She witnessed wartime atrocities
In the German-occupied Netherlands, Audrey witnessed young men being pushed against a wall in the street and shot.
She saw trainloads of Jews being deported, their faces peering through the slit at the top of meat wagons. Families, babies, little children being herded like animals for slaughter.
I remember, very sharply, one little boy standing with his parents on the platform, very pale, very blond, wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and he stepped onto the train. I was a child observing a child.
Her half brothers had refused to join the Nazi youth camp, where Aryan boys underwent strenuous physical training before joining the Nazi movement. As punishment, the eldest, Alexander, was sent to a forced labor camp for the rest of the war.
For three years, Audrey and her family listened to Freedom Radio for news of any Allied successes in the war. But there were none—not until 1943.
I knew the cold clutch of human terror all through my early teens; I saw it, felt it, heard it—and it never goes away.
Audrey never attended acting school because she didn’t need to. All the acting lessons were during those years of horror when she pretended not to care simply to survive. But she was secretly passing messages to the Dutch resistance.
5. She suffered from malnutrition during World War 2
By 1943, the Germans had tightened the noose around the Netherlands as the threat of Allied invasion looked imminent. Food shortages had reached crisis levels.
Audrey’s half-brother Ian would hold his stomach and cry. But she found temporary distraction from hunger pangs by giving dancing lessons. When she did eat, it was lettuce, bread made with peas, and occasionally a potato. She survived the Dutch famine during the winter of 1944 by eating tulip bulbs.
A US B-17 drops a cargo of food for the starving Dutch population in operation Chow Hound, May 1945.
Even with her weight falling to just 90 lbs, she continued to give dance lessons to help her family and the Dutch resistance.
6. She trained to be a ballerina before becoming an actor
Audrey’s lithe figure and three years of ballet training with Sonia Gaskell—a leading ballet instructor in Amsterdam—prepared her for a ballet scholarship with Ballet Rambert in London.
But when she sought the professional opinion of the school founder, Dame Marie Rambert, she faced the fact that she probably wouldn’t reach her dream of becoming a Prima Ballerina. At 5′ 7″, she was too tall for the male dancers at the time, and her poor health during World War 2 had impaired some of her muscular development.
Audrey’s ballet teachers. Left: Sonia Gaskell. Right: Dame Marie Rambert.
During World War 2, Audrey secretly danced for groups of people to collect money for the Dutch resistance. She later remarked,
The best audience I ever had made not a single sound at the end of my performances.
Despite years of training, she would never perform a full ballet.
7. She spoke five languages
Audrey’s multinational background and frequent traveling because of her father’s work gave her the opportunity to learn five languages.
From her parents, she learned Dutch and English and later French, Spanish, and Italian.
A friend of Audrey’s mother, Mrs Pauline Everts, said,
Her father was British, so she spoke English fluently as well as French, from having been brought up in Brussels, and she also spoke Dutch very nicely … she had a very musical ear.
Audrey followed husband, actor Mel Ferrer, to Spain and Mexico for the filming of “The Sun Also Rises” (1957) which would have given her the opportunity to learn some Spanish—something that would prove useful for her later work with UNICEF in South America.
She lived for 20 years in Rome.
8. She was the first actress to win multiple awards for a single performance
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday (1953)
Roman Holiday (1953) projected Audrey to stardom and the first actress to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for a single performance.
The producers wanted Elizabeth Taylor for the role, but Audrey gave such an impressive screen test that director William Wyler knew she was the one, saying:
She had everything I was looking for: charm, innocence, and talent. She also was very funny. She was absolutely enchanting and we said, ‘That’s the girl!’
Originally, only Gregory Peck’s name was planned to appear above the movie title, with “Introducing Audrey Hepburn” beneath in smaller font. However, Peck suggested to Wyler that Audrey get equal billing “because she’ll be a big star and I’ll look like a big jerk.“
9. Audrey Hepburn is not related to Katherine Hepburn
There are a surprising number of questions on the web asking whether Audrey and Katherine are related. It has been a persistent misconception since Audrey came to prominence in the 1950s.
Katharine was the daughter of two wealthy Connecticut Americans; Audrey the daughter of Dutch nobility. There is no meeting of family lines.
They do, however, have a lot in common: talent, beauty, the same star sign, multiple acting awards. Both are listed in the American Film Institute’s greatest screen legends: Katherine at #1 and Audrey #3.
There is a humorous story of a series of telegrams during Paramount Pictures’ selection of Audrey Hepburn for the role of Princess Ann in Roman Holiday:
Studio very interested Hepburn … Ask Hepburn if OK change her last name avoid conflict Katherine Hepburn.
At such an amazing opportunity to play the lead female role in a Hollywood movie as a relative unknown with no acting training, most would have acquiesced. But not Audrey, who boldly replied,
If you want me, you’ll have to take my name, too.
10. She quit acting at the height of her career to devote her life to charity
Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)
Grateful for the humanitarian aid that helped her survive the German occupation as a child, at the height of her acting career, she quit, dedicating the remainder of her life to helping poverty-stricken children in the poorest nations.
In this video from March 26, 1988, Global News reporter Elaine Loring sits down with Hollywood legend Audrey Hepburn to discuss her experiences with UNICEF in Ethiopia and living away from the ‘hustle and bustle’.
Sources: wikipedia.org Audrey Hepburn by Barry Paris Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn: A Biography by Martin Gitlin Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers by Sean Hepburn Ferrer Vanity Fair: My Fair Mother
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful. And since we’ve got no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!Written by Sammy Cahn and composed by Jule Styne, July 1945.
The log fire is crackling away nicely. You’ve made a hot cup of cocoa. You check outside again. Yes—it’s still snowing in large, fluffy flakes.
You have the house to yourself.
Perfect.
Now, at last, the time has come. The time to relax and watch your favorite Christmas movies!
Which one to watch first? Decisions, decisions.
But wait a second. What is it about Christmas movies that we love so much? Is it the warm, comforting feeling we get from uplifting stories that offer hope? Is it the inspiration we find in the life lessons of the classics?
In a world that often seems full of turmoil, perhaps we just like to know that the perennial favorites help keep alive the values and traditions that we hold dear.
Which one to watch first …? Here’s a few ideas—peruse the movie clips and then vote for your favorite.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is a classic Christmas drama directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve until an angel shows him how different the world would be if he had never been born. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and is considered one of the greatest films of all time.
Home Alone (1990) is a comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written by John Hughes, starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind when his family goes on a Christmas vacation to Paris. He has to defend his home from two burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, using various booby traps. The film was a huge box office success and spawned four sequels.
Elf (2003) is a fantasy comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who was raised by elves at the North Pole. He travels to New York City to find his biological father, played by James Caan, and experiences the joys and challenges of the human world. The film also features Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, and Peter Dinklage. It was well received by critics and audiences and became a Christmas staple.
The Santa Clause (1994) is a fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and starring Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a divorced father who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof and die on Christmas Eve. He puts on Santa’s suit and finishes his deliveries, only to find out that he has to become the new Santa and convince his family and friends of his new identity. The film was a hit and spawned two sequels.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) is a live-action adaptation of the 1957 Dr. Seuss book of the same name, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch, a green creature who hates Christmas and plans to ruin it for the people of Whoville. He is challenged by a young girl named Cindy Lou Who, played by Taylor Momsen, who tries to befriend him and show him the true meaning of Christmas. The film was a commercial success and won an Oscar for Best Makeup.
The Polar Express (2004) is an animated film based on the 1985 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg, directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring the voice of Tom Hanks in multiple roles. It tells the story of a young boy who boards a magical train on Christmas Eve that takes him and other children to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. The film was the first to use performance capture technology for all the human characters and was nominated for three Oscars.
White Christmas (1954) is a musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It follows two former army buddies who team up with a sister act to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commander. The film features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the title song, which Crosby had previously introduced in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. The film was a box office hit and received a nomination for Best Original Song.
A Christmas Story (1983) is a comedy film based on the semi-autobiographical stories of Jean Shepherd, directed by Bob Clark and narrated by Shepherd himself. It depicts the childhood memories of Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley, who desperately wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas in the 1940s. The film also stars Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, and Ian Petrella as Ralphie’s family. The film has become a cult classic and is shown on television every Christmas.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) is a Christmas comedy-drama film directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. It tells the story of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa and has to prove his identity in court. The film was released in June but became a holiday favorite and won three Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Gwenn. It has been remade several times, most notably in 1994 with Richard Attenborough as Santa.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) is a comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by John Hughes, starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, a father who wants to have a perfect Christmas with his family and relatives. However, his plans are constantly ruined by various mishaps and disasters, such as a malfunctioning Christmas lights display, a kidnapped boss, and a squirrel-infested Christmas tree. The film is the third installment of the National Lampoon’s Vacation series and is widely regarded as the best one.
A Christmas Carol (1951) is a British film adaptation of the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly businessman who is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve who show him the error of his ways. The film is also known as Scrooge in the United Kingdom and is considered one of the best versions of the classic story. It features a faithful script by Noel Langley and a memorable performance by Sim.
The Holiday (2006) is a romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as Amanda and Iris, two women who swap homes for the holidays to escape their love problems. Amanda travels to Iris’ cottage in Surrey, England, where she meets Iris’ brother Graham, played by Jude Law, while Iris stays in Amanda’s house in Los Angeles, where she befriends an elderly screenwriter named Arthur, played by Eli Wallach, and a film composer named Miles, played by Jack Black. The film was a box office success and received positive reviews.
Scrooged (1988) is a comedy film directed by Richard Donner and starring Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive who is haunted by three spirits on Christmas Eve who teach him the true meaning of Christmas. The film is a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with references to the original story and other pop culture elements. The film also features Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, and David Johansen. The film was a hit and has become a cult classic.
The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) is a drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman as Father Chuck O’Malley and Sister Mary Benedict, who work together at a Catholic school in financial trouble. The film is a sequel to the 1944 film Going My Way, which also starred Crosby as Father O’Malley. The film features the song “Aren’t You Glad You’re You?” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, and was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture.
Trading Places (1983) is a comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy as Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine, two men from opposite social backgrounds who unknowingly switch places as part of a bet by two wealthy brothers, played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche. The film is a satire of social class and race relations in America, and features Jamie Lee Curtis, Denholm Elliott, and Paul Gleason in supporting roles. The film was a critical and commercial success and is considered one of the best comedies of the 1980s.
