Family Friendly Friday (Movie Ed.)

If you’ve been reading my blog very long, you’ve probably figured out I have a love for old movies. I came by this love naturally because my mom started me out watching them at a young age. My parents were very selective of what our family watched and I am extremely thankful for the caution they exercised. It has resulted in a concern over what my own family invites into our living room. As Christians, we should be very concerned over what kind of entertainment we put in front of our children, as well as what kind we allow to fill our own minds. As I explained in a past post, for me, Fridays often meant family movie night. I am still a huge fan of it, but it can be hard to find “movies worth watching.” To that end, many of my Friday posts are just a list of family friendly movies to give you ideas, if you’re stumped on what to watch or (if you are a lover of the silver screen like me,) to reminisce some of the true classics. So whether you’ve just stumbled upon my page in search of a Friday night movie for the family or if you’re simply a kindred spirit who is familiar with Hollywood’s golden era, welcome and enjoy!

Up first…

 The Absent Minded Professor

Fred McMurray is one of my favorite actors. I mean, what’s not to like? Whether he’s portraying a dad to three boys or, as in this particular film, a bachelor that can’t remember his own wedding date, he does so fantastically.

State Fair (1945)

Midways, campgrounds, judging, concerts…I’m in heaven just writing about it. I love this movie with all the fair hoopla. After you watch this one, you find yourself Googling to find the fair nearest you (if you don’t already know that is).

Last but certainly not least…

On Moonlight Bay

Doris Day is another one of those timeless actresses. Paired with Gordon MacRae in this film, they are a vibrant duo. This is a beautiful love story with an ending that will leave you teary-eyed. I have a feeling you’ll also recognize several other characters from this picture such as Leon Ames (you just watched him in The Absent Minded Professor!), Ellen Corby (Grandma Walton anyone?), and Mary Wickes (carrying on her role as the good-natured, humorous housekeeper from White Christmas).

Memorable Moms

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        We all have a list of our favorite TV and movie moms and in honor of mother’s day, I’m sharing a few of mine (in no particular order).

Tess Coleman (Freaky Friday 2003)

 Whether it's Mrs. Andrews or Tess Coleman, Freaky Friday is a classic. 

Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) - The quick-witted mom who shares our coffee obsession along with our love for Casablanca.

Rebecca Boone (Daniel Boone) - The American frontier woman whose strength and courage we can't help but admire.

Queen Clarisse Renaldi (The Princess Diaries) - Reminding us how cool grandmothers can be-in an elegant sort of way, of course.

 

Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables) - taught us that you are never to old to impact the life of a child, or to have them impact yours.

 

 Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blindside) -The strong Southern woman who taught us how to open our homes along with our hearts as we have opportunity and find that we just might be the ones whose lives change.

Olivia Walton (The Waltons) - The ever-present, ever-patient rock her children so often needed to lean on. She taught us to use what you were given, dare to dream and value family heritage.

 Ruth Martin (Lassie) - knew the importance of allowing children to make lifetime friends of the four-legged kind.

Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch) - A lovely lady who somehow managed to keep six kids, a housekeeper, a husband and a dog in perfect order-most of the time anyway.

 June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) - The maternal picture of perfection with her ever present string of pearls. Our society could take many lessons from her.

Endora (Bewitched) - Alright, maybe this is a rather poor example of a mother-in-law, but you have to admit the tests and torments she constantly put Darrin through were entertaining.

 Samantha Stephens (Bewitched) - Life couldn't be easy with a child who could make their favorite toys float over to them, but Sam made managing the chaos of mixing the witch and mortal world look relatively easy.

Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show) - The lawyer who showed us how to effectively (and seemingly effortlessly) do it all, including tips on how to put your husband and kids on the witness stand.

Jill Taylor (Home Improvement) - Forever endearing to us simply for putting up with Tim-the-tool-man Taylor and his constant projects.

Marion Cunningham (Happy Days) - Most commonly known to us as Mrs. C, she harbored one of the biggest hearts we've ever seen.

Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy) - We often forget that our zany yet loveable redhead had a beautiful maternal side, which we were privileged to see with the introduction of little Ricky.

Caroline Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie) - Lovingly referred to as Ma, was probably my first "TV mom influence." She taught us a great deal about patience, hard work and family values. With her recent appearance on the Today show, we learned just how much Karen Grassle took that role to heart as tears rolled down her cheeks during a clip of "her" girls.

Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show) - showing us how to make the best out of rather unfortunate or embarrassing circumstances.

Ma Kettle (Ma and Pa Kettle) -Who can ever forget Ma's unique way of letting everyone know when dinner was ready? "Come an' get it!"

 Donna Stone (The Donna Reed Show) - must have been a sister to June Cleaver, because they shared the same housekeeping gene.

Kate Bradley (Petticoat Junction) - effectively running a business while managing a household and an Uncle Joe.

Amy Duncan (Good Luck Charlie) - BAH BAM!

 Jane Jetson (The Jetsons) - made living in the future look so easy, but then again, she had Rosie...

 

Family Friendly Friday (Movie Ed.)

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                  Growing up I always looked forward to Friday nights. Friday nights usually meant going to pick up a pizza (with cheesy bread of course) and renting a movie. Sometimes it meant staying with my grandparents who introduced me to their collection of the true classics. But what made this tradition really special was not the movies or the pizzas, or even the cheesy bread, it was the fact that my parents and grandparents took the time to sit there with me and watch the movies. They could have done a million other things and now that I have entered motherhood, I understand the millions of things they were no doubt thinking about on their to-do lists, yet there they sat. I am so thankful to have those memories to look back on, to have that example to follow and to have knowledge of family-friendly movies that I can share with others. That is what Fridays are all about on the blog right now. Sharing family-friendly movies for you to start/carry on this same tradition with your family and friends. Some of these movies you may have. Some you might have to look for on Netflix, Amazon instantvideo or your public library. Some might be available on YouTube. I leave that part to you. 

 Sun Valley Serenade

John Payne and Sonja Henie are responsible for my desire to visit Sun Valley. I love it and I’ve never even been there. If you decide to add this one to your list, I feel certain you will completely understand…

 The Glenn Miller Story

If you weren’t paying attention in the afore mentioned classic, Glenn Miller was the talented bandleader. Glenn Miller has a story of his own you should see. James Stewart plays Miller along with June Allyson in The Glenn Miller story. This movie quickly put Stewart and Allyson among my favorite actors. It is equally responsible for my iPod playlist named moonlight serenade.