The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Judy Holliday Movies…

OK, OK… I know that this is the Cozy Mystery Site… BUT>>> I just have to share one of my favorite Hollywood Star’s Movies with all of you: Judy Holliday!

I am writing this entry to let people know about Judy Holliday’s movies. I started introducing Holliday’s movies to my husband about a year ago, not sure if he would like them. They herald back to a simpler time… A time when close-ups of two lovers kissing didn’t involve camera”men” looking for the angle that showed the most open-mouthed gymnastics. A time when a man and a woman were called “a boy and girl” and “first base” involved holding hands, “second base” involved the “boy” yawning in his theater seat so that his arm could go around the “girl’s” shoulder. (It turned out that my husband liked Holliday’s movies so much, that I then introduced my daughter to them! She also likes them a lot.)

It really is difficult for me to decide which of her (few) movies is my favorite. My husband’s favorite is Born Yesterday, in which she plays a ditsy blond against William Holden’s portrayal of an up-right journalist who is tutoring her so that she won’t embarrass her gruff criminal boyfriend (Broderick Crawford). The times were much more discreet back then… Holliday’s character had her own wing on the hotel floor that accommodated the boyfriend’s entourage.

My daughter’s favorite Holliday movie is Adam’s Rib. For all of you Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy fans, this is the movie which pits them against each other as prosecuting and defense lawyers in a case involving a two-timing husband (Tom Ewell) who is shot by his long-suffering wife (Holliday). This comedy was directed by George Cukor and also includes David Wayne as the Hepburn’s/Tracy’s next door neighbor, a playboy who has his sights on Hepburn.

As for me, I really can’t decide. I think that I simply like everything that Judy Holliday was in… I love the two above-movies, but also rank It Should Happen to You, The Solid Gold Cadillac,  Bells Are Ringing, and The Marrying Kind right up there with them. (The Marrying Kind is a little more “adult”>>> but nothing like what “adult” means today!) It Should Happen to You debuts Jack Lemmon as Gladys Glover’s (Judy Holliday’s) rooming house’s neighbor who has to compete with the dashing good looks of a very tan, rich Peter Lawford. Bells Are Ringing shows just how truly talented Holliday was, pitting her against Dean Martin in this musical movie…

Judy Holliday is the girl-next-door type with a very versatile voice, a comic genius with whom a lot of people are not familiar. She died at a very young age, but left us several movies which I consider some of the best to be seen.

♦If you would like to see more TV & Movies suggestions, click here.♦

Firefly series…

Firefly This is another review of what I consider a truly delightful show that doesn’t happen to be a mystery. (Of course, it’s a mystery to me that it was cancelled after only one season… although I have a feeling that when a network decides to air the shows of a new series out of sequence, that can’t help establish the show…)

Firefly is really a departure from any one type of genre>>> The best way to describe it is to say that it’s a western/science fiction/dramedy. (If you aren’t a sci-fi fan, don’t be put off by that part of the label! The series is set in the far-away future and features the escapades of a rather unconventional spaceship crew. The characters are three dimensional, the special effects are fun and vivid, the plot lines are original, and the acting is more than convincing… This show really is a delight to watch.

The writer/director of Firefly is Joss Whedon (whom a lot of you probably recognize.) Firefly follows the adventures on a cargo ship (the Serenity) which is commanded/owned by a good-guy-sort of captain (played by Nathan Fillion). Firefly breaks the stereotypical rules— Gina Torres plays both the only wife in the crew and a very tough warrior. It was through Firefly that my family first experienced the comedic delivery of Adam Baldwin (not from the Baldwin brother acting family)>>> (You can now see him on the television show Chuck.) He plays the perfect marshmallow tough guy… a delight to watch.

Firefly originally aired on the Fox network, and a lot of the shows’ fans were greatly disappointed when it was cancelled. Perhaps because it had such a large following, in 2005 Joss Whedon released the movie Serenity. I would definitely recommend watching the series in its correct chronological order, and then following it with the movie. I am not a huge sci-fi fan and I think that I would probably have been a little lost watching the movie without knowing all of the characters and the ship’s purpose. I am sure that my adult son and daughter (as well as my husband) could have gone into the movie “cold.”

Although Firefly is loads of fun to watch… it is not for young children.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Heat of the Sun miniseries…

Heat of the Sun Boxed Set (Private Lives / Hide in Plain Sight / The Sport of Kings) What happens if a 1930s up-and-coming Scotland Yard detective is headed for a melt down? (Think vigilante cop!) The Yard might send him to Colonial Africa… and in this case, I’m delighted that’s what they did! The Heat of the Sun is a British miniseries that follows a Scotland Yard detective after he has been “banished” from Scotland Yard.

The miniseries follows Detective Tyburn (played wonderfully by Trevor Eve) from the day he arrives in Colonial Africa as he is greeted by the terrible bigotry that existed in the colonies at that time. He does not conform to what the “elite” British class expects of him. And, as if that’s not enough, one of his superiors is an old boss (as in nemesis) from his Scotland Yard days.

The wonderful Susannah Harker plays Emma Fitzgerald, a woman who is about the only down-to-earth person in the “elite class”… a woman before her times: a pilot and one of the very few Brits who sees the African people as… people, and not as servants.

The mysteries are well-executed, the scenery is phenomenal, the wardrobe is realistic, and the acting is outstanding. The miniseries follows Detective Tyburn as he bucks the system and actually does what he is supposed to be doing>>> He finds the culprits of crimes, even though they could/might be from the upper British hierarchical class. He protects the innocent even though they could/might be from what the Colonial Brits consider the very lowest of classes.

This is yet another terrific character-driven mystery miniseries that we have come to expect from Great Britain. Be forewarned though… it is not for children.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Midsomer Murders series…

Midsomer Murders, Series 1 (Reissue) I have put off writing this review because most people who visit the Cozy Mystery Site are already aware of this deliciously fun, long-running ITV mystery series: Midsomer Murders. The episodes are based on (inspired by) Caroline Graham’s Inspector Barnaby Mystery Series.

Nope, it is not “mid-summer murders”>>> the Midsomer in the title refers to the county area in which DCI Barnaby (John Nettles) and his loyal sidekick sergeant (Daniel Casey in the first several seasons, John Hopkins in the middle seasons, and Jason Hughes in the last few seasons to date) are charged with keeping the peace and solving the crimes. And, lucky for us, we get to meet Barnaby’s wife (Jane Wymark) and daughter (Laura Howard) and watch as they both evolve.

The scenery is phenomenal>>> I love all of the different cozy village settings they show in the episodes. Since Midsomer is a county made up of several villages, we are treated to many quaint villages with the traditional cozy mystery characters— including a few totally eccentric busybodies! And, even luckier for us, Barnaby has a civic duty to perform, so we see him officiating/participating in several fêtes>>> More cozy village ambiance for us to enjoy!

Midsomer Murders is now in its eleventh season (I think!) although we (in the USA) are no longer having the privilege of watching this truly cozy mystery show. (A&E stopped showing the series several years ago.) I wish A&E hadn’t decided to change its line-up years ago. It was truly one of my favorite television channels back when they showed us shows like Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, Miss Marple with Joan Hickson, and Poirot with David Suchet.

If you’re looking for the ambiance of a truly cozy British mystery setting… you might want to introduce yourself to Midsomer Murders. That is, if you aren’t one of its many fans already!

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

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