Sunday Bookends: Creepy Agatha books, cool autumn nights already, and some lighter reads

On September 27, 2026September 27, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon3 Comments

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing.

What’s Been Occurring

This weekend I’ve been trying to decompress from all the stress of last week. It’s amazing how you can hold it mostly together with some major situations going on, but as soon as your grocery order can’t be picked up when you wanted it and your air fryer died while you’re trying to cook breakfast, you totally fall apart.

I guess sometimes the little things on top of the big things are the last straw.

Ha.

Anyhow, the leaves are starting to change colors where we live and I think we might have a colorful year thanks to the cooler nights that hit us this past week.

I’m looking forward to those pretty colors.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I finished Endless Night by Agatha Christie this past week. It was definitely a different Christie. Not a who-dun-it mystery but a psychological mind trip that she wrote in six weeks in 1968 when she was 70-something. She called it her favorite. After reading it and many other books of hers, I still maintain she disappeared those 11 days after her husband told her he was leaving her for his secretary versus going into some kind of “fugue” state out of shock. That woman knew exactly what she was doing embarrassing her husband with all those stories about her disappearance. And I think he deserved it and she was awesome.

In Progress

I am slow reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. I’m also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

To clear my palette a bit I am reading Just Shy of Harmony by Philip Gulley. I also plan to continue to read The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink with Little Miss.

Up Soon

I planned to start The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson this upcoming week, but might hold off because there is a group of readers that is going to be reading it in November, so I might wait.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

No new arrivals this week after that long haul last week.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

A couple of months ago I shared about my husband purchasing me a DVD set of all seasons of Murder, She Wrote.

I am thrilled to have them on DVD after being disappointed that Amazon had taken them off Amazon Prime (which made it so I had to buy each episode or entire seasons to watch them.) Now I can watch whenever I want. Even if our WiFi goes out. The other day, though, I didn’t feel like pulling the DVDs out and decided I’d buy just one episode to try to chill me out after a stressful week (I seem to have a lot of those lately) and saw that all 12 seasons were on sale for $14.99 for Prime members when the cost is usually $249.

Needless to say, I bought those episodes right up! That was a shocking deal and it was on a day where I really needed something to take my mind off of things.

I watched The Shop Around the Corner with my mom earlier in the week and yesterday I watched The Thrill of It All, a movie starring James Garner and Doris Day. I needed lighter movies this week. The Thrill of It All featured several mini-cameos by Carl Reiner. He played an actor that kept showing up on live TV programs and he was hilarious, as always.

And James was gorgeous…as always. Doris? I can honestly live without her usually but she was funny in this one and her dimples are always fun to see when she smiles.

Let me tell you too – she and James get in a fight in this movie and eventually he comes home and I was thinking, “I would absolutely make up with him…but only if he put out that cigarette he’s always smoking in this movie. Ick. His breath must smell of stale coffee and cigarettes!”

I also thought the ending was a bit ridiculous but it was 1963 and our society had a hard time understanding a woman can be a wife, mom, and have a career too. Sometimes the wife and mom role suffers until the balance is reached, but it can be done.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

Murder, She Wrote A Harvest Feast by Donald Bain

Book quotes from my reading this week

“In the end is my beginning… That’s a quotation I’ve often heard people say.”
― Agatha Christie, Endless Night

Arrangements. I remember his using the word arrangements. What a hateful word it is and all the things it stands for. The things in life that have grand words – Love – sex – life – death – hate – those aren’t the things that govern existence at all. It’s lots of other pettifogging, degrading things. Things you have to endure, things you never think about until they happen to you. – Endless Night, Agatha Christie

“Walking in the pale shadowy edge of a September evening I feel the stars moving in a divine order, and I sense suddenly that we are all children of God. “I will lift my mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord.” — these are old words and words of deep security to a troubled heart.” Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber.

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs), Cat (Cat’s Wire) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night, but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link party.

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Autumn of Jack (Lemmon): It Should Happen to You

On September 26, 2026September 25, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions, Movie Impresssions4 Comments

It’s time to talk about our next movie in the Autumn of Lemmon feature.

It Should Happen To You stars Jack Lemmon, Judy Holliday, and Peter Lawford and was suggested to me by someone on Instagram.

I loved this movie.

So funny, sweet, moving, thoughtful and just delightful.

Also, Jack’s first movie where he was in a lead role. Right before Phffft, which I watched last week.

Both Phffft and It Happened to You were released in 1954.

Here is a little description for you: “After a struggling actress in her early thirties with dreams of becoming a star rents a billboard to advertise herself, her life begins to change overnight.”

Judy Holliday portrays Gladys Glover, who is out of work and gets the idea to rent a billboard she sees to advertise herself. What is her talent? Well, she really doesn’t have any talent at all. She becomes famous because her name is on a billboard.

This movie fits right in today because that is happening a lot these days – people with no real talent becoming famous.

Jeffrey Stafford on TCM.com concurs with my thoughts, or I concur with his. You know what I mean.

”With a proliferation of television reality shows transforming unknowns into instant celebrities, the idea of someone becoming famous without possessing real talent or performing some remarkable deed is so commonplace today that George Cukor’s satire looks prophetic in retrospect,” Stafford wrote.

On the same day Gladys decides to rent the billboard she meets Jack Lemmon’s character, Pete, who is an aspiring documentary filmmaker.

Pete films her on his camera while she’s in Central Park and they have a cute little meeting and then go their separate ways. The two meet again when Pete rents an apartment next to Gladys’s.

By now, Gladys’s name is on the billboard and her purchase of the space on the billboard has riled the ire of Peter Lawford, CEO of the Adams Soap Company, which usually books the space.

Evan Adams III (Peter Lawford) decides to try to talk Gladys into giving up her billboard space, but she refuses, even as he attempts to wine, dine, and date her. What she does finally agree to is giving up the space for six other spaces around the city with her name on them.

The movie was directed by George Cukor who also directed Holliday in The Marrying Kind in 1952. That movie was also set in New York City and Holliday payed a comedic actress as a naïve newlywed with an idealistic view of marriage. I have not seen this one yet, but hope to soon.

Of the film, George Cukor said in an interview with author Gavin Lambert , “The idea of becoming a great celebrity without being able to do anything is a very important notion. Publicity can really do it, too. Today it makes Presidents. It’s really the name of the game.”

Before starring in It Should Happen to You, Jack had acted for a brief time in television, which caused him to overact a bit. Cukor suggested, “less is more”, which Jack took to heart for that movie and future roles.

“I’ve learned my craft from that advice,” Lemmon said in a book about Cukor by Gene D. Phillips. “ It’s the hardest thing in the world to be simple, and the easiest thing in the world to act your brains out and make an ass of yourself.”

A bit of other tidbits about the movie and actors:

Holliday was already recognized as a unique comic actress in films since winning an Oscar for her hilarious portrayal of Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday (1950). She first played that role on Broadway.
Holliday was 30 pounds overweight when she started filming after having only recently given birth to her son. The extra weight sent her on a diet but also depressed her. She had a sense of humor about it, though, once sharing about a photoshoot for glamour shots for the Columbia publicity department and how she had to as the photographer what he’d been eating to get the sexy look he wanted. He said he’d been eating a thick, sizzling steak. “Judy’s mouth began to water and her eyes became liquid. “That’s the look I want!” the photographer shouted” (from Judy Holliday by Gary Carey).
Holliday and Lawford briefly dated during filming of the movie.
Garson Kanin’s screenplay for It Should Happen to You was originally titled A Name for Herself
In the early stages the movie was actually being developed as a script for Danny Kaye.

If you haven’t seen this one, search it up however you can, sit down with your favorite snack and beverage and just enjoy. You won’t regret it.

If you’re a bit of a romantic, I think you’ll especially like where the two actors sing “Let’s Fall In Love” together. What’s nice about this movie is that it has a little bit of everything. Humor, romance, and a bit of a serious message as well.

Read more about the film here: https://www.tcm.com/articles/87904/it-should-happen-to-you

Next up in my Autumn of Lemmon is: The Fortune Cookie with Walter Matthau and Jack.

My complete list of movies for this feature:

Phffft (September 18)

It Should Happen To You (September 24)

The Fortune Cookie (Oct 2)

The Apartment (Oct. 8)

My Fellow Americans (Oct. 15)

The Notorious Landlady (Oct. 22)

The Odd Couple (Oct. 29)

Irma Dey Deuce (November 5)

Save the Tiger (November 12)

Sources:

https://www.tcm.com/articles/87904/it-should-happen-to-you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Should_Happen_to_You

If you are interested in more reviews or blog posts about old movies, you can find a link to my past reviews at the top of the page and you can also visit The Classic Movie Blog Association.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot September 25

On September 24, 2026September 25, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam10 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it. Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

Sadly, things are absolutey crazy in my life right now with my parents health, my health, and my kid being sick with a cold so I couldn’t choose featured posts this week. Hopefully next week I can.

Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.

We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: Road Gypsies Val and Holland

A little about Val:

Hi 👋 We’re Val & Holland Redmill … living our Life Story as silver-haired Road Gypsies in our 5th wheel RV Home~40 months married & 60,000 miles traveled across America; covered in grace every Day & trying mightily not to lose our sanctification during the bad & ugly times. I post everywhere – about everything: and if what I post can help someone else, I’m glad for the experience. But from sunrise to sunset, we live our Life for US. Trusting Elohim every step of the way.

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.

We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube and Facebook.

Ten Books I want to read this autumn

On September 22, 2026September 22, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday14 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is Books on My Fall 2026 To-Read List (or Spring if you live in the Southern Hemisphere)

I’ve made a list of hopeful reads for Autumn, but it is just a list to choose books from, or a list of books I know I want to get to at some point, not a strict list.

I rarely stick to these lists but it helps me not to forget books I have that I want to read.

For the sake of the theme for Top Ten Tuesday, I have whittled my list down to ten, simply for this post. It’s much larger in my reading journal.

I am leaving off the books I’ve already ready this month and the books I will be reading for the Agatha Christie Challenge which are Endless Night (September), Sleeping Murder (October), and The Secret Adversary for November (because I’ve already read And Then There Were None).

The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson

Life Goes On by Philip Gulley

Miss Read: Storm in the Village by Miss Read

Clouds of Witnesses by Dorothy Sayers

Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart

Murder, She Wrote: A Fatal Feast by Donald Bain

For the most part, despite this list, I’ll probably just grab whatever I want to read at the time off my shelves, but I have fun making lists.

How about you?

If you are new to my blog, I just wanted to share with you that I co-host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea (no, you don’t have to drink tea to participate) with Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and Cat (Cat’s Wire). You can find a link to it at the top of the page. The link party is for all book-related posts from reviews and recommendations to …well, anything related to books at all. Including Top Ten Tuesday, if you want to link your top ten there too!

On Thursdays, I am part of the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot blog link party. You can find the latest one in the sidebar to the right under recent posts.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month : https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Book recommendation: Murder, She Wrote: A Slaying in Savannah

On September 21, 2026September 21, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading, everyday musings2 Comments

Here we are for yet another Murder, She Wrote installment written by Donald Bain.

This one was just as fun and engaging as previous ones I have read. Award winning? Nope but I don’t mind. It was still well-written and a good distraction from real life.

This is number 30th in the series. I have read about five of the books in the series, never in order and haven’t had an issue jumping right into the story. Each one is like a Murder, She Wrote episode.

In this one we are down south where Jessica has been asked to solve a 40-year old crime. What’s interesting isn’t that she’s been asked to solve such an old crime – it’s that she is asked to do so by a dead woman.

Tillie Mortelaine stipulated in her will that if Jessica wants $1 million for a literacy program the two women started, she will solve the murder of Tillie’s former finance Wanamaker Jones within a month.

Jessica takes the challenge on, despite the anger of family members of Tillie who believe the entire inheritance should come to them.

To make matters even more complicated, there was a ghost hunting couple and a manipulating conman living in Tillie’s mansion at the time of her very strange death. The woman was 91 but she fell down a large flight of stairs and Jessica isn’t sure that it was an accident. She soon wonders if she will have two murders to solve.

If you’re looking for a quick, intriguing read I would definitely recommend this one or any of the other Murder, She Wrote books I have read so far.

You can find links to reviews of some of them by searching in the side bar to the right.

_____

You can find my book reviews, movie reviews, and ramblings about the books I write on Instagram.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube and Facebook.

Sunday Bookends: A bookshop visit

On September 20, 2026September 20, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon15 Comments

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing.

What’s Been Occurring

Friday my family visited a small used bookstore near us for my birthday (which was yesterday) and I came home with a stack of books and spent a little too much money so I am not buying books in October. Plus, I am running out of room for physical books!

I finally felt good for once when we went because I often seem to have one ailment or another when we go. This time I could really explore which is probably why I discovered these two Gladys Taber books in the wild, one of them actually published in 1946.

I may or may not have made a little giddy squeal when I found the books, I might add. The kids rolled their eyes a bit but I said I was allowed to have my nerding out moment, considering my son and husband often have theirs in comic book or Warhammer stores.

I’m still reading my first Gladys Taber book, but I’m already collecting others because I have a feeling I will enjoy all of them.

This little bookshop has a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction, collectibles and non-collectibles.

There is a small new book section and a large section that covers one long wall and features lovely antique or classic books books.

She (the owner) also sells a wide variety of mass paperbacks, which have been discontinued as a book format, and usually I find a few Murder, She Wrote books but not this time, sadly. She also has a little cozy corner full of cozy mysteries and other mystery books and a small selection of Christian Fiction.

There are two rocking chairs on the front porch and three chairs inside where you can sit and read while your family shops.

The town where the bookshop is located in is a tiny tourist village which is quite busy from May until Labor Day. The village isn’t really busy, actually. The lake, cabins, and the inns/small hotels are.

This weekend the whole place was deserted and the other three little stores in the middle of town were closed. I guess the shop owners all decided this was the time to go on their own vacations.

Winter is a fairly relaxed time for the little village so I hope to go to the store again in winter and just explore every section even more.

Maybe even by myself, which is something I really don’t do very often.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain last night. I’ve been saying for a couple of years that I wanted to read it again (I was about 12 the last time I did) and I’m glad I finally did.

It’s a fun, adventurous story with plenty of excitement for people of any age.

And of course that coupled with all the humor was a nice distraction from life.

In Progress

I am also reading Endless Night by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Christie Reading Challenge. Christie wrote the book in 1968 and said it was her favorite book she’d written.

I plan to start The Two Mrs. Abbott’s by D.E. Stevenson this week as well.

Up Soon

I picked up some new books at the book store, including one by Rhys Bowen, who I have yet to read anything by, and another one by Phillip Gulley that is part of the Harmony series.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

Forever and a Death by Donald Westlake, Julie of the Wolves Treasurery by Jean Craighead George, Naughy in Nice by Rhys Bowen, The Runaway Quilt by Jenniver Chiaverini, The Tuscan child by Rhys Bowen, Life Goes On by Phillip Gullety, The Lighthouse by PD James, The Haunted Showboat by Carolyn Keene, My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber, Especially Spaniels by Gladys Taber, Murder at and Irish chipper by Carlene O’Connor.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

I read more than I watched last week but I did rewatch the movie Phffft for my Autumn of Jack Lemmon and last night my family and I rewatched Project Hail Mary, which my daughter and husband had not seen yet.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

I did not work a ton on Gladwynn Grant Goes Back to School but I did work on it a little. You can find a link to my other books at the bottom of this blog post.

Some Housekeeping

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Classic movie impression: Phffft (1954)

On September 19, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions, Movie Impresssions3 Comments

Welcome to the first week of my Autumn with Jack feature.

I watched the movie Phffft with Jack Lemmon, Judy Holliday, and Kim Novak on a whim at the beginning of this year.

Don’t ask me how to pronounce it and movie makers didn’t want you to try which is why their promotional materials announced: “Don’t say it – see it!”

This was my third Jack Lemmon film I’ve ever seen and it was quirky and fun one.

Released in 1954, the movie is about a married couple who divorce but fail at being divorced.

That sounds weird doesn’t it? Which is what makes the movie fun.

This movie came right after Jack’s breakthrough role in It Should Happen To You, also with Judy Holliday.

Phffft was directed by Mark Robson, for whatever that is worth to those of you who don’t know directors. I am one of those people much of the time.

We start the film with Jack doing something I commonly see in my house — reading a comic.

Nina is clearly annoyed with this activity and she’s been annoyed for a while. She’s trying to figure out how to tell him that she wants a divorce. Finally, she just blurts it out.

He says he’s been wanting a divorce too. Before we know it, our main characters are actually divorced and while they seem confident at times that they made the right decision there are other times you can hear the hesitation in their voice.

We learn about how these two met, how their marriage progressed, and eventually fell apart, through flashbacks as they talk to their friends or family.

They met when Robert helped Nina with her accounts. He was an attorney with the Navy at the time. She was a producer of radio and then television soap operas for NBC.

As Robert interacts with his scummy friend Charlie (Jack Carson), he reflects on his early days with Nina. Soon, though, Charlie is urging him to get out on the dating scene again, stop thinking about his ex-wife.

Charlie tries to date and one of those women he tries to date is portrayed by Kim Novak. That date is a disaster because she’s much younger than Robert, but also a bit of a ditz and a floozy. To me she was really putting on a Marilyn Monroe type act with him — breathy voice and coyness and all.

Throughout the movie, Nina and Robert keep running into each other, always trying to pretend they are doing better than they are while Nina’s mother and Charlie keep pushing them to get a new partner. They seem to think moving on with someone new will solve all of Robert and Nina’s problems.

If you want to know what ultimate becomes of the two, you’ll have to watch the movie.

Judy Holliday was sick with a viral infection during the film and later said she didn’t remember some of her scenes when she saw them later.

“It was the strangest sensation seeing the rushes of those scenes,” she told a magazine at the time. “I couldn’t even remember having done them and yet most of them were just fine. I’d made them when I was half-drugged, but I guess I just instinctively did the right thing.”

The movie was based on an unproduced play by George Axelrod, who also wrote The Seven Year Itch (1955) — which starred Marilyn and had many similarities but had been purchased by another studio.

This explains why Kim’s character was so much like Marilyn. The script called for it.

According to TCM, “Phffft made it to the screen first because The Seven Year Itch was still in production on Broadway, and under the terms of the movie agreement could not be filmed until the play’s run was over.”

Back to the title of the film, Jack had a specific memory to the final decision on the title.

“The thing I remember best about it was an emergency break that was called while we were filming a big ballroom scene,” he said. “[Director] Mark Robson had to shut everything down while he went to a front-office meeting. There must have been a hundred extras, plus all the technicians, just sitting around waiting for two and a half hours with money just pouring down the tubes. When Mark finally came back, he was in hysterics. I asked him what the meeting had been about, what was so urgent? ‘It was a meeting about a title change,’ he said. ‘They changed it from Phfffft to Phffft. They took out an f.'”

Have you seen this one? If not, I do recommend it for a fun escape.

Next up for my Autumn of Jack is It Should Happen to You, which was released the same year as Phffft and also sees Judy Holliday as his co-star, as I mentioned above.

Here is my full list of Jack Lemmon movies I am watching:

Phffft (September 18)

It Should Happen To You (September 24)

The Fortune Cookie (Oct 2)

The Apartment (Oct. 8)

My Fellow Americans (Oct. 15)

The Notorious Landlady (Oct. 22)

The Odd Couple (Oct. 29)

Irma Dey Deuce (November 5)

Save the Tiger (November 12)

Sources

https://www.tcm.com/articles/155198/phffft

https://letterboxd.com/film/phffft/reviews/rated/none

If you are interested in more reviews or blog posts about old movies, you can find a link to my past reviews at the top of the page and you can also visit The Classic Movie Blog Association.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot September 18

On September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam6 Comments

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

Hello! Is fall arriving where you are? The trees are just staring to change, barely, where I am and we are having some days of cooler weather. I like those chilly days where I can grab a blanket and curl up under it to read. I love when the leavs change color too so I am looking forward to that.

Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: Innerdialects

A little about Innerdialects.

I write because it is my way of appreciating life, people, and my nation. My nation inspires me in more ways than I can do justice to.

‘Innerdialects‘: because I believe we all speak our very own language, or the same language when the need arises. If you have survived an illness, a storm, an unusual event in your life, you will agree. I have understood life so much better through the eyes of a friend. I have also seen life through the perspective of a person not a friend. I have gained insights through those who love. I have also learned through those who hate, those who are different, and those who are indifferent.

Painting is so much easier: one is not as vulnerable. Words betray the way our heart went today, or that time we hit a new low. Or high. And I know vulnerability can be an indispensable vehicle if used to transport value. I write/ paint from Reality: and some things between.

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

Apple Street Cottage solved a problem with a cute fairy house!

I loved Joanne’s late summer tour of her garden.

It was fun to learn about Debra’s favorite music.

I loved looking at some of Two Chicks and a Mom’s favorite fall posts.

Leslie’s August review reminded me of mine — full of ups and downs.

I love Cat’s Lego phone box!

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

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Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube and Facebook.

5 fun, light-hearted classic movie suggestions for you to watch

On September 15, 2026September 15, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions12 Comments

If you’re looking for a few fun classic movie suggestions, I’ve got them.

Here are five movies that will entertain you and give you some laughs.

Without Love

Without Love (1945) is a fun, quirky movie starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

This was one of 9 films made by the pair between 1942 and 1967.

Most of their movies were romantic comedies like this one.

Spencer plays a scientist named Patrick Jamison who is down on his luck and looking for a place to stay.

Katharine is a widow named Jamie who has a house she needs a caretaker for and hires Patrick to fill the position. They both learn they have a love for science and agree to marry to meet their “patriotic duty.” Both have been hurt in the past, though, and decide to keep the relationship platonic.

Lucille Ball plays Katharine’s friend, Kitty Tremble.

Jamie and Patrick are both very scientific, logical, and serious people who can’t let love get in the way. So, instead, they focus on working on experiments, including one involving velocity.

Parallel to their lack of romance is Lucille’s relationship with Keenan Wynn, where love is blooming even though Kitty isn’t sure she wants it to.

This one is currently streaming on Tubi and Plex for free with commercials and is avaialable for rent on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.

Classic Movie Impression: Without Love (1945)

My Favorite Wife

This movie had an interesting concept – if not a bit crazy. Hopefully, you’ll be able to tell as I begin to write about this movie, that this is meant to be a comedy. In fact it was defined back then and now as a screwball comedy.

A man wants to get married, but before he can, he must declare his first wife Ellen (Irene Dunne) dead. She’s been missing at sea and was believed drowned seven years earlier.

It turns out, however, that she is not dead, and she returns while Nick Arden (Cary Grant) is on his honeymoon with wife number two, Bianca (Gail Patrick).

Nick is of course shocked and now has no idea what to do because he has two wives.

It turns out Ellen was stranded on an island all those years and it would have been lonely for her if it wasn’t for Steve Burkett (Randolph Scott) who was stranded with her.

That’s a fact she doesn’t immediately admit to her husband and a fact he’s not real pleased with, even though he’s remarried.

That new wife, by the way, is not a very nice woman.

Oh and don’t forget that Nick and Ellen have two children together and all of that will have to be figured out as well.

To break the news to Nick, Ellen heads to his honeymoon, which was the same hotel and place they had their honeymoon, I might add. How tacky is that of him?!

As the movie goes on we the viewers now have to figure out who we want Nick to end up with.

This one is currently streaming on several services, most for a rental fee, including YouTube, Hulu, GoogleTV, Amazon Prime and AppleTV.

Spring of Cary: My Favorite Wife

The Talk of The Town

I loved this movie and while I always love Cary Grant, I once again loved Ronald Colman who I first saw in The Prisoner of Zenda.

This movie starts with a fire at a factory where a man dies. Cary, portraying Leopold Dilg, is arrested for arson and murder.

Soon he’s breaking out of jail and escaping through the woods on a rainy night. He makes his way in the dark toward a small house while dogs hunt him down. The name of the house is Sweetbrook and there is a woman inside getting it ready — maybe for a guest.

Leopold breaks in the door, startling the woman.

“Miss Shelley,” he says. “Please…let me…” And then he faints and falls down the stairs.

Miss Shelley (Jean Arthur) wakes him up with a bucket full of water and he asks if she can stay at the house, which he knows is a rental. She tells him he can’t stay because she knows he has escaped jail. There is a knock on the door before she can finish explaining and she tells him to run upstairs and hide.

There is a Professor Michael Lightcap (Colman) at the door and he’s standing in the rain. He reminds her that he’s rented the house out and he’s here to stay. Miss Shelley, whose first name is Nora, panics because Leopold is hiding upstairs and she doesn’t want the professor to find him.

Things will get more complicated as she makes up an excuse to stay in the house overnight to make sure the professor doesn’t find Leopold.

Complications just keep arising as Nora offers to become the professor’s secretary and housekeeper during his stay, a senator arrives to tell Professor Lightcap he’s up for nomination to the United States Supreme Court, and Leopold walks down one morning to argue about the role of the law in society and Nora has to introduce him as the gardener.

This is a non-stop movie full of hilarious mix-ups, near misses, and a love-triangle that won’t be resolved until the very last minute, literally, of the movie.

As I said above, I loved this movie.

This one is currently streaming on Tubi and FuboTV for free with commercials and is avaialable for rent on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, and Fandango.

Classic Movie Impressions: The Talk of the Town (1942)

Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby is absolute chaos and craziness. Everyone except poor Cary Grant is off their rocker and it is glorious.

The movie stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. (Yes, there is a theme going on here with actors and actresses……this was not on purpose. I just realized I did that when I hit this one. Oops.)

Katharine is absolutely batty in this film which makes it all even more hilarious.

Cary Grant’s character (Dr. David Huxley) is a paleontologist who accidentally runs into Katherine Hepburn’s character (Susan Vance) a totally nuts socialite who immediately latches on to Cary and decides she’s going to become obsessed with him and make his life a living hell.

In the beginning of the movie, David has been building a dinosaur skeleton for years and the last piece of it has just been found. He and his fiancé – Alice Swallow – are thrilled that the intercostal clavical has been found and will be arriving soon in the mail. Alice – a very uptight, proper women who says the point of their marriage will be to only advance his research and not for love — also knows that more money needs to be secured for his research so she tells David he must go golfing with an important doner.

This is where he meets crazy Susan who tries to steal his car, takes off with him riding on the footboard while he tries to tell her it is his car, and then leads him on various crazy adventures. He runs into her again at a dinner where he is trying to secure a donation from a woman named Elizabeth Randall who is considering a $1 million donation.

The scenes at the dinner party include this a hilarious scene where Katherine’s dress gets ripped and she and Cary have to make their way through a crowded dining room with Cary against her back to make sure nothing is scene. It is so classic and hilarious and always has me laughing.

This one is currently streaming on for rent/buy on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, YouTube, and Fandango.

Comfy, Cozy Cinema: Bringing Up Baby

The Court Jester

The Court Jester (1955) with Angela, Danny Kaye, and Basil Rathbone is a musical/comedy.

The main words to describe this movie are silliness, ridiculousness, and peak Danny Kaye moments.

First, a bit of the plot with a description from Google:

“Former carnival performer Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) and maid Jean (Glynis Johns) are assigned to protect the infant royal heir from tyrannical King Roderick I (Cecil Parker). While Jean takes the baby to an abbey, Hawkins gains access to the court by impersonating the king’s jester, unaware that the jester is really an assassin hired by scheming Sir Ravenhurst (Basil Rathbone). When Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury), falls for Hawkins, a witch secretly aids him in becoming a knight.”

This film is just a lot of craziness caused by misunderstandings, misdirection, and generalized oopsies.

We start the movie by learning that an entire royal family was killed so that the current King, King Roderick I, could take the throne. Actually, though, the entire family wasn’t killed, according to rumors anyhow. The rumors say an infant survived and bears upon his bottom a birthmark of a purple pimpernel.

The rumors further say the child is being cared for in the forest by an “elusive, dashing outlaw” known as the black fox. As if to prove these rumors, one of the king’s men is killed as they are riding near the forest and a note attached to the arrow announces that the child is alive and The Black Fox has him.

Adventure ensues thereafter.

This one is currently streaming on for rent/buy on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, YouTube, and Fandango.

Summer of Angela: The Court Jester (with some spoilers but not the ending)

Have you seen any of these? If not, I recommend finding them for a night of silliness and relaxation.

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