"Murder on the Orient Express" released 1974

Agatha Christie's classic novel, Murder on the Orient Express, published in 1934 was brought to the screen November 24, 1974.  It boasted an all-star cast that had 58 Academy Award nominations and 14 wins.  The movie itself won an Oscar.  Ingrid Bergman won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, beating Madeline Kahn for her performance in Blazing Saddles.  It had been nominated for five other categories.  

Murder on the Orient Express starred Albert Finney (as Hercule Poirot), Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins and Michael York.

It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Original Score.  It was the 11th highest grossing movie of 1974 and received a 90% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. 

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" released 1989

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third installment of Steven Spielberg's and George Lucas' Indiana Jones franchise, was released May 24, 1989.  Harrison Ford starred in the title role and Sean Connery played his father. 

It became the highest grossing movie world-wide in 1989.  It won an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing.  It was nominated for Best Sound and John Williams was nominated for his original score.

Sean Connery was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as Professor Henry Jones.

My favorite movies 1979

My favorite movies from 1979, another year with some great films, too many to choose just one so I picked several favorites and one guilty pleasure.

Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright.  It was the first horror movie that I sat through and enjoyed.  It created a monster (no pun intended) as now I enjoy horror films.



Star Trek: The Motion Picture starring everybody from the original series.  We had waited so long for a movie version of our favorite television show and finally got this.  Not bad but it wasn't good.  I often suspect they got someone who didn't like Star Trek to write the script.



1941 starring everybody.  I love this movie even though it's generally considered to be not funny.  And it's the only non-science fiction movie on this list!  Wow!



Walt Disney's The Black Hole starring Maximillian Schell, Yvette Mimieux, Tony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine.  I think Disney tried to capitalize on the whole Star Wars trend, and this was the result.  However, I like the non-Roddenberry, non-Lucas approach to space travel/exploration.



Guilty pleasure: Meteor starring Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.  I know it was a huge star-studded flop but I'm a sucker for disaster movies.  Now it's campy fun!

My favorite movies - 1974

1974 is another year that I cannot pick one favorite out of so many good ones, so I chose my top 4 plus an "honorable mention".  In just these five films, I think everybody in Hollywood made it onto the screen.  Each one has a stellar cast, whether comedy, drama or action.  How many actors and actresses can we name that did NOT appear in one of these!

Blazing Saddles starring Mel Brooks, Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn, Gene Wilder and everybody else.



Young Frankenstein starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and everybody else.




The Towering Inferno starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway and everybody else.



Earthquake starring Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Ava Gardner and everybody else.



Murder on the Orient Express (honorable mention) starring Michael York, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall and everybody else.

"Meteor" released 1979

I actually enjoyed this movie, although it was panned by critics and ignored by audiences.  The Oscar-nominated movie Meteor, released October 19, 1979, features a 5-mile diameter meteor "Orpheus" heading toward Earth. The U.S. and the (then) Soviet Union have to work together, using their nuclear weapon satellites in orbit to destroy the meteor before it destroys Earth.  Prior to the meteor's arrival, 'splinters' hit first, destroying Hong Kong and New York City.

It had an all-star cast, including Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden and Martin Landau.

Pure 70's cheese!