So not only did I watch way more movies in June than I did in previous months this year, I also watched a season and a half of Supergirl! The CW has most of my favorite shows (Riverdale, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane The Virgin), I definitely recommend trying their shows. A good deal of what I watched this month was part of TCM’s celebration of Pride month. It was so wonderful to see gay men and lesbians who worked in Old Hollywood get a piece of the limelight. I also saw a movie in theaters that is on a 30th anniversary restoration tour and my life may never be the same. To see what movie that is and everything else I watched in June, proceed past the cut!

1. Wonder Woman
2. Never Let Me Go (1953)
3. Trouble for Two (1936)
4. Just a Gigolo (1931)
5. The Vanishing Virginian
6. No Time for Love
7. There Goes My Heart
8. Storm at Daybreak
9. Words and Music (1948)
10. Paris Can Wait
11. To Sir, With Love
12. Cleopatra Jones
13. For Pete’s Sake
14. Summer Stock
15. The Enchanted Cottage
16. Split Second (1953)
17. Stallion Road
18. Rich, Young and Pretty
19. June Bride
20. The Small Back Room (Hour of Glory)
21. Girl of the Port
22. Wakefield
23. Desire (1936)
24. Rancho Notorious
25. The Song of Songs
26. The Seventh Sin
27. Sincerely Yours
28. Les Girls
29. One Crowded Night
30. Death In Venice
31. I Could Go On Singing
32. Victim
33. Maurice
34. Gentleman’s Fate
35. Devotion (1946)
36. Les soeurs Brontë (The Brontë Sisters)
37. Ride the Wild Surf
38. Return of the Secaucus Seven
39. Lianna
40. The Brother from Another Planet
41. Casa de los babys

1880s: 0
1890s: 0
1900s: 0
1910s: 0
1920s: 0
1930s: 8
1940s: 9
1950s: 9
1960s: 4
1970s: 4
1980s: 3
1990s: 0
2000s: 1
2010s: 3

Here are some highlights from June’s viewing, including my favorite 2017 release so far, and what will most likely end up being my favorite new-to-me film of 2017 (something’s gonna have to really knock my socks off to beat it).

Wonder Woman, 2017 (dir. Patty Jenkins)

I really didn’t know what to expect from this. I love Wonder Woman, but I am not a big fan of comic book films aside from the first Captain America film and Agent Carter. When I saw this was going to be set in WWI, I thought well maybe then. . .and boy howdy yes maybe then! It definitely had the elements that I love about those Marvel properties and much like them, you can see the filmmakers did their research and have referenced several WWI films (there’s piece of Wings and The Big Parade among others in here for sure). I saw this twice and I cried both times I was so awestruck. It’s tender and exhilarating and heartfelt and everything I could want Wonder Woman to be. I look forward to more!

I Could Go On Singing, 1963 (dir. Ronald Neame)

Wow! This is maybe Judy Garland’s best performance? Or at least up there with A Star Is Born. It’s also her final film, so it’s really heartbreaking to watch. She and Dirk Bogarde give their all in this tender, bittersweet story of two people who just can’t make it work.

Victim, 1961 (dir. Basil Dearden)

Speaking of Dirk Bogarde films this film from British director Basil Deardon follows a closeted gay man who for fear of being blackmailed (it was still illegal in England to be gay when it was made) doesn’t help and ex-lover out of jam. When the lover then commits suicide, he tries to track down the blackmailers and get justice for him. This all comes at the expense (maybe?) of his marriage and possibly his career. This groundbreaking film was the first use of the word “homosexual” in an English language film. Also, in case you didn’t already know this, star Dirk Bogarde was gay, though he remained closeted throughout his life.

Maurice, 1987 (dir. James Ivory)

Okay, so this movie changed my life. CHANGED. MY. LIFE. I haven’t been a huge fan of Merchant/Ivory films in the past, but I saw this trailer and it was Pride Month, so I decided a sad gay film was in the cards. What I got was a bittersweet, but decidedly not sad film. I don’t want to spoil it here, but if you don’t mind being spoiled please watch my review on YouTube and see what pure joy looks like. This film is everything.

Lianna, 1983 (dir. John Sayles)

Can’t be Pride Month without a lesbian film! This was so great. One of the best films about coming out and coming to terms with your own sexuality I’ve ever seen. While there is a sexual/romantic relationship at the heart of this film, it’s really about Lianna’s relationship with herself and with her friends as she comes to a realization about her own self. Cannot recommend this film enough!

So that was June. I’m currently on vacation, so movie watching in July will start of with a slow start, but we’re launching Hitchcock 50 on TCM this month and adding a ton of things to FilmStruck that I’ve been dying to see, so it should be a great month!