Silver Screen Dream

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2011-06-23T18:48:00.001-07:00

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My Adventure Today

2010-05-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'm back! I'm done with school (for this year), and I spent my first week of summer vacation totally vegged. Now I'm ready to get back to work! Today, that meant a little day trip up to Oklahoma City, followed by a drive to nearby El Reno, Oklahoma. More about El Reno tomorrow.
My first destination was Memorial Park Cemetery in OKC, because I had found this little girl on findagrave.com:

What an incredible testament to Ginger's star power in 1940, what I consider the peak of her career. Unfortunately, little Ginger died when she was four, and her little brother died on the same day:

I'm going to search some records to see if I can find what happened to them. Their mother is also next to them, but she passed in December of last year.

Tomorrow...something even more Ginger-related! Who would have thought that all this stuff could have come out of Central Oklahoma?!

Tornado!!!

2010-05-10T18:29:00.001-07:00

A Tornado just went over me. Seriously.

This one, to be exact. Obviously, I'm ok. No major damage, but it threw some cars near where I was (at work). I babysit for a family who lives half a mile from Lake Thunderbird, and the twister separated the marina from the dock. It's in the middle of the lake now. Growing up in Oklahoma, this is far from my first tornado, but they rarely hit my hometown. They frequently hit central Oklahoma, which is where I am now for school. It's a whole new ball game now.

A return to film blogging

2010-05-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have really slacked off this semester on this blog. I wish I could say that I'm sorry, but it's what had to happen. I was working 2 jobs, had an internship at the OKC Museum of Art, and 14 hours of school. What little free time I had was spent completely vegged in front of the TV. I have been watching the same dozen films at bedtime, because they are a comfort to me. The only new movies I have seen recently were in class. I haven't even watched most of the movies from GingerMarch, and here we are, May 1st! I hope you understand.

A couple of days ago, I realized that I had not posted a true review or analysis of a film on this blog in several months. Now that we are coming up on the first anniversary of my entrance into the blogosphere.

In my next year of blogging, I promise a return to my roots. The early stages of this blog served as great practice and experience, especially since my Writing About Film course completely failed me. I found an instructional book about Film Writing the other day at Goodwill, and I plan on designing an independent course for myself based on it.

Have some patience in me, and I promise to improve.

-Maggie

Let's continue

2010-04-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a lot better about everything, so let's continue.
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Oy, I don't really know. There isn't really a quote that defines my life or anything. I guess pretty much anything John Waters says is pretty accurately my favorite quote. He heard another woman say this on the street:
She's needy, she's nasty, she's a bitch. But that's who she is!
I like it quite a lot.

Just a thought...

2010-04-20T21:59:00.001-07:00

You guys may be "Gingerologists", but I'm a GINGINEER!

hiatus

2010-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but I've got to take a viref hiatus. I came down with a stomach bug today, and in a very (pardon my french) bullshit move, I was consequently fired from my job. I need a few days to figure out what I'm going to do for the next three weeks.

-Maggie

Day 4: Your favorite book

2010-04-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

This will probably shock you guys, but once again, I will be giving you multiple answers.

Fiction: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The best book I read in high school, and the only one which I actually completely read (I definitely sparknoted Crime and Punishment, Jane Eyre, Madame Bovary, and Invisible Man). It is awesome, funny, and scarily relevant, given the fact that it was written in the 20s, yet a disturbing amount of technology mentioned in the book is at least partially developed. To reduce it to one word: Clever.

Autobiography: Of course, Ginger: My Story. Chock-full of detail you don't see in other bios or autobios, especially compared to Katharine Hepburn. I recommend reading it and listening to the (abridged) audiobook read by Ginger. It feels like she's really talking to you.

I also really enjoyed Born Standing Up by Steve Martin, one of my favorite comedians. I chose the audiobook route on this one, because Steve Martin has that uncanny ability to capture tone so perfectly that you can be simultaneously laughing your ass off and crying your eyes out.

Reference: The RKO Story by Rick Jewell. Duh, it covers all of the A-Budget pictures made by RKO with a nice but not overbearing amount of detail. It stays on my coffee..ottoman (it's not exactly a table) always.

Day 3: Your favorite television program

2010-04-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

My favorite TV show is, without a doubt, 30 Rock on NBC. It tells the story of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), her boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), and the cast of TGS with Tracy Jordan. The show was originally based on Tina Fey's experience as head writer of SNL, but it has since grown into its own entity, and it's sublime. In fact, I can attribute some of my stress-related acne in the past month to the fact that new episodes of 30 Rock have been sporadic. What I love the most about this show is the resemblance between Liz Lemon and myself. I think Tina Fey has installed surveillance in my apartment or something. She must have seen me drinking white wine straight out of the 3-liter jugs I buy it in.

(Did you catch the To Kill a Mockingbird reference in that one?)

You can watch 30 Rock Thursday nights on NBC at 9:30 Eastern, right after The Office. You can also watch the first 3 seasons on Netflix, and get caught up on most of this season on Hulu. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Day 2-your favorite movie

2010-04-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Asking Maggie what her favorite movie is is like asking a parent which is her favorite child. Here are a few of my favorites, but it really depends on my mood.

1. Stage Door. I think it will always be my all-time favorite.

2. The Awful Truth. Probably the best comedy ever made. Irene's giggle is so infectious!

3. The Philadelphia Story. Seamless plot, hilarious, wonderful job by all of the actors, and the perfect ending. That's what I like about all three of these movies. They're seamless: not a slow second, they flow perfectly. Perhaps it's because all three came from the stage.
There are no good embeddable videos for this movie, so you'll just have to go and watch it all. There.

A few things

2010-04-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

First, I wanted to let you guys know that you should check out your local library for star biographis on tape. The autobiographies are often read by the actor, and they're great. I'm listening to Katharine Hepburn's "Me" (what else?) right now, and it's fascinating. I don't think she's actually reading anything (I haven't read the book in about a year), it just sounds like a one-sided conversation (which is probably the most you could ever get out of Kate). Anyway, it's a great thing if you do a lot of driving, it takes me 2 or 3 days to finish each book.

Also, I've decided to copy Kate Gabrielle and do this 30-day daily post/quiz thing. I've been really bad about blogging regularly, and hopefully this will get me back on track. So here goes:

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

My favorite song. That's a tough one. I think I'm going to present my favorite songs within a few genres, because I can't compare classical to jazz or rock.

1. Rhapsody in Blue: I can, and often do, listen to this piece multiple times a day. This piece gives me goosebumps, even on the hottest Oklahoma summer days. Here is Gershwin playing it the piano solo. My favorite version is the Chicago Symphony with James Levine, but Gershwin's playing is sentimental.

When my Uncle heard that I love Rhapsody so much, he gave me a CD with this piece. The Cuban Overture premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in 1936. I also visualize Fred and Ginger dancing to it when I hear it, and I often find myself dancing to it as well. I always see complete stories in Gershwin's compositions. They almost always involve someone arriving in a place, being enveloped in the culture, missing home, then reveling in the location once more . You can even hear a transposed reference to Rhapsody in Blue in the middle of An American in Paris, which describes how much he misses New York.

Here's a much more modern song by Husband-and-wife band Mates of State. I love them. I saw them last summer in Tulsa, and I hope they come back this year. I can't get enough!

Finally, another Gershwin song, probably my favorite standard. Without the intro, it's a great song. With the intro (which you will hear in this version), it tears your heart out and stomps all over it, but in a good way.

Fred Astaire - They Can't Take That Away From Me
Uploaded by beautifulcynic.

Le Tour de Ginger

2010-04-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

On the Thursday of my week in LA, I was fortunate enough to have Lauren accompany on an adventure I christened "Le Tour de Ginger". We began the trip with a long drive up to 1605 Gilcrest Drive...aka la casa Rogers:

What they don't tell you is that it's on the side of a MOUNTAIN! We went up several switchback roadsd to get there, and they are very narrow and sharp. I can see why she didn't serve alcohol at her parties. Her house is the second to last on the road, so the view is great. Ginger said in her autobiography that on a clear day you could see Catalina Island.
There's about a 5-foot white picket fence around the property now, so this is really the best view of the front. It was really bright that day (as I assume it is every day in LA), and I forgot to fiddle with the settings on my camera. Being in such a daze as I was, I didn't even think to look at how the came out.

The driveway and side entrance.

Front gate. It's where the top bush is in the first picture.

This may look like the worst photo ever taken, but if you've ever seen a picture of Ginger playing tennis, then you might be more excited:

See the gate right behind her left elbow? That's the gate in the picture! The gate around the tennis court is still up, even though (in my humble opinion) it's about the ugliest thing ever. Pretty much every picture you will see of Ginger playing tennis has this gate in it somewhere:

I peeked through that large crack in the fence on the right of my picture, and I could see everything! The pool is still sparkling with blue tile, the tennis court is no longer clay, but what can you do, and the pool house still has all of its crazy decorations:

Lauren and I almost summoned up the courage to knock on the door. Almost. Maybe next time.

After we slid back down the mountain, we got on the highway, destined for Chatsworth, which is Northeast of LA. Here is what we saw:

What no one ever told me, is that Walter (Lela's dad) is buried just above them. Here is a picture of Walter, Lela, and Ginger on the set of the Major and the Minor (so cute!):

That's all for know. I'll post some pictures of me at the grave tomorrow. Ta Ta!

Major Breakthrough: or the new meaning of my life.

2010-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, I am so sorry for not blogging for the past couple of weeks. I haven't even had the opportunity to tell you guys stories about my trip. I was planning on doing that today, until I came across this photograph:

You're thinking "wait a second, that's the I Used to Be Color Blind dress. Why is she standing next to giant mushrooms? What the hell is going on? This doesn't happen in Carefree!" Well, leave it to your super sleuth friend Maggie to explain everything.

Here is a scene written on the 24th of June, 1938:

Amanda is still asleep. Her bedroom has been turned in to a MACABRE FOREST, the flowers, mushrooms, etc. of which are gigantic.

The crying of a hoot-owl awakens her. As she gets to her feet and walks away wonderingly, we see the FULL SIZE FOREST. The thunderous breaking of a twig stops her. She looks off-to see Dr. Flagg, who comes toward her. He is a giant of a man, but normal in proportion to the rest of the Forest. He looks like a typical, crazy scientist; there is a mad light in his eyes. In one hand he carries a large magnifying glass. Around his neck is a stethoscope and, under his other arm, he carries a large velvet box.

His eyes open with interest, and he utters a menacing sound as he clumps his way toward Amanda.

Amanda, frightened, runs from him, until she is finally forced to stop by the edge of a black abyss.

Dr. Flagg grins horribly as he picks her up in his hand. He opens the velvet case, and we see a number of girls, pinned like butterflies, squirming in the box.

From his coat lapel he removes a large pin, and is about to make a specimen of Amanda when she leaps off the palm of his hand, swings from the stethoscope which hangs round his neck and, like a trapeze artiste, lands on his shoulder-to deliver a violent kick at Dr. Flagg’s chin.

When he turns to her, she kisses him on the lips; then jumps on to a giant mushroom, to laugh up at him.

A peculiar look comes into Dr. Flagg’s eyes: it’s love-in a gigantic way-and, as the result of the kiss-which makes all things equal-he becomes her size.

Now, hand in hand, they wander through the Forest until they come to the gorgeous romantic castle, surrounded by lily-pads the size of dance floors and, in the distance, a rainbow-

Whereupon Dr. Flagg sings “Color Blind”, at the conclusion of which they do their dance, utilizing slow motion, and the Dunning process. The dance concludes with Dr. Flagg kissing Amanda. The scene dissolves back into

Amanda’s Bedroom-as she embraces her pillow.

First of all: Yes, it's really weird. I literally laughed as I was looking at this in the reading room at UCLA. According to the budget and production notes, there were women hired for the dream sequence, and costumes were budgeted. I figured it had been scrapped before filming, because it would have been quite a technical feat, especially if they were still considering Technicolor for the dream sequence (unfortunately, I still don't know when that idea was abandoned).

This picture confirms that the set was constructed, and at least part of this scene must have been filmed. If a final shooting script existed (or survived-the last complete script at UCLA is from January of 38), then maybe I could figure out how much of it they shot based on Argyle Nelson's daily reports. Unfortunately, that part will remain a mystery, unless I can get my hands on that missing footage. This is what I'm going to focus on until I find it, or find documentation that it was destroyed. It's got to be somewhere. If anyone has any ideas of where to look, please share. I'm planning on contacting Ginger's assistant Roberta, perhaps Fred's daughter, and maybe even the Sandrich family. I have a feeling Turner will not be any help, even though it could very well be in his hands.

We'll see, and I will keep you updated!

2010-03-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

Karen at Bobbins and Bombshells was nice enough to give me the "You're going place, baby" blog award. Adorable!

*Choose the award logo you like the best. Include it in your post.

*Pass the award on to 10 bloggers that inspire you in that post with links. (I'm pulling a Millie and changing the rule to 5! cue evil laugh)
*Of course, let them know!
*And don't forget to link back to who your received the award from. Oh, that would be me!

My inspiring 5 are.....
Millie at ClassicForever. Always creative and interesting posts.
Ivan at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. If not only for that header image (including Franklin Pangborn!)
Sally at Flying Down to Hollywood. What detail, especially in the dancer countdown.
Nicole at Vintage Film Nerd. Reviewing a film every day takes a lot of work!
Rupert at Classic Movies Digest. He provides us with a great variety of posts, something I think all of us film bloggeurs need a little more of.

Fangirl on the loose!

2010-03-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

70 years before...

Tomorrow I will return with a chronicle of Le Tour de Ginger, which included a harrowing trip up a huge hill to 1605 Gilcrest Drive, and much farther north to Chatsworth.

My return and subsequent 21st birthday!

2010-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

We poured in to snowy and icy Oklahoma early yesterday morning, and the ice made us even more depressed about leaving sunny L.A.
This week is going to be crazy because I will be trying to finish this paper about Carefree, but I will try to come back as often as I can and post little tidbits about Carefree that you will find interesting. I copied some scenes from old script drafts word for word, but I'm pretty sure they are copyright protected, so I can't share them in their entirety. Here's the tidbit for today, from the production files, which logged Ginger's daily punctuality (lol):
July 5th: call time 9 AM, arrived 10:10 AM. Also an hour late from lunch. What was going on that day?

All of my pictures are on my facebook. You're welcome to friend me (just let me know you're from here), or here is a link for the public album.

Also, today is my 21st birthday! Not much excitement so far because I'm watching some kids who are particularly talkative, but later tonight my friends are taking me out for sushi and drinks.

Top Hat and Roberta at the Egyptian Theater

2010-03-15T00:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I saw Top Hat and Roberta tonight at Grauman's historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. It was a surreal experience, to watch these movies only blocks away from 780 Gower street, where they were shot.
The applause at the beginning of Top Hat brought me to tears, and I had trouble maintaining my composure through the rest of the double-feature. Everyone clapped after each musical number! It was great being in a room with tons of other people who loved these films, and I was really happy that two of my friends accompanied me and enjoyed them as well.
Tomorrow, I'm off to UCLA to start my research on Carefree! I will be handling the actual documents, including script drafts and production papers. I can't wait!

Today is the day!

2010-03-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

My friend Paige and I are leaving at 12 for Los Angeles. See you on the other side!

Sandra Bullock: The Ginger Connection

2010-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Sandra Bullock's Best Actress win is already considered by many to be undeserved. I see a strong connection to the 1941 Oscar ceremony, when none other but Ginger Rogers was awarded her little gold man for Kitty Foyle.
Both Rogers and Bullock underwent surprising transformations in their persona before their respective wins. As we all know, Ginger began as a wise-cracking chorine, then she became an art deco ingenue and a screwball comedy queen. Then in 1939, the hair went dark and two films, Primrose Path and Kitty Foyle, both about poor youmg women working through adversity, surprised the academy enough to earn her an Oscar. But her win is not enough. What makes Ginger's win so special is that she beat the following legends of the screen:
Martha Scott in Our Town
Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
Bette Davis in The Letter
and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story

Those four nominated performances are some of the best in Hollywood history, not just in the filmography of 1940. Many people call this award a major upset, and I can see their point. Kitty Foyle is a pretty forgettable film for someone who isn't a Ginger maniac.

Similarly, The Blindside will probably not be remembered as a hallmark of filmmaking in 70 years. I haven't seen it, but from what I hear it was a good film that certainly made a lot of money (just like Kitty Foyle).
The important thing to learn from these two awards given 70 years apart is that the Academy often looks at the arc of a career or a persona. They saw that Sandra Bullock brought something new out of herself that we did not see in Hope Floats, Practical Magic, or even this year in All About Steve. They see when a performance is special, not just an actor, and I like that. Gabourey Sidibe will win an Oscar, and if not she will be remembered as the woman who always should have won. The same goes with Carey Mulligan. They are both at the beginning of their careers and have nothing but stars to come. They will be the Katharine, the Bette of their time. Give Ginger her chance to shine!

ugh.

2010-03-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

I think my illness is relapsing. I felt ok today thanks to the wonder that is Dayquial, then after an evening nap, I woke up feeling about 2% alive.

There is one positive thing that has come out of my illness: I broke my film record. You may remember if you are a long-term follower that I attending an all-night horror film festival over the summer, in which we watched 5 films between 10:00 pm and 8:00 am.
Monday, I watched eight films. That's right, eight. It started at about 2:00 am when I couldn't sleep because I can't breathe very well, and continued between naps until about 11:00 pm.
1. The Princess Diaries: I know, but I actually like this movie for some reason. It makes me feel good.
2. The Awful Truth: I watch this at bedtime about 3-4 times a week, but this time I didn't fall asleep, like I usually do about when Lucy and Daniel sing "Home on the Range". that led me to..
3. My Favorite Wife: another bedtime favorite. I don't like watching movies that are new to me at bedtime because I always fall asleep.
4. Once Upon a Honeymoon: another bedtime staple that I watched completely. It's still weird, but I like it.
5. Blonde Venus: The only film that was new to me. I had to watch it for my Films of the 30s course (don't et me started on how much I dislike that class). It's the first film we have watched in the class that I have mostly liked, but I don't think it will make it in to my regular viewing rotation.
6. Louis CK: Chewed Up: I also love stand-up comedy, and the way this guy makes fun of his kids leaves me rolling on the floor.
7. Bringing Up Baby: this one usually knocks me out, and I slept through the middle, but actively watched the beginning and end. Then I thought about watching it again with the commentary, but I flipped the DVD over and watched....
8. The Philadelphia Story. Fantastic.

Apparently Cary Grat is the best medicine, or so I hoped.

That was my monday! Sometimes being sick isn't so bad, except for the fact that I wouldn't mind dying right now...
Back to bed!

Illness and the numbers four

2010-03-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

I am sorry for the delays in my blogging, but I have been sick. Two weeks ago I had stomach flu, and now I either have tonsillitis, step throat, or a sinus infection. Either way, I really need to build up my immune system, because I know the kids I take care of are carrying tons of germs.
Also, I got in a very minor wreck yesterday, just enough to piss me off. I had just backed out of my parking space when the lady across from me backed out right in to my rear bumper. Now I have a lovely dent just above my right rear tire.

Anyway, here are number 4...a very appropriate pair:
The original "tall, dark and handsome". Known as "The King", Clark Gable was at his best playing the suave and sneaky man. What I like best about him was his ability to deliver any line through a smile, in effect, "killing 'em with kindness". He is one of the only people who could insult you, and make you enjoy every minute of it! Despite his big ears and crooked teeth, his voice and the way he carried himself remains very appealing. It also helps that he played one of the most desireed characters ever created, Rhett Butler.
Favorite Roles: Rhett in Gone with the Wind, Peter in It Happened One Night

Apparently, this song brought the usually tough Gable to tears when it was premiered at his birthday party.

Appropriately, my #4 actress is the love of Gable's life, the Profane Angel herself, the wonderful Carole Lombard. She had a wonderful gift for comedy both on screen and in real life. I just finished a great book called "Gable and Lombard" that chronicles their lives and their relationship, and I burst out laughing at each story of Carole's practical jokes. I would have loved to have spent time with her and attend some of her "fun parties". One of my favorite stories of one of her pranks is her arrival to a party celebrating someone's release from mental care. Appropriately, Carole arrived in an ambulance, and was wheeled in on a stretcher, wearing a straitjacket. Her spirit is infectious, and even though she died for too early, she left us with hundreds of reasons to smile.
On a side-note, Carole's beaded gown from No Man of Her Own will be one of the many costumes on display at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art's exhibit Sketch to Screen.
Favorite Roles: Irene in My Man Godfrey, Connie in No Man of Her Own, Hazel in Nothing Sacred

3:51 is the funniest part. (obviously, spoilers if you haven't seen the movie)

FIIIIVE GOLDEN RINGS!!!

2010-02-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

First of all, let us all congratulate Ferdy and The Siren for their magnificent management of the For the Love of Film blogathon. They raised a little over $10,000 which was their goal! It was iffy at first, but I am so proud to say that they made it. This amount of money will preserve one 3-reel film (that's feature length!). Hopefully we can find out what film is preserved with the money they raised. I am sorry to say that I was not able to contribute a second entry as I had originally planned, but I came down with a pretty nasty stomach bug, then I went out of town last weekend, so I never got to it. I guess I'll have to save it for next time.

Second, I recently installed a blog tracker, and I'm totally hooked to it. I can't believe that I am getting hits from Germany, Australia, Canada, and even South Africa! If you are an international visitor, please let me know. It's exciting to think that anyone is reading my blog, especially someone that far away.

And finally before i get to Actors number 5, My L.A. trip is officially officially on! It was tentative until my friend replied and said that we can stay with her, so now it is definitely going to happen. My best friend Paige is coming with me, and in addition to research I am going to do departmental visits at the UCLA school of Moving Image Archive studies and Critical Studies at USC. Plus all of the fun sightseeing! You have no idea how excited I am, especially since this semester is super busy and is driving me nuts. The only thing that sucks about my L.A. trip is that my 21st birthday is the day after I return, so no drinking (in bars, at least) while I'm there. boo.

Anyway, my #5 favorite actor is...Joseph Cotten! This is mostly because he is so dreamy (apparently I have a thing for butt chins...), but he was also a damn good actor.

Favorite roles: Zach in I'll Be Seeing You, Jed in Citizen Kane

(apparently I like posting What's My Line videos. They're just so fun!)

Number 5 is also Doris Day. Even on the worst day, she can make me smile. I like her persona on screen and off, and the two are very different. I recommend reading her biography, because she frankly discusses things you would never expect to hear from someone like Jan Morrow. She is also an extremely talented singer, definitely one of my favorite voices. I am going to go on video overkill here and bog you down with a few, because she really is a complex woman. Also, if you are as passionate about the rescue of animals as Doris and I are, please consider donating to her Animal Rescue Foundation.
Favorite roles: Jan in Pillow Talk, Lucy in Storm Warning, Cathy in That Touch of Mink

Les Six

2010-02-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

If you are a fan of 20th century French classical music, you will understand that title. hehe. I love making jokes that no one understands.

Honestly, I can't remember the order, and the list I made was deleted. I remember the actress list, but I can't remember the boys after #2. Sad I know, but I guess I don't pay as much attention to actors, or I tend to watch movies starring the same people.

Ralph Bellamy: He is the king of whiny guys who don't get the girl. Even though he is sort of a cutie, he just doesn't have the skills that Cary Grant or Fred Astaire have. He was just like a puppy: really dumb, but too cute to leave behind.
Favorite Roles: Dan Leeson in The Awful Truth, Stephen in Carefree

Bette Davis: Talk about opposites. I love Bette in every stage of her career that I have seen. When she was young, she was harsh and a little overdone. Then by about 1938, she was perfect. Even in old age she knocked our socks off in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Alongside her rival Joan Crawford. I actually saw in a film about her that the reason Joan hated her so much was because Bette slept with her fiance, and many others as well. I haven't seen the movies she did when she was really old, but apparently she was a hoot.
Favorite Roles: Charlotte Vale in Now, Voyager, Jane in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Julie in Jezebel, Margot in All About Eve

My entry for the blogathon!

2010-02-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

Film Preservation is something near and dear to my heart. I am even thinking of pursuing it as a career, but I'm not totally sure i'm cut out for it. Either way, I will support it for the rest of my life, because it literally pains me to see bad prints of films in wide circulation. The most recent one I can think of was Love Affair. There were huge scratches, dark spots, and brightness inconsistencies throughout the whole movie, and this was on TCM!

Right now the kid I am babysitting is watching Cars for about the billionth time. I too was an obsessive repeater: particularly Home Alone and The Addams Family. The advance of home video technology, and now DVDs, Blu-Rays and now digital copies ensure that no film will be lost again, even the terrible ones, because they are all distributed and archived in multiple formats. Many peoplewho see our work as less than urgent argue that "these were pretty bad films anyway, so who cares if they're lost?". Well if you don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and destroy all copies of From Justin to Kelly, since it wasn't very good anyway.

So what does a lost film like The Awful Truth (1929) and From Justin to Kelly have in common? They both paint an important picture in Hollywood history: one of how a single story can evolve in to several subsequent versions, and the other a commentary on pop-culture status. Who cares if The Awful Truth is terrible? I want to see it!

There are important lost films as well. Two early Hitchcock films are gone: one feature-length and one short. Fanny Foley Herself may not sound too intriguing, but it is a feature-length all-technicolor film from 1931! I'm sure you have all heard by now, but a more complete version of Metropolis was discovered a couple of years ago, and it was screened this weekend in Berlin. Expect a DVD in April.

This brings me to an important website that I just happened upon: Lost Films is an effort to catalogue and fin as many lost films as possible. They also post caps of unidentified films, in the hope that at least an actor can be identified. Please check it out and try to do some identification!

That's all for now, but expect me to come back this week to talk about preservation and the public domain, a growing problem.

The National Film Preservation Foundation is the independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America’s film heritage. They work directly with archives to rescue endangered films that will not survive without public support.

The NFPF will give away 4 DVD sets as thank-you gifts to blogathon donors chosen in a random drawing: Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 and Treasures IV: American Avant Garde Film, 1947-1986.

If this post has inspired you, please consider donating to the National Film Preservation Foundation in honor or memory of your favorite film director or star.

Another blogging award!

2010-02-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

Meredith over at the wonderfully-titled Or Maybe Eisenstein Should Just Relax just bestowed upon me the Kreativ Blogger Award! It makes me feel validated to get these awards, like you guys care about what I'm writing almost as much as I do.

Rules
1. Copy the logo and place it on your blog. Done, because I am obedient, unlike my predecessors...
2. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
4. Nominate 7 other bloggers, and post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
5. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Here Goes!
1. I am super tall, and I'm still not totally comfortable with it. I'm 6'1 1/2", and I think I may be still growing, because I grew about 3/4" inch last year. I'm ready to be done!
2. I used to be really in to dog shows, but I haven't been to one in about 6 months. For a long time, I wanted to own and show a Great Dane. Now that I'm living in a 350 square foot apartment, I'm glad I didn't take that plunge.
3. I do a lot of embroidery. It's turning in to a profitable hobby, since many of my friends have commissioned projects from me. Here are a couple of examples (and if you want to order something, just let me know!)

4. I really like stand-up comedy. Eventually I would like to have a go at it myself, but that will take a long time, because...
5. I have a pretty bad case of performance anxiety. This was not a problem at all while I was active in community theatre, but as soon as my Music studies began here at OU, I started throwing up on a regular basis. I would get sick before each and every voice lesson, and it got old really fast. Last semester, I was advised to drop my music studies when I found a degree plan where I could continue studying film without my two years of music theory, piano, and voice lessons going in the garbage. Now that I'm done with classical performance, there is such a tremendous weight off my shoulders, plus I appreciate classical music so much more because I'm not being forced to perfom stuff I don't like.
6. I come from a family of race car drivers. Both grandpas, my Dad, and my Uncles race cars. My cousins also race motorcycles professionally. I've been going to the racetrack since I was just a wee one, and I'm so used to the loud noise that I can sleep through it, no problem.
7. Speaking of sleep, it's probably my second favorite thing in the world (I'm sure you can guess the first...haha) Every morning when I wake up I think "That was great! I can't wait for bed!" Buying an electric blanket only made it more difficult to get up in the morning. I sleep like a log, even through storms, which we get frequently here in Tornado Alley! The big ones like this usually don't come near me, but I bet one this big would wake me up.
Anyway, I am sure you are thoroughly bored. Here are the seven to whom I am passing the torch:
SassyGinger at My World Through the Lens of a Camera: she needs more followers!
Maria at Let Yourself Go: Her drawings are RIDICULOUS!!!
Huey at Gingerology: gotta support my fellow scientist!
Classic Movie Blog: I love the Classic Links and Daily Birthday posts!
Jenny the Nipper at Cinema OCD: She is doing what I hope to be doing!
Spiffy: Inspiring me to be a better vintage vixen.
Amy Jeanne at It'll Take the Snap Out of your Garters!: a great vintage sewing blog. I can't wait to learn how to sew, then I am going to EAT UP vintage dress patterns.

Well there ya go! Keep them coming!

Lucky Seven!

2010-02-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

My number sevens have also appeared in a film together, and it was his first!
Fred Astaire should teach every man how to romance a woman. He is the greatest dancer in film history, and introduced to us some of the greatest standards of the American Songbook.
Favorite Roles: Lucky in Swing Time, Huck in Roberta.
This song means so much more with the intro. For some reason, very few people do it.

Dailymotion - Fred Astaire - They Can't Take That Away From Me (Gershwin) - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Joan Crawford was an enigmatic actress whose mystery made her attractive to everyone. Her career went through several evolutions, beginning as a silent siren and ending in B-movies. Although I have never seen any of her silent films, the stills I have seen are stunning. What I like most about Joan Crawford may be surprising to you: I think she looks terribly sweet. Yes, I know about Mommie Dearest, and I don't think it's true (why else would Christina wait to publish the book until after she died?). At least Bette Davis' daughter BD released her knock-off book while Bette was still alive to refute it. Actors are notoriously controlling, but I highly doubt that it was anywhere near as bad as Christina made it out to be. Even if she was a little crazy off screen, her films are fantastic and arouse great sympathy, especially in her mid-40s women's films. Oh yes, and she liked to slap people.
Favorite Roles: Mildred in Mildred Pierce, Blanche in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Unfortunately, embedding for these videos is not available, so you will have to open these links in a new tab.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sopYeFeWhhg&feature=related

You should also go back and look at the video I posted for Jack Carson. She's the real star of that video, taking a cameo in a late 40s musical to make fun of her persona. Hilarious.

My LA Trip Intenerary

2010-02-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

My trip is just a little more than a month away! Here is a tentative list of things I plan on visiting:

1. 1605 Gilcrest Drive: Obviously, Ginger's big house in Beverly Hills. After doing some googling tonight, I discovered that the current resident, Tobey Cotsen donated $12,500 to Democratic Presidential candidates in 2008. Hilarious. Ginger would be soooooo pissed.

2. Oakwood Memorial Park: to see Ginger, Fred, and Gloria Grahame's graves.
3. Grauman's Chinese Theater
4. Forest Lawn cemetery: there are so many people I want to see here, so time is obviously an issue. I would hate to drage my friends through a cemetery for a whole day just to see random film composers.
They have: 2 of the Andrews Sisters, Lucille Ball, L. Frank Baum, Joan Blondell, Eric Blore, George Cukor, Michael Curtiz, Jane Darwell, Edith Head, Edward Everett Horton, Gus Kahn (lyricist for many standards including It Had to be You and Dream a Little Dream), Mervyn LeRoy, Ernst Lubitsch, Alfred Newman (composer of many Hitchcock films), Maria Ouspenskaya, Dick Powell, Max Steiner, Jimmy Stewart, Dimitri Tiompkin, William Wyler. Phew!
5. Museum of Contemporary Art: something I love almost as much as film is contemporary art.
6. My dear friend Paige has agreed to come with me, and we are going to try to get tickets for Chelsea Lately, one of our favorite shows!!
Please please please suggest more things! And if you will be in LA the 3rd week of March, let me know!

Eight

2010-02-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

My number eight male is William Powell, the debonair comedian with an admirable love of martinis. Equally admirable is his brief marriage to Carole Lombard. I would have loved to see them in an uncensored setting.
Favorite roles: Godfrey in My Man Godfrey, Nick Charles in The Thin Man series
Coincidentally, my number eight actress appeared in My Man Godfrey and Love Crazy with Powell. Gail Patrick is a terribly underrated character actress who never made it big, even though she definitely had the talent. She makes Bianca in My Favorite Wife (also known as My Favorite Movie) a sympathetic character, doing much better than the easily-hated Bianca played by Polly Bergen in the remake.
I've always thought that Gail looks a lot like Snow White, and since she was on the RKO lot in 1937 and in a very famous movie the year before, I wonder if she served as some inspiration. I also love her voice, it's so much lower than a lot of her ingenue counterparts, and very distinctive.
Favorite Roles: Linda in Stage Door, Bianca in My Favorite Wife

Numbers 9

2010-02-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

9. Jack Carson: He is great in almost everything I've seen him in. The Groom Wore Spurs is the exception. He played a wide variety of minor men, from the suave Connors in Carefree to the overexcited Mr. Milbank in Stage Door. He also did a great job in the late 40s musicals with his girlfriend (at the time) Doris Day.
Try not to watch this video without laughing so hard you cry (I did!)

9. Ann Miller: One of the greatest female tap dancers of all time. She is second in my book to Eleanor Powell. But she is a much better singer and actress than Powell. Plus she could hold her own with a mega star like Ginger at the tender age of 14!

Favorite Roles: Ann "String Bean" in Stage Door, Claire in On the Town

Something I Made!

2010-02-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's not that impressive, just a screencap. I couldn't help it when I saw this last night:
I may have to print this off and stick it inside my notebook so I will smile during the classes that I intensely dislike.
How about some Ginger Trivia?
1. What color(s) is the "Yam" dress in Carefree?
2. Ginger turned down two films that eventually went to Olivia DeHaviland-both films have great legacies now. What are they?

3. Family on both sides created innovative things. What did Walter Owens and/or Dr. John Sappington develop?

4. For which film was Ginger nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe?

5. How many times does the word "beguiling" appear in The Major and the Minor?

I will post answers in the comments!

Top 10 Actors and Actresses

2010-02-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

To copy Hollywood Dreamland, I too am going to do a count down of my favorite actors and actresses. I know this is really supposed to be 20, but I honestly can't think of 20. Isn't that sad? Proof that I need to branch out more. Anyway, so begins the count down:

10. Franklin Pangborn: How can you resist? He is one of the few actors that makes me squeal when I discover that he is in a movie I'm watching. He rarely had a large enough part to garner a screen credit in his whopping 224 films, yet he is one of the best-remembered character actors among us classic film freaks. He often tackled gay stereotypes in pre-code and code-era films along with other character actors like Edward Everett Horton.
Favorite Roles: Harcourt in Stage Door, Herbert in Professional Sweetheart

10. Spring Byington: WHy not make it a character actor day? Spring Byington was a fantastic actresses who handled dizzy women perfectly. My mom particularly loves my impression of Spring as Rebecca Perry in Theadora Goes Wild, which is also my favorite role of hers. Other favorites are as Marmee in Little Women (1933) and Mary Sunshine in Roxie Hart.

(her part starts at 2:20)

Number 9 tomorrow!

Let's talk again

2010-01-29T15:54:00.001-08:00

about how this is DEFINITELY NOT GINGER!

This frustrates me to no end. It comes up all the damn time, and it's so obvious that it's not her. I mean, look at those boobs. Ginger's were fairly small (but proportional to her body), and these are huuuuuge. Face is wrong,eyebrows are totally wrong, everything is wrong.

Don't even get me started about how this is from Holiday Inn.
Both of these are currently being sold on allposters.com, and the latter is even the cover of a Fred and Ginger cd that is available on Amazon. Can you believe they pay people to research this shit?!?!

Hey, it worked!

2010-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

This is the first time that my pincurls have turned out well. I was trying to recreate Ginger's pageboy style that she wears through most of Stage Door, specifically this scene:

That scene also features my favorite line: "What do we do about the sign?" "Just leave it there."

Anyway, after a basic set of pin curls that I pinned at thelowest possible point on my hairline, here is the result:

I was so excited, I puton makeup and my favorite vintage dress for some pictures~

Snowed in again!

2010-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Once again, Oklahoma has been hit with an ice storm. Luckily, my neighbors agreed to let me share their internet signal if I pay half the bill, so I have internet at home again! My cabin fever has inspired me to do some pretty weird things, like clean. There were boxes in my bedroom that had never been unpacked from when I moved in September. Now things are looking much more spiffy!
I am also trying a vintage hairstyle. I sloppily put up some pin curls about half an hour ago. Last time they were super frizzy. We'll see what happens.
Later, I'm going to start an entry that will probably be really long called "Why Stage Door is the best movie ever". Ok, I'm not going to argue that it is actually the best movie ever made (even though it happens to be my favorite), but I am going to bring up some nuances I've seen in my 100+ viewings of the film, plus some things I've read.
I discovered this week in my films of the '30s class (which has a really disappointing line up of films) that I really don't like early 30s films. I think this may come from my musical training and the way my professor has been pushing me to write about film music. Most of these films have little or no music at all, which is why I usually yawn through anything prior to King Kong, which features a fantastic and revolutionary Max Steiner score. I suppose being in these courses that disappoint me only make me want to do better when I am in their shoes in a few years.
Well, I still have a few things to pick up in my room, then I need to tackle the living room and kitchen. Bye Bye for now!

A modern thing that I LOVE: The Mockumentary

2010-01-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

The mockumentary sub-genre would probably get the biggest credit for the development of my kooky sense of humor.
While most people consider 1984 and This is Spinal Tap the birth of the mockumentary, there are television shows that experimented with the style in the 50s (according to wikipedia-I've never seen any of them). Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run (1969), a fake documentary about a serial criminal on the run.

playing cello in the marching band.
Christopher Guest is the hero of mockumentary lore, combining his brilliant skills with Eugene Levy and a fabulous cast of improv veterans. After Spinal Tap, which was mostly written and partially improvised, the first completely improvised film Guest did was Waiting for Guffman, the story of a small Missouri town and their quest to put on a musical. As a former actor in community theater, this movie is practically 100% true. In fact, if it had not featured established stars, I would have taken it for fact.
The next improv-mockumentary was Best in Show, about the frantic world of Dog Shows. Again, I have been involved with Dog Shows for a couple of years, and this movie is also 100% accurate about show people. Here are some of the best moments:

Guest has also made A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration, about Folk Music and Filmmaking respectively.
A mockumentary that, although not improvised, deserves more attention is Drop Dead Gorgeous. I first saw this movie soon after it was released, when I was about 10. This film definitely formed a large part of my sense of humor, and contributed to my mastery of the Minnesota accent.

Of course, the mockumentary has now made its way in to Television, with The Office and Parks and Recreation.
I hope you appreciate this sub-genre of comedy as much as I do!

Let's talk...

2010-01-21T14:03:00.001-08:00

about how this is not Ginger:

am I right? It looks like a Ginger love child with Paulette Goddard. If it is her, I don't recognize the dress from any of the movies of her "dark hair" years.
While we're at it, let's all agree to retire this photo:

The colorization looks SO FREAKY.

The future of DVDs and Classic Film availability

2010-01-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Kate Gabrielle's post about opening her DVD collection to all of us, which is so nice of her to do, inspired me to brainstorm on the future of classic film availability.
I was listening to NPR the other day, and they were talking about how DVDs may soon give way to a new format, just like VHS did a decade ago (has it really been a decade?). I think the best way for this to go would be a transition to an all-streaming database of films managed by their respective studios. For a monthly fee you have access to all of their films, much like the Instant Watch section of Netflix. Another option would be to offer them as downloads and rentals, like iTunes already does with a limited supply of new releases. Not only does this save resources like Plastics (which may soon be limited due to their carbon footprint), it gives the studios mostly profit! The only things they need to manage are their bandwidth, which would be considerably cheaper than manufacturing millions od DVDs of a bad movie that will eventually be in the $5 bin at wal-mart.
This puts the classic film fan in an especially important position. Not only will we have access to thousands of "forgotten" films, the money we spend to purchase their download or subscribe to theirstreaming service could go directly to their preservation and restoration.
Many people bring up piracy as an issue if the film business moves to a primarily online platform. I think that it will be a non-issue if movies are suddenly affordable. Even a monthly subscription of $39.99 is about the price of 3 regularly-priced DVDs, which many film fans say is equivalent to or fewer than their avergage monthly purchase. If movies become affordable, say $3 or $4 a pop, piracy will practically disappear. After all, most people don't steal things they can afford.
That's all for now, but I hope it got your brain juices flowing!

-Maggie

Dueling Lions: The Women and Ninptchka

2009-12-31T07:02:00.000-08:00

Two of the biggest films of 1939 happened to be by MGM (no, not Gone with the Wind or The Wixard of Oz), and they both used fantastic melodramatic actresses in new found roles of comedy.
The Women is aptly titled because there are over 130 roles in the film, all played by women. In addition, no art represents the male form, and all of the animals used in the film were female. Talk about an estrogen-fest!
What really struck me about The Women was the speed at which Rosalind Russel was able to speak. No wonder she is on the cover of a book I recently read called "Fast-Talking Dames".

I love the dress with the eyes!
I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed Norma Shearer in this picture. Honestly, I have never cared at all for "Queen Norma" in the past. She often fell in my school of over-actors with Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Hayward. She was refreshingly likable and mostly sensible in this film, even in the scene where she gets a little bit cheesy. Over all, I respect her much more after seeing The Women, the only other picture I have seen of hers is The Divorcee, and I couldn't stomach the melodrama long enough to finish it.
"I've had two years to grow claws, mother. Jungle Red!!!"
Joan Crawford was also fabulous as the evil Crystal Allen. How about that clear bathtub?

I love that Virginia Weidler got her own card in the trailer. She was cute in the film, but I don't think they had fully realized her potential until The Philadelphia Story the following year. Maybe there just wasn't enough room in this film for another witty dame.

Qhile The Women was disguised as a high-class drama to afford tons of women sinking their claws in to each other, Ninotchka was a true high comedy directed by the king of aristocratic fare, Ernst Lubitch. The film was promoted with two very powerful words: GARBO LAUGHS.
With writers Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, there were plnty of laughs. It got off to a rather slow start (as I find many Billy Wilder films to do. It seems to take an absurd catalyst to get the ball rolling), but about 20 minutes into the picture I began to really enjoy it.

Go to bed little father!
William Powell, Cary Grant, and Spencer Tracy were courted to play Leon. Melvyn Douglas does a fine job, but I would have preferred Powell or Grant.
Ninotchka was remade as Silk Stockings, with, get ready for it, Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. I saw it a few months ago and I hated it, as I do most of the musical remakes I have seen.

That's all for now. Have a fun and safe new year.

Linkage

2009-12-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

First, the National Film Registry announced its 25 selections for 2009 this morning. Here are the films that made the cut. I'm still angry that Life of the American Fireman has not made the list, as it is the first example of sequential editing. whatevs. At least Pillow Talk and Mrs. Miniver were added!

The Classic Movie blog made a wonderful post about the stars that are fortunately still with us. Let us celebrate the ones we still have instead of mourning the ones that have left us (but I will still be sad that I don't have Ginger).

I bought a cheap-o old laptop the other day, and once I get my wireless card installed, I will give you another entry tomorrow about The Women and Ninotchka!

Gone With the Wind (1939)

2009-12-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Can one sum up one of the greatest films in history in one word? I'll try: stunning. Not only is this a fascinating tale, but it serves both as a historical service and a comment on society in 1939 and impending war.
Technilogically, this film was a breakthrough in many ways. First, for its superior use of technicolor, which until then was only used in pieces of films (see early 1930s musicals like Dixiana or the fashion show in The Women). GWTW and The Wizard of Oz figured out how to light and costume a technicolor picture without the awkward amount of time that sound technology took to perfect. GWTW also maintained historical and logical integrity in the costuming department by not using wild colors just for the hell of it, like most technicolor musicals of the 1940s (ahem, The Harvey Girls anyone?).
Another unprecedented technique was the use of mattes combined with shots. Not only did it save money on set construction, it painted the full picture and gave the movie a more dreamy look. I had no idea that this was used until after I finished the movie, but now that I look back I can just barely see the difference between the real and the painted. For 70 years old, that's pretty damn good.
I say I'm not a huge fan of Vivien Leigh, she overacted just the right amount for Scarlett. I don't think there could have been any other interpretation of the character, although I really would have liked to see alternate versions with some of the other actresses who were considered (especially Paulette Goddard and Carole Lombard). Speaking of screen tests: if you're looking for a laugh, look no further than Jean Arthur's. Poor thing, just try to keep a straight face while hearing her say "fiddle dee dee". It seems like every actress in Hollywood but Ginger read for the part. Does she mention it in her autobiography? I can't remember off the top of my head.
I also LOVED Olivia DeHaviland as Melanie. Andre Leeds (Kaye from Stage Door) also read for the part. She would have been wonderful, but I think it was Olivia's role from the day she was born. No one can deliver a line as sweetly as she can. The only casting decision I did not understand was Leslie Howard. He was too old, and his reservations about playing the part came through on screen. He's just not the siren that it seems like he should be in order to catch the eye of the young and flirtatious Scarlett. Perhaps if he has been played by more of a heartthrob, more people would have understood Scarlett's undying love for him. On the other hand, maybe that was the point: he wasn't anything special, he was the one she couldn't have, and that's the only reason she wanted him. Hopefully I will understand better when I read the novel.
And oh, the costumes. I can't decide which dress is my favorite:
Weird, because I don't usually go for Red.
I usually balk at long movies because I have become used to the classic model of no more than 1.5 hours. However I was so enamored with GWTW that I didn't even notice that it was approaching 1 AM when it ended. Then I stayed up even later and watched the "making of" documentary that followed.
I am really happy I finally sat down and watched this movie. What I expected to be a melodramatic and overrated epic was actually a fantastic piece of cinematic history. I was pleasantly surprised, and I hope this happens more often.

Over the Top Blog Award!!

2009-12-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, not quite.
Matthew over at the delightful Movietone News was kind enough to give me my very first blog award, and given my last post, I think it's pretty safe to consider me an "over the top" blogger!
The rules of this award state that I must complete this questionnaire with only one word per answer. oy!

Where is your phone? pocket
Your hair? Ginger
Your Mother? iffy
Your Father? similar
Your favourite food? Popcorn
Your dream last night? Insane-in-the-membrane (haha, I had to!)
Your favourite drink? Vino
Your dream/goal? Film!
What room are you in? Bedroom
Your hobby? Embroidery
Your fear? rejection
Where were you last night? blizzard
Something that you’re not? short
Muffins? cupcakes
Wishlist item? Love
Where did you grow up? Oklahoma
Last thing you did? eat
What are you wearing? hair
Your TV? Rockabilly
Your pets? stinky
Friends? different
Your life? inane
Your mood? quixotic
Missing someone? Ginya
Vehicle? Cougar
Something you’re not wearing? boxers
Your favourite store? antiques

Your favourite colour? purple
When was the last time you laughed? constant
The last time you cried? yesterday

Your best friend? dead
One place that you go to over and over? bed
Facebook? sometimes
Favourite place to eat? couch

Now I'm supposed to give it to people...but I don't know who to give it to! Comment and take it. Spread the love!
-Maggie

Jennifer Jones 1919-2009

2009-12-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

I tried to watch The Song of Bernadette last night on Youtube, but the only available copy looked like it had been videotaped right off the TV, and the sound was even worse. Instead of haphazardly paraphrasing wikipedia, I am going to point you to some other stellar posts about her from people who know what they're talking about.
CK Dexter Haven is, like me, not really in to miss Jones.
Glamour has seen quite a few of her films and offers insight to them.
The best one I have read is from the Styled Siren. They not only look at her films, but her somewhat tumultuous love life and its connection. After all, her producer husband David O Selznick influenced her career more than I can say.
Now for some pictures. Miss Jones and I are from the same home town, Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's a fairly large city that boomed after oil was discovered here in the late teens. For a while it was a very stylish city for oil barons and their fur-wrapped wives. It is also a mecca for art deco architecture. I have a feeling that my being brought up around the best surviving examples of art deco, from skyscrapers to fire houses has heavily influenced my preference for the look and feel of the 1930s. We even have a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Jones' childhood home is in a very rich part of town, both then and now. It is less ornamented than some of the other homes in the area, but is still very nice and would have cost a pretty penny in the early 20s. It is a very nice home on a corner lot with a large back yard.

She went to school at Monte Cassino, a private catholic school about 2 1/2 miles from her home. When she won an Oscar for her first film, The Song of Bernadette, Monte Cassino dedicated a statue of her as Bernadette on the grounds. Here it is:

It is aptly facing a small grotto modeled after Lourdes. There is, unfortunately, no plaque to tell the young MC students the significance of this statue or the legacy that Jennifer Jones leaves behind. Some of my friends and I will be contacting Monte Cassino in the coming weeks to encourage them to add a plaque in her memory.

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

2009-12-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma is experiencing a record amount of December snowfall. We have about 7 inches here in Tulsa, and in Norman, where I live and go to school, we had 14 inches!

Indy (R) and Bella (L) don't seem to mind. They like pretending to be Sonya Henjie!
Back inside, there's not much to do but watch movies and this:

I have watched quite a few movies, though. I'm going to list them and tell you briefly what I thought:
Why We Fight: Very good. I wish I had watched it before I wrote my paper on Foreign Policy!
Once Upon a Honeymoon: Finally showed this one to my mom. We agree: It gets of to a fantastic start, but loses complete focus when it turns in to a Nazi dramedy. Pick one and stick with it, and since you have Cary, Ginger, and Leo McCarey, you should have picked comedy.
That Touch of Mink: Doris Day and Cary Grant. I feel that the plot of this film has aged better than Doris' other sex comedies, namely Pillow Talk.
The RKO Story: See it as soon as possible.
An Affair to Remember: pretty much a shot-for-shot remake. I liked the Irene Dunne/Charles Boyer version significantly better.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Very good Carole Lombard film, one of her last. I can't quite understand why Alfred Hitchock was assigned to it. I guess everyone has to pay their dues.
Gone With the Wind: HOLY CRAP. I will be writing a full entry to tell you how much I love it.

Tonight I plan on watching "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" and "Song of Bernadette", the latter so that I can write you a fantastic obituary on Miss Jennifer Jones, which is long overdue.

I have discovered a new cure for cabin fever, especially if you are completely insane like me. Cornify.com allows you to add sparkly unicorns and rainbows to the picture of your choice. Here are a few of mine:

Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story

2009-12-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just watched the first three episodes of Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story. I can't believe how much I didn't know from reading the other books about the studio and star autobiographies. What I especially liked was episode 3: A Woman's Lot. It followed the RKO contract years of both Ginger and Katharine Hepburn, featuring interviews from both. While very informative, it also showed how different their experiences were because of their different approaches for fame.

I love Ginger to death and beyond, but let's all admit that she was a little more than full of herself. There are plenty examples of it in this show, namely the contrast between Katharine's view of the studio as a big family that knew what was going on with every body. Meanwhile, Ginger says that she never met most of the people at RKO, and that maybe some technicians went from movie to movie, but she never interacted with them. Kate on the other hand begins to name many people from the cutting room to wardrobe, to electricians. It's obvious that while Kate entered the RKO gates and socialized, getting to know her colleagues and making great friends with them, Ginger maintained the "secluded star" ideal, with Lela in tow making her decisions. I can't say that this is the approach I would take to showbiz, but I can't knock her because she made it work. Or did she? I wonder if at least a little smidge of the difference between Kate and Ginger's legacy is their approach to their craft and the connections they made with their fellow technicians.

The complete RKO Story episodes are available on most BitTorrent websites as a download. I don't know why TCM doesn't air it (besides the fact that it was a BBC production). They should definitely look in to securing the rights and airing it frequently.

Happy festivus!

2009-12-24T18:54:00.001-08:00

There is at least 6 inches of snow on my doorstep, so I will be catching up on all the great movies available on Netflix Instant watch. I will hopefully catch up on some blogging too!
Here is the view from my front door (yes, I live on a street, but my flash doesn't go that far!)

Happy Birthday Irene Dunne!

2009-12-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday would have been Irene Dunne's 111th birthday. Let's celebrate by watching some great clips. It was hard to narrow them down, there are so many!

"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a wonderful Jerome Kern standard, and Miss Irene premiered it.

I was always amazed at how young she looked. As a latecomer to movies (32 in her first film), she still played young women despite being in her forties during most of her best roles

Irene's voices were fantastic!!!

It was hard to pick a scene from my favorite movie "The Awful Truth:. You should probably just watch the entire movie.

More great Irene films to watch to celebrate: My Favorite Wife, I Remember Mama, Theadora Goes Wild, Joy of Living

Coming tomorrow...

2009-12-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

1. a special post about Jennifer Jones, including some pictures from her (and my) hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma

2. Gone with the Wind!

But first, my best friend and I are going to celebrate the end of this semester with a little libation!

Cheers!

-Maggie

National Film Registry

2009-12-15T13:55:00.001-08:00

If you have not yet nominated films to be protected by the National Film Registry, your days are running out!
Here are the films I selected. I think most of them are pretty self-explanatory:
Life of an American Fireman
The Broadway Melody of 1929
The Champ
Cimarron
A Bill of Divorcement
The Most Dangerous Game
What Price Hollywood
Flying Down to Rio
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
Private Life of Henry VIII
The Gay Divorcee
Of Human Bondage
Sadie McKee
Becky Sharp
Roberta
Camille (1936)
Follow the Fleet
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
The Petrified Forest
Theadora Goes Wild
A Damsel in Distress
Easy Living
Lost Horizon
Make Way for Tomorrow
Shall We Dance
Stage Door
Algiers
Carefree
Jezebel
Vivacious Lady
You Can't Take it With You
Bachelor Mother
Dark Victory
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Love Affair
Intermezzo: A Love Story
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Roaring Twenties
I know that the maximum amount that can be submitted is 50, but I was so distraught at how many films from 1939 had not yet been added that I stopped there. I have not seen about half of the films I nominated, and that is exactly why I nominated them: they are not readily available to the public, even to a sect of the pulic that thoroughly searches for them.Make Way for Tomorrow is a specific example of this. I read about it at another blog (whose name escapes me at the moment). It sounds fantastic. I have been regularly requesting it on TCM, but we all know that that doesn't mean much.
Anyway, make sure that you nominate 50 films before the year is out! I'm trying to do all I can to promote preservation among fans before it actually becomes my job.
To nominate, email your submissions to dross@loc.gov
Here is a list of notable films that have not yet been named to the registry (only a few. for example, Roberta is not listed and not in the registry), and here is a list of films that have been named.

Oh, and PS: I heard back today about an internship at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. If I'm selected, I will intern in the film department, and perhaps aid in the curation of an exhibit of costumes ranging from Pickford to Cate Blanchett. I may actually get to handle a gown worn by Bette Davis (who is quickly rising in the ranks of my favorites).

Delays upon Delays

2009-11-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Since I moved in to my apartment, I have been using an unsecured wireless internet signal, because I am a broke college student and adding internet to my already astronomical cable bill ($77!) would put me even farther over the edge. Anyway, last Wednesday, whomever owns this linksys signal decided to be a meanie and make it password protected. Alas, I am without a signal and am currently blogging from the OU Fine Arts Library.
The Pro: I have more time to watch the over 70 movies I currently have on my DVR.
The Con: I can't tell you about them!

I'll leave you with one I watched Friday night, a new favorite: The Philadelphia Story. With each subsequent KH movie, I like her a little more (I also watched Woman of the Year last night).

Two new Ginger movies-Teenage Rebel and Primrose Path

2009-11-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have watched two new (to me) Ginger pictures this past week.
First I watched Primrose Path, a 1939 Gregory LaCava picture. I will talk more about this when I begin my series on 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year in the coming weeks, but for now I will say that I was surprised at how subtly this film handled the many issues it covered. In fact, it is likely this subtlety that has caused it to slip between 1939's enormous cracks: there were so many deliberate films that year (Gone With the Wind, Dark Victory, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc.). Like I said, I will study this film in a more in-depth fashion when I begin my series on the films of 1939. I plan on assessing each of the Oscar nominees (not just for best picture, but also acting, directing, and of course music). There's something for you to look forward to!
Last night I watched Teenage Rebel, a 1956 picture directed by Edmund Goulding at Fox. It tells the story of Nancy Fallon and her daughter Dodie, with whom she has been estranged for about ten years. She is court-ordered to spend three weeks with her estranged mother, who does all she can to patch up their relationship.
I had a lot of trouble with this movie. It was difficult for me to imagine Ginger as a mother, and it looked to me like it was an awkward experience for her as well. The script seems a little haphazard, especially combined with the title, as Dodie never really rebels. In fact, the opposite happens. She goes from being totally stiff and completely lonely to learning how to socialize and relate to other people.
It seems like this film is inching towards a really strong message about the importance of mothers to young girls, but it never quite makes it. Goulding, who also contributed to the screenplay, was in his sixties when this was produced, so I can imagine why it didn't quite capture the mother/daughter relationship to a "T".
There is one scene worth watching: when Nancy gets PISSED at Dodie. Skip to :46 for the fight!

I'm going to LA!!

2009-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

I just received word that my proposal of a UROP grant (Undergraduate Research Opportunity) has been accepted! I will be getting a little bit of money to cover travel expenses to LA, where I will spend a couple of days conducting research at the UCLA film archives.
My proposal outlined a project that will hopefully encourage more scholarly study of the films of Ginger Rogers. I have not yet decided if I want to focus on Carefree, or if I want to take another route. That will all depend on the materials I can get my hands on at the archives. I can't tell you how excited I am! I'm trying to think of some of the places I want to go. Of course, I will only be there for about 4 days max, so some things will have to wait until next time:
1. Oakwood Park Memorial Cemetery (of course)
2. 1605 Gilcrest Drive (another obligatory one)
3. Grauman's Chinese Theater
4. Forest Lawn Memorial Park: lots of people to see here: Lucille Ball, Franklin Pangborn (!!), Joan Blondell, Eric Blore, George Cukor, Edward Everett Horton, Max Steiner, Jimmy Stewart, so many more...
5. Hollywood History Museum
I'll probably try to drive by a couple of houses, probably the ones from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Double Indemnity.

As you can probably tell, I can hardly wait!

Ack!

2009-11-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy lately, and that will only continue in the following weeks. I have 2 papers due this week, and I'm trying to get my embroidery "business" off the ground. I started doing hand embroidery almost a year ago, and since posting pictures of my work on my facebook page, I have received a couple of commissions! I am also trying to build up enough stock to start an etsy shop.

Today I would like to share with you a website that I enjoy. It's called Movies in Frames. I'm a sucker for movie trivia of any kind, and I also have a semi-photographic memory, so this site serves as a little challenge to me every day.
The concept is simple: contributors provide us with four frames of a film. The title, year, and director are given underneath. I don't know if anyone else uses it as a quiz like I do, but it's darn fun for me.

Another site is the fabulous magazine Mental Floss. They post quizzes every day that are pretty intense. Occasionally, the topic is classic film. While you're there, take a look at some of the articles. If you're a knowledge junkie like me, you will be thoroughly entertained.

Tomorrow my quizbowl team will be competing in TRASH Regionals, a tournament made up only of film, TV, Sports, and music trivia. I kind of rock at it, and occasionally there are classic film questions!

2009-10-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I'll be back tomorrow with an entry about my "Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience" tonight. Have fun and be safe!

Love Affair (1939): A New Favorite!

2009-10-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

I watched Love Affair on Wednesday. I apologize for this entry being short, but it took the words out of my mouth. It was a beautiful, heart-wrenching movie that has sadly fallen through the cracks, being one of so many great films made in Hollywood's greatest year.
It tells the story of Terry and Michel, who meet on an ocean liner and hit it off right away. Unfortunately, they are both engaged and not quite ready to make such a sudden decision about their futures. Terry smartlydevises a plan: the will re-evaluate their lives, and at the end of 6 months, they will meet at the top of the Empire State Building. Even though it's pretty obvious that they will both go, it makes them feel better about tying up loose ends.
July 1st comes, and Michel is there early. Terry does not show. She was so excited to get there that she did not look before crossing the street to the building. The doctors know where she was going and encourage her to tell Michel what happened, but she refuses. She will not tell him until she can run in to his arms.

I don't want to give away everything, so I will stop there. I do want to highlight a couple of beautiful scenes. First, they visit Michel's grandmother in Madiera soon after they meet. Grandma Janou is played beautifully by Maria Ouspenskaya. Terry sees her life and the beauty in her mind, and knows instantly that this is the life she wants, and that Michel must be a part of it.

Another musical number in the film (out of 3) is when Terry teaches three orphan girls a song she wrote based on Michel's words about wishing. The sisters are played very sweetly by the Brian Sisters, who unfortunately never reached the fame that the boswell sisters saw. This video also shows when all of the orphanage sings it later in the film. The voice leading in the larger version is truly angelic (the audio is not good in this video, but you will get the idea).

Now, wipe away your tears and read just a little longer.
This was the second pairing of Irene Dunne and director Leo McCarey, who first directed her in my all-time favorite movie The Awful Truth (1937). Both Dunne and Boyer consider this their favorite of all their films, and I can see why. McCarey frames them beautifully in every scene. Apparently he was fun to work with too: Boyer noted that he would work his tail off to memorize long speeches from the script, only to have McCarey order all lines paraphrased. Like all his films, he worked with a lot of improvisation, and encouraged the actors to talk over one another. This gives Love Affair a wonderful realistic touch among this amazing romance.

With six Oscar nominations and no wins, this film has fallen in to obscurity. It is now in the public domain, and I hear that the DVD print is in remarkably poor condition. The print used for the TCM broadcast is okay, but the black and white changes to a bluish tint during the middle section. Hopefully once I am a preserver of classic films, I can restore this gem to its 1939 beauty.

"Wishes are the dreams we have when we're awake".

Coming tomorrow

2009-10-21T16:37:00.001-07:00

After this long absence, I promise you some action tomorrow (gee, that sounds naughty!)
Including:
Love Affair
Now, Voyager
Pather Panchali
a vintage hair and makeup tutorial
and....a new header courtesy the lovely Amanda!

I hate to give you excuses, but here goes: the day after I returned from Atlanta, I got very ill. The doctor said it wasn't the flu, but that's what it felt like. I was on my butt the rest of the week. I ended up missing 6 days of class, so the past 1 1/2 weeks have been me playing catch-up, including 3 papers! I've been so terribly busy that my blog was (unfortunately) the last thing on my mind. Have no fear, I still love you!

xoxoxo
Maggie

Classic Cinema Survey!

2009-10-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Amanda over at A Noodle in a Haystack has come out with a new classic film survey. I often don't complete these because I would have really null responses to many of the questions (since I'm relatively new to this world of classic film, there are still quite a few actors/actresses that I'm not familiar with yet.

1. What is your all-time favorite Clark Gable movie? I love It Happened One Night

2. Do you like Joan Crawford best as a comedienne or a drama-queen? I haven't seen any of her comedies yet. Mildred Pierce and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane are two of my favorites!

3. In your opinion, should Ginger Rogers have made more musicals post-Fred Astaire? The musical she did make post-Fred was infamously terrible (Lady in the Dark), so no. I like the way her career went. If she had continued with musicals, they would have been just like the ones with Fred, but without Fred. Just like when they tried to plug other girls in to Fred's movies, it often didn't work.

4. I promise not to cause you bodily (or any other serious) harm if you don't agree with me on this one. So please be honest: do you like Elizabeth Taylor? Hm? No, but like Kate Gabrielle, it wouldn't detract me from watching a movie like other over dramatic actresses I don't care for (see Susan Hayward).

5. Who is your favorite offscreen Hollywood couple? I found an old hollywood gossip mag last week and loved pouring over the pictures of young Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis.

6. How about onscreen Hollywood couple? Definitely Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, followed closely by Fred and Ginger.

7. Favorite Jean Arthur movie? Mr Smith Goes to Washington. I love the drunk scene.

8. What was the first Gregory Peck movie you saw? To Kill a Mockingbird.

9. What film made you fall in love with Alfred Hitchcock? (And for those of you that say, "I don't like Hitchcock" -- what is wrong with you?!) I have loved The Birds since I was a little girl, but the one that really made me appreciate him was Psycho.

10. What is your favorite book-to-movie adaption? The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

11. Do you prefer Shirley Temple as a little girl or as a teenager? I haven't seen any teenager movies yet.

12. Favorite character actor? oh boy, so many. Jack Carson, Franklin Pangborn, Alice Brady, Phyllis Kennedy, Charles Coburn...I could go on!

13. Favorite Barbara Stanwyck role? Double Indemnity!!!

14. Who is your favorite of Cary Grant's leading ladies? Irene Dunne, followed by Ginger (sure, they only did two movies, but they were great ones!).

15. Bette Davis or Joan Crawford? too difficult to choose.

16. What actors and/or actresses do you think are underrated? Irene Dunne (not necessarily underrated, but forgotten), Lucille Ball (her film career)

17. What actors and/or actresses do you think are overrated? Susan Hayward, definitely. I'm also not an Audrey Hepburn fan.

18. Do you watch movies made pre-1980 exclusively, or do you spice up your viewing-fare with newer films? I'm open to everything, but I will go for an older one over something new when given the choice. Frank Capra once said "The best movies have not yet been made".

19. Is there an actor/actress who you have seen in a film and immediately loved? If so, who? Ginger, Irene Dunne, Simone Simon, Alice Brady

20. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire? Obviously, Fred. Gene was a cutie, but Fred was so much nicer to his women!

21. Favorite Ginger Rogers drama? Kitty Foyle.

22. If you wrote a screenplay, who would be in your dream cast and what roles would they play? (Mixing actors and actresses from different generations is allowed: any person from any point in their career.) Ginger is a wise-cracking stage performer who is fighting with socialite Katharine Hepburn for the love of playwright Cary Grant. Charles Coburn plays the bumbling theater manager and Jack Carson ends up with whoever doesn't get Cary.

23. Favorite actress? Ginger Rogers.

25. Favorite actor? Cary Grant

26. And now, the last question. What is your favorite movie from each of these genres:

Drama: Mildred Pierce and Casablanca

Romance: Notorious (okay, the romantic parts of it!)

Musical: Swing Time

Comedy: The Awful Truth

Western: no favorite (yet!)

Hitchcock (he has a genre all to himself): Notorious and Sabotage

Road Trips and Illness

2009-10-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Once again, there will be a delay in my posting. The day after I returned from my Jeopardy audition (which went quite well, I think) I was knocked on the ground with what I thought was the flu. I went to the doctor yesterday, and apparently it's a sinus infection. I couldn't sit up or do anything on Tuesday, and not much more on Wednesday. Today I'm up because I have to work, and tomorrow I have to go back to school, both of which are going to totally knock me out!

I was hoping that being sick would allow me to catch up on all the movies on my DVR that I need to watch, but I haven't been able to stay awake long enough to get through one! I will have new posts on Now, Voyager and Plan 9 from Outer Space by this weekend.

-Maggie

Au Revoir!!

2009-10-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving in about 15 minutes! I'm going to Atlanta, Georgia to try out for the Jeopardy College Tournament. I'll be spending the night in Memphis tonight to reduce driving time, since I'm going alone.
I was looking to visit some classic film locations, but I couldn't find any :(
I'll leave you with some cute pictures of our Ginge:

Until Tuesday,
Maggie

Does this look familiar?

2009-09-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ginger designed a line of nightgowns and lingerie in the 60s and 70s called "Formfit Rogers". I was just browsing through some stuff on ebay, and came across this:
Look familiar??

A striking resemblance!

I'll be off in Atlanta, Georgia until Tuesday. I'm going there to audition for the Jeopardy college tour, and to visit my uncle and his family. Happy Trails 'til next time!

FYI...

2009-09-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of changing the title (and therefore, URL) of my blog. Maggie's Film Journal just isn't exciting. Would it be a big pain in the butt for you guys to follow my new blog? If not, I'll make the new one later tonight.

Love and Ginger,
Maggie

Confronting a demon...

2009-09-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

The title of this entry is a little morbid, but I am confronting a feeling I never expected to feel: could I actually like Katharine Hepburn?!?!?!
If you are a fellow Ginger fan and have read her autobiography (if you haven't, what's wrong with you?), then you know that Ginger and Kate did not get along famously. Ginger recalls that Kate once poured a glass of water out of a two-story window on to her brand new coat, claiming that "if it's real, it won't curl". According to some reports she also slandered Kitty Foyle after Ginger took home the 1940 best actress Oscar, claiming "I and every other girl in Hollywood turned down that filth".
In reality, can I dislike Katharine Hepburn for saying a few rude things to my favorite person? It's an irrational conclusion to jump to. Another irrational thought is the one that Ginger was totally innocent and did not warrant any of these comments or actions. Like all actors, Ginger was pretty full of herself. Kate was too, and they were competitors for the non-existent title "Queen of RKO". While Kate garnered awards, Ginger was raking in the dough with her musicals and side projects. They were (understandably) jealous of each others' positions. Ginger longed to be taken seriously as an actress, and Kate didn't want to be shoved out of the business for being "Box Office Poison" (she was voted #1 box office poison in 1937 or 38).
My point is: Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn were both human beings, and so am I. We can't all agree on everything: there are plenty of things about Ginger that I don't like, so why should I shun Kate's entire career for being a little mean every once in a while?
Reluctant as she was, Kate was a great comedian. These are the pieces of her career that I really enjoy. It began with Stage Door.

I have read that Kate threw quite the fit over her second billing. In her autobiography she states that after hearing comments from preview audiences, her billing "was restored to its proper place", ie side-by-side.
I admire Kate's spirit and attitude toward life. She was a fighter, but not in a belligerent way.

I want that dress!!!
In a couple of weeks, I will return to the topic of Ginger and Kate. They have interesting career parallels that deserve further exploration.

The Wizard of Oz in HD!!!

2009-09-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

I had the great pleasure of attending the special HD presentation of "The Wizard of Oz" on Wednesday. What a wonderful way to spend an evening. I skipped a class (My Writing about Film screening of "Away From Her"). It was definitely worth it.
The film opened with a brief introduction by our favorite spokesman Robert Osborne, followed by a short documentary about the production. It wasn't terribly detailed for a classic film fan, but the less-devoted people around me seemed interested in it. I did enjoy the stock footage of Margaret Hamilton describing her casting as the witch. She seemed like a hoot.

The film was spectacular. I got a little misty-eyed when the opening credits began to roll. I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky 1939 audiences were to be able to see this for the first time on the big screen. There were things I had never noticed before-the details in Munchkinland and Oz especially. Things I never saw on the 27-inch TV that first presented me with this film in my childhood. Even though I have never known a world without color images, the transition from sepia to color was mesmerizing, like a whole new world was being opened up to me.
Another thing I realized during the film was that I had never seen it the whole way through in one sitting! Bert Lahr as the cowardly lion really steals the show, and Jack Haley is adorable.
There are many theories as to what this movie means to 1939-just beginning to recover from the Great Depression and gearing up for WWII. It must have been a nervous and uncertain time. I haven't fully made up my mind yet, but I think there are definitely some political and religious symbols. Perhaps after I read the book I will have a better background on what was added for the film.
Please let me know if you were able to attend the event, and how you felt about it. The host, Fathom Events, is hosting another special event Thursday, October 8th. It is "Plan 9 from Outer Space", featuring an all-new MST3K commentary. I will be attending that one as well. To fin the nearest involved theater, check here.

My collection

2009-09-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off this entry for a while because I keep finding new things to add to my collection, so I tell myself "Wait until you get this in the mail". I realized today that collections will always grow, so now is the time to tell you about what I already have!
I was raised going to Garage Sales ad Flea markets, always searching for a deal and enjoying the beauty and craftsmanship of older things. It's unfortunate that most of my generation would rather buy crap from Walmart than something well-made and already broken in!
Sheet music was an important part of family entertainment through the 1940s. There was usually one person (often a young girl or mother) who played piano in each household. After seeing a picture, if you wanted to hear the music from something, buying the sheet music was your only option until the later introduction of LP soundtracks in the late 40s.
Before I became interested in classic musicals, I started buying vintage sheet music for decoration. The first pieces were from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado", an operetta I have seen a couple of times and really enjoy:

With the advent of my classic film obsession came a classic film collection. I began only getting sheet music at garage sales and flea markets, then gravitated to the dangerous eBay (dangerous because I spend too much money!). My goal is to collect every piece of sheet music from all 10 Fred and Ginger movies. By my estimation, I am about halfway through.
I have 3 from "Flying Down to Rio", but my camera ran out of battery while I was trying to photograph them.

I have 2 covers from Carefree, which are really special and will be descirbed at the bottom of the post!
Including the Carefree covers, I am only missing one movie: the elusive Vernon and Irene Castle. I know there was some sheet music published for the film. I saw a piece once in an ebay lot that went for over $70-not worth it for one piece (except the piece at the end...:D). I may never find all the pieces from Vernon and Irene Castle, as the movie was not nearly as popular as their previous films. Also because it was more a dance film and a period piece, the music was not relevant to 1939 popular music styles.
Some other movie memorabilia:

A cover of the Family Circle from 1940, an original framed picture of Ginger from Vernon and Irene Castle, and an original publicity still for "Don't Bet on Love".

This lovely picture came from the personal collection of Gail Patrick! I went to an antiwue show this summer, and this guy had literally thousands of pictures of her that he purchased from her step daughter after her husband's death. There were also many large pictures of other stars-everyone from Cary Grant to Anna May Wong-autographed to Gail. Very interesting, and I love the back story.
Now for the item to end all items! I am most proud of the sheet music I have collected from "Carefree", as it is the most rare (and beautiful!) of the Fred and Ginger music I have so far. This is especially true of the music for "I Used to be Color Blind" because it's AUTOGRAPHED by BOTH FRED AND GINGER!!!!! I almost died when I found this on eBay. I ended up spending $70 on it, but I'm so happy I did. I'm having it appraised in a couple of weeks, along with an original poster from "Roxie Hart" which should arrive in the mail today.

Look at the signatures-it's definitely them!
Of course, that's only about half of my collection. I'll post more later.
Ta-ta for now!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

2009-09-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

I noticed that the 1939 masterpiece "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is airing on TCM this Sunday evening, so I thought I would tell you about it, hopefully to spark your interest if you have never seen it. It is a great film among hundreds of the best films ever made during Hollywood's best year.
This version stars Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmerelda (no, she's not gypsy-ish, but she does a wonderful job in one of her earliest American roles).
This version of Victor Hugo's novel is considered the best adaptation, and the most faithful to Hugo's original intentions. Some things are changed (like the ending), but that is to be expected from a Hollywood adaptation, especially during the Production Code era. Despite the novel being centuries old, there are definitely symbols of life in 1939. America was gearing up for World War, and deciding what kind of role they wanted their country to have. The film opens with a theme about the invention of the printing press and the dangers of the written word spreading among the masses. It's interesting to compare how leaders in medieval times and the 1940s were concerned about their people knowing too much. As I learned this week in my Writing About Film class, no historical movie is completely about the past.
This film is worth watching for so many reasons. an entire Notre Dame replica was built on the RKO Ranch, along with a few acres of surrounding town that were detailed down to the roads that wound between the buildings. Thousands of extras donned costumes to look like a literal sea of people in the opening scenes of the festival. It's insane and extremely well-directed. If you watch this on DVD, be sure to check out Maureen O'Hara talking about the direction style of Dieterle. He wore white gloves and said very little, yet pulled off this extraordinary feat and many more.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is available on DVD and is airing on TCM tonight, Sept. 13th at 10 pm (eastern). It airs again on November 29th.

Mildred Pierce

2009-09-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

I thought my mom and I fought! Boy, Mildred Pierce (1945) really opened my eyes to some seriously screwed up mother/daughter relations.
Directed my the "genius of shadows" Michael Curtiz, this movie is the story of titular character Mildred Pierce, played amazingly by Miss Joan Crawford. After she splits from her unfaithful husband, Mildred does everything in her power to give her daughters the wealth, security, and (most importantly) the social standing that it is implied Mildred had as a youngster. This is especially applied to the older daughter Veda (Ann Blyth). Veda is a spoiled brat whose actions repeatedly tear down the boundaries of what normal people would consider rational behavior.
The film opens with a murder. It looks as though Mildred has committed it, and she begins telling the story in great detail to the police after they conclude that the murderer is her ex-husband. She insists that it is not, and the flashback that we believe to be a very detailed confession reveals the true killer. Of course, I won't tell you who did it, but I will tell you that they wait until the last possible second to tie up the loose ends. It was nerve wracking for me, but apparently that is the favorite method of early to mid-forties cinema (See my review of The Major and the Minor and Double Indemnity, among others).
I could go on and on about how much I loved this movie. It kept me completely enthralled thanks to brilliant jobs by Michael Curtiz, Joan Crawford (in a well-deserved oscar-winning performance), and one of my favorite second-men Jack Carson. Even though there is a different cinematographer than Casablanca, Mildred Pierce features similarly stunning lighting and shadows that radiate in black and white. Movies like this make black and white sparkle.
The music by Max Steiner is, as I expect from Steiner, wonderful (after all, he blessed us with King Kong and the early Fred and Ginger musicals!). I can't remember specific instances where it was remarkably clever, but that's probably because it's been a week or so since I've watched it.

I just realized that I had forgotten to mention Eve Arden and her wonderfulness. I love her so much! She, as always, delivers the perfect wisecrack in Mildred Pierce.

aahh!!!

2009-09-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Guys, I feel TERRIBLE for causing such a delay in my blogging. I've been in school a week now and only moved in to my apartment on Friday. That's right, I spent a week sleeping on my best friend's couch. Not fun.
Anyway, I've almost got all of my pictures hung, then I need to organize some things and procure some means of DVD storage. Then, I will post pictures! I think you guys will enjoy all of my Classic Hollywood touches!
I rpomise I will write something within the next 24 hours on "Mildred Pierce", which is on TCM right now. I got my DVR (!!!) yesterday, so I'll be watching it this evening.

Don't forget to watch or record "Tender Comrade" on Friday morning!

More pics

2009-08-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Posting those pictures earlier and doing some digging with Juliette led me to searching for more Ginger pictures. I ended up with 37 pictures I had never seen before! Here are a few:

This was taken from a balcony at the entrance to the Cocoanut Grove, the site of the 1940 Oscars.

Ginger, Lela, and Walter Owns (Lela's dad and Ginger's grandpa) fighting over a sandwich on the set of "The Major and the Minor". Could this get cuter?

A Rare color picture from the set of The Barkleys of Broadway.

From about 1933. Anyone have more information on this one?
Happy Trails,
Maggie

A Rainy Oklahoma Day...

2009-08-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

My application for the apartment was approved! I'm going back Friday to sign the lease and start handing over money (yuck). Anyway, I am really relieved to have a place, since the last place backed out the day before I was supposed to move (grrrrrrr).
I woke up to some heavy rain here in Oklahoma. Even though the sun has come out, I'm posting some pictures and video clips that get me through any rainy day! Inspired by the adorable pic over at Gingerology.

Look ma, no hands!!

Ginger.....WITH A BEARD?!?!?! If anyone knows what the heck this is from, please let me know!

Boy is this song beautiful. (PS: That was definitely a very open-mouth kiss! Look at 2:27. haha.)

I'm not a huge fan of "fan videos" that use random songs. This song is pretty cheesy, but it's edited really well.
Have a good day!

Favorite Star Combinations part 3: Penny Serenade

2009-08-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Norman, after looking at an apartment and signing an application on it. I have finally found a place to live! Now let's hope they take me. School starts Monday!!

Penny Serenade (1941) is the third and final pairing of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, screwball royalty by my standards. Unfortunately, this film fails to uphold anything that the actors had built up in their previous films. It features very poor direction, a ridiculous plot, and little to no music in a film about the significance of a book of albums on the lives of a married couple.
This movie is about Roger and Julie Adams. Julie has decided to leave Roger. As she is packing her things, she happens upon their albums, cataloged like a photo album with little trinkets of the history of their married life. She begins playing them, and the rest of the story is told in flashback vignettes, segued by her changing records. They meet, he proposes, they marry, he moves to Japan, she joins him, she gets pregnant, she loses the baby because of an earthquake...pretty standard stuff for a romance film from 1941. They proceed to set up a small newspaper in a town in California, and adopt a baby girl. I usually don't give away the endings of films, but this one is so ridiculous that I have to tell you: the little girl dies at age 6. It hits them hard, and their grief and innability to communicate drive them apart. What brings them together is a call from the adoption agent, saying "We just got a child, and he's great. He's what you wanted when you first came to us". You see, when they adopted Trina, they actually wanted a curly blonde toddler boy, but ended up with a brunette 5 week old girl. The ending, the fact that they are staying together and replacing their dead child is supposed to be hopeful, but I could only find it laughable. Sure! We'll hide our grief by replacing her with what we really wanted all along!

Aside from the odd plot twists, other things that bother me about this film include the strange, silent film-type directions by George Stevens. He is a master of the Golden Age of Hollywood, yet I feel like this picture regresses back to the era of oddly placed close-ups, which are frequent in this film. There are some interesting shots, especially the recurring theme of the house being cut so that the camera moves upstairs with the actors, but there are also awkward shots like when one actor completely blocks out the other, who is speaking. One instance in particular is the train sequence. I can't find a clip of that part alone, so I suppose you will have to watch it if you want.

Now that I think about it, one perspective on the style of direction would be to take us back to the "good ole'years", just as the film does, but I think that would be a concept lost on early forties audiences. Still, that doesn't mean it's not the true intention. Even if this was the desired effect, I think it was overdone and interfered with the story.

Another problem I had with this film was the lack of score. Yes, a great composer knows when to take advantage of silence, but there was too much in this movie, especially since its underlying theme is the power of music and memory. The score could have been comprised of really smart variations on the song that triggered the memory, and that likely would have saved the film for me (because a great score could save anything for me [that's what she said]).

If you're looking at Penny Serenade for a great Irene Dunne and Cary Grant picture, this will likely disappoint. I read about many who love the film, but after seeing "The Awful Truth" and "My Favorite Wife", I wanted more of the same, or at least something similar. It has a couple of slightly funny scenes, but nothing like the previous two. I guess it's indicative of the aging of both actors and their personas. "The Awful Truth" has them acting like teenagers: making one another jealous by dating others and being suspicious. "My Favorite Wife" is a little more mature, dealing more with sex and the idea of settling down, and "Penny Serenade" is much more serious and grown-up. The audience that enjoyed "The Awful Truth" in 1937 is about to go to war, and they have a lot of growing up to do (I see a paper about Irene Dunne and Cary Grant's personas in my future...).

If you would like to watch "Penny Serenade" it is available on DVD. I believe it is in the public domain, as I purchased it in the dollar DVD section as a double feature with "Charade". It is also available to watch on everyone's favorite video website. Please let me know what you think, especially if you disagree.

Moving!

2009-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last update. I am getting ready to move on Saturday back to Norman OK, where I will be a Junior at the University of Oklahoma. Tuesday and Wednesday, I went there to work as a preliminary before I was officially hired. I will be cleaning apartments after people move out in exchange for a free apartment!
When I get all moved in and get internet (I'm going to have to sign up for a credit card so I can get cable and internet. Really frustrating that they won't take my debit card!), I'll post with pictures of my fabulous vintage furniture! Until then, allow these pictures of Ginger to hold you off.

Help!

2009-08-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Since I read about this story last night, I have become a little worried.
The House where Our lady of Gingeriness was born is up for sale. It's REALLY cheap at $20,000 (less than half of what we bought my piece of crap house from the 20s for in 1996) and no one is interested.
Honestly, this house isn't THAT important, I guess. Ginger and Lela only lived there for a couple of weeks, when they moved back in to Lela's parents house. That should be the house that is preserved. I looked it up a few months ago on google maps and it seemed to be in good condition. Here it is, 3306 Bellefontaine Ave:

View Ginger in a larger map
Once you go in to street view, go just a little to the right. It's the house with the screened porch, stone foundation, and a red car in the driveway. Here's a picture of baby Ginger on the porch:

I hope the historical society takes note of the importance of preserving these homes. The birth house has a plaque as seen on the website of the realtor. Oddly enough, July 16th 1994 was Ginger's last birthday, as she passed away in April of 1995. She spent her first and last birthdays in the same house. Maybe that doesn't strike anyone else as interesting, but I'm weird like that. I'm sure if someone bought the birth home and turned it in to a small museum, it would do well, especially if they could get hold of some of her costumes and personal items.
I am considering writing to the historical society in Kansas City. If I did, would other readers back me up?

Move Over, Darling (1963)

2009-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

As part of my Sunday evening stood-up-for-a-date double feature I also watched Move Over, Darling, a nice 1963 remake of My Favorite Wife starring Doris Day and James Garner. This movie was funny in its own way, but I had some issues with the movie.
Like My Favorite Wife, Move Over, Darling tells the story of Ellen Wagstaff-Arden (Doris Day), who returns from being shipwrecked on a deserted island for 7 years to find that her husband Nick (James Garner) has married a new woman Bianca (Polly Bergen).
I would say that this is about a 75% shot-for-shot remake. Many shots and sets are constructed similarly, and key lines are preserved, like her response to hearing about her funeral: "Oh, I wish I'd been there". I think the responding line sums up my feelings for the movie. Nick replies with "Well if you'd been there, there wouldn't have been a funeral". Yeah we know, and you kind of just ruined the jokes.
Not that I didn't enjoy the film, it just didn't feel right. I think it is because lines were directly ripped from My Favorite Wife, most of which were improvised by Dunne and Grant themselves. They worked for Cary and Irene's Nick and Ellen, but James and Doris' Nick and Ellen were played differently and more according to their respective images.
That's the fundamental problem with remakes that remain extremely faithful to their predecessors. If actors with similar images or personas are not cast, then the original script ain't gonna work. This includes the supporting cast. Another review describes Polly Bergen's character perfectly: "too obvious". I think Gail Patrick did a much better job. Also, Thelma Ritter's talents were a little wasted as she didn't play a drunk.
My main problem with this remake is that it makes the story seem, as it is, completely improbable. One thing I love about My Favorite Wife is that you never once doubt that Irene Dunne spent 7 years on a deserted island. She gets out of the truck at her house in some man's clothes and needs a bath. Doris, on the other hand, comes off a navy ship looking like this:

Apparently they had bleach on this island!
I can't just bash this film though. It was very cute and moderately enjoyable. One thing that I liked and would have enjoyed seeing in the original is a dream sequence on the island, imagined by Nick. In it, Doris is wearing some serious I Dream of Jeannie/B-52's hair. Hilarious.
I also like the obvious reference to My Favorite Wife, when Doris, disguised as a swedish nurse (yes) notes the similarity to a movie she saw as a child.
The end, when the children and Nick are hiding in the pool and Doris jumps in is very cute and a very satisfying ending to the film. You can't help but giggle when she jumps in with all of her clothes on.
This movie has some interesting back story. A couple of reels were shot under the name Something's Gotta Give, starring Marylin Monroe. This is what would become her last film. She was fired after missing more than 50% of her scheduled days. The special featured on the DVD show a large amount of the unused footage, which also starred Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse as Bianca. Marylin was not right for this movie, and it's very evident in the footage, especially with her children. She seems to be more connected to the family dog than the fruits of her womb. Doris on the other hand had been separated from her son Terry for several of his early years, so she had those emotions stored in her, making those scenes equally as touching as Irene Dunne's, who was just a damn fabulous actress :) When I read more about the lifeof Marylin, perhaps I will return to an entry about Something's Gotta Give.
All in all, I was really picky about Move Over, Darling, since it's a remake of one of my favorite films. If you like Doris Day, I'm sure you will like this movie.

Star Cominations: Cary Grant and Irene Dunne pt. 2.

2009-08-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

I got stood up for a date today, so what better than to start reading Doris Day's biography, and watch one of my favorite movies!
If I had to pick a favorite movie overall, I think that 70% of the time my answer would be "My Favorite Wife" (1940). This was the first Grant/Dunne picture I saw, and it left me with an incurable case of the giggles that often overcomes me when I see a film that I really love.
"My Favorite Wife" is the story of Nick and Ellen Arden. After Ellen disappears in a shipwreck, Nick meets another woman, and marries her on the same day that Ellen is declared dead. Coincidentally, Ellen returns from her deserted island on the very same day and is determined to get back her husband!
I could go on for days about each line that makes me laugh. It is chock full of the same farcical fun you will find in its predecessor "The Awful Truth"-including a Southern impersonation, a cabin in the mountains, and of course the "Irene Dunne laugh". No one can sound snootier than Miss Dunne can.
I first saw this picture in my "Music at RKO" class in spring. This movie features a wonderful score provided by the great Roy Webb (of Notorious and Cat People fame). This film is a great example of an effect we call "Micky Mousing", when the actions of the orchestra follow the actions on screen. This can be clearly seen when Nick first sees Ellen in the elevator and falls as the door closes. The score also descends in a chromatic scale. It definitely adds comedy to the picture. I have seen some pictures where Mickey Mousing is used far too much, and it becomes a joke. Roy Webb does it perfectly in this picture. My Favorite Wife also has a wonderful, extremely hummable love theme that plays during the credits among other places.
Speaking of which, what complex credits! Each slide is its own embroidered (by hand I'm assuming) handkerchief. All that work for about 45 seconds!

Another wonderful addition to this film is the beautiful and under appreciated Gail Patrick. As usual, Gail is playing "the other woman"-Nick's new wife Bianca. Even though she is very stiff and rude to Nick and the children at times (actually, she's never nice to the children), I can almost see where she's coming from. In fact, I attribute my semi-sympathy to Gail's fantastic job as an actress. Compared to Polly Bergen's take on Bianca in the remake Move Over, Darling who is just plain stupid, Gail's Bianca is reasonably frustrated and chooses to project it on everyone else, I suppose.
My Favorite Wife is available on DVD, and canalso be watched on a certain video website. I own it as part of a5-DVD Cary Grant collection that also includes The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Night and Day, and Destination Tokyo.
It's getting late now, but I will definitely write about Move Over, Darling tomorrow.

Also coming this week: my first entry about my classic hollywood collection. Get excited!!!

ugh. delays

2009-08-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry about my irregularity. My internet is unpredictable. I promise to write something later today and have it posted tonight.
In the meantime, consider Myrna Loy's Chicken Soup for supper.

The Major and the Minor (1942) 5/5, and pre-war cinema

2009-07-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I exposed my celluloid-weary Dad and his Girlfriend to one of my favorite movies, Billy Wilder's "The Major and the Minor". It is a hilarious and really well-made movie that makes some interesting points about the latter half of 1941, sex, and disguises, while maintaining the conventions of its genre as a well-constructed and witty comedy.
We begin with Susan Applegate, an attractive girl in her late 20s (?-Ginger was 30 during production). She gives up on New York and the promise of excitement after the last in a million pinches and cat calls comes from Mr. Osburne, a greasy older man who has called her for a scalp massage (played well by Robert Benchley). The one thing New York doesn't get out of Sue Applegate is $27.50, the fare back home to Stevenson, Iowa. There's only one problem: the rate has been raised, and all Susan can afford is a half fare ticket, which means she will have to masquerade as a soon-to-be 12-year-old "SuSu" to get back home.

Her guise is soon discovered, and she runs in to the drawing room and arms of Major Philip Kirby, played by the dreamy Ray Milland. She is immediately smitten, but, for obvious reasons cannot reveal her true identity, especially not after they are discovered by his suspicious fiance. All this nonsense means she will have to go to the Wallace Military Institute with "Uncle Philip" so that he can make his case and avoid scandal. What follows is so funny and also complicated, that I will let you watch it on your own and find out!
I cannot tell you how much I love this movie. For obvious reasons, I love it because Ginger is especially adorable and hilarious in this part. What a role to take on, especially right after such dramas as "Primrose Path" and "Kitty Foyle", her Oscar-winning role. This is truly a statement to her bravery and security in her talent. We also have her to thank for Billy Wilder's coming to the United States. This was his first American picture, and he would have never been trusted to direct it had Ginger not requested him specifically.
Above all of those charming details, what I love most of all is Lela Rogers' appearance as Mrs. Applegate, Susan's mother in the end of the film. I had never heard Lela speak or see her move. Gosh, Ginger is a little clone of her. Here is a picture of Lela, Ginger, and Lela's father Walter Owens on the set of the film:

Most of the time when I'm watching more recent movies, I try to imagine how it could (or could not) have been made in the past. This film is the opposite: a movie that can never be made again. It was remade in the 50s as "You're Never Too Young" with Jerry Lewis and Diana Lynn, who appears in the original as a smart-aleck young girl who wasn't fooled for a second. There are so many strange lines in this film that had no trouble with the code in '41, yet wouldn't be touched by any sensible studio today. I suppose the issue of Pedophilia was not a common one in that day. Not to say that it didn't happen, but that it was rarely, if ever seen in courts or talked about. It must have been a non-issue for it to be the subject of a comedy!
Another element of this film that I enjoy are the comments about the impending war. Although the film was made in'41, it was released, like Casablanca, in 1942 after the US entered the war. I love looking at films made in these two years and their sentiments about the war effort. Warner Brothers, for example, strongly supported FDR and the New Deal.In Warner Brothers pictures during this time (including Casablanca), they would discuss when the war was going to happen, not if. The Major and the Minor, which was a Paramount picture, is more cautious. They say "if" several times, but it is not just an "if". There are clear preparations, but not firm and unbridled support. Hopefully I will soon watch more pictures from this year to provide some more comparison.
I've been blabbing long enough. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It is available on DVD from Amazon for $12.99 (it's also uploaded on a certain video website that I won't name). More people need to know about this gem of a movie! I'll leave you with the trailer.

links and followers

2009-07-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

I was excited to see that my "following" has grown to 5 today! I've added link list to the side bar. If you would like to be linked, please let me know, and I would appreciate the same!

Also, have this nice picture of Ginger, a lovely early color photo from a Life magazine shoot:

The Circle Cinema Slumber Party

2009-07-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

WARNING: There is lots of blood in this entry!
While a part of me (a very large part) loves the innocence of classic movies, musicals, screwball sex comedies etc, another part loves gore films from the 70s and 80s. I like them much better than straight horror because they rarely jump out and try to scare you. In gore, you pretty much know every death about three minutes before it happens. Gore films are hilarious and satisfying.
I had the pleasure of attending the 1st ever Circle Cinema Slumber Party. We met up at 10:00 pm for a night of cult horror classics, keeping in mind the promised $10 cash back on our $20 tickets if we could handle an all-night gore fest. The 110-seat theatre sold out quickly, and nearly all of us stayed the entire night to watch some of the best worst movies ever made.
About my last sentence: there is a stark difference between “best worst” movies and “worst best” movies. The order is key in telling the difference. Best Worst movies are cult cult classics and other bad movies that happen to be so terrible that they inadvertently become immensely enjoyable, while Worst Best movies are those that we know are classics and should be revered, but tend to be staunch and difficult to sit through. Everyone has different Worst Best movies, but mine happen to be 60s and 70s European Cinema, especially Fellini and Godard.
Our first movie was “Return of the Living Dead” (1985), an enjoyable satire of zombie movies, specifically “Night of the Living Dead”. After two dim-witted employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally bust open a tank with a radioactive dead body inside, The gases leak in to the air and wake up the neighboring cemetery. Yes, there are blatant factual errors about the story of “Night of the Living Dead”, like saying it happened in ’69 when the movie was made in ’61, but it’s all in good fun. You can see the strings that make the skeletons move, and at one point a puppeteer is visible. It’s still a really fun movie.

Number two was a surprise to the guests until it started. “Hausu” is a Japanese horror flick from 1977, we knew from the first minute that this was going to be fun. It is summer vacation, and seven teenage girls are heading to Gorgeous’ (yes, that’s her name) aunt’s house to spend some of their vacation in the country. Of course, the house is haunted and systematically eats them (or maybe it’s the aunt controlling it? It’s really hard to tell). Basically, this is a feature-length acid trip without the acid. Cats have sparkling eyes, a girl is eaten by a piano while giggling, etc. To tell more would make it seem unbelievable.

Hopefully this film will soon have a DVD release. The print I watched had a Janus Films logo, so some restoration has occured.
After a shortbreak to return to planet earth, we watched “The Burning”, the embarrassing debut of the Weinstein brothers, Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter. A camp caretaker is horribly burned after a prank gone wrong (dubbed by my friends and me as the best prank ever!!). He returns to the camp,bent on revenge. Who cares if all of the offending campers are long gone? He’s going to kill everyone in his path, including this group, out rafting to find one of the canoes that mysteriously went missing in the night.

The fourth, and my second favorite aside House was “Night Warning”, a reverse-oedipus complex thriller from 1983. It stars Susan Tyrell as Aunt Cheryl (you may recognize her as Ramona from Cry Baby), who is in love with her nephew who is in her care after his parents’ freak death (an awesome beheading followed by the car going down a cliff, then exploding!). As she descends in to madness, Billy begins to figure things out. But is it too late?
This movie was the best one for re-enacting “Mystery Science Theater 3000”. In fact, one man deemed me “the winner” for a comment that I added. Unfortunately, it was too dirty to share here.
The only youtube clip that I can find is the opening car crash, and for some reason they cut the explosion, which happens literally one second after this video ends.Oh well, you get the idea:

The final movie was the other surprise listing. It was “Race with the Devil” (1975), starring Peter Fonda. It is a car chase/occult thriller hybrid. Unfortunately, it started at abuot 5:30 am, and after the first ten minutes, I succumbed to my urge to sleep. I couldn’t help it! I’m one of those people who likes at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and I had to sing at church in the morning. My friends seemed to enjoy it.
I had a wonderful time at the Circle Slumber Party. I can’t wait for next year!

Favorite Star Combinations: Lover Come Back (5/5)

2009-07-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

The second of three Rock Hudson/Doris Day vehicles, Lover Come Back (1961) is a hilarious romp through the lucrative world of New York Advertising agencies. After Carol Templeton loses a huge deal to Jerry Webster, she begins investigating his means of securing deals, which often include large amounts of alcohol and less-than-clothed ladies.
After Jerry is reported to the Ad Council for unethical activity, he creates a new product called VIP to woo the star witness out of a testimony and in to commercials. Carol hears about VIP and does everything in her power to stop it-even by falling in love with who she thinks is the inventor.
Like the other two Rock and Doris pictures, Lover Come Back is very stylized-very early sixties. Doris wears some truly terriblehats, like these, which surface during their obligatory dating montage:

It's like a lavender christmas tree! At least the swim suit is adorable.
There is really only one word to describe these movies: Delightful! Now that I have the Rock Hudson/Doris Day Collection, these movies will always be there for a pick-me-up.

Happy Birthday Ginger!!!

2009-07-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's here!
I'm sure you guys have heard these stories thousands of times, but here's a brief overview of her life.
Ginger was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence Kansas on July 16th, 1911. Her mother Lela was separated from her father, and she was raised largely by her grandparents while Lela was traveling to New York and LA, trying to make enough money as a writer for her daughter to join her.

Eventually Ginger (a nickname developed when her cousin could not say Virginia, and called her "Ginya") did join her in Fort Worth, TX, where Lela landed a job with a newspaper. Through her mother's work reviewing theatrical productions, Ginger caught the performance bug, and entered a Charleston contest, which she (of course) won. She went on to win the state Charleston contest, and began touring the Southern Orpheum circuit. Ginger no doubt made several stops through my town, Tulsa Oklahoma. Tulsa was an oil boom town that boasted two Orpheum theatres. Neither are standing today, but eventually I will make my way over to the Historical society to look for a program of "Ginger and the Redheads".
Vaudeville lead Ginger to Broadway, where she won a lead role in "Top Speed" and the Gershwin musical "Girl Crazy". Ginger was the first to expose the world to such classics as "Embraceable You" and "But Not For Me". She was an instant hit in New York, and began making small pictures in New York with Paramount, and then RKO Pathe pictures. After the closing of Girl Crazy, Ginger left New York for Tinseltown, and the rest is history.

After her stint with Fred, Ginger went on to act in both serious dramas and hilarious comedies. Ginger even won an Oscar in 1940 for Kitty Foyle, beating Bette Davis for the Letter, Katharine Hepburn for The Philadelphia Story, and Joan Fontaine for Rebecca. Many consider the results of the best actress race to be one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history.

Ginger with James Stewart, a former boyfriend and fellow winner in 1940.
Ginger continued to make great films through the 40s, and a couple of good ones in the 50s (though some in the 50s were total DUDS!). After leaving the business with the Jean Harlow biopic "Harlow" in 1965, Ginger retired to the "Rogers Rogue River Ranch" in Oregon. Here's the view from the Rogers Rogue River Ranch Roof (say that 5 times fast!)

To sum up this post, here are two rare old "Merrie Melodies" cartoons from 1937 and 1940 respectively. Both feature caricatures of Ginger.

Both of these cartoons use a clip from the very end of "The Gay Divorcee". I love the attention to detail-the fact that Ginger never touches the second chair, just like in the movie.
Have a great day!!

Ginger's 98th

2009-07-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the 98th birthday of none other than Miss Ginger Rogers. I have made some special celebration plans:
I'm going to watch at least 2 pictures of hers that I have never before seen. I bought Black Widow about a month ago, but I've never gotten around to watching it. My mom is also very interested in seeing that one, so I'll probably watch that one in the evening. I'll likely watch Vivacious Lady on Youtube earlier in the day.
I have also not yet seen The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to watch that one yet. They were discussing it on Reelcast a couple of months ago, that a lot of the fans saved one for a long time before watching it, because they were sad about it being the last one. I think that's definitely the case for me. After I watch Vernon and Irene, there will be nothing else of Fred and Ginger for me to see. kind of depressing. Anyway, who knows how I'll feel about it tomorrow.
I'll be wearing something pink tomorrow.
I'm going to mix up the Ginger Rogers cocktail. Yes, Ginger never drank, and I'm sure she would be less than thrilled to know that there is a cocktail named after her, but this sounds too delicious to pass up, and I need to use up the Ginger syrup that I made the other day. I suppose I could serve Ginger snaps or Gingerbread men as well, if I'm feeling crazy.
Now for some pre-birthday pic spam. Don't worry, there will be PLENTY more tomorrow :D
(I know these are messing with the layout,sorry. This layout just isn't working for me. I'll tryto find another one this afternoon)

Layout Help

2009-07-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to find the right layout. The current one Is too narrow, and I don't know how to customize it. I don't hink a thing about HTML, so I'm just copying and pasting whatever I find. Do you know of any good websites that offer free or relatively cheap and customizable layouts?
I really love the design at She Blogged By Night and TCM's Movie Morlocks, with a seamless header that flows in to the sidebar. If anyone can give me some tips, I would really appreciate it!
Thanks!

Away We Go (2009) 5/5

2009-07-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

I know classic cinema is my usual thing, but I loved this movie so much that I need to tell you about it.
"Away We Go" is about Bert and Verona. Along with their pregnancy, they also discover that Bert's parents are moving to Belgium one month before Verona's due date. They no longer need to live in this town (never mentioned) where they stayed to be close to his family, so they start looking around. From Phoenix to Montreal, until they find home in a heart wrenching scene.
This was one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. The lighting and colors in this picture were superb, especially in an early scene when Bert is lighting candles, and Verona's face is subtly filled with light. It was perfectly timed and operated. Kudos to lighting.
This film was also very well-acted. I'm sure it's impossible to make John Krasinski unlikable in a movie, but still, he was great. I almost love him more as Bert than I do as Jim. Maya Rudolph was also great. Wonderfully tender and sincere. Supporting players included cameos by Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
If I could sum up "Away We Go" in fewer words than above, I would say that "Away We Go" did for me today what "Juno" did for me last year. It's a great moment of tenderness, with a good heaping of humor.
See this movie!!!!!

A Wonderful Giveaway!

2009-07-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

Kate-Gabrielle at Silents and Talkies is giving away some fabulous stuff! Head on over to her blog to win one of three fabulous gift sets. I've got my eye on those prints in prize #2!

She sells awesome prints of everyone from Louise Brooks to Barbara Stanwyck.

I've talked enough. Now git!

Mash Game: Predict Your Future at eSPIN-the-Bottle

2009-07-07T18:50:00.000-07:00



		I will marry Cary Grant.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Hollywood in our fabulous Mansion.
		We will have 1 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a White 1936 Ford.
		I will spend my days as a actress, and live happily ever after.

I GOT IT!!!

2009-07-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've discussed my collection before on this blog. I collect sheet music from movie musicals, specifically trying to get every sheet from all 10 Fred and Ginger films. I will do a more comprehensive post once I locate my camera cord (grr).
Anyway, last night I stayed up pretty late to win this item.

It's the music to "I Used to be Color Blind" from Carefree, but that's not all: It's autographed by BOTH Fred and Ginger. The sheet for this music is rare already (it has never come up on ebay since I began collecting 5 months ago), but adding both of the signatures makes this an astronomical find! Obviously, it was autographed at different times (Ginger signed in '92, 5 years after Fred's death), making this an even greater testament to the devotion someone had to getting their signatures. It comes with a certificate of authenticity, but I don't need it to tell me that it's Ginger. She wished him "blessings" as she has in 99% of the autographs I've seen.
As you can see, I ended up paying $67 for it. It's a lot for one piece of sheet music, but it's the prize of my collection, and I know it's worth much more. I can't wait to get it in the mail!

Another interest of mine: Triviatown (4/5)

2009-07-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Do you have what it takes?
Triviatown (2006) is a documentary by Patrick Cady and Brit McAdams about the world's largest trivia event, the 90FM Trivia in Stephen's Point Wisconsin. It chronicles several teams in their 54-hour fight for the title.
The trivia contest is held over the radio by the local college radio station. A question is asked every two songs, and each team has the duration of those songs to submit their answer via telephone. Any source can be used for answering purposes-computer, books, calling people on the other side of the world.
But don't think that makes it easy. These questions are crazy-specific, like "In (some) scenein the kitchen in Close Encounters of the Third kind, what is the brand of milk that is sitting on the table?". For these questions, team members prepared all year by watching movies, TV and commercials (yes, even commercials are fair game), and writing down every detail. In one scene, we see team Dyslexics of the world Untie! retrieve a dvd from the trunk of a car to see what book a man brings to his ailing wife in the hospital. The operator at the radio stations answers just as the second song fades away. They get the answer in in time, and it is correct. I was on as little of my seat as they were!
Of course, as a trivia junkie I relate more heavily to this film than the average viewer. I began playing quizbowl in high school, and have continued to this day. Quizbowl is a triviagame played on teams of four. Schools compete against one another and, like all school sports, eligibility is a factor (though it was never a problem with us...haha). I even auditioned for jeopardy last November, but I didn't make it. I still have another year to try and qualify for the college version, and if not that, I have the rest of my life for the adult version!
I digress. Triviatown was a well-made documentary with one pitfall: the perennial winning team, Network, were portrayed somewhat as the villains, while the liquor store that was team Cakers was the protagonist of the story, finally making their way in to the top 10 after umpteen years of play. Yes, the members of Network were very cold individuals, but from my experience with quizbowl I have learned that even the most hardcore nerd can be nice when he wants to. They were kind of portrayed as if they didn't have fun with the competition, as seen in their disappointment with finishing second for the first time in years. It's not that at all: winning is their fun. They enjoy playing, but that doesn't mean they have to get drunk and dance to "Come on Eileen" to express it. I and many of my fellow nerds I'm sure will sympathize with the characterization of Network.
Still, this was a wonderful film, and I nice break from my classic cinema purge.They're great, but every once in a while one needs a break to stay interested.

Favorite Star Combinations: The Awful Truth (1937) 5/5

2009-07-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Now I will present one of my favorite acting combinations: Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. What chemistry, what timing! This pairing is one of the Golden Age's most electric.
After hitting the nail on the head with "Theadora Goes Wild" in 1936, Irene came back for more comedy in 1937. Although she was apprehensive at first about her comedic abilities, no one else doubted her talent. Early glimpses of her humor can be seenin a very short clip from the wonderful and underrated 1936 version of "Showboat", when she takes over the lead role in the play:

The person who uploaded that video considers the moment to be unintentionally funny, but if they had seen some later Dunne pictures, I think they would retract that statement.
On to The Awful Truth!
The Awful Truth is about Jerry and Lucy Warriner, a couple who have never been faithful to one another. After a public disagreement about suspicion and fidelity, the couple decides to split, but they continue to see one another because they share custody of their precocious dog Mr. Smith (a delightful appearance by Skippy, also known as Asta in the Thin Man series). It is obvious that they are still crazy for each other, though they are both too cowardly to admit it. Instead, Lucy jumps in to a serious relationship witha rancher and oilman from Oklahoma (an early appearance by Ralph Bellamy). Jerry hooks up with an heiress and they intend to marry as well. In a hilarious scene, Lucy visits Jerry on the night that their divorce becomes final, and answers the phone when Barbara calls.

After some automobile sabotage, Lucy sneaks Jerry away to spend the night in her aunt's cabin. There, they have some trouble keeping the door closed that separates their respective bedrooms, perhaps a sign that there should be no walls between them. They reconcile just as the clock strikes midnight, and they are no longer married. Time for another wedding!
This is such a hilarious film from start to finish. Like all films of the 1930s, it is not completely relevant to today;s society, making some parts a little slow, but still enjoyable.
My favorite jokes stem out of Lucy's impending marriage and move to Oklahoma. As a lifelong resident of Oklahoma, Jerry's jokes had me on the floor laughing! Especially when he says that if she gets bored with Oklahoma City, she can always come to Tulsa! I go to school just south of Oklahoma City, and was born and raised in Tulsa. I can safely say that neither are terribly entertaining towns.
I just read on the IMDB trivia that this film was improvised heavily. Of course, there was a working script for plot purposes, but jokes were made up during shooting. They make it look so easy!
My favorite thing about Irene Dunne comedies are her facial expressions (many can be seen in the phone scene above, when he's making up that she is his sister). I also love her snoody voice when she talks about people she doesn't like. My favorite example of this is from "My Favorite Wife" (1940, my favorite of their pictures) when they are "practicing" for him to tell Bianca that she has come back, and she repeats Bianca's name in this ugly character voice and does her high society snicker. Priceless.
Another great feature of "The Awful Truth" is Skippy. Although he is known worldwide as Asta from the Thin Man series and from Bringing Up Baby, he turns in an adorable performance in the Awful Truth. My favorite Mr. Smith part is when Lucy is playing hide the toy with him, and she makes him go hide his eyes. Here is a screencap:

Then she sas "no peeking!" and he looks up briefly. Too cute! I want to train my dog to do this.
In conclusion, see The Awful Truth. This is what comedy is and is supposed to be.

Adam's Rib (3.5/5)

2009-07-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have never been much of a Hepburn fan, especially after reading accounts of her interactions with Ginger (nobody messes with my Ginge!!). I decided to give "Adam's Rib" a try anyway, because it was one of my Great-Grandma's favorites. She passed away a year ago tomorrow, and it was a nice way to connect to her.
From Netflix:
Husband-and-wife attorneys Adam and Amanda Bonner (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) sit at opposing sides of the courtroom in this comedy directed by George Cukor. Amanda decides to defend Doris (Judy Holliday), who stands accused of the attempted murder of her husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen), while Adam signs on as the prosecuting attorney. The sensational trial rules the headlines and strains the Bonners' marriage.

This is the first Tracy/Hepburn picture that I have seen, and many say that it is their best. If this is their best, I can't say I'm totally interested in seeing the others. While Adam's Rib was moderately funny, it didn't hold a candle to earlier battle of the sexes comedies like Bringing Up Baby or The Awful Truth (more on that one later :)).
Jusy Holliday was fun in this movie as the wife who attempted to murder her husband. Jean Hagen gave a delightful performance, which I later found out was her screen debut.
The most memorable scenes for me were the under-the-table conversations between Adam and Amanda; especially the first when she lifts her skirt and gives him a peek of her slip. The home movies at the farmhouse were also quite cute, and of course the massage scenes. All of these captured the chemistry between Tracy and Kate that I found missing in many other parts of the movie.
There are certainly a lot of symbols of the impending sexual revolution in this picture-maybe this is a paper or an article in my future. The instance that sticks out most is the naming of Adam and A(man)da. Women in screwball and sex comedies have always interested me (I should post the paper I wrote on Carefree sometime soon...).
Like I said at the beginning, I'm not an enormous Katharine Hepburn fan. Adam's Rib certainly helped me to hate her a little less. Production stories maintain that Judy Holliday's shaking during her interrogation scene was not a character choice, but nerves because she loved Katharine so much. Hepburn also did a lot of campaigning for Holliday-urging Cukor to use Holliday's Reaction shots during the courtroom scenes over shots of Hepburn speaking. This helped Holliday nab the starring role in her break-out movie "Born Yesterday".

I'm sorry...I'm a procrastinator

2009-07-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so terrible at this. The problem is that my computer is in a place where it's really uncomfortable to sit and type for extended periods of time. Ack!
Even though I haven't kept up with watching a movie every day, I've come pretty close. I'm not going to write about all of them, but I'll do my best to keep you updated on my favorites.
I've now seen 30 of Ginger's films...almost to the halfway mark! Now that I've seen most of what people consider her best films, I'm working myway through the lesser-known stuff; either because it has fallen in to obscurity or because it was just plain BAD (read: The Groom Wore Spurs).
Like I said, I will try harder to give you more entries.

5/17: Manhattan (1979) (4.5/5)

2009-05-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I watched Woody Allen's Manhattan.
Manhattan opens with different shots of New York City to the tune of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". This had me excited from the first trill of the clarinet, it's my favorite piece of music!

Manhattan tells the story of Isaac, a divorced TV writer who is seeing a girl in high school (played well by a young and gorgeous Mariel Hemingway). He finds out that his friend Yale is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton). Isaac is astounded because Yale has a wonderful relationship with his wife, yet he is carrying on this affair. At first he hates Mary, who is very showy in her intelligence, and snoody in her views, calling many great artists like Van Gogh overrated. Nevertheless, he is intrigued, and begins dating her. He also breaks up with Tracy the highscooler, so that she can go to London to study acting. In the end, Isaac and Tracy get back together

Like I said, I was sold on this movie by the fanastic opening and closing sequences, which use most of Gershwin's masterpiece. Here is the opening scene (ignore that this ivdeo screws with the aspect ratio-some people have not respect!):

This was Woody Allen's first foray in to both black and white photography and the widescreen format. Both work very well with this picture (although this could be because most, no all of the movies I watch are black and white). It adds to the artistry of the film. I was especially impressed with the museum scene, arguably Isaac and Mary's first date. The lighting (or lack thereof) is gorgeous in this scene, and I couldn't imagine this being in color.
The people who have posted this on youtube were thinking more about temporal than narrative cuts, but here is the second and more beautiful part of the museum scene:

Surprisingly, this is the least favorite of Allen's films, even though it is considered by critics and hardcore Allen fans to be his best. I think that perhaps this film is so disappointing to him because, as he says in the opening scene, New York is a tough town, and no amount of film in the world could capture it in its entirety.

5/16: "My Man Godfrey" (3/5)

2009-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I watched Frank Capra's "My Man Godfrey", and 1936 Universal picture.

From IMDB:
In the depths of the Depression, a party game brings dizzy socialite Irene Bullock to the city dump where she meets Godfrey, a derelict, and ends by hiring him as family butler. He finds the Bullocks to be the epitome of idle rich, and nutty as the proverbial fruitcake. Soon, the dramatizing Irene is in love with her 'protege'...who feels strongly that a romance between servant and employer is out of place, regardless of that servant's mysterious past.
For some reason, I thought that this picture was made later in the thirties (I had my heart set on 1939), so I was left a little disappointed in the quality of humor and direction. Of course, when I noticed that it was in fact made in '36, I cut it a little more slack. I found the direction of "Godfrey" a little sparse and tableau-esque (ie not enough close-ups). In fact, I don't think I could identify a picture of Carole Lombarde in a lineup, because there were little to no close-ups of her, and those weird side curls were always covering her eyes (this is my first Lombard picture).
I did really enjoy Irene's morose retorts after Godfrey turns her down. Everything in her life is meaningless. My favorite things about these scenes are the way she enters the room. She looks at the ceiling, her eyes glazed, and her feet barely lifting off the ground. Perhaps a little more intense direction would have made this even more hilarious.

My favorite part was the fantastic supporting cast. Alice Brady reprises her role as a ditzy, borderline mentally retarded mother who cares more about her the feelings of her piano protege (who only plays one song) than her emotionally unstable daughters. Gail Patrick also shines in this film as the devious and cold-hearted sister Cornelia (a role she would often take, especially in two of my favorites "Stage Door" and "My Favorite Wife"). She did a fantastic job in this picture, but surprisingly never scored larger roles.
Interestingly, this picture featured a few people who had worked or later worked for RKO (I just took a class about RKO so I'm enthralled by them at the moment). Greg LaCava went next to RKO to direct my favorite movie Stage Door, which featured Gail Patrick as Adolph Menjou's lady friend Linda, (one of the) arch-nemises of Ginger Roger's Jean. Franklin Pangborn, a great character actor played Harcourt in Stage Door, and is uncredited as the judge of the scavenger hunt. Alice Brady was also featured in a couple of RKO pictures in the early '30s, inluding the Gay Divorcee.
I liked this film, but found it seriously lacking some type of intangible charisma. It was not as good artistically as its screwball predecessor It Happened One Night, nor as funny as the Irene Dunne/Cary Grant screwballs of the later 30s.

Favorite Quote: "Godfrey loves me! He put me in the shower!"

Here is the 8th part of the picture, including the clip above. It really gets good around the 5 minute mark.

*Little known fact* Carole Lombard was known for having a particularly filthy mouth. My film professor showed me this clip in one of my classes, saying "I think you guys may have a skewed view of the past, because the code kept everything that was really going on OUT of the movies". Here are some very rare bloopers from My Man Godfrey, including a Lombard cursing storm. (NSFW)

Love it!

Hello!

2009-05-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my film blog! I expect this entry to be a little awkward, but whatever! I decided to start this blog after some friends became interested in the fact that I am trying to watch a new movie every day during my summer holiday. Since I dream of being a professor of film studies, I think this would be conducive to my future career! So before I begin yacking about the movies I'm watching, I thought I would give you an idea of me!
I am a student at the University of Oklahoma. For some reason, I am seeking a degree in vocal performance, with a minor in film studies. I want to study Film in grad school, and become a professor. Right now my area of expertise is in the musical (especially depression-era musicals), but I am also interested in cult film.
Above all other things, I love Ginger Rogers. Her grace, elegance, and talent were stellar. While my favorite movie is Stage Door (which I will talk about later), my favorite Ginger Rogers musical is Swing Time. Here is a wonderful number from Swing Time. This is the first number I saw them dance, and I have been hooked ever since:

Just wonderful!

In closing, I hope that you enjoy my ramblings on these films that are new to me, and I hope that I inspire you to find something that you love, as I have.