My Hollywood Crushes - A new series

I'm sure everyone has their movie/tv star crushes. Those stars who you just fell in love while watching them on screen that captured your fancy. Usually started when you were a teen or even younger and just was infatuated with. Now everyone knows I love Carole Lombard. She is my favorite actress of all time and would be easy to start this new series with her. But I wanted to go with some other actresses of mine that I grew up watching who I had the biggest crushes on. And these won't be just classic movie actresses but modern ones as well. For a little insight, my wife has some crushes of her own. More of the modern variety though, including such actors like Johnny Depp, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Chris Evans. But for me, I will start with this particular actress. I just bought American Graffiti the other day and watched it and she came back into my life. And I'm not talking about Suzanne Somers as the mysterious blonde in the t-bird. No, I'm talking about Cindy Williams. I first fell in love with her as Shirley Feeney on the tv series Laverne & Shirley. I really can't put a finger on why except that she was funny, cute and seemed like a regular girl. And then later on I would see her as high school student Laurie in American Graffiti. And that was all she wrote. So one of my first Hollywood crushes was Cindy Williams.

I will try to do one post a week about a crush of mine time permitting. And from these I guess everyone will have a idea of the actresses that I was crazy in love about.

At The Beach: JOAN CRAWFORD & DOROTHY SEBASTIAN

Joan and Dorothy having a little sparring session..all in fun

At The Beach: JEAN SEBERG

What a funny pic of Jean!

Anne Baxter personal quotes

Check out these two personal quotes from Anne from two of her most known films:

On All About Eve (1950) I patterned Eve [Harrington] after the understudy I had in a Broadway play when I was 13. She actually threatened to finish me off. She was the bitchiest person I ever saw.

The Razor's Edge (1946) contained my only great performance. When we shot that hospital scene in which "Sophie" loses her husband, child and everything else, I relived the death of my brother, whom I adored and who died at three. It gives me chills right now to think of it.

 My love of classic films is beyond measure

Monty

Anne Baxter welcomes Jean Arthur

 Monty has asked me to welcome the wonderful Jean Arthur as next month's Classic Movie Goddess. So here I am. First let me say I had a wonderful time for my turn this month and that Monty did a pretty good job. Now let's everyone give a big classic Hollywood style welcome to Miss Jean Arthur.








Welcome Jean...you will have a great time here.


 
Jean: Wow, thank you Anne. I did not expect such a welcome. I am so honored that Monty has chosen me to be the next goddess. I really never considered myself a goddess, so this will be a new experience for me.

Anne: Yeah, me too. But it's a great honor. Monty usually does a wonderful job. I know I had a great time.


Jean: Yes. Well thank you guys both for this welcome and I can't wait for next month.


Me: Thanks Anne for welcoming Jean and to you Jean, I can't wait for next month either.

Summer Lovin': JANE POWELL

The ever precocious Jane Powell..

The Morning Movie: AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)

A nostalgic trip back to 1962 by George Lucas, in what I think is his 2nd best movie, behind only Star Wars: A New Hope. American Graffiti is one awesome movie about two high school grads Steve (Ronnie Howard) and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss, beginning a remarkable run of top tier 70's films) spending one last night in Modesto, California with their buddies before heading off to college. Steve has issues with his girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams of soon to be Laverne & Shirley) while Curt is pursuing this mysterious blonde in a white T-bird (Suzanne Somers). Meanwhile their buddies John Milner (Paul LeMat) who has become a street racing legend with his wicked '32 Ford Coupe and Terry (Charles Martin Smith) have problems of their own. Milner has to contend with some young kid named Bob Falfa (a terrific little performance by Harrison Ford) who wants to take him down in a street race. And Terry tries to romance Debbie (Candy Clark) but runs into all kinds of trouble.

 John, Laurie and Steve hanging out at Mel's Diner

 The waitresses at Mel's Diner

 Milner's wicked ride

 The film's racing climax

Harrison Ford with two beauties by his side

Packed with rocking tunes and some awesome wickedly cars, American Graffiti is a must see. In fact I actually watched it last night after buying the DVD at Wal-Mart yesterday but am watching it again this morning. As Wolfman Jack (who appears in the movie as a cool DJ)...AAAAAHHHHHHWOOOOOO!

 

At The Beach: CAROLE LOMBARD

You know I had to include my girl Carole in this series....here is a photo of her from the film Swing High, Swing Low.

Cinematic World Tour Blogathon: California, Here I Come

Since I thought of this blogathon event I figured I needed to be the first to do a post. I was hoping to go abroad and eventually might before the summer is over, but I decided to start with California, a place I have never been before. Maybe my good friends that I met through blogger and facebook will put me for a night or two as well. Like Desiree, Kori and Valarie. I will call ahead to see if that's cool with them. Anyway some of the places that were captured on film for California feature some very cool spots that would be awesome to see up close. So let's begin shall we...

SO BEAUTIFUL!

First off I have to visit Big Sur, where The Sandpiper (1965) was filmed. Even though it stars larger than life Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the backdrop of Big Sur overshadows them both. One of the most gorgeous places in the world and so lovingly captured on film. Have to go there definitely. I mean it is so beautiful just going by what I saw on display in The Sandpiper, it has to be even more amazing when you actually see it.

Enjoy a casual drive in San Francisco....

But try not to get on the bad side of SFPD...they usually shoot first, 

then ask questions later

Probably venture over to San Francisco to check out the streets where top cops Bullitt (Steve McQueen) and Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) performed their duties. Would be very cool to engage in a car chase but we will keep things legal and safe.

Now listen when the tourists start arriving...that's when I will give the signal...

and everyone just go crazy!

Drop by Bodega Bay for a spell, where Hitchcock set his bird frenzy fest The Birds. But the first sign of seeing birds giving me the evil eye, I'm so out of there.

Looks like fun at the park if you decide to visit Santa Rosita

Stop by the Santa Rosita State Park, home to It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) to kick back and just relax. Now if we come across a treasure map, then we're off on a little scavenger hunt then.

From a long lost era..the 60's...American Graffiti..

Also zoom over to Modesto, and cruise the strip where American Graffiti (1973) took place. That would be wicked cool!

Just don't expect gifts from Richard Gere

If you can afford a trip to Beverly Hills, then you have to stay at The Wilshire Hotel...home to such films as Pretty Woman and Beverly Hills Cop.

And to wrap things up, how about a visit to the quaint small town of Santa Rosa that was the setting for Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Small town life is very appealing to me, so Santa Rosa is definitely a place I would want to stop at and visit. So that ends my trip to California as I know there are tons more films I could have included in this post, but it's all I had time for as things are very hectic this weekend with a new AC unit being installed and family get togethers.  I will probably do another post with a different location before the summer is out. And to everyone that is doing a post for this non-traditional blogathon all I ask is that you send me an email letting me know when you post on it on your blog and include a link in it to my blog. Then I can do a write-up on here letting everyone else know that yours is up. Thanks to everyone who is participating and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

My love of classic movies is beyond measure

Monty

The Morning Movie:PRIMROSE PATH (1940)

 Henry Travers, Ginger and Joel...

Caught some of Primrose Path this morning on TCM before leaving for work. As part of Joel McCrea month, the movie is about a girl (Ginger Rogers) who comes from a long line of prostitutes in her family falls for a working man (McCrea) and tries to put her past behind her. Pretty good stuff. Well the hour I saw. Now I need to see the whole film now.

At The Beach: ELKE SOMMER

The beautiful Elke...

ALL GOOD THINGS in JUNE

The summer begins next month and All Good Things promises to keep everyone cool. Well figuratively not literally. First off, my classic movie goddess will be Jean Arthur, one of Hollywood's nicest and greatest leading ladies. Expect photos, reviews of her films and other assorted goodies. My guest for the month will be Tracey Witt, a friend I met on Facebook. She is filling in for Becky, who will not be able to make her guest stint at this time. My impromptu summer movie vacation blogathon will be in full swing with links to all those who have signed up to participate. I may post another one this month as well. I will also continue with my At The Beach photo series through-out the month. So I think June will be another exciting month. As the heat on the outside rises, take a few moments to swing by here and I will try to help cool you off.

At The Beach: JAMES CAGNEY & MARION MARSH

Jimmy and Marion horsing around at the beach

The Morning Movie: THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955)

Nothing like starting the day off before heading out to work than with some Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, my favorite film of hers. A family man (Tom Ewell) who fantasizes constantly about women meets the ultimate woman in Marilyn, who lives upstairs. So while his wife and son are away for the summer, he goes into overdrive trying to romance her. It's all in good fun because his bark is worse than his bite as he never really comes close to having an affair. But it does make for one great movie. Highly enjoyable! And MM just looks stunning in that white summer dress!

At The Beach: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey having a little fun poolside

Anne Baxter in THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1946)

Up until a few months ago I had never seen this amazing movie. Thanks to TCM's Essentials, I got to view it one Saturday night and was blown away by it. A terrific cast in Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Clifton Webb, Hebert Marshall, Elsa Lanchester and Anne Baxter. Based on the Somerset Maugham novel about a young man (Power) who becomes disillusioned with things and goes off to find himself. Gene plays his fiancee who plans to take him back when he returns even though she is now married to someone else. Anne plays a friend of Tierney's from the mid-west who loses her husband and child in an auto accident. She kind of loses all hope and Anne gives one of her best performances ever. Heck she won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress..can't really argue with the Academy on that one. As she is simply amazing. Heart-breaking and wrenching, you feel so badly for Sophie, her character, as she has to endure so much. If you have never seen The Razor's Edge, then you're in for a treat. A gorgeous looking film with an outstanding cast that deliver some of their best work in film ever.

Film: B+
Anne's Performance: A

My love of classic films is beyond measure

Monty

Anne Baxter has a message for Ann Sheridan

To: Ann Sheridan


As much as I love your work and films I have to ask that you realize that I am the star of the month and not you. I believe Monty already chose you last year and did a marvelous job from what I hear. But this is 2012 and it's my turn. I'm sure this doesn't have to get awkward or ugly as I know of you're upcoming blogathon and all. I'm sure we can co-exist on All Good Things. Just not at the same time.


Sincerely yours
Anne Baxter

P.S. 
Of course if I have to throw down with you...we can do that too...

Dang...I sense a little hostility between the two Anne's...I will try to accommodate both women though here on AGT.

At The Beach: ESTHER WILLIAMS

For some reason I only did one post featuring Esther Williams for my at the beach series. You would have thought I would have done more. Well I tend to make up for that this year, by posting more pics of everyone's favorite aquatic film star. I can hear Dawn screaming with glee right about now.

The start of another tournament...

My friend Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film just kicked off her Leading Man Tournament which features 40 actors over 8 decades. She starts with the 30's era today. Here's the link to go cast your vote.
 journeysinclassicfilm
And here's a photo of Ann Sheridan spreading the word. Man, that Ann has been showing up all over All Good Things a lot lately..hasn't she?

I understand..I will let everyone know. Well me and Monty will!

At The Beach: CLAUDETTE COLBERT

The summer is almost  here and time to kick off my annual summer at the beach photo series. It's just photos of classic stars hanging out at the beach or poolside somewhere. I started late last year in July because that's when the idea came to me. Well now we start in May as many people start heading to the beach or the pools. I will try to post a pic a day as the series will run through Labor Day. And here to kick things off is the lovely Claudette Colbert. 

Anne Baxter: Classic Movie Goddess video tribute

While over at You Tube, I found this wonderful video paying tribute to my classic movie goddess of the month, Anne Baxter. So here it is, about 7 minutes long accompanied by some really cool music befitting Anne. Enjoy.
 http://youtu.be/ztuC3KDLJo8

Tennis, Anyone?....Donna Reed is looking for a partner

Anyone care to join Donna for a game of tennis...Robin I know you would. Be a dear and let Donna know you're coming by.

Hi Monty... Please host a Blogathon for me.

A weird dream about Ann Sheridan...

As most of my readers know, my dreams tend to be about movies. Haven't had a dream in awhile until last night. And it was a beaut. It was during the middle of the day and I was home, watching TV. My wife was not there but my three dogs were. I hear a knock on the door and I open it to find Ann Sheridan there. I was stunned. She asked if I was me, and I said yes and invited her in. She had on a long flowing black dress and walked in and my dogs came running out. Now they are very friendly but will bark if they don't know you. Which they did but Ann just gave them this serious glare and they all wimpered off. Then she asked about my blogs and stuff. And asked why was I the only who didn't write a post for her recent blogathon. I was like I didn't even know there was one for her going on. Then she went ballistic...saying things like "Oh what I can't have a blogathon? What I'm not worthy like Bette or Kate?" I said oh no Ms. Sheridan, you definitely should have one. My only excuse for not doing it was I guess I was so busy with all my blogs and other blogs I contribute to. She said well to fix it right now but writing a post right then and there. With her watching me. It made me very uncomfortable, but I did it. And she read it and liked it. And then the dream kind of faded out and I woke up. What was really strange is that I didn't recently see one of her films or had been posting about her. If it had been Anne Baxter, who is my star of the month, I could understand, but Ann Sheridan just came out of nowhere. Just wanted to share another one of my wild and crazy dreams.

ALL GOOD THINGS first inductions to it's Hall of Fame

I was toying with the idea of creating a Hall of Fame for all the great stars and directors that I have written and talked about on here. So like most hall of fame things, there are certain criteria to be met to get inducted. I have three. They are as follows:

1.) Winner of a Montie - which everyone knows is my version of the Oscars. So if a certain star or director or writer has won a Montie, that means they are in the mix. If they have won several Monties, then that only increases their chances of getting in.


2.) Winner of a tourney - everyone also knows how much I love staging tournaments featuring actors, actresses, directors and even films against one another. If a person wins a tourney, they are a lock to get inducted. I also say if they do well enough in the tourney but don't win, they will be strongly considered as well. For instance, Grace Kelly and Natalie Wood both made the final four for two years in a row without winning a tourney. That is still an impressive feat.


3.) Can be voted in via a poll - From time to time, I will have polls that will specifically ask should this person be inducted into the hall of fame. 

Looks like we're in Irene, my dear...

I plan to induct two people a month and the first pair chosen is none other than Cary Grant, my favorite actor of all time and Irene Dunne. Why these two you may ask? Let me explain what this pair have accomplished. Cary is a three-time Montie winner (Best Actor for The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday and Penny Serenade) and winner of the 2011 Favorite Classic Movie Actor Tourney. More than enough qualifications to earn an induction. Meanwhile Irene is no slouch herself being a Montie winner for The Awful Truth and winner of the 2011 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney. So please congratulate Cary and Irene as being All Good Things first inductees into the Hall of Fame.