All Good Things presents Cinematic World Tour 2012 Blogathon

Looks like Cary and Eva are all set...

Everybody has taken a vacation at one time or another. Traveling from your hometown to another state or even country. By car, train or plane, enjoying the sights and making new friends along the way. Of course there are always some hiccups along the way, such as lost luggage, snooty hotel clerks, flight delays, etc. But the overall experience makes up for all that. So I decided to do a blogathon based solely on that. Taking a page from TCM's recent Around the World with Oscar, I am inviting all my friends to plan a fantasy summer vacation using classic movies. Choose a particular destination, like New York or England, and write about movies that use those places as their location. Say you plan to visit Florida, would you stay at the hotel in Key Largo or Miami Beach (Some Like It Hot)? Or maybe Aunt Elizabeth could put you up at her nice home in Connecticut (Bringing Up Baby). Or visit the scenic Big Sur (The Sandpiper). Or travel abroad to England, France or Australia. You can choose as many places as you want, just depends on how much traveling you plan on doing. Load them up with plenty of pics and let us know where you stayed at, and what was on your itinerary. Be as creative as possible. And unlike most blogathons, which usually last a weekend or a week, this one will last all summer long. So your tickets will be open-ended. Beginning Memorial Day on Monday, May 28th and running through Labor Day on Monday, September 3rd. So you can post as many times over this summer. And I hope to have this as a recurring series each and every summer. I will be thinking of where I will take my vacation this year. I actually think we may get to visit New York for real with a friend, so I may add that destination to my cinematic post. And if we don't make the trip, then I will have the movies set in New York to rave about. Just leave a comment here on this post or email me if you wish to join in on the fun. Oh and have your passport and cameras ready! I will post more details before everyone starts taking their vacations. Giving you plenty of time to decide the places you want to visit. And I won't restrict it just to classic films. Some modern films and their locations are gladly welcomed!

Hopefully we won't be engaged in a 'Great Race' while traveling...

come to think of it, that might be fun



Gone Too Soon Blogathon: Natalie Wood

cometoverhollywood

Natalie Wood is one of my favorite screen actresses of all time. And I jumped at the chance to write about her for this gone too soon blogathon. It’s ironic that the first film I saw of hers was the last one she made before her untimely death.

Brainstorm which was made in 1981 but wasn’t released until 1983 was the first film I recall seeing of hers. I was around 13 and we had just got HBO. Back then HBO would show new releases every other day, up to 3 airings at a time. So I got plenty of opportunities to watch Brainstorm. Of course I had no idea who she was or her history. And I definitely did not know she had just passed away recently. But from that moment on I learned everything I could about her.

It was quite a surprise to learn as I got older that Natalie  had been around since the forties making movies. Starting out as child and appearing in such films like the sentimental holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. She then entered the 50's as one of the best teen actresses to ever grace the silver screen. Starring in such films like The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne; The Star (1952) with Bette Davis and of course Rebel Without A Cause (1955).

But I think Natalie's best era is definitely the 60's. It's where she entered adulthood and showed her very impressive range of acting. Doing everything from dramas to musicals to comedies, Natalie was at the top of her game. Let me just run off the films she did during her peak period: West Side Story (1961), Splendor in the Grass (1961), Gypsy (1962), Love With The Proper Stranger (1963), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), The Great Race (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), This Property Is Condemned (1966), and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). There is no denying the fact that Natalie was one of the top ten film stars of that decade and you can see why. She just displayed such an easy going style of acting that was so casual. It was like hanging out with your best friend and listening to them tell stories of their past. I was and and still is captivated by Natalie's presence in any of her films.

I can think of only one film that I have seen of hers that I'm not too crazy about and it just happens to her biggest film of her career. I just can't get into West Side Story. I do like musicals, but couldn't never get into that film. I've seen it twice and I just can't. But that is the sole exception. Everything else she did is on the spot. I love her in those bright and funny comedies like The Great Race and Sex and The Single Girl where she gets to show off her physical comic abilities. And she was really strong in those top notch dramas like Love With the Proper Stranger and This Property Is Condemned.

While her film career was shining, her personal life was a different story. After her relationship with Warren Beatty soured, she dated several different men, some of whom were very much married. She attempted suicide in 1966. She was able to work out her issues by seeing a psychiatrist and got married in 1969 to Richard Gregson. It didn't last but her next marriage would, to former boyfriend Robert Wagner.

Of course tragedy would strike in 1981 when Natalie drowned off the coast of Catalina Island. Rumors persist to this day that foul play was involved. But whatever happened, we did lose a very talented actress and amazing woman that day at the young age of 43. This post has stirred memories of Natalie in me and I will honor her this weekend with a marathon of the films of her that I own. I would like to think Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood for hosting this blogathon and so glad that I could be a part of it. Please go to her page to check out all the other wonderful entries being posted this weekend of other great stars that left this world way too soon.

CMBA Comedy Classics Blogathon: His Girl Friday (1940)

I saw it for the first time when I was 12 years old and it immediately struck me as the best movie I had seen in my young life at the time. It would keep with me over the years and stay as my favorite movie, withstanding the new releases with all their hi tech fancy stuff like the Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones, and others. For me, there is nothing better than His Girl Friday and watching Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell play off each other.

Cary Grant is never better as newspaper editor Walter Burns, who is about to lose his ace reporter and ex-wife Hildy Johnson (a superb performance by Rosalind Russell) to marriage to an insurance man (Ralph Bellamy). Just so happens a major news story breaks as convicted murderer Earl Williams, who is about to be put to death, escapes from custody. Walter convinces Hildy to take this last job assignment and he will sign a nice big check for an insurance policy for the soon to be wed couple. During her investigation, Hildy manages to track down Williams and tries to keep him safe from the police and the mayor. A wonderful mix of comedy and some drama make this my all time favorite film. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make a terrific dream team. The one liners fly fast and furious, expertly handled by the entire cast. Great direction by the legendary Howard Hawks.

You couldn't ask for a better screwball film. I have probably seen His Girl Friday like 40 some times and it is still fresh and funny the 40th time as it was the first time. One of the films that even if you own it, you will stop whatever you doing to watch it when it airs on TV. I know I do. Turn off my cell phone, don't want to be disturbed by anyone or anything. It's that great of a film.

A sampling of the fast paced dialogue that has amazed me for all these many years:



Walter Burns: Sorta wish you hadn't done that, Hildy.
Hildy Johnson: Done what?
Walter Burns: Divorced me. Makes a fella lose all faith in himself. Gives him a... almost gives him a feeling he wasn't wanted.
Hildy Johnson: Oh, now look, junior... that's what divorces are FOR!

Wilson, reporter: Any dope on how he escaped?
McCue, reporter: Maybe the sheriff let him out so Williams could vote for him.

Hildy Johnson: [speaking to Walter on the phone] Now, get this, you double-crossing chimpanzee: There ain't going to be any interview and there ain't going to be any story. And that certified check of yours is leaving with me in twenty minutes. I wouldn't cover the burning of Rome for you if they were just lighting it up. If I ever lay my two eyes on you again, I'm gonna walk right up to you and hammer on that monkeyed skull of yours 'til it rings like a Chinese gong!

Louis: What's the matter, Hildy?
Hildy Johnson: Don't give me that innocent stuff! What did you pull on Mr. Baldwin THIS time?
Louis: Who, me?
Hildy Johnson: Yes, you and that albino of yours!
Louis: You talkin' about Evangeline?
Hildy Johnson: None other
Louis: She ain't no albino.
Hildy Johnson: She'll do 'till one comes along!
Louis: She was born right here in this country!

So to wrap this blog up let me just say that His Girl Friday is THE movie for me. Cary Grant's other classic movie, Bringing Up Baby is a close second, but His Girl Friday holds that special place in my heart. To all classic movie lovers out there, if by some small chance you have never seen this movie, take time to watch it somewhere, somehow and I promise you will not regret it.




This post is part of the Comedy Classics Blogathon sponsored by the Classic Movie Blog Association. The event runs January 22-27. For a complete list of participants and to learn more,
click here: Classic Movie Blog Association

CMBA Comedy Classics Blogathon (Jan 22-27, 2012)

I will be participating in CMBA's Comedy Classics Blogathon, which begins on Sunday and runs thru Friday. My personal selection will be on His Girl Friday, my favorite movie of all time. But I am looking forward to all the other members choices such as Classic Becky's Arsenic and Old Lace; My Love of Old Hollywood's Easy Living; and Noir & Chick Flicks contribution about Gene Tierney and her romantic comedies. Should be a wonderful time.

Carole-tennial (+3) Blogathon: Why Carole Lombard is my favorite actress

Here is my contribution to the Carole-tennial blogathon going on at Carole & Co. live journal.com. I was just going to write a review of Mr. and Mrs. Smith but instead wanted to share this post I wrote a few months ago. Why Carole Lombard is my favorite actress – Last year I wrote a post entitled why Cary Grant is my favorite actor. Now it’s Carole Lombard’s turn.  And she has been so as long as I can remember. I started watching older movies when I was about 12 years old and believe the first film of hers I saw was nothing Sacred. And I loved her immediately. Carole-tennial (+3) Blogathon

 I knew I would like several more actresses over time but for me Carole is the one. She has such a down home aura that meshed perfectly with the glamorous life of Hollywood. Not only was she stunningly beautiful but was also a great screwball comedienne. I loved the fact that she was not above taking a pratfall or engaging in some silly hi-jinks that would leave viewers very amused. And Carole could do other film genres besides comedy. Comedy just happened to be her greatest strength. If she is not the undisputed queen of screwball comedy, then she is definitely in the discussion. I know fans of Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy might argue that point but for me Carole is tops.

She was a talented actress with several classic films on her resume including Twentieth Century, My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred, Hands Across The Table, To Be Or Not To Be, Mr. and Mrs. Smith (my favorite film of hers) and In Name Only (which paired her with Cary Grant for the only time) in one of the supreme tearjerkers of all time. It’s a shame Carole’s life was cut short by that tragic plane accident. It was a huge loss for such a wonderful and talented person. Her contribution to the screwball comedy genre cannot be praised enough. Her beauty, poise, humor and intelligence were traits that brought not only to films but in her life as well. I wished I could have met Carole just once. I know it would have been an amazing experience. So while this month is dedicated to her as my classic movie goddess, I will always be talking about and praising about Carole here on All Good Things as much as possible. In fact you could almost call my blog All Good Things Carole as much as I talk about her. I wear my love for this amazing woman openly for all to see. Carole, this is dedicated to you.

Darling Deborah Blogathon: Need a governess?..better call Deborah

Darling Deborah....Waitin on a Sunny Day

For my contribution to the Darling Deborah Blogathon, hosted by Sophie of Waitin on a Sunny Day, in honor of Deborah Kerr's birthday today, I decided to go with a specific topic. The topic being Deborah portraying a governess or nanny in her films. Of which, she did quite a few. The most notable being The King and I (1956), The Innocents (1961, and my fave of the three), and The Chalk Garden (1964). Each film had a different storyline for Ms. Kerr to deal with. And I think each governess job got more difficult with each passing one. Let's begin first with The King and I, shall we...

In The King and I, Deborah is cast as recently widowed Anna Leonowens, who accepts the job of governess to the King of Siam (Yul Brynner) in Bangkok. She will be teaching his children English. Of course things don't go smoothly between Anna and the king. Anna is very strong-willed and must learn to temper her outrage at the way women are treated during this time period. Eventually things between the two get better as the film progresses. I was very impressed with the performances by both stars. Brynner owns the role as the king of Siam without a doubt. Majestic, strong, smart, bold. And he is wonderfully matched by Kerr, who gives a radiant performance. I won't go into a full review, but let's just say The King and I is superb entertainment.

Next is The Innocents, my favorite of the three films I have chosen. In this film, Deborah plays Miss Giddens, a governess who is hired to care for recently orphaned brother and sister in Victorian England. And soon finds herself facing the spirits of the former governess and valet who are possessing the young children. This is one of the great classic ghost movies and Deborah gives one of her best performances ever. Because you don't know if she is just imagining things or is this really happening. Kerr is just amazing with this role. It's my favorite performance of hers and she should have received tons of awards for it. But alas she did not. The Innocents is a great thriller that doesn't rely on cheap thrills or gore but a good old fashioned ghost story that will have you on the edge of your seat.

And finally, The Chalk Garden. She plays the strangely named Miss Madrigal, who is hired by an eccentric and wealthy old woman (played by Edith Evans) to take care of her emotional grand-daughter Laurel (played by Hayley Mills). You would think after dealing with the many children of the King of Siam and the creepy events of The Innocents, taking care of one young girl would be no problem for Deborah. But Laurel is quite a handful. She is prone to mischief, lying, arson, and just all around trouble. Miss Madrigal has her work cut out for her and goes about her task with all the skill and grace she can command. Deborah is solid as usual with her performance here, as she could probably play a governess in her sleep. But she manages to bring new angles to this character for her third time around. As she has a secret of her own that Laurel is not expecting from another in the long line of nannies she has had to care for her. The Chalk Garden is a pretty good movie with excellent performances from the entire cast.

So that wraps up my piece on the wonderful Deborah Kerr. If you ever had need of a nanny or governess, she most definitely would fit the bill. No resume needed.