The final match for favorite classic screen couple is underway...

Desiree has the final match for favorite classic screen couple underway between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers against Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Here's the link to go cast your vote:http://www.rozrussell.com/

It will be an all musical affair for the final match to decide favorite classic screen couple...

The championship match to decide favorite classic screen couple will feature two great film couples known for their dazzling musical prowess. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers will take on Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald for all the marbles. In the semi-final matches which concluded today, both couples breezed through for easy wins. Astaire and Rogers defeated Cary Grant and Irene Dunne 42-22 while MacEddy took down expected contenders William Powell and Myrna Loy 88-64. Actually that match was still going on as Desiree lives on the west coast and still has the poll open. But it's pretty much over. The final match will make for an all musical affair. And should make for an interesting match! The match will take place on Desiree's blog, Rosalind Russell: Dazzling Star. Desiree will have the match up and running sometime this weekend. Here's the link to her blog: http://www.rozrussell.com/

Two matches..four couples...let's go!

Down to the final four of the favorite classic couple tourney. The match between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers vs Cary Grant and Irene Dunne will take place here on this blog. While the match between William Powell and Myrna Loy vs Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald will take place on Desiree's blog. The fun begins today at 6pm EST and will run through Wednesday evening. Go here to vote on Desiree's match..http://www.rozrussell.com/. And can I add that I think this is an awesome final four with anyone of these couples that can take home the prize as favorite classic screen couple.

MATCH 1

1 FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS

VS

2 CARY GRANT AND IRENE DUNNE

**************

MATCH 2

1 WILLIAM POWELL AND MYRNA LOY

VS

2 NELSON EDDY AND JEANETTE MACDONALD

We have our final four couples....

We have our final four classic couples and two of the four are the top seeds when this tourney began. It was top seed couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers taking care of 2nd seed couple Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland 30-12. The other top seed couple to advance was William Powell and Myrna Loy, who staged a comeback to beat pesky underdogs Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery 38-30. So that means the other two top seed couples did not fare as well. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall lost to 2nd seed couple Cary Grant and Irene Dunne 27-15. while 2nd seed couple Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald defeated the legendary couple, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 38-28. So now the stage is set for the four remaining couples in two matches that will begin on Sunday. Match 1 will pit Fred and Ginger against Cary and Irene while match 2 will feature William and Myrna against Nelson and Jeanette. Then the winners of those matches will battle it out for the crown as favorite classic couple. 

It's Tourney Time again!

Next month yields a new tournament that me and my friend Desiree are hosting. It's called The Favorite Classic Movie Screen Couples. That's right 32 of your favorite on screen couples will duke it out for the crown.We compiled a list of 32 couples from TCM's book, Leading Couples and from our own personal choices. So there are some couples that didn't make the cut like Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. But I think we got the top ones selected. Why 32 you may ask? Well so things will break down evenly. It was either 32 or 64 and there was not enough couples to get that high. So 32 it is. We broke them down into four brackets and chose the top seed couple for each. As you can tell by the banner above who the top four couples are. Here is the complete list of all 32 couples that are competing. I will have 2 of the brackets and Desiree will handle the other two on her blog, Rosalind Russell. Oh and a big thank you to my friend Josie Miller who made that wonderful banner! The fun begins Sunday, November 3rd! I will have the match selections posted before then.

1 FRED ASTAIRE & GINGER ROGERS

2 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND & ERROL FLYNN

3 CARY GRANT & KATHARINE HEPBURN

4 CLARK GABLE & JEAN HARLOW

5 JAMES STEWART & JEAN ARTHUR

6 CARY GRANT & MYRNA LOY

7 RITA HAYWORTH & GLENN FORD

8 ESTHER WILLIAMS & VAN JOHNSON

1 HUMPHREY BOGART & LAUREN BACALL

2 CARY GRANT & IRENE DUNNE

3 GREER GARSON & WALTER PIDGEON

4 ELIZABETH TAYLOR & RICHARD BURTON

5 IRENE DUNNE & CHARLES BOYER

6 TONY CURTIS & JANET LEIGH

7 GARY COOPER & BARBARA STANWYCK

8 ALAN LADD & VERONICA LAKE

1 WILLIAM POWELL & MYRNA LOY

2 DORIS DAY & ROCK HUDSON

3 VIVIEN LEIGH & LAURENCE OLIVIER

4 GRETA GARBO & JOHN GILBERT

5 MARGARET SULLAVAN & JAMES STEWART

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL & ROBERT MONTGOMERY

7JOHN WAYNE & MAUREEN O’HARA

8 BETTE DAVIS & GEORGE BRENT

1 SPENCER TRACY & KATHARINE HEPBURN

2 JEANETTE MACDONALD & NELSON EDDY

3 PAUL NEWMAN & JOANNE WOODWARD

4 MICKEY ROONEY & JUDY GARLAND

5 CLARK GABLE & MYRNA LOY

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL & BRIAN AHERNE

7 TYRONE POWER & GENE TIERNEY

8 JOAN CRAWFORD & ROBERT MONTGOMERY

Be My Guest: Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

Due to the Classic Actress tourney in March, there was no guest done during that time. So this month we get two fabulous guests. Valarie Joyce already dropped by and had a crazy good time. Now comes Ivan G, who I think everybody will just love. Take it away Ivan.

1. What made you start blogging? 

There are two responsible for inspiring Thrilling Days of Yesteryear—the first was an online friend of mine of many years who asked me one day when I was planning to start a blog.  “As soon as I find out what you’re talking about,” I told her.

But the biggest influence on the blog was the political snark site World O’Crap, who featured a reference to an old-time radio soap called Aunt Jenny’s Real Life Stories in one of their posts.  Since I knew a little bit about the subject, I kind of filled in a detail or two on Aunt Jenny’s history and frequented WO’C quite often until one day I said: “How hard could this be?”  As it turns out, it wasn’t easy because my first blog, Weapons of Mass Detraction, was around for a week or two before I vaporized it…I just wasn’t that good at being snarky about politics.  But I did know a bit about OTR, and so I started TDOY in November of 2003.  It focused a good deal on that for a while but gradually morphed into a classic film and television blog.

2. Who are your favorite classic film stars? Name as many as you want

Among the male stars, I like Bogie, Cagney, Eddie G., John Garfield, Roberts Mitchum and Ryan, Charles McGraw, Boris Karloff, Joel McCrea, Orson Welles…and many of the great comedians like Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, the Marxes, the Stooges, W.C. Fields, etc.  On the distaff side: Jean Arthur, Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Grahame, Judy Holliday, Celeste Holm, Mercedes McCambridge, Agnes Moorehead, Maureen O’Hara, Maureen O’Sullivan, Marie Windsor, Lee Remick, Claire Trevor, Thelma Todd, Jan Sterling.  That should do for starters.

3. What are some of your favorite films?

Casablanca is probably my favorite film—but I really have a megaton of movies that I love to revisit over and over again.  Winchester ’73, Touch of Evil, The Glass Key, North by Northwest, To Be or Not to Be, 3:10 to Yuma, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, All About Eve, Bad Day at Black Rock, Born Yesterday, Call Northside 777, Citizen Kane,City Lights, Curse of the Demon (Night of the Demon), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying the Love the Bomb, Duck Soup, Force of Evil, Foreign Correspondent, Freaks, Gun Crazy, High Noon, His Girl Friday, His Kind of Woman, Horse Feathers, I Walked with a Zombie, In a Lonely Place, In Cold Blood, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, It’s a Wonderful Life, Johnny Guitar, King Kong, Kiss Me Deadly, Man on the Flying Trapeze, Medium Cool, Miracle on 34th Street, Modern Times, Monsieur Verdoux, Murder My Sweet, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, A Night at the Opera, Nightmare Alley, Out of the Past, Pandora’s Box, Paths of Glory, Petulia,Quatermass and the Pit, Rear Window, Ride the High Country, Road to Utopia, Sailor Beware, Safety Last!, Salt of the Earth, Seconds, Shadow of a Doubt, Sherlock Jr.,Shock Corridor, Singin’ in the Rain, Some Like it Hot, Sons of the Desert, Stalag 17, Stars in My Crown, Strangers on a Train, Sullivan’s Travels, Sunrise, Sunset Blvd.,Sweet Smell of Success, Targets, The Breaking Point, The Court Jester, The Freshman, The General, The Grapes of Wrath, The Gunfighter, The Kid Brother, The Killing,The Lady From Shanghai, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Maltese Falcon, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Pawnbroker, The Searchers, The Set-Up, The Swimmer, The Talk of the Town, The Third Man, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Wizard of Oz, Thieves’ Highway, Way Out West.  (Just the tip of the iceberg, I should add.)

4. Describe your first classic movie experience. Like where and when…at a cinema, on TV, etc…

Probably my earliest exposure to classic films had to do with all the cartoons I watched as a kid—though at the time, I wasn’t aware that these shorts had originally appeared in theaters and were made for audiences of all ages.  I also watched a lot of the two-reel comedies like Our Gang and Laurel & Hardy…with a specific emphasis on a lot of the Columbia product.  Columbia had a reputation for hiring either people who were on their way up or on their way down—I saw a lot of the comedies with Buster Keaton, Charley Chase and Harry Langdon as a little sprat.  These movies are hardly these gentlemen’s best work…but it encouraged me to seek out more and more of their movies.

I was thirteen years old when our public library sponsored a showing of King Kong—an event that some 300 people turned out for (in a town that numbered about 4,000).  It made a tremendous impression on me (it’s still one of my all-time faves) and I think that and showings of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (which the library showed chapter-by-chapter every week) kind of put the ring on my finger as far as classic movies went.

5. What films upon first viewing did you not like, then later on when re-watching them, loved them?

I know quite a few movies that haven’t aged well since the first time I saw them…but I’m kind of stymied as to whether there’s every been a situation in reverse.  The only movie I can think of—and whether or not it can be called a “classic” is certainly debatable—is Animal House.  I couldn’t figure out what the fuss was all about when I watched it the first time (probably late-night on cable) but on subsequent viewings I started to see why it’s a cult favorite.  (Seeing it with drunk fraternity types helps, too.)  There are probably some more movies I’ve changed my opinion on after a second or third viewing but I’m drawing a blank.

6. Describe the perfect way for you to watch a classic film.

Ideally, it would be inside a real movie theater with an audience.  But since that opportunity doesn’t come around too often, I generally enjoy just watching them late at night by myself, with a nice snack at the ready because… (see next question)

7. How many friends, family member or co-workers share your love of classic films?

In terms of friends I see every day—there aren’t many.  (I have to exclude folks from the Classic Movie Blog Association, since I interact with them mostly online.)  And my family is even worse.  My sister Kat derisively refers to my obsession as “my black-and-white.”  My mother will on occasion sit down and watch one with me—she likes the Universal horror films and the Warners gangster movies in particular.  My father avoids classic films unless John Wayne is in one or someone’s seated on a horse.  (And if it’s a movie we’ve already seen, he likes to wisecrack: “That one turned out the same as it did last time.”)

8. What is your favorite time period: the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's?

I always answer the 20s for a couple of reasons.  Silent filmmaking was an amazing art form.  There were so many amazing films made at that time—Sunrise, Docks of New York, Pandora’s Box, etc.  Many foreign directors were making some of their finest works at the time, too: Lang, Murnau, Pabst.  It was also the time when the great movie comedians were at the peak of their powers: Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, etc.

9. What are some of your favorite film quotes?

"...if I always knew what I meant, I'd be a genius..." – Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell), Murder My Sweet (1944)

"I'm just tryin' to get along without shovin' anybody, that's all..." – Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

“I’ll see ya all of a sudden, Sam…” – Dan Milner (Robert Mitchum), His Kind of Woman (1951)

“In the world of advertising there’s no such thing as a lie—there’s only expedient exaggeration…” – Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), North by Northwest (1959)

“I’d horsewhip you if I had a horse…” – Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx), Horse Feathers (1932)

“Drown in a vat of whisky…death, where is thy sting…?” – The Great Man (W.C. Fields), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)

“Ice cream, Mandrake?  Children’s ice cream?” – General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying the Love the Bomb (1964)

10. What classic films have you yet to see for one reason or another?

Jill at Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence asked this on Twitter sometime back.  I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie in its entirety.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for their terpsichorean talents, but they’re just not my particular cup of Earl Grey.

Other films I’ve not made appointments to see: Mutiny on the Bounty (both 1935 and 1962), Wuthering Heights (1939), Fantasia (1940), Watch on the Rhine (1943), The Constant Nymph (1943), Since You Went Away (1944), The Red Shoes (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Ten Commandments (1956), The Diary of Anne Frank(1959).  There are also a number of foreign film classics I’ve not yet watched—but I’ll refrain from listing all of those.

11. What is your favorite genre?

I really enjoy getting my classic movie groove on with a good film noir flick…but it seems a shame to limit it to just one since I also enjoy horror movies, westerns, screwball comedies, etc.

12. If you threw a movie theme party, describe how you would do it. The costumes, decorations, food, etc.

Well, to be honest—I’m not much of a partygoer; I prefer more intimate settings where I can have conversations with one, two or maybe three people.  But I’d love to throw a dinner party in the mold of The Thin Man at some point in my life: all the guests would be gathered because they’re suspects in a murder, and as they dine on splendid cuisine and drink the finest wines I’ll eventually finger one of them as the guilty culprit.

13. What are some films that are widely loved that you couldn't care less about?

Gone with the Wind would be at the top of the list.  I saw it once and honest to my grandma, I don’t get the love for the movie.  I’m also not particularly wild about The Philadelphia Story or The Best Years of Our Lives.  The More the Merrier and The Lady Eve are two screwball comedies that have their fans but I’ve never cottoned to them.  And don’t get me started on 2001: A Space Odyssey.

14. Who’s the biggest film fanatic that you know? Besides yourself of course.

If we were to define a fanatic as someone who genuinely loves movies—and not in a film critic sense or scholar or anything like that—it would probably be Laura G. at Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings.  She just really seems to have an unabashed affection for all things cinematic, and rarely has anything bad to say about any film.  If we’re talking about a fanatic as a person who has movies on the brain 24-7-365…well, then that’s Stacia at She Blogged by Night.  (She’s been seeking help for this, by the way.)

15. And finally who are some of your favorite film characters?

Just about anyone W.C. Fields or Groucho Marx played in films—I love the anti-authoritarian bent of Groucho’s characters, and the fact that the Fields on film was able to get away with so many vices that are frowned upon in polite society: drinking, gambling, etc.  I also like most of Bogart’s anti-heroes, like Rick Blaine in Casablanca…and yet his villains are a lot of fun, too (Fred C. Dobbs, Captain Queeg, etc.).

Thanks to Ivan for being my guest this month with some wonderful responses and now we all know Ivan just a little bit more.

Springtime: Fred Astaire and his son

Fred and Fred Jr dancing into springtime...

Springtime: Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth

I think this pic captures the joy of spring a lot....

Rita jumps into spring over Fred....

I couldn't stand being with FUNNY FACE (1957) but THE LEMON DROP KID (1951) was my kind of buddy that I could hang out with...

Last night I started to watch Funny Face for the very first time in honor of Audrey Hepburn week at my house. Twenty minutes in, I had to stop watching. Talk about excruating. This was a very painful film to watch. Well try to watch anyway. A bright and cheery musical that never caught my eye before. I now know why. Even when Audrey makes her appearance about 10 minutes in, as bookstore clerk Jo Stockton, the movie still doesn't pick up. If anything it drags even more. Audrey's voice in this is so weird sounding, it just took me right out. She was a smart and independent young woman but her voice just bugged the crap out of me. And when Fred Astaire plants a kiss on her early on, I just thought..eeeewwwwww!

So what to do. I could start the next Audrey film in my line-up, Sabrina, which I know is good or watch something else. Well TCM happened to be showing the 1951 Bob Hope film, The Lemon Drop Kid, and to my luck I had only missed the first 10 minutes or so. I started watching this light comedy and loved it from the word go. Bob Hope is in great form as The Kid, a guy who loves to bet and who loves lemon flavored candy. He gets into trouble when he gives a girl a bad tip on a horse and the girl's gangster boyfriend wants The Kid to cover his losses to the tune of $10,000. So Hope has to do some scheming and fast thinking to come up with the dough such as starting a home for old ladies to raise money. Backed by a terrific supporting cast inlcuding Jane Darwell, William Frawley, Llyod Nolan and the underrated Marilyn Maxwell.  And it's set at Christmas time, which makes it perfect viewing for the holidays. With Maxwell getting to sing a stirring rendition of Silver Bells. Hope even gets in a great classic one liner to end the film too. A little joke at his old buddy, Bing Crosby's expense. The Lemon Drop Kid saved my movie watching night and became one of my new best friends. Funny Face, I don't think I will be seeing her again anytime soon.

Fred and Ginger dance their way into the Final Four as SWING TIME edges out TOP HAT for the first spot in the Classic Musical Film Tournament

It was Swing Time edging out Top Hat 12-8 to take the 20's/30's era of The Favorite Classic Musical Film Tournament and land the first spot in the Final Four. With 4 films among the 16 competing in this era, Fred and Ginger had the best chances of having one of their films reaching the Final Four. Congratulations to Swing Time, as it is my favorite film the duo did. Now it must wait for the other three eras to see what films it will be competing with.

 

See I told ya Fred, we were gonna do good...now will you listen to me from now on?

It's Fred and Ginger vs Fred and Ginger for the first spot in the Final Four of the Favorite Classic Musical Film Tournament

It has come down to this...Fred and Ginger will be battling Fred and Ginger for the first spot in the final four of The Classic Musical Film Tournament. 3rd seed TOP HAT held off 2nd seed 42nd STREET 6-4 while 5th seed SWING TIME (my favorite of the duo's films) easily beat 8th seed FLYING DOWN TO RIO 10-1. I wonder who was the lone person that voted for Rio. Regardless, the final match is now set as Top Hat will take on Swing Time. Poll is open now and will run thru Thursday night 8 pm EST. Follow the link to Dawn's page to vote: Top Hat vs Swing Time

3 TOP HAT (1935)

VS

5 SWING TIME





The Semi-Final Matches are set for the 3rd round of the 20's/30's Era of the Favorite Musical Tournament

The Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films just keep on cruising in this era of the musical tournament. It began with 4 of their films competing and now there are 3 left. And the only reason that is, because one of their films had to face off against another one. Eighth seed Flying Down To Rio upset top seed The Jazz Singer 11-3. Fifth seed Swing Time beat fourth seed Shall We Dance 11-3. Third seed Top Hat just rolled over sixth seed Broadway Melody of 1929 by the count of 15-0. And finally the venerable 42nd Street edged out Gold Diggers of 1933 by the score of 9-5, which was the closest of the four matches. So here are the match-ups for the semi-final round:

5 SWING TIME (1936)




VS


8 FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933)




----------------------------------


2 42ND STREET (1933)





VS


3 TOP HAT (1935)


Begins today and runs through Tuesday. The winners of these matches will then face off to decide you will grab the first spot in the final four of the musical tournament. Odds are it will be a Fred and Ginger film. Just saying.

Classic Movie Actor (Silent/30's Era) Round Two Results

The four quarterfinal matches are in the books and moving on to the semi-finals are Clark Gable, James Cagney, Errol Flynn and William Powell.


CLARK GABLE      33
BUSTER KEATON 18

JAMES CAGNEY    27
FRED ASTAIRE       24

ERROL FLYNN         30
CHARLES CHAPLIN 22

WILLIAM POWELL  41
RONALD COLMAN 11

The only real nail biter was between Cagney and Astaire who battled back and forth the entire match with Cagney finally eking out a 3 point victory.Clark Gable had a little trouble early on with Buster Keaton before pulling away 33-18. Errol Flynn had to use his moxie to out-distance Chaplin 30-22. And William Powell continues to steamroll his opponents as he crushed Ronald Colman 41-11. You may remember in the opening round match, Powell beat the living daylights out of George Brent 38-2. So now onto the semi-final matches.

Poll Results - Favorite Astaire and Rogers film

A friend of mine from work asked me about the results of the poll I asked at the beginning of the month. I asked everyone what were their favorite Astaire and Rogers musicals, multiple answers were allowed. I forgot to make a post about the results, so here they are. Out of 20 votes, Top Hat nabbed 12 of them, or 60% of the vote. Close behind with 8 votes was Swing Time (my personal favorite that the duo did). In third was Shall We Dance with 7 votes; followed closely by The Gay Divorcee with 6 votes. No love for The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, which received no votes. Thanks to everyone that participated and look forward to a new poll within the next few days.

New Poll started...What are your favorite Astaire/Rogers films?

Since Ginger Rogers is my classic movie goddess for the month, I decided to do a poll. I pose the question what are your favorite of her 10 films she did with Fred Astaire. I made it multiple choice so as to make the question a little easier. Choose as many as you want from the list of 10 films they made. I, myself am partial to Swing Time, Top Hat and Carefree. The poll is up for 2 weeks.