Be My Guest: Jackie Merritt

Another month means another guest. And this month brings one of my good friends that I met on Facebook, Jackie. So let's get things started shall we...

1. What made you start blogging?

The guest of the month...Jackie

Jackie does not write a blog as of yet

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

Jackie: My favorite classic male stars are Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, William Holden, Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Gary Cooper. Joel McCrea, Jack Lemmon, William Powell, David Niven Howard Keel. My favorite classic female stars are Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn,  Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Deborah Kerr, Ingrid Bergman, Loretta Young, Maureen O'Hara, Debbie Reynolds, Mryna Loy, Doris Day, Kathryn Grayson.

Me: Nice selection of actors/actresses there Jackie

 3. What are some of your favorite films?

Jackie: I love  My Fair Lady, Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, It's a Wonderful Life, The Bishop's Wife, Friendly Persuasion, Show Boat, The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, How the West Was Won, Roman Holiday, Born Yesterday, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation.

Me: I think you might be my first guest to have Friendly Persuasion on their list.

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

Jackie: I think my first classic movie experience had been watching the Wizard of Oz on TV. For years when I was little we would come in on the movie after it had turned to color. We were surprised when we first saw the tornado and the black and white part. I would play Wizard of Oz traveling the yellow brick road around my yard and pretend to meet the scarecrow, tinman, lion, good witch, and bad witch. I had a stuffed Pluto dog that I carried in a basket. And I would sing: "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz". LOL

Me: The Wizard of Oz seems to be a lot of people's first classic movie experience. That and GWTW.

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

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

 I love watching a classic movie with my husband in our travel trailer. We have a candlelight dinner first, then sit  close together on the couch, holding hands and watch a romantic movie.

How very romantic and wonderful Jackie.

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

 Don't know for sure. Many.

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

Jackie: I love the 40's and the 50's. Too hard to choose from. But if I have to choose, I would say the 50's: An American in Paris, Roman Holiday, Love Is a Many Splendor Thing, Sabrina, An Affair to Remember, North by Northwest, Picnic, Singing in the Rain, Born Yesterday, Sunset Blvd.,To Catch a Thief, The African Queen. The list just keeps going...lol

Me:That's a pretty good era for films...can't argue with you on that

9. What are some of your favorite film quotes?

 1.  "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are."Pinocchio.  2. "Good Morning. Good Morning to You".  Kathy sings in "Singing in the Rain".  3.  Ilsa says, "Play it Sam. Play As Time Goes By" "Casablanca"   4.. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz".

"I'd think of someway to get him back. Afterall tomorrow is another day." 5. Rose says in The African Queen, "Nature. Mr. Allnut, is what we are put on this world to rise above." 6. Scarlett in Gone With the Wind. 7. Zo Zo in "It's a Wonderful Life". "Look Daddy. Every time you hear a bell rings, an angel gets it's wings." 8. From "How the West Was Won" Lionus Rawlings says,"Ma'am, seems you've been kissed before." Eve Prescott says,"Ain't been kissed permanent before." lol

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

 Jackie: I haven't seen Gaslight, A Streetcar Named Desire.

Me:

I haven't seen Gaslight either...but I have seen Desire..I recommend you catching it the next time TCM plays it.

11. What is your favorite genre?

 Jackie: My favorite genre has to be Musicals. I love music. Show Boat, My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Oklahoma, Easter Parade, Music Man, An American in Paris, Royal Wedding, A Star is Born, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Top Hat,  are just a few that I like.

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

 I have given movie them parties on Facebook. I call it Dinner and a Movie. and have had different themes for different movies. Last year, we did The Easter Parade. We watched the movie together on TCM and commented. I had everyone to bring to our cyber table a food or drink to celebrate Easter. We had ham and baked sweet potatoes.  I made a coconut jelly bean cake. And I asked everyone to wear an Easter Hat. So at the end of the movie, everyone went for a stroll down 5th Avenue with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland singing "In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it". It was a lot of fun. We have also watched  "The Wizard of Oz" together and had a cyber table of country food: deviled eggs, baked sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, pork chops and strawberry short cake and tea to drink.  I dressed up like Dorothy in a jumper and started down the yellow brick road made out of poster board. lol.  "We're off to see the Wizard the wonderful Wizard of Oz".

Haha..awesome!

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

 Jackie: Citizen Kane, Midnight Cowboy,The Godfather, On the Waterfront, Apocalypse Now, The Grapes of Wrath, Jaws. Horror films and anything that is real gory.

Me: Not a fan of Citizen Kane but the other films I have watched and liked..especially Jaws!

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

 My brother-in-law loves movies. He could watch them all day.

Cool

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

Clarence the angel in "It's a Wonderful Life". "You had a wonderful life George." Eliza in My Fair Lady. From rags as a flower girl to riches dressed for the ball, Eliza stole our hearts. "I could of danced all night." Mr. Hobbs in Mr, Hobbs Takes a Vacation. I go into hysterics everytime I see him walking with his long legs bent, looking for birds. "What's that liitle fellow? "Barnswallows".

Thank you Monty. I have had a wonderful time being your guest.

Thank you Jackie for coming to All Good Things and bringing such wonderful answers.

Second Round of Screwball Film Tourney: Day 2 Update

So now there are only three close matches after day 2. Yesterday there was five matches that had leads of fewer than 5 votes. All that changed today. The Thin Man has twice as many votes over The Palm Beach Story, leading now 20-10. Yesterday it led by only 3 votes. My Favorite Wife has a slender 3 point lead over The Lady Eve at 16-13. Yesterday they were dead-locked at 10 votes each. You Can't Take It With You is tied with Ball of Fire at 14 all. Yesterday Fire was down 11-9. And one of the top seeds, My Man Godfrey leads The Awful Truth 18-15. Yesterday  Godfrey was actually down 13-12. Now the other five matches are now looking like blow-outs. His Girl Friday has exploded over The Philadelphia Story to the tune of 23-11. Bringing Up Baby is up over Midnight 21-8. To Be Or Not To Be is crushing Theodora Goes Wild 20-7. And the biggest blow-out without question is taking place with It Happened One Night vs Merrily We Live. 31-0. Yep, Merrily We Live has yet to receive a single vote! Voting continues through Friday evening. 

Ball of Fire is in a slugfest with You Can't Take It With You...

1 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 31
4 MERRILY WE LIVE 0

2 HIS GIRL FRIDAY 23
3 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 11

1 MY MAN GODFREY 18
4 THE AWFUL TRUTH 15

3 YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU 14
7 BALL OF FIRE 14

2 THE THIN MAN 20
6 THE PALM BEACH STORY 10

4 THE LADY EVE 13
8 MY FAVORITE WIFE 16

1 BRINGING UP BABY 21
4 MIDNIGHT 8

2 TO BE OR NOT TO BE 20
3 THEODORA GOES WILD 7

My Favorite Jean Arthur Films - Part One (Comedies)

So I usually list the essential films of the classic movie goddess for each and every month. The problem I ran into with Jean is that she did so many wonderful films and I didn't know what to include. So instead of the essential films you have to see, I decided to post my favorite Jean films. And like I said there are so many of them, I had to break the list down into parts. Let's begin with comedies, where she was one of the best screwball queens of the 30's..in my opinion. Patti, we will get to dramas and westerns in the next part ok. So here are my fave comedy films starring Jean in no particular order. Please note there are tons of films Jean did during the silent era that I have yet to see. A good 30 or so films. Yeah, Jean was quite busy.

EASY LIVING (1937) Writer Preston Sturges and director Mitchell Leisen team up for this hilarious farce about Mary Smith (Jean), a editor for a boy's magazine, who winds up with a mink coat by accident and thru confusion and mistaken identity, she is thought to be the mistress of Wall Street tycoon J.B. Ball (played by the great Edward Arnold). Enter Ball's son (Ray Milland) who becomes attracted to Mary. One of the premiere screwball comedies of all time. 
A-

THE EX-MRS. BRADFORD (1936) Some people kind of view this one as a lightweight version of The Thin Man, since it co-stars William Powell. The only difference is him and Jean are exes but still have a penchant for solving mysteries. I think this film is very underrated and more than holds its own as a splendid comedy/mystery that would make The Thin Man proud.
B

MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936) Jean's first film with Frank Capra and her first pairing with Gary Cooper, if I'm not mistaken. And the pair definitely have some chemistry as Longfellow Deeds (Cooper), a simple man from Vermont who inherits a fortune. Jean is cast as reporter Babe Bennett, who aims to get the story on Deeds one way or another. A wonderful film.
B+

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) For her second outing with Frank Capra, but this time Jean's co-star is Jimmy Stewart. Different actor, same result in another great comedy which I believe features Jean's finest performance. As the lovely Alice Sycamore, she falls for her boss Tony Kirby (Stewart) and is swept off her feet when he proposes. The catch...Tony has to meet her wild and crazy family. I love Jean in this film. She is most definitely has her "A" game for this one.
A-

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) Another comedy/drama that teamed Frank Capra with Jean for the third time. And marked Jean's second pairing with Jimmy Stewart. An iconic film from that great golden year of 1939.
B+

TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940) This was one of the first movies I recall seeing Jean in and it is a delight.  Maybe not as well known and regarded as her other comedies but I'll take this over a lot of the comedies Hollywood cranks out now. Maybe I like it so much because it bears a similar plot to My Favorite Wife with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, also released the same year. In Husbands, Bill Cardew (played by Fred MacMurray) is declared dead after missing for a long period of time. His widow, Vicky (played by Jean) re-marries Bill's longtime friend Henry (Melvyn Douglas). When Bill shows up alive, the fun begins. 
B 

THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES (1941) Classic comedy with department store owner J.P. Merrick (the wonderful Charles Coburn) going undercover at his store to find out which employees are organizing a union. Unbeknownst to him, the two employees he are meet, Mary (Jean Arthur) and Joe (Robert Cummings) are said organizers. Dare I say, one of the best comedies ever made. Yeah I dare say.
B+

THE TALK OF THE TOWN (1942) Loaded with star power in Jean, Cary Grant and Ronald Colman, this film mixes screwball comedy with stirring drama expertly. Joe, an escaped prisoner (Grant) hides out at the home of his childhood sweetheart Nora Shelley (Jean), who just by chance has rented a room to law professor Michael Lightcap (Colman). How this film manages to be comedic one moment, then deadly serious the next is truly amazing. The trio of stars all give terrific performances.
B

THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943) During the WW2 housing shortage, resilient Connie Milligan (Arthur) shares an apartment with two men through some confusion and false pretenses. Mainly by the antics of flustery old  Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn re-teaming with Jean) who lies under the pretense of not stating his sex. He then finagles young engineer Joe Carter (hey it's Joel McCrea) to join in and tries to play cupid for Connie and Joe. Fun galore!
B+

A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948) And lastly comes this terrific and wicked cynical comedy by Billy Wilder which casts a seasoned Jean as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, who visits Berlin to investigate GI morals. Co-starring the legendary Marlene Dietrich, this is one gem of a movie.
B


Up next will be my second part of favorite Jean films, focusing on dramas and westerns.

My love of classic movies is beyond measure

Monty

All Good Things welcomes Teresa Wright

Just a little welcome for the soon to be classic movie goddess of the month, Teresa Wright. One of the best actresses to ever grace the silver screen. I had hoped to have her on last year but I had to push her back a few months. And I promise her and all my readers I will not short change her one bit, what with this little thing of a tournament going on. I will post pics, reviews, trivia and the usual assorted goodies. And judging by the pics below, I am not the only one welcoming Teresa to All Good Things. So sit back and relax everyone as the month of March belongs to Teresa.

Awww Gary, you didn't have to come by to see me! But I'm glad you did!

And then after your visit here Teresa, me and you can go out shopping.

And a spot of tea. Won't that be nice?

Happy Birthday Ruth Roman (1922 - 1999)

Happy Birthday to one of the most underrated actresses ever...Ruth Roman. She starred in such films as Strangers on A Train, The Far Country, Always Leave Them Laughing and Good Sam. And tons of work on such TV series like Dr. Kildare, I SPY, The Girl From UNCLE, Mannix, Marcus Welby, and Gunsmoke. Happy Birthday Ruth!

Ruth with Gary Cooper in DALLAS (1950)

THE MONTIES: 1942 (MRS. MINIVER takes center stage)

Sorry for the long delay in presenting my next Monties, but here we go with the year 1942 when a certain woman named Mrs. Miniver made a lot of noise.

BEST FILM:

TO BE OR NOT TO BE
THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
IN THIS OUR LIFE
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
MRS. MINIVER - WINNER
THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS
BAMBI
THE PALM BEACH STORY
KINGS ROW
HOLIDAY INN

I remembering seeing Mrs. Miniver for the first time when I was about 18 and was immediately amazed by it. Superb direction by William Wyler and a star making turn by Greer Garson, who had quite the year with this film and Random Harvest, which I confess I have yet to see.

BEST DIRECTOR:

ERNST LUBITSCH - TO BE OR NOT TO BE
WILLIAM WYLER - MRS. MINIVER (WINNER)
PRESTON STURGES - THE PALM BEACH STORY
SAM WOOD - THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
JOHN HUSTON - IN THIS OUR LIFE

Like I said William Wyler did an excellent job directing Mrs. Miniver and picks up his second Montie. He received a Montie previously for the 1936 film These Three.

BEST ACTOR:

GARY COOPER - THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (WINNER)
MONTY WOOLLEY - THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
JAMES CAGNEY - YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
WALTER PIDGEON - MRS. MINIVER
CARY GRANT - THE TALK OF THE TOWN

Now Gary Cooper is not one of my favorite top actors but I will be the first to admit he gave a wonderful performance as baseball legend Lou Gehrig. It was a heartfelt and natural performance that should have landed him an Oscar. Well Coop, here's a Montie from me, you deserve it.

BEST ACTRESS:

CAROLE LOMBARD - TO BE OR NOT TO BE
GREER GARSON - MRS. MINIVER (WINNER)
TERESA WRIGHT - THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
CLAUDETTE COLBERT - THE PALM BEACH STORY
SIMONE SIMON - CAT PEOPLE

This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make yet for my Monties. While my girl Carole Lombard gave another excellent comedic performance in To Be Or Not To Be, and then following her tragic death in that fateful plane crash, I could see my self leaning toward a sentimental nod for Carole. But Greer Garson was just too good in Mrs. Miniver. As the strong-willed and determined Mrs. Miniver, Greer gave the best performance of her career. There was no way she was not picking up this Montie. And I give a heartfelt nod to Carole.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Easy Cary...you can't win all the Monties...

RUDY VALLEE - THE PALM BEACH STORY
RONALD COLMAN - THE TALK OF THE TOWN (WINNER)
ROBERT CUMMINGS - KINGS ROW
WALTER HUSTON - YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

A superb performance by the debonair Ronald Colman as Professor Michael Lightcap who ideals are put to the test. Colman shares the screen with heavyweights Cary Grant and Jean Arthur but I think he more than holds his own and gives the best performance of the three. That's saying a lot coming from this die hard Cary Grant fan.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Oh really, I just won a Montie? That is just wonderful!

TERESA WRIGHT - MRS. MINIVER (WINNER)
ANN SHERIDAN - THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
AGNES MOOREHEAD - THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS
MARY ASTOR - THE PALM BEACH STORY
DIANA LYNN - THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR

And so begins my crush on Teresa Wright with her outstanding performance in Mrs. Miniver. I always have said Teresa played the sweetest and most understanding characters in film, and this was one of her best. I said earlier what a year Greer had in 1942, well Teresa had a pretty good year as well. She gave another stellar performance in The Pride of the Yankees. I expect she may pick up a few more Monties when it is all said and done.

So the final tally has Mrs. Miniver nearly sweeping the Monties by picking up four awards: Film, Director, Actress, and Supporting Actress. Gary Cooper notches his first Montie while Ronald Colman does the same.

Next up: 1943

GARY COOPER wins match play against JOHN WAYNE

Gary's little buddy is quite happy that Coop won his match over The Duke...

Gary Cooper beat John Wayne 15-10 in the weekly match play poll. Coop led the entire time and the closest Wayne got to was early in the first day down by 2. Congratulations Gary! I know Patti will be thrilled to hear this news. Coop ups his match play record to 3-1 while Wayne drops to 1-2. And I guess this series is being liked by a lot of my readers, so I shall continue with a new weekly match every week. I will set up the next match and have it ready within a few days. All I will say is that it involves two blondes.

Classic Stars Match Play #2 - John "The Duke" Wayne vs Gary "Coop" Cooper

While these two men made not have had a rivarly ala my last match competitors (Bette Davis, Joan Crawford), there was a little gruff between them. Wayne and director Howard Hawks didn't appreciate High Noon or the fact that Cooper's character Sheriff Will Kane was seeking help from townsfolk. Ironic that Wayne accepted the Best Actor award on Cooper's behalf for High Noon. And since the two didn't meet in my actors tournament, how about we pair them up now in a little match play? The match starts now and will run through Thursday October 6th at 7 pm EST. Good luck gentlemen.

JOHN WAYNE

Name: Marion Robert Morrison
Birth Date:  May 26, 1907
Height: 6'4"
Academy Awards: 3 nominations, 1 win ( Best Actor - True Grit (1969))
Monties: none so far....
My favorite John Wayne film: Rio Bravo
Match Play record: 1-1 (beat Glenn Ford in the 50's era of the
Favorite Classic Actor Tournament before losing to Kirk Douglas)

CLASSIC STARS MATCH PLAY


GARY COOPER

Name: Frank James Cooper
Birth Date: May 7, 1901 (Helena, Montana)
Height: 6'3"
Academy Awards: 5 nominations, 2 wins (Best Actor - Sergeant York (1942) and
Best Actor - High Noon (1953))
Monties: 1 nomination so far (Best Actor - Sergeant York)
My Favorite Gary Cooper film: Ball Of Fire
Match Play Record: 2-1 (beat Tyrone Power and Robert Montgomery in the 40's era of
the Favorite Classic Actor Tournament before falling to Cary Grant)

The 1940's Bracket Semi-Finals Matches are set...

It was an exciting match between Gary Cooper and surprise competitor Robert Montgomery. In the end Coop was able to outlast Montgomery 26-19, bringing a halt to Robert's Cinderella run. Patti, you can now breathe easier. In the first round Montgomery upset favorite Spencer Tracy. In the other 2nd round matches, the favorites all had easy victories. Top seed Cary Grant cruised over 9th seed Joel McCrea 37-9. 2nd seed Humphrey Bogart was all over 7th seed Henry Fonda 34-11. And what was expected to be a much closer match, 3rd seed Jimmy Stewart beat 6th seed Gregory Peck 29-17. So the semi-final matches set up like this: Cary Grant takes on Gary Cooper (Patti, your guy goes from one tough match to a really tough match) and Humphrey Bogart takes on Jimmy Stewart. Both should be excellent matches. They will begin immediately after this is posted and run through Tuesday night 8PM EST.

SEMI-FINAL MATCH 1

1 CARY GRANT

VS

5 GARY COOPER

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

SEMI-FINAL MATCH 2

2 HUMPHREY BOGART

VS

3 JAMES STEWART



Darkhorse Robert Montgomery and Gary Cooper are trading shots in one heck of a match during Round Two of the 40's Bracket...

Round Two of the Classic Movie actor tournament is winding down with less than 14 hours left today and three of the four matches are pretty much over. Top seed Cary Grant is rolling once again, as he is crushing 9th seed Joel McCrea 25-7. 2nd seed Humphrey Bogart is all over 7th seed Henry Fonda 26-5. And 3rd seed Jimmy Stewart has a comfortable margin over 6th seed Gregory Peck 22-11. But the most competitive match is going on between 5th seed Gary Cooper and darkhorse Robert Montgomery, who is seeded 13th. They are tied at 16 apiece. You may remember Montgomery pulled off a huge upset of Spencer Tracy in the first round and looks to continue his Cinderella run deep into the tournament. So if you haven't already voted please stop by and choose your favorite.