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

Week 3 Lombard Cup Marquee Match Spotlight: ESTHER WILLIAMS vs GINGER ROGERS

Week 3 matches of The 2013 Lombard Cup will begin today and I thought I would spotlight some of the matches. I already talked about the main match between Myrna Loy and Natalie Wood. But there is another high profile match that will be taking place too. Aquatic superstar Esther Williams takes on dancing queen Ginger Rogers in a key match-up. Based on match play experience solely on my blog, it would appear Ginger has the edge. She is 7-1 and is the 2012 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Champion. Esther Williams is 1-2 and has never made it past round 2 in any year. But I think it will still be a very exciting match. Kristen will have the matches up sometime today and you can go vote here: http://journeysinclassicfilm.com/

"So whose idea was to put me up against Ginger? Oh yeah that would 

be Monty! Thanks pal!

And Ginger has her game face on!

The 2013 Lombard Cup: Week 3 Matches

The action moves back over to Kristen's blog, Journeys In Classic Film, with the next five matches. And there are some choice ones plus one of the biggest matches ever to take place. I will save that one for last....

ESTHER WILLIAMS (TEAM CAROLE)

VS

GINGER ROGERS (TEAM VERONICA)

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

LOUISE BROOKS (TEAM CAROLE)

VS 

JOAN BLONDELL (TEAM VERONICA)

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

GRACE KELLY (TEAM CAROLE)

VS

LAUREN BACALL (TEAM VERONICA)

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

MARLENE DIETRICH (TEAM CAROLE)

VS

INGRID BERGMAN (TEAM VERONICA)

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

and lastly...the big one...

NATALIE WOOD (TEAM CAROLE)

VS



MYRNA LOY (TEAM VERONICA)

Matches begin on Sunday and will run through Friday. Here's the link to go vote for your favorites..http://journeysinclassicfilm.com/

Be My Guest: Melinda Kinnaird

My guest this month another friend and classic movie lover I met on Facebook, Melinda. Without further adieu, take it away Melinda....

Here they are! I am so glad you asked me to do this, I really enjoyed answering the questions. My mom, sister and I also enjoy talking about going to movie theaters that are no longer here in our hometown to see classic films. Anyway, here's my answers, and thank you again so much!

1. What made you start blogging? N/A

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

 Gene Kelly, Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Bette Davis, Olivia DeHaviland, Dana Andrews, Maureen O'Hara, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Ginger Rogers, Sidney Poitier, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, Joseph Cotten, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, The Marx Brothers, and so many more.

3. What are some of your favorite films? 

Singin' In The Rain, The Wizard Of Oz, Rebel Without A Cause, Now Voyager, The Philadelphia Story, and Lillies Of The Field...and that's just for starters.

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

The first time I ever really remember seeing a classic film was when I was a little girl. I remember the whole family getting together to watch The Wizard Of Oz on TV...this was back before many families had VCRs and no DVRs, so it was appointment television. I loved watching the magical adventure! Years later, when the film was re-released for its 60th anniversary, my mom and I went to the theatre to see it. It was just as enchanting seeing it on the big screen as it was seeing it as a child on TV.

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

 The first time I saw Rosemary's Baby as a teenager, I didn't get it. Then I saw it again a few years later, and it scared the bejeezus out of me!

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

 Just setting everything else aside and watching it...maybe having a snack and watching it with my mom.

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

My mother, certainly. She was born in 1932, so I think it gave me an appreciation for these classic gems. And my sister loves them too. She often tells me how she went to the a theater here in my hometown to see a classic film. She watches many with her husband and son. And I have several friends who love great films like I do.

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

Tough choice. I love the 1940s and 1950s. I would have loved to have seen so many of my favorite films in the theatre when they first opened. I also like how times were easier and manners were more present back then. Still, I do love the 1920s and 1930s as well, and many of my favorite musicians, movies and TV shows happened in the 1960s.

9. What are some of your favorite film quotes? 

"There's No Place Like Home." "Here's Looking At You, Kid." 

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

 I've never seen Lawrence Of Arabia. And I know it's in the 1970s, but I'd like to see The Godfather (1 and 2).

11. What is your favorite genre?

 Musicals and comedies, but I do love a good drama or suspense film too!

12. If you threw a movie theme party, describe how you would do it.

 The costumes, decorations, food, etc. My cousin is a HUGE Judy Garland found, so she might help me put a Wizard of Oz party together. It would be cool to have apples (since they walk past the apple trees), and have lollipops as party favors.

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

I'm not a big Woody Allen fan. Also, I didn't really like Touch Of Evil, even though I love most of the actors in it. And I liked Giant, but wish it wasn't so long.

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

My mom

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

Don Lockwood (Singin' In The Rain), Dorothy Gale (The Wizard Of Oz), Plato (Rebel Without A Cause), Maria Von Trapp (The Sound Of Music)

Thank you Melinda for being my guest and for such wonderful answers. I'm sure my readers enjoyed getting to know you as much as I did.

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.

Ginger's record setting run in last year's tourney

Last year's Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney winner Ginger Rogers set some unbelievable scoring records as she just ran wild with some amazing victories. In fact her closest win was her very first match with Joan Blondell with the margin of victory being only 28 votes. After that, word got out and Ginger's fanbase showed up like no other. Here are the numbers Ginger set last year and that I think may not be broken for awhile.

Ginger just dominated last year's tourney like no one else...

Most votes by an actress in a match: Ginger's 264 votes against Irene Dunne in round 2

Most combined votes in a match: that same match with Irene which yielded a staggering 478 votes

Most votes by an actress in a tourney: Ginger netted a total of 1053 votes over the course of 7 matches

Defeated Joan Blondell 58-30

Hattie McDaniel 85-42

Irene Dunne 264-214

Greta Garbo 177-78

Carole Lombard 141-94

Grace Kelly 184-56

Natalie Wood 144-25