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.

The FALL SERIES: Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

What a spectacular view! Oh and the scenery is nice too...

Happy Birthday Deborah Kerr (1921 - 2007)

Happy Birthday to Scottish classic film actress Deborah Kerr. I will be doing a post later on today celebrating her today in conjunction with Sophie's blogathon on her blog Waitin' On A Sunny Day. In the meantime, here's a pic of our birthday girl. Happy Birthday Deborah!

BRITISH BEAUTIES - Jean Simmons

My friend Alicia Garbo has this wonderful page on Facebook called British Beauties, dedicated to all the wonderful actresses born in the UK. She is spotlighing Jean Simmons this week and thought everyone would like to check out her terrific page. Here's the link to her page: British Beauties

Shirley Jones in THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB (1970)

James Stewart and Henry Fonda team up for this surprisingly genteel western about a cowboy named O'Hanlan (played by Jimmy) who inherits a business from his recently passed brother. Well the business turns out to be a bordello ran by the sweet Jenny (our girl Shirley). But this western is not lude and vulgar, it is very funny and tame. It is rated PG and there is no nudity, very little cursing, and some gunplay. A great wholesome movie actually. It's great seeing two veterans like Stewart and Fonda team up again as their careers were winding down. Fonda plays O'Hanlan's buddy Harley Sullivan, who gets the majority of the film's laughs. And Shirley once again deilvers a solid performance as Jenny, who takes a shine to O'Hanlan. This film was directed by musical film star, Gene Kelly.

Film: B
Shirley's performance: B

Happy Birthday Greer Garson (1904 - 1996)

Happy Birthday to Greer Garson.The actress starred in such classic films as Mrs. Miniver (winning a Best Actress Oscar), Random Harvest, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Madame Curie, among others. Happy Birthday Greer!

The FALL SERIES: Claudette Colbert

Claudette posing for her close-up...

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Bette Davis

Is this not comfortable or what?

THE FALL SERIES: Greta Garbo

Greta is just so beautiful...

The 60's Era of the Favorite Classic Musical Film tournament has begun

The final era of the favorite classic musical film tournament is now underway as the 60's musicals begin their competition. Top seed The Sound of Music will have to contend with other favorites such as Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, West Side Story and Funny Girl to name just a few. Here's the link to the blog to cast your vote: 60's era classic musical films. I'm going with Mary Poppins to win this era.

If It's Tuesday, Then It Must Be Grace Kelly

Say cheese!

The FALL SERIES: Burt Lancaster

Burt looking very casual..

Joanie asking for her friends help...

In her match with rival Bette Davis, Joan is having a tough go. So she asked me send this message to all her fans...."Where are you guys? Bette is kicking my butt! I can hear her now, Joan, my dear...better luck next time! ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Shirley Jones in A TICKLISH AFFAIR (1963)

Shirley is young widowed mother Amy Martin who lives in San Diego with her three children. Along comes Navy commander Key Weedon (played by Gig Young) to woo her. This is a quaint little comedy from the early 60's that gets by thanks to the always refreshing Shirley. She gets great support from Red Buttons as her Uncle Cy and Carolyn Jones as Shirley's sister in law. Gig Young makes a good romantic partner to Shirley. Also look for Edgar Buchanan. A Ticklish Affair is a good way to spend an hour and a half on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Shirley's first scene is a memorable one as she is fixing her kitchen sink in some sexy shorts and her hairy is all frizzy and smudge on her face. Easy to fall in love with her from that moment on.

Film: B-
Shirley's performance: B

THE FALL SERIES: Francoise Dorleac

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

Some stats about Bette and Joan for their classic match play battle...

Taking a page from my good friend John over at Mythical Monkey, I decide to post some stats about the match between rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that is currently going on. I just love stats and numbers.

Bette Davis

"I'm sure this is one match everyone has been waiting on. I'll try not to disappoint!"

Name: Ruth Elizabeth Davis

Birth Date: April 5, 1908 (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Height: 5' 3"
Academy Awards: 11 nominations, 2 wins (Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938))
Monties: 4 nominations, 1 win: Best Actress - The Little Foxes (1941) - so far....
My favorite Bette film: All About EveMatch Play record: 2-1 (beat Esther Williams and Rita Hayworth in the 40's era of the
 Favorite Classic Actress Tournament before losing to Vivien Leigh 37-36)
 
 
 
 
CLASSIC STARS MATCH PLAY
 
 
 
 
Joan Crawford

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



  "I am so ready to take down Bette!"
 
Name: Lucille Fay LeSueur

Birth Date: March 23, 1905 (San Antonio, Texas)
Height: 5' 5"
Academy Awards: 3 nominations, 1 win (Mildred Pierce (1945)
Monties: 2 nomination, 2 wins: Best Supporting Actress -  Grand Hotel (1934) and The Women (1939)
My favorite Joan film: The Women
Match Play record: 0-1 (lost to Barbara Stanwyck 42-8 in Favorite Classic Tournament...ouch)

THE FALL SERIES: Anne Baxter

Anne just enjoying some sun...

Classic Stars Match Play Begins...Bette vs Joan

Today begins my weekly poll series pitting one star against another. Doing this because we all love seeing who we would choose among our favorites and to keep things fun. I will have several classic rivarly such as the first match of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. But I will also have some more obscure matchups as well. Every Sunday will feature a new match and run thru that Saturday. I will keep track of certain stars who win the most or heaven forbid, lose the most. This way we can all see matches that probably wouldn't happen during my tournament series.




VS

THE FALL SERIES: Kay Francis and George Brent

It's so lovely out here, isn't it darling?

Top Ten Stars For The Week Ending Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Man, that was a fast week. Here I am, back again with my weekly top ten list for the classic stars I covered the most on my blog or watched some of their movies. With this week's ranking I shall nnow include that star's previous ranking and weeks total.

1. ROMY SCHNEIDER - Romy's birthday was on Friday and I did a birthday post on my blog as well as on my friend Irene's blog. And the two of us talked about her quite a bit. Romy, congrats you're the top star of the week on All Good Things.

2. SHIRLEY JONES - Being the classic movie goddess of the month, almost certainly means you will make this list. And Shirley does. Holding tight in second place for the second week in a row.

3. JOAN BLONDELL - Last week's top star falls to number 3 as I didn't post about her but I did continue to watch some of her movies. Way to go Joan.

4. LUCILLE BALL - Well hello Lucy. She makes her way onto my list mainly due to me watching Easy To Wed and loving her every minute in that film. She stole the film with her hilarious performance.

5. JUDY GARLAND - Still making noise as her film Meet Me In St. Louis won the 40's era round of favorite musical tournament over at Singin and Dancing Back in Time. Now St. Louis is one of the first two films slated to compete in the final four. Last week (3)

6. SOPHIA LOREN - The magnificent Sophia had a birthday last week and I was able to catch a few of her movies on TCM and also do a birthday post for her.

7. GRETA GARBO - Still relieving some Ninotchka moments and her birthday was still fresh in my mind. Last week (5)

8. CARY GRANT - The sole male to make the list this week because....awww, who am I kidding, Cary will pretty much make the list almost every week. I'm sure of it. Last week (7)

9. LAUREN BACALL - Another previous birthday girl and I just did a recent pawsome pet picture post with the amazing Lauren. Last week (4)

10. DEBORAH KERR - The English Rose makes her first appearance on the top ten list thanks to TCM's airing of King Solomon's Mines and me watching it. I love that movie.

Shirley Jones in THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER (1963)

I grew up watching the TV series of the same name, not knowing there was a movie before it. Well I recently saw it on TCM and loved it. Shirley plays Elizabeth Marten, a volunteer nurse,who was the friend of Tom Corbett's (Glenn Ford) wife before she died. Now Eddie is trying to hook his dad up with a potential replacement. Cue Elizabeth. But not before a few misfires including Rita (played by Dina Merrill). Well Rita and Tom come close to tying the knnot but Eddie's dislike of Rita is the tipping point. Elizabeth is there as always to be comforting and romance eventually blooms. This is a great comedy-drama from the early 60's with a terrific cast. Glenn Ford, Shirley Jones, Ron Howard as Eddie, Dina Merrill and Stella Stevens as Dolly add to the fun.

Film: B
Shirley's Perfomance: B

It's Saturday..so that means a trip back to the 60's

Thanks to everyone who voted on my recent poll.  I asked the question what day would work best for all things 60's and the choice was Saturday. So each and every Saturday I will post nothing but all things related to the 60's. Well at least try to. So many other things are going on with my blog such as godddess of the month, the fall series, etc..I will try to link all those together if possible. Since I'm getting a late start, I just wanted to post these snazzy film posters from the 60's as a starting point. And next Saturday will be an all day affair with the 60's.

The sexiest astronaut ever!

What a wonderful film title...

Doris Day fashion parade in this film

Catherine Deneuve..one of the top stars of the 60's without a doubt

Leave it to James Bond to require 8 girls to give him a bath...

Unflinching and raw!

A new series over at And Then They Start To Sparkle

My good friend Irene has graciously accepted the task of interviewing me for a weekly series over at her blog. Everyone knows how I love to interview friends and bloggers for the be my guest series, so it's very cool now to be the one being interviewed. So Irene will be asking a question a week and joining in the conversation as she adds her thoughts and comments. The first question will be posted tomorrow. Please drop by Irene's blog to check it out. Here's the link: and then they start to sparkle

THE FALL SERIES: Romy Schneider

The beautiful Romy being whimsical...

Classic Stars Match Play Weekly Poll

I know how much everyone enjoys my tournaments, so I’ve decided to add another series to my

blog while we wait for next March’s expanded favorite actress tournament. A weekly poll that
matches up two stars for you guys to choose from. I'm calling it Classic Stars Match Play. Because a lot of actresses would never face each other in tournament play. Now I can have single matches that will pit one star against another star. Some matches that you would never dream of. Say like Audrey Hepburn against Clara Bow or Maureen O’Hara against Claudia Cardinale. And it won’t be just the women. I will have the actors competing as well. So the first match will start this Sunday and run for a week. So everyone will have plenty of time to vote. I will keep track of particular stars who win the most or heaven forbid, lose the most. Just thought this would be pretty cool and fun to do. Since I love matches and I love polls. So please join me every week for this fun new series. I know sometimes its hard to choose between your favorites, but it can also be very entertaining. So I guess I need to announce the first match right? Well I’m going to go with that classic rivalry, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Place your bets.




VS



The poll will be open early Sunday morning...good luck to both women as I think this will be an all out slugfest.

Happy Birthday ROMY SCHNEIDER (1938 - 1982)

Happy Birthday to my cover girl Romy Schneider. Me and my good friend Irene have been talking about Romy on and off all week and I had no idea it was her birthday until just now. A wonderful actress whose life was cut short at the age of 43 due to cardiac arrest. Also tragically her son David was killed in an accident the year before. But we still have her memorable films that the lovely lass from Vienna, Austria did to enjoy. The ones I have seen include The Trial (1962) with Anthony Perkins and Good Neighbor Sam (1964) with Jack Lemmon. Take a moment to honor Romy today and wishing her a happy birthday and may she rest in heaven. Here are some more festive pics of Romy.