31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 30 - ROMY SCHNEIDER

Ahhh, Romy, Romy, Romy. The Austrian born beauty has quickly become one of my favorite classic film actresses. She currently sits at number three on my all time favorite actresses list. Behind only Carole Lombard and Irene Dunne. Heady company there. Me and my best friend Irene Palfy constantly talk about her all the time. I have only seen a few of her films but what I have seen I have loved. But since I haven't seen enough of her films I won't be listing my favorite film or role of hers. I need to see more. And right now the only film I own of hers is Good Neighbor Sam (1964) with Jack Lemmon, which I absolutely love. So I will be watching that this evening once I get home.

The enchanting Romy

Today's film: GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM (1964) - A wonderful comedy from the 60's which casts Romy as a recent divorcee who must ask her married neighbor Jack Lemmon to pretend to be her husband to land a big time inheritance. From the first time we see Romy, she is amazing. And her chemistry with Mr. Lemmon is great. Can't wait to watch it again.

Rating: **** out of ***** stars

31 Stars In 31 Days: Day 19 - NATALIE WOOD

One of my all time favorite actresses, Natalie Wood gets her day under the sun as she is my star of the day. I have loved Natalie ever since I began watching classic movies so many years ago. I believe the first film I saw her in was the comedy Father was a Fullback (1949) with Fred MacMurray. AMC showed lots of her movies back then and I tried to watch them all. I recorded some movies of hers from TCM last year and will watch them today. Should be a very good Sunday.

Favorite Natalie film: LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1965)
Favorite Natalie role: Maggie DuBois (The Great Race)
Favorite Marilyn co-star: Tony Curtis in The Great Race/Sex and the Single Girl
Films of Natalie seen: 21 out of 45 films

Ummm, I wonder what films of mine Monty will watch today?

Today's films: from the 60's era when she had matured into adult roles with the slightest of ease.
Like I said I recorded these films last year from TCM and some I have never seen, so today will be a new Natalie experience for me. Including CASH McCALL (1960), co-starring James Garner. I also have BOB & CAROL & ALICE & TED (1969) the swinging comedy about well ummm swingers. And will top it off with The Great Race, which I have seen countless times but never get tired of watching it.

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 16 - VIVIEN LEIGH

Tonight I will be watching a Vivien Leigh movie and no not Gone With The Wind, her most iconic movie and role. No, I shall watch Waterloo Bridge, which is actually my favorite performance of hers. But let's get to the necessary info first about Ms. Leigh shall we...

Favorite Vivien film: GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) - just too epic not be my fave..even
though it's not my fave film from that golden year of 1939..in fact it is way down that list..just saying..
I hope GWTW fans don't come after me with pitchforks now!
Favorite Vivien role: Myra (WATERLOO BRIDGE - 1940) - yes I thought she was better here
than in GWTW. So heartbreaking!
Favorite Vivien co-star: toss up between Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier
Films of Vivien seen: 7 out of 20 films..I need to watch me some more Viv!

Today's film: WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940) - Heartbreaking film. Here is my full review when I wrote it a while back.. poohtiger-allgoodthings.blogspot.com/2010/09/vivien-leigh-in-heart-breaking-waterloo.html

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 7 - GRACE KELLY

How appropriate that Grace fell on this day, a Tuesday. Why, you may ask. Because I do a regular series about her called If It's Tuesday, Then It Must Be Grace Kelly. Ahhh Princess Grace...The Queen of Hitchcock Films...Graciebird. So many names and titles but we could all call her Grace. Well maybe before she got married. Then we would have to call her Princess Grace. But regardless whatever we may call her, she is definitely one of my all time favorites.

Favorite Grace film: REAR WINDOW (1954)
Favorite Grace role: Lisa Fremont (REAR WINDOW) - so divine
Favorite Grace co-star: I'm actually taking Jimmy Stewart of Rear Window over my fave Cary Grant.
Films of Grace seen: 7 out of 12 films (she starred in over 15 episodes of TV that I'm not counting)

Well, well if it isn't Grace...oh that's right it's Tuesday

Today's film: THE SWAN (1956) - This is a film I recorded off TCM last year and never got around to watching it. That it is until now. So I will be popping this in tonight and spend my evening with Princess Grace.

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 5 - MARILYN MONROE

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Marilyn's tragic death. And to honor the wonderful classic film actress I will be watching some of her films, which I just bought on blu-ray. I plan to watch three films of hers if I have enough time but if not at least two. The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. We love and miss you Marilyn. Here are some of my fave things about her.


Favorite Marilyn film: THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) Without a doubt my all time
favorite Marilyn film.
Favorite Marilyn role: Lorelei Lee (GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES) - Perfection in this movie 
Favorite Marilyn co-star: toss up between Jane Russell in Blondes and Tom Ewell 
in Seven Year Itch, hence my choice of films today
Films of Marilyn seen: 15 out of 33 films

Today's films: THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)
The Seven Year Itch is a wonderful comedy by Billy Wilder, who excelled at these kind of films. Well he actually excelled at all kinds of films because he was that awesome. And so is Marilyn who is simply cast as The Girl, an upstairs neighbor to a husband (Tom Ewell) who daydreams a lot about meeting and romancing women..all women. The action heats up when his wife and kid go away for the summer and he starts chatting with The Girl. All in good natured fun but it's a treat to watch how things unfold. 


Rating: ***** out of ***** stars

 Girl falls down, man is there to catch her

In GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES,  Marilyn is amazing as Lorelei Lee, who along with best pal Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell, all sass and I love it) take a cruise ship to Paris and have one interesting adventure. Splashy musical comedy that lets Marilyn show why she is one of cinema's great icons. Gorgeous film and two gorgeous women. What more could anyone ask for?


Rating: **** out of ***** stars

I'm with the blonde here

My plan is to watch both of these films right after church and if I do get to sneak in one more Marilyn film, it will most likely be How To Marry A Millionaire. 

My love of classic films is beyond measure

Monty

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 4 - FRANK SINATRA

Ol' Blue Eyes takes center stage today as the star of the day. A multi-talented performer who hit his peak in the mid 50's thru the mid 60's. I recently bought this 10 film collection a few months ago and decided to break some of them in today. With a double bill of Frank as Miami private eye Tony Rome in two jazzy films. But first as usual, let's get to my fave things about Mr. Sinatra.


Favorite Frank film: FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
Favorite Frank role: John Baron (SUDDENLY) - I know he won an Oscar for his terrific turn as Private Angelo Maggio in Eternity but I love him even more as the ruthless hitman in Suddenly.
Favorite Frank co-star: even though he starred with tons of Hollywood's top actresses, I think his best co-star was Dean Martin.
Number of Frank films seen so far: 20 out of 64

Frank is taking requests today

Today's film: TONY ROME (1967) and LADY IN CEMENT (1968) - Frank is super cool as Miami detective Tony Rome in these two films. First in Tony Rome, he must solve the mystery of a missing diamond necklace for a millionaire. The millionaire's daughter (Sue Lyon in one of her first adult roles) is at the center of this mystery which quickly spirals out of control. Bodies start piling up fast around Tony and he becomes the main suspect. So he makes it his mission to find out what's going on. Co-starring Jill St. John, Richard Conte, and Gena Rowlands, Tony Rome is one cool film with Frank wise-cracking and drinking the whole time. Probably picked up some pointers from his buddy Dino. Oh and whoever did the close-up shots for this film has a running gag as every time a beautiful woman appears, the camera zooms in on her...ummm...posterior. Gotta love the 60's. And the fun and flirty banter Frank has with Jill is priceless.


Tony: This isn't a family. It's just a bunch of people living at the same address. 
Rating: *** out of *****

"You want me to do what?" Ann Archer is not thrilled about something

Frank would return the following year with another Rome film titled Lady In Cement which has Tony discovering a blonde floating at the bottom of the ocean while he is out searching for buried treasure. But once again things don't turn out as simple as they appear..as Tony gets caught up in Miami's elite and some of the city's worst scumbags. While not as good as his first outing, things are a little lighter. Take for instance Tony wears a light beige suit in this one as opposed to a dark suit in the first film. And his hair is lightly colored blonde this time out as opposed to black in the original. He still cracks jokes even faced with danger. Great support from Dan Blocker (TV's Bonanza) and the extremely sexy Raquel Welch as society queen Kit Forrest. Wait until she makes her appearance...all I will say is WOW! Oh and the running gag of zooming in on women's posteriors is still in effect.


Rating: **1/2 out of *****

Easy Tony, easy...I'll get you a drink!

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 3 - ERROL FLYNN

A little swashbuckling for the day and who better than Errol Flynn. Whether firing arrows or clashing swords, Errol is your man. 


Favorite Errol film: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)
Favorite Errol role: Robin Hood
Favorite Errol co-star: a no-brainer here..OLIVIA de HAVILLAND
Number of Errol films seen so far: 17 out of 63

Star of the day, Errol Flynn

Today's film: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) - I was gonna go with another Errol film of somewhat lesser known variety but I just bought Robin Hood on blu-ray and wanted to see how it looks compared to DVD. And yes it looks amazing! I mean Robin Hood was already a gorgeous looking film in beautiful Technicolor and Blu-ray enhances it even more. Sounds and looks terrific. One of my favorite films of all time. Flynn and de Havilland are pure gold together. And Rathbone and Rains make terrific villains. 

The ever so thoughtful guest..Robin brings something to the feast

My favorite scene: has to be when Robin shows up at Nottingham Castle to have a little chat with Prince John (Rains) and Sir Guy (Rathbone) that begins friendly enough...but ends with Robin having to brawl his way out. Exhilarating stuff!

Oh and quite the charmer with the ladies too!

Rating: ***** out of *****
That's right...Robin Hood is a five star gem!

Whoops! Time to go!

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 2 - AVA GARDNER

Today my star selection is Ava Gardner. One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen. And a lot more talented than people gave her credit for. Here are some of my fave things about Ava. One of which being her passion for going barefoot a lot. I think my friend Irene would agree with me on that.

Favorite Ava film: THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964)
Favorite Ava role: Kitty Collins -THE KILLERS (1946)
Favorite Ava co-star: Clark Gable (THE HUCKSTERS, MOGAMBO)
Number of  Ava Films seen so far: 16 out of 68

Star of the day, Ava Gardner

Today's Film: THE HUCKSTERS (1947) Much star power in this film. Besides Ava, we have Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Edward Arnold, Keenan Wynn and Adolphe Menjou. Set in the world of advertising, Gable plays  Victor Norman, fresh out of the service and looking for a job. Lands one at an advertising agency when he lands a rich widow (Deborah Kerr, never better) as a endorsee to a major client. Ava enters the picture as Jean Ogilvie, a singer, aspiring to be an actress. And who also happens to be an old flame of Victor, which creates some tension between him, her and Kay (Kerr's character). 

Ava is stunning to say the least and quite funny.  Check out this line when she meets Victor's boss...

Mr. Kimberly: aren't you pretty Ms. Ogilvie.
Jean: Why, aren't you nice...I'm doing my hair differently.

I may not be a woman, but this outfit Ava wears is just awesome!

She is like that pretty much the whole movie. Along with Gable and Kerr, the acting by these three is top notch. And nobody says darling better than Ms. Kerr. Plus Ava and Deborah wear some of the best clothes one could ask for!

Rating: *** out of *****

Let me show you a little trick here Clarkie...

31 Stars in 31 Days: Day 1 - Cary Grant

Kicking off my little event this month is my favorite actor of all time, Cary Grant. This is my first post in this series so it's a work in progress. And like I said in another post, I will try to choose each star's lesser known works, instead of their more known films. First I wanted to name some fave movies of Cary before I talk about the movie I watched in honor of him.


Favorite Cary film: HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940)
Favorite Cary role: Walter Burns (HIS GIRL FRIDAY)
Favorite Cary co-star: Irene Dunne (THE AWFUL TRUTH, MY FAVORITE WIFE, PENNY
SERENADE)
Number of Films seen of Cary so far: 44 out of 72

Today's Film: BIG BROWN EYES (1936) - One of Cary's early films has him cast as New York detective Danny Barr trying to take down a jewel theft ring. And also trying to find two men who kill a child in Central Park by accidental gunfire. He's aided by his sassy on again, off again girlfriend/manicurist/reporter Eve Fallon (Joan Bennett).  How's that for multi-tasking. Snappy banter ala The Thin Man and a good story propel this film with Grant smooth as the snappy dressed cop and Bennett as the reporter who loves a good story ala Nora Charles.


Best scene: after Eve walks in on Danny with another woman not realizing he is interviewing her as a victim, she gets mad and won't let him in to see her. So outside her door, Danny mimics another woman's voice and has a humorous, sexy conversation. After Eve opens the door Danny reminds her he used to be a ventriloquist before becoming a cop. 

Cops and criminals alike hang out at the local barber shop

Surprising thing: seeing a blonde Joan Bennett..it takes a few scenes to get used to seeing Joan as a blonde. I keep forgetting she started her career by being blonde but went dark to distance herself from sister Constance. 


Oh and be on the lookout for Walter Pidgeon as a smooth jewel thief. And a running gag about Danny always having tea when romancing a female. 


Rating: *** out of *****

Eve is upset again at Danny

"Would you like some tea baby?"

One more thing...

Just one more thing...

31 Stars in 31 Days kicks off tomorrow with my first star, Cary Grant. I will write my post about him and what movie I watch the following day. But I wanted to let everyone know that I will be trying to watch some of each individual star's lesser known films. So for tomorrow I probably won't watch His Girl Friday or Bringing Up Baby, as they ware so well known. I will go through my collection and see what rarely seen movies I have of all my stars. Now for the weekend stars, I will watch more films, so naturally a few of them will be some of their more known films. But I wanted to expand my horizon so to speak and concentrate on some rarely talked about films. The fun begins tomorrow.

Schedule change for 31 Stars in 31 Days

Are you sure Ginger won't mind the move Monty?

Nothing too alarming but I just saw that August 5th marks the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's tragic death. So I will be honoring her on that day by watching some of her films. I traded her day with Ginger Rogers, who now will be showcased on Saturday, August 25th.

Note for my 31 Stars in 31 Days schedule

Since my little event has each of the three stars pictured above scheduled 
for a certain day, it's a safe bet to say that I'll be watching 
The Great Race at some point and time

Just wanted to mention one little thing about my upcoming 31 Stars in 31 Days schedule. I'm still going to do it but just to be clear, it will be one day behind. I will watch the movie of the particular star the day of but won't write about it until the following day. So I can critique it properly. Say for instance Cary Grant is my star for Wednesday August 1st, I will watch a film of his that night then post about it on August 2nd. I will follow that pattern for the entire month. So my girl Carole Lombard, who is slated for August 31st, will be my final write-up on September 1st. Just wanted to let everyone know that in advance. 

My love of classic films is beyond measure

(in any language)

Monty

31 Stars in 31 Days Schedule

As I stated in an earlier post, my theme next month will be 31 stars in 31 days. Something akin to TCM's Summer Under the Stars. I have chosen 31 stars and plan to watch at least one film representing that person. The lucky 8 stars who fall on a week-end will have several films watched by me. I will also post some pics and comments about the star for that particular day. Here is my list of stars for next month. I don't have an idea what films I will watch yet and probably won't until the day of. Please stop by to see if I am watching and talking about some of your favorite stars as well.

Wed August 1st - CARY GRANT
Thurs August 2nd - AVA GARDNER
Fri August 3rd - ERROL FLYNN
Sat August 4th - FRANK SINATRA
Sun August 5th - MARILYN MONROE
Mon August 6th - JACK CARSON
Tue August 7th - GRACE KELLY
Wed August 8th - CLARK GABLE
Thurs August 9th - JAMES STEWART
Fri August 10th - DEAN MARTIN

Sat August 11th - BETTE DAVIS
Sun August 12th - SIDNEY POITIER
Mon August 13th - HUMPHREY BOGART
Tue August 14th - WILLIAM HOLDEN
Wed August 15th - JEAN ARTHUR
Thurs August 16th - VIVIEN LEIGH
Fri August 17th - TONY CURTIS
Sat August 18th - JACK LEMMON
Sun August 19th - NATALIE WOOD
Mon August 20th - FRED ASTAIRE
Tue August 21st - JEAN HARLOW
Wed August 22nd - CATHERINE DENEUVE
Thurs August 23rd - JANE FONDA
Fri August 24th - ROSALIND RUSSELL
Sat August 25th - GINGER ROGERS
Sun August 26th - ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Mon August 27th - GENE KELLY

Tue August 28th - ANN SHERIDAN
Wed August 29th - JOEL MCCREA
Thurs August 30th - ROMY SCHNEIDER
Fri August 31st - CAROLE LOMBARD