Sweet Sixteen Round is now underway

So we move on with the sweet sixteen round as things begin to get a little tight. The bracket winners of each era will now face off against each other to set the stage for next week's era finals to see who goes on to be a final four finalist. As before I will handle the 30's era action here and then you can click on the links below to go vote in the other eras as well:
40's era: mythicalmonkey
50's era:thewonderfulworldofcinema
60's era: screwballcinema

Matches will run through Saturday afternoon

First up it will be Screwball Queen winner Myrna Loy vs Icons winner Barbara Stanwyck

Next is International Appeal winner Margaret Lockwood vs Drama Queens winner Marlene Dietrich

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/

Second round matches begin now...

Here are the scheduled second round matches that begin now. Once again the first three days will be represented by two categories (They Had Faces and Pre-Code Babes). The matches will run through Wednesday evening. The second set of matches (Funny Ladies and Singers/Dancers) will begin immediately after that. There are some spectacular matches too. Including Claudette Colbert vs Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer vs Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo vs Kay Francis. March Madness is now in full swing!

THEY HAD FACES

1 GRETA GARBO
Tourney record (5-2)
first round victory over Dolores Del Rio 60-32



VS



5 KAY FRANCIS
Tourney record (1-0)
first round victory over Louise Brooks 54-32


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


3 GLORIA SWANSON
Tourney record (2-1)
first round victory over Clara Bow 46-45



VS


7 LILLIAN GISH 
Tourney record (1-1)
first round victory over Mary Pickford 56-37


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

PRE-CODE BABES

1 BARBARA STANWYCK 
Tourney record 4-2
first round victory over Miriam Hopkins 43-7



VS



4 CLAUDETTE COLBERT
Tourney record (5-2)
first round victory over Joan Crawford 61-42



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

2 NORMA SHEARER
Tourney Record  (2-3)
first round victory over Glenda Farrell 51-48




VS




3 MARLENE DIETRICH
Tourney Record (3-2)
first round victory over Ann Dvorak 54-51

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

The battle between Carole Lombard and Joan Crawford is underway

Some of the sweet 16 round matches have begun and the headliner for me is my girl Carole vs Joan Crawford. The epic battle is taking place over at my good friend John's blog, Mythical Monkey. Please go cast your vote as soon as possible. And looks like the stars are coming out to support their girls. Here's the link: mythicalmonkey

Carole is flanked by Marlene Dietrich, Lilli Damita and Errol Flynn who are in her corner

And good friend Barbara Stanwyck is there to support Joan,

which is tremendous considering the two just battled each other

in a tough match between friends.

Round Two Day One Update

Round 2 of the favorite classic movie actress tourney started last night and there are a few surprises taking place. Here's the breakdown of all the action in all four eras.

SILENT/30'S ERA

Marlene is readying herself for day 2 with Joan...looks

to be one heck of a battle

GRETA GARBO 49 CLARA BOW 18

GLORIA SWANSON 48 MARY PICKFORD 18

BARBARA STANWYCK 46 CLAUDETTE COLBERT 18

JOAN CRAWFORD 39 MARLENE DIETRICH 31

Top seed Greta Garbo is just steamrolling over Clara Bow by a whopping 31 points. This match is pretty much over unless the 'It' Girl can stage one helluva comeback. 6th seed Gloria Swanson is shocking 2nd seed Mary Pickford with a 30 point thrashing of her own. Barbara Stanwyck is coasting in her match with Claudette Colbert. And finally Joan Crawford is starting to pull away from Marlene Dietrich after falling behind early. Can't wait to see what day 2 has in store for this era.

THE 40'S ERA

Yeah Monty just said I'm actually holding my own

against Kate. Can you believe that?

GENE TIERNEY 20 VIVIEN LEIGH 19

LAUREN BACALL 22 INGRID BERGMAN 17

BETTE DAVIS 30 JOAN FONTAINE 9

KATHARINE HEPBURN 23 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND 19

The only non-surprise here is that Bette Davis is just rolling over Joan Fontaine. I kind of figured that Joan would be no match for Bette. But I am surprised and glad that Joan's sister, Olivia is hanging with the great Kate Hepburn, down by only four points. Another surprise has to be Gene Tierney doing her best and matching top seed and final four finalist last year Vivien Leigh vote for vote. Gene currently has a one point edge. And Lauren Bacall is up by 5 votes over perennial favorite Ingrid Bergman, who made it to the 40's era final match against Leigh. Man, this era could produce some of the biggest upsets of the tourney if the scoring holds. Stay tuned.

THE 50'S ERA

Ms. Taylor is looking upward as she seeks

to advance to round 3..something she 

couldn't do last year

GRACE KELLY 37 SOPHIA LOREN 15

DEBORAH KERR 27 AUDREY HEPBURN 25

ELIZABETH TAYLOR 39 ANNE BAXTER 16

AVA GARDNER 34 SUSAN HAYWARD 17

Top seed Grace Kelly is just crushing Sophia Loren, as expected. As is the other top seed Elizabeth Taylor, who is showing no mercy on Anne Baxter. I'm a little surprised though that Ava Gardner has such a big lead over Susan Hayward. Hayward went pretty deep into the tourney last year, even knocking out Elizabeth Taylor in one round. So this is kind of a shock. The marquee match between Deborah Kerr and Audrey Hepburn has been good as advertised. The two have been trading leads back and forth all day long, with Kerr currently enjoying a slight 2 point edge.

THE 60'S ERA

Catherine saying a little prayer before her match...

JULIE CHRISTIE 18 SUSANNAH YORK 18

JEAN SIMMONS 26 CLAUDIA CARDINALE 9

CATHERINE DENEUVE 23 LEE REMICK 15

ANNE BANCROFT 22 FAYE DUNAWAY 17

Top seed Jean Simmons is looking to knock out Claudia Cardinale early as she leads by a solid 17 votes. 2nd seed Faye Dunaway is currently losing to 6th seed Anne Bancroft by 5 votes. Lee Remick is down to Catherine Deneuve by 8 points. And we have our only tie in the entire tourney between number 1 seed Julie Christie and upstart Susannah York. Tied at 18-all.

This round will continue through Wednesday night. If you haven't voted yet, please do so now at the four blogs hosting this tourney. We're in for one heck of a ride!

A Movie A Day: Destry Rides Again is a fun time for all

Another winner from that golden year of 1939 was this classic western, Destry Rides Again, that mixed comedy with gunplay quite effectively. This film was labeled as Marlene Dietrich's comeback film. She plays Frenchy, the saloon singer of the corrupt town called Bottleneck. And Dietrich is absolutely amazing. She belts out about 3 songs with the first one being the energetic Little Joe and then later on she sings See What The Boys in the Back Room Will Have. Of course this movie is called Destry and he is the character every one talks about. Truth is Jimmy Stewart who plays Tom Destry Jr, doesn't even show up until about 20 minutes into the movie. But once he arrives at the bequest of his father's old friend, he pretty much makes the movie his own. Stewart is so effortless in his acting ability that it seems like he's just hanging out with friends, having a good time. His Destry doesn't believe in guns, since they didn't do his father any good, who was gunned down in the streets. But Tom does believe in law and order and sets to clean up the town of Bottleneck. He runs into trouble in the form of Kent, a sleazy Brian Donlevy, who owns the saloon, and has a scam of cheating land owners out of their property with some crooked poker games. Kent then charges for cattlemen who come through the town a hefty price to pass through with their cattle. The former sheriff of Bottleneck was killed because he was about to shut Kent down, and the mayor, who is corrupt too, appoints the town drunk as the next sheriff, so their won't be any trouble from the law. But the surprise is when the sheriff calls in Tom Destry to be his deputy. When Destry first meets everyone at the saloon, he becomes the butt of their jokes. But he makes an impact on Frenchy, not in a good way. He breaks up her fight with Lily Belle (played by the hilarious Una Merkel) who husband (the equally hilarious Mischa Auer) was cheated by Frenchy in a card game. Their cat fight is a riot and Tom politely breaks it up by pouring a bucket of water on them. One of many funny scenes from this enjoyable movie. Destry Rides Again is one of the best films to come out ever, and the fact that it came out in 1939 only emphasizes that point of how good it really is.
A