Be My Guest: Renata (Part One)

Well say hello to the biggest Irene Dunne fan I know, Renata. This is part one of my interview with her. I sent her the questions last month and she returned her answers that very same day. The fastest anyone has ever responded. So without any further delay, let's get started.


Me: Who are some of your favorite classic movie stars Renata?

Renata: That’s easy, Monty. My absolute favorite actress is Irene Dunne, she’s just the best!! But I also adore Carole Lombard, Lupe Vélez, Carolyn Jones, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Chatterton, Joan Fontaine and Jean Arthur (to name a few)….as of the male actors, my favorite is Charles Boyer, followed by Fred MacMurray, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Fred Astaire, Robert Montgomery and Edward G. Robinson.

Me: Yeah, I remember that we have Irene and Carole in flip flop positions. And the rest of your choices are good as well. Nice to see Ruth Chatteerton up there.


Me: Ok, so what are some of your favorite classic movies?

My favorite movie is “Love Affair” (1939) and it is hard for me to answer this question cause most of my favorite movies are Irene Dunne movies but I’ll tell you some of my non-Irene favorites too.

I adore “It Happened One Night”, “Nothing Sacred”, “Letter from an Unknown Woman”, “Rebecca”, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”, “Remember the Night”, “Gone with the Wind”, “Tomorrow is Forever”, “The Devil-Doll”,  “I’ll be Seeing You”, “Random Harvest””, “Dodsworth”, “The Girl from Mexico”, “Mildred Pierce”, “Marty”…..among many many others!

Me: Nice selection there Renata. Thanks for going outside of your fave Irene movies box. Can't argue with any of those that you chose that I have seen.


Me: Describe your first classic movie experience. Like where did you watch it..with who, what film was it, etc...

Renata: I grew up watching old Mexican movies in black and white and they were always part of my life and it was normal to see at least one every Sunday. But my first classic Hollywood movie must have been “Roman Holiday”. I think it was in 2004 when I couldn’t sleep and I found it on TV at 3 am. It was the only decent thing to watch so I watched it and I loved it.

But that wasn’t the official “first classic movie experience”. I guess the official one came after I became a huge fan of “The Addams Family” (the 1964 TV series) in 2006 and I wanted to see movies with Carolyn Jones and that’s how I started to see classic movies more often. I just loved them! I never liked new movies and then I knew why. 

Me: Great story Renata. Glad to have you as a fellow classic movie lover.

Me: Describe your perfect way to watch a movie.

Renata: Night time!! I hate watching movies during the day. I also enjoy watching movies when everybody else is sleeping (even my cat),lately it’s been a “must” to wait till my kitty falls asleep in order to watch a movie. It’s very peaceful to have her purring next to me and watch a classic movie at the same time. I just love it.
Me: That sounds wonderful Renata. You and my friend Irene would have a great time watching movies with you guys cats right there with you. 


I think this is a good stopping point for part one of my interview with Renata. We will be back shortly with part two.

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