March Madness #12: BURT LANCASTER

Welcome to Day 11 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day one Super-star will be featured - a star of many types of roles, from really, really B.A.D. to the sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #10 Results: DEBBIE REYNOLD's sweet and dear KATHY SELDON is "Singin' in the Rain" for her win over Peggy Brown in "The Rat Race", 43 - 19 votes.

TODAY the spotlight shines on BURT LANCASTER's. "He-man" Burt was a an actor, with many character roles, all of them memorable that had female hearts a-flutter, and the respect of most every man and boy!
Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

March Madness #11: DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Welcome to Day 11 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day one Super-star will be featured - a star of many types of roles, from really, really B.A.D. to the sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #10 Results: KIRK DOUGLAS's milder side won the day over that lion-hearted warrior, Spartacus, 29 - 24 votes.

TODAY the spotlight shines on DEBBIE REYNOLDS. America's darling, Debbie was a "triple threat", an actress, a singer and a dancer, who could be tough or tender.
Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

By The Numbers...My Top Ten Posts of 2012

Taking a page from my good blogger friend Kristen, here are my top ten posts of 2012. The ones that had the most views (hits) by online viewers from around the world. Let's get started with number 10 shall we....

10.) 31 Stars in 31 Days: Marilyn Monroe - 412 HITS

My annual 31 Stars in 31 Days salute in August is based on TCM's Summer Under The Stars. Each day in August I choose a particular star and talk about my fave movies of theirs with a singular review or several reviews. Marilyn Monroe's day yielded the most hits of any star that month. I bought the recent blu-ray set and dished about The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  31-stars-in-31-days-day-5-marilyn-monroe

9.) At The Beach: Anne Francis - 470 HITS

My summer photo series At The Beach/Summer Lovin' yielded the 9th most viewed post of 2012 with the lovely and sexy Anne Francis. Check Anne out here...one more time. summer-lovin-anne-francis

8.) 2012 Cinematic World Tour Blogathon - 500 HITS

My first Blogathon was a pretty good endeavor if I must say so myself. I had several friends and bloggers make worthy contributions to this event using films as travel spots and vacation settings. This is the post that described the blogathon. It yielded a ton of comments too as people were clearly interested in this event. all-good-things-presents-cinematic world tour blogathon

7.) My Childhood Crushes: Jenny Agutter - 516 HITS

I started this new series back in May and this is the first of two posts that made the top ten list of most viewed posts in 2012. Jenny Agutter lands here at number 7 as she was one of my first major crushes while growing up thanks to An American Werewolf in London and Logan's Run. my-childhood-crushes-jenny-agutter

6.) My Childhood Crushes: Catherine Mary Stewart - 584 HITS

The second of my childhood crushes, Catherine Mary Stewart was just ahead of Jenny and grabs the number six spot. I can't tell ya how many times I saw The Last Starfighter and Night of The Comet while as a teen just to look at the beautiful Catherine. my-childhood-crushes-catherine-mary stewart

5.) BRAVE - 614 HITS

My review of Pixar's summer offering Brave was a hugely viewed post. I loved this movie and I'm glad it got some love from my readers. Thanks guys! brave-2012-is-pure-cinema-magic.

4.) My Top 50 Favorite Classic Movie Actresses List - 662 HITS

I had to revise my top 50 Favorite Classic Actresses for the year and evidently a lot of people were curious how my new rankings would shake out. This is the top 25 portion of that list. my-favorite-top-50-classic-film actresses

3.) Things To Know About Lauren Bacall - 696 HITS

My classic movie goddess for January was Lauren Bacall and she was one of my most successful goddesses since I started this series back in 2009. I love Lauren as she is one of my all time faves. things-to-know-about-lauren-bacall

2.) The Morning Movie: The Night Of The Iguana - 924 HITS 

Sometimes before leaving for work in the mornings I can catch a movie on TCM or some other movie channel. I started a series called the Morning Movie for just this purpose. Kind of a mini-review to let everyone know what I'm watching and what I think of it. Well The Night of The Iguana had over 900 hits to rank as my second most viewed post of 2012. morning-movie-night-of-iguana-1964

1.) 2012 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney - 1290 HITS

My 2nd annual favorite classic movie actress tourney was a tremendous success. And this specific post detailing the matches involving the 60's leading ladies proved to be the cat's meow. With a whopping 1290 hits logged, it was my top post in 2012.  2012-favorite-classic-movie-actress

Well that concludes my trip back through 2012 to see what were the top viewed posts and I have to say it was a pretty good year. I may have dropped off from writing as many posts as I did in 2011 but I don't think my quality slipped. At least I hope it didn't. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out All Good Things and here's to an even better 2013.

ALL GOOD THINGS in DECEMBER

Almost made it through another year and what a ride. In December I will bring back my daily holiday cheer pic series of classic film stars in holiday poses. There is also the screwball tourney I am doing between here and my sister blog Screwball Cinema, which should be fun. My guest for the month is Garbo. Alicia Garbo, a very good friend of mine I met on FB. She has a cool name right. And I won't be doing the classic movie goddess for the month as I won't have enough time to do her justice. But expect that series to return in January. And expect the occasional post about some of my favorite Christmas movies! Hope to see everyone here! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

At The Beach: DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Debbie enjoying her summer break

Summer Lovin'- DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Debbie hanging out with a furry friend

Sweet 16 Matches

Here are the match ups for round four or better known as Sweet Sixteen. Matches will begin tonight and run through Thursday night.

30'S ERA

1 GRETA GARBO vs 3 GINGER ROGERS
1 CAROLE LOMBARD vs 3 JOAN CRAWFORD

40'S ERA

1 JUDY GARLAND vs 5 GENE TIERNEY
1 BETTE DAVIS vs 2 LUCILLE BALL

50'S ERA

1 GRACE KELLY vs 2 DEBBIE REYNOLDS
1 ELIZABETH TAYLOR vs 5 JANET LEIGH

60'S ERA

1 JEAN SIMMONS vs 3 ANN-MARGRET
1 NATALIE WOOD vs 3 CATHERINE DENEUVE

As you can see there are still several top seeds left. And a couple of 5 seeds in Gene Tierney and Janet Leigh, who continue to surprise us all.

Marquee Match Spotlight: Doris Day vs Debbie Reynolds

DORIS DAY

                                            DEBBIE REYNOLDS

A prime match to decide the winner of the singers/dancers bracket for the 50’s era will be decided between No. 1 Doris Day and No. 2 Debbie Reynolds. I for one can’t wait to see how this will one will play out as I love both actresses. And both are experienced tourney players. Doris came within one match last year of going to the final four before losing to Natalie Wood in the 60’s era championship Final match. And Debbie went all the way to the 50’s era final match, only to lose to Grace Kelly. So this sets up to be an exciting match. It started late last night and the score currently has Doris leading Debbie 24-23. Go here to cast your vote:
noir and chick flicks



FUNNY LADIES/SINGERS AND DANCERS DAY TWO UPDATE

Everything is just humming along smoothly in the tourney as most of the top seeds are easily winning their respective matches, but there are a few close ones. In fact there are two matches currently tied. Here are the numbers after the second day of voting in the funny ladies and singers/dancers categories.


SILENT/30'S ERA

CAROLE LOMBARD 73 GAIL PATRICK 14
MYRNA LOY 70 MARGARET DUMONT 10
JEAN HARLOW 63 MARIE DRESSLER 15
JEAN ARTHUR 64 MARGARET SULLAVAN 14
IRENE DUNNE 74 LUISE RAINER 7
HATTIE MCDANIEL 43 SHIRLEY TEMPLE 38
GINGER ROGERS 51 JOANN BLONDELL 27
JEANETTE MACDONALD 44 MAE WEST 36


All the top seeds are rolling in this first round. Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Jean Arthur (who missed out on last year's tourney, but is making up for it now) and defending champion Irene Dunne are just destroying their opponents. Especially Irene who is up 74-7 over two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer. The close match is between Shirley Temple and Hattie McDaniel. McDaniel currently has a slight 5 point edge


THE 1940'S ERA

Here's Lucy!

ROSALIND RUSSELL 54 JEANNE CRAIN 7
JANE WYMAN 37 DONNA REED 30
LUCILLE BALL 47 MAUREEN O'HARA 28
EVE ARDEN 31 TERESA WRIGHT 23
JUDY GARLAND 53 MARGARET O'BRIEN 8
BETTY GRABLE 32 JUNE ALLYSON 23
RITA HAYWORTH 42 HEDY LAMARR 16
ANN MILLER 29 VIRGINIA MAYO 21


This era has some much closer matches. Jane Wyman and Donna Reed are battling it out big time with Wyman currently holding a 7 point edge. Eve Arden is up by 8 points over Teresa Wright. Betty Grable is leading June Allyson by 9. Ann Miller is up by 8 over Virginia Mayo. Top seed Rosalind Russell though is destroying Jeanne Crain 54-7. Someone should call for the mercy rule. And in the battle of the redheads, Lucille Ball fell behind early to Maureen O'Hara by as many as 8 points as now surged to lead by nearly 20. I guess the phrase 'I Love Lucy' is definitively most true.


THE 1950'S ERA

Debbie is rolling over Jane Powell

DORIS DAY 42 JANE RUSSELL 22
VERA-ELLEN 26 LESLIE CARON 26
DEBBIE REYNOLDS 38 JANE POWELL 19
CYD CHARISSE 42 DOROTHY DANDRIDGE 14
JUDY HOLLIDAY 42 PIER ANGELI 10
JANET LEIGH 46 JAYNE MANSFIELD 12
MARILYN MONROE 49 JOANNE WOODWARD 12
THELMA RITTER 45 EVA MARIE SAINT 14


We have one tie currently between Vera-Ellen (first time competing) and Leslie Caron (who got bounced in the first round last year). Looks like that match will go down to the wire. But the other matches are blow-outs. Top seed Doris Day is competing in the 50's era this year and loving it. She played in the 60's era last year. Different eras, same results as she is whipping Jane Russell 42-22. Another transfer from the 60's, Janet Leigh is having little trouble too in her match with Jayne Mansfield. She is up by 34 points.


THE 60'S ERA

First timer Hayley Mills is proving she deserves to be

here as she is winning over Tuesday Weld

JULIE ANDREWS 46 JEANNE MOREAU 12
SHIRLEY JONES 33 RITA MORENO 22
SHIRLEY MACLAINE 43 EDIE ADAMS 15
ANN-MARGRET 31 RAQUEL WELCH 22
NATALIE WOOD 46 STELLA STEVENS 8
HAYLEY MILLS 32 TUESDAY WELD 20
JANE FONDA 39 PATTY DUKE 13
SANDRA DEE 31 GLYNIS JOHNS 22


Top seed Julie Andrews is winning  big over Jeanne Moreau as expected. The other top seed Natalie Wood is having no trouble either in her match with Stella Stevens. Ann-Margret vs Raquel Welch and Sandra Dee vs Glynis Johns both have the same scores...31-22 with Ann and Sandra leading. Should go down to the wire.


These matches will run through tonight and if there is a tie along the way, a tie-breaker match will take place tomorrow for one day only to see who will move on to round 2.

HOLIDAY CHEER - Debbie Reynolds

Your very own life like Debbie Reynolds doll....Merry Christmas!

Debbie Reynolds Helps Kick Off The 50's Era of The Favorite Classic Musical Film Tournament...

Here's Debbie Reynolds to help kick off the 50's era of our favorite musical film tournament. This round will run through Thursday 8 pm EST as we have some notable matches. We have two Rodgers and Hammerstein films facing off against one another in 7th seed South Pacific and 10th seed The King and I. Me personally, I'm going with South Pacific on that one. 4th Oklahoma! squares off against 13th seed Show Boat which should be an exciting match. And another good match sees 8th seed Gigi battle 9th seed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Sorry Gigi, but I gotta go with Marilyn and Jane in that one. And of course Debbie's little film called Singin' in the Rain will be competing as the top seed of this era against 1957's Silk Stockings. So everyone please stop by to vote as we continue to dance our way to the Final Four. Here's the link to go vote:
Singing and Dancing Back In Tiime

Good Morning From Debbie Reynolds...

How ya'll girls doing this morning?

Elizabeth Taylor's Unlucky Loves: Husband #4 (Eddie Fisher)

Now comes the scandalous affair between Liz and crooner Eddie Fisher that led to their marriage and his break-up with then wife Debbie Reynolds, America's sweetheart at the time. What made this even more worse was the fact that Liz and Debbie were such good friends. Liz and third husband Mike Todd were best buddies with Fisher and Reynolds. But when Todd died tragically in that plane crash, Liz turned to Eddie for comfort. Less than a year later, they were knee deep in a scandalous affair. Once Debbie found out about the affair, she quickly wanted a divorce. And how she found out was as bad as one can find out such things. Claiming the sponsor of his variety show needed him in New York for a meeting, Fisher left Debbie behind to meet Liz at the Plaza hotel. Lonely, Debbie called her friend Liz to chat and was shocked when Eddie answered the phone. Ouch! Shortly after, Reynolds and Fisher were divorced, he married Liz.

The now married couple though had to deal with an unforgiving press and were blasted by just about everyone. Their marriage had a decent run by Liz's standards but by 1960, both were hooked on alcohol and pills. And then once Liz started filming the troubled film, Cleopatra, she met Richard Burton. That was all she wrote for Eddie. They divorced in 1964 allowing Liz to move onto Dick. Fisher would remarry four years later to singer/actress Connie Stevens and have two daughters. He would wed twice more before dying in 2010 at the age of 82. Eventually Liz and Debbie made up when they co-starred in a TV movie called These Old Broads in 2001. So in retrospect, Liz's marriage to Eddie did not have any domestic abuse but did have the stigma of the scandalous way of how they met and led to their affair. Another unlucky tryst for La Liz. Things would not get better with her next husband...Richard Burton. Coming up next.

Happy Birthday Debbie Reynolds (1932 - present)

Happy Birthday to the ever perky Debbie Reynolds, star of such films as Singin in the Rain, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, How Sweet It Is!, The Tender Trap, Tammy & The Bachelor, and Susan Slept Here.

Classic Movie Actress Tournament (1950's Era) Final Match is set...GRACE KELLY VS DEBBIE REYNOLDS

My, oh my, both matches went down to the wire but when it was all said and done, Princess Grace edged out My Fair Lady Audrey 28-26 (sorry Clara) and Debbie Reynolds outlasted Susan Hayward 23-21. So now Grace and Debbie will face each other in the 50's era final to decide who will earn a trip to the Final Four, where Irene Dunne and Vivien Leigh are waiting. The regal Grace against the scrappy Debbie. Should be a good one. Good luck to both women as voting begins immediately and runs to Tuesday 5pm EST.

4 GRACE KELLY

VS

10 DEBBIE REYNOLDS



1950's Era Semi-Final Matches are set...

After having a tie-breaker poll to decide between Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Hayward, it was Hayward winning 13-11. The question I asked was which of their Oscar winning performances did you like the most- Hayward for I Want To Live or Taylor for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It was close but Susan won and earn the right to face the ever perky and feisty Debbie Reynolds. The other semi-final match is a doozy...top seed "My Fair Lady" Audrey Hepburn vs Princess Grace Kelly. Should be a beaut. Voting begins tonight at 12 am EST and runs through Sunday 5pm EST. The winners of each match will then face each other in the final that begins immediately after the semis.

MATCH 1

1 AUDREY HEPBURN

VS

4 GRACE KELLY

--------------------------------

MATCH 2

6 SUSAN HAYWARD

VS

10 DEBBIE REYNOLDS