March Madness #15 RITA HAYWORTH

Welcome to Day 15 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day in March, ALL GOOD THINGS will highlight a Classic film Super-star, you know, the type renowned for really, really B.A.D. to sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #14 Results: SPENCER TRACY - no contest for Day 14, the crowds love Father Flanagan "Boys Town" way more than that scary Dr. Jekyll.

TODAY the spotlight shines on RITA HAYWORTH. This Hollywood beauty was a triple threat: could sing, dance and act! Beloved for dear-sweet-lamby-pie roles AND for her bad-bad-BAD girls! Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

March Madness #14 SPENCER TRACY

Welcome to Day 14 of MARCH MADNESS!
Every day in March, ALL GOOD THINGS will highlight a Super-Star. The type of Star renowned for many types of roles: really, really B.A.D. to sweetest-dearest-most darling!

DAY #13 Results: LANA TURNER seems to delight in either her sweet-lamb roles or her lion-hearted characters, too. Dear-heart, Lora Meredith (Imitation of Life") inched ahead 33 votes to 32 over bad-girl, CORA SMITH ("The Postman Always Rings Twice").

TODAY the spotlight shines on SPENCER TRACY.
A super-star that was both a "lovable Joe" or a truly demented mad-man.
Which do you prefer: LION: rough n' tuff! or LAMB: Sweet & soulful?

Eight Couples move on to Round 3

Here are the four matches that will begin on Sunday with the 8 couples that are remaining in the Favorite Classic Couple Tourney. All Good Things will host the Elaine Marriott and Erenia Russo brackets while Desiree will host the Josie Miller and Catherine Bellamy brackets on her blog, Rosalind Russell. The matches will run through Thursday evening. You will notice that three of the four matches feature match ups between the number 1 and 2 seeds. The underdog couple Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery, ranked 6th, are defying the odds and look to continue their upset streak.

THE ELAINE MARRIOTT BRACKET

1 FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS

VS

2 ERROL FLYNN AND OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

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

THE ERENIA RUSSO BRACKET

1 HUMPHREY BOGART AND LAUREN BACALL

VS

2 CARY GRANT AND IRENE DUNNE

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

THE JOSIE MILLER BRACKET

1 WILLIAM POWELL AND MYRNA LOY

VS

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL AND ROBERT MONTGOMERY

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

THE CATHERINE BELLAMY BRACKET

1 SPENCER TRACY AND KATHARINE HEPBURN

VS

2 NELSON EDDY AND JEANETTE MACDONALD

It's Tourney Time again!

Next month yields a new tournament that me and my friend Desiree are hosting. It's called The Favorite Classic Movie Screen Couples. That's right 32 of your favorite on screen couples will duke it out for the crown.We compiled a list of 32 couples from TCM's book, Leading Couples and from our own personal choices. So there are some couples that didn't make the cut like Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. But I think we got the top ones selected. Why 32 you may ask? Well so things will break down evenly. It was either 32 or 64 and there was not enough couples to get that high. So 32 it is. We broke them down into four brackets and chose the top seed couple for each. As you can tell by the banner above who the top four couples are. Here is the complete list of all 32 couples that are competing. I will have 2 of the brackets and Desiree will handle the other two on her blog, Rosalind Russell. Oh and a big thank you to my friend Josie Miller who made that wonderful banner! The fun begins Sunday, November 3rd! I will have the match selections posted before then.

1 FRED ASTAIRE & GINGER ROGERS

2 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND & ERROL FLYNN

3 CARY GRANT & KATHARINE HEPBURN

4 CLARK GABLE & JEAN HARLOW

5 JAMES STEWART & JEAN ARTHUR

6 CARY GRANT & MYRNA LOY

7 RITA HAYWORTH & GLENN FORD

8 ESTHER WILLIAMS & VAN JOHNSON

1 HUMPHREY BOGART & LAUREN BACALL

2 CARY GRANT & IRENE DUNNE

3 GREER GARSON & WALTER PIDGEON

4 ELIZABETH TAYLOR & RICHARD BURTON

5 IRENE DUNNE & CHARLES BOYER

6 TONY CURTIS & JANET LEIGH

7 GARY COOPER & BARBARA STANWYCK

8 ALAN LADD & VERONICA LAKE

1 WILLIAM POWELL & MYRNA LOY

2 DORIS DAY & ROCK HUDSON

3 VIVIEN LEIGH & LAURENCE OLIVIER

4 GRETA GARBO & JOHN GILBERT

5 MARGARET SULLAVAN & JAMES STEWART

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL & ROBERT MONTGOMERY

7JOHN WAYNE & MAUREEN O’HARA

8 BETTE DAVIS & GEORGE BRENT

1 SPENCER TRACY & KATHARINE HEPBURN

2 JEANETTE MACDONALD & NELSON EDDY

3 PAUL NEWMAN & JOANNE WOODWARD

4 MICKEY ROONEY & JUDY GARLAND

5 CLARK GABLE & MYRNA LOY

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL & BRIAN AHERNE

7 TYRONE POWER & GENE TIERNEY

8 JOAN CRAWFORD & ROBERT MONTGOMERY

The MONTIES (1948) - Olivia de Havilland makes history!

As promised, here I am with another edition of my Monties..and it's only been 4 weeks. The year is 1948 and a certain actress won yet another Montie to set her apart from her colleagues. Let's get to it shall we.

Add one more Montie for Livvy!

BEST FILM: 
Winner: The Snake Pit
Nominees: Easter Parade, Good Sam, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, The Red Shoes, State Of The Union, I Remember Mama, Johnny Belinda
Thoughts: I remember watching The Snake Pit during my teen years and was immediately captivated by this stirring drama with a knock-out performance by Olivia de Havilland. It's one of those films that is so good you're enthralled with it from the time the screen lights up with the opening credits. One of the best films ever made!

BEST DIRECTOR:
Winner: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes)
Nominees: John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre); Anatole Litvak (The Snake Pit); Frank Capra (State Of The Union); George Stevens (I Remember Mama)
Thoughts: The combination of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in directing the fantastic film The Red Shoes edges out Anatole Litvak's The Snake Pit. They are terrific in crafting this dreamlike film that manages to take filmgoers to a wonderful place in terms of entertainment. 

BEST WRITER: 
Winner: Billy Wilder/Charles Brackett (A Foreign Affair)
Nominees: Frank Datros/Millen Brand (The Snake Pit); John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre); Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes); Irmgard Van Cobel/Allen Vincent (Johnny Belinda)
Thoughts: The team of Wilder and Brackett grabbed their 2nd Montie for writing. The duo previously won for 1945's The Lost Weekend, which also netted a Best Director Montie for Wilder. 

A dream pairing of Marlene and Jean had some wonderful dialogue 

courtesy of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett

BEST ACTOR: 
Winner: Spencer Tracy (State Of The Union)
Nominees: Gary Cooper (Good Sam); Humphrey Bogart (The Treasure of The Sierra Madre); John Wayne (Red River); Lew Ayres (Johnny Belinda)
Thoughts: Believe it or not, this is the first win for Spencer Tracy. Some would argue he gave better performances but I thought he was really quite good here as Presidential candidate Grant Matthews who entire life is put under the microscope. Co-starring Katharine Hepburn, they once again deliver the goods as expected.

First step..win a Montie..next win the Presidency!

BEST ACTRESS:
Winner: Olivia de Havilland (The Snake Pit)
Nominees: Vivien Leigh (Anna Karenina); Irene Dunne (I Remember Mama); Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda); Katharine Hepburn (State Of  The Union); Moira Shearer (The Red Shoes); Judy Garland (Easter Parade)
Thoughts: Olivia picks up her 3rd Montie in the space of 8 years reaffirming her dominance of the 40's. She won previously for The Strawberry Blonde (1941) and The Dark Mirror (1946). And her performance here as Virginia Stuart Cunningham, a woman who winds up in a mental institution is another magnificent triumph. Just edging out Irene Dunne's equally amazing performance in I Remember Mama. This also makes Olivia the first actress to win three Monties and she ties Cary Grant, who has that distinction for the men.

This is starting to seem like old hat for Olivia..

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Winner: Barbara Bel Geddes/Ellen Corby (I Remember Mama) - tie
Nominees: Agnes Moorehead (Johnny Belinda); Marlene Dietrich (A Foreign Affair); Claire Trevor (Key Largo)
Thoughts: The fact that Bel Geddes and Corby were both nominated for Oscars shows how strong their performances were. I really couldn't pick one over the other so I decided to go with a split decision. They were both terrific as Katrin and Aunt Trina respectively.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Winner: Walter Huston (The Treasure of The Sierra Madre)
Nominees: Montgomery Clift (Red River); Melvyn Douglas (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House); Edward G. Robinson (Key Largo); Jose Ferrer (Joan Of Arc)
Thoughts: I love Walter's performance here in Sierra Madre..as the wild and woolly old prospector Howard who has seen it all and done it all and still wants to just enjoy doing some more.  He's awesome!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Winner: THE RED SHOES
Nominees: The Naked City, Joan Of Arc, A Foreign Affair
Thoughts: Jack Cardiff provided one of the best looking films ever in The Red Shoes and wins a Montie for his effort.

BEST FILM SCORE:
Winner: EASTER PARADE (Johnny Green/Roger Edens)
Nominees: Max Steiner (Johnny Belinda); Alfred Newman (The Snake Pit); Hugo Friedhofer (Joan Of Arc)
Thoughts: Easter Parade just dances off the screen thanks to the singing of Judy Garland, the dancing of Fred Astaire and Ann Miller and the great music score done by Johnny Green and Roger Edens.

There you have it..another edition of the Monties. Quite the mixed bag too. The Snake Pit, The red Shoes and I Remember Mama each won 2 Monties. Spencer Tracy finally broke through to win his first Montie while Olivia de Havilland picked up her 3rd one, tying Cary Grant as the star with most Monties. I'll be back next month with the 1949 edition.

The Lombard Cup Week One (Day 2 Update)

Team Classic continues to dominate over Team Modern as they lead four of the five matches. Steve McQueen is crushing Clint Eastwood 16-5. Spencer Tracy has doubled on Tom Cruise 14-7. Cary Grant leads Johnny Depp 18-4. Clark Gable is just laying waste to Daniel Day-Lewis 18-2. While the only modern era leading match is by Harrison Ford 11-10 over James Cagney. The matches continue today and wraps up on Thursday evening. 

Spencer and Jimmy take a little break in the action to have something to eat...

Classic Stars Match Play # 9 - Fredric March vs Spencer Tracy

Sorry to be running late with a new match play but I've been under the weather these past few days. But I'm getting better and ready with a new match. These two distinguished gentlemen have a lot in common..Fredric and Spencer. Both have won two Best Actor Oscars during their film careers. They both starred in different Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adaptations. And in the twilight of their careers, they paired up in the film Inherit The Wind. And both hail from the great state of Wisconsin. I know I like both actors and several of their note-worthy films. This might be one of the closest matches ever here on All Good Things. I do not expect a blow-out like the last few matches I have put together. So this match begins immediately and will run through Sunday 7 pm EST. Good luck to both men and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

FREDRIC MARCH

Name: Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel
Date of birth: August 31, 1897 (Racine, Wisconsin)
Height: 5' 10"
Academy Awards: 5 nominations, 2 wins: Best Actor - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and
Best Actor - The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Monties: 1 nomination, 0 win so far
My favorite Fredric film: The Best Years of Our Lives
Match play record: 0-1 (lost to Charlie Chaplin in the 30's era of Favorite Classic Actor
Tournament)


CLASSIC STARS MATCH PLAY

SPENCER TRACY

Name: Spencer Bonaventure Tracy
Date of Birth: April 5th, 1900 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Height: 5' 9"
Academy Awards: 9 nominations, 2 wins: Best Actor - Captains Courageous (1937) and
Best Actor - Boys Town (1938)
Monties: 2 nominations, 0 wins so far
My favorite Spencer film: Libeled Lady
Match Play record: 0-1 (lost to Robert Montgomery in the 40's era of Favorite Classic Actor
Tournament)

And look who showed up to root on Spence..none other than Loretta Young!

And looks like Coop is here to support his pal Fredric...

THE FALL SERIES: Spencer Tracy

Spencer and his best bud just hanging out...

Birthday Roll Call

Here are some notable birthdays for today:

BETTE DAVIS (1908 - 1989)

GREGORY PECK (1916 - 2003)

SPENCER TRACY (1900 -1967)

MELVYN DOUGLAS (1901 - 1981)

FRANK GORSHIN (1933 - 2005)

Classic Horror Films - Day 21 (DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE - 1941)

Dr. Jekyll allows his dark side to run wild when he drinks a potion that turns him into the evil Mr. Hyde. Pretty good film version and the only one I can go by since I haven't seen the 1931 version with Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins. Tracy is quite good as Jekyll/Hyde. Lana Turner is very pretty to look at and Ingrid Bergman is a  joy to watch in a departure role for her as the barmaid Ivy.