Round 4: Era Finales

Now we get to the exciting part. 4 matches and 8 actors left for the 2nd Annual Favorite Classic Movie Actor Tourney. One match per era to decide who will represent the final four. The two matches taking place here are the 40's and 60's era finales while my good friend John at Mythical Monkey handles the 30's and 50's era. Here's the link to his awesome blog: mythicalmonkey
These matches will run through Friday afternoon and then the final four will begin on Saturday. 

Top Movie Cops: Frank Bullitt

Lt. Frank Bullitt, SFPD

Name: Frank Bullitt
Occupation: Police Lieutenant, San Francisco Police
First appearance: Bullitt (1968)
Number of films: 1
Enemies: Politician Walter Chalmers, The Organization
Friends: Cathy (girlfriend); Sergeant Delgetti, Detective Stanton, Captain Bennet (his boss)

Having a chat with the weaselly Chalmers

History: Super cool police detective Frank Bullitt is personally asked by the smarmy DA Chalmers to guard witness Johnny Ross, a Chicago mobster is who to turn evidence against the Organization at a hearing on organized crime. Things get botched and Ross is killed by two lethal hitmen. Bullitt is told to let the case go but gets approval from his captain to dig deeper to find out what's going on. He also has to contend with his live in girlfriend Cathy, who wonders, if she can be in a relationship with a cop. Bullitt is the kind of cop who doesn't take no for an anwser. He's not cocky but believes in justice and doing the right thing. If you are a friend, he will go beyond the call of duty to help you. But cross him, oh lord..watch out. 

Frank is all about business when on duty

But he will make time for his lovely lady, Cathy

And let's not forget his bad ass 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2 + 2 Fastback. The one he engages in with for one of the best onscreen car chases you will ever see. Too bad this character was never afforded a sequel or two.

Oh yeah..burning rubber in pursuit of the bad guys

Top Classic Stars for week of Jan 6th-12th

There some movers and shakers this past week on my top classic stars rankings. My classic goddess for the month Lucille Ball made the biggest move as she jumped from 9 to the top spot thanks to her most viewed post for the week at 63 hits. At the other end of the spectrum, last week's top star Natalie Wood fell all the way to spot number 10, due to lack of posting here on my blog. I did manage to post some pics of her on my Tumblr and FB page though. Liz Taylor moved up five spots thanks to 51 hits on her Unlucky Loves post. Cary Grant stayed in third place for the second week in a row. Newcomers to the list included Grace Kelly, a regular here on my blog, lands at number 5. Doris Day jumps in at number 6. Her frequent co-star Rock Hudson also made his debut here at number 8. And 60's British actress Shirley Anne Field (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Alfie) makes her first appearance on the list at number 9 due to frequent postings on my tumblr page.

Shirley Anne Field makes her debut on my top classic stars for the week chart

accompanied by Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner (on the set of The War Lover)

RANK                    RANK                    CLASSIC STAR  (Weeks ranked)                   

(This week)        (last week)

1                              9                              LUCILLE BALL (2)                               

2                              7                              ELIZABETH TAYLOR (2)                          

3                              3                              CARY GRANT (2)                                

4                              8                              RITA HAYWORTH (2)                         

5                              -                              GRACE KELLY (1)                                 

6                              -                              DORIS DAY (1)                                    

7                              2                              CAROLE LOMBARD (2)                     

8                              -                              ROCK HUDSON  (1)                            

9                              -                              SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD (1)                

10                           1                              NATALIE WOOD (2)            

The Lombard Cup Week 1 (Day Three Update)

Team Modern edged a little closer in a few of the matches yesterday but still only lead in one of the five matches. That would be Harrison Ford up by only a single vote over Jimmy Cagney 14-13. Team Classic is pretty much rolling in the other four matches. Steve McQueen leads Clint Eastwood 18-9. Spencer Tracy leads Tom Cruise 17-10. Cary Grant is destroying Johnny Depp 22-6. And the King, Clark Gable is all over Daniel Day Lewis 22-4. Looks like Team Classic will be winning the most points in the first week of this Lombard Cup. Voting continues till tomorrow evening.

Steve receives word that he is up big on Clint Eastwood

THE FALL SERIES: Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood

One good way to keep warm..

Star Rankings For The Week Ending Sunday March 27th, 2011

I thought I would start listing a top 10 weekly ranking of the stars I talked about the most or watched their movies or generally were at the top of my lists.

1.  ELIZABETH TAYLOR
2.  JEAN HARLOW
3.  CAROLE LOMBARD
4.  JAMES STEWART
5.  GRACE KELLY
6.  DEAN MARTIN
7.  AUDREY HEPBURN
8.  STEVE MCQUEEN
9.  NATALIE WOOD
10. DORIS DAY

With the passing of Elizabeth Taylor this week, she was at the top of everyone's lists and deservingly so. She will be definitely missed. Harlow was in the ranking again as she is TCM's star of the month and I watched several of her films during the week including Wife vs Secretary. Steve McQueen had a birthday this past week and I celebrated that with a post and re-viewing of Bullitt. And several other actresses made the list due to their continued strong runs in my classic movie actress tournament including Grace Kelly, Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Wood. This list will change from week to week depending on what movies I watch and which posts I write on my blog.

Happy Birthday to the King of Cool...Steve McQueen

Happy Birthday to Steve McQueen (1930 - 1980). The iconic star of such films as Bullitt, The Getaway, The Magnificent Seven, The Thomas Crown Affair, and The Great Escape.

Steve McQueen at his super cool best in BULLITT (1968)

Steve McQueen is San Francisco cop Lt. Frank Bullitt who becomes embroiled in a complicated case involving a witness who was murdered under his protection. The witness was a Chicago mobster who was going to turn evidence against his organization. Making things difficult for Frank is an ambitious congressman named Chalmers (played by Robert Vaughn) who wants to make a name for himself by taking on the mob in this high profile case. Bullitt is definitely a police procedural with scenes of collecting evidence and discussing cases and shaking down informants. But it is an excellent police procedural which benefits from a stellar turn by McQueen. He is so perfect in the role there is no doubt that this is his movie. But he gets outstanding support from Vaughn, Robert Fell, George Sanford Brown, Robert Duvall (as a wily cab driver) and the breath-taking Jacqueline Bissett as Frank's girlfriend. And let's not forget that awesome car chase sequence involving Frank's Shelby mustang and the bad guys Dodge Charger. It is arguably one of the greatest car chases on film ever made. And it's cool seeing McQueen doing most of his own driving. Bullitt is one of my favorite films of all time. It's awesome! Plus it has that cool jazzy music score!
B+

Summer Under The Stars - Steve McQueen August 3rd on TCM

The king of cool is on display today on TCM as part of their summer under the stars. Steve McQueen, a true movie icon, will be featured all day long in such classics like Nevada Smith, The Magnificent Seven, Never So Few, The Cincinnati Kid and of course Bullitt. Enjoy.