Post Tourney Wrap-Up

Carole is reflective after winning the trophy

By now everyone knows that Carole Lombard is the Favorite Classic Movie Actress of 2013 thanks to her tournament win. It was a sweet victory for Carole, who had lost twice previously in the 30's era bracket final match the past two years to eventual tourney winners Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers. I just wanted to do a post about some of the achievements that were accomplished with this year's tourney. And give thanks again to my friends Mythical Monkey, Desiree and Kristen who helped me stage this annual fun event.

Carole logged the most votes in the tourney with 309 votes through 7 matches. Her 65 votes against Bette Davis in championship match were the most votes she received out of any of her matches.

But Barbara Stanwyck has the honor of most votes in any match this tourney as she logged 72 in her lopsided win over Norma Shearer. Ava Gardner was second with 67 votes against Eleanor Parker.

Audrey was quite happy with her record setting win

Audrey Hepburn did something really cool. She posted 55 vote victories in round 1 and 3 of the 50's era bracket. She also recorded the only shut-out in tourney history in one of those matches as she drubbed Pier Angeli 55-0. The other 55 scoring output came against Deborah Kerr.

Biggest surprises came in the form of two-time Final Four finalists Grace Kelly and Natalie Wood, both making early exits. Natalie lost to Shirley Jones in round 3 of the 60's era bracket while Grace got knocked off by Ava Gardner in round 4 of the 50's era bracket. It would seem strange not seeing Natalie and Grace in the final four this year after making it to the first two.

Another happy camper was Diana, who will most likely be the top

seed in the 60's era bracket next year

Tourney first timers that did well included Diana Rigg, who made it all the way to the final four to lose to Bette Davis and finish with a 5-1 record. Paula Prentiss also from the same 60's era bracket made it to round 3 before losing to Anne Bancroft. And Eleanor Powell in the 30's era bracket danced her way to two wins before losing to Joan Blondell.

Some of the best matches that came down to the wire included Loretta Young outlasting Maureen O'Hara 33-30; Julie Andrews 41-39 over Maggie Smith. Marilyn Monroe edging Lana Turner 35-33 in a nail-biter. And the one lone tie match between Lauren Bacall and Ida Lupino in the 40's era bracket. Desiree had to do a tie-breaker poll question which saw Lauren squeak by.

So there you have some highlights from the 3rd Annual Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney. I hope everyone enjoyed it and look forward to next years.

Bette quietly went about her business under the radar

and almost took home the crown. Next year Bette..it might be yours!

If It's Tuesday, Then It Must Be Grace Kelly

I haven't done a Grace Kelly Tuesday post in awhile so I figure I would do one right quick before Tuesday ends. Just a few choice quotes from Princess Grace herself.

Hollywood amuses me. Holier-than-thou for the public and unholier-than-the-devil in reality.

I'll tell you one of the reasons I'm ready to leave. When I first came to Hollywood five years ago, my makeup call was at eight in the morning. On this movie it's been put back to seven-thirty. Every day I see Joan Crawford, who's been in makeup since five, and Loretta Young who's been there since four in the morning. I'll be god-damned if I'm going to stay in a business where I have to get up earlier and earlier and it takes longer and longer for me to get in front of a camera.

I hated Hollywood. It's a town without pity. I know of no other place in the world where so many people suffer from nervous breakdowns, where there are so many alcoholics, neurotics, and so much unhappiness.

Carole Lombard...the day after

 After her victory over Bette Davis on Sunday to claim the crown for Favorite Classic Movie Actress of 2013, Carole Lombard was as giddy as a schoolgirl. Congratulations Carole!

SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW (Part 1): MAY

After getting off to a slow movie going start for this year...no movies seen during the first three months, but I have since seen three over the span of 2 weeks: Olympus Has Fallen, G.I. Joe 2 and Evil Dead. And seeing those three films I got bombarded with loads of previews for upcoming films this summer. I thought I would do a series of posts on the films I am most looking forward to. There are tons of them coming and I will start with May which yields four potential blockbusters. These four films are following in the footsteps of their predecessors which all made over $200 million in America alone. Let's get started shall we:

IRON MAN 3 (May 3) - Shellhead returns for his third solo outing following last summer's mega-hit The Avengers. Robert Downey, Jr. once again plays Iron Man. And faces off against two villains this time in the form of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Returning to aid our armored avenger is Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Jim Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). This is reported to be Downey's last go as the super-hero..well last solo gig. He will probably return for The Avengers 2. Here's hoping this wants makes up for the last Iron Man film, which was ok, but kind of under-whelming. In the hands of director Shane Black, I think it should be. 
Monty Meter: 9 out of 10 (where it ranks on my can't wait to see list)

THE GREAT GATSBY (May 10) - I'm a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan in almost everything the man does. Despite the fact he dies in nearly all of his films. But once again I am excited about this glitzy adaption of Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann and co-starring some great actors. Such as Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Isla Fisher, and Adelaide Clemens.
Monty Meter: 6 out of 10

STAR TREK-INTO DARKNESS (May 17) - To boldy go one more time is the intrepid crew of the starship Enterprise, once again guided by JJ Abrams. His first Trek movie back in 2009 blew the doors off everyone's expectations and this sequel looks just as good. If not even better.  
Monty Meter: 8 out of 10

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 (May 24) - Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson return for another in your face adrenaline filled action caper that looks to outdo Fast Five in every way by going with even bigger and crazier stunts. I love these films and this looks just as good as the last film. Should be another crowd-pleaser.
Monty Meter: 9 out of 10

THE HANGOVER PART 3 (May 24) - Here we go with the Wolf Pack returning for another go round..this time going back to Vegas. I hope this one makes up for Part 2 as that one was kind of weak. Opens the same day as Fast and Furious so that weekend should be huge. Hell the whole month of May should be huge and record setting.
Monty Meter: 7 out of 10

I'll be back shortly with a preview of June's releases.

It's official...Carole Lombard captures the crown for Favorite Classic Movie Actress of 2013

A triumphant Carole!!!!!

The third time proved to be the charm for Carole as she claimed the Favorite Classic Movie Actress crown for 2013 after two previous tries came up just a little short. She defeated Bette Davis 65-28 in the final match to add her name to the list of Classic Movie Actress tourney winners. The other two being Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers, both whom knocked out Carole in the previous years. The 65 votes Carole accumulated were the most she achieved in any match this year. I guess she saved the best for last. It extends the 30's era actresses dominance in this tourney as they have now won all three tourneys. This win marks Carole's 15th win in tourney/match play to give her a record of 15-3, good for 2nd all time. Only Grace Kelly has won more matches with 16. It was a tough loss for Bette but most likely she will be the favorite to win it next year as Carole is now ineligible to compete due to her win. I'd like to thank Mythical Monkey, Desiree and Kristen for helping me put on this event and all those who voted. We will do it all over again next year. But for right now, let Carole bask in this momentous victory. And I for one couldn't be any happier!

Championship Match Day 4 Update: It's now just a formality

Carole Lombard is hours away from being named Favorite Classic Movie Actress of 2013 as she leads Bette Davis by a comfortable margin of 62-25. She gained 11 more votes today,compared to just 3 votes for Bette. I will conclude the match tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm EST. Bette would need some kind of miracle to just make this close so I think it's a safe bet to say Carole will win.

PAGE: 1

DownloadCreate Chart1. Which actress do you prefer?
	answered question		87
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
1 BETTE DAVIS		28.7%	25
1 CAROLE LOMBARD		71.3%	62

The most star studded week for birthdays ever! Party this weekend for sure!

This first week of April has got to be one of the biggest and best ever for classic stars from the golden age. I mean when April 1st kicked off this past Monday with such notables like Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell and Lon Chaney..it was the start of something good. Here is a list of some of the more notable birthdays that have and will happen this week. Impressive to say the least. I have probably overlooked some more stars, so please forgive me.

April 1st:
DEBBIE REYNOLDS
JANE POWELL
LON CHANEY
ALI MCGRAW
WALLACE BEERY
TOSHIRO MIFUNE












April 2nd:
ALEC GUINNESS
BUDDY EBSEN
JACK WEBB

Buddy Ebsen

April 3rd:
MARLON BRANDO
DORIS DAY
LESLIE HOWARD
JAN STERLING

Jan Sterling

April 4th:
ANTHONY PERKINS

April 5th:
BETTE DAVIS
SPENCER TRACY
GREGORY PECK
MELVYN DOUGLAS
WALTER HUSTON
JANE ASHER

Melvyn Douglas

April 6th:
JOI LANSING

Joi Lansing

April 7th:
JAMES GARNER

Championship match Day 3 update: Carole Lombard is in control

Day 3 finds Carole Lombard increasing her lead over Bette Davis in the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney. As of 8 pm EST, Lombard leads Davis by the count of 51-22. Today's votes so far were 11 for Carole and 6 for Bette. Looks like Bette can't make up any ground at all..not even on her birthday. The match continues through Sunday but it looks more and more like Carole will finally walk away with the Favorite Classic Movie Actress crown after two years of heartbreak. Here's the chart posted below to show the actual votes and percentages:

PAGE: 1

DownloadCreate Chart1. Which actress do you prefer?
	answered question		73
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
1 BETTE DAVIS		30.1%	22
1 CAROLE LOMBARD		69.9%	51

Championship Match Day 2 Update: Lombard extends her lead over Davis

Uh-oh..looks like Bette may be in a spot of trouble.  As of 8 pm EST on Day 2 of the championship match shows Carole Lombard extending her lead over Bette Davis even further by the count of 40-16, to a 24 vote advantage. After day one, Carole's lead was only 11. There are still three days left in the match, but if Bette doesn't make a charge soon, it might be over by tomorrow. I copied and pasted the actual match totals so far so everyone can see for themselves. I will not lie, I am hoping Carole can hold on and win this thing. After all she is my favorite actress ever!

1. Which actress do you prefer?
	answered question		56
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
1 BETTE DAVIS		28.6%	16
1 CAROLE LOMBARD		71.4%	40

Championship Match Day 1 Update

One of the biggest matches in tourney history is off to a blazing start. As of 8 pm EST, Carole Lombard (30's era champion) leads Bette Davis (40's era champion) by the count of 21-11. That is a fantastic start for Carole and leaves Bette trailing for the first time in the tourney this year. But it is still early and we have four more days left. Anything can happen. So if you haven't voted yet, swing on by and click on the link on the right hand sidebar. 



Bette grabs a smoke while Carole sips some tea during this match..to each her own!