At The Beach: RITA HAYWORTH

My classic movie goddess of the month...Rita Hayworth

Summer Lovin' - JEAN HARLOW

Jean Harlow..looking so divine

My Childhood Crushes #6 - Catherine Mary Stewart

As Gwen in Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

I recently bought the 1984 film The Last Starfighter on blu-ray and it has brought back tons of memories. One of my favorite movies from my childhood and it's still an awesome movie. And it features my next childhood crush..Canadian born Catherine Mary Stewart. Now I can't remember exactly what I first saw her in. She appeared on the popular soap Days of Our Lives in 1982 playing the pivotal character of Kayla Brady. I think I kind of remember her from that, but not really because another actress took over that role the following year and became super popular. She had two movies in 1984 which I both saw and immediately fell in love. As Maggie in The Last Starfighter and Regina in Night of the Comet, both sci-fi films. She was around 24 at the time, a full ten years older than me, but I wasn't thinking about our age differences. Just wanted this lovely girl to be my girlfriend. No one rocked the big feathered look of the 80's better than Catherine!

As Maggie in The Last Starfighter (1984)

As Regina in Night of the Comet (1984)

As Bunny in Mischief (1985)

She would also appear in the 1985 teen comedy Mischief and 1989's Weekend at Bernies and then a host of TV movies and spots on regular TV series, but by then she was already one of my favorites. The beautiful and very talented Catherine Mary Stewart.




Pics of Catherine today...

At The Beach: VIRGINIA MAYO

Virginia standing tall

Personal Quotes by Rita Hayworth

Here are some personal quotes by Miss Hayworth:

Every man I have ever known has fallen in love with Gilda and awakened with me.


All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.

I think all women have a certain elegance about them which is destroyed when they take off their clothes.

The fun of acting is to become someone else.

No one can be Gilda 24 hours a day.

Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today's starlets are better dressed and better groomed than ever before, though it is doubtful if they are better actresses.

2012 Cinematic World Tour: Persepolis courtesy of Wide Screen World

Here's another entry by Rich over at Wide Screen World for our Cinematic World Tour, who chose the film Persepolis as his destination. Check out the link here:  widescreenworld.blogspot.com

At The Beach: ROMY SCHNEIDER

Romy about to take a little boat ride...
and I guess you guys are thinking..Monty wasn't kidding
when he said he would be posting about Romy more...first
post of a new week and BAM! it's her..

Romy Schneider is moving up my favorite actresses list...very, very fast

Austrian actress Romy Schneider has quickly become one of my favorite actresses. She was resting comfortably in the lower 30's of my favorite 50 classic actresses list. Well after much discussion with Irene Palfy about her and watching Romy's film Good Neighbor Sam, she has moved all the way up to number 7. I plan to watch as many of Romy's films as I can get my hands on. I have What's New Pussycat? on the way as I ordered it from Amazon. So expect lots of posts on here about the wonderful Romy!

Summer Lovin'- SHARON TATE

The beauty that was Sharon Tate...by the pool in Valley of the Dolls,
so awesome in that movie!

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1967) is a pure delight

For this evening's movie I watched Valley of the Dolls (1967), a recent purchase from good old Amazon. I hadn't seen Dolls in over 15 years so it was like a new experience to me. And I know that most movie watchers regard it as trashy and campy. Me? I think it's awesome. And it's not like this film is not surrounded with a crazy amount of talent. Patty Duke...Oscar winner. Director Mark Robson, who has helmed such films as Peyton Place, The Inn Of Sixth Happiness, Von Ryan's Express, The Harder They Fall and My Foolish Heart to name just a few. Mega film composer John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jaws). Another Oscar winner in Lee Grant. Rising star Sharon Tate, before her untimely death. The film debut of Richard Dreyfuss. And veteran film star Susan Hayward in one of her final roles. Add all that up and you have an insane amount of talent for a supposedly trash film. I for one never for an instance felt that it was anything less than a stellar drama that had me hooked from the opening title credits with the theme song performed by Dionne Warwick.

Wide eyed Anne on her way to New York

Based on Jacqueline Susann's real life experiences of being an actress from the late 30's to the late 50's who turned into quite the writer. The story focuses on three different young women all aiming to make it big in show business. Small town girl Anne Welles (played by Barbara Parkins) fresh out of college heads to New York and Broadway hoping to land an exciting job and a sophisticated man. She starts out as a secretary for a theatrical attorney. She will soon meet up with the other two young women of this film. One Miss Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke not holding back one bit as the star waiting in the wings of veteran Helen Lawson, played by Susan Hayward). And then there's Jennifer North (Sharon Tate) who knows where her talents lie...her body measurements. These three path's intersect all through-out the movie and it's quite a ride. 

Neely in a quieter moment

Neely in a not so quiet moment

Once Neely makes it big time, she becomes hooked on booze and pills..the pills are called dolls. And she goes thru the wringer, lashing out at everyone, suffering thru two failed marriages and spending time in a sanitarium. Anne ends up falling for agent Lyon Burke (played by David Burke) who is afraid to commit to her and ends up leaving and coming back to her several times after messing around with other women. Jennifer meets and weds nightclub singer Tony Polar (played by Tony Scotti) who lives under the domineering rule of his older sister Miriam (played by Lee Grant). Tony winds up with a heredity disease that leaves him crippled and Jennifer must make French art films (i.e nudie pics) to pay for his treatment). It's ironic that Neely winds up at the same place Tony is at and they get together for a rousing number of Come Live With Me that used to Tony's trademark song that he performed at nightclubs. It's one hell of an emotional scene.

Tony and Jennifer

Like I said, I know most people write this film off as campy but if it is camp, then it is grade A camp. While all three leads give good performances with Patty Duke raging and ripping through everybody, I thought Sharon Tate comes off the best. Her frequent conversations with her mother over the phone involving money are really good. And her final scene shows the potential Sharon had to become a major actress if not for her tragic real life death. I argue that scene will convince anyone that Sharon could really act and was not just a pretty face. Barbara Parkins is really good too as she may not get the flashy part like Duke, but she has an emotional scene towards the end of the film that is heart-breaking and powerful.

Old school Helen Lawson

So if anyone has never seen this film and stayed away because of all the negative talk toward I suggest you try watching it now and you will be pleasantly surprised how good it really is. Filled with tons of memorable lines such as:


Jennifer: French subtitles across a bare bottom does not make it an art film.


Neely: Boobies, boobies, boobies. Nothin' but boobies. Who needs 'em? 


Anne: Neely, you know it's bad to take liquor with those pills. 
Neely: They work faster.


Neely: I have to get up at five o'clock in the morning and SPARKLE, Neely, SPARKLE!" 


B

Jennifer all to herself