Doris Day and Lucille Ball team up for the hilarious Have I Got A Story To Tell You (1960)

Doris Day and Lucille Ball are a perfect pair in the comedy, Have I Got A Story To Tell You. The story has our two gals as rival bookstore owners who are forced to team up to stop a major bookstore chain from pushing their small stores out of the picture. Doris plays Lucy Street, whose store is called The Happy Book Store. Lucy plays Ann Morgan, whose store is called Friends and Books. Their stores are located right across the street from one another and have been for over 10 years. Lucy and Ann are respectful of each other and even share coffee every now and then but for the most part remain rivals. That is until major chain Big City Books seeks to expand their chain by opening up a store right in their small town of Kanesville, Colorado. They send their best PR man, Jerry McQueen (played by Tony Curtis) to convince the ladies that this is the best option for their businesses and town. Lucy and Ann band together to declare war on Big City Books but Jerry with his smooth talking ways tries to convince them otherwise. Jerry ends up romancing both women who fall hard until they come to their senses. When Jerry fails at his job, the president of Big City Books, Mr. Langford (Claude Rains) comes to town to handle the deal himself. 

Lucy as Ann Morgan

This is a simple comedy that may be light on story but great on chemistry between Day and Ball. It's a treat to see these two women converse and engage in pratfalls and getting one up on romeo Tony Curtis. It has a breezy run time of only 90 minutes but there are great comic scenes. Including the opening scene where both Lucy and Ann arrive at work to their respective stores and kind of mirror each other. It's a funny scene that lets both actresses mimic each other wonderfully. And then the scenes where Tony Curtis tries to seduce both women are funny as well. Have I Got A Story To Tell You is worth a look.

Tony Curtis and Doris Day

Cast:
Doris Day.................Lucy Street
Lucille Ball................Ann Morgan
Tony Curtis...............Jerry McQueen
Mr. Langford............Claude Rains
Patsy Kelly...............Esther
Pamela Tiffin.............Jilly

Oh btw in case people start scratching their heads about this movie, this is another in my series of fantasy films I just thought of and posted. In short, it doesn't exist. Just a fun exercise for me to work my imagination! Hope you guys liked it.

The 2013 Lombard Cup is underway

The 2013 Lombard Cup is underway as Kristen has the first five matches up and running. Here's the link to her blog to go cast your votes... journeysinclassicfilm.com/2013/09/08

THE 2013 LOMBARD CUP Week One Matches

The fun begins tomorrow over at Kristen's blog, Journeys In Classic Film. Here are the five scheduled matches that will run through Friday. Here is the link to go vote at Kristen's blog.. journeysinclassicfilm.com
So vote on your favorites and next week there will be 5 more matches, this time taking place here at All Good Things

MATCH 1

CAROLE LOMBARD (Team Carole)

VS

VERONICA LAKE (Team Veronica)

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MATCH 2

ROSALIND RUSSELL (Team Carole)

VS

CYD CHARISSE (Team Veronica)

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MATCH 3

SHIRLEY JONES (Team Carole)

VS

JENNIFER JONES (Team Veronica)

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MATCH 4

JEAN HARLOW (Team Carole)

VS 

MARILYN MONROE (Team Veronica)

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MATCH 5

GRETA GARBO (Team Carole)

VS

RITA HAYWORTH (Team Veronica)

Carole Lombard returns to action

The news is out as the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Champion, Carole Lombard returns to compete in The Lombard Cup, leading a team of 20 other classic movie actresses against Team Veronica (as in Veronica Lake) of Journeys In Classic Film. Carole will face off against Veronica in the very first match to see which actress is liked more by our fans and followers. I sat down with Carole to briefly chat with her about this upcoming event.

Monty: Hi Carole...fancy meeting you here.
Carole Lombard: Hi Monty..glad to be back here at All Good Things. Feels like only yesterday when I was just on here.
Monty: Speaking of that, how does it feel being the favorite classic movie actress of 2013? still great I imagine?
Carole: oh it is so wonderful. I still get phone calls and messages congratulating me and saying how great it was that I won.
Monty: It was a long time coming for sure..glad you won. I don't know if I could have handled other loss..
Carole: you couldn't? oh Monty..I think I would have been climbing the walls, knowing I would have to come back next year to do it all over again.
Monty: Now on to the Lombard Cup..thank you for accepting to be the captain for All Good Things team. You girls are gonna have a tough time as Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film has one heck of a team assembled.
Carole: Oh yeah..I've seen it...Myrna Loy, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger, Katharine Hepburn..good lord. It's gonna be a challenge! But it's all in good fun. I think we will have a good time. 
Monty: Well at least you won't have to go through 6 matches to win it. Just one match and you can sit back and cheer on your team-mates.
Carole: Oh god yes! I love this format Monty. Much less stress..haha!
Monty: Well Carole, here's to you and your team doing the best you can and hopefully you girls can win the cup and bring it home to stay here on All Good Things.
Carole: We will certainly try our best Monty.

Monty: Ladies and Gentlemen..Carole Lombard!

Glad to be back here in blogland....

Glad to be back....and so is Carole...

On my previous post about my upcoming Lombard Cup, my friends KC, Patti and Robin left comments asking where have I been and that it was great to see me back in blogland. It never occurred to me that I would have been missed during my brief time away from blogland since July. I have been using Facebook to concentrate on my All Good Thing page there and posting star of the week reviews, photos, videos, etc. And it has been fun doing stuff over there but now I am back with the upcoming Lombard Cup and then following that will be another tourney that me and Desiree will be doing together. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that said such nice comments and have missed me. Glad to be back!

THE 2013 LOMBARD CUP begins this Sunday

I stated a few weeks ago that me and Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film would be holding The 2013 Lombard Cup on our two respective blogs. Her team against my team. 21 classic film actresses per team that we selected with my team captain being Carole Lombard and hers being Veronica Lake. Akin to golf's Ryder Cup, we will have 21 single matches pitting actress against actress where you guys get to vote on who you like more. Each week we will have 5 matches with the final week having 6 matches. There will be no tie-breakers and if a match ends in a tie then both teams will get half a point. Whoever wins the match gets a full point. And at the end of the month whichever team has the most points wins The Lombard Cup and will keep it at their blog for a full year. Then we get to do it again the following year with new team members. Me and Kristen will trade hosting duties as the first five matches will begin over at her blog for week 1. Then I will do the next five matches the following week and so forth. Here's the link to Kristen's blog:  journeysinclassicfilm.com

And here are the first five matches. The polls will be up sometime on Sunday and will be one vote per match. So please go vote for your favorites.

TEAM CAROLE               VS           TEAM VERONICA
Carole Lombard                                 Veronica Lake
Rosalind Russell                                Cyd Charisse
Shirley Jones                                      Jennifer Jones
Jean Harlow                                        Marilyn Monroe
Greta Garbo                                        Rita Hayworth

Hall Of Fame Inductee for July: OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

It's been awhile since I inducted someone into my Hall of Fame. Since January as a matter of fact. Sorry about that. But the inductee for July will make up for all those absent months. I hereby welcome Olivia de Havilland to All Good Things Hall of Fame. She earned that achievement by recently picking up her third Montie award, Best Actress for The Snake Pit (1948). She was also recently my star of the week on my FB page and is a regular mainstay here on my blog. So let's give Olivia a nice warm applause for this wonderful occasion.

Box Office Attractions: NATALIE WOOD

Since Natalie is my star of the week on my FB blog page I thought I would shed some light on her box office prowess. Here are her top ten grossing films courtesy of Wikipedia.

Natalie means business when it comes to the box office

1. WEST SIDE STORY (1961) - $43.7 million
2. BOB, CAROLE, ALICE and TED (1968) - $31 million
3. THE GREAT RACE (1965) - $25.3 million
4. SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961) - $11.4 million
5. GYPSY (1962) - $11.1 million
6. BRAINSTORM (1983) - $10.2 million
7. THE SEARCHERS (1956) - $8.5 million
8. METEOR (1979) - $8.4 million
9. SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL (1964) - $8 million
10. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) - $7.1 million

and one more for good measure..since it is one of my all time favorite films..

11. LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963) - $5.2 million

Classic TV Actress of the Month: Marlo Thomas (Part 1)

Marlo Thomas is one of the most iconic TV stars of all time. I mean everyone remembers That Girl. Marlo was cast as Ann Marie, a struggling actress trying to make it in New York, juggle family and a boyfriend. She led the wave of strong and independent women later followed by Mary Tyler Moore. This month will be all about Marlo. And I start with some notable facts about her.

Born Margaret Julia Thomas on November 21, 1937 in Deerfield , Michigan.

Father is Danny Thomas (Make Room For Daddy)

Married to Phil Donahue since 1980

Attended Beverly Hills High School

She is of Lebanese and Italian origins. Her father is Lebanese and her mother is Italian. Her mother's maiden name was Rose Marie Cassaniti.

Godmother is Loretta Young

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital national outreach director.

She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.

Has wrote several books including The Rights Words at the Right Time (2002), Free To Be...You and Me (2008) and her memoir, Growing Up Laughing in 2010.

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.