Happy Birthday, Hitch!

I have this little app on my iPod that tells me what celebrities celebrate their birthday today (I know, lame right? But that's not the main feature of the app, so don't think ill of me)... ANYWAY, I happened to look at that app today, and I freaked out because guess who's birthday it is!

.... Well, I already told you in the title. But WHATEVER. Let's pretend like you don't know....

Can't figure it out???

It's Alfred Hitchcock's birthday!

I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but let me tell you: Hitch is one of my all time favorite directors. Nobody really did it like Hitch. The suspense, the crazy awesome camera angles, the romance - all of that. I just love it.

I mean, come on! The man had cameos in all of his films! How awesome is that?

So I just thought I'd share with you some Hitchcock related fun for the day.

One of my favorite stories about Alfred Hitchcock is one that my dad told me. He said he read it some place once upon a time - I'm not sure if it's true, but it's entertaining if anything. The story goes that Hitch was directing Grace Kelly, and he needed her to open a door and scream on cue. However, he couldn't get her to do it just the way he wanted her to. So finally, on one of many takes, when Grace opened the door she found Hitch standing there with no pants on (I guess he was in his boxer shorts or something, otherwise Grace would've been scarred for life) and she let out a shrill scream. "That's perfect," said Hitch. (I have seen all three of Grace's collaborations with Hitch, but I can't figure out which one it may be. I heard the story after I'd seen all of them, so...)

Hitch also worked with some of my favorite actors and actresses. He didn't work with Lucy (darn it! How AWESOME would that have been? A Lucy-Desi-Hitch thing!!), or Natalie Wood. But he almost worked with Audrey Hepburn, and he worked with Grace and Ingrid three times each. Also, let's not forgot his work with Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. (AND Gregory Peck).

Ingrid was at the AFI Salute for Alfred Hithcock in the late 70's, and here's what she has to say. Hitch looks a little out of it, but that's because he was nearing the end of this life.  (He told Ingrid about this, who said, "But we all have to die, Hitch", which totally calmed him down.) But it's so cute the way Ingy speaks of him, and I love how Cary Grant is laughing up a storm. 

An "adorable genius"

What's your favorite Hitchcock film? There are many that I love.... among them, "Rear Window" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much." But I guess my very favorite would have to be (and my father will cringe) "Notorious." I mean... it's INGRID, CARY, AND HITCH. All together. So I can't help but love it. Anyway, feel free to leave your comments because I'd love to hear. 

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Oh, and lastly, I have changed my blog... drastically. Yesterday I played around with another header, but it totally clashed with everything. And then I got to thinking how, despite the fact the flowery background was pretty, (you can see a screenshot of the original blog design in my last blog), it doesn't really read "movie blog." And the header clashed anyway. So, I got to brainstorming with my mom and we came up with this. And I must say, I LOVE it. Drive ins are so neat (I wish they still existed), and I really love the whole feel. What do you think? Also (and this is in my side bar, too, as a reminder), I'm going to change the movie that's playing in the drive in every week.

Usually it will change depending upon a new feature that I will begin starting tomorrow, The Sunday Movie Review. Sometimes, it will change according to someone's birthday or a certain time of the year... for example, Christmastime. I know this week I reviewed "Woman of the Year," but I really love that photo of Clark and Vivien... and since this blog is called "Frankly, My Dear" it's only appropriate. Oh! And another thing. If anyone has an idea for a classic movie (pre 1970) that could be playing at the drive in, just leave a comment and I'll be happy to do so if it hasn't already been included.

Well, that's all for today. Ciao!