Happy Birthday, Natalie! [5 Things I Love]

Today's the birthday of one of my all time favorite people, Natalie Wood, and so today I share with you five completely random things I love about her. 

***

Happy birthday, Natalie!

"She was very smart. She read a book a week and had a wicked sense of humor. She was just adorable — one of the few movie stars I’ve met who was really worthy of that title.

“She lived a very simple life. You know who her friends were? My favorite picture was taken when I brought a new camera over to her house. At the house that day were Laurence Olivier and Elia Kazan. So I have a photo of Olivier, me, Natalie and Kazan. You look at that picture and the tragedy is you would never think she’d be the first to die.

“To go to a New Year’s party at her house was amazing. It was the kind of thing where Cary Grant came over at 12:30. She was the hub, she was the nexus. She was a child star and everybody loved her.”

- A director who worked with Natalie [x]

***

#5: She's better than you may think

I've heard Natalie been described as "fluffy", "a cute actress," and "kept around for her looks," but I hardly think so. Her doe eyes and petite figure shouldn't fool you, because Natalie Wood could be a real powerhouse of an actress. Though she did do glossy movies like Sex and the Single Girl (1964), she hardly enjoyed making them and preferred the more melodramatic works she did with directors like Nick Ray and Elia Kazan. I also feel that directors like this could coax the best performances out of her, in movies like Splendor in the Grass (1961). Her work in West Side Story (1961) is overshadowed by other elements of the famous musical but is still fabulous, and she's also incredible in movies like This Property is Condemned (1966) and Love With the Proper Stranger (1963). It's super unfortunate that she's remembered rather for her drowning than her performances.

[via; from the bathtub scene in Splendor in the Grass - I like Sophia Loren a lot, and I have yet to see Two Women, but I do really wish Natalie had won this year. She never won. Not fair.]

#4: Natalie, the child star

This is kind of an extension of #5. The movies Natalie made as a kid were not always very good, save a few exceptions. (If you're interested, you can read a spoiler review I did of the way too soapy No Sad Songs For Me, in which Natalie plays Margaret Sullivan's daughter, here. Oh, and you can also read a post about the much better Miracle on 34th Street here.) But for a young girl, her performances were most always brilliant. Natalie was never a child star in the likes of Shirley Temple or Margaret O'Brien,  more of an actress working constantly in films who happened to be a child. She was pushed into the movies by her aggressive stage mother (who apparently used to snap butterflies into two so Natalie would cry on cue). But as a child actress, Natalie was naturally sharp and her performances were excellent for her age. There were always a certain maturity to her performances and because of this she always steered clear from the sappy, sticky sweet range Shirley Temple frequently wandered into. I'm always blown away by her work in her first movie, Tomorrow is Forever (1946), where she plays an Austrian refugee child and her co-stars are the likes of Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles. She was only eight and Orson said, "She was so good she scared me." And as a child, she worked with some of the top stars of the 40s. Besides the latter mentioned, she shared the screen with: Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, and Bette Davis.

[via]

#3: Candid camera

Well, not always 'candid', but all the while, I felt the need to mention that photos of Natalie were always incredible. Natalie was obviously gorgeous with her dark, Russian beauty; however, even the most beautiful of people don't always photograph well, but Natalie was utterly photogenic. I've never come across a photo of her where she didn't look amazing. Photos of Natalie were taken mostly in the 1960s, so they all contain a fun, retro spin on them. I can't really explain it, but the photos of her are always the prettiest, candid or posed. Anyways, here are six good examples:

#2: Natalie as a mom

This is a part of Natalie that I think has been less discussed. When I was reading her biography, however, I really got the image that she was a good mom. She had two daughters, Natasha (b. 1970) and Courtney (b. 1974). They were seven and eleven, respectively, when she died - which is of course, terrible. However, in the time she did have with them I'm sure she must have been a wonderful mother. When she had them, she slowed down her career and wouldn't accept a film unless she knew her husband, Robert Wagner, could stay with the children while she was working - or vice versa. She loved to take them on trips on the boat and let them bring friends along. I think Natalie was very much deprived of a childhood, and her mother was just terrible (whilst reading her bio, I wanted to slap her mother... several times..). A real heartbreaking story is the day before she left for Catalina, Natasha begged her not to go because she had a feeling something might happen to her mom. Natalie was tempted to, but others convinced her not to spoil Natasha and to go, so she landed up taking the trip - and she drowned that weekend. Isn't that so sad? Ugh.

#1: The other side to Natalie

This one is hard to describe, but I suppose it's just a quality in Natalie that makes me love her - that I can't explain. When you watch her on screen, you don't want anything bad to happen to her. When you read about her life, it's completely intriguing and oftentimes sad - but there's never a dull moment. From getting to know her, what I have extracted from her personality is that she had a lust for life and an excitement for living, which I think it makes it all the more terrible her life was cut so dreadfully short. I think there were two sides to Natalie: this glamorous movie star named "Natalie Wood", and this fun, playful lady who went by her childhood name of "Natasha" and cooked great Spanish eggs and loved to time spend with her children and read plenty of books and listened to Bob Dylan and watched Vivien Leigh movies. I guess this fine line between the two sides to her are the reason I love her; and I feel almost as if I get the best of both worlds by loving Natalie.

    

    

    

[via]

***

So that's all! However, considering it's Natalie's birthday, I'd like to plug this little clip I stumbled upon on Youtube a year ago and it nearly knocked me over. It's Natalie, in the late 70s, being interviewed by Lucille Ball and her son. I KNOW. I ALMOST DIED. Anyways, it's a lot fun to watch, so I'm leavin gi there. Try to get some Natalie in your day today! :)

Happy Birthday, Kate! [5 Things]

Another birthday! Another Hepburn's birthday!

***

Happy Birthday, Kate!

There has been no one, before or after, like Katharine Houghton Hepburn. Mean as a snake, dear as an angel— she is one of the great humans, better than the legend. She isall she appears to be, with a face for Mount Rushmore.

- John Bryson [Photographer//Friend]

#5: Susan Vance (and an assortment of other characters)

I like so many of the characters Katharine Hepburn played: Tracy Lord (The Philadelphia Story), Tess Harding (Woman of the Year), and Amanda Bonner (Adam's Rib) are a few of my favorite Kate roles that represent much of the characters Kate played in her career. Free-spirited, liberated, independent woman who wore pants and told the men what to do; not the other way around - and this was the 1940s. Its one of my very favorite things about Kate. But my all time favorite character isn't one of these feminists, but, in fact, a zany screwball heiress named Susan Vance. Susan hails from Bringing up Baby (1938), my favorite Kate film - though it's hard to pick just one.  Susan, with her notoriously high pitched giggle that I adore to imitate, is the exact opposite of the traditional Kate character, probably the sort that would tick a traditional Kate character off to no end. (Can you imagine Tess Harding & Susan Vance meeting?). And still, it's my favorite. Bringing up Baby (1938), was one of my very first classics, and my very first Kate film, and I instantly fell in love with her. Perhaps a lot of it had to do with adorable Susan, who won my heart from the moment she took Cary Grant's golf ball. (We're watching the film in one of my classes, because of me, and I'm afraid to say that one of my friends asked me in all seriousness, "Does Susan have a mental problem?")

[via]

#4: Her voice

I hear people complain about Kate's voice all the time, and I'm like, "WHAT?! ARE YOU DEAF?!" Oh, well, each to their own. I however beg to differ. Kate's voice was one of the first things that made me love her. It honestly just adds this to underlying quality of adorableness she has, and it makes me adore her even more. If you haven't noticed lately, I gush over voices a lot: lusting after Greer Garson's, wanting an Ingrid accent of my own, and forever noting Cary Grant's particular way of saying "hell-o!". Well, Kate is right up there with the three of them. I'm positively in love with her "Bryn Mawr accent", which also brings me to add, to those that may disagree: she didn't choose her voice, it was just the accent that she happened to have, like anyone else picks up one.

[via]

#3: Her looks.

A lot of people don't think Kate Hepburn was beautiful, and once more I must disagree. Katharine Hepburn was not the conventional beauty, she was certainly "different looking", but she was still quite gorgeous in that particular way of hers. When I first saw her on the screen as a little girl, I thought she was absolutely stunning and couldn't get over how pretty she was! Now I can understand that while perhaps she isn't the traditional beauty, she was still indeed beautiful: I mean, those cheekbones, that smile, the carefully sculpted features? So no, I just don't get it when people say she wasn't beautiful. Oh well. Once more, each to their own.

#2: Kate & Spence.

Perhaps, I believe, my favorite couple - next to Lucy & Desi, I mean. And they weren't even married! I think the wonderful thing about the great old Hollywood unions were, in addition to giving us the pleasure over swooning over them as a couple, they also gave us great performances together. Kate & Spence are certainly a testament to that. I recently watched Sea of Grass (1947), and therefore, I can proudly say that I have seen all nine Kate & Spence movies. Gosh, they're just simply wonderful together. On screen and off. As for on screen, my favorite is likely either Woman of the Year (1942) or Adam's Rib (1949). As for off screen, I suggest you watch this. (And yes, you will need your Kleenex).

[via]

#1: Kate just being Kate.

This one is kind of hard to describe. I get it's just a summarization of Kate being Kate. Because, Katharine Hepburn was just generally the definition of an awesome person. She did all her stunts in films, did headstands when she was in her eighties, swam in the Venice canals each morning whilst filming Summertime (1955), and didn't give a damn about what anyone else thought. She was never willing to change herself for anyone. I admire that quality about her so much, that persistence to always be herself and keep her character. She stuck with that her entire life, I think. Katharine Hepburn was really quite honestly an amazing human being. I just don't know how to put it into words, but there is simply this aura about her. It usually results in people either completely hating or completely loving her. To me, it turned out to be the latter. In my definition of "Katharine Hepburn", she is one of the best actresses to have ever graced the screen and a simply wonderful person with an incredible personality, whose self-confidence I hope to have myself one day.

3 Rules by Katharine Hepburn to live by:
"1) Never quit
2) Be yourself
3) Never put too much flour in your brownies."

[via]

Happy Birthday, Audrey! [5 Things I Love]

Today is the birthday of one my very favorite actresses and all time favorite people - Audrey Hepburn!

Happy birthday, Audrey!

"In Greek myth - among the most ancient of the Western religious histories - you would have to compare Audrey to Hestia, goddess of the hearth, for whom the family home was her main concern and, by extension, every home.

"Saint Audrey seems quite appropriate to me - for she in her life and work she was born to show the world that true grace and innocence, human kindness and hope, still can exist on earth. 

"Whenever the lines didn't quite suit her, she would alter them and they always sounded better her way. Often I would compliment her by saying, 'That's not the line, but it's better that way.' And invariable she would say, 'Oh isn't it? I thought it was. I'll say it the way you want - I thought it was that line.' And I'd always have to reassure her that her rewrite, instinctual or conscious, was an improvement. But she invariably claimed ignorance of any difference and repeatedly said she'd do it my way. I never let her."

- Peter Bogdonavich, director

***

#5: Regardless of what anyone says, she could act

It's sad that so few, especially in the Old Hollywood community, are willing to admit that Audrey Hepburn could act. I hear this all the time: "Audrey was a great person, but am I going to say that she is a good actress? Definitely not. There are so many better actresses." Perhaps Audrey was not the greatest screen actress to ever grace film, but saying she cannot act is not only unfair, it makes the person who says so look stupid. The two actresses that seem to always be in competition with each other and get the most backlash from classic film fans are Audrey Hepburn & Marilyn Monroe, for obvious reasons. Many fans will stick to one actress and totally blacklist the other, and those who prefer Marilyn often make such statements about Audrey. Now, I'm not a Marilyn fan and Audrey is one of my very favorites, but am I going to say that Marilyn could not act? Certainly not. Under a good director, she gave some great performances, like in Some Like it Hot (1958). Audrey could act. She won an Oscar for her first leading role in an American film. This was way before her posters were hung on sorority dorm walls & lunchboxes with her face on it were sold. She could act, get over it, and if you can't you're just jealous. 

#4: The characters she played

Audrey has played so many of my favorite screen characters. The roles she picked were nearly always women that were sophisticated and stylish, and to me, an epitome of class and grace: and what I aspire to be when I grow up. To name just a few: Sabrina Fairchild in Sabrina (1954), Princess Ann in Roman Holiday (1953), Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Arianne in Love in the Afternoon (1957). Audrey antagonists (the same ones that argue that she cannot act) say that all her characters are the same. Perhaps these characters exhibited many of the same qualities (the ones I listed back in the second sentence), but Audrey always seemed to give each role personality and life, making each one original and fresh every time.

[via]

#3: Audrey, the fashion plate

Like any true Audrey Hepburn fan, I will always insist that she is more than a fashion plate. Much more, which is true, as I have expressed in the latter reasons. Still, I must admit, Audrey Hepburn is one of, if not the greatest, fashion icons. She seemed to understand fashion inside out, most often pooling her ideas with her favorite designer, Givenchy. If there is an actress I most aspire to dress like, it’s Audrey. Her “casual style” was a pair of leggings, a sweater, and flats, which is what I like to wear around the house. This is not to ignore the many gorgeous gowns she wore. Though the most memorable of all is certainly the black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Audrey wore a multitude of other beautiful formals in all her films, and there isn’t a single one I wouldn’t like to have in my closet!

#2: The elegance & grace she radiated

Elegance & grace are skills that some spend years to achieve, and for others, it seems to come naturally. Audrey Hepburn was one of those people. Every little motion of hers was done in the utmost sophistication, from the little tilt of her head to her walk. And not just in her motions, but the way she interacted with others. She really brings personification of what it means to be classy. Whenever I watch an interview or read quote of hers, it seems just as if she knows exactly what to say and when to say it. And it seems that, when she spoke, she always made it feel as if it was a pleasure to be in your company. 

#1: Her humanitarian work

Perhaps her greatest achievement in her arguably short life, the work she did in Africa towards the end of her life tops off the reasons why I love her as a human and not just an actress. I think it was perhaps her own childhood in Europe during World War II that inspired her to help starving, impoverished children. I think she herself would consider this her crowning achievement out of everything she had accomplished, including her Oscar and all the other acting awards. I think the honest effort she put into helping these children proves that she really had a heart of gold, and was truly a lovely person, the sort who believed in pink and kissing often and laughing a lot.

[via]

A quote by Audrey that sums up me and my personality:

"I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."

[via]

Happy Birthday, Desi! [5 Things I Love]

So, you may or may not know that today would've been Desi Arnaz's 95th birthday.

Desi has is a very controversial subject to many; a lot of people don't like him because there was a womanizing and drinking in his marriage with Lucy. So much so that it overrides what Lucy and Desi's relationship really was: perhaps one a little unstable, but a love that really was forever. And since Lucy was the star of the show, people never really give Desi credit for the things he did for the show, and he did so much. True Lucy fans love him because we know that Lucy did, and Lucy wanted him to be appreciated, and most of all, that Lucy loved him a lot.

Therefore, here's five things I love most about Desi :)

Happy birthday, Desi!

·      "We all know that Lucille Ball was the great female comic genius of the twentieth century, and that their show, I Love Lucy, which in my opinion is the most important television show ever produced, was a perfect showcase for her tremendous talent. What we don't often appreciate is that Desi was the man who understand her talent and knew exactly how to spotlight it; if I Love Lucy made history, it was especially because of Desi's genius as a producer. The television we watch to this day is based on a format he created to help his wife be her very best. The three cameras, the filming instead of going live in New York, the studio audience, the concept of reruns - all of it show Lucy into the stratosphere. All of it shaped the next sixty years of television production. Practically all of it was his idea. All if it exploded a system that even the studios hadn't fully appreciated, but he did.

                                                                                                                                                             

All of it born from this Cuban man, being so totally Cuban that he sang songs in Spanish every week on national television (another breakthrough with huge impact: say thank you, Gloria Estefan and Shakira) this Cuban man that was told people wouldn't buy him with an American wife (never mind they'd been married for years), this Cuban man invented the sitcom as we know it. All of it stemmed from the love of one man for one woman, putting truth to the very statement that I Love Lucy was never just a title. Aren't we lucky that it happened? Aren't we lucky that it was true?" 

- Raul Esparza


***
#5: The accent.

Honestly, who cannot love that accent? The "dun't"s  - don't - and the "thin"s - things - all of it! So much so that a lot of Ricky Ricardo speak filters into my everyday speak. I say "dun't" all the time now and people don't even comment on it anymore, I honestly think they expect it. ;) Anyway, I'm a big fan of pretty voices ( *COUGH* Greer) and best of all accents (*COUGH* Ingrid), and Desi's voice is such a wonderful mix of that. 

#4: The music.

I think the most famous song of his would have to be "Babalu", obviously, but those avid Lucy watchers will remember a lot more. I have oftentimes listened the Lucy is Enciente episode as my favorite, because of the moment in the end where Lucy and Desi's real tears came through. Another thing that made that part so sweet was Desi's rendition of We're Having a Baby - My Baby and Me. It's adorable, and I know all the lyrics. And if you think about it, and pay attention to the club numbers on the show, there are a lot of really good routines. Like "Jezebel" from Lucy is Jealous of Girl Dancer and "The Waters of Minnetonka" from The Indian Show. I think my personal favorite would have to be one that wasn't sung on the Lucy show - at least, not more than a few bars of it ; it's the main theme from Forever Darling (1956), entitled, appropriately, "Forever Darling." It's lacking Desi's usual latin tunes, but it's still a wonderful, sweet song I think.

#3: His relationship with his kids.

Both Lucy and Desi wanted to have kids desperately, but it took a long time for it to happen to them. Lucy suffered five miscarriages. When they finally did have children, they were blessed with two: Little Lucie and Desi, Jr. (1951, 1953, respectively). When I was watching the home movies, Lucie and Desi, Jr. talked about what it was lying having two parents who were wonderful people, but didn't get to be around home as much, or, if they were around, were fighting. They also admitted that Lucy's mothering instincts didn't come as easy to her, probably because she had grown up a lot without her mother. (Lucy's mom, Dede, was a wonderful woman but since Lucy's dad died when she was four, Dede was gone a lot, holding down jobs and working. Dede was, however, there for Lucy a lot in the second half of her life). Desi, though, was a very fun father, they said. Desi, Jr. described him as the type of guy who was in awe with everything, and wonder at the beauty of nature - the type of guy who would point out the sunset and say, "God really outdid himself tonight." Despite what others say, Lucie and Desi, Jr. always talk very fondly of their dad, and I think that really says something about him. (Not to say Lucy wasn't a good mother. I'm sure she really, really was. And I could never say something bad about my dear like that!).

#2: His business smarts.

As the quote back up there really proves, Desi was the brain behind I Love Lucy. He really did sit up the sitcom as we know it today: the studio audience, the three camera technique, the rerun. Lucy might have been the star on the screen, but Desi really did put his all into being president of Desilu Studios. Lucy once told Carol Burnett that when she was "married to the Cuban" she "never had to worry about a thing" because Desi was "so damn smart about everything." And he really was, and out of everything, I think this is the ultimate thing he never got enough credit for. He seriously built up the format for how to film a sitcom. On an episode of I've Got a Secret on which Lucy and Desi were making an appearance, Lucy was reading a scripted intro for Desi, part of which described him as a "great producer." Lucy cut away from her script and daringly added, with a wink, "If you don't believe it, I have two little Arnazes at home to prove it!" ;) He truly was one of the best producers, though.

#1: His love for Lucy.

I've talked about this a billion times, and every time I do, I get caught up in the feelings that are all Desilu! Despite the drinking and the womanizing and the other issues, they still had an incredible love for one another. I think to be able to love each other as much as they did - even after the divorce - despite all the obstacles they faced is truly incredible. Desi's infidelities are often credited to the way he grew up; that love and sex are two different things and little things here and there don't matter. It was sad that it had to be this way, and it's what ultimately broke them apart, but above all their love was an incredible thing. He did love her a lot. As the quote says, I Love Lucy came out of Desi's love for Lucy. So even though things weren't always smooth sailing for these two, he wasn't kidding when he said, "I Love Lucy was never just a title." He loved her a lot.

***

Well, that's it for today! I hope you had/have a lovely day and happy birthday to Desi :)

5 Things I Loved: Madame Curie (1943)

So, because of my Four Sundays of Christmas blogathon, I haven't been able to do movie reviews for the movies I've been watching recently. One of these movies is "Madame Curie (1943)," with the Pidgeons (AKA, Greer and Walter) and I do want to talk about it. So I thought instead of doing a movie review like I usually do, I would take a little spin on "5 Things I Love," the segment I usually use for someone's birthday, and switch it around for a film. Therefore, I present to you five things I loved about "Madame Curie."

Over all, I give "Madame Curie," 4 out of 5 stars. Not an excellent film but I really did enjoy it all the while, and there were certainly points about it that I really loved, which I'll now point out to you!

5 Things I Loved: Madame Curie (1943)

Raising the biopic to new heights, director Mervyn LeRoy's Oscar-nominated drama stars Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon as the titular scientist and her French physicist husband. After young Polish student Marie and Dr. Pierre Curie fall in love and marry, the pair sets to work isolating a new element, radium. After years of painstaking research, their efforts pay off, but just as success comes calling, so does tragedy. [from Netflix]

#5: It made science come alive.

I'm really more of a English and history person than I am of a math/science person. I actually do make As in the two latter mentioned subjects, only they don't hold my attention or interest me as much as learning about the past or writing! However, this movie really made Madame Curie's story interesting to me. Now I'm really so impressed by what she did (and best of all - I understood how she did it!). And also, to do all she did in the early 20th century, which was a time where people expected women to sit back on their heels and let the men do everything - well, impressive is an understatement! For once, science was thrilling, and though a lot of it had to do with the fact it was Greer and Walter discovering radium, well, it was still exciting for once!

#4: "To catch a star..."

There's one line often used when Marie Curie's story is told, and that is this lovely lovely line: "To catch a star on your fingertips." Well, for the romanticizing writer that I am, that's one line that really sets me dreaming. Doesn't it? And add to that line Greer's expression, the dreaminess flitting across her pretty face, and all of that, and you can nearly feel the stardust on your fingertips. 

[via]

#3: The way nerdy scientists fall in love, and propose.

The one adorable scene in this movie is when Walter's character, Pierre Curie, decides all of a sudden to come out with and propose to Marie. It's the middle of the night and they're staying at his parents house in the French countryside, and he stomps up to her bedroom and bangs on the door, "Madame Skłodowska!" (her name before she was married). Then he goes in there, and she's sitting in the bed all confuzzled, and then in the most brilliant vocabulary, drawing comparisons to themselves and scientific compounds, he explains why the should get married (for it will be best for the world of science.). And then in the same, well, nerdy way Greer agrees - and happily Walter agrees to this, leaves the room, and then comes back, realizing he's forgotten something. He then plants a kiss on Greer's forehead. Here, watch for yourself (starts at 40 minutes and 55 seconds):

#2: The supporting cast.

This movie has a fantastic, fantastic support casting! Henry Travers, one of my favorite character actors and Clarence from "It's a Wonderful Life," plays Walter's father. Van Johnson, who was not yet a star (just three years earlier he'd played in his first movie role, a chorus boy in "Too Many Girls," the 1940 movie in which Lucy and Desi fell in love on the set of ;D), makes a really short appearance as a reporter (you can watch it here). And then there's Margaret O'Brian as their daughter. She's so adorable, really! And you know, Margaret was such a big star in her own right in the early 40's. I loved her in "Meet Me in St. Louis" - I think I like her much better than Shirley Temple. Here she is with Greer and Walter in a very sweet scene (the Curies have once more hit a glitch in their quest to discover radium): 

#1: It made me CRY.

Okay, so this is honestly a SPOILER, unless you know Marie Curie's life story, in which you might already know this was coming. Anyway, SPOILER. Now, let's get on with it - so after they discovered radium, the Pidgeons and the adorable Margaret O'Brian (and their new baby) go on a holiday for some much needed rest (they'd been working in a shed for five years, being exposed to radium constantly), and Greer and Walter have this short conversation about what would happen if one of them had to go on without the other. After this, and the movie continues, I just honestly knew in my heart that Walter was going to die. Thus comes a scene where Greer's getting all dressed up and looking gorgeous for a party, and Walter decides to go out and get her some earrings, and on his way back - he's walking in the street - and I just knew it was coming, I'd been saying it for ten minutes that he was going to die - well, he gets run over by a wagon and dies instantly. Then Greer discovers the news and has the most painful expression on her face and I just started crying! I think it's the first time I've cried over a human dying in a movie. There comes a certain part where Greer just clutches the earrings he'd bought for her before dying, and crumples to the floor sobbing, and I just cried harder and harder. So yes, it made me cry, that's simply how amazing Greer and Walter are.

Greer looking lovely, and Walter right before he sets out to purchase the earrings. You just know it's going to happen! :/

***

Well, there it is, five things I loved about "Madame Curie (1943)". And like I said, overall I really enjoyed this movie and I suggest you watch it. The full movie is on Youtube, and the link for it is up in #3.

Christmas vacation and the holidays are almost here! I can hardly wait! :)

Happy Birthday, Grace! [5 Things I Love]

I know... deja vu post title. Wasn't it exactly a week ago that I posted 5 things for Vivien's birthday? Yes and yes. But Grace Kelly is one of my favorite actresses, and I simply cannot ignore her birthday!

Especially since I feel quite guilty.... that I don't have a tribute video for her! At least, one in particular for her birthday. I made one for her a few months ago in those long forgotten, hunky dunky (did anyone get that reference? hm?) summer days, which will be at the end of this post. I just didn't have the time to get around to doing it, and it's hard to do tribute videos for Grace simply for the lack of footage. She did only make like five movies after all.

I also feel guilty because I feel like I've neglected her a whole lot in the past four or so months of writing this blog. My Grace tag isn't very big, and I adore her so much. But I want to make up for it, right now, on this lovely lady's birthday. I present to you the five things I love about her the most (and yes, it was so hard to narrow it down to five).

"You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own. No question, I'll miss her, we'll all miss her, God bless you, Princess Grace."

- Jimmy Stewart's eulogy at Grace's memorial service, 1982

***

#5: I relate to her.

Okay, that may be a strange, somewhat pompous way to put it: "I relate to Grace Kelly!" Let me explain a little. I've read two or three books on Grace, and when reading I enjoyed the little things that I noticed I had in common with her... She wasn't very athletic, no matter how hard she tried (and despite the fact that her father was an Olympian - very much the "maverick" type - and the rest of her family followed suit), with the exception, I believe, of swimming. In her high school yearbook she listed Ingrid Bergman as her favorite actress. She attended a private school, and.... I quote, from the book Touch of Grace: "Grace and her northern roots preferred the cold. Monaco's semi-tropical weather never agreed with her." (!!!)

"I get a dull feeling when it's hot and sunny. I feel tired. I don't want to do anything. I usually stay in the house when the sun is out. At night I take walks."

- Grace

#4: She WAS a wonderful actress.

People often argue that whereas Grace was a pretty princess, a fashion plate, and a lovely lady, that she couldn't really act. I beg to differ! Grace could act, and from what I read she climbed up the Hollywood chain just like everyone else. She wasn't automatically in the door because of her good looks, she earned it and was an excellent actress. Among the different complaints about Grace I've heard is, "she's the same in every movie." I understand that she did play similar characters, but perhaps that simply makes her another victim of typecasting - and I must admit, I really liked the characters she played anyway. The other big argument is that Judy Garland should have won the Oscar in 1955 and not Grace. I haven't seen "A Star is Born" (I do plan to remedy that soon), so it wouldn't be fair for me to pick sides on this one, but I do think Grace shone in "The Country Girl", and broke the usual mold of her characters for sure.

with her "The Country Girl" Oscar

#3: She was Hollywood's princess.

Literally, of course. I do wish that her marriage in 1956 to Prince Rainier of Monaco would not have ended her movie career, leaving us with only a few of her movies. But I once remember reading a quote that Grace really was a princess even before she officially became one: in her elegance, class, and appropriately, grace. After leaving Hollywood, being Princess of Monaco became her job, I suppose, and she was good at it. I remember reading she struggled in her new surroundings at first, sometimes longed to return to Hollywood (Hitchcock tempted her with the Tippi Hendrin role in "Marnie", but Monaco did not want to see their princess romancing Sean Connery), but she managed and she was magnificent. Plus, wasn't her wedding gown and her royal wedding gorgeous? You can watch the wedding here.

#2: She was one of the most fashionable people, ever.

I don't really think this is news to anyone, but let's face it: she is! She was always impeccably dressed and she is for sure one of my most favorite style icons ever. I swear, everytime I see a photo of her, whether it is on screen or off, I get jealous of what she is wearing. I cannot even pick a favorite outfit of hers. The blue gown from "To Catch a Thief"? The taffeta black and white dress she wore to cheer up Jimmy in "Rear Window"? The glittering grey gown or baby blue day dress from "High Society"? She could be casually chic or smartly dressed, too. And lest we not forget that gorgeous wedding gown pictured in #3. Like I said, it is simply impossible to pick a favorite outfit, and she was chic and elegant down to the last detail: the pearls on the neck, the handbag on her arm, the earrings in her lobes, etc. Her style seemed to have been very simple and always come across as effortless. She was so easily chic and I really j'adore about every single thing that Grace ever wore.

Did you know? Hermes named a bag of theirs after her- "The Kelly Bag". It got its title after Grace used the large, fashionable purse to cover up her growing stomach due to her pregnancy from the paparazzi.

#1: She was simply a nice person.

And she really was. On screen she seemed to emulate the ice goddess qualities; very fire and ice. But off screen everyone who knew her said her personality was in sharp contrast: Grace was loving and warm, and one of the nicest persons, as Jimmy Stewart put it. Many a lovely story I've read about Grace. About how she was completely anti racist: when the singer Josephine Baker tried to treat her friends to a night at the Stork Club in the 1950's, they were denied a table because of their skin color. Grace was at the Stork Club that night. She shot up from her table, took Josephine by the arm, and stormed out of the club, vowing to never return again  - she never did. Not only that, she and Josephine became excellent friends and Grace supported Josephine financially as well in later years. Fast forwarding to the year 1981, Grace met the Prince of Wales and his shy new fiance, Lady Diana, at one of the first events attended by the new couple. Diana arrived in a too tight black dress that showed too much cleavage. Grace sensed Diana's discomfort; in the washroom Diana burst into tears in front of Grace and the whole situation in which Grace hugged and comforted the soon-to-be princess. (Irony that they would both die in a car crash?). Most of Grace's co-stars made friends with her: William Holden and Clark Gable fell in love with her, Ava Gardner brought out the rebel in her (Ava was also invited to the royal wedding), and Cary Grant remembered her as his favorite co-star. From the pictures she may seem intimidating, but I feel that it would have been amazing to be friends with someone so understanding, sweet, and unprejudiced.

This was the tribute video I made a while back. I'm sorry to be "recycling" it, but I hope you'll like it all the while. The piece is "Clair de Lune" by Debussy, which was Grace's favorite as a child. I, too, really adore the music. Slightly irrelevant, but Spencer Tracy played it on the piano in "Without Love", remember? It's a beautiful piece and fits Grace and her loveliness.

Happy Birthday, Grace. 

***

That's all for today: try and squeeze a little Grace into your day! 

See you at the Sunday Movie Review, dear readers. 


PS: Did you hear about that idiot Jeopardy contestant who didn't know Joan Fontaine existed, non the less was Olivia's sister? some people... geesh...