The Liebster Blog Award (Reprise)

[via. ISN'T SHE ADORABLE??!!!!]

(Firstly, just a big THANK YOU! to all those blogs that participated in The Great Recasting Blogathon! Nat & I had so much fun hosting it and all the entires were entirely creative and fun to read. You all are fabulous.)


I don't know how many of you may remember this, but nearly a year ago I was tagged for a couple of blog awards, one of them being the Liebster Blog Award, which brought traffic over here for the first time and I gained a surge of followers and got to know you all and now we live happily ever after.

Well, about eighty some followers later, I've been tagged for it once again, by Sofia over at one of my favorite reads, Film Flare. Her blog is that perfect blend of new releases and the classics; the interface is also very sleek and professional, so if you haven't checked out her blog yet, I suggest you go click that link up there, go on over to her blog, and hit "follow". Okay? Okay.

Since the last time I was tagged for this award, the rules have changed, and now it's a more elaborate tag. The rules are as follows:

• I have to tell you eleven things about myself
• I answer eleven questions written by the previous awardee, aka Film Flare
• I tag eleven bloggers
• I hand off eleven questions

Looks fun! I love doing blog tags, even though everybody gets them at some point or another, it always makes me feel really special when I get them. So thanks a billion, Sofia! :) Seeing that this is tag requires a decent bit of work, I guess I'll get on with it.

11 THINGS ABOUT YOURS TRULY

1. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," by Betty Smith is one of my favorite books
2. I'm not a morning person; I stay up too late
3. My ringtone is "Whistling Away the Dark" by Julie Andrews (from Darling Lili)
4. My favorite color is turquoise
5. I never write in print; always cursive
6. I am American and have never lived anywhere else (pretty dull, huh?)
7. I'm a compulsive popcorn addict
8. I own over twenty books about Lucy
9. Most recently, I've become addicted to watching Friends 
10. Lately I've been teaching myself how to play songs on the piano (I took piano lessons when I was little, like everyone does, but never came to anything)
11. I could listen to Julie Andrews singing the telephone book and yell out "ENCORE!"

11 QUESTIONS BY FILM FLARE

1. Most embarrassing moment in a movie theater 

A couple months ago, The Avengers (2012) came out. That movie isn't my cup of tea at all. It's not so much the new movie thing, it's more that it's simply one genre I just can't come to appreciate. However, my whole class was planning to see it together, and not wanting to be let out of the memories, I went along. We were sitting in the third row, which is never a good idea. I tried for a while to pay attention but it became useless and I kept dashing out for popcorn and the bathroom, crawling all over people as I got out. Finally, I produced my iPod and decided to close my eyes and listen to some music. But my friends thought it would be funny to take my iPod off my lap and turn the volume all the way up high. I jumped in my seat and yanked my earbuds out; the music was so loud you could hear it in the surrounding seats. I must've been some nuisance that day.

2. Favorite book to film adaptation 

Either Now Voyager or Gone With the Wind, though the James M. Cain novels (The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity) were all transferred very well, too.   

3. An actor/actress whose wardrobe you'd steal

I'd love the wardrobe of any classic actress, really. Some no brainers would be Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Lucy... any classic movie goddess would be fine by me.

4. A film that scares/scared the hell out of you

I don't really watch scary movies that often. Okay, fine, I don't watch them at all, though my friends are always trying to get me to. I'll go with The Innocents (1961). I can't deny that it did creep me out. The song was eerie and I was nervous for Deborah's welfare the whole way through. 

5. A scene from a film that has popped into your mind - just now!

The Long Long Trailer (1953) - going up the mountain at the end of the movie, with Lucy and Desi making nervous pitter patter in the yellow convertible  and the trailer creaking like there's no tomorrow. 

6. Is there a review/article that has been lying around in your drafts for a long time?

Yes! I've had a post entitled "In Defense of Audrey Hepburn" in my drafts ever since May. It's all set to post... I don't know why I haven't done it yet... and my post log is filled with drafts that are half finished, too. 

7. A film you're looking forward to watch (unreleased)

Can't think of anything, really. Hope Springs with Meryl Streep might be interesting, but I probably won't watch it in the theater. 

8. Musicals: yay or nay? 

Yay - sort of. The thing about musicals and I are that when I like a musical, I really love it. In fact, so many of my favorites are musicals: The Sound of Music (1965), Singin' in the Rain (1952), West Side Story (1961), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) ... But otherwise, I can be pretty lukewarm about them. Still, I do think I enjoy them, most of the time. 

9. What was for you the most memorable use of sound (song or effect) in a film?

The SOUND of Music (1965). Lots of musicals I love, but that one sticks with me. 

10. A little known actor or actress you love

I love the character actresses Thelma Ritter & Mildred Natwick. Also, she's not little known but definitely underrated: Anne Bancroft. 

11. Whose life you'd like to see depicted in a film?

Lucy's, but I'd like to see it done properly. I would like to see it be a big budget movie for theaters done with a lot of hype. I'd like to see a actress chosen because she can embody Lucy, not because she has fair skin and blue eyes. And obviously, a good supporting cast that bears at least some physical resemblance to the real life people as well as a nice script that would include plenty of real life anecdotes. 

11 WINNERS

I had to, okay? Not my GIF.

Okay, so tagging winners for these awards are always an ordeal for me. It's not because it's hard to find people to give the awards to (well, it's easy to find options but so hard to narrow down!), but I often feel I tag some of the same people over and over and I feel like a nuisance when I have to go over and comment with a, "I tagged you for something... for the tenth time!" So as usual: This tag is optional, don't feel like you're compelled to do it, etc. If I've tagged you - especially if it's for the second or third time - just know that its because I adore your blog to bits and pieces, okay? (What can I say, I'm super shy. Even online. When you can't see my cringing, blushing face.) 

• Marcela at Best of the Past (her blog is new. she's a fabulous writer & a sweet person so go follow her.) 
• Laura at Who Can Turn the World Off with her Smile?
• Emily at The Silver Screen Affair 
• Jennifer at Films of Yesterday
• Craig at Blame Mame 
• FlickChick at A Person in the Dark 
• Natalie at In the Mood
• Bette at Bettie's Classic Movie Blog
• Irene at And Then they Start to Sparkle
• Sophie at Waitin' on a Sunny Day
• Clara at Via Margutta 51

11 QUESTIONS

Since I did a survey a few months ago and as this is a lengthy tag, I've done "this or that" questions for my round. Feel free to explain your results or just pick one or the other and keep on going. 

1. Ingrid Bergman or Greta Garbo
2. Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney
3. Julie Andrews or Judy Garland
4. Cary Grant or Clark Gable
5. Deborah Kerr or Greer Garson (HA. HA. HA - I couldn't even answer this one myself)
6. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire
7. Ava Gardner or Lana Turner
8. Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power
9. Myrna Loy or Carole Lombard
10. Montgomery Clift or James Dean
11. Katharine Hepburn or Bette Davis 

Okay, that's it for my side of this tag. I *love* getting tags, thank you so much, Sofia!

The 7x7 Link Award

It looks like it's award season in the blogosphere again! Laura of the wonderful Who Can Turn the World Off With her Smile?  and Natalie of the amazing In The Mood have tagged me with the 7x7 Link Award. Thanks so much, Laura and Natalie! I've been following Laura's blog for a few months and I can assure you her posts are always witty, insightful, and original. So definitely go and follow her blog if you don't already! :) As for Natalie, she and I go way back ;) Well, at least a few months back, and she's totally incredible and wonderful and lovely, not to mention a blogger bestie, so go follow her now!

The rules are as follows:

Tell everyone something that no one else knows about

Link to one of my posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-worthy Piece

Pass this award on to seven other bloggers 

I really enjoy doing these tagging things, so let's get on with it!:)

Tell everyone something that no one else knows about 

Hmm... I think my readers know a lot about me because I basically live a Classic Hollywood appreciation life, and I'm really obvious about the Classic Hollywood things I love. Okay, let's see: I love to bake. I haven't had much time for it lately but I love making cookies, cupcakes, cakes, whatever out of scratch. My baked goods are usually chocolate because I'm a total chocoholic, so there you have it, two irrelevant facts about me -;)

Okay, next I have to link to the posts that I best fit the particular categories given to me. Haha, okay, I'll do my best. :)

Most Beautiful Piece

Beautiful??? Okay, I'm going to go with a post I felt had a beautiful topic, and when thinking of this, the first one that came to my mind was the 71 Years of Desilu blog I wrote on Lucy & Desi's wedding anniversary last year. I always enjoy the opportunity to write about their relationship, and that was a prime one. Plus I got to put in lots of pretty pictures of them (which made it visually appealing) and quotes that people had said about the two of them. 

Most Helpful Piece

I hope that most of my movie reviews are helpful... but considering that I consider myself a terrible film reviewer, I don't think I'll go with one of those; instead I choose "Now Playing": Buyer Beware! It's an article I wrote way back in like, August of last year. It's basically about my disappointment in TCM's magazine, "Now Playing", which really turned out to be more of a phamplet then anything. That magazine, if you can call it that, has since grown on me a bit because I always know what's coming up on TCM because of it. Still, the crossword puzzle is awful (36 Across, Olivia __ Havilland) and that's pretty much all the magazine brochure offers. It's okay, TCM, I'll always love you anyway. <3

Most Popular Piece

According to my statistics, it's Old Hollywood Celebrities and Their Children: A Lookalike Contest. When this post started getting popular, it surprised me to no end. It was a really weak post, I feel, that I did way back when I had like no followers. It doesn't have any comments, either, so the only explanation I can feel is that maybe the title really interested readers so they kept clicking on it out of curiosity? Besides, the first place winners out of my like, four pairs of contestants, aren't really going to knock your socks off...

Most Controversial Piece

Haha, probably Being an icon: remembered fondly or simply becoming overrated?. This is also a old post, in which I pretty much bashed Marilyn Monroe to no end and tried, in rambling paragraphs, to explain why I think being a icon is bad. I don't think being iconic is bad, exactly, but I still don't gel with the fact that MM is the poster child for all Classic Hollywood - to my defense, however, I also brought up Audrey Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart in that piece, both of whom I happen to like very much. It was just a rambling post honestly, and I'm probably stupid for bringing it up again; don't mind me. (And no offense to MM fans; truthfully, some of my very favorite bloggers love her, she's just not my cup of tea!) Well yeah, it's either this or my Summertime (1955) review... ;)

Most Surprisingly Successful Piece

Ditto my answer for my most popular piece; honestly don't get how that turned out to be successful. I'll also go with another quite old post, Grace's Glasses, which was a really short post about Grace Kelly and her "nerdy chic" glasses. I don't have any comments on that either, but I have a lot of hits. And as for a more recent post, probably Hollywood and The Day that Lived in Infamy, which I wrote for the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor last December. It got a lot of comments which surprised me because I remember being really frustrated trying to get accounts of what movie stars were doing on December 7th, 1941 and how they heard of the bombing. I also remember not being satisfied with my end result and thinking it wouldn't get many hits; but it did get comments and views, so thank you? :)

Most Underrated Piece

I'll go with I Love Lucy's Dream Team || The Backstage Brains, which I wrote for the 60th anniversary of I Love Lucy last October. I wrote about the people that worked to make I Love Lucy a success that didn't appear on screen, such as the writers, cameraman, director, etc. I researched quite a bit for it to get a proper understanding of some of the technical terms. Over all I think the post turned out pretty well, but it didn't get any comments. 

Most Pride-worthy Piece

I think the A Classic Hollywood Thanksgiving [In Emails], which I wrote last Thanksgiving. Though it was really fun to write I worked hard on those emails and it took me a while, so I was really happy with the way everything turned out and all the nice comments I received on it. :)

Okay, thats it for the categories. Next, I must tag seven other bloggers for this award. Ahh, so many awesome bloggers and only seven that I can pick??? It's always hard, but this time I'll go with:

• Clara at Via Margutta 51: If you don't know about Clara's lovely blog, you must be living under a rock ;) Honestly, though, Clara always has such intriguing posts & a really professional blog interface. 
• Sally at Flying Down to Hollywood: Sally's posts are always interesting and interactive with her readers, like the posts in which she chooses a line from an old film and the readers guess where it's frrm. 
• Bette at Bette's Classic Movie Blog: Bette's another one of my best blogging friends. She has a gorgeous blog design & always writes enthusiastic, fun posts about old Hollywood & entertaining movie reviews. 
• Meredith at Forever Classics: Meredith's blog is always filled with really interesting posts and she also arranged a wonderful Bogie blogathon last December! 
• Craig at Blame Mame: Craig has a wonderful blog with lots of gorgeous visual graphics that he designs himself. I'm never bored when reading his posts & am always looking forward to them!
• Irene at And then they start to sparkle: Irene is one of the sweetest bloggers & is always updating her blog frequently with posts filled with interesting pictures and trivia!
• Jennifer at Films of Yesterday: Jennifer is one of the great, reliable film reviewers that I know. Her reviews are short & sweet & to the point and I can always count on them.

These blog awards get around fast. I tried to tag people I knew hadn't already been tagged, but you've already been tagged with this I apologize; and this award is kind of a meme  too so if you're not in the mood for doing this right now, or you can't squeeze it into your blogging schedule, or whatever way the cookie seems to crumble for you, don't worry I understand. Just know that I love your blog! :)

Thanks again, Laura and Natalie, for tagging me! :)

Liebster Blog Award

Hi everyone,

So, about two days ago when I was already all excited over my Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award, and began tagging all of you, after I finished my post I discovered that Craig of the forever entertaining Blame Mame had tagged me for an award, too - The Liebster Blog Award!

How cool is that???!!!

So, the rules for this one are a little simpler. I must tag 3 - 5 of you, particularly those of you that have less than 300 followers, I believe. (And totally deserve more.) So... here goes.

For the Liebster Blog Award, I will be tagging:

1) Meredith of Forever Classics

2) Natalie of In the Mood

3) Emily of The Silver Screen Affair

So, I'm sure you already know why these blogs (and the other eleven blogs I tagged in my last award) are so wonderful and stuff. So be sure and click the link and follow them... because they're just really wonderfully written and always entertaining! :)

And once again, thank you SO much, Craig. Everyone be sure and go over and follow him at Blame Mame, too. I would totally tag you back for this award, but it would be kind of pointless seeing that you just won it....

I'd also like to say a quick "hello" to my new followers! I got a bunch of them ever since this award giving began and that's so AWESOME! So, hello and welcome to Frankly, My Dear. I hope you enjoy! :)

Tomorrow I'm going to be changing for the first time what's "playing" at the drive-in, and I'll also be giving you my Sunday Movie Review. It will be on "Splendor in the Grass" - I also saw "The Nanny" (the movie with Bette, not the TV show... there's a big difference! :P), and though I really loved Bette in it.... it was kinda way too creepy.

Before I leave, I found this charming little picture.... OH! I just can't come up with the perfect caption for this one. But it made me lol, alright.

In case you're confused, that's Ingrid with her first husband, Peter Lindstrom (on the right) and her second husband, Roberto Rossellini (on the left). When this picture was taken, the caption was something like "the Lindstroms with visiting friend", but by now we all know that Ingrid would leave Lindstrom for this "visiting friend" - and have his child in the process.

What a tangled web we weave.

Well, I'm off to tag the Liebster winners.  So long for now!

Irresistibly Sweet Award: MY VERY FIRST BLOG AWARD!

Hi everyone!!!

I'm just THRILLED to pieces right now because Meredith of Forever Classics has gifted me my FIRST EVER BLOG AWARD! It is the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. This is just so, so, so cool and a billion thanks to Meredith for tagging me.

My "badge of honor", which you will now see proudly adorning my sidebar.

So, according to the rules, here's what I'm supposed to do next:

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you. (Done - a billion and ten thanks, Meredith!)

2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award to 12 fellow bloggers.

4. Notify the recipients.

Okay, so here are the 7 random facts about moi:

1) I take French at school using Rosetta Stone and can proudly speak "broken French."

2) I have a soft spot for 80's sitcoms - "Who's the Boss?" is my second favorite show of all time, and then I have obsessions with "The Cosby Show" "The Facts of Life" and "The Golden Girls"... I think it's got something to do with the crazy fashions and hairstyles. :D

3) I take ballet. I am actually just starting with it, but I really love it. I was inspired to start when I learned that Natalie Wood, Audrey Hepburn, and Princess Diana all took ballet in their youth... and Audrey and Diana even seriously considered it for careers (obviously, they didn't land up as ballerinas...)

4) I have a pet chinchilla named Bogart, but we call him "Bobo" for short. (I totally wanted to get him a girlfriend and call her Laurie, for Lauren Bacall. But that all changed when we found out chinchillas can fight to the death... err...)

5) I played the Duchess in a school production of "Alice in Wonderland."

6) I love to travel. I've visited both Europe and Asia (England and India), but I could totally see more! The top three places I want to visit are: France (and Paris in particular, how stereotypical of me), Italy (how awesome would it be to visit Stromboli?? Ingrid fans will know what I mean), and Morocco (Casablanca, of course!)

7) I have been writing - typing stories on the computer - since I was about five years old. I always loved books... and that's where it all started. I still write stories and I have my blog to write on, too!

Okay. Now, I have to tag 12 other bloggers for the award. :)

1) Natalie of In the Mood

2) Clara of Via Margutta 51

3) Sophie of Waitin on a Sunny Day

4) Bette of Bette's Classic Movie Blog.

5) The girls at True Classics.

6) Millie of Classic Forever

7) Kate of Scathingly Brilliant

8) Sally of Flying Down to Hollywood

9) Mandy of Time Machine to the Twenties

10) Audrey of Fedoras and High Heels

11) Angela of The Hollywood Revue

12) Flappers and Flickers and Silent Stanzas

Okay, so here's the thing: since this award has been getting around, I noticed that a lot of the blogs I've tagged have already won this award. But since it doesn't say anyplace in the rules that you can't win twice, I guess these wonderful bloggers will just have to deal with being awarded over and over!

Also, since I'm fairly new to the blog scene, I'm not, like, blog buddies with all of these bloggers. You may wonder who I am. But, well, welcome to Frankly, My Dear I guess! But I also hope this will help me get more acquainted with the other bloggers in the classic movie community!

Once again, just oodles of thanks to Meredith (the link is up top, and also in my blog roll) and be sure and check out all of these other wonderful blogs. It was so hard to narrow down to just 12!