Happy Birthday, My Favorite British Dames | Deborah, Greer & Julie

I'd first like to apologize for having disappeared into thin air for nearly three weeks! In that time, I missed a blogathon I'd promise to write an entry for, several SMRs, and also consequently reached 100 followers! (As of now, it's 101 - it could be apt to change if I lose one or two but anyways, this is my first time reaching this milestone!) I'm sorry I haven't been around as of much - it's just one of those terrible times when real life gets in the way of blogging, you know? I'll have a little note about the SMRs at the end of this blog, but most importantly I want to give a big THANK YOU ♥ to all 101 of you that follow me. It really does mean a lot to me, and hopefully when I have a little more time on my hands I can come up with a more creative way to celebrate making it past 100!

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As it so happens, three of my favorite actresses have birthdays three days in a row! How wonderful is that? (Albiet exhausting, most definitely.) I felt that bombarding you with three birthday posts in a row would be a bit too much (especially seeing how that would come after my being M.I.A. for so long), so I'm combining it all into one post. (I chose this date because's it's the middle one.) 

The three actresses are: Greer Garson (September 29th), Deborah Kerr (September 30th) and Julie Andrews (October 1st). Interestingly enough, all three British dames are actresses that I finally come around to truly appreciating within the last year. Needless to say, I now adore them to bits and find them all pretty much perfect.

Greer Garson

(SEPTEMBER 29, 1904 - APRIL 6, 1996)

“I think the mirror should be tilted slightly upward when it`s reflecting life -- toward the cheerful, the tender, the compassionate, the brave, the funny, the encouraging, all those things -- and not tilted down to the gutter part of the time, into the troubled vistas of conflict."

Greer Garson, my beautiful bonny daisy. I fell in love with her nearly a year ago, after watching Adventure (1945). To say that Adventure is a perfect movie would be an overstatement, but I will always love it because it introduced me to Greer. Instantly, I loved her: her voice, her smile, her refined acting. I wouldn't be lying if I say I have very nearly seen everything Greer was in, and I worked my way through most of her films within a couple of months. I couldn't get enough of her. Despite having won an Oscar and having been nominated countless more times, Greer is an actress that isn't as well remembered as she should be today. She brought real vitality to her performances, which she combined with sweetness and warmth and a particular sensitivity. It's impossible not to sympathize with a Greer Garson character. Gregory Peck once described her as "all woman", and she was: radiant, funny, and brave. Greer Garson should be every lady's aspiration and every girl's heroine.

After reading her biography, I came to the conclusion that Greer Garson might also very well be one of the most likable people of all time. It seems that her real life disposition wasn't a far cry from the image she projected on screen. My favorite personality trait of hers was how she was famous (or maybe infamous) for talking nonstop! The speech she gave when accepting her Oscar for Mrs. Miniver (1942) is the longest in the history of the Academy Awards, a whole five minutes long where she has been said to have thanked everyone from the doctor who brought her into the world to the film's production crew. (Needless to say, the following year the Academy instilled a forty second limit on speeches which is even more greatly enforced nowadays because the event is televised).

Greer was the biggest box office draw of the World War II years. From the start of the era, she won the hearts of moviegoers with her most famous role as the endearing, resilient Mrs. Minivier, who soon enough became a model for combating the war to American & British women alike. She was just what both countries needed at the time: a little hint of sunshine and spirit that was a reminder of what we were fighting for. Happy birthday, my bonny daisy.

Deborah Kerr

(SEPTEMBER 30, 1921 - OCTOBER 16, 2007)

“I'd like to be remembered as a good actress, but above all, as a good human being."

Deborah Kerr, is, to me, the most versatile actress in films, then or today. I don't think there was a role that Deborah couldn't tackle and make her own, or a character that she failed to lend her own touch of ladylike gentility to. (Glenn Close was correct when she said that Deborah played "nice ladies and not-so-nice ladies, but always ladies.") She rolled around in the sandy surf with Burt Lancaster in what is remembered as one of the sultriest kisses in movie history in From Here to Eternity (1953). She was center stage in one of Hollywood's most beloved musicals in The King and I (1956). She also played a nun that Robert Mitchum couldn't help be immorally attracted to in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), a haunted governess in the creepy The Innocents (1961), and the newspaperwoman Sheilah Graham in Beloved Infidel (1959). She gave into her feelings for a younger man in Tea and Sympathy (1956), became illegitimately pregnant with William Holden's child in The Proud and the Profane (1956), and even briefly appeared topless in The Gypsy Moths (1969).

Can you imagine playing roles like those in the 1950s while still maintaining a ladylike reputation and public respect? It's needless to say that Deborah could do it all, and I don't think there was any role she wasn't afraid of. The biggest atrocity in movie history is that she never won an Oscar, because of any actress truly deserved one, it was her. So many of her movies and so many of her performances are among my favorites. She's always a joy to watch, and absolutely gorgeous. That red hair and that perfect dimpled nose. There's a story that goes that a woman once approached Deborah inquiring about the doctor who had done her nose for her. In her polite manner, Deborah informed the woman that her nose was, thank you very much, quite real.

"She is warmly human and sympathetic and possessed of a humor that ranged from the subtle to the downright wicked," said her good friend Robert Mitchum, who considered Deborah his alltime favorite actress and 'the only leading lady he had a strictly platonic relationship with.' One of my favorite stories about Deborah is in good attest to that quote. It was during the filming of Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison and Deborah was in a canoe rowing a boat. "Faster, row faster!" the film's director, John Huston was constantly shouting. Finally, the intensity of Deborah's rowing resulted in the oars splitting into half in her hands, and in her soaked nun's habit she yelled, "Is that f--king fast enough?" Mitchum laughed so hard he nearly drowned.

 Julie Andrews

(OCTOBER 1 1935 - )

“ Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth." 

The only thing, in my opinion, that Julie Andrews hasn't been yet is Queen of England (and if you ask me, she should - after all, she's already a Dame!). Jools is Maria Van Trapp, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Eliza Doolittle, and the Queen of Genovia. It could probably be statistically proven that most people's childhoods are spent much of the time with Julie Andrews.

Jools is quite honestly the sweetheart to end all sweethearts - "I'm so sweet sometimes even I can't stand it!" - but what I love about her is the less wholesome side of her. Let's it face it, no matter what she does Julie will never be able to shed her General Foods image, because to us she will always most prominently be Maria twirling on the hill or Mary Poppins powdering her face with chimney ashes. 'Wholesome' will forever be the word associated with her, used most often to describe her, and the word she hates most (she's been quoted as saying so).

But there is definitely a side to her that's a little less sweet and a bit more, I guess you could put it, raunchy and that's one of the main reasons I love her. I didn't discover that not-so-lily-white side to her until I became a true fan of her within the last few months, and once I learned about this I couldn't get over how fabulous she is. It's that part of Jools that swears like a sailor, appeared topless in S.O.B. (1981), and as a cross dresser - "a woman, pretending to be man, pretending to be a woman?" - in Victor/Victoria (1982).

(Please, if you will, pardon the swearing that appears here :D) Once, when she appeared on Jay Leno's show, he told her that her best friend, Carol Burnett, had once told him that she could "outcuss anybody." Julie's reactions to that were of shock. She dropped her jaw and turned to the audience, "Me? Me?" "I couldn't believe it!" Leno told her. Julie, shaking her head said, "That bitch!" Best are some of the bloopers from The Julie Andrews Hour. Trying to close on episode, she encouraged viewers to tune in next week, but after flubbing up fell down the wrong path. Tilting her head to the side, she said, "Tune in, you silly bastards, we're not getting good enough ratings." In another clip, one of her co-stars swears loudly after messing up a scene, and Julie says with fake innocence, "I never heard that word before." Still, she hasn't shed her image completely - she once said on a talk show, "I thought it would be fun if I really, really wanted to change my image, I would take the centerfold of Playboy, but do it with the hat, the umbrella, and the carpet bag of Mary Poppins - and period!"

And all the while, she's still the star of the two most family friendly films of all time, the author of several children's books (which, by the way, came as a result of her breaking a bet with her stepdaughter that she could go without swearing), and one of the most beautiful singers of all time. Her late husband, Blake Edwards once said, "As long as we've been married, I've never really found anything I didn't like about her." And I feel the same.

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So many, many birthday wishes to these three fabulous, favorite ladies of mine. As for that little note about the SMR I mentioned:

You might have noticed that I have been unable to keep up with my biweekly Sunday Movie Review schedule. At the moment, I feel like I'm too busy with schoolwork to really maintain regular features on here, you know? So, as of right now, I'm putting the Sunday Movie Review on the backburner - I will still be doing movie reviews (hopefully still on Sundays to keep some kind of consistency around here, but not necessarily), only there will not be fixed dates for when I put them up. Which means the appearance of reviews on this blog will be a little more erratic, but I do promise to keep on writing them. Hopefully, in the near future I'll be less occupied with real life and will be able to return the SMR to it's usual format, but for the time being, I think that's best. It allows for a greater variety of posts (so not every other article in the stream is a review), as well as when I do do reviews they will be (hopefully) better written and longer. And, I won't feel so guilty about missing SMRs! So the SMR isn't gone - it's only on a kind of a semi hiatus.

That being said, I also promise to be post more frequently. I already have some posts drafted up, so never fret: I'll be spamming your dashboard soon enough again! Also, don't forget to to sign up for the Letter to the Stars blogathon I'm cohosting with Marcella & Nat; you can do so here. 

And lastly - 

A Tribute to Deborah Kerr

"She has made forty-four movies. Light romances and dark ones. Epic adventures and costume dramas. Comedies and even one of our most beloved musicals. She played nuns and nannies. Nice ladies and occasionally ladies that weren't so very nice - but always a lady... In a singular way, she combined warmth with elegance, passion with patience, common sense with uncommon wit, great strength with even greater vulnerability."

- Glenn Close speaking of Deborah Kerr at the 66th Annual Academy Awards

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{my GIF}

I think that quote from Glenn Close pretty much sums up the cinematic career of Deborah Kerr. I don't think there was a type of movie that Deborah didn't try her hand at. 


So it's strange that, before I became such an aggressive viewer of her pictures, I always thought that Deborah Kerr played delicate English ladies who never said a word out of place or ever stepped a toe over the line. Ladies that were prim and perfect. It wasn't that there is anything wrong with this type of a character; and, in fact, it happens to be just the type of character I myself would enjoy. But for a long time I had been keep myself deprived of the marvelous array of other roles Deborah played. 


Glenn Close was right in saying that she was "always a lady", despite the most well, dangerous, of roles she tackled. Tea and Sympathy (1956), for example, in which she plays an American wife with much lying under the surface who feels compelled to give one of her husband's pupils more than a little tea and sympathy. Or The Proud and the Profane, of the same year, where she must pull herself together and keep her dignity despite the scandal she suffers with William Holden. And in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), a nun who begins to feel burgeoning attraction for Robert Mitchum when the two are stranded on an island together whilst World War II rages!


Can you imagine playing those roles in the 50's? Whenever I read the plots for these movies and then go into watching them, I can't help but wonder how on Earth Deborah is going to play these characters and 'get away with them.' But, oh, if you were to see her in these roles you would understand why the Hays Code Office could not make an objection. These characters, no matter what they do, or at least, where their thoughts may stray, were always ladies because Deborah played them in that way. And, I think, because she transformed these characters into ladies is why they were sympathized with and accepted and beloved by audiences in the 50's.


All of the above is an attest to how good of an actress she was. I don't think there was a role or a performance which she was afraid of. I don't really think there was a role that she could not play.


If anyone has been keeping up with the list of films I've been seeing this year, you might have realized that Deborah Kerr is the actress I have seen the most of. So far I have seen eight of her movies and not once have I been disappointed. I feel as if I've been missing out on a lot. It wasn't like I didn't like Deborah; I certainly did, and I enjoyed her in movies like An Affair to Remember (1957), which is one of my favorites, and The King and I  (1956). But I don't think I really got to know her as an actress until these past few months.


Behind this marvelous actress is a lady, a person, who I hold in equal standard to that of the actress. It's a travesty that there is not a in print, decent biography about her. The moment one is written I can't wait to get my hands on it. There are so many interesting stories I've read about Deborah. Like, how, on the set of Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1956), her co-star Robert Mitchum expected her to be dull and delicate. Then she cursed out John Houston after one of the takes went awry, and Mitchum nearly drowned himself laughing!


And then there is the diary she kept while filming The Night of the Iguana (1964), with Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, & Sue Lyon. Here are some of my favorite passages from the 'Days and Nights of the Iguana' by Deborah:

OCTOBER 30: A really unbelievably lovely morning. I enjoy this breath of air each morning before work and again at the end of the day – it’s a godsend. I think the reason I get so tired working in a studio is the total lack of fresh air. Lunch wasn’t called until one-forty-five, so we were all very hungry. Elizabeth adn Richard had brought hamburgers (flown from somewhere exotic and healthy) complete with cheese, onions, and tomatoes and they asked Peter and me to join them. The hamburgers were delicious. Elizabeth also had a huge jar of Boston baked beans, which we delved into as if we had never eaten beans before in our lives. After a constant diet of fish and guacamole they tasted wonderful. We rehearsed a long and complicate shot after lunch, but we weren’t able to get it in the can, so it will be the first shot in the morning. I was glad to be through. Ava and I will meet at the beach at seven in the morning – her call is the same as mine so we can whizz out together in her speedboat. Elizabeth and Richard gave us a ride home in their boat which is christened Taffy. She is such a generous, sweet woman, friendly and warm and impulsive, and the Welshman kept us all laughing all the way back to Puerto Vallarta.

Perhaps this bit, too, about Ava Gardner & eating raw fish in Mr. Allison -

NOVEMBER 1: Met Ava at ten-to-seven at the beach. She was going to water-ski over to work, but by the time the boats were all organized it was a little late and she decided not to. But she swam out to the speedboat nevertheless. She has the strength of an ox, that girl! We sped across, the sky quite marvelous, with the moon still vivid on the horizon to the west and the sun rising in the east, and the water like flat syrup. It was a long day – Richard and I didn’t finish till six o’clock, which is later than we usually work here. but we must have done about four pages. We had some long waits for difficult setups, and Ava and I filled in the time rehearsing the long scene in the kitchen we have together. It-s a difficult one for her – masses of “black stuff” – and I have to decapitate and clean fish! Always seem to have  something strange to do with fish when I work with John. InAllison, Sister Angela has to eat raw fish – it’s all there was. I remember that the prop man had anchovies for me to eat, but John said it didn’t look like real raw fish – and in any case after a few 2takes” I was dying of thirst. So I ate raw fish. At least I got the expression of controlled disgust correctly.

The whole diary, actually, is just exciting to read, especially if you've seen the movie. Deborah's opinions on everyone & everything, most often favorable of her colleagues, which I'm happy to read as I love Elizabeth & Ava. 'The Welshman', or Richard Burton, on the other hand, I have a different taste for but Deborah seemed to like him too. ;) 


Deborah also shared stories about other movies she made, like this one about An Affair to Remember (1956):

Don’t ever kiss Cary Grant. He tickles! During many of poignant love scenes in An Affair To Remember I had a terrible time keeping a straight face. Cary was supposed to hold me tenderly but each time he put his strong arms around me, he would give me a little tickle under the ribs. This would start me giggling like a school girl, but Cary kept it up until I was almost exhausted. We were the despair of the director and the cameraman. 

Each time I’d screw up my face and take a deep breath because that would prevent me from laughing. Somehow we managed to get through all but the final love scene. Director Leo McCarey said, “Now in this one, Deborah, I want you to show all the tenderness you feel for this man. Okay,” he said to the crew, “roll ‘em”. I held my breath, but I could feel Cary put his arms around me tighter and then, in pure mischief, he started to slide his hand toward my ribs. Very slowly. I knew the tickle was coming. But when! It was a torture! But I held on so hard, that the tears came to my eyes. Finally, the director said, “Cut!” then he turned to me and said, “Deborah, that was wonderful.”
But I was so exasperated with my leading man that I didn’t realize I had just been paid a compliment. Instead, in a high shrill voice I said: “For heavens sakes, Cary, will you tickle me and get it over with?”

Plus there is that adorable face of Deborah's. Look at this expression from Mr. Allison:

[via]

Now, how is that not adorable? tell me??!!!

This post is getting kind of long, so I guess I'll wrap it up now. What you read was basically a rambling but still extremely affectionate tribute to Deborah Kerr, the utterly amazing actress robbed of a proper Oscar, a flawless human being & one of my favorite stars easily. 

PS: Have any of you readers heard of something called the No Bull Challenge? It's a project encouraging teens to help combat cyber-bullying by making short videos about the topic. My friend entered one, and maybe if you have a second, you could check it out & give it a vote; or check out the other videos and vote for which one you like best! Though having never been cyber-bullied, being a blogger, it's still an issue I feel close to and I think we can all help stop this aggressive form of bullying, even in small ways. :) 

Sunday Movie Review: "Beloved Infidel" (1959)

I watched so many movies lately: good ones, bad ones, interesting ones! But for today's review I have chosen Beloved Infidel (1959), with the ever so lovely Deborah Kerr and Gregory Peck, both of whom are intense objects of my affection. :)

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BELOVED INFIDEL (1959): Cast, plot details 
In 1936, the witty columnist Sheilah Graham leaves her noble British fiancé and travels in the Queen Mary from Southampton, England, to New York. She seeks out the editor of the North American Newspaper Alliance, John Wheeler, offering her services but he sends her to the Daily Mirror. Sheilah becomes successful and John offers a job in Hollywood to write a gossip column about the stars. When Sheilah meets the decadent writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, they immediately fall in love. Sheilah discovers that Scott accepts any job to financially support his wife Zelda that is in asylum, and his daughter at a boarding school. She opens her heart to him and tells the truth about her origins; but their relationship is affected by his drinking problem. [from IMdb]

• Deborah Kerr as Sheilah Graham
• Gregory Peck as F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Eddie Albert as Bob Carter
• Philip Ober as John Wheeler

THE VERDICT: ★★★★ 

This is an emotional roller coaster of a film in which Kerr & Peck combine their talents which results in natural, human performances and an entertaining film. Give it a watch.

This movie was based on a book of the same title written by Sheilah Graham detailing her relationship with the Jazz Age's greatest author, F.Scott Fitzgerald. Before watching this, I had no clue that Sheilah & Scott had had an affair; I had always just thought of Scott & his wife Zelda, to be honest. Now I remember reading in one of the Lucy biographies I own a short passage about how Fitzgerald, who lived in the same building as Lucy, and Sheilah, used to spy on Lucy & Desi when they came back from weekends they had in Palm Springs and make bets on who would win. (This was before they were married, and their escape to Palm Springs would be filled with romantic declarations, but when they came back on Sunday night they were usually fighting over something). I don't know how I missed that when I read the book, but it didn't really register with me that Graham & Fitzgerald had had an affair.

Deborah Kerr & Gregory Peck have wonderful chemistry together. And though both of their roles deal with demons that seem to destroy them at times - for Sheilah, her muddled background as "Lily Sheel" which is far less blue blooded than she makes it out to be, and for Scott, he is forced to come to terms with his alcohol abuse & the fact that his books don't sell as much as they once did - Deborah & Gregory did a wonderful job of making the roles they portrayed likable. 

And I shouldn't even LIKE Sheilah Graham because of some of the mean things she said about Lucy, but you couldn't help but sympathize with her in this movie. There are points where the intensity of her relationship with Scott just get simply violent and scary because of his alcoholism. And Deborah played her so well, you can understand her conflicting pain: she loves Scott so much but he's dangerous, he's violent, and he's completely someone else when he drinks.

The same goes for Gregory Peck.When Scott got he drunk, he did stupid & embarrassing things. And as I stated before, violent things. But Gregory did a wonderful job of distinguishing the fine line between the two different facts of Scott: one that was the glorious free thinker that brought us some of the greatest novels, and the other that was tormented by this terrible alcoholism. You hated one side of him, the alcoholic side, but the other side was so wonderful you couldn't help feel sorry for - and sympathize, even with - the other side.

Though it's not a perfect movie, Deborah & Gregory's performances make it really worth while. Not to mention it's entirely exciting, heartbreaking, and human too. If you like movies like this, movies about people & romances that aren't perfect, I really suggest you watch it.

PHOTOS & TRIVIA

• In the studio preview scene, Sheilah & Scott are watching That Night in Rio.

A MOVIE TIDBIT

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Hope everyone has a nice week & thank you for 70 + followers! :)

PS: As you noticed, I've slightly changed the interface for the SMR. I think it's cleaner and more visually appealing. Comments?

Valentine's Day Movie Meme

So many surveys around the blogosphere lately! As you probably know, I put one of my own out last week, and one of my favorite bloggers, Meredith of Forever Classics, is doing one too in honor of Valentine's Day! I'm a romantic at heart so this will be a lot of fun to answer.

Valentine's Day Movie Meme ♥

1. What is your favorite romantic comedy?

It's hard for me to pick just one! A lot of classic films to me are romantic comedies. And of course, there are a lot of new romantic comedies, and though I have seen my share of them they're more entertaining then something I would feel sentimental about. So I don't think I can pick just one :/ But some towards the top of the list would have to be The Philadelphia Story (1940), It Happened One Night (1934), all the Audrey Hepburns - Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), all the Doris Day/ Rock Hudson, like Pillow Talk (1959)... do His Girl Friday (1940) and Bringing up Baby (1938) count??? Several of the Fred and Gingers, too. Oh, and if you're interested in a more modern romantic comedy I like, I did enjoy While You Were Sleeping (1995) - Sandra Bullock is a modern actress I must admit I do like, at least a little. ;) There's my very very complicated answer for you.

2. What is your favorite romantic drama?

These questions are so mean!! -;) If I'm to pick one, I'll likely go with An Affair to Remember (1957). This one makes me tear up everytime. Cary and Deborah are just so perfect. <3 But there are plenty of others I like too. Now, Voyager (1942),  Casablanca (1942), Random Harvest (1941), Woman of the Year (1942), This Property is Condemned (1966), West Side Story (1961) - just to mention a few. Old movies are so romantic! But I would probably have to choose Affair as my favorite.

3. Worst romance film you've seen?

I don't know if this really counts, but I've got to go with Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter (1992), a TERRIBLE, tacky, awful, TV movie about Lucy and Desi's marriage, covering their meeting and marriage in 1940 up to the start of I Love Lucy in 1951. {Thank goodness it ended there and did not cover Lucy and the divorce, I'm picturing what this would have been like and am dying a little inside} Frances Fisher plays Lucy very unconvincingly. If she holds her head really still and stares profoundly into space, she does resemble Lucy a tiny bit, but I'm just going to be blunt and say she wasn't beautiful enough to play Lucy. Plus she had all these wrinkles and craw's feet on her face, she just looked way too old. Then some nonsense soap opera actor named Maurice Bernard or something like that played Desi, and he was even WORSE. He had the most terrible Cuban "accent" I've heard in my life, and an annoying habit of saying "Joo" instead of "you" {My friend and I have a joke about this, "Joo want to marry me?"}. This movie takes Lucy and Desi's love story and tears it apart and turns it into a parody. This is by far the worst movie on Lucy I've ever seen. It's on the Tube that was you, but I would say to avoid it like the plague. Lucie called it tabloid fodder and countered it with the amazing documentary about her parents that included their home movies. Thank God for Lucie Arnaz.

One critic said something like, "If joo gonna do something this tacky, at least make it funny!"

4. How do you feel about the majority of romantic films being labeled "chick flicks"?

My understanding about this question is, what's my opinion on romance films being labeled as a fluffy genre for females to weep over? I could be wrong, that's the way I interpreted it, however, and that's the way I'm going to answer it, lol. Anyways, to that note, I'm not sure how I feel about it exactly. I guess females do lean to romantic films more than men do, but to that, there's no reason why guys shouldn't be able to enjoy or get teary over romantic films the way girls do. It shouldn't make them any less 'manly'. Also, a majority of romantic films {especially, you know, the classic ones ;D} are excellent movies that shouldn't be labeled as fluffy, and "chick flick" usually suggests "fluffy" or "mindless". So maybe "chick flick" isn't a nice term after all.

5. Favorite on-screen couple?

Another mean question! Lol. I can't just pick one pair. {I'm sorry that I have no ability to be decisive!} I'm really not sure. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, certainly, though you know that I feel that "Gone With the Wind" isn't a great love story. Ronald Colman and Greer Garson's characters were adorable together in Random Harvest (1941), and so were the Bette Davis and Paul Henried couple in Now, Voyager (1941). I also have to give a nod to Nick and Nora and the Minivers - both of which had perfect marriages! Also, David and Susan in Bringing up Baby (1938), just because that movie is perfection. And Alicia and Delvin in Notorious (1946), because Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant are perfect together and they should have gotten married and had a bunch of gorgeous children together - you know, like, Isabella Grant. {CRUEL QUESTIONS.}

One day I'm just going to have to do one whole post on the two of them and, you know, let all the feelings out ;-)

6. Favorite off-screen couple?

Like you guys are really there scratching your heads, wondering what my answer could possibly be to this, and like I'm sitting here on my side of the computer screen contemplating hard between oh, Bogie and Betty and Carole and Clark and Kate and Spence and - LUCY AND DESI. There's probably no need to get into this because everybody knows how I feel about the two of then, but I'll get into it anyway! Yes, Lucy is my favorite actress, but it's not like I assume by default that Desilu is my favorite. If there is one question on this list I'm decisive about, it's them. I know as well, and likely much much more, as the next person that their marriage was riddled with problems. And that it ended in divorce. But their love for each other inside, despite everything else, was so strong, and that's how they managed to stay together for 20 years. And that love never died, despite the divorce. I mean, Lucy called Desi two days before his death and told him she loved him. It would have been their forty-sixth wedding anniversary. If that doesn't kill your heart, what does??? Plus - lest we forget - this is the union that forged I Love Lucy!

7. Best kiss in a movie?

This may sound prudish, but the kisses in classic films are so much more romantic. I don't care that they were limited to 3 seconds, they were always more meaningful than the kisses in today's movies, despite the fact that today they can go on forever - and usually do! I'll probably go with the famous scene from Notorious (1946). Ingrid and Cary's little kisses while they chatted about the chicken in her icebox was Hitchcock's way around the Hays Code rule, which might just contradict what I said, but Cary and Ingrid are perfect so I don't really care :)

8. Favorite romantic scene?

asdfghjkl This is hard ;) I guess my response to the latter question could qualify as a romantic scene, since it's really a string of kisses and dialogue that lasted for a few minutes. Maybe the the phone scene from It's a Wonderful Life (1946)? Though several scenes from An Affair to Remember (1957) are tugging at me...

9. Who are two film characters you wished had gotten together, but never did?

I thought that Greer Garson's character and Robert Taylor's character in When Ladies Meet (1940) would have been a good pair but they never did get together. But I guess in reference to something better known, I'll opt for Scarlett and Rhett in Gone With the Wind (1939). Yes, I know they SPOILER did get married in the movie, but if you check out the link above to the post about GWTW not being a love story, you'll understand my reasoning behind that. Besides, Rhett did leave Scarlett in the end of the movie. Bonnie Butler was dead. Melanie Hamilton was dead. All Scarlett had left was Tara and wimpy Ashley. So in my opinion, Rhett and Scarlett never truly "got together" in ultimate joy and happiness. And besides, Real Gone With the Wind never came out, so we'll never know if Rhett ever did give a damn about Scarlett again!

10. Two actors you think would have great chemistry, but never done a film together?

Easy. Cary Grant and Greer Garson. These two would have been a match made in heaven, don't you think??? But all they did together was an OTR broadcast of Bedtime Story. This breaks my heart. WHY? Why did it never happen? Them both being British - and Greer being the top box office draw during WII - I mean, seriously? I weep. Buckets and buckets of tears.

11. Favorite romantic song in a film?

I don't know if it's my all time favorite, but it definitely one I like and it's the first song that popped into my head when I heard this question. 

I guess the lyrics aren't obviously romantic - I mean, they could mean a lot of things -but considering what's happening while they sing it, I think it qualifies!

12. Best score from a romance film?

The theme from Now, Voyager (1942). I think it's called, "It Can't Be Wrong". It was used in Mildred Pierce (1945) too, which makes me giggle - a score from Bette's movie used again in a Joan Crawford film! But this music is so beautiful it should be used in every movie, lol. So gorgeous!

13. Most romantic film quote?

"Oh, it's nobody's fault but my own! I was looking up... it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there..." said by Deborah Kerr's Terry McKay in An Affair to Remember (1957). There are a lot of romantic quotes, though. This is the first one I thought of. I just love this movie though! ♥

14. A film you'd recommend to watch on Valentine's Day?

Well, you'd probably watch a romantic film on Valentine's Day. I can't pick just one perfect romantic movie! There are SO many! But if I am to suggest just one, I'll follow up on the latter question and go with An Affair to Remember (1957). 

I know I already answered one of the questions with this movie, but I just love it so much! Deborah and Cary are just asdfghjkl. I need to talk about Deborah more. I LOVE HER {this reminds me, you see}

***

Well yeah, that's it! Thank you, Meredith, I had a lot of fun with this meme. It's not Valentine's Day yet, but I'll say it anyway: Happy Valentine's Day, readers! 

Vintage Vocabulary, Darling!

Hi everyone,

Before I begin today's topic (one that proves to be interesting, I hope) quick birthday wishes to three big Classic Hollywood stars: Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and Montgomery Clift! In honor of the two girls, I added "Only Angels Have Wings" into my Netflix queue so you should anticipate a review for that... in the near future. ;) As for Monty, I've been wanting to see "A Place in the Sun" for a REALLY long time, but it's on a "short wait" at Netflix, so I guess I'll just have to wait.. longer... :( [Anyway- look for pictures of them throughout this post! :D]

Something I have noticed in classic films is though the way they speak is pretty much the same way we talk today, a lot of the "slang words" are different which obviously makes sense... I mean, the staples of the English language will forever stay consistent (I hope), but slang words change as trends change and as particular generations get older and new ones begin. (Like in my circle of teenage friends I don't find someone going, "Hey, that's groovy!" all that often, if you know what I mean. :D)

Having watched classic films for quite a while (and yeah, being obsessed with it helps too) I have picked up on my "vintage vocabulary" so much that it often filters into my everyday speak. I love vintage slang, especially from the 30's and 40's, because some of it is just so adorable! And considering a lot of words are dead these days, so to speak, it's even fun to say them to get a reaction out of people.

Here's the list of "vintage vocabulary" I came up with. If you can think of any I haven't included don't forget to leave me a comment with the word (and it's definition, just in case I haven't heard it) so I can add it in.

I present to you, a list of Vintage Vocabulary... (I tried to come up with the best Classic Hollywood related sentences I could; others seemed like lines out a film noir for me and I tried to express that but I think I failed most of the time...)

• darling - [noun]; Used as an affectionate form of address to a beloved person. "Tallulah Bankhead called everyone 'darling'. Except she says it 'dahhling', you know."
• dame - [noun]; An attractive woman. "Walter didn't plan on everything landing up this way, but Phyllis was a dame he could not resist."
• heel - [noun]; a contemptibly dishonorable or irresponsible person. "Everyone thought that Gregory Peck was a total heel in 'Duel in the Sun'."

LOVE this photo - Gregory and Deborah on the beach!

• gay - [adjective]; having or showing a merry, lively mood. "Then Cary Grant was wearing this frilly negligee and he jumped up and shouted at the woman, 'I went gay all of a sudden'!"
• swell - [adjective]; excellent; first-class. "Gee I like to see you looking swell, baby! Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby..."
• golly - [informal adjective]; used as a mild exclamation expressing surprise, wonder,puzzlement, pleasure, or the like. "Good golly, Miss Molly!"

Hedy dining with the birthday girl, Rita

• gee whiz - [informal adjective]; arousing or characterized by surprise, wonder, or triumphant achievement. "Gee whiz, that Lucy is funny."
• square - [noun]; old-fashioned in views, customs, appearance, etc. "Ava Gardner was certainly never a square."
• scram - [verb]; to go away; get out. "Scram, kid, this ain't the place for you," snarled Bogie.

The other birthday girl, the lovely Jean Arthur 

• broad - [noun]; an offensive term for a woman or a girl. "I thought Glenn Ford had a lot to put up with in that movie; Gilda was a real broad."
• babydoll - [noun]; Used as an affectionate form of address to a pretty person. " 'Come with me, babydoll,' Cagney told the flapper."
• slay - [verb];  To amuse somebody very much. "Groucho's sense of humor just slays me!" This was suggested by Martin.

The birthday boy, Monty, and friend Liz out for dinner. 

THE FOLLOWING ARE PHRASES.

• "Get a load of Bette Davis in this picture!"
• "Ricky blew a fuse when he saw what Lucy had done."
• "Frank Sinatra wanted to bust the chops of the reporter who took his picture." 

I couldn't do one of these photo things without a picture of Lucy! <3
I love this one, she's being a real "darling" in it, paining the nails of her stand in! And so carefully, too!

That was all the "vintage vocabulary" I could think of. By the way, I don't mean that these phrases or words aren't used today at all (though some are kind of extinct, like "heel"), just not as commonly, or in different contexts (with "gay", for example). If you can think of any others, drop me a comment and I'll add it in (with all due credit, of course)!

UPDATE: Friend and fellow blogger Natalie (In the Mood) composed her own list of vintage vocabulary as an addition to this post. She came up with some great ones that I missed, so be sure and check it out!! :)