Biopics and other disasters

Don't worry, I like you all too much to spend this entire post discussing Liz & Dick (especially as this a post I'm writing to derive my blog from a nearly month long oblivion), but I can't tell a lie. I tuned in to watch the "film", and it not only lived up to my expectations of how horrendous it would be,  it surpassed them. 

I think the main reason for the producers casting Lindsay (Insert Explicative Here) Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor - which, when you really think about it, is so ridiculous it makes you want to hit your head against the wall, but then so do many things about Liz & Dick - was for the attention it would garner. It's a pretty easy hook and sinker premise: Lohan, whose name has become sympathetic with the expression "hot mess", to make her "comeback" role as one of the greatest of Hollywood legends in a Lifetime TV movie none the less. It's not that there was ever a doubt in anyone's mind that Lindsay would not screw herself over, but the sheer possibility of a so-bad-it's-good conceivability drew everyone to their television sets while Lifetime plastered side by side photos of Lindsay (in full Taylor drag, violet contacts 'n' all) and Elizabeth on their website to prove their point.

Whatever acting potential Lindsay showed in Mean Girls (and okay, fine, The Parent Trap) totally flies out the window with this, but is that a surprise to anybody? I haven't seen anything she's made since Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, but it appears that her acting rage hasn't widened at all since then (several times whilst watching her play Elizabeth I felt a case of deja vou coming on). One of my Tumblr friends put it best when she said "Lindsay's acting when she was ten < Lindsay's acting now." But like I said, this shouldn't be of news to even the folks at the Lifetime channel, because whatever dormant acting qualities Lindsay may have had at one point (and I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt here), was murdered by her recent years of self abuse. 

Lindsay was a cute kid and a pretty teenager, but her downfall in the past years are presently painful in her appearance - her face, the random marks on her body - in addition to the Botox I'm certain we all know she's had. To be quite frank, Lindsay pretty much bears no resemblance at all to Elizabeth; even when done up in Elizabeth's makeup she looks like she's playing dress up. Lindsay is now at a point where she is just so out of the league to play E-l-i-z-a-b-e-t-h T-a-y-l-o-r, who so many people (me included) consider to be one of the most beautiful women of all time.

All of the above, and never mind that the ink is barely dry on Elizabeth's death certificate - she only passed away about a year and a half ago, and it was only two months following her March 2011 death that Lifetime announced their plans for this movie. (I could be wrong, but hasn't Lindsay been in jail at least two or three times since then?!) One may argue that Lindsay, who has had more than her fair share of paparazzi and invasion of privacy, would be in the perfect boat to play Elizabeth, who lived all her life in the public eye. After all, shouldn't Lindsay of all people be empathic with the camera's flash and glare? And Lohan's own personal battles, some would insist, are not much different than some that Taylor faced - Elizabeth was, after all, checked into the Betty Ford rehab for a period of time for her alcoholism. 

While those may be true, Lindsay is missing a few major factors that make her pretty much the worst candidate to play Elizabeth. Elizabeth had her struggles, but she lived life with a passion that helped her overcome her obstacles to an extent which, unfortunately, it seems Lindsay will never be able to achieve. She was a diva no doubt, but no where near the bitch the Lifetime movie makes her out to be at times. Elizabeth Taylor was a "drama queen", but also an incredibly warm and passionate woman, a loving mother remembered fondly by her children and a spectacular activist for HIV/AIDS. Plus, Lindsay lacks ever bit of the finess and elegance that Elizabeth eluded all her life; which gave her that special glint in her violet eyes that made her seem likable even at the most terrible times, or down to earth even when she sported the Taylor-Burton diamond on her finger.

And finally -

But if Lindsay couldn't be relied on to make this "biopic" enough of a hot mess, you would have to give the second place Razzie to the teleplay's "script." It was non stop cringeworthy lines, dialogue that I know my ten year old cousin could have written better, laced together with jumpy editing and music that made you feel like you were watching an episode of The Babysitters Club from the 90's. I found it increasingly creepy that in all the lovemaking scenes, "Richard" recites Shakespeare to "Elizabeth" ("More, more!" Lindsay insists, trying to be seductive, "I want more."). At one point, she suggests they go out to the pool. "No," he says. "I've got a whole ocean in you." Among other fantastic quips, we see a sign intended for Elizabeth: "Slut on a Hot Tin Roof", a newspaper headline that reads "Cleo-fat-tra", and Richard referring to Elizabeth as "Miss Pudgy Digits." When she breaks into tears, he takes her in his arms and says, "It's okay, I'd love you even if you were as fat as a hippo." (Because nothing rings more Shakespearean than that.) Sobbing, she looks up at him. "I need a ring. A big ring!"(So to put it bluntly, this movie was basically sold - and pretty well - on the pretext of how scorching of a hot mess it could truly be; starting with that goddamn obnoxious title.) 

Perhaps the strangest part is the sequences that seem to take place in a out of body, post-mortem world: Elizabeth & Richard with cigarettes, sitting on chairs which appear to have been placed on an empty, black stage, reflecting back on their marriages much as reality TV stars do in between clips on their shows. The fact that it's not clear whether this is supposed to be Elizabeth and Richard in 1964 or 2012 or in Heaven is legitimately strange enough to really make one question their decision of watching the movie.

Lohan is only twenty-six, but the movie starts when Elizabeth is twenty-nine, and progresses onwards. In reality, Elizabeth, like many women do as they age, began to gain weight. The film makes constant references to this, which I guess would be okay if Lohan actually appeared chubby - but she didn't put on any weight, or nonetheless padding, at all. There are actually a few unbearable clips of Lohan trying to reenact Elizabeth's Academy Award winning performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (the role in which Taylor actually gained thirty pounds for), where she is just so obviously skinny in contrast to what Elizabeth genuinely looked like at the time. I think they would have been much better off had they just avoided the subject of Elizabeth's weight entirely, but then again, the writers would have lost out on getting to use romantic terms like "Miss Pudgy Fingers."

Maybe the ultimate highlight of the movie is the end, where Elizabeth's mother tells Lindsay (who is now supposed to be portraying Elizabeth at the age of 53 - wrinkle free and skunk inspired 80s wig intact) that Richard is dead. Lindsay falls straight to the floor, in a "faint" that draws hilarity that should not have existed in such a scene. (Hell, it shouldn't have existed throughout the whole movie, but this scene especially.)

I had never heard of the actor who plays Richard Burton; his name is Grant Bowler and apparently he's done work on the television show True Blood. He actually wasn't that bad, and in comparison to Lindsay, could win an Emmy. (...But my favorite cast member was probably the appearance of Mr. Sheffield from The Nanny; I kept crossing my fingers for Fran Fine to come out and steal the show...) He makes a half decent attempt at Burton's Welsh dialect, whereas Lindsay Lohan doesn't even take a stab at Elizabeth's famous, famous voice. Basically, the best way to put it is when you watch Liz & Dick, you get Lindsay Lohan playing... Lindsay Lohan, in Dina Lohan's 60s castoffs.

The best part of the movie was probably the opening credits, which leads me to believe that the most convincing Lindsay Lohan could ever be as Elizabeth Taylor would be in a Vanity Fair photo shoot, with the advantages of Photoshopping and her mouth shut!

I was over the moon to discover that this movie's executive producer is Larry Thompson, the same genius who created the masterpiece (intended sarcasm) that is Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter. Which means he is the same man that is responsible for this: 

Similar to Thompson's latest conquest, Lucy & Desi was made just two years after Lucy passed, and takes a tabloid fodder view of their relationship, filled to the brim with cheap lines ("What's so exclusive about sleeping with YOU?!") and excruciating scenes. Lucie Arnaz was so disturbed by it that she nearly threatened to sue. So it seems apparent that Thompson makes his living off waiting for Hollywood legends to die, and going straight into production of the the only "movies" he seems to know how to make.

... In general, I haven't had very good experiences with biopics, but there are definitely examples of how they can be done right. Just as recently, I saw The Aviator (2004). It's a nearly three hour long tribute to the life of Howard Hughes, the brilliant but disturbed aviator & director, directed by Martion Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes, Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn (Hughes's onetime girlfriend), and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner (another female companion of Hughes's.) Big budget, starring some of today's best actors, and directed by Scorcese (need I say more), I found The Aviator to be excellent.

I didn't have all that much interest in the life of Hughes, but what triggered my interest to watch was the Cate Blanchett portrayal of Kate (and also, Kate Beckinsale's Ava). Blanchett won an Oscar for the role, and it's easy to see why. She makes up for any lack of looking Kate with perfection of Kate's clipped New England tone and better yet, full understanding of Kate's legendary personality. The Aviator is actually my first Cate Blanchett movie, and she totally won me over with her performance as Kate. Playing Katharine Hepburn would probably be just about the most agonizing and painful roles to ever get correctly, and Cate came just as about as close to it as you ever could. Beckinsale was also good as Ava, but Cate stole the show - and also, needless to say, DiCaprio's performance as Hughes was also spectacular... it was just Cate that really stuck out for me.

That's how do you do a biopic. 

It's not that I'm not a fan of biopics. I'd be the first one to go out and buy a ticket for the biopic of Lucy & Desi, Elizabeth & Richard, or any other Old Hollywood star for that matter, so long it was done with the proper respect that these stars really deserve. (And hey, it wouldn't be so bad if you could get Scorcese to direct it and throw in some big name stars - that haven't been in jail or rehab in the past five years - too.) Or, perhaps, Hollywood could just let them all rest in peace.

So, that's what I've been up to lately. This is an admittedly lousy post because none of you actually needed a review of Liz & Dick, but I hadn't updated here in forever! (And I was feel kinda sentimental/missing Elizabeth, even though this movie tarnished Lindsay's reputation - even more - than it barely grazed Elizabeth's.) ...Anyways, anyone else want to give their two cents on Liz & Dick, biopics, or anything in general?

P.S.: I've missed you all!!

Sunday Movie Review: "Julia Misbehaves" (1948)

Hello folks!

Before I get started with the very first SMR of 2012 (since I skipped it last week on account of New Year's Day), I have two notes I'd like to quickly mention:

1. The page for my 250 films in 2012 meme is now up! I've replaced my "What's my Line? Wednesdays" widget for a button for this page, so just take a peek into the tab bar. I encourage you to go over and there take to see what I'm watching. So far I've seen three films this year. Here's to meeting my goal!
2. Film Classics is hosting a poll for the best article of 2012. It includes the four articles that won the four different contests held at Film Classics last year - two by Kevyn at The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World, one by Natalie, and one by me :) The poll closes the eighteenth of this month. So be sure and go and vote for your favorite article. And as usual, please read them all! :)

Okay, that's it. Now onto the review. It feels so long since I did a SMR that wasn't a Christmas movie, lol. :)

***

The poster: Greer lounging in a martini glass showing off her Garson gams... surrounded by bubbles... and the tagline "Greer Garson misbehaves - Walter Pidgeon loves it!" It's just the best poster I've seen in a while, is all.

The plot:

English dancehall actress Julia Packett hasn't seen her daughter since Susan was a few months old, having given her up to be raised by her respectable and wealthy father William (whom Julia never divorced.) When she gets an invitation to her daughter's wedding, she "borrows" some money from a male friend and heads off to the south of France for the nuptials. While there she manages to establish a mother-daughter relationship, get another man to provide her with a lot of money, provoke her mother-in-law's ire, string along a potential husband and his mother, and rekindle the spark in William, all within a day or two. [from IMdb]

The starring players:

• Greer Garson as Julia Packett
• Walter Pidgeon as William Packett
• Elizabeth Taylor as Susan Packett
• Peter Lawford as Ritchie Lorgan
• Cesar Romero as Fred Ghenoccio  

The verdict:

★★★★

You all may know that I have been wanting to see Julia Misbehaves (1948) for forever. Okay, actually, since early November - which is when my obsession with Greer began - but I'm really quite an impatient person. Anyway, this movie was really appealing to me because Greer and screwball comedy, well, honestly, how could you turn something like that down? And this has such a spectacular cast. Besides Greer, you've got Walter and Elizabeth (another one of my favorite actresses), Peter and Cesar... yeah, it's hard to not want to watch this movie. Plus I heard a lot of good things about it.

Well, it did not disappoint. Oh my gosh, I loved it! It definitely wasn't perfect and I do think that the plot was lacking in places. But considering that it's a screwball comedy I'm willing to set that aside. The very first reason to love this film, first and foremost, is Greer. Greer everything. <3

Oh my goodness, Julia Packett. Instantly one of my new favorite characters. From the first time we see her scrubbing away in her tub you just love her! And if that wasn't good enough, Greer SINGS AGAIN. Like she did in Random Harvest (1941)! Yes, I still think "My Bonny Daisy" tops all for me, but Julia's song about joining the navy is still pretty awesome in its own right. Literally, every time Greer sings I swoon a bit. I love her singing voice, I just love how when she pushes the notes a little too high her voice cracks a tiny bit, it's actually quite appealing to me (but then again, I'm a total Greer fangirl).

And then if that wasn't enough, Greer also does some of the following in this film:

• She wears a tablecloth like a boss and slow dances with Walter whilst doing so (in a cabin)
• Takes a bubble bath
• Flirts shamelessly with Cesar Romero
• Meets a suitor at a casino and cons him into buying $600 worth of clothes for her (actually, for Elizabeth Taylor)
• Has super sweet mother daughter moments with Elizabeth Taylor
• Slaps a sea lion (not on film, but she talks about it) and teaches us about the superstitions of wearing the color cyclamen pink. 
• Tries (but does not succeed) to fight against a disastrous rainstorm and lands up getting covered in mud

Yeah, this is not your typical Greer Garson film.

Which is one more reason to love it. So one pretty blatant reason itself is to watch this film because of Greer if for no other reason. 

Then there are the others in this film! Walter is his usual self, likable and Greer's perfect suitor, playing a rich Englishman (or was it French?) who albeit has an American accent, as Walter always does (or should I say Canadian if you want to be technical). Greer and Walter play a much more fun and exciting couple than they usually do. I mean, in all of their past pairings - the Minivers, the Curies, the Parkingtons - they played couples with perfect marriages (there actually is a line like that in The Miniver Story, Greer says something like, "We've had what most people have never experienced, a perfect marriage," or something like that). And we loved those perfect marriages because they were dependable. But it's also nice to see them in a change of pace as the fun Packetts. They made a perfect pair and you couldn't wait for them to get together again!

Elizabeth Taylor was crossing the bridge from child roles to adult ones and this film was one of those coming of age experiences for her. Her character is almost at times too naive, or childish, to be of marrying age but considering this was the 1940s it's believable enough. Anyway, I liked seeing her in this role and I just loved seeing her and Greer together. The two of them had some really sweet moments. She and Peter Lawford have wonderful moments in this, too. I did find it kind of weird when I found out later that Elizabeth was just sixteen when she did this, and Lawford twenty-five, and then, they kiss in this - which probably would be illegal... but hey, if you choose to ignore that they're a real sweet couple. 

The film has some wonderful, perfectly witty lines. Like: "Well I jolly well hauled off and slapped that old sea lion right in the snout!" and "I can't I'm in the nude -- well, get out of the nude!" There's even a moment in this in which Liz says, "He said my eyes looked like wet violets - isn't that ridiculous? Nobody's eyes look like wet violets," or something like that.

There are faults in this plot, but I still liked it. I don't want to say that you have to be a big fan of Greer to really enjoy this film, but it's true that if you are a big Greer fan you're likely to love this a lot. STILL. I encourage everyone to give this film a try, because it's really awesome. I mean, slapping sea lions and wearing tablecloths and Greer singing about the navy and discussing the superstitions of wearing cyclamen pink? And top it off with that cast?

The bottom line:

I really really liked this film. <3

Some photos GIFS:

[ALL GIFS VIA Bridie Quility]


Some trivia:

• Greer Garson met her third husband, Buddy Fogelson, during the filming of this movie via the introduction of Peter Lawford. They would be married until Fogelson's death. 
• Peter Lawford gave Elizabeth Taylor her first onscreen kiss in this film.

A movie tidbit:

Someone honestly needs to put this film on Youtube! I would... if I knew how... and had the time. :)

***

      Well, that's it for today! But I have one more question for my fellow bloggers, those that are more experienced than me in this blogging thing ;) Lately I've been getting quite a few annoying spam comments. These people use stupid template comments and then add a link to their website (usually some foreign website) somewhere in the comment. They always use different commenting handles. Despite word verification I keep getting this and I was wondering if anyone had a certain system or filter they use or whatever for avoiding these. I love getting comments so it's really annoying when I go to check out a comment and find some stupid advertisement for LED Glow Lights! (And I have, by the way). Anyway, thanks to all of you who comment for real. :) There will always be those other stupid trolls on the net, I suppose.

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!! :)

Scandal in Classic Hollywood

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I disappeared on Sunday for the Sunday Movie Review; in addition to not changing the header! It is, indeed, changed now -- this week's movie is "Mildred Pierce"; I had a busy weekend and was unable to watch a movie on Friday or Saturday night like I usually do, so therefore if I had managed to make it to my computer on Sunday to blog it would have been a review for something I had seen weeks before. Like "Mildred Pierce". Maybe. Anyway, the Sunday Movie Review will be back next Sunday.

I had a lot of fun at the Fashion in Film Blogathon on Saturday! Thank you everyone for the lovely compliments and it was a lot of fun to read everyone else's posts. Speaking of blogathons, The Darling Deborah Blogathon to celebrate Deborah Kerr's 90th birthday is coming up this Friday (hosted by Sophie over at Waitin on A Sunny Day); I also just joined Meredith (Forever Classics)'s Humphrey Bogart blogathon which will take place around Christmas.

So, and I think you all may have gotten the gist of it by now, that I love blogging about Classic Hollywood behind the scenes. Contrary to popular opinion, the innocent face of Classic Hollywood with all it's Hays Code limitations and three second kisses had some very riveting and spicy stories to tell beyond the soundstages.

Today, I just thought I'd blog about scandal in the good old day of days of Hollywood. Nothing new that you probably didn't know before; but just fun to go over the details again. ;) So, here's three scandals for you...

***

LANA TURNER AND THE MURDER
                                                   

A policeman inspects Johnny's body in Lana's LA home.

Lana had eight marriages and seven husbands, just like Elizabeth Taylor. Out of these unions, she had only one daughter - Cheryl, who's father was Lana's second husband, Stephen Crane.

In between husbands Lex Barker and Frederick May, thirty-seven year old Lana began an affair with "gangster" Johnny Stompanato. The affair at first was passionate and exciting for Lana, who was nearing the end of the climax of her career. But her romance made her feel young and desired again.

It was not long, however, before the relationship turned stormy and quite violent. Johnny was threatening and their fights were long and hard. Lana was away in England filming "Another Time, Another Place" in 1957 with Sean Connery. She wanted to break off the relationship with Johnny, but he wasn't about to let it happen. He followed her to England and showed up on the set of the movie, accusing Lana of having an affair with Sean and brandishing a gun to prove his point. In their defense, Sean punched Johnny once and managed to take away his gun. These actions resulted in Johnny's arrest by Scotland Yard.

Still, the relationship wasn't yet over. One Friday night in 1958, Lana was in her new Beverly Hills home with daughter Cheryl, who was fourteen at the time. Lana and Johnny began fighting over the phone and Lana invited Johnny over to resolve things in person. Come over he did.

Lana went up to Cheryl's bedroom, in which the fourteen year old was "working on a book report" for school. Telling her that Johnny was there and not to come down, she returned back to the ex-lover and the fighting began. It got louder and louder, more and more violent. Cheryl would remember Johnny threatening Lana that he'd kill Lana's mother and Cheryl. She also knew he was violent - though she had never seen Johnny actually hit Lana, she'd seen the marks and bruises. She also knew that her mother was trying desperately to end her relationship with Johnny but had asked Cheryl to please not tell anyone; not even her grandmother or father.

Eventually, Cheryl got nervous and decided to do something. She rushed downstairs and into the kitchen - opened a drawer and impulsively grabbed a long, kitchen knife. Clutching the knife, she ran to the closed door in which behind Lana and Johnny were fighting. She called inside to her mother, begging her to open the door - Lana told her not to, go away. Cheryl insisted. Finally, the door opened. It was Johnny - Cheryl was holding the knife pointing outwards, and Johnny walked straight into it. He fall back, saying,
"Oh my God, Cheryl, what have you done?" His eyes fluttered close.

Lana on the witness stand, the "performance of her life"

Lana tried in vain to bring Johnny back, giving him CPR while the ambulance and police came. But nothing worked. The fourteen year old Cheryl had killed the gangster.

Her daughter may land up in jail for the incident; as the news scandalized the country, Lana's team worked on convincing the court that Cheryl's act had been one of self defense.

On the day of her daughter's trial, Lana showed up on the witness stand in a gray suit and white gloves and hat; it was something out one of her movies, perhaps, except this was real. Giving what people would declare "the performance of her life," Lana broke down several times and was close to fainting by the end of the trial. Lana had to explain why she would stay with a man so abusive, something she herself did not understand, as she would say in her autobiography.

Lana was convincing enough. Cheryl's "murder" was declared an act of self defense. She was, however, sent to a reform school in which she would try to escape from in 1960 and was eventually released from a few years afterward. Sticking by her mother's side, she would later write several books about the incident (in their defense) and help her mother pen her autobiography.

As for Lana, she won her comeback in 1959's "Imitation of Life", and went on to marry three more times. None of them worked out, though.

As in every scandal, there was talk of conspiracy. Some claimed that Lana herself had murdered Johnny and was putting the blame on Cheryl as she was a juvenile and the consequences would be more lenient. But I wouldn't like to think so, and I'm sure Lana Turner fans wouldn't, either. How about you?


ST. INGRID REBELS

Rossellini, Ingrid, and Lindstrom in a ironic shot taken before
the affair came to light.

When producer David O. Selznick brought Ingrid Bergman to Hollywood in the late 1930's, he wanted to cap her teeth, pluck her eyebrows, and change her name.

Ingrid, wide eyed, declared, "If you do that, I'll return to Sweden!" And that was a threat.

What sort of image was he to build for her if she wasn't going to be a glamour girl? Selznick wondered. A new one, he figured. Totally different. Ingrid would be the good girl in Hollywood: natural, angelic, and saintly.

Ingrid projected this wholesome image on screen, and movie goers ate it up. She became, quite ironically, "St. Ingrid of Stockholm" - parents wanted their daughters to grow up to the kind of a woman Ingrid Bergman was. They watched her in pious films, like "The Bells of St. Mary's" (in which she played a nun) and "Joan of Arc" (in which she obviously played the saint in question).

Off screen, they knew she was married to Swede Petter Lindstrom, and had been for quite a while. They had one daughter, Pia. This only further confirmed the glossy image they had of "St. Ingrid."

But little did they know that Ingrid was not happy in her marriage. She'd already indulged in a few affairs - the director Victor Fleming and the wartime photographer Robert Capa, for example. It wasn't that she meant to, only she was not getting very much out of her marriage.

In the late 1940's, she saw for the first time work by the Italian director Roberto Rossellini. It was pure Italian no realism, and rumor had it Rossellini did not use professionals but street people for his actors. If the role called for a fisherman, a fisherman would truly play it. Ingrid was enchanted by all of this and excited by the prospect of working for Rossellini, so she decided to write him a letter. All the trouble began with this letter:

Dear. Mr Rossellini,

 I saw your films Open City and Paisan, and enjoyed them very much. If you need a Swedish actress who speaks English very well, who has not forgotten her German, and who is very understandable in French, and who, in Italian knows only “ti amo”, I am ready to come and work with you.

Best regards
Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid with her lover, the Italian director Roberto
Rossellini. 

Rossellini, who only spoke Italian (and all Ingrid knew, as the letter explains, was "ti amo", her last words in "The Arc of Triumph") was actually very interested in working with the Swedish beauty despite the fact she was a professional.

Rosellini visited the United States, staying with the Lindstroms. Everyone got along fine - especially Ingrid and Roberto. It is suggested the affair began around this time.

The film got into the works; Ingrid flew to Italy for a few months to begin filming. She would quickly discover working for Rossellini did not offer the comforts and glamour of Hollywood. She worked with non-professionals, in long hours, being forced to climb the actual volcano Stromboli, in which the film was named after.

Still, the affair continued and in full swing now. As Roberto ran around Italy boasting that he was having an affair with Ingrid Bergman (And how easy it had been, too - something about Swedish woman being easy to attract because their husbands were cold blooded), Ingrid wrote home to Petter asking for a divorce.

He did not give it to her right away, and Ingrid and Roberto's relationship became public. It scandalized America, of course. Not only was she having an affair while being married (taken lightly today; dangerously then) - she was their St. Ingrid! What had happened to the wholesome girl they knew?

Things got worse. Ingrid discovered she was pregnant, and with Roberto's baby. Senator Edwin Johnson of Colorado took to the floor of the US senate to condemn Ingrid - declaring her a "free love cultist" and "a powerful influence for evil". America was mad; quite mad. It was a scandal that they had not seen the likes of before, not in Hollywood. Of course, years before Loretta Young had given birth to Clark Gable's lovechild, but no one knew about that as it had all been quietly cleaned up by Loretta going on a long vacation and then making a public show of "adopting" a girl that was indeed her own daughter.

In the end, Ingrid and Roberto got a quickie Mexican divorce. Petter fought hard for custody of Pia and got it. Ingrid settled down in Italy with Roberto; their son was born which caused another media frenzy - reporters even tried climbing into the windows of the Italian hospital in which Ingrid had given birth. Ingrid went on to have two more children with Roberto - twin girls, one of which became the actress Isabella Rossellini. She collaborated on several films with her new husband but they were not that sucessful nor well received with the public. Her comeback came with 1956's "Anastasia"; in which she won the Oscar for, America's symbol of forgiving her. She divorced Rossellini after her conducted an affair with an Indian actress (and got her pregnant as well) and returned as a star to American films. She would marry one more time, but that marriage would dissolve as well.

EDDIE, LIZ, AND DEBBIE


America was hurting for Elizabeth Taylor in March of 1958. Her third husband, Michael Todd, had died in airplane crash. Elizabeth had been married before, but it was said that Michael Todd was her true love. Despite the fact that he showered her in jewelry, the affection was real and true. But now he was dead - the crashed plane was called "The Lucky Liz", and Elizabeth had been this close to going on the trip with him.

Mike, Liz, Eddie, and Debbie when "everyone just got along."

Before the plane crash, Elizabeth, Mike, and his good friend Eddie Fisher and his wife, the actress Debbie Reynolds, had been a tight foursome. Mike and Eddie had been friends for a long time and Debbie and Elizabeth had attended the same one room school house at MGM. Debbie and Eddie had even been a bridesmaid and the best man at Liz and Mike's wedding.

Now that Mike was dead, both Eddie and Debbie stepped into lending a hand to the grieving Elizabeth. Debbie took care of Elizabeth's children while Elizabeth worked out the funeral details and all the other ugly things; meanwhile, Eddie offered Elizabeth a shoulder to cry on.

And, eventually, a little more.

It was a combination of their mourning for Eddie as well, as perhaps, physical attraction. Eddie and Debbie's marriage had been on the rocks for quite a while, though Debbie did had two kids and a newborn at home. As the friction of an affair began, Elizabeth considered this. She did think Debbie was a great friend and did not want to hurt her; but she also knew that Debbie had to have a thick enough skin to deal with it. She was a movie star, anyway, and you had to fight to get to the top. And besides, Debbie had already filed for divorce twice (though she had not gone through with it). So...

So, the affair began. Kept under covers, Debbie found out about it one night when she was alone at home with the kids. Eddie was away someplace (she'd discover where later), and she decided to call up her friend Elizabeth and see how she was doing.

You can imagine her surprise when her husband picked up.

"Suddenly, a lot of things clicked into place," Debbie would say later to UK's Dailymail upon being asked to recall her thoughts as she sat, holding the phone that night. She yelled into the phone for Eddie to "roll over and give the phone to Elizabeth!", because she was sure they were in bed together. Instead, Eddie slammed the phone on the receiver.

Yet another ironic photo!

Eddie rushed back home. He confronted her, told her her he was sorry but that he and Elizabeth were in love. He wanted a divorce; there was nothing Debbie could do about it.

Debbie consented to giving him the divorce, but told him that Elizabeth's love was only temporary, that Liz would "throw him out in eighteen months." He didn't care and insisted it was real love.

The scandal hit the papers. Elizabeth Taylor quickly became the adulteress instead of the grieving widow. Debbie was instead painted as the one for Americans to hurt for at this moment.

Debbie's prediction would indeed come true; not much later Elizabeth dumped Eddie Fisher for... Richard Burton, whom she began a sultry affair with on the set of "Cleopatra". The "Liz and Dick" hysteria would last for another fifteen years.

But that's another story, for another day. Both Elizabeth and Debbie had resentment to Eddie Fisher in the years following; Eddie's career faded completely. Despised by both women, there wasn't much left of Eddie Fisher. He would become estranged from his children, as well, including Carrie Fisher (Princess Lea from Star Wars).

What about Elizabeth and Debbie? The one time friends would reconcile. Debbie and her new husband were on a cruise ship when she discovered that "Liz and Dick" were on board as well. Debbie would later jokingly recall her first instinct was to jump off the boat. But she instead wrote a note to Elizabeth, and as it turned out, a note from Elizabeth was coming to her already. She wanted to patch things up, and Debbie said, "Amen to that!" The couples dined that evening and Elizabeth and Debbie got along marvelously after that, even co-starring in the movie "These Old Broads" in the early 2000s.

One thing's for sure - no one can say that Debbie Reynolds holds a grudge!

***

Well, I hope you had as much fun reading over that as I had writing it. In the future I think I'll find some more "scandals" to write about.

That's all for today. Ciao!

Fashion In Film || Paper to Reality: Edith Head Defining an Era

This here is my little contribution to the Fashion in Film Blogathon that is being hosted by Angela at The Hollywood Revue - thank you for holding this, Angela! It's going to be exciting to see all the other posts, to read them, maybe even discover new blogs. Yes, blogathons are a ton of fun. And I know a bunch of my favorite blogs are participating in the event, so this will be a real treat!

This was a vast topic to cover, and in the end I came up with this post. A shroud of my thoughts on two topics I love: fashion and movies. Put together, I think they equal "Classic Hollywood."

Let's face it: Among one of the many things modern movies lack is fashion. Oh, sure, there are some pretty dresses and nice ensembles here and there, but you're just as likely to find the main character stretched out on the couch in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Classic Hollywood was different, though. And to be fair, the times were completely different. It wasn't acceptable to be walking around in baggy sweatpants then in the way it is today; in the 40s and 50s one had to look put together and neat upon going out - or even being around the house. Today, sweatpants (sorry to keep picking on this piece of attire for you sweatpants lovers!) add realism to a film just in the way that chic costuming did in Classic Hollywood.

My favorite designer of this era - and this may be deemed the default answer - would be Edith Head. She was a genius and probably dressed every leading woman in Hollywood at least once.

"Edie knew the truth about all of us. She knew who had flat fannies and who didn't -- but she never told."

- LUCILLE BALL

Edith knew how to dress a woman exactly according to her figure. As Lucy's words explain, Edith knew how to conceal imperfections by making it work to an actress's advantage or instead spotlighting her other assets. Marlene Dietrich was not very busty at all, but she had long legs and Edith understood this and pulled out the stops. Audrey Hepburn had a spindly neck, legs, and arms; Edith concealed this by staying away from short sleeves, full dresses, jewels on her neck. She could fix anything -- was Veronica Lake's neck too thin, Loretta Young's too long? Bette Davis pulled a "diva" to get Edith for All About Eve and it is said Joan Crawford would not buy a pair of socks without Edith's consent.

The woman had power.

She won Oscars for it, a proud collection of golden men. She took complete pride and credit in her work. Some actresses loved her and others butted heads with her, but each one became grateful to her in the end. Sometimes she was a snob. In 1955 she brought home the Oscar for "Sabrina" -- yet 90 percent of the film's costumes came hand selected by Audrey Hepburn from Givenchy, Audrey's favorite designer. Edith did not speak of Givenchy once in accepting her award.

Still, this was only a rare occasion in which Edith's success was downplayed. She could turn out genius things, she made every women in Classic Hollywood a fashion icon in her own right. Her favorite protegee was said to have been Grace Kelly, but she could fit any figure, from skinny (Audrey Hepburn) to curvy (Sophia Loren).

Edith was tops, but there were other designers. Helen Rose was of her own prestige and designed Grace Kelly's wedding gown; Adrian was on a first name basis and designed for "The Wizard of Oz."

Together, these designers and all the little people created a definitive era of fashion in movie making. The makeup was never smudged, a hair never out of place, and her outfit? It was always superb. 

They were all wonderful, but today and for this particular blogathon, I think I'll stop and spotlight Edith.

From Paper to Reality

It seems that for almost every actress of Classic Hollywood, combine her name with "Edith Head" on Google and you come across an gorgeous treasure trunk of sketches. Some dresses we know so well; others not so familiar but beautiful. The following is a tribute to Edith Head. If I could find a picture of the actual actress wearing the sketched dress, it appears alongside the photo. 

Sketched: A pale, blue chiffon dream for "To Catch a Thief"

Pictured: Grace Kelly in the finished product. 

Sketched: A chic and modest brown gown for All About Eve

Pictured: Bette Davis shows off the Edith Head creation

Sketched: A gorgeous and elegant black dress for "Sabrina."

Pictured: Audrey Hepburn brings it to life.

Sketched: One of my personal favorite dresses, a simply elegant number for "Rear Window"

Pictured: Grace Kelly showing off her dress to an uninterested Jimmy Stewart from a vivid Technicolor frame

Sketched: The outfit sketched must have been something for Joan Crawford to wear on her day off, as it appears that Edith Head never did design for Joan in a movie -- yet off screen, Joan relied on her totally. Hmm. If only we had a "Pictured" for this one!

Sketched: A slinky, shimmery black ensemble for "The Lady Eve"

Pictured: Barbara Stanwyck, who adored her, showing off the dress. It seems to have captured Henry Fonda's rapt attention!

Sketched: A delicately glamorous gown for "A Place in the Sun"

Pictured: Elizabeth Taylor is the lucky girl who gets to wear this creation.

Sketched: An ornate, fabulous period piece for "The Heiress"

Pictured: Olivia de Havilland flaunting it in said film!

Sketched: For Katharine Hepburn... I am not sure what film this is. If I were to take a guess, I would say "Little Women."

Sketched: A Cinderella style dress for "Inside Daisy Clover"

Pictured: Star Natalie Wood in the end product.

Sketched: Another design for Natalie Wood, this time for "Love With the Proper Stranger"

Sketched: A simpler, peasant girl style dress for Sophia Loren in "Houseboat"

And, now, of course, for my personal favorites....

Sketched: A chic outfit for Lucille Ball in "The Facts of Life"

Sketched: Also for "The Facts of Life", another gorgeous ensemble for Lucy

Sketched: Peach, beige chiffon for "The Facts of Life" and Lucy once more!

Sketched: Edith would even design for Lucy on "The Lucy Show"

***

Okay, so, perhaps I got a little carried away with the pictures there. But each time I found a new sketch I had  got more excited and just had to post it. ;) Also, I thought it was so interesting to see how each sketch seemed to be a near perfect definition of the actress's likeness as well as captured her personality and the personality of the dress -- I do not think Edith was the actual artist of the sketches (correct me if I am wrong),  but I found it quite interesting anyhow. But Edith was amazing, for sure.

That's all for me - though that was quite a lot of "all"! Once again tons of thanks to Angela for hosting this, and be sure and go over to The Hollywood Revue and check out the wonderful blogs. And comment with what you think!

PS: Edith Head is so fabulous, I think I'll just go ahead and make a tag for her on my blog. ;)