Classic Mustaches for Movember || Mustache Hall of Horror

So, Bette of the lovely Bette's Classic Movie Blog is hosting "Classic Mustaches for Movember". What is "Movember?" According to their website:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

Bette has decided to promote this worthy cause by holding this blogathon, and the topic of discussion is basically classic movie mustaches. Mustaches were pretty popular back in the 30's and 40's, and you shouldn't be surprised to discover that at least a few of your favorite leading men have sprouted mustaches for a particular movie role! 

Anyway, before I get into the actual post, if you'd like to donate to Movember, you can do so by going here. It's a real worthy cause so give it a thought, would you? :)

Okay, now onto the post. A lot of leading men famously sprouted mustaches throughout their movie career, and they looked pretty good with them. Like William Powell, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, and perhaps most famously, Charlie Chaplin with his "Little Tramp" mustache.  And on occasion, probably Robert Taylor and Ronald Colman too.

However, most every leading man of the Golden Era was required to grow a mustache at some point in their career, usually for a movie role or so. These usually well shaven faces startled us with their new mustaches, and though sometimes it worked, let's be fair: sometimes it was a complete disaster.

And, so I present to you, the Mustache Hall of Horror. Our favorite leading men sprouting upper lip hair that should have been outlawed. Brace yourself!

** YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED **

THE MUSTACHE HALL OF HORROR
(and shame.) 

10. Desi Arnaz

Yes, I know, this was for a costume party. But I actually think I've got a picture of Desi somewhere in my Lucy file completely unshaven, beard, mustache, everything during the war. My Lucy file happens to be really humungus though (surprise, surprise) and for the sake of time, I didn't sort through it to find it. (It was too scary besides.) But anyway, bottom line. Like Lucy in the screencap at the beginning of this post ("The Mustache" episode), I like Desi much better without a mustache!

9. Robert Redford

I know, I know, I know! Robert Redford isn't Classic Hollywood, but I do like him ("Rianna, what modern actors do you like?" "Oh, I like Robert Redford and Barbara Striesand and Jane Fonda...") and I just had to include him in this list because I'm telling you: IT'S SCARY. I think this is for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", which I never got through because I hate Westerns. That's besides the point, anyway. LOOK AT IT. It's thick and yellow. Run for your lives! Thank God he never went for this look permanently. 

8. Rock Hudson

WHY????? NO, SERIOUSLY WHY????!!!! Okay, well, I know why. It was for his tv show. BUT LOOK AT THAT 70'S STACHE! IT'S SCARY! AND IT'S ON ROCK HUDSON! AND IT'S SCARY!             * hyperventilation* I could be just imaging this, but I also think he sported a mustache in one of his movies with Doris Day, but that was because he was trying to trick Dodo into think he was someone he was not. Wait, that's confusing, is it not? Bottom line: GO SHAVE IT OFF, ROCK! GO SHAVE IT OFF!

 7. Fred Astaire

DGIFHGFAIGHFEGHTRYAHNBG!

I honestly can't find words for this. I mean, I love Fred but seriously? I wouldn't want to dance cheek to cheek with him if he had that cookieduster, and I've got a feeling Ginger Rogers wouldn't either. Here he is sporting another one with Audrey, but let's just hope they're fooling around and leave it at that. 

 6. Gary Cooper

No, Gary. No. Just no. :( Gary Cooper, who I have been gaining a greater appreciation for, might look somewhat decent after what we just witnessed with Fred, but when you boil down to it, I'd be shaving that away, Gary. I mean, just stop and think and imagine if it that was his usual look. Sends chills down your spine now, doesn't it?

5. Gregory Peck

OH NO. WHYYYY. WHY. :( NO, SERIOUSLY, WHY. It just work, really it doesn't. And I weep :(  No, I mean it, but seriously. Like the more I stare at this it just doesn't seem right. I really want to virtually rip this mustache off, but you know, thank goodness it was only a temporary thing (which pretty much applies to all mentioned on this list).

4. Henry Fonda

No. Just honestly, no. It's hard to look at really. It makes Henry look like some kind of a lumberjack/ax murderer or something. Natalie at In the Mood said something like it murders the boyish quality of Henry [MURDER is an excellent word], and I have to agree. Then she added "not to mention he looks really stupid"... which he DOES. Just seriously, this is completely unnecessary on several levels. ** shakes head **

3. Humphrey Bogart

FVFUGIHFGHF'GHX'TR8

T

TTH9TJH/\

what???? WHY????? WAS IT REALLY NEEDED? SERIOUSLY?  I moan. I cry. Seriously, when I was looking for these ridiculous mustaches I was getting nervous I may find this, and I did. I have to turn away, I simply cannot look. This is...  words can't explain. Being a writer I rarely ever use that expression but this time, there are just no words. He doesn't even look like the Bogie we all know and love. :( This was just murder here.

2. Jimmy Stewart

.........................

speechless

1. Cary Grant

So. So I stared at this for a long time. I told myself, "You know, maybe it's not that bad, some people might find that attractive, hey he kind of resembles Errol Flynn." A lot of stuff and nonsense. And then: there is no excuse for this. There is no excuse for the people who did this, who deterred Cary's face like this. I honestly do not know what movie this came from. But if I ever happen to turn on a Cary movie and see this, I tell you, I'm switching it off. How was this not against the law?. It could have been prevented. Where was our legislative government when this happened? Hello, Congress? THIS was an injustice, I tell you. A crime. A part of my heart chipped away and died, really. 

***

Well, that's all. I'll spare you now, no more scary pictures, I promise. I think we all need to go and take a big glass of water and go enjoy these leading men in some well shaven roles. At least, that's what I plan on doing.... 

Many, many thanks to Bette for hosting this blogathon. Don't let the scary pictures deter you from the blogathon's point at heart:  it's for a good cause. Don't forget: Movember! Try and make a donation: I'm sure all contributions of different sizes are accepted and will be utilized! ;)

Also, this blogathon will last throughout the rest of the month. Some great bloggers have already written some brilliantly awesome posts, and I'm sure there will be a few more as well, so go check those out, too! :D

I'm going to try and put together a Classic Hollywood Thanksgiving post (I actually do have something in mind) for tomorrow, but if I can't then I'll say it now: HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :) 

well, see, she's gorgeous in everything, so she looks fabulous of course! <3

Sunday Movie Review: 5 Mini Reviews

I have watched so many movies in the past week or so, that I couldn't decide on just one to do for this Sunday's SMR. Therefore, I have decided to do something I've seen Sophie and Clara do. It's basically 5 mini reviews, and well, yeah, it's just like it sounds. I don't plan on doing this often, at least not for SMRs. But this week I couldn't help myself, so I hope you don't mind. And, oh, I did chose "Random Harvest" for my header because that's probably the most well known among the films here. (Most of them are Greer films, a la my current obsession).

With the exception of one of these movies, you can see all of these films online for Free! Clicking the poster (there is a reminder underneath) should take you to the links to watch it if you're interested.

Desire Me 

(1947, no director's credit)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Shortly after WWII, flashbacks tell the story of Marise (Greer Garson), her husband Paul (Robert Mitchum), and Jean (Richard Hart), who was imprisoned with Paul in a German camp. While attempting to escape from the camp Paul is shot, and Jean goes to see Marise, confirming the news she had gotten already about Paul's death. Jean has fallen in love with Marise through the stories Paul told him, and wants to stay with her in the seaside town in Brittany where Paul owned a small business. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: I actually think this plot has a lot of potential. Kind of like My Favorite Wife, except in a reverse and much more dramatic. MUCH more. Anyway, it's obviously got a good ensemble cast, too. My problem with this is the way the plot is depicted did not do justice to the story. Marise and Jean "fall in love" within a week despite the fact Marise had just been confirmed of her husband's death. [SPOILER: Paul turns out not to be dead after all, and when he returns we cannot be satisfied by his reunion with Marise at all, because there was not enough background on the two for us to understand their love for one another, despite the fact that the script tries to make it obvious that these two were madly in love before he set off for war.]. It's all a big flashback and the pairing of Mitchum and Greer are not utilized at all; they have, perhaps, five minutes of screen time together. Richard Hart's character was a big, fat annoying jerk. Entertaining albeit all but this film was worked on by four directors - one of them being George Cukor - and none of them wanted their name on this, so that ought to give you a hint! It is said one of these directors made Greer do 125 takes of the single word, "No!" - at which Robert Mitchum rolled his eyes and could no longer take Hollywood seriously. Uh, well, it's entertaining none the less - though sometimes at it's own expense.

2.5 / 5

Random Harvest

(1942, Meryvn LeRoy)

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: Wounded World War I soldier Charles (Ronald Colman) has no memory of his past, and when he meets Paula (Greer Garson), he's certain she's the one for him. They marry, but Charles is hit by a car, regains his memory of his life before Paula, and loses all memory of Paula. He returns to his wealthy relatives, and a desperate Paula takes a job as his secretary to be near him in this tragic romantic drama. [from Netflix]

Verdict: Like most everybody, I ADORED this film... and it made me love Greer even more, if it's possible. There really isn't much to say except it's just a wonderfully sweet film whilst still being so entertaining, too. Greer is just wonderful as the beautiful showgirl who takes Charles under her wing and cares for him so. A real sweetheart of a character without being too sappy (so of course, Greer is perfect to play it). And Ronald Colman (by the way, he looks like Clark Gable's twin at times for sure!) as Charles (or "Smithie", for those of you who have seen the movie ;D) - well, he's pretty much adorable, most of the time anyway. I thought he played the part quite well because you must admit, it's certainly a hard one to play. This movie is heartbreaking, glorious, entertaining, but the ending is so satisfying, above all. I strongly encourage you see it; and there isn't really much more left to say. (Except you must see it, seriously!) OH! And go right this instant and watch Greer being fantastically entertaining and adorable in her rendition of the Scottish song "She's Ma Daisy." Seriously, if you haven't fallen in love with Greer yet you will after seeing it. ADORED her and it. (You don't know how long I was going, "She's my daisy!! - My bonny daisy!!" to myself after that... :D).

5/5

Scandal at Scourie

(1953, Jean Negulesco) 

[this whole movie is on Youtube, so you can hit the poster to watch it!]

Summary: The big hearted Victoria McChesney (Greer Garson) meets a little orphan named Patsy by chance, but the two quickly become inseparable. Victoria adopts her and takes her home to husband Patrick (Walter Pidgeon), despite the fact that the McChesneys are Protestants and Patsy Catholic. This causes scandal in the town and puts strains on Patrick, who is trying to run for a position in the town government. This MGM vehicle is set in the 1890s small town of Scourie in French Canada.

Verdict: I actually quite enjoyed this. This film is based around religion so steer clear if you don't like "those" type of movies. I thought it was really sweet and gosh, Greer was wonderful as the gutsy Victoria. (There is actually a scene in here where she marches into a barber shop, red hair flaring, and beats a man with a wet towel - several times - and douses him oil. She then goes home and breaks the news to Patrick in the most adorable way. That scene alone is worth watching the movie!). And I liked Walter too as her husband, and the little girl who played Patsy was adorable. The Technicolor is gorgeous and this beautiful small town of Scourie comes alive excitedly. Plot is perhaps a little dated in some people's eyes, but I had no problems with this and I liked it. Agnes Moorehead makes in appearance as a nun (Sister Josephine), as well! I also think this was the last movie from the famous pairing of Greer and Walter, so if you're a fan of them certainly see it for that reason alone.

4/5

When Ladies Meet

(1941, Robert Z. Leonard)

[you can hit the poster to watch a tidbit of this movie - the whole movie is on Youtube, but you have to pay to see it :( ]

Summary: Mary (Joan Crawford), a writer working on a novel about a love triangle, is attracted to her publisher, Rogers (Herbert Marshall). Her suitor Jimmy (Robert Taylor) is determined to break them up; he introduces Mary to the publisher's wife, Claire (Greer Garson), without telling Mary who she is - and the two land up liking each other. [from IMdb - with slight doctoring by me]

Verdict: Anyone would get excited to see this film just by checking out that cast! Okay, so I won't call this movie disappointing because by golly it's entertaining. That is for sure. This movie actually had me gasping outloud and going, "Ohhh" because I knew something explosive was going to happen at points. ;) I mean, it's one of those ironic films that can be somewhat frustrating (appropriately so) because you know what's going on and you desperately need the characters to know as they sit there, having nonchalant conversations that are yet so ironic! (If that makes sense). My one issue though was Herbert Marshall. I just didn't like him :( He seemed quite cardboard, and it helped that I hated his character of course. Joan Crawford is good, nothing exactly special - this will sound biased because of the Greer crazy stage I am at currently that I did think that Greer shone brighter BUT this is not to say Joan was bad or anything. And to be fair, Joan and Greer's acting styles are completely different, but that makes it fun to watch. As for Robert Taylor, this was my first movie of his and I really liked him, so I'm certainly going to see more. Back to the plot, though: Another problem was this was the abrupt ending, I HATED it. Had it been done neatly, it may have been able to salvage this film for four stars. A merge between a screwball comedy and a drama, this is worth seeing to see Greer and Joan "meet" but far from being  an excellent film.

3/5 

Ball of Fire

(1941, Howard Hawks)

[this time I'm linking to the lovely Film Classics.com website, where the full movie is uploaded]

Summary: Gary Cooper plays a serious but lovable English professor working with his colleagues on a dictionary of American slang. When a red-hot nightclub singer (Barbara Stanwyck) on the run from the mob takes refuge in their house, she also finds a place in their hearts. But where there's a ball of fire there's bound to be trouble, and before they know it, the professor and his cohorts are learning a lot about language -- and life. Howard Hawks directs. [from Netflix]

Verdict: This has also got a really great cast. Besides Coop and Stany, you've got some of my character actor favorites among the "seven dwarfs" (AKA, Gary's professor colleagues), like S.Z "Cuddles" Sakall (I simply ADORE him and get excited whenever his name runs through the opening credits of a film), Henry Travers (who was Clarence in one of my favorite films, "It's a Wonderful Life"), and Richard Haydn (Max in another favorite: "The Sound of Music"). To top it off, Dana Andrews playing a mobster. ;) I really enjoyed this movie and I learned a lot of 40's slang, so I wish I'd seen it before I'd written my vintage vocabulary post last month. Gary Cooper was adorable and loveable as the nerdy professor ("I love him because he doesn't know how to kiss," Stany explains) and Barbara Stanwyck a lot of fun as Sugarpuss O'Shea. I know Lucy wanted this role really badly, and I of course would have loved to have seen her play it, BUT this is not staying Barbara was bad because she wasn't. She was really good. (Only you know the nutsy Lucy fan I am, I wish she was in everything (; ). Anyway, this was a fun screwball comedy directed by one of the masters of the genre, Howard Hawks (he needs no referencing, but "Bringing up Baby", for starters). I suggest you watch it, a daffy little modern take on Snow White and the seven drawfs. :) Also, watch it for the adorable "yum yum" scene with Stany and Coop. :)

4/5 

***

This post actually took me a lot longer to write then I thought it would! -;) But I had fun writing it and was kind of surprised with the variation of ratings I gave the films. Anyhow, I'm sorry I didn't just review one film but I hope you were able to get my opinions on all five anyway and enjoyed reading. Like I said, I don't exactly plan to make a habit of doing these mini reviews for the SMR, but for this Sunday I had to make allowances.

By the away, a quick plug for the blogathon Bette at Bette's Classic Movie Blog is hosting: it's called Mustaches for Movember, and the subject is basically to write anything pertaining to classic movies and mustaches. A strange topic, but it's in honor of this program called Movember which raises awareness each November for men cancers. Bette can explain it better than I can (in fact, I probably confused you) so go take a stroll over to her blog and be sure and sign up - if you write a blog, that is! ;)

Also a plug for myself: again, if you haven't voted in the Rebel Without a Cause vs. West Side Story poll, please do as we're tied currently with three votes each. If you care to break that tie, scroll up to my sidebar and vote for the better film (in your opinion)! Poll will end in four days.

One quick last note: Thank you for 40 + followers and to the rest of you that read my blog through other subscriptions :) My followers gadget is slightly screwing up at times, I think for the moment it's alright, but I am trying to fix some problems it may have with not displaying all of my followers. 

That's it, so have a great start into the week, everyone!

Sunday Movie Review: "East Side, West Side" (1949)

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I had a great one; spent time with my friends (even got them to watch "Gone With the Wind"; I think there were mixed reactions) and even better, the weather has gotten chilly over here! In fact, it was so cold yesterday I wore boots, a sweater, and even gloves. Not exaggerating! Fall starts this week and I'm happy in my chilly element more than ever. I plan to savor winter. (And I don't feel so crazy anymore in doing so ever since some of you commented and let me know that you too love winter).

Before I do my review of "East Side, West Side", I will be revealing the faces behind this Here's Looking At You Kid that I should have done quite a while ago, only it indeed slipped my mind. Many apologizes!

Anyhow, thank you everyone who participated! I got some wonderful guesses. It appears that everyone happened to get the lady's face right -- it is indeed, the lovely Olivia de Havilland:

As for the man, I got a few of you who guessed it was either Robert Taylor or Gary Cooper. And the rest of you guessed Robert Taylor. Well, as it turns out, it is --

It's Coop!

***

Today, I have pulled the summary from IMDb because I felt the Netflix summary gave too many spoilers.

Brandon and Jessie Bourne has been married to each other for many years. A few years ago, Brandon had an extra-martial affair with Isabel Lorrison. Now she has come back to New York intending to start over with the relationship once again. Meanwhile, Jessie is attracted to Mark Dwyer, just arrived from a secret mission in Italy. [summary from IMDb]

The star-studded cast has:

• Barbara Stanwyck as Jessie Bourne
• James Mason as Brandon "Brad" Bourne
• Ava Gardner as Isabel Lorrison
• Van Heflin as Mark Dwyer
• Cyd Charisse as Rosa Senta
• Nancy Davis as Helen Lee
• William Frawley as a bartender (!!)

Can you count all the stars? I was excited by the large number of big names in this. I hope everyone is familiar with Nancy Davis, who would later marry Ronald Reagan and become First Lady of the US, as well as William Frawley - who is our own Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy."

I must say, I did find the plot to be a little far fetched. But if you can ignore some of the bumps and creases of it, I think it gives us a nicely polished view of elite 1940's Manhattan and the politics that its residents suffer through: romance, drama, murder.

Stany is really appealing as Jessie Pearce and I enjoyed her performance. She represents the sophisticated East Side woman in great contrast to Van Heflin's Mark, who is West Side, and yet they get along better and sparkle with more chemistry than Jessie and her own husband, Brad. Anyway, I think she does an excellent job and you can feel Jessie's many mixed feelings; her heartbreak, the fact that she does love her husband, but she cannot stand any longer what he is doing to her. Hard to play but Barbara is very good. 

Van Heflin does quite well with the Mark character; he and Stany have nice chemistry. At first I found Ava Gardner's "other woman" portrayal to be somewhat stereotypical but as the film progresses on, she cleans her up act even when she is given some pretty sorry lines to deal with. She is sultry above all, which is a necessity for her notorious character. In the end I found I liked how Ava played her and wished that her character would have been given more lines and camera time to work with. Anyhow, Ava does try her best with what she is given. I think she is at her very best in this scene --

All the supporting characters are wonderful. Nancy Davis sparkles as the nosy friend, Cyd is good as the nice Italian girl; William Frawley is only a bartender, of course, but a cheer for him, anyway.

Now it comes to James Mason. To begin with he is a character we do not like. We feel sympathy for Stany's Jessie, we are excited that Van Heflin is there to lend a shoulder for her to cry on, we don't like Ava's character either but we do get where she is coming from, and we are charmed by Cyd's Rosa. I found I didn't like James Mason's way of playing the Brad character at all. He fades, pales, to the selection of other actors he is playing against. He seems kind of out there; very one dimensional and no chemistry whatsoever with Ava. He is plain, like cardboard, just standing there; he lets the others carry on the film.

So with that exception, this is a very well acted and interesting film. I just had many problems with this plot, though. It was kind of all over the place in my opinion. Here are the "bumps and creases" I found -- the Rosa character gets dropped quite fast, the mystery element was solved too easily (there is a mystery element indeed, and I was shocked by the simple way it is solved. I am used to Nick and Nora Charles, thank you very much), there were just some holes and it made it look a little sloppy.

The script is for the most part intelligent, though I did find some stupid exchanges, for example one scene where Isabel calls Jessie over to her apartment and starts rattling off about how Brad is all hers and Jessie, his wife, will only see him when Isabel permits and excreta. I found that a little too silly.

The ending is left open ended. Though mostly satisfying, it leaves a lot to the imagination. I guess we can't have it all.

Over all I found this film to be entertaining and interesting. The cast does a magnificent job (James excluded; I'm sorry, Mr. Mason!), and the weaknesses fall instead in the plot and script. I will have to give it a three and a half out of five stars. I would say to go ahead and watch it, too, only, it is not a perfect film.

***

Before I leave --

Happy birthday, Greta! Wow, how many birthdays did we celebrate this week?? Hmm..!

For my mom on her birthday... :)

Hi everyone,

Today's my mom's birthday. And though this is probably one of the biggest cliches to say, she IS the best mom EVER, not to mention she is one of the biggest supporters of this blog. Hurricane Irene has rained on our parade here (actually, she hasn't even gotten here yet but that's okay because I'm already DUNNE with her. Get it??? ;D) .... anyhow, I thought I'd write the loveliest mom in the world a birthday blog before Irene knocks out our power (God forbid).

I thought I'd tie Old Hollywood in with writing a birthday blog for her. So.... because it's her birthday, I decided to do a little picture gallery sort of thing with her favorite Old Hollywood stuff.

Roman Holiday - my mom's favorite movie

I guess it runs in the family...

Cary Grant. I guess that runs in the family, too.

She also loves --

And since it's her birthday, this also gives me chance to do a Cary Grant tribute I've been wanting to do for a while (since, after all, he is my favorite actor, too).... in dedication to her, of course.

Happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's all for today, and wish me good luck with Ms. Dunne... lol. ;)