Sunday Movie Review: "The Women" (1939)

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported and participated in my classic film survey! I'm having lots of fun reading all your answers and am discovering tons of new blogs. I'm looking forward to reading more responses (hopefully)! But really though, what a lovely turnout, guys, thanks so much! ♥

Before I get onto the movie review, I thought I'd give you a quick update on my 250 Films in 2012 project. In January, I watched thirteen movies, and though I think I experimented pretty well with the actors and genres I'm trying to watch more of this year, I do wish I'd gotten to see more movies. I did my math, and to reach the goal of 250 films by the end of this year, I'm going to need to watch 20 films per month, and then some. It's hard with schoolwork, though, so we'll see how it goes. I'm updating the list of films I've been seeing frequently, so you can head over to that page if you'd like to take a look. My film watching goals are there, too. All suggestions are welcome!

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The poster: I like the sketches of Joan, Norma, and Roz - and also the tagline "It's all about men!"

The plot:

George Cukor directs an all-female cast in this catty tale about battling and bonding between friends and enemies that was edgy for its time -- and is considered the ultimate women's movie of the 1930s. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and other Hollywood leading ladies are among the array of husband-snatchers, snitches and lovelorn ladies who argue and gossip about each other at astonishing breakneck speed. [from Netflix]

The starring players:

• Norma Shearer as Mary Haines
• Rosalind Russell as Sylvia Fowler
• Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen
• Paulette Goddard as Miriam Aarons
• Joan Fontaine as Peggy Day

The verdict:

★★★★

Well, the first thing you could possibly notice about this movie is it's tremendous, totally female cast! In addition to the five leading ladies mentioned above - though Paulette and Joan F. weren't really above the title stars yet, Norma and Joan were the Queens of MGM and Roz also got before the title billing, albeit in small letters - you'd also spot: Marjorie Main, Ruth Hussey, Hedda Hopper, and for about a minute, Butterfly McQueen! It's extremely rare and utterly exciting to see a cast as sparkling as this.

The plot mostly surrounds Norma Shearer's character, however, which makes sense because Norma was a top box office draw at the time, and as I said, coveted the crown as Queen of MGM. Her character, Mary Haines, is the lovable wife and doting mother who becomes the unfortunate victim of her husband's infidelity. This is the first Norma Shearer movie I have seen, and she was also one of the ten actresses I chose to make a point of watching this year. 

Well, I must admit, she was quite good. This movie is filled to the brim with catty women (who are proud of this fact), but out of all, Mary's character is likely the most decent, the most sweetest, etc., at least until her claws come out towards the end. Olivia de Havilland once said that it's much harder to play good characters than bad ones, which I agree with. With bad characters you pull out all the stops and they're just evil, but good characters require a particular type of emotion that's hard to afflict. Also, oftentimes it's much more fun to play bad characters. ;) This being said, Norma Shearer had this task to play a gentler sort among all these catty women, and I think she did pretty good. While I did like her I don't think she's going to become one of my all time favorite actresses anytime soon, though it's not to say I didn't enjoy her. And I'll look into more of her films for sure - I just think it's going to be more of a slow growth with Norma and I!

Rosalind Russell was just fantastic! I LOVED her character, she was probably one of the more terrible ones but it was all the more fun to watch her. Roz talks at the speed of light in this, just like she would in His Girl Friday. Her character dressed kinda like Hildy Johnson, too, though the personalities aren't really at all alike. Anyways, Rosalind's performance in this might be my favorite in the whole film. She was a lot of fun!

Joan Crawford. Well, her character is the worst out of the lot and I hated her. Her character, I mean. And since I hated her character, that means that Joan did a pretty good job in the acting department. Here might be a good time to bring up that business about how it's easier to play bad characters than good ones, but I won't because I'm constantly bashing Joan. So I'll conclude my opinion on Joan's performance in this movie by saying: I hated her character completely -- Joan was wonderful!

Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine don't get nearly as much screen time as the three I just mentioned. I don't really think they had achieved "star status" yet. I watched another Paulette Goddard film earlier this week, The Crystal Ball (1947), with Ray Milland. I found her charming in that and I liked her in this, too. I decided that I need to see more of her, because she's pretty adorable, and so I swapped Susan Hayward out of my list of actresses to see more of in 2012 for Paulette. Sorry, Susan! 

Joan Fontaine didn't have much screentime, either. But her character was also quite gentle and I liked her a lot. This is the second movie I've seen Joan in, I've seen her in Rebecca as well. I'm still decidely a Livvie fan, but I did enjoy Joan's performance in this, however short it was.

Overall, I really enjoyed the performances of the several leading ladies in this and that's what made me like this movie, even when the plot got out of hand, which it did on several occasions. There were cat fights and there's even a scene where Roz bites Paulette's leg. That for me was a little too much and I began to get slightly weary at this point. Also, this movie was way longer then it actually needed to be, several scenes could have been cut out, I think, especially the Reno part. That part, I felt, dragged.

Above all, though, this movie is forever entertaining and I find it absolutely charming that there's not a male to be seen in this entire film. Perhaps the 1930's was a time when sexism was felt strongly, but the title of this movie's not kidding - it really is about the women.

The bottom line:

Definitely see this one for it's spectacular cast and the performances that they give. The plot can be a little ridiculous at times but like I said, it's always entertaining for sure! And don't miss it for Joan Crawford's sassy, "There's a name for you women - but it's not used in high society, out of the kennel!"

Some photos:

(in case you're wondering, that George Cukor in the middle - who would be better to direct this movie? - there really are NO actors in this)

[via]

Some trivia:

• This is Butterfly McQueen's film debut - in this same year she'd gain notice as Prissy in a little movie called Gone With the Wind.
• Myrna Loy and Greta Garbo were the only leading ladies at MGM not given a role in this movie, though Myrna was considered for the part of Crystal Allen
• The frequented beauty salon in this movie, Sydney's, was named after the MGM's most popular hairdresser, Sydney Guilaroff

A movie tidbit:

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That's all for today's review, and once again, thank you to anyone who has/or plans to participate in my survey!!! 

Dueling Divas || Greer vs. Joan ["When Ladies Meet"]

I'm here to write a post for Backlots's "Dueling Divas Blogathon," but first, guys... THANK YOU!!! Over the past two days I have not only reached fifty followers, I've exceeded it. Honestly, you people, I can't thank you enough! Like, every one of you that follow me! I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm overreacting - but I'm thinking back to when no one followed me, and there were no comments, and it was just loneliness, and now I get awesome comments from all of you like everyday, and for me it's really really supportive. <3 So thanks soo  much for following me, I'm really Vivien Leigh cat smiling, and in my appreciation here's a GIF of Greer smiling as large as I am now:

[via]

Thank you so, so, much all of you! And now, onto the blogathon [but THANK YOU AGAIN!]:

***

A quick warning: There may be a few spoilers in this, but I'll give you a great fair warning when they're on the way. Apologizes!

About a month ago, I wrote a review for a 1941 MGM vehicle, "When Ladies Meet," starring Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, and one of my newest favorite actresses, Greer Garson. In my review I gave this film three out of five stars, and you can check out the review to read more about what I thought of the actual movie. For this blogathon, I'm going to focus on the rivalry between Greer and Joan's characters in this movie - though the irony of it is, at times they don't really act like rivals at all. Here's the plot, supplied by IMdb [with some slight doctoring by yours truly]:

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. 

In this first ring we have --

[via]

Claire Woodruff. [Greer Garson]. Beautiful redheaded wife of book publisher Rogers Woodruff [Herbert Marshall]. Bright personality and a little bit of a social butterfly. An elegant dresser and a fan of color blocking. She is an expert sailor and knows everything there is about boats and the like. She does hurt inside over her husband's numerous, obvious infidelities, but it's hard to tell by her bubbly, bright personality.  

And then over in the other ring, we have --

[I actually made this one, that's why it's so awful. ';)]

Mary Howard. [Joan Crawford]. Sometimes called Minnie by friends. A liberally thinking best selling novelist who is appreciative of new thinking and ideas. [Her latest novel happens to be about a love triangle.] Adored by suitor Jimmy [Robert Taylor] but madly in love with her new publisher, Rogers. He's married - but it doesn't matter... sort of. Interesting dresser and lover of big spectacle glasses that make her eyes look even bigger [if that's possible.]

Now that we've got our characters straight, the plot consists of a love triangle between these two beautiful ladies and Herbert Marshall - with Robert Taylor pulling the strings. His character, Jimmy, meets Claire at a party the same night Mary and Rogers are having a romantic dinner at home. He decides to have Claire and Mary meet, hence the title of this film, in hopes of breaking up Mary and Rogers's relationship. However, when he introduces the two to each other, he tricks Claire into pretending to be someone else, and therefore Mary doesn't know that the girl she is so quickly becoming friends with is actually her lover's wife. (After all, she was probably expecting  a frump, not Greer Garson.)

Okay, I'm going to give away the ending of the film here just because I think it needs to be included, but if you'd like you can just skip onto the next paragraph and onto the duel! In the end of the film, everything comes clean. Claire and Mary figure out who each other really are, and Rogers breaks it to Mary that he was never planning on leaving Claire for her. Claire and Mary manage to make amends, for they have respect for each other (after a very deep conversation between the two of them), and Claire leaves by herself (with Rogers chasing after her a little later.) Mary and Jimmy are left alone and the movie ends with the two of them in each other's arms. Predictable for the 40's, the married couple gets back together (most likely), proving adultery wrong - it all coincides with the Hays Code.

The irony of this rivalry is that when Claire and Mary actually meet each other, it isn't even a rivalry at all. Though before they probably contained nasty thoughts about one another, when they meet, well, it's all different - albeit, they don't know really know who the other is. Upon their first meeting, Jimmy introduces Claire to Mary as his "cousin," though Claire and Jimmy purposely act very flirty with one another, and Mary becomes obviously irked. But not much later and the two women are friends, and that night they have a very personal, honest conversation between the two of them. It is here where Claire gives away that her husband is a publisher (she doesn't give a name), and admits his many infidelities and how she feels about them. Here is where the two women grow in immense respect for each other: a respect so great that about ten minutes later, when Rogers bursts in the room and the truth comes out, they still manage to uphold that decency for one another.

Which lady was I rooting for? Okay, it's pretty obvious and call me biased: but Claire, or Greer, all the way. Yes, Mary was the writer, which was one thing I did like about her. But to me Claire's personality was the more likable one. She was really charming, and fashionable, and pretty - you kind of wondered what was wrong with Rogers for cheating on her all the time! I was "impressed", so to say, by her knowledge of sailing. There's a scene where she takes Jimmy on a boating trip that's so hilarious, mostly because Claire knows possibly everything about the boat and Jimmy is a mess. ;)

So yes, I was Team Claire. Since I didn't really like the Rogers character at all ("You dirty cheating rat!"), I more or less wanted Claire to land up with Jimmy. [SPOILER: That obviously didn't happen, but I really would've liked it to, they would've made a cute couple, I think.] 

Then there was Mary. I liked her obviously because she was a novelist, but a lot of it ended there. [Yeah, I can see you guys shaking your heads because you think this obviously isn't a fair comparison, not for me.] I think what bothered me the most was her ignorance of Claire [before she met her and she was a figment of existence, probably a frump who would happen to be her lover's wife]. I think it made her look selfish that upon beginning her affair with Rogers, she was only constrained by a little bit of guilt. It almost disgusted me when she took Rogers out to her friend's farm in Connecticut [this would later become the location of her meeting with Claire] to carry out the affair in a safe environment, more or less to protect herself instead of avoiding hurting Claire.

Plus, her fashion sense was kind of weird. I liked Claire's elegant gowns a lot (and the color blocked day dress she's wearing in the GIF above), but I just wasn't going crazy over Mary's Star Wars-Jedi like dress. And when you threw in the glasses she kinda looked like Gandhi.

When this movie was made, Greer was known for her work in 1940's "Pride and Prejudice", but Joan Crawford was the bigger movie star - it would be another year until the release of "Random Harvest" and "Mrs. Miniver," and Greer's successes in these two vehicles would launch a career that would make her the biggest star of the World War Two era. So at the time, Joan was the more popular one, but reviews of the film today often present Greer as the better actress in this film, and I must agree. But as I said in my review of this movie, Greer and Joan's acting styles are completely different - Greer is refined, Joan is more obvious - and therefore it isn't fair to contrast the two.

I did my best to try and find what the off screen relationship was between the two of these actresses: did they like each other? or not really? Here's what I found:

Greer showing off her legs backstage.

• "Joan was completely nonplussed that I refused to feud with her," said Greer. Apparently Joan grew more irked during filming when she perhaps realized how Greer's character was steeling the film, and it was not a "thankless" role as she had anticipated. About eight years later, Joan would seek revenge by embarrasing Greer at a dinner party. Joan seated Greer's then time beau (and later husband), Buddy Fogelson, at the main table with herself, and sent Greer to sit at the studio electricians table, "Because you get along with everybody, dear!"
• Joan's camp on the other hand, claims, that Joan was simply surprised that Greer was being headlined in this film along such big stars as she and Robert Taylor. She couldn't understand what she was doing there - but then again, she thought Claire's role a "thankless" one.

Oh, well!

Whose side are you on? [Even if you haven't seen this movie.] This is an interesting rivalry, on screen (where at times it wasn't much of a rivalry at all), and off screen, it appears, too!

I had a lot of fun with this topic and I thank Lara at Backlots for coming up with such an interesting topic! Be sure and go over to her blog so you can check out all the other entries! Thank you for hosting this, Lara! 

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By the way, despite the fact that I like Greer Garson a LOT (as we all know) and I was on her side in many ways in this post, I don't want you all to think I despise Joan or anything! And yes, I am Team Bette... but really. And to prove it to you, here's a candid GIF of Joan looking beautiful  with some gorgeous auburn hair: 

Oh, and I thought you all ought to know that while I was writing this post, Jeopardy was on TV and there was a Classic Cinema topic!!! One of the questions was about "Mrs. Miniver," and I nearly fell out of my chair before screaming at the screen the quite obvious answer! I got the daily double, too, after endlessly  insisting, "The African Queen! The African Queen!" 

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FIFTY + FOLLOWERS, EVERYONE! :) I'll be back soon to write a post for the Humphrey Bogart Blogathon!

A Classic Hollywood Thanksgiving [In Emails]

Hello everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for so many things: my family, my friends, the roof over my head, getting the chance to write all I want, all the people who have taken the time to read this blog... (that means YOU!)

One thing I'm also thankful for is Classic Hollywood. I mean it, too. What on Earth would I do without classic movies???

My first idea was to do a Thanksgiving post about Classic Hollywood having a Thanksgiving dinner together. Who would come, who would say what, etc., etc. But the more I thought about it it seemed awful hard so I decided to take a new approach. Basically, a bunch of movie stars met up at someone's house (not exactly sure, but it's pretty obvious Rita Hayworth did a lot of cooking and Bogie and Lauren Bacall helped out.. you'll see), and now they're reflecting back on it through emails. I guess I was kind of inspired by the "Tweets of Old Hollywood" thing that was published in the recent Vanity Fair (I think I left the link a few posts back).

This is what I put together. I honestly don't know what you'll make of it, but it was fun to write! :D

Also, they might be hard to read in the size presented to you here. So you can hover over the picture with your mouse, right click, and hit "open in new tab", and it should be big enough for you to read! I couldn't make them any bigger without it going into the sidebar. :)

Walter Pidgeon couldn't make it to the gathering (he had a bad cold), so Greer has sent him an email letting him know how things went.

Next, Lucy sent Ginger Rogers an email with a few photos she and Desi had taken at the event. (Ginger also attended, but her camera ran out of film, you see). By "LeeLee", she means Ginger's mother. 

Ingrid really enjoyed the mashed potatoes Cary brought to the gathering (it was kind of a potluck), so she traded recipes with him for her Swedish meatballs. Here he sends her the recipe.

Joan and Bette got into a spat, of course. Barbara Stanwyck, Joan's best friend, helped break it up and here Joan thanks her for it.

Here Bette relays her side of the story, with a little gossip on the side, to best friend Olivia de Havilland.

And lastly, Spencer shoots Kate an email asking her how Thanksgiving went. He was busy shooting a film and couldn't come, but they can't be seen together in public anyway.

***

I don't know. It was fun to write! Have a happy Thanksgiving! :)

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!

Happy Halloween! ♥

Hello readers,

I'm having a great day. I discovered that I got one of the leads in the school play, and it also happens to be Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays! ♥


Though now I'd probably have to list Christmas as my favorite holiday, when I was a little kid Halloween was my favorite. Trick or treating always seemed so exciting - though, to be fair, it was never the candy I cared about. Yes, I love candy (I'm a confessed chocoholic), but for me it was more fun to dress up and just that I had the opportunity to run around the neighborhood at night, in the cool Autumn air, thrilled me.


I still love Halloween, only now that I'm older and not trick or treating, you kind of grow out of the fun of it. But I still love the spookiness, the crisp Autumn air (all the snow has melted, but it's still nice and chilly outside), snatching candy and seeing all of the neighborhood dressed up in costumes and decorations (though let's be fair: my neighborhood is a little on the dull side. A pumpkin and maybe a wreath of glittery leaves is enough to cause excitement).


Anyway, in honor of Halloween I did a review for one of those classic, cheesy, but still fun horror flicks for yesterday's SMR (you can read it here) and today here's my attempt at scrapping up some Halloween/classic movie related stuff.


A lot of these photos have been circulating around the blogosphere lately for Halloween; nothing really original but it's hard to find Halloween/classic movie stuff so I gave it my best! :) 

Lucy! <3

Joan Crawford

Judy Garland

Pier Angeli

Debbie Reynolds (sorry for the blurriness!)

Carole Lombard, Clark Gable and company [they're dressed up, so I guess it counts as a Halloween photo..]

Carole and Vivien with black (well, blackish for Vivien..) cats.

And, one of the most awesome Halloween stories ever about Lucy, told by her daughter, Lucie Arnaz --

HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! ♥

Sunday Movie Review: "Daisy Kenyon" (1947)

Hello dahhhlings,

Channeling my inner Tallulah Bankhead. I started saying "darling" so often now I've got my friends doing it with me. ;)

Today's an exciting day! My blog turns three months old exactly, and will finally be eligible for entry into the LAMB - for those of you who don't know what that is, LAMB stands for Large Association of Movie Blogs. It's exactly what it sounds like; a big cluster of all types of movie blogs. I've been waiting to join it ever since I first heard about it a couple of months ago, but my blog has to be old enough first. It is today, I plan on sending in my entry, and I'll let you know when it's all official! ;)

Oh, I also made some tweaks to my blog. Nothing big, I suppose you've noticed them already. For one, I'm trying desperately to clean up my sidebar because I felt it was getting too crowded. My blog roll looks smaller, but don't worry - all the blogs are still there (with some new editions), too, only it now displays five blogs instead of ten. Just hit "show all" to see all of my favorite blogs. Also, instead of showing off just a couple of my Youtube videos on my sidebar there's now a cute little pink TV widget that will take you to my channel page. STILL, I'm annoyed because the sidebar still feels crowded and it's driving me nuts. !!! Oh well. I'll stop complaining. ;)

And one more quick thing:

VOTE HERE

Voting for Film Classics's contest ends in a week I believe, so if you haven't already be sure and go over and do so! Just hit the little reminder under Lucy above :) [I still haven't figured out how to link URLs with pictures...]

Okay, now, with no further ado, onto the review! (Hey, that rhymes, doesn't it???)

***

Oh my gosh, I LOVE that poster. So awesome and beautiful - I just want to blow it up here, actually. ;)

Tired of waiting for her lover, Dan (Dana Andrews), to dump his wife, commercial artist Daisy Kenyon (Joan Crawford) decides to settle down and marry war vet Peter (Henry Fonda). But when Daisy learns that Dan has gotten a divorce and wants her back, she's caught in a terrible dilemma. Dan is a high-powered attorney who lives a glamorous life, but Peter is an honest man who sincerely loves her. [from Netflix]

The cast's got:

• Joan Crawford as Daisy Kenyon
• Dana Andrews as Dan O'Mara
• Henry Fonda as Peter Lambert
• Ruth Warrick as Lucille O'Mara

It is directed by Otto Preminger.

I happened to see parts of this movie in passing on TCM, but never sat down to watch the whole thing. What I had seen looked promising though, and I wasn't disappointed.

To begin with: the plot. Though it isn't the most original, it still has a lot of potential and a lot of ground to work with which the film utilizes quite well. I wouldn't exactly call this film outright film noir, though it screams to be one with the classic film noir lighting elements that are used several times throughout the movie (spotlighting Joan Crawford's humongous eyes, the dancing shadows - my God, there are a lot of shadows). Instead I would call it "noirish"; there, but not exactly. Like I've said, the lighting is all there --

And I liked it, it seemed to set a mood to the film. But throw away the guns or dramatic music or any of that (do those count as spoilers? I hope not). Anyhow, if you're avoiding this film because you think the plot and the love triangle all seem too cardboard and stuff you've seen before, I can proudly tell you not to worry and go ahead and give it a try anyway. 

Moving onto acting: I really liked Joan Crawford's performance as Daisy. These are the roles Joan Crawford was built for: tormented woman who manage to remain strong and somehow come out alive. (Also, she has a habit of playing in films whose titles are just the main player's full name, doesn't she? Mildred Pierce. Sadie McKee. Letty Lynton. :D)

But anyway, Joan usually excels in these noirish roles (gee whiz, I'm having fun with that word, amn't I?) and her performance as Daisy is no different. You feel sorry for her, you feel her pain, her dilemma, all that she suffers through. Her character, as complex as she may be, comes out very likable in the end. (At least to me, i guess some may argue). Henry and Dana are good but Joan's strong willed character becomes so that she takes over the film, giving her a chance to shine, and the latter mentioned men become props. Over all a solid performance, what was expected of Joan in this sort of a film, this sort of a character, and she doesn't fall short at all.

DAISY:

"It's a funny thing about being in love. Sometimes it's easier to tell when you are than when you aren't." 

I like Joan the more and more I watch her, though I'm still decidedly Team Bette. (Of course, that doesn't mean I can't like Joan at all!). And so I liked her in this, quite a lot.

Onto the men. Dana Andrews - this was the first movie of his I'd seen, believe it or not. His character was interesting; as a viewer at times I liked him and at other times I hated him. By the end of the movie I must admit he was a character I didn't like all that much but it wasn't only until till the last few minutes of the movie I came to that final conclusion (and I'm sticking to it). He does a good job with his role as well, though as I admitted earlier in this review he and Henry Fonda are eventually like props for Joan. Good props, though.

Anyway, I liked him and I hope to see more of him in the future because he was pretty good.

His connection, or chemistry, rather, with Joan's character is very good and they have some strong scenes together. (Let me give you a hint: it results in the bandage on his head in above photo).

Now, onto Henry Fonda. Henry is one of my favorite actors, though I haven't really talked about him much at all in my three months of blogging. :( My apologies, Henry! I really enjoyed him in this, though I usually enjoy him in anything. His character reminded me somewhat (just a hint) of his role in "The Big Street", a 1942 movie he made with Lucy, but you'd have to have seen that movie to understand what I mean. (Of course, this character has a LOT more backbone). 

This movie has a prominent love triangle, and that being said he plays good against Joan. I liked the two of them together and though their chemistry isn't as strong or as high-strung as Joan and Dana's (which is what the film calls for), it is good in the way it supposed to be: comfortable, reliable, and a sense of stability.

Also there was Ruth Warrick as Dana Andrews' wife. She was in Citizen Kane, I believe, and Driftwood. (Okay, you're probably scratching your head at that last film there. It was a really awful B movie that Natalie Wood made as a child actress, and it was available for instant watching on Netflix, so... ). She was familiar to me. I HATED her character so that means she obviously did a great job. Ruth, who to me looks slightly like Jean Arthur (see photo below), is an underrated actress but on the occasions I have seen her, I have always liked her performances.

Jean Arthur? Please? Slightly? Yes? Maybe it's just me...

There were two child actresses in this as well, both girls, and I liked them too.

I pretty much enjoyed this movie. It was exciting and somewhat suspenseful, keeping me on the edge of my seat at times. It kept me guessing about how everything would turn out in the end until the very last minute.

At moments it shines brighter than at others; nearing somewhat corny at points, but still a good noirish (okay, this is like my word of the day or something) melodrama. If you like Joan Crawford you'll love this; and if you're just on the fence about this movie, go ahead and watch it. I give it a 4/5 stars. Not disappointing and never falls short of exciting.

***

That's it for today's Sunday Movie Review. I actually also watched "State of the Union" (1948), with Kate and Spencer, with the intentions to write my review of that film but I was so disappointed in that movie! I would have to say, my least favorite Kate/Spencer movie to date (and I've seen seven of their nine movies). Too much political talk and simply too talky; and as much as I love the two of them I must say: avoid it like the plague! (Unless you love movies about politics and scripts with rambling speeches that go on for two pages. I had high hopes for that film, too... :( Oh well.)


Also: don't forget, it you have a request for a Sunday Movie Review feel free to leave me a comment and let me know! My only limitations are that it be pre-1970, not R rated (this is, after all, a family friendly blog :P) and nothing so obscure that I can't find it. If I can get it within my means, I'll be happy to review it for you! 

Au revior!

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. ;)