New Year's Movie Meme

Hi everyone! I'm on my holiday vacation (and I've still a week more) and have been having a wonderful time! I actually plan to do a post about what I've been up to later this week, but for now I'm going to do Rachel's New Year's meme.

I love surveys, though I haven't done any yet on this blog so I'm excited to do this! Rachel's doing this in celebration of her reaching fifty followers. I too reached fifty last week, and I also had been pondering about taking the leap of faith and doing my own movie survey. I don't know, what do you guys think? Let me know - if I know people are interested I'll have more confidence to make one! (If I do, it'll probably be in a month or so).

As for now, here are my answers to Rachel's!

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

This is a cruel question. I really can't pick just one, absolutely everything Grace wore was beautiful and gorgeous. I don't think I could possibly choose an all-time favorite but for me, here's one of the strongest contenders for that title:

from "High Society" (1956)

I honestly didn't even like "High Society" all that much, but this dress is simply gorgeous. *swoons*

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?

This is also a hard question because I don't really believe in remakes of the classics. Even if a film wasn't all that good the first time, well, Hollywood today couldn't make it any better than it originally was. So out of my devotion to Classic Hollywood I can't really come up with an answer for this one.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

Gilda.

She was my first experience with a femme fatale, and I think Rita Hayworth did a wonderful job. To me Gilda is the posterchild for a femme fatale, and especially since she was willing to simply "put the blame on Mame," for everything she did.

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.

Hmmm... See the sad thing is, I haven't even seen "Leave Her to Heaven," which I know is pretty terrible and I'll have to remedy that soon enough. (I also really need to see "All This and Heaven Too".) The only movie I can think of (which also happens to have Gene Tierney in it), though it's probably not the best, but I'll go with it anyway, is: "Heaven Can Wait." (1943). Don Ameche stars in it.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen (since Laura gave me the idea).

Don't kill me, guys. Don't send me hate mail or anything! But I'll have to go with Shirley Temple in "The Littlest Rebel" (1935). I actually detest that movie on several levels, and here's another confession: I'm really not that much of a Shirley Temple fan. I respect her because she was one of the biggest movie stars of that era, and I do like a number of the films she made as a teenager, but... still not her biggest fan.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?

Guys, I'm sorry to be annoying again, but I really haven't seen any monster films at all! So I'm going to have to pass on answering this. But for that matter, do you have any suggestions for monster movies?

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?

I'm not much of a Western person either but I'm going to say "The Searchers" (1956). My dad had to force me into watching this (he also forced me into "High Noon", but I like this one better), and in the end I had to admit it was pretty good. (NO, I was totally not influenced by Natalie Wood's presence in this movie... what? what are you suggesting there?...)

 

What? No? Natalie had nothing to do with it....

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

Pretty much anyone who is a classic movie lover. Anybody who has ever watched a classic film with someone who isn't a fan of it will know what I have endured. Partly it's my own fault because I decide to be all stubborn and force some of my friends to watch classic films because I think by some miracle they'll be converted and we'll just sit around and have conversations about Greer's voice or Bette vs. Joan or the horrors of Cary Grant growing a mustache. A good example is when I made a group of my friends watch "Gone With the Wind" (1939). I told them about Rhett trying to smash Scarlett's skull and Atlanta burning to the ground and Rhett swearing and all that exciting stuff, and I put it on. But they only lasted about twenty minutes before taking to Facebook. And I was sitting there like an idiot, going, "Look! Atlanta's burning! Melanie's dying!"  (Mind you, these are the same people that said that Greer's voice wasn't perfect...)

I will never get people who don't love classic film. But, each to their own, as they say...

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?

As much as I love film I can't think of one particular film that changed my life. I try not to let things influence me to that certain of an extent. But classic film in general has a big influence on me and the way I act though. (Does that totally override my last statement?). Classic movie stars are my role models and inspirations, which some people may roll their eyes at, but I think I'm getting a lot more out of looking up to Lucy than I would Kim Kardashian (or any other "reality star" of today for that matter). So the basic answer is not one particular film but just classic movies in general. They have a positive influence on me definitely.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

Hmm. Well one performer that I obviously truly love is Lucy. And I will watch her in absolutely anything, even an advertisement for Snuggies. However, I have to admit, "The Big Street" (1942) is uncomfortable to watch because Lucy is really mean in it. Like, her character is awful. Not to mention it's also a pretty bad movie, THOUGH at the same time I feel she gave one of her best performances (she also looks really gorgeous in this movie). Does that make any sense at all?

I guess what I basically mean is that it was hard seeing Lucy play a character so mean and heartless because we're used to the Lucy we all love. But at the same time she did a really good job of playing this cold character, in what is still a 2 star movie. (??? sigh).

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.  

Before I answer this, I want to make a point of saying that I DON'T LOATHE HER, she's just not one of my favorites and I do think she is overrated. Yes, just a little. But please don't send me hate mail (and besides, I'm actually praising her in this answer).

So who is this "her"?

Yes, Marilyn Monroe. But I really liked her in "Some Like it Hot" (1958) - it's one of my favorite films in fact and she was quite good in it. In general, Marilyn tends not to be one of my favorites, but I really did like her in this. 

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

I think to get better at my movie critiquing and a little more serious about it. So basically to become a better movie reviewer. And I think to also be able to strip down layers of the film - stuff like the actors, the movie score, heck, even the poster - to its core and really be able to analyze that better. I think that's what a real critic would do, and then think about the other stuff afterwards, whereas for me it tends to be in reverse. And since I review a movie every Sunday, I'm definitely going to get a lot of practice in doing this!

***

I had a lot of fun answering these questions and finally being able to do a meme! Thanks for making this, Rachel, and congratulations on reaching fifty followers! :)

I'm probably going to write another blog sometime later this week about the fun classic Hollywood related stuff I've been doing over break. But if I'm not able to get around to doing it, well.. then... Have a really happy New Year! And I'll see in you in 2012!

PS: If I made a meme of my own and you think you'd do it, let me know. :) 

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!! :)

The Big 10: Female Characters (in TV and film)

Hi everyone,

I'm all chirpy and happy today for a few reasons - 1) It's FRIDAY! I love Friday, it's my favorite day of the week (Rebecca Black did not ruin it for me). Not because I have great classes today, either (I don't). But I just love reaching the end of the week and taking a big sigh, like, "Few, that's over. Until Monday!" And I can finally watch a movie, too. Tonight it will be "Mildred Pierce" - a movie I have been dying to see since, like, forever.

However, I don't think I'll do a review for it this particular Sunday because I thought I'd pick a patriotic movie to review this week since Sunday is the tenth anniversary of September 11th... that, of course, deflates my happy mood a bit. But more on that on Sunday.

And 2) The sun is finally shining!!!! The whole week it was gray and rainy and awful, but now the sun is just shining and it's beautiful outside, even if there are still puddles on the ground. Also, school went pretty well today - among other things, I was given a big compliment by one of my teachers on my writing skills in front of the whole class; embarrassing, but I get happy like a little kid whenever someone sincerely compliments my writing. As Lina Lamount says: "Our hard work ain't been in vain!" And, guess what else????? We have a songbook for our music class and in it today I found this big picture of Lucy and the song "Hey, Look Me Over!" from her Broadway musical, Wildcat. I know. INSANE HAPPINESS. Vivien Leigh cat smiling. I'm so going to request for us to learn that song!! :)

Okay, babbling is over. :) Today I'm going to list my top ten female characters. I'm doing television and film, because if I limited myself to movies alone I'd be forced to exclude Lucy Ricardo. ;)

This is pretty much in no particular order. Enjoy!

1 : Scarlett O'Hara

played by Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind

Well, yes, I LOVE Scarlett. I know that Melanie was a lot nicer and very sweet and who doesn't love Melanie? But it's just so much fun watching Scarlett be... Scarlett. No to mention Viv played her to an exact point of perfection! Yes, it is often argued that Scarlett was a b*tch, and I guess she was. But in her defense, Scarlett is probably one of the most exciting characters to grace the screen. She could be hardworking when she wanted to, and she retched out that carrot without flinching. So yes, love her or hate her (though I do love her), Scarlett is one of the most awesome characters, female or male, EVER. Here's to you, Scarlett O'Hara!

2 : Lucy Ricardo

played by Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy

My darling Lucy! I have heard people also call Lucy Ricardo annoying and conniving and things like that, but the fact remains is that there was a special quality about Lucy that make us love her, flaws and all - in fact, that was the premise of the show. And... she was also smart, clever, resourceful, and beautiful in ways people don't give her much credit for - not to mention hilarious and zany! That's why we love Lucy :)

3 : Holly Golightly

played by Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's

In which Scarlett can be called a b*tch, Lucy obnoxious, Holly can be called a gold digger. But like the latter characters, there is a special quality about her - not to mention the brilliance of the actress who played her! - which makes Holly a character to love and remember. Despite her faults, I think Holly is the girl all women sort of want to be: glamorous and sophisticated and very fashionable; not to mention she lived life as if it was all a big gulp of fresh air. And she had a pretty cute cat, too!

4 : Alicia Huberman

played by Ingrid Bergman, Notorious

Yes, yes, one of my favorite Ingrid roles ever! I love Ingrid in the Alicia role, she just comes across as this ultra sophisticated spy to me, and it does help that her character is madly in love with Cary Grant. ;) She wears some really chic gowns and puts her life on the line for her country. Yeah, I just really found her character quite marvelous!

5 : Hildy Johnson

played by Rosalind Russell, His Girl Friday

As an inspiring girl writer, Hildy Johnson is really one of my favorite inspirations! I like her because she kept her femininity but proved she could write or report as good as the next guy in that busy newsroom. Plus, okay, okay, yes: I really love the way her name sounds. "Hildy". It really does roll off your tongue, doesn't it?

6 : Maria
played by Natalie Wood, West Side Story

I guess I have no particular reason for liking Maria. Maybe it has a lot do with the way Natalie played her; because everytime I watch West Side Story I always feel for Maria's character and even relate to her. "I Feel Pretty" is one of my favorite dance sequences and even though Maria does some stupid things in the movie (I would blurt them out here but there must be some of you who have not seen WSS - well, what are you waiting for?? Go watch it. NOW. :D), I still really like her character. The Puetro Rican Juliet. 

7 : Charlotte Vale (II, anyway)

played by Bette Davis, Now, Voyager

I say "Charlotte Vale II" because... because... well, I didn't hate the shaky Aunt Charlotte from the beginning of the movie, but I love her progression into the confident, sophsticated woman of the world she becomes. I explained a bit of that in my Now, Voyager movie review. Bette Davis portrayed her perfectly, I thought!

8 : Alva Starr

played by Natalie Wood, This Property is Condemned

"This Property is Condemned", a Tennessee Williams movie, did not really do so well at the box office at the time, but truth be told I really enjoyed it when I watched it. Maybe it was the pairing of Natalie and Robert Redford together for the second time (they'd teamed up before for "Inside Daisy Clover", a not so good movie...), but I did enjoy it. I also loved Natalie's Alva Starr character. Most of all because I enjoyed seeing life through the fabricated eyes of Alva; the whole world to her is literally a box of chocolates - one of my favorite scenes from the film is when Alva insists to Robert Redford's character that the sky is white, not blue. She wants to go to New Orleans because she believes people are buried above the ground there, where they can breathe forever. I simply love the way the character looks at life as if it's a dream.

9 : Susan Vance

played by Katharine Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby

It's screwball time! "Bringing Up Baby" was one of the first classics I ever watched and I think it's really what pulled me into classic films. My God, I LOVE the Susan character. This is my favorite Kate performance ever. Susan is just adorable and hilarious and Kate's special Bryn Mawer accent somehow makes the character even funnier. And she has a pet leopard. Named Baby. Susan makes me smile! Look, I just love this movie and I love this character and if you haven't seen it then where the heck have you been?

10 : Gilda 

played by Rita Hayworth, Gilda

I have to have a femme fatale on this list, and Gilda will be it! "Gilda" was some of the first film noir I saw and I was really enthralled by Rita's Gilda character: it was one of my first exposures to femme fatale and it's riveting how she pulls Glenn Ford into her trap and "putting the blame on Mame" and all of that. 

Well, there it is for you! I had a hard time narrowing it down towards the end and I had to leave out a few other favorites, like Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa Lund (Casablanca) and Sister Benedict (The Bells of St. Mary's) as well as Vivien Leigh's Blanche DuBois (A Streetcar Named Desire), and, of course, Bette Davis's Baby Jane Hudson (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?). I'll try to get together a list of my ten favorite male characters, though that may be a little while before I get around to it.

The film noir contest at Film Classics will close tomorrow. So just one tiny little last reminder if you haven't voted yet or anything. I think I'm currently tied for first place which is a shocker times a thousand - especially considering the zero confidence I had in my post. Another big thanks to Film Classics for sponsoring this contest; it was great fun to participate and the possibility I may actually win first place like, fills me with an abundance of joy (<<< hey, I like that phrase! I think I'll say it more often), though I'd better not jinx it. ;)

I'll leave you with yet another awesome picture of Old Hollywood folks hanging out together --

Viv and Lauren. Yes, yes, yes. I love this picture.

Ta-ta for now, dahhhlings!! 

^^ All Tallulah Bankhead esque, of course. :) This is, indeed, a happy Friday!

Anatomy of a Film Noir

Okay, so this here is going to be my submission for the Film Noir Contest at film-classics.com (once I finish this nervous prattle) I joined the contest maybe about two weeks ago, so I've had a lot of time to think it over... you'd think. Maybe I was a bit gallant into just jumping into this contest, though I figured I'd have plenty of time to do a little research and watch some film noir and all of that fun stuff.

But you've heard me say it and I'll say it again: the end of August is always quite busy for me, and I probably should have taken that into consideration upon entering the contest. But it looked fun, and I was all what the heck, why not? and yeah....

Now here you find me on my last day to enter for this contest, and I'm going to tell you right now that this post is probably not going to contend quite well. I don't know how many people have entered, but I know there are at least two others and they probably know a lot more about film noir then I do and their posts are probably going to be a thousand times better and this is going to really suck (no, I'm not fishing for compliments). I'm usually quite confident in my writing ability (not to be arrogant or anything), but this time I'm just...

The thing is in many ways, especially when it comes to my writing, I am a perfectionist (here is one of those cases where I share a habit of that every so lovely Lucille Ball), and this is probably far from perfect. But oh, well. (I seriously wish this was "last season" at Film Classics. That topic was the screwball comedy, and I would've done quite a bit better with it.)

Okay, okay, okay. You're tired of me rattling on here and I'd better get on with it. So I was not confident enough in my movie reviewing skills, so I decided to take the plunge (why not? I'm already making a fool of myself) and do an anatomy of your average film noir, and all the little things that make it film noir... and all of that... and... yes.

Well, voting for this will begin tomorrow (I'll also post a little reminder in tomorrow's post with a link to do voting and all of that)... so if you can bring yourself to vote for this way too humble contribution, you know what to do. (More on that tomorrow).

***

Here's a spiffy little banner made by yours truly for the event. To try and win you all over. I chose Rita Hayworth from "Gilda" because it happens to be one of my first - and favorite - film noir.

The room is dimly lit as expected. He sits on the table making his way through the pack of cigarettes. The moonlight slips through the Venetian blinds, casting its shadow across his fedora- framed face. He stubs out the cigarette and reaches for a new one. The fiery ember of the match glows like a small beacon of light in the dark room as he holds it up to the cigarette and lets out a big cloud of smoke.

Suddenly, the door opens a crack and a little bit of light from the outside world dares to sneak in with her. She stands in the light for a moment, projecting a silhouette of her figure before his eyes. Quietly, he draws the cigarette away from his lips and says something smart. She shuts the door behind her and takes soft, swift steps toward him.

Now she stands in the glow of the moonlight. The striped shadows from the blinds obscure her face, but most of it becomes revealed  - full lips covered in rouge, and eyes downcast and lined with kohl, hair soft and in silky waves around her face. She says something smarter, then takes the cigarette out of his fingers and places it to her own lips. She blows smoke into his face with a smirk, then returns it to its rightful owner with rings of smeared lipstick on the cigarette.

This is a typical scene from a film noir movie. You may call it a cliche, but almost every film noir has got it and if the movie is any good, it becomes something less than stereotypical but something special and enchanting. It has all the ingredients. The leading man. He may have suave, cool exterior with a fedora on his head and a cigarette in his hand, but the fact remains that we're always watching out for him. We know how gullible he is and how he will succumb to the feet of the femme fatale - or, otherwise known as the curvaceous shadow across the room. She's more clever than him, you, and me combined. 

Film noir is an enchanting genre of film. It's the type you watch on a dark night. Not to scare yourself, but more or less to entice yourself. Each type of genre has a way of pulling you in - splashy musicals do so with big, obnoxious song and dance routines. Screwball comedy usually has the main players land up in some sort of a wild situation (maybe chasing after a leopard). However, film noir is a lot more subtle as it drags you in. It usually starts with the femme fatale.

We all like the guys, but let's face it: it's the femme fatale that really has us on the edge of our seats. As soon as she walks into the room under the shadows of those Venetian blinds, you know she's going to be trouble. You can tell by the way her lips curl up at the ends, or maybe it's something in her eyes, or maybe it's the fact you know you're watching film noir. But, if played right, the femme fatale will nearly fool you. When I first watched Double Indemnity, Barbara Stanwyck actually had me nearly liking the Phyllis Dietrichson character. I knew she was bad and I knew she was going to get Fred MacMurrary into some awful trouble. Yet, you almost want it to be that it's not so. You almost think that the guy, that he's doing the right thing by helping her out.

We're both rotten.

Only, you're a little more rotten.

Phyllis was really the perfect femme fatale. For those of you that are not familiar with "Double Indemnity" (though I can imagine there are not that many of you),  it stars Barbara Stanwyck as the fatale in mention and Fred MacMurray as Walter, the victim of her trap. It's pretty simple enough: Phyllis lures Walter into her web and ties him up quite awfully.... basically, she gets him to murder her husband. The results can only be dangerous.

femme fatale, noun - 

an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren. [dictionary.com]

Walter gets trapped pretty bad, as characters of his type usually do. The femme fatale have a mysterious attitude, but we know their tricks and why they do it (and in many cases, we know where it roots from), so we often feel like we know them better than their victims. Though us viewers often land up in the same boat as the Walter, he is usually a character without much depth. He's a nice guy, an ordinary Joe. The femme fatale makes him doing things he'd never consider, and suddenly he finds himself with a bullet in his side or a gun at someone's head, or something really awful or exciting like that.

Another good example of the femme fatale is Gilda from the movie of the same name. Played by Rita Hayworth, she is one of my favorite "hate to love" fatales. Though she does not exactly make Glenn Ford's character kill for her, she does emotionally drain him inside and out all while "putting the blame on Mame" for doing so.  Gilda also dressed as the perfect fatale, particularly in that famous scene where she is dancing in the  gravity defying, shiny black dress and tossing her perfectly conditioned hair.

A very crucial moment of the average film noir is when the fatale and her victim first meet. In "Double Indemnity", Fred MacMurrary walks into the room, looks up the grand staircase and finds Barbara Stanwyck in a towel with a bracelet around her ankle.

In "Gilda", Glenn Ford happens to walk into the room just as Rita is dancing about the room and flipping that hair. Once she comes up for air, she meets eyes with her victim for the first time.

This is a essential moment. And from now on, it doesn't matter if he's married or she's married or whatever else may stand in their way, you know they're going to (very drastically) land up together. Or rather, she's going to jump on him like a spider (in the words of Mammy to Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind").

When one thinks of the stereotypical film noir, these movies and these key players and moments and all of that comes to mind. Though film noir is not always limited to a femme fatale and her prey. Really, any other dark film with dark lighting and a breath of fatality in the air can be considered a film noir. Let's take a look at some less stereotypical film noir --

A very good example is the 1950 "Sunset Boulevard", with William Holden and Gloria Swanson. I really hope all of you have seen this because it is such an enticingly wonderful movie that really draws you in and everyone should see it. Basically, Bill Holden plays a scriptwriter who finds himself living in the home of aging film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who wants him to take an idea she has for a comeback film and write a great script for it. This little task finds Holden's doomed character in a backwards love triangle... Norma's got designs on his character (as he discovers one painful New Year's Eve), but she's not really his type.

Too bad for him.

Once again, you have a victim and a femme fatale. Though Holden does make a great performance as the stereotypical victim, Gloria Swanson's Norma is not your usual femme fatale. She draws Holden into her trap in ways he didn't expect and nearly blackmails him into staying with her at the mansion. That's why I consider Norma Desmond a total femme fatale. Whether Holden's character likes it or not, he gets stuck in Norma's trap, and things get a little dangerous to say the least.

Mr. DeMille? She's ready for her close up.

Swanson's Norma may go completely against the typical typecasting for a femme fatale (sultry, cool, a little brazen), but a lot of the characteristics of the typical femme fatale exists in this character. For example - she's cunning and tricky. Though her methods may be different (she pulls on Bill Holden's emotions; Phyllis Dietrichson seduced Walter), she does land up trapping her prey.

They call "Mildred Pierce", the 1945 drama that won Joan Crawford the Oscar for the title character of the same name, film noir. The femme fatale can be identified in Ann Blyth as Veda, Mildred's selfish daughter who wreaks havoc for Joan Crawford -- who, in this case, is the victim. It is completed with low key lighting and a dark tone.

Mildred is compelled to love the conniving Veda because she is, above all, her daughter.

The dark, dimly lit lighting of a film noir cinches the deal. Take my the little tidbit I wrote earlier in the post -- this scene would not have the same dramatic effect if filmed in the regular black and white. Instead, a sharp, crisp contrast between the two shades (with a little gray in between), usually splitting a character's face into two, hams up the drama. Shadows are also often utilized - silhouettes add mystery and suspense. The smoke coming from the character's cigarettes add a smoky, clouded feel into already dark room. Select lighting on the femme fatale's eyes was also a commonly used trick.

Alan Ladd striking a sinister pose in a classic example of using lighting for an effect

We can learn a lot from the character and what role they will play in the movie from the first moment they appear on screen - and more importantly, the way they are lit. A character may be lit from the bottom to give a menacing look, or may be lit from behind to look vague or moody. Spotlighting the femme fatale's eyes are another commonly used trick.

To wrap up this post, let's take a quick look at the most familiar actors and actresses of the film noir genre. We can usually find

• Humphrey Bogart
• Lauren Bacall
• Barbara Stanwyck
• On occasion, Rita Hayworth
• Robert Mitchum
• James Cagney
• Joan Crawford

in film noir.

Does film noir still exist? To stretch the term, there are films that have been made post-Golden Era that people like to consider film noir.... femme fatale and all. However, the core of true film noir will always be in the 1940's and 50's, when it was at it's peek of highest popularity.... and besides. They don't make them like they used to.

Bogie

Film noir is really such an enticing, attractive style of film making. It offers us a different escape into the movie world - a world where there are really no happily ever afters and instead moody, manipulative characters who travel down darkly lit streets and damp alleyways into their own deathly fates. 

 Though I have not yet really journeyed far into this genre, researching and preparing for writing this post  have got me excited about watching more from this particular era of film making. I hope you've enjoyed my little two cents on the subject.

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Okay, that's all, folks. Polls open tomorrow and I'm inviting everyone to check out the other posts and cast your votes. I tried my hardest on this.... and well, I hope it wasn't too awful.

Thanks for bearing with me. :)

Katharine Hepburn: A Life in Pictures

This is not actually a book review --

I'm only going to be sharing with you some of my favorite pictures from a picture book of Katharine Hepburn I bought recently. (It's in this book haul). It has some very nice pictures and I got it for a good price, so overall it was well worth it and I enjoyed it. And besides, this will be a tamer change of pace from yesterday's rant (by the way, I hope no one thinks I hate the stars I talked about in yesterday's post.... I most certainly do NOT. I LOVE Audrey and Bogie -- I mean, she's on my bedroom wall and I named my chinchilla after him! - and I think Marilyn and James Dean are good actors... . it's not really about the stars exactly, I'm just trying to make a point.)

(The name of the book is the same as the post title). Since I scanned these from the book, I still obviously don't own them but ... considering I didn't find this on Google Images or anything, if you want to use them I'd appreciate if you could link back to my blog. :)

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Kate as a child growing up in Connecticut - isn't she adorable??

Kate taking a dive. I think this is a pretty cool picture, and I love how it was taken mid-dive.

Kate as a STREETWALKER in 1930's New York!

A studio portrait. I really like this photo and I think she looks quite pretty in it.

Okay, so I'm making this a bit bigger so you can see the stars in it. I swear, this is like my favorite of them all. This is a bunch of stars from MGM (including Lucy - you can see the blazing hair, first row! Also: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Red Skelton, Greer Garson, Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams...) with studio head Louis B. Mayer on his birthday, and there's a cake, too! I LOVE it. It's like, a class picture... see if you can spot the stars ;)

This wouldn't be complete without a picture of Kate and Spence. The book is actually lacking in photos of this couple, which is it's only downfall. But out of the ones provided this publicity still for "Adam's Rib" is definitely my favorite.

Hehe... Kate biking around the studio lot. That's so... Kate like!

Kate having a drink with Clark Gable. I don't know but I have this big thing for photos of really awesome people with other really awesome people -- maybe that's why I love the MGM photo so much!

This is probably for "Pat and Mike," but I think she played tennis in real life, too.

Okay, so, I think this may be in a tie for my favorite with the MGM picture.

These are the shoe shapes of famous women. The names are written on each clog, but if you can't read, from top to bottom it's: Marlene (wow, she had tiny feet!), Kate, Ava, Bette, Rita, Audrey, the Duchess of Windsor, and Ingrid - and I LOVE the fact that Ingrid's is the biggest of them all. ;) I have pretty big feet too so it makes me feel better, lol.

Kate in later years, back in Connecticut, picking flowers. :)

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Yeah, well, I hope you enjoyed my little photo essay. If you like them, maybe I'll do more in the future because I own several picture books.

Oh, and by the way, today is the last day of the "Which Old Hollywood book should I read next?" poll. It closes later today. With nine votes cast it looks as if Lauren's autobiography is going to win, but there's still time left to pull your favorite up! ;)