Olivia vs. Joan (and a multitude of other things)

Bonjour!

I've got, as the title says, a multitude of different things to talk about today, so we'd better get started. You're forewarned: this blog may get a little long.

The first thing I guess is today is July 31st, or AKA, the last day of July. Making tomorrow the first of August, and that marks six days away from the All Time Exciting Event: (drumroll please) LUCILLE BALL'S 100TH BIRTHDAY!

As you can tell, I'm super-excited.

So, starting tomorrow, I am going to begin Six Days of Blogging for Lucy. That's exactly what it sounds like: On the 1-6, I will be blogging solely about Lucille Ball, and any topics related to her. I mean, it's Lucy, so I have tons of material and promise to keep you all entertained. Plus, a few specials from Frankly My Dear TV. This is, of course, also in addition to the Loving Lucy Blogathon that I have joined.

Next, since today is the last day of July (which I already said, of course) I thought I'd do a little, "My Month in Old Hollywood Film" tidbit. Basically the highlights of what I've watched over the month - or anything relating to classic film, excreta.

So here is my Big 10:

• I start my classic film blog, and call it "Frankly, My Dear."
• I start "Frankly My Dear TV" on Youtube. The first video goes up on July 20th as a tribute video for Natalie Wood's birthday. I have now reached 100+ views, and have gotten 3 likes and 1 dislike (obviously from a person who's got problems in their life... lol).
• I get four new Old Hollywood related books. See them here.
• I watch the epic "Gone With the Wind" (1938) all over again, over the course of two days, in the big movie theater in our basement.
• Films of note - "The Big Sleep" (1946) (yes, believe it or not, I hadn't seen it yet and it confused the bloody L out of me!), "Sex and the Single Girl" (1964), so to chalk up another point in my Natalie Wood movies, "Mogambo" (1953) - everyone said it was going to be bad, but I actually rather enjoyed myself. Of course, I have yet to see the original, "Red Dust," so we'll see what happens after that.
• Best Movie of the Month: "Gone With the Wind" ~ revisited, but still. Still 5/5 Still amazing when they burn Atlanta down. ;)
• Worst Movie of the Month: "Bombers B-52" (1957) with Natalie Wood and Karl Malden. Bought it on pay-per-view to chalk up another Natalie movie, but it turned out to be a man's movie with airplanes and little to no romance, really.. then landed up fast forwarding through the whole thing. So :(
• I got my friend to watch "West Side Story" (1961) and "What ever Happened to Baby Jane?" I think she enjoyed herself, especially with WHTBJ? and they're old movies, so yay :)
• Actresses that most sparked my interest in this month were: Bette Davis, Ava Gardner (especially because of "Mogambo"), Olivia de Havilland.
• Actors that most sparked my interest: Gregory Peck.

***

So, I will also be bringing some new rules to the polling game. I'm going to allow a longer period of time for people to vote in the poll - at least a full week, so we can get more results. The results of the first poll were good with nine votes, but in the past two polls, we have been fading. 

This week's results were: One point for Olivia de Havilland, one point for Undecided, and zero points for poor old Joan Fontaine!

Anyway, as promised here is your "Olivia vs. Joan" Blog.

For starters, who's side am I on? I am Team Olivia. Especially with the amount of interest her movies sparked in me this month - not to mention I watched two films of hers - I am quickly starting to like Olivia more and more. In all fairness to Joan, I have not seen that many of her movies. But I still like Olivia better. ;)

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

"The Big Sister"

born July 1st, 1916, in Toyko, Japan (hey, she's got the same birthday as Princess Diana! Well, not the same year. But STILL.)

JOAN FONTAINE

"The Little Sister"

born October 22nd, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan

Sibling Rivalry

The fact was that little Olivia and Joan as kids had never really liked each other. When Olivia was nine, she made up a will and the legend goes that she bequeathed a very special gift to sister Joan: her beauty, for "since she has none." (I laugh a little at this, because I'm thinking of Olivia as Melanie in "Gone with the Wind" as I write this). Another rumor claims that Olivia used to rip up Joan's hand me downs so Joan would be forced to sew them back together for herself. (Uhm, seriously??)

Of course, Hollywood didn't help. You can imagine how the animosity between the two of them grew when they were both nominated for an Oscar in 1941 - Olivia for "Hold Back the Dawn" and Joan for "Suspicion." (What was the Academy thinking??!!) Matters got a lot worse when Joan won for "Suspicion." That did it.

Apparently at the ceremony, Olivia extended a hand to Joan to congratulate her. In return, Joan ignored her and turned to the next person as she flaunted her Oscar.  Another story claims that it was the other way around. I guess it's a matter of dispute - but in all fairness, Olivia went on to win two Oscars of her own... one more golden man than Joan.

Still, they weren't totally estranged from each other until the 1970's. It is said that their mother always favored Olivia, and forced Joan into making up her own surname when she decided to venture into Hollywood herself (Olivia, however, became an actress first - using their own last name). Joan claimed in a 1979 interview that Olivia wanted their 88 year old mother to be operated on, a the time in which she was dying, and Joan became so annoyed she stopped speaking to her. (??) Apparently, Olivia also neglected to inform her about a memorial service for their mother, and also "didn't call her" when their mother had first passed away.

It's hard to imagine Olivia being the mean one since she always had that "sweet face." Of course, a lot of this is hearsay. who knows? Maybe it's a publicity stunt (but how boring would that be?) from way back when. it also depends who's side you choose, and then what stories you believe.

Of course, we're lucky to still have both Olivia and Joan with us - one of the few leading ladies from Old Hollywood left. They're both in their 90's, but they still haven't patched things up. Last September, the president of France honored citizen Olivia (who has been living their since the 1950's), and Joan refused to attend the ceremony.

(Wow - they must have good genes!) Anyway, I think they should clean things up between the two of them! That's just my opinion. And it's pretty easy for me to say, because I don't have a sister - or a sibling at all. ;)

I hear a biography about their sibling rivalry comes out next year, so I'll be excited to read that and learn more about it.

That's all for now - and don't forget, blogging for Lucy starts tomorrow.

Ciao!

30 Years Since "The Wedding of the Century"...

Bonjour,

I've said by now that on occasion I will differ from the subject of old movies and Old Hollywood stars, and today is one of those occasions...this year happens to be a year of lots of anniversaries - most importantly, the 100th birthday of Lucy, but also the 50th birthdays of President Obama and Princess Diana, the 60th anniversary of "I Love Lucy," the 70th of Pearl Harbor.... the list just goes on! And today is another one of those anniversaries... the 30th anniversary of "The Wedding of the Century."

By this I mean the July 29th, 1981 nuptials between Lady Diana Spencer (as she was then) and Prince Charles. It was dubbed "The Wedding of the Century" - but to be fair, most royal weddings are. Princess Grace and Prince Rainier had had a "Wedding of the Century" thirty years before, and just a few months ago when William and Kate wed, it became the wedding of THIS century - until the next royals get married, of course.

So this is a term used quite loosely, but Diana and Charles's wedding did leave quite a mark. A lot of it had to do with Princess Diana. And so, that will be the topic of today's Blog - even though I'm an a American girl, and this is a British event, I'll cave in for the time being.

I think one of the most memorable things of the day was Diana's dress. I love a lot of the clothes she wore, especially as time wore on, but the beginning years when she was making the transition from Lady Diana to Princess of Wales was sort of rocky. The wedding dress is a good example:

It is said in later years when the dress came out of hiding some place, Diana would cringe and tell them to put it away. One can understand why - in my opinion, I'm a fan of Diana, but not the dress! However, it is also pretty easy to understand Diana's choice. She was twenty years old when she was married, and probably trying to dream up that perfect, fantasy "princess" dress.

It was designed by Elizabeth and David Emmanuel. Once I watched a TV special about Royal Weddings and David Emmanuel was interviewed about Diana's dress. He put it best when he said that if you asked a little girl to draw a princess's dress, it would turn out just like Diana's wedding dress. He also explained how Diana had wanted it to be frilly, ruffly, romantic, etc. He brought up a valid point - Diana brought back the "fancy dress". By 1981, wedding dresses were becoming less extravagant and Diana changed all of that... with those big puff sleeves!

The most important and memorable thing about the dress, was, though, the train....

That stretched 25 feet long! When she stepped out of her glass carriage with her father to enter St. Paul's Cathedral, the world watched and gasped as it just coming and coming out... it was actually pretty amazing.

David said that he and Diana got sort of excited about doing a very long train, and so they looked up the longest train in the history of Royal Weddings (I think it may have been Princess Ann or something - anyway, Diana now holds the record), measured the aisle of St. Paul's, and produced this.

Then there were two other little details: the tiara and the bouquet. 

Diana chose to wear the Spencer Tiara, from her own family -

The legend goes that the tiara was quite heavy and landed up giving Diana a headache the whole day! However, you have to admit - it's quite pretty.

There was also the wedding bouquet, created by Longmans Limited of London, consisted of gardenias, golden roses, pips of Stephanotis, miniature ivy, leaves of tradescantia, myrtle, and veronica. 

The bouquet in itself was also quite revolutionary (as explained on that same program I watched) because bouquets, like dresses, had become less extravagant and quite small by that time. But Diana's was big and draping - nearly a shower of flowers.

There was, of course, the ring...

If it looks familiar, that's because Prince William is a little bit of a regifter. He used the same engagement ring - sapphire surrounded by diamonds - for his wife, Kate Middleton.

Don't forget the wedding cake!

I wonder if it was chocolate?

Last, but certainly not least, there was the wedding couple themselves. And although they weren't exactly the fairytale couple (as we all know now), Diana looked lovely on her wedding day, and, uhm... Prince Charles didn't look like a wimp. not exactly...

Diana and Charles also started one last tradition - the balcony kiss. You don't kiss in the church in England, but the crowds wanted a kiss from the newlyweds so they settled for a little peck on the balcony:

How scandalous!

Anyway, I just thought it would give me a little opportunity to write a Diana blog (since this Blog wasn't in creation earlier in July, when she celebrated her 50th birthday)... and tomorrow, we'll get back to old movies.

Ciao!

And everywhere that Audrey went, the deer was sure to go...

Hello Friends! (Are you tired? Run-down? Listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular -- ok, sorry, sorry, I'm stopping!)

Before we start with a charming little story, I'd quickly like to remind everyone to please vote, vote, vote in the poll. The question is are you team Olivia or team Joan, and both sides need your support!

Now, with that out of the way, I have realized that in my past 13 posts, I have neglected a VIP and one of my favorite actresses... Audrey Hepburn!

So, are you ready, kids? It's storytelling time. This story is called -

"AUDREY HAD A LITTLE DEER"

Once upon a time in Old Hollywood land, there was an actress named Audrey Hepburn.

Like most of the other actresses, Audrey was sweet and pretty and good at her job. She was also very compassionate. In 1959, she made the movie "Green Mansions," a strange vehicle she did for the sake of her husband, Mel Ferrer, who happened to be the director. Co-starring was Anthony Perkins (who the author here does not remember for "Physco," because she has yet to see that film because she is afraid it is going to scare the heck out of her and she'll never be able to shower again, but that annoying little boy who is desperate to have a love affair with Ingy in "Goodbye, Again") and Lee J. Cobb ("12 Angry Men"). 

Audrey in a cowboy hat for the role. Yes, tis a strange film...

Shortly after the film, Audrey suffered a miscarriage. Loving children and having none - it would be a year before son Sean was born in 1960 - Audrey returned home to bed, feeling depressed and sullen. To cheer her up, Mel brought her back a surprise.

One can wonder what Audrey's reaction was when a little baby fawn came walking into her bedroom (at least, that's how the author imagines it - supposing that Mel would have some trouble gift wrapping it). 

It was a little deer, hot off the set of "Green Mansions." Audrey named it Pippin, calling it "Ip" for short, and it quickly became a playdate for her pet Yorkie, Mr. Famous. Ip was in love with Audrey and rose her spirits. They made a little bed for the deer out of a bathtub.

And so, it wasn't long before Ip and Audrey were sharing special moments together, like napping on the couch:

Or even going grocery shopping together! There's no doubt that Ip is trying to help Audrey out by searching for the expiration date in this next shot:

And, as all fairytales go, they lived happily ever after...

THE END

After all the reading I've done on Audrey, they never ONCE thought to mention Audrey's pet Ip! (That Donald Spoto...!) When I discovered the story, I was not only charmed by it but found another reason to love Audrey. I mean, come on - only Audrey would take a baby fawn into her home!

Here are some more pictures of Audrey with the beloved Pippin:

Taking a nap - that's Mr. Famous, the Yorkie, curled up in a ball at the edge of the couch

Playing in the yard - once again, Mr. Famous is tagging along

It's feeding time!! (And yep - there's Mr. Famous again)

Candid moments with Audrey and Ip

And I thought I'd share it with you all - because it'll put a smile on your face, and give you another reason to j'adore Audrey.

I'll leave you with one last picture...

Ip plants a kiss on Audrey

Ciao!

Old Hollywood Celebrities and Their Children: A Lookalike Contest

Hi everyone,

Today, as promised, will be a lookalike contest. What is this? Don't understand? Basically, I have chosen five celebrities (based on the grounds of who were most eligible for this contest to begin with, and the available of photos of the celebrity's offspring) and their children. The contest will be which offspring looks most like their celebrity parent. For example: you have parent A and child A, then parent B and child B. Do A and A look more like each other than B and B do? It sounds a little confusing, I suppose - and I can't explain it very well, I guess - but you ought to understand as you read on.

Here are the contestants:

Ingrid Bergman and Isabella Rossellini
Grace Kelly and Princess Caroline of Monaco
Lucille Ball and Lucie Arnaz
Judy Garland and Liza Minelli

FOURTH PLACE

Grace Kelly and Princess Caroline of Monaco

(or "The Two Princesses")

Really, none of Grace's three children - Princess Caroline, Princess Stephanie, and Prince Albert - look anything like her. They don't even look that much like their father, so you can't really tell who they went on. I chose Caroline for the contest because she seemed the most eligible out of the three. Still, she doesn't look much like Grace at all. If anything, she seems to have inherited some of Grace's polish, as the "Vogue" cover shows. So though she can act like her mother, she simply doesn't look like her.

THIRD PLACE

Lucille Ball and Lucie Arnaz

(or "The Two Lucys")

Yeah, I never saw an resemblance here either. Lucie looks a lot like her father, and so does her brother, Desi, Jr. I guess if you squint you can see some resemblance.... but truthfully, if I had seen her as some random woman on the street - and I wasn't a Lucy fan so I wouldn't have recognized her - I would never say, "He,y, she looks like Lucille Ball!" I wouldn't.

SECOND PLACE

Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli

(or.... no, I've got nothing on this ;])

Yep, I never really thought they looked alike.... and then I saw the above picture, and I was like, "Whoa!" I mean, I always thought Liza looked a lot like her dad (director Vincent Minnelli) but after seeing that picture, I came to the conclusion that they were quite worthy of second place. Judy, Judy, Judy...

FIRST PLACE (drumroll please....)

Ingrid Bergman and Isabella Rossellini

(or, uhm, the winners?)

I swear to God, they are like twins. Seriously, they can be mirror images of each other. I mean, maybe not the old Ingrid and today's Isabella, but the ages they are in the photo above. Of it, Isabella said something along the lines of, "I've got my mother's features, but an Italian expression." Maybe so, but there's no denying the resemblance  And if that isn't enough proof.... look at this:

 That is Isabella spoofing her mother's Ilsa Lund ("Casablanca") image in an episode of "Tales from the Crypt" entitled "You, Murderer." The resemblance is uncanny!

Well, that's it for today, but I'm thinking of doing a little "Switched at Birth" segment tomorrow for a follow up! Whaddya think?

Ciao!

Happy Birthday To Ethel!! (Plus Poll Results and My Book Haul)

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to write yesterday. And I know I promised a celebrity/child lookalike contest for my next post, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow because today is a very special person's birthday...

But before we get onto that, I have two other things I want to talk about. First, your poll results. I'm sorry, the poll closed a few days ago, but I forgot to post it in my last Blog. The poll was a chance to choose your favorite Natalie Wood role in honor of her 73rd birthday last week. Your choices were -

• Susan in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947)
• Judy in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1956)
• Deenie in "Splendor in the Grass" (1961)
• Maria in "West Side Story" (1961)
• Carol in "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" (1969)
• Other - please comment

And here are your results: In a tie for first place, Maria and "other" (that was me - mine is Alva in "This Property is Condemned") with one vote each. The rest didn't get any votes at all. Oh, come on people, show Natalie some love next time!

The new poll is "In the sibling rivalry of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, who's side are you on?" and your choices will be Team Olivia or Team Joan, fashioned after the Twilight crazed teenagers who demand to know if you're Team Edward or Team Jacob (I reply by going, "Uhm.... I dunno. Are you Team Olivia or Team Joan? Joan or Bette?") After the poll is finished, I'll write a blog about it. Be sure and vote!

Next up on the list, yesterday I paid one of my last visits to Borders. ** weep weep ** I know, many a tear cried. It was sad to see the huge "Going out of business sign" outside, and the huge yellow signs everywhere I turned in the store. Still, if anything good came out of the closing, anything at all, it was the sale. Everything in the store was marked 10% to 40% off and it was a madhouse inside (NOW YOU BUY BOOKS, PEOPLE).

That's not a super great sale, but maybe it'll be marked down more towards their last weeks. Anyway, I was a emotional wreck and bought myself five books, all hardcover. I got some great deals, especially in the Biography section. Four of them were biography -

I got: "Bette Davis * Larger than Life," by Richard Schickel and George Perry. It was originally $35, and for that price I wouldn't have gotten it, but it was on sale for $8 so OF COURSE I got it! It basically has a mini biography of Bette and her entire filmography with plot, cast details, great pictures (for scanning!), etc.... I have a book of the same type and manner called "Lucy at the Movies," by Cindy de la Hoz, which was gifted to me by a friend for Christmas and a great read, so hopefully this will be just as good.

Then I got "Katharine Hepburn: A Life in Pictures," by Pierre-Henri Verlhac. Originally $45, I got it for --- wait for it -- $4.50! It is basically a picture book starring Kate... I didn't have a picture book of her so I was excited to find it to add to my collection. And it was such a great steal.

Next, "I Know Where I'm Going: Katharine Hepburn," by Charlotte Chandler. I had Kate's autobiography, but I didn't have a bio. It was $26 originally and I paid about $20 for it, so not a super great steal, but you know.

And finally, "Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr," by Stephen Michael Shearer. Originally $30, I paid $23 for it. I had wanted to buy a Hedy book for a while, so I was content.

I was kind of upset because an Ava Gardner bio that had been there for while, and I had finally decided I was going to buy it, wasn't there anymore! I was so upset, lol. :) But I guess I'll get it from some place else. Anyway, it was a success trip. I also got "The Flappers," a teen lit book that takes place in the 1920's, so I'm also excited about that.

Okay, now I'd like to proudly wish a happy 102nd birthday to Vivian Vance - AKA, the woman who was Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy!" She was born on this date 102 years ago in Cherryvale, Kansas. Like their on screen personas, she and Lucille Ball quarreled sometime, but they grew into a great, lasting friendship that continued on until Vivian's death. Vivian even joined her on "The Lucy Show" and made guest appearances on "Here's Lucy." They considered each other, off screen, to be best friends.

Here's a picture of a younger Viv - the one you didn't see as the frumpy Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy."

Lucy and Viv, "The BFFs" together in later years.

Happy Birthday, Viv!

In honor of her birthday, I found the perfect time to make a Lucy and Ethel friendship video. I'm not happy with the quality of some of the clips, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. These are clips from a multitude of different "I Love Lucy" episodes, set to "Thank You For Being a Friend" by Andrew Gold.... if it sounds familiar,  it's because it's the theme intro for "The Golden Girls" in it's fullness, which is another awesome show. Anyway - enjoy!

Lucy and Ethel forever! <3 And I hope you all have a great "Ethel's birthday" - hey, that's the name of an "I Love Lucy" episode! I encourage everyone to watch some great Ethel starring episodes today, like the visit to her hometown or more appropriately, her birthday episode.

Ciao!