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!

What's My Line? Wednesday || Anne Bancroft

Hi everyone,

I have a WML? clip for you today, since it's Wednesday. It's probably not going to be a weekly thing but I haven't gotten a chance to post it on a actual Wednesday! I would like to write a more interesting blog but I'm so tired and drained because of school these days, that when I come home (between my homework and eating dinner), I usually lie around just relaxing. I've been watching "The Kennedys" mini-series because they're all Instant on Netflix. I must admit, they're not as bad as I thought they would be, but a lot of the dialogue is so corny it hurts.

So yeah, for that I apologize. I've barely been going to school for a week and it seems like I've all ready fallen back into the pattern of homework and school and it doesn't help that the weather is gray and rainy and will be for the whole week.

Anyway, enough of my whining! Don't forget to leave your guesses for Here's Looking At You, Kid. I've gotten a few guesses so far, thank you to everyone has guessed already! :)

This one is another favorite of mine, with Anne Bancroft. And yes, that's Groucho in the panel!

Here's Looking At You, Kid #1

Update: This edition of "Here's Looking at You, Kid" is now closed. See the results here and stay tuned for upcoming editions in which you can leave your guesses! :)

Okay.... it's time for the first organized "game" here on Frankly, My Dear! Alright, alright. I know I did the baby picture of Ava last week but.... this is more... organized. Yes. That's the word.

This is a game I used to play with my dad even before I started blogging; I would cut out an Old Hollywood's celebrity's eyes out of a picture and have my dad guess which celebrity it was. Now, I thought it would be fun to bring it to the blog. It is called, of course, "Here's looking at you, kid."

I have two pairs of eyes for you today. One is a woman and the other is a man. Here's the woman:

And the man's:

So, all you have to do is comment with your guesses! You can guess just the guy or the girl or both - it's up to you. All guesses are very much appreciated ;) and I'll reveal the face behind the eyes in a week or so. 

Of course, I found another amazing Old Hollywood picture. Yeah, I think I have an obsession.

Lucy and Judy Garland dancing - pretty awesome, hmm???

Also, the random-est tiny thing ticked me off the other day. Me being as random as I am, I think I'll write about it - it has to do with Old Hollywood anyway, and I'm pretty picky about this stuff! So I was reading this book called "Ingenue", which takes place in 1924 and is about flappers and mobsters and all that jazz. In one point in the book this magazine editor says, "...While every other writer gushes about Barbara Stanwyck's newest headband, my magazine's going to be digging deeper..." Of course, I, being a particular about Old Hollywood as I am, found something fishy in this statement. I was all, "What? Stany wasn't a 20's star." I did my research and figured out that Stany was born in 1907 and didn't make her film debut until 1927, as an extra or something, though this book takes place three years before. I rolled my eyes and  was all, "WELL, MRS. -INSERT WRITER'S NAME - DO YOUR RESEARCH NEXT TIME!" hmph. It was an awful book, anyway. ;)

Well, I probably wasted your time with that random little bit there, but I get rather protective of Classic Hollywood, you see. Anyway, be sure and leave me your guesses. 

Au revior, mon ami :) and happy labor day to those of us in the US!

(^^ More badly broken French. Rosetta Stone kills.)

Sunday Movie Review: "Now, Voyager" (1942)

This Sunday I'm going to be reviewing "Now, Voyager" -- the last movie of my summer vacation, but it did end on a high note! I have really been loving Bette Davis this summer (but you all knew that), and this film did not disappoint me... let's get on with the review!

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Since I'm pretty bad/confusing at describing films, I've decided now that I will just pull the summaries from Netflix, with all due credit to them, of course. I think most of the time their synopses are pretty good and it will save me time ;)

Bridled by an autocratic mother, Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) borders on a nervous breakdown. But when a psychiatrist (Claude Rains) persuades Charlotte to drastically change her life, she blossoms into a confident, self-possessed woman. Charlotte then takes a voyage, where she falls in love with the unhappily married Jerry (Paul Henreid). Though their romance is doomed, Charlotte finds solace in helping Jerry's emotionally unhinged daughter. [from Netflix]

The cast has:

• Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale
• Paul Henreid as Jerry Durrance
• Claude Raines as Dr. Jaquith
• And the character actress Mary Wickes as a nurse (she is familiar to me from "I Love Lucy")

It is directed by Irving Rapper.

I really liked this movie. I thought it was a good drama, and though some parts may be considered corny or too coincidental, I enjoyed it enough to like the page for it on Facebook (lol).

Charlotte Vale must be one of my most favorite characters ever! It is a journey for the viewers to watch as she transforms from the shaky, spinster "Aunt Charlotte" who hoards dirty novels, booze, and cigarettes 

to a beautiful (at least, in that Bette Davis way), confident, and sophisticated woman who is ready to travel the world and have her cigarettes lit by Paul Henried.

Not only did I love the character, I adored Bette playing her. I think she did a fantastic job and I think she's built for the role. Though a pretty new dress, a chic new hat, a haircut and some makeup help Charlotte Vale transform, it is her attitude that takes the biggest transformation - the new Charlotte is confident and ready to capture the world, but not forgetting her past.

This film was made 1942, the same year as "Casablanca", which also had Paul Henreid and Claude Raines. Since Paul Henried's character in this is married but despite that he begins having an affair with Bette (in some far off, romantic country), I cracked, "Now we know what Lazlo was doing when Rick and Ilsa were in Paris!"

I was a little worried before watching that it may become slow at parts, but I assure you it will not! This movie captured from me the start and did not relent until the end. Sometimes in movies, even good ones, you'll find those few moments that are slow and make your mind wander off, but I did not feel that once in "Now, Voyager". 

Paul Henreid's Jerry is a likable character even though his relationship with Charlotte is doomed from the start. Bette and Paul have good chemistry, as well.

Gladys Cooper is Charlotte's domineering mother who pushes her to the point of a nervous breakdown. This is a wonderful love to hate character - I mean, one look at that clenched jaw framed by snowy white hair scolding Bette Davis for getting her life back will have you wanting to throw a punch at the screen (which is excellent for this particular role, of course!)

I also liked Claude Raines as the doctor, and also enjoyed the performance of the child actress who played Jerry's daughter. There were lots of cute scenes between her and Bette as Charlotte Vale takes this young, whispery, shaky girl and helps hand her the confidence earlier in life - rather searching for it for years like Charlotte had.

This has all the good elements of a wonderful drama - romance, edge of the seat moments, good acting, it was a splendid film! The title comes from this snippet of a Walt Whitman poem:

"The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,

Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

Words given to Charlotte Vale by her doctor, instilling in her a new confidence and bright hope for the future.

Though, above all, my favorite line in the whole film will have to be the memorable: "Don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."

Said by Charlotte, it basically expresses her feelings that though she will not get everything she has wanted, there is still beautiful things for her to cling onto.

I love a good movie score and this one is beautiful. It is fluid and romantic and will carry you off to different worlds- It won the Oscar, after all! I think I'm going to try to find it for my playlist.

I really enjoyed this film and I'm going to go as far to give it a four and a half out of five. To me, it was a beautiful, moving drama and "don't let's ask for the moon" will have to be one of my favorite memorable lines.

What else can I say? I love this movie. And I guess the underlying fact is, I don't have much to complain about it - you should watch it, now! And you can watch it online here, for free, so you have no excuse not to! ;)

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That's all for now, folks. And for those of us who have long weekends, have a great one :)

The Candid Camera (of sorts)

Bonjour, mon ami!

(Excuse my awful broken French). I was all giddy because over the last days, I found some really great Old Hollywood pictures! One of my favorite things ever is finding a great picture of an Old Hollywood star. I love finding rare or more candid photos, or photos of Classic Hollywood hanging out together (I think I've already expressed my love of awesome people spending time with awesome people). In fact, I'm not a fan of the more "general photos" -- you know, when you Google Image someone and the same particular photos all show up in the first page??? Even if these are good photos they're quite common and it gets tiring. Though candids are my favorite, I do like magazine photos, or posed photos, especially if it's LIFE magazine or something like that (I'm crazy about LIFE). I just like finding more rare, Classic Hollywood pictures versus the overused ones. ;)

^^ I hope some of that made sense. Anyway, I'm Vivien-Leigh-cat-smiling right now because I found a ton of great pictures and am here to share them with you all!! (Oh, and once again - a billion sorries that I couldn't tag everyone for this post, I only tagged the people with the most pictures / did not yet have a tag on this blog... Blogger can be a real pain sometimes!!)

Also, a quick reminder. The Film Noir Contest at Film-Classics.com closes in about a week. I'm currently in second place which is a lot better than I ever expected!!! If you have not voted yet, want to vote, liked my Anatomy of a Film Noir, etc. etc., you can vote here. Don't forget to check out the other reviews, because they are all wonderful! This ends on September 10th, so you have a week left to cast your votes if you already haven't.

Oh! And one more, quick last thing. You can now follow Frankly, My Dear with BlogLovin'! The widget to do so is on my sidebar, right under the usual members box. Now, I'll stop babbling and get on with the show ;)

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This is an amazing photo and I went crazy ecstatic when I found it - this is three of my favorite film stars in the SAME room: Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Natalie Wood. Liz, Audrey, and Nat all together in a CANDID.  How crazily AMAZING IS THAT???

Bob and Ava  just chilling out together!

Bogie and Bacall. I really love the latter!

Gina and Rock :)

I'm sure everyone has seen this before, and I even had it as my Favicon for a while, but I cannot get over how thrillingly, chillingly amazing this one is!

I love this one of Joan -- she's sort of like,

"Did I do okay?"

Jane Russell just lounging around.

Lauren needs her coffee!!!! (From the Brown Derby, of course)

Best friends, Ava and Lana, in some really gorgeous dresses

Leslie and Shirley chatting together

Okay, is it just me, or does it look like Liz and Dick are on a merry-go-round? Either way, I find this photo quite cool. 

Marilyn and Betty pose for the camera at the premiere of "How To Marry a Millionaire"

Lauren, Bogie, and Marilyn

I love this photo, too. Marlon relaxes and types on his typewriter while his cat wraps himself around Marlon's neck ;)

Errolivia :)

I cannot get over how much I LOVE this photo. This has to be one of my favorite pictures of Natalie, ever.

This one, too. I also j'adore this one.

Sophia Loren speaking to a little girl. Pretty adorable :)

Natalie and Warren during their brief courtship

Vivien with her cat. I love this one, too ;)

Ingrid and Cary share a laugh - I love these two together!

I'm sure you've all this one before, but I don't care. It's amazing. Bette Davis doing her nails. Enough said.

More pet pictures! Bette with her dog.

Doris is just chilling out -- don't disturb!

Lucy pointing something out to Desi.

Cheers!

hehe. She looks so incredibly chic here :) I'm guessing this was during the run of "Wildcat," just after she'd divorced Desi.

Okay, I don't even know what they're doing here, but a candid photo of Lucy and Henry together is simply awesome enough for me to share :)

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Before I sign off, I'd like to thank everyone for their lovely comments on my last post! It looks like everyone's pretty happy with "WML?" becoming a segment and I can't wait to share more clips with you all. :) I'll also try and do more "Rianna Recasts" and "You know you're obsessed when..." which were also requested.

See you tomorrow with the Sunday Movie Review!