Favorite Filmmakers | Billy Wilder

It should be noted that Rianna has indeed been absent from this blog at erratic periods in the last few months or so. And she apologizes. She's graduating next week and then she's going to be on summer vacation and she'll be spamming your dashboards all the time once more (whether you're ready or not). Because she needs to spend her time being sentimental and mushy about moving on in life and leaving people and a place she's known since she was a little kid; she's been slightly detached from her blog. But she promises her ever-lovely followers to be back to regular, somewhat quality blogging in about a week. And she's going to start it off a little early with a post in what she hopes will be a successful series, Favorite Filmmakers, in which she will talk about her favorite directors, producers, writers, etc. It'll be fun! Yeah! Well, let's get on with it. And P.S: Rianna promises to never talk in third person again.

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BILLY WILDER (1906 - 2002)

Billy Wilder has written the screenplays for some of my all-time favorite films, a few of which I'm going to present to you right now. Before I continue on with this list, though, I'm going to have to confess something. Confess something extremely shameful and my ears are turning pink as I type this, but... guess what... I, uh... uh.. I haven't seen... well, I've got to come right out with it. I haven't seen it. I haven't seen The Apartment (1960). I know. I know. And I claim to love Billy Wilder & film & all of that! It's kind of a long story why I haven't seen it yet, but I promise it's at the top of my "You-look-like-an-idiot-for-not-having-seen-this-so-watch-it-fast" list. I've seen portions of it; just never the film as a whole, and I regret it deeply, and I'm sure as soon as I get my act together and watch it I'm absolutely going to love it. But I felt like I was going to have to explain its absence from this list. (I mean, I can't very well put it on there until I've seen it, right?) 

Anyway, now that we've gotten that deadly, embarrassing confession out of the way let's get on with it, shall we? This list is no particular order, as usual.

THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR | 1942 | Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland

Though this may not be Wilder's all time best work, it's still one of those guilty pleasure sort of films of mine. I caught it on TCM a year or two ago and it won my heart. Ginger plays a woman who disguises herself as a twelve year old girl to afford train fare, but while on the trip she meets an army man played by Ray Milland who doesn't notice the truth and takes her under his wing. Though Ginger probably couldn't pass for a twelve year old, if you squint hard she could pass for fifteen or sixteen perhaps. Anyways, this was one of Wilder's earlier American films and I really enjoyed it.


MIDNIGHT | 1939 | Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche 

This is one of those overlooked yet still wonderful movies from Hollywood's greatest year. I saw this one what seems like a long time ago, but I do remember liking it a lot, perhaps just as much as that other Claudette Colbert film everyone's wild about, you know, that one with Clark Gable and a bed sheet or something... (just kidding). Anyways, I also remember this movie being incredibly funny and just laughing until my sides hurt. Claudette plays a chorus girl stranded in Paris, broke with only a evening gown on her back, who starts to fall for Don Ameche, a taxi driver, whilst a millionaire sets her up to break up his wife's affair with another man. A thoroughly funny movie and some of Wilder's lesser known work. Claudette is also excellent, as usual.


DOUBLE INDEMNITY | 1944 | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray

This is, of course, the classic film noir in which Fred's fatal attraction to Barbara's wicked Phyllis Dietrichson, a totally terrible-in-an-awesome-sort-of-way femme fatale (save that wig...) leads to dastardly results. It is really such a clever movie and one of the prime examples of film noir at it's best, totally riveting every step of the way. Likely credited to be one of Wilder's finest jobs and that's not an understatement because it's such an exciting storyline. One of my local theaters is doing a stage version and I really hope I'll get the opportunity to see it.


SUNSET BOULEVARD  | 1950  |  Gloria Swanson, William Holden


This is one of those films where Hollywood pokes fun at itself, and I just love movies like that. For those of you who aren't familiar with the plot (though I can't imagine that many of you are not!), Swanson plays Norma Desmond, a washed out has-been who gets her talons on amateur scriptwriter Holden. She turns her Hollywood mansion into his worst nightmare and forces him into staying there with her (and engaging in a awkward romance of sorts) by threatening suicide. This movie is just about near-perfect, I love everything about it, it's kind of like a film noir horror hybrid of sorts. And thanks to Wilder it has some of the best lines a picture ever had, like, "We had faces then!" and "I am Big! It is the pictures that got small!"

SABRINA  | 1954  | Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden

One of my favorite Audrey movies ever. She plays Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of the chauffeur at the Larrabee mansion, who has always held a torch for the younger, playboy Larabee brother, David (played by Holden), who hasn't noticed the knock-kneed child of the help since they were little kids. After a trip to Paris transforms Sabrina into a sophisticated young lady, she catches the eyes of both brothers, but for different reasons - and it isn't long before she finds herself in a love triangle of sorts. This film is charming, romantic, amusing and one of my personal favorites, kind of like a 50's twist on the Cinderella story. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea yet still one I always recommend because I happen to adore it.

LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON  | 1957  | Audrey Hepburn, Gary Cooper

It seems I rather enjoy Wilder/Hepburn collaborations (which ought to make sense, as they're both favorites of mine). Audrey plays quiet, cello playing Ariane, the daughter of a private investigator. Through the work of her father she learns of an American playboy by the name of Frank Flannagan, or Gary Cooper. As expected the two become romantically involved but there is also a number of hilarious misunderstandings. Everytime I watch this movie, I'm struck by how funny it is! And not in that clever, chuckle a bit sorta way but in a laugh-out-loud manner. It's so witty and I absolutely love the scenes where Audrey's naive character makes up a list of men she's been with to make the experienced Flannagan jealous, and how this list drives him absolutely crazy. This is just a fabulous movie. 

SOME LIKE IT HOT  | 1958  | Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon

I'm not going to talk all that much about this movie, because you know why? It's just near flawless and one of the best of the sophisticated comedy sort you'll ever find. And if you haven't seen it, you've probably been underneath a rock or something! I can't imagine that you wouldn't know, but Curtis and Lemmon play two musicians who witness a mob hit and flee the state by disguising themselves as women and joining an all female band. But when they meet Sugar Kane, played by Marilyn, complications set in as the temptation proves to be too great. This movie is just hilarious, as if I would even need to say it. Curtis and Lemmon are wonderful together as usual. As it is well understood in these parts, I'm not the biggest fan of Marilyn's (by the way, though,  Happy birthday!), but I loved her in this. The last line is famously, "Nobody's perfect!", but I don't know, this movie comes about thisclose.

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I trimmed that list and forced myself to leave out movies like Witness for the Persecution (1957) and The Spirit of St. Louis (1957); because really, I've come to this conclusion: I love Billy Wilder films way too much.

Anyways, I promise I'll be around this blog way more often in about a week or so, okay? And I'll have my review up on Sunday as usual, and hopefully this Favorite Filmmakers series is going to go great. Also, I (and mon amie Natalie) have something really exciting planned for this summer that I'll be talking about in a bit. So don't despair, dear followers! :)

[By the way: I'm just tagging this with Billy Wilder & 'Favorite Filmmakers' because Blogger wouldn't let me tag all the actors, alright?]

Sunday Movie Review: "Imitation of Life" (1959)

And this Sunday, my Lana Turner obsession continues....

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IMITATION OF LIFE (1959): Cast, plot details 

A struggling young actress with a six-year-old daughter sets up housekeeping with a homeless black widow and her light-skinned eight-year-old daughter who rejects her mother by trying to pass for white.

[from imDB]

• Lana Turner as Lora Meredith
• Sandra Dee as Susie Meredith
• John Gavin as Steve Archer
• Juanita Moore as Annie Johnson
• Susan Kohner as Sarah Jane Johnson

THE VERDICT:  ★★★ 1/2

A great performance by Lana Turner, an entertaining plot line, and lively characters keep his soap opera turning; watch it over the 1934 film.

So, for me, this film's star rating got bumped up just a bit after watching the original 1934 version of this film. The 1934 version stars Claudette Colbert, whom I love, but being made in the thirties it is much more blatantly racist whereas this film, being made on the verge of the Civil Rights Movement, seems to combat the issue more. In general I don't find old films racist except African Americans are playing the stereotypical roles, which is not right but usually their employers have respect for them and there are no derogatory lines. Whereas Claudette's character has obvious respect for her housekeeper in the original, there are some ugly sexist ("What use is algebra to a girl?") and racist (the little girl mistakes the African American housekeeper upon first meeting her for a "horsie") lines. So I'd say totally skip the 1934 version; Claudette is great but it is simply a film that does not age at all with modern audiences & the 1959 version is a much better option.

I was watching the 1934 one on Youtube, and whilst strolling through the comments, I came across one that said "This is even more racist than the newer one!" Which I thought was weird because I didn't really find this movie racist. Lana Turner's character has a lot of respect and affection for her housekeeper, Annie, and so does her daughter, who refers to Annie as her "aunt." The only racist one in this movie is honestly Annie's black daughter, and whenever she says something cruel to her mother Lana's character Lora steps into rebuke her, etc. As well as SPOILER at the end of the film, after Annie's death, whites and blacks desegregate to celebrate her life.

So compared to the 1934 one, this movie seems like an advertisement for Civil Rights. That being said, I'll get onto the actual film.

This was the movie that brought back Lana Turner's career after the 1957 scandal in which her teenage daughter accidentally killed her gangster boyfriend. Well, though I wasn't crazy about the movie as a whole, I really did like her in this. (I'm sure that's not a surprise to anyone). I'm absolutely enthralled with Lana; she's such an adorable sweetheart, really! She was lovely in this, she made me cry at the end of the film; I'm really enjoying these movies of the soap operish quality of hers. I bought Madame X (1966) over the weekend and I hope to see it soon, so we'll see how that goes. I do love Claudette but Lana won my heart in the battle of the two performances.

John Gavin, who was familiar to me from Psycho (1960), was good though throughout the film he and Lana are engaged in an on and off relationship that I couldn't really comprehend. But over all I thought he was good and satisfied what his role called for. I also thought Sandra Dee was good, if not a little bit too enthusiastic and peppy, but I suppose that is alright as Sandra Dee hails from, you know, Gidget. (Well, actually, the only other thing I've seen Sandra in is A Summer Place which was a far cry from Gidget or even the character in this movie but the point still stands... y'know.)

I loved Jaunita Moore as the housekeeper, Annie. The character itself is wonderful and you can understand why everyone - white, black, green, or blue - loves her. Just the whole time through I kept paining and paining for her, and I couldn't stand watching her daughter treat her the way she did. Which brings me to the daughter, Sarah Jane. Oh my, her character was such a total and utter b*tch I just wanted to throw something at the screen. Sarah Jane is black, but she looks totally white, and she wants to 'pass', and in doing so, give up her mother. She was just so utterly notorious and frustrating and I honestly wanted her mom to just give up on her and let her go live her life as a prostitute or whatever it is that she wanted to be. The actress was good though, because the character was just so awful, but I don't understand why a light skinned black actress couldn't have been chosen for the role. The actress, she was literally had a snow white skin tone in my opinion, I don't understand why a little bit of makeup couldn't have been applied to make her appear a bit tanner, like Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947) and Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961). 

Though I thought several performances were great and Lana Turner made me cry in the end, this is not one of my all-time favorites though. For me, there were a few annoying indiscrepancies in the plot line and overly dramatic moments for me to absolutely ADORE this movie - but I'd much rather recommend this one than the 1934 one.

PHOTOS & TRIVIA

• Natalie Wood was considered for the role of Sarah Jane Johnson. (I don't know how I feel about this, Natalie being one of my all-time favorites - while I know she would have done a awesome job, I'd hate having to see her play such a terrible terrible character).
• Pearl Bailey was considered for the part of Annie Johnson.
• Douglas Sirk's last movie before retiring to his native Germany.
• A picture of Bobby Darin is used as a prop in Sarah Jane's room.

A MOVIE TIDBIT 

This is kind of a SPOILER SCENE. You can watch the full movie here.

 

Happy Birthday, Kate! [5 Things]

Another birthday! Another Hepburn's birthday!

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Happy Birthday, Kate!

There has been no one, before or after, like Katharine Houghton Hepburn. Mean as a snake, dear as an angel— she is one of the great humans, better than the legend. She isall she appears to be, with a face for Mount Rushmore.

- John Bryson [Photographer//Friend]

#5: Susan Vance (and an assortment of other characters)

I like so many of the characters Katharine Hepburn played: Tracy Lord (The Philadelphia Story), Tess Harding (Woman of the Year), and Amanda Bonner (Adam's Rib) are a few of my favorite Kate roles that represent much of the characters Kate played in her career. Free-spirited, liberated, independent woman who wore pants and told the men what to do; not the other way around - and this was the 1940s. Its one of my very favorite things about Kate. But my all time favorite character isn't one of these feminists, but, in fact, a zany screwball heiress named Susan Vance. Susan hails from Bringing up Baby (1938), my favorite Kate film - though it's hard to pick just one.  Susan, with her notoriously high pitched giggle that I adore to imitate, is the exact opposite of the traditional Kate character, probably the sort that would tick a traditional Kate character off to no end. (Can you imagine Tess Harding & Susan Vance meeting?). And still, it's my favorite. Bringing up Baby (1938), was one of my very first classics, and my very first Kate film, and I instantly fell in love with her. Perhaps a lot of it had to do with adorable Susan, who won my heart from the moment she took Cary Grant's golf ball. (We're watching the film in one of my classes, because of me, and I'm afraid to say that one of my friends asked me in all seriousness, "Does Susan have a mental problem?")

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#4: Her voice

I hear people complain about Kate's voice all the time, and I'm like, "WHAT?! ARE YOU DEAF?!" Oh, well, each to their own. I however beg to differ. Kate's voice was one of the first things that made me love her. It honestly just adds this to underlying quality of adorableness she has, and it makes me adore her even more. If you haven't noticed lately, I gush over voices a lot: lusting after Greer Garson's, wanting an Ingrid accent of my own, and forever noting Cary Grant's particular way of saying "hell-o!". Well, Kate is right up there with the three of them. I'm positively in love with her "Bryn Mawr accent", which also brings me to add, to those that may disagree: she didn't choose her voice, it was just the accent that she happened to have, like anyone else picks up one.

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#3: Her looks.

A lot of people don't think Kate Hepburn was beautiful, and once more I must disagree. Katharine Hepburn was not the conventional beauty, she was certainly "different looking", but she was still quite gorgeous in that particular way of hers. When I first saw her on the screen as a little girl, I thought she was absolutely stunning and couldn't get over how pretty she was! Now I can understand that while perhaps she isn't the traditional beauty, she was still indeed beautiful: I mean, those cheekbones, that smile, the carefully sculpted features? So no, I just don't get it when people say she wasn't beautiful. Oh well. Once more, each to their own.

#2: Kate & Spence.

Perhaps, I believe, my favorite couple - next to Lucy & Desi, I mean. And they weren't even married! I think the wonderful thing about the great old Hollywood unions were, in addition to giving us the pleasure over swooning over them as a couple, they also gave us great performances together. Kate & Spence are certainly a testament to that. I recently watched Sea of Grass (1947), and therefore, I can proudly say that I have seen all nine Kate & Spence movies. Gosh, they're just simply wonderful together. On screen and off. As for on screen, my favorite is likely either Woman of the Year (1942) or Adam's Rib (1949). As for off screen, I suggest you watch this. (And yes, you will need your Kleenex).

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#1: Kate just being Kate.

This one is kind of hard to describe. I get it's just a summarization of Kate being Kate. Because, Katharine Hepburn was just generally the definition of an awesome person. She did all her stunts in films, did headstands when she was in her eighties, swam in the Venice canals each morning whilst filming Summertime (1955), and didn't give a damn about what anyone else thought. She was never willing to change herself for anyone. I admire that quality about her so much, that persistence to always be herself and keep her character. She stuck with that her entire life, I think. Katharine Hepburn was really quite honestly an amazing human being. I just don't know how to put it into words, but there is simply this aura about her. It usually results in people either completely hating or completely loving her. To me, it turned out to be the latter. In my definition of "Katharine Hepburn", she is one of the best actresses to have ever graced the screen and a simply wonderful person with an incredible personality, whose self-confidence I hope to have myself one day.

3 Rules by Katharine Hepburn to live by:
"1) Never quit
2) Be yourself
3) Never put too much flour in your brownies."

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Sunday Movie Review: "Peyton Place" (1957)

I know I wasn't around last month a lot, but look, it's only one week into May and I've already gotten three posts up already. I'm quite proud, I must say!

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PEYTON PLACE (1957): Cast, plot details

Coming-of-age story set in a small New England village whose peaceful facade hides love and passion, scandal and hypocrisy. Allison, a beautiful high school student and aspiring writer, struggles to grow up under the thumb of her emotionally crippled single mother. The mother, Constance MacKenzie, a woman with a hidden past, is now aroused by the temptations of the new high school principal. On the other side of town, Allison's best friend Selena lives in a shack with an abusive stepfather. As the seasons change, so do Allison and her friends, as they struggle to mature in the stifling small town. [from imDB]

• Lana Turner as Constance MacKenzie
• Hope Lange as Selena Cross
• Diane Varsi as Allison MacKenzie
• Russ Tamblyn as Norman Page
• Arthur Kennedy as Lucas Cross
• Lee Phillips as Michael Rossi

THE VERDICT:  ★★★★

This film is definitely entertaining and though it obviously will verge on soap operish at points, it was still a good a film with a gorgeous score and I still suggest you give it a watch 

The fact that this film was the basis for the popular soap opera of the same title didn't really turn me off from seeing this movie. (I think what made me more reluctant was the fact that the running time is three hours long, but I didn't regret it later!). It's not that I like soap operas, because I definitely don't, but I have a guilty pleasure for overly dramatic films, sometimes based on novels & plays, perhaps of the Tennessee Williams variety. Plus, I absolutely love movies with court scenes, so...

I must say, I rather enjoyed this film! Perhaps it's because it fit my watching palette but I liked it. It was a "coming of age story", and being a teenager I do enjoy these. I was intrigued with a teenage party scene in the film, where the resident "bad boy" tries to spike the punch with liquor ("good girl" Diane Varsi does put a stop to it). I guess most think of teens of the 40s as bobby soxers, but issues like peer pressure, drinking, bullying, sex, etc. were just as rampant then as they were now, only it was considered good conduct to only whisper about it and not face these issues out loud, especially in small towns like Peyton Place, as this movie shows. As a result, so many became patronized and fearful of being themselves because of how dangerous small town gossip was.

It's surprising that this movie could've been made in 1957. The central themes are illegitimate children, rape, and murder. I imagine that the Hays Code office were sweating bricks during the entire production. But I think these issues were handled well and discreetly, in a way that would have not entirely scandalized audiences in 1957 and seem entirely mild to audiences nowadays. 

As for the acting, I might as well begin with Lana Turner. Oh my, I really did love her. She was one of the actresses I chose to watch in 2012. What I thought of Lana before seeing her in this was that she was a sex kitten actress whose daughter killed her gangster boyfriend. But I was wrong, she was just splendid in this, and I look forward to seeing her in movies like Imitation of Life, The Bad and the Beautiful, and most importantly, The Postman Always Rings Twice. I really enjoyed Lana, her adorable face, and her great performance. In fact, she's really the main reason I chose this particular movie to review. And how ironic the courtroom scene in this would be for her a year later!

This was also my first Hope Lange film. I too thought she was wonderful and she was really likable as Selena, you just wanted everything to turn out alright for her character. I believe she was nominated for an Oscar for this role, and this was a nomination well deserved. Diane Varsi played Lana Turner's daughter, Allison, a character I liked for the most part (except for when she went all cold on Lana's character, and then Lana's character was weeping on the staircase,  in which I was like, 'POOR LANA! HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO HER?!'). Varsi was too nominated for an Oscar. I thought she was okay, with a pleasant voice to narrate the gorgeous Technicolor shots of New England, and a pretty face that fit the character. Perhaps the nomination was not necessary, but overall I felt her satisfactory. At the time, both Lange & Varsi were considered to be upcoming stars because of their Oscar nominations, but Varsi quit the business soon after and Lange struck it big in the sixties.

Russ Tamblyn was rather adorable as Norman Page, in striking contrast from his West Side Story (1961) character, Riff. I absolutely hated Lucas Cross (Hope Lange's abusive stepfather), which means that Arthur Kennedy played him excellently.

Overall, I did really like this one, I'm going to be sure to see much much more of Lana Turner, and though you might have some reservations about the film's soap operaish quality and nearly three hour running time, I do suggest you give it a try!

PHOTOS & TRIVIA

• Barbara Eden (later to be well-known as Jeannie from the 60s television show 'I Dream of Jeannie') tested for the role of Selena Cross.
• The studio wanted either Jane Wyman or Olivia de Havilland for the role of Constance MacKenzie. 
• Susan Strasberg was set to play Allison, but fired when she requested a salary raise. Twenty famous actresses were tested for the role, including Debbie Reynolds, before the role went to newcomer Diane Varsi. (I would have enjoyed seeing Strasberg, who I enjoyed in Picnic, or the always lovely Debbie Reynolds, in the role. I think either of them would have fit it well, perhaps better than Varsi).

A MOVIE TIDBIT

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Thank you to all who left responses for my let's talk blog; I hope to do more in the future! (:

Happy Birthday, Audrey! [5 Things I Love]

Today is the birthday of one my very favorite actresses and all time favorite people - Audrey Hepburn!

Happy birthday, Audrey!

"In Greek myth - among the most ancient of the Western religious histories - you would have to compare Audrey to Hestia, goddess of the hearth, for whom the family home was her main concern and, by extension, every home.

"Saint Audrey seems quite appropriate to me - for she in her life and work she was born to show the world that true grace and innocence, human kindness and hope, still can exist on earth. 

"Whenever the lines didn't quite suit her, she would alter them and they always sounded better her way. Often I would compliment her by saying, 'That's not the line, but it's better that way.' And invariable she would say, 'Oh isn't it? I thought it was. I'll say it the way you want - I thought it was that line.' And I'd always have to reassure her that her rewrite, instinctual or conscious, was an improvement. But she invariably claimed ignorance of any difference and repeatedly said she'd do it my way. I never let her."

- Peter Bogdonavich, director

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#5: Regardless of what anyone says, she could act

It's sad that so few, especially in the Old Hollywood community, are willing to admit that Audrey Hepburn could act. I hear this all the time: "Audrey was a great person, but am I going to say that she is a good actress? Definitely not. There are so many better actresses." Perhaps Audrey was not the greatest screen actress to ever grace film, but saying she cannot act is not only unfair, it makes the person who says so look stupid. The two actresses that seem to always be in competition with each other and get the most backlash from classic film fans are Audrey Hepburn & Marilyn Monroe, for obvious reasons. Many fans will stick to one actress and totally blacklist the other, and those who prefer Marilyn often make such statements about Audrey. Now, I'm not a Marilyn fan and Audrey is one of my very favorites, but am I going to say that Marilyn could not act? Certainly not. Under a good director, she gave some great performances, like in Some Like it Hot (1958). Audrey could act. She won an Oscar for her first leading role in an American film. This was way before her posters were hung on sorority dorm walls & lunchboxes with her face on it were sold. She could act, get over it, and if you can't you're just jealous. 

#4: The characters she played

Audrey has played so many of my favorite screen characters. The roles she picked were nearly always women that were sophisticated and stylish, and to me, an epitome of class and grace: and what I aspire to be when I grow up. To name just a few: Sabrina Fairchild in Sabrina (1954), Princess Ann in Roman Holiday (1953), Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Arianne in Love in the Afternoon (1957). Audrey antagonists (the same ones that argue that she cannot act) say that all her characters are the same. Perhaps these characters exhibited many of the same qualities (the ones I listed back in the second sentence), but Audrey always seemed to give each role personality and life, making each one original and fresh every time.

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#3: Audrey, the fashion plate

Like any true Audrey Hepburn fan, I will always insist that she is more than a fashion plate. Much more, which is true, as I have expressed in the latter reasons. Still, I must admit, Audrey Hepburn is one of, if not the greatest, fashion icons. She seemed to understand fashion inside out, most often pooling her ideas with her favorite designer, Givenchy. If there is an actress I most aspire to dress like, it’s Audrey. Her “casual style” was a pair of leggings, a sweater, and flats, which is what I like to wear around the house. This is not to ignore the many gorgeous gowns she wore. Though the most memorable of all is certainly the black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Audrey wore a multitude of other beautiful formals in all her films, and there isn’t a single one I wouldn’t like to have in my closet!

#2: The elegance & grace she radiated

Elegance & grace are skills that some spend years to achieve, and for others, it seems to come naturally. Audrey Hepburn was one of those people. Every little motion of hers was done in the utmost sophistication, from the little tilt of her head to her walk. And not just in her motions, but the way she interacted with others. She really brings personification of what it means to be classy. Whenever I watch an interview or read quote of hers, it seems just as if she knows exactly what to say and when to say it. And it seems that, when she spoke, she always made it feel as if it was a pleasure to be in your company. 

#1: Her humanitarian work

Perhaps her greatest achievement in her arguably short life, the work she did in Africa towards the end of her life tops off the reasons why I love her as a human and not just an actress. I think it was perhaps her own childhood in Europe during World War II that inspired her to help starving, impoverished children. I think she herself would consider this her crowning achievement out of everything she had accomplished, including her Oscar and all the other acting awards. I think the honest effort she put into helping these children proves that she really had a heart of gold, and was truly a lovely person, the sort who believed in pink and kissing often and laughing a lot.

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A quote by Audrey that sums up me and my personality:

"I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."

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