Thanks very much! :)

I have some bloggy business to take care of right now but most of it is just THANK YOU because three exciting things have happened to me...

The first is earlier this week I was officially excepted into the Large Association of Movie Blogs, (or the LAMB)! What fun it is is going to be to participate in the LAMB events and whatnot, and I feel now like a member of the movie blogging community for sure. I can't wait until next year, when the CiMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association) will start accepting new members. :D

The second is I hit thirty followers! Now it is actually thirty-four followers (I know the followers gadget says thirty-three, but it's actually a screw up with the widget I can't seem to fix. Only if you hit "more" and turn the page does it display the right amount... annoyances :/ )... well, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :) I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to check out my posts and comment and follow and all of that. I love to write and though I have been told before I am "good" at it, I didn't actually, you know, think that people would really want to read my thoughts and rambles. But you people do and you leave encouraging comments and it really makes a girl want to write forever. Thank you!!! :)

The third is I won first place at Film Classics's article contest! Once again: THANK YOU!! It was your votes that made my article win and you know it was a very close race. :) I'm glad about that, because my "opponents" happen to be just some of my favorite bloggers and fellow classic movie loving teens, Natalie from In the Mood and Bette from Bette's Classic Movie Blog. They wrote some really fabulous articles (you can read Bette's here and Natalie's here - I of course, recommend both!) and racked in lots of votes. I love their blogs and I love their articles and congratulations to them, too. :) And then, once again, THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who voted. It means quite a lot to me. :)

Oh, and also, for those of you who may not have noticed it on my sidebar, I joined the Dueling Divas Blogathon at the Backlots blog (click the link). I believe it will run from the 20th to the 23rd of December and it looks like it's going to be a ton of fun! The topic is basically to write about divas who dueled, on screen and off (like Bette and Joan) or a diva who may have played a duel character in a movie (like Hayley Mills in "The Parent Trap"). Isn't that a brilliant idea for a blogathon? One of these days I'm going to have to host a blogathon myself, you know. Maybe if I get a 100 followers. ;)

Ok, that's it for today. But a big, fat thank you to everyone once again.

A smiling Audrey GIF for you (yeah, I finally figured out how to embed those :D) to express my happiness and thanks. And Audrey because I'm going to a Halloween function tomorrow night (actually something for little kids that I'm helping run) and will be dressed up as her. 

Thank you thank you and have a good weekend everyone! :)

Link Love ♥

I really love this quote. I love the randomness of Natalie's asking it, and the answer that only Bette Davis could get away with saying. 

Yesterday kicked off the Bette Davis Remembrance Contest at Film Classics. My entry is Larger than Life: The Bette Davis Story. This season is going to be fun because all the "competitors" are teenagers - which is so ironic, because, you know there aren't exactly gabs of us around ;) But that's one of the best things about blogging for me, getting to know that there are other people close to my age who love classic movies.

And my "rivals" also happen to be some of my favorite bloggers - Natalie from The Swing Mood and Bette from Bette's Classic Movie Blog! So please take the time to go over to Film Classics (just click the link given back there), read all the entries and be sure and vote! Don't forget to read them all because Natalie and Bette have cooked up some really awesome articles. :) A simple enough procedure, right?

Today I'm going to do a little tidbit I have seen other bloggers do called "Around the blogosphere", though here it'll be called Link Love. These bloggers (Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, Classic Movie Blog, Noir and Chick Flicks) I believe do a weekly feature where they pluck their favorite classic links or articles from around the blogosphere. I thought it would be fun to do this today, though I don't plan on making it a weekly feature or anything because it's simply too hard to pick my "favorite articles" out of all the awesome blogs written through the week. I guess I'll just do this on occasion, when I feel like giving some Blog Love (and it's been a while that I've gotten to do that).

So here are just a few of my favorite links over the past few weeks. Some are articles, others are contributions to blogathons, pictures, and even some graphics.

♥  Bette from Bette's Classic Movie Blog sums up her "Spotlight on a Character Actress" series with everyone's favorite character actress, Thelma Ritter. I mean, who doesn't love Thelma? 

♥ I've already mentioned this (and have taken part in it), but be sure and go over to Carole and Co. and check out the blog entries celebrating Carole's 103rd.

♥ This is slightly older than the other blog entries, but I enjoyed it so I thought I'd share: Craig of Blame Mame examines dolls styled after Classic Hollywood actresses. Quite fascinating, and even though I'm too old to play with dolls now I'd certainly like to own some of them.

♥ I think I'll insert some Barbara Stanwyck awesomeness here. Check out this picture of Stany shared by Natalie from In the Mood. Also, congratulations Natalie on being accepted into the LAMB!

♥ Viv and Larry kicks off 31 Days of Oliviers, a festival of Vivien and Larry posts every day from now until Viv's November 5th birthday. With my increasing obsession of the two, I'm looking forward to it.

♥ Meredith of Forever Classics continues on with her decades MEME posts, this week's featuring the 1940's.

♥ Irene and Monty from And Then Start to Sparkle are sharing "It could happen to you" posts each day in October, about classic actresses who suffered from and/or survived breast cancer. (October is Breast Cancer Awareness month).

♥ Audrey from Fedoras and High Heels discusses her favorite "Dick Van Dyke Show" episodes in her contributions to Thrilling Days of Yesteryear's blogathon for the show.

♥ In lieu of Buster Keaton's birthday earlier this week, Maria from Film Flare shares some fun Buster birthday graphics.

♥ Don't forget to vote at the review, video, and colorization contests hosted by Film Classics. ;)

Also, congratulations to those blogs that have been nominated for the 2011 CiMBA Awards - some of my favorite blogs have been and I'm thrilled for them!

That's all for this edition of Link Love. I'll do it at random times, perhaps when I feel like blog loving, or if there are some really interesting blogs. Oh, and by the way, there are so many blogs I love that I tried to keep it to a minimum, so if I didn't share a link from your blog it's not because I don't love it only I wanted to keep this post from going on for forever!

And since the word "love" so surely intertwines itself with my favorite actress of all time (who has everything to do with that word), here's some Lucy Love:

[via]

Pulled from one of my favorite tumblrs. Click the link.

That's it for now. I have a long weekend, so I'm off to enjoy it!!! Have a happy weekend!

Larger Than Life: The Bette Davis Story

This is my entry for the Bette Davis Contest at Film Classics. After entering a couple of months ago, I think many of you are pretty well aware of how the contest works, but I will be posting more details anyway later on. This time I won't ramble forever and just get on with the show. Enjoy?! :)

***

"I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and ofttimes disagreeable... I suppose I'm larger than life."

- Bette Davis

MY INTEREST IN BETTE DAVIS did not begin that long ago. It began with a character named Baby Jane; my father watched the film "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" in the spring of this year, and upon learning what it was about, I was excited more than ever to give it a watch (yes, all its morbidity in tow). By June, school was out and summer had begun and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" was right at my fingertips, ready for me to watch.

Before this, I had only seen a couple of Bette films. I knew what a legend she was (who doesn't?), but for some reason it just hadn't happened all that much. That night I sat down to watch that movie, and experienced my first true Bette Davis performance.

It was Baby Jane who did it first. She was crafted in my mind as the hyperbola of the character that is so creepy, she is somewhat hilarious. The makeup caked on her face, the curls in her hair and that little turn of the lips that turned into a smile, a smile smeared with lipstick across her "wrinkles" as she'd asked a begrudging victim, "Do you know who I am? I am Baby Jane Hudson."  

"Who the hell is Baby Jane Hudson?"

She'd written a letter to daddy, made life a living Hell for Joan Crawford (or the tormented sister, Blanche) and had disappeared into the kingdom of "has-beens" after being a bratty child star on the vaudeville circuit. Still upholding her dreams for stardom based on her father's memory, the answer to the title of the movie truly is: "She takes care of her sister Blanche now." But not for long.

In the role that made me a Bette fan

I loved Bette Davis in this film so much. I wanted to rewind and watch that scene again or this scene. I was shocked at the emotions she pulled raw from me as Baby Jane - one moment hating her for tormenting Blanche, the next wanting to weep for her because you could see that at her core she was just a troubled person who really, really wanted to sing and dance for the world. Chew scenery, maybe, but I enjoyed watching Bette chew the scenery.

Of course, as perfect as she may have been as Baby Jane, there isn't much that the actress and the character had in common. Bette herself may have argued that the two of them were both driven in several deep faults (as she has claimed in her "larger than life" quote) - but truthfully, have you ever heard someone say "Whatever happened to Bette Davis?" 

Playing Baby Jane proves something so true about Bette Davis - a quality that every good actress must exude and not be afraid of: to drop the glamour and tear yourself down to a character that might not always appear as beautiful (Baby Jane certainly wasn't) or appealing.

Bette Davis was never afraid of this. In fact, for her role as Baby Jane she was said to have come up with the Baby Jane mask herself: to put layer upon layer of makeup on until she appeared, quite simply put, as a disastrous hag.

This is not to say that Bette herself was not beautiful. Though she is probably not considered the "traditional beauty" (and for that matter, neither was a famous beauty like Audrey Hepburn - who had, as the critics would describe, "colt like" features), she was, in her own way, quite gorgeous.

It just wasn't the glamour or the beauty, it was the confidence and resilience she could withhold in her characters. Take Charlotte Vale in another favorite Bette film of mine, "Now, Voyager." In the beginning of the film, Bette's Charlotte Vale is unattractive, beige, nervous, and owns a severe pair of caterpillar eyebrows. But with some plucking, lipstick, and a better wardrobe, she turns into the new Charlotte Vale: glamorous, sophisticated, beautiful. The beauty is a combination of Bette's own particular prettiness and a shining confidence.

Bette Davis commanded the screen. Sometimes she chewed the scenery to get there, but most of the time it was just one look at her face. Her face held many facets, expressions. It was almost as if you could turn a dial and get an expression, like that of a comedienne (yes, I'll draw a comparison to Lucy here). In "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" it was the tilt of the head and a nearly innocent smile. "But don't you know who I am? I am Baby Jane!" In "Now, Voyager" it was a smile of confidence, kindness. In "Essex and Elizabeth", a domineering, smug look that demanded the screen to herself.

Every character she played would become immortalized into film history on its own. Margo Channing, Charlotte Vale, Baby Jane: just to name a few. True, these characters were, well, quite characters themselves ("Fasten your seatbelts: It's going to be a bumpy night!" - extra emphasis on the bumpy!), but Bette made them come alive. She took these characters who were just leaping off the script with excitement and made them leap off the screen and into our theaters and living rooms.

Bette Davis off screen was a personality that no movie screen, however big, could actually project. (She was, after all, larger than life, which most certainly makes her larger than a movie screen). 

There were so many things that made her memorable to movie audiences, simply in addition to this aura of Bette that defined her as a movie star. 

The fact remains that the personality Bette made so famous was truly her. It was anything but a put on and if one would like to trace Bette's life back to her bassinet, you'd discover she had forever exhibited her superstar personality.

She was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in Lowell, Massachusetts on April 5th, 1908. Called Betty, she was a headstrong spirit from the start. A sister named Bobby was born the following year and started to occupy the crib that was once Bette's - according to Ed Sikov's Dark Victory, the young Miss Davis was not pleased by this and decided to reclaim the crib she thought was hers. Plucking her baby sister from the crib and depositing her on the couch, Bette crawled into the crib.

When she was in her teens she played Santa Claus in a school Christmas pageant. The tree on stage had real lit candles, and Bette in her Santa Claus costume wandered too close. Her beard caught on fire and she was wrapped up in a rug to calm the fires. Her face was burnt and she kept her eyes closed (the eyes that would be come so famous later) in fear that she had been blinded.

When she first arrived in Hollywood, she would tell Dick Cavett years later, the studio didn't exactly know what to do with her so one of her first jobs was to be a "kiss mat" for males trying to make it into the business.

I won't add a picture of Joan, because for
some reason I don't think Bette'd be crazy about it!

But Bette would always hold her own, and that was what would make her the very posterchild for the 1940's movie star. If anything, Bette's performances would come across with a lot of overacting or chewed scenery, but she was always sure to put effort into her performances and entertain the viewers. You could never call Bette Davis faded, dull, one dimensional or flat - and for this, she gained a reputation in Hollywood. A force to be reckoned with.

There was her mutual hatred for another one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Joan Crawford. It began when Joan Crawford "stole" Bette's off screen romance interest, Franchot Tone, and ever since things would not get better. Once Bette remarked, with great gusto, "She [Joan Crawford] has slept with every male star at MGM but Lassie!" Their hatred for one another became public and well known, and on the set of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" the reporters would not leave them alone. However, for the sake of the film the two remained professional - "We're getting along fine!" - and the hatred would come in handy for the film. Though when they were all set to do a similar film called "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" a few years later, Joan bailed out due to "illness," but mostly because the two stars could not get along. (See a closer analysis of these two films here).

Joan and Bette would both suffer through a case of betrayal from their adopted children, however. (Though Joan's would occur after her death, the impact of the book was great and even turned into a film starring Faye Dunaway). Anticipating her mother would die soon, her daughter, "B.D" wrote a harmful book about her mother entitled "My Mother's Keeper". Bette was not dead yet (as disgusting as that sounds) and the publishers insisted upon publishing the book, so B.D had to go ahead with the book. (I guess she didn't have the luck of Christina Crawford).

"My Mother's Keeper" - and we Bette fans would like to think of it all as lies - painted an unappealing picture of Bette: as spoiled, egotistical, an alcoholic. Bette was just recovering from her stroke at the time of the book's publication, and many (celebrities) came to her defense. Bette had spoiled her daughter, had always been kind to her and loving. Bette disinherited B.D - a strong step, perhaps, but Bette was a strong person.

Bette would always be strong, the pinnacle of a personality that was larger than life itself as we knew it. In reality, she was tiny: five feet, three inches. But on screen she always seemed to be ten feet tall. Not just because the characters she played were always large - take Margo Channing, for example, so confident at first but all those insecurities lying under the surface - though most of them were. Bette just commanded the screen: with her face, her voice, and her indeniable talent as an actress. She was much, much more than an icon.

"She's got Bette Davis eyes."

           
Part of her command was her eyes. Movie goers probably always recognized it, but they would become forever famous when revolutionized in the popular 1981 song "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. Bette was flattered and delighted: "You made me cool again!" Oh, Bette, like you ever weren't cool.

I think I'll leave you with some lyrics from that song:

"Her hair is Harlow gold,

Her lips a sweet surprise,

Her hands are never cold -

She's got Bette Davis eyes.

She'll take a tumble on you,

Roll you like you were dice until you come up blue,

She's got Bette Davis eyes."

***

Thanks for reading!

Also: Breakfast at Tiffany's turns 50 years old today. I plan on doing a blog on it after the Carole Lombard blogathon tomorrow - I read the original short story written by Truman Copate for the 50th anniversary, and I think I may do a blog contrasting the story and movie! :) You can read some more about it here: Breakfast at Tiffany's Turns 50, The Washington Post. 

Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words

So, I contemplated a lot whether or not to do this post. If you don't know, Jackie Kennedy, who was First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, did a series of recorded interviews with historian Arnold Schlesinger four months after her husband was shot. They were kept away for 47 years until now; in which, Caroline Kennedy, Jackie and John's only living offspring, has decided to release the eight and a half hours of content as audio tapes and a book for the commemorative fifitieth anniversary of her father's election into the White House. Last night, the highlights of the tape were aired on a two hour special on ABC hosted by Diane Sawyer.

I, of course, watched it. I thought it would be a intersting idea to blog about what I thought of it, but the thing that keeps restraining me that this is, above all, a classic movie blog and this isn't about Classic Hollywood. However, I did say there would be occasional exceptions and this is one of them. I hope no one minds!

Before I start, though, there are a few things I want to mention that are Classic Hollywood. The first is today is the twenty-ninth anniversary of Grace Kelly's death.

Grace, who was Princess Grace of Monaco at the time of her death, died in a car accident on her way back to Monaco from a short vacation she'd spent in France with daughter Stephanie. It was just the two of them and Grace was driving. She suffered a stroke on the road and as a result of this, she lost control of the wheel and the car went tumbling. She died the next day. She was only fifty-three.

Grace is one of my favorites and I think it's so unfortunate she had to come to that very awful, early, disturbing death. The rumor has always been that Grace was driving on the same road she drove on in "To Catch a Thief" in that famous scene where she is driving so fast she is sending Cary Grant's blood pressure up.

That would be sadly ironic, but it is not true, however, and only a piece of fiction.

Anyway, in commemoration of this sad day I am sharing with you a tribute I made for Grace perhaps a month ago or so but I never posted on here. The piece of music is "Clair de Lune" by Debussy, which was Grace's favorite as a child. I love it too, of course.

Also, a quick note: I have once again thrown my hat into the current review contest  Film Classics is holding. The theme is Bette Davis. I am sure this time around it will be.... less stressful writing my piece, as Bette is a topic I am more comfortable with. The banner with other details will be in my sidebar and I'll tell you more and all of that jazz when I actually write the piece.

Now, let's get on with it!

***

Jackie Kennedy never wrote her memoirs. She rarely ever gave interviews, either. This is despite the fact that so much has been said, whispered, and claimed about the Kennedy Administration. 

It was 1964 when she sat down with historian Arthur Schlesinger to tell the story of her time at the White House. This was before Jackie O, before she was an editor at Doubleday, before she became an independent woman of the world. Instead, this still the First Lady of the United States we listen to.

The tapes had been sealed and put it away according to Jackie's wishes, but now her daughter Caroline has pulled out this corpse. Leaving it unedited, she has brought it to the public for the first time in a book and audio tapes. I have yet to read the book though I do plan to. I did, however, watch the special on ABC last night and so most of the opinion I have of the tapes I have gained from that.

The tapes are in pretty good condition though one can tell it was recorded a while ago; it hints at fuzziness. It opens with the sound of a glass being filled with ice, a cigarette being lit, and the noise of Caroline and her brother, John playing in the background someplace. From then on, however, it is mostly Jackie. John makes a special guest stint and Schlesinger can be heard asking a few questions and making some comments, but from the snippets of the tapes (which, in its entirety would run eight and a half hours) I heard it was mostly Jackie's identifiable "little girl" voice, with a hint of a New York accent.

It starts from the beginning of the Kennedy administration, the day John F. Kennedy was sworn into office. It was a cold January day in Washington, D.C and there was snow on the ground. Jackie had asked Robert Frost to please come and recite poem; she comments here on how Frost couldn't see the poem because of the snow's reflection. Lyndon B. Johnson, the vice president, offered his hat to shade the words but eventually Frost recited it from memory. Jackie speaks of how right after the president was sworn in she wanted to hurry over to him, but a huge crowd of people separated the two and it was not util later that she could finally see him.

She talks about how the White House staff got used to having young children in the White House once again, of how they were startled by finding rubber toys in the tub that belonged to John-John or being shocked by the sudden noise of the early morning cartoons on the television set. Then come the darker subjects; the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis - how, when the country was threatened by nuclear war, the President wanted to send her and the kids to Camp David to be safe, but Jackie told him that she wanted to - and the kids wanted to - die with him if anything were to happen.

John-John can be heard somewhere in the tapes; Schlesinger asks him about his father. "Oh, he's in heaven now!" John says in a boyish, loud way like all little boys have a habit of doing. Does he remember his father? "Yes!", but when asked to recall certain memories, he says, "Oh, I don't remember anything!"

Jackie gives some quite frank opinions on some famous figures. Charles deGualle was "egotistical", Indira Gandhi was "pushy and horrible", and what some found most shocking of all, she found Martin Luther King to be a "tricky" man. It also seems she wasn't a fan of Mamie Eisenhower or Lyndon B. Johnson all the time.

One thing that is not discussed on the tape is the day her husband was shot, or that Awful November Day in Dallas. I think it was fair for them to not bring this topic up since he had only been killed four months before. Can you imagine how deep and sore that wound still was? And always would be?

Despite this, I did find Jackie's voice to sound mostly pleasant. Her voice does not throb with tears or anything, and for the most part she sounds cheery. She giggles a little at certain parts and drops her voice to a girlish whisper at others. Most of all, she is forever defensive of the President. She tenderly refers to him as "Jack" and defends him in everyway possible. She remembers him fondly, of how he was "always reading." She does not discuss the many rumors that have plagued the Kennedys for years; of how the President was a womanizer and possibly had an affair with Marilyn Monroe. She sticks by her husband through and through.

I was glad she did, though. Yes, she casts him in a glowing light that is probably a bit too favorable but the man had died just four months before. You can hear her voice lilt with not tears but still strong emotion when she speaks of him and you know she means what she says. I think this was very respectful and classy of her instead of throwing him under the bus or something. There are not even any snide marks that hint at cracks in their relationship; though I have to admit, I am sure they were there.

As for her comments about the other figures, I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, even Jackie Kennedy. However; she didn't straight up call MLK "tricky" as it suggested. She says she got "phony" sort of vibes from him upon first meeting him, and also speaks of a rumor that he had poked fun at her husband's funeral. Caroline who also gives her input in the special thinks her mother truly admired MLK. The rumor about MLK making fun of her husband's funeral would be hurtful to her, considering it had only been four months, though I'm sure it's not true, and hope it isn't either.

Though the above comments, considered "explosive", another thing that maybe gave people a little start was how she does not come across as the femenist, everyday woman Jackie O who would write a piece for Ms. magazine about why a woman doesn't need a man. I think that though Jacqueline Kennedy and Jackie O were the same person and shared several qualities, there is the difference that the First Lady Jackie was restrained in her opinions and a little bit of the woman behind the man. Jackie O was more outspoken and a symbol of woman's rights, even. In the tape Jackie makes some claims of how she got a lot of her opinions from her husband and also kind of states how she can't really understand feminists. Though these are strange statements, I most certainly think her opinion on this changed over time.

All of this considered however, I don't think the tapes bring anything new or explosive to light. However, being the fan of Jackie I am I loved listening to them. Since she never wrote her memoirs this is the best thing we'll ever hear from Jackie in her own words, in that girlish lilt. I just found it interesting to hear her personal opinions. Though she became slightly brutal when it came to particular people, I think she remains classy, intimate to the listener, and above all unceasingly elegant throughout the tapes.

That is why I suggest you take a peek into the tapes if you are a history buff, a fan of the Kennedys, a fan of Jackie, or it just pulls on your interest. Don't except to hear something really scandalous like: "Yes, my husband and Marilyn Monroe had an affair and I HATE her!" (okay, yeah, I wish). No, you won't get that. But you will still get an interesting portrait of life in the White House during the Kennedy administration and Jackie's personal thoughts.

Didn't catch it on TV or it wasn't broadcasted where you live? You can watch the full thing here on ABC News's website. 

***

That's all, folks. I hope you didn't mind something not exactly Classic Hollywood related. :)

Till later!

"Gone With the Wind" ISN'T a great love story! Yes, really!

The contest results came in yesterday from Film Classics (it's also on my blog roll, - they generously added me into theirs! - please see it; it's a wonderful website, many classic films and "I Love Lucy"s), and shockingly enough, Frankly, My Dear has managed to pick up a few awards in the categories it was entered into!

For the film noir article - yes, yes, the one I was so nervous over - I came in second place. You want some more shocking news? I managed to swing 98 votes. So: A billion and ten thanks to all of you who voted! I appreciate it so much that you took the time to do so... 98 votes??? I could never imagine so much. Thank you! :) Here's the cyber-award I received, which will now hang on my sidebar under the "Awards" portion --

Also, I entered my hundred birthday video for Lucille Ball into the video contest. There were three categories -- "Best Video", "Best Editing," and "Best Music Choice." My video came in second in all of the categories except the first, where I managed to squeak into first place by  one point. Once again: Thanks so, so, so, much everyone who voted! :)

Okay, now for the other contestants. The winner of the film noir contest is Kevyn from The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World, who won last season as well. It was actually a neck in neck race; Kevyn came in with 102. Anyhow, I believe he wrote a nice piece on the B film noir "Detour". Congratulations on winning, Kevyn, it's well deserved! And also considering that Kevyn appears to be a professional and I am just starting out in the blogging business (well, I've been writing since I was five but blogging is an entirely different thing of it's own), it was an even greater prestige to place second next to him. I hope to be half the critic you are, Kevyn!

The other two contestants were Natalie from the always fun and well written In The Mood and Meredith from the wonderful Forever Classics blog. Natalie and Meredith have been following my blog from it's earliest days and have always left such encouraging and lovely comments; as all of you readers do! (Really, you don't now how much I appreciate hearing your kind words. It brightens my day!). Anyhow, my friend Natalie wrote about Ministry of Fear; a Ray Milland movie. It was such a lovely piece and so convincing, so much so I went right over to Netflix and added it into my queue! (Despite the ending - I'll have to watch out for that, Natalie!) And Meredith wrote about a film I already have loved and have for while, Sunset Boulevard. It was a wonderful piece and described quite vividly the things we all love about the classic film noir. 

All of the above mentioned are forever lovely writers and let me say: it was so wonderful competing with you all!!! I think I was in some of the greatest company. And this also reminds me, I just wanted to mention how wonderful it is to be a part of the classic film blogging community. Finally, people who know what I mean when I say "Team Bette or Team Joan?"! But in all seriousness, this is such a kind and gracious community and it's a joy to be a part of. It really is! And for more lovely blogs, be sure and check my blog roll.

Anyway, the topic of today's post is something I have pondered about for quite a while; don't worry, it's not a rant post. 

"Gone With the Wind" has always been praised as one of the greatest love stories ever, and etc. Now before I continue I don't think you all need to know how much I love GWTW. Look at my blog title! I just adore this film. It is wonderful on so many levels, the acting and all of that is just amazing, it's true in the meaning of "classic."

However, as much as I love GWTW, I have to admit: it never seemed to me like a great love story, even though it is often praised and labeled as one. Let me explain. And before I continue, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN GONE WITH THE WIND (though please, I really really really hope you have!), DON'T READ ANY FURTHER. This is just for people who have seen the movie.

Anyway, let's face the facts: from the very beginning, the only person who Scarlett truly wants is Ashley, despite the fact she has about every man in Georgia at her feet. Yes, Ashley. Wimpy, wimpy Ashley. 

Yes, I always think of Ashley as a wimp. I also often wonder about what Ashley's true feelings for Scarlett were - did he love her? At all? Then why didn't he marry her? (It would have saved a lot of trouble...) Was it because he felt committed to Melanie?

Ashley is all Scarlett wants, even when she meets the dashing Rhett Butler. For the earlier parts of the film I think Scarlett flirts with Rhett alot - like, for example, dancing with him in her black mourning dress and letting him buy frilly hats for her. She also obviously cares a lot about the way she looks for Rhett, like when she has Mammy make the curtain dress for her. She doesn't restrain asking Rhett for help when she really needs it, like when Melanie is giving birth or when they go broke. Here's a good example; the "you need kissing badly" scene:

Yeah... I'd much rather take Rhett.

The thing is, I think deep down Scarlett knew she loved Rhett but she was never willing to admit it. Because Scarlett always had to have what she wanted, and what she wanted was Ashley. Though she and Ashley never have a real affair, I think they kissed more than once when he was married to Melanie.

Melanie, is, of course, too good to be true. God bless her heart. I actually thought she and Ashley made a pretty good pair. Melanie, so soft spoken and kind all the time, and Ashley... the wimp.

The thing is, those who claim GWTW is a great love story, I ask you: what love story? Despite the fact Scarlett truly does love Rhett and he loves her a lot, she only realizes she loves him once he's gone. Remember? At the end of the film when Melanie dies and Ashley is finally offered to her, she can't take him. Because she realizes it's Rhett she wants, Rhett she needs. Unfortunately for her, Rhett "doesn't give a damn" anymore. 

I guess it is the perfect example of you didn't realize you had it so good until it is all gone. What happened to Scarlett, we'll never know. Did she get Rhett back? She was forever scheming and she is at the end of the film - "Tomorrow is another day." Melanie is dead and Bonnie Butler is dead, but Scarlett knows there's another day and she can get Rhett back if she wants to; or if so she believes.

One thing is for sure, I don't think Scarlett would have gone to Ashley, even though she can finally have him. The situation becomes reversed. What a sequel that would have made! If she did get Rhett back, perhaps that would have made a good love story.

I found a little snippet about GWTW in my Social Studies textbook; it said the film "portrayed the Civil War in a romantic light." I do agree with this statement, I think the film has a very romantic air and lots of romantic scenes, like, for example, the famous kiss Rhett and Scarlett share while Atlanta is being burned down --

However, though it appears to be quite a passionate scene, the fact remains that Scarlett was pushing Rhett away!

I think perhaps the only time Scarlett submitted to Rhett showing affection for her - and he was willing to give it, unlike the end of the film after Bonnie dies, was this particular scene when Rhett decides to marry her. It's the "haven't you been kissed enough?" scene; unfortunately, I could not find a clip of it.

He loves you Scarlett, he really does!

So yes. I think GWTW is filled with beautiful scenes and a romantic air, but there's not really a love story. Scarlett and Rhett never love each other at the same time.

Anyway, I am not criticizing GWTW the wind at all. I think it showed the Civil War from the point of the South quite perfectly, without glamorizing it either (I mean, for how long was Scarlett in that purple dress?). The characters - with the exception of Melanie, who we all can't help but love anyway, probably because of how beautifully Livvie played her - are very alive and very human. I adore this film. It's not just the world's greatest love story, is all!

What do you think? Do I make sense? Well, this time around I think I do. I do, after all, know my GWTW!

Speaking of GWTW, I was able to talk my teacher into letting us watch GWTW at school! I take an enrichment class each week which is just to enrich us with a deeper look into information we may gloss over in other classes, and since we are currently looking at the Civil War in Social Studies class, my teacher agreed into letting us watch GWTW. I think it'll take a month for us to watch it, but I can hardly wait! The teacher and I got into a big discussion about the film, and she gave off several spoilers but I don't think anyone understood. In fact, everyone thought Ashley was a girl, obviously... so they'll have to wait and see. But yes. I am THRILLED. I love watching the classics at school!

"I only have eyes for you, dear."

Hi everyone,

This is just going to be a post with a few miscellaneous notes....

First things first, the voting for the film noir contest. Here is the link: Film Noir Contest Voting!. Please read everyone's blogs, and then vote for your favorite. :) I already know two of my other blogging buddies that have joined in on the fun and their entries look wonderful, so I'm in great company! :) Also, at the last moment I decided to enter the video competition as well with my 100th birthday tribute to Lucy. The video got a good reception on Youtube (a thousand views in one week, which I have to admit is pretty cool), and so I decided why not? Especially since I'm not all that confident in my film noir post. You can vote for the videos (and don't forget to watch the other ones, too) here: Video Contest Voting!. (I ironically discovered that the ''What Did Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck Do Last Friday Night'' video I shared a few weeks ago here is up against me... what a small world! :D) Voting is from today to September 10th, so you'll have plenty of time. And lastly, a quick thanks to David, the website's main host, for hosting this! :)

Here's some exciting news: I hit the twenty followers benchmark that I've been striving for! (Actually, it's twenty-three now. :D) Thanks a BILLION for following me, it really does mean a lot, and let's see if we can make it up to thirty now. ;)

Also, here's your poll results! I've been a little late with getting them in, but this is the way it turned out:

• The winner is Lauren's autobiography, By Myself and Then Some with five votes (50 percent!). It looks interesting and you all must think it's good, so I'm going to trust your judgement! ;)
• Tying for second place is Ava Gardner's biography, Love is Nothing, and Vivien's, with two votes (twenty percent) each.
• And in last place, with one vote (ten percent) is Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, or the story of how Natalie Wood drowned and the murky circumstances surrounding it. 

So, I'm not very far at all in Jean Arthur's biography. It does look quite good, but maybe my mind is in other places and I'm not getting into it. -;) So, I think for the time being I'm going to go ahead and start reading Lauren's autobiography like you all have voted for me to do, and maybe come back to Jean another time. Thanks a bunch to all of you that voted and I'll be sure and review the book for you once I'm done!

I guess one natural disaster wasn't enough for us this week. Hurricane Irene (Dunne? :P) is on the way, and there's a possibility we may lose power for a little while, so I may not get a chance to write if it's going to be as bad as everyone says it is. In fact, we just got a call from our electricity company warning us. Let's hope not - I hate hurricanes, and we never get them either! And, to top it off, it's coming smack dab on my mom's birthday on Saturday. What a present!

I've made a couple changes to the blog, or I should say, additions. Some of you have already noticed and begun using it, but for those of you who haven't, or aren't sure what it's for, or whatever, I'd added a "reactions" bar:

Sorry for the awful circling job there

Basically, this is quicker way to tell me what you thought of the post (Don't let this discourage you from commenting, though - I LOVE comments!), and it helps me in writing future posts. Right now your options are "funny", "interesting", and "cool." They're not all that original (pre-written for me by Blogger), and I'm not so happy with them so I'll probably change them to something better in the near future. Ideas?

And, I have added a bunch of new songs to my playlist (or AKA, the pink iPod on the sidebar). It still opens with the Gone With the Wind theme (followed up by "Frankly, my dear..."), but I've added some other old timey songs so any newbies to this blog won't think this is just a blog about "Gone With the Wind." (What with the title and all). So, here's what I've added for your hearing pleasure:

• "I Only Have Eyes For You" sung by Frank Sinatra (hence the title of this post). A couple of days ago it was Joan Blondell day on TCM, and I had "Dames" playing on the TV. I wasn't actually paying attention (you know, when you leave the TV on for company... I do that always), but I did happen to hear this particular song play constantly in the movie, and it really grew to me. The only version I could get was Frank's, but it's Sinatra so it might as well be good!
• "That's All" sung by Edie Adams on the final episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour... I love this song, it's very pretty and Edie sings it beautifully - in fact, this is my favorite version of the song.
• "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" sung by Marlene Dietrich (yep, Marlene). I wanted to get the Doris Day version of this, but that wasn't available. Everyone remember it from "Bringing up Baby"? :)
• "Stardust" sung by Nat King Cole. I hear this was Bette Davis's personal favorite song, and I really like it. So, here's to Bette.
• "As Time Goes By" by Doolie Wilson, or, the one and only Sam! I don't have to tell you anymore, you know where it's from. INGRID: Play it, Sam. Play.... "As Time Goes By." SAM: Well, I'm a little rusty on it, Miss Ilsa INGRID: -- I'll hum it for you. Di-de-dee-du-dum....
• The theme from "An Affair to Remember." This movie is one of my favorites (it makes me cry every time), and the theme is so beautiful, too.
• A really awkward version of "Que Sera Sera" by Doris, but once again, it was the only one I could get. Oh, well - que sera sera!
• "Isn't it Romantic?" sung by Jeanette MacDonald. I LOVE this song, it's one of my favorites, but no offense to Jeanette, only I really wanted to get the Ella Fitzgerald version of this. I AH-DORE that version. This is nice, too... but Ella's just blows me away. Oh well, we'll have to settle for this.
• "Cheek to Cheek" ... I THINK sung by Ginger Rogers. Please correct me if I'm wrong! Because I could like, totally, be off like that. ;) Anyway, this is a nice version and I like it.
• ... And lastly, a little Vera Lynn for you: "We'll Meet Again." (Some sunny day!)

I may add some more into the future as they come into my mind.  ;)

Okay, so you're used to leaving you with some random kind of photo or something, but today I'm going to leave you with a clip from one of my favorite movies EVER, "Bringing Up Baby"... I'm sure most of you have already seen it. But, whatever. It's adorable, and it makes me smile. :)

Click THIS!

To my annoyance, I could not embed the video here but you can click that link just below the photo :)

That's all for now, and please don't forget to check out the film noir contest. Now that the polls are up, I've taken a look at the other three contestants and it's simply FABULOUS, dahhhlings. :)

Ciao! ;)

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.

***

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. :)