Classic actors' last lines on film (part one?)

The screenwriter didn't know that he or she was redacting what would end being the last lines spoken by a Classic Star in a motion picture. That's a powerful thought.

I collected some of my favorite actors' last moments, in which I consider to be the first of a series of posts (fingers crossed). I included only their last proper films, because some of them did unfindable TV series or TV movies at the end of their careers. 

Carole Lombard: To be or not to be (1942)
I like the fact that her last scene and line is playful and cheerful. She's a festive bully.

REPORTER: And you, Mr. Tura. You played the real hero in this amazing play.
JOSEF: I did my best and I was very ably assisted by my colleagues. Thank you, my friends, for everything you did. As little as it may have been.
REPORTER: I am sure England will want to show its gratitude. What do you desire most, Mr. Tura?
JOSEF: Well, l--
MARIA: He wants to play Hamlet.
JOSEF: After all, we are in the country of William Shakespeare--
MARIA: He wants to play Hamlet.

Clark Gable & Marilyn Monroe: The misfits (1961)
I like the fact Marilyn last completed film is intense and well-acted. She deserved it I guess. I like their lines, they're trascendental and powerful. 

GAY: Well, I'm finished with it. It's... It's like ropin' a dream now. Just gotta find another way to be alive, that's all. If there is one any more. Perce, cut that mare loose for me, will you?
PERCE: Sure.
GAY (to Roslyn): Drive you back, if you want.
PERCE: Um, I'm pleased to have met you, Roslyn.
ROSLYN: Don't get hurt any more, will you, Perce?
GAY: See you around, Guido.
GUIDO: Where'll you be? Polishin' windshields? Makin' change in a supermarket? Try the Laundromat! They need a fella there to load the machines! Gay!
ROSLYN: I'll leave tomorrow. OK?
GAY: I bless you, girl.
ROSLYN: Gay, if there could be one person in the world...a child who could be brave from the beginning...I was scared to when you asked me. But I'm not so much now. Are you?
GAY: No.
ROSLYN: How do you find your way back in the dark?
GAY: Just head for that big star straight on. The highway's under it. It'll take us right home.

THE NEXT DIALOG = SPOILER (you've been warned )

Gary Cooper: The Naked Edge (1961)
This movie is very good and little known! I wrote about it in case you're interested. And I think that it's great that Gary's last film is a thriller, because it expanded his range of genres and allows you to see him in a very suffocating atmosphere, alongside Miss Kerr.

GEORGE: I was so sure it was Heath. I've condemned the wrong man.
MARTHA: So did I.

Vivien Leigh: Ship of fools (1965)
Ah, Vivien, intense and dramatic till the end.

MARY (to herself): Baby, you just haven't managed to grow up. Mrs. Treadwell of Murray Hill, Virginia. Now! You can paint your toenails green.You know how it ends, don't you? Alone. Sitting in a cafe with a paid escort.
(She cries. Tenny enters the room and kisses her)
MARY: Let me go. Let me go.
TENNY: Mrs. Treadwell. Excuse me. That greaser told me Cabin 14. Excuse me. Excuse me.
MARY: Get out! Get out! Get out!
TENNY: You know l'm sorry, l truly am sorry. l didn't know it l was just..
MARY: Pig!
(Mary starts hitting Tenny)
TENNY: Hey, what the hell?
MARY: Go on. Get out. Get out. Get out! Get out! Beast. Beast. Get out. Get out. No! No!

Bette Davis: Wicked stepmother (1989)
Uhm, I had never heard of this movie before. It seems that it's awful, but I like the novel line, very Bette-ish :) Seems that her voice can be heard after this scene, but it's her actual last physical appearance.

MIRANDA: I was reading a sexy novel.
JENNY: Hey Miranda, don't try any tricks. You can't hide it now. Inspection! I saw it. I saw it in here!
MIRANDA: You saw what?
JENNY: I looked at the window. Got you there!
MIRANDA: Jenny needs help. Boy, it's a terrible affliction.
JENNY: There was a cat in here, I can tell it: my upper lip it's still itching. I now what you did with it! You threw it out the window! Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Meow. I'm going to search every inch of this room.
(Door bell rings)
MIRANDA: Who do you suppose that is?
MAN: You woke up one of the neighbors.
MIRANDA: Priscilla.
MAN: Priscilla who?
MIRANDA: My daughter, Priscilla. She has come to visit.
JENNY: No.
MIRANDA: I wrote to her and asked her to come. You are going to love her.
(Magically disappears).

Audrey Hepburn: Always (1989)
Audrey played God in her last film. There is nothing else to add.

PETE: What do you want from me, Hap? If I'm really dead, how come I hurt so bad? What kind of deal is this? You said I was going back to be an inspiration. You never said I would feel what I'm feeling. You didn't tell me that I would...see Dorinda. What do you really want from me?
HAP: We gave you a chance to say: "I'm glad I lived. I'm glad I was alive. Now it's my turn to give you a hand. Let me give you what I had." But I also sent you back to settle with the one you love. I sent you back to say goodbye. Until you do that, she won't be free. And neither will you.
PETE: I'm not ready to say goodbye.
HAP: You're such a good man, Pete. We don't send back the other kind. But you still have to learn that to gain your freedom, you have to give it. So go find out.

Katharine Hepburn: Love affair (1994)
The grandma (Janou/Ginny) scene in these films is always soooo emotive. I like the fact that Katharine was the last granny and that it's a goodbye scene. 

GINNY: Five o'clock. You must go?
TERRY: Yes. May I?
GINNY: Thank you. Thank you. I wore this when I was married.
TERRY: Beautiful.
GINNY: Well, off you go. These petals are supposedly the hands of a Polynesian princess. It's been hanging around for 62 years and it's still holding together. I wish I could say the same for myself.
MIKE: We'll see you soon.

What was your favorite moment? 

Ava Gardner in Mogambo is HILARIOUS!

With director John Ford.

Of course I had seen Mogambo before, but I didn't like it very much the first time. The other day I re-watched it on TCM, and although some of the ridiculous things were still there (like Clark Gable in shorts and Grace Kelly's character being such a bore) I just couldn't stop laughing at Ava's hilarious and sharp remarks. She completely saves the movie for me.

These are some great lines by Eloise Y. 'Honey Bear' Kelly:

[Vic hoists a young rhinoceros out of a trap]
Hey, a kangaroo!

Let me jump to my own conclusions.

The only lions I ever want to see again are the two in front of the public library.

Can't you get me a canoe, or a truck, or roller skates to get out of here?

 [To Victor Marswell/Clark Gable]
Mr. Marswell, you look a lot better. I bet you even smell better.

[Saying goodbye the baby elephant]
Now, you be a good little boy. Wash behind your ears every day and eat all your nice raw potatoes so you'll grow up to be a big, fat elephant...and then step on your Uncle Victor's corns every day.

These animal-catching characters don't have many nerves...just one great big one.

[After hearing a conversation between Clark Gable & Grace Kelly]
Brother, I can take your Cook's tour around the zoo but when we get on this mental
striptease and hide behind Louisa May Alcott I want a powder!

[To Clark Gable]
As a matter of fact, your head would look pretty decorative over his mantelpiece. With your big ears stuck out like an elephant about to charge.

I uploaded for you two of my favorite scenes from her.

In the first one Ava is funnily pissed off and then she feeds a baby elephant and a baby rhino, in a very natural acted way.

Now a subtle confrontation with Grace Kelly, while the guys try to show them the African fauna. Ava's lines are just too funny!

Hope you enjoyed!

Exhibition: Glamour of the Gods (London)

A quick post to share a link to this event. The place: London (yeah, I'll go swimming). The date: 7 July - 23 October. It will feature awesome portraits of Hollywood's Golden Age, all part of the archive of the John Jobal Foundation.

The site of The National Portrait Gallery shows a sneak peak:

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford for Dancing Lady
by George Hurrell, 1933

Press room at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (I love this pic)

Marilyn Monroe
by Ernest Bachrach, 1952

Well, that's all folks! I really have to write A LOT of reviews, maybe this weekend I'll finally make that post of mini-reviews.

Was this a good buy?: Classic Stars old cigarette cards

Hey guys, I don't know about memorabilia and prices, so maybe you could help me out here. The other day I visited a flea market and like in the first store I found a box with old Chilean cigarette cards of Classic Actors. I stood there and started selecting. The guy said that he would make a discount if I bought 70. Here are the 70 cards I picked:

I paid 33 dollars for them. What do you think? Too much?

8 Classic Movies I can watch over and over...

...and I know I won't get tired of them. Ever. That means that if you visit me here in Chile there are a lot possibilities that we end watching one of these (I can be very convincing). And it's weird, because there are films that you really really love, but you wouldn't watch in every occasion. For example, I love Singin' in the Rain, but sometimes I go "Mmm, and have to watch all the musical numbers? And the whole thing with the star that doesn't have a god voice? It's OK, but not for now". Well, here are some films I can watch without over thinking:

Ben - Hur (1959) : Like many of the movies in this list, I've watched Ben Hur with my parents since I was a child. It's so cool. I mean, the classic story of revenge, perfectly done, with great performances and settings. And when you think that you just saw a great scene, a better one follows. My favorite part is, of course, the chariot race, such a terrific climax. We are all rooting for Judah and the horses are so beautiful (gosh, I'm such a serious reviewer)...and then Jesus (!!!) makes a miracle and saves Judah's mom and sister. So, yes, great film. *Patting William Wyler on the back*

An affair to remember (1957): I know that there are people who hate this movie because it's an official remake of Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer's Love affair. Official because both were directed by Leo McCarey, who decided to make an almost exact copy. But even when I like Charles Boyer a lot, I prefer Cary Grant, of course. And Deborah is one of my favorite actresses. And Cary and Deborah are great too at mixing comedy and drama. And Technicolor gives it a special atmosphere. 

And beyond comparisons, the story is so good and romantic and sad and funny at some points. And the old granny! My favorite scenes are when they meet each other in public places on the ship and everyone is staring and whispering, or this one when they plan the 6 months from now thing. Pay attention to the timing of both performers, how they cut each others lines out of emotion. Soo good.

The Searchers (1956) One of my favorite movies from John Wayne. It's so good that I even forgive the racist scenes with the Comanche woman. Another story of revenge, John Wayne looks the whole film for his niece, captured by...Scar. At the end he has to choose between his hate to Indians or little Natalie Wood. Great music, beautiful locations, Jeffrey Hunter, terrific script, memorable performance by Wayne. My favorite scene? I have a lot, but the ending is really special.  What a way to go, John Ford!

Roman Holiday (1951): This is the last movie I discovered from this list. Like two years ago. Even when it has a sad ending, the whole film is so entertaining and Audrey and Gregory give such honest performances. It has so many little memorable moments and makes you feel good. This was the tribute I made some years ago. *Patting William Wyler on the back again*

Hitchcock movies: Obviously, there are some of them I can't stand. Like The Paradine Case. But I LOVE most of Hitch's films. Some of my favorites are Rear Window, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Spellbound, The Birds, Vertigo and Notorious, to name a few. Hitchcock = fun.

Yes, my Disney VHS collection :)

Disney movies: Yeah, I still watch my old VHS. I could watch them (and sing along the Spanish version of the songs) anytime. My favorite films are The Beauty and the Beast (by far), Pocahontas, The Lion King, One Hundred Dalmatians and Sleeping Beauty. Oh, I've recently discovered non-cartoons films produced by Disney, like Hayley Mills' Pollyana and The Parent Trap. Fun, fun, fun.

Gone with the wind (1939) What a movie! Magnificent! I love everything about it (although my least favorite character is Ashley Wilkes). I love even the minor characters, like Prissy (check "A day in the life of Prissy") and Belle Watling. Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel at their best (my favorite scene from them is when Hattie tells Olivia what happened with Clark after Bonnie died, while they go upstairs). Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable making history. The music by Max Steiner. Memorable scene after memorable scene. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. A classic. 

The Sound of Music (1965) I can't count how many times I've seen this movie. I saw it when the Von Trapp kids were my age, I saw it when I though Liesl was old and now I saw it and I think about the passage of time. Anyway, this movie is perfect IMO. A had a teacher who said he won't see it ever ever, because he knew it would be cheesy, but I just love it. 

The songs are perfect, the kids are perfect, Julie, Christopher & Eleanor are perfect, Vienna is perfect...You can watch it when you're sad, when you're happy, when you're bored, etc. One of my favorites scenes is when the kids are singing by themselves, very hungry and sad because Maria is gone, and then a voice joins, and it's Maria! I also love when they sing Edelweiss in the music contest (or when Christopher sings it). Oh the first scene in the mountains. And the ending. And, oh, when The Baroness is playing the most boring game ever with a ball...etc etc etc.

What are the films you can watch over and over and never get tired of?

 More lists :

• The 10 most handsome men from Classic Hollywood
• 10 types of annoying people to watch a movie with
• My top 10 Billy Wilder movies

The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980): guess who's who

I finally watched this movie! I was so curious to find out how was it like and how close were the actors playing Classic Stars. Well, one of the few good things about this movie --based on the novel Moviola by Garson Kanin-- is that at least it gives you an idea about the great crusade that meant looking for the perfect Scarlett O'Hara. The main characters are David O. Selznick --played by Tony Curtis-- and his brother, Myron Selznick.

The main events shown are: the conversations with Crawford and Paulette Goddard who really wanted the role (the other actresses are just shown briefly); parties given by David to promote the movie; castings in several cities; two random guys who made a parallel fake casting to get girls; screen test with many performers, including Tallulah Bankhead; a party were David reunited all the possible actresses to play Scarlett; Myron noticing Vivien and then the burning of Atlanta. 

I don't know too much about old Hollywood gossips, hope you can help me out here, but according to this movie Joan Crawford slept with David Selznick to try to get the role. I don't think that this is a good movie; I didn't like, for example, the way they made fun of Chaplin, showing him always doing exercises and looking stupid. Most of the characters were really a caricature, all their dialogs were unidimensional. There are also dialogs that sounds fake, like Mayer explaining Gable what happened when he showed his t-shirt in It happened one night. 

But it was fun to spot someone that was supposedly a Classic Star and to hear people mentioning famous movies, like at some point someone laughs about Mayer doing a crazy musical called The Wizard of Oz. Then they mention Rebecca (at the end Myron is looking the screen test and notices Vivien). Also Cukor talks with Crawford and other actresses about the idea of The Women. Chaplin would be doing a movie about Hitler (The great dictator).

I know, I know, you want to see famous people. Some of them are OK, the actress playing Joan Crawford for example had something; but there are some that are not remotely alike. My least favorite is Carole Lombard, gosh, did they see a picture of her before the casting?? Oh, I can't say if they talked like the original actors, because the only copy I got was dubbed in Spanish. Well, try to guess who's who before reading the caption:

David O. Selznick

Myron Selznick

Louella Parsons

Charles Chaplin

George Cukor

Louis B. Mayer

Katharine Hepburn

Paulette Goddard

Tallulah Bankhead

Joan Crawford

Joan Bennett and Margaret Sullavan

Miriam Hopkins and Jean Arthur

Lucille Ball

Carole Lombard...really.

Yeah...really. Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.

Laurence Olivier...I think.

Clark Gable

Vivien Leigh. The actress, Morgan Britanny, had played Vivien in Gable and Lombard. 

What do you think? Who's your favorite? And your least favorite?

PS: 101 people have decided to follow my blog so far. That means that I'll be celebrating this weekend, stay tuned!

ClassicMovieRIMF #3: Only the lonely (1991)

Yesterday I saw this film because Maureen O'Hara mentioned that she found it had a great script and she loved working with John Candy, Anthony Quinn and director Chris Columbus (yes, the one from Home Alone and Harry Potter).

It was a minor comedy, with some flaws, but I enjoyed it and laugh out loud many times. Maureen plays the crazy and overprotective old (Irish) mother of a cop who wants to marry an introverted Sicilian girl (I really don't know anything about these kind of enmities between races, but it seems that Irish and Italians dislike each other). Maureen's role is a bit like the one Jane Fonda played more recently in (the mediocre) Monster-in-Law, a mother that's so possessive and so mean that is funny.

You know that to me is still very difficult to see Classic Actors in "recent" movies (Only the lonely is 20 years old already). Because the actor or actress is still there, but different, older. And then, in some second, they blink in a certain way, or smile, or whatever, and make you remember their younger self, and it's kind of sad. 

Life.

Well, too much blah blah, the Classic Movie Reference in this film is....The Call of the Wild (1935), starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young (I guess you know that they had a daughter but kept it secret). 

Watch the whole scene, it's cute. Oh, the Sicilian girl worked in a funerary:

Is it me or Clark Gable steals the scene even as a still frame?? 

 More ClassicMoviesRIMF :

• Mata Hari (1931) in Harriet The Spy (1996)
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and several classic actresses in S1mone (2002)

Happy Old Song: Tu vuò fà l'americano

I haven't post any song for my series "Happy Old Songs" this year. This first entry is a bit different, since I'm just going to do justice to one song: Tu vuò fà l'americano. Right now, a cover of this song, We No Speak Americano by a band called Yolanda Be Cool is everywhere, even in adds with audio in lots of websites. Probably most people dancing to this techno cover doesn't know that the tune is actually 54 years old!

1956. Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno write this song. It's about the Americanization of an Italian guy:

TRANSLATION (source):

You wear trousers with a patch at the back

A small cap with the peak up

You walk making boaster for Tuleto

Like a bully to make watched you

You want to be American

American, American

Who makes you do that

You want to follow the fashion

But if you drink whisky and soda

You don't seem to be disturbed.

You dance rock'n'roll

You play baseball

But the money to buy Camel cigarettes

Who gives them to you?

Your mother's purse!

You want to be American

American, American

But you were born in Italy

Hear me out

You've got nothing to do with it

Ok, Napolitan

You want to be American

You want to be American!

How can the one who loves you understand you

If you speak half American?

When you make love under the moon

What will you say? "I love you"?

(repeat)

1960. Sophia Loren sings it (twice) in the movie It Started in Naples (Melville Shavelson), also starring Clark Gable (I have to check this film).





2007. The Puppini Sisters, one of my favorites retro bands cover this song. There are many other versions, but this one is my favorite. Here's it live:



2010. Australian band Yolanda Be Cool releases We No Speak Americano, which becomes #1 in many countries.

Which one is your favorite?

 More great music :

Happy old songs 
"All I do is dream of you": pick your favorite version
Happy Old Songs are back! 
Xmas albums from two of my fave retro bands :)
Happy Old Songs from Nora Ephron films
More Happy Old Songs
And even more Happy Old Songs

Book Review: "Chasing Carole" by Barbara Washburn

I finished "Love, Lucy" and "Chasing Carole". I think you all know how good is Lucille's autobiography, the classy way she remembers the people she knew, and how damn interesting was her life. So I'm gonna dedicate this post to trying to tell you what's "Chasing Carole" about, a book that I bought because I wanted to know about Carole Lombard's life. I'm still figuring out what I exactly learned about it.

I started reading "Chasing Carole" yesterday. I didn't know too much about the author or the book, just that it was kind of a "novelized biography"...

After reading the first pages, in my mind Janice-from-Friends' voice went: "OH-----MY----GOD: CAROLE LOMBARD HAD A DAUGHTER WHEN SHE WAS 14 AND GAVE HER TO AN UNCLE???" and then Janice again: "OH---MY---GOD: CAROLE LOMBARD WROTE A DIARY AND THE AUTHOR, HER GRANDDAUGHTER, IS GOING TO SHARE IT WITH ME?". It just couldn't be true, I never heard anything like that. Plus, the author and the supposed granddaughter had different names. What the freak was I reading??

I didn't check facts over the Internet right away. Maybe I didn't want to break the spell so soon. In the book, a 46-year-old woman, Cass MacGowan, starts writing about the day she was told by her mother that Carole was her grandmother. Her mom hid that little fact from her till she was 20 and Cass resented it. One day, Clark Gable's son contacted her and gave her Carole's diaries. So the book is supposed to be Cass' research process over her famous granny plus Carole's """original""" diary entries.

The book is organized this way: you read a few pages titled CASS about (duh) Cass' life told in first person and in past tense and then a few about Carole's and so on. Cass talks about the conversations she has with her mother about the few times she met Carole, her daily investigation at home, how she grabs a beer every two minutes, about her dogs Lauren and Bacall, about her girlfriend Cameron, how bad she feels because Lombard didn't keep her daughter with her, why she blames Clark Gable for Carole's death AND about Carole's (or "Missy") apparitions in her apartment as a ghost (really) who asks her to write the book because that way people will know her and what she felt (at that point I went:  "oh, she appeared in dreams and talk to Lucy too!"). 

The texts titled CAROLE are supposed to be from Carole's journal, so it's also told in first person and past tense. Her """diary""" starts by the time she was marrying William Powell. The Profane Angel of course would write adding curse words in every line, not keeping any intimate detail to herself (and when I say intimate, I mean it) and of course she wouldn't be a funny clown all along her writings: she had a lot of serious situations to deal with. Anyway,  """her"""" entries are incredibly entertaining and interesting. Here are a couple of paragraphs from different parts of the book to give you an idea:

"Hands off my ass, Gable" I raised one eyebrow a I looked up at him. He laughed, returning his hand to my lower back. He spun me around, trying to prevent another glimpse of Norma Shearer. 'Nice try, but who could miss that fucking  red dress'

'Easy now'

I tried glaring at him, but he smiled, and I shook my head. 'It's the White Mayfair, for Chrissake, and she shows up in red!"

          ------------

"The story whispered about Jean got pregnant and Bill insisted on an abortion; the procedure and its aftermath were pushing Jean beyond her emotional endurance. I believed it; in the first year of our marriage I missed two periods and told Bill I was probably pregnant. He insisted I get tested immediately and arrange for an abortion if it was positive. We had a huge fight right then, it was the beginning of the end of our marriage. The test was negative, I was anemic again and that was causing the problem"

          ------------

"With fall came bird season, ducks and pheasant, and Clark planned a three week trip to the Dakotas, arranging to stay at private preserve. We loaded the station wagon with camping gear, food, weapons, and Bobby, the bird dog. Clark was excited and it was contagious. We left before dawn, a thermos of coffee and a box of cinnamon rolls between us on the front seat. We crept out of the dark canyons with a rare sense of freedom. Bobby curled up in the back behind Clark, asleep as soon as the car rolled out of the drive. The air was nippy, and I snuggled into my jacket, happy as the proverbial pig in shit.  I dozed, the sun was up when I woke.
My left foot was asleep. I shook it vigorously and said "Damn, I hate this".
"What". Clark glanced at me. "Are you doing the one-legged I gotta pee dance?"
I laughed, rubbing my booted foot. 'Nah' I reached for the thermos and cups. 'Coffee?'"

Through "her" entries you visualize the world around her. Parties with stars, conversations with her famous friends like Myrna Loy, her daily activities (peeing included), her family, her work at  the studios, her devastating  miscarriages, crazy fans invading their house, how she felt about Clark (and the things she did with him...and not only her hunting activities are very detailed), how painful was the process of waiting for his divorce from his old wife, their fights because he was "screwing" other women, how much she wanted to become a mother...

When I reached page 120 (out of 281) I decided to check facts. So, as you can hear in this interview, the author invented the whole story about the child and researched about Carole's life from academic information, old magazines, plus the biographies "Screwball" and "Long live the King".

Cass' story got weirder and weirder (and kind of repetitive): Carole's ghost starts haunting her, takes possession of friend Cameron's body to be nearer, gives basic (and ludicrous) explanations about afterlife and how she picks the clothes she wants to wear for each apparition, how much she really loves her granddaughter, blah blah blah. Plus Cass' friend is being stalked by a female student of hers and everything gets more and more dramatic. Conclusion: I decided to skim her parts, I couldn't care less. I just read properly the few visits of Cass to the past via granny's ghost powers (or maybe via the medications she took, I dunno) and the few comments about classic movies like "His Girl Friday" and "The Thin Man". 

So, this is what you get buying "Chasing Carole": 

a) a weird story about a non existing academic teacher that talks with her grandmother Carole, becomes obsessed with her, drinks lots of beer and wants to understand who she really is and who was her granny etc etc etc...and....

b) ...a very vividly and explicit """diary"""" that sounds like written by Carole and transports you to Old Hollywood. The only problem is that at some points Carole talks about her "daughter" in her diaries referring at her as her "cousin", a resource chosen by the author to make some kind of link with the fictional story and give it some basis. 

SO if you, like me, don't know too much about Carole's life I recommend to read a proper biography first (maybe the ones mentioned by the author, I dunno) and then read this one just for fun.

Psst..need Classic Hollywood jewelry?

Maybe you'd like to have "Deborah's Opal Affair" ( $170.00) ring from "An affair to remember"...

...or "Vivien's Southern Emerald" earrings ($155.00) from "Gone with the wind"...

...looking for a band? Maybe you'd like "Joan’s Diamond Stackable Band" ($270.00) from "Suspicion"...

Really, hollywoodroyaltycollection.com site is so much fun! They recreate jewelry used by Classic Actresses (and actors) in their films...and each piece is accompanied by interesting descriptions regarding the films and performers. The list includes: Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart, Irene Dunne, Marlene Dietrich, Clark Gable and more!

Some of my favorites:

"Lombard's Champagne Wedding ring" ($145.00) from "Mr. a Mrs. Smith"... 

...and marvelous "Deborah's Pink Diamond Debut" ($150.00) from "The Hucksters"...

So go over there and share your faves with me :)

Happy Old Songs are back!

Readers in the mood for 5 happy old songs say AYE and press play :)

"Puttin' on the Ritz" by Clark Gable

(Irving Berling, 1959)

I love the version from "Idiot's delight" starring Clark Gable (haven't seen the whole movie). It's a short clip but always makes my day :)

"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" by Cake Eileen Barton

(written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts, 1950)

This song is ridiculously happy. Don't you just want to clap your hands?

"Sing, sing, sing" by Benny Goodman

(written by Louis Primma, 1936)

I don't know if I would call this song "happy" but it's so energizing that cheers me up.

"Rum & Coca Cola" by The Andrews Sisters

(composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco)

Uhm, according to the video uploader this song is about " alcohol and... prostitution?". Well, if you just forget about that, I think this is really a happy song.

And finally, my fave of this selection...

"Drum Boogie" by Irene Daye

Well, Barbara didn't sing in this clip from "Ball of fire" (1941), but who cares? It's such a great scene, especially the part of the matches :)

Have a swell week! 

Need more? Previous "Happy Old Songs" posts:

• Happy Old Songs from Nora Ephron films
• Happy Old Songs
• More Happy Old Songs
• And even more Happy Old Songs

Classic Films Comics

Since the post I was preparing this morning didn't turn out as I expected, here are some really funny comics I found yesterday. These were made by James Clayton from Reel Disappointing (you should check it):

LOL. Also, today I found this guest post over Kate Beatton's site (you should also check it: Hark! A Vagrant; her comics are about History, Literature and her life):

Do you know more comics about Classic Films?