If'n you would say, "I do."

I love Howard Keel. I read a short story (I think it was called "Going to the Movies") where she talked about watching Howard Keel and admiring his teeth. It's entertaining just to watch him sing. And this is one of my favorites of his. It's just too bad he so often plays heels.

You're the most fascinating woman this side of the Rockies.

Myrna Loy. Need I say more?

Photo is from Doctor Macro.

"Oh, Maurice, I'm, like, so happy for you."

Last week's quote: "For you've got the love I need so much, got the skin I love to touch..." was from Kiss Me Kate. The song is "From This Moment On" by Cole Porter and is performed in the movie by Tommy Rall, Ann Miller, Bob Fosse, and Bobby Van.

Now, for this week's quote:

"Oh, Maurice, I'm, like, so happy for you."

Bored! I'm ossified.

I love this photo of Olivia de Havilland. How cute is she?

"For you've got the love I need so much, got the skin I love to touch..."

Last week's quote: "I don't know whether Mark means he eats dogs or is fond of them. Mark's so vague at times" is from Bringing Up Baby.

Now for this week's quote:

"For you've got the love I need so much, got the skin I love to touch..."

Somewhere on Memory Island, lost with you

Ok. So, I can't lie. I'm pretty darn excited about this series I'm about to start. Mind, it's a pretty hefty amount of research so I may limit these posts to once a month... but just the same, I think it'll be fun!

Now, before I begin, I'd like to explain how I came by this idea. My sister and my mom suggested that I start dressing in a more vintage style than I currently do (usually I just throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt). I love this idea except for the fact that dressing vintage, as I'm sure all of you know even better than I do, requires having particular pieces involved - pieces that I neither have nor currently have the money for. My mom suggested I make a wishlist of all the pieces that I want so that I can slowly start to acquire them. Anyway, yesterday, I read a blog post by the marvelous Kate Gabrielle that inspired me on my new project. Kate's wishlist reminded me of magazine articles - which then reminded me of those articles that say, "How can you get ___'s look?" and then it would have similar pieces to the outfit pictured so that you could replicate it.

So, I thought I would bring this project to my blog and work on it here. I'm going to find outfits in old movies that I really like and then show where you (and I!) can buy outfits similar! Sound like fun? I'm awfully excited about it. Now, I should warn you that I am not a great shopper. Therefore, my knowledge of where to get the best what is pretty limited. Also, as you can imagine, this will be similar to the outfit pictured, not exactly as it is. I'm going to do my best to find outfits that actually work together (it can be hard picturing it on the computer though) so that, if you absolutely adore it, you could get the outfit all together! Or at least have a good starting point, anyway.

So, here's today's inspiration: the lovely Gloria de Haven. This is an outfit I've showcased before. She wore it in the Memory Island scene in Summer Stock.


Now, for my take on the outfit:

The top - I chose this one because it's collared and has that nice open look, like Gloria's. It's also really light so I think it would be easy to tuck in. You can find it at ModCloth.

The shorts - I wanted the longer shorts that also had the fold at the bottom. You can find these at ModCloth as well.

The coat - I liked the military look of the one in the movie. Plus, it's a nice color to bring to this otherwise neutral color palette. You can find this coat at Shop Ruche.

The scarf - It's hard to see it in the photo but the scarf is tied through her belt loops. I imagine you could just grab any longish thinish scarf to use as a belt. I thought this one was nice because the dots look like a similar color to the shorts and it matches the buttons on the shirt! You can find it at Shop Ruche.

Finally, the shoes - I like that she's wearing white shoes. It's so wacky to wear heels with shorts. I found these cute peep toe pumps at Shop Ruche. The style may not go exactly with the rest of the outfit. I'm really quite a novice at this whole thing. But it's an idea anyway.

What do you think? Do you like this new post idea? What do you think of my choices? I'd love to hear you feedback on this!

Now, tell me what you know.

This scene cracks me up!

It's all in the wrist

There are lots of great photos of Audrey, but I think this may be my favorite.

"I don't know whether Mark means he eats dogs or is fond of them. Mark's so vague at times."

So last week's quote: "I tried to reach the moon but when I got there, all that I could get was the air" was from The Band Wagon. The song is "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" by Schwartz and Dietz and is performed in the movie by Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan.

This week's quote is:

"I don't know whether Mark means he eats dogs or is fond of them. Mark's so vague at times."

You might have mentioned me first on the billing.

So, I have a bit of a bone to pick. (I actually don't like that expression very much.) The Thin Man remake.


Please bear with me on this one - I tried to make it as cohesive as possible (it was hard not to just ramble). I'm actually torn about the whole thing - not 'torn' in that I want to see it and I don't want to see it. I'm torn in that I'm infuriated that they're even attempting to touch on something so unbelievably perfect as The Thin Man but also a little annoyed with my own fury.

I'll tackle the latter first. The Thin Man (1934) was filmed in about two weeks. I read Myrna Loy's autobiography (which is amazing, by the way, and I highly recommend it) and she really mentions the whole experience rather briefly. After all, the whole thing took very little time. She talks often of William Powell and their friendship, but the actual film itself holds little space in the pages of her memoir. All in all, I'm probably holding the film on a far higher pedestal than those who created it really intended.

Be that as it may, the movie is perfect (in my opinion). Okay, so... not really perfect. I could do without the actual plot often times because, let's face it, I'm really just watching it to see Nick and Nora. I don't really care who done it and, no matter how many times I've watched it, I'm still a little foggy on the motive. What makes this timeless film so wonderful is Nick and Nora. William Powell and Myrna Loy. They're brilliant together. Inspired. Adorable. Sexy. You just can't duplicate that kind of chemistry.


Which, frankly, is why I'm shocked anyone is even attempting it. They don't even know who will play Nora yet (or if they do they're not telling). But, it seems to me, that if you're going to remake a film that is famous for the chemistry of its two leads, wouldn't you go into the project with two leads that you know have good chemistry to begin with? It's not about how well Johnny Depp can capture Nick Charles. Or how well whoever it is can play Nora. William Powell was perfect as Nick Charles (I actually liked him better than Dashiell Hammett's original sleuth). In my opinion, he was Nick Charles. But William Powell was a remarkable actor. He was probably really good as Philo Vance too (although I haven't yet seen it). The movies weren't good because William Powell was so fantastic as Nick; they were good because he and Myrna were so outrageously perfect together.


Now, that being said, the remake is an old and reputable tradition. I really shouldn't be freaking out as much as I am. After all, My Favorite Wife, Move Over Darling, and Something's Got To Give were all made and remade within about 20 years of each other. And I've even admitted that my favorite among The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Ol' Summertime and You've Got Mail is the most recent one. When we like something, we really like it. So, why not The Thin Man? My main issue is that now if the movie does well, people will say, "Oh, that's the movie with Johnny Depp, right?" ugh. Kill me now.

My other issue, my really worrisome one, is that times have changed. Sensibilities have changed. Senses of humor, of romance, of suspense have all changed. I highly doubt that this new film will be the light and frothy concoction that it was in '34. We don't have to see Nick and Nora having sex back then to know that their sizzling relationship isn't confined to separate beds. But nowadays, entendre and subtext are kind of thrown by the wayside. Clever wordplay is exchanged for lewd humor. Why show gangsters with shadows and lighting tricks when we can just show gore instead? The subtlety is gone. I'm very worried that they'll do to my favorite detective couple what they did to Longfellow Deeds. (Really? Adam Sandler? Really?)

So, despite my understanding that remakes have been around for quite a while, I'm very wary of this upcoming one. Please be careful, Johnny Depp. You have something very precious in your grasp.

There were a lot of votes from the farmers with a picture of a prize heifer

It's probably a proven fact somewhere that to watch a good Fred and Ginger dance scene improves the mood. They should conduct a study...

She was such a lady

I love this crazy-cool photo of Cyd Charisse.

I found the photo here.

"I tried to reach the moon but when I got there, all that I could get was the air."

Well done to emma wallace and to Erin for getting last week's quote correct: "I wouldn't kill you if you ran off with another woman... I might though" is said by the darling Nora Charles in After the Thin Man. Yay!

This week's quote is:

"I tried to reach the moon but when I got there, all that I could get was the air."

The woods are just trees. The trees are just wood.

I didn't care for the movie too much but I love this clip from The Great Waltz.





P.S. Sorry for the random title. I really was having a hard time coming up with a good quote for this one!

But I'll be teacher's pet yet

I love this series of photos of Ginger Rogers rehearsing with Hermes Pan. I have two favorites in the series - the one below and another that I couldn't find where Pan is crouching to get a better view of Ginger's feet. I don't know why, but I love these photos!

I found the photo here.