Coals to Newcastle

So, late last year, I started listening to podcasts. It took me a while to get on that bandwagon. Partly because there were so many options, I was a little overwhelmed. Partly because I wasn't sure I was interested in any of the options people were recommending to me. And partly because I was convinced I wouldn't be able to concentrate at work when I had to also focus on what I was listening to.

It turns out, I love podcasts. And sometimes my work is too involved to listen to them - but sometimes I'm doing stuff like data entry. And pods are perfect for that kind of thing.

via GIPHY

Anyway, my entry into podcasts were the Crooked Media company podcasts (Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save the World, Pod Save the People, and With Friends Like These). They have since expanded since I started listening to them (yay!) but I've started wanting a little more variety in what I'm listening to. So, my brother and sister-in-law recommended a bundle of podcasts. I've tried some, but not all, of the ones that sounded interesting.

One of my favorites of these recommendations was Lexicon Valley by Slate. It's so cool. They talk about words and expressions, the etymology and history of these words and phrases. It is so, so cool. And one of my favorite things about this podcast is that they often use classic movies to cite usage (for instance, see how Cary Grant uses this expression in The Awful Truth - it was a really popular expression of the time). Anyway, listening to the podcast inspired me to write a brief blog post on expressions that I've heard. I'm going to just write about one and save the other for a rainy day (or busy week). This might be a recurring series that I include. It might be a one or two time deal. We'll see how it goes!

via GIPHY

So, last night, I watched The Philadelphia Story with two of my roommates. One of them had seen it and loved it a few years ago and so we were introducing the film to our newest roommate. I love The Philadelphia Story for many reasons, not the least of which is the excellent script. And I've learned some things from the script.

Today, we're going to talk about "coals to Newcastle." In the movie, when Jimmy Stewart's "Mike" Macaulay Connor goes to Cary Grant's C.K. Dexter Haven's house, armed with a bottle of champagne and a pretty hefty head start in the drinking department. Mike hands Dexter the bottle of champagne. Dexter places the champagne on the table. Mike looks at the table and says, "Oh! I wonder if I might have a drink." And then Dexter responds with, "Certainly. Coals to Newcastle."

via GIPHY

This is an expression that baffled me for years. And it wasn't until I was an adult and looked it up that it finally made sense and I finally got the joke. Newcastle was a major exporter of coal so the original expression of "carrying coals to Newcastle" indicated a pointless action. Similar to "selling ice to eskimos." Dexter's line took on actual meaning when I finally understood what he was talking about.

via GIPHY

What words or expressions have you learned from watching classic movies?

Miss Linda Seton, on New Year's Eve, entertained a small group of very unimportant people

from Doctor Macro

Ok. Here we go. The last post for the New Year’s themed movies. There are, of course, more movies centered around New Year’s Eve, but we’re going to end with this one for now. Ready? Here we go…

from Doctor Macro

Holiday (1938)

Columbia

Directed by: George Cukor

Featuring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres, Edward Everett Horton, Jean Dixon

Plot in a Nutshell:

from Doctor Macro

Johnny Case (Grant) is a young man with a bright future ahead of him. He’s just gotten engaged to a lovely girl he just met, Julia Seton (Nolan) and he’s about to make a lot of money on a deal that will enable him to pursue his dream: quit his job and take a long holiday to travel and find out what life is really all about. Unfortunately, the only people who believe in his dream are his two friends, Professor and Mrs. Potter (Horton and Dixon) and Julia’s sister Linda (Hepburn) and brother Ned (Ayres). As Linda struggles to persuade her sister to believe in her fiancé, she starts to realize that she has fallen in love with Johnny as well.

 from Doctor Macro

Trivia:

- Edward Everett Horton repeats the role of Nick Potter, which he also played in the previous version of the film, Holiday (1930). (IMDb)

- George Cukor considered Rita Hayworth for the role of Julia Seaton, given her dark hair and slight resemblance to Hepburn. However, she was judged too inexperienced and Doris Nolan took the part. (IMDb)

- In 1936, Columbia Pictures purchased a group of scripts, including the script for Holiday, from RKO for $80,000. Although the film was originally intended to reunite The Awful Truth co-stars Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, George Cukor decided to cast Hepburn instead, and Columbia borrowed her from RKO, where she had refused the lead role in Mother Carey's Chickens.^[5] Joan Bennett and Ginger Rogers were also initially considered to play Hepburn's role. (Wikipedia)

- A scene that was to come before what is now the first scene of the film was set in the snows of Lake Placid, although it was shot in Bishop, California. The idea was to "open up" the stage play by utilizing an exterior scene, but when director George Cukor saw the scene, he did not like it, and decided to cut it. A few still photographs, one of them on a lobby card that was distributed to theaters, are the only known remnants of this scene. (Wikipedia)

The working titles for the film were "Unconventional Linda" and "Vacation Bound". (Wikipedia)

Thoughts on the film:

from Doctor Macro

It took me years to watch this one. For some reason, the description of the plot on the box made me think it would be sad so I avoided it for a while. I’m so glad I finally watched it. I love this movie! It’s so wonderful! I love Johnny and Linda and the Potters. And Ned. I love Ned. He’s my favorite character in the movie. Obviously I like Johnny – who couldn’t? And of course I’m rooting for Linda all the way. And clearly I’m happy every time the Potters show up. But, Ned is my favorite. He’s the backbone of the family and he gets no credit for it. He’s the only person in the movie who really understands everyone around him. It’s sad that he has to drink to escape his misery, but I’m convinced that Linda and Johnny come back for him.

Favorite scenes/quotes:

from Doctor Macro

The meeting of the 5^th Avenue Anti-Stuffed Shirt and Acrobatics Club is definitely my favorite part of the movie. Although I like the very first scene with the Potters and Johnny and the scene where we first meet Linda, and then the scene where the Seton siblings all try to prepare Johnny for his introduction to their father. And then the last two scenes are really fantastic. Basically, the whole movie is wonderful.

Man is a fish to cook

I love this photo of Cary Grant! Priceless! And I'm afraid I don't know where I found it.

A lady killer? Why, he's a regular Don Swan.

I don't really understand YouTube's weird embedding disabled thing. I mean, what exactly can you do by embedding that you cannot do by linking? It's just that embedding is more convenient. I honestly don't get it. And it makes for a very frustrating thing because I keep finding scenes that I really want to post up and then I can't embed them. So, I'm just going to start linking them via photos. It's not as nice as embedding, but then I can still share videos, such as one of my favorite scenes from Bringing Up Baby. So, click on the photo and it will take you to the scene.

It's been 24 for a long time.

I really did not like Once Upon A Honeymoon. I get mad when I think a movie is going to be a comedy and it turns out to be a drama. I feel cheated. Particularly when there is so much promise. Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers are so great together. The fact that they had chemistry on and off the screen makes their onscreen chemistry all the more exciting. Can you imagine them being paired in a comedy among Ginger's other great comedies like Vivacious Lady and Bachelor Mother? It was the same that Cary was off being amazing in his own comedies like The Awful Truth and Bringing Up Baby. A late 30's comedy with Ginger and Cary would have been fantastic. Ah well. At least I can have this scene. It leaves me in stitches every time.

I've seen your pictures in the paper and I've wondered what you looked like.

Spotlight on a scene!!

Do you know something depressing? Every time I write a post, I think this is it. I'm going to get back into circulation. And then I don't write anything again for weeks. What's weird is that I don't know why. I'm busy. But I was busy at the beginning of the year and I wrote a lot then. Ever since I started this blog I've been busy but that hasn't stopped me from writing in it. So I don't know what the deal is. I intend to crack the case and figure out what is going on. Maybe I just need to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, we'll see.

So, spotlight on a scene. Last night I watched The Awful Truth with my sister. I love that movie. It was neat watching it with my sister because it gave me a whole new perspective on the movie. When I was a kid, I'd watch the movie and relate to Cary Grant's character because... well, it's Cary Grant. Then as I started watching it when I grew older, I began to relate to both characters a bit more. Well, last night, the whole movie changed. It wasn't about Cary Grant and how he tries to win Irene Dunne back after their divorce. It was about Irene Dunne and how spunky and spirited she is throughout the film. It tells about how her husband wants to divorce her even though she hasn't done anything (and even though he has) and how she eventually shows him that she was right all along. Watching through my sister's eyes was fascinating because she'd say, "Oh, that poor girl!" Her attention was entirely focused on Irene Dunne and, consequently, so was mine.

Anyway, for my spotlight I want to focus on quite possibly my favorite scene in the film: the scene where Lucy pays Jerry back for ruining her engagement by ruining his. It's side-splitting hilarious. I may have shown it on this blog previously but that's okay.



I hope you enjoyed the scene! Do any of you have movies that you've begun to see in a different light?


P.S. I'm always getting that silly "My Dreams Have Gone With The Wind" song stuck in my head. It's been in my head all morning!!

I'm feeling absolutely sklonklish!

I'm back, baby doll! Hopefully. Emma Wallace left a very kind note on my quotes post, asking me to come back. I was very touched! So, here I am! Every time I start getting back into the swing of things, I get slammed with a crazy week and then it all collapses. So frustrating.

Anyway, today I'm going to do a 100 movies post. A good while ago, I did a quotes post with this quote:
"Good work, Junior! Better than working for a living!"
Emma was the only one to guess and get the answer to this one - the movie is The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. Which just so happens to be #32 on my count-up!

The film is pretty wacky so bear with me on this one. Bachelor Richard Nugent (Grant) has a tendency to attract trouble - not that he causes any and when he is brought before Judge Margaret Turner (Loy), he finds her narrow view of the facts rather frosty. But when Richard speaks at Margaret's sister's school, that's when the trouble really begins because Susan (Temple) falls head-over-heels for him! And when Susan sneaks up to Richard's apartment, claiming that he asked her to model for him, he finds himself in a pretty tricky situation.


Like I said, pretty wacky. I remember lending this one to my aunt and she returned it saying that it was a little "unrealistic." Well, of course it is! That's what makes it so fun! No one would ever actually sentence a bachelor to date a teenager in order to get him out of her system (this movie would really never work today). But, in the movies, it's fun! Especially with such a stellar cast.

As an adoring Shirley Temple fan, this is one of my favorites. The film was the studio's attempts to bring her back into the limelight. I really wish it had worked because I think she is fantastic in this one. (Plus, she's absolutely adorable - but in a different way. Check out her outfit in the clip below and her hair in this photo. How cute is she?)



And then, of course, you have the wonderful pairing of Cary Grant and Myrna Loy and they're wonderful. The storyline causes their relationship to be a little odd but I think they really make it work. I really enjoy Grant's humorous charm and Loy's wry skepticism. So much fun!

I really recommend you check the movie out for yourself but if you're not convinced yet, I'll post my favorite scene below to whet your appetite:



P.S. I feel that I should apologize for actually misquoting my own quote of the week. The original quote, now that I think of it, is actually, "Good for you, Junior!" not "Good work, Junior!"

'S in the box?

I'm in the process of transcribing all of my notes onto blogger so that I can finally start this month's themed list. But for now, continuing in my list of 100 movies...

#29 Bringing Up Baby (1938)


This is one of those movies I watch and remember how funny it is. So many great lines, so many memorable moments! The basic plot is as follows: David Huxley (Cary Grant) is work hard to complete the brontosaurus skeleton for his museum. On the afternoon before his wedding, he goes to talk to Mr. Peabody, a lawyer whose client is planning to give away $1 million. While trying to convince Mr. Peabody during a game of golf that the museum deserves this generous donation, David meets madcap heiress, Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn). Susan takes a liking to David and tricks him into helping her transport a leopard, Baby, to her farm in Connecticut on the day of his wedding. Misadventures and misunderstandings (along with a great deal of hilarity) ensue.


This movie is filled with fantastic dialogue and scenes. This is one of my favorites of Hepburn's performances - she's so crazy but likeable. Cary Grant is absolutely adorable as the strait-laced Dr. Huxley. This is the film with Cary Grant's famous "I just went gay all of a sudden" line, which has always been a curiosity to me (the line, that is, not the placement of it).


I found an interesting bit of trivia on IMDb about that line. I'll quote it because I don't think I would be able to paraphrase it properly: "David's response to Aunt Elizabeth asking him why he is wearing a woman's dressing gown ('Because I just went gay all of a sudden!') is considered by many film historians to be the first use of the word 'gay' in its roughly modern sense (as opposed to its archaic meaning of "happy, carefree") in an American studio film. Among homosexuals, the word first came into its current use during the 1920s or possibly even earlier, though it was not widely known by heterosexuals as a slang term for homosexuals until the late 1960s. The line was not in the original shooting script for the film; it was an ad lib from Cary Grant himself." Interesting, huh? I found that little tidbit while looking up trivia for the movie. I also found out that Cary Grant was not fond of the leopard, although Katharine Hepburn was (which, ironically, is how it works in the movie too) and that Katharine Hepburn needed coaching in her comedic timing, which is interesting.


Anyway, the film contains many more memorable lines than just the one discussed above. Here are some of my favorites:

"But isn't it chilly without a gun, Elizabeth?" - Major Horace Applegate

"Well, it isn't that I don't like you, Susan. After all, in moments of quiet I'm strangely drawn to you but, well, there haven't been any quiet moments." - David

Susan: Well you can't do the trick without dropping some of the olives, it takes practice.
David: What, to sit on my hat?
Susan: No, to drop an olive.

Elizabeth: Who are you?
David: I don't know. I'm not quite myself today.

And, finally, I'm linking to a movie clip (our introduction to Baby) for your enjoyment.

Wife, do we know anyone who smells of violet?

Today, I'm going to highlight a particularly good scene. (It seems like a long time since I've said that, doesn't it?)

This scene is from Holiday (1938) with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. It's my favorite part of the entire movie and when I think of this movie, I'm usually thinking about this scene. You can probably guess which one I'm talking about. It's the scene where Linda entertains her party of "very unimportant people."


You get to see all of the best people in the film all thrown together in a room, having a marvelous time. They're all getting drunk, playing instruments, putting on puppet shows, and performing acrobatic feats - another one of those scenes that makes me want to jump into the movie and join them! I'll embed the video below. I came across this clip from the incomparable Curious Mel, whose own blog is perfectly delightful. Enjoy!



And I realize I already used this photo for the last time I discussed this movie, but I don't care. It's such a neat photo and I love the way it's at an angle. I just find it a very fascinating shot.


Click on photos for sources.

Is everybody fine? That's fine.

Today's segment is about Old Hollywood and New Hollywood. But I've actually decided to temporarily change it a wee bit, if you don't mind. I think it's fascinating that there seems to be a whole musical sub-genre: the musical remake. Musical remakes made a surge in the 50s and 60s and I find it very odd. Sometimes the musical remakes were better than the originals because music and dancing have a unique power and sometimes the original was, in fact, much better than the remake. I wanted to give the Old Hollywood/New Hollywood segment a break, but rather than do away with it entirely, I'm going to discuss musical remakes vs originals for a little while and see how that goes. Let me know what you think!

So, to start off, I want to discuss one of my favorite movies ever: The Philadelphia Story (1940) which starred Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. The musical remake, High Society (1956) starred Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra.

Tracy Lord
Katharine Hepburn vs. Grace Kelly


I think Katharine Hepburn is great in the movie. She's strong, willful, and beautiful. However, I have an easier time believing a bunch of men would fight over marrying Grace Kelly. She's so gorgeous. Sorry, Katharine.



C.K. Dexter Haven
Cary Grant vs. Bing Crosby


Okay, I have a few thoughts on this one. First off, I don't particularly care for Bing Crosby (he's okay) so I would definitely go for Cary Grant. I think alcoholism was a very good flaw for Grant's Dexter to have. I mean, that really can be a major issue and Cary Grant, as gorgeous and amazing as he is, would be an unappealing husband if he were an alcoholic one. But jazz? Really? Jazz as a flaw? I can imagine Tracy being scornful over her husband's obsession but I think divorcing him over such a thing is a little crazy. Then again, I wouldn't want to marry Bing Crosby in the first place - jazz or no jazz. He doesn't have the suavity of Cary Grant (who does?). In competing for the most divorce-worthy flaw, I'd definitely go with alcoholism over jazz and in competing for the most fight-worthy husband, I'd definitely go with Cary Grant.


Macaulay Connor
James Stewart vs. Frank Sinatra


This one is a little tougher because I love Frank Sinatra and I love Jimmy Stewart. I have to say, though, that I really think James Stewart was incredible as Mike (as evidenced, I suppose, by his Oscar). I love the scene when he comes to call on Dexter. I think it's one of my favorite movie scenes ever.



The Music
Cole Porter was brilliant. One of my very favorite songwriters. There are some great songs in this one too: "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" "Well, Did You Evah?" Sometimes music can really do something that dialogue can't. For instance, you can see Dexter and Tracy's relationship when he's singing "True Love" to her. However, as much as I love Cole Porter and I adore his music, I think the dialogue and plot of this movie work so seamlessly, that the music isn't really necessary to drive the plot or the characters along.
But, I do love this song:



My decision? The Philadelphia Story. This probably doesn't come as much of a surprise as I did preface this post with, "this is one my favorite movies blahblahblah." But I do think High Society is a wonderful movie. When not comparing it to the original, it's fantastic. In comparison to the original, I'd take the original.

Thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? I'm going to post a poll so that you can vote over which one you prefer and we can compare notes.

I really hope I didn't come off as mean or anything in this post. I'm always afraid that if I state a strong opinion I'll come off as pushy or nasty or something.

The elevator is to the rear and right.

Continuing in my list of 100 movies now. To be honest, I've more or less lost track of the point of this list, really. I'd originally intended it to be a sort of AFI list of 100 best films. The problem is, how do you define "best?" Does it mean I'd have to include movies I don't like? Does it mean I ought to stick primarily to movies that are serious and weighty as many people tend to think that serious and weighty movies are superior to light and fluffy ones? Or is it really a list of 100 movies that I like best? In which case, do I even have 100 movies that I like best? As opposed to 100 movies that I like at all? I think I'm beginning to confuse myself with these silly questions so I'll stop. Suffice it to say that this count-up has basically become a list of 100 movies that I like very much. What happens when I get to 100? Well, I'll worry about that when I get there. In the meantime...

#23 Holiday (1938)

The basic plot is as follows: Johnny Case (Cary Grant) has impulsively become engaged to Julia Seton (Doris Nolan). While he wins the affections of Julia's sister, Linda (Katherine Hepburn), and brother, Ned (Lew Ayres), Julia's wealthy father is a harder one to charm. And when Johnny tells them of his plans to take an extended holiday as soon as he has enough saved up, tempers clash. No one understands Johnny's desire to travel and figure out the meaning of life, except Linda.

I'm always forgetting how great this film is until I watch it. That may sound silly, but it's true. I watched this one a good while ago, put it on my wishlist, rated it 5 stars on Netflix, and then forgot about it. When my mom checked it out of the library a few weeks ago, I was able to realize why I loved it so much in the first place. This movie is emotional, funny, and uplifting all at once. I love the romance in it. My sister commented that there isn't much of one and I kind of like that. I find the romance slightly more true to life. I can completely imagine myself in Linda's shoes, being completely in love with someone (especially Cary Grant) and feeling unable to do anything about it. She loves him but never actually tells him. It's easier for me to relate to that then something like a Fred and Ginger sequence - where he loves her at first sight and can't rest until he finds her again. I love that, but have a hard time imagining it actually happening. Same with things like That Funny Feeling which is even slightly more possible - playboy playing around with a pretty girl. But falling in love with someone and quietly doing nothing about it? That I can relate to! Now, please don't get the wrong idea from this, this film is a comedy, a romantic comedy at that. I promise to never post a movie with an unhappy ending without giving you fair warning. I think happy endings are very important. And this film, believe me, has a very, very happy ending!

Sadly, there's very little trivia on this film, (except that Edward Everett Horton reprised his role from the 1930 version - how cool is that?) so instead I'll highlight a couple of my favorite people in the film.

And I won't highlight Grant or Hepburn's characters even though they're completely wonderful.


First, I want to talk about Ned. Ned is one of the coolest characters in the film, if not the best. He's the most discerning, self-reliant, and supportive character. He's the only one who truly understands Julia's character, which is noteworthy because it's a pretty major part of the film. He's a truly sad character because he has to escape his misery through drunkenness but I like to think that Linda is true to her word and comes back for him eventually. Ned is a backbone character. He's truly supportive of Linda through and through, never asking her to compromise and come down to the party, always validating her (which is something she needs), and the only one who believes she can attain happiness.


The Potters are next. This is probably my favorite Edward Everett Horton role. It's the only one in which he doesn't louse things up or play some foolish jerk. Don't get me wrong, I love Horton. I think he's a delightful character actor and I love the way he responds to things without realizing what he's saying. But in this film, he's intelligent, genuine, and a true friend. His wife, played by Jean Dixon, is also a treat. I spent the entire film trying to figure out where I'd seen her. When I looked it up, I realized it was My Man Godfrey. Phew!

I decided to choose this movie today because I just bought it! Hooray! I had a $15 gift card from my grandparents for Target. I kept saving it and was thinking of being sensible and buying shoes for work. But when I realized that none of the shoes at Target that are completely black are waterproof (which is what I need), I decided to not be sensible and buy what I really wanted. I can't wait until I get it in the mail!!

You are out of your continental mind!

Last night, I made brilliant plans to get started on my new project. I pulled my Busby Berkeley collection off of my shelves, settled down in front of the tv... and got completely distracted by Errol Flynn in The Prince and the Pauper, which happened to be airing on TCM. Oh, Errol!


He really is not in the movie very much, which is kind of sad because he is (in my opinion) the best part of it. It turned out to be a good thing for me, though, because I was able to get through the special features on The Gold Diggers of 1933. The documentary on 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage was particularly interesting. I highly recommend it. I'd already watched the FDR documentary for class. Anyway, this is hardly fascinating so I will skip ahead to my movies count-up:


#20 The Awful Truth (1937)



The basic plot is as follows: when Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) suspects his wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne) has had an affair, the couple decides to get a divorce. Only two problems remain: who gets the dog, Mr. Smith? and are they really still in love with each other? When Lucy gets custody of the dog and her aunt (Cecil Cunningham) pushes Lucy into the arms of Texan Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), both problems seem inclined to be solved. However, Jerry is determined to prove to Lucy that Dan isn't right for her and when Jerry gets himself engaged to a wealthy heiress (Molly Lamont), Lucy is determined to return the favor.

I'm really quite terrible at nutshelling. I always want to include all the details because they're all important! For those of you who have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Grant and Dunne have delightful chemistry and they are hilarious to watch together. I think Irene Dunne is completely adorable in this movie. For years, I didn't consider her a comedic actress because I associated her with Penny Serenade, I Remember Mama, and what I used to consider the more serious parts of Roberta (although I've lately realized that there really are no serious parts to Roberta). But she has a wonderful talent for comedy. And Cary Grant, well, he's one of my favorite actors of all time. Even when he's being frustrating, he's still loveable ("Hello, Twinkletoes").

Here are a couple of my favorite scenes from the film that I found on YouTube. There are sadly few clips from the film online but I chose these two because you get to see Jerry messing up Lucy's romance and Lucy messing up Jerry's. Here's the first one and then here's the second.

Can't scalp anybody unless you do a wardance first.

Today, I'm continuing the wonderful movie review chain started by Wendy of Movie Viewing Girl.

Here is the chain thus far:
Link #1: The Women (1939) by Wendymoon.
Link #2: Private Lives (1931) by Kate Gabrielle.
Link #3: Letty Lynton (1944) by KC.
Link #4: Madame Curie (1944) by Amanda Cooper.
and now, Link #5: Monkey Business (1952) by me!

As you'll see in the rules below, the chain must continue with some sort of link, be it actor, actress, director, theme, etc. I chose theme because I thought that would be fun and decided to find another film about scientists. My choice?

#13 in my count-up: Monkey Business (1952)



This movie is totally wacky and incredibly fun. The basic plot is as follows: Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Cary Grant) is working on a formula that will make people young. One night, one of the chimps in the lab mixes Fulton's chemicals together (accidentally creating an effective formula), dumps the mixture in the water fountain... and no one is the wiser. So, when Fulton decides to test the formula on himself, he unwittingly takes the chimp's formula as well - with hilarious results! Things get even crazier when Fulton's wife (Ginger Rogers) plays guinea pig for the experiment.


I will admit that the movie is not perfect, but it's a riot and there are parts in it that never cease to amuse me. Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers are hilarious and Marilyn Monroe is absolutely adorable. You can actually find the whole thing on YouTube. So, if you have the time, I highly recommend it. I tried finding some bits of trivia regarding the film and here's what I discovered: The address that Edwina gives when she calls the police was Ginger Rogers real-life address: 1605 Gilcrest. And the exterior shots of the Oxley Chemical Co. office building where Barnaby works was actually the Executive Building on the 20th Century Fox studio lot. Neat, huh?

If you want to add a link to the chain, here are the rules:

1. Call dibs on doing the next review in the comments. First one to speak up gets it, others will have to wait to join up to the next link in the chain! (Chains usually only link one at a time, after all. It's not a movie review tree.)

2. Write your own review of another movie (it should be one not yet used in the chain) and post it on your blog. Make sure the link to the previous review is made clear and that you link back to the original post where the chain began (so we can keep track of how the chain grows). The link can be an actor or actress, director, or something more creative (like a theme).

3. Include the rules of how to continue the chain, and let someone else continue it!




P.S. I have a new photo in my banner. Check it out! Kate Gabrielle posted about the photo on Spiffy.

Top 20 Actors (aka Merry Christmas Ladies)

Kate Gabrielle at Silents and Talkies did a post the other day on her top 20 actors. She kindly opened the invitation to anyone who wanted to join in the fun. Well, I definitely want to join in the fun! So here are my top twenty favorite actors. The list is comprised of actors with whom I'm completely in love, the ones who are so great that they can do no wrong and character actors. I have a couple of explanations before I begin: the trend seems to be to list the actors along with your favorite roles they played - I simply couldn't decide with some of the actors and listed two movies (those are usually the ones who can do no wrong). Oh, and I too tag anyone who is interested. From my understanding, this meme has been going on for a while, which may mean I'm late in the game. Just the same, if anyone hasn't done this list yet and would like to then feel free to consider yourself tagged by me!

#1 Cary Grant
Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby



#2 Fred Astaire
The Gay Divorcee and Swing Time



#3 Errol Flynn
The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood



#4 Gene Kelly
Singin' In the Rain and Summer Stock



#5 Danny Kaye
White Christmas and Court Jester



#6 William Powell
The Thin Man and I Love You Again



#7 Ricardo Montalban
Neptune's Daughter



#8 Rudolph Valentino
The Sheik


#9 Gary Cooper
Mr. Deeds Goes To Town



#10 James Stewart
The Philadelphia Story



#11 William Holden
Born Yesterday



#12 Donald O'Connor
Singin' in the Rain



#13 Frank Sinatra
On the Town


#14 Robert Redford
Barefoot in the Park



#15 Yul Brynner
The King and I



#16 Howard Keel *
Kiss Me Kate




#17 Peter Lawford
Easter Parade



#18 Bobby Darin
That Funny Feeling



#19 Charlie Chaplin
The Kid

(I'm a little obsessed with photos of Charlie Chaplin when he's not The Little Tramp. I think they're fascinating and very hard to find)

#20 Tony Curtis
Paris When It Sizzles



Wow! That was fun! Just out of curiosity, has anyone done a list of top 20 actresses or top 20 dancers?

Oh, and I'm going to take this opportunity for a little shameless self-promotion. Another one of my favorite hobbies is video editing. I actually considered pursuing editing as a career but realized I'd have to watch movies I don't like so I've been sticking to it as a hobby. Anyway, I made a movie a little while ago about who I think are the sexiest actors (most of them are on this list) and I thought I'd share it with you. The music is performed and written by a wonderful musician, Emma Wallace, who has a blog of her own.



I hope you like the video and the list! All comments are welcome! Thanks for reading!


* I originally had Edward Everett Horton because he is my favorite character actor. But then I thought about it and realized that I'd titled my entry "Merry Christmas Ladies" and Mr. Horton, though fantastic, is not exactly dreamy. I had just happened to watch Calamity Jane the other day and remembered how much I love Howard Keel, so I decided to name him instead.