I'm in love... with a voice.

So, I'm starting a new series all of a sudden. I don't know why. I just had a sudden urge. These are going to primarily get posted on Tuesdays. I'm not sure whether they're going to be regular or not. And I'm not sure if they'll be themed. Here's the series: movies I want to watch.

The wonderful thing (well, one of the wonderful things) about interacting in the blogging world is that you get to exchange ideas with like-minded people in a very unique way. We don't have to have long drawn out conversations. I say my piece, you say your piece, someone else says their piece and then we're all done. It's so tidy! Anyway, I already have a list going of movies I love (my 100 movies which is sadly neglected of late) so I thought it'd be nice to have an opposite list: movies I want to watch. Then, if you've seen the movie, you can tell me what you think, whether or not you think I'd like it, and so on. If you haven't seen it but want to, then it might prove to be for your edification as well as for mine!

So, let's get started. I'm actually going to start off with two (yeesh! cheating already!) because I'm happen to be debating between the two as to which one I want to buy. I'm going to be risky and buy a movie I've never seen. Yipes! I'm pretty sure I'll be happy buying either one but which one will I like more? This is the difficulty. Here are the movies:

Three for the Show (1955) - Betty Grable, Jack Lemmon, Marge and Gower Champion.
All 4 of the leads are reasons to want to see this movie in my opinion.
I'm also fascinated by the fact that the Too Many Husbands/My Favorite Wife plot line spouted so many remakes. It's incredible! I believe this one has a great deal of potential as it adds a very crucial plot point that was direly needed in predecessor Too Many Husbands - a fourth character to the love triangle. We're supposed to like both of the husbands. She's supposed to want both of them. We can't have one husband be likable and the other one unlikable; otherwise it's too obvious a choice and we'd wonder why she married him in the first place. With a second girl in the mix, we get a satisfying ending, a more palatable ending. I'm beginning to really, truly love Marge and Gower Champion and I want to see them dance together some more. Thus the main reason for my wanting to buy this film.

Rich, Young And Pretty (1951) - Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Fernando Lamas.
Vic Damone. Need I say more? Also, Fernando Lamas. The guy was pretty horrible to little Esther Williams but he was awfully pretty.
To be honest, I know very little about the plot line. I'm in love with Vic Damone so that's my main reason for wanting this one. I really like Jane Powell too so I'd like to see them together. I've read they're very cute together in this one.

Any thoughts on either movie? Have you seen one or the other?

Push the button, Max!

I have a few items to address today:

First things first, thank you to all who voted in last week's poll! In the Great Race poll, 6 people voted. 4 voted Professor Fate as their favorite Jack Lemmon character in the film and 2 voted for Prince Hapnik. So yay! Thank you for voting!


Second things second, thank you to all who guessed in the quote of the week! Everyone who guessed was correct - the quote was from Singin' in the Rain, spoken by Cosmo Brown to Don Lockwood regarding Lena Lamont. So, congratulations to Wendymoon, Emma, and Amanda for guessing correctly! I'm very excited about the quote of the week segment and I'm very encouraged by the response to the first one. Hooray!


Finally, I have a question. I watched Ball of Fire last night for the first time. Loved it! Gary Cooper was adorable and absolutely endearing, Barbara Stanwyck was sexy and amazing, and the professors were so much fun to watch! I'd been wanting to watch another Stanwyck film after seeing her in Christmas in Connecticut and this one was just as enjoyable as I hoped it would be! Now, my question regards Dana Andrews. I've seen him in State Fair but my experience with his acting is very limited. After seeing him in this movie... let's just say, I'm in love. (don't worry, I won't try to steal him away from anyone) As I mentioned in my last bid for advice, the one regarding James Cagney, I really do prefer light movies. Are there any Dana Andrews movies that are light or at least have happy endings that you could recommend? I'd be ever so grateful!

Two Kwakiutls in the same blanket... were warmer.

I fell behind in reading and writing blog posts in the past few days. I'm only now catching up! Phew! Some quick business before I launch into my post: Thank you again to all who voted in this week's poll! The results were a landslide, which rather surprised me, to be honest. In the question, who is your favorite regular in the Fred and Ginger series, Edward Everett Horton scored a whopping 64% of the votes (11)! Helen Broderick had 3 votes (17%), Eric Blore had 2 (11%) and Erik Rhodes had 1 (5%). I'm still brainstorming about this week's poll. I'll let you know at the end of the post what I've decided to ask.


I realized that I promised to theme all of my posts romantically but that hasn't really been happening, so I don't think you will mind too terribly when this next post doesn't quite fit into the Valentine's Day setting. The photo above may have tricked you into thinking this is an ultra-romantic post with a very clever tie-in to the insanely cold weather everyone has been having. Unless, of course, you recognize the photo, in which case, you weren't tricked at all and can probably guess what's next on my count-up of 100 movies:

#15 The Great Race (1965)


(There were several posters for this film but I picked this one because I think it captures the zaniness best. Just check out that list on the left-hand side! Classic!)

I rewatched this film the other day and fell back in love with it. I loved it years ago when I was a kid (although I suppose some would still consider me a kid), but this time around I appreciated the over-the-top, campy, crazy hilarity that is this film.

The basic plot is as follows: The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) is a champion daredevil who constantly breaks records, wins lady loves, and wears white. His arch-nemesis, Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), constantly (and unsuccessfully) attempts kill Leslie so that he, Fate, can be the champion, fails at all of his own daredevil attempts, and wears black. When Leslie suggests an automobile race stretching from New York to Paris, Fate is the first one to accept the challenge. Shortly behind Fate in rising to the challenge is journalist, suffragette, female emancipator, Maggie Dubois (Natalie Wood), who is out to prove that she can be any man's equal, particularly if the man is Leslie. Along for the ride are Leslie's assistant, Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn) and Fate's cohort, Max (Peter Falk). So, there you have it, in a semi-nutshell. A crazy race across the globe that includes everything from a sing-along song (complete with lyrics and bouncy ball) to a coronation (not to mention everything on the list in the poster!). If you have not yet seen this film, I highly and thoroughly recommend it. I'll link to the trailer here in case you need your appetite whetted (whettened?) even more.


The movie includes many hilarious lines. One of my favorites is in the title of the post.
Here are a few others:

Max: Come on, Professor, rise and shine!
Fate: Rise and shine?!
Max: Yeah. 7:30.
Fate: Then you rise, you shine!

Fate: Bury the hatchet.
Leslie: And we know who has the hatchet.
Max: He doesn't have a hatchet, I promise you.

Leslie: Are you a native of Boracho?
Lilly: I ain't no native! I was born here!

Prince Hapnik: Rah! Oh rah!

What are your favorite lines from the film?


I've been trying to make my 100 movies posts a little bit more interesting so I looked up some trivia for this one before I wrote it up. There were some very interesting bits and pieces but the most interesting ones, I thought, were the ones that involved the major pie fight towards the end of the movie. Here's what I found out:


- the pie fight is the largest one ever staged
- the pies used were real and contained real ingredients (including fruit, custard, and whipped cream)
- there were more than 300 leftover pies after the scene, which the crew proceeded to eat
- the running gag in this scene that Leslie walks through the kitchen and remains unblemished was pretty tricky to film (which is something I've always wondered). Tony Curtis had to change costumes several times when debris from other pies got on his suit and messed up the gag.

I really did go a bit overboard with the pictures this time, didn't I? But they were all so irresistible! Ah well. Pictures are fun. Now for the aforepromised poll. This will require you to have seen the movie, so if you haven't seen it, go see it so that you can vote! Jack Lemmon plays two characters in the film, the devious Professor Fate and the drunken Prince Hapnik. Which of these two roles do you like better?

P.S. I have a new banner at the top of my blog. Go check it out! The plan is to change it every week in honor of Valentines Day month.

I don't think I'm unreasonable. I think I'm reasonable. You're the ones that are un.

So, last week I tried a new thing: I reviewed an old movie. I got a good response for it so I've decided to try it more often. In fact, I'm going to try to review an old movie every week - along with a new movie every week. That will make 2 blogs a week. How does that sound? So, for this week I'm going to review a movie that I've lately been really digging:

It Should Happen To You (1954)

First, for a brief synopsis: Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) is down on her luck and desperate to make a name for herself. After some debating, she decides to put her name on a billboard. If the fame that comes with having her name on a billboard isn't enough, she soon has the attentions of romantic Jack Lemmon and playboy Peter Lawford.

This film is one of my favorite Judy Holliday movies. Actually, Judy Holliday played in surprisingly few movies, so I suppose that saying this one is one of my favorites isn't saying much. I've only seen a few of her films, myself: It Should Happen To You (1954), Born Yesterday (1950), Adam's Rib (1949), and The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956). Adam's Rib almost doesn't count, in my opinion, because it's mainly a Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy vehicle. In the other three, however, Holliday plays wonderful characters. The women she plays are always strong, independent yet romantic, loopy, intuitive, and quirky. She's very genuine in her acting and I'm always impressed by her.

I ran into this film when I was browsing Netflix and it definitely didn't disappoint! It's funny and wacky, romantic and sexy. It has a fun beginning and a happy ending. Like every movie, it has its faults: her boyfriend should be more supportive of her and the moral of the story shouldn't be that fame brings unhappiness whereas privacy is bliss. But, if you keep these faults in mind when you watch this movie, I think you'll enjoy it.