I eat husbands.

So, one of my favorite screwball comedies is a lesser known Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche film called Midnight. I know I've mentioned it before. The plot is moderately simple: penniless chorus girl, Eve (Colbert), is on the hunt for a rich husband when she meets taxi driver, Tibor Czerny (Ameche). Afraid she's falling in love with him, she's runs away and runs right into a high society party and a tricky love triangle. Now, a rich husband, George Flamarian (John Barrymore), wants Eve to help him separate his wife (Mary Astor) and her lover (Francis Lederer). Eve assumes Tibor's name to put on the charade and help George out. When Tibor finds out, he's on his way to find out why she's using his name... and to make it permanent! Here's a scene from the movie and I hope it'll whet your appetite to see the whole thing; it's a delightful film!



P.S. I titled the post as such because I think that line is so funny! And weird. What kind of a line is that?

Cleopatra and Delilah had it way over Ruth

I find this scene to be one of the craziest hyped up scenes ever. It's so random and weird and, from what I can tell, pretty unnecessary. I haven't actually seen the entire movie, to be honest, but it looks odd. It is Cecil B. DeMille so you know it's probably going to be pretty lavish and odd but still. In any case, this photo of Claudette Colbert is super cute - you can't tell at all that the milk she's bathing in smells terrible..


This photo is from Doctor Macro.

Don't come bustin' in here. This isn't no public park.

I love this movie sooo much!

You're a perfect lady. You're a regular guy. We should be together, you and I!

In January, I stated that I would like to a different list of favorites every month. I've already done Favorite Actresses and Favorite Actors. Now, in honor of February and Valentine's Day, I'd like to do Favorite Couples! I have a few disclaimers before I begin, however. First, there is a difference between a couple and a dance team. I'm specifically avoiding dance partners because I think they deserve a list all their own. So, these pairs are pairs because I like the way their chemistry while acting, sans dance (even if they happen to dance together, as is the case with #2). Also, I've carefully avoided doubling up on some actors. Each performer is listed only once (which is why you'll see no Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, who I do actually like, but I prefer the Cary Grant pairing I have below). Instead of having ninth and tenth couples, I have two honorary mentions. That is, two pairings that I love that have only been paired together once. I'm also including the films in which I like the performers' chemistry best; in the first three choices, I'm including two films. If you like this list or this idea, please feel free to consider yourself tagged in this listing process. I'd love to see what couples you like!

#1. William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Thin Man and I Love You Again


#2. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Swing Time and Roberta


#3. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood


#4. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne
The Awful Truth


#5. Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson
Thousands Cheer


#6. Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell
Footlight Parade


#7. Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee
That Funny Feeling


#8. Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett
On the Town


Honorary Mentions:
#9. William Holden and Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday


#1o. Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche in Midnight




P.S. I'd like to thank Noir Girl for picking up the movie review chain! I can't wait to read her review!
P.P.S. Don't forget to vote on the poll! There are only two votes so far, which is making the competition a very slow neck-and-neck race.
P.P.P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!! I've picked one of my favorite onscreen kisses as a banner for the occasion!
P.P.P.P.S. (I promise, this is the last one!) Because it relates to the list and to the day, I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion and post one of my videos. I hope you like it! It features my top three couples! The song is written by and performed by the incomparable Emma Wallace of Emma's Music

A pretty girl is like a melody

When I wrote my list of favorite 20 actors, I had so much fun that I couldn't wait to make a list of 20 favorite actresses. And then I realized that I should stretch out the fun and let it last all year long! So, the new plan is: every month I'll feature a new list. If you like the list, then please feel free to consider yourself tagged and make your own. So below is a list of my favorite 20 actresses and my favorite of their roles. Enjoy!

Oh, and a brief disclaimer: This aren't really in any particular order. Basically, the top ones are my favorites and the bottom ones are slightly less favorite. The top 5 or 6 are my tip-top favorites (I'm numbering them so that I can keep track of how many I have).

(Also, a second brief disclaimer: Grace Kelly is not on my list, despite the photograph of her here for the simple and shameful reason that I've only seen her in 1.5 movies, same goes for Barbara Stanwyck, who I've only seen in 1 movie. I plan to remedy the situation in each, I promise!)

1. Audrey Hepburn
Funny Face and My Fair Lady


2. Ginger Rogers
Roberta and Monkey Business


3. Myrna Loy
The Thin Man and Libeled Lady


4. Claudette Colbert
Midnight and It Happened One Night


5. Cyd Charisse
The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings


6. Olivia de Havilland
The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood


7. Kathryn Grayson
Thousands Cheer and Kiss Me Kate


8. Judy Holliday
Born Yesterday and It Should Happen to You


9. Marilyn Monroe
The Seven Year Itch



10. Julie Andrews
Mary Poppins


11. Irene Dunne
The Awful Truth


13. Donna Reed
It's A Wonderful Life


14. Sandra Dee
That Funny Feeling


15. June Allyson
Two Girls and a Sailor



16. Katharine Hepburn
Bringing Up Baby


17. Shirley Temple (okay, I know she's little, but I love her!)
Little Miss Broadway


18. Ava Gardner
One Touch of Venus


19. Natalie Wood
The Great Race
20. Ruby Keeler
Footlight Parade

And he always had a nose like yours.

A small bit of news to share: I've changed the layout on my blog. I really like the old one but I thought it might be nice to change it up a bit. I'd love to hear what you think. Do you like the new layout? Prefer the old one? I've also changed the picture. I'm going to try and change things up a bit every now and again, especially since I have so many great pictures - it'd be nice to use as many as possible. Oh, and I've also cut out the "tonks" in my username. This isn't a huge change really, but I thought it might be important to note.

Now for #10 in the count-up: Midnight (1939)


I discovered this movie through Netflix recommendations and was so impressed by it that I wrote a post about it and then bought it. I love Claudette Colbert as a comedienne and I didn't even discover her until about a year ago.

Poll results for last week's poll. Out of 16 votes, 9 voted for an equal proportion of light and dark films, 6 preferred light films, and 1 preferred dark films. Thank you so much for voting!

Now, for this week's poll, I'm going to preface the question with an explanation (and a confession). I've only seen 3 Clark Gable films: Gone with the Wind, Dancing Lady, and It Happened One Night. Nothing against Mr. Gable, of course, just what I've happened to see. My poll for this week actually pertains to his leading ladies. That is, which of them do you prefer? They are each very unique and wonderful in their own way: Vivien Leigh, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, and Myrna Loy. I know there are more than the ones I've listed, but I'm listing the ladies of the films I've watched or hope to watch soon (Wife Versus Secretary is on my queue, thus Myrna Loy, and after reading my TCM book on the leading couples of the Hollywood era, I thought it appropriate to add Jean Harlow). If I have not listed your favorite, please do comment with your choice.

spur of the moment review

Don't worry: this isn't a new segment. I'll work on posting again in the next day or two about a good musical number (I have a few in mind). I just wanted to share a delightful discovery I made tonight: Midnight (1939) starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. The first (and only) movie I'd ever seen of Don Ameche was Down Argentine Way (1940) which was a thorough disappointment, so I was a little wary to check out another of his films (a silly judgment, I know. I'll work on that). I've only seen Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night (1934), which I love, but I didn't know enough of her other work to guess what to expect in this movie.

All this to say, Midnight completely took me by surprise. It is a wonderful film - the sort of film I wish I'd seen sooner. It's delightful from beginning to end. I watched it with my roommate and we had a very fun time trying to predict what would happen next. It turned out to be a pretty tricky game as there are some surprising twists throughout. (I challenge you to watch the movie and predict the twists correctly - excluding, of course, the happy ending because we knew that would happen) The movie had me laughing out loud and ended with me smiling quite contentedly.

I leave you with a quote and a picture. The quote is, surprisingly enough, hilarious in context. Just wait till you see it! (For the record, the quote and the picture do not necessarily go together)

"It was a simple case of alcohol poisoning. She'd had one highball too many. We found her in the gutter."


For the sake of discussion, what movies have you stumbled upon that turned out to be delightful?