Good thing I didn't join the Air Force.

"I feel like I'm not out of bed yet..."

Any guess as to today's movie choice? Hint: we're continuing the series of sailor musicals.

Well, if you guessed On the Town (1949), then you guessed right!

It's another Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra musical! This time with Jules Munshin!

This movie tells the story of three sailors on leave in New York City for a single day: they want to see the sights, take out the girls, and have the best day of their lives. But will they? When Gabey (Kelly) falls in love with the subway's Miss Turnstiles, Ivy Smith (Vera Ellen), for the month of June, he and his two pals comb the town looking for her. Along the way, they meet a lovely taxi-driver (Betty Garrett) and a romantically-inclined researcher (Ann Miller). It's fun all over town as the three sailors and their girls look for Ivy Smith, find her, and then lose her again.

The movie was based on the play by the same name by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who then adapted the script for the screen. Many songs were taken out and only a few from the original score remain. The beginning sequence where the three guys explore the town was all shot on location (you can see the crowds watching them at Rockefeller Center). It was the first musical to be shot on location. In the song, they look at the city from a skyscraper and Jules Munshin, who was afraid of heights, kept his hands firmly on his costars and the props around him. Another fun fact about this movie is not actually about this movie per se. In the 1953 musical Small Town Girl with Jane Powell and Farley Granger, a scene from this movie was recycled for the film to show the young couple enjoying the city nightlife. The movie's hard to find but if you find it, and you watch closely when they go to the nightclubs, you can see the cross-fade attempt to obscure Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett from view. This is a little fact that I discovered all on my own! My jaw dropped a bit when I stumbled upon it.

I love this movie so much! It's so funny, the songs are great, and the clothes are wonderful. I've been dying to get a version of Ann Miller's dress in "Prehistoric Man" for years! I hope you're having a good time so far with this series. We're just about done with it but I've got one more movie I'd like to share with you before I wrap it up. So stay tuned!

All the pictures in this post are from Doctor Macro. Feel free to check out my Facebook page to find more pictures, quotes, and film clips!

That is how she won her Navy E!

Next up, let's talk about a couple of my favorite sailors: Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in their first film together...

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Ah, Frank and Gene - a pair of fellas who could make any girl swoon. This was one of Frank Sinatra's earliest leading roles. I think it was one of the ones that helped define his on-screen persona as the quiet, shy, nervous charmer that he reprised in multiple films.This is my sister's favorite Gene Kelly movie and I certainly don't blame her. He's so incredibly sexy, charming, funny, and suave in this one. And to see the way he can handle a phone...

The film follows the story of two sailors on leave, Clarence (Sinatra) and Joe (Kelly). Once on shore, Clarence persuades Joe to help him find a girl. Joe reluctantly agrees and when the two are roped in to help a young boy, Donald, get home safely (Dean Stockwell in one of his earliest roles), Clarence quickly falls in love with the boy's beautiful Aunt Susie (Kathryn Grayson). As Joe attempts to bring the two together, he finds himself falling in love with Aunt Susie as well. But which one will get the girl?

There is, of course, a bit more to the plot, but that's what summaries are for, right? One tidbit that I know about this movie is, I think, a pretty well-known fact, but I'll share it anyway, just in case. Jerry the Mouse's role in "The Worry Song" was originally offered to Mickey Mouse but Walt Disney declined. I don't think he wanted his star to appear in a different production company's film. I think I read somewhere that Disney was very impressed with the end result. So that's pretty neat. As for Gene's other dancing partner... this wasn't Frank Sinatra's first musical but I believe it was his first dancing role. Gene Kelly pretty much had to teach him. When you see the end result, it's pretty incredible to think of having to learn from and keep up with Gene Kelly. Frank Sinatra, in my opinion, does really well. You can see him watching Gene as they dance in "I Begged Her" but you can hardly blame him for that.

This movie has some fantastic songs in it. Gene Kelly has a few really good dances to perform (my favorite is the "Mexican Hat Dance" he performs with the little girl) and Frank Sinatra gets to croon some mighty lovely tunes.

This is my sister's favorite Gene Kelly movie. What's yours?

All of the pictures featured in this post are from Doctor Macro.
Be sure to check my Facebook page for more pictures, movie clips, and quotes!

Just one of those things

So, last night I watched a movie with my mom, Can-Can (1960), starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Louis Jourdan, and Maurice Chevalier. It was a very fun movie with some fantastic songs by Cole Porter. I liked it a good deal and was surprised that I'd never heard of it before!



Watching Louis Jourdan reminded me of something I've wanted to mention on my blog. Do you remember that post I wrote about Gigi and then I wound up deleting it? Well. I've realized since deleting it that I got a little carried away in the wrong direction when writing that post. You see, when I originally sat down to write it, I was not going to bash it and criticize it to pieces. I was going to (and I did a bit) discuss how interesting it is to dislike a movie and be fascinated by it at the same time. That's what Gigi does to me. I'm so immensely bothered by it but when I start to think about it, I find I can't stop and then I start wanting to rewatch it and get another opinion of it. The same thing happened to The Sheik. I hated it. But something about it intrigued me to the point where I bought it and did a little bit of research on it to appease my fascination. There's a very good chance this will happen with Gigi as well as I find myself wanting to watch certain scenes again.

Do any of you have movies that you have a sort of love/hate relationship for? (For lack of a better term, that is. Love/hate isn't exactly what I'm talking about but it's a simpler way to describe it.)

Can-Can gave me a somewhat similar reaction, although I wasn't quite so opposed to the plot. But Louis Jourdan's persona (at least, in the two movies I've seen of him) is so difficult for me to wrap my head around. On the one hand, he's gentle, sexy, soft-spoken, attractive, French. The way he kisses Shirley MacLaine is so tender and affectionate! Yet, at the same time, he's condescending and talks to her (and to Gigi) as if she's a little girl and doesn't know any better. He looks at her with such pity when she doesn't really need his pity. It drives me ca-razy! If you can recommend any Louis Jourdan movies where he plays a more likable character, please let me know. I really want to like him in a movie. I was rooting for him when I watched Can-Can but mostly because I liked his character better than Frank Sinatra's character.

And what did we see? We saw the sea.

So, I'm sick. I've actually been sick but now it's moved to my nose and chest where all I do is sniffle and cough. The only good thing about being sick is that it gives you an excuse to relax. This said, I'm having a movie marathon. I love movie marathons. I think it's so fun to have a theme and plan a whole line-up of films (hmm. new blog post series?). Today, I decided to go for a theme of... well, I'll let you figure it out. Here's the line up:
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Born to Dance (1936)
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
On the Town (1949)
Hit the Deck (1955)

And because movie marathons are no fun alone, I'll let you join me (without having to get sick too). Ready? Here we go:

I hope you enjoyed the movie marathon!

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.

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.

How could this happen to me, just when I'm beginning to feel like a wolf?

First off, I want to point out my newest addition to my blog: the poll located over here to the left... Please vote! I realize that the success of polls pretty depends on having enough people respond so please respond! If haven't seen all 3 films then vote for the one you have seen. Anyway, moving right along...


Time for the spotlight on a great musical number. Today, I want to talk about the Mexican Hat Dance in Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Gene Kelly and a little girl, Sharon McManus. The song is relatively short (less than four minutes) and has, basically, nothing to do with the rest of the film. Nevertheless, it's one of my favorite moments in the movie and every time I watch it, I get a surge of happiness, excitement, and longing. Honestly, if I had a chance to dance with Gene Kelly, I think I would want to dance like that: with that sort of playful abandon, just for the sheer joy of dancing. Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't want to dance like he does with Cyd Charisse in Singin' in the Rain (1952), but there is something to be said about the warmheartedness of this scene. The part where he picks her up off the fountain and they begin dancing around the courtyard and around the oddly huge candle never fails to cheer me up.

Today, it is uniquely cold here in St. Augustine. While any readers not living in Florida may scoff at my thin skin, I will confess that the drop to the 50s today has really sent me scrambling for my coat, scarf, and hat. I find this scene fitting for a cold day like today. So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, curl up, and enjoy the warmth and adorableness that is this scene:

Again, please vote in the poll. I would greatly appreciate it. Let me know what you think of the scene, of the movie, of Gene Kelly. What scene depicts best how you would dance with Gene Kelly?