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

I think it's the best thing I ever read... I didn't understand one word!

I revisited a (recent) favorite the other day: Born Yesterday (1950) with Judy Holliday and William Holden. I say recent because I didn't discover Miss Holliday until about 2 years ago and I didn't watch Born Yesterday until about a year and a half ago. I dismissed it, sadly, after the scene where Billie gets smacked (sorry for the small spoiler there) and didn't revisit it again until this past summer. I fell in love with it the second time I saw it and promptly bought it. It's such a wonderful movie. For those of you who haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Upon discovering Judy Holliday, she quickly became a favorite. She is such a genuine actress, giving her characters (particularly Billie Dawn) a brilliant combination of innocence and worldliness, naivety and wisdom. She's adorable and strong at the same time. And William Holden is a wonderful (and beautiful) actor, exuding charm, intelligence, and quiet passion.

Now, this is the scene spotlight segment, but I just wanted to give brief praise to the movie before launching into my discussion of the scene. The scene is one of my favorites in the movie, despite the fact that William Holden is not in it. In this scene, Billie Dawn (Holliday) is playing gin rummy with her boyfriend, the crooked, rich, and abusive Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford). Both hilarious and sad, the scene shows the couple's relationship at the beginning of the movie and also shows Billie's innate intelligence as she strategizes. Billie knows how to work her boyfriend but is still intimidated and affected by his emotional abuse. It's a wonderful testament to Holliday's talents as an actress as she evokes several emotions from her audience with minimal dialogue. I also love the the way Crawford's abuse and affection come through in this short scene - very well done.



So, enjoy it! If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself a favor and check it out. And, what should we say for discussion? Judy Holliday is one of the famous "dumb blondes" in movies. There were several amazing and clever actresses who portrayed dumb blondes. Who is your favorite? Or least favorite? Or is it impossible to choose between them? For myself, I think I'd have to say Judy Holliday and the wonderful Marilyn Monroe would be at the top of the list. I'm not a huge fan of Jean Harlow. If you know of any good movies of hers, please recommend them!

John, every day you act worse, but today, you're acting like tomorrow.

I have a few things to say before I jump into my review. First, I'm not sure that the above quote will have anything to do with my post. My mom and I finished our Fred & Ginger marathon tonight (finishing up with Roberta (1935)) and that's one of my favorite quotes from the film.

The second thing I have to say is: I'm sorry for not following through with my plan to review 2 movies a week. Here's what happened (I sound like Mr. Monk!) - I netflixed Bells Are Ringing (1960) (not to be confused with For Me and My Gal (1942)) but we've moved recently so the Netflix was redirected and it took a good week and half to finally get to me. By the time I got it, I'd already contacted Netflix and told them that the dvd got lost in the mail and they had sent me a replacement copy. So then I had 2 copies but by this time it was already yesterday and at least a week too late for me to follow through with my promise of 2 reviews a week. You see, Bells Are Ringing, was supposed to be my new film of the week. So, now that I'm quite overdue, I will finally review it because it is a movie worthy of reviewing.

Okay, so I checked out Bells Are Ringing because it stars Judy Holliday (who has quickly become one of my favorite actresses) and Dean Martin - what a pairing! The basic plot is as follows: Ella Peterson (Holliday) works at an answering service, taking and giving messages. However, she takes the service a bit further, involving herself in the lives of the clients by giving advice, playing matchmaker, playing mother, and, occasionally, even playing Santa Claus! Things really begin to shake up when she falls for a client (Martin) and when a snoopy inspector tries to prove that the answering service supplies men with additional services...

The movie is very cute and very fun. I very much enjoyed it and I highly recommend it. Judy Holliday doesn't disappoint - she's a pure joy and very entertaining. There are some really fun songs, some quirky jokes, and some cute dresses (for the fashion-lovers). Overall, I'd say the movie is very good (I gave it 4 stars on Netflix).

I must warn you, however, if you're looking into watching this movie. It was adapted from a Broadway play and it's very, very campy. The actors sing to the camera and the songs are very staged (for lack of a better word). This didn't really take away from the movie, but I feel I should give a proper heads-up.

Hopefully, campiness doesn't deter you from a good movie because I certainly recommend this one.

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.