It's a great job to be a gob...

All right, kids. Last installment in the series, you ready?

Hit the Deck (1955)

This is one of my favorites. I know, I know. I say that about practically every movie I talk about on here. But if it isn't one of my favorites, then why bother? I bought this one because a boxed set that included Kismet (1955) was on sale and I'd wanted that movie for years so I snatched it up. The boxed set also included this one. I had heard about the movie only once from watching That's Entertainment! where they showed the finale. I remember watching it and thinking, "Ann Miller? Debbie Reynolds? Jane Powell? Together? What? I've got to see that!" and then I pretty much forgot about it. I bought the boxed set and watched Kismet for about a week before finally looking at the other movies I had acquired. I was, at the time, in a bit of a Vic Damone phase (I'm always in a Vic Damone phase) so when I saw his name on the cover, I was sold. I fell in love. I watched the movie and then, at ten o'clock at night, called my mom and asked if she was up for a movie, and then I went over to her house and watched it all over again. It's so cute!

The plot focuses on three sailors on leave in San Francisco. When one of the sailors, Danny (Russ Tamblyn) finds out that his sister, Susan (Jane Powell), is going out on a date, he and his pals, Bill and Rico (Tony Martin and Vic Damone, respectively) crash the party and fight with the date. After Susan's boyfriend (Gene Raymond) reports the three sailors, the pals spend their leave hiding from the Shore Patrol. But don't worry, they set some time aside for falling in love too. Bill has his fiancee, Ginger (Ann Miller) that he has to woo, Danny finds a cute actress, Carol, (Debbie Reynolds), and Rico falls for Susan! It's all fun and games until someone gets caught and then it's up to the three girls to save their men!

I'm going to warn you right now: most of the guys in this movie are pretty ridiculous. I mean, they're not the sharpest tools in the shed. They jump to conclusions and all of them are a little old-fashioned. Fortunately, they're all pretty good-looking, so that helps. What really saves the plot from being frustrating is that the girls are all totally awesome! They're clever, they're spunky, and they're all sorts of fun. The scene where Rico's Italian mother talks to the Shore Patrol is hilarious! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. The movie is basically about an over-protective brother who makes a hasty and ill-planned decision and his sister has to help him get out of the ensuing mess. Fun times!

The songs in this one are a little mismatched. They're all by Vincent Youmans but I think the lyricists are all different. The songs wind up having little to do with the actual plot, but they're fun songs anyway. And, to be honest, I'll forgive any song that Vic Damone sings because I just melt at the sound of his voice. Anyway, moving on... this movie is not the most famous or popular of '50's musicals but it's a lot of fun. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance! In terms of trivia, I've got nothin'. On IMDb, I read that Ann Miller's character is named Ginger after Ginger Rogers because the movie is based on Follow the Fleet. If that's the case, it's a very, very, very, very loosely based plot. There are sailors in it. Okay, so there are a couple of similarities, but very few. Anyway, I've tried to learn more about the making of this movie but it's really hard to find stuff on it. I've read Vic Damone's autobiography and I've looked at Debbie Reynolds' and it seems as though Damone was pretty much wrapped up with Pier Angeli at the time and Reynolds was busy falling in love with Eddie Fisher. So, neither had a whole lot to say about it. If you know anything, please let me know! I'd love to know more about this movie!

And that concludes the series! Did you like it? Would you like to see more of these types of posts? What was your favorite of the movies I discussed?

Don't forget to stop by my Facebook page for more pictures and film clips!

Don't send me in dark despair from all that I hunger for.

I. Love. This. Song. His voice is just perfection in this. I was so excited when I found it on YouTube. Hooray for YouTube! It allows me to share my favorite things with people!!

This time is my time

I think you all know by now how much I adore Vic Damone. I mean, look at him! He's so cute!!


I recently finished his autobiography, courtesy of my sister (who discovered it at the library and checked it out for me!). It was probably one of the best autobiographies I've read yet. Myrna Loy is still the best, in my opinion, but Vic Damone's is really up there. I mean, he has so many crazy stories to tell. They're all fascinating. Some of them are sad, but most of his book is pretty upbeat. And a great deal of it is just plain hilarious. I think everyone in my break room thinks I'm crazy by now (if they didn't think so already) because I kept bursting into random laughter and "what?" and "woah! that's crazy." Yeah. I'm a loud reader. Anyway, if you're looking for a good nonfiction book that's upbeat and gives some insight into days past, I recommend Vic's Singing Was the Easy Part.

Also, can we talk for a second about everyone (and I do mean everyone) called Jane Powell, "Janie." I think that says something about her personality if everybody connected with her called her by a nickname like that. Just saying. It's yet another reason to love her (as if I needed one). In his autobiography, Vic Damone talks about his first experience working with her in Rich, Young and Pretty. It was his first film and he was pretty inexperienced. At one point, he started drifting out of viewshot of the camera (he and Powell were supposed to be walking down the street together), and she took his arm, very naturally, and guided him back to where he was supposed to be. How nice is that! She didn't take the opportunity to steal the scene or anything. She was so professional and so nice! I love it!

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?

and in Italy, everybody sings

Exciting news!!! I found one of my all-time favorite scenes from Hit the Deck on YouTube! Ah, YouTube. Seriously, what would I do without it? Anyway, this scene is one of my favorites because a) Vic Damone sings b) the song is cute and c) everybody in this scene has such good chemistry. It's incredible! I'm going to be honest; I'm not always very good at pointing out who has good chemistry with who. But. In this scene, I'm so caught up with how much fun they seem to be having with each other. You really feel like they get along famously. It's little things.
Like when:
Kay Arden winks at Tony Martin as she hands him his wine
and when Debbie Reynolds tugs on Russ Tamblyn's tie to tell him to sing
and then when Russ Tamblyn laughs after singing (probably because he really isn't)
and when Debbie Reynolds pulls Russ Tamblyn's arm closer around her and leans on his hand
and when Russ Tamblyn leans his head on Kay Arden's shoulder
and when they all dance around the room and switch partners as if it's a surprise
and when Jane Powell whispers something to Vic Damone and he laughs
and when Kay Arden taps Debbie Reynolds under the chin

can you tell I've watched this scene a couple of times?
Ahem. Yeah, I really like it. It's so fun to watch. And it's fun to sing. Try it.



Do tell me what you think of this scene!

and you'll shoo the blues away.

I love this photo! Have I mentioned how much I love Vic Damone? Look how cute he is in that sailor outfit! hehe. Anyways...

Why, oh why, and wherefore?

Ok. I love this photo. It's a weird photo and no one really looks all that glamorous in it, but that's why I love it. They look like normal people just hanging out. In reality, it's Debbie Reynolds, Russ Tamblyn, Vic Damone (I told you I was obsessed), and Tony Martin hanging out on the set of Hit the Deck. But when I see it, I think of all those silly photos I used to take of my friends in high school. It makes me want to jump back in time to this moment, so I can walk in and just hang out with them. Although, to be honest, I have no idea what Vic Damone is doing with Debbie Reynolds' head...

Come where the so well beloved is waiting

So, I, uh (ahem) have been a little obsessed lately with Vic Damone. Actually, with two of his movies, Kismet and Hit the Deck. And Vic Damone. I don't know why. I don't know why I fall into any of my obsessions. It's always a little inexplicable and, it seems, a little unstoppable. In any case, I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts. The following scene is a song that I have not been able to stop listening to. Every time it comes on, I play it again. To the point where I've finally added it twice on my playlist so that I don't have to keep replaying it. As the uploader says this is "a rather wonderful movie sequence." It's so incredibly over-the-top and completely unnecessary. But it's so much fun! My favorite parts are the dancing girls that keep weaving throughout the parade. And, by the way, can you imagine being Marsinah (the girl on the receiving end of this whole thing) and having this insane parade coming towards you - and all you're expecting is this cute gardener to show up? Crazy! So, here it is. Just click on the picture to get to the video.

I had an uncle who laughed sometimes.

So, I got this dvd boxed set and I've been pretty addicted to one movie in the set (it was actually the main reason I bought the set) - and I've actually been kind of obsessed with one song in this one movie in this boxed set (does anyone else get like that). To the point where I haven't even really watched any of the other movies because I just keep watching the same scenes over and over again. The boxed set is: Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 3. The movie is: Kismet. And the song is "Stranger In Paradise."

It's such a ridiculously beautiful song. I love the melody and I love the words (okay, well, most of them). And I love Vic Damone's voice. So amazing! If you've never seen the film, I do recommend it although it's pretty hard to find right now. It's pretty crazy but it is an MGM musical and it is directed by Vincente Minneli so you can probably pretty much expect it to be crazy. I tried to find the song on YouTube but no soap. I'll just have to make do with the very odd trailer.



There's also this clip on YouTube to give you a bit more of a taste of what to expect: http://youtu.be/fmyjsg7LwlQ
I do have to say that although my hometown did not boast of very many exciting things to do and places to see, it did have a library with a pretty stellar collection of old movies, particularly musicals. When I think back now to the shelves filled with such rarities as Kismet, Two Girls and a Sailor, Born to Dance, Top Hat, The Thin Man, and The Pirates of Penzance, I must admit that I was pretty darn lucky.