Table Talk!

 Charles Laughton and Judith Anderson

 Basil Rathbone and Angela Lansbury

 Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood

 Joan Crawford and Caesar Romero

 Ann Dvorak, Hedy Lamarr, and Ann Baxter

 Marlene Dietrich and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

 Ben Gazzara and Fred Clark

Brian Aherne, Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland

Tonight on TCM!

All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) Young German soldiers try to adjust to the horrors of World War I.

Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray.

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Sitting Pretty (1948)

Harry and Tacey King (Robert Young and Maureen O’Hara) have a pleasant life on Hummingbird Hill despite their nosy neighbors The Appletons (Richard Haydn and Grayce Hampton). When the King’s maid quits because she can no longer stand their three unruly sons Larry, Tony and Roddy, Tasey puts out an advertisement for a resident nanny. Lynn Belvedere (Clifton Webb), who has an impressive list of qualifications, promptly responds and is hired sight unseen.
Assuming Lynn is a woman, the Kings are shocked and a bit reluctant to welcome the gentleman who claims to be a genius who has mastered many professions. However, they are impressed when within a day Mr. Belvedere has won over and tamed the children and the King’s unruly dog. He also found time to fix the icebox.

Once Belvedere establishes himself on Hummingbird Hill, Appleton and his mother set their curious sights on him. Things take a turn for the worse when Harry must go on a business trip but does not want to leave Tasey alone in the house with Belvedere. Though she thinks it silly, Tasey arranges to sleep at their neighbor Bill and Edna Philby’s (Louise Allbritton and John Russell) house. This arrangement works well until one night Tony wakes up with stomachache and wants his mother. While she is there Appleton drops by feigning concern when he saw all the lights on in the house. Really, he’s hoping to catch some gossip and Tasey and Belvedere don’t disappoint- both are in their robes and Belvedere is guzzling water from the gin bottle that’s being used since the King’s water bottle is broken.

By the time Harry returns home, his boss Hammond (Ed Begley) has heard the news being spread around town and warns Harry to fix the situation or lose his job as one of his lawyers. Though Harry accepts Tacey's explanation, he thinks Belvedere should leave to avoid further complications. But the boys protest and Belvedere stays. Things flare up again however, when after attending a lecture Tacey and Edna stop at the hotel restaurant for a meal. Mr. Belvedere is there with one of Hammond’s secretaries, Peggy (Randy Stuart), who has brought him some papers. Mr. Belvedere invites Tacey to rumba and is spotted by Appleton and his mother. The gossip results in Hammond giving Harry another lecture and Harry and Tacey getting into a fight. Tacey leaves with Roddy to stay at her parents. Both are too stubborn to apologize and it isn’t until the publication of Belvedere’s book Hummingbird Hill, which results in both Harry and Bill getting fired from the firm, that Tacey rushes home. Hummingbird Hill contains thinly disguised portraits of the townspeople in a bad light including Appleton and Hammond. Everyone is in an uproar.

When Hammond, Appleton and a few other neighbors threaten to sue, Belvedere is delighted knowing this will help the sales of his book. He requests that Harry and Bill represent him and when Hammond demands to know the source of his information, Belvedere identifies Appleton who promptly retreats. Later, Harry and Tacey are surprised to find that Belvedere will stay on and perform his duties. Belvedere predicts he could get another two volumes to complete his trilogy if he stays on. Tacey warns him that she is expecting another child, however Mr. Belvedere is unfazed. He states he has also been an expert obstetrician as he takes out his knitting needles and continues to work on the baby sweater he’s making. .


What do you get when you plop a strictly refined, sardonic, narcissistic man into middle-class suburbia? Pure genius. That’s why Webb’s Belvedere not only won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor but also spawned two more movies based on the same character. Basically playing himself onscreen, Webb with subtle actions and razor sharp dialogue is wickedly funny. Watching him go head to head with Appleton is a treat. I would definitely like to see the sequels!

Some of you may recall I did a small piece on Sitting Pretty before... :)

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S & G: Hopper Jabbers

I am currently reading, The Whole Truth and Nothing But by Hedda Hopper and James Brough. A co-worker was kind enough to unearth this tainted gem and let me borrow it. Hopper hops like a bunny from one subject to another dropping little tidbits and sometime making me wish I hadn't fell into her rabbit hole. It's a bit of stale news to a person who happily chews her way through one (auto)biography to another, however, the book is sprinkled with some sound advice and humorous prose... even if it makes me a little dizzy.

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Stars! They're Just Like Us!

They iron!

They play bang ball! 

They fish!

They play strip poker!

They take their kids to Disney!

They stay in shape!

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LIFE! What a racket!

 Fred Astaire

 Ginger Rogers

 Joan Crawford

 Dennis Hoffman

 Claudette Colbert

Lana Turner

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Today is National Junk Food Day!

A lil' history on our favorites:  http://www.delish.com/food-fun/snack-food-history#fbIndex1

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Stiff Competition!

 Ramon Navarro- too cute!

Rudy Vallee- he isn't winning, that dog it totes adorbs!

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The Best Man (1964)

William Russell (Henry Fonda) and Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson) are the leading candidates for the presidential nomination. Russell is a man with principles, an intellectual who at times can be indecisive. His marriage is strained by past sexual indiscretion he regrets, but his wife Alice (Margaret Leighton) chooses to support him. Cantwell portrays himself as a simple man, a man of the people. He is patriotic, anti-communist, stubborn and ruthless. Along with the full support of his wife, Mabel (Edie Adams), he will stop at nothing to get the nomination. Thus the trouble begins.

Both Russell and Cantwell depend upon the support of former President Art Hockstader (Lee Tracy). Though Hockstader prefers Russell, he thinks his indecisiveness and principles may get in the way of making the decisions needed as a President. Hockstader does not particularly like Cantwell, but he appreciates how tough he is and his willingness to do what it takes. After conversing with him, Russell realizes that Hockstader is going to support Cantwell. Having heard this, Dick Jensen (Kevin McCarthy), Russell’s campaign manager, decides without Russell’s knowledge, to make a call to a source he’s kept in the dark. Sheldon Bascomb (Shelley Berman) served in the military with Cantwell, and is willing to link him to homosexual activity while stationed together during World War II.Cantwell, because he is so ruthless, already has a file he illegally obtained on Russell that testifies to a nervous breakdown he had a few years back. With this damaging information, Cantwell, who assumes Hockstader will throw his support behind Russell, threatens to use it if Hockstader does not support him. Hockstader tells Cantwell that “he doesn't mind a bastard, but objects to a stupid one”, revealing that he was going to support him but will now switch to Russell. However, in his opening-night speech, he endorses neither.

As the hours count down towards the nomination, a healthy game of outmanuevering ensues as Russell refuses to use slander to win the campaign and Cantwell relies on it, not only with Russell, but with other senators and people of power that he’s gathered files on to use against them. It isn’t till minutes before the crucial decision is made that one of the candidates will take a shocking tactic to make sure the best man wins.

An absolutely riveting film from end to finish, The Best Man gives the audience a glimpse into the seedier side of politics, more importantly political manuevering. Complete with intelligent dialogue and scenes that flow smoothly, Fonda, Tracey (the whole reason I wanted to see this film), and Robertson are phenomenal. The supporting cast which also includes a very domineering Ann Sothern, is nothing to sneeze at either. Definitely a must see!

 
 
Tonight on TCM! Um...yes please!
Richard III (1955) A hunchbacked madman plots to make himself king of England. Dir: Laurence Olivier Cast: Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Claire Bloom.

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Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

After he nearly wrecks his car to avoid hitting her, Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) gives a ride to a nearly hysterical woman named Christina (Cloris Leachman). Later up the road there is a road block and Hammer discoversChristina has escaped from a nearby mental institution. He agrees to cover for her and when he stops at a gas station to have his car looked over, Christina runs inside and comes out with a letter for the attendant to mail. As they drive on, Christina warns Hammer that if she doesn’t make her destination, for him to remember her. Suddenly they are overtaken by thugs and Hammer awakens to Christina screaming and being tortured to death before slips back into unconsciousness. Hammer awakens in a hospital with his secretary Velda (Maxine Cooper) by his bedside.

Hauled in for questioning, Hammer decides to reveal nothing- surprise! The investigators needle him about his current profession as a seedy private detective who uses Velda to turn the tables on the divorce cases he works on. Hammer is haunted by Christina’s last words “Remember me”,  he wants to see why she was important enough for the police to lock her up in an institution and for the unknown thugs to torture her to death. Very much the anti-hero, Hammer is almost as bad as the crooks he’s about to chase down.

With the help of Velda and his friend Nick (Nick Dennis), Hammer is led through the usual series of twists and life-threatening situations chasing thugs provides. An added element is Lily Carver (Gaby Rodgers) the seemingly helpless friend of Christina. What Hammer discovers is literally quite explosive and very much in-tune with the public opinion and paronoia during the 50’s Cold War period.

I’m no film genre buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I can say that I definitely felt like I was experiencing a new movement in film emerging with Kiss Me Deadly. Hammer is a new kind of anti-hero, unlike Bogart, he has little to no redeeming quality. He isn’t caught up on a dame in the romantical sense, he’s curious and maybe out for vengeance. He definitely takes pleasure in slapping people around, something that becomes more apparent as his search becomes more frenzied. However, Hammer is not the only unsavory element, the entire movie is gritty. The women are bold, suggestively sexual- throwing out lines like, “You don’t taste like anybody I know.” The police are cruel, secretive, without mercy. The city is dirty and hot making the people in it all the more seedy as they sweat their way through the events unfolding. Though we are used to all kinds of reality in our movies now, Kiss Me Deadly still has a freshness about it. The film was shot wonderfully and the characters fitted perfectly into it. Definitely a must see.

Lil' cheesecake:

Look at Cloris!

 

I also have a new classic crush on Ralph Meeker. He’s like a cross between a young Kevin Costner and Tom Berenger and when he speaks, kinda reminds me of Jeff Bridges. Now, how can you go wrong with that combination?

Tonight on TCM!

Singing Cowboys! Yee-haw, ya'll!

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Stars and Cars!

 Alain Delon

 Steve McQueen

 Mamie Van Doran

 Pier Angeli

 Sabu

Janis Paige

Tonight on TCM!

Adventure In Iraq (1943) Americans are captured by Arabs working for the Nazis. Dir: D. Ross Lederman Cast: John Loder, Ruth Ford, Warren Douglas.

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