This post is always as sad one to write as I remember favorite actors and actresses from Classic Movies and Television who have passed away. Sometimes it's a shock all over again as, being so alive on the screen, I've forgotten they're gone.
Jan. 5 - First Rose-Marie at the end of December and then Jerry Van Dyke. Not a good time for Dick Van Dyke (thankfully still with us - looking forward to seeing him in Mary Poppins Returns).
Jan. 19 - I'm still upset the Academy left Dorothy Malone out of their Remember video at the Oscars. It's incredible sad that an Oscar winner can be forgotten so easily...!
Jan. 22 - Connie Sawyer (age 105)
Feb. 9 - Losing John Gavin was a sad one from me. I've had a crush on him ever since seeing Tammy Tell Me True. He gets a lot of flak for his "wooden acting" but I've always enjoyed him in whatever movie he shows up in. He is probably best known as Janet Leigh's boyfriend in Psycho (1960).
Feb. 22 - Nanette Fabray
March 10 - I didn't even know that Hubert de Givenchy had still been alive! He is known by all classic movie fans for the many incredibly chic costumes he designed for Audrey Hepburn. And after the British Royal Wedding in May the designer house that bears his name is finding a new audience.
April 27 - Kristen Nelson (wife of Ricky Nelson)
May 20 - Patricia Morrison
May 21 - Clint Walker
June 1 - William Phipps (voice of Prince Charming in Cinderella) - article
July 8 - Tab Hunter
Aug. 1 - Mary Carlisle
Aug. 26 - Neil Simon (writer)
Sept. 4 - Bill Daily (I Dream of Jeannie)
Sept. 6 - Oh man, Burt Reynolds was a tough one. I absolutely love Smokey and the Bandit and even got to see it on the big screen last year! It was so much fun to watch with an audience and I'm glad he was still alive when I did see it.
It's that time of year again when TCM announces it's next free online class. We've had Film Noir, we've had Slapstick, we've had Hitchcock, and now we're getting Musicals! (still waiting for one on Screwball...)
Offered in collaboration with Ball State University and offered on the online platform Canvas, these classes give everyone a chance to major in MOVIE! And the great thing is it's free! And, you only have to spend as much time on it as you have available. The readings and lectures are easy to keep up with and the quizzes are just right - not to hard, not to easy. You can get as involved as you want: message boards, movies, and games all make for a fun learning experience. I know, I've taken them all :)
This years class is going to be a little different in that it is being taught by Vanessa Theme Ament instead of our beloved Richard Edwards. I'm sure she will do a fantastic job though :)
The class runs from June 3rd through July 1st and covers musicals from the 30s to the 70s. You do not need TCM for the course. Many musicals are readily available on dvd and at your local library!
WEEK 1: Introduction / Musicals of the 1920s & 1930s
The beginnings of sound technology and the first film musicals in the 1920s and 1930s: The Great Ziegfeld, Top Hat, Broadway Melody, and other films
Important musicals that set the standard for the decade: The Great Depression
The transition from Broadway to Hollywood
New stars in musicals, directors, editors, and other creatives that influenced the decade: Ernst Lubitsch, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and others
Key song numbers that typify the movie musical in the 1930s
WEEK 2: Musicals of the 1940s
The changing terrain of the 1940s movie musical surrounding WWII: Yankee Doodle Dandy, On the Town, Meet Me in St. Louis, and other films
Performers who developed during the 1940s, choreographers who direct and musicians who produce: Busby Berkeley, Ester Williams, Red Skelton, Judy Garland and others
Studios, stars, and stories for wartime America: the transition to nationalism
Pre-recording, post-sound, and location scenes
The emerging films of diversity: Cabin in the Sky, Showboat, and other films
WEEK 3: Musicals of the 1950s
The high times of the 1950s and the Blacklist: The Bandwagon, An American in Paris, High Society, and other films
The development of camera, sound, and exhibition
Glamour and the expanded role of design
The broadening of the composer, producer, and editor
Key figures who expand their scope: Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Elvis Presley, and others
WEEK 4: Conclusion / Musicals of the 1960s and 1970s
The disruption of the studios: independent film influences
Turbulence in the country and cultural challenges: Tommy, Cabaret and other films
Changing musical tastes, youth, and historical films: Funny Girl, 1776, My Fair Lady, and other films
The British Invasion: The Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night
Directors, stars, and producers who transitioned into the 1960s
This month I watched my first Anna May Wong film, my second Astaire/Rogers film (I liked this one MUCH better than Top Hat) and saw Wuthering Heights (1939) for the first time. I was excited that several Jean Simmons films were aired on TCM for her birthday.
Here's what I watched this month (* means I've seen it before):
Shanghai Express (1932) - Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong
Swing Time (1936) - Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers
Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938) - Gary Cooper & Claudette Colbert, David Niven
The Green Promise (1949) - Walter Brennan, Natalie Wood
Battleground (1949) - Van Johnson, John Hodiak, George Murphy, Ricardo Montalbon
Mystery Street (1950) - Ricardo Montalbon
*Flying Leathernecks (1951) - John Wayne, Robert Ryan
On Dangerous Ground (1953) - Robert Ryan & Ida Lupino, Ward Bond
Affair with a Stranger (1953) - Victor Mature & Jean Simmons
*We’re No Angels (1955) - Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray
Interrupted Melody (1955) - Eleanor Parker & Glenn Ford, Roger Moore
This Could Be the Night (1957) - Jean Simmons, Paul Douglas, Anthony Franciosa
Home Before Dark (1958) - Jean Simmons, Rhonda Fleming
Mon Oncle (1958 - French) - Jacques Tati
The Prize (1963) - Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson
Gambit (1967) - Michael Caine & Shirley MacLaine
*27 Dresses (2008) - Katharine Heigl & James Marsden
My Cousin Rachel (2017) - Rachel Weisz
Least Favorite Movies: Cry 'Havoc' and Confidential Agent were dark and depressing (and Lauren Bacall's acting was terrible in the latter).
Favorite Movies: Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife was a delight from start to finish, Battleground was breathtaking in it's cinematography and emotional in it's portrayal of average men preforming above average duties, Roughly Speaking was touching and made me fall in love with Jack Carson, Home Before Dark was a psychological masterpiece I couldn't stop watching, and Mystery Street was fascinating in it's portrayal of what police procedure and forensics looked like at the start of the 50s.
As is usually the case at the end of the year, one's thoughts tend to look back at those who will not be joining us in the New Year. We lost some major Television and Movie Stars this year as well as the beloved Robert Osborne, everyone's favorite Film Historian and adopted uncle. Please join me in this small tribute to them all.
Jan. 26 - The very next day Classic Television was dealt another blow with the passing of Barbara Hale, the ever faithful Della Street from Perry Mason.
March 6 - The death of Robert Osborne, beloved TCM Host and friend to all Classic Movie lovers, was an especially painful event that I had hoped wouldn't happen for many years to come. He's truly irreplaceable and I'm getting choked up just writing this.
March 23 - Lola Albright found more success as a guest star on television than she did in movies. Her most notable film performance was opposite Kirk Douglas in Champion (1949). She appears as one of Frank Sinatra's many girlfriends in The Tender Trap (1955) and as Edie Hart, a nightclub singer, in Peter Gunn (1958-61). She was 92 when she died.
April 6 - Another memorable personality we lost this past year was Don Rickles, who wasn't afraid to poke fun at anything or anybody. Prolific in both film and television, he's made people laugh for years and years.
May 22 - The sophisticated Dina Merrill, who brought class to such films as Desk Set (1957), Operation Petticoat (1959), and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), was 93 when she died. She was the second wife of Cliff Robertson and was one of the founders of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation as well as a director of Project Orbis, a flying ophthalmological hospital that teaches advanced eye care and performs surgical techniques around the world.
May 23 - Sir Roger Moore, best known as the second James Bond (which he played successfully seven times), also had several famous television characters, most notably as the title character in The Saint (1962-69) and as Beau Maverick in Maverick.
June 9 - Everyone's favorite Batman (or at least mine) was another big loss when Adam West passed away at the age of 88. A few days later, the Bat-Signal was beamed onto City Hall in LA as a tribute.
July 15 - Martin Landau, famous for his role in Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest (1959), was 89 when he died. He guest starred in many television shows and played Rollin Hand in Mission: Impossible (1966-69).
July 16 - June Foray was best known for her voice work as both Rocky and Natasha Fatale in "Rocky & Bullwinkle," Granny in the Warner Bros. Cartoons, and Little Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. She was 99.
July 31 - Jeanne Moreau, the face of the French New Wave and an icon, died at the age of 89 in Paris. She is most famous for Jules and Jim (1962).
Aug. 20 - Jerry Lewis, nicknamed "The King of Comedy" and the other half of the Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis duo, was known for his crazy facial expressions and slapstick roles, most famously The Nutty Professor (1963). Other famous films are At War with the Army (1950) and, my personal favorite, The Bellboy (1960). He was 91 and was still working.
Aug. 31 - Richard Anderson, best remembered for his role of Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman television series, both which ran in the early to late 1970s. He also appeared in such films as Escape From Fort Bravo (1953), Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Long, Hot Summer (1958).
Oct. 17 - Another icon of French cinema, Danielle Darrieux, also passed away last year. She had just turned 100 and had one of the longest film careers in history spanning eight decades. She is best known for The Earrings of Madame De... (1953) and The Rage of Paris (1938).
Dec. 24 - Last year, Charmian Carr was the first of the on-screen Von Trapp family to pass away. This year Heather Menzies, who played the second daughter Louisa in The Sound of Music (1965), died at the age of 68 of brain cancer.
Dec. 28 - The final blow of the year was the sudden death of Rose Marie, best known for her role as Sally on The Dick Van Dyke Show. A fun and diverting presence on Facebook and Twitter, her last tweet was a mere 40 minutes before her passing. This year was a big one for her as a documentary of her 94 year life, Wait For Your Laugh, was recently released to huge successes. It's still making it's way around the country and will soon be released on DVD with Special Features including one of the hour long Q&A sessions Rose Marie attended after one of the screenings. The biggest condolence is knowing that she is now in heaven with her beloved husband, whom she lost during The Dick Van Dyke Show years.
Dec. 29 - I spoke to soon. Peggy Cummins became the final loss of 2017 when she died at the age of 92 in London. With only 28 credits to her name, she is best remembered for her femme fatale role in Gun Crazy (1950). I have only seen her in The Late George Apley (1947).
This month wasn’t very earth shattering. The biggest discovery was Robert Ryan’s romantic side in Tender Comrade, one of his early roles. I liked the beginning scene so much I put it on YouTube:
I watched my first MacDonald/Eddy musical (and discovered I have record album of several of their duets). I also finally watched Bell Book and Candle. I mainly wanted to get screenshots of Novak’s tea set, which was later used in the tv show Bewitched.
* means a rewatch
Rasputin and the Empress (1932) - John, Ethel, & Lionel Barrymore
Thirteen Women (1932) - Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne
*No More Ladies (1935) - Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Edna May Oliver
Barbary Coast (1935) - Miriam Hopkins & Joel McCrea, Edward G. Robinson
Men are Not Gods (1936) - Miriam Hopkins, Rex Harrison
Rose-Marie (1936) - Jeannette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy
The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) - Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone
Listen, Darling (1938) - Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, Walter Pidgeon, Alan Hale
Four Girls in White (1939) - Florence Rice, Ann Rutherford, Una Merkel
Tender Comrade (1943) - Ginger Rogers & Robert Ryan
Vacation From Marriage (1945) - Robert Donat & Deborah Kerr, Glynis Johns
A Letter for Evie (1945) - Marsha Hunt, Hume Cronyn, John Carroll
The Window (1949) - Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman
The Racket (1951) - Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott
Glory Alley (1952) - Ralph Meeker & Leslie Caron
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) - Esther Williams, Victor Marture, Walter Pidgeon
*When in Rome (1952) - Van Johnson, Paul Douglas
Bell Book and Candle (1958) - James Stewart & Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Elsa Lanchester
*Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - Maculay Culkin, Catherine O'Hara
Space Cowboys (2000) - Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner
I guess we can say my least favorite were the two movies I started and didn’t finish. I probably would have finished them but I was watching them the night before they were to be removed from WatchTCM and I was ready to go to bed. Kismet (1944) starring Ronald Colman did not have enough Marlene Dietrich in it. And Pagan Love Song (1950) with Esther Williams and Howard Keel was just too corny for the mood I was in. The whole “drop your kid off to live with the single white guy” was weird too.
I greatly enjoyed Vacation From Marriage, one of Caftan Woman’s recommendations. I really want to delve more into Glynis Johns’ filmography.
Accurate portrayal of me every evening (except it’ a space heater and I'm just wearing jeans and a t-shirt and the cat is black with white feet ;)
October turned out to be Jane Fonda/Robert Redford/1970s month. I've posted before on my blog facebook page and on twitter my pitifully small list of films I've seen and enjoyed from the 1970s so I was excited to find three films (two starring Jane Fonda) and a TV mini-series that I enjoyed. And due to my access to WatchTCM I have been able to see many movies I would have never recorded (aka I watched a ridiculous amount of movies this month).
Does anyone else think Drew Barrymore looks like Zita Johann?
I thought they must be related but they aren't.
I watched the Sissi trilogy starring Romy Schneider, making it's TCM debut. I loved it! I took a ton of screenshots of the lavish costumes and gorgeous Austrian scenery, where it was filmed. The trilogy, and Schneider's The Story of Vickie, were my first German language films! A new dvd set of the four films, plus the condensed-into-one dubbed English Sissi movie Forever My Love, was released yesterday! It also includes a 20 min. making of feature and a 20 page booklet. You can buy it here. I really want it!
Two movies I was happy to FINALLY get around to watching were The Mummy (1932), Old Acquaintance (1943), and The Innocents (1961). I also watched my first Lizabeth Scott, Margaret Lockwood, Romy Schneider, Marge & Gower Champion, and Robert Donat films! I also discovered Paula Prentiss in Where the Boys Are (1960). I'm excited to watch all of her films from the 60s!
(* means a rewatch)
The Mummy (1932) - Boris Karloff, Zita Johann
Murder in the Private Car (1934) - Charles Ruggles, Una Merkel
Knight Without Armour (1937) - Robert Donat & Marlene Dietrich
Joy of Living (1938) - Irene Dunne & Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Lucille Ball
Castle on the Hudson (1940) - John Garfield & Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, Burgess Meredith
The Great Lie (1941) - Bette Davis, Mary Astor, George Brent
All Through the Night (1942) - Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre
Joe Smith, American (1942) - Robert Young & Marsha Hunt, Darryl Hickman
The Affairs of Martha (1942) - Marsha Hunt, Marjorie Main
I Walked with a Zombie (1943) - Frances Dee, Tom Conway
Old Acquaintance (1943) - Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Gig Young
A Place of One's Own (1945) - Margaret Lockwood, James Mason
Anna and the King of Siam (1946) - Rex Harrison & Irene Dunne, Linda Darnell, Lee J. Cobb, Gale Sondergaard
Boomerang (1947) - Dana Andrews & Jane Wyatt
*Portrait of Jennie (1948) - Joseph Cotten & Jennifer Jones, Ethel Barrymore
April Showers (1948) - Jack Carson & Ann Sothern
Night Unto Night (1949) - Ronald Reagan
Easy Living (1949) - Victor Mature, Lizabeth Scott, Lucille Ball, Los Angeles Rams
Little Women (1978) - Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Greer Garson
The Electric Horseman (1979) - Robert Redford & Jane Fonda
The China Syndrome (1979) - Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas
Our Souls at Night (2017) - Robert Redford & Jane Fonda
Least Favorite Film of the Month: It was a pretty good month for me. Scaramouche was kind of lame but I was watching it for Eleanor Parker. Same goes for The Actress and Jean Simmons. And I didn't like the rape storyline in Where the Boys Are. It had started out as such a fun movie! Also, I really wanted Esther Williams to walk out on Van Johnson in Easy to Love. She deserved better! The Florida-shaped pool was pretty epic though :)
Favorite Movie: The Sissi Trilogy, as I mentioned above. The Solid Gold Cadillac was great (despite the author's contrary opinion in Holliday's biography...) as well as the Fonda films. Our Souls at Night was very sweet. I would highly recommend it to any Fonda/Redford fan (get the one month free trial if you have to). What's Up, Doc? was a throwback to the Screwball days, a la Bringing Up Baby. Also, Rod Taylor was adorable in World Without End ;)
Some months there are too many movies I enjoyed and I feel like I should write little blurbs about some of them. Would anyone be interested in that?
Well August was certainly a busy month for me movie wise! There were so many great movies airing for TCM's Summer Under the Stars. I was most excited for the days devoted to Eleanor Parker and Dennis Morgan. I also was able to get even more acquainted with Greer Garson and watch my first real Esther Williams swimming movie (I'd only seen The Hoodlum Saint and Easy to Wed) on Ricardo Montalban day. What days were you the most excited for/watched the most movies on? Did one of the features stars become a new favorite?
Not listed below as I didn't watch the entire movie but I also watched the first 30 or so minutes of the (definitely!) French film La Ronde (1950) for the segment with Simone Simon.
Today We Live (1933) - Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, Robert Young
The Unguarded Hour (1936) - Franchot Tone & Loretta Young, Roland Young, Lewis Stone
The Sisters (1938) - Bette Davis & Errol Flynn
The Mad Miss Manton (1938) - Barbara Stanwyck & Henry Fonda
Remember? (1939) - Robert Taylor & Greer Garson, Lew Ayres, Billie Burke
Wings for the Eagle (1942) - Dennis Morgan, Ann Sheridan, Jack Carson
What a Woman! (1943) - Rosalind Russell & Brian Aherne
The Desert Song (1943) - Dennis Morgan
*The Very Thought of You (1944) - Dennis Morgan & Eleanor Parker, Dane Clark & Faye Emerson
Shine on Harvest Moon (1944) - Dennis Morgan & Ann Sheridan, Jack Carson
The Locket (1946) - Larraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum
The Late George Apley (1947) - Ronald Colman
On an Island with You (1948) - Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante
Three Husbands (1950) - Eve Arden
The Law and the Lady (1951) - Greer Garson, Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Main
Niagara (1953) - Marilyn Monroe & Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters
Jeopardy (1953) - Barbara Stanwyck & Ralph Meeker
Her Twelve Men (1954) - Greer Garson & Robert Ryan, Tim Considine
Valley of the Kings (1954) - Robert Taylor & Eleanor Parker
Many Rivers to Cross (1955) - Robert Taylor & Eleanor Parker
*Lilies of the Field (1963) - Sidney Poitier
Shenandoah (1965) - James Stewart, Doug McClure, Patrick Wayne, Katharine Ross, Glenn Corbett
Do Not Disturb (1965) - Doris Day & Rod Taylor
The Liquidator (1966) - Rod Taylor & Jill St. John
The Undefeated (1969) - John Wayne, Rock Hudson
Mrs. Brown (1997) - Judi Dench, Billy Connolly
Allied (2016) - Brad Pitt & Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris
Moana (2016) - Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
Least Favorite:Today We Live should have been called "Today We Die." Also, what was up with Joan holding a roach?!? Gross!!! Many Rivers to Cross was somewhat painful to watch because Taylor and Parker are putting on backwoods accents... (I loved the Victor McLaglen and James Arness storylines though so worth a watch). Three Husbands wasn't very good either, despite a story and screenplay by Vera Caspery, you know, the one who wrote the novel Laura?
For those of you taking the Slapstick class but don't have TCM, The Golden Age of Comedy (1957) is currently on YouTube. You can watch it below (don't miss Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow at the 34 minute mark!). All but one of the rest of the films airing tonight can be found in the movies section on the home page of the course.
Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy (1962), airing on TCM tomorrow night, is also on YouTube.
Just discovered TCM is offering another free online course in conjunction with Ball State University and Canvas Network on Slapstick films!! If you took their Film Noir class last summer, you know we are in for a real treat!! It even has the same teacher!
During the month of September, TCM is focusing on Slapstick films and lucky for us, also having this class. I have been hoping they would offer another class soon but when they didn't announce anything for the summer I was afraid there wouldn't be anything until next year. So I am very excited right now!!!!! I really just want to put a ridiculous amount of exclamation points here right now...
There. It's not a ridiculous amount but it will suffice ;)
Here's the page where you can find out all you need to know about the class and enroll. And FYI: you DO NOT need to have TCM to take the course. They provide links to free movies online for those who don't have access to TCM.
Can't wait to "see you" all there!!!! August 28th can't come fast enough!!!!
Sorry for the lack of posts last month; I started teaching again and am just getting into the swing of things.
There's several exciting things going on this month. First of all, on the eighth is the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of my blog!!!! Then, the very next day I will kicking off my VERY FIRST BLOGATHON!!! That's right! You only have a week to finish up those posts!! After that we'll be diving right into spooky movies in anticipation of Halloween.
