Wrapping Up "Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel" Blogathon

Here are the final posts to this highly successful Blogathon. I know Carole would be honored to see the wealth of love and honor she has been given these past few days commemorating her amazing life and career that was cut shot by a tragic accident. And I know she will continue to live on in our hearts and in the hearts of countless new fans in the future.

Final Posts:

As you can see, Carole is very sad this Blogathon is over.

The Wonderful World of Cinema looks at The Contagious Dynamism of Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey.

 

Movie Rob covers two movies: To Be or Not To Be (1942) and Made For Each Other (1939).

My wonderful co-host In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood closes things out with her beautifully written Carole Lombard Tribute.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in this Blogathon!!!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I hope to see you all at my next Blogathon, John Garfield: The Original Rebel, running from March 3rd to 5th.

Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel Blogathon Day 3

I can't believe it's already the third day of the Blogathon! I can't wait to read all of the fantastic entries on this lady I love so much ♥

The Posts:

Whimsically Classic talks about the friendship between comedy queens Carole Lombard and Lucille Ball.

 

Wolffian Classic Movies Digest tells us what happens when mystery and screwball meet in The Princess Comes Across (1936).

 

 

The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog tells us how Carole elevates the film Lady By Choice (1934).

Classic Movie Hub gives us this lovely Carole Lombard and Clark Gable Pictorial.

Cinema Cities tells us about one of Carole's greatest films To Be or Not To Be (1942).

Karavansara also writes about this last film of Carole's, To Be of Not To Be (1942).

 

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies (that's me) looks into Carole Lombard's Star Sapphires.

Realweegiemidget Reviews tells us hoe Lombard's Little Lie Leads to Love in Nothing Sacred (1937).

Old Hollywood Films discusses Carole Lombard: Screwball Queen.

The Flapper Dame discusses Carole's amazing acting abilities in In Name Only (1939).

Christina Wehner discusses Carole's believable performance in Made For Each Other (1939).

 

Day 1 | Day 2 | Wrap-up

Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel Blogathon Day 2

After a very successful Day 1, we are back for Day 2! Here are the posts:

I can't get enough of Baby Carole ♥

As one of your hosts, here is my first post on Carole Lombard's Childhood Home and the Great Flood of 1913.

Back to Golden Days covers the sad topic of Carole's Lombard's Final Hours.

Carole and Co gives us the update on Fireball (the revised edition).

Critica Retro tells us about the surprisingly unpredictable Now and Forever (1934).

The Stop Button talks about Carole's rare dramatic performance in Vigil in the Night (1940).

Day 1 | Day 3 | Wrap-up

 

Have you signed up for my next Blogathon yet?  John Garfield: The Original Rebel runs from March 3rd to 5th.

The "Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel" Blogathon Has Arrived!

After months of waiting, the Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel Blogathon has at last arrived!!!For the next three days, many of us Classic Movie Bloggers will be honoring the memory of the "Queen of Screwball," the "Profane Angel," the "Hoosier Tornado," the one and only: Carole Lombard. Taken from us far to soon, this revolutionary actress is beloved by many and it is because of her legacy to film that Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and I are honoring her on the 75th anniversary of her death. With posts ranging from her films, her husbands, her legacy, and her Patriotism, it promises to be an amazing three days. So without further ado, THE POSTS:

Carole forgot her Blogathon started today.

Silver Screenings starts us off with what happens when Carole Lombard takes on the High-Profile Illness in Nothing Sacred (1937).

Oh, to be those hands!

Love Letters to Old Hollywood tells us what happens when Lombard and MacMurray fall head over heels in... Hands Across the Table (1935) .

"But we're not in Penny Serenade!"

Wide Screen World compares Made For Each Other (1939) with Penny Serenade.

"You can tell the Hays Code to go to..."

Mike’s Take On The Movies gives us a dose of Pre-Code Lombard in her film Virtue (1932).

"We are good friends, aren't we Bill?"

 

That William Powell Site gives us a double dose of Carole with Carole Lombard – Immortal AND Bill and Carole: Post-Divorce BFFs.

 

"I want to be alone. Wait, that's Garbo."

 

The Old Hollywood Garden tells us about the criminally underrated Twentieth Century (1934).

 

"Oh Godfrey, isn't it sweet how they love us so?"

 

Taking Up Room tells us about Carole's forgotten man in My Man Godfrey (1936).

"I hope Robert doesn't find out he wasn't my first choice..."

A Shroud of Thoughts tells us what happens when the Master of Suspense and the Screwball Queen get together to make Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941). 

Past Posts:

Here is a post I wrote for the Hot and Bothered Blogathon on Sinners in the Sun (1932) starring Lombard, Chester Morris, and in one of his early rolls - Cary Grant.

Here is Carole Lombard modeling some chic summer fashions.

Have a past post on Carole you would like to share?

Day 2 | Day 3 | Wrap-up

I would also like to invite you to participate in my next Blogathon, John Garfield: The Original Rebel, running from March 3rd to 5th.

Ten Movies on an Island: William Powell

William Powell is one of my top three actors, along with John Wayne and Cary Grant. However, unlike the other two who I grew up watching, Powell came along later.

The first films I saw of his were on a dvd from the dollar store, a double feature: My Man Godfrey (my first introduction to Carole Lombard) and Life with Father. I found Godfrey to be a bit too crazy for my tastes at the time, but my entire family loved Powell's Oscar-nominated performance in Life with Father. A couple years after that I saw the first four Thin Man films and I know I enjoyed them but I didn't go crazy over them. Then, a couple of years ago, I rewatched the Thin Man films and realized just how brilliant Powell and Loy were as a comedy team. It didn't take me long to try to get my hands on all of the other films they made together, as well as watch as many of Powell's films that I could find (thanks TCM and YouTube!). Since then I have watched almost all of Powell's "talkies." I think I just have around a dozen films left. I just discovered a couple of them here and keep hoping TCM will air some of the others.

Narrowing down my favorite ten William Powell films is pretty much next to impossible. Just presume that all the rest are Honorable Mentions ;)

1. The Thin Man (1934)

2. My Man Godfrey (1936) - Carole Lombard

3. Libeled Lady (1936) - Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy

4. After the Thin Man (1936)

5. Double Wedding (1937) - Myrna Loy

6. Another Thin Man (1939) - Myrna Loy

7. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

8. The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) - Myrna Loy

9. Life with Father (1947) - Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor

10. Mister Roberts (1955) - Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney

When did you discover William Powell? Have you seen all of his pairings with Loy? What's your favorite Powell film outside of the Thin Man series?

Ten Movies on an Island: Screwball/Romantic Comedies

Screwball and Romantic Comedies are my favorite movies. They are usually the kind of films I find myself watching over and over. To read more about the differences between Screwball Comedy and Romantic Comedy, check out my post here.

1. Theodora Goes Wild (1936) - Melvyn Douglas & Irene Dunne

2. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant

3. Bachelor Mother (1939) - Ginger Rogers & David Niven, Charles Coburn

4. Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) - Melvyn Douglas & Myrna Loy

5. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) - Robert Montgomery & Carole Lombard

6. The More the Merrier (1943) - Jean Arthur & Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn

7. Magic Town (1947) - James Stewart & Jane Wyman

8. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) - Cary Grant & Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas

9. Sunday in New York (1963) - Jane Fonda & Rod Taylor, Cliff Robertson

10. Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) - Tony Curtis, George C. Scott, Virni Lisi

Honorable Mentions: Double Wedding (1937), The Lady Eve (1941), Princess O'Rourke (1943), Two Guys From Milwaukee (1946), Never Say Goodbye (1946), The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949), The Thrill of it All (1963), Send Me No Flowers (1964), Sex and the Single Girl (1964).

I had Roman Holiday (1953) on here but when I looked it up it said Drama/Romance so I took it back off. It's one of those movies that fits under several genres and defies categorization. What would YOU put it under?

Tomorrow, my post on Princess O'Rourke for the Royalty in Film Blogathon and Sunday my Top Ten Comedies!

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Country

USA

Cast

Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, Lucile Watson, William Tracy, Charles Halton, Esther Dale, Emma Dunn, Betty Compson

Storyline

David Smith (Robert Montgomery) makes the mistake of telling his wife Annie (Carole Lombard) that if he had to do it all over again, he might not have married her. Later that day, an official from the town where they got married calls to see Mr. Smith, and explains that all couples married between 1936 and 1939 in the county were not legally married. David decides to have fun with this fact, but unknown to him, the county official calls to see Annie too, and disaster results.

Opinion

Two weeks ago I said "Rebecca" was the less Hitchcock of Hitchcock's film. I've just been proved wrong. 

Obviously lacking suspense, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is a domestic-romantic, screwball comedy also lacking fun. In a nutshell, it's just a film.

Hitchcock said that the only reason he did this picture was to do a favour to Carole Lombard, and that he didn't even understand the characters written by Norman Krasna. I think there was a reason he didn't make romantic comedies, he wasn't all that good at it.

The plot doesn't really seem to make any sense, which is exactly what some would expect from a screwball comedy. Depending on the main characters acting like idiots, the plot might have worked if this was an half hour episode of a sitcom and not stretched to a one and a half hour film. It wouldn't have been a great episode anyway, because it lacks comedy.

The characters are frustrating rather than funny, and neither husband nor wife is very likeable. However, you care if they get over their mindedness and get back together, because the only idea of these two people escaping each other, free to inflict their awfulness on some other unlucky person is devastating as this film.

Oh the acting. The leads are completely uncharismatic. What's going on with Carole Lombard? Her character changes in almost every scene! One moment she is sweet, the next one she is the most mean human being. Her performance is so bad, it's doubly sad to think she died within a year of this film's release and that this was the last film of hers she lived to see. I'm not sure Robert Montgomery was the right guy to play Mr. Smith. He is rather boring than funny.