2012 in film: January

I thought it would be fun to totally rip off sort of copy Millie's 2011 in film series and keep track of my own movie viewing in 2012! I didn't get to watch as many movies in January as I originally planned, but it was a pretty hectic month so I'm glad I was able to watch any at all!

January: 7 new-to-me movies / 11 total

My favorite new film: Dear Murderer (1947)

I loved this movie so much! It's a fantastic British film noir, with lots of deceit, intrigue and unexpected twists! I've had this one on my "to watch" list for over a year and I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing it, because it's definitely a new favorite!

My new least favorite film: Enchanted April (1992)

I might have enjoyed this if I hadn't been watching it *entirely* for Michael Kitchen. I spent most of the movie just upset that he wasn't in it enough, and resenting all of the other actors for being onscreen when he wasn't. Also two of the ladies' voices drove me nuts, but if Michael Kitchen had been the main star they probably wouldn't have annoyed me as much as they did.

Best movie title: The Wind Cannot Read (1958) yup, Dirk.

Best cast: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) - Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Natalie Wood and Edna Best (Herbert Marshall's wife!)

Worst cast: Hmm... I don't think I watched any movies with an overall bad cast. I would have re-cast Louis Hayward's part in Ruthless (1948) but I guess that's it!

They made me watch it: It's my goal to watch at least one movie every month that one of my friends suggests, and this month I watched Love Letters (1945) at Casey's suggestion! I loved it! I'm not usually a big Jennifer Jones fan (although I love her in Madame Bovary!) but I really enjoyed her performance in this movie and the plot was terrific! And any movie with Gladys Cooper in it is usually a good movie in my book. Thanks for the recommendation, Casey!

Strangest movie: Heaven Can Wait (1943) I LOVED Charles Coburn in this movie and I can finally understand why Nicola loves Don Ameche so much ;) but the plot was truly bizarreness personified!

January's tv obsession: I seem to get hooked on a new show almost monthly... this month it was LOST. I started it about 2 weeks ago, and I only have 10 episodes left. Tv eats into my movie watching time, but I kind of like that when I get wrapped up in the plot & characters I get to spend more than just 2 hours with them ;)

Films by decade:

1940's: 5/4 new

1950's: 1/0 new

1990's: 2/2 new

2000's: 3/1 new

ps. The image I used in my graphic is from my classic film scans blog, and the font is a hand-drawn typeface that I made myself! It's for sale in my etsy shop here.

The Bradford Dillman blogathon

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to watch any new movies/tv shows in preparation for the Bradford Dillman Blogathon: A Jazzier Kind of Noir so instead my contribution is these scans.

I purchased the above photo on ebay recently, and the rest were scanned from two movie photo books I got at a flea market last year. You can view them larger here! Oh, and here is my contribution to last year's Bradford blogathon!

Disney, Busby Berkeley style

I went to see Beauty & The Beast 3D last weekend! It was my favorite movie when I was a kid, so I was incredibly (maybe overly) excited to see it in theaters again, and it was even better than I imagined. I kept hearing people say how disgusted they were that it's in 3D, but seriously the effects are so subtle you hardly even notice! It's like the animation has multiple layers. Nothing pops out at you.. it's not gimmicky, just really pretty, especially the forest scenes! I'm really not a big fan of the 3D phenomenon, but getting a chance to see one of my all time favorite movies in a theater was something I couldn't pass up, and I definitely wasn't disappointed!

Anyway, the reason I bring this up on my classic movie blog (since I'm 25 I'm not going to let 1991 count as classic just yet, lest I feel too old) is because I realized for the first time that the Be Our Guest number is a tribute to Busby Berkeley! Once it hits you, it's so obvious!

By the by, today marks my 3rd Silents & Talkies anniversary (whoa!) ... it's been a bumpy road and I've shuttered the doors numerous times in fits of "nobody reads this, why do I bother?!" hysteria, but I want to say "thank you!" to everyone who has stuck around, to the few people who have encouraged me to keep writing, and to my dear friends that I've met through blogging. I can't even imagine my life without some of you, and to think we wouldn't have even met if I hadn't started Silents & Talkies... it's just mind-boggling.

xo.

Rare Sunday in New York photos

I recently purchased a couple of original proof sheets from a Sunday in New York promotional photo shoot, and scanned them for my Classic Film Scans blog! The one above is my favorite, but they're all exceptionally cute! You can view the rest of them here.

I haven't updated the CFS site in a little while since I've been in the process of changing hosts for all of the 1,000+ photos already up, and didn't want to add new ones while I was switching. But this particular set was too good to hold onto, I just had to share them!! I'm really close to having the site ready for more uploads, though, so keep an eye out if you're interested in gawking at classic movie stars ;) I have a huge stack of things to scan and I'm planning on updating it pretty regularly once I get the hosting all sorted out.

Oh, and by the by -- if you still haven't seen Sunday in New York (or if you love it and want to see it again!) it's playing on TCM today at 11:15AM est!

New Year's Movie Meme

The Girl with the White Parasol has a little movie meme for New Year's and I thought it would be fun to participate! I haven't done one of these in a while (I think the last one I participated in was the one I co-hosted with Millie) and I really enjoyed it! So, here are my answers, and Happy New Year!!

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

I love the blue gown she wears in To Catch a Thief! In a way it also reminds me of the one Deborah Kerr wears in An Affair to Remember.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?

None of them... modern remakes give me the heebie jeebies! Although, that being said, I love some classic remakes like The Maltese Falcon, An Affair to Remember (no idea how this keeps coming up), and His Girl Friday.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

Barbara Stanwyck in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. I know most people, if choosing Stany's best femme fatale role, would pick Double Indemnity but goodness, that hair. I will never get over the hair. (I don't even care if it was part of the character, intended to look cheap, etc. It distracts me like ca-razy)

Runner up: Audrey Totter in Lady in the Lake!

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.

This is one of my all-time favorite romances! Also, I think it's a terrific example of powerful acting. It's absolutely amazing what Charles Boyer and Bette Davis can convey without speaking. You get the impression that their love is deeper than any other love that ever existed, yet they never speak of it and they never express it. It's left unspoken, but oh-so-palpable.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen.

"Shaaaayyyne! Come back Shaaaayyyyne!" Ahh that little kid annoys the heck out of me!

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?

I know it's not technically an old movie (at least I hope not, since I was already 3 years old when it was released) but I think it's a classic nonetheless. And I really can't think of a more tragic movie monster.

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?

The Ox-Bow Incident. Westerns aren't my favorite genre, but I could watch this one a dozen times. It's not a typical western... more debate about law and order than cowboys and Indians, but I think it's a must-see western and a must-see classic film.

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

My cat. I'm not a huge fan of watching movies with other people, just because I like to lose myself in the film. I like to be able to stare goofily at my screen when there's a happy ending or start bawling with mascara running down my cheeks during sad scenes without feeling self-conscious.

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?

Movies in general changed my life, but I don't think any particular movie made me want to change my life (if that makes sense?) Overall film has had a huge positive influence on me, but I can't think of one single movie that made me alter anything about how I live.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

Dirk Bogarde. With the most dreadful mustache in movie history (and that's including all of THESE.) It makes the last part of Esther Waters unbearable for me to watch!

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.

Really not a fan of Edmund O'Brien as a leading man, but I think he did a fine job in The Barefoot Contessa.

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

I need to watch more movies! In 2011 I watched a pitiful amount of movies because my schedule was so hectic, but I intend to make up for that in 2012. It seems like a small goal, but at least one a week would be an improvement!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season! See you in 2012! :)

xoxo Kate

A Classic Movie Christmas

A little video I put together with classic film clips, featuring Christmas-y and winter-y scenes! I had so much fun making this!! I've actually been planning on making a video set to this song (Goldfrapp's version of Winter Wonderland... I know, I know, I can't seem to stop making videos set to their music!) and I'm so glad I finally found time to do it in time for Christmas this year! :)

And in case you missed it, here is my New Year's video from last year!

They shoot horses, don't they?

One of the reasons I stopped blogging here for a while was because I was finding it so hard to think of something to say after I watched a really good film. I'd know it was good, I'd feel completely moved and I'd want to share my feelings here, but I wouldn't have the words. That happened to me again today after watching They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

I don't even know how to describe it. It was so incredibly sad and heart-wrenching. The acting was beyond good. I'm a big fan of Jane Fonda and Susannah York, and I've seen quite a lot of their films, but I've never been more impressed with their acting than I was today. They were so raw, but not over the top. They were just so REAL. Here are two actresses that are very familiar to me as stars and personalities, and they were so engrossed in their roles, so accurate in their portrayals of tired, exhausted and desperate women, that I completely forgot they were acting.

If you don't like depressing movies, definitely avoid this one. But otherwise, I highly encourage you to check it out. Although I don't recommend watching it when you're feeling particularly down in the dumps... it is seriously downbeat, and after watching it I felt pretty mopey for a good couple hours! Incredibly in awe of what I had just seen and overwhelmed by the amazing acting, but mopey nonetheless.

Celluloid and Canvas - James Mason

As part of my lifelong mission to convince the world that James Mason was a lovable sweetheart in real life, and not at all like the creeps he portrayed in movies such as Lolita and Georgy Girl, I present this fact: James Mason loved cats. So much so that he wrote a book about them with his wife. (Cue simultaneous aww's!) "The Cats in Our Lives" is a little tribute to all of the cats that Mason & his wife, Pamela Kellino, had known. Mason actually illustrated the book, as well!

It's been out of print for some time, and sat on my amazon wishlist for years without ever ending up in my shopping cart. Its rarity seemed to always go hand in hand with a pretty steep price. So I was absolutely over-the-moon with excitement when my brother gifted me a copy for my birthday this month!! I didn't even know until I opened the book that Mason had illustrated it! As soon as I saw all of the beautiful pen & ink drawings of furry felines, I blurted out "I have to scan this for my blog!"

And so here they are, all of the illustrations in "The Cats in Our Lives" by James Mason! If this doesn't convince you that he was a sweet old chap, I don't know what will! ;)