'i was rather gorgeous, wasn't i?'

the impeccable 'dinner at eight' (1933) was the second to last of her 29 movies. actress marie dressler is astonishing in it. three years prior to making one of the most deliciously funny, sad, glamorous, and gorgeous films ever, marie had won an oscar. maybe that is why she did not win one for her role as 'carlotta', ex-stage star and loving friend to lionel barrymore's businessman about to be undermined by the brash husband of a young and fiesty two timer played by jean harlow.

the cast is pure cream, and marie, heavy as she was, is perched like a cherry on top.

the family that plays together

starting her film career in 1956, the amazing actress has 117 screen credits and continues to seduce us with her grey eyes and wickedly soft laugh.

here had two daughters, natasha and joely, with one of my fave directors, tony richardson.

one of the best ever

'The only line that's wrong in Shakespeare is 'holding a mirror up to nature.' You hold a magnifying glass up to nature. As an actor you just enlarge it enough so that your audience can identify with the situation. If it were a mirror, we would have no art.'- montgomery clift

they want 'candy'

too fun to see brando the hippie. ewa aulin, in the title role, was surrounded by great actors. brando, as 'grindl' convinced richard burton, as 'macphisto', to take a role. i can only imagine they were drinking vodka for breakfast while making this 1968 free for all written by upstart terry southern.

double shot of your baby's love

beauty and it's beast. both of tennessee williams' leads in his play 'a streetcar named desire' had demons of their own far from the confines of their respective characters, 'stanley' and blanche.' what beauties they were.

casual living

these two european actresses are so adored. on the left is romy schneider, german born french star. her sad end still rings a forlorn note. she was such a natural beauty, truly radiant.

hanging out with her is monica vitti. as i peruse young film loving blogs, monica it surely in the top five. both of these women had innate style when they were young and their natural gifts of allure are contemporary still.

romy's hair in this snap is just.... so!

rebirth in venice

once i saw this photo of model paul boche i knew a remake of 'death in venice' was a bit less impossible. björn andrésen was a jewel as the elusive 'tadzio', bringing both joy and sorrow to the aging composer played magnificently by dirk bogarde. get jeremy irons on the phone! call jolie about stepping into the shoes of the stunning italian actress silvana mangano who played the boy's aristocratic mother.

blond beauty

leo may state that he is not sure what he plans to do next but the actor does have 22 films in stages of production. that seems like such a lot to commit to. still, it ain't as much as brad pitt has going on. father of many has 28 future movie commitments.


photos: i know they both have grown up some, but these faces, well, let's just say they are responsible for much. in leo's case, about 'that' much.

justice

ever since she received an oscar marion cotillard has been making steady appearances in fashion magazines. i absolutely love her. she is BEAUTIFUL. however, photographers impose their vision on her to the point where i lament the outcome. here is a lovely exception.

the look of love

errol flynn blessed by the rays of love coming from olivia de havilland beautiful brown eyes.

beauty on the outside

julianne moore is surely a terrific actress but aside from her darling freckles all i see here is one of the most gorgeous dresses ever made.

only human

elizabeth taylor had beauty, talent, husbands, diamonds, oscars, and hotels that allowed her to bring her dogs. still, jealousy visited. when richard burton was making 'anne of a thousand days' in 1969 with genevieve bujold, elizabeth suffered.


photos: queen elizabeth/the sweetest little face of bujold

by way of illustration

stay gold

last night i watched the silent film version of 'oliver twist' starring jackie coogan in the lead role. the entire film is wonderful and jackie really surprised me in that he was both darling but not pretty, so young but so great. having worked with chaplin in 'the kid', the third of his 135 screen credits, had to be enlightening and the little guy was just terrific.

as 'oliver' he could be terrified or hang lifeless as a kitten pulled up by it's neck. jackie did tons of t.v. work as an adult and even though i read that it was indeed jackie who played 'uncle fester' in 62 episodes of 'the addams family', i refuse to believe it.

photos: jackie looking at chaplin with eyes of pure love/jackie/ wearing great clothes in the film 'buttons'

in the blood

122 screen credits! with five films about to be released, geraldine chaplin is keeping the talented family name as bright as ever. her sweet eyes and delicate hands have been capturing interesting characters since her debut in her dad's 1952 heartbreaker 'limelight.'















images: charlie's girl/itsy bitsy spider

fonda and friend

it is very interesting to me that after seeing tons of images of people doing their best to look like the girl who drove humbert humbert round the bend in 'lolita', jane fonda opts for the girl he found after losing touch with her for several years.

by way of illustration

sweet tooth

with one role actress diane keaton broke free for good from any stereotyping brought on from her turn in 'annie hall.'

'looking for mr. goodbar' was a seriously upsetting film and i have a feeling she never forgets how important it was for her career.

image: diane with richard gere

groucho marx: god's messenger of laughter

A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.

A woman is an occasional pleasure but a cigar is always a smoke.

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

Before I speak, I have something important to say.

Either he's dead or my watch has stopped.

Go, and never darken my towels again.

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it.

image: awesome tribute courtesy of photographer rodney smith

sibling rivalry

how can i pick who i like best? these sisters both achieved the highest heights in their profession. maybe they fought like cats, and why ever wouldn't they? both of them must have felt that they could deliver the socks off any great role available. i agree.

no comment works

oh no! gerard gets grumpy. he recently gave forth his low opinion of shining star juliette binoche. the actor does not understand why the world adores her considering she has no....

here he is in earlier and more approving times with brilliant french actress isabelle huppert.

commander kowalski

'He was a Master Sergeant in the Engineer's Corps.
Decorated four times!'-stella proudly tells her sister, as blanche gazes upon a framed photo of stanley in uniform.

'you're stella's sister.'

in the original screenplay that was posed as a question. brando gracefully transforms those words into a statement, letting her know right off the bat that he is the boss in his own home.

photo: stanley meets blanche

gasp

patricia neal was gorgeous! she was an intoxicating blend of gracefully earthy, emotionally vulnerable, yet tough as nails. every one of her performances leaves a slightly haunting echo.

the s word

when i saw this photo i was reminded once again that my favorite performance is david hemmings in the 1966 antonioni film 'blow-up.'

after seeing cillian murphy in 'breakfast on pluto' i was telling everyone to go and see it. i melt watching steve mcqueen in anything, including candid shots of him standing in his socks in front of a refrigerator. but when it comes right down to it, hemmings was as sexy as it gets as the hip and inquisitive photographer.

many aspects of the movie added to his allure. there was veruschka, his car, his job, and his dressing down to sleep among the down and outs in search of authentic images when he wasn't making money doing fashion work. clearly antonioni is a very seductive director, but it was the impeccable hemmings that kept me hanging in there during the scene of mimes playing tennis.

dietrich

marlene in the middle

ernst lubitsch and fritz lang have more in common than a similar sense of style while hanging out at the pool. both brilliant directors worked with marlene dietrich.

lubitsch made 76 films and lived to be 54. lang made 46 films and lived to the nice old age of 86. just saying.

earthly and spiritual delights

it must take a very special group of people to make a big budget spectacular that feels intimate. 'the razor's edge' is one of those films that can be enjoyed over and over. the cast, costumes, story, and dialogue are all tops. a first class experience that just got sweeter now that i know it is the favorite movie of actor terrence stamp!

photo: tyrone power keeping it real

what, me worry?

'As a boy I believed I could make myself invisible. I'm not sure that I ever could, but I certainly had the ability to pass unnoticed.'-terrence stamp

with that face? pipe dreamer.

photo: british actor terence stamp enters malibu justice court on may 23rd, 1968 with his attorney harry weiss, for arraignment on felony charges of possessing marijuana.

there's a word for it

breathtaking.

makin' movies

hitchcock and ingrid bergman

leave her to heaven

Marilyn Monroe by photographer André De Dienes.

wish you were here

what a dame! bette at her best.

dive in

'lark rise to candelford' is one of those divinely calming and courageous bbc dramas that both seduces and delights. it is calming in that the pastoral country scenes are soothing. it is courageous in that hours and hours of filming was spent on capturing terrific characters discovering timeless values that lead to satisfying choices. dive into tears and laughter and 2 seasons of wonderful individuals you will come to love.

the truly magnificent cast is headed by julia salwalha, famously known as the daughter in 'absolutely fabulous.' she is now older, wiser, and totally brilliant as the postmistress who weaves her way between 'uptown' candleford and the poorer folk of lark rise.

flower /too much power

one of the most poetic characters. tall, tender, troubled, and misunderstood. just like most rock stars.

hiya, stranger

hardly strangers. gerard depardieu and isabelle adjani have a new film coming out. it is their fourth (that i am aware of) movie together. gerard has 87 screen credits. 14 of those titles are yet to be released. clearly he is the hardest working man in showbiz.




photos: looking super in 1976/from 'la voyage'/from 'camille claudel'

delegation of directors

Claude Lelouch, Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle and Roman Polanski. new wavers on parade! these guys must have been sharing that one cigarette.

do NOT let me down, capiche?

the producer of '8 1/2' thought Marcello Mastroianni was "too soft and goody-goody; a family man rather than the type who flings women onto the bed."







after reading that i imagined director fellini made sure his choice would deliver.

just... so...

pondering the perils

at least she is giving pause. olivia de havilland's onscreen characters never seemed like they would even know how to light a cigarette.

the jokes not on her

'I'm still the little southern girl from the wrong side of the tracks who really didn't feel like she belonged.'- faye dunaway. this woman is always incredible. from the looks of it, she is right where she belongs, squashed between steve mcqueen and paul newman.