beauty and the boss

humphrey and lauren were a real dream team. they clearly knew a thing or two about dressing well.

i recently saw 1939's 'invisible stripes.' great title. in this super fun movie bogart was a tough ingrate, bad to the bone, with nothing but a scowl for the prison official who was wishing him well. while showering on his big day of being released from prison, i noticed what a fit little guy bogie was. he coulda been a contender! the more i watch bogart films the more i love him.

In her 1978 autobiography "By Myself," Bacall wrote: "I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin practically to my chest and look up at Bogie. That was the beginning of The Look. I still get the shakes from time to time."

good charlotte

like helen mirren, charlotte rampling keeps on making interesting choices while never losing the affection of her audience. she has 93 credits with 7 more films either about to be released or nearing completion. a wonder woman.

photo: during days of impeccably perfect hair.

forget about it

mcqueen sure loved to go fast. speed aside, that car must have been sooooo loud.

full circle

this respected actress has graced many a terrific film. she now has her sights on the small screen with a show about..... ping pong! okay!
susan sarandon started her career with a soap opera. i have very fond memories of the terrible but fascinating movie 'the other side of midnight' that she did in the late seventies.

photos: susan today/'the other side of midnight'

connection

'everything is going in the wrong direction.'-from the jagger/richards song 'connection'

what a way to begin a decade. when the documentary 'gimme shelter' came out in 1970, the stones ruled. even though some beatles fans thought they were satanic, the stones never stopped giving the people what they wanted, as in what the stones wanted.
then came the concert at altamont and 'woodstock' would gain even greater glory as the peaceful big event of the sixties. watching 'gimme shelter' is upsetting. you can see an arm waving a gun, you can see the hell's angels react, you can see mick flipping out. that day the music was great and dark and free. the concert ended an era of peace and love and began a different sort of era that gave birth to the likes of travis bickle.

interestingly, three movies that de niro has appeared in have the song "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones noticeably featured in the soundtrack - - The Fan (1996), Casino (1995) and Goodfellas (1990).

details

i just ordered the film this still is taken from. how could i not? hopefully i will be able to write a glowing little post to tempt you.

j.d. revisited

coco chanel said the color black is the only color that shows off the eyes. coco was the first designer to use black for clothing other than mourning.

barbot/birkin

when two women have one man in common....

yeah, i'm talking to you

robert de niro was an absolute cookie in his early days.

anywhere but there

when shirley booth kept nagging anthony quinn to take her back to 'new paris' i had no idea it was a real place. lo and behold, there is one in ohio and also in indiana. multiple choice aside, it was clear to everyone but shirley that he wasn't going there even if the streets were paved with gold francs or gold matchbooks.
gosh, what a depressing story 'hot spell' was. still, the cast was super.

marianna palka

actress/director/writer

leo

i still have not seen 'titanic' but i have a feeling he was as disarming as can be.

rita on orson

'I can't take his genius any more.' alas, husbands and wives....

dunaway dearest

thanks to this stunning actress i may never watch a joan crawford picture again.

by way of illustration

the piece that was not missing

i watched 'bunny lake is missing' today. i had never seen it, which strikes me as strange as i like the director and the actors. well, it was kinda weird and kinda creepy and even kinda beautiful. among all the oddity was a very strong shining light in the shape of sir laurence olivier who was absolutely lovely in this dark and twisted psycho puzzle.

indestructible

'In the scene when I run through the fields and grab onto a moving bus, I am like a little mosquito or insect trying desperately to exist in this big world. This is how everybody feels: small and fragile in the face of the immensity of the world.'-isabelle huppert

laura revisited

i have an idea! how cool it would be for someone to make a movie to follow up the classic tale of 'laura.' dana andrews and gene tierney would have a child who would inherit the famous painting and you know, lots of trouble would follow. 'son of laura.' that title simply begs coming to life, just like the painting in the movie did.

forever young

francoise dorleac, actress and sister of catherine deneuve/model ruslana oil painting by pal shazar

her ladyship

helen mirren photographed by jeurgen teller

real vs reel vs ethereal

clark gable with real love carole lombard and screen gal jean harlow.

sculpture: Antonio Canova's statue Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, first commissioned in 1787.

not always funny guy

woody professes always to be dissatisfied when he examines what he has shot: ‘You always start out with great hopes. When I’m writing, laying at home in bed, where you don’t meet the test of reality, you know, you’re in your own home, and: “That’s great” and “Oh, this scene’s going to be fabulous” and “Wait till they see this” and “This is like Citizen Kane”.-woody allen

after all these years woody still cares to please diane keaton. he has made 41 movies and she is still the first one he invites over to see his new work.

melodrama

i can always relate to garbo.

hitch

when one's initials are more than enough.

sweet dreams aren't made of this

kafka scares me. period. jeremy irons likes to be scary or why else would he have done this movie as well as 'dead ringers'? even though i think he is an astonishing actor i would not risk a late night chat with him.

long ago and far away

when david bowie appeared in 'the elephant man' on the broadway stage i was living in london. it actually hurt to even think about what that show might have been like.

great design

doe a dear

the appeal of audrey hepburn is pretty well understood. she is pure enchantment. however, part of her fawn like quality may have to do with those HUGE false eyelashes!

english charm

when penniless 'johnny' finds out that his new wife's rich father is sending over a wedding gift he rubs his palms together with great anticipation. imagine his surprise when two huge chairs are delivered. cary grant as 'johnnie' in hitchcock's 'suspicion' is so dang graceful in hiding his disappointment.

makin' movies

Fritz Lang on the set of Metropolis, 1926

by way of illustration

deep breath

i recently discovered the suspense station on my satellite radio. my long drives are way more fun now. stories, plays, even orson welles spooking my mind with every syllable. it is so easy to envision families gathered round their huge radios in the '40's listening to a cliffhanger. it is far more thrilling that a movie.

that said, in 'sudden fear' when joan crawford realizes that her husband, who has been trying to kill her, is about to accidentally run over his girlfriend (thinking it is joan cause they wear the same exact coat) it is pretty tense. no one screams quite as well as crawford screams.

how can anyone be in love with a character played by jack palance? he radiates 'psycho tuna' like no tomorrow. in this movie both joan and bad to the bone gloria grahame are great, one gullible, the other as cut throat as her man. fun!

happy weekend