We all know Carmen Miranda as the famously exotic lady in the tutti-frutti hat, complete with stacked platform shoes and fabulously ruffled costumes, but she didn’t always have this colourful image. Back in the 1930s she was a lot more understated and looked completely different, take a look, you’ll be surprised! If you’re not sure(…)
The first movie I watched starring Ann Miller was On The Town, and I was totally wowed by her dancing. Her legs were the longest on screen (or at least they seemed to me to be) and her tap speed was truly astonishing! Here are some facts you might not know about the lovely Ann(…)
Brooklyn-born Tierney was a leading actress in 1940s Hollywood. She started out her adult life as a socialite, before becoming bored with the social scene and pursuing a career as a stage actress (her family thought being a ‘proper’ actress was more respectable than being in the movies). Her Broadway career started in a pretty(…)
Wow, talk about a movie Epic! You think Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows was a long movie? Try this one, it’s a full 3 hours of sandals, sword-fighting and sex-appeal! Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren are the headliners and they have fabulous on-screen chemistry. Whether they love or hate each other (and there’s plenty of time(…)
Was Fred Astaire the greatest dancer on the silver screen? Personally I think he probably was, I grew up glued to Fred and Ginger movies and absolutely adored him! Born Frederick Austerlitz in 1899, Fred took to the stage at an early age singing and dancing with his sister Adele in a vaudeville act (see(…)
Judy Garland is one of those movie stars that everyone is aware of, even if it’s just becaue they watch The Wizard of Oz every Christmas (surely everyone has seen that movie, haven’t they?). Everyone remembers the happy, talented girl on screen, but not so many are aware of the tragedy of her life which was filled(…)
I came across this photo of Marilyn doing her lipstick from 1948 while I was looking for a photo of her to use in my Paper Doll post yesterday, and I thought it was just charming! I love all the little drawings of lip shapes on the wall behind her too! The caption that goes(…)
Who comes to mind when you hear the name Dracula? Gary Oldman? Christopher Lee? Or is it in my opinion the ultimate Dracula, Bela Lugosi? Lugosi was born in Hungary and was already a successful actor with the National Theatre of Hungary when he moved to America at the age of 42. He was forced(…)
An actor or actress dying suddenly during the filming of a movie can either make it a huge success of cause enormous problems (like Oliver Reed dying during the filming of Gladiator). Here are 9 classic Hollywood movies which either the star died suddenly on-set or was murdered/committed suicide during production. Marilyn Monroe: “Something’s Got(…)
I sent out a challenge to the vintage stores I know this week, asking them to pick their favourite outfit for Grace Kelly, and this is what they sent in. What do you think? Which outfits are spot-on, and which are totally wrong? I think my favourites are the lace cardigan (below) and those amazing(…)
I know this isn’t really a classic movie, especially as it’s only 3 years old, but it’s the first silent movie to win an Oscar since 1927 so I thought it had to be worth a watch. And boy am I glad I did, it was fabulous from start to finish! The basic plot revolves(…)
Alice Brady was a silent movie actress who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in 1937, and successfully made the transition into talkies. She started her career on the stage and made her silent movie debut in 1914 in As Ye Sow. Over the next 10 years she appeared in over 50 movies as(…)
This week I once again stuck with my Thriller / Film Noir theme and watched The Dark Mirror, a dark psychological drama about the rivalry between two twins: one good and one evil and murderous. When a man is murdered a girl was identified leaving the scene. The girl turns out to be one of(…)
I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee: Clark Gable I feel this is a particularly appropriate quote for a Sunday morning when I had to set my alarm at 5.45 in the morning because my son had to be at a go karting track by 8am. I certainly didn’t do any laughing (or indeed(…)
You probably know Barbara Bel Geddes best as Miss Ellie (JR’s long-suffering mother) in Dallas, but she actually had a movie career which started in the late 1940s. She started out on Broadway and was the original Maggie ‘The Cat’ in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a role which was most famously played by(…)
I took a break from Hitchcock movies and delved into the world of 1940s Film Noir this week. ‘Caught‘ is ‘The Story of a Desperate Girl’ who gets herself trapped in a marriage to a controlling sadistic husband but then ultimately falls for James Mason (who wouldn’t?). It’s the first movie James Mason made in(…)
Gable started out in Hollywood playing bit-parts in silent movies in the mid 1920s and starred in his first starring role in 1931 in The Painted Desert opposite leading lady Helen Twelvetrees. The movie that really catapulted him to fame was Red Dust (which I reviewed last week) where his rough and ready sex appeal(…)
There’s little more fascinating than looking at stars back when they were ‘normal people’. Even Marilyn Monroe looked like any other girl before she dyed her hair, had plastic surgery and changed her name. The other transformation as equally interesting. Who do you think has changed the most? Marilyn before she was famous (above) and(…)