Ginger Rogers

10 Classic Hollywood Stars Before They Were Famous

10 Classic Hollywood Stars Before They Were Famous

We all know that the Studio System of 30s, 40s and 50s Hollywood remade and remoulded their actors and actresses, but what did they look like before they were styled by the star factory? Here are some of my favourite Classic Hollywood actresses before they were famous. Who do you think had the biggest transformation?(…)

Whatever Happened to the WAMPAS Baby Stars?

Whatever Happened to the WAMPAS Baby Stars?

What on earth were the WAMPAS Baby Stars you might well ask? Well, if you lived in 1920s and 30s America you would have been very much aware of this campaign. It was run by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS) who picked a lucky group of young actresses every year(…)

Movie Tuesday: Swing Time (1936)

Movie Tuesday: Swing Time (1936)

I’d forgotten just how delightful Fred and Ginger movies are. It’s been probably 15 years at least since I last watched one and they really are the best kind of movies. If you love a good rom-com, amazing dancing and show stopping glamour, then they really are for you. Swing Time has got to be(…)

1930s Beauty: Jean Harlow and the Rise of the Peroxide Blonde

1930s Beauty: Jean Harlow and the Rise of the Peroxide Blonde

Jean Harlow, the original blonde bombshell, started the trend for bleaching hair in the 1930s. Before this it was very much just prostitutes woman of ill-repute who coloured their hair, it certainly wasn’t something done by ‘nice girls’ When Harlow exploded onto the silver screen in the early 1930s her white blonde hair caused a(…)

Quotes: Ginger Rogers on Love

Quotes: Ginger Rogers on Love

When two people love each other, they don’t look at each other; they look in the same direction – Ginger Rogers

Top 25 Greatest Female Screen Legends

Top 25 Greatest Female Screen Legends

Some time ago the AFI (that’s the American Film Institute) released a list of the top 50 greatest screen legends from the Classic Hollywood era: 25 male and 25 female stars. I’m not sure exactly what their criteria were for reaching the top spot, but they classified a screen legend as an actor or actress:(…)

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

Quite a lot if we believe the Hollywood Studios of the 30s and 40s!  There were only a handful of Classic Hollywood stars who kept their own names, including Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly. The majority of actors and actresses had their identities completely re-written. How many of these 20(…)

The height of Hollywood actresses: a star-studded lineup

The height of Hollywood actresses: a star-studded lineup

The height of Hollywood stars is something which has always fascinated me. I’m not sure why, but actresses always seem taller than they actually are (perhaps because they’re projected onto an enormous screen!). I had no idea that I was the same height as Marilyn Monroe, or that Veronica Lake was a diminutive 4’11”. Veronica(…)

Fred & Ginger: They All Laughed

Fred & Ginger: They All Laughed

I just love this beautiful dress! Clip from Shall We Dance. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing to “They All Laughed.”