Lighten Up Your February with 7 Classic Comedies & Romance

Bill Chandler: I thought that was rather clever of me.
Connie Allenbury: Yes, I thought you thought so.

From Libeled Lady, 1936, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

2017 and Counting…

So far in this brave new year of 2017, the weather has been warmer than normal, and the political climate has been blowing the top off the thermometer.

I took a bus trip to Washington D.C. the other weekend with a bunch of  radical fringe types—you know, teachers, mothers, social workers, nurses—and ran into a huge crowd (by which I mean, an actual crowd of actual people). Several wore pink hats.

“I have decided to stick to love… Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

I saw a lot of signs that day. Many were clever, many were funny, many were inspiring, and some were, yes, pissed. My favorite signs, though, were the lawn signs we saw liberally sprinkled throughout the residential neighborhoods along East Capitol Street during our 30 minute walk from our bus at RFK Stadium up Capitol Hill.

Each sign bore a different quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.  We saw one after another after another of these signs.

Maybe there’s hope for us yet.

Lighten up your February…

Some Like It Hot

The days are too short, the nights too long, and the news just keeps pissing everyone off.  Time to lighten up and refill the well.

Here are seven—count’em, seven!—classic comedy and romance picks from TCM’s awesome (“31 Days of Oscar”) February schedule. If these lighthearted gems from yesteryear don’t refresh your winter-weary spirit, I don’t know what will.

Saturday, February 4

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

8:00 pm Eastern  Breakfast at Tiffany’s  (1961) Comedy/Romance.  A free-spirited  party girl and an unemployed writer find love in 1960s Manhattan.  Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard.

Why? Hepburn, of course.  And that Little Black Dress. 🙂

Author  Truman Capote may not have been thrilled when Audrey Hepburn was cast as quirky commitment-phobe Holly Golightly, but today it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.

From the early-1960s Manhattan setting to the Academy-Award winning Henry Mancini soundtrack (“Moon River”), this flawed but fanciful and touching romantic tale of two lost souls who find love in the big city is well worth a watch.

Friday, February 10

8:15 am Eastern The Goodbye Girl (1977) Comedy/ Romance.   An oft-jilted Broadway dancer is chagrined to learn that her latest fiancé hasn’t just left her broken-hearted, he’s sublet their apartment to an out of town actor. Marsha Mason, Richard Dreyfus.

Why?  How many times can the human heart be broken and put back together again? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh again. Dreyfus (Best Actor), Marsha Mason, and Quinn Cummings soar in this funny, heartwarming, delightful Neil Simon gem.

Tuesday, February 14th

Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve

8:00 pm Eastern The Lady Eve (1941)  Screwball Romantic Comedy. A beautiful cardsharp sets out to con the shy young heir to a beer fortune only to fall for him instead. Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda.

 Why?  Sexy, funny, sweet. Stanwyck is at her sassy best as jaded con girl Jean Harrington out to seduce and bilk the soft-spoken naive heir to a beer fortune.  If you like some heart with your screwball romantic comedy, don’t miss this.

Tuesday, February 14

9:45  pm Eastern  Libeled Lady (1936)  Screwball Comedy/Romance.  A wily newspaper editor hires a glib ladies’ man to woo an heiress who has sued his paper for libel. William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy.

Why?  Four mega-stars of the 1930s knock it out of the park in this entertaining screwball comedy with a dash of romance.

Powell and Loy made 14 films together, six of which were part of the super popular Thin Man series. Libeled Lady is the fourth of their non-Thin Man pairings and it ranks with their best.

Jean Harlow’s stellar comedic skills are on display as Spencer Tracy’s cheeky, long-suffering fiancée. She even steals a scene or two from (then-boyfriend) Powell. Tragically, Harlow would appear in only two more feature films before her untimely death in 1937.

Libeled Lady was nominated for Best Picture. It lost to another Powell-Loy film, The Great Ziegfeld.

Monday, February 20

Peter Sellers

4:00 pm Eastern  The Pink Panther (1963)  Comedy/Caper. A bumbling police inspector travels to a posh Switzerland ski resort to catch an international jewel thief. Peter Sellers, David Niven.

Why? Sign up for some silly. Watch this first Pink Panther movie with the knowledge that it was originally conceived as a comedic jewel heist caper film for David Niven, not Peter Sellers. Sellers wasn’t even the first pick for the supporting role of Inspector Clouseau, but he got the part., and—ten sequels and spin-offs later—the rest is history. Comedy gold.

Wednesday, February 22

Roman Holiday (1953)

8:00 pm  Eastern  Roman Holiday (1953)  Romantic Comedy. A runaway European princess falls in love with an American reporter who is being paid to write an exposé on her.  Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert.

Why?  Ask a group of twenty women over thirty to name their favorite classic movie, and there’s a good chance more than one will choose Roman Holiday. This delightful 5-star romantic romp through the Eternal City launched Audrey Hepburn’s film career and won her not only an Oscar for Best Actress but a special place in movie-goers hearts that lives on today.

Friday, February 24

Marilyn Monroe – Some Like It Hot

8:00 pm Some Like it Hot (1959)  Screwball Comedy. Two womanizing musicians hide from the mob by masquerading as women to join an all-girls band. Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis.

Why?  Take three A-list stars, sprinkle in a passel of exemplary support players, and add a few walk-ons that shine. What do you get? One of the best cast comedies ever.

From her iconic comic entrance to the finish, Monroe plays big-hearted, maybe-not-so-dumb-blond singer Sugar Kane to perfection. Jack Lemmon’s physical comedy has never been better—the scene with the maracas is classic—and Tony Curtis out-does his pretty self with a spot-on impersonation of Cary Grant in his attempts to woo sweet Sugar.

Some Like it Hot garnered six Academy Award nominations and is ranked #1 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Funniest Movies of all Time.”  A pièce de résistance not to be missed.

***
And that’s a wrap! How did I do?
What are your favorite go-to movies when your spirits need a lift?

Have a great February!

***

Photo Credits:

Some Like It Hot  – Screen capture from a public domain film trailer  (Some Like It Hot trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimeia Commons

Washington DC Lawn Sign – Delynn Royer

Breakfast at Tiffany’s –  By Trailer screenshot (Breakfast at Tiffany’s trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Barbara Stanwyck – By Trailer screenshot (The Lady Eve trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Libeled Lady Poster  – By Employee(s) of MGM [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Roman Holiday – By Trailer screenshot  (Roman Holiday trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Peter Sellers – By Chicago Sun Times / United Artists studios (Historical Images on eBay) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Marilyn Monroe  – Cropped screen capture from a public domain film trailer  (Some Like It Hot trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

5 Golden Age Movie Picks for Your Holiday Week

Lieutenant Guild: You got a pistol permit?
Nick Charles: No.
Lieutenant Guild: Ever heard of the Sullivan Act?
Nora Charles: Oh, that’s all right, we’re married.

From The Thin Man, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934

Feeling that Old Holiday Schmaltz…

Yep, it’s that time. Time to get out the hankies. (And, for once, I’m not talking about  election hankies.) I’m talking about Holiday Hankies, the big, thick, absorbent kind we need in mucho grande supply for all the schmaltzy holiday classic movies we’ll be indulging in while we’re decking our halls with boughs of holly this week. (Yay!)

This year, between NBC and Turner Classic Movies, the options are plentiful. It was no easy task to pick only five, but this annual chore is finally done. This year’s picks are Capra-heavy with some time-tested favorites returning as well as two lesser-known holiday films in case you’re in the mood for something new.

Happy viewing!

Which movies or TV shows get you revved for the holidays?

5 Golden Age Movie Picks for Your Holiday Week

Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating Guide

1 Hanky =  Heartwarming
2 Hankies – Misty Eyes
3 Hankies – Oh, man…!
4 Hankies – Don’t schedule anything for the rest of the day.

***

#5   Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) Drama. TCM.  Depression era New York City. A bright little girl’s faith in miracles is tested after she learns that her family has lied to her. Margaret O’Brien, Angela Lansbury.

When? Saturday, December 24, 6:45 a.m. Eastern

Why? Nine year old Juvenile Academy Award winner Margaret O’Brien carries the day in this heart-tugger about a precocious little girl outgrowing her childhood beliefs in the impoverished Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of the 1930s.  O’Brien is supported by an able adult cast, not the least of which is a stunning young Angela Lansbury as her Aunt Susan and Rhys Williams as “Blind Mac,” the kindly owner of the neighborhood newsstand.

Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating  = 3 hankies

***

Holiday Affair

# 4     Holiday Affair (1949) Light Romance.  TCM.  A widowed single mother is torn between the security offered by a responsible business man and shaking up the status quo when she meets a footloose romantic newcomer. Janet Leigh, Robert Mitchum.

When?  Saturday, December 24, 2:30 p.m. Eastern

Why? Sweet and predictable? Yes, but this underrated holiday romance set in post WWII New York is very well cast and worth a watch.

A young Janet Leigh (long before Psycho) gives a laudable performance as a war widow unable to move forward with her life after the loss of her husband.  Robert Mitchum–a tough guy cast against type as her romantic lead—plays “Mitchum,” as always, but with a softer edge and understatement that surprises and works amazingly well.

This film also marks the debut of adorable child actor Gordon Gebert as six-year old Timmy. I bet you a cookie you’ll want to hug this little guy to pieces.

Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating – 1 hanky

***

Meet John Doe

#3  Meet John Doe (1941)  Comedy/Drama/Romance. TCM. A reporter’s fake story for her soon-to-be-defunct column saves her career, turns a homeless man into a national hero for the working class, and changes them both into pawns of a powerful politician. Will they sell out? Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck.

When?  Saturday, December 24, 8:15 a.m. Eastern

Why?  Feeling a little 21st century world weary? Need a revitalizing dose of some Frank Capra-like optimism? There are some who rank the lesser-known Meet John Doe right up with Capra’s crowning achievement, It’s a Wonderful Life.  Decide for yourself. A fist-pump-worthy final scene earns this film a…

Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating of 3 hankies

***

#2  The Thin Man (1934)  Mystery/Detective. TCM. A tippling ex-private detective and his heiress wife investigate a murder while spending the holidays in New York.  William Powell, Myrna Loy.

When?  Friday, December 23, 8:00 p.m. Eastern

 Why?  Not normally thought of as a holiday film, right? But these wisecracking sleuthy spouses are visiting the Big Apple for Christmas when they stumble into this, the first of several more screwy murder mystery screenplays to come.

Check it. Sparkling romantic chemistry, droll humor, and snappy dialogue are topped off by a true-to-form dinner party reveal-the-murderer scene that will tickle your funny bone. “The murderer is right in this room. Sitting at this table. You may serve the fish…”

Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating – 0 Hankies (All smiles.)

***

James Stewart and Donna Reed 1946

#1     It’s a Wonderful Life(1946)  Holiday Fantasy/Drama.  NBC.  A small town banker contemplating suicide is saved by a guardian angel-in-training. Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers.

When?  Saturday, December 24 at 8:00 p.m. on NBC

Why?  Of course this is number one. It will always be number one.  If I ever do a list of holiday films and this is not number one, call the cops. I’ve been kidnapped and an imposter took over my blog.

This is the granddaddy of all classic holiday films for good reason.

Jimmy Stewart is so pitch perfect as Everyman George Bailey, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Donna Reed plays beautiful counterpoint, Barrymore preens as the quintessential villain, and Henry Travers wins hearts as Angel 2nd Class Clarence Odbody.

It just ain’t Christmas without it.

 Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating = 4 hankies

*** 

Last year’s trivia question remains unanswered, so here it is again:

What classic holiday film title appears on the Bijou theater marquee when George Bailey runs through the streets of Bedford Falls near the end of the movie?

• Christmas in Connecticut (featured in last year’s 5 Picks)
• The Bells of Saint Mary’s (featured in last year’s 5 Picks)
• A Christmas Carol

Have a wonderful holiday week!

 

Photo credits:

Margaret O’Brien –Tenth Avenue Angel movie trailer screenshot

Angela Lansbury – Tenth Avenue Angel movie trailer screenshot

Meet John Doe screenshot – By Frank Capra Prod., Warner Bros. (Tumblr) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It’s a Wonderful Life  – Screen Shots [Public domain]

Publicity Photo for The Thin Man with Myrna Loy, Skippy, and William Powell (1936) – [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

William Powell and Myrna Loy – Trailer screenshot Licencing information :http://web.archive.org/web/20080321033709/http://www.sabucat.com/?pg=copyright and http://www.creativeclearance.com/guidelines.html#D2 (After the Thin Man trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Top 5 Golden Age Movie Picks for Your Holiday Week

James Stewart and Donna Reed 1946

“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”

From It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946, Liberty Films

Top 5 Golden Age Movies for Your Holiday Week

It’s been a fact of my life for over a decade that my day job heats up at this time of year, offering no extra time off. My stress levels climb and Christmas spirit plummets. It’s been particularly bad this year.

First, our Thanksgiving dinner got pushed back, which in turn delayed putting up the Christmas tree. (Because I refused to have our Thanksgiving meal in the glow of Christmas tree lights. My standards may not be high, but they’re firm.) Add to this, freakishly warm December weather here in the northeast U.S., and I’ve been plunged into a serious state of ….

Scrooge Emergency!!

Yep. I need me one big huge honkin’ shot of Holiday Spirit to get me off the launch pad. To that end, I’ve been streaming mega-amounts of no-holds-barred, heavy-duty, pile-on-the-schmaltz holiday classic movies, and—

Oh… wait a minute…

I think it’s working… Wait…

I… almost… smiled?

Quick! Pass the egg nog! 🙂

Which movies or TV shows get you revved for the holidays?

Classic Movie Junkie’s
Holiday Movie Schmaltz Rating Guide

• 1 Hanky =  Heartwarming
• 2 Hankies – Misty Eyes
• 3 Hankies – Oh, man…!
• 4 Hankies – Don’t schedule anything for the rest of the day.

***

Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut

# 5     Christmas in Connecticut (1945)  Holiday Screwball Comedy/ Romance.  A popular columnist for a national homemaking magazine (who isn’t married and can’t cook) must fake a Martha Stewart-worthy Connecticut family holiday for a war hero. Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.

Why?  Stanwyck Lite. This enjoyable bit of mindless holiday fluff is just the ticket for an afternoon of gift wrapping and sipping egg nog. No hankies necessary. It’s just, well, nice.  Holiday Schmaltz Rating  = 0 hankies

***

It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

#4      It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)  Holiday Screwball Comedy/Romance.  A philosophical hobo moves into a NY mansion while its millionaire owner winters in the south. The house soon fills with returning G.I.’s, their families, and the millionaire’s rebellious daughter. Don DeFore, Gale Storm, Charles Ruggles.

Why?  All heart and sweet, sweet, sweet. This screwball comedy romance is set in New York City against the housing shortage that followed World War II.

Don Defore and Alan Hale in It Happened on 5th Avenue

The ensemble cast is full of faces that would soon become instantly recognizable to TV audiences—Don DeFore (Hazel), Gale Storm (My Little Margie), Alan Hale (Gilligan’s Island), and Charles Ruggles, who appeared in over 100 movies before playing recurring roles in shows like Beverly Hillbillies and Bewitched.  Holiday Schmaltz Rating  = 1 hanky

***

Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary’s 1945

 #3     The Bells of Saint Mary’s (1945)  Drama/Comedy. Despite their differences, a priest and a nun work together to save their city school from being closed. Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman

Why? Crosby does his second turn as the glib Father O’Malley in this heartwarming classic that also stars Bergman as the proper but feisty Sister Superior Mary Benedict.

Best scene? Bergman in full nun’s habit teaching one of her youthful male students to box. An exceedingly pleasant distraction for a quiet afternoon.  Highly recommended.

Currently free to stream on Amazon Prime

Holiday Schmaltz Rating  = 2 hankies

 ***

Natalie Wood & Maureen O’Hara in Miracle on 34th Street

#2     Miracle on 34th Street (1947)  Holiday Fantasy/ Drama/ Comedy.  When a department store Santa claims to be the real thing, a skeptical little girl asks him for her seemingly impossible heart’s desire. Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood.

Why? The inimitable Maureen O’Hara plays Doris Walker, a divorced head-over-heart career woman who’s lost her faith in love.

Natalie Wood was just eight when she won her career-making role of O’Hara’s precocious daughter. Edmund Gwenn’s iconic performance won him an Academy Award and a special place in movie-goers’ hearts as the “real” Kris Kringle.

A particularly poignant film this year after screen legend Maureen O’Hara’s recent passing.  Holiday Schmaltz Rating = 3 hankies

***

It’s a Wonderful Life

#1     It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)  Holiday Fantasy/Drama.  A small town banker contemplating suicide is saved by a guardian angel-in-training. Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers.

Why?  Is there anyone on the planet who hasn’t seen this? It’s the granddaddy of all classic holiday films for good reason.

Jimmy Stewart is so pitch perfect as Everyman George Bailey, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Donna Reed plays beautiful counterpoint, Barrymore preens as the quintessential villain, and Henry Travers wins hearts as Angel 2nd Class Clarence Odbody. It just ain’t Christmas without it.  Holiday Schmaltz Rating = 4 hankies

Trivia Question: What film title appears on the Bijou theater marquee when George Bailey runs through the streets of Bedford Falls near the end of the movie?

• Christmas in Connecticut
• The Bells of Saint Mary’s
• A Christmas Carol

Have a wonderful holiday!

 Photo credits:

It’s a Wonderful Life  – Screen Shots [Public domain]

Seymour Hicks – Scrooge 1935 – Screen Shot – [Public Domain]

Ingrid Bergman – By Trailer screenshot (The Bells of St. Mary’s trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It Happened on 5th Avenue and Miracle on 34th Street  – Screen Shots for Critical Commentary

By Trailer screenshot (Christmas in Connecticut trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Farewell, Maureen

Maureen O’Hara (1942)

“Above all else, deep in my soul, I’m a tough Irishwoman.”

–Maureen O’Hara

The Queen of Technicolor

It takes a lot these days to bring Classic Movie Junkie out from hiatus, but the sad news of Maureen O’Hara’s recent passing at the age of 95 did the trick.

There are some movie stars who strike a universal chord of empathy with audiences. It may be because they play their heroic characters so well. When they reveal their human vulnerabilities for all to see, we believe as we watch them up on that big screen that maybe we can be more like them.

Or maybe they just have that special something called “star quality” that translates so eloquently to film.

Most likely, it’s a special combination of both. Whatever it is, it’s more than a pretty face. These performers work their way into our hearts over many years—Jimmy Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, and,  to name a modern example, Robin Williams. When it’s time to say goodbye, it feels like we’ve lost an old friend.

Maureen O’Hara was like that.

♦♦♦

Maureen O’Hara

“I’m terrified about the day that I enter the gates of heaven and God says to me, just a minute.”  —Maureen O’Hara

♦♦♦

I can’t recall for certain the first Maureen O’Hara movie I saw, but I suspect it may have been a TV showing of The Parent Trap. I was a kid, so I identified with the Hayley Mills twin characters. In fact, I think that movie inspired one of my first attempts to write fiction—a story about summer camp. But I knew even then which character I wanted to be when I grew up—O’Hara’s Maggie McKendrick.

Gorgeous? They didn’t call her the “Queen of Technicolor” for nothing. With that flaming red hair and those flashing green eyes, O’Hara was one of the most beautiful actresses to ever grace the screen.

More important than beauty, though, was the role. O’Hara was always a woman’s woman, not just stunning but smart and sassy. The role of Maggie in The Parent Trap was a perfect fit after she’d grown out of those fiery lass roles of her youth.

Like Kate Hepburn, O’Hara could play strong women at any age who could go toe-to-toe with their equally strong men and make us laugh every step of the way.

She once said, “I think I’ll just stick around until I’m 102.”  By damn, she was feisty enough to almost do it.

♦♦♦

What are your favorite Maureen O’Hara films?

Here are some of mine.

The Parent Trap (1961)

The Parent Trap  (1961) Family Comedy/ Romance.  Twins separated by divorce meet at summer camp where they hatch an audacious scheme to switch places and reunite their parents. Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith.

Why? Set aside the outlandish separated-at-birth premise and settle in for the original of one of Disney’s best-loved family comedies. Hayley Mills shines in her dual role as matchmaking teenage twins, and Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith are pitch perfect as lively reunited ex-spouses set to prove that, though there may be snow on the roof, there’s still fire in the furnace. Uncomplicated fun.

♦♦♦

“Bette Davis was right—bitches are fun to play.”

From ‘Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O’Hara, John Nicoletti, 2004

♦♦♦

Wayne & O’Hara in McLintock! (1963)

McLintock! (1963) Western Comedy.  A cattle baron’s comfortable bachelor life is turned upside down when his estranged wife returns to get a divorce. John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara.

Why? I’m not a fan of pie-in-the-face comedy, but if a film has other attributes, I can be won over. McLintock! has two: Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne.

O’Hara takes no guff in this film. Her character—Kate McLintock—is a royal you-know-what from the get-go, and she keeps it up throughout this western version of The Taming of the Shrew.

The thing is, we sort of like her. In fact, the first time I watched this movie, I thought it had to be my imagination that I liked her. Then—in an instant—with a look, smile or a quip, O’Hara would reveal a glimpse of Kate’s humor, strength, or vulnerability.

Not my imagination.

Wayne wasn’t best known as a romantic leading man, but when paired with O’Hara, their chemistry shot through the roof. In McLintock!, G.W. and Kate aren’t youngsters. They’re in the later years of a marriage between two strong personalities that’s gone adrift. Theirs is a mature romantic chemistry that not only sparks with sexual tension but tugs at the heartstrings.

Recommended with the caveat that all is not 21st century politically correct in this film.

♦♦♦

“Of all my films, The Quiet Man is my favorite, and John Wayne, who became a dear friend, was my favorite leading man,” – Maureen O’Hara

♦♦♦

“It’s a bold one you are! Who gave you leave to be kissin’ me?” –The Quiet Man (1952)

The Quiet Man (1952) Romance/ Drama/ Comedy. An Irish-born American ex-boxer falls in love with the sister of a man who despises him when he returns to his birthplace to escape his past. John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara.

 Why?  O’Hara’s wonderfully nuanced performance as spitfire Mary Kate Danaher is her signature role, one for which she should have won an Oscar. John Wayne’s layered portrayal of Sean Thornton, an ex-boxer with a dark past, will surprise viewers who may only be familiar with his westerns.

Set in the magnificent Irish countryside, the legendary chemistry that sparks between these two Hollywood greats lights up the screen.

Caveat:  Not all is 21st century politically correct in this 1952 film set in 1920s Ireland. That said, this Oscar-winning Best Picture is a classic love story that shouldn’t be missed.

♦♦♦

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)  Holiday Fantasy/ Comedy.  When a department store Santa claims to be the real thing, a skeptical little girl asks him for her seemingly impossible heart’s desire. Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood.

Why?  In a far cry from her country lass roles, O’Hara plays Doris Walker, a divorced head-over-heart career woman who’s lost her faith in love.

Natalie Wood was just eight when she won her career-making role of O’Hara’s precocious daughter. Edmund Gwenn’s heartwarming performance won him an Academy Award and a special place in movie-goers’ hearts as the “real” Kris Kringle that lives on to this day.

This film enjoys repeated screenings on television each holiday season and can be streamed any day of the year. This year, though, there’s a special treat. It will be re-released on December 20 and 23, 2015 in select cinemas nationwide as part of the “TCM Presents” series.  Interested? Check for participating theaters HERE.

Maureen O’Hara (1942)

♦♦♦

There’s a beautiful romantic line in How Green Was My Valley, spoken by Walter Pidgeon’s character to O’Hara’s character. “You will be queen wherever you walk.”

Céad slán, Maureen. Farewell.

♦♦♦

Photo credits: 

Maureen O’Hara 1942 – Trailer screenshot (The Black Swan trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Parent Trap – Reynold Brown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Wayne & O’Hara – By Trailer screenshot (Wake o y DVD (Batjac-Paramount Pictures) (McLintock! film screenshot) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Wayne & O’Hara – The Quiet Man – Copyright held by the film company or the artist.
Fair use to provide critical commentary on the film.

By trailer screenshot (RKO Pictures) (Sinbad the Sailor trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Miracle on 34th Street  – Copyright held by the film company or the artist.
Fair use to provide critical commentary on the film.

Maureen O’Hara circa 1942 – By Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. (06/13/1942 – 09/15/1945), Photographer (NARA record: 1138532) (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Spring, Sequels & Romantic Chemistry Class (for Movie Peeps)

Lauren Bacall

You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow.

From To Have and Have Not, 1944, Warner Brothers

Snow, Ice, Rain, Go Away…

… come again another day.

Waterlogged

I rarely try to speak for the entire northeastern United States, but I doubt I’ll receive many letters of protest when I say that we’re pretty much up to our patooties with the precipitation—both the snow kind and the rain. We could use a tad more sunshine. Whatta ya say, Spring?

Sequel to It Had to Be You… Toot Tootsie Goodbye

Copyright protected design by fiona jayde media

If there’s one thing lousy weather is good for, it’s editing.

Book two in my 1920s romantic mystery series, Toot Tootsie Goodbye, has been drafted, bled over, trimmed, polished, critiqued, edited, beta-read, tweaked,  sneered at (by me), cried over (by me), cheered on, cursed at (by me), and apologized to (me)—not necessarily in that order.

It’s currently being combed and brushed out. (Copy edited.)

Yeah, I know. It should be this difficult to make a baby, yes?

TOOT TOOTSIE GOODBYE…
January, 1925
Homicide detective Sean Costigan and tabloid reporter Trixie Frank are on the road to romance but at cross-purposes at work when they investigate the New Year’s Eve murder of “Poor Little Rich Girl” Abigail Welles after she comes into control of a family fortune.

Cover art design will be by Fiona Jayde. Learn more About Fiona here.

More updates to come. 🙂

  Romantic Chemistry (for Classic Movie Peeps)

I sucked at science. Especially chemistry, but there’s one kind of chemistry I never tire of studying—the kind that ignites when two characters meet—on screen or on paper. It can be the platonic kind of chemistry (Thelma and Louise, Butch and Sundance) or the diabolical kind (Sherlock and Moriarty, Kirk and Khan), but today I’m thinking about the romantic kind. We know it when we see it…

Battle of the Sexes
Katharine Hepburn ♥  Spencer Tracy
Rosalind Russell ♥ Cary Grant.

 Burn Up the Screen
Lauren Bacall. ♥ Humphrey Bogart

 Sexy and Fun
Myrna Loy ♥ William Powell
Claudette Colbert ♥ Clark Gable
Julia Roberts .♥ Richard Gere

Sweet and Funny
Meg Ryan ♥ Tom Hanks

Break Every Dish in the House Before We Make Up (Again)
Vivian Leigh, ♥ Clark Gable
Elizabeth Taylor ♥ Richard Burton

Who are your favorite couples when it comes to spontaneous combustion?  Chemistry homework: Sample these March and April TCM picks. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 22

“GIlda… are you decent?”

8:00 a.m. Gilda (1946) Film Noir TCM.  An American gambler is stunned when his ruthless boss returns from a business trip married to  a seductive woman from his past.  Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford.

 Why? Hot, hot, hot! And all without removing one stitch of clothing. (Well, maybe one stitch.) Hayworth proves herself more than a pin-up girl with a terrific emotionally-charged performance and a vocal rendition of “Blame it on Mame” that knocks the socks off.

It’s a performance that’s incomplete, though, without Ford’s perfect counterpoint as her angry former lover.Watch these two play with fire in an uber-dangerous love-hate triangle. (“I hate you so much, I would destroy myself to take you down with me. Now I’ve warned you. Now that’s all fair and even…”) Will both get burned?

Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

10:00 a.m. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Drama/Comedy/Romance TCM. An eccentric small town poet must contend with big city opportunists when he inherits an unexpected fortune. Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur. (Director – Frank Capra)

Why? Classic heartwarming  Capra fare. Cooper could do more with his eyes than most actors could do with a five-minute soliloquy. In this precursor to Meet John Doe, he’s cast perfectly as the whimsical but no-guff-taking Longfellow Deeds. Jean Arthur proves a fortuitous replacement for Capra’s first choice to play his love interest, cynical girl reporter Louise “Babe” Bennett. (First choice? Carole Lombard, who turned down the part for My Man Godfrey.)

Tuesday, April 7

Bogart & Bacall in To Have and Have Not

3:30 a.m. To Have and Have Not (1944) WWII Adventure/  Romance TCM. An American charter boat captain’s determination to mind his own business is sidetracked by a beautiful drifter and a plea for help from the French resistance. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall. (Director – Howard Hawks.)

Why?  Holy burn-up-the-screen romantic chemistry, Batman! Witness the birth of perhaps the most famous screen-to-real life star couple in cinema history. Bacall was only nineteen in this, her film debut, when she caught Bogart’s eye. And it’s  easy to see why.

The story, loosely based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, bears more than a passing resemblance to Casablanca.  It’s entertaining, but it’s Bacall who coolly and neatly steals this show, from her first sultry shot leaning up against a door–“Anybody got a match?”–to her last saucy little wiggle out the door.

Sunday, April 19

James Stewart and Jean Arthur

9:45 a.m.   You Can’t Take it With You (1938)  Romance/Comedy TCM.  Fireworks erupt between families when a girl from a middle-class free-thinking clan falls in love with the son of a wealthy Wall Street banker.  Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore. (Director – Frank Capra.)

Why?  More feel-good Capra fare. Jean Arthur positively shines and Jimmy Stewart melts girlish hearts in this charming comedy. The lovely romantic chemistry between these two rings so true, it’s as if they forgot the camera was there.

Lionel Barrymore (pre-Mr. Potter) is also superb in his role as the benevolent family patriarch and, yes, that’s sixteen-year-old future dancing star Ann Miller playing Jean’s ditzy sister. Seven academy award nominations and two wins—Best Picture and Best Director.

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And that’s a wrap!
I’ll say toodle-oo with The Lauren Bacall Whistle clip from To Have and Have Not
Or, for music aficianados, how about some “Put the Blame on Mame”?
(Go on. You know you want it.) Have a great week!

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Times listed are EDST. Check here for your U.S. time zone Turner Classic Movie monthly schedule.

 (Missed something? You may be able catch it for a week or more on demand at Watch TCM)

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Photo credits:

Lauren Bacall – By Liberty Publications (page 51 Screenland) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Gilda – By Trailer distributed by Columbia Pictures (DVD with the film & the trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – By Columbia Pictures (YouTube screenshot from the film trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

To Have and Have Not – By Liberty Publishing (page 48 Screenland) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

By Trailer screenshot (You Can’t Take It with You trailer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons