Classic Links

RIP Leslie Nielsen, 84-- Cinematical

I love this Gloria Grahame gallery. She seems like she was truly a tough dame-- Film Noir Photos

I’ve been enjoying this blog lately. Here’s a nice tribute to Myrna Loy-- My Love of Old Hollywood

Part I of the greatest posters of film noir. This is going to be a fantastic series-- Where Danger Lives

Joan Fontaine in Flight to Tangier (1953) Olivia and Joan: Sisters of the Silver Screen

Quote of the Week

If I'm such a legend, then why am I so lonely?

-Judy Garland

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Classic Links

I think Tarzan and His Mate (1934) is a class above the other movies in the O’Sullivan/Weismueller series— Via Margutta 51

This is a lovely tribute to Fay Wray. She doesn’t get nearly enough attention— My Love of Old Hollwyood

1920s wedding dresses were so cool. I often wish I would have gone with that style for my own wedding— Perpetual Flapper

I love this short, but effective review of The Lodger (1944)— Persblanc's Classic B-Movie Reviews

Classic Links

The film preservation blog-a-thon returns! This time we know what we are saving—and it’s film noir-- Self-Styled Siren

RIP beloved Hammer horror icon Ingrid Pitt-- The Guardian

24 Hours (1931): pre-code, Kay Francis and Miriam Hopkins—sounds grand!-- Classic Movies Digest

Ida Lupino as a spinster-type in Jennifer (1953)-- Where Danger Lives

Classic Links

Orson Welles looking particularly owl-like in Chimes at Midnight (1965)-- Movie Classics

I’ve been wanting to see Make Way For Tomorrow (1938), but it sounds so like such a bummer. I know it sounds shallow, but I don’t want to be sad!-- The Guardian

What a great way to celebrate a blogaversary—the 100 greatest posters of film noir-- Where Danger Lives

Rita Tushingham, the bright-eyed star of 1960s Britain-- Movietone News

I love these pics of movie stars on the set, especially the shot of Liz Taylor and James Dean horsing around. It looks like they had a lot of fun together.-- Vintage Stardust

Quote of the Week

I have to act to live.

-Laurence Olivier

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Classic Links

Hey Joan Crawford fans—here’s a compelling argument that the infamous wire hangers episode never happened (not that her adoptive daughter’s book rang loudly with truth in the first place)— Village Voice

The complete new version of Metropolis (1927) is now on Netflix instant play.— The Criterion Cast

A nice remembrance of child star Baby Marie Osborne— NPR

The Jimmy Stewart Museum is in danger of closing—WJACTV.com

An amazing review round-up—

Watch Murder By Contract (1958) and just try to get that snappy soundtrack out of your head— Ferdy on Films

The heartbreakingly romantic Le Notte Bianche (1957) with Jean Maris and Marcello Mastroianni, sigh— Criterion Reflections

Brother Orchid (1940) Edward G. Robinson is remarkable in this flick— Out of the Past

Simmering screen couple Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell in Street Angel (1928)-- The Big Parade

Classic Links

R.I.P. silent child star, stand-in and costumer Marie “Baby Marie” Osborne— Alt Film Guide

Warner Bros. Wants Robert Zemeckis to Direct Wizard of Oz Remake Based on the Original (Remember Psycho (1998)? Yikes. Want to bet it this Oz will be in 3D?)-- /Film

Fellini's I Vitelloni (1953)— Motion Picture Gems

These promo pics of Jane Greer are racy for 1947! They’re actually pretty cute, because she looks like she’s being Jane—not Out of the Past Kathy— Film Noir Photos

Classic Links

Another great movie survey. Nice work Bette! Have fun with it bloggers.— Bette's Classic Movie Blog

I wish I had time to listen to these radio programs starring classic stars. They look wonderful— Java's Journey

Two fine posts from Via Margutta 51:
Ginger Rogers reads Alice in Wonderland
Top ten movies directed by Mitchell Leisen

Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray in Standing Room Only (1944)— Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

Joan Blondell and Warren William in Smarty (1934)— Screen Snapshots

Jean-Luc Godard and charges of antisemitism The Guardian

Quote of the Week

So many beautiful women and so little time.

-John Barrymore

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Classic Links

RIP Dino de Laurentiis-- The Guardian

Movies for Mad Men fans going through withdrawal— Movie Morlocks/TCM

A nice collection of flicks gathered in celebration of the Veteran’s Day holiday yesterday-- Riku Writes

The devastating Heroes For Sale (1933)— Another Old Movie Blog

Eli Wallach on NPR’s Fresh Air, 1990—re-aired to celebrate his honorary Oscar— NPR

Classic Links

The rare Something to Live For (1952) with Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland and Teresa Wright is on YouTube, for now. Catch it while you can!— Self-Styled Siren

Hitch’s impeccable set design for Dial M for Murder (1954)— Alfred Hitchcock Geek

Another reason to love archive DVDs: James Coburn ambling through Duffy (1968)— Flickhead

I didn’t know that Martin Scorsese’s long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker was married to Michael Powell—interesting.-- The Guardian

Adolph Zukor, the architect of Hollywood-- Slate

The Night of the Hunter (1955) gets a Criterion Collection release.-- Slate

Classic Links

If you didn’t catch this over the weekend, Doris Day recently gave a rare interview. I first saw this on Java’s Journey—Raquelle at Out of the Past also posted about it. I haven’t had a chance to listen yet!--
Java's Journey
Out of the Past

The first film version of Frankenstein (1910)-- Film Ab Initio

I like these reviews of strangler pictures. I didn’t realize how many there were!— Lazslos on Lex

These shots of the locations from Union Station (1950) are great because the station looks so much like it did 60 years ago. What a gorgeous building-- Dear Old Hollywood

How classics transfer to Blu-Ray-- New York Times (Via The Night Editor)

Thank you to Raquelle for letting us media-reviewing bloggers know about the FTC rules about disclosure of review copies received. This ruling bugs me. I don’t make endorsements; I write reviews—and getting a book—or more often a PDF of a book isn’t going to sway my opinion any more than that of a professional reviewer. I don’t want you all to spend money on something that isn’t good—so I stay on the up and up! But disclose I will.-- Out of the Past

Quote of the Week

It was a dedicated life then. You had no social life. You had to have lunch or dinner, but it was always spent talking over work—talking over stories or cutting or titles.

-Lillian Gish

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Classic Links

I think Eli Wallach works harder at age 95 than I ever will— The Guardian

Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell and their beautiful chemistry— The Big Parade

Alain Delon will be 75 soon. I love having an excuse to mention him— Movie Morlocks/TCM

Bette Davis was dishy when she was young. Maybe the Girl From 10th Avenue (1935) wasn’t one of her best, but she looked fantastic— She Blogged By Night

George Lazenby, my favorite Bond (He got Diana Rigg—how could there be a better Bond than that?), is writing his autobiography.— IMDB

Classic Links

Oh sheesh—I missed Ann Rutherford’s birthday yesterday. I love her! Laura wrote a nice tribute-- Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

The new TCM series Moguls and Movie Stars sounds fantastic—
Movie Morlocks/TCM
The Shelf
New York Times

A couple of dreamy Burt Lancaster pics and a good viewing list of his best flicks— Art, Movies, Wood and Whatnot

Raquelle’s take on Roy Blount Jr’s Duck Soup/Marx Brothers book— Out of the Past

A nice tribute to Glenda Farrell, lots of screenshots— Allure

The results of the TCM survey that compared today’s stars with the stars of the past. The result: there is no comparsion!— TCM

Book Review: Hail! Hail! Euphoria! Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup the Greatest War Movie Ever Made

Hail! Hail! Euphoria! Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup the Greatest War Movie Ever Made

Roy Blount. Jr.

HarperCollins, 2010

If you want to know the definition of a “gookie”*, then you must read Hail! Hail! Euphoria! Roy Blount Jr. approaches his history of the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup (1933) as a well-read fan, and he gleefully geeks out on bits of trivia like this one.

Hail! Hail! Euphoria! weaves a buoyant shot-by-shot analysis of the anarchic comedy with anecdotes, history and gossip about the Marx clan. There’s a nice history of the brothers, including a revealing tribute their devoted and determined mother Minnie (she sounds like a character. I would have liked to have seen her in the movies). Blount also pays tribute to matronly straight woman Margaret Dumont and director Leo McCarey, who was out of his element with the Marx boys, but directed a masterpiece nevertheless.

Blount’s research is extensive, and there are footnotes on nearly every page. Sometimes the footnotes take up most of the page. This often drove me crazy; I even threw the book down a couple of times because I was tired of constantly switching gears.

Despite my little fits, I couldn’t think of a bit of information that I didn’t want in the book or of a better way that it could have been presented. The movie is crazy, and the Marx Brothers are crazy, so a decent book about them has got to be crazy as well. I realized I was like one of the Marx's dupes—this book was kicking me in the butt, cutting the pockets out of my trousers, and destroying my hat, but it was brilliant, so I had to take it.

Hail! Hail! Euphoria! will be rewarding for classic movie fans and goofy bliss for Marx Brothers lovers.

*The Gookie is one of Harpo Marx’s most familiar crazy expressions—he bugs out his eyes, puffs out his cheeks and makes a fish face with his lips.

Classic Links

Was anyone a classic movie star or character for Halloween? I just realized last night that I’ve never done that for a costume. I’ll have to think of something for next year.

Lizzie (1957), with the underrated Eleanor Parker and the always-welcome Joan Blondell— And Then I Watched

This is a great tribute to the versatile Vincent Price— Silents and Talkies

Kate Gabrielle has set up a gorgeous new site with huge, high quality scans of classic movie star pics. She welcomes submissions.— Classic Film Scans

Bogdanovich writes about Psycho (1960) and the traumatic experience of being in the audience for the first press/audience screening— Blogdanovich

Peter Pan (1924), with the perfectly-suited Betty Bronson and a much too brief appearance by Anna Mae Wong as Princess Tiger Lily— Silent Volume