TV Tuesday: Lana Turner and Jane Wyman on Falcon Crest

Lana Turner and Jane Wyman have it out in this juicy scene from a 1982 episode of Falcon Crest. I miss nighttime soaps like this one. It makes sense to me that so many classic Hollywood stars appeared in them, because these shows were the closest you could get to a 1940s-50s style production in the 1980s. I mean, people dressed for dinner, they acted larger than life and there was lots of melodrama; that's pure old school Hollywood.

I think the only way a show like this could survive today would be as a parody. And I'd take that just to see this kind of crazy glamour on television again!

You can watch the full episode (and nineteen more) here at WB online.

Monday Serenade: Famous Sisters in 1929

A gaggle of famous sisters sing and dance in the Meet My Sister number from the 1929 musical revue Show of Shows.

Here are the sisters by pair:

Sally O'Neil and Molly O'Day (Irish sisters)
Sally Blane and Loretta Young (French sisters)
Dolores Costello and Helene Costello (Mexican sisters)
Marion Byron and Ann Sothern (Italian sisters)
Ada Mae Vaughn and Alberta Vaughn (English sisters)
Viola Dana and Shirley Mason (Dutch sisters)

Apparently all of them are real sisters except for Marion Byron and Ann Sothern!

Quote of the Week

Movies are at the same time huge and beside the point.

-David R. Slavitt

TV Tuesday: Jane Russell for Lustre-Creme

As Jane Russell turned 89 yesterday, I thought I'd share this Lustre-Creme ad she filmed in 1954. The ad also promotes her appearance in The Big Rainbow, but there must have been a name change, because when I looked up the title on IMDB, I was directed to Underwater! (1955). It doesn't look like a good movie. Has anyone seen it?

Monday Serenade: Jane Powell in The Girl Most Likely (1958)

I adore Jane Powell. Everything about her twinkles, from her trilling voice to her friendly eyes (though they did often have a slightly melancholy look to them). Here she sings I Don't Know What I Want in the 1958 musical The Girl Most Likely.

Quote of the Week

The only time a woman really suceeds in changing a man is when he's a baby.

-Natalie Wood

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Monday Serenade: Eddie Cantor in Whoopee! (1930)

I was so accustomed to the Nina Simone version of My Baby Just Cares for Me, that it stunned me when I first saw Eddie Cantor singing the tune in Whoopee! (1930). Cantor's performance has a lot of zing, and it's so charming. I definitely have room for both versions in my affections.