Friday, September 11, 2015

2015 Summer Reading Challenge - Final Round-Up and Winner



The summer reading challenge is officially over! I'd like to personally thank every one of the participants who all did an amazing job at their challenge. They are read a wide array of interesting and eclectic books. The challenge encourage folks to read up to 6 books this summer and post reviews online by September 1st. Participants who read, reviewed and submitted six entries were eligible for the special giveaway.

Below is the second round-up of reviews. You can find the first round-up here.

Amanda of Old Hollywood Films
Keepers: The Greatest Films and Personal Favorites of a Moviegoing Lifetime by Richard Schickel


Bernardo from The Movie Rat
Images: My Life in Film by Ingmar Bergman

Interviews: Liv Ullmann
They Still Call Me Junior by Frank Coghlan Jr.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Dick Moore

What is Cinema? Vol. 1: Essays Selected and Translated by Hugh Gray
edited by Andre Bazin

Writing Vampyr by Carl Theodor Dryer, Christen Jul and Sheridan Le Fanu


B.G. of Classic Reel Girl
I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies by Jeanine Basinger


B Noir Detour
Driven to Darkness: Jewish Emigre Directors and the Rise of Film Noir by Vincent Brook

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet


Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble
Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer
Jano by Birgit Tengroth

Hollywood Cats: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation

My World is My Bond by Roger Moore


Kate Gabrielle of Silents and Talkies
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick

L’Avventura by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith


KC of A Classic Movie Blog
The Making of The Other Side of the Wind: Orson Welles’s Last Movie by Josh Karp

Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme

My Life As a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey Through Hollywood by Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane


Kristina of Speakeasy
Gangsters from Little Caesar to The Godfather by John Gabree

Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream by Ronald L. Davis

Teenage Confidential, An Illustrated History of the American Teen by Michael Barson and Steven Heller

The Very Witching Time of Night: Dark Alleys of Classic Horror Cinema by Gregory William Mank


Laura of Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings
Behind the Scenes of They Were Expendable: A Pictorial History by Lou Sabini

Letícia of Vintage Classics Scrapbook
Thoughts on the Thin Man edited by Danny Reid


Liz from Now Voyaging
Good Stuff: A Reminscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland

‘Tis Herself: A Memoir by Maureen O’Hara


Phyllis of Phyllis Loves Classic Movies
Audrey At Home: Memories of My Mother’s Kitchen by Luca Dotti

Vanity Will Get You Somewhere by Joseph Cotten


Rich from Wide Screen World
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise by Scott Eyman

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris


Sara E. (Goodreads)
Burt Lancaster: The Terrible Tempered Charmer by Michael Munn

The Cleopatra Papers by Jack Brodsky and Nathan Weiss

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Bernard Nordhoff and James Norman Hall


Vanessa from Stardust
Gary Cooper: Enduring Style by G. Bruce Boyer


There were six finalists! These folks read, reviewed and submitted six entries by the deadline.(Note that the reviews are split between the first and second round-ups. Look at both round-ups to see all the reviews.)


Bernardo of The Movie Rat
Karen from Shadows and Satin
Kristina of Speakeasy
Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble
Liz from Now Voyaging
Vanessa from Stardust

And the winner is...

Vanessa from Stardust! 

She'll receive a TCM pen (from TCMFF 2015 in Hollywood), a Robert Osborne #yourfanclub pin, a Ben Mankiewicz #yourfanclub pin and a copy of Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965: Third Edition .

And because I'm feeling extra generous I am awarding an extra copy of the Classic Movie Guide to a surprise runner-up...

Karen from Shadows and Satin!

I drew the winner and runner-up with the help of Random.org and names written on pieces of paper.

Congrats to everyone who participated and stay tuned for next year's summer reading challenge.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949


Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949 
by David Wills
November 2013
It Books (Now Del Street Books)
Hardcover - 9780062265548
352 pages

Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Powell's
 
While perusing the gift shop at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston recently I came across a copy of Hollywood in Kodachrome: 1940-1949. The beautiful image of Lauren Bacall on the front cover caught my eye and when I opened the book I was stunned. This coffee table book was filled with the most vibrant and stunning images of classic film stars. I knew this book had to be mine.

Hollywood in Kodachrome is a simple book celebrating a technology of a bygone era that produced amazing visuals in photography and cinema. In a time when visual artists were still trying to find the best method for producing color images, Kodachrome produced clear and crisp images that were vibrant and could convey the glamour photographers wanted to capture. Rich in reds and yellows the photos in this collection are in such good condition, thanks to the longevity of Kodachrome, that you’d think they were taken yesterday. This book is a veritable feast for the eyes especially for those of us who love the glamour of the 1940s.

Guy Madison and Alan Ladd

 The book starts with a foreword by actress Rhonda Fleming who shares her memories of Kodachrome and whose photos are featured in the book. There is a short introduction by author David Wills explaning the history of Kodachrome from it’s inception to it’s discontinuation in 2009. Then the book is broken up into six chapters each with a different theme. Each chapter starts with a quote from someone in the business about working with Kodachrome and with the stars. Themes include glamour, charisma and stars and stripes. There is a short chapter dedicated to Lucille Ball whose pale complexion and bright red hair was perfect for Kodachrome. Her nickname in the 1940s was “Technicolor Tessie”. I especially loved the chapters on posed candids (reality stylized) and selling the dream (stars in advertisement).

Ann Miller


Fans of 1940s fashion can look to this book as a vibrant collection of outfit ideas. I marveled at the care and attention placed on just the right dress or suit, lighting, hair, makeup and the perfect placement of accessories. Some of the outfits are accessible and could be recreated with modern day materials. Others are simply aspirational; the fodder for dreams of a more glamorous life.

Stars included in the collection of photographs include:

Dana Andrews
Lauren Bacall
Lucille Ball
Joan Crawford
Bette Davis
Kirk Douglas
Rhonda Fleming
Errol Flynn
Rita Hayworth
William Holden
Alan Ladd
Veronica Lake
Ann Miller
Robert Mitchum
Maureen O’Hara
Tyrone Power
Frank Sinatra
Gene Tierney
Spencer Tracy
and more

This book does have some flaws. The text size for the introduction is excessively large. It made me feel like I was reading a large print edition of a book. I also wish there was more information about Kodachrome. I would not recommend this as a reference text. It’s purely eye candy with a little information thrown in. The book doesn’t open very well and double-paged spreads require breaking the spine a bit in order to take in the full image in all it’s glory. I also didn't think the birth and death dates were necessary for the image captions. It dates the book. These are minor flaws though and the book’s strengths overcome its weaknesses.

Hollywood in Kodachrome is worth your investment. If you are a visual person and love classic film, especially the 1940s, this book is a must for your home library.

Vanessa of Stardust reviewed this book in June. Check out her post!

This is my fourth and final review for my summer reading challenge! I purchased this book at my local bookstore.

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