Classic film fans are collectors. We can’t help it. Some of us collect movies, others collect autographs and paper ephemera while some chose to collect experiences and memories instead. Part of expressing our love for movies is gathering those objects and memories that mean the most to us.
I’d like to share with you some of the coolest classic film stuff I own. These are the objects in my collection I treasure and hold significant meaning to me. They remind me of special experiences and people I care about. They also remind me why I’m a classic film fan.
I’m splitting this up into two parts because I have quite a bit to cover. If you’re a classic film blogger I encourage you to create your own list. Don’t have a blog? Create a Pinterest board with your favorites from your collection. If you do create your own list please share with me in the comments section. I’ll gather them up and include them in a post on this blog.
My movie collection
I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with my own movie collection. I have almost 600 movies on last count and most of them are on DVD or DVD-R. I have a small collection of Blu-Rays. It’s important for me to own these films in physical form versus digitally for reasons that would require an entire post to explain. I loved this media tower because it held my entire collection beautifully. Unfortunately it got destroyed during our recent move. RIP media tower.
Autographed copy of Conversations with Robert Osborne
I got to meet TCM’s Robert Osborne in 2014. He was doing a signing of the DVD of Conversations with Robert Osborne at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Osborne is the sweetest, kindest man on the planet. He was so gracious and loved spending time with his fans. I don’t own many autographs so I treasure this one especially.
Rare films sent to me by friends (mostly Jonas)
I have a beautiful collection of rare and hard-to-find films thanks to dear friends. About 90% of these films are from my best bud Jonas from All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!. He’s amassed a trove of early treasures and he’s been so generous to send me copies of many delightful films. The picture above shows three of my favorites from this separate collection. (Don’t ask me where to buy these DVDs, they don’t exist!).
Multiple copies of Bachelor Mother
Because why not?! Bachelor Mother (1939) is my all-time favorite movie and I’ve had multiple copies of it for years. It started it off with at least three VHS recordings off of TCM. Why so many? I lost one, created a new one plus a back-up only to find the original one later. Then when Warner Archive released it on DVD-R I abandoned my VHS copies and bought in on DVD. However the DVD was buggy and didn’t have the built-in 10 minute chapters that WAC DVDs usually have. I inquired with WAC about it and they said I must have a defective copy. When I bought my second one it had the same issue so I kept that one as a back-up copy. How did I come to buy the rest? WAC had one of their final big sales (before the post-WB layoff changes took place) so I decided to take advantage of that last 5 for $45 sale and buy 5 copies of Bachelor Mother. I’ve since sent a few to friends and I have one set aside for a future blog giveaway!
@WarnerArchive good to know! I just made the weirdest purchase ever. I'm sure whoever is packing it will be scratching his/her head.
This was a prize for winning second place at the Brattle’s Movie Trivia Night. It was a fantastic night and I came away from it with this fantastic poster.
Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg Wedding centerpiece
At our wedding in 2012, I decided to forego the traditional centerpiece, a large bouquet of expensive flowers, and went with something different. Each of the eight tables at our reception had it’s own classic Hollywood couple presented in an Art Deco style frame with an image designed by my good friend Lisa Rudden. Guests could keep their centerpiece if they wanted but I made sure to snag the Shearer-Thalberg one. Now it sits on my bureau and is a wonderful reminder of my special day.
Norma Shearer Painting
Created by the ever talented Kate Gabrielle, this was the first piece of art I ever commissioned. I love it! It’s taken from a scene from Norma Shearer’s silent film A Lady of Chance (1928). It’s one of my favorite silent movies and the beach scene is the epitome of what I think about when I imagine 1920s style. The pink background Kate Gabrielle chose really makes the black and white art pop!
My blog business cards
With art by Julianna Rose, these business cards match the current design of my blog. I really love Saul Bass’ title sequence designs and that was the inspiration behind these. I love making business cards with Moo because it’s very easy and customizable and the cards come out looking both professional and fun. I love handing these out at festivals or whenever I meet fellow classic film fans in real life.
Phone case
I’ve had a few classic film themed phone cases that I custom made myself with the help of CafePress. I have two Robert Mitchum cases and one for Susan Peters but they quickly got destroyed. It wasn’t long after that I discovered that Zazzle makes tough, durable cases you can customize. I made one with an image of Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas from Nancy Drew, Girl Detective (1938) back in October of 2014 and it’s still holding strong. My phone case showcases my love for classic film to people in real life and I always get lovely compliments from non-classic film people when they see it.
Recently I had the honor to write an article about Fury (1936) for the Library of Congress. This Fritz Lang film is part of the National Film Registry and my essay is one of numerous expanded essays available online. Every year the National Film Registry selects “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films” to be archived and preserved. They do great work and if you haven’t watched it already These Amazing Shadows is a wonderful documentary about the history of the National Film Registry.
Thank you so much the Library of Congress for allowing me to contribute an article!
You can check out the list of expanded essays here. My good friend Jonas wrote an article on King of Jazz (1930)!
Josephine Baker was an entertainer in the truest sense of the word. She had a charismatic personality that enchanted audiences and entertained people from around the world. Baker was a tireless worker and traveler and a fearless champion for social justice and civil rights. As the title and subtitle of the book indicate Josephine Baker was many things: dancer, singer, activist and spy but also visionary, mother, wife, lover, daughter, sister and friend.
Peggy Caravantes' The Many Faces of Josephine Baker is a simple yet informative biography presented with a young audience in mind. Students who read this book will learn about an important figure in the history of African-American performers, the Civil Rights movement, WWII, the Cold War era, the theater life of Paris and much more. I would not limit this book only to young readers as it serves as a nice primer to the life of Josephine Baker. I didn't know much about her and this book served as a wonderful introduction. I plan to read Josephine and the Rainbow Tribe by Matthew Prat Guterl, a scholarly text about Baker's failed utopian experiment. I found this part of Baker's life fascinating. It's thoroughly covered in Caravantes book but my curiosity makes me want to read even more about it.
"As beautiful as the night, Josephine Baker is the dream, the clown, the great sensation of the evening." - Henri Jeanson
Baker grew up poor in St. Louis. Her poor upbringing had both positive and negative effects on her adult life. It both drove her ambition as well as her reckless spending. At one time Baker was the richest black woman in the world however her financial situation was always on the border of disaster. She spent money on extravagancies, travel, animals as well as social justice projects. She was always running out of money. Baker performed on stage for her entire adult life. When in financial despair, those performances always paid handsomely. Besides, she loved the stage. It was never a burden for her to perform and her talent never dwindled. It's safe to say that Josephine Baker was happiest when she was performing.
"She longed for a happy home life but could not resist the footlight's pull." - Caravantes
How did Baker become one of the most famous black women in the world? Sheer perseverance. Josephine Baker made opportunities for herself and would take advantage of any situation she could find to move up in the theater world. She went from living in poverty in the segregated south to living in Paris and performing at the Folies Bergere. Her knack for dancing and comedic performance as well as her willingness to learn and improve her skills made her talents blossom.
This slim volume of a book manages to explore many aspects of Josephine Baker's life. We learn about her love affairs, her husbands and her romantic relationships with women including the author Colette and artist Frida Kahlo. Baker traveled all over the world and made numerous trips through Europe and South America. She felt most at home in Paris. In France segregation didn't exist in the way it did in the US. Baker felt it was unfair that she would be treated well in Paris yet would face racial prejudice in her home country. Baker became one of the earliest figures in the Civil Rights movement and championed many social justice causes. During WWII, she became a spy against the Nazis when she worked for Charles de Gaulle. Until her dying day, she always fought for equality.
"Josephine believed she could do more to advance race relations by performing with interracial casts in Paris than with all-black cast in the United States." Caravantes
The most interesting part of the book for me was the extensive look at Baker's Rainbow Tribe. She adopted 12 children, 10 boys and 2 girls, all from different parts of the world, different races and different religions. She purchased a castle, Chateau de Milandes, which was open to the public. With the Rainbow Tribe, she wanted to prove that people from any race or religion can exist together in harmony. She also championed for a College of Brotherhood, an educational institution based on the same idea of the Rainbow Tribe, but it never materialized. The Rainbow Tribe was in many ways a failure. Her career, and her constant need for money, prevented her from putting enough effort into the project that it required, including being a full-time mother to her adopted children. This book includes a fascinating where-are-they-now? chapter in the appendix about the members of the Rainbow Tribe.
Fans of classic movies will be interested to read about Baker's friendship with Grace Kelly and about Baker's film appearances. Folks who are interested in 20th century history will be fascinated by all the figures who became pat of Baker's life in one way or other. These include political figures such as Fidel Castro, Juan Peron, Robert Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle.
The Many Faces of Josephine Baker is a concise and informative primer on the life of star who made her mark on the entertainment industry as well as on the Civil Rights movement.
Thank you to Meaghan from Chicago Review Press for sending me a copy of this book to review! This publisher have some great classic film books coming out this Fall including one on Thelma Todd and a biography on Douglas Fairbanks both of which I can't wait to read!
This is the first of my reviews for my Summer Reading Challenge! I'm on a roll with my reading so I hope to have more up very soon.
Now I leave you with a film clip featuring Josephine Baker's famous banana dance.
I hope everyone has been having a fantastic summer (or a mild winter if you live in the southern hemisphere). June was such a whirlwind for me but luckily I've been able to catch up on some reading this month. I'm behind on my challenge but glad to see everyone is plugging along. Shout out to Vanessa from Stardust who already has 5 books read and reviewed. WOW!
There is still time to sign up for the challenge! Head on over to the dedicated challenge page and fill out the form at the bottom by 7/15 to enter.
Note to participants. You have to sign-up for the challenge and submit your reviews so I can keep track of everyone.
There are currently 23 participants! I'm very happy that so many of you decided to participate. There are already many wonderful and insight reviews. Below is the first round-up:
