Coolest Classic Film Stuff I Own (Part One)

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.

— Raquel S. (@QuelleLove) January 5, 2015

 Casablanca film poster 

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.

Stay tuned for part 2!