Queen Norma Shearer Viewing

I thought after yesterday's post, that I should probably track my progress on here. This list is only 58 movies. I think I may have removed some lost or destroyed ones when I originally made this list.

Norma Shearer

The Flapper (1920)*
Way Down East (1920)*
The Stealers (1920)
The Man Who Paid (1922)
The Bootleggers (1922)
Channing of the Northwest (1922)
Lucretia Lombard (1923)
A Clouded Name (1923)
Man and Wife (1923)
The Devil’s Partner (1923)
The Wanters (1923)
Pleasure Mad (1923)
Trail of the Law (1923)
The Snob (1924)
The Wolf Man (1924)
Broadway After Dark (1924)
Broken Barriers (1924)
Married Flirts (1924)
Empty Hands (1924)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924) ~ seen part then misplaced tape!
Excuse Me (1925)
Lady of the Night (1925) *
Waking Up the Town (1925)
A Slave to Fashion (1925)
Pretty Ladies (1925)
The Tower of Lies (1925)
His Secretary (1925)
The Devil’s Circus (1926)
The Waning Sex (1926)
Upstage (1926)
Too Many Wives (1927)
The Demi-Bride (1927)
After Midnight (1927)
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1928) *
The Latest From Paris (1928)
The Actress (1928)
A Lady of Chance (1928) *
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929)
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929)
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) ~ coming up!
Their Own Desire (1929) ~ taped!
The Divorcee (1930) *
Let Us Be Gay (1930) ~ coming up!
Stolen Jools (1931)*
Strangers May Kiss (1931) *
A Free Soul (1931) *
Private Lives (1931) *
Smilin’ Through (1932)
Strange Interlude (1932)
Riptide (1934) *
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) *
Romeo and Juliet (1937) ~ can't quite finish this for some reason.
Marie Antoinette (1938) *
Idiot’s Delight (1939) *
The Women (1939) *
Escape (1940) *
We Were Dancing (1942) *
Her Cardboard Lover (1942) *

Lifetime Achievement Viewing

Some time ago I had made set goals to watch every single film which feature my top favorite personalities. I say personalities because these are people I am captivated by and it extends beyond any acting abilities or their appearance in good stories (sometimes they lack both!). Hunting for those films reach makes watching their work even more enjoyable.

Norma Shearer ~ 17 out of 61
Bobby Darin ~ 5 out of 14
Sandra Dee ~ 10 out of 24
Marilyn Monroe ~ 25 out of 29
Blonde Bette Davis ~ 14 out of 33
Doris Day ~ 17 out of 39

Lately I've come across a few more opportunities to advance towards my final goal. Sandra Dee's Tammy Tell Me True (1961) and Tammy and the Doctor (1963) were released on DVD a few months ago and Netflix just added it to their extensive library. I immediately added it to my queue, bypassing the original film Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) with Debbie Reynolds, which I guess I really should have seen first to fully understand the storyline. But while Debbie Reynolds is cute, I've always found Sandra Dee even cuter and much more fun to watch on screen!

With The Forbidden Hollywood Collection Vol. 2 I got an opportunity to see The Divorcee (1930) and A Free Soul (1931) in their entirety. Two marks on my list. But these I knew would eventually turn up on DVD. However, two more even rarer opportunities presented themselves recently. My friend Frank is a Laurel & Hardy fan and let me borrow one of his DVDs which contains the short film Stolen Jools (1931) a comedy which features many MGM stars, including Norma Shearer. And TCM recently had a Robert Montgomery marathon (one of Norma's best-known leading men), and they showed Their Own Desire (1929), (which I taped) an elusive film I know very little about but am very happy to see.

There are other actors whose film work I'd like to view in their entirety, but making a goal of it would be quite a feat, and very likely impossible (Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, etc). Those whom I think may be manageable and whom I would like to add include:

Kim Novak
George Sanders
Tom Conway
Dennis Morgan
Bonita Granville
Susan Peters
Richard Barthelmess

Do you have anyone whose life's work is your goal to consume? Or have you already seen the entire canon of films of a favorite star? Let me know!

The Graduate... Me, not the Movie

Yesterday, I sort of kind of graduated. With a star my name on the program, I walked across stage and got a diploma... folder (empty). I have 4 more credits left, one more class, and I'm done. But instead of waiting until next year's commencement, my school let me "graduate". I got to wear a funky robe with flippy flaps and a cool white, purple, yellow and black hood (which none of knew how to wear!). It was a great psuedo-moment spurring me on to finish that one last class so I can receive my diploma and validate that experience (which was genuinely great).

When I got to work this morning several presents were awaiting me. My department got me flowers, a card, a plush and a cake for congratulations. I was truly honored!!! The other present was very unusual. So unusual, but so great that it merited a post on this blog. Alongside a musical card that played graduation music, was seemingly inconspicuous wrapped present. As I tore off the beautiful wrapping paper, my jaw dropped as I saw what was inside. It was the Billy Wilder Film Collection Boxed Set. My colleague and friend Susan has given me this amazingly thoughtful gift. It came complete with a gift receipt which I promptly ripped into pieces and threw away because there was NO WAY I would ever return this. I now own Some Like it Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Fortune Cookie (1966) and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964). Yay!

Thank you Susan!!!