God Speed Richard Widmark (1914-2008)

It's just not fair! I even forgave him for The Tunnel of Love (1958)! Goodbye Richard Widmark. You shall be missed.

C'mon. Put 'em around me.

I just thought I'd share these two very sexy images of Norma Shearer.

from The Divorcée (1930)

from A Free Soul (1931)

Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 2

So on Friday I broke down and went ahead and purchased the TCM Archives Boxed Set "The Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 2". I was going to buy it eventually but had just been renting it. Since I have a unique passion for Pre-Codes, I should be supporting the ones that are being put out on DVD. Especially ones that I'm interested in, like The Divorcee (1930), A Free Soul (1931) and Night Nurse (1931), all of which I had been waiting a substantial amount of time to view and all of which I had missed or only seen part of when aired on TCM.

So I forked over the $40 (hey I finished paying for school, so it's not so bad right?) and my set should be coming in a few days. I did happen to catch the Thou Shalt Not documentary, before I returned my second DVD to Netflix. I was very impressed by it. I wrote a lot of film names down, all of which, to my dismay, are not available on DVD, grrr. The documentary is very informative and chic, in that TCM style. There was one comment at the end that switched on the proverbial light bulb above my head. One of the interviewees said that although the Hays Code did a lot to stifle films in the late 30s to early 50s with its strict censorship, it was also a blessing to the film industry. It forced filmmakers to be more creative about conveying things in their stories in such a way that it would squeak by the censors. And thus we get some of the most well-written stories in the history of film. If you ever watch Family Guy, you'll know young Chris always does a funny "whhhhhhaaaaatt?" when he finds out something truly shocking. I had that kind of a moment. Here I was thinking that the films from that 20+ year span were being held back and I always wondered what they could be without so many restrictions. But now I realize that they may not have been as clever without the Hays Code restrictions. What would Out of the Past (1947) be with all its witty dialogue? So in the end, this documentary made me appreciate something that I had been taking for granted all this time!

60's Movie Night

I have been out of commission for a while. I caught whatever bug is going around (although I could have sworn I had some form of pneumonia).

I wanted to make sure I posted about the movie night I hosted 2 Saturdays ago. With a '60s theme, I showed Pillow Talk (1959) and Come September (1961) and some parts of If a Man Answers (1962). I tricked out my pad with designs, cooked and baked and even dressed up. I had themes galore.

Themes:

Films - '60s Sex Comedies

Raquel's Perception of '60s Style - Dots and Stripes and weird shapes.

Homemade Take-Out - Because aren't people always ordering take-out or eating out in '60s films? The Apartment (1960), With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). In fact, I had 6 people over and we did have eggroll!

Chocolates and Cherries - Because it's sexy and fun. Just like the '60s!

'60s Clothes - I offered up to people the opportunity to dress up in '60s style, open to interpretation.

I put a lot more effort into this one than I did my last one, and I think it came out pretty well. Although some people did not participate in the pillow tossing portion! You know who you are!

(Spoiler alert!) The highlight of the evening was provided by my good friend Kevin. He pointed out something I had never noticed before. In Pillow Talk, when Doris Day's character Jan discovers that Rock Hudson's Rex is really the other annoying half of her party line, Brad Allen, she storms out of a cozy Connecticut cabin. Leaving Rock behind, with an armful of firewood. He was left with wood. Literally and metaphorically! I love it! I would have never noticed it unless he had pointed it out.

I'm a firm believer in the communal film watching experience. Good friends and good flicks. A perfect combination.

~ Kevin and Alicia dressed with '60s flare~