I was in Portland, Maine on Sunday with Carlos and we happened to come across a little store called Pandemonium.
And just look what they had in their window display. A Gone with the Wind (1939) lunchbox! It was so endearing I just had to snap a picture of it.
Now I'm not a big Gone with the Wind fan, but if I were I would have pulled out some cash for this little darling!
TCM will be airing a documentary called "1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year". It will be on again July 31st and it's available On Demand for Comcast customers. This year produced many superb films, GWTW and The Wizard of Oz just to name 2 biggies.
So what 1939 film would I like to see in lunchbox form? A Norma Shearer film of course!
Idiot's Delight (1939) - Image - Clark Gable being carried away by his blonde entourage after singing Puttin' on the Ritz. Elegant wigged Norma Shearer is in the background smiling.
What is your favorite 1939 film? What film would you like to see on a lunchbox? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
My heart hurts. One of my favorite actors Karl Malden passed on yesterday. To me, Karl Malden made every film he was in better just for being in it. He was a great character actor who excelled in comedy and drama, he could play good guys and bad, and he did all of this with such great intensity. He was a big lumbering teddy bear of a man and my heart always got warm fuzzies when I would watch him on screen. I'm so sad that I never really got to pay tribute to him on this blog while he was alive.
There are three Malden films that I especially enjoy because of him specifically....
Baby Doll (1956) - Malden plays Archie, the frustrated cotton gin owner that just wants to consummate his marriage, but goes crazy because he can't. You can see the frustration popping out of his veins!
Come Fly With Me (1963) - Malden plays Walter Lucas, a widower flying coach to Europe, who falls in love with a beautiful young stewardess. The stewardess, Bergie, falls in love with him before she finds out he's a millionaire. I don't blame her for falling in love with him, because I did a little too.
The last entry for June's Guest Blogger Month extravaganza comes from the lovely Sarah from Cinema Splendor. Sarah's posts are always fun to read and she just about dazzles and amuses everyone who visits her delightful blog. She's also the biggest Natalie Wood fan on the planet! Hope you enjoy this entry. --------------
Disclaimer – it may help if you know the stories of Romeo & Juliet and West Side Story to read this post :)
So we all know that West Side Story is a modern retelling of the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet. While they are similar, they also have their differences and my job is to show them to you! Raquelle made me...just kidding, I volunteered :)
Maria and Juliet both have fake deaths. In R & J, Friar Laurence gives Juliet a potion to make her appear to be dead though she is really in a deeeeeep sleep. Deep enough to make her not have a pulse. Don't quite know how that one worked out, but okay...
Romeo doesn’t get the memo that Juliet isn’t really dead, so when he goes to see her ‘body’, he gets all upset and drinks poison to be with Juliet. She wakes up like, 3.5 seconds later and discovers Romeo all drawn out next to her. She has vice versa thinking and stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger to be with him.
WSS is totally different however because Anita gets upset after being harrassed by the jets and tells them that Chino shot Maria for loving Tony. Tony catches wind of this, runs out into the streets calling Chinos name begging him to shoot him too so he'd be with Maria. Tony and Maria find each other and while running towards each other all Bo Derek and Dudley Moore in 10 , guess what; Chino heard Tony yelling his name and shoots him. Insert a few dramatic moments and Maria walks away. The End. It isn’t shown or explained if Maria really did kill herself, so that’s one difference between the two stories.
Paris/Chino and the relationship between Tybalt/Bernardo and Nurse/Anita are completely different.
Paris in R & J has been arranged to marry Juliet. Chino in WSS has been arranged to marry Maria. Obviously both gals fall in love with other guys and these two are just left to their own devices.
Chino – kills Tony after he finds out about his relationship with Maria meaning he will probably end up in jail for quite a while.
Paris – After Juliet kills herself, he’s just sort of left in the dust. Poor Paris :(
Also, Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin. Nurse is kind of a confidant for Juliet. In the Shakespeare story, they’re not romantically involved, although Nurse shows some affection for Tybalt at the masked ball. Also, when Tybalt dies in the street fight, Nurse is visibly upset at his death. However, in West Side Story Anita and Bernardo are clearly lovers. Both Nurse’s and Anita’s reactions are similar in that they are both very upset at the deaths.
Romeo and Juliet are actually married while Tony and Maria are fake married. R & J go to Friar Laurence (the same guy who give Juliet the “it’ll make you look dead” potion) to get married, like for real. Nobody knows about their holy matrimony except Nurse. Tony and Maria have a do-it-yourself wedding in the bridal shop (how appropriate) resulting in the scene that everybody hates and think its such a corn-fest, but…I kinda love it.
Do you see the “cross” above them? ;)
Mama will make him ask about your prospects. Many! If you go to church… Oh, always. Yes…Papa might like you.
Since 2005, Steve-O has been bringing us weekly installments of in-depth reviews on Film Noirs over at his site Noir of the Week. It is one of the most comprehensive and interesting collection of articles, written by Steve-O and various other contributorss on this ever popular genre of films. Steve-O does us the pleaures of stopping by to enlighten us on classic boxing films. Enjoy! --------------------
I'm a sucker for films about the sweet science. I admit it. As much as I try to convince co-workers that Rocky IV isn't really very good – I still find a great amount of pleasure watching it. However, I do find most modern boxing dramas – from Cinderella Man to Rocky - entertaining but a bit lacking.
Now if you want to talk about great boxing films – then you have to talk about the gritty classics from the 40s and 50s.
City for Conquest is a guilty pleasure. James Cagney plays the same guy he played in most WB tough-guy films. Cagney showcases some deft footwork in the ring – but his punches are thrown like one of the Dead End Kids in a brawl. The film is a very slick Warner Bros film filled with over-the-top drama. Strong performances make the film an absolute pleasure though. Ann Sheridan as the girlfriend, Arthur Kennedy playing the more sensitive brother, and Anthony Quinn as Sheridan's slimy dance partner all help tell the rags-to-riches tales. When Cagney goes blind in the ring and Sheridan's dancing career is also flushed the film has its most tear-jerking moment. City for Conquest is a New York story through and through - and it's one I find myself watching again and again.
More realistic is Body and Soul. John Garfield plays a young Jewish street kid who is lured into a career as a pugilist. He quickly moves up the ranks – and at the same time dumps his artist girlfriend and – surprisingly – his poor mother (played by Anne Revere). The film was an independent production by Garfield but the lack of a budget didn't stop clever film makers from making a slick sports movie. Unfortunately, a decent copy is a challenge to find. The US DVD release is muddy and cuts one of the best lines from the movie. When Charley is deciding to through a title fight – and make a fortune by betting against himself – a local grocer from the old neighbor hood says, "In Europe, the Nazis are killing our people, but here Charley is Champeen! No, it's not about the money." Charley is devastated by the comment. Hopefully someday a better DVD will be released of this one.
Kirk Douglas is at his evil best in Champion. In fact, I'm finding that Douglas is one of the best anti-heroes of the 40s and 50s. Barry Gifford, writing in his book Devil Thumbs a Ride & Other Unforgettable Films, calls Champion the most vicious boxing film until Raging Bull. Douglas as the cut-throat fighter makes Garfield in Body and Soul look like a boy scout in comparison. This was the big break out film for Douglas. Douglas – prior to Champion – learned how to smoke while making Strange Love of Martha Ivers because the director though he needed something to do with his hands. In Out of the Past and Ace in the Hole, he found amazing ways to light and share smokes. In Champion Douglas' hands were taped and gloved most of the time. He found what to do with them. Bury them into his opponent.
Robert Ryan - unlike the other leading men mentioned above – was actually a pretty decent boxer in his day. In The Set-Up he proves it. No film has better boxing fight scenes than this one. When I first saw this movie I loved it but I find – strangely- that I like it less and less with each viewing. I think I'm going to blame the DVD which seems too bright. The sets out on the streets look like sets. And the film feels too stagey at times. Ryan is fantastic in it and the fight scenes – it's worth repeating – are just perfect. Film noir fans love the cast of ugly faces including George Tobias, Wallace Ford and Percy Helton. Beauty does make an appearance though. Audry Totter – one of the queens of noir – plays Ryan's woman.
Finally, there's Bogart's last film The Harder They Fall. No, Bogie doesn't play a boxer. Luckily he keeps his shirt on and manages instead. The film both glorifies and condemns the sport. This is an appropriate send off to the grizzled Bogart. The film is heartbreaking when it shows broken down brain-damaged boxers of the past. Bogart's Eddie Willis is his best role since In a Lonely Place.
Recently at my blog, Noir of the Week, we covered both Body and Soul and The Set-Up. Film noir is notorious for using similar locations and professions. Boxing – with it's many appearances in dark cities - was the sport of film noir.
Now I'm not a big Gone with the Wind fan, but if I were I would have pulled out some cash for this little darling!
