Award fun!

(award graphic by me, with bowtie patterns from Pugly Pixel)

The lovely Audrey of Fedoras and High Heels (one of my most diligent commenters!) presented me with the Liebster Blog Award. Thank you so much, Audrey! As the directions tell us, I have been tasked with bestowing this award on a new flock of bloggers. Here are my picks:

Born in the Wrong Decade by Niamhy – The little Irish lass with a fondness for unusual socks, parasols and brogues (among many other loves!) spotlights her love for vintage music and hosts regular feature I love called “Quote of the Day!” on her joyful blog. She never fails to lift my spirits with her wit and Joie de vivre.

The Stupendously Amazingly Cool World of Old TV by Millie and Emm – These two ladies single-handedly take on the job of watching every piece of classic TV footage they can get their hands on. While plying you with photos of gorgeous, under appreciated stars like Gardner McKay (newest web obsession, courtesy of Millie!) they carefully evaluate shows for all-important aspects. Among the important qualities they look for: awesome 60s spies, handsome men, geek glasses and fabulous clothes.

Bake Do and Mend by Gemma – Overflowing with historical facts and photos, Gemma’s Bake Do and Mend is a treasure trove for vintage lovers. Her recent post contrasting the US and UK during the depression years fascinates me, particularly the explanation about cocktails and US prohibition.

There you have it – three new blogs to occupy your afternoon! Please do check them out – you won’t regret it, I promise!

Silence shattering sounds…

Why hello! So nice to be writing to all of you dear friends once more. I’m quite swamped with final projects and never-ending edits for art history papers, but I came across a phenomenal find you guys simply must experience. This is a total time investment of about 10 minutes and a more worthy or exciting use of those moments I have yet to find. Seriously.

May I introduce you to… The Overtones:

Now, watch this:

Okay now, was that worth it or WHAT? Sadly their CD is not available in the US yet, but you can bet your boots that when it is, I’ll be the first in line to buy it.

(Full credit for finding these incredible guys goes to my friend Niamhy – Thanks so much for sharing them with me, dear!)

The Story of the Real Gidget!

[Click on the image for the largest size]

While sorting through some old magazines today, I happened to flip open a 7 year old issue of Coastal Living and saw the name “GIDGET” popping out at me from the page. Being that my dear friend Millie has a great love for the Gidget film from 1959, I of course paused and perused. The headline turned out to be a lead in for a short (one page!) feature about the lady who truly is Gidget. So, please have a look and revel in the crazy, amazing 60’s-ness of it all! :D

A Belated (But Happy Nonetheless) Birthday Wish

I’ve been a dreadful blogger of late. I’m so bad I even completely missed wishing my dear niece Millie a Happy Birthday two days ago! Well I am now prepared to remedy this situation.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy MiLlIe!!!!

Millie created a terribly interesting post explaining why she will no longer be a supporter of Ingrid Bergman, do make sure you read it. I was quite sad to hear this news, so in one last blast of Ingy fan-adoration, I found two marvelous Ingy photo sites to visit… as a final farewell.

TCMdB’s Ingrid Bergman Archive Material Collection – The Saratoga Trunk wardrobe stills are particularly spectacular. Even the wardrobe practice photos were works of art in classic Hollywood!

The Life Collection of Ingy Photos – The place where all these lovelies showcased here were found. The Life Archives have made being a classic film fan even more fun than before!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I wish a very happy belated birthday to Miss Millie!

Sarah’s Pi Day

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Today, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Sarah, Queen of the Quips, a marvelously happy birthday!  One of her favorite actors is Mr. Ian McShane (see above) so I thought it would be fitting to introduce you all to him in honor of her special day.

Ian McShane’s IMDb – He’s worked steadily since the early 60’s. My favorite of his roles, (and I think Sarah’s) is a swell film he made with Hayley Mills called Gypsy Girl aka Sky West & Crooked in 1966.

McShane Flickr Goldmine – The place where that adorable photo above was found. Browse around – it’s multitude of McShane Shots to choose from there.

Official McShane Facebook – Not kidding at all. He actually has a Facebook page, to my astonishment. Follow away, Facebookers!

I hope Ian McShane casts his spell on you as he did on Sarah & I! And don’t forget to wish Miss Sarah a very Happy Birthday!

Spiffy’s F21 Giveaway!

It’s your lucky day, friends! Over at Spiffy (the blog I co-edit with fellow classic film bloggers Kate, Millie, Nicole, Sarah, Elizabeth & Raquelle) we are having a giveaway for a $25 Forever 21 Gift Certificate! It’s totally free to enter and we don’t even want to know your date of birth or the name of your first born child. Make sure you drop by before February 3, 2010 and submit your entries!

GO ENTER NOW

If you haven’t been to F21 before, or just need some inspiration on spending options, check these out: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Oh and I totally borrowed this splendid idea from Millie. Check out her terrific plug post with more ideas here.)

Happy New Year!

(load this first, then start it at 4:28)

Here’s wishing all my lovely readers a “Appy Neu Jeer!” May 2010 find you happy, healthy and loved.

~Casey

Musings from a Moonspinner

My dear non-fleshie friends Kate and Millie (newly returned from exciting adventures in Sierra Leone!) have been nagging me for a long time to watch the Hayley Mills dream fest The Moonspinners (1964). Well I finally got my chance to see it (thank you so much, Kate!) and boy oh boy were they right about it’s scathing brilliance! I’ll share some of my reactions with you in a lovely picspam.

^the theme: I watched this over again three times before I actually started the film. Such a marvelous song. I was thrilled to find it on YouTube!

^Joan Greenwood and Michael Davis as Aunt Frances and Alexis. I think Michael Davis is a lot like Kate’s brother. Agree or disagree?

^Eli Wallach as the evil Uncle Stratos. A dramatic switch from the last film I saw him in, Babydoll.

^Once of the first good glimpses of Peter McEnery…isn’t he a dish?

^Hayley was SO lucky!

^The famous pink outfit! Kate, Millie & I find it hugely inspiring. I’m already working on a reproduction version of the top in my head.

^Better view of the shirt. See the amazingness? A button front and crazy tie belt. OH, and see who the other lady is? Irene Papas! I only knew her from Zorba the Greek, so I was glad she actually had lines in this film.

^And an amazing swingy back. I bet you are wondering where the belt is! And notice the red canvas shoes…red and pink…hmm. Normally I wouldn’t attempt such a combination, but Hayley really pulls it off.

^Pete is shot in the shoulder of the arm she’s pulling. He’s in huge pain and she pulls his bad arm?! Hayley! What were you thinking?!

^Eli is either really afraid or he’s been running around in the hot Greek sun too much…

^Lovely crazy cats! There are tons of them!

^Well, you’d run too if cats were hissing at you!

^Wow, Hayley Mills with a rifle! She must really love the guy…

^Wolf in sheep’s clothing, maybe?

^This has got to be one of the craziest scenes of all time: Joan Greenwood riding in a hearse with Hayley and Peter in the back, trying to get through a street celebration and being attacked by bizarre revelers!

^EhHEM! Just when did Hayley learn to drive a speedboat?

^Cats are everywhere in this film! Look at this unbelievable cat bed! Lap of luxury for kitty!

^I was so sad when it ended. Did anyone else think it ended rather abruptly?

I highly recommend The Moonspinners, if you get a chance to watch it. It is on DVD (thankfully, and only because it was a Disney movie): Amazon, Half, Ebay.

Happy Thanksgiving darlings! :D

The Noir Girl Uniform

The *Official* Noir Girl Uniform by NoirGirl

I wore an outfit very similar to this today at school. I created it just so I could wear the precious green wool hat from my avatar photo. It was terribly exciting garb to spend my day in, so much so I’ve decided to make it my official uniform. If I ever get to meet any of you lovely dears in person, this is how you’ll know me! I’ll be the girl in the bright green hat, lost in her own world of wardrobe satisfaction.

Elizabeth’s Two Sisters Tag

Hello dear friends! It’s seems ages since I wrote a blog post! But, never fear – I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth. ;) And I haven’t lost interest in blogging, either. (I have so many ideas for posts I think I’m stuck with blogging for a good 6 more years!) I’ve simply entered back into service for my coveted degree, often times feeling like my head will explode with ideas, deadlines and lists of supplies I must buy or bring to class. (Don’t tell my profs, but I shouldn’t even be writing this now – I’ve got several projects I should be working on! Shhhh!)

Anyhow, my lovely friend Kate has kindly tagged me to participate in Elizabeth’s Two Sisters Tag. Here goes:

1. Do you like Greta Garbo? In general, like will I watch anything she’s in just because she’s in it? No, probably not. Even though actresses with accents are a huge favorite of mine, something about GG rubs me the wrong way. Must say though, before I get too much fruit thrown at me, I totally love Ninotchka. She’s brilliant in the comedic scenes- especially the one where Melvyn Douglas pops the cork on the champagne bottle and she falls to the ground blindfolded as if she’s been shot. I burst out laughing every single time I watch that.
2. In Buster Keaton’s MGM films, do his gestures and his plots resemble those of Harry Langdon? Elizabeth will be very disappointed in me when I say I have never seen a Harry Langdon film. But! Don’t feel too bad yet, Elizabeth because I did my homework and looked up Harry on Youtube. I see what you mean about his style and how it is choppy and staccato. I also watched a clip from The Cameraman (made by Buster Keaton at MGM) and I do see a resemblance in the physical styles. I think it’s highly believable Buster was channeling (subsciously or otherwise) Harry for his MGM films. We’re all inspired by everything around us all the time, so why couldn’t Buster be inspired too?
   
3. Who is your favorite director of silent dramas? Fritz Lang – just for Metropolis.
4. Do Harold Lloyd’s movies (movies, not shorts) drag along? Absolutely, positively not! Harold is my favorite of all the slient era comedians. He’s so sweet and kind. And I never felt his chase scenes dragged on. My favorite HL film is The Cat’s Paw. The last scene where he tricks all the bad guys with the magic secrets is totally priceless. I’m always spellbound during that scene. I love seeing the bad guys get their due!
5. Who made better silent shorts, Mack Sennett or Hal Roach? Hal Roach, no doubts at all.
6. Is Al St. John a genuine heavy, or a baby heavy? (This is based on the idea of the “Baby Vamp”, which was the character of the girl who was vampish, but not a vamp.) Although I have never seen Al St. John in a film, I say genuine heavy. Elizabeth says “heavy” means the villain, and in this case, I think it fits. Al St. John was rather handsome (in some of his early photos I found, he was quite good looking). A good villain should always have some appeal of some sort – he’s all the more dangerous for it! (by the way is St. John pronounced as it looks or in the English fashion: “sinjin”?)
7. Do you like 1920s musicals? In theory, yes. Sadly, I’ve seen very few. Just don’t have Joan Crawford dancing and we’ll be fine. ;)
8. Do you like Al Jolson’s movies? No, no, no – a thousand times NO! Al Jolson is one of those people I simply cannot stand. In particular, his voice and conceited attitude grate on me to no end. I’ve seen The Jazz Singer and have a very hard time seeing why everyone holds him as a fine example of a classic film star. It looks like I agree with Elizabeth’s sister and Kate’s mom on this one.
   
9. Who is your favorite animal star? This is an incredibly tough one! And not because there are so many animals I love, but because I’m trying not to copy everyone else! First, I’ll just say I’m not a big fan of either Lassie or Toto. I hate crying over Lassie and worrying she’s going to die every 5 seconds and Toto was just not cute enough to be given such a major role. Asta from the Thin Man films would have been my first choice for this honor, but since I’m trying to be original here I’m going with choice #2: Bonzo from Bedtime for Bonzo with Ronald Reagan. I’ve talked about this film before, trumpeting the fact that it is an amazingly good film despite all the ridiculous bad press it has received. Besides dear Ronnie, Bonzo is one of the major reasons why it works. He’s adorable! I had no idea I could love a chimpanzee so much. Monkeys are usually not my cup of tea.
   

So! Many thanks to Kate for tagging me and Elizabeth for creating such a twister of a tag. :) You made me work hard for these answers, and now I’m just a little bit smarter about silent films, so thank you very much for that, too!

If you have a couple minutes you really should click through the links above and read the other responses to the tag. They’re marvelous! Happy day, my dears and I hope to have a new post for you soon!