Fashion in Film Blogathon-The Tender Trap (1955) a Debbie Reynolds and Frank Sinatra Comedy

This is the story of a playboy and his many well-dressed loves. The women who trot through his revolving door are successful New York City professionals who dress to the nines.

In The Tender Trap (1955), Charlie (Frank Sinatra) is a womanizer - a very annoying character. His best friend asks one of the girlfriends, “Why do you put up with this?”  That’s what I’d like to know!

The story tries seriously (by Hollywood standards) to tackle the issues of dating arrangements and marriage options, but who are we kidding? This is mostly a frothy comedy. MGM is not about to let these people move around without creating a fashion show by Helen Rose.

The ladies are a series of movie "types" - the passionate one, the southern belle, the stoic/inscrutable one, the ingenue, the care-worn "spinster." They don't go much deeper than that. It's mostly about the clothes.


Let's get to it.

Follow Friday

The Fashion in Film Blogathon begins today. Hosted by The Hollywood Revue, it runs March 29-30th. 

Diane on Whidbey Island has created a dress for the Marylin Monroe doll, inspired by an outfit on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.


This is an oldie blog post, but new to me. Jnpickens reveals how she became a film fan. This sounds like a good idea for a blogathon...

A Suitable Wardrobe reveals which particular performer influenced Cary Grant's fashion sense, and in what way. 

Kevin's Movie Corner shares hilarious incidents of bad boy behavior on the set of Not As a Stranger.

East Side, West Side (1949) - Drama with Barbara Stanwyck and James Mason

This film is so full of interesting characters, each needs his or her own separate movie to get enough screen time.

East Side, West Side (1949)  follows James Mason and Barbara Stanwyck who are a happily-married couple. However, the marriage may falter if Mason cheats again. He has a weakness for only one woman - Ava Gardner, who slinks back into his life.

Gale Sondergaard plays Stanwyck's long-suffering mother who has an intriguing background in show business.

Cyd Charisse plays the girl-next-door, second generation Italian- American who is engaged to Van Heflin, a journalist who is drawn to Stanwyck. I wanted to spend more time with Charisse's family's story, but, alas, it is not to be.


My favorite is the story of a man we never see. Heflin plays Mark Dwyer who explains that he was adopted after a restaurantuer named Marco found him as a baby left in a box of Dwyer apples at his doorstep.  We never see the adoptive father, but Heflin does such a great job infusing gratitude and sentiment in his brief story that you want the movie to flashback a bit to his childhood. But we don't have time.

Suddenly, the twisted triangle switches gears and becomes a murder mystery. 

East Side, West Side is a taut, little drama filled with unexpected turns. You won't guess the ending.

The Secret Garden - A Great Movie for Spring

" It's th' springtime an' out o' doors an' sunshine as smells so graidely."  - Mary

The Secret Garden is a perfect family film for spring.

A novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and adapted to film many times, The Secret Garden follows an orphan named Mary Lennox who is sent to live with her mysterious uncle. Mary discovers many secrets at the vast estate, including an untended and locked garden.

The Secret Garden is to me one of those great delights of storytelling. It has three child protagonists - one girl, two boys- who run about mostly unsupervised, solving mysteries. In my childhood it was sort of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys transported to the 19th century.

The garden they tend is symbolic of the growth of Mary and her cousin Colin as they lay aside anger and bitterness stemming from being unwanted and alone, while becoming more mature and joyous people. Dickon, a servant's brother who loves nature and teaches the other two to loosen up a bit, is my favorite character in the story.

There is more than one film adaptation.


The Secret Garden (1949) - The MGM version is black and white which is great to give you those chills up and down your spine as Mary (Margaret O'Brien) searches dark and forbidding passageways.  Of course, having the Bride of Frankenstein herself -Elsa Lanchester- as dreaded housekeeper Mrs. Medlock lends a hand to the mystery.

Great dramatic actor Herbert Marshall as the enigmatic uncle lends gravitas to the film.

The Secret Garden (1975) - The BBC production has pluck. Sarah Hollis Andrews as Mary is a very natural child actress, lacking that precocious quality that can be wearing when watching a little one perform.


The Secret Garden (1987) - Hallmark Hall of Fame puts on a high quality television performance of the story, making sure to incorporate obvious outdoor shots and shooting on location at a real manor.

My favorite shots in this version, in terms of pure aesthetic quality, are the brief dream sequences when the uncle thinks of his late wife. There is a gauze effect during the dreams. The late wife is smartly dressed and shares a winning smile directly at the camera which contrasts with her husband's quiet grief. Great dramatic stuff. Derek Jacobi does not overplay his scenes, which makes his my favorite version of the uncle.

The Secret Garden (1993) - Another one that both delights and freaks me out is the Warner Brothers version. When it's good, it's very, very good -this is the version which makes the garden seem to grow magically, even instantly, with time-lapse photography.

We would fast forward the suspenseful scenes when I was  kid - the violins, the mysterious wailing, the wind blowing, the sombre color palette inside the cold house, were all a bit frightening for me.

Dame Maggie Smith's expert acting makes the cruel housekeeper character unaware of the humor in her bracing efficiency. Mrs. Medlock is rarely played for laughs, so I appreciate the different take on a familiar role.


What is your favorite film version of The Secret Garden?

What is the Future of Movie-Viewing Devices?

Source

Technology companies have launched prototypes of video glasses - hands-free mobile devices  for searching the internet (and watching movies) which one wears like glasses. As earbuds have done for music and the ears, this brings the entertainment directly to the eyes with fewer distractions.

People can stand up in front of you without blocking an important movie scene? That will be awesome.

It's only a matter of time before someone incorporates this into corrective lenses. One day, you will download The Karate Kid to your prescription glasses or Casablanca to your contact lenses.

I can already see Netflix and Lenscrafters making a deal -Buy one pair, get half off your purchase of the newest Jackie Chan action film, downloaded to your glasses while you wait.

It's not too far into the future.

In what direction do you see movie-watching devices going? Is this a good thing or not? How will this change our movie-watching experience?

"You Can Use the Duesenburg."

When Mame Dennis bribes Brian O'Bannion with the use of her Duesenburg to entice him to attend a party in Auntie Mame (1958), I figured it was an expensive car, but I had no idea the specific connotations of that brand name.

Yours truly has recently stumbled across Jay Leno's Garage, an internet program where the famed talk show host gives the history and specifications of his many automobiles. He has even reviewed his restored 1931 Duesenberg Model J Town Car,


Leno's  Duesenburg was first owned by a wealthy New York family (just like Auntie Mame's) who is purported to have escorted a President of the United States in it. There's a separate section for a chauffeur in front. This is a top-of-the-line automobile meant for old money. This gives Mame's story a new layer for me.

I realized that I had seen this kind of four-square car before - in old comics, in old photographs and in the movies.  Emerging from it there would almost always be a man in a tux and top hat and a lady in a taco shell-shaped fur coat (a style which was very big in the '20s and '30s) going to the theater.  

Rosalind Russell in Publicity Still for Auntie Mame

Production of the Duesenburg began in 1913 and stopped production in 1937. When Mame makes her bribe it has been years since she's been through the 1929 stock market crash. Mame is always on to the next new thing, so mentioning a Duesenburg puts that scene in the mid- to late 1930s. (As do the costumes and other things.)

Don't you just love a script that gives layers of information about a character in a toss away manner? Forces you to rewatch the film for what else you've missed.

9 Resources for Writing Classic Movie Reviews

You've watched a movie and written preliminary notes for a movie review in a Moleskin or on your computer. What sources do you use for those in-depth bits of information which you will sprinkle throughout your review? Here are a few of ours.

1. American Film Institute (www.AFI.com)
This is where you get movie details that are often difficult to find elsewhere. Not only do they offer lists of cast and crew, not only dates of when the movie was released, but specific dates about when the film was shot - information which not every movie database has. 

Armed with these tidbits you realize that Donald O'Connor shot a whole bunch of films in a short amount of time just before entering the service during World War II. However, the release dates tell you they were doled out like candy throughout the emergency. Fans back home could still see their favorite star even though he hadn't made a film in years.

2. Autobiographies
There's nothing like reading details about a movie straight from the horse's mouth. Biographies are helpful and are sometimes the only thing you've got, but we do prefer those volumes written by the filmmakers or actors themselves.

3. Filmmakers' DVD Commentaries
Directors, screenwriters, actors, etc. sit down to view the film in a screening booth and comment on the action, what they remember about this scene or what led to that scene.  This audio becomes a special feature on your DVD, delighting movie fans everywhere. It is really the audio version of an autobiography, specific to a movie.

4. Internet Broadway Database (www.IBDB.com)
Many movies have Broadway connections. A screenwriter's source material might come from the stage or a movie star might have began or ended his career with a trod on the boards. Did you know that it was Betty Grable's debut on Broadway which landed her a film contract? And what was that hit show? The IBDB will tell you.

You should trot over to this website for lists of cast and crew and dates for the run of any show on Broadway, past or present.

5. Internet Movie Database (www.IMDB.com)
This website is chock full of information about film release dates, names of the films in other languages when released in different countries, connections to other movies, etc. But be careful. Although they do have a governing body, anyone can register and contribute information. Still, it's a great quick stop for general info on movies.


6. Google Books (http://books.google.com/)
Google is out to conquer the world of accessible information. It has scanned and uploaded millions of books and magazines page by page. So you can, for instance, read a Life Magazine interview with your favorite classic movie star of the 1940s.

We are especially fond of being able to search through a book for a particular story or turn of phrase by simply typing in search words. We search Google Books even when we have a physical copy of the book sitting on our shelf- it's quicker.

7. Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers)
Google is at it again. It has scanned and uploaded millions of newspapers page by page. We like to browse by name and year and see what the columns were saying about a person at a certain time in his/her career.

It is through the Google News Archive that we discovered an open letter of comfort to Judy Garland from producer Billy Rose during a particularly harrowing year for the legendary performer.


8. Library of Congress' Photo Stream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/)
Great public domain photos are at the Library of Congress. They give you a great sense of the past, the culture surrounding and informing (and being influenced by) the classic movies we like to review.

It was an old photo of beautifully-dressed people at the fair which gave yours truly a new perspective on Rodgers' and Hammerstein's State Fair (1945).

9. Plays/Novels
Since many movies have their origin in stage plays or novels,  it is helpful to get into the filmmakers' heads by reading the source material.

We like to play a game with these. If we've already seen the movie, then before reading the source, we guess which characters are original to the film and which ones are not and think about why that would be so.We also imagine which scenes  we think were added for the film and why, what has been toned down for a film audience, how any special effects might have been translated from the stage, stuff like that. Then we read the material.

If we've seen or read the play or book first, we play the same game in reverse.

A Source We Wish Were More Accessible
Filmed plays.
After reading Gilvey's biography on Gower Champion -legendary dancer/choreographer who directed the Broadway hit Hello Dolly!-  we are dying to see the different versions of a play that cast so many varied personalities in the same role. Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Pearl Bailey, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Phyllis Dyler, Bibi Osterwald and Ethel Merman all played Dolly Levi.



What are your sources for reviewing movies?

Savoring a Moment...

"Sometimes I don't think we appreciate the miracle of a phonograph - the privilege of having men of genius perform for us at our command...." - George in A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

Yours truly was just watching Mary Martin and Ethel Merman -two ladies of genius- performing for the Ford 50th Anniversary Show in 1953. They sing popular songs from the late 19th century/early 20th century, songs that people had heard dozens of times, had read from sheet music, listened to on a record or had heard their relatives humming while puttering around the house.

They reminisce about the 1900s by physically getting up, singing and putting on a show. Here I am sixty years later reminiscing about the 1950s by clicking a digital file. Today we can connect with people of the past in ways unfathomable until fairly recently.

Someone can describe for me a performance from sixty years ago, but I can also watch it myself.

That's. Just. Awesome.

Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968) Jerry Lewis in England

What a mess of a narrative! Jerry Lewis' character George tries to do three things: establish himself as a legitimate business man, get some shady money for his legit business, and convince his soon-to-be-ex-wife that he's trustworthy. They also throw in story lines from a nurse/Girl Guide leader and a dental hygienist for some reason.

 

Get off the phone, George.

In Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1967), George's scenes with Pamela, the wife (Jacqueline Pearce) are charming. The film should have stayed with the two of them more. When he's not with Pamela the movie drags on through some convoluted plot about microfilm implanted in someone's tooth.

Pamela is not amused

It pains me to say that I cannot recommend this film except to the most avid Jerry Lewis fans.

But I mention it mostly for the intro under the credits. Danny Street sings the title song. Jerry Lewis wears a smart dark suit, narrow tie, fashionably slim-legged, high-water pants, an anachronistic bowler hat and carries an umbrella while sauntering down the streets of London for a good two minutes until the title song goes off.

I love it! It's like a music video before that term was coined. You can see a few people on the street glance his way every now and then. Are they extras? Are they just random people going about their day who happen to see someone who looks like a movie star?

Why do I love this intro? I haven't the vaguest notion. The simple elegance of it, perhaps.
It reminded me of the Justin Timberlake video for "I'm Lovin' It" in which the music star just casually walks down a crowded street to an upbeat catchy tune.

Jerry Paris directs. Terry-Thomas is on hand to elevate the comedy.

I'm not listening, George.

7 Classic Movies for St. Patrick's Day

A list of 7 classic movies in or about Ireland is here just in time for St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy!

Classic Movies Mostly About Ireland

• Little Nellie Kelly (1940) - Judy Garland plays a double role as an Irish lady named Nellie Kelly, then later as Nellie's daughter Little Nellie.  The first half of the film or so is set in Ireland, the rest in New York, complete with a St. Patrick's Day parade in which Garland sings an uptempo song. George Murphy is on hand to give a stirring performance as Little Nellie Kelly's adoring father. Though the title is all about Garland's character, this is really Murphy's movie.

• The Luck of the Irish (1948) - Tyrone Power's Irish version of Brigadoon. An American city guy enjoys the simple life in rural Ireland and finds a leprechaun. Returning home to be lured into possible political corruption with his girlfriend and her father, the man longs for  Ireland again and the woman he left behind. Plus, that new butler seems awfully familiar... and magical.

• The Quiet Man (1952) remains a perennial favorite, not only for its two powerful leads - John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara- but also because its one of few classic movies about Ireland which is shot on location.

Classic Movies with Prominent Irish or Irish-American Characters

• Boys Town (1938) -  Watch Spencer Tracy's Academy Award-winning portrayal of the real-life Father Flanagan, founder of an orphanage and troubled youth center. 
• Going My Way (1944) - The traditional and the unconventional butt heads a few times when Father Charles O'Malley (Bing Crosby) and Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald)  differ on how to handle problems in the parish. Crosby sings "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral." Oscar wins for the two leads.

• The Happiest Millionaire (1967) - It's the early 20th century and John Lawless (Tommy Steele) is fresh from County Tyrone with a position as butler to an eccentric Philadelphia millionaire (Fred MacMurray). John is a supporting character but can manipulate the storyline when necessary. He is the voice of reason, predicts we'll one day have an Irish President and occasionally breaks the fourth wall to wink at the audience.
• Up In Central Park (1948) - Based on a Broadway musical, this film follows a father and daughter in the late 19th century, new to the U.S. from Ireland, who are unwittingly drawn into the political corruption of New York's Boss Tweed (Vincent Price). Barry Fitzgerald is on hand  to give a funny and warm portrayal as the opinionated father. Deanna Durbin is the unsuspecting young lady, charmed by the high life of Tweed's New York. Dick Haymes is on hand as a journalist determined to end Tweed's imperial stranglehold on the city.

Honorable Mention

• Auntie Mame (1958) takes an interesting meta turn with a character by allowing Brian O'Bannion to be aware of Irish stereotypes and use them to his advantage.
• Dust off your copy of Riverdance: The Show (1995) -You know you still have it!- and start stomping!
• Gene Kelly's character O'Brian in Take Me Out To the Ballgame (1949) sings and dances a rousing rendition of "The Hat Me Dear Old Father Wore" in tribute to his heritage.
• Far and Away (1992) is a  plucky little film starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman that catches flak for any number of things. However, it perfectly captures the essence of themes such as searching for freedom, completely changing your life, moving from your homeland - quite common occurrences which take uncommon determination and drive. Plus, I'm a sucker for grand orchestration and sweeping crane shots.

 What are your favorite Irish-themed movies?

Is Birdie Expendable in All About Eve (1950)?

Are supporting characters interchangeable? Can the female servant in one story become a male hairdresser in a remake and not alter the narrative?

Yes and no.


In the case of All About Eve (1950), Birdie the maid’s presence is carefully crafted to work on two planes: the surface and the symbolic. All About Eve and its stage remake Applause (1970-1972) are stories about women achieving and maintaining fame in show business. Changing Birdie's gender and occupation - as happens in Applause- has no effect on the surface story, but destroys underlying symbolism.

At the center of this universe is Broadway mega star Margo Channing (played by Bette Davis in the film and Lauren Bacall onstage). Margo’s maid Birdie (Thelma Ritter), a former Vaudevillian, is also her confidante and the first character to warn her that newcomer Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) will usurp Margo’s position as queen of the stage.

In Applause (book by Comden and Green) the role of Margo's confidante is changed to a man named Duane (Lee Roy Reams) who is Margo’s hairdresser. Does this change work? Yes, but only on the surface plane, the most obvious level of the story.  An eternally suspicious best friend is crucial to the plot and can easily be handled by someone who is neither female nor a servant.

Although Margo’s confidante can be played by anyone regardless of gender, in Eve, screenwriter-director Joseph Mankiewicz makes this person a female ex-performer for a reason: to tell a parallel story on the symbolic plane. Eve, Margo and Birdie respectively comprise the beginning, middle and end of a woman’s show business career.

Each of these ladies starts her career where Eve is at the beginning of the film -unknown. She reaches her zenith somewhere on the chart (in Margo's case, fairly high up on the graph) and after the age of forty descends back into obscurity, as Birdie has done. She has "earned [her] place out of the sun," as one anonymous aging character states about himself in the film. Fame is like a Ferris wheel and Birdie has stepped off the ride.

By making the role male instead of female in Applause,  the end of the underlying narrative arc inherent in Birdie -that of a woman on the far end of the show business chart of fame, who is cast aside after a certain age- is lost.

Since Duane is a figure who is young, still successful and has no interest in being onstage, the character is devoid of the sage acting experience that makes Birdie the Has-Been a perfect fit for sharing Margo’s troubles and warning her of the future.

Birdie is more than a confidante – a role that can easily be handled by man or woman. This maid is a symbol of forgotten, aging female performers.  Birdie’s present is Margo’s future, as well as that of Eve and Phoebe (the young lady poised to take Eve’s place).   Birdie is a cautionary figure, who is -in this symbolic narrative about aging women in show business-  irreplaceable.