Showing posts with label ginger rogers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ginger rogers. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
So, Ginger Couldn't Take The Last Piece
Hey everybody! Earlier today I watched Vivacious Lady (1938) starring Ginger Rogers and James Stewart, and it reminded me of how much I love that film. My two favorite stars co-starring in the same movie--what could be better? Nothing. At least, nothing that I can think of right now. This movie is full of very funny moments. Almost every scene makes me laugh. Especially the cat fight scene between Ginger and Frances Mercer who plays the proper girl Jimmy's father wants him to marry (DEFINITELY the best part of the movie!) , and the scene where Jimmy is teaching his botany class while drunk. Oh, and the boat scene! If I have time this weekend, I’ll try and write a full length movie review, but if not, that’s my two-cents on one of the funniest classic comedies. I leave you with Ginger having it out with Frances Mercer. Ha ha ha.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Train Songs Of World War II
I was listening to "Chatanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller eariler this morning, and realized that a lot of the songs from World War II had some mention of trains. Here are some other locomotive songs that I thought of:
CHATANOOGA CHOO CHOO (1941)
"Pardon me, boy, is that the Chatanooga Choo Choo?" This hip tune is still wonderful today. As always, the brass section of the Glenn Miller Orchestra is fantastic and sounds exactly like a train at times. I also love the lyrics. My favorite verse is, "There's gonna be/A certain party at the station/Satin and lace/ I used to call funny face." Nothing like hearing this song performed by my favorite band leader. The Andrews Sisters version is quite good, too.
I Thought About You (1939)
Some of my favorite songs were written by or with Johnny Mercer, and this one seems particularly special. The melody is haunting and the lyrics are poignantly beautiful.
Blues in the Night (1941)
Yet another Johnny Mercer song. I love Judy Garland's version of this song. Her voice evokes images of the pain and suffering of a once naive little girl who is now a hardened, lonely woman. The memory of a man who took advantage of her innocence and then left her still haunts the woman, and she hasn't even the relief of forgetting during a night's sleep.
On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1944)
More Mercer! Judy Garland introduced this wonderful song in The Harvey Girls (1946). It's a delightful number with a great vocalization by Judy.
Take the "A" Train (1941)
I love this song. It has such a wonderful swing and melody, and the name itself is pretty great.
Sentimental Journey (1944)
The most famous recording of this song was performed by Doris Day with the Les Brown Orchestra. I'd rather hear Day perform it than anyone else. Her vocalization is so warm and tender. Within her voice is the suppressed feeling of... well... "wild anticipation."
Shoo-Shoo Baby (1943)
So maybe there isn't any mention of a train in this wartime song, but I've always had the feeling that the boy in the song is saying goodbye to his girl at a train station. Maybe it's just the way that "shoo shoo" sounds like "choo choo." Am I crazy? Probably.
As I finish up this post, I would like to add one last picture. It is of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers looking out of windows on... yes... a train! The picture is a still from RKO's The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle (1939). Although the story is set during the World War I era, the movie was made just as World War II was beginning.
"Pardon me, boy, is that the Chatanooga Choo Choo?" This hip tune is still wonderful today. As always, the brass section of the Glenn Miller Orchestra is fantastic and sounds exactly like a train at times. I also love the lyrics. My favorite verse is, "There's gonna be/A certain party at the station/Satin and lace/ I used to call funny face." Nothing like hearing this song performed by my favorite band leader. The Andrews Sisters version is quite good, too.
Some of my favorite songs were written by or with Johnny Mercer, and this one seems particularly special. The melody is haunting and the lyrics are poignantly beautiful.
Yet another Johnny Mercer song. I love Judy Garland's version of this song. Her voice evokes images of the pain and suffering of a once naive little girl who is now a hardened, lonely woman. The memory of a man who took advantage of her innocence and then left her still haunts the woman, and she hasn't even the relief of forgetting during a night's sleep.
More Mercer! Judy Garland introduced this wonderful song in The Harvey Girls (1946). It's a delightful number with a great vocalization by Judy.I love this song. It has such a wonderful swing and melody, and the name itself is pretty great.
The most famous recording of this song was performed by Doris Day with the Les Brown Orchestra. I'd rather hear Day perform it than anyone else. Her vocalization is so warm and tender. Within her voice is the suppressed feeling of... well... "wild anticipation."
So maybe there isn't any mention of a train in this wartime song, but I've always had the feeling that the boy in the song is saying goodbye to his girl at a train station. Maybe it's just the way that "shoo shoo" sounds like "choo choo." Am I crazy? Probably.
As I finish up this post, I would like to add one last picture. It is of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers looking out of windows on... yes... a train! The picture is a still from RKO's The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle (1939). Although the story is set during the World War I era, the movie was made just as World War II was beginning.
Monday, November 30, 2009
My Favorite Pictures Of Stars
Here are a few of my favorite pictures of some of my favorite classic stars. Ready? Here we go!
(click on the photos to make them bigger).
1.
I absolutely love this photo. Carole looks stunning, and the setting is sooo Art Deco-- Marvelous!
2.
Seriously? Can you get anymore gorgeous than that? This is possibly my absolute favorite Jean picture.
3.
How can you not love any picture with Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor? Especially this one.
4.
*sigh* My favorite actor, who is also the most handsome man ever, incase you didn't know. This is one of my favorite Jimmy photos.
5.
Don't even get me started on my favorite Ginger Rogers pictures, because we'd be here all day. But this one is one of my favorites. I love her hat especially, and her purse and gloves, too.
6.
Fred and Ginger make me happy. And this picture is one of my very favorites. They look so elegant.
7.
Myrna! Gotta love her, and gotta love this picture.
8.
I love this picture of Hank Fonda. The look on his face is priceless!
9.
Jimmy and Margaret look so cute in this picture!!! (Especially Jimmy *wink*) The Shop Around The Corner (1940) is one of my absolute favorite films.
10.
I can't forget Frankie! The best singer ever, in my opinion.
(click on the photos to make them bigger).
1.
I absolutely love this photo. Carole looks stunning, and the setting is sooo Art Deco-- Marvelous!
2.
Seriously? Can you get anymore gorgeous than that? This is possibly my absolute favorite Jean picture.
3.
How can you not love any picture with Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor? Especially this one.
4.
*sigh* My favorite actor, who is also the most handsome man ever, incase you didn't know. This is one of my favorite Jimmy photos.
5.
Don't even get me started on my favorite Ginger Rogers pictures, because we'd be here all day. But this one is one of my favorites. I love her hat especially, and her purse and gloves, too.
6.
Fred and Ginger make me happy. And this picture is one of my very favorites. They look so elegant.
7.
Myrna! Gotta love her, and gotta love this picture.
8.
I love this picture of Hank Fonda. The look on his face is priceless!
9.
Jimmy and Margaret look so cute in this picture!!! (Especially Jimmy *wink*) The Shop Around The Corner (1940) is one of my absolute favorite films.
10.
I can't forget Frankie! The best singer ever, in my opinion.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
How It All Started
I think it's only fitting that my first real post be about how I became interested in classic film.
It all started with It's A Wonderful Life. I had seen that movie countless times as a child and always loved it. Of course I had seen other classic films, such as The Wizard Of Oz and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but It's A Wonderful Life is the first film I can think of that really made an impact on me. Then a few years later I saw Rear Window (1954), which got me interested in Jimmy Stewart even more. I then started watching more of his movies, reading books, saving images on my computer, and that was really my introduction into the world of Classic Hollywood. Jimmy introduced me to such wonderful performers as Grace Kelly and Cary Grant and phenomenal directors such as Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock. But it wasn't until I saw Swing Time a few months later that my love and admiration for Ginger Rogers began. In my search for Jimmy Stewart films, I had wanted to see Vivacious Lady (1938), the only film he made with Ginger, for a very long time. Realizing that it was rare and hard to find, I sort of gave up and decided to wait until TCM showed it. But one day I turned on the TV and Swing Time was just coming on. I read the description and realized it was a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers picture. I had heard about their wonderful dancing and how they revolutionized musicals in the 1930s and remembered Ginger as being Jimmy's co-star in the movie I desperately wanted to see. So I watched Swing Time, and within the first few minutes I was a Fred Astaire fan. Then Ginger appeared and the "Pick Yourself Up" dance began. Ginger instantly became my favorite actress. I have never identified with anyone onscreen like I feel that I identify with Ginger. The next week I went to the library and got her autobiography. The more I read about her, the more I liked her. And since then I have started collecting Ginger's films and even memorabilia items.
So, there you have it! Maybe I should add that I've always been a history buff? That was probably a contributing factor as well. :)
It all started with It's A Wonderful Life. I had seen that movie countless times as a child and always loved it. Of course I had seen other classic films, such as The Wizard Of Oz and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but It's A Wonderful Life is the first film I can think of that really made an impact on me. Then a few years later I saw Rear Window (1954), which got me interested in Jimmy Stewart even more. I then started watching more of his movies, reading books, saving images on my computer, and that was really my introduction into the world of Classic Hollywood. Jimmy introduced me to such wonderful performers as Grace Kelly and Cary Grant and phenomenal directors such as Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock. But it wasn't until I saw Swing Time a few months later that my love and admiration for Ginger Rogers began. In my search for Jimmy Stewart films, I had wanted to see Vivacious Lady (1938), the only film he made with Ginger, for a very long time. Realizing that it was rare and hard to find, I sort of gave up and decided to wait until TCM showed it. But one day I turned on the TV and Swing Time was just coming on. I read the description and realized it was a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers picture. I had heard about their wonderful dancing and how they revolutionized musicals in the 1930s and remembered Ginger as being Jimmy's co-star in the movie I desperately wanted to see. So I watched Swing Time, and within the first few minutes I was a Fred Astaire fan. Then Ginger appeared and the "Pick Yourself Up" dance began. Ginger instantly became my favorite actress. I have never identified with anyone onscreen like I feel that I identify with Ginger. The next week I went to the library and got her autobiography. The more I read about her, the more I liked her. And since then I have started collecting Ginger's films and even memorabilia items.
So, there you have it! Maybe I should add that I've always been a history buff? That was probably a contributing factor as well. :)
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