The Lighter Side of Ingrid Bergman

Today TCM is devoting an entire 24 hours to the incomparable Ingrid Bergman.  She is the focus today as part of the Summer Under the Stars programming and this is my contribution to the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon which is being wonderfully hosted over at Journeys on Film.

When most people think of Ingrid Bergman the first images that come to mind are usually these:

Looking passionately into Humphrey Bogart's eyes telling him she can't get on the plane in Casablanca (1942)

Trying to outwit Claude Rains with some slick key maneuvering in Notorious (1946)

Or questioning her sanity with Joseph Cotton in Gaslight (1944).

When I think of Ingrid Bergman these are the images that come to mind.  For some reason her two less dramatic and slightly silly roles have stuck with me.

Here she is cutting a rug with Walter Matthau, Goldie Hawn, and others in Cactus Flower (1969)

And navigating a relationship with Cary Grant in Indiscreet (1958)

I enjoy Ms. Bergman in these roles so much.  She is light, comical, shows broad emotions, laughs often and even dances!  She also seems a bit more human and fragile in these roles; instead of being seemingly untouchable and stoic like some of her other characters.  These roles show her well roundedness and ability as an actress.  It definitely would have been interesting if her filmography had more roles like these two.

These two movies have a great deal of similarities (other than Ms. Bergman's involvement).  They are both based on plays, both involve unconventional relationships, each film has an enjoyable dance scene, and both contain a lie that gets out of control.  I tend not to give away spoilers when I write about movies and I'm going to keep that streak alive with these two movies by not revealing too much of the plots.  Hopefully, that will encourage you to check them out for yourself.

In Cactus Flower, Bergman's character, Stephanie Dickinson, is the nurse to playboy Dentist, Dr. Julian Winston, played wonderfully by Walter Matthau.  She often goes above and beyond when it comes to her job responsibilities, but she doesn't have a social life to speak of and is extremely practical and pragmatic.

Eventually though she gets embroiled in Dr. Winston's relationship with (significantly) younger Toni, played by Goldie Hawn, and ridiculousness and hilarity ensue.  It should also be noted that this is the role that won Goldie Hawn her best supporting actress Academy Award.

This movie has a lot of heart, many funny lines and provides a great opportunity to see Ingrid Bergman try her hand and excel at light comedy.  And the dance scenes are a delightful added bonus, she invents a dance she names "The Dentist."

In Indiscreet, directed by Stanley Donen, Ingrid plays, Anna Kalman an accomplished stage actress who meets and has an immediate connection to the dashing traveling financier Phillip Adams, played by Cary Grant.

They carry on a not so discreet love affair.  Both Grant and Bergman behave like smitten young lovers.  They flirt, laugh, and have adorable phone conversations, complete with split screen that insinuates so much more.  This was done after the censors decided that having them in the same bed was too risque.

As in Cactus Flower, there is a great dance sequence.  As you can see Ingrid is extremely graceful and Cary has got some mad ups.

This role gives Ingrid a great deal to do.  There is a great sequence where she is putting together a plan to trick Cary's character.  In it she puts on a 30 second melodramatic performance.

Ingrid Bergman is often considered to be one of the best dramatic actresses and has been in beautifully romantic movies with some of the most dashing leading men, like Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, Spencer Tracy, Joseph Cotton and various others.  She is often thought to be prim, proper and lacking humor; yet, in these two roles she has a chance to shows her silly side.  And I think it's a shame that these comedic/lighter roles don't always get the same attention as some of her other roles, so I'm doing my part to bring some awareness to them.

Well that does it for my views on Ingrid Bergman's less dramatic roles.  What are your favorite Ingrid Bergman performances?  Have you seen these two films?  Did you enjoy them?

I hope you check out Ingrid Bergman's movies on TCM today, check out the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon  for other great posts and that you check out these films of hers for a good laugh.

Cary Grant Day (Day 4 of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival)

Day 4 was very much a Cary Grant appreciation, but let's be honest, isn't everyday Cary Grant appreciation day?  I started the 4th day off by driving my mom to the airport, because she is a good, dedicated teacher and just had to get back to work, me, on the other hand took a couple of extra days to finish up the festival.  The reason she was able to attend the festival was because it fell during Spring Break.  If that ever happens again I'm sure I'll be able to get her back out here for another film festival.

 

Alright, onward and upward, Day 4.  After driving my mom I got back in time for a screening of To Catch a Thief at Grauman's.  The movie was introduced by Ben Mankiewicz, who is always a pleasure to see bright and early in the morning.  He started off his introduction by letting us know that his goatee was contractually obligated for his first few years at TCM.  Then he talked about the making of the movie.  He told us that Cary Grant was hesitant and had trouble with the sexual content, due to the age difference.  Grant didn't want the famous lean, but they just changed the music and it ended up being ok.

Ben also told us that Cary Grant would have all these ideas and changes and he would go to Hitchcock, Hitchcock would say oh that's wonderful and then send him to the writer to get approval, but Hitch had already told the writer not to approve ANYTHING.  They would then agree to shoot the scene both ways, but Hitchcock would speak to the crew beforehand and whenever they would shoot it Hitch's way the crew would applaud. Oh Hitch, that passive aggressive manipulator.

Seeing a Hitchcock thriller on the big screen is always a pleasure and this screening was no exception.  Grace Kelly looked gorgeous in all her amazing dresses and Cary Grant was his dashing self.

 Up next was Charade at the Egyptian Theater.  This movie is high on the list of my favorite classic film, even though I do not like having definitive favorites, Charade, ah! There's just so much to love.  Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn, the thrills, the spills, it's really just the best.  When I first saw it I really thought that it was a Hitchcock film and was surprised to find that it was directed by another one of my favorite directors, Stanley Donen.  And I was pleased to find that many people refer to it as "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made," which means I wasn't the only one.

Before the movie Stanley Donen was interviewed by Robert Osborne.  They talked about the journey of getting this movie made.  They lost Cary Grant for awhile, Howard Hawks wrote a script, Cary Grant came back, Audrey Hepburn was pregnant, but somehow the timing finally worked out and they got to be in it together. Donen always gives a very straight-foward interview and likes to tell it like it is.  He commented on the current condition of movies, he feels that movies today are made for kids and not adults, I can see that. It's always great to hear him speak and it's wonderful that he is an active participant at these events, hope he's back this year!

The movie was wonderful, as usual, the movie is the perfect combination of thrilling/serious and humorous/joke-y.  During the screening I noticed a re-dub that I had never noticed before.  During the scene gelato eating scene Audrey's mouth seems to say "assassinated", but the word coming out of her mouth is "eliminated."  I did some research cause I was quite curious and it turns out that the movie was released very soon after the John F. Kennedy assassination and the studio was worried about offending and upsetting, so they did the re-dub.  The more you know!

 After this I took a break from Cary Grant to watch The Women.  This was also at the Egyptian, so after Charade I got right back in line for more. This is by far one of my favorite movies, the cast is phenomenal and the acting is superb, the script is so carry and great and who doesn't love a George Cukor directed film.

The movie was introduced by Cari Beachamp and Todd Oldham.  They talked about the costumes and overall amazingness that is this movie.  It was such a treat to get to see this on the big screen, with a fun audience.

 To close out the festival this year, I didn't go for one of the bigger movies like Annie Hall at Grauman's or The Thief of Bagdad at the Egyptian, instead I went for Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas in one of the Chinese Multiplex Theaters.  The movie was introduced by a Vanity Fair writer, Matt Tyrnauer, who commented on this film being a representation of the change going on in society at that time.  And mirrored the influx of families moving to the suburb and what it meant to have that lifestyle.  He also talked a bit about architecture and design.  While I do find those types of connections interesting and enjoy recognizing the social significance and place in history of a film, I also just kind of get a kick out of the humor in this movie.

It is also worth noting that The Money Pit (1986), starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, is a remake of this movie.

It also has one of my favorite exchange, always cracks me up, one of my friends also quotes it on occasion.
Muriel Blandings: I want it to be a soft green, not as blue-green as a robin's egg, but not as yellow-green as daffodil buds. Now, the only sample I could get is a little too yellow, but don't let whoever does it go to the other extreme and get it too blue. It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green. Now, the dining room. I'd like yellow. Not just yellow; a very gay yellow. Something bright and sunshine-y. I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you'll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can't go wrong! Now, this is the paper we're going to use in the hall. It's flowered, but I don't want the ceiling to match any of the colors of the flowers. There's some little dots in the background, and it's these dots I want you to match. Not the little greenish dot near the hollyhock leaf, but the little bluish dot between the rosebud and the delphinium blossom. Is that clear? Now the kitchen is to be white. Not a cold, antiseptic hospital white. A little warmer, but still, not to suggest any other color but white. Now for the powder room - in here - I want you to match this thread, and don't lose it. It's the only spool I have and I had an awful time finding it! As you can see, it's practically an apple red. Somewhere between a healthy winesap and an unripened Jonathan. Oh, excuse me...
Mr. PeDelford: You got that Charlie?
Charlie, Painter: Red, green, blue, yellow, white.
Mr. PeDelford: Check.

So that does it (almost 2 years late) for the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival.  As always it was a great experience, I loved having the chance to see some amazing interviews, great movies that were new to me and some that I had seen tons of times.  I also enjoyed the theme that year, Style in Film, that was represented through costume, design and architecture.  I had a great time getting to see these movies in the theater and get to share these experiences with great crowds/fans and most importantly share it with my mother.

Hope to get the rest of 2013 up soon!

Friday Favorite- An Affair to Remember

Off to a good start here with my Friday Favorite column, I'm on a 2 week streak.  I was hoping I'd be updating during the week with other items, such as my TCM Classic Film Festival recaps from both 2012 and 2013, but! I started a new job this week and waking up at 6 took a lot out of me.  However, it's a part time job, with more time possibly being added as the school year goes on, so I should be able to update a little during the week.  We shall see.

This week's edition of Friday Favorite is a little tribute to 1957's An Affair to Remember.  Starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.  It is a remake of the 1939 movie, Love Affair starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer, both films were written and directed by Leo McCarey.  It was also further remade in 1994 with Annette Benning and Warren Beatty.

 I first saw this film in late October of 2004, which is before my classic film obsession really started.  Classic film didn't get it's claws into me until about 2006, oh! that makes me think I should write a post about my classic film obsession origin story or describe my gateway film.  That'd be a fun post.  But I digress.  I first saw this movie in 2004, I don't appear to have a slightly humorous IM conversation about my initial impression, but I do know that one of the reasons that I probably sought it out was because of the scene in 'Sleepless in Seattle' when Rita Wilson describes the movie and gets all emotional.  My younger self saw that and probably thought, 'I gotta see that.'


 Pretty good advertisement for the movie right?  I guess I have Nora Ephron to thank for the movie suggestion.  I actually just read that Sleepless in Seattle is the cause for a boom in VHS sales of An Affair to Remember, how funny.  So naturally after graduating college I decided to seek it out.  I think what's appealing about this movie is how it begins as a whimsical, silly love story.  The two leads, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr are very natural and flirtatious, while not looking for love (they are both betrothed to others).  And there are a bunch of comical exchanges, such as the dinner scene when Nicky and Terry are trying to convince a boatload of people that they're not having an affair, but it just turns into a vignette of silent comedy.

from time.com

Nicky diving into the pool, directly into Terry and their subsequent lame attempts to throw the very interested boat passengers off their scent.

from fanpop.com

But all of the bubbly fun, like the pink champagne, had to come to an end.  A very heart wrenching, very emotional and heavy end.  That doesn't fail to almost always make me cry.  While there are some possibly overly sappy elements, and I could do without the children's chorus, which seems unnecessary, but I guess Terry had to keep busy while she was apart from Nicky, there are also some very sweet and tender moments and exciting chemistry between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.  I really enjoy all the conversations between Kerr and Grant on the boat, when they're trying to be coy, but they really just end up looking ridiculous.  I also noticed upon my most recent re-watch how completely heartbroken and drained of life Cary Grant's character becomes when he's revisiting his grandmother's villa, if and when my CD/DVD drive feels like working properly I will do my best to screen cap it because it's really well done.  In the meantime look at this!

Updated with a heartbroken Cary Grant Collage:

 Plot Summary:  I feel like most people know the plot through other pop culture references, but here's a very brief summary.  Two people Nicky Ferrante (Grant) and Terry McKay (Kerr) meet on a boat, they flirt and begin to fall in love (only as love can be conveyed in a 1950s movie, with hand grazes and sitting next to each other at a bar).  The man is engaged to another and the woman just couldn't dare.  When they realize they can't live without one another they decide to meet at the top of the Empire State Building in 6 months time so they can get their lives in order before marrying...I don't want to give away anymore.  You'll have to see the movie if you want to know how it ends.

Favorite Witty Exchange:
It takes place while Terry is on a stairwell and Nikki continual circles around it.
Terry: Top of the mornin' to you
Nicky: And the rest of the day to you
Nicky: Now, listen...
Terry: No, no
Nicky: What?
Terry: Keep moving
Nicky: Oh, dear.
(Pause)
Nicky: Wait a minute, don't go away.  Now, have you come to any conclusions yet?
Terry: No. Keep moving
Nicky: Oh, dear.
Terry: I miss you.
Nicky: I miss you too.
Terry: Why don't you telephone more often?
Nicky:  I'll try, but you know.
(Pause)
Nicky: Were you going to say something?
Terry: No, I wasn't going to say anything.
Nicky: Oh, listen, couldn't we at least eat together, you know in your room or my room?
Terry: The news would be all around the ship before we'd had our salad.
Nicky: I know.
Terry: The crew talks too, you know. Do go around the other way.  You're making me dizzy.
Nicky: Be better for me also, I can tell you that.
(Terry continues to walk up the stairs, while Nicky circles and a new set of legs come down the stairs)
 Nicky: Oh, wait a minute darling, uh..
(A different lady appears)
Nicky: Listen darling, I...
(Nicky sees it's not Terry)
Nicky: That's odd, ha, well.

Favorite Supporting Character:  There aren't that many fleshed out supporting characters in this movie due to the central love story being the driving force of the movie, everything else seems peripheral and almost out of focus.  But there are some fun characters on the boat.  In fact there's one man, Mr. Hathaway on the boat who keeps trying to get a word in with the famous Nicky Ferrante, but instead he constantly gets ignored.  It's a cute running joke.  I'll get a screenshot of him too when my optical drive feels like behaving. (Updated with a screenshot)

 After watching the movie for the 100th time I decided to watch some of the special features on the DVD and it includes an interesting featurette, which has some clips of an interview with Deborah Kerr, she admits that many of her and Cary Grant's scenes were improvised, which I think adds to the naturalism and sweetness of their rapport.  There's also some of an interview with Deborah Kerr's daughter who discusses how much they Kerr and Grant enjoyed working together.  One running 'joke' that came out of the improvisations was when they would stop mid-conversation and one would say, 'what?' and the other would respond, 'I thought you were going to say something.'

"winter is cold for those with no warm memories"

There is also a very interesting and informative commentary track for the movie done mostly by a film historian Joseph McBride and a few interjections and stories from Marni Nixon, who I saw at the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival.  McBride provides information about Leo McCarey and his film career, the film's place in history and points out things like the use of the color orange in the film, which was used to remind the viewer of Deborah Kerr when she isn't in a scene.  And Nixon shares some of her experiences recording the songs sung by Deborah Kerr's character and some anecdotes about working with Deborah Kerr and her experiences.  I really love listening to great commentaries like this for films I know and love. 

I think ultimately the off-screen chemistry between Deborah and Cary really carried over and helped their on-screen chemistry and made it that much more believable.  This film is definitely one of my favorite romances, it has the perfect balance of humor, romance, sappiness and seriousness.  Just like a perfect relationship.  It is also a quintessential Cary Grant movie, he was so good at playing the dashing romantic lead, it's hard not to fall in love with him.  It also has great locations, such as a boat, Nicky's grandmother's villa off the French Riviera and of course New York City.  This movie is definitely worth checking out and isn't just a sappy "chick's movie," even if Tom Hanks believes that.

what a pair!

Alright that does it for week 2 of Friday Favorites, tune in next week for another exciting look at one of my favorites.

Day 3 of 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival

A year late and a dollar short...I don't know how or why this took me so long to type.  I'm gonna blame finishing grad school, traveling and being a substitute teacher.  However, I should've found the time to sit down and devote an hour or 2 to ranting and raving about the greatest classic movie experiences of my life, second only to 2010's Classic Film Festival!  So here we go, the much anticipated, long awaited Day 3 update! :)

From The Hollywood Revue

Day 3 became an accidental Charles Ruggles movie marathon day.  It started with, This is the Night, which was quite the little gem of a movie.  I had written in my notes that it may have been my favorite movie of the festival, or at least a close second to The Cameraman.  Anyway, the screening began with an interview with Cary Grant's daughter, Jennifer Grant.  She seemed like a lovely, well spoken woman with many fond memories of her father.  I did buy her book, Good Stuff, but I have to admit that I haven't had a chance to read it.  I should've brought it as my plane book this year, anyway I digress.  The man interviewing her, Foster Hirsch, seemed to be trying to get her to spill something or say something negative or disparaging about her father.  More specifically he seemed to want her to say that it was a mistake for her father to take a break from acting when she was born.  But instead she shared nothing but positive, lovely things about her father and of course she appreciated that he took the time off to raise her.  Maybe the interviewer was looking for a scandal.  Jennifer Grant talked about being out in public with her father and ultimately discovering him as a movie star.  She hadn't realized this about him growing up, and she loves that she has his movies to revisit now.  All in all a very sweet interview and maybe me very interested in the book.  Has anyone read it?  Thoughts?  Feelings?

 Anyway! back to the movie, this was a very silly love...square?!  I guess, starring Cary Grant, Roland Young, Lili Damita and Thelma Todd and co-starring Charles Ruggles.  Very funny plot with cheating husbands, fake wives and trips to Italy.  This pre-code film really had it all, I'm very thankful that I got to see it in a theater with the crowd, if anyone has the opportunity to see it, run, don't walk :).

After This is the Night, I made my way over to The Egyptian Theater for a screening of The Parent Trap, which also included a tribute to Haley Mills.  I have always, always loved the Parent Trap, and not just because I share a birthday with the twins (November Twelfth), but I've just honestly loved it.  I loved the twins, I thought Maureen O'Hara was beautiful! Brian Keith seemed like the most laid back Dad and Charles Ruggles looked like the best Grandfather anyone could ever have.  This was one of my first "old" movie loves, before I became a classic movie fiend!  So I knew this was one screening I couldn't miss.  And it ended up being a screening many people didn't want to miss:

Luckily I was able to get in and get a seat!  The tribute was led by Leonard Maltin, he first briefly spoke about her and then a little retrospective played that touched on her all of her memorable roles and highlighted her career.  It was quite a treat to see this tribute and it made me think of Haley Mills as more than just the girl from The Parent Trap, she had truly accomplished a great deal throughout her career.  Haley Mills then came up and looked viably touched by the tribute and looked to be on the verge of tears! She was very insightful and shared a great deal about her career, her friendship with the Disney family.  It was great to see her be so candid.  And then seeing The Parent Trap on the big screen, what a thrill!  My camera was a little wonky for these pictures, it seems to always misbehave in the Egyptian Theater.

 

 

The screening and tribute went a little longer than scheduled and that meant that I missed out on the beginning of a panel I had wanted to attend, but that also meant that I had some time to grab lunch and meet up with a friend of mine.  My friend Justin (who came to see Saturday Night Fever with me last year) stopped by the Roosevelt Hotel and we grabbed lunch at 25 Degrees in the lobby of the hotel.  Interestingly enough the TVs in the restaurant were tuned to TCM and I half watched An American in Paris.  However, it was wonderful to take a break to eat a real meal and have the opportunity to see my friend!  I think it was kind of lucky that we hadn't planned on going to a screening together, because I don't know if he would've been able to get in this year!  It seemed like all the screenings were at capacity and it seemed as if everyone had passes, I wonder how many individual tickets were sold for screenings in 2011.  I also wonder if there will be any opportunities for non-passholders to get into movies for the 2012 festival! I'll keep an eye out for it.

After a glorious lunch with Justin I headed over to the screening I had been anticipating the most!!  The Camerman with a LIVE orchestra!!  Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks Orchestra to be exact.  I had never seen a Buster Keaton movie in a theater before, nor had I seen any with a live orchestra!  And on top of that I had NEVER seen this Buster Keaton movie.  I was really looking forward to this!  I got in line super-duper early and actually ended up behind an organist who plays organ for silent movies at movie theaters both in NYC and on Long Island, I should've totally gotten his number or did a better job of remembering his name so that we could be best buds and I'd go see all the movies he plays for, but alas I'm not good at making connections, with humans.

Well this movie did not disappoint!  I absolutely loved and adored the movie, Buster! The orchestra, just everything about the screening.  The movie is so freaking sweet, Buster would've done anything to win that girl's affections and the scene in the changing room!  I was laughing so hard, along with everyone else in the theater, here's a little glimpse of it!

from acertaincinema.com

I never wanted the movie to end, but of course as all good things do, it had to.  The orchestra concluded the film by pulling out pork pie hats and it turned out one of them was a Buster Keaton original.  Oh and I neglected to mention that before the film they showed a Burns and Allen short that was simply delightful, I don't think I'd ever seen George Burns as a young man, he has kind of always been an old man to me, so it was amazing to see him in his youth and what a rare opportunity to see him interact with Gracie, in a movie theater, in 2011.

This concludes my Saturday at the Film Festival, I wasn't able to make it to the last block of movies.  Instead, I went to a 10 year!! reunion, I can't believe it has been 10 years, but it was for an Acappella group that began my freshman year of college, I wasn't actually in said acappella group, but many of my friends were in the group and it was a very large part of my college experience.  And it was quite fortuitous that it was the same weekend that I was in LA for the film festival.  It ended up being for the best cause I got to see so many wonderful friends who I, otherwise, may not have seen during this trip and I couldn't possibly have chosen between Gaslight, Shall We Dance and/or One, Two, Three :).  And!! it turned out that one of my acquaintances from college had worked on the restoration of West Side Story, which I was planning on seeing the very next day at the festival.  So all around a glorious Day 3/ Saturday at the 2011 Classic Film Festival!  Stay tuned for Day 4, there may even be a video involved.  Woo!

Joan Crawford Biography Giveaway Reminder!! And an update.

Before getting into this post, just a little gentle reminder:  Please enter the Joan Crawford Biography by Donald Spoto giveaway!  All you have to do is follow these 3 easy steps!
Step 1: Follow this blog (if you don't already do so).
Step 2:  Comment in the Joan Crawford post below this one by sharing either your favorite Joan Crawford movie or favorite character, or if Joan Crawford doesn't float your boat share something you'd hope to learn by reading a Joan Crawford Biography.
Step 3: Cross your fingers and send good vibes to the random number selector I will be using to pick the winner.  Easy as pie! :)



Anyway on to business.  I've been remiss about updating this past week, this is thanks to Thanksgiving Celebrations, Belated Birthday Celebrations, Seemingly too soon 10 Year High School Reunions, and the usual: school, work and school work.  While all this has been going on I haven't been remiss about collecting classic movie DVDs and box sets.  This is thanks to the close proximity of my birthday and the holiday season mixed with very thoughtful friends and family members and my complete inability to pass up a good sale and a pinch of lack of self control.  I've made out like a bandit this year with a wide variety of individual movies and box sets.  I was thinking of doing a few sets of reviews of the box sets and share the special features, some pictures, which movies are included, which ones are worthwhile and which ones you might be able to skip (although when it comes to classic movies I have a very hard time recommending skipping movies).

My first selection is thanks to the WB Archive and inspired by Raquelle at Out of the Past.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the WB archive site was offering 5 DVDs for $50 (sale still going on now, get over there!).  I was mostly surprised cause I often feel like their prices are a smidgen too high for what you get.  In the past, I've purchased Not With My Wife, You Don't during my George C. Scott Phase (fun fact about me I go through Actor Phases, they're often intense; I feel compelled to see every movie that actor is in and learn a great deal about them.  Some phases are very long lasting and others are brief in their duration).   And while I was thrilled! to get to see the movie I felt like I was spending a lot for the bare minimum, no special features or extras.

My second experience with them was a little different.  I got the movie, The Actress, which I have yet to watch, but I selected because it's directed by George Cukor (who is one of my favorite directors) and I figured I couldn't go wrong with a Spencer Tracy movie.  I actually got this movie for free.  Free?!  You might be asking yourself, and the answer is: yes, free.  I got it because as a thank you for participating in a research focus group I was given a coupon for one free DVD at wbshop.com.  It turned out that the focus group was for the WB archive online store and they were trying to figure out ways of improving so that they could compete with other online stores.  It was actually kind of amazing to sit in a room for an hour and discuss my DVD buying habits and make suggestions.  Now, you're going to say I'm crazy or reading too much into it, but! one of the things we discussed were DVD box sets.  I commented that sometimes the box set will contain 2 or 3 movies that are quintessential and amazing, but then the remainder of the movies in the box set are sub par or movies that no one would really seek out or want to see and I ended up saying, it'd be amazing if you could make your own box set.  So now I kind of feel like they maybe took my suggestion with this 5 DVDs for $50 deal.  It's not exactly building your own box set, but it's pretty darn close.  So anyway, I feel a slight connection to this deal and was more than happy to take advantage of it.  Long winded story, over! :)

Anyway, I was very happy to hear they were having such a reasonable sale.  But, it was so hard to pick just 5.   I knew for sure that I wanted Bachelor Mother, which I first saw on TCM a few years ago and adored.  I was surprised that they dealt with such taboo subjects in 1939, but I love it and I love seeing Ginger Rogers in her non-dancing roles.  I also knew that I wanted The Phantom Tollbooth, which I have loved ever since I read the book and saw this lovely Chuck Jones creation when I was in the 5th grade.  If you haven't read the book or seen the animated film, please do yourself a favor and try to seek them out.

For the remaining 3 I wasn't sure which direction to go.  I was tempted to go with all the Cary Grant movies that I haven't had the opportunity to see and aren't available anywhere else, but I decided to go for just 2 of them, which justifies the lovely picture of Mr. Grant to the left.  I decided on None But the Lonely Heart and Room For One More.  I've heard good things about both of them and was interested to see Cary Grant act alongside his real-life wife Betsy Drake (in Room for One More).  For the final selection I went with Boys Night Out, which I've never seen, but it  just jumped out at me for some reason.  I think I was drawn to the cast: Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall, nice group.  I'm really looking forward to the arrival of these movies and I'll try my best to do some reviews of them when I get the chance.

That's enough typing away from me.  I hope you check out the 5 DVDs for $50 deal at WB Archive before the sale ends and Good Luck to anyone who enters the giveaway!  Also do yourself another favor and check out the great post at Out of the Past about the Warner Archive Black Friday Sale

More of the Stanley Donen Mini-Film Festival at Lincoln Center

So before getting into this post, I want to share the other things I remember from Mr. Donen's Q&A on Wednesday night.  He began by saying that he had been a little uncomfortable and embarrassed during the scenes of Funny Face that didn't involve singing and dancing.  He said that, for some reason, during this particular screening it was painful and the scenes without singing and dancing felt as if their only purpose was to propel the plot.  And that's when Mike Nichols mentioned that Opera was very similar in that respect and that it's to be expected in musicals.  It sounded like he hadn't watched his own film for a number of years.  He also mentioned the difficulty of being a director and the importance of having dancers who can dance and things there to point the camera at.  He said this after Mike Nichols complemented him on the way he captured the dancing in the movie and seemed to always have the camera in the perfect place.  Mr. Donen almost brushed off the compliment and gave the credit to the actors and dancers he's had the opportunity to film, by saying that if the dancing is there and the actors are where they're supposed to be, you just have to point the camera at them.  I thought it was so great that Stanley was so open and candid and provided such interesting insight.

On my way out of the theater I picked up the full schedule of Stanley Donen screenings planned for the next few days and tried to figure out which ones I could feasibly attend.  I did have work, school, school work and a test on Saturday to work around, so it was going to be difficult.  While looking through the schedule it reminded me that Stanley Donen is one of my absolute favorite directors/co-directors.  He's directed some of my favorite movies, like Charade, Singin' in the Rain, Indiscreet, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game and it also made me think about all the amazing groundbreaking film techniques he was responsible for, like: Gene Kelly dancing with Gene Kelly :).  So I finally decided on Indiscreet Friday night at 6, The Pajama Game Saturday afternoon at 4 and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Saturday night at 6:05 (followed by another Q&A with Mr. Donen).

I had decided to take the LIRR and Subway to the theater this time, especially since it took me forever to get there by car on Wednesday and because the price of parking near the theater was astronomical!  But, of course the train into the city was 15 minutes late and I made it to the theater with 1 minute to spare.  I wasn't the same completely late jerk that I was for the Funny Face screening, but I was definitely a little late.  Now here's the thing, I love the movie Indiscreet...I don't know why, it's silly and almost a throwaway comedy.  But, I love all the actors in it and I love the silly little plot.  If you haven't seen it, I won't give too much away, but it's about a famous stage actress, Ingrid Bergman, who returns to her London home and seems to be in a bit of a funk, but then her sister (played wonderfully by Phyllis Calvert) and her brother-in-law (played with the perfect amount of humor by Cecil Parker) invite her out to an evening of boring talks and fund raising.  She declines until she sees who one of the main speakers will be...Cary Grant, of course.  Then courting and hilarity ensue.  It was nice to see this movie with an audience.  I love hearing people laughing at all the right parts and even at the parts that weren't supposed to be funny.  For example, there's a scene in the elevator when Cary and Ingrid are trying to act nonchalant in front of the elevator operator, so they talk about innocuous things, like the weather. So, Cary Grant says he had read an article about the climate changing.  That got a big laugh, but the biggest laugh came from the split screen scene, just look how cute they are!:

Coming up...Saturday at Lincoln Center- The Pajama Game and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Stanley Donen Mini-Film Festival

In honor of my 200% increase in followers I figured I'd try to get a post up before the end of the weekend, as you can see I have failed.  Hello followers!

So this past weekend, I very unexpectedly became a patron of a Stanley Donen film festival at the Walter Reade Theater at the Lincoln Center in NYC.  I found out about it from a Tweet by @criterion at 5:30pm on Wednesday.  The tweet said that Stanley Donen would be doing a Q&A at a screening of Funny Face that night at 6:15.  I wish I had known about it sooner, but I decided just to go for it, I work close-ish to the city.  Alas it ended up taking me an hour and 25 minutes to get to the theater.  The staff was nice enough to let me in and they told me that Stanley Donen was going to be speaking AFTER the movie, so I was elated.  I did feel bad that I showed up so late and just wanted to stand in the back of the theater until the movie ended, but one of the ushers asked me to take a seat.  I tried to walk to a seat unnoticed, but I didn't succeed.  I managed to upset an older woman who was wearing sunglasses, she kept turning around to see what I was up to.  I wasn't up to anything, just being a late arrival to the movie.  I showed up just in time for this scene:

It was great to get to see this scene, especially since it oddly went on to  become a GAP commercial.  Seeing it in it's true form was exciting and wonderful.  Overall it was so great to see 'Funny Face' on the big screen. I have to admit it isn't one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies and it isn't one of my favorite Fred Astaire movies.  I think the age difference is somehow more noticeable in this movie.  I don't mind it at all in Charade, but for some reason it's irksome here.  Anyway, on to the positives....Audrey Hepburn looked GORGEOUS!  The dresses and costumes were marvelous!  And the songs were 'SWonderful :)  I may have to watch the whole thing on DVD sometime soon, I feel just terrible that I missed the beginning and I apologize to any people I may have disturbed.

After the movie (and the applause) Stanley Donen came up to the front of the theater and was joined by Mike Nichols, who I was quite surprised to see, yet for some reason I didn't appreciate his presence or feel a thrill or anything  (I don't think I've forgiven him for 'Closer,' but I do LOVE!! 'Working Girl' 'The Birdcage' and 'The Graduate').  The Q&A went very nicely and both directors shared their experiences as directors and what it's like to try to please studios and the importance of telling a good story.  They seemed to be good friends and had an easy time talking with one another.  I learned that Mike Nichols is a fan of Opera (he made a number of references to them) and that Mr. Donen doesn't appreciate pretentious people and thinks that the only assholes in the world are people who think they're perfect and infallible.  I wish I had had a pen to write down some of the very funny things that he had to say about making movies and working in the business.

They then opened up the room for questions, someone asked how he came to work with Moore and Cook on the movie Bedazzled (which I have yet to see).  He said that he had been living in England at the time, had watched one of their shows on TV and was interested in working with them.  I wish I could remember the other questions that people asked...maybe they'll come to me at a later date and time.  In any event it was great to see the movie and to see Stanley Donen in person, he was very well spoken.  I tried to get his autograph after the screening, but he semi-respectfully declined.

So that was the first screening I attended, more to come, which will include: Indiscreet, The Pajama Game and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and another Q&A with Stanley Donen (with pictures!).