ClassicForever

NOTHING WILL STOP THE BRADFORD DILLMAN BLOGATHON.

2012-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

I am extremely sorry about the utter lack of Millie around this blog lately.

I've been having a CRAZY January.

My computer crashed with an awful virus (Oscar is okay now). I got my driver's license (FINALLY), but not before I had an epically awful driving test -- which ~~definitely~~ may have involved the State Patrol. Assorted other craziness occurred. Last weekend alone, I attended a wedding, a funeral, and a birthday party. ALSO last weekend, I had friends from Sierra Leone visiting.

And then. The storms came.

I haven't left my house since Monday. I haven't had power since Wednesday (I'm at my sister's house for a few hours right now). My college has been closed down all week. IT HAS BEEN INSANE. And no fun.

I love a good storm. REALLY. Wind and rain storms are absolutely lovely.

I'm not quite as a fan of snow, but when it cancels classes for a few days -- that's fun.

HOWEVER, BEING TRAPPED AT HOME WITH NO INTERNET. THIS IS NO FUN. NO FUN AT ALL.

I'm literally gonna kill my entire family very soon.

Anyway, without internet, I was extremely agitated. One, I couldn't find out if the Poe visitor showed up -- HE DIDN'T :'(. And two, I was worried about the blogathon.

Don't worry. It's still happening.

Apparently, I put the wrong dates on the announcement. It was SUPPOSED to run from the 20th - 23rd, but I put the wrong dates up.

Lovely.

The blogathon OFFICIALLY starts tomorrow and then you all can start posting (and sending me the links). I already know of a few planned posts and they are gonna be AWESOME. I'm excited.

I'm not sure if I'll have power tomorrow, but I'll definitely have it on Monday at school.

So, until we meet again...

-Millie

If you need a place to start in your Dillman appreciation, check out this post from last year. It has a few links that might be helpful.

2011 in Film: The Year in Review

2012-01-02T02:36:00.000-08:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT 2011 IS OVER. THIS IS CRAZINESS. I CAN'T HANDLE THIS.

Anyway, because I am so proud of myself and the fact that I've managed to keep track of nearly every film I've watched this year (I'm know a few were missed here and there) -- I am going to subject you to a month-by-month recount of my favorites.

Now, I started the year doing this every month, but er, um got a little forgetful/busy/etc/etc/etc.

SO, I'M DOING IT NOW.

I'm gonna go month-by-month with my favorites/least favorites and then later (probably tomorrow), I'll do a post on my absolute favorites/least favorites of the entire year.

Off we go!

January: 8 new films/ 13 total

In January, I listed I Love You Again and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as tied for favorite. I haven't seen either since, and it feels terribly wrong that an entire year could have passed since I watched both (IT'S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR?!). But, both were lovely and quite deserving of their place.

Also deserving was my least favorite, They Came to Cordura. I can't remember anything about it, except Michael Callan getting struck down by typhoid and Rita Hayworth's attempts to continue to be a goddess throughout the awfulness. I think my mind has put up a permanent block on this movie.

This was also the month of Randolph Scott Presents: Ride the Wild Surf and Peter Brown's horrible blonde hair:

I'll I could say was, THOSE ARE PUNCTURE WOUNDS, BOBBY! STOP! YOU'VE MADE A HORRIBLE ERROR! {This has nothing to do with anything.}

Oh, and this was also the month of David Janssen being evil and wearing a creepy fake mustache (aka THIS MONTH WAS PURE GOLD!):

February: 8 new films/14 total

Hmmm, I seem to have skipped over February in my listing. OH WELL. I shall try to remember as best I can. ;-D

I gave four films five stars and three films four stars. That's a pretty good average (the final new film got three stars). Those five starred films were A Man Could Get Killed; To Sir, With Love; A Letter to Three Wives; and Ask Any Girl. I truly liked each one. I CAN'T CHOOSE.

For least favorite, I would probably choose The Cowboy and the Lady. I liked it. But, it rather bore me.

Also notable in February? Village of the Giants. I still have NO idea what was going on. No idea. SERIOUSLY NO IDEA. It was brilliant.

March: 18 new/31 total

Ahh, March. You were wonderful. I still remember the movies I watched very clearly. There were, comparatively, so many new films. And, SO MANY WEIRD ENDINGS.

Once again, I listed my favorite film as a tie. This time between You Must Be Joking! and The Blob.

And my choice for least favorite was Palm Springs Weekend. Who let Troy Donahue be in movies? WHO?!

And of course, there was that movie that killed David Janssen off in the last five minutes. DAAAAAAVVIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!

{I'm definitely not trying to see how many David photos I can smush into this post.}

And, well, this month also had so many crazy movies and it was awesome.

And, then, this also occurred:

April: 3 new films/9 total

Wow. I still remember this pathetic month. It was Doctor Who's fault (aka it was the Tenth Doctor's fault [aka it was Sarah's fault]).

It has an episode for Agatha Christie dorks! HOW COULD I RESIST THIS SHOW?!

My favorite film in April was The Bat. I will quote my reasoning: "The Bat. It wins by default (as in I only watched two other new films and they both annoyed me). ALSO: IT HAS VINCENT PRICE. That's always cool." So yeah.

My least favorite film was Duel in the Sun. The evilness was all-consuming.

May: 7 new films/16 total

May introduced me to The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

May was a good month.

Oh, and worst movie of the month went to Endless Night and Hywel Bennett's creepy haircut.

And I also went to see Pirates 4 (better than the last two put together. DEFINITELY) on opening night (because why not? ;-D).

June: 14 new films /28 total

June started off splendidly with a six-starred film: Ring of Fire. You may recall that this was the glorious film starring David Janssen and glorious Washington.

Smushing photos of David Janssen into this post.... LIKE A PRO.

June went humming along quite steadily, with a good mixture of new films and re-watches. I particularly enjoyed the brilliant acting in Goodbye Again and Pressure Point. And I enjoyed, the admittedly quite stupid, Strange Bedfellows. And then came Jessica. The movie was supposed to be just a bit of pleasant mind-smushing entertainment. But, the story made me ANGRY. And then Maurice Chevalier was playing a singing priest and I really couldn't handle that. And Angie Dickinson was vespaing her way around '60s Europe and that made me insanely jealous. AND THEN.

He appeared.

Gabrielle Ferzetti. The man who became my Italian obsession. The man who forced me to leave the innocuous awesomeness and the good, solid acting of early June -- and plunge myself deep into '60s Italian depressingness THAT I STILL DON'T BLOODY UNDERSTAND. L'Avventura, Le Amiche...it all came and went.

And then, I suddenly couldn't take it anymore. It was if my entire being rebelled against Michelangelo Antonioni and his never-ending symbolism.

I went back to mind-smushing entertainment at an increasing pace. I ended the month with, just possibly, the worst film ever created: The Miniskirt Mob.

June was an awesome month.

(Oh yeah. Favorite movie of the month was either Ring of Fire or 36 Hours. Least favorite was Kung Fu Panda, which I didn't even want to watch in the first place but had to because it was my friend's birthday.)

July: 16 new films /26 total

July was fun! I got the brilliance of Crossplot

Look at Roger Moore's fake mustache.

And then there was the long-overdue viewing of Blackboard Jungle. PERFECTION!

And, well, then came North & South (technically a miniseries, but I DON'T CARE ;-D). All the time that I meant to spend packing for my trip to Africa was actually spent sitting on my bed eating Doritos and watching this. I REGRET NOTHING.

And Night of the Iguana. Ava Gardner is such a goddess. That's literally all I remember about it: Ava Gardner being a goddess.

And The In-Laws. <3Peter Falk<3

There was also the wonderfully, wonderful Evening Primrose. I can't even begin to describe its awesomeness, but if you want a little description -- check out Sarah's post on it! THIS MOVIE IS A LIFE EXPERIENCE YOU NEED TO HAVE.

OH. And Thirteen Ghosts. I hesitate to bring up this film that scared my friend and I so bad we kinda stopped it and didn't finish it until the morning. IT'S TOO EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT.

And July ended with a couple of movies from the flights from Seattle to Toronto and Toronto to London. Air Canada, I kinda hate you and you kinda lost my carry-on bag with all my clothes in it and yeah. BUT YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL SELECTION OF ENTERTAINMENT CHOICES. Joel McCrea on my own individual screen? ALWAYS RIGHT.

August: 12 new films /18 total

There weren't a LOT of films in August because I was in Sierra Leone for the first half, but that didn't stop me from seeing some lovelies in the second half.

I watched three never-before-seen Hitchcock's (Rope and Under Capricorn finished off the 40s for me and Topaz leaves me with just one unwatched 60s Hitchcock). They weren't my favorites (Hume! I love you, but PLEASE STOP WRITING MOVIES FOR SIR ALFRED!), but they still had brilliant Hitchcock moments (that one shot of the murder in Cuba was STUNNING). And, really, Ingy + Joseph Cotton + Michael Wilding. Wow.

And also, I saw Marjorie Morningstar. I sorta missed the whole point of the movie somehow, I think?! I will quote my first-reaction words as posted in August:

"Apparently, I was supposed to be sad about the tragic love story or feel sorry for Gene Kelly's pathetic, nonredeemable, and completely creepy character? All I cared about was Wally and his awesome glasses (the only reason this is even getting three stars)."

Oh yes.

Near the end of the month, I had to make the awkward admission that I had seen Girl in Lover's Lane twice in 24 hours. BRETT HALSEY, GUYS. Brett Halsey.

(This was also my favorite film of the month. Sex and the Single Girl was my least favorite because the entire thing was worthless -- EXCEPT FOR MEL FERRER'S AWESOMENESS!)

September: 8 new films /14 total

The start of my senior year. Craziness.

(By the way, if you're still reading this -- which is unlikely -- I salute you!)

Anyway, favorite movie of September is another tie!

I adored the low-key, but exceedingly awesome A Touch of Larceny. I have to say that this movie restored all faith in James Mason. He was PERFECT in it. Almost TOO perfect.

I also adored the decidedly unlow-key Compulsion. Bradford Dillman smiled evilly. Bradford Dillman danced the Charleston. BRADFORD DILLMAN TALKED TO A TEDDY BEAR.

This is stinkin' adorable.

Meredith thinks the teddy bear looks like it's going to steal our souls. SHEESH. ;-D

I also finally got around to watching Green Berets (my least favorite film of the month). Depressing. But, hey, at least David managed to get out of a war movie alive for once!

And this brings our Janssen photo count up to six. Oh yes.

HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO NOT POST THIS PHOTO?!

October: 7 new films /14 total

Not much happened in October. In fact, I can literally not remember ANYTHING that happened in October. Seriously.

Now, I'm starting to freak out. GUYS, WHAT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER?! ANYTHING?!

Well, I do know that I watched a brand-new '40s Bob Hope movie: They've Got Me Covered. That was my favorite of the month and I guess the highlight of October as a whole (I really don't know). I was particularly excited about this because I have a original movie poster for it that I purchased at an antique store several years ago. It was simply wunderbar to finally see the movie itself!

My least favorite of October was Water Horse, I guess. Just because it was so sad.

Come Blow Your Horn was an awesome, orange Sinatra fest!

And Francis of Assisi was just weird.

November: 5 new films /17 total

Favorite: Third Finger, Left Hand. It was one of those slightly forgettable, but perfectly wonderful and charming and lovely '40s comedies.

I also rather liked, oddly enough, Jane Eyre. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a committed Bronte hater. I unfortunately made my old co-op Brit Lit teacher's life miserable with my lengthy discussions on the awfulness of everything connected with Jane Eyre. She got back at me though by forcing me to relive painful experiences by re-reading Tale of Two Cities, which contains one of my top five literary characters that I am in love with. SYDNEY CARTON, I LOVE YOU FOREVER!

Anyway, I digress.

I've always rather championed the Orson Welles' version of Jane Eyre, simply because I adore Orson Welles and because it angers all the Jane fans I'm surrounded by (my mum; a couple of my good friends) heh heh heh. But, I truly liked this new version. It was actually light and bright and awesome. And Michael Fassbender played Rochester PERFECTLY. If you've ever read the book, then you know that Rochester is a total drama queen (he dresses up like a gypsy fortune teller woman just to bloody find out if Jane likes him or not, for goodness sake!). Fassbender played him like a total drama queen. IT WAS AWESOME.

Not much else happened in November (besides lots of Christmas movies). I was a bit preoccupied with BBC's Robin Hood. I may or may not have watched the first two seasons (because the third does not exist) twice through in less than two weeks (the second time, I watched the two seasons straight through with a bunch of friends over a twenty hour stretch during Veteran's Day break. This is not recommended).

My least favorite film of the month was Much Ado About Nothing. It was stupid and changed the ending. WHO CHANGES SHAKESPEARE?!

December: 8 new films/ 30 total

Favorite film: oh, um, TIED AGAIN. Actually, these two films are very special and both are also tied for favorite 2011 release!

Hugo and The Adventures of Tintin.

Hugo was one of those "Oh my gosh! It's so beautiful that I feel like I'm gonna die and this is why I love movies and look how perfect this and I just want to cry because I relate so much and film is so wonderful" experiences. It was spectacular.

And The Adventures of Tintin. I was both extremely excited and a bit wary of this movie. Tintin is a family classic. I grew up reading the comics. Tintin was a part of life. I actually remember watching one of the animated Tintins from like the '70s or whatever when my youngest brother was being born. We had to pause the movie to go see my new brother. {My family is a little odd.}

I was EXCITED about about a Tintin movie, but wary because I really do NOT like Spielberg. At all.

{I carry incredibly irrational grudges against people I've never met....for a long time. ;-D}

And, unfortunately, I've never forgiven Spielberg for his part in two different complete rip-offs of personal favorites. One, Disturbia was a complete copy of Rear Window -- but at least that one was noticed. And two, Monster House is the exact copy of an episode of The Wild Wild West (even down to certain plot details and images). THAT ONE MADE ME ANGRY.

But, yeah, this has nothing to do with Tintin. Sheesh.

Tintin was lovely and awesome and Spielberg gets fives stars -- just for not ruining my childhood.

Also, I watched State Fair '62. It was highly disappointing (My Darlin' Darin was perfect though, of course).

And, of course, I watched Marooned -- which I recently wrote about. (There is no reason for me to mention Marooned, except as an excuse for me to throw out another David photo! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Actually, lets make it his classic "Dr. Richard Kimble is pretending to be shy" gif!)

Has this obsessive fangirling gone too far?
(If you think so, please do not ever visit my Tumblr. ;-D)

{Oh, and my least favorite film was Home Alone 2, which I got stuck watching during some "quality family time."}

And yeah. That was my year in movies. This is a really abrupt ending. I don't know quite how to write this conclusion. Well, I will be posting my overall favorites of the year later. So be prepared for that (I'll promise a 20% reduction in Janssen fangirling*)

*No. I don't. I'm lying.

<3David + twitchy, little smirk<3

I'm sorry guys. This post WAS written at 2 am though. I'm not lucid. I haven't slept in days. I'm just sorry. I'LL BE BACK LATER WITH LUCIDITY! ;-D

-Millie

New Year's Movie Meme

2011-12-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

I just LOOOVE doing these survey things. I really do. And Kate let me know about this awesome new one from The Girl with the White Parasol. In fact, Kate completed the survey in her usual hysterical brilliance. Check it out!

So, yeah. HERE I GO!

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?

Her swimsuit dress thing from To Catch a Thief. Pure Wowzie Kazam.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?

Oh, you know, I think most '60s TV is always ready for a movie remake. I think the modern film industry has shown itself capable of properly remaking classic television. If you look at movies like Wild Wild West or The Saint, clearly the modern movie industry actually cares about honoring the classic while also approaching it with fresh perspective. I think it's great.*

*My reaction! :-)

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.

This woman. Perfection. I personally feel that The Lady From Shanghai contains Rita Hayworth's greatest performance.

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.

Leave Her To Heaven. Gene Tierney is so utterly brilliant, she manages to make me forget about the ughness of Cornel Wilde.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen.

Oh, there are a lot. I typically hate child performances. There are only a few of whom I approve (I especially hate singing children [I really am a grinch]). Of course, right now my mind is blanking. I really dislike most of the Von Trapp children.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?

Not to be too cliched, but -- Frankenstein (the doctor and his monster) hurts. I'm not sure if my experiences with the book are coloring my feelings about this (IT'S SO SAD). But, yeah. Also, the Pod People. Especially, that last person. Unwilling monsters. IT'S NOT FAIR.

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?

Oh, you mean EVERY WESTERN?! I can't recommend ONE western to every person. I have to perfectly tailor choices for specific people. It's an art and I work incredibly hard at it. I refuse to be put into this one-size-fits-all, generalized box.

I REFUSE.

Why are you trying to make me do this?! WHY?!

Okay, I should probably calm down, BUT I CAN'T.

I'll throw out a couple of genre choices, but this is only the beginning of brilliance.

Fans of rollicking (I love that word) action films should go for The Magnificent Six + Horst the Worst (I don't consider him to be "magnificent"). You have a seriously perfect cast: McQueen, Brynner, Coburn, Wallach, Bronson, Vaughan, (and that other guy that I will never for the life of me remember his name; I usually refer to him as "the crazy guy who thinks they're looking for gold"). AND THAT SCORE.

Fans of straight-up brilliant drama/acting absolutely need to see The Searchers. You will find yourself LITERALLY blown away. Oh yes. (Also: Red River)

Fans of comedy: Cat Ballou. Everything is perfect. Also, Support Your Local Sheriff.

Fans of "romance" (it's such an awkward sounding genre) should check out The Angel and the Badman. It's one of my favorites and it's wonderfully acted, but really, THE reason to see it is Gail Russell. She's other-worldly.

Okay, I suppose I should stop. But, really, I have so many more. SO MANY.

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?

Hmmm. Usually myself. I'm such a dork. I yell at the TV. I made odd noises. I have the ability to become embarrassed for characters who are acting stupidly. I usually then cover my face with my hands and say "awkward! awkward! awkward!" over and over until it's over. Yeah. It gets bad.

However, I am also able to watch movies with my sister, Shannon. She understands.

Also: my best fleshie, Allie. She's been watching movies with me for longer than I can ever remember. We spend our time ridiculing characters we hate, loving/hating movie outfits (usually hats), commenting on beautiful eyes, and the such. She's basically just as strange as me.

The Accented Men Appreciation Society (it's a club of five friends and I). We're cool. We spend our time watching movies with accents and talking about said accents. It's not creepy. It's cool.

My Non-Fleshies: Kate, Casey, Sarah, and Nicola. Movie chats are my favorite things in the world. Craziness ALWAYS occurs. I never thought I could find myself laughing hysterically until I could not breathe -- while typing/reading words from across the country. I MUSTACHE MY NFS!

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?

No. Not really. Film is a huge part of my life, but I don't think any film has ever made me want to change my life. Except maybe the fact that I've always had a secret desire to learn judo -- JUST SO THAT I COULD BE HONOR BLACKMAN.

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.

I truly love Sir Bob Hope. TRULY. However, I find it difficult to watch most of his post-mid-50s work. He never loses his brilliant ability to deliver a line, but he did lose that edge he had, especially from his start in the late-30s through WWII. That was his "golden period." Nothing was wrong. Everything was hilarious. Bob Hope was a very topical comedian. During that time, he was on top and ahead of everything. Later, he seemed to drag behind (it pains me to say that). He was still awesome, of course, though. I think Road to Hong Kong is particularly awful. I watched it once, when I must have been about eight. I will never watch it again. It hurt too much.

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.

This kills me, but, Randolph Scott was BRILLIANT in My Favorite Wife (probably because he was playing an insufferably annoying character). Everything about his character was hilarious.

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?

Yeah. Watch more movies. Also: continue to keep track of them (I'm so proud of myself and the fact that I kept track of basically every movie this year).

Well, that was fun! Thanks ever so Girl With the White Parasol! I quite enjoyed it! :-D

-Millie

John, look at me. You don’t have to die to keep the John Doe idea alive!

2011-12-25T00:55:00.000-08:00

Someone already died for that once! The first John Doe. And He’s kept that idea alive for nearly two thousand years. It was He who kept it alive in them —and He’ll go on keeping it alive for ever and always! For every John Doe movement these men kill, a new one will be born! That’s why those bells are ringing, John! They’re calling to us—not to give up—but to keep on fighting! To keep on pitching! Oh, don’t you see, darling? This is no time to give up! {Meet John Doe}

Merry Christmas!

-Millie

Marooned (1969): You know you're just a LITTLE too invested in a movie when you find yourself screaming "DIE GENE HACKMAN, DIE!"

2011-12-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

So, yeah. {Spoilers ahead, of course.}

WHOA. I JUST LOOKED AT THE POSTER AND IT SAYS JOHN STURGES DIRECTED. I didn't even realize that. (Although, I did notice that Capra Jr. produced, which is strangely odd.)

Anyway, I just finished watching this film with Emmy and it made me experience a range of emotions.

Mostly hatred and anger towards Gene Hackman.

(That's right, Gene Hackman. Don't take your "rest pill." Breathe up as much oxygen as you like. It's not like there's a shortage. It's not like Richard Crenna is gonna sacrifice his life for you. It's not like James Franciscus is gonna end up permanently brain-dead because of you. It's not like David Janssen is risking his life to save you. IT'S NOT LIKE THE BRAVE {but unfortunately short-armed} RUSSIAN COSMONAUT IS GOING TO CHANGE HIS ENTIRE ORBIT IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESCUE YOU. Oh, um, sorry. That paragraph got a bit away from me.)

But, also, of course I was awed at the presence of Gregory Peck wearing these sunglasses:

And, of course, the movie had stinkin' Mr. David Janssen in it (because, as you know, I will literally watch anything for my beloved David). I didn't even know WHAT to do with my emotions when he pulled out his classic Dr. Richard Kimble is pretending to be shy and so he's sticking his hands in his front pockets move. (All that was missing was the twitchy, little smirk.)

Anyway, it was actually a surprisingly interesting, engrossing film (surprisingly, because it has had the MST3K treatment -- which I definitely need to watch). Apparently, people complain about its slowness. I thought it was quite effective. It slowly built up and built up, UNTIL I WAS IN FULL-BLOWN HYSTERIA.

I was screaming at my computer screen (I'm sorry, Oscar!). I was heaping death threats in Gene Hackman's direction. I was practically hysterical worrying about David's fate. I ALMOST SHED TEARS OVER THIS MOMENT:

IT HURTS! IT HURTS! Richard Crenna! WHY?! WHY?! Why did you sacrifice your life to save Hackman?! I understand the whole saving James Franciscus thing because, along with being basically Hackman's babysitter (he constantly has to repeat, "No, you are not dying," in a monotone voice like he's talking to a two year-old), he is rather pretty (also, I must mention that mere seconds after Richard's death, I was already planning for a marriage between Lee and David -- but still.):

{Emmy requested lots of James screen-caps, so this is solely for her. ;-D}

Anyway. This movie was very strange and harrible and awesome. And, um, I literally never knew what was going on. I mean, one moment, Gregory and David are exchanging thumbs up and managing to look so cool and serious...

...and the next moment a crazed, oxygen-deprived (JUST GUESS WHO HE GAVE HIS OXYGEN TO) James Franciscus is attempting to throw Gene Hackman into the arms of a randomly-appearing Russian cosmonaut. Unfortunately, the kindly Russian just barely misses him and Gene goes peacefully floating by.

I can't even respond to that.

And then, David showed up. And he saved Gene. And he saved James (with the help of the kindly, Russian cosmonaut). And he radioed back to Houston. And everyone threw their papers in the air. And went to a nearby bar to celebrate. And it was over. (Seriously, I hope there was nothing IMPORTANT on those papers. Like, you know [as Emmy pointed out to me], the instructions on how to LAND THE ROCKET THAT HAD NEVER BEEN EVEN TEST-FLOWN BEFORE)

Whoohoo! Let's party like it's 1969!

Not gonna lie, I still have no idea what happened. And, I'm pretty sure that Richard Crenna didn't need to die. And I'm pretty sure that Gene Hackman was a Soviet agent -- and needed to die. And I'm pretty sure that James Franciscus was kinda pretty. And I'm pretty sure Gregory Peck should have worn those sunglasses throughout the entire movie. And I'm pretty sure that David Janssen was perfect, even when he kept using weird similes and analogies and he kept not smiling his twitchy, little smirk. And I'm pretty sure I should never be allowed to watch or review movies ever again, BECAUSE MAROONED BROKE ME.

Good night.

-Millie

Thanks for watching it with me, Emmy! These are for you! ;-D

David and the deli delivery-boy.

James....AND THE MAN WHO NEEDED TO DIE.

Actually, a bunch of people were better off when George Bailey was never born...

2011-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today, during the annual gingerbread making and decorating and watching waaay too many Christmas movies day, I realized that It's A Wonderful Life isn't QUITE the happy ending Mr. Capra might want you to think it is.

From infancy, we are taught to believe that it is the story of each of us. We all positively impact other people's lives in ways we can never even imagine.

That is what we are taught.

Lies, all lies.

I mean, sure, there were a few people who were negatively affected by George never being born: his children, Mr. Gower, Harry -- and the guys Harry saved in WWII.

But what about all those others?

Well, first of all, Mr. Potter was doing much better without the existence of George (but he's the bad guy, so this isn't allowed to fully count).

And Nick. Look at Nick. With George alive, he was a minimum wage employee at a beat-up, old bar. With George never being born, Nick was a business-owner. He OWNED the bar. It was Nick's Place. He had power and control over his life.

Look how happy he is throwing people out of the bar -- WITH HIS NAME ON IT!

And then there's Mary. There is absolutely no way in heck that Mary ended up being a depressed, spinster librarian just because George was never born. She would have just ended up marrying Sam Wainwright and, you know, being rich and happy and traveling the world and being rich.

The whole "Mary had no life without George" plot-line is absolutely ridiculous. My Mum always tries to convince me that it's about them being "soul-mates" or some such nonsense.

MORE LIES.

Mary without George? YEAH RIGHT.

Reality of Mary without George:

(Off relaxing on the beach somewhere on an expensive vacation)

Some people were left absolutely unaffected. Bert the cop really couldn't care less if George was born or not. And in some ways, life was better without George (Pottersville was clearly a more hopping town for a trigger-happy cop like Bert).

And well, Martini was just out of the picture. CLEARLY, he was the only one actually smart enough to get out of bloody Bedford Falls/Pottersville/whatever.

Well, not the ONLY one. Annie wasn't around when George wasn't born. The logical assumption is that she used all the money she was saving over the years (that she ended up wasting -- ON GEORGE BAILEY) to leave that cursed place forever and have an actual happy life.

Also, this is unrelated, but I've always been incredibly confused as to why George not existing meant that Ernie's wife and child left him? Huh?

And, also, George never being born means that Uncle Billy lives in an insane asylum. WHAT?! Clearly, this guy should not be allowed to run around free and loose. So, in fact, when George is alive he is allowing a dangerously insane man to not only roam free -- but to also hold a position of high responsibility relating to money. WHAT?!

This guy? Really? YOU TRUST THIS GUY WITH YOUR MONEY?!

And these are just a few of the reasons why George Bailey never being born actually worked out well for a lot of people. I know this is probably a shock to your system (if you too were taught from infancy that this film is hopeful and uplifting), but it's the truth.

Revised lesson from the film: each person's life affects other people's lives. However, unless you are directly responsible for stopping old guys from poisoning young children or saving future Medal of Honor winners from an early death, you may just be the person standing in the way of other people being happy and financially secure...AND OWNING THEIR OWN BUSINESS.

"Nothing special, just doing a little bird-watching on the Amazon...WITH EXPENSIVE GOLD-PLATED BINOCULARS! I'm so happy I married that nice Sam Wainwright and got out of that scary Bedford Falls/Pottersville/whatever place!"

-Millie (I'm not a grinch.)

Everytime, man. Everytime.

2011-12-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Suffice to say, I hope Bradford Dillman never Googles his own name.

2011-12-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again -- almost (I was bored today, okay). Irish Leprechaun and I will once again be hosting THE Bradford Dillman blogathon. Last year, we had several awesome contributions (I particularly LOVED Kate's artwork) and also a few moments of severe fangirling.

We're expecting double this year.

You have NO excuse.

You may have not known who he was last year -- BUT YOU SURE AS HECK KNOW HIM NOW.

Anyway, out of my delirium this afternoon (I'm not feeling quite well), I've created an official trailer for the blogathon. {This is what prompted the title of this post.}

Enjoy ~~its definitely overwhelming perfection and quality~~!

Oh, and by the way, the title of the blogathon comes from a 2006 Vogue article on Bradford's wife, Suzy Parker. In it, they described Bradford, saying, "He was a jazzier kind of noir." It instantly became my favorite description of him ever and CLEARLY was the only plausible choice for this year's blogathon title.

That is all.

-Millie

Happy Birthday 90th Deanna Durbin!

2011-12-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Happy one-week-late (blasted finals!) Birthday to the absolutely perfect Deanna Durbin. I always have such difficulty writing out why I adore her, but she's just such an actual part of my life -- and has been for much longer than I can even remember.

She's just wonderful.

-Millie

The three words you never want to see when you're watching a cool, 60s TV show:

2011-12-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

The three words that strike fear in the hearts of all people, everywhere...

The Winner of the John Huston Giveaway is....

2011-12-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

I am incredibly sorry about not announcing this on Thursday. It's Finals Week. (Which means that I'm freeeeeee on Friday -- and I'm celebrating by going to see Frog and Toad: The Musical at the Seattle Children's Theater. Oh yes.)

Anyway...

The winner is Johanna!

Thanks to everyone who entered! I really enjoyed reading about your favorite Huston films.

And later today (or tomorrow; it depends whether I decide to study for my Bio final or not! ;-D), expect a belated birthday post for the goddess, Deanna Durbin. ALSO, expect a review for my absolute favorite 2011 release (hint: IT'S PERFECT) -- well, absolute favorite at least until Tintin is out (Spielberg better not ruin my childhood).

Thanks again everyone! :-D

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-11-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Cyd!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

2011-11-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

Hayley and her father are wishing you a happy day!

Happy Birthday, Kate! I hope you had a wonderfully, lovely day!

Thanks for always been so Wowzie Kazam and talking to me and arguing with me and fangirling with me -- AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY OR NIGHT (except normal hours when most people are awake)!

You are seriously one of my favorite people to ever exist and -- not to sound TOO awesomely cheesy -- my life is much cooler because you are a part of it!

-Millie

Quotables: Neile Adams

2011-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

“Paul Newman, Jim [Garner], and Steve and I went to the races at Riverside. On our way home, the men became annoyed because I had insisted on stopping at the next service station rest room. They had hoped to beat the traffic home. When they did stop I discovered to my dismay that there was a long line of women ahead of me. Unable to stand the delay any longer, I came up with a brilliant idea. I said to the girls standing there, ‘Hey, do you know there’s a car full of movie stars around the bend?’ ‘Who?’ they cried in unison, ‘Why, there’s Steve McQueen, there’s Paul Newman, and there’s James Garner!’ The girls looked at each other and ran like crazy, leaving me in sole possession of the facilities. I never did tell the fellas how a swarm of females suddenly discovered them!”

-Neile Adams

This is why ClassicForever will forever be a Neile Adams appreciation blog.

I LOVE HER.

{Also, Steve + James + Paul?! HOW DID THE WORLD NOT EXPLODE?!}

Well, I'm finally gonna watch it...

2011-10-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

This poster is not lying. There is no possible way that I am prepared for this experience.

Yes, I'm finally going to watch Francis of Assisi (1961).

For two main reasons:

1) This movie has caused me SO many fines at the library (because I keep not watching it and letting it get overdue).

2) BRADFORD DILLMAN (THE KING OF EVIL SMILES) IS PLAYING A SAINT. A SAINT. A SAINT.

(Remember that time that Maurice Chevalier was a singing priest and I died of laughter? Yeah.)

Anyway. This movie is happening. WISH ME LUCK!

-Millie

Giveaway! John Huston: Courage and Art

2011-10-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

I am VERY excited to be able to give away a copy of John Huston: Courage and Art (2011) by Jeffrey Meyers.

This book looks utterly fascinating. I couldn't even help myself and started reading it -- and I couldn't put it down (unfortunately, I ended up having to put it down because I had to go to work. SHEESH.)

Raquelle over at Out of the Past has written an excellent review that should seriously make you want to read this even more!

A man of Huston's talent would always make an interesting story, but John Huston wasn't just a legendary film-maker. He was an adventurer, an explorer, basically an awesomely crazy person. He was the kind of person movies are made ABOUT.

The more one learns about John Huston, the more it seems like he created films just as another outlet for his intense and creative personality.

Anyway, this book looks AWESOME!

Thank you so much to Crown Archetype for sending it to me!

To enter to win:
Leave a comment with your favorite Huston movie (or a Huston film you would most like to see) and a way for me to contact you (or you can just wait until the winner is announced and send me an email with your info).

U.S. residents only (SORRY! I'm only a poor student!)

Also, it would be super-awesome if you were a blog follower! :-D

This contest will be open until Wednesday, November 30th (where the winner will be chosen at random)!

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-10-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

This Photo of the Day is for Rachael!

-Millie

Herb Alpert....and the awesomely over-the-top, not-at-all-cheesy '60s music videos.

2011-10-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Herb Alpert is king. This is a true statement.

For some reason, today Herb Alpert is considered uncool or something by people who have no idea who he is. It may be the name. Herb is not a cool name. (This is also a true statement.)

"Herb" notwithstanding, THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. Herb Alpert is one of the coolest people to ever exist. And people who know who he is, know this (look at this sentence a few times, it will then begin to make sense ;-D).

And when ~~my mum~~ someone laughs at me other people who buy his records at Goodwill -- they're wrong. Sorely wrong.

Below, I will display Herb Alpert's awesomeness. He was so cool, he elevated cheesy '60s music videos. This is now art.

A Taste of Honey

Herb running down the beach in a tux, while carrying his trumpet. This is standard HA&TJB stuff. THIS IS STINKIN' COOL.

This Guy's In Love

Oh, how I love this video. It's so completely and irredeemable cheesy (and so perfect).

The Lonely Bull

That smile at :53? That's Mr. Alpert saying, "Why yes, I am wearing a bright white suit and playing the trumpet in the middle of the bleachers in an empty bullfighting stadium. OF COURSE I'M COOLER THAN YOU."

The Spanish Flea

There's a creepy stuffed animal just sitting in a chair. Herb's completely miming his playing. There's random girls dancing...as random girls always dance in the '60s. And Herb is finally like "what the heck?!" and just starts clapping.

Tijuana Taxi

Okay, this video doesn't actually have Herb Alpert or the Tijuana Brass in it visually. Only their music.

But, this IS an example of what always happens when anyone listens to Mr. Alpert: They grab their nearest ugly, upholstery poncho (that Micky Dolenz would be so proud of)....AND RUN AROUND DANCING VERY ODDLY.

Mame

Herb Alpert in strangely casual wear (where's his beach tux?!) hanging out on top of a dune buggy thing. Many surf boards stand nearby ominously. SUDDENLY, the entire cast of a Beach Party rip-off come running out. They dance creepily before running around like there's a bomb threat. Herb continues to stand on said dune buggy thing pretending that none of those people exist. He also sings for a short while -- because it was casual day.

Mame with Louis Armstrong

THIS IS JUST LEGENDARY. OH MY GOSH.

Herb Alpert and Louis Armstrong together (and neither playing the trumpet). Herb is clearly in awe of Mr. Armstrong and awkwardly trying not to sing louder, or faster, or more than Mr. Armstrong. AND THAT HAND SLIDE THING AT THE END. Oh my gosh. (And apparently, on this same show, they sang Mack The Knife together. I NEED TO SEE THAT.)

Anyway, here was just a short list of Herb Alpert awesomeness. If you find yourself addicted, don't worry. *I* won't laugh at you. I am always addicted.

It's one thing to listen to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, but it's quite another thing to WATCH THEM. Listening is chill and awesome. WATCHING IS WOWZIE KAZAM AND AWESOME.

Just remember that.

-Millie

The Ten Greatest Films of All Time. Ever. {According to The Millie.}

2011-10-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm. This has been in my drafts for over a month. Clearly, I was just waiting to come back and write explanations for all my choices. I'm not going to. I'm too lazy. HIIIII EVERYONE! I've missed you!

Ahhhh, the infamous "best of" lists.

I'm not gonna lie -- I love them.

I especially love the fascinatingly crazy ones (when people are praising the dumbest movies ever). Those are the most fun. I also enjoy the boring ones. The boring ones are when everyone is like: BRAND NEW INFORMATION! Citizen Kane is THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME. (When I say "boring," I don't mean that Citizen Kane is boring. It certainly isn't. I first watched it when I was ten, and was utterly intrigued. CK is definitely worth all the praise it gets.)

Anyway, *I* was rather bored and decided to create a best of list myself. This one falls under the fascinatingly crazy category (but, hey! At least I controlled myself enough to not include Gidget Goes Hawaiian or Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine!)

These are just ten movies that always leave me amazed. I could have included hundreds of others (and I'm actually quite saddened about the lack of westerns and musicals), but this is what it is....in alphabetical order. ;-D

Gaslight [1944]

His Girl Friday [1940]

It Happened One Night [1934]

Lady From Shanghai [1947]

Laura [1944]

The Lost Weekend [1945]

Rebel Without A Cause [1955]

Shadow of a Doubt [1942]

The Third Man [1949]

To Be Or Not To Be [1942]

What are your top ten most amazingly awesome movies?

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Lonely, mid-western doctor on the run OR James Bond?

This photo was used in ads for the 3rd season of The Fugitive. Clearly, SOMEONE forgot the ENTIRE plot of The Fugitive.

I love it.

{source}

Photo of the Day!

2011-09-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Dolores Hope.

2011-09-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

May 27, 1909 – September 19, 2011

Dolores Hope was a completely beautiful, talented, and wonderful woman and philanthropist. She will be missed.

Photo of the Day!

2011-09-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Bette Davis being cooler than anyone should ever be allowed to be.

-Millie

P.S. Please forgive my long absence. I've been working scones at the fair again AND I'm also in training for my new job at the college (I'm a writing tutor.....which I'm sure is most amusing to many of you ;-D).

Cliff Robertson.

2011-09-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011

Cliff Robertson was just an awesome person. I can't think of a single performance I haven't enjoyed. There was just something about that made you wish he was your friend. Maybe it was that sneaky, little smile or that completely inimitable voice?

He was perfect for light, fluffy '60s comedies.... but he was an even better serious actor.

I mean, he was the guy who played the famous Newman and Brando and Lemmon roles -- before they played them.

One of my absolute favorite roles of his, is an episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Dummy." Cliff plays a completely psycho character, and he's BRILLIANT. And cool. And awesome.

But, that's how he always was. And that's why he will be very much missed.

Rest in peace, Mr. Robertson.

-Millie

2011-09-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to remember.

And to say thank you to all who have sacrificed in many different ways so that I can be free.

You will never be forgotten.

Bob + Bing

2011-09-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

"Bing.

"It's hard to explain what that jug-eared groaner has that made us close friends through seven movies and innumerable radio and television shows. I know that some recent accounts of his family troubles portray Bing in a less-than-favorable light, but as far as I'm concerned, he could do no wrong. He had that warm, relaxed personal style onstage that, for me, carried offstage into the best friendship I ever had. How could I fail to have a warm spot in my heart for a fellow who sold me into slavery to Dorothy Lamour [Road to Morocco]?

"The liner of one of Bing's albums sums it up best: 'The voice of Bing Crosby has been heard by more people than the voice of any other human being who ever lived.'

"I miss that voice.

"We started to insult each other from the moment we met. I called him 'the sports shirt that walks like a man ... the large, economy-size Sinatra ... the only pot that ever got the rainbow.' And he called me 'The man with a nose like a bicycle seat.'

"It was love at first sight."

-Bob Hope in Don't Shoot, It's Only Me

Compulsion (1959): aka The Movie Where Bradford Dillman Smiles Evilly While Talking to a Teddy Bear

2011-09-02T02:35:00.000-07:00

I had only seen a few bits and pieces of Compulsion before, so I was SUPER-excited to see it tonight! (Orson Welles + Bradford Dillman? HECK YEAH.)

It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

The direction, the writing, the acting -- everything was flawless.

The story itself is really actually quite gruesome, but Bradford Dillman was so awesome I was kinda rooting for him (HORRIBLE CONFESSION OF THE DAY).

And when he was creepily talking to his teddy bear? I thought it was sort of adorable. (Yeah, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be allowed to write reviews for serious films ever, ever, ever.)

(I mean, SERIOUSLY! How is this not adorable?! ;-D)

I was waiting expectantly for the other reason why I watched this movie, but he didn't decide to show up for over an hour. And then after he appeared, Orson took over the entire movie and delivered long monologues and generally just forgot there were other cast members.

He was awesome.

There are very few actors that can talk for ten minutes without stopping, yet be completely compelling and fascinating. Mr. Welles is one of them. His court scene was perfect. And his final lines to Dean Stockwell -- STUNNING.

This brings me to Dean Stockwell, who also gave a great performance. He got a bit overshadowed by Bradford (which is how his character should be), but he was still good.

And really, this film had NO bad performances. AND IT HAD MARTIN MILNER (I didn't know he was gonna be in it!)

I really have no more words to add to this highly nonsensical semi-review, but everyone should go watch Compulsion. It's basically a class in acting, writing, directing, and how to seem threatening while wearing a bow-tie (you must a have an awesome evil smile).

-Millie

I was watching this with a friend and casually mentioned that I had once sent Mr. Dillman a fan letter congratulating him on having the greatest evil smile ever.

My friend's response? "OH MY GOSH. YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE CREEPY FANS!"

Sheesh. ;-D

Roddy McDowall's Home Movies. MILLIE CAN'T HANDLE THIS MUCH AWESOME.

2011-09-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This awesome YouTube channel uploaded a bunch of Roddy McDowall's home videos yesterday and they're unspeakably genius. Every single cool actor of the '60s hanging out, swimming, eating hot dogs, playing volleyball, building sandcastles. Paul Newman and Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara laughing together -- while Natalie Wood lounges nearby. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THESE VIDEOS. SO MANY PEOPLE. I can't even begin to write them all down.

Here are cool people hanging out together at various parties during the summer of '65:

There are even more AT the YouTube channel, so definitely check them out.

I'm so glad that now I have an exact place and time to direct my time-machine to. GOODBYE ALL! ;-D

-Millie

The Rat Pack Chess Set.

2011-08-31T01:08:00.000-07:00

I need one.

Ingy.

2011-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

{source}

August 29, 1915 - August 29, 1982

I'm sorry, but I really don't have the words to describe my undying adoration for this woman.

She is the greatest, most beautiful, most brilliant, most perfect, most Wowzie Kazam actress to ever exist.

I could literally listen to her reading a phonebook all-day long.

I would drop everything to go and watch her in a toothpaste commercial.

And when it comes to her actual, factual roles -- there isn't a single non-brilliant or uninteresting performance.

Everyone who ever knew her completely adored her.

I wish I knew her in real life, but I'm ever so happy to know her in film life. She never fails to be wonderfully Ingy.

Happy Birthday, you Swedish goddess! ;-D

-Millie

No, of course I don't watch movies just because an obscure actor I like is in it for three minutes. WHY WOULD I DO THAT?!

2011-08-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm sorry. I can't help it. When you're madly in love with various actors that APPARENTLY NO ONE ELSE APPRECIATES, very often you find yourself watching low-budget, over-the-top '60s movies to catch a glimpse of unheralded genius.

Looking back at just this month, I noticed quite a few of these instances:

Sherry Jackson

The Monitors -- which I slightly fell asleep in, but am totally still gonna finish.

Peter Brown

I totally watched Kitten With a Whip for him. Not gonna lie -- it was an awesome movie. LOOK AT HIS HAT. He played a punk gangster teenager who majored in philosophy and minored in political science. As he was beating people up, he often said things like: "Cool it, creep and co-exist!"

Gardner McKay

Okay, I actually may have told Casey (who lent it to me) that I wanted The Pleasure Seekers for Gene Tierney (and I totally did and her one scene was stinkin AWESOME), but I really just wanted it for Gardner McKay. The fact that Carol Lynley was in love with BRIAN KEITH instead of Gardner....was rather confusing. In fact, I sent a text to Kate ~~at 3:08 AM~~ that read, and I quote, "Ewwww. This girl is in love with Brian Keith instead of Gardner. Let me repeat that: BRIAN KEITH. O_O"

You know what's even more odd? Kate actually responded. I'm always sending Kate nonsensical movie texts at all hours -- AND SHE RESPONDS!

Brett Halsey.

This is what I watched last night. Girl In Lover's Lane. Clearly the worst film ever made. Clearly awesome.

Martin Milner

MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR. After I watched the movie, I did my customary IMDb checks. And I realized that apparently it's a sad ending (that every female who has ever viewed it has cried profusely during) because Gene Kelly and Natalie Wood's characters were a part of some epic love story or something. I didn't even realize it. All I saw were Martin Milner and his awesome glasses.

And we're not even gonna TALK about the weird movies I watch for Hayley Mills. Like The Sinking Aunt.

There are actually dozens of other random, obscure actors I will watch anything for (Bradford Dillman, I'm looking at you!); these were just a few examples from the past month.

And, of course, dozens of well-known actors too (I am nothing, if not always an obsessive fan). But, I always find it the MOST fun to carefully track down awesome, obscure actors' films (search YouTube, Netflix, random Russian sites, and then when I find nothing -- go ask Kate or Casey if they have it! ;-D). You watch these (often horribly WOWZIE KAZAM) movies, and you realize, you're probably only the 38th person to ever actually view this. That's an awesome feeling. You're no longer an idiot for watching junky '60s movies that were made for less than $50 -- YOU'RE A HERO. You're persevering through junky '60s movies that were made for less than $50, so that no one forgets Michael Callan's comedic genius.

This is the ultimate goal of students of Mind-Smushing Entertainment: to find genius in fifth-rate Beach Party knock-offs.

I have nothing more to say. I leave you with this:

{Yes, I once watched an episode of Twilight Zone (which is actually high-quality, ESPECIALLY compared to the rest of the stuff here) for the sole reason of seeing Sue Randall wearing awesome glasses.

That's a valid reason.}

-Millie

One of my favorite scenes EVER!

2011-08-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

What could possibly be more perfect?!

{Well, actually it would be even more perfect if it had James Garner, as he was in it originally. I'm so tired of all the legal fighting over the character of Maverick. Not only will they NOT let me own all of coolness on DVD, THEY WON'T EVEN LET ME WATCH A MAVERICK CAMEO IN A BOB HOPE MOVIE. So unfair.}

But, yeah. This scene is pure perfection. I remember the first time I saw it (I was probably 7 or 8). I couldn't even handle it. All those glorious characters -- and in technicolor!

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-08-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Happy one-day-late Birthday, Honor Blackman!

I cannot even understand how she is 86 now. She never ages.

Photo of the Day!

2011-08-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

Peter O'Toole with his wife, Sian Phillips.

Sarah!

2011-08-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Pretend she's reading a college book.

So, my super-awesome, seriously gorgeous, and incredibly cool friend Sarah (of the wicker bar) is starting college today!

She left New York and headed to Ohio a few days ago and I got all sad and depressed that 'I was LOSING HER!" -- when I finally remembered that I haven't technically even met her in "real life" and that techinally she has actually moved CLOSER to me.

It takes me a while, okay. ;-D

It seems like just yesterday that I was just typing away that I wanted to be half as cool as Sarah "when *I* was 14!" :')

(It hasn't happened yet. I'm still not half as cool as Sarah was when she was 14.)

But, anyway. I just really wanted to wish Sarah a spectacularly awesome first day of school! You're going to be brilliant, my dear!

-Millie

Gardner McKay and his awesome dog, Pussycat.

2011-08-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about it. On most people's blogs, a post with the single purpose of displaying photos of an (unfairly) obscure '60s actor and his dog would be tagged with "off-topic" or "random."

Not here.

On-topic doesn't exist.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE TOPIC IS.

Anyway, here's Gardner McKay and his awesome dog, Pussycat.

-Millie

Hitchcock's Birthday Bash: The Millie's 10 Favorite Hitchcock Villains

2011-08-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Last year, I did as list of my favorite Hitchcock heroes. That was all well and good. But Hitchcock villains are ALWAYS 50 times more awesome than any "heroes" (unless said heroes have mustaches and British accents).

Hitchcock villains are awesome and cool and genius and evil. They're perfect.

Obviously, a list of villains is a bit spoilerish, so if you WANT to know the movies included in this list and not be spoiled or whatever (the list is spoiled of course then. But, yeah. I CAN'T STOP ALL SPOILERS! ;-D) here are the films in order: Jamaica Inn, North By Northwest, Stage Fright, The Birds, Trouble With Harry, Psycho, Rebecca, Strangers on a Train, Dial M For Murder, Shadow of a Doubt.

If you're all cool, then you may now continue...

10} Jamaica Inn ~ Sir Humphrey Pengallan

So deliciously evil. His face looks positively plastic the entire time and he's so creepy and also sorta nice to some people. Charles Laughton is a genius.

9} North By Northwest ~ Phillip Vandamm

It's James Mason and his sinisterly awesome voice (mentioned in Rope eleven years before actually). Phillip is utterly charming and utterly evil. Nothing could be more perfect.

8} Stage Fright ~ Jonathan Cooper

Richard Todd makes you think he's innocent and then he slowly makes you realize he's crazy and then you finally realize that he's a psycho. A brilliant villain. Much is made of the false flashback, but if us viewers were paying ANY attention to the film, we would have realized that this guy lies all the time AND -- more importantly -- has crazy eyes.

7} The Birds ~ Tippi Hedren

Tippi is one of the MORE evil villains on this list. What started out to be a charming film about an awesome school teacher and a local boy falling in love and having a perfect life, turned drastically different when Tippi showed up (with her trained birds in tow). Although I can forgive almost all the villains on this list (because they're stinkin' awesome), I can never forgive Tippi. (And just think, if Tippi hadn't been in this film, we wouldn't have had to hear her go on about Sir Alfred being the child of Satan at every possible moment. ;-D)

6} Trouble With Harry ~ Harry

Harry, why do you have to be SUCH a troublemaker?! Your socks are awesome by the way (wish I could say the same for your mustache -- definitely not Michael Redgrave worthy).

5} Psycho ~ Norman Bates

Norman, *I* understand that you are really more of a misunderstood anti-hero. But, for the sake of popular opinion, I gotta put you on this list. Don't worry. *I* understand that you would NEVER hurt a fly!

4} Rebecca ~ Mrs. Danvers

Mrs. Danvers, you are a legit psychopath. Also awesome.

3} Strangers on a Train ~ Bruno Antony

Ugh. Now, you Mr. Antony, YOU SIR, ARE PERFECT. I really do love Guy Haines (FARLEY!), but I was rooting for you and that lighter all the way. Fair is fair and verbal contracts are legal in many parts of the country. Instead of the revenge, you really should have just got a good lawyer, taken Guy to court, and SUED HIM FOR EVERYTHING HE HAD!

2} Dial M For Murder ~ Tony Wendice

I love you, Mr. Wendice. You had a killer Welsh accent (heh heh). I adore Grace Kelly more than almost anything, BUT I WAS ON YOUR SIDE. I'm on the side of anyone not on the side of Robert Cummings. And you were so charming and charismatic and awesome. You really should have succeeded.

1} Shadow of a Doubt ~ Uncle Charlie

Uncle Charlie. I have no words to describe your perfection. Just know that I'm with you 100%. AND YOU HAVE THE MOST AWESOME CIGAR SMOKING SKILLS EVER. And I don't even know what else to say. You're cool.

So, here's my not-at-all-creepy list of revered Hitchcock villains. Who are your favorites?

-Millie

The 3rd Annual Hitchcock Birthday Bash!

2011-08-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm home (as of very early yesterday morning)! Had a crazy/awesome trip and I SHALL be blogging about it in the future!

Right now, I need to get the Alfred Hitchcock 112th birthday party GOING! This is the 3rd year of having a blogging birthday for him (and coming up next week is the 5th year of having a real-life party for him).

Clearly, I love Sir Alfred. One wouldn't try to make chocolate chip cookies in the shape of his face ~~unsuccessfully~~ every year on his birthday if one didn't UTTERLY ADORE HIM.

I have written extensively about his awesomeness (he's actually the most tagged person on the blog) and I don't really know what else to say.

So, here's a photo of Sir Alfred floating around and being cooler than everyone else:

{source}

As far as I'm concerned, Sir Alfred never did anything wrong in his entire life. Some might say that his four-film association with a certain actor was a slight misstep. (I'm not gonna mention any names. Let's just say James S. NO, NO. How about J Stewart.) But, so great is Mr. Hitchcock's complete genius, I am willing to overlook The Man Who Snooze Too Much and concentrate instead on the fact that I once almost had a heart attack trying to choose 20 favorite Hitchcock films BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE ONE IS PERFECTION.

Shadow of a Doubt will always remain my favorite (and has been since I was nine years old), but every other film is tied for second. I was looking at my 2011 in Film tab the other day and noticed that I've watched The Lady Vanishes like five times already this year. Those five viewings are added to the 976 times I've already seen it. But, you know what? I still enjoy the heck out of it. (I also enjoy the heck out of Michael Redgrave's super-awesome mustache.)

Sir Alfred was so talented that he was able to create extraordinarily diverse films. His work is considered on the highest level of film genius and there are entire college courses devoted to studying them frame by frame. But, I can also sit back and watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Trouble With Harry and literally laugh out loud while sitting alone in my room (that wasn't supposed to sound pathetic. ;-D) I can also sit back with friends and watch those auteur films and eat pretzels and drink Dr. Pepper and be thoroughly entertained.

Somehow, Sir Alfred found a way to create art that film professors teach classes on and twelve year-old girls invite friends over for a sleepover to watch for fun.

It's craziness.

Who was this jolly genius from England with a strange fear of the color yellow, who also took absolute delight in "playing the audience like a piano," and was called an "adorable genius" BY INGRID AWESOME BERGMAN?!

I really don't know.

In the mean time, I'm going back to trying to make chocolate chip cookies in the shape of his profile and deciding which films I'm going to watch for the birthday bash this year!

-Millie

So, I would absolutely ADORRRRRRRRE guest posts about anything even remotely related to Sir Alfred! Anything you've got (post, photos, videos, whatever) that you'd like to share -- just send it to classicforeverblogger [at] yahoo [dot] com! Since I was gone during the beginning of August, I'm hoping to keep this party going for the rest of the month! So, you can send it at any time! Thanks ever so! :-D

Off to Africa!

2011-07-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm FINALLY going back to Sierra Leone again (it's been much too long)! I'll only be gone for two weeks (leaving tomorrow). I'm super-excited! I'd like to write more, but I have MUCH TOO MUCH left to do tonight (and I, of course, did wait until the last minute to do everything).

I'll be back in a couple weeks (with the 3rd Annual Hitchcock Birthday Bash! Get your guest posts ready! ;-D)

-Millie, WHO STILL NEEDS TO FIND HER BELOVED TRAVEL PILLOW!

Quotables: Phoebe Dorin

2011-07-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

"Michael had a 185 IQ and was a college graduate. He was one of the most brilliant people you'd ever meet in your life. Very incongruous, that little body and this vast, brilliant mind. He would read three books a day. He wanted to be a doctor, and people would carry on about wanting him to be an opera singer --people who had heard him sing in college and everywhere. Michael was like this little genius. This strange little genius, but this genius!"

-Phoebe Dorin on Michael Dunn

Photo of the Day!

2011-07-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

David Janssen is a brooding astronaut. Does anyone know why?

I'm serious.

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THIS IS FROM.

Photo of the Day!

2011-07-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

"1963: While on location in Bay City, Texas, Lee Remick and Steve McQueen visit the local five-and-dime store. When Steve got off the 'horse' he said, 'I never could trust a horse.'"

{Photo/text credit: Mattybing1025}

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2011-07-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've started rewatching Deanna Durbin's entire filmography.

It was awesome, because the films I don't have on DVD (all but FIVE...sheesh) were on YouTube.

BUT, NOW. I just went to watch One Hundred Men and a Girl and discovered that two weeks ago that the channel was forced -- because of copyright violation -- to delete it, along with Mad About Music, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, Christmas Holiday, and Up In Central Park!

This is rather horrible. I have no access to any of those films!

If you know where I can find them online, please let me know!

Thanks.

-Millie

THE Eyebrow-Raisers...TOGETHER.

2011-07-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

I was just watching The Saint on RTV. It was an episode I had never seen before. There was a slightly minor character of a secretary (minor, because she doesn't quite make it through the entire episode. ;-D). It was all cool. AND THEN I REALIZED. It was Eunice Gayson.

Eunice Gayson is basically the queen of eyebrow-raising. And here she was, with the king of eyebrow-raising. I basically could not handle the awesomeness.

Most people probably remember Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench, the woman who prompted James Bond to utter his first "Bond, James Bond" on screen (in Dr. No). She also showed up in From Russia With Love and she SHOULD have come back again and again -- 'cause she's stinkin' cool!

^LOOK AT HER EYEBROW.

Anyway. This post serves no purpose (I really need to ~~start~~ get back to writing purposeful posts here).

But, really. For the brief moments that Simon Templar and Eunice Gayson were raising their eyebrows together, it was like watching Fred + Ginger dance or Frankie + Annette fake surf against a screen -- PURE AWESOME.

Yeah, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.

I was GOING to post the video of Eunice as Sylvia, but EVERY SINGLE VIDEO HAS EMBEDDING DISABLED. Even the Italian dubbed version (Connery dubbed in Italian is more than slightly hilarious) disabled embedding. SHEESH. Well, if you want to see the scene, follow this link.

-Millie

And apparently, she was in a color Saint episode which I somehow have never watched (HOW?!). I need to go watch it now.

Every Sunday (1936)

2011-07-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

To start this series, we have Deanna's very first film: a ten and a half minute short, also starring Judy Garland.

For this movie, Deanna is credited with her real name -- Edna Mae Durbin.

Although it is not especially interesting, Every Sunday is rather legendary. It was the screen-test for Deanna and Judy -- and Judy won...or she didn't...or there was a tie. The explanations for why Judy stayed with MGM and Deanna did not VARY GREATLY (to say the least).

Anyway, the short itself is rather adorable and both girls are utterly awesome. The highlight is the "Opera vs. Jazz" performance. BRILLIANCE.

And although Judy was seriously cool, Deanna totally won this one for me. haha

You can watch the entire short on YouTube:

Next up: Three Smart Girls

-Millie

Sorry for the shortness of the post. It was a short movie. ;-D

Photo of the Day!

2011-07-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Eunice Gayson.

Quotables: The In-Laws

2011-07-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

2011-07-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Perfect, utterly perfect.

I want to be a screaming fangirl at a '60s Animals' concert.

Twenty-Five Minutes of The Stanwyck Being Awesome and Wearing Pants and Taking Down ALL the Bad Guys!

2011-07-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Emm (also a co-blogger at Stupendously Amazingly Cool World of Old TV), sent me a link to this episode of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater on Twitter this morning -- and I IMMEDIATELY had to go watch it!

IT WAS BRILLIANT. The Stanwyck is so perfect -- sometimes I can't even HANDLE IT!

In this episode, titled "Trail to Nowhere," she plays a female out for the killer of her husband. But, really, the plot is unimportant. What is important is that The Stanwyck single-handedly takes down every single bad guy. LITERALLY. She gets in fist-fights, gun-fights, mud-fights -- and she always wins.

Oh, and did I also mention that her co-star is DAVID JANSSEN + HIS "TWITCHY, LITTLE SMIRK." I CAN'T EVEN.

I was unprepared for this much coolness. I do believe it is the first time Dick Powell was involved in the creation of something awesome in his entire life. ;-D

^I need a bigger copy of this photo. It's The Stanwyck and Dr. Richard Kimble relaxing on the set together! :-O

Anyway, the episode was quite brilliant. And I can't imagine any other '50s actress realistically playing such a kick-awesome female. And of course, she was 51 when it was made. She looks like she was 30. I mean, they had 27 year-old David Janssen in love with her -- and it didn't seem odd at all. The Stanwyck doesn't ever fit into any genre or category, either as an actress or person. That's why she was such a stupendously amazingly cool genius.

Millie just loves The Stanwyck.

Watch "Trail to Nowhere":

-Millie

{Image credits: The David Janssen Archive}

Photo of the Day!

2011-07-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

LOOK AT ALL THIS AWESOME COOLNESS! I love Cary + Grace!

{Gif was created by tracylord on Tumblr}

Lovely Lady of the Week: Patti McGee

2011-07-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

My family is a bit of boarding family. My younger brothers long-board. My 19 year-old brother is a super-amazing skateboarder who has toured around the country many times since he was 15 (he has visited almost every single state doing demos with his team). My 22 year-old brother is also an excellent skater. He has his own board company, used to own a skate shop, and now works for Zumiez.

I do not board, as I have no balance at all. I'm always afraid that when I'm driving I'll get stopped by the Police and made to walk a straight line and they'll think I'm drunk -- EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT. It's quite the problem. ;-D

Anyway, this long introductory section was merely to say that I have been saturated in skating since I was quite young -- and that Patti McGee is seriously awesome.

Patti McGee was the first pro female skater, the first to win the national female championships, and the first female inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. She's just cool.

I would say that she was basically just Gidget as a skateboarder, but Patti was a brilliant surfer YEARS before she even started skating. aka SHE IS A NEW AND IMPROVED GIDGET. (I'm just gonna stop here before I talk about her scary skiing skills. Suffice to say, she is an accomplished athelete -- at everything. I mean, she is probably the world champion pogo-stick jumper. ;-D)

Check out Patti doing a few tricks on TV in 1965:

Also, Patti being waaay too cool in a commercial for The Southern New England Telephone Company:

And now, the top image again (because I love it so much) from its original source: Patti as the first female cover of Skateboarder Magazine.

This is just a little bit of the awesome, talented, genius, and utterly adorable Patti McGee. And at the age of nearly 66, she still loves to skateboard. I LOVE HER.

-Millie

Quotables: Marcello Mastroianni

2011-07-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

"The day when everyone is very, very elegant…I will start to go around dressed like a tramp."

-Marcello Mastroanni speaking to GQ in 1964

"Ocean in view! O! The Joy!"

2011-07-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

I'm off camping today to my beautiful Pacific Coast!

Ugh. It's so perfect. My heart is just happy there. haha

{James and I in 2009. THIS WAS THE ONLY PHOTO OF ME + LONG BEACH SAVED ON MY COMPUTER. -_-}

No, but seriously. It's basically the coolest place on the entire Earth.

I'll see you on Friday...

-Millie

{The top and bottom photos were not taken by me.}

Happy Independence!

2011-07-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Every Fourth of July, besides drinking lots of pink lemonade and buying WAAAAY too many fireworks at the Reservation (personally, I only go for the smoke bombs -- it's my brothers who buy all the scary explosives ;-D), it is absolutely necessary to watch Fred Astaire dancing with firecrackers (embedding was disabled. SHEESH).

What are your favorite Fourth of July traditions?

-Millie, who is NOT going to get any of her limbs blown off this year...

Quotables: Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine

2011-07-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

Dr. Goldfoot, I love you. Vincent Price, I LOVE YOU.

{I'm also so gonna do an actual post on this movie's brilliance some day. ;-D}

Photo of the Day!

2011-07-03T01:13:00.000-07:00

Audrey Hepburn and William Wyler.

P.S. I absolutely adored my Lost Weekend blog header, but I also thought it would be fun to have a summery one. However, have no fear, The Magnificent Mr. Milland shall return! ;-D

Is David Janssen Acting Drunk the Absolute Greatest Thing Ever?

2011-07-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

JUST LOOK AT HIS FACE.

Note: This is where everyone gets together and stages an intervention and takes away my computer.

{From the film Hell to Eternity}

The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968): Allow me to introduce you to The Face of Pure Evil

2011-07-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

The title of this movie a clear give-away to the horribly-made, low-budgeted awesomeness that it is.

AIP at their most classic. ;-D

I watched The Mini-Skirt Mob for Sherry Jackson, because she's one of my favorite TV actresses. And she was quite cool in this...even if she did get the pitiful character. The poor thing kept getting beaten up, gagged and tied, almost blown up with Molotov cocktails, forced to trek through the scorching desert on foot, AND basically run over with a motorcycle. The person responsible for this madness? The Face of Pure Evil.

{At this exact moment she is sitting on a motorcycle -- about to run over a poor, defenseless Sherry.}

Diane McBain is one of the great blondes of '60s television (and I do not hand out that title lightly), but herewith she will be known simply as The Face of Pure Evil. It's not that I didn't know that Diane had experience playing characters that lived off of their complete evilness (I have watched '60s TV), it's just that her playing a gleefully revengeful leader of a biker-gang is so bloody scary. I quite assuredly will have nightmares of her snake eating a mouse speech.

I was also rather amused because I had seen this Sherry vs. Diane battle play out before -- in an episode of Wild Wild West. In "The Night of the Vicious Valentine" there is also a good vs. evil showdown (three guesses who is good and who is evil). Of course, in WWW Sherry had James West and Artemus Gordon on her side (aka she easily defeats evil). In The Mini-Skirt Mob, she only had Ross Hagen (whoever that is) and he has the creepiest raspy voice ever, so I was pretty sure he was supposed to be a serial killer (until I finally realized he was supposed to be THE good guy).

Oh my! I certainly abused the parentheses in the preceding paragraph!

Anyway. I can't remember exactly what I wanted to say about this movie (I watched it like 5am this morning), but it was certainly interesting. It even had the Bad Seed all grown-up and being noble at the last minute. Of course, being noble at the last minute in AIP movies only means that your soul is saved -- you're still condemned to some sort of retributive (usually dramatic) death. So, if you want to survive an AIP movie, BE NOBLE ALWAYS (which usually just means, DON'T KILL PEOPLE).

That ending though. I was confused for a bit. According to the particular formula for this particular film (there is an art and science to Mind-Smushing Entertainment), I knew that Diane McBain was gonna have to die a gruesome, horrible death. And then Sherry RUSHED to save her from falling off a cliff. I mean, REALLY?!

Of course, then Sherry realized what she did and slowly released her fingers one-by-one and let Diane plumment to her death below!

Oh, um, SPOILER ALERT! ;-D

I mean, girl! I know that the formula told you that Diane needed to die. And I KNOW she knocked you unconscious a few times, and had you tied and gagged, and almost blew you up, and shot at you, and chased you around on her motorcycle, and almost killed your husband like 18 times. And, I know that this all took place on your honeymoon. But still, your face when you let her fall down the mountain -- that was harsh. ;-D

{Start at 6:50}

Well, in conclusion, this movie is crazy. And unless you're crazy -- don't watch it.

Just kidding you. You totally need to go watch it.

And, as luck would have it, it's available for free viewing on Hulu! haha

-Millie

Millie LOOOOVES This

2011-06-30T18:17:00.001-07:00

A tribute someone made to the awesome and British television actress, Judy Carne. It just makes me happy.

Michael Caine's Glasses.

2011-06-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a good idea to have a post of Michael Caine with his glasses, because, well, because -- I DON'T EVEN NEED A REASON.

So here's to Michael Caine wearing awesome glasses and being cooler than everyone else!

{Source for this photo and several others in this post}

{Note: the entire reason for this post was NOT so that I could post this photo, which I do not at all find very weirdly fascinating.}

"I'm the original bourgeois nightmare - a Cockney with intelligence and a million dollars."

{with Natalie Wood}

Only Michael Caine can do cool impersonations of.... Michael Caine:

-Millie

Batman: The Movie. This IS Mind-Smushing Entertainment - you sad, deprived souls!

2011-06-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

When I write about the "sad, deprived souls," I am NOT talking about my awesome blog followers. No, I am referring to the people who continually give Batman: The Movie (1966) bad reviews and talk about its idiocy and lack of plot.....on and on and on....

Clearly, these people (and there are so many of them) have trouble identifying satire. Because Batman is brilliant, Wowzie Kazam, stupendously amazingly cool satire.

There is no possible way a film that includes exploding sharks, emergency Bat-copter landings at foam mattress conventions, the entire Security Council at the pseudo-U.N. getting disintegrated, and heroic "almost-human" porpoises -- COULD NOT BE COMPLETELY GENIUS.

Which also brings me to another point: Stop telling me that "a little camp goes a long way!" (This phrase is in many even-basically-sympathetic reviews.) I have NO idea what you're talking about. ;-D

Or maybe I just understand this movie because it is dedicated to me?

"Lovers of the ridiculous and the bizarre"? That's definitely not me.

And speaking of this opening title, HOW DO PEOPLE STILL NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE WATCHING AFTER READING THAT?!

There is an IMDb review where someone questions whether, maybe, the film was actually just supposed to be funny.

No, it was definitely Christopher Nolan's inspiration for The Dark Knight, genius.

Is anyone else amused by the fact that I am writing an idiotic, non-nonsensical post at 1 AM just to ridicule people who think that Batman: The Movie is idiotic and makes no sense? OH, WE'RE THE COOL PEOPLE HERE AT CLASSICFOREVER. ;-D

Anyway, those sad, deprived souls who simply cannot comprehend the awe-inspiring power of Batman -- it is for them that I shall write and publish my magnum opus on Mind-Smushing Entertainment.* I've already got two people who are planning on reading it: me and also Marya PROMISED she would read it. haha

So yeah. It's gonna be great, guys.

I think I'm just gonna go now. ;-D

-Millie

*The Definitive Guide to Mind-Smushing Entertainment still has not found its publisher yet. ~~It also needs to be written.~~ But it WILL happen! It will. ;-D

Deanna Durbin: from the beginning

2011-06-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

Deanna Durbin has long been one of my favorite actresses -- LONG, as in basically always.

She never made a bad film, is a wonderful person off-screen, and was almost FRIGHTENINGLY popular in the '30s and '40s -- yet she is strangely underrated and under appreciated today.

Plus, she was not just a gorgeous actress, but also a trained opera singer. I MEAN WHAT?!

{Many of you are possibly wondering at this point why you are not already crazily-devoted fans of Deanna Durbin.}

I have seen all but one of Deanna's films (most for the first time before the age of 10). However, some of the films I have not seen for many years (blasted library getting rid of its entire VHS collection!).

For me, this series will be a re-watching of an actress I have loved for longer than I can remember. Her movies were a huge part of my childhood. Her films are inextricable from actual, tangible memories.

It should be fun. Some of the movies are completely imprinted on my brain forever, others I have only a faint recollection.

Hopefully, I'll be able to show just a little bit WHY Deanna Durbin is so completely Wowzie Kazam awesome!

I'm excited.

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-06-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is a still from Better A Widow (1968). The other day I discovered that the third star of this film is Gabriele Ferzetti. Kate and I's search for the film has been updated from absolutely necessary to LIFE-OR-DEATH URGENT. We need to see this glorious Peter McEnery film. We will do anything, steal anything, kill anybody -- to get our hands on it.

So yeah. Let one of us know if you've got a copy lying around.

THANKS! ;-D

-Millie

Peter Falk.

2011-06-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

September 16, 1927 - June 23, 2011

I don't even know what to say right now. Peter Falk is not only one of my favorite actors ever, but also one of my favorite PEOPLE ever.

Peter Falk was always brilliant. In movies, he could play Jack Lemmon's evil, dim-witted assistant Max (The Great Race); he could play a brutal thug (Murder Inc.); he could play a singing Guy Gisborne (Robin and the 7 Hoods); he could play a convincing psychiatrist (Pressure Point); he was widely regarded for his art-house films with John Cassavetes. These are just a few of his many awesome film performances.

with Natalie Wood

Of course, Peter Falk also owned television. He could do anything in any medium. He could go from playing a Fidel Castro-type on The Twilight Zone to spoofing himself on a Dean Martin Roasts. He was literally mesmerizing in any role.

And, if we're speaking of Peter Falk being mesmerizing, I simply must mention his most famous and most brilliant performance of all: Lt. Columbo.

Columbo is one of the greatest characters of all-time from ANY medium. He is impossible to NOT love. He's always borrowing pencils from people (always claiming that he just "misplaced" his). He never throws away a cigar until there is LITERALLY nothing left to it. He loves his trench coat with an undying devotion. He's always walking away from a suspect, only to turn around and say the phrase that strikes fear in the hearts of murderers, "Oh, there's just one more thing." Of course, even though everyone thinks he's an idiot, Columbo is always smarter than everyone else.

He's perfect.

No one else could have played him but Peter Falk. The man and the character were made for each other.

In my family, Columbo adoration is taught from a very young age. There are certain things you simply must like (Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Paul and Mary, Emergency!) -- and Columbo is one of them. I grew up on Peter Falk's brilliance and I find him even MORE brilliant now. I once watched Pocketful of Miracles (O_O) JUST for him. I will watch anything he is in, because I know he'll be awesome. I have NEVER seen Peter Falk NOT being awesome.

Early in his career, Peter Falk mostly played support in movies (he had back-to-back Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor in '60 and '61). Of course, that didn't last for too long -- because he kept stealing everything from everyone (EVEN FROM JACK LEMMON BEING DELICIOUSLY CRAZY AS PROFESSOR FATE!).

The poor actors he worked with. They never thought that this crazy, short guy with a fake right eye was going to easily take-over their movies.

Here is an episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour that Peter Falk starred in. It's nothing particularly famous or special, but it is brilliant. Peter plays a charismatic traveling revivalist preacher guy...who ruthlessly kills people. It's all cool. I'm posting this random little episode because it is Peter Falk being awesome and crazy and fascinating. Classic Falk.

Also: only Peter Falk could get away with saying lines like, "We're gonna cry when we peel onions and laugh when we drink wine." What?!

I was actually planning on writing a post this week about the Falk-Gazzara-Cassavetes friendship, because it is one of my favorite things ever. Now, separately, each of these three men were a little odd. But together -- they were absolutely crazy. I always feel very sorry for Dick Cavett when the three of them showed up on his show in 1970 (basically completely drunk or something). Before he welcomes them he says, "They're all in the wings now -- taking the theater apart." I'm pretty sure they actually were. Poor, Mr. Cavett. Peter made random jokes, John just stared, and Ben -- was off somewhere...

They were basically a Rat Pack for art-house intelligentsia.

with Gena Rowlands

This post makes no sense at all and I still don't know what to write. It's just that Peter Falk is one of my favorite people ever. He was a brilliant actor, hilarious, cool, slightly crazy -- and utterly awesome. He will be greatly missed.

-Millie

You should have never allowed yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security, Kate.

2011-06-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

MWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!

A couple of weeks ago, Kate horrifically tweeted me a creepy gif of Jimmy Stewart...BUT SHE LABELED IT WITH DANA ANDREWS (or another favorite-- I can't remember exactly). I vowed revenge. I slowly lulled her into a false sense of security. I regularly sent her Tumblr links, but of people she actually liked. She finally confessed to me that she no longer dreaded the links. I KNEW IT WAS TIME TO MAKE MY MOVE.

It was time for something BIG!

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Tyrone Power from The Millie on Vimeo.

So, yeah. Apparently, something big ended up being a five o'clock psycho video (it's been a long time...hasn't it?!).

This video was created from the perspective of Tyrone Power -- who just WON'T give up on Kate!

I decided to use "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" as sung by the Supremes and the Temptations, because -- why not?! It was perfectly creepy for my needs!

(Note: alternate music track ideas were "Girl, I'm Out to Get You" by Boyce & Hart and "And I Love You So" by Don McLean)

(Also note: I may have started the whole falsely tagging a photo thing a few months ago when I sent Kate a photo of Randolph Scott and labeled it as Oskar Werner. I'm not sure if that was the catalyst though. ;-D)

(Also, also note: I am never myself at 5am.)

Anyway, that is that (sadly, I only used what I had lying around on DVD...so there is no Mark of Zorro, A Yank in the RAF, Witness For the Prosecution, or myriads of other famous Ty roles).

At this point, Kate is just being unnecessarily stubborn. No one could seriously not like Ty for this long. It goes against the very laws of the universe. BECAUSE OF HER DISLIKE FOR TYRONE POWER, STARS DISAPPEAR AND COMETS EXPLODE!

Okay, I really should go to bed now.

-Millie

P.S. I waited an hour for the video to upload to YouTube, and at the last second the upload "failed" for no reason. ARRGGHHH, KATE! ;-D

I just had to spend another hour waiting for it to upload onto Vimeo. It is now 6:30 am. I will do practically anything to save Kate from the dark, dreary path she is headed down.

Photo of the Day!

2011-06-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

John and Gena.

One of the most literally genius classic couples.

Photo of the Day!

2011-06-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

James Garner and his daughter, Gigi

{Source}

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

2011-06-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

I missed it again! SHEESH.

Happy one-day-late Birthday, Matthew. (At least this post is closer to the actual date than last year's! ;-D)

I hope you had a lovely birthday...and many more.

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-06-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Paul and Joanne with Nell.

{source}

L'Avventura (1960): Don't ask me. I don't know.

2011-06-19T02:26:00.000-07:00

{File this one under: Screen-Caps That Explain the Entire Film}

I think my brain is going to explode.

Who decided it would be a good thing to let The Millie watch a movie so obviously far above what her viewing comprehension level will EVER BE?! Who?!

Oh, right. That blasted new obsession with Gabriele Ferzetti.

Let this be a lesson to you: obsessions are never healthy. ;-D

(I actually feel rather guilty for even using a winking emoticon in a review of this film.)

I'm not gonna lie, I was scared before I started watching this. Every single thing I'd ever read about it was always about the genius and never-ending symbolism. I get scared, because I can't possibly keep up with all the symbolism. Is that fluttering leaf in the background a symbol for something? What about the oddly shaped window -- is that a symbol? Do you understand how stressful that is? I'm on summer vacation, for heaven's sake! (I really want to use another winking emoticon right now, but I feel that would be a strangely unforgivable sacrilege.)

Of course, I forgot about all that and began to judge the film on its entertainment value alone. I always do. I may pretend to like Citizen Kane, The Third Man, and the like for their genius -- but it's mostly because they are highly entertaining.

L'Avventura also stars Monica Vitti (who I adore) and she is quite wonderful, as is Gabriele Ferzetti (I'm still having fun typing his name) -- and really the entire cast. Of course, they are being so wonderful playing basically completely unlikable characters (although, I really did thoroughly like them all at first [except for Anna]).

After all the characters become hollow and selfish jerks, there were still four very good reasons why I kept watching the film. One, the cinematography is so hauntingly and utterly perfect. Two, Monica Vitti wears so many cool '60s clothes. Three, every person had an Italian accent. And four, I could take as many Gabriele Ferzetti screencaps as my little heart desired. (Note that these are not necessarily in order of importance.)

I don't know. This movie just seriously confused me. That's not to suggest it isn't the masterpiece so many claim it to be, because I can totally see why it is considered so. It's just that I'm a dork, who enjoys happy endings and mostly likable protagonists. And L'Avventura had waaay too much fun messing with me. You should have seen me during the last minute, PATHETICALLY yelling for her not to walk away. The reason it was pathetic, is because it didn't matter if she left or not. Their lives would have been just as empty and soulless.

The characters in L'Avventura jump from one "adventure" to another. They are the definition of impulsive. It's as if they need to continually change and change and change to pretend they are not empty and purposeless.

But, now I'm beginning to sound like one of those scary symbolism people. QUICK! CHANGE THE SUBJECT!

L'Avventura was brilliant and horrible. It totally made its point and made me understand its point. The cinematography, direction, and acting were all excellent. But, it was horrible because it made me BLOODY THINK. The Millie doesn't like thinking on summer vacation. This movie has certainly ruined me forever for Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine and I sure won't be able to watch Gidget Goes Hawaiian anytime soon.

JUNK IT!

This is what happens when you decide to have your current obsession be an Italian actor from the '60s. Nothing EVER ends happy. Sheesh.

^This was basically my final reaction to the film. ;-D

-Millie, who promises to never again watch genius films far above her viewing comprehension and then write sacrilegious semi-reviews on said genius films.

P.S. If you're looking for any more ~~Gabriele Ferzetti~~ L'Avventura screencaps -- I have a "few." ;-DD

Jessica (1962): I...I...I...just don't know what to say.

2011-06-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

I almost ALWAYS only write actual semi-reviews for films I utterly loved, films I utterly hated, or films that are completely and brilliantly idiotic. I never blog about harmless, forgettable movies (for those I write a couple sentences on my 2011 in Film page). But, I have to with Jessica....because I don't even know whether I'm supposed to love it or hate it or ridicule it. THE MILLIE IS HOPELESSLY CONFUSED. ;-D

This movie has an awesome setting in Sicily -- utterly gorgeous. The cast is super-cool. The '60s fashion is to-die-for. And the music is quite lovely.

But the story is complete junk. Normally, I adore horribly written movies -- but I don't even know what to say about this one. It tries to be dramatic and "realistic," before being lured away into becoming a charming and wonderfully unrealistic comedy, before suddenly remembering that this is Jean Negulesco picture -- AND IT'S GONNA BE DRAMATIC. It's like the writer realized that the characters were just a little too happy and settled -- QUICK! KILL OFF THE HARMLESS, OLD CARE-TAKER WHO IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A LITTLE JOY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS OLD AGE AND DESTROY THE GARDEN HE'S BEEN WORKING ON FOR 60 YEARS WHILE YOU'RE AT IT! And while, we're on that point. The little wind storm utterly demolishes the garden he's been working on for 60 years. Had there literally been NO wind in Sicily since at least 1902?! (Normally, I forgive such anomalies. But, I'm not in a forgiving mood. ;-D)

I'm not even going to talk about the remarkable amount of sexism in this film, because I want to move right along to Maurice Chevalier as a priest.

*Excuse me a moment.*

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, anyway, I'm back. Yeah. Maurice Chevalier is the, um, devout and pious Father of the village (yeah, I'm stilling dying of laughter). He also sings and dances. And as the title character of Jessica is a midwife, I was seriously expecting him to wander by singing, "Thank heaven for leeetle girhls..."

Also: Why was everyone mad at Jessica? SHE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG. arrrgghhh.

Good things about this movie:

** It once again makes me want to Vespa my way around '60s Europe.

** The fashion was awesome.

**The cast was utterly brilliant.

** MARCEL DALIO SIGHTING (even though his character was extremely creepy [and Marcel made it the least possible of creepy that he could])!

** Gabriele Ferzetti.

Who is this actor? AND WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE?! He was so utterly perfect that I added basically all of his 50s/60s stuff to my Netflix. He's in a bunch of famous films that I've heard of before -- BUT SOMEHOW I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF HIM?! Craziness.

And while we're on the subject of Gabriele Ferzetti (his name is totally fun to type): You know how in all those late '50s/early '60s movies where there was a "handsome," older bachelor it was ALWAYS played by Rossano Brazzi -- but he is just so seriously creepy that I can't even handle watching anything with him? Well, Gabriele Ferzetti (go type/say his name. You know it's fun. ;-D) was playing that part in this movie AND HE WAS SO PERFECT. Is there any possible way we can go and digitally remove Rossano Brazzi from everything and add Gabriele Ferzetti instead? Get back to me on that, because I am seriously curious. ;-D

Well, in conclusion, I don't even know what to say about this movie. It was like the kind of movie I should have loved ('60s, Sicily, cool clothes, Vespa, MARCEL DALIO), but absolutely do not love.

That script was crazy and not in a good way (and you have to be aware that to be not crazy in a good way in the eyes of The Millie is extremely hard to be).

However, this movie introduced me to Gabriele Ferzetti -- so all is forgiven.

Well, almost all. I still cannot get the image of Maurice Chevalier as a singing, dancing priest out of my head. I fear that I never shall.

-Millie

Six Greatest Upbeat, Cheerful Bobby Darin Songs About Violent Death

2011-06-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

Oh, Bobby.

Bobby Darin liked fast songs. If songs weren't fast -- he enjoyed speeding them up (compare Bobby's "On The Street Where You Live" to the film version sometime: HILARIOUS). This is not to say he didn't brilliantly sing many slow songs, because he did. It's just he was so utterly Bobby with his fast-paced, snapping songs.

He also, THOROUGHLY, enjoyed songs about people dying. According to Bobby, clearly songs about violent death must always be sung cheerfully. And he's so darn cheerful, most of time you don't realize that you're tapping your foot to the detailed description of someone being done in by a serial killer.

So...

6) "Clementine"

In Bobby's interpretation of "Oh My Darling Clementine," the title female weighs 299 pounds and a bridge breaks while she's walking on it -- plunging her into the river below. She immediately sinks and drowns, with the narrator watching. He explains himself by saying:

I thought that she was doin' fine
I wasn't nervous
Not until the service
That they held
For Clementine.

Poor Clem...

5) "Artificial Flowers"

This song contains genuinely gripping social commentary. Any self-respecting crooner would sing slowly, letting each phrase and word sink in -- perfectly guilting the listener. Not Bobby. He just states the facts: nine year-old Annie is an orphan who survives by making artificial flowers for rich ladies to wear. She is found one day frozen to death. That's that. As Bobby happily dances by, he does stop to declare:

There must be a heaven where little Annie can play
In heavenly gardens and bowers.
And instead of a halo she'll wear 'round her head
A garland of genuine flowers.

That's cool at least. CONSOLATION PRIZE, ANNIE! Yay! ;-D

4) "That's How It Went, All Right"

This is quite the dramatic stuff. Jealous guy kills girlfriend. The girl can't get away from the knife and the guy can't stop himself. Afterward, he sets her down and watches her white dress turn red with blood. Bobby fully acts out the scene and dances along cheerfully! Might I also mention that this scene was Bobby's film-debut.

I love Bobby. He was crazy.

3) "Goodbye Charlie"

Bobby doesn't even pretend to care that someone's been shot and killed in this song. AND IT'S HIS BEST FRIEND. He mumbles some false sentiment about missing Charlie and feeling low, just before gleefully singing:

Goodbye... Charlie
Cashin' in your chips

Note to everyone: Bobby would be awesome to have as friend. He's always there to cheer you up and you CAN LITERALLY NEVER DEPRESS HIM. Be aware though, that he will care very little when you die; even less if you haven't left him some sort of financial aid.

The song wasn't on YouTube, but you can listen to it here.

2) "Mack the Knife"

MacHeath, babe, is quite the incomparable killer. He never takes away a trace of blood and knows the exact amount of cement to weigh a body down. People are disappearing left and right....which means.... LOOK OUT! OLD MACKY'S BACK IN TOWN! The main death highlighted in this song is that of Louie Miller. Poor fool.

1) "Gyp the Cat"

I consider this to be Bobby's sequel to "Mack the Knife" and really, the lesser song. HOWEVER, I like Gyp the character better than Mack the character. Mack seems to be quite proficient at his job of killing, but Gyp seems to just enjoy it. And Gyp doesn't stop at murder. He dabbles in extortion, bank robbery, burglary, pick-pocketing -- everything is cool with him. He even pretends to have a funeral for himself and shows up at that very funeral as his "twin brother" and proceeds to pick the pockets of the mourners at his funeral. THERE'S A GUY who cheerfully enjoys his work as much as Bobby cheerfully enjoys singing about it.

Oh, and those BRILLIANT opening lines:

Where those bayou's wind
And them gators swim
Sometime late last night
When the moon was dim
Someone left this life
Much against his will
And while Gyp the Cat was alibi-in'
You know his clothes were dryin'

Listen to it here.

And there you have the definitive six upbeat and cheerful Bobby Darin songs about violent deaths. What are your favorites (mentioned or not)?

-Millie

2011 in Film: May

2011-06-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

You know what they say: "Better almost never, than actually never."

And with that GLORIOUS opening sentence, I am going to move right into the month in review.

May was a pretty cool month. I had a rather late start (I had only watched three films before the 19th), but eventually ended with a not really respectable 15 (June WILL be better. ;-D). And I can't really blame Doctor Who this time, because I have watched very little (I'M AVOIDING THE END OF TEN BECAUSE I WILL THEN HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR).

May: 7 new films/16 total

My Favorite New Film:

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. This movie is perfection and genius and, oddly enough, also Millieness personified. Can I just take this moment to recommend it to everyone -- everywhere.

My Least Favorite New Film:

This was a pretty awesome month with no 1 or 2 starred reviews, so I'm gonna have to go with the three starred Endless Night. Hayley was utterly perfect and Agatha Christie GETS ME EVERY BLOODY TIME, but I cannot handle watching Hywel Bennett. As I mentioned on the 2011 in Film page (where you will always find a short one or two sentence review for every new-to-me film), his late '90s power-mom hairstyle was really creeping me out. ;-D

Unfortunately, this photo doesn't give it NEARLY full justice:

Best Movie Title:

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. There was no contest.

Best Cast:

Love is a Ball: Charles Boyer, Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Ricard Montalban...(any film with Charles Boyer will always win Best Cast).

Worst Cast:

Hmmm, there wasn't really a bad cast. But, I will take this moment to once again condemn Hywel Bennett and his haircut. ;-D

Best Title Song:

Goodbye Charlie. It's such a lovely, cheerful song about the main character's violent death.

Runner up: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (which I may or may not have gone to the midnight premiere of, because I'm a dork). THE PIRATE'S MUSIC ALWAYS WINS.

Most Horribly, Depressing Ending:

Edward Scissorhands. WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! I mean, I understand why. BUT WHHHHYYYY?! Was this just so I would cry thousands of tears? ;-D

Most Viewed Actors:
Bob Hope: 3
Vincent Price: 2
Michael Callan 2
Johnny Depp: 2

Films by Decades:
1900s: 1 / 0 new
1930s: 2 / 0 new
1940s: 2 / 0 new
1950s: 2 / 2 new
1960s: 6 / 2 new
1970s: 1 / 1 new
1990s: 1 / 1 new
2010s: 1 / 1 new

Well, I'll see you in July! Hopefully, with more films than this pitiful amount! ;-D

Winner of the Bob Hope DVD Giveaway!

2011-06-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am SO sorry that it took me a week to post this -- the delay is inexcusable! (But, you can blame finals! ;-D)

I would like to thank everyone who participated. It was awesome to read all the Bob Hope fandom.

Anyway, to choose the winner I used Random.org. This ensured that everything was completely fair and Wowzie Kazam!

The winning number was 2, which means Audrey will be receiving the copy of Princess and the Pirate! Just email me your mailing info at classicforeverblogger@yahoo.com and I'll be mailing that out soon! :-D

Thanks again to everyone who entered. Hopefully, I'll be able to have another contest soon!

-Millie

June 6, 1944

2011-06-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. ...

The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

-General Eisenhower

We will never forget.

-Millie

{Photo credits: Robert Capa}

Lovely Lady of the Week: Francoise Hardy

2011-06-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

I know, I KNOW, I haven't posted in the series for quite some time. But I was posting Francoise's "La Mer" on Tumblr just now (it's one of my absolute favorite summer songs), and I suddenly decided to resurrect the Lovely Lady series.

It was quite difficult to narrow down the photos from the ones I had saved to Oscar (my laptop. He's actually named after a awesome/famous Oscar!), because Francoise Hardy is a stinkin' style goddess and never looks not-awesome (she's still gorgeous today). Here are a "few" of my favorite photos:

^Only Francoise gets away with wearing that. Everyone else would look like a late '90s homeschooler. (COUGH COUGH! Not that I know ANYTHING about being homeschooled in the late '90s. COUGH COUGH!)

My Three Favorite Songs:

"La Mer"

"Mon Amie la Rose"

"Tous les Garcons et les Filles"

^Also this is one of my favorite music videos of all time. I used to watch it for hours on repeat when I was avoiding homework on Sunday afternoons.

And a random video of her singing "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" and looking impossibly gorgeous.

Francoise Hardy is just awesome and practically perfect in every way. ;-D

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-06-04T00:45:00.000-07:00

Ring of Fire (1961): This Movie Is So Bloody Awesome That I Don't Even Have a Fake Alternate Post Title

2011-06-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

Ring of Fire is a '60s film. It stars David Janssen. It has an epic theme song. It has sullen, punk gangster teenagers (led by Frank Gorshin...which is just weird). IT TAKES PLACE AND WAS FILMED IN WASHINGTON. GLORIOUS WASHINGTON.

If there was the presence of tofu and/or a cameo of Annette fake surfing -- I would know for certain this film was created specifically for me.

It was utterly perfect. (In fact it received 6/5 stars. ;-D)

A huge, huge thank you goes to Auntie Casey for taping and sending this film to me. THANKS AUNTIE CASEY!

{So, first of all, you need to go watch this movie. It is not available on DVD or VHS, but it IS going to be playing on TCM June 18th!}

I'm a big fan of Pacific Northwest cinema -- specifically centered in Glorious Washington (Oregon is not NEARLY as cool ;-D). This movie just made me happy.

It starts out and we find that a gas station in Tacoma has been robbed (Tacoma. MY TACOMA. The City of Destiny). The sullen, punk gangster teenagers who robbed the Tacoma gas station are now in Shelton -- where this film takes place (Shelton is about an hour or so south of my house...not far at all).

Every review, EVERY REVIEW -- whether by bloggers, on IMDb, or what -- has falsely stated that Ring of Fire takes place in Oregon (Oregonians are always trying to latch onto Washington's coolness. ;-D). A portion of the movie WAS filmed in Oregon: the town and burning sawmill (they needed a sawmill to burn and couldn't burn down the still-functioning Shelton mill). However, the film takes place IN Washington and the rest of the movie was filmed in Washington... and the cinematography is GORGEOUS.

There are lengthy sections that take place in the forest and its all so utterly wunderbar. Although, there are also lengthy sections that depict a forest fire...not wunderbar (I actually get really stressed out because I'm a tree dork...haha).

ANYWAY, I thoroughly enjoyed Ring of Fire. David Janssen was so utterly brilliant. He really had the least interesting character type: the noble sheriff. But, he made the character so interesting. The viewer sees a whole character, with an actual personality. And I was definitely wondering about his past (so many random mentions THAT WERE UNRESOLVED FOR ME. This is unacceptable -- even for Mind-Smushing Entertainment. ;-D).

^Beware! He's giving the classic Janssen stare...who knows what will happen next!

And although I've seen Joyce Taylor in random television shows, I had never seen her in such a large part before. SHE WAS AWESOME. She automatically made me think of a '60s Paulette Goddard (her voice especially was crazily similar).

And everyone else was cool and good and all that (everytime I see Frank Gorshin in ANYTHING, I automatically go, "Money! Money! Money!"). I just really liked the movie. The first hour was definitely the strongest. The last thirty minutes were taken up by the forest fire and became less about the story and characterizations. But, the forest fire stuff was definitely impressive.

Anyway. I'd totally recommend this movie. Because one, you have David Janssen playing a sheriff going after some fugitives (oh yes!). Two, you have great supporting acting. Three, you have the impressive effects. Four, YOU HAVE THAT COOL THEME SONG. Five, you have dialogue that is just deliciously '60s. And six, you have stunning cinematography of my homeland: Glorious Washington. Washington is always a good reason to watch a movie (except for a certain film series about a sparkly vampire and his underage girlfriend. THAT is where I draw the line. ;-D).

Sorry that this post makes no sense. My Washington adoration/David Janssen fan-girlism is hard to explain sometimes. haha

Oh, and if you'd like to be even MORE confused: watch a scene in French!

-Millie

Thanks again, Casey!

Please go unplug the television for me...OR: Why The Magnificent Seven's Theme is a Dangerous Thing

2011-05-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

So, today, I suddenly remembered that I need to have Their Eyes Were Watching God read BY TOMORROW (and I just KNOW my professor is going to give a scary quiz on it). I began to furiously read and finished about half of it.

Randomly, my mind stopped and my ears began to concentrate. I couldn't be hearing that. I must be imagining it. NO, NO. IT IS IT.

It IS the glorious theme of The Magnificent Seven that I hear... IT IS CALLING TO ME.

Without realizing it, I set down the book and allowed myself to be led into the other room. Before I could stop myself I was sitting on the couch and halfway through the film. Ah well, it's only two hours or so.

Now, I must return to reading. [ugh.] I must return to normal life -- without a glorious theme. Oh, cruel world...

-Millie (pay no attention to me. I'm a crazy, deranged person.)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Hope! + DVD Giveaway

2011-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

The absolutely wonderful Bob Hope was born 108 years ago today.

Bob Hope is one of my favorite people to ever exist. He brought so much joy to the world.

I don't remember the first time I watched a Bob Hope movie or what it was, but I was already a life-long fan when his 100th birthday came around. I remember watching the special (I had just turned nine) and jumping up and down whenever I saw a clip from a movie I had seen!

I have seen so many Bob Hope movies... (I would normally finish this sentence with "It's not even funny," but that doesn't exactly sound right. ;-D)

Bob Hope is just the best. I believe his greatest work came out of the '40s (although I love stuff from other decades as well). His hugely famous, frighteningly fast delivery was always there -- but in the '40s he was just so brilliant. He had an ability to be completely dead-pan while stating the most absurd things; he was perfect at parody. He mocked everything and everyone (including himself). And, he basically made a film career out of breaking the fourth wall. For some reason, many people associate Bob Hope with slapstick humor. NOT AT ALL. I mean, he was easily great at physical humor. But, most of his humor was simply words -- and he was brilliant.

This is why his work is still utterly hysterical today -- it was topical, but so completely right. His absurdity almost always had quite a bit of truth in it.

I am quite pleased to say that I passed on my Bob Hope adoration to my youngest brother. And in fact we are having a loverly Bob Hope party tonight (we are the only ones invited. ;-D). The films on the schedule are:

Caught In the Draft

Monsieur Beaucaire

Never Say Die

The Ghost Breakers

This brings me to the Bob Hope 108th Birthday DVD Giveaway Extravaganza (not really). A couple of years ago, Amazon accidentally sent me two copies of The Princess and the Pirate (1944) and told me to just keep the extra one. I've kept it around as sort of an emergency present, when I finally realized... I HAVE NO BOB HOPE FAN FRIENDS. Sheesh. ;-D

Instead, it is being offered up for you! haha

The Princess and the Pirate is utterly hysterical. It's a parody of swashbuckling pirate movies and I almost die laughing every time I watch it! Bob plays his usual cowardly character and Virginia Mayo is awesome. But, even more awesome: the supporting cast is Walter Slezak, Victor McLaglen, and Walter Brennan.

The greatest parts: the old hotel-owner lady who doesn't know WHY all the other hotels in the area randomly burn down (while she's lighting a pipe); Walter Brennan's psycho laugh, and THAT ending (not gonna ruin its brilliance).

ANYWAY.

If you would like to win this DVD, post a comment (it would also be awesome if you followed, but its not required. ;-D) with your favorite Bob Hope scene/line! You can enter until next Sunday, June 5th. I'll then choose a winner at random.Oh, and could I ask that only U.S. residents enter the contest, please! I AM VERY POOR....haha

Well...

I always think it is so completely fitting that Bob Hope's birthday is always during Memorial Day week and so, I'm just going to end with this; he was a true hero:

-Millie

Happy Birthday, Vincent Price: 100 Years of Bloody Awesomeness (I mean this literally. ;-D)

2011-05-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

May 27, 1911. That was a cool day. Vincent Price was born. And mind-smushing entertainment was NEVER the same.

Actually, basically all entertainment was never the same -- because Mr. Price acted in every genre imaginable and was BRILLIANT in every genre imaginable. Unlike some actors who wait around until a film "worthy" enough for them comes along, Vincent Price took crazy films and MADE them worthy. I would watch him in anything and everything -- exactly because of this skill.

His voice is one of my favorite things ever and instantly recognizable. He tried to disguise it on What's My Line? by singing badly in French, but it didn't quite work. ;-D

He was a contradiction: a oft-performer in low-budget AIP films, but also a gourmet who spoke many languages and owned a world-renowned art collection. He could be understated in many brilliant dramas and film noirs, but he was equally brilliant playing a psycho in Brady Bunch. VERY FEW CAN OWN THAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.

There is a perpetual argument on WHO is the greatest Shakespearean actor of all time, but there is NO argument on who is the greatest Poe actor of all time. Vincent Price will always own that. (And, if I was wanting to lose half my followers I might say that Edgar Allan Poe is five times more awesome than [the admittedly very awesome] William Shakespeare. Because he is.)

This post is quite disjointed and rambling because I am finding it difficult to put into words who exactly Vincent Price was -- and why he was SO BLOODY COOL!

I think that Vincent was extremely talented and awesome and cool. And also, I feel like if I was a cool, awesome, genius, 6' 4" man born in 1911 -- I would be Vincent Price. I mean, he was known by all his friends to get into full-blown, over-the-top dramatic debates when he talked about his favorite things... like cooking. And he used to pop up at random screenings of his films wearing costumes, in order to mess with the audience. I want to be him.

"I sometimes feel that I'm impersonating the dark unconscious of the whole human race. I know this sounds sick, but I love it."

For Vincent's birthday, I wanted to list my favorite performance from each decade: 1930s - 1990s. So yeah. Here we go...

1930s: The Invisible Man Returns. Vincent may have played in dramas and film noirs for much of his early career, but everyone knew right away that he played deranged madmen the best of all. ;-D

1940s: Dragonwyck. My favorite Vincent Price performance of all time. He is utterly brilliant. He employs all his different acting traits: he first charms everyone into thinking he's clearly the coolest person ever, then he gets all sinister, and then he makes everyone realize he's a psycho. I JUST LOVE IT!

Honorable mention: Laura. Shelby Carpenter, you weakling. You're awesome though.

1950s: House of Wax. This one is another role so indicative of Vincent's unique persona. Mr. Price once said, "I don't play monsters. I play men besieged by fate and out for revenge." This is why even when he is at his most frighteningly sinister -- we don't want him CAUGHT! He can't control his genius for evil. He was born that way, he was forced to become that way, its more fun that way (we can't deny him the funnest way! ;-D)....

Honorable mention: House on Haunted Hill. My 14 year-old brother jumped up in the middle of watching this movie in order to go lock all the doors. (This is the same brother who fell asleep watching Batman Begins). Vincent's ability to create extreme fear will never end.

1960s: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. Always. Always. Always. Always.

Honorable mention: More Dead Than Alive

Less, but still honorable mention: his cameo in Beach Party ("Bring me my pendulum, kiddies! I feel like swinging!")

1970s: The Brady Bunch: the random Hawaii vacation episodes. Only Vincent...

Honorable mention: Columbo: "Lovely But Lethal"

Less, but still honorable mention: THE DATING GAME! I mean, he's wearing a toga and totally mocking everyone.

1980s: Vincent. A lovely Tim Burton-created, Vincent Price-narrated short film about a boy who wants TO BE Vincent Price (this may or may not be the story of my life as an animated boy). Vincent Price always talked about how he enjoyed this and it really is just beautiful! :')

1990s: Edward Scissorhands. I actually watched this solely for Mr. Price. And he was so perfect.

And this is where I turn into a bawling fan-girl because there are no more decades to list. So I suppose I could just throw out a photo of Vincent Price raising his eyebrow sinisterly and continue on....

So, according to IMDb: "In the 1960s, Price and Peter Lorre starred as crimefighting antique dealers in the unsold pilot, 'Collector's Item'."

^I would -- NO JOKE -- give three semi-vital organs in order to see this. I can't even comprehend this. Vincent Price. Peter Lorre. CRIMEFIGHTING ANTIQUE DEALERS. Who decided that another ten years of Green Acres would be preferable to this?! WHO?! I would like to sic the ghost of Vincent Price upon them. ;-D

I really, really, really enjoyed the following tribute:

I'm going to try and wrap this up a bit, but there is so much more to say about the brilliance of Vincent Price. He was a genius, he had a Yale degree in art, he was a world traveler, he was a successful author of novels and...um... gourmet cookbooks, he had career that lasted for nearly 60 years, and he was greatest actor of low-budget, horribly made films in the '60s and the '70s. He was perfect.

"The horror thriller offers the serious actor unique opportunities to test his ability to make the unbelievable believable."

-Millie

"Hello, my children! I've come home."

2011-05-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

The title of this post may or may not come from an awesome kid's radio show I used to listen to as a young child and still have every line of stuck in my head.

May or may not.

Anyway.

I just posted something on my Classic TV blog.

You were unaware I had a Classic TV blog?

So was I! I kinda forgot about it for a year or so.

IT'S ALL COOL. ;-D

Well, I'm back with a post on 100 Things I Love About Classic Television. It is very odd and I can't promise any level of comprehension, but please do check it out if you have time! haha

I had quite a bit of gleefully maniacal pleasure creating it...

And, as for this blog: this weekend is going to be AWESOME! A couple of really important classic star birthdays are occurring and WE ARE PARTYING! (Can you guess which two stars?)

Oh, and by the way, as long as this post is just going to be about shameless self-promotion -- here is the listing for my latest bag on Etsy! :-D

Have a lovely day!

I'll be back soon....

-Millie

"Dachau. Why does it still stand? Why do we keep it standing?"

2011-05-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Rod Serling: "There is an answer to the doctor's question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes - all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in the Twilight Zone but wherever men walk God's Earth."

- "Deaths-Head Revisited" [Season 3; Episode 9 of The Twilight Zone]

Happy 70th Birthday, Eric Burdon!

2011-05-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

Eric Burdon turns 70 today (well, more like in a few hours. But hey! I'm a college-going girl and apparently need sleep to function well. WHO KNEW?!).

When one starts talking about people who are simply and basically just COOL, one ALWAYS must mention Eric Burdon (it's an established law of the universe and any digression from this established law has serious consequences in the cosmos! People think that Mark Twain's birth and death taking place during Halley's Comet were mere coincidence. NOT TRUE. He refused to admit Eric Burdon's coolness. THIS IS WHY. By the way, I hope you stopped reading this parenthetical section some time ago).

Anyway, Eric Burdon is seriously talented and awesome and cool. The Animals contain so much complete brilliance-- it's almost scary.

The best part about Eric Burdon is that he never is or does what you'd expect. He's always 67 times more genius.

It always greatly amuses me to show this video to someone who has often heard the song, but never seen the singer: the man my mother refers to as "The Munchkin." It nevers fails to shock people. Here is this gravelly, "old" voice coming out of a short, little 23 year-old wearing a neat, little suit. I just LOVE IT!

My ABSOLUTE favorite of all Animals songs. I could listen to it OVER AND OVER and never be bored:

^The Animals-- in, I think, 1967.

Ugh. I wish embedding was not disabled on this video! But, you can still follow the link to YouTube! It's such utter awesomeness. It's a live performance. AND I WOULD TOTALLY, TOTALLY be one of the scary screaming girls. Always. ;-D

^James Dean AND Eric Burdon. Cannot comprehend the sheer coolness.

Well, that's about all I have to say, except that if you are not already an Eric Burdon fan-- you should become one. His voice is one of the most jarringly perfect things ever. EVER.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Burdon!

-Millie

2011 in Film: April

2011-05-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to NOT dwell on the patheticness of this month's movie viewing, because it was extremely pathetic.

NINE MOVIES TOTAL. Nine movies. It would have been only five films, but on the day before the last day of the month I had some friends over for the night and we watched a few movies. That last day nearly doubled the total. THAT'S SAD.

I would blame my lack of movie watching on school, but in March I had finals and I watched a record number of films (for this year), sooooo...

Actually, the honest and truthful reason I only watched nine films in April:

It's completely and utterly 100% Sarah's fault! She bloody informed me that the new Doctor Who was on Netflix streaming and I had been meaning to check it out for a while, so I went to watch the first episode of the second season (I was REALLY only interested in the Tenth Doctor. ;-D).

I basically didn't stop watching it until I was half-way through the fourth season and suddenly freaked out because I realized I only had a few Tenth Doctor episodes left.... I'm slowing viewing those.... putting off the horrible day....

Anyway. BLAME SARAH. She did this to me. ;-D

3 new films / 9 total

My Favorite New Film:

The Bat. It wins by default (as in I only watched two other new films and they both annoyed me). ALSO: IT HAS VINCENT PRICE. That's always cool.

My Least Favorite New Film:

Duel in the Sun. Everyone was evil. Everyone died. Gregory Peck's death scene was a pretty stinkin' awesome though.

Best Movie Title:

I'm gonna go with a re-watch, just because there's not a lot to choose from otherwise: The Quiet American. It's just a loverly mysterious title. (SOME may consider it a bit of a paradox, but it's all cool! ;-D) It fits the film very well: an EXTREMELY interesting story (and I LOVE Michael Redgrave's brilliance) about Vietnam, made BEFORE the Vietnam War "officially" started.

And this quote from the unnamed American-- I always find it so perfectly thought-provoking (and TRUE):

I'm from a country that's been in existence for less than two hundred years, in a very old world. Fifty years ago, we were barely taken seriously as a nation, much less a great force for wisdom and decision. But suddenly now, a watch tick of history later, the world waits angrily for us to provide the answers it hasn't been able to find in fifty centuries.

Best Cast:

Once again, I'm going to go with a re-watch: The Third Man. Everything about this movie is so PERFECTLY PERFECT! The cast is utter brilliance!

Worst Cast:

I don't have anything this month. Even the two movies I disliked-- had pretty awesome casts!

Best Title Song:

Also re-watch, but PAJAMA PARTY TONIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHTTT!

Most Viewed Actors:

Joseph Cotten: 2
Michael Redgrave: 2
Orson Welles: 2 (Only his voice is heard in Duel in the Sun)

Films By Decades:
1930s: 1
1940s: 2
1950s: 2
1960s: 2
2000s: 2

MAY WILL BE BETTER, I PROMISE (or not really, but yeah!)!

-Millie

April 27, 1961

2011-04-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day, Salone.

Photo of the Day!

2011-04-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

I don't actually really know what to say about this photo. It's just brilliance. hahaha

2011-04-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to learn Judo just because of Honor Blackman. It's true.

Posh Frock Friday! Also known as: THE UNVEILING OF THE MILLIE!

2011-04-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. I lied. ;-D

I used my super-awesome mask that I created for a masquerade dance I went to last year. It is modeled after Audrey's in How To Steal a Million. Oh yes.

Although the mask is really unnecessary because even without it, no one would be able to recognize that I am a human form. Apparently, my SERIOUSLY junky webcam is even worse at 11:30 pm with no lighting! WHO KNEW?!

Anyway, PFF is an awesomely cool partyish thing that Kate started a few months ago. I've been meaning to do it for a while, but usually on Fridays I'm either gone or lying comatose in my bed watching movies all night (usually the latter). Not conducive for PFF.

So, here we are. Except it's not really a posh frock. It's an outfit I would/have worn to school. So yeah. BUT STILL.

Oh, yeah. And I had to take different shots to semi-capture the whole outfit. IT WAS AN EXHAUSTING PROCESS! ;-D

^My favorite blue sweater from Old Navy. MOST comfortable thing ever. And I wear it with everything, because clearly bright blue does not clash with any other color.

^I LOVE this dress. It's from my sister (an awesome reason to have older sisters...;-D) and it's so loverly!

^I wear black leggings with basically everything (Washington is not exactly warm. Ever.) AND MY BELOVED TOMS! I have a few pairs of TOMS, but these are my favorites. I got them six months after the company started and they are very worn and have some serious holes in them. BUT IT'S ALL COOL.

^I love this locket. I bought it at an estate sale and It's just very interesting and happy! (And I seriously need to figure out a photo to put inside! An old movie star? haha)

Okay, that was a glimpse at The Millie through a grainy, poorly constructed webcam. Next time I participate it will be MUCH better (or probably not -- considering my usual empty promises...;-D). But, thanks ever so Kate for the absolutely brilliant idea (and I ADORE looking at your outfits every week!)

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

2011-04-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

^This is the absolute proof that they should have been married in real life.

-Millie

P.S. I haven't forgotten you! It's only that I've become addicted to Doctor Who...cough cough Sarah's fault! cough cough! ;-D