They Could Read the Phonebook to Me: Ingrid Bergman

The next in my series of favorite voices...and the first female voice so far, is my most favorite actress ever. Ingy!




Ingy was a brilliant actress. And my favorite part of her brilliance are her wonderfully expressive eyes. But. There is another part of her brilliance that is just as, well, um, brilliant! Haha! That gorgeous Swedish accent!

I know I've been saying this for every post, but I seriously could listen to her for hours. HOURS.

Her voice is just as expressive as her eyes, and helps to convey some pretty powerful emotions. Although, I love her voice best when it is exploding with joy; when she conveys pain and heartache with her voice...the results are craziness!

And when she portrays her voice as literally crazy, well....yeah.

Check out this scene from Gaslight. (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!) Definitely, one of my favorite last scenes. EVER.



The way she talks. GOSH. The uncontainable hysteria. The way she leaps from emotion to emotion JUST through voice. GENIUS.


Another place she displays great emotion in her voice is in Notorious (don't watch this clip if you haven't seen the film!)



Speaking of Notorious, don't you just LOVE the way she says, "Sab-aaast-ian"? Hahaha!

Ingrid in Cactus Flower (at the age of 54!!). Now, this is just the coolest thing ever. Her voice is definitely just brilliant in it, and her dancing is beyond cool. I mean, SERIOUSLY, "The Dentist". She's waaay too amazing!



Watch Ingy GRACIOUSLY excepting Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Murder on the Orient Express.

Listen to Ingy SING As Times Goes By. Her talent is never-ending!



ONLY Ingy could get away with calling Hitchcock an "adorable genius".




Okay, sorry, Ingy-clip overload! Haha! She's just so amazing. I love her voice so much. It's FORCES you - without FORCING you (that makes NO sense! ahaha!) - to feel the emotions she's conveying. When Ingy is happy and her voice is bubbling over, it suddenly makes you feel rather happy and content. When she's deeply sad, it makes makes you feel her pain (to borrow a cliche!). This is just part of the reason WHY I love her voice. The other part, it that it's just a cool voice. I want her voice. I NEED her voice. She somehow makes the most inane and stupid phrases and dialogue seem one-of-a-kind and brilliant.

Okay, I really need to stop, this is starting to sound a like a creepy obsessive fan or something. Which OF COURSE, I am not. Really. ;-D

And finally, NO, post about Ingrid Bergman's wunderbar voice would be complete without her most famous line:




Hehehe, this post is like dorkiness to the millionth power. Sheesh!

Anyway, join me next time for a post on an actor with not just one utterly amazing voice, but dozens. Can you guess who I'm talking about?

-Millie!

Happy 65 Birthday, Mr. Dolenz!

Today is the 65th birthday of Micky Dolenz...aka THE coolest member of The Monkees, and probably the most talented as well!

It's funny, because within the last few days I've been thinking a lot about The Monkees, and structuring in my mind a mini-series I am going to be writing about them, titled, ahem, "The Underrated Genius of The Monkees" (yes, genius! DON'T LAUGH!).

So, today, when I woke up (sick with bad asthma...and unable to do anything but sit around) and checked Twitter and saw that Sarah had tweeted me: "It's Micky Dolenz's birthday today! Party is in order!" I was rather excited!

I adore The Monkees, I love their music and I love their TV show. I also think they were and still are utterly and unfairly dismissed as "the pre-fab four". But, I'm not going to get into that right now, haha, you've got to wait for my genius series for that! ;-D

Instead, I'm going to talk about Micky.

Micky is probably the most talented member of The Monkees (closely followed by Peter). Mike was the songwriter, who played guitar (and sang), and also was involved in the producing on many Monkees songs. Peter was the crazy talented musician. He played, I'm convinced, every instrument ever known to man. He also sang, and wrote a few songs. Davy was, um, the "actor". He had history in musical theater and Broadway. He also played the tambourine. AHHAHA! (Okay, and a little bit drums and VERY little bit of guitar).

But, Micky was also a songwriter (my favorite of his being Randy Scouse Git), and a musician (he played the drums, guitar, and a few other instruments), and a hilarious actor.

And on top of all this, he was THE lead vocals for The Monkees. According to Mike, it was Micky's singing that gave the Monkees a distinctive sound. Mike and Peter often, willingly, handed over songs that they had written for Micky to sing. He was just that amazing.

The Monkees most famous song:



You simply HAVE to watch the epic-amazingness that is this video. (AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE USING THE WORD "EPIC"!) The Monkees singing Words, except everything is backwards, because Davy is playing the drums (and, um, wind chimes?!?) and Micky is playing the tambourine (and singing the lead). While Peter is looking really intense and upset. And Mike's off in the corner looking bored and disinterested. IT'S UTTER BRILLIANCE!


^You KNOW you are peanut butter and jealous (a Sarahism) that Micky has those cool glasses! ;-D


Pleasant Valley Sunday is one of The Monkees' most critically "respected" songs. This video is memorable for many reasons. One, being that Micky is NOT wearing his favorite fashion piece...EVER.....the ugly upholstery fabric poncho. Hahaha! Although, I for one, am having trouble believing that Davy is REALLY playing that guitar.




A rather funny clip from an episode of The Monkees, with Micky playing a not-funny comedian and horrible impressionist (James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson have the exact same voice). Also watch for Mike playing a awkward, shy folk singer, SINGING DIFFERENT DRUM (one of Mike's compositions before The Monkees).





An utterly strange, but VERY fascinating song, sung by Micky. And, if you are feeling the need to make fun of his dancing.......just watch Davy "dance". Micky looks like Fred Astaire comparatively! ;-D






Footage of Micky in concert singing, "I Gotta Woman".







My favorite of all Micky's compositions. Listen for his mention of The Beatles: "The four kings of E.M.I. are sitting stately on the floor"





And speaking of Beatles sitting on the floor:



Well, I GUEEEEESSS that's enough clips! Hahaha!

The only problem is, that there are hardly any Monkees songs on YouTube (I tried to put one up Saturday and it IMMEDIATELY was blocked!) I would load some other, lesser-known Monkees songs here, but, tragically, I had not finished transferring all my music from my family's computer to this laptop, when my family's computer crashed. Leaving me with just ONE Monkees album (a greatest hits) instead of all the songs I had been slowly purchasing and downloading since I was ten. EERRRRGGGGHHHH!

Anyway, be sure to check back soon for, ahem, "The Underrated Genius of The Monkees". ;-D

Happy Birthday, Micky! I hope you enjoy many more years!



^Micky's beloved poncho.

Top Twenty Favorite Hitchcock's: Or how I almost had a heart attack one day while writing a blog post.

That title is no joke.

Seriously.

I take my Sir Alfred adoration VERY seriously. Heck, I have birthday parties for him EVERY YEAR. You can't even begin to understand HOW difficult this was for me to narrow down my favorites. IT WAS BEYOND NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.

I don't even know WHY I subject myself to such heinous torture!

Anyway, the super-cool Kate did a post {with cool artwork! Check it out!} on her top twenty favorite Hitchcock's. And because I follow Kate around everyone, doing whatever she does, saying whatever she says...I too HAD to "write" a post on my favorite Hitchcock's!

Well, I guess, I can just start now!

Oh, by the way, besides the first, I had trouble numbering my favorites, so this isn't really a "numbered" list. Just know that the top few are a little more favorite than the bottom few!

{1} Shadow Of A Doubt



This was declared my favorite Hitchcock at the age of nine {I don't know, is it odd to have a favorite Hitchcock at the age of nine?}...and that favorite status has never changed! It's just all-around brilliance! AND UNCLE CHARLIE IS STINKIN' COOL!

{2} Mr. and Mrs. Smith



I know, you're saying that out of Hitchcock's myriad's of brilliant films, I pick THIS?!? Well, let me tell you, it was so difficult giving an actual NUMBER to my favorites, I decided to list them by how many times I watch them over and over. And, I have seen this WAAAAAY too many times!

{3} Notorious



Ingy + Cary + Hitchcock = Wowzie Kazam! It's a proven fact. This film is just brilliant. And it makes me so happy, I don't know if that's just because I have seriously twisted and messed up mind? or what? Also, this film is so engaging I inevitably get caught up in the story and at some point start screaming at the TV: "DEV, HOW COULD YOU!?!?! HOW COULD YOU!?!?! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" But, yeah. Great film.

{4} The 39 Steps



Love it. Love everything about it. Its story, its filming, its actors....heck, I even love Robert Donat's mustache. Although, I feel like I'm probably the only one who gets really stressed out about Donat being forced to run for his life over hills and in streams and such. I get so stressed because I know Donat had Asthma...as I also have. I freak out thinking about running around and not being able to breathe. Yeaaaah, anyway....

{5} Dial M For Murder



I adore Ray Milland, he's a horribly underrated actor, with no good reason for being so! He was an Oscar-winner, incredibly talented, and had the ability to play ANY kind of character convincingly. The same is true with his Hitchcock villain. He goes down in Hitchcock history as being one of the most charming villains, while attempting to kill off GRACE KELLY OF ALL PEOPLE. I mean seriously?!? That's talent. Anyway, this movie is just genius!

{6} The Lady Vanishes



The first Hitchcock I ever saw, MANY, MANY, MANY years ago (well, I mean I guess less than ten years, but that's a lot when you're not yet 16!). It's so perfect. It's fast-paced, a great story, and incredibly witty. And in, Michael Redgrave, we have one of the coolest of all Hitchcock heroes (who were often far less interesting then their nemesis!). And, his mustache is definitely a highlight in the film. Seriously, I start laughing hysterically the moment I see him!

{7} Strangers On A Train



This film (besides being highly entertaining) is fascinating in the way it causes (at least for me) to root for both the "bad guy" AND the "good guy" at the same time! That's unheard of! I can't recall any other films like that. It's just another part of Sir Alfred's genius!

{8} Stage Fright



I absolutely HATE it when people call this a "inferior Hitchcock"! REALLY!?!? I didn't know there was such a thing! And seriously, this film is brilliance personified. I love every minute of it! I mean, how could anyone not? It's so utterly British. And Michael Wilding's going to have to fight it out with Redgrave and Donat for coolest Hitchcock accent! And, the most important part of this film is pictured. Mr. Alistair Sim himself. Now, HE is brilliance personified. Practically every highlight of this film has something to do with him. My favorite scene is also the one pictured. He desperately needs a little blood for something...

{8} To Catch A Thief



NOTHING annoys me more than when people dismiss this as "Hitchcock fluff". WHAT THE HECK KIND OF FLUFF DO YOU WANT!? This movie is great. And besides, the directing, acting, story, and the cinematography...the best part is definitely the costume design. Not only does Grace Kelly get to wear one amazing outfit after another...but Cary Grant get's to wear stripes with polka dots. That's a once in a lifetime moment.

{1o} Jamaica Inn



I'm one of four people who love this film. Matthew's one of the other four. The rest of you just don't understand it's genius. SERIOUS GENIUS. I really can't explain it, but it's brilliant. Check out Matthew's post on the subject! He explains it excellently!

{11} Foreign Correspondent



This is coolness. I don't know what else to say? Joel McCrea is cool. Sir Alfred is cool. Random supporting actors are cool. The use of rain is cool. The coolness adds up. <--I have NO idea what I'm trying to say. I'm tired okay! {12} Young and Innocent



The twitching eyes.

{13} Rear Window



Two words. Thelma. Ritter. She's so amazing in this. I utterly adore her. Best part: her talking about the blood "splattering everywhere".

{15} Rebecca



Continuing on with my love for mustached, British Hitchcock heroes...

{16} Secret Agent



To tell you the truth, if anything has the name Peter Lorre attached to it, I automatically LOVE it! It's a fault of mine. And plus, this film is just plain intriguing.....with Peter Lorre!

{17} Spellbound



Oddly enough, today the title of this film is more associated with a documentary about a spelling bee than for a brilliant Hitchcock starring my favorite actor and favorite actress. (Although to be fair the documentary is actually kinda cool.) This film is fascinating and surreal every step of the way. From the "death" scene to the Wowzie Kazam personified dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali!

{18} The Trouble With Harry



This is going to sound strange, but I've always thought that if they made a music video to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents theme...it would be this movie. Frankly, I don't think anyone but Sir Alfred could have made the movie. It's like a fairy tale. And it is crazy hysterical.

{19} Suspicion



This movie is just waaay too cool and British. And even though the ending may not be what everyone wants (SPOILER ALERT: My ten year-old brother was decidedly disappointed that Joan didn't get killed. END SPOILER!) it's still an excellent film. And Cary gets to play one of his amazing "charming jerks". So, yeah, all's cool!

{20} North By Northwest



Although, I will forever think that casting Ingy in this film instead of Eva Marie Saint would have made it 1,000,000 times even MORE amazing, there's still not a lot to complain about. It's just a fun, engaging, fascinating "thriller" from start to finish. And seriously, I recently saw From Russia With Love for the first time, and the last few scenes on the train just made me think SO much of NXNW! And Cary is always amazingly cool. And, I utterly adore Jessie Royce Landis (I muddled through the ultra-depressing Gidget Goes to Rome just for her!).

Well, my list is done! It was hard to cut some out. VERY HARD. But, this is pretty much my top twenty favorites.

Of course, you must recall, that I forget SO many favorites when I make lists, and then I get list-makers regret, so, this shouldn't be taken as the Definitive Millie!

Okay, never mind! I'm done! Haha!

I need to get some sleep!

-Millie!

BTW, what are your top twenty Hitchcocks? Let me know in the comments or make a post of your own! I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Songs created with the sole (and often incredibly evil) intention of getting immediately and forever stuck in your mind:

There are those songs, those songs that refuse to leave your mind. Sometimes, it's okay, because they are brilliant, cool, or sung by Bobby Darin, but more often than not, their place is merely to haunt you endlessly...day and night...and not deliver any brilliance, coolness, or Bobby Darinness. (That sentence had a remarkable amount of wrongly-placed commas!)

This post is dedicated to some of those songs (good and bad) that just won't let me forget them.

L'appareil a sous - Brigitte Bardot

This song's not even in English. I don't even know what the heck she's saying, nor can I pronounce it. Does that stop me from having it stuck in my head/humming it constantly? NO! Thanks a lot Sarah for introducing me to this song! Sheesh!




Underneath the Mango Tree - Ursula Andress (except not really because she was dubbed) and, um, Sean Connery

This song was obviously put in Dr. No for the single purpose of getting stuck in your head. Come on, it's obvious. It gets sung, played, etc...throughout the ENTIRE movie. And it will NEVER leave your mind. EVER. I haven't seen Dr. No in a couple of months, but the other day, randomly I just started singing it.

That's power.

Evil power. ;-D





Dream Lover - Bobby Darin

So, pretty much, if this song WASN'T Bobby it would probably be THE single most annoying song ever written. And REALLY those scary back-up singers are just NOT necessary! This song is so addictive. I know that sounds strange, but it is. If I listen to it once, I have to listen to it non-stop for three days. Kate understands. (Pretty much for the entire month of December this was all we listened to! ;-D)




Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head - BJ Thomas

I love this song, I really do, it just makes me happy! And you lucky blog-readers were treated to this song every time you entered my blog this summer (mwahahahahahahah!). But seriously, this song is always stuck in my head. I start singing it uncontrollably at random parts of the day! I remember one time last September when I was working at the scone booth; I was just in the back kneading dough and forming it into scones...peacefully and calmly...when SUDDENLY, I just started singing this song. I couldn't help myself.

AWKWARD.

Thankfully my co-worker actually knew this song too and started singing along, and I discovered that she was actually a fan of old movies, so yeah...it was actually kinda cool. But, still...that's just dorky. Haha!




The Saint Theme Song - No idea. I should probably research this stuff.

I know, you say, "Really?! You have a 30second song with no words stuck in your head?!"

Actually, it's worse than that.

I often start, um, I don't know what you call it, it's not "humming" it kinda just "duh-duh-duh-dunnning". You know what I'm saying? Anyway, I often start doing that with the Saint theme song. And even more strange is the fact that it's the B/W theme song that gets stuck in my head...NOT the color one. Even though, they're pretty much exactly the same (music-wise)! I'll never understand the inner-workings of my mind! ;-D



And in case you were wondering:



Hangman - Peter, Paul, and Mary

Pretty much this song is always in my head. No. Matter. What. It's actually one of the first songs I ever remember hearing (which probably explains a lot about who I am today...ahahah!). I'll to spontaneously start singing this in random voices...usually when I'm really happy. The other day, I was feeling so joyful I just started singing this with a British accent. Not even joking!


I Think You Think - Frankie + Annette

I'm not gonna lie. I've seen every Beach Party movie...er, cough cough many times cough cough! This song is from Beach Blanket Bingo (I think, sometimes Frankie and Annette's duets against a fake ocean video screen all blend together)




The Twizzle - Random person...

This another one of those spontaneously start singing it songs! My younger brothers and I will often just start singing it and, um, doing the Twizzle. (hahaha! We are such dorks!)




Meglio Stasera - Fran Jeffries

Um, speaking of my addiction to songs not sung in English...



Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan

This song is perfect for any occasion. Really. I mean, it's not like there's any plausible or discernible meaning behind this song, so you start randomly singing it at any time and you will sound like a really poetic, "deep" person!


This is a finger puppet of Bob singing this song:


Okay, I really got to stop now, (cause SERIOUSLY, when you start breaking out the Bob Dylan finger puppets...well...yeah...) but trust me...there are SO MANY MORE.

Hehehe! I love that I can just sit here and write incredibly stupid, unlucid posts about nothing and a few people still read them! You guys are seriously the best! Thanks! :-D

-Millie!

Photo of the Day!

Cyd and Fred just being cool in Band Wagon...

Photo of the Day!

The Saint.

Excuse me while I die of laughter...

I've been trying to get Kate to watch some episodes of Wild Wild West (aka one of THE coolest shows ever) for a long time now. On Saturday night she watched her first episode...and her second...and her third....That made me very happy. Haha!

Anyway, I just HAD to share this beyond hysterical song..........sung by Robert Conrad:



AHHHH! Now I can't stop laughing again. This song has got to be one of THE single most hilarious things ever recorded. And seriously. IT'S STINKIN' JAMES WEST SINGING CREEPER 50'S TEEN MUSIC WITH ABNORMAL NONHUMAN BACKUP SINGERS!

It's actually kinda brilliant. ;-D

No, but really. I can barely type this right now, THAT'S how hard I'm laughing.

I'm sure it's not as funny if you haven't grown up constantly watching this show about a super cool (emphasis on the fact that he's supposed to be cool) Secret Service agent for President Grant ("James Bond on horseback"). But still.

Okay, nevermind...I'm just gonna go sit in the corner and try to stop laughing...;-D