2016 Liebster Award

A little late, but I finally made it to the Liebster Ball to accept my awards.

Thank you to Ginie from Wonderful World of Cinema and Christina Wehner for the kind nominations. In turn I would like to nominate the following blogs:

• Back to Golden Days
• Define Dancing
• Sister Celluloid

If you decide to join the ball, you will need to:

• Nominate up to 11 blogs for the award
• Give the bloggers you nominated 11 questions to answer
• Answer 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
• Share 11 details about yourself (optional - one Liebster required it, the other did not)

Questions for the bloggers I nominated can be found here. 

Ginie's Questions (Wonderful World of Cinema, April nomination)

1. Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby? Depends. For music, Frank Sinatra reigns king in my car. For movies, Bing Crosby wins every time.

2. Fave classic TV show? "Twilight Zone." The music and messages give me chills, and I've had a little crush on Rod Serling since girlhood.

3. Back in the "studio system era" for which Hollywood studio would you have preferred to work? Why? Up to the beginning of this year, I would have chosen MGM because of all those glorious musicals. But after watching an old Shirley Temple interview in which she shared how both she and her mom were separately propositioned--not to mention MGM's abuse of Judy Garland--I think I would stick with Temple's studio of choice: 20th Century Fox. I would still get to work with the likes of Temple, Bill Robinson, Gene Tierney, Betty Grable, and choreographer Hermes Pan.

4. Do you eat when you watch films? If yes, what do you usually eat? Yeah, baby. Buttery popcorn is my vice.

5. Name a movie star that you love, but not many people know. And that everybody should discover. George Murphy. 

I re-discovered the Irish Prince of Dance during Ginie and Crystal's Marathon Stars Blogathon earlier this year. His dancing skills were a match for Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, and Gene Kelly. He also held his own in gangster and dramatic films (Battleground being a particular fave of mine; look for a post devoted to this film in the near future).

6. Is there a film you would have completely re-cast? I'm sure there is, but for the life of me I cannot think of one right now. Sorry!

7. Fave movie quote? From Casablanca:

Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

8. What do you usually say to someone who tells you, "I don't like black and white movies"? As a teacher, I hear this every year when I tell students we will be watching a clip from a black-and-white "Twilight Zone" episode. I tell them to trust me. After viewing the clip, students beg to see the whole episode, and after that, they ask to watch more, which I save as a last-week-of-school-if-you-behave-activity. "Twilight Zone" is the perfect gateway to the silver screen. Works every time. ;-) 

9. If you were an actor, in what kind of films would you prefer to star? Without a doubt, musicals so I could get paid to dance.

10. When did you start blogging? And what gave you the idea to do so? I started blogging in June 2014 (although I briefly had a website, "Silverscreen Legends," back in 2000 for a computer class I was taking during college). I had just finished my masters and needed a writing outlet. It seemed like the natural marriage of two loves: classic films and writing.

11. The last few years, many great classic movie stars left us. Which one do you miss the most? I miss Maureen O'Hara the most. I looked up to her. She was a strong, fiery, Irish Catholic woman. 

Christina's Questions (Christina Wehner, June nomination)

1. Book you would most liked to have seen Alfred Hitchcock turn into a movie. I would like to have seen what Hitchcock's masterful hands would have done to The Da Vinci Code.

2. Book you would most like to see turned into a musical. Hmmm. A Fred Astaire biopic based on his autobiography, Steps in Time.

3. Favorite movie musical score or soundtrack? This is a toughie. If I had to choose one, probably the soundtrack to The Sound of Music.

4. Stars you would have liked to have seen paired in a musical. Bill Robinson and Eleanor Powell. 

5. Least favorite musical. I had the misfortune of viewing Judy Garland's first full-length musical, Pigskin Parade (1936) last March. Garland was great. The rest...yesh!

6. If your life was turned into a musical biopic, would you rather be played by a singer or dancer? Dancer!! =) Eleanor Powell, preferably.

7. Classic movie you would most like to see on the big screen. A few years ago I missed seeing White Christmas (1954) on the big screen due to illnesses and conflicting events. I sooooo want to see this film on the big screen!

8. Movie you would most like to see remade today. 42nd Street (1933). During the 2015 TCM Film Festival viewing, I learned there was a major subplot change from the original book. The homosexual relationship between two of the male leads was considered too racy even for pre-code days. Today, the relationship could be returned to the movie. 

9. Best book you've read in the last year. Constance Valis Hill's Tap Dancing America: A Cultural History

10. Which film recently made you reflect on it long after the credits were over? Our Town (1940). I read the play a few years ago and finally saw the film version last month. Both served as a reminder of how precious and fleeting life is. Emily's plea to her younger self and mother to look at one another really hit home considering how often we spend time hooked into technology instead of each other.

11. Who is your favorite composer? Difficult to narrow down. Two of my favorites would be Cole Porter and Jerome Kern.

Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire dance to Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine"

in Broadway Melody of 1940

If you are interested in 11 details about me, click here. Thank you for reading and...

Ciao til next time!