Dancing Legs Quiz ~ Mar 2016 Edition

Take a look at the following partial pictures. Each pair belongs to a dancer whose birthday is this month. Name the dancer. Then give yourself a bonus point if you can name the movie.

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#CurateMyLife ~ Flash Blogathon

Margaret Perry is hosting a Flash Blogathon this weekend as part of her Cultural Heritage Management course. She asks classic movie lovers to document their classic film heritage and culture. To aid in the task, she has given us a list of items to share--kind of like a scavenger hunt.

If you would like to join in the fun or want to see what others have contributed, visit margaretperry.org for the full scoop.

Classic Reel Girl's #CurateMyLife entry ~

1. DVD collection:

Unresolved Love Triangles

Part of January Viewing

When two handsome men are vying for your affection, what's a gal to do? If you're Jean Arthur, you bask in the attention. If you are pre-code Miriam Hopkins, however, you take the triangle as far as it can go--all the way. 

In Design for Living (1933), Gilda (Hopkins) meets a pair of struggling artists, painter George (Gary Cooper) and playwright Tom (Frederic March). Both make her tingle--one from toe to head, the other head to foot, and she cannot decide whom she likes best. So what does she do? Moves in with them to act as their muse. Nothing more per a "Gentleman's Agreement." It works fine until Tom is called away on business and carnal desire proves too strong for the remaining two.

Hopkins dramatically proclaims, "I am no gentleman."

The triad is broken up. Gilda and George go one way, Tom the other. All is well until Tom turns up one day while George is away. Gilda's bell still rings for Tom--figuratively and literally--she really does ring the bell of his old typewriter.  

All that is needed to land March in the sack: a little ring-a-ding-ding.

Dancing Legs Quiz ~ Feb 2016 Edition

Take a look at the following partial pictures. Each pair belongs to a dancer whose birthday is this month. Name the dancer. Then give yourself a bonus point if you can name the movie.

1)

2)

3)

4)

Good luck!

6 Films for 2016

A few weeks ago I shared the results of my 10 for 2015 movies-to-watch list. I managed to view a measly 50% of the films on the list, so I am giving myself a more attainable goal for 2016. (I figure I can always increase the goal in 2017 if I succeed. It's kind of like training for a big marathon. You don't run the full 26 miles at the beginning. You work up to it. At least, that's what I've heard...)

Here's the plan: view one movie from the list every other month. This will give time to watch, process, write about the movie, and also allow for uncharted film discoveries along the way. 

The grand total comes to 6 films for 2016:

2015 TCM Film Festival missed it, want to see it

1) Why Be Good? (1929) - This movie keeps popping up on the Twitter feed. With a title to match the Jazz Age attitude and a pixie flapper like Colleen Moore, I expect this film to be a time capsule of the Roaring Twenties. Can't wait to travel back to fringe, speakeasies, and the Charleston.

Source - TCM Forums

Pre-code

2) Baby Face (1933) - I am ashamed to admit I have never viewed this pre-code staple. I hear Barbara Stanwyck gives a phenomenal performance as a tough broad who uses her sex appeal to rise through the ranks of society. Looking forward to another strong Stanwyck character and seeing how far the filmmakers go in the absence of enforced code.

A Tribute to African American Dancers of '30s & '40s

A combination of prep work for this year's Dancing Legs quizzes and a star search for In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and The Wonderful World of Cinema's Marathon Stars Blogathon brought me to the sad realization that many of the world's greatest tap dancers are missing from our public consciousness and film library. Dancers who made possible the likes of Fred Astaire, Hermes Pan, and Eleanor Powell but were pushed aside due to the color of their skin. Dancers who were as talented as Ann Miller or Gene Kelly but never given a fighting chance in Hollywood. Instead their dance routines are limited to decaying film reels or descriptions in a textbook. Today's post is a small step in trying to ensure their legacy is not lost.

For the record, I strongly believe that the celebration of these dancers should not be limited to one day or even one month of the year. I plan to make a concerted effort throughout 2016 to view the rare film appearances of these incredibly talented dancers.

Jeni LeGon

Jeni LeGon was a solo tap dancer whose athletic movements were every bit as good as the male dancers of her day.  After dancing with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in RKO's Hooray for Love (1935), she scored a contract with MGM. According to dance historian Constance Valis Hill, LeGon was slated to perform in Broadway Melody of 1936, an Eleanor Powell star vehicle, but was taken off the assignment after LeGon "stopped the show" at a promotion event that included Powell. Per LeGon in 2006:

It was a color thing. They said they couldn't use two tap dancers, but that was bull corn.  

From then on, MGM neglected her talent, opting to put her in servant roles instead. The biggest snub must have been when she played maid to dancer Ann Miller in Easter Parade (1948). It is a crime that her dancing skills were squandered.

Jeni LeGon and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in a publicity shot for Hooray for Love (1935)
Click here to sample their dancing. 

10 for 2015 Recap

Last year I set out to view 10 films that would broaden my movie horizons. Here is how I did:

Movies in my collection:

1) American Madness (1932)
2) My Man Godfrey (1936)

Sometimes the grass is greener in other pastures. In other words, I opted for the movie on TV or the ClassicFlix DVD over the movies I own. "I'll get to it later," I kept saying. Still haven't gotten to them. Some day... 

Movies to complement my reading list:

3) Sorrowful Jones (1949) - Cute. Richard Zoglin's Bob Hope biography inspired this pick.

In addition to Hope's funny asides, there is heart in this film. We see his character, Sorrowful Jones, transform from miserly coward to protective father-like figure, willing to put his wants aside for a child (played by the adorable Mary Jane Saunders). Lucille Ball plays his former girlfriend Gladys O'Neill, a tough dame who won't be pushed around by her night club boss (Bruce Cabot) or his thug sidekicks. She also has a soft spot for the orphaned Martha Jane and is instrumental in pushing Sorrowful in the right direction when needed. Ball is wonderful in the role. 

Our family will be watching Bob Hope and Lucille Ball in Sorrowful Jones for many years to come.

Dancing Legs Quiz ~ Jan 2016 Edition

Welcome to the first Dancing Legs Quiz of the year! In 2016, the partial pictures will feature dancers whose birthdays are in the month of the quiz. New quizzes will be posted on the first Sunday of the month.

Give yourself a bonus point if you can name the movie in addition to the birthday star.

1)

2)

Good luck!

Torch Song (1953) ~ Crawford's Return to Dancing

Part of 10 for 2015
 
From the first number, Torch Song gets off on the wrong foot. While Joan Crawford's legs are exquisite, they dance to a song, "You're All the World to Me," already covered by Fred Astaire's feet two years earlier in Royal Wedding (1951). It's not likely audiences would have forgotten the number either--he dances on the walls and ceiling.

The opening shot of Crawford's gams attempts to establish her great musical comeback. The dance that follows is lackluster.

2015 Film Finds

As we ring in the new year, let's count down Classic Reel Girl's top 5 Film Finds of 2015.

5) Lured (1947) - Why you should see it: Lucille Ball. 

Her presence elevates every film in which she appears (at least in all those that I have viewed thus far). Be forewarned that the plot begins to drag, but it is worth the watch to see Ball in a dramatic, film noir-ish role. Several cherries on top: Boris Karloff makes an appearance, Ball dons chic costumes, and if you are interested in literary criticism, the plot lends itself to a gay reading.

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Dancing Legs Quiz ~ December Edition

Take a look at the following partial pictures. Each dance routine debuted in a movie released in December. Can you guess these famous dancing legs? Give yourself a bonus point if you can name the movie.

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2)

December Viewing ~ Home for the Holidays

I'll be home for Christmas. 

You can count on me.

I'll be home for Christmas.

If only in my dreams.

 

As I looked over the movies I viewed this month, I realized that December was all about going home. These are movies that will be forever intertwined with memories of my mother who introduced them to me. Though we may be miles apart, a piece of me goes home every time I view them.

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

Whenever The Long, Hot Summer is on, I am compelled to stop and watch it--not because I am particularly enamored by the plot or characters. No, I view it because Long, Hot Summer reminds me of my mother. It is one of her favorite films and as such we viewed it many times together. I maintain that Ben Quick (Paul Newman) is a dirty, rotten scoundrel and that Clara (Joanne Woodward) deserves much better. I get that he had a rough childhood and is paying for his father's sins. However, he did con the local men into buying wild horses without blinking an eye. I will concede though that he is an awfully cute scoundrel and worthy of our female gaze. Another reason to stop and watch it.

November Viewing ~ Shearer, Spies, and MacLaine

The grades have been posted, the gifts purchased and wrapped, the cookies baked and set out. Now it's time for some Classic Reel Girl (and a nap!).

Before looking forward, I want to look back on the movies watched and discovered throughout the months of November and December. The last few days of 2015 will also include my top 2015 Film Finds, how I did with my 10 for 2015 list, and my 2016 Films to Watch list (not sure if I should make it ten again... ;-) ). Looks like I will be having a mini-blogging marathon to make up for lost time! Watch for updated links.

Shearer

TCM's November was devoted to the legendary Norma Shearer. Prior commitments didn't allow me to catch nearly as much Norma as I wanted to this time around, but I made room for three of her films.

*The Divorcee (1930) - Ever since I took an interest in pre-code movies, this film and Baby Face (1933) have popped up in conversations as quintessential examples of the genre. While there is no doubting its pre-codeness, The Divorcee is lacking the characteristic I prefer most in pre-code movies: the all-out-strong woman. At first, the film appears it will deliver. When Jerry's (Norma Shearer) husband cheats on her, she "balanced [the] accounts" by doing the same. 

 Best shot of the film: Don't mess with Norma!

  

***Spoilers ahead***