Joyeux Noël

Musique - "I'm Dreaming of Home" by the Scottish cast of Joyeux Noël

I've said it before, but Joyeux Noël is one of my very favorite Christmas movies. I find WWI fascinating and the Christmas Truce of 1914 that this film is about is my favorite part of the war. I feel like WWI was the last war when men were still gentlemen. I cannot fathom a Christmas truce occurring in the world that existed after the Great War.

This film always makes me cry because you see how terrible war is and how beautiful love and human kindness are. Seeing these men kill each other one day and then stop the next because it's Christmas Eve is a very moving thing. Watching them realize that the enemy really isn't so different from they are restores my faith in humanity.

Because this film is so wonderful and because I'm watching it right now, I'd like to share some photos from real life Christmas Truces that occurred the winter of 1914:

If you're interested in finding out more about the Christmas Truces all along the front in 1914, I'd highly recommend the book Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub.

Happy Halloween!!

Musique - "This is Halloween" by Citizens of Halloween

Happy, happy Halloween!! Here are pictures of some of my favorite celebrities celebrating my favorite holiday!

Anita Page

 

Anna May Wong

 

Ava Gardner

 

Carole Lombard

 

Clara Bow

 

Debbie Reynolds

 

Doris Day

 

Grace Bradley

 

Ida Lupino

 

Joan Crawford

 

June Knight

 

Mary Pickford

 

Nancy Carroll

 

Paulette Goddard

 

Shirley MacLaine

 

Vera-Ellen

I Heart October!

Musique - "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg

That is all.

Pic found here.

Videos I Remember from the 1980s

Musique - "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds

Here are some of the music videos I actually remember seeing in the 80s. I say that because I've watched a lot of videos in my day and it's hard to know which ones I saw when I was a little girl in the 80s and which ones I saw later on via 80s blocks on MTV and VH1 and on YouTube. But these ones I have very clear memories of watching on MTV when I was little and lived in Oklahoma.

Rick Springfield, "Jessie's Girl". Ahhh, Rick Springfield, my first celebrity crush. I once wrote him a fan letter and left it in the window at People's Restaurant because I figured if he ever came to Oklahoma, he'd for sure go there to eat.


The Romantics, "Talking in Your Sleep". I remember thinking the drummer was really cute.


Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Come on Eileen". This was the first record single I ever owned. I still have it! And who can forget these getups and the lead singer's dancing?!


Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". This was the first 12" I ever owned and I still have it too! I was in love with Cyndi Lauper when I was little. I wanted to be her. If they had made the Cyndi Lauper Barbie when I was six, I would have thought I died and went to Heaven. When I first started getting into the 1920s and I heard Helen Kane's song "He's So Unusual", I was like "Oh! That's where Cyndi Lauper got the name for her album!" And now that I watch the beginning of this video again, I can totally hear "He's So Unusual" at the beginning—awesome!!


a-ha, "Take on Me". Who could possibly forget seeing this video as a kid?


J. Geils Band, "Centerfold". I thought the part with the milk in the drum kit was the coolest thing ever. Actually, I still think that.

ZZ Top, "Legs". I always wanted to be this girl too. Her frilly ankle socks with the heels were too cool for six year old amz. And my dad had that ZZ Top keychain! My parents loved ZZ Top so much, so we heard this song a lot growing up. They have a video of me and my sister and my friend Lisa dancing around to this song and it's quite obvious by my dance moves in the video that I watched a lot of MTV at the time.


Michael Jackson, "Thriller". And of course, the mother of all 80s videos, "Thriller". I thought the girl in the video was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. But I was TERRIFIED of the werewolf part of the video. I used to hide my eyes right around the part where Michael turns to the girl with those big, yellow eyes and sharp teeth and growls, "Get away!" and ask my babysitters to tell me when I could look again. They used to think it was funny to tell me I could look when it was still the scary part. I was so scared of werewolf Michael that if my sister even said "WW" to me, I would get scared. Man, this video is awesome.

1933, the Best Year in Films

Musique - "Shanghai Lil" by James Cagney, Ruby Keeler, and chorus

It's no secret that the 1930s is my favorite decade for films. But 1933 shines as the brightest year for film in my opinion. 1933 produced so many of my very favorite movies:

Footlight Parade, the story of Chester Kent (James Cagney), who puts on amazing prologues for movie houses. There are some really incredible Busby Berkeley directed musical scenes in this picture that just blow your mind. And it also features some of my other 30s favorites such as Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, and Dick Powell.

Design for Living, based on Noël Coward's play of the same name (but sharing only one line with it). Gilda (Miriam Hopkins) is torn between Tom (Fredric March) and George (Gary Cooper), so decides to live with both of them—but with the gentleman's agreement of "no sex". However, Gilda is not a gentleman. Oh, to be Miriam Hopkins in this film and to get to share Fredric March and Gary Cooper! Swoon!

Baby Face, starring Barbara Stanwyck, one of my very, very favorites. Lilly has grown up hard and only knows one way to get ahead—using her sexuality to get what she wants. And boy howdy, does she get what she wants in this film. They so couldn't make this film just one year later.

Dancing Lady with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. Janie Barlow (Crawford) is a burlesque performer who moves up to Broadway thanks to help from rich admirer Tod Newton (Franchot Tone). But Janie's volatile relationship with her director, Patch Gallagher (Gable) turns into something that Tod just can't compete with. There is a glorious musical number in here about beer performed by Joan Crawford and Fred Astaire. It's truly awesome.

Gold Diggers of 1933. Three out of work chorus girls, Carol (Joan Blondell), Polly (Ruby Keeler), and Trixie (Aline MacMahon), all live together, stealing milk from the neighbors and waiting for their next big break. Their old producer, Barney (Ned Sparks) does decide to put on a show, but he doesn't have enough cash to make it happen. In steps Polly's beau, Brad Roberts (Dick Powell), with the money. But how on earth does a struggling songwriter have so much dough? Another Busby Berkeley masterpiece with his signature musical numbers.

Dinner at Eight, an amazing ensemble piece with too many famous and wonderful actors to name (just check out the lobby card above). Everyone's got secrets and everyone wants something from someone else. Hilarious and moving and bursting with talent.

42nd Street, a film about Broadway (but aren't all of these Warner Brothers/Busby Berkeley films about Broadway?). Stage star Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels) is injured and can't star in Julian Marsh's (Warner Baxter) newest production. But talented newcomer Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) saves the day by taking on the lead role. Again, the musical numbers by Busby Berkeley are outstanding and I can't get enough of Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell as an onscreen couple. :)

Midnight Mary, starring Loretta Young in the title role. Mary falls in with the wrong crowd and falls for the wrong guy, Leo (Ricardo Cortez). But after meeting prominent lawyer, Tom (Franchot Tone), Mary wants to make good. Only her old crowd won't let her.

Lady Killer. Oh, James Cagney, always abusing Mae Clarke (see The Public Enemy); but this time, she deserves it. Dan (Cagney) is pretty good at crime and along with his cohorts, including Myra (Clarke), he pulls various illegal stunts. He ends up hiding out in Los Angeles and making good in the movie business. But guess who shows up to cash in on his good fortune. . . .

Female, starring Ruth Chatterton as successful Alison Drake, owner of an automobile plant. Alison is a sort of man-eater who has no time for "jealous or moody men". However, when she falls for new engineer, Jim Thorne (George Brent), she finds she's a bit more subject to feminine feelings than she thought.

Bombshell with the biggest bombshell of the 30s, Jean Harlow. This is a film inspired by Clara Bow's real life with her success and the subsequent sponging off her by family and "friends". In this comedy film, Jean Harlow plays movie star Lola Burns, at the mercy of the studio publicity man, Space Hanlon (Lee Tracy), and supporting her deadbeat father and brother. Jean Harlow is absolutely on fire in this film and the upbraiding she gives everyone toward the end is spectacular!

1933 also had some really famous movies that I enjoyed, but wouldn't say were my absolute favorites:

• King Kong
• The Invisible Man
• She Done Him Wrong
• I'm No Angel
• Queen Christina
• Flying Down to Rio

There are so many 1933 films I'm excited to see that for some reason or another I haven't seen (some Netflix/Amazon doesn't have, some are lost films, and some I just haven't gotten around to seeing yet):

• The Story of Temple Drake
• Little Women
• Alice in Wonderland
• Ex-Lady
• Employees' Entrance
• The Kennel Murder Case
• Hold Your Man
• The Bitter Tea of General Yen
• Going Hollywood
• Convention City

It's quite obvious that 1933 was the best year for films ever! :)

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Musique - "Miss Fisher's Theme" by Greg J Walker

Back in 2008, I was looking through the fiction section at my library and saw the book Away with the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood. The cover intrigued me because it was very 1920s and well, I love a good murder mystery, so I checked it out and read it—and loved it! After that, I read the rest of the Phryne Fisher series, totally loving all of the wonderful characters along with the 1920s aspect of the books.

Last year, I saw on Kerry Greenwood's Facebook page that they had made a show of her books in Australia called Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. I saw that the DVDs of this show were available in Australia, but not the U.S., so I put them on my wishlist as a sort of "well, maybe someday, I'll get them" type deal. But then recently, I decided to see if they were available on Netflix and lo and behold, they were! Up to number one in my queue they went!

I have only watched one and a half episodes so far and I can tell that I love this show! I will say that most of the characters are portrayed as much younger than I pictured them whilst reading the books—with the very obvious exception of Phryne Fisher. In the books, Phryne is twenty-eight years old, but the actress who plays Phryne, Essie Davis, is forty-three (a stunning forty-three, but forty-three nonetheless). This bothered me at first and I wondered if the producers of the show intentionally decided to make Phryne a more mature woman. But then I watched an interview with Kerry Greenwood and she seemed tickled pink at the casting choice. And I realized that Essie Davis does indeed bring the spirit of Phryne to life, so she was the best actress for this role. What does age really mean anyway? But I do wish they'd made her hair more like the Phryne of the book covers. I feel like her bob is just a scooch too long. (Yes, I am aware I am a tad bit obsessive when it comes to hair in movies/TV vs. books.)

Okay, so once I got over the whole age and bob length things, I really enjoyed the show. It's been so many years since I've read most of the Phryne Fisher books, I've forgotten whodunit, which is nice. I also really loved Miranda Otto in the first episode, "Cocaine Blues". When I saw her name in the credits, I was like, "What? Eowyn is in this show?! There must be another Miranda Otto." But nope, it was really her and she killed it (literally). In the show there is no Mrs. Butler (sad face) and so far, it doesn't look like Detective Inspector Jack Robinson is the happily married man he is in the books. However, I like the flirtatious tension between him and Phryne, so I don't mind this alteration from the books (or perhaps Kerry Greenwood really did intend them to have a thing for each other, even though he's married, and I just didn't pick up on it). And Dot and Hugh are just so freaking adorable, it's almost too much to take. I squee every time I see them together.

The costumes and sets and music are just fantastic—so very 1920s. In that interview with Kerry Greenwood I mentioned earlier, she said she was so excited that they did such a great job bringing 1928 to life so accurately, even in the language spoken. I always love it when things are historically accurate. :)

If you have not checked out the Phryne Fisher books or the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries show, I suggest you do so post haste! P.S. The DVDs are now available in the U.S. and not only through Netflix!

Some images found here and here.

"The Great Gatsby" Review

Musique - "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise" by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra

Well, I put on my replica 1920s knickers à la Zelda and saw The Great Gatsby today (in 2D, of course). After I read that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s granddaughter and Charles Scribner’s great-grandson enjoyed and approved of the film, I decided I was just being too picky, and so I went to check it out for myself.

I liked Charles Scribner III’s quote, “. . . it must be judged on its own plane as a distinct recreation in another medium, a parallel universe so to say.” And that is exactly what I decided to do. I decided to just push to the side my reservations about how it should have been made and see it for what it was—a new reimagining of a classic. If you look at The Great Gatsby as a story of obsession, excess, not knowing what you really want, and dangerous carelessness, then this movie really did do a great job of portraying that. Never mind the changes from the book or the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad soundtrack (nothing could possibly change my mind about that damn soundtrack—not even the argument that hip hop is the new jazz, which I totally agree with, and I loves me some hip hop, but it doesn’t belong in a movie set in the 1920s, neither do Florence and the Machine or Lana del Rey, etc.). I do realize what a hypocrite I must sound like since I freely admit to adoring Moulin Rouge and enjoying its soundtrack. While I do find that era fascinating and I have a great interest in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, I totally wasn’t offended by the inclusion of Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, and Fatboy Slim songs in the soundtrack. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author and the 1920s is my favorite decade, so I’m a little overly protective of them. Okay, rant over. Besides, there were a few snippets of real 20s music here and there (although they were later 20s music, not from 1922, in which year the book is set).

I will say this for the movie—the cast was simply amazing. Carey Mulligan was as beautiful, delicate, and flawed as you could possibly want in a Daisy and Leonardo di Caprio was probably my favorite Gatsby so far (and this is saying something coming from someone who used to despise him—all the way up until Inception). Elizabeth Debicki made a very pretty Jordan, although I wish her part had been bigger. Tobey Maguire was a great Nick—awkward in all the right places and a fine voice of reason. Joel Edgerton was an excellent Tom, very upper class and better-than-thou. I was really hoping to be impressed by Isla Fisher as Myrtle. And I was, certainly—I just wished there had been more of her. Of course, anything Jason Clarke does is fantastic. He really brought George’s grief and desperate revenge to life. The costumes, jewelry, sets, and cars were beyond brilliant. I hope when I die, there’s a part of Heaven that looks just like this movie.

Even with all that praise, I still maintain that the movie would have been eight million times better if a) they’d made Daisy a brunette and Jordan a blonde like they are in the book; b) they filled the film with era appropriate music (and yes, I admit this is coming from a person whose iPod contains over 350 songs from the 20s and 30s and clearly enjoys that kind of music) ; and c) 3D was not even an option (seriously, do you want to see Myrtle get viciously hit and mangled in 3D, you sick fuck?). I am vehemently, across-the-board anti-3D (except for Captain EO, which is excellent).

Alas, Baz Luhrmann didn’t consult me when making his film and so my vision and his vision had some distinct differences. I tried to look past those differences, but in the end, his film just left me feeling meh. I like films to transport me to another time and another place; I like to feel like I’m in the 1920s when I see a movie set in that time period. But this movie didn’t make feel like I was in the 20s; I felt like I was watching a very fake representation of the 20s. Which I so very obviously was—nothing about Baz Luhrmann’s movies are real, they are spectacles. But the spectacle he created in this movie in no way even compares to how I imagine the story when I read the book. My Great Gatsby is the cat’s fucking meow. ;)

Gatsby's American Dream

Musique - "Why We Fight" by Gatsby's American Dream

As I've said before, I don't plan to see The Great Gatsby in the theaters. The soundtrack is the most horrifying and blasphemous thing about the movie to me, but also the switching of Daisy's and Jordan's hair colors is offensive (Carey Mulligan is an adorable brunette), and finally, as has been recently pointed out to me, the anachronistic fashions. I had forgotten that although it was published in 1925, The Great Gatsby was set in 1922, and women's fashions at that time were very different from those featured in the movie (although the movie fashions are what most people think about when they think about the 20s).

But last night, I had a dream that I did go see The Great Gatsby in the theater. And there was no horrible modern day soundtrack (except for very brief periods when a character was introduced to the screen) Because of this, I was able to enjoy the movie. :)

In my dream, there was also an added character of a truck driver played by John Turturro who had it in for Gatsby and at one point there is a vicious beating scene between the two that was more reminiscent of a Scorsese movie than a Luhrmann one. For some reason in my dream, I didn't get mad at this liberty taken with one of my favorite books.

In any case, the dream showed me that perhaps I can be less aggro in my disapproval of this movie and maybe I don't need to take myself so seriously. Sure, it wasn't done the way I want it to be done, but maybe I can suspend my judgments until I see it. Not that I'm sold on seeing it in the theater yet, but we'll see. One good thing coming out of this movie is the plethora of 20s inspired fashions that are coming out and will continue to come out this year. I will definitely be grateful for those for years to come because even after the "fad" passes, I'll still be rocking them. :)

Back in Bangs

Musique - "Girls with Bangs" by Lune

I had bangs when I was little. I had bangs in high school. I had bangs as an adult. I have pretty much had bangs my whole life, except for certain periods when I tried growing them out (with little success). I have a small (three finger) forehead and it's nice to have a fringe to cover that up. Ever since I got into the 1920s and 1930s, I'll sometimes go through periods of time when I want to grow my bangs out so I can do the really pretty, wavy hairstyles that look so awesome on Myrna Loy and Bette Davis, etc. Alas, I can never really quite get my hair to look like that and let me tell you, styling growing out bangs is a biatch. But I'm sure you knew that.

Anyway, even though I was making another go at growing them out again, and even though they had grown past my nose, I just couldn't take it any longer. I took up a pair of scissors and hacked them off again last night. I feel so much better—like myself again. I know I look much better in bangs, so I don't know why I don't just stick to them! Maybe this time I will. Anyhow, to celebrate coming back into the bang fold, here are pictures of some of my favorite bangin' ladies:

Alix

Anita Loos

Anita Page

Ann-Margret

Anna May Wong

Annette Funicello

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Tautou

Betty Autier

Brigitte Bardot

Carole Lombard

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Christina Hendricks

Clara Bow

Claudette Colbert

Cyd Charisse

Debbie Reynolds

Emma Stone

Fay Wray

Glenda Farrell

Greta Garbo

Gwen Stefani

Helen Kane

Janet Gaynor

Jeanne Moreau

Jennifer Garner

Joan Blondell

Joan Crawford

Katy Perry

Lily Allen

Louise Brooks

Louise Ebel

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Marie Prevost

Marion Cotillard

Mildred Dixon

Pola Negri

Ruby Keeler

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Una Merkel

Zooey Deschanel

As you can see by all the 20s and 30s stars above, there is more than one way to wear my bangs and still be vintagey. I usually just stick to straight styles, but I can certainly still do pretty, wavy hair with bangs. Why fight my bangs-having destiny? ;)