Waitin' on a Sunny Day in 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, I thought it would be fun to look back on Waitin' on a Sunny Day's 2011. Or, perhaps more fittingly, my 2011. I watched a grand total of 369 films this year, watched 43 seasons of tv series (it seems a lot, but most of them where British shows which means the seasons are a lot shorter ;D), made some amazing friends through classic film, met one of my best classic film buddies in real life, and had a ridiculous amount of fun posting on here about all things classic! So, without further ado, I give you my 2011 in review!

My Favourite Posts of 2011 

January: Matador (or how I fell in love with a Danish tv series and one of it's stars)

February: The Thrill of it All (1963) - love love love!

March: Films I Can Watch Over and Over #1

April: My 50 Film Recommendations for the 2011 NFR

May:  The Big Country or how Sophie has almost been converted to Westerns

June: Box Set Monday #1: Deborah Kerr

July: Happy birthday to "The Queen"!

August: Box Set Monday #6: Thelma Ritter

September: Darling Deborah Blogathon: Memories of The King and I & If Fictional Characters Could Live in Our World...

October: Happy birthday, Glynis 'Awesome' Johns!

November: I thought that you would rue it; I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it that succeed you did!

December: Sophie's 20 Favourite Classic Actresses (Updated)

My Favourite New-To-Me Films of 2011

January: Don't Bother to Knock (1952) & Mad About Men (1954)

February: The Misfits (1961) & Stand By Me (1986)

March: I Remember Mama (1948) & Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

April: Splendor in the Grass (1961) & The King's Speech (2011) 

May: Niagara (1953) & The Virgin Suicides (1999).

June: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) & Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

July: The Great Dictator (1940) & Johnny Belinda (1948)

August: Possessed (1947) & The Godfather (1972)

September: These Three (1936)

October: Walk the Line (2005)

November: The Princess Comes Across (1936) & A Woman of Distinction (1950)

December: The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) & The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

My Favourite TV Series of 2011

I watched so many incredible TV series this year including Matador (1978-1982), The Golden Girls (1985-1992), and House (2004-), but when it came down to it, however much I love those three shows, none of them could surpass the emotional roller coaster that is Band of Brothers. Do yourself a favour and watch it!

I could go on forever listing favourites, but these are the three most important categories pertaining to this blog so I'll stop there. I honestly can't believe the year is almost over; it only seems like yesterday that I was posting my 2011 film-related New Year's resolutions on here (make sure you check back in a day or two to see how many of those I kept ;D). I can't think of anything profound to say so I'm just going to wish you all a very wonderful New Year and I'll see you at the other side!

(check out this lovely New Year's Eve video!)

I thought that you would rue it; I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it that succeed you did!

*drum roll*

So, hi there everyone! Do you still remember me? I hope so because I have some really exciting news. Remember the last post I wrote on here back on Nov. 7? Well, despite the fact that 5 days ago I was sitting rather nervously on an embarrassing 25k words, I somehow, don't ask me how because I still don't know, managed to pull another 25k out of the bag and at around 5:30pm today, November 30th, 2011, validated my first ever NaNo novel. Granted it isn't finished yet but the point is that I wrote 50k in a month. 30 DAYS FOLKS! You'll forgive me if my modesty is thrown out of the window for a few minutes because I am so proud of myself I could scream/cry/dance etc.! I feel pretty brilliant right now, I can tell you. Until now, I had never written a story any longer than 8k and at the end of October when I signed up to do NaNo, if you had asked me whether I thought I would be able to write 50k in a month I would have probably laughed in your face. Which begs the question of why I signed up in the first place, but I don't have an answer for that so we'll skip over it. As I mentioned in my last post, my novel is about a movie star who came to fame during The Golden Age of Hollywood and as such, the novel spans almost 40 years. As such, I am only half (or possibly a third, we'll have to see) of the way through writing the novel but I've come this far so I have no intention of turning back. I'm not going to lie, there have been moments when I've felt like scrapping the whole thing because it just seemed to ridiculous, but now I'm at 50k and the novel has shape and movement to it, I'm really excited about it especially because I have basically winged the entire plot (not something I would ever recommend. Outlines, however basic, are lifesavers.). Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling now. If you're interested in reading a little bit about my novel you can click here and you will be taken to the "novel info" section of my NaNo profile where there is a short synopsis and an excerpt from the novel itself. 

(my NaNo word count graph and stats)

Now, before I go I just want to let everyone know that blogging will be commencing as normal tomorrow (or perhaps in a day or two depending on whether my hands can actually put together a coherent sentence after today). I have many post ideas written down in my Notebook of Brilliant Ideas, so keep your eyes peeled for those. I will also be commencing with my 100 Essential Classic Films posts (8 more to go!) so check those out as well. 

Thanks for reading everyone! Hope you've all have a wonderful November and are looking forward to cracking open the Christmas carols tomorrow (I've been desperate to do that all this month but I exercised my self-control and told myself that waiting for Dec. 1 would be my prize if I won NaNo ;D). Speak to you soon! Cheerio!

Here's a song I've been addicted to the last couple of weeks. :)

Just to let you know...

That I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or become trapped in a parallel universe a lá Doomsday. I'm participating in the self-afflicted torture known as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). In case you're not familiar with it, the general idea is to write a 50,000+ words novel in 30 days. This means that you need to be writing about 1667 words per day if you want to finish my November 30. I'm currently lagging 4500 words behind with only 5564 words. Still, it's only 6 days since it started and I haven't had the time to write on two of those days so I'm not doing too badly. I suppose...

Because my novel actually has something to do with classic film, I thought I'd give share with you a (very) vague synopsis. No, really, it is the vaguest synopsis you will ever read. HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS, PEOPLE.

Eve Lynne, an actress who came to fame during the heyday of Hollywood's studio system, looks back on her life after the filming of her final picture has finished. From her beginnings as the daughter of an upper middle class English couple to her international stardom, it's hard to believe how far she's come. 

I know, right? It just screams best seller. No, but in all seriousness, I'm pretty much winging it. And my quest to be as historically accurate as possible (how does one find out who supervised the casting process in Gold Diggers of 1933? Craziness.) is driving me insane. I am, however, determined to finish the novel - although it's doubtful that it will ever see the light of day again and November 30.

Anyway, the whole point of this post was to let you all know that there may be a significant lack of posts throughout November. I do have several ideas for posts though, so perhaps I'll find some time to write them.  Who am I kidding, I probably won't survive NaNoWriMo. If you don't hear from me again, it's been lovely folks! And now, I'll leave you with a song that I've been playing on repeat since I watched Walk the Line the other week. Enjoy!

    

What I watch when I'm not watching oldies (part 1)

After reading Clara's post this morning about how she hasn't seen a classic film since last month, I was inspired to write about what I'm watching when I'm not watching something made between 1910-1960. It's something I've wanted to write about for a while because there are so many tv series and films that I love to pieces but that definitely don't fall under the "classics" category. So, I hope you enjoy this slightly different post! 

---

This year I've watched a lot of tv series but my two biggest tv watching endeavours have definitely been watching House and The Golden Girls. They boast 14 series between them and I'd never really seen any of the episodes before so it did take me a while to wade through the series. Well, it took me just over 2 weeks to watch all 180 episodes of TGG, but it took me at least a couple of months to get through House. I highly recommend both series. House is really fascinating and humorous and The Golden Girls is just plain wonderful!

Whilst I do greatly love the two series I mentioned above, the two tv series that really stole my heart this year were Matador (which actually has nothing at all to do with bull fighting. I wrote about it here) and Band of Brothers. I devour anything to do with WWII, so when my Dad bought the BoB box set I just had to watch it. Let me tell you, nothing will ever be the same again. You know something is going to be good when Spielberg and Hanks collaborate on it, but nothing can prepare you for the incredibleness of this mini series. After I watched the last episode (it's a ten part mini series), I cried and cried. I cried not so much because I'd just finished watching an incredible piece of television, but because the story is just so powerful and the ending really knocks the wind out of you. Even the most hard hearted person in the world would get emotional over it. As Orson Welles (I think) said about Make Way For Tomorrow, "It would make a stone cry.". What makes it all the more amazing is that fact that it actually happened. Obviously, there is going to be some tweaking here and there, but nevertheless, these men were real people who were unimaginably courageous and strong. At the beginning of each episode some of the surviving men from Easy Company are shown talking about the events that are being shown to us in the series, and it really makes the realities of the whole experience hit home. I honestly can't recommend Band of Brothers enough. If you don't mind quite a bit of swearing and a blood and guts, then you should go ahead and check it out! I recommend reading the book written by Stephen Ambrose as well. I'm currently reading it and it's really fascinating and gives you a lot more insight into the mini series. 

I also watched The Pacific this year, which is sort of (not really) the sister series to Band of Brothers except that, instead of being set mainly in Europe, it's set in, you guessed it, the Pacific. Again, it's a truly incredible piece of television, but it's not quite up there with BoB in my books.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered Downton Abbey. Let me tell you, Elizabeth McGovern is a life ruiner ;D But, in all seriousness, it's a wonderful tv series and, lucky for me, living in Britain I'm able to see the new episodes as they air! Eep! It makes a change from having to wait months for American tv series until they air over here. Something that makes the series all the more wonderful for me is the fact that it's set in the county I live so I know all of the names of the towns that they mention. And also, the actress who plays Anna comes from a little village just outside my home town! :D Oh, and did I mention that they totally rip off (or pay tribute to) the flower contest scene in Mrs. Miniver during one of the first series episodes. Cora Crawley even has a huge Greer Garson-esque hat!

The Countess of Grantham, is better than you. And so is her hat.

Something a little more "random" (omg, your bins are so random!) that I watched this year was the Australian mockumentary, Summer Heights High. If you got the quote above you are awesome. All of the episodes are on YouTube and it's so hilarious and brilliant. 

Currently I'm plowing through The X-Files because I finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and watch all the episodes that I haven't seen before (most of them). It's somewhat shocking that I haven't already seen all of the show because Gillian Anderson is my absolute favourite modern actress (she ranks just a teeny tiny bit behind Deborah for all time favourite) and, whilst I've seen a large amount of her films and other tv work (Bleak House is what introduced me to her 6 years ago. I've never looked back.) I've always been too much of a scaredy cat to take much interest in TX-F. My Dad and brother both love it, but I have never seen a true horror film (well, modern horror film at least) because I know I won't sleep for days (I even had a nightmares when I heard Spotify playing the Paranormal Activity 2 trailer in between songs once...). There is at least one episode of TX-F that I know I'll never watch, Die Hand die verletzt. It terrified my father and brother so much that they couldn't watch it, so I'm not even going to try. If there are any big fans of the show reading this, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know of any other episodes similar to the one I just mentioned so I can quietly skip past those too! 

---

Well, I think that's all for now! I really enjoyed writing this though, so perhaps, if people are interested, I'll make another post about my "old favourites". You know, things I can watch over and over and will most probably force upon any offspring I may have... Just let me know what you  all think! Hope you enjoyed reading!

Darling Deborah Blogathon: Memories of The King and I

It's been about 14 years since I first saw The King and I (1956), and, in the years since then, I've watched it innumerable times through both the good and the bad. If it hadn't been for The King and I you wouldn't be reading this blog now because without it, I wouldn't have fallen in love with Deborah Kerr, and consequently fallen in love with classic film. 

The first time I remember seeing it was when I was 4 or 5. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and my Grandma, Mum, and I were sitting in the living room after dinner not doing much, just happy to be in each others company. At some point, my Mum must have switched on the tv because she told me that The King and I was on. Whilst my Mum went off to do something else, my Grandma and I watched the film; I lying on my stomach in my special "film-watching" place, just in front of the tv and squeezed between the coffee table and the hearth, and Grandma on the settee. It was love at first sight. From then on, my early childhood years were taken up with the challenge of deciding whether to be Anna Leonowens or Maria von Trapp when I grew up. I have vivid memories of dancing around the piece of grass in the front of our row of houses whilst singing, rather loudly, "Shall We Dance" and clutching a tracksuit top (aka, the King of Siam). Then, when I was 6 or 7, I spent what seemed like the entire summer sitting in my parents room replaying the "March of the Siamese Children" over and over on my Dad's cassette player whilst "playing along" with an old xylophone I'd been given. Playing that track (now on a CD ;D) still gives me the same thrill that it used to. I'll never tire of it. 

Everyone, even those in my extended family, knew how much I loved (read: obsessed over) The King and I. My Aunty gave me the VHS of it for Christmas, which I still have and will never get rid of because of all the memories attached to it. I'm surprised I didn't wear out the tape, I watched it so many times. Whenever I was allowed to watch a film or asked if I could watch a film (I spent the majority of my first 13 years playing outside at every possible moment, so films weren't a huge part of my life) it was a certainty that I would watch The King and I or The Sound of Music. I was in love with the music, the gorgeous sets, the story, and, most of all, Anna Leonowens. When I was young, Deborah Kerr to me was Anna Leonowens, just like Julie Andrews was Maria von Trapp and Audrey Hepburn, Eliza Doolittle. It was only a few years later that I realised I didn't just love Anna, I loved the actress playing her. That's when I started to discover Deborah's other films and the rest, as they say, is history. 

As I said before, if I hadn't loved The King and I so much, I would never have become so engaged in my obsession with classic film. I suppose the root of it all is Deborah. Although I'm sure I would have loved the story just as much had another actress played the role of Anna, it would never have drawn me in to the extent that it did with Deborah in it. Something about her face and her voice was so comforting and extraordinarily beautiful to me. I turned to her whenever I was feeling down or sick and she was there with her red hair and hoop skirts. When I turned 13, I started clinging to my slowly slipping away childhood by watching The King and I. It relieved me of the troubles of adolescence for a couple of hours. However, whilst in my formative years one film was enough to love Deborah in, as I grew older I needed more. I watched as many of her films as I could lay my hands on and it was was whilst working my way through her filmography, I began to realise that Deborah had become somewhat of a muse to me in a way that no one else had ever been. I started to realise that I was growing up (or being "dragged up", kicking and screaming) and I desperately wished that, if I had to grow up, I could grow up to be like her, the seemingly unattainable epitome of beauty, elegance, wit, and compassion. And I did try to be like her when I was 13/14, but I think I've probably turned out almost polar opposite to her (I like to think I'm a modern day Eve Arden, and several people have been good enough to bolster my belief that I'm half as awesome ;D). It doesn't bother me that I didn't turn into a miniature Deborah though. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but, in all honesty, it's a bit creepy. 

Despite having seen over almost half of her films by this time, and having many new, exciting, favourites, on the night of October 19th, 2007, the night my Dad told me, rather bluntly, that Deborah Kerr had died, I turned to the old favourite, The King and I. It's the film that I watched three times one night (and bawled my eyes out each time) on a semi-dead laptop I'd been given by my brother. It's the film I've made friends watch and a film that, when talking about Deborah, I always ask if they've seen. It's the first film I remember seeing. It's my film.

The King and I instilled in me a love for musicals that, though it waxes and wanes, I will never be able to get over. Something sets of fireworks inside me whenever I hear the overture to a well-loved show, or even one that I don't know that well. And, in my opinion, there's no musical like a 1950's musical. The majestic, boldly coloured sets, the glorious music, and the marvellous, larger than life actors, all made the 1950s the decade for lush, aesthetically pleasing musicals. 

Although The King and I may not be my No.1 favourite of Deborah's films any more, it remains among my top five because apart from it being a wonderful film, I owe it (more correctly, I suppose, I owe Rodgers and Hammerstein) so much. It introduced me to musicals, to Deborah, and, through her, one of my biggest passions, classic film. So, thanks Rodgers and Hammerstein. And thanks a million and one times over, Deborah, for being my refuge throughout my childhood, my teenage years, and, I hope, throughout the rest of my life! ♥

If fictional characters could live in our world...

I recently watched The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985, dir. Woody Allen) and afterwards got to thinking about the concept of the film: a character steps out of a cinema screen and becomes part of the real world. It's certainly a very intriguing, thought-provoking idea and there are so many possibilities to be expanded upon. I thought I would share my thoughts on the whole, crazy idea with my readers because it fascinates me and I'm sure some of you might be equally fascinated.

From The Purple Rose of Cairo we know that the character entering our world is capable of leaving more than one screen, which begs the question, what would happen if there were several dozen identical people walking around in the world? At the least, it could make for some awkward, paradoxical situations (or not, because, if the characters aren't actually real then there can't be any contradiction!). And nowadays, when there are so many screens both large and small for the characters to emerge from, I'm sure within the matter of a few weeks the world would be ridiculously overcrowded. Unless there is a way to stop them from passing through the screen. Maybe they would have to go through customs first!

Another thought I had was, would the characters coming into our world bring with them troubles/problems peculiar to them? If so, I can only imagine the madness that would ensue. Imagine dozens of Melanie Daniels wreaking havoc in every town that she (they?) appears in. And, if they do bring their own problems, they would be introducing fantastical creatures, aliens, demons etc. onto the world. In essence, we would be unleashing our own nightmares upon ourselves. Madness!

And then there's the question of whether or not only fictional characters could "come alive", so to speak. If any character on the screen could be introduced to our world, then we could very well be welcoming, among others, infamous dictators back onto earth. The fact that, as revealed in TPROC, these characters can't actually be injured presumably means they can't die (either of natural or unnatural causes) which, in turn, means that they would just stay as they are... forever. I think that's a pretty terrifying thought.

Of course, as well as contemporary film characters coming into our world, there would also be characters from things like period dramas wandering around. How would an 18th century lady-in-waiting, for example, cope in our modern, technologically advanced world? In TPROC, the fictional character Tom Baxter kept mentioning how he didn't know about this or that because it wasn't written into his character, but at least he was a contemporary in the world which he stepped out of the screen into. I'm sure it would send the 18th century lady into a state of shock.

All in all, I think it's probably a good thing that film characters can't come to life because it would probably cause quite a disturbance. I always thought that it would be wonderful if some on-screen characters could come to life so I could be friends with them (or marry them.. *cough*) but now I'm not too sure. Well, as long as it was just one character who was very well-developed by his creator, I think it might be OK!

I could talk about this topic all day as it's taken over my mind a bit, but I'll finish now and I urge you to share your thoughts because I want to discuss this with you all!

---

I thought, as final, fun thing to do with this post, I would make an only partially serious list of 10 film characters I would love to meet in real life.

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

After seeing the film and reading the book both for the first time this year, I can honestly say that Atticus is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time. The gentle way that he fights for what he believes in reduces me to a gooey mess. 

Mame Dennis (Auntie Mame)

OK, technically the character of Auntie Mame is based on a real person but... no one in real life could possibly be so fantasmagorical as she is. I want to be her!

Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man series)

There's no party like a Nick and Nora party!

Winifred Banks (Mary Poppins)

The real question here is, why wouldn't you want to meet her? The woman is marvellous!

Mother Superior (The Trouble With Angels)

There's something about Roz Russell's Mother Superior in this film that reminds me of a nun I know, so I instantly loved her. I greatly admire both the fictional and real nun.

Golde (Fiddler on the Roof)

Golde's resilience in the face of poverty and the fear of being Jews in Tsarist Russia is remarkable. She's such a strong woman and she's been one of my favourite characters since I was little.

Maxine Faulk (The Night of the Iguana)

Oh, Maxine! Lost, lonely Maxine. I want to give her a hug.

Margo Channing (All About Eve)

Who doesn't want to meet Margo Channing? I would constantly be trying to make her mention seatbelts. 

Baroness Elsa "Fabulous" Schraeder (The Sound of Music)

Because there was actually no Baroness Schraeder in the real Maria von Trapp's story (although there was another woman, but she wasn't a baroness and she wasn't called Elsa Schrader), I think she counts as fictitious. When I met her, I would first tell her that I was too old to be shipped off the boarding school, then I would creepily touch her hair because it's gorgeous, then I would steal all of her clothes... and Captain von Trapp.

Mama (I Remember Mama)

I love Mama! I think all mothers should aspire to be as caring and sacrificing as she is. 

Which characters would you like to meet?

Oh, and just before you go, some shameless self promotion: Waitin' On a Sunny Day is now on facebook! I'd really appreciate it if you could all click the little 'like' button if you're on Facebook.

Posh Frock Friday

skirt: New Look

vest: New Look

cardigan: New Look

belt: no idea

tights: no idea

shoes: New Look

Ever since Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant fame started doing the Posh Frock Friday series on her blog back in 2010, I've wanted to participate because I think the idea of dressing up in your finest frills and furbelows each Friday is wonderful! But, being the type of girl who is to be found 99.9% of the time wearing old skinny jeans (you know the type: full of holes, faded at the knees, but oh-so comfortable!), a t-shirt with a slogan on it, and hair pulled back in a ponytail, I never got around to taking the photos. 3 weeks ago, however, I impulsively decided to get my hair, which was over half way down my back, cut. I had what seemed like a foot of hair lopped off and, the next day, my Mum kindly dyed it for me (I don't trust myself enough to do it myself ;D). It was the first time I've ever dyed my hair, and, although it's only a shade or two darker than my natural colour, I really love it! For a couple of days after The Great Haircut of 2011, I was at a loss of how to style my hair but eventually I thought "Hmm, why don't I get my rollers out? I haven't been able to use them for years due to my long hair, but now... !!". I popped them in in a fairly basic setting pattern, and a few hours late took them out and became rather giddy with excitement at the result! I haven't looked back since. It takes me ten minutes to set my hair, then I pop on a hair net and a few hours later I'm all good to go! I'm going to try experimenting with legit vintage hairstyles like I used to a few years ago soon, but I'm really loving this style for the time being. 

Happy birthday to "The Queen"!

Today is the birthday of one of the greatest actresses Hollywood has ever known, the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck. There's no need for me to say how much I admire and love her because it's written all over my blog, but to pay my respects to her on her special day I thought I would share with my readers 6 reasons why she's so splendiferous. I made a "6 Reasons" post for Stany on her birthday last year too - you can check it out here (it was the first "6 Reasons" post I ever made!) - so this time I'll be making the reasons more fun and random ;D

Reason #1 - The G-String Song aka Stany Does the Splits

Reason #2 - Lily Powers

If you haven't seen Baby Face (1933), you should go and watch it immediately. It's one of my favourite pre-codes and Stany is absolutely magnificent as the ambitious Lily Powers who sleeps her way to the top. 

Reason #3 - Her friendship with Joan Crawford

Reason #4 - Her voice. Her GLORIOUS voice

I chose a clip from The Lady Eve (1942) to showcase her voice because A) it's a fantastic film, B) I couldn't embed the clip I wanted to use (it was her acceptance speech for her honorary Oscar which you can watch here), and C) it was already handily on YouTube! ;D

Reason #5 - Yum Yum

Reason #6 - Her humility and huge heart

The photo above is from the end of her Honorary Oscar acceptance speech. I know I already posted the link above, but I'm doing it again because once you've seen it you will see just how humble, loving, and wonderful she really was. 

---

Well, there you have 2011's instalment of "6 Reasons I love Stany more than Scarlett thought she loved Ashley". I hope you enjoyed reading, and let me know why you love Stany and what you've done to celebrate her birthday! Ohhh, before I go I just want to share with you all something pretty swell that I was given on my birthday back in April...

Is it amazing or is it amazing?! My Mum asked my cousin, who has a cake making/decorating business, to make it for me. Obviously, my cousin didn't know who Stany was (I wept) so my Mum showed her a copy of the amazing painting by Kate Gabrielle that my parents were giving me for my birthday. I'd asked if I could have a special cake for my 18th birthday because when we were younger, my Mum used to make my brothers and I AMAZING cakes for our birthday pertaining to whatever phase we were going through (cue Mrs. Miniver reference...) but the last few years she's not been able to. I knew I was getting one of my favourite film stars on it, but I wasn't sure which one. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this :D 

Films I Can Watch Over and Over #3

Although there are several Disney cartoons that hold a special place in my heart, on the whole I much prefer Disney's live action films of the late 50s-60s. If I could choose to live in any film, I would probably pick a Disney live action film (or Columbia's similar The Trouble With Angels, starring Hayley Mills). My favourite of these is The Parent Trap (1961) starring Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, and Hayley Mills... doubled. It's a great family film; just as enjoyable for adults as for children (both my parents like it). The comedy in it is absolutely brilliant (I don't laugh at loud often at films, but this one always has me chuckling) and Hayley Mills is utterly fantastic as always. I have the greatest respect for her as an actress. She can be sweet, she can be spunky, she can be just plain marvellous...

I can't talk about this film without mentioning how fabulous Maureen is in it. Seriously, her character is one of my favourite film Mums. She's so fierce, like always, and her red hair is so gorgeous that a;lfjda'ldsfja'ldfj you can't help loving her. Also, she and Brian Keith make such an adorable couple.

Ooops! Spoilers ;) (Ok, you won't get that reference unless you're a Doctor Who fan obsessed with River Song who I'm not even going to start talking about following last week's "revelation" episode which renders me incapable of thinking any good thoughts about Stephen Moffat and his self indulgent, ridiculous, far too serious story lines. Get out. Now.) Although, it's not as if it isn't blatantly obvious what's going to happen from the very first moment you read the back of the DVD cover, so... ;D You should watch it. Everyone should watch it. The Parent Trap is the best and I will not accept any blasphemous remakes starring Lindsay Lohan being obnoxious and flaunting an English accent I've never heard any English person use. Good day, sir!

The Thrill of It All (1963) - love love love!!

The Thrill of It All. I wanted to see this film because Arlene Francis is in it. I love Arlene Francis. You probably already know that already though. I do not, however, love Doris Day. When I was little, I loved her -- no, I ADORED her, especially in Calamity Jane. A few years passed and I grew out of my love for her and hadn't seen any of her films for about 4 years, until the other day when I received a Doris Day double feature in the post. I only bought the double feature because it was cheaper to buy The Thrill of It All + Pillow Talk as opposed to the former by itself. I decided to watch Pillow Talk because I've heard so many good things about it and... I suppose I was feeling adventurous. All I have to say is: WHY HAS DORIS DAY NOT BEEN IN MY LIFE THE PAST FEW YEARS?! I have been depriving myself of her brilliance and I feel so very ashamed. I don't know what happened... maybe my 13 year old self thought it was "uncool" to like Doris. Eh, what did she know!? I HEART YOU DORIS!! I intend to watch as many of her films as possible as soon as I possibly can.

Anyway, I'm not here to discuss my new-found love for Doris Day. Well, I am, but only in connection with the absolutely wonderful film The Thrill of It All. The cast is pretty much perfect now that I've discovered my love for Doris again. JAMES GARNER - excuse me while I drool over his beautiful chin. ARLENE FRANCIS - ;KDFJA;DKFJ;A;SLDF'ALKFG;KAHS;EIFJASD = my emotions whenever I see her in anything! There's also Edward Andrews, Reginald Owens, and GLADYS KRAVITZ-- I mean, Alice Pearce.

The film has on the most hilarious opening scenes ever. You will not be able to keep a straight face, and whenever you think about it you will find yourself laughing. You know how you sometimes dream about a film in which Arlene Francis dances around whilst laughing and squealing in the most adorable and hilarious manner possible? Yeah, well, you don't need to dream anymore.

WHEEE! Arlene is clearly extremely excited and happy about something...

She gets into the lift with a bunch of miserable-looking business men, but unable to contain her joy, bursts into infectious laughter which sets off all the men laughing.

It turns out that Mrs. Fraleigh (Arlene) and her husband have been trying to have a baby for 20 years without success. But then James Garner, or rather, Dr. Gerald Boyer, steps in and recommends that they stop trying and go on a 3 month ocean cruise. Et voilà, RESULTS! As a sort of thank you for helping to get her pregnant (I realise how odd that sounds, and so does Doris), the Fraleighs invite the Boyers (I actually wrote the "Garners" first... WHOOPS!) to a dinner party they are holding in celebration of the happy news. It's at this dinner party that Beverley Boyer (Doris) is offered the opportunity of starring in a tv advert for "Happy Soap" after she unwittingly tells the soap manufacturer (Old Tom Fraleigh - Reginald Owens) about an experience she had with the soap earlier on in the day. At first she is unsure, but when she finds out that she'll earn $300 (or it might have been $400... ) she accepts. It doesn't go well... in fact, it goes terribly. Beverly's nerves get the better of her and she says the first thing that comes into her head, which happens to be the last line of a terrible play that was performed just before the advert...

Beverly Boyer: Hello, I'm... Beverly Boyer and I'm a pig.

Her son: What did Mommy say?

The maid: She said she's a pig.

The whole episode is thoroughly embarrassing and humiliating for poor Beverly. She was in tears... I WAS ALMOST IN TEARS. OH, THE PAIN!! Honestly though, you can't help but feel so sorry for the poor woman.

After that, you'd think she would never want to step in front of a camera again, but a juicy offer of $80,000 to appear on television every Friday for a year to advertise Happy Soap causes her to reconsider. WHAT IS THIS FOLLY?!

She never seems to completely lose her nervousness in front of the camera, but the public loves her and she becomes somewhat of a celebrity. Well, not quite a celebrity... but she gets noticed in restaurants and asked for autographs. This irritates James-- I mean Gerald. He looks so beautiful. His gorgeous eyes with the cheeky twinkle in them... that dazzling smile... the chin dimple. THE CHIN DIMPLE. SAVE ME FROM THE ADORABLENESS OF THE CHIN DIMPLE. I'm sorry, what was I saying? Oh, yes, Gerald doesn't like that his wife's face is plastered all over bill boards, and that they can't go to a restaurant without someone asking for her autograph, that she spends hardly any time with the children (Brian Nash and Gretl-- Kim Karath), and that his work hours and her work hours leave them hardly any time to see each other. JAMES IS HAVING NONE OF IT. So he drives his car into a swimming pool.

(I should probably tell you about the pool. Old Tom Fraleigh ordered it to be installed in the Boyer's garden as a "surprise". Needless to say, Beverly was not impressed and dreaded having to tell James (I'm sorry but I'm not even going to try and call him Gerald anymore). She was asleep when he came home that night though, and when she woke up they start kissing (because that's what you do with James Garner, ok?) and she didn't tell him. This was a bad move on Beverley's part because the filter in the pool made it sound like it was raining (apparently.. it didn't sound like rain to me) and so James had to go back outside so he could put the convertible in the garage. SPLASH.)

James is the unimpressed with the speed with which the pool has been installed. In fact, he is not only unimpressed, he is furious. He rushes back upstairs, packs his bags in a hurry, and leaves - kicking over a few boxes of Happy Soap's detergent that are by the side of the pool on his way out. Beverly is angry as well because James won't listen to her, but we're not interested in that. We're interested in the fact that James has kicked over several boxes of detergent by the side of the pool. By the side of the pool. Water. Detergent.

Soap suds. Everywhere. It looks like it would be so much fun to play in, but in reality... I don't think so. Beverly gets some waste disposal men to come and take away the suds, because clearly that's the logical thing to do... *cough*

This whole scene is ridiculously and bizarre, but also really hilarious.

After this escapade, a whole lot of other things happen but none of them are important because Arlene-- MRS. FRALEIGH goes into labour at the Cartier Hotel.

Mrs. Fraleigh: Gardiner, I'm going to have a baby.

Mr. Fraleigh: Yes darling, I know... Oh my God! Are you sure?

Mrs. Fraleigh: Quite sure.

Mr. Fraleigh: Beverly! Call your baby, my wife's having a husband! Quickly! Quickly!

They attempt to drive to the hospital, but are held up by heavy traffic in the streets.

Mr. Fraleigh: Sidney, do something!

Sidney [the chauffeur]: Shall I blow my horn, sir?

Mr. Fraleigh: Yes, damn it!

Mrs. Fraleigh: Gardiner, your language-- OH DARN IT!!!

Mr. Fraleigh: She said "darn it"! She has never, ever said that.

I AM STILL LAUGHING AT THE HILARITY OF THIS SCENE. Well, of the film in general.

James tries to get to them but with all the traffic it's impossible in the car, so he jumps onto a police horse. He's cool like that.

He manages to get the car, and delivers a beautiful, bouncing baby girl before they arrive at the hospital. It's a good job that the "car" was actually a limousine.

Here's a photo of Arlene's beautiful face after just giving birth in the backseat of a car. She still has her earrings on and I don't know why, but that amuses me.

Doris then falls into James' arms, cries a little, and then they go home. Kim Karath then demands she gets a baby sibling.

AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

...

I LOVE THIS FILM. I WANT TO WATCH IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Especially the opening scene and the soap suds scene. So much love!

Anyway, you should definitely check out this film. It's fantasmagorical. I give it ★★★★★

Matador (or, how I fell in love with a Danish tv series and one of it's stars)

I love tv series. I watch fairly modern ones (30 Rock, Desperate Housewives, Doctor Who, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Gilmore Girls, Friends, Outnumbered...), and older ones (All Creatures Great and Small, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Fawlty Towers, Jeeves and Wooster...), and everything in between. One thing I've never watched is a foreign language tv series. So when my friend Sara sent me all 4 series of a Danish tv series called Matador before Christmas, I was very hesitant. I don't mind watching things in foreign languages - as long as those languages are languages that I understand a little. I will happily watch things in Italian, French and German... but, Danish? I don't speak a word of Danish, and I felt that even with the English subs, it would be tedious to sit through 24 episodes - with lengths ranging from 40 to 90 minutes. But, oh, how wrong I was!

Last Saturday night I decided to watch the first episode to see if I liked it. For me, just watching the first episode of something usually isn't enough to make me really love it, but from the very beginning I was hooked on this fascinating and wonderful series. I'm currently up to the beginning of Series 3, and every episode just seems gets better and better! Even though I'm rushing through it, I'm also trying to savour every moment because I don't want to miss a single thing - and I believe that watching something for the first time is always the most magical and memorable!

Well, I suppose I should give you a (very) rough synopsis of the series in question seeing as I'm raving on and on about it.

Matador (1978 - 1981) is set in the fictional Danish town of Korsbæk between the years 1929 and 1947, and follows the lives, and the rivalry, of the town's two most prominent businessmen: Mads Skjern, who arrives in Korsbæk in the first episode and starts to build up a highly successful business, and Hans Christian Varnæs, a long-established banker from one of the town's old families. Skjern is not welcomed into the town, or helped in his business enterprises, by the old families of Korsbæk, and this sets into motion the rivalry on which much of the storyline pivots.

The beautiful theme tune

There are so many reasons I'm in love with this series. I'm a hopeless cause when it comes to well made tv series/films set around the time that Matador is, but mostly I can't help but fall in love with a tv series which has such wonderful, believable characters - it's jam-packed with 'em!

I would be lying if I said I couldn't pick a favourite character from the series as from the moment I saw her in the first episode, Elisabeth Friis, the older unmarried sister of Hans Christian Varnæs' nervous wife Maude, absolutely captivated me. She lives quietly in the shadow of her sister, taking care of both her and her children, Ulrik and Regitze, and running the household. A halting romance blossoms and fades between her and a member of Mads Skjern's family - Korsbæk becoming Verona, and the two parties in love, Romeo and Juliet. Her story is the one that intrigues me most in the series, and I can't wait to see if everything turns out OK in the end!

I'm quite tentative about stating, in a serious manner, that something I've just discovered, be it a film, an actor/actress, a song etc. etc., is now one of my "favourites". But I feel that it's a fairly safe assumption to say that Elisabeth Friis is going to be one of my favourite characters from anything for a rather long time. I asked Sara how she would describe Elisabeth (as well as having basically ALL of the same favourite actresses, we also share Elisabeth as our favourite Matador character :D ) and she said, "IT ISN'T POSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN ELISABETH FRIIS." Yep, when talking about Elisabeth, it is necessary to shout it because she really is so exceptionally fabulous. (I'm not joking!) Basically, she's everything I wish I was - quiet and calm, yet unyieldingly strong and determined, utterly charming, unselfish, and absolutely wonderful.

Elisabeth is played by the Danish actress Helle Virkner (15 September, 1925 - 10 June, 2009), and she's kind of put me under her spell. I think it's a testament to her brilliant acting (and abounding charm) that, despite not understanding a word of Danish, I am determined to watch as many of her films as possible - and a lovely fellow Old Hollywood/Helle Virkner fan has provided me with a few to start me off! I think I may have to get a "Teach Yourself Danish" book...

Well, I could sit here and ramble about Matador for days, but I'll leave you all in peace now. I can't recommend this series to you enough - if you decide to watch it, you will NOT be disappointed!

(You can purchase the box set (Region 0, with English subtitles) from both amazon.co.uk and amazon.com)

"Sag mir wo die Blumen Sind" - Marlene Dietrich, 1963

This is one of my favourite, if not my favourite, rendition by Marlene. Just listening to it gives me goosebumps - her voice conveys so much emotion in such an understated way - but seeing her performing it in this video is a whole other thing. She's not acting, and in a way, I don't think she's even performing. She's living the song - living the the angry sadness of the words.

Sag wo die Soldaten sind

Wo sind sie geblieben

Sag wo die Soldaten sind

Was ist gescheh'n

Sag wo die Soldaten sind

Über Gräbern weht der Wind

Wann wird man je verstehn

Wann wird man je verstehn

Sag mir wo die Gräber sind

Wo sind sie geblieben

Sag mir wo die Gräber sind

Was ist gescheh'n

Sag mir wo die Gräber sind

Blumen blüh'n im Sommerwind

Wann wird man je verstehn

Wann wird man je verstehn

Marlene sang two other versions of this song: the original English version (if you're not aware, Sag mir wo die Blumen sind is the German version of the song Where Have All the Flowers Gone?) and a French version, Où vont les fleurs? Whilst her French and English renditions are both quite beautiful, I think that the German version is the version which best captures the meaning of the song.

On tumblr today the wonderful Cara of illustratedstorybook (who is a fount of Marlene knowledge - I've learnt so much from her.) posted a quote from Rosemary Clooney about Marlene.

"Seeing Marlene and hearing Marlene in Las Vegas was always a thrill for me. I saw Marlene on the stage and she just - she was a vision. She really wanted to be perfect in any way that she could - every way that she could. To listen to her sing though, always made me a little sad because there was a wistfulness about Lili Marleen, about Where Have All the Flowers Gone?… Not wistfulness there - there was an anger because of the words and the way that she interpreted it. It was uh, it was quite special."

Firstly, I would have LOVED to have been able to see Marlene perform on stage. We're so lucky that we have quite a lot of recordings of her performances, and that we have her records and films, but what I would give to go back in time and see her there - in front of my very eyes - giving those wonderful, legendary performances! Secondly, Rosemary completely summed up my feelings for Marlene's three versions of Where Have All the Flowers Gone?. There are no other versions of the song which adequately capture it's pain and sorrow, in my opinion. I'd always disregarded the song, but as soon as I heard Marlene's interpretation of it I couldn't get it out of my head. She turned it into a beautiful, painful, and exquisitely profound song. You can hear her heart aching as she almost chokes on the poignancy of the question, Where have all the flowers gone?/long time passing/Where have all the flowers gone?/long time ago.

I could probably go on about this song for hours, but I won't. I'll just leave you to listen to it, and soak it up.