Happy Birthday, Deborah!

Yesterday was the birthday of my second favourite actress, today is the birthday of my favourite actress, the absolutely wonderful Deborah Kerr. As with Greer, I am tongue-tied for anything to say about this lady. I've loved and adored her for more years than any other actress or actor. She's stuck with me through the good times and the bad times, and, though I'm only 17, I very much doubt that she'll ever move out of the cosy, little room she has in my heart.

I first fell in love with her when I saw The King and I aged 4/5. Since then, I've only grown to love and admire her more and more. I'm not exaggerating when I say it felt like my heart had broken when I heard that Deborah had died - up until then I'd still hoped that someday I would be able to meet her and tell her how much I admired her. Well, at least now, in heaven, she knows how much I, and all of her fans, loved her.

Well, without further ado, I'm going to give you 6 reasons why I love Deborah so much. :D

Reason #1

LOOK AT HER SMILE? When Deborah smiled, rays of sunshine danced around the room. It was so unpretentious...so genuine.

Reason #2

She was one of the sweetest, most darling people to ever grace this earth. Basically everything I said about Greer Garson's kind and caring nature goes for Deborah too. I also believe that Deborah was really quite a sensitive person, and this clearly shows in her portrayal of many of her characters in films.

Reason #3

Deborah's voice is absolutely darling! The softness, the sweetness, that slightly cheeky edge to it...utter perfection! I used to spend hours trying to speak like her...but to no avail. My voice is a little bit too alto-y to replicate Deborah's delicious tones!

Reason #4

She was absolutely too beautiful to be true. She personified the "English Rose", despite the fact that she was actually Scottish ;D Her beautiful red hair, those "doe eyes"...she was divine.

Reason #5

She loved her family so much, and I just adore that. She made a huge effort to keep her daughters out of the "paparazzi"'s hands, and it paid off. You can tell that she loved ALL children as she has the greatest rapport with the children who have been in films with her - I bet she was an absolute darling to them! :')

Reason #6

Her grace and elegance were astounding. The way she walked (perhaps thanks to her Aunt who made her lie on the floor everyday to give her great posture ;D ), the way she talked, and generally just the way she conducted herself around people. If she didn't agree with someone, or if someone was talking rubbish, she wasn't rude to them, she stated her point, or corrected the person, in the most genteel way imaginable. I wish I was like that ;D

Well, once again, there you have my "6 Reasons"! I hope you enjoyed reading them :)

To finish off this post, here is a video I made last month, in honour of Deborah...

...and a few photos :D

♥♥♥

Happy birthday, Greer!!

HUMONGOUS birthday wishes to the beautiful and talented Greer Garson, one of my all time favourite actresses!

Greer has me tongue-tied, I never know what to say about her! She's just so wonderful and amazing...I can't express my love and admiration for her in words. So, I'm going to do one of my "6 Reasons" post to try to share with you all why I love my darling Greer so much :)

Reason #1

She was always so tremendously sweet and caring. That was the first "Greer" quality I fell in love with. I can't remember whether the first Greer film I watched was Mrs. Miniver or Blossoms in the Dust, but I remember being struck by the kindness in her face. That's the kind of thing you can't just act, neither can you hide it. Greer had it in abundance and it's one of the things that made her the very beautiful lady she was.

Reason #2

Her smile. HAVE YOU SEEN IT? It's so sunny, so infectious, so funny and so charming, so beautiful...all at the same time. When Greer smiles, I smile...no, I GRIN. :D

Reason #3

Her. voice. is. a. dream. I die and go to heaven every time I hear it, and I just wish everyone spoke in such smooth, gentle tones...with such a clear, precise accent and with such interesting inflections and intonations. Alas, I've not yet met ANYONE who can match Greer's delicious voice - most probably I never will!

Reason #4

She was a goddess. There is not doubt about it. She was a heavenly being...and we were lucky enough to have her on this earth for 92 blessed years! In simple terms, she was far too beautiful to be true, and in my books she is one of the most beautiful stars of Old Hollywood. Everything from her gorgeous red hair, to her beautiful eyes, and those AMAZING eyebrows, was perfect!

Reason #5

You didn't think I was going to make this list without mentioning her huge talent as an actress, did you? Greer definitely was a very talented actress - and a very versatile one, also! She excelled at comedies just as much as she did at dramas. Most people only ever see her dramas, but I adore her comedies just as much as Mrs. Miniver or Madame Curie. If you've never seen any of Greer's comedies, I highly recommend you rectify that...immediately! ;D

Reason #6

I adore the fact that she could never, for want of a nicer phrase, shut herself up. She could talk for England. I get easily annoyed by people who can't shut up (I used to be one of them until about a year ago, then I got ill...and now I'm definitely more of a listener! ;D ) but if it was Greer that I was listening to...I wouldn't be annoyed at all. Imagine listening to that gorgeous, mellow voice for hours...I don't know about you, but I'd be in heaven! ;)

Well, that's my list of reasons I love Greer...I could have written out 100 reasons, but I still wouldn't be able to properly express my adoration of this lady! :)

Oh, Greer seems eager to be cutting her birthday cake - go and grab a plate, quick! ;D

I have to go now, but, whilst you're eating your cake, here are some more photos of the birthday girl for you to look at...

(With her mother...)

After the Thin Man (1936)

After the Thin Man (1936)

Nick and Nora return to their home in San Francisco on New Year's Eve and are expected to have dinner with Nora's family, most of whom strongly dislike Nick as they believe that he isn't good enough for Nora. Nora's cousin Selma's husband, Robert, has been missing for a few days, and the family want Nick to do a little sleuthing to find out where he is. Cue: several murders, men in shadows, and many other things vital to a great detective story! After several twists and turns to the story, the identity of the murderer is revealed...and once again, he is the one whom you least suspect.

If it's possible, I think I loved this film even more than the first Thin Man film. As with the first film, After the Thin Man combines a pretty substantial plot with a stellar cast, humour...and Asta, the dog.

I adore Asta. He can do everything. I want him :D

See!? How adorable is he!? ♥

There's really not all that much I can say about this film, it's not the sort of film one can write a detailed review about, and I'm no good at that type of thing anyway. All I can say is, I highly recommend you watch it. There's no way you won't adore it! :)

Stay tuned for Greer's birthday tomorrow, and Deborah's on Thursday! It's so exciting! :D

Photo of the Day

Norma Shearer looking ever so beautiful and happy whilst taking photographs :)

Photo of the Day

Carole with the cutest bunch of dogs - and a cat! :D

Photo of the Day

Deborah and Peter in Switzerland (I presume!). I desperately want Deborah's coat...it's fabulous! :)

My Favourite Dance Numbers (well, some of them...)

I love dancing. I love participating in it, and I love watching it - I get so caught up in it that I have been known to join in the barn dancing in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, and MANY of the scenes in Singin' In the Rain. Therefore, I thought it high time I shared with you some of my favourite dance numbers. Prepare to be blown away!

Pick Yourself Up (Instrumental) - Swing Time (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

This is my absolute favourite Fred and Ginger number. The energy, the grace, the music, the way Ginger glides over that fence...perfection.

The Barn Dance - Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

This is just EPIC....and I wasn't kidding when I said that I've been known to get up and dance to this ;D Can you imagine this scene in a modern film? *laughs*

Make Way For Tomorrow - Cover Girl (Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers)

I'd actually completely forgotten about this scene (I haven't seen Cover Girl for quite a few years...the DVD arrived today though, so I'll be remedying that ;D ) but Sara, whom I'm sure some of you know, asked me if I was going to put this in...so, thank you, Sara, for making sure this amazing dance number got onto the list! :D

All of You - Silk Stockings (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

UGH. A huge chunk of perfection right there. *drools*

Moses Supposes - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFxWkUkUsQA

(None of the Singin' in the Rain videos will embed, so, if you want to watch them you'll have to click ;) )

HAVE YOU SEEN THEIR FEET MOVING? Tap dancing mesmerises me...probably because I'm rubbish at it. Kudos to Donald for keeping up with Gene!

Rich Man's Frug - Sweet Charity

Fosse. Fosse. Fosse. That is all.

The Red Blues - Silk Stockings (Cyd Charisse)

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Cyd Charisse is my favourite dancer. She is AMAZING. This is one of my favourite "Cyd Scenes" because she makes it so utterly FABULOUS without any flashy costumes/scenery. Also, her skirt mesmerises me...

Abraham - White Christmas (Vera Ellen and John Brascia)

I still WOW at this scene, even though I've seen it many, many times. They make dancing so terrifyingly fast look so easy!

Let Yourself Go - Follow the Fleet (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

Do I really need to say more? It's Fred and Ginger, Ginger and Fred, Amazing and Brilliant, Brilliant and Amazing. Don't you agree? :D

Audrey Hepburn's Interpretive Dance - Funny Face

This is such an ageless number. It's always going to feel as complete as it does now, I'm sure. Audrey is fabulous, both in her dancing and her costume. I just adore this!

Broadway Melody - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YWBOfsXsDA

This was the first film I ever saw Cyd in, and I've adored her ever since. I love the whole dance sequence, but it's 15 minutes long and there aren't any videos of it all on youtube, unfortunately. Oh, and then there are the intriguing missing frames around 2:40 - 2:45 - I'd love to see the dance with those few frames intact!

Puttin' On the Ritz - Blue Skies (Fred Astaire)

Only Fred can pick up a stick without bending down. Fred doesn't go to the stick, the stick goes to Fred. Fred is a god. This is why his dance numbers need no reason to be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Dancing In the Dark - The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

The elegance, grace and beauty this dance number conjures up is astonishing. I have no words to describe it...just a huge amount of love! :)

Dem Bones Cafe Scene - The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

This dance number is from the same film as the previous one and it couldn't be more different. It's snappy, it's colourful...and it's utterly fantastic! :) Cyd is astonishing...

Good Morning - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU2zoQ8gV-s

A couple of years ago I used to listen to this song every morning to get me ready for the day ahead! It mostly did the trick!! It's so sunny, cheerful, and optimistic that you can't help but feel a little brighter when you hear/see it! :)

Waltz In Swing Time - Swing Time (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

I know this is supposed to be on of the greatest Fred and Ginger routines, and, well, I don't know about that as I'm no dancer/choreographer, but I do know that it gives me chills watching this. All those days spent perfecting the number certainly paid off...it's absolutely magnificent!

THE END

;D So, that took up quite a large amount of my time, but I think it was worth it. There you have 17 of my favourite dance numbers. Why 17? I'm not entirely sure, they're just the first ones that came to mind. There are MANY more dance numbers that I love, so perhaps I'll make another list about them sometime :D

Photo of the Day

Joan Fontaine replying to my letter which I haven't actually sent yet...:D

Thank you, Dame Vera!

Four weeks ago I wrote to Dame Vera Lynn. I'd wanted to write to her for a long time, so it was wonderful to have finally got around to it! :) Anyway, last week, three weeks after sending the letter, I received from Dame Vera the photos and CD insert and a personal letter from her! :') I feel like such a lucky girl! :D

:)

Photo of the Day

Greer, Walter and Bette...How could this photo be more perfect?

Photo of the Day

How adorable and cute is the photo!? I believe it's behind the scenes of The Letter, and...ugh, it's just so sweet! ♥

Happy Birthday, Greta!

Greta Garbo

September 18, 1905 - 15 April, 1990

Happy birthday, Greta!! :)

Greta fascinates me. She always seems so far away, so distant...so mysterious. She was also extraordinarily beautiful!

"I wish I were supernaturally strong so I could put right everything that is wrong."

Photo of the Day

Glynis Johns sporting a hairstyle that is absolutely fabulous! :)

Photo of the Day

Deborah lacing up her boots behind the scenes of The Proud and the Profane (amazing film, if you haven't seen it! ).

Happy Birthday, Lauren!!

Lauren Bacall

September 16, 1924

Happy birthday, you amazing lady!! :')

The Thin Man (1934)

So, here I am with the promised review of the first film in The Complete Thin Man Collection box set.

Basically, everyone should see this film. It's witty, fun, has a really cute dog AND a plot. YOU DON'T GET FILMS LIKE THIS ANY MORE.

The plot of The Thin Man revolves around the disappearance of a man named Clyde Wynant (the "thin man" )...but not really. It revolves around William Powell - who plays Nick Charles, a retired detective - and Myrna Loy - who plays his wife, Nora. At the request of Wynant's daughter, Nick reluctantly takes on the case, and, a few dead bodies - and more than a few drinks - later, Nick triumphantly outs the murderer in a hilarious dinner party scene.

Nick and Nora Charles are just perfection. If you don't adore both of them, then, to be frank, you need your head checking. Also, they have the cutest dog ever, Asta.

Frankly, even if this film didn't have a plot, I would watch it over and over just to hear the immense quipping between Myrna and William. ONE OF THE BEST FILM COUPLES EVER, PEOPLE!!

I am aware that this isn't much of a review, but, in all honesty, you need to see it to appreciate it. Some films you can do justice by writing about them, others...you really can't. Trust me, if you watch The Thin Man, you will not be disappointed. :D