Happy birthday, Glynis 'Awesome' Johns!

Happy birthday, Glynis!

She may not be one of the most well-known actresses from classic films, but I think everyone can name one particular film that this incredibly fantasmagorical lady was in. If you're struggling to think of it, let me give you a hint:

From Kensington to Billingsgate one hears the restless cries. From every corner of the land, WOMANKIND ARISE! Political equality and equal rights with men - take heart for Mrs. Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!

Got it yet? YES! She was the mother of Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins. Nevermind Miss Poppins being practically perfect in every way, Winifred Banks is practically awesome in every way. She's a singing and dancing suffragette. No one will ever top her coolness.

I thought I'd honour her this year by doing a "6 Reasons" post. I could hardly narrow her magnificence down to 6 reasons though...

Reason #1 - Her Voice

Glynis' voice is one of those that you can't stop listening to. It captivates you with it's unique, beautiful tones. I could listen to her read the phone book quite happily. Whilst so many wonderful actresses have performed the song, Glynis' rendition of Send in the Clowns from Sondheim's A Little Night Music will always be my favourite version, which isn't surprising seeing as it was written for her. 

Reason #2 - Her face

Pretty self-explanatory really. She has such a beautiful, interesting face and the weirdest nickname ever regarding her eyes, "The Girl with the Upside-Down Eyes". Yeah.

Reason #3 - Her 1954 film, Mad About Men

(start at about 6:00 if you want to see the most brilliant part of the film!)

She made the prequel to this film back in 1948 (Miranda), but, if I'm honest, it's a bit rubbish. This film, however, is 90 minutes of pure and unadulterated, ridiculous rubbish, and it makes for a very entertaining, albeit somewhat brain-mushing, film. SHE'S A MERMAID. SHE HAS AN IDENTICAL RELATIVE WHO IS NOT HER TWIN. SHE DANCES. AND THERE'S A SEA LION LIKE IN JULIA MISBEHAVES. It's always going to be good when there's a sea lion. 

Reason #4 - The two films she made with Deborah Kerr

She made Perfect Strangers (1945) and The Sundowners (1960) with Deborah and they are both cracking films. I wish they'd made more films together because they really seemed to compliment each other well. 

Reason #5 - Her talent as an actress

(blatantly the best photo of anyone. ever.)

It pains me how underrated she is! She has huuuuge talent as an actress. She can be so spectacular in films that she almost blows you away. A great example of this is her segment in the 1951 film, Encore. She was in the third part of the film called Gigolo and Gigolette and played a young daredevil who entertains the crowds at a nightclub by diving into a shallow barrel of water from a very great height. It's by far the best part of the film and the way she manages to pull you into the story in such a short time is truly phenomenal. I urge everyone to check out her films! 

Reason #6 - Well done, Sister Suffragette!

You didn't really think I was going to leave it out, did you? ;D

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Hope both my readers and the lovely Glynis have a wonderful day! ♥

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! ♥

The Darling Deborah Blogathon Posts

Today's the day! It's the Darling Deborah Blogathon in honour of what would be Deborah Kerr's 90th birthday. I'll keep updating this post with all of the participants posts so that you'll get a chance to read them all. Unfortunately, I'm going away for the weekend in, well, less than an hour, so I may not get a chance to read all the posts today. I'm sure I'll be able to get on the internet, but, just in case I seem like I'm ignoring contributions, I'M NOT! I appreciate all the posts that have already been submitted and all of those to come! Hope you enjoy reading! 

Mr. Mythical Monkey talks about 1957 film Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison in his insightful and very interesting post.

The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World writes about the 1944 Deborah made with Powell and Pressburger, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

The Lady Eve's Reel Life writes about Deborah's 1961 intensely terrifying and creepy film, The Innocents.

Forever Classics sings the praises of The Innocents in her blog post.

Via Margutta 51 talks about the underrated gem of film that is The Naked Edge.

Blame Mame writes about the ultimate romantic comedy, An Affair To Remember.

True Classics reviews one of Deborah's first Hollywood films, which gave her one of her most challenging roles, Edward, My Son.

Frankly, My Dear talks about 5 things she has in common with Deborah.

All Good Things writes about the films in which Deborah played a governess.

Thrilling Days of Yesteryear reviews and talks about the suspenseful 1946 film I See a Dark Stranger, in which Deborah plays a young Irish girl who loathes Britain and everything British.

Defiant Success writes about 5 of Deborah's films: The Night of the Iguana, An Affair To Remember, From Here To Eternity, Separate Tables, and The Grass is Greener.

Thanks so much everyone!

Happy birthday, my bonny daisy! ;D

107 years ago on this very day (although the lady in question would like to have you believe it was 104 years ago ;D) a rather beautiful, red headed, baby was born in England. Her name was Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson and she grew up to be the earth-shatteringly gorgeous and talented actress we know as, well, Greer Garson.

Happy birthday, Greer! 

You all know that I love this woman more than I can possibly say and that I would watch her anything and everything, and listen to her OTR broadcasts all day every day if I could. She was a beautiful, kind, hilarious, and intelligent woman whom I would have given anything to have meet in real life. I'm going to leave you with one of my favourite scenes from the wonderful 1947 film, Julia Misbehaves. It's so sweet and perfect and proves the fact that no one will ever wear a tablecloth quite like Greer. ;D

P.S. Don't forget it's the Darling Deborah Blogathon tomorrow! It's not too late to participate, everyone is welcome! :D I'm not actually going to be here most of tomorrow as I'm leaving for the weekend (something I didn't know when I planned the blogathon), but I have a couple of posts queued up and hopefully I'll be able to get online to compile a list of all the participators posts. I look forward to reading all the wonderful Deborah-ness! :D

Loving Lucy | Thank you, Lucille!

(This is part of the Loving Lucy blogathon which is being hosted over at True Classics. Go and check out all the other brilliant posts!)

Today marks the 100th birthday of one of the world's most loved actresses and comediennes, Lucille Ball. It's 60 years since I Love Lucy started airing and, as a testament to it's greatness, it is still one of the most loved tv shows of all time. Even if someone has never seen ILL, show them a picture of a certain ditzy red head with a flaming putty nose and they will know it's Lucille Ball. She becomes part of your life whether you realise it or not.

I didn't grow up watching I Love Lucy because it is rarely, if ever, aired over here in UK, but when I discovered Lucille Ball, and subsequently ILL, it was at a time when I needed to laugh and needed to be taken out of myself, even if just for half an hour. I didn't need just anyone though, I needed someone I could understand and relate to, someone who I could feel was my friend. Lucille Ball was just who I needed. Even in the darkest moments, she could make me smile and feel as though everything wasn't so bad after all. She was one of us, not some aloof movie star that very few could feel close to, but someone who shared with us (as Bob Hope said) one of the greatest gifts to mankind, laughter. Lucy knew how wonderful the gift of laughter is, and she shared it in the most real and tangible way possible through a (then) new medium which assured it reached and touched the lives of thousands of people. 

The world has changed a tremendous lot in the past 60 years but one thing is certain, we need Lucy now just as much as we did in the post-WWII years. I firmly believe that in another 100 years the world will still love her as much as it does now. Thank you, Lucille Ball, for brightening so many people's lives ♥

Happy birthday, Lucille!

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I wish I could have written something with a bit more depth to it; I had so many things I wanted to say about Lucille but I've been trying to write them down all week and it just hasn't happened. I haven't been feeling too good so perhaps that's why, but at least I managed to write something as at one point I was so frustrated I didn't think I'd be able to post anything! 

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. 

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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 

balloons, cake and birthday wishes for the 'woman of a thousand faces'

That's right ladies and gentlemen, a year has rolled by and once again we find ourselves celebrating the lovely Eleanor Parker's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I hope you have a wonderful days filled with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens. See how seamlessly I managed to fit a TSoM reference into that sentence? Even though it technically had nothing to do with Eleanor...

ANYWAY, it's time for me to rustle up one of my 6 Reasons posts. I haven't done one of these since Deborah's birthday last year because none of my most favourite favouritest favourites have had any birthdays since then (except Glynis, but shhhhh she musn't find out!). In no particular order...

Reason #1 - Her smile

Reason #2 - The Baroness Schraeder Giggle

Reason #3 - Her chameleon-like ability in films

Check out Lizzie (1957) if you want to see her showcase her ability to morph from a mousy museum office worker Elizabeth into the more than slightly crazy Lizzie.

Reason #4 - Her voice

Reason #5 - Scaramouche

It should start at 5:10, one of my favourite parts. Eleanor is so hilarious as Lenore; the film wouldn't be any good without her in my opinion ;D

Reason #6 - Her ridiculous beauty and adorableness

There you have it! 6 serious and not so serious reasons I love the birthday girl. Once again, on the off chance that Eleanor is surfing the interwebz, I'd just like to extend my warmest wishes to you on this day and I hope that you enjoyed eating plenty of weiner schnitzel (sorry, my TSoM references cannot be tamed!) cake and had a wonderful time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ♥

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...)