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, Vivian!

Happy 101st birthday, Vivian Vance!

Vivian, an actress of stage and screen, is most remembered for her fabulous portrayal of Ethel Mertz, Lucy Ricardo's best friend and landlady in the wonderful t.v. show I Love Lucy. I can't say how much I love Vivian...she has me rolling on the floor with laughter just by some of the looks she gives Fred (and Lucy, sometimes!). I think often people forget about her and William (Frawley), immediately thinking of Lucille and Desi when talking about the show, however, without the Mertz, I Love Lucy wouldn't be half as funny! :)

One of My Favourite Old Hollywood Tribute Videos...and a ramble.

Hello there! I'm really sorry that it's been so quiet on here the last few days. I've not had any inspiration, and I didn't feel up to writing reviews. However, having ordered some rather rare films yesterday, I think some fabulous reviews will be on the way in the next few weeks - or rather, reviews about some rather fabulous films. I cannot vouch for the fabulousity (I copyright that word...) of my reviews. I'll include the list of the films I've recently bought at the end of the post.

Having said that, I did watch Hell's Angels for the first time today (can you believe it!? A huge Jean Harlow fan like me! Shocking!) and really enjoyed it so much that I would love to do a review of it, but, quite frankly, it's so spectacular that it might take me forever to write!

(^That. is. one. long. terrible. sentence. :O )

Now, onto this rather amazing Old Hollywood tribute video. I'm pretty sure I didn't post it when I first found it about a week ago, but if I did...I'm not sorry, it's too amazing to only post once! I command you to watch it, and if you do not cry during it...I despair! I cry like a baby every time...

For me, the emotion starts kicking in at about 0:40 with Joan Fontaine and then Maureen O'Hara. By the time it gets to the AMAZING clip of Greer looking absolutely perfect with her Oscar, followed closely by Carole, I'm a wreck. Oh, and not to mention the clip of Barbara at about 2:45! :') It is one of the most beautiful, lovingly-made videos I've ever seen! I urge you to check out Sara's other videos here. They're all wonderful! ♥ Oh, and I dare you to name all of the stars in the video. There were two or three that stumped me, and when I found out who they were I wanted to bang my head against a wall - how could I have forgotten them!?!?

Now, onto the ramble ;D I wanted to buy the I Love Lucy box set - or rather, buy it in parts...I don't have £100 to spend on it in one go! :O However, it seems that the only I Love Lucy DVD set I can buy is a 5 disc "16 Classic Episodes" set. The reason? All the seasons are only released on DVD Region 1 format. Grrr! I hate it when they do that! I just want my Lucy! :(

Next, I just wondered if it's odd that I don't find Bringing Up Baby funny!? ;D Well, I find Cary funny because I just love him...but Kate just makes me stop watching it after 30 minutes. She just really isn't amusing...apart from the scene where he rips the back off her dress and she starts walking back into the hotel - I just want to shout "SERVES YOU RIGHT FOR BEING SO ANNOYING!!" Hah.

Ok, I'm going to toddle off now, but not before giving you the promised list.

On the not so rare front, and mostly ones I've seen before, I bought:

Bonjour Tristesse (1958 - Otto Preminger; Deborah Kerr, David Niven and Jean Seberg)

Lady of Burlesque (1943 - Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea)

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946 - Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott and Kirk Douglas)

Meet John Doe (1941 - Frank Capra; Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper)

[The three Babs films were part of a box set]

Hell's Angels (1930 - Howard Hughes; Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon and James Hall)

And now, the one's I am most excited about because I've never been able to find them anywhere else:

Julia Misbehaves (1948 - Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Lawford)

Lizzie (1957 - Hugo Haas; Eleanor Parker and Richard Boone)

Arise, My Love (1940 - Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland)

No Man of Her Own (1950 - Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund)

Remember the Night (1940 - Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray)

Well, that's all for now! A presto! :)

Photo of the Day

Lucy and Ethel :D Lucille's eyes are so amazing...