Vintage Hollywood Christmas

On December 10, 2014February 1, 2015 By Renee Lou Dallow ( Bourgeoise Bloomers )In Festive frivolities, Now and then, old movie magic

Somehow Hollywood in the 1930s managed to out glamour glamorous. We all wanted to be just like them. They had style and gave us class. That’s why we went to the movies. To get away from the depression, from the drudgeries of every day life and from failed romances. There was the gorgeous Jean Harlow who died at just 24 but made so many beautiful romantic films during her short time at the top.

There was the beautiful Carol Lombard who died young also in a plane crash whilst selling war bonds and was at the time married to Clark Gable.

There was Joan Crawford who didn’t die young but went on and on and on forever finally winding up as a parody of her former self.

Of course we must also include her arch rival and my personal favourite ‘Bette Davis ‘ who also went on and on to parody herself .

Also there were the handsome leading men promising romance and honour amongst thieves. They were good sorts who wanted nothing more than to look after their ladies of choice. Showering them with all the good things of life. In the movies that is.

Cary Grant shown here contemplating what to do with the pressies under the tree looke extremely dapper indeed.

Clark Gable seen here with Joan Crawford dressed up in his best tuxedo.

George Brent put up with a bit of Christmas cheer fromBette Davis whilst relaxing in front of the fireplace.

And James Stewart gave Donna Reed a smooch under the mistletoe.

Ah those were the days my friend

Gabby Du Gaffe

c/o

Renee Dallow ( Hybiscus Bloom ) 10/12/2014

George Peppard: Man for all reasons

On December 7, 2014February 1, 2015 By Renee Lou Dallow ( Bourgeoise Bloomers )In Now and then, old movie magic, Romantic interludes

George Peppard was that gorgeous actor in ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn. Besides being incredibly good looking in a charming boyish sort of way he was also an extremely fine actor during the late 50s and onward. ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s was probably his most well known film due to the fact that it was so popular. Peppards stoic and intensely loyal writer character was the perfect foil for Hepburn’s zany antics as Holly Golightly. Peppard’s character Paul Varjak ( nicknamed Fred ) is the strong sensitive type with a touch of mystery about him much like the actor himself. Apparently many directors found Peppard difficult to work with as they found him to be quite arrogant but really it was more of his just wanting to play characters with more structure as he did not want to be labelled a pretty boy. For this reason he moved into the action movie genre. Other well known films made by George Peppard include ‘Home From The Hill’ with Robert Mitchum, George Hamilton and Eleanor Parker and ‘The Blue Max’ in which he plays Baron Von Richtofen ( The Bloody Red Baron ) who shot down more planes during WW1 Than any German pilot before or since. In ‘Home From The Hill’ He plays the illegitemate son of Mitchum who is treated just like another hired hand on his fathers ranch. He watches his half brother played by George Hamilton get all the privileges of life while he is virtually ignored. His character portrayal is unique in that he plays him with a calm, loving demeanor when the part just screamed for the stereotypical angry, thwarted, misunderstood character that audiences had come to expect with that type of role. Personally I find Peppard charming both inside and out. Look out for his films and you will not be disappointed. Sincerity, intelligence, strength and charm all wrapped up in a beautiful package.

Ah George Peppard you were a total dream.

Betty Bourgeoise

For

Vintage Hollywood Christmas

On November 26, 2014February 1, 2015 By Renee Lou Dallow ( Bourgeoise Bloomers )In Movie Magic, Now and then

We all dream of a white Christmas with Bing Crosby crooning, sleigh bells ringing and a Christmas tree that soars up high into the heavens glittering and gleaming with bright shiny baubles.
We dream of a Christmas where we run around throwing snowballs while building snowmen, where we line up Christmas stockings in front of a warm cozy fireplace or where we sneak out when everyone else is asleep to wrap up that secret gift in pretty paper tied with red and gold ribbons to hide under the tree. We may all dream of this kind of Christmas yet many of us may never experience it. There are those who just don’t celebrate it at all because it is not their thing and there are those who cannot either because they are alone, poor or homeless.

In some cases this sort of Christmas is impossible because the weather is way too hot for snowmen like here in Australia. Enter Hollywood. Every year there are loads of Christmas themed movies which people love to go see so they can fuel themselves with the Christmas spirit.

There are not many, however, that can even come close to the classic vintage Christmas movies of old. I speak of Judy Garland singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ in ‘Meet Me In Saint Louis’, ‘Holiday Inn’ with Bing Crosby singing the iconic ‘I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas’ or ‘Miracle On 34th Street’ with child star Natalie Wood setting out to prove that Santa Clause really exits.

Then there were the publicity photos of the stars promoting Christmas cheer and endorsing the must have products of the day. The magic of Christmas always seemed more so when when Hollywood jumped on board. Christmas messages of love, faith, joy, hope and family togetherness were the Hollywood themes for the Christmas period back then. Promoting the dream was the way people got through.

So let’s all dream a little eh and maybe the magic will come back.

©Renee Dallow ( Hybiscus Bloom ) 26/11/2014

Film Noir Trivia Quest

On November 5, 2014February 1, 2015 By Renee Lou Dallow ( Bourgeoise Bloomers )In Film Noir, old movie magic, stories of mystery and romance

1: In which of these three films did Claire Trevor star as a washed up Cabaret singer ?

A: ‘Borderline’ B: ‘Dead End’ C: ‘Key Largo

2: Which two of the above three films also starred Humphrey Bogart?

3: Which of these film noirs was directed by musical choreographer Busby Berkeley?

A: ‘Big Town’ B: ‘They Made Me A Criminal’ C: ‘Murder My Sweet’

4: Who starred in Berkeley’s film?

A: William Powell B: Edward .G. Robinson C: John Garfield?

5: Which of these three films did not star Fred Mcmurray?

A: ‘Double Indemnity’ B:’Dead Reckoning’ C: ‘Above Suspicion’

6: In ‘Above Suspicion” Joan Crawford and Fred Macmurray play a married couple who are also spies named ….

A: Mr And Mrs Jones B: Mr And Mrs Smith C: Mr And Mrs Brown

7: In which film does Virginia Field play a woman who kills her husband and wishes she could turn back time so that it never happened. Her wish is granted but will she or won’t she do it again?

A: ‘The Imperfect Lady’ B:’Waterloo Bridge’ C: ‘Repeat Performance?

8: In which film does Claire Trevor known as ‘The Queen Of Film Noir play a prostitute dying of consumption who happens to be the girlfriend of a character named ‘ Baby Face Martin’ played by Humphrey Bogart?

A: ‘Dead End’ B: ‘Borderline’ C: ‘Born To Kill’

9: Lizabeth Scott in ‘Too Late For Tears’ is a sweet housewife who finds bank rolls of money and wants to keep it. When her husband he says he wants to inform the police she kills him. What happens next?

A: She is blackmailed by a man who witnessed the murder. B: She escapes to Palm Springs with all the money. C: She is arrested and sent to prison.

10: Lizabeth Scott starred with Barbara Stanwyck in which film …?

A: ‘Dead Reckoning B: Desert Fury C: The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers.

11: In which film noir did Orson Wells play an ex nazi who finds solace in a small town where he marries well and becomes mayor?

A: ‘The Stranger’ B: A Touch Of Evil’ C: Citizen Kane.

12: Scarlet Street is a sinister tale in which an artist is swindled by a young couple who mistake him for a wealthy Man. The artist is played by…..

A: Humphrey Bogart B: William Powell C: Edward .G. Robinson

13: Evelyn Keyes who starred as Scarlett O’hara’s younger sister in ‘Gone With The Wind’ Made many film noir films. See if

you can complete the titles of three of these films

A: .. River ….. B: …… O’clock C: The …… that ……. New York

14: In one of the above films Keyes plays opposite Dick Powell who plays a casino owner framed for murder by the mob. He is a member of a rival mob and is already wanted by police. Keys stands by her man? Can you name the film?

15: ‘The Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ is the name of a song but is also the name of a very famous film noir that deals with the powers of predicting fate. What is the relevance of the title?

A: One of the main characters will die under the stars. B. Athousand eyes will be watching as a murder takes place. C: The killer can only see at night.

Have fun finding the answers to this quiz which you will find from reading various blogs on ‘bourgeoise Bloomers.’ These include blogs on Lizabeth Scott , Claire Trevor, Evelyn Keyes, Virginia Field, Film Noir and poem’So The Night Has A Thousand Eyes’. If you cannot find the answers I will endevour to cover them for you in future blogs.

Renee Dallow ( Hybiscus Bloom ) 5/11/2014

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