It is with great sadness that I mark the passing of Jane Russell. She died today after suffering respitory failure due to a bad cold. Jane would have turned 90 in June.
She was a classy, elegant lady. Always outspoken about her personal beliefs, Jane had genuine talent and never failed to hold her own in motion pictures or personal appearances. (One only wonders what heights she could have attained had Howard Hughes not obsessed about putting her in physically-flattering roles.) After retiring from films in the 1970s, Jane lent her time to her pet organization, the World Adoption International Fund, as well as organizing performances for local retirees in her area.
The world is a little less glamorous now.
2.28.2011
2.26.2011
Mambo Italiano!
I am obsessed with this song at the moment! Something about the rhythm and the fun Italian lyrics (I love Italian) is so delicious. I can't decide who sings it better.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S6i83V6mpUM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Rosemary Clooney
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jAQQ1Vlk1nE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Dean Martin
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QGnh0q4RuQ8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
...or some French actor dude with his muppet friends
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S6i83V6mpUM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Rosemary Clooney
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jAQQ1Vlk1nE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Dean Martin
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QGnh0q4RuQ8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
...or some French actor dude with his muppet friends
2.24.2011
Actors Named James Are Amazing
Seriously. I've started noticing that pretty much any actor I admire (from Old Hollywood, that is) is named James. Take a look:
Jimmy Stewart
James MacArthur
James Mason
Jimmy Stewart
I adore Jimmy Stewart. He is handsome and talented and romantic and plays the best characters, and always seems so down-to-earth. I think of him as the "guy next door". I will watch any movie Jimmy is in. :D
James MacArthur
I love James MacArthur. I guess you could say he's my second favorite of the "Jameses". Of course I grew up watching him in the Swiss Family Robinson. *sigh* And I loved him in the Truth About Spring, with Hayley Mills. I guess I just like him personally, too--I wish I could see more of his work. I was very sad to hear of his passing on October 28th.
James Darren
Is he not the cutest thing on earth? Ever since watching Gidget, I've had a crush on James Darren--he's a good actor, not just a hunky heartthrob, and he sings too! And get this--he's still performing! *sigh* I love Moondoggie.....
James Mason
James Mason is just cool. Seriously. He plays the villain so well, and so creepily! Check out North by Northwest or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He's amazing. I seriously admire his talent.
James Cagney
The man can do anything! Watch Yankee Doodle Dandy vs. Mister Roberts. 'Nuff said.
James Dean
I'm not an enormous James Dean fan but I do admire the guy's talent. He obviously had something and it's just a pity that he never had the chance to fully realize his potential. Plus you can see his first film role in a Martin/Lewis movie! (Sailor Beware, 1952)
James Garner
I love James Garner. He's just too cool. Not only can he hold his own against the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day, but he plays the too-cool-for-fighting hero to perfection (and he's very, very handsome). Support Your Local Sheriff, anyone?
James Coburn
He creeped me out in Charade. Then I found out he was the voice of Waternoose in Monsters, Inc. How cool is that? Plus, he has the extra added benefit of being Jerry Lewis's fake twin. : D
Is that not the CREEPIEST?
2.23.2011
A Cinderfella *Remake*??
Well, I checked the Jerry Lewis news feed on IMDB for the first time in like, a month, and guess what.
Yes.
He has optioned out six of his films from the early 1960s as remakes. Can you believe it??!
Jerry won't say what the last three are, but he has mentioned remakes in the works for the Bellboy, the Family Jewels, and Cinderfella. Cinderfella!
I love that movie. I absolutely adore it. Not only is Jerry totally cute and utterly sweet but it has Ed Wynn and Anna Maria Alberghetti (whom I happen to UTTERLY idolize and look up to and whom I was once told I look like.... :D no fooling!). How can they remake Cinderfella?
My feelings on this piece of news are soooo mixed....on the one hand, I am extremely glad that a whole new generation will come in contact with Jerry's genius. Entertainment today is at an all-time low and Jerry is one of the few remaining Redwoods (as I like to call Old Hollywood's alumni). But how can you remake a Jerry Lewis film?
There is no one, I repeat, absolutely no one, who can take his place and even be remotely successful (with the tiny, microscopic exception of possibly Sean Hayes). Jerry mentioned that he would like these roles to be venues for outstanding comedic talent or some such nonsense....which probably means he'll be teaming up with Robin Williams, Jim Carrey or another modern comedian I can't stand...just like he did with Eddie Murphy in that awful remake of the Nutty Professor. And Sean Hayes is already out of the running because, as Jerry so gracefully puts it, "He's in bed with Universal. And I'm not thrilled to death about them." Which makes me sad because Sean Hayes was the one good thing about that simply dreadful biography film, Martin & Lewis. Why not get Billy Crystal, for gosh sakes? (I know he's old, I know, I know...)
Anyway....the only good thing about a Cinderfella remake is that they would have to recast the role of Princess Charming (aka Anna Maria Alberghetti)...which means I could have a shot at it! lol. (Not really. But the possibilites do give one reason to hope. :)
Another thing I was glad to hear is that Jerry is going to be very much more involved with these films than he was with the Nutty Professor Remake of Death. Which means we should get less toilet humor and more Jerry-esque hijinks. Joy rapture, hallelujah, and amen three times over. : D
And now, to rant on the Stupidity of Modern Hollywood and Their Bullheaded Insistence on Remaking Every Good Film... (seriously, that title just about says it all, doesn't it?) I don't know about you, but I am getting extremely tired of Hollywood thinking they have to remake Every Good Film...if it ain't broke, don't fix it, folks! The problem is, Hollywood is broke...broke for good ideas, broke for fresh films...they simply don't have any more juice left. So they feel the need to capitalize on past successes with the excuse of putting a "fresh" or "modern" take on them (to which I say "faugh!". What's wrong with the old-fashioned take?!). So help me, if they ever get around to that Thin Man remake I will never visit a modern theater again.
So anyway....I'm still sort of split on this thing. I can't wait to see what Jerry is going to come up with, but at the same time I can't help wishing that he would take all the time, energy and money he is using on these remakes and pour it into developing DVDs of all those films of his we don't have instead...the Giesha Boy, etc....we don't even have a full Colgate Comedy Hour set!
By the way, if you want to read the interview I got this info from, it is here.
Yes.
He has optioned out six of his films from the early 1960s as remakes. Can you believe it??!
Jerry won't say what the last three are, but he has mentioned remakes in the works for the Bellboy, the Family Jewels, and Cinderfella. Cinderfella!
I love that movie. I absolutely adore it. Not only is Jerry totally cute and utterly sweet but it has Ed Wynn and Anna Maria Alberghetti (whom I happen to UTTERLY idolize and look up to and whom I was once told I look like.... :D no fooling!). How can they remake Cinderfella?
My feelings on this piece of news are soooo mixed....on the one hand, I am extremely glad that a whole new generation will come in contact with Jerry's genius. Entertainment today is at an all-time low and Jerry is one of the few remaining Redwoods (as I like to call Old Hollywood's alumni). But how can you remake a Jerry Lewis film?
There is no one, I repeat, absolutely no one, who can take his place and even be remotely successful (with the tiny, microscopic exception of possibly Sean Hayes). Jerry mentioned that he would like these roles to be venues for outstanding comedic talent or some such nonsense....which probably means he'll be teaming up with Robin Williams, Jim Carrey or another modern comedian I can't stand...just like he did with Eddie Murphy in that awful remake of the Nutty Professor. And Sean Hayes is already out of the running because, as Jerry so gracefully puts it, "He's in bed with Universal. And I'm not thrilled to death about them." Which makes me sad because Sean Hayes was the one good thing about that simply dreadful biography film, Martin & Lewis. Why not get Billy Crystal, for gosh sakes? (I know he's old, I know, I know...)
Anyway....the only good thing about a Cinderfella remake is that they would have to recast the role of Princess Charming (aka Anna Maria Alberghetti)...which means I could have a shot at it! lol. (Not really. But the possibilites do give one reason to hope. :)
Another thing I was glad to hear is that Jerry is going to be very much more involved with these films than he was with the Nutty Professor Remake of Death. Which means we should get less toilet humor and more Jerry-esque hijinks. Joy rapture, hallelujah, and amen three times over. : D
And now, to rant on the Stupidity of Modern Hollywood and Their Bullheaded Insistence on Remaking Every Good Film... (seriously, that title just about says it all, doesn't it?) I don't know about you, but I am getting extremely tired of Hollywood thinking they have to remake Every Good Film...if it ain't broke, don't fix it, folks! The problem is, Hollywood is broke...broke for good ideas, broke for fresh films...they simply don't have any more juice left. So they feel the need to capitalize on past successes with the excuse of putting a "fresh" or "modern" take on them (to which I say "faugh!". What's wrong with the old-fashioned take?!). So help me, if they ever get around to that Thin Man remake I will never visit a modern theater again.
So anyway....I'm still sort of split on this thing. I can't wait to see what Jerry is going to come up with, but at the same time I can't help wishing that he would take all the time, energy and money he is using on these remakes and pour it into developing DVDs of all those films of his we don't have instead...the Giesha Boy, etc....we don't even have a full Colgate Comedy Hour set!
By the way, if you want to read the interview I got this info from, it is here.
2.22.2011
Welcome to My Blog of Old Movie Insanity!
Hello! I'm so glad you stopped by. I am, by all ways and definitons, an Old Movie Fanatic. I grew up watching old Disney movies and old television shows that my parents had taped. I love performing--singing, acting, dancing, playing instruments, etc. I'm very into vintage stuff--cars, clothes, music, and of course, movies! I love the glamour of Old Hollywood and think that much of what Modern Hollywood puts out today is c-r-a-p (with very few notable exceptions). I think talent it less today than it used to be. I know glamour and class are. I have very firm ideas about what entertainment is and what it should be. You don't have to take anything I say seriously, especially if it offends you. :) And I'm not going to be wishy-washy about my opinions here, so some of it probably will--or at least, you'll find yourself disagreeing with me, which is perfectly okay. I happen to think that people can disagree and still be the best of friends, and I expect all visitors to behave with a modicum of class and etiquette while they're here. That doesn't mean you can't express your opinions, just that you'll have to clothe them in politeness before you publish them on my site. :)
My favorite Old Hollywood actors/entertainers are Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, William Powell, James MacArthur, Cary Grant, Peter McEnery, Ray Milland, Gene Kelly, Charleton Heston, and James Darrin (lots of J's). My favorite actresses are Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy, Hayley Mills, Jane Powell, Doris Day, Claudette Colbert, Linda Darnell, Loretta Young, Judy Garland, Janet Munro, and Shirley Temple.
I love musicals. Most of what I post here will pertain to old films/tv shows/music/movie stars, but there will be the occasional trip into Modern Hollywood--because yes, even that has its finer points....once in awhile. Enjoy yourself and look around. I would love to hear from you!
Oh, by the by, I adore the phrase "motion pictures"...whenever I write or read it I can almost hear Arlene Francis on What's My Line? asking the mystery guest if they're famous. Yes, I am a Total Nerd.
My favorite Old Hollywood actors/entertainers are Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, William Powell, James MacArthur, Cary Grant, Peter McEnery, Ray Milland, Gene Kelly, Charleton Heston, and James Darrin (lots of J's). My favorite actresses are Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy, Hayley Mills, Jane Powell, Doris Day, Claudette Colbert, Linda Darnell, Loretta Young, Judy Garland, Janet Munro, and Shirley Temple.
I love musicals. Most of what I post here will pertain to old films/tv shows/music/movie stars, but there will be the occasional trip into Modern Hollywood--because yes, even that has its finer points....once in awhile. Enjoy yourself and look around. I would love to hear from you!
Oh, by the by, I adore the phrase "motion pictures"...whenever I write or read it I can almost hear Arlene Francis on What's My Line? asking the mystery guest if they're famous. Yes, I am a Total Nerd.
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