A little backstory:
I grew up watching old films. Every Friday throughout grade school I looked forward to settling down in the evening with my parents to take in a movie made decades before I was born, sometimes decades before my parents were born. I met and fell in love with a variety of people so fascinating and enchanting that they seemed to belong to another dimension, perhaps another world. Doris Day, William Powell, Jerry Lewis, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, W.C. Fields, Mae West, Jimmy Stewart, Ginger Rogers: on and on it goes.
Those experiences were more than time-fillers or mere entertainment for me, they were formative spans in which I learned valuable lessons about what is truly good in the world, what is truly funny, truly sad, and truly awful. My attachment to this glamorous, golden age of the past strengthened as I grew, and modern versions of story-telling paled in comparison to what the glories of the past had to offer. But as I grew I found that very few others my age had discovered that beautiful world alongside me. I undertook in my youth to introduce them to it. I undertake now to spread awareness, to instigate interest, and to cultivate curiosity.
When I married my husband four weeks ago, I brought to our marriage one particular item in abundance: old movies. We have hundreds, and we will be watching them all together, starting now. For each film we watch, I will do my darndest to extend the experience to everyone who reads this blog. I will document our experience in wading through this mountain of movies, and hopefully prompt you to seek them out too. Join us in this journey; there will surely be an extraordinary amount of fun along the way.
4 comments:
Welcome aboard! This looks like it's going to be a pleasant place to regularly visit (learned about it through the TCH message boards). I cordially invite you and your friends here to visit my classic Hollywood site, "Carole & Co.", named for my all-time favorite actress, Carole Lombard:
http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/
We've been up for more than three years, with over 1,250 entries and plenty of rare images. I think you'll enjoy it.
Excellent!! Thank you for investigating and commenting!!
I just pulled up your site and it looks stunning. I am very impressed by the breadth and depth of it. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you will come back often. I will be looking more deeply into yours :)
If you have any tips for me I would be more than happy to hear them!
Obviously, I'll watch Lombard in just about anything, but there are so many people from that era who are worth watching. My #2 and #3 actresses are Myrna Loy and Barbara Stanwyck, both of whom provide plenty of pleasure, while among actors I go for William Powell, James Cagney, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart and Fred MacMurray (his early romantic comedies with people like Lombard and Claudette Colbert are largely undiscovered gems).
I'm a big fan of pre-Code stuff, too; the Lubitsch comedies such as "The Love Parade" and "The Smiling Lieutenant" are wonderful. I've also gained new respect for Loretta Young from her pre-Code films -- incredibly beautiful and a splendid actress.
And, of course, there's "Citizen Kane," which was simply revolutionary and brings something new with every viewing.
Enjoy learning more about classic Hollywood...it's a lifelong joy!
Myrna Loy and William Powell are also two of my very favorites!
Cagny, Stewart, Grant, gotta love 'em all! Since you mention MacMurray, have you seen "Above Suspicion"? That is probably my favorite of his.
I hope you will come back and comment often!
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