Picture Of The Day

Douglas Fairbanks, New York City, 1918. Rallying war bonds for WWI with nothing more than a megaphone. Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Doug sold more war bonds than anyone else ever. And you thought Brad and Angie brought the big crowds...

"Adam's Rib"

One of the best Hepburn/Tracy films is the great "Adam's Rib". This 1949 picture also debuted the adorable Judy Holliday which kicked off her career that would span 20 years.

Judy's husband is a flop and is getting busy with another gal. Judy decides to kill him, scare him, what have you, and buys a gun. She finds him with the "tall job" and fires! Judy's husband is only hurt but she is in need of a lawyer.

Next we meet the Bonner's aka Katarine (Amanda) and Spencer (Adam). They are both lawyers and as it ends up, Kat will defend Judy while Spence is prosecuting her. They both get to work and the fun begins...

The Bonner's obnoxious neighbor, played by David Wayne, has the hots for Kat (even though I get the gay vibe) and Spencer doesn't like it. Tension rises as both lawyers try to win their case.

Katharine is trying to prove that Judy had the right to shoot her husband because he was cheating on her. Spencer is more of a by-the-books man and tries to convice the jury that nobody has the right to try to kill another person.

They fight, they question thier relationship, and in the end they decide if they want to be with each other or not. Plus there is a verdict! There are many fun scenes in this film, one where Spencer attempts to shoot Katharine, and another when they show their party guests some cute home movies. 

Everyone knew how wonderful Judy Holliday was. Katharine even started a rumor that Judy's performance was better than hers and that she was "mad" about it, hoping to get Judy more press. The film was a hit and Judy was quickly chosen to star in her theater role of "Born Yesterday". The rest is history...

The MGM Lion

One of the best production logos (yes, I am blogging about a production logo, reason #68 that I am a film nerd)is the MGM lion logo. Starting in 1924, when Samuel Goldwyn, Marcus Loew's Metro Studios, and Louis B. Mayer joined studio forces,  MGM used several lions before settling on Leo in 1957. First came Slats, then Jackie, Coffee, Tanner, George and finally Leo, which is the lion you see on most MGM logos. 

Slats

Jackie

Coffee

Tanner

George

Leo

Ralph Helfer was Leo's trainer and cared very deeply for him. Ralph started a new way of training that didn't involve whips or chains, but was based on respect for the animal. 

MGM lions at work:

Greta Garbo and Leo. She looks thrilled to be at work today!

My alma mater, Loyola Marymount University, used to borrow Leo for their sporting events and chain him to a tree as thier mascot. He was rumored to spend the night in the dorm lobby after a late night game. 

 Anything to intimidate the visiting competators!

Miss Tay

Sunday blues? Turn on the tube to TCM and sit back to watch a full day of Elizabeth Taylor as they pay tribute to a legend.

Check out the schedule at:

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html

Enjoy!

Quote Of The Day

"Sex appeal is fifty percent of what you've got and fifty percent of what people think you've got."

-Sophia Loren

"The Awful Truth"

One can never get enough of Cary Grant, and by one, I mean me. I must proudly confess he is my Hollywood boyfriend. The great hair, sharp suits, slight British accent, and dashing personality has me hooked. Tonight's Cary fix was by way of the excellent screwball comedy, "The Awful Truth" which was the first of three pairings he would have with Ms.Irene Dunne.

Cary and Irene are man and wife until they start to get suspicious. Cary thinks Irene is cheating on him with her foreign singing instructor, and Irene thinks he is lying about his travels. They decide to get a divorce. But who will get Mr. Smith, their dog whom they both love? The court decides to let the dog choose, and he goes with his Momma.

Irene moves in with Aunt Patsy and starts sulking because she misses her man. Cary gets visitation rights with the dog. One night Aunt Patsy scores a date for Irene played by Ralph Bellamy. He is an Okie visiting New York and Irene thinks he is fine. Cary comes over to play with the dog so Irene leaves with Ralph and third wheel Aunt Patsy. After one night on the town Ralph is in love. 

Before you know it, Irene realizes Ralph is a tool and that she still has feelings for Cary. Meanwhile Cary does what he can to break off the engagement because he still loves her too.

Irene still has contact with her singing instructor and Cary and him get in a shuffle when they both get sent to her room to hide from Ralph. Once Ralph gets wind of all Irene's men, he is over it. Cary starts dating a rich heiress and they make plans to wed.

While visiting his future in-laws, Cary finds himself in a pickle when his fabricated sister shows up at the party, and it is Irene! She plays a boozer and the in-laws are not impressed. She and Cary take off once it is clear there will be no wedding bells for anyone.

On the way back, they get pulled over by the heat, and after Irene lets the car run into a tree, they need an escort back to her folk's house for the night. I love the safe way the cops let them ride on the motorcycles. In the end they make a truce and realize the awful truth about their relationship. 

I love this film for many reasons. 

One: Cary(duh). 

Two: Irene's costumes are beautiful.

Three: The cute scene when Cary thinks his hat is too big when it is really someone else's.

And Four: When Cary is hiding behind the door trying to make Irene laugh while she is supposed to be serious with Ralph.

Cary thought this film was going to flop while in production and tried to get out of finishing the picture. It ended up being one of the best hits of the year.