"Heldorado"

I am not a western fan. I don't like the desert, cowboy hats, or John Wayne. But being that I just made a trip to the Hoover Dam, I figured I would watch a film that had the Hoover Dam in the setting. It was very fun to see this landmark from 1946 when I was just there last week.

Roy plays Roy (as so that nobody gets confused) who is a ranger and watches his turf around the Hoover Dam (It is called the Boulder Dam in this picture, guess Hollywood didn't like our 31st president). He stops his buddy Gabby from putting posters up of the upcoming Heldorado Frontier Days festivities.

Later in town he meets what he thinks is the coat check girl, but is really Carol, the town's "Heldorado Queen" and B celebrity. She is getting cheeky with Alec, a con man and playboy whom is supposed to be loaded. 

During the big dinner setting off the Frontier Days, which  involves a giant merry-go-round horse as the centerpiece, Carol is made honorary sheriff. She excepts.

At the same time, the FBI is worried that someone is using counterfeit money while gambling and ask Roy to get to the bottom of it. They learn it is Carol's beau, Alec, and he has some other bad guys helping him out.

Roy finds the bad guys and chases them down before going to a rodeo to show off his skills.

Before you know it, Alec is dead, and Carol starts taking her sheriff duties seriously and investigates while Roy fumes in the background. Speaking of backgrounds, this scene has the best.

The Heldorado fun begins and the bad guys decide to get more dirty money from the baggage check. First comes the parade, then Roy ties guys up, then Carol heads to the baggage claim to catch the bad guys. 

A fight breaks out and they lock Carol in a refrigerator. Roy comes to save the day and they fight while tearing up the place.

They catch the bad guys and retrieve the money. Hurray!

I wish there were more oldies with the Hoover Dam in them because it is such a sight to see!

"The Apartment"

One of my favorite films is "The Apartment" with the adorable Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

Jack works here.

And this is how he feels about it. 

He wants to get higher in the company so he lets all the execs use his apartment for some hanky panky with their mistresses. Jack hates this because on most nights he has to sleep outside but he can't say no. 

Then he meets Fran (Shirley) the cute elevator gal and is smitten.

He wants her but little does he know Fran is playing doctor with his boss at his apartment! Jack finally gets that promotion but is sad when he learns through a left behind item that Fran is a mistress.

Fran is bummed because the boss (Fred MacMurray) doesn't want her for keeps and in the apartment she decides to off herself. She takes some pills and gets in bed to die.

Jack comes home and finds her and with his neighbor's help they save her and nurse her back to health. Jack realizes she has issues but still is crazy about her. Fran is just depressed.

The coat in this famous scene that Shirley is wearing actually belonged to director Billy Wilder's wife.

While she is recuperating, Fran realizes she likes Jack too, but still has feelings for Fred even though he does nothing for her when he learns about her night. 

Jack must decided what is most important to him, his new big wig job or the elevator girl. Fran must decide if she wants to be a mistress or a girl friend.

I love this film because I think Jack and Shirley are so wonderful together. They were both so new in their careers. I love the scene when Jack is totally infatuated with Fran and so excited that she is in his apartment and makes her spaghetti with a tennis racket.

Picture of the Day

Marlene Dietrich and her vanity table. It takes a lot of stuff to look this good. The zebra rug in the bathroom is a nice touch.

Quote Of The Day

"It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time."

-Tallulah Bankhead

"Ocean's Eleven"

Having just returning from a few days in Las Vegas, I found it only fitting to watch the original version of "Ocean's Eleven" with Frank, Dean, Sammy, and the gang.

Frank and Peter Lawford are old army buddies who want to hit up 5 casinos for a million dollars each (oh boy!). They spend a lot of time working hard and getting the crew together.

Once the final group is gathered they fly to Vegas to prepare. Danny deals with his estranged sweet wife and his bitchy girlfriend along the way.

The plan is to heist the casinos right after midnight on New Years while everyone is singing. The time has come and the plan gets set into motion.

After the teeny tiny safes are broken into and the millions little bit of money shown in them are robbed, all is going well until one of the eleven bites the dust in the middle of the street. After some investigation, the boys are worried that they might be discovered and make a new plan to hide the evidence. Will they get their share? Will they get caught ad be put in the slammer?

My favorite part of the film is the uncredited cameo by Shirley MacLaine playing an adorable drunk gal who momentarily ruins the plan. Her part was shot in one day while in between filming "The Apartment" and she wasn't paid, she agreed to do the part to get to hang out with the Rat Pack. 

I had never seen this film but own the remake with George Clooney. It was fun to watch how out dated this film was compared to casinos now. No security, no cameras, only one metal trash can for each casino and everyone was so trusting. It almost made me laugh.