A Closer Look At...

...Cary Grant

1. Born January 18, 1904 in Bristol, England.

2. Ran away to the circus at age 13 to be a juggler.

3. Cary’s mother was put in an institution when Cary was 9. He was told she was on holiday and did not see her again until he was in his mid twenties.

4. Was signed to Paramount in 1932.

5. Legal changed his iconic name in 1941. Good-bye Archie, hello Mr. Grant.

6. Gave his entire salary from “The Philadelphia Story” to the British was effort.

7. James Bond was created with Cary in mind.

8. Has always been rumored to have a romantic life long relationship with best pal Randolph Scott. Kat Hepburn said once she saw them kissing in a parking lot. They owned a house in Malibu and would live there whenever either one of them was in between marriages. You be the judge.

9. Took lots of LSD for “therapy” reasons.

10 Stated that “Father Goose” was the role he played that was most like him. 

Happy Birthday Hollywood boyfriend!

Picture Of The Day

Carol Channing, Gloria Swanson, 

and Tallulah Bankhead, chewing the fat.

Everyday Alfred

Put it out there, Alfie!

Men In Film

My friend Karissa sent me a link to a great video thinking I would fancy it. She was right! This thing is so cool. It goes in order and shows some of our current leading men, ending appropriately with George Clooney, whom I always thought looked like Clark Gable. How many men can you recognize? 

And in case you were wondering, yes, there is a girl version too. 

Thanks Karissa!

A Closer Look At...

...Oleg Cassini

1. Born 1913 in Paris.

2. Studied fine art at the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze after growing up with a mother who was a designer.

3. Moved to America in 1936, became a citizen and served in WWII as a second lieutenant in the army.

4. Worked as an assistant to Edith Head before being hired by Paramount and designed for movies such as "The Shanghai Gesture", "Leave Her To Heaven", and "Razor's Edge".

5. Married second wife, Gene Tierney and had two daughters,one whom was "retarded" and was institutionalized.

6. Was made famous for designing garments for Jacqueline Kennedy.

7. Dated and almost married Grace Kelly.

8.Had a secret third wife for many years named Marianne Nestor.

9. Was sued by his second child on behalf of her sister with special needs. 

10. Died after a stroke in New York in 2006.

Starting Off January Right

I was charmed when my friend Monty over at All Good Things asked me if I would be his guest for January. I was even more delighted when he posted our interview on his blog. It's fun to talk about movies, and I had never been interviewed about them before, so thanks Monty! Even better, his Classic Movie Goddess Of The Month is no other than my fave, Lauren Bacall.

What a great start off to a new year.

Check out part one of the interview:

ALL GOOD THINGS

"The Grass Is Greener"

This odd film, directed by one of my faves, Stanley Donen stars Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons.

Cary plays Victor, who runs tours for out of towners through his castle of a house. 

His wife Hilary (Deborah) is the lady of the castle and sells mushrooms. They seem to be happy and in love until Charles (Robert)"accidentally" stumbles in on Hilary. 15 minutes later they are in love. Does this guy have charm or what? 

Hilary must go to London to get her hair done. She'll stay the night at frenamie Hattie's house. Really she is going to stay with new boyfriend Charles. Hilary doesn't think twice about not covering her bases, especially when her haircut trip turns into a mini vaycay. Hattie has the hots for Victor and goes to see how he is.

Victor knows what's up but doesn't want to make a move as to bother the two love birds. He acts weirdly calm and collected as Hattie tries to get him to forget about his cheating wife and more about the potential of them shacking up.

Nothing says "sexy" like matching jeweled earrings and headband.

Victor decides to call up Charles and invite him to stay the weekend. He should pick up Hilary since she is in town with Hattie. Riiiight. Stanley splits the screen as we see the guys think each other are chumps and the gals think the men are nuts. What is Victor up to?

As everyone arrives, the love triangle party can start.

 

Talk about awkward! Can you spot the white elephant?

Finally the cat is out of the bag and Victor tells Charles that if he accepts a dueling challenge he can have the old broad. Butler Sellers helps out. 

After shots are fired, Hilary comes out to see what the men are up to and finally has time to chat with her husband about her new beau. What happens after that? Is the grass really greener on the other side? You must watch this one to find out!

This film has some cute scenes and interesting 60's wardrobe. Moray Watson plays the butler and he is charming at that. Not sure who OK-ed the script on this one, as any husband would not act this way in real life if his woman was stepping out on him. And it seemed highly unlikely that a happily married woman would dump her husband over a brief conversation with another guy. The fiancee called her a hooker when they kissed! And lets me honest, who would dump Cary Grant for Robert Mitchum? Sorry, Robert.