"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.

Oh Sabrina, Sabrina, where have you been all my life?

In 1954 Paramount Pictures released one of the biggest hits of the year, Sabrina. Starring Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, and Audrey Hepburn, this film could do no wrong.

Audrey is Sabrina who lives here

Well, not exactly here, but above the garage, as her dad is the chauffeur to the rich Larabee's. Mom and Pop, grumpy old brother Linus (Bogart) and playboy David (Holden). Sabrina has a thing for David and watches him from a tree.

They grew up together but David just wants dizzy rich girls. Audrey is depressed and decides to go to Paris for cooking school.

After a shaky start her talents start to shine at cooking and she  befriends an old Baron who teaches her about fashion and art. When she comes  back she is a new woman and wants to take a stab at David. He inadvertently picks her up from the train station but can't figure out who she is. (He is so good looking he doesn't have to be smart).

He only learns who she is when they pull into their driveway and her father greats her. Duh. He is so smitten he invites her to a ball, the same one she would stalk him from  while in the tree. 

The date goes well and Sabrina looks fabulous, but David forgets he is engaged (again) to this one.

She is from a rich family that benefits the Larabee company, but David is crazy about Sabrina. Grumpy brother and father Larabee get together and decide to get Sabrina away from David by having Linus make her fall in love with him. At first she isn't buying it.

Linus wants to ship her back to Paris for good and get David to marry the rich broad. After a while, Sabrina starts to dig Linus. But she finds out it was just a set up and feels betrayed.

The plan is in full affect despite the fact that Sabrina knows and Linus tells David the plan too. Linus has to think long and hard about his decision and what to do about Sabrina now that he thinks he wants her too. But what about the company?

Everything about this film is divine. The music, the costumes, the settings. Humphrey wanted his honey, Lauren, to play Sabrina and was mad when they gave it to Audrey. He said he never liked working with her and that she couldn't act (sheesh!). He also didn't get along with Bill Holden. Billy Wilder was writing the script during production and once had Audrey pretend to fall ill so that he could stall and finish the day's work.

Bessed Dressed

In "To Catch a Thief", Grace Kelly sports some beautiful gowns thanks to Ms. Head. But her light blue dress is by far the best.

Alfred saw what everyone else saw in Grace, which is why she was his muse. The dress doesn't hurt either...