Matinee Monday: Old Maid (1939)

Watched Old Maid (1939) today in honor of Miriam Hopkins; birthday. I really enjoyed the film. Bette Davis' character has a child out of wedlock and since it was the late 1800s, she went away and had the child, claiming illness. Of course, Delia Ralston (Miriam Hopkins) had to stop Charlotte's (Bette Davis) marriage to another man because of the illegitimate child. When Charlotte becomes widowed, she offers Delia and her illegitimate child a home with her. A touchy relationship between the two women forms based on who really is the mother of Charlotte's child.

Bette Davis was the star, and she did a fabulous job, but I was drawn to Miriam Hopkins. Her portrayal was strong and sympathetic. Miriam gets a bad rap because of her off-screen issues with Bette and other actors, spending her free time with writers instead of Hollywood elite, consulting a psychic before choosing a role, and of course - her suspected communism, but I've loved her in every film I've seen her in from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to These Three (when will this film ever come out on DVD?).

Happy 108th Birthday Mims!

Barbara Stanwyck ages 100 years in only 1 film!

"Barbara Stanwyck plays the oldest heroine ever depicted on the screen, a 100-year-old granny in Pioneer Woman. That might have been a tough job yesterday, but not now. They all look alike in slacks on Hollywood Boul" (Film Fun, 1941)

I looked everywhere for the film Pioneer Woman, and couldn't find anything with that title starring Barbara Stanwyck - or even everything near the year of publication with that title. Either the film was never made, or the title was changed to The Great Man's Lady (1942). In it, Barbara plays Hannah Sempler, a 100-year-old woman who tells the story of her life through flashbacks. Star crossed lovers, the Gold Rush, and the fabulous Stanwyck aging 80 years - how can you go wrong? The Great Man's Lady is appearing September 8, 2010 on TCM at 8 pm est and is available on The Barbara Stanwyck Collection.

Title Quiz 8

"A Crescent"

Some Hints

• Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald
• 1940
• Same title as a recent massive hit
  

Film Quiz 3

Mickey Rooney and Olivia De Havilland

"A July Nightmare"

Some Clues:

• This film has a fabulous cast: Dick Powell, Olivia De Havilland, Mickey Rooney, Anita Louise, James Cagney, Arthur Treacher, Ian Hunter
• The immortal bard

Boy Meets Girl - 1840s Style

"If anyone is interested in how boy met girl a century ago, in 1840, they can find out when the re-make of Jane Eyre is released". (Film Fun, 1941)

I've always meant to see this film. I adore Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. I will have to check it out one of these days.

Film Title Quiz 2

Guess what 1940 film this song is from:

• If "Angry Fruit" is Grapes of Wrath; "He sank his teeth into her apartment" is what film?
  
• It stars Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald, George Sanders, and Ian Hunter

Vivien Leigh is Gone With The Wind to England

One never knows what Movietown will do to a girl - Lady Hamilton becomes That Hamilton Woman. And as far as the star of the picture, Vivien Leigh, is concerned in Hollywood, she has gone with the wind, and returned to her native England for war work.

That Hamilton Woman will be on TCM September 21, 2010 at 9:45 pm est in conjunction with Vivien Leigh as Star of the Month.