On My Mind

     Marilyn Monroe's 1954 visit to Korea brightened a lot of servicemen's lives.  She and Joe DiMaggio were on their honeymoon when she got the call.  But did Marilyn say no?  Absolutely not!  She flew right over there and got to work, cheering up over 100,000.  Get a behind the scenes look at her visit.

 

Joyous Jean

     I'm sure I'm not the only one who was glued to my television yesterday for Jean Harlow's TCM Summer Under the Stars day.  As long time readers know, I'm generally not a fan of Summer Under the Stars.  I used to be, but just like with Oscar month, is tending to feature more and more recent material, 1970's stars, and the like.  When I think of the term "classic film star" I don't think Angie Dickinson, featured August 18th.  I understand she is well known, had a lot of roles, and is part of pop culture, but when I think 'classic' she's probably about the last person I would think of.  It's all about context.  Bette Davis or Angie Dickinson - which one is more of a 'classic film star'?  There's no comparison.  And yes, Summer Under the Stars features Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy for the umpteenth time.

Move Into Marion's Mansion

     Marion Davies Rancho Mirage, California estate at 1 Von Dehn Road is for sale.  It was built in 1956 for the well known actress.  It is 13,908 square feet with 9 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.  Clearly every room has their own bathroom with more to spare.  It resides on almost 3 acres.  The asking price is almost $4 million.  Clearly, the interior has been redone recently and wouldn't have been anything Marion would have used. 

Sports - Babe Ruth is Knocked Out

      Babe Ruth, well known baseball legend, was knocked out when he ran into the wall trying to catch a ball.  They were playing at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. 

Harlow Hallucination

Jean Harlow
as Hattie Muller
from RiffRaff
by George Hurrell
1936

Marilyn and Miller - Part 3

More Marilyn and Miller photographs from 1957

Marilyn and Miller - Part 2

 

Marilyn and her third husband 

playwright Arthur Miller.

Matinee Monday - The Reptile (1966)

     I really love cheesy horror films, so I had to check out The Reptile (1966) which appeared on TCM last week.  It's a Hammer production, so that will tell you what kind of film we are talking about.  I recognized a couple faces, but generally was not familiar with any of the actors.  While not well known to me, they did a good job with the material.  But frankly, any time there is an old horror film on television, I'm there.  The fact that it is a Hammer production is also very intriguing.  I love their horror films with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing such as Dracula and The Mummy.

Pretty Printemps

Mrs Sascha Guitry  by Raymond Voinquel

     Mrs. Sacha Guitry, aka Yvonne Printemps (25 July 1894 - 19 January 1977), was a much-beloved French actress.  Working on stage on screen, she was known for her operatic voice.  Lovely (watch the link and you'll understand), she began her career at the tender age of 12 at La Cigale, becoming a Folies Bergere dancer by 13.  Her stage name, Printemps (meaning springtime), was given to her there because of her delightful disposition.  Yvonne appeared in 10 films.  One of the things she is mainly known for is her 1919 - 1934 marriage to French actor Sacha Guitry.  

Matinee Monday - Phibian Frolics

     I had to great pleasure (or torture to some) of some cheesy horror awesomeness starring the amazing Vincent Price.  From the cheesetastic minds of American International, I viewed the epic Dr. Phibes pictures - The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and the sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972).  I'm usually not a post-1960's horror fan unless it's so bad it's funny, so I was nervous about the serious looking films.  Most are just too gruesome and gross for me, focusing mostly on gore and not so much on an interesting or intelligent reason for the fear.  While these films may not have had a very intelligent reason for the fear, the story was interesting.  And frankly, I have yet to see a Vincent Price film where I don't at least enjoy his performance.