Wednesday, May 11, 2022 … The Daisy Sunrise Trio … singing their chart-topping “Good Morning Song” … outside Bette Davis’ Butternut Cottage … Sugar Hill, New Hampshire … July 7, 2016 …
“Good morning to you, good morning to you We’re all in our places, with sunshiny faces Oh, this is the way, to start a new day!”
Below … First heard their cheery tune in a favorite movie … The Marrying Kind, 1952 … Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, Sheila Bond … George Cukor, director … script by Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin … (the parents aren’t quite so cheery!) …
Thursday, May 5, 2022 …Two married strangers meet by chance at a railway station café. They continue to meet every week in the small café, although they know their love is impossible … David Lean’s 1945 film, Brief Encounter … So intrigued to see the “Brief Encounter Refreshment Room” sign at Wymondham Station … on two trips from Durham to Norwich, Norfolk, England … Could this be the movie location?! … August 12, 1999 …
From train window … Wymondham Station … west of Norwich, England … Brief Encounter Refreshment Room sign … red and black drawing of stars, Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard … August 1999 Durham, England home exchange
Below … Strangers when we meet … How long will it last? … Trevor Howard, Celia Johnson … Brief Encounter won Grand Prize at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival … and had three 1947 Oscar nominations: Actress, Celia Johnson; Director, David Lean; Writing, Screenplay …
Brief Encounter, 1945 … based on Noel Coward’s 1936 short play, Still Life … What railway station was used? … Was it Wymondham, near Norwich, or …?
Below … Mystery solved! … outdoor scenes were shot at Carnforth Railway Station in Lancashire, Northwest England … Video is a wonderful combination of clips from the film and the current working Victorian station, now a Heritage Centre … with a vintage mini cinema … where Brief Encounter is shown about 1,500 times a year …
“It’s not often you can say this about a working railway station, but this place is all about love. The love of rail travel and the celebration of a great love film. Brief Encounter takes us back to a bygone era – the golden age of steam, where everything seems so innocent, and a world away from the social conventions we have today. But, luckily enough, Carnforth Station allows us to come and visit and soak up nostalgia for a lost time.”
Friday, April 30, 2021, 9:57 am — Teeny Tuxedo … thinks she can hide behind the comforter on laundry day …
… found you! … in front of Italian movie poster … Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi … David Lean’s Summertime / Tempo d’estate, 1955 … filmed in Venice … Signorina Teena, sembri una star del cinema! …
Teeny could take an Italian movie actress lesson from Lucy Ricardo! … I Love Lucy … “Lucy’s Italian Movie” … season 5, 1956 …
Lucy’s Katharine Hepburn “The calla lilies are in bloom again” connection! … Stage Door, 1937 … (Lucille Ball as Judith Canfield) …
Sunday, November 22, 2020, 12:15 am — Katharine Hepburn … in her kitchen at the family home on the water at Fenwick, Old Saybrook, Connecticut … where she whipped up many a batch of brownies … Lights! Camera! Action! … Brownies! … followed her recipe … scrumptious! …
[Book … The Private World of Katharine Hepburn, 1990, pp. 34-35]
Recipe … 6 years ago … Kate’s Brownies, Nov. 17, 2014 … “The brownies don’t have a lot of height, but are supremely moist and chewy, quite fudge-like.” … BACKSTAGE SECRET: don’t use too much flour!
For baking ambiance, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967 … livingroom tv … TCM OnDemand … not my favorite Kate, Spence film, but the only readily available.
BONUS! … Woman of the Year, 1942 … Kate’s accomplished Tess Harding is a shambles in the kitchen … (first film with Spencer Tracy) …
Saturday, March 28, 2020, 1:21 pm — Perkins … and jolly old Saint Nick … Christmas present from Wendy over 10 years ago … used to be full of an assortment of flavored popcorn … an almost yearly tradition …
… looking out at the deck …
Ames Brothers sing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, 1951 …
Marilyn Monroe has nothin’ to do with Saint Nick … but this is a good pic of the Ames Brothers … the most famous, Ed Ames (also an actor), second from right …
… except … in 1946, as Norma Jeane, before she was Marilyn …
From … Bonhams auction … June 4, 2007 … “entertainment memorabilia, including property from the estate of Carl Barks” (1901-2000) [cartoonist, best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories … worked anonymously until late in his career … born, died in Oregon] …
A Marilyn Monroe group of never-before-seen black and white snapshots, 1946:
“Four vintage prints showing the twenty year-old starlet participating in a publicity event to promote the new Darrin/Kaiser-Frazer car (a short-lived company that manufactured cars for only nine years before going out of business); the first shows the then-named Norma Jeane standing by the car as Santa Claus and dozens of children surround her, the second shows NJ and Santa holding bags as children look at them, the third is a similar shot of NJ but with a few added adults in background, and the fourth shows a dozen kids about to throw snowballs at NJ, who is wearing a white shorts/jumper suit outfit that she often wore in cheesecake photos from the same era [see Lot 1019]. One extra snapshot from the same day is included, and though NJ is not in it, actresses June Haver and Peggy Ann Gardner are as they were part of the event as well.”
Footnotes “The current consignor’s father set up this publicity stunt back in 1946, and because he had fake snow brought in for it, he was touted as being “the man who brought snow to Hollywood.” Both B&B’s client (at age ten in 1946) and his father can be seen in the background of two these snapshots, along with the young model who showed up for work that day – the soon to be Marilyn Monroe.”
A favorite clever song … from Guys and Dolls, 1955 …
I got the horse right here The name is Paul Revere And here’s a guy that says if the weather’s clear Can do, can do This guy says the horse can do
Updated … current events style … The Late Show with Stephen Colbert … Sept. 26, 2019 … lyrics below …
Your country needs some dough Let’s do some quid pro quo You gotta go get me some dirt on Joe Ukraine, Ukraine I hope this don’t cause any pain
… And look where else this jaunty tune shows up … a 1967 Gold Medal Flour commercial … Can do, can do, with Gold Medal you can do! … I definitely remember it! …
Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 2:30 pm — Teeny … “Hey! … I know this guy! … He’s that guy in The Searchers that says, “Thank ya, kindly!” all the time …” … [This is a publicity photo for Red River, 1948] …
He’s Hank Worden, 1901-1992 … raised on a cattle ranch in Montana, college educated, rodeo saddle bronc rider … recruited (with Tex Ritter) for a bit in the 1931 64-performance Broadway run of Green Grow the Lilacs, by Lynn Riggs, Guild Theatre … (the source of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 Broadway baby, Oklahoma!) …
After this brief stint on Broadway, Hank moseyed back out west … before ambling into a string of over 200 movie and tv roles, 1935-1991 … Below, Hank’s ol’ Mose Harper scenes, The Searchers, 1956 …
“Question: What do Betty White and libraries have in common? …Answer: You don’t mess with either of them! A lesson Brick is about to discover on the season one finale of THE MIDDLE (8:30PM ABC) when parents Frankie and Mike are shocked to discover that Brick may be held back from going to third grade because the school librarian, Mrs. Nethercott (Betty White) has it out for him due to 31 unreturned books.”
All’s well that ends well … (ends weeelll…)
A few of Brick’s bookish quotes: “They’re denying me books. No one’s taken me to the library in two days.” “Can one of you take me to the library? I feel like reading about Peru.” “Swimming’s no fun without a book.”
Friday, January 18, 2019, 1:36 am — Question … What’s one of the funniest scenes in The Office (US)? … Jim impersonates Dwight … “Bears … Beets … Battlestar Galactica!” …
… Season 3, Episode 20, Product Recall, April 2007 … The Office (US), 2005-2013
Ten years ago! … December 25, 2008 … the Christmas we were snowed in … a white Christmas … with White Christmas, 1954 … Enlarge photo to see shadowy cat in front of forced-air heater … Perkins or Teeny Tuxedo? …
Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen … and a train full of snow, snow, snow, snow … SNOW! …
Sunday, December 16, 2018, 12:17 pm — Perkins and Teeny Tuxedo … ignoring all the boffo publicity about Brian Donlevy and his movie, The Great McGinty, 1940 … they’re focused on something more important at the bottom of this post … a dog! …
Brian Donlevy, 1901-1972 …
“The GREAT Reviews! Hey OSCAR!” … director, writer Preston Sturges’ first film … “Hey OSCAR!” is right … won Best Writing, Original Screenplay! …
“He’s got SEX APPEAL! … He’s got BOOOMPH! … He’s a Record-Breaker!” …
Tamed by a Redhead … “The screen’s meanest “heavy” is really putty in the hands of the girl he loves! It was the redheaded Mrs. Donlevy who insisted that he accept the leading role in The Great McGinty – the part that made him famous.” … Hollywood, 1941, v. 30, p. 50 …
… the doggone dog … a dachshund … that Perk and Teeny Tuxedo have their eyes on …
The Great McGinty … trailer …
But wait! … In the battle of BOOOMPH vs. OOMPH, who showed up in the ring first? … Ann Sheridan, the Oomph Girl! … 1939! … Read “What the “Oomph” Girl Thinks of Her Title!” … Hollywood, Sept. 1939, p. 19, 50-51 …
Bend of the River, 1952 … James Stewart … Mt. Hood, Oregon … July 1951 …
Dad! … Gunnard Pylkki … on location! … but not with Jimmy and the crew … looking at the snow melt, this was after filming …
Mom and Dad went to Bend of the River’s world premiere, Broadway Theatre … Jan. 23, 1952 … across the Columbia River from Vancouver, Washington, in Portland, Oregon … They saw James Stewart and Rock Hudson … not sure how close they were, but they saw ’em! …
What a crowd at the premiere! … tried to spot Mom and Dad in the video below, but no luck …
Dashing Portland policeman, Uncle Hank (far left, aviator glasses), on the scene … Dad’s younger brother … [photo from Jimmy Stewart in Oregon, Feb. 3, 2016]
“But to really get the feel for the … administration’s end, we must turn to the finest political psychologist of them all, William Shakespeare. The text is in the final act of what superstitious actors only refer to as the “Scottish play.” One of the nobles who has turned on their murderous usurper king describes Macbeth’s predicament:”
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love. Now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.
In a lighter vein, immediately thought of “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”! … Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore, two non-musical mugs … singin’ and hoofin’ for Howard Keel … Kiss Me, Kate, 1953 …
Sunday, September 23, 2018 — Summer is officially over … full of fond 1930s travel trailer memories … such as myAugust 16, 2013 post, Travel Trailers in Movies … which starts off with a still from Mickey’s Trailer, 1938 …
“Summer … hittin’ the open road with a trailer! Let’s follow Mickey Mouse‘s lead in Mickey’s Trailer, 1938 … Keep your eyes peeled for other trailerites on those 1930s highways and byways …” — Travel Trailers in Movies, August 16, 2013
Mickey’s Trailer … 80 years old! … Let’s celebrate! … with the complete trailer adventure! …
Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 12:31 pm — Perkins is a generous girl … a “phila… er, phila… er, yes, er, Good Deed Doer” … [**What movie is this from? … Answer at end of post!] …
… without waking Teeny Tuxedo, she starts grooming those hard-to-reach places …
… her good deed done, Perk returns to her catnap, head against the window …
** “Good Deed Doer” is from what movie? …
Answer … The Wizard of Oz, 1939 … when the Tin Man receives a heart! …
Friday, August 24, 2018, 9:15 pm — Teeny Tuxedo and Perkins … We respect Queen Elizabeth … and her love of horses and dogs … but we didn’t see any CATS in the PBS documentary, The Queen’s Favourite Animals, 2017 … Please hand us the tv remote … we’re too distaught to move …
Friday, August 24, 2018, 2:07 pm — Forgot that I have a soft spot for bassoons …
Historical Bassoonist and photographer Martin Chiang in dialogue with a crow 🙂 As Martin told me: ‘I gave the bird something to eat but it didn’t want it, instead it just kept singing to me! I was practicing in the practice room, and it came at the window and knocked on the window with it’s beak… Later I had to call [for advice] the animal protection center for birds in Basel [Switzerland], because the bird did not stop following me. This is a true story.’ … Video was recorded in 2012 … from Facebook
The bassoon … I’m sure this goes back to Disney’s Peter and the Wolf, 1946 … which I saw on tv as a child … narrator, Sterling Holloway … music, Sergei Prokofiev / Prokofieff … here’s the sound recording …
Sterling Holloway, 1905-1992 …
Always liked him, especially as a character actor in the 1930s …
Blondie Johnson, 1933 – Joan Blondell, Chester Morris, Sterling Holloway … (this ISN’T Penny Singleton in her pre-Dagwood Bumstead, Blondie series days!)
“Blondell plays the title character, a woman who’s suffered through a hardscrabble life and decides she wants a lot of dough, and fast. She starts running cons with the help of a genial taxi driver (Sterling Holloway) and immediately attracts the attention of Danny Jones (Morris), a big shot with the local racketeers.” — plus more! — Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings
The ha-cha-cha-cha, Pre-Code, Blondie Johnson trailer! … “Hard-hearted, but sweet as SIN!” …
Saturday, June 23, 2018, 5:27 pm — Teeny Tuxedo, Perkins … grooming on laundry day … First day Filmstruck/Criterion Collection 14-day free trial … Lawrence of Arabia, 1962, ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!, streaming on tv … surprised the camera picked up the sound so well … bringing Gasim back from the Nefud …
Sunday, June 3, 2018, 6:04 pm — Multi-tasking male Red-winged Blackbird in the backyard … take a listen as he eats and sends out shrill single-note calls …
Kramer’s “Surely, you jest!” … Seinfeld, “The Secretary” (Season 6, Episode 9, December 8, 1994) …
Pack only two tv comedies to a desert isle? … I Love Lucy … Seinfeld!
Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 10:32 am —“Will the mystery bird enter and sign in, please!” … (What 1950s game show had a similar line? … See video clip at end of post!)
10:46 am … I’m an Evening Grosbreak … male … I like seeds better than strawberries …
Below, turn up the sound … music on tv = Turner Classic Movies intro to Andy Hardy’s Double Life, 1942 …
Sunday, May 20, 2018, 11:43 am … I’m back … at the sunflower seed feeder …
… with three female Evening Grosbeaks … one I chase away in the 1st video below …
Answer to question at the top of this post … “Will you come in mystery challenger and sign in, please!” … Lucille Ball is the mystery guest on What’s My Line? … Feb. 21, 1954 … Panelists are Dorothy Kilgallen, Steve Allen, Arlene Francis, and Deborah Kerr, with moderator John Charles Daly … The movie Lucy refers to is The Long, Long Trailer, 1954.
Friday, December 29, 2017, 12:39 am — Hey, Perkins! … What’s that shiny comet on the … could it be … new tv?! … Ta-da! … twin of the 55″ 4K Ulta HD Samsung in the livingroom … replaced 50″ Samsung SmartTV (originally in livingroom) … new home with ZG … to replace the 46″ non-smart Samsung from me, April 2013 …
Perky has a decision … box vs. The Band Wagon, 1953 … she chose … the box!
Finale of the “That’s Entertainment!” number … Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant (always on the verge of somnambulism) … Turner Classic Movies
Jack : Everything that happens in life Can happen in a show You can make ’em laugh You can make ’em cry Anything Anything can go….
The clown with his pants falling down Or the dance that’s a dream of romance Or the scene where the villain is mean That’s entertainment!
Nanette : The lights on the lady in tights Oscar : Or the bride with the guy on the side Jack : Or the ball where she gives him her all All : That’s entertainment!
Nanette : The plot can be hot simply teeming with sex Oscar : A gay divorcee who is after her ex Fred : It could be Oedipus Rex Jack : Where a chap kills his father And causes a lot of bother
Nanette : The clerk who is thrown out of work Oscar : By the boss who is thrown for a loss Fred : By the skirt who is doing him dirt All : The world is a stage, The stage is a world of entertainment
The doubt while the jury is out Or the thrill when they’re reading the will Or the chase for the man with the face That’s entertainment!
Nanette : The dame who is known as the flame Jack : Of the king of an underworld ring Oscar and Fred : He’s an ape Who won’t let her escape All : That’s entertainment!
It might be a fight like you see on the screen A swain getting slain for the love of a queen Some great Shakespearean scene Where a ghost and a prince meet And everyone ends in mincemeat
The gag may be waving the flag That began with a Mr. Cohan Hip hooray! The American way The world is a stage, The stage is a world of entertainment
Movies, Of Course! 