Filmland Follies

              One of the commonly-heard questions about Old Hollywood actresses tends to be, "Wait, how many husbands did she have?" And while this question is problematic in itself - she was a powerhouse actress in a Hollywood run by men, who cares how many times she was married - it does tend to linger in your mind. What was the deal with all the Hollywood husbands?             Perhaps Bette Davis, known for her one-liners both on- and off-screen, summed it up best: "None of my husbands was ever man enough to become Mr. Bette Davis." The imbalance of power created by Hollywood stardom was simply too much for many men who felt threatened by their wife's acclaim, influence, and earnings. Sadly for dozens of actresses, this resulted in a string of divorces that were amplified by their prominent press coverage.             Ginger Rogers was married five times and s...

                 It has come to my attention that I haven't posted on my blog in four months (despicable, I know). Sometimes life, especially high school life, is like that. But I'm still around and watching movies, and I promise you can expect plenty of posts from now on!               Recently I've been in a comfort-movie mood. So far this month I've watched five movies, all with Old Hollywood connections of some sort (and two with Anne Hathaway). The first one was               Malcolm & Marie (2021)                  This was a random Netflix pick that I watched entirely for Zendaya. The movie takes place over the course of one night and is essentially a two-hour argument between Malcolm and Marie as they storm in and out of rooms around their beautiful mid-century-modern house. Malcolm...

              It's cold and gloomy, at least where I am, and the perfect weather for some film escapism. Think bright colors, shiny costumes, sweeping landscapes, and a beloved storyline with even more beloved stars - in short, The Adventures of Robin Hood .               At this point in their careers, Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn were quickly-rising stars. This was their third movie together after the successive hits Captain Blood and The Charge of The Light Brigade . Olivia was 22 years old, making $500 a week (equal to $10,000 now), and gaining control over her on-screen persona. Robin Hood was a chance for her trademark witty heroine to shine through, helped along by her best screen partner Errol Flynn.                The movie follows the classic story of Robin Hood as he swordfights his way across Sherwood Forest, takes down the tyrannica...

              Doesn't that poster just say it all? Pre-Code murder mysteries are a special kind of madness - the usual formula includes a sassy reporter trying to make her way in a man's world, inevitably stumbling into a murder (and a romance). She's your everyday career girl but somehow dresses like a model, isn't afraid to confront creepy guys lurking in basements, and cracks cases as easily as one-liners.             A Shriek in the Night followed this well-loved storyline, proving the biggest hit that independent "Poverty Row" studio Allied Pictures would ever release. Its success was mostly due to Ginger Rogers, fresh out of 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933 and about to become a worldwide sensation in Flying Down to Rio . Despite her undeniable screen presence and comedic timing, A Shriek in the Night doesn't make full use of Ginger's talents - it's more of a preview for what's to come.  ...

            By 1949, musicals were in a bit of a slump. MGM had been churning out song and dance movies like  Good News  and  Anchors Aweigh  through World War II, largely due to the star power of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, but nothing compared to the glittering productions of the 1930s. At the same time, Fred Astaire's career was reaching its second peak. After retiring briefly in 1946, he replaced an injured Gene Kelly in 1948's Easter Parade and quickly became MGM's musical star of choice. The smash success of Easter Parade led the studio to re-team Fred and co-star Judy Garland in  The Barkleys of Broadway.               Sadly, by this point in her career, Judy was already struggling with addiction and her mental health was too unstable for her to work regularly. After a few rehearsals for the Barkleys , she was forced to drop out. The studio scrambled to find a replacement...

                Everyone loves a madcap remarriage rom-com, especially when it stars two of Old Hollywood's best and most gorgeous stars. Meet The Palm Beach Story , the perfect summer watch for comedy lovers, costume design lovers, and Joel McCrea lovers (so, everyone).                 The movie starts with a wild credits sequence in which we see our main characters, Tom and Gerry Jeffers (Joel and Claudette Colbert), race to the altar and get married. Five years later, they're broke (but somehow living in an amazing Art Deco apartment, of course). An old couple come to tour the now-for-rent apartment and find Gerry. The old man, who turns out to be the incredibly wealthy owner of a sausage company, likes Gerry enough to give her 700 dollars to pay off the rent and buy some nice things. As one does.               Tom, who is a struggling inve...

               Here I am with another Dress in Detail costume analysis! (If you missed my others, on Judy Garland's "I Don't Care" dress and Ginger Rogers's "Never Gonna Dance" dress, give them a read!) I must confess to you that I've never seen Gone With the Wind , but the costume design is legendary. Walter Plunkett (who I just featured in my Singin' in the Rain article) was the mastermind behind the extravagant, historical costumes of this film - and none were grander than Vivien Leigh's. I'll be taking a closer look at the famous red dress from the birthday party scene which perfectly sums up the character of Scarlett O'Hara.             The "Scarlett" dress is meant to be a showstopping attention-getter, slightly scandalous for the 1870s. It certainly achieves its goals. The design for this costume was meant to be wildly different from both what the other characters were wearing and what Scarlett...