Broadway producers Tony Naylor (Howard Keel), Al Marsh (Red Skelton), and Jerry Ralby (Gower Champion) have an idea for a new show, but don’t even have enough start-up money for investors to be interested.  But then Al gets word that his aunt Roberta has died and left him her share of her high-end dress shop in Paris.  Thinking he can just sell off his share of the store and put the money into the show, the guys borrow some airfare money from Tony’s showgirl girlfriend Bubbles (Ann Miller) and head off to Paris.  But when they get there, they find out it won’t be as simple as that.  Roberta’s adopted nieces Stephanie (Kathryn Grayson) and Clarisse (Marge Champion) manage the store and they explain that the shop is deeply in debt so it can’t be sold right now.  Determined to turn the shop around so it can be sold, Tony comes up with the idea of bringing Stephanie’s designs up-to-date and putting on a big fashion show that’s worthy of being on Broadway.

Clarisse and Stephanie are a little reluctant about this idea at first, but change their mind when Tony steps in and helps get their creditors behind the idea, too.  Everyone gets to work putting the show together and sure enough some romances begin to grow.  Jerry and Clarisse fall in love, but Tony and Al both begin to fall for Stephanie (remember, Stephanie was adopted).  But then Tony gets a surprise visit from Bubbles, who has gotten word about the show and wants to be part of it.  Stephanie is heartbroken when she shows up, but Bubbles can sense that there’s something between Tony and Stephanie.  Al, on the other hand, is happy to see Bubbles since that means he gets a chance to have Stephanie to himself.  When Tony takes Bubbles out one night, Al brings Stephanie to the same place, and they’re soon joined by Jerry and Clarisse and model Zsa Zsa (Zsa Zsa Gabor) and her boyfriend Max.  They all spend the night drinking champagne and having a great time.  Well, everyone except for Bubbles, who doesn’t drink and spends the night being jealous of the attention Tony keeps giving to Stephanie.

When the party is over, Bubbles takes Al home in a taxi and when Al starts going on about how much he adores her, she’s flattered, but then realizes he thinks he’s talking to Stephanie instead.  Off in the park, Tony has taken Stephanie for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and they kiss for the first time.  Stephanie doesn’t remember it when she wakes up the next day, but when Al comes to her to talk about what he said in the taxi, she takes the opportunity to let him down nicely.  However, when Tony talks to her about the night before, all their feelings are still there.  Later, Max throws a party during which Al and Bubbles have a chance to bond over being jilted lovers.  Al also has a chance to do an act for all the guests, which impresses Max, who turns out to be a Broadway producer.

Tony, Al, and Jerry start negotiations for Max to finance their new show and Tony accepts a deal against Al and Jerry’s wishes.  Tony has a hard time passing up the opportunity, but Al and Jerry think they need to stay in Paris and finish the fashion show.  Tony goes off to New York with Max, leaving Al and Jerry there to take care of the fashion show.  Not only has Tony alienated Al and Jerry, Stephanie is also devastated because she thinks that he only cares about himself.  But Tony, Al, and Jerry all realize that they’re only successful as a team and Max lets Tony go back to Paris.  He makes it back just in time for the show and apologizes for betraying his friends.  They get their act together and put on the best fashion show to ever hit Paris.

I didn’t have particularly high hopes for Lovely to Look at since every source I checked gave it a pretty mediocre rating, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.  It’s certainly not one of the greatest musicals to come out of MGM, but it is bright, colorful, splashy fun.  It’s got some really lovely songs and beautiful dance scenes, particularly the ones with Marge and Gower Champion.  Kathryn Grayson’s rendition of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is very much worth hearing.  I liked the whole cast; Ann Miller was totally on top of her game.  This was Zsa Zsa Gabor’s film debut.  She doesn’t have a very big part, but she does just fine in bringing the daffy, over-the-top quality her character needed.  I definitely can’t neglect to mention the big fashion show scene, which Vincente Minnelli was brought in to direct.  It’s like the fashion show scene from The Women, only bigger, with more singing, and it actually has something to do with the movie.  Lovely to Look At was the last film that Adrian designed costumes for, so I thought it was fitting that he went out with such a big showcase of his work.  Overall, I’d say it’s worth at least giving this movie a chance.  A lot of places gave it two out of four stars, but I would have given it three.

it’s too darn hot.

(High temperature, 100 degrees Fahrenheit, new record)

Ann Miller, from the 1953  (not the ’60s?–so sue me!) MGM version of Kiss Me Kate.

If she can dance like that I think I know what’s she’s thinking. Except at my age. Its still Too Darn Hot

Kiss Me Kate was an MGM musical, adapted from Cole Porter’s Broadway play of the same name.  The plot of the Broadway production was ‘a play within a play’.  Here of course, it is ‘a play within a film’.  Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson play Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, a divorced couple who are reunited on stage at least, as Katherine and Petruchio in Cole Porter’s play ‘Kiss Me Kate’, based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming Of The Shrew.  Although they are obviously still drawn to each other, their differing personalities cause them to repeatedly clash, and matters are complicated by Lois Lane(!), played superbly by Ann Miller.  Lois is set to play Bianca, the younger sister of Katherine, in Kiss Me Kate, and flirts constantly with Fred.  Furthermore, Lilli is now engaged to someone else!

Kiss Me Kate was a big success for MGM, and something of a comeback for Cole Porter, whose career had taken a dip prior to this.  Certainly, there are some lovely songs -and dance routines – in the film.  My favourites were It’s Too Darn Hot, Why Can’t You Behave? and Always True You In My Fashion, all sung by Ann Miller (she was accompanied on Always True… by Tommy Rall; and Brush Up Your Shakespeare, sung by Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore.  All of these numbers also featured some spectacular dances – Ann Miller was an incredible dancer, and to watch her dancing over the furniture in It’s Too Darn Hot, or skipping across rooftops with Tommy Rall in Why Can’t You Behave? was a treat.  The Brush Up Your Shakespeare dance is also amusing and delightful.  Kathryn Grayson played the part of Lilli very well, and she and Miller not only inhabited their roles in the film, but also their roles in the play within the film very comfortably.  (For my money, Miller was easily the best performer in the film, and credit should also be given to Tommy Rall who partners her in some excellent dancing.)

So with all this going for it, I was surprised that I didn’t enjoy this film more.  There were some great parts, and certainly some real talent involved, but I think Howard Keel didn’t work for me as a leading man.  He did actually have a long and successful career as a leading man, but I didn’t really find him convincing (although he was better when playing Fred than when playing Petruchio).  Of course, it’s all personal taste, and Keel has a very strong following, but I could never really warm up to him in this movie. However, I suspect that it may be the type of film where enjoyment increases with repeated viewing.

Overall, it isn’t one I would rush to watch again, but it’s worth seeing even if only for Ann Miller’s terrific performance.

Year of release: 1953

Director: George Sidney

Writers: Sam Spewack, Bella Spewack, William Shakespeare (play ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’)

Main cast: Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall

Another great MGM musical, this one made in 1948.  MGM described it as “the happiest musical ever made.”  (This may have been a valid claim at the time, but then Singin’ In The Rain came along, and I don’t know a happier movie than Singin’.)

Fred Astaire plays Don Hewes (originally Gene Kelly was supposed to star as Don, but injured his ankle and personally requested that Astaire play the part).  Don is part of a song and dance couple, but when his partner Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) leaves him, he hires Hannah Brown (Judy Garland) as his new partner.  In a story vaguely reminiscent of Garland’s role in For Me and My Gal, in which she starred with Gene Kelly, Hannah falls in love with Don, but still feels threatened by his previous partnership with Nadine.

The storyline of course is really a way to string together some lovely songs and dances. Of particular note are Don’s ‘Drum Crazy’ dance, his ‘Steppin’ Out With My Baby’ dance, and the ‘A Couple of Swells’ number performed by Astaire and Garland.

Hannah sings some lovely songs, and looks gorgeous as well.  Ann Miller plays a rather unlikeable character, but there’s no denying that her tap dance in the number ‘Shakin’ The Blues Away’ is anything less than terrific.

This certainly is a happy movie, and there’s plenty of numbers which will get your toes tapping.  The score by Irving Berlin is lovely, with some instantly recognisable numbers.  Well worth watching.

Year of release: 1948

Director: Charles Walters

Writers: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Sidney Sheldon, Guy Bolton

Main cast: Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford

The interior of Wallack's Theatre at 30th and Broadway. Not long after its 1882 opening, it was the venue for the first official meeting of The Actors Fund after its incorporation.

On June 8, 1882, after years of hard work and dedication by some of the American theatre’s most ardent supporters, the New York State Legislature passed special legislation to officially incorporate The Actors Fund. One-hundred years later, to celebrate its centennial, The Fund threw a birthday bash at Radio City Music Hall, Night of 100 Stars, which was telecast nationwide on CBS. Check out one of the fabulous numbers below:

And here’s a little bit on those first official days from A History of The Actors’ Fund of America by Louis M. Simon (published in 1972):

By June 8, 1882, the Act of Incorporation, drafted by Hon A. J. Dittenhoefer, had been passed into law by the New York State Legislature. On Saturday, July 15, the first meeting officially held under the charter took place at Wallack’s Theatre at 12 noon. Mr. William Henderson presided. Permanent officers were elected to serve during what remained of the year 1882–83.

P. T. Barnum, one of The Actors Fund's first trustees.

President, Lester Wallack; Vice-President, A. M. Palmer; Secretary, Daniel Frohman; Treasurer; Theodore Moss…. Initial trustees were, according to the Act of Incorporation, the first seventeen incorporators named in the bill. They were:

Lester Wallack

Edwin Booth

Henry E. Abbey

Joseph Jefferson

M. H. Mallory

Lawrence Barrett

H. C. Miner

W. E. Sinn

A. M. Palmer

Edward Harrigan

William Henderson

John F. Poole

P. T. Barnum

W. T. Florence

Frank Chanfrau

Bartley Campbell

Samuel Colville

Naomi Watts & Laura Elena Harring in Mulholland Drive

Jan Logan: Mulholland Drive collection

There’s something a little spooky happening in Australian fashion. First Therese Rawsthorne based her Fashion Week collection on David Lynch’s TV series Twin Peaks (more on that another time); now Jan Logan‘s latest fine jewellery collection takes its inspiration from his 2001 film Mulholland Drive. One more and it’s officially a trend.

I popped in to visit Angus Logan last week, Jan’s son and business partner, to discuss the collection and why this film offered such intriguing design fodder.

“That ring said Mulholland Drive, I don’t know why,” said Logan of the 18ct diamond Mulholland sparkler (right). “Then we started designing on the back of that ring.”

Of course, having watched the film again prior to my visit, I was looking for direct inspiration at every frame: was the Jennifer bangle based on the telephone headpiece? Were the pearl earrings inspired by Rita’s missing jewel?

But as Logan explains, the design inspiration is less obvious. “For us the film represented Los Angeles and the collection tied back to that Hollywood glamour,  which is always a motivation for us from a design point of view. And for one, the fact that it was Naomi’s (Watts) breakthrough role—she’s always been a great supporter of ours—and secondly it’s such an edgy, confronting but progressive film.”

Laura Elena Harring & Justin Theroux

Pearls appear with great regularity throughout the film, something which does tie nicely to the collection, which features South Sea pearl earrings, rings and necklaces alongside diamonds and ocean jasper.

The Jennifer bangle and rings (left), worn together,  in both diamond and black diamond, are particularly representative of the film in Logan’s eyes. “This is really Mulholland Drive, the black and white, the two different parts of the film.”

There are also more exotic pieces, such as the oriental-style Laurel necklace (right) in jade, diamond, emerald and aquamarine, which to me is reminiscent of Ann Miller’s landlady, Coco. “The film does provide that kind of setting where you’re not really stuck in any one particular genre,” says Logan. “It’s just the different moods of the film, and hopefully we’ve represented that with the collection we’ve done.”

The film may swing from beautiful to baffling, gritty to gorgeous, secretive to sexy, but Logan’s jewels are nothing but sublime.

Laura Elena Harring & Melissa George in Mulholland Drive

Images: © 2001 StudioCanal / Universal Pictures

From the time we were about three years old our mothers, who were sisters, would stand Catherine and I on either end with Terry in the middle.  She was always the smallest.  They would have us sling our pocketbooks around our necks and take a picture. I still have some of these black and white glossy pics, probably taken with a Kodak box camera and those flashbulbs that burned your hand when you removed them.

For the next fifty-five or so years, whenever the three of us got together, we would take one of these pictures no matter where we were.  My baby sister Christine,  and my cousin Camille, never got over the fact that even when they were old enough to carry pocketbooks, even when they were full grown adults, we didn’t let them join in the picture.  This was something  just for the three of us and Christine and Camille were younger sisters to Terry and I.  Catherine didn’t have a sister.  She had two brothers, Tommy and Johnny.  We had no problem with them wanting to be in the picture. 

I guess it was kind of mean that we didn’t allow the younger siblings to join in the posed picture, but boy it gave us so many laughs. When Christine and Camille got older I believe that they also enjoyed the joke even though they called us names.  The pocketbook picture ended when my cousin Catherine died a few years ago.  Terry and I decided that we would never pose with our pocketbooks again.

During the years I lived on Bay 14 Catherine and I became  close.  She wasn’t married at the time, and spent many hours with me.  One of the things we got to do was go to Broadway Plays.  I remember seeing Play it Again Sam with Woody Allen, Mame with Ann Miller, Hair and Old Calcutta, with the original casts. I think in that entire Broadway theatre there couldn’t have been more than twenty women in the audience for Hair and Calcutta.  I am certain that ninety percent of the people were there to see the naked actors on stage. It was the first time I had ever seen red male pubic hair.  I guess it made an impression.

On Broadway night we would put on our best Marvella jewelry (she was a sales rep) jump on the BMT and head into Manhattan.  We sometimes had another friend with us, Antoinette.  We were breaking loose, especially me as I was the only married one and it wasn’t easy getting a sitter for these nights.  Theater and eating out.  In those days you could eat on the cheap in Manhattan and see a Broadway play with twofers.

We were very young, between nineteen and twenty-one and could be silly girls despite real responsibilities at home.  One of the inexplicable games we would play while riding the subway was talk to each other in a made up language.  We would gesture wildly, roll our eyes and then laugh so hard at some gibberish the other said.  We could keep this up from Broadway and 42nd Street all the way back to the 86th Street Station in Brooklyn.   We never played the game going in.  When heading for Broadway you must be sophisticated.   But on the way home there were always plenty of people on the train to be audience to our antics.  One time someone asked what language we were speaking.  Catherine just bugged out her beautiful blue eyes, and I went into peals of laughter.  Antoinette replied in the gibberish.

We were very different, Catherine and I,  and I was always pulling rank on her.  I was the oldest and would use that anytime I wanted my own way.  This would really frustrate her at times.  We would fight, but always make up.  No matter what, I could never get really mad at her, although I am sure she hated me at times.  She was as stubborn as I, but she was kinder and more affectionate.

RIP – Cousin Catherine.  I love you and I miss you.

2011 is a receptive vibration that collects what you need and asks that you do not capture the limelight or take center stage to accomplish your goals.  Take a back seat.  Aim to be adaptable, cooperative, attentive to details and willing to allow others to help you.  You must be keenly aware of the feelings of others, avoid personal sensitivity and be patient, tactful and diplomatic when you speak – or keep silent.  The projects you conceived as goals last year need time to gel and your emotions need time to catch up with the changes you are making.  The details of your plans, your allies, your intimate relationships and the friends and associates you need for the future are slowly coming together and will gel and blossom in 2012.  Study all you can, maintain peaceful relationships and plan to work with others – not alone.  Last year was high-energy – in 2011 all your energy is going to your emotions so, lay-low, stay calm, cool and pleasant and expect to feel very optimistic in October. 

Wear the color orange to attract  gentle, friendly, considerate alliances in 2011.               
Moonstone is your gem in 2011.
People whose names begin with the letters B, K and T are helpful, supportive and responsive in 2011. 

Your lottery numbers for 2011 are: 2, 3, 7, 20, 21, 31. 

Celebrities born on April 12 are: Frank Bank (Actor/”Leave it to Beaver”), Josh Billings (Comedian), David Cassidy (Singer/Actor/”Partridge Family”), Tom Clancy (Novelist), Henry Clay (US Politician/”The Great Compromiser”), Betty Clooney (Singer/Jack Paar Show), Claire Danes (Actor/”Romeo and Juliet”), Deryl Dodd (Country Singer), Shanen Doherty (Actor/”Beverly Hills 90210″), Robert Delaunay (French Painter), Andy Garcia (Actor/”Stand and Deliver”), Vince Gill (Country Singer), Herbie Hancock (Pianist), Claudia Jordan (Miss USA 1997), Hardy Kruger (Actor), David Letterman (Comedian), Charles Ludlam (Playwright/Actor/”Big Easy”), Bryan Magee (English Broadcaster/Author/Politician), Ann Miller (Dancer/”On the Town”), Herbert Mills (Singer/The Mills Brothers), Charles Napier (Actor/”Rambo”), Ed O’Neill (Actor/”Married With Children”), Pamela Polk (Miss America 1996), Lily Pons (Coloratura Soprano), Sophie Rahman (Miss Universe 1996), Tiny Tim (Singer/”Tiptoe Through the Tulips”), Scott Turow (Novelist), Jane Withers (Actor/”All Together Now”/”Josephine the PLumber”).

For your April 12 Life forecast order YOU ARE YOUR BIRTHDAY available at www.ellindodge.com \ click on BOOKS.  To see excerpts and to order books by Ellin Dodge:  NUMEROLOGY HAS YOUR NUMBER, YOU ARE YOUR FIRST NAME, YOU ARE YOUR BIRTHDAY, WIN THE LOTTERY! and FROM ACE TO ZUMMO  click on BOOKS at WWW.ELLINDODGE.COM now.

Directed by

Written by Robert Riskin

Based on the play by George Kaufman and Moss Hart

Starring Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold and Lionel Barrymore

Somewhere in the history of this project – probably here – I was a bit incredulous that It’s A Wonderful Life did not win Best Picture of 1946.  After all, the movie was everything the Academy loves: it’s sappy, with charming acting, humor and grandstanding speeches, and a sense of nostalgia for a bygone time.  Plus, with the Harry Bailey winning the Medal of Honor storyline, it also tapped into nationalistic fervor.  In all, it seemed like a natural to win, except the Academy had other plans, giving the award to The Best Years of Our Lives, another William Wyler movie that I just don’t get.

But as much as it seemed like the kind of movie the Academy would fall all over itself to honor, there were really two big reasons why it didn’t win – at least in my mind.  The first, was The Best Years of Our Lives was an “important” picture about the war that just ended and the reintegration of our battle-scarred men back into society, so it had to win Best Picture.  The other, and in my mind, the more damaging reason it didn’t win is because It’s A Wonderful Life pretty much already won best picture in 1938, only then it was called You Can’t Take it With You.

You Can’t Take It With You is a simple story, really.  It is about a pair of young lovers, Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart, who want to be married.  But Stewart’s parents are greedy snobs, who don’t like Arthur’s family, who are all free-spirited kooks.  To complicate matters, Stewart’s father is a big banker who needs to be Arthur’s family home to make way for some factory he wants to put up.  Over a dinner at Arthur’s family home, hilarity ensues, and lessons are learned about the importance of money and family.

In a lot of ways, You Can’t Take It With You feels like a dry run for It’s A Wonderful Life.  After all, it shares a healthy amount of the cast.  George Bailey’s here (Jimmy Stewart).   So is Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), George’s dad (Samuel Hinds), Mr. Gower (H.B. Warner), Bert the Cop (Ward Bond) and the rent collector (Charles Lane).  Given how much of the cast was shared between the two films, it’s almost surprising Jean Arthur didn’t play the role of Mary Bailey.

But more than just sharing many of the same cast, there is the same director (Frank Capra), the same screenwriter (Robert Riskin), the same cinematographer (Joseph Walker), the same music director (Dimitri Tiomkin), and many of the same themes, specifically that a man who has friends is the richest man of all.

Unfortunately, the problem with dry runs is that they’re never as good as the real thing.  In every way You Can’t Take It With You is dwarfed by It’s A Wonderful Life and just as Capra managed to win Best Picture in 1934 with a lesser film against lesser competition – It Happened One Night – he took the top prize again in 1938 against a slate of mostly-forgotten films.  Only one really lasting film made the race – Robin Hood – while  the best of the films to not rate a nomination was surely Bringing Up Baby.  Hardly a year you would refer to as ‘the golden age.’

I should say that, though the film was disappointing, there was a perverse thrill in seeing Lionel Barrymore, mostly known as the crotchety, greedy Mr. Potter from It’s A Wonderful Life, play a character in You Can’t Take It With You who is otherwise diametrically opposed.  In his courtroom scene in this film he has a great speech that essentially echoes the entire meaning of It’s A Wonderful Life: you can be rich, but you’ll still die alone.

Trivia:

In the film, Jean Arthur’s sister Essie, is married to a man named Ed Carmichael, an Alabama college boy who just happened by the house one day.  Essie is played by Ann Miller, star of many great films, the last being Mulholland Drive.  I don’t know for sure, but I suspect this is probably the only time David Lynch and Frank Capra shared an actor.

More interesting to me was the Ed Carmichael was played by Dub Taylor, one of those actors that when you see and hear him, you think you know him, but you can’t place the name.  Though he was a big player in Sam Peckinpah’s movies, I most remember him playing C.W. Moss’s father in Bonnie and Clyde.

Click here to see those already seen and to get a list of those left to see.

10. Vera-Ellen, i watch her dance and it’s exactly how i want to move.

9. Ann Miller, first time i watched her tap i thought, i didn’t know that was humanly possible. perfection.

8. Karen Ziemba, she’s an absolute broadway gem. i could watch her perform all the time!

7. Bernadette Peters, no explanation is needed for her brilliance.

6. Nataly Dawn (voice of Pomplamoose), i absolutely love her voice. plus she’s so hipster!

5. Audrey Hepburn, true class.

4. Sutton Foster, i want her career. she’s truly amazing. i want go on out of fear of looking like a complete dork.

3. Julie Andrews, if i could choose anyone to be my mother besides my own, julie would be my choice. What a wonderful singer, actress, and person.

2. Judy Garland, every time I watch her I am in awe.

1. Ginger Rogers, she did everything Fred did but backwards and in heels. that pretty much sums up her amazingness!

~cc