Tuesday, December 13, 2011
I'm on Facebook!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
New Blog
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Two Months Too Long
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron Dance the Sluefoot
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Starlit Days at the Lido (1935)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Classic Movies for the First Time
This past summer I visited my sister for a few weeks in another state. While I was there our conversation turned to classic films many times (not hard for me to do). We created a list of movies that my sister had not seen that I would send to her. Finally last week, after several months of waiting, my sister got in the mail some must see movies. So, I thought that I would post the list of movies that I sent! Remember, the ones that I have listed are movies that she has NEVER seen.
- "The Jazz Singer" (1927)
- "The Public Enemy" (1931)
- "Little Caeser" (1931)
- "Suspicion" (1941)
- "It" (1927)
- "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
- "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939)
- "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946)
- "Jezebel" (1938)
- "Dinner At Eight" (1933)
- "The Philadelphia Story" (1940)
- "To Be or Not To Be" (1942)
- "Sunset Blvd." (1950)
- "Since You Went Away" (1944)
- "Cleopatra" (1934)
- "The Women" (1939)
- "Top Hat" (1935)
- "Swing Time" (1936)
- "The Mark of Zorro" (1940)
- "Imitation of Life" (1959)
- "Captain Blood" (1935)
- "All About Eve" (1950)
- "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947)
- "Gold Diggers of 1933" (1933)
- "Cabin in the Sky" (1943)
- "Heaven Can Wait" (1943)
- "Leave Her to Heaven" (1945)
It's hard to imagine never seeing these great movies! I am so excited for her to be able to watch all of the for the first time. Which one of these classic films do you think is the one that she should not go without seeing?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Movies I Watch Again & Again Part 2/2

Today is part two of which movies I watch over and over again. Again, these are not necessarily my favorite films, but I love to watch them none the less.
A Free Soul (1931)
Starring: Norma Shearer, Clark Gable
Why do I love this? Norma Shearer is fabulous in pre-code films. Although I love "The Divorcee", I find my self watching this one more often. Clark Gable is not the nicest person in this film, but oh well, it's Clark Gable!
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Starring: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison
Why do I love this? I guess I have always been drawn to ghost stories, and this is one great ghost story! It isn't scary in the least, just a delightful movie. You can also see a young Natalie Wood playing Gene Tierney's daughter.
People Will Talk (1951)
Starring: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain
Why do I love this? Every time I watch this I completely fall in love with Dr. Praetorius (Cary Grant). It really isn't hard to fall in love with any Cary Grant character, but who wouldn't love to be married to this doctor?
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
Starring: Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple
Why do I love this? This is just a fun movie! Cary Grant is so wonderful and Myrna Loy is as great as ever. Shirley Temple plays the 17 year old bobby-soxer, and is entertaining to watch.
Dancing Lady (1933)
Starring: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone
Why do I love this? I really enjoy watching Joan Crawford at this point in her career. She looks beautiful, and always has a lot of spunk. Clark Gable is also looking marvelous as always. And Franchot Tone is I believe one of the most underrated actors, he is one of my favorites too!
So there are ten movies that I can't help but watch all the time! I know most of them are on there because of the people that are in them. But this blog is called Silver Screen Stars, and I love to watch the stars! Do any of you have certain movies that you watch a lot that are not in particular one of your favorites films? I would love to hear what they are!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Movies I Watch Again & Again Part 1/2
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I have several movies that I love to watch over and over again that are not listed in my top ten musical, drama, or comedy lists that I posted a couple of months ago. Although they are not my ultimate favorites, I just can't help watching them all the time! In the next two posts I will write about the ten movies that I love to watch. I will try to explain why I love each of them, but even I'm not sure why I watch them so much. So, for the first five....
Wife Vs. Secretary (1936)
Starring: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy
Why do I love this? Well.....Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy!!! Three of my all time favorites in one movie. Plus Jimmy Stewart has a small part as Jean Harlow's love interest. The story is a pretty good one, and everyone looks their best!
Easy to Love (1953)
Starring: Esther Williams, Van Johnson
Why do I love this? I have of late become a huge fan of Esther Williams. I received the Esther Williams Collection Vol 2 for Christmas and have already watched this film a few times. It is such a beautiful colorful movie with remarkable costumes.
Moon Over Miami (1941)
Starring: Don Ameche, Betty Grable
Why do I love this? I love Don Ameche and Betty Grable. They are both so fabulous in this movie together. I love to hear the both of them sing too! Other than that, it is a typical light hearted musical/comedy.
Second Honeymoon (1937)
Starring: Tyrone Power, Loretta Young
Why do I love this? TYRONE POWER!!!! Need I say more? I think that he looks his best in this film. I could watch it all day long! I love Loretta Young in this too. She is my favorite actress to be paired with Tyrone. Have I told you that I love him? ;-)
No Man of Her Own (1932)
Starring: Clark Gable, Carole Lombard
Why do I love this? This is the only movie that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard made together. Not only that it is a very good film! They are both wonderful in it, and look great as well.
Stay tuned for my next post where I will list the final five movies that I can watch again and again!
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Uninvited (1944)

Made in 1944, this movie is set in 1937 on the Devonshire coast in England. A brother and sister (Ray Milland & Ruth Hussey) are vacationing and fall in love with an abandoned house overlooking the ocean. They decide to buy it regardless of the rumors of "disturbances". Shortly after they move in they notice the disturbances themselves. With the help of a young woman (Gail Russell) who has a history in the house, and her doctor (Alan Napier), they uncover buried secrets that go back 17 years.
I am not one to give away the plot of movies. So I will leave the summery as it is. Let's just say that this is one classic film to watch for. I picked it up from the library, and afterward found out that it was on TCM later in the week. I currently do not have TCM, so I'm glad our library was able to get a copy.
You can watch the entire movie on You Tube by clicking here. Or you can watch the trailer below!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Unplanned Break
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tyrone Power on "What's My Line"

I just had to post this clip of Tyrone Power on "What's My Line". I love watching all of my favorite stars on this show. Of course I love Tyrone Power, so this is one that I have watched often. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I love "I Love Lucy" in Hollywood
Last night I watched the "I Love Lucy" episode with William Holden ("L.A. at Last"). For those of you who do not know this one, it's the one where Lucy lights her fake nose on fire. For many years I had only seen the second half of the episode. But a few years ago I finally got to watch the whole thing. This is probably my favorite "I Love Lucy" episode, or maybe it ties with "Vitameatavegimin".
Yes, this blog is about classic film and its stars and not classic television. I must ramble though for a little bit about this "I Love Lucy" season. Ricky gets an offer for a movie in Hollywood, so he and Lucy along with Fred and Ethel travel to CA. There are so many stars in these classic episodes! William Holden, John Wayne, Van Johnson, Richard Widmark, and many many more.
If you are a classic movie fan and have not seen season four and the beginning of season five of "I Love Lucy", go out and buy it! It is so much fun to see all of the stars playing themselves. Lucille Ball is so hilarious with them as she plays their biggest fan. I wonder how I would have acted had I lived back when my favorite stars did. I might have been the same way. Well, maybe not breaking into Richard Widmark's house. Do you have a favorite classic TV episode that has a guest movie star? I would love to hear of any that I have missed!Below is a scene in "L.A. at Last", where Lucy first sees William Holden, my favorite scene in this episode. He was so great in this!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Colorful 40's

This week I watch "Thrill of a Romance" (1945) with Esther Williams. This is is the second Esther Williams collection. The movie was good and very entertaining. One thing that I enjoy about this and other movies made in the 1940's is the use of Technicolor.

Technicolor was used in film earlier than the 40's, but this is when it really took off. I am usually one who defends the black and white movies, but when films are filmed originally with this color the end result is beautiful! This is one reason that I love Betty Grable movies too. Most of them were also filmed in Technicolor. The 1940's style of clothes, hair, and make-up were also best in color. You can't see that bright red lipstick in black and white!

Some actresses I believe were made for Technicolor movies. The above mentioned Esther Williams and Betty Grable are obviously two of them. I have heard that Maureen O'Hara is counted as the queen of Technicolor though, I don't know who came up with that but she did film beautifully. Some actresses shunned color films because they believed that they looked better and more glamorous in black and white. In the 1939 film "The Women" there is a color sequence of a fashion show, but not one of the stars of the film were in this.
Movies filmed in Technicolor always had a kind of unreal feel to them, nothing is that bright and colorful in real life! But that is why they were so popular and are still one of a kind today. Which actors or actresses do you think were made for Technicolor?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Don Ameche: A Life-Long Legacy

Within the last couple of years I have turned into a huge Don Ameche fan! A few posts back I listed my top 10 favorite actors, and I really should have listed Don Ameche among the others. As I wrote in that post my list changes from time to time.
Don Ameche was born May 31, 1908, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He became a popular radio personality in the 1930's in Chicago, then quickly was offered a film contract with 20th Century Fox. His first couple of films were uncredited in 1935, but it did not take long for him to become a star.

One of his most famous roles was the title character in "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell" (1939). He also did a popular teaming with Tyrone Power and Alice Faye in "In Old Chicago" (1937) and "Alexander's Ragtime Band"(1938). Don Ameche made many other films with costars such as Betty Grable, Gene Tierney, and Claudette Colbert.
His popularity in film seemed to dim into the 1950's, he then turned to television. There, he worked of and on for many years until he was virtually forgotten. In 1983 he was offered a part along side Ralph Bellamy in "Trading Places". His career once again took off!

In 1985 he played in "Cocoon" and received the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He continued to work in film until his death on December 6, 1993. His last film "Corrina, Corrina" actually came out in 1994.
I watched "Cocoon" just recently and really enjoyed seeing him in his twilight years. He had such a recognizable voice that did not change with age. I have always enjoyed hearing him sing in the musicals he appeared in too! I know that I put a lot of movie clips on this blog, but I figure that since I blog about classic film and it's stars I may as well show them in action! Tonight I've included a wonderful video tribute to Don Ameche, enjoy!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Classic Film for Christmas
First of all I received the book "Bette Davis: Larger than Life" by Richard Schickel & George Perry. This is a beautiful large hard cover book published my Running Press, who also published the books "Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies" and "Lucy at the Movies". I wrote a post on these books a few months ago, you can read it here. I LOVE these books!!! They are perfect books as far as I'm concerned. All of them have many glorious black and white, and color pictures.
Second, I got the DVD set "TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Vol. 2". I bought the first Esther Williams set a while back and enjoy each of those films, so I just had to get the second one right!?! I have not seen any of the films in this collection as of yet, but plan to start any day now.
Finally, I got "The Claudette Colbert Collection". I posted of this set a while back, you can read that here. Claudette Colbert is one of my favorite actresses, and I was so excited when I first learned of this box set. I have already watched two of these films since Christmas.
Did any of you receive any classic movie related gifts? If so leave a comment, I would love to hear of them!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Cary Grant Decorates a Tree
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Poll Results: Favorite Christmas Film?
I don't think that anyone will really be surprised at which movie won this poll. So, without any delay, the winner is "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). I know you're probably all shocked at the result!
"It's a Wonderful Life" actually started out as a Christmas card in 1943. It was written by Phillip Van Doren Stern in 1943, and sent out to all of his friends and family. The title of this card was "The Greatest Gift".
RKO found the card and bought it for $10,000. The studio originally wanted Cary Grant to star in a film based on the story. The writers worked on three different scripts for the film, but in the end they were shelved. This left the story open for purchase for other studios.
Frank Capra saw potential for a great film and bought the rights and the three scripts for the same $10,000. He took bits and pieces from each script and started to create his own unique screenplay. He added such characters as Mr. Potter, and molded the story into the film we know today. It is said that "It's a Wonderful Life" was Capra's favorite film.
James Stewart was the first choice for the film. Can any of us really see anyone else playing George Bailey? It was his first role after serving in the Army in WWII.
"It's a Wonderful Life" is my favorite Christmas film. In this poll it won with 50% of the vote. "White Christmas" (1954) came in second with 31%. The rest of the week I am just planning to post some Christmas movie clips. I'm sorry that I haven't been posting regularly. I've been pretty busy lately, and have been sick. After Christmas I plan to start posting a bit more often. Also, please take a moment to vote on my current poll. Other than OZ, which is your favorite Judy Garland film?
