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!

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!

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?

Happy New Year!!!

Here is a movie clip from "Holiday Inn" to bring in the new year!

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!

Classic Film for Christmas

I thought that I would share with you the classic movie related items that I received as gifts for Christmas! I had a wonderful day with my family, but honestly I am just like a kid when it comes to opening presents in the morning.

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!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Tonight I am posting a clip from "White Christmas" (1954). This is probably the most recognizable Christmas movie clip of all time. Enjoy!