Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Movie Post

GR&DF not much going on - getting everything moving along and ready for Thanksgiving. Setting a menu, polishing up silver, getting down the stemware, going over linens.... and cleaning the house a little bit a time. I find if I break up the big jobs into smaller jobs they seem to get done faster and I am a much happier camper!!

I thought today I should talk about a few flicks.....

Lets start off with another in the ongoing series of Shirley Temple films - "Baby Take a Bow" - 1934 - starring Shirley Temple, James Dunn and Claire Trevor. This was a film that was a break in the all to familiar formula "Shirley" film. The story focused more on the adults and their story with some cute Shirley moments thrown in. If a bit creaky, overall a cute film and worth a look.

Now from reading this Blog and my film choices that I will watch almost any film and give most things a chance - so a while back I was listening to the radio and heard the Jeannie C Riley Song - "Harper Valley PTA" - 1968 - written by Tom T Hall. Here is a live performance of the song by Jeannie C Riley -



How great are her boots!! I remembered that there was a film made from the song and so I put it on my Netflix Queue - the DVD came over the weekend - "Harper Valley PTA" - 1978 - starring Barbara Eden and Nanette Fabray. Basically the film is all about revenge. It seems a bit dated and Barbara Eden might have been a bit long in the tooth to play the lead roll, but it was a fun flick with a few really funny moments.

The last film I wanted to mention is "The Great Caruso" - 1951 - starring Mario Lanza and Ann Blyth. I very nice film with some beautiful sets and costumes. The film tells in a bare bones Hollywood way the story of the great singer. Lanza is a competent actor with a gorgeous voice!! Watch this film for the music. Here is a clip of him singing "La Donna e Mobile" from Rigoletto - (the clip is a bit dark)




There you go sports fans -thanks again for stopping by, do come again.

Take care,
edgar

7 comments:

  1. Ahhhh, Mario Lanza. One of my Mom's favorite singers. I grew up on his music along with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald. :)

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  2. Thanks for the heads up on these. It will be interesting to see the sets on the "Caruso" film. Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  3. My dad was a huge fan of Mario Lanza. If you are ever in Philly you can visit a museum dedicated to the man.

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  4. You've reminded me of another film I'll need to add to my Netflix list ... one I remember watching as a child on The Early Show [4:00 in the afternoon on NBC, I think, back in the 1950s] Mario Lanza in The Student Prince ... right now the beer garden scene is scrolling through my mind ... "Drink! Drink! Drink! Let everyone drink..."

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  5. I love those White boots too ! I also remembered another older movie. Ode To Billie Joe with a song that inspired the movie by Singer Bobbie Genty. That is a good song. I love watching Bobbie Genty sing on Youtube.

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  6. I read your blog all the time and this is the first time I have commented. What has brought me out from lurking is Mario Lanza singing La Donna mobile. I was intrigued and had to listen given my name is LaDonna. I realized I have heard this song numerous times and never realized he was saying La Donna. How sad is that?? Anyway...I do love your blog and seeing all of the photos of your samplers. They are absolutely beautiful.

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  7. Mario Lanza! Thanks for the clip. My son wants a puppy for Christmas so he can name him Mario... he is thinking Mario the video game guy, but I'd be thinking Mario Lanza to go with our Grace Kelly... but the last thing this house needs is another dog. I love cleaning house while listening to Mario, he is very invigorating.

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