Happy Holidays: The Classic Movie Style!!!! (Part 9)
Here is part nine of our holiday season's best in pictures, music and all things Classic Movies!! Hope you enjoy these installments as much as I do with putting them together. It is a lot of fun to see our favorite screen celebrities and lovely tunes to enjoy, what true gifts in my book! I will be posting a few of these to keep us all posted as to what our ladies and gentlemen of the silver screen are up to and singing for this holdiay season, so let's get a good egg nog and put the lights down for some fun yule tides!!!! Happy watching. : )
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) / Allied Artists Pics
Directed By: Roy Del Ruth Starring: Don DeForce, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Gale Storm & Victor Moore
~ Nominated for Academy Award in 1948 for Best Writing.
Tagline: It's Happer Than Heaven ... the Hit of '47!
Plot:
It is New York City in the 1940's where a homeless man in rough time see a beautiful boarded-up mansion in no other than on Fifth Avenue. This down on his luck man, Aloyisius T. McKeever (Moore) decides to set his sights on this empty place that he would love to call him since not having a roof over his head.
The home has not gone abandoned it is just empty during the winter since the homeowner being millionaire Michael J. O'Connor's (Ruggles) is in the south enjoying the warmth.
McKeever moves into the residence and loves the new home and decides to take in a homeless ex-GI named Jim Bullock (DeForce). Jim just has been evicted from his apartment that actually the real homeowner is tearing down to build a skyscraper. Trudy "Smith" (Storm) now is in the picture who is a 18 year old run away and no one except herself know that her actual father is the millionaire O'Connor. There seems to be a very short degree of seperation between each person.
Hank (Edward Ryan & Whitey (Alan Hale Jr.) are Jim's war buddies who also move into the mansion that has plenty of space to accomodate everyone. During this time Trudy falls in love with Jim and she convinces her father to move into the house as a panhandler "Mike" to make sure that there is no love for wealth going on. Then Trudy asks her mother to fly back from Florida to play a part in this. Her mother Mary (Harding) does accept and takes on the role of a servant a cook in the mansion. Mike is furious and wants to arrest these people that are tresspassing but now his wife is now in the thick of it.
Mike decides to end all of this by getting his construction company to offer a wonderful job to Jim in Bolivia. To Mike's surprise Jim turns it down to follow his dream. The ex-GIs staying in the mansion have a grand idea of purchasing a former Army camp and make it into affordable housing. Mike and Jim with no idea are actually bidding against one another for the land.
It is now Chrsitmas Eve and all are celebrating it together. The patrolmen that now see the lights inside go in and see all these families staying and agree to be kind and allow them to stay there until the New Year. Which makes everyone celebrates and then Jim has big news that he lost the bid for the camp to Mike. Jim is now shattered and now accepts the job in Bolivia and breaks things off with Trudy since it is not worth chasing his dreams. Mary and Trudy are angry about what horrible things Mike has done to Jim and will leave the next day to Florida. McKeever is now sad and no longer wants to call this mansion a home. After a big meeting the men find out that Mike is actually O'Connor and will give the camp to them with the condition that they never reveal who he is to McKeever. That night there is a lot to celebrate and they do with a wonderful meal and then put the house the way they got it. To top it all off McKeever is now heading to the family's mansion in Virginia to stay as family!!!
Welcome to "Love Those Classic
Movies!!!" Second Annual Classic Mr. & Mrs. Clause. This year to
kick it off we have two extrememly gifted (and perhaps a team one would NEVER thought would see as a couple) and top classic leading actor and actress:
Robert Mitchum & Ginger Rogers.
These personalities will keep a room filled all night
and enteretained!!!
Robert Mitchum & Ginger Rogers have
both been good sports and have dressed up in various Christmas outfits and posed
for us during their busy schedules, so thank you!!! After a lot of assistants to help
with getting the right outfits and the rest of the glamour squad to do hair the
photo shoots were just swell! These two know how to ham it up for the camera and
for the fans all the time and to look glamorous!
Starring: William Powell, Ginger Rogers & Gene Lockhart
Gowns by: Bernard Nweman
Taglines: The titian-haired star of "Gay Divorcee" and "Roberta" joins hands with the master of all screen sleuths in a sparkling, mystery drama breathless with thrills...
Plot:
Clay 'Dal' Dalzell (Powell) is a successful lawyer and on the side plays detective and is very good at it. Clay is able to get his muderer and is asked by a friend Tim Winthrop to work for him on a case. The case involves a missing girl from a year ago with no trace and this girl Alice is esepcially close to Tim since it is his girl. Clay of course loving to solve a good mystery takes this on.
On Clay's arm is the beautiful socialite Donna Mantin (Rogers). Donna is drapped in the most beautiful gowns and diamonds fitting for the most stylish 1930's styles of the day. Donna asks for Dal to stop a story to stop occurring on notes a gentleman she was seeing and of course with some choice words our man steps up and gets the notes back and saves the young lady from a harmful story being printed. The gossip columnist Tommy Tennant goes to see "Dal" in his art deco lavish apartment and during the visit is shot dead by someone outside. The police arrive a believe that Dal shot Tennant due to a story that he was going to publish and confirm. In order to shut Tennant up the thought goes that Dal shot him dead and in accident shot himself and grazed his head as well. This leaves no option since now Dal is prime suspect in the murder of Tennant to take on the case. Donna heads up and meets with Dal and obtains the notes and now finds out the letters written were not from her but from her from married friend that she was saving.
Donna and Dal are smitten with one another and together arm in arm (a beautiful couple at that) go to solve the dissappearance of this lady going missing and to clear Dal's name and to find the true killer of Tennant and what happened to Alica the veiled stage performer.
Note from the classic movie gentleman:
~ Ginger Rogers at this time just starred in her huges successful Astaire/Rogers musicals for RKO and became for her studio: RKO box office bonanza! At this same time the "Thin Man" film from MGM Studios were released starring William Powell & Myrna Loy and were as well HUGE box office success. The thought of course for many studios was to duplicate the success of the husand and wife mysteries such as RKO borrowing William Powell and pairing him up with their queen Ginger Rogers in a high class murder mystery. This film did not have sequels and Powell & Rogers sadly never made another motion picture again and seeing them together they were actually very good together. RKO used their lavish sets in this film to show Dal's apartment in the city and the fancy clubs then showing there beautifu leading lady in aptly designed gowns. A very nice team in this classic gem!!
Happy Holidays: The Classic Movie Style!!!!
(Part 8)
Here
is part eight of our holiday season's best in pictures, music and all things
Classic Movies!! Hope you enjoy these installments as much as I do with putting
them together. It is a lot of fun to see our favorite screen celebrities and
lovely tunes to enjoy, what true gifts in my book! I will be posting a few of
these to keep us all posted as to what our ladies and gentlemen of the silver
screen are up to and singing for this holdiay season, so let's get a good egg
nog and put the lights down for some fun yule tides!!!! Happy watching. : )
I'll Be Seeing You (1944) / Selznick International Pictures Directed By: William Dieterle Starring: Ginger Rogers, Joesph Cotten, Shirley Temple
Costumes: Edith Head (for Miss Rogers)
Taglines: Both living a secret...each afraid to tell!
Plot:
The setting is the 1940's during the heigth of WWII and it is the holiday season and fastly approaching Christmas when we meet Mary Marshall (Rogers) and Sgt. Zachary Morgan (Cotten). On a train heading towards Pine Hill, both Mary and Zach find themselves sitting across one another on this ride. What they do not know about each other at this point is that they are both stunted individuals with a lot of package. Mary is on a eight day furlong from prison so she can spend Christmas with her aunt and uncle in the small town of Pine Hill. Where Zach is suffering from shell shock from the war and is granted a ten day leave from the millitary hospital to try to adjust to daily life. Each decides to hold onto their own secret when finally introducing themselves to one another. Mary tells Zach that she is a traveling saleslady going to visit her family for Christmas while Zach says he is going to Pine Hill as well to visit his sister. They both find this to be the more approachable story and something that they want to actually rather accept than the darker reality.
The train then arrives at the Pine Hill depot where the two exchange names and then part ways. Mary then goes to visit her Aunt Clara and Uncle Henry's home. During this time Zach heads into the town and checks into the local YMCA. Mary finds herself depressed while at the family home realizing that the idea of a family and husband are not going to happen due to prison. Shortly, thereafter a perfect phone call happens where Zach calls Mary and she invites him over for a lovely dinner. Together they enjoy friendly conversation and a nice home cooked meal. Afterwards Zach then decides to tell the truth to Mary that he does not have a sister in town but rather chose to stop in Pine Hill to be near Mary. Mary is taken back from this statement and seemingly starts to like him and they decide together to attend a movie at the local movie house.
Mary now knows that Zach was in the war and they head to the local cafe where the local soda jerk has a noticable facial tick. The man then recounts how he got it from having shell shock as well in WWI. With the fear that this is what will happen to him the facial and other ailments in the future Zach runs out of the cafe not able to verbally share any of this with Mary.
Mary is stunned and returns home where she is sharing a room with her cousin Barbara (Temple). Barbara distrusts Mary and labels possessions so they do not get used nor stolen. To get Barbara to better relate to her Mary told her the whole story of why she went into jail. Mary as a secretary is invited one night to go out with her wealthy boss. The dinner is in his apartment which the young Mary should have known better not tohave accepted since he was going to of course try to make advances. Mary truly believes what he says that it is a party she is attending but that quickly changes once arriving and no one is there accept the two of them. Horrible advances are made toward Mary from the boss which she is horrified and avoids. During one of the advances that Mary avoids she pushes him away which has enough momentum to throw him throw the apartment's open window and to his death thus bringing her to court and jail. Barbara now knows Mary's true story of what happened and is touched by her telling it to her so she pleads for forgiveness. The cousins are now better and understand each other.
The next day Zach arrives and invites Mary to spend the day at a local lake with him which she accepts. While they are at the lake Zach takes this time to tell her the real reasons for why he ran of the day before and his war experiences. Later Zach invites the family to the New Year's party at the YMCA where Aunt Sarah buys Mary a new dress to wear so she looks lovely. The party goes very well and at the end of the evening Zach walks Mary home. During this walk they are attacked by a dog where Zach fends him off and then Mary is pleased to tell him that he seems to be getting better. The next issue that Zach faces is that he leaves the next day as does Mary. Zach starts to discuss a future with the two of them and Mary asks to refrain on the topic and to delay it. Mary goes into the house crying and confides into Sarah that she truly loves Zach. During the evening Zach also then suffers a relapse and gets himself better by having himself hear Mary's voice. Yes, Zach truly loves Mary.
Mary finds out when they enter that train together that Zach acts odd and very distant and finds out that Barbara inadvertently says to Zach details of prison with Mary. Mary is then very sadden and cries and when it comes the night to arrive to prison gates in the dark , Zach steps from the shadows to embrace and declare his love.
Note from the classic gentleman:
This is a holdiay classic romance/drama that shows that during the height of WWII people can find true love during the holidays even with harsh circumstances.
