Tuesday, September 07, 2010
OY & JOY!
Well....I watched "A Cold Wind In August" and it turned out that it was really not a very good film, which kind of shocked me.....Sad to say that, but, true. 
Scott was certainly an extremely attractive young man at that point in his life---very very appealing, but, sad to say, I'm afraid he was not as good in the film as I had thought he was, at the time. My memory of his performance had been quite diffeent...and Lola Albright, well, a very beautiful woman, but the script was just not good at all, and one might say, the whole thing felt quite "dated" in every way. That is not always true of many of the older films of the late 1950's and early '60's. But....this one, unfortunately didn't hold up well----at least, not for me.
The true revelation for me was another film that TCM showed later that night,..Directed by Alan J. Pakula and Written by Alvin Sargeant...another May-December Romance---older woman and younger man fall in love, starring Maggie Smith and Timothy Bottoms. "Love & Pain & The Whole Damn Thing", (Rent-able at Netflix) released in 1971, if I am correct. I had never seen it before and it is a charming, sweet and very funny film, and deeply touching, too. It is such a literate script with so much humanity and it encompasses some great truths......
It was a revelation to me because I did not even remember hearing about this wonderful film, let alone seeing it---How I missed this film, I will never know. And I loved every minute of it. It was all filmed on location in Spain and it is extremely beautiful because of the real locations....
This is a film very much worth renting and in fact, actually buying. To me, this was not dated, at all. It is a really special film that warmed my heart and lifted my spirits......Run, do-not-walk, to the nearest Video/DVD Store---in my case Netflix. See....this is why Turner Classic Movies is such a truly valuable treasure. 
Like I said before, where else could you see this early Alan J. Pakula Directed film, with the sublime Maggie Smith and the very talented and dear young Timothy Bottoms? Nowhere! BRAVO, TCM!More To Come.........
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:26:00 AM
Saturday, September 04, 2010
movies
Because I have not been feeling all that well---out of sorts, you know----I always find watching movies relaxing to me and it takes me out of myself---Especially, old films. In particular, the films that Turner Classic Movies shows. Sept 1st, there were/was a whole slew of old films early in the day that were great great fun to watch...I'm sure many people couldn't and wouldn't care less about these pictures, and in truth, I might not have either, had I not grown up in the 1930's and '40's, when the Movie Studios made hundreds of films a year. In theatres....there were "double features" when you went to the movies and you could go in at any time of the day or night that you wanted to, and you could stay all day and into the night, if you wanted to, too, for whatever it cost when you went in---which was really cheap....Maybe $.25 or at most $.50....It was GREAT!The three films I watched on Wednesday, (with some interruptions, of course,) I had never seen before....Most of them would be considered the "second feature" or "B-Movie" as they were called, in those double feature days.....The three that I got involved with were "Irene",(1940) with Anna Neagle,
Ray Milland, Alan Marshal, and Mae Robson, Roland Young, Billie Burke and Arthur Treacher. Many of you won't know any of these names, but some of you will---these last four were the 'cream of the crop' character actors of the day....."Irene" is in Black & White, of course, but then suddenly in the middle of the picture, it goes into the most BEAUTIFUL Technicolor.....I loved the period 'sets'...Very Art Deco....Very 1930's....And the clothes were stunning. It didn't hurt that it was about a Dress Designers Shop.....! Anna Neagle got to sing and Ray Milland was so very young and dashing, too....And they got to dance together in a very wonderful stylized-not-quite-dancing-with-the-stars kind of way.....! I enjoyed every minute of it---at least, what I saw of it......Next, was a film called "Married And In Love",(1940) with Alan Marshal, again, (TCM does that quite often---show a series of films with certain actors, one after another...).
In the TCM 'Now Playing' Guide, it says about this film: Illicit lovers plot to desert their spouses and marry each other. I couldn't have said it better, myself, The picture also starred Helen Vinson, an actress who's career got derailed because she gave it up when she married...This picture was Directed by John Farrow, Mia Farrrow's father. The year it was released was 1940. The clothes for Helen Vinson were exquisite.....So very sheek. It was one of those 'second feature' movies, too, and only 60 minutes long. It wasn't fabulous, though the clothes were, but it wasn't horrible either. But seeing Helen Vinson's costumes made the whole thing for me. Back-in-the-day, they had so many great Designers working in films.....The third film,"Bride By Mistake",(1944) starred Laraine Day, a very good actress who had a wonderful career, and guess who? 
Yes, Alan Marshal, once again. He was a very good looking man in the Laurence Olivier mold---in fact, he was Australian. This film also starred Marsha Hunt, (Who was in "Irene", too), and Edgar Buchanan and Allan Joslyn---two wonderful character actors who had very long and fine careers in films.....
Marsha Hunt was a beautiful woman and still is---at 91...
And had a lovely career at Paramount and then later at MGM. Her career got derailed by the 'Black List'. Such a shameful time in this country's history. I have written about that time from the point of view of people I know and knew who were Black Listed. So many lives destroyed. Like I said, shameful, shameful, shameful....You can read that post by clicking on the previous paragraph if you are so inclined.....
Turner Classic Movies, by the way, is one of the great cable channel's I couldn't live without. They show so many fabulous "classic" films all day and night---24 hours a day. And No Commercials, ever, ever, ever.....! They honor film history in such a wonderful and important way. I love that channel. I mean, where else can you see "A Place In The Sun", "Gone With The Wind", "The Wizard Of Oz", "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", etc., etc., etc., just to name a few of the great great films of all time, and see those three films I mentioned at the beginning, as well......Today for instance, Saturday, they are showing "Rebel Without A Cause", "Birdman Of Alcatraz", "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", and "The Graduate"....
And then, right after that a rarely shown film called "A Cold Wind In August". This is an important film in many ways, not the least of which is that it co-starred a very young and exciting actor named Scott Marlowe. 
Scott was a long time good friend starting in the early 1960's.....This was his "breakthrough" film....and quite a breakthrough it was....You can bet I will be watching because I haven't seen the picture in many years. Unfortunately......
Scott is gone having had a rather sad ending in 2001 (Above: With dear Hanna, at a Birthday Party of mine---both gone now...)...But here is the treasure of film: This performance of Scott's will live forever and one can see him at the height of his beauty and talent for as long as 'film' survives and thrives, and thanks to TCM, it will and it does, big-time.....Thank You Turner Classic Movies for enriching my life in such a meaningful way.More To Come.......
Update: 'The Mister' is doing Beautifully, once again.....that tiny set back lasted one day and he is now continuing on the road to health.....
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 12:04:00 AM
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
vamp till ready
I cannot seem to get my act together.....I think I am 'in recovery' along with Sweetie, who, by the way, is doing really really well...! I'm just not "with it", I'm afraid...So, I have nothing to offer here except a few words about The Emmy's....I enjoyed them very much. The show moved along really quickly and I was pretty happy with most of the "wins".....
In particular, I was thrilled for Archie Panjabi who received an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress On A Drama Series, for her part in "THE GOOD WIFE"...I think she is an incredibly talented young woman who has a really fabulous career ahead of her....
She is someone who holds your attention when she is on the screen. You cannot take your eyes off her because she is soooo very "present". A truly involved and arresting person.
I was also thrilled that "THE PACIFIC" won for Outstanding Miniseries. In truth, there was only one other Nominee---"RETURN TO CRANFORD" which was wonderful. But, 'The Pacific' is a monumental piece of work....
A ten part series that backed away from nothing. Beautifully rendered in every way....A very important document of that part of World War Two that has not been covered in such a dramatic way ever before. 
HBO, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are to be commended for this excellent series.
And I was very happy for "MAD MEN" winning, for the third time, Outstanding Drama Series....Truly well deserved. It IS the BEST show on television.....! It won the Outstanding Writing In A Drama Series Emmy, as well---and rightfully so. 
Happy that the Outstanding Movie Made For Television was "TEMPLE GRANDIN"...a great great story of triumph and done with so much Humanity....three of the actors won Awards, too, Claire Danes, David Strathairn and Julia Ormand, (Thanks for the correction "VV"). And the competition in this category was fierce this year...ALL the films were really spectacular. Happy, too that Al Pacino won for "YOU DON'T KNOW JACK"---a very fine film, too.....
Pacino was, as always, superb, embodying the character of Jack Kevorkian in an important film about a very important subject....Bravo to HBO for this film, as well......
I thought Jimmy Fallon was okay as the Host. The opening number was great fun, and started the show off in a really wonderful way....
I think it is a very tough job and your kind of behind the eight-ball before you start.....He did well! 
Oh, Yes....and Edie Falco for "NURSE JACKIE"....Perfect! She is fantastic in this wonderful half-hour cable show and this was a well deserved 'win' in my opinion, too.....I know I am leaving out lots of stuff...But these were the Highlights, for me........Well, that's all I've got, kids......Forgive me, please......
More To Come.........
Update: Tuesday Night 11:57....Sweetie had a little bit of a setback today---hoping it is temporary and caused by a change in Meds.....We shall see....Tonight, we put him back on the one that we had stopped....Hoping Wednesday will be better, and that he will be back 'on track'.......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:55:00 AM
Thursday, August 26, 2010
flower of hope
This is the Bromiliad I wrote about just when Sweetie went to the Hospital.....And I said I took it as a sign of hope. In the above picture this is the early stage of this great great beauty. It is perfection just as it is in this photo above......
And if it did nothing more than this.....this perfection would be more than enough to take your breath away.....But then, a few days pass, and this is what this flower looks like.....see below.
It is almost unbelievable in it's exquisiteness....where did these beautiful colors come from......where, indeed!
A closer look, above.....the delicacy of these little cylindrical lavender/purple and shocking pink interior flowers are so very magical.....here below, an even closer look......
And you can see in the picture above that more of these little delicate flowers-within-the-flower, are about to burst forth---well, 'burst' is probably too harsh a way to put it.....but they are definitely peeping their way to the surface......
All this softness with those outer edges looking rather dangerous...but, in reality, there is nothing dangerous about this flower, at all......Then, about fifteen days later....here is what this same flower looks like now......
It is almost overwhelming when you see all of the pink and purple interior flowers that have bloomed and some are already on the wane......
You can see the very dark pink ones---these are almost over....
A closer look, above.....some of these little interior flowers are already withering and drying up...but they look beautiful, too....at least they do to me.......
And then below.....so much of the interior of this flower is ready to close up shop, so to speak...though the whole flower will stay and still look beautiful in it's overallness. And guess what? Amazingly enough, there is another flower beginning to bloom in the center of a different shoot.....
More hope......More wonderful wonderful hope........I will be watching this little baby's growth as each day passes......More To Come.......
Update: Sweetie is ever so much better with each passing day....,,The dreaded medicines are doing their work, and he is not only eating really well, but he has perked up considerably, too....And his energy level? Excellent. You should see him racing away from the very sweet young woman who comes to give him his meds each day.....He is 'faster than a speeding bullet'.....truly! I am very very pleased, as you can well imagine.....All of your thoughts and prayers have really been an important component in his recovery...He says....Purrrrrrrr, and so do I!
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 2:16:00 AM
Monday, August 23, 2010
sweetie speaks
Hi Everyone......Thanks so much for your wonderful words of encouragement. They really helped me a lot.....Big Momma tells me all the things you say and I am very grateful for your support---and so is she! I am feeling a lot better than I was.....I'm actually beginning to enjoy my smorgasbord of food, once again.....Though I am not too thrilled with that pill being thrown down my throat every day----it is helping me to feel better, so I will endure it, along with that awful tasting stuff they squirt into my mouth....Yuuuukkk-Oooooogyy-Poo-Poo!! ! Talk about foaming at the mouth....That stuff is disgusting, but hey....it is helping me, too, so I endure---with protest. You cannot let them think they have the upper hand, you know?
I love being home with Big Momma....And she adores me being home, too---So I get lots of lovey's from her and that makes me very happy, and I return the love in kind, though she doesn't purr, she does let me know how much she appreciates our lovely close times together.....Pretty soon, I will be back to my old self, completely....I'm about halfway there now. I have her wrapped around my little paw, you know?....Soon,.....I will rule the roost completely, once again......Puuuuuurrrrrr.More To Come..........
NOTE FROM SWEETIE: Oh, and while I have the floor I need to tell you a little something. I often type Big Mommas "comments" on all of your blogs for her, and that's why there are so many typo's---my paw hits the wrong keys sometimes....Purrrrrr.....ha!
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 12:08:00 AM
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