Despicable Dames

I think it would be fun to give a nod to some of the truly nasty ladies on screen who are not given the spotlight very often.  Of course there are the oft-discussed greats like Bette Davis in The Letter or Of Human Bondage and Gene Tierney in Leave Her To Heaven -- but there are other wicked women in wonderful movies.  I've chosen six who have absolutely no redeeming qualities, not even remorse at the end.  No mental illness, no childhood traumas -- they are just evil, plain and simple.

Glamorous Olga Baclanova as Venus, the trapeze artist, in Freaks (1932)

This nasty woman works her wiles on a love-struck little person
(Harry Earles).  Her greed and incredible cruelty give her
a special place in the annals of  despicable dames.

 But Venus gets hers in the end:

Not a cute chick anymore...

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Gorgeous Claudette Colbert as Empress Poppea in The Sign of the Cross (1932).

DeMille always created larger-than-life characters, and Poppea certainly qualifies.  She does her best to corrupt a Roman centurion (Fredric March), routinely cheats on her admittedly disgusting husband, Nero (Charles Laughton), submits a beautiful Christian girl (Elissa Landi) to orgies, and looks forward to watching the Christian-chewing lions.

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Platinum vamp Jean Harlow turned Red-Headed Woman (1932)

"Red" wastes no time or effort in luring a weak husband (Chester Morris) away from his heart-broken wife.  Red will stop at nothing for his name and money, but still wants more.  She has an affair with an older rich man AND his chauffeur (young Charles Boyer).  Oh, and she LOVES it when Chester hits her (and he seems to like that a lot).    (Perhaps they really were made for each other.)

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Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948)

Shakespeare's queen of Scotland is one of the great evil women in literature.  Her ambition is limitless, driving her to corrupt her morally weak husband so far as to murder the king. When Macbeth cannot do it, she snatches the knives from his hands and does the bloody deed herself, scorning him for his unmanliness.  Of course, she gets hers in the end as well, losing her mind completely, but you can't feel sorry for her -- she did it to herself.  As Rhett said to Scarlett:  "You are like the thief who is not the least bit sorry he stole, but is very, very sorry he is going to jail."

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Sian Phillips as Livia in the BBC production of  I, Claudius (1976)

No, she is not from the classic era of the silver screen, but Livia is probably the most despicable dame on any screen, and this is a true story.  As wife to Roman Emperor Augustus (Brian Blessed), Livia spends years poisoning every heir to Augustus' throne who is in the way of her own son, Tiberius.  Her victims include her other uncooperative children, nieces, nephews, including at last her own husband.  Livia, a real Empress of Rome, proves that nothing can top real life.

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And let's not forget ...
The Wicked Witch of the East ... we hardly knew ye ... R.I.P. 1939

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The men will get their turn -- there are many god-awful guys to discuss at a later date.  Do you have any favorite despicable dames?  I'd love to hear about them!

Classic Movie Dogathon: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Classic Film and TV Cafe is sponsoring a Dogathon -- movies about or featuring some of the most memorable canine actors.  My contribution is a little tribute to a dog that scared me to death.  My first Sherlock Holmes movie experience as a little girl was 1939's The Hound of the Baskervilles.  I fell in love with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson, a love that continues.  I fell in love with Baskerville Hall and the bleak, eerie English moors.  As for the Hound -- I have always been afraid of big dogs, and he was a BIG dog.

The Hound was played by a 156-pound Great Dane.  His real name was Blitzen (German for flash or lightning), but in 1939, when Hitler was beginning his devastating march across Europe, 20th Century Fox decided that a name with such a Teutonic overtone was not acceptable.  His name was changed to Chief -- personally, I think Gargantua would have suited him better.  

Despite my best efforts, I was not able to find any kind of bio of Chief.  I don't know if he ever played in other movies.  To me, though, he was the most unforgettable movie dog ever.  I did learn that Great Danes, despite their huge size and dominating look, are actually called gentle giants. Chief was certainly a giant, but he did not look gentle as the Hound.  He was terrifying.

There have been other versions of the The Hound of the Baskervilles, some very good, one or two probably even better, but this one lives in my memory as my introduction to the beloved team of Rathbone and Bruce, one of the best movie sets of the moors, my love for the shadowy beauty of black and white film, and Chief, the Hound that scared a little girl who still watched the movie any time it was on.

Just For Fun -- A Re-Post Of One Of My Favorites!

My Faithful Readers know me as a real purist with classic film -- I saw a commercial years ago that had used special effects to have Fred Astaire doing one of his best numbers with a vacuum cleaner replacing the girl.  I almost had to call paramedics to be taken to the hospital!  So this is a surprise to me ... in looking for Gene Kelly numbers on YouTube, I ran across a tribute to Kelly set to 80's singing star Robert Palmer's hit song, "Simply Irresistible."  My first thought was, oh Lord, here we go again.  I've seen several posts on there which replace the music from classic film musical number with stupid rap songs or disco crap.  Makes me sick and shivery every time.

This is completely different.  For one thing, I love Robert Palmer and this great song, but even that wouldn't do it.  The creator of this clip, KYO175,  put an incredible amount of work into it.  The clips of several Kelly dance numbers actually match the rhythm of the song, and it's absolutely thrilling.  To anyone who knows me, they know it has to be really good for me to even like it, much less highlight and share it.  Hope you like it too!



In case the embedded version does not work, just follow this link:
http://youtu.be/AfSUgFRJI5g


Thank you KYO175 for your creation, which matches its name!

Countdown to 2012 -- Will The World Really End?

Should we trust the Mayan calendar that does not go beyond 2012?  Maybe they just ran out of flat stones and chisels ... that's as good a theory as any.  I have made plans for 2012 anyway.  If the world winks out sometime during the year, at least I won't have to do all the work I'm making for myself.  My blog is definitely a main focus.  I have not written anything substantial for a couple of months, and I have ideas that are waiting to be born.  My first post of 2012 will be one I have promised to myself for a long time -- a celebration of one of my favorite performers, Sophie Tucker.  I also want to do a list of the top 50 movies that I love; participate in the CMBA Comedy Classics blogathon; do a companion post to my earlier Bad Bette Davis pictorial by showing the Good Bette; and write a tribute to the great romantic classic films. 

Before all that, however, comes New Year's Eve.  Mine is all planned!

My date is the intense, intellectual type with a little kink ...

I have a lovely new ensemble for our "marathon" evening ...

We plan to start imbibing early ...

A gourmet meal to ring in the new year ...

We will be partying at my place, so we won't have to deal with this guy ...

... and this won't be our eventual destination ...

The party's over ... it's time to call it a day ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, AND REMEMBER TO TAKE THREE ASPIRIN BEFORE YOU GO TO BED -- IT HELPS THE MORNING HEADACHE!

God Bless Us All, Every One ...

So far, I am being allowed by my fiendishly fickle computer demon to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas -- at least I will know if that is so after I try to post it.  Hit and miss is the phrase of the day for my internet connection.  Well, I'll give it a try...

On my sidebar is a spiritual proclamation for Christmas, and here is the worldly wish I make for all of my Faithful Readers and friends:

May you find lots of presents under the tree ...

May you drink wassail (in my case, frozen daiquiris)
until you are dizzy and happy ...





and may you eat goodies until you go into a joyful coma ...

               ***MERRY CHRISTMAS***

The Genius of Picasso

The eye that saw the world as no one else did.

The masters of great art have been on my mind, and Picasso is one of my great loves.  He captures the human condition in a completely unique way. I am unable to post anything very substantial right now, and a comprehensive biography of Picasso would be difficult because of ongoing computer problems.  However, I would like to share with my Faithful Readers some of my favorites:

Weeping Woman

Picasso painting with light

Girl Before A Mirror

Mother and Child

The Visit - Two Sisters

Romancing Picasso Art within Art Painting by k Madison Moore Inspired by Picasso.

Old Man With Guitar



Guernica

It is very difficult to do justice to Picasso's masterpiece in this forum.
This enormous painting depicts a small Spanish Basque town
obliterated by Nazi bombers during the Spanish Civil War

The last two paintings hang on my living room wall.  If I had to choose just one more, it would be Art Within Art, an explosion of joyous color.  I don't pretend to be a Picasso expert -- I am only self-educated in art that speaks to me.  It is feeling more than knowledge that moves me.  Picasso is not to everybody's taste, but I hope you have found something in these paintings that I particularly love.

Can You Describe A Movie In One Short Phrase?

In this game, you must describe each movie in a short phrase, no longer than 6 words (I just picked that number out of the air).  All are classics with their remakes ... some are not exactly remakes but films about the same story.  You don't have to judge which is better, but you can if you want to.  It should be a little challenging and interesting to see what you can say in a few words ...




Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Fredric March and Fredric March

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Spencer Tracy and Spencer Tracy

Mutiny on the Bounty
Clark Gable and Charles Laughton

Mutiny on the Bounty
Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard



The Fly
David Hedison

The Fly
Jeff Goldblum

The Thing From Another World
James Arness

The Thing
Kurt Russell

Gunfight at the OK Corral
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas

Wyatt Earp
Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid

Tombstone
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer

Blogathon For The Cure ... What Happened To His Moustache!?

Bette of Bette's Classic Movie Blog,  http://www.bettesmovieblog.blogspot.com/ is sponsoring a blogathon for a group called Movember, striving for the education and research of prostate and other cancers in men.  Every November, men grow moustaches in support of the cause, and Bette decided to advertise this worthy venture with a blogathon about classic stars with moustaches.  Click on her link above to find other participants and more information about Movember.  Also, click on this link if you would like to make a donation for the cause:  http://us.movember.com/donate/   I wanted to participate, and decided to try to find pictures of famous moustached stars without their moustaches ... some still look great, others not so much.  See what you think ...

George Brent -- doesn't need a moustache to look great!



Love this one -- somebody managed to make handsome, distinguished
 Basil Rathbone look terrible with no moustache and a bad toupee in
"Tower of London" ...  Plus, we get a bonus pic of Boris without hair!

Errol Flynn in "The Prince and the Pauper" ...
well, really, does he ever look less than gorgeous?

John Barrymore, the Great Profile doesn't need his moustache to look great!

William Powell in "Love Crazy" ... much better with a moustache ...
However, it would be a definite handicap here!

Clark Gable in "Night Nurse" ... still imposing without the
 lip brush ... boy, Barbara Stanwyck isn't afraid of anybody!

Vincent Price in "The Mad Magician" ... he may be crazy,
but he is just as distinguished and handsome ...

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ... what a cutie, with or without!

I tried and failed to find a picture of David Niven without a moustache, even in his very young years ... I think he must have been born with it!

ADDENDUM:  OOPS!  FlickChick reminded me of David Niven in Wuthering Heights, sans moustache!  So here he is, looking a little stunned (maybe he just got it waxed off), but just as handsome as ever!