Is a Puzzlement... Little Movie Things That Keep Me Up At Night.....

As Yul Brynner says in "The King and I": Is a Puzzlement!Now, I can suspend disbelief with the best of them. Audrey Hepburn falling in love with Humphrey Bogart in "Sabrina?" I got with the program. Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" sacrificing all for the obsession with Dorothy Comingore (Dorothy Comingore?)? I got over it. Dick Van Dyke as a cockney chimney sweep in "Mary Poppins"? I learned to love him. I am an obedient little movie...

Read More

Hope & Crosby: Bob + Bing = Bliss

There are some stars that earn the adjective "beloved." Either for their professional or personal contributions, or both, they are adopted by the audience and become a part of the "family." Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, separately, were two such stars.Bob HopeWith a favorite co-star, Jane RussellBob Hope was everywhere. He was a radio star, a movie star and a television star. Audiences from the 1930s through the 1990s (the decade his last television...

Read More

Elizabeth Taylor: American Beauty

Oh, La Liz, we will surely miss you and are sure that we will never , ever see another like you! You lived large, loved large, laughed large and suffered large. We loved you for it and will miss you endlessly. You were a diamond-studded diva with a heart of pure gold, precious in every way.Besides being beautiful, she knew how to turn a phrase. Here is Elizabeth in her own words:Big girls need big diamonds.  Marriage is a great institution....

Read More

Lina Lamont's Lament

Dora Bailey reporting here from Hollywood!Imagine that you have been a loyal employee for many years. Suddenly, new technology is introduced into your workplace and your employer no longer needs nor wants you. To make matters worse, he ridicules you in front of the entire world. This, my friends, was poor Lina Lamont's fate.It's time Lina had her say!We decided to interview Miss Lamont at her spacious Beverly Hills home. It has been five years since...

Read More

The Flappers: Free, Female & 21

Fourth in a series about strong women in film. Strong women are independent, beautiful, sexy, feminine and just want everything in life that a man wants and believe that they have every right to have it!The 1920s, that youth-worshiping decade of freedom and abandon, spawned a female phenomena known as "The Flapper." Skirts were higher, hair was bobbed and women were voting, working and living on their own. It was this independence...

Read More

Norma Desmond: Big Star Meets Small Screen. Chapter 3 of the Norma Desmond Chonicles

Norma got off on a temporary insanity plea, did a short stint in a spa-like psych center and is now free in Hollywood. She's back and better than ever!At last, Norma was ready to get out of that Sunset mansion and back into the limelight! She had secured an ad endorsement with Abdullah Cigarettes and the public reaction was positive. People commented on how young and lovely Norma still looked and were curious about her next move. But Norma had to...

Read More