HALLOWEEN PUBLICITY PHOTOS: It's Scary What a Starlet Has to Do

Pity the poor starlet of yesteryear. If she was young, pretty and oh-so-hopeful for full-fledged fame and fortune, she had to submit to some pretty humiliating photo sessions - all in the name of publicity. Once they were famous, I'll bet these gals would not have considered these photos too much of a treat.Mary Pickford donned her anklets for this Halloween poseSilent sweetie Bessie Love puts on her best Halloween smile (love the shooties)Clara...

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BITCHES & BLAGGARDS: Glenn Close and Michael Douglas

This is the ninth in the "Bitches and Blaggards" series; posts devoted to my favorite movie bad girls and rogues.  A bitch is a selfish, malicious woman. A blaggard is a villain, a rogue and a black-hearted man. Both are bad, both are devastatingly alluring.October's B&B are Michael Douglas and Glenn Close.  I must say it feels a bit strange to be writing about people who still walk among us, but I shall press...

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The Kid: Correcting Life Through Art

This is my entry in The Kid in the Front Row's global challenge to bloggers to watch the same movie at the same time and then blog about it today. Since he is the Kid in the Front Row, he has requested that the film we watch and write about be Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid."Do you believe in the mystic powers of the universe? Do you believe that a force must make itself be head at all costs? Do you believe that the notes from a song, an image,...

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Chaplinesque

Being in a totally besotted Charlie Chaplin mood these days, I came across the origin of the word "Chaplinesque." While the dictionaries define it as relating to the films or character of Chaplin, somehow it means more than that.After seeing Chaplin's "The Kid," American poet Hart Crane knew he had seen a fellow poet on the screen and was inspired to write about what it means to have the soul of a poet in this world:Chaplinesqueby Hart CraneWe make...

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The Irksome Jimmy Stewart

Who doesn't love Jimmy Stewart? I certainly adore him. In youth he is sweet and funny and very human (oh, and super cute, too). As he aged, the charm remained and a mature wisdom and reliability was added to the package. So why then are the three movie characters I find most irksome all played by Jimmy Stewart?Rear WindowMr. Good TimesAs L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, the wheelchair-bound photographer, Jimmy is one royal pain in the butt. I...

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