Saturday, April 16, 2016

Letter N


The A to Z Challenge

....Paul Newman Starred with Melvyn Douglas (Hud) and Melvyn Douglas starred with Greta Garbo is...

1. NINOTCHKA-1939-COMEDY


DIRECTOR: Ernst Lubitsch
STARS: Greta Garbo*, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire
PLOT: A Russian Emissary comes to Paris to bring back 3 naughty Russians who were originally sent to sell some jewels. She meets up with a Count who is trying to retrieve the jewels for his lover a former Russian Countess but didn't plan to fall in love...
QUOTE: The morning after always looks so grim if you happen to be wearing last night's dress.
OSCAR NOMS: Best Picture, Best Actress*, Best original Story, Best Screenplay
OSCAR WINS: Nil (was THE year of great movies)
LOVE: Love the screenplay
FAVOURITE SCENE: When Garbo's character becomes drunk from too much champagne
FAVOURITE CHARACTER: Ninotchka (Garbo)
TIDBITS: Garbo was a strange gal and found the drunk scene vulgar. When the famous laugh scene was to be shot(Garbo Laughs!), she wanted everyone off the set. The director complied but Billy Wilder and Ina Claire snuck back in.
SIX DEGREES (MORE OR LESS) OF SEPARATION: Melvyn Douglas starred with Paul Newman(Yup going backwards a bit) who starred with George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke). George Kennedy starred with Leslie Nielsen in...

2. THE NAKED GUN #1-COMEDY


DIRECTOR: David Zucker
STARS: Leslie Nielsen, Pricilla Pressley, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban
PLOT: Nincompoop Detective is hot on the trail of a bad dude who wants to assassinate the Queen of England. Along the way, the detective falls for a pretty assistant
QUOTE: It's true, what they say: cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside.
OSCAR NOMS: Hahahaaaaa
OSCAR WINS: Hahhaaaaa
LOVE: Every silly joke whether shown or said.
FAVOURITE SCENE: The love scene. I crack up now every time I watch Ghost.
FAVOURITE CHARACTER: Det. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen)
TIDBITS: Re-started Leslie Nielsen's career who was making cheesy horror films. This film and the sequels all stem from a very short-lived TV show called Police Squad (which i watched and loved)
SIX DEGREES (MORE OR LESS) OF SEPARATION: Ricardo Montalban starred with Cyd Charisse (Fiesta). She starred with...See Ya Monday!

65 comments:

  1. I like the postcard!
    Waiiting on the R. (My name is Ralph)

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    1. Ahhhh I made the N card so let's see what I create with the letter R

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  2. "I want to be alone." - Greta Garbo

    Hi, dear Birgit!

    I haven't seen Ninotchka but I have seen the second movie, The Naked Gun. The casting of Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley was inspired. Nielsen was one of the funniest actors in TV and films. My earliest memory of Leslie was seeing him (playing it straight) in Forbidden Planet (1956), one of the many horror and sci-fi movies that my big brother took me to see in the 50s. Leslie was hysterically funny in Airplane and I loved his TV series Police Squad.

    Thanks, dear friend Birgit, and have a great weekend!

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    1. He was good in Forbidden Planet with Robbie the Robot. He was funny and I loved him in Due South also. Garbo stated she wanted to be left alone, there is all the difference ( instead of I want to be alone). Either way, she was a strange one.

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  3. Not a big fan of Garbo but The Naked Gun provided laughs.

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    1. Garbo can be all forlorn and verschlecht as I like to say. She isn't bad in this film. Love all the Leslie Nielsen comedies.

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  4. The Naked Gun series was a good one indeed. Been quite a while since I watched them though.

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    1. I haven't seen them in a while but I just love them

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  5. John Houseman as a driving instructor... there were just too many things about that movie that were hiarious. I was watching a vintage TV channel once and saw Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy as a couple of tough crooks in a show from the early Seventies. I kept expecting something silly to happen...

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    1. John Houseman instructing the student how to give the middle finger is funny. I have to look up that film where these 2 men play it straight together.

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  6. I once wrote a poem about Garbo. It wasn't very good though.

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    1. Garbo is one person who is intriguing so love to read your poem one day.

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  7. Naked Gun series were classic! There will never be another Leslie Nielsen.

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  8. Love your N card creation. N is special to me as my name is Nicola :)

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    1. Glad you like my N card and it is quite sparkly

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  9. Greta Garbo managed to be mysterious; thus stimulating interest.

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    1. She was and would go to such great lengths to hide who she was. He alias was often Harriet Brown.

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  10. I haven't seen either of these films. Garbo was such an icon, wasn't she?
    (The Naked Gun films didn't attract me - not my sort of humour.)

    Susan A Eames from
    Travel, Fiction and Photos

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    1. Garbo is still an icon and her face had no bad angle. Comedy is very personal I feel.

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  11. Two radically different films, both of which I enjoyed very much.

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    1. Yes...they are so different and that's why I picked them this way. It's fun to connect the dots.

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  12. LOVE your letter N! Very nice!
    Didn't see the movie from the 30s but saw Naked Gun. Although I like Leslie Neilsen, I just wasn't crazy about the movie. Loved the quote you chose though. haha!

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. Comedy is personal I feel and some people aren't into that style of comedy.

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    1. I find all of the hilarious. I think of a scene and I start laughing.

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  14. Don't think I ever saw Ninotchka but Silk Stockings was a kind of musical version and I loved that. Loved the Naked Gun

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    1. Silk stockings is a remake and its enchanting with the dancing. It was Cyd Charisse's favourite film of hers.

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  15. The Maked Gun is one of my husband's favorite movies. Plus the sequel and the TV show. We have them on VHS. Need to get the DVDs. I never have seen any Garbo movies.

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    1. The Nielsen films are all hilarious in my book. He was just so funny. I watched a documentary about nature in your backyard and he was the narrator who also appeared I. It and he was funny.

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  16. The Naked Gun was great to watch. Great post :)

    https://ficklemillennial.wordpress.com/

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  17. Naked Gun sounds familiar, I'm pretty sure I've seen it. I know I've seen some hilarious scenes with Leslie Neilson :)

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    1. They are so funny and make me laugh so hard

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  18. I remember watching The Naked Gun years ago. Its humor reminds me of another movie I watched back in the day called Airplane.

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    1. It's done by the same people and they are great. I wish they would do more.

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  19. I remember laughing at Naked Gun but it's been awhile. Greta Garbo sure had a memorable voice!

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    1. She did and she was considered so mysterious. I believe she suffered from depression and some for of anxiety.

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  20. I loved all those Naked Gun films - and Leslie Nielsen's Airplane! films too. That jquirky style is so much my sense of humour!
    Around My Kitchen Table

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    1. Yes, they are hilarious and make me laugh out loud. I love Spy Hard also

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  21. These have been fun, Birgit. I particularly like the quotes and the tidbits on the actors. Interesting about Garbo:)

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    1. Glad you like these tidbits. Garbo was a strange one and I feel she suffered from anxiety and probably agoraphobia..just guessing but she was weird.

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  22. The Naked Gun is one of those movies I watched a few times as a kid, but I remember laughing very hard. Perhaps I will see it again, one day.

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    1. It is so very funny and I always laugh til my stomach hurts:)

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  23. I am so impressed by how you're tying all these together, Birgit—and such different movies, different epochs, different filmmaking styles! This A2Z series of yours is a jewel... I'm learning so much.
    Guilie @ Life In Dogs

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    1. Thank you so much. I'm glad you are enjoying this as I'm enjoying yours

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  24. You're hilarious. How did you come up with only one quote for Naked Gun, Birgit? That alone is impressive. The Airplane series is one of my favorites.

    Stay cheery.

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    1. It was really hard to just pick one quote. I loved "Nice beaver." "Thanks, I just had it stuffed"....I watched that when my Aunt was here from Austria and she laughed so hard but she didn't understand English so I was saved but my mom didn't get this at all and I wasn't about to explain it to her.

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  25. Its the final humiliation said Paul Newman on Jay Lenos show. Apparently the two raced around the floor on speed cars and Newman won but according to the maestro himself, "Newmans Own" has made more money than his own movies! It turns out Newmans Own is popular in restaurants and the like because people like it. The secret which he reveals on the show is "less is more"

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    1. I saw that Leno show...it was funny and he is so proud of his business because he gives 100% of the profits to his charity, the Hole in the Wall Gang.

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  26. Naked Gun.
    You may find it surprising that that type of humor appeals to me.
    On second thought, maybe you won't be surprised.

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    1. It doesn't surprise me and I love this type of humour...love it!!

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  27. Oh, my. I think I need to watch more classic films.

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    1. 1939 was the best year ever for classic films, I even have books just dedicat to that year

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  28. I've only seen bits of The Naked Gun (did see bits of the TV show, too), but I've seen all of Ninotchka. That one was fun.

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    1. Ninotchka is fun and Garbo did well in this film. I love all the Naked Gun movies, Top Secret, the Airplane movies...can't get enough

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  29. I haven't seen Ninotchka, but The Naked Gun gave me many laughs. I watched it a few times.

    Melissa Sugar @
    Melissa Sugar Writes

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    1. I find that a very funny film...all of them I find hilarious.

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  30. I've never seen Ninotchka, since I haven't seen that many of Garbo's talkies to date. I'm among the crowd who prefers her silent work. Since I have dinosaur tastes, I can't remember seeing Naked Gun either, though I imagine I've seen parts of it over the years.

    Welcome to My Magick Theatre
    Onomastics Outside the Box

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  31. Ah, those wacky old movie stars. It's astonishing how much ego went into the early decades of the movies. But, then, I guess it figures.

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  32. I love Leslie Nielson, he makes me laugh so much! Loved this when it came out!

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  33. I loved Leslie Nielsen! He was so funny and his movies always made me laugh out loud. Even today, when I re-watch some of his stuff, I catch things that I hadn't before and it just cracks me up!

    Mary
    #AtoZChallenge O is for O'Connor

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  34. My favourite Ricardo Montalban film will always be the Wrath of Khan. I can't remember if I've ever seen this Naked Gun film or not. But it sounds familiar.

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  35. Loving the art for each letter, Birgit! Haven't seen NINOTCHKA but Naked gun, of course yes. Just thinking of it brings laughter! Gosh, April is almost over! ♥

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