It's the last day of the challenge and I know everyone is whooped even though it has been enjoyable. So head over to the A to Z Challenge to check out all of the last posts.
ZIEGFELD FOLLIES-1946
DIRECTOR: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Vincente Minnelli plus a few more
STARS: William Powell, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Lucille Bremer, Judy Garland.......
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
PLOT: None really...just a showcase for the amazing talent at MGM. Flo looks down from heaven and imagines up some new shows
LOVE: The Dancing segment with Astaire and Kelly-simply stunning!
TRIVIA: The Lady has an interview number with Judy Garland is a spoof on the big star, Greer Garson. Judy was known to be a great mimic. Another number, involving a bubble machine went wacky and so many bubbles were created that the fumes knocked out a camera man and many went home ill. Vincente Minnelli ran under the big camera because the cameraman was hanging from the crane! Vincente was trying to figure out what to do so the cameraman would be safe.
FLORENZ ZIEGFELD-March 21, 1867-July 22, 1932
OCCUPATION: Theatre Impressario
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: He created the Broadway show from having beautiful girls in a chorus line scantily clad with heavy head pieces to weigh them down to introducing some big comedy stars like Will Rogers, W.C. Fields and Fanny Brice. He brought shows to the Great White Way that are still around, like Show Boat. Oh, and he was married to Glinda from the Wizard of Oz, Billie Burke.
We are now at the letter Y....Go check out the A to Z challenge to see what else may start with Y
YOURS, MINE AND OURS-1968
DIRECTOR: Melville Shavelson
STARS: Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
PLOT: A widow with 10 Kids and a widower with 8, meet and fall in love much to all the kids' dismay
LOVE: When the kids get Lucille drunk
TRIVIA: This is based on a true story and Lucille Ball liked the family so much she treated them to Disney. Fonda used to date Ball in the late 30's/early 40's an, according to his daughter Jane, Henry seemed to want to rekindle his liking with Ball.
YSABEL MACCLOSKEY-January 20, 1915-March 11, 1981
OCCUPATION: Actress
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: Someone many of us older people may know from the movies and TV shows we used to watch. She was often on Bewitched, for example. When her husband was stationed in Stuttgart, West Germany, she became part of the Opera company there. I love her lavender hair!
Close to the end.....It is the letter X. It is always fun to see how the other people deal with this letter. Head on over to the A to Z to see what everyone chose for today.
XANADU-1980
DIRECTOR: Robert Greenwald
STARS: Olivia Newton John, Michael Beck, Gene Kelly
OSCAR NOMS: Oh God..No!! But it was up for the Razzies
OSCAR WINS: I didn't check if it won any Razzie awards
PLOT: So, the muses come down to Earth to aid young men and their dreams. Olivia plays Terpsicore, The muse of dance, who helps a young man achieve his dream of opening up a disco rolling rink.....Yup..Ya heard it here folks
LOVE: The music is good and it's just so damm tacky
TRIVIA: Gene Kelly took this role because it was close to his house...he should have just kept on dancing by. The name of his character is the same name used in a breakthrough role of his, Covergirl (1944).
NOREEN XAVIER-
OCCUPATION: Actress, dancer
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: I hope this is a picture of her since her name ended with an X which is why I chose her. In fact, if you ever have watched movies with background dancers or even the old variety shows, these dancers had to be in top form, learn so much, be great but never outshine the star. Too bad we don't know enough about all these people because they gave their all.
We are now at the letter W.....Head on over to the A to Z Challenge and find out what everyone else is talking about. My Thursday Movie Picks follows right after:) I had to still combine the 2 even though I can't quite fit them in all together.
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION-1957
DIRECTOR: Billy Wilder
STARS: Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lancester
OSCAR NOMS: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound, Best Editing
OSCAR WINS: Nil
PLOT: A young man, arrested for the murder of an elderly, rich lady, asks a brilliant, but unhealthy barrister, to defend him. This lawyer must deal with the defendant's wife and he must deal with his nurse who knows all the hiding places for his cigars.
LOVE: The banter between Laughton and Lanchester (married in real life)
TRIVIA: Laughton and Lanchester were nominated even though they did not actively pursue the award nomination. In fact, Laughton openly rallied for Alec Guiness(For Bridge on the River Kwai). On the other hand, Marlene (who is excellent in this by the way), thought she would be nominated for sure. She was playing in Vegas at the time and had her introduction changed to, "nominated for best actress...". She was not nominated which really upset her....the introduction had to be change obviously.
OSCAR NOMS: Fortune Cookie, Some Like It Hot, Witness For the Prosecution, Sabrina, Stalag 17, Ace In The Hole, A Foreign Affair, Double Indemnity, Ball of Fire, Hold Back The Dawn, Ninotchka
OSCAR WINS: The Apartment, Sunset Blvd, Lost Weekend, Honourary Awards
ANECDOTE: He fled Nazi Germany in 1933since he was Jewish, but his mom and other members of his family still lived there. They all died in concentration camps and he rarely talked about this. He was known for his brilliance, sarcastic wit and hard hitting look at Hollywood (L.B. Mayor wanted him thrown out of town) but he could also be nasty.
Thursday Movie Picks...
I decided to just make a longer post and combined the 2:) At least the one character was arrested by the police so it connects a little:) This week it is all about TV and Police shows so let's get on with it. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen...
1. COLUMBO-1971-2003
Peter Falk was great as the title character because the killer always thought he was dumb and so, underestimated him. Columbo also got on everyone's nerves which was just so much fun to watch because we all like doing that to someone at least once in our life time:) This show first started as part of the Mystery Movie (the other 2 were McLeod which I love, and McMillan & Wife). Finally, this show had special episodes which would air off and on until 2003. You always knew, from the beginning, who the killer was but you enjoyed how Columbo figured everything out. Columbo never cared if the person was rich or not (usually they were) because he would come in his beat up car, wearing his beat up coat and smoking a cigar. The coat was actually Peter Falk's coat..I guess to cut down on costumes..Haha.
2. BARNEY MILLER- 1974-1982
These cast of characters were just so funny from Fish to the classy Ron Harris. You would always see the comings and goings of the detectives working in that shabby office dealing with a whole bunch of characters. I still love Det Yemana, made famous by that wonderful actor, Jack Soo who died during the run of this show. I think my favourite episode is the brownie episode (Mush, Mush, Mush).
3. CASTLE-2009-2016
This is a recent TV Show that I really enjoyed. It is the very implausible story of a rich, successful mystery/crime writer who starts working with the police force to help solve crimes. The head detective is played by a quite stunning, kick ass gal with some major hang ups. Of course they are attracted to each other and play the back and forth but when they do finally get together, the show does not run dry. There are shows that are much heavier and others more fun but always entertaining especially with the other characters from the 2 police detectives who aid the main gal to the writer's mom and his daughter. It's fun and that's what I like.
One extra....
T.J. HOOKER-1982-1986
Yes....I watched this show...and yes, it is campy especially William Shatner's hair. He plays a veteran cop who decides to stop being a detective and go back to being a beat cop with a rookie partner played by the world renown star, Adrian Zmed (crickets please). The cop who knows all helps the rookie cop, with hair Shatner wishes he had, learn the ropes. Later Heather Locklear is brought in for that special touch of acting...ughh who am I kidding..T & A. It was a show that had some humour in it and, Leonard Nimoy was in an episode! Adrian Zmed left the show to pursue his acting career.....hahahaaaaaa.
So today is this wonderful letter..I don't know why it's wonderful, but it is:) Head on over to the A to Z Challenge to see what other people are writing about.
VICTOR/VICTORIA-1982
DIRECTOR: Blake Edwards
STARS: Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Rocco
OSCAR NOMS: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume
OSCAR WINS: Best Score
PLOT: A young, starving singer meets a gay man who reinvents her as a gay transvestite man from a small Eastern block country. She becomes the new hit as a man pretending to be a woman but is a woman. Things get difficult when a mob boss from the States comes to see the show and finds himself falling for the man..er...woman.
LOVE: Robert Preston who I thought should have won the Oscar
TRIVIA: The dress Julie Andrews wears in her scene in the nightclub is the exact same dress Robert Preston later wears. They tied the dress up so it would fit her. When Preston wears the dress, he does the scene in one take which is why he is a bit out of breath and starts to laugh. The dress suffered a few rips.
VIVIENE CHANDLER- November 6, 1947-June 6, 2013
OCCUPATION: Actress, Photographer
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: She played bit parts in many films and even in a rock video by Asia (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes). She changed careers and became an excellent photographer specializing in children and sold many of her works to private collectors
This was a tough one and I was struggling to find a film I have seen with someone in the film whose name starts with the letter U. I decided to look up some people who have names with U in them and I came across this film that I feel is a stretch for 3 reasons....I can hardly remember it, I saw it when I was 18 when visiting Graz, Austria. It is a French film dubbed in German, so I could not quite get to know what they were really saying but I do recall that I was laughing. Head on over to the A to Z Challenge to see what everyone else is talking about.
Oh...I am sorry for not replying to comments like I love to do...I'm falling behind....
UP TO HIS EARS-1965
DIRECTOR: Philippe De Broca STARS: Jean Paul Belmondo, Ursula Andress OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: Nil PLOT: A depressed billionaire has failed several times to end his life so he hires hitmen to take him out. Once he meets a beautiful stripper, he wants to call off the hitmen but things don't go as planned...let the chase scenes begin! LOVE: I remember the scene on the rickety bridge..it made me laugh and be terrified at the same time...I'm really, really, really scared of heights. TRIVIA: Jean Paul loved heights and was a prankster much to the dismay of one actor who was scared out of his wits. Except for the scenes in the Himalayas, the rest of the action takes place where you see it. Jean Paul and Ursula, that sex kitten, started seeing each other while making this film and lived together until the early 70's. I have to see this film and not in dubbed German
URSULA ANDRESS-March 19, 1936
OCCUPATION: Actress, Publicity Star, Just standing there in bikinis OSCAR NOMS: hahahaaa OSCAR WINS: eye roll ANECDOTE: Even though she was raised in a strict German household, she rebelled, as one can see, and had no worries appearing nude. She is most famous in her white bikini from the James Bond film, Dr. No. She also had this wild bikini (see above) that was a shooting machine and was wonderfully parodied in the Austin Powers film. She had many affairs...big surprise.
OSCAR NOMS: Best Art Direction (Color), Best Costume Design (Color)
OSCAR WINS: Best Cinematography (Color)
PLOT: A former jewelry thief is being framed, so he goes to Monaco to prove his innocence. There he meets a beautiful, icy blonde in great gowns.
LOVE: The picnic scene between Kelly and Grant
TRIVIA: Cary Grant became great friends with Grace Kelly and, for once, she did not sleep with her male co-star (the other being Jimmy Stewart). She was seeing Oleg Cassini (dress designer) at the time but this is when she met Prince Ranier so that affair soon ended. Landis, who plays Kelly's mother in the film is only 8 years older than Grant. In North by Northwest, she played his mom!
GEORGE TOMASINI- April 20, 1909-November 22, 1964
OCCUPATION: Film Editor
OSCAR NOMS: North By Northwest
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTES: His film editing is considered so great he is studied at film schools across the land. Even though Hitchcock edited while he filmed, Tomasini was so intuitive to Hitchcock's wishes that they worked on 9 films together ( Rear Window and Psycho being 2) that it only stopped when Tomasini suffered a fatal heart attack.
OK, I know, I know...but I just love these gowns as well....These are Edith Head creations
The end of another week! We are going into the home stretch but now we must talk about anything with the letter S. Head on over to the A to Z Challenge and see what everyone else is talking about for this letter. My theme is about movies and a person attached to the film. Here is mine....
SABRINA-1954
DIRECTOR: Billy Wilder
STARS: Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, Audrey Hepburn
OSCAR NOMS: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction
OSCAR WINS: Best Costumes
PLOT: A chauffeur's daughter leaves for Europe and comes back much more refined and cultured which grabs the look of the one brother whom she always had a crush on. Seeing this could hurt business, the older brother woos her instead and now she has to decide which rich brother she truly loves.
LOVE: The wittiness of the script and direction plus the gowns! FYI-the gowns were done by Hubert De Givenchy who became the exclusive dress designer for Hepburn from then on.
TRIVIA: Edith Head won the Oscar and took it even though most people loved the gowns which Givenchy created but did not get any recognition for. Hepburn had to pay for the gowns herself since the big wigs stated it was not in the budget. By the way, she got paid $15,000 while Bogie got paid $300,000 and Holden got paid $150,000. Also, Hepburn and Holden fell in love on the set and he wanted to marry her but when she found out he could no longer have children she broke it off. Cut to the 1980's when I was watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Carson asked Holden who was his great love (or something like that)...without hesitation, Holden said Audrey Hepburn. Oh and Bogie was a real S.O.B. on the set and hated everybody:)
SAMUEL A TAYLOR-June 13, 1912-May 26, 2000
OCCUPATION: Playwright and Screenwriter
OSCAR NOMS: Sabrina
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: I had heard that he left the set of Sabrina after Billy Wilder changed one too many things in his play but I only read it in one spot so....not completely sure. I do know he wrote the screenplay for Vertigo and Topaz and became friends with Hitchcock. He saw Hitchcock's vulnerability when they, and their spouses, were walking in the snow and Hitchcock fell. Hitchcock did not want to be seen so they circled around him and helped him up which was no easy feat.
Nearing the end of the 3rd week and we are at the letter R. Head on over to see what other themes people have decided to write about over at the A To Z Challenge.
REBECCA-1940
DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock STARS: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders OSCAR NOMS: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Score OSCAR WINS: Best Picture, Best Cinematography PLOT: Young, mousy girl is wooed and weds moody but dashing rich man who takes her to his home, Manderley and introduces her to his staff including one of the most evil characters ever, Mrs. Danvers, who was the maid for Mr. De Winter's first wife...Rebecca. The house, Mrs. Danvers and her new husband all seem possessed by his late wife..... LOVE: That house! I love those huge fireplaces TRIVIA: Laurence Olivier wanted his lover/wife, Vivien Leigh to play opposite him but Hitchcock didn't feel she was right for the part. This created much evil stares by Olivier onto Joan Fontaine. Joan was one of very few non brits on this film so she felt very left out which Hitchcock used to his advantage for the mousy character Fontaine played. David O Selznick was a memo nut and often sent memos to Hitchcock who promptly ignored him and even banned him from the set. Hitchcock filmed this movie in such a way that Selznick could not edit anything to his way of liking.
REGINALD DENNY- November 20, 1891-June 16, 1967
OCCUPATION: Actor, Inventor, Businessman OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: Nil ANECDOTE: He loved model airplanes and had a store in Hollywood selling models. He helped invent radio controlled aircraft...drones...for the U.S. Army and over 15,000 were used during WW2. I think that's pretty cool.
Here we are with a difficult letter..Q but I think I got it and could still tie it in with my weekly talk at Thursday Movie Picks.
I think you should head on over to the A to Z Challenge and see what the other people have chosen as their theme for the month and what they chose to talk about for this letter. I also hope you venture over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the other Movie fans chose for their favourites for the theme-A Disappearance. Here are my 3....
1. QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE-1958
DIRECTOR: Edward Bernds STARS: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Laurie Mitchell OSCAR NOMS: Hahahaaaaa OSCAR WINS: Maybe in Zsa Zsa's mind PLOT: Male astronauts land on Venus which is inhabited by beautiful women and ruled by an evil queen. There are no men and the young, lusty ladies miss them. LOVE: I saw this when I was little and remember Zsa Zsa and the Queen's face revealed TRIVIA: Who knew that famous writer, Ben Hecht, wrote the story to this film and Charles Beaumont (Many Twilight Zone episodes) wrote the screenplay. All the leggy young gals on this show were much younger than Zsa Zsa which made Zsa Zsa very, very unhappy. In typical diva style, she created such mayhem on the set that the producer ended up in the hospital with an ulcer.
QUEEN ILLANA(CHARACTER PLAYED BY LAURIE MITCHELL-July 14, 1928)
OCCUPATION: Despotic ruler of Venus OSCAR NOMS: She would have laser beamed all the actresses to win OSCAR WINS: Only if there were no other actress left alive. ANECDOTE: The poor queen had it in for the men whom she blamed for her having to wear a mask. As any writer knows, the characters must keep you entertained. Ms. Mitchell, who is still alive, worked on many films and TV shows and, later in life, appeared at conventions.
2. THE LADY VANISHES-1938
This is a great early Hitchcock film (well..kinda early:)) with a brunette instead of a blonde playing the lead. This young lady is on a train and meets a kindly old lady in the cabin she shares with her and some other characters. When she wakes, she notices the old lady has vanished and wonders what has happened. She is aided by a dashing young man (played by Michael Redgrave) since no one else seems to believe her. It has great suspense and some fun acting especially by 2 gentlemen who ended up being in many other films together. This was a British film so the censors were not as horrible as The Hays Office which is why you get to see those 2 gentlemen in bed together.....
3. BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING-1965
This film freaked me out when I watched it quite a few years ago. A young mother, with her daughter, travel to London to stay with her brother. She drops her daughter off at school and when she goes to pick her up later, she is told that no child came to class. The young mom contacts the police but, again, she is not believed and we are even left wondering if she is speaking the truth yet, you know she is. It is darkly realistic and every parent's nightmare and leaves you at the seat of your pants. Jane Fonda wanted this role but Otto Preminger wanted Carol Lynley who, I think, gives a great performance and fits the role better than the forceful Fonda.
Today we are at the letter P so head on over to the A To Z Challenge and find out what everyone else is talking about. I'm excited about this letter because I will be seeing this film, with the help of Chorus Niagara, in May!
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA-1925
DIRECTOR: Rupert Julian and Lon Chaney(Uncredited)
STARS: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry
OSCAR NOMS: Oscars were not around yet
OSCAR WINS: See Above
PLOT: A beautiful singer, being secretly trained by someone she has heard but never met, gets her chance at the Paris Opera House. When she falls for the lead, the Phantom, who trained her, abducts her to his underground lair beneath the Opera House. She is told by the phantom to never take his mask off...you know she will not behave.
LOVE: The Masquerade Ball
TRIVIA: Rupert Julian was not well liked and was not doing a great job. Lon Chaney hated him and they often had rows. Think Murder She Wrote where the director is a nasty buffoon who winds up dead and you have many suspects. No worries, Rupert didn't die. As for Lon Chaney, his make-up for this and many other roles, were quite painful but he wanted the effect that was described in the book. For example, he put wire inserts into his nose to widen them and some fish-skin to pull his nose back.
MARY PHILBIN-July 16, 1902-May 7, 1993
OCCUPATION: Actress
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS:Nil
ANECDOTE: She was a sweet, shy person who took more after her father than her domineering mother. Mary was very, very close to her parents and ceded to their wishes. She fell in love with Paul Kohner, who was an executive at the studio and was also Jewish. Her parents were horrified but met with him, but things did not go well and the parents told her that if she went with Paul, she would be disowned. Their one fear was that he would try to convert her to Judaism even though Paul stated he would not. Unfortunately, Mary gave back the engagement ring and never married. She took care of her parents, rarely venturing out, until the parents passed away. She did come out when there was a memorial for Rudolph Valentino in the 1980's and for the LA Premier of the musical, Phantom of the Opera. When she heard Paul passed away and that workers found her love letters in a drawer close to him, she was devastated. She also kept the love letters he wrote to her.
STARS: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Barthlemess, Rita Hayworth
OSCAR NOMS: Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects
OSCAR WINS: Nil
PLOT: Hard as nails pilots take death defying trips over the Andes. When a girl comes into the mix, unwanted emotions are displayed.
LOVE: When Barthlemess comes onto the scene with his young wife.
TRIVIA: Rita Hayworth has a worthy entry into an A picture but was very nervous and self conscious. In a drunken scene, she kept missing her lines so Hawks told Grant to throw ice cold water on her and say her line and his. It became a memorable scene.
BEN OAKLAND-September 24, 1907 or 1909-August 26, 1979
OCCUPATION: Composer...stock music
OSCAR NOMS: A Mist Over The Moon (with Oscar Hammerstein 11)
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: He wrote music and was quite prolific from the 1920's to the 1940's. "I'll Take Romance" is quite popular and he wrote "Java Jive" done by The Ink Spots and The Manhattan Transfer for all you BOTB people:)
So I'm a bit late today.....ughhhh. Head on over to the A to Z Challenge to see what everyone else is writing about.
NORTH TO ALASKA-1960
DIRECTOR: Henry Hathaway STARS: John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Capucine, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: Nil PLOT: 2 prospectors, who hit paydirt, get into more than they bargained for when one of them fetches his partner's mail order bride only to find out that she married someone else. He decides to bring back another and this is just the start of their problems. LOVE: The fight scene and the hit theme song by Johnny Horton TRIVIA: Stewart Granger was very intimidated by Hathaway who was bullying him, until Wayne talked to him and told him to stand up to the director. Granger did and the director lessened his bullying ways. Capucine and Wayne did not care for each other. In the fight scene, you can see Wayne's hairpiece fly up. Another tidbit, John Wayne loved to use young singers in his movies to help start them on an acting career if they wished.
JIMMY NOEL: May 15, 1903 to January 31, 1985
OCCUPATION: Actor, Stuntman OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: NIL ANECDOTE: He was a prolific actor for both big screen and TV and usually was in Westerns. He seemed to have been in over 200 TV/Films. These actors are always needed for the background or for during the dangerous stunts but rarely get the recognition.
The end of the second week for the A to Z Challenge. Head on over to see what the other people wrote about.
MALTESE FALCON-1941
DIRECTOR: John Huston STARS: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet OSCAR NOMS: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing OSCAR WINS: Nil PLOT: When his partner is killed, Sam Spade takes on the femme Fatale's case and winds up width a cast of unsavoury characters all searching for an ugly black bird statue LOVE: I just love the writing...so witty and devilish TRIVIA: It's considered the first Film Noir. The actual Maltese Falcon, I believe there are 3 of them, and Steven Spielberg owns one, is worth $1 million each. Sydney Greenstreet's film debut and he and Peter Lorre made 9 films together...great team actually.
MARY ASTOR- May 3, 1906- September 25, 1987
OCCUPATION: Actress, Novelist OSCAR NOMS: See Below OSCAR WINS: The Great Lie ANECDOTE: She was quite the wild thing! She had many affairs from John Barrymore to John Huston( when making the above film) . In the mid 30's during a nasty custody battle, her diary was stolen and leaked to the press by her ex's lawyer. Let's just say it was pretty explicit about her sexual antics. Today it would be a viral video...some things never change. Actually, due to her reputation is one reason why she was given the role in The Maltese Falcon.
Nearing the end of the second week but so much fun even though it is time consuming..oh well:) I say to head on over to the A to Z Challenge to find out who else joined and what they chose as their challenge.
THE LONG, LONG TRAILER-1953
DIRECTOR: Vincent Minnelli STARS: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: Nil PLOT: Young newlyweds decide to buy a long trailer and drive cross country for their honeymoon. Things don't go as planned:) LOVE: When they need to climb up the mountain and Lucy has to get rid of her rocks TRIVIA: Back in 1975, my ex travelled with his parents in a 5th wheel which was 35ft long. Along their travels, mom(not my mom) collected rocks as memories. When they got to the Rockies and had to climb a very steep mountain pass, Lil was told by Moe( dad in law) that she had to get rid of her rocks. Mom didn't want to so, she hid her rocks all over the trailer. Half way up the mountain pass, dad did not understand why it was so difficult so he pulled over and opened the door to the trailer. Many of the rocks fell out....mom tried to hide as dad yelled out, " LILY!!" No, they did not see this movie:)
LUCILLE BALL- August 6, 1911-April 26, 1989
OCCUPATION: Actress, Studio Head OSCAR NOMS: Nil OSCAR WINS: Nil ANECDOTE: She suffered severe rheumatoid arthritis when she was 21 and it took 2 years to relearn how to walk again. RKO was a famous studio producing King Kong and the Astaire/Rogers musicals for example. When RKO suffered bankruptcy, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball bought the failing studio and renamed it Desilu Productions. When Desi sold his share to Lucy in the early 1960's, Lucille Ball became the head of a major TV studio. She is the one who greenlighted Star Trek!
