Who Should Have Won the Oscar-1943

 

Casablanca is, rightfully, one of the best films ever made. It stands the test of time because of all the intrigue and exceptional writing. The writing excels which is why it won the best screenplay Oscar. I don’t understand how it did not win every award but, it didn’t, which is why I chose this year and Best Supporting Actor for 1943

1. CLAUDE RAINS IN CASABLANCA

Claude Rains never won an Oscar which is sacrilege especially since he did not win for his role as the unscrupulous Prefect in this film. He has some of the best lines and you know he has a heart, somewhere in his Vichy attire. He plays the Prefect so well, balancing villainy with a rogue heart of a Resistance man. He forms a friendship with Rick  the owner of this dining establishment where everyone goes to play intrigue. A real gem 

2. CHARLES COBURN IN THE MORE, THE MERRIER 

I love Charles Coburn who is a classic Hollywood character actor and who lent his voice and that face to many films, whether it be a drama or comedy but I liked him best in comedy. He won the Oscar for his role and, if he wasn't up against Claude Rains, I would say aok but, I feel Claude deserved it more. This film is great especially when it was made during the height of the censorship laws. He plays a millionaire who has come to town to deal with the housing shortage only to be turned away from his hotel because they have no room. He happens upon a place,  rented by Jean Arthur, and he asks if he can rent half the space. She agrees and soon you see a handsome Joel McCrea, soon leaving for war, who needs a place. Coburn sees the 2 are attracted to one another, and decided to rest his half that he rented from Jean. She is none too happy and hijinks ensues. It's quite funny and very charming. 

3. DANA ANDREWS IN THE OX-BOW INCIDENT

This is not just a basic Western as one always thinks of a Western but a  gritty look at mob mentality that can be attributed to today’s mobs which has not really changed. Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan( Col. Potter in MASH) are 2 cowboys who come to a town for a meal and a night’s sleep and find out that the town are after men who killed a local rancher. The 2 men join the posse and they come across 3 men having a sleep. Here we meet Dana Andrews as one of the 3 men who bought cattle from the rancher. He tells the mob that the bill of sale will be forwarded later but they don’t believe him and the mob want to hang the 3. Dana Andrews was so good as the young man who knows his fate even though he is innocent. I don’t think he should have won but I do think he should have been nominated. This film is directed by the great William Wellman, who  created a thinking man’s western and a sobering view of a mob mentality.

Have you seen any of these films? You must see these..especially Casablanca.

Dimples Day

 

This week its all about Dimples, Cows and sugar cookies appreciation day. I went with dimples and 3 people came to my mind who have those dimples when they smile..or want to sell you a used car. Head over to Monday Music Moves Me  to listen to all the others. Here are my 3...

1. SINGING IN THE RAIN & BROADWAY RHYTHM SUNG BY GENE KELLY-1952

Gene is an excellent dancer par none but fir a few his equal like Fred Astaire and The Nicholas Brothers. He could sing in his thin voice which also really worked well especially when he had a huge grin. I hope this musical venture, from Si singing in the Rain" shows his dimples to the best effect.

2. SHE LOVE ME SUNG BY JACK CASSIDY-1975

 Jack Cassidy was the dimpled star of  Broadway, married to Shirley Jones and they reigned as the sweethearts of Broadway. He charmed quite a few chorines while married to Jones and was jealous of his very famous son, David Cassidy, belittling his son and his son’s success harming him deeply since all his son wanted was his dad’s acceptance. He was a really good singer who could play a cad really well in many films and tv shows almost blotting out how good he was in musical theatre. Sadly, he was an alcoholic and died in a fire due to a cigarette. A sad end to this dimply star.

3. FROM NOW ON SUNG BY HUGH JACKMAN -2017

I love Hugh Jackman who would have been in many musicals if it was the 1930s, 40s or 50s but,  at least, we have him in a couple of film musicals, the Tony’s, The Oscars and Broadway. He can play anything and he is good at what he does. I chose this song from the excellent film, “The Greatest Showman” because he shows his dimples which, makes me melt. Love this guy. 

Any Dimple Songs, Cow Songs or Sugar cookie songs you know?

Yes, I LOVE The Far Side from the Brilliant mind of Gary Larson.

Oh Mamie, Mamie, Mamie

 

I was thinking of back to school movies and I thought of one movie and started looking at the wondrously, tacky Mamie Van Doren who, back in the 50s was the poor man’s (very poor), Monroe. This chickybird is still alive at 93 although, I bet, her boobs are, now, much younger than she is. I found out she was in more than one movie about school…who’d a thunk!

1. HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL-1958

In all the films I am going to talk about, I am amazed at the amount of stars  that are part of it, no matter how much they wanted to deny it…except for Mamie Van Doren. This film stars Russ Tamblyn ( who does no backflips in this flick) as an undercover cop going to a high school to find out who is distributing drugs to the youth. While  there, he notices that a young Mamie ( well, she must have flunked out since the 1940s) smokes…..marijuana! You wonder if “21 Jump Street” got the idea from this movie. There are some fun faces  in this movie like Jackie Coogan ( Uncle Fester from The Adams Family and a famous silent film child actor) to Michael Landon of “Bonanza” and “Little house on the Prairie” fame. It’s dumb but fun. Jerry Lee Lewis introduces the film with a good ole rock and roll song.

2. GIRLS TOWN-1959

Nothing like seeing Mel Torme as the head of a biker gang wearing a leather jacket…hahahahaaa..I can’t…he looks like a mild mannered accountant. So, there is a jerk who falls to his death and the wrong girl is blamed. Why any girl would be blamed is beyond me because he was trying to rape her but, it is the 1950s. Anyways, Mamie, playing a 16 yr old (enter the laugh track) is a bad chickeybird who is sent to reform school run by nuns. Will they be able to teach her anything? Do we care? Again, a bad film that is so good especially with the music from Paul Anka and The Platters.

3. SEX KITTENS GO TO COLLEGE-1960

Oh…this is so bad it’s good. I mean…yes, it’s bad with Mamie as a Professor who knows many languages and can teach science…of course but has a stripper past. You have a robot who can guess the future and an idiot who wants to steal the robot from the school. John Carradine plays an older professor with Jackie Coogan and Vampira in the cast. Conway Twitty played himself and to his dying day, he hated that he was in this grade Z movie. Tuesday Weld was in this movie and became good friends with Mamie. You know, they could have been just teachers but  it doesn’t matter. Yes, this is bad but it’s fun and how can you not love the title.

What teacher movies can you think of and, have you seen any of these Mamie movies? You know I almost went with “Teacher’s Pet” with Doris Day as a teacher, in night school, for journalism and Clark Gable as an old timer reporter who thinks her teaching sucks. Mamie has a small part as his girlfriend. I almost went with this movie but…it’s a good movie and just doesn’t fit my theme within a theme within a theme aka school movies with Mamie that are bad.

First Week of School…

 

This is Dagmar, she was a big personality back in the 1950s on TV and also known for her…assets. In fact the front bumpers that jutted out from the early Cadillacs, were called Dagmars by the youth hot rodders. You hear her name in one of the songs I am choosing today. It’s freebie week at Monday Music Moves Me and I’m still thinking of school so here we go…

1. HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL SUNG BY ROUGH TRADE-1980

I love this song and we must have all known one girl that seemed to attract all the attention. In my school, her name was Penny Banks..I’m not kidding, that was her name and she had long blond hair that her mom created the “10” look just like Bo Derek. All those tiny braids looked amazing on Penny and I swear, when she moved her head, everything went into slo-mo mode. We all thought she was cool especially since she was dating a senior. Now, I think he was a pig for dating a 14 yr old but back then, she was cool. She was one girl that never bullied or abused me despite being cooler than cool. Carole Pope nails it as the lead singer.

2. SCHOOL CAFETERIA BY WEIRD AL YANKOVIC-1976

I am one that always found this strange, strange man funny and his take on the cafeteria food was so true and funny. I rarely ate cafeteria food.

3. VARSITY DRAG SUNG BY JUNE ALLYSON, PETER LAWFORD AND CAST-1947

I’ve been to more than one school dances watching the teens slo mo dance and laughing when the music got faster and the kids didn’t know what to do, like when Staircase to Heaven was played at every end to the school dance. For once, I’d love to see a school dance be like the one you see here. Wouldn’t that be fun…totally unrealistic, but so much fun.

So…which songs make you think of back to school?

Star For September

 

BIRTH: September 12, 1888

DEATH: January 1, 1972

AGED: 83 years

DIED FROM: kidney and liver failure as a result from a failed suicide attempt.

MARRIED: Twice- Yvonne Vallee and Nita Raya

AFFAIRS: Frehel, Mistinguett( volatile but was the love of her life), Arletty, Marlene Dietrich( big surprise), Lise Bourdin, Kay Francis, Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Toby Wing, Genevieve Tobin and just a out every chorus gal etc... 

CHILDREN: None!

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: THE Big Pond, The Love Parade

TALENT: Acrobat, Singer, Cabaret Star, painter

KNOWN FOR: aside from bedding tons of women...he was known for his miser like ways. His trademark Boater hat and tux. His ego but also his morose manner.

Maurice Chevalier is known for his French accent and lover and love for life man that is often imitated. So much so that, today, most people have no idea that the French guy is from Chevalier. What's funny( sad funny) is that he suffered from depression, and was a bit of a cranky dude. His dad was an abusive alcoholic who left the family and his eldest brother got married and, also, left. Their mom did everything she could to keep the 2 boys fed ending up in the hospital due to stress. Maurice went out to earn money, becoming an acrobat but, when he fell and was badly injured, he went on to other jobs..many others until he decided to sing. This did not go well but his brother and mom told him not to give up and he didn't. Before he could whistle French, he was becoming known. Soon, the biggest name in French entertainment, Frehel, took him on, in more ways than one. The problem...she had a major alcohol and cocaine addiction and he got hooked on cocaine. Well, once he could move on..he did and became an item, off and on with a big star, Mistinguett. 

World War 1 came on and he had to serve but was captured, in 1914, and was sent to a POW camp where he kicked his cocaine habit and learned Englush. Due to Mistinguett's knowledge of key people, she was able to free him in a prisoner exchange. How did Maurice thank her? He left her on to another gal, Arletty, and another and another. 

He hit the very big time when he came to Hollywood as a big star from France and he let everyone know this. He thought he was God's gift to women as well and tried to bag as many as he could, which he did. One who did not like his advances was Jeanette MacDonald who starred with him in 4 of his early pictures. He would deride her after because she rebuked him. They, actually, made a great team  which helped the musical regain its  footing. 

He decided he liked the stage more and moved back to France where he married for a 2nd time, to a Jewish lady. When Hitler took over France, they headed to the South which was more removed from the horrors of war. Unfortunately, The Nazis wanted him to sing and he would politely decline until they gave him an ultimatum..come with us or your wife and her family will be killed. He agreed to go with them and sing but on condition that they free 19 French POW'S. Despite him singing for the Resistance before being taken by the Nazis and singing for the POWs, he was initially charged as a collaborator and was almost hung but people came forward and he was vindicated. Not so much the U. S of A who placed him as a Communist because he signed the Stokholm Appeal to prevent nuclear arms being made.  In 1946, he divorced his wife and continued on performing, in more ways than one. Finally, when he was much older, he became the man we know more for than his earlier work. He was the happy-go- lucky Bon Vivant who loved love, life and champagne. He was in quite a few Disney films, the last years of his life but most he worked with, felt he was the exact opposite..cantankerous, moody and not very happy. He probably suffered from depression but went undiagnosed..mostly. He tried suicide more than once and the last time, taking barbituates, he hurt his kidneys and liver which led to his death. He is buried beside his adored mom whom he loved more than anyone.

FILMS

1. THE LOVE PARADE-1929

2. THE BIG POND-1929

3. THE SMILING LIEUTENANT-1931

4. ONE HOUR WITH YOU-1932

5. LOVE ME TONIGHT-1932

6. THE MERRY WIDOW-1934

7. GIGI-1958

8. CAN-CAN-1960

9. A BREATH OF SCANDAL-1960

10. IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS-1962

I haven't seen any of his early films which I want to rectify one day. I love Gigi, Can-Can and Love In The Afternoon as well as the Castaways one.