Thursday, February 21, 2019

Wandering Through The Shelves-starring Real Life Couples


Is it that time again?? Why, yes it is...it’s Thursday Time which means another 3 movies to choose and enter it over at Wandering Through The Shelves the originator of this great weekly event. This week it is all about real life couples who starred in movies together. So, without further adieu, here are my 3.

1. THAT HAMILTON WOMAN-1941


This film stars the beautiful and talented Vivien Leigh and the equally beautiful and talented Laurence Olivier as star crossed lovers from history-Lady Hamilton and Lord Horatio Nelson. These 2 lovebirds started an affair when they first appeared onscreen in 1936 (Fire Over England) when both were married to others and it was quite torrid. They were deeply in love and created quite the buzz in Hollywood when she came over to film Gone With The Wind. This film is the first and last film they made as a married couple. The costumes are amazing and Vivien looked right at home in these outfits. It is purely romantic but also a propaganda film for the war effort (Churchill's Favourite). We see this film through Lady Hamilton's eyes who is married to a high ranking official when she meets Nelson, considered the greatest British Naval hero ever. To be honest, Nelson's affair with Hamilton is the stuff of legend as Hamilton was beautiful and in love with Nelson...and vice-versa but, when he dies, she was cast aside. The passion of the real life couple playing the passion of these historical people is just too good to miss.

2. PAT AND MIKE-1952


This film stars Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as a sports promoter and an athlete, play by Kate. She is engaged to be married to an idiot who flusters her every time he comes around to watch her play golf or tennis. Mike sees this and makes sure he is not around which suits him just swell since he is developing feelings for her...and vice versa.  She helps him in other areas..like dealing with thugs. It is a fun, light comedy that flows smoothly due to these 2 great actors. They started an affair back in 1942 when they made Woman of the Year and stayed together until his death in 1967. He was married and had 2 children with his son being deaf. Due to his catholic faith(hahaaa-he had numerous affairs and was a major alcoholic), he would not divorce his wife which suited Kate just fine. Kate helped Spencer when he took off with a few bottles of liquor and try to drink himself to death. She would find him and help him even when he was a complete jerk to her. There is a documentary out about some man who was the go to guy for sex etc...in Hollywood. He claims that Spencer was gay and Kate was as well since he would help them find dates and their affair was all a ruse. I can't remember his name but I did order this documentary the DVD.

3. OVERBOARD-1987


I like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell who have been together for over 30 years with ups and downs as many couples have. Hell, I loved Kurt Russell as a mini Tarzan boy in Gilligan's island:). Remember, he was a Disney star back in the day. This is a fun light-weight movie about a filthy rich bitch who owns a yacht and wants a great show closet. Russell plays the carpenter building this closet and he can't stand her demanding airs. When the yacht leaves, she is on board with her jerk husband and her many servants, one played by the great Roddy McDowall. She falls overboard, hitting her head and wakes up in a hospital not knowing who she is. Enter Russell, who recognizes her and makes her believe they are married with 3 nasty, ugly, dirty boys. She has to clean up the pig-sty house and deal with the brats plus Russell but, you know, romance will ensue and does. As for her jerk husband..he is happy she has fallen overboard and now he can frolic with bikini gals and spend her money. This is  a very fun, and a sweet movie where we can turn off our brains and just sit, drink and eat popcorn.

Which movies would you choose that stars real-life couples?

Here is a portrait of Lady Hamilton by George Romney, a wonderful artist who fell in love with this lass and was the object of many of his paintings.


46 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    This is an interesting topic. It is fun to closely examine the performances of actual lovers and determine if the fire that exists in reality translates to the screen. I get goose bumps listening to the rich voice and diction of the announcer who narrates the trailer for That Hamilton Woman. That's how many trailers looked and sounded back then. I miss that formal style.

    I like the inventive use of Aldo Ray in the trailer for Pat and Mike. His voice is raspy and ordinary, but his sincerity comes across and the trailer works. The dirt you dished about Tracy and Hepburn doesn't surprise me. There were many twisted tales and strange relationships during the golden era of Hollywood film making as we were reminded in your previous post with Rock Hudson.

    Overboard is the only one of these films I have seen, but I don't remember it well. I like your suggestion it is the kind of movie we can "turn off our brains" to enjoy. I turn off my brain first thing every morning when I arise. :)

    I'd like to play a wild card and mention a couple with one of the longest marriages in Hollywood, the first couple that came to mind - Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin. In the late 60s, the couple starred in their own TV series, He & She, and they appeared together in the films Catch-22 (1970) and Saturday the 14th (1981), the Australian made-for-TV movie No Room to Run and another TV movie, Packin' It In. Paula turns 81 a few days from now and Richard will be 81 in May.

    Thank you, dear friend BB!

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    1. I'd like to add Tony Curtis and wife Janet Leigh in Houdini (1953).

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    2. I love the way they made the trailers back then from the great voices to the style. So much better than now which is usually an assault to the eyes

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  2. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were in Sleepless in Seattle together, but they were brother and sister I believe. The couple in Gareth Edward's first movie, Monsters, were a real-life couple. (He directed Rogue One and Godzilla.)

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    1. Yes, Toma and Rita are a great team and an enduring marriage

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  3. First thought was Lucy and Desi in "The Long, Long, Trailer". Haven't seen that in a gazillion years. I've seen your picks but would be hard pressed to tell anyone what they were about.
    Anyway, I had heard that rumor about Spence and Kate and would be interested in the DVD. I'll have to look for it.

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    1. I love that movie with alucy and Desi since it reminds me of my former in-laws. My mom in law did collect rocks and did hide them when they had to climb a mountain pass in the Rockies. Dad in law was not happy when he had to stop and opened the door only for the rocks to fall out.

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  4. I've actually seen Overboard. It was fun and you are right that it is mindless fun at that. Granted, I watched it on TV, but I still saw it.

    I remember that Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft were in a film together, but I can't remember what it was. It was on the Turner Classic Movie Channel (don't know if you get that in Canada). I thought they were the most unlikely couple in the world.

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    1. I saw Overboard on TV too so it counts. The movie you are thinking of is the remake of To Be Or Not To Be. A pretty good remake of the original with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard

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  5. I haven't seen any of these. I think I'd have to seriously google who the big movie couples were pre-1990 lol.

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    1. Oh gosh...you should read the steamy affair of Olivier and Leigh. In fact they recently found love letters he wrote to her which involved placing her panties on his Banana Republic

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  6. That Hamilton Woman is a gorgeous looking film with Larry and Vivien equally so. It drags a little but is entertaining overall. I almost went with a mini theme of just their three films together, Fire Over England, 21 Days and this, but its been so long since I saw the first my memory of it is vague.

    While it's no Desk Set I do like Pat & Mike. One of the highlights is seeing all the real life sports figures who make cameos in the film.

    Overboard is such a delight. Nothing but a ball of fluff but played by experts. The recent remake is ghastly!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    So instead of Larry and Viv I went super specific, married couples (at least at the time the films were made) in Shakespeare comedy adaptations.

    The Boys from Syracuse (1940)-In the town of Ephesus in ancient Asia Minor two boys from Syracuse, Anthipholus (Allan Jones) and his servant Dromio (Joe Penner), search for their long-lost twins who, for reason of plot confusion, are also named Anthipholus and Dromio. Problems arise when the wife of the Ephesians, Adriana (Irene Hervey) and her servant Luce (Martha Raye), mistake the two strangers for their husbands. Complications and comedy ensue. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. Leads Jones and Hervey were married for over 20 years, their son vocalist Jack Jones is most well-known for singing the theme for The Love Boat.

    The Taming of the Shrew (1967)-Wealthy Padua merchant, Baptista (Michael Hordern), has two daughters-the fiery Katherina called Kate (Elizabeth Taylor) and younger sister Bianca (Natasha Pyne). Bianca loves Lucentio (Michael York), and wants to marry but can’t until the thorny Kate does which she shows no inclination to do. On the scene comes the raucous and magnetic Petruchio (Richard Burton) who sees Kate as a challenge and when her father forces them to marry the real combat begins. The infamously battling Burtons are perfectly cast as the warring lead couple.

    Much Ado About Nothing (1993)-After a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Keanu Reeves), Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) visits the governor of Messina. With him are Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) and Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard). While there, Claudio falls for the governor's daughter, Hero (Kate Beckinsale), while Benedick engages in a war of words with Beatrice (Emma Thompson), the governor's niece. While Don Pedro tries to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love, Don John tries to tear Claudio and Hero apart. Aside from married (at the time) couple Branagh & Thompson and the aforementioned stars the cast also includes Michael Keaton, Imelda Staunton and Emma’s mother Phyllida Law.

    The Taming of the Shrew (1929)-Same basic story as the Liz & Dick version above but with substantial cuts (and additional dialogue by Sam Taylor-???? WHY) served as a wrong-headed early sound vehicle for two of the biggest stars of the silent era, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. who had notoriously left they spouses to marry each other (but whose own marriage was foundering by this point) in an echoing of the whole Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie episode of later years. Static and dated with both stars nearing the ends of their careers (Mary made 3 more films, Doug 4 before retirement) Pickford considered it one of her worst performances (she’s right) but Fairbanks, full of brio is suited to Petruchio and emerges okay. Still you’re missing nothing if you give it the skip.

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    1. I love That Hamilton Woman mainly for Vivien Leigh whom, I thought, captured Lady Hamilton. I still have to see Desk Set..so many old films I still have to see. I will not see the remake as it looks horrid. I have yet to see any of your picks but want to see both versions of the Shrew especially the Pickford one because of that “additional dialogue”...hahahaaa. I know the one with Burton and Taylor is a good one. I don’t even know the first one you chose but I have to look it up now

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    2. Speaking of Mary Pickford, Birgit, did you ever read "The Girls in the Picture: A Novel" by Melanie Benjamin? Very well-written mix of fact and speculation.

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  7. Hi Birgit - I haven't seen any of these ... but love the reviews you've given us ... I'm sure someone somewhere has mentioned Burton and Taylor ... but love knowing everyone's ideas are here - cheers Hilary

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    1. At least no one picked their film X,Y and Z.

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  8. I also went with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn but I picked Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as it's the only movie starring both I've seen.

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  9. Hi Birgit...the beautiful Vivian Leigh...my dads pin up....3 great films think I have seen them all....didn’t realise the connections though.....hope you have a lovely weekend it’s like spring here and our daffodils are out....hugs xxxx

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    1. Lucky you for hav8ng spring....nothing but grey here. I am making cards but haven’t posted them yet..but I will.

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  10. All I can think of are a couple of films with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall: "To Have And Have Not" and "Key Largo."

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    1. Yes, I almost chose them as a theme within a theme and then I ended up not choosing any

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  11. I will usually stop and watch Overboard or any Hepburn/Tracy movie if I come across it on TV, no matter how far along the story is.

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  12. Yep, Overboard was fun. I loved Roddy McDowall's character, but he's a long-time favorite of mine anyway. And I think Kurt Russell is one of the more under-rated actors in Hollywood today.

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    1. I agree with you about Kurt Russell who is quite good as an actor and love him in Westerns

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  13. Overboard is a fun one indeed, remake was supposed to be trash though. Never watched it, so who knows. A Quiet Place is a good one.

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    1. Stick with the original as I heard the remake sucks and it looks it.

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  14. I didn't know the dirt on Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Love to learn about that kind of scandal. You're always good for this stuff.
    Thanks, Birgit.

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    1. The name of the documentary always escapes me but glad I ordered the DVD

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  15. I never saw That Hamilton Woman, but I've seen the other two. If I were to pick a Tracy/Hepburn film, I'd probably go with Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, although there are many others that I love with both of them as well.

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    1. I like that movie quite a bit as well as Woman of the Year and Afam’s Rib

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  16. I've only seen Overboard-who doesn't like Goldie and Kurt? But then I like Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn a lot too. I should check this one out.

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    1. Overboard is fun and I hope you do watch this film.

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  17. I can't think of any good movies with real life couples. I mean there's Twilight, and Mr and Mrs Smith (Brad & Angelina), Jersey Girl, Daredevil. I'm sure there are good ones, but maybe I just don't watch good movies!

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    1. I actually like Mr. and Mrs. Smith:) oh..Twilight is such a girliekiddie flick. I have not seen the others but great picks! Glad you chose ones that are a bit on the campy side.

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  18. I've seen all three of these and enjoyed them. Interesting story about Spencer and Katharine being gay. Never heard that one, before! My favourite classic movies couple is Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. They made several films together: To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage, Key Largo, The Big Sleep...

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    1. I heard about Kate but not Spencer. I will let you know about this documentary and will judge for myself. At this point in time it is all heresay. I almos5 went with Bogie and Bacall because their movies are excellent.

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  19. Birgit,

    The only film I know here is 'Overboard'. Kurt & Goldie's long run relationship is an anomaly in Hollyweird for sure. Did you know that Goldie is several years older than Kurt? That's really not a big age difference but it really shows more on Goldie than him. Darn, why is me generally look better than women with age? lol I will have to check into the two older films you mentioned, both are new-to-me. The only thing I recall seeing Vivien Leigh in is "Gone With The Wind". I thought we saw "Woman of the Year" but it wasn't, it was "Desk Set" that we caught on Amazon Prime with Spencer & Hepburn. I didn't know they were a real-life couple. Thanks for enlightening my mind. :)

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  20. I'd heard the same things about Spencer/Hepburn, but I'm not sure I buy it. I loved their chemistry, and love to think of them as intellectual lovers who never were able to find their moment together. But good lord did they make some great movies together!

    And I love Overboard. Light weight for sure, but so much fun. Why they ever decided to remake it, I'll never know. No...nevermind, I know...money, which it didn't make, because it was awful. Lesson learned? Nope!

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  21. They just did a remake of "Overboard" with the roles reversed (a man was washed overboard and the woman was the manipulator). I haven't heard much about it, so I suspect it was dreadful. Give me Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell any day.

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  22. I've struck out this eeew. Haven't seen any of your picks.

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  23. I can't think of any off the top of my head.

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  24. I don't really follow who's married to who, so I have nothing to add, but I was just saying that I really need to indulge in some of those older movies. They would be a refresher from modern movies.
    Enjoy your week.
    Andrea

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  25. 'KEY LARGO' - one of my favorite examples of Film Noir - was the first one to jump into my mind.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...'

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  26. Overboard is one of my favorite feel good comedies. Goldie and Kurt are great together. I noticed there is a remake with the roles reversed. Not interested. I generally don't go for do-overs.

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