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Showing posts from December, 2016

Films I Saw in 2016

I have been keeping a list of all the films I have seen for quite some time, but this year I decided to make a separate list for all the films that I saw in 2016 alone. As a way to bid farewell to 2016 and greet 2017, I thought it would be interesting to share this list with you. It includes both classic and «modern» films, which make up a total of 125 titles. It is not nearly as many films as I have seen in previous years, but I think it is still a fairly decent amount. Let me know how many of the pictures listed you have seen. Films marked with « ❤ » are my favorites.   Flesh and the Devil (1926) | Starring John Gilbert, Greta Garbo and Lars Hanson The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) | Starring Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky Love (1927) | Starring John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, George Fawcett and Emily Fitzroy Our Modern Maidens (1929) | Starring Joan Crawford and Rod La Rocque Loose Ankles (1930) | Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Loretta Young The Dawn Patrol (1930) | Sta

Film Friday: «Morocco» (1930)

In honour of Marlene Dietrich's 116th birthday, which was on Tuesday, this week on «Film Friday» — the last one of 2016 — I bring you one my favourite of her films so far. Directed by Josef von Sternberg, Morocco (1930) tells the story of Amy Jolly (Marlene Dietrich), a disillusioned cabaret singer who becomes attracted to a womanizing Foreign Légionnaire named Tom Brown (Gary Cooper). After one of her shows, Amy arranges a secret rendezvous with Tom in her apartment, but asks him to leave before anything serious happens. As he goes into the street, Tom meets Madame Caesar (Eve Southern), the wife of his adjunct officer (Ullrich Haupt), with whom he has been having an affair. Meanwhile, Amy changes her mind and follows Tom, interrupting his conversation with Madame Caesar, who then hires two street ruffians to attack the singer. Tom manages to seriously wound both, allowing him to flee with Amy.   Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper in publicity stills for Morocco . The following

Happy Birthday, Marlene Dietrich!

MARLENE DIETRICH (December 17, 1901 — May 6, 1992) The weak are more likely to make the strong weak than the strong are likely to make the weak strong.

The Royal Ancestry of Humphrey Bogart

Last month, I wrote an article in which I proved that sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine are direct descendants of King Edward I of England and, therefore, kin to several prominent figures — not only several members of the British royal family, but also a number of U.S. presidents, authors and actors, including Humphrey Bogart. Now, he may not strike you as the aristocratic type, but Bogie also happened to be a direct descendant of Edward I, who was, in technical terms, his 19th great-grandfather. How? Just keep on reading to find out.   Humphrey Bogart was a direct descendant of King Edward I of England. If you remember, Edward I (1239-1307) married firstly Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290) in 1254. Their daughter, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282-1316), was the wife of Humphrey de Bohun , 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd of Essex (c. 1276-1321/2). So far, Bogie has the exact same ancestry as Joan and Olivia. But while the de Havilland sisters descended from Elizabeth and Humphrey&

Picture(s) of the Week: Christmas in Old Hollywood

Esther Williams looking fabulous as always. Loretta Young is struggling to carry all of her presents. Christmas with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Ann Blyth looking lovely and festive. Colleen Moore singing Christmas carols. Jean Harlow putting up her Christmas garland. Little Shirley Temple dressed in a little Santa costume. Carole Lombard sitting next to her gorgeous Christmas tree. Your tree looks great too, Janet Gaynor. Christmas at the Stewarts. That's James Stewart's wife Gloria, with their twin baby daughters, Judy and Kelly, and sons, Ronald and Michael. Merry Christmas to you too, Janet Leigh. And Merry Christmas to all of you.