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Ginger Rogers sunbathing in 1936 (Side note: I LOVE her shoes!) Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart with their son, Steven (early 1950s) Ava Gardner in Phillip Island, Australia during the making of On the Beach (1959) Rita Hayworth and Robert Mitchum in Trinidad and Tobago during the filming of Fire Down Below (1957) Natalie Wood and Steve Rowland at the Thalians Beach Ball in Malibu (July 1956) Henry Fonda at the Atlantic Beach Club (1936) Joan Crawford and Douglas Fairbanks at Catalina Beach in 1929 Diane Ellis and Carole Lombard at the beach in 1929 Rock Hudson at the pool (1950s) Audrey Hepburn in Monaco during the making of Monte Carlo Baby (1951) Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan in their pool (1940) Randolph Scott and Cary Grant poolside at their Santa Monica beach house (1935) I hope you are having an amazing summer! 

Since today is World Photography Day (yes, I bothered to check), I thought it would be fun to put together a collection of colour photos of Classic Hollywood stars. As far as I can tell, these pictures were captured in actual natural colour, rather than being digitally colourised. Enjoy! Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck at their ranch in San Fernando Valley (1939) Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet (1940) Errol Flynn skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho (December 1940) Eleanor Powell and Glenn Ford on their wedding day (1943) Myrna Loy and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dancing (ca. 1944) Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney before reprising their roles in Laura (1944) for Lux Radio Theatre (February 1945) Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner on a break from filming The Killers (1946) Gregory Peck in a publicity for Duel in the Sun (1946) James Stewart and Donna Reed in a portrait for It's a Wonderful Life...

This week on «Film Friday,» I am honoring Lauren Bacall's 92th birthday, which happens to be today, by telling you a little bit about the first films of hers that I saw. This not only marked her screen debut, but also remains her most iconic picture.   Directed by Howard Hawks, To Have and Have Not (1944) opens in the summer of 1940 in the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French colony which is now controlled by pro-German Vichy France. World-weary boat captain Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and his drunken friend Eddie (Walter Brennan) earn their living by taking wealthy tourists on fishing cruises. One day, Harry is approached by Gérard (Marcel Dario), a hotel owner and member of the French Resistance, commonly known as «Frenchy» to English speakers. He offers to pay Harry to smuggle important Resistance members Hélene (Dolores Moran) and Paul De Bursac (Walter Surovy) into Martinique, but he refuses to become involved in Frenchy's political activities.   Humphrey Bogar...

Today, June 1, the Children's Day is observed in many countries around the world, including Portugal, where I live. As such, I thought I would be fun to collect a series of pictures of classic Hollywood actors and actresses when they were children. Here are the ones I could find. Marilyn Monroe at the home of her foster parents, Albert and Ida Bolender (1933). Always the hipster, that Frank Sinatra. Here's another little hipster: James Dean (ca. 1938). Look how cute James Stewart is in his sailor's outfit (1912). How adorable was Judy Garland? Baby Mickey Rooney (1921). Lauren Bacall outside the Highland Manor private girls' school in New York (photograph taken by her mother, Natalie Perske, circa 1933). Gary Cooper dressed as a cowboy at age 2.    Baby Clark Gable (ca. 1902). Katharine Hepburn used to dress herself in boys' clothes and call herself «Jimmy.» Tyrone Power, an heartbreaker even as a child. Audre...