News for today's 2018

'TIS THE SEASON...

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kingdom-biz.net/uploads/Fireplaceanimated.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://www.kingdom-biz.net/uploads/Fireplaceanimated.gif" width="400" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...which means it's a perfect time to snuggle down into a favorite chair, remote in hand, and decide: DVR or DVD?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With Christmas just a week away I've picked a few long-time holiday favorites to watch along with one or two that have come into my life more recently...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBtLp90JyyMnHCuFOv1cwj54GBSrtfiBFOH-n2iutRJkgRxw1egWViTfrVy-GbJZ9h7DHRSPQNkhYBR5piMH_1rFaYp98BVa5_6ghKevg0xW5Q3U8ZGvMjLQBIDL1iYxpsziUzwBRHI6v/s1600/remember.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBtLp90JyyMnHCuFOv1cwj54GBSrtfiBFOH-n2iutRJkgRxw1egWViTfrVy-GbJZ9h7DHRSPQNkhYBR5piMH_1rFaYp98BVa5_6ghKevg0xW5Q3U8ZGvMjLQBIDL1iYxpsziUzwBRHI6v/s320/remember.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Remember the Night</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Remember the Night  </i>(1940), directed by Mitchell Leisen from a Preston Sturges' screenplay, debuted on Turner Classic Movies a few seasons ago, which is where I first encountered it. A jewel! Fred MacMurray stars as an Assistant D.A. who falls for thief Barbara Stanwyck during the holidays. With Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson and Sterling Holloway, music by Frederick Hollander (known for his work with Marlene Dietrich). <i>Remember the Night</i> is a compelling tale delivered by a very sharp script and a superb cast, qualities that should establish it as an enduring holiday classic.  </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"> </span><a href="http://jimlanescinedrome.blogspot.com/2011/11/remembering-night.html" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a> for more on <i>Remember the Night</i> from <i>Jim Lane's Cinedrome</i>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />I've already watched <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i> (1944) once this season. It is Vincente Minnelli's simply magical confection of 100% pure fine-spun Americana. Set in turn-of-the-century St. Louis, the film follows "a year in the life" of the Smith family. Margaret O'Brien famously portrays precocious (annoying?) tyke "Tootie" Smith to the hilt, but it is Judy Garland as Esther Smith who glows as the film's centerpiece. And there are the songs, now classics, she introduced in the film..."The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I'll probably watch <i>Meet Me in St. Louis </i>one time more before the holidays are over.<br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqMwBMNVHzPByrSFaYa39v322mdfzdnykTlSQDkv8jfwUd-4-AaPz9vLjONsBcPvINdvSj7P9EkalYqz6pOinTfUknZMtrRghxCTMN8SZswqeHWO793Je1xEXPtWVmkqWD6SYWalFT4aF/s1600/Connecticut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqMwBMNVHzPByrSFaYa39v322mdfzdnykTlSQDkv8jfwUd-4-AaPz9vLjONsBcPvINdvSj7P9EkalYqz6pOinTfUknZMtrRghxCTMN8SZswqeHWO793Je1xEXPtWVmkqWD6SYWalFT4aF/s320/Connecticut.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Christmas in Connecticut</i></td></tr></tbody></table><i>Christmas in Connecticut</i> (1945) has been on my "every year" list for a while now.  I can't resist this home front romp about a career woman (Barbara Stanwyck) with zero homemaking skills who falls for a Navy vet (Dennis Morgan) who dreams of home cooked meals and every domestic delight.  Last year I blogged about the movie and the year in which it was released, 1945. It was the year World War II ended, the year American troops were finally home for Christmas. <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-in-connecticut-1945one.html" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a> for my 2010 reflection on <i>Christmas in Connecticut</i>.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>The Shop Around the Corner </i>(1940), is my favorite film of director Ernst Lubitsch and contains one of James Stewart's finest performances along with the best of Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan and Felix Bressart. I posted on <i>Shop</i>, a must-see film,<i> </i>just a week or so ago...<a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/12/shop-around-corner-1940-lubitsch.html" style="color: #990000;">click here</a>, if you missed it. <i>And </i>if you've missed the film so far this year, it airs in just about an hour (Dec. 18, 10am Eastern/7am Pacific) on Turner Classic Movies.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy0fhbeluelof4uNZlb0NELJMLDg_TNFj3as_xaLbtNTzcdqPVdpiVEMjfWgmA7wMgZvYVJNAhtTnmjDgooPqeQHSLK7misSfZxgNOyYsbN2p6gn_aAwsnXYxD8lw05jx7eHbVoMamqXT/s1600/Cary+as+Dudley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy0fhbeluelof4uNZlb0NELJMLDg_TNFj3as_xaLbtNTzcdqPVdpiVEMjfWgmA7wMgZvYVJNAhtTnmjDgooPqeQHSLK7misSfZxgNOyYsbN2p6gn_aAwsnXYxD8lw05jx7eHbVoMamqXT/s320/Cary+as+Dudley.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Bishop's Wife</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In<i> The Bishop's Wife</i> (1947) Cary Grant stars as an angel...typecasting at its finest, I'd say! I first saw <i>The Bishop's Wife</i> in the 1980s and, when I discovered it, was surprised I hadn't heard of it before. Now it surfaces every year, everywhere, a seasonal standard (and it will air once more on TCM  this year - late on Christmas Eve). The fine cast includes David Niven, Loretta Young, Monty Woolley, Gladys Cooper, James Gleason, Sara Haden and Elsa Lanchester. The film's yuletide sentiment is reflected throughout and nicely encapsulated in the Bishop's final sermon, "Let us ask ourselves what we would wish for most, and then let each put in his share. Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth." </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">...Because she does it so well, here's Peggy Lee singing a holiday standard that expresses my wishes for each of you (click to listen)...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8n1yapgYn8o" width="420"></iframe></div>

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...which means it's a perfect time to snuggle down into a favorite chair, remote in hand, and decide: DVR or DVD?With Christmas just a week away I've picked a few long-time holiday favor…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIGLIeGpzU_McrW-jF1kC2hXk7diMBOmp2DzhBV4QwbYP9WYehHaBi_ymHulIVVsS51JisvBfbO2oF2Jhxi-f3tADp5DDGyKhaTp757ctM5gug6cyZPWWYzPNTe30OD3x348KatM2_Yg9/s1600/Meet-Me-in-St.-Louis-house-Winter%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIGLIeGpzU_McrW-jF1kC2hXk7diMBOmp2DzhBV4QwbYP9WYehHaBi_ymHulIVVsS51JisvBfbO2oF2Jhxi-f3tADp5DDGyKhaTp757ctM5gug6cyZPWWYzPNTe30OD3x348KatM2_Yg9/s320/Meet-Me-in-St.-Louis-house-Winter%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>One of the most charming and potent portrayals of Americana to grace the screen, <b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b> (1944) tugs at the heartstrings as powerfully today as it did 65+ years ago when it was crafted by MGM's "Freed Unit."<br /><br />The film's sparkling perfection is the work of producer Arthur Freed, director Vincente Minnelli, an incomparable ensemble cast, an ace artistic and technical team, songwriters Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin and...Technicolor.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />This is one of my all-time favorites...<br /><br /><b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b> was adapted from a series of reminiscences by Sally Benson that first appeared in <i>The New Yorker</i> in early 1942. Told from the perspective of five-year-old 'Tootie' Smith, Benson's memory pieces, though rich in warmth and humor, were light on plot and conflict. A more defined storyline was developed, the characters were strengthened and 17-year-old Esther Smith (played by Judy Garland) became the pivotal character. The plot evolved into a "year in the life" of an idealized American family and was comprised of vignettes set in each of the four seasons with its dramatic climax, a family crisis, set at Christmastime. <br /> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsj82o226JHaChOULsPpWonspNesiY1p0np_zHUEB3qA4H_YhlFLUbyG1eoSYWcPrhyphenhyphenYooKyN7BbpMFl-cf3MWzYWzQVD6_MFEB2jh2adjhdqFDvfdSPBa6_ygnyN-ziguJSqWyedNLFu_/s1600-h/judy+-+no+-+eakins+baby+at+play.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="143" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417563524708086562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsj82o226JHaChOULsPpWonspNesiY1p0np_zHUEB3qA4H_YhlFLUbyG1eoSYWcPrhyphenhyphenYooKyN7BbpMFl-cf3MWzYWzQVD6_MFEB2jh2adjhdqFDvfdSPBa6_ygnyN-ziguJSqWyedNLFu_/s200/judy+-+no+-+eakins+baby+at+play.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Baby at Play" by Thomas Eakins</td></tr></tbody></table>  The Smith family home at 5135 Kensington Avenue (Sally Benson's real childhood address) was the film's central interior and Minnelli made the decision to build a continuous set with interconnecting rooms, just like an actual house. He reportedly wanted the entire picture to have the look of a painting by Thomas Eakins, and art director Preston Ames' assignment was to recreate a St. Louis neighborhood, circa 1904, as evocatively as possible. Ames did so, creating a full block of Kensington Avenue (at a cost of 200,000 1944 dollars) on Metro's back lot.<br /><br />Focused on the film's visual look and intent on accurate period detail, Minnelli supervised every aspect of set and production design. He brought in top Broadway set decorator Lemuel Ayres and, in addition, spent time with Sally Benson who described to him every feature of her girlhood home. To handle costume design, he turned to Irene Sharaff, another recent Broadway-to-Hollywood transplant. Sharaff researched the historic era carefully, even using a 1904 Sears & Roebuck catalog as a reference.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBY_Kmjgqocj_TEmeQTUg7CLVssTA1hjw0LzjZvcoObubscdOdo9Z64tJnM7LOHWZRuw0_CbDd9ixNTdwKNr4eaL7xCYYQjGBco-ASK-5p0IKwns_Eiea70KhT4mu4S4KfqvbG-QCMoJ-/s1600/meet-me-in-st-louis_snow_family%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBY_Kmjgqocj_TEmeQTUg7CLVssTA1hjw0LzjZvcoObubscdOdo9Z64tJnM7LOHWZRuw0_CbDd9ixNTdwKNr4eaL7xCYYQjGBco-ASK-5p0IKwns_Eiea70KhT4mu4S4KfqvbG-QCMoJ-/s200/meet-me-in-st-louis_snow_family%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Snow People"</td></tr></tbody></table>Minnelli and cinematographer George Folsey took such pains with the film's colors and textures that some scenes do resemble period paintings. <b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b> was the first MGM film to be fully shot in Technicolor and Folsey and Minnelli proved to be adept at its use, even managing to capture subtle changes in seasonal light.<br /><br />The songwriting team of Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin composed three very special songs for Judy Garland: "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (click below to watch and listen). Each became a standard in Garland's later repertoire and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" remains a holiday classic today. To add more period flavor, Blane and Martin also reworked popular tunes from the turn of the century - "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Skip to My Lou" and "Under the Bamboo Tree." Up to this time, most films had music inserted arbitrarily, but the songs in <b>Meet Me in St. Louis </b>were integrated into the action and dialogue to help advance the plot.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yudgy30Dd68?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yudgy30Dd68?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b> was an immediate hit, the highest grossing film of 1944. It turned out to be just the tonic a country at war needed to lift its spirits. The film firmly established Minnelli's reputation as a top director, provided Judy Garland with a solid push to the next plateau of her career and toward her ultimate status as a legend, and it ushered in a golden age of Hollywood musicals.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q095LvAonf0dhIU0fGpFL-i1B1J8msUxNuf7DPlEYh-rZmVooeeOIx12wQNTgQnCKVeRGKkM2vyqtnGr4rQYYPRWwBCXuYAHNDjyBAnxJ06_WiEsA-ddgwyRd63w7FS9IkEjFkL3axlk/s1600/meet+me+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6q095LvAonf0dhIU0fGpFL-i1B1J8msUxNuf7DPlEYh-rZmVooeeOIx12wQNTgQnCKVeRGKkM2vyqtnGr4rQYYPRWwBCXuYAHNDjyBAnxJ06_WiEsA-ddgwyRd63w7FS9IkEjFkL3axlk/s200/meet+me+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Christmas Ball</td></tr></tbody></table>There is much to admire about <b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b>. For me its appeal is that, though nostalgic, the sentiment isn't heavy-handed. The film beguiles gently, taking one on a fanciful trip into a golden epoch. The turn of the century in America is depicted as a languid time before the World Wars and the Great Depression, an era when multi-generational families lived under the same roof...when mothers made vats of ketchup every summer in large, window-filled kitchens...when horse-drawn ice wagons regularly clattered down neighborhood streets...and when a young lady might easily fall in love with and dream of marrying a boy who lived right next door...<br /><br />As Esther Smith, Judy Garland glows as the film's heart and soul. She is at her best - wistful and endearing, spunky and warm, her voice at an early peak.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiRLlFmErdQ-8-DGBR-HYAhWrdKtdpIJrkG2dyfoJTZWH2dsQnh0oZP97yguMFo-UZsJOxUMwaStVIRPR7iivbCl_H6rAJeytY6RSOQKA2sueWPZ2HJF9Rnlfe05KINHlVG6bYy7F_Izn/s1600/meet+me+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiRLlFmErdQ-8-DGBR-HYAhWrdKtdpIJrkG2dyfoJTZWH2dsQnh0oZP97yguMFo-UZsJOxUMwaStVIRPR7iivbCl_H6rAJeytY6RSOQKA2sueWPZ2HJF9Rnlfe05KINHlVG6bYy7F_Izn/s1600/meet+me+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joan Carroll and Margaret O'Brien</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Margaret O'Brien as the high-spirited young 'Tootie' adds a dimension of childhood mischief and carries the imaginative Halloween sequence almost entirely on her own. She takes another precocious turn during the climactic Christmas scenes with Judy Garland.<br /><br />Leon Ames blusters as good-hearted family patriarch, Alonzo Smith. Mary Astor is light-as-air as 'Mrs. Anna Smith;' Lucille Bremer is winning as the older sister, Rose; Harry Davenport shines as lovable 'Grandpa' Smith; Marjorie Main adds spice as the cantankerous maid, Katie...and Tom Drake is affecting as 'boy next door' John Truett. Very fine in fleeting roles are Chill Wills and a young June Lockhart.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=131412133&m=131412356"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a> to listen to a 1989 interview by Terri Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air" with Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane in which the songwriters discuss working with director Vincente Minnelli and writing the songs for <b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b>...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Meet Me in St. Louis</b> airs Sat., Dec. 11, on TCM's "The Essentials" and again on Christmas</i></span></div>

Arthur Freed Harry Davenport Hugh Martin Judy Garland Leon Ames Margaret O'Brien Marjorie Main Mary Astor Meet Me in St. Louis Ralph Blane The Lady Eve (author) Tom Drake Vincente Minnelli HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

MEET ME IN ST. LOUISOne of the most charming and potent portrayals of Americana to grace the screen, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) tugs at the heartstrings as powerfully today as it did 65+ years ago when it was crafted by MGM's "Freed Unit."The f…

'TIS THE SEASON...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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