Sunday, May 22, 2011

Jaws

I know the movie Jaws isn't super vintage, I thought I'd make a quick post about it anyway. I saw it last night for the first time and I thought it was great. Personally, I'd put it up with Alfred Hitchcock movies as far as suspense-level goes. I just thought I'd let everyone know that they should see Jaws if they haven't yet.

PS- What about Jaws 2, 3, and 4? Are they any good, or do they just get ridiculous after a while?

Friday, May 20, 2011

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy Stewart is one of my favorite actors. I mean, who doesn't love his soft-spoken, kindly ways? His friendly persona has granted him into the hearts of anyone watching one of his movies. He was (well, he still holds the title but unfortunately, he passed on in 1997) the movie star to rank highest in the US Air Force-- he was a Brigadier General. He was truly an American hero.


James being awarded the  Croix de Guerre.


The newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Stewart (Gloria McLean)


Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock's classic from 1954


From Harvey, 1950. An absolutely splendid and sweet movie.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Long time, no post!

Wow! Has it really been a month since I last posted? Sorry about that, folks. But now, I'm back and posting again! :)
First of all, I saw the movie American Graffiti. The movie highlights the last night in a small town of a group of teenagers before some of them are going off to college in 1962 (Hence the catchphrase, "Where were you in '62?"). At any rate, that movie was absolutely splendid. The music is superb (if you go to basically any 50's-themed place, they'll most likely be playing the soundtrack) and it truly is an accurate representation of growing up in the 50's and early 60's.

The other day, I watched The King's Speech for the second time. This time, though, I saw it with my dad and he thought (and I quote) that the movie, "was excellent!" So, if you haven't seen that movie yet, I highly advise you do so.

Yesterday, with nothing else to do, I watched the movie The Bad Seed. I thought it was really good, and it had an intriguing plot and neat characters. However, the ending ruined it for me. If you scroll down a bit, I'll reveal the ending to you.




Be warned! Here be spoilers...








So. The little girl, Rhoda, went to the dock where she killed the little boy Claude for his Spelling medal. Her mother had apparently thrown it back into the water (or something along those lines) so Rhoda took a net (like one to draw leaves from a pool) and began to search for it. All of this is happening during a lightning storm, and all of a sudden, lightning hits the dock and it collapses underwater, taking Rhoda down with it. Ummm.... how anticlimactic is that?

What's more, after that scene, the actors are introduced. Second-to-last is Patty McCormack, who played Rhoda, and after her is Nancy Kelly, who plays her mother, Christine. Suddenly, Christine slings Rhoda onto her knee and begins to spank her and that's the end of the movie.

Personally, I didn't like it one bit. But to each his own! So if you want to watch it, it's available on Netflix for instant streaming to either your computer or Wii.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Online Radio

So. Where I live, there's no oldies channel devoted only oldies from the 50's and early 60's. However, I recently came across radio.com which is a website online that streams radio right to your computer (for free!!!) from basically all over the US! I kind of got to it in a roundabout way, and I'm sure that there's an easier route, but these were my directions:

First off, I went to kearth101.radio.com.
Then, I clicked on  the Play button at the top of the screen.
After a new page popped up, I clicked was able to browse the channels.

My favorites were Reunion Radio and Classics/Oldies. Some good stations were Class Reunion: 1960, K-LUV Oldies, and K-EARTH Classics.

It's really great what technology can do these days. Heck, it's almost like a time machine! :)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Poll

So, our first poll has ended! The question was: If you could live in any of the following decades, which would you choose? And here are the results:

  1. The Fifties: With 6 votes
  2. The Twenties: With 2 votes
  3. The Forties and the Seventies: Tied with 1 vote
Unfortunately, neither the 60's nor the 30's were picked. However, in the near future I plan to make posts on both of them, just for a little information.

Thank you so much for voting, and be sure to vote again on my next poll!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Drifters

This afternoon after school, I've been listening to The Drifters. It's so refreshing to listen to their sweet, amazing songs. I like them both with and without Ben E. King. My favorite of their songs is "Up on the Roof." It's just so relaxing and it reminds me of summer for some reason... not sure why. I just wanted everyone to know that it's the middle of the week, and I know it's stressful. But if you just want to unwind, listen to some of The Drifters. Their music is sure to get you relaxed!!! Have a great week.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Happy Birthday, Gloria Swanson

As it would have been Gloria Swanson's birthday today, I figured I would make a post with a little about her and my favorite movie of hers, Sunset Blvd. She was born on March 27th (today) in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Adelaide and Joseph Theodore Swanson, and they separated when she was young. Her first film was in 1914, and she was cast as an extra in The Song of Soul. In 1916, she moved to California to further pursue her acting career. She starred in dozens of films and soon became a silent-film star.                    Here's Gloria Swanson in 1921.

And now a review on Sunset Boulevard...

What is there to say besides the fact that it is one of the best movies of all time? (It scores #6 on the list of my favorites on my "Movie" tab) And if you haven't seen it, then I highly advise that you do. It's the story of the over-the-hill silent-film star who has become a dellusional recluse, Norma Desmond, and her encounter with the young filmwriter named Joe Gillis. She imprisons him in her home and makes him write a screenplay designed specifically for her to make herself known in Hollywood again. She falls in love with him (although she is old enough to be his mother) and all the while he is having an affair with another woman. It's a truly gripping and amazing movie that I think anyone will be impacted by.


This movie holds one of the most famous lines of all time: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."


And the sad thing is, is that I'm sure cases such as Norma Desmond's have happened with other silent-film stars, when they just can't get past the fact that they're not famous anymore and will most likely live their lives in solitude.

...on that happy note... happy birthday to an amazing actress, Gloria Swanson.

"We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!"

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

Before I bought "Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie," I looked at the reviews online, and there was not one review that wasn't glowing with praise for it. I decided to buy the DVD and I am so glad I did. As I am an I Love Lucy fanatic, I've already seen tons of pictures concerning Lucy and Desi. However, I had only seen a fraction of what the movie disclosed to me. Not only are there photographs, there are also interviews with family and friends, and numerous videos that were taken with Lucille and Desi in them. It gave me a way to look at them that wasn't simply "Lucy and Ricky" from their TV show, but as a real family. It was very truthful and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Desi and Lucille (or Ricky and Lucy) or whoever would like a great documentary about great, smart, and intellectual people. I wish I had watched this before I wrote my biography on Lucille Ball; this movie gave me so much more information, on a personal level, about her, Desi, her family, her friends, and her career.

I bought it from Barnes and Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/) for, I think, $18 but you can find it for $11 at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) and $13 at Deep Discount DVD (http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/). It's really worth buying, not just renting. From now on, I think I'll refer to it if I ever need any "Lucy Information." :)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Check it out...

Be sure to check out my new tab, "Music." I spent over an hour preparing it this morning. :)
It's alongside my tabs about Movies, Fashion, and I Love Lucy. I hope you enjoy it!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A New Necklace!

Today, I got a new necklace, and not just any ordinnary necklace... an I Love Lucy one! My mom's friend made it by hand and she makes such pretty jewelery. But this is my favorite by far. Probably because it's I Love Lucy and I'm a sucker for Lucy stuff. :)


I know it's kind of hard to see because my lighting is kind of bad, but on the bottom it says Love and in the background are those conversation hearts that you get on Valentine's Day. I am so excited about it!

Coming Soon

An "I Love Lucy" page is currently under construction! I just wanted to update what I'm up to to everyone so that I don't leave you on the edge of your seat. :)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

My Favorite Movies

Here's a list of my favorite movies. Actually it's just the first 20, but I have composed a list of my top 65 favorites, so I'll share them with you a little at a time. Here's the link to the list:

My Top 20 Favorite Movies

Thanks for reading and enjoy!
PS- If you haven't seen some of these movies, I suggest that you see them. They're all masterpieces!

Also-- if you're interested in seeing a full-length list of my favorite movies, please view the Movie tab at the top of my page. :)

This is a Norman Rockwell painting called "The Movie Star." I thought it was fitting for this blog post.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

My First Post!

I love anything and everything vintage. In fact, I'm so infatuated with it I decided to make a blog about it! I plan to write movie reviews on new (vintage, of course) movies that I've seen and give fun facts, post photographs concerning style and fashion, and talk about music popular from the 20's thru the 50's-early 60's. It's what I love, and I hope that you do, too!