Author: palewriter2

I adore classic, James Bond and horror films and it's so lovely to be able to speak to other people about it.
Blogathons

Mind If I Make Love To You: Grace Kelly in High Society

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A remake of The Philadelphia Story (1940) starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey, High Society (1956) was Grace Kelly's final film before she became Princess Grace of Monaco. Awarded the role after Elizabeth Taylor was unable to commit to the project, Grace plays the role that Katherine Hepburn originated onscreen: the ultra disciplined and refined,… Continue reading Mind If I Make Love To You: Grace Kelly in High Society

Blogathons

Lily in the Sun: Grace Kelly in Mogambo

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Mogambo (1953) is a remake of the pre-code classic Red Dust 1932), and was originally supposed to be set in French Indochina as it's predecessor had been. But by the early 1950s, French control of the region had begun to disintegrate and the film's producers decided to set the film in another "exotic" location, this time choosing British… Continue reading Lily in the Sun: Grace Kelly in Mogambo

Blogathons

The Girl with the Haunted and Haunting Eyes: Hedy Lamarr in Algiers

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Algiers (1938) marked Hedy Lamarr's American screen debut. MGM hoped she would be the new Greta Garbo with her "exotic" beauty. Although she was new to American audiences, Hedy was already known throughout Europe for her role in Ecstasy (1933), a Czech-Austrian co-production in which she appeared nude. The film also supposedly marked the first non-pornographic film to… Continue reading The Girl with the Haunted and Haunting Eyes: Hedy Lamarr in Algiers

Blogathons

A Light Part: Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl

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A sequel to the 1936 film, The Great Ziegfeld starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and Luise Rainer, Ziegfeld Girl was supposed to be made in 1938 and star Joan Crawford, Virginia Bruce and Walter Pidgeon. But by 1941, it was decided that "newer" talent would be used, and so Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Judy Garland were cast, despite… Continue reading A Light Part: Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl

Blogathons, Noir Or Never

The Big Remake Part II: Mitchum and Miles

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The 1978 version of Raymond Chandler’s novel was made three years after Robert Mitchum’s first onscreen outing as Phillip Marlowe, in Farewell My Lovely, which was in turn a remake of the 1944 film, Murder, My Sweet, in which Dick Powell played the private dick. This time, Mitchum was directed in the main role by… Continue reading The Big Remake Part II: Mitchum and Miles

Blogathons, Noir Or Never

The Big Remake Part I: Bogie and Bacall

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  The second of super couple, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's noir pairings, The Big Sleep is considered to be one of the quintessential film noirs of the post war period. It's dark, convoluted plot, charged chemistry between its leads and excellent portrayal of Marlow by Bogart, meant that in 1997, the U.S. Library of Congress deemed… Continue reading The Big Remake Part I: Bogie and Bacall

All Hallows' Eve, Val Lewton

Shame and Sorrow To An Island Family

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It is difficult to fully express my love for I Walked With A Zombie. I was first introduced to the film by Adam Roche, of the brilliant The Secret History of Hollywood and Attaboy Clarence podcasts. Adam is currently producing a season on the work of Val Lewton, and his episode of the Shadows series that details I Walked… Continue reading Shame and Sorrow To An Island Family