Friday, September 3, 2010

Wrapping Up the Week

GR&DF the week has come to a close and we have two - no THREE - days off!! WOO-HOO!!!! Now, should I be decisive and strong and do some Fall cleaning or acquire the numb butt that I really want and sit around like a bump on a lump and stitch???? A real quandary!

I think I will talk about few flicks this morning - since my stitching is almost non-existent this week for snaps. I started up another exchange piece and worked a bit on SoHRH, but I can't show the exchange and the Shores stitching is not very exciting to see.

Now, if you cast your mind back a few weeks or months ago I mentioned I was throwing the Shirley Temple films onto my NetFlix queue. Not all at once but sprinkled about. I have gotten to see two of them and if you look past the sugary sweet nature of the films it is truly amazing how much talent that little girl had. The first of the two Shirley films was - "Bright Eyes" - 1934 - starring Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Jane Darwell and ever evil little rich girl - Jane Withers. From this film we get a Shirley signature song "The Good Ship Lollypop."



This was really the first film to be tailored specifically to her talents and at 6 years old she made the most of every moment. The second film was "The Littlest Rebel" - 1935 - starring Shirley Temple, John Boles, Jack Holt and Bill Robinson. This film was the second time that Shirley and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson where brought together - and their songs and dance numbers are worth the whole picture.

The next film was "It's a Pleasure" - 1945 - starring Sonja Henie, Michael O'Shea and Marie MacDonald. Lovely Henie plays an ice skater in love with a Hockey player that has problems with anger and the bottle - but she overlooks both issues and marries him anyway. Eventually she goes on to become a star while his career falters and ends. The story is thin but the technicolour is thick and rich with some really nice musical numbers.

Next up would be "The West Point Story" -1950- starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae and Alan Hale, Jr. This is a great song and dance film that takes place at West point - as IMBD says about the story "a Broadway director helps the cadets put on a show, aided by two lovely ladies and assorted complications." A huge amount of talent and although the film is a bit silly the musical numbers are top notch, great singing and great dancing - that's the reason to see the film.

Last up would be a Holiday film I had never heard of - "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" - 2008 - starring Jacqueline Bisset, Tatiana Maslany and Helen Joy. This Hallmark TV film was taken from a Louisa May Alcott short story and revolves around a poor widow who is trying to raise her three children on a hard scrabble farm in New Hampshire. There is a mystery about the mother's past and when her very wealthy mother arrives from New York the story starts to unfold with a nice and happy ending for all. This is not Masterpiece theatre, but then not everything is - this film is a pleasant family film that has a good story (very reminiscent of Little Women) with nice cinematography, sets and costumes.

There you go sports fans - I think that about does it for today. Don't forget to put a comment on this POST to be entered in the 800 Post Drawing. I'll be back on Tuesday with another posting and to announce the winner. Have a great weekend!!

Take Care,
edgar

6 comments:

  1. I've never seen most of these films Edgar but they are classics I probably should see. My mother used to mention Sonja Henie...in fact I use the recipe my mom gave me for thumbprint cookies all the time and it is titled "Sonja Henie Christmas Cookies". Evidently Sonja knew how to bake as well as she skated!

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  2. Oh My Goodness !!! You sure bring back my saturday morning movies and the late show every week day afternoon. I would sit there watching the old boob tube while all the other kids where out running around.
    Keep it up my friend I love thinking about these old movies and sometimes I even order them too. They are great to stitch with aren't they?

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  3. Enjoy your long weekend Edgar! I have a 3-day weekend to and I am so excited and relieved! I do have some housecleaning to catch up on but hope to get some stitching in too. Am working on a LK piece for a friend who has a b-day next weekend. :)

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  4. I remember watching all the Shirley Temple movies on tv matinee when I was very little...I used to love them. Now in a house full of testosterone, it is difficult to find time to watch MY style of viewing. lol
    I've got Shirley's biography - very interesting - would you be interested in this paperback? I've nearly finished reading it.

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  5. Well, I have to work all weekend, including Monday, so I think someone should sit and stitch the holiday away. And that someone should be you, Edgar! I'll never vote for cleaning over stitching.

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  6. I love, LOVE Shirley Temple. I think I've seen everyone of her flicks many times. They used to run Sunday mornings after Abbot & Costello movies...that is when I used to stitch on stamped cross-stitch as Grandma & Mom taught me...the start of this wonderful part of life! Which is why I would elect stitching over cleaning - and intend to do so today and tomorrow. Have a great rest of your weekend, Edgar!

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