The Way You Look Tonight

Within a two year period and six nominations Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies picked up the Best Song Oscar twice.
The music for: The Way You Look Tonight for the 1936 movie Swing Time (RKO) won Best Song at the Oscars and was written by Jerome Kern with Lyrics written by Dorothy Fields.
In 1935 the song; Cheek to Cheek from Top Hat(RKO) music and lyrics by Irving Berlin was nominated along with the song: Lovely to Look at from Roberta(RKO) music by Jerome Kern Lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh.
In 1934 the song: The Continental from the movie The Gay Divorcee won Best Song Honors, with the song, The Carioca from Flying Down to Rio and the musical score from The Gay Divorcee garnering additional nominations.
1936 would also be the first year that Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor categories would be offered. Walter Brennan picked up his Best Supporting Actor plaque for the movie Come and Get It a Goldwyn picture. Gale Sondergaard received Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Warner Brothers movie Anthony Adverse. Special Award went to W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson Selznick Studios for Color Cinematography in the movie: The Garden of Allah.

I’ll Be Seeing You

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll Be Seeing You…Leonard Maltin describes this movie as ‘schmaltz’ I have to disagree. I have a tendency to compare this movie with the Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray 1940 Christmas movie Remember the Night. The Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple movie made in 1944 is more thought-provoking. As in the opening scene Ginger’s character asks to buy gum or chocolate at the train station (if she hadn’t been in prison for three years she would have known you couldn’t just go out and buy those items, there was a war going on). Who knew that prisoners were let out for special furloughs over the Holiday season?

We see that there is just a little something off with Joseph Cotten’s character. He seems a little slow, hesitant, wants to buy a magazine for the train ride, and has difficulty deciding which magazine to buy pays for it then walks off with the wrong magazine. The magazine he accidently picks up features an article about the ‘Problem of the Neuro Psychiatric Soldier’ PTSD is what we call it now a days and Cotten is also on furlough from the hospital for the Holiday to see how he can handle his emotions in the civilian world.

Sixteen year old Shirley Temple plays a typical teenager of the time. Her cousin played by Ginger treats her as an adult while her parents, Spring Byington and Tom Tully still treat her like a clueless child which leads to some major faux pas on her part. When scolded by her father for wearing a dress with a low neckline to the New Year’s Eve dance she impudently tells him ‘It’s a morale booster’.

This movie isn’t your typical Ginger, Joseph, Shirley movie which is why I like it. It conveys the sentiments of the season, with the aunt and uncle opening their home to their niece and the soldier she meets on the train. And it ends just like I like a good movie to end… With a feeling of hope, a kiss and a catchy number one song that won’t stop playing in your head once you have heard it.

Gold Diggers of 1933

Gold Diggers of 1933 (Warner Brothers): Joan Blondell, Ginger Rogers, and Dick Powell

“I believe I can make this girl transfer her affection from him to me.”

Down and out in the Depression, Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell, and Dick Powell get it together to put on what they hope to be a successful show. But they’ll have to get through Warren William first if they expect to keep their leading man.  What ensues is such fun as the girls take the rich stuffed shirts from Boston for a ride. Wanting to tell Brad’s brother the truth, the real Polly isn’t too happy that Joan Blondell has been pulling the wool over his eyes, but things all work out in the end.

With songs like Pettin’ in the Park and We’re in the Money, this musical set the standard for the musicals that helped pull the country out of the depression.  Glow in the dark violins, the Forgotten Man March, and Warren William turning out to be a nice guy all make this a top notch musical.

Bachelor Mother

Our Thursday night cozy film features David Niven and Ginger Rogers, as store owner and employee during the holidays.

When a series of misunderstandings, assumptions, and misdirected actions ensue, our two main characters get themselves in a bit of a pickle with a baby, a father, a dance contest, and some well meaning proprietors of the local orphanage. Enjoy some Classic Hollywood slapstick fun to help finish out your week.

 

Ginger Rogers

July 16, 1911 ~ April 25, 1995

Gold Diggers of 1933, Stage Door, It Had To Be You

Happy Birthday Ginger!

Pandro S. Berman

Pandro S. Berman ~ Producer

March 28, 1905 ~ July 13, 1996

Swing Time, Stage Door, Hunchback of Notre Dame

Happy Birthday Mr. Berman!

Edward Everett Horton

March 18, 1886 ~ September 29, 1970

The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Lady on a Train

Happy Birthday Edward!

MANDATORY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD FILM LIST…PART DEAUX

LIST TWO…

Rochellelynn is correct we have watched A LOT of Classic Hollywood films. And making this list only confirms what I believed in the past. I am a Warner Brothers Studio Girl and Rochellelynn is an MGM Studio Girl. And I mean Studio as opposed to Archive. Because any Studio film can end up in an Archive or Vault Collection set. When you our illustrious readers compile your own mandatory film list it will be fun to see what kind of Classic Hollywood Film Studio type girl or boy you are, let us know!

Adventures of Robin Hood…Warner Brothers-1938

All Through the Night…Warner Brothers-1942

Angels Wash Their Faces…Warner Brothers-1939

Angels with Dirty Faces…Warner Brothers-1938

Because of Him…Universal-1946

Black Swan…20^th Century Fox-1942

Bride Came C.O.D, The.…Warner Brothers-1941

Brother Rat…Warner Brothers-1938

Calamity Jane…Warner Brothers-1953

Christmas Holiday…Universal-1944

Dead End…Samuel Goldwyn-1937

Dinner at Eight…MGM-1933

Edge of Darkness…Warner Brothers-1943

Foreign Affair…Paramount-1948

Four Daughters…Warner Brothers-1938

Gilda…Columbia-1946

Gone With the Wind…David O. Seltznik-1939

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn…Mickey Rooney…MGM-1939

Hunchback of Notre Dame…Charles Laughton…RKO-1939

I Married a Witch…United Artist-1942

It Happened One Night…Columbia-1934

Inn of the Sixth Happiness…20^th Century Fox-1958

It Started with Eve…Universal-1941

Juke Girl…Warner Brothers-1942

Life with Father…Warner Brothers-1947

Mad About Music…Universal-1938

Male Animal…Warner Brothers-1942

Meet John Doe…Warner Brothers-1941

Midnight Mary…MGM-1933

Miracle of Morgan’s Creek…Paramount-1944

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town…Columbia-1936

My Favorite Wife…RKO-1940

Only Angels Have Wings…Columbia-1939

Perils of Pauline…Paramount-1947

Primrose Path…RKO-1940

Princess O’Rourke…Warner Brothers1943

Quiet Man…Republic-1952

Rachel and the Stranger…RKO-1948

Saboteur…Universal-1942

Shepherd of the Hills…Paramount-1941

So Proudly We Hail…Paramount-1943

Spanish Main…RKO-1945

Strawberry Blonde…Warner Brothers-1941

Taming of the Shrew…Columbia-1967

Tarzan the Ape Man…Johnny Weissmuller…MGM-1932

To Have and Have Not…Warner Brothers-1944

Trouble with Angels…Columbia-1966

Unconquered…Paramoun-1947

Unfaithful, The…Warner Brothers-1947

Viva Las Vegas…MGM-1964

We’re no Angels…Paramount-1955

What a Way to Go…20^th Century Fox-1964

You Were Never Lovelier…Columbia-1942

David Niven

March 1, 1910 ~ July 29,1983

David Niven Bachelor Mother, Pink Panther, Please don’t eat the Daisies
I think annstj and I both agree that Bachelor Mother is our favorite David Niven film. Opposite Ginger Rogers, David Niven plays the upper class department store owner, laid with the task of giving Ginger Rogers back her job when he discovers she has left her baby at an orphanage because she had been fired… or so he thinks it was her baby, little does anyone believe she was just trying to keep it from rolling off the steps at the front door. Thus begins the bathed-in-lies relationship between Rogers and Niven, and uh… the baby. Niven also satisfies in The Pink Panther and Please don’t Eat the Daisies. Enjoy!

MANDATORY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD FILM LIST

LIST ONE…..

Note: We’ve watched A LOT of classic Hollywood films. This is my list so far- and no they’re not necessarily based on anything even close to “merit.” I know annstj will have her own list, so look out for  a LIST TWO. This was prompted by my younger brother asking what “other” old films he should watch( other than Thin Man) to complete his Classic Hollywood Education. Add your own Mandatories in the comments.

American in Paris…MGM -1951

Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer…RKO-1947

Ball of Fire…Samuel Goldwyn Co. -1941

Big Sleep…Warner Brothers – 1946

Breakfast at Tiffany’s…Paramount-1961

Bringing up Baby…RKO-1938

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid…20^th Century Fox-1969

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof…MGM-1958

Christmas in Connecticut…Warner Brothers-1945

Darby O’Gill and the Little People…Walt Disney-1959

Double Indemnity…Paramount-1944

Gay Divorcee, The…RKO-1934

Gigi…MGM-1958

Girl Happy…MGM-1965

Glass Bottomed Boat…MGM-1966

Good Fairy, The…Universal-1935

High Society…MGM-1956

His Girl Friday…Columbia-1940

How to Marry a Millionaire…20^th Century Fox-1953

How to Steal a Million…20^th Century Fox-1966

Lady Eve, The…Paramount-1941

Libeled Lady…MGM-1936

Major and the Minor…Paramount-1942

Mark of Zorro…20^th Century Fox-1940

Mary Poppins…Disney-1964

More the Merrier, The…Columbia-1943

Move over Darling…20^th Century Fox-1963

Mr. and Mrs. Smith…RKO-1941

Music Man…Warner Brothers-1962

My Fair Lady…Warner Brothers-1964

My Man Godfrey…Universal-1936

My Sister Eileen…Columbia-1942

Pillow Talk…Universal-1959

Singing in the Rain…MGM-1952

Some Like It Hot…United Artists-1959

Something in the Wind…Universal International-1947

Sullivan’s Travel…Paramount-1942

Take Me Out to the Ballgame…MGM-1949

Thin Man…MGM-1934

Thoroughly Modern Millie…Universal International- 1967

Three Smart Girls…Universal-1936

Tom Jones…Woodfall Film Productions-1963

Two Sisters From Boston…MGM-1946

Women, The…MGM-1934