A new favorite, movie-wise

It's been a whole ten years since I first discovered classic films over Christmas vacation in 1999. What started as an initial obsession with Audrey Hepburn eventually transformed into a love of cinema in all it's pre-1970 forms: the pre-code, the artsy foreign film, the musicals, the soapy melodramas, the super popular movies like Casablanca and the ones practically nobody has heard of like Mary Jane's Pa.

If I was ever forced to name the one topic that I have any expertise in, I'd have to say classic film, despite the fact that my knowledge on the subject is pitifully small compared to many of the classic film bloggers and historians I admire. One of the things that makes me less qualified as an expert than many of my fellow film lovers is that I've watched far less well-known classics than most people who profess expertise. It's not for a lack of interest or a lack of access to the films -- put simply, I've tried to save some of the best films so that I didn't run out right at the start.

Mutiny on the Bounty? Never seen it. The Asphalt Jungle? Nope. Gigi? Nada. Gunga Din? No-sir-ee. I want to see these films desperately, and yet I avoid them like the plague when they show on TCM. Even though there are oodles of fantastic films out there that I know I'll be discovering and enjoying for years to come, there are only a handful of movies that are really considered out-of-this-world awesome by a consensus of movie-lovers. These films I want to reserve, and sprinkle throughout my life instead of experiencing them all for the first time in my first ten years of classic film.

And so this explains why, when I watched The Apartment last night, it was my very first time. Despite a very strong "why didn't I watch this sooner so it could have been a favorite years ago?" sensation, I'm glad that I waited this long to finally watch it. If I had seen the film when I first discovered classic movies, at age 13, it definitely wouldn't have had the same resonance that it does now, at 23.

In order to make sure I never spoiled the plot for myself, I've also avoided all blog posts, articles, synopses and reviews of The Apartment over the last ten years. After finally seeing it for myself, I can understand why it has such a great reputation but I'm also aware that everything I thought about it has probably already been said: the sweet sadness of the plot; the utter adorableness of Jack Lemmon; the dialogue (the dialogue!!); the way your heart literally breaks for Shirley & Jack; the smarminess of Fred MacMurray; how Edie Adams still shines in such a teeny tiny bit part; did I mention the sweet sadness?? I'm sure many people have done play-by-plays, pointing out their favorite parts: the tennis racket strainer (and wait til I serve the meatballs!); that awful moment of realization with the broken mirror; the $100 bill in the envelope; the entire episode where Jack Lemmon has a cold (have I mentioned the adorableness?); shut up and deal. (Now I finally understand this quote that I've been hearing for years!)

This was one of the sweetest, saddest, happiest, cutest, most depressing, most uplifting, fantastic films I've ever seen. And I think it's safe to say that it's definitely a new favorite, movie-wise.

Happy Birthday, Frank Sinatra!

My favorites come and go, but one person has remained constant for almost a decade now: Frank Sinatra.

I discovered classic films in December 1999, and then first heard Frank Sinatra sing two months later - on Valentines Day 2000. I was making a mix tape for my parents and found a Sinatra CD hiding amongst all the alternative rock music my dad usually listens to. One play of "All the Way" and I was hooked. Up until that day, I was strictly a top 40 girl. It embarrasses me now, but my entire music collection at the time pretty much consisted of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys.

For me, Frank Sinatra is the one figure from the golden age whose music and movies have always remained at the top of the heap. His songs have comforted me through petty-in-retrospect-but-devastatingly-serious-at-the-time crushes in high school. When my cat was seriously ill in 2007, the only thing I could listen to was "Melancholy Baby." His songs were there when I had art successes -- "You're Gonna Hear From Me" was a popular tune in my home when I started getting sales in 2005. Every trip tape, every mix tape, every play list over the last ten years hasn't been without a Frank Sinatra song.

I have listened to his songs so often over the decade that I don't even need to play them to hear them; the songs are imprinted in my brain forever. When I do hear them, I can easily pinpoint what year they were recorded by the sound of his voice. From the smooth, silky sound of his early years with Harry James to the deep, world-weary gravely sound in the 80's. I love every one of his songs with all of my heart.

Frank Sinatra's voice, even at the beginning, had such a depth to it that while listening you really feel like you could fall into the sound. With headphones on in a quiet room, the music just engulfs me - no other singer I've ever heard could accomplish this but Frank Sinatra.

While my interest in Frank Sinatra has transformed over the years from a bobby-soxer, fangirl kind of fascination into a deep, heartfelt respect for the music and the man, I still go weak in the knees when I hear his love songs. Despite the fact that the album was made in haste at the end of his Capitol contract, my favorite album is "Point of No Return." It's usually outshone by his similar, but more popular, concept albums "Wee Small Hours" and "Only the Lonely" but if you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend it. The track "It's a Blue World" has turned around my record player more times than I could ever count.

While I usually celebrate celebrity birthdays with a film or listening to one of their songs, Frank Sinatra's birthday is always different - he's like a member of my family! Because he's so special, he gets his own celebration in my home every single year.

The annual itinerary:

A double feature & a concert
(This year it's Von Ryan's Express, Pal Joey and A Man and His Music)

Sinatra music ALL DAY LONG, non stop.

And a pasta dinner using Frank Sinatra's recipe. The recipe was spoken to Sid Mark (host of the Philadelphia radio show Sundays with Sinatra)

"First you start with some olive oil and some garlic, four whole cloves. You heat the oil and add the garlic. Puncture the garlic with an ordinary fork so it exudes the flavor. When the garlic turns tan, turn off the oil and throw it out. Save the oil.
Next you take two whole cans of the Italian plum tomatoes. Place the can in the blender and count to a slow four. Put the tomatoes into a large sauce pan. Add some basil, salt, pepper, oregano, and the oil. Bring the sauce to a boil. Skim the oil that rises to the top. Dip a piece of bread in the sauce testing to see when the sauce is finished. At the end you might want to add from fresh parsley. And there you have it-a good pasta sauce."

Now, I edit this just a tad (sorry Frank!) I add a few tablespoons of honey (otherwise it can be pretty acidic!) and I crush the tomatoes with a potato masher instead of putting them in a blender, so that it has more texture. I always use Luigi Vitelli plum tomatoes (imported from Italy) and fresh Basil. It tastes delicious with any kind of pasta, but I usually use penne, capellini or shells. And very al dente!!

Happy Sinatra day!!!

Antisemitism and Hollywood

My paternal grandparents were of Russian Jewish ancestry. They had both passed away by the time I was 3, my mom is Christian and my dad doesn't practice any religion, so the fact that I was partly Jewish didn't even register with me until recently, when I saw Gentleman's Agreement for the first time.

Of course I knew about the Holocaust, but I never realized that that kind of bigotry existed in America until watching this film. Gregory Peck plays a writer who decides to "be Jewish" to learn firsthand what it's like for a story he's writing on antisemitism. In one scene, his son comes home terribly upset after being taunted by other kids at school. When I saw this scene, my heart completely dropped to my feet. This film was made only a few years before my dad was born. Did this kind of stuff happen to him??

I wasn't sure how to bring it up, but a few days after watching the film, I was in the car with my dad and I found the words slowly pouring out of my mouth. It was so hard for me to ask, and even harder to listen when he told me that, yes, kids had picked on him for being Jewish. I imagine it must have been even worse for my grandparents in the early part of the century when their families had just immigrated.

Since seeing Gentleman's Agreement, I've become more attuned to antisemitism. I was totally shocked when I heard our UPS driver telling my dad a story about "Jewish lightning" - a slur about Jewish people deliberately burning their houses to get the insurance money. Even my own grandmother (maternal) has made bigoted remarks in front of my dad. While it may not be as prevalent anymore, it seems like anti-Jewish remarks are still somewhat acceptable in mainstream America.

Like most of my interests, this took its natural course and ended up with classic film. While doing research on antisemitism and Hollywood, I noticed that quite a few Jewish actors anglicized their names to be more acceptable. While name-changes were commonplace in Hollywood (Lucille LeSueur became Joan Crawford, Marion Morrison became John Wayne, etc.) it was even more important for Jews to change their names because of the possible stigma attached to an obviously ethnic name.

Lauren Bacall
(Betty Joan Perske)

Theda Bara
(Theodosia Burr Goodman)

Jack Benny
(Benjamin Kubelsky)

Joey Bishop
(Joseph Abraham Gottleib)

Ricardo Cortez
(Jacob Krantz)

Tony Curtis
(Bernard Schwartz)

Kirk Douglas
(Issur Danielovitch)

John Garfield
(Jacob Julius Garfinkle)

More on John Garfield in my upcoming post on Gentleman's Agreement.

Judy Holliday
(Judith Tuvim)

Leslie Howard
(Leslie Howard Steiner)

Al Jolson
(Asa Yoelson)

Jerry Lewis
(Joseph Levitch)

Peter Lorre
(Laszlo Lowenstein)

Paul Muni
(Mashilem Meier Weisenfreund)

Tony Randall
(Arthur Leonard Rosenberg)

Edward G. Robinson
(Emanuel Goldenberg)

Lillian Roth
(Lillian Rutstein)

Jill St. John
(Jill Arlyn Oppenheim)

Sylvia Sidney
(Sophia Kosow)

Shelley Winters
(Shirley Schrift)

Happy Birthday, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Today, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. would have been 100 years old!
In honor of his birthday, I suggest you stop by Casey's blog,
Noir Girl. She's DFJ's biggest fan :)

Happy Birthday Deanna Durbin!

Happy Birthday, Deanna Durbin!

Please take a second to read two great birthday tributes to Deanna Durbin --

Happy Birthday Deanna Durbin at Classic Movies

Happy 88th Birthday to the great, wonderful, beyond amazing, Deanna Durbin! at Classic Forever

One night at the movies long ago...

A few days ago, Kid in the front row sent out an email asking some film bloggers, myself included, to post to their blogs on December 3rd a story about a memorable trip to the movies. I immediately replied that I'd love to participate. I then spent the next few days racking my brain, but I couldn't come up with a darn thing.

The truth is, I don't go to the movies much now and I never really did as a kid either. I know that coming from someone whose life revolves around movies this must seem pretty shocking, but it's true.

I saw The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast on the big screen when they first came out, but I was too young to remember. In high school I went through a new movie phase (yes, you heard that correctly-- Kate, the girl who deplores new movies actually enjoyed them a few years ago!) and went to the theater with friends quite a few times. I distinctly remember seeing Gothika and Love, Actually, for some reason. I went through an intense but short-lived Jude Law obsession in 2003 (or was it 2004? I don't remember.) and subsequently I saw Cold Mountain four times, Alfie twice (I know! The remake!) and I Heart Huckabees once. In 2003 my first date was a trip to the movies. Unfortunately we went to see the newest Terminator movie. It was awful. The date and the movie.

After that little flirtation with new movies had ended, I got cozy with classic movies again, this time for good. Of course, classic movies are a little hard to come by on the big screen in my neck of the woods, so I've only been to the movies sporadically since 2004.

In 2007 I drove two hours to Maryland to see a Barbara Stanwyck double feature for her centennial celebration at the AFI Silver Theater. For my birthday last year I drove one hour to see Monsieur Verdoux in Pennsylvania. And in August I took a train into New York to see two John Mills movies at the Film Forum, but that's pretty much it.

I've always been underwhelmed with the theater-going experience, but maybe that's just because I don't usually go with anyone who is as excited about the films as I am. Or maybe it's because I am more self conscious about crying or laughing aloud than I am in my own home, watching the films on television. It could also be that the classic movies don't attract a large enough audience, and I'm constantly aware of my surroundings-- that the old guy two rows in front of me is snoozing (and, unfortunately, snoring) through Gary Cooper's tour de force performance in Meet John Doe.

Until I was faced with the prospect of writing about a memorable trip to the movies, I never realized how lacking big screen experiences have been in my life. The few trips to the movies I can vividly remember weren't all that great; and the ones that should have been life-changing as a kid I can't even remember.

This month, me and my brother are going into New York to see If You Could Only Cook and You Can't Take it With You at the Film Forum, then a few days later my whole family is going in to see Ball of Fire and The Mad Miss Manton. I hope that if one day in the future I'm asked to write about a memorable film experience, I'll be able to cite my trips to The Film Forum in December 2009.... if not, I think I just give up and I'll DVD it from here on in...

ps. Unlike my post, Kid's was incredibly entertaining and well written and I highly suggest you go read it, here.