A World Without Fred & Ginger

Can you image a world without Fred & Ginger? Or a world without Adele Astaire or Claire Luce? Both Adele and Claire are two very important key figures in shaping Fred Astaire’s dance career. Adele kicked off Fred’s interest in dance when she had to take him to her dance classes. Claire helped him gain confidence in finding his sex appeal and inspired the pattern to Night And Day. So a world without Adele & Claire, we wouldn’t have Fred Astaire. And Ginger wouldn’t have met Fred, so there. Fred & Ginger wouldn’t happen without the two girls who helped Fred Astaire push on with his career. It’s funny that people sees Fred & Ginger films as Fred & Ginger films without looking into their past works on stage. There are plenty of information about Girl Crazy, Lady Be Good, and Gay Divorce (just to name a few) online to read. It made me realize how important the people who they worked with in the past to their careers, especially Claire Luce because without her, The Gay Divorcee wouldn’t happen. She was Mimi. She created the role. And Pandro S Berman, he was the driving force of behind Fred & Ginger. The world would be different without those people. I thank them for being there behind the scenes to make Fred & Ginger possible. They were the important people in Fred & Ginger's lives, which includes their parents for bringing them into the world.  We can not forget about Lela Rogers and her work trying to help Ginger be the best that she could be. It sickens me that they are not getting the recognition that they deserve as the forces behind it all. Yes, Fred & Ginger were the face of the product but let's be honest here; they wouldn't be the face of Astaire-Rogers without the people who made them who they are. A world without Fred & Ginger is like a world without the work behind the product. So thank you: Adele Astaire, Claire Luce, Pandro, and others. Without them, Fred & Ginger wouldn’t have collaborated at all.

Favorite Actor

For our favorite actor, we are torned between Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.

Top 10: Fred Astaire dances

I'm not going to be obvious and make everything on this list, an Astaire-Rogers top 10 list as many people would do when they think Fred Astaire. To me, Fred Astaire's dances are one of a kind, whether or not, he is dancing with Ginger Rogers or someone like Debbie Reynolds in a non-musical film. Fred Astaire's talents in dance will always make anyone smile. No matter who you are and what you're in to.

Top 10 Fred Astaire Dances

#10 He Loves And She Loves with Audrey Hepburn from Funny Face. This dance is a very romantic one because the scene starts off with with Audrey's character confessing to Fred's character. She tells him that she doesn't want to leave Paris because she loves the place. She also tells him that she loves him. Fred responds to her confession by overcoming his fear and singing He Loves And She Loves to her. The pair then engages in a romantic dance duet as Fred realizes that he is starting to fall for Audrey's character. -Liana Sheridan

"And they love so won't you

love me as I love you?"

#9 The Shorty George with Rita Hayworth from You Were Never Lovelier. This dance is a fun and up beat, up tempoed that made me laugh. Both Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire doing a tap dance together, makes my day get brighter. I love these two together in their two films together. It also makes me wonder if they treat each other as siblings off-screen because of who Rita was to Fred, and they are also quite different in style. -Liana Sheridan

"A dance for a man

about so big."

#8 Baby Doll with Vera-Ellen from The Belle Of New York. This song is the essence of romance. I think that the song is one of the most romantic dances that Fred Astaire has ever done. Both Fred and Vera-Ellen looked like they were into each other during the dance. This dance is one of the reasons why I'm in love with Fred Astaire's talents. -Sophie Leigh

"You beautiful baby doll."

#7 This Heart Of Mine with Lucille Bremer from Ziegfeld Follies is Fred's most romantic dances that he has ever done. I believe that it was this particular dance that made me think that they have done it right and that they were carefree with love. The dance, itself, is romantic enough as a stand alone musical short; however, one chorus girl missed her queue but was quickly covered up by a stage hand, but that was only one mistake and it happened in the background. -Liana Sheridan

"This heart of mine

is gayly dancing now."

#6 The Babbitt And The Bromide with Gene Kelly from Ziegfeld Follies. The Babbitt And The Bromide is the next dance on our countdown. This dance begins with a humorous sketch between Fred and Gene calling each other "Rita Hayworth" and "Ginger Rogers" as well as Fred not being able to place Gene in any profession. A little fan fact about this dance: Fred Astaire did something quite similar with his sister, Adele Astaire in The Gershwin's Funny Face.  -Liana Sheridan

"Gotta fly."

#5 Sluefoot with Leslie Caron from Daddy Long Legs. The Sluefoot was one of those dances that always makes me smile. I love how much faith Fred Astaire had for the dance and how he wanted to make the dance succeed, though learning that his wife of twenty or so years passed during the filming of the film. If you look closely at his face, you might catch his eyes being swollen or red from crying over the lost of Phyllis Potter. -Sophie Leigh

Astaire with first wife, Phyllis Potter in front
of their Los Angeles home.

#4 When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves For Alabam with Judy Garland from Easter Parade. When I first saw this film, I loved every moment of it; however, the most memorable moment of the film that I enjoyed the most is this particular scene. Both Judy and Fred looked like they were having fun. Yet, I keep on calling Judy, Dorothy throughout the film, itself. -Sophie Leigh

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

#3 The Jukebox Duet with Eleanor Powell from The Broadway Melody of 1940.  Eleanor Powell danced like a man is what Fred Astaire said about Eleanor. In 1981, Eleanor Powell would later say that they would rehearse over and over again, just to make every step perfect and well done. She also stated that she wanted to it one more time. Both Ellie and Freddie were Hollywood's biggest hoofing perfectionists. And perfect they were! -Liana Sheridan

Astaire with Eleanor Powell, 1940.

"I have tried it but I don't

quite get the same thing."

#2 Dancing In the Dark with Cyd Charisse from The Band Wagon. This number is one of those dances that Fred done or saw being done during his Broadway days with his sister, Adele in 1931. And both Liana and I agreed that this dance would have been different during the 1930s, or has been replicated if any documented footage of rehearsal had been leaked to the public. -Sophie Leigh

"Cyd Charisse is a terrific dancer, a wonderful partner,"

[Fred] Astaire would admit later. "She had precision

plus -- beautiful dynamite, I call it. When you

danced with her, you stayed danced with her."

#1 A Couple Of Song And Dance Men with Bing Crosby from Blue Skies and Together. This number is one of our favorites of Astaire's. It was this dance that I thought that Fred nailed it, and that he proved to everyone that he could dance and teach at the same time on-screen. -Sophie Leigh

"I couldn't even reach the steps he throws away."

~Adele Astaire

"Come on, Fred, I'm not your sister, you know."

~ Claire Luce

Film that got us into Old Hollywood

Mary Poppins was the film that got me into Old Hollywood and Classic Disney for that matter.

-Sophie Leigh

The Belle of New York.

~Liana Sheridan

Photo of the Week

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a promotional shot for Fly Me Down to Rio (1933).

Four films that we'd pick as the TCM Guest Programmers

Swing Time (1933) - Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers.

I Love Melvin (1953) - Donald O'Connor,  Debbie Reynolds.

Holiday Inn (1942) - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) - Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra.

The first film that we would pick is Swing Time. Swing Time is about a showman who finds himself romancing a dance instructor. The film has the most romantic  scoring by Jerome Kern, and we thought that it's one of Jerome's best work and beautifully sang by Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and the rest of the cast. The second film that we would go for is I Love Melvin because it's one of those films that everyone needs to watch. It's funny. It's romantic. It has singing and dancing. And importantly, it has Cosmo Brown and Kathy Selden (Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds) in love with each other. The next one on our list will be Holiday Inn starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. It is the second film of Fred's on our list and one of my favorite films to watch in the summertime. Though, both of us has seen the colorized version of the film since it has the best quality. We'd still appreciate seeing the black and white version. The last film that we would show is Take Me Out To The Ballgame starting Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Esther Williams because of the running gag between Kelly and Williams, which is they courtship between the pair. Kelly is first introduced to her as a lady, but he called her a fathead then further into the story, he starts to call her, baby doll, which she repeats to him.

30 Day Old Hollywood Meme

This things will be short and about a paragraph long each. I will also do more if you guys want for me to do more. Also, if you guys want to contact me or my co-owner, Ms Sophie Leigh; the comments section is the way to go for discussions and inputs. We'd love to hear from you guys.

Day 01- Four films you’d pick as the TCM Guest Programmer


Day 02- Film that got you interested in Old Hollywood


Day 03- Favorite Actor


Day 04- Favorite Actress


Day 05- Actor or Actress you think is underrated


Day 06- Favorite movie from your favorite Actor


Day 07- Favorite movie from your favorite Actress


Day 08- Favorite Old Hollywood couple


Day 09- Old Hollywood stars you wish had worked together


Day 10- Favorite movie


Day 11- Team Bette or Team Joan


Day 12- Favorite Barrymore


Day 13- Classic movie you just couldn’t get into


Day 14- A legend everyone appreciates, but you can’t personally stand


Day 15- An Actor or Actress you’ve been meaning to give a chance, but haven’t gotten around to it yet


Day 16- Favorite director


Day 17- Favorite line from a film


Day 18- Actor or Actress who should have won an Oscar


Day 19- Who’d you like to party it up with in the afterlife


Day 20- Favorite Silent film star


Day 21- Old Hollywood couple you’d watch a sex tape of


Day 22- If you could go back in time and trade places with an Old Hollywood star, who would it be


Day 23- A film you think is underrated


Day 24- Favorite film from Hollywood’s greatest year, 1939


Day 25- Which character from a film do you fantasize about being


Day 26- Which unsolved scandal would you most like the answer to


Day 27- Who’s death hit you the hardest and why


Day 28- A movie you never expected yourself to enjoy


Day 29- Who’s private lifestyle shocked you the most


Day 30- Which 5 Old Hollywood stars would you invite to dinner

Happy Birthday, Hedy Lamarr!

I ain't got classes tomorrow so guess who is going to write her historical fan fiction on "pen to paper" method. This girl!
~Liana Sheridan

I'm starting to change the theme of my blog:)
~Liana Sheridan

Quote of the Week

"Always be a first-rate version

of yourself, instead of

a second-rate version

of somebody else."

~Judy Garland

Hollywood Biography Pictures Blogathon

Hey guys!
I want to start a blogathon and I want people to take part in it if any of you care. The blogathon is about biopics. I know that biopics isn't that accurate but they are the closest thing to what we can see on how the person acted towards other people and their own families. And how hard their lives were before the fame. Some of the biopics that are already out are about outlaws, stage stars, or Hollywood actors. I don't have an exact date on when I want the blogathon to start but I want to kick it off with a biopic that I've always admired as a film. I also have listed a few biopics that you can choose from (there are tons and tons of biopics around).

• The Story of Vernon And Irene Castle (1939)
• Three Little Words (1950)
• Gypsy (1962)
• Harlow (1965)
• Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
• Gable And Lombard (1976)
• Mommie Dearest (1981)
• Chaplin (1992)
• Child Star (2001)
• The Aviator (2004)
• J Edgar (2012)
• Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
• Grace of Monaco (2014)

If you have any others biopics that you want to write about for this blogathon, just leave a comment below. Thank you:)

Rules & Conditions

• At least 2-3 sources
• Must have seen the movie that you have chosen to write about
• Must include a paragraph about the people or person who the movie is about
• Must include a paragraph summarizing the movie
• Include pictures and quotes, if they are needed to illustrate the article
• When you are done with the article, please leave a link in the comments section of this blog entry

~Liana Sheridan

So Lucille Ball might be getting another biopic sometime in the future, and Cate Blanchett might portray her in the movie; however, Cate already portrayed another Old Hollywood star in the 2004 DiCaprio-Scorsese motion picture, The Aviator. And that star's name was Katharine Hepburn. What do you guys think? Will Cate be a great Lucille? Or will it flop as an entirety?
~Liana Sheridan

Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile

Cleopatra is one of movie's most iconic roles for a woman. She has been portrayed by two silent stars during 1910s and was first vocally portrayed by Claudette Colbert in 1934 but Cleopatra was not an Egyptian, the produce of incest, and her beauty wasn't her biggest asset. She also had a band in the deaths of three of her siblings. Cleopatra knew how to make and entrance. She was living in Rome at the time of Caesar's assassination. She formed her own drinking club with Mark Antony. She also led a fleet in a naval battle. As dramatized by William Shakespeare, her death may not have been cause by an asp snake bite in real life. And the most expensive movie ever made about her was the 1963 film, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison.

Cleopatra Thea Philopator ruled Egypt for almost three decades and was the last of the Macedonian rulers that was founded by Ptolemy. Ptolemy served as a general under the rule of Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. Cleopatra was a well-educated woman who was clever and spoke various languages. She also served as a dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies as well as her romantic liaisons and military alliances with two Roman leaders named Julius Caesar and Mark Antony; also, she was known for her exotic beauty and powers of seduction.

Cleopatra VII was born around the year 69 BC as one of the daughter of Ptolemy XII. In 51 BC, the Egyptian throne was passed down to an eighteen year old, Cleopatra and a ten year old, Ptolemy XIII; however, Ptolemy's advisers acted against her, which forced her to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 BC. In Syria, she raised an army and returned the following year to gain Julius Caesar's trust, who was her brother's enemy. Unfortunately, for Caesar, he needed to fund his own return to power in Rome and needed Egypt to pay the debts that the Romans owed the Auletes so Caesar went to war against Ptolemy XIII. The war lasted for four months. Caesar won the war and returned to power. When Roman reinforcements arrived, Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria and was believed to have drowned in the River Nile.

After Ptolemy XIII's death, Cleopatra came to power with her brother, Ptolemy XIV and Julius Caesar stayed in Egypt for a while with her. Around 37 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son. Her son was believed to be Caesar's and was known as Caesarian or Little Caesar by the Egyptian people. Between 46 BC and 45 BC, she travelled with her brother and her son to visit Caesar in Rome. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered, which caused Cleopatra to leave Rome and head back to Egypt. Soon after Caesar's death, her brother had passed. She then reigned Egypt alongside her son, Caesarion and has secured her power over Egypt. She strongly identified herself with the Egyptian Goddess, Isis and was referred to as the "new Isis". Unfortunately, Egypt experienced an unreliable flooding of the Nile resulted in failing crops and led to infatuation and hunger across the kingdom; on the other hand, Rome was experiencing a war between people who wanted to take the power that Julius Caesar had left behind, so Cleopatra sent four Roman legions stationed in Egypt by Caesar to support the triumvirate (Philippi, Mark Antony, and Octavian's side) side of the war. In 42 BC, the Triumvirate side of the war defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius. And the control over Rome was split between Philippi, Octavian, and Mark Antony.

The victorious Mark Antony summoned Cleopatra to the Civilian city of Tarsus to explain her role in the complicated aftermath of Caesar's death. Their story was later recorded by Plutarch and was dramatized by William Shakespeare. In the recorded tale, Cleopatra sets sail to Tarsus in an elaborate ship and was dressed in the robes of Isis, while Mark Antony associated himself with the Greek deity, Dionysus. She was said to have seduced him with her charms, which made Antony agree to protect Egypt and Cleopatra's crown. He also pledged to support her in the removal of her younger sister, Arsinoe, who was then in exile. During the winter of 41 BC and 40 BC, Antony spends time in Alexandria and formed a drinking community with Cleopatra called The Inimitable Livers; then, Cleopatra gave birth to twins after Antony's return to Rome in 40 BC. She named them, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene (Helios means sun and Selene means moon).

After the death of Anthony's wife, Fulvia, he was forced his loyalty to Octavian by marrying his half-sister, Octavia, while Egypt grew tiresome under the rule of Cleopatra. By 37 BC, Mark Antony reunites with Cleopatra and asked her to fund his long-delayed military campaign against the kingdom of Parthia; however, he had to agree to return much of Egypt's eastern empire (Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica, Jericho, and large portions of Syria and Lebanon), which he did. The two became lovers again and in 36 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son named Ptolemy Philadelphos. Octavia then want to join Antony, but he was publicly rejected her and returned to Egypt and Cleopatra. In 34 BC, Mark Antony had a public celebration called the Donations of Alexandria and publicly declared that Caesarian as Caesar's son and rightful heir. He also awarded land to each of his children with Cleopatra, which began propaganda against the couple.



Octavian made the claim that he was under Cleopatra's spell and control. He also claimed that Antony would abandon Rome and found a new capital in Egypt. In 32 BC, the Roman Senate stripped Antony of his titles and a war was declared (by Octavian, himself). Unfortunately, Cleopatra and Mark Antony's forces was defeated by Octavian. The defeat caused Cleopatra's ships to flee to Egypt after they had deserted the battle of Actium. Soon after, Antony managed to break away and follow her with a few ships.

Leading to Cleopatra's downfall is the death of Mark Antony, he was said to have heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide. He fell on his sword and died, just as the news arrived claiming the rumor to be false. In August 12, 30 BC,  after Mark Antony was buried and her meeting with the victorious Octavian, Cleopatra closed herself in her chambers and was alone with two of her female servants. She dies of an uncertain cause or by a poisonous snake bite (as written down by Plutarch). They buried Cleopatra's body along with Antony's. After Cleopatra's death, her son, Caesarion was executed at the age of sixteen.

Sources

1. http://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra
2. http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/cleopatra
3. http://www.biography.com/people/cleopatra-vii-9250984

Roles of Women in 1930s

Astaire & Rogers in Swing
Time (1936)

The thrilling thirties saw the first nine films of the Astaire-Rogers  film series. They were The Gay Divorcee (1934), Flying Down to Rio (1933), Carefree (1938), Top Hat (1935), and Swing Time (1936), just to name a few. The controversial partnership between Shirley Temple and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Their partnership in 1935's The Little Colonel was controversial back then because of Bojangles' skin color, which I found rather odd because we see the partnership as an OK thing today. The decade also saw a vengeful Clark Gable threatening to boycott the premiere of Gone With the Wind (1939) in a racially segregated Atlanta, Georgia and the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the same woman who persuaded Clark to attend the premiere. Lastly, the Clark Gable and Carole Lombard secret affair that began after No Man of Her Own (1932) and ended in 1939 when they went public with their relationship.

Bonnie & Clyde posing with a car
and a gun, c. 1930's.

That was how the decade is depicted by many film students but for me, I thought that the decade told that way to film students was primarily because of the entire nation was under a huge amount of debt and made the entire population ration their income carefully as well as the hope of their bosses not laying them off their jobs.

Barbara Stanwych in Stella
Dallas, c. 1937.

It was a pretty harsh for the working class, especially for the people in West Dallas.

The women during the thrilling thirties were still being depicted as sexual beings although they've already proved to the men that they have their own voice, and that they could stand up for what they believed in. I think that the 1930s also saw more independence from a working woman because they are often seen by the general public today as the glamor girl, the heiress, and the actor as their way of life back then; however, an outlaw wasn't their way of living as most historians would say to someone who has no clue about how women lived during the 1930s.

Josephine Barker: a
famous burlesque
dancer during the 30s

In the 1930s, the most notable job that women had was an entertainer. They were gaining a lot of money, just by being someone else on the silver screen. One of those women was Bette Davis. Bette was notable for taking charge of her own career. She often made a few notes or changes with a script and direct the movie, so that the movie went her way. She also argued with the director; almost making the progress of making the movie close to impossible to make. This was in fact one of the many reasons why she was nicknamed the Fifth Warner Brother.

One of the most interesting thing about the 1930s is the discrimination against women, African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians. This was because of what the white male population still saw in them, but only the white female population have their independence; however, sexism played a major role in society and how the female population lived back then was almost the same exact thing that is going on today.

Astaire and her husband,
Lord Cavendish

A notable figure of those times was Adele Astaire. She was on Broadway doing a show called the Bandwagon in 1931 when she had to leave the show to marry a lord; thus, leaving Fred Astaire partnerless but they were able to remain in touch with each other and never lost the connection.

I love this period in time because a lost of what happened in the 1930s are still around today. I still have issues with why we are going backwards and how we went backwards. I thought that it's just in the movies but I might be wrong. While I was reading Fred Astaire's Steps In Time, I learned that giving up a profession to be a part of aristocracy was one thing, and the other thing was talent and presentation because people crowded for the movies and there was a lot of people in show business back then. They were also mostly female who reigned over Hollywood, and not a lot of the male population were actors compared to the ratio of male to female today.

Sources

1. Rogers, Ginger. Ginger: My Story. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Print
2. Astaire, Fred. Steps In Time. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1959. Print
3. Dick, Bernard F. Claudette Colbert: She Walked In Beauty. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2008. Print

Roles of Women in 1920s

The Roaring Twenties was the most violent for the European-Americans in Chicago with Al Capone, bootleggers, and the birth of the lottery all taking place in one state's city. It was also the birth of the Harlem Renaissance with jazz musicians paving the way for the next generation; as well as the revolutionary Othello production on Broadway and other artists such as Billie Holliday, Cab Calloway, and Bill Robinson making a statement for their ethnicity.

The 1920s saw Mobsters in Chicago on a war against each other to gain control of the area including the famous Valentine's Day Massacre.

In film, Silent movie star, Clara Bow became Hollywood's It girl by adapting the Flapper girl way of life. The decade also saw a lot of women starting to move away from corsets and started to wear long shapeless dresses that are heavily made with sequences and beads. This decade was in fact the golden age for art with writers and painters being able to express themselves in Paris, France.

The decade saw a lot of change for women in the working force. This was primarily due to the fact that they did and started to work during World War I. I know that may seem fascinating today but it was much more to them back then. It was a break from what they've been through in the past with the end to the Women Suffrages. By the time that their new way of life started to evolve, the job employment rate of working women increased by twenty-five percent; however, they were still being depicted as sex objects or sexual beings and most of them were still under house arrest and worked chores around the house. They were also not as free as their men and made no money whatsoever.

Women during the 20s were all given the right to vote so basically every women from the working class all the way to the upper-class can actually vote and have a say in politics. This was the main thing that women fought for during the 1900s and kept on fighting for.

With the marriage rebellion during the 1910s, women were able to get a divorce from their husbands easier and were able to keep their children safe from abusive fathers. It also increased the number of divorces up by two times as much as before.

City and urban women began to wear loose clothing. As I stated in the second paragraph, the dress were shapeless and heavily designed with sequences and beads giving women boyish figures. This fashion statement started when women began to say no to long skirts and corsets because of the lack of breathing room that the tight corset gave to them. The women that were this type of clothing were called Flappers. These girls smoked in public, and hanged out in speakeasies or around mobsters. The women who hanged around mobsters were called Mollies or Mobster girls. They also danced new dances such as the quickstep, the Charleston, and swing dances.


This decade made the 90s look like crap compared to what was going on around the time of sultry R&B and boybands. For me, this decade was the Mother of the 90s and the 80s because the women had more social fun and interacted with more people. Yes! I said and admit that we are slowly loosing our freedom to the controllers of our lives. We must value the free that the women in the past worked hard for I know that this was along time ago but what they learned then is still useful today. Even with the technology that we have, we can still find causes that will be relevant to the next generation or other countries, especially developing countries like the Philippines and India.

Sources

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/usa/1920srev2.shtml

Scene of the Week

Donald O'Connor's Make 'Em Laugh from Singing In the Rain (1952)

Photo of the Week

Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly's promotional shot for Singing In the Rain (1952)

Quote of the Week

"When Ginger Rogers danced with Astaire,

it was the only time in the movies

when you looked at the man,

not the woman."

~Gene Kelly

I just saw "There's No Business Like Show Business" again. And OMG, I ship Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe. They were too cute together. UGH!

~Liana Sheridan

Quote of the Week

I thought that I'll give you my quote of the week today:)

"The only way to

enjoy anything in this

life, is to earn it first."

~Ginger Rogers

Did You Know...

...that Lea Salonga had three first Chrises? In fact, Lea starred in Miss Saigon three times. The first one being on London's West End opposite Simon Bowman as Chris in 1989; however, they did not reunite on stage until the 25th Anniversary of the musical. The second first was on Broadway during the 90s with Willy Falk as Chris; unfortunately, the Broadway stage of Miss Saigon did not release a cast recording due to the lack of interest of the American public at that time. And finally, in 2000 in Manila with Will Chase as Chris. To Lea, the Manila production of Miss Saigon was a homecoming production for her. Click here for a fan made mash-up of Last Night of the World from Miss Saigon.

Did You Know...

...that Claudette Colbert got a restraining order against Clark Gable because he slapped her in the butt?! Claudette actually felt out of place when she got slapped and ordered a restraining order sent to Clark Gable to send him ten feet away from her, but she then realized that when she wanted to work with Clark again, so she got rid of the restraining order and set off to star in another movie with Clark. This one was called Boom Town.

Roles of Women in 1910s

The RMS Titanic photographed
during its April 1912 voyage.

The 1900s were the development of the rights of women, which weren't because they were just getting started. I've always been told that the 1910s were scary times especially for women and children. For a fact, a few interesting things happened in 1910s, especially the sinking of the the unsinkable ship called the Titanic. In the film, the conversational Birth of the Nation was depicted as racial and gender segregation, which is still worth the look today. For this decade, I looked at rebellions, education, and stereotypes because they were mostly looked down upon when they already proved that they could gain their right to vote.

A woman getting fitted in Paris,
France. c. 1910

The 1910s saw women beginning to rebel against marriage including some men, which separates them from those who are unable to continue their fight for their rights. The rebellion against marriage was, in fact, the most shocking thing back then because they weren't allowed to get a divorce. An annulment was the only thing that they could get back then. Today, countries such as the Philippines still has problems with marriage separation because of the Catholic church giving them a once in a lifetime choice to get married or not.

The women saw their role in society became more independent and emerged from just having a voice in politics to jobs and domestic independence as they headed towards the 1920s.

The decade also saw a reformance in education with almost every single woman starting to get a basic education and learning about the basic skills that they needed in their everyday lives; however, just like James Cameron's Titanic with Kate Winslet's character being engaged to a rich man straight out of high school. That was a huge trend during the 1910s with women often going to school to learn the basics and to find their partner in live. If high school wasn't enough for them to find love, they would go to college until they found the man that they would soon marry. Some women tried to break away from the stereotypical barrier and challenged other women go to school to receive and earn a a degree than to learn the basics and find love.

A girl learning how to sew.

Although the 1910s was the most rebellious decade in women's history, the decade was the scariest for men because of what was going on with women still fighting for their independence from the men. I thought that this decade was about power and how to keep that power once it's gained. I believe that we can carry on what they started even though they had nothing compared to what we have today. Those women achieved morality by standing up for what they believed in. I also believe that the women in the Philippines can fight for the right to get a divorce rather than an annulment  because not every single teachings in the Bible is accurate, right, and reasonable. The Bible says the man and is written by men. It also depicts women as housewives and lower than the man when have the smartest voice in history.

Sources

1. http://www.history.com/topics/titanic
2. http://feminist.com/askamy/womhist/wh46.html

Top 10: Character Songs

So I haven't really made a top 10 list that I want to share with people, but this one really stood out and it's a list of character songs that I have loved since I first listened to them:)

Zachary Sayle preforming Letter
From the Refuge for Disney's
Playlist Session.

#10 Letter From the Refuge; sung by Crutchie from the stage musical, Newsies. This song was added to the tour version of the 1992 disney movie. The song is supposively to be a letter that Crutchie wrote to Jack Kelly. It is the saddest song in the musical, which makes it the tearjerker scene in the entire musical; however, it wasn't written during the Papermill stage of Newsies, it was written during its Nederlander run on Broadway making it too late to be added into the musical's Broadway run.

Adam Cooper and Scarlett Strallen
as Don Lockwood and Kathy Selden
in a promotional shoot for the
West End revival of Singing In
the Rain.

#9 You Are My Lucky Star; sung by Kathy Selden from the musical, Singing In the Rain. You Are My Lucky Star was cut from the movie's final cut due to its running time but for me, I thought that the song would've made the movie easier to follow along and made Kathy's character arch even more developed. In the West End revival of Singing In the Rain, the song is done by Scarlett Strallen who made the song more tearful and heartfelt. As a fan of musicals, this song is the type of song that I'd like to call, the fangirl's theme for proclaiming their love to their celebrity crush.

#8 Just Around the Riverbend; sung by Pocahontas from the disney animation, Pocahontas. This song is the first song that Pocahontas sings and introduces the audience to the home of Native Americans and to the personality of the musical's main character, Pocahontas. I think that this song makes the introduction of Pocahontas more unique and different to the introduction of other disney princesses.

Lucy Durack in
Glinda's popular
dress.

#7 Popular; sung by Galinda Upland from the stage musical, Wicked. The song is a girl's guide on how to be popular. (literally!) The song is the musical's comedic point and one of my all time favorite Broadway songs done by a woman.

#6 Reflection; sung by Mulan from the disney animation, Mulan. This song is actually the main reason why I wanted to see the animation get turned into a stage musical, above all other reasons. The song is a song that shows odd Mulan's wish. I think that anyone can relate to the song because of its universal message of hope and freewill.

Ciara Renee as Esmeralda during
God Save the Outcasts from
Hunchback of Notre Dame.

#5 God Save the Outcasts; sung by Esmeralda from the disney animation, Hunchback of Notre Dame. The song is one of the musical's strongest story telling point and sets a boundary of how the plot and story arch of Esmeralda plays out throughout the musical. I love this song's message when put against the story of Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Kara Lindsay as Katherine Pulitzer
during Watch What Happensfrom Newsies.

#4 Watch What Happens; sung by Katherine Pulitzer from the stage musical, Newsies. This song is originally written for Les Jacobs and is done as a sing out your thoughts type of song. The song is musical's hardest song sung by a female character.

#3 If Only; sung by Mal from the disney channel original movie, Descendants. If Only is a ballad that tells the story of the things that your heart is telling you told from the perspective of the heart's listener. YOU!

#2 Proud Of Your Boy; sung by Aladdin from the disney musical, Aladdin. The song is sung in the point of view of a man but the message is entirely universal and can be shown off by a woman. The message of the song is "I'm trouble but I know I could make you proud in the end".

Laurel Harris as Elphaba Thropp
during Deying Gravity
from Wicked.

#1 Defying Gravity; sung by Elphaba Thropp featuring Galinda Upland and the Guards of Oz from the stage musical, Wicked. The song is not entirely a solo song but the song's main lyrics is sung by one person. The song highlights a person's freedom and his/hers defiance of gravity. Your gravity could be ethnic or racial boundaries pulling you down. Always remember that you are free to spread your wings and fly. To me, that's the main message of the song.

That is my top to character songs if you have different reason or a song that you think that I should've included in my top 10, just comment below and tell me what song that you think should be in my list. I'd love to know what you think. Don't be shy!

Film Fridays: Singing In the Rain (1952)

The first time that I've seen this movie was during my Sophomore year of High School when I took a class called the History of the Motion Picture and this movie was the only musical that he shown to the class; I enjoyed watching it the movie then and now but I have never looked into the movie as a historical textbook before, so without further ado, Singing In the Rain as a history textbook for Film Friday.

Kelly with a surprised looking
Reynolds asking her to drive him
towards a party.

Singing In the Rain is about a movie production company's aided and difficult task of transitioning a silent film into sound. The movie takes places in 1927 Hollywood when the Jazz Singer was released; however, a helpless fan favorite, Don Lockwood (Kelly) aids the help of anyone driving a car towards a party, which got him to meet a local chorus girl named Kathy Selden (Reynolds). After the party, Don searched everywhere for Kathy to make it up to her. He then finds her working as a chorus girl for a movie. Don makes it up and the pair began to fall in love.

Kathy Selden: "I was starstrucked!"

Hagen as a French duchess.

The movie depicts the struggles faced by production companies during late 1929 when they tried to use their actors' actual voices to make the difficult transition happen but the actors either had abnormal quirk to their voice, just like Lina Lamont. So they had to make the difficult decision of sending actors home, and replacing them with who can talk without an accent to their voice.

"Round tones," said a diction coach to Lina. "Round tones."

Kelly telling Hagen that his not
interested in them being a couple.

In the movie,  Monumental Pictures decides to send both Don and Lina to diction classes to improve their vocal abilities, which allows them to produce more rounder tones when sounding their consonants and vowels; however, they saw no improvement in Lina's voice so they had to close down production for The Dueling Cavalier, which left Don to pack his things and auction all of his stuff until his best friend, Cosmo Brown gave him the idea of using Kathy to dub Lina's voice.

Cosmo Brown: "She can't act, she can't sing, she can't dance. A triple threat."

Gene and Donald finds Debbie's
Kathy Selden working as a
Chorus girl for Monumental.

In reality,  the producers of the movie saw that Debbie's voice wasn't working for the scene so they went with Jean Hagen's acting voice and with Betty Noyes' singing voice to dub over Debbie's. That wasn't the only rough thing that Debbie Reynolds had to go through. She was insulted by Gene Kelly for not being able to dance well enough when for a fact, Gene wanted Debbie to play the part of Kathy Selden; unfortunately, for Gene, Fred Astaire found her crying underneath the piano and helped her with her dancing. Gene later said that Debbie was built like an ox.

Lina Lamont: "I can't make love to a bush!"

In the movie when Lina's microphone picked up her heartbeat; the same thing happened to Debbie when the producers of Singing In the Rain wanted to hear her lines more clearly. The microphone picked up her heartbeat during one of the dance numbers mirroring the incident with Lina Lamont.

I think that the transition from silent to talkies was a difficult thing to do because of the technology that they had back then. Till this day, I found it heard to believe that Debbie was dubbed by two different people because I was so sucked into the world of Singing In the Rain that it didn't really matter who actually did what to me. I also though that the movie itself is a history textbook for someone who barely knows how much it costed and the struggles that people went through to turn a silent film into a talkie. It was also a struggle to cut people who didn't have the right voice for a talkie.

Sources

1. http://www.filmsound.org/ulano/talkies4.htm
2. http://news.moviefone.com/2012/03/27/singin-in-the-rain-60th-anniversary/
3. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045152/trivia?ref_=ttcnn_ql_1
4. Donen, Stanley, dir. and Gene Kelly, dir. Singing In the Rain. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952. Film.