SueSueApplegate
-
Posts
3,969 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Posts posted by SueSueApplegate
-
-
For more information on the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, check out the website:
-
Points for Clarificataion:
Ms. Powers was not describing her own experiences in Hollywood in 1930, but merely setting the stage for the description of events prior to her birth in 1942.
-
Everyone loves a mystery, and there are quite a few questions that finally have answers in this latest celebrity autobiography, *One From the Hart* by Stefanie Powers. When I saw it on the shelf, I knew I had to read it. What happened to April Dancer? What was it like to work with Tallulah Bankhead? How exciting was it to travel to Africa and China with the legendary William Holden? Was Herbie Standard or Automatic? What is a Boatnik?
But seriously, the woman has had a fascinating adventure here on this planet, and luckily for us, she has taken us along for part of her non-stop ride through the kingdoms she has conquered and the people she has known. She arrived to experience the end of the studio system, won awards for her acting, and encouraged conservation with her activism.
Describing Hollywood Boulevard in the 1930's reveals how some things rarely change. "Gravitating toward the daily parade of hopefuls was an eclectic assortments of eccentrics..."Nature Boy"..."Goldilocks"..."Robin Hood".. who were character extras and aspiring actors just hoping to be noticed, and currently these hopefuls still populate tourist attractions like Grauman's Chinese Theatre, but today these characters are Samuel L. Jackson lookalikes and Disney princess wannabes. So she does create an atmosphere of respect for what Hollywood was, reveal how it has changed for her personally, and allowed us a glimpse of her private life among the glitterati.
Powers and her mother were unusually close and she explores their loving relationship and her early childhood with great affection. Especially rousing is her story concerning her attempt at mastering the art of driving a golf cart at the age of seven or eight, and how that eventually led to her "allegiance to the animal kingdom."
She has many brushes with show business greatness: Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Tallulah Bankhead, John Wayne, and a cast of many other notable names in the theater, literature, and the arts.
Her Mom, Julie, believed in the old adage,"When one door closes, another opens," and it is obvious Powers believes in it, too. She has happy accidents like bumping into Blake Edwards where they engage in the odd "sun glasses and Monte Carlo" exchange, and her serendipitous adventures are light-hearted, startling, fearful, and lucky, and not necessarily in that order.
Her ex-husband Gary Lockwood's experiences on *2001: A Space Odyssey* and his contributions to the film as well as the ups and downs of their relationship are not necessarily revelatory in some ways, but they are not glossed over. Powers writes about her difficulties and joys in a classy way, taking the proverbial Scottish high road, even though it mainly detours through the Polish countryside when she writes about her heritage and and the joy and pride she feels in her connections to her European roots with relish and fervor. Her linguistic abilities have helped her through more airports and tight spots that she might acknowledge, but because of her facility with language, it has also aided her jet set lifestyle.
But the most tantalizing moments that garnered my attention were the stories about Powers' relationship with William Holden, the excitement and fun they shared on their travels to Kenya, China, Singapore, and many places in between, and how their love sustained the William Holden Wildlife Foundation.
Also of great interest are those few weeks in November of 1981 when Holden died, Natalie Wood accidentally drowned, and she and Robert Wagner had to continue on during the shooting schedule of Hart to Hart.
The death of Powers' mother and Powers' own battle with lung cancer seemed to have prompted the need to record some of her most celebrated moments, and those moments are entertaining, historical, and in some cases, groundbreaking, like testifying before the FCC about something called...uh...cable television.
If I had a wish list for this book, I would ask for an index (so many people and places!), and a little more effort on factual research due to some inadvertent errors that probably won't be noticed by the general public.
But it's greatest fault? I gave me jet lag!
A fun romp with a classy gal.
-
Kind of a Jerry Orbach taunting look...
-
Ken Wahl--Hubba Hubba...
I am such an easy mark for WWII stories, especially about an orphan who
finds a home.
*Dondi* was a film I saw for the first time when I was 9 or 10, and I think I saw it
about the same time I first saw *Stalag 17*, so Robert Strauss, the gravelly-voiced
character actor famous for his role as Sergeant Stanislaus "Animal" Kuzawa, kind
of reminds me of WWII on the silver screen everytime I see him because he was often
cast in Army uniform on television as well as the big screen. (He and Harvey Lembeck
were also cast in *The Last Time I Saw Archie*.)
,
And while *Dondi* may not have the magnitude and importance of a Billy WIlder film,
it still made me tear up. Dondi, played by David Kory, was so adorable and when he
was lost after landing in New York because all of the commotion caused by the women
chasing Dealey (David Janssen), an irascible, conniving, yet lovable rake.
Patti Page, famous for her hits "The Tennessee Waltz" and the title song to "Hush, Hush, Sweet
Charlotte," had a more challenging role in *Dondi* than in *Elmer Gantry*. She was the lead, and she was edgy, animated, and opinionated.
I also enjoyed Patti Page in this film.
Dondi was a comic strip that was originally published in 1955 about a WWII orphan of the same name written by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen:
It was called Dondi because he was supposedly discovered looking for his slain
parents and asking "donde" which means where in Spanish.
-
It's Flora Robson's BIG HAIR Day....
-
It is lovely! One of my favorite films of all times.....
-
I agree with you 100%!
Here's a copy of the post I made on The Essentials Thread:
The intro for *The Sea Hawk* with Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin was informative and energetic concerning Michael Curtiz, Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, and Claude Rains, but I know they can't discuss every actor in the film because they don't have that much time...
So I also don't want viewers to forget about the great Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth:
"Spanish ships are notoriously slow. They should have chosen an English ship..."
Robson first portrayed Queen Elizabeth in Alexander Korda's *Fire Over England* with Sir Laurence
Olivier and Vivien Leigh, so The Sea Hawk was her second portrayal of the famous monarch, and her Hollywood successes ultimately contributed to her royal honors as Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1952 and her ascension as Dame Commander (DBE) in 1960.
Hope you don't mind me adding it here,,,,I really enjoy Flora Robson, too!
A biography by Kenneth Barrow (Flora: The Life of Dame Flora Robson) was published in the early eighties.
Some critics believed that her portrayal as "Good Queen Bess" was more indicative of the persona
of Queen Elizabeth I than Bette Davis' more affected performance that was more indicative of the Davis personality and her individual mannerisms.
But for me, both actresses are entertaining and allow viewers an in-depth interpretation of the regal lady.
The heavy, sequined brocade on Robson's costume she wears when receiving Geoffrey Thorpe (Flynn) in a private audience looked like a formidable uniform, indeed. It isn't easy to flounce and emote at the same time when sporting such a frock, but when Orry Kelly is the master of the threads, a gal must always feel fairly regal.
And I enjoy how Flynn acts with equal aplomb when faced with a Brazilian monkey or a well-trained stage actress like Robson. He was unflappable.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the "powdered monkey" sequence. Just the right amount of levity.
Hope you don't mind me adding this post here, filmlover. I enjoy Flora Robson, too!
-
I'm glad that Alec Baldwin discussed Claude Rains and his contributions to all the films he graced in the closing sequence, and that Robert Osborne highlighted the importance of musicians like Eric Wolfgang Korngold, whose work has become much more appreciated now than when it was originally composed and scored for *The Sea Hawk*.
-
The intro for *The Sea Hawk* with Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin was informative and energetic concerning Michael Curtiz, Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, and Claude Rains, but I know they can't discuss every actor in the film because they don't have that much time...
So I also don't want viewers to forget about the great Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth:
"Spanish ships are notoriously slow. They should have chosen an English ship..."
Robson first portrayed Queen Elizabeth in Alexander Korda's *Fire Over England* with Sir Laurence
Olivier and Vivien Leigh, so *The Sea Hawk* was her second portrayal of the famous monarch, and her Hollywood successes ultimately contributed to her royal honors as Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1952 and her ascension as Dame Commander (DBE) in 1960.
A biography by Kenneth Barrow (Flora: The Life of Dame Flora Robson) was published in the early eighties.
Some critics believed that her portrayal as "Good Queen Bess" was more indicative of the persona
of Queen Elizabeth I than Bette Davis' more affected performance that was more indicative of the Davis personality and her individual mannerisms.
But for me, both actresses are entertaining and allow viewers an in-depth interpretation of the regal lady.
The heavy, sequined brocade on Robson's costume she wears when receiving Geoffrey Thorpe (Flynn) in a private audience looked like a formidable uniform, indeed. It isn't easy to flounce and emote at the same time when sporting such a frock, but when Orry Kelly is the master of the threads, a gal must always feel fairly regal.
And I enjoy how Flynn acts with equal aplomb when faced with a Brazilian monkey or a well-trained stage actress like Robson. He was unflappable.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the "powdered monkey" sequence. Just the right amount of levity.
-
Molo, I felt so lucky and privileged to be there. And I do wish there had been more.
metsfan, I love the painting over her bed.
-
He has a way of energizing just about everybody!
-
That is a great story, kingrat, and so funny!!
-
I can remember reading all about her appearance in *Abelard and Heloise*, and wishing I could see that.
But I was in limbo here in Texas.....
-
Diana Rigg!!!! Avengers fan acknowledged... I also thought she was great in *The Hospital* in the Paddy Chayefsky script. And in *Victoria and Albert*...
-
....repeated post...
Edited by: SueSueApplegate on Jan 19, 2011 3:30 PM because who wants to hear it a second time? I mean, like it wasn't that funny the first time, and now I can't delete the post, so I have to write this explanation, and it's embarrassing....
-
Verklimmt, verboten, varrumpt, Forgiven!
-
I would love to see Stefanie Powers chatting about her new autobiography and... *The Interns*, *Palm* *Springs Weekend* (since *Sunset Boulevard* was shown in 2010) and update everyone on the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and its educational facilities..
-
If you wish to see some of Luise Rainer's artwork, follow this link: http://www.homestylesoftherichandgated.com/homestyle_1/homestyles_3_IR.html
She also discusses how she had been interested in making a film of _Out of Africa_ many years ago.
-
It was wonderful to see in person, but the most poignant moments were all caught on film, and
were included in the interview that recently aired.
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
-
Next showing of a Luise Rainer film--*The Great Waltz* on February 2 at 7 a.m.!
-
What about having Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton discussing *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?*
-
Yes, Kyle, technicolor would have made *Goodbye, My Lady* much more of a feast!
-
The more the merrier!
Wonderful list of favorites, Jackie!!
Glad we are adding your name to the list, Mave!
2011 TCM Film Festival Line-up
in General Discussion
Posted
I loved last year's posters and postcards, and I think I got to meet Michael Schwab, and told him how wonderful all the artwork was. It was right in front of Club TCM, near the souvenir shop.
I am so happy I have a signed copy with Robert Osborne's name on it. It would have been great to have Michael Schwab's name, too.