Guest cooper, jeane Posted May 24, 2002 Share Posted May 24, 2002 Which cinematic mansion, apartment or humble hovel do you wish you could call your own? Was it the sweeping elegance of Ashley Wilkes' Twelve Oaks in "Gone With the Wind", the Italian villa in "Enchanted April" or John Wayne's modest Irish cottage with the green door and roses at the window from "The Quiet Man"? Go ahead dream - money is no object. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest son, jery Posted May 24, 2002 Share Posted May 24, 2002 Jeane, we must share ESP or something because I was thinking of putting in this very topic! In fact, I wrote a feature for a gay magazine years ago called "Hollywood Homes", about unforgettable film residences. I always loved Bette Davis' farmhouse in "Dark Victory," filled with overstuffed furniture, as well as her great country home in "A Stolen Life" and her mansion in "Mr. Skeffington." Another real goodie: the Hilton home in David Selznick's "Since You Went Away." Talk about cozy houses: burning fireplaces, snow falling outside, huge Christmas tree and gifts. Great topic! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Rob Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 One word.... "Xanadu". And I'm not talking about that lame Olivia Newton-John film either! Any house that has all those lagoons, golf courses, its own private zoo, and all those spacious rooms can't all be bad... Link to post Share on other sites
Guest K, Sandy Posted May 25, 2002 Share Posted May 25, 2002 I love the Victorian splendor of the Smith home in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mongo Posted May 26, 2002 Share Posted May 26, 2002 I'll settle for the cold water flat in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". I came from Brooklyn and lived in such a place and I wouldn't trade the experience for nothing. When I moved on to better abodes I learned to appreciate it more however the best and worst times were while living in that cold water flat. I'll never forget it. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest K, Sandy Posted May 27, 2002 Share Posted May 27, 2002 Something I've always wondered, mongo-why are they called cold-water flats? Is it because there is literally no hot water heater? BTW, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN is a wonderful movie, as well as one of my favorite books. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mongo Posted May 27, 2002 Share Posted May 27, 2002 Sandy most cold water flats were of a wood structure and of course had no radiators. We had a huge wood and coal burning stove in our kitchen for heat and which my mother prepared meals on. We did have a hot water contraption which was lit at the bottom however heaven forbid if you forgot to turn it off. Also had an ice box with a cake of ice in the top compartment and we had to remember to empty the pan of water at the bottom or else we had some flooding. I guess thats why I relate so much to "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and the wonderful characters that struggled there. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest walker, ken Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 Mongo, I relate with some of the things you mentioned in your last post.Before I started in the city schools,I attended a one room school house with my aunts.They had a wood burning stove for heat.We had an ice box also that used a block of ice in the top with a drip pan at the bottom.For you younger folks...These were known as "The good old days!" Link to post Share on other sites
Guest son, jery Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 Two great movie homes I'm fascinated with--but would never ever want to live in them--the glowing, black and silver castle of Boris Karloff in "The Black Cat," (1932)where he keeps his old lovers floating in crystal tombs; and Norman Bates spooky old house in "Psycho." Come to think of it, we could write thousands of messages about how important houses are in horror films: "The Haunting," (1960), "Poltergeist," (l972), "House of Dracula," etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest walker, ken Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 Maybe there should be a board started on set designs [interior and exterior],and the influence they have on films of all genres,especially horror and mystery films. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest K, Sandy Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 Thanks ken and mongo for your recollections of the "good old days!" I am a bit younger than you, but I do remember that my Aunt Irene had a old-fashioned wringer that I loved to watch. I guess that there were no spin cycles on the older washing machines. She was someone who always called her refrigerator "the icebox." Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cooper, jeane Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 I caught only a few minutes of "A Star is Born" coming in from work, and realized I like sweeping vistas in my homes. The ocean was in this and San Francisco Bay in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". Montana (even if it was really the Candian rockies) in "Legends of the Fall" Monument Valley in "The Searchers" - tho' you could keep the cabin. I DO need running water. London from Ingrid Bergman's apartment in "Indiscreet" I also want the following New York apartments: Bette Davis' in "All About Eve" and Tracy and Hepburn's in "Adam's Rib". Well - I'm off to buy my lottery ticket now. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cooper, jeane Posted May 28, 2002 Share Posted May 28, 2002 Totally off the subject - but you mentioned David O. Selznick. I heard the other day that when Hitchcock made "Rear Window", he purposedly created the murderer - Raymond Burr's character- to look like Selznick. I knew their earlier working experiences had been fraught with tension - but the minute I heard this latest tidbit I exclaimed "That's who Raymond Burr has reminded me of all these years. DOS!" Talk about payback. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest son, jery Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Jeane, if you insist on living in Manhattan, then you must also have yet more knockout abodes: there's Bette Davis' fabulous penthouse from "Deception" which was modeled on Leonard Bernstein's actual house back in the early 40s and dig Bette's skylight; George Brent's bachelor penthouse in "Dark Victory" with Ronald Reagan offering to whip you up some scrambled eggs; and, just for the excitement, the hotel room where Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) was dragged screaming by a certain furry admirer named King Kong.Of course you want a place with plenty of open windows, so you can, uh, look--like James Stewart did in "Rear Window." Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cooper, jeane Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 Honey - you're talking to native New York (Inwood Park). My first bedroom's window faced the back area of 5 other apartment houses, and I remember laundry hanging up, when not on the roof, people yelling and the occassional police whistle. The "life" Jimmy Stewart experienced I never witnessed. I remember the penthouse in "Deception", but never cared for it. Now that you tell me whose original it was modeled on could explain why. Lennie was never a favorite of mine. I'll never deny his great talent, however when I was a kid - I went to his children's concerts. I loved the music, but he drove me crazy. Too flighty. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Alix Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 I want one of those awesome Art Deco style penthouses--something that Warren William might have lived in. I like his Deco pad in UNDER EIGHTEEN--it had all that great Deco decor, and then it had a pool on the roof. Ah...the life! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest son, jery Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 I don't know about you but last night I dreamt I went to Manderly and what a barn! There wasn't any old prune-faced Mrs. Danvers around to drive us crazy. I loved Rebecca's boudoir. I think I'll move in. See ya! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cooper, jeane Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Don't forget your fire insurance - Mrs D. might be lurking around! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razzberry54 Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 The beautiful lakeside house in Leave Her to Heaven with Gene Tierney and Cornell Wilde. It reminded me of a stone cottage and the color around it was so beautiful. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Rowley, Stephen Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 From the first time I saw it in the film, my favorite movie abode of all time was that wonderful ranch-style house in Bringing Up Baby (1938). For honorable mentions, I'd also love to live in Mary Haines' home in The Women (1939) or the Bullocks' apartment in My Man Godfrey (1936). Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cooper, jeane Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 Ohh...that Connecticut home of Aunt Elizabeth in "BUB" would be a dream! The large open rooms and lovely outside. If you could throw in dinner guests like Charlie Ruggles's "Major Applegate" - wouldn't life be a hoot? Or is that a loon? (ha ha) Link to post Share on other sites
Guest son, jery Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I always loved that creepy old mansion, Ingston Towers, in "Night Monster," (1941). They had these big, cozy bedrooms and a den with a big, crackling fireplace. Another goodie is the Cosmo Topper mansion in "Topper Returns." There seemed to be a fireplace in every room. Deanna Durbin also lived in a wonderful, l940 home in "Nice girl?" There were no screens on the windows where the breeze billowed the curtains. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Goebel, Angela Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I'd like to have a Victorian beach house like the one in "The Ghost of Mrs. Muir." (Especially if it was haunted by a sea captain like Rex Harrison!) Link to post Share on other sites
Guest K, Sandy Posted June 14, 2002 Share Posted June 14, 2002 I'd love Elizabeth Taylor's large yet cozy bedroom in FATHER OF THE BRIDE. A fireplace and a large windowseat covered in plush pillows, plus a floor-length three-sided mirror. What more could a girl want? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest olmsted, l Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 Ok, this movie is not a classic and never will be because it just wasn't that good, but it had a beautiful plantation home that I would die to live in. Did anyone see the recent Original Sin with Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. You're not missing much if you didn't but his estate in Cuba on a coffe plantation is absolutely breathtaking! Link to post Share on other sites
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