Love Letters to Old Hollywood

Here are my answers to Michaela’s great questions. She has posted her own answers here:

1. What’s your favorite thing that you’ve posted, or one of your favorites?

I’m attached to my post on Harold Ramis & Preston Sturges, just because I feel so strongly about comedy being underappreciated.

2. If you could change anything about classic movies, what would that be?

Michaela, you’ve hit it with the issues w/race. Racial stereotyping is really the only reason I’ll concede when people object to classic film. I think the 2nd thing I’d change would be the Production Code. What a glorious path we were headed on, right before it, and how many more people would watch classic film had it never happened.

3. Do you have a favorite modern day actor?

Bill Murray. I love his acting. I love his soul. I am simply happy he’s in this world.

4. Favorite modern day actress?

I don’t think I can pick a favorite, but I love Kate Winslet.

5. Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes?

Looney Tunes. So clever.

6. What do you wish you had known when you first started blogging?

To be patient. To trust that with time, my blog would actually appear in search engines.

7. Do you have a favorite pet from a classic film?

The dog in The Awful Truth. Who else could accompany Cary Grant on the piano so perfectly?

8. Who is your favorite character actor?

I adore Eugene Pallette’s froggy voice.

9. What’s your favorite holiday and why?

Halloween. Because it’s all about silliness and fun and candy. Because it has no religious or ethnic associations (at least not anymore). Because it has no emotional weight to it, so everyone can enjoy it instead of mourning loved ones they’ve lost.  And because I have an irrational love for costumes, and own quite a few of them. It’s a glorious holiday.

10. Do you have a favorite episode of I Love Lucy? I don’t! I regret to say I’ve never gotten into her show, though I love her. I think it’s because I find Desi Arnaz smug. I just can’t get over it.

11. Favorite holiday film?

The Ref is my favorite. It’s hilarious. For classics, I have a soft spot for It’s a Wonderful Life and Remember the Night, of course.

Since I listed many classic film bloggers the last time someone kindly nominated me for a Liebster, I’d just like to skip the nomination and instead give a shout out to  Girls Do Film, BNoirDetoir and Silver Screenings, who were not on my list last time only because they’d already received nominations. I just want you to check out their posts this week, which are amazing, as always.

To avoid repetition from the previous Liebster, all of these facts are related to the past 30 days:

1. I have watched the fitness parody of Adele’s “Hello” at least five times in the past week.

2. I want all classic movie fans to stop what they’re doing and watch the “Uptown Funk”-backed tribute to classic dance. I don’t care if you’ve seen it. It’ll make you happy to see it again.

3. My memoir about my aunt (also a classic movie fan) is ready for an agent. I hope you will all keep your fingers crossed for me.

4. I just spent many hours today rereading a spy novel I despised to avoid my writer’s block. And then I read reviews of it to discover others who hated it too. I am not proud of this fact.

5. I purchased a classic film poster of The Third Man for my office today. It’s perfect.

6. I just returned from a trip to my native Indiana. I had a wonderful time visiting with friends and family but experienced a sad setback in my attempt to turn my sister into a classic movie fan. I will blog about this travesty shortly.

7. While my sister has let me down again classic movie wise, I did just convert a good friend’s husband to Mae West love. Yeah!

8. I just finished Errol Flynn’s My Wicked, Wicked Ways. I’m simultaneously fascinated and feeling in need of therapy. That whole slaver segment messed with my head. I’m hoping it was the fictional part of his bio.

9. I have watched my first mystery series with subtitles (The Swedish/Danish TV series, The Bridge), and am afraid I’ve discovered a whole new method of procrastination. It was great.

10. I resisted watching Going My Way. I told my mother I was way too cynical for Bing Crosby. She said it was a classic movie, and I liked classic movies, so I should give it a try. I did, and I liked it. I stand corrected. I am not too cynical for Bing Crosby.

11. I’m very happy about Sylvester Stallone being nominated for a Golden Globe.