I admit, I am kind of a celebrity personal style junkie.
However, with the exception of Carey Mulligan and Kirsten Dunst, I avoid stalking celebs via paparazzi photos. Those two dress too deliciously to resist a creeper-esque peep when inspiration itches. Instead, I comb my Google and Bing image searches for dressed down vintage stars. These often prove hard to come by, but they are there. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, or Natalie Wood stripped from their iconic glamour in exchange for something more simple equals magic. Here, cropped trousers, cardigans, ballet flats, big sunglasses, and dresses appear, with some jewelry for kicks.
I love these looks. The make their point without fuss. They exude fashion without trying. Rather, they just are. I decided I should look like that this spring. My Minneapolis lifestyle rarely accommodates outfits decked with bells and whistles. For one, I rarely wear stilettos anymore. But I need to edit my wardrobe so it becomes more "me" and less faux-urbanista. I am Idaho. Let's be real.
I feel I should report this rather HUGE classic film news. Natalie Wood who, is one of my favorite actresses, just made headlines! The case of her death has just been re-opened after thirty years. I heard rumors of this happening, but never thought it would become official. Her death has been well-documented, and is a rather complicated story, so Google it if you're not familiar. Here, also, is the article from The New York Times.
Please check out the new "Marlon on a Wednesday" post below, as he is looking particularly dashing on a boat there, but I also have to put together a birthday post for one of my favorite actresses, Natalie Wood! She is definitely worth celebrating for her style, charm, and of course, talent. Here are clips from some of my favorite movies:
Sex and the Single Girl with Tony Curis
Splendor in the Grass with Warren Beatty
Finally, perhaps my favorite of all, Love With the Proper Stranger with Steve McQueen
I feel I have been blogging about Natalie Wood a lot lately, but in my opinion, there can never be enough love for her. So, here I go again! This is a fantastic interview from the 1970s where Natalie discusses James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause. It's funny I love this because few films have disappointed me as much as Rebel. The first time I watched it years ago, I prepared myself for something "deep" and "brilliant," but instead thought the film melodramatic and over-acted, especially on Jimmy's part. However, after a few more viewings, I am less critical (it is difficult to resent Sal Mineo's character), and even respect Jimmy's acting more. Thank you, Giant.
Anyway, as Natalie says in the interview, she and Jimmy developed a close friendship, and she seemed to admire him quite a bit. It's interesting to listen to her speak about Jimmy's cultural significance because she was so, well, "Hollywood," compared to him, and definitely exhibited a different style.
In the movie "Zelig," Woody Allen inserted himself into past events. If you could do that in real-life, what old movie or historical event would you want to be inserted into?
Great question (and movie recommendation :-))! The first classic film I really fell in love with was the 1962 musical, Gypsy. It stars Natalie Wood as the famous stripper and burlesque performer, Gypsy Rose Lee, with Rosalind Russell as her mother, Rose, and Karl Malden as Rose's boyfriend, Herbie. The musical actually chronicles Gypsy's life before she became famous, and her relationship with her mother. Her mother, "Mama Rose," pushes Gypsy (then known as "Louise") and her younger sister into show business by creating a ridiculous vaudeville act. The film mostly centers on this, runs at about two and a half hours, and does not introduce the burlesque until the last thirty minutes or so.
I first saw Gypsy when I was 11 or 12, and it stuck with me. I developed an obsession as I learned the songs, and pined for Gypsy's sophistication and glamour. Therefore, of all the classic films I have seen, I would most like to be in Gypsy. First, its time period and genre make it ideal. Since it is a musical, I could express myself by singing and dancing with a 1920s and 1930s theater backdrop. Tulsa, another character who performs in Mama Rose's act, does this. One of my favorite numbers from Gypsy is Tulsa's "All I Need is the Girl." He comes off as so charming, and dances impressive choreography. I could not find the 1962 version on YouTube, but I did find 1993 film version. I have not seen this version, but the scene remains pretty much the same, except with different actors.
Second, as I mentioned before, Natalie Wood's portrayal of Gypsy has always inspired me. I would love to be in this movie and perform a striptease like this number. It looks fun and empowering, though I would probably never do anything similar in real life. This (which is from the 1962 version) is one of my favorite parts of any movie.
Feel free to keep asking me such awesome questions!
These photos are not that pretty, but I had to share the great harem pants I bought months ago. They may or may not be hideous ... I am so into them I do not know or care. Also, I could not decide on shoes, so I decided to go barefoot, and use some of my past dance training. Ha.
Also, I posted this on my Twitter, but due to lack of content inspiration, I decided to set up a Formspring. So far I have been asked a grand total of ONE question ;-) Here we go:
If one life just bled into another going from past life to current life, who do you think you were in your past life?
Hard question! This may sound arrogant, but I like to think I have a special connection with the actor, Natalie Wood. I read one of her biographies a couple years ago, and felt I related to some aspects of her personality and experiences. Also, when I watch her films, I root for her characters more than any other actors'. I just want everything to turn out for them. So, basically, I may have been her in my past life, in my opinion. Or not!
In the middle of watching Kings Go Forth on NetFlix Instant, I also caught another amazing Tony Curtis performance when The Boston Strangler (1968) aired on TV. I love being on Thanksgiving Break because I feel I can watch a couple movies at once and not feel lazy. Needless to say, he played wonderfully in both, though when I returned to Kings Go Forth, I felt more underwhelmed, and kept asking questions of Curtis' character like, "Wait, why are you doing this? Are you really just ... clueless? Okay." So that's one downside to watching two movies with the same actor at once. One performance or film may overshadow the other.
Not that I didn't enjoy Kings Go Forth. On the contrary, I became putty in its hands. It contains a lot of "typicals" I look for when choosing sappy movies: the "war plotline" where two soldiers become attracted to the same woman, the Natalie Wood character who crumbles in a moment, the idealized, really annoying maternal figure, and cinematography. Here, it exhibits lots of shots of the French countryside, seaside, and neon-lit dive bars that could not exist past the '50s. Frank Sinatra and Curtis play Sam Loggins and Britt Harris, two American soldiers stationed in Southern France during the end of World War II. Sam plays a tough authority figure to Britt, who, by both his actions and background story, seems flighty, and just ... well, dumb. Sam meets Monique (Natalie Wood), and falls in love, although she refuses his advances. They continue their friendship (under the eye of Monique's mother, played by Leora Dana) until Britt meets Monique in a jazz club. Britt woos her, talks her into marrying him, and then backs out. The film ends with Sam and Britt at odds over Monique, yet forced on a mission together behind enemy lines.
I refrained from including all the plot points here because I did not want to spoil anything. Some aspects, such as Britt's "reasons" for breaking up with Monique, rub me the wrong way, and I realize I need historical empathy. However, that has more to do with me and not the film. Overall, the plot, while unoriginal, engaged me, as well as the performances. Sinatra gives the best, in my opinion, both on his own, and in his screen time with Curtis. I could not imagine Curtis and Sinatra on screen together, but they achieve chemistry in the odd relationship their characters maintain. The last sequence shows them fighting over Monique, yet still collaborating, which created the most suspense for me. Natalie Wood, on the other hand, plays the fragile character she plays in pretty much all her films. I forgive it because I adore her, but the more films I see, the more I dread seeing her typecast.
The film also has weaknesses. I thought the ending felt rushed, and the "happy" ending forced. I cannot stand it when it happens because it makes the whole film seem awkward. If I had been one of the writers, I would have developed a different ending, but that is just my opinion. I would still recommend this to anyone who likes classic movies.
