This Holiday Weekend...

...we hope you're the Toque of the town.

Royal Rocks

According to our beloved friend, Lango Aurelian, "Her Majesty's brooch is one of the original pieces of the Cambridge Emerald Parure (removed from the Duchess of Teck's stomacher in 1897)."

Now, show of hands, darlings:

 

How many of you were actually squinting at the screen, searching for an entirely different sort of flash of jewels?

Visit LANGO AURELIAN

Why Don't You...

...try to blend in?

Leg Up

Hose 'em Down

Back when pantyhose and pumps were konsidered de rigueur for klassy glamour.

Strike a Pose

Blondes have more fun.

Bathing Broads

With a gimlet and a pool boy both within reach, no doubt.

Shady Dames

You Are Entering a Torrid Zone

Do not tease or feed the Ann-Margrets.

Bless the Beasts and the Children

"I've always admired Miss Crawford for being such a wonderful mother -- for taking four children and giving them a fine home. Who better than I knows what that means to homeless little ones?" - Marilyn Monroe

Sister Act

Pink Ladies

From Bob Newhart's Private Stash

The Wind Beneath Our Wings

Saint Eva of Gabor

Mod Men

Another film we saw as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's tribute to Stanley Donen was his 1966 comedy-thriller, Arabesque -- another one of our all-time childhood favorites. We'd seen it countless times on television and VHS, so we were thrilled to finally see it in its original widescreen presentation. We weren't disappointed. The cinematography (which won Christopher Challis a BAFTA award) is stunning, and lives up the film's famous tag line: "Ultra Mod! Ultra Mad! Ultra Mystery!" The actors are shot through mirrors, sunglasses' lenses, chandelier crystals -- it's gimmicky, totally of its time, and absolutely wonderful.


The film itself is nowhere near great, but completely entertaining from start to finish. The story (which shamelessly borrows from the James Bond formula; Hitchock's North by Northwest; and, most heavily, Donen's own Charade, with Gregory Peck taking Audrey Hepburn's role as the civilian improbably thrust into international intrigue, and Sophia Loren in Cary Grant's place as the side-switching enigma) is labyrinthine but compelling, particularly if you employ a lot of suspension of disbelief. Helping matters immensely is the fact that the stars have a marvelous chemistry together, with Peck strangely appealing as the slightly ragged, frayed-around-the-edges professor; and La Loren, besides being at the absolute height of her beauty, is alternately sensual, playful and witty as the helpless pawn (or is she?) in this game of espionage.


Alan Badel is third-billed, and makes a splendidly silky, sinister, Bond-worthy villain, complete with mod shades, a closet full of Savile Row suits, and a pet falcon. But the real co-star of the film is Loren's fabulously insane, custom-designed Christian Dior wardrobe, valued at (in 1966) $150,000, and consisting of 14 eye-popping outfits (our personal favorite: the emerald green coat, leopard turban, and emerald earrings) and -- get this, shoe fetishists -- 50 pairs of shoes.


In spite of a derivative storyline, implausible situations, and characters who walk a thin line between satire and cartoon, Arabesque works because of Donen's slick, economical direction (there isn't a dull moment in its entire 105 minute running time), Challis's inventive cinematography, and the superstar power of Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. By the way, did we mention how absolutely stunning Sophia looks? Forget the mod camera angles; Sophia's closeups alone probably secured Challis his BAFTA.

Two on a Couch

Monroe on Crawford: "I've always admired Miss Crawford for being such a wonderful mother -- for taking four children and giving them a fine home. Who better than I knows what that means to homeless little ones?"

Crawford on Monroe: "She was cheap, an exhibitionist. She was never a professional, and that irritated the hell out of people. But, for God's sake, she needed help. She had all these people on her payroll. Where the hell were they when she needed them? Why in hell did she have to die alone?"

Classy Broads