It's a Dirty Job...

A House is Not a Home

If he had only written this lone song, we would be forever indebted to Burt Bacharach for providing the vehicle for this absolutely spine-chilling performance by Dusty Springfield.

BURT BACHARACH
May 12, 1928

A Connecticut Yankee in King Mayer's Court

If we cared a little more about her, we would have realized that today was Katharine Hepburn's birthday, and held off on our carra rirries post for 24 hours. We realize that this borders on blasphemy, but we always found the Great Kate to be something of a silly bore. We're not particularly fans of her celebrated comedies with Spence; she annoys us in The Philadelphia Story (1940) - although one could argue, that's the entire point of her character; and by the time you get to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and The Lion in Winter (1968), the tics and mannerisms just about drive us nuts.


The two exceptions to our patented dislike for the Hepburn touch are Bringing Up Baby (1938), where her manic, chatterbox style is tempered by an uncharacteristic femininity, and offset by the brilliance of Howard Hawks, Cary Grant and Asta; and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), where Hepburn gets to sink her teeth and claws into a delicious gorgon of a role. Everything else - eh.

Just the perfect blendship: HEPBURN, CARY GRANT, MAY ROBSON and ASTA in Bringing Up Baby (1938)

The meanest mother of them all: HEPBURN as Violet Venable in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Like another overrated icon with great cheekbones (no names, please, but initials "G.G."), we will probably never fully understand the mystique of Katharine Hepburn, but respectfully recognize her importance, her legacy, and commit to re-watching at least Stage Door (1937) in order to better appreciate her talents.

KATHARINE HEPBURN
May 12, 1907 - June 29, 2003

The Pearl Buck Stops Here

"The carra rirries are in broom again..."

Isn't it a Shame...

...that, these days, we see so little of:

1) Blond mink
2) Turbans
3) Romy Schneider

One of These Things is Not Like the Others

THANKS

Once Upon a Time...

Before and after Ronnie switched parties.

Keeps Raining All the Time

Behind the dazzling smile, the goddess-like beauty, the blooming American rose voice, Lena Horne may have been the unhappiest of women. A traumatic childhood gave way to a contentious young adulthood; and her experiences as a black, female entertainer in the pre-civil rights era left indelible scars. Horne was the first black movie star to be signed to a long-term studio contract; yet MGM had no idea what to do with a leading lady of color, and relegated her to either all-black speciality pictures like Cabin in the Sky (1943), or glorified musical cameos in other films, which would be edited out for Southern consumption. She made inroads into the chic, lucrative world of nightclubs and casinos, yet was treated as a second class citizen in the very establishments she was making money for, and bringing customers to.


Not surprisingly, then, Horne has been described as a distant mother, a dispassionate wife, and a mercurial friend; and, unlike other complicated, troubled divas, Horne didn't even necessarily find solace in her art or her audience, often feeling hostile and contemptuous of the moneyed, white elite who came to see her strut her stuff at the Copacabana or the Waldorf. That she masked her pain and anger so well, for so many years, seeming as if she were having the time of her life on stage or on screen may also qualify Lena Horne as one of the all time great actresses. We can only hope that when Miss Horne passed away this past Sunday, time had burnished her pain, and she could reflect on the joy and inspiration she'd passed on to others.

LENA HORNE
1917 - 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Don't forget to tell her you love her today.

Teen Idols

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS (May 8, 1975) and RICKY NELSON (May 8, 1940 - December 31, 1985) demonstrate the prequisites for teen idolship: a smoldering gaze, and lips that could feed a small village.

Little Miss Egyptian Evil

All hail Anne Baxter, Queen of the Breathy Bad Girls!

ANNE BAXTER
May 7, 1923 - December 12, 1985

Night of the Hunter

I gave audiences what they wanted; a chance to dream, to live vicariously, to see beautiful women, jewels, gorgeous clothes, melodrama. - Ross Hunter

He'd been born Martin Fuss, and went to Hollywood to make it as an actor. His stage name, "Ross Hunter," undoubtedly would have looked better up in lights, but he had neither the looks nor the talent to really make it as a movie star. So, after eight years of bit parts in B films, Hunter switched to producer mode. Cutting his teeth on such programmers as Flame of Araby (1951) and Son of Ali Baba (1952), Hunter came into his own with 1954's massive hit remake of the old Irene Dunne melodrama, Magnificent Obsession (1954). It set the tone for nearly all of Hunter's subsequent work: glamorous stars and a sudsy plot which, in all frankness, played second fiddle to the eye-popping costumes and set design. That not only did the costume designer, but also the jeweler and furrier, get credit on a Hunter production is an insight into his sensibilities.


Critics sneered, women swooned, and Hunter laughed all the way to the bank. Just reading a list of his biggest hits conjures up delirious images of gauzy lighting, sumptuous gowns, fabulous furs, sparkling jewels, square-jawed leading men, and glamorously aging leading ladies: All That Heaven Allows (1955), reuniting Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson from Magnificent Obsession; Pillow Talk (1959), which launched the Doris Day/Rock Hudson franchise; Imitation of Life (1959), which resurrected Lana Turner's career; his remake of Back Street (1961), a drag queen fantasy with Susan Hayward and Vera Miles duking it out over John Gavin; and Madame X (1966), which pitted Turner against 1930's legend Constance Bennett. Even Hunter's lesser films (I'd Rather Be Rich, 1964, with Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet and Andy Williams, anyone?) benefitted from his trademark gloss and polish.

Giving his public what they want: a typical Hunter promotional gimmick, for Midnight Lace (1960) starring DORIS DAY.

HUNTER with SANDRA DEE and CONSTANCE BENNETT, celebrating Bennett's return to the screen in Madame X (1966).

SUSAN HAYWARD in a promotional photo for Back Street (1961).

Not surprisingly, by the late 1960's, Hunter's aesthetics were drastically out of sync with the times; Madame X was a hit, but Rosie! (1967), starring Rosalind Russell, was a misfire; and while the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) with Julie Andrews fared reasonably well, critics blasted it as an anachronism, and audiences didn't embrace it as much as they had Andrews's previous musical blockbusters, Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965). Suddenly, "furs by Alexandre, jewels by David Webb" was passé in an era of free love, psychedelia and Vietnam. Hunter had life left in him, though; the all-star Airport (1970) was not only a surprise massive hit, but also launched the "disaster" flick craze which would last an entire decade, and also was, more surprisingly, a critical success: Helen Hayes won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in it, and Hunter earned his one and only nomination for Best Picture.

It was, as it turned out, Hunter's last hurrah. His next venture, an all-star musical version of Lost Horizon (1973) was such a bomb that it effectively ended Hunter's film career, as well as fracturing the longtime partnership of composers Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Hunter turned to producing television movies, until his retirement in 1979. His life partner of over 40 years was set decorator Jacques Mapes, who had worked on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and Singin' in the Rain (1952), among other projects; after his relationship with Hunter, Mapes more or less retired from decorating, and co-produced several of Hunter's projects.

JACQUES MAPES and JANE POWELL, early 1950's.

Ross Hunter passed away on March 10, 1996. He left behind his partner, Mapes, who survived him by seven years; and an astonishing legacy of escapism and glamour which, for all its artifice, continues to entertain, enthrall, and, yes, inspire, half a century later.

"The way life looks in my pictures is the way I want life to be. I don't to hold a mirror up to life as it is. I just want to show the part which is attractive."

ROSS HUNTER

May 6, 1920 - March 10, 1996

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Cosmic Fabulosity

TAMMY WYNETTE
May 5, 1942 - April 6, 1998

PAT CARROLL
May 5, 1927

ANN B. DAVIS
May 5, 1926

ALICE FAYE
May 5, 1915 - May 9, 1998

TYRONE POWER
May 5, 1914 - November 15, 1958

The Creator was certainly in a gay mood on May 5, wasn't He?

Want to Look Like This?

(from WHAT MAKES THE PIE SHOP TICK?)

Let our lady of the evening, Donna Mills, take you step by step.

Fashion is fleeting, trends are ephemeral;
but looking like a harlot never goes out of style.

Sibling Rivalry

In this corner... the charming McGuire Sisters.

And in this corner, the vivacious DeCastro Sisters!

As much as we love those "Sugartime" sweeties, we have to admit that, in this rumble, the DeCastro girls would not only take the McGuires, but probably bring back Phyllis' head as a battle trophy. You just know there were a few switchblades in those 'do's.