My Favorite Scream Queen

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 11, 2009

Categories | Rants & Raves, Horror, Actresses

Fall has finally arrived in all its gold and copper splendor. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Autumn is my favorite season. Summer be damned! I’m more than happy to see it go and I look forward with unabashed glee to dark mornings, cold evenings and watching lots of horror movies during the month of October.

Over at the TCM Movie Morlocks’ blog Richard Harland Smith has gathered together a nice collection of links to other blogs that are spending the month focusing on all things spooky and scary. I personally recommend making some time to visit The Groovy Age of Horror, Arbogast on Film, Frankensteinia, Cinema Styles and Final Girl where the fun never ends and the dead never rest!

I hope to find some time to write about a few of my favorite horror films that are in desperate need of a DVD release before the month is over, but in the meantime I thought I’d share some lovely pictures that I recently came across of my favorite Scream Queen, the beautiful and terrifying Barbara Steele from a 1958 issue of Life magazine.

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Happy Birthday Janet Leigh!

by Kimberly Lindbergs | July 6, 2009

Categories | News, Actresses

Just thought I’d let my readers know that TCM is celebrating Janet Leigh’s birthday today and showing a nice selection of films she appeared in during her lifetime including Psycho (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Houdini (1953) and Who Was That Lady? (1960). You can also catch her starring alongside Stewart Granger in Scaramouche (1952) tomorrow night. More information and showtimes can be found at TCM’s Official website.

Janet would have been 82 on July 6th, but she passed away in 2004. She left an impressive filmography behind, but I’ve always been especially fond of the films she made during the ’60s. If you’d like to know more about Janet Leigh I highly recommend TCM’s brief, but informative bio that you can find here.

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Do You Sleep In The Nude?

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 28, 2009

Categories | Actresses, 1968

In the summer of 1968 film critic and renowned gossip Rex Reed published his best selling book Do You Sleep in the Nude? The title came from an unusual question that Reed had supposedly directed at actress Ava Gardner during a notorious interview he conducted for Esquire Magazine. That same year Trudy Owett of New York Magazine decided to ask six young up-and-coming actresses the same question. Jenny O’Hara, Shelley Plimpton, Gayle Hunnicutt, Ali MacGraw, Jane Merrow and Lauren Hutton offer their responses in the comic book inspired photo story (and nightwear ad) below.

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“She is a happening all to herself.”

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 15, 2009

Categories | Actors, British Cinema, Actresses, Alain Delon, 1968, Bikers, Marianne Faithfull, Girl On a Motorcycle, Jack Cardiff

The October 1968 issue of ABC Film Review features a great piece by Philip Bradford about the making of Jack Cardiff’s Girl On A Motorcycle. In the article the movie’s two stars (Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon) briefly discuss what it was like to work with one another on the film. I thought it would be fun to share their quotes here along with some lovely still shots of them together on the set. I assume that most (if not all) of these photographs were taken by Jack Cardiff himself but if anyone knows otherwise, please feel free to let me know.

Alain Delon on Marianne Faithfull:
"She is a happening all to herself. She is the type of girl men fought dragons for in mythology, the type that duels have been fought over."

Marianne Faithfull on Alain Delon:
"We think alike in a lot of ways and he’s a totally dedicated actor. He helped me a lot through his ability to ignore outside things when he’s working. You have to keep cool when you’re filming. Shooting intimate love scences with swarms of technicians around you - for that you really need to learn to concentrate.  You have to shut off everyone else and make a world in which there are only two people."

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10 Characters I Love

by Kimberly Lindbergs | April 10, 2009

Categories | Rants & Raves, Actors, Actresses, Terence Stamp, Klaus Kinski, Pierre Clementi, Delphine Seyrig

The task: Make a list of 10 of your favorite film characters. As much as I tend to dislike these blog memes, I couldn’t say no to The Agitation of the Mind, Coosa Creak Cinema and Bubblegum Aesthetics so I finally took the plunge and decided to participate. Like any self-respecting film enthusiast I have hundreds of favorite film characters, but here’s a short list of 10. I decided not to comment on my selections so I’ll leave it up to my readers to figure out the why’s and what for behind each of my choices.

1. Freddie Clegg as played by Terence Stamp
The Collector (William Wyler; 1965)

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On the Couch with Claudia Cardinale

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 11, 2009

Categories | News, Actresses, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale

Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale in The Leopard (1963)

I came across a recent interview with the lovely actress Claudia Cardinale that I just had to share. It took place on February 3, 2009 and I think it’s a fun read. In the brief interview she talks about her past work with director’s like Luchino Visconti and Fellini, and she reflects a lot on the the acting profession in general. I was especially touched when the actress fondly mentioned how close she is with her one time co-star, Alain Delon.

‘Alain often calls me, we are very close,’ Claudia continues. ‘He always says that even though our romance was only on screen we will be together forever!’

From her recent interview found at the European magazine Cafebabel.com.

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Party Tips from Phyllis Diller

by Kimberly Lindbergs | December 31, 2008

Categories | Books, Rants & Raves, Comedies, Actresses

Over the Christmas holidays I made an attempt to do some baking. When my mother was alive we’d spend a week in the kitchen cooking before Christmas, but I was just her assistant and unfortunately I never really learned how to function on my own in a kitchen. I burnt the first batch of cookies I made this year and the second batch I made tasted awful. I thought that watching every episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations over the last couple of years would improve my cooking abilities. Obviously I was wrong. All Bourdain’s terrific show has done is make me want to travel more and eat at fabulous restaurants. Besides my dislike of cooking, I also hate cleaning. The sad truth is that l’ll never be the domestic goddess that my mother, grandmothers and great grandmothers were. This isn’t something I’m particularly proud of. It’s just fact.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I’m also a terrible party host as well as a terrible party guest. I find myself usually struck dumb at parties, which means I drink too much in an attempt to entertain myself. Board games have become popular at parties again, but they bore me to tears whenever I’m forced into playing them. No matter how wild the party guests may think they are, conversations often revolve around jobs, babies, home ownership and cooking when you’re my age. These are all topics that make my eyes glaze over when I want to have a good time. Popular movies are also discussed at parties that I’ve never seen and have no desire to see. Want to talk about Jess Franco’s films, Klaus Kinski’s acting, Japanese toys, Mid-Century design, Byron’s poetry or Evelyn Waugh’s prose? Invite me to your party! On the other hand, if you want to discuss the best way to make polenta, sports of any kind or the latest Adam Sandler comedy, please forgive me when I suddenly come down with a nasty cold just hours before your party starts.

So why am I telling you all this? Because it explains why I enjoy Phyllis Diller’s 1966 book Housekeeping Hints so much! This funny book was a gift last year from fellow Flickr user Mjlaff and I can’t thank her enough. Since I received a brand new sparkling Epson scanner for my birthday, I thought I’d share some of Phyllis Diller’s timely wisdom with you all. If you’re planning a big party tonight to celebrate the New Year, you won’t want to miss reading some of Diller’s selected housekeeping tips and party planning tricks. Like me, Phyllis Diller shuns the Cult of Domesticity and she also has a wicked sense of humor. So without further ado, here’s some helpful party tips from one of the leading pioneers of stand-up comedy accompanied by some wonderful illustrations by artist Susan Perl.

Shopping Made Easy:

- “Spot a domestic looking woman in the supermarket and copy what she’s got in her grocery cart.”

- “Don’t buy products that advertise that even a child can use them. Theses failures have a greater sting.”

- “Pick up a cook book at a rummage sale so you have one that looks used.”

- “Above all, don’t feel you’re lying when you use the term ‘home-baked’ if the bakery is in town.”

Dial M for Messy:

- “Always have a lot of souvenirs around from far off places, even if you’ve just sent for them from a mail order house. It will give the impression of being a world traveler who hasn’t been home long enough to have thoroughly cleaned the house.”

- “Blame a lot of things - like soiled wallpaper, greasy walls, and a dirty basement - on the previous owners (or renters), even if you’ve lived there for 25 years.”

- “Do not have company when the sunlight is streaming through the windows. Everything shows up. Entertain at night or close the drapes and break the cord.”

- “No matter what anyone drops behind the couch, don’t let them retrieve it, whether it’s a wrist watch or a diamond ring. Offer to replace it. What’s money when compared to your ruined reputation?”

The Hostess with the Leastest:

- “No matter what time your guests arrive, pretend they’re early, so naturally you’re not ready for them.”

- “Discuss religion and politics at your dinner party so people get into heated arguments and don’t notice what they’re eating. They may also think that the arguing caused their indigestion.”

- “Never serve meals on time. The starving eat anything.”

- “You can easily find yourself in a group of women exchanging recipes and discussing knitting patterns. The only safe way to avoid this is to drift over to a group of men. If they’re exchanging recipes and discussing knitting patterns, leave the party.”

Happy New Year!

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