The Silver Screen Oasis

Well...since I don't know the price of Virginia Ham ( "Send Me No Flowers" ) I could easily get fooled about what costs more than what. I know exactly the Lucy moment you mean. She kind of digs her finger into his big strong forearm, she pulls back the brim of her hat and makes some half-ass introduction of the ladies to the butcher, pidjin-speaking their names. Lucy is just amazing from Day One of her career. ( Well...maybe Day 10 ) and I'm glad to see Destiny worked to make her successful. ( Hey she worked pretty hard herself. Not a Kardashian bone in her body. )

But my favorite moment is still my Sammykins ( Samuel S. Hinds to the rest of you swabs ) having lunch with Hepburn and as the scene fades out, how she touches his arm and says "Dad." Gets me.

I was just fantasizing about Gail Patrick in "The Women." Nooooo not as one of the catty gals, and not sexy sassy Paulette Goddard. I can see her playing the novelist and being above the fray.

As I read the dialogue you highlighted, ( love it ), I practiced that "good-lookin' piece of jackrabbit..." line. Aaaaah! The delivery in "Stage Door" is pure perfection.

...And I have a million of those "six degree of separation" type connections. Bob and I used to make those up all the time, and without repeating a movie! Aye...there's the rub! BTW, ooooooooooooooh I saw "Purple Noon." Hun-neeee!

CineMaven wrote:Well...since I don't know the price of Virginia Ham ( "Send Me No Flowers" ) I could easily get fooled about what costs more than what. I know exactly the Lucy moment you mean. She kind of digs her finger into his big strong forearm, she pulls back the brim of her hat and makes some half-ass introduction of the ladies to the butcher, pidjin-speaking their names. Lucy is just amazing from Day One of her career. ( Well...maybe Day 10 ) and I'm glad to see Destiny worked to make her successful. ( Hey she worked pretty hard herself. Not a Kardashian bone in her body. )

I agree, she should have been known as the hardest worker in Hollywood. Yes, that's it, with the hat brim up and her fast-talking salesman or newspaper man routine. Love it! She slays me.

But my favorite moment is still my Sammykins ( Samuel S. Hinds to the rest of you swabs ) having lunch with Hepburn and as the scene fades out, how she touches his arm and says "Dad." Gets me.

I can hear the quiet inflection in your writing when you speak of it. I can hear her voice and see them sitting there. Now I'm choked up!

I was just fantasizing about Gail Patrick in "The Women." Nooooo not as one of the catty gals, and not sexy sassy Paulette Goddard. I can see her playing the novelist and being above the fray.

Wouldn't it be SOOOOO great if she was in it? She really should have been, studio loyalty aside. I just love the idea of her with that cast. I'd love to have just added her in as her stock-in-trade man-stealing self, though it would have been nice if she had gotten to broaden her horizons a little. Maybe as a friend of Crystal's?

My favorite in that movie is Virginia Grey. She's SO gorgeous, and so catty with Crystal on the phone. She always looks like she's having a blast. I should add her to my list of favorite gals who can dish out a line - my favorites all have that snappy way plus a warm quality - Virginia, Myrna, Ruth Hussey, Laraine Day... I like them all tremendously and will watch a movie if any of them are mentioned in the credits.

As I read the dialogue you highlighted, ( love it ), I practiced that "good-lookin' piece of jackrabbit..." line. Aaaaah! The delivery in "Stage Door" is pure perfection.

What is it that Burt Reynolds says about Spencer Tracy in that interstitial that always makes me cry? "You think you could do it, it looks so simple. Act like Spencer Tracy... but you can't." When you actually try to spin those lines out yourself, it's a pale comparison, or at least it is for me. I used to try to do Katherine Hepburn in Lion in Winter every now and then when I was still acting, just as an exercise. Well, I'm here to tell you, it's impossible to say those lines any better than she said them! When you try to mimic them, or the inflection, you realize how great those actresses and actors really were... because there is no way, even knowing EXACTLY how they said it, that you can give one ounce of what they gave it. It's downright impossible. I just tried the jackrabbit line myself. Same thing... it looks easy, but it ain't!

...And I have a million of those "six degree of separation" type connections. Bob and I used to make those up all the time, and without repeating a movie! Aye...there's the rub! BTW, ooooooooooooooh I saw "Purple Noon." Hun-neeee!

Oh great! Now I have to wait two weeks before I hear how you liked it! Ooh la la!

Oh wait...D'0hhhhhhhhhh!!!

I came across an interview with Eve Arden by former Toronto Globe & Mail critic James Bawden. I just had to share it with you guys since you can practically hear Eve's voice in her tart-tongued replies. The actress even revealed that she played Hildegarde Withers in a pilot for tv that didn't sell. Oy! Alas and alack...she would have been great casting for that part.

This article was published on the Classic Images site.

Please click on the image below to see the entire interview:

Thanks so much for Eve Arden interview. My gosh, where to begin? Just fabulous.

Wonderful! Loved the part about Lana quitting and Otto telling the publicity department to mention that Lee Remick was eighteen years younger.

I totally agree, she would have made a great Hildegarde Withers.

What a great actress. I personally think she's quite beautiful. The studios were out of their minds.

I thought she was more blunt here than I have ever seen her be in any other news article. Her warmth and work ethic came across more strongly in her discreet and endearing autobiography than is conveyed here in her wry and quite honest comments.

I agree about her beauty and style, Wendy. Sometimes it seems as though movie studios went out of their way to make people who looked fine feel like two-headed troglodytes instead of seeing their talent.

I sure would like to know more about that comment "that’s when I really got tired of Jack Carson.." Loved her insight about Jimmy Stewart getting "so much flak from fans about the adult language [in Anatomy of a Murder that] he never again accepted such a daring part, and I think that damaged his later career."

You read my mind, Moira. I really want to know about Jack Carson! The only reason I didn't mention it is that it is kind of a dead end street, we'll probably never really know what she meant by that. I do know Carson was a drinker, at least at one time. It could hint at something, or it could be that she was simply saying that it was too much contact with one person over time.... dang, I'd really like to hear about it, I THINK (being a Jack Carson fan too).

Wendy, one interesting thing about Jack Carson is that he hails from my province (Manitoba) - a small town called Carman (which some years back was awash with alleged UFO activity).

Don't think Jack had anything to do with it --

BTW: One thing I love about this Board is where else can you discuss actors like Samuel S. Hinds and Henry O'Neill and have the people know who you're talking about?

Again, great work everyone. Best site on the Net, IMO.

That's really nice. I think it's the best spot on the net too.

Thanks for the info on Jack Carson!

Thanks so much, Moira, for link to that terrific interview with Eve Arden. So down to earth and matter of fact.
What a career she had, stage,radio , screen and TV.
Thinking of that 1000 page biography of Barbara Stanwyck, I wouldn't mind one that long on Eve!

Vienna wrote:Thanks so much, Moira, for link to that terrific interview with Eve Arden. So down to earth and matter of fact.
What a career she had, stage,radio , screen and TV.
Thinking of that 1000 page biography of Barbara Stanwyck, I wouldn't mind one that long on Eve!

You and me both, Vienna! I'm so glad that you liked what felt like a visit with Eve too.

Ahhhhh Eve Arden. Enjoyed the interview. I could hear her voice...no nonsense...telling it like it 'tis...knowing her place in. Hollywood...no sugarcoating. Thanx for the link Moira.

THE OASIS ON FACEBOOK

You'll never guess who this absolutely beautiful child is. Well just click on the photo below to find out:



Over at the SSO's page on FaceBook, Moira posted an article by Cliff Aliperti from his "Immortal Ephemera" website. Seems like this tiny little miss comes from a famous theatre background.

Reading this re this actress over on FaceBook...

Wow, she was beautiful... You can see the resemblance to her later self. I think she had a beautiful face and figure later on as well, just not the 'norm' for beauty. The studios might have played this up if she hadn't been locked into playing so many spinsters and sourpusses. It would have been nice to see her get a role that really delved, and brought her out the other end as a beauty - her own version of The Enchanted Cottage, maybe? So many lovely women of stature in films didn't really get to exhibit their looks - Agnes Moorehead, Barbara O'Neill, Aline MacMahon, even Gale Sondergaard, who was far more glamorous wasn't always showcased as such.

...by you, Jack Favell prompted me to create my latest collage: