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@nostalgically_thinking

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Just for fun — vintage movies and Tv. 🚫Politics/AI.

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Here we are on Agatha Christie’s birthday and I am posting a rare interview of her in Lisbon Portugal in the 1960s. I have posted this before, but wanted to post it again for today.

I don’t have an exact date on this one but still think it is very interesting to see and hear her at the same time. I have not seen any other on camera interview with her. There may be other others. I’m just not aware of them.

Agatha was traveling in Lisbon, Portugal with her husband Max Mallowan when she was interviewed by Arthur Varatojo.

During the interview, she spoke about her characters, Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot.

Did you know that Max was actually 14 years younger than Agatha? Looking at them here I would never have known that.

#agathachristie #mysterybooks #queenofcrime #crimefiction #agathachristiebook

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This spring, I have been watching Bette Davis movies, and this past weekend, I watched Jezebel from 1938.

Wow. What a wild ride.

The tagline for this one could be — well, that escalated fast.

Especially as the movie gets toward the end.

It just races forward like a freight train out of control, but in a good way.

Bette stars in this one with a very serious Henry Fonda (I think he’s serious in every movie he is in).

George Brent, who was also in Dark Victory with her, is in this one too.

Our story takes place outside of New Orleans in 1852.

Bette portrays a woman named Julie who comes from a wealthy family and is engaged to a banker named Preston. Preston is often busy, and this irks Julie, who is very headstrong and self-centered.

When she is getting fitted for a long white ballgown she is supposed to wear to a special ball, she sees a red dress and decides she’s going to stand out and wear that one.

Everyone in the shop and in her family is horrified.

You just don’t wear red in “polite Southern society” at this or any ball.

Forget that, Julie says, even when Preston sees the dress and tells her there is no way she is wearing it. She is wearing it, she tells him, and that is that. The dress is gorgeous, even in black and white, by the way.

Back to the movie, though….Preston is furious but takes her to the ball anyhow. At the ball, people part like the Red Sea, not because they are impressed. They are scandalized by the dress and act like Julie is a — well, you know.

Preston returns Julie and her family home later that evening and says to Julie’s mother he wishes her a goodnight. To Julie, he says, “Goodbye, Julie.”

This is after they had known each other as children and always expected to marry. Oof!

Julie doesn’t believe it’s really happening, but things get real when Preston moves to the North to run a bank and leaves her behind.

I won’t ruin the rest of it for you. I will tell you that there is a reason the movie is called Jezebel and it is because Julie is called it by someone she knows.

Have you seen this one? #oldmovies #bettedavis #oldhollywoodstars

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Apparently, critics didn’t like The Bride Came C.O.D. with James Cagney and Bette Davis, but I found it to be a lot of fun.

A movie about an heiress whose father is trying to keep her from marrying a band leader/singer after only knowing him a few days and is kidnapped by a man trying to keep his airport business? What’s not to like?
Bette and James antagonize each other mercilessly throughout (as shown by this particular scene) and there is even a charming appearance by the delightful Harry Davenport.

Released in 1941, the movie didn’t make it big, and Bette later said all she got from the movie was a bottom full of cactus spines.

Again, though, I found it charming and fun, but maybe that’s just because I needed that release this week.

Have you ever seen this one?

#oldmovies #jamescagney #bettedavis #oldhollywoodglamour #oldhollywood

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As the winter Olympics take place in Italy, I can’t help thinking back to when I used to watch figure skating back in the 1990s with one of my favorites of all (behind Scott Hamilton) being Kurt Browning of Canada.

His performances were so much fun and elegant all at the same time. While figure skating today seems to be about the jumps (nothing wrong with that…I like them too), Kurt’s performances were about footwork, creativity and artistry, but also just pure entertainment.

Here he is at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer where he did not medal but still stole the hearts of skating fans. I read online that he is considered the best figure skater who never won an Olympic medal.

Despite never winning that elusive Olympic gold, silver, or bronze he is still widely considered a figure skating icon and was a four-time world champion. Seeing what happened with Ilia Friday made me think of Kurt and how not winning really didn’t matter because Kurt won the hearts of the fans — just like Ilia.

I will share a couple more favorite performances of his this week just for fun.

Do any of you remember watching Kurt perform?

#kurtbrowning #figureskating #olympics

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This scene from The Public Enemy 1931 was brilliantly directed by William Wellman.

The movie follows self-made gangsters Tommy Powers and Matt Doyle as they go from petty thieves to big-time booze runners during the prohibition.
Here they corner a rival who left them in the lurch at their first job. They were close to being arrested and one of the gang was killed.

✨SPOILER ALERT: ✨Things don’t end great for the rival, as shown here. The violence is all off-camera, and that makes it more impactful because the camera is focused not on Putty Nose dying but on how Matt’s expression changes from emotionless to ever-so-slightly dazed and horrified.

A few seconds after we hear the thud of the body hitting the floor, Tommy walks back into frame and says, “I’m going to go give Gwen a call. She’s probably home by now,” while he opens the door to leave.

He doesn’t look back, he doesn’t comment on what just happened. There is no remorse at all. It’s like he just stepped on a bug on the sidewalk while walking down the street, and he’s on to the rest of his life now.
Cagney pulls the scene off just brilliantly.

Like he pulls it off the whole movie. He makes the viewer both hate and love Tommy — feel sorry for him and not feel sorry for him at all.

Have you ever seen this one? If not, I highly recommend it and don’t worry – this isn’t the end of the movie so there is plenty I didn’t spoil.

#gansterfilms #jamescagney #oldmovies #classicfilms

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Cagney and Lacey ran on American television (CBS) from 1982 to 1988 and starred Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey and after the first six episodes Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney.

For the first six episodes the role of Cagney was played by Meg Foster and in the pilot movie Loretta Swift portrayed Cagney.

The two women were police detectives in New York City. Lacey was married with two sons and Cagney was single and career-driven.

There were TV movies shown after the show ended in 1988.

Something interesting I read online was that each year from 1983 to 1988 one of the lead actresses won an Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama.

Daly won four (1983, 1984, 1985, and 1988) and Gless won in 1986 and 1987.

John Karlen also won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama in 1986 for his role as Harvey Lacey Sr.

The series itself won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama in 1985 and 1986.

Do you remember this show?

#cagneyandlacey #vintageTV #1980s #oldTVshows #crimeshows

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It Happened on Fifth Avenue is one of those somewhat non-traditional Christmas movies that isn’t just a Christmas movie. I find it quirky and fun but here are a few other reasons I like it.

The cast for this movie works well together. I hadn’t actually heard of theee actors before I saw the movie but they include: Victor Moore, Charlie Ruggles, Gale Storm, Ann Harding, and Don Defore.
The plot lines in this one are pretty far-fetched and silly at times but that seems to make the movie even more charming.
Even in this silly moments there are sweet lessons learned by Gale Storms’s young character and especially by her parents.

Some of the scenes are so off-the-wall crazy but they make the movie even more charming .
The way the father shows his love for his daughter by going along with her crazy schemes is adorable and shows how much he truly loves her – even if she thinks he’s more controlling than loving.

The underlying romances – one a new romance and the other a second-chance one are very heartwarming and create many sweet moments.
And along the same lines as the strength of the ensemble cast is just how lovable and memorable the characters are – especially Aloysius T. McKeever.

How about you — have you seen this one? What did you like about it?

#christmasmovies #ithappenedonfifthavenue #oldhollywood #christmas #classicmovies

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It Happened On Fifth Avenue is a thought-provoking movie with a lot of humor and joy mixed in. It isn’t a strict “Christmas movie” but it does take place around Christmas.

An online overview for you: “While rich businessman Mike O’Connor (Charles Ruggles) resides in Virginia, his luxury townhouse in New York City appears vacant. However, in reality, drifter Aloysius “Mac” McKeever (Victor Moore) has been staying there. Mac invites Jim (Don DeFore), an unemployed veteran who has just been evicted from a building owned by O’Connor, to stay at the house without revealing he’s squatting. When O’Connor’s daughter, Trudy (Gale Storm), shows up as well, she falls for Jim and tries to help him.”

I really enjoyed this heartwarming story (even though a couple scenes seemed like ex dialogue was thrown in that wasn’t needed.) The humor and life lessons were on point.

Have you seen this one?

#christmasmovie #oldmovies #classicfilm #ithappenedonfifthavenue #silverscreen #films #christmas

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Here is a screen test for The Hardy Boys with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson who play Joe and Frank Hardy from 1977 to 1979 on The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries series.

In the first season of this series, the episodes switched back and forth from Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew episodes and in the next season, they started to join together. Eventually, they began to phase out the Nancy episodes and focus more on The Hardy Boys. A new actress also stared as Nancy when Pamela Sue Martin became disenchanted with the parts that were being written for her character.

#hardyboys #nancydrew #vintagetv #retrotv #parkerstevenson #shauncassidy #1970s

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These screen tests for The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries were compiled by SabuCat Productions / Jeff Joseph (clipped down and together by me) and show various actors testing with Shaun Cassidy for either the role of Joe Hardy or Frank Hardy.

The first clip is with an actor named Radames Pera. The next with Leif Garrett. Then Richard Bekins and finally the two actors who would eventually play the roles — Shaun Cassidy with Parker Stevenson.

The show ran from 1977 to 1979 and for the first season and part of the second, the episodes switched off between featuring The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. In the second season the two amateur sleuths, based off the books published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, combined forces until Nancy Drew’s episodes were eventually phased out and the show simply became known as The Hardy Boys.

#hardyboys #shauncassidy #parkerstevenson #leifgarrett #vintagetv #1970s #1977 #retrotv

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Nancy and Frank sitting in a tree….

Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy met for the first time in the episode The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula in The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries that ran from 1977 to 1979.

Some romantic tension flared between them, even with them both being annoyed by each other. This scene was one of the more intense ones with Frank (Parker Stevenson) stepping up the flirting with Nancy (Pamela Sue Martin).

#cozymystery #nancydrew #nancydrewmysteries #retrotv #hardyboys #hardyboysmysteries #oldtv #1970s #1970stv #parkerstevenson

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Today is Vivien Leigh’s birthday. Born Nov. 5, 1913, she is probably best known for playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Vivien’s career spanned 30 years, though, and during that time she made 19 feature length films, including this one in 1937, Storm in a Teacup, with Rex Harrison.

In Storm in a Teacup she portrayed Victoria Gow, the daughter of a government official in Scotland who Rex Harrison (playing Frank Burdon) writes a scathing article about. Frank falls in love with Victoria, complicating the chaos and drama even more.

Have you seen this one?
#oldmovies #oldhollywood #classicmovies #classichollywood #vintage #goldenageofhollywood #movies #cinema #oldhollywoodstars #vintagehollywood #oldhollywoodglamour #hollywood #films #blackandwhite #silverscreen #moviestar #classic #classiccinema #retro #oldmoviestars #classicmoviestars #classicfilm #featurefilms #vintagecinema #vintagefilm #vivienleigh

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