Romy Schneider and her little friend...

Romy celebrating her recent birthday with her little friend...

Swinging with a star - Anthony Newley & wonderful ladies!

Today would have been the 80th birthday of one of my first screen crushes:

Anthony Newley (1931-1999)

~ don't know about you - but I have to smile when I look at this pic.. ~

Of course I fell for him when he appeared as Matthew in DOCTOR DOOLITTLE (1967)..

Ever since I saw him in various other films of course - but this one was the first..

Yes, I was a little girl back then..

He was so funny and such a nice guy that I simply fell head over heels for him..

~ Gosh.. I still like this Matthew... ~

Sadly I wasn't able to embed a video from that film - but there are some other clips you might like:

Here he is with lovely Shirley Bassey:

~ love the end of this.. very funny.. ~

And just for me another picture of Mr. Newley:

and another clip - with my wonderful Jo Ann Worley - love her! Gorgeous looks and soo hilarious!

Watch her dancing skills! That's exactly the kind of routine I would like to do in "my show"!! ;")

Dear children: You know her voice? It's The Wardrobe from Disney's THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)...

enjoy:

Thank you for listening!

Have a great weekend!

Irene

Not written on the wind - on Bette Davis

"I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived."

THE GIRL WHO WALKED HOME ALONE (2006) by Charlotte Chandler is the biography of an actress who many people consider the queen of classic Hollywood: Bette Davis.

Actually I have the feeling that you either love her or loathe her – I don’t know any person yet who is completely untouched by her.

To read the book is like listening to a resolute old aunt telling about her life – Charlotte Chandler lets Miss Davis talk a lot by herself – so that there are some “Bette said…” / “Bette told...”bits. Many co-stars and cotemporaries have their say here, too. In the end you’ll get a good picture of this unbelievable energetic, goal-directed and not always diplomatic woman.Charlotte Chandler tries to give an objective view – though the keynote of the book is positive, there are quotes of persons who obviously were no fans of Miss Davis.

Almost every one of her flicks (well – I for one missed THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D with James Cagney..) is combined shortly – and of course there is a filmography in the end. This book is a good one for beginners – I’d like to have learned more about her sister Bobby – well.. who knows.. – maybe there isn’t more to know.. I will go on in my studies.. And of course there are pictures in this book – not so many but a few also including some private photos.

~ Bette with a friend.. ~

While reading this book you will for sure notice Miss Davis absolutely marvelous sense of humor:

“They weren’t the biggest – but they weren’t bad either.”

is no quote about her film parts (as you know: those were the biggest – and even if not she made them the biggest..) but about her breasts…

Honest: I love that woman!!

How couldn't I? A woman saying things like

"I want to die with my high heels on..."

?? ... yay for that!

She was not only an avid animal lover (and all of you who visited this blog before noticed that this is a giant plus in my book) - she was also very (very!) outspoken about her sex life – so after you read this book you’ll know of which English actor she thought while having sex with other men – or “enjoying herself” ... and that she thought Errol Flynn was a bad lover – though she never “tested” that.. (as far as I can tell from reading Errol Flynn’s autobiography: he wasn’t eager to find out her qualities in that relation either..)

~ not in the book - just beautiful.. ~

Oh – and she finally resolves the secret about the famous Bette Davis’ eyes: brown mascara.

But beware! There is at least one risk – while reading the book you could be tempted to do at least one Bette-Davis-film-night. Hm… ….

Thank you for listening,

yours (very well, bookish and) truly

Irene

Happy Birthday ROMY SCHNEIDER (1938 - 1982)

Romy's birthday snuck up on us as we didn't have time for a big celebration. Maybe Irene can do something more extravagant for one of our favorite actresses later. In the meantime Happy Birthday Romy! We miss you.

Completely having kittens (12)

And again it's Thursday!!

This takes part in a meme hosted by Michelle @ THE TRUE BOOK ADDICT .

Our cat-lady of the week is Maureen O'Sullivan - for me the most important cause to watch the TARZAN-films..

Have a great day!

Irene

Oh - there's just one more thing... (12)

What do you think was sooo tiresome for Diana Barrymore and her father John Barrymore in 1942?

I think you can clearly see here that Diana is the aunt of one of my favourite modern actresses - with the name Drew.. ;")

Have a great day!

Irene

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Another round of the fantastic FAVORITE MUSICAL TOURNAMENT hosted by marvellous Monty has started - now it's the 50's - please run don't walk over to -> darling Dawn's SINGIN' AND DANCING BACK IN TIME - and vote!!!

See? Jolly Jane Russell asks you to vote, too!

Thank you!

Yours truly,

impish & idealistic

Irene