Announcing the Countdown to the Oscars

For the month of February I will be exploring the history of the Oscars and discussing my favorite Oscar winning films. Here are some resources to get you started:

Join Turner Classic Movies in their 31 Days of Oscar and find out when your favorite Award winning films will be aired. You can download the full schedule here.

Also, don't miss the 2014 And the Oscar Goes To... documentary. It is being shown on Feb. 5th at 10pm, 7th at 11am, and the 18th at 7:15am. All times are EST, so check your guide. You can also watch it on YouTube. Here is the link to part one. It has some great clips from the Academy Archives and is full of fun stories (some clips are not suitable for children). TCM Article about the documentary.

Want to learn more about every single film that has won an award? Check out film historian Robert Osborne's book, Academy Awards Illustrated, with a forward by Bette Davis. He has also written 85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, updated to include up to 2012. You can see a preview here. He has also released a short video that tells how Oscar received its' name, what it's made of, and the engraving process. It can be viewed here.

 

You can also explore the history of the Oscars on the official Oscars website.

 

Here is a really interesting article: An Unofficial History of the Academy Awards on Radio

 

Lots of fun facts here: Oscar History

 

The whole thing is like a maternity ward; everybody's expecting.

~ Bob Hope

 

I see a lot of new faces...especially on the old faces.

~ Johnny Carson

 

There will be a short intermission while the ushers sweep the fingernails out of the aisles.

~ Bob Hope

 

Don't miss the Oscars on Feb. 22 at 7pm ET, live on ABC.

Winter Fun in Hollywood

Hitchcock with his grandkids

 

Shirley Temple

Bette Davis

Myrna Loy

Deanna Durbin

 

Lucille Ball - Radio City, 1937

Ann Sheridan, 1939 (note the cigarette in her left hand)

 

 

Rita Hayworth

 

Hedy Lamarr

Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, 1945

 

Ingrid Bergman

Cary Grant

 

Esther Williams

 

Dennis Morgan, 1946

 

Gene Tierney, 1947

 

Dana Andrews and wife

 

Loretta Young

Audrey Hepburn

fun picture

 

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco with her children - Switzerland, 1962

 

All images found via Pinterest

Hollywood on Skis

Greta Garbo (still from Two-Faced Woman - 1941)

 

Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

Norma Shearer

 

Shirley Temple

 

Shirley Temple grown up

 

Myrna Loy

 

Judy Garland, 1940

Betty Grable

Jane Wyman

Ida Lupino, 1939

Rita Hayworth, 1939

Ann Sheridan, 1939

 

Lucille Ball

Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable - 1946

 

Gary Cooper - Aspen, 1949

Errol Flynn

with Rita Hayworth

Charlton Heston

 

This post is part of the Winter Sports Blogathon hosted by  Le Mot du Cinephiliaque. Be sure to read all of the other great entries here!

 

All images found via Pinterest

Debbie Reyolds Receives the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award

The Screen Actors Guild Awards were tonight. At this event, not only were the actors we lost last year honored, but one still living was honored for a lifetime of work. Debbie Reynolds, 82, was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The presenter was her daughter, Carrie Fisher (Star Wars). You can watch the full acceptance speech below.

 

For some reason, Debbie Reynolds has never been a favorite actress of mine. Maybe it was because the movies I first saw of her growing up were movies that didn't resonate with me in any way. Yes, I saw Singin' in the Rain, but I'm not a huge musical person (which is weird because singing and playing musical instruments are an important part of my life). Also, I'm not fond of Gene Kelly. But enough about what I don't like.

 

 

The other day I watched for the first time, The Catered Affair (1956) starring Ernst Borgnine, Bette Davis, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, and the recently deceased Rod Taylor. The movie itself was good - not something I plan on watching every year - but still good. And, I surprisingly found myself liking Debbie Reynolds a little more.

 

 

Here are the movies I have seen with Debbie Reynolds:

 

June Bride (1948) - uncredited. Unfortunately I didn't know she was in it until I had already deleted it off my dvr

Singin' in the Rain (1952) - need to watch again as I've only seen it once when I was little

The Catered Affair (1956) - her first drama

 

 



Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) - watched the Tammy series to see Sandra Dee, but this one was really good, well worth watching. Read my post from the Cinemascope Blogothon!

 

 

Say One For Me (1959) - watched it for Robert Wagner, wasn't worth it...

How the West was Won (1962)
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
The Singing Nun (1966) - was too young when I first saw it...

great song

(Random photos of Tippi Hedren at 1:55 and Sandra Dee at 2:36)

 

 

 Debbie Reynolds on IMDb
The Hollywood Reporter

Upcoming Posts...

So many things to post: Winter Fun in Hollywood, Winter Films, Countdown to the Oscars (and how to throw the ultimate Oscars party) and a list of Romantic Comedies for Valentine's Day... I'm exhausted already.