Carole Lombard at play

This is a photo of Carole at play for my good friend Robin, who loves Carole as much as I do. Robin has a wonderful blog all about home decoration, garden, memorabilia and other such goodies. I follow her blog on a daily basis. All my fans should stop by and take a look see. I've included the link in this post. Have a great weekend everybody.http://decoratingtennisgirl.blogspot.com/

New Poll started...Who is your favorite leading lady in screwball comedies?

I just started a new poll that poses the question...Who is your favorite leading lady in screwball comedies. I selected 6 actresses as the choices: Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur and Constance Bennett. It should make for a fun poll. Of course everyone knows who I'm going with.

Hint: you're looking right at her.

To Be Or Not To Be (1942) is a delight

Just recently saw To Be Or Not To Be on TCM the other night and it is still a tremendously great film. I hadn't seen in at least 10 years but everything still works. Ernst Lubitsch directs the 1942 political satire classic To Be or Not to Be, which marked the final screen appearance of comedienne Carole Lombard. In Warsaw at the beginning of WWII, Maria Tura (Lombard) and husband Joseph (Jack Benny) perform anti-Nazi plays with their theater troupe until they are forced to switch to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Lt. Stanislav Sobinski (Robert Stack) falls for Maria and meets up with her during Joseph's famous To Be or Not to Be speech as Hamlet. When Stanislav is eventually dispatched for war, he implicates Maria with Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges), who has a secret plan to destroy the Warsaw resistance. The Polish theater troupe is then forced to use their theatrical skills to ensure their survival. Eventually, they turn to impersonating Nazi officers -- and even Hitler himself -- in order to outwit the enemy and keep the resistance safe from spies. Carole Lombard positively glows in what would be her final film role. She just radiates a heavenly presence and has wonderful chemistry with Jack Benny, who gets a lot of the laughs in this classic screwball film.

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Maria Tura: It's becoming ridiculous the way you grab attention. Whenever I start to tell a story, you finish it. If I go on a diet, you lose the weight. If I have a cold, you cough. And if we should ever have a baby, I'm not so sure I'd be the mother.
Josef Tura: I'm satisfied to be the father.

Great video

 This great video was put together by my new friend Meri over at The Golden Age Of Hollywood. It's awesome.

Photo Of The Day - Twentieth Century (1934)

Carole Lombard, the Queen of Screwball Comedy in my opinion, looking fabulous....

To Be Or Not To Be (1942) airs tonight on TCM

The classic screwball comedy To Be Or Not To Be (1942) starring Carole Lombard (in her last film role before her tragic death) and Jack Benny airs tonight on TCM at 8pm EST. It is one of my favorite comedies of all time and I will be posting a review of it shortly. If you have never seen this classic, make plans on watching it tonight.

Modern Screwball Comedies: Soapdish (1991)

Feeling a bit nostalgic I was going through my old VHS movies and came across Soapsdish, the terrifically funny spoof of soap operas. So I decided to expand screwball cinema to include modern films every now and then that come close to resembling screwball comedies of the past. I think Soapdish more than qualifies with it's all star cast and laughs a minute. The story has reigning daytime queen Celeste Talbert (a super performance by Sally Field) who plays Maggie on the popular soap opera The Sun Also Sets. She has been at this for over two decades. And has a loyal fanbase but also has several enemies on the set. Such as Montana Morehead (the wickedly insane Cathy Moriarty) and producer David Barnes (a really young Robert Downey Jr.) who team up to drive Maggie from the show. These two connive and seek out former soap star Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin Kline) who once was on the show before Maggie had him fired. So they bring him back to cause some friction. Also throw in the mix Celeste's niece Lori (Elisabeth Shue) who becomes an overnight star on the show and also finds out about her family dynamics from Celeste. Whoopi Goldberg is on hand as Rose Schwartz (the show's head writer and Celeste's best friend). Soapdish is a really funny movie with so many jokes and farcial situations happening, you can't help but think of it as a screwball comedy. Sally Field has a terrific time playing Celeste as she plays the soap diva going a little bit crazy. Moriarty and Downey Jr make the perfect foils for her as they are constantly trying to drive her mad. Kevin Kline is solid as usual and Goldberg gets to shine in a pivotal role. Also stars Garry Marshall as the president of the network, Teri Hatcher as another actress and Kathy Najimy as an assistant. Plus loads of celebrity and actual soap stars cameos, Soapdish is a real treat. A true laugh fest.

Memorable quotes:

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Celeste Talbert: David! David! David, David, David, David, David!
David Barnes: Hey, great scene with Bolt.
Celeste Talbert: I realize I'm not a young woman; however...
David Barnes: What do you mean, you're not...
Celeste Talbert: ...could you PLEASE point out to our new costume designer
[grabs her]
Celeste Talbert: whose name I don't quite have yet...
Tawny Miller: Tawny Miller, Miss Talbert.
Celeste Talbert: How do you do.
[to David]
Celeste Talbert: - that I don't feel quite right in a turban. What I feel like is GLORIA FREAKING SWANSON! What am I, 70, David? Am I 70? Why don't you just put me in a walker? Buy a goddamn walker and put me in it!
David Barnes: [to Tawny] You're fired.
Tawny Miller: Oh God.
David Barnes: I'm just kidding.
[into PA system]
David Barnes: Attention: no turbans for Miss Talbert!
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Rose Schwartz: The guy was killed in an auto accident! I looked it up! He was driving in the Yukon, in a pink convertible, to visit his brother who's an ex-con named Frances, when a tractor trailer comes along and decapitates him. You know what that mean, it means he doesn't have a head. How am I suppose to write for a guy who doesn't have a head? He's got no lips, no vocal cords. What do you want me to do?