Links: And Alice Faye's Centennial
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 10:00PM The Dissolve Emily Blunt is finally revving back up her career. After Sicario she's headlining Bronco Belle
Guardian Ryan Gosling, ever the good sport about internet memes, finally eats his cereal, and a cancer fund is created to memorialize the meme creator
Empire the very busy young actor Will Poulter case as Pennywise in the new version of Stephen King's "It"
Awards Watch I was the special guest on their latest podcast defending my first wave of predictions, particularly why I got behind Sicario and am hesitant on Carol.
Film Actually 20 most anticipated performances (I keep forgetting about Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong)
In Contention speaking of Foster, he's got a new film Comancheria, just picked up by CBS Films. Think they'll change the title before release? I'm taking bets.
Playbill If you've never seen Broadway darling and sometime TV & film player Kristin Chenoweth in concert, do NOT miss her tour. I've seen her like four times live and she's magic. It starts in August and she's hitting 17 states so see if any shows are near you!
MNPP who wore it best (skin suits edition): The Vision or Robbie Williams?
The Dissolve has a cute Gremlins filled video about the history of the PG rating.
Variety the rapping Granny from The Wedding Singer has died at 101 years of age
Previously TV Joe Reid guests for a RPDR recap of the "prancing queens' episode. good stuff
/Film Joss Whedon explains that messy Thor in the pool business from Age of Ultron (the more we hear about the making of the movie the more disastrous it sounds from an executive interference level; this can't be a good sign for the movies going forward.)
It's the Black Widow's World. Marvel Just Doesn't Know It Yet.
Washington Post on "Black Widow's Feminist Heroism" - a great response to the weird outrage criticisms despite her film-rescuing place in those movies
Think Progress on further linked e-mails which show Hollywood's absolute sexism and stupidity about female heroes, they think Elektra and Catwoman are the best that can be done? Yikes!
Pajiba also Jeremy Renner doubles down on his sorry not sorry douchery about calling Black Widow a slut
Polygon would watch ScarJo's Black Widow Romantic Comedy via SNL. (as would I)
Showtune(s) to go ~ Happy Alice Faye Centennial
When I revisited the Oscar nominated In Old Chicago (1937) a couple of years ago I was a bit dismissive of Alice Faye, a major 30s film star (who isn't so well remembered today) who played Tyrone Power's conquest. After more investigation the appeal has become far more obvious and since May 5th is her Centennial you definitely have 5 minutes to give her major voice - that's a memorably warm deep contralto. Here she is in two incarnations as a pre-code bad girl singing about 'Fooling with The Other Woman's Man' in Now I'll Tell (1934) looking like a visual inspiration for Madonna's future Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy. And then in a more traditionally romantic Technicolor light in Weekend in Havana (1941) with John Payne (Tyrone Power and then John Payne? lucky girl) singing "Tropical Magic"
Reader Comments (7)
Wonderful choices for the Alice Faye tribute! Love her. When she was starting out the studio tried to turn her into a musical Jean Harlow, which explains the ultra blonde look, until they realized she was unique onto herself. She made some amazing Technicolor cotton candy musicals and her voice was a warm and rich one.
My favorite of them is Hello, Frisco, Hello not that it's that different from her others but it contains my favorite of her songs, You'll Never Know, and co-stars June Havoc (Gypsy Rose Lee's sister) as well as the ultra handsome John Payne.
She and Tyrone Power, whose birthday would also be today, dated seriously and she considered marrying him but said she "decided he was too fond of other boys for it to work out."
I recall she was married to Phil Harris whose most memorable film appearance was the voice of the Bear in Disney's Jungle Book
Oh memories. The Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book and Rainbow Connection from the Muppets.
Sometimes just one song can make a movie that extra special.
Hello, Frisco, Hello with Oscar winning song "You'll Never Know" and THE GANG'S ALL HERE!
My favorite of Alice Faye's is Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), which re-teams her with her In Old Chicago costars, Tyrone Power and Don Ameche. It also stars Ethel Merman and Jack Haley and it is a Best Picture nominee. I think it's even better than that year's winner, You Can't Take It with You, but The Adventures of Robin Hood, Pygmalion and Boys Town were all also better than YCTIWY, so that just means 1938 was another great year for movies in that glorious decade.
As far as the DC movies go, I'd have actually told them to launch with Batgirl, not Superman or Wonder Woman. Why? Three reasons: 1. She's a simpler and more relatable story in ways that those two "bigger" characters really aren't. 2. She has access to the Batman rogues gallery and the possibility of a Batman cameo somewhere in the movie. 3. Because she should start out with no superpowers, no incredible wealth and a no kill rule, you should be able to make something that's both very cheap, for the genre, and still PG-13. Let's say a $40-50 million budget instead of a $200+ million behemoth?
Thank you so much for the Alice Faye song videos. It's always a welcome sight when I see Alice Faye's name in the opening credits. She was always usually better than her (fairly crummy) Fox movies. I just wish that she was able to record songs outside of the film soundtracks which I don't think Daryl Zanuck allowed. I think that is the reason why her deliciously deep singing voice is not well known these days. Her voice to me is as straightforward and unadorned as her movie star persona. She never seemed young like the girl next door, but definitely the hot mom next door! :-)