Tuesday Matinee

Hitchcock Marathon

Nothing makes me happier than a little Hitchcock Marathon! Luckily for all of us TCM lovers, we can catch one on Wednesday 12th, starting at 6:30 a.m. with the documentary Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail. The doc examines the Hitchcock style through the silent film Blackmail. At 8:00 a.m. the British classic The Lady Vanishes starring Margaret Lockwood will be showing. Next up, the only screwball comedy Hitchcock made, Mr. and Mrs. Smith from 1941. Noon brings one of my top Hitchcock movies, I Confess starring Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter from 1953. The Wrong Man will be showing at 2:00 p.m., followed by the Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman led film, Stage Fright at 4:00. To close out the marathon is another favorite Dial M for Murder, the great classic murder story starring the great Grace Kelly. Catch one or all, but the day is filled with great films I hope you'll enjoy!

The Gay Sisters and My Reputation

This month, the TCM Star of the Month is Barbara Stanwyck. And to say I am excited is an understatement! Nobody is more versatile, more real and authentic than Ms. Stanwyck. In The Gay Sisters (1942) Barbara plays Fiona Gaylord, one of 3 sisters who are orphaned and forced to defend their Fifth Avenue mansion when others have ideas about what to do with it. It's a film that I have loved so much and is rarely shown on TCM, so it's a must see at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday the 13th. The film also stars George Brent, and Gig Young. Another Stanwyck classic on this day to catch it at 5:00 p.m., the 1946 film My Reputation. Co-starring (again) George Brent, this romantic drama really shows her acting chops and shows a woman staying true to herself after the death of her beloved husband.

The Two Mrs. Carrolls

Okay, I get it. You're probably thinking "why this film"? And I get it. It's not her best known film, or her co-star Humphrey Bogart's best known film either. He plays an artist, and I'm sure that's difficult for most to believe. In fact, some people flat out don't like it I think. But I'll be honest...... I love it so much! It's like a little guilty pleasure of mine to watch this film a few times a year. There is something dark and slightly creepy about Bogart's character and the story that has always intrigued me. Bogart's Geoffrey kills his first wife in order to marry Stanwyck's Sally (she doesn't know this). Will he do it again? Will Sally figure out his plans? Watch and find out. The film also stars the wonderful little Ann Carter as Geoffrey's daughter from the first Mrs. Carroll. You can see this thriller on Thursday the 20th at 9:15 a.m. Be sure to check out some other films showing throughout March from Stanwyck's catalog. 46 will be shown in all on Wednesday evenings and Thursday during the day.

A.K.A. Lucy

Posted on by meganchristman414

You guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First off, I am a massive Lucy fan. MASSIVE!!! So, chances were good I was going to love this book.

But, I never expected to love it this much. I didn’t realize on such a deeper level, why I’ve always loved Lucille Ball the person. Or how much I relate to her. I won’t go into details on that, but it just made me appreciate, not only Lucy, but the book too. Once you have your copy in hand, fast forward to chapter 16 “How to be like Lucy”, and see how similar you are to her, or maybe how to be more like her. This is one of the most fun chapters in the book.

After talking with Sarah Royal, the wonderful author of A.K.A. Lucy, I just can’t say enough about how fabulous she is! I can’t imagine anyone else writing this book. It was so apparent from our chat, that her love and admiration runs deep for Lucille Ball the person, not just the Lucy persona. So without further ado, here’s a little bit about A.K.A. Lucy and Sarah Royal.

As a super fan of Lucy myself, I’m always curious how other super fans came to know Lucy. For Sarah, she started watching re-runs as a young girl at her grandma’s. And like me, picked up her love again in high school with the re-runs that came on Nick at Night. When asked why she loves Lucy, here’s what she had to say:

” I Love Lucy because she’s absolutely hilarious, because she was a pioneer (accidental or not) and a true human being. She was a superstar who was both kind and accessible throughout her life, and that’s a rarity. I love her because she was vulnerable, because she was so dedicated to her family and hard work, and she wanted to make audiences feel things.”

She also discussed how Lucy was goofy, and she considers herself a goofy lady =) How she fights the norms of what women are supposed to be, much like Lucy did. Sarah loves her slapstick humor and incredible work ethic. She pointed out (and you’ll see in the book) Lucy was very calculated and she had to work really hard at comedy because she wasn’t naturally funny. She also reiterated her love and admiration for Lucy’s ability to be vulnerable.

Chapter 10 is entitled “Red Hair, Red Scare”, and details Lucy’s clash with the U.S. Government during the Red Scare. I was familiar with HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) where investigations were made into famous individuals’ possible ties to communism, but I had never, ever heard about Lucy’s involvement. So I was especially eager to know, why this chapter was included. In all honesty, I feel it was a brave decision to include it, one Lucy would be proud of. Sarah said:

“The communist accusation deserved its own chapter because it was so cinematic and it was so significant for both Lucy herself and the time period she was in”

She went on to say it helped show how untouchable she was during this time period, when a lot of public figures would have been done, and how Desi worked hard behind the scenes to help clear the whole unfortunate incident up. The chapter is written so brilliantly, it’s absolutely engrossing. It’s my third favorite, only behind chapters 7 and 16. Yes, I know my favorites by heart. That’s how much I love this book!

Speaking of chapter 7….. you think you know Lucy & Desi, but you probably don’t. This chapter entitled “You Can’t Spell Desire Without Desi”, is all about the love affair of Lucy & Desi. They were the great loves of one another’s lives, even though their marriage didn’t work out. I won’t spoil any of the details, because you need to read it for yourself. This chapter is happy, sad and everything in between. If you don’t tear up like I did, I’m guessing you didn’t read the right chapter. It’s really, really emotional.

One of my favorite take-away’s from A.K.A. Lucy was how much I related to her, or felt more connected to her after reading the book. When I asked Sarah if she was trying to accomplish that for her readers, showing people there’s a little Lucy in us all, she said she really just wanted to just show Lucy was human. She went on to describe Lucy as having a certain set of principles, and family was #1. She was direct and honest, a straight shooter. All these attributes we can relate to, and see her as more human, less “Lucy”.

I wanted to know her favorite Lucy movie and I Love Lucy episode. She named some classics as her favorite movies, including Stage Door, and Dance, Girl, Dance, saying things like Stage Door is a movie about beautiful girls in a flop house that would be a rarity today, and how her character in Dance, Girl, Dance was so crazy and unlike how she was in real life. Sarah asked me what my favorite was and one I mentioned was The Big Street. She told me a great story of how Charles Laughton had told Lucy “If you’re going to play a bitch, play a bitch”. And oh my goodness, if ever there was a “bitch” role, Gloria Lyons in The Big Street is it. Total bitch to the core. But, that’s what is so amazing about Lucy; she could lean into a serious role, and turn out a hilarious one too. This conversation cemented to me just how versatile, vulnerable, and hard working Lucy was.

As for her favorite I Love Lucy episode, she picked “Return Home from Europe”, an episode she breaks down in the chapter on famous episodes of the show. Sarah said she loved Lucy’s humor in convincing the passengers on the plane that the cheese was her baby. In the book she talks about how the humor of it isn’t so much in the slapstick comedy, but more in the witty dialogue. And she’s so right. This episode is a great one!

Visually, A.K.A. Lucy is as good as it gets. I almost have no words, its so good. Bright neon and technicolor shades are on almost every glossy page. Gorgeous photographs throughout highlight her exquisite sense of fashion. Go to page 213, and you’ll see what high fashion is. Beautiful photographs of her with Desi and more are here too.

I had to squeeze in a question about The Golden Girls, and Leslie Knope from Parks & Rec. I happen to be a super fan of both. And it’s no coincidence that I, and millions of others love them both, and Lucy too. When I asked Sarah, if she thought they could exist without Lucy having paved the way she said they’d be here, but they wouldn’t be the same. Amy Poehler who plays Leslie on Parks (and also wrote the foreword to this book) was heavily influenced by Lucy. Sarah noted her form of comedy is a lot of how she uses her eyes, and getting into crazy situations. Sounds a lot like Lucy huh? As for The Golden Girls, she notes how Lucy was actually friends with them, especially Betty White, and how she worked with them. So it’s obvious they took away some of Lucy’s knowledge on comedy, not to mention, Lucy’s daring last show Life with Lucy,where she plays a grandma. I agree with Sarah, this show certainly paved the way for a show on middle aged grandma’s in Miami.

You’re going to be giving this book as a gift to all the ladies (and guys) on your Christmas list this year. They will love it, regardless of if they are Lucy fans. Trust me!!! This book is obviously about Lucy and her life, but readers will take more away personally than you could imagine. I emotionally connected to this book so much, and I don’t think I’ll be the only to say that.

I LOVE A.K.A, Lucy. End of blog.