#1018 - First Love (1939)

 

Honest to goodness, my heart hasn't felt this full, this fuzzy, nor has it bubbled over with this much happiness for such a long time 🥰! This film was an absolute DELIGHT and proved to be exactly what the movie-doctor ordered! Don’t you just love it when that happens!?

✨👠 First Love is a reworking of Cinderella and therefore there's really no need for me to talk plot. However, whilst the fairytale's clichés are out in force and are none too subtle (6 white police motorbikes in the place of 6 white mice for example) the little tweaks, nuances and additions that are introduced in this version of the beloved folktale are definitely worthy of discussion and praise!

Goodness me....where do I start 😅💕

In this version of the story, Connie (Deanna Durbin) is lucky enough to be surrounded by a plethora of fairy godmothers and godfathers, who are just all so lovely that I felt the rippling of gratuitous goosebumps flutter down the length of my arms a bunch of times! The household staff are the perfect bunch of helpers and each and every time they went out of their way to support and comfort Connie, I was just forced to resign myself to appreciative sighs and imaginary hat tips in the direction of the screen. They were all wonderful but special mention must be made of George, the Clinton's butler, played to a T by the marvellous Charles Coleman. Is my 'Aussie bias' showing? 

Connie (Durbin) with a selection of her fairy godmothers/father...
...and her less-than helpful family members 😬

However, our 'Cinderella' also had some less than helpful characters to contend with. 

Instead of battling against a wicked stepmother and a couple of evil stepsisters, Connie is invited and yet barely tolerated under the roof of her Aunt Grace, a zodiac devotee. Her cousin Walter, a droll zombie-like creature who appears to find it a great effort just to breathe at times. And her true antagonist in the form of her cousin, Barbara (played superbly by Helen Parrish) who manages to exemplify the characteristics of a spoiled brat AND take them to staggering new heights 😂

Connie (Deanna Durbin) standing defiantly against her calculating cousin's repeated attempts at subterfuge.
Go Connie!!

Aside from these stellar performances, I must also single-out Eugene Pallette's performance as the long-suffering husband and father, James, to the Clinton clan. The way he channeled his character's mounting familial frustrations by the constant twitching of his eye and via the pronounced bustling yet stilted shuffle of his gait, really highlighted his knack for comedic and physical comedy 👌 with just the right amount of heart on show too.  

Watch out for the 😉 in this scene. It's a heart-melter.

And good grief, when his simmering anger eventually explodes in the faces of those who have been responsible for its causation 💥 Wowee! Look out is all I can say 😅!

Of course mention must also be made of our leading lady's performance and that of her 'Prince' the 20 year old, baby-faced Robert Stack in this, his debut film!

For goodness sake - look at these cuties 😍!

I must admit to not really paying attention to Stack's performance in this one, as I just couldn't get over how YOUNG he looked 😅 It's so strange when your brain is trying to get used to a fresher faced version of an actor you're more familiar with seeing in their later roles. He bore such a striking resemblance to Paul Walker circa. 1998’s Pleasantville in this for me that I just couldn't 'unsee' it no matter how hard I tried 😄

I was certainly much happier with the pair's chemistry in this film than I was with the complete lack of it in the only other film they starred in together, 1941's Nice Girl? From memory Stack's character was more in love with his car than with Deanna's character 😖

Deanna's performance was just fantastic 😊💕 

Can't have a fairytale retelling without a mirror mirror on the wall.

As usual, Deanna comes across as so likeable and natural onscreen. A total sweetheart 💝. 

She manages to embrace and share Connie’s vulnerability and fragility with us, whilst also providing us with glimpses of her own trademark plucky independence and confident spirit. I love that side of Deanna and the fact that she always seems to find a way to radiate her own gorgeous personality through the screen, be it via her acting and/or singing.

Speaking of which, we are treated to a number of performances by Deanna throughout this film and oh my word... each and every one of them shone a spotlight on her uncanny ability to draw out every ounce of emotion that both she as the singer and YOU as the viewer have within you. I swear each and every time she sung in this film, I ended up smiling my face off or bawling like a baby, such is the power of her voice and her conviction. All of the emotions that she conveys and all of the emotions that she manages to well up inside you come crashing out when she inevitably hits and holds those long, high notes and ugh 🫠💕 what a gift she had.

I wish every Connie had a Miss Williams 😊

However the award for melting my heart and for making me sob tears of joy at the end of this film  goes to the one and only, Kathleen Howard aka. Miss Wiggins.

😇 What an absolute angel. A character who embodies wisdom, selflessness and is a true guiding light to our Connie. A woman who is so salt-of-the-earth that it made me start to question if she really was of this world. She is such an ironclad tribute to goodness and hope, that I thought any minute now she’s going to sprout wings🪽 or polish off her halo before placing it upon her own head.

I absolutely ADORED her 🥹💗!

And if all of my gushing above isn't enough to get you to check this one out, this movie literally made me gasp during what instantly became one of the most romantic moments on screen I have witnessed to date.

There is nothing quite like seeing a feeling. Like seeing your innermost emotions come to life via the movement and magic of the movies. Watching, with your mouth agape as the images dancing before your eyes convey a long-lost feeling that you have never been able to put into words before. This feeling, the one that is currently playing out in the GIF above,  is indeed how I felt when I discovered my first love.  And to see that feeling expressed as it is when Deanna and Robert are dancing… by ways of a 🪄 BEAUTIFUL bit of editing magic…. 🫠 I swear, if for no other reason, you must watch this film for the dancing sequence alone. In my opinion, it so perfectly encapsulates the blossoming of first love between two people. Like you're the only two people in the room, on the planet, within the entire expanse of the universe 💞 Ugh. 

Pardon me, but does this belong to you 💖?

A great one to watch if you feel that the world has gone to rack and ruin. A great one to watch if your faith in love has ebbed away. A great one to watch if you need someone lovely and deserving to root for!

☁️✨😌 Sweet, charming and oh so uplifting!

🍿😘 An instant new fave for me, for sure!

💌🎞 Have you seen First Love (1939)? I would love to hear your thoughts! Xx

#1019 - The Uninvited (1944)

How do you heal a haunted house?

🌊 Standing proudly on a cliff overlooking the roaring beauty of the Cornwall coastline stands Winward House. A seemingly abandoned 18th-century home, with large windows, breathtaking views and an enchanting magnetism.

While vacationing on the English coast, composer and music critic Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) come across the property when their cheeky pup, 🐶 Bobby is led in through one of the open windows by a speedy squirrel, keen for a spot of "tag."

Climbing the cliff face to Winward House

Drawn in to the property, initially to retrieve their mischevious doggo, Rick and Pamela fall for Winward's charm and potential, and set out to track down its current owner in the hopes of purchasing the property and leaving the hustle and bustle of London behind them. The owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) is willing to part with the property for the relatively low price of £1200, despite the emotional pleas and objections raised by his 20 year old granddaughter, Stella Meredith (Gail Russell).  

Despite these potential 'red flags' and mumblings of 'strange happenings' and complaints from former tennants reaching the pair, the Fitzgeralds' go ahead with the purchase and set about making Winward their own.

However, upon gaining entry into a previously locked door on the second floor, Rick and Pamela discover an abandoned studio space, filled with a bone-numbing chill. From this point on strange sounds find their way to the siblings ears in the middle of the night. Odd scents waft in and out, candles start to flicker without the aid of a breeze and Rick and Pamela's initial infatuation with the property begins to falter as they realise that Winward is haunted 🫣.

(Milland's side-eye 👀 absolutely cracks me up here 😂)

For someone who readily admits that she is a bona fide scaredy-cat 🙋‍♀️, I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this one!

I thought the direction was masterful, the lighting was pitch-perfect, the score hit all of the right notes and above all the atmosphere and tone see-saw'd throughout the picture, beautifully.

I do love me a playful, affable and bouncy Ray Milland and his Rick Fitzgerald did indeed embody those traits, so I fell for him instantly 🥰

Ruth Hussey's performance was also solid and highly polished. I adore her when she plays characters whose caustic, sarcastic claws come out, but in this film, she too presented an affable, playful side which was equally becoming. I also felt that the success of the film ultimately rested on her character's shoulders, as she was the bravest, most earnest and unflappable in her steadfast believability in the supernatural shenanigans that were going on. 

Which brings me to the reason why I think this film really did hit its creepy beats so well overall. All of the characters were in no doubt that something fantastical and bizarre was going on inside Winward House. The fact that such grounded, rational and logical people as the Fitzgeralds', the town physician, Dr. Scott and every other respectable character in the film didn't display a single ounce of doubt that something disturbing was going on added such weight and seriousness to the credibility of the story.

🎩✨ Above all though, I must tip my hat to the brilliant performance given by Gail Russell as Stella Meredith. 

✨ I thought she brought such an engaging vulnerability to Stella that was utterly heart-rending. Her eyes alone captivated me in every scene she was in. So big and limpid and expressive and oh my goodness, she was wonderful. I've since come to read that Russell did have some trouble on set when it came to pleasing some of her co-stars and her director, however I applaud her for overcoming her trepidations and gifting us with such a memorable performance. I loved her 💝

🎹 I also must take a moment to appreciate my favourite scene in the film...

🎶💞 The serenade "Stella by Starlight" flows from Rick's fingers in honour of his newfound affections for Stella in a truly lovely scene that pushes away the chills and oddities from the viewer's mind and allows the spark of love to traverse the keys and melt our hearts.

Honest to goodness when Rick gently said  “...this is the only way I can paint you. With some black keys and some white…” 🫠💗 That was me completely gone... 

👻 So if you are in the market for a story laced with mystery, steep crumbling cliffs, flickering candles, portraits concealing secrets, chills, thrills and even a creepy seance thrown in for good measure, I highly recommend checking out The Uninvited this Halloween season 🌫️🎃

💌🎞 Have you seen The Uninvited (1944)? I would love to hear your thoughts! Xx

1019 Movies

🎉🍿 G’Day and welcome to my newest cinematic passion project, 1019 movies!

A quick introduction

My name is Lee and I am an incurable movie fan who has always had a fascination and tremendous amount of affection for the 🎬 Golden Age of Hollywood... (with a particular penchant for any screen gem featuring Errol Flynn’s legs in a pair of tights. 😘)

Over the years I have popped up on various social media and blogging sites to try and share my love of screen-based storytelling, however none of these ventures have tended to last for more than a few months.

However, after taking an extended social media break and recently receiving a TREMENDOUS film-based gift from a dear friend, I am now feeling energised, motivated and ready to jump back online and share my upcoming travels through Tinseltown with you all 🥳

So what is this '1019 movies' thing all about?

(Other brands are available...)

As mentioned above, a dear friend of mine recently gifted me this dazzling orange external hard drive. Pretty cool present in itself right? However, it turned out that said amazing buddy had preloaded THIS marvellous mini marvel with.......

Are you ready?......

1019 movie files 😵‍💫💕!! 

Beyond incredible and so unbelievably thoughtful!

I'm still recovering and I was presented with this digital dose of loveliness about a month ago now 😅!

I did have a quick scroll through the items listed on the drive and my word...I cannot WAIT to make a start on watching my way through this list of amazing titles. Hence, I thought it would be a bunch of fun to document my journey through the masterpieces and missteps featured on this little device with you all via this blog.

Lee...1019 movies? You're going to attempt to document your thoughts and feelings on 1019 movies?

Okay. I see where you're coming from 🤔.

For example, if we were to allocate say 90 minutes as an average length for the films on this device and multiply that by 1019..... we would get 63.6875 days.

Ridiculous. I hear you.

So, how's about I go ahead and make a START on this outrageous goal and see how we go? 

I'm a glass half-full kinda gal, what can I say 😊?

Come along for the ride!

So if you are a fellow movie lover with a soft spot for the films of yesteryear, please do feel free to come along for the ride as I attempt this crazy cinematic countdown 😂💗 You're more than welcome! Xx