TCM's Leading Ladies, 'Dumbo' at the El Capitan
Burbank, California—For a month of Mondays starting June 5, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) shows some genuine Hollywood gems.
Aimed to promote its recent paperback, Leading Ladies: A TCM Guide to Fifty Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era, TCM airs a Leading Ladies Festival of the brightest female stars.
The schedule for Monday, June 19 alone is worth playing hooky from the office to sit in front of the television and watch these women strut their stuff: Clara Bow in It, Louise Brooks in Looking for Lulu, Doris Day in Pillow Talk, Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca and Claudette Colbert in The Palm Beach Story.
For 20 dollars, the book is a good buy, filled with glamour shots of gorgeous dames, tidbits, quotes and tributes and peppered with facts even diehard fans might not know. It's a general reference, not a detailed guide, and several stars did not make the final cut—Shirley Temple, Jean Simmons, Judy Holliday—but it begs to be picked up and lavished with attention, like those stunning, brainy ladies of Hollywood's studio age.
As TCM host Robert Osborne writes in the foreword: "MGM, for instance, was all about glamour and class; for years, never did a speck of dust ever appear in an MGM movie, nor was a hair out of place on the head of an MGM leading lady.
"Warner Bros., meanwhile, specialized in urban action, gangsters and gutters; their leading ladies were usually tough babes, sassy and always filling ashtrays…and so it went. What each movie studio had in common was a stable of stars and a penchant for beautiful women—the more oomph the ladies had, the better."
Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Jean Arthur—they're all here, every Monday in June and on these pages, dressed to the nines while smoldering on the silver screen. Thanks to TCM for putting them back on screen where they belong and giving the dames their due.
Night at Disney's El Capitan
It was nostalgia night at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, celebrating its 80th anniversary with a screening of Walt Disney's Dumbo (65 years old). The classic movie was preceded by the 1966 animated short, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, which will run before each showing of Dumbo now through June 7. Pooh bear also turned 80 this year. The packed house included kids and parents and serious Disney fans, artists and scholars.
The evening featured a panel discussion of Dumbo's history and last week's was among the best yet. Veteran Disney animator Eric Goldberg, who created the genie in Aladdin, moderated between Academy Award-winning songwriter Richard Sherman and music historian Miles Kreuger. Mr. Sherman wrote songs for Disney's Pooh pictures, including Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, but he's best known for his magnificent melodies from Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Disneyland's delightful song worm, "It's a Small World (After All)."
Mr. Kreuger was the panel's most engaging and enthusiastic speaker, keeping Dumbo in historical context—the studio had lost its lucrative European market share when Nazi Germany started the war—and talking about development, from Walt Disney's involvement—he loved the project—to a bitter union strike and a tragic suicide.
After the movie's closing credits—Dumbo received rousing applause during and after the movie—it was time to stroll next door to Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, serving an El Capitan Sundae, described as a waffle bowl dipped in homemade chocolate, with two scoops of Dewar's vanilla fudge ice cream—drizzled with caramel—topped with whipped cream and a chocolate covered strawberry and dusted with a shimmering gold powder.
It's the best counter service on Hollywood Boulevard if being surrounded by Cars merchandise, which has completely taken over the store's shelves, isn't a problem. For this classic movie lover, a product line of talking cars will never measure up to a shy, blue-eyed elephant who makes the most of his oversized ears.
$
RELATED ARTICLES
• Review - Dumbo (Big Top Edition on DVD)
• 3/10/06 - Close-Up: Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies
• 12/29/05 - Hollywood Boulevard Rebounds
• 9/24/05 - Scott Holleran: Garbo Shines on DVD
RELATED LINK
• Amazon.com: Leading Ladies: A TCM Guide to Fifty Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era
• El Capitan Web Site
Aimed to promote its recent paperback, Leading Ladies: A TCM Guide to Fifty Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era, TCM airs a Leading Ladies Festival of the brightest female stars.
The schedule for Monday, June 19 alone is worth playing hooky from the office to sit in front of the television and watch these women strut their stuff: Clara Bow in It, Louise Brooks in Looking for Lulu, Doris Day in Pillow Talk, Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca and Claudette Colbert in The Palm Beach Story.
For 20 dollars, the book is a good buy, filled with glamour shots of gorgeous dames, tidbits, quotes and tributes and peppered with facts even diehard fans might not know. It's a general reference, not a detailed guide, and several stars did not make the final cut—Shirley Temple, Jean Simmons, Judy Holliday—but it begs to be picked up and lavished with attention, like those stunning, brainy ladies of Hollywood's studio age.
As TCM host Robert Osborne writes in the foreword: "MGM, for instance, was all about glamour and class; for years, never did a speck of dust ever appear in an MGM movie, nor was a hair out of place on the head of an MGM leading lady.
"Warner Bros., meanwhile, specialized in urban action, gangsters and gutters; their leading ladies were usually tough babes, sassy and always filling ashtrays…and so it went. What each movie studio had in common was a stable of stars and a penchant for beautiful women—the more oomph the ladies had, the better."
Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Jean Arthur—they're all here, every Monday in June and on these pages, dressed to the nines while smoldering on the silver screen. Thanks to TCM for putting them back on screen where they belong and giving the dames their due.
Night at Disney's El Capitan
It was nostalgia night at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, celebrating its 80th anniversary with a screening of Walt Disney's Dumbo (65 years old). The classic movie was preceded by the 1966 animated short, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, which will run before each showing of Dumbo now through June 7. Pooh bear also turned 80 this year. The packed house included kids and parents and serious Disney fans, artists and scholars.
The evening featured a panel discussion of Dumbo's history and last week's was among the best yet. Veteran Disney animator Eric Goldberg, who created the genie in Aladdin, moderated between Academy Award-winning songwriter Richard Sherman and music historian Miles Kreuger. Mr. Sherman wrote songs for Disney's Pooh pictures, including Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, but he's best known for his magnificent melodies from Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Disneyland's delightful song worm, "It's a Small World (After All)."
Mr. Kreuger was the panel's most engaging and enthusiastic speaker, keeping Dumbo in historical context—the studio had lost its lucrative European market share when Nazi Germany started the war—and talking about development, from Walt Disney's involvement—he loved the project—to a bitter union strike and a tragic suicide.
After the movie's closing credits—Dumbo received rousing applause during and after the movie—it was time to stroll next door to Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, serving an El Capitan Sundae, described as a waffle bowl dipped in homemade chocolate, with two scoops of Dewar's vanilla fudge ice cream—drizzled with caramel—topped with whipped cream and a chocolate covered strawberry and dusted with a shimmering gold powder.
It's the best counter service on Hollywood Boulevard if being surrounded by Cars merchandise, which has completely taken over the store's shelves, isn't a problem. For this classic movie lover, a product line of talking cars will never measure up to a shy, blue-eyed elephant who makes the most of his oversized ears.
$
RELATED ARTICLES
• Review - Dumbo (Big Top Edition on DVD)
• 3/10/06 - Close-Up: Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies
• 12/29/05 - Hollywood Boulevard Rebounds
• 9/24/05 - Scott Holleran: Garbo Shines on DVD
RELATED LINK
• Amazon.com: Leading Ladies: A TCM Guide to Fifty Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era
• El Capitan Web Site
