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FEBRUARY 13, 2006VOLUME 1 – Issue 2
WELCOME TO
MAVEN’S MOVIE MAGAZINE!
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
Check out this site devoted to Clark Gable, Rhett Buttler in Margaret Mitchell’s classic GONE WITH THE WIND . Definitely worth your browsing!
MAVEN’S MOVIE MARATHON:
Maven suggested brothers James Arness and Peter Graves for your marathon ideas last week.
This week is a sister act . . . of sorts!
We are lucky enough to have many of their movies available to make a marathon of bringing them together in our homes!
Olivia De Havilland carried their family name into show business and is the older of the two, beign born on July 1, 19116, in Tokyo, Japan, where their father was an English patent attorney.
Joan Fontaine was born on October 22, 1917, also in Tokyo and eventually followed her sister to Hollywood.
They both made classic movies that would be appropriate for Valentie’s Day—depending on your tastes, of course!
dHavilland made several movies worth considering with Errol Flynn up to and including The Adventures of Robin Hood(1938).
What’s not to want?!
Two beautiful people in the leading roles backed up by such excellent actors as Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone, plus such character actors as Alan Hale, Una O’Connor and Eugene Pallette.
You have romance, swashbuckling all over the place AND Technicolor.
[Down, Maven, down.]
Olivia De Havilland was also in 1939’S GONE WITH THE WIND as Melanie Wilkes opposite Leslie Haoward as Ashley Wilkes.
[Okay, Maven is prejudiced because this is
one of her “favoritist” movies.]
Where De Havilland had the epic GONE WITH THE WIND, Joan Fontain had an epic (of sorts) with her own 1939 movie The Women.
Maven knows – What’s so romantic about a movie where the entire cast is female?
Well, Maven will tell you: It’s all about how women gossip abot men, getting them, keeping them and dis-ing (if not flat getting rid of) the competition!
Fontaine also had the haunting Rebecca (1940) with Laurence Olivier.
Heck, Maven is biased since ANY movie with Olivier is romantic from the get go, not to mention that you have suspence, beautiful sets, other actors like Dame Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Nigel Bruce PLUS being Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial debut in Hollywood.
Joan Fontaine was also lucky enough to be cast as Jane Eyre opposite the legendary Orson Welles in 1944, along with Agnes Moorehead, Margaret O’Brien, Hillary Brooke and the young Elizabeth Taylor.
These are great movies any day of the year!
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MAVEN’S MAIN COURSE:
ROMANTIC MOVIES
What makes a movie romantic?
Beats the heck out of Maven!
Especially at this time of year when you have TWO people trying to decide on the same movie!
You have the classic Casablanca but everybody thinks of that one.
You could try with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland that should appeal to men AND women.
There is The Maltese Falcon for lovers of film noir and Dashiell Hammett.
Let us not forget the classic series of The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy! Especially if you’re breaking out the bubbly. Just don’t forget the chocolates!
You might give Lost Horizon (1937) a try. It’s from James Hilton’s book about reaching Shangra-La . . . or heaven . . . but with Ronald Colman and a very young Jane Wyman as the romantic leads.
You have a revolution, kidnapping by airplane, a romantic getaway and did I mention Ronald Colman?!
FAIR WARNING: There is a scene with Jane Wyatt where she’s at the old swimming hole. You may not want kids in the room unless you need their sharper eyes to tell you whether that’s her nude or not in the distance!
Again, Lost Horizon has a stellar cast with Edward Everett Horton plus Thomas Mitchell and Isobell Jewell, who would both go on to star in GONE WITH THE WIND.
Hey, you might as well go with GONE WITH THE WIND since Maven doesn’t seem to get away from it.
Besides, think of what trouble you could get into with all that bubbly and chocolate if you get bored with Gone With the Wind!
Especially if you sent the kids to go visit family or friends overnight!!
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Have comments, questions or suggestions for Mave?
You can reach her at or at
Virginia Johson
(aka The Old Movie Maven)
P.O. Box 54493
Hurst, TX 76054