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#new mgm star
65eatonplace · 27 days
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Sharon Tate photographed by Tony Grylla at her London flat in 1965
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hotvintagepoll · 23 days
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Propaganda
Deborah Kerr (Bonjour Tristesse, An Affair to Remember, The King and I)— For several decades she held the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (6 in total), and she was a prolific leading lady throughout the 40s and 50s. She's best known today for the romance An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, and as the governess in The King and I. Many people have this erroneous perception of her as extremely prim, proper, and virginal, but this could not be further from the truth. When she first came to Hollywood under MGM she was typecast into boring decorative roles, but broke sexual boundaries for herself and Hollywood generally in From Here to Eternity, when she made out (horizontally!) with Burt Lancaster (on top of him!) in the famous Beach Scene. She went on to play many sexually conflicted women, a character type that would define most of her post- Eternity work. She continued to break Hays Code boundaries with Tea and Sympathy, which addresses homosexuality/homophobia head-on, and even did a topless scene in The Gypsy Moths 1969!! One of the only classic stars to do so. She deserves a more nuanced and frankly a hotter legacy than she currently has!!!
Devika Rani (Achhut Kanya)—She was grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore (laureate). She was sent to boarding school in England at age nine and grew up there. After completing her schooling, she joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Royal Academy of Music to study acting and music, at a time when aristocratic women did not enter showbiz. She studied filmmaking in Berlin. It is well known that she underwent training at the UFA Studios in the art and technique of acting under Eric Pommer, and other aspects of film production including costume and set designing and make-up, under eminent directors like GW Pabst, Fritz Lang, Emil Jannings and Josef von Sternberg. She is also reported to have worked with Marlene Dietrich. She had a multi-faceted personality and took on many responsibilities of film production at Bombay Talkies, a studio that she co-founded with Himanshu Rai in Mumbai in 1934. She often took care of hair and make up, supervised set design and editing, scouted for new talent and mentored them. She was the face of Bombay Talkies, and also the reason behind the political and financial backing the studio received, at a time when even women from red light districts refused to work as actresses. She was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, when it was instituted in 1970.
This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]
Deborah Kerr:
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I think she was one of my first crushes before I realised I was bi in The King and I when I watched it as a kid honestly. The kissing scene in From Here to Eternity is iconic for a reason. Actually tried to learn the accents for the characters she was playing if they weren't English which is more than pretty much anyone else was doing then. Played very restrained characters who frequently seemed to be desperate not to be so restrained. Did horror movies without venturing into hagsploitation tropes. Gave Marni Nixon the credit she deserved for her share of the singing in The King and I.
Anne Larsen is a peak late 1950s bisexual with big MILF energy. Have you seen the behind the scenes pics of her wearing a suit?? Have you????? Vote Deb as Anne Larsen.
Nominated for an Oscar six (6) times and never won, but besides her having actual talent (hot), and besides her looking Like That (very hot, also beautiful), she was always playing women who are, like, crazy repressed. Which makes it fun and easy for me to read these characters as queer. Icon!!!! You know what's hot? Playing ambiguously gay in vintage Hollywood.
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Her face and talent and body, yes, ofc, duh. But also!!! Her HANDS!!!! I may be but a simple lesbian, but she is the best hactor (hand actor) that ever lived and that's HOT! For propriety's sake I feel I must redact a large portion of my commentary on this subject. Anyway. She's hot in her most famous roles (mentioned above), and also some of her sexiest hacting is on display in An Affair to Remember (her hand on the bannister when Cary Grant kisses her off-screen??? HELLO???), Tea and Sympathy (when she's trying to persuade Tom not to go out and she keeps flexing her hands like she wants to reach out to him but can't??? ALLY BEHAVIOR! WE STAN!), and The Innocents (which opens and closes with extended shots of her hands bc director Jack Clayton was also an ally and he did that for ME). Much of her appeal also lies in the fact that she often played deeply repressed characters and you know what's hot? When those uptight characters finally unravel. It's sexy. It's cathartic. It's erotic. Plus, she's beautiful to look at in both black & white and technicolor, and the more of her films you see, the more you can't help but fall in love!
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Literally is in thee most famously sexy scene of all time (or maybe just during the hays code era which is what we're talking about HELLO), which is the beach scene with Burt Lancaster in from here to eternity. To quote a tumblr post of a screen capture of a tweet of a video of joy behar on the view: "y'know, there used to be movies where they were kissing on the beach... From Here to Eternity. They're kissing-- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are Kissing on the Beach and then the WAVES crash!! You know exactly what they did!"
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She might have a reputation of being chaste and virginal or whatever, but we all know it's the quiet ones who are certifiable FREAKS
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Devika Rani:
Achhut Kanya (1936) is the only one of hers I've seen but hot DAMN
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insanityclause · 19 days
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EXCLUSIVE: One year ago we told you that a second season of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager was quietly being developed under the codename Steelworks.
Now, Deadline can reveal that the BBC and new co-pro partner Amazon have gone big on a supercharged two-season order of the thriller, with Tom Hiddleston returning to lead, Hugh Laurie coming back as EP and with a new director in I Hate Suzie’s Georgi Banks-Davies. A third season has also been greenlit. David Farr returns as writer and Stephen Garrett is showrunner.
The Night Manager Season 2 will begin filming later this year and will pick up with Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine eight years after the explosive finale of Season 1, going beyond the original book, which was written by the celebrated British writer in 1993. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps and there is not yet confirmation as to whether EP Laurie’s Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by arms buyers who were not best pleased with him, will return to star. Hiddleston will also EP and will discuss in more depth on tonight’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Produced by The Ink Factory in association with Character 7, Demarest Films and 127 Wall, and in co-production with Spanish partner Nostromo Pictures, The Night Manager Season 2 was sold to Amazon by Fifth Season. The first was co-produced with AMC.
New director Banks-Davies, a BAFTA-nominee who takes over from Susanne Bier, has credits including I Hate Suzie, Garfield and upcoming Netflix series Kaos.
The Night Manager Season 1 was a huge success, watched by millions and winning multiple BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes including best actor for Hiddleston. Also starring Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki, it followed Pine – who ran a luxury hotel in Cairo – as he attempted to infiltrate the inner circle of Roper’s crime syndicate after being hired by Foreign Office task force manager Angela Burr.
The first season was commissioned more than 10 years ago and the show has since been remade in India, lapping the UK version by swiftly having a Season 2 greenlit for Disney+ Hotstar in May last year.
Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré’s sons who run The Ink Factory, said Season 1 proved “a landmark moment for the golden era of television – uniting on-screen and behind-the-camera talent at the top of their game – and an audience reception which was beyond our wildest imagining.”
They added: “Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré’s original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible.”
Amazon MGM Studios Head of Television Vernon Sanders said: “We are elated to bring additional seasons of The Night Manager to our Prime Video customers. The combination of terrific source material, the wonderful team at The Ink Factory, a great writer in David Farr, an award-winning director in Georgi Banks-Davies, as well as the talented cast truly make the series the full package.”
Hiddleston said: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.”
BBC content boss Charlotte Moore added: “After years of fervent speculation I’m incredibly excited to confirm that The Night Manager is returning to the BBC for two more series.”
The Night Manager series two is created and executive produced by Farr, based on the characters created by le Carré. Additional executive producers include Garrett for Character 7, Banks-Davies, Laurie and Hiddleston; Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall; Stephen and Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff, and Tessa Inkelaar for The Ink Factory; Adrián Guerra for Nostromo Pictures; William D. Johnson for Demarest Films, Nick Cornwell, Susanne Bier, Chris Rice for Fifth Season and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC.
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marisatomay · 4 months
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i am cautiously extending my empty cup in hopes for some spilt tea. what's happening?
Today it was announced that Tom Cruise would be moving his production company to Warner Bros.
Now, Tom Cruise has had a long relationship with Paramount, starting in 1986 with Top Gun, so when he set up his production company in 1993 (31 years ago) they gave him a first-look deal and offices on their lot and—except for a brief stint in the late 00s, when he and his producing partner Paula Wagner had a falling out with former Paramount head Sumner Redstone and were kicked off the lot (it was said by Redstone to be because of Cruise’s public breakdown but everyone knew it was because Paramount was looking to cut costs and decided to slash and burn), which led to a brief stint where Cruise/Wagner co-ran United Artists with MGM for about 3 years before Redstone and co. got over themselves and brought Cruise back to Paramount—he has been until now.
His deal with Paramount was never exclusive and neither is his new deal with WB. He’s still working on MI8 and, as far as I know, plans to shoot that movie in space with Universal/NASA. He's worked with every studio (barring Disney and their subsidiaries since 1988) consistently over his career. It's just extremely notable that he would move his production company out of Paramount when he never has done so of his own volition before. The only comp I can think of (albeit on a smaller scale) is if Steven Spielberg suddenly moved Amblin out of Universal.
There are really fascinating business and creative implications here—What is the current state of Paramount? What are Shari Redstone et al doing that their biggest star has up and left? What does it say for Cruise’s late career that the press release seemed to really emphasize original theatrical releases?—BUT (!!) I love gossip. I want to know, blow by blow, exactly what, when, and how it happened that Tom Cruise decided to move his production company out of Paramount for the first time of his own volition.
I need to know. Is Cruise doing this as part of a larger effort to save WB from itself? Did Paramount know that Cruise was being courted by WB and so they intentionally fumbled the release of Dead Reckoning in hopes that it would flop in order to make a deal with Cruise look less desirable? Had Cruise noticed that almost all of his non-franchise work over the last 20 years had been with studios other than Paramount and, after one too many original ideas were shot down, he decided to start looking around? Did he fall out with Paramount leadership over something immensely stupid and catty? Did they fallout over his support for his agent who was being blacklisted for supporting Palestine? Is he being brought in to bring Zaslav to heel? I need to know everything. This is the juiciest thing to happen in Hollywood in a minute.
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sleepanonymous · 3 months
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This is a reminder to everyone in North America who is unable to get tickets for the pre-sale and general sale of Sleep Token’s Teeth of God tour. DO NOT buy resale tickets through third-party vendors like StubHub, Seat Geek, Vivid Seats, etc. Tickets for the Teeth of God tour are mobile-only and non-transferable. This means the seller will not be able to transfer the tickets you purchased from them. The only reliable way to purchase tickets to this tour is through Ticketmaster or your local venue’s ticketing system. Please protect yourself and do not get scammed. If you do not have tickets and need tickets, check out the list I’ve created below the cut. Once pre-sales/general sales are over, I’ll update this post with more links. For more context, check my post here.
Saturday, April 27 – Las Vegas, Nevada Sick New World Music Festival Purchase Tickets through Sick New World’s Website. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.
Tuesday, April 30 – Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Financial Theatre 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85003 (602) 379-2800 Purchase tickets resale through Ticketmaster.
Wednesday, May 1 – Albuquerque, New Mexico Revel Entertainment Center 4720 Alexander Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 321-0406 Purchase tickets resale through Prekindle.
Friday, May 3 – Austin, Texas H-E-B Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park, TX 78613 (512) 600-5000 Purchase Tickets resale through Ticketmaster.
Saturday, May 4 – Dallas, Texas Toyota Music Factory 316 W Las Colinas Blvd., Irving, TX 75039 (469) 840-9730 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Monday, May 6 – Tampa, Florida Yuengling Center 12499 USF Bull Run Drive, Tampa, FL 33617 (813) 974-3111 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Tuesday, May 7 – Atlanta, Georgia Coca-Cola Roxy 800 Battery Ave SE #500, Atlanta, GA 30339 (470) 351-3866 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Wednesday, May 8 – Asheville, North Carolina ExploreAshville.com Arena 87 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 259-5736 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Friday, May 10 – St. Louis, Missouri The Factory 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, Chesterfield, MO 63005 (314) 423-8500 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Sunday, May 12 – Morrison, Colorado Red Rocks Amphitheatre 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison, CO 80465 (720) 865-2494 Purchase Tickets through AXS. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.
Tuesday May 14 – Des Moines, Iowa Vibrant Music Hall 2938 Grand Prairie Pkwy, Waukee, IA 50263 (515) 895-4980 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Wednesday, May 15 & Thursday, May 16 – Chicago, Illinois Salt Shed 1357 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 (708) 967-2168 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.
Saturday, May 18 – Columbus, Ohio Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival Purchase Tickets through Sonic Temple’s Website. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.
Sunday, May 19 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Petersen Events Center 3719 Terrace St, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (412) 648-3054 Purchase Tickets through AXS.
Monday, May 20 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Met 858 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19130 (800) 653-8000 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Wednesday, May 22 – New York, New York Radio City Music Hall 1260 6th Ave, New York, NY 10020 (212) 465-6000 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster. Third-party sites and sellers can transfer mobile tickets.
Friday, May 24 – Boston, Massachusetts MGM Music Hall 2 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215 (617) 488-7540 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Saturday, May 25 – Laval, Quebec Place Bell 1950 Rue Claude-Gagné, Laval, QC H7N 0E4, Canada (514) 492-1775 Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster.
Monday, May 27 & Tuesday May 28– Toronto, Ontario Massey Hall 178 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1T7, Canada (416) 872-4255 Purchase Tickets through Massey Hall.
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hooked-on-elvis · 2 months
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(1957) Judy Tyler on working with Elvis in "Jailhouse Rock"
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Pictures: Elvis and Judy Tyler during 'Jailhouse Rock' movie production (Filming began on May 13, 1957 and was wrapped by June 17, 1957).
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"You see, there is a bond between us. This was El's first picture at Metro and mine, too. We were both nervous at first. There was a lot of tension and strain. So we got into the habit of talking to each other about a lot of things aside from work. It made us both relax a little and broke down our fears. It was the beginning of a very real friendship and a real relationship. Elvis has a very serious side that a lot of people, who didn't know him, never get to see. He has a very soft and gracious heart. And he's very religious."
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Picture: Director Richard Thorpe gives advice to Judy Tyler during 'Jailhouse Rock' movie production (May to June 1957), in Hollywood at the MGM studios, Culver City, California.
'He was very gracious to me and gave me a lot of leeway when we were making the picture. He didn't pull any of this star routine or try to act big-time. Why, (a few weeks ago), I really caused a lot of commotion on the set. I was supposed to leave the room and he was to follow me out. I went out the wrong way and walked right through a plate glass door. Elvis grabbed me immediately. I wasn't hurt very much, luckily. I was more embarrassed than anything else. But I knew it would hold up production and I kept saying, 'I'm sorry.' Elvis kept holding me and trying to sooth me. The director, Mr. Thorpe, insisted they take me to the studio infirmary. So off I went. I hadn't been in bed a minute when there was a knock on the door. Elvis came in, he was all out of breath. The infirmary is clear on the other side of the lot, but Elvis had dashed up to his dressing room, changed his clothes and run all the way over. He was the first person from the set to come over. He stood at the door and I could tell he felt worse than I did. He had his hands in his pockets, and he looked up at me and said, simply, 'I just had to come over and see if you were okay. Is there anything I can do?' Excerpt taken from Judy Tyler's last interview. On Friday, June 19, 1957 Judy Tyler spoke to journalist Marcia Borie at the MGM commissary in what would be her last interview for Modern Screen magazine.
Sadly, a few days after filming Jailhouse Rock, Tyler and her husband, Gregory Lafayette, began driving home to New York from Hollywood. While driving through Wyoming on July 3, 1957, they were involved in an automobile accident. Tyler was killed instantly, aged 24, and Lafayette died the next day, aged 19.
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Source/additional info: "The Making Of Jailhouse Rock" by David English and Pål Granlund. Pictures and interview excerpt above come from the book "Movie" which is part of the set containing the book about the movie production, plus another book with the recording sessions/soundtrack info, plus 3 CDs, released by FTD (Follow That Dream) label.
If you're a huge fan of "Jailhouse Rock" that book/CD set is perfect for you.
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harrysfolklore · 1 year
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the first meeting - babysitter!yn and harry
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can you believe it’s been a year since the first babysitter!yn blurb was posted? this is how they initially met !
gif creds to @londonharry <3
MY PATREON | BABYSITTER!YN MASTERLIST
September 4, 2021. Las Vegas, NV,
"Hey sissy! As you know, Mitch and I are set to go back on the road for work next month, we've been looking for a nanny for baby boy everywhere but we just can't find someone we trust enough. If you don't have anything going on for the next three months, would you like to join us as his babysitter?" 
That was the text YN got a month ago, and she didn't need to give it a second thought before she packed her best clothes and took Sarah's offer.
Now there she was, walking around the halls of MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas, with her nephew in a sling and the possibility of running into Harry Styles at any minute. When YN told her friends about her new job they were ecstatic, claiming that she was god's favorite for being able to work for the Harry Styles, the hot, talented, pop star Harry Styles.
YN, however, didn't think about it that way. She was working for Mitch and Sarah, not him, and even tho she certainly found Harry handsome and intriguing, the idea of something other than an acquaintanceship happening between the two of them didn't even cross her mind.
"Do you miss your mummy baby? Should we find her so you can cuddle before we have to go back to the hotel?" YN cooed at the baby on her chest, who suddenly started to get fuzzy, since he's a pandemic baby he's not quite used to being away from his parents for long periods of times and that makes him get upset often "Let's go find her, I have no idea of where she could be tho" YN told the baby again, and before she could start walking, a voice made her turn on her heels.
"Hey, you're looking for Sarah?" it was no other than the man of the show, Harry Styles, in running shorts, a hoodie, long socks and sneakers, probably out of a workout before he had to start getting ready for his show. It was safe to say that YN was taken back by the pop star talking to her, not that she thought he was one of those cold, self-absorbed celebrities who felt like no one deserved to breathe the same oxygen as them, but she was still taken back by the action.
"Yes, this one is getting fuzzy and we need to head back to the hotel soon, wanted him to say goodbye," she replied, not sure if he just asked because he was around the area or if he was actually interested on helping her find her cousin, "Well, I think I spotted her at the dining area with Mitch, want me to walk you there?" he casually asked again and if YN was puzzled about his actions before, now she was even more taken back.
He's a really nice person, that was her main thought.
"That would be really nice, actually. These backstage areas are so big, I've lost count of how many times I've walked in the wrong direction," and she wasn't exaggerating, as someone who had never been on the road before, everything was new to her and she wasn't used to how backstages worked "I'm YN, by the way, baby Jonesland's babysitter on the road" she spoke again introducing herself as she walked the way Harry lead, "I know who you are, Mitch and Sarah have told me wonderful things about you, It's really nice to finally meet you" a wink and a small smile were attached to his reply, and if YN's judgement wasn't playing games with her, she could swear that he was flirting. 
"Interesting, I've heard all kinds of stuff about you too" she decided to go along with whatever their conversation was leading, but when a sign with the words 'Dining lounge' came in sight she instantly felt bummed because she knew their short time together was coming to an end.
And Harry was disappointed too.
"As long as that stuff is not coming from Twitter or the Daily Mail, I would like to thank whoever put on a good word for me," they reached the door that lead to the dining area where Mitch and Sarah were chatting along with some other crew members, and it was time for their goodbyes.
"Well, Mitch and Sarah should be the first ones on your list, they're always talking about you," and once again, she wasn't exaggerating, the amount of the stories her cousins told her about who they called their lovechild were uncountable "Thank you for walking me over here, I would've been lost and with a crying baby without your help," she gave him a small smile, and Harry felt like a teenager with a brand new crush, he met the girl just a few minutes ago and he was already giddy over those small gestures.
"Yeah, of course, no need to thank me, love," he didn't even think about it before letting the pet name roll out of his tongue, and now it was YN's turn to feel like a school girl with a crush, "See you around?" YN awkwardly let out, instantly feeling stupid over her poor response, but that feeling turned into a huge surprise when his response came out.
"Sure thing, I'll make sure of it." and with another wink and a smile, he turned on his heels and walked away until he was out of her sight.
He's a really nice person. She thought again.
//
With her nephew peacefully sleeping on his little crib, YN waited in the hotel room until the show was over to wrap up her first babysitting shift. 
She loved her new job so far, there's nothing she wouldn't do for Sarah, who she loved as a sister, and she also adored kids so she had no problem looking out for one as a job.
While she sat in the plush chair of the hotel room, her mind couldn't help but travel to her interaction Harry earlier that day. Was he flirting? Am I just reading the situation wrong? He was just being kind, no big deal. Those were some of the assumptions that navigated through her brain, but something her mind definitely wasn't expecting was the texts that made her phone screen light up.
"Hey, It's Harry. We're done with the show and Pauli and some other crew guys suggested we should go to his room to have some food and drinks. Want to come along?"
"It's okay if you don't, tho. I guess you must be tired from babysitting all day"
"I got your number from Mitch, by the way, I hope you don't mind x"
YN read the texts one, two, three times to make sure she was reading right and Harry was actually texting her and inviting her for drinks and food with the tour crew , and when her brain finally registered what was happening, she didn't let her intrusive thoughts win her over as she typed her reply.
"See you there, Harry x"
//
Once again, Harry felt like a teenager with a brand new crush.
There he was, standing in the back of Pauli's hotel room, exhaustion clear on his face, but waiting for the pretty girl he just met earlier that day to show up.
Call him a sap, a total cliché, but he was infatuated by her and wanted nothing more than to get to know her better, and if the only time he could get her alone was late at night after his shows because that was when she was done babysitting, then he was willing to put his exhaustion behind and meet her.
 A small sigh of relief left his mouth when he finally saw her walk inside the room, she was wearing matching grey hoodie and joggers, no makeup on and her tied in a low bun, and Harry thought she looked gorgeous.
He was in fact, a sap and a total cliché.
He approached her before anyone else in the room could and greeted her, asking if she wanted anything to drink, "Don't judge me, but I would just like a fresh club soda," she shyly replied, and of course Harry found that adorable, like everything else she did "Not really a drinker? And I would never judge you, don't be silly" he said as he fixed her drink, and fixing one for himself too, "I do like to drink, just not the occasion I guess, I'm pretty tired if I'm honest," and her response made Harry feel guilty, thinking that she only took his invitation to hang out because she didn't want to be rude.
"How was the show, by the way? How does it feel to be back on the road?" she added shortly after and Harry felt his heart skip a beat for the millionth time that day, the fact that the girl he was interested in wanted to hear about his favorite thing in the world to do was enough to make him giddy and giggly.
"It was amazing, I missed the stage so much, performing is my favorite thing in the world and not being able to do it for almost two years was devastating," he told her sincerely as they sat down on a couch situated a bit far from everyone else in the room, Harry wanted nothing more than to place his arm on the back of it to pull her close to him, but he knew it was too soon for that even if he was dying to get closer to her already.
 "I'm so glad everything worked out so everyone could get back on the road, Mitch and Sarah were dying to play shows again too, and I bet your fans were eager to see you again," she took a sip of her club soda before continuing "I know your shows are known for being a blast, and I did have a blast when I attended one during your last tour, but I bet the energy is different this time around, isn't it?" she looked at him with expecting eyes, interested on his reply, and Harry felt like he could that to the girl in front of him for hours and he wouldn't feel tired.
"Yeah, I mean, the crowd tonight was wild, and I bet it'll only get better each night, I'm really excited about that" at this point, Harry's voice gave away the fact that he was exhausted, but he kept trying to play it cool because the last thing he wanted was for his time with YN to be cut short because of his tiredness, "That sounds so lovely, I wish I could be on the crowd for one of the shows but duty calls" she said with a small smile and Harry wanted nothing more than to have her on the crowd of one of his shows too, dancing to his songs along with the rest of his fans "We'll figure something out, I promise you'll be a proper pit girl before the tour ends" he smiled and sipped on his own drink before carrying on with their chat.
Another hour had passed and Harry and YN found themselves talking about whatever crossed their minds. It was late, they were both tired, letting out small yawns between conversations, but none of them dared to call it a night. They were enjoying each other's company way too much, they felt like they could stay like that till the morning.
However, when YN's eyelids started to slowly close after a moment of comfortable silence Harry knew he needed to let the girl rest, "Come on, sleepy girl, let me walk you to your room," he gently patted her arm, and the way she almost jumped on her spot almost made him melt "No, It's okay, I can find my way back, you should rest too," YN stubbornly told him, as if he was going to let her walk alone through the huge hotel at almost 2am, "Don't be silly, I'm a gentleman, let me walk you to your room" he stood up and offered him his hand to take, YN was too tired to overthink the situation and she just grabbed it and allowed him to walk her out of the room, taking her all the way to her own room.
“It's here, 508," she says before swiping the card and unlocking the door. The quiet beep echoing through the quiet hotel corridor, "Thank you for walking me all the way here, and keeping me company tonight, I really enjoyed it" her voice was soft and gentle, tiredness taking over once again, her eyes were soft as well and Harry could swear she had never seen someone more beautiful.
He really wanted to kiss her.
But he wasn't going to do it in the middle of a dark corridor, after just knowing her for a day.
"No problem, I really enjoyed your company too," he reserved himself to say, fighting his urge to take a step forwards and connect their lips, "See you around?" YN repeated the words from their first conversation, and with a smile on his face, Harry's reply came out smoothly.
"Sure thing, I'll make sure of it, we still have a lot of late night talking to do"
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kata4a · 4 months
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In 1944, Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. Garland has written that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act."
I feel like the fact that it was originally a "get out of our house" song really recontextualizes it for me
also
In 1948, after years of performing the song, Loesser sold it to MGM for the 1949 romantic comedy Neptune's Daughter. Garland was furious: "I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman."
lmao but tbh I get it
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jenjen4280 · 4 months
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Started the day with the Hot Wife making some really banging hash out of the leftover corned beef and cabbage from New Year’s Day.
We both spent the day cleaning the house and prepping for delivery of the new stove we’re getting tomorrow.
Now we’re finishing up the evening reading: her a non-fiction book on infrastructure and me a film study of Queen Christina (1933, MGM, starring Greta Garbo), a movie that I love.
It’s been a good end to a crappy week. Hope y’all had a good day too.
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65eatonplace · 4 months
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Sharon Tate in MGM Studio's publicity shots to launch their new star in 1965
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hotvintagepoll · 2 months
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Propaganda
Eleanor Powell (Born to Dance, Broadway Melody of 1940)— shes in here right
Ruan Lingyu (The Goddess, New Women, Love and Duty)—Ruan Lingyu had an eight year movie career, starting at 16 and ending with her suicide at only 24. Despite this, she made some of the most widely acclaimed films of early Chinese cinema and the BBC called her "China's Greta Garbo." In "Love and Duty," she plays her character as a teen, a young mother, and an older woman beaten down by life AND her teen daughter in an early application of split-screen technology. Lingyu is absolutely unrecognizable as the older woman, yet emotionally the transition is seamless because she does such a good job. Lingyu had a hard life and killed herself after ination [sic] of media scorn and private problems. Her funeral was three days long, the procession was allegedly four miles long, and three women killed themselves during her funeral. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century." I'm adding this to show what kind of hold she had over the public at the time, much like Rudolph Valentino's raucous funeral. I would rather she had lived.
This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]
Ruan Lingyu:
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silent era chinese actress who had a subtlety in her acting ability that was way ahead of her time. huge star but her career and life was sadly cut short by damaging publicity
Widely considered one of the best actresses of Chinese silent film
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icon of chinese silent cinema known for her luminous beauty, her exceptional acting talent, and her tragic life story
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Ruan Lingyu is a movie queen of China’s pre-war era, she mysteriously poisoned herself at age 24, leaving behind a note with the words "gossip is a fearful thing". Her funeral procession was reportedly 3 miles long, with three women committing suicide during the event. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century". It's hard not to believe how iconic and influencial she was after watching her movies, her acting was so nuanced and magnetic, i personally have never seen anything like it before.
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Eleanor Powell:
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[editor's note: this is unusual, but I feel so terrifically bad about the lack of propaganda for Eleanor Powell, who was known as one of the best dancers on the lot at MGM in the 30s and 40s, that I am making a rare exception to my "I don't post propaganda" rule to include one dance number of hers. It feels unjust to post a dancer and not even let you see them dance.]
youtube
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girlactionfigure · 11 months
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Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood actress in the 40s and 50s, and was considered "the most beautiful woman in the world" during her time.
She began her acting career in Austria and became notorious for being the first woman to simulate an orgasm on screen in 1933. It was during this time that she also got married to Vienna-based arms dealer, Friedrich Mandl who had ties to Mussolini and later, Hitler.
The marriage did not last long as she writes, "I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife. ... He was the absolute monarch in his marriage. ... I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded—and imprisoned—having no mind, no life of its own." According to her autobiography she disguised herself as one of the maids and managed to flee to Paris. Others say she convinced her husband to wear all of her jewelry for a dinner party and then disappeared afterwards.
She eventually booked a liner to New York where she met the head of MGM who was impressed enough to get her a $500 a week contract to work as an actress. In 1938, she arrived in Hollywood and went on to star in several movies, working with the likes of Clark Gable and James Stewart.
Beyond her acting, Lamarr was also a scientist and went on to co-patent spread-spectrun technology during World War 2 to stop the Nazis from jamming navy torpedoes. However, her invention was rejected and wouldn't be implemented until the Cold War in 1962. The technology would eventually also be used in developing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology.
History Cool Kids
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blackswaneuroparedux · 10 months
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C'est fou comme les gens ont de moi cette image de femme sophistiquée, glaciale. C'est une telle erreur, c'est tellement mal me connaître.
- Catherine Deneuve on herself in Belle de Jour (1967)
In anticipation of a new film this summer by Catherine Deneuve called ‘Bernadette’ where she plays Bernadette Chirac, the wife of French Jacques Chirac, I’ve been re-watching some her back catalogue of films. She’s done over 64 films and at almost 80 years old she’s still going strong. And yet out of her many films I’ve always been drawn back to one film which has become a cult classic. Watching it and re-watching it and even gorging on books on its making, new intriguing details reveal themselves about this landmark French art house classic - Belle de Jour (1967).
I once had the privilege of having dinner with her - or rather sat around the same table - through a Parisian host and his lovely wife who had gathered an eclectic group of friends across generations together. I was too self-conscious to talk about her film career directly. I was on surer ground when we indulged in small talk where she was perfectly down to earth and very pleasant. I felt it would be rude to go all fan girl on her and pepper her with questions about Belle de Jour in particular as she’s known to be very ambivalent about her experience of the film - a film that really defined her in the eyes of many people.
But it didn’t mean she didn’t recognise its cultural importance though as she was quite happy to amuse us with a funny story about Belle de Jour. A newly restored 35mm version was funded by the fashion house Saint Laurent back in 2018. Deneuve always had a close relationship with Yves Saint Laurent and also the fashion house. She was the one to introduce Buñuel to Saint Laurent. So the fashion house had a glitzy premiere in New York. But they didn’t count on many of their guests being late. Most of the guests were stuck in the New York traffic and the rain. However Martin Scorsese was the only one to get out of cab and run like a mad man through the pelting rain and huge traffic. A true cinephile, he was so desperate to see the film restored to its former glory that he would go to any lengths to see it.
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In Belle de Jour, Catherine Deneuve, whose limpid beauty is capable of sustaining any interpretation, is a perfect Severine and demonstrates a remarkable control in progressing, with enormous economy of gesture and movement, from frigidity to physical warmth as the bored housewife who indulges in part time sex work.
“I felt they showed more of me than they’d said they were going to,” Catherine Deneuve remarked to Pascal Bonitzer in 2004, about the making of Luis Buñuel’s 1967 Belle de jour. “There were moments when I felt totally used. I was very unhappy.”
The story of Séverine, a deeply disenchanted haute bourgeois Paris housewife who finds erotic liberation through byzantine psycho-sexual fantasies and part-time work at an upscale brothel, Belle de jour certainly made extreme demands of Deneuve: her character is flogged, raped, and pelted with muck, among other assaults. But despite her objections to the way she was treated and her difficulties with Buñuel, Deneuve’s performance in Belle de jour turned out to be one of her most iconic.
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Deneuve, who had become a star only three years earlier, as the melancholy jeune fille in Jacques Demy’s 1964 all-sung musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, was just twenty-three when Belle de jour came out; notably, Buñuel’s film was released in France less than three months after Demy’s radiant, MGM-inspired musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, starring Deneuve and her real-life sister Françoise Dorléac.
But Belle de jour, more than any other film from the first decade of her career, defined what would become one of the actress’s most notorious personae: the exquisite blank slate lost in her own masochistic fantasies and onto whom all sorts of perversions could be projected. (Deneuve as deviant tabula rasa was first seen in Roman Polanski’s 1965 Repulsion, in which she plays a damaged beauty plummeting into psychosis; but Belle de jour doesn’t portray its heroine as mad, instead remaining deliberately ambiguous about the origins of her unconventional desires - and presaging the bizarre libertines she would later play in such films as Marco Ferreri’s Liza, 1972, and Tony Scott’s The Hunger, 1983.)
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Buñuel was at a very different stage of his career from his young star, but Belle de jour represented a peak for him as well, the greatest - and most successful - film of his extremely rich late period. These works, bookended by 1964’s Diary of a Chambermaid and 1977’s That Obscure Object of Desire (his final film), were made mostly in France - where Buñuel had begun his filmmaking career with the incendiary, surrealist Un chien andalou (1929) - following the exiled Spanish director’s two decades in Mexico.
Many of these late projects were cowritten with Jean-Claude Carrière and focus intensely on sexual perversion (a theme that recurs throughout Buñuel’s work). Belle de jour certainly falls into that category, and also, typically, skewers the entitled classes. Yet it stands out as the director’s most intricate character study—but of a protagonist who resists definition; the heroine, frequently trussed up and mussed up, retains an odd, opaque dignity in her debauchery.
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In that same interview with Bonitzer, Deneuve was judicious enough to distinguish her experience of making Belle de jour from the final product, calling it a “wonderful film.” But her first meetings with Buñuel hinted at the duress that was to follow. According to John Baxter’s 1994 biography, Buñuel, it took time for the director to “warm to” his star: “He felt, with some justice, that she had been foisted on him, first by the Hakims [Belle de jour’s producers], then by her lover of the time, François Truffaut.” After dining with Buñuel at his house, the book recounts, Deneuve “left with little more than an impression that he disliked actors in general and was reserving his decision about her. The only advice he offered was the advice he had always given actors: ‘Don’t do anything. And above all, don’t . . . perform.’”
Though Deneuve deferred to her director, she was no puppet; Belle de jour is as much hers as Buñuel’s. The filmmaker, famously resistant to “psychological” interpretations of his work, stuffs Belle de jour with his trademarks, confounding any attempt to parse meaning: the surrealist blurring of fantasy and reality, fetishism, sexual perversion, blasphemy.
But as Séverine, Deneuve, despite operating in the nebulous realm between dream and waking, imbues the film with irresistible and very real lust - and luster. Sporting the chicest Yves Saint Laurent finery, Deneuve revels in the peculiar desires of her character while always inviting our own. As Buñuel himself acknowledges in his 1984 autobiography, My Last Sigh (published a year after his death), Belle de jour “was my biggest commercial success, which I attribute more to the marvelous whores than to my direction.” (Per Baxter, after the filming of Belle de jour, he would finally admit of his star, “She’s really a very good actress.”) Deneuve’s gift was to update the world’s oldest profession for her still-expanding résumé.
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The director had some modifying to do as well. Buñuel, who adapted Joseph Kessel’s 1928 novel with Carrière, assessed the source material dryly in My Last Sigh: “The novel is very melodramatic, but well constructed, and it offered me the chance to translate Séverine’s fantasies into pictorial images as well as to draw a serious portrait of a young female bourgeois masochist. I was also able to indulge myself in the faithful description of some interesting sexual perversions.”
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He wastes no time in establishing those bizarre erotic proclivities. In Belle de jour’s opening scene, Séverine and her doting husband of one year, Pierre Serizy (Jean Sorel), a handsome, dutiful surgeon, are snuggled close in a horse-drawn carriage; he interrupts the tender moment with the lament “If only you weren’t so cold.” She pulls away, defensive. The sound of horse bells, which has been increasing in volume from the film’s first shot - and will indicate Séverine’s dreams or fantasies throughout - stops. Pierre orders his wife out of the cab; when she refuses, he and the two drivers remove her by force. She is gagged, bound to a tree, and whipped by the coachmen, who are then instructed by Pierre to rape her. When one begins to ravish her, Séverine appears to be in ecstasy.
This carnal reverie is soon interrupted by the Serizys at home, preparing for their usual chaste bedtime ritual. Pierre, in white pajamas, asks his pale-pink-nightie-clad wife, under the covers in a separate bed, what she’s thinking about: “I was thinking about you . . . and us. We were out for a ride in a carriage”—a scenario Pierre has heard before.
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The fantasy clearly belongs to Séverine alone; she finds erotic thrills in her secret thoughts of debasement and humiliation, her florid imagination compensating for her sterile, sexless existence. Her most private desires will soon be realized at 11, cité Jean de Saumur, the address of the boutique bordello run by Madame Anaïs (Geneviève Page), given to Séverine by Pierre’s louche friend Husson (Michel Piccoli).
At Madame Anaïs’s, Séverine - now going by the nom de pute Belle de jour, a reference to her two-to-five shift (she insists on being home when Pierre returns from his workday at the hospital) - is horrified at first but proves to be a quick study. A burly Asian client scares off her two seasoned colleagues with his mysterious, buzzing lacquered box, but she is absolutely transfixed; after the john leaves, she, lying prone on the bed, lifts her head, her luxuriant mane of blonde hair disheveled, to reveal a woman still drunk on orgasmic pleasure.
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The contents of the box are one of the film’s many mysteries (when asked what is inside, Buñuel would reply, “Whatever you want there to be”). Yet the greatest enigma is Séverine herself: why does she recoil from the slightest sexual advance from her husband yet lose herself, both in fantasy and in her new line of work, in elaborate masochistic tableaux? “Pierre, it’s your fault too. I can explain everything,” Séverine insists to her husband in the opening fantasy sequence, as she’s being forcibly removed from the landau. But of course, she can’t - and won’t.
As in Repulsion, there are flashbacks to possible childhood trauma in Belle de jour. In one, a man appears to touch a young Séverine inappropriately; in another, she stubbornly refuses the Blessed Sacrament. But unlike in Repulsion, whose final, prolonged shot of a menacing family photo is offered as the root of Carole’s pathology, these scenes in Buñuel’s film are almost non sequiturs, presented not as psychological explanation but as blips in a baroque sexual surrealism.
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As Séverine’s reveries and job demands become stranger and more mysterious - in one daydream, she is pelted with thick black mud by Pierre and Husson, who call her “tramp” and “slut”; a ducal client solicits her in the bois de Boulogne to perform in a necrophilic rite - Deneuve retains her porcelain, celestial inscrutability, while simultaneously transforming into an earthbound debauchee, delighting in her own defilement. Madame Anaïs (whose early, shameless flirtation with Séverine - who eventually reciprocates - is the first of the many moments in Deneuve’s filmography that would cement her status as a lesbian icon) touts her new employee’s regal bearing to prospective customers: “[She’s] a little shy, perhaps, but a real aristocrat.”
Séverine’s coworkers, Charlotte (Françoise Fabian) and Mathilde (Maria Latour), are constantly remarking on the impeccable cut and style of her ensembles. Yet what this seemingly untouchable goddess craves most is the brutality of her latest john, the thug Marcel (Pierre Clémenti), a rough with metal teeth, a walking stick that doubles as a shiv, and fetishwear (shiny boots of leather with matching overcoat) that could have been dreamed up in an atelier overseen by Kenneth Anger and Pierre Cardin.
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Séverine’s relationship with Marcel will lead to Pierre’s ruin - or does it? The ambiguous ending of Belle de jour suggests that everything that preceded it may have existed only in the heroine’s cracked dreamscape. Like the buzzing box, the film’s final scene is whatever you want it to be.
Yet one thing is certain: Deneuve transcends kink. And despite her misery during the Belle de jour shoot, she would return for even more bizarre treatment three years later in Buñuel’s Tristana, losing both her virtue and a leg.
Almost 55 years after it was made Belle de Jour continues to be a compelling film. It takes on greater curiosity for me as I live in Paris and there are Séverines aplenty that I come across. But the film also speaks to a non-French audience even today as it remains a shrewd commentary on the hypocrisy of social relations and sexual politics. Buñuel invites us to ponder the transgression of a socially respectable woman secretly being a prostitute in the afternoons, but I don’t think he bothered to pose the question why a socially respectable gentleman should be secretly visiting a prostitute in the afternoons - which happens more than one might think and that behaviour is normalised. Something to think about.
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bradshawsbaby · 1 year
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Letters to My Love // Part VII
Auld Lang Syne
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Series Masterlist
Pairing: Bob Floyd x Female Reader
Summary: When you signed up to volunteer with the USO, you never anticipated that you would meet a man like Ensign Robert Floyd. Fate brings you together one balmy spring evening in Charleston—the night before Bob is set to ship off across the Atlantic. Pen and paper become your only means of sharing your heart with the naval aviator who’s captivated it, igniting a correspondence that spans the distance between you. Can love blossom even as war rages and thousands of miles keep you apart?
Word Count: 2.8k
Author’s Note: We’ve finally made it to 1943! Can you believe it will soon be a whole year since the night Bobby and Peach met?
Set the Mood: If you’re looking for some 1940s vibes, check out the playlist I made to pair with the story.
To ring in the new year in the story, the title of this chapter is based on the holiday classic, Auld Lang Syne. To get in the spirit, check out this 1939 instrumental version by Guy Lombardo!
Dedication: As always, this story is dedicated to my dear friend, @luminousnotmatter​. Clara, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support of this story!
Warnings: Alternating POV, talk of the holidays, brief allusions to the trauma of war, references to rationing, and a ton of fluff.
January 12, 1943
Dear Peach,
Happy New Year! I know we’re only 12 days in at this point, but I hope that 1943 is already shaping up to be a good year for you. Hopefully it will be a good year for all of us. And I look forward to hearing all about your Christmas back home in Georgia!
Now to address that “elephant in the room” as you called it—well, Peach, I see no elephants, but I do see what has to be the most beautiful and elegant photograph I’ve ever had the good fortune to lay these sorry eyes on. Are you sure you really meant to send it to me and not to MGM? You could be a movie star! I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was announced that their next big picture was starring The Sweet Peach from Georgia. Hey, maybe that could even be the name of the movie. What do you think?
Peach, I hope you know that I’m not teasing and I’m not kidding. And I hope my saying so doesn’t come across as forward, but you really are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, whether in the movies or in real life. Part of me was starting to wonder if maybe I’d dreamed it all up, that night we had together in Charleston. Could any girl really be that beautiful and kind and funny and smart, all wrapped up in one splendid person? But then I opened your last letter and your photograph fell out of the envelope, and I realized that sometimes real life can be even better than our dreams. Because you, Peach, are even more stunning than you were in my memories. And you know what makes it even better? That your beauty shines from the inside. Looking at your photograph, I can see all the kindness and gentleness and goodness that I’ve come to know so well, shining in your eyes and brightening your smile.
Gosh, am I rambling? I’m sure I am. But I don’t want you to feel embarrassed, not for a moment. And to think that you would even suggest I take a photograph this beautiful and shove it in a drawer or throw it off the carrier! That would be an absolute crime! It deserves to be framed and hung for everyone to admire. I admit that I’ve never seen the Mona Lisa, but I can already guarantee that you’re a thousand times prettier. But can I tell you the truth, Peach? As much as you deserve to be universally praised, I’ve been very selfish. The fellas are all quite jealous, you see, that the prettiest girl in the world has chosen to write to me, of all people. So I keep your photograph tucked close to my heart, away from all the guys. Don’t want to rub salt in the wound, you know?
Benny and Tommy Boy wanted me to respectfully let you know that you looked quite lovely in your photo, and that they’d be more than willing to serve as pen pals to any of your friends back home who may be in need of some correspondence.
Will you do me a favor and thank Dottie for this little scheme of hers? I knew that I liked your sister already, but this has truly solidified it for me. She’s a smart woman, that Dottie Sheridan. And I hope Frankie’s birthday pictures turned out just as nice as yours!
Can I tell you something else, Peach? We’ve been doing a lot of flying over here, me and Paul and the rest of our squadron, as I’m sure you can imagine. Paul keeps a photograph of Natasha and the kids in our aircraft when we’re flying. He says it brings him good luck and helps him remember what he’s fighting for. I like to keep a photograph of my family with me while we’re flying so that I can remember the same. But now I carry your photograph with me, too. And I think I understand now what Paul meant about his photo bringing him luck. Every time we’ve flown since I started carrying you with me, I feel this extra sense of protection. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. You’re my good luck charm, Peach, and I thank you for that. Thanks for helping me remember what I’m fighting for, every day that I’m here. And, hey—it’s sort of like we’re flying together already, right?
I was glad to hear that you enjoyed the pumpkin pie story, and that my utter humiliation could at least bring you some laughter. It’s funny that you should mention my mama setting aside some pumpkin pie for me because I did, in fact, receive a letter from her not long after Thanksgiving, and she told me she had done just that. She said that she’s hoping and praying I’ll be home for pumpkin pie this year. I hope she’s right.
I’m so happy to hear that you got to spend time with your folks and be together for the holidays. And happy belated birthday to little Frankie! They grow up fast, don’t they? Natasha sent Paul some photographs from Paul, Jr.’s first birthday, and neither of us can believe how big he’s gotten. Natasha says she’s writing down all his milestones in a little book for when Paul returns, so that he doesn’t miss a thing. I know it makes Paul feel good to hear that. He misses them so much.
I hope you don’t mind me doing so, but I shared with some of the guys on the carrier how you offered up your Thanksgiving gratitude and prayers for us. It lifted a lot of fellas’ spirits, I’ll tell you that. We were all missing home a little extra around the holidays, but to be reminded of why we’re doing this, and of the good people back home who are thinking of us, really makes all the difference.
Now to hear that you were an excellent pupil back in your grade school days does not surprise me one bit, Miss Peach. It’s funny that you say that you’re hopeless when it comes to arithmetic because I was always rather hopeless when it came to my writing—as I’m sure you can tell from the woeful state of my handwriting. My teachers at school—and yes, even my professors at Annapolis—always scolded me over it. Everyone has their strengths, huh? But if you don’t mind handling the writing, I’m more than happy to take care of the numbers and figures. We’d make quite a team.
Peach, I can promise you that the thought of getting to share another dance with you is one of the few things that keeps me going on the days when this war just really takes all the stuffing out of me. I just hope it’s something that YOU still want when all is said and done. I’m sure all the boys are lining up to sign your dance card.
Speaking of, have you been to any more dances at the USO lately?
You’re right when you say that Paul, Tommy Boy, Benny, and I couldn’t be any more different if we tried, but we do have a special bond and I’ll always be thankful for that. I’m glad to know you have that, too, with Dottie and Paddy and the rest of your family.
That glass of lemonade in Charleston sounds real nice right about now. It’s cold and rainy where we are, but I’ll be dreaming about that South Carolina sunshine.
My family was telling me about the coffee rations in one of their last letters. I am sorry to hear about that. I can only imagine how hard that’s hitting people, especially Paddy. I used to see him down at least three or four cups in the morning, back when I was stationed stateside. I’m sending all my best wishes that you and Dottie can survive his grumbling.
Peach, I just want to close by letting you know, once again, how much your support means to me. Truly. I hate to dwell on the negative, but there are days when this war is really hard. In fact, there are days when it feels downright impossible. But then I reread one of your letters, or take out your photograph and gaze at that pretty smile, and my hope is bolstered. You’ve given me so much, through your words alone, and I want you to know that.
I miss you, too. Who knows? Maybe 1943 will be the year we finally get that dance?
I hope so.
Very Truly Yours,
Bobby
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February 3, 1943
Dear Bobby,
Happy New Year! 1943 has been treating me kindly so far, but it would be even better if it was the year that you and the rest of our boys came home. Just like your mother, that’s what I’m hoping and praying for.
My goodness, Robert Floyd, you certainly know how to make a girl feel special! I have to confess, I must have read your letter through a good two or three times when it first arrived in the mail, and I couldn’t stop blushing or beaming the whole time. Dottie said that I looked like a giddy school girl, which taught me that I really ought to read your letters in the comfort of my own room instead of in front of my nosy big sister.
Just so you know, Dottie gladly accepts your praise and thanks, and has not let me live it down for a moment. She has not failed to remind me that big sisters know best, and that I shouldn’t be so afraid to trust her, because look how well her plans always turn out? Well, knowing her my entire life, I can quite confidently say that Dottie’s plans don’t ALWAYS turn out well, but I am glad that this one did.
I’m certainly no movie star, but Dottie did work her magic on me that morning, and I’m touched beyond words at your kind reception of such a silly little thing. My cheeks still feel warm, even as I write to you now. Do you really carry my photo with you, even when you’re flying? I can hardly believe it, but I know you’re an honest man, Bobby, so it must be true. And if it brings you any sort of luck while you’re up in the air, then I’m glad for it and I’d send you a hundred more photographs if I could. I want you to come home safely, Bobby, more than anything. I need you to make it home safely so that we really can go flying together one day.
Please send my thanks and my best wishes to Benny and Tommy Boy, who are both clearly gentlemen of the highest caliber. But I’m sorry to tell them that I don’t have any girlfriends I can match them up with. Truth be told, I don’t have many girlfriends to begin with, and most of the women I do know are spoken for.
Speaking of which, do you remember my friend, Emily? She was the blonde volunteer working at the punch table with me the night we met. That was so long ago now, it’s okay if you don’t remember. Anyway, she just got engaged! She and her fiance actually met that night at the dance. His name is Eddie and he’s a corporal in the Army. He was stationed in Charleston for about a month or so after you were deployed, and he and Emily got to spending a lot of time with each other. They wrote to each other after he left, and Eddie proposed while he was back in Charleston on a short leave last month. Isn’t that something? It’s funny how things work out sometimes. I had thought Eddie was going to ask me to dance that night, but it was Emily he wanted to dance with. And look how well it turned out for them! I’m really happy for her. She’s so excited. They’re hoping that the war will be over soon and Eddie will come home permanently so that they can plan a big wedding. Emily even asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! I was Dottie’s Maid of Honor when she got married, but I’ve never been anyone else’s bridesmaid, so it’s all very exciting. A little bit of good news and hope in the midst of so much ugliness.
Christmas in Georgia was lovely, even if it was a little quieter than Christmases we’ve enjoyed in the past. I did get to see my grandparents, and some of my aunts and uncles and cousins, and that was a joy. If there’s one thing this war has taught us, it’s that spending time with the ones you love is really what matters most. My aunt actually made a pumpkin pie for dessert on Christmas Eve and I couldn’t stop giggling, thinking about your pumpkin pie fiasco as a little boy.
I hope that Paul, Jr. had a wonderful first birthday, same as Frankie! I think it’s an absolutely marvelous thing Natasha is doing, writing down all the special moments that are happening now so that Paul can relive them when he gets home. What a special gift that will be! Would you do me a favor, Bobby, and send Paul my best? I’ll never forget his kindness at the dance that night, and I really do hope he’s doing well.
Of course I don’t mind you passing along my best wishes to the rest of the men! I feel like I have so little to offer, and so little to contribute to this war, so if my thoughts and prayers can help lift even one person’s spirits, then I’m happy to hear it.
I’m also happy to hear that you’re good with numbers and figures because I simply never have been. I’d suggest that you could tutor me when you return home, but I’d be embarrassed for you to see just how truly hopeless I am when it comes to my mathematics. Instead, I’ll gladly take you up on your offer to handle all the writing if you handle all the numbers. An excellent team we’d make, indeed! And believe me when I say that your handwriting is far from the most dreadful I’ve seen. You should see my father’s and Paddy’s—completely illegible! Paddy once left me and Dottie a note letting us know he’d be home late that night, and we sat up for hours worrying because we couldn’t even read what it said! So trust me, Bobby, your writing is not as woeful as all that.
You can also trust me when I tell you that there are certainly no boys lining up to sign my dance card. I’ve volunteered at several other USO events, but truth be told, I haven’t gone to many dances since that one back in May. Emily’s always trying to get me to go with her, and I have gone to a couple, but it just doesn’t feel the same, Is that silly? I know we only got to attend one dance together, but it just doesn’t feel right, being there without you, Bobby. Every time I did force myself to go, I’d hear a song that played that night and then I’d miss you too much. The next time I go to a dance, I want you to be there, too, and I want us to be dancing together. I’ll make sure there’s plenty of lemonade for us afterwards.
I think Paddy is finally recovering from his caffeine withdrawals, thank goodness! Dottie and I have been cutting back on our coffee consumption so that he can have some more in the morning. I have a feeling more rations will be coming soon, which is why Dottie and I are already making plans to revive our Victory Garden this spring. We didn’t pay as much mind to it last year, when everything still seemed so readily available, but this year we’re determined to grow as much as we can. We’re not exactly farmgirls, my sister and I, so maybe you could send us some tips?
Bobby, if my words bolster your spirits, then I want you to know that your words do that a hundredfold for me. Receiving your letters in the mail brings me such joy. I have every single one saved, and I read them whenever I’m feeling sad or scared about the war. Have I told you lately how glad I am that we met and that we’re still exchanging letters all these many months later?
Here’s to hoping that 1943 is our year, Bobby. I hope that I’ll be seeing you real soon.
Most Affectionately Yours,
Peach
P.S. I almost can’t believe I’m asking this—and I hope you don’t think it too forward—but is there any possibility that you might have a photograph you could send? I can still see your face so clearly in my memories, Bobby, but it would be so special to have a photo to remember you by. If not, it’s okay. I just thought I would ask. Stay safe, Bobby.
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hughhowey · 7 months
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Beacon 23 Release Date!
Big news for Beacon fans! The TV adaptation lands on November 12th, less than two months from now! It will premiere on MGM+, which is owned by Amazon, so I suspect it’ll be an add-on to your Prime account. I know, I know, someone should invent cable and bundle these things together… Starring Stephan James and Lena Heady, Beacon 23 tells the story of a lighthouse operator in outer space. There…
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hooked-on-elvis · 2 months
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Elvis escaped a crew-length haircut more than once before the army
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It is widely known by the fans that one funny story of how Red West saved Elvis from getting his hair cut off by bullies when he was only a teenager attending the Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee. For those who never heard/read this story before, well.. long story short, Elvis was kind of a misfit in High School because of the way he used to dress different from his mates. "He looked like a sore thumb," said Ronny Trout, a classmate who shared a workbench with Elvis in wood shop in school (as wrote by Peter Guralnick in one of his books on Elvis). While all the guys usually had crew cuts and dressed in jeans, Elvis had this "movie star" look. Apart from the flashy clothes — such as ascot ties and dress pants Presley is said to have worn while attending classes — he also would proudly show off his truck driver sideburns and a duck tail hairstyle around the hallways. Some of the kids in his school just couldn't stand it. Most of them thought Elvis looked weird, possibly they got the impression as if he was cocky or something but more likely they just found him strange, out of place. One day some guys corned Elvis in the bathroom and threatened to cut his hair right off. Red West came in just in time. Even tho they weren't friends yet, that selfless good deed of Red turned Elvis into a, let's say, fan of his. Presley was beyond grateful for the unexpected help. This was before Elvis was, you know, "Elvis". West and Presley became friends after this day, little by little - not immediately, and it turns out that a long, long term friendship between the two came out of that uncanny situation. At a point, Red West became part of Elvis' personal security guard and remained friends with him up until July 1976, a little more than one year previous to Elvis's death in August 1977. Anyway, Red's efforts only postponed Elvis' haircut. Presley actually had to surrender to the crew cut style in March 1958 when he was inducted into the U.S. Army. But did you know before the Army's intervention and after the High School incident, there was another time when Presley's hair almost was chopped off? That was during movie production of "Jailhouse Rock", in 1957.
The still photographs of Elvis wearing the short "Butch" wig were taken on Monday, May 13, 1957. William Tuttle (head of the make-up at MGM Studios) and his department produced very convincing results. This was the first time the wig was ready to be fitted, and the first scene shot using the wig was on May 20, scene 11 - Barber Shop. Elvis is wearing the wardrobe for Scenes 5 & 6 - Courtroom.
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Having read the script for Jailhouse Rock, Elvis was fully aware that the storyline called for his character to be sent to prison, and was told by the studio that, to be authentic, he would have to get his hair clipped. Elvis set off a personal appearance tour, prior to reporting to MGM Studios in Hollywood. The short tour commenced on March 28, 1957. The first stop was Chicago, at a press conference at the Saddle and Sirloin Club at the Stockyards Inn that afternoon, when Elvis spoke to the assembled press. When the subject of his haircut for his new picture was raised, he revealed: 'When I get back to Hollywood, I'm gonna have my hair cut. They're gonna cut it down to crew length for this new movie. Personally, I don't care if they cut my hair, I don't think it makes much difference. Because it'll grow out again.'
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March 28, 1957. Elvis Presley at a press conference at the Saddle and Sirloin Club at the Stockyards Inn, Chicago, Illinois.
Within a week, MGM Studios and producer, Pandro S. Berman, were swamped with four thousand letter and post-cards from Presley fans begging that the studio let their hero act with his original hair. "Don't Be Cruel - Don't Cut Elvis' hair," they demanded in varying terms. Some threatened to boycott the picture; some said they'd see it anyway because they'd always be loyal to Elvis - but they'd be "All Shook Up." It was decided something had to be done to save Elvis' hair and also alleviate the fans' feelings, so the Studio started to look at alternative ideas with tests quickly set up in the Studio make-up department under the stewardship of William Turtle, head of the make-up at MGM Studios. Elvis revealed the solution to columnist Aline Mosby, 'So now the studio has decided I'll wear a wig, a crew-cut wig, for the prison scenes.' During pre-production, tests were undertakes with the 35mm film camera, to establish any issue. It was realized by Director of Cinematography, Robert J. Bronner, that Elvis' hair required a red tint due to the black and white film. Elvis later confirmed this in an interview once filming had been completed: 'My hair will look the same, except it was reddened because in black-and-white it photographed like a cap instead of hair.'
The fans plea worked good this time but there's the old saying that goes like: "what's meant to be will be".
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Elvis Presley gets his hair cut before entering the Army, at Fort Chaffee in Barling, Arkansas. Presley entered the service March 24, 1958 at Fort Chaffee Reception Station. Picture of the 23-year-old rock star and barber Pete Peterson.
On December 10, 1957 Elvis received a letter from the Memphis Draft Board notifying him he was up for the next military draft. Presley's fans, once more, confident that their pleas would be heard just as they were by the Hollywood people, begun sending hundreds of letters to certainly everyone they could find would be helpful on the matter. They begged, "Please, please, do not touch Elvis' hair!" — some of them even felt kinda "suicidal" about Elvis' hair being cut off. One of the fan letters addressed to then U.S. President, read: "Dear President Eisenhower, My girlfriends and I are writing all the way from Montana. We think it's bad enough to send Elvis Presley to the army, but if you cut his sideburns of, we will just die."
NO DEAL WAS MADE THIS TIME. On March 24, 1958 Elvis was inducted into the U.S. Army and finally had to surrender to the crew-haircut. Truth be told, his fresh unfamiliar haircut didn't affect a bit his exquisite beauty - if anything, Presley appealed even worse to his female audience as a soldier.
Well, that's it. There it goes the story of how it took at least three attempts, including one movie and the U.S. government, to finally get that famous sideburns and pompadour out of Elvis' pretty little head.
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SOURCE: Excerpts from book "The Making Of Jailhouse Rock" (Book "Movie") by David English and Pål Granlund (2021).
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