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This Day in GINGEROLOGY


GingerTelevision...

Next GingerFilm(s) (on TCM - all times Eastern):

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Ginger Rogers Blogspot...

...for Clarissa! AND, as she so wisely brings up, the title above hopefully throws Gingerology into the mix when a Google Search is performed on VKM! Thanks for the suggestion, CS! I have Googled 'Ginger Rogers' and 'Gingerology' a few times, and you are correct in that G-ology strangely enough does not appear right off...I am not trying to be the 'big dawg' here or anything, but would REALLY just like to see more folks interested in Ginger to visit the site...

...NOW, for SassyGinger! AND PinkGinger! The question from PG was, "What color was Ginger's (well, Susan Applegate's) 'after the ball' dress in Major and the Minor?" The answer (via photo) from SG is...well, see below!

...so, hope this answers it properly! Although, there ARE a few pics of her in this dress shown 'colored' in green - which DOES look pretty awesome as well! Again, see below!

...ok - one more 'topic', while I am thinking about it...to two of our newest Gingerologists, PinkGinger and princesskay... both of y'all have set up awesome websites which are VERY Gingery! AWESOME!!! But...(seems like I always have a big but...) - I cannot figure out how to 'comment' on posts of either site... now, it may well be that y'all don't wish to HAVE anyone comment, which is totally fine... but just wondering if I am missing a 'magic button' somewhere to allow commenting... any info would be MOST helpful and VERY much appreciated! Bottom line, I'm a comment junkie!!! :-}

OK - well, as 2010 is about to give way to 2011, and all of us here at G-ology hope all of y'all have a simply BEGUILING New Year's celebration!!! This will most likely be the final G-ology post for 2010, so... see y'all next year! Remember, it's Ginger's 100th in 2011, so it's gonna be GREAT!!!

KIG!!! - and also FUN, and SAFE this weekend, y'all!!!

Sincerely,
VKMfanHuey
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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Kitty turns SEVENTY!!!

Happy Birthday to Miss Foyle from Huey and all the folks at Gingerology!!! Still pretty dang AWESOME for a Septuagenarian, Miss Kitty!!! The Natural History of a Woman, indeed!!!

If ya ever wonder...yeah, Huey's ALL-TIME fave GingerFilm is... Kitty Foyle. Of course, it's an awesome Academy-Award winning performance, but on top of that, the film itself is just 'wall-to-wall' Ginger! It HAS to be the most 'camera time' Ginger receives in any of her films, as of course, it's all about Kitty!


The movie was released on December 27, 1940 by RKO Radio Pictures, with much anticipation, for the role was much sought after by many Hollywood actresses. Ginger's studio, RKO, bought the rights to it, and gave her 'right of first refusal' for it. She initially balked at the role after reading the 'uncut' novel - she recalled in her bio that "...there were explicit love scenes in it that were quite disturbing to me. As I read these passages, I found myself passing judgement on them. "That could never pass the censor board. So what good is it for me to spend time reading it? I was really embarrassed that RKO would send me something like this."
For example, Kitty and Wyn never marry in the book, but all the other 'events' DO happen... of course in 1940 this was not acceptable, so RKO had to marry them 'up front' to pass the glare of the Hays Office. And, I'm pretty sure Ginger was in line with the more 'proper' storyline as well (...she was such a good girl, y'all! :-] ) While the final film script was quite 'toned down', it was still a bit 'edgy' for mainstream audiences at the time.

Ginger had been wanting to do a 'drama' for awhile. She had just finished up a 'semi-dramatic' film, 'Primrose Path'; it was part drama, part comedy, part romance...and it 'whetted' Ginger's appetite for a 'full' dramatic role. She still had reservations about Kitty's storyline, but the producer (David Hempstead) sent Ginger the 'revised' script, and as she recalled in her bio, "I realized it was one hell of a script, and was convinced that whoever played the role would end up with an Oscar. I saw it that vividly."
Ginger played the role to perfection, and she 'owned' the part - it's hard to imagine anyone else as Kitty. Her performance not only earned her an Oscar, but it galvanized her as an actress that could rub elbows with Hepburn, Fontaine and Davis and not end up with tennis elbow (bah-dum-dah... :-} ), and it solidified her 'Hard-Working American Girl' persona, which she portrayed so well in many subsequent films, and endeared her to an entire generation of moviegoers.
And the rest is cinematic history, as they say... Kitty Foyle was a pretty major story in its day, and for Ginger to play it was the 'watershed moment' which vaulted her to the pinnacle of her career...and proved to all that, as an actress, she could pretty much nail any role that was presented to her, in grand fashion...including Kitty Foyle, by Judas Priest!!!
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Interesting stuff...

- The role of Wyn was sought by David Niven, Robert Montgomery, Ray Milland, Laurence Olivier, Franchot Tone, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., George Brent and Melvin Douglas...but NOT Dennis Morgan; Morgan was originally considered for the role of Mark Eisen (the doc), along with Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Jeffrey Lynn, Patric Knowles and James Craig, who eventually was picked for the doc role.

- Molly, one of Kitty's roommates in New York (the blondish one), was played by director Sam Wood's daughter, Katharine (K.T.) Stevens.

- In order to get in a 'somber, tear-inducing mood' for the 'Kitty gives birth' scene, Ginger went to her dressing room and listened to Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet".

- The December 9, 1940 edition of LIFE magazine featured Ginger as Kitty Foyle on its cover - Ginger's second appearance on LIFE's cover. The article was about filming specific scenes of the movie, and did not really have much Ginger info, save for a few pictures.

- Of course, Ginger won the 1940 Best Actress Oscar for her role as Kitty, but the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Wood), Best Screenplay (Dalton Trumbo), and Best Sound (John Aalberg).

- In the movie Ginger made just before 'Kitty', "Lucky Partners", Ginger's character (Jean Newton) works in her aunt's (Spring Bynington) bookstore; in one scene, Jean is looking out the store window (where she is observing Ronald Coleman across the street), and the book "Kitty Foyle" is displayed in the window.

- When Ginger won the Oscar, she was greeted on the set of "Tom, Dick and Harry" the next day at RKO by staffers and actors dressed in top hats and tails.

- The dark sleeved dress with white collar and cuffs which Ginger wore in the movie is still known today in the garment trade as a "Kitty Foyle Dress".

- The movie was RKO's largest hit of 1940, earning $869,000.

- MGM's Tom and Jerry animated series gave it a nod in the title of 1948's short, "Kitty Foiled". The cartoon itself had, of course, nothing in common with "The Natural History of a Woman."

And finally, here is an overview of Kitty Foyle, and in Ginger's career in general, from none other than Mr. Robert Osborne, the 'overseer' of Turner Movie Classics, and probably one of the top 'classic' movie historians of our time. It was taken from the back cover of an LP of Ginger's radio production of Kitty Foyle - hopefully Mr. Osborne won't mind if I transcribe this here for all Gingerologists to read... interesting that it was written in 1975, exactly mid-way between Kitty in 1940 and where we currently sit. (BTW, in case Mr. Osborne or anybody else at TCM is reading this, please feel free to contact me regarding filling the 'guest host' spot in celebration of Ginger's 100th birthday on 07/16/11... yeah, I'll do it for FREE... or at LEAST for a lot less than Baldwin is being paid.. :-] )

Ginger Rogers once told a reporter, “Kitty Foyle was my first picture. It was my mother who made all those pictures with Fred Astaire.” The lady was kidding, of course, but there is no denying that everything connected with the spectacular Rogers career dates B.K. (Before Kitty) and A.K. (After Kitty). The Foyle role fit her like a coat of enamel, won her an Academy Award and kept her from being known solely as part of something called Astairenrogers.

Kitty Foyle was made at RKO Radio Studios in Hollywood in 1940, long after blonde and bouncy Ginger had been established as Fred Astaire’s most popular on-screen partner. She’d also proven her solo box office worth in a few comedies of her own. Up to that point, however, she hadn’t been established as an actress (and no fault of her own, but critics and the public have always assumed performances in musicals and comedies require no acting prowess, only nervous feet). One day she’d had quite enough, put down her foot – one of the unnervous ones – and divorced Fred as a partner. “No more musicals!” she told her bosses. While they ran for the aspirin bottle, Ginger started looking for a juicy role.

Enter Kitty Foyle, the most popular literary heroine of the day – and the timing couldn’t have been better. Kitty was the creation of author Christopher Morley, a hard-working white collar girl who was fed up to her typewriter ribbons. “I read about the guts of the pioneer woman, and the woman of the dust bowl, and the gingham goddess of the covered wagon,” says Kitty. “What about the woman of the covered typewriter? What has she got when she leaves the office?” It wasn’t all work for Kitty – she also had to choose between a liaison with a rich, married socialite and a romance with an industrious young doctor. But the public loved her, and every actress in the movie world wanted to play her. RKO, meanwhile, bought the screen rights and Ginger snapped it up. She darkened her hair, replaced the usual maribo feathers with a working girl’s wardrobe and went to town on the part, turning in a performance that made one critic clap his hands in glee, writing “Ginger Rogers plays Kitty Foyle so well it’s hard to remember she ever danced her way to fame.” The flourishing, epic touch came when she won that hard-to-get Oscar over the likes of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Martha Scott and Joan Fontaine. Goodbye, Fred!

In the years that followed, Ginger got to play everything from gum-chewing molls and ex-convicts to Dolly Madison and Dolly Levi, all thanks in great measure to that first encounter with Ms. Foyle. Her movie career has been long winded (36 active years, 73 major films), quite dazzling, an audience pleaser, always fun to watch. And despite the enduring fame of Astaire n’ Rogers, Rogers n’ Astaire, she is still best remembered as Kitty Foyle, the white collar girl. Their names remain synonymous. This is a permanent record of that collaboration – and proof the lady known as Ginger could do very well indeed without the hint of a Carioca, a Continental or a Castle Walk in reel three.

ROBERT OSBORNE, author of Academy Awards Illustrated and four other books on motion pictures. (circa 1975)

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Finally, one of my fave Ginger pics ('screen captures') from the movie, from the 'Kitty meets the fam' scene... I think the 'black dorito' hat is just SO cool... with the black lace stuff...and the frilly, puffy collar...yow, that works, y'all :-] ...and of course, this scene is where Kitty gets her Irish up to the Nth degree (i.e., 'maximum' SassyGinger), so, yep...a great scene.


Well, hope this was informative and fun for y'all... of course, I can think of no better way to celebrate this occasion than by watching Kitty Foyle tonight...I believe I'll just do that!

KIG (AND Kitty-like!)

VKMfanHuey
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas...

...to all you Gingerologists out there! Hope that Ho-Ho gets y'all ever what ya need this Christmas... And y'all have a happy, safe, and reflective Christmas weekend, and of course, remembering the TRUE reason for the season...
Here's just a neat little pic I have had hanging around - not sure what the deal is, except that Ginger is hanging onto some type of big, stuffed varmint, which could very well be connected with Christmas... dang, I wish I was a varmint! :-]

Anyway, I HOPE to be getting some stuff set up for G-ology 2011... the 100th Anniversary of Ginger's Birth! It's gonna be a great year, y'all... my Gingey senses are telling me so...

In the meantime, y'all go check out some awesome recent posts by PinkGinger at ClassicGal, and of course Ms. OGRE (Katie) over at Objects Of my Obsessions, where she has dumped her pic stash onto one humongous post! Merry Christmas, indeed!!!

Once Again, Have a great, big, honkin' Gingery Christmas, y'all!

KIG!!!
VKMfanHuey
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Saturday, December 18, 2010

GingerHaiku

...OK, y'all...now for a bit of an 'interactive' post, as a 'change-up' in the Holiday Season...time to break out your 'creative licenses' and PARTICIPATE in the First Edition of GingerHaiku!!!
The pic above has Ginger in a 'Far East' costume for the occasion, well, the parasol and er...whatever else she is wearing...wowzers... they don't make table legs like THAT anymore, y'all... ...dangdangDANG! Merry Christmas to Huey! <:-P
well we better get on with the post...although this pic could EASILY be a post within itself... "GingerGams" would be a wickedawesome post, no? Probably sometime in the future, if my heart can handle it...
Oh-Kay...again, really, BACK to the topic, y'all... :-]
I assume that most of y'all are pretty well-versed in what a haiku is, but just in case... generally, this is a VERY old form of Japanese prose, which generally is characterized by the following two traits: ONE: The haiku consists of three lines of verse, with line one being five syllables, line two having seven syllables, and the last line having five syllables. TWO: The haiku usually has to 'invoke' the time of year the verses are 'set' in, such as spring, winter, etc...(for example, noting 'snow', 'bees', 'leaves', etc., or just mentioning 'autumn', etc...) AND, of course, in our case, Rule THREE, the most important... it MUST be GINGERY!!! duh! :-] Neither of the first two rules are 'set in stone', but you should try to meet them if at all possible (the 'season' one is REALLY easier said than done, as I didn't get that in on ANY of the ones I have posted below) ...and of course, Gingerness IS required!
OK - so, here we go - I will start off the proceedings with three pretty neat ones I came up with, proceeded by an appropriate pic for it (not a requirement for YOU, but thought it might be cool for these, anyway...) Hope ya like them...


From Ginger and Fred
Bounds forth the Perfection of
The Dance Eternal



Beginnings reflect
from that Beautiful Science
Gingerology




Mighty sound Stage Door
Radio-Keith-Orpheum
...unforgettable

OK - well, hopefully that will get y'all going - not that this is a contest or anything, but just interested to see what y'all will crank out... Again, don't get TOO hung up on the 'haiku rules', other than to Keep It GINGERY, of course!

KIG!
VKMfanHuey
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Sunday, December 12, 2010

...just checking in...

...with a few odds and ends...

Well, first, thanks to all who voted on the 'Ginger-would-be-Christmas-movie' poll... "Miracle on 34th Street" eked out "Christmas in Connecticut" by a few votes. funny thing is, these are the only two movies of the four listed which I have actually seen! So there ya go... I 'have' "Remember the Night", which I need to check out soon.

Second, just watched "The Tenderfoot" again (bought the WB Archive edition...not a bad copy, and also has a 'trailer'...funny that a few of the 'snippets' from the movie differ than what made the 'final cut'...) this is a pretty neat little movie, really - it is only just under 70 minutes as well. Ginger is pretty dang Sassy in it, but in a very 'controlled' way...plus, the dude falls for Ginger's character (Ruth) so quickly and completely, how can you not like that?
I have posted this pic from "The Tenderfoot" before, but... hey, here it is again, since it is just so dang BEAUTIFUL!!! It is pretty neat that this pic is actually USED in the movie, when the dude is thinking of popping the question to Miss Ruth, or at least to tell her how he feels about her... and just talks to this pic first to get it straight... yep, that's about as far as I would get... and then I would totally pass out when she actually walks through the door!

Third, I ALSO just watched my WB Archive copy of "Bachelor Mother"...also a pretty fair copy...of course, I don't need to tell y'all my feeling about THAT one... just quite possibly my ALL-TIME fav GingerFilm not named "Kitty Foyle"... :-]

Well, not a WHOLE lot else cooking here... Gingerology, along with a lot of other awesome blogs out there, seems to be in 'hunkering down' mode for the rest of the year... I hope to be getting some stuff up and running over the holidays, but ya know, all that time seems to just get 'spoken for' in pretty short order! Don't fret, tho, y'all KNOW I will block out some time for Ginger!

Until then,
KIG in GingerDecember!
VKMfanHuey
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ginger December...

...Greetings, all!!! Hope the advent of the Holiday Season is an exhilarating experience thus far for all of you, and at least relatively stress-free! Honestly, I do not have that many GingerChristmas pics... of the following three, only one is obviously Christmas, although the other two seem to fit the topic as well...


First off, a 'programming note'... TCM will air Upper World tomorrow at 5:30 PM Eastern... a pretty good movie, even without a full complement of Ginger... cause even a LITTLE Ginger is FAR better than none...right? :-) ...It's worth watching, if only to get 'powder-puffed'! Trust Huey on this one... :-]

Second (minor) issue, yet burning a hole in my noggin until now... the pic that CS linked to of Ginger leaning on a desk with the weird 'finned' column deal on it... Well, after further digging and just plain ol' observation, the conclusion is that the pic is a publicity pic for the film 'Shall We Dance', as the pic below shows - when Miss Keene makes arrangements to fly the coop, quite literally...
...so, your first answer is usually the right one, Lady Fioraon!!! :-) Now that I look at it, it is SO obvious her hair style in the 'pub' pic is EXACTLY what it is when she does 'They All Laughed' - perhaps my fave Ginger Performance EVER...

OK - on to the 'topic' of this post... It's kind of a 'bummer' (to me, anyway) that Ginger didn't do a 'full scale' Christmas movie...of course, 'Bachelor Mother' and 'I'll Be Seeing You' are her two movies which take place during the holidays, and they are honestly two of my all time fav GingerFilms. BUT, neither one is really 'centered' around Christmas, which is ultimately what makes a Christmas movie, right? SO, I was thinking, with all the talk of the classic Christmas movies floating around, I wonder... which of the classics would Ginger have been best suited for? So... you guessed it... POLL TIME!!!

Simply put, which of the following Classic Christmas films would Ginger have fit the best in as the Female Lead?

Remember the Night (Barbara Stanwyck / Fred MacMurray)...

...Christmas in Connecticut (Barbara Stanwyck / Dennis Morgan)...


...The Bishop's Wife (Loretta Young / Cary Grant)...

...or, Miracle on 34th Street (Maureen O'Hara / Edmund Gwenn)?
Notice that the obvious choice of "It's a Wonderful Life" isn't included, since most of us know that Ginger turned down this part, primarily because she thought it was too 'bland'... but I think we all would LOVE to see her and JS back together, especially in the all-time Christmas fave, thus it would be VERY hard not to vote for it. I also left out "Holiday Inn", for the somewhat obvious reason that it would re-unite Ginger with Fred, thus again most likely 'skewing' the poll results.
Of the films listed, each has an interesting 'male lead'... whether this is the sole reason to vote for a particular movie for Ginger, is up to you; but consider the movie as a whole as well...

Well, that's it...vote early and often... and...

Keep It Gingery!!!

VKMfanHuey

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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

My Fellow Gingerologists, I give you...

GINGERPICS!!!
...As most of you know, as Chief Gingerologist, I have had a tendency to test the limits of PayPal on occasion (BTW, a REAL 'Pal' wouldn't do that to my Visa card... :-[ ) regarding Gingerbilia on eBay (which is Pig Latin for 'BE'...as in 'This will BE the end of my savings account...oof).
Anyway...I have been sorting through my 'acquisitions' and ran across these photos, which are 14x11s (weird size, it seems)... honestly didn't remember I had them (the first step is to admit...you have a PROBLEM...albeit a nice one :-] ) (BTW, sorry for all the parentheses...) (it won't happen again...) (no, REALLY...)
After checking these out, they are AWESOME!!! The COOL thing about these, other than being in color, is they appear to be 'untouched', in that they are just the 'raw' photos - although most of them are movie promo pics... they are 'glossy', on good ol' Kodak paper... but Ginger just looks so cool in these, even without any 'touch-ups'...there's something about the 'real' look of some of these that is really nice, IMHO... Anyway, enough jibber-jabber... on with the pics! [Oh, P.S. - I will have a few comments below each...and note I used brackets here, NOT parentheses...]


...Perhaps my fave of the bunch... not really sure if this is in support of a movie, or just a 'general promo' deal... her hair does not really strike a memory of a correlating movie role, except for maybe 'Lucky Partners?' Honestly, tho, it really looks like she just came in off the street and spontaneously sat down for a photo shoot... and what a photo shoot, y'all! Her smile is just sheer perfection here (well, it ALWAYS is, but REALLY awesome here...) She is also rocking that 'basic' sun dress, too...and killer heels... and her hair is DEFINITELY early 40's, but not TOO 'poofed up'... just right, IMHO...yow yow YOW!!! ...ok, well, we better move on, cause I could be here on this one indefinitely, y'all...


One of the pics from the 'Lady in the Dark' promo sessions... Ginger in a tutu? That would be a BIG OL' yepyepyep from Huey! And again, such a great smile... I really don't remember anything like this in the 'Jenny' scene, however...guess I need to go watch it again (it doesn't take much of an excuse for me, y'all...) Her hair is cool in this one, just kinda 'up and out'...and the ribbon/feathers paraphanelia in it is also working well for a cool effect...and on a side note, given that Our Miss Ginger was a bit under 5'-5", that must be either a small horse or a large pony (where the threshold between the two are, who knows...) Oh, to be a small horse or a large pony for just a few moments in the time-space continuum... :-]


Not sure where this is - looks like a Greek Temple or something in the background...let's just assume that, as our Gingery goddess is observing something in the distance... could it be? YES! the prodigal Cabana Boy, returning from the local Baskin-Robbins...or whatever they had back then...with a couple of drums of Miss Rogers' fav flavor, er... well, whatever that may be (I still say it was Chocolate, y'all...) BTW, I LOVE the Green and Gold combo [my team's colors (UAB)] - and for facing the sun's glare, she is just SO fine... If I had to pick out ANYTHING here that would be not as 'perfect', her lipstick color might be just a bit too 'bright' or whatever... but I would eagerly help her remove it for another shade :-)


Not sure where this one is from, but just a pretty pic, for dang sure... hmmm...quite the bow or whatever on the hat and collar - not that I am a fashion guru, but this one must be from the early 40's as well. A few 'freckles' and 'lines' show up here, but I think it gives her that 'real' look, and honestly just that much more fetching to me... oh, and note that her 'beauty mark' is reversed, which means... that the picture is reversed. ...a REAL Gingerologist would catch that right off the bat.

This one is I THINK from 'Dreamboat', although not sure which scene... there were actually two pics of this 'series' included in the set, but this one was just a WEE bit better (the other one is awesome as well). Just a note here... if we ever did a 'best Ginger eyebrows' poll, Huey would vote for these... perfect. And the hair curls...dang those are cool! And another thing...could that be a 'Ginger Rogers rose' in her hair? It DOES appear to be similar, from the few pics I have seen of that rose variety...



OK... I KNOW that THIS pic is from 'Dreamboat'... and this AWESOME dress is documented in Ginger's bio as follows: "One day, Marilyn Monroe dropped by the set (of Dreamboat) for a visit. I was wearing a wonderful gold lame evening dress and Marilyn liked it. Moreover, she told the front office (of MGM) she wanted it. She got it and wore it in a brief scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Ginger is made up a bit in this one, to emulate the 'silent era' actress, which had to go extra on makeup for whatever reason (maybe y'all could explain that one... I understand why extra makeup is needed for a stage play, but I think the transition to movies from stage was gradual in this respect... although it could be I don't have a bloody clue as to what I am rambling on about...) ANYWAY, Ginger rocks this dress quite nicely... not sure if this was the SAME dress Marilyn wore, but I'm pretty sure she rocked it as well... I dig the cape... Ginger in a cape... kinda redundant in a way, since we all know that Ginger has superpowers unbeknownst to most...
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Well - hope you liked these as much as Huey!!! I will continue to plow through my 'stash' and hopefully find some more awesome Gingery goodness!

A programming note: TCM will be airing 'Top Hat' on Thursday, November 25, at 12:30 AM - yep, that's EARRRRLY Thanksgiving Morning...so if you plan on having insomnia that night, it would be a very entertaining way to pass the time... otherwise,

...Y'all have a VERY Gingery Thanksgiving!!!

KIG!

VKMfanHuey
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

...odds and ends...

Hope everyone is well out there!

...first of all, I have been out of pocket for the last few days, as my son (15 months old) had to have 'minor' surgery today, to 'open' a tear duct in one eye, as well as having his adenoids (throat stuff) removed. He is doing well, and zonked out in his crib tonight.

Also, Jean Howard of 'Discovering Ida' has found info regarding an episode of Dinah Shore, which featured Ginger AND Ida Lupino... no 'footage', tho... sounds like an OGRE assignment to me... :-) Go check it out at this link:

http://idalupinofan.blogspot.com/2010/11/gingery-connection.html

And finally, just a 'blurb'...or as you young 'uns call it nowadays, a 'Tweet' (well, if I was hooked up with 'Twitter'..why isn't it 'Tweeter'?) ...well, I was just reading the book I mentioned back on November 3, and ran across this passage regarding politics, which just stuck me as "Classic Ginger": "...There was talk in the papers (in the late 1940's) that Ginger was to run for Congress as a representative for California. I asked her about this and about what would be her platform. She smiled and replied, 'Cheaper and better ice cream for all!' - that was enough hint to me the rumour was nonsense."

Well, that's about it - just 'updating' and staying 'in touch' a bit... Sorry for the absence of any GingerPics... will try to make up for it in the next post :-]

Keep It Gingery, y'all!!!

VKMfanHuey
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

"Bachelor Mother" out on DVD via WarnerArchive...

...Well, Old C.K. over at 'Hollywood Dreamland' beat me to the 'breaking news' (nice work, Mr. Haven!) - but the Warner Archives has released "Bachelor Mother" on DVD! Here is the link below:

http://www.wbshop.com/Bachelor-Mother/1000180331,default,pd.html?cgid=ARCHIVENEW

Great to see another GingerFilm available, especially this one, which is honestly in my Top 5, period! The WB archive DVDs are very 'basic', with no 'extras', and usually a fair copy of the movie, but not restored... but this one would be worth it if you don't have it... I'm buying a copy, and I have it off of TCM already!

The only thing is, I am just not too fond of ANY of the posters for this movie I have seen thus far, and the one they use on this cover is among the 'least'...doesn't really look like either of them... oh well, no biggie... the one at the top here is probably the best of the bunch, although this 'Spanish' one below is the coolest one of Ginger - but ol' Dave is truly an 'afterthought' on this sheet!
Anyway, I hope this helps y'all out in your collection! Good to see WB still cranking them out... I will check on the other studios which are doing this (namely Columbia/Sony and 'tenatively' Fox)...hopefully we will see plenty more of GingerFilms, along with all the other great ones of the 'Golden Age'!

KIG, y'all!

VKMfanHuey
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Veteran's Day...

A time to say THANKS to all the men and women who have, or are currently serving in the armed forces abroad and stateside... the sacrifices you have made for our freedom are immeasurable and deeply appreciated.

Here are some of the 'major connections' Ginger has had to our military over the years:

Well, at the ripe old age of six, she was 'recruited' for a bond drive advertisement in Missouri for World War I.

Ginger's mom, Lela, was one of the first ten women in history to join the Marine Corps, in 1918, as a stateside publicist to drum up support and recruits, even as WWI was drawing to a close. It would be KILLER to find a pic of Lela in uniform! :-]

Lela met her second husband, and Ginger's eventual 'last-name-sake', John Logan Rogers, after he was released from a Veteran's Hospital in New York, where Lela just happened to be stationed at the time.

Of course, Ginger's third husband, Jack Briggs, was a Marine Private First Class, whom she met during one of her many USO drive appearances. He did a tour of duty in the South Pacific in WWII.
Ginger was a popular 'celebrity' during WWII, as a 'pin-up', on the sides of bombers, etc...

And then there are the movies Ginger did which were in support of the war effort - such as "Major and the Minor", "Once Upon a Honeymoon", and "Tender Comrade".

But the best and most compelling of her 'wartime' films has to be "I'll Be Seeing You", the story of a veteran who is recovering from what is now known as 'post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who meets and subsequently falls in love with a girl who happens to be on furlough from prison for murder (in self-defense, mind you...).
This movie deals with PSTD in a sincere and honest manner, addressing a 'avoided' topic in that day. I'm sure most of y'all have seen it, but just in case you haven't...it's a good movie - ya need to check it out.

Another 'once-removed' connection to Ginger regarding WWI is the 1930 movie her second husband, Lew Ayres, starred in, "All Quiet on the Western Front"; I watched this one a few days ago, and was quite surprised by the 'realism' of the battle scenes and the depiction of the 'kids' sent to battle grossly unprepared and surviving such bleak conditions (it is told from the German' side, although the actors are decidedly 'English-American' acting). Ayres really did a great job in it, and it is another one I would suggest viewing if you haven't already...

As for 'here and now', just a 'shout-out' to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, which was, and still is, a major player in the development of Veteran's Day. The concept for the observance is as follows below, from www.bhamwiki.com :

"Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to United States national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty. Like its predecessors, "Armistice Day" or "Remembrance Day" in other parts of the world, Veterans Day falls on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

"Armistice Day" was first commemorated in the United States by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and 30 states made it a legal holiday. On November 11, 1921 the remains of an unknown soldier were entombed in Washington D.C. as a memorial to all who died in service to the United States. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all States to observe the day, and then passed another resolution in 1939 making it a federal holiday.

Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran and Birmingham citizen, led efforts to expand Armistice Day to salute the veterans of that war. He led a delegation that presented the idea to General Eisenhower, the Army Chief of Staff. With his blessing, plans were made for the first Veterans Day celebration, held on November 11, 1947 in Birmingham. A parade was held downtown, beginning a tradition which continues with what remains the nation's largest Veterans Day Parade.

After years of lobbying, a bill to formally change the name of the federal holiday was introduced by Representative Edwin Rees of Kansas. It was signed by President Eisenhower on June 1, 1954.

The National Veterans Award was created in Birmingham in 1954 for the first National Veterans Day. Weeks was given the Presidential Citizens Medal in November 1982 for his efforts on behalf of U. S. veterans."

source: www.bhamwiki.com

Well, I hope this post was informative - a bit of a 'departure' from a typical G-ology post... we obviously delve into the 'minutia' of Ginger, which is our mission, right? But it is always important to understand the true meaning of a VERY important observance and act accordingly...in short, thank someone you know who has, or is, serving for our country.

VKMfanHuey

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

...OK...SOMEbody's been holding out on us...

...regarding Roberta...well, MAYBE. I am currently reading an 'unauthorized biography' of Ginger that was written in the 60's by a dude named Dick Richards, who was (or still may be) a film critic of the Daily Mirror, a London newspaper. He had met Ginger a few times, seen and reviewed most of her films, and wrote this bio around the time she was starring in the London production of 'Mame' - the first chapter talks about how that production came about with Ginger in it. But the second chapter begins the 'chronological' story of Ginger, and overall seems pretty accurate...
...BUT, check THIS out - on page 74 of this tome, he states the following regarding the film 'Roberta': "I'll always recall a gown of glittering gold metal leaf cloth worn by Ginger. Above all, the dress parade which was the film's climax was in colour, then a comparative novelty, and it was rich and rewarding. It revealed Ginger's hair as by no means a fiery red but a soft, fair auburn and at the sight of it her male fans in the cinemas should have renewed their marital vows."
...OK - so... WHERE IS THIS COLOR (or 'colour') VERSION? Did WB just 'blow off' the color portion and made it all B/W throughout? Or was this an 'English only' thing (which would have been kinda weird to not have been that way stateside...) - see, every time things seem to be in harmony in GingerLand, something like this pops up, which just...BUGS me!!! Well, y'all can relate... OGRE - sounds like a mystery for you to unravel... oh well, we at least have Maria to provide us with awesome color 'stills' from this great film...
Anyway, overall this is a pretty interesting book, and dude is definitely a big Ginger fan, but there are a few 'iffy' parts here and there, at least in comparison to Ginger's bio... another big "???" is that he claims Ginger's favorite GandF movie is 'Top Hat'... er, that's first time I've heard that... I tend to think it was probably her LEAST fav, if just for the 'feathers' incident alone, not to mention the presence of Mr. Sandrich... and she says herself that 'Swing Time' is her fav, so there ya go.
BTW, be on the lookout for MY 'unauthorized biography', "Huey Rogers: The Bodacious Life of a Cabana Boy" - guess I COULD do the 'novel writing' contest or whatever... if only time would allow...
Well, hope everyone survived Halloween... guess Thanksgiving is next....well, it's really Veteran's Day next... so lots of stuff ahead. In the meantime...

Keep It Gingery!!!
VKMfanHuey
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Saturday, October 23, 2010

First attempt at Video Post...

Well, Hello all you Gingerologists out there! Again, it's been a few since the last post...I have had a few issues crop up here and there, hindering proper attention to the beautiful science of Miss G! Things are clearing out ok now, tho...with the help of a bodacious housekeeping service... :-P


...anyway, I know this time of year is pretty hectic, with all you young 'uns in school...y'all keep on studying and making us ol' geezers proud! :-] ...and of course, with the 'holiday season' drawing nigh, everyone is prepping for that as well. All that to say, not much activity in the 'Classic(al) Film' corner of the blogosphere...but don't worry... there's plenty of time for this...we'll still be here!
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NOW, here's a new one for VKMfan... an attempt to post a VIDEO! We were in Ginger's former employer's store, J.C. Penney, last night, and a tune came on over the 'muzak'...I really don't know the name of it, but my daughter said, "Hey! isn't that the tune from that Fred and Ginger video we like?" Yup...pretty cool 'irony' or whatever of GingerTunes in a GingerStore... so it got me thinking, I need to try to post a video - so why not try THAT one, which I really think is AWESOME! Love the tune, and how it relates to GandF... the 'creator' of this one is 'Tori', so hopefully she won't mind me posting this...it is off of YT, so there ya go. ...and, I REALLY dig it (did I already mention that? :-] ) Y'all probably know this one, but just in case...
SO... HOPEFULLY, this will work - see below:



Well, still digging up stuff for posting... have quite a few 'topics' floating around, and I hope to get to them soon... until then,

KIG in GingerFall, Y'all!!!

VKMfanHuey
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

...BIG news for ALL Classic Movie fans...

...just got this e-mail from 'Movies Unlimited', noting the AWESOME news that Columbia (Sony) is planning on 'opening up the vaults' quite soon, not unlike the Warner Archives series... oh, sorry for the honking link - hope it works for ya... I need to learn how to 'rename' links...

http://www.moviefanfare.com/staff-notes/columbia-opens-the-vaults/


ALSO, catch the last line, which notes that FOX is believed to be doing the same early in 2011... True Gingerologists already know where I am heading with this...

...that's right; the epic search for 'Hat Check Girl' may be nearing its end!!! Hopefully Fox will dig a good copy up and release it... I just thumbed thru the 'Films of GR' book, and the 'general review' notes that "The pre-code script gave Ginger a marvelous opportunity to demonstrate what she could do with apt wisecracks and risqué situations...her glib Jessie King became the first of many worldly-wise girlfriend roles that would hold her in good stead until stardom came along."
...yep, we need to be unearthing this one in short order, you fine feathered friends from FOX!!! ...and while y'all are at it, a clean copy of 'Broadway Bad' (Ginger AND Joan Blondell) is sorely needed, as well... :-]

KIG in GingerFall, Y'all!!!

VKMfanHuey
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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Woah...it's been a while, I guess...

...Well, it's dang near been two weeks since the last post... but, I guess I have somewhat of an excuse... our entire household has been quite puny the last week or so, with various forms of cold/sinus/allergy issues. In general, the stuff is just enough to throw you off your game... so, it appears a doctor's visit is in the cards for Huey tomorrow (probably should have gone before now, but I was off last Friday, and figured that I could recoup in a three-day weekend...to no avail.)
Anyway, I hope to have a new 'themed' post on here soon, as there are a few different 'Gingery' topics rattling around my noggin. In the meantime, though, just a few 'housekeeping' notes:

THIS Tuesday, 10/12/2010, the re-issue of "Astaire and Rogers: 10-Film Collection" will be released by Warner Brothers in conjunction with TCM. The list price on the TCM site is $62.99 U.S.D., which is actually quite a bit less than what I paid for it a few years ago... so if you don't have it, ya need it...period. Question: what GandF movie is the following picture from? Cause I have no clue...
The info given for the box set does NOT indicate there is a'Blu-Ray' format option, but there were rumours to that effect floating around a while back...so stay tuned for that. Here's the link to it:

http://turnerclassic.moviesunlimited.com/Product.asp?sku=D68929

ALSO on 10/12/2010, Warner / TCM is releasing a NEW expanded box set of Busby Berkeley movies, entitled "The Busby Berkeley 9-Film Collection", which includes '42nd Street" and "Gold Diggers of 1933", along with, well, 7 OTHER BB films... here's the link to that one:

http://turnerclassic.moviesunlimited.com/Product.asp?sku=D81970

So there ya go for holiday shopping ideas... and, you KNOW a Gingerology post is not complete w/o some GingerPics... so here are a few I dug up, ALL of which are devastating!





Well, hope y'all are are faring a little better health-wise than I, among other aspects of life... and remember, in the midst of it all, it is ALWAYS wise to...

Keep It Gingery!!!

VKMfanHuey
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

...Some WickedAwesome Pics from a Recent Purchase...

...Just received a document I won on Ebay - Strangely enough, it has no title or date, but it is definitely from the late Sixties, as it hits the "Hello, Dolly!" stint she did pretty hard at the back pages.
Now, this "program-style" book, which is most accurately described as a "promotional / biographical" feature, IS autographed by Ginger, which is cool in and of itself - my first autograph from VKM! But the MAIN reason I snagged this book is that it is loaded with cool pics! There are also a few nice articles - the most interesting one is by Lela, describing how Ginger became involved with the Charleston contest which sealed her fate as this cabana boy's eventual and perpetual Boss Lady! I will try to transcribe that or whatever for a future post...
But enough yakking... on to the visuals!

...This is a 'promo' pic from "Kitty Foyle"... quite interesting and really beautiful... there aren't really too many 'serious' (i.e., 'non-smiling') pics of Ginger floating around.


...Speaking of "Kitty", here is one I have never seen from that perfect night in February 1941... it is just after she received the Oscar, and is back at her table with Lela and the boys...

...Now, this picture and the next one are pretty interesting... it is obvious that Ginger knew how to brandish a firearm (see 'Carefree'... "he should be shot down like dogs!!!") ...I know little or nothing about firearms... But, something tells me this isn't her typical garb for skeet shooting...it's a killer pic, tho (no pun intended...)

...THIS one warrants a 'write the caption' contest, with one of those gooberhead hubbies being the all-too-obvious target (pun most definitely intended...)

...This one is pretty cool for two things - first, well, it's an invite to Young Ginger's piano recital - duh! But the 'Lee' middle name phenomenon crops up again... it is described as an 'experimental' name, but does not yield any clues as to its origin... Heck, Ginge must have just liked the way it sounded... that's good enough for Huey, y'all...

...Just a neat tennis pic - one I have not seen before.. I need to compile all of these and do a post on GingerTennis... maybe around Wimbledon Time... dang, I bet she could wield a mean, yet beautiful, racket...

...You know, Ginger has forced me to use the word 'adorable' twice now in recent times... but how ELSE can you describe her in this pic???

...I'm sorry, y'all, but THIS Ginger just totally shakes me to my foundations... the 'middle age' Ginger at peak form... yeah, MAYBE a bit too much mascara or whatever around the eyes, but... nah... she is just out-and-out HAWT in this one... Huey is a MONDO fan... and I LUV her hair style of this era... and how it is darker on bottom, light on top... just magnificent, y'all... Bob, you were one lucky cat... hats off!

Well, that's about it... hope y'all dug these... there were quite a few more in this tome, but most are already familiar to we Gingerologists...

AND, thanks for all the votes about the 'Fall Clothing' pics... the 'Fuzzy Lines' ran away with it... a pretty cool outfit, and really the most 'custom-styled' of the batch... but I am STILL a fan of the first one... you know, the 'middle-age' Ginger thing... yupyupyup...

Keep it Gingery in GingerFall, Y'all!!!
VKMfanHuey
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Awards...Thanks, Y'all!!!

...I TRULY appreciate these, and the kind words regarding this blog...thanks for all the inspiration I have drawn from each of your blog sites, which are all awesome in their unique ways!!!
It is my hope that I can continue to make 'G-ology' interesting and informative regarding the 'Beautiful Science' of VKM, which is SUCH a great topic!!! ...And remember, your comments are what make Gingerology click - so keep cranking them out!

Thanks again, JW

Awarded by Gingerella on 11/18/09 AND by Sally on 01/31/10

Awarded by Gingerella on 11/18/09 AND by Sally on 01/31/10
Thanks, Gingerella and Sally!!!

Awarded by Amanda Cooper on 11/21/09

Awarded by Amanda Cooper on 11/21/09
Thanks, AC!!!

Awarded by Maggie on 02/10/10 AND by Kate Gabrielle on 02/11/10

Awarded by Maggie on 02/10/10 AND by Kate Gabrielle on 02/11/10
Thanks, Maggie and Kate Gabrielle!!!

Awarded by Camille on 03/25/11 AND by Anna on 03/29/11

Awarded by Camille on 03/25/11 AND by Anna on 03/29/11
Thanks, Camille and Anna!!!

Hometowns to Hollywood Busby Berkeley Blogathon 2018

Hometowns to Hollywood Busby Berkeley Blogathon 2018
...including the Gingerology entry of 'Gold Diggers of 1933'...