"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

Barbara La Marr 
Born as Reatha Dale Watson, this becoming silent film star got her start in vaudeville as a comedian named "Billy Devore."  She made headlines when she accused her half-sister of kidnapping her on a three-day car trip.  Charges were dropped, but the publicity was electric and her career soared.

"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

Mabel Normand

Known as the "Queen of Comedy," Mabel is also noteworthy as one of the most powerful women of the silent movie era.  She was a revolutionary comedienne and actress of silent film, the "It Girl" of the early 20th century, and one of the industry's first female screenwriters, producers and directors.

Onscreen she appeared in a dozen commercially successful films, occasionally writing and directing movies as well as sometimes co-writing and co-directing with Charlie Chaplin in films in which they played the lead roles. At the height of her career in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Normand had her own movie studio and production company.

Must-See Movie: Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
My favorite musical of all time, this classic starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor is a great rainy-day movie.

My "Art of Film" class in college had us watch this movie, mostly because the film has some real references to film history. The setting of the musical is Hollywood in 1927-28, when the movie industry was caught up in the transition from silents to talkies. Many silent film stars lost their worth when they could no longer pantomime, and this movie plays upon that era. Also notable in film history is the fact that Nacio Herb Brown's songs from past MGM movies are brought together in to a sort of package musical movie. The movie was built around the list of Brown's songs.

My favorite scene is "Make 'Em Laugh" which has Donald O'Connor doing his famous wall walk-up-flip and other crazy dancing antics that always make me laugh out loud. Debbie Reynolds is also cute as a button when Gene Kelly jumps into her moving Model T to escape crazed fans, and she acts as if he's nobody special.

The film's major plot line is that Debbie Reynold's character, Kathy, must dub over the former silent screen star Lina Lamont because Lamont's voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Ironically, in some of these songs Debbie Reynolds is actually dubbed by another woman, Betty Noyes. Truly an example of life imitating art.

Trivia and historical references aside, the supporting cast is phenomenal, the dancing sequences are outstanding, the songs are timeless, and the entire movie is a great example of the fabulousness of the golden age of Hollywood.

"Va Va Voom" Star of the Day

Norma Shearer
Silent film siren Norma Shearer was nicknamed "The First Lady of MGM," as she was the first female actress in the golden age of the studio. She was spotted by Louis B. Mayer's 'number two' man Irving Thalberg in 1923. So impressed was Thalberg by her unique look and talent that he not only signed her for a multi-year contract, but he married her.

Norma seemed to easily transform into the talkie age of cinema; she got an Academy Award in 1930 for her role in "The Divorcee," and several Oscar nominations after that. In 1936, Irving died. During this time, Norma was working on their best and most expensive venture together, "Marie Antoinette." Some believe that this is her best film.

Through this success, Norma still worried about her appearance. She felt that her face was too round and her legs too big. Her insecurities were compounded when Hollywood began to agree with her, believing that she was only with Thalberg to move ahead. Many fellow actors felt she got roles because of his pull in the studio, especially Joan Crawford, who made life on the set of "The Women" a living hell.

Norma had trouble convincing Hollywood that she was talented, no matter how many Oscar nominations she had received. The public was not open to the idea of her playing Scarlet O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind;" so open were the protests that she turned down the career-defining role.

She retired from the screen in 1942, wishing to live a more private life. She died in 1983 of Alzheimer's and Pneumonia.

I read about Norma Shearer in the book "The Golden Girls of MGM" and fell in love with her unique, fresh face and her almost tragic story. I love her classic beauty and the way she had to prove herself in Hollywood. Looking at her accomplishments, it's obvious that her talent is deeper than we may ever know.

Visit a great tribute website dedicated to her at Classic Movie Favorites, loaded with tons of pictures and information.

If you'd like desktop wallpapers that I made of any "Va Va Voom" Stars, email me!

Must-See Movie: Sunset Blvd

Sunset Blvd. (1950)
What has become one of my new top ten movies has been a long-time favorite in Hollywood, winning Oscars and nominations all over the place.

Gloria Swanson is excellent as the eccentric, bizarre, and needy Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star. (Actual photographs and footage of Swanson's early days in cinema were used in the film.) William Holden plays a screenwriter who is trapped in her web of loneliness and desperation, unknowingly being sucked into her strange world where life is a stage and she's the star. The cameos of classic actors and celebrities of the time make this movie especially delectable...it gives such an authenticity that you feel like Swanson is playing herself - although she is far from a has-been because of this film. The only thing that breaks the authenticity is Holden's narrative, as he is speaking to us beyond the grave.

What intrigues me the most about this movie is how it reminds me of current celebrities, how they can become so self-involved and blind to the outside world. (Tom Cruise *cough cough*) Living under a microscope can distort your perceptions, and Norma Desmond demonstrates this as her insanity grows and her dependence on the company of William Holden becomes fatal.