This Christmas, we celebrate our 10th year as a married couple, as a blended family. My husband Gary, in his own creative way, has created some festive holiday cards over the past decade that express our love of our family, friends and classic film. This year, we decided to go a slightly different direction to celebrate a decade of joy. So here is our twist … Continue reading Merry Christmas from the Pratts
There’s something very charming about an outlaw who shows us his good side. Sure, he breaks laws; but in a pinch, his instinct to do the truly right thing blazes in, just in the nick of time. He’s often the anti-hero with a tough, crusty exterior and vulnerable mush inside. The lovable cad. In John Ford’s technicolor 3 GODFATHERS (1948), based on the 1918 novelette … Continue reading 3 Godfathers
Announcing the SEVENTH ANNUAL What A Character! Blogathon December 14-16, 2018 When you re-watch your favorite films, what keeps you coming back for more? A great story with sharp writing? No doubt. Beautiful costumes, swanky set designs, and stunning cinematography? Most assuredly. But the performances are key to any movie. While we all look forward to the popular leading actors, it is the stand-out, scene-stealing … Continue reading Announcing the 7th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON
The postman always rings twice doesn’t refer to a mail carrier’s methodology of delivery in this 1946 film noir directed by Tay Garnett, starring John Garfield and Lana Turner. This is film noir, friends, so we are addressing the subject of dark and dirty crime. Not just any crime but murder. Mariticide, to be exact. Mariticide is the act of killing one’s husband. Not exactly … Continue reading She Kills Her Husband Once but THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, 1946
“I don’t know what the secret to longevity as an actress is… maybe it’s the audience seeing itself in you.” … Joan Blondell Joanie should know. Joan Blondell, born Rose Joan Blondell on August 30, 1906, in NYC, lived her entire life performing on stage and screen. She died of leukemia on December 25, 1979 in Santa Monica, CA. It is bittersweet to honor this … Continue reading Joan Blondell, Shining Star Forced to be a Satellite
*The following is a guest post by my husband Gary, aka Santa on twitter as @SantaIsThinking I signed up for the What A Character! Blogathon to write a post on one of my favorite character actors, Victor McLaglen (pronounced Muh-clog-len, not Mack-loff-len) because he appears in my favorite movies, adorns one of my walls at home, and reminds me in so many ways of my … Continue reading Victor McLaglen – A Man as Big as the Screen
The day has finally arrived to honor those unsung heroes of the silver screen, the character actor. For the 5th year, the classic film obsessed trio of Aurora aka @CitizenScreen of ONCE UPON A SCREEN, Paula aka @TCM_Party & @Paula_Guthat of PAULA’S CINEMA CLUB and yours truly, Kellee aka @Irishjayhawk66 of OUTSPOKEN & FRECKLED bring you this film community tribute to the marvelous scene-stealers. DAY … Continue reading It’s here! 5th annual WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON: Day 1
“What’s great about being a character actor is you know that you can survive forever. It’s not about the gloss of your eyebrows.” – Martin Short We’re back for a fifth consecutive year to honor the versatility and depth of supporting players with the WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon. Based on a phrase borrowed from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) the WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon is an … Continue reading Announcement: 5th annual WHAT A CHARACTER Blogathon
Traveling across the highways and roads under dark, stormy skies, I recently found my way to Beatrice, Nebraska. As a Beatrice native, attorney by day and film historian by passion, Jeanelle Kleveland shared, “Beatrice’s population was about twelve thousand when I was born and it’s remained about twelve thousand to this day.” While many things about this small Nebraska town appear relatively unchanged over the … Continue reading Hometown Pride Honors Robert Taylor in Beatrice, Nebraska
It’s dark. Too dark to see without assistance from a handy flashlight to confirm the time on his watch. Private dick Philip Marlowe is scouting out the meeting place in a densely wooded area, just off the road. He walks cautiously as dense, smoky fog crawls along the ground, in his tipped fedora and buttoned up trench coat. He hears the snap of a twig … Continue reading The Black Pools of Noir in MURDER, MY SWEET 1944
Outspoken & Freckled 