Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2009
Miss Lillian Wells
These great vintage costume pictures are great!
Style – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & Bing Crosby – 1964
September 11, 2009
You’ve either got, or you haven’t go style. If you got it you stand out a mile!
Great number from the 1964 film “Robin & the Seven Hoods” featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby.
Destination Moon – 1950
August 21, 2009
It’s pretty amazing what you can buy on Amazon for $3. Destination Moon is one of those great finds. It’s one of the first space exploration movies that took into consideration the prospect, technology, and problems of space travel (Fritz Lang’s “Frau Im Mond” also attempted this in 1929 although little was know about feasible space travel.) The film was produced by George Pál, who later produced “When Worlds Collide”, “The War of the Worlds”, and “The Time Machine”. The film won the Academy Award for best visual effects in 1950!
I even found some great stills in the LIFE photography archive! The vision of space suits in the future is AWESOME!
All Night Long – 1962
August 7, 2009
Let’s keep the jazz posts rolling…
Skipper Bartlett, the man behind the amazing blog “Like…Dreamsville”, recently posted some great screen shots from the 1962 British film “All Night Long”. The film is a noir style adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. After searching high and low, I was finally able to snag a copy. The film features appearances by jazz legends like Dave Brubeck (who performs “Blue Rondo a la Turk”), Charles Mingus, and Johnny Dankworth. It also features Patrick Mcgoohan on skins (rumor is that he locked himself in a room with a drum set and practiced for months before shooting the scene) This film is classic cool!
The Beat Generation in Europe
June 7, 2009
Rebellious youth, loud jazz, sex, drugs, and cigarettes! Let’s jive Daddy-O! Opening credits from Edmond T Gréville’s 1960 British film “Beat Girl”. Gillian Hills is SMOKING in this clip!
Beat poet William Pryor had some amazing photos of him and his friends running around Europe in the 1960’s. They are definitely very cool.
I love the bidet
The Euro-Invasion was also full blown with French teen pop singers like Francoise Hardy and France Gall.
French teen pop singer Francoise Hardy
France Gall’s “Laisse Tomber Les Filles”:
Benny Waters plays in Paris Cafe - Photo by Harold Chapman
Beat Girls competing for the title of "Miss Beatnik" - San Francisco 1959
12 Angry Men – 1957
March 7, 2009
I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies “12 Angry Men” this past week. It was exciting to watch because I haven’t seen it in several years. I almost forgot how stylish the movie was. The 12 jurors all have impeccable style – french cuffs, white oxford, excessive smoking, and skinny ties. This movie is required viewing for high school government classes, but if that was the last time you saw it, I definitely recommend watching it again.
Mon Oncle – 1958 – The Most Modern Movie Ever?
February 28, 2009
Mon Oncle is a French comedic film from 1958 by director Jacques Tati. The film deals with France’s post war obesession with modern architecture. The main character, Monsuier Hulot is a charming gentleman who gets himself into some interesting situations and is terribly awkward in the modern space. The sets, landscaping, and furniture is unbelieveable! There is a great running gag throughout the film involving a fish fountain that is only turned on when important guests arrive. Larry Weinberg has a great article on the interior design of this film on Interior Design.net.
The Arpel's Home
The Plastac Factory office
Jouve vase on the table
Staircase and malm fireplace
Awesome rocking chair and great landscaping with colored gravel
Amazing Harper sofa
Busby Berkeley – Amazing Choreography!
February 25, 2009
Image: Google Images
Busby Berkeley was a movie director and musical choreographer from the late 1920’s – 1970’s. His most famous work was during the 1930’s. He was known for his large extravagant sets and aerial shots of showgirls creating kaleidoscopic effects in camera. Below are some great stills from various films along with a clip from the 1934 film “Dames”. I found these images on Google Images.
La Jetee – 1962
February 15, 2009
La Jetee is a Frence black and white short science fiction film by Chris Marker from 1962. The film is constructed entirely of still images and tells a tale of love during a post nuclear war experiment in time travel. The short movie in it’s entirety below is dubbed in English; but it’s much better in Frence.
How to be Well Groomed – PSA from 1949
January 19, 2009
This is great!
