My Yuletide nominations

[cinaed]

Okay, since we were allowed to nominate six fandoms, I had a lot of fun. My six ended up being:

Baccano (anime)
A Chorus Line (musical)
Jane Yolen - The Young Heroes series
Jonathan Coulton - The Princess Who Saved Herself (song)
Laurence Yep - Chinatown Mysteries series
Nurse Jackie (tv)

I was going to nominate Some Like It Hot and then realized someone else definitely would. :)

Comments

[liviapenn]

Yeah, I have not seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and probably won't, but then again, I prefer caper/heist movies like "Charade" or "How to Steal a Million", so I feel like I'm getting my required recommended dosage of Audrey Hepburn. *G* Have you seen "How to Steal a Million?" Peter O'Toole is deliriously gorgeous. *sighs*

[cinaed]

I have not seen "How To Steal A Million"! I have seen O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia though and loved him, so I will have to find that movie. :)

Ooh, if you like heist movies, I have three recommendations:

-"The Sting" (1973) with Robert Redford and Paul Newman

Summary: In 1930s Chicago, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.

Redford and Newman have excellent chemistry together, and the whole con is interesting.

-"A Big Hand for the Little Lady" (1966) with Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward

Summary: A naive couple and a child arrive to the town on the way to San Antonio, Texas to buy a farm there. There is a poker game between the richest men in the region. The man cannot resist it and though he is a very bad poker player, enters the game betting all the money of his family. In the climax of the game he suffers a heart-attack. His wife then takes his place in the table. That's the only way of recovering their savings. But there is a little problem. Can anybody explain her how to play poker?

This is awesome. The whole cast is great.

-"Trouble in Paradise" (1932) with Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins

Summary: High class European thief Gaston Monescu meets his soul mate Lily, a pickpocket masquerading as a countess. The two join forces and come under the employ of Mme. Colet, the beautiful owner of the Colet perfume company and begin to run a con on her.

Ugh, this is one of my favorites. I actually requested it for Yuletide last year. For one thing, it's pre-Code, so women get to have actual sexualities and, gasp, have sex before marriage and not get a) ruined, b) killed, or c) abandoned for it. It's by Ernst Lubitsch, which means it's funny as hell and has amazing dialogue. (He's also known for The Shop Around the Corner.) Plus, Hopkins and Francis are GORGEOUS.



And then, one for a spy movie that no one but me has probably heard of! It's one of Alfred Hitchcock's early movies:

"The Lady Vanishes" (1938) with Dame May Whitty and Margaret Lockwood

Summary: While traveling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.

In other words, a young woman gets drawn into the world of spies by being at the wrong place at the worst time, and crazy antics follow. It is so good! Of course, I am not certain how available this movie is-- I got it off one of those 20 Movie Packs, this one revolving around Hitchcock. (Oh wait, just checked Amazon, so it does exist on DVD.)

[liviapenn]

EEEEEEEEEEEEE. Okay, number one, those all sound great, but number two, I had no idea Ernst Lubitsch had made a con/caper movie!!!!!!! Especially one about a sexy con artist couple! "Monte Carlo" and "The Love Parade" are two of my *favorite* b&w musical comedies, especially because, like you said, they're pre-Code. So, man, that is totally going on the list.

[cinaed]

...Meanwhile I have never seen "Monte Carlo" or "The Love Parade" so I must find those IMMEDIATELY. I keep eyeing these boxsets on Amazon that are Pre-Code Hollywood collections and making wistful noises.

Because "Trouble in Paradise" is amazing! Gaston and Lily are crazy in love with each other and equally impressed by each other's mad con artist skills-- there's a point where Gaston holds her in his arms and murmurs endearments like, "My sweet little pickpocket." And the woman they are conning is equally badass and confident with her sexuality. It's amazing.

[liviapenn]

Yeah, I'm lucky, my library apparently acquired the ENTIRE Criterion Collection, so that's how I've seen those two. I wish I owned them! They're both hilarious, although "Love Parade" is one of those movies where basically, the entire problem is that the woman out-ranks the man (she is a queen and once they get married, he's only her prince consort) and obviously any relationship with a power differential in favor of the woman is DOOOOOOMED. :O

*makes plans to rent Trouble in Paradise*