A Classic Kiss on Oscar Night

Roman Holiday, 1953

  It's March... grey, dreary, and that in between month when we don't know if mittens or mudboots are called for. The gardens at Camp MP are still sleeping in their messy beds. The world is not happy, the news is beyond comprehension and so much we need to Change! and March! for and CARE about...but sometimes it's OK to 

shut off the newsfeeds and curl up with a good movie!

I believe that what the world needs now...is a good Kiss!

  How to Steal a Million,1966

An Affair to Remember, 1957
 

"You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” Rhett Butler

 

Lady and The Tramp, 1955

 So just in time for Oscar Night a romantic reminder of 

why I'm a Classic movie lover.

Thomas Crown Affair , 1968

Somehow we are missing Romance...we have robots, super duper super heroes,  galaxy fighters and things exploding and imploding but...romance??  Where did it go?

 Holiday, 1938

  “I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”

Bull Durham,1988

Have you noticed kisses don't mean as much anymore in movies.  When you watch a film these days how often is 

THE KISS

 just expected, ho-hum, gratuitous, superfluous and simply  an "is  what it is " non-event.  I think it is sad that romance has disappeared---we know what's going to happen and  it is rarely worth the ticket price when it does.

The Thin Man, 1934

 Maybe we have become jaded by too many kisses, too many scenes that are throw-aways, kisses that are just filling space.  Where's the chemistry, where's the heat, where's the  witty dialogue, where's the soaring music, the anticipation, the drama, the MOMENT.  

I want THE MOMENT!  (Sabrina,1954)

It Happened One Night, 1934 

 SO this Oscar Night I am celebrating with some of my favorite on-screen smooches and some of the best kissy quotes --interesting that films made in much less socially open periods are the ones we remember--iconic kisses that are unforgettable and keep us watching again and again.  So Hollywood listen up--take a lesson from classic films and don't just toss those kisses in wherever and whenever...save them, make them special... and give us back THE MOMENT!

Charade, 1963

 "Aren't you allowed to kiss back?" 
"No.  The doctor said it would be bad for my 
 -- thermostat.
When you come on, you really come on."
         "Well -- come on. "

Ball of Fire, 1941

 "I'm gonna show you what yum-yum is. 
Here's yum...And here's the other yum...And here's yum-yum."

Casablanca, 1942

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."

From Here to Eternity, 1953

" Nobody ever kissed me the way you do."

Roman Holiday, 1953

Summertime, 1955

To Catch a Thief, 1955

 "I've been waiting all day for you to mention that kiss I gave you last night... 
Not only did I enjoy that kiss last night, 
I was awed by the efficiency behind it." 
She replied: "Well, I'm a great believer of getting down to essentials."

North by Northwest, 1959

The Way We Were, 1973

Moonstruck, 1987

Princess Bride, 1987

 “Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The End.”

Skip the Sale...Go on a Holiday-BIG Screen Style!

I know there is some unwritten law that we are supposed to be shopping this weekend...but I am sitting this one out.  Maybe it is the over 1200 emails I have deleted since Tuesday night with HURRY HURRY HURRY sales offers that if I didn't take advantage of

 I would never see such a deal again...until the next day. 

Maybe it is that I don't like the stress of being told SHOP NOW!  or maybe I believe that holiday weekends should be about doing what you want to do. 

 So, I took a Holiday, a Roman Holiday! 

 I have watched Roman Holiday (1953), William Wyler's princess gone AWOL Fairy Tale, a thousand times but never on the BIG screen.  Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies  have a great series showing classic films on big screens nationwide.   I worry that in our on the go world, where we can watch anything on any device no matter how small, that we lose what movie going is all about--it should be an event, and films that were shot to be seen on a big screen should be seen on a big screen.

 When I saw that one of my all time favorite films was being shown, I knew all shopping could wait!  Hepburn, Peck, Rome, big screen...you betcha!

Roman Holiday was Audrey Hepburn's first film...she was not the first choice for the role of "Smitty", the Princess who runs away for a great adventure in Rome.  She runs straight into the arms of Gregory Peck...not a bad day Princess.  Audrey of course owned the screen and became an instant star.  

Gregory Peck had it in his contract that his name would be above the title, but within days of filming he called his agent and told him that billing had to be equal, despite the fact that Peck was the established star, because it was Audrey Hepburn that everyone would be talking about.  Audrey won an Oscar for her role and if I ever doubted why, which I never have, seeing her on a large screen confirmed what Gregory Peck recognized...she was perfection, growing from restless young Princess who just wants to do whatever she likes for a day to a Princess who walks away from love to resume her responsibilities.  

Gregory Peck plays American journalist Joe Bradley who sees a great story, and a good payday, in the Princess he stumbled upon.  He doesn't let it on he knows who she is and accompanies her on her "day-off".  "Anya" aka Princess Anne, buys a pair of espadrilles, gets her haircut, eats an ice cream cone, recklessly rides a Vespa, gets arrested for her driving, goes dancing and eludes the detectives chasing her... and she falls for and kisses Gregory Peck-quite a day!  Joe Bradley in turn falls for "Smitty" and gives up his big paycheck and his big story and his Princess. 

Roman Holiday was filmed entirely on location in Rome and though there is no

 "Happily Ever After" ending, what a grand Vespa ride it is!  

"Rome, by all means Rome.  I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live."