Tag Archives: Joan Crawford

Various Movies on Monstrous Monday

Posted on May 1, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m sure nobody expected me to get my act together overnight.  If you did, well, you realize you were setting yourself up for disappointment, do you not?  No matter.  We all have foolish expectations from time to time.

All this by way of introduction to another Monstrous Monday.  My only decision now is whether to use repeat monsters or search for new pictures to share.  I think I’ll look for old and try to think of new things to say about them.

Here’s a double bill I never thought of.

I do not remember why I downloaded this shot or when I used it.  Trog, for the uninitiated, is Joan Crawford’s last movie.  It is not my favorite cheesy horror movie featuring Crawford.  And before anybody hazards a guess, neither is Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.  I don’t think I have ever seen Taste the Blood of Dracula, although I have seen a few Hammer Dracula movies starring Christopher Lee.  I understand he kept saying each one was his last, but the studio would talk him into the next, often by pointing out how many people would get work thereby.  If that is true, it gives me quite a good opinion of Lee, even outside of his acting prowess.

“Did you think I would not pop in?”

What’s a Monstrous Monday without my favorite guy, Nosferatu?

He only looks harmless.

I end with a monster of the human variety, Robert Walker as Bruno in Strangers on a Train, on the right.  The other guy, looking a little apprehensive (and no idea yet how right he is to be so!) is Farley Granger as Guy Haines.  Good movie.  I’ll have to give it another watch soon.  But not on a double bill with Trog.

 

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Oh, Snap! No Movies to Watch!

Posted on February 26, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Who, me? Write a blog post?

I had the distinct urge to open with a picture of Nosferatu.  It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and this post is going to be foolish, short on substance, but possibly long on monster movie pictures.  I offer no excuse for my perfidy (isn’t that a nice word?) but will drive on with the post.

“You don’t like my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post?”

This is blurrier than the picture of Joan Crawford with an ax that I usually post.  However, this one does not have the silly caption about giving Mommy the candy.  Sometimes when I watch a movie like Straitjacket, that I love to pop in periodically, I feel a little sad, because I have to wait a certain amount of time before I watch it again.  I’m in the mood lately that I only want to watch all my old favorite movies.  It is fortunate that I have a lot of old, favorite movies.  However, the selection is not infinite.

Now there’s a photo montage!

It is not yet time to watch House on Haunted Hill either.  I stole the above from a group I recently joined about William Castle, one of my most admired people.  I do not have nearly enough William Castle movies in my collection.

Most probably I will end the day, as I end many Sunday, by watching Snapped. And that is not bad for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Hope to see you all on Middle-aged Musings Monday.

When I snap, it usually means something else. Just saying.

 

 

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We Went with Murder

Posted on February 12, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

When my husband Steven and I debated what movies to watch this afternoon, I said, “Murder or monsters.”  I thought that would make a good blog post title, then I decided to go with the above.  I hope I made the right decision.

Remember cigarette lighters? I remember my grandmother having one.

Our first movie was Strangers on a Train, a Hitchcock I am especially fond of.  I like that Farley Granger, who also starred in Rope, one of my all-time favorites.  He was a very good-looking young man, but in the extras of Rope, I see he became this really cool-looking older guy.  He looked like somebody you would enjoy to hang out with.  Alas, I never got the chance.  So many cool people to hang out with.  So little opportunity to do so.  But I must not wax philosophical on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

Looks sexy and mysterious, no?

After Strangers and dinner (roasted eggplant, yum!), we decided on A Perfect Murder, a rather stylish tale of suspense. So we have had two movies involving murder, and neither were mystery but were fine stories of suspense.  What direction shall we go in next?  The same?  Different?  Murder suspense, murder mystery, or maybe my original choice, monster?  Last night we opted for suspense noir, with Sudden Fear.  Joan Crawford and Gloria Grahame, what’s not to like?

“So pleased to meet you. Which of us will kill the other?”

You can’t see Gloria Grahame so good in this picture, but it’s a nice shot of Crawford and of the other point in the triangle, Jack Palance.  I confess to not being a particular fan of Palance, but that is not important now.  What is important now is that I am over 250 words on my blog post.  Quite respectable for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I must get on with fixing my husband some dessert.

 

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Severed Head Saturday?

Posted on February 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

What can I say, I like movies where somebody loses his head.  Not ALL movies where that happens, of course.  I don’t need to see the blood spurting out or anything really disgusting like that.  I am not a fan of the graphic violence.  And I like people to get their heads chopped off for a good reason, like greed, jealousy or being blackmailed.  Come to think of it, I always prefer murder for a reason, be it a movie, novel or true crime show.  You know, not some psycho, weirdo serial killer.  But I digress.

I had started to write a cooking post for tonight, and I have a couple of local business shout-outs I could write.  But I let it go too late in the day, and I’m tired.  We are looking at a Forensic Files right now (murder for the reason of greed, but not by losing a head).  Then we will put in a movie.  My vote is for Strait Jacket. I am in a William Castle kind of a mood, and, as I said to begin with, I like movies with severed heads.

Of course, it isn’t all severed heads with Mr. Castle.

And here’s the showman himself.  I never heard what kind of lobby gimmick if any he included with this flick.  That might be a good thing to research sometime.  I wonder if anybody has written a definitive biography of William Castle.  I’ll have to check.

The caption is not a line from the movie, or even anything to do with the movie, but I kind of like it.

Of course another reason to watch Strait Jacket is the wonderful Joan Crawford.  She is very good in the part, and I have to respect an actress who takes parts in cheesy horror movies in order to keep working.  And what’s wrong with cheesy horror movies anyways?  I find them more entertaining than a lot of Oscar bait.  But that’s a whole other blog post.  Happy Saturday, everybody.

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Did You See What I Did?

Posted on January 24, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is getting to be a bad habit for me to miss a day of posting then make two posts the next day.  In my defense, I was having such a fine time yesterday watching cheesy movies with my husband, Steven, I just kept going with it till I was too tired and lazy.  OK, that was a lousy defense. I’ll share a couple of monster movie pictures, hit publish, and try for a Mohawk Valley adventure later on for a better blog post today.

Gee I wish I’d have said that.

This photo was on one of my monster movie pages, but the comments (including mine) also made a lot of puns, some of them rather racy.  I suggested we watch The Brain That Wouldn’t Die first, for cheesy fun on a rainy day.  It is really better to watch movies on a rainy day at our house, because our television is in between two windows which have rather inadequate curtains.  At least, I guess they are adequate, because nobody can see in, and it is nice for the most part that they let sunlight in, oh, never mind about my curtains, let’s go on with the monster movies.

He looked considerably less distinguished as the vampire.

Next I suggested something from our DVD Collection of 50 Horror Classics (they use the term loosely).  We chose Dead Men Walk, starring the “marvelously theatrical” George Zucco (that is how he is described in one of the movie summaries).  I could not find a picture of the movie (well I can’t spend all day looking for pictures, you know I am not adept at internet searches), so I settled for one of Zucco.

Anyways, that movie was disappointingly, so Steven wanted something that moved a little faster.  I wanted to continue with the cheese theme, so we settled on I Saw What You Did, a William Castle production with Joan Crawford.  Steven saw it at the drive-in back in the day.  He subsequently called a neighbor’s house, which was situated so they could see through the windows.  His sister, Ruby, answered the phone and Steven whispered, “I saw what you did, and I know who you are.”  Ruby was startled.  Last night I double dog dared him to repeat the prank.  He dialed Ruby’s number, but when she picked up he said, “Hi, Ruby.”

Oh, she’s mad.

You can’t see it so well in the picture, but it’s a really awesome necklace.  After that movie, we watched a Dateline On Demand.  Some days I just can’t get enough murder and mayhem.

 

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Bette and Joan on Tired Tuesday

Posted on January 17, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve got the I CAN’T POST THAT disease,  also known as the Type It In Backspace It Out disease.

They look how I feel.

When in doubt, post a picture.  I confess to not being a great fan of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? although I adore both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, as well as old horror movies.  You may ask me, what’s that all about? But I will not have a good answer.  After all, one can’t like everything.

“I can just about spit in your eye!”

I may not have that quote right, but here is Davis in a movie I thoroughly enjoy, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which ironically enough (given my enjoyment of one and dislike of the other) was originally titled Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?  I read all about it in a wonderful book called The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine.  Ooh, now I should find a picture of Crawford in a movie I like, preferably horror.  How about Straitjacket?

The caption is not a line from the movie. Also, Miss Crawford did not appreciate being referred to as a “broad.”

I may flatter myself, but I think this is turning out to be a not bad silly post. I haven’t even mentioned my headache (that was one of the lines I typed in and backspaced out, as mentioned earlier) (oops.  Well, go ahead and judge me for whining).  I’ll keep it short and end with another favorite picture.

She really lost her head over that movie.

Happy Tuesday, everybody.

 

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Sorry, Mr. Lee

Posted on November 26, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Alas, I did not participate in Shop Small Saturday, so I cannot do a post plugging local businesses. I went running this morning, so I could have done Saturday Running Commentary.  And I am going to cook something for dinner, so I could yet do a cooking post.  But here I sit, wanting to get my post done and over with, and I’m just watching, in the most desultory fashion imaginable, a Hammer Horror film I DVR’d in October.

He looks so horrified by the cross. Do you suppose he went to Catholic school?

Who doesn’t love a Hammer Horror film with Christopher Lee as Count Dracula?  Well, Lee himself, as I learned in Ben Mankiewicz’s pre-movie commentary.  As it happens, I am not paying a great deal of attention to it myself, even less so than usual, which regular readers know is very little indeed.  I’m just not in the mood.  So obviously I cannot do a real write-up as I enjoy doing, necessitating a spoiler alert. I did a quick search of Facebook for public pictures, though, to punch up what I do post.

He looks as if he is rather relishing the role in this shot.

 

Dracula must look after his health, after all.

 

What a double bill!

I would not have thought of putting Trog with Taste the Blood of Dracula.  Steven and I watched Trog some years ago, back in the days of video stores.   It was Joan Crawford’s final picture, so we watched it to show respect.  There isn’t really much other reason to watch it, if I recall correctly.  Still, if it shows up on TCM I will DVR it.  Maybe I’ll let it play while I type a blog post.

 

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Monday Movie Matinee

Posted on November 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

That title is purely for alliterative purposes and not an accurate reflection of this post’s contents.  At least, I will talk about a movie, and today is Monday.  It was a little after matinee hours when we watched the movie, and in fact we watched it on Sunday.  OK, I’m not even going to talk that much about the movie.  This is going to be a really stupid post, but at least I will try my hardest NOT to whine about how I can’t write a decent post today.

We all know I love cheesy movies.  It should come as no surprise, then, that I adore William Castle.  I adore him not only for the cheese factor in his flicks, though:  he is ENTERTAINING!  The man truly loved his audiences and intended to give them a thrill.  I am slowly acquiring a collection of DVDs of Castle movies.  Recently Steven gave me I Saw What You Did (1965), starring the inimitable Joan Crawford.  We watched it yesterday, when I had finished swooning over my blog post.

I don’t know why there are two Joans.

I’ve used this photo before, mostly for the gorgeous necklace.  That is a necklace to die for, or to kill for, or, you know, to find somewhere and pay money for.  Crawford’s part in this movie is really not all that major or even pivotal (my favorite description of a small role).  But it’s Joan Crawford.  I gotta love a movie with Joan Crawford.

Look, there’s that necklace again!

Now that I think of it, Crawford’s role is pivotal, because…  wait a minute.  I did not include a spoiler alert.  I won’t put one in now.  Watch I Saw What You Did, the 1965 version.  It’s a fun flick.  William Castle, I salute you.

Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun, too?

I close with a picture of the master himself.  I may watch another William Castle movie tonight.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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Lame Post Friday with Joan

Posted on October 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

According to the Facebook page I stole this from, the left is the original and the right is photo-shopped.

I am neglecting to make my Friday Lame Post, because I am watching I Saw What You Did, produced and directed by William Castle and starring Joan Crawford.  This photo is the only one I could find from the movie.  Don’t you just love that necklace?  I do.  Speaking of Joan…

Personally, I like the picture better without the caption, but Facebook thieves cannot be choosers.

Under the heading Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, I used this photo in this blog as well as for a Facebook profile picture.  The shot is from the William Castle movie Straitjacket, another favorite of ours.  I personally am trying NOT to eat candy.  You can probably imagine how well that is going.

I found “NINA”!

Another picture of Joan: here she is with Bette Davis in a Hirschfeld drawing of them as their characters in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?  For all I love horror movies and Bette and Joan, I don’t love that movie.  Maybe if I watched it again.  Sometimes you have to watch a movie more than once and let it grow on you.  But not like a fungus.

Anyways, this is my Friday Lame Post for the week.  I’m busy watching Halloween movies.

 

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Happy Mother’s Day from Me and Joan

Posted on May 15, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

A very Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers everywhere, most especially to my own very wonderful Mom.  I also send prayers and good thoughts out to all who are celebrating Mother’s Day without their mother.   I send love and respect to those who through choice or circumstance are not mothers. I am feeling tired and melancholy this afternoon, but one must make a blog post every day when one is me.  When other people are feeling down, I never can find the right words of wisdom and comfort.  All I can manage is to make stupid jokes in hopes that a little humor will take their minds off their troubles.  With that in mind, I submit the following picture I have used before.

In my defense, I do like candy.

Yes, it is Mommy, Dearest herself, Joan Crawford.  The picture is from a fine chunk of cheddar (that is, a cheesy horror movie) from William Castle, Straitjacket.  In the movie, Crawford plays a mother who also does not the set best example of maternity.  More than that I won’t say, though, in case you  have not seen the movie.  Perhaps it is one to screen in honor of the day.  It would also make this a Severed Head Sunday, one of my favorite kinds of Sunday.

So this is my short, silly post.  We’ll call it a Wrist to Forehead Sunday and hit publish.  I shall publish a post again tomorrow, and I hope it will not be Melancholy Monday.

 

 

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