Category Archives: celebration

There once were some winners who …

Posted on by under announcements, celebration, giveaways

… wrote some pretty frickin’ sweet limericks!

Before we (finally) announce the winners of our third-anniversary contest, I just want to thank all of the participants–we had a wide range of entertaining submissions to judge, and it was really difficult to narrow it down to our favorites! I also want to apologize for the delay in announcing the winners; I was unexpectedly called out of town for several days on a personal matter, and blogging unfortunately had to take a back seat to settling some affairs.

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge my co-authors: Carrie, Nikki, and Sarah. Three years, over four hundred and fifty posts, and nearly half a million hits later, it’s still nothing short of pure, unadulterated FUN to write reviews, plan out events, host giveaways, and just completely fangirl out over our favorite movies. I hope there are many more years of blogging awesomeness in our collective future. :D

bette davis typewriter

Okay, now on to why you’re all REALLY here–you want to know who won those delicious, delicious prizes! (Mmm … winning.)

Without further ado …

In third place, with her lovely take on a Preston Sturges screwball classic, is Natalie from In the Mood!

Once was a Lady named Eve
With many a trick up her sleeve.
The sucker did fall,
When he heard her sweet call,
And then, of his senses, took leave.

Natalie wins her choice of either a year’s subscription to Now Playing or a copy of the TCM Classic Movie Trivia book!

*

In second place, with a delightfully creepy limerick honoring the delightfully creepy Vincent Price, is Becky of ClassicBecky’s Brain Food!

The crazed Dr. Phibes, played by Price,
Loved to kill with creative device.
He was mad as a hatter,
But what does that matter?
His methods were all so precise!

Becky wins a copy of the utterly fantastic Kino Buster Keaton Short Films Collection on DVD!

*

And last but certainly not least, the winner of the BIG CLASSIC FILM ENCHILADA (aka the $50 gift card to TCM Shop) is … none other than the woman with whom I (sometimes) share my secret lover, Cary Grant–Jill of Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence! Her ode to Gene Kelly’s posterior garnered the most accolades from the judges (i.e. the lustful-minded gals of this blog) by far:

The man Kelly was known for his class
for women he bowed when he’d pass
When he yelled “Gotta Dance!”
All fell in a trance
Admiring his luscious firm ass.

Congratulations to Jill, Becky, and Natalie, and again, many thanks to everyone who participated and helped spread the word about this contest!

Feeling limerick-al? Win a prize! (Anniversary Contest Reminder)

Posted on by under announcements, celebration, giveaways

Our third-anniversary limerick contest ENDS on Thursday at midnight … and we’ve had exactly one entry so far. Now, I know a lot of you folks out there are veritable EMPERORS of procrastination like myself–but c’mon, guys and gals, put on your poetical hats and get those limericks posted pronto so we can give away these awesome prizes!

Since it’s hardly fair that we ask you to contribute without throwing out a few of our own efforts, here’s a couple of limericks from the dubious talents of your True Classics crew …

Everyone in Frisco, it seems
Seeks the jeweled bird that gleams.
But in the end, it’s for naught
For the thing they all sought
Is only the stuff of dreams.

(The Maltese Falcon, 1941)

 

An overnight mother is driven
To return the baby she’s given
But the babe is appealing,
And maternal, she’s feeling,
So she keeps it–AND David Niven!

(Bachelor Mother, 1939)

 

Okay, so this last one, revolving around one of the most famous lines in movie history, is … well, it’s pretty damn raunchy (and yes, it came directly from the not-so-beautiful mind of yours truly). And because of that, I’ve whited it out so as not to offend anyone who might not care to read it. Just highlight the white space below and you’ll be able to see it. (And if you’re offended after the fact, well, that’s not my fault, because I just warned you!)

“Rosebud,” they said in the obit,
Was the last word his voice ever writ.
They all searched in vain
For the secret of Kane,
Not knowing they all sought a clit.

(Citizen Kane, 1941)

(For those wondering what this means, this article explains it pretty well.)

So now it’s YOUR turn … give it your best shot, and get rhymin’! Entries must be posted by midnight on November 29th. And make sure to send us an email or leave a comment on this post once your entry is complete!

Edward Lear would be so proud. (Or not.)

Posted on by under announcements, celebration, giveaways

There once were four bloggers who sought
To host a fun contest, and thought,
“Haikus have been done,
And though they’re much fun,
it’s LIMERICKS we’d like to see wrought!”

I think you know what’s coming …

Yes, boys and girls, we’ve decided to have a good time with this year’s anniversary contest (cue the diabolical laughter), and ask you to put on your creative thinking caps to WOW us with a custom-crafted classic movie limerick!

The rules for this contest are simple: write a limerick that is related to classic film in some form or fashion (for the purposes of this contest–and to allow a wider choice of topics–we will define a “classic” film as anything released in or prior to 1982). Post the limerick on your blog and include a link to this page. Then let us know about your entry by either emailing us the link, leaving a comment on this post, or tweeting the link to @trueclassics.

Your limerick can be funny or moving, clean or obscene (as, let’s face it, most good limericks are). Just have fun with it! There are no limits to your creativity with this contest–well, except for the ones set by the form itself (if you need a refresher on what constitutes “limerical form,” so to speak, the Wikipedia entry on the style is helpful).

There’s no limit to the number of limericks you can submit for this contest, so feel free to let your inner poet loose as many times as you like. After all, more entries = greater odds that you’ll win a prize!

And speaking of prizes, you may be asking yourself, “Self, what do you suppose those loopy True Classics gals will give me, should I create the awesomest classic film-related limerick in all the land?”

Well, here’s what’s up for grabs!

Our first-place winner will receive a $50 gift card to the TCM Shop, just in time for Christmas shopping! (Of course, you could always just spend all of that on yourself. We won’t tell.)

Our second-place winner will receive a copy of the fantastic Buster Keaton–The Short Films Collection: 1920-1923 DVD box set from Kino! (This set is an awesome–and necessary–addition to any film fan’s collection.)

And for our third-place winner, we have a choice of either a copy of the TCM Classic Movie Trivia book OR a one-year subscription to Now Playing! (Both are must-haves for the modern classic movie fan!)

[Note: in order to win a prize, you must be a resident of the United States or Canada.]

All entries must be posted on your blog by midnight CST on November 29th, and any links should be emailed/posted/tweeted to us by that deadline. The judging period will last from November 30th to December 2nd. The winners will be announced on our site on Monday, December 3rd!

If you have any questions about this contest or the rules, leave a comment on this post or email us at trueclassicsblog (at) gmail dot com.

Thanks in advance for helping us celebrate three years of blogging here at True Classics!

 

An (admittedly long-winded) anniversary retrospective.

Posted on by under celebration

Today marks the two-year anniversary of our first post here at True Classics!

When Carrie and I first toyed with the idea of starting a classic movie blog, it seemed like a crazy thought. Both of us were in graduate school at the time, and I wondered if anyone would even be interested in reading what we have to say, considering the number of truly excellent classic film blogs already populating the blogosphere. But it has turned out to be more rewarding than I could have ever anticipated, and I’m so glad we took the plunge–and that we eventually coerced Nikki into joining our crazy crew. :)

The past year in particular has been a great one for True Classics. Taking a cue from other bloggers who’ve recently celebrated their own anniversaries, here’s a month-by-month breakdown of our “greatest hits” (so to speak):

December 2010: We celebrated Christmas by focusing on several of our favorite  holiday films. Among them: Nikki told us about some of her favorite 80s Christmas flicks, Carrie delved into the reasons why White Christmas is one of her go-to holiday classics, and Brandie listed some of her favorite “new” classics from recent years.

~~~

January 2011: We participated in CMBA’s first blogathon on the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock with a post on the endangered female trope exemplified by Dial M for Murder. We also kicked off our recurring series “Who’s That Girl?” with an entry on supporting actress Ruth Hussey.

~~~

February 2011: Along with most other classic film aficionados, we thoroughly enjoyed TCM’s annual 31 Days of Oscar celebration by recommending some of our favorites from each day’s programming schedule. We participated in the blogathon For the Love of Film (Noir) with a post on Lured. Brandie also wrote an in-depth examination of censorship, specifically in reference to Elia Kazan’s adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.

~~~

March 2011: We participated in the Jean Harlow centennial blogathon with a post on Libeled Lady. In honor of Women’s History Month, Brandie wrote a series of posts about women in early Hollywood. Nikki continued our Saturday Morning Cartoons tribute to the Disney canon with a great post on Winnie the Pooh. Carrie paid tribute to the recently-departed Elizabeth Taylor. Brandie crafted her “Cinematic Alphabet.”

~~~

April 2011: Taking a cue from R.D. Finch, we listed our favorite classic movie performances by actors and actresses. We moved into the Disney Renaissance era in Saturday Morning Cartoons with a look at The Little Mermaid. We resumed our Feminist Fridays series with an examination of Bette Davis’ role in Mrs. Skeffington.

~~~

May 2011: We participated in CMBA’s second blogathon, the movies of 1939, with an entry on Golden Boy. Brandie’s Psycho-inspired haiku was chosen as one of the runners-up in the Best for Film Hollywood Haiku competition. We were also thrilled to be nominated for the LAMMY for Best Classic Movie Blog from the Large Association of Movie Blogs!

~~~

June 2011: Brandie cooked up a batch of classic movie “personality soup.” We took some time to critique TIME‘s recent “best” animation list. Brandie wrapped up the month by contributing a piece on her beloved Cary Grant for the Queer Blogathon.

~~~

July 2011: We celebrated the centenary of one of Brandie’s favorite gals, Ginger Rogers. We contributed a post to the Vivien Leigh-Laurence Olivier Appreciation Blogathon, focusing on Olivier’s performance in Rebecca. And we concluded the month with a contribution to the 50s Monster Movie blogathon on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

~~~

August 2011: The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our hosting of the Loving Lucy Blogathon, a celebration of Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday, which drew participation from 41 wonderful bloggers. We also wrote a post for the Ida Lupino blogathon on Devotion. Brandie contributed the first of two posts to the musicals countdown at Wonders in the Dark. And after almost a year, we finally wrapped up our Saturday Morning Cartoons examination of the Disney canon with a look at Tarzan.

~~~

September 2011:  September was the month of the blogathon: we participated in no fewer than four, including the Margaret Lockwood blogathon, the CMBA Guilty Pleasures blogathon, the Fashion in Film blogathon, and the Darling Deborah blogathon. Brandie’s second contribution to the Wonders in the Dark musicals countdown was posted. And we kicked off another feature in our Saturday Morning Cartoons series, Pioneers of Animation.

~~~

October 2011: We started off the month participating in two more blogathons: the Dick Van Dyke anniversary blogathon, and the Carole Lombard blogathon. We kicked in a post for Project Buster in honor of Keaton’s influential career. And to top it off, we won two CiMBA awards from the Classic Movie Blog Association!

~~~

November 2011: We threw our hats into even more blogathon rings, contributing posts to the For the Boys event and the Moustaches for Movember blogathon. And to put a nice little bow on the year, we just wrapped up the Great Citizen Kane Debate, which on a personal level raised some very interesting questions (and some slight changes in perspective) for this longtime Kane non-fan.

~~~

All in all, it has been quite a wonderful year for us. Stats-wise, over the past year, we received 181,300 hits, for a grand total of 235,600 hits in the two years since we began the blog. That’s positively mind-boggling, y’all!

Additionally, we’ve received 958 comments (and only 240 of those, surprisingly enough, have been Brandie!). Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment on our posts, particularly our most frequent commenters: Caftan Woman, Caroline (Garbo Laughs), ClassicBecky, R.D. Finch (The Movie Projector), and The Lady Eve.  We can’t tell you how much we value your thoughts and feedback on our posts!

Here’s hoping the next year is filled with as much joy and fun as the past year has been!

We’re in anniversary mode!

Posted on by under announcements, celebration, great citizen kane debate

Here at True Classics, we’re celebrating two major hallmarks: our 300th post (today!), and our upcoming two-year anniversary in November!

And I say, what better way to celebrate than to give stuff away???

Well, I say “give away” when I really mean “participate in an awesome contest and WIN stuff!”

Let’s begin with a little back story. Last year, I found myself in a bit of hot water on Twitter when I said the thing that, as a classic movie fan, you’re not really supposed to say: I do not particularly like Citizen Kane.

Pause for shocked gasps and/or sympathetic nods.

Yes, it’s true. I don’t really enjoy Kane. I understand its importance as an influential, groundbreaking film from a technical perspective–in its construction, its cinematography, its innovative use of techniques such as flashback and montage, etc.–but though I have forced myself to watch this movie half a dozen times in various attempts to try to change my own mind, I just don’t LIKE it. And I do not agree with the prevailing critical opinion that it’s the best movie ever made. I think that, hands down, that particular title belongs to Transformers.

Kidding. Seriously kidding. To me, it’s actually Casablanca.

Admitting my dislike for Kane had an unforeseen side effect in that it fired up a debate among fellow film bloggers and critics on Twitter. While I had my share of support, there were quite a few others whose judgment of my admission were blunt and, in some cases, really harsh (one blogger even re-tweeted my post with a derisive note about my “uninformed” critical opinion–at which point I thought, “Wow–I’m a critic now?? I didn’t even have to get a degree for that. Sweet!”). All things considered, though, I wasn’t really offended, because if I have learned anything in my time as a blogger, it’s that people tend to get defensive as HELL about their favorites, and you just have to roll with it.

But it did get me thinking that it might be interesting to host a debate someday and really suss out folks’ opinions on the Kane issue.

Thus:

The Great Citizen Kane Debate!

Here’s your chance to either defend Kane’s position as King of the Cinematic Mountain, or to knock it off its storied pedestal. At some point during the next month (until November 13th), put up a post on your blog either explaining why Kane deserves to be numero uno, or lay out your reasons why it is overrated. And if you are among those who feel that Kane is not the best movie of all time, tell us which film really IS, in your opinion, and defend your choice!

The entries will be judged by Carrie, Nikki, myself, and a couple of guest judges whom we haven’t determined yet. We’ll be looking at several factors, but first and foremost, we’re looking for enthusiastic, informative, and entertaining entries that will engage us–and your readers–in lively discussion. And we will award prizes to our top three favorites entries!

What kind of prizes, you may ask?

Well, should the grand-prize winner be one of the Kane faithful, he/she will win a brand-spanking-new copy of the Citizen Kane 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray!

This thing comes chock-full of goodies, including accompanying booklets, lobby card reproductions, and numerous extras to indulge your love of all things Kane.

Now, if the grand-prize winner is NOT of the Kane persuasion (or should he/she already own the Blu-ray), we’re not going to force this movie upon you. Therefore, if you should so choose, we have a grab-bag of three DVDs from the TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection series for you:

Romantic Comedies (Adam’s Rib, Woman of the Year, The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby);

The Best Picture Winners (Casablanca, Gigi, An American in Paris, Mrs. Miniver); and,

Murder Mysteries (The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Dial M for Murder, The Postman Always Rings Twice)

We also have some runner-up prizes on tap. For the second-place winner, we have a copy of TCM’s newest book, Classic Movie Trivia, which features over 4000 questions for your trivia pleasure.

And for the third-place winner, we have a year’s subscription to TCM’s wonderful monthly magazine, Now Playing!

We will announce the winners here on November 30th (which, not so coincidentally, is the date of our two-year anniversary!).

We think this is a great way to celebrate our blogiversary (bloggiversary?), and we hope you’ll join us and contribute a piece for the contest. If you ARE interested in participating, leave a comment here or email us at trueclassicsblog (at) gmail dot com!

Happy birthday, cohorts!

Posted on by under celebration, classic cartoons, classic disney, saturday morning cartoons

Today, my blog partners Carrie and Nikki celebrate their (mmph mmphth) birthday! Yes, they were born on the exact same day on the exact same year (and no, they aren’t twins).

To celebrate the occasion, for today’s Saturday Morning Cartoons entry, I’m posting the appropriately-titled Disney short  ”Donald’s Happy Birthday” from 1949. Enjoy!

Wishing a very happy day for two of the loveliest people I know. I’m looking forward to seeing both of you in a couple of weeks!  :)

[P.S. Our next post will be our 300th on this blog!!]

Thankful.

Posted on by under celebration, giving thanks, robert osborne

As a classic movie fan, what am I thankful for?

Well, for one, I am thankful for this man …

… who makes watching TCM even more of an absolute delight than it would be otherwise.

Speaking of the bestest cable channel EVARRRR … I am thankful that the Powers That Be at TCM continue to produce wonderful original programming (like the ongoing Movie Stars and Moguls series) along with showing the best films that the Golden Age has to offer. Thank you for not interrupting my classics with ten-minute long commercial breaks (ahem*AMC*ahem) selling the latest products to bulk up my bust line or keep my partner revving long into the night. And along those lines, I’m ever glad to see Netflix streaming some great classic films with their whole “watch it now” service. It’s the best ten bucks a month you could ever spend.

I’m especially thankful for my blog partners, Carrie and Nikki, who make this entire undertaking so much fun. Seriously–you should see some of the long-ass emails we shoot back and forth every week as we plan more shenanigans for this blog (actually, cancel that–nothing to see here, folks).

I am thankful for the opportunity to write about the ones I love (and–let’s face it–the ones who set my teeth on edge) every week on this blog. And I’m doubly thankful that we have made some great blog and Twitter friends over the past year. Yes, next week marks our one-year anniversary here at True Classics, and I’m so glad we’ve made it this far. It’s been a fantastic year here–I’ve seen more movies than ever before, we’ve been able to maintain a semi-regular posting schedule, and I have personally learned more than I can say about the world of classic film, especially from reading the amazing blogs listed to the left in our blogroll.

Thank you, fantabulous readers, for being nothing less than the epitome of bodaciousness (I think I just made up that word, but it still works). In the words of that brilliant dramatic actress of the screen, Lina Lamont, the fact that you read our ramblings every week “makes us feel as though our hard work ain’t been in vain for nothing.”

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

–Brandie  :)

Happy day.

Posted on by under celebration, classic disney

Yesterday was a very big day among the True Classics crew, as it marked Carrie’s and Nikki’s birthday!!

Yes, Carrie and Nikki are birthday twins, born on the exact same day and year. And Nikki is visiting this weekend to celebrate, and I get to actually lay eyes on my buddies for the first time in a while, so today will be a merry day indeed.

Or a very merry UN-day …

(You know I’ve been dying to do this. And since it’s True Classics’ DDD–Designated Disney Day–it’s all the more appropriate.)

And a-one,

And a-two–

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa very merry unbirthday
To me!
To who?
To me!
Oh, you!

A very merry unbirthday
To you!
Who, me?
To you!
Oh, me!

Let’s all congratulate us with another cup of tea!
A very merry unbirthday to you!

Now statistics prove–
Prove that you’ve one birthday–
Imagine just one birthday every year–
Ah, but there are 364 unbirthdays
Precisely why we’re gathered here to cheer!

A very merry unbirthday!
To me?
To you!
A very merry unbirthday!
For me?
For you!
Now blow the candle out, my dear
And make your wish come true!
A very merry unbirthday to you!

Happy (un)birthday to two of the best people I know!

Love,
Cupcake
:)