No Do Dankes: The Golden Age

Now perhaps it’s because it’s Christmastime - the most wonderful time of the year – but I haven’t been super duper motivated to talk shit. Shocking! So I am thinking of instituting a once weekly “Do Dankes” into the ole blog regime. Thoughts?

(A disclaimer: I’m not sure how long this is going to last. After all, it is much easier to frown and not bother turning it upside down.)

I can think of no better topic to Do Dankes! than old movies. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I’ve been watching nada but classics for the past month.

This isn’t necessarily a newsflash. I’ve always loved old movies. When I was little it was The Wizard of Oz and Pollyanna.

Then there was my Marilyn Monroe phase.

Proceeded by my Audrey Hepburn stage.

Of course let’s not forget those leading men! Cary Grant. James Stewart. Gary Cooper. sigh.sigh.sigh.

Alas, never in a million would I have foreseen this Netflix n’ TCM-old-movie-full-on-obsession. It’s out of control.

The aura surrounding old movies is just so....so...glamorous. Otherworldly, even.

I wouldn’t call it escapism - at least not in a surreal-universe kind of way.

But getting lost in a classic film slows your roll. It forces you to realize what a crazy (albeit sometimes vastly more convenient) world we live in - a world without iPhones and Facebook. Old movies simply bring you back to a simpler, more idealistic time.

Is it just me or does anyone else long for the straightforwardness of bygone times? For the glamorous hair, the clothes, the men of yesteryear?

Down with the texting bullshit, I say! Let us ladies be courted properly!

I think I was a little lost post-Mad Men. I was craving more historical fiction. And what better way to get it than to go straight to the source - actual (yet historical) fiction!
As mad as I am at Betty Draper, she did remind me of another favorite leading lady. The original one, in fact. (Do I really have to spell it out? G-r-a-c-e K-e-l-l-y.)

In the past five or so weeks, I’ve watched almost every single movie Grace Kelly made (Mogambo...yikes. Couldn’t finish! I think Ava was cramping Grace’s style).
I can safely say she is my new favorite old actress. The way she carried herself, her voice (which she practiced endlessly and perfected by talking into a recorder and ceaselessly playing it back), her hair, her wardrobe.
I can hardly believe that she had the career she did - all before the age I am now. What!

Shit yo, I better get a move on.

Here are some of my fave movies I’ve recently viewed (some for my second, fourth, tenth time) on aforementioned TCM/Netflix binge:

Arsenic and Old Lace, Platinum Blonde, Rear Window, The Lady from Shanghai, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Barefoot in the Park, The Philadelphia Story, The Grapes of Wrath, Intermezzo, North By Northwest, Gone With The Wind, Christmas in Connecticut, Casablanca, Meet Me in St. Louis...so many more.
SO MANY good ones. Thank GOD for TCM.

Old movies are like old friends. They’re comforting. Filled with layers and endless shades of grey. They can be profoundly moving - yet they’re extremely cozy. There’s always something to be learned by spending time with them.

And, like an old friend, you never get sick of them. (OK, fine. Almost never.)

The films that Hollywood churns out these days are subpar compared to those from The Golden Age. There’s too many special effects, too many elaborate sets, too much makeup, just too much everything.

And not enough acting.


Orson Welles said that he preferred black and white films to color. Color distracted. It took away from the actors and actresses doing their thing. Rich costumes and vibrant sets diverted the viewer’s attention. Yadda yadda yadda.

Well I’m certainly no Technicolor naysayer, but I do somewhat concur with Mr. Welles. It’s so easy for Hollywood to cover up the shortfalls of an acting job gone wrong with special effects. The Matrix - need I say more?

So this Christmas week, do yourself a favor. Cozy up with an old Hollywood movie - consider it a gift to yourself.