Made in 1898, G.A. Smith's 'Santa Claus' is a film of considerable technical ambition and accomplishment for its period. It uses pioneering visual effects in its depiction of a visit from St. Nicholas. A former magic lanternist and hypnotist, Smith was one of the first British film-makers to make extensive use of special effects to create fantastical scenes. It comes as little surprise that Smith corresponded with the French pioneer Georges Méliès at about this time, as the two men shared a common goal in terms of creating an authentic cinema of illusion.
If you simply must have a French fry, then make them at home in your oven. Use sweet potatoes, as these are a more complex carbohydrate. Cut into matchsticks, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil along with a dash of salt, then place in your oven on broil. Turn every five minutes until the fries are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.
The album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, drops December 6th and it will have previously unreleased songs and collaborations with the hitmaking producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson.
The character of Sally Bowles, which first appeared in Christopher Isherwood’s The Berlin Stories, is based on the popular cabaret artist Anita Berber, painted in this picture by Otto Dix. Otto Friedrich says about Berber: “Nobody remembers her now, but in her time, she seemed to epitomize the spirit of the Berlin cabaret… The daughter of a violinist in the Leipzig orchestra, and originally a serious student of ballet, she took several husbands and many lovers; she was also a Lesbian. She was an alcoholic, and addicted to both morphine and cocaine. She appeared at every major prizefight and bicycle race, often accompanied by a band of thugs”. Anita Berber died at the age of twenty-nine. READ MORE HERE..
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935)1/2 MGM, 1935(Color, 19 minutes)
A festival event celebrating the Spanish heritage of California. Narrated by Pete Smith (of "Pete Smith's Specialties" fame), the film features a number of song and dance numbers with many cameo appearances. Andy Devine and Buster Keaton perform a bull-fight skit, Irvin S. Cobb and Ted Healy (of Three Stooges fame) each perform a short comedy number and Joe Morrison sings his recent hit song, "The Last Round-Up". Leo Carrillo plays emcee to the latter half of the short, with the Garland Sisters singing "La Cucaracha".
This is the best recording of Judy singing with her sisters that I know of. They sing three-part harmony, blending quite nicely, with each sister performing short solos. Twelve-year-old Judy is definitely the standout, with a powerful voice that is unmistakably Garland. The Garland Sisters are definitely the high-point of the film.
It seems rather odd that the Garland Sisters appear in this MGM film, yet Judy was not "discovered" by MGM until one month later, especially since the Garland Sisters are listed fourth in the opening credits. Obviously, someone at MGM was aware of Judy's talent before her audition for L.B. Mayer in September 1935. This was the Garland (Gumm) Sister's last film together.
... always did like a good publicity stunt. Really awful, but not bad.
Directed by American John Huston, Moulin Rouge was the screen adaptation of the eponymous novel about painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, written by Pierre La Mure
Zsa Zsa Gábor who played Jane Avril in Moulin Rouge Associated Press File: Zsa Zsa Gabor, sporting an eye patch, laughs while holding the wedding photo of Barbara Woolworth Hutton and Porfirio Rubirosa at a 1953 press conference she conducted in Las Vegas. She claimed the patch concealed a black eye from Rubirosa prompted by her turning down his wedding proposal.
