carroll and eli

...baker and wallach. okay, i realize i already gave kazan and his risque 'babydoll' a legitmate

'shout-out,' but hey, what can i tell you? my fingers still feel like typing, so... here we have a great close silky screen shot from kazan's mid-50's masterpiece 'babydoll.' this is from the infamous 'swing sequence,' one of the sultriest things i've ever seen on celluloid. ummm, i'm not gonna go into the plot or anything like that... but i will say that i read carroll's autobiography once, and she admitted being genuinely turned on by mr. wallach... and it shows. hot stuff.

(click to enlarge)

happy birthday elia kazan

okay, once again, i admit i don't know too much about elia kazan, the Man... but i DO know that he directed what may very well be my favorite black and white movie. and i noticed that today, mr. kazan would've turned 99 years old. he was also responsible for 'on the waterfront,' and some other stuff... forgive me, i don't feel like looking it up right now i've seen 'waterfront,' and i've seen 'babydoll,' and i have to say, i think 'babydoll' is the better picture. now, i can already hear people criticizing that stand... but i stand by it. i think 'babydoll' broke spooky, sexy new ground in cinema. i realize it was probably made with the intention of being sexy, but i'm not sure if the surreal spookiness was accidental, or if some ghosts just assisted with the final cut like, 'ghost in the machine'-wise... but there's certainly something witchy going on in that flick. even the sound is spooky, disjointed, and unexpectedly surreal. i'll never be able to reccommend this movie strongly enough; but at the same time, i DO realize that 'babydoll' is an acquired taste... like collard greens and vinegar; like homemade biscuits and liver pudding... like stove-stewed oatmeal, whole milk, rich butter, and brown sugar, 'babydoll' is a slumming indulgence of the highest order. what more can i say...

oh carroll

i lucked out last night on my pearldive. i found some great, rare, high quality shots of my darling miss carroll baker taken during the filming of the elia kazan masterpiece 'babydoll.' i really feel like, what can i say? she's so beautiful its weird... and i don't even like blondes. (georgina hale and helen mirren excepted.) in the movie, karl malden accuses her of having a 'mona lisa smile'... and he's right about that. slight and mysterious, but so lovely its hard to look away. this shot leapt out at me, on account of it was very 'never-before-seen' by my eyes. and trust me, i google carroll baker all the time. and she's not just a pretty face. she can 'shred the screen' as well as brando and vivien leigh... or any of those confirmed 'greats.' she was also fortunate enough to be in 'giant,' ...one of james dean's three films. she was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of the child bride in 'babydoll.' she lost to ingrid bergman for 'anastasia,' which i haven't seen, so i can't truthfully say whether or not she 'got robbed.' carroll's still around, last time i checked. so carroll, if you're reading this, i think you're the best.

b is for 'babydoll'

well, what can i say about elia kazan's 'babydoll' that i haven't said already? it has a hard and fast place in my top five favorite black and white movies of all time. i can't tell you how many times i've seen it. it fascinates me on so many levels. even after repeated viewings, the performances crackle with fresh electricity. i've never seen a trio of actors in leading roles turn in finer performances than carroll baker, karl malden, and eli wallach in 'babydoll.' they're all so good its almost unsettling. its a dirty, hot, florid, unscrupulous, voyeuristic film. the main players never seen to know they're being watched. its wicked and funny and at times, even genuinely frightening. the famous 'hide and seek' sequence is every bit as scary as it is sexy. over the years, the image of carroll baker sleeping in the baby's crib has endured as an iconic image, but i would argue that the image of silva vacarro, (eli wallach) riding the rockinghorse with a whip in one hand, a pitcher of lemonade in the other, chewing on a piece of fried chicken, is every bit as provocative and brazen. if you've never seen it, go find it and watch it. i've never really seen anything quite like it.

miss baker

yes, the lovely miss carroll baker was lucky enough to show up on planetcool on a night when i officially don't care! don't get me wrong, i do care about carroll baker. she's my all-time favorite hollywood blonde! i just don't care about being all stunning and-or groundbreaking with my literary tributes tonight. what can i say about carroll that i haven't said in the past or won't say in the future? she's the greatest. and her portrayal of the precocious child bride in elia kazan's 'babydoll' is black and white sizzling excellence captured on celluloid, and won her an oscar nomination. so lets all blow a kiss at sweet carroll, and go rent 'babydoll.' you'll love it. well, if you don't love it, then you obviously have different tastes in like, movies or whatever. (can you tell how much my heart's in this tonight?)

do i dare?

...do i dare post a shot of karl malden as tonight's 'ugly is the new cute' candidate? i almost want to post him without that title. yes, i have to admit, i've never thought mr. malden was ugly. it's probably true that i first saw him in the american express commercials in the 1970's. but even then, i remember he made me feel safe. it was just an impression i felt, even as a very small girl, watching him... probably in bits of 'streets of san francisco,' too. come to think of it, i can't consciously remember a time when i didn't know his face and his voice. and yeah, i think he appealed to me, (most likely on a freudian level) because he seemed capable and smart and made me feel safe. i've actually read karl's autobiography. i couldn't put it down... then again, i had a full-blown crush on him at the time. and i guess i still do. but really, its a good read about how hollywood really worked and brando and carroll baker and all that stuff. he's the best, he really is. this frame is a screen capture from the sometimes-banned elia kazan film 'babydoll.' it IS require viewing.