Happy New Year - Jean Harlow

Since I probably won't have the next post up until after the new year, Happy New Year and welcome 2011!

2011 already brings us a new gift, a gorgeous coffee table book on the blonde bombshell Jean Harlow. You can pre-order it here.

The press blurb states:

In these pages, renowned Harlow expert Darrell Rooney and Hollywood historian Mark Vieira team to present the most beautiful--and accurate--book on Harlow ever produced. With more than 280 rare images, the authors not only make a case for Harlow as an Art Deco artifact, they showcase the fabulous places where she lived, worked and played from her white-on-white Beverly Glen mansion to the Art Deco sets of Dinner at Eight to the foyer of the Café Trocadero. Harlow in Hollywood is a must for every film buff, Harlow collector, and book lover. Like Harlow herself, Harlow in Hollywood is irresistible

I am sure this is 100% accurate. Mark Vieira's books are nothing but top drawer productions and his collection is incredible, matched with the collection of the preeminant collector of Jean Harlow, Darrell Rooney, this will be a wonderful book to grace your bookshelves and your coffee table for years to come.

Top 5 Hottest Ladies of 2010.

No. 1 - Emmanuelle Chriqui

She starred in the famous "Three' Company" episode of Entourage, starred with three of Hollywood' toughest guys in 13: Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham and Alexander Skarsgard, will play one of the leads in the all-star cast of 2010' Georgia, a film about the war between Russia and Georgia, she speaks both English and French fluently, is a first-generation Canadian, after both her parents immigrated from Morocco.

No. 2 - Marisa Miller.

She was discovered by Mario Testino, one of the most famous photographers in the world, she is currently one of the famous Victoria's Secret Angels, appeared on the cover of the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition sans bikini top, kept us up-to-date in 2009, thanks to her Sports Illustrated "Best of Marisa Miller" calendar and also ran a surf school in California before becoming a serious model.

No.3 - Kate Beckinsale.

She speaks English, French and Russian; and had us hot for vampires long before Twilight and True Blood by sporting a rubber catsuit in Underworld - also appeared opposite Robert De Niro and Sam Rockwell in 2009' dramedy Everybody' Fine, and of course, was chosen as Esquire magazine' "Sexiest Woman Alive" in 2009. She is rumored to be attached to 2011' Underworld 4.

No.4 - Alessandra Ambrosio

She was famous for wearing lingerie made entirely of candy for the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, she stayed in Gisele Bundchen's apartment when she first moved to New York, and participated in the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show just three months after giving birth to a baby girl, also appeared with fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Marisa Miller, Miranda Kerr, and Heidi Klum on an episode of How I Met Your Mother and is the National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

No.5 - Jessica Alba.

She teamed up with writer/director Robert Rodriguez for the assassin movie Machete, gave birth to a baby girl, Honor Marie, in 2008 and still has the same smoking figure she had from the Dark Angel days, made a guest appearance as herself on the 2009 episode of The Office called "Stress Relief", plays a prostitute in 2010's The Killer Inside Me opposite golden boy Casey Affleck and then recently starred in The Lonely Island's I Just Had Sex video ahaha. =)

Those are the TOP 5... but special mentions for two others though...

Cheryl Cole at No.8.

She released her debut album, 3 Words, in October of 2009, she plans to reunite with Girls Aloud in the studio, replaced Sharon Osbourne as a judge on The X Factor, and then she is often referred to in England as "the nation's new sweetheart" - and Lily Allen wrote a cheeky song inspired by Cheryl called "Cheryl Tweedy.

Eva Mendes - No.9

Eva starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in 2009, played Will Ferrell's wife in the upcoming comedy The Other Guys, also starring Mark Wahlberg, teamed up with Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington for the upcoming Last Night, a film that rivals Closer in its portrayal of infidelity and then had an advertisement for Calvin Klein banned because of an exposed nipple and also posed topless for Vogue Italia.

Merry Christmas 2010

Best wishes for the season to the wonderful people who follow, comment and read this very irregular blog. It's been stop and go and intermittant, at best. Thanks for sticking with me.
The number of unfinished posts in the blogger dashboard almost outnumber the live posts. I hope to do better in 2011.

2010 has been a wonderful year for me, seen many good films, some great films and some not so great films. Cinematically it's been fun and I am looking forward to 2011 with renewed cinematic vigour.

On a personal and probably egotistical note it has been a very gratifying year with the publication and warm reception of my long labored over book on Rudolph Valentino. Sales have far exceeded my expectations and reviews from the likes of Leonard Maltin and so many webmasters, fellow Valentino fans and other independent reviewers has given me a rather swelled head. All in all, I still think it was a job well done and I think Valentino would not have minded too much.

Here's to a happy, healthy and wonderful holidays to each one of you. May 2011 be an even more wonderful year and a peaceful year, too.

Nita Naldi Website

Nita Naldi now has a new presence on the web. The old website run by Gloria Bowman was originally hosted by Yahoo/Geocities. Yahoo killed off Geocities last year. So with the help of some boon companions and friends of Nita, we gathered together some of Gloria's original material and spent the last year hunting Nita Naldi down. Not only did we find out a lot about Nita (who never talked about her personal life) but we found Nita had some living family. They've seen the site and have approved and sanctioned it.

I make no secret Nita is my favorite of the silent vamps and you can find her now at http://www.nitanaldi.com/.

Viva Nita Naldi!

For the Love of Film - The Sequel

Mark your calendars, get your fingers busy, put your thinking caps on! Film Preservation Blogathon 2011 is coming soon.

I love noir and my head is already spinning with ideas for posts. Most important will be the donation link, let's all beat last years totals!

Paramount Pretties #5

America's Sweetheart
and the first Million Dollar Baby, Mary Pickford.

The film fans of today probably do not recognize nor can they fathom the importance of Mary Pickford to film history. She was one of the very first "movie stars" before the phrase had been coined and before film stars were known by name. She was a tough as nails businesswoman (along with her mother) and negotiated her contracts with an iron-gloved fist. She was the most popular woman in the world, all over the world for nearly 20 years. She is remembered as being typecast as the "girl with the curls" but Pickford's range went far beyond playing children.

Her charm, her spunk and her appealing nature can be seen in countless films like Pollyanna.

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Been scarce around here lately. Between the Valentino memorial in August and Cinecon over Labor Day, I've been a busy person. I will get a Cinecon review up very soon, even though it's been over for a while and might be a bit stale.


I've also decided that I have a second book in me and I've chosen a worthy subject. Worthy to me, at least. The peeps I've querried seem to agree.





The person in question and the subject of my second book will be the young lady on the far left, Dorothy Gish. Dorothy always seems to be lost in her more famous sister Lillian's shadow. The time has come for Dorothy to come out from that shadow and shine on her own.

Since this project differs markedly from Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol, I've decided to post on the progress of researching a biography here. Like the Valentino website has done over the year, I am hoping that an online presence for Dorothy will bring some information, good leads, material and just what else, who can say?


As mentioned on this blog before, I like Dorothy and I hope in researching her life I will continue to like her. She seems to have been quite a personality and was much beloved. Beloved by her elder sister and a legion of friends.


So here I am, jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. I think it's going to be fun. I'll still be here, taking breaks and watching movies. I'm hoping to track down a few more of Dorothy's films. I've still got that Fifty Years, Fifity Films thing to do...