The CMBA profiles two classic movie
blogs per month, on the 1st and 15th. Today we're toasting Donna from
Strictly Vintage Hollywood.
Donna at Strictly Vintage Hollywood has a thing for Rudolph Valentino.
But let's face it: who doesn't?
Not only does she curate a well-researched blog, she's written a book on Valentino, entitled Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs. She's now hard at work on a second book, tentatively titled The Films of Rudolph Valentino - A Chronological History.
"I have collected and studied Valentino for decades," says Donna. "I am still researching and learning; enjoying the process of research that I hope will result in an entertaining second book, my magnum opus on Valentino."
You can read more about Valentino, and his unique friendship with screenwriter June Mathis, HERE.
But let's face it: who doesn't?
Not only does she curate a well-researched blog, she's written a book on Valentino, entitled Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs. She's now hard at work on a second book, tentatively titled The Films of Rudolph Valentino - A Chronological History.
"I have collected and studied Valentino for decades," says Donna. "I am still researching and learning; enjoying the process of research that I hope will result in an entertaining second book, my magnum opus on Valentino."
You can read more about Valentino, and his unique friendship with screenwriter June Mathis, HERE.
CMBA: What sparked your interest in classic
film?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: I
like to say I was born loving movies. My parents instilled in me the love of
what are now referred to as classic films because we shared going to movies
when I was a child; both at the Drive-In (how I miss that, Disney films in my
jammies) and going to see first run films at Century 21 Dome (dressing up in
our Sunday best the process). We also shared time watching classics such as The Wizard of Oz and Portrait of Jennie on television. For my
parents, these were the films of their generation and they became mine.
I also learned to love classic films by seeing them on television, late night television such as TV 36 in San Jose and KBHK where classics from 20th Century Fox, MGM, RKO, Paramount and Warner Brothers were on regular rotation. Once I got my library card and discovered the film history section, a whole new world opened up for me with film bios and film history.
I also learned to love classic films by seeing them on television, late night television such as TV 36 in San Jose and KBHK where classics from 20th Century Fox, MGM, RKO, Paramount and Warner Brothers were on regular rotation. Once I got my library card and discovered the film history section, a whole new world opened up for me with film bios and film history.
Once
I could drive, I became a loyal patron twice weekly at my local revival movie
house (The Vitaphone). There I experienced familiar favorites, except they
were Three Strip Technicolor prints newly struck from the camera negative. To seem them on
the big screen changed my life. Films on television never looked like
this! Gob smacked is a good word to
describe the feeling. For a film geek, it’s like a drug.
Getting
to know the owners, working at the theater over a summer and learning how to
run the large 35mm projectors; that was a thrill. It was also a thrill to stand
in the back of the theater and watch the chariot race from the 1959 Ben-Hur six nights in a row. To see Random Harvest, a pristine new print, so
clear you felt you could walk into it. The
Garden of Allah, Dietrich and Boyer, impossible silly romance, in glorious
Technicolor.
CMBA: What makes a film a
"classic" in your opinion?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: Literally,
to me a classic film is anything from 1900 to about 1965, the dawn of film to
the end of the studio era in Hollywood. This would include foreign films, too. To me, a
classic does not even really have to have the best script or acting.
It is a film that stands the test of time and repeated viewings.
CMBA: What classic film(s) do you recommend
to people who say they hate old movies?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: John
Huston’s The Maltese Falcon, Stanley
Donen & Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the
Rain, just about any Laurel & Hardy film and the same for Buster
Keaton, The Adventures of Robin Hood,
Now Voyager, The Heiress, The Mark of
Zorro (silent and talkie versions), The
Son of the Sheik, North by Northwest,
Rear Window, and Sunrise. (I could name a dozen more!) It is inconceivable to me
that someone could actually say they “hate” old films. For those that do, I can
only imagine that they have not really seen any. So many genres, gangster,
musicals, comedies, drama, women’s pictures, adventure films, romance, sci-fi,
you name it, there really is something for everyone if they could be introduced
to seeing a film as it was meant to be seen, i.e. on the big screen. At the
very least, on television without commercials, like TCM.
CMBA: Why should people care about classic
film?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: In
today’s world of instant news, the 24-hour news cycle and endless tweets and
Facebook posts, sometimes I think people need to care about classic films as a
way to let go, lose themselves and enjoy 90 minutes (or two hours) of solid
entertainment. Any classic film is a reflection of the era in which it was
produced, but, the bottom line is all are human stories. They can touch you,
empower you and make you feel great just when the real world has got you down.
In other words because they are so very entertaining.
Why
should they care about preserving them? Cinema is the most American of art
forms. Film can be a snapshot of the period. Once lost, they likely remain so
and a part of our history is gone forever, except stills and lobby art. Can you imagine
a world without Gone with the Wind or
The Wizard of Oz?
CMBA: What is the most rewarding thing about
blogging?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: The
best thing I have found in blogging and writing about film is the people I have
met. I mean, I follow several blogs and I love to read other viewpoints and
learn about films I have not yet seen. I enjoy writing, and blogging is a tool for
me to improve my writing and to share about films I love. If I get one comment
telling me they’ve loved a film I’ve written about, that’s the best icing on
any cake, metaphorically speaking. This takes me back to seeing films with my
parents. Blogging and classic film is a shared experience, and it’s wonderful. I’ve
met some of my best friends this way.
CMBA: What challenges do you face with your
blog, and how do you overcome them?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: The
biggest challenge is finding time, and trying to be regular in posting. A
challenge especially now as I am researching and writing a manuscript. I am
trying to be proactive this year and get in the habit of a weekly post, even a
small one. For the manuscript, I'm taking inspiration from my friend over at
Backlots, Lara, to write something every day on the manuscript no matter how
small.
CMBA: What advice would you give to a new
blogger?
Strictly Vintage Hollywood: Write
about what you love. That, to me, is the biggest motivation. Be receptive to
constructive criticism and ignore the trolls.
Thank you for joining us, Donna! You can visit her blog by clicking HERE.
Old school movies are still good.. I miss watching this kind of stuffs.
ReplyDeleteDonna's passion for film consistently comes through in her blog.
ReplyDeleteDelightful profile! How nice to have a revival film house within driving distance! I was lucky enough to live near one during my college years and it opened my eyes to the wonders of foreign cinema (along with Hollywood classics).
ReplyDelete