THE FEAR INSIDE... SNARKY HALLOWEEN FAVORITE

The Fear Inside....

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS: SNARKY VIEW FAVORITE MOVIE

One of the most scandalous books ever written was
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.


The book centered around the lives of three women.
Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke)
Jennifer North (Sharon Tate)
Anne Wells (Barbara Parkins)


The Valley of the Dolls book and movie were absolutely
compelling to a teen age girl. Valley of the Dolls was an
instant success when it was first published. Since then it
has sold more than 30 million copies.


The main plotline revolved around the drugs the characters
used to deal with the stress and complications arising from
their rise to fame and success..


The drugs the characters used were referred to as "Dolls".
They were barbiturates (downers), Nembutol, Seconal,
Tuinol and Amphetamines (uppers).


As was typical in the 1960's Hollywood stars often took
these drugs to sleep and when they awoke groggy, they took
amphetamines (speed) to wake up. Thus is the drama behind
the lives of the three main characters.

The movie is dated now (corny) and mostly humorous to watch.
But in 1967 it was packed with sex, drugs, and violence galore.

This film was the main showcase for Sharon Tate who's life was
tragically cut short by The Manson Family read more HERE

Dionne Warwick sang the haunting love theme for the movie
for a listen click HERE

HOT LONDON 1960'S FASHION

I love this video but can't embed it so you can watch it HERE
MY last post was so popular I thought I kick out a little more!

History of 1960s fashion



The 1960s was a decade of sweeping change throughout the fashion world generating ideas and images which still appear modern today. Whereas fashion had previously been aimed at a wealthy, mature elite, the tastes and preferences of young people now became important.

At the beginning of the decade, the market was dominated by Parisian designers of expensive haute couture garments. Yet the shape of clothes was soon transformed by new ideas emerging from the London pop scene.

In Britain, musical taste and styles of dress were closely linked and it was the mod look which first popularised the simple geometric shapes typical of the 1960s. Slim fitting, brightly coloured garments were sold cheaply in boutiques all over 'Swinging London' and had tremendous influence throughout Europe and the US.

Later in the decade the hippy look, which originated on the West Coast of America, crossed the Atlantic. This was a time when designers of dress and textiles experimented with colours, patterns and textures borrowed from non-Western cultures.

From the start of the 1960s, bands like the Beatles and the Stones, the Kinks and The Who revitalised British pop. Musicians often pioneered alternative ways of dressing, as can be seen from photographs of these bands as they began their careers attired in mod outfits, complete with straight-combed hairstyles. By the latter part of the decade most had swapped these for psychedelic gear, facial hair and a growing interest in music from other continents like India.

Important American musical contributions came from Bob Dylan and West Coast groups associated with the folk and hippy movements like the Mamas and the Papas, Peter, Paul and Mary and the Jefferson Airplane. The decade ended with the free festival 'Woodstock' held in a rural part of New York state and headlined by progressive rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.



This was an era when those who wore and photographed clothing for a living could become famous overnight. Lesley Hornby, known as 'Twiggy', was a sensation at fifteen years of age when her large eyes, and rake-thin, under-developed figure were hailed as the most extreme version of the mod look.

David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton transformed the fashion pages of women's magazines as Bailey snapped Shrimpton in informal poses. Others who photographed top models included John French, Terence Donovan, Brian Duffy and Ron Traeger. They filled the pages of 'Vogue' and 'Elle' with images of Celia Hammond, Penelope Tree, Verushka and Marisa Berenson (the granddaughter of Elsa Schiaparelli). Ideals of beauty became more inclusive as black models like the Americans Donyale Luna and Naomi Sims starred in fashion shoots.

THE REAL BLOW UP

Blow-Up is a fabulous Snarky film based on the real life antics of fashion photographers from 1960's London.

Recently a friend mailed a copy of a terrific documentary about the real people behind the film Blow-Up. I sat absolutely mesmerized for 2 hours watching the documentary, the backstory behind the 60's Fashion scene: THE REAL BLOW UP fame, fashion, and photography in the 1960's.

A 2 hour BBC Documentary that is unfortunately not available for sale or out even on a You tube video. The background of the photographers, models, actors and rocks stars of the 1960's is riveting and the BBC should make a film about Bailey singularly. Release of the original would be instore as well.

Thank you HH for all of your generous tutorials!

I did find a great two-part interview with Mr. Bailey on You Tube:








David Bailey, who captured the most powerful icons of the 1960s in his photographs. He first became interested in photography while serving in the Royal Air Force, and he started out as an assistant to fashion photographer John French.

His first published pictures appeared in 1960, and from then he became famous for making stars of a new generation of models, including Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve, who he married for five years, and Penelope Tree.

You adapt to who you're photographing. It's their personality, not mine I want. Whereas models once appeared cold and aloof, Bailey's work gave them a personality, thanks to the close rapport he enjoyed with them. It was considered revolutionary at the time.

Of Jean Shrimpton, he said: "She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world - you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it.

"She had the knack of having her hand in the right place, she knew where the light was, she was just a natural."

Bailey continues to work today, with recent subjects including Manchester band Oasis, boxer Naseem Hamed and model Naomi Campbell. But his style of photography remains the same.

"I've always tried to do pictures that don't date. I always go for simplicity," he said.


Jean Shrimpton started it all:






When British newcomer David Bailey came to New York in the winter of 1962 with model and girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, it was considered by most to be an audacious move. The refreshing body of work that resulted however, allowed Bailey and his photographs to pioneer the subsequent transatlantic invasion by the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Shooting with his new 35mm camera and without any crew members or stylists, Bailey was able to capture the energy of this city during the era of Andy Warhol and jazz nirvana.

The photographs in NY JS DB 62 exude the beauty of a tough, but naïve couple whose decision to break boundaries is just as inspiring today as it was in 1962. Images from NY JS DB 62, are out now on Steidl.



Barry Lategan

Barry Lategan is one of the country’s most renowned and influential photographers. Probably best known for his early discovery and portraits of Twiggy – two of which are exhibited in the V&A Museum – Barry has photographed some of the most notable celebrities of the past forty years.

HRH Princess Anne, Paul and Linda McCartney, Iman, Germaine Greer, Calvin Klein, Sol Campbell, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Salman Rushdie are just a few of the famous faces that have appeared in front of his lens.

His career as a fashion photographer has also seen much of his work make it to the pages and front covers of international editions of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and he won the Halina award for the 1986 Pirelli calendar. Other plaudits include a Clio Award for a TV commercial for Armani perfume and a D&AD Award for the Millennium stamp.

DORIS DAY: LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME

Doris Day and James Cagney starred in Love Me or Leave Me in 1955 but I saw this movie on TV as a kid throughout the 60's. To me it is the best of all of Doris Day's films. Her look, fashions, acting and singing are all melded together at that perfect moment in time. She was absolutely marvelous playing the part of Ruth Etting. Ms. Day should have won the academy award for this role but was sadly omitted from the nominations.

Rising to fame in the twenties and early thirties, Ruth Etting was renowned for her great beauty, her gorgeous voice and her tragic life. She starred on Broadway, made movies in Hollywood, married a mobster, had numerous hit-records, fell in love and was known as America's Sweetheart of Song. Ruth's website is HERE



In the Thirties it was common knowledge along Broadway that the popular singer Ruth Etting was something of a brow-beaten slave of her husband an ex-Chicago mobster named Martin Snyder, better known as The Gimp. Miss Etting's friends finally helped her to get a divorce, after which The Gimp expressed his sentiments by dispatching a couple of bullets into the man who later married her. Great Movie Review HERE



After watching this film as a very young girl I came away with a horrified view that Jimmy Cagney beat up Doris Day! OMG! I was left feeling very sorry for (Doris) Ruth Etting and what a beast (Jimmy) Marty the Gimp was to abuse and stalk her.

Fast forward a few decades and after buying this dvd I watched the entire film uninterrupted by editing and commercials. We came away with quite a different view.

Marty the Gimp was the victim in this film. Maybe not in "real" life but in the film Ruth really does use Marty tog et what she wants and then kicks him to the curb. We were left feeling sympathy for the devil in the film.



If you have never seen this film rush to the video store and rent or buy it. It is a terrific movie and Doris and Jimmy are both at their very best in:

CONNIE FRANCIS: SNARKY WOMAN HALL OF FAME

Snarky Woman Hall of Fame for September is Connie Francis!

Read Ms Francis' Authorized Bio HERE

Where the Boy's Are was a snarky scandalous film for it's time. Sexy and explicit in 1960's terms but really dated (almost laughable) by today's standards.

From Wiki:

Where the Boys Are (1960) is a American coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who also co-starred in a supporting role. The film was aimed at the teen market, featuring sun, sand and romance. Released in the wintertime, it inspired thousands of additional American college students to head to Fort Lauderdale for their annual spring break.

Where the Boys Are was one of the first teen films to explore adolescent sexuality and the changing sexual mores and attitudes among American college youth. Given the censorship of the day, the audience is never sure of exactly what happened to Yvette Mimieux's character, but it is insinuated she was raped.

Here is the cast:

Dolores Hart ... Merritt Andrews
Connie Francis ... Angie
George Hamilton ... Ryder Smith
Yvette Mimieux ... Melanie Tolman
Jim Hutton ... TV Thompson
Barbara Nichols ... Lola Fandango
Paula Prentiss ... Tuggle Carpenter
Chill Wills ... Police Captain
Frank Gorshin ... Basil
Connie Francis ... Angie

This is the movie we loved the most in the 60's!!!






Fantastically gorgeous Ms. Francis had such a dramatic and unmistakable voice. I loved her style, her dark hair and Italian features. I got to see her live in Toledo Ohio back in the 1980's and Connie blew the house down ( RK with it).

Not a lot of people knew that Connie had a big relationship with Bobby Darin before Sandra Dee.

Here them sing together HERE. What a perfect vocal match!



From Bobby's Fan Site:

Bobby Darin and Connie Francis were sweethearts as they both began there careers in the recording industry. Bobby and Connie met in January of 1956. Connie recorded
"My First Real Love " a song written by Bobby and Don Kirshner, and Bobby and his group "The Jaybirds" sang the background vocals. In Connie autobiography, Who's Sorry Now (St. Martin's Press), Connie devotes two chapters to her relationship with Bobby.

Connie talks about Bobby HERE

"Bobby Darin was different--dynamic, versatile, chock full of energy, with a fierce determination I had never seen before," she writes in the book. "I learned to adore him for all the reasons I always would-his respect for the little guy, his sense of fairness,his intellect,candor,and self confidence, his brashness, toughness and sweet tenderness-all the contrasts that made him so fascinating."



Francis has been married four times. She married Dick Kanellis against her father's wishes on August 15, 1964. She divorced him three months later after he abused her.

She married hairdresser Izadore "Izzy" Marion on January 16, 1971. They divorced the following year. In September 1973 she married Joseph Garzilli; together they adopted a son, Joseph Garzilli Jr. (Joey), born in 1974.

She has stated that it was because of her rape in 1974 that she divorced him. After the marriage ended, she married television producer Bob Parkinson, on June 27, 1985. Like the others, this marriage ended in divorce.

Nasal surgery to correct previous surgery caused a sensitivity to air conditioning and deprived her of her ability to sing professionally for four years.

Her brother George was murdered in 1981. REad the Transcripts HERE

Francis was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She has long suffered from continuing mental impairments that developed as a result of her rape, including drug dependencies and suicide attempts. She uses lithium to treat the illness.




Al Di La

MY BLUE HEAVEN AND GOODFELLA HENRY HILL

A lot of people that haven't read Henry Hill's Book do not know that My Blue Heaven the Steve Martin movie was based a lot on Henry Hill's life in The Witness Protection Program.

It seems that Nicholas Pileggi was working with Henry by phone a lot while writing his book Wiseguy. Well guess who Mr. Pileggi is married to....




Nora Ephron! The fabulously talented writer and film producer.

Guess who was writing My Blue Heaven at the same time as Nick was writing Wise Guy? (Goodfellas)

Henry wrote about being mad that he didn't get paid for being the "star" of MBH In his book.

There are an awful lot of similarities although done with great hilarity. One of Henry's biggest complaints in Witness Relocation was that he couldn't get good produce at the grocery stores in Omaha. He is a fabulous cook and need produce like rugula for his Italian recipes.


There is a scene in MBH where Steve Martin is in the grocery store complaining about the very same vegetables. Steve's character Vinnie was always running scams and risking his safety in the Witness Program.


So was Henry... In fact they moved him from Omaha to Kentucky and no matter where they put him he was arrested for "wiseguy" behaviors. So is it coincidence that Nora wrote a very funny version of Henry Hill's escapades? We think not and neither does Henry Hill...LOL

Watch My Blue Heaven again and with Henry Hill in mind... It makes this movie even funnier at least it does to the Snarkies LOL

SNARKY LOVES "FUNNY GIRL"

Funny Girl is a 1968 musical film based on the stage musical of the same name. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.

Its original title was My Man. The screen adaptation, directed by William Wyler, paired Barbra Streisand with Omar Sharif in the role of Nick Arnstein, while Kay Medford repeated her stage role, and Walter Pidgeon was cast as Flo Ziegfeld.

The film was a commercial and critical success, gaining Streisand an Academy Award for Best Actress. It became the top grossing film of 1968, and received seven Academy Award nominations



FUNNY GIRL was the very first Barbra Streisand film that I saw in a theater in 1968. It was an amazing experience to watch Barbra sing for the first time. From the moment Ms Streisand comes into view the theater audience was mesmerized. We sat engulfed for the entire length of the movie. Applause burst at the conclusion by a happy audience. Even the soldiers applauded what was soon to become one of the top chick flicks of all time.

Even more mesmerizing was the appearance of Omar Sharif onscreen. Omar was so handsome in that film... It was easy to identify with poor Fanny Brice falling in love with the gorgeous gambler.

The music from the film was addictive. I have had 4 copies of the albums and played them till the grooves were shot. Now I have the soundtrack on cd and on my Ipod too.



Funny Girl had a completely different feel to it compared to other Hollywood films. Barbra Streisand didn't fit the bill of the average movie star of the time. She had imperfections. Her face, her body type, and her voice were totally different. All the more reason that I identified with her character. The sheer force of her talent and unique style drove this film.



If you have never seen this film watch the clip and then run to the video store and buy/rent Funny Girl. My favorite scene and song is My Man