Aurora over at Once Upon A Screen has honoured me with another Liebster Award. The award is given to up-and-coming blogs with fewer than 200 followers, so I definitely qualify. I must share eleven things about myself, answer the questions posed by Aurora, then do the same for eleven other bloggers. So, here goes!About Margaret Perry
1.) I play the violin, but not very well. I am a sort of closet violinist these days - I only practice when I know no one can hear me. Performances are very rare, though I enjoyed playing in the college orchestra.
2.) My younger brother David is in the National Guard. I am very proud of him.
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| "Mo-om, she's touching me!" |
4.) I have loved England for as long as I can remember, but the first time I ever came was on a Shakespeare abroad in 2008. I came back in 2010 for a Wordsworth conference, and I've been living here since July 2012. I return State-side in a couple weeks.
5.) Beethoven is my all-time favorite composer. His music absolutely thrills me. Mozart is totally overrated as far as I am concerned. Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, and the rest of those Baroque composers are also a lot of fun.
6.) Of every movie that I have ever ever ever seen, MARY POPPINS (1964) is far and away my favorite. I will never tire of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke singing "Jolly Holiday" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
7.) Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are the best actresses alive today. And they are BFFs. Perfection.
8.) I am a huge fan of classic British Literature. I love Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Shakespeare, and the Romantic poets (especially Wordsworth). But my favorite author is Frances Hodgson Burnett, writer of A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
9.) I was raised in northern Virginia, went to college near St. Louis, and my parents currently live in Pittsburgh. I am a die-hard Steelers/Pirates/Penguins fan.
10.) I played softball for almost ten years, volleyball for three, and I have just become interested in tennis in the last couple years. I do not run or exercise, but I do babysit.
11.) As far as I am concerned, Judy Garland is the greatest overall performer of all time. I don't see her as a tragic figure, because she had such strength of character and was able to keep her chin up and laugh at life despite everything.
My answers to Aurora's questions
1.) Name a popular, classic film star you think is overrated.
Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, James Dean, and to a much smaller extent, Audrey Hepburn (but not because she is the "other Hepburn").
2.) All-time favorite classic film performance, male and female.
I cannot honestly say I have an actual favorite, but I do like Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in ADAM'S RIB (1949).
Definitely a galaxy far, far away. I love STAR WARS (1977, etc.) so much, I am pretty sure I could recite the entire script from memory!
"George Cukor, what were the pros and cons of working with Katharine Hepburn on a picture?"
5.) Why did you start a blog?
I wanted a platform for presenting my research about Katharine Hepburn and old movies after I graduated from college.
6.) You woke up this morning and are living in a classic film noir. Who are you and in which film?
Noir is not my favorite genre, but there are a few classics I like. If THE THIN MAN (1934) counts as noir, I'll be Nora Charles. If it doesn't count, I'll be Katharine Hepburn in UNDERCURRENT (1946), her only noir film.
7.) One skill you wish you had.
I wish I could sing.
8.) Most underrated film actor.
That is a hard question because everyone I can think of seems to have a following of some sort. My favorite character actors are Mary Wickes and Marjorie Main. I also wish Rosalind Russell had more recognition.
9.) What is your all-time favorite book character?
Either Heidi from Heidi or Sara from A Little Princess.
10.) If you could go to any year, when would you go and why?
I would like to go to Bryn Mawr College while Katharine Hepburn was a senior there (1927). We could be besties and do drama together.
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| Katharine Hepburn in her senior year at Bryn Mawr |
Completely unrecognisable. I certainly wouldn't have seen as many old movies as I have. Next month I will be writing a daily feature called "TCM Today" for the Cinematic Katzenjammer.
The Liebster Award goes to...
I'm not sure all of these blogs fit into the category of "up-and-coming blogs with fewer than 200 followers," but they are some of my favorites.
Film-Classics: A Classic Film Community
Journeys in Classic Film
MacGuffin Movies
Silent Volume
Nineteen Fifty Four
Grand Old Movies
The Ticket Booth
An Elegant Obsession
Cinematically Insane
Cinema Fanatic
Comet Over Hollywood
My questions
1.) If you could matchmake two of your favorite stars, who would be your OTP?
2.) What classic movie would you like to see remade?
3.) What is your favorite film genre, and what are your three favorite films in that genre?
4.) You have the opportunity to share one classic film with a theatre full of your friends. Which film do you chose?
5.) What one actor/actress do you love so much, you would see a film simply because thy are in it?
6.) What/who is your favorite animal character from a movie?
7.) What years do you consider to define the era of "classic movies"?
8.) Astaire or Kelly? Audrey or Katharine? Bette or Joan? Olivia de Haviland or Joan Fontaine? Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin?
9.) Who is your favorite Barrymore?
10.) What is your favorite silent movie? Who is your favorite silent movie star?
11.) If you could spend one day with your favorite star, who would it be and what would you do? (Keep it clean, please!)
You may either leave your answers in a comment box below, or send me the link to a post on your own blog. Can't wait to see what you all have to say!
Margaret -
ReplyDeleteAll your answers are fascinating. Thanks so much for doing this. Your love and appreciation for the fine arts makes me feel sort of like a shlump, which is exactly what I am.
Really enjoyed reading this.
Aurora
Oh, you're making me blush! I liked your answers too. I do hope by "the great Kate" you are referring to Miss Hepburn?
DeleteThanks for giving me one of these. It's officially my second! In answer to your questions:
ReplyDelete1. I'll go classic here and say Natalie Wood with Lauren Bacall (I don't think they ever did anything together).
2. Anne of the Thousand Days.
3. I like drama and the three films that come off the top of my head are Anne the Thousand Days, Almost Famous, and Forrest Gump.
4. Anne of the Thousand Days or I Married a Witch
5. Too many males to mention but Marilyn Monroe, Veronica Lake, or Natalie Wood.
6. Asta from the Thin Man's, the dog from The Artist, or Bonnie the dog from Seven Psychopaths.
7. 1920-1980
8. Kelly. Katherine. Bette. Olivia. Charlie.
9. I'd say Drew only because I know more of her work.
10. Don't have nearly enough experience with silent film to answer this.
11. Classically I'd say Veronica Lake and prove to her she isn't forgotten.
Great answers, Kristen. Thanks for participating!
DeleteSome really interesting answers here! :) By the way, I completely agree with you about Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteThank you, Margaret! Here are my responses: http://nineteen-fifty-four.blogspot.com/2012/11/liebster-award.html
ReplyDeleteWonderful, I will check it out!
DeleteJeeeeez I love Pittsburgh! I was there for two weeks at Duquesne University for a medical conference. It was awesome! I even went to a Pirates game! But I gotta say I'm not a huge fan of baseball. Big Tess Harding over here: I can't understand it for the life of me.
ReplyDeleteHaha! There's nothing like a real live Pirates game. The first story I ever wrote was in the first grade - it was a page-long, single-space, story about a girl and her brother who go to see a Pirates game. It was called "Go, Pirates, Go!" Have you read "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"? That takes place in Pittsburgh.
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