Oscar-Winning Director George Cukor (as in "cucumber")

George Cukor was nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Director, ultimately winning in 1965 for MY FAIR LADY (1964). His first nominations were for two of the 10 films he made with Katharine Hepburn, LITTLE WOMEN (1933) and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940).

Producer Jack Warner, Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison,
and George Cukor at the 1964 Academy Awards

Although Cukor was known primarily as a "women's director," he actually holds the record for having directed the most male Oscar winners: James Stewart in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940), Ronald Coleman in A DOUBLE LIFE (1947), and Rex Harrison in MY FAIR LADY (1964). (TCM Classic Movie Trivia)

I Never Will Forget Jeanette MacDonald...or SAN FRANCISCO (1936)

This post is written in conjunction with the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon hosted by Sittin' on a Backyard Fence and ScribeHard on Film. A full day of Jeanette MacDonald films will air on TCM on August 27. SAN FRANCISCO (1936) will be airing at 8:00 pm EST.

Whenever Judy Garland ever sang "San Francisco," she began with a short verse about the immortal Jeanette MacDonald and her 1936 hit movie by the same name. Garland's chemistry with her audience really comes across in this clip from a performance at the London Palladium. She begins her song with, "This lady [MacDonald] has never talked to me since I did this. I don't know why...." This isn't entirely true - apparently MacDonald didn't mind the joke, "as long as it's Judy!"

Happy 100th Birthday, Gene Kelly!

This post is written in conjunction with the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon hosted by Sittin' on a Backyard Fence and ScribeHard on Film. A full day of Gene Kelly films will air on TCM on August 23, which would also be Mr. Kelly's 100 birthday!

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a very big fan of Gene Kelly. I definitely land myself in the Fred Astaire camp when it comes to classic Hollywood hoofers. But there have been several Gene Kelly movies I have enjoyed over the years, and most of them will be showing on TCM this week. These films are considered must-sees for any classic film enthusiast, so if you haven't seen them, I recommend getting your hands on a copy ASAP.

Feminist Star Personas of Classic Hollywood (other than Katharine Hepburn)

http://feministguidetohollywood.blogspot.com/

Feminist personas of classic Hollywood come in many shapes and sizes. Some, like the great Katharine Hepburn, found profound new ways to represent strong women on the big screen. Others more subtly broke new ground in their private lives. There is no set way to define a feminist icon, but there are some ways you can measure how progressive the stars' personas could be. For one, all of these women are professionals who get paid (a lot) for their talent and hard work. Secondly, stars who were aware of their desire to present a progressive view of women often chose films which would showcase these strengths.