Author: Becky

Sunday Sundries, movies, part 2

So I can be sure you’ll all sleep well tonight, even if I don’t, here are the rest of the movies I watched from my British Cinema Collection–that you’ve been waiting to hear about, right? =)

Dramatized from real historical events, in 1997’s Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown, after Queen Victoria’s beloved husband Prince Albert dies, she goes into seclusion at Windsor Palace. The nation, Parliament, her court, and her family all want her to come out of mourning. Her staff suggests that the Scotsman John Brown, stable master, a favorite servant of her late husband, come from Scotland to ease her back into life. They regret it when a deep bond develops between the queen and the headstrong, opinionated Mr. Brown. The relationship brings upheaval to the palace and scandal to the country. I’d never seen this movie, and I loved it. Judi Dench can’t go wrong, and Billy Connolly, musician, comedian, and actor, is well cast. A great movie for an Anglophile like me.

I first saw 1995’s Restoration in Montrose’s River Oaks Theater. I’m not sure if I’d heard good things about it, or whether I went alone or with someone, but the movie mesmerized me and I’ve never forgotten it. It stars Robert Downey Jr. as Merivel, a seventeenth century medical student, who only reluctantly uses his gifts because he’s more interested in a life of debauchery and a place in the royal court. There’s a great supporting cast: Sam Neill as the king; Polly Walker as Celia, favorite mistress of the king and object of Merivel’s obsession; David Thewlis as Pearce, another doctor who recognizes Merivel’s skills and urges him to keep studying and practicing medicine; Meg Ryan as the tragic Katherine who helps Merivel find his humanity when he’s banished from the royal court; Ian McKellen as Will Gates, who does his best to take care of Merivel, and so many more. Oh–Hugh Grant plays a portraitist, because what’s a British movie without Hugh Grant? If you like historical movies with lots of costumes and scenery, this is a good one.

1994’s Tom & Viv is a really sad movie, but I’m glad I watched it. It’s based on American poet T.S. Eliot (who became a British citizen) played by Willem Defoe, and Eliot’s first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood, played by Miranda Richardson. Both are heartbreaking in their roles, but Rosemary Harris playing Vivienne’s mother Rose became my favorite character in the movie. (She also played the grandmother in My Life So Far, and was one of my favorites in that film, too.) Both Tom and Vivienne struggle with a variety of physical and emotional illnesses. It’s not a happy film, and it shows how abysmal medical care was for women during the timeframe of the movie (1914 to 1947) (though as Miranda Richards points out in an interview, some things haven’t changed). Maybe not an easy watch, but if you like biographies, turn-of-the-century films, or stories about literary figures, this is good–just very sad.

Last one is 1999’s An Ideal Husband. Some of the reviews for this one are less than enthusiastic, but I’m not a critic, and I was grateful for the levity of characters at cross-purposes after watching Tom & Viv. An Ideal Husband is set in London in 1895 and adapted from Oscar Wilde’s play of the same name. Rupert Everett shines as determined bachelor Lord Goring; Julianne Moore plays the treacherous Mrs. Cheveley, who causes all kinds of problems; Jeremy Northam plays Sir Robert, an ethical man with a threatening secret from his past he’s trying to keep from his upright wife, Gertrude, played by Cate Blanchett; and Minnie Driver, who plays Sir Robert’s younger sister Mabel. Some of my favorite performances came from Peter Vaughn as Phipps, Lord Goring’s manservant, and from John Wood, who plays Lord Goring’s father Lord Caversham with great, fractious dialogue between the two.

I’m glad I finally viewed all the movies from this collection, but the autumn equinox officially began today, and summer’s over, so…maybe no more movies for a while. What’ll I talk about next?

Sunday Sundries, movies, part 1

The book series I recently reread follows generations of three families from the 1770s to the 1940s. The characters are schoolteachers, journalists, lawyers, writers, entertainers, soldiers, and impoverished to aristocratic, and the books’ timelines encompass the American Revolution, the American Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II.

As many times as I’ve read them (and in recent years, acknowledged what makes them problematic to today’s readers), this time, they hit differently, most particularly the years leading up to the second world war. The rise of fascism, the marginalization and annihilation of  “the other,” the lust for power and greed that allowed atrocities, division, and propaganda to replace reason, decency, and diplomacy–these all had a too-familiar feel in today’s world. I felt numbing sadness from the invasion and occupation of nations from 1939 to 1941: Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. And because of the first book in the series, in which Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, appears as a fictionalized character, I thought many times of Colonel Charles E. Stanton’s famous quote as he stood in front of Lafayette’s tomb on July 4, 1917: “Lafayette, we are here.” The date marked the arrival of the U.S. Army to assist France in World War I as repayment for the valuable help of the young marquis during the American Revolution. And of course, my own father helped repay that debt to France when he landed at Normandy on D Day in the next world war, and he served in France, Holland, and Germany.

The sadness from the books lingered as I began viewing a set of movies included in British Cinema Collection: 8 Acclaimed Films. This collection was released in 2014, and I probably bought it then or shortly thereafter, but I’ve never even removed its cellophane until now. There are eight movies on two disks.


I’ve been watching them in order, and I think I’ve seen only two of them before (I haven’t finished, and I may have seen one of the films that remain) (ETA: I had not seen a third film from this collection). I began with 1995’s A Month By The Lake, with Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, and Uma Thurman. All three actors are wonderful in their roles. Set in Italy in 1937 at Lake Como, it’s described as a “delightfully sexy comedy.” I agree, but it also has a bittersweet tone because of the looming war (when Italy would ally itself with Germany and Japan). The movie continued the reflective mood I’ve been in since finishing my book series reread.

In 1999’s My Life So Far, Fraser Pettigrew (played by Robert Norman), ten years old, lives on a Scottish estate with his large family that includes his parents, grandmother, siblings, and a variety of other family members and new acquaintances who come to visit. I very much enjoyed this movie and its great cast (led by Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Irène Jacob, Mary Mastrantonio, and Roddy McDowell). It’s set in 1927, a time of ongoing recovery from World War I and with World War II looming on the distant horizon. On a personal note, possibly only Colin Firth could begin by playing a character I like, then turn really despicable, and somehow manage to charm me again at the end of the film.

I’d seen 1995’s The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain before, but I enjoyed the rewatch. Great cast, including Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Colm Meany, Kenneth Griffith, Ian Hart, and Ian McNeice, among others. Two cartographers are sent to a small town in Wales in 1917 to measure the height of a mountain that may qualify as only a hill. Again, I experienced a bittersweet sensation. Set while World War I is still raging in Europe, two of the characters are former soldiers, a man from the town who’s shell-shocked, and one of the cartographers, who, when questioned about why he isn’t serving at the front like all the men missing from their village, admits that he did serve but was discharged after experiencing the same shell-shocked symptoms. There’s abundant humor and some romance, but its biggest attraction for me is how this town of elderly inhabitants, along with women, children, contentious, quirky, and not entirely able-bodied people, work together to defend their mountain’s honor and their village’s pride.

The fourth movie on this disk, 1998’s Sweet Revenge, isn’t the kind of movie I generally watch. Though it’s described as quirky, mean people behaving badly will never be my chosen genre. I did appreciate the excellent cast (Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, and Kristin Scott Thomas in the lead roles, with an equally talented supporting cast), and I think people who like black comedy would enjoy the movie. Two people driven to consider ending their lives due to the impact of horrible people (one a boss; the other, a lover), encounter each other on a bridge. One of them comes up with a revenge plan that the other reluctantly agrees to. Chaos ensues.

Photo Friday, No. 927

Current Photo Friday theme: Vibrant


Mattel model Abby, wearing one of my dresses based on a McCall’s pattern, in the Place d’Armes Hotel courtyard, New Orleans, May 2009. I was there for a literary conference, and writers had fun posing with my dolls.

I’m happily compelled to share this comment from my last week’s “Album Cover” theme, about a photo that I originally used for a Photo Friday challenge in October of last year. Marc is the person who started the Photo Friday site in 2002, and I told him his comment made my year.

Can I tell you, Becky, that this shot, when you originally posted it, *is* the shot that inspired the #album_cover challenge. It’s a great shot with such lovely storytelling in a single frame. Kudos! marc · Sep 19 2024

How Everything (except me, maybe) Works


I found this book a while back and grabbed it because it wasn’t expensive and it does provide a surprising amount of information on a variety of subjects that a person lacking scientific, engineering, and mechanical know-how (i.e., me) can learn from.

For example, here is interesting information I found about ants. The picture of the Australian Red Fox is just a bonus because of the beauty and was photographed about to walk in front of an urban wall with a fox painted on it (not shown in the photo).

The pages don’t have numbers, so a bit of searching has to be done despite a table of contents, but it’s a fun book to browse. I always believe things like this will find their way into my fiction some way or another. I hope random research counts as “work,” because my work-in-progress is not…progressing. That’s okay.

Still summer: movies and smoothies.

I’ve watched all six movies in this collection, although only Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964), all with Rock Hudson as the love interest, and The Thrill of It All (1963), with James Garner playing her opposite, count as romantic comedies. One of the two suspense movies, Midnight Lace (1960), with Rex Harrison playing the husband, is one I’d never seen, and it is indeed a thriller (though probably tame by today’s version of that genre, which I don’t watch, suspense and violence being too hard on my nervous system). I’d seen clips from the Alfred Hitchcock-directed The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), with Jimmy Stewart as the husband. It was good to watch the film in its entirety and know how it got to the scenes I’d already seen.

What are you doing when you’re not working?

Sweet dreams, Troubadour

I was already asleep last night when Jim texted the news that J.D. Souther has died. His text was the first thing I read this morning. I’ve tipped my hat to Souther before on this site. The songs he wrote, the songs he sang, his collaborations with other artists including Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt… All part of the poetry that gave a soundtrack to the hopes, dreams, fears, and heartbreaks of my formative years. He had a tour scheduled with Karla Bonoff beginning later this month.


I’m sharing this photo by Henry Diltz and the following story, both taken from the Instagram feed lostcanyonsla.

J.D. Souther and Linda Ronstadt were inarguably one of the hottest and most talented couples in the LA canyon scene of the early 1970s. In the documentary on Ronstadt’s life, “The Sound of My Voice,” Souther tells a cute story of how their relationship began after meeting at the Troubadour. “I said, I think you should cook me dinner,” Souther recalls. “She said, okay and gave me her phone number. I went over and she made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I fell in love with her. The next day I said ‘Listen, let’s go get your stuff, you’re going to live with me.’”

It’s the kind of story I’d write* for the Neverending Saga, but it’s real. The romantic relationship didn’t last, but their friendship endured. And J.D. Souther’s music will endure.

*I DID write a PB&J sandwich story into a romantic encounter years before I read this real-life one. Timothy keeps reminding me that nothing is new and that’s okay.

Tiny Tuesday!


When I pulled the Alex and Emma DVD off the shelf the other day, I thought it was a film about a musician and a lyricist instead of a writer and a stenographer. Yesterday, I realized how I made the mistake. I was probably thinking of 2007’s Music and Lyrics, in which Hugh Grant plays a musician named ALEX Fletcher, a former superstar whose band broke up several years before.

Now Alex plays nostalgia gigs, county fairs, and amusement parks. He’s given a shot at relevancy with the chance to compose a song for a reigning pop star with a passionately devoted audience (think Britney/ Christina/ Miley/ Taylor). The problem is, he’s had a songwriting block for years and needs a lyricist. Enter Sophie, played by Drew Barrymore, who’s subbing for the woman who usually comes to his apartment to take care of his plants. Sophie once studied writing and has a gift with words, but a bad relationship zapped her confidence. Can these two be the answer to each other’s creative challenges? It’s a RomCom, we know the answer, but it’s fun getting there. The supporting cast adds to the fun : Haley Bennett as the pop singer Cora Colman; Kristen Johnson as Rhonda, Sophie’s older sister; and more characters played by Brad Garrett, Matthew Morrison, Billy Griffith, and Jason Antoon. I didn’t remember seeing the movie before, but Tim thinks I watched it with him, and he’s probably right. =)

I still have romantic comedy DVDs on the shelf, but I’m not sure how many more I’ll watch (though we’re having another bout of summer heat). I mentioned that I’d be rewatching one of my favorite movies with Al Pacino. The DVD came, but somehow I missed that it’s only playable on Region 2 devices, and alas, the U.S. is a Region 1 country. I’m thwarted; any Region 1 DVD of the film I can find is priced prohibitively. Maybe one day.

Today, I went back to the source of wee Becky’s love for romantic comedies: Miss Doris Day. I wasn’t born or was too young for her early career, but I had a mother who liked to watch old movies with me on the weekends. Though I came to her late, Doris Day movies became favorites. I think I found this collection last year-ish in Target or somewhere similar. Naturally, I grabbed it. Not all of the six films are romantic comedies, but they all have Miss Day and her great leading men.

The fashion in 1959’s Pillow Talk adds to my enjoyment of this movie. I REALLY love Doris Day and Rock Hudson (playing composer Brad Allen and his alter-ego “Rex Stetson”) together, and wardrobe did right by them. I’ve never opened my Pillow Talk doll set by Mattel because I want to keep everything pristine. This certainly wasn’t the way I started out with dolls after Neighbor Nancy gave me her Barbie collection when I was around nine. I played with every outfit that came from Nancy, and my mother added to the Barbie couture as she could, whether she sewed doll clothes, bought off-brand doll fashion, or sprung for Mattel outfits.

As I watched Pillow Talk today, I thought of how the movie could have been a direct inspiration for some of my vintage doll fashions. Here’s interior decorator Jan Morrow fresh out of bed in an early scene.

My doll Cassidy models a mid-1960s blue and white lace pegnoir set (not a Mattel label) that my mother bought for my dolls’ wardrobe.

Doris in the boudoir screen caps: pretty in pink, looking happy.


Looking worried.


Cassidy modeling Mattel’s 1960s Barbie Nighty Negligee Set No. 965. This is two pieces–the gown and the robe–and I believe it’s from Lynne’s collection.

Tiny dolls, big nostalgia, and a film full of entertaining scenes enhanced by Thelma Ritter, Tony Randall, and singer Perry Blackwell, who makes the absolute most of her lounge singer scene.