June Elizabeth Capri

Castro remembers Elizabeth Taylor, actress

Her beauty and mega-stardom often obscured Elizabeth Taylor's (1932-2011) acting. As the Castro Theatre's retrospective (May 27-June 1) shows, however, she gave many exceptional performances. Opening night benefits Project Inform.

MGM planned Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) for Grace Kelly, but it gave Taylor a signature part. Director Richard Brooks and James Poe adapted openly gay Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, toning down the direct references to repressed homoeroticism. Taylor's Maggie is riveting: sexy, aggressive, sarcastic, vulnerable, desperately in love with husband Brick (Paul Newman) and determined that he not be disinherited by his dying father (Burl Ives). Newman's Brick, the most demanding of  Williams' male roles, tensely embodies tremendous anxiety about his dead best friend Skipper's nature and their relationship. Ives, recreating his Broadway triumph, is an American Lear. Judith Anderson, Jack Carson and Madeleine Sherwood (also from the stage) are sensational. Six Oscar nominations: Picture, Actor (Newman), Actress (Taylor), Director, Screenplay, and Cinematography.

Gore Vidal adapted Suddenly Last Summer (1959) from Williams' shocking, allegorical   off-Broadway success. Taylor is Catherine, traumatized after witnessing her homosexual cousin Sebastian's gruesome death, and desperate to avoid a lobotomy. Katharine Hepburn is her rich Aunt Violet, fearing the truth about her only son and prepared to sacrifice Catherine to protect his memory. Gay Montgomery Clift is the troubled neurosurgeon/psychiatrist. Set in 1937 New Orleans. With Mercedes McCaimbridge. Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed. Taylor and Hepburn received Best Actress Oscar nominations. Williams found the film too literal, but like Cat, it cleaned up. (Fri., 5/27)

MGM saw Raintree County (1957) as another Gone With the Wind. It wasn't, but it did well. Taylor plays a mentally unstable New Orleans belle visiting Indiana. Feigning pregnancy, she steals Montgomery Clift from Eva Saint Marie. She also learns her mother may have been insane. During the Civil War, she returns to the South, winding up in an asylum. Taylor scored her first Oscar nomination for her overwrought characterization. Edward Dmytryk directed. With Lee Marvin, Agnes Moorehead, and pre- Star Trek DeForest Kelly. Not on DVD.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 « mylifecouldbeanovel

Wow!  I can’t believe that four days have already passed since my last post!  Since I have missed some I will recap what has taken place over the last few days before I get into today’s post.

Sunday, we drove a total of 6 1/2 hours and moved all of our remaining household goods from our old house in Mankato.  It was crazy that it took us longer to load up the remaining items than it did to load and unload the semi when we moved the bulk of our household goods in April.  We started our day out leaving the house at 8:00 a.m. and after all was said and done settling back in at about 9:30 p.m.  It was a LONG day!  On the happy side of this note though … the boys’ are finally “home” and we are all under ONE roof again without a long daily commute to work either!  YAY!!!!

Monday — Rob had to be to work at 6 a.m.  and then had to get in bed early since he had to be in at 5 a.m. on Tuesday.  So, the boys wanted to go clothes shopping.  Since we are still trying to get our feet on the ground I decided to research what thrift stores are within 10 minutes of our house.  We found a nice good-will thrift store in Apple Valley to go take a look through.  It was SO clean and very well-organized!  Plus, on Monday’s they have their 1/2 off specific color stickers.  Ely was excited because he found a Beatles t-shirt that was in great condition and fit him nicely.  He also found two swim suits for this summer.  Ryan found a few pairs of shorts and a swim suit.  I found three pairs of very nice Capri’s for work.  After scoping out the clothes we decided to stroll through the household items section.  Ely found a game that we had not heard of before and he really wanted it so we could figure it out.  It is about 3 feet by 1 1/2 feet (sort of like a Nok-Hockey game board) and it looked rather interesting.  It is called “Skittles”.  When we came home we researched the game and found that it is an old game that came from London.  The basic concept of the game is to take a top and get it spinning in the entrance of the game board and try to knock over as many pins throughout the board to get points.  There are different rooms on the board that are various sizes.  The smaller the room the higher the point value of the pins.  We can’t wait to play it!  We found the game on Amazon and it ranges from $40 – $75 used.  Ely got this one for $2!!  Of course it didn’t come with the game pieces and we ordered them online for $10.  So … we still came out good.

Fodor's Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Naples

General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British empire

Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, The Isabel of Essex Volume, Containing the Descendants of Isabel (Plantagenet), Countess of Essex & Eu

Who's who in engineering

Fodor's Naples, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast, 3rd Edition