tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post7906050815416988645..comments2024-03-28T18:32:38.243-04:00Comments on Poseidon's Underworld: Designer Double-Dip: "Christmas" Re-GiftingPoseidon3http://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-24258271360826279982022-05-25T18:00:07.285-04:002022-05-25T18:00:07.285-04:00Just remembered! Rosemary was one of the stars of ...Just remembered! Rosemary was one of the stars of the 1957 “Edsel Show”, introducing Ford’s newest creation. Things did not start off well - the door handle of her brand new Edsel came off in her hand.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848827163648287162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-20972759591438200752022-05-25T14:22:48.810-04:002022-05-25T14:22:48.810-04:00I associate Rosemary Clooney with her "Extra ...I associate Rosemary Clooney with her "Extra value is what you get, when you buy Coronet," commercial. Do they have a stack of paper towels in the museum? :) Shawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00349063352632344096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-65602862544334322282022-05-24T07:42:57.595-04:002022-05-24T07:42:57.595-04:00hsc, I really think that the "flesh-tone"...hsc, I really think that the "flesh-tone" fabric of the chorus girl costume has gotten darker over time (or perhaps under the blinding old time lights of VistaVision just "read" lighter on film.) Regrettably, I didn't take time to really examine the garment up close (or ask more about it.) And, yes, the original base may have given out and the principal details applied to a new underpiece. Some of these clothes really got a workout and that's not even counting all the endless dress rehearsals, multiple takes, etc... And dare I mention perspiration! LOL Thank you!<br /><br />Ken, thanks for visiting and commenting! It took me AGES to see "White Christmas." I know I was nearing 40 before I finally saw it. There is some corn along the way, but between the gorgeous photography, the familiar songs and, what may sway you, some truly eye-popping dances, I think you'd find yourself well occupied. I have a feeling that, like me, you'll appreciate it far more than you anticipated you would prior to viewing. <br /><br />VictorG, as you can imagine, many people in these here parts have stories of brushing up against Rosie in one situation or another and I feel like the most common denominator in every tale is that she was so very down to earth and "real" to speak with. A little blunt at times, but typically about herself as much as anything else. I have yet to have an unhappy experience relayed to me by anyone who met/worked with her in this area. Glad you had the same pleasure (and thanks for sharing it with us!)Poseidon3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-61348049128085994272022-05-23T12:04:05.184-04:002022-05-23T12:04:05.184-04:00Terrific piece as always, Poseidon, I am fascinate...Terrific piece as always, Poseidon, I am fascinated by the lives of the costumes as well as of the stars, second bananas and bit players. As a music and classic film lover, I never miss Holiday Inn and White Christmas during December. Back in the 1980s I worked in the music biz here in NYC and had the great pleasure of working with Rosemary Clooney, who was recording wonderful albums with Concord Jazz every year. She was a delight, she sang live in the studio with the band, not over tracks, so it was especially fabulous. She signed her book and albums and photos for me and was simply lovely. Years later she wrote a second autobiography and I met her again at Barnes & Noble, and she was as wonderful as ever, a great singing star and a great lady. How nice to know that Rosemary Clooney's home is now a museum, she was a big star with a big heart and a gorgeous voice. Thanks, Poseidon!VictorGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434725510841591143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-15195535062853652932022-05-21T14:16:34.254-04:002022-05-21T14:16:34.254-04:00Although I've yet to even see "White Chri...Although I've yet to even see "White Christmas" (I've seen so many of the numbers over the years it almost feels as though I've actually seen the whole thing) I got such a kick out of the info about the film, it's predecessor, the museum and the history of them all.<br />Such an informative post and I always enjoy seeing you in photos, your enthusiasm for movies always comes through. I don't know what it'll take to get me to watch WHITE CHRISTMAS, but until such time, your engaging and witty post will do just fine. Thanks!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-49752276723314472012022-05-16T13:29:50.056-04:002022-05-16T13:29:50.056-04:00I always enjoy these detailed looks at movie costu...I always enjoy these detailed looks at movie costumes, and especially the ones that reappear in later films!<br /><br />That Rosemary Clooney museum is great, and I really appreciate the fact that they not only preserved a complete chorus girl costume from the "Mandy" sequence, but tracked down another notable use of the set of costumes!<br /><br />However, the shot of the costume in the museum seems to show a more solid base for the segments (flames? petals?) that swirl around the body. <br /><br />In both sets of framecaps, it looks like a lighter-colored sheer fabric was used to give more of an illusion of "bare skin peeking out" between the segments. And as you say, it's really more apparent in ROUSTABOUT without the back pieces, when the girls turn around.<br /><br />But on display, it looks like that fabric is now darker in comparison to the other segments (which, as you say, have faded), and now it seems opaque rather than sheer. <br /><br />I guess this could just be the way the fabric photographs on a mannequin rather than a dancer-- but maybe the original costume had to be reconstructed because the base fabric didn't hold up well?<br /><br />(I know a lot of the costumes Debbie Reynolds collected and eventually sold at auction were in sad shape in the auction catalog photos-- sometimes to the extent where you had to wonder if it was actually the same piece in the movie still next to it!)<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your visit to the museum and the wonderful looks at these three films! Love to all-- and be well and safe, everyone!hschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788554330108647969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-31415865647247545362022-05-16T13:17:34.830-04:002022-05-16T13:17:34.830-04:00HAHAH I meant to say Mary Wickes there at the end ...HAHAH I meant to say Mary Wickes there at the end of my comment! Kaye was speculated to be many things but a character actress...not so much. Thanks again!Ptolemy1https://www.blogger.com/profile/04334386659240438250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-91608356511190795892022-05-16T08:50:26.608-04:002022-05-16T08:50:26.608-04:00Dan, I don't think we ever truly got enough of...Dan, I don't think we ever truly got enough of Mary Wickes in anything! (Except perhaps "Sigmund the Sea Monster.") I don't really know too much about the construction of movie costumes, but I do pray regularly that Kim Kardashian doesn't come to the Rosemary Clooney House and try to rent out any of the clothes there for a future Met Gala...!! Ha! <br /><br />Gingerguy! Hilarious about the hitch-hiking! I think Charlie was outta here after his early childhood (though I'd have to look that up to know for sure), so we will pass along responsibility for his actions to someplace else! I always say any place that gives the world Charles Manson and Roy Rogers (who was from here, too!) is always going to have a schizoid atmosphere to it! And we do. <br /><br />Shawny, that "rehearsal hall" is actually the floor of the Vermont Inn, with the stage right there. So all the set pieces had been loaded in to the venure. The cream colored item is one of the off-white chairs that the dancing girls in red use during the number. ;-) <br /><br />Ptolemy1, I went years and years without ever having seen this movie and the number that startled me was "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" by Rosie. I wasn't prepared for that sleek black dress and those gloves, all so glam in a movie I anticipated would be more... rustic? I think I really fell in love with her easy, warm voice at that moment. But, yes, what a scream that this HUGE production number goes on in a barn and yet looks like it's at Radio City Music Hall or someplace and then when it's all finished, after all its astonishingly garish glory, the young gal on the floor goes, "This'll bring business in, Grandpa..." or something like that!! HAAH!!! Poseidon3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-15627588311603151812022-05-14T00:32:09.228-04:002022-05-14T00:32:09.228-04:00Probably my favorite Christmas film, well, that an...Probably my favorite Christmas film, well, that and Finney's Scrooge! from from 1970. I'm partial to the "Abraham" number, where Ellen lets loose and throws down taps like bullets out of a machine gun. That film is such a fantasy, many a time my friends and I have hooted over the barn magically transformed into a soundstage, with its seemingly seamless floor. I've always been a big fan of Kaye and I'm glad he replaced Astaire. He's given a wonderful chance to shine in this. The GREAT character actress almost steals the film and is a hoot and a holler. Thank you.Ptolemy1https://www.blogger.com/profile/04334386659240438250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-16223239414500602042022-05-13T23:06:49.223-04:002022-05-13T23:06:49.223-04:00Interior Designer Double Dip? The overhead shot of...Interior Designer Double Dip? The overhead shot of the rehearsal studio, center left, there's a woman standing on what looks like the scarlet backdrop used in the Mandy number, but cream color. Maybe being used as a room divider. I'm probably wrong. I need to get a hobby...Shawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00349063352632344096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-35455596654013958072022-05-13T13:58:57.441-04:002022-05-13T13:58:57.441-04:00Lol Doris and Vera Ellen carpooling while pour Cha...Lol Doris and Vera Ellen carpooling while pour Charles Manson probably hitch hiked. I love that your neighborhood is chock-a-block with famous people. I do remember the post about the museum and somebody imitating Mary Ann Mobley's big strip tease number for Miss America. The Museum sounds really fun. I loved the detective work here, and those costumes work in both settings, though the girlie show looks more fun. As always, your eagle eye is most imprressive.Gingerguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17989371210392669145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006108502645191096.post-58918572337096825512022-05-13T11:33:52.261-04:002022-05-13T11:33:52.261-04:00I’m surprised they let you back in - weren’t there...I’m surprised they let you back in - weren’t there a few untoward moments at your last visit?<br />I love “Holiday Inn”, although I have to mute the TV, leave the room, and put a bag over my head during that odious “Abraham” number. So difficult to believe anything like that could ever have been considered in good taste. <br />I know millions adore “White Christmas”, but I’ve always found it a bit cloying. And why didn’t the marvelous Mary Wickes get a big solo number?<br />I know you can enlighten us on this, but I recall reading that “background” costumes were constructed in a way that made them easier to alter, for example, often being made without a lining. <br />Thanks again.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848827163648287162noreply@blogger.com