5 Movie-Themed Biopics That I'd Like To See

Earlier in the week I caught up with My Week with Marilyn, which had Michelle Williams (in an Oscar-nominated, amazing performance) playing the one and only Marilyn Monroe and endure a week with Eddie Redmayne's boring Colin Clark. While the film was a perfectly serviceable look into the difficult shoot of The Prince and the Showgirl, directed by Laurence Olivier (a great Kenneth Branagh), it wasn't as interesting as it could have been. In fact, I spent the whole time wishing that I was watching biopics of other people. By the end of My Week with Marilyn, this is the list I came up with:

Vivien Leigh

This is a pretty obvious choice on my part. It's just that after reading four different biographies on her and then writing my own, I know how interesting her story is. While it would be a little bit exhausting to see her entire life play out on screen, it would be quite heart-breaking to see her descent into mental illness. Basically, anything around the time when she was filming Caesar and Cleopatra and what happened after that. Or, if we were wanting to go on a Blue Valentine route, we could chart the relationship between she and Laurence Olivier and how that dissipated over the year. Or maybe down a bit of a less-intense version of We Need to Talk About Kevin showing the slight disconnect between her and her daughter Suzanne. Or maybe just down the traditional road of making a movie about the making of Gone with the Wind. It has been done in a TV movie, but I feel like that story could be a whole lot more. With Vivien, there's a whole range of opportunities for stellar movies, which was one of the reasons why I didn't totally feel My Week with Marilyn: her character was treated poorly. Mind you, I suspect the problem with a biopic on Vivien is the fact that absolutely no-one could play her. She really was one in a million.

15 Favourite Redheads From the Movies...

Brave came out this week, and I have to say, Princess Merida's curly red hair was definitely the best thing I've seen in a long time. As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of red hair - in fact I once tried to dye my own hair red but then I realised that it was only ever meant to be boring brown. So why don't we celebrate the coolest red heads in cinema, whether they be actors/actresses or characters. And no, there'll be no Weasley family. They're awesome, but I feel like they're exempt because everyone knows how awesome they are anyway...

15. Victoria 'Vicky' Page from The Red Shoes.

The Red Shoes is based around some, well, shoes that are red. I guess it helps that the main character Vicky, played by Moira Shearer in her debut performance, has hair that practically matches the shoes that end up destroying her life. It also helps that this 1948 classic has one of the best uses of colour that I've ever seen. And no, I don't think that just because of Moira's beautifully fiery hair...or do I?

14. The natural, but part-time ginger McSexyPants - Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston.

These guys were born and bred guys with hair that's red (ha, I should so be a rapper), but you wouldn't exactly think "oh, they're red heads!" That's because their red doesn't go as far as Merida's, yet if you look hard enough, it is there. Even though I hate Hiddles for his perfection and Fassy for his sharky smile, they had to sneak in a mention. Because they're both great advocates for ginger pride.

13. Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic.

From what I hear, Leo-Mania wasn't the only thing that came out of James Cameron's mega-squillions hit Titanic. Kate Winslet, sporting the most luxurious bright red curly hair (in fact, she is pretty much a real life Merida), one over the hearts of many, and sparked a bit of a trend. I mean sure, there was a love affair between the poor Jack and the rich Rose which was doomed thanks to that ship not being 'unsinkable', but I was having a love affair with Rose's hair. Any time Kate wants to go back to red, I'll be happy.

Classic Movie Marathon Day 3: Woman of the Year (1942)

Welcome to day three of the Classic Movie Marathon. Three movies down, nine to go. Up next is An American in Paris (1951).


Romantic comedies. They have become subject to a lot of hate, mainly because the lead female characters, usually played by Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl, are really annoying and the endings are so cheesy and predictable. That led me to wonder how Woman of the Year, a seemingly formulaic romantic comedy, could be any better compared to the latest we have seen. Am I simply being too lenient towards classic films? Or were they really different back then? I'm going with the latter option. I really enjoyed this one, despite it's obvious predictability.

From what I've read, women weren't likely to outshine men in any way back in the 40's, but since the men were away at war, the women started to stick up for themselves. If I didn't know any better I would think that Woman of the Year is a highly feminist piece, as Tess Harding (Katherine Hepburn) is portrayed as a person so much better than her other half Sam Craig (Spencer Tracy). Tess is a highly opinionated, well-educated girl with an extreme knowledge of every language ever known to man and a reputation as one of the most influential women...she even gets the award for 'woman of the year'. She meets Sam, a man working at the same paper as her on a sports column, and falls in love and in a whirlwind decision decides to marry him. It seems that the idea that Tess has of marriage is a very different one to the real world. She's barely at home, and if she is at home she is more focused on her work, often forgetting about Sam. She may know how to be the woman of the year, but she doesn't quite know how to be a normal wife. Naturally, Sam feels neglected, even though his wife is one many would like to have.

This was the first pairing between the magical duo of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and I see why they continued making money out of this pair. If romantic comedies lack anything these days, it is true chemistry. The chemistry between Spencer and Kate? It is enough to make a whole film. The excellent script crackles beneath them, as they bounce insults, love and jokes off each other effortlessly. I loved Tracy's sarcastic tone and resentful persona which he used to great comical effect. Hepburn, I have to say, like her character, completely stole the show. Yeah, her character is kinda annoying because she knows everything, but it's so funny that she can't do everything. That is used in the funniest part of the movie, where we see the perfect lady finally coming apart. The final scene, a really long uninterrupted sequence of Tess trying to cook waffles, is hilarious. Especially when the waffles start breathing. It's worth seeing the movie for that scene alone.

The movie isn't the best comedy to come from the 40's, but it is certainly worthy. Many people may have problems with the way it tries to sell female power in the form of Tess Harding, and it makes no secret of the fact that it is a feminist piece of cinema through and through. Others may have trouble with the sudden dip into melodrama the film takes, forgetting that it's a comedy in a bid to try and tug the heartstrings (using a kid as bait is a strange move...I see why Life As We Know It took inspiration from that). Non-Hepburn fans will hate this film. Yes, it is a film that acquires to a certain taste, but anyone in the mood for a smart, lively romantic comedy should have their needs satisfied with Woman of the Year. It has a predictable end, but boy, is it a sweet one.

What I got:

My Top 10 Favourite (classic) Actors/Actresses

I've gone through my favourite modern actors and actresses, and y'all seemed to enjoy that. As promised, I am now going to relive my past and go through my favourite actors and actresses from the classic movies (to be eligible they had to have their debut before 1955). Oh, I should point out that this list isn't in order of likeability - I couldn't possibly do that - but instead it's in alphabetical order. It's a lot easier, that way!
P.S. You wouldn't believe how I long I took looking for photos of these people. It was hard to just pick one!

Honourable mentions: Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, James Dean, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Olivia De Havilland, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara, William Holden, Gene Kelly, Janet Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor.

Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman was such an interesting person. She was Alfred Hitchcock's go-to-girl, as she starred in Notorious, Spellbound and Under Capricorn. She became a star for her spell binding performance in Casablanca. She won three Oscars for her performances in the creepy Gaslight, Anastasia and Murder on the Orient Express. She was outed from Hollywood due to an affair she had with film-maker Roberto Rossellini. And she died on her 67th birthday. All the while, she became an iconic, devestatingly flawless Swedish star who may just be one of the greatest actresses who ever lived. I wish I could be her.
Favourite performance: Gaslight
Favourite film: Casablanca


Humphrey Bogart

Who doesn't love Humphrey Bogart? He was one of the most widely used, versatile actors around in the Golden Age. And chances are, if you've seen a classic, then you have probably seen Casablanca (if not, you need to see it, now). It's the original love triangle movie with some of the best lines ever. But we're not here to talk about the greatness of Casablanca, but rather the greatness of it's leading man, Mr. Bogart. Now he is the original tough guy. He's the original gun-toting no nonsense bad-ass. And that's why I love him.
Favourite performance: The Big Sleep
Favourite film: Casablanca


Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando is by far the best example of a legend. His talent, his remarkable voice, his choice of roles, his looks...they all contribute to the icon he is remembered as. I remember when I first saw him in A Streetcar Named Desire, where he plays a powerful, troubled Stanley Kowalski and I couldn't get over what an actor he was, especially considering that this was only his second feature film. I personally think that this is his best performance, but that's not forgetting about his Oscar winning work in the likes of On the Waterfront and The Godfather.
Favourite performance: A Streetcar Named Desire
Favourite film: A Streetcar Named Desire


Bette Davis

How does one even begin to describe Bette Davis? Well, her nicknames were 'The First Lady of Film' and 'The Fifth Warner Brother', so if that is anything to go by, Davis sure made her mark on Hollywood. In my opinion, she was one of the greatest actresses who ever lived. She was never the kind of actress who played the shy types. Instead, she was as tough as nails, as seen in her much acclaimed films All About Eve and Jezebel. One of my favourite films of hers, though, was the brilliant Now, Voyager, in which she plays an old spinster who blossoms under therapy and even finds romance. She was so unusually sweet in that movie. One of her most memorable roles, though, was in the ultra scary What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? which she did with Joan Crawford, better known as her arch nemesis. I will never forget that movie simply because Davis was so scary!
Favourite performance: All About Eve
Favourite film: All About Eve

Cary Grant

Cary Grant, to me, is basically the epitome of a classic film. I can just hear his voice muffled by the dated sound system that classic movies used to have, and I can picture his cracking smile in a black and white film. If I think of classic movies, I think of Cary Grant, pure and simple. He's also the man who never seemed to age. One of the earliest films I saw him in was the hilarious The Awful Truth, and he didn't seem to change between them and 1959's North by Northwest. He was still the same suave, handsome, romantic guy, up for anything. His comic skills were amazing, and are some which the likes of rom-com wannabes Josh Duhamel can not live up to. The worst thing? He never won an Oscar for his acting.
Favourite performance: North by Northwest
Favourite film: The Philadelphia Story


Katharine Hepburn

 It's interesting because the first Katharine Hepburn movie I attempted to watch was The Iron Petticoat, and I turned it off within the first 10 minutes because she drove me nuts. Since then, I watched some of her most acclaimed works, and it became more apparent to me as to why she was rated #1 on AFI's top classic stars. Just look at the movies she was Oscar nominated for. She won the first time she was nominated for Morning Glory in 1933, then was nominated another eight times, and then won the last three times she was nominated. And she still holds that record. She was a truly wonderful, bold actress, with brilliant comedic and dramatic ability. How could you not love her?
Favourite performance: Bringing Up Baby
Favourite film: The Philadelphia Story


Grace Kelly

Though Grace Kelly only made 11 feature films, she was amazing. Her cool exterior was totally boss. I used to have the mega obsession with her in late 2007/early 2008, so I saw nearly all of her films and read three biographies on her. So yeah, if you wanna know useless facts about Grace, I'm your man. I thought it was kinda ironic that she went through her short film career basically looking like a princess, and BAM! Prince Rainier of Monaco wants to marry her and she becomes a princess. Isn't that a dream come true? Also, she starred in three Hitchcock films, and Hitch himself described her as one of his favourite actresses. She made a big mark in such a short time.
Favourite performance: The Country Girl
Favourite film: Rear Window


Vivien Leigh

If I were to be called an expert on anyone, it would definitely have to be Vivien Leigh. I've seen most of her films, read at least five biographies on her, even written a biography on her myself, made an 100 page project on her...you get the picture. I was - and still am - in love with this woman. To the point I would call her my favourite actress of all time. Of course, my love for her came from her performance in Gone with the Wind, but she is just as good in everything else. Especially A Streetcar Named Desire, which I think was her best performance. As a person, she certainly wasn't dull, dealing with recurring bouts of tuberculosis (which caused her death in 1967), a highly publicized marriage to Laurence Olivier and suffering from manic depression which plagued the latter part of her career. And she was so devastatingly beautiful too.
Favourite performance: A Streetcar Named Desire
Favourite film: Gone with the Wind

Paul Newman

I remember the first time I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which was around the time I went through a huge Paul Newman phase. Jesus, could this guy act! And those blue eyes...stunning. He has such a complex and interesting resume, right up to his final film Cars in 2006. I guess you could say his films are highly accessible by all, and he's just so damn likeable you can't help but fall in love with him. And hey, you can't argue with a guy who has his own salad dressing, can you? Paul Newman was the man.
Favourite performance: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Favourite film: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

James Stewart

James Stewart was such a good guy. Anything he is in makes me exponentially happy. He could just be in anything and make it 10 times better. And I've seen my fair share of Jimmy Stewart movies. I guess, after the 50's he started playing the non-good guy roles, which was cool, but I like nice Jimmy. I like him especially when he is in comedies, my favourite being The Philadelphia Story. And I liked him a lot in It's A Wonderful Life, which is like one of the coolest movies ever. And I like him in Hitchcock movies, especially Rear Window. Consensus: I like James Stewart. Don't you?
Favourite performance: It's A Wonderful Life
Favourite film: It's A Wonderful Life

Any objections to this list? Next weekend, I'm gonna round things out with my favourite directors list. Anyone wanna start placing bets on the winner? Haha.