The Mad Miss Manton, 1938

Millionairess Manton finds a dead body. A pack of young ladies find clues they hope will lead them to the killer. Newspaper editor Peter Ames falls in love with a million dollars worth of trouble while trying to get the scoop on this case. She’s in trouble with the law, the newspaper editor, and a killer. How close will she get to the truth before she becomes the next victim?

Barbara Stanwyck takes on the title role in this loveable, funny mystery. Henry Fonda is in this and two later films with Stanwyck, all comedies. They worked well together. Hattie McDaniel is the maid, Hilda, who is far from invisible like some movie maids.

Since it’s a comedy, you know her girlfriends won’t all be shot to death, and you know the heroine won’t be shot to death. But there were plenty of opportunities for the bad guy to get away with murder.

A Powerful Female Merchant

How many of us have had the boldness to push the boundaries of what was normal? Have we stepped out and challenged people to act according to their faith?

When a friend asked me to pray for her healing, I saw it as a challenge. I’d prayed for others, but this was a new opportunity for me. I’d never prayed for a pastor’s wife before. Not with her standing there waiting on me to start praying. Was my faith big enough for that?

I remembered that God was the one being challenged, not me. I wasn’t able to heal anyone, but God heals people all the time. My friend’s boldness caused me to confirm to her that God’s love is big enough and powerful enough even through my prayers. He is enough.

In the Bible, a woman named Lydia issued a challenge which caused people to take a look at their faith. She was a seller of purple cloth, and knew how to push the boundaries.

Join me at Seek God With Me for more about Lydia, the bold merchant who loved God. If you like shaking things up a bit, you’ll love Lydia.

Reckless, 1935

Ned Riley, played by William Powell, has taken a two-bit dancer and made her a star. Now that she has the attention of a millionaire, will she jump at the chance to live in real luxury?

Jean Harlow, who plays Mona Leslie, had some great scenes with Rosiland Russell, who plays Jo Mercer, Harrison’s ex-fiance. Franchot Tone plays wealthy Bob Harrison so well, I didn’t see the ending coming.

I enjoyed the performances. I believed Harlow’s performance of a good-hearted woman in love with a reckless millionaire. I believed her pain and tenacity afterward.

It was interesting to see the inimitable Mickey Rooney playing Eddie, a little boy who helps Riley out. Of course, I always love William Powell’s characters. He makes them real and gives them a sense of humor.

Victor Fleming, who directed Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, also directed this film.

A Powerful Mom

A mother’s persistent love can overcome many obstacles. Matthew 15:21-28 shows the example of a mother who never gave up. Her daughter was suffering terribly, and she knew Jesus was able to heal her. She was basically told – by Jesus, himself – that she wasn’t important enough for him to stop and listen to her.

Did she get offended? No. It took a special “mother’s boldness” for her to continue pressing Jesus for his healing touch for her daughter.

Many moms pray for their children, but sometimes God gives us a chance to push in closer to Him and use our faith a little more than we normally do. If we accept God’s invitation to a deeper relationship with Him, we can reap great rewards.

Today on Seek God With Me, I’m taking a look at the mother with a sick child and how our persistence with God is a good thing. Join me.

Imitation of Life, 1934

Claudette Colbert plays a widowed mother carrying on her husband’s business of selling maple syrup. She is helped by Louise Beavers as Delilah, the maid who becomes the face of Aunt Delilah’s Pancake Flour. Colbert’s Bea Pullman uses her maid’s secret recipe to become a self-made millionaire. She makes sure Delilah gets her part of the profits, but she can’t help her with her parenting problems.

This important film takes Delilah out of the stereotypical maid role and makes her three dimensional with parenting conflicts. Delilah’s daughter is very light-skinned and wants to pass for white, but her mother won’t let her get away with the deception.

Beavers should have gotten an Oscar for her performance. She gave the role truckloads of emotion. How could anyone watch the ending and not cry?

I recognized Warren William and Ned Sparks from the 1933 film Lady for a Day. They worked well together in both films.

Claudette Colbert showed some “girl power” and took the role of businesswoman to a graceful height.

Girl Power

It’s February! The month of love. Many people think about flowers and candy this month. You can’t help but see all the Valentine’s Day advertisements and offers.

However, this is going to be Girl Power Month on this blog.

I’m shaking things up just a bit to say it’s okay to be bold and push the boundaries. It’s okay to try something different. We don’t have to go through the same old whiney complaints every year. We can change our situation.

I’m going to highlight women who have stood up to what was expected and turned the other direction. I love bold women who act out of love for others.

This month you can think about how you can begin changing your situation for the better. Thanks for challenging yourself with me. It’s more fun when you do things together.

I Love Edith Head Movies

Thanks for joining me for my month-long clothing indulgence. The Edith Head movies I reviewed this month are not the only ones on my blog.

Since the summer of 2008, we’ve had sixteen Edith Head movies on Blogging Domino. Alphabetically, the first nine of the sixteen films range in year of release from 1941 to 1982. In Sullivan’s Travels (1941), Veronica Lake has a variety of costumes, and she wears them well. In Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982), Head designed clothes to match the clothing styles in the old movies that were edited into the story.

These are nine of the Edith Head films I’ve reviewed on this blog: A Place in the Sun 1951 (Jan 2012), Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid 1982 (Jan 2012), Holiday Inn 1942 (Dec 2009), June Bride 1948 (Aug 2011), Notorious 1946 (Mar 2010), Rear Window 1954 (Feb 2010), Roman Holiday 1953 (May 2009), Sabrina 1954 (Jan 2012), and Sullivan’s Travels 1941 (May 2009). Stars wearing her costumes range from beauties like Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn to men like Humphrey Bogart.

The next seven films range from 1945 to 1973. The male stars range from Cary Grant to Robert Redford. The female stars range from Olivia de Havilland to Grace Kelly. These are the last seven (alphabetically) of the sixteen Edith Head films I’ve reviewed on this blog: The Bells of St Mary’s 1945 (Dec 2010), The Greatest Show on Earth 1952 (Aug 2008), The Heiress 1949 (July 2008), The Sting 1973 (Jan 2012), The Ten Commandments 1956 (Apr 2010), To Catch A Thief 1955 (Apr 2009), and White Christmas 1954 (Dec 2009).

In the full cast and crew listing for The Ten Commandments on imdb.com, Head was one of five listed costume designers. I’d love to also have a listing of which costumes she designed. And who doesn’t love Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief? That wardrobe still inspires designers today.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, 1982

Steve Martin stars in a 1940s-style film noir comedy. And even though it’s filmed in the classic film noir black and white, he doesn’t have his trademark white hair. He’s a handsome brown-haired detective looking for his client’s father’s killer. Since eighteen films from the 1940s are used in the story, Martin gets to have scenes with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart among others. Names and places from those films are brought into this plot at odd angles. Comedic surprises abound.

This really isn’t a family-friendly film. I couldn't invite my kids to watch the comedy because of Rigby Reardon’s roaming hands. But aside from the crude humor, it’s really funny. If you’ve seen most of the eighteen films which make a brief appearance from time to time in this story, you may recognize the other films’ original intent and see how this story makes room for the mergers. The Steve Martin film makes the other films feel right at home somehow.

This is not an Oscar-winning film, like the others I reviewed this month, but it includes clips from seven (of the eighteen used in the story) films in which Edith Head had designed clothes. And this is Edith Head’s last film.

Clothes That Mean Something

I’ve enjoyed this month of clothing, noticing Edith Head’s work, noticing clothing in the Bible. Today on Seek God With Me, I’ll take a look at a piece of clothing that has meaning. In the day of Moses, the clothing of priests had specific meaning. Everything that was on the garments had a purpose.

God explained how to make Aaron’s priestly garments and which ones to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. Where did they get the supplies to make everything? Exodus 28:1 tells us that Moses received an offering from those whose heart prompted them to give. It wasn’t a tax or a fee. It was freely given.

For more about clothes, join me at Seek God With Me.

Sabrina, 1954

Linus, the more responsible of the two Larrabee brothers, is in the middle of working out a Larrabee-Tyson merger, a business deal with the family of the woman his brother will be marrying. David, the spoiled playboy brother, can’t seem to settle on one woman since they’re all so fascinating. So the fact that he’s agreed to marry is a big deal. When David sees the chauffeur’s daughter has come home from Paris a bit more grown-up than when she left, he hardly recognizes her. He also suddenly finds her more fascinating than his fiancé. Linus must rescue the business deal, even if it means wooing her himself.

Being with David is what Sabrina wants, but something is wrong. She doesn’t fit into the family’s expectations of the kind of woman David should be with, especially since he’s already engaged. Being with Linus isn’t really what Sabrina wants, but he makes her feel comfortable and secure, for a little while.

Billy Wilder directed this popular film starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden. Although it received six Academy Award nominations, the only one taking home an Oscar for this film was Edith Head (Best Costume Design, Black and White). Head excels at making elegant suits for men and beautiful gowns for women, but French designer Givenchy made Hepburn’s gowns. It made sense because her character had been in Paris for two years.