a B movie and a Barbara movie

I've been able to sneak downstairs early a few mornings to indulge in some pre-code film gems. It's something I truly love and look forward to; lighting a fire in the woodstove, making a cup of tea, and snuggling under blankets on the couch with an old movie on the TV.

 I admit that sometimes it's hard for me to break away from my favorite actors and actresses and watch films that star ones I'm not familiar with. But beggars can't be choosers, and when you're streaming movies for free on YouTube (because their copyrights expired and they went to the public domain) you have to see what comes up.  The first one that came up featured a cast I was not familiar with. But look at the pulp-fiction imagery on the poster!

I couldn't resist. And of course any film that centers around a troupe of cabaret singers won't disappoint. Within the first few minutes, a man is peeping through a keyhole on a ship, hoping to see a young lady undress. The story that follows includes suicide, divorce and knife-fights.  .  .not bad for a B movie.

 The next one I need to write about is from 1929, so it's a very early talkie. In fact, I commented to my husband that this film illustrates very well the bridge from the silent because although there is sound, their faces and body language still do quite a bit of the communicating and acting.

This film is the second one starring Barbara Stanwyck. Her first film was a silent one, which has been since been lost. 

The title of the film alone is pretty risque, because we all know what happens when men and women are behind locked doors together. There's also alot of drinking shown, which was obviously still illegal in 1929 thanks to Prohibition. At one point a man questions his wife about a mutual acquaintance, plainly asking "Did he ever make love to you?". Obviously he's concerned about her virtue and pre-marital chastity, but with that question he also concedes that it was possible.

I'm watching another Stanwyck movie now, but it's not a pre-code one so I'll write about it in a future post.

"This is Halloween- everybody make a scene!"

One of the most depressing days of the year for me is the day on which I put all our fun summer stuff away for the year. I don't mean beach balls or plastic pools; I mean all the stuff that makes our house and yard so Us. I put all my handmade wind chimes, yard art and funky painted furniture into the garage,shed or basement so they don't get damaged in the long winter months. My consolation for putting away those things which always make our home so unique, and weird and welcoming is that at least I can put up the Halloween decorations. So, the first one I put up was this Halloween wind chime, which I recently made:

I also decorated the outside porch: 

Eric and Johnny raked up some of the leaves and pine needles yesterday: 

And of course I had to get out the Nightmare Before Christmas display:

And the other day I saw our old grill sitting in the shed and I got inspired to turn it into a Halloween fairy garden:

Most of the stuff I already had in my dollhouse/craft supplies, but I did buy the little tombstones at Michael's this morning.

I've also been working on some Christmas dollhouses and crafts, but I'll save that for a future post.

House Work

Not dishes and laundry and vacuuming, though; I mean dollhouse work!

We recently went to NYC to see the  Beetlejuice show on Broadway. Since that's one of my all-time favorite films, it was pretty exciting to see it come to life in front of my eyes.

The show is more like "inspired by" the movie rather than a theatrical version of it, and I didn't care for some of the changes to the characters and story. However, the visuals were amazing! And it really motivated me to work more on my Beetlejuice dollhouse when I got home. I found a small sandworm light from Hot Topic that I bought for the bathroom:

And once I started working on the Beetlejuice house, I got ideas for other houses, too. I finally got around to making a pumpkin patch for Hagrid to hang in, outside of the Harry Potter book shop:

I also have been scouring the thrift stores for things to add. I recently came across a vintage brooch that was a fan. I removed the pin part, and put it to use in the geisha house. It looks like the fans they use in dancing:

I also have been working on some of the smaller houses/displays, but I'll save those for a future post.