A Monday Salon: A Favorite Painting or Two...or Three!

Lennart Helje is a Swedish illustrator particularly known for his wondrously moody paintings of gnomes either with animals or without, but usually with snow. He was born in Lima (I'm assuming a village or city in Sweden and not the Lima of Peru) in 1940.

I am very fond of  his work and fancy that I can spot a Lennart Helje illustration at twenty paces. The first thing I think of when I see his work is: softness. There is such welcoming softness in this cozy world of gnomes and snow and friendly animals. Just lovely, comforting work.

Perfect, I think, for a quiet Monday after an exciting holiday weekend.

A Good Morning Christmas Picture

Angel Playing A Flageolet by English Pre-Raphaelite painter, Edward Byrne-Jones.

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and the artful joys of the season.

Friday's Forgotten Books: JINGLE BELLS illustrated by J.P. Miller

This is my favorite Christmas book. It has been since I was young enough (though not a child, I now realize) to appreciate the cozy expertise of  J.P. Miller's warm illustrations. I have here a copy somewhere (or perhaps I gave it to my daughter for her daughter - can't remember) but if I should stumble across another copy at some garage sale, I'd snatch it up.

I know it's probably available in a new Golden Books edition, but it wouldn't be the same. J.P. Miller, an early animator for Walt Disney, was another brilliant illustrator in an era when great artwork and childrens' books were synonymous. When it comes to Christmas, nobody made it more fun than Miller did in this wonderful book.

All I have to do is look at these illustrations and suddenly I'm a kid again.

To read an appreciation of Miller, his life and work, please use this link.

To learn about Miller's use of color, please use this link.

Since this is Friday Forgotten Book Day, don't forget to check in at Todd Mason's blog, SWEET FREEDOM. He is collecting and posting the links today for Patti Nase Abbott who is on leave for the holidays. Todd will be doing this good deed for the next couple of weeks.

A Good Morning Christmas Picture.

Art by beloved British illustrator Shirley Hughes.

An Early Christmas Present: Nutcracker - The Motion Picture - Production designed by Maurice Sendak

I have this book and love it, of course. I'd always wished I could see this 1986 version of Tchaikovsky's NUTCRACKER SUITE, designed by the great illustrator and writer, Maurice Sendak and finally, I have. Netflix currently has it for streaming! What a treat!

When my daughter was young we used to take her almost every year to see this wonderful ballet during the Christmas season. Mostly at the Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ, but also once, the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. It was always magical. When my granddaughter is old enough, I'm hoping her mom and dad will carry on the tradition.

Adding a couple of youtube links so you can view a few of the dances from the film. Just in case you don't have access to Netflix, I understand the film is available from Amazon On Demand, it is also available as a dvd purchase and for minimal fee downloading from various internet sources.

Link to the Spanish, Arabian, Chinese and Russian dance segments.

Link to the beautiful Forest interlude and the Waltz of the Snowflakes.

The Nutcracker Trailer.

Film directed by Carroll Ballard.

New Yorker Christmas Covers

Cover art by William Joyce.

Cover art by George Booth. Who else?

Another one by Booth. He is a cruel man. Ha!

Cover art by Charles Saxon.

Cover art by Davis.

Cover art by Sempe.

Cover art by William Steig.

Cover art by Edward Gorey.

Cover art by Arthur Getz.

Cover art by Garrett Price.

There are very few magazines that have the design oomph of the venerable New Yorker. Especially at Christmas. These are some favorites.

A Good Morning Christmas Picture.

This is the work of the wonderful illustrator, Tricia Romance. Yes, that's her name and doesn't it suit her work? Love it.

A Christmas Carol: Variations on A Theme.

illustration by Arthur Rackham

You can never have too many versions of Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL - right? I've found five to like, though of course, the favorite is always the one with Alastair Sim. There's just something delightfully scurvy about Sim's portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge. It seems to please just about everyone.

1) Number One on most any list of Favorite interpretations of Dickens' classic. Though in this poster, Tiny Tim doesn't look very tiny. I wonder that Scrooge can continue to hold him up.

2) After much consideration, I've considered that the George C. Scott version is my second favorite. But then, I'm a HUGE fan of Scott. He doesn't do the best English accent, but that doesn't seem to matter. He looks the part and he's such a talented actor that he wins me over in the end with his joy at rediscovering his humanity

3) My third favorite has Reginald Owen as Scrooge. This is an earlier version than the Alastair Sim one and nearly as good.

4) Patrick Stewart as the only Ebeneezer Scrooge with sex appeal. Stewart can't help himself. I really do enjoy this version.

5) The Muppets Christmas Carol starring Michael Caine as Scrooge and the Muppets as everybody else.

What's not to like?

Any Christmas movie even partially narrated by Rizzo the Rat is okay by me.

A Good Morning Christmas Picture.

Painting by J. C. Leyendecker, one of the premier Golden Age illustrators. His iconic style is instantly recognizable.

6 Dubious Christmas Movie Ideas

I read Keli Goff's hilarious post, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BAD CHRISTMAS MOVIES? And wanted to share the experience. Laughing out loud at this time of year is highly recommended. I laughed while reading this and gave thanks I'd never seen (and never will see) any of the films mentioned.

Then I decided to add a few of my own Christmas 'no-no's' to the list. Yes, I'm willing to take the risk of being thought a grouchy old dame.(Ha!) Here are six dubious holiday movie ideas I would definitely avoid at Christmas.

1) Any Christmas movie with Jim Carrey in it. Period. He just doesn't get it and I don't get him.

2) Any Christmas movie that involves sugary romance re-discovered, re-lived or remembered. Since when did Christmas become date night? 2-A) Any Christmas movie where one of any two is dying of some mysterious disease.

3) Any Christmas movie with aliens from outer space. Am I the only one who sees no resonance in this?

4) Any Christmas movie with people doing drugs. I mean - huh?! No, I am just not that jaded yet and I hope I never will be.

5) Any Christmas movie that might star Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson. So wrong, on so many levels.

6) Any Christmas movie that involves brave little orphans making do. Dickens already did.

Tuesday's Overlooked (or Forgotten) Films: THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER ((1942) starring Bette Davis and Monty Woolley.

Tusday is Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film day around these parts, a weekly meme hosted by Todd Mason at his blog, SWEET FREEDOM. Don't forget to check in and see what other overlooked films other bloggers are talking about today.

I'd forgotten what a wonderful humbug of a Christmas movie this is. The screenplay, after all, is based on a popular comedy by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart - two magical names in NY theater history. (I particularly recommend, if you haven't read it, Hart's memoir, ACT ONE.)

Monty Woolley is perfection as the house guest from hell forced to spend the Christmas holidays at a hapless strangers'  home. The reason? Stay tuned.

Monty Woolley as Sheridan Whiteside.

Sheridan Whiteside (Woolley) is a world famous radio personality, critic, author, lecturer and general acerbic bon-vivant who is on a mid-western lecture tour. He is ably attended to by his very capable secretary, Maggie Cutler (Bette Davis) who appears indifferent to his rampaging egomania, his constant irascibility and mock witticisms.

When Sherry and Maggie are invited to lunch at the movie-typical mid-western upper class home of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Stanley (Billie Burke and Grant Mitchell), Whiteside slips on their icy front steps and tumbles to the sidewalk. Uh-oh.

Loudly intending to sue the Stanleys for 250,000 dollars, Sherry is wheelchair AND house bound. But that doesn't stop him commandeering the Stanleys' rather nice home complete with servants, for his own purposes - much to the Stanleys' dismay. Whiteside has a New Years Eve radio broadcast coming up and he intends to set up shop in the Stanleys' library.

"A penguin bit me!"

Equipped with a nurse played by the wonderfully peckish Mary Wickes and daily visits from a local doctor who is primarily interested in having Sherry read his manuscript, Whiteside takes over the one phone line and dining room for dinners with his own guests - excluding the Stanleys.

It is the constant comings and goings of these guests (among them, convicts from the local prison, members of a Sheridan Whiteside fan club), the press, the special deliveries of get-well mail, the presents -including a live octopus in an aquarium, four penguins and a mummy case from the Cadiz of Egypt that add to the general bedlam.

To make matters worse, Sherry interferes in the lives of the Stanley's grown-up children and tries to tamper with Maggie's love life (she's fallen for the boyish newspaper owner, Bert Jefferson (Richard Travis).

Jefferson has written a play which Maggie loves and promises to show Sherry. But, as part of his plot to stifle the budding romance, Whiteside invites his 'blossom girl', movie-glitzy star Lorraine Sheldon (Anne Sheridan) to fly up from Florida and sink her hooks into the play AND the handsome playwright.

Anything to stop Maggie from contemplating love and marriage and leaving Sherry in the lurch.

An old friend, Beverly Carlton (Reginald Gardiner) shows up to wish them a Merry Christmas - in between catching trains - and just about steals the picture.

Gardiner is simply delightful. He plays the sort of character everyone should be lucky enough to have in their lives especially around the holidays.

Jimmy Durante, shows up too, as Banjo, a bouncy actor and long time friend of Whiteside and Maggie who tries to fix things for his old friend Sherry.

An ancient mummy case eventually helps in the fixing of 'things'. Of course, in the end, a bit of timely family-skeleton blackmail doesn't hurt.

Servants putting presents under the tree. Sherry's tree. The Stanleys' tree has been relegated to the upstairs master bedroom.

On the whole this is a fun picture, especially so at this time of year.

It is filmed rather like the stage play it originally was, but I didn't mind that. The cast is wonderful, especially the aforementioned Reginald Gardiner and the sight of Bette Davis's simply awful hairdo and dowdy wardrobe has to be seen to be believed. She's supposed to look like a secretary, but ...Oh well, it only adds to the general fantasy nature of the fun.

I loved the penguins, too.

More info on the film and it's creation from a 2010 post by Joe Crisalli at STALKING THE BELLE EPOQUE. Link here.

Note: A dvd of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER is currently available on Amazon for about six bucks.