I'm In A Different World (Connecticut)

Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin released an excellent single in 1984: a heavily reworked Four Tops cover, I'm In A Different World (b/w Henry and James). Neither side of the single was a hit, but other musicians paid attention, and everyone from the Pet Shop Boys at the time to Mark Ronson recently has strip-mined these tracks. Stewart & Gaskin's IIADW strikes me as perfect Manic Pixie Dream Girl Movie s/track material. My visuals go back to the original, slightly frightening, manic pixie, Kate Hepburn's Susan Vance in Hawks's Bringing Up Baby (1938), but I'm vaguely hopeful that my vid. might help get the song discovered by someone making a contemporary film. We'll see.

BTW, the cutie at the beginning of the clip (with the good comic timing and Grace Kelly voice) playing Cary Grant's fiancee is Virginia Walker. Under personal contract to Hawks, BUB was Walker's debut and big break. But in a screwball-worthy twist, soon after BUB wrapped, Walker eloped to Mexico with Hawks's brother, thereby leaving the business. Walker did return in a few (mostly uncredited) very minor parts in 1945-1946, but died soon after that, at age 30, following (according to Louella Parsons) 'a long illness'. Too bad/sad.

Clicks in Ball of Fire (1941)

It's a cute conceit: Katherine "Sugarpuss" O'Shea (Stanwyck) clicks her way through Hawks's Ball of Fire (1941), loses her click-mojo slightly near the end, but evidently has passed much of it on to her Professor-cherubs (who need it). BoF is a slight film in many ways, but it grows on you, and Stanwyck's on fire throughout. Of course, in 1941 Stanwyck was brilliant all over, doing The Lady Eve for Sturges and Meet John Doe for Capra. Two bona fide classics and a delightful romp: pretty good year.

You know you have an Alison Brie problem

When you find yourself getting inexplicably angry whenever Community spends much time with anyone other than her character Annie:

I'm starting to think that this response might interfere with Mad Men Season 5 when it screens. Like everyone else, I've loved the Trudy and Pete Campbell 'surprisingly strong marriage' sub-plot on MM, but my now evidently borderline prurient interest in Trudy (Alison Brie) may throw off the equipoise of my interest in the show. I'll be slightly, unconsciously angry at Don and Sally etc...for drawing attention away from Trudy, which is crazy!

At any rate, I hope Brie does some movies soon, and that, in particular, someone writes a great screwball comedy for her. She's incredibly funny and smart as well as being smoking hot in a pretty-gal-next-door way. That's the combination that Lombard/Colbert/Stanwyck/Dunne/Hopkins/Arthur had in Hollywood's golden age. Make it so again Hollywood!