Foibles: A Mother-Daughter Podcast

Jaqueline Susann (1918-1974)   Novels:  Yargo (1950’s) - Science Fiction  Every Night, Josephine! (1963) - epistolary novel about her poodle Valley of the Dolls (1966) The Love Machine (1969) Once is Not Enough (1973)   Sex and Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown   Must watch film: Valley of the Doll (1967), starring Patty Duke, Susan Hayward, Sharon Tate, and Barbara Parkins   Music: Valley of the...

We've been on hiatus for some time! Thank you for your patience while I took a vacation - Xoe   Carole Lombard (1908-1942) nee Jane Alice Peters   Must-see movies: To Be or Not To Be (1942) My Man Godfrey (1936) No Man of Her Own (1932)   Marriages:  William Powell (1931-1933) Clark Gable (1939-1942)   Clip of the Love of Carole’s Life - Russ Columbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-zQWgOKFTg&amp...

Carole Lombard (1908-1942) nee Jane Alice Peters   Must-see movies: To Be or Not To Be (1942) My Man Godfrey (1936) No Man of Her Own (1932)   Marriages:  William Powell (1931-1933) Clark Gable (1939-1942)   Clip of the Love of Carole’s Life - Russ Columbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-zQWgOKFTg&t=102s Thank you to  David Plell and Powerbleeder for our theme song "Future Mind"  listen here...

Pt III of III Jane Austen (1775-1817)   Novels Sense and Sensibility  (1811) published when Austen was 37 years old Pride and Prejudice  (1813) Mansfield Park  (1814) Emma  (1815) Northanger Abbey  (1818, posthumous) Persuasion  (1818, posthumous) Lady Susan  (1871, posthumous)   Our favorite adaptations: BBC P&P (1995) - the best! Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle S&S (1995) - Emma Thompson...

We'll be back in June with the final part of the Jane Austen Series!

Pt II of III Jane Austen (1775-1817)   Novels Sense and Sensibility  (1811) published when Austen was 37 years old Pride and Prejudice  (1813) Mansfield Park  (1814) Emma  (1815) Northanger Abbey  (1818, posthumous) Persuasion  (1818, posthumous) Lady Susan  (1871, posthumous)   Our favorite adaptations: BBC P&P (1995) - the best! Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle S&S (1995) - Emma Thompson w...

Pt I of III Jane Austen (1775-1817)   Novels Sense and Sensibility (1811) published when Austen was 37 years old Pride and Prejudice (1813) Mansfield Park (1814) Emma (1815) Northanger Abbey (1818, posthumous) Persuasion (1818, posthumous) Lady Susan (1871, posthumous)   Our favorite adaptations: BBC P&P (1995) - the best! Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle S&S (1995) - Emma Thompson won an Os...

Thank you for joining us for the fourth and final part of the series on the life and career of Preston Sturges. Unfortunately, he's a jerk in this one and his later films are... simply not good, so you'll find this to be a somewhat downbeat episode. We'll make sure something short and sweet is next, so look forward to that!   Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer,...

Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer Part III of IV Must see movies: Sullivan’s Travels (1941) The Lady Eve (1941) Christmas in July (1940) Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942) Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a depa...

Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer   Part II of IV Must see movies: Sullivan’s Travels (1941) The Lady Eve (1941) Christmas in July (1940) Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942) Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a dep...

Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) birth name Edmund Preston Biden - writer, director, producer   Part I of IV Must see movies: Sullivan’s Travels (1941) The Lady Eve (1941) Christmas in July (1940) Runner Up: Palm Beach Story (1942) Full Quote from the Title: "A pretty girl is better than a plain one. A leg is better than an arm. A bedroom is better than a living room. An arrival is better than a depa...

Jeanette MacDonald (1903 -1965)   Nelson Eddy (1901 - 1967)   Naughty Marietta (1935) - Highly recommended Rose Marie (1936)  Maytime (1937) - Highly recommended The Girl of the Golden West (1938) - Highly recommended Sweethearts (1938) - Highly recommended New Moon (1940) - Highly recommended Bitter Sweet (1940) I Married an Angel (1941) - hmmm, inter-esting   A couple of recommendations of their...

Herman Melville (1819-1891)   Most famously the author of Moby Dick but his best work is Bartleby the Scrivener (1853) - “I would prefer not to.”   Billy Budd (1891) - left unfinished at this death Our preferred adaptation is a loose one - Beau Travail directed by Claire Denis (1999) As adapted into an opera by Benjamin Britten - Billy Budd (1951) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6cdCuKhjKM   Than...

The final part of the life and times of Rudolph Valentino: his second divorce, the famous boxing match, and more. * Corrections: Rudy gave out his first and only prize for best actor in 1924; the first Oscars were held in 1929, not 1926.  Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)  In Part IV, we discuss Rudy's first two marr...

Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)  In Part IV, we discuss Rudy's first two marriages and the drama that ensues, and his rise to international stardom with the Sheik (1921). Top 5: The Eagle The Sheik/Son of the Sheik Cobra Blood and Sand Moran of the Lady Letty Photos from the Young Raja Valentino's Car The Mineralav...

Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)  In Part IV, we discuss Rudy's first two marriages and the drama that ensues, and his rise to international stardom with the Sheik (1921). *Correction: There exist two other recording of Rudy's voice. One can be heard here: Rudy Singing "Kashmiri Love Song" Top 5: The Eagle The Sheik...

Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)  Top 5: The Eagle The Sheik/Son of the Sheik Cobra Blood and Sand Moran of the Lady Letty Ken Russell did a good, though at times surreal, biopic - Valentino (1977) - starring the ballet legend Rudolph Nureyev. Thank you to Powerbleeder for the theme song "Future Mind"  listen here!...

Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)      Top 5: The Eagle The Sheik/Son of the Sheik Cobra Blood and Sand Moran of the Lady Letty Ken Russell did a good, though at times surreal, biopic - Valentino (1977) - starring the ballet legend Rudolph Nureyev. Thank you to Powerbleeder for the theme song "Future Mind"  listen he...

Rudolph Valentino nee Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (1895 - 1926)    Top 5: The Eagle The Sheik/Son of the Sheik Cobra Blood and Sand Moran of the Lady Letty Movies watched:   Patria (1917) - Fragments only exist; He shows up briefly in the background of a nightclub in episode 2. Movie stars Irene Castle.   A Society Sensation (1918 short) - romant...

Xoe and Rita discuss Pnin (1957) Vladimir Nabokov's absolute masterpiece of a novel.

Barbara Stanwyck nee Ruby Stephens (1907 - 1990) She had a 64 year show business career!    Must-see Stanwyck in chronological order: Night Nurse (1931) - Starred with newcomer Clark Gable who became a lifelong friend   The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932) - There are some elements that did not age well but it is still a touching romance that defied the laws of anti-miscegenation.   Baby Face (193...

Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977)   Recommended: Pale Fire (1962) - Parallel stories told through an epic poem and the annotation to the poem. Brilliant layering of clues, leaving the reader to decide how unreliable the narrator is - and who he is   Pnin (1957) - Pnin is a professor at the same college where John Shade and Charles Kinbote for Pale Fire teach. Pnin is mentioned in Pale Fire.    Lolita...

Douglas Sirk (1897 - 1987) - All That Heaven Allows (1955) Sirk was a Dane born in Germany and became very successful in Germany as a theater director. His 1st wife joined the Nazi Party. He left Germany primarily because of the danger the rise of the Nazi Party created for his 2nd wife who was a Jew.  The core and substance of Sirk’s oeuvre was created in Hollywood in the 1950’s in so-called wome...

Book: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, published 1905. 11 sequels plus numerous short stories   Movie adaptations: Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon- The BEST adaptation Pimpernel Smith (1941), Leslie Howard- Meh. The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), David Niven and Margaret Leighton- Rita hated, Xoe loved the surreal sets. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982), Anthony And...

Experiences the child-like joy of gleaming muscles, flashing teeth, ill-timed explosions, and mayhem by the best of the worst.   Link to Ted's IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0697961/   Xoe and Rita's Top 7 Ted Prior Movies: Sledgehammer (1983) KILLZONE (1985) Born Killer (1989) Future Zone (1990) Raw Nerve (1991) Possessed by the Night (1994)** Day of the Warrior (1996)*   Honorable Mentio...