Kate's Current Movie Crush - Van Johnson

Van Johnson as Andrew Larkin, In The Good Old Summertime.

It's a silly name for the movie, since it takes place almost entirely at Christmas. In fact, it's one of my favorite Christmas movies, one I always forget about until I run into it on TV during the holiday season.

If you haven't watched it before, you really should. It's a musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, and it stars a sparkling Judy Garland and my current movie star crush, Van Johnson.

Now, Van Johnson isn't one of those heart-stopping sexy leading men from the film industry heyday, like Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power or Clark Gable. He's more the boy-next-door, with the quirky smile and floppy hair, who you always end up rooting for to get the girl. Think James Stewart (who played the same role in The Shop Around the Corner) or Tom Hanks (ditto, in You've Got Mail).

So if you've seen either of those movies, you know the basic plot of In The Good Old Summertime. Boy meets girl, they fight and fuss, all the while not knowing that the other is their secret pen-pal. I love watching Van Johnson's progression from sparring partner to hidden crush, as he realizes that the ideal woman of his post-office-box romance is really the spunky, frustrating Veronica Fisher. Van Johnson and Judy Garland were friends in real life, and their comfort and delight in working with each other is evident in the easy, enjoyable interplay between them.

But the reason I've got this huge, movie star crush on Van Johnson right now is the last scene of the movie. He's teasing her about her "fiance", making up increasingly horrible things about this fictional man of her dreams (he's bald! He's fat! He's unemployed!), all the while interspersing it with coded statements of how he really feels about her. The little glances, the way he holds back when what he really wants is to sweep her into his arms -- sigh!

And when he sits down next to her, he can't keep his hands to himself. He touches her hair, puts his arm around her, toys with her lacy collar, even presses kisses to her temple while she all but pants with repressed sexual tension. It's one of the hottest scenes I've watched for a long time, and the farthest they finally go is a fade-to-black chaste kiss.

I've tried to find the scene on YouTube, but all I can find is the musical numbers from the movie. So you really should go rent it now. You can find it on Netflix, or, if you're a Comcast customer, it's a free On Demand movie via TCM.

Here's the TCM trailer, for a quick taste...


So, who's your current movie star crush?

Book BIN Tuesday -- The Power of Love

THE POWER OF LOVE
Special Anthology
Trade Paperback
Berkley Trade - June 3, 2008
ISBN-10: 0425221482
ISBN-13: 978-0425221488

12 Original Stories by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Rosemary Laurey, Luanne McLane, Janice Maynard, Lucy Monroe, Patricia Sargeant, Kay Stockham & J.C. Wilder

Buy the Book

In this engaging anthology of never-before-published stories, twelve award-winning and bestselling authors are united by their unique visions of the resilient woman and her quest for self, for fulfillment, for empowerment, and for an enriching new appreciation for what love really means—and why it matters.A young woman is torn between the overbearing security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame...a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life...an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career—and her man...an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel. These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their wonderfully fallible selves in the shadow of love—romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. You'll be touched, inspired, charmed, and amused by these twelve original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.

Twelve great stories by twelve great authors -- and all for a good cause, too. Do I even need to tell you to go Buy It Now?

Stacy, you can tell Kristie...

...she's got another convert.

I finally had the opportunity to watch the second half of North and South today. Big, happy, heart-warming sigh. Just a wonderful, wonderful film.

And Richard Armitage? Swoon!

So yeah, I'm watching the final scene (again) before sending it back to Netflix. And yes, it will be the next DVD I buy.

I may very well be the last person 0n the face of the earth to discover this miniseries, but just in case -- if you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and find it. It's definitely worth the effort!

My Newest Musical Crush....

Damn you, Lynne Connolly, for mentioning Seth Lakeman on the Samhain Cafe the other night. She said, and I quote: "Now go watch Seth Lakeman before I take him away from you. And don't watch him doing Kitty Jay. That way lies obsession."

Never one to back down from a challenge like that, I looked him up on YouTube.

She's right, dammit. He's amazing.

See for yourself:


Enjoy!

My New Favorite Site...

I'm a vocabulary geek. I love words, love to play with them, love to collect obscure information about the English language.

I'm also a big fam of donating time and money to worthy causes.

So imagine my delight when a loop buddy sent a link to this site:

FreeRice

For every vocabulary word you get right, they donate ten grains of rice toward world hunger efforts through the United Nations.

So tonight I procrastinated on my WIP for ten minutes, helped donate over 1100 grains of rice, and discovered that a

The Boy Next Door

Not sure if you know this, but one of my very favorite romance storylines is best-friends-turned-lovers. (The blurb for Challenging Carter might be a hint -- LOL!) Well, Jessica Jarman has a new release out with Samhain, The Boy Next Door, and it sounds like just my cup of tea! Check it out...

The last thing Darcy Phillips wants after the end of a disastrous relationship is to get involved with another man. Being free and unattached was the plan until her old pal Thomas "Mac" MacAllister strolls back into her life.

Mac has always loved Darcy but the timing was always wrong. Now, she’s home and unattached. And after a night of wine and conversation, things turn hot fast. But Darcy isn’t ready for more than the physical and she definitely doesn’t want anyone knowing what the two of them are up to. Especially her mother.

It isn’t long, though, before Mac wants more. Much more. Yet Darcy isn’t sure she’s willing to risk their long-time relationship for something as dangerous as love. But Mac is a man who knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to go after it.

Using their incendiary passion as a starting point, Mac sets out to win the girl of his dreams and show her that everything she wants…is right next door.

*****

Sounds great, doesn't it? Think I'm gonna trundle on over to My Bookstore and More to pick up a copy. Don't forget, every purchase through the 31st gets you in a drawing for an e-reader!