Springtime in Paris – Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

Hello everyone!! Welcome to week two of our Paris film journey! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I wanted fun and whimsy and beauty this spring, and although an actual trip to Paris in the spring would be better, a film journey will have to do. We are having great fun, and hope you will journey along with us!

Last week we watched Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, and oh, I adored it! I thought, no other movie is going to compare. And then, I watched this week’s movie, which is How to Steal a Million starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole.

I loved it. It was everything.

But we will get to that.

IMDB summarizes the movie as “The daughter of an art forger teams up with a burglar to steal one of her father’s forgeries and protect his secret.”

I have always loved Audrey Hepburn. To me she is the epitome of elegance and grace and beauty, with a bit of cheek and sass as well. As for Peter O’Toole, Billy and I commented that we had only ever seen him as an older gentleman in movies, so it was interesting to see him as a younger, leading man. Who is also elegance and grace and good looks, with a bit of cheek and sass. There were definitely quite a few moments when I laughed out loud at some his lines and his delivery of them.

There are quite a few great scenes in this movie, the first being the scene where Nicole (Hepburn), and Simon Dermott (O’Toole) meet. Nicole is home alone, reading in bed, when she hears a suspicious noise. She is reading a Hitchcock novel, and is probably a little on edge from her thrilling book, and at first dismisses it. Until she hears another, and goes to investigate. She creeps down the stairs, and catches glimpse of a shadowy man, a man who appears to be stealing one of her father’s forged paintings. She confronts him with an antique pistol, and the two meet eyes, as O’Toole reveals himself, very slowly, over the frame of the painting. It is our first real glimpse of him, and his very blue eyes. (and I thought about Lisa here, with her love of blue eyed actors) After a bit of back and forth between the two, there is a bit of a kerfuffle, and then Audrey shows us she can look absolutely elegant and amazing in anything, including a nightgown, pink coat, and wellies, designer I am sure.

However, the best is yet to come. Nicole and her father learn that a forged statue of theirs, which they have loaned to the museum, needs to be authenticated in order to get the mandatory million dollar insurance coverage required. This of course can’t happen, and Nicole is dead set on saving her father from any trouble. There is only one solution she can think of – she must steal it back, and for that, she needs the assistance of the only burglar she knows.

From here, the movie is all just one big adorable romantic heist. The two have to plan the robbery, and one scene cracked me up, because I am pretty sure this is how Billy feels on the daily with me.

Also, I wondered as well if Crispin Glover has studied O’Toole, because so many of O’Toole’s mannerisms made me think of Crispin Glover.

Anyway, back to the movie.

Quite a bit of the movie seems to take place with the two of them crammed into a small closet, and this just raises the stakes on the tension, both for the heist and their relationship.

I don’t really want to get into much else, because if you have not watched this movie, I want you to feel all the feels and joy that I did. I don’t want to give too many spoilers!

Let’s talk Hepburn’s wardrobe in this movie. In our last movie, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, the movie was all about Dior. This movie, Givenchy was the designer du jour. Hepburn absolutely loved Givenchy, and had said that “His are the only clothes in which I am myself.” The outfits she wore were impeccable, exactly what you would expect her character to wear, and the type to inspire daydreams in everyday women. Except maybe that white hat at the beginning. Givenchy is known for his clean lines and simplicity, and this suits Hepburn perfectly.

This movie made so happy and joyful. I felt my spirits rise while watching it. The pair were so believable in their roles, and it was just so cute at times. I absolutely loved it! So far, the movies for me have both been five star picks!

You can read Lisa’s post here, and also check out the rest through the linky!

I had a little extra bonus this time – Billy made us madeleines to enjoy while watching. They were delicious !

Did you watch? What do you think of this movie? Feel free to comment and link up with us!

Next up is: Paris Blues, starring Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, and Joanne Woodward.

This spring, I wanted to see something beautiful. Something that felt like coming out of the winter, flowers blooming, color where once there was gray and dark. Something that felt like daydreams. Something like, springtime in Paris.

I have however, never been to Paris, not in spring or in any season. But movies, like books, can take us anywhere. So this spring, Lisa and I are inviting all of you to join us on our film journey to Paris.

Our first movie: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

This was movie was the perfect choice to kick off our film event. A movie about following your dreams, about beauty, about luxury, about feeling alive.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is described by IMDB as “In 1950s London, a widowed cleaning lady falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, deciding she must have one. She embarks on an adventure to Paris that will change not only her own outlook — but the very future of the House of Dior.”

I am no fashion girlie, but I am a woman. I can get breathless at the sight of a beautiful gown, or become enchanted by a fabulous pair of shoes. I now even can get a little excited over picking out lipstick colors. But these gowns go beyond, don’t they? Vintage Dior. I think Mrs. Harris describes it perfectly when visiting the atelier, a room entirely in white just like the actual Dior, as visiting heaven. I think anyone would feel that way.

But I am getting ahead of myself. First, Mrs. Harris has to make it to Paris! And after a few nicely timed turns of luck, she manages to not only get there but to arrive with a purse full of cash, enough to purchase her very own Dior. But it is not as easy as stepping inside and picking out a gown, is it? Dior is not pret a porter, or at least it wasn’t. It was exclusive, for women with husbands who had deep pockets, titles, who were “somebody“. These gowns were ordered, then fitted to the lucky woman, like unique works of art.

Mrs. Harris, Ada, encounters a few obstacles to her dream, but due to her kindly nature, which also hides a bit of steel, her fairy tale story begins. Her fairy tale does have bumps along the way, but thanks to the friends she has made, and her own personality, that includes maybe even a bit of rebellion, there is a happy ending.

Most women would see these exquisite creations, and sigh, and say to themselves, “Oh, where would I even wear this anyway,” knowing that such dreams are probably out of reach. Well, Mrs. Harris saw the dress and thought to herself, I don’t care where I wear it. I am going to have it. Because why shouldn’t she have it, if she could afford it? Even if her life was spent scrubbing floors and her ballroom was the local Legion hall, why not? And why not indeed?

This movie was perfectly perfect. Charming. Delightful. Heartwarming and lighthearted, and just what I needed on this gloomy stormy Michigan day. A movie to remind me that dreams can come true, that we need not explain them to anyone, that we can dream big.

Plus, the dresses! This movie’s wardrobe and costume department had a huge job when they had to recreate vintage Dior, his tenth anniversary collection no less! And of course, I had a favorite, and it was not one of Mrs. Harris’ favorites. I absolutely loved the dress called Vaudeville. It is not the most showy or magnificent of the dresses that were in that collection, but to me it is just perfect. At the time that these gowns were being designed and made, these women had just gone through a war. A war that required a great deal of sacrifice, on all fronts, and where things like this would have been just a dream. I can only imagine coming out of such a time and seeing dresses like this in the newspaper. I can imagine all too well Mrs. Harris’ instant love. Mrs. Harris is all of us.

This movie was well acted, and was just a very lighthearted and easy movie to watch. Today’s world is also pretty tough, honestly, and this movie is one to lift the spirits. I highly recommend it!

I wanted to add as well, that this movie is based off the Paul Gallico book, Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris.

Did you watch? What do you think of this movie? Feel free to comment and link up with us!

And please feel free to watch and join us for all of our movies over the next few weeks! Next up is How to Steal a Million, starring Audrey Hepburn!

Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

Category: Springtime in Paris

Springtime in Paris: How to Steal a Million

Springtime in Paris: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris