Hollywood dreams

"If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain't been in vain for nothin'."Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

 

My mother collected things, many things. That may not seem unusual in itself, but she was what would now be known today as a compulsive hoarder. There are perfectly good reasons why this was, but I don’t want to talk about that today.

What I want to discuss is one of my mother’s more excellent collections, her film annuals. Growing up I spent an awful lot of time watching old movies with my mother. I was a weak and wussy child prone to infections and bugs and my mother was quite over protective, so as each sneeze or sniffle arrived I was kept home until I was deemed healthy enough to return.

Hollywood dreams

While I was in convalescence for whichever bug I was plagued with my mother would bring me downstairs and we’d watch an afternoon film together. This was the afternoon matinee, usually a black and white murder mystery, or full on Technicolor musical complete with singing, dancing and glamorous costumes.  

Hollywood was a place of refuge for my mother, a place where dreams came true and happy endings were practically guaranteed. We would watch quietly as each heroine sang her way through another crisis or danced her way to success. Her favourites were Bette Davis, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, and Jennifer Jones.

Dream weaver

They were beautiful; perfect figures with their corseted silhouettes and tiny waists. Their crimson cupid bow lips and perfectly sculpted hair a revelation. We watched in awe silently until the final credits rolled, sometimes with a tissue handy but always with plenty of chocolate and tea at the ready. They were special times when I felt especially close to my mother and I look back at those times with great fondness.

"That's, uh, quite a dress you almost have on...What holds it up?"An American in Paris (1951)

What it also gave me was an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Hollywood actors and films of the 40s and 50s that made me old before my time. Most of the actresses and actors had died before my time anyway and while most of my friends were hooked on the latest singing sensation to grace the charts,  I’d be rambling on about Lana Turner’s hair and Mitzi Gaynor’s dancing skills. I must have seemed odd.

 

But they were special; they were so unreal, glamorous and perfect. I wanted to wake up and be Rita Hayworth or Lana Turner, they were a perfect anecdote for my less than perfect life, an escape route from my own misery.

"I just love finding new places to wear diamonds. “Gentlemen prefer Blondes (1953)

We know now that the well-rehearsed picture poses and perfectly written articles that featured in the film annuals of the time were often a cover for their own less than perfect lives. The film studios eager to portray a squeaky clean image for their audiences, made sure their contracted stars looked every bit the Hollywood star right down to hair and make-up. Their private lives had to be above scrutiny at all times with not so much as a hint of scandal.

 The annuals I have go back to the late forties and early fifties each one full of pictures and “stories of the stars.” In the Film Show Annual we are greeted on the inside dust jacket with a promising message “here to greet you are the stars of film-land telling, in intimate articles written especially for this edition, of their moments of heartache and happiness, of their disappointments and successes, of their hopes for the future.” How intimate or how truthful these articles were remains to be seen, but it gave those of us hungry for a taste of glamour, a glimpse of their perfect Hollywood lives.

 I have not only inherited a love of old movies and film stars I’ve also fallen in love with forties and fifties fashion – my favourite vintage period. From the cupid lips to the shimmering bangs and high waisted shorts, the forties were a time of unrivalled glamour that gave the public an escape route from the austerity of World War II.

 

"Well, I'll wear the darn clothes if you want me to - if-if you'll just, just like me."Vertigo 1958

Hollywood saved us all then, my mother, the millions of men and women who made that trip to the cinema each week and me, sat in my mother’s arms watching them dance and pirouette their way into the arms of some good looking hero ready to save them from themselves.

We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives."Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

These film annuals provide precious memories of not only my mother, but my own childhood and the glamorous escape route Hollywood gave us all. 





All I wanted was just what everybody else wants, you know, to be loved.



 

Gillian Jones is a freelance copywriter and blogger. If you want to know more about her services then drop her an email at pandora.77@hotmail.co.uk or visit her site at www.taith.net