All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.

auldcine:

GENE TIERNEY as Laura Hunt in LAURA (1944)

audhorne:

February 24th 1989 - Twin Peaks Pilot (1990) | Twin Peaks The Return: Part 17 (2017)

(via pete-martell)

a-study-of-fred-and-ginger:

In my research for an academic book on Fred and Ginger’s partnership, I’ve been watching and re-watching, comparing and contrasting, all of Astaire’s partnered dances. The reason the world went nuts for Fred with Ginger was because of their chemistry. As Hermes Pan said, ‘Ginger was his best partner because the chemistry was right… They seemed to go together.’ But what makes it so? There are many, many reasons, but here are just a few, from a dancer’s perspective. Firstly, Fred and Ginger rarely break eye contact when they dance or act together. In fact, the line between fact and fiction blurs with Fred and Ginger because they are habitually locked in each other’s eyes. What makes this special is they seem to do it even in non-romantic scenes. Whether in conflict, in romantic pursuit, or just in casual conversation, they rarely break eye contact, and even when Ginger is called to walk away or look away in a scene, Fred is always watching her. In their earlier films together (before Fred was as comfortable as a film actor), Fred often looks to Ginger during non-dancing scenes to get a feel for how to react. If you watch Fred when he dances with Hayworth, Charisse, Ellen, etc., often the woman will look at Fred for a second or two, but then break his glance and look down or away. Ginger, conversely, is completely engaged. If Fred or Ginger senses the other is watching them, they immediately lock eyes again. So that’s the first thing about them. They have some sort of innate understanding of each other’s physical presence.
This is also evident in their body language both on and off of the dance floor. Ginger is the only partner with whom Fred has virtually no respect for her personal space. This is not a cruel or domineering gesture on Fred’s part, but, rather, the sign of two dancers who think and move as one brain.
If you look at Fred’s best partnered dances with Hayworth, Charisse, Ellen, Chase, etc., again as a contrasting example, you’ll see Fred resist his natural tendency to get as close to his partner’s face and body as possible. Even in romantic dances with Hayworth, Charisse, and other fine partners, there is personal space, or an airy formality and glamour to the dance. Fred is very, very careful with his supporting arm and legs. If his face comes very close to the woman’s face, he hesitates, out of respect.
With Ginger, conversely, there is no personal space, not because Fred doesn’t respect Ginger, but because they move in one fluid line at all times. There is a physical comfort between them. In fact, many, many critics have suggested that Fred man-handles or hoists Ginger around with an energy he does not employ with his other partners. However, if you look closely, (and if you are a dancer with any training you’ll likely already know this), you’ll see that Ginger has an intense control over her upper body and her legs, but she yields to Fred’s force, particularly as the dance crescendos. This is a choice Ginger makes. If Ginger had no control over her torso and legs, she would collapse under Fred’s so-called man-handling. So, you can see it’s a natural way in which Fred and Ginger move together: Ginger resists with control over her back and legs, but gives into the sensuality of the dance by yielding to Fred’s overtaking her, in a manner of speaking. It’s a kind of physical conversation Fred and Ginger have that is so special. Let me say that it is also very, very rare, even by today’s dance standards, and I have been studying dance history for many moons.
I could go – and nearly have gone – on all day, but the other main thing that makes Fred and Ginger so potent together is what they are caught doing outside of character. These examples include nudging or prodding each other with little inside jokes or physical teases. Sometimes it appears that they don’t even think about it. They’ve worked for so many hours together, over so many years and over so many films, that they almost have a secret language. You can see this as they enter into ‘I’ll Be Hard to Handle’ in Roberta, for example, or when Ginger is “teaching” Fred to dance in Swing Time, or when they’re at the zoo in Shall We Dance. Some of the greatest tension between them comes during their famous quarrel during ‘Cheek to Cheek’, and you can see that even when they’re in a huge fight, they’re in total eye contact and even have a few moments where Fred tries to get Ginger to smile before her series of backbends.
This is not to disparage the other fine, technically pure dancers Fred Astaire has danced with, because they are all beautiful. It’s just a little exploration – from a dancer’s point of view – of what makes Fred so chemical with Ginger.

(via a-study-of-fred-and-ginger-deac)

sillysymphony:

_{The Public Enemy (1931)}