Sunday, December 4, 2016

Black and White - A Poetic Love Letter

What is it about those films of the 1930’s that makes movie fans all over the world open their hearts and willingly step into a unique place and time all its own? No matter how much time passes or how the world changes, these films continue to speak to a universal longing that spans cultures and time.


I recently asked my friends at FlickChick’s Movie Playground on Facebook to describe the allure of those magical films from that magical era in 3 words or less. With their help, I offer up a little love letter to all of those films, large and small, great and not-so great. Here we go!

Black and White
Take me away
Glamour hides hurt
Tuxes and talent
Gangsters and gold-diggers
All so elegant
Lighthearted and charming
Stories told succinctly
Stars, style, sets
Beauty and danger
You know the way
To my Heart
To my Imagination 



Escape from reality
Sparkle and wit
Nick and Nora
Groucho, Chico, Harpo.
Bette and Joan
Cagney and Kay
Kate and Coop

Artisans at work
Factory made dreams
A moment in time
Forever and unchanging
Blissfully the same
You are there
Always for me
And me alone
Alone in the dark
Black and White
Beautiful to me.


Many thanks for the following for their inspiration and participation: Tina, Antoinette, Kevin, Dee, Patricia, J.  Steve, Maggie, Rosanne, Tracey, Melanie, Darlene, Mary N, Sandra, M.A., Alicia, Mike, Christine, Susan, Ann, Stacy, Russell, Julie, Lynn, Vince, Rosemarie, Greg, Margie, Mary M., Ellen and Tracy.



10 comments:

Caftan Woman said...

Lovely.

The last lines are a beautiful ache in my heart.

said...

Three words can't start to describe how much I love movies from the 1930s (my favorite decade in film history). But I find it beautiful and sad that they were making art while the world was about to fall apart.
Kisses!

Silver Screenings said...

Beautifully done! This is an inspiring piece.

FlickChick said...

CW - thank you. Your words mean a lot to me.

FlickChick said...

Le - 3 words are challenging! And you're right about that - the world was going to pieces. I think that is one element of why these films are so special. It seems, underneath the gaiety, there was an acknowledgement of the hard and scary times.

FlickChick said...

Thank you, Ruth. I've been struggling with creativity lately. It felt good to write this.

Christian Esquevin said...


The cinematographers of special talent, and the still photographers that captured the beauty of it all, certainly defined the art. We never tire of looking at that magic. Just us, and the cameras and all those wonderful people out there in the dark.

carygrantwonteatyou.com said...

This post made me smile. You're right. 30s films are extraordinary, and I enjoyed this tribute to them.

Inge Gregusch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tiffany Brannan said...

This is a grand tribute to my favorite time in Hollywood history, the 1930s! I am quite taken with your website. The falling stars give it a very magical appearance. My name is Tiffany Brannan, and I am the authoress of the Pure Entertainment Preservation Society at https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com. I am going to become a follower so I can read more of your marvelous articles.

Yours Hopefully,

Tiffany Brannan