I've been thinking lately, when exactly did actors stop dressing so elegantly? Why is it that current films & T.V shows tend to have dialogue that lacks the quick wit that demands your full attention? Now, I'm not over-generalizing. There are films & shows that simulate the brilliantly funny screwball comedy of the 30s & 40s such as Gilmore Girls.
Hildegard "Hildy" Johnson, the female lead, is sharp, clever & fully independent (well, sort of). As a film from 1940, it seems a contradiction to have such a strong female lead, one who is the best "newspaperman". I realize now that it was really the 1950s that began to instil that type of Betty Friedan, Feminine Mystique, view of women.
Rosalind Russell's comedic timing & delivery is nothing short of genious. She reappropriates the masculine by wearing black tailored suits & hats similar to men's fashion of the 30s & 40s. With some of my pieces I try to do this, on a lesser scale of course, with my moustache & upcycled tie necklaces, but nonetheless, the film serves as inspiration.
Hildy [speaking to Walter on the phone]
"Now, get this, you double-crossing chimpanzee: There ain't going to be any interview and there ain't going to be any story. And that certified check of yours is leaving with me in twenty minutes. I wouldn't cover the burning of Rome for you if they were just lighting it up. If I ever lay my two eyes on you again, I'm gonna walk right up to you and hammer on that monkeyed skull of yours 'til it rings like a Chinese gong!"
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