In A Lonely Place

"I wouldn't want anyone but you."

I love Bogart. I think I fell in love with him when I was 14 or 15, when I saw Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon in close succession. Not necessarily Bogart himself - I don't know anything about him really, and I don't think I want to. It's the characters he plays...these mysterious guys... Rick Blaine, Sam Spade...I love them. Dixon in this movie...he's those same characters, but different. Sheila over at Sheila Variations describes it the following way, and she's spot on: "What is interesting about this part, in comparison to other roles - like in Casablanca or Maltese Falcon and others - is that ... the typical Bogart thing that we all recognize: the tough-guy act, the way he is with women, the straight-talking, the intensity - all of that is there, but because of the material, it is no longer idealized. It is seen through another filter - and suddenly it seems like this man is a tremendously damaged individual, that nothing will heal him. He is HARD." I'm not in love with Dixon. He's actually terrifying.

But the scene pictured above -they're in the lounge, Hadda Brooks is singing, "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" and Bogart asks if there is anything he can do to make Laurel happy. She puts her mouth up to his neck...and whispers "I wouldn't want anyone but you." WOW. Honestly, I can't really think of a sexier scene in a movie. In that moment, when Dixon isn't being, you know, violent - totally hot.

Last week, I saw Casablanca for the first time on the big screen. Though I've seen it at least 5 times, it absolutely blew me away. The aching inherent in Rick's drunken, "You played it for her, you can play it for me...if she can stand it, I can." "Here's looking at you, kid" gets me every time. I know that most lists (life AFI) but Citizen Kane at the top of the list, but I really think that Casablanca is the best, most perfect movie ever made.

I also recently watched Out of the Past with Robert Mitchum. I love all the shadows, the cigarette smoke...and Mitchum. I never before really found Mitchum attractive, but this movie solidified his hotness. Jeff Bailey...essentially the same character as Bogart's Sam and Rick. They brood, they're sarcastic, they're smart, they're kind of jerks...and women can't resist.







Why did men stop wearing real hats?






















That's what I'm talking about.