Alphabetical Movie – Made for Each Other

I have an autographed picture of Jimmy Stewart in my bathroom.  I know that hardly sounds like a place of honor but it is in the same bathroom with my Peter Jackson autograph so please accept that only the most important stuff that I couldn’t fit on other walls in my house are found in that bathroom.

The autograph came with a certificate of authenticity so while I don’t know for a fact that it is real, I’m confident enough.  It is either an autograph by him or by someone who has spent a lot of time learning to copy his signature.  One has to admire that amount of effort.

I can’t communicate with Stewart’s spirit because psychics aren’t real.  Also, Stewart was a lifelong conservative so he might resent ending up in some liberal atheist’s house just to verify an autograph.  Given all of this, I’m going to live my life as if the signature is genuine.

It makes me sad, though, that the picture of Stewart isn’t joined by pictures of Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.

If that was the case, I’d have the three leads of Philadelphia Story on my bathroom wall, and boy would that be something.

Thing is, if I had those three pictures on my bathroom wall, I’d probably get carried away and want to get Humphrey Bogart.  And Ingrid Bergman.  Because you shouldn’t have a picture of Bogart without Bergman.  And if you had those two, you would probably need Claude Rains, Dooley Wilson, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Paul Henreid.  What the hell?  How about any actor with a speaking role in Casablanca?

The list would get much longer as I started to include actors from a dozen other classic films that are personal favorites.  My bathroom is fairly small so I imagine I’d need to expand to a few other walls.

It is strange that I am so enamored with portraits of movie stars past but not so much with those of the present.  While I admire certain modern actors every bit as much as their predecessors, I don’t find myself drawn to have their autographed pictures on my wall.

I think part of the allure is the rarity.  I don’t imagine it would be too difficult to find an autograph of George Clooney that could be confirmed as having come from Clooney.  I think finding an autograph of Bogart would be a lot harder.

Also, black and white portraits look so much more exotic than color portraits.  Cary Grant looked amazing in black and white.  The thought of those actors being colorized offends me simply because they feel so much more alive without color.

I love the way the negative space is emphasized, I think.  Shadow becomes so much more important to the way the face is defined. It adds complexity to the expression.

I haven’t the money to scour the internet for signed portraits of my favorite classic cinema gods and goddesses so I shall have to live with the fact that Stewart’s portrait and autograph (if it really is his autograph) is the only one that will grace my bathroom wall.

What I’m trying to say with my post is this:  Made for Each Other stars Jimmy Stewart and I’m awfully fond of Jimmy Stewart (I’ve got an autographed picture of him on my bathroom wall.)  Unfortunately, it is a boring film that left no lasting impression.  Sorry, Jimmy.  Will you feel better if I move you to a bigger bathroom?