The Final Blog of the 2008 Castle Meadow Halloween Party

What an incredible night! Party goers were really creative with the theme of Old Movies. There was a large Wizard of Oz and Cleopatra showing with two scarecrows and two Cleopatras making an appearance (each bringing something special to their role and making it their own and therefore unique). The party began with an emotional reunion between Glinda and the Scarecrow:











with many more emotional moments to follow. The best entrance of the evening in my opinion was when Scarecrow #2, Tin man, and the Lion strolled in singing "Where off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz"




















It got a little creepy when a sinister Peter Lore character, a frightening cross between Dracula and The Living Dead and then Regan (from the Exorcist) arrived:



















Party guests were on their best behavior though because the famous Pink Panther along with Inspector Clouseau and sidekick Kato (also
spelled Cato) were on hand to keep the peace or solve any crimes that may occur:











As the evening went on the actors were divided into teams and engaged in a neighborly competition made up of a combination of old movie trivia, I spy and "Lights, Camera, Action" (my favorite part of the evening). We started out with six groups but only ended up with five performances in the end.

The cowardly lion stepped out of his comfort zone and performed a scene from Casablanca with his team. Way to go Lion, we are all proud of you!









The Ruby Slippers performed a scene from Psycho:











The two Cleopatras performed a scene from The Godfather along with "The Don of the Living Dead". What drama!
















The team that went by the name "The Great Gatsby" Performed a racey scene from The Wizard of Oz












The Starbucks gang Performed Airplane and really made it their own. In the end they did have the unfair advantage because they are all studied actors. But I didn't mind they were sure entertaining! And in the end they were the winners, taking home a trick or treat bag full of surprises!















And the award goes to.....


The Scarecrow (#1) for Best Male Costume and Glinda (the good witch) for best female costume.











So until next Halloween season I will close this years Halloween Blog with a pictorial montage of the party. Thank you for all of your enthusiasm as that is what really made the night so special.

Hair and Makeup of Previous Eras and Last Minute Costumes

Ladies are you going for a starlet look from era's gone by? Check out these sites for hair and makeup ideas:

1920's Hair and Makeup
The Lovely Art of Fingerwaving
1930s Hair and Makeup
1940s Hair and Makeup
1950s Hair and Makeup

Time is ticking and for all of you that have not come up with a costume here are some great sites that will help you think up something lickity-split. There is still time however to be creative. If you find yourself at the final hour and don't know what to be refer back to this blog.

Last Minute Halloween Costumes on Squidoo

Last Minute Costume ideas on About.com

I'll try to keep em comin this week and next to help you prepare for a frightfully good time!

Best Regards
Anne Marie

Still not sure what you are going to be?

Today I will provide some ideas for picking choosing a costume and getting into the "spirit" of the theme.

The first thing I did was to look to websites that provide information about the movies. Here are some of the sites that have helped me:


IMDb (Internet Movie Database) this all inclusive database provides all the information you would want to know about any and every movie/movie star ever.


TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is my favorite channel on TV but they also have an excellent website which provides an excellent, visually stunning and user friendly database. In fact I prefer this website over IMDb for its nostalgic style and special features.



Getting into Character

My best advice to you if you decide to be a character from an old movie: "watch the movie" there is no better way to get into character.


You can often find part or whole movies on You Tube.






iTunes has a good selection of classic movies. This is a great way to watch a film on the run (during your lunch break, waiting at the doctors office...)


Next time I will provide some last minute costume ideas and links. The clock is ticking, Im so excited!!

The Academy Awards

So what is the deal behind the Academy Awards , how did they originate and who are they thanking when they thank "the academy"? These are all very good questions boys and girls and I'll do my best to answer them.

So here goes:

* The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of 1927 and 1928. The winners were announced three months earlier than the event. There were 250 guests and the awards part of the dinner was short and sweet. It was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks(actor) and Cecil B. Demill (producer)

*The statuettes that were presented to the first Academy Awards winners were nearly identical to those handed out today. Sculpted by George Stanley, The Academy Award of Merit (Oscar's official name) was a knight, made of solid bronze, holding a sword and standing upon a reel of film

* The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a honorary organization ostensibly dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures

*The 1927-1928 Academy Award Winners

Picture (Production): Wings
Picture (Unique and Artistic Production): Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans Actor: Emil Jannings (The Last Command; The Way of All Flesh)
Actress: Janet Gaynor (Seventh Heaven; Street Angel; Sunrise)
Director: Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven) / Lewis Milestone (Two Arabian Knights)
Adapted Screenplay: Benjamin Glazer (Seventh Heaven)
Original Story: Ben Hecht (Underworld)
Cinematography: Sunrise
Interior Decoration: The Dove / The Tempest

*The funnest bit of trivia I came across is that no one knows for sure how Oscar got his name! One story is that the then Academy's librarian upon seeing the statue said that it looked like her uncle Oscar. Another story is that the statue was named by Bette Davis after her ex-husband Harmon Oscar Nelson Jr. Nobody knows for certain but somehow the name stuck.



For more on the Academy Awards click on Oscar:

Now we're talkin!

Are you ready for a new lesson on Motion Picture History boys and girls? Can you say "talky"?

And so it goes ....the silent movie had reached its hey day by the late 1920s only to be replaced by the "talkies" (a.k.a. sound films). The first movie to be sinchronized with sound was in 1926. According to Wikipedia :

Don Juan (1926) is a Warner Brothers film, directed by Alan Crosland. It was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue. The production, which premiered in New York City on August 6, 1926, stars John Barrymore as the hand-kissing womanizer (the number of kisses in the film set a record).

The first feature length movie to synchronize dialogue and thus presented as the first "talky" was in fact The Jazz Singer
According to this website about Talking Motion Pictures:

"The Jazz Singer" triggered the talking-picture revolution. Based on Alfred Cohn's story "The Day of Atonement," and Samson Raphaelson's popular Broadway play of the same name, the film starred Al Jolson as a Jewish boy who attempts to become a Broadway star. Even though "The Jazz Singer" was not the first film to use sound, it proved to be the first one to use spoken dialogue as part of the dramatic action. The combination of Jolson, America's most popular singer, and the new medium of sound helped to produce a profit of $3.5 million, causing Warner Bros. to begin its rule as one of Hollywood's top studios. When Warners Bros follow-up sound films, such as "The Lights of New York" also became box-office hits, the rest of Hollywood switched to sound with startling speed, hoping to adapt to the new technology. A year after its release, Hollywood recognized the importance of "The Jazz Singer" with regard to motion picture history by honoring the film with a special Academy Award.

The following clips are from the original movie The Jazz Singer






On that note we will end this lesson. Next blog will pick up with a brief history of the Academy Awards as it coincides with the advent of the talkies.

Lets begin at the beginning: Silent Movies

Personally, I am having a difficult time committing to a costume because there are so many possibilities with this theme. And so my next few posts will be an exploration of the different eras of film. I am hoping that by taking a look back through the history of film that something will jump out at me and help me to decide on a costume. Perhaps it will trigger something for you too.

Alright so this years theme is Old Movies. How old is old you ask? Well there are the silent movies made famous by the likes of Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton , Gloria Swanson . Norma Shearer and Lillian Gish . The following is a list of the 14 top grossing silent films (according to Variety Magazine in 1932):

1. The Birth of a Nation (1915) - $10,000,000
2. The Big Parade (1925) - $6,400,000
3. Ben-Hur (1925) - $5,500,000
4. Way Down East (1920) - $5,000,000
5. The Gold Rush (1925) - $4,250,000
6. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) - $4,000,000
7. The Circus (1928) - $3,800,000
8. The Covered Wagon (1923) - $3,800,000
9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - $3,500,000
10. The Ten Commandments (1923) - $3,400,000
11. Orphans of the Storm (1921) - $3,000,000
12. For Heaven's Sake (1926) - $2,600,000
13. Seventh Heaven (1926) - $2,400,000
14. Abie's Irish Rose (1928) - $1,500,000

Of course nothing lasts forever and it was inevitable that technology would have to butt in and ruin it for the silent films. Thus the Sound film (aka the talkie) was introduced. The first feature length movie originally presented as a talkie was The Jazz Singer, released in October 1927.

So I leave you with some silent movie videos:

1. Birth of a Nation Trailer

2. Charlie Chaplin: Table Ballet
seems to me Johnny Depp copied this scene in Benny and Joon



3. Buster Keaton: Steamboat Bill Jr.



4. Gloria Swanson: Queen Kelly

Here is a really great website, if you are looking for great pictures, movie clips and history on everything and everyone to do with silent films. Just click on image of Jean Harlow below:

Next time we will look at the beginning of the "Talkies"

Get your party on

OK , I know some of you are probably saying "What!? Halloween, its only August"! This is the thing I spend the whole year thinking about Halloween. It starts at the previous years Halloween party. At some point in the evening I start asking party goers what they think next years theme should be and a whole conversation ensues. And so every day becomes an opportunity to think about Halloween. Now the clincher comes in the spring when I start talking it up to Bill. It is not until the farmer Bill starts cultivating a pumpkin patch that I really know I need to get serious and come up with a theme, and start talking it up with all of you. I like to start the buzz early to keep you invested in the festivities. You know what they say, out of sight out of mind! It helps to have a good showing and I have noticed that the more I talk about it the better the attendance is. Cause lets face it, it would be really lonely if no one showed up.

Since I have discovered blogging, I decided that this will be a great way to keep you all involved, make the party more interactive and make it last longer. To get the ball rolling I will use this the first CASTLE MEADOW ESTATE HALLOWEEN BLOG as the unveiling of the 2008 Party Theme. Drum roll please...................................................

This years theme is:

OLD MOVIES

We encourage you to take liberties with this theme. Im always amazed and greatful to see the varying interpretations on a theme as reflected in the costumes of our guests. As always the party will be the Saturday before Halloween which lands on October 25, 2008.

This years party will be the best yet, I can feel it! As always there will be prizes for best costumes (as chosen by a democratic vote of party guests). The famous contest, combination scavenger hunt, trivia, and something really special this year will (of course) take place. HINT: Think in terms of the theme in preparation.

I am excited to have my dear friend Carla as co-host this year and know that she will bring a great deal to the making of this event as she is as much (if not more) of a Halloween fanatic as me. Thats Carla at left in witches tea at high noon attire.



I hope that I have given you food for thought and would really love to hear your feedback, just click on the comments tab below right. You can also subscribe to this blog using the link below.


Shop for the best costumes here