all the king's women #21 - elsa cardenas

Tijuana born actress Elsa Cardenas has made over 100 movie and television appearances since her career began in Mexico in 1954. in 1956, her performance in The Brave One caught the attention of director George Stevens, who cast her in Giant (1956). Elsa appeared in a handful of other English productions, though most of her films are in Spanish.

in 1963, Cardena played Dolores Gomez, a saucy bullfighter in a love triangle with Elvis and Ursula Andress, in Fun in Accapulco. for more on the fabulously riduculous plot of this film, please see my previous post on Ursula.

Elsa told the press that she had been disinherited by her wealthy grandfather, due to his disapproval of her proffesion. her share of the inheritance was given to a sister who became a lawyer. “But it was worth it,” Elsa is reported to have said, “look at me now. I’m co-starring in a movie with Elvis Presley. That’s worth a fortune to a lot of girls.”

in 1957, Cardenas married Texas oilman Guy Preston Patton. the two divorced a few years later. Elsa later remarried and has a daughter named Paola. She continues to work in film and television in Mexico and her latest film, Cartas a Elena, is currently in post production.

happiness is a rooftop swimming pool

to imagine myself living in the Universe House in Roca Blanca, Mexico, within it's perfect simplicity and harmony with it's surroundings, is to imagine a sense of deep and undulating peace. i need to live here. i need a swimming pool on my rooftop and a hammock on my porch. most of all i need more than 15 feet between me and the next human being. my neighbours are nice n all, but the city can feel a bit crowded at times, wouldn't you agree? read more about this wondrous house and see the inside here.

allison scarpulla

i am utterly entranced by the moody, often ghostly, and sometimes unsettling photography of the extraordinarily talented Allison Scarpulla. to see more of her work, visit her flickr stream. prints of some of her photos can be purchased from her etsy shop.

if polygamy were legal #31

if polygamy were legal, i would marry this dress in a sunny harbour, before sailing off with it into the horizon.

who wouldn't want a lifesize pig stool?

i think this lifesize pig stool from Yvonne Fehling & Jennie Peiz is absolutely awesome, though i feel like if i had one in my home, i'd eat a lot less pork :)

WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

weeeeeeeeee!!! my baby's coming home tomorrow! and i am almost as excited as these manic Elvis fans! sorry i haven't posted in a few days, it's been a bit of a crazy week. i promise i'll be back to daily posts on monday. until then, i hope you all have a magnificent weekend! be sure to hug your dear ones tight and tell them how much you love them. xo

Nate vs. the volcano

the recent erruption of Eyjafjallajokull has left thousands stranded across the globe, one of whom happens to be my husband. though scheduled to come home from England yesterday, it seems he'll be stuck there for at least another week, depending on conditions. i miss him. this one's for my baby:



Rudy misses him too :)

no shirt, sherlock

i'm forever posting photos of beautiful women from bigone eras, so i thought it might be fun to take a moment and gaze upon some beautiful men instead. without shirts. :)

and the winner is....

thanks so much to those who entered my giveaway in celebration of 100 google followers! in the end, i was so torn between three of the films suggested (the Birds, Roman Holiday and Lolita) that i had to resort to random selection. and so, the winner of the first Loose Leaf Tigers giveaway is (drum roll please)...

Anonymous, with his/her entry of Roman Holiday! i don't know who you are, but you did leave an email, so i'll be in touch shortly. it isn't an instantly gratifying win, i'm afraid, as i must first create the winnings before sending them :) but i should be finished your original piece of artwork within a month, and then i'll send it off! i'll do another of these if/when i reach 200 followers, but the next one will be in colour! so start thinking of films you'd like to see as papercut art...

x0

april in paris

headband

lace blouse

striped top

green beret

tiered dress

ballet flats

kimono robe

david lyle

artist David Lyle creates extraordinary oil paintings from found photographs, giving new life to the discarded memories of others. Lyle's newest work will be on exhibi at Lyons Wier Gallery in New York City, starting Friday, April 23. visit his website for more.

one day left for giveaway entries!

all giveaway entries must be in by midnight tomorrow! for details, click here.

all the king's women #20 - ursula andress

Ursula Andress was born in Switzerland in 1936 to Swiss mother Anna and German diplomat father Rolf, who was expelled from Switzerland for political reasons and disappeared during World War II. Ursula began her career as an art model in Rome, which led to roles in the Italian film industry, but she remains most famous for emerging from the ocean in a white bikini as Honey Ryder in Dr. No (1962), the first Bond movie. Andress won a Golden Globe for her performance, despite the fact that her voice was dubbed due to the thickness of her accent.



in 1963, Ursula starred opposite Elvis in his 13th film, Fun In Acapulco , a personal favourite of mine, owing to it's shear ridiculousness.


in this one, Elvis plays an ex trapese artist turned hotel lifeguard, who moonlights as a singer, and must conquer his crippling fear of heights which manifested after a tragic trapese accident in which he dropped his brother to his death, in order to replace a sick cliff diver for the benefit of the tourists. (!)



whilst all of this ensues, Elvis is torn between the daughter of the hotel's chef (Andress) and a local bullfighting star. the film's soundtrack includes such rousing gems as The Bullfighter was a Lady and There's No Room to Rumba in a Sports Car. classic.



Andress dated many of Hollywood's leading men during her career, including co-stars Marlon Brando and James Dean. she and James Dean had an infamously stormy relationship and Dean is reported to have said that he was learning to speak German, so they could argue in two languages :)



Ursula married once, from 1957-1966, to actor/director John Derek. the marriage ended in divorce. in 1980, at the age of 43, Andress gave birth to a son, Dimitri, whose father is actor Harry Hamlin, Ursula's much younger co-star in Clash of the Titans(1981).



after the her son's birth, Ursula focused mostly on European TV and films, whilst raising Dimitri in Rome. her last film role was in 1997. she is now 75 years old.