Could ya just swoon?

The Mr tells me I'm an old soul.  I agree.  When I was a little kid, I loved nothing more than to go into my great grandma's room, rummage through her jewelry, put on her old gloves and church hats and pretend I was from the 1920's.  When I go to antique stores, if there's a good selection of broaches and clip earrings that look classic and not gaudy, I'm in heaven.

When we went to Vermont, we made a pit stop in Buffalo, NY.  That night, The Sound of Music was on.  Since we were going to the town of the Trapp Family from the movie, we felt it necessary to watch it.  We ended up loving it and bought the DVD while at the Trapp Lodge.  It was at that time, I made a personal promise that I wanted to watch 2 "classic" movies per month.  There are a lot we haven't seen but I've already made quite the dent in that promise because Sundance Channel, Turner Classic Movies and IFC all rock and are playing a crapload of classics.  

Since the new year, I've watched The Warriors, A Few Good Men, Singin' in the Rain, An American in Paris, Bonnie and Clyde, Annie Hall, Cabaret, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fame and For Me and My Gal.  When I was little, I had a serious girl crush on Olivia Newton John and when I saw Xanadu (affiliate link) and saw Gene Kelly, I developed my old man crush.  Holy crap, watching that man dance with her to "Whenever You're Away from Me" was like magic.  It always brought me to tears. (I can't even watch that full video now, I started tearing up...nerd.)  Gene Kelly was 68 when he made that movie and that man could move.

When I finally saw Singin' in the Rain,  (affiliate link) I sat there like a doe eyed 15 year old with a smile plastered on my face in awe of his dancing and his suave nature.  That dude oozed romance.  I mean, look!

(via mptvimages.com)

Holy balls.

His enthusiasm, his humor, his grace, his dedication to his craft, that vintage dialogue that is now the stuff of Conan O'Brien skits or old Tom and Jerry cartoons with gangsters in them.  He looked like every dance number was pure joy for him to perform.  In watching that Xanadu clip, I saw that he still moved with that same elegance and grace he did in For Me and My Gal.   (affiliate link) An article I read with his wife at the time of his passing said that he always choreographed to the ability of his co-stars including an untrained non dancer (at the time) like Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra and Olivia Newton John.  He thought his job was to never outshine his co-star but make them look their best.  Could ya just swoon?

Watching him is like the easiest way to make me smile lately.  They just don't make 'em like him anymore.  I mean the dude's choreography skills slay pretty much anyone current and today's influences all likely stem back to him anyway.  I have more Gene Kelly movies to get to and I can't wait!  (Just watched the whole Xanadu clip...bawled like an idiot just like when I was 6.)

Who is your classic crush?

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