Category: Story

September 20, 2015 / Vickie Lester

…there was nothing timid or frail about the manner in which Carson McCullers faced life.

I first met Carson McCullers during the war when I was visiting Paulette Goddard and Burgess Meredith in upstate New York. Carson lived nearby, and one day when Buzz and I were out for a walk she hailed us from her doorway. She was then in her early twenties, and…

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September 19, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Autumn light…is perfect for reading

I believe this is a portrait of Jean Arthur, by a master of 20th century illustration art, Andrew Loomis. See the clear intensity of the colors? They remind me of autumn in L.A. This is one of my favorite times of year, the angle of the sun is lower, the…

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September 17, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Vickie Lester is stepping back and looking at the big picture

I have been contemplating, and not my navel, for the past couple days and have been absent from my post. Soon (ish) I’ll be back chattering and responding to your comments which I apologize for neglecting. I might have something profound to say about social networking — but probably not…

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September 16, 2015 / Vickie Lester

I had the same reaction to “Black Swan” as to “The Red Shoes”…and it involved an eye roll

Apologies if I’ve offended you, or if these are among your favorite movies… The message I gleaned from both films is: *** ballet kills. *** Really? So, if you dance, have talent, discipline, drive, and receive thunderous applause for your efforts you will lose love, go mad, and plunge to…

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September 16, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Vickie Lester used to employ incantations as an analgesic…

I used to do meditation in college to quell some rip-roaring uncontrollable migraines (way before they invented the meds that work), my mantra, my sacred utterance, my numinous phrase (thank you Google)…hold on…was…Baryshnikov. For true. Just saying it STILL calms me down.

September 11, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Fever dreams and fiction, my film world…and the fridge

I thought I was going to lay low blog-wise while I was recuperating, but I had to blurt this one out. First a disclaimer; Dusty Anderson (model who married a director) pictured here in some kind of fifties romper in front of a Los Angeles oil field — is not…

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September 11, 2015 / Vickie Lester

“Ordinarily I was not a morning drinker. The Southern California climate is too soft for it. You don’t metabolize fast enough.” Raymond Chandler

Frankly, it never occurred to me to drink in the morning. There have been times when I wished I could feel some kind of release in alcohol, but I don’t. There was a period when I was dealing a lot with death, the slow dying of people I loved, and…

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September 1, 2015 / Vickie Lester

Constance Bennett’s Hollywood Style

Constance Bennett had a house at 280 N. Carolwood Drive. It was designed by architect J.E. Dolena and built in 1937, for $37,000 — and it had a palatial twenty rooms. Interior of the Bennett residence: – – – This is the bedroom featured above:

August 29, 2015 / Vickie Lester

The most erotic kiss in film history – Notorious

The great erotic moment in “Vertigo” is the one where the man kisses the woman of his fantasy, while the room whirls around him. There is a parallel scene in “Notorious,” and it was famous at the time as “the longest kiss in the history of the movies.” It was…

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August 24, 2015 / Vickie Lester