The Madeleine Carroll Blogathon

February 26th & 27th
Hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Silver Screenings


Madeleine Carroll made her stage debut with a touring company in The Lash. Widely recognised as one of the most beautiful women in films (she won a film beauty competition to start herself off in the business), Carroll's aristocratic blonde allure and sophisticated style were first glimpsed by film audiences in The Guns of Loos in 1928. Rapidly rising to stardom in Britain, she graced such popular films of the early 1930s as Young Woodley, Atlantic, The School for Scandal and I Was a Spy. She played the title role in the play Little Catherine. Abruptly, she announced plans to retire from films to devote herself to a private life with her husband, the first of four.

Carroll attracted the attention of Alfred Hitchcock and in 1935 starred as one of the director's earliest prototypical cool, glib, intelligent blondes in The 39 Steps. Based on the espionage novel by John Buchan, the film became a sensation and with it so did Carroll. Cited by the New York Times for a performance that was "charming and skillful", Carroll became very much in demand. The success of the film made Hitchcock a star in Britain and the US, and established the quintessential English 'Hitchcock blonde' Carroll as the template for his succession of ice cold and elegant leading ladies.Of Hitchcock heroines as exemplified by Carroll film critic Roger Ebert wrote:

The female characters in his films reflected the same qualities over and over again: They were blonde. They were icy and remote. They were imprisoned in costumes that subtly combined fashion with fetishism. They mesmerised the men, who often had physical or psychological handicaps. Sooner or later, every Hitchcock woman was humiliated.
--From the Madeleine Carroll Wiki page

This wouldn’t be strictly a CMBA blogathon, but simply a fun, casual affair open to all who love Madeleine 's movies, and wish to participate.

While we won't keep people from doing the same films, we will let you know if a film has been "taken" so you can select another film if you like.  As the event approaches we'll post a list of the usual suspects here so everyone will know who's participating.

For those of you who need a crib sheet on Ms. Carroll's work, here's a link to her IMDB page.

To sign up, either leave a comment below, or contact either myself, Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci or R.A. Kerr to ask any questions!

Here's some banners you can use on your sites to help the spread the word - link back to this info page so everyone






33 comments:

  1. My pal R.A. Kerr and I are looking forward to our Madeleine Carroll Blogathon! Read more about the coolest, most talented blonde since Grace Kelly! The fun starts in February 26th through 27th!

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  2. This is going to be a lot of fun, Dorian! Can't wait!

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  3. I'm excited about the Blogathon, too! I'll be working on it more this evening! :-D

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  4. Hooray!
    I could have chosen a very easy movie... but I'll write about The World Moves On (1934), because this movie stole my heart (damn John Ford, that great director!).
    Kisses!
    Le

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    1. Le, you have great taste in films, especially when you admire both John Ford and and Madeleine Carroll! I'm including THE WORLD ON as we speak -- great choice, my friend! :-D, and we're glad you're joining our Madeleine Carroll Blogathon!

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  5. Oops, sorry, that should be THE WORLD GOES ON -- sorry about that! I got so excited, I forgot how to spell! :-D

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  6. Hi guys -- I just wanted to stop by and let you know I'm not dead....I haven't been around because of health problems, etc., but I have missed you and I feel that I am going to be around a lot again. I'm not quite ready for blogathon yet, and frankly I don't know much about Madeleine Carroll much. I'll be looking forward to reading the contributions to get some ideas!

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    1. So happy to hear from you, Big Sis! But we of Team Bartilucci are sorry to hear are sorry to hear your health issues! We're sending good wishes and love to you! As for Madeleine Carroll, you'd like her if you met her! :-D (I'm doing her funny side of with Bob Hope in MY FAVORITE BLONDE!) In any case, we hope you'll be feeling better and back to your witty and wonderful self! Hugs from Little Sis! :-D

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  7. Rich, we're glad that you'll be joining my good pal and fellow movie blogger R.A. Kerr from Silver Screenings and little old me, Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci of Tales of the Easily Distracted! :-D

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  8. Hi, this is Dan from The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog (http://dandayjr35.blogspot.com). I'd like to write about the film "My Favorite Blonde".

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  9. Hi, Dan! Actually, I already have MY FAVORITE BLONDE for my blog TALES OF THE EASILY DISTRACTED, but we don't mind, as we say here in in our rules: "While we won't keep people from doing the same films, we will let you know if a film has been "taken," so you can select another film if you like. As the event comes closer, we'll post a list of the usual suspects here so everyone will know who's participating. So there should everyone gets a shot!" Hope you'll join the fun in any case!

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    1. Victoria, we're delighted that Girls Do Film will join our celebration to salute Madeleine Carroll! You picked a great choice, with the lovely and talented Madeleine in her early Hitchcock triumphs! Ruth and I look forward to your take on THE 39 STEPS! Have a wonderful day! :-D

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  10. Oh if no one is doing The 39 Steps can I take that one?

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  11. Monty, we're delighted to let you do THE 39 STEPS! And incidently, just so you know, Ruth and I are OK with more than one blogger on any particular, since everyone always has their own unique spin on each post! Fun for everyone!

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  12. May I cover her final film, THE FAN? (Beth @ Mildred's Fatburgers)

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  13. Beth, Ruth and I would be delighted to have you join the Madeleine Carroll Blogathon fun with THE FAN! We're happy to have you and Mildred's Fatburgers joining the Blogathon fun -- thanks! :-D

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  14. Groovy! Many thanks. I'm looking forward to reading all these entries. (Happy New Year!)

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    1. And a Happy New Year to you, too, Beth! We're looking forward to your post about our gal Madeleine Carroll in THE FAN; she looked lovely, too! :-D

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  15. May I write about I WAS A SPY (1933)?

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  16. Margaret, we'd be delighted to have you join our Madeleine Carroll Blogathon with I WAS A SPY! Our gal Madeleine often finds herself as a spy-type gal! :-D

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  17. Can I write about SECRET AGENT? Will have to confirm with you a week or two before, as I am under wicked time crunch with a class right now. Really want to take part. :)

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    1. Christy, Ruth and I are happy to have you join SECRET AGENT for our Madeleine Carroll Blogathon! SECRET AGENT is one of our family's favorites, too! We look forward to your spin on one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest thrillers! :-D

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  18. my name is joey,i am a reviewer for wolffian classic movies digest,https://wolffianclassicmoviesdigest.wordpress.com/ i would love review My Favorite Blonde (1942) and 39 Steps, The (1935) and Honeymoon in Bali (1939) for it. i am interested in joining it

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    1. Joey, my good friends and fellow co-hosts R.A. Kerr and Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci love the idea of THE 39 Steps and Honeymoon in Bali as a double feature! We're glad that you'll be join the double-feature fun -- thanks! :-D

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  19. Hi! I would love to participate to this blogathon with the movie SECRET AGENT (Hitchcock, 1936)

    There is a link to my blog, The Wonderful World of Cinema: https://thewonderfulworldofcinema.wordpress.com

    Thanks for this wonderful idea! :)

    Virginie

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  20. Hi! I would love to participate to this blogathon with the movie SECRET AGENT (Hitchcock, 1936)

    There is a link to my blog, The Wonderful World of Cinema: https://thewonderfulworldofcinema.wordpress.com

    Thanks for this wonderful idea! :)

    Virginie

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  21. Virginie, Ruth and I have notied both of you have asked to blog about Alfred Hitchcock's SECRET AGENT, but it does not to mean you can't blog about SECRET AGENT! Everyone has their own spin on it, and we've seen other versions that give a fresh perspective. Either way, we sincerely hope you'll join us and use your fresh take! :-D

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  22. Greetings! I was hoping I could write about I WAS A SPY - though I see someone else is already posting on it. I would love to do CAFE SOCIETY but can't find a copy of it. :-( (http://randompicturesblog.net)

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  23. Amjohnson and our good friend Ruth and I will be glad to do CAFE SOCIETY instead! Bottoms up! :-D

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  24. My dad has always had a huge soft spot for Madeleine Carroll. He met her in England on a hospital troop train during WWII when he was wounded. She was there as a volunteer not an entertainer per se though everyone recognized her. He said she was lovely and genuine, to this day he speaks fondly of the encounter. I haven't seen tons of her films but I've liked the ones I have.

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    1. Joe, thanks a million for sharing your dad's fond and kind memories of working with Madeleine! We of Team Bartilucci are happy to hear that our gal Madeleine was indeed awesome, kind, and helpful as we've heard! :-D

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  25. I'd like to write about how I fell in love with Madeleine with a slight mention on her beauty and grace in Prisoner of Zenda. Has that been "taken"?

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    1. Bunny, our great friend and fellow Madeleine fan look forward to joining us for blogging about her in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA! So glad you're joining the fun! :-D

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