Old Books and Movies

                                                              Joyous Peggy 1931                                                                                                          This is a very interesting book. Due to a case of mistaken identity Peggy, an orphan girl, is sent to the home of Miss Rebecca Armstrong; a lady who doesn't much like kids, is rather bitter and is thought of as uppity by most of the town.  The rest of the book reads like a poorly written take-off of Pollyanna .   Peggy = Pollyanna   Miss Armstrong = Miss Polly Harrington   Mr. Ormand = Mr. Pendleton   Bobby = Jimmy Bean   etc.  Of course Peggy by being "joyous" changes about everyone in the town.  Peggy can be a bit annoying at times. She acts so dense.   Joyous Peggy starts out good, but quickly becomes boring when when it starts to sound like Pollyanna .      

     The Sky's the Limit is a really fun movie.  Fred Astaire plays Flying Tiger triple ace Lt. Fred Atwill on a ten day leave.   Fred sneaks off the train when he learns his whole leave is filled up with a moral-boosting tour.   Fred buys a cowboy suit, so people won't recognize him.  At a ritzy nightclub Fred notices newspaper photographer Joan Manion (Joan Leslie).  In a very funny scene Fred tries to get her attention by photo-bombing pictures of local celebrities she's trying to take.  Joan sings a lovely rendition of "My Shining Hour."   Fred walks her home and sings a fun rendition of "My Shining Hour."  The rest of the movie is Fred trying to convince Joan to like him. She thinks he's lazy. He hasn't told her he's a member of the Flying Tigers.  Fred and Joan do a great song and dance routine to "A Lot in Common with You."   Fred and Joan do a lovely ballroom-style dance to "My Shining Hour.&quo

   This movie is hilarious. Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play two entertainers, singer Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and his partner, trumpeter Hot Lips Barton (Hope).  In Louisiana Crosby tells Hope that the owner of the carnival hired them for two-hundred dollars to preform and for Hope to do his solo act riding a bike and playing the trumpet, not telling Hope it's on a high-wire.  Trouble ensues at the carnival when Hope accidentally starts a fire while attempting to cross the high-wire on the bike.  Crosby and Hope stowaway on a ship heading to Rio, to hide away from the owner of the carnival. They don't have the two-hundred any more, Crosby gave it to a girl who he thought was in a lot of trouble.  While stowing away on the ship, they come across Lucia Maria (Dorothy Lamour) who's in trouble.   Unknown to Lamour her guardian is hypnotizing her into consenting to a marriage to scoundrel Sherman Mallory.  The captain lets them preform with the ship's band to pay