Tag: Deborah Kerr

Classic Films · Dramas

Bonjour Tristesse

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Image credit: Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

With nearly everyone I know getting a head start on their summer travels, I decided why wait for June or July to watch one of the best vacation movies? You know Cécile wouldn’t. This girl was over her schoolwork back in September! This week, I’m revisiting the Otto Preminger classic melodrama, Bonjour Tristesse (Download).

Starring Jean Seberg as a free-spirited teen and David Niven as her indulgent father, Bonjour Tristesse is an interesting example of both color and black & white being used simultaneously in a classic film. As Cécile’s empty present-day life gives way to a vibrant color flashback of the summer she spent on the French Riviera, one immediately senses she was alive before, and now something inside her has died. And don’t we all feel like that, thinking of vacations past? Not for the same tragic reasons as these characters, but sometimes I’ll be sitting at my desk, depressed because yesterday was the same as today, and tomorrow will probably be yet another repeat, and as the song says, I live with melancholy. But then I’ll think back to floating in the Mediterranean Sea, and how very orange the Aperol was in my spritz that summer, and how blue the water. And suddenly, life seems chic and fun again. Well, maybe just 53.5% fun.

One of my favorite scenes in this film is when Cécile makes a list of all the important qualities she thinks a woman should have, comparing herself to her dad’s new girlfriend (played by the elegant Deborah Kerr) with numerical rankings. “Possessiveness” and “Intelligence” are right above “Dancing” and “Drinking”, and honestly, this list is a pretty accurate character study. Why would I want to hang out with someone who’s only 4% skilled in “Conversation”? Speaking of percentages, I’ve recently taken a journey through lower-alcohol cocktails in the lead-up to summer*, and this seems like the perfect time to make a drink that’s as bright and gorgeous as one of Cécile’s many swimwear choices. While watching Bonjour Tristesse, I recommend drinking this 11% Spritz.

11% Spritz

2 oz Dry French Vermouth

½ oz Aperol

½ oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Blood Orange Syrup (I prefer Liber & Co)

4 oz Soda Water

Orange Slice (Garnish)

Combine vermouth, Aperol, lemon juice, and blood orange syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda water and garnish with an orange slice.

Although Bonjour Tristesse was a new-to-me watch a couple of years ago, it’s one of those movies that feels like it’s always been a favorite, whether I knew about it or not. Somehow, I set my book Follow the Sun in this same rarefied world of jet-setters in beautiful locales without even realizing it. Maybe I just needed a vacation when I was drafting the story; maybe I still need one. If you’re struggling through a black & white world right now, I urge you to spend some time with this movie and breathe deep- let’s smell the day together. Cheers!

*If you’re looking for more low-ABV cocktails this summer, I highly recommend the book Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion by Drew Lazor.

Classic Films · Dramas

Black Narcissus

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Image credit: Black Narcissus, 1947

If you like your nuns with a side of murderous melodrama, then strap in for the Technicolor fantasy of Black Narcissus (Disc/Download). A movie brought to my attention by Jenny Hammerton of Silver Screen Suppers, this was my first introduction into the world of Powell & Pressburger. After sinking into their completely immersive setting of a 1940s Himalayan monastery, consider me hooked.

Starring Deborah Kerr as the leader of a group of nuns tasked with setting up a convent on a remote mountaintop, Black Narcissus feels at times like a science fiction film (sample tagline: Trapped in isolation, the inhabitants of a spaceship go a little mad…). Maybe there’s a mysterious illness slowly claiming the lives of the these inhabitants, or maybe it’s all in their heads. Swap in wimples for spacesuits, and you’ve got the general vibe of Black Narcissus. These women are lonely, and it doesn’t help that there’s a handsome caretaker (David Farrar) coming around in his short-shorts to flirt and rile them up. He makes the nuns remember what their lives were like before joining the order, and eventually it all becomes too much for Sister Ruth, played marvelously by Kathleen Byron. Ditching her dreary robes for a smart new dress and dark red lipstick, she is your worst nightmare—a woman pushed to the brink, with nothing to lose.

Because color is such an important element to the production design of this movie, it seems fitting to drink one of the most colorful gins on the market, Empress 1908. The nuns make a big show of dropping a purple powder into some water in an effort to wow the locals at the new infirmary (I’m still not sure what the powder was—quinine?), but you can do the same at home with either your Empress Gin, or a pinch of Butterfly Pea Powder. This is definitely a floral-inspired cocktail because on this depressing mountaintop, we need flowers more than food. While watching Black Narcissus, I recommend drinking a Floral Gin & Tonic.

Floral Gin & Tonic

2 oz Empress 1908 Gin (OR 2 oz London Dry Gin w/ ¼ Teaspoon Butterfly Pea Powder)

4 oz Elderflower Tonic

Dried lime and flower garnish

Build drink over ice, stirring slowly to combine (if using the powder, stir a little more to fully mix). Garnish with a dried lime + flowers.

Floral G&T with Empress 1908 Gin
Floral G&T with London Dry Gin + Butterfly Pea Powder

I’m thrilled to be collaborating this week with Jenny Hammerton over at Silver Screen Suppers because she actually puts together a full meal for her pairings! If you want to craft your own dinner party for Black Narcissus, be sure to subscribe to the Dinner and a Movie Substack and come prepared with an appetite, plus your moodiest purple gin. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

From Here to Eternity

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: From Here to Eternity, 1953

We’ve all seen this shot. Deborah Kerr locked in a passionate embrace with Burt Lancaster on a Hawaiian beach, waves crashing around them as they kiss in the sand. You’d think this would be indicative of the romance in the movie as a whole, but if you’ve ever sat down and actually watched From Here to Eternity (Disc/Download), then you know- there are no happy endings to be found. I see the image, and I just want to scream: “False advertising!!!”

In fact, the love story subplots of this classic film only receive the bare minimum of screentime. This is a movie about military power trips, not trips down the aisle. I’d equate it more to Cool Hand Luke than Casablanca. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra are terrific in their roles as three conflicted army soldiers on the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack, while Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed are magnetic as their love interests. Where the plot drags and meanders, the actors soar. It’s funny to me that the famous beach scene gets vaulted as one of the most romantic movie images because the truth of that scene is far different. Burt Lancaster wants to see how far his boss’s wife will go with him, believing she’s already been “loose” with soldiers in the past. When he mentions her reputation, it’s like a needle scrape across the record. Suddenly, that beach gets very, very cold. It’s a great moment, and there’s certainly a lot of drama when she explains her situation, but… “romantic” it is not. I guess we were all too mesmerized by Burt’s muscles to notice. By “we”, I mean myself.

One thing these characters do frequently is drink. Clearly, the army is a very stressful environment, even in paradise. Legend has it, one of Frank Sinatra’s favorite cocktails was the Navy Grog, a delicious tiki concoction that’s fallen by the wayside due to its complicated preparation. The drink was meant to be garnished and sipped through an ice cone, which required a special mold to make, and… yeah. I’m not doing that. So let’s keep the drink recipe and alter the prep for the modern home bar enthusiast. While watching From Here to Eternity, I recommend drinking an Army Grog.

Army Grog

1 oz Dark Rum

1 oz Gold Rum

1 oz White Rum (I used Koloa Rum, in a nod to Hawaii!)

1 oz Honey Syrup (1:1 ratio honey to water)

¾ oz Club Soda

¾ oz Grapefruit Juice

¾ oz Lime Juice

Lime Wheel garnish

Combine rums, honey syrup, club soda, grapefruit, and lime juices in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

With a slew of Oscars to its credit (including one for Ol’ Blue Eyes), From Here to Eternity manages the tricky task of being a war picture with mass appeal. Maybe the key is that there’s very little actual war depicted. We all know it’s coming, which provides even more tension for the fate of these characters, but we’re not bogged down with fighter jets and explosions. So go ahead, call it a great movie. Just don’t call it a romance. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas · Holiday Films

An Affair to Remember

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: An Affair to Remember, 1957

If, like me, you’ve run out of Douglas Sirk films to watch, yet still feel the powerful pull of the melodrama, look no further than this week’s Cinema Sips pick An Affair to Remember (Disc/Download). With its beautiful 1950s gowns, sappy dialogue (“Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories…”), and romantic cruise ship setting, Leo McCarey has picked up where Sirk left off. Just let me grab my fur stole and champagne coupe- it’s time to set sail.

Starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as star-crossed lovers who randomly meet on a European voyage, this film has me yearning for the days when cruising the high seas meant high fashion and sophisticated cocktails instead of buffet lines and Legionnaire’s. Kerr’s stateroom is MASSIVE, like a perfect mid-century modern time capsule, and it’s a wonder she leaves the room at all. But of course, she must leave it if she’s going to bump into the suave Cary Grant, playing American playboy Nickie Ferrante, who has one foot down the alter and another in a starving artist’s loft. He “paints pictures” the way Rock Hudson “renovates barns” in All That Heaven Allows, but I guess it doesn’t matter what hobby you turn to when you’re that good looking. People will buy whatever it is he’s selling.

Because Nickie’s family roots are in a villa along the French Riviera, I’m bringing in some Mediterranean flavors with this festive drink. While watching An Affair to Remember, I recommend drinking a Pink Champagne Life cocktail.

Pink Champagne Life

1 oz fresh-squeezed Clementine juice

4 oz Pink Champagne

2 dashes Orange Bitters

1 Sprig Rosemary

1 Clementine peel

Add clementine juice, champagne, and bitters to a coupe, stirring gently to combine. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and clementine peel.

Although parts of this movie take place at Christmas, I’ve struggled to define it as a “Christmas Movie”. I suppose if you’re looking for an excuse to drink more champagne around the holidays, you may as well pop this one in. After all, Cary always looks great near a Christmas tree. Cheers!