Film – A Touch of Mink

The once exuberant film star of Hollywood’s golden cinema years, Doris Day turned 83 on April 3.

Pink lipsticks and sunny flower bouquets graced her with the same elegance in which an oyster treasured its pearl.

She could have accepted flamboyant roles if she wanted, with an adequate choice of film scripts and that rich shock of golden hair but Day never projected herself in that brash way.

Often, her beauty was orchestrated with a subtle exquisiteness that led her on to an enduring worldwide fame.

The glamour lady could manouvere a slender switch from an enigmatic allure to a teenybopper swing anytime and still stay the beauty. In A Touch of Mink – that was nominated for 3 Oscars including screenplay – a wealthy playboy Rolls-Royce driving Philip, played by Cary Grant and a virginal smalltown girl Cathy played by Day, challenge each other to comic cat-and-mouse games with Grant’s non-commital views on marriage.

It is a playful, sparkling comedy, to say the least.

Think colourful Bakerlite telephones, stylish capes and pretty jewellery. Add on slow music and glittering chandeliers that claim attention in a quaint Bahamas hotel. This is romantic comedy with more than its offerings of rollicking laughter.

Now think, girlfriends having giggles over a cuppa and while tucked in bed with rollers. Think gossipy old ladies.

And there you are… You may have yet carved out the essence of a classic Hollywood romance with its happy-ever-after ending. Cherish it if ever you need a swift girlish perk-me-up moment. - susan abraham

Film – On A Vole La Jaconde (1966)

Sleek and fashionable and with no obvious disappointment is how I would label the 1966 French film called On A Vole La Jaconde or The Mona Lisa is Missing. Directed by Michel Deville and starring George Chakiris and Marina Vlady, this colourful slapstick commands a distraught magician, bungling policemen, clumsy gangsters and beautiful blondes for the taking.

Having triumphed over art thefts in New York, a romantic con-artist and expert art thief confidently steals the Mona Lisa from a Parisian museum.

He poses as a janitor, memorises the giant maze of exhibits and with suave deftness, even charms a surly guard into a chess game. However, after the deed is done and dusted, the tricky follow-up lies in the desperate art of hanging on to the paintng at all costs.

So confident is the thief, he seals his theft with a Love from Romeo signature. He enlists the help of a beautiful blonde and a magician’s muse with whom he falls in love and so a whole hour is spent with a newly-found Juliet in a boudoir, while the couple stay on the run. Police, a pair of clumsy gangsters and the heartbroken magician heartily give chase.

Spills and thrills follow as the band of comedians dash through train compartments, ramshackle motels, lakes, horse-carts and farms.

Despite the comedy, a high sexual energy weaves its way around languishing moments. Picture a blonde’s creamy breasts dropping gently on to Chakiris’s nose as she serves him dinner. Or the smooth feel of finger running over skin as a man takes his time to seduce a woman. The effect is tender and electrifying by turns.

On a Vole a la Joconde is a period film that boasts Havana cigar-puffing, uniformed museum guards, stylish straw hats, pinstriped suits and intimate Parisian cafes for its backdrop. Hansom cabs were your taxis at the time. But all said and done, George Chakiris still played his notorious but sentimental character with an Elvis Presley hairdo. - susan abraham