Vintage 1950s Cars Plymouth Belvedere

The Plymouth Belvedere was an American automobile model that was produced by Plymouth from 1954 to 1970.

          The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954. the Belvedere replaced the Cranbrook as the top trim and became a full model line with sedans, station wagons and convertible body styles. The Belvedere continued as Plymouth's full-sized car until 1965, when it became an intermediate, and was replaced after the 1970 model year by the Satellite, a name originally used for the top-trim level Belvederes.

          The 1957 model year had high sales for the Chrysler Corporation, and for the Plymouth line. Plymouth's design was so revolutionary that Chrysler used the slogan "Suddenly, it's 1960!" to promote the new car.

         The Belvedere returned as a top-level trim for 1958. Styling was a continuation from the 1957 models.

          The convertible was only available in the Belvedere model between 1956 and 1958.

          The 1957-58 Belvedere two-door hardtop gained notoriety from the Stephen King movie Christine (1983). In the opening of the movie, it is indicated that Christine is a 1957 Fury, though the standard color of the 1957 Fury was not red. 1957 Fury had standard Sandstone White with gold anodized aluminum trim. For the movie, Christine is painted "toreador red" with an "iceberg white" top.

            The Belvedere name was dropped at the end of the 1970 model year, replaced by the Satellite name originally reserved for higher-end Belvederes. It lasted only through 1974, becoming the Fury in 1975 when the longer-wheelbase Fury model became the Grand Fury.

Vintage 1950s Movies, Trapeze

Vintage 1950s

Movies

Trapeze

Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starred Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films. The film is based on Max Catto's novel The Killing Frost, with the adapted screenplay written by Liam O'Brien.

The film did well at the box office, returning $7.5 million in North American rentals and placing in the top three among the year's top earners.

                The plot:  Crippled trapeze aerialist and former star Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster) sees great promise in young, brash Tino Orsini (Tony Curtis). Ribble—only the sixth man to have completed the dangerous triple somersault—thinks his protégé is capable of matching the same feat, but only if he gives him rigorous training. However, Orsini is distracted by the new third member of their circus act, the manipulative Lola (Gina Lollobrigida). Tensions rise as a love triangle forms.

Added Note:

Burt Lancaster, was a circus acrobat in his younger years. He performed many of his own stunts, except for the most dangerous ones  (including the climactic triple somersault). The most dangerous one was performed by technical consultant Eddie Ward from the Ringling Brothers Circus.

Trapeze was filmed entirely in Paris:  at the Cirque d'Hiver, and at the nearby Billancourt studios.

Vintage 1950s Music: AutumnLeaves

Vintage 1950s Music

Autumn Leaves

        

The number 4 hit on the Billboard Charts in 1955 was Autumn Leaves version by Roger Williams. Originally it was a 1945 French song, Les Feuilles mortes"(literally The Dead Leaves), with music by Hungarian-French composer, 

Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. The Hungarian title is Hulló levelek (Falling Leaves). Yves Montand (with Irène Joachim) introduced Les feuilles mortes in the film Les Portes de la nuit (1946).

          In 1955, pianist Roger Williams recorded Autumn Leaves, the only piano instrumental to reach #1 on Billboard's popular music chart. It sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc. This version was known for WIlliam's descending scales and arpeggios, depicting the falling leaves from the trees to the grounds below.

          A movie by the same name was released in 1956 by Columbia Pictures starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness.

         

 

To listen to this beautiful instrumental piece, goto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHIMJkt-xE

Vintage 1950s Lost Buildings

Vintage 1950s Lost Buildings

The Brown Derby

formally 3427 Wilshire Boulevard

Los Angeles

The Brown Derby was the name of a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and most famous of these was shaped like a man's derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner. The chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert K. Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson) in the 1920s.

          Opened in 1926, this original restaurant is the most famous due to its distinctive shape. The whimsical architecture was popular at the time, and the restaurant was designed to catch the eye of passing motorists.

                   In September 1980, the restaurant closed without warning. Local preservationists unsuccessfully tried to stop the building from being bulldozed, but the demolition was completed in November and replaced by a parking lot.

          The parking lot was replaced in late 1985 by a shopping center known as the Brown Derby Plaza.  The domed structure was incorporated into the third floor of the building, and is currently vacant; it formerly accommodated a Korean bar.