Magnet #473 - GreeceWhen I was growing up, whenever we had kids come visit - particularly girls - my mom would bust out the Betamax, and later, the VHS, tapes of old Hayley Mills movies from Disney.
Don't know Hayley? Of course, you do.
She's the daughter of Sir John Mills, the goddaughter of Sir Noel Coward, and the darling of several Disney movies, including The Parent Trap, The Castaways, Summer Magic, That Darn Cat and Pollyanna. Seriously. My mom had the Hayley Mills oeuvre nailed down.
I could go on, with the lesser-known The Trouble with Angels, Truth About Spring, The Chalk Garden, and Flame Trees of Thika....or still even more obscure Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the precursor to Saved by the Bell.
You wouldn't believe the hours we spent with Hayley growing up. Well, no, actually, you've probably gotten an idea, so far.
But, if you're paying attention, you've noticed that I left out my favorite Hayley Mills movie of alllllll time - The Moon-Spinners. You must see this movie. Must.
Filmed on location, it was a mystery/romance with a teenage Nikky Ferris coming to picturesque Greece on holiday with her doting Aunt Frances. No sooner than they check in to the lovely Moon-Spinners inn, than Nikky manages to bumble her way into a murder and mayhem, complete with a jewelry theft ring, windmills, a strange innkeeper named Stratos, weird little sidekick named Alexis, and superduper cute mystery man named Mark Camford at the center of it all. Oh, and don't forget the eclectic Madame Habib, with her exotic pet!
But let's go back to Mark Camford, played by Peter McEnery. I freakin' loved this guy. Mind you, I was watching this movie a good 20 years after the movie was initially released, but I had a right proper crush on this guy, even though he was older than my parents. But, in the movie, Nikky Ferris was a teenager, with fabulous outfits and cute hair and wonderful Brit accent, in love with a guy with a wonderful Brit accent, who was older, more mysterious, and trapped in a bloody crypt! (Heh, it's one of my favorite scenes. Ok, well, he was the bloody one, and he was just hiding out, but still!)
Goodness, you couldn't get more romantic than that!
And you know Nikky and Mark totally lived happily ever after after they returned to London. They totally did. Yep. I'm a romantic at heart, and it's no wonder, with me watching movies like this (and Summer Magic and Parent Trap) during my formative years. Apparently, though all of them are on DVD, someone's uploaded Moon-Spinners, too. Go. Now. (Though, honestly, just go buy them, cuz you'll get your use out of the DVDs. I'm just saying.)
Go. Why are you still here?
Oh! The second I saw this magnet, I knew I had to buy it, because I'll always think of this movie when I think of Greece. Ummm, yeah. I've never been to Greece, so I suppose it loses a bit of its romance if I admit that I bought this in Tarpon Springs. Florida. Heh.
*One of Alexis' silly American quotes
12 comments:
Clearly, we know what I'll be watching this weekend.
still even more obscure Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the precursor to Saved by the Bell.
Hardly! Last I checked, they still syndicated that on TBS in the mornings! And whenever I'm home at the time and they're showing it, I'm always pissed about it because while I've seen it more times than I care to mention, no one is ever in the mood for pre-SBTB! Still, I suppose it's better than seeing The College Years.
Love love love this movie. Sigh. It was Haley Mills's first kiss, you know. Lucky girl.
And, oh, the quotes! "Quick, like a mouse!" "Madame HaBIB!" "I feel all sort of loft and softy..."
If I could find mine in my two boxes of DVDs right now I would.
Hahaha. Yay, cc! What kills me is that it's *all* on YouTube. Then, when you're done with M-S, try Summer Magic, because it's SO fantastically sexist, you wouldn't believe. Plus, with cheesy songs! Love. It!
Hahah, I didn't know Miss Bliss was still on.
Those were good quotes, jen...loft and softy. HAH!
You and Kev are scary. When he mentioned MoonSpinners last night I had to think hard to remember it, then look it up to remind me of the plot. Spooky.
I totally just Paperbackswapped that Moon-Spinners book. I didn't know until last night that it *was* a novel. Which is awesome. Awe. Some.
I love Summer Magic - "Ugly Bug Ball" rules! Guess I will have to check this one out, too.
Is there a shop in Tarpon Springs that sells magnets from all over the world? Or are they connected to Greece somehow? I must know - it might even be worth a trip!
Hee - pink of perfection is my fave. Or the other one about the land of milk and honey. Heh.
But Tarpon Springs has a really big Greek community, because of the sponge industry there that was spearheaded (hee) by some Greek guy back in the day. And for some reason they had actual Greek magnets in the store. Heh.
I remember now...that's the movie you made me watch at your parents. Didn't I end up falling asleep on the couch?
Probably. But it was still a supertotallyfabulous movie anyway.
I love the "Beautiful Beulah" ragtime song in "Summer Magic."
yeah. I think I have tomorrow's magnet now. Heh.
@elizabeth, ugly bug ball is no where close to "femininity". hahahah
the BEST part of moonspinners is when nikky is stealing the alcohol for mark camford's wound and the old lady sees the bottle moving across the bar and stops clapping a second.
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