Vintage Movie Time: Outdoor Havens
Twenty years ago, I had a small business decorating what I called “outdoor spaces”: porches, balconies, decks, patios, gazebos and so on. As part of my advertising as the haven maven, I wrote content for several online and print publications.
Yesterday, I found a piece I was particularly pleased with at the time, but which never found life in a publication. It’s especially appropriate around Oscars time, but there’s only one movie in this list that was made in this century, so I’m classifying it as ‘vintage’ rather than Oscars. Enjoy!
TOP TEN VINTAGE MOVIE OUTDOOR HAVENS
1. The absolutely most wonderful outdoor space in all of movie-making history must be the quintessential Adirondack-style screened porch in On Golden Pond. Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn’s portrayals of Norman and Ethel Thayer earned them Academy Awards in 1982.
2. My childhood dreams came to life in the musical number that Liesl and Rolfe danced around that fabulous gazebo in The Sound of Music. Nominated for ten 1966 Oscars, this musical saga of the von Trapp family took away five statuettes including Best Picture.
3. The widow’s walk that Colonel Behrani added to The House of Sand and Fog played an integral part in the plot of this 2003 drama. Who can forget Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo’s last afternoon together, watching the sun set from their precious balcony?
4. Last moments together play a recurring theme in movies and outdoor spaces. In the 1999 version of Anna and the King, Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat danced together in the royal gazebo the last time he held her in his arms.
5. Porch swings have often been associated with old-time courting, and so the scene in Witness in which Rachel and Daniel sat silently rocking spoke volumes and no dialogue was needed. Witness won two 1986 Academy Awards.
6. Hark – what light through yonder window breaks? The most famous balcony scene in history is over 400 years old. Willy Shakespeare would no doubt have loved Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which copped two Oscars at the 1969 ceremonies.
7. Although the plantation setting might suggest lots of activity played out in outdoor living spaces, Gone with the Wind’s most memorable porch scene was when Melanie caught sight of Ashley’s return and fairly flew off the steps to run into his arms. GWTW was nominated for a phenomenal 15 Academy Awards in 1940 and won nine – including, of course, Best Picture.
8. Much of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is set on Matt and Christina Drayton’s elegant terrace overlooking San Francisco. At the 1968 Academy ceremonies, Katherine Hepburn won her second of four Oscars for this picture.
9. Forrest Gump and his mother lived in a rambling southern country home with one of movies’ most beautiful white painted verandas. It was from here that Jenny stepped down on her wedding day. Among the six 1995 golden statuettes that this movie won, was an award to Tom Hanks as Best Actor, and Best Picture.
10. Titanic swept the box office and the 1998 ceremonies, winning an astonishing 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. But wait—this movie was set on a boat- where was the outdoor haven? Of course—Jack declared himself King of the World – all the while standing on the deck.
Two decades on I find my tastes have changed slightly. My favourite in the list now? Depends on whether I’m in city or country mode.
City: Hands down, the Drayton’s SF terrace in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Country: that absolutely wonderful wrap-around porch in Greenbow, Alabama.
How about you?
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