ReelJewels.com

ReelJewels.com was created on October 7, 2000. My initial intent was to showcase classic film teams like Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney, Alice Faye/Don Ameche, Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant, Greer Garson/Walter Pidgeon, Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald...and so on, but I got stuck. When I started the Nelson and Jeanette site, I felt compelled to highlight them separately. I had just started to view and to love Jeanette's early film career and Nelson's films without Jeanette. I was upset that their histories were bound together, when they were successful apart as well--though clearly they were most successful as a team.

With this road block, I ended up scrapping the film teams idea and going back to my roots--the film musical. The original ReelJewels were Judy Garland, Alice Faye, Rosemary Clooney, Nelson Eddy, Irene Dunne, June Allyson, Shirley Jones, Dick Powell, Eleanor Powell, Jane Powell, and Ginger Rogers. The editions to follow were either added by me over the years or voted in by a poll. As of this writing, there are twenty. With this growth, I felt the need to build a community. I added message boards and created mailing lists at one point, hoping that this would happen--and after a little time, it did.

In August 2005, I started ReelCast--which I hope is an extension of this community. It's a tribute to the musical, with other classic films thrown in as well. Included are interviews with people in the know, segments by the fans, contests, special soundbytes and much more.

I hope the site will continue to grow under my sight and that everyone involved, whether you sent in a fan memory or drawing--or are just a regular visitor will continue to support this site and feel that it's your own little oasis on the web.

For more information to frequently asked questions, you can go here.

 

About Me

My interest in classic film musicals stemmed from my love of music which was inherited from my mother more than anyone else. Whilst opening presents on my third birthday, my father said while I was opening one of my gifts, "Better be a Bing Crosby record or she won't listen to it." Better than anything else I can think of, this event shows my early love affair with music that was recorded slightly before my time.

Throughout my childhood, I never really lost touch with music, although my father pushed me more into sports (eventually I became quite good at rope skipping and taught around the world). Even with jump rope taking a great deal of my time, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston waltzed in and out of my life--while Bing Crosby's "Merry Christmas" record was played year round. I vividly remember singing 'Over The Rainbow' on my tricycle with my dog as Toto and splashing through puddles 'Singin' In The Rain' as early as five years old. I spent much of my time listening to records and singing. As the only child and a very introverted one at that, I revelled in my alone time.

When I was around twelve years old, musicals came back into my life to the point where I personally started to fret over my health. I was never one to go along with the crowd and while everyone else loved Boys II Men and En Vogue (which they probably have already forgotten), I was in love with The Music Man and My Fair Lady, by the time I was fifteen--I discovered Judy Garland. That was the end of me. Previously, I had watched many classic films and loved greats like Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant (so many others)--this was something different though. Judy had something special that I could really relate to (and provided a connection to my late grandmother that I never met, but who once loved her as well). I felt, like many, Garland gave absolutely everything she had to her audience and with such sincerity that is rarely seen today and in Judy Garland's case--never will be seen again. Garland possessed so much talent and came at a point in history that will never be duplicated.

It did not take long to learn that people my age really did not know anything of classic movies and even less about Judy Garland as anything but Dorothy Gale. I felt this had to be corrected, especially as I began to join online communities for Judy and there were very few people my age. Even worse were stars like Alice Faye and Nelson Eddy who were too easily forgotten for the realm of talent they possessed, in so many fields of entertainment. These were people who came along once in a lifetime with a great deal of talent, a great deal of compassion for the world and sadly they have been misplaced in American popular culture for James Dean and Marilyn Monroe--more controversial icons.

Some Garland fans only latch onto her films and don't explore any other musicals of her era--seeing her as the epitome of the musical and everything else pales in comparison. I think this is a mistake. Though Judy, I agree, is 'the one and only' of her kind, there is so much more out to discover and I hope to show people that there was so much talent out there waiting to be discovered that completely over-shadows some of the 'talent' (this was a time when there was no digital editing of the tracks--all the talent completely depended on the entertainer him/herself) that exists today.

The film stars that are represented on this site are people I have a great deal of respect for as far as their talent as seen on reel after reel of their films, recordings, and radio appearances. It seems I have become obsessed with reminding my peers, young and old alike, that these gifted artists were once part of our popular culture both in the United States as well as the rest of the world. Not always is entertainment about sensationalism as it seems to be more or less today--true talent is found in artistic ability, sincerity, beauty, romance and a touch of enchantment that brings our chaotic world a little piece of mind if only for the time it takes to watch a few reels of film.

Note: If you're interested in my experiences of seeing live concerts, meeting Shirley Jones--and other classic film related people, you can read more abou that here or by clicking on the picture above.

As a great lover of music, it was only natural for me to find musicals as I did. More natural was my need to preserve the history of these performers and show people just a glimpse of what they were about and what we can find once again in our own world. As for now, I have dedicated much of my time to preserving the memory of film stars of the past.
 
Transporting you to a film era of wonderful artistic talent and glamour--
 
Yours in film in and song...
 
 
 
Ginny L. Sayre