Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Life This Week: July 4, 1938

I hope my American and Canadian readers had lovely long weekends!

Promotional photo of Danielle Darrieux for The Rage of Paris from Doctor Macro

First off, this issue of Life has a write-up on French actress Danielle Darrieux (whom you may know from classics such as The Earrings of Madame de... and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort), who, in 1938, had just arrived in America...



...to film The Rage of Paris, which is also the Movie of the Week.  You might not want to read the article if you haven't seen the movie, because it definitely contains spoilers!  Shame on you, Life!  However, The Rage of Paris is a romantic comedy, so you could probably figure out what happens anyway.  The Rage of Paris is a solid example of the 30s romantic comedy genre.  It's escapist fun with glamorous clothes and sets and a rather far-fetched plot.  Danielle Darrieux and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. are both charming and have great chemistry.  Character actors Helen Broderick, Mischa Auer and Harry Davenport add to the fun.  The Rage of Paris is available on DVD, or you can watch it at the Internet Archive.*

Publicity still of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Danielle Darrieux

To go with The Rage of Paris, what could be better than a salad that's on the menu in most of the bistros of that fair city?  I just adore salade aux lardons (also called salade lyonnaise) with its bacony vinaigrette.  I use the recipe from BBC Good Food.  I just happened to have iceberg, so I used that.  Also, there's no reason to buy pre-cut "lardons."  Just snip the bacon into the skillet with a pair of kitchen shears.  One bit of advice: pick a high-quality red wine vinegar.  Nothing's worse than a cheap one!



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12 comments:

  1. Interesting, I'll have to check out this film. Bacon Vinaigrette is soul food ( :

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  2. I clicked over to Life mag. and it was quite interesting. I'll be watching this movie soon, unfortunately can't right now. Tasty salad with the bacon and eggs. :-)

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  3. I have never heard of Danielle before, but she was gorgeous! That salad looks good - I like a runny egg yolk.

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  4. Simple, yet delicious salad. I have a secret crush on iceberg lettuce...so fresh and crisp~

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  5. What a brilliant breakfast salad:) tasty...

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  6. Danielle looks very dramatic and glamorous... Your salad looks very pretty on your blue plates! And I'm with you, I'm ready for cooler weather. Find someplace for us to run away to that has 70s for highs right now!

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  7. Malli- I've never tried a salad for breakfast, but this one does make a lovely supper dish or a nice lunch, if you're willing to put in the effort in the middle of the day!

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  8. She's so pretty, I love these photos!
    From Carys of La Ville Inconnue

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  9. i REALLY want to learn to do old time hair like that!!!! ugh! so badly! <3


    love this!

    love, polly :D

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  10. I love all your uses of eggs! Your yolks look a little more soft cooked, which I prefer. Your salad looks so pretty!

    I am in a Paris frame of mind, so this movie sounds perfect (just saw "Midnight in Paris" in the theater and am reading David Lebovitz's "The Sweet Life in Paris".

    As always, please send some of your hot weather this direction!

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  11. Hannah- I would love to send you some of our hot weather--as soon as I can figure out how!

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  12. I did not even know that D. Darrieux had played in some american movie. your eggs seem incredibly yummy..

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