Happy Birthday, Doris Day!

Thanks to the magic of movies, Doris Day will remain eternally young and wholesome. Hard to believe that today she will be celebrating her 90th birthday. Her on-screen image of being squeaky clean inspired the famous Oscar Levant quip, "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."

Whatever troubles she had in her personal life (and there were apparently quite a few bumps along the way), Day continued to entertain America with her music and movies. My very favorite is "Pillow Talk," where the actress looked impossibly perfect in every shot.



A former coworker once pointed out to me that each shot with Doris used "The Doris Day Filter." Whenever shots cut back and forth between Doris and Rock, it was obvious by the dewy glow in her closeups that a special filter was being used just for her.



The purpose of the filter and special lighting were most likely for eliminating her abundance of freckles, which were not removed for this publicity still from the dark (yet now somewhat corny) drama, "Midnight Lace."



Disneyland fans will recognize the background from this photo of Doris in "Calamity Jane" as the inspiration for the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. Both saloons were designed by Harper Goff.

An avid animal lover, she has been retired from the screen since 1968, and now resides in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where she owns the Cypress Inn.



Happy Birthday, Doris - I hope your day brings as much joy to you as you've brought to the world!



Thanks for always helping us to "shake the blues away"!



See more Daveland classic Movie and TV photos on my main website.

Frontierland Rarities, Pt. 4

Today we are going to spend a little time at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. This undated image shows a quaint little ice cream cart outside The Shoe.

This October 1965 image looks standard at first, but once I zoomed in, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.



Apparently, poor Lafitte's anchor has been moved around multiple times. Here it is, right in front of the Mark Twain dock. Today, it resides in New Orleans Square. Previously, I believe it was located closer to the area that is now The Riverbelle Terrace.



Anyone know what this building in the distance is that appears to say "Wilbur Clark's..." is?



Frequently, I have read that Harper Goff's Golden Garter Saloon design from the 1953 Doris Day movie “Calamity Jane” was reused as the design for Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon. Here are a few screen shots to show you the striking similarities between the two, starting with two exterior shots:





Here are Doris and costar Howard Keel cavorting inside the Golden Garter. In the majority of these shots, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two structures!







Compare with this corresponding shot of the GH at Disneyland:



The differences can mainly be seen when you see the angles that show the back of the house and the ceiling; otherwise, the look and feel of both facilities are very similar.







The back of the house and the ceiling of the GH at Disneyland:



It’s a fun movie to watch, done in the same vein as “Annie Get Your Gun”(1950) (which also starred Keel).



Warner Brothers got their money’s worth out of this set, which was also used in Vincent Price’s “House of Wax” (1953).



For a much more detailed history of Harper Goff's set design, be sure to check out The Disney History Institute.

See more vintage and current Golden Horseshoe photos on my Golden Horseshoe web page.