April & May 2016 Period Drama Challenge Recap

As the part of the 2016 Period Drama Challenge I've been trying to post monthly lists of the participants, reviews for that month and give you some tag questions to answer. 

 So far there have been 73 comments on the Period Drama Challenge post. 19 people have said they will be participating in the challenge. From those participants links to 77 film reviews have been left in the comments.

 If you haven't left the links to your period drama film reviews from April & May on the original post go and do it now or comment here! :) 

 And if you haven't entered the 2016 Period Drama Challenge there's still plenty of time to do so!

19 Participants:

Rose of An Old Fashioned Girl - 10 films

Heidi of Along The Brandywine - 5 films (may do more)

Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy - 12-15 films

Tom of Motion Picture Gems - 8 films

Birdie of Lady of the Manor - 8 films

Lois Johnson - 8 films

 Éowyn of High Noon - 5 films

Faith of Just Way Too Boss - 5 films

Abby P of Lavender Spring - 5 films

Catherine of Based On The Book - 5 films

Mary Horton of Sunshine and Scribblings - 5 films

Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert - 10 films

Jenelle Schmidt of JenelleSchmidt.com - ? films

Jayne M of Adventures At Tiny Toadstool - 12-15 films

Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm - 12-15 films
McKenna of It's The Little Things - 12-15 films

The Gibson Girl - 5 films
Becky of Becky's Book Reviews - 8 films
Mikaela of I Dream About Being Elsewhere

27 Reviews:

And Now Tomorrow (1944) by Hamlette
Beyond the Rocks (1922) by Hamlette
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) by Hamlette
Angel and the Badman (1947) by Hamlette
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) & Persuasion (1995) by Becky
Doctor Zhivago (1965) by Becky
Lark Rise to Candleford, Season 2 by Becky
Lark Rise to Candleford, Season 3 by Becky
Ever After by Becky
Galavant, Season 2 by Birdie
The Princess Bride by Mikaela
Belle by Mikaela
The Young Victoria by Becky
Amazing Grace by Abby P
Anastasia (1956) by Catherine
Brooklyn by Lois Johnson
Chocolat by Lois Johnson
Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and Bleak House (2005) by Becky
Lark Rise to Candleford, Season 4 by Becky
Much Ado About Nothing, Amazing Grace, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, Victoria and Albert by Becky
Doctor Thorne (2016) by Miss Laurie

April & May Tag Questions: 

(Answer here in the comments or on your blog)

1. What period dramas did you view in April & May?

2. Do you prefer to watch period dramas that have a happy ending or a bittersweet ending?

3. What media forms do you prefer to use when watching period dramas (i.e. purchased DVDs, rented/borrowed DVDs, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu)?

4. Which period drama character's wardrobe would you like to own?

5. What period dramas are you looking forward to viewing in June 2016?

What's Up With Miss Laurie?

Dear Readers,
It is time to have a chat. I've been partly putting this chat off because I didn't know what to say and partly because I've been too busy to think of even what to say to y'all. Forgive me for my long absence and not keeping up with some things I should have kept up with better.
Below are answers to some questions I am pretty sure y'all would ask me if we saw each other in person. So let's just chat, okay?

What's Up With Miss Laurie? Are You Alright?
The short answer is yes, I am alright. The longer answer involves a recap of the last three years.
So many of you may remember me mentioning that I was a live-in caregiver for my great-grandmother (Gram) starting back in September 2013. My dear Gram passed away in January 2016, shortly after Christmas, and after that my life was in great upheaval. Moving from NY state back to live with my parents in KY meant not only grieving for the loss of Gram but also breaking the ties with family and new friends that I have formed over that time. The rest of January and February my posting increased because I was out of work and had more time to enjoy blogging. In March I began working at Noah's Cafe inside the Creation Museum. It was lovely to be working with my dear friends again and I learned a lot but still had an unsettled feeling like God had something more for me to do. So I applied for a new job and God opened the door much wider and blessed even more than I could have ever expected.

Where Is Miss Laurie Working Now? 
When I applied for the new job I was initially told "no" but given an opportunity to work for the same place in a lower ranking position (still good just less money and responsibility). I accepted the position and decided to step out in faith and see what God had in store. Not even two weeks later I was contacted again and offered the supervisory position I had initially applied for. I accepted the position and life has been a whirlwind of craziness ever since! So you're now looking at a new Supervisor of Food & Beverage at the Ark Encounter, a full sized Noah's Ark themed attraction in Williamstown, KY opening July 7th, 2016! It's lovely and crazy at the same time because I get to help open the restaurant there at the Ark Encounter. My new position means a lot of changes in my life including a possible move to be living closer to my workplace. It also means a crazy busy summer with unfortunately very little time for posting here at Old-Fashioned Charm.

Are You Closing Old-Fashioned Charm? Will You Still Post?
No, absolutely not! OFC will remain right here as long as I can keep it open. Posting at OFC has been a lovely almost 8 year adventure! When I started I certainly wouldn't have believed all the amazing people I would "meet" and all the things God would do through this blog.
I will definitely be posting in future but I can not promise when. After this busy summer I may have more time to devote to my writing but I am unsure what the future looks like right now. Games are the easiest for me to post so hopefully you'll see some of those even during the summer and maybe film reviews.

What About The 2016 Period Drama Challenge?
The Period Drama Challenge is still going on and it is lovely to see your reviews pop up! I am hoping to post a recap post soon and at the very least I'll be posting an ending post when the Challenge ends in July. I am most disappointed with myself for not reviewing the amount of period dramas that I had set as my goal (really the amount of half written reviews in my Blogger account are many and sad). Y'all are doing amazing though, I am so proud of everyone! Please keep up the good work and keep sharing your love of period dramas!

March 2016 Period Drama Challenge Recap & Tag Questions

Sorry this post is up a bit late. I started back to work in March and have been very busy.

As the part of the 2016 Period Drama Challenge at the end of each month I'll be posting a list of the participants, reviews for that month and give you some tag questions to answer. 

 So far there have been 59 comments on the Period Drama Challenge post. 18 people have said they will be participating in the challenge. From those participants links to 50 film reviews have been left in the comments.

 If you haven't left the links to your period drama film reviews from March on the original post go and do it now or comment here! :) 

 And if you haven't entered the 2016 Period Drama Challenge there's still plenty of time to do so!

18 Participants:

Rose of An Old Fashioned Girl - 10 films

Heidi of Along The Brandywine - 5 films (may do more)

Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy - 12-15 films

Tom of Motion Picture Gems - 8 films

Birdie of Lady of the Manor - 8 films

Lois Johnson - 8 films

 Éowyn of High Noon - 5 films

Faith of Just Way Too Boss - 5 films

Abby P of Lavender Spring - 5 films

Catherine of Based On The Book - 5 films

Mary Horton of Sunshine and Scribblings - 5 films

Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert - 10 films

Jenelle Schmidt of JenelleSchmidt.com - ? films

Jayne M of Adventures At Tiny Toadstool - 12-15 films

Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm - 12-15 films
McKenna of It's The Little Things - 12-15 films

The Gibson Girl - 5 films
Becky of Becky's Book Reviews - 8 films

22 Reviews:

This Gun for Hire (1942) by Hamlette
Whispering Smith (1948) by Hamlette

How Green Was My Valley by Catherine
Rurouni Kenshin by Faith
Vanity Fair (1998) by Lois Johnson
Arabian Nights' (2000) by Catherine
 Mini reviews for Anne of Green Gables, Mr. Holmes, Home Fires, Pollyanna and Downton Abbey (Series 6) by Becky
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, (Season 1) by Becky
When Calls the Heart by Carissa Horton
Bill by Catherine
Mercy Street by Abby P
Lark Rise to Candleford (Season 1) by Becky
Poldark (Season 1) by Birdie
Miss Potter by Becky
The Imitation Game by Carissa Horton
Tess of the D'Urbevilles (2008) by Catherine
Lark Rise to Candleford by Lois Johnson
Populaire (2012) by Birdie

P.S. And I have failed this month in posting any film reviews. I've started many reviews but after I started back to work and am trying to juggle my time. Hopefully I'll do better in April.

 March Tag Questions: 

(Answer here in the comments or on your blog)

1. What period dramas did you view in March?

2. What is your favorite period drama soundtrack?

3. If you could attend a ball in a Jane Austen story what would be the color of your ballgown and who would you dance with?

4. Do you prefer watching period dramas by yourself or with friends/family? Why?

5. What period dramas are you looking forward to viewing in April 2016?

Love & Friendship Trailer!

A most delightful trailer for Love & Friendship (2016), the new adaptation of Jane Austen's minor work Lady Susan, has been released!

First go over to IMDb or YouTube and watch the trailer: once, twice, or ten times (like I have!), then come back and we'll discuss!

DeCourcy Family (plus Frederica Vernon)

Did you laugh? I laughed a LOT and my sister watched it right before going into work and she was quoting the silly lines over to herself and giggling. :)

Lady Susan and Reginald DeCourcy

From the trailer Love & Friendship (2016) looks:

• Witty - terribly funny!
• Very close to the original story, minus the letter writing.
• Very well cast, actors are talented in their craft.
• Costumes and scenes are very rich and beautiful - for instance Lady Susan and her daughter are dressed in mourning as is proper. 
• There's the addition of a companion/lady's maid for Lady Susan named Mrs. Cross who has red hair!  Perhaps she will be a means of foiling Lady Susan's plans? 
• Very distinctly set in the 1790's and the costumes and hairstyles very clearly reflect that - perhaps odd for what one thinks of a Jane Austen adaptation, but it is a different sort of story from all of her other novels. So exciting!

Miss Cross and Lady Susan meeting Catherine and Reginald

Now here's some technical stuff.

The text from the trailer: "Lady Susan has no husband, no money, but she has a plan: marry off her daughter, find herself a rich husband and rendezvous with her lover. A lady's work is never done. Based on Jane Austen's comic genius. From writer and director Whit Stillman."


Premier Dates: May 13th, 2016 (USA) and 27 May 2016 (UK) in limited cinemas. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23rd and was well received by Janeites such a Margaret Sullivan of AustenBlog (read her review here).

Cast Of Characters: 

I've done some screencaps from the trailer to give some idea of what the characters look like. Their costumes are lovely and most sound exceedingly delightful!

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon

Chloë Sevigny as Alicia Johnson

Morfydd Clark as Frederica Vernon

Xavier Samuel as Reginald DeCourcy

Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin

His lines in the trailer were hillarious! I think he's going to be the most comical character in the whole film! 

Jemma Redgrave as Lady DeCourcy

James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy

 This is his third Jane Austen film! (The others are Sense & Sensibility 1996 and Death Comes To Pemberley.)

Kelly Campbell as Mrs. Cross

 A new addition to the story.

Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon

Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon

Lochlainn O Mearáinn as Lord Manwaring

Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring

Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson

(with Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring)

My Thoughts: The more I worked with the screencaps the more the costumes in Love & Friendship (2016) remind me of costumes from Sense and Sensibility (1995), Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Northanger Abbey (1987), although much more elegant than the latter. They are certainly different from the early 1800's clothing that one sees in most other Jane Austen adaptations but that only helps me to identify it as one of her much earlier works and give an idea of how the time period was when she was a girl. I'm muchly encourage and excited to see that the trailer doesn't show anything that could be considered inappropriate, so I am in high hopes of a fairly clean film. Overall I'm quite excited to see this movie! And I'm going to listen to my audiobook version of Lady Susan in preparation.  

After watching the trailer are you excited about this film?

What are your thoughts of the cast and costumes?

February 2016 Period Drama Challenge Recap & Tag Questions

As the part of the 2016 Period Drama Challenge at the end of each month I'll be posting a list of the participants, reviews for that month and give you some tag questions to answer. 

 So far there have been 40 comments on the Period Drama Challenge post. 17 people have said they will be participating in the challenge. From those participants links to 28 film reviews have been left in the comments.

 If you haven't left the links to your period drama film reviews from February on the original post go and do it now or comment here! :) 

 And if you haven't entered the 2016 Period Drama Challenge there's still plenty of time to do so!

17 Participants:

Rose of An Old Fashioned Girl - 10 films

Heidi of Along The Brandywine - 5 films (may do more)

Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy - 12-15 films

Tom of Motion Picture Gems - 8 films

Birdie of Lady of the Manor - 8 films

Lois Johnson - 8 films

 Éowyn of High Noon - 5 films

Faith of Just Way Too Boss - 5 films

Abby P of Lavender Spring - 5 films

Catherine of Based On The Book - 5 films

Mary Horton of Sunshine and Scribblings - 5 films

Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert - 10 films

Jenelle Schmidt of JenelleSchmidt.com - ? films

Jayne M of Adventures At Tiny Toadstool - 12-15 films

Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm - 12-15 films
McKenna of It's The Little Things - 12-15 films

The Gibson Girl - 5 films

16 Reviews:

The Magic of Ordinary Days by Abby P at Lavender Spring
The Mark of Zorro (1974) by Hamlette at Hamlette's Soliloquy
Shane (1953) by Hamlette at Hamlette's Soliloquy

Risen (2016) by Hamlette at Hamlette's Soliloquy
Singin' in the Rain (1952) by Mary Horton at Sunshine and Scribblings
Ladyhawke (1985) by Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) by Mary Horton at Sunshine and Scribblings
Hail, Caesar! (2016) by Faith at Just Way Too Boss
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) by Lois Johnson of You, Me and a Cup of Tea
War and Peace by Catherine of  Based On A Book
Jane Eyre (2011) by Rose of An Old Fashioned Girl
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) by Catherine of Based On A Book
Magic of Ordinary Days by Heidi of Along The Brandywine (Part 1, Part 2)
Risen (2016) by Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert
Far From The Madding Crowd (2015) by Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm
Foyle's War (Season 1) by Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm

 February Tag Questions: 

(Answer here in the comments or on your blog)

1. What period dramas did you view in February?

2. What is your favorite period drama musical?

3. If you could order up an adaptation of your favorite classic book, what would it be and who would star?

4. If you could be a famous royal from history, who would you be and why?

5. What period dramas are you looking forward to viewing in March 2016?

January 2016 Period Drama Challenge Recap & Tag Questions

As the part of the 2016 Period Drama Challenge at the end of each month I'll be posting a list of the participants, reviews for that month and give you some tag questions to answer. 

 So far there have been 27 comments on the Period Drama Challenge post. 15 people have said they will be participating in the challenge. From those participants links to 12 film reviews have been left in the comments.

 If you haven't left the links to your period drama film reviews from January on the original post go and do it now or comment here! :) 

 And if you haven't entered the 2016 Period Drama Challenge there's still plenty of time to do so!

15 Participants:

Rose of An Old Fashioned Girl - 10 films

Heidi of Along The Brandywine - 5 films (may do more)

Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy - 12-15 films

Tom of Motion Picture Gems - 8 films

Birdie of Lady of the Manor - 8 films

Lois Johnson - 8 films

 Éowyn of High Noon - 5 films

Faith of Just Way Too Boss - 5 films

Abby P of Lavender Spring - 5 films

Catherine of Based On The Book - 5 films

Mary Horton of Sunshine and Scribblings - 5 films

Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert - 10 films

Jenelle Schmidt of JenelleSchmidt.com - ? films

Jayne M of Adventures At Tiny Toadstool - 12-15 films

Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm - 12-15 films

12 Reviews:

First Love (1939) by Éowyn of High Noon

Banished by Jayne M of Adventures At Tiny Toadstool

The Water Diviner by Jayne M of Adventure At Tiny Toadstool

Cinderella (1914) by Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy

We're No Angels (1955) by Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) by Hamlette of Hamlette's Soliloquy

Oliver Twist (1997) by Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert

Call The Midwife by Catherine of Based On The Book

Cinderella (2015) by Heidi of Along The Brandywine

The Inheritance (1997) by Éowyn of High Noon 

Beyond The Mask by Carissa Horton of Musings Of An Introvert

Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World by Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm

 January Tag Questions: 

(Answer here in the comments or on your blog)

1. What period dramas did you view in January?

2. What is your favorite Charles Dickens film adaptation?

3. Would you rather visit Pemberley (Mr. Darcy's residence) or Downton Abbey (Crawley family residence)? Why?

4. If you could be any character in a Jane Austen novel for a whole day who would you be and why would you want to be that character?

5. What period dramas are you looking forward to viewing in February 2016?

Couples Of Period Dramas Blog Theme

Hello there! I'd like to introduce a new blog theme with header and photos on my sidebar based on some of my favorite couples from period dramas! I had lots of fun creating this new header, the only hard part was choosing which couples to use! 

Couples In Header:

• Sophy Hutton & Dr. Frank Harrison from Cranford
• Livvy & Ray Singleton from The Magic Of Ordinary Days
• Henry Tilney & Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey (2007)
• Marguerite St. Just & Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
• Molly Gibson & Roger Hamley from Wives & Daughters
• Danielle & Prince Henry from Ever After
• Denise Lovett & John Moray from The Paradise (TV series)
• Ella & Prince from Cinderella (2015)
• Emma Woodhouse & Mr. Knightley from Emma (2009)
• and of course Anne Eliot & Captain Wentworth from Persuasion (1995) 

What do you think of the new theme?

Blog Survey

Dearest Readers,
I hope you are having a lovely Autumn! Sorry that I haven't been posting for quite awhile. I am hoping to make quite a few changes around here in the next few months. To help me with these changes I hope you will take just a few minutes to answer these survey questions. Thanks so much!


Blog Survey Questions:

1. When you think about Old-Fashioned Charm what specific period dramas come to mind?
2. What are your favorite types of posts on Old-Fashioned Charm (i.e. games, film reviews, actors, personal updates, faith based, book reviews)?
3. What type of posts are your least favorite?
4. What films, TV series or books would you like to see reviewed at Old-Fashioned Charm?
5. How long have you followed Old-Fashioned Charm?
6. What media type to you use for following Old-Fashioned Charm (i.e. Blogger, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube)?
7. How did you encounter Old-Fashioned Charm and what was your first thought on your first visit?
8. Name three of your favorite period dramas.
9. Name three period dramas that you haven't seen yet but plan on viewing.
10. What type of event would you like to see at Old-Fashioned Charm in the future: 

• Young Heroines of Period Dramas Tournament
• Jane Austen Couples Tournament
• Jane Austen Adaptations Tournament
• Period Drama Challenge 
• Classic Book Read-along 

A Little Life Update

Hello! 

This is Miss Laurie checking in for a little life update. It has been quite an age since I've let y'all in on what I'm up to and I also thought you might enjoy seeing some photos.

We had quite a long and hard winter in central New York where I've been taking care of my great-grandmother. But it has been a special time filled with learning new things and enjoying extended family who I've nearly always lived away from. It has not always been an easy job, but I have grown closer to the Lord through the hard times. 

This summer I am home in Kentucky visiting my family and back working at the museum for three months. It's a nice break and a chance to get some appointments taken care of and rejuvenate physically and spiritually before going back to care for Gram and her Kittercat in the autumn.

Ain't she sweet? 

I'm definitely missing folks up north but I am greatly enjoying visiting folks down south! 

Not sure exactly what this all means for the frequency of my blog posts since I'm now working full time and have lots of activities with friends and at church but I'm hoping to get back to posting more regularly very soon. I also have some special things to let you know about hopefully next month. 

Hope y'all are doing well!

New Blog Theme!

Elizabeth & Georgiana

Hi y'all! As you may have noticed I've switched up my blog theme! The theme this time comes from Death Comes To Pemberley (2013). As soon as I saw that gorgeous screencap of Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy in the drawing room at Pemberley I fell head over heels and knew it would make the perfect blog header. Death Comes To Pemberley is an exquisitely filmed piece of period drama and it was such fun browsing through screencaps and choosing the ones I've put on my sidebar. There's also a new comments button featuring Lady Catherine De Bourgh and a new blog button for you to use! Also scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the new banner I created featuring photos of Elizabeth and Darcy. All screencaps came from chrs_vg at Red Curtain, her work is lovely!

Lydia & Wickham

I loved my previous theme but it was time for a change. The last theme I'd had up since March 2013! I think that's the longest I've had the same theme on my blog! The theme was Downton Abbey and flowers.

Previous Header:

Previous Background:
(feel free to use)

Comment Button:
(feel free to use)

Blog Button is still available for use:

<center> <a href="http://old-fashionedcharm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Old-Fashioned Charm" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-cvK-Ly4Ga0G-cHQwu2d12PdOF5GLJiMo5dzOGupQf3GTpiQj62suclTCzz_lh9PPMDm-5I-UgI7TrdxzJ8bMb8x0Oy3HRocZmdPQmawVZcR6pg4xN_Gx0RjBP8Jkf-o5Pau2OOCyJjH/w162-h155-no/Edith+Button.jpg" /></a></center>


Well, what do you think of the new theme? 

Have you seen Death Comes To Pemberley? If you missed my review you can read it here.

Oh yes, and I have quite a few new signature buttons featuring various characters that I'll be using as well! :)