29 thoughts on “Top 5 Cheesy Frock Flicks I Have Secretly Loved

  1. I prefer Pirates of Penzance but The Pirate Movie was a hoot. Shirley Temple makes me hyperglycemic but I love Mary Poppins with all my heart.

  2. I never liked Little House nor the books. I was a total European children’s books nerd. From Lloyd Alexander to Beatrix Potter.
    But my cheesy movie list includes The Dark Crystal, King and I – both the musical and the Rex Harrison movie, Quentin Durwood, and any Judy Garland and Shirley Temple movies. Also Deanna Durbin. I’m a sicker for Opera. Also any version of Camille.

  3. Loved (and still love) the Little House books, but the series always scratched my eardrums. To this day, all I can really stand is the pilot episode.

    But oh man, those Shirley Temple throwbacks! Such good stuff. I’m also a sucker for all interpretations of Little Women – and there are some real doozies in the mix if you dig deep enough.

  4. I may be the only woman in America who didn’t love the Little House books. As near as I can recall it was a death of dialogue that put me off.

  5. Where to start so I could stop… My favourite cheesies are French historical flicks with Jean Marais, top favourite being The Hunchback (Le Bossu). I do no know how many times I watched it (and was always jealous of main guy’s hair. He always had it immaculately in place even after wild horse chase and sword-fighting dozen evil henchmen and jumping off the bridges whatever). The film is my comfort food, along with some less known like The Mysteries of Paris (kind of Cinderella and lowlifes in 19th Paris), The Miracle of Wolves (15th century Burgundy, and politicking there is actually good), Captain Fracasse and Princess of Cleves. They follow the same formula, lots of sword fighting and damsels in distress in sparkling if inaccurate costumes, perfect for cheering myself up.
    And another bunch of my favourites are screen adaptations of operettas and older Spanish comedies, made in USSR in 1970-80s. I have absolutely no idea why they would do it in Soviet Union, but they did at least dozen of it, and they were always rerun on tv, so I’ve seen them a lot as a kid. Strauss’s Fliedermaus is all-time favourite, it is hilarious, and I start to laugh even when I think of it. The Dog in the Manger is also great, and all those had lots of catchy songs.
    And The Shadow with Alec Baldwin, although I am not sure it could classify primarily as historical flick. But I wanted all the costumes Penelope Ann Miller wore!

    1. Oh yes, I love The Shadow too, and I ADORE Margot Lane’s costumes! They are simply gorgeous. My favorite is the green evening dress with bead trim.

  6. My parents let my older brother and sister name me. They were reading the Little House series out loud at bedtime, so I became Baby Carrie. I am so, so grateful Baby Grace hadn’t shown up yet.

    My guiltiest pleasure is probably “Pompeii.” Tsunamis! Enormous fireballs! Kit Harington’s abs! And finally, gorgeous, gorgeous costumes on Emily Browning. That movie was such a miss, because so much €€ and energy was poured into recreating ancient Pompeii, but the script was just crap.

  7. I love the pirate movie as well and Laverne and Shirley so im with you there.

  8. Oh my goodness! Are we twins!? Love your list! Although I actually DID like the calico and boots. There will always be a special place my my heart/closet for some granny boots.

  9. The Pirate Movie was filmed mostly at Werribee Mansion, in outer Melbourne, and has a bunch of aussie actors in it, like “The Freak” from Prisoner. As a kid I thought this was the best thing ever. Americans in Melbourne! AMAZING!
    As an adult I rewatched it and laughed my ass off, omg the cheese.

  10. The Court Jester, quasi-medieval Robin Hood knock off musical featuring Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, Glynis Johns, Agnes Moorehead, and Angela Lansbury.
    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. The reason I want a monkey puzzle tree one day

    1. I love the Court Jester so so so much. I thought it was so funny and I’ve always had a soft spot for Danny Kaye and Angela Lansbury.

      1. The pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace holds the brew that is true.

    2. I too love the Court Jester. I still remember ‘The pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle and…’

  11. I loved the Little House tv show too, although I mostly watched it in re-runs. We also randomly had a video collection of all of the shows Christmas episodes. Because if it was Christmas-related, my mom bought it.

    In terms of other cheesy stuff, I was way too into Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman for my own good.

    1. I looovved (and still love lol) Dr. Quinn! I was a little too young when it first came out but I started watching it in syndication when we first got cable when I was 9 and I remember begging my mom to push my bedtime back a half hour because I kept getting packed off to bed in the middle of an episode! Now I just own the whole series (I bought it on a whim on Black Friday two years ago, best impulse buy ever)

      1. What I really loved about Dr. Quinn was that they actually dealt with the Rational Dress movement. I don’t believe I’ve seen that on any other TV show from that period.

  12. I have strong feels, not of the positive kind, about little house on the prairie. First, not my culture, since I don’t even know if the books made it to France.
    They certainly made it on TV. THE THING HAS NEVER STOPPED RUNNING! It’s getting downright ridiculous at this point. That bloody family and Dr Quinn give me hives now, every time I hear the theme music. Grr!

    1. Not a Frock Flick, but the various Star Treks when they do a period piece on the holodeck.

  13. If I have to pick a favorite, I guess it would be “Zorro, The Gay Blade” starring George Hamilton. He not only plays Don Diego Vega, but also his foppish twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth. Think I’ll watch that this weekend!

  14. The Shirley Temple “Little Princess” is my favorite. It’s so cheesy and heartfelt at the same time. I think about the (book inaccurate, of course) reunion scene a lot. It always made me cry as a kid.

    “Sarah… Sarah…”
    “But I’m Sarah!! I’M Sarah!!”

  15. So many Shirley Temple movies! Many of them were set in the time of the film, but several were historical settings. :-) I used to wake up before anyone else, and I think I must’ve been a perfect daughter because I pretty much just went downstairs and quietly watched either Shirley Temple movies or infomercials (anyone remember that one in the early 90s with the vacuum and the bowling ball)? My grandma is a few years younger than Shirley, but she also did a lot of tap so she showed me a few steps. :-)

    I would add the 60s western tv shows… for some reason I just really liked those in junior high, which is when they played in syndication after school. I’m sure almost none of the costumes were accurate. I also liked Doctor Quinn for a while.

  16. chuckles I wonder if a childhood spent watching Laverne and Shirley is why I insist on calling all my kitties Boo? (Currently I have a boo-boy and a boo-girl in the house).

  17. I first watched The Pirate Movie as part of a Bad Movie Musicals triple-feature. One of the others from that night was The Apple (poor Miriam Margolyes had a part in that one…but hey, a girl has to pay the bills).

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