coffeedan1927

Monday's question: The creation of the Sarah Siddons Society, a theatrical organization, was actually inspired by what film? Good luck!

Greetings, everybody! I was just reading a most interesting article from a 1924 issue of Liberty on movie star salaries over the weekend, which has considerably changed my perspective on the Hollywood of that time. According to this article, Gloria Swanson was the highest paid actress in the industry, at $3,000 a week. No surprise there. But the highest paid actor -- this did surprise me. I never would have guessed that Conway Tearle was the highest paid actor in Hollywood at that time -- $2,500 a week, outdrawing even Valentino and Milton Sills at that time. The richest single individual in the film capital was Cecil B. DeMille, who drew a salary of $6,500 a week, not including royalties from his pictures and substantial investments in oil and real estate. Ruth Roland, the queen of the serials, had retired from the screen a few years earlier and had also grown rich from shrewd real estate investments. I'm also going to be posting excerpts from the 1927 article "How To Pass The Screen Test," which is substantially an interview with Paramount director Eddie Sutherland, who also gets in a few good words for his wife, actress Louise Brooks. The article lends itself very well to excerpts, so I'm going to be posting little by little as the week goes on. And now on to this week's movie trivia . . .

Marie Dressler in TUGBOAT ANNIE!

Friday's question: What Walt Disney feature marked the last occasion that Walt Disney himself provided the voice of Mickey Mouse? Good luck!

Thursday's question: In the 1962 film THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, what playing card turns the hypnotically programmed Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) into an assassin when he sees it? Good luck!

You got it, holly! Welcome to the boards, earthling!

Wednesday's question: What well-known film actor's middle name was Maitland? Good luck!

Path, you're the star today! The picture was GOING MY WAY (1944). And I didn't mean to be a tease about Lee Tracy, but here goes -- When Tracy was working on location in Mexico filming VIVA VILLA (naturally, he played a reporter), he caused an international incident by **** from a hotel balcony onto a passing military parade. There are several accounts of exactly what happened -- MGM claimed later that Tracy was naked and making lewd gestures, while Tracy himself claimed that he had on pajama bottoms but no shirt, and was only yelling and waving at the troops. Whatever happened was serious enough to get Tracy arrested, and as soon as he was released on his own recognizance, he chartered a private plane and flew back to Hollywood. Then MGM decided to exercise the morality clause in his contract, and he was unceremoniously released. Tracy was replaced in VIVA VILLA by Stuart Erwin. He had been slated to star in a remake of THE SHOW-OFF when he finished VIVA VILLA, but after his notorious public display, MGM replaced him with another Tracy named Spencer. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Tuesday's question: In what Oscar-winning film does Porter Hall say, "I'm an atheist. Besides, I'm superstitious"? Good luck!

Feaito's got the correct answer on this one! Although Tracy officially signed with MGM in 1935, he made his first picture with the studio, THE SHOW-OFF, in 1934. MGM borrowed Tracy from Fox to fill in for Lee Tracy, whose contract had been terminated due to (ahem) unwholesome shenanigans in Mexico while filming VIVA VILLA.

Hi, Larry! Many thanks for sharing your Hollywood memories with us. I've really enjoyed reading them thus far. Thanks again for being so generous with your time and experiences. It's a pleasure to sit at your feet. On my end, I'd like to hear more about Louise Fazenda. I love her screen work, and think she was one of the most underrated actresses ever. She got her start in the silent days with Mack Sennett, and I've heard the story that whenever Mabel Normand got temperamental, Sennett would tut-tut her by saying "I'll call in Fazenda." Louise could do anything -- comic roles, light romantic leads, even character parts, and she was not above taking a pratfall. A truly amazing lady. Earlier, you also mentioned Laura LaPlante, one of the busiest actresses of the late '20s. What do you remember about her? Also, did you ever meet Theda Bara? I've heard she was one of the most gracious Hollywood hostesses of her day after she left the movies -- almost up till the day she died in the mid-1950s. Her marriage to director Charles Brabin was one of the film colony's most enduring unions, lasting 33 years. Again, thanks for starting such a chatty, informative thread. You were so lucky to get so close to the stars we love so much.

Monday's question: Spencer Tracy signed a contract with MGM in 1935, but what was his first picture for the studio? Good luck!

Greetings, everybody! A beautiful day in Cincinnati, and I just got home from downtown about an hour ago. I did my darnedest, but I still couldn't get a ticket for today's Cincinnati Reds opener! It can be brutal getting in on Opening Day, and today was no exception. Oh well, there's always the businessman's special on Thursday . . . Besides, I got some more old issues of Liberty in the mail, and found one 1927 article that looks interesting: "How To Pass The Screen Test." Watch this space for pointers. But for now, on to this week's movie trivia . . .

In honor of today's Laurel & Hardy marathon (and it's hard to tear away from) -- Friday's question: What are the only two Laurel & Hardy films that bear the credit "A Stan Laurel Production"? Good luck!

Thursday's question: What singing cowboy rode a horse named White Flash? Good luck!

Not a bad guess, feaito, but the answer is someone who was a little more serious on screen: Warren William.

By the way, I think it's interesting that the Bette Davis and Joan Crawford sets are being released on the same day, June 14. Even in death, apparently, the two of them are still slugging it out . . .

I think one reason that so many catalog titles are turning up in the new sets is repackaging. Up till June of last year, Warner Home Video released all of their product in snapper cases, which many of their customers have complained about (including me). But starting with the Cary Grant box, their releases have been in standard keepcases. The artwork I've seen for the upcoming Bette Davis and Joan Crawford boxes shows all the films packaged in keepcases. I think that's also why the prices on so many WHV back titles were lowered and the movies sold in two- and three-packs recently -- to get the old product in the old packages off the shelf, and to make way for new product. I blow hot and cold on this issue -- I too think that there are other worthy films that could be included in these sets, yet I'm glad to see the old product in the more convenient keepcases. For those reasons, I think the upcoming Clark Gable set will include MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY as well as DANCING LADY, since it's the only other Gable film WHV has released on DVD besides GONE WITH THE WIND.

Paty, I've just seen the artwork for the Bette Davis Collection on the DVD Times website, and you'll be glad to know that DARK VICTORY has been newly restored and remastered for this release! Alas, there are no extras mentioned for this disc. By the way, I also heard that JEZEBEL is being restored for a future release as well.

Garboloygrant, you won't have to wait till September. TCM has a whole day of Garbo films scheduled on May 31! And I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts the upcoming Garbo set includes GRAND HOTEL, too.

Wednesday's question: What film actor, by habit a relentless tinkerer, built his dog a revolving doghouse and once attended a seminar on the uses of sawdust? (Hint: He spent the best part of his career at Warner Brothers.) Good luck!

You sure did, feaito! It was Walter Huston's last line in DODSWORTH (1936).

Tuesday's question: In what movie does Walter Huston say, "[L]ove has got to stop some place short of suicide"? Good luck!

Good guesses all . . . but, alas, none correct. Yesterday's answer: Joan Crawford had the aforementioned clause in the second contract she signed with MGM in 1930.

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to announce that the original 4-disc set of TREASURES FROM AMERICAN FILM ARCHIVES, long out of print, will be re-released on May 10. The MORE TREASURES collection created such a big demand for the first collection that Image Entertainment is releasing an Encore Edition with updated liner notes. And it's loaded with goodies like: HELL'S HINGES (1916), William S. Hart's seminal Western THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922), the earliest surviving all-Technicolor feature and the film debut of Anna May Wong THE LONEDALE OPERATOR (1909), an early D.W. Griffith production for Biograph, starring Blanche Sweet THE CHICHAHCOS (1924), a Klondike gold rush adventure filmed entirely in Alaska, newly restored from a recently discovered 35mm print (the source on the first edition was a 16mm reduction print) THE BATTLE OF SAN PIETRO (1945), John Huston's famous combat documentary SNOW WHITE (1916), the first film adaptation of the fairy tale, starring Marguerite Clark BLACKSMITHING SCENE (1893), the first publicly-exhibited film, and several other Edison short films And there's many more, 50 films in all, spanning almost a century, from 1893 to 1985. The price has been reduced as well, from the original list of $99.95 to $69.95, though many online merchants will probably sell it cheaper. And all proceeds from the sale of the set will go toward film preservation. More information, plus a complete list of the contents, is available at www.filmpreservation.org.