coffeedan1927
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Posts posted by coffeedan1927
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Thursday's question: Which of her co-stars did Bette Davis describe as "basically a nice man, and very honest about the fact that he knew he didn't have much talent"?
Good luck!
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Not quite, feaito, though I can see why . . .
Yesterday's answer: Eddie G. did the Big Apple in I AM THE LAW (1938). Keep on truckin'!
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TCMprogrammer, you got lucky again . . .
The Three Stooges aren't missing. I saw them singing in Lee Tracy's wedding in the movie TURN BACK THE CLOCK this morning!
And by the way, TURN BACK THE CLOCK needs to be rediscovered. In its story about a man who relives his humble past life and takes a different path to wealth, fame, and ruin (almost), it somewhat resembles IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but was made 13 years earlier!
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Wednesday's question: In what film does Edward G. Robinson do the Big Apple?
Good luck!
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Good guesses, guys, but you need to go back just a little bit further . . .
Yesterday's answer: The first James Cagney film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar was HERE COMES THE NAVY (1934).
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Tuesday's question: What was the first James Cagney film to be Oscar-nominated for Best Picture?
Good luck!
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Correct, feaito! Helen Hayes won the first Sarah Siddons award for her work in the play Mrs. McThing in 1952.
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Larry, after seeing Loretta Young referred to as "Attila the Nun," I had to pass on this story.
Loretta would keep a silver platter on the set of every movie she worked on, and any time she heard a curse word from anyone, they had to put a quarter in the platter. She donated the proceeds from this "sin tax" to charity, but many actors loathed this practice.
She even had the platter out when she was working on a CBS radio show with actor William Conrad, and he wasn't crazy about it either. So one day, Conrad came up to her and asked, "How much would it cost me to say, 'Why don't you go **** yourself, Loretta?'"
With that, he dropped a $50 bill in the platter, and walked out without saying another word. "Best $50 I ever spent in my life," he said later.
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Since today's question was answered so quickly, here's a follow-up --
Monday afternoon's question: What actress, also a two-time Oscar winner, received the first Sarah Siddons award in 1952?
Good luck!
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Good job, allycat1920! You are correct!
The Sarah Siddons Society was only fictional when ALL ABOUT EVE was released in 1950, but it inspired a group of Chicago theatre-lovers to create a real Sarah Siddons Society, and they have presented an annual award for the best work by an actress on the legitimate stage since 1952.
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Monday's question: The creation of the Sarah Siddons Society, a theatrical organization, was actually inspired by what film?
Good luck!
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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 . . .
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Marie Dressler in TUGBOAT ANNIE!
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Friday's question: What Walt Disney feature marked the last occasion that Walt Disney himself provided the voice of Mickey Mouse?
Good luck!
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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!
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You got it, holly! Welcome to the boards, earthling!
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Wednesday's question: What well-known film actor's middle name was Maitland?
Good luck!
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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.
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Tuesday's question: In what Oscar-winning film does Porter Hall say, "I'm an atheist. Besides, I'm superstitious"?
Good luck!
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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.
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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.
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Monday's question: Spencer Tracy signed a contract with MGM in 1935, but what was his first picture for the studio?
Good luck!
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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 . . .
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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!
Trivia -- Week of April 11, 2005
in Games and Trivia
Posted
Friday's question: In the 1943 film SAHARA, what was the name of the tank commanded by Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart)?
Good luck!