daneldorado

You are: Noah Beery. Dan N.

But PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART (1933) has been available on VHS for at least a decade. Still, it would be a wonderful addition to the growing number of pre-codes being released on DVD. Ginger Rogers is the star -- her first starring role, I believe -- and here she bears a strong resemblance to Honey Hale, the band singer that Ms. Rogers would portray a little later, in FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933). Think of Honey as she stands in front of the orchestra in the first reel of that film, and sings "Music Makes Me." She is wearing the sheerest black gown imaginable, and I could swear she is wearing black bikini bra and panties underneath -- although bikinis didn't become fashionable until the 1960s. Anyway, in that scene she is not Irene Castle or Kitty Foyle, she is the continuation of Glory Eden (of PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART) or Anytime Annie (from 42ND STREET). It may be only a romantic notion that PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART deserves a DVD release. Such decisions are usually made on a bottom-line basis, i.e., will it sell? My guess is that it would sell much better today, while Ginger Rogers is still well-remembered by most of us, than if the decision were delayed until later in this century. At any rate, PROFESSIONAL SWEETHEART is a first-rate comedy, with a saucy performance by Ginger Rogers, plenty of good wisecracks by Gregory Ratoff, ZaSu Pitts, Frank McHugh, and Franklin Pangborn. It deserves to be seen. I think I'll go see it now. Dan N.

"Are you Fritz Feld?" AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaarrrggghhhhh! How the hell did you get that one so fast? You know, there ought to be some rules, e.g., ettiquette of the game... where you don't get to make a fool of the questioner quite so quickly. Fritz Feld it is, Judith. Just remember: Next time I'm up, we're playing hardball! Your turn. Dan N.

"Joan Blondell in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter ? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051196/" Who are you? CIA? FBI? KGB? Man, I cannot believe that you got that correct answer with so few hints! Oh, wait... oops, you are Bill McCrary, so OF COURSE you know the answer. And man! I was hoping this guessing game would go on till Christmas! Bill is right, folks... and now, Bill is up at bat! Dan N.

My turn now? Okay, you should have no trouble answering this one. I came to the U.S.A. back in 1923, appeared in hundreds of movies, tv, stage productions, etc., rarely in a prominent billing, yet became extremely popular and even organized a theatrical group in Hollywood. My roles ran the gamut. I was in crime shows, comedies, serious dramas -- everything, it seems, but a musical. I logged over 400 movie appearances, not to mention more than 700 TV stints and 1000-plus radio programs. In one of my final films, I played against type as a drunken bum in a VERY serious drama -- fully 64 years after coming to the U.S.A. Who am I? Dan N.

I believe you are talking about: Hal Skelly died at age 43 in a car-train crash (the trains always win those). Before that, he appeared on Broadway in the stage show "Burlesque," and also in its filmic remake, retitled "The Dance of Life." (1929). How I wish we could find those missing color sequences! They could look fabulous here. As it is, all I have is a b&w VHS print which is badly out of sync. Any help on the horizon? It's Hal Skelly, right? Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

Nope, not SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS ()1957). Dan N. You guys are trying too hard -- bless you for that -- but you're thinking in the wrong genre. The film in question is a comedy. Yes, the line spokien is meant as a joke -- imagine, a silent screen actress having her career ruined by the talkies because all she talked was "Texas!" But since you know now that both the producer and the star are ficional, you can relax about anyone actually fitting into that mold. What is the name of the movie? Here's another hint: The line is spoken (in this late-1950s movie) by my all-time favorite pre-code actress! Dan N.

"Gene Kelly to Millard Mitchell in 'Singing in the Rain?'" No, that would have been the early fifties. The film in question was produced in the late fifties. Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

Ouch! I can't take it any more! You guys are trying so hard, but not getting close. What really bothers me is that some of your answers are so good, yet wrong. I'm going to put a stop to this insanity, right now. The film in question -- which was finished partially with outtakes from another picture after one of the stars died during filming -- is: MY SON JOHN (1952). Robert Walker passed away during production, and so several scenes used a double from behind (shades of SARATOGA), and others were, in fact, outtakes from Walker's previous film, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951). Thanks to all of you who participated. Dan N.

Nope, not SARATOGA or PLAN NINE FROM OUTHER SPACE. But you guys are thinking, and that's a lot better than just pulling names out of a hat. And you are right: One of the stars of the movie in question died during filming. So, now it should be easy for you guys to come up with the right title. Cheers, Dan N.

"I'm going to suggest one I haven't seen (yet) - The Aviator - someone talking about Howard Hughes (and....?)." Nope, not Howard Hughes. If it will help, the producer and the actress being discussed are fictional. Hint: The film was made in the late 1950s. Dan N.

Nope, not "Cannonball Run." Dan N.

Here's one I haven't seen quoted: "He produced all her pictures, until the talkies came in. She couldn't speak English, being from Texas. Her first talkie was a flop, so he dropped her." Who said that, to whom, and in what film? Dan N.

What film was finished with out-takes from another, due to a definitive occurrence that aborted the continuity of its shooting? Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

"What is it that Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, and Mike Connors have in common?" They all hit a hole in one, in golf. Dan N.

The lady who was "born in Britain" and "enjoyed a long film and stage career until her death at a ripe old age" is probably Edith Evans. Perhaps we should say Dame Edith Evans, since she was knighted in 1946. She lived to 88. Dame Edith was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for the 1963 film "Tom Jones," and if ever a movie "helped to lessen the Hollywood stereotype that England was a bastion of snobbery and social privilege," it has to be this one. Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

Hi Carol... Good to hear from you again. Hey, it's good to hear from ANYBODY on this thread! You're right, no one seems interested in tackling the question. For your info: The following line, "Wal, if it ain't ol' Massa Fred, back after all these years. Is the burial private? Or didn't you bring the body back with you? You don't look a day older than when you went away. We just loved your postcards." was spoken -- sarcastically -- by the Jean Harlow character to the Clark Gable character, in RED DUST (1932). Carol: Why don't YOU post a new line for us? Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

"I don't understand why we need female flesh to qualify as a bonafide pre-code film. Scantily clad women was only a part of what makes up the genre." It's no big thing, simply a matter of preference. You like movies that show us strong-willed women, I like films that let us see them en deshabille. Dan N.

"You are: Barry Norton? Classic horror movie: Spanish version of Dracula." Once again, pintorini nails it! Barry Norton is the guy! Hit us with your best shot now, pintorini.... Dan N.

The song you're looking for is: "Dardanella." There's an Internet page that says it was composed by Felix Bernard and Johnny S. Black, with lyrics by Fred Fisher. I believe that's the same Fred Fisher who is the subject of the 1949 TC-Fox movie with June Haver, "Oh You Beautiful Doll." Dan N.

I didn't catch WATERLOO BRIDGE (1931), but I did watch the other two pre-codes last night: BABY FACE (1933) and RED-HEADED WOMAN (1932). In my humble op, the promised and long-awaited pre-code "thrills" of BABY FACE failed to materialize. Yes, the Barbara Stanwyck character was cold-hearted and cynical; and yes, she "slept her way to the top," as promised. Then, in the final reel, she made amends for her misdeeds by returning to George Brent and helping him to heal his wounds, though he is now penniless. But where was the "skin?" Stanwyck remained completely clothed, all the way through. There was more Stanwyck flesh on view two years earlier, in NIGHT NURSE (1931), where she seemingly changed into and out of her lingerie in every other scene. There's none of that in BABY FACE. (Incidentally, even during the Golden Age, when the Production Code was in full force, we can see more of Stanwyck in BALL OF FIRE [1941] and LADY OF BURLESQUE [1943] than we did in the supposedly "shocking" BABY FACE.) The Jean Harlow character in RED-HEADED WOMAN was just as cold-hearted as Babs, sleeping her way to wealth and fame... but not lasting love. At the end, she was still basking in her ill-gotten privileges. A cynical story indeed, and I'm not surprised it is one of the films that triggered the Hays Code crackdown in 1934. But Harlow, at least, did give us one fantastic moment of female flesh. When she is still tormenting the Chester Morris character, she pauses, lifts her skirt, and gives him (and us) a nice, long, uncompromising look at her bare legs. Now THAT's what I call a Pre-Code! Dan N.

Hi... The question I posted on 12/02/2006, about the actor born in South America, has been moved to its rightful location, in the "Do You Know Me?" thread. Thanks to all who have been active and productive on this site. Dan N. http://dan-navarros-blog.blogspot.com

Thanks, pintorini... but I don't know about being "the master." I bombed spectacularly, on that question about Basil Rathbone. Anyway: Here is a question I recently posted on another "Trivia" board. But it properly belongs here, on the "Do You Know Me?" board. Who am I? I was born to a wealthy South American family and debuted in Hollywood during the mid-1920s (silent films) but my career, which never quite attained "stardom" as we like to think of it, nevertheless spanned a quarter-century into sound movies. In one of my last roles I reprised a bit I had done in an earlier classic film, some 25 years before. I had shed my baptismal name for a typical Hollywood anglo monicker. Folks tell me I was handsome and also an accomplished ballroom dancer. Definitely hispanic, I looked absolutely "gringo" throughout my career, therefore befitting my anglo professional name. I made English and Spanish language films, though possessed of a thick Spanish accent and was featured in a Hispanic remake of a classic English horror film. Who am I? Dan N.

You are: Richard Long. Dan N. http://www.silentfilmguide.com

"How about Caesar Romero?" You obviously didn't read all the clues. Dan