VP19
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I'm hoping one by-product of this will be that TCM may get greater access to the Fox film library than in the past. In recent months, we've seen slightly more Twentieth Century-Fox (and its two predecessors, Fox and the short-lived Twentieth Century) on TCM, and perhaps Fox officials have decided its older product is more valuable for TCM than for its own channel.
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Some might say that many doctors shake you down for more money than do bank robbers.
No, they learned that a few decades later.
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I'll name 10:
Ernst Lubitsch
Howard Hawks
Frank Capra
William Wellman
Billy Wilder
Alfred Hitchcock
Mitchell Leisen
Gregory La Cava
Michael Curtiz
Victor Fleming
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{font:Calibri}I never knew Loretta Young was a "don't want to say what I think of her, it's that bad" woman. And to think I thought she was a lovely woman and I looked forward to "The Bishop's Wife" every year. No more.
Remember the biblical passage involving casting the first stone? That's what I feel here. Loretta made a mistake out of love and may have had to conduct an elaborate ruse to keep her daughter, but at least she did it rather than give her up for adoption, likely to a family that wouldn't have had her financial resources. In those days, when having an illegitimate child meant losing your career, she had no other alternative. That she wouldn't admit it until a posthumous biography was published can be debated, but from her era's mindset, Young likely feared telling the truth would have lowered her in the eyes of the Catholic faith and adversely affected the many charities she worked for. You can't judge what a person did in 1935 in the environment of 2011.
Judy Lewis could well have turned out bitter, a la Christina Crawford. Compare "Uncommon Knowledge" to "Mommie Dearest," and you'll discover she didn't.
Same for Clark Gable. I knew he was a hack no talent actor, but I never knew he was a dirt bag. What the heck did Carole Lombard see in him?
Gable had relatively few enemies in Hollywood; like Lombard, Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy, he was renowned for watching out for castmates and crew members. He may not have been the greatest of actors (though he often underestimated his own talents), he overflowed with charm, and it was that quality that endeared him to millions of film fans of both sexes. It was likely that charm and likability that attracted Carole, though his wandering eye might have eventually ended the relationship had Lombard lived longer.
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I too welcome you to the TCM message boards. Powell is my all-time favorite actor; I love his manner, his suavity, that droll sense of humor, that charming voice. I can only imagine what my life would be like if I had the aura of a William Powell.
Glad you're a classic movie buff, and I hope people here don't mind if I cordially invite you to visit a classic Hollywood blog I run that covers all sorts of topics, but usually focuses on Powell's second wife: http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/
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Took a walking tour at Paramount with a guide who really knew the history. She was going to take my son and I to the typical stops featuring the TV locales on the back lot, but as we got to talking, she shifted the focus away from the Star Trek/hospital shows/crime dramas to the sightings of Rudolph Valentino at nights near his old dressing room office, and the RKO days from Welles (his office-as she could figure it out) and the Desilu studios (she knows there were some great stories, but we were running out of time), and Bugsy Seigel wandering about the place, alive and dead.. He's buried at Hollywood Cemetery over the wall from Paramount.
The next time I visit, I hope I get that guide -- and hope she has some good Carole Lombard stories to tell (after all, Carole spent seven years on that lot, and one of the smaller office buildings is named for her).
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Thursday, Dec 22nd, TCM is running all 6 films in The Thin Man series. Watch the original film, you will want to see the rest.
And the Thursday after, you'll want to see Powell's other films with Loy. Their chemistry was splendid.
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I'll give Clark and Loretta the benefit of the doubt on this one. Remember, in the 1930s, morality clauses would have rendered both anathema in Hollywood had it been made public, and since Gable was already married, wedding Young was not an option. (Apparently Clark clandestinely visited Loretta after the baby was born, found she was using a drawer for a bed, and gave Young $400 towards the infant's expenses.) At least Loretta -- whose pre-Code work is increasingly a revelation to film fans -- had the baby (secret abortions were common procedures for pregnant actresses in those pre-Roe v Wade days) and told the truth to the public in an autobiography issued after her death.
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Sure I am, JEWEL ROBBERY is airing. It's not every night that you get to see William Powell handing out reefers and commenting that smoking it will make you hungry.
This really should have been reissued in the '70s; the college crowd would have loved it.
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Well it's no secret to anybody on this these boards that I will watch Powell anytime in anything. I don't know what it is about him, I don't think he's a particularly handsome man in an overt way but I get the feeling if he is someone I would have LOVED to know in real life.
Powell may not have been especially handsome (at least in the "hunk" department), but anyone who could marry one goddess (Carole Lombard), divorce her amicably, and then romance another (Jean Harlow) must have had something going for him.
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They've done so many of my favorites in recent years, so it's difficult to come up with some new ones. But here goes:
Roland Young
Walter Connolly
Una Merkel
Warren William
Glenda Farrell
Charley Chase
Fay Wray (much more than a scream queen)
Miriam Hopkins
Gloria Stuart
Ricardo Cortez
Many of these are more character actors than stars, but all have impressive resumes and left their mark on classic Hollywood.
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Did an entry on Powell today -- TCM is showing 39 of his films through December:
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One of the most funniest things to occur during filming was the issue of Donald's height. He was short and didn't exacly look so imposing, when paired off with Marilyn. Director Walter Lang, then politely asked Marilyn if she would consider taking her shoes off, just for a few scenes. She gladly agreed and Donald would always be grateful to her for having made him not look so childish, if not, ridiculous.
Interesting; I'd say O'Connor was more slight than short, because while Monroe's build may have made her look more imposing, she really wasn't all that tall, about 5'5", I believe. Someone like Julie Newmar, who was 5'10 1/2" and beginning to dance in films about this time (you can catch a glimpse of her in "The Band Wagon"), would have dwarfed him.
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Dell's next movie was to have been "You Belong To Me" (later renamed "Now And Forever"), in which she would have reunited with Temple opposite Gary Cooper, but after the fatal accident, Carole Lombard replaced her:
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A happy Thanksgiving to all...and (aside from you vegetarians) may you only eat turkeys, not watch them.
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In the classic era, Myrna Loy. In recent times, Laura Prepon (before she mysteriously decided to go blonde and consequently lost all her distinctiveness).
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I do wish a new score would be commissioned. The Movie-tone track though a bit monotonous was interesting in that I kept trying to pick out the old songs I was familiar with.
Agreed. Hearing the melody of "the old gray mare ain't what she used to be" for the umpteenth time was annoying, and sort of trivialized the entire film. It's among the reasons "What Price Glory" isn't quite as highly regarded as "The Big Parade."
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"A Millionaire For Christy" is a likable, if somewhat flawed, late screwball from 1951 featuring old comedic pro Fred MacMurray and someone you don't associate with comedy -- Eleanor Parker. Her breathy style is very reminiscent of Carole Lombard (who made four movies with MacMurray), and she has good chemistry with Fred. One could imagine this film being made 15 years earlier with Fred and Carole (or two other "screwball" stars of the time).
Here's more on the movie:
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Here's one of the earliest airchecks extant, Bing Crosby from KHJ in Los Angeles on Sept. 2, 1931. (The program was 15 minutes long, but only eight minutes survive.) You will hear the announcer give the station ID as being in "Los ANG-el-es," and repeats it a few seconds later when reading the sponsoring jeweler's commercial.
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Geez, I've been enjoying *Carole & Co. *for a long time now, and I never made the connection to VP19. That's one terrific site you've got there, and it makes me wonder if the *Self-Styled Siren *and the *Noir of the Week *guy are also lurking in these parts somewhere.
Thank you; it's been a labor of love now for nearly 4 1/2 years, as I try to blend a historian's perspective with a fan's enthusiasm regarding Lombard, her life and times, and people she knew and worked with.
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That's Carole with Russell Birdwell, ace publicist for Selznick International Pictures, during a week in July 1938 when Lombard handled publicity chores for the studio. Learn more about it at http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/17287.html, http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/119764.html and http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/401488.html
And remember that at 8 p.m. ET tonight, TCM is showing the restored print of Lombard's 1937 Technicolor comedy "Nothing Sacred," followed by Carole's final film role in Ernst Lubitsch's "To Be Or Not To Be."
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In conjunction with the recent thread on film criticism, here are Pauline Kael's assessments of 13 different Carole Lombard movies:
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/459570.html
For the most part, Kael liked Lombard (no surprise, most critics do). Then again, she also championed the work of Michelle Pfeiffer, whose style is decidedly different from Carole's but who shares her sheer luminosity.
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According to another story which appears to be true, the coat Frank Morgan wore as Professor Marvel, which was handpicked from a second-hand clothing rack, once belonged to L. Frank Baum (the author of the Oz series of books). The inside pocket had his name on it. After completion of the film, the coat was presented to Baum's widow who confirmed it was indeed his.
It could well be true. Baum lived in Hollywood for several years until his death in 1919, and in fact opened a film production company that adapted his various "Oz" books for the screen; prior to that, "Oz" stories were frequently performed theatrically. He later folded the film company and offered movie rights to his works to Paramount, which refused -- in retrospect, a huge mistake, as the "Oz" franchise could have been to Paramount what the "Harry Potter" books are currently to Warners.
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Thanks for clarifying that Marion Davies had nothing to do with the Beatrice Fairfax series. From the description, they appear to be intriguing mid-teens short films, and Hearst's money in a movie project invariably meant good production values.
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This thread reminded me of an entry I ran a few years ago at "Carole & Co." where Carole Lombard gave her recipe for barbecued spareribs. It was from a 1939 book called "What Actors Eat -- When They Eat." (Hey, if Eugenia can run a Stanwyck recipe, I need to give Lombard equal time!)
*Carole Lombard's barbecue spareribs*
*Here is a dish that I am sure everyone will like, and it doesn't require any course in cooking to prepare, if you follow the directions. Hot, it is swell, and when cold -— well, you'll just want to make enough to have a nibble, later.*
*3 to 5 lbs. spareribs*
*1/2 c. soy sauce*
*3/4 c. honey*
*2 tsp. prepared mustard*
*1 clove garlic*
*1/4 c. water*
*2 Tbs. flour*
*Combine one-half cup soy sauce, three-fourths cup honey, two teaspoons prepared mustard and one clove of finely chopped garlic. Mix well together. Place three to five pounds of spareribs in a roasting pan, pour the sauce over the ribs, cover and place in oven. Bake at three hundred degrees for two hours or more. Remove ribs from the pan (be sure to stir occasionally while cooking to make sure all the ribs are covered with the sauce). Drain off all the fat, with the exception of about two tablespoons. Add one-fourth cup of water to the remaining liquid and cook on top of the stove until well-blended, then add two tablespoons of flour mixed with a little water and cook until the sauce is thickened. Replace the spareribs in the pan with the gravy, and stir. Return to oven to keep hot until serving time.*
The entry is at http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/204782.html.
Lombard also apparently contributed a recipe (though I don't know what it's for) to a charity cookbook in the early '30s issued by the Beverly Hills Woman's Club. You can find out more at http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/467636.html.
Finally, here's a recipe for one of Hollywood's most famous dishes -- one enjoyed by many a star, possibly including Lombard and Stanwyck. I'm referring to Chasen's renowned chili. The restaurant may be gone; the recipe lives on:
*Chasen's chili*
*1/2 pound dried pinto beans*
*water*
*1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice*
*1 large green bell pepper, chopped*
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil*
*3 cups onions, coarsely chopped*
*2 cloves garlic, crushed*
*1/2 cup parsley, chopped*
*1/2 cup butter*
*2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped*
*1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped*
*1/3 cup Gebhardt's chili powder*
*1 tablespoon salt*
*1 1/2 teaspoons pepper*
*1 1/2 teaspoons Farmer Brothers ground cumin*
*1. Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand one hour. Drain off liquid.*
*2. Rinse beans again. Add enough fresh water to cover beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour or until tender.*
*3. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Simmer five minutes. In a large skillet saute bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and saute beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain. Add to bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.*
*4. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili shouldn't be too thick -- it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like soup. Skim off excess fat and serve.*
*Makes 10 cups, or six main dish servings.*
Having lived in the D.C. area for many years, I am partial to Hard Times Cafe, which makes several varieties of chili -- Texas, Cincinnati, Terlingua, even vegetarian. The chain sells spices mixes, enabling you to create your own at home (a good gift for any ex-Washingtonian who misses home -- Hard Times' locations include Verizon Center for its many events and Nationals Park for baseball games).
Happy dining to all!