VP19
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Posts posted by VP19
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> {quote:title=cujas wrote:}{quote}
> I can think of as many stars who went to college or college prep as you can think of who didn't. There's no trend here--they were people just like the general public.
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> But it's well to remember that back in The Depression days, a lot of people never went to college. The average person was considered to be "Well-Educated", if he/she had a High School Diploma.
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> FYI --college stars were:
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> Katharine Hepburn--Bryn Mawr--1928
> Spencer Tracy--Ripon College
> Henry Fonda--University of Minnesota
> James Stewart--Princeton, 1932
> Gene Kelly--University of Pittsburgh, 1933 & University of Pittsburgh Law School
> William Powell--American Academy of Dramatic Arts. 1912
> Miriam Hopkins--Syracuse University
> William Holden--Pasadena Jr. College
> Larry Parks--University of Illionis
> Fredric March--University of Wisconsin-Madison (Alpha Delta Phi)
> Bette Davis--John Murray Anderson School of Theatre, Studied Dance with Martha Graham
> Humphrey Bogart--Philips Academy (expelled from prestigious College prep school in 1918)
> Robert Stack--Bridgewater State University
> Ingrid Bergman--Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm (Scholarship Prize Winner)
> Greta Garbo " "
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> I got tired, but there are so many more--and some even graduated!
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> FYI--Errol Flynn was in a number of prestigious preps Down Under, but he got kicked out of them all for, you can guess what.
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> Edited by: cujas on Oct 13, 2010 7:05 PM
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> Edited by: cujas on Oct 13, 2010 7:10 PM
The Syracuse University registrar's office reportedly has no record of Hopkins attending there...
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I don't believe Travis Banton has been mentioned yet. He was the fashion designer at Paramount, someone who trained Edith Head but never got anywhere as much attention as she would later on. Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert...Banton worked with them all, helping to make each look ethereal.
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Sounds like "A Star Is Born," edited by the folks who made an entire season of "Dallas" a dream. (Well, it did come on the night when the Rangers finally won a postseason series!)
But there have been other TV movie goofs throughout history, some long before TCM came on the scene. I believe in the sixties, NBC aired "The Notorious Landlady" with the reels out of order.
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And if Jean Harlow has trouble with recognition, even as the centennial of her birth is on the horizon, Carole Lombard doesn't stand a chance. Despite her considerable talent and charisma on screen and her beloved personality off it, Carole today is basically known in the reflection of Clark Gable. Had she lived a similar life and death without Gable to figure into the equation, she might be even less remembered today. But it could be argued that in her approach to life and her iconoclastic nature, Lombard may have more to say to today's women than Monroe ever could (and that's not meant to deride Marilyn, who certainly was talented, but is more so a prisoner of her times than Carole was of hers).
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Constance Bennett on the 22nd (TCM is airing nine of her films, including both "Topper" movies she made).
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Nothing personally against Nelson Eddy, but I find the Jeanette MacDonald of the Paramount era and Lubitsch films a far more intriguing (and sexy) personality as opposed to her rather bland MGM persona. Must be those step-ins...
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> Yes. And maybe one where Marlene Dietrich got to work with Clark Gable and one where Jean Harlow didn't die young and went on to make lots more movies and so on and so on.
Actually, Gable and Dietrich did work together -- however, it wasn't on film, but on radio. They co-starred in the first "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast from Hollywood (the program had previously emanated from New York) on June 1, 1936, in an adaptation of "Morocco" called "The Legionnaire And The Lady," with Gable taking over the Gary Cooper role. (It, and many other "Lux" episodes, can be found online.)
But that alternate universe you spoke of would be fascinating, especially if both Harlow and her good friend Carole Lombard had each been able to reach a ripe old age before they left us.
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It's a Pathe film; who owns the rights? Some of that studio's films have fallen into public domain, such as two of Carole Lombard's earliest talkies, "High Voltage" and "The Racketeer," neither of which has much going for it. (In between, Lombard made a film for Pathe called "Big News," which is supposed to be pretty good; it was directed by Gregory La Cava, seven years before his triumph with Lombard in "My Man Godfrey," but that's never been shown on TCM either.) I have no idea who controls the rights to "The Trespasser," but like you I would appreciate seeing it.
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Perhaps the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a copy of the original script, or contemporary accounts (reviews, etc) of "Virtue." Then again, I don't know whether Sony still has the original Columbia archives, or if those moved from Gower Gulch to Culver City when Sony took over the lot initially built by Thomas Ince for Triangle and was later MGM's home for more than 60 years.
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I'm not entirely sure myself. I theorize it may have been intentional, in order to focus on the backstory of Mae (Lombard's character) without visuals getting in the way. If that was indeed the case, it certainly was different, to say the least.
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> {quote:title=MyFavoriteFilms wrote:}{quote}
> Groove on, my friend. I'm anxious for PENTHOUSE, too. I don't know if I'll enjoy Lombard's early films...I don't feel she hit her stride till the middle of the 30s. Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised!
I think you will be. "Virtue" may be Lombard's best performance prior to "Twentieth Century" (the other might be "No Man Of Her Own," not on Wednesday's schedule, where she sparkles in the first half but the film deteriorates in the second). "No More Orchids" isn't quite up to that level, but it has its moments, and Walter Connolly, as her father, is always welcome (he's also in "Lady By Choice," portraying a judge).
Say what you will about Harry Cohn; Lombard was one of the few actresses who got along well with him, and the films she made at Columbia on the whole were more suited for her talents than those she made at her home base of Paramount. There, she was deemed rather interchangeable, and it wasn't until Ernst Lubitsch briefly became head of production that Carole was at last given films worthy of her.
Also looking forward to Loy in "Penthouse," one of the films that enabled her to move from playing vamps and Asians into multi-dimensional characters.
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Another one gone...in TCM terms, it's been a busy week for the windshield wipers.
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Glad to see "The Affairs Of Cellini" coming up in November (it's from Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Films before its merger with Fox -- does anyone know where its studio was located?). Frank Morgan was nominated for best actor in this, but lost to Clark Gable for "It Happened One Night"), and Constance Bennett supposedly plays one of her sauciest roles. Fay Wray and Fredric March are also in the cast.
I would love to see "The Arizona Kid," a 1930 oater and followup of sorts to "In Old Arizona." Carole Lombard, then in between stints at Pathe and Paramount, had a supporting role -- and unless Fox has uncovered one of her 1925 pre-auto accident films (all presumed lost), it's likely the only Lombard movie FMC has in its library.
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Part of me wishes Alice Faye had spent her peak years at a studio other than Twentieth Century-Fox, whose musicals were splashy (and often in color) but on the whole rather pedestrian to what RKO, MGM and even Paramount were putting out at the same time. Also, I understand Darryl F. Zanuck generally refused to let Alice make recordings, a mistake considering the success that Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire had in both mediums.
Faye began as sort of a musical Jean Harlow type, a very flashy platinum blonde -- great to look at, but clearly imitative. She eventually found her own niche, though, and had significant success in films and then radio.
A footnote: In the late 1980s, I was doing some work on a film history project, and wrote a number of people for assistance. Alice Faye called me and we talked for about a minute or two; even though she said she really couldn't provide much assistance on the topic, she was quite gracious. I will always cherish her for doing that.
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Stuart never reached the top tier of actresses in the 1930s; she was a good and respected female lead, but never had film vehicles designed expressly for her. And that was the case for most actresses; for example, one of her contemporaries, Carole Lombard, was stuck in largely the same situation (although at Paramount, she had a wider range of roles than Stuart had at Universal) until having a hit with "Twentieth Century" at Columbia in 1934. Even then, Paramount didn't really know what to do with her until Ernst Lubitsch gave her "Hands Across The Table" in 1935. Had it not been for "Twentieth Century," Lombard's career might have proceeded along a meandering path similar to Stuart's in the '30s.
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It has been reported that Gloria Stuart, whose career dated back to the early 1930s as a Universal contract player and who gained a new generation of fans through James Cameron's "Titanic," has passed on, nearly three months after celebrating her 100th birthday. RIP.
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There are so many more goodies your friend has yet to see -- the Lubitsch comedies from the early thirties, "Libeled Lady" with Bill Powell's fishing scene, "The Awful Truth" with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant one-upping each other, "My Man Godfrey" with Carole Lombard as the definitive daffy heiress -- that in a way I envy him. Happy future viewing to your poker pal!
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I definitely believe so. You had the continuation of two comedic traditions from the silent era -- the "gag" comedy of Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Thelma Todd, etc. -- and the romantic comedy (whose practitioners in silent days included Constance Talmadge and Dorothy Gish, forerunners of Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy and others), which around 1934 evolved into the "screwball" genre, bringing William Powell and Cary Grant to the forefront. Sound enabled vaudeville-style comedy to come to the fore in the Marx Brothers, Wheeler & Woolsey and the Three Stooges, as well as Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, etc. And let's not forget the snappy pre-Code comedies made by James Cagney and others. Simply a splendid decade for those who wanted to laugh -- and given the condition the world was in for much of the '30s, people needed to laugh.
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One of the fascinating things about radio adaptations of films on shows such as "Lux" is that often the leads on these programs were different than in the movies, leading to some intriguing "what-ifs." For example, instead of Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan in "The Moon's Our Home," the Lux adaptation featured James Stewart and Carole Lombard. Those two, who co-starred in :Made For Each Other," also performed it on Lux -- but at different times with different co-stars. Lombard appeared in it in 1940 with Fred MacMurray, while Stewart appeared in it in late 1945 (three years after Lombard's death) opposite Marsha Hunt. (In fact, the first-ever Lux broadcast from Los Angeles was a reworking of "Morocco" called "The Legionnaire And The Lady," with Clark Gable substituting for Gary Cooper opposite Marlene Dietrich; she and Gable never made a film together).
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TCM has shown it several times -- in fact, once it showed both the American and international endings to the film. (The latter adds the characters learning that Germany has invaded Poland, leading to England going to war.) I believe it was shown as part of the Lombard day on Summer Under The Stars for Aug. 17, 2006.
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Just to clarify: "The March Of Time" wasn't a traditional newsreel; while it often used actual news footage, some elements of it were re-creations. Moreover, for most of its run, the episodes generally dealt with a single topic, whereas conventional newsreels showcased a variety of subjects.
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> {quote:title=musicalnovelty wrote:}{quote}
> > {quote:title=VP19 wrote:}{quote}
> > Did an entry on the upcoming Thelmafest at my blog, "Carole & Co.":
> >
> > [Thelma Todd at Summer Under The Stars|http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/333555.html]
> >
> Great post!
> But I assume you know that in the photo with Patsy Kelly, that's Marion Davies (it's from GOING HOLLYWOOD, 1933) , not Thelma Todd.
I will fix it -- thank you.
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Did an entry on the upcoming Thelmafest at my blog, "Carole & Co.":
[Thelma Todd at Summer Under The Stars|http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/333555.html]
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I could think of more than a few, but I'll limit myself to five of each gender:
_*Women:*_
*1. Carole Lombard --* it's no secret she's my all-time favorite actress, yet I not only admired her acting style, but her vivacity and zest for life. One wonders what it would be like to experience a full day around someone with such energy (not to mention warmth, beauty and humor).
*2. Myrna Loy --* great lady (read her autobiography for proof) who possessed intelligence, charm and wit. It'd be fascinating to see her at work.
*3. Barbara Stanwyck --* the epitome of professionalism. What made her tick?
*4. Claudette Colbert --* Spending a day with the consummate Gallic sophisticate --.ooh la la!
*5. Jean Harlow --* Publicly a sex symbol, privately a bright, thoughtful lady beloved by the film community. Spending a day with her would help reconcile these personas.
_*Men:*_
*1. Orson Welles --* Watching his genius at work, whether it be writing or acting, film or radio, would be remarkable.
*2. William Powell --* We see him epitomize suaveness and urbanity on screen. What did he have off it that endeared him to such goddesses as Lombard and Harlow?
*3. James Stewart --* He would likely admit he wasn't the most exciting person to be around, but he seemed so quintessentially American.
*4. James Cagney --* On screen, a dynamo; off screen, intelligent and thoughtful. How much of each was he?
*5. Cary Grant --* Spending a day with someone exuding that aura must have been special indeed.
Interesting...Angelina as Cleopatra?
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Hey, if Claudette Colbert can do it, why not Angelina Jolie?