msladysoul

That is very interesting prop cigarettes. Now when I'm watching classics, I'll be thinking is that real or not. Maybe Fred didn't smoke or wasn't a heavy smoker or just did it for the movies but I often wonder when I see the dancers smoking how they weren't out of breath dancing. Gene Kelly seem to always smoke. Or was that a prop cigarette? Judy Garland smoked but probably wasn't a heavy smoker. Ann Dvorak (a fine dancer) smoked, Betty Grable smoked, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth smoked, they danced well. Ginger Rogers said in her book, she smoked but quit. Ginger can be annoying at times but you gotta love her. Your right, classic movies wouldn't be the same without the cigarette smoking. I read those articles to that has a classic star saying, these cigarettes are kind to your throat. I be like yeah right.

Oh, shainabluegirl. I have a few suggestions. Watch Nina Mae McKinney in Hallelujah. A great, moving movie. Safe In Hell The Dance of Life Night Nurse The Broadway Melody War Nurses Night Court Cry Havoc Thirteen Women Moon Over Harlem Big City Blues Kings Row Three on a match These movies are great. Take my word for it.

Is everyone on here a fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? There's no denying their great but do everyone find them breathtaking? Their wonderful but I can take them or leave them. I go for single dancers more. I wanted to get you all comments. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly was smokers, right? I've seen him smoking quite a lot. How was he able to dance? Today they say smoking damages your lungs, makes you tried, shortness of breath but he didn't look tried dancing. Maybe he took vitamins or something to keep him in shape. A relative of mine smokes and is a dancer, she had to quit smoking because she was always short of breath and would get tried.

How do you feel about starting a classic movie game? That would be fun to test our class movie minds. Something like name that tune in a movie? Who said that line? What job did so and so have in the movie? What did so and so do after she lit her cigarette...something like that, you know what I mean? Someone can start us off.

Oh I love that short The Winnah. Dorothy Dare and Florence Lake are wonderful. I love vivacious, pretty Dorothy Dare and her amazing voice. Florence was annoying but fun.

I love Dick Powell. Especially in his crooning days. I can't get enough of that voice. I think he was the best of the crooners. So many of them sounded the similar like Bing, Sinatra, Rust Columbo and Al Jolson is just too loud for me but I can see why audience liked him. He's lively and energetic. No one sounded like Dick Powell. I swear I swoon when I hear him and I'm not the swooning type. I love his pairing with Ruby Keeler. They just looked so real together. He was paired with many other women but Ruby and him looked realistic. No one audiences liked them together. They looked so young, vibrant, perfect together...America's Sweetheart. Dick is so charming, has those pretty boy looks. Ruby looked as pretty as a button. Dick could sing anything and still have that moving, stop you in your tracks voice. In Cowboy from Brooklyn, he sung this country song that would bring tears to your eyes and I'm not into country. I have to get into watching Dick Powell gangster/tough guy films of the 1940's and 1950's. I remember seeing him once in the movie with Claire Trevor but I didn't like it. I wasn't use to him not singing. Dick Powell isn't known much for his singing now and days. Maybe if he had recorded more like Sinatra and Crosby and gotten good musical roles in the 1940's...maybe. But he didn't want to sing anymore. But anyone who hears him it is a treat. There's a cd out with the songs on it that he sung in movies. Wouldn't it have been amazing to hear him with Judy Garland? I'm not so mad he married Joan Blondell and June Allyson because I liked them a lot.

Does anyone know anything about Dorothy Dare? She was a pretty, vivacious singer. What a voice. A little girl with a big voice full of expression and vibrant. She was quite a few shorts and a few full featured films. I guess she best known for her role in Golddiggers of 1935. But she showed much more talent in the 20 min shorts. I loved her in Private Lessons where she sung "Red Headed and Blue." She could move you with a uptempo song just the same with a slow one. She still alive today. I bet she has a lot of great stories, TCM, Robert Osborne should interview her. I'm a fan and would love to know more. She wasn't a big star but she's one of the last few talents of that era.

Does anyone here own the movie Sunny starring Marilyn Miller? I be looking for this movie for so long. I would love to see this movie. Please let me know, my email is msladysoul@aol.com

Does anyone here own the movie Sunny starring Marilyn Miller? I be looking for this movie for so long. I would love to see this movie. Please let me know, my email is msladysoul@aol.com

I agree with one poster here who said that that he/she would love to see Ann Sheridan in a pre-code film. I would second that emotion. Ann wasn't offered the best of movies but she made them watchable. She's so likeable. Maybe had she been born a little earlier, maybe she would of been a big star in pre-code. Her acting really fits that era of movie making since she was a tough brood.

I can't get off the pre code films topic. I like the risque, sexuality, controversial topics but at the same time they left something to the imagination. Films today should be like that. They stopped that pre-code because the movies was getting too real damaging the supposed innocence, high morals and values image America wanted to have. You don't have to be nude, curse or be overly violent to get a point across or to entertain. But today's generation, my generation, don't know real talent and real movie making. Whenever one sees a classic film they end up liking it because at first they thought the old black n white movies would be dull and saint like. I love the gowns, dresses women wore. I would love to wear those types of clothes that were figure flattering, attractive, glittering, glamourous. Women didn't show cleavage and have half their behind and breast out. Women today believe in if you got it flaunt it. Back then they flaunted it but kept it covered, nothing tight but form fitting, leaving something to the imagination. The clothes flattered their figure and showed their clothes. What is more attractive then a well dressed woman? Constance Bennett weighed about 100 pounds but those dresses fitted her and made her look curvy. Women dress to kill then. Hats, gloves to match, oh I would love to dress like that. I going to start making me some outfits like that. Some of the outfits women wore back in the 30s and 40s are coming back, even styles of the 30s and 40s could be worn today. Women at Oscars should watch these older films and have gowns made like the Golden Era beauties. What are some of your favorite scenes, movies, outfits of pre-code?

I agree with you all. It seems the best pre code movies came from Paramount, Columbia and Universal. I would love to see Nancy Carroll's, Clara Bow's, Helen Twelvetree's, Mary Brian's, Frances Dee's, Lyda Roberti's, Billie Dove's, Leila Hyams, Pert Kelton's, Alice White's, Thelma Todd's and countless of others movies. I read these movie magazines of the early 1930's and would love to see some of the stars who were movie stars, I would like to see their work. All we see is MGM's and Warner Bros movies.

Pre-Code movies, their heaven to me. Movies today should be like pre-code era films. Pre-code films had a touch of reality but still maintain self respect, innocences and left something to the imagination. I loved Nina Mae McKinney and Dorothy MacKaill in Safe In Hell. Never before would a black actress have such a role but in pre-code era. It seems blacks had more to do in pre-code then after pre-code, after pre-code Blacks were seen and not heard and were kind of homely looking. Mildred Washington and Theresa Harris were lovely ladies who let their light shine in many movies with white stars. I loved Mildred and Claudette Colbert in Torch Singer, they had such good chemistry together.

I have login problems as well, for some years now. It seems I can only login on certain days and at certain times. I hope TCM fix this problem.

Who didn't love Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler together. They look so good together. Dick and Ruby just didn't move me when they were with others.

Do any of you have any info on Ada Leonard. She was a beautiful woman, resembling Hedy Lamarr, Ava Gardner, Linda Darnell, Gene Tierney type. All I know is she was a bandleader in the era when female bands came around during ww2 and she was famous for before that as a stripper, consider the top beside Gyspy Rose Lee. She was in a couple of movies. One with Doris Day in the late 1940s. It seems Ada did more outside of Hollywood but I was wondering since most of you know about stars of that time. Ina Ray Hutton was the first to have a succesful female and male band in the 1930s and 1940s. She appeared in numerous shorts and movies. She was an attractive blonde bombshell, in the female band era, she sported the Jean Harlow platinum blond do. She was quite a dancer and bandleader but I don't know too much about her personally. Rita Rio, had a popular female band in the 1940s, she was energetic and charming. She was in films but her name was changed to Dona Drake and another lady had a female band it was called Frances Carroll and her Coquettes, she was really something to, I saw her in a Vitaphone short, TCM showed, anyone know about these ladies? Where they at or anything? I kow Rita Rio, Ada and Ina are dead but what were they like I wonder. Any info I appreciate.

Barbara Stanwyck is the best actress who never won an Oscar, there's too much great performances she gave for me to list. Nina Mae McKinney in Hallelujah. King Vidor got nominated but it was her who did the work. Myrna Loy gave many good performances. Never won. Too many titles to list.

Oh by the way, have any of you ever heard of Evelyn Preer? In her time she was acclaimed as the best actress of the human race. Paul Robeson second that. She was stikingly beautiful. I haven't seen her work yet but I'm going to soon. Someone called her a Bette Davis before Bette Davis.

The most breathtakingly beautiful to me are... Gene Tierney Linda Darnell Ada Leonard Kathryn Grayson Frances Farmer was quite lovely Anita Page Myrna Loy Jean Harlow at times Ann Sheridan Joan Blondell at times Rita Hayworth of course The Black Beauties of the screen Dorothy Van Engle Francine Everett Cathryn Caviness Nina Mae McKinney

I know some of you have heard of this new movie, The Aviator about Howard Hughes. Jean Harlow, Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner will be portrayed. Now maybe I'm just not a fan of folks portraying others unless they come real close to resemblance but none of the ladies who are playing Harlow, Hepburn or Gardner resembles them. It's like their playing the role as they would in a movie instead of playing them. I've seen some of the previews on tv. How do you all feel about Hughes. I don't see why women went so crazy over him. Well the money and the fame is one but I mean, he had reputation for playing around, and not being serious, I guess those women felt they would be the one he would be faithful to. I feel sorry sometimes reading how the lovely ladies of Golden Era never found the right man. They always ended up with men who used them. They wasted their beauty and youth on good-for-nothings. I don't think any of them took the time to really get to know their partners, they just jumped and married thinking because their beautiful, no one could ever hurt them or nothing could ever happen but when they found out how each other really were, they wanted out. The men found the women weren't what they were on the screen. It would hurt me to if a guy fell in love with the screen image of me but didn't like me kind of like what happen to Rita, Prince Aly Khan loved Gilda but not her and would watch Gilda before making love to her.

I'm so glad to see some of you know Mildred Washington and Theresa Harris. Mildred was simply beautiful and had so much spunk and energy. I enjoyed watching her and Claudette Colbert, they had good chemistry together. Brackenhe, well I don't look at them as uncle toms and sell outs, they were simply doing their job and acting. It shows how much talent it took to play whatever Hollywood through at them. Why do you say minorities? I don't look at myself as miniority. The Blacks in America are starting to outnumber whites. I do feel there's partiality regarding film history. I think one of the most beautiful women on screen was Dorothy Van Engle and Francine Everett. Take a gander at them one day. I would love to see them in a film photography book one day with all the other lovely white ladies. Nina Mae McKinney on one hand are in these books, I guess because she crossed over and gain some popularity with whites. I've been buying some of these movie magazines, in the early 30s, she was featured widely in them and some on the cover. Irving Thalberg said she was the greatest acting discovery and King Vidor, and Dorothy Killgalllen (I think I may have spelled that wrong) said she was one of the most beautiful of the era, rated her over Horne. I see that a lot of whites like to say, oh if times would of been different, she could of been as big as Hedy Lamarr and whomever of the era. She became quite popular, maybe not to some standards but she was in her community as was whites in their community. I enjoyed Blood of Jesus also with Cathryn Caviness, she was a beauty, a low budget film it was but they did good with the little they had in those black cinema films but their beauty and talent of being able to play human beings as fictional characters and stories like the whites came across. I just don't sit around looking for flaws. It seems Hollywood then and now only wanted to do pictures on the black race, instead of letting them play roles outside the blackness. I like the fact that black men got a chance to show their talents as actors in these films, guys like Monte Hawley, Ralph Cooper, Laurence Criner, Jess Lee Brooks, Reginald Fenderson and others were exceptional actors, they acted in quite the same fashion as Humphrey Bogart, Cagney, Gable and such. Sure, with more money they could of done more but they did okay. Some white producers produced and directed some black films outside of Hollywood like Edgar Ulmer and his wonderful Moon over Harlem, he always said he could never do such a picture in Hollywood. I wonder why, a movie like that would of been great made in Hollywood but I guess it was out of place to them to let blacks behave like human beings.

Deanna is something else. I haven't seen any of her films but one with Kay Francis. I'm not into opera but her voice makes you still. Her voice is beautiful, where is that kind versatile vocalists today? Deanna's voice stops me in my tracks. My goal is to watch some of her films this year. Deanna is better then most actresses/singers. How many you know have a great career, leave at top, have a good family and never look back to their career, even though her fan numbers are growing? I wonder did something bad happen that we don't know about that made her so secretive? Maybe we'll find out when she die. Maybe a book of her life will come out, possibly by her children. You know stars do that stuff. Did Deanna simple leave because movies and singing just didn't appeal to her? It seems the people who got it don't appreciate it. I was watching Mama's family that popular tv show in the 80s starring Vicki Lawrence. I remember there was a show where Thelma Harper was watching an all night Deanna Durin fest late night on tv, and there's a song called It's Raining SunBeams and Thelma Harper sings along with her. That is a beautiful song, I find myself singing that all the time. Whatever happened to those songs that just makes your spirit goes up no matter how bad things are?

This website includes a lot of beauties of stage and screen, http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/ninamaemckinney/

I've been doing some research. I found some things that were interesting containing to Blacks and Golden Era of Hollywood. There were many Blacks who were stand ins for the leading men and ladies. Noble Johnson was one who played everything from Indian to Spanish on the screen but a black man. There was a Cotton Club dancer named Amy Spencer who had red hair, she was asked to be a stand in for Rita Hayworth. Marion Egbert was a blue eye, blonde black lady who was ask to Hollywood for stand in, extra work. Another guy by the name of Niles Wells was a stand in for Cesar Romero was doing allright until word got out he was Black, his contract was terminated. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Al Jolson, Marilyn Miller, Tallulah Bankhead, Libby Holman, Mae West, Martha Raye and so many others said they were inspired in some of their song stylings and dances by Blacks Ziegfield and Hollywood hired many blacks to teach their ladies and men dance steps and personality. Ziegfield also wanted to hire Florence Mills, the first black sensation. Irving Berling said of her if he could find a white woman who could put over a song like Mills, he would be inspired to write a hit a week.. I wondered why couldn't he use a Florence Mills or someone else for his songs. Orson Welles was one man who frequented Black speakeasies and clubs because he said was inspired by Black people and used some of his experiences in his work in some way. A lot of Blacks voices like gorgeous Evelyn Preer were used in movies that the white ladies lip sync to but not credited. When I watch classic movies, it seems its okay for whites whether its imitating or portraying Black culture in their attitudes, gestures, songs, dances, whatever but not okay to use a Black on the screen for that purpose or give them credit. It seemed okay to copy but not okay for Blacks to appear on the same level. They did bring Blacks in though to spice up a movie every now and then. In the pre-code era more Blacks were used and had more substantial roles but after that Blacks were seen but not heard and kept a distance from the white stars on screen. I never forgot one pre-code movie Safe In Hell with Dorothy MacKaill and Nina Mae McKinney. That was one of the most touching movies I seen and rare to because of the embracing of a white lady and black woman. Theresa Harris is another talented lady who proved time and time again she was a wonderful actress. She was in more films with stars then anyone, even though she had on a maid's costume, she stepped outside of that and showed her acting time, a few times she stole scenes and was the only entertaining one in the movies. Why isn't she ever talked about? Many Blacks roles were important to many films, where would Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis be without their trusty servants to encourage and pep them up, speaking movie-wise. Mildred Washington was another beautiful, charming lady who played the maid roles in the pre code era who did more then just wear a maid's suit. Why isn't she ever talked about. It takes everyone to bring a movie together. Hattie McDaniels and Louise Beavers were extremely talented actresses and comedians, Hattie stole many movies from the white stars, most of the time she was the only entertaining one. She kept busy in the movies. Someone once said if Hattie wasn't in a movie, people didn't want to see it. But she's only looked at as being a uncle tom or a sell out, I say look beyond the maid's suit and look at the talent. Nina Mae McKinney was another fine actress. She brought a lot to the screen which other ladies adopted for their own. She was considered the most beautiful, best acting discovery of her era. What doesn't TCM ever saying anything about her? Only in Black History Month, but why just that month. Why not all year around like the other stars. Now, the Black History Month movies are taken away because TCM do the Academy movies that month. Fredi Washington, another great dramatic actress. I'm sure you all remember her as Peola in the first Imitation of Life with Claudette Colbert. She couldn't get anymore work because she wouldn't actually pass for white like her character. She was told she could become a movie star as her white contemporaries. She had a falling out with Hollywood because she didn't take that stuff lying down. She said Hollywood frowned upon pretty black women, especially fair skin Blacks, and they would rather have the frumpy, unattractive women playing the Black roles. She was the only real Black who played the so called mulatto part. Which caused an uproar. After that Hollywood used white women to play mulattos like Jeanne Crain and Ava Gardner because they looked the part but it was too real to get a real mulatto. Many of the black ladies fit the beauty and talent standards more so then most. When Hollywood did have a beautiful black leading lady it was one every era. It was almost like they couldn't deal with too many and the movies with Blacks were all so familiar the singing, dancing, religion, never a real drama and romance that made you look at the talent not the color, that's why I love to watch also these independently produced Black Cinema films which gave Blacks their own movie stars and positive portrayals, there were no partiality there. Beautiful women, handsome men, real stories, not everything was Black. Some movies was flawed but the talent shined through and made you look at the talent and not the color. The blacks then were looked at as being natural born actors, none ever took any acting classes but had exceptional acting talent. I just hate when Blacks are talked about, just their skin color or stereotype is talked about, never the talent. I want to always pay credit to Stepin Fetchit, Mantan Moreland, they were talented comedian but because their blacks their looked as just playing dumb, ignorant, being stereotypical. I never could understand that. Harold Llyod, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton played dumb and clumsy many times but their looked as comedic genius why not Stepin Fetchit, he created that "Slow Poke" image which made him the first black millionaire of Hollywood but he wasn't like that at all off the screen. Is Hollywood history being partial? It seems they tell everyone's else's contribution to Golden Hollywood greatness but the Blacks. Wouldn't it be fair to give them their recognition also? Stereotypes are apart of movies and world, its unfair but that's life. Blondes were stereotyped as whores and dumb, Blacks were stereotyped, Hispanics and so on. People are entertained more by it. It doesn't mean the whole race or group is like that. The people in the Business seem to have no problem with Blacks, but it was the outside world. I also love Myrna Loy for what she said. Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a court house carrying a briefcase?" I felt that took a lot of guts for her to say that at her time era with her fame and fortune. It shows she wasn't self-contained and unknowledgeable in other's around them. I guess if anyone understood about the racism and discrimination was Myrna because she played many ethnic roles that dealt with stereotyping and racism like in Thirteen Women. Most others didn't give a care about other's, as long as they were stars. Clark Gable is another I admire for standing up for Hattie McDaniels who wasn't wanted at the premiere of Gone with the Wind. I was reading Lillian Roth book, Beyond my Worth, and she said wonderful things like Blacks are the best performers around and such. Hollywood certainly was a magical time then. I often find myself wondering what it would of been like to see Lena Horne and Clark Gable or Robert Taylor as a screen couple, impossible you say, well I'm sure it would sicken many to see but it shows how un partial I am. Two cultures bringing together their greatness, the movies would of been even more great if you ask me. I never could understand two races who been here the longest still can't get along. I really hate the partiality of movie historians and movie fans. I would love to look in a movie book and see the white beauties and white beauties together. Half of the whites know nothing about the black classic stars, I think is ashame because I know about the black and white stars and favor them all. Don't get me wrong, not trying to start some racial uproar, wanting to get everyone else's opinion. We talk about everything else here.

What do you all think of the movie "Freaks?" I must say that movie was before its time. From reading about the movie. I found audiences at that time wasn't keen on the movie. They were really afraid and thought it should be banned. It was for a long time, then came back in the 1960s and until this day, people enjoy this movie. I didn't have any bad dreams after watching it. But those are the only "freaks" I ever seen. We don't see that many around today. Olga was excellent in this part. Beautiful Leila Hyams was charming. All the freaks were real and very comfortable in their parts. I guess audiences were shocked that the freaks were real and weren't made to look that way by makeup or camera tricks. Daisy and Violet who were the siamese twins joined at the hip, were kind of like stars in the business. But never made it full time because of their joining. They did another movie called Chained for Life which is suppose to be a film noir. About sisters joined but it didn't stop them from loving and making love and one kills the other sisters boyfriend, but since their joined how can one be punished without the other who didn't do anything. One thing I learned from this movie is not to make fun of anyone cause you could end up like them or worse. TCM don't show the full film, some parts are cut out becaue its too graphic but I will be getting the DVD to see the full movie. I found this interesting website talking about the freaks who were casted. Its kind of sad how some ended up. http://www.missinglink.free-online.co.uk/freaksnattxt.htm