Just as all good things must come to an end, so too must all bad things (even Trump’s evil rule will run out of recourseΒ eventually — e.g., the fat lady’s last aria at the opera seems to go on forever; will it end short of becoming a hoarse opera?). What it all a-mounts to is….
Meanwhile, back at the ranch , we bid happy trails to “bad” actors not named Trump, and end our HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE series with a roundup of some of the era’s great song & dance stars, starting with this incomparable pair whose magic outlasted their time:
When it comes to high-energy dancing, no one outshined Gene Kelly. Here he is in THE PIRATE (1948), clowning around with the fabulous Nicholas Brothers:
I do have one regret about this retrospective: so many musical stars, so little time and wherewithal for them all. Perhaps, as time goes by, I will use a favorite star’s birthday as an occasion to do an occasional post.
In closing (speaking of when A STAR IS BORN), if ever someone was born to be one, it’s this star-crossed girl/woman with whom we bring down the curtain on this series:
It didn’t hurt (quoting from A SMITHSONIAN SALUTE TO THE AMERICAN MUSICAL) that “Astaire and Rogers worked with the finest composers of their day. Of their ten films together, one featured music by Cole Porter, two by Jerome Kern, one by George and Ira Gershwin, and three by Irvine Berlin.” Throw in great directors and supporting casts, and it’s no wonder there was movie magic!
Ginger spoke in an interview about that particular dance. Fred insisted on perfection, and as usual, doing it in one take. She said that by the time this scene was done as he liked it there was blood in her shoes. She also said, as she had before and would again, that she got paid less and did everything he did in heels and backward.
Fred was indeed a perfectionist. Quoting from the book I mentioned in my earlier reply to calmkate, “the roller skating sequence in SHALL WE DANCE, for example, was shot 30 times, and the Never Gonna Dance number from SWING TIME was done in forty-eight takes.” As for Ginger, “I had plenty of input in our routines and got to be known as the ‘button finder’….the one who puts the last word or finishing touch on a scene.” So I don’t blame her for complaining “that she got paid less.”
Although Ginger “did everything he did in heels and backward,” the one thing she didn’t do as well was sing. Irving Berlin said, “I’d rather have Fred Astaire introduce one of my songs than any other singer I know — not because he has a great voice, but because his delivery and diction are so good that he can put over a song like nobody else.”
Amazing tributes, all, but the one for Judy Garland is amazing. To see all those films in one clip is a little mind-blowing. She was certainly prolific!
Thank you for the Like, David Thompson. I tried to check out your blog, but when I click the link, I get a blank screen. Before I approve your comment, kindly advise if your blog is not operational for some reason.
November 8 is an especially appropriate day to unveil this post. Why? Because it’s the birthday of both VLAD DRACUL and BRAM STOKER, author of DRACULA, the famous horror novel “inspired” by the lore of Vlad Dracul — badder known as Vlad the Impaler (for badder details, click links below — the second of which is not for the squeamish):
This sets the stage for the first of our “horror-able” actors: BELA LUGOSI, one of movie history’s most iconic character actors, who played Count Dracula in the classic DRACULA film released in February 1931. Here is the trailer:
As if unleashing one monster on the public in 1931 wasn’t enough, November brought….
Frankenstein’s monster was of course played by the equally “horror-able” and iconic character actor, November-born Boris Karloff:
Next we have The Wolf Man, Lon Chaney Jr. (son of the legendary silent film star who played Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the phantom inΒ The Phantom of the Opera, and other leading roles in early classics)….
For our closer, the Price is right….Vincent Price, that is. Although most of Price’s horror-able roles came after Hollywood’s Golden Age, he wasn’t entirely invisible during it (or was he?):
That’s The End for now, but never fear. We, too, shall return….
I never felt that Lon Cheney wanted to be in movies. He was kind of clumsy as an actor. But, he was also kind of love-able, so he gets a pass from me. I did enjoy his interaction with Lou Costello in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I think one of his best roles was in Spider Baby…
You mean Jr, of course. He. probably wouldn’t have become an actor if his father, Lon Chaney, hadn’t been one — and a famous one, too — in the silent era.
I’m not a horror film fan but for some reason I really liked these! Maybe because the acting was so over the top that I found them funny π
I enjoyed your Bad Actors series!
Thanks, mm. I think we appreciate them more as adults because we don’t take them seriously….or should I say, we can take them seriously as “camp” classics.
Trump and his administration are certainly scarier than any horror movie. At least we don’t have to watch Freddie Krueger, but you can’t turn on the news on TV or read a newspaper without being confronted by the hideous orange monster.
Sorry to say I can’t think of anything more futile than praying for Trump. I think we both know he is what he is — it’s “baked in” — and he isn’t going to change. Far be it from me, however, to discourage anyone else from wasting their time praying for a man who’s the very personification of a lost cause.
I think those old horror films were a lot less horror filled than more recent ones. Maybe it’s just because blood looks less dreadful in black and white.
In my previous post dealing with “bad” actors, we looked to the stars before turning to the character actors….but Hollywood’s Golden Age produced so many great bad character actors that only ONE such showing would be an injustice. So, before making my getaway from these characters, I’ll need to do more than one more post.
Let’s begin this post with a name mentioned in my last post, PETER LORRE. Here he is, along with two accomplices, committing an act so unconstrained, it’s almost unbelievable:
OK, that wasn’t exactly the typical Lorre performance you expected. But if you’ve seen CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON (and what classic movie fan hasn’t?), you’ve seen the classic Peter Lorre. So let’s put a wrap on that bird with this:
Next, we turn to Lorre’s frequent “partner in crime” movies, SYDNEY GREENSTREET:
We close this segment with a name you may not remember, but who could forget that character:
Love it!
Casablanca is one of my all time favorites. Did you know Ronald Reagan was originally slated to play Rick? I can’t even wrap my mind around that.
Can’t remember if I have already shared this. Every exam period the movie theater in Cambridge had a Bogart film festival. So I saw all of those films several times over. I loved Greenstreet and Lorre too. Of course I always imagined it was me that Bogie was looking at.
Thanks, Carmen. On that note of tribute, I’ll share with you a bit of trivia which I’m not sharing with anyone else: the first clip’s “Sweet Siberia” song (and entire score of SILK STOCKINGS) was composed by none other than Cole Porter. I’m only telling you that because I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU.
I loved Lorre in the Mr. Moto movies. I’m interested in “yellow-face” in old movies. There are bad cases of it, such as the Charlie Chan series; however, Lorre and Karloff portrayed Asian detectives in a very straightforward way. Lorre’s Moto was a nice mix of ethics and ruthlessness. He was essentially Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist…
I didn’t see much of Mr.Moto when I was young, probably because the Charlie Chan series was on TV frequently and I became a big Chan fan (as I got older, not so much). My favorite in the “sleuth” genre was Sherlock Holmes, played so well by Basil Rathbone. I think some of the Homes films still hold up fairly well today.
Cook appeared in some marvelous films, and outlived most of the actors whose roles required them to insult or torment him. And deserves to be especially remembered for the memorable drumming scene in PHANTOM LADY.
Some actors’ character portrayals are so one-of-a-kind that you never forget them. Cook was certainly one such actor. Here’s the scene you mentioned (actual drumming dubbed by jazz drummer Dave Coleman):
“The gangster film has always been one of the staples of the American cinema. Though the record shows that there were several motion pictures with a gangster theme as far back as the silent era, the genre did not really begin to flourish as a popular form until the thirties. Depression-era audiences responded strongly to all the action, violence and romance that these films contained, and were more than willing to get caught up in the colorful on-screen exploits of Edward G. Robinson,, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. In a sense, the movie gangster, with the rebellious breaking of society’s rules and regulations, and his aggressive drive to “get somewhere” regardless of consequences, became something of a hero to filmgoers of the period.”
“Robinson, Cagney and Bogart are, even today, the three actors most associated with films of this type, which isn’t surprising, since all three achieved their initial fame in a Warner Brothers [the king-of-the-hill gangster film studio] crime drama.”
–Robert Bookbinder, author of CLASSIC GANGSTER FILMS
There were a lot of “bad actors” in Hollywood in those days. Robinson, Cagney and Bogart weren’t the only famous names to have become famous names playing bad guys in 1930s gangster films, but most (e.g. Peter Lorre) remained typecast as character actors. We will take a look at the “badΒ character actors” in our next post; this post will look to the stars.
Quoting further from Robert Bookbinder’s excellent bookΒ CLASSIC GANGSTER FILMS, “Little Caesar [1931] was the first of the great gangster films. It made a star of Edward G. Robinson, who had been working in films since 1923, and it laid the groundwork for all the fine Warner Brothers gangster movies that followed.” Here’s a clip from the film:
How tough was Edward G. Robinson? Tough enough to get Doris Day and Jack Carson out of a pickle:
Just as Little Caesar made a star of Robinson, Warner Brothers’ second gangster film (later the same year), The Public Enemy, made a star of James Cagney. In this scene, after Cagney’s friend is shot to death by a gang, he vows revenge and arms himself with two 38s:
By 1942, Cagney had made a clean break from the “gangs” — here he is in scenes from his Oscar-winning performance as showman George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy:
As for Humphrey Bogart, he was the last of the three to attain stardom after years of supporting roles in gangster films. In The Roaring Twenties (1939), he is third-billed (Cagney stars):
All three, as we know, went on to bigger (if not badder) things in such films as Double Indemnity (Robinson), Mister Roberts (Cagney), and, of course, Casablanca (Bogart), among many other memorable performances. Who says crime doesn’t pay?
Growing up I had a life size Bogie poster on my bedroom door. My Godfather grew up and was childhood friends with Jimmy Cagney. Wish he had lived long enough to tell me some stories…
And did you know tough Edward G was actually an art connoisseur? He amassed an amazing collection in his lifetime recognizing talent before anyone else.
Thank you for that fascinating comment, Rg. I’m guessing your Bogie poster was from a scene in one of his most famous films, like CASABLANCA, MALTESE FALCON, or AFRICAN QUEEN.
I too would’ve loved to hear your Godfather tell some Cagney stories. As for Edward G., I’ve read his extremely interesting autobiography titled ALL MY YESTERDAYS, so I did know about his art collection. Despite this tough guy image, he was actually “a man of wit, of dignity, and of great sensitivity” (so described by movie producer Hal Wallis, who knew Robinson well).
Not sure what movie the poster was from. Trench coat, slouched hat, cigarette. Could have been any of them.
My godfather grew up in a tough section of NYC, I bet the stories were colorful.
And yes Edward G was the antithesis of his rough and tumble characters. Odd, that.
I loved Peter Lorre. Even when he was at his baddest I couldn’t help chuckling. Great actors who didn’t mind chewing up the scenery. The molls were good too, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, etc.
Lorre has long been a favorite of mine too, Mary. You may not know that he was a “song and dance man” in one of his last films — check out the SWEET SIBERIA clip in my new post today!
I’m not sure about the Robinson quote — he may have said it, but I don’t remember it. He did indeed have menace, but not in all of his films – including one of my favs, DOUBLE INDEMNITY. He could also play menace for laughs, such as in the very funny LARCENY, INC.
Thanks for mentioning The Whole Town’s Talking – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.
Have you read Robinson’s autobiography, ALL MY YESTERDAYS? I’m sure you would enjoy it.
There have been so many great male character actors in Hollywood Golden Age history that, for this post, I’m going to narrow the field toΒ comedic character actors….and even then, I’ll probably leave out some of your favorites. Of course, if you don’t have any old comedy film favorites, you’re probably not an old comedy film fan, so you’re excused (even though that’s no excuse….actually, you should be ashamed of yourself).
Leaving that aside, let’s move on, starting with the author of the above quote….a quote which probably didn’t go over too well with most of the Hollywood glamour girls he knew — speaking of which, did you know that Sakall was born in, and is strictly from, Hungary (btw, he was also in Casablanca). Here’s more scuttlebutt about Cuddles but…it’s not a lot:
Next, Laurel & Hardy fans will remember the trademark ‘double-take’ look of this gent, who appeared in many of their films, including here in one of their best, WAY OUT WEST:
Remember double features (two films for the price of one in movie houses of the 1930s-50s)? Here’s a double feature of two great comedic actors for the price of one in a scene from SHALL WE DANCE, one of three Astaire-Rogers movies in which they appeared together:
If you’re a fan of Charlie Chan movies, you may recall the pop-eyed comic who played Chan’s chauffeur in over a dozen films, as well as parts in Preston Sturges’ THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942), CABIN IN THE SKY (1943), CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK (1944), and many others. Here he is in a scene from THE SCARLET CLUE (1945):
In closing, I’ll mention several other great comedic character actors I could’ve/should’ve profiled here, but I have to stop somewhere: William Demarest, Edgar Kennedy, Frank Morgan, Franklin Pangborn, Erik Rhodes, Victor Moore, and many more. Thank you, one and all, for bringing character to comedy.
Absolutely! I remember the name but couldn’t place the face until I checked — how could I have forgotten? I saw him in many a Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy and Three Stooges movie. My bad!
I never knew the names of any of these actors, though I remember all of their appearances. I loved the banter in the last clip. That comedic timing is priceless.
I believe that that banter came straight out of an old vaudeville skit which Mantan Moreland probably performed many times previously. An oldie but goody!
Speaking of distinctive actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age, we turn from glamour girls (in my previous post) to a group of gals who made up in individuality what they lacked in allure. There were perhaps no actresses more unique and unforgettable in any category than the so-called character actors. Bring up such names as Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, and Margaret Dumont (apart from their photos) to any classic film buff, and there’d be no problem matching which name belongs with which (or witch) face; same with their immediately recognizable voices. In a manner of speaking, they were vocal gold.
BTW, I have something in common with That Hamilton Woman. Like my wife, she was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was once a teacher….but unlike my wife, she was unlike my wife (and vice versa….or is it verse vica).
Character actresses may not be leading ladies, but there’s one who was always the Main attraction :
My last post started with a birthday girl; this post ends with one….and what a one: Margaret Dumont (born Oct. 20, 1882), the gloriously inimitable foil of Groucho in nine of the Marx Brothers’ thirteen films, as typified by the following story.
In a play in which she played Mrs. Rittenhouse (and which was later made into an early Marx Brothers film), the brothers abandoned the script during one performance and began improvising scene after scene….from here, I quote from the book THE MARX BROTHERS AT THE MOVIES:
After some time she decided to take her chances and enter in the middle of it all. At that moment, Chico and Harpo simply walked off the stage, leaving the great dowager face-to-face with Groucho. So Groucho, with his characteristic speed of mind, gestured to a nearby divan. “Ah, Mrs. Rittenhouse,” he proclaimed. “Won’t you…er…lie down?” It had gotten a laugh on Broadway, so the brothers simply took it with them when they traveled to the Astoria studio [to make movies].
There’s a scene in my favorite Marx Brothers movie, DUCK SOUP, in which Dumont’s character addresses Groucho’s character, Rufus T. Firefly, President of Fredonia, as “Your Excellency!”…to which he replies, “You’re not so bad yourself.”
To which I can but add, You Bet Your Life!
Thank you, Kate. The title of the post is admittedly a bit of a stretch, but I couldn’t resist the play on words with HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE: THE GLAMOUR GIRLS (the previous post).
I recognized βthe witch with the green faceβ (one of our daughters always referred to her that way) but the other two were unknowns to me… Well, until I read the post! π
Carmen, did you have to remind me how much older I am than you because Marjorie Main and Margaret Dumont were known to me, and unknown to you!!! Nonetheless, I forgive you, so here’s a short clip to give you a better idea of why I dig Dumont (note the “You’re not so bad yourself” remark at the end of the clip which relates to the end of my post):
Thanks, masercot. I didn’t realize, until I checked, that Kathleen Freeman played (uncredited) the part of diction coach Phoebe Dinsmore in one of my fav musicals, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. Here’s a clip:
Thanks, Elizabeth. I’m glad you made the connection between the last four words of my post and the name of Groucho’s TV show. I watched it often back in the day.
Marjorie appeared in over 80 films, including some of my favorites, such as MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, THE HARVEY GIRLS, and FRIENDLY PERSUASION. Truly a wonderful character actress.
In my “preview of coming attractions” post of Oct. 13, the subject of Hollywood glamour girls (in general) and Rita Hayworth (in particular) came up in an exchange of comments. October 17 being Rita’s birthday, it seems the appropriate day to do the appropriate post, focusing not only on Rita, but on several other becoming attractions who fill the bill by becomingly filling their dresses.
My glamour girl choices here are both limited and subjective, due not only to length-of-post considerations, but the implicit broadness of the term, e.g.: is, or is not, glamour girlΒ of a pieceΒ withΒ sex goddess? For the arbitrary purposes of this opus, I’ve drawn a distinction between the two by disqualifying actresses considered to be ‘pure’ sex symbols, such as Jayne Mansfield, Jane Russell. and (perhaps unfairly) Marilyn Monroe. They (and European sex symbols like Brigitte Bardot) may “look good enough to eat,” but dressing with taste was hardly their strong suit.
With that model of suitability out of the way, here are the glamour girls I think stand out as epitomizing Hollywood’s Golden Age by virtue of such disparate criteria as a touch of class, sex appeal more than skin deep, talent, and even pin-up popularity with WWII GIs.
Let’s start with the birthday girl, Rita Hayworth, who said “I like having my picture taken and being a glamorous person. I never really thought of myself as a sex goddess.”:
My next choice is the actress called the most beautiful woman in the world in her day:
Next, the actress called the last major star to come out of the Hollywood studio system:
With apologies to the likes of Veronica Lake, Lana Turner, and Betty Grable, I will close with this glamorous actress who, but for the overriding racism of the period, could and should have been a major Hollywood star (seen here in a scene with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Ethel Waters from CABIN IN THE SKY (1943):
she is hot … sounds like racism has increased over there from what we hear … white cops killing black girls in their own bedroom, they are trigger crazy!
I never looked at Myrna as being in that category — she had much more than a “touch” of class and was too unique and good of an actress. To be thought of as primarily a glamour girl would be doing her a disservice, in my opinion.
As for Lena, I never saw her in person, but she certainly was dynamic in her TV appearances later in her career. In 1943, when CABIN IN THE SKY was made (Vincente Minnelli’s directorial debut, btw), TV was still waiting in the wings, and movies (along with radio) were king, with CABIN being one of the few all-black cast films produced by a major studio.
Sorry, Rg, but I’ll have to plead ignorance — I’m not into today’s celebrity scene and wouldn’t know one “glamorous” gal from another. Chalk it up to the generation crap….er, gap.
I’ve just finished reading Gone With the Wind . . .Vivien Leigh sprang immediately to mind when I read the blog post title. Loved those clips mister muse! I always learn something.
I never even thought of her, Carmen — probably because she wasn’t thought of as the typical Hollywood type of glamour girl. She certainly was beautiful, though. Anyway, I’m glad you’re “always learn something” here. Maybe I’ll tell my wife and try to make her jealous.
On second thought, I’d better leave well enough alone.
The photography is certainly slicker now, but I don’t know that it makes beautiful women look more beautiful, Ricardo. To my mind, most commercials (like that clip) promoting a product with beautiful women (often with pouty, supposedly sexy facial expressions) are more of a turn-off than a turn-on, and I’m not buying what they’re selling (at least, not in that venue).
The sad irony is that superficial beauty distracted from the talent and intelligence of many Hollywood “glamour” personalities. They were exploited and used. It was no wonder that Lamarr became bitter at the end. I have no sympathy for Weinstein. So many before him got away with it.
In those days, only ‘strong’ female stars like Katherine Hepburn could fight off exploitation. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she wasn’t the “glamour girl” type to begin with. Nonetheless, she had the box office clout to be her own woman, and she knew it.
Lena Horne certainly should have been a bigger star. She was beautiful, she could sing, and she could act. (I love her in Cabin in the Sky!) She truly was glamourous.
On August 30, I did a post (titled “MAC”) about the late great actor Fred MacMurray. In recent comments to the MAC post, faithful reader Thom Hickey and I opined that I should publish more posts on actors and actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age, even though most of them are now little remembered, long forgotten, or unheard of. To the point, how many of these once-upon-a-time familiar film faces and names are familiar to you?
I know not who you know not (above), but I’ve spent some of my happiest hours being entertained (and often drawn in) by such silver screen sorcerers/sorceresses working their magic on my imagination. Watching that clip, it seemed almost unfathomable that nearly all those ‘reel-life’ characters I knew almost as well as I knew real-life family and friends, have gone over THE END. Rapt in their world, how was I to know immortals were mortal?
So, you can take this as a preview of coming attractions featuring close-ups of some of my favorite stars and character actors from the days when the likes of Charlie Chaplin was The Little Tramp….
what a trip down memory lane … know most of them, but a few I’ve not seen or heard of … I must be younger than you π
Had not realised Charlie was such a good-looker, he always acted the clown so I had no idea!
….and yet, that “Remembrance of Classic Hollywood Actors and Actresses” barely began a thoroughgoing trip down that memory lane. For example, what classic movie buff wouldn’t recall the likes of Buster Keaton, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, The Marx Brothers, Errol Flynn, Charles Laughton, Walter Huston, and so many more. In upcoming posts, I hope to take us a little farther down the road.
Thanks, Rg. I’ll be sure to include one or more of those Hollywood “glamour girls” in an upcoming post (I’m sure you would qualify if not for the Hollywood part).
Did you know that Fred Astaire said Rita Hayworth (not Ginger Rogers) was his favorite dancing partner? She is probably not best remembered for her dancing, but was in fact a superb dancer and starred in two musicals with Astaire.
Of course, I am constantly reminded of these old movies since my mother told me where my name came from; I always thought it was something to do with Ash trees (ash trees surrounded by a meadow-a ley) but it turns out that Mum’s favourite film was Gone With the Wind! Thank goodness I wasn’t called Rhett!
Just saw a clip about Audie Murphy. If only people looked up to true heroes like him instead of sports stars. But a man like Audie is so rare. The pain in his eyes from his lifelong struggle with PTSD is haunting. And all through it, he continued to serve. Loved him best in the film The Unforgiven.
Sorry to say I haven’t seen The Unforgiven, as (with a few exceptions) I’m not a big fan of westerns. However, I should have made this one of the exceptions, as I notice The Unforgiven was directed by John Huston and has a great cast. My bad.
I used to watch Barbara Stanwick in Big Valley. Remember that show? She was the matriarch. Gloria and Charlie not as much, but I remember them. Fun clips.
I didn’t watch Big Valley, but I’ve seen many of her movies — some of them (such as THE LADY EVE and REMEMBER THE NIGHT) multiple times. Truly a wonderful actress!
Watching the video In Remembrance brought back memories of when I used to watch old movies with my grandmother. She also got me into watching soap operas…lol
Watching soap operas is one habit I never got into….but I did watch many a ‘horse opera’ (western) when I was a kid. Oddly enough, I’ve never heard a fat lady sing in a horse opera, but I have heard many a horselaugh when the fat lady sings in The Marx Brothers At The Opera.
To clarify, I simply feel that so much of today’s politics and culture are so beyond the pale and so debased, that this generation has become increasingly foreign to the values and ideals we should stand for.
“Language has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of being alone. –Paul Tillich, philosopher/theologian
Sept. 18 (1905) is the birthday of famed “I want to be alone” actress (and real-life recluse) Greta Garbo, who (unlike many movie stars) valued solitude over the celebrity spotlight:
Now, dear reader, you may not have a problem with “I want to be alone” — but, as Joel McCrae asked Veronica Lake (40 seconds into this film clip)….
So, when you stop and drink about it (unless you take Joel McCrea’s question literally), there’s no reason why you can’t be….
After all, even the Lone Ranger wasn’t really a Lone Ranger (heaven forbid that his faithful Indian companion Tonto was just along for the ride)….
That’s all for now, boys and girls. Hi ho Silver, away!
Jay Silverheels was a funny guy in interviews. They asked him how he was able to memorize his lines because they made so many shows and he replied that all he had to know was “Mmm, What we do now, Kemosabe?”
Good question indeed — but it leads to another: How do I answer on a postcard to ….? Seriously, though, in a certain sense, we’re never alone. Our demons are always with us.
I agree, Josie — but useful, perhaps, only to a reflective person. I can’t imagine someone like Donald Trump giving it a second thought (or even a first thought).
I get fklempt every time I see that opening just as I did when a girl, sitting on the linoleum floor in front of the TV. I didn’t care much for the program, all the shooting and fighting. I just wanted to look at Silver. Years later, when my family moved to LA, I got to see Traveler and often rode my horse in the places where westerns filmed stock footage. Strange how life turns out.
Strange indeed. I loved westerns as a boy. Now, with few exceptions (such as RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY), I consider them to be mostly the same old same old.
My apologies for not letting you know that the link you sent didn’t work and I deleted it. I shouldn’t have done that without informing you. If you want to try sending it again, perhaps we’ll get a better result. Again, my sincere apologies.
It sounds like this Duke Ellington classic could’ve been your theme song, mm:
P.S. I’d originally intended to use this clip in my post after the Paul Tillich quote, but decided against it…..now, thanks to your comment, I have the opportunity to use it after all!
No, this isn’t a post about the Apple of your eye(s), computer-wise — nor is this a post about a Mac big enough to contribute to a heart attack (calories/cholesterol-wise). This is about a guy who’s the apple of my eye, versatile actor-wise:
Today being MacMurray‘s birthday (August 30, 1908), I thought I’d honor the memory of perhaps the most underrated movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Era, starting with the above clip and continuing with the trailer for one of the most underrated films of his era:
Next, when it comes to film noir, it doesn’t get any better than this all-time classic with a powerhouse cast (including MacMurray, who was reluctant to play the role), director (Billy Wilder), and screenwriter (Raymond Chandler), from the James M. Cain novel:
Speaking of “Double” and classic films, how about two Macs (including Shirley MacLaine) in one of my all-time favorites….
We end with this from near the start of Fred’s career (before becoming an actor):
It may be hard to find REMEMBER THE NIGHT (the full 1940 movie) online for free, but it does appear occasionally on TCM. It’s such a good film that it’s well worth paying for it if necessary.
Agreed. He was so believable in a wide variety of roles that he didn’t seem to be acting, compared to guys who essentially played themselves and were very good at it, like John Wayne (not to be critical, because no one “played himself” better, but he was no Fred MacMurray).
Although my previous comment put “played himself” in quotation marks (to indicate that that was the impression, if not the reality, he gave), perhaps “played his own persona” would’ve been more accurate. In any case, he obviously lacked the wide-ranging acting talent of Fred MacMurray.
Fred had charm and talent by the truck load … maybe I need to find these old classics, thanks for the reminder! Particularly liked that tribute to him by his ‘son’ β€
You can’t go wrong with any of those three old classics, Kate, but unless you’re a film noir fan, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is probably the one you could put last on your list. In my opinion, the other two are ‘must-sees’ for ANY mature film fan.
Yes, he was. Marjorie Main was well known before The Egg and I (in supporting roles). For example, remember her in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and THE HARVEY GIRLS? Her film career dates back to the early 1930s, but I don’t think she became The Star in any film until the MA AND PA KETTLE series from 1949 to 1957.
My favorite line of hers from the E&I is at the table when she tells one of her horde of kids something and the answers back that it isn’t his name. She comes back with “Whoever you are, do it.” That’s paraphrasing but I still laugh remembering it.
I haven’t seen the E& I in decades, so I tried to find a clip of the scene you describe. The best I could come up with is this trailer which includes part of that scene:
Thanks!!! I always admired Colbert’s energy on the screen. She often had a tension that mesmerized. And those big eyes. You must have enjoyed Fred in My Three Sons.
Thanks, Thom. I should do more posts on undervalued actors and actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Problem is, almost no one knows who they are anymore!
calmkate 4:07 am on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
what a joyful collection of viewing, thanks Mr M!
But Ginger and Fred are just sheer magic … no couple have ever created the ease and charm that they exuded on screen! My forever heros π
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mistermuse 10:54 am on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
It didn’t hurt (quoting from A SMITHSONIAN SALUTE TO THE AMERICAN MUSICAL) that “Astaire and Rogers worked with the finest composers of their day. Of their ten films together, one featured music by Cole Porter, two by Jerome Kern, one by George and Ira Gershwin, and three by Irvine Berlin.” Throw in great directors and supporting casts, and it’s no wonder there was movie magic!
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calmkate 6:15 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink
that would certainly help and their stage settings add to the majesty but they had class and talent by the ton!
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Yeah, Another Blogger 9:27 am on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
Have you seen the new movie Judy? I liked it very much. It focuses on the final months of her life.
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mistermuse 11:01 am on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
Haven’t seen it, but saw snippets and an interview with the star on TV. Thanks for your comment.
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Ashley 1:51 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
This has been a great series and you should be congratulated for putting it all together.
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mistermuse 3:28 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
Many thanks, Ashley….and I even managed to cast a few aspersions at Trump in the bargain.
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Rosaliene Bacchus 3:39 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
I could watch Fred & Ginger and Gene Kelly dance all day long! They brought joy to my tumultous young life.
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mistermuse 6:34 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
To bring joy to a “tumultuous young life” — as Ira Gershwin wrote and Gene Kelly sang (in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS), “Who could ask for anything more?”
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Rivergirl 8:52 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
The Nicholas Brothers! That goes back…
π
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mistermuse 11:31 pm on November 13, 2019 Permalink |
They go way back, but they lived long — especially the older brother, who died in 2006 at age 91.
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mlrover 8:53 am on November 15, 2019 Permalink |
Ginger spoke in an interview about that particular dance. Fred insisted on perfection, and as usual, doing it in one take. She said that by the time this scene was done as he liked it there was blood in her shoes. She also said, as she had before and would again, that she got paid less and did everything he did in heels and backward.
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mistermuse 1:28 pm on November 15, 2019 Permalink |
Fred was indeed a perfectionist. Quoting from the book I mentioned in my earlier reply to calmkate, “the roller skating sequence in SHALL WE DANCE, for example, was shot 30 times, and the Never Gonna Dance number from SWING TIME was done in forty-eight takes.” As for Ginger, “I had plenty of input in our routines and got to be known as the ‘button finder’….the one who puts the last word or finishing touch on a scene.” So I don’t blame her for complaining “that she got paid less.”
Although Ginger “did everything he did in heels and backward,” the one thing she didn’t do as well was sing. Irving Berlin said, “I’d rather have Fred Astaire introduce one of my songs than any other singer I know — not because he has a great voice, but because his delivery and diction are so good that he can put over a song like nobody else.”
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David Thompson 9:00 pm on December 6, 2019 Permalink
I grew up, will h my mother’s influence ..with this era. I am richer for the experience.
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Elizabeth 1:40 pm on November 15, 2019 Permalink |
I loved this series. Thanks for all the time and thoughtfulness you put into it.
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mistermuse 3:29 pm on November 15, 2019 Permalink |
It was absolutely my pleasure, Elizabeth. Thank you for appreciating it.
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Silver Screenings 12:22 am on November 17, 2019 Permalink |
Amazing tributes, all, but the one for Judy Garland is amazing. To see all those films in one clip is a little mind-blowing. She was certainly prolific!
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mistermuse 1:50 am on November 17, 2019 Permalink |
I’m glad you singled out the Garland clip for special mention — it was an unexpected find, and probably my favorite in this series.
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mistermuse 10:12 pm on December 6, 2019 Permalink |
Thank you for the Like, David Thompson. I tried to check out your blog, but when I click the link, I get a blank screen. Before I approve your comment, kindly advise if your blog is not operational for some reason.
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