Posts tagged Katherine Hepburn

A BOGIE QUIZ

Apr30
2013 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT HUMPHREY BOGART ?

Hello everybody,  Joe Morella and Frank Segers here again.

Today we have a real challenge for you. It revolves around one our favorite personalities and probably one of yours as well.  So, here we go.

There is absolutely no question that Humphrey Bogart remains one of the most enduring star names in the Hollywood pantheon – then and now.

Author Stefan Kanfer’s book, “Tough Without A Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart,” makes the case for Bogie not as just as a legendarily classic movie star but a worldwide cultural icon.  Kanfer’s book examines Bogart’s life, and the actor’s amazing surge in popularity since his death more than a half century ago.

Ok, ok, as a longtime classic movie fan – why else would you be reading this blog? – we bet you earnestly believe that you know all about Bogie.

We thought we did until taking a closer look at Kanfer’s book and director John Huston’s memoir of several years ago titled “An Open Book.” After sifting through both we came up with some questions that we believe will put your knowledge of Bogie to a real test.

Some of these questions, admittedly, are a bit obscure (on purpose). We can’t make things too easy for you. But as a tried and true Bogie fan, you should be able to come up with at least partial answers to at least some of these questions.

— Alan Ladd was legendarily short for a Hollywood leading man, but wasn’t Humphrey Bogart even shorter? Exactly how tall was Bogie?

— When he was a preppy, young Broadway stage actor, what’s the line that Bogie became best known for after running onstage?

— Bogart had four wives, all actresses.  Can you name the last two? Who was the last?  (We are being merciful here; you should have no trouble identifying her.)

— What famous actor was originally scheduled to take the co-starring Bob Curtin role with Bogie’s Fred C. Dobbs in the “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” but pulled out at the last minute? (The role went, thank goodness, to Tim Holt.)  Hint: this famous actor became even more famous in another public arena.

— Who turned down the role of Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon”, and then bitterly resented Bogart’s success in the role?

–What film is the above picture from and why is it important in Bogart’s career?

The answers tomorrow.

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IT’S A TIE AT OSCAR TIME

Oct04
2011 1 Comment Written by classicmovieguys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s a Tie!”

When Ingrid Bergman opened the envelope to announce the winner of the Best Actress Oscar for the year 1968 she said, “The winner is…it’s a tie.

Hello everybody, Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your Classic Movie guys here to muse once again about quirks in the Academy Awards process.

The winners 43 years ago were Katherine Hepburn of “Lion in Winter” and Barbra Streisand (above right) for “Funny Girl.”

It was the third win for Hepburn.  She had just won the previous year for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” her last film with her lover and soul mate, Spencer Tracy.

“Lion” director Anthony Harvey accepted for Hepburn. For her part, Streisand stared  at her Oscar, and muttered her now famous line, “Hello, gorgeous.”

Price Waterhouse, the accounting firm entrusted with the vote count, declared they had had many, many recounts and that — yes, once and for all — it was definitely, positively,  a virtual tie.  In previous years The Academy of Arts and Science rules had said that when a runner up  was within 1 or 2 votes it should be declared a tie.

In fact, the Academy never actually reveals the number of votes a candidate receives. And according to Academy history there was only one other instance of a tie in a major acting category.

Back in 1932, when the votes were tabulated at the banquet which presented the Oscars, Norma Shearer announced that Frederick March (above left) had won for “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” beating out Alfred Lunt for ”The Guardsman” and Wallace Beery for “The Champ.”

March accepted the Award graciously, praising make-up artist Wally Westmore.

After the Best Actress and Best Picture Awards were presented and everyone thought it was over, Academy president Conrad Nagel took the podium and shocked everyone by calling Wally Beery up to the platform.

The voting committee had re-tabulated the results, and since Beery was only one vote shy of March’s total, Academy rules declared it a tie.

We wonder if March’s photo above was snapped after Nagel’s announcement.  We wouldn’t blame him if he needed some alcoholic fortification (although upon close inspection he is working in character with lab equipment rather than wine crystal.)

Where was Ingrid Bergman when she was needed?

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The Show Business “Canteens”

Sep27
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Joe Morella and Frank Segers

 

 

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your Classic Movie guys reflecting today on that singular show biz phenomenon of World War II — the “good war” — called the “Canteens.”

In strictly military parlance, canteens were post exchanges where soldiers could buy refreshments and provisions at sharply discounted prices. The show biz canteens were far outside military installations and provided refreshments and entertainment — for free.

How many old timers (we say that kindly!) out there remember the Hollywood Canteen or New York’s Stage Door Canteen?  Not many, we’d bet. But luckily, both institutions have been immortalized on film.

It all started with The American Theatre Wing which had a relief organization back during World War I.  At the start of the Second World War in Europe the Wing reactivated its charity relief division, and after  Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the fray, that group opened The Stage Door Canteen on 44th Street on March 2, 1942.

Not to be outdone by their Broadway counterparts, the stars of Hollywood, led by Bette Davis and John Garfield, organized and opened The Hollywood Canteen on Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles in November of ’42.

There were “Canteens” in all major cities in the United States to help entertain the troops (and keep them out of bars, brothels and pool halls) and provide them with wholesome fun and company. But of course, The Hollywood Canteen and The Stage Door Canteen were the most famous.

Just as the New York crowd had beaten the Hollywood bunch to the opening of a canteen, they beat them to making a movie about it.

As we noted in our Aug. 23 blog about Count Basie and Ethel Waters, the 1943 musical comedy romance that was first was distributed by United Artists, and titled “Stage Door Canteen — A Soldier’s Story.”

Producer Sol Lesser pulled off an amazing feat of show biz organization, putting together a cast including scores of stage and movie personalities ranging from theater stalwarts Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Tallulah Bankhead, Katherine Cornell and Helen Hayes to less lofty types such as George Raft, Georgie Jessel, Gracie Fields, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Gyspsy Rose Lee.

The thin plot of “Stage Door Canteen — A Soldier’s Story,” follows one soldier (Lon McAllister) over one night, and also manages to tell the story of a volunteer portrayed by Cheryl Walker (pictured above with Katherine Hepburn), who has only joined the group in hopes of being discovered for stardom.

The plot is, of course, irrelevant.  The point  of the film is to capture all the entertainers who indeed did perform at the Canteen.

Big bands were incredibly poular during the 1940s and the film showcases in addition to Basie’s orchestra, the ensembles of Xavier Cugat, Freddy Martin, Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo, and Kay Kyser.  All tastes were represented.

More tomorrow on this fun film.

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