Posts tagged Susan Hayward

Readers Sound Off!

Feb21
2013 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, here today wrist-deep in our email bag, picking out the latest of our reader correspondence.

Way back in July 14, 2011, we published a blog that asked this question: Susan Hayward – Forgotten Star? Judging from the emails we have received since then, the answer is NO.

Here’s the latest Hayward appreciate from Tony Petrillo:

She was a marvelous star and my favorite till she passed away (on March 14, 1975). I was in the Air Force the year she FINALLY won Best Actress. I still remember yelling with joy as she RACED to the stage to get that Oscar. Both she and Ann Blyth were my all time favorites, and I still search for any of their films on TV.

The former Edythe Marrenner from Brooklyn was nominated four times for best-actress Oscars before finally winning in 1959, for her role as a death row inmate in United Artists’ I Want To Live directed by Robert Wise. By the way, we like your mention of Blyth, an actress who was often underrated and underappreciated.

Regular reader Mike Sheridan responded to our Feb. 14 blog – All Leading Ladies With The Right Leading Man or Where’s Fred? – toasting three often forgotten actresses, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale and Lucille Bremer.

Marjorie Reynolds was a lot of fun. She worked hard, looked great and was well respected. My favorite movie with her was the “Mr Wong” with Boris Karloff as a Chinese detective, precluding the Charlie Chan series.

Karloff starred in three Mr. Wong titles for Monogram Pictures in the late Thirties: Mr. Wong, Detective;  The Mystery of Mr. Wong; and Mr. Wong in Chinatown. Reynolds costarred in the last one in 1939.

And our blog about Eylse Knox and her clan elicted this from Laura: Enjoyed your post! I always enjoy reading about Hollywood families.

Here’s some more fun trivia — Tracy was formerly married to William R. (Billy) Moses, a steadily working actor whose best-known role was in FALCON CREST. He was himself from an acting family — his brother Rick Moses caused a brief sensation on GENERAL HOSPITAL in the ’80s.

Billy appeared in an episode of NCIS, so he was working with his ex-wife’s uncle in that show. 

Thanks to all our correspondents. Please keep those cards and letters coming our way.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , , ,

Our Readers Comment (Debating S.H. Again?)

Jan03
2013 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Powell, Bennett, Hayward.

They were three of the most beautiful women of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  Each with a distinct look and talent.  And when we wrote about them our readers took note.

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, back and, as always, happy to pass along comments from those of you out there who wish to share your thoughts about our musings.

Eleanor Powell has always been one of Joe’s favorite stars and when we wrote about her a few months back Vincent had this to add: Eleanor Powell was spectacular to watch because she was vivacious, athletic, and good looking. I suspect her career tanked because she lacked the sex appeal of an Ann Miller, Mitzi Gaynor, etc. Her dancing costumes were also a bit overly modest.

We couldn’t agree more.  She was too wholesome.  And let’s not forget that stardom also requires a certain drive and determination.  Powell probably lacked that.  She was content being a wife and mother.

Joan Bennett had that drive.  She also married men who wanted her to continue with her career.  Robin Jordan Henry wrote in and reminded us of that clever lyric of the 1940s:

Going brunette was probably the wisest move Joan Bennett ever made. While she had some success as a blonde in the 1930s, she always looked rather pallid compared to sister Constance; with dark hair, she developed her own identity as a Bennett. It also led to this Cole Porter lyric from “Let’s Not Talk About Love” in 1941: “Let’s speak of Lamarr, that Hedy so fair/Why does she let Joan Bennett wear all her old hair?”

And whenever we mention Susan Hayward we usually elicit some mail.  Hayward does still have a devoted following.  A contributor simply referred to as Collis had this comment: Hayward viewed her career as work thus treating her films as 9 to 6 jobs. She didn’t socialize with her peers for the above reason plus she was extremely shy and didn’t like parties.

This caused much consternation with directors and producers; she wouldn’t give in to the hidden pressures of the day. Because of this viewpoint she was punished by being given roles beneath her talent. This is the reason she is not heard much of except for students of the art of which I am. (undergrad and graduate level) When you watch her performances you can see the influence from the Russian Director/Actor and Producer Gregory Ratoff. The origin of this style is from the European Theatre. She takes care of details.

Many of her directors have called her one of the greatest actors. During the final years of her life many fans such as Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn etc… visited her to express their admiration. Bette Davis was a fan until they worked together and their personalities clashed. Watching her work you don’t see duplicate performances; her characterizations vary not as with Miss Davis.

Neither Frank nor Joe quite appreciate Miss Hayward as much as Collis.

Still, we love being disagreed with.  Let’s hear from you.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , ,

Monday Quiz– where they are from?

Dec03
2012 Leave a Comment Written by classicmovieguys

 

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, kicking off the week with yet another Monday reader challenge.

We suspect today’s quiz will be a tad more testing than last week’s, (Known To All — By EITHER Name, Nov. 26, asking the actual identities of a quartet of familiar stars). Regular reader Mike Sheridan dispatched last week’s quiz with ease. He wrote:

These four are pretty easy guys, just like you said.  First is Lucille LeSueur (or Billie Casin)  is our Joan Crawford.  Second is Jack Garfinkle (nee Jacob Julius Garfinkle) who is John Garfield, famous for his work at Hollywood Canteen.  Third is Norma Jean Mortenson or The Marilyn Monroe and fourth, Bernard Schwartz, is Tony Curtis or Stony Curtis in Bedrock (twist, twist).  Love you guys.

As a prelude to today’s quiz, it should be noted that Really big fans of Really big stars in Hollywood in its Golden Age not only knew the star’s real names but also their hometowns — where they were born and raised.

Above we’re pictured three of Hollywood’s classic stars and below a shot of one of its more recent stars.  Do you know where they hailed from.  Be specific.  Their birthplaces were part of their lore.

With the exception of that fellow pictured above, we have written extensively about these stars, and have duly noted their home towns. Off the top, can you tell us where they are from.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , ,

HOWARD HUGHES — The World’s Greatest Womanizer?

Nov23
2011 1 Comment Written by classicmovieguys

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, back again with our second, and most interesting, of two Howard Hughes blogs.

Yesterday we presented Hughes as the Godzilla of that once venerable film studio, RKO Pictures. Today we offer Howard as he perhaps would have preferred us to see him — as Hollywood’s most dedicated seducer. 

One of Hughes’ longtime associates, Noah Dietrich, put Hughes in perspective with this observation:

Howard’s involvement with RKO had other motivations than the pursuit of profit and furtherance of the art of cinema.  It also aided the exercise of his libido. I was never certain throughout Howard’s long association with the motion picture industry whether his amours were an offshoot of that activity or film production was a screen for his romantic adventures.

Howard was 43 when he took over RKO in 1948. His first marriage ended in 1929, and his second (to actress Jean Peters) didn’t begin until 1957.  He was tall (6 feet-4 inches), lean and physically far more presentable than other movie moguls of the time.

After his near-death plane crash in Beverly Hills two years prior to his RKO purchase, Hughes’ ample supply of personal quirks became more pronounced. His hearing problem worsened. He became more reclusive, which meant his many female liaisons were conducted under unusually complicated circumstances.

Joan Fontaine in her 1978 autobiography recalls that she was often proposed to by Hughes. (Howard was given to proffering marriage offers willy-nilly.) She writes:

I was never in love with Howard. As a matter of fact, I was a little afraid of him. Certainly one could not be relaxed and at ease with a man of so much wealth, power, and influence. He had no humor, no gaiety, no sense of joy, no vivacity that was apparent to me.

Everything seemed to be a ‘deal,’ a business arrangement, regardless of the picture he had tried to paint of our future together.

Why then did Fontaine entertain Hughes’ romantic blandishments?  Money is sexy and he certainly had a blinding overabundance of cash.

Fontaine was hardly the only actress fascinated but not necessarily involved romantically with Hughes. Add to that list Jane Russell, the bosomy actress Hughes “discovered” and notoriously cast in her maiden movie, the “sex-western” titled The Outlaw (completed in 1941 but not released until 1943).

Did she ever sleep with Hughes?  Jane said, absolutely not.  

She found him likable, kooky and timid. I often hollered at Howard, and I think in a funny kind of way I scared him. Hughes would later confide to friends, that woman terrified me. The mogul made one serious pass, according to Jane, but got nowhere.

Hughes did volunteer during the making of “The Outlaw” to design a fitted bra for Russell. “I found it uncomfortable and ridiculous,” was her verdict.

According to the actress’ 1984 autobiography, the powerful agent Lew Wasserman, who represented Jane at one point, asked her: “Look, are you sleeping with this guy or what?” A stunned Russell responded, “No, Lew, my God! He’s my friend.”

It is more or less a matter of record (check out director Martin Scorsese’s superb 2004 Hughes biopic The Aviator) that Howard and Katharine Hepburn were seriously involved in every sense.  She reportedly kept a stash of love letters exchanged between the two until she died eight years ago.

According to her biographer Beverly Linet, the big Fifties star Susan Hayward and Hughes were definitely an item probably in 1953, after the actress had survived a bruising divorce. Linet writes that the mogul was widely known for bedding only once a beauty he admired, even though their dates might continue for weeks or even months more.

Whether this pattern held for Hughes’ affair with Ava Gardner is a matter of conjecture. While she was still married to her first husband, Mickey Rooney, Gardner was presented with an engagement ring. According to her biographer Lee Server, Ava responded with, ‘Don’t be silly, Howard.’  

Ava thought it was ridiculous. They weren’t in love. She didn’t love him.

Then there is the case of Jean Simmons.  Hughes had her under contract at RKO but was less interested in her movie career than in bedding the British actress despite her marriage at the time to Stewart Granger, who loathed the mogul.

Curiously, Simmons would later say that she didn’t, at the time, notice Hughes’ dishonorable intentions. Instead, she claimed he had acted gentlemanly, warning her that Granger was after her money.

The objects of Hughes’ intentions honorable or otherwise totaled more than 50 actresses including Lana Turner, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers (pictured above), Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Faith Domergue and Jane Greer (pictured below)

Perhaps, for Hughes, it was the pursuit that was all-important, the knowledge that he could go after what he wanted — and get it, writes Linet.

Certainly, by all accounts, the women pursued did not mind, Paradoxically, no lady linked with Hughes has ever had an unkind word to say about him — not even after his death (in 1976, at the age of 71).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , , ,

READER COMMENT — Not So Fast About ‘Forgotten’ Hayward

Oct24
2011 1 Comment Written by classicmovieguys

Hello, everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers, your classic movie guys, back again to field a most welcome e-mail from another reader who demurs from our dismissal of Susan Hayward.

In our blog of July 14 — “Susan Hayward — Forgotten Star?” — we wrote that although Hayward was popular in the late Forties and Fifties,  she is a largely “who dat?” today.  On Oct. 11, we ran reader Philippe Elan’s comment that took us (mildly, thank heaven) to task with his opening line, “happy to disagree on the fact that Susan Hayward is a forgotten star.”

We were delighted to receive Phillipe’s defense of the actress. But we also pointed out that although such Hollywood luminaries as Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner may not be household names today to those under 40, their respective films — eg. “Gilda” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” among others — are so good that both actresses are assured cinematic immortality.

Did Susan Hayward make films as good?  We said and say, no.  Thus, her largely forgottten status today.

But reader “iarla” gracefully disagrees, and e-mailed us the following wide-ranging and thoughtful consideration of Hayward. We like it so much that we just had to let you in on the exchange. So here’s “iarla.”

It’s true that Edythe Marrenner (Hayward’s real name) is unfortunate in that none of her movies are as well revived as say, Lana’s “Postman” or Rita’s “Gilda”.

She is simply unlucky in that none of her films achieved cult status, with the sole — startling — exception being “Valley of the Dolls”, and it is screened today for reasons other than Hayward’s contribution.

Although this was possibly the most comercially popular film Hayward ever appeared in, its not exactly a prestigious credit for any of its participants. Although, female audiences loved Hayward back in the Fifties when she was considered a “strong” actress as well as a box office star.

Though critics were not always as impressed, and I recall Hayward being unflatteringly referred to as a “bargain basement Bette Davis”( ! ).

(The late film critic) Pauline Kael, while enjoying the earlier Hayward of (director Harold Clurman’s 1946 murder mystery) “Deadline at Dawn” felt she had “slipped” considerably by the time (1955) of (Daniel Mann’s biopic of singer Lillian Roth) “I’ll Cry Tomorrow.”

It’s as if certain performers, who start out as starlets, become almost embarrassed and self-conscious and unfortunately mannered when they strive to be taken ‘seriously’ as dramatic actresses.

But I’ve always wondered why ‘actressy’ types date badly in comparison to the glamour queens, such as (Norma) Shearer and Louise Rainer versus (Jean) Harlow and (Marlene) Dietrich in the Thirties, or (Greer) Garson and Jennifer Jones against Rita and Lana in the forties.

Maybe its the sense of ‘fun’ and approachability thats lacking.

Hayward never had the good fortune to become a cult figure. Also, although her private life was rather tempestuous, and covered as such by the media at the time, there was always a brittle, cold quality to the private Hayward image as opposed to the more inviting, vulnerable qualities emitted by some of the sex symbols like (Kim) Novak or (Marilyn) Monroe in the Fifties.

Changing fashions dictate public tastes and interests, and Susan Hayward is simply not in the public consciousness. Oftentimes, clotheshorses like Lana or Rita are referenced as emblems of classical Hollywood glamour when designers like Valentino (“Ziegfeld Girl”) or Gaultier (“Shanghai Express”) discuss their muses/inspirations. Hayward was never identified in this way either then or now, proving the power and endurabilty of image over talent, especially today!

Now that I think of it, Hayward died (of cancer in 1975 at 57) relatively early compared to her peers, which is a pity as she would almost certainly have had a substantial shot at television like (Barbara) Stanwyck or (Jane) Wyman.

But she was a genuine star, and context is everything, and I’m glad to remember her even though her heyday had passed long before I was born!”

Thanks iarla.  And keep on commenting.

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , , ,

SOMEONE REMEMBERED SUSAN HAYWARD

Oct11
2011 2 Comments Written by classicmovieguys

Hello Everybody.  Joe Morella and Frank Segers here to report that — yes,  finally, after a couple of months — we heard from a Susan Hayward fan who disagrees with us when we say she is today a forgotten star. (Check out our blog to this effect which ran on July 14.)

Philippe Elan writes, “Happy to disagree on the fact that Susan Hayward is a forgotten star….Most people who like movies of the Golden Age of Hollywood still know her and she is very popular among them.

“Lots of her movies have found their ways on official DVD releases and they have been big sellers : ‘With a Song in My Heart,’  ’I’ll Cry Tomorrow,’  ’I Want to Live,’ ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro,’  ’Where Love Has Gone,’ ‘David and Bathsheba,’ ‘Smash Up’….and many others. Movies unlimited has just issued the official DVD of her 1961 major box office hit ‘Back Street’…

“One thing I agree is that Hayward was a front rank star in the second part of the 1940s…she became one of the superstars of the 1960s and remained a major box office draw until the late sixties… Quite a great achievement for a female Hollywood star of her time….

“She was unique, both a great beauty and a very talented actress.”

Thanks for writing in, Philippe. (We LOVE to hear from our readers, and please feel free to call us on the carpet when you feel it’s necessary. The tougher you are, the better.)

And, yes, we certainly appreciate Philippe’s view that she was unique, beautiful and talented.  And we note that among old movie buffs she’s still remembered.

BUT, we contend she’s a forgotten star for the obvious reason (to us) that she’s little (if at all) remembered today by younger generations of film fans.  True, many in the under 40 set might not know much about Rita Hayworth, or Lana Turner either.

But — and here is a crucial point — those actresses made some films which might be considered classics (none of Haywards can be, in our view) and Rita and Lana have been noted in song, story and myth.

The general rule is — you make really good pictures, you will be remembered by succeeding generations. (We will, for example, always cherish Lana’s torrid performance opposite John Garfield in 1946′s The Postman Always Rings Twice.” As for Rita, she remains a Frank favorite just for marrying Orson Welles.)

No question that Susan Hayward in her time was a top star.  And one of the attributes of the “real” stardom she shared with Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford was that during her glory days in Hollywood, most people knew her real name as well as her screen name.

OK, we challenge you Susan Hayward fans (and non-fans).  Any guesses about the name she was born with?

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Rare Photos - Tagged , , , , ,

That’s Him All Right, THE REAL ‘RED’ BARRY

Aug25
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Joe Morella and Frank Segers

EUREKA! 

We flipped through our files, and finally found a picture of the real Don ‘Red’ Barry (above left) posing with Donald Gordon.

That dapper gent to the right is THE Donald of THE DONALD GORDON COLLECTION, the marvelously informal stash of Hollywood photos from the early Forties that ClassicMovieChat is delighted to share with you.

Hello, everybody, your Classic Movie guys – Joe Morella and Frank Segers — here again to say that we’re absolutely certain this time that the guy we have pictured above is the real ‘Red’ Barry.

Why the frantic photo search? Well, in our Susan Hayward blog of July 15, we ran a picture of a fellow we thought was Barry,  the actor who shared a scandalous, headline-making love affair with the actress in the mid-Fifties.

But, we goofed.  One of our alert readers shot us an e-mail declaring that it wasn’t Barry but someone else in the photo we ran. Our alert reader was right.

And, to add mystery to mischief, we are still in the dark as to the identity of the man in the photo that we DID run. 

We reran a picture of our mystery man in Monday’s blog (Aug. 22), so take a look and e-mail us immediately if you have a clue to the guy’s identity.  We confess, we’re stumped.

If the name of ‘Red’ Barry doesn’t immediately ring a bell, don’t be too hard on yourself. You have lots of company.

Born in Houston in 1912 as Donald Barry de Acosta, the actor was never a notable star and certainly not a household name. Although pint-sized (slightly less than 5-feet-5), he was a college football star before turning to stage roles and then to movies.

After playing a series villains, Barry found his cinematic niche making westerns at Republic Pictures, the B studio run by one Herbert J. Yates — who had plans to capitalize on Barry’s more-than-passing resemblance to James Cagney.

What developed, among other movies, was the 1940 western serial “Adventures of Red Ryder” with Barry in the eponymous leading role (thus his nickname).

By the Fifties, Barry’s movie career sputtered big time. He was a half-way decent actor but his large ego and combative temperament often turned off directors and fellow cast members.

So, beginning in the late Fifties he embarked on a long television career lasting until his death in 1980 at the age of 68. (By the way, we figure Barry to be about 30 when he caught up with our man Donald in the photo above.)

Barry is remembered today more for his off-screen romances.  He gained in his day a reputation as a Lothario of the first order even by Hollywood standards. (He once escorted Joan Crawford about town; enough said.)

One of Barry’s former mistresses put it this way. “I can’t define what Don Barry has but whatever it is, he should bottle it.”

A supporting role in MGM’s 1955 weeper “I’ll Cry Tomorrow,” starring Susan Hayward, set the stage for Barry’s fling with the actress.  Headlines were made when Hayward walked in on the actor with another woman, and slugged — not him — but the other woman.

Although the affair ended, it made a lasting impression on Barry.  Hayward biographer Beverly Linet writes that “before the (68-year-old) ex-loverboy blew his brains out following a fight with his estranged wife in July 1980,” he confessed to writing a poem about the actress. “Every man alive should experience one Susan Hayward in his lifetime.”

 

 

 

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Posted in Never Before Seen Photos - Tagged , , ,