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When one thinks of Barbara Stanwyck one usually thinks of heavy drama — melodrama — or perhaps all those pre-code films about racy women. One doesn’t think of comedy. And yet the lovely (and very sexy) actress of real strength and genuine versatility graced the silver screen in many comedies: 1941’s Ball of Fire (in which […]
Everyone knows that Hollywood biographies are fun to read. And everyone knows you have to take much of what’s written with a grain of salt. Or in some instances a POUND of salt. In a used bookstore not long ago Joe found a copy of an amusing tome, The Secret Life of Humphrey Bogart: The […]
Joan Caulfield. That’s Who. Although largely forgotten today, she was a big star — one with above-the-title billing — during much of the Forties. After that, she had quite a run on television. And, if she (above) looks the epitome of the Forties-era fashion model, well, that’s exactly what she was before arriving in Hollywood […]
So. Did you really know all that much about the man who for many years epitomized French savoir-faire to American audiences? We’re talking about Maurice Chevalier, the Paris-born veteran who staged not just one but two substantial star turns in Hollywood. (There he is above during round two as Audrey Hepburn’s understanding father in Billy […]
He was perhaps the most famous international star of the 1930s (see above). After the World War II years in occupied France his film career seemed over. Then, in the 1950s, he returned as popular as ever (see below). Make no mistake, though. Despite that amiable Gallic facade Maurice Chevalier exhibited throughout his Hollywood career, […]
Many actors in film like to play against type. It shows , they believe, that they can really act and not just be a movie star. Gene Tierney (there she is above) did it in 1945’s Leave Her to Heaven, portraying a murderess. And not just your garden variety murderess at that. Tierney had always been coolly […]
Was Judy Garland THE the entertainer of the 20th century? (Check out our blog on this subject of Oct. 23, and note the opening picture). It’s certainly safe to say that she continues to evoke considerable interest today, and perhaps even a measure controversy. Consider the two emails below from two readers firmly in the […]
We salute today a familiar classic movie star, but not for the usual reason. Sure, we have much to thank Olivia de Havilland for: a body of work that covers some 60 movie and tv credits including a memorable role in perhaps the best known screen epic ever made. And there are those lusty screen […]
As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, he was the lovelorn sidekick in The Third Man, memorably snubbed by Alida Valli. He was Jennifer Jones’ romantic esthete-hero in Portrait of Jennie, Teresa Wright’s serial killer uncle in Shadow of a Doubt and Ingrid Bergman’s class-bound husband in Under Capricorn. But most of all, he played key roles in two Orson Welles masterpieces: the conscience of Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane and the philosophical […]
He was the lovelorn sidekick in The Third Man, memorably snubbed by Alida Valli. He was Jennifer Jones’ romantic esthete-hero in Portrait of Jennie, Teresa Wright’s serial killer uncle in Shadow of a Doubt and Ingrid Bergman’s class-bound husband in Under Capricorn. But most of all, he played key roles in two Orson Welles masterpieces: the conscience of […]