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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 […]
Our pal Larry Michie died this year. In the early days of this blog Larry often wrote articles for us. He was a great fan of Hemingway’s and we thought we’d pay tribute to him by re-running this essay he wrote for us several years ago. Ernest Hemingway has long been acknowledged as one of […]
Betty Hutton had resurrected Pearl White. The Perils of Pauline had made a fortune for Paramount. Why not take a chance on another Hollywood biopic? Perhaps film fans would like to remember their other great stars of the silents. And who was the greatest and best remembered star of the silents? Independent producer Edward Small […]
Historical figures, political figures and sports figures are often the subject of film biographies. But occasionally Hollywood makes films about film stars. And it started long before Mommy Dearest. You can go all the way back to early silents to discover that filmmakers were always fascinated by the story of STARS. In 1914 the Brits […]
So how much did you know about the quintessential Christmas movie? Yes, above are George Bailey and Mary Hatch Bailey (Donna Reed and James Stewart), the familial stalwarts of It’s A Wonderful Life. In this quintessential holiday movie — set in the mythical Bedford Falls — the two stars play small town dwellers. Interesting then […]
What more fitting Christmas Quiz? It’s become the most famous of Christmastime films over the more than seven decades since it was first released to the world. What, we ask, would the season be without It’s A Wonderful Life? First, let’s dispense, once and for all, with the notion that It’s A Wonderful Life was not recognized as […]
Here’s another snapshot from our Donald Gordon Collection. Though the print’s a bit faded, it’s easy to recognize the two stars with Donald (who is on the right). That’s Jon Hall and singer/actress Frances Langford. At the time this shot was taken they were one of Hollywood’s happiest couples. (They were married from 1934 until 1955.) […]
He seemed destined for stardom. What happened? First, do you remember ever seeing a film starring Sonny Tufts? If not, we can’t blame you. Tufts didn’t have an extensive career — just a little more than 30 credits over a quarter century — and is now best recalled as a male version of bad girl […]
Throughout the Thirties and Forties, the major Hollywood studios were meticulous and hammer headed about protecting privileged stars from outside scandal. The studio machinery, notably at MGM, could sweep anything — sleazy affairs, nasty divorces, boozing, drug addiction, nasty auto accidents, outright criminality and even murder — under the rug. The stars were big money […]
We’re here today with the answers to our The Wizard of Oz quiz — what we, tongue in cheek, call the Quiz to end all Quizzes. We hope you were paying attention, and that our exercise was not-too-tough. Here we go: 1) Question: The Wizard of Oz worried the MGM brass in 1938 because of its high production […]