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He was a unique character actor. Once seen, not easily forgotten. His girth, his voice, his manner were distinctly his. Robert Morely, born in Wiltshire England in 1908, was one of the screen’s most likable actors despite the formidable villains he sometimes played. His brand of the pompous, sputtering yet unctuous English ‘gentleman’ — invariably […]
Her star shone bright in the pre-Code 1930s. She was known for her elegant bearing, but as you’ll soon see, she could bare it (herself) with the best. Let’s first clear up that name. She was born Anna McKim in 1911 in New York City, the offspring of silent film actress Anna Lehr and actor/director […]
How much did you know about our Quiz subjection, King Vidor? Did you know that perhaps his most commercially recognized film — 1946’s Duel in the Sun — was a personal nightmare for the director during its making? The movie today is acclaimed for among other things, the smoldering performance of Jennifer Jones as sultry, […]
He was one of the most sought after directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age. His career, beginning as a teenager, lasted nearly seven decades netting him a Guinness World Record. His cinematic passions were fueled by religion (Christian Science) and fascinations with nature and with the making of and building with steel. He was unabashedly a […]
She was a huge star in the 1930s and a fine character actress later in her career. And, as mentioned yesterday, we love Miriam for her portrayal of John Lund’s snooty mother in 1951’s The Mating Season. (That’s Miriam in high hauteur on the right below.) Born in 1902 in Savannah, Georgia, Hopkins came from […]
One of Joe’s favorite films is 1951’s The Mating Season. But even though Gene Tierney and John Lund receive top billing, Thelma Ritter steals the movie. (Ritter was Oscar-nominated six times including a best supporting actress bid for this picture.) There’s Thelma on the left (above) and an imperious Miriam Hopkins on the right. (We’ll have more […]
Even with one of the biggest studios behind his career John Lund never rose to stardom. How come? Lund, born in Rochester, N.Y. in 1911, the son of an immigrant Norwegian glassblower, was a high school dropout who meandered through several professions (advertising, writing for radio) before finding his niche on the stage — initially […]
Here are two looks at the Paramount Pictures studio gates in Hollywood. As we write this, there’s not much happening at the moment behind these portals. Why? The caronavirus pandemic has halted pretty much everything. But in the studio’s heyday in the classic Hollywood period, Paramount churned out a vast array of entertainment from Alfred […]
This week we thought we’d highlight a studio instead of a star or director. Paramount Pictures was one of so-called of the big 8, comprising “the majors” of Hollywood’s Golden Era. That’s the period roughly between the late Twenties until the early Fifties, shortly after Paramount and the other studios were forced by the government […]
MGM replaced Mickey and Judy with a perky blonde in the late 1940s, and showcased her in a dozen films. She took her stage name from the first character she played onscreen — at the age of 15. And after dancing and singing with the best of them she was a full fledged MGM star. […]