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How much did you know about the classic film? Did you know that Montgomery Clift at the time he costarred with Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress, was considered a budding romantic lead? Although a great looking 28-year-old when he made the picture, he emerges as something much less than a dashing romantic hero in […]
Years ago a friend challenged us by asking what classic movie could be released today and garner audiences in theaters if not on streaming outlets. We chose 1949’s The Heiress. Why? One reason is the observation not long ago of a woman friend, unmarried and of early middle age, reacting almost viscerally to the plight […]
Rarely the leading man, often the second lead. When we think of Knowles, born in 1911 in Yorkshire, we think of other bland British semi-principals, notably Michael Wilding (the second of Elizabeth Taylor’s seven husbands) and, perhaps, Peter Lawford. We could throw George Brent into the mix, but he was Irish. (He also pictured below […]
We start today by offering two views of this pulchritudinous foreign import. (We prefer the picture above.) Yes, she was brought over from Sweden. While she never became a star she worked constantly, and was paired opposite some of Hollywood’s top leading men. Her given name was pronounced SIG-NEE. Ah, so! (We still love to […]
He had a promising, but short career. If you had been paying attention to yesterday’s blog — re William Eythe — you would have a pretty good idea of what’s coming. Raised as a show biz kid in Los Angeles (he was born Herbert McCallister Jr. in 1923) Lon made quite a career out of […]
Did you know he appeared in such A-list titles as 1942’s The Ox Bow Incident (his movie debut) and 1943’s The Song of Bernadette? Or, that he was in 1944’s Wilson? (To the left above is Alexander Knox playing the 28th U.S. president.) Or, that he costarred with the overpoweringly theatrical Tallulah Bankhead in the […]
We admit it – today’s quiz will really test your mettle. The subject, our man above, has most likely escaped the attention of even the most dedicated classic movie fan. But believe it or not he was a name-above-the-title star and a heartthrob of the 1940s.(See below.) Editorial observation: This rather stupid photo was used […]
We suspect your immediate response is — frankly, no! NOTE: she was always a second lead, but a beautiful presence. Let’s try to fill in a few blanks. Helen Vinson had a relatively short Hollywood career, covering some 40 titles over a dozen years ending in 1944 when she appeared in The Thin Man Goes […]
And singing star and radio star. In fact he was BIG in the mid 1940s. And famous for his many wives. At one time he was seriously ranked with the likes of — Frank Sinatra. In fact, Haymes had a career path that followed Sinatra several times. He replaced him as the singer with Harry […]
When you think movie star you don’t think of Maureen Stapleton. Yet she won an Oscar. (And an Emmy, and a Tony.) The Troy, New York native, born Lois Maureen Stapleton in 1925, was by any measure a superb actress no matter the setting. (Frank still recalls with great pleasure her moving Broadway stage performance […]