Whenever we write about Susan Hayward we get plenty of mail. Philippe wrote in: I am so happy that Susan Hayward is not a Turner or Hayworth type of star figure…She is Susan Hayward….and i love her for who she was and will be, eternally on film: an incredible , expressive face with her fascinating […]
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Author: Joe Morella and Frank Segers
Remember FRANCES DEE and BRENDA MARSHALL...
They both more or less gave up careers for marriage. Yet, they had notable Hollywood roles in a broad range of pictures. Still, marriage for both for better or worse came first. In Dee’s case, she met leading man Joel McCrea on the set of a 1933 film titled The Silver Cord. He fell like […]
ROBERT BENCHLEY — The Strangest of Stars
He appeared in some notable films, but also in some very forgettable shorts. He was a commentator, a raconteur, a humorist, a veteran of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker at their peaks and, well, a lot of things that no one else in the movies was at the time. He was hardly a heart […]
CARRADINE Quiz — The Answers
How much did you know about John Carradine and his famous sons? Did you know, for example, of Carradine’s claim that he held the record for the most screen appearances in movie history? Was he just balmy or was he on to something? We did a bit of checking and discovered the veteran actor had […]
JOHN CARRADINE — A Quiz
He was of the most recognizable character actors ever. Craggy, angular with a deep, distinctive voice and vocal delivery. And one of the very busiest, working in more than 200 big screen movies and another 150 television appearances over a 60-years-plus career. He was also a pretty decent actor on the stage, essaying such roles […]
Remember BRIAN DONLEVY?
There were some leading men who weren’t handsome in the traditional sense, and still played leading character men. Brian Donlevy, better looking than most, was great in war films, but he also made other movies, even comedies. One of his best pictures benefits from his starring role in Fritz Lang’s 1943 thriller, Hangmen Also Die, the real life story of […]
SUSAN HAYWARD — Definitely Not Forgotten
Over the years two of our blogs seem to get the most responses. And guess what: they were both originally posted over 9 years ago! We once said that Susan Hayward was the most forgotten BIG star of the 1940s and 50s. Boy did we hear from her fans. And since that post is still […]
A NOTE ON “Vertigo” & “Jennie”
Back in 2013 we ran a piece asking if Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo costarring Kim Novak and James Stewart might have been inspired by 1948’s A Portrait of Jennie, costarring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. A reader, Glyn Lewis, got around to commenting on that post just last month. Ah, the beauty of the […]
Andy Hardy Quiz –The Answers
There’s Andy having words with his eternally wise dad, Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone). Undoubtedly Micky Rooney’s leading character had misbehaved yet again, and needed a respectful dressing down from Dad. Ok, how much did you know about the MGM Andy Hardy series? Did you know that it comprised 16 titles from 1937 to 1946 and […]
OH, Those Successful Series…Let’s Start
You recognize them, of course. They are MGM’s Hardy Family. The Andy Hardy Series of the 1930s and 40s was the most successful and famous (along with The Road Pictures) of the era. Fact: No one was a bigger star as a teenager in Hollywood than Mickey Rooney. Say what you will about Rooney’s life […]