Who did Abbott and Costello Meet?

Posted on August 28, 2014 by minooallen

 

Who did Abbott and Costello Meet?

No, it’s not a trick question. And believe it or not it has nothing to do with baseball. Starting in 1948, the comedy team of Abbott and Costello began to take their proven comedic formula in an interesting direction when the pair decided to ‘meet’ horror legend, Frankenstein. So, who else did they meet along the way? Well, all-in, there was…

Frankenstein

Abbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948, Director Charles Barton)

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The Killer, Boris Karloff

Abbott and Costello Meet the killer Boris Karloff

Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff (1949, Charles Barton director)

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The Invisible Man

Abbott and Costello Meet _the_invisible_man

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1949, Charles Lamont director)

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Captain Kidd

Abbott and Costello Meet captain kidd

Abbott and Costello meet Captain Kidd (1952, Charles Lamont director)

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abbott & Costello (Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Abbott and Costello Meet the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953, Charles Lamont director)

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The Keystone Kops

Abbott and Costello meet the keystone cops

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955, Charles Lamont director)

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The Mummy

Abbott and Costello meet the mummyAbbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955, Charles Lamont director)

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Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub

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Just For Fun! The Voices behind The Flintstones

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

 

Just for Fun! The Fabulous Voices behind the Fabulous Flintstones! 

I’m sure you’d recognize their voices anywhere, but here they are ‘in person’… the wonderful character actors that voiced Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty…

Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone, Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone, Bea Benaderet as Betty Rubble and Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble, The FlintstonesAlan Reed as Fred Flintstone, Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone, Bea Benaderet as Betty Rubble and Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble

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Flintstones Voice Actors: Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone, Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone, Bea Benaderet as Betty Rubble and Mel Blanc as Barney RubbleBehind the scenes Alan, Jean, Bea and Mel…

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Voice Actors, The FlintstonesAnd with Betty, Wilma, Barney and Fred 🙂

(not 100% sure if that’s Jean, so please let me know if you happen to know)

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Flintstones Voice Actors autographed photoYabba Dabba Doo 🙂

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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Cartoons, Character Actors, Just for Fun, Posts by Annmarie Gatti, Voice Actors | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

All in the Family: Cecil Kellaway and Edmund Gwenn

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

Cousins Cecil Kellaway and Edmund Gwenn…

Yes, Hollywood’s favorite Leprechaun, Cecil Kellaway, was Santa Claus’ (Edmund Gwenn’s) cousin!

Cousins Cecil Kellaway and Edmund GwennCecil and his elder cousin Edmund

Cecil Kellaway was born Cecil Lauriston Kellaway on August 22, 1890 (or 1893?) in Cape Town, South Africa. Edmund Gwenn was born Edmund John Kellaway on September 26, 1877 in Wandsworth, London England.

Interestingly enough, Kellaway was originally offered the role of Santa Claus in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, but turned it down. The role instead went to his cousin, Edmund Gwenn, and the film, of course, has since become a Christmas classic.

Also of note, Edmund Gwenn’s brother was actor Arthur Chesney, who appeared in The Lodger (1927) as well as 25+ more films. Chesney was born Arthur Kellaway in 1882 in London, England.

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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in All in the Family (Family Connections), Character Actors, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | Tagged | 9 Comments

Classic Movie Pictorials: Ginger Rogers on the Set… (Guest Post by Ron Fisher)

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Ron Fisher

 A Pictorial Tribute: “Miss Rogers…..to the set, please!”

I love set photos, and I love them from Hollywood’s past even more!  I have a few from Ginger to share with you today!

Ginger Rogers with Lion Hmm…not exactly Bringing Up Baby, but here’s Ginger walking a lion!  For what film…I have no idea!

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Ginger and director Garson Kanin on the set of Tom, Dick and Harry.Ginger and director Garson Kanin on the set of Tom, Dick and Harry (1941).

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Ginger Rogers biking on the set of The Major and the MinorGinger biking ‘as Sue Sue Applegate’ on the set of The Major and the Minor (1942, director Billy Wilder)

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Ginger Rogers with Jimmy Stewart on the set of Vivacious LadyGinger with Jimmy Stewart on the set of Vivacious Lady (1938, director George Stevens)

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A dance rehearsal scene from Vivacious LadyA dance rehearsal scene, also from Vivacious Lady!  Note the missing ceiling! Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

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Ginger Rogers with James Stewart in Vivacious Ladyand again, from a scene earlier in the film (Vivacious Lady)

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Ginger Rogers Wearing Shinguards for Kick Scene in Vivacious LadyIf you’re going to get kicked in the shins…you need shin guards!  Before the famous wrestling scene in Vivacious Lady.  Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

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Ginger Rogers knitting between takesGinger, knitting between takes (Vivacious Lady)…

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Ginger Rogers and Hermes Pan rehearsal Ginger with Hermes Pan during dance rehearsals (at RKO in 1936)…

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Ginger Rogers With Fred Astaire and director George Stevens on the set of Swing Time.Ginger with Fred Astaire and director George Stevens on the set of Swing Time (1936)

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Ginger Rogers, director Garson Kanin and producer Pandro S. Berman on the set of Bachelor MotherGinger with director Garson Kanin and producer Pandro S. Berman on the set of Bachelor Mother (1939). Berman produced seven of the ten Fred and Ginger dance films (The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, Carefree)

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Ginger Rogers CarefreeGinger getting ready to film a scene during Carefree (1938, director Mark Sandrich)

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Ginger Rogers rehearsing during Stage Doorand getting ready to film a scene with Adolphe Menjou for Stage Door (1937, director Gregory La Cava)…

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Ginger Rogers with Fred Astaire on the set of Follow the Fleet And, of course, Ginger with Fred Astaire and director Mark Sandrich (sitting in chair next to Fred and Ginger) on the set of Follow the Fleet (1936)

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ginger rogers behind the scenesAgain… during Follow the Fleet

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The Gay Divorcee, The Continental, Fred and GingerFilming “The Continental” with Fred and Ginger during The Gay Divorcee (1934, director Mark Sandrich)

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Fred and Ginger, Barkleys of Broadwayand Fred and Ginger’s final film together, The Barkleys of Broadway! (1949, director Charles Walters)

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–Ron Fisher for Classic Movie Hub

Thank you to Ron for contributing this wonderful Ginger Rogers Post as part of his Fred and Ginger Pictorial Series for CMH. You can follow Ron on Twitter at @KngFish .

Posted in Guest Posts, Posts by Ron Fisher | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Mini Tribute: Child Actor Ted Donaldson

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

 

Born August 20, 1933, Child Actor Ted Donaldson!

Child actor Ted Donaldson made his screen debut in 1944, at age 11, opposite Cary Grant in the wonderful fantasy film, Once Upon a Time, about a boy, his dancing caterpillar Curly, and a conniving showman (yes, that would be Cary Grant) who would do anything to achieve fame and fortune.  Over the course of Donaldson’s 9-year film career (1944-1953), he appeared in 20 films and shorts including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (as Neeley Nolan) and eight ‘Rusty’ the dog films (as Danny Mitchell).

Ted Donaldson also played Bud (son of Robert Young‘s character) in the radio version of Father Knows Best (1949–1954).

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Child actor Ted Donaldson with Cary Grant in publicity still for Once Upon a Time 1944Cary Grant with Ted Donaldson in publicity still for Once Upon a Time 1944

(about Curly the dancing caterpillar to Cary Grant):
“I just don’t wanna sell him, that’s all. Not even for a dollar, not even for two dollars. He’s my pet.” -Ted Donaldson as Arthur ‘Pinky’ Thompson in Once Upon a Time

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Father_Knows_Best_Radio_Show_CastThe Radio Cast of Father Knows Best, from left to right: Norma Jean Nilsson (as Kathy), Ted Donaldson (as Bud), Robert Young (as Jim), Rhoda Williams (as Betty), and June Whitley Taylor (as Margaret).  The audition show was called “Meet the Hendersons” (12/20/1948) but by the time the radio show premiered on August 25, 1949, the family name was changed to the one we all know and love “The Andersons.” The show aired on Thursday evenings through March 25, 1954.

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Child Actor Ted Donaldson then and nowTed Donaldson then and now (circa 2013)

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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Child Stars, Mini Tributes, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Just For Fun! A Video Compilation of ‘Every Alfred Hitchcock Cameo’

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

Just for Fun! A Compilation of Every Alfred Hitchcock Cameo…

A Big Thank You to @alexisbaseball  who shared this with us on Twitter today…

Alfred Hitchcock

As we all know, master-of-suspense Alfred Hitchcock also had a ‘fun’ side — treating us to ‘ever-so-brief-can-you-spot-him’ cameos in many of his films.  Well, it appears that college student Morgan T. Rhys has found these cameos and compiled them into a delightful video! Now I ask you, are all the Hitch cameos there? 🙂

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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Just for Fun, Posts by Annmarie Gatti, Video Clips | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Giveaway! Enter to Win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” (week of Aug 13)

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

One More Chance to Win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” from CMH and Simon and Schuster!

Okay, here we are with the 3rd (of 3) Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations book giveaway this month, courtesy of Simon and Schuster!

In the book, author Peter Evans recounts his conversations with Ava, many late at night, when Ava speaks candidly about her loves, life and career — from her upbringing in rural North Carolina to starring alongside Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, as well as her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra.

Complete the below entry task by Tuesday, Aug 19 at 5PM EST. One lucky winner will be selected at random and announced via Twitter on Wednesday, August 20.

That said, it’s easy to enter and win — so Good Luck to All!

Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

ENTRY TASK (2-parts):

1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post 

2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message:
TO: @classicmoviehub
MESSAGE:  Just entered to win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” courtesy of CMH & @SimonBooks
BY Tuesday, August 19, 5PM EST

THE QUESTION:
What is the name of one of Ava Gardner’s three husbands?

*Here’s my twitter handle @classicmoviehub

If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me on Twitter @classicmoviehub.

And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can buy it right now on amazon:

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Books, Contests & Giveaways, Posts by Annmarie Gatti, Trivia Questions | Tagged , | 49 Comments

From the Page to the Screen: Six Favorite Books and their Screen Adaptations

Posted on August 13, 2014 by minooallen

 

From the Page to the Screen: The Final Stretch of Summer Reading

Good books and good moves: the two things I couldn’t possibly live without. All right, so food, water, and shelter may rank a little higher in terms of actual biological needs, but I assure you, books and movies are not far behind. I especially love those long summer days, when spending the entire day with your nose in a book just feels right. And with so little summertime left,  I just wanted to suggest some of my favorite page-to-screen adoptions. Half of them I read before seeing the film and half of them after. Either way, each and every one of these was a personal page-turner and I suggest them to anyone with a literary bone in their body.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Grey

Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, and Angela Lansbury star in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945, Albert Lewin director)

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mocking Bird

Gregory Peck and Brock Peters in To Kill a Mockingbird (1960, Robert Mulligan director)

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The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, and Doris Bowdon in The Grapes of Wrath (1940, John Ford director)

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Random Harvest by James Hilton

Greer Garson and Ronald Colman

Greer Garson and Ronald Colman

Greer Garson and Ronald Colman in Random Harvest (1942, Melvin LeRoy director)

*Note: If you have not seen this movie, I highly suggest you read the book first. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I know that something will be ruined if you watch the movie first.

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

rebecca

Manderly, the set of Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock director)

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The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

The thin man

Myrna Loy and William Powell in The Thin Man (1934, W.S Van Dyke director)

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Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Books, Posts by Minoo Allen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Giveaway! Enter to Win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” (week of Aug 4)

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Annmarie Gatti

Another Chance to Win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” from CMH and Simon and Schuster!

Okay, here we are with the 2nd (of 3) Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations book giveaway this month, courtesy of Simon and Schuster!

In the book, author Peter Evans recounts his conversations with Ava, many late at night, when Ava speaks candidly about her loves, life and career — from her upbringing in rural North Carolina to starring alongside Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, as well as her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra.

Complete the below entry task by Monday, Aug 11 at 5PM EST. One lucky winner will be selected at random and announced via Twitter on Tuesday, August 12.

That said, it’s easy to enter and win — so Good Luck to All!

Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

ENTRY TASK (2-parts):

1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post 

2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message:
TO: @classicmoviehub
MESSAGE:  Just entered to win “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations” courtesy of CMH & @SimonBooks
BY Monday, August 11, 5PM EST

THE QUESTION:
Who is your favorite Ava Gardner Leading Man and why?

*Here’s my twitter handle @classicmoviehub

If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me on Twitter @classicmoviehub.

And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can buy it right now on amazon:

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Books, Contests & Giveaways, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

Turner Classic Movies: Summer Under the Stars

Posted on August 2, 2014 by minooallen

 

TCM: Summer Under The Stars

August should be a time of outdoor fun. With only one month left of summer, trips to the beach, the park, or the country should be as frequent and as they are carefree. Then why, Turner Classic Movies, do you make it so hard for me to want to leave my house during this final summer month?  You see, every year since 2003, TCM hosts its August “Summer Under the Stars” programming festival. This means that each day during the entire month of August, TCM dedicates a full 24 hours of continuous programming to one classic Hollywood star. Yup, that is an entire day and night of nothing but the films of your favorite actor/actress. You see why getting outside in August can be so hard, sometimes?

I remember in high school I used to give myself the “24-hour Star Challenge,” which basically was me challenging myself to watch one full day of programming. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for the sake of my social development), I only finished the challenge once.  With no one else in the house to fight for remote control dominance, I sat down from 6AM to 6AM-the-next-day and my television became a vessel dedicated to all things Audrey Hepburn.  Of course, since then college, jobs, relationships and finances have kept me from attempting the 24-hour challenge again. However, if you happen to have a free day and enjoy drinking coffee from sun-up to sun-down, here are a couple of stars you might want to consider spending some quality time with as you enjoy TCM’s Summer Under the Stars.

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Paul MuniWatch Paul Muni on TCM’s Summer Under the Star on August 6th, 2014.

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William Powell 3Watch William Powell on TCM’s Summer Under the Star on August 9th, 2014.

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themla ritterWatch Thelma Ritter on TCM’s Summer Under the Star on August 20th, 2014.

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Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Posts by Minoo Allen, Summer Under The Stars, TCM | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment