Classic Movies and TV Shows for Streaming The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship đ
CMH is absolutely thrilled to announce that we have partnered with Best Classics Ever (BCE), a mega streaming channel dedicated to classic films and TV shows! We will have our own Classic Movie Hub Channel there, where CMH fans can stream lots of classic movies and TV shows for free each month! CMH will be specially curating the movies on our channel, so we’ll be sure to feature a nice selection for fans and we’ll announce the available titles each month!
In addition to our curated CMH Channel, fans can also pivot to the BCE Home Page, where they can watch even more free classic movies and shows on these classic streaming channels – Best Stars Ever, Best Westerns Ever and Best TV Ever.
…..
Every movie and TV show featured on the CMH Channel and the BCE Home Page can be watched for free. All you need to do is select a film or show, and then click the ‘play’ button. BCE is able to provide this content for free to you because it includes some commercials – so it’s kind of like watching ‘regular’ TV. There is no sign-up necessary to enjoy this free content, and there are hundreds of movies and TV episodes available with this option.
If, instead, you prefer to enjoy your classic movie content ‘straight’ aka commerical-free đ or if you want access to LOTs more movies and shows, please feel free to check out a 7-day free trial. If you like what you see and decide to sign-up for a monthly ad-free subscription, it would cost $1.99/channel per month or $4.99/month for all three channels (Best Stars Ever, Best Westerns Ever, Best TV Ever). There are thousands of movies and TV episodes available through the ad-free options.
Here’s a quick sampling of what you can watch for free right now on BCE:
…..
I am really excited about this partnership, and I am hoping that it brings everyone LOTs of hours of classic viewing fun! And, what’s even more exciting for me, is that CMH will be working with BCE to help curate the library — so if there’s a classic movie or TV show that you’re hankering to see, let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
Before I sign off, I do want to be transparent here and let you know that there will be some compensation for CMH involved here, but please know that we’ve been working on this with BCE for quite some time and we are very happy with the results đ I am hoping that you will be too!
In 20th Century Fox
Studioâs black and white trailer for Niagara (1953), the narrator describes
Marilyn Monroeâs character as âflaunting her charms as she lured men on and on
to their eternal destructionâŠâ A close-up of Monroe is superimposed on the
footage of the cascading falls. Monroe, the actress, is described by stilted
voiceover as âskyrocketing to new dramatic heights.â Promotional posters
featured a rendering of a colossal Monroe lounging across the falls, emblazoned
with slogans such as, âMarilyn Monroe and Niagara are a raging torrent
of emotion that even nature canât control!â
Fox correctly calculated Niagara
as a vehicle to propel Marilyn Monroe into overnight global stardom by
introducing her as a titillating leading lady of high budget, A-class films. The
screenplay describes her roleâan adulterous wife plotting her husbandâs murder
with her lover amid the backdrop of Niagara Fallsâas a beautiful girl âwith
clear eyes and untroubled expression of a girl with no moral restraints
whatever.â Perfect material to pry the public from television sets and into
theaters.
Written and produced by Charles
Brackett, Niagara was a retooled treatment by Walter Reisch and Richard
Breen. Beginning in 1950, Brackett obsessed about the idea of a suspense film
set in Niagara Falls, subconsciously inspired by a Currier and Ives print of
the cascading falls in the menâs restroom of his office.
The filmâs perspective is told from
the perspective of a young couple, Ray and Polly Cutler (Max Showalter &
Jean Peters), enjoying a postponed honeymoon to Niagara Falls where they meet
George & Rose Loomis (George Cotten & Monroe)âa dysfunctional pair returning
to the Falls where they had spent their honeymoon but who are now consumed by
jealousy, adultery, and revenge. Niagara Falls symbolizes uncontrolled passion
resulting in disaster and death. The message for Post-War 1950s America is that
sexuality must be contained and restrained.
Niagara is a
rare Technicolor film noir that employs the genreâs traditional use of
stark camera angles, dramatic shadows, contrast images, and low-key lighting.
The main exception is its use of Technicolor rather than monochromatic film. In
true film noir style, the protagonist, George Loomis, has character
flaws leading him to ruin. He is suffering from posttraumatic stress from
combat in the Korean War, failure in business, and a suggested inability to
satisfy his wife sexually.
This protagonist is betrayed by
another staple of film noir, the femme fatale, in the form of his
diabolical wife. Rose Loomis is the ultimate femme fatale. She is a
cruel and dishonest woman who drives her husband toward madness with her brazen
sexuality, in hope to begin a new life with her paramour. Niagara was
Marilynâs only opportunity to portray a villainous, narcissistic woman with
virtually no redeeming qualities who conspires with her lover to murder her
husband.
Joseph Cotten (1905-1994),
whose film debut was in Orson Wellesâ classic Citizen Kane (1941),
portrays George Loomis. Welles had also directed him in The Magnificent
Ambersons (1942) and The Third Man (1949). In Hitchcockâs film
noir, Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Cotten attracted attention as the
menacing uncle who confirms his young nieceâs suspicion that he is a serial
killer.
Roseâs femme fatale is
balanced with a pure and virtuous woman sympathetic and helpful to the
protagonist. Jean Peters (1926-2000) is effective in the role of Polly Cutler,
the newlywed who soothes Georgeâs agitation. Interestingly, studio memos
suggest original casting consideration of Monroe in for the role of Polly, and
Anne Baxter as Rose. However, studio mogul Darry; F. Zanuckâs image of Monroe likely
cemented her fate asâin the words of the filmâs marketingâthe âtantalizing
temptress whose kisses fired menâs souls.â
Niagara would
later be described as a stylized film in the directorial vein of Alfred
Hitchcock and suggests how the director may have used Monroe as one of his
signature icy blond leading ladies. However, Fox engaged Henry Hathaway (1898-
1985) as director. His film noir classics included The House on 92nd
Street (1945), Kiss of Death (1947), and Call Northside 777
(1948) with Jean Peters.
Hathawayâs reputation was that
of a tyrant who belittled and cursed his actors. However, he took an immediate
liking to Monroe, or perhaps she melted his icy exterior. Hathaway considered Monroeâs
opinion when editing the daily rushes and allowed her input to the selection of
takes chosen for the finished film.
Max Showalter (1917-2000),
known by his stage name Casey Adams, was cast as the gregarious, somewhat
âsquareâ newlywed, Ray Cutler.
As Roseâs lover, Richard Allan
(1923-1999) shared a powerful on-screen chemistry with Monroe.
On-location production began on
the Canadian side of Niagara Falls during June 1952. Since none of the areaâs
existing motels and cabins could be photographed with the Falls as a
background, Foxâs unit manager, Abe Steinberg, hired a local contractor to
build the façade of a five-unit motel described in the script as on the edge of
the Niagara River opposite American Falls in Queen Victoria Park. Upon release
in early 1953, the film re-established Niagara as Honeymoon Capital of
the World. Long after the filmâs release and subsequent repeated broadcasts on
television, the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce continued to receive many
requests for information about vacancies at the long ago dismantled, fictional
Rainbow Cabins.
In an iconic scene, the Niagara
Carillon Tower chimes the melody of âKiss.â Believing the song is a message
from her lover communicating that he successfully killed her husband, Rose
walks in the direction of the tower, flashing a smile as she dashes off to meet
him. Her costume is a red bolero jacket, tight black skirt, and high-heel
sandals with ankle straps. In this scene, Monroe created her first iconic
image; a walk lasting nearly twenty seconds on screen and comprising one
hundred sixteen feet of film. It was the longest and most luxurious walk in
cinema history, and the filmâs biggest gimmick. Hathawayâs stationary camera
focuses on the exaggerated, horizontal sway of Monroeâs buttocks as she walks,
her back to the camera, toward the tower. The audaciously allows the audience a
voyeuristic moment in a style later synonymous with Hitchcock.
For the first time, Monroe was
hailed for precision in her acting in a leading role. âThe dress is red; the
actress has very nice knees,â wrote Otis Guernsey of New York Herald Tribune,
âand under Hathawayâs direction she gives the kind of serpentine performance
that makes the audience hate her while admiring her, which is proper for the
story.â Time hailed its full-bodied assertion, âWhat lifts the film
above the commonplace is its star, Marilyn Monroe.â
In the final analysis, Monroe served Fox well. Niagara cost $1,250,000 and returned $6,000,000 in its first release. She had achieved global stardom. Nearly seventy years after its release, Niagara retains its nail-biting suspense, showcases Monroeâs dramatic talents, and illustrates its leading ladyâs transcending appeal and charisma. She had personified the cultureâs standard for beauty and sensuality.
Classic Movie Birthday Coincidences: Errol, Basil, Marilyn & More
I am happy to be starting a new monthly series today, looking at âclassic movie coincidencesâ among stars born in the same month. Honestly, I thought it would be difficult to find any coincidences at all, but once I took a look at the long list of June birthdays, I was happily headed down an incredibly wonderful rabbit hole. That said, let me share a few of the stand-out discoveries for me.
Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone fight to the death in Captain Blood.
Peter Blood: And that, my friend, ends a partnership that should never have begun. Well, I’m glad that this partnership continued for at least one more film đ
What can I say? These famous dueling swashbucklers share June birthdays and two fun flicks – Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), each of which are among my personal favorites, and always good for a Saturday afternoon matinee. Whether playing âpartnership-gone-wrongâ pirates or Norman/Saxon foes, itâs always thrilling to watch these two athletes fence. Theyâre both so exiting to watch, that Iâm never quite entirely sure that Errol is actually going to win!
Fun Facts:
Rathbone, who was British Army Fencing Champ twice during WWI, was referred to, by many, as the greatest swordsman in Hollywood history.
Rathbone went on to star as Sherlock Holmes in 14 films between 1939 and 1946, and also starred as the sleuth in over 200 radio plays.
Lester Matthews, born June 6, 1900, and Ian Hunter, born June 13, 1900, both appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Flynn and Rathbone. Rathbone and Hunter share the same birthday (June 13) with Rathbone being the elder by 8 years.
…..
Some Like It Hot
Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot
Sugar: If my mother could only see me now. Joe: I hope my mother never finds out.
So, now for one of my favorite films of all time⊠Some Like It Hot â which shares five June classic movie birthdays: Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926) as Sugar, Tony Curtis (June 3, 1925) as Joe/Josephine, Paul Frees (June 22, 1920) as Mozzarella the funeral director, I.A.L. Diamond (June 27, 1920) who wrote the screenplay, and director Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906). Paul Frees also dubbed the falsetto voice for Curtis/Josephine.
Fun Facts:
Paul Frees voiced many cartoon characters including villain Boris Badenov in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
Paul Frees also has a June birthday connection with Gene Barry, who was born on June 14, 1919. Both starred in The War of the Worlds (1953); Gene Barry played atomic scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester, and Paul Frees provided the dramatic opening narration for the film and also played one of the radio reporters.
…..
Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace – what a bunch of characters đ June birthdays include Peter Lorre (l), Priscilla Lane and Jean Adair (both to the right)
Aunt Martha: For a gallon of elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon full of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon full of strychnine, and then just a pinch of cyanide.
Another priceless film, in my humble opinion⊠Arsenic and Old Lace shares four June birthdays: Priscilla Lane (June 12, 1915) as Cary Grantâs new bride Elaine Harper, Jean Adair (June 13, 1873) as quirky (to say the least) Aunt Martha, Peter Lorre (June 26, 1904) as âplastic surgeonâ Dr. Einstein, and Grant Mitchell (June 17, 1874) as Elaineâs father, the Reverend Harper. A wonderful Halloween treat that can be enjoyed all year round đ
Fun Facts:
Jean Adair originated the role of Aunt Martha on Broadway, and was given time off from the play to shoot the movie. This was also the case for co-stars Josephine Hull who played Aunt Abby and John Alexander who played Teddy Brewster. Boris Karloff, who played Jonathon Brewster on Broadway, was denied permission to take a leave of absence from the play, so Raymond Massey was cast in the film instead – hence the fun references to Karloff in the film.
Although the movie was filmed in 1941, it wasnât released until 1944, due to a contract stipulation that prevented the film from being released before the playâs run had ended. The play closed on June 17, 1944, and the film premiered at NYCâs Strand Theatre on Sept 1, followed by nationwide release on September 23, 1944. The NY Times called it âgood macabre funâ. Yep, that sounds about right to me.
…..
His Girl Friday
Ralph Bellamy and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday
Bruce Baldwin: He’s not the man for you. I can see that. But I sort of like him. He’s got a lot of charm. Hildy Johnson: Well, he comes by it naturally – his grandfather was a snake.
His Girl Friday, released in 1940, was adapted from the 1928 Broadway play, The Front Page, which, in turn, was adapted into the film The Front Page in 1931 starring Pat OâBrien as Hildy Johnson, Adolphe Menjou as Walter Burns, and Mary Brian as love interest (in this case) Peggy Grant.
The Front Page was also remade in 1974 starring Jack Lemmon as Hildy, Walter Matthau as Burns, and Susan Sarandon as Peggy Grant â and directed by June birthday boy Billy Wilder who also co-wrote the screenplay with June birthday cohort I.A.L. Diamond.
Judy Garland and Clara Blandick in The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy: Oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home!
The iconic (understatement) classic features three June birthdays: Judy Garland (June 10, 1922) as Dorothy Gale, Frank Morgan (June 1, 1890) as The Wizard (and the compassionate Professor Marvel), and Clara Blandick (June 4, 1876) as Dorothyâs Auntie Em.
Fun Fact:
You can see Dorothyâs iconic Ruby Slippers at the Smithsonianâs National Museum of American History in Washington DC â just a few of the many wonderful items to see there. Personal side note: the last time I went, I spent the entire day in that museum, and even returned the next day for more quality time spent viewing all of the cultural and historical artifacts. What a treasure trove of American History!
…..
June Birthday Girls – Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Now for some quick
coincidences:
Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890) and Henry Brandon (June 8, 1912) – March of the Wooden Soldiers (aka Babes in Toyland)
Stan Laurel and Mae Busch (June 18, 1891); Mae appeared in many Laurel and Hardy films, playing Hardy’s shrewish wife.
Ellen Corby (June 3, 1911) and Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928) – The Waltons
Nelson Eddy (June 29, 1901) and Jeanette MacDonald (June 18, 1903) – eight films together
Georgia Hale (June 25, 1900) and Paulette Goddard (June 3, 1910) – both starred in Charlie Chaplin films
June Haver (June 10, 1926), Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926), William Lundigan (June 12, 1914) – all starred in Love Nest
Jane Russell (June 21, 1921), Marilyn Monroe and Charles Coburn (June 19, 1877) – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
George Axelrod (June 9, 1922) wrote the play/screenplay for The Seven Year Itch and the screenplay for Bus Stop. Both films starred Marilyn Monroe
George Axelrod wrote the play Goodbye Charlie. Tony Curtis and Pat Boone (June 1, 1934) both starred in the film
Max Showalter (June 2, 1917) and Marilyn Monroe – both starred in Niagara. Lester Matthews had a small part in the film as a doctor.
Jane Russell and Frieda Inescort (June 29, 1901) – Foxfire
Charles Coburn and Louis Jourdan (June 19, 1921) – The Paradine Case
Basil Rathbone and Blanche Yurka (June 19, 1887) – A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Basil Rathbone and Clive Brook (June 1, 1887) both starred as Sherlock Holmes in a number of films
Basil Rathbone and Ian Hunter – Tower of London
Andy Griffith (June 1, 1926) and Jim Nabors (June 12, 1930) – The Andy Griffith Show
Russell Simpson (June 17, 1880, some sources say 1877) and Grant Mitchell (June 17, 1874) share the same birthday and both appeared in The Grapes of Wrath.
Maria Montez (June 6, 1912) and Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889) – Cobra Woman
Walter Abel (June 6, 1898) and Moroni Olsen – The Three Muskateers (1935)
Errol Flynn and Moroni Olsen – Dive Bomber and Santa Fe Trail
Errol Flynn, Lester Matthews and Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905) – Against All Flags
…..
Brigid Balzen as Salome in King of Kings
More June birthdays – but no coincidences that I can find (yet) â let me know if you see any!
I am so happy to announce that, in celebration of Marilyn Monroe’s birthday tomorrow, June 1, CMH will be launching an exclusive Marilyn: Behind the Icon blog series, penned by author Gary Vitacco-Robles. The series will run through August 5, which is the anniversary of Monroe’s death.
Gary’s blog series will explore Monroeâs memorable and hidden films and performances. From her portrayal of a psychotic babysitter in Donât Bother to Knock to her triumphant, Golden Globe Award-winning performance in Some Like It Hot, Gary will help us deconstruct what contributed to Monroeâs enduring appeal.
We’ll be posting Gary’s first article about Niagara, tomorrow morning, so stay tuned đ
Western RoundUp: Western Film Book Library â Part 3
A silver lining to spending this spring at home has been time to watch more Westerns â and also more time to read about them!
I previously shared recommendations of titles from my
“Western Film Book Library” last summer and fall. This seemed like an opportune time to write about some
additional favorites, especially as anything of interest can be ordered without
leaving home.
Below is a rundown of more books I’ve enjoyed, along with mentions
of a couple of newly arrived titles I’ll be reading soon.
The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range, 1943-1962 by David Meuel is a terrific overview of what I referred to in my December column as “Noir-Tinged Westerns.”
The Noir Western: Darkness on the Range, 1943-1962 by David Meuel
Meuel’s book, published by McFarland in 2015, covers most of the key films of this subgenre, which often feature conflicted or morally ambiguous heroes. The excellent titles discussed include Ramrod(1947), Pursued (1947), Blood on the Moon (1948), I Shot Jesse James (1948), and more. The author provides both critical analysis and information on the filmmakers behind the movies, including directors such as Andre de Toth, Raoul Walsh, Samuel Fuller, and Robert Wise.
One of the real treasures of my collection is a signed first edition of The Years of George Montgomery.
The Years of George Montgomery, co-written by Jeffrey Millet
This book is much more than a memoir, it’s an amazingly detailed 288-page record of Montgomery’s life as a film star, artist, and family man. Cowritten with Jeffrey Millet, it’s an oversized volume with glossy pages, packed with movie stills, photographs of fan magazine pages, and personal photos of Montgomery’s family and artistic creations, including furniture, sculptures, and paintings.
The book begins with marvelous old photos chronicling Montgomery’s life growing up in a big family on a Montana ranch. His riding ability led to him landing a job on his second day in Hollywood, riding a horse in Conquest (1937); that in turn led to his long acting career, which included many Westerns.
Cowboy star “Wild Bill” Elliott has become quite a
favorite of mine in the last few years, and I’m fortunate to have two books on
him on my shelves.
Bill Elliott: The Peaceable Man by Bobby Copeland, and Wild Bill Elliott: A Complete Filmography by Gene Blottner
The first book, Bill Elliott: The Peaceable Man, was written by Bobby Copeland and published in 2000. It includes a detailed overview of the actor’s career and filmography, along with quotes from those who knew Elliott and an introduction by one of Elliott’s costars, Peggy Stewart.
Wild Bill Elliott: A Complete Filmography by Gene Blottner, published in 2007, is an even bigger book in terms of both the number of pages and physical size. I just received this title, purchased in a sale by publisher McFarland & Company, and I can’t wait to read it. The alphabetical filmography includes listings for movies from Elliott’s earliest career days as an extra and bit player of the ’30s, telling the reader where to spot him in those films. Elliott’s starring Westerns are gone into with considerable detail. This looks like both a fun read and an excellent reference; Blottner also wrote the book on Universal-International Westerns which I recommended last summer.
Hollywood Hoofbeats: The Fascinating Story of Horses in Movies and Television has terrific photos dating from the earliest days of movie Westerns.
Hollywood Hoofbeats: The Fascinating Story of Horses in Movies and Television by Petrine Day Mitchum
Author Petrine Day Mitchum is the daughter of Robert Mitchum, whose own experiences in Westerns ranged from small parts in Hopalong Cassidy films to starring roles in a number of Westerns. I loved learning more from the author about Buck Jones and Silver, Ken Maynard and Tarzan, and all the rest. Mitchum’s chronicle of horses throughout movie and TV history also includes a look at horse stunt work and how the humane treatment of horses progressed in the film industry over time.
Cowpokes ‘n’ Cowbelles and Cowboy Cliffhangers are a pair of oversized paperbacks by Donn Moyer which I discovered in the gift shop at the Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine.
Cowpokes ‘n’ Cowbelles and Cowboy Cliffhangers by Donn Moyer
These are amply illustrated books which are also great references. Cowpokes ‘n’ Cowbelles focuses mainly on supporting Western players, with photos and brief biographies of actors such as Morris Ankrum, Myron Healey, Fay McKenzie, Joan Woodbury, and many more. It’s a great book to page through when you spot a familiar face in a Western but can’t quite place the name!
Cowboy Cliffhangers is subtitled A Listing of All Sound B-Western
Chapter Plays From A to Z, and it’s been an enormously informative
reference for an aspect of Westerns I have only just begun to learn about and
enjoy. It seems like there’s always more fun stuff to discover when it comes to
movies in general and Westerns in particular!
Radio on the Range, edited by Jack French and David S. Siegel, is subtitled A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967. Like my new Wild Bill Elliott acquisition, this book just arrived thanks to a McFarland sale, so I’ve only just begun to delve into it.
Radio on the Range, edited by Jack French and David S. Siegel
Various authors, including the editors, contributed essays describing the history of a wide variety of radio Westerns, and they also include information on surviving recordings and scripts. Although the book’s focus is on “old-time radio,” I believe it will be of great interest to movie Western fans because the radio shows feature so many well-known film actors; Tales of the Texas Rangers (1950-52) starring Joel McCrea and Hopalong Cassidy (1949-52) starring William Boyd are just two examples.
Believe it or not, I have several additional book recommendations
which may well form the basis for a Part 4 at some point down the road.
Westerns are a rich topic for film histories, and I love the extra levels of
enjoyment reading about them adds to my viewing. I hope my fellow Western fans
will enjoy checking out some of these titles along with the films they discuss.
Favorite Western film book recommendations from readers are always welcome in the comments!
âŠ
â Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub
Laura can be found at her blog, Lauraâs Miscellaneous Musings, where sheâs been writing about movies since 2005, and on Twitter at @LaurasMiscMovie. A lifelong film fan, Laura loves the classics including Disney, Film Noir, Musicals, and Westerns. She regularly covers Southern California classic film festivals. Laura will scribe on all things western at the âWestern RoundUpâ for CMH.
During this isolated time of quarantine, Iâve been catching up on some of my favorite conversations with the classic movie artists that I love. One of the greatest conversations Iâve ever seen among show biz folk occurred in 1958 on Small World, a TV show created by award-winning radio and TV broadcaster Edward R. Murrow.
On this show, Murrow gathered people from all walks of life and synced them up live from their own homes in a kind of glorified Zoom chat to have lengthy in-depth discussions about all sorts of topics. In the two seasons of this show, which lasted from 1958 to 1960, Murrow spoke to a range of luminaries including John F. Kennedy, Aldous Huxley, Bertrand Russell, Jawaharwal Nehru, Maria Callas, Carl Sandburg, Noel Coward, James Thurber, Clare Boothe Luce, Isaac Stern, Lauren Bacall, Agnes de Mille, Harry Truman, Ingrid Bergman, and many others. But my favorite conversation that ever took place on this program happened in late December 1958 between two-time Oscar winner Vivien Leigh, pioneering producer Samuel Goldwyn, and English theater critic Kenneth Tynan.
This was a time when talk shows were really talk shows â true, in-depth conversations were possible with a minimum of commercial breaks, even in a half-hour time slot. And no holds were barred. Few people on television today (short of trashy reality TV stars) would dare to confront each other in the matter-of-fact way guests did back then, itâs almost shocking to see. And exhilarating. As far as Iâm concerned, the real star of this show is 45-year-old Vivien Leigh. She comes across as brilliant, articulate, and fearless as she vehemently sides with one guest one minute and then switches sides the next based on the discussion at hand. Itâs sweet to see her so fiercely loyal to her husband Laurence Olivier and also how she tries to show respect to 79-year-old Sam Goldwyn while vehemently disagreeing with him. But itâs her exchanges with 31-year-old Ken Tynan that made me see red. The critic had the effrontery, the gall, the chutzpah to question Leigh’s performances in her two most well-known roles, Scarlett OâHara and Blanche DuBois, saying that seeing her play those characters âtook him out of the storyâ because she was British as opposed to being from the American South. When he claims that she failed to pull it off, I was screaming in horror at my set. Leigh, by contrast, just smiled and said calmly that she guessed she needed to do better. Itâs so fascinating to watch every aspect of this conversation between these four very different people. Take a look at the first part of the show:
Isnât Vivien Leigh fantastic? I mean, I do side with the obnoxious Tynan when he talks about casting non-Chinese actors for Chinese roles â I think weâve come a long way, thank God, since the absurdities of having people like Luise Rainer and Katharine Hepburn play Chinese peasants in major motion pictures, but I donât agree with Tynan one bit about Vivien Leighâs lack of suitability to play the roles for which she is so beloved. I also admire how she bristles at the idea that Scarlett and Blanche were anything alike and how beautifully she describes their differences.
In the second part of the show, Leigh, Goldwyn, and Tynan get into a discussion about how politics are embedded into the fabric of movies and culture whether we like it or not. Sam Goldwyn was busy trying to promote his upcoming production of Porgy & Bess and Iâm afraid I completely side with Tynan and Leigh on this one despite Goldwynâs insistence that politics and art are separate. Watch these amazing folks in action:
In the final minutes of the show, these incredible personalities embark on a discussion of âWhat went wrong in Hollywood?â To be honest, with all the jokes over the years about Sam Goldwynâs malapropisms (e.g., âThat verbal contract isnât worth the paper itâs printed on!â), I was actually quite impressed by the way Goldwyn talked about the industry and stood his ground, even if I often disagreed with his conclusions. Here the three talk about what films they think will still be known 50 years hence, and Goldwyn seems stuck on directors like Cecil B. De Mille since he sees box office as the primary arbiter of success and longevity. Needless, to say, Leigh and Tynan beg to differ. Take a look:
Iâm intrigued by the fact that while I often agreed with Kenneth Tynanâs assessments, I vigorously detested him during the course of this broadcast. But who cares what he or Goldwyn does, itâsVivien Leighâs show here, and if I didnât already worship her going in, this would seal the deal.
Five years north of her second Best Actress Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire, Vivien Leigh was in a precarious position as far as her movie career was concerned. She would only make two more films, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone opposite Warren Beatty and Stanley Kramerâs poignant Ship of Fools. Leigh was increasingly beset with the mental health issues that had plagued her for many years and her marriage to Laurence Olivier was crumbling. They divorced within a year of this broadcast.  Leigh continued to appear on the stage and even won a Tony Award in 1963 for the Broadway musical Tovarich. Vivien Leigh sadly died in 1967 from tuberculosis at the age of 53. At the announcement of her death, the lights of every theatre in London were extinguished for an hour.
Kenneth Tynan, who at the time of this show had just started writing reviews for The New Yorker, continued to be a provocative pot stirrer. After two years at The New Yorker, he returned to London and was a powerful presence in the theater scene there, becoming the literary manager of the British National Theatre Company. He was reportedly the first person to ever say âfuckâ on British television and, later in life, moved to California where he continued writing and getting involved in controversies including some sex scandals in his personal life. He developed pulmonary emphysema, and, like Vivien Leigh, died at the age of 53.
Porgy & Bess ended up being the last film that Samuel Goldwyn produced (a surprise after seeing his vitality on this show), following an illustrious career that included great movies like The Little Foxes, Ball of Fire, The Bishopâs Wife, and, one of my favorite films of all time, The Best Years of Our Lives. Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw, Poland, in 1879, Goldwyn had quite an impressive trajectory in the business, despite all the ways people made fun of him over the years. One of the funniest moments in this show, in my opinion, is when heâs unable to remember the title of the film in which Vivien Leigh played Scarlett OâHara. The look on Leighâs face is priceless. Unlike Vivien Leigh and Kenneth Tynan, Samuel Goldwyn lived to the ripe old age of 94, outliving the other two by decades. Five of his grandchildren are still active in the entertainment industry, including actor/director Tony Goldwyn who recently played U.S. President Fitzgerald Grant III on Scandal.
I hope youâve enjoyed this brief foray back to 1958. As for me, I can never tire of the wit, intelligence, and splendor that is Vivien Leigh.Â
Silents are Golden: Animal Stars of the Silent Era
The silent era boasted an incredible number of
stars, from sweet ingenue types to âgrotesqueâ comedians to dashing heroes. But
not all stars were flappers or sheiks–some were furry and even came on four
legs. Iâm talking about the animal stars, of course–and there were quite a few
of them!
Performing animals showed up on film almost as
soon as film was invented. One example is the British Kinetoscope short Performing Animals; or, Skipping Dogs (1895).
The Boxing Kangaroo (1896) is another
tiny film, showing a trained kangaroo boxing with a small boy (truly, you never
knew what youâd find in a Kinetoscope).
A very popular early short was Rescued by Rover (1905), another British
work. Made by early directors Cecil Hepworth and Lewin Fitzhamon, it âstarredâ
the Hepworthâs family collie, Blair. The film showed Blair racing to rescue a
kidnapped baby from a cruel beggar woman. The film was so popular that the
original negatives kept wearing out, so it had to be reshot twice. Blair the
collie has since been recognized as the very first animal star.
Blair and baby in a still from Rescued by Rover.
He would be followed by a whole zooâs worth of furry and feathery performers. One of the earliest is Jean the Vitagraph Dog, a black and white collie. Getting her âbig breakâ in 1910, Jean proved to be such a well-trained performer that Vitagraph made her the star of many light comedies and dramas, such as Jean the Match-Maker (1910) and Jean Intervenes (1912). She also appeared alongside John Bunny and Florence Turner. Shep the Thanhouser collie was worked from 1913 until 1915, when he passed away from an illness. He was so well-trained that it was said directors rarely had to retake his scenes.
Jean in The Church Across the Way (1912).
An early canine âheroâ was the German shepherd Strongheart, owned by the same director who had trained Jean the Vitagraph Dog. The star of a number of adventure stories, Strongheart also helped popularize the German shepherd breed in the U.S. He was soon rivaled by the most popular dog star of them all, Rin Tin Tin, who Variety called âthe Fairbanks, Mix, and Barrymore of the canine worldâ. Found as a puppy in a bombed-out kennel in France during WWI, Rin Tin Tin would compete at dog shows and eventually be put into the movies. His films likely saved the Warner Bros. studio from bankruptcy.
Rin-Tin-Tin in 1930
On the silent comedy side, there was little Brownie the Wonder Dog, who would co-star with Baby Peggy in the early 1920s. The Keystone Film Company had Roscoe âFattyâ Arbuckleâs dog, Luke, a fearless Staffordshire bull terrier who loved chase scenes could climb ladders, and could even jump from one rooftop to another. Luke showed up in a number of 1910s Keystones (often chasing Al St. John) and much of Arbuckleâs subsequent Comique series. He would also make a cameo in Buster Keatonâs short The Scarecrow(1920).
The most famous Keystone canine was Teddy, a gentle Great Dane who appeared in dozens of shorts between 1915 and 1924, plus parts in films like Mary Pickfordâs Stella Maris(1918). Called âKeystone Teddyâ or âTeddy the Wonder Dog,â heâs said to have been paid $350 a week.
Of course, dogs werenât the only performers in
Hollywoodland. The chimpanzees Napoleon & Sally were a mid-1910s comedy duo
who were featured in one-reel shorts. The two were usually dressed in little
outfits and mimicked housekeeping and other human-like behavior. Their
offspring was a female named Snookums, who would also go on to perform in
comedies. Billed as the male Snooky the Humanzee, she was talented enough to
star in her own 1920s series. (Yes, in silent comedy even chimpanzees sometimes
performed in drag!)
Still from Snookyâs Twin Troubles (1921), from the NFPF site.
Not to be outdone, in the 1920s Fox had a trio of performing monkeys named Max, Moritz and Pep. They were dubbed, appropriately enough, the Fox Monkeys, and their human costars included Jean Arthur and Jack Duffy. And one exceptionally talented little Capuchin monkey was named Josephine, who even had an expressive face. Sheâs probably the most famous for appearing alongside Buster Keaton in The Cameraman(1928).
Along with Teddy, Mack Sennett also had Pepper, a dark gray cat who was said to have been born underneath a Keystone soundstage. She showed up in shorts like The Kitchen Lady (1918) and Bow Wow (1922), both starring Louise Fazenda. Waddles the Duck also had his heyday on the Sennett lot, and eventually retired to live in Fazendaâs backyard. Anna May the Elephant showed up in several shorts, such as Remember When (1925) starring Harry Langdon. And thanks to a silent comedy trend of having bears wander into the action, Bruno the Bear and Cubby the Bear were also regular players in Sennettâs comedies.
Pepper chilling with Louise Fazenda.
Century Comedies was practically a zoo,
boasting not only the orangutan couple Mr. & Mrs. Joe Martin, but Queenie
the horse, Charlie the elephant, dogs Brownie and Pal, and even some trained
lions. Lions being tussled with or popping up at inopportune times were also
big trends in silent comedy, and Century delivered on a whole slew of films
like Daring Lions and Dizzy Lovers (1919)
and Lion Paws and Lady Fingers (1920).
Lions’ Jaws and Kittens’ Paws (1920)
Perhaps the most surreal use of animal stars
was in Hal Roachâs short-lived series the Dippy-Doo-Dad Comedies. Often set in
rural or western locations, they featured pretty straightforward stories but
with the bizarre twist of having an all-animal cast in little outfits. Played
by trained dogs, ducks, monkeys (including Josephine), and what have you, the
series was silent comedyâs take on an alternative universe.
Still from Go West (1923)
We canât cover silent era animal stars without a couple nods to its equestrian stars. Rex, a frankly ferocious Morgan stallion, starred in 1920s adventure serials and kept going throughout the 1930s, too–despite any actors being nervous to work with him. And Tom Mixâs trusty âwonder horseâ Tony was a familiar sight to many fans of westerns.
With the love of cute, funny, and talented
animals being just as strong back in the early 20th century as it is today,
itâs not surprising that directors used them to jazz up so many films. (And,
admittedly, it probably helped that animal stars couldnât complain about their
salaries.) When we look back on the legacy of cinema, letâs not forget that
itâs all because of the hard work of men, women…and our four-legged friends.
Brownie the Wonder Dog
—
Steve Massaâs book Lame Brains & Lunatics: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Comedywas very helpful in researching this article, as was the book chapter âThe Dogs Who Saved Hollywood: Strongheart and Rin Tin Tinâ by Kathryn Fuller-Seely and Jeremy Groskopf, excerpted from the 2014 book Cinematic Canines (the chapter can be read here).
Lea Stans is a born-and-raised Minnesotan with a degree in English and an obsessive interest in the silent film era (which she largely blames on Buster Keaton). In addition to blogging about her passion at her site Silent-ology, she is a columnist for the Silent Film Quarterlyand has also written for The Keaton Chronicle.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST ( 1959 ) ~ TO BE or NOT TO BE THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
A case of mistaken identity takes a dull Madison Avenue advertising exec on a journey across the United States, hooking up with a cool blonde, bidding against suave villains and chased over mountainous monuments.
âMy wives divorced me. I think they said I led too dull a life.â
The movie starts off with a rousing score by Bernard Hermann over opening credits by the great Saul Bass that gets you going. What I like about what Hitchcock sometimes does is his âShow & Tell & Showâ device. He SHOWS us a little of the plot, then has a character TELL us what weâve just seen… then SHOWS us more of the plot. At least thatâs how North By Northwest unspools for me. Itâs Cary Grantâs last time at the rodeo in Hitchcockâs ballpark. And itâs his most physical role with the director. This is not a 1930âs Cary âGunga Dinâ Grant, but a 54-year old actor who is fit as a fiddle and still gorgeous as all get out. His character, Roger Thornhill, stumbles into his mistaken identity thanks to two henchmen mistaking him for secret agent George Kaplan, who the bad guys want to kill. Grantâs denying heâs that spy falls on deaf ears; heâs got to find the real Kaplan to get him out of this mess. Grantâs search for the elusive secret agent only gets him in deeper and deeper.
Hitchcock villains are almost if not better than those in James Bond. Heading the villainy here is James Mason.
âHas anybody ever told you, you overplay your roles very severely, Mr. Kaplan?â
Mason is attractive, cultured, urbane, sophisticated and unruffled. And that smooooooth voice of his… donât get me started. He doesnât need to get his hands dirty with all this spy business. Thatâs what Martin Landau is for.
âCall it my womanâs intuition…â
I love him in this film as the ever-watchful Leonard. Always in the background, heâs like a guard dog or an Iago. Heâs the man who deals with the dirty details of murder.
Continuing his quest for George Kaplan, Cary Grantâs search takes him far from New York, out west to Chicago. Itâs on his way to Chicago that Grant bumps into the Hitchcock Blonde: EVA MARIE SAINT. Now, sheâs no Grace Kelly…
âHow does a girl like you get to be a girl like you?â
…And she doesnât need to be. She coolly sizzles in her own right. She is soft and silky and straightforward. In the trainâs dining car scene, she really puts it out there. She’s not coy. She makes no bones about what she (and every woman alive, past present and future) wants from Cary Grant. It’s a titillating and very refreshingly modern scene for a movie on the cusp of Womenâs Lib.
Ohhhh, to be in her shoes!
North by Northwest is filled with double crosses, betrayal, plot twists and crop dusting where there ainât no crops. It also contains Hitchcockâs most iconic scene, a chase in South Dakota…over the face of Mount Rushmore. Itâs all pulled off believably by Cary Grant who goes from unwitting pawn…to hero, without becoming a dare-devilling James Bond. Itâs all pulled off by good guys and bad guys and unwitting guys and cool blondes and Alfred Hitchcock and a train going into the tunnel.
Theresa Brown is a native New Yorker, a Capricorn and a biker chick (rider as well as passenger). When sheâs not on her motorcycle, you can find her on her couch blogging about classic films for CineMavenâs Essays from the Couch. Classic films are her passion. You can find her on Twitter at @CineMava.
Spring Trivia – Audrey Totter, Joseph Cotten, Jane Russell, Vincent Price and Marie Windsor
There are not many things I love in life more than classic movie trivia. In celebration of spring, this monthâs Noir Nook is serving up some trivial tidbits on some of my favorite noir actors and actresses and some of their iconic noir films. Enjoy!
…..
Audrey Totter
Audrey Totter in Lady in the Lake (1946)
Audrey Totter starred with Robert Montgomery in Lady in the Lake (1946), a unique MGM feature that is shot from the point of view of the main character. Totter stated that MGM chief Louis B. Mayer was overly aware of the âMGM look,â and while watching the daily rushes for Lady in the Lake, Mayer noticed that Totterâs hair was disheveled in a scene where sheâs awakened from her bed. Mayer insisted that the scene be reshot, with Totterâs hair carefully coiffed and her makeup in place. âHe said, âA Metro star must look her best, even asleep,ââ Totter recalled. âHe was peddling dreams. Reality never interested him.â
…..
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten in The Third Man (1949)
The director of The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed, originally wanted James Stewart to play the part of pulp novelist Holly Martins. The filmâs producer, David O. Selznick, insisted on Joseph Cotten, who was under contract at the time to Selznickâs production company. According to Cotten, Reed started shooting the filmâs final scene without an ending. Itâs the scene where Cottenâs character is waiting for Alida Valli and she walks right past him like heâs not there. âHe made that up on the spot and itâs wonderful,â Cotten said. âIâm in the foreground waiting patiently for her to walk into my arms and it never happens.â
…..
Jane Russell
Jane Russell in Las Vegas Story (1952)
One of Jane Russellâs three noirs was The Las Vegas Story (1952), co-starring Victor Mature and Vincent Price. Russell said that Mature âdidnât give a damnâ about the film. âSleepwalked through it and then ran for lunch when the commissary bell sounded,â she said. Russell also recalled that at the premiere of the film, she had a swollen face â the result of being hit by her then-husband Bob Waterfield. âIn those days gals were supposed to grin and bear it,â Russell said. âAnd the PR staff said Iâd been hit by a car door. But everybody knew the truth.â
…..
Vincent Price
Vincent Price in Laura (1944)
Price said that his âbest-everâ film may have been the 1944 noir Laura, where he played Shelby Carpenter, a neâer-do-well who is one of several suspects in the âmurderâ of the title character. Price said that he found the scriptâs dialogue to be âbrittle and clever.â He also recalled that the filmâs original director â Rouben Mamoulian â wanted Laird Cregar for the part of Waldo Lydecker. Mamoulian was later replaced by the filmâs producer, Otto Preminger, who chose Clifton Webb for the part. âLaird was personally devastated and that rejection began a downward personal spiral,â Price said. âBut Otto was right. I think the casting was near perfect.â
…..
Marie Windsor
Marie Windsor in The Killing (1956)
Windsor described her character in The Killing (1956) as a âhorrible woman.â In this Stanley Kubrick-directed feature, Windsor played the wife of mousy racetrack cashier Elisha Cook, Jr., whoâs stepping out on her devoted spouse with the younger and infinitely more attractive Vince Edwards. Windsor had been cast in what she termed a âterribleâ Roger Corman film â Swamp Women(1956) â that overlapped the shooting schedule for The Killing. âBut I loved the script of The Killing and didnât want to lose it.â Luckily, Kubrick started his picture two days late and Corman let Windsor out of Swamp Women two days early. (Swamp Women, incidentally, got a great send-up on Mystery Science Theater 3000!)
Stay tuned to the Noir Nook for more trivia in future months!
âŠ
â Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub
A Rare In-Depth Interview with the Great Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn was born 113 years ago today. I recognize that there may be other icons in Hollywood history who arguably had more of a range as an actor. I understand that there are some people who have never been fans of Hepburnâs particular style or affectations. I remember that there was a period of time, even after winning her first Academy Award, that she was deemed âbox office poisonâ by motion picture distributors. None of that matters to me. Whenever I’m asked the question, âWho is your all-time favorite actress?â only one answer comes to mind every time: Katharine Houghton Hepburn of Connecticut.
Katharine Hepburn’s four Oscars on display at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Looking at her unprecedented four Best Actress Oscar wins that spanned half a century including Morning Glory (1934),Guess Whoâs Coming to Dinner (1968),The Lion in Winter (1969), and On Golden Pond (1984), we can debate which of her eight other nominations should have resulted in a win. Personally, I would have happily awarded her the prize for Woman of the Year (1942), The African Queen (1952), and Summertime (1956), but the loss that strikes me as one of the biggest travesties in Academy history, on par with Judy Garland failing to win the Oscar for A Star Is Born, is Hepburnâs loss in 1941 for what I would call a perfect performance in The Philadelphia Story. I love Ginger Rogers and think she was a wonderful actress, but sorry, Ginger, letâs just say Kitty Foyle doesnât hold a candle to Tracy Lord.
Now that weâre stuck in quarantine on the anniversary of Katharine Hepburnâs birth, I can think of no better activity than watching her in action, from her debut performance opposite John Barrymore in A Bill of Divorcement (1932) through all the wonderful Tracy-Hepburn films along with other personal favorites of mine including Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) and Long Dayâs Journey into Night (1962) all the way to her amazing work later in her career in roles such as as Hecuba in The Trojan Women (1971), Eula opposite John Wayne in Rooster Cogburn (1975), and her excellent work in TV movies such as The Glass Menagerie, Love Among the Ruins, and The Corn Is Green.
Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year (1942)
Unlike most of the stars of her day, Katharine Hepburn was never one to participate in the publicity machine of the major studios which is part of the reason why such a mythology built up around her and why she often received negative press. While at MGM, I think only Greta Garbo got away with more flouting of the traditional relationship between the studio and its stars. Very few people on the lot ever managed to avoid submitting to the endless hours of command performances with the columnists of the day. But throughout her long life, Hepburn never suffered fools gladly and had zero interest in participating in many of the rituals that were considered par for the course if you were in that top echelon of movie stardom as she was for so many years. âIf you always do what interests you,â Hepburn famously said, âat least one person is pleased.â It was that reticence to play the game that made her rare interviews and appearances all the more thrilling and unusual.
To mark Katharine Hepburnâs birthday, I plan on rewatching her utterly fascinating 1973 interview with talk show host Dick Cavett. I was a kid when this spectacular two-part interview first aired on TV and even then was enough of a classic movie fanatic to be glued to her every word. In my opinion, it is one of Cavett’s most remarkable interviews ever, and he interviewed hundreds of luminaries from all walks of life.
Even the way the interview happened was pure Hepburn. Dick Cavett, along with every other talk show host in town, had been trying to get Katharine Hepburn on his show for years. One afternoon in 1973, for reasons that he never completely understood, the woman who had been avoiding the press for most of her life and had never appeared on television agreed to simply come into Cavettâs studio to have a look. She wanted to see how it would feel to be on his set. She barreled in, in classic Hepburn fashion, commenting critically on the ugly carpet, the unmoving chairs, the lights, and other aspects of the set, and then shocked Cavett to the core by saying, âWhy donât we just go ahead and do it now?â To his credit, and to the thanks of all of us the world over, he immediately agreed, knowing that if he put it off, it was highly unlikely that she’d ever be in that studio again.
What followed was an utterly riveting and intimate interview about Hepburnâs life and career that ran over two successive nights. You can find the entire interview online and I strongly urge you to watch it, but to whet your appetite on this auspicious day, here are a few more delightful clips of Hepburn at her best.
Oh, man. Is it any wonder why this is my favorite actress of all time? Happy Birthday, Katharine Hepburn. We need you now more than ever!
