Silver Screen Standards: Them! (1954)

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Jennifer Garlen

Silver Screen Standards: Them!

Capitalizing on nuclear anxiety, Them! (1954) helped to usher in a new era of monster movies guaranteed to give post-WWII Americans nightmares about the possible consequences of the Atomic Age. In Japan, this metaphorical threat took the colossal form of Godzilla, who also made his debut in 1954, but Them! suggests that no place on Earth is safe, not even the middle of the desert. Creepy creature and alien movies would become standards for the growing drive-in culture and the teens who flocked there, but few of the later pictures boast the same quality performances, practical effects work, and cinematography that make Them! such an influential classic of the genre.

Them, Sandy Descher, James Whitmore
Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) finds a traumatized little girl (Sandy Descher) wandering alone in the desert.

James Whitmore stars as Sgt. Ben Peterson, a police officer whose beat covers a desolate area of desert near White Sands, New Mexico. When Peterson and his partner, Ed Blackburn (Chris Drake), find a young girl (Sandy Descher) alone and catatonic, they at first suspect a psychopath, but the evidence soon shows that no human being is behind the killings and destruction. FBI Agent Bob Graham (James Arness) arrives on the scene and is soon followed by a father and daughter pair of myrmecologists, Doctors Harold and Pat Medford (Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon). Together they discover the giant mutant ants and pursue newly hatched queens who could produce enough monstrous offspring to destroy humanity.

Them, Main Characters Office
Our core characters, including Pat’s father, Dr. Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn), meet when the two myrmecologists arrive with a terrifying theory.

Sci-fi movies of the 1950s are often derided for their wooden acting, but Them! features an excellent cast that invests each character with personality and gravity. Most modern viewers will find stars like James Arness, Edmund Gwenn, and even Fess Parker more familiar, but James Whitmore is really the central hero of this story, a regular guy driven first by his concern for the little girl and then for his community, country, and planet as the scope of the threat becomes clear. Whitmore had already earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Battleground (1949), and in 1975 he would garner a nomination for Best Actor for the film adaptation of his one-man show, Give ‘em Hell, Harry! (1975). Edmund Gwenn, who plays the elder Dr. Medford, had actually won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance as Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), and he had picked up a second nomination for Mister 880 (1950). These are lofty accolades for actors in a movie about giant ants, but even the less lauded performers sell us on their characters and the peril they face. James Arness is solid as Bob, a government man right down to his willingness to keep a sane man locked up in a psych ward, and Fess Parker has a brief but memorable scene as the unfortunate pilot Bob sacrifices to government secrecy.

Them, Joan Weldon, Ant
Dr. Pat Medford (Joan Weldon) comes face to face with one of the giant mutant ants.

One of the things I personally appreciate about this movie is its treatment of its female characters. We only have two, but Them! would not be such a compelling classic without them. Sandy Descher sets the tone for the whole movie with her memorable performance as the sole survivor of the Ellinson family. Her blank face and stare testify to unfathomable horror, and her plight makes the danger personal rather than abstract. The film stays with her long enough to show us her dramatic reawakening and assure us that she has extended family who will take care of her, but it also uses her character to demonstrate the quiet decency of Ben Peterson. When Pat Medford arrives, her presence sheds more light on Bob’s character and its limitations, especially where his typically sexist attitudes are concerned. Pat’s father is more enlightened, and I love the way he calls her “Doctor” when they converse because he really sees her as a valuable and respected peer. Pat pushes back against Bob’s chauvinism and courageously enters the ants’ tunnels to ensure that all of the queens are destroyed, and it’s exciting to see her suited up and plunging into the dark with the men. We sense the low-key attraction between Pat and Bob, but the movie wisely keeps the focus on their mission and never implies that Pat will or would even consider giving up her important scientific work to wash socks for a husband. It’s a shame that Them! didn’t inspire sequels to tell us more about the later adventures of Pat Medford and even the Ellinson girl, who might have grown up to join an agency like Godzilla’s Monarch organization. On the plus side, their presence helps pave the way for later female characters in science fiction, including iconic figures like Ripley and Newt in the Alien franchise or Dr. Ellie Satler and Lex in the Jurassic Park series.

Them, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Ant
FBI Agent Bob Graham (James Arness) tries to ward off Pat’s attacker with a pistol.

In 2023, there were reports of director Michael Giacchino remaking Them! with a modern twist, but it’s unclear if the project has progressed since then. Gordon Douglas, who directed the original version, also directed Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950), Only the Valiant (1951), and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), to name just a few. If you love Them! and the whole genre of giant monster movies, I do recommend the Apple TV+ series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which has wrapped production on a second season. For more from the 1950s, see The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Tarantula! (1955), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), The Blob (1958), and the wonderfully terrible Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), which I particularly enjoy inflicting on my loved ones.

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— Jennifer Garlen for Classic Movie Hub

Jennifer Garlen pens our monthly Silver Screen Standards column. You can read all of Jennifer’s Silver Screen Standards articles here.

Jennifer is a former college professor with a PhD in English Literature and a lifelong obsession with film. She writes about classic movies at her blog, Virtual Virago, and presents classic film programs for lifetime learning groups and retirement communities. She’s the author of Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching and its sequel, Beyond Casablanca II: 101 Classic Movies Worth Watching, and she is also the co-editor of two books about the works of Jim Henson.

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Silents Are Golden: 7 Early “Passion Plays” And Other Religious Silent Films

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Lea Stans

7 Early “Passion Plays” And Other Religious Silent Films

Passion Play

The Christian tradition of the “Passion Play,” a stage production depicting scenes from the last days of Jesus Christ, dates back hundreds of years. Originating in medieval Europe, these carefully staged spectacles helped educate people about the life and passion of Christ during the solemn season of Lent.

In the 1890s, lectures with illustrated slides representing scenes from passion plays had been popular for a number of years (marketed for “the Exhibitor who likes Church or Missionary Work”). Films bringing those scenes to life were the next logical step, and a number of filmed passion plays started springing up as early as 1897. Initially, some churches doubted whether the new medium was right for these sacred subjects. But in time it was agreed that cinema was a fresh new way to bring religious stories to the public.

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7. The Horitz Passion Play (1897)

The Horitz Passion Play (1897)
An illustration of a scene from the film.

This was the first filmed passion play that was shown in the U.S., and while several similar films were made that same year the Horitz version is considered the most ambitious. It was the creation of the Lumière brothers’ U.S. representative Charles Smith Hurd, who visited the quaint European village of Hortiz (located in what is now the Czech Republic) and saw the locals’ passion play. He met with the actors and asked: would they like to star in a film version?

The filming was done over several months on location in Horitz. The finished project was an hour and a half long and consisted of lantern slides, music, a lecture and brief filmed scenes ranging from “Adam and Eve running about in a quaint little Garden of Eden” to Christ’s crucifixion. Unfortunately little from the film has survived, but contemporary reviews mentioned it having a “primitive” charm and praised it for its straightforward reverence.

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6. La Vie et la Passion de Jésus-Christ (1898)

La Vie et la Passion de Jésus-Christ (1898)

Directed by Louis Lumière and Georges Hatot, La Vie et la Passion de Jésus-Christ is the earliest filmed passion play that currently still exists. While a simple film consisting of thirteen brief scenes starting with the visit of the Magi and ending with the Resurrection, it gives us a good sense of what these films were like in a time when cinema itself was very new.

The production is essentially a filmed stage play shot with sets lit by sunlight. Some of the painted backdrops were used for more than one scene, and some scenes were likely inspired by paintings or old medieval traditions. One of the most charming scenes is the “flight into Egypt” with a large Sphinx painted on the backdrop. Some choices are a bit baffling to anyone familiar with the Gospels. During the Last Supper Jesus suddenly appears at the table and surprises the disciples–something which only happens after the Resurrection.

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5. Vie et Passion du Jésus Christ (1907)

Vie et Passion du Jésus Christ (1907)

This 44-minute French film is not only one of the most well-known and charming religious silents from the 1900s, but it’s sometimes considered one of the first feature films. Directed by      Lucien Nonguet and the creative Ferdinand Zecca, it first debuted in 1903. It was revised over the next few years until being remade by Zecca in 1907 with cinematography by Segundo de Chomón .

Consisting of over 30 reverent scenes, each introduced with a title card, Vie et Passion was beautifully shot and staged. The tastefully painted backdrops (some with three dimensional elements like pillars and trees) were designed with care, and color was painted on by hand one frame at a time. Early special effects such as dissolves and jump cuts were also used. Surviving in good condition, it’s still an enjoyable watch today.

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4. From the Manger to the Cross (1912)

From the Manger to the Cross (1912)

This important early feature is considered by some to be the first five-reel film–in a time when one- and two-reel films were the norm. It was directed by Sidney Olcott, who had made a name for himself with the popular Ben-Hur (1907) and a number of Irish-themed films which he made in the Emerald Isle itself in the early 1910s.

From the Manger to the Cross wasn’t only ambitious in length, but in its production values. Olcott filmed it on location in the Holy Land and based the cinematography on a series of popular religious paintings by James Tissot. While the film might seem a bit stilted today, the acting was more naturalistic for its time and it had a stronger narrative structure. It was a huge hit, apparently nabbing the Kalem studio over $1,000,000–a huge leap from its budget of $35,000!

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3. Intolerance (1916)

Intolerance (1916)

This multi-hour “spectacular” by D.W. Griffith had four parallel storylines, set in modern times, ancient Babylon, the Huguenot era of France, and Judea during the life of Christ. Most famed today for its eye-popping Babylon scenes–especially the immense “Hall of Babylon” set that loomed over Sunset Boulevard for years afterwards–it’s easy to overlook the Judean scenes, which also had a shorter share of the run time. Griffith might’ve assumed audiences were already familiar with the Gospel stories. At any rate, the theme of “intolerance” is perhaps clearest in his telling of the story of Christ’s passion and death.

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2. I.N.R.I. (1923)

I.N.R.I. (1923)

This film is an unusual one in the pantheon of early religious movies since it was directed by Robert Wiene–the director of the German Expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). While not as experimental as Caligari, it does have some tell-tale dramatic uses of brightly lit figures against dark backgrounds and its hundreds of extras gave it an epic feel.

It was filmed in Germany’s Staaken Studios, which was in a former zeppelin hangar. Actress Asta Nielson played Mary Magdalene, and Werner Krauss of Caligari appeared as Pontius Pilate. Jesus Christ was played by Ukrainian actor Gregori Chmara. It was the most epic production made by Wiene, although it unfortunately didn’t make as big a splash at the box office as he’d hoped.

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1. The King of Kings (1927)

The King of Kings (1927)

No one less than Cecil B. DeMille brought the life of Jesus Christ to the big screen during the late silent era–and it was one of his biggest hits. He took the responsibility of making a reverent religious film very seriously, even having Mass said on set before filming.

While DeMille couldn’t resist adding a bit of kitsch in the early scenes featuring Mary Magdalene, the elegant cinematography, the sincerity of the production and the fine performances by his distinguished cast were all much-praised and helped make The King of Kings a major box office success.

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–Lea Stans for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Lea’s Silents are Golden articles 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 Quarterly and has also written for The Keaton Chronicle.

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Classic Movie Travels: Robert Harron

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Annette Bochenek

Classic Movie Travels: Robert Harron

Robert Emmett Harron
Robert Emmett Harron

Robert Emmett Harron was born on April 12, 1893, to John and Anne Harron in New York, New York. He was the second oldest of nine children growing up in this Irish Catholic family. Over the years, his father worked several different jobs, including working at an oil station, as a stableman in a livery stable, and as a night watchman.

Harron attended Saint John Parochial School in Greenwich Village and, by age 14, started to work as an errand boy at the Biograph Company. There, he cleaned and appeared in occasional shorts to help earn money for his family.

While at Biograph, Harron caught the attention of director D.W. Griffith and quickly became one of his favorite actors. Gradually, Harron appeared in more significant film roles. He initially appeared in comedic shorts for Griffith. As he entered his teen years, his roles transitioned to naïve boy characters meant to broadly appeal to American moviegoers. By 1912, Harron appeared in almost forty films for Biograph and was one of the studio’s rising stars.

Harron’s most significant roles were in Griffith’s epics: Judith of Bethulia (1914), The Birth of a Nation (1915), and Intolerance (1916). Among his most popular roles was his starring role alongside Lillian Gish in Griffith’s romance, True Heart Susie (1919).

True Heart Susie
True Heart Susie

Harron routinely worked with other top Biograph stars, including the likes of Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, and Mae Marsh. Off-screen, he was romantically involved with Dorothy Gish.

By 1920, his leading man roles began to diminish, with these roles more frequently being assigned to Richard Barthelmess. Griffith ultimately loaned Harron out to Metro Pictures for a four-film deal. His first film for Metro would incidentally be the last film of his career: Coincidence (1921), released one year after his passing.

In August of 1920, Harron traveled from Los Angeles to New York City to attend the premiere of Griffith’s Way Down East (1920) as well as a preview of Coincidence (1921). Harron checked into the Hotel Seymour with friend, screenwriter, and director Victor Heerman. The two of them attended the preview screening but it reportedly received a poor reception from its audience. Following the screening, Harron returned to the hotel and sustained a gunshot wound to his chest. Reports claim that Harron had a gun in his trunk and that, while removing clothes from the trunk, the gun fell out and discharged. Harron called the hotel desk for help, initially refusing an ambulance and wishing for a doctor to visit his room instead. When a doctor could not immediately be found, he agreed to have the hotel call for an ambulance. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital. While receiving treatment, he was arrested for possessing a firearm without a permit. As a result, he was placed in the hospital prison ward.

After the injury, there were also reports speculating that he was disappointed in his not being cast in Way Down East (1920) and attempted suicide as Barthelmess was cast in the leading man role; however, his friends and peers fiercely denied this theory.

Though Harron appeared to be recovering, his health took a turn four days after he was shot. He died on September 5, 1920, at age 27. He was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City. Altogether, he appeared in roughly 220 films.

On September 26, 1920, a joint memorial service was held for Harron, actress Clarine Seymour (who died after undergoing emergency surgery while filming Way Down East), Orner Locklear (a daredevil stunt pilot and actor who perished in an airplane crash), and actress Olive Thomas (who passed from an accidental overdose). All were eulogized by director William Desmond Taylor, whose own still unsolved murder occurred 18 months later.

Today, some of Harron’s homes remain.

In 1910, his family resided at 49 King St., New York, New York, which stands.

49 King St., New York, New York
49 King St., New York City

In 1916, he maintained a residence at 641 St Paul Ave., Los Angeles, California, which has since been razed.

In 1917, he resided at 323 W. 14th St., New York, New York, which also stands.

323 W. 14th St., New York, New York
323 W. 14th St., New York City

In 1920, he shared a home with his parents and siblings at 1751 Vine St., Los Angeles, which has been razed.

Bellevue Hospital remains the oldest public hospital in the United States.

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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub

Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.

Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.

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Western RoundUp: 2025 Western News RoundUp

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Laura Grieve

2025 Western News RoundUp

I was surprised to realize it’s been a couple of years since my last “Western News RoundUp,” and with lots of interesting new developments on the Western movie front, this is a particularly good month to share news!

In this column I’ll be sharing information about recent and upcoming Western film-related events, Blu-ray releases, and more.

As I wrote this, I realized that a significant amount of the news related back to past columns in one way or another, so where relevant I’ve included those links, which might be especially useful to newer readers.

McCrea Ranch has announced its spring 2025 fundraiser barbecue, which will be held at the ranch on May 17th. Advance tickets are required, with information found here.

McCrea Ranch Sign

For a look at past BBQ fundraisers and another event held at the longtime home of actors and Western stars Joel McCrea and Frances Dee, please visit my June 2019, July 2023, and September 2023 columns. The ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a fascinating melding of film and California history.

The ranch will also be hosting an April 26th screening of the World War I film Lafayette Escadrille (1958) starring Tab Hunter and directed by William Wellman. The McCreas’ son, Jody McCrea, appears in the movie in a small role.

McCrea Ranch Plaque

The TCM Classic Film Festival will be held in Hollywood this year from April 24th to 27th.

TCMFF Logo large

At least one Western, Gunman’s Walk (1958), will be among the films shown at this year’s festival. It’s a world premiere restoration of the movie, which was directed by Phil Karlson and stars Van Heflin, James Darren, Tab Hunter, and Kathryn Grant (Crosby). It was filmed on locations in Arizona and Northern California.

Gunmans Walk Poster

Roughly 40 films have yet to be announced for this year’s TCM Fest, so those attending will want to keep an eye on the list of films for this year’s festival. Late Update: A 35mm VistaVision screening of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) has now been announced as well. I reviewed it here in 2023.

Please visit my June 2024 column for a look at the Western screenings at last year’s TCM Fest.

Last week the Lone Pine Film Festival confirmed dates for the 2025 festival, which will be held this year from October 9th through 12th. Films, guests, and tours are due to be announced by June 15th.

Last year my husband Doug guided three sold-out horseback movie location tours in the Alabama Hills, and he plans to guide horseback tours again this year.

Lone Pine Film Festival

Those interested in attending Lone Pine’s celebration of Westerns filmed in the area can read more about the festival in my October 2024 column, and be sure to scroll down and check out all the extra links on past film fests and Lone Pine movie locations.

Lone Pine Film Festival Tim Holt

There’s lots of great news regarding Westerns on Blu-ray. First, the outstanding Anthony Mann-James Stewart Western Winchester ’73 (1950) was released on Blu-ray and 4K by the Criterion Collection at the end of January.

Winchester 73 Criterion

The disc has plentiful extras including an archival commentary track with James Stewart, a Lux Radio Theater production, and an essay by esteemed film historian Imogen Sara Smith.

You can read more about Winchester ’73 in my 2019 column about seeing the film at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

The Warner Archive Collection has announced an April 2025 Blu-ray release for Springfield Rifle (1952), a Civil War era Western starring Gary Cooper. Andre DeToth directed.

Springfield Rifle BluRay

The Springfield Rifle print will be a 1080p master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Extras will include the trailer, a pair of cartoons, and a Joe McDoakes short.

In May and June of 2025, Kino Lorber Studio Classics will release two new sets of Audie Murphy Westerns!

Audie Murphy Collections IV and V Side by Side

Volume IV will contain The Kid From Texas (1950), The Cimarron Kid (1952), and Drums Across the River (1954), while the June set will feature Walk the Proud Land (1956), Seven Ways From Sundown (1960), and Bullet for a Badman (1964).

I wrote about the terrific Seven Ways from Sundown here, which teams Murphy with Barry Sullivan, half a decade ago.

Seven Ways From Sundown Poster

Volume IV will contain commentary tracks by C. Courtney Joyner and Gary Gerani, with the extras for Volume V still to be announced. Update: Volume V will have one commentary track by Gary Gerani, with two more tracks by Toby Roan.

I also wrote a few years ago about The Proud Rebel (1958), a marvelous Western starring Alan Ladd and Olivia de Havilland which was directed by Michael Curtiz.

ClassicFlix has announced that its restoration of the film, in collaboration with the Library of Congress, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in May 2025.

The Proud Rebel Poster

Extras will include a commentary track featuring Curtiz biographer Alan K. Rode. The disc will also feature Rode interviewing Ladd’s son David, who costars in the film. I’ve seen David Ladd speak about the movie in the past and found his memories very interesting.

The disc will also have an isolated music track, a trailer, and a restoration comparison.

Finally, many Western movie fans will be aware that last summer we sadly lost Jeff Arnold, longtime proprietor of the essential Western movie site Jeff Arnold’s West.

Jeff Arnolds West Art

What may not be known is that two great fans of the site, “Bud” and “RR,” have not only ensured that Jeff’s blog is still accessible, but they are steadily adding new content.

Their blog posts over the past year include a tour of McCrea Ranch, a review of Robert Nott’s “Reel West” book on Ride the High Country (1962), and looks at films such as The Arizonian (1935) and Ride ‘Em Cowboy (1942). I hope my fellow Western fans, who might have assumed there was nothing new at the site, will check out their work. Bravo!

The McCrea Ranch photographs in this post are from the author’s personal collection.

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– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub

Laura can be found at her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she’s 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 ‘Western RoundUp’ for CMH.

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Silents are Golden: A Closer Look At: Lois Weber’s Shoes (1916)

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Lea Stans

A Closer Look At: Lois Weber’s Shoes (1916)

Lois Weber Shoes with Mary MacLaren 1

Some of the most powerful silent films were crafted with surprising realism, especially in the early years that we often assume are full of “stagey” acting and hokey melodrama. The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Italian (1915), Regeneration (1915) are just a few 1910s works full of humble details and restrained performances. And one of the finest from this period is certainly Lois Weber’s feature Shoes (1916).

In an era when a number of women worked behind the camera, Weber was one of the most prominent and respected female directors. Born in 1879, Florence Lois Weber was from a deeply religious Pennsylvania Dutch family. In her teens she worked with the Church Home Missionary and sang on street corners in urban red light districts. Hoping to bring edifying messages to larger crowds, she decided to join travelling stock companies. One of those companies was managed by former lawyer Wendell Phillips Smalley. Realizing they shared similar ideals, Smalley and Weber would marry in 1904.

Lois Weber portrait
Lois Weber

Weber began writing freelance motion picture scenarios around 1906, becoming increasingly fascinated by the growing industry. She soon started learning how to direct and also co-starred with her husband in short dramas. After a few years they decided that cinema was the ideal medium for spreading “uplifting” stories and they began making their own films, with Weber getting much of the directing credits.

The couple quickly gained a reputation for quality dramas exploring class differences, romantic complications, and religion. One of their most well-known shorts today is Suspense (1913), which included a triptych effect that was sophisticated for its time. They also made waves with their feature Hypocrites (1915), which included the allegorical “Naked Truth” represented by a fully nude actress in double exposures. Weber defended the artistic integrity of these scenes: “Hundreds of thousands have seen Hypocrites, but those who went with evil thoughts for the gratification of a lustful curiosity uppermost in their mind, found a searchlight suddenly turned on their own conscience. I know, I saw it.”

lois weber Hypocrites (1915)
Hypocrites (1915)

In 1916, now the main director with her husband working more behind the scenes, Weber would release one of her most profound features: Shoes (1916). It was a simple story about the young Eva Meyer who struggles to set aside enough money for a much-needed new pair of shoes while also being the breadwinner for her impoverished family. Her shiftless father is no help, and her mother is busy looking after her siblings. Towards the end, with her old shoes on the cusp of literally falling to pieces, Eva makes a devastating decision.

Shoes was based on a short story by Stella Wynne Herron, who had been profoundly influenced by the book A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil by social reformer Jane Addams. Addams’ book had examined the tragic lives of poverty-stricken girls in Chicago who were coerced into prostitution. Weber’s film would treat its delicate subject with restraint and dignity, deeply sympathetic to the main character’s plight.

Lois Weber Shoes poverty

Part of the reason the film works so well is its subtle performance by the teenaged lead Mary MacLaren. MacLaren (formerly MacDonald) had worked as a chorus girl on Broadway and became an extra in Weber’s films. With her thick blonde hair and features that could be as pretty or as plain as needed, MacLaren was a “find” and Weber thought she’d be a perfect lead for Shoes. MacLaren played the role not as a naive waif but a jaded teen who was forced to grow up too soon. One critic would call her “a full-fledged star in about the fastest time known to screen history.”

Mary MacLaren 1

Weber kept the plot succinct, closely following the Herron story, and insisted on realism for both the performances and the immersive sets. The well-stocked five-and-dime store and the fully furnished Meyer flat were built at the studio. During kitchen scenes Weber insisted on having real corned beef and cabbage cooking on the stove. The most significant departure from Herron’s story was a wistful “what might have been” sequence, showing how the Meyers might’ve fared if the father had actually been a success. The Meyers are shown well-dressed and part of “society,” and Eva’s shown being romanced by a country boy. The sequence was in the spirit of good taste, as the audience already knows the sad decision Eva’s been driven to make.

Shoes, released under Universal’s Bluebird Photoplays, was soon the branch’s most popular film. It received much critical praise for its realism and powerful story. Moving Picture World wrote: “…In dealing with its subject Miss Weber has surpassed herself in craftsmanship, turning out a picture that strikes the heart broadside and overwhelmingly instead of with the muted ‘punch’ of most encounters with problems.” A Wid’s Daily critic summed up its appeal: “It is a human drama, humanly told and humanly played.”

lois weber shoes 2 with Mary MacLaren

The success of Shoes led to more starring roles for MacLaren, as well as a supporting role in Douglas Fairbanks’s wildly popular The Three Musketeers (1921). She left films for a few years to marry a colonel, and returned to the industry after their subsequent divorce. Having a harder time getting substantial roles the second time around, by the 1940s she started taking in boarders.

MacLaren would struggle uncomplainingly for the next few decades. Hauntingly, the actress who rose to fame for playing an impoverished young woman would eventually sink back into poverty herself.

Mary MacLaren older

Destitute by the time she reached her eighties, her house of nearly seventy years became dilapidated and overrun by rats and her many pets. The city considered it a hazard and put it up for auction, moving the 85-year-old MacLaren to a nursing home. She only lived a few more weeks. And yet, according to everyone who knew her at that time, she remained a “lovely” and friendly lady, “just as sweet as could be” right up to the end.

Mary MacLaren younger

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–Lea Stans for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Lea’s Silents are Golden articles 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 Quarterly and has also written for The Keaton Chronicle.

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Noir Nook: Minor But Memorable

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry

Minor But Memorable

There are characters in film noir that are bigger than life, that are in nearly every scene and who tower over the movie itself like the eponymous inferno.

And then there are those that you hardly see at all – characters so minor that they often don’t even warrant a last name (or a name at all) – and yet, they’re unforgettable.

This month’s Noir Nook takes a look at three of these characters: Madge in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Girl at Bar in Shield for Murder (1953), and Sally in Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

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Madge (Audrey Totter) in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Audrey Totter

The Postman Always Rings Twice tells the tale of Cora Smith (Lana Turner) and Frank Chambers (John Garfield), illicit lovers who team up to murder Cora’s husband, played by Cecil Kellaway. As it turns out, both Cora and Frank get off scot-free (due to some courtroom machinations that, even after all these years and countless viewings, I still don’t quite understand), but that doesn’t mean there’s smooth sailing ahead. The two become adversaries, each threatening to turn the other one in, and when Cora leaves town for a family emergency, well – you’ve heard the old saying, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play”?

In this case, the mouse – that’s Frank – finds a lovely plaything in the person of Madge, who he meets in the parking lot of the train station. She was having a bit of a problem getting her car started, but she didn’t have any problems starting Frank’s motor, if you know what I mean. A brief mention about her thin skirt and the hot leather of the car seat, and he was off to the races.

Madge, like many a minor character, was only in one scene, with a handful of lines, but she made them count. She practically purred when she was talking to Frank, even if all she was doing was complaining about her job as a hash slinger or labeling Frank an “outlaw [who] can’t stand captivity.” Within just a few minutes, she’d made such an impression on Frank that he was proposing a trip with her to Tijuana, Mexico. She made an impression on us, to – and on the critic from the Hollywood Reporter, who wrote: “Audrey Totter, going the small part of a rather loose pick-up . . . proves again that she has a great future, with easy command of what made our top screen sirens stars.”

…..

Girl at Bar (Carolyn Jones) in Shield for Murder (1953)

Carolyn Jones

One of my favorite lesser-known noirs, Shield for Murder stars Edmond O’Brien (who was also making his directorial debut) as Barney Nolan, a police detective who murders a bookie and relieves the corpse of a cool $25,000. But he’s not exactly pals with Lady Luck – his back-alley homicide was witnessed by a nearby resident, the bookie’s boss wants his money back, and the entire case is being investigated by a young detective (John Agar) to whom Barney serves as mentor and friend.

Stressed by his attempts to cover up his crime while evading the hoods on his trail, Barney visits a bar in a local restaurant, where he hopes to collect his thoughts (or maybe drown them). There, he encounters a young blonde with a knowing smile and come-hither eyes that run up and down Barney like a searchlight (as Olga from The Women [1939] would say). Sidling up next to Barney, she starts in with a line of patter that can best be described as eclectic. She teaches him how to “look tough” in the mirror. She flips her hair and confesses that her mother always thought she had “too much spirit.” And before you can say “Jack Robinson,” she and Barney are sitting cozily together in a booth. (By the way, even though the film credits her as “girl in bar,” we learn when she introduces herself to Barney that her name is Beth.)

Beth is a . . . shall we say . . . interesting young woman; between the mysterious bruise on her arm (“Somebody gave it to me, I guess,” she half-explains) and the way her hand forms into a claw on Barney’s face when she kisses him, we don’t know where this thing might end up. (We never find out, though, since Barney upends the evening by pistol-whipping two thugs in the middle of dinner.)

Along with Marla English, who played Barney’s girlfriend, Carolyn Jones was singled out by the critic for the L.A. Daily News; although he misspelled her name as “Carilyn,” he wrote that Jones and English “contribute just the right amount of femme charms to their roles, and although they don’t get much chance to really emote, both gals show promise.”

…..

Sally (Jeff Donnell) in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Jeff Donnell

In Sweet Smell of Success, Burt Lancaster is all-powerful, Walter Winchell-like columnist J.J. Hunsecker, and Tony Curtis (in what is arguably the best performance of his career) is Sidney Falco, a sniveling, sycophantic, weasel of a man who will do anything to get ahead. And for Sidney, getting ahead means earning the favor of Hunsecker.

Sidney’s “office” (which has a nameplate taped onto the door and a bedroom in the back) is presided over by Sally, who serves as Sidney’s Girl Friday. She’s not the kind of glamour-girl assistant you might think a man like Sidney would have; her face is free of make-up, her clothes are ill-fitting, and her hairstyle is unattractive. She’s certainly efficient, though, and is adept at fielding a variety of calls, from dissatisfied clients to vendors trying to collect past-due bills.

Unfortunately for Sally, she’s clearly in love with Sidney – and she couldn’t have picked a worse candidate for her affections. When Sally points out to Sidney that he’s been left out of Hunsecker’s column for five consecutive days, Sidney snarkily snaps, “May I rent you out as an adding machine?” When she tells Sidney she wishes that she could help him, he responds, “You can help with two minutes of silence.” And when he refers to her “meaty, sympathetic arms,” he actually reduces her to tears. In just a short amount of time, Sally manages to evoke an assortment of reactions from the viewer; as we watch her look at Sidney with those liquidy, puppy-dog eyes, we want to simultaneously shake her, roll our eyes in annoyance, and give her a massive hug.

In the L.A. Examiner, Jeff Donnell was praised for her “good job” and the reviewer for the New York Times included her along with several other minor characters when he noted the “competent touches in their brief appearances.”

The next time you see The Postman Always Rings Twice, Shield for Murder, or Sweet Smell of Success, give an extra look to Madge, Beth, and Sally. All told, their appearances in these films probably don’t occupy a total of 10 minutes, but they’re undeniably unforgettable.

And deserve to be remembered.

…

– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Karen’s Noir Nook articles here.

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is the author of the Shadows and Satin blog, which focuses on movies and performers from the film noir and pre-Code eras, and the editor-in-chief of The Dark Pages, a bimonthly newsletter devoted to all things film noir. Karen is also the author of two books on film noir – Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film and Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. You can follow Karen on Twitter at @TheDarkPages.
If you’re interested in learning more about Karen’s books, you can read more about them on amazon here:

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Silver Screen Standards: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Jennifer Garlen

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

On my most recent visit to London, I went to see a stage production of Agatha Christie’s 1953 play, Witness for the Prosecution, and of course I had to rewatch the 1957 film adaptation again as soon as I got home so that I could see how they compared to one another. The 1957 film, directed by Billy Wilder and nominated for six Academy Awards, differs from the play in some significant ways but still earned Christie’s approval at its release. Perhaps, like most of us, she was won over by the outstanding performances of some of classic Hollywood’s greatest talents, including Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester. Those performances ensure that Witness for the Prosecution remains as gripping and effective today as it was in 1957, especially if you don’t spoil the ending for a first-time viewer.

Tyrone Power, Witness for the Prosecution
Tyrone Power plays the defendant, Leonard Vole, who is accused of murdering a rich widow to get her money.

Tyrone Power stars as Leonard Vole, who asks barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) to defend him in the English courts against the charge of murdering a wealthy widow (Norma Varden). Having recently suffered a near fatal heart attack, Sir Wilfrid at first refuses but then becomes fascinated by the details of the case, including the involvement of Vole’s enigmatic wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich). When Christine unexpectedly appears as a witness for the prosecution during Vole’s trial, Sir Wilfrid struggles to understand her motivation and defend his client against seemingly damning evidence.

Charles Laughton, Witness for the Prosecution
Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton) is an experienced barrister who hopes to prove Vole’s innocence in spite of the evidence against him.

Christie published the original version of this plot a century ago as a 1925 short story titled “Traitor’s Hands.” She changed the name to “The Witness for the Prosecution” in 1933 and made additional changes to the ending when she wrote the play (which is the same as the ending for the 1957 film). The play is very much a courtroom drama, but the film adaptation presents several key scenes that take place at other times and locations. We see how Leonard and Christine met during the war, and we see how Leonard met the dead woman, Emily French, and her suspicious housekeeper, Janet MacKenzie (Una O’Connor). We are even able to accompany Sir Wilfrid in search of a mysterious person offering last-minute evidence during the trial, which provides the film with one of its most memorable scenes. More importantly, the film makes Sir Wilfrid a heart attack patient and adds the completely new character of his nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester). I didn’t miss her character when I watched the stage production, but the stage version of Sir Wilfrid has no need for her, while Laughton’s fussy, temperamental take on the barrister really benefits from the adversarial relationship with the relentless nurse. By the time they appeared in this film, their tenth together, Laughton and Lanchester had been married for nearly thirty years, and their easy comedic sparring is so natural and delightful that it’s hard to imagine the movie without it. Both Laughton and Lanchester earned Oscar nominations for their performances, while Power and Dietrich were both shut out.

Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton, Witness for the Prosecution
Nurse Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester) and Sir Wilfrid bring a lot of comic action to this dark story with their battle over Sir Wilfrid’s activities.

Despite the Oscar snubs, Power and Dietrich both deliver some of their best work thanks to the meaty, dramatic roles they have to play. In his last finished film before a fatal heart attack at the age of 44, Power looks haggard, a darker and world-weary version of the dashing heartthrob who had wooed audiences in the 1930s and early 40s. Power always wanted to be more than a pretty face and campaigned hard for films like Nightmare Alley (1947), and Witness for the Prosecution offers a final testament to the actor’s ability to tackle such roles. Dietrich was deeply disappointed when her performance yielded no Oscar nomination, but unlike Power she would live to make other great pictures, including Touch of Evil (1958), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and even an Oscar-nominated documentary about her life called Marlene (1984). As Christine (renamed from “Romaine” in the play), Dietrich is a mesmerizing, inscrutable sphinx, drawing us and Sir Wilfrid in because we never know what she’s really thinking. Her greatest contributions to the picture come in the most shocking scenes, which I won’t discuss here except to say that anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet needs to do so immediately in order to appreciate Dietrich’s commitment and talent. It’s much easier to avoid spoilers by praising the supporting performers who populate the background of Leonard and Christine’s story, especially Norma Varden as the lovestruck Mrs. French and the great Una O’Connor as her loyal but cantankerous housekeeper. There are a lot of women in Leonard’s life, and he seems to inspire strong feelings in all of them, ranging from adoration to absolute loathing.

Marlene Dietrich, Witness for the Prosecution
Marlene Dietrich gives an outstanding performance as the mysterious Christine.

If, like me, you’re a fan of Agatha Christie film adaptations, check out And Then There Were None (1945), Murder She Said (1961), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and The Mirror Crack’d (1980). After Witness for the Prosecution, Billy Wilder’s next directorial efforts would be Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960), both of which also earned him nods for Best Director, with The Apartment actually bringing wins for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing. Revisit Tyrone Power’s younger days with Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938), The Mark of Zorro (1940), or Blood and Sand (1941), or see Marlene Dietrich’s only Oscar-nominated performance in Morocco (1930). For more of Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester together onscreen, see The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Rembrandt (1936), Tales of Manhattan (1942), and The Big Clock (1948). If you get the chance to visit London, don’t miss the fantastic stage production of Witness for the Prosecution in the historic courtroom at County Hall, where it has been running since 2017. Even better, make it an Agatha Christie double bill and see The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre, as well, but remember not to give away the endings for either show!

…

— Jennifer Garlen for Classic Movie Hub

Jennifer Garlen pens our monthly Silver Screen Standards column. You can read all of Jennifer’s Silver Screen Standards articles here.

Jennifer is a former college professor with a PhD in English Literature and a lifelong obsession with film. She writes about classic movies at her blog, Virtual Virago, and presents classic film programs for lifetime learning groups and retirement communities. She’s the author of Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching and its sequel, Beyond Casablanca II: 101 Classic Movies Worth Watching, and she is also the co-editor of two books about the works of Jim Henson.

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Monsters and Matinees: The Evil Queen was a Beast Hidden within a Beauty

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Toni Ruberto

The Evil Queen was a Beast Hidden within a Beauty

Her lips are as red as a rose, her skin as white as snow and though we can’t see her hair, the dark wimple wrapped around her head and throat is as black as ebony.

In the 90 years since she was introduced in Walt Disney’s 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she has remained an iconic image that is referenced today, most recently in the new 2025 live-action Disney film.

But make no mistake, I’m not talking about sweet young Snow White, but rather her stepmother, the magnificent Evil Queen.

The Evil Queen is a stunning beauty who lives up to her name in Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Fairy tale beginnings

When the Brothers Grimm introduced her in their 1812 fairy tale, it was simply with the word beautiful. (She was also proud and haughty, quite unattractive attributes.)

Fast forward more than a century when Disney chose Snow White as his first full-length animated feature. In the “storybook” introduction that opens his film, she is called the “vain Queen” – and she has good reason for that.

The Queen is stunning in her gold crown, oversized white collar, flowing black cape and regal blue-purple gown. Her pale skin is colored by the same rosy cheeks and red lips as Snow White. Her oval eyes are impeccably enhanced with deep purple eyeshadow, long lashes and thin, but pronounced, eyebrows.

She is breathtaking.

As the first character in the film, she’s also immediately unsettling with a coldness radiating from that beauty. Something is off. She is calm but stern as she talks to the slave in the mirror, looking for affirmation that she is the “fairest one of all.” But this time, for the first time, she isn’t.

That’s when her deep blue eyes turn green with jealousy and anger, conjuring strong winds that whip around her. Though her posture is erect in the way that royals hold themselves, her expressive eyes speak volumes as she glares in a way that makes you think “if looks could kill…”

A queen as a monster

What is the Evil Queen doing in a column about classic film monsters? Because she is one – a monster that is a beauty and a beast in one.

Her murderous soul orders the chilling murder of a child without hesitation. If she must eat a human heart to get what she wants, so be it. She’s driven by vanity and arrogance without apology.

No explanations, no backstory to soften her evilness as happens in some modern variations like the well-made TV series “Once Upon a Time.”

The Evil Queen is one of my favorite villains, even outside of the Disney universe. I’ve been thinking about her again with the new Disney film starring Gal Gadot in the role. As with any Snow White adaptation, I’m interested in how the Evil Queen looks and is portrayed. Gadot’s Queen is a dark, gothic figure with an impressive crown. Costume designer Sandy Powell based her design on the original film’s iconic appearance of the Evil Queen because “I think it’s a really striking look,” she said in a video shared by Disney.

How did we get here?

The look of the witch on film has come a long way since this depiction of an old hag in the 1932 Silly Symphonies Babes in the Woods.

The changing face of the witch

For centuries, witches were presented in literature as grotesque creatures with pointy hats and broomsticks. Films of the early 19th century depicted witches as a mix of frumpy, silly women or as caricatures of that witch on the broomstick with warts and a snaggle tooth.

That’s how she appears in the 1932 Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies short Babes in the Woods – a take on Hansel and Gretel – where the witch also had chin whiskers, a crooked nose with a wart and wears a tattered black cape and large brown hat.

Early film witches could be comical like the “Evil Queen” in Betty Boop in Snow-White.

In the 1933 short film Betty Boop in Snow-White, from Max Fleischer’s Fleischer Studios, she was homely, a bit plump and comical with a face that bears a resemblance to, of all characters, Olive Oyl (who also was drawn by the Fleischer studio).

For Walt Disney’s Snow White, his first full-length animated film, he gave his illustrators a great deal of leeway to experiment – while also giving some direction, of course. They would create drawings where she was chunky and comical (an ode to queens of the royal variety) and “a high-collar stately beautiful type,” according to the book Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & The Making of the Classic Film.

In an early 1934 outline for the film, Disney described her as “a mixture of Lady Macbeth and the Big Bad Wolf – Her beauty is sinister, mature, plenty of curves. …”

That’s her, all right.

Two women who look similar to Disney’s Evil Queen are the title character in the 1935 sci-fi film She (portrayed by Helen Gaughan), left, and Uta von Ballenstedt, a noblewoman in Medieval Germany whose likeness is immortalized in a 13th century statue (at right). They are worthy of being an inspiration.

Inspiration for the queen

Though I obviously love the queen’s look, I never thought about the inspiration for her monstrous beauty until a few years ago. I was watching the 1935 sci-fi fantasy She for the first time – and there she was: Disney’s Evil Queen, except she was the title character – She Who Must Be Obeyed is the full name – played by the stately Helen Gaughan.

Of the multiple theories about the Queen, She is near the bottom of the list because it’s the one that has never been officially confirmed. Trust me, you’ll see the similarities.

The moment I saw She on her throne, I pictured the Evil Queen. Her pale face with thin eyebrows and deep lips is framed by a black wimple beneath the large crown. She’s dressed in a deep-colored robe with an ornamental jewel at the base of her neck.

Beyond the clothing and makeup, she recalls the Evil Queen in the way she stands, moves and holds her head high with confidence that borders on arrogance. And like the Evil Queen, she erupts when provoked in the slightest way. She was made two years before Snow White and it seems clear to me that someone at Disney was inspired by this film and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If She is not a widely regarded inspiration for the Evil Queen, who is? There are three popular theories.

This portrait shows masks by Polish illustrator Władysław Teodor “W.T.” Benda, whose work was referenced in early character sketches of the Evil Queen. (Courtesy of Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Masks of WT Benda:In the first outline of Disney’s Snow White in August of 1934, the masks of Polish illustrator Władysław Teodor “W.T.” Benda, were mentioned as an inspiration. Walt Disney was a fan of the Polish illustrator whose dramatic masks were used in magazines and in theater. Cold and mysterious, they held a unique beauty from the dark eyebrows, long lashes and red lips that provided bold detail to an otherwise pale face. Sound familiar? Yes, those are the same striking details of the Evil Queen.

A German beauty:For her wardrobe and overall appearance, look to Uta von Ballenstedt, a noblewoman in Medieval Germany. She is captured eternally in a famous 13th century painted statue with a fabulous upturned high collar, large golden crown with a wimple around her face and neck and a cape majestically wrapped around her shoulders. She has a softness about her beauty that the Evil Queen lacks, but you can still see the similarity. The statue stands today outside of Naumburg Cathedral in Germany, where it is a popular selfie spot, partially because of the link to the Evil Queen.

Actresses who inspired the look of the Evil Queen included Greta Garbo, left, Joan Crawford and Gale Sondergaard (fittingly pictured in a test for the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz). Note all women have high-arched eyebrows, dramatic eye makeup and deep-colored lips – like the Evil Queen.

Hollywood stars:The one-word description of the Queen as being “beautiful” in the original fairy tale gave much room for interpretation to the illustrators. So why not look to the glamorous Hollywood actresses of the time for inspiration? And they did.

Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich and Gale Sondergaard are the actresses most often mentioned as reference, and you can see that in EQ by looking at their faces. In the 1920s and ‘30s, actresses often had their eyebrows plucked and redrawn in a pencil-thin line. Their eyes and lips were heavy with makeup, their beauty cool and mysterious. They carried themselves like royalty, with a sexy swagger, and they had an unmistakable magnetism and sultry magnetism.

The Evil Queen’s cold beauty and dark heart influenced how the witch is portrayed on film.

Her role in Hollywood

The Disney animators could not have realized how their version of the Evil Queen would change the depiction of the witch on film. It’s a topic discussed in the 2020 documentary “Witches of Hollywood.” In the Disney film, the witch was not the traditional hag (until she changed herself into one), but an empowered woman (evil, but empowered).

She also was the first witch on film who was beautiful and evil; “more than one thing,” as author Dianca London puts it.

“She’s not just the beautiful kind of cold, mean queen, or the hag in the woods – she’s both,” London said. “And she has the ability to shift between the two things at her own will which I think is a new and exciting thing.”

Heather Green, author of Bell Book and Camera, said the Disney film is significant in that it has two important witch figures: the recognizable crone, as well as the “very first fantasy vamp witch.”

“She is a woman who is out for her own power, who is more interested in her beauty and her sexuality than in anything else. And she’s seeking to destroy a young girl to achieve that,” Green said. “For the first time in American film, we saw a very, very powerful, beautiful alluring woman as a witch.”

Yes, the Evil Queen gave permission for evil not to look monstrous. With her wicked nature hidden beneath her beauty, you didn’t see evil coming for you.

That’s something now common in movies, but it started with the Evil Queen and that cinematic legacy is her crowning achievement.

– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.

Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., is an editor and writer at The Buffalo News. She shares her love for classic movies in her blog, Watching Forever and is a member and board chair of the Classic Movie Blog Association. Toni was the president of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and led the offshoot group, Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs. She is proud to have put Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces in the spotlight as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown contest. You can find Toni on Twitter at @toniruberto or on Bluesky at @watchingforever.bsky.social

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Classic Movie Travels: Frank Morgan

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Annette Bochenek

Classic Movie Travels: Frank Morgan

frank morgan portrait
Frank Morgan

Francis Phillip Wuppermann was born on June 1, 1890, in New York, New York, to Josephine Wright and George Diogracia Wuppermann. His father was born in Venezuela and of Spanish and German descent, while his mother was born in the United States and was of English descent. Francis was the youngest of 11 children, with five brothers and five sisters. His family had earned considerable wealth through the distribution of Angostura Aromatic Bitters via the Angostura-Wuppermann Corporation, marketing bitters for use in drinks and cocktails.

As a young boy, Wuppermann sang soprano in his church’s choir. He also took on odd jobs, including selling toothbrushes and advertisements, and bronco-busting—breaking a wild horse or bronco for riding.

Wuppermann attended Cornell University, where he was active in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and Glee Club. He soon pursued an interest in acting on stage, following in the footsteps of his brother, Ralph. While working in vaudeville, he changed his last name from Wuppermann to Morgan. His first stage performance was in Mr. Wu in 1914, followed by numerous appearances in other shows, including The Lullaby, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Topaze, The Band Wagon, and Hey Nonny Nonny!

In 1914, Morgan married Alma Muller. They had one son named George. The couple remained married until Morgan’s passing in 1949.

From 1916 to 1936, Morgan appeared in various silent films. His screen debut occurred in The Suspect (1916). Next, he worked in Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917) with John Barrymore. Of his many siblings, he was closest to his brother, Carlos. While Carlos’ passing was initially deemed a suicide while serving in the United States Army’s Corps of Intelligence Police in Germany, it was later revealed that he was murdered by a fellow soldier. Carlos was a writer and actor, and Morgan appeared in his deceased brother’s play The Triumph of X (1921) on Broadway.

John Barrymore and Frank Morgan in Reunion in Vienna (1933)

Once he became a contract player for MGM, Morgan appeared in Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933) alongside Al Jolson. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actor for his performance as Alessandro, Duke of Florence, in The Affairs of Cellini (1934). He soon appeared in The Good Fairy (1935) with Margaret Sullavan, The Great Ziegfeld (1936) with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and Dimples (1936) with Shirley Temple.

In The Wizard of Oz (1939), Morgan carried out the titular role in addition to four other roles: Professor Marvel, the Gatekeeper, the “horse of a different color” carriage driver, and the Palace Guard. Morgan secured the role after the studio tired of W.C. Fields continually negotiating his potential pay for the part. 

frank morgan wizard of oz

In 1939, Morgan was involved in a serious car accident in New Mexico. While he and his family survived, his chauffer did not.

While in the throes of his film career, Morgan also performed in radio. He co-starred with Fanny Brice in The Frank Morgan-Fanny Brice Show. When Brice left the program in 1944, Morgan continued for a year with The Frank Morgan Show. In 1947, he starred in the radio series The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy and also recorded several children’s records, including Gossamer Wump.

Over the years, Morgan proved to be an asset to the studio in not only bumbling, comedic roles but also in portraying more serious and downtrodden characters. He could be seen in Saratoga (1937), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), The Mortal Storm (1940), and The Human Comedy (1943). Morgan also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Tortilla Flat (1942). In addition, Morgan appeared in a compilation film called The Great Morgan (1946), theoretically playing himself albeit in familiar bumbling roles. In the film, Morgan jumps at the chance to produce a film, but it all goes awry when he edits several unrelated musical and comedy film clips together into his own film. This was considered to be a lost film until 1980, when one print was discovered, followed by yet another.

Morgan was known to drink in his dressing room. He occasionally carried a black brief case to work, fully stocked with a mini bar.

Morgan’s final film role was in Key to the City (1950), filmed in 1949 and released after his death. Morgan had actually filmed some scenes as Buffalo Bill for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950) when he passed away in his sleep from a heart attack on September 18, 1949. He was replaced by Louis Calhern in the role. Morgan was 59 years old. He was buried in the Wuppermann family plot in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. In 2003, his son was buried in the same family plot.

Today, there are some extant tributes and points of interest relating to Morgan’s life and career.

In 1900, Morgan and his family lived at 35 W. 124th St., New York, New York. By 1917, they relocated to 236 W. 70th St., New York, New York. Both of these homes have since been razed.

In 1920, Morgan, Alma, and George resided at 5 St. Lukes Pl., New York, New York, with servant Maria Johnson. This home stands today.

5 St. Lukes Pl., New York, New York
5 St. Lukes Pl., New York, New York

In 1927, Morgan and his family resided at 430 E. 57th St., New York, New York, per his application for joining the Sons of the American Revolution. This building also stands.

430 E. 57th St., New York, New York
430 E. 57th St., New York, New York

By 1940, Morgan and his family had relocated to 1025 Ridgedale Dr., Beverly Hills, California. Also in residence with them were a nurse (Ruth Halppner), maid (William White), cook (Elma Martin), and chauffeur (Annanzo White). This home also stands.

1025 Ridgedale Dr., Beverly Hills, California
1025 Ridgedale Dr., Beverly Hills, California

Morgan has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring his work in motion pictures and radio. They are located at 1708 Vine St. and 6700 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California, respectively.

Frank Morgan walk of fame star
Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

The pants Morgan wore to portray Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz (1939) are on display at Movie Madness Video in Portland, Oregon.

…

–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub

Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.

Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.

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Western RoundUp: Final Resting Places, More Western Filmmakers 3

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Laura Grieve

More Western Filmmakers Final Resting Places

This month it’s time for another of my periodic tributes to Western filmmakers as we visit their final resting places throughout the Los Angeles area.

During my visits to these sites over the years I’ve spent time reflecting on the enjoyment each person’s work has given me, especially in the Western genre. I hope following along here enables readers across the country and around the world to do likewise.

In this column we’ll start with Oscar-winning actor Burt Lancaster, who appeared in numerous Westerns over his long career, including Vengeance Valley (1951), The Kentuckian (1955), and The Unforgiven (1960); I reviewed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), in which he played Wyatt Earp, in my column in 2023. Lancaster died in 1994 at the age of 80, and his cremated remains are interred in an unassuming little spot in Westwood Memorial Park.

Burt Lancaster final resting place
Burt Lancaster

Back in 2018 I reviewed another Wyatt Earp film, Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die (1942). The actor who portrayed Earp in that film, Richard Dix, died in 1949, age 56, and is buried at Forest Lawn Glendale. He’s interred next to his son Richard, who sadly died in a logging accident a few years later. Richard Dix’s other Westerns include Cimarron (1931), an Oscar winner for Best Picture, as well as The Conquerors (1932), The Arizonian (1935), and The Kansan (1943), among others.

Richard Dix final resting place
Richard Dix

I included Oscar-winning actor Edmond O’Brien in my 2019 column here on “Unexpected Western Leads.” While viewers might first think of him as a “city” type who was in numerous well-known crime and film noir titles, he appeared in a significant number of Westerns, most notably John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1961) and Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1968). My favorite O’Brien Western is a little-known Western called Cow Country (1953) which I’ve enjoyed numerous times. He died in 1985 at the age of 69 and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Edmond O'Brien final resting place
Edmond O’Brien

Like Edmond O’Brien, Ricardo Montalban was in a John Ford Western, in this case Cheyenne Autumn (1964), and also like O’Brien, Montalban is buried at Holy Cross. Montalban also appeared in William Wellman’s Across the Wide Missouri (1951), where he unfortunately suffered an accident that would leave him with lifelong back issues. Montalban was 88 when he died in 2009; he was preceded in death by his longtime wife Georgiana, who was the younger half-sister of Loretta Young.

Ricardo Montalban final resting place
Ricardo Montalban

I’ve visited the graves of several other cast members of Across the Wide Missouri, including Richard Anderson. Anderson, perhaps best known today for his TV roles on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, had his second movie role in a Monte Hale Western, The Vanishing Westerner (1950). He was also in John Sturges’ Escape From Fort Bravo (1953). Anderson died at 91 in 2017 and is buried at Westwood Memorial Park.

Richard Anderson final resting place
Richard Anderson

Another cast member of Across the Wide Missouri, John Hodiak, was sadly only 41 when he died of a heart attack in 1955. He’s interred in the mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles. Hodiak’s other Westerns included the classic Judy Garland musical The Harvey Girls (1946); a favorite Robert Taylor “Cavalry Western,” Ambush (1950); and Conquest of Cochise (1953), in which he played the title role.

John Hodiak final resting place
John Hodiak

Like Richard Anderson, three-time Oscar nominee Eleanor Parker appeared in the excellent Cavalry Western Escape From Fort Bravo (1953). She also played the lead opposite Robert Taylor in the comedic Western Many Rivers to Cross (1955) and was Clark Gable’s leading lady in The King and Four Queens (1956). In 2013 she died in Palm Springs at the age of 91 and is buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.

Eleanor Parker final resting place
Eleanor Parker

Richard Conte had an early career role in the MGM Western Big Jack (1949) opposite Wallace Beery. He only made a couple of Westerns, including Universal’s Riders of Vengeance (1952), but I wanted to include him here as he’s such a favorite. He also appeared in the military Western They Came to Cordura (1959) with Gary Cooper. He died in 1975 at the age of 65 and is at Westwood Memorial Park.

Richard Conte final resting place
Richard Conte

Director Frank Lloyd had a long career beginning in silent movies, including filming silent versions of Zane Grey Westerns. His sound-era Westerns included Wells Fargo (1937) starring real-life husband and wife Joel McCrea and Frances Dee; the delightful The Lady From Cheyenne (1941) with Loretta Young as a Wyoming settler crusading for women’s suffrage; the “Northerner” Alaska-set film The Spoilers (1942) starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, and Marlene Dietrich; and his final film, The Last Command (1955), about the Battle of the Alamo. Several sources list Lloyd’s birth year as 1886, while his gravestone says 1888. He died in 1960 and is buried at Forest Lawn Glendale.

Frank Lloyd final resting place
Frank Lloyd

Finally, we return once more to Westwood Memorial Park, the final resting place of director Louis King. Like Frank Lloyd, King’s early directing career included silent Westerns. He made several modern-era Westerns which might also be called “horse” or “ranching” films, including Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945), Smoky (1946), and Green Grass of Wyoming (1948). He also directed Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes in the fine Mrs. Mike (1948), set on the Canadian frontier, and his final film was Massacre (1956) starring Dane Clark. King, who was the younger brother of better-known director Henry King, was 64 when he died in 1962.

Louis King final resting place
Louis King

For additional photos of the burial sites of Western filmmakers, please visit my columns from May 2019, February 2022, November 2, 2022, November 29, 2022, April 2023, November 2023, March 2024, and July 2024.

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– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub

Laura can be found at her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she’s 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 ‘Western RoundUp’ for CMH.

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