Exclusive Interview with Ted Donaldson about his career, special memories of Cary Grant, Harry Cohn, Elia Kazan and more…
I’m so excited to say that I was able to sit down with Ted Donaldson for an exclusive video interview! I met Ted at the 2018 TCM Film Festival and had such a lovely chat with him, that I just had to ask if he would do us the honor of officially chatting with us for a YouTube interview while at the 2019 Festival. And to my delight, he graciously agreed!
Ted starred in two of my personal favorite films… opposite Cary Grant and Janet Blair in Once Upon a Time (1944) and with Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn and Peggy Ann Garner in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945). In our interview, Ted shares special memories about meeting Cary Grant for the very first time, as well as his experiences behind the scenes with Grant. He also talks about Cary Grant attending his high school graduation, and how he received a very special phone call from Grant about 30 years later. Ted shares his thoughts about Elia Kazan and the cast of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), as well as how he got his start in radio and on Broadway before his audition for Harry Cohn that kicked off his film career.
Just want to extend a Big Thank You to Ted for spending time with us – and for all those who helped make this interview possible including Thomas Bruno, Kelly J Kitchens, Theresa Brown and Kellee Pratt…
Classic Conversations: Oscar Winners Sandy Powell and John Myhre on How the Classic Film Inspired Their Work on ‘Mary Poppins Returns’
Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins (1964) and Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppinswas one of the first films I saw in a movie theater as a child and I remember it as a life-changing experience. I was so obsessed with the film that my mother used to put us to bed with the LP playing on our old Sears record player in the corner of the room I shared with my brother and sister. To this day, I remember every lyric of every song, including the plea from Jane and Michael Banks that brought Mary Poppins down from the clouds:
Never be cross or cruel Never give us castor oil or gruel Love us as a son and daughter And never smell of barley water…
When I heard a sequel to the film was coming more than half a century after the original, I was concerned. How could they possibly recapture the magic? Who could possibly fill the sensible shoes of “practically perfect in every way” Julie Andrews who won a Best Actress Oscar for her film debut? There was only one person I could think of, and director Rob Marshall was smart enough to hire her. As Mary Poppins, Emily Blunt conveys all of the no-nonsense sternness of Julie Andrews’ Mary, sprinkled with the same magical underpinnings that help troubled souls find their paths and regain their faith in humanity. In this film, it’s the grown-up Michael Banks (Ben Wishaw) who desperately needs Mary’s help as he struggles with his sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) to find peace after a series of hard knocks. The new film also featured delightful performances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, and a cameo by the beloved Dick Van Dyke who starred in the original.
Two of the people most responsible for the success
of the new film, which just debuted this week on Netflix, are production
designer John Myhre and costume designer Sandy Powell. The extraordinarily
talented pair have been nominated for countless Academy Awards and have won five
Oscars between them: John for Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha and
Sandy for The Young Victoria, Shakespeare in Love, and The Aviator.
I was delighted to sit down with this pair recently for Classic Movie Hub and
talk with them about the ways that the classic film from 1964 had an impact on
their work in Mary Poppins Returns.
John Myhre and Sandy Powell with two of their five Academy Awards
Danny Miller: I so
enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns, and trust me, as a Mary Poppins fanatic, I
was very worried when I heard that a sequel was coming. As far as I’m
concerned, your costumes and production design are the stars of the movie every
bit as much as wonderful Emily Blunt. I saw it twice the first week it came
out.
John Myhre: Thank you! One of the nicest things I’m hearing is that so many people want to watch the movie again and again.
Sandy Powell: I know I did when it first came out. I think when we first see our films, we’re mostly looking at our own work and we tend to be very critical about it. But on subsequent viewings, I’m able to really enjoy the story and forget my part of it!
I was five years old when the original Mary Poppins came out and it was a pretty seminal moment in my childhood. I wanted Julie Andrews to be my nanny and Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice to be my brother and sister!
Karen Dotrice, the original Jane Banks, on set with Lin-Manuel Miranda
Sandy Powell: Did you spot Karen Dotrice in the film?
Yes, I was thrilled to
see her pop up in that scene with her grown-up counterpart! My daughter
actually went to school with Karen Dotrice’s daughter here in L. A. and I would
constantly ask Karen about working on Mary Poppins when I ran into her
at school! I loved all the touches you both added to appease to the nostalgia
crowd like me while still creating a totally new story.
Sandy Powell: We wanted to keep it fresh while also making subtle nods to the original
film.
Hermione Baddeley, Glynis Johns, and Reta Shaw in Mary Poppins (1964)
Going in, my one
obsession is that I really wanted to see Mrs. Banks’ “Votes for Women”
suffragette banner. To see it just sitting there in the garbage at first and
then to have it become such an important part of the film with Michael’s old
kite, well, that was the first of several times I cried while watching this
movie!
Sandy Powell: Oh, that’s nice!
I assume your primary source material for your work was the 1964 film but did you also go back to the original books by P.L. Travers?
Sandy Powell: A little bit. To be honest, I mostly looked at the illustrations as I was preparing to work on the film, and those were very helpful. Did you read them, John?
John Myhre: I did! I read as many as I could get my hands on, and I thought they were just fantastic. I remember I was reading them on airplanes for a while and I kept wondering what people thought when they saw this old man sitting there reading children’s books!
Haha. “Honey, don’t sit
next to that guy!”
John Myhre: Yes, people kept looking at me a bit strangely. But they’re so
fun because the books are just a series of adventures, there’s not really a
beginning, middle, or end. They’re just lovely and they inspired me a lot.
Sandy, was it a specific
goal of yours to make a clear distinction between Julie Andrews and Emily Blunt
in terms of Mary Poppins’ look? I mean, I realize several decades have passed
since the events of the first film so that’s already going to change things.
Sandy Powell: Yes. I mean, I definitely wanted to make her recognizable as the
same character but updated to 1934 so I obviously wasn’t going to put her back
in Edwardian clothing. Luckily, 1930s fashion, or at least that particular bit
of it in 1934 lent itself very well to that transition because they used a long
line for women along with a mid-calf hem length that evoked the Mary Poppins we
all knew and loved. I could do some elegant coats in the style of the Edwardian
coat from the original but updated with new patterns and fabrics.
And, of course, Mary
herself is somewhat otherworldly.
Sandy Powell: It’s true, Mary is otherworldly but someone like Mary is also going to be very up-do-date and chic — in a reserved kind of way. Rob and I discussed giving her little hints of eccentricities. So, for example, she’s all demure and done up, but then you suddenly see a flash of the bright red polka dot lining in her coat or the little robin with the curly tail on her hat. Just to provide little hints of her unusual nature!
Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins with Michael’s three children
John, since we’ve all
seen the movie a hundred times, did you use that as the blueprint for your
gorgeous set design? Did you recreate the 1964 version of the house at 17
Cherry Tree Lane and then imagine how it would have changed over the years?
John Myhre: We all grew up loving the film, it was the first film I saw as
well, but Rob reassured me from the very beginning that he didn’t want me to
slavishly recreate anything from the original movie. There were really only a
handful of things that we recreated exactly but we had a bit more of a free
hand because our story was so different.
Oh, that’s interesting. Of course, certain things just had to be there like the admiral’s house shaped like a ship next door.
John Myhre: Yes, it’s true. We had to have Admiral Boom’s house and there
were certain elements that seemed necessary. For example, when the door opened
at 17 Cherry Tree Lane, I needed to see the staircase in front of me and then
the living room to the left. But it’s not like we were constantly making
side-by-side comparisons.
Oh, really, so it’s not
like the patterns on the floor or the wallpaper were necessarily the same.
John Myhre: No, not at all. First of all, remember that many years have passed. Second, the family living in the house in the first film was a very different family — the father was absolutely the head of the household and the children had very little imprint on the house. In our film, the children were practically running the house! Everything is much more colorful here than the original — there’s a bit of a Bohemian feel and it’s all very lived in. Do you remember that in the original there wasn’t even a sofa in the front room?
Sandy Powell: Is there not? How weird!
John Myhre: That house in the original was not built with comfort in mind.
Sandy Powell: Oh, it’s true, they’re often standing up, aren’t they, now that I think about it. Coming in and having conversations standing up.
John Myhre: Right, and our house is much more based on the family’s current reality, especially with Michael’s wife being gone. The kids are there, their mess is all around, children’s books everywhere, teacups on the side. It’s a real lived-in place.
The interior of 17 Cherry Tree Lane
But I did so appreciate
all those subtle touches that reminded us of Jane and Michael Banks’ childhood.
That scene when they’re looking through their old things in the attic was so
poignant.
John Myhre: The bit with the children’s snow globe was lovely. Rob Marshall
and I went to the Disney Archives early on and asked if there were things we
could see from the 1964 film. They had one of the three carpetbags made for
Mary but believe it not, they hadn’t saved any of them so they had to buy it
back at an auction from someone who had won it in a magazine contest! But Disney did have the building blocks from
the children’s nursery that you see in “Spoonful of Sugar” along with the
Jack-in-the-box and the snow globe. When they pulled out the box with the snow
globe, it had broken and so was empty, there was no longer any water. Rob and I
just looked at each other and thought, oh my God, this tells everything we need
to convey about how Michael feels about his childhood. So we used it.
Oh, wow. Sandy, I have
to say how much I loved Emily Mortimer’s clothes as Jane Banks. How did you
determine her grown-up look?
Sandy Powell: I put Jane in pants because I wanted to show that she was her
mother’s daughter, still very progressive and fighting for change. I wanted to
show her as a modern emancipated woman. That wasn’t in the script or anything,
I just wanted to get her in pants!
Love it. How about
Michael?
Sandy Powell: We knew that Michael wanted to be an artist but was forced to
work in the bank for financial reasons. We decided he should always have an air
of dishevelment.
So different from his
dad!
Sandy Powell: Right. Even when he puts on his suit to go to work, he still
looks disheveled because it’s just not his thing.
Emily Mortimer and Ben Wishaw as the grown-up Jane and Michael Banks
What’s the process like
of working with the actors and Rob. Is there a lot of interplay with the
designs? Not that I can imagine anyone questioning your instincts.
Sandy Powell: Oh sure, lots of little things, nothing really drastic. I think
I’d be very bored if it was just me designing something with no one having any
comments about it. Ultimately, I’m working for the director.
John Myhre: Yeah, the fun part is the collaboration.
Sandy Powell: Exactly. I love when someone questions something and it makes me
think about it. It might force me down a different avenue where I can find
something better.
And I assume that the collaboration
between you two is very strong as well.
Sandy Powell: Yes. We work in very close proximity to each other. My room was
very close to John’s and I would very often look at his plans and the colors
and think about how the costumes would look in those sets. I need to know what
the room is going to be, you don’t want characters blending into the background
or clashing with the wallpaper!
John Myhre: I remember how exciting it was when we did our first camera
tests. We just used the most simplistic backgrounds but in the right colors and
then your beautiful work came in Sandy, and it was so exciting for me to see
them come together for the first time.
Sandy Powell: It would be impossible to do something like this in isolation.
You can’t have John doing his thing over there and have me doing my thing over
here, and just hope it all comes together. That would never work.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns is now available on DVD and Blu-ray and can be viewed on various
digital platforms including Netflix.
Win tickets to see “The Shawshank Redemption 25th Anniversary” on the Big Screen! In Select Cinemas Nationwide Sun Sept 22, Tues Sept 24 and Wed Sept 25
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
CMH continues with our 4th year of our partnership with Fathom Events – with the 11th of our 14 movie ticket giveaways for 2019, courtesy of Fathom Events!
We’ll be giving away EIGHT PAIRS of tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: The Shawshank Redemption 25th Anniversary” on the Big Screen — starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.
In order to qualify to win a pair of movie tickets via this contest, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, Sept 7 at 6pm EST.
We will announce the winner(s) on Twitter on Sunday, Sept 8, between 6PM EST and 7PM EST. If a winner(s) does not have a Twitter account, we will announce that winner(s) via this blog in the comment section below.
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday Sept 7 at 6pm EST…
1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post
THE QUESTION: Although not officially a classic-era film, what in your opinion makes “The Shawshank Redemption” a classic? And, if you haven’t seen it, why do you want to see it on the Big Screen?
2) Then TWEET* (not DM) the following message: I just entered to win tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics Presents: The Shawshank Redemption 25th Anniversary” on the Big Screen courtesy of @ClassicMovieHub & @FathomEvents – you can enter too at http://ow.ly/UofZ50vF8mM
IMPORTANT: If you don’t have a Twitter account OR if your Twitter account is private, you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account (or it is private), so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
NOTE: if for any reason you encounter a problem commenting here on this blog, please feel free to tweet or DM us, or send an email to clas…@gmail.com and we will be happy to create the entry for you.
ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
About the film: From a novella by best-selling author Stephen King comes a poignant tale of the human spirit. Red (Morgan Freeman), serving a life sentence, and Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a mild-mannered banker wrongly convicted of murder, forge an unlikely bond that will span more than twenty years. Together they discover hope as the ultimate means of survival. This 25th anniversary event includes exclusive insight from Turner Classic Movies.
Please note that only United States residents are eligible to enter this giveaway contest. (see contest rules for further information)
BlogHub members ARE also eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).
Film noir is teeming with well-known starring roles for women — Jane Greer in Out of the Past, Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, and Gene Tierney in Laura come immediately to mind. But there are also lots of one-scene wonders, those female characters whose physical presence may come and go, but whose impact packs a wallop. This month’s Noir Nook serves up a new series by taking a look at these characters – my inaugural entry in the series shines the spotlight on one such character in one of my favorite noirs, The Big Heat(1953).
Dorothy Green
This first-rate film stars Glenn Ford as Dave O’Bannion, a tough, uber-righteous big-city detective who is determined to unearth the truth behind the suicide of a fellow cop, Tom Duncan, and his connection to a local mob boss, Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby). Others in this multi-layered feature include Lagana’s right-hand man, the sadistic Vince Stone (Lee Marvin); Vince’s money-loving girlfriend, Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame), who’s flighty on the outside but steely on the inside; and Bertha Duncan (Jeannette Nolan), the not-so-grieving widow of the dead cop.
Dorothy Green and Glenn Ford in The Big Heat (1953)
Aside from these featured roles, there’s another character in the film
who, while appearing in only one scene, plays a pivotal role in the film’s
plot. She’s Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green), a world-weary, self-described “B-girl,”
who contacts the dead cop’s superiors, insisting that Duncan couldn’t have
committed suicide. Dave O’Bannion is dispatched to meet with the woman, and he
promptly learns that she was Duncan’s mistress. Lucy maintains that, contrary
to his wife’s claims, Tom Duncan was in perfect health and had been in
especially good spirits since his wife had agreed to a divorce. O’Bannion’s
response is skeptical, bordering on insulting: “What’s your pitch, Lucy?” he
asks her. “You trying to use us for a shakedown?” Despite O’Bannion’s derisive
reaction to her claims, Lucy is earnest and resolute, even threatening to take
her story to the newspapers. O’Bannion maintains his doubts during their
interview, but Lucy’s story gives him pause, and he ends up returning to the
home of Duncan’s widow for more questioning. Sadly, his change of heart comes
too late for Lucy – the following day, she is found strangled to death.
Lucy’s abbreviated, seemingly inconsequential interaction with O’Bannion becomes the catalyst that leads to his relentless investigation of Duncan’s death and ultimately connects Duncan and his wife to the criminal enterprise run by the refined but ruthless Mike Lagana. While Lucy’s life and death are dismissed by O’Bannion’s boss (“Some of these babes keep pretty shady company,” he says. “They know nobody cares much what happens to them”), O’Bannion believes her story and her courage in coming forward is invaluable.
An autographed photo of Green
The character of Lucy was played by Dorothy Green, who was born in Los Angeles in 1920. She wasn’t bitten by the acting bug until she was in her early 30s after she was married and had started a family. After a chance meeting at a charity event with the wife of an agent, the woman introduced Green to her spouse and the agent encouraged Green to pursue acting. Her first acting gig was in 1953 on an episode of TV’s The Jack Benny Program; later that year, she made her feature film debut in The Big Heat. Green went on to appear in small parts in such big-screen features as Them! (1954); Trial (1955), another Glenn Ford starrer; and The Helen Morgan Story (1957), as well as numerous television shows, most notably on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless. Her last appearance was on a Canadian television show in 1997; she died nine years later at the age of 88.
Stay tuned to the Noir Nook for more minor but memorable women (and men!) in film noir. And let me know if you have any suggestions for future posts!
…
– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub
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:
Silents are Golden: Before Valentino – 6 Heartthrobs Of The 1910s
When Rudolph Valentino became a 1920s superstar thanks to the megahits The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse(1921) and The Sheik(1921), he basically changed the definition of “matinee idol” forever. Unlike many popular actors at the time, who tended to be steady, “regular guy” types, the young Italian often played characters with a dangerous edge and definite air of sensuality. Even today, it’s not hard to see why women became obsessed with him.
Which might make you wonder: before Valentino, which leading actors were considered major heartthrobs? After all, when we list handsome silent film actors today, 1920s personalities like John Gilbert or Ramon Novarro will spring to mind–but who were the “hotties” of the Edwardian era?
…..
6.
Harold Lockwood
Harold Lockwood
You’ve probably never heard of Harold Lockwood, but in the mid-1910s his name was known from sea to shining sea. Raised in Newark, New Jersey, in his late teens Lockwood felt drawn to the stage, at which point his father promptly (and unsurprisingly) convinced him to go to business school. After his studies, he became a drygoods salesman — all of which pretty much cemented Lockwood’s desire to become an actor. After several years in the theater, in 1911 Lockwood sent a letter of introduction to director Edwin S. Porter. Having a hunch about the good-looking young man, Porter made Lockwood one of his lead actors.
Porter’s hunch was correct, for Lockwood swiftly became one of the biggest names in Hollywood, acting in over 130 films. He was frequently being paired with actress May Allison, and they were considered an adorable screen pair. Unfortunately, Lockwood’s stardom wouldn’t last long; like millions of other unfortunates, he contracted the Spanish flu during the great 1918 epidemic. He passed away at a hotel in New York City, at the mere age of 31.
…..
5.
Francis X. Bushman
Francis X. Bushman
This portrait might hold some clues as to why Francis X. Bushman was so popular. As a youth, Bushman developed an interest in bodybuilding, eventually worked as a sculptor’s model, and in 1911 got into “pictures.” During his busy career, he would star in almost 200 films, and was dubbed “The Handsomest Man In The World” and “The King of the Movies.” He also donated land on Hollywood Boulevard to showman Sid Grauman, who used it to build the world-famous Chinese Theater.
All wasn’t smooth sailing for Bushman, however. In 1918 there was a nation-wide scandal when it was revealed he was having an affair with actress Beverly Bayne (Bushman would be married four times in all). He career had a downturn by 1919, and he attempted a comeback with the role of Messala in the wildly-anticipated Ben-Hur (1925). But even Ben-Hur couldn’t bring him back to superstardom, so eventually, he turned to keeping busy in radio and television until his death from a heart attack in 1966.
…..
4.
Earle Williams
Earle Williams
In the Edwardian era, Earle Williams’s popularity was at such a height that fan magazine polls voted him “most popular actor” in 1915. After acting stints in the theaters of San Francisco, he got a head start in “moving pictures” in 1908. Becoming a lead player at the pioneering Vitagraph Studio, he was frequently paired with the popular Anita Stewart. Some of his biggest hits included The Juggernaut (1915), a thrilling disaster drama that involved crashing a real train, and the serial The Goddess (1915).
His career stayed strong throughout the 1920s when he became one of Paramount’s most dependable players. But he wouldn’t live to see the talkies — he passed away from bronchial pneumonia in 1927. His pallbearers would include such esteemed Hollywood figures as Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer.
…..
3.
Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa
Of all the 1910s heartthrobs, Sessue Hayakawa was the biggest kindred spirit to Valentino’s dangerous 1920s sheik. His background was tinged with both drama and good fortune: after failing to get into a Japanese naval academy, a rift came between him and his father and he attempted suicide. Upon his recovery, he went to study at the University of Chicago. While in Los Angeles planning on taking a ship back to Japan, he decided to visit the Japanese Theatre in Little Tokyo. Fascinated, he decided on a career in the theater.
His innate talent led to being spotted by movie producer Thomas H. Ince. His popularity took off and soon, Hayakawa was one of the top-paid actors in cinema. Frequently playing suave, “exotic” villains, his brooding good looks made him a major sex symbol of the era. In the 1920s he turned his attention to Japanese and European cinema, and his most famous talkie role would be in The Bridge on the River Kwai. He passed away in 1973, having made over 100 film appearances.
…..
2.
Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
A native of Spain, Antonio Moreno emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager and became an actor in the Massachusetts theaters. Heading to Hollywood in 1912, he signed with the prestigious Biograph studio and then moved to Vitagraph where he co-starred with the popular Norma Talmadge. His prolific work in serials earned him the title of “King of the Cliffhangers.”
In the 1920s, Moreno’s smoldering looks made him a worthy rival to Valentino’s “Latin Lover” roles. His versatility led to acting with numerous superstars like Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, and Colleen Moore. His thick Spanish accent made the talkies difficult for him, however, and he would supplement his Hollywood work with roles in Mexican films. Reinventing himself as a character actor, he had a number of lauded roles in the ‘40s and ‘50s, including appearances in The Searchers, Captain from Castileand Creature From the Black Lagoon. Retiring in the ‘50s, he lived out his days in Beverly Hills, passing away in 1967.
…..
1.
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Often called “Wally” by his adoring fans, Wallace Reid was perhaps the biggest matinee idol of the 1910s. Born into a show business family from St. Louis, Reid began working in cinema after his father Hal started writing and directing films around 1910. A clean-cut, athletic type with an easy sense of humor, Reid was soon cast in leads (he also enjoyed directing) and his star rose very quickly. A car enthusiast, in the late 1910s he became a kind of action hero, playing race car drivers in thrillers like The Roaring Road(1919) and Excuse My Dust(1920).
By the end of the decade, Reid’s film schedule grew increasingly hectic. In 1919 he was injured in a trainwreck, and a doctor prescribed morphine for the pain — and to help keep Reid churning out 8-9 features a year. Reid quickly became addicted, however, and tragically the beloved actor passed away in 1923. His wife, actress Dorothy Davenport, would release a film called Human Wreckage(1923) warning of the dangers of drug addiction.
…..
They came from different backgrounds, different countries, and are largely forgotten today, but all of these actors managed to make their mark on Hollywood history — and on countless adoring fans. And today, watching these clean-cut Edwardian gentlemen in their well-tailored clothes reminds me that really, tastes haven’t changed all that much.
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.
It was an early afternoon in June as I trooped along from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile near George IV Bridge with my family in tow. We were headed for Greyfriars Kirkyard to poke around the tombs until our tour time at Edinburgh Castle, and the old city heaved with tourists from around the globe, all jostling for selfies with the statue of Greyfriars Bobby and gawking at the inevitable bagpipers kitted out in full Highland garb and blasting “Loch Lomond” for spare change. I was winded, hungry, and rather out of sorts after the long uphill climb from Princes Street, which my knees very much resented, when I looked up and found myself staring into the enormous face of Frankenstein’s monster. Frankenstein! I laughed out loud. Boris Karloff had been haunting me through our whole UK trip, and now here we were, face to face, at the entrance to a pub called Frankenstein.
Boris Karloff is a quintessential name in classic horror, leaving one to wonder if William Henry Pratt would have been so successful had he not adopted the ominous Continental pseudonym. He was born in Camberwell, now part of South London, in 1887, the youngest of nine children. He left England for Canada and then Hollywood, but he returned to his native country late in life and died there in 1969. His most famous role, that of the nameless creature in Frankenstein (1931), doesn’t particularly connect him with England or make use of his rich, distinctly British voice, but it wasn’t only Frankenstein that kept Karloff on my mind as I toured London, York, and Edinburgh over a ten-day trip.
In Bedlam, Karloff’s evil keeper terrorizes the inmates of the notorious 18th century London mental asylum.
In London, I thought of Karloff as the club-footed henchman to Basil Rathbone’s Richard III in Tower of London (1939) and as the keeper of the infamous madhouse in Bedlam (1946). We toured the west side of Highgate Cemetery, where the guide’s lecture on Victorian cemetery security measures put me in mind of Corridors of Blood (1958), in which Karloff’s London physician gets mixed up with cadaver trader and murderer Resurrection Joe, played to menacing effect by Christopher Lee. Highgate is a mecca for classic horror fans, having appeared as a location in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), and Tales from the Crypt (1972), among others. If it doesn’t set your imagination swirling with images of horror icons nothing will. As I stood in a dark crypt surrounded by moldering coffins I could almost hear Karloff, in the slow rumble of Frankenstein’s creature in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), insisting “We belong dead.” It sent a shiver up my spine.
In Corridors of Blood, Karloff plays a pioneering surgeon in Victorian London whose pursuit of medical innovation leads to addiction and murder.
The rest of our journey continued the Gothic mood as history and horror entwined at every stop. York has its own connections to Richard III, of course, but a ghost bus tour on a rainy night prompted thoughts of The Old Dark House (1932) and The Ghoul (1933) and a visit to a castle prison helped to keep Tower of London and Bedlam stirring in my thoughts while adding The Strange Door (1951) into the mix. We stayed in a 17th-century convent where we peered down into the gloomy confines of a priest hole in the chapel, but we didn’t get a glimpse of their most prized possession, the severed hand of the Catholic martyr Margaret Clitherow, whose execution by pressing was as gruesome as any horror film could devise. It was just the sort of thing that Mord, Karloff’s character in Tower of London, would have enjoyed inflicting on his victims in Richard’s dungeon.
Karloff stars as the grave robber John Gray in The Body Snatcher, which is set in Edinburgh and inspired by the crimes of real-life resurrection men Burke and Hare.
By the time we reached Edinburgh, I had a head full of cemeteries, monsters, and murder, which is probably the perfect attitude in which to tour a city so famous for dark deeds. No wonder the Frankenstein pub is situated there! We got a thorough review of Edinburgh’s history of horrors at the Edinburgh Dungeon, where a segment of the tour is devoted to the infamous grave robbers Burke & Hare, along with their accomplice Dr. Knox. That, of course, reminded me of Karloff’s role in the 1945 film, The Body Snatcher, adapted from a short story by Edinburgh’s own Robert Louis Stevenson and directly inspired by the notorious grave robbers. It was the perfect conclusion to a trip where Karloff’s presence had constantly haunted me.
The persistence with which Karloff recurred in my thoughts during our journey reminded me how essential he is to our sense of classic horror. Whatever he plays, whether henchman or monster or tormented gentleman, Karloff always excels, and he looks equally at home in medieval torture chambers and gaslit Victorian alleys. Imagine Universal or Val Lewton or even Roger Corman without his talents. Frankenstein (1931) made him famous, but The Mummy (1932) showed his uncanny ability to mesmerize the audience with his rich voice and dark, piercing gaze. Lewton was very good at giving Karloff later roles that made the most of his tremendous screen presence, especially in The Body Snatcher and Bedlam, while Corman gave him the chance to show his comedic side in the last years of his career, particularly in The Comedy of Terrors (1963).
When he died, Karloff was cremated, and his ashes were deposited at Guildford Crematorium in Surrey, but you don’t need to visit Guildford to feel close to him. Any shadowy cemetery crypt or foggy cobblestone street can conjure him, especially in the history haunted settings of his native country. Frankenstein’s monster might be long dead, but Boris Karloff lives on, not just in his roles but in the delicious, dreadful thrill of familiarity we feel when we find ourselves in places where horror films and history overlap.
How many Films did Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor Star in Together?
Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor were married on May 14, 1939, after about three years of ‘dating’… They divorced in February 1952 (some sources say 1951), and although they did not star in any films together during their 12-plus-year marriage, they did make three films together over the course of their careers.
Stanwyck and Taylor starred in THREE FILMs together, two before their marriage, and one 12+ years after their divorce.
His Brothers Wife (1936) (romantic drama directed by W.S. Van Dyke)
This is My Affair (1937) (crime drama directed by William A. Seiter)
1. Stanwyck and Taylor got their marriage license about a week prior to tying the knot, keeping their plans a secret, and registering under their legal names Ruby (Catherine) Stevens and (Spangler) Arlington Brugh.
Newlyweds Brugh and Stevens, aka Taylor and Stanwyck
…..
2. The couple eloped to San Diego and were married a little after midnight on May 14th, superstitious of getting married on the 13th.
3. Zeppo Marx ‘s wife, Marion, who introduced Stanwyck to Taylor, was Stanwyck’s Matron of Honor.
Barbara Stanwyck, Zeppo and Marion Marx, and Robert Taylor, 1939.
…..
4. Stanwyck and The Marxes were steadfast friends, and together they established Marwyck (now Oakridge Estate), a thoroughbred ranch and state of the art horse breeding facility.
While many think of MGM studios when reflecting upon some of the best musical films made during the Golden Age, 20th Century Fox certainly had its fair share of musical stars. Among the many Fox actresses was June Haver, who was intended to become the next Betty Grable. Though not necessarily synonymous with Grable, she led a successful career with personal interests that differed from Grable’s.
Beverly June Stovenour was born in Rock Island, Illinois, on June 10, 1926, and was the middle child with two sisters. Her parents divorced at an early age and she was adopted by her stepfather, Bert Haver. June took on his name as her family prepared to relocate. Her family moved to Cincinnati, where she made her stage debut at the age of six in a local production of Midnight in a Toyshop. By age seven, she entered and won a contest hosted by the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. At age eight, she took part in a screen test contest by imitating the likes of Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, and Helen Hayes. When she turned ten, she started performing for crooner Rudy Vallee and was winning musical contests.
By 1936, Haver and her mother
returned to Rock Island. Haver’s mother was an actress and her father was a
musician, leading Haver to be unsure of which career path to follow. Her mother
did not want Haver to become an actress because she felt that she was too
young.
Instead, Haver became a noteworthy
child star on the radio, singing on the WHBF local radio station, and worked
regularly as a band singer during her teen years. She performed with the Ted
Fio Rito Orchestra, in addition to working for bandleaders Dick Jurgens and
Freddy Martin. All the while, she was a parishioner at St. Mary’s Catholic
Church in Rock Island.
A young June
While touring with these bands, Haver and her mother arrived in California. By the summer of 1942, with Haver aged 16 years, they moved to Hollywood, where Haver finished high school and participated in plays. Haver was discovered by a scout from 20th Century Fox during a school production in which she was costumed as a southern belle and was signed to a contract with the studio. She made her film debut in an uncredited role in The Gang’s All Here(1943) as a hat-check girl but was dropped because studio executives felt that she looked too youthful. However, she was signed once again and her costume and hairstyle were adapted to make her look older.
The studio began to fashion Haver into a glamorous potential stand-in for top stars Alice Faye and Betty Grable. Haver carried out a supporting role in Home in Indiana(1944) and soon replaced Faye in the Technicolor musical Irish Eyes Are Smiling(1944). She would co-star with her future husband, Fred MacMurray, in Where Do We Go From Here? (1945).
Haver would return to her home state
for the premiere of The Dolly Sisters at the Chicago Theatre.
In 1947, Harried married trumpet
player James Zito, who she met at 15 when touring with Fio Rito’s orchestra.
Though they lost contact when Haver moved from Illinois to Beverly Hills, they
started dating when Haver made a visit to her Illinois hometown in 1946. She
filed for divorce less than a year after eloping with Zito, feeling that she
had not really known him and that he was basically a stranger to her. Since she
was a devout Catholic, she tried to make the marriage work and to overcome her
unhappiness by turning to the church.
As mentioned above, Haver made a
highly publicized visit to her hometown of Rock Island, Illinois. The
festivities included a parade in her honor and tributes to Haver at the local
Chamber of Commerce. October 31, 1946, was dubbed “June Haver Day” in
Rock Island, during which she was given a golden key to the city at the Fort
Armstrong Hotel and signed autographs for fans.
June Haver in Look For the Silver Lining (1949)
As part of her visit, she was also
named Mayor for the day. Across from the Fort Armstrong Hotel, Haver was a
guest at the Fort Theater. According to a 1946 publicity article, the theater
was “doing a Grauman and casting her feet in cement.” She appeared in
a white strapless evening gown and white gloves, with orchids from the Chamber
of Commerce attached to her ermine stole. She held on to the Mayor as she
stepped in the wet cement with her shoes on.
The next day, Haver traveled to
Moline, IL, to catch a football game between Rock Island and Moline High
Schools. Not only was she a special guest, but she helped drive the train.
Just before the game, Haver was on
the receiving end of some autographs for a change. She was gifted with a
football signed by the Rock Island team.
Her visit would be mentioned several
times in the Rock Island High School Yearbook.
June Haver as Marilyn Miller in Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
After divorcing Zito, Haver dated
Dr. John L. Duzik, whom she knew prior to her marriage with Zito. Though they
planned on marrying, Duzik died from surgery complications in 1949.
While Haver’s star continued to
shine, she remained close to her family throughout. Her sisters, Evelyn and
Dorothy, followed her to Hollywood and worked as her stand-ins and her mother,
Marie, was her personal secretary.
Haver also built an apartment house
in Westwood, CA, in 1949 after learning that her sister could not get an
apartment because she had a child and a puppy. The grounds were fenced in for
the child’s safety and each apartment had closets with miniature hangers for
the children’s clothes. Haver refused to rent to anyone without children.
As Haver continued to appear in more musicals, she also found herself teamed with Marilyn Monroe, the latest studio bombshell in Love Nest(1951). While Haver received top billing, the publicity centered around Monroe and would be Haver’s only black and white film.
After Duzik’s death, Haver grew
disenchanted with Hollywood. In February of 1953, she became a postulate nun
with the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth in Kansas, but she stayed until
October of that year because of poor health.
Haver returned to California and
reunited with MacMurray and soon developed a romance. They married on June 28,
1954. After they married, Haver expressed a desire to adopt a little girl, but
MacMurray–18 years older than her–refused because he had already been a
father. Nevertheless, he eventually agreed to adopt and they adopted twin
daughters. The couple remained together until MacMurray’s passing in 1991.
Fred and June with their adopted twin daughters
After Haver married MacMurray, she essentially retired from acting, aside from occasional television appearances. Her final film appearance would be The Girl Next Door(1953).
Thinking about the future and her legacy, Haver finally joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science at age 75, thanks to the urging of her friends Ann Miller and Ann Rutherford. To this day, the Academy Film Archive houses the Fred MacMurray-June Haver Collection, complemented by their papers at the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library.
Haver passed away on July 4, 2005,
at age 79.
Today, there are traces of Haver’s
legacy in Illinois, particularly in her hometown.
According to the 1930 census, Haver’s
family lived at 8046 Ingleside Ave., in Chicago, IL. Here is a shot of the
property today:
Haver residence at 8046 Ingleside Ave., in Chicago, IL
Her Rock Island address was 1814 1/2
13th St. in 1940. This is the property currently:
Haver’s 1940 Rock Island residence
Rock Island High School, which
celebrated June Haver Day in 1946, stands today at 1400 25th Ave., in Rock
Island, IL.
Rock Island High School
St. Mary’s Church, where Haver
worshiped during her time in her hometown, exists at 2208 4th Ave. in Rock
Island.
June’s Hometown Church, St. Mary’s.
The Fort Armstrong Hotel, where she
arrived and received a key to the city, is a historic structure. Though no
longer a hotel, it is an assisted living facility at 1900 3rd Ave. in Rock
Island.
The former Fort Armstrong Hotel
Although the Fort Theater no longer
exists, her footprints are still safe and secure. They are now situated at the
Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse located at 1828 3rd Ave. in Rock Island.
June Haver’s prints are immortalized in Rock Island, IL
Whether you enjoy Haver’s films or are able to pass through her hometown, it is heartening to see that she is remembered and echoes of her legacy remain.
Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.
Win tickets to see “Lawrence of Arabia” on the Big Screen! In Select Cinemas Nationwide Sun Sept 1 and Wed Sept 4
CMH continues with our 4th year of our partnership with Fathom Events – with the 10th of our 14 movie ticket giveaways for 2019, courtesy of Fathom Events!
This is an extra exciting one for us! We’ll be giving away EIGHT PAIRS of tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: Lawrence of Arabia” on the Big Screen — the 7x Academy Award winning epic masterpiece directed by David Lean and starring Peter O’Toole… painstakingly restored and presented in 4K.
In order to qualify to win a pair of movie tickets via this contest, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, Aug 17 at 6pm EST.
We will announce the winner(s) on Twitter on Sunday, Aug 18, between 6PM EST and 7PM EST. If a winner(s) does not have a Twitter account, we will announce that winner(s) via this blog in the comment section below.
David Lean’s timeless epic, Lawrence of Arabia won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (David Lean) and Best Cinematography Color (Freddie Young)
The film will be playing in select cinemas nationwide for a special two-day-only event on Sunday Sept 1 and Wednesday Sept 4 at select times. Winners will be responsible for their own transportation to the Event. Only United States entries are eligible. Please click here before you enter to ensure that the Event is scheduled at a theater near you and that you are able to attend. (please note that there might be slightly different theater listings and/or screening times for each date)
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday Aug 17 at 6pm EST…
1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post
THE QUESTION: What is it about ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ that makes it a classic? Or, if you haven’t seen it yet, why do you want to see it on the Big Screen?
2) Then TWEET* (not DM) the following message: I just entered to win tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics Presents: Lawrence of Arabia” on the Big Screen courtesy of @ClassicMovieHub & @FathomEvents – you can enter too at http://ow.ly/OXhY50vet2f
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Peter O’Toole stars as WWI British officer T.E Lawrence
About the film: Winner of 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture of 1962, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA stands as one of the most timeless and essential motion picture masterpieces. The greatest achievement of its legendary, Oscar®-winning director, David Lean (1962, Lawrence of Arabia: 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai), the film stars Peter O’Toole – in his career-making performance – as T.E Lawrence, the audacious World War 1 British army officer who heroically united rival Arab desert tribes and led them to war against the mighty Turkish Empire. This predominant classic is not one to miss, don’t pass up your chance to see this revolutionary title on the big screen! Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The unique event includes exclusive insight from Turner Classic Movies. This digital print of Lawrence of Arabia is presented in 4K. Utilizing 8K scans of the 65mm original negative, the picture was painstakingly restored, removing the damage, deterioration and fading it had experienced over 50 years. Accompanied by remastered 5.1 audio, the film is presented in its original 2.20 aspect ratio, along with the original overture and intermission.
Please note that only United States residents are eligible to enter this giveaway contest. (see contest rules for further information)
BlogHub members ARE also eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).
I love to watch Westerns, and I also love to read about them!
A variety of books helped make me the classic film and Western fan that I am today. In this column, I’ll take a look at some of the books which shaped my interest in Westerns from an early age, as well as some more recent titles I have especially enjoyed.
One of the earliest books to expose me to Westerns, going back to
childhood years, was A Pictorial History of the Western Film by
the great historian William K. Everson. Like some of the other books to be
discussed here, I first read it thanks to my local library, then later acquired
my own copy.
A Pictorial History of the Western Film by William K. Everson
The book was first published in 1969, with my copy from The
Citadel Press being a softcover dating from 1975. Everson’s book is chock full
of movie Western history, covering silents and early sound Westerns, the
“B’s,” and the evolution of the Western through the ’60s.
As a young teenager exploring classic films, the photos were probably even more important to me than the text; in that pre-VHS (let alone DVD!), pre-cable, and the pre-Internet world, the stills helped to visually open up a world of films I could only dream of seeing one day. I often made lists of movies I’d like to see, based on the photos and descriptions; some would eventually turn up on television (often edited and always filled with commercials) and a few were screened in 35mm at the Los Angeles revival houses our family frequented, but many of the films depicted have only become part of my life in more recent years, thanks to cable TV and DVD. In fact, I’ve realized reviewing the book for this post that I will really benefit from a reread at this juncture, having been able to see so many of the films discussed in recent years!
Another key book in my movie Western education was The Western Film by Charles Silver, published in 1976 as part of the Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies. That series, edited by Ted Sennett, had many wonderful titles by additional authors such as Leonard Maltin, Foster Hirsch, and Jeanine Basinger and was a big part of my early film education. I own over 50 titles in the series! The Western Film is a genre survey which, like Everson’s book, exposed me to Western film history and some of the greatest titles and stars.
The Western Film by Charles Silver
The book which started it all for me in terms of John Ford Westerns was undoubtedly The Western Films of John Ford (1974) by J.A. Place. With the exception of Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), which I grew up watching on TV regularly, this book was my first exposure to all things Ford. While I have always found some of the author’s analysis overwrought — I feel that sometimes “A door is just a door is a door” rather than having deeper meaning — the film plots, author insights, and other information made me long to see the movies described; the beautiful, well-chosen stills whetted my appetite even more.
The Western Films of John Ford by J.A. Place
The Western Films of John Ford was one of my very favorite film books in those early
years, one of the titles I finally owned after checking it out of the library
countless times. I also own the author’s The Non-Western Films of John
Ford and many other Ford books, but this was the book which first made
me think “I’ve got to see these movies!” Paging through the book
today, it’s hard to believe there was a time when I hadn’t seen the movies
described; I never take it for granted that I now have the ability to watch any
of the films whenever I want.
Pyramid editor Ted Sennett authored Great Hollywood
Westerns, an oversized 272-page coffee table book published in 1990. I
didn’t have either VHS or cable TV until later in the ’90s — instead, I was an
early adopter of the Beta format! — so while I’d seen a good number of Westerns
by that point, the book still left me dreaming of many others I hoped to see
one day. The book also contains extensive text on movie Western history.
Great Hollywood Westerns by Ted Sennett
Don Miller’s Hollywood Corral: A Comprehensive B-Western Roundup was written in 1976, then freshly edited by Ed Hulse and Packy Smith for republication in 1993, adding additional essays by other historians and an all-new selection of photos. This big 559-page book is filled with terrific info, including a wonderful chapter on Western locations by Dave Holland, who also wrote On Location in Lone Pine (1990). This book is a must-own history for fans of “B” Westerns.
Hollywood Corral: A Comprehensive B-Western Roundup by Don Miller
Switching to relatively recent books, below are a few of the titles
I love today, both for reading and for reference.
Those who read my column on Universal Gems know how much I love Universal Westerns!
Universal International Westerns, 1947-1963 by Gene Blottner
I first read Universal International Westerns, 1947-1963 (2000)
by Gene Blottner thanks to the kindness of my friend Toby Roan of the great
blog 50 Westerns From the 50s. The book was so invaluable that I later had to
get my own copy. It contains cast and crew listings, locations, plots,
background notes, and excerpts from original reviews for the 114 Westerns
released by Universal in this time period. Needless to say, it’s a must for
those who share my love for these movies.
Western historians Michael G. Fitzgerald and Boyd Magers have
published two remarkable books, Westerns Women (1999)
and Ladies of the Western (2002).
Westerns Women and Ladies of the Western by Michael G. Fitzgerald and Boyd Magers
These books contain detailed interviews with a total of 101 actresses who appeared in film and TV Westerns. Jane Adams to Virginia Vale, Julie Adams to Marie Windsor, and so many more, sharing their individual memories of making Westerns. A Western filmography is also provided for each actress. These books are essential reading for serious Western fans.
These books are so new to my collection that I’ve only read a small portion of each one, but I’m so impressed with the depth of the information included that I wanted to mention them here.
Six-Gun Law and Six-Gun Law 2 by Barry Atkinson
Both books are thick paperbacks with fairly small print, and they discuss the actors’ Western films in considerable depth. While I have other good books on Scott, McCrea, and Murphy, being able to read up on the films of Western stars like Montgomery, Calhoun, and Cameron is a Western fan’s dream come true, given the relative dearth of information published on their movies. I haven’t agreed with all of Atkinson’s opinions, but I respect them, and once again books are causing me to jot down lists of Western titles I need to watch!
Needless to say, this survey barely scratches the surface of
worthwhile books, including titles on specific actors, and I intend to write
about additional “Western movie books” in a future column…or two!
In the meantime, I hope readers will share some of their favorite
book recommendations in the comments.
Happy Western viewing…and reading!
…
– 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.
