Happy Birthday, Mr. Cagney!

                                   James Francis Cagney
                       b. July 17, 1899 and d. March 30, 1986

Have You Ever Crawled into a Haystack? --- I Don't Recommend it!

Fast and Loose (1939) was the last picture Bob and Rosalind Russell made together.  Kinda wish they could have continued pairing up as they grew older, watching the relationship change with Roz developing into the more dominant figure.  Anyway, it has been some time since I saw the movie so I am looking forward to seeing it tomorrow, July 12th at 10:30 PST on TCM.  TCM is also showing The Divorcee (1930) on demand until July 18th.  A double feature, maybe!  Let's see, I have popcorn and Pepsi ... yeah, I'm ready! 

                          Bob and Roz in Fast and Loose (1939)

Is Copying Really the Best Compliment?

I have always admired Bob's autograph, the one he developed in the early 1930s.  This 1933 version is a little sloppy compared to the one you see later in the 1930s, it is not written in a perfectly straight line.  It was also written in a book from his library, so perhaps he just did not feel it had to be all that neat.  He does use the line he always draws under his name.  It can vary a little, but the consistent part of the line is the two short marks cutting through the middle of the line.  At one point, I thought it might stand for "H", or Henry, his real first name.  But then I realized it was a somewhat common mark, so had to toss the Henry theory, although I prefer it. 

The actor Louis Mann (Sins of the Children, 1930), had a similar autograph. 

And Chester Morris, a good buddy of Bob's during the time he was developing his autograph, happened to underline his name in a very similar way.  Hmm...

Happy Fourth of July!! Have a Great One!

Guess what movie I'll be watching Thursday ... patriotic, true Americana, a great musical and a dancing Jim Cagney.  Only thing missing is the barbecue.  (Guess I'll have to provide that!)

Happy Birthday to a Nice Lady

I have always liked Madge Evans, perhaps because she was so typecast as the nice girl in her films.  Or maybe she was a nice human being and it just came through on the screen.  Whatever, she co-starred with Bob in four films, the two becoming friends, able to understand each other's career frustrations. 

In Made on Broadway (1933) Madge is so nice, she supports Bob even as his ex-wife. 

                   Bob and Madge in Made on Broadway (1933)

Nice, and rather pretty as well.

                                 July 1, 1909 - April 26, 1981