Smile Like You Mean It

U.S Film Star Begins War Service - Shown in Paris as he started his career as a volunteer ambulance driver, Robert Montgomery, American film star, flashes a broad smile with a thumbs-up - "all's well" - signal. That's his ambulance in the background.

Printed June 15, 1940

Cocktail Per Un Cadavere

Farley Granger is in town next week to promo his new book. In addition to a book signing, the venue is showing Hitchcock's Rope on the big screen. Since (sadly) I won't be able to make the event and see Philip in action, below is my mini tribute to this often ignored, yet techinically interesting movie. I've come to realize either you love or hate Rope. Me - it's one of my Hitchcock favorites.

Really, I'd might more happy if the evil Brandon appeared at the event...

TCM Bob Schedule For August

For TCM US - check your local listings for the exact time - these are Eastern times.

20 Monday
6 a.m. Fast And Loose (1939)
Married book-dealers Joel and Garda Sloane investigate the killing of a noted collector. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Reginald Owen. Dir: Edwin L. Marin. BW-80 mins

30 Thursday
2:30 p.m. Free And Easy (1930)
A bumbling manager turns a beauty queen into a Hollywood star. Cast: Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Robert Montgomery. Dir: Edward Sedgwick. BW-93 mins

Photo Friday - Freckles

1930 Hurrell photo of Joan Crawford for Paid.

Larger photo

Pardon My Dust

If you're running an RSS/ATOM feed of this blog, you might notice some old posts appearing. I'm updating links to some of the larger photos to my new site. Just ignore - or enjoy all over.

TCM Media Room

I browsed my way into a new section of the TCM web site the other day, their Media Room. Some background from a recent news release:

TCM's Media Room, which launched in June, aggregates more than 3,000 short-form videos, including classic trailers, short films, classic movie clips and interstitials, as well as an occasional feature film, and offers users an online cinematic experience. The premiere of Living on Love will be offered free for viewing for a limited time in July.

FYI: Living on Love is a full feature film from 1937 - a remake of Rafter Romance.

The Media Room allows you to search for actors or titles and save them to a playlist. Just a note, the playlist is based on browser cookies, not a username/password system, so you could lose your playlist over time.

I have to add, Robert Montgomery is well represented in their library of trailers.

Name that movie!

It's a Great Feeling (1949)

Film cameos can be a fun addition to a film. Add a bunch of classic cameos and it's even better. Warner Bros' It's a Great Feeling has a bunch of them - in color. The film stars Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson - as themselves. Jack is directing the film Mademoiselle Fifi and talks his buddy Dennis into starring. From then on, they try to get a small-town girl (from Goerke's Corners, WI - the Two Guys From Milwaukee jokes begin to appear) to star. . . and the fun begins:

Dennis & Gary Cooper

Ronald Reagan

Danny Kaye

Joan Crawford

Edward G. Robinson

Dennis & Jack try to talk Judy (Doris Day) into staying in Hollywood - why would she want to go back to Goerke's Corners to marry her boyfriend, Jeffrey Bushdinkle? Well...he looks a bit like...

Errol Flynn

Also in cameos are Sydney Greenstreet, Patricia Neal, Jane Wyatt, Maureen Reagan, Raoul Walks, King Vidor, Eleanor Parker, and more.

Photo Friday - Gregory & Joan

Today's photo is an old remnant cut out of a scrapbook - Gregory Peck & Joan Crawford. Joan actually looks a bit in awe...

Larger photo

Classic Montgomery dot com

Apparently I have too much free time because I've just launched a new web site - ClassicMontgomery.com

By no means is it meant to be an encyclopedia on Robert Montgomery. I like to think of it more along the lines of an "online scrapbook."

The beauty of the web is it's ability to change & adapt. So, if you have any ideas or comments you'd like to share, please feel free to drop me a note! And as always, if you have anything you'd like to contribute, please let me know.

Robert Young's Dark Side

Movie Morlocks blog has an entry on some of the "darker" roles Robert Young has played in his career: The Mortal Storm and They Won't Believe Me.

There's a comment from a reader about Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor, and Robert Young - how some of their better roles were the evil ones. I'll second that.