Hitchcock vs. Lombard

Carole & Co. has a writeup up on Carole Lombard directing Alfred Hitchcock's cameo in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I've seen video of her directing Hitch & believe it was also photographed for a Life Magazine issue.

TCM Bob Schedule for September

Not bad for one month's time. As always, check your local listings for exact time.

14 Friday
6 a.m. Hide-Out
Farmers take in an injured racketeer and try to reform him. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mickey Rooney. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II

16 Sunday
12 p.m. Here Comes Mr. Jordan
A prizefighter who died before his time is reincarnated as a tycoon with a murderous wife. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains. Dir: Alexander Hall

17 Monday
6 a.m. Biography Of A Bachelor Girl
A portrait painter is reunited with a lost love when her upcoming memoirs threaten his political career. Cast: Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, Edward Everett Horton. Dir: Edward H. Griffith

18 Tuesday
4:45 p.m. Rage In Heaven
A jealous man plots to fake his death and incriminate his wife's suspected lover. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II

22 Saturday
8 a.m. Lady In The Lake
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective's viewpoint. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan. Dir: Robert Montgomery

12:15 a.m. Free And Easy
A bumbling manager turns a beauty queen into a Hollywood star. Cast: Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Robert Montgomery. Dir: Edward Sedgwick.

Photo Friday - Busman's Honeymoon

A recent picture of Robert Montgomery who has just arrived in England to star in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios picture "Busman's Honeymoon", at Denham.

Larger photo

Anita Page's Thoughts On Bob

Anita Page starred in 4 Robert Montgomery films over her short career: Free and Easy, Our Blushing Brides, War Nurse, and The Easiest Way. Alternative Film Blog has posted an interview (in 2 parts) with author Allan Ellenberger, who interviewed Anita for his Ramon Novarro book.


One of the questions posted to Allan was what were Anita's thoughts on her on-screen romantic partners. On Robert Montgomery:

"I thought Robert had a marvelous manner of acting and a great line delivery. I once asked him how he achieved this style and he said 'stage work.' He told me that learning basic acting is essential, but real technique must come from working before a live audience. You learn how to time comic line-delivery, as well as develop your acting skills.

"When I asked if he played people like himself, he said 'no, no. You get costumes that are entirely different.' He also said that was one way to get rid of stage fright. It helps keep you anonymous with [the] audience — so if you forgot your lines, they wouldn't recognize you when you became another character. You were less nervous. I never forgot Bob's tip that day on the set, so when the door was open for me to do a live performance, I jumped on it!"

Automobile Accessories

Cars today come with DVD players, GPS devices, and leather seats. This particular early 30s model comes with a Robert Montgomery on the running board.

A note with the photo said it was a Duesenberg - couldn't tell you for sure. Bob did own some beautiful cars over his career...

Classic Coming Attractions

A new classic DVD column is up on The Digital Bits web site. There's some Barbara Stanwyck films of interest, but other than that, nothing to cause yours truly to break a leg while doing the dance of joy. I do recommend downloading the "Upcoming Classic Film Releases on DVD" list - the rumors portion is always a glint of hope.

On the flip side, a new photo scanner is in the mail, meaning soon you'll be spared from viewing only Joan Crawford pics on Fridays....

In Name Only - Radio Style

Today's radio feature is In Name Only from the Lux Radio Theater, presented December 11, 1939. The radio version includes the cast from the RKO film: Carole Lombard, Kay Francis, and Cary Grant. I always love the ending...

One Hour - 13 MB

Just in the Nick of Time

One of the films shown by TCM in July was Sky Murder (1940). Now if you recall, TCM was playing a million aviation related films last month, including this one which I TiVo'd. TCM was stretching the theme a bit - there were no dogfights, no war heroes, no daredevil barnstormers - just a murder on a plane. I'll leave it to the link above to give you a plot overview.

Sky Murder stars Walter Pidgeon as detective Nick Carter. The feel of the film is similar to the other detective series' on fim of the time like The Saint and The Falcon. As a side note, watch for Tom Conway, who would later star in The Falcon series (as did his brother). The characters in Sky Murder are slightly cartoonish, but definitely unique. As I say for a lot of films, it isn't an Oscar winner, but it's a fun watch like many other detective films of the time.

Walter has made it to my TiVo favorites list...

Photo Friday - What Becomes a Legend Most?

Large Photo

Irene Dunne

My theme this week seems to be directing y'all to interesting reads on other sites. So with that - Bright Lights Film Journal has a good writeup on the career and life of actress Irene Dunne.

h/t Alternative Film Guide blog

In a Lonely Place

Noir of the Week currently has a look at the film version of In a Lonely Place - check it out.

If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it - plus it is available on DVD.

"B" For Bob

I have to admit, one of the fun things about Robert Young films is that there's a ton of them - he was an MGM "B" actor for a number of years. One interesting blip I read noted Bob's predicament at the studio: "...[Robert Young] once remarked that he was assigned only those roles which Robert Montgomery and other "A-list" actors had rejected."