Leftovers - in the style of Larry King's ol' blurby column:
Watched Hollywood Party: Jimmy Durante is half naked and overly hairy (gah). Thank goodness the many cameos and "pre-codeness" of the film make up for that image. Another insanely catchy tune and a brief appearance by Robert Young make up for Jimmy's Schnarzan (I mean that in a loving way).
Magnificent Obsession is coming out on Criterion Collection DVD in January - both the Rock Hudson and Robert Taylor versions. I've only seen Rock's version and am inexplicably hooked.
Caught a documentary on Irving Thalberg on the History channel the other day. Very interesting - I need to find a good book on him now. I was surprised that in the 30 minutes I watched, there was no film or audio of him - just stills floating by.
Belated birthday wishes to Hoagy Carmichael (Nov. 22). Ahh, Stardust.
The current run of The Name's The Same ends this week. Withdrawal will be setting in, although not for Clifton Fadiman.
One of Lifetime's many channels had White Christmas in HD over the weekend. All queued up and ready on my DVR.
And on this day in history in 1934, Benny Goodman debuted on radio. Ahh, Moonglow...
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Robert Taylor was in another version of Magnificent Obsession? I did not know that.
Thanks for the Hoagy Carmichael video. I love that man.
The only bio on Thalberg that I know of is the one by Bob Thomas. It was written in the 1960's but don't let that stop you from reading it- I enjoyed it.
LP - thanks for the book tip! I also just found one that just came out over on Amazon: "Hollywood Dreams Made Real: Irving Thalberg and the Rise of M-G-M"
Yes, I just found out about that book too. It looks like it has lots of photos, I am definitely going to be reading it.
Hi Carrie, here's some random info for you: remember we were admiring the resort pool in THEIR OWN DESIRE earlier this year? I think I found it: the Norconian resort which was also seen in LOVE IN THE ROUGH.
There is a public TV series here called CALIFORNIA'S GOLD, hosted by Huell Howser, which did a show on the Norconian. (It's still there but empty; the building needs earthquake retrofitting if it will ever be able to be restored. The original tile and fixtures inside were amazing!) The pool looked familiar so I Googled it and pulled up the info at the above link that the movie was filmed there...I wonder if the dance sequence was filmed there too...have to watch it again! :)
Best wishes,
Laura
Laura - yes, I do remember - AWESOME! I'll check that out and do an update!
Hi again Carrie,
I was able to put in my tape of THEIR OWN DESIRE last night and take another look at the pool scene -- it's a definite match for the Norconian, including the high dive and the poolside bleachers.
I couldn't tell if the dance scene might have been filmed there, rather than on a soundstage (too dark), but I suspect a lakeside crowd scene later in the movie, when they're starting the search, was filmed on the resort grounds.
My dad thinks maybe his Boy Scout troop camped on the grounds of the Norconian when it was still run by the U.S. Navy in the postwar years. He remembers the boys couldn't understand why a navy base was so far inland! (The Navy turned the hotel into a hospital around the time of Pearl Harbor.)
Fun stuff. :) Love the intersection of film and So. CA history.
Best wishes,
Laura
I was going to write something up for the blog today, but got caught up in real work! Fascinating stuff. Noticed that there's a book on the place in the Arcadia series, too.
"Noticed that there's a book on the place in the Arcadia series, too."
Thanks for the tip!!
I'll look forward to your post when you have time to get to it!
Best wishes,
Laura
I don't think your being hooked on Magnificent Obsession is inexplicable; just shows good taste. :)Beautiful Douglas Sirk film with, as always, a lot going on underneath. I'm delighted that the Criterion release will include the older version as I'd love to see it!
I had read somewhere that someone was concerned the quality of the 50's Mag. Obs. film wouldn't be up to "Criterion standards" - I really don't care at this point - just looking forward to seeing it!
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