Poor Una, the Worst Honeymoon Ever

Lets see, you actually marry your handsome Prince Charming, head off for a honeymoon in France,  and drats if Prince Charming (now Rat fink) doesn't run off with his ex-wife to Switzerland.  On YOUR honeymoon!  Poor Una. 

                      Private Lives (1931) Bob & Una Merkel

At least you have your wedding picture taken by George Hurrell wearing an absolutely scrumptious wedding gown.  (It's a 10x13 photo slightly trimmed because of my scanner.  Sorry, George!)

Greetings from Bob!

A Christmas card from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Montgomery with Bob's hand-written "Greetings" on the cover.  How better to celebrate the season.  

There are three prancing deer embossed on the card, almost completely faded unfortunately.  The edge is silver, worn as well.  What is perfectly clear is the "Greetings" written by Bob.  Nice personal touch to an otherwise formal card. 

I'm guessing it's from the 1929 - 1931 period by the style, and no mention of family, i.e., Mr. & Mrs. Robert Montgomery & Family. 

A very, very nice memento to have.  Many thanks to the fortunate owner, Liz, for sharing it with us. 

I am sort of ready for Christmas - I never accomplish all my plans!  My husband has the outdoor lights up, a much dreaded task he undertakes every year on my behalf.  No snow for Christmas, but a chance of some much needed rain here in dry, very dry Bakersfield.  Good weather for bundling up in front of the fireplace with a glass of eggnog (with brandy, of course!) and some Christmas cookies to watch a favorite movie or two.  Oh, my ... they're playing Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" on the radio.  Need to wrap this up before I become way too sentimental. 

I do wish all of you a Merry Christmas.  Please take the time to give an extra special hug to a family member or good friend, whether it be in person or in your thoughts.  It's a very good chance they will appreciate it much more than that great deal you found on Black Friday.  

"His Critics Will Gnash Their Teeth"

Poor Bob, one weak movie after another through most of his career.  Typecast, placed in so-so movies, an irritant to his bosses and still able to maintain a lengthy, successful career.  I guess that's what being a star is all about. 

 

                 

                       

Bob in Blu-Ray Even!!

The Criterion Collection (criterion.com) has announced (via Carrie) that Ride the Pink Horse is one of their April releases!!  You can pre-order it now, to be delivered by March 17th.  A digitally restored Bob ... can't wait. 

And would someone please, please dig Letty Lynton out of its legal morass and provide a digitally restored, beautiful young Bob!!!

Which Smile Do You Prefer?

I'm partial to the first photo, the cat-who-just-ate-the-canary smile.

Photo Caption:  "Robert Montgomery is an actor first, an idol afterward.  He has demonstrated his versatility in a wide variety of roles and he will never be satisfied to smile his way through his films.  His latest is "Love in the Rut."  (Changing Rut to Rough was a good idea.)

Christmas = IAWL

I'm a sucker for It's a Wonderful Life this time of year (but I can't stand watching it on NBC with all of the commercials). So, in the spirit of the holidays, here's some neat photos from LIFE Magazine that you might enjoy from behind the scenes. And I have to apologize upfront - I found this in my Twitter feed the other day but I don't remember who ran across it first!

Totter ... Sexy Lady No Matter the Pose

Ran across this rather distinctive portrait of Audrey Totter recently.  Photographers are always trying for a different way to capture their subject and sometimes their effort produces an, shall we say, odd photo.  I mean, Audrey looks great, the fancy hairdo and highlighted bare shoulder, but what's with the pillow?  Note the very small tab, or what have you, on the lower right corner which identifies the picture as being for "Tension MGM 1949."  That seems to indicate the picture is positioned correctly, as does the location of the snipe on the back.

                         Audrey Totter in MGM's Tension (1949)

But doesn't the horizontal view make a bit more sense?  Or have I missed something here?  So, what'd ya think??

 

Such a Handsome Young Man

Since the photo speaks for itself, I thought I would take this opportunity to mention a great Montgomery post on another website.  Do check out Hollywood (allanellenberger.com) for the November 28th post titled, "Robert Montgomery in the 1930 Census."  It has some interesting info from the census and a great photo of Bob at his 1930 residence.