A Classy Gent at Any Age!

And an almost late Happy Birthday to William Powell!  Born July 29th, 1892 in Pittsburgh, PA.  (Thanks to Debbie for the nudge ...)

Bob Has a Bad Day in Hell (Below)

               Bob as Lt. Tommy Knowlton in Hell Below (1933)

Bob and 18 Beautiful Ladies

A lot of nifty Bob photos ... I'm partial to the Three Live Ghosts (1929) photo with Joan Bennett.  I find it rather remarkable the number of stills that have survived from this independently produced movie, yet the movie itself no longer exists.  Wouldn't it be great to be able to see Bob's first screen appearance.  (Yes, I know he is in The Single Standard (1929) as an uncredited "Party Boy."  But dancing in the background is not exactly acting, although it's fun to watch him if only for 30 seconds or so!) 

In the photo above with Joan Crawford (No More Ladies), I'm guessing Bob's standing in a hole.  In the photo below with Rosalind Russell (Trouble for Two) it's probably vice versa ...

Happy July 22nd! (As in, Why Not?!)

I lucked upon this photo a while back, my scan does not do it justice. (Love double-weight photos!) Initially I thought I would use it for Walter's birthday.  But, hey, that isn't until September, so I decided to look for some other tie in for using the photo now.  Checked Greer's birthday, but it's not until September as well.  Thankfully, I ran across this exciting fact not long into my search:  Mrs. Miniver was released in Los Angeles on July 22nd, 1942! 

                            Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson in Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Great movie ... as many times as I have seen it, I can't help but get teary-eyed at least once.  The picture and Greer got best Oscars, Walter lost out to James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Wow, Mrs. Miniver and Yankee Doodle Dandy in the same year ... tough choices for sure. 

2 Very Young Bobs and 1 Very Handsome Bob

TCM is showing three of Bob's movies this weekend:  

     Untamed (1929) on Friday, 22nd at 9:00 a.m. EST/6:00 a.m. PST
     Hell Below (1933) also on Friday at 2:45 p.m. EST/11:45 a.m. PST
     Love in the Rough (1930) on Sunday, 25th at 5:00 p.m. EST/                       2:00 p.m. PST. 

Untamed and Love in the Rough are hardly great movies, but both have some fun moments.  Bob's amorous duet with Joan Crawford in Untamed is a hoot, and his fight scene at the party is great fun ... a rare shirtless Bob!  In Love in the Rough you get to see him pantless (egads!) in an early musical number. 

By 1933, we've gotten away from the "all singing, all dancing" approach to movies.  However, Hell Below gets bogged down with gratuitous "humor" scenes.  If you can survive the Jimmy Durante bits, Hell is a decent enough action movie for the time. 

                                 Bob and Madge in Hell Below

                                   ... and a tad closer up.

Bob gives a good, totally serious performance in Hell.  It really is a shame he was given only a few dramatic roles.  

Hey, this gives me the excuse to revisit one of my favorite Bob photos!  29 and ever so handsome ...

                  Bob and Walter Huston on the set of Hell Below

How Cool Can a Person Look in a Wheelchair!

Bob broke/sprained numerous parts of his body through the years, most injuries occurring during a sporting activity.  This one's a bit different ... he tore a tendon in his right leg in an accident on the set of Lady in the Lake (1947).  Ouch!  Note the horn attached to the right arm of the wheelchair.  A directorial aide?

                   Bob on the set of The Lady in the Lake (1947) 

Bob (in) White

Bob dressed well.  No matter the sport he participated in (and there were many) Bob wore the latest and most stylish outfits available.  Playing tennis he, of course, wore all white:  white shirt, white sweater, white pants, white socks, white shoes ...  Coats were an essential item in his wardrobe, not sure if he was cold natured or just realized how good he looked in them.  Below he is carrying a jacket, more fitting for tennis than his usual coat. 

                        Young Mr. Montgomery at home c. 1930. 

You may recognize the interesting steps of his home at 2815 No. Beechwood Drive, Hollywood, CA.  I'll once again refer you to the great article on the website Hollywoodland.  It includes a photo of Bob standing on the steps in the same outfit, so I'm assuming they were taken the same day.  There is one interesting difference.  The street number is in its entirety on the other photo, whereas only the "15" shows (very faintly) in the upper right corner of this postcard.  I'd imagine someone realized it was not a particularly great idea to let the world know the location of their star's home.  (I, of course, would Never track down Bob's home ... Not!)  

Bob in Color ... Sort of

At least one of the cigarette cards got the blue eyes right!

And This Handsome Gent Is??

Hint:  He served in both the Spanish-American war (at 16) and WWI ... that doesn't help, eh?   How about he was primarily a writer when he began his career in Hollywood, before becoming a superb character actor.  And, he appeared in one movie with Bob.  I know, this is all too easy for you, but isn't it a great photo!

Happy 4th of July!

Lt. Commander Robert Montgomery

Chicago Tribune, October 24, 1943

Happy Birthday, Debbie!

As fitting for the blog's unpaid "staff", no costly gift but a chance to once more admire your "other" favorite male star, Mr. Powell.  You do have very good taste in your men.