To "Bobbie", From Norma

I don't normally plug listings on eBay, but ...  There are always exceptions to every rule!  And this is an exceptional photo.  Do read the vendor's write-up re the background of the photo, just priceless. 

George-Hurrell-Norma-Shearer-portrait-signed

Will have to watch this from the sidelines (unless I win the lottery!), but hope this beautiful treasure finds a new home where it will continue to be loved by its owner. 

Yes, Debonairness is a Real Word

The fourth Bob movie showing on TCM this month is The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937), tomorrow  at 9:45 EDT/6:45 PDT a.m. T'is not the greatest movie, but you do get to watch three great pros do their thing.  There are just too few scenes with Bob and Bill Powell.  Would like to have seen a movie with just the two as main leads, all that debonairness on the same screen ... lordy.

        Bob, Joan and Bill in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)              

TCM is showing seven Crawford vehicles on Friday, perhaps a belated birthday marathon.  Right after Cheney, they will be showing The Women (1939), featuring the slightly different trio of Joan, Norma Shearer and Roz Russell.  A great movie, of course, all those women with their claws at their sharpest.  And Roz stealing scenes like mad!

                      Joan, Norma and Roz in The Women (1939)

The Problem With Clippings ...

--- they make you miss not having the original photo! 

                              My, but check out all those curls.

                     Egads, is that a scuff mark on his left shoe?!

                                     "Smirking?  Who, me?"

Happy Birthday, Joan!

Bob and Joan Crawford ... a pairing on the screen that progressed from young and adorable in Untamed (1929) to ever so handsome in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937).  The camera loved both stars and captured a connection between the two that flattered them both.  For the lack of a better description, they simply had "IT" when sharing the screen.   
 

                                        Untamed (1929)

I have not always been a big fan of Ms. Crawford, but always, always had a great admiration and respect for her.  To come from such a tough environment and, yet, somehow manage to become one of the most famous and highest-paid women in the entire world ... whoa, impressive.  So much determination, drive, hard work, talent and whatever else it took for Lucille LeSeuer of San Antonio, Texas, to become Joan Crawford ... if I had only had 1/10th of that mix!

                              The Last of Mrs. Cheney (1937)

Bob and Joan also co-starred in Our Blushing Brides (1930), Letty Lynton (1932), Forsaking All Others (1934), and No More Ladies (1935).  Hey, Joan's birthday today sounds like a great excuse to watch one of their movies.  Let's see, I could once again strain my eyes watching my blurry copy of Letty Lynton (but oh so worth it!) or, maybe, enjoy the youthful exuberance of Untamed.  Decisions, decisions ... 

Live, Love and Learn A Little

There are a goodly number of delightful photos featuring Bob, Roz Russell and Robert Benchley that were taken to promo Live, Love and Learn (1937).  The stars appear to be enjoying themselves, a rather rare occurrence for performers doing publicity for their movies, I'd imagine. 

One of my many regrets re Mr. Montgomery is that he never appeared in a color movie, would love to see those blue eyes work their magic in a love scene!  The closest one can get to a Bob movie in color are colorized photos.  They can be interesting, but almost never show Bob with blue eyes, darn it.  Anyway, check out the two photos below.  I am not sure the color is an improvement.  The color of Roz's dress works, sort of, but that pink chair ... yeesch!

Did you notice that the two photos are not the same, besides the color?  I thought they were until I pulled the scans up for this post.  Bob's laughing in the second photo.  Roz has placed her hand on Robert's head, which has lulled slightly towards the camera.  Kinda nifty. 

Cock o' the Walk! (Yeah, That's Our Bob!)

Ten Photos of Bob (Taylor)!

Yes, it has been ages since I did anything on the other Robert at MGM.  How about ten photos of the handsome dude, from a collection of 2" x 3" cards produced by Ross.  The quality of Ross Verlag (German for Publishing) cards is always outstanding, great photos and production standards.  These are all nifty, have saved my personal favorite for last. 

Rrrrrff!!

Yes, Reggie ... It's Petticoat Fever!

I believe Audrey Totter deserved a special award for all the looks she gave Bob in Lady in the Lake (1947), and many of them were of the sneer variety as pictured below.  (I would have found it very difficult to sneer at Mr. Montgomery!)  You can check out all those great looks of hers when the movie is shown on TCM tomorrow (March 10th) at 1:30 p.m. PST.  She really did have a difficult role to play with all the "odd" cinematography. 

                 Bob and Audrey Totter in Lady in the Lake (1946)

Speaking of difficult roles, playing the straight man between Bob and Myrna Loy must have been a challenge for Reginald Owen.  Of course, he did have the experience for the role, having previously lost the girl to Bob in The Man in Possession (1931).  You can catch Petticoat Fever (1936) on TCM this coming Tuesday (March 14) at 9:00 a.m. PDT (It will be daylight time then, right?  Please don't rely fully on my airing times!) 

                Bob and Reginald Owen in Petticoat Fever (1936)

These are two of the four Bob movies shown by TCM this month, two to three times more than the usual number of showings!  My position is that more is always better, particularly favorites such as Petticoat.  Four cheers for TCM!  (If only they would pull Letty Lynton (1932) out of its legal morass and give that beautiful movie back to Bob's and Joan's fans, while we're still around to appreciate it!)  

Ahhh....We'll Miss You, Robert!

                               Robert Osborne (1932 - 2017)             
  
         A Nice Tribute to Bob:  TCM Remembers Robert Osborne

Three Men on a Girl ... Pardon?

Well, that's the google translation of this Danish herald for Three Loves Has Nancy (1938).  I don't think that title would have made it in this country, not even pre-code! 

What is right about the herald is the image of a third man.  All of the publicity shots for the movie include Bob and Janet Gaynor, or Bob, Janet and Franchot Tone, but never the Third Love!  Poor Grady Sutton, he just never got any respect. 

                               Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)

You can watch Grady lose the girl this coming Monday, the 6th, at 11:45 a.m. PST on TCM.  (Hope that's not a spoiler for you...)