Me having "fun" in Quarantined California

Purchased this 1931 magazine a while back.  (Being "isolated" out here in CA, I have had no excuse to not try to catch up on scanning and organizing my Bob stuff.  Have been scanning magazine items for awhile now, almost finished.) The vendor did note that one page had been cut out.  Of course it was Bob's photo that was missing.  Oh, well, the magazine was so inexpensive that I bought it anyway for the other stars' photos. 

A nice photo of William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy, of course).  Such a great smile.

And handsome Reginald Denny, 40 years old in 1931, but still believable competition for Norma Shearer's heart in Private Lives (1931). 

Chester Morris and his wife were good friends of Bob and Betty early in Bob's career. 

And William Powell ... he of the bedroom eyes.  Classy Dude.

The inside back cover is a collage of photos in the magazine.  Hey, it's Bob on the left. 

A Bob I just happened to have.  Same photo edging as the others, so it is the missing Bob!  Great.  Now I don't have to concern myself anymore, thinking about what Bob photo I missed out on. 

For my next project, I have this rather large, unruly pile of oversized items that need to be scanned.  Most are 11x14 lobby cards, which I used to go to Fed Ex to be scanned.  But there's that stay at home order which nixes that.  So, my husband has offered to help me set up a camera for decent photos to be uploaded to my computer.  This should be interesting, particularly if we can capture some of the posters, pressbooks, etc., which have accumulated over the years.  Not in any particular hurry to get at that task.  The way things look, we may be stay at homes for some time.  I'm glad that my husband and I have been retired for some time.  We're used to a slower pace of life.  Well, I do miss my shopping expeditions! 

Ahhh, Shucks ... Such a Cute Couple

                     Bob and Dorothy Jordan in Shipmates (1931)

Just What Is Bob Aiming to Hit

An interesting photo taken of Bob during a break in the filming of Love in the Rough (1930).  Is this supposed to be from the golf ball's point of view?  Or is it just the photographer's, who is trying for a new angle to catch his editor's eye. 

Whatever, it's not the most flattering photo for Bob.  It makes his shoulders look even narrower and highlights the oversize collar they made him wear to cover up his long neck.  But, hey, you can't mess up that handsome face, and that's what counts. 

Love the shoes.

California Sets an Example...Sorry, Folks

The Governor of California has issued a statewide coronavirus 'stay at home' order.  I'm guessing other states will fall in line.  Many of us will soon be going bonkers.  My humble suggestion to help maintain our mental health ... sign up for TCM!  Soon, before cable sales people are considered non-essential!

I just went through the listing of on-demand movies.  There are Five Bob movies being shown:

                  The Divorcee, through March 26
                  War Nurse, through March 26
                  Private Lives, through April 11
                  Bio. of a Bachelor Girl, through April 16
                  But the Flesh is Weak, through April 17

             Bob as Max Clements in But the Flesh is Weak

And the list of non-Bobs is just great.  There's My Darling Clementine, The Quiet Man,  Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House, Foreign Correspondent, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Gunga Din, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.....etc., etc., etc.  I'll be checking out The Guardsman (1931), starring Broadway stars Lunt & Fontanne.

A good movie, a bowl of popcorn and a cold drink with a snoring cat in front of the fireplace ... priceless.

Who Was That Handsome Man With The Whip?

I came across this photo a while ago.  It is a re-issue print from the original negative made in 2003 for Public TV.  The line on the bottom of the image tells you about the negative, this one originally made in June of 1929.  A lovely photo with a great subject.  Let's see ... there's Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. on the far left.  Just 19 and already an established star in silents.  Next to him is Jack Conway, a prolific director at MGM, who directed four of Montgomery's pictures (Untamed, 1929; The Easiest Way, 1931; But the Flesh is Weak, 1932; and Hell Below, 1933). 

Next is Joan Crawford, of course.  She looks rather natural with a whip in hand.  Then comes the young man I could not identify for sure.  He looks like William Haines, and he and Joan were good buds, but why would he be showing them whips he just happened to be carrying around.  I could not identify a movie the four were all in.  Anyway, time passed, I'd forgotten the photo, until I ran across another photo showing the familiar set and whips, as well as the distinctive collar of Joan's blouse. Voila!  The movie is Our Modern Maidens (1929), directed by Jack Conway and starring Joan, Doug and Rod La Rocque (not Haines).

Movies, photography and social history of the first half of the 20th century....all my favs combined in one photo.  Just makes my day.  And I have a new movie line to add to my favorites.  The movie is a silent so this is a card that reads, "There is something in my pocket.  Dig in for it."  Definitely a pre-code, pre-MeTooMovement line for young Mr. Fairbanks.  

Be Safe, Spend Your Evenings With Bob

Wow ... three Bob movies in a 24-hr period on TCM.  Biography of a Bachelor Girl (6:00 a.m. EDT) and But the Flesh is Weak (10:30 a.m. EDT) are being shown this Wednesday, and War Nurse (9:00 a.m. EDT) on Thursday.  If you don't already have copies of these movies, you might want to tape them to watch later.  Snuggling up to watch a young, handsome Bob sounds like a great option if you are stuck at home due to all the craziness going on these days. 

         Bob and Ann Harding in Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)

               Bob as Wally, the dashing pilot in War Nurse (1930)

Just Me and My Shadow

Two fresh-faced kids spending an evening at home, hubby continuing to burn the late-night oil while the Mrs. stands by to support him.  Ahh ... Yes, another nifty publicity photo for Lovers Courageous (1932) with our two young lovebirds, Willie and Mary.  I like the shadows ... Madge's shadow on the wall and Bob's profile on Madge.  The photographer was enjoying himself. 

              Madge Evans and Bob in Lovers Courageous (1932)

Victor & Amanda & Elyot & Sibyl

Love the heralds produced in Germany after WWII for U.S. films.  They're larger than ours, the scans below are just about actual size, and have more pages.  And the photo montages are quite good.  Good memorabilia, even if your 'Deutsche ist nicht sehr gut.' 

TCM is showing Private Lives (1931) this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EDT /5:00 p.m. PDT.  Quite the enjoyable movie.  Hope they show it on demand afterwards (as they are The Divorcee (1930) until March 26th). 

Jay Gives a Wonderful Gift to Doris

Such a gorgeous portrait of the young and dashing Mr. Montgomery.  It is so good that I purchased this second copy.  I've used the first copy on the blog, it has his real autograph as well as the one you see on this copy.  Just love the quality of double-weight photo paper with a matte finish.  Besides, it is the note on the back which really adds to the photo:  "To Doris with love from Jay Finch".  Giving your girl a photo of a man she probably has a crush on ... you're the man, Jay!!

Two Pretty Ladies, A Hunk and A Quirky Guy

I started off collecting just photos of Mr. Montgomery, trying not to start spending money on non-Bob photos.  I failed miserably at that.  At first it was the occasional Ray Milland portrait, a few Robert Taylors, the rare William Powell that I could afford.  Then it branched out into photos that simply caught my attention, nice double-weight portraits by a good photographer.  Thought I would share a few with you. 

One of the first pictures I bought was this outdoors portrait of a Miss Gladys McConnell, taken in the late 1920s.  Such a pleasant looking young lady.  Gladys appeared in silent westerns, several with Ken Maynard and retired at the ripe old age of 25 in 1930. 

Charles Farrell was a popular leading man in the 1920s and into the early 1930s.  He made a number of films with Janet Gaynor, they were quite the popular couple.  Mr. Farrell, along with Ralph Bellamy, built the Palm Springs Racquet Club which helped make Palm Springs a successful resort destination.  As his career declined, he invested in real estate in the area, a great career change.  You should google him for other photos of the beautiful man in his youth.  Mr. Farrell has the distinction of being one of the first American actors to appear in a nude scene in a major motion picture, The River (1928).  Too bad there is not a complete copy of the movie in existence ...

I'm not a particularly great Harold Lloyd fan, but this portrait is interesting in that by simply taking off his black-rimmed glasses he is transported from being a movie comic to a quite handsome man.  Besides having been an extremely successful performer, the man had some interesting quirks.  Check out the extensive biography on IMDB. 

Just love this portrait of a youthful Marion Davies.  Such a fresh-faced beauty.  I really don't have anything to add that we all don't already know about her semi-tragic life with Hearst.  I can say that I have been fortunate enough to have twice toured the Hearst Castle back in the late 1980s.  Just fantastic!!  If you ever get the opportunity to tour it, please do not pass it up.  Seeing the awesome swimming pools is worth the trip alone.  One heck of a get-away.