Still Surviving Your Stay at Home Orders?

Yesterday was not a good day.  Absolutely nothing went right.  For example, we had received a notice from Spectrum that the internet would be down for about 20 mins. sometime between midnight and 6:00 a.m.  Well, it went down at about 7:00 p.m and was still down when I finally gave up and went to bed at 2:00 a.m.  Twas not a good evening.  Frustrating.  And no way of doing my Thursday post in time.  So this is all I could come up with as late as it is.  Sorry.  Next week will be better.

Suave, Debonair, Handsome, etc., etc., etc.

We must be talking about William Powell ... born on July 29, 1892 in Pittsburgh, PA.   Happy Birthday, Mr. Powell.  I need to watch one of his movies for his birthday.  Mister Roberts (1955) is being shown by TCM on demand until Aug. 1st.  Yeah, that sounds good.  It's always great to see a performer end his career with a good role, and that's the character Doc in Roberts. 

Country Sunshine & Year Round Flowers

Had this postcard for some time before I noticed what was written on the back.  The mother of Mrs. D. Maple of N. J. sent it on Jan. 26, 1938, out of Glendale, CA.  I can imagine her not wanting to return to a January in New Jersey.  Nifty.

3 Bobs to help with the Summer Doldrums

TCM is showing three Bob movies this week ... very good.  The three are good studies of the growth of Mr. Montgomery as a movie actor.  In Love in the Rough (1930) Bob is still inexperienced.  By No More Ladies (1935), he is a very accomplished performer, the playboy role is definitely mastered.  To top it off, Bob is superb in They Were Expendable (1945).  Just superb.
 


           Wed. 22nd at 10:30 a.m. EST - Love in the Rough (1930)
           Thurs. 23rd at 12:15 p.m. EST - No More Ladies (1935)
           Fri. 24th at 3:30 p.m. EST - They Were Expendable (1945) 
                         

Where's Cagney?

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) (L to R):  Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh, Arthur Treacher, Otis Harlan, Dewey Robinson, 'Bottom' and Joe E. Brown.

James Francis Cagney, born July 17, 1899 in New York City, New York.  Happy Birthday thoughts to you.

Ah, the ice flows of Culver City

The following review of Petticoat Fever (1936) is found in the March 25, 1936 issue of Liberty magazine.  I know, reviews can be a real snore, but this is one of the good ones.  The byline goes to (Ms) Beverly Hills, which should give you a clue. 

And for a change of subject, we all remembered July 15 is Tax Day ... right?!

Hey, I Just Missed Thursday by Only One Day!

I recently spent some time excavating two large closet shelves of movie stuff, mostly stuff too large to be neatly filed in binders.  At the very bottom of one shelf was this one sheet (27" x 41") of Gene Wilder in The World's Greatest Lover (1977).  Now I have made a lot of purchases on impulse that I regret soon after, but this has to be the largest.  I mean, I don't have space in my home to display my Montgomery one sheets, much less a movie I did not particularly like.  I do find it to be a funny poster, but just where was my mind when I bought it?  Just what did I plan to do with it?  What do I do with it now?  Unanswerable questions.  (It has been returned to the bottom of a newly well-organized stack of movie stuff.) 
 

Bob & Elliott, Type A Personalities on Speed

Bob and Elliott Nugent began their long friendship while co-starring in So This is College (1929), a friendship that even lasted through a failed attempt at becoming a successful Broadway production company.  Nugent seems to have been even more driven than Bob.  Check out his IMDB credits as actor, writer, and director.  Then consider that he was also a successful actor, writer and director on Broadway.  Whew!  Tires me out just reading about him.

This photo shows them pausing, momentarily, while Bob visits Elliott on the set of his movie Give Me a Sailor (1938), in which he has the joy of directing Bob Hope and Martha Raye. 

Check out their hands.  They also share the reaction of taking off their glasses when a photographer approaches. 

And I do realize that 1938 was not a great fashion year for men, but Bob ... really.  Where did you find that tie? 

Have a Happy 4th of July! * **

 * Don't forget your flag!

** The Ann Miller photo reminds me of Yankee Doodle Dandy ... it should've been made in color!

Try thinking of Danny being dubbed in Italian...

I like the Italian title of Night Must Fall.  "Notturno Tragico" sounds much more dramatic, great for trailers.  These two 14 x 20 Italian posters are nifty the way the color red was used to punch up the images, particularly the blood on Danny's hand.  Hey, they would have caught my attention, for sure. 

And "Buon Compleanno" to good friend Debbie.  My gift to you, knowing anything to do with Night Must Fall makes your day!