Merry Christmas (from Shirley Temple)!

Whew.  Will be able to complete my Christmas shopping and decorating before Christmas Day this year!  That's highly unusual for me.  Therefore, time to stuff myself with cookies and candies and watch a favorite holiday movie, or two, or three.  And this year I will not forget to tune into TCM's annual showing of the entire The Thin Man series on New Years Eve Day!  A couple hours with Nick and Nora are a great way to end the year. And a few hours with Bob, of course.  Life can be so good.   

Classic Montgomery will be on vacation next week, and into the next.  Best guess is we'll reopen January 3rd.  Meanwhile, do enjoy the Christmas season and have a Happy New Year!!!

90 Years Later and Still Showing at Your Local Theater (TCM ...)

 

An update on the showing dates of Bob movies on TCM this month:  

                  Live, Love, & Learn (1937) until December 19th;

                  Fugitive Lovers (1934) until December 22nd;

                  No More Ladies (1935) until January 1st; and

                  Hide-Out (1934) until January 4th.

                  Private Lives (1931) first shows on December 20th and

                  Lady in the Lake (1946) on December 22nd.  

All good stuff!  Thanks, again, to TCM for sharing Bob with their viewers.  

Rrrrff.

 Yeah...I can see what Elizabeth saw in him.  

                                               Gig Young

Bob Talks About Making Lady in the Lake

 Interesting interview from the May, 1947 issue of Movie Show Magazine.  Believe me, it is a faster read than it appears.

Let Us Not Forget

Bill, Bob and Joan, together in 1929!

 This is a 1929 issue of Cinearte, a Brazilian magazine.  Interesting coloring of a drawing of William Powell, a rather distracting red smudge on his right cheek.  Hey, at least his eyes are blue.  

Actually, the reason I bought the magazine was this photo of Bob and Joan.  A rather passionate pose, Bob grabbing her arm, Joan grabbing his collar.  Interesting kiss, Bob's nose being on the camera side.  And check out the thick head of hair on our young Mr. Montgomery.  A young actor in need of a hair stylist!  

                    Bob and Joan Crawford in Untamed (1929)

And a Great Merry Christmas from TCM

 My hat is off to TCM for showing SIX(!) Bob movies this month.  And good ones too.  Two have already had their first showing, No More Ladies (1935) and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937).  Cheyney will be available for streaming until the 9th, but No More Ladies is scheduled for a full run until January 1st.

Hide-Out (1934) starts the 5th, Live, Love & Learn (1937) the 12th, Private Lives (1931) the 20th, and Bob's Christmas perennial Lady in the Lake (1946) the 22nd.   

Plenty of great escapism during a stressful time of year.  

           Bob, Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone in No More Ladies

Happy Thanksgiving!

 ... from Leila Hyams and friend Tom.

Bob and Madge, From Cute to Handsome

And my, what a handsome couple.  Yes, it's Bob and Madge, again, appearing two years later in Fugitive Lovers (1934).  Going from cute couple in Lovers Courageous (1932) to handsome couple in just two years. Bob has matured quite a bit, definitely improving his acting skills.  

                   Bob and Madge Evans in Fugitive Lovers (1934)

I use the full photo for my wallpaper.  Nice way to start the morning.  

Bob and Madge and Clarence Makes Three

 My, but were they a cute couple, I mean Bob and Madge Evans of course.  And photographer Clarence S. Bull took numerous great pictures of the two for the film, Lovers Courageous of course.  

                Bob and Madge Evans in Lovers Courageous (1932)

And I cropped the photo to be used as wallpaper, on my computer of course.  Too cute.  

Everything is Now Right in the World

 I was curious as to what Bob had in his hand in the group photo below.  Seems it is a pack of cigarettes.  

And while playing around with the photo, I noticed that all four reporters are left-handed.  A tad unusual think I, so I checked out Bob's suit, and yes, the handkerchief is on the wrong side!  It's an inverted photo.   

So, I flipped the scanned image, and everything is as it should be:  four right-handed reporters and Bob's hanky is on the right side of his jacket ...and the ring is on the left hand.  Everything is now right in the world.  

I used to know the occasion for Bob's talking to the press.  It's somewhere in my notes ... 

Thank You All

That's One Big Smile, Mr. Montgomery!

This is the November, 1932 issue of True Story.  Love the cover, gorgeous use of color.  Unfortunately, the inside of the magazine does not carry-on the feature, it's all black and white on very inexpensive paper.  There are a few pages of photos in front with brief bios, but the rest is all fiction stories.  

And the reason why I purchased the magazine is this photo page of a very young Mr. Montgomery.  Love the smile.  

Happy 119th BD to Mr. McCrea!

 Let's see, Joel was 6'2-1/2 " tall.  Veronica was 4'11".  Pity the poor cameraman who had to keep them in frame.  

          Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in Sullivan's Travels (1941)

And What Was Bob Doing 76 Years Ago Today?

NEW YORK:  Gov. Thomas E. Dewey is joined by stage, screen and radio celebrities in final appeal to the voters in a nation-wide broadcast 11/1 over the three leading networks.  Left to right:  James Melton, singer; Mrs. Dewey; Gov. Dewey; and Robert Montgomery, actor.  

Not that things haven't changed much in politics, but ... this nation-wide broadcast the night before the 1948 national election was over the major radio networks (NBC, ABC, CBS and Mutual).  Yes, there really was life before television.   And, in all honesty folks, the honorable Gov. Dewey would never have had any success in politics if tv coverage had been around in his day.  

More Hot Stuff, Bob and Norma This Time

 A nice cover on the January, 1930 issue of Screen Romances,

And an even nicer photo inside the magazine from Their Own Desire (1929) with Bob and Norma.   Their first movie together, but their first kiss?  Hmmm ...  

Hot Stuff for Madge, Even Bob

 It appears that Bob and Madge are really into the scene.  Goooo, Madge!  This is one of the sexiest scenes I have seen between the two of them.  

                Bob and Madge Evans in Made on Broadway (1933)

Lucky Bob, Supported by Beautiful Ladies

 In When Ladies Meet (1933) Alice Brady portrays the friend who owns a beautiful summer "cottage" in New Jersey, large enough for the entire group.  She is 42 years old in this rather nice photograph taken in 1935.   

Maureen O'Sullivan is 21 years old in this gorgeous photo taken by Ted Allan.  She co-starred with Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), proving her body was as beautiful as her face.  Maureen teamed with Bob in Hide-Out (1934), my personal choice of Bob's most beautiful leading lady.  Such a great pairing.  There really should have been a Hide-Out, Part 2 made.  

Madge Evans starred with Bob in four movies between 1932 and 1936.  They were a handsome couple who simply jelled on screen.  I particularly enjoyed her performance as the ex-wife in Made on Broadway (1933).  

And What Was Bob Up To 79 Years Ago?

 VISITORS FROM HOLLYWOOD ...... NEW YORK ...... Back in "civvies" ex-Lieutenant Commander Robert Montgomery, movie star who served in the navy during the war, is shown with Mrs. Montgomery as they attended a party in the Cub Room of the Stork Club.  10.18.45

Poor Betty, still uncomfortable in front of a camera after 15 years. 

 

Just Love It!

I doubt it comes as a surprise, but I just love the wonderful Danny portraits taken for Night Must Fall (1937).  Bob is in full character in all of them and it is captured excellently by the photographer, C. S. Bull.  This one may be showing its age but, to me, the color makes him seem more alive, more real.  Just love it.

            Robert Montgomery as Danny in Night Must Fall (1947)

Yukky!

 Bob may be suffering a hangover in this still, but he looks pretty much like how I feel with the cold/flu I am currently experiencing.  I go through this most every fall, it lasts on average about two weeks.  I'm halfway through it.  I shall survive, but a Thursday post is unlikely.  Shall be back next week ... hopefully!

                    Still of Bob from Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)

Bob the Beautiful/Handsome Dude***

 And a younger Bob in 1934's Fugitive Lovers.  The shot is from the beginning of the movie with scruffy prisoner Paul Porter going over the wall with the aid of the handy prison blanket.  At 30 years of age Bob is in the beautiful, transitioning to handsome stage.                 

In 1934 his beard status is considered scruffy.  These days it's just a common style.  Love the shadow of his face on the wall.  Bob times Two!

*** Yes, I was late for my Tuesday post.  My apologies.  These days I'm happy to remember I have a blog!  

One Handsome Dude Our Mr. Montgomery

 36 years old and ever so handsome ... and then WWII takes its toll.  Ah, but it was his choice.  Besides, beauty just isn't skin deep, etc., etc., etc.  Well perhaps it is skin deep in Hollywood.  

           Robert Montgomery, Portrait for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Robert Montgomery, d. Sept. 27, 1981

A view from the terrace of Mr. Montgomery's last home, Hollow Brook in Canaan Valley, CT.   

"He had played many roles in his lifetime, off-camera and on-; the slender playboy of Our Blushing Brides had become a no-longer-slender country squire, but the grace of the performer remained what it had always been:  a prompting to merriment, an occasion for applause."  **   

** From the article by Brendan Gill, published in the April, 1992, issue of Architectural Digest.

26 Miles Across the Sea, Santa Catalina is A-Waitin' for Me

FILM COUPLE ON YACHTING TRIP  --- Mr. and Mrs. Robert Montgomery, of the Hollywood Film Colony, shown on a yachting party off Santa Catalina Island, Calif.

A family-rated yachting party off Santa Catalina ... that's a new twist.  Bob and Betty appear to be enjoying theirs.  I'm just a smidge envious.  

Bob in a Different Pose

The photo was taken for The Saxon Charm (1948).  There are a number of portraits taken for the movie, but this one stands out.  And it isn't the autograph, although that's always nice to have.  The pose makes you want to know what Bob's character is thinking about.  Perhaps it's the tie, still ugly after all these years ... 

                 Robert Montgomery in The Saxon Charm (1948