A still from the movie Bachelor Father (1931). Let's see, that's Ralph Forbes on the far left, Marion Davies sharing the center of the photo with C. Aubrey Smith, and the young man sitting on the couch is .....
Egads, it's Ray Milland!
Yes, indeed, a twenty-four-year-old Ray. I'm not sure why he has a bouquet of daisies.
"April 3, 1954-WASHINGTON DC: Presidential aid and TV producer Robert Montgomery crowns Frances Mae Fisher Queen of the National Capital's 30th annual Cherry Blossom Festival here today. Miss Fisher was chosen at the Festival Ball on April 2nd."
Madge Evans ... just couldn't break the good girl casting. She found playing the nice girl all the time as just too boring. Finally chucked it all and married a Pulitzer Prize winning and very successful dramatist named Sidney Kingsley (Men in White, Dead End, Detective Story) who took her off to his 18th Century Oakland, New Jersey estate.
I didn't realize until after purchasing Madge's photo that she had signed it. You can see "To" just below her right hip and a swirl beginning the M in Madge. Looking at the photo itself you can just make out scribbling across her dark skirt. But, hey, it's still an autographed photo, right?! (Sorta!)
Just can't remember if I've featured this photograph before or not. Anyway, 'tis a nifty photo, Bob sitting on the fender of his newly acquired 1935 Bentley Roadster. The car was made to his specific requirements, and road tested on a racetrack in London. He then had it shipped to France from where Bob and Betty had a nice driving tour through Europe before returning stateside. Of course, Bob drove it to the studio right away to show it off to one and all. I like his reflection in the car doors, and the big smile.
But the Flesh is Weak (1932) has just begun a full run on TCM's streaming service, showing until April 17th. The movie may not be one of Bob's best, but a fun watch, nevertheless. I mean, it's not often that you get to see Bob take a bath. And disrobe from underpants with ties instead of an elasticized waist band!
"Actor-director Robert Montgomery inspects models of the sets to be used in Lady in the Lake with art designer Preston Ames."
Bob and Carole hamming it up while making Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941). It's always great fun to watch a couple of pros enjoying themselves. If we hadn't lost Carole so soon, I can definitely see the two making another movie or two on down the line. Yes, what a shame.
When I talked about Lady in the Lake (1946) being streamed by TCM earlier this month, I really thought I was correct to believe so. BUT, unless it streamed for one night only, it just disappeared. Whatever, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is now listed under Watch Movies but hasn't been updated as yet with showing dates. Hopefully it won't disappear as well!
One gorgeous color slide of Bob ... great, except for the shadow blocking out his eyes. Love the yellow tie with the brown suit coat. Nice smile. The hat ... yeah, he started to wear it when he got out of the service and was wearing it later during the filming of Lady in the Lake. I'm guessing nobody felt up to criticizing a four-year veteran about his choice of hatband.
Yes, bigger is always better!
THEY MEAN BUSINESS......Tom Tully (left) and Lloyd Nolan, both detectives, prepare to make an arrest after a savage fight with a murder suspect in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Lady in the Lake". The picturization of the exciting Raymond Chandler mystery story has Robert Montgomery as both star and director.
I've always liked Tom Tully. (Hey, and Lloyd Nolan as well.) Tully played the tough cop enough to earn retirement salary from the L.A. Police Department. He also did a great job as Mr. Brinker in June Bride (1948). The apple cider scene with he and Bob was just great, one of my all-time favorites.
"Lady" is being shown on TCM starting March 8th.
The Divorcee (1930) is available to stream on TCM until March 31st. Not a bad movie for its time, well Bob's role could have been larger. I watched Broadway Melody the other night which was the 1930 winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, and no way as good as The Divorcee. The studios learned very fast how to make a talkie.
Another nifty photo of Mr. Montgomery. It is printed on double-weight photo paper with a matte finish. Really nice, even if the signature is not an original. Almost perfect.
It is unusual for a double-weight photo to have a pre-printed signature. It appears the photo was used as the master photo for this postcard. Same photo, just tilted a bit. Still nifty.
I was not very happy when the Feds took away our national holiday celebrating George Washinton's birthday. And then to switch to a "President's Day" so George is bunched in with the likes of Warren G. Harding ... I mean, really? George deserves a celebration of his birth. And the same goes for Abraham Lincoln. That'll do it. Federal employees get enough days off as is.
I plan on a cherry pie on Saturday.
... and a tailor-made scene-stealer. Adolphe Menjou was born February 18, 1890, in of all places, Pittsburgh, PA. He was fluent in six languages and had perhaps the largest wardrobe in the movies.
Bob wore that same hat numerous times. Gorgeous piece of attire. Too bad classy hats are no longer in style. Replaced by ballcaps. Menjou (and Bob) are cringing.
There are a number of absolutely gorgeous photographs of William Powell available for purchase. Unfortunately, there are plenty of admirers of Mr. Powell who seem to have an unending source of money, or at least that is how the photos are priced. I am not one of those lucky, lucky people.
I can afford the occasional substitute. Rather than an 8x10 photo, a 4x5 works just fine ... if you deal with scans a lot. And even 4x5's are getting rarer. The Bill/Jean Harlow photo below may not be in the greatest shape, but their sexy pose distracts from the image loss.
Another 4x5, this time with Myrna Loy. All Bill and Myrna photographs are great, no matter the size or condition of the print.
Or, you could pick up a reprint. Reprint quality ranges from pathetic to it's impossible to tell the difference from an original. I'd describe this one as being mid-range. Well, Asta looks pretty good.
All you need for an ad is a pack of cigarettes and an actor who is just a bit of a ham. The pack of Lucky Strikes on the desk, a perfectly formed circle of smoke heading for the pen ... will the ring make it or dissipate before it can encircle the pen? I like the phone not having a cord. You wouldn't want it to distract from the smoke ring.
A nice painting made for the 1928 silent, The Cardboard Lover. It appears to be one of a series printed as a 5x7 fan card. Quite the expensive ad campaign for a B&W 1928 movie. Of course, it was a Cosmopolitan produced film and William Randolph Hearst always saw that Marion Davies got only the best treatment in her career. Anyway, Nils and Marion make a handsome couple.
Poor Silky. Everything's going great, and then ...
A bootlegger with a gun phobia. I like the concept. And the look on his face after the confrontation with Doc Ramsey (Edward Arnold), the dead guy.
Tallulah Bankhead was born January 31, 1902, in Huntsville, Alabama. A very, very interesting lady. IMDB has a long list of her quotes, a number of great one-liners. One of my favorites: "My father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine."
Tallulah Bankhead, Jan. 31, 1902, to Dec. 12, 1968No, you can't have too many photos of Danny. With the very expressive face of Mr. Montgomery, they are all different and interesting. Of course, I am a wee bit biased. I like the write-up that came with the photo. Quite informative.
"ROBERT MONTGOMERY: For the first time in years Robert Montgomery appears as the villain of a screen play in M-G-M's "Night Must Fall," the weird drama of murder produced by Hunt Stromberg. Montgomery has the role of a bellboy with a way with women, who kisses and kills. Rosalind Russell is opposite him, with Richard Thorpe directing the screen version of the London stage hit which ran 55 weeks in England. Half the London stage cast, headed by Dame May Whitty, was brought to Hollywood for the film."
Sally Starr (Sarah Kathryn Sturm) co-starred with Bob Montgomery in So This is College (1929). Born January 23, 1909, in Pittsburgh, PA, Sally was briefly promoted by MGM, but her career would consist primarily of short films until its end in 1938. There were just too many perky starlets in Hollywood.
"Here is the interior of the Angeleno, the world's record non-stop plane after it had been in the air for more than a week. The pilots Loren W. Mendell and Pete Reinhart had no use for the necktie, which is shown by Sally Starr, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer actress."
This is one of my bulk lot finds, three interesting photos of a young starlet. I had no idea who she was initially, until I noticed her name in the left-hand corner of the middle photo. Yeah, I couldn't read it either, twas just able to, using a magnifier! Her name is Maria Alba, born in Spain in 1910. She started in the silents, had roles as the fiery Spaniard and her Hollywood career ends in 1935. A rather sexy lady with an unfortunate thick accent limiting her roles. Too bad.
This quite long, but totally interesting article is from the July, 1943 issue of Cosmopolitan. Do keep in mind that the magazine was owned by William Randolph Hearst and there just might be a tad of propaganda mixed into the tale of Lt. Commander Montgomery. Whatever, the article does provide additional information regarding Bob's military service. I'm guessing a majority of it is basically true, just exaggerated. Anyway, it is a fun read.
Bob kills time on the set of Blondie of the Follies (1932). Piano lessons were de rigueur for children of society back in the day. Or basically every household that could afford a piano.
Bob certainly had the hands that would help him out on the keyboard. Just look at those long fingers! And the cigarettes ... looks like Camels. And he was doing Lucky Strike ads at this time ...
The time has finally come ... Letty Lynton's copyright has expired!! 2025 has come at last. Wunderbar. Well, not quite.
Warner Bros. still owns the film, I assume, but Warners Archives is no longer in operation, no DVDs being released. That would have made life too easy. I could find only two companies that would be able to deal with Warner and make the DVDs: Critic's Choice Video and Criterion. Neither company is exactly open to film selection ideas from lowly viewers, but I shared my thoughts with them anyway. And with TCM. I figured Warner Bros. was too worried about their staff upheavals to help me out with Letty!
Do any of you good people have a close relative working for Warners?
It is so darn frustrating to want something so much and not have the foggiest idea as to how to obtain it!
Oh, and to be clear ... yes, there are people out there producing Letty Lynton DVDs for sale. They are doing so legally now, but they are still horrid copies. Of course, you would need access to the film in Warners vault to produce a good copy. Ah, to be able to actually see the young Robert when he first leaves his ship cabin!
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