"... a prompting to merriment, an occasion for applause."

 
                Robert Montgomery, b. 5-21-1904, d. 9-27-1981

 

"For a conservative Republican from an old family, Montgomery possessed a rather moody restlessness of spirit.  At a certain point as he grew older, nothing would do but that he and Buffy sell the Hook Pond property and move on to new adventures --- in summer, a place on the water in North Haven, Maine, and in winter a beautiful ancient farmhouse in the Canaan Valley, in northwestern Connecticut.  It was there in 1981, a short drive from the big family house overlooking the Hudson at Fishkill, that Montgomery died.  He had played many roles in his long lifetime, off-camera and on-; in age, 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 an article by Brendan Gill, a friend of Bob and Buffy, which appeared in the April, 1982 issue of Architectural Digest.

Los og Ledig (Danish for Fast and Loose)

I believe I have five of these small paperback books based on Mr. Montgomery starred movies.  They were published in Denmark in the late 1930s, this one in 1940.  Since I doubt I have many Danish readers, I'm including only photographs with their captions.  I like the photos, hadn't seen several of them before.   

1934 - A Busy Year for Mr. Montgomery

An October 29th, 1934, issue of Cinefilo, a Portuguese magazine, celebrates the 10th anniversary of MGM by featuring three of its 1934 movies.  Bob being in all three is what is of major interest.  I rather like the Mystery of Mr. X. mini-poster, it is all Bob after all.  

                                   Night Flight (1934)

                                         Riptide (1934)

                                  The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

Just 24 and Looks Younger

   And note that Bob is sitting down and Sally Starr is wearing heels, one diminutive lady.   Anyway, a nifty photo of the two.  So This is College (1929) is streaming on TCM until October 13th.  

It's the Eyes .........

I am not at all computer savvy ... yes, you've heard my complaint a few times before.  Fortunately, there are people who step up and help me out by creating Bob photos that I can only dream about.  The photo below is an excellent example, and it (an 8x10 print) cost just under $10.  That's a super bargain for any Bob photo these days.

Never forget

 

 

Myrna deserves better

Myrna Loy always seemed to be on the tall side.  She was only 5ft 5 1/2" which in her era was quite tall.  In the still below, Myrna towers over her co-star, an Audrey Ferris who claimed to be 5ft 2".  Well, somebody's height measurement is a tad off.  

Fancy Baggage (1929)

In this still from Wife vs. Secretary, Myrna towers over the help.  (The lady playing the cook is a rather interesting actress named Greta Meyer.  She was a very busy bit player from 1932 to the mid-1940s, but her early career in Germany was much more successful.  Do look her up on Wiki, an interesting read.)

                                  Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

Thankfully, most of the male leads at MGM (Bob, Bill, Clark) were taller than her so she never had to walk in a trench, just had to take off her shoes on occasion.  Ms. Loy's birth date is August 2nd.  Yes, I am way tardy with this post.  Myrna deserves better.  

I'm sure Marianne's Day was Made, Anyway!

I had forgotten that this photo is an original Hurrell, his stamp is on the back.  It is a nice photo and all, but it isn't the kind normally associated with Mr. Hurrell.  I'm guessing it was taken as a tie-in to a phone company ad campaign.  I know Bob did an ad for a South American telephone company at about the same time as this was made.

  

I do not know who "Marianne" was, but I don't think Bob actually wrote that part of the autograph.  The letters are much too smooth.  The rest is Bob, who has yet, in 1931, to master his signature.  Note that the small letters are rather awkwardly written, not the wonderfully smooth letters of his autograph from 1933 or so and on through the 1930s and 1940s.  

Nifty isn't it.  

One Down, Eight to Go

 Yes, there were a lot of birthdays in August that I missed.  My apologies to a bunch of great performers.  So, let's get going, starting with Ms. Norma Shearer.  She'd appreciate being number one on my list.  It took me a while to appreciate her and her position in the movies.  I think of her as being tough and demanding, but so were most all the stars of that era.  It was - and I'm sure still is - a very tough business.  

Norma was born in Montreal, Canada on August 10, 1902.  To me, one of the niftiest things about her is that she retired from the movies in 1942, married a ski instructor 11 years her junior, and led a very quiet life from then on.  Good move, Ms. Shearer.  

Oh, and Live, Love and Learn (1937) is available for streaming on TCM until September 16th.