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.

Fits into my budget ... Nice stuff $7 and under

 Not sure how they are able to do it so inexpensively, but there are now several companies that are producing very nice prints at decent prices.  Just love this Charles Boyer portrait, but there is no way I could justify paying for an original copy.  I'm even having to pass on Bob items that are so outrageously priced on e-Bay.  

Of course, there are always trade cards available at a decent price.  Believe this one cost me $2.99 plus $2 shipping.  

Another nifty portrait of Mr. Boyer, born August 28th, 1899.  Have you noticed that Charles is smoking in all three photos?  Ah, the good ole' days.  Anyway, Happy Birthday, Mr. Boyer!

Surprise! An actual post. It has been a while.

 Well, I've survived the heat exhaustion, etc.  My visits to the dentist continue.  One look at my teeth and everyone starts planning next year's vacation.  Meanwhile, ...

There are a lot of Bob-related actors with August birthdays.  Perhaps by the end of September, I'll get caught up with Happy Birthday posts.  Anyway, I'm starting off with Nat Pendleton, who happens to have the same birthday as yours truly, August 9th.  A kindred soul.  

Nat was a wrestler before entering movies, competing in high school and college before going to the 1920 Olympics to win the silver medal for heavyweight wrestling.  After trying professional wrestling for two years, he decided movies would be more lucrative.  And he was right.  

Nat was a presence not easily overlooked when he came on screen.  Below, he appears in Fugitive Lovers (1934) as 'Legs' Caffy, the gangster who had Letty (Madge Evans) on his payroll and follows her as she tries to escape him via bus from New York City.

   Madge Evans (far left) and Nat Pendleton in Fugitive Lovers 

Mr. Pendleton evidently stayed in shape from his wrestling days.  Below are pictures of him as 'Sallow' in The Great Ziegfeld (1936).  Rather impressive for a 41-year-old actor!  

And now we know what Leo the Lion's day job was.  

                     Nat Pendleton in The Great Ziegfeld (1936