Having difficult time imagining Bob speaking Portuguese

 Cinefilo, meaning film enthusiast or lover, was a Portuguese magazine published in Brazil during the 1930s.  The issue below was published September 5, 1931.  Considering it was printed on inexpensive paper 95 years ago; it is in rather good condition.   

The photograph MGM sent the magazine of Mr. Montgomery was printed on an inexpensive newsprint rather than photographic paper.  It is the same as the photo used in picture frames for sale.  Shipping rates to Brazil from the U.S. must have been quite high in 1931 ... that's one long boat ride.  

It still amazes me how successful Paul Whiteman was during this period.  Not too many portly, balding and middle-aged men make the bigtime these days.  

Irene Purcell's photo is on the back of the magazine.  There are no associated articles inside featuring the stars on the front or back.  That's okay.  I'm not up to having to use google translate these days. Oh, yes, August 7th is Irene's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Ms. Purcell!

I just learned how to spell "doppelganger"

 August 28 is Charles Boyer's birthday.  He committed suicide two days before his birthday in 1978, two days after his wife died.  He fell in love with his wife Pat Paterson at first sight, their marriage lasted 44 years and Charles was a totally devoted husband - ever so rare in Hollywood, particularly for a native of France!  A sad death or ever so romantic?  Both, I guess.  

                                      Charles Boyer, 1934

Boyer was a unique Hollywood star.  Besides English and French, he could speak German, Italian and Spanish.  (I wonder what his accent sounded like in Italian!)  He earned a degree in Philosophy from the Sorbonne.  Balding significantly since his 20's, he did not wear a toupee except as required in his movies.  Wikipedia has a rather thorough write-up of his career that is definitely worth a read.  A rather interesting gentleman.  

                              Charles Boyer, Gaslight (1944)

And just what is his connection to Bob, you ask?  How about MGM bringing Boyer to the states in 1931 to portray Chester Morris's role in The Big House.  Besides, I just plain like the guy.  No one agrees with me, but I think he looks like Mr. Montgomery.  I just dug up a photo which supports my argument better.  Not exactly a doppelganger, but ...

Is there any movie you'd get up to see at 3:30 a.m.?

Just love original photographs, especially from the early 1930s.  Gorgeous quality, you can see it even when it is displayed in such small scale, as is the photo below.  You can see our Bob checking out the gun Chester Morris has, and not liking the situation he is in one bit.  

A good photograph allows me to blow up points of interest, the young Mr. Montgomery is always interesting.  Love that curly head of hair.  

The Big House (1930) utilized a large number of extras.  Great up on a theater screen, but a tad vision blurring on this blog.  

Bob and Chester are not in this shot, just Wallace Beery as Butch, everyone's favorite cellmate!  

The Big House will be shown on TCM this Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. PT.  Have not seen it for a while.  Hopefully it will be streamed for a while afterwards, 3:30 a.m. not being a great viewing time, for any movie.  

Waiting ... Hating ... Hoping ...

 This one-page piece on The Big House (1930) came with a group of clippings.  The magazine's name is not on the page, and neither is an author's name.  I'm guessing it might be straight from MGM's publicity office, without the pretense of it being written by a reporter for the magazine.  Anyway, it is a different take on PR releases.  

Screen Stars Make Merry

 When I first saw this photo, my first reaction was, where's Betty.  I mean, Betty was kept out of the limelight at the beginning of Bob's career, the first year on the studio's orders since he wasn't even married, as far as the publicity department was concerned.  But by 1936 she appeared at least at the Guild's annual balls and some movie premiers, and she definitely should have been seen with good friends Chester and Suzi Morris.  I finally figured out her absence based on the date of the ball, Feb. 22nd.  Robert Jr. was born January 6th, 1936, only about six weeks before.  Back in the day, new Moms didn't rush back into society wearing slinky ball gowns.  Much relief.  Bob wasn't being a cad after all!

"Pictured as they arrive at the sumptuous third annual Screen Actors Guild Ball at the Los Angeles Biltmore hotel are:  Chester Morris; Mrs. Morris; and Robert Montgomery."  2-22-1936
 

He kinda catches your attention, doesn't he!

Me having "fun" in Quarantined California

Purchased this 1931 magazine a while back.  (Being "isolated" out here in CA, I have had no excuse to not try to catch up on scanning and organizing my Bob stuff.  Have been scanning magazine items for awhile now, almost finished.) The vendor did note that one page had been cut out.  Of course it was Bob's photo that was missing.  Oh, well, the magazine was so inexpensive that I bought it anyway for the other stars' photos. 

A nice photo of William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy, of course).  Such a great smile.

And handsome Reginald Denny, 40 years old in 1931, but still believable competition for Norma Shearer's heart in Private Lives (1931). 

Chester Morris and his wife were good friends of Bob and Betty early in Bob's career. 

And William Powell ... he of the bedroom eyes.  Classy Dude.

The inside back cover is a collage of photos in the magazine.  Hey, it's Bob on the left. 

A Bob I just happened to have.  Same photo edging as the others, so it is the missing Bob!  Great.  Now I don't have to concern myself anymore, thinking about what Bob photo I missed out on. 

For my next project, I have this rather large, unruly pile of oversized items that need to be scanned.  Most are 11x14 lobby cards, which I used to go to Fed Ex to be scanned.  But there's that stay at home order which nixes that.  So, my husband has offered to help me set up a camera for decent photos to be uploaded to my computer.  This should be interesting, particularly if we can capture some of the posters, pressbooks, etc., which have accumulated over the years.  Not in any particular hurry to get at that task.  The way things look, we may be stay at homes for some time.  I'm glad that my husband and I have been retired for some time.  We're used to a slower pace of life.  Well, I do miss my shopping expeditions! 

Is Copying Really the Best Compliment?

I have always admired Bob's autograph, the one he developed in the early 1930s.  This 1933 version is a little sloppy compared to the one you see later in the 1930s, it is not written in a perfectly straight line.  It was also written in a book from his library, so perhaps he just did not feel it had to be all that neat.  He does use the line he always draws under his name.  It can vary a little, but the consistent part of the line is the two short marks cutting through the middle of the line.  At one point, I thought it might stand for "H", or Henry, his real first name.  But then I realized it was a somewhat common mark, so had to toss the Henry theory, although I prefer it. 

The actor Louis Mann (Sins of the Children, 1930), had a similar autograph. 

And Chester Morris, a good buddy of Bob's during the time he was developing his autograph, happened to underline his name in a very similar way.  Hmm...

Nice Little Surprises Can Make My Day

Another treasure find, after buying a large lot of photos.  There are only two of them, about 4x5, very rare ads for The Big House (1930).  The first card has three scenes, the first three images shown below.  The 2nd card gets to the point of what they are selling, guns and violence.  You'll note that Bob isn't in any of the scenes.  Bob got fourth billing, but he has only a supporting role to Chester Morris and Wallace Beery. 

TCM is showing the movie tomorrow,  January 7th at 6:30 p.m.
EST.   I find it an enjoyable movie, worth a watch. 

Happy Birthday to Boston Blackie!

Chester Morris was born February 16, 1901.  He and Bob made back-to-back movies together, The Divorcee and The Big House, forging a close friendship in the early 1930s when both actors became so highly successful in their careers.  Actually, Morris was a step or two further up the ladder than Bob was in 1930, when The Big House really made his career.

The photo below is a publicity shot for Corsair (1931).  I love the IMDB synopsis for the movie: "Stock market broker plans to liven up his boring life by taking up piracy on the high seas."  Good one.  Check out the striped pants.

Chester's career took a dive in the late 30s, so signing on to the Boston Blackie movies in the 1940s was a great financial boon for the struggling actor.  When they ended, he switched to theater and television in the 1950s.  In 1970, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and dies of a barbiturate overdose.  The coroner could not determine if it was suicide or an accident.  Whichever, it was an understandable reaction to cancer at the time and ever so sad. 

Wallace Beery Plays Himself, errr, Butch!

TCM is showing The Big House (1930) this coming Thursday.  Definitely worth a watch, even if prison movies aren't your thing.  Chester Morris and Wallace Beery are the stars, Bob has a major supporting role.  The movie begins with Bob's character, clean cut Kent Marlowe, being checked into the overcrowded and dated prison to serve a 10-year sentence for killing a man in a drunken-driving accident.  The sequence is really quite good, showing the dehumanization of Kent as he is changed into prisoner no. 48642.  And then the poor guy meets his new cellmates, Morgan (Chester Morris) and Butch (Wallace Beery), with Butch as everyone's nightmare roomie. 

     Chester Morris, Bob and Wallace Beery in The Big House (1930)

Kent has a completely rational reaction to his fate, he is scared to hell facing a life situation filled with violence for which he is ill-prepared.  Love the look on Bob's face in the photo below.  You're so right, Bob.  Nothing good is going to come for you in this prison break. 

It's great seeing Bob in a different kind of role.  But his future has already been determined by the two movies he has made with Norma Shearer, Their Own Desire (1929) and Divorcee (1930).  He just looked too darn good in a tuxedo!