Such a Handsome Young Man

An original 8x10 photo of Bob taken in 1930, a Louise photograph (pre-Hurrell!) with his autograph...what's not to like!  You can even tell he has blue eyes, the iris in the right eye is definitely on the light side, something not caught by most of his photos.

What made this photo even more of a treasure for me is what I discovered on the back, a list of Bob's movies starting with Three Live Ghosts (1929) through Ever Since Eve (1937).  The consistency of the handwriting indicates it was written in 1937 or after (my handwriting certainly changed over any 17-year period).  The earlier movies are slightly out of order, but close.  Interestingly, three of his movies are listed using the working titles:  The Richest Man in the World for Sins of the Children (1930), The Girl I Made for Made on Broadway (1933) and The Suicide Club for Trouble for Two (1936).  And two movies have been combined as Free and Easy Divorce ...makes a great title!

Wonder why the list was made after all those years.  Did the photo change hands and the new owner made the list?  Or was the original owner testing her/his memory?  And why the use of working titles?  I am puzzled.  As I usually am about so much of Mr. Montgomery.  What's the saying; "The more I know, the more I realize how little I know."  Yep, that's me. 

An Evening With Amanda and Elyot

It's Norma Shearer month on TCM ... all five of Bob and Norma's movies are being shown!  Yes! They're not all great, but they all have young, beautiful Bob to make them all a worthwhile watch.  My favorite is Private Lives (1931).  This is the fourth movie of the pairing, and their comfort level with each other is reflected in their performances.  And, of course, it is an excellent Noel Coward play, so the script is excellent.  I understand Irving Thalberg actually filmed the stage version for the cast to study, a first, I believe.  Additional time was given for studying the script and rehearsals, to assist Norma in developing her role.  A Noel Coward play was not Norma's cup of tea, but she apparently put a lot of effort into it, didn't exactly embarrass herself.  Bob, meanwhile, handled his role superbly.  If only he had gotten more good movies in which to show his stuff.

               Private Lives (1931) with Bob and Norma Shearer

  The movies will be shown on two nights and all times are EST.

          November 10th  -  Private Lives 8:00 p.m.
                                        Divorcee (1930) at 12:45 a.m.
                                        Their Own Desire (1929) at 2:15 am.

          November 17th  -  Strangers May Kiss (1931) at 8:00 p.m.
                                        Riptide (1934) at 3:15 a.m.

And a special bonus, Lady in the Lake (1947) will be shown on the 22nd at 8:00 a.m.  November is a good movie for Montgomery viewing.  More, more, more ...