TCM! - I've got this film you need to show.

 When I first ran across this photograph, it caught my eye because two of my favorite people, Reginald Owen and Frank Morgan, were in it.  And there is Virginia Bruce, as well, all decked out in a gorgeous gown and fancy hairdo.  I thought it was a publicity shot for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), since Owens, Morgan and Bruce were all in it, but it is named on the back as being Escapade (1935).  Then, looking up the movie, I found that William Powell and Luise Rainer star in both movies as well!  What?  

It did take a long time to film Ziegfeld, from April 8th to December 1935.  Escapade filming began at the same time, April 3rd, but was wrapped up in May.  Did the studio make Escapade to build up fan interest in Ziegfeld, a much larger production?  Use the core cast for both movies while having to wait out the year to film all the other performers?  Sounds 'bout right.  It is interesting that Escapade has a 7.3 rating on IMDB, while Ziegfeld has the lower score of 6.6. 

I would love to see the movie but, of course, it is not available anywhere.  Shuckie-darns!  

Okay, enlarging the good folks so you can see them ... Reginald Owen.

Mady Christians ... wonder how early she had to be at the studio for that hairdo!

Frank Morgan ... with a full beard and dark hair for a change.

Virginia Bruce ... knitting away.  The lady has been on a sound stage many a time.

I do not know who this gent is.  Evidently a fan of Ms. Bruce.  Herringbone jacket, striped shirt and checkered tie - my.  Would love to see the outfit in color.  Anyone know who he is?  

25 cents for an 8 x 10 star portrait ... I'll take 5 of Robert Montgomery, 4 of William Powell ...

 Helen Rydell of Los Angeles, Cal. was a clever fan.  She figured out that she could buy a 1 cent stamp for a postcard that she would send to MGM asking for a photograph of a favorite star and then receive in return a picture postcard of her star asking for either 10 cents for a 5 x 7 photo or 25 cents for an 8 x 10.  1 cent vs. 10 or 25 cents.  Good one, Helen.  This ad campaign was short-lived, just briefly in 1937 to 1938.  It's no wonder.  

She also asked for a Frank Morgan photo and receives one which includes Clark Gable as well.  

Helen's request was for Maureen O'Sullivan ... not Beery.  

So, the three photos cost Helen a total of 3 cents.  They cost me a tad bit more.  

Smoking Break for the Good Ole Boys

 It seems like Frank Morgan was in more than four movies with Robert Montgomery.  Perhaps that is because three of them were bunched together:  Trouble for Two (1936); Piccadilly Jim (1936); and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937).  In fact, Bob did not make any other movies during this time.  They, of course, worked well together.

Frank (b.1890) and Bob (b.1904) had old school ties, both having attended Pawling, a boys' prep school.  Frank attended one year when he was 17 which happened to be the year Pawling opened, 1907.  Bob was there a couple years, leaving when his father passed in 1923.  (Which makes Bob 19. Bob's early years are very fuzzy.  Like, even at 19, Bob had not completed enough coursework to graduate.  He was at Pawling, best guess, about two years.  Lot of missing years.  Yes, he may well have studied in Europe, but he wasn't spending much time there during WWI, particularly not France and Germany.  I can certainly understand Bob's keeping his Dad's suicide private, but the rest is a puzzlement.)  

           Robert Montgomery & Frank Morgan at the studio during a           break from the filming of The Last of Mrs. Cheney (1937).

Frank Morgan Over Robert Montgomery ... Really?!

 Birthday salutations to a favorite Bob co-star, Myrna Loy.  She was born August 2nd, 1905 in Helena, Montana, where she would be buried with family in 1993 at the age of 88.  The bright, witty and independent Ms. Loy and Bob were good friends when making When Ladies Meet (1933) and Petticoat Fever (1936).  Unfortunately, politics took its toll and the two parted ways completely in the late 1940s.  Ah, shucks ... but they looked so good together!  

Love the set used in the photograph.  The background matte, the lush flowers, a paved walkway ... just nifty.  

                  Bob and Myrna Loy in When Ladies Meet (1933)

Bob,Joan,Frank,Una,Clark,Bill,Robert or Roz?

 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer did not pass up many opportunities to make a little extra money off their stars fame.  Besides the picture frame photos, there were photos used on notebooks (or writing tablets, as I knew them).  I wasn't around for these notebooks, but I would have dreaded having to select just one for the upcoming school year.  In all honesty, as an elementary school student I probably would have chosen .... Clark Gable!  And Robert Taylor would have been my second choice.  Hey, Gable and Taylor were still making movies in the 1950s.  While Robert Montgomery was a TV producer and advisor to President Eisenhower.  Who would you have chosen? 

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

                                 Makes a great wallpaper!

Psssst! Thanksgiving is Almost Here!!!

The holidays are such hectic times.  Too much to do and too many things to cause us to worry.  So easy to overlook the to-give-thanks part of Thanksgiving.  Sometimes it is simply easier to list all the negatives.  But, sometimes it can be surprisingly easy to run across what is good in your life.  Ta-da ... like this photo is for me.  It brought a huge smile to my face the first time I saw it.  Ah, yes, Frank Morgan at his befuddled-king-of-some-before-unknown-country best.  And, as a twofer, under all that ceremonial garb and huge mustache, the ever reliable Reginald Owen.  Just love it.  No need to hear the scene, you know those two are taking turns stealing it, while Ray Bolger is thinking, why am I even in this scene. 

       Ray Bolger, Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen in Rosalie (1937)

Watching old movies is like visiting old friends, for which I am ever grateful.  Since my youth I have kept the company of war heroes, tough private eyes, handsome lovers in tuxedos, and adventurers of all kinds.  Just all kinds of wonderful characters who make me smile, or cry, or simply feel good.  I have rarely been lonely.  Thanks, good friends.  

Yeah, the Mustache is Just Too Much!

Trouble for Two (1936) has it all ... romance, intrigue, comedy and Bob with curls and a mustache!  Bob as the Crown Prince Florizel runs off from the drudgery of royal life to seek adventure and good times in London.  The king assigns Colonel Geraldine (really?), played by Frank Morgan, to travel with Bob and keep him in line.  Below, we find the boys taking baths before going out on the town ... doing so together is an interesting concept.  But, hey, I do enjoy a Montgomery nude scene, and there are so few of them!

Ah, the foggy streets of London.  Florizel and Geraldine find out about this mysterious Suicide Club from Louis Hayward, and Florizel just has to find out all about it.  Check out Bob's pose, and being all decked out with not just a tux but high hat, cape and cane, as well.  Is there a woman in London who can turn down this gorgeous specimen of manhood? 

Nope.  It's not love at first sight, but Princess Brenda (Roz Russell) and Florizel do work things out in the end.  Of course.  TCM is showing Trouble tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2:45 p.m. EST.  

Now Frank Looked Good in a Mustache ... But Not Bob

Happy Birthday to a favorite, Frank Morgan.  Great actor, nice guy.

 --- Mr. Morgan was born Francis Wuppermann on June 1, 1890, in New York City.  His best early career move was changing his name.  He was the youngest of 11 children, poor Mrs. Wuppermann wth all those little Wuppermann's running around.  (Yeah, I love that name!)

--- Frank was a member of the "Irish Mafia" in Hollywood.  Evidently he was adopted by Cagney, O'Brien, Tracy, and the other Irishmen, since he was of Spanish, German and English heritage.  However, being an alcoholic who carried his own mini-bar in a briefcase to the studio with him, he fit in quite well with the others.

--- He appeared in four of Bob's films; When Ladies Meet (1933), Trouble for Two (1936), Piccadilly Jim (1936) and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937).  He competed with Bob for the same lady in Ladies and Cheyney, and was Bob's father in Piccadilly.  Note, the last three movies were in a row for Bob, Frank made others as well.  That's a lot of time spent together, hope they were friends!

Marathon, Part 2 (One Day To Go!)

And now for the other five movies being shown tomorrow ...

Untamed (1929) receives a 4.6 rating on IMDB.  Ouch.  Granted, the movie is one of those rather awkward transition from silent to sound movies.  The use of titles for scene changes at the beginning is right out of the silents.  Hey, we are still learning about sound films, give us a chance!  If you are a Crawford fan, you will enjoy the beginning.  Joan, as "Bingo", gets to both sing and dance.  It is interesting to see musical numbers being used in the early sound pictures, whether it had anything to do with the rest of the movie or not.  Even Bob has to sing a love song to Bingo.  Too much.

I would suggest going 21 minutes into the movie and watch it from Bob's entrance on, the movie improves greatly.  This is Bob's third movie.  His transition is from stage to the talkies and he still has room for improvement.  But it is simply fun to watch him, the young, very exuberant Bob, still working on his basics, the way he walks, what to do with his hands when standing still.  The boxing scene is great fun, with some attempt of disguising just how skinny and small-framed the young Bob is.  But he can throw a lot of punches very fast!

Three years later, Bob has improved significantly.  In But the Flesh is Weak (1932), he has become the Bob we know so well ... so handsome, elegant and smooth.  The rating is only 5.7, probably so low because of the main plot of Bob and his Dad being gigolos with the quest of Bob marrying  a wealthy woman.  Yes, not exactly politically correct these days, but it was all fun in 1932 having men in the usual role held by women, of looking for a sugar daddy.  The beginning has a great scene of Bob preparing for and taking a bath, do watch that if nothing else.  I have always felt the big weakness of the film was Bob's co-star, Nora Gregor.  She was quite popular in Europe, but did not catch on in Hollywood.

                   Bob and Nora Gregor in But the Flesh is Weak

In Made on Broadway (1933), Bob gets to play a different role.  He is a fast-talking, streetwise fixer, not his usual suave, upper crust self.  He meets his match in Sally Eilers, and the two work to make her into a celebrity.  He begins to fall in love with her, while his wife, Madge Evans, waits patiently to see if he returns to her.  Bob is quite good in the role, interesting to watch.  IMDB's rating is 6.5.  That's fair.

In the same year, Bob made When Ladies Meet.  Based on a very sophisticated and successful play, the movie has simply a great cast; Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Frank Morgan, Alice Brady along with Bob.  It is a witty play about current day morality.  Myrna is in love with Frank who is married to Ann, while Bob is in love with Myrna and will do anything to get Frank out of the picture.  It sounds strange to have Myrna in love with Frank rather than Bob, but Mr. Morgan makes it believable.  The laughs are provided by Alice Brady, and the "country home" set by Cedric Gibbons is amazingly beautiful.  I seriously want that home for myself.  The movie's rating is 6.9.  The main complaint would be that it could be viewed as being too talky. 

Lastly, Trouble for Two (1936) reflects being made after they began enforcing the Hayes Act.  Bob gets to kiss Roz Russell gingerly and that's about it on the sex front.  It is based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Suicide Club", and is primarily a somewhat strange mystery, with Bob and Roz as European royals, and Frank Morgan (again!) as Bob's watch dog.  It is rather an adjustment for me watching Bob with a mustache and a curly wig!  It is also an under use of Ms. Russell, as often happens.

My, but it is getting late (or early, depending on your perspective!)  Hope my rambles make sense.  Remember, Monday is Bob's Day! 

Bob ... And the Ever Present Ladies

Love my clippings ... cheap!!  And they are just so seldom available in the original photo form.  I mean how else are you going to find a photo of Preston Foster, Eddie Adams, Bob, Una Merkel and James Gleason!  The photo was taken at the 1937 Screen Actors Guild Ball.  (Does anyone know who Eddie Adams was?  Did she perhaps have a position in the union?  Can't find anything on her on IMDB.  Bugs me when I can't identify someone!) 

And a photo of Robert Young, Gertrude Niesen, Frank Morgan, Rita Johnson and Bob ... well, maybe not priceless.  The cheery group is singing in celebration of Frank Morgan's 25th Wedding Anniversary.  Now this is obviously an MGM public relations photo.  Young, Morgan, Johnson and Bob are all MGM contract players.  They would know each other and were probably at the studio working that day.  But...Gertrude Niesen?  She was a singer that made a few movie appearances at other studios, never worked for MGM.  Did they hire a singer so some one in the group could carry a tune?  (Sorry, Bob, an unkind remark in deed.)

And, lastly, a still from Night Must Fall (1937) with Dame May Whitty.  Just look at that face, that smile.  Want to share some chocolates, my dear, dear Danny?