Only 2-1/2" Tall ... and Yet So Handsome!

 Still amazed at how great many of the trade cards of the mid-30s were produced, particularly the "Ross" cards.  Ross was a German company with a branch in Los Angeles.  

If you take a subject like Bob, a photographer like Hurrell, and a photo company like Ross ... well, that's a description of Perfection!  

Another Photo Saved from Oblivion

 I found this in a bulk lot of photographs, one step from being tossed into the trash.  I shudder to think of that, losing an image of Bob with such a big smile.  There wasn't much smiling in the movie, Inspiration (1932), nor on the set.  Garbo gave Bob the cold shoulder, or should I more correctly say icy shoulder.  Not a happy experience for the young actor.  

I'm sure the working relationship with Beryl Mercer, the diminutive lady playing Garbo's maid pictured above, was much better.  Ms. Mercer was in five movies with Bob, starting off with his very first movie, Three Live Ghosts (1929).  And after Inspiration, she was in The Man in Possession (1931), Lovers Courageous (1932), and Night Must Fall (1937).  Bob did NOT make another movie with Ms. Garbo.  

Gems Found in a Good Fan Magazine

I would have subscribed to "The New Movie" magazine in 1931, if I had the 10 cents a month purchase price that is.  Newsy, good reviews, great full-page photos ... an entertaining read.  The April, 1931 issue was worth every bit of 10 Cents!

Bob has a full-page portrait, two of his movies are reviewed and there is a mention and small photo.  His career really does pickup in 1931. 

He may have gotten co-star billing in The Easiest Way and Inspiration, but they are both starring vehicles for the ladies, Ms. Bennett and Ms. Garbo.  Bob is barely mentioned in the reviews. 

Two of the full-page portraits really stand out.  Anita Page gets the full Hurrell treatment.

And Otto Dyar does a superb job of capturing Ms. Lombard's sexual allure. 

Lastly, William Powell is featured in an article on stars and their fathers.  Appears Bill moved his parents from the cold winters in Kansas City, MO to be nearby in warmer Los Angeles.  Now that's being a good son. 

Getting Down to Basics

Just a gorgeous scene, isn't it.  Plunked down in a beautiful woodland, flowers everywhere, the couple more interested in each other than their surroundings.  But, who are they?

Oh, it's Greta Garbo and Robert Montgomery in Inspiration (1931).  Still a gorgeous scene with plenty of flowers ... and you have a closer look at Bob!  Near perfection. 

(I apologize for the lateness of my post.  Knowing what day of the week it is has been one of the unexpected challenges of retirement.)

She Just Was Not Very Nice to Young Bob

Now, this is a beautiful still photo from Inspiration (1931).  Black and white photography can be just marvelous.  Love it.  Unfortunately, my blog format is too limited to show this properly.  So ...

How about a blow-up of the photo's centerpiece.  Hey, it's Yvonne (Garbo) and Andre (Bob) headed up the stairs to his apartment. 

Hmm....what could they be thinking about.

Garbo was not happy about being in Inspiration, not liking the role, the script and apparently her co-star who she gave the cold (or more accurately frozen) shoulder throughout the movie.  Bob was humiliated in front of the entire crew, not a nice thing to do to the young actor.  Power just does not bring out the best in people.

More Treasures From the Vault ...

I bought a lot of movies titled "Unknown Movies/Actors."  This is the kind of stuff I really enjoy messing with.  For me, seeing the word "Unknown" is like waving a red flag at a bull, I love the challenge.  Now, I'm quite often as clueless as the vendor, but on occasion I can troll out a good find or two. 

The quality of this photo is not the greatest, but finding an original photo from Inspiration (1931), I consider to be a rarity.  The dress Garbo is wearing is what caught my eye, rather unique, isn't it.  I would have preferred finding a photo with Bob in it instead of Lewis Stone, but ...

And this photo was easy to identify because I remembered having seen it before.  There is something about seeing Joan Crawford in prison garbs that kind of sticks in your mind.  The photo number in the lower right-hand corner confirms the movie title, Paid (1930).  It is 520, the Inspiration photo has the number 521.  MGM had a simple and consistent numbering system for its movies, it has been a great help for me in identifying stills from Bob's movies.  Considering he wore a tuxedo so often in his movies, it can be confusing! 

                              

Garbo, Buster and a Three Decker

I just love the fan magazines of the early 1930s.  Photoplay Magazine was one, if not the best of its kind in the 1930s.  Richly done, great photos of the stars and, appropriately, on the expensive side for collectors.  In Britain, there were two highly successful magazines which covered U.S. movies, as well as their own.  I'm guessing Picturergoer was No. 1, with Picture Show not far behind.  Bob made the cover of both several times, and I snarf them up whenever they show up for sale. 

And, whereas I may purchase a magazine for its cover or a lead story, it is always fun to run across any small surprises inside.  Below is a photo of the young Mr. Montgomery --- note the full head of wavy hair! --- and a dog named Buster, perhaps MGM's answer to Rin Tin Tin.  Bob appears to be finding Buster a more enjoyable co-worker than Garbo...

And found in an article on the favorite sandwiches of the stars:

I wish they had provided the kind of bread he liked, which dressing he used.  I mean, there are so many unknown things about Bob we will never know, and now there are even more.  Sigh. 

Stars and Starlets, Both Had Their Roles to Play

Just love the promotional stills when the studio was doing Bob's he's-now-a-star campaign.  It was in full force with the making of Shipmates (1931) and still going during the making of The Man in Possession (1931), as displayed in the photo below.  (This gorgeous double-weight print came from the estate of director Sam Woods, shown on the far right.)  The MGM starlets were kept busy supporting Bob in his campaign, and evidently much appreciated by the newly-minted "Star." 

 Joan Marsh, Lillian Bond, Bob, Dorothy Lee, Unknown, Karen Morley   and Sam Woods on the set of  The Man in Possession.

Most of the female contract players' careers did not last any longer than their short term contracts.  Having a successful career in the movies was indeed the exception for these young girls.  Joan Marsh had a chance at grabbing the gold ring.  In 1931 she signed a contract at MGM when she was 18, or 17, depending on the source.  She is placed on the cover of Movie Classic Magazine, and compared to Garbo. 

The studio tries out various "looks" ... Jean Harlow, anyone?!

Of course, there's the swimsuit shot, displaying the starlet's better attributes ...

And the I'll-do-anything-you-tell-me-to-do stills...

Joan had bit parts in a half-dozen films at MGM.  Her first movie was Inspiration (1930), and will also appear with Bob in Shipmates.  Below she is shown dancing with Bob accompanying her on the piano during a break in the filming. 

When her contract ends at MGM, Joan continues to work at various studios, never past the bit part at the major studios, the leading lady in a few Poverty Row films.  She does show up in a Bob movie one more time.  In Fast and Loose (1939) she has a good-sized supporting role as the bad girl who gets our hero Joel Sloane in trouble with all-knowing spouse Garda - Roz Russell, of course.  I wonder if Bob had anything to do with her getting the part. 

        Sidney Blackmer, Bob and Joan Marsh in Fast and Loose.

Joan makes her last movie in 1944, retiring at the advanced age of 31.  She married her second husband in 1943, a marriage that produces two children and lasts until his death in 1994.  Joan lives on until 2000, age 86.  I'd say she was one of the lucky starlets. 

The Chemistry Just Wasn't There...

                                        Inspiration (1931)

Another Ross Verlag, this time with a still from Inspiration.  The Bob and Garbo on-screen pairing did not exactly work out, two very different people.  Perhaps it would have worked at a later time in Bob's career when he could have been as cold and edgy to Ms. Garbo as she was to him.  Think Bob and Bette in June Bride, wherein the edginess worked well as their characters were constantly at war.  Of course, it did not help that Garbo, who was actually a year younger than Bob, looked more like his big sister than lover.    

A Couples of Two

Some picspam to break up your week. And here's something to think about. Bob always on the left-hand side of photos? Smith is the only one below that seems to break the pattern. Ok, enough useless observation.

Biography of a Bachelor Girl - Ann Harding

Blondie of the Follies - Marion Davies

Fast and Loose - Rosalind Russell

Inspiration - Greta Garbo

Letty Lynton - Joan Crawford (and her dress)

Mr. and Mrs. Smith - Carole Lombard

When Ladies Meet - Myrna Loy

What's Your Inspiration?

Real life is busy here at CM, so I'm going to cheat a little - while keeping the "ball" rolling - by posting a clip from 1931's Inspiration.

OK, I had planned to embed the video, but apparently my original link has been removed at YouTube. Instead, enjoy the full film through this link.

Inspiration (1931)

Inspiration has always been one of those films I've wanted to like, but have never been able to "get into." Story aside, my gut feel is that Greta Garbo overpowers Bob. IMO, it's an attractive pairing on paper (and in photos), but odd on film. I had to look this one up too: Greta is only a year older than Bob in this 1931 film. She comes off as older to me.

For The Library

Added to the Amazon Wishlist:

In the Picture: Production Stills from the TCM Archives

In the Picture: Production Stills from the TCM Archives offers a rare collection of B&W photographs taken on movie sets from the silent era to the 1960's, giving readers a glimpse of Hollywood at work in the Golden Era. Highlighting the energy, glamour and challenge of filmmaking, these production stills capture beloved movie moments both in front of and behind the camera. In the Picture offers a unique perspective on Hollywood history from the great studio productions of MGM, Warner Bros. and RKO.

Format: Hardcover 10 3/4 x 9 1/2, 160 pp and 143 tritone images
Publisher: Chronicle Books

Includes pics from TCM favs such as:

• Bringing Up Baby
• Dancing Lady
• Faithless
• Forsaking All Others
• Hide-Out
• Inspiration
• Lady in the Lake
• Night Must Fall
• North By Northwest
• They Were Expendable
• The Thinn Man
• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
  

It's a bargain book over at Amazon - cheaper than TCM.