Are the Lads Just a Tad Bored? Could be.

Do you think they are waiting for Irene Dunne to finish her makeup?  Or are they waiting for Director La Cava and the writers to confer over some script changes?  All the possibilities ... Poor lads.

              Bob and Preston Foster in Unfinished Business (1941)

Wonder if Bill Went out in Public with his Red Hair

 A favorite movie of mine, Life with Father (1947), starred two of my favorite people, William Powell and Irene Dunne.  Directed by Michael Curtiz and with a screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart, it is (surprise!) a delightful movie.  

Bill and Irene ... made for quite the handsome couple.  

And a big round of applause for the costume department at Warner Bros for Irene's gorgeous outfit.  Someone, more likely somebodies, spent long hours on this creation.  Bravo.

A Yank in Hollywood (Oops...it's only Monday!)

 It's one of those articles that could have been written without actually talking to the subject.  There are only a few brief quotes from Bob.  But, it is an interesting read.  This is the September, 1941 issue of Modern Screen.  

(If the photo far below of Bob and Irene Dunne looks familiar, check out the September 21st post, the last clipping.  Sister photos ... I made that discovery tonight while working with the post.  And I thought the other photo was taken, oh, 1946 or 47.  Just slightly off!)

 

Ah, To Tweak the Montgomery Chin at Ciro's

 Yes, that's Mrs. Murphy with a good grip on Mr. Montgomery's arm.  Mrs. Montgomery is between Mr. Murphy and Mrs. Cagney.  Late 1930's version of wife swapping. 

 

 

 The above two photos show that Bob, although a heavy smoker, was seldom caught by the photographer with a cigarette in hand or mouth.  Nor was he photographed wearing his glasses.  Both he and Irene, below, have eyeglasses in hand. 

Bob in Color (Almost)

A nice photo, anyway. 

                    Bob and Irene in Unfinished Business (1941)

Audrey and Irene, Two Peas in a Pod

Well, if astrology is correct, then today's birthday ladies are!  Hmmm, I have never thought of Irene "First Lady of Hollywood" Dunne and Audrey "Bad Girl" Totter as being in anyway similar, but perhaps it's the roles they played that separated them and not their selves.

Let's see ... they both starred in movies with Bob, Irene in Unfinished Business (1941) and Audrey in both Lady in the Lake (1947) and The Saxon Charm (1948).  

            Irene reads Bob's palm on the set of Unfinished Business

            Adrienne (Audrey) offers coffee to Marlowe (Bob) in 
                                 Lady in the Lake

And they both had just one husband, rather unique for Hollywood.  Irene was married to Dr. Francis Griffin, a dentist, for 37 years and Audrey to Dr. Leo Fred, an assistant Dean of Medicine at UCLA, for 43 years.  Both ladies outlived their husbands and died in their 90's, Irene 91 and Audrey 95!  They were both involved in politics, particularly Ms. Dunne, and like Bob, were staunch Republicans.

Above all, they were both classy ladies.  

Miscellaneous Thoughts and an ID'd Photo

First I get help identifying the photo in the Oct. 20th post, and now I have been able to identify the mystery photo in the March 31st post.  I thought it was from the 20s, actually it is a 1932 movie titled While Paris Sleeps which starred Victor McLaglen and featured William Bakewell and Helen Mack, the young couple in the photo.  I ran across a sister photo which had the ID information ... one of my mini-Viola! moments.

  William Bakewell and Helen Mack in While Paris Sleeps (1932)

When was the last time you saw anyone wear a hat?  And I don't mean a baseball cap, or a uniform hat...just your everyday Dick and Jane going out in public.  Everybody wore hats back when, and then they just went away.  Kinda sad.  I think most men look great in a fedora.  Bob Montgomery looked great in any kind of hat.

     Riders of the Black Hills (1938) with the Three Mesquiteers
            (Bob Livingston, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune)
 
There were some fabulous sets dreamed up by the studios in the 1930s and 1940s.  Be it a nightclub stage dreamed up by Busby Berkeley or a simple country cottage in the English countryside, they were extremely important in making a successful movie.  Sometimes the sets are a bit much.  I hope Irene is  on a stage picking fake flowers and not on a real garden set.  Gotta check out this movie some time.  Either way, Irene, always the pro, managed not to break out laughing at her fake flower bouquet.  

                         Irene Dunne in Sweet Adeline (1934)

Two Young Men With Bright Futures

                                 West Point of the Air (1935)  

Robert Young is second from the left in the above photo.  In movies since 1931, he is the old pro with the casting credit of second lead.  (Note how Bob is in a full slouch, trying to keep the top of his head in the frame.)

And the young man on the far left is Robert Taylor.  He has only 9th billing, but just two movies later he is co-starring with Irene Dunne in Magnificent Obsession .  As in Mr. Taylor had one meteoric rise to stardom. 

      Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor in Magnificent Obsession (1935) 

Just love this photo.  1. The immaculately dressed and coiffed Ms. Dunne has just been hit by a speeding car.  Only in Hollywood in the 30s.  2.  That is one gorgeous automobile.  Almost as gorgeous as Robert.

Robert Montgomery Birthday Week - Bob at his Best --- When He's Laughing

Bob's best attribute ... one great smile.  Whether it's from sharing a laugh with a friend and co-worker ...

... or a young boy. 

Or at a joke by an old, dear friend.

Or simply enjoying one of Life's wonderful surprises.

It's an infectious smile, isn't it.  Thank you, kind sir, for sharing that smile with us all. 

Happy Birthday, Irene - A Day Early!

Two of Bob's ladies were born on December 20th.  Irene Dunne was a classy lady, I do not imagine she would mind celebrating hers a day early.

                                      Unfinished Business (1941)

Actress (received five Best Actress nominations), singer, devout Catholic, philanthropist, Republican activist ... only one  marriage which lasted from 1928 to 1965 (his death) ... resided just a few mansions away from Bob in Holmby Hills ... named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958.  Is it any wonder she and Bob could share a good laugh?

          Gregory LaCava, Irene & Lt. Montgomery, March 11, 1942