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.  

Clippings from the Vault ...

 Were Bob and Betty ever that young?

Sorry, Loretta, but it was simply Maureen's role.  

"Robert Montgomery couldn't find words with which to thank Bette Davis for her tireless efforts on behalf of the Red Cross, but his expression was enough."

Oh, sure, that's exactly what the two are talking about ... 

Just a Gorgeous Couple ...

 ... think I've said that a few times before.  But it's so true.  The photographer is Russell Ball for MGM.  Excellent photo.  As were all the other photographs he made for Hide-Out.  A perfect combination of subject matter and photographer.  Their photos always make me smile.  

         Robert Montgomery & Maureen O'Sullivan in Hide-Out (1934)

Lucky Bob, Supported by Beautiful Ladies

 In When Ladies Meet (1933) Alice Brady portrays the friend who owns a beautiful summer "cottage" in New Jersey, large enough for the entire group.  She is 42 years old in this rather nice photograph taken in 1935.   

Maureen O'Sullivan is 21 years old in this gorgeous photo taken by Ted Allan.  She co-starred with Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), proving her body was as beautiful as her face.  Maureen teamed with Bob in Hide-Out (1934), my personal choice of Bob's most beautiful leading lady.  Such a great pairing.  There really should have been a Hide-Out, Part 2 made.  

Madge Evans starred with Bob in four movies between 1932 and 1936.  They were a handsome couple who simply jelled on screen.  I particularly enjoyed her performance as the ex-wife in Made on Broadway (1933).  

And Just Who Was the More Beautiful?

"Here they are ... Maureen O'Sullivan advises Robert Montgomery in this scene from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture, "Hide-Out," directed by W.S. Van Dyke."

As we have lamented many times in the past, it's really too bad they didn't pair Bob and Maureen at least one more time to answer the big questions, "Will Lucky return after he has served his prison term?  Will Pauline want him back?"  They were just so cute together.  

And the Cutest Couple Ever Is ...

 Yes, another publicity still of Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan for Hide-Out (1934).  And, yes, they are a remarkably good-looking couple.  But ... there is a shade of difference.  Can you see it?
 

Bob is talking.  He has made Maureen laugh.  Yeah, it can be really tough making a movie. 

Nice Things (Can) Come in Small Packages

 As I've said a few times before, it is just great fun for me to run across a trade card or postcard with a photo of Bob that costs a small percentage of the 8x10 version, if you can find the larger version at all.  

The real photo trade cards can be stunning, such clarity in a small photo.  Maureen O'Sullivan and Bob in a still from Hide-Out (1934) make for a handsome couple, from Maureen's smile to the piece of hay in Bob's mouth.  (Well, you may have to concentrate to see that one!) 

 Two-color trade cards are fairly common.  Some work out better than others.  I would place this photo of Bob in the "slightly-over-the-top" category.  Love the purple match flame.

 There are a number of trading cards with sailor Bob from Shipmates (1931).  This one is a little out of the ordinary.  Of course, the Shipmates publicity shots were all taken by Hurrell.  I have seen the original Hurrell.  Quite nice.  But, until I win the Powerball ...

 

Definition of Beautiful: Maureen O'Sullivan, Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor, etc...

 Maureen O'Sullivan was a beautiful young lady.  I've commented before that she was (IMO) the leading lady closest to being young Bob's equal.  It would appear from this photo, that the same could be said of her and another beautiful lad from the MGM lot, Mr. Taylor.  John Farrow was a lucky man indeed.

       Robert Taylor & Maureen O'Sullivan in The Crowd Roars (1938)
 

A Pleasant Distraction on a Hectic Day

     Maureen O'Sullivan & Norman Foster in Skyscraper Souls (1932)

 And do note there are several classic movies on TCM (Watch Live) that would provide a great break from 'counting chads':  Mrs. & Mrs. Smith (1941) (Comedy) with Bob and Carole; One Way Passage (1932) (Tearjerker) with William Powell and Kay Francis; She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) (Western) with John Wayne; Gunga Din (1939) (Adventure) with Cary Grant; and Top Hat (1935) (Musical) with Astaire & Rogers.  Something for everyone! 

Lucky and Pauline

The photo is showing wear, but the content is just perfection.  The young couple, newly in love, gazing at each other to discover every small thing about each other.  Pauline touching Lucky's jacket ...  just too good. 

                  Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan in Hide-Out (1934)

A Second Piece of Pie, Anyone?

Rather enjoy candids taken on the set in the 1930s, when they shared the "magic" of movie making with the fans.  This photo taken on the set of Hide-Out (1934) is interesting in that there is not a soul in the group with a smile on their face.  Well, young Mickey Rooney is smiling, too young to know better?  Anyway, these people were putting in very long hours to keep up with demanding schedules set by the studio.  Not much to smile about, if it wasn't in the script!

 

The cast listed clockwise:  Edward Arnold, Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan (whose faces are almost whited out by the set lighting), Elizabeth Patterson, Edward Brophy and the Mick.  The director W.S. Van Dyke is the dapper gent wearing a straw hat.  Wonder what that pie was like after sitting under the set lights for a few hours.

Reminder:  Hide-Out is being shown on TCM tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. EST.  Lady in the lake (1947) can be seen on demand until the 21st. 

Marathon Discussion Part 1 (2 Days To Go!)

Nine movies being shown on Bob's birthday ... of course they are not all great movies, but they do have Bob in them.  That's reason enough to watch each at least once, perhaps a second time to follow the plot rather than just appreciating Mr. Montgomery. 

I would place four in the category of "must-see" Bobs, and you probably have seen them all.  Night Must Fall was Bob's favorite movie.  He put a lot of effort in the role and his performance is just wonderful.  The final scenes are just superb.  He deserved the Best Actor nomination ... at least.  

                   Rosalind Russell and Danny in Night Must Fall

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a delight.  Carole Lombard and Bob enjoyed working together and it shows through in their performances. There are a number of classic scenes that do not fail to make you laugh, no matter how many times you have seen them.  The IMDB rating is only 6.5.  I disagree wholeheartedly ... too many Hitchcock fanatics dissing the movie because it is a comedy and not your typical Hitchcock.  That's their loss.

Private Lives was first a play written by Noel Coward, and this is a faithful adaptation.  I'm sure it would have been just fantastic to see Coward and Gertrude Lawrence perform it on the stage, but Bob and Norma Shearer acquit themselves quite well.  An enjoyable movie, the leads ably supported by Una Merkel and Reginald Denny, the discarded spouses.  Did you know Laurence Olivier played Denny's role on the stage?  My fun newly acquired factoid for the day ...

                     Norma Shearer and Elyot in Privates Lives

And Hide-Out is purely a joy to watch.  Such a sweet romantic comedy, with one of the screen's best matches.  Yes, Maureen O'Sullivan was actually as good-looking as Bob.  If they had only made the sequel ...

Let's see, that leaves five movies to discuss.  I watched two of them earlier this evening, which is why I'm approaching my total collapse time already.  And three more to catch up on tomorrow.  Watching five Bob movies ... ah, the hard work I do for the blog!  Until tomorrow ...

The One That Bob Was Not Prettier Than ... ***

Maureen O'Sullivan was born on May 17th, 1911, in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland.  (Another one of those great name/birthplace combinations!)  She, of course, co-starred with Bob in Hide-Out (1934).  They made a great pair, her Pauline to Bob's Lucky.  It is a movie that begged for a sequel, catching up with the two when Lucky gets out of prison.  In our next lives ...

1934 was a great year for Maureen.   She made four movies; Tarzan and His Mate, The Thin Man, Hide-Out and The Barretts of Wimpole Street.  Not bad, young lady.  

 

*** That's open to discussion, of course...

A Really Nice Photo of a Gorgeous Couple

Lucky and Pauline ... such a great match.  The same goes for Bob and Maureen.  It really is too bad they didn't make another film together.  A sequel to Hide-Out (1934) would have been great, but any movie would have been just fine.  Darn it, anyway. 

                 Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan in Hide-Out (1934)

Lot of Good People Born in May

Besides Bob ...
    May 15 - Constance Cummings, Bob's co-star in Haunted
                  Honeymoon (1940)
    May 17 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Bob's co-star in Hide-Out (1934)
 

                        Lucky shows his farming skills to Pauline

   May 20 - Jimmy Stewart, well, just because!
   May 23 - James Gleason, Bob's very able supporting actor
                   in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

             Mr. Gleason could steal a scene under any circumstance

Constance, Maureen and Bob - All May Babies

Constance Cummings was Bob's leading lady in The Haunted Honeymoon (1940).  Born in Seattle May 15, 1910, Constance began her Broadway career as a chorus girl and went on to become a Commander of the British Empire in 1974 and a Tony winner in 1979, and continued to act on the stage into the mid-1990s.  Please checkout her extensive and interesting obituary on Alt Film Guide. 

Maureen O'Sullivan was born May 17, 1911, in Ireland and died in Scottsdale, AZ at the age of 87, a mother of six (her first child Michael died in 1958), grandmother to 32 and great grandmother to 14.  In between, she managed to become a successful actress and made one movie with Bob, Hide-Out in 1934.  Wish they had made more, they were so good together.  Check out her website for many photos of the beautiful actress and her family.  The site has a wonderful photo of Maureen and Bob on the set of Hide-Out.  It's almost as good as this one:

Bob's birthday is next week.  He'll get his own post...duh.  

On a Picnic For Two

A little daydream for a cold winter's day ... I would put myself in Pauline's place.  Bob is definitely still cast as Lucky.  Lucky has returned from his prison term - out early because of good behavior - and the romance has begun anew.  We find a beautiful, private spot for a picnic and .................

                  Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan in Hide-Out (1934) 

Robert Montgomery Birthday Week - Co-Stars

Besides being favorite photos, I chose five ladies who were good matches for Bob.  The ever so cute Dorothy Jordan paired well with the youthful Beautiful Bob.  One of my favorite pairings was Bob and Maureen O'Sullivan, a truly beautiful couple.  Darn, but I wish they had made more movies together.  Helen Hayes was Bob's personal favorite leading actress and you can see his respect and adoration for her come through onto the screen.  After five movies together, Bob's and Rosalind Russell's performances were seamless, and a laugh shared at work was real, not just for the camera.  Lastly, only because of my timeline, 30-year-old Audrey Totter's "bad girl" was a great match for older Bob's tough guys.  And what did they all have in common?  The good fortune of sharing the screen with Bob.  Lucky ladies.

                    Love in the Rough (1930) with Dorothy Jordan

                       Hide-Out (1934) with Maureen O'Sullivan

                 Vanessa:  Her Love Story (1935) with Helen Hayes

                   Trouble for Two (1936) with Rosalind Russell

                         Saxon Charm (1948) with Audrey Totter

It's the Blue Eyes

                            True Romances, December, 1934

Why, Oh Why, Won't They Let the Poor Boy Alone?

Modern Screen, 1934 ---  Don't they make an attractive pair?  Maureen O'Sullivan and Robert Montgomery.  They are appearing together in "Hide-Out" for MGM.  When the picture was completed, Maureen packed her bags and, escorted by Johnny Farrow, who is probably her husband as you read this, journeyed to her native Ireland.  Meanwhile, Bob is still busy spiking divorce rumors.  Why, oh why, won't they let the poor boy alone?  He seems to be satisfied with things as they are, domestically, socially and otherwise.  But the rumor hounds will persist in having their field day.  Incidentally, you'll see the young man in "Biography," too, in the near future.