Bob and Carole ...

 Two excellent pros in a delightful comedy.

Carole Lombard & Robert Montgomery in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

So Clear Your Busy Schedules on May 21 and Watch Some Bob!

 Gorgeous photo.  As is the subject!  

                      By Hurrell for Blondie of the Follies (1932)

TCM has come through with a seven-movie Montgomery marathon for his birthday!  Mr. Montgomery would have appreciated that.   

 The list of movies with show times in PDT:

                 6:00 a.m. Piccadilly Jim (1936)

                 8:00 a.m. The Last of Mrs. Cheney (1937)

                10:00 a.m. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

                12:00 p.m. They Were Expendable (1945)

                2:30 p.m. Night Must Fall (1937)***

                4:30 p.m. When Ladies Meet (1933)

                6:00 p.m. The Lady in the Lake (1946)

*** The TCM schedule lists the 1964 version of Night Must Fall.  I do hope someone catches that error!  

When Ladies Meet is the only pre-code movie.  This is a collection of Bob movies wherein he has developed into an excellent actor.  From a dramatic thriller (Night Must Fall), to a screwball comedy (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), to a dramatic war movie (They Were Expendable), Mr. Montgomery simply excelled.

And, yes, the photograph does not match up with the rest of the post. But ain't it sweet!

Well, Maybe Not as Cool in B&W

 Bob and Carole hamming it up while making Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941).  It's always great fun to watch a couple of pros enjoying themselves.  If we hadn't lost Carole so soon, I can definitely see the two making another movie or two on down the line.  Yes, what a shame.  

              Bob and Carole Lombard in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

When I talked about Lady in the Lake (1946) being streamed by TCM earlier this month, I really thought I was correct to believe so.  BUT, unless it streamed for one night only, it just disappeared.  Whatever, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is now listed under Watch Movies but hasn't been updated as yet with showing dates.  Hopefully it won't disappear as well!

More and More and More Bob Movies

Another great month for Bob's movies on TCM ... there are four streaming presently, with three more to come.  

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) ends earliest, on January 9th.  

Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) runs until January 31st

Then Blondie of the Follies (1932) and Ever Since Eve (1937) both end on February 2nd.

                    Robert Montgomery in The Big House (1930)

The Big House (1930) begins streaming January 14th.

Hide-Out (1934) was shown in December and begins another probably brief run on January 16th.  (They should just make it a permanent listing!)

And The Earl of Chicago (1940) is the 7th movie showing in January starting January 31st.  

 Young "Kent" anticipating what his life will be like in prison.

Who'll give me 40? 75? 137.50?

 Recently, a still from Mr. & Mrs. Smith was sold on eBay for $137.50.  It was a great photo and all, capturing David (Bob) and Ann (Carole) in the bedroom brawl at the beginning of the movie.  BUT!!! $137.50 ... are you kidding me?  I'm guessing two Lombard fans drove the bidding up so high.  I certainly hope that was the case.  Why, you ask.  Because I can't afford to shell out that kind of money for Bob stuff!  It's bad enough having to compete with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford collectors.  Control yourselves people, inflation is bad enough!  

 Good Smith photos are rather a rarity and I do have a few atrocious electric bills coming up.  How about a $100 opening bid for this original photo in excellent condition?  Hey, if I can't afford to buy them ...

     Bob and Carole Lombard in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

                                                                                                         

On the Set With Mr. & Mrs. Smith

A Funny Lady, For Sure

 TCM is showing seven Carole Lombard movies in celebration of her birthday, today, Oct. 6th.  So, if you need a good laugh (don't we all!), check out a Lombard film or two.  Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) we know is a no miss, Bob and Carole were an excellent pair on screen.  It is showing at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.  (And again on Oct. 19th)

Time to Prepare for the Celebration!

Okay, everyone, mark this on your calendar!!  Bob's birthday is next Thursday, the 21st, and TCM will be showing eight (yes, 8!) of his movies!!  Unfortunately (for me, anyway), it is a daytime marathon, so get those DVR's ready.  The movies are as follows (ET):

                     6:30 a.m.  Yellow Jack (1938)
                     8:00 a.m.  Fugitive Lovers (1934)
                     9:30 a.m.  Hide-Out (1934)
                   11:00 a.m.  Piccadilly Jim (1936)
                   12:45 p.m.  Ever Since Eve (1937)
                     2:15 p.m.  Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
                     4:00 p.m.  Night Must Fall (1937)
                     6:00 p.m.  Lady in the Lake (1946)

It has been some time since I saw Yellow Jack and Fugitive Lovers, so they will be my 'must sees' this year.  Bob is ever so handsome in Fugitive Lovers.  Rrrff!

                  Bob and Madge Evans in Fugitive Lovers (1934)

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 Countdown Begins ... 3 Days To Go!

This coming Monday, May 21st, is Mr. Montgomery's birthday.  I'm glad I'm retired and don't have to worry about using up a vacation day (or more likely, sick day), because TCM will be having a Montgomery marathon ... 9 Bob movies!!  Fantastic.  The only drawback is that it's a day marathon, as in no movies shown in the evening except the 6:00 EST showing of Night Must Fall (1939).  But am I complaining?  No.  I am just thrilled that TCM remembered Mr. Montgomery at all.  My hugs and kisses go out to the beautiful soul in programming who remembers our beautiful man.

So, get those DVRs warmed up and ready to go!  Here's the schedule ... all times are CST (for a change..)

                 5:00 a.m. - Untamed (1929) 
                 6:30 a.m. - Private Lives (1931)
                 8:00 a.m. - But the Flesh is Weak (1932)
                 9:30 a.m. - Made on Broadway (1933)
               10:45 a.m. - When Ladies Meet (1933)
               12:15 p.m. - Hide-Out (1934) 
                 1:45 p.m. - Trouble for Two (1936)
                 3:15 p.m. - Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
                 5:00 p.m. - Night Must Fall (1937) 

Overall, a good selection of Bob's movies.  What a way to spend his day!

I am thinking about doing a couple posts this weekend to discuss briefly the pros/cons of the movies being shown.  I generally do not "review" Bob's movies, since I am so completely biased.  But, perhaps I can provide input to help you decide which ones to be sure to catch.  Of course, I'm addressing those of you who have not seen all of Bob's movies.  The old pros out there can just ignore my ramblings, as usual. 

Only 26+ Days Until Christmas ... Eek!!

I rather like the publicity shots of Bob taken for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941).  They are a great combination of Columbia Studios photographer, M. B. Paul and the subject matter, the quite handsome 36-year-old Mr. Montgomery.  Wonder who or what he is looking at so intently.  Kinda wish it were me. 

Salt Shaker - Leading Cause of Bloody Noses

Just in case you've actually never seen it, or would simply like to have a copy of it for your library, TCM is showing Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) tomorrow, July 12th, at 9:45 p.m. PDT (12:45 a.m. EDT). 

Smith is a fun movie and whereas Alfred Hitchcock is listed as the director, I have never thought of him as doing little more than saying Action and Cut when it came to Bob's and Carole's scenes.  They were, after all, two of the best comedic actors in the movies and Mr. Hitchcock was not a master of American comedies. 

               Bob and Carole Lombard in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Best scenes (per this totally unbiased reviewer):  David and Ann return to Mama Lucy's for a romantic dinner (David: "I'd give five bucks to see that cat take a sip of that soup."); and the nightclub scene wherein David tries everything to avoid Ann's seeing him with his, errr, not classy date.  Bob's bit re giving himself a bloody nose with a salt shaker ... absolute perfection.