Happy Labor Day! Last Day to Wear White

Not counting They Were Expendable, I had not seen a photo of Bob wearing dress whites until I ran across this recently.  It's July 30, 1943, Bob is in Chicago to serve as master of ceremonies at a naval show.  I'd say it was worth the wait. 

A Colorful Life

Reynolds is my hero. She found me the only decent color photo of Bob that I own!

It looks like he's sporting a Ruptured Duck lapel pin, so if that's true, this would have been taken just after his Naval service. So, mid 40s-ish.

Happy 4th!

Yeah, a bit overboard on the theme, but I can't pass up classic color like this!

A Yankee Doodle Dandy

(Right) Mr. and Mrs. James Cagney (Left) Mr. and Mrs. Robert Montgomery attend the World Premier of Warner Bros. new musical film YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. The move, which depicts the life of George W. Cohan, played to a full house representing a ticket sale of $5,750,000 in War Bonds.

Home is the Sailor

After four years of combat service in South Pacific and European war zones, Lieutenant Commander Robert Montgomery has been placed on the Navy’s inactive duty list and is resuming his screen career. First day he doffed his uniform for civilian clothes, Montgomery visited Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He spent the afternoon at his home renewing friendships, conferring with department heads, and preparing for his starring role in “They Were Expendable”, a picturization of W.L. White’s best seller.

In his dressing room, Montgomery catches up on some vital personal correspondence. Two weeks after his return to films, Navy awarded the actor the bronze star for meritorious service during combat duty.

At The Stork Club

The "autograph hound" comment is priceless...

THE LIEUTENANT STEPS OUT: Robert Montgomery, now a naval lieutenant in the Morale Division, is a New York night time visitor at the Stork Club, where he relaxed in light chatter with Tallulah Bankhead. Montgomery, who has learned that his naval uniform does not scare away autograph hounds, was one of the first top-notch movie stars to engage in World War II. He drove an ambulance during the Battle of France, and since then, has given up his career in favor of the American war effort. He is stationed in Washington, D.C.

Thanks to Renee for the photo.

A Real Hero

Kudos to the National Aviation Hall of Fame for selecting Jimmy Stewart as a 2009 National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinee. BGen. Stewart will be honored at their annual ceremony on July 18 in Dayton, OH.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy

All the best to a soldier...

And an actor...

Montgomery Arrives in France

June 4, 1940: FRANCE - Robert Montgomery (left), film star, and Stuart Benson, who are serving together in the American Field Service, shown somewhere in France today, looking at a map. Photo sent by radio from Paris to New York today. Photo passed by the French sensor.

Captain? Call Him Mister!

So much of what you read on Robert Montgomery covers his film career, it's refreshing to find any articles from his television or later days.

The below article is from the New York Journal American I believe, a column by Phyllis Battelle from 1960. Bob touches on his work with President Eisenhower, his beef with television (which could fill a book itself), and his direction of The Gallant Hours.

View article

The Secret Land (1948)

In 1947, the US Navy set out on an expedition to explore Antarctica. A year later, a documentary was released, narrated by a couple of veterans that might ring a bell: Cdr. Robert Montgomery, USNR; Lt. Robert Taylor, USNR; and Lt. Van Heflin, AAF. Here's a few minutes from the film:



If anyone has a copy of this documentary on DVD and would like to trade, please drop me a line.

In the Navy

Hell Below

Shipmates

They Were Expendable

Real Life - LCDR Montgomery

Home From The Pacific Front

Home From The Pacific Front . . . Lieutenant-Commander Robert Montgomery after more than a year in the battle zones in which he took part in a number of major engagements, the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer screen star has been temporarily stationed at a pacific port. This picture was taken at his home in Beverly Hills.

Believe it or not, the one part of the photo that interests me most is hidden on the right-hand side of the mantle:

After some digging around, I think he's standing next to the Navy/Marine version of the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the PBJ-1. Boy, aren't I being nerdy. I just think it's interesting that a photo like that would have a place on a mantle. If you've seen a larger version of the photo, please drop me a line.

Two Bobs

It's the weekend and I'm bored. That means you get an extra special weekend post - vintage color!

Captain Hollywood

America In WWII magazine has a feature story in their February issue on Capt. Clark Gable. If you're familiar with Clark's military service, this probably won't be any new information to you. I'm just happy 66 years later that someone remembers and writes about this sort of stuff.

Some miscellaneous tidbits from the article you might find interesting:

• Sworn into the Army Air Corps on August 12, 1942 at the age of 41.
• Gable's "goal" was to make a movie about aerial gunners as a recruiting tool.
• They made him shave off his mustache during training.
• He graduated 700th out of 2,600 in his officer candidate school class. As a new lieutenant, he gave the class graduation speech.
• At aerial gunnery school his mustache came back.
• Gable headed to England in April 1943.
• Hitler personally offered a reward to any pilot who shot down Clark Gable.

I'll leave it at that. Hitler never paid out that award and Clark never made that "big" aerial gunner movie, just short films that are probably lost today.

Smile Like You Mean It

U.S Film Star Begins War Service - Shown in Paris as he started his career as a volunteer ambulance driver, Robert Montgomery, American film star, flashes a broad smile with a thumbs-up - "all's well" - signal. That's his ambulance in the background.

Printed June 15, 1940

This is War - Radio Style

This is War was a 13 episode series of radio programs that ran in 1942 on 4 networks simultaneously. Each week a new Hollywood personality narrated the half hour show. Such names included Tyrone Power, Fredric March, James Stewart, James Cagney, and more.

This particular episode is the first of the series, from February 14. The narrator for the evening is Lt. Robert Montgomery.

5 MB MP3 - 30 Minutes

Powerful writing with a powerful message.

A tip of the hat to Bantaskin for digging this one up.

More Than Just An Actor - Reginald Denny

A fascinating connection between Hollywood and aviation can be found in the story of Reginald Denny. Reginald starred in over 200 films during his career. When not acting, he was involved in developing what are known today as UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles - also known as drones. His drones were used for target practice during WWII and post-war and he also produced and sold model aircraft through his hobby shop.

An extensive web site on Reginald Denny and his pilotless aircraft can be found here. Even if you're not interested in the aviation part, there is plenty of information on Reginald's acting career and family. The Denny Family has provided the site author with beautiful high-res photos and information throughout the site.

And of course all of this has a connection to Robert Montgomery. If my memory serves me well, both were friends. While in the Navy, Bob had worked on the idea of catapulting drones from speedboats - drones that Reginald contributed on. Later on, Bob received of Reginald's Dennyplane models, personalized to him. One of my favorite Bob photos of all time is from this web site and is of him with that plane.

This is War

In February, 1942, a Saturday evening radio show was simulcast to the four major radio networks at the time. Think of yourself lounging in front of the fire in your living room. Or perhaps driving home from work or the store. This is what you hear:

What we say tonight has to do with blood and with bone and with anger, and also with a big job in the making. Laughter can wait. Soft music can have the evening off. No one is invited to sit down and take it easy. . . .

This is how the first of thirteen radio shows began in the series This is War! as described in Time Magazine, Feb. 13, 1942. More:

...But the script sang with the defiant tunes of people and machines, and the narrator, Navy's Lieut. Robert Montgomery, handled well the address at the end to the people of the United Nations:

"Take heart! Resist much! Fight how you can! We are building for you, we are on the move. . . ."

Ambulances From America

You've seen this photo before - Robert Montgomery, Ambulance Driver.


Time Magazine has an article from June 3, 1940, talks about the American Field Service, the organization Bob was a driver for during the war.