Bob and Madge made such a great couple

TCM update for June:  Fast and Loose (1939) and Night Must Fall (1937) will begin their June showings on June 4th and Lovers Courageous (1932) on June 13th.  Meanwhile, three movies from May will continue to run until June 14th (The Divorcee and The Easiest Way) and June 15th (They Were Expendable).  That's a lot of Bob available to watch!  

I definitely need to check out Lovers Courageous.  It has been ages.  Bob and Madge made such a great couple.  

                 Bob and Madge Evans, Lovers Courageous (1932)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Montgomery!

 And what better way for Bob to celebrate his birthday then with friends (maybe family) at a hot new nightclub.  He would have enjoyed that.  This photo was not a birthday celebration, however.  It was taken in August 1940 at Ciro's, which was a hot new nightclub.  And they all are friends.  The occasion is a fundraiser for War Relief.   

The attendees are from left to right:  Bob, holding court; Pat Paterson, Mrs. Boyer; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; an unknown lady; and the back of Mary Lee, Mrs. Fairbanks.

 

 On the other side of the table are Charles Boyer; Betty Montgomery, partially hidden by Boyer's glass; and a very tall unknown gentleman.  

Since I don't recognize the lady at the far end of the table, nor the gent across from her, I'm going to take a wild guess ... how about Bob's brother Don and his wife.  Two of the few things I know about the brother are that he was taller than bob, by at least a couple inches, and he was in L.A. at least during the war when he handled Bob's businesses.  Like I said, just a fun guess.  

Anyway, for those of us not planning to go out on the town today, TCM has four Bob movies available for streaming at present:  Riptide, until June 5th; The Divorcee and The Easiest Way, until June 14th; and They Were Expendable, until June 15th.  Not a bad selection.  Just think, next year we'll be able to watch our Letty Lynton DVD!!!!

Nifty photo of Mr. Montgomery further down in the article. And he actually mentions his brother! A rarity.

This article is from the December, 1945 issue of "New Movie Magazine."  Not bad, has a few interesting tidbits.  

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!

Bob Talks About Making Lady in the Lake

 Interesting interview from the May, 1947 issue of Movie Show Magazine.  Believe me, it is a faster read than it appears.

Happy 120th Birthday, Mr. Montgomery!

 "BIRTHDAY SMILES ... Robert Montgomery celebrates his birthday on the set of a new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film.  Helping him cut the cake which members of the company presented him is Audrey Totter, who plays opposite him in the film."

         Bob and Audrey Totter on the set of Lady in the Lake (1946)

Just love the smile.  So rare to see Bob actually laughing.  

Good month for catching some Montgomery movies on TCM.  Right now there are four movies available for streaming:  Forsaking All Others (1934) until June 8th; Night Flight (1933) until June 11th; Night Must Fall (1937) until May 30th; and Live, Love and Learn (1937) ends tomorrow, May 22th.  Then two Bob war movies will premiere during the Memorial Day weekend, They Were Expendable (1945) --- of course! --- on May 25th and War Nurse (1930) on May 27th.  

Remembrance Day

 

 

Appropriately, TCM is showing They Were Expendable (1945) today, December 7th, Pearl Harbor or Remembrance Day.  The movie begins with the personnel of the navy base having a raucous time at a local bar, then switching over to the serious contemplation of what lies ahead of them when news of the attack on Pearl Harbor is announced.  A great scene. 

Show time is 9:00 a.m. PT.  Hopefully, it will be streamed afterwards.  It is shown a lot so it may have a limited showing.  

Was Nurse Sandy Really Needed?

 Lt. John "Brick" Brickley admires his primary love, his ship --- or PT Boat No. 41.  

             Robert Montgomery in They Were Expendable (1945) 

Personally, I'm admiring the full shot of Mr. "Bob" Montgomery from behind.  

Rrrff!

Bob, an Accordion and Nemo the Cat

 ROBERT MONTGOMERY GOES ON LOCATION. . . . Heading a virtually all-male cast which includes John Wayne, Ward Bond, Jack Holt and Wallace Ford, Robert Montgomery travelled 3,000 miles from Hollywood to Miami, Florida to film location sequences in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "They were Expendable".  Currently on inactive duty from the Navy, Montgomery makes this his screen return after four years of combat service.  How his time was passed between scenes is shown in the following pictures.

CLOSE HARMONY. . . . Robert Montgomery tries his hand at a little squeeze box jive during a between the scenes jam session.  

Hairy-faced Bob the jive accordionist ... 

SIESTA. . . . A lunch hour powwow is enjoyed by Montgomery and actor Jack Stoney.  Bob strokes Nemo, the company's mascot.  Cat is used in the drama.  

Looks like Bob has found Nemo's soft spot.

He's Here, He's There, He's Everywhere!

 I have always liked this lobby card, a favorite movie, They Were Expendable (1945), and a nifty scene.  Today's special effects are truly amazing, but a lot could be done 80 years ago with a good camera man and imaginative special and visual effects units.  

How often do we see a shot of Mr. Montgomery from behind?!  

I was looking at this reprint not long ago and felt an odd presence.  I scanned it so I could blow it up and take a close look.  

Yup, it is Mr. Bond staring at Bob, with gun in hand.  To be expected, the John Ford film regulars did not welcome Bob with open arms - John Wayne had expected the lead role; he was miffed when Ford had Bob finish the movie; etc., etc.  Shall we assume there were not any real bullets in his gun?

If He'd Only Written His Biography

 Bob died Sept., 1981, he is going on 76 when he gave this interview.  Excellent interview, the interviewer just lets him chat on.