The Unguarded Hour with Roz?

Errr...Bob did not make "The Unguarded Hour" with Roz or anyone else.  I'm sure the studio had that planned for him when the article was written, but ...  Bob made Petticoat Fever (1936) with Myrna Loy when he returned from his extended vacation in 1935 and then Trouble for Two (1936) with Roz.  The Unguarded Hour was made by the studio, starring Franchot Tone and Loretta Young.  Personally, I am quite happy he made Petticoat Fever instead.  

Gosh. Without the Mustache He'd be Perfect.

 Now that's a handsome couple.  Gorgeous costumes.  Like the cut of Bob's outfit.  Looks great on him.  Roz isn't looking all that shabby either.  

                Bob and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Man Just Can't Outdo Mother Nature

 I finally broke down and added this photograph to my collection.  It has been available to purchase on eBay for years, but the price was always just a tad higher than I could justify spending for a photo I considered an oddity.  Then the vendor offered it with a discount.  Had to have it.  

                   Robert Montgomery in Trouble for Two (1936)

Yes, it's the moustache.  Clark Gable needed a moustache, looked strange without it.  Bob's beautiful face did not need one, it just makes him look ... well, the word I used to use is probably socially incorrect these days, so, err, let's just go with strange.  And the hairstyle doesn't help.  And that uniform ... thankfully he's not wearing the cap. 

Why mess with perfection?

And Which Is Your Favorite?

 Okay.  There are two photos of Bob in his "real" dress uniforms, and three in movie produced uniforms.  I consider the pilot uniform to fall under the 'dress' uniform heading, it has a mink collar after all!  So which would turn you on the most?

 

Hard to choose, isn't it!

A Troubled Twosome, No Place to Sit

 Whoa ... let's hear it for the costume department!  All the work required on Roz's dress.  All the effort required getting Bob's boots on!  It's no wonder he's on a resting board.  There's no way he could bend his knees to sit down. 

                Rosalind Russell and Bob in Trouble for Two (1936)
 

The hair and the mustache, now that's too much.   What a way to mess up a beautiful face. 

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

                                 Makes a great wallpaper!

Happy Birthday, Roz!!

Roz went directly from playing Lady Venetia Cunningham in Under Two Flags (1936) to Princess Brenda of Irania in Trouble for Two (1936).  Not exactly roles that utilized Ms. Russell's abilities to their fullest.  At least her hairstyle in Under Two Flags was quite classy. 

     Promotional still of Rosalind Russell for Under Two Flags (1936)

TCM is showing a six-movie marathon of Roz's movies today for her birthday, starting at 7:15 ET.  

Yeah, the Mustache is Just Too Much!

Trouble for Two (1936) has it all ... romance, intrigue, comedy and Bob with curls and a mustache!  Bob as the Crown Prince Florizel runs off from the drudgery of royal life to seek adventure and good times in London.  The king assigns Colonel Geraldine (really?), played by Frank Morgan, to travel with Bob and keep him in line.  Below, we find the boys taking baths before going out on the town ... doing so together is an interesting concept.  But, hey, I do enjoy a Montgomery nude scene, and there are so few of them!

Ah, the foggy streets of London.  Florizel and Geraldine find out about this mysterious Suicide Club from Louis Hayward, and Florizel just has to find out all about it.  Check out Bob's pose, and being all decked out with not just a tux but high hat, cape and cane, as well.  Is there a woman in London who can turn down this gorgeous specimen of manhood? 

Nope.  It's not love at first sight, but Princess Brenda (Roz Russell) and Florizel do work things out in the end.  Of course.  TCM is showing Trouble tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2:45 p.m. EST.  

Florizel and Miss Vandeleur Enjoy London

Two actors enjoying their work ... Or, just what was going on behind Bob's cape? 

                Bob and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

I'm Sure She Enjoyed the Flub

It's Bob heading for a fencing lesson in preparation for his role as Crown Prince Florizel in Trouble for Two (1936).  He was no doubt thrilled to wear his complete fencing outfit.  The opportunity doesn't come up that often, even for Bob.  Besides being a nifty photo, the publicity department made a slight error in the description on the back.  'Tis a good one. 

            

Now Frank Looked Good in a Mustache ... But Not Bob

Happy Birthday to a favorite, Frank Morgan.  Great actor, nice guy.

 --- Mr. Morgan was born Francis Wuppermann on June 1, 1890, in New York City.  His best early career move was changing his name.  He was the youngest of 11 children, poor Mrs. Wuppermann wth all those little Wuppermann's running around.  (Yeah, I love that name!)

--- Frank was a member of the "Irish Mafia" in Hollywood.  Evidently he was adopted by Cagney, O'Brien, Tracy, and the other Irishmen, since he was of Spanish, German and English heritage.  However, being an alcoholic who carried his own mini-bar in a briefcase to the studio with him, he fit in quite well with the others.

--- He appeared in four of Bob's films; When Ladies Meet (1933), Trouble for Two (1936), Piccadilly Jim (1936) and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937).  He competed with Bob for the same lady in Ladies and Cheyney, and was Bob's father in Piccadilly.  Note, the last three movies were in a row for Bob, Frank made others as well.  That's a lot of time spent together, hope they were friends!

Marathon, Part 2 (One Day To Go!)

And now for the other five movies being shown tomorrow ...

Untamed (1929) receives a 4.6 rating on IMDB.  Ouch.  Granted, the movie is one of those rather awkward transition from silent to sound movies.  The use of titles for scene changes at the beginning is right out of the silents.  Hey, we are still learning about sound films, give us a chance!  If you are a Crawford fan, you will enjoy the beginning.  Joan, as "Bingo", gets to both sing and dance.  It is interesting to see musical numbers being used in the early sound pictures, whether it had anything to do with the rest of the movie or not.  Even Bob has to sing a love song to Bingo.  Too much.

I would suggest going 21 minutes into the movie and watch it from Bob's entrance on, the movie improves greatly.  This is Bob's third movie.  His transition is from stage to the talkies and he still has room for improvement.  But it is simply fun to watch him, the young, very exuberant Bob, still working on his basics, the way he walks, what to do with his hands when standing still.  The boxing scene is great fun, with some attempt of disguising just how skinny and small-framed the young Bob is.  But he can throw a lot of punches very fast!

Three years later, Bob has improved significantly.  In But the Flesh is Weak (1932), he has become the Bob we know so well ... so handsome, elegant and smooth.  The rating is only 5.7, probably so low because of the main plot of Bob and his Dad being gigolos with the quest of Bob marrying  a wealthy woman.  Yes, not exactly politically correct these days, but it was all fun in 1932 having men in the usual role held by women, of looking for a sugar daddy.  The beginning has a great scene of Bob preparing for and taking a bath, do watch that if nothing else.  I have always felt the big weakness of the film was Bob's co-star, Nora Gregor.  She was quite popular in Europe, but did not catch on in Hollywood.

                   Bob and Nora Gregor in But the Flesh is Weak

In Made on Broadway (1933), Bob gets to play a different role.  He is a fast-talking, streetwise fixer, not his usual suave, upper crust self.  He meets his match in Sally Eilers, and the two work to make her into a celebrity.  He begins to fall in love with her, while his wife, Madge Evans, waits patiently to see if he returns to her.  Bob is quite good in the role, interesting to watch.  IMDB's rating is 6.5.  That's fair.

In the same year, Bob made When Ladies Meet.  Based on a very sophisticated and successful play, the movie has simply a great cast; Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Frank Morgan, Alice Brady along with Bob.  It is a witty play about current day morality.  Myrna is in love with Frank who is married to Ann, while Bob is in love with Myrna and will do anything to get Frank out of the picture.  It sounds strange to have Myrna in love with Frank rather than Bob, but Mr. Morgan makes it believable.  The laughs are provided by Alice Brady, and the "country home" set by Cedric Gibbons is amazingly beautiful.  I seriously want that home for myself.  The movie's rating is 6.9.  The main complaint would be that it could be viewed as being too talky. 

Lastly, Trouble for Two (1936) reflects being made after they began enforcing the Hayes Act.  Bob gets to kiss Roz Russell gingerly and that's about it on the sex front.  It is based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Suicide Club", and is primarily a somewhat strange mystery, with Bob and Roz as European royals, and Frank Morgan (again!) as Bob's watch dog.  It is rather an adjustment for me watching Bob with a mustache and a curly wig!  It is also an under use of Ms. Russell, as often happens.

My, but it is getting late (or early, depending on your perspective!)  Hope my rambles make sense.  Remember, Monday is Bob's Day! 

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. 

Happy Halloween, 1936 Style

And the finalists in the Best Halloween Costume Contest are:

 **** Clark Gable as Blackie Norton, Barbary Coast saloon keeper and earthquake survivor in San Francisco;

**** Robert Montgomery as Crown Prince Florizel of Carovia in Trouble for Two;

**** Lionel Barrymore as Paul Lavond, escaped convict and cross-dresser in The Doll-Devil; and

**** Paul Muni as Wang, a poor Chinese farmer in The Good Earth. 

And the winner is:  Bob Montgomery, as Prince Florizel   Well, it is his blog, after all!!  Besides, the mustache just makes the costume ...

Bob and 18 Beautiful Ladies

A lot of nifty Bob photos ... I'm partial to the Three Live Ghosts (1929) photo with Joan Bennett.  I find it rather remarkable the number of stills that have survived from this independently produced movie, yet the movie itself no longer exists.  Wouldn't it be great to be able to see Bob's first screen appearance.  (Yes, I know he is in The Single Standard (1929) as an uncredited "Party Boy."  But dancing in the background is not exactly acting, although it's fun to watch him if only for 30 seconds or so!) 

In the photo above with Joan Crawford (No More Ladies), I'm guessing Bob's standing in a hole.  In the photo below with Rosalind Russell (Trouble for Two) it's probably vice versa ...

Roz and Debbie, Two Classy Dames

This post is dedicated to Debbie, our "staff", for helping to keep the blog going in my absence.  Debbie is a big Bob fan, of course, as well as Rosalind Russell.  Roz made five movies with Bob:  Forsaking All Others (1934), Trouble for Two (1936), Night Must Fall (1937), Live, Learn and Love (1937) and Fast and Loose (1939).  It was a great pairing, they were so comfortable together.  Fast and Loose is a great example of this, their effortless performances as a married couple is the best part of the movie by far. 

                 Bob and Rosalind Russell in Fast and Loose (1939)

I have always admired Roz for her long and successful career, as well as the very decent person she was.  A devout Catholic, Roz practiced and lived by her beliefs in Hollywood, the last place you would expect a woman could succeed without lapses in morality.  Roz was indeed unique.
 

Roz starred in some of my all-time favorite movies, including The Women (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Picnic (1955), Auntie Mame (1958) and Gypsy (1962).  Great performances all, but I am particularly partial to her performance in Auntie Mame.  A great role and a great actress at her zenith rolled into one.  I cannot see it without feeling better about life, and for that I am most grateful.  Thanks, Roz.  You were one classy dame. 

Such a Handsome Young Man

An original 8x10 photo of Bob taken in 1930, a Louise photograph (pre-Hurrell!) with his autograph...what's not to like!  You can even tell he has blue eyes, the iris in the right eye is definitely on the light side, something not caught by most of his photos.

What made this photo even more of a treasure for me is what I discovered on the back, a list of Bob's movies starting with Three Live Ghosts (1929) through Ever Since Eve (1937).  The consistency of the handwriting indicates it was written in 1937 or after (my handwriting certainly changed over any 17-year period).  The earlier movies are slightly out of order, but close.  Interestingly, three of his movies are listed using the working titles:  The Richest Man in the World for Sins of the Children (1930), The Girl I Made for Made on Broadway (1933) and The Suicide Club for Trouble for Two (1936).  And two movies have been combined as Free and Easy Divorce ...makes a great title!

Wonder why the list was made after all those years.  Did the photo change hands and the new owner made the list?  Or was the original owner testing her/his memory?  And why the use of working titles?  I am puzzled.  As I usually am about so much of Mr. Montgomery.  What's the saying; "The more I know, the more I realize how little I know."  Yep, that's me. 

A Green Dressing Gown and Yellow Scarf .... It Takes a Montgomery to Carry That Off!

Frank Morgan was a superb actor.  He co-starred with Bob in four movies starting with When Ladies Meet (1933), in which he portrays the married man with whom Myrna Loy wants to have an affair while putting aside the advances of her avid suitor Bob.  In Piccadilly Jim (1935) Morgan takes on the role of Bob's father and in Trouble for Two (1936) becomes a subordinate and fellow adventurer as the Colonel to Bob's Prince.  Lastly, he appears once again as Bob's competitor in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937), both men pursuing Joan Crawford.  And he is totally believable in all four roles. 

It is understandable that Morgan's main claim to fame is his excellent performance in The Wizard of Oz, perhaps an Oscar nominee in any other year but the golden year of 1939.  The regret is that the one role overwhelms in popularity an entire career of excellent performances.   Frank Morgan died in 1949, only 59 years old.  There's another regret. 

Bob Always Looked Good in a Uniform

                                    Trouble for Two (1936)

Well, it has been ages since last seeing Bob with his mustache.  Still brings a smile.  Have you ever noticed that his pants are always perfectly tailored to just reach the top of his shoes?  A gentleman does not break the crease in his pants.  How gauche that would be. 

That's Roz, But Who's the Guy in the Mustache?

               Bob and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

That was my husband's response when he first saw this photo.  As in the same amazingly understanding man who has seen more photos of Robert Montgomery than most men could imagine even exist. 

He has a point.  It's that mustache....and the full head of curly hair....and no smile.

But it is Bob.  And Roz.  In another great pose.  Did you notice how the tops of their heads are on the same level, but since Bob's head is larger, he has to look up to Roz?   And don't you wonder just what they're thinking.