From the Mailbag...or email inbox...

Just a few odds and ends today...first, Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

Second, I was recently contacted by actress Beverly Washburn, whom we've mentioned several times over the years on this blog for her wonderful work as a child in several major films and her work on the second Loretta Young television series, but also for her interesting memoir on her acting career Reel Tears, here in this post.  It was very kind of her to reach out, and I enjoyed our email exchanges very much. Her warm and friendly personality is every bit as evident as it is in her book.

Last, I want to share with you a request from a reader who emailed me regarding a very dim memory from childhood he has of a film and asked if I could name what it was.  Unfortunately, I couldn't; so I'm passing it on to you with his permission to see if any of you can name the movie for him.  Here's what he has to say:

I just came upon your blog segment about Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here". (See this post here.)

For years I've been puzzling over a bit of a 'wayback memory, that I'm placing at 1947 +/- . I was born in 1942, and in the memory I'm just a little kid.

My parents had taken me to a movie. It must have been a double feature, but I don't recall what we had gone to see. The film ended, another started and, suddenly, my parents were very hurriedly dragging me out of the auditorium. That dragging is what locked in the memory.

What I'm remembering is two guys have been out in the woods and are finishing up a fishing trip, hiking back out. The come into a small
town, are puzzled that there doesn't seem to be anyone around, notice that there are banners hanging from all the light poles. They hear an amplified voice coming from somewhere, follow the sound, and find an
auditorium with all the townspeople inside being harangued by a speaker, again with the hall festooned with banners. That's all because then the auditorium  doors closed behind us as mom and dad dragged me away. I don't know if those banners bore swastikas or if my mind has painted them in later. Just a bit of the film's overture; very little to paint the real plot. Could it have been "It Can't Happen Here"? But you say no production ever came to fruition. Any ideas?

Please let us know if you remember what movie this is.  Thanks!

Housework in I'll Be Seeing You (1944)

I'll Be Seeing You (1944), which we covered in this previous post, and also in this one, features this scene of Ginger Rogers and Spring Byington cleaning the living room. 

Can you think of any other classic films where the characters are seen doing everyday housecleaning chores -- who don't happen to be servants, just housework in their own home?

Last Days of Summer Quiz

A

My deathless prose has been rather heavy and intense these several weeks.  Let's take a break, throw a picnic basket, our swimsuits, and maybe a fishing pole in the back of the car and enjoy these last days of summer.

B

See if you can name the folks, and their movies in these screen caps. 

C

D

E

Answers, Updates, and Famous Photos...

A bit of this and that today:

First, a big huzzah and best wishes to all our fellow film bloggers enjoying the festivities at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood, which begins today and runs through Sunday.  I really enjoy reading their posts and updates on the fun, and their coverage only gets better each year.

**********************

Now, the answers to last week’s Leggy Ladies on Ladders photos:

A is Cyd Charisse.  Though it’s a candid sort of backstage shot, the film she was doing in this costume is Meet Me in Las Vegas, which we discussed previously here.

B is Paul Newman and…Alexis Smith.  This is from The Young Philadelphians, which we briefly mentioned in this previous post on Alexis.

C is Zachary Scott entering the room to find…Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce, which we discussed here. And here.

*************************

I have a book signing coming up this Saturday, the 28^th of March at the Indian Orchard branch of the Springfield City Library, 44 Oak Street, Indian Orchard (Springfield), Massachusetts, from noon to 2:00 p.m.  I’ll have a variety of my books available for purchase, both non-fiction and novels, and if you have time to stop by, I’d love to chat with you.

*************************

And now, a word about my soon-to-be-published book on the career of Ann Blyth.  June 18^th is less than three months away, and will be here before we know it.  I’m working like mad on it, and I hope you’ll approve of the final product.

Part of the challenge of finding photographs for the book is investigating the copyright or ownership of the images.  It can be a daunting task, but also a pleasure when one discovers really fine photos by a master photographer.  In this case, I’m speaking of two greats: Florence Vandamm and Eileen Darby.  They were giants in the field of theatre photography, and Ann Blyth was photographed by both when she appeared in Watch on the Rhine as a young girl.

Florence Vandamm was a pioneer in this field, and from 1925 to about 1950, she was the foremost photographer capturing the greats of the Broadway stage.  The Vandamm Studio specialized in very glamorous portraits of the Broadway stars, images not too dissimilar from what the Hollywood studios would adopt for their style of light-sculpted, touched-up and stunning glamour photos in the 1940s.

Eileen Darby came a long a little later, beginning her career as a theatre photographer in 1940, Vandamm’s chief competitor and ultimate heir to this highly specialized field; however, Darby’s work had a different style.  She would most often perch herself in the front row seats and shoot with low light the dramatic action on stage, catching stars in the moment of their greatest work.

Ann Blyth, just by the serendipitous circumstances of being cast in Watch on the Rhine, was photographed by both these greats for that play, and I am so pleased and privileged to be including photos from both these famous photographers in my book.  I admire their work tremendously.

Today, the Vandamm body of work is the property of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.  Because my budget was limited, I could only purchase the rights for one Vandamm photo.  Though I was tempted to go with the images that grouped Ann with Paul Lukas, who played her father, and other actors in the play, I ultimately chose, instead, a portrait of her.  The group photos were excellent, but I had seen them, or photos like them in other books and magazines.  The reasons I chose the portrait are twofold:

First, it is such a sweet expression that seems to show this young girl on the verge of leaving her “play-acting” years and becoming a serious actress – half school photo and half actor’s professional headshot.

Second, because something in that portrait kept calling to me, and finally I realized what it was.  I think I might have been the first person in seventy years to look upon that sweet face outside of the archives, and if I didn’t publish it, I might be the last.  So, since those other photos were more easily available to the public in other books, I took this rarely (or never) seen photo for mine.

The Eileen Darby photo of Ann in Watch on the Rhine is one of her “action shots” that shows Ann on stage with Lucile Watson, who played the family matriarch; George Coulouris, the villain of the piece; and Peter Fernandez, who played one of Ann’s brothers.  This particular photo had also found its way into the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts collection, but for rights to publish I had to turn to the Eileen Darby Estate, which is currently managed by her grandchildren.  I am very grateful to Mr. Alex Teslik for allowing me to publish that photo.

There will be quite a number of other photos in the book, and other photographers or publishers to whom I needed to apply for permission, but I wanted to tell the story of these two particular photographers because of the important place they have in the history of American theatre.

Last year, a retrospective of Vandamm's work was held at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts called: Pioneering Poet of Light: Photographer Florence Vandamm & the Vandamm Studio, which you can read about here and see some of her stunning work.

Eileen Darby's life and work has been presented in the excellent book, Stars on Stage- Eileen Darby & Broadway's Golden Age by Mary C. Henderson.

See you next Thursday for a little Easter noir.  You can probably guess the movie.

Leggy Ladies on ladders...

Have a gander at those gams, and tell us who the ladies on the ladders are, and, if possible, from what films:

A 

B

C

How to Make Thanksgiving Dinner

A

 

Forty-three guests for Thanksgiving and you forgot how to roast a turkey?  Don't fall apart.  Listen to me.  Here's what you do.

 

B

 

First, get a grip.  Say a quick prayer.  Or just stand there wondering what that spot on the ceiling is.

 

C

 

Get the stuff out of the fridge.  Ignore the guy who just came in the kitchen, or else put him to work.

 

D

 

Sautee the onions and celery.  Come on, come on.  We haven't got all day.

 

E

 

Stuff the turkey.  Any way you can, even if it's not pretty.

 

F

 

See?  Nothing to it.  Now go change.  And do something with your hair.  They just pulled in the driveway.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans.  Now tell me who these cooks are and from what movies?  Answers next week.











Beret Trivia Answers

A drumroll, please...the answers to last week's beret festival:

A - Grace Kelly in a very early TV drama from Studio One, an episode called "The Rockingham Tea Set" broadcast in January 1950.

B - Eve Arden in My Reputation (1946), which we covered here.

C - Jennifer Jones in Love Letters (1945), which we blogged about here.

D - Claire Trevor in Crack-Up (1946), discussed here.

E - Arthur Hunnicutt in The French Line (1954), discussed here.


If I'm ever in a classic film trivia contest, I want Caftan Woman on my side.

Maybe sometime I'll break down and tell you fine folks my coonskin cap story.   When I feel I know you better.

By the way, check out the smashing lineup of lurid noir B-movie posters at Mark's Where Danger Lives blog.  Here's a sample.  Please note the black beret on the woman of seemingly questionable virtue.  One size fits all.

The Beret. Hat of the Stars. Really.

A

Now that the cooler months are setting in, it’s time to pay tribute to my favorite headgear—the beret. 

For many, many years, a black beret has been my chapeau of choice, mainly because they’re warm, they go with every coat you have, and they tend not to leave you with hat hair as much as, say, an acrylic knit hat when you pull them off.  And you don’t really have to take them off if you don’t want to.  This lady is perfectly chic sitting down to a highball with hers.
 

B

I have gotten many comments over the years on my beret—especially derisive comments from a sister who thinks I’m weird.  However, she brought back a Navy blue one from Paris for me once, so you can see even she’s a good sport about my fondness for the beret.

Although she claims to have been mortified when someone told her that she recently saw her sister. My sister asked, “Which one?” 

The lady said, “That one with the beret.”
 

C

I have received a few French greetings from time to time.  Though my first name is French and I wear a beret, my command of that lovely language is limited to counting to ten and knowing that when you're driving in Montreal, "Droit Suelement" means right only.

One fellow, opening a door for me at, I think, a bank, remarked, “Ooh-la-la!”  I like to think it was in reference to me and not the hat, but that may just be a pitiful fantasy.

Last spring, a family member was ill and I conferred with the doctor in the hospital corridor.  The next time I spoke with him he did not recognize me because, he said, the first time I was wearing a beret.

D

Once at church, a visiting priest from overseas broke ranks in the recessional and came over to me, saying in broken English, “I like you hat.” 

The blogger replied, “Thank you, Father,” genuflecting as he passed, and bit her lip so as not to laugh over the determined organist thumping out Holy God We Praise Thy Name.

Ah, yes, Ite Missa est.  You betcha.

So if you, too, live in a climate where it can get so cold your nose hairs freeze, I recommend a nice woolen beret.  A black one will go with every coat you have.

A white one?  Well, this debonair chap has his own style.

 

E

Tell me who these beret-wearing folks are and from what movies.  One hint, though, the first one is not from a movie, but from the old Studio One TV show.

***

Next Wednesday the 16^th, I’ll be speaking at the Ames Privilege Community Room in Chicopee, Massachusetts for the Chicopee Historical Society on three fellows from the Ames Manufacturing Company during the Civil War.  I’ll have copies of my new book to sign.  It’s also available as an eBook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and Smashwords.  It’s available in paperback currently from Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace and Amazon.

 

TV Guide - 1976 - The Search for Classic Films

 

 Remember the good old days before Turner Classic Movies?  For the classic film fan, there were no good old days before TCM, but we were a resilient lot who scoured the TV Guide, actually taking notes and memorizing schedules to be able to catch a flick.  In these days before VCRs as well, we were known to stay up until four in the morning just to catch that elusive Boston Blackie flick we'd been trying to scratch off our list since we were seven.

These pages are from the TV Guide from July 1976.  You'll note the generous episode descriptions of the sitcoms and game shows, and the BW in the little TV screen next to the name if the show was in black and white. (Before this, you'd see a little C to show the program was in color.)

On this first page above we have midday Wednesday, and Johnny Guitar on Channel 27 (which was an independent station out of Worcester, Massachusetts.) Followed by Island of Lost Women.  Apparently this was ladies day on good old Channel 27.

 

 

Friday night, the wee small hours of the morning, as Frank Sinatra used to sing.   Elvis Presley in Spinout and Strategy of Terror with Barbara Rush.  These were sixties movies, so they were "new".  Clifton Webb is on board with Mr. Scoutmaster (1953), and if you can keep your eyes open until 3:15, there's Bob Hope in Fancy Pants.

 

 

 

Yeah, I know, the CBS lineup of sitcoms was irresistible in this era.  But for the movie buffs, we've got Alec Guinness in The Man in the White Suit (1951), and a documentary series on classic film directors Men Who Made Movies, both courtesy of Channel 57 out of Springfield, Mass., which was (and is) a PBS station.

 

 

Here in the wee small hours of the morning on Saturday, we've got Crack in the World (1965) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), both of which entertain us with atomic bomb scenarios.  So helpful to insomniacs.  But if you need a little less nuclear option, there's Audie Murphy in 40 Guns to Apache Pass.

 

 

Okay, I have to include this one, a movie we've actually covered on this blog: The Woman in White (1948)  See here for previous post.  This came by Channel 30, which was an NBC station out of Hartford, Connecticut.  I've watched lots and lots of old movies on good old Channel 30 back in the day.  And there's Shirley Temple on Channel 27.  Always independent.

 

 

The wee small hours of Tuesday evening.  A Cry in the Night (1956) with Edmund O'Brien and Sayonara (1957) with Marlon Brando.  Odd to see an add for a product which will put on weight, rather than a weight-loss product. 

 

I stopped buying TV Guide years ago, because I now get something like a zillion channels and watch very little TV.  The news, a few history docos, that's it. That, and a passion for one old movie channel that is only reason I subscribe to cable.

 

Thank you, TCM.  There has never been a better time to be a classic film fan.



Dance Card Answers

So nice to see so many dance card fans in the crowd.  Here's the lineup on our dance card, in order:

Closeup of the dance card from "Since You Went Away" (1944)

Two shots from "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), first with Lucille Bremer and Judy Garland, and then with everybody's favorite grandpa, Harry Davenport, and Judy.

Our last entry is Doris Day in "Calamity Jane" (1953).

You folks really know your movies.  And your dance cards.

***

 

For the next two weeks my cozy mystery novel, Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red, the first in the "Double V Mysteries" series is going on a tour of several wonderful blogs for review and discussion and giveaways.  The lineup is listed below.  The tour is hosted by Cozy Mystery Marketing, and you can learn more about the novel and the tour here.

The story is set in Hartford, Connecticut in 1949, where a wealthy, and very recent widow, teams up with a recent ex-con to solve the disappearance of his child, and the murder of her artist husband.


June 24, 2013 – Kate Shannon
June 25, 2013 – Brooke Blogs
June 26, 2013 - Chloe Gets a Clue
June 27, 2013 - Omnimystery
June 28, 2013 – Saving for 6
July 1, 2013 – Thoughts in Progress
July 3, 2013 - The Self Taught Cook
July 5, 2013 - Kaisy Daisy’s Corner
July 6, 2013 - A Blue Million Books

Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red is available in paperback through Amazon and CreateSpace, or directly through me.  The eBook is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords, and other online dealers.


Dance Cards

A

 



We pay tribute today to that long-ago party prop, the dance card.  I have an old dance card of my mother's tucked into an equally-old scrapbook.  Probably from a high school prom or such.  We don't seem to line up our dance partners like a Things To Do list anymore, but there was something quaint about the propriety of it.  Whose dance card is shown above, and from what movie?

B

 

These two lovely girls fill out the dance card of another--with names of geeky boys to play on trick on her.   Of course, she has to dance with them, because their names are on her card.  If you don't follow the card, you'll probably go to hell or something.  The road to hell is paved with people who don't dance with whoever's next on their card.  That's an old saying.  Maybe you've heard it.

 

 



C

 

I love how the card dangles from her wrist, making them seem like a trio rather an a duo.  Name the dancers, and the movie.

 

 

D

 

Of course, there's no rule that says you have to tie the card to your wrist.  You can just carry it in your mouth if you want.  Who, and what movie?

 

Answers next week.





You Are Here

 

 

 

 

One of the things I love most about old movies is you always know where you are.

 

 



You don't need any stupid GPS devices. 

 

 

In fact, if you really need a GPS device to get anywhere, it's because you're too lazy to read a map.

 

 

 

 

Of course, maps can be difficult to fold back up sometimes.

 

 

 

 

And they don't give them away free at the gas station anymore.

 

 

 

 

But with old movies, the name of wherever you are is just plastered all across the sky.  This is very convenient.

 

 

 

Jeez, I don't how that got in here.  Sorry.  I was on a roll.

 

 ***

 

I'll be speaking at the Chicopee Historical Society, meeting at the Chicopee Public Library, Front Street, Chicopee, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 16th with a PowerPoint presentation about topics from my recently published States of Mind: New England. That book will be available for sale at this event.



 

 









Kissing Booth Answers

We had some very good guesses. Our kissing couples are:

A:  An aggressive Jane Wyman and a totally surprised Leon Ames in “Let’s Do it Again” (1953), which we discussed here. 

B: Alexis Smith has been trying to get Franchot Tone to notice her in “Here Comes the Groom” (1952), discussed here.  She finally succeeds. 

C:  One of my favorite movie kisses.  Mary Wickes shows her approval of Bing Crosby in “White Christmas” (1954).

D:  Richard Barthlemess gives one of the most tender, sweet screen kisses to faithful friend Aline MacMahon in “Heroes for Sale” (1933), discussed here. 

E: Dan Dailey kisses Cyd Charisse for luck in “Meet Me in Las Vegas” (1956). 

F:  Jane Russell and Victor Mature in a flashback of better days in “Las Vegas Story” (1952). 

G:  Lovely Lillian Gish and dashing Conrad Nagel in “One Romantic Night” or “The Swan” (1930),which we discussed here. 

 

********

Come back Thursday for the CMBA Fabulous Films of the 1940s Blogathon and “Resisting Enemy Interrogation” (1944).

********

 

My twin brother John and I just published a children's picture book.  Bob the Bear Likes to Run is the story of  a bear named Bob who likes to run.

 

Picture book, pre-K.  Bob the Bear loves to run, but when his friend enters him in a race, Bob faces a bewildering world of competition.  When he trips on his shoelace and falls, he is more worried about disappointing his friend than losing the race.  Both friends learn in this warm and gentle story that winning isn’t everything and there’s always a next time to try again.

Now available as an eBook through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords.  Other eBook outlets and print version to follow.

 

 

Valentine's Day Kissing Booth

Happy Valentine's Day... join us here in the kissing booth.  Who's doing all this kissing, and from what movie?  Answers on Monday.

A

 

 

B

 

C

 

D

 

E

 

F

 

G