Born Helen Rulfs in Beaumont, Texas, this biography traces Helen Vinson’s life and career through Houston to New York, Hollywood, and beyond. Born to money, Vinson excelled at playing icy socialites in the movies. Married three times including her 1930s union with Wimbledon champ Fred Perry.
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Movie Star Biographies
Ann Sheridan – Search for Beauty Contest Winner Before the Oomph
Ann Sheridan’s beginnings in Hollywood. A look at the International Search for Beauty contest that Clara Lou Sheridan rode to a Paramount contract.
Richard Dix – His Life and Film Legacy
Five thousand words about the life of Richard Dix including a look at his most important movies: The Vanishing American (1925), Cimarron (1931) and The Ghost Ship (1943) plus, author’s choice, Ace of Aces (1933).
Charles Laughton – A Biography of His Career on Film and Stage
An extensive look at the career of Charles Laughton on film and stage, illustrated with vintage movie cards and collectibles. Star of The Private Life of Henry VIII …
Stuart Erwin, Biography of ’30s “Comic Valentine” Turned Early TV Star
A biography of Stuart Erwin, best known for portraying comic bumblers on screen and later starring on TV with his wife, June Collyer, in The Stu Erwin Show.
Paul Cavanagh – Case No. 9840 Fills in Actor’s Early Biography
Paul Cavanagh was an actor from 1926 until 1960 including time as a Hollywood featured player from 1930 onward. But who was he before 1926? U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 9840 fills in those details.
Movie Reviews & Articles
J. Edgar Hoover’s Persons in Hiding (1939) With Patricia Morison
A Bonnie and Clyde tale predating Gun Crazy (1950) by eleven years. Persons in Hiding is the first of four movies adapted from J. Edgar Hoover’s book of the same name. Electrifying debut by Patricia Morison with J. Carrol Naish strong opposite her.
First Impressions: Arrowsmith (1931) with Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes
Brief first impressions of Arrowsmith (1931) written shortly after a first viewing. Starring Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes with Myrna Loy.
Stage Struck (1936) Starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell
Busby Berkeley’s Stage Struck (1936) is a Warner Brothers musical missing the typical Berkeley flare. Starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell with Warren William it’s an at times bizarre movie that doesn’t measure up to earlier classics Berkeley worked on, but still entertaining at times providing a few laughs.
Child of Manhattan (1933) Starring Nancy Carroll, John Boles
Adapted by Columbia from a critically savaged Broadway play by Preston Sturges. Child of Manhattan is saved on screen by its captivating star, Nancy Carroll, who plays taxi-dancer Madeleine McGonagle. With John Boles, Buck Jones, and Jessie Ralph. Directed by Edward Buzzell.
The Vice Squad (1931) Starring Paul Lukas, Kay Francis, Judith Wood
Ripped from the headlines: New York’s Vice Squad scandal in Paramount pre-Code The Vice Squad (1931), starring Paul Lukas in a part inspired by Chile Acuna, with Kay Francis and Judith Wood. Directed by John Cromwell.
Hot Saturday (1932) with Cary Grant and Nancy Carroll
Paramount pre-Code Hot Saturday (1932) stars Nancy Carroll with noted young leading men Cary Grant and Randolph Scott. Grant is especially good, but Scott not so hot. Includes history of original casting plans, which included Carole Lombard, and comparison to the later Columbia film Party Wire (1935).