Remembering Celeste Holm, Oscar winner and three time nominee who rose to prominence as the original Ado Annie in Oklahoma! on Broadway. Reviewing Holm’s career from Broadway to Hollywood and all stops in between.
Popular Posts
Movie Star Biographies
Hal Roach and Three Well-Known Employees, All Born January 14
Hal Roach employees Bebe Daniels, Mary Ann Jackson and William Bendix were all born on January 14 just like their boss. Each spent significant time working for Roach at different points in the career of the famed producer.
Chester Morris – Biography of the Boston Blackie Star
A biography of Chester Morris, Academy Award nominated actor for Alibi (1929), who starred in several pre-Code classics before going on to greatest fame in the Boston Blackie series of movies.
Jean Muir – Why the 1930’s Warner Brothers Actress Left Film
The ups and downs of 1930’s Warner Brothers actress Jean Muir who left film on her own terms only to be branded a Communist when she attempted a return to TV.
Adrianne Allen – Private Lives Star, Also Two Paramount Pre-Code Gems
A biography of Adrianne Allen, actress who rose to fame in Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Her sparse film career included two 1932 Paramount gems, MERRILY WE GO TO HELL and THE NIGHT OF JUNE 13TH. The former Mrs. Raymond Massey and mother of actors Daniel Massey and Anna Massey.
Kathleen Burke Wins Nationwide Contest! The Road to Panther Woman in Island of Lost Souls
A look at Paramount’s Summer 1932 nationwide contest to cast Lota, the Panther Woman in Island of Lost Souls. Focus on the eventual Panther Woman winner, Kathleen Burke. Lots of old news clippings.
Movie Reviews & Articles
Clear All Wires! (1933) – Journalism in Classic Film Blogathon
MGM’s Clear All Wires! (1933) finds foreign correspondent Lee Tracy butting heads with the Soviet secret police in Russia, 1932. Una Merkel and Benita Hume co-star.
China Seas (1935) starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow
The Clark Gable and Jean Harlow teaming peaks in China Seas, the 4th of their 6 MGM pairings, a tale of love and piracy at sea also starring Wallace Beery and Rosalind Russell.
The Tip-Off (1931) with Eddie Quillan, Ginger Rogers and Turkey Mike Donlin
A pre-Code release from RKO Pathe, The Tip-Off (1931) features Ginger Rogers in an early role but most of the fun comes from its fresh-faced star Eddie Quillan.
One Way Passage (1932) – Glass Stems & Spoilers: The Final Minute
A look at the final scene of One Way Passage (1932) starring William Powell and Kay Francis. How did those crossed glass stems get there anyway?
First Impressions: Little Women (1933) Starring Katharine Hepburn
RKO’s classic Little Women (1933) starring Katharine Hepburn as Jo Marsh with Joan Bennett, Frances Dee and Jean Parker as her sisters. Some notes based on the first time I watched the movie.
Walter Huston is Dodsworth (1936) with Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor
Water Huston plays perhaps his finest role when he brings his Sam Dodsworth from the stage to the screen for Sam Goldwyn under William Wyler’s direction. Winner of 1 Oscar, nominated for 6 more, Dodsworth gives us a peek at the complicated married life of a middle-aged couple.