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
Nancy Carroll – Rediscovering a Major Paramount Star
After falling in love with Nancy Carroll in Child of Manhattan I wanted to see more of her movies. Problem was her best work was done at Paramount and most of it is hard to find. This post points to a few of Carroll’s better known titles and includes a biography of this major early talkie talent.
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.
Barbara Kent, 103, of Flesh and the Devil (1926); Welcome Danger (1929)
One of our last stars of the silent screen, Barbara Kent, has died at age 103. A brief biography and remembrance including a Barbara Kent gallery of collectibles.
Helen Vinson Biography – A Socialite Specializing in Socialites
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.
Dwight Frye’s Last Laugh – Before and Beyond Dracula and Frankenstein
Dwight Frye is legendary for his roles in the Universal horror classics Dracula and Frankenstein. The 1997 biography Dwight Frye’s Last Laugh chronicles the actor’s fast rise to surprising heights and even quicker fall.
Movie Reviews & Articles
Warner Baxter as The Crime Doctor: A Crime Doctor Episode Guide
A guide to the individual entries to Columbia’s Crime Doctor mystery series of the 1940’s. Each of the ten films star Warner Baxter. Packed with details yet spoiler free.
RKO’s Hell’s Highway (1932) Beats Other Chain Gang Movie to Theaters
It’s tempting to call RKO’s Hell’s Highway (1932) a knockoff on I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. However the Richard Dix movie came first. A long essay looking at Hell’s Highway, Dix, the Etude Ethiopian Chorus and that other Chain Gang movie.
A House Divided (1931) – Walter Huston Stars in Early Talkie from William Wyler
This early talkie from legendary director William Wyler stars Walter Huston as the father of meek Kent Douglass, who falls in love with Dad’s mail-order bride, Helen Chandler. Excellent work from Huston as always with surprising heat and chemistry from the two young co-stars.
G Men (1935) Starring James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, and Ann Dvorak
A look at Warner Brothers’ G MEN (1935) starring James Cagney, this time as the good guy. Based on several real incidents and infamous names, it’s the movie that began the G-Men cycle of films.
No Man of Her Own (1932) Starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard
Noted for pairing Clark Gable and Carole Lombard a few years before they began their romance, Paramount’s No Man of Her Own (1932) is entertaining beyond their unsurprising screen chemistry. Post features several background notes about film’s complicated pre-production.
Lust for Gold (1949) Starring Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino star in Columbia’s answer to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1949’s Lust for Gold. Also featuring Gig Young and a host of character actors.