Movie Profiles & Premiums Newsletter: Volume 3, Number 2. November 30, 2004

Welcome back to the Profiles & Premiums Newsletter!

Hope all of you here in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving, and are looking forward to the Holidays in December. I guess I should knock on wood when I say this, but I really wonder when the Long Island air is going to feel as chilly as it should this time of year! Last time I requested subscribers to send in their list of favorite Christmas movies, and I want to thank Candy Danaher for responding (and quick!). Candy sent along what she referred to as her "well thought-out list of 5 movies that mean Christmas time to me," and here they are:

1. The Bishop's Wife (1947)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
3. Prancer (1989)
4. A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott
5. White Christmas (1954)

If anyone else has a few Holiday favorites or even just wants to add to Candy's list like I did, please feel free to send your thoughts along to things@things-and-other-stuff.com.

Voluptua

One more bit of business before we get to this issue's articles, and I’ll give it another mention in the next issue as that is the true anniversary, but just so you know beforehand this December 15th marks the 50th anniversary of Voluptua, the TV Love Goddess.

Voluptua (Gloria Pall) is actually a subscriber to our newsletter and she wanted to be sure to invite you all to visit her web site in anticipation of this event.

Gloria started out as Miss Flatbush 1947, beginning a career which eventually led to her 7-week gig as ABC romance movie host Voluptua along with a pin-up career spanning the 1950s and into the '60s. She’s worked with legends ranging from silent comedian Harold Lloyd, a shutterbug for whom she posed for 3D photos in 1954, to the King himself, Elvis Presley.

As Voluptua, she made her debut on ABC at 9:30 PM, December 15, 1954. Apparently her act was a little too hot for TV at the time; she was cancelled just seven weeks later due to viewer’s complaints, leading to headlines such as “Voluptua Fired for Being Too Torrid for TV!” To read all the details of Voluptua, as well as Gloria’s other projects over the years, please visit her site.

And now that we're all settled in, please allow me to open up the program for you all:

Opening credits ...

1. Kirk Douglas by Scott D. O'Reilly
2. Photo ID Guide: Update on 1934 Lux 9x12 Premium Photos
3. Hollywood Stories: It's A Wonderful Movie by Stephen Schochet
4. Photo ID Guide: 1930's Mexican Needle Books
5. Way Down East: A Retrospective Review
6. The Silent Collection featuring Ann Harding by Tammy Stone

Kirk Douglas by Scott D. O'Reilly

Of all the stars from Hollywood's golden age few have shone brighter or longer than Kirk Douglas. Born into abject poverty as Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam New York on December 9th 1916 the future actor decided early in life that he had nowhere to go put up. Viewing acting as a ticket out of poverty Douglas' early interest in the theatre was interrupted by WWII and service in the Navy, but after the war a friend named Lauren Bacall recommended Douglas for a Hollywood screen test and the rest, as they say, is history ... CONTINUE READING

Scott D. O'Reilly is an independent writer with degrees in philosophy and psychology. His work has been published in The Humanist, Philosophy Now, Intervention Magazine, Think, The New Standard, and The Philosopher's Magazine. He is a contributor to the book The Great Thinkers A-Z (Continuum, 2004) and is working on a book called Socrates in Cyberspace that examines traditional conceptions of the soul in light of the latest neuroscientific findings
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Gallery & Guide: 1934 Lux 9x12 Black Bordered Premiums

I've updated this page because I just put up a bunch of new Lux Premiums on eBay tonight (ending December 7th). The page now includes an alphabetized checklist of the 21 premiums I've managed to identify from past and present stock. The set contains 33, so if you know who I'm missing feel free to let me know!
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Hollywood Stories: It's A Wonderful Movie

By Stephen Schochet

Its A Wonderful Life (1946) began as a short story called “The Greatest Gift”. Writer Philip Van Doren Stern was unable to sell it to a publisher, so he sent the tale out as a long Christmas card to friends. His agent subsequently sold the fable to RKO pictures, where it went through several transformations. In one version a losing political candidate contemplated suicide, only to have an angel convince him to stick around and do good works. Finally it fell into the hands of Director Frank Capra who cried when he read it, said it was the story he had been looking for all his life, and purchased it to be the first project for his new production company, Liberty Films ... CONTINUE READING

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear RealAudio samples of these great, unique gifts at http://www.hollywoodstories.com.
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Gallery & Guide: 1930's Mexican Needle Books

Five different cards are featured in this brand new ID Guide.
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Way Down East: A Retrospective Review

D.W. Griffith’s Way Down East is best remembered for the climactic ice floe scene featuring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess. Having never watched the entire film before, I sat down knowing only of those few minutes, a very small portion in what is a 149 minute film ... CONTINUE READING

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The Silent Collection by Tammy Stone - Ann Harding

In many ways, Ann Harding’s story is a familiar one. A child not of the silent but of the studio era (though she started her career precisely at the transition between silents and talkies), Ann became an instant star – under the protection of the studio bosses, it could hardly have been any other way. But her trajectory was not as illustrious as many of her peers’ were; for some, typecasting works like a charm, but it makes others old news fast. While she was at the top of her game, she was making movie after movie, reaching her dedicated and wide fan base, and for this, she becomes an indelible fixture in the history of the motion picture ... CONTINUE READING

Tammy Stone is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Watch for her regular column on the greats of the Silent Screen here in each and every issue of The Profiles & Premium Newsletter.
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Just another 15 days until we're back at you again, December 15th. Last year that was a double-issue, this year it will honestly be what time permits me, but I'll do my best. I'll try to make it a good one, because after that we're not back until January 15th. Until next time, get some of that shopping done (that command is mostly a reminder to myself).