A biography of character actor Arthur Hohl, whose Broadway stardom typed him as cowardly villains and humorless prosecutors throughout Hollywood’s Golden Age.
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Movie Star Biographies
Claudette Colbert, Her Start, Broadway Success and Earliest Films
A biography of Claudette Colbert covering her earliest days as she came to the stage, found Broadway success and transitioned to film. Claudette Colbert from France to New York, up until It Happened One Night (1934).
Paul Muni’s 1932 – Multiple Projects Converge to Make Paul Muni a Huge Star
In 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang followed Scarface at the Strand Theater in New York while Paul Muni was then starring live on Broadway in Counsellor-at-Law. A major star is realized out of a huge year of work.
Earle Williams in the Newspapers
Learning about Earle Williams from original newspaper articles between 1908-1931. Once the most popular movie star, Earle Williams faded in the 1920s. His story ends tragically in 1931, four years after his death.
Dolores Costello – Her Career plus Can You Help Identify This Painting?
A biography in brief of child star and later screen beauty Dolores Costello, who would later marry John Barrymore. Also a reader contributes an image of a painting of Costello and asks for some help in identifying it.
Grant Mitchell – WHAT A CHARACTER! – Broadway to Hollywood, 1902-1948
Biography of prolific Hollywood character actor Grant Mitchell. His great-uncle was a US President and his father a famed Civil War General. Mitchell tried careers in law and the military, but eventually took to the stage where he began a slow rise to stardom in 1902.
Movie Reviews & Articles
Blessed Event (1932) – Lee Tracy as Early Version of Winchell
A look at Lee Tracy as the Walter Winchell inspired star of pre-Code classic Blessed Event (1932). Includes back story about the stage adaptation, movie casting and speedy film production, plus a bit about Walter Winchell himself, circa 1932.
Going Highbrow (1935) With Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, Edward Everett Horton
A look at the 1935 Warner Brothers comedy Going Highbrow includes a June Martel biographical aside. Plus how Guy Kibbee was discovered and Gordon Westcott’s untimely death later that same year.
Charles Laughton stars in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
Charles Laughton earns his Oscar for Best Actor in Alexander Korda’s The Private Life of Henry VIII, a comedic costume piece focusing on Henry’s relationships with his various wives.
Lewis Milestone’s The Purple Heart (1944) Starring Dana Andrews
The Purple Heart (1944), directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Dana Andrews, is a World War II courtroom drama imagining the trial and fate of captured Doolittle Raid fliers before the world knew exactly what had happened to them. Part of the Dana Andrews blogathon.
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.
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.