Old Movies, Actors and Actresses | Hollywood Yesterday

Happy Birthday to the Wonderful Rita Hayworth!

October 17, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Rita Hayworth, Gilda

The beautiful, multitalented, iconic, and perfectly wonderful in every way Rita Hayworth was born on this day in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1918. This incredible actress is one of the stars I CANNOT imagine old Hollywood without. She was so much more than just an uncommonly beautiful actress – she was incredibly talented. She could do drama, comedy, musicals, film-noir and make it look effortless.

Amazingly enough, she was also one of the best dancers ever to hit Hollywood. How wonderful was she? Guess who Fred Astaire named as his favorite dancing partner? That’s right… Rita Hayworth. If you’ve never seen You Were Never Lovelier, their wonderful musical from 1942, I hope you find it soon. It’s one of my favorite musicals of ALL TIME – it’s extraordinary, and so is Rita.

Happy Heavenly birthday to one of the reasons I love old Hollywood as much as I do. I promise to always do my part to keep your face and name alive and well!

You can find Gilda and You Were Never Lovelier on dvd (Amazon link – be sure to look at the different price options! They run from $12 to over $50… I’m going for the $12 one!). You can also watch Gilda on Prime Video.

Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth, You Were Never Lovelier

Wonderful Behind the Scenes Photos from The Addams Family

October 17, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Lisa Loring and Ted Cassidy

The extraordinary series The Addams Family ran from 1964 to 1966. At the time, many people fell in love with these larger than life, lovable characters and the actors and actresses who portrayed them. Since then, even more of us have fallen under their spell.

This truly was one of the cutest, most entertaining, and funniest series ever made.

The behind the scenes photos, here, are just wonderful… they remind us of the characters we fell in love with so long ago and realize that we have never quite fallen out of love. Far from it!

I can’t tell you how much I wish the photo of Margaret Hamilton (Granny Frump) and Felix Silla (Cousin Itt) below were large enough to include ALL of the great Margaret Hamilton. This is how I got the photo… with only 1/3 of her.

Margaret Hamilton and Felix Silla

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae in Carousel (1956)

October 16, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

When you spend as much time with old movies and classic television as I do (and have for a lifetime!), you find yourself with quite a few favorite stars – a look at the Hollywood Yesterday About Page will show you just how many! – but we all have what I like to call our “absolute favorites.” Our “ride or dies,” if you will. One of my own personal “absolutes” is Shirley Jones. I just love everything about her. Her movies, work on television, class… every bit of it.

I often find myself wondering why we (all of us who are immersed in old Hollywood – whether it’s from Silents through the 70s or only certain eras) don’t talk as much about the more recent stars as we do the older ones. I mean, Shirley Jones, Angela Lansbury, Ann-Margret, James Garner, Lee Marvin, Sally Field, Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, James Caan, for example are every bit as wonderful and well-loved as, say, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, James Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, and James Dean.

I believe part of it may be that when stars have been taken from us, we tend to try harder to keep their memory alive, whereas the wonderful stars who are still VERY much with us or who have only recently left us don’t cause us to feel quite as much of a pull to keep their face and name alive.

While that’s understandable to an extent, it’s also frustrating because I’d rather see all of us celebrate these stars while they’re still on this side of eternity to truly enjoy it. We have so many extraordinary stars who are still very much with us and I’m making it a mission to celebrate them just as much as anyone.

The only problem we run into at times has to do with photographs. Many of the stars of the early years of Hollywood have more photos available to us than the more recent stars. When it comes to photos that are in the public domain or images that are okay to use because they were promotional photos, the older may not necessarily be the better but the older is definitely the easier!

At any rate, I’m making it a personal mission to celebrate ALL of the stars of Hollywood Yesterday, regardless of just how “yesterday” it was!

The photos in this post are of the beautiful and talented Shirley Jones and her outstanding co-star Gordon MacRae from Carousel (1956, directed by Henry King). The movie also stars Cameron Mitchell and Barbara Ruick.

You can find the joyous musical Carousel on dvd (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video.

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster, The Munsters

October 16, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster

One of my favorite classic television shows is The Munsters. Few things are as enjoyable as sitting back and visiting with Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn, and Eddie. The series ran from 1964 to 1966 and while I wasn’t quite old enough to enjoy it in its first-run, I have made up for lost time in reruns!

My favorite character is Lily and the main reason is Yvonne De Carlo. She portrayed her to absolute perfection. The entire cast was phenomenal.

You can find the complete series of The Munsters on dvd (Amazon link)!

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster

Madge Bellamy and Bela Lugosi: White Zombie (1932)

October 14, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Madge Bellamy, White Zombie

White Zombie is a horror film you really don’t hear much about. Oddly enough, it was believed to be lost until its rediscovery in the Sixties. I really hate that this movie is hardly ever shown on television because it is very entertaining and Bela Lugosi is, as one would expect, completely mesmerizing.

The plot of White Zombie: A lovestruck young man turns to a voodoo doctor to help him lure a beautiful woman away from her fiancé. He, instead, turns her into a zombie slave!

HATE when that happens.

The 1932 classic horror movie stars Bela Lugosi and Madge Bellamy. It was directed by Victor Halperin.

According to his son, Bela Lugosi, Jr., this was one of Bela Lugosi’s favorite films. He is absolutely and completely wonderful in the role of “Murder” Legendre.

You can find White Zombie on dvd (Amazon link).

Bela Lugosi, White Zombie

Valerie Hobson from The Bride of Frankenstein

October 13, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Valerie Hobson

Lovely Valerie Hobson’s luck would be MY luck… she appears in a movie, did an outstanding job, and looked like a billion bucks… but remains in the vast shadows cast by the film’s lead characters and stars! The same can pretty much be said of every actor and actress who appeared in any of the old Hollywood Horror films. The monsters always steal the show!

However, when you’ve seen a film as many times as I’ve seen this one, you come to truly appreciate all that the supporting cast brings to the party. Without them, the party wouldn’t be such a smashing success. You can take it one step further, even. If they didn’t have the delicious team-player mentality that made them perfectly comfortable with dwelling in the shadows, the monsters would not have become the iconic stars they STILL are today.

I, for one, LOVE the ones who live in the shadows as much as those in the spotlight. It takes all of them to make the magic work.

Lovely Valerie Hobson was born in Northern Ireland in 1917. The Bride of Frankenstein, Werewolf of London, and Great Expectations are three of her best-known films.

You can find The Bride of Frankenstein on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Bela Lugosi and Helen Chandler, Dracula (1931)

October 12, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bela Lugosi and Helen Chandler, Dracula (1931)

One of my favorite old horror movies is undoubtedly Dracula (1931). Everything about this movie is just deliciously old horror school greatness. Many today wouldn’t even categorize this one as horror compared to the ones they’ve grown up on but can you imagine how scary this was when it was released?! There’s no doubt in my mind Bela’s Dracula starred in a LOT of nightmares. Of all the old Hollywood monsters, Dracula is easily the scariest in my opinion.

You simply CANNOT trust him OR his dentally magnificent smile!

This was actually the first film I ever saw Helen Chandler in (when watching this in the 70s as a child) and I have loved her since. Beautiful face and loads of talent and onscreen charm.

You can buy the iconic 1931 film Dracula on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Bela Lugosi and Helen Chandler, Dracula

Boris Karloff and Makeup ARTIST Jack Pierce: Behind the Scenes of The Bride of Frankenstein

October 11, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Boris Karloff and Jack Pierce

When watching my BELOVED old Hollywood movies or reading about them, I often come across men and women who I desperately wish had written a book. Makeup artist extraordinaire Jack Pierce is one of them. This man worked on some of the most legendary movies of all time and with some of their most extraordinary stars.

He had some stories to tell and I want to know every one of them!

You can find The Bride of Frankenstein on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Helen Chandler and Bela Lugosi, Dracula (Girl.. RUN!)

October 10, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bela Lugosi and Helen Chandler, Dracula

I remember the first time I saw Dracula (1931)… even as a child I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how anyone didn’t know Bela Lugosi was bad news the minute they saw him! Seriously… how could they not run as far and as fast as they could in the opposite direction the minute they laid eyes on him.

I’m pretty sure I would have outrun a cheetah to get away from his creepy vibes.

Then again, it wouldn’t have made much of a movie, would it?

I read something unusual a little while back. Apparently Bette Davis was considered for the role of Mina but someone “up the line” didn’t think she had enough sex appeal. Really? When the role dictated, she oozed it! Think “In This Our Life,” “Jezebel,” and “The Star” just to name a few.

I mean, her career did okay without this role but I thought the reasoning was preposterous.

You can buy the iconic 1931 film Dracula on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Sorry but the Bette Davis fan in me feels compelled to add a particular photo to the post… It’s like she’s telling Mr. Up the Line, “Boy, please.”

Bette Davis, Jezebel

Collin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, and Ernest Thesiger: The Bride of Frankenstein

October 9, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Collin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, and Ernest Thesiger

Okay, admittedly, I have been obsessed with posting The Bride of Frankenstein pictures of the day this month but I simply cannot help myself. Elsa Lanchester’s Bride is my favorite movie monster of all time and I want everyone else to appreciate her and her iconic film as much as I do!

I know I’ve gone on record as saying I am (overall) somewhat disappointed in this film but I want to clear something up while I have the chance. The disappointment comes only from the fact that she wasn’t given more scenes. I SO wish her character had been introduced earlier in the film and that she and her intended had wreaked havoc together.

Having said all of that, I do love many things about this film. The makeup, acting, and directing are all perfection… right to their core. Perhaps that’s why I get a bit disappointed when I watch it – it’s the realization of how MAGNIFICENT it would have been with more of the wonderful Elsa Lanchester.

It’s an iconic film to be sure and it is absolutely one of my favorite horror films.

You can find The Bride of Frankenstein on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.