Old Hollywood: Movies, Actresses, and Actors
Walter Huston, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, and Lionel Barrymore
The cast of Duel in the Sun (1946, King Vidor) was LOADED with talent: Walter Huston, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, and Lionel Barrymore are pictured above.
The cast also included Herbert Marshall, Lillian Gish, Butterfly McQueen, and Charles Bickford.
You can find Duel in the Sun on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).
Jennifer Jones, Duel in the Sun
Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea
Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea lead an outstanding cast in the 1944 Western Buffalo Bill. Directed by William A. Wellman, the cast also includes Linda Darnell, Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan, and Anthony Quinn.
The movie, based on the life of Buffalo Bill Cody blends fiction with non-fiction and is always a great film to spend a little time with. Beautifully filmed and directed, it’s a movie I always enjoy.
Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea
Pal, Donna Reed, and Roddy McDowall
I love the photo of Donna Reed, Pal (Lassie, of course!), and Roddy McDowall above. It was taken during the filming of Lassie Come Home (1943), starring Roddy McDowall, Pal, Elsa Lanchester, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn, and May Whitty. I’m not completely certain which film Donna would have been filming at the time (she had five films released in 1943!) but the clothes look like an outfit she wore in Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case.
Doris Day and Rock Hudson, Pillow Talk
Doris Day and Rock Hudson teamed up to make one of the most endearing and enjoyable romantic comedies of all time… Pillow Talk (1959). Directed by Michael Gordon, the comedy also stars Thelma Ritter, Tony Randall, Nick Adams, and Julia Meade.
Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall on the set of Pillow Talk
You can find Pillow Talk on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.
Joan Fontaine, Ivy (1947)
An actress none of us really go on nearly enough about is the wonderful Joan Fontaine. Beautiful, strong, talented… with a measured degree of fierceness that she wore splendidly!
She lights up the screen, whether it’s as a decidedly supporting player (as was the case with The Women, where she was actually one of my favorites) or the lead star, as is the case with the 1947 thriller Ivy (directed by Sam Wood).
Finding Ivy on dvd is proving to be insanely difficult – and it has yet to be made available on Prime Video. I’ll let you know if this ever changes! ~ Joi (“Joy”)
Donna Reed, Backlash
The wonderful Donna Reed was born on January 27, 1921 in Denison, Iowa. She’s one of my VERY first favorite actresses and remains in the top 8 to this day. I simply adore everything about her, every role she ever graced, and… quite frankly… everything she stood for as a human being. She was simply lovely in every way.
Like Elvis, Marilyn, Rita, Audrey, John Wayne, and Lucille Ball, Donna Reed has been collectively framed in a particular way – as the smiling, perfect wife and mother – both on her wonderful television series and in the extraordinary and larger than life It’s a Wonderful Life. While being framed, collectively or any other way, is pretty much unavoidable, it’s really – in many ways – a shame. After all, Marilyn and Rita were so much more than the sex symbols they’re “framed” as in most people’s minds.
Elvis and John Wayne were more than the images most people have of them
Audrey was a warm and wonderful person and talented actress – not simply a lovely little style icon!
Lucille Ball was more than simply one of the most hilarious people to ever draw breath.
Last but not least, Donna Reed was much more than the characters she created. In fact, while she’s remembered by most as Donna and Mary, she brought a great number of other colorful characters to life as well. Her filmography is alive with color and entertainment and she was extraordinary in each and every role.
I actually (literally 20 minutes ago) just ordered a great-sounding Donna Reed biography, In Search of Donna Reed (Amazon link) by Jay Fultz. I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I’ve devoured it cover to cover!
Happy Heavenly birthday to one of the best actresses of all time, and one I’m always so proud to call a favorite.
Donna Reed and Richard Widmark, Backlash (1956)
The photos in this post are from the 1956 Western Backlash starring Donna Reed and Richard Widmark. You can find Backlash on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).
Melville Cooper, Basil Rathbone, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, and Errol Flynn
Can we talk about one of the best movies ever made for a minute? The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) wasn’t just directed by one of the best directors to ever wear the title – the wonderful Micahel Curtiz – it also features the type of stellar cast that most films would envy – a cast that includes Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Una O’Connor, Melville Cooper, and Ian Hunter.
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Errol Flynn and Eugene Pallette
This is one of those films that, somehow, seems to be even more enjoyable each time you watch it. I always notice a new expression on one of the star’s faces or a great line that had never quite registered, a piece of background furniture or something delicious that had escaped me the MANY times I’d visited the film before.
In fact, if I’m not mistaken… and in this case I am absolutely not mistaken… I’ll be revisiting this extraordinary film again this week.
You can buy the iconic The Adventures of Robin Hood on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.
Patric Knowles, Herbert Mundin, and Errol Flynn
Nat King Cole and Ruby Dee
Nat King Cole and Ruby Dee lead a phenomenal cast in the 1958 biography-musical St. Louis Blues. Directed by Allen Reisner, the film features a cast that includes Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, and Mahalia Jackson.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to have been in the company of that many iconic legends!
Nat King Cole brilliantly portrays W. C. Handy, the Father of the Blues. This was Cole’s only lead role in a Hollywood film and that’s a darn shame.
Nat King Cole and Ruby Dee, St. Louis Blues
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, and Dennis Hoey
Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, and Dennis Hoey star in the wonderful 1943 Sherlock Holmes film The Spider Woman. Director Roy William Neill is best-known for the Holmes films he directed for Universal.
Neill was actually quite an EXPERT on the subject of Sherlock Holmes and was notoriously meticulous over even the smallest details. As a huge fan of these films AND Sherlock, I love that this respect and knowledge always shines through – as in each and every scene.
The Spider Woman is one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes films – not only is the wonderful Gale Sondergaard is in the cast, but Dennis Hoey is also on board as Lestrade. He is so deliciously fun to watch in this role and I’m simply spellbound any time he’s on the screen.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (Amazon link)
You can find the wonderful film The Spider Woman on dvd (Amazon link) or watch it on Prime Video.
You can also buy the 14 Sherlock Films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in a wonderful collection: The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection on Amazon. It’s the one my husband and I have in our collection and watch frequently… over and over and over again!
Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, and Basil Rathbone – The Spider Woman (1943)
Gina Lollobrigida (1927-2023)
The extraordinarily beautiful and talented Gina Lollobrigida died today at the age of 95. It’s always heartbreaking when we lose one of the wonderful stars from old Hollywood, but the magical thing about these stars is they keep shining brightly.
Those of us who love them see to that.
The gorgeous photos here are from her 1959 drama co-starring Frank Sinatra, Never So few. The movie was directed by John Sturges and also starred Peter Lawford, Paul Henreid, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson.
My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!
Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!
Wait. What did I just admit to??
Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!
There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.
Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)
We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)
The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)
The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)
The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)
Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)
El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)
Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)
Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)
The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)
Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)
To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)
Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)
Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)
The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)
More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews
Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…
