Golden Age of Hollywood
Lionel Barrymore, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart
One of my favorite Bogie and Bacall movies is also one of my favorite movies, period – Key Largo (1948). Directed by John Huston, the EXCELLENT movie also stars Lionel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, and Claire Trevor.
Excellent cast, excellent director, excellent movie.
You can find all of the excellence on dvd (Amazon link) or watch Key Largo on Prime Video.
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
Howard Hawks With Crew and Cast Members, Rio Bravo
One of my absolute favorite directors, Howard Hawks, was BOTD (born on this day) in 1896 in Goshen, Indiana. This talented director was behind some of my personal favorite movies…
As I see more of his movies, I have NO doubt that other favorites will join the list.
Not only do we owe him a debt of gratitude for his wonderful films, he is responsible for discovering Lauren Bacall. That, alone, earns him my undying devotion!
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, To Have and Have Not
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
Not only was Key Largo one of the best movies ever made, it had some of my all-time favorite performances. Every single cast member was extraordinary but I am always especially blown away by Bogie, Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor.
Just an outstanding movie with one outstanding performance after another. John Huston was an excellent director and this was one of his best films.
You can find all of the excellence on dvd (Amazon link) or watch Key Largo on Prime Video.
Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall
Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall starred in the wonderful 1953 comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (directed by Jean Negulesco). It wasn’t necessarily the best movie ever made, but it was a great one that showcased three of Hollywood’s most glamorous and beloved stars.
You could even make a case (which I do!) that it was a blissful celebration of these three remarkable actresses. Each different, each unique, and each iconic. I like to think of this film as a tribute to each star, which is why it grinds my gears to see only one of the actresses on dvd covers (usually Marilyn).
Why not spotlight all three, right?!
The fun and colorful movie also stars William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Fred Clark, and Cameron Mitchell.
You can find How to Marry a Millionaire (Amazon link) on dvd for your collection or watch the movie on Prime Video.
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. Little did anyone know the legendary actress Betty Joan would one day become!
While I love all of Lauren Bacall’s movies (she has a very rich filmography… as rich and distinctive as her voice), my favorites are Key Largo, Dark Passage, The Big Sleep, How to Marry a Millionaire, and To Have and Have Not.
When Humphrey Bogart was on the screen, there was magic. When Lauren Bacall was on the screen, there was magic. When they were on the screen together…. the word hasn’t been invented for the magic they generated together.
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Key Largo
Hollywood in Kodachrome
I believe I’ve mentioned on the Old Hollywood blog (as well as on my Old Hollywood Twitter page) just how cruel July treated me. Obviously, I’m in the same quarantine boat with everyone else as this global pandemic tragically carries on. However, July gave me a few more blows. My MUCH loved 17 year old cat died in my arms (gut-wrenching to say the least), and then the next day (while cooking and crying… not a good mix), I badly burned my arm and chest with hamburger grease.
Talk about pain! The emotional and physical pain sort of battled it out to see which one would bring me down first. Naturally, this lasted for weeks… long, long weeks.
My daughter Brittany bought me a book (the gorgeous one you see here, Hollywood in Kodachrome by David Wills) to lift my spirits. The fact that she DID it lifted them sky high (I swear, I have the sweetest family – I thank God for them every single day). Each time I look at the book – which sits out, prominently, because it’s such a work of art, I think about Brittany and smile.
(Review Continued Below….)
Judy Garland and Lena Horne
I’ve been anxious to tell y’all about Hollywood in Kodachrome (link to the book on Amazon) because it’s one I know you’ll love as much as I do. I look through it so often and, each time, notice something about a photograph or star I hadn’t noticed before.
I love to look at the photographs and dissect the colors used, the makeup (when applicable… literally), clothes, props, lighting, etc. Like acting, SO much goes into photography… and yet, when it’s done extraordinarily well, you don’t see the effort… you just see the magic.
This book is one work of magic after the other after the other after the other.
Book Description from Amazon:
Hollywood in Kodachrome is a stunning portfolio of the stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, captured in rich, deeply saturated color photographs reproduced from original Kodachrome negatives and curated by collector David Wills and designer Stephen Schmidt, the creative team behind Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis and Audrey: The 60s.
From Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, and Rita Hayworth to Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, and Gregory Peck—and many more—the silver screen’s elite are all here, in the full blush of youth, captured as if they were taken yesterday. But the true star is the medium itself: late-1940s sheet Kodachrome, a film stock that remains legendary for its rich tonal range, precise color, and detail.
Including a foreword by Golden Age star Rhonda Fleming, and featuring more than 200 photos from classic films and publicity shoots, Hollywood in Kodachrome is a magnificent tribute to Hollywood’s most beloved icons, captured at their glamorous best.
There are 329 pages in this extraordinary book – savoring the photos reminds me of walking through my kind of art gallery… one with only photos of Old Hollywood stars!
Some of the stars include:
Many of the publicity shots are never-before-seen… something I can attest to and vouch for. I’ve spent my life up to my chin in Old Hollywood photographs and films and there are countless photos in this gorgeous book I’ve never seen before.
I don’t want to post many of the inside photographs, here, for several reasons:
(Review Continued Below…)
Hollywood in Kodachrome
I also love the “outtakes” (previously unpublished) of stars in famous ad campaigns (Max Factor, Lipton, Lucky Strike, Lux, Royal Crown Cola…).
I took the picture above to try and give you an idea just how big this magnificent book is – by using one of my coffee mugs and a tumbler as comparison… and yet I’m still not convinced it captures just how big and beautiful this book is!
This is simply a breathtakingly beautiful collection of photographs of the greatest stars the world has ever known. It’s a celebration of their lives, their spark, and their magic.
You can find Hollywood in Kodachrome (link to the book on Amazon) on Amazon. When you click through the link, you’ll notice it is available “used” as well as “new.”
I couldn’t possibly recommend this showcase any more than I do. It not only lifted my spirits when they needed them most, it provides joy on a regular basis.
And Lauren looks so gorgeous sitting out to greet me each time I walk into the room!
Hollywood in Kodachrome (link to the stunning book on Amazon)
Hollywood in Kodachrome by David Wills
As I said in a previous post, I’ve had a really, really rotten July. I just did my makeup, so I won’t get into the details again.. runny mascara isn’t much of a look on anyone not named Ava Gardner.
To lift my spirits, one of my daughters (Brittany) bought me the book you see here, Hollywood in Kodachrome. Knowing my GREAT love for Old Hollywood, she knew I’d lose myself in its pages at a time when losing myself would be just what I needed.
This book is absolutely spectacular – if you love old Hollywood and/or photography, this is the next book you’ll want to add to your collection. Each time I sit, looking through the gorgeous photos, I think how it feels this book was made just for me… just for now.
However, that’s dangerously short-changing the book. Hollywood in Kodachrome is an ideal book for anyone – whether their spirits need to be lifted or their spirits are soaring just fine, thank you very much.
Photographers, understandably, are very particular about where, when, and how their photos are shared with others, so I don’t want to include any here in the post. When you click through one of the links in this post, you can see some of the photos in a preview on Amazon. Even though they appear there, I’m just not comfortable publishing them, here.
I will tell you a few names you can expect to see gorgeous photos of:
Many of these photos are never-before-seen!
Kodachrome film saturated the 1940s with an unprecedented explosion of color. Movie audiences, accustomed to seeing photographs of their favorite stars on magazine covers, billboards, and cinema marquees in monochrome or black-and-white, were suddenly enthralled as their idols came to life in vibrant hues as flesh-and-blood human beings. For the first time, the world was treated to the glory of Rita Hayworth’s auburn hair, Gary Cooper’s blue eyes, Betty Grable’s rosy cheeks, and the multicolored fruit bouquets of Carmen Miranda’s hats.
Curator and photographic preservationist David Wills has amassed one of the world’s largest private collections of original Kodachromes and color photographs from the 1940s. Now, in Hollywood in Kodachrome, he has gathered spectacular, museum-quality work from many of the great photographers of Hollywood’s golden era—George Hurrell, Clarence Sinclair Bull, John Engstead, Paul Hesse, Ernest Bachrach, Bernard of Hollywood, Robert Coburn, Ray Jones, Bud Fraker, Frank Powolny, Eugene Robert Richee, and many others—to create this stunning portfolio of images that pays homage to the richest, clearest, most brilliant, and archivally dependable film stock in history.
Among the highlights:
Pairing more than 250 first-generation photographs with vintage magazine covers, advertisements, movie posters, quotes from photographers, and a personal foreword by Hollywood’s “Queen of Technicolor,” Rhonda Fleming, Hollywood in Kodachrome is an unforgettable showcase of a time when movies were truly glamorous and color photography reigned supreme at its most luscious.
Find this extraordinary book on Amazon (Hollywood in Kodachrome) or in a bookstore. You’re going to love it each time you look through it. Talk about a fascinating coffee table book – only problem is, you’ll lose your guest’s attention entirely as they look through this very, very large 352 page book!
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Key Largo (1948)
It would be pretty hard to take a cast that includes Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, and Claire Trevor and mess it up. Having said that, director John Huston made a movie even better than the cast, itself, could guarantee. It’s everything you want from a movie – front to back, edge of your seat and eyes on the screen entertainment.
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, Key Largo
Humphrey Bogart has always been one of my absolute favorite actors, so I not watch everything he was ever in dozens of times, I read everything I can get my hands on about him. A couple of long-told Hollywood legends involve the times (multiple times) that he wanted Lauren as his co-star instead of the co-stars he was given. Apparently, a couple of times it upset him to the point of not fully accepting his leading lady.
My take on this has always been the same…. of course he wanted Lauren alongside him in his films! Not only was she a very talented actress and a very beautiful one, at that, but he also loved her very much. If I were an actress and my husband an actor, I’d want him to be the exact same way.
That’s just my take on it. Then again, like I said, I’m a huge fan… so he can do very little wrong as far as I’m concerned!
You can find Key Largo (link to the Signature Collection dvd on Amazon) on Amazon or watch it on Amazon Prime.
Lauren Bacall
The beautiful Lauren Bacall always makes a striking picture of the day – especially when it happens to be my personal favorite picture of her. I love this photo to distraction.
Then again, let’s be honest… she couldn’t make a bad photo. Did her facial features define “teamwork” or what?!?
Today is Betty Joan Perske’s birthday. Of course, you and I know her better as the legendary Lauren Bacall – one of the most talented and beautiful actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Betty Joan was born on September 16, 1924 in New York City – the only child of European Jewish immigrant parents. Her parents divorced when she was five and she never developed a close relationship with her father. Fortunately she had a close relationship with her mom. In fact, she would later take the surname of her mother, but add an l – taking Bacal to Bacall.
Betty initially wanted to be a dancer, but luckily for those of us who LOVE classic movies, her passion switched to acting. Her big break came when the wife of director Howard Hawks saw her photo on a ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ magazine cover. She convinced her husband to give the strikingly beautiful nineteen year old a screen test. Because of a wife’s keen eye, Betty Joan was given a seven-year contract with Warners Bros. She was also given a new first name and the rest is Hollywood history. Lauren Bacall had arrived on the scene.
In 1944, the beautiful 19-year old was cast as Marie “Slim” Browning in To Have and Have Not – a romantic drama based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. Her co-star? The one and only Humphrey Bogart!
“You do Know how to whistle“. Slim, To Have and Have Not
The movie was a success and movie-goers fell head over heels in love with Lauren Bacall. They weren’t the only ones! Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall married in 1945 and were together until her beloved husband died in 1957.
The following are a few of Hollywood Yesterday’s favorite Lauren Bacall Quotes.
“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.”
“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.”
“I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin practically to my chest and look up at Bogie. That was the beginning of The Look.’
“I am not a has-been. I am a will be.”
“Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.”
“I wish Frank Sinatra would just shut up and sing.”
“If there was one thing I had never been, it was mysterious, and if there was one thing I had never done, it was not talk.”
“A woman isn’t complete without a man. But where do you find a man… a real man… these days?”
“You can’t start worrying about what’s going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what’s happening now.”
“(Katharine Hepburn) was much stronger, much more opinionated than I am or ever was, and it was considered attractive on her. But not on me. I don’t know. Maybe her Bryn Mawr accent was more appealing than mine.”
“I figure if I have my health, can pay the rent and I have my friends, I call it content.”
“In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of publicity.”
“A man’s illness is his private territory and, no matter how much he loves you and how close you are, you stay an outsider. You are healthy.”
“You can’t always be a leading lady.”
“I fought for that part (Marilla, Designing Woman). I wanted it badly. I took a lower salary, I did everything. Grace Kelly said, ‘I’ll never forgive you for playing that part. It was written for me.’ She got the prince, I got the part.”
“I don’t live in the past, although your past is so much a part of what you are that you can’t ignore it. But I don’t look at scrapbooks. I could show you some, but I’d have to climb ladders, and I can’t climb.”
The beauty above is Silent Film star Mildred Davis. She was a frequent co-star (and longtime wife) of legendary actor Harold Lloyd. She’s one of my favorite silent film actresses and one I can’t understand not being a household name!
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…
