Maureen O'Hara | Hollywood Yesterday

Juliet Mills, Maureen O’Hara, and James Stewart Behind the Scenes of The Rare Breed

May 6, 2023 By Joi

Juliet Mills, Maureen O’Hara, and James Stewart

The Rare Breed is one of those films that delightfully caught me off guard. Not because I enjoyed it (I fully expected to) but more by WHY I thoroughly enjoyed it. You see, Maureen O’Hara and James Stewart have been in my Top 4 favorite stars since I was a little girl. They’re two of the reasons I fell in love with old movies in the first place. So, naturally, when the film began, I expected to be caught up in their magic and that the movie would be a joy to watch.

Imagine my surprise when the TRUE magic in the movie came from Juliet Mills and Brian Keith! Not that my much loved Maureen O’Hara and James Stewart weren’t wonderful – I mean, come on, of course they were! However, make no mistake about it, Juliet Mills and Brian Keith are the reason this movie works – they’re lovable, entertaining and in all ways brilliant in this one.

Brian Keith is nearly unrecognizable in the role but he absolutely steals every scene he’s in… and some he ISN’T in!

You can find The Rare Breed on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, and James Stewart.. Yes, Brian Keith!

Maureen O’Hara and Paul Henreid Make The Spanish Main An Extraordinary Swashbuckler

April 28, 2023 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara and Paul Henreid, The Spanish Main

I absolutely love swashbucklers – they’re pure fun and great escapism from the real world when it tends to act up. I’ve always thought they should have their own category, rather than simply lumped with all fantasy movies or all action movies. I also think more should be made today!

Having said that, I’m certain they could never rival the truly great swashbucklers from old Hollywood. These classics were colorful, deliciously over the top, and in many ways like westerns on the high seas… simply with more pageantry and swords instead of rifles.

One of my absolute favorite swashbucklers is The Spanish Main (1945), Directed by Frank Borzage, the colorful movie stars Paul Henreid, Maureen O’Hara, Binnie Barnes, and Walter Slezak (always so entertaining!). The only knock (and honestly it isn’t even a knock) I have with this film is I truly wish Binnie Barnes had been in it more. She really was extraordinary.

When I first sat down to watch The Spanish Main, I was so excited to see Paul Henreid in the role of a swashbuckling hero. I had, at the time, only known (and love) him from Now, Voyager, Casablanca, and Between Two Worlds. I knew him as a wonderful leading man but, somehow, couldn’t envision him as a pirate! I was very anxious to see how he’d pull it off. I should have known that he would have done it with style and, what’s more, make it seem effortless in the process.

He truly was one of the most gifted actors ever and one of the few who never gave less than a perfect performance.

As for Maureen O’Hara, if you know me at all you know she’s one of my top favorite actresses – I’m basically as associated with her as Popeye is with spinach – so I fully knew what to expect from Maureen. After all, I’d seen all of her other swashbucklers and knew full well she was the best thing to every happen to the genre (in my opinion anyway).

You can find The Spanish Main on dvd (Amazon link) or watch Paul Henreid and Maureen O’Hara work their magic on Prime Video!

Maureen O’Hara and Paul Henreid, The Spanish Main

Maureen O’Hara and Joel McCrea, Buffalo Bill (1944)

February 2, 2023 By Joi

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

Maureen O’Hara, Paul Hubschmid, and Vincent Price in Bagdad (1949)

January 2, 2023 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara and Paul Hubschmid

I have a very, very special place in my hearts for Swashbuckling movies. Absolutely love them! I tend to think of them as Westerns on the Sea and enjoy watching them almost as much as I do my beloved Westerns. Swashbucklers are fun, colorful, don’t take themselves (or life) too seriously, are never boring, and are more than happy to sweep you off to a little escapism.

What more could you ask for from a movie?! I mean, maybe a foot massage and mug of hot tea, but aside from that.

Bagdad (1949, directed by Charles Lamont) is a particularly good Swashbuckler- very colorful and lots of fun. The cast includes the stunningly beautiful and talented Maureen O’Hara, Paul Hubschmid, Vincent Price, and John Sutton.

Maureen O’Hara and Vincent Price, Bagdad

Publicity Stills from Miracle on 34th Street (One of the Best Movies Ever Made)

December 12, 2022 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn, and Natalie Wood

Ironically, two of the films that made me fall so deeply in love with old movies are both Christmas movies (Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life). Ironically, three of the stars involved – Maureen O’Hara, James Stewart, and Lionel Barrymore – are three of my top 10 favorite stars of all time. It’s as though they befriended me as a child and have been with me all these… let’s not count how many!… years.

Both movies are as magical and beautiful to me now as they were then.

My only regret is that, somehow, Miracle on 34th Street doesn’t get the same attention It’s a Wonderful Life does and, frankly, I have no idea why. It’s every bit as wonderful – in every possible way.

If you’ve never seen this beautiful “feel GREAT” movie, I hope you’ll find it this Christmas season and lose yourself in the magic. If you have seen it… well, who couldn’t just a little more Christmas magic??

I watch it every year and have since I was a little girl. In fact, I believe I’ll pour a big mug of hot chocolate and go watch it now!

You can find the iconic 1947 Miracle on 34th Street (Amazon link) on dvd on Amazon or watch the iconic movie on Prime Video.

It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street Coffee Mugs (Plus a Bonus One that Sums it ALL UP!)

December 10, 2022 By Joi

As quite possibly the world’s biggest It’s a Wonderful Life fan, I have zero idea how I don’t already have this gorgeous It’s a Wonderful Life Coffee Mug (Amazon link) in my coffee mug collection.

What a travesty of justice and sensibility!

I am, however, on the cusp of righting this wrong even as we speak.

Right after I saw the great It’s a Wonderful Life mug, I spied another one that makes me feel so very, very, VERY seen. The I Just Want to Drink Coffee and Watch Christmas Movies mug (Amazon link) pictured below.

I mean, does this one sum it all up or what?!

But, wait… I’m not through (neither is my Amazon shopping cart, unfortunately), when you click through and visit the It’s a Wonderful Life mug’s page (link above), you’ll also find they have another CLASSIC and ICONIC Christmas movie (and another of my personal favorites), Miracle on 34th Street. I don’t have a picture to share with you, but it features the movie poster pictured below. It’s gorgeous and I have every intention of drinking from it and the It’s a Wonderful Life mugs all year long for years to come!

Miracle on 34th Street Movie Poster

An Accidental Pirate by Brooks Almy (Exciting Novel Due in Spring 2023!)

November 26, 2022 By Joi

An Accidental Pirate by Brooks Almy

While the focus of Hollywood Yesterday is old Hollywood and Classic TV, when an especially exciting book or film comes along, I will absolutely tell you about it. In the case of this particular novel, An Accidental Pirate, I want to bring it to your attention for three reasons…

As Maureen O’Hara’s biggest fan on the planet, I’m drawn to the title and main heroine – when you read about her, below, I’m certain that you’ll agree with me… she sounds JUST like a colorful, spirited character Maureen would have deliciously brought to life!
I am a book fanatic and always jump at the opportunity to tell others about new books
The author, Brooks Almy, is an actress and, let’s face it… I am completely drawn to Hollywood stars past and present!

You may know Brooks Almy from The Closer, George Lopez, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, Hawaii Five-O, Ally McBeal … she has done a LOT of work in television.

Book Description:

An Accidental Pirate is a rollicking female empowerment story with a fiery heroine, disguises and secrets, sea battles, pirates, both elegant and rowdy, hurricanes, and true love. This Young Adult novel is a swashbuckling tale complete with well-developed main characters including a heroine you won’t forget and will surely admire. Brooks’ compelling storytelling, descriptive settings, and historical detailing is all woven within a true adventurous love story.

A writer and storyteller through film and stage all her life, Brooks’ debut novel all started when she had a chance encounter with a brilliant writing teacher named Claudette Sutherland who re-ignited her love of writing with her workshops and week-long intensives in Ireland and Joshua Tree. Brooks subsequently wrote, but did not publish two children’s books, a horror story and a cookbook for people who hate to cook called Cooking: when you are on a budget, don’t know how and don’t want to learn.

But then one night she had a dream about a historical book she had encountered in a museum bookshop while she was on tour in San Francisco 30 years before. It was about all the famous women pirates, but one short paragraph stayed in her mind. A girl named ‘Fanny Campbell’ disguised herself as a man and went to sea to find her lost husband. This was the story Brooks began to write in Claudette’s workshop. About a third of the way there, life intervened. She re-encountered her Italian soulmate after 30 years apart, got married, recovered from cancer, went through cancer with her husband, traveled extensively for work, and began a new life in Italy. When Covid hit, ‘Fanny’ came roaring back into Brooks’ life. She now had the time and ‘Fanny’ demanded to be written, so Brooks put her on the page for her adventure to be shared.

The book will be out in spring of next year. You can follow its progress by visiting Brooks Almy’s website. I will return to this post after the release to add the Amazon link.

For anyone who loves great fiction, this one sounds especially exciting!

Errol Flynn and Maureen O’Hara (Against All Flags, 1951) are pictured below to further put you in the swashbuckling mood….

Errol Flynn and Maureen O’Hara Against All Flags

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Maureen O’Hara… One of My Favorite Pictures of Her

August 17, 2022 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara

One of my first “favorites” is still one of my top “favorites” today and today is the day we celebrate her birth. Maureen O’Hara was born in Ireland on August 17, 1920. The first two Maureen O’Hara films I ever saw were (in order) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and The Parent Trap (1965). These films, along with It’s a Wonderful Life and The Adventures of Robin Hood made me fall in love with old movies and they vaulted Maureen O’Hara to the top of my favorite actress list – right by Lucille Ball’s side.

I’ve always LOVED Lucy.

While I personally love and recommend seeing all of Maureen O’Hara’s filmography, the following movies are my personal top 12:

The Quiet Man (1952)
Spencer’s Mountain
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Rio Grande (1950)
The Parent Trap (1965)
The Black Swan (1942)
The Spanish Main (1945)
McLintock! (1963)
At Sword’s Point (1952)
Against All Flags (1952)
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1963)
Big Jake (1971)

Happy Heavenly birthday to a beautiful and extraordinary actress – one who was an even more extraordinary person! ~ Joi (“Joy“)

Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara, How Green Was My Valley

August 4, 2022 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara and Walter Pidgeon

Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and Roddy McDowall lead an excellent cast in the 1941 epic, How Green Was My Valley (directed by John Ford).

This was the first movie Maureen O’Hara made with legendary John Ford. They’d go on to make Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952), The Long Gray Line (1955), and The Wings of Eagles (1957). The Long Gray Line and How Green Was My Valley were their only two films that didn’t also star the larger than life John Wayne!

You can find How Green Was My Valley on dvd and blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the VERY highly rated drama on Prime Video.

Maureen O’Hara, Roddy McDowall, and Anna Lee

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, The Quiet Man (A PERFECT Movie from 1952)

July 11, 2022 By Joi

John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man (one of my absolute favorite movies… it’s more of an obsession than anything really!) was the second (of five) films starring Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne. It was directed by the legendary John Ford, who happened to direct each of their first three films together: Rio Grande (‘50), The Quiet Man (‘52), and The Wings of Eagles (‘57).

The 1952 masterpiece… a perfect movie in every way had a cast that had to find a way to keep from being overshadowed by the gorgeousness that was and is Ireland… one of the most beautiful scene-stealers I can think of. The cast includes John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, and Maureen O’Hara’s brothers Charles B. Fitzsimons and James O’Hara.

You can find The Quiet Man (Collector’s DVD on Amazon) on dvd or watch on Prime Video.

John Wayne, The Quiet Man