Golden Age of Hollywood
Carole Lombard, Twentieth Century (1934)
After filming of Twentieth Century (Amazon dvd link) ended, John Barrymore gave Carole Lombard an autographed photo he’d autographed with a tribute she must’ve treasured: “To the finest actress I have worked with, bar none.”
What an absolutely beautiful compliment – and a testament to the professionalism and talent of Carole Lombard.
Mary Astor
“There are five stages in the life of an actor: Who’s Mary Astor? Get me Mary Astor. Get me a Mary Astor Type. Get me a young Mary Astor. Who’s Mary Astor?” ~ Mary Astor
With all due respect to this outstanding actress, it’s impossible to imagine anyone EVER asking, “Who’s Mary Astor?”
Impossible!
This lovely and powerfully talented actress has a filmography that includes The Maltese Falcon, Meet Me in St. Louis, Little Women, and Across the Pacific.
If you aren’t familiar with this wonderful actress, I hope you’ll make a point to see more of her films as soon as possible. She will leave quite an impression on you.
This, I promise.
Bob Hope: My Life in Jokes
One of my favorite entertainers of all time is synonymous with the word, itself: Bob Hope. The man was simply brilliant in everything he did – every word, every joke, every film… brilliant.
Not only was Bob Hope a wonderful actor and entertainer, like some of my other favorites, he was also all class – with some to spare. James Stewart, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Hattie McDaniel, Maureen O’Hara, Olivia de Havilland… some stars were such high quality people that it makes being a fan as easy as an autumn breeze.
The book above, Bob Hope: My Life in Jokes by Bob Hope with Linda Hope is one of my all-time favorite books in my collection. It’s like sitting down in your favorite chair with a hot cup of tea (or tall glass of iced raspberry tea, depending on the season) and having Bob Hope, himself, stand in the middle of your room making you laugh until your sides ache.
“I was destined to be an actor. The day I was born, I stood up and took a bow. Really. When the doctor slapped me, I thought it was applause “
The stories, jokes, and vintage Bob Hope self-deprecating humor are such a joy, I’m really at a loss for words. If you, or anyone in your life loves to laugh, this book is a must have…. if you love to laugh and are a fan of the wonderful Bob Hope, Bob Hope: My Life in Jokes is an absolute MUST HAVE.
To comedians, ‘material’–their jokes–has always been precious, worthy of protecting and preserving. On stage, a good vaudeville routine could last years as it was performed on tour across the country. On radio, a year’s vaudeville material might be fodder for one week’s broadcast. Bob Hope used new material not only for his weekly radio series, but also for the several live charity appearances he made each week.
Organized by the stages of his life, accompanied by black-and-white photographs, this book gives readers a chance to enjoy the very best of Hope’s jokes, from his early years in vaudeville, his top-rated radio show in the ’30s and ’40s, his legendary television appearances, and much more.
Bob Hope’s wonderful, one-of-a-kind personality comes shining through on every page of this delightful and fun book.
“I knew the troops would be glad to see me. I said, ‘Look at me, fellas, these are the kind of clothes you’ll be wearing when you get home!’ Fifty guys re-enlisted.”
I’ll be writing more about Georgia Hale’s Biography/Autobiography, “Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups” in future posts. I cherish this particular book a great deal. Not only are Georgia Hale and Charlie Chaplin two of my personal favorites, it’s very difficult to get my hands on Georgia Hale information, photographs, or collectibles. Her career (while dazzling) was very, very brief and there simply isn’t a lot out there.
Needless to say, this book is a very prized possession. It’s a wonder I don’t keep it under lock and key!
For those who may not know, Georgia Hale loved Charlie Chaplin a great deal. She spent most of her adult life loving him. They never married and the extent of his affections for Georgia can only be guessed at. He seemed to have a great deal of affection for her, on one hand, but on the other hand? Wedding rings… to other women.
As I often say on this Old Hollywood blog, I am not here to judge, nor would I ever attempt to. There had to be something strong and very real in their relationship or Georgia simply wouldn’t have loved him as strongly as she did. This much I’m certain of.
You know, unlike Georgia, a lot is written about Charlie Chaplin. Sadly, it isn’t all favorable. However, within one quote in her book, Georgia has (in my opinion) tied all the pieces of his complex and beguiling personality together…. as, really, only she could.
I can’t possibly even BEGIN to tell you how much I love this quote about Charlie Chaplin by Georgia Hale: “If Charles Chaplin carried within him many contradictions, was tender-hearted, cruel, sensitive, child-like, a poseur, all of these qualities were part of his creative spirit.”
When I first read this quote, it struck me that this type of approach could be taken with many of our favorite Old Hollywood actors and actresses. So many of these wonderful stars behaved and even thought along some pretty original and inexplicable lines. Yet… the qualities we can’t often get our heads around are, as Georgia so eloquently said, part of their creative spirit.
(In 2004, referring to King Kong) “He (Merian C. Cooper) called me into his office and showed me sketches of jungle scenes and told me, ‘You’re going to have the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood.’ Naturally, I thought Clark Gable. But then he showed me this sketch of a giant ape up the side of the Empire State Building, and he said, ‘There’s your leading man.'”
“Right after The Wedding March (1928), everything happened at once. Sound was coming in, and color was being used for the first time. It was very exciting to be a part of it.”
(About The Wedding March) “That movie meant a lot to me; my heart was right up in my throat.”
(About King Kong) “When my youngest daughter first saw the film, she said, ‘Kong wasn’t trying to hurt you, he was just trying to protect you,’ which was right.”
(About The Wedding March) “I still love that film, Erich von Stroheim was a wonderful human being, and he took a chance on me. I was only 19 when I did the screen test, but he saw something in me. After 75 years, it’s still one of the happiest experiences of my life. And it was a nice part, wasn’t it?”
“I was known as the queen of the Bs. If only I’d been a little more selective.”
“King Kong is my friend. He’s been my public relations man for years. It was an extraordinarily good role, but the richness of the role that I had in The Wedding March appealed to me more and that’s very understandable, I think, since there weren’t many nuances in the King Kong role. That was a fantasy, and there was a broadness to it that seemed unreal.”
The 16″ x 12″ sign pictures one of my favorite pictures of James Dean.
When I read this quote again today (for probably the millionth time), it occurred to me how eerily similar he and Marilyn Monroe were and are. Both are huge legends – so huge, in fact, that huge doesn’t even seem to cover it. I searched my mental reserves for a larger, more appropriate adjective but none would serve any better than huge, so I did the next best thing.
I made it bold. STILL not enough for these two!
They’re household names and faces, even among people who have never seen a single scene from one of their movies.
Another thing they, obviously, have in common is the tragic ending to each legend’s life. Both died needlessly and far too soon. James Dean was only 24 when the car wreck took his life. 24! It boggles the mind to think of the things this actor would have gone on to accomplish. He was unspeakably talented and, let’s face it, had more spark on screen than most actors.
Whatever “it” is, both he and Marilyn were dripping in it.
The final thing they had in common is their insight and wisdom. It comes through in their quotes. Each was far brighter than probably even they realized and spending time with them leaves me feeling so cheated. What movies, pictures, and quotes could these huge personalities have gone on to bless us with.
The world is a brighter and better place because James Dean and Marilyn Monroe once walked among us.
Take a closer look at the James Dean Tin Sign pictured here.
“With enthusiasm anything is possible.” ~ Arlene Dahl
As I often say, I have been joyfully obsessed with Old (or Classic) Hollywood since I was a little girl. I loved watching the movies, reading about the stars, and just diving head-first into their world. One of my favorite stars, from early on, was Arlene Dahl.
Before I knew what great acting, screen presence, or actor chemistry was, I simply loved her because (to me) she seemed like a lovely princess.
When I watch her films today I can certainly see where I got the impression that she was a real-life princess. She certainly looked like one – but there was more, she even moved and spoke like one.
No wonder I was convinced I was watching a princess whenever she was on the screen!
Beautiful Betty Grable is one of my favorite stars – one that, the more I read about her, the more things I find to like about her. I love her personality and sense of humor. She seems to have been an especially likable, down-to-earth star in spite of her beauty and success.
She somehow remained very humble and didn’t seem to give herself nearly enough credit for her acting abilities. Like Marilyn Monroe and a few other stars, I just don’t think she realized how talented she actually was.
Below are some of my favorite Betty Grable quotes:
“The woman’s vision is deep-reaching, the man’s far-reaching. With the man the world is his heart, with the woman the heart is her world.”
“The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.”
“You’re better off betting on a horse than betting on a man. A horse may not be able to hold you tight, but he doesn’t wanna wander from the stable at night.”
(About Marilyn Monroe) “It may sound peculiar to say so, because she is no longer with us, but we were very close. Once when we were doing that picture How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) together, I got a call on the set: my younger daughter had had a fall. I ran home and the one person to call was Marilyn. She did an awful lot to boost things up for movies when everything was at a low state; there’ll never be anyone like her for looks, for attitude, for all of it.”
“There are two reasons why I am successful in show business and I am standing on both of them.”
(When asked if her status as new mother threatened her image) “I never thought of it. If they don’t like it, the devil with ’em. Fact is, I’ve more fan mail since, especially from servicemen telling me about their wives and babies.”
“It’s loud, it’s cheap, it’s gaudy. It’s like everything I’ve ever done – I LOVE IT!”
“I’m strictly an enlisted man’s girl.”
(About Desi Arnaz) “She was everything to him. It was always Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. She was his life.”
“My legs made me.”
“I’m a song-and-dance girl. I can act enough to get by. But that’s the limit of my talents.”
Elizabeth Taylor
“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.”
“Big girls need big diamonds.”
Richard came on the set and sort of sidled over to me and said: “Has anybody ever told you that you’re a very pretty girl?” ‘I thought, Oy gevalt, the great lover, the great wit, the great Welsh intellectual, and he comes out with a corny line like that! But then I noticed his hands were shaking as if he had Saturday night palsy. He had the worst hangover I’d ever seen. And he was obviously terrified of me. I just took pity on him. I realized he really was human. That was the beginning of our affair.
“I really don’t remember much about Cleopatra. There were a lot of other things going on.”
(After she divorced Richard Burton for the second time) “I love Richard Burton with every fiber of my soul, but we can’t be together. We’re too mutually self-destructive.”
“I’ve always admitted that I’m ruled by my passions.”
“People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz.”
“I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?”
“I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too – for being married so many times.”
“I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.”
(About Michael Jackson) “He is part of my heart. We would do anything for each other.”
(About Marilyn Monroe) “She seemed to have a kind of unconscious glow about her physical self that was innocent, like a child. When she posed nude, it was ‘Gee, I am kind of, you know, sort of dishy,’ like she enjoyed it without being egotistical.”
“Acting is, to me now, artificial. Seeing people suffer is real. It couldn’t be more real. Some people don’t like to look at it in the face because it’s painful. But if nobody does, then nothing gets done.” (2005)
“I don’t entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I’m me. God knows, I’m me.”
“I don’t like my voice. I don’t like the way I look. I don’t like the way I move. I don’t like the way I act. I mean, period. So, you know, I don’t like myself.”
“I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive.”
“Everything makes me nervous except making films.”
“There’s still so much more to do. I can’t sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around.” (2005)
“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage.”
“If someone’s dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I’m certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.”
“You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal.”
“Put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.”
“I hate being called Liz, because it can sound like such a hiss.”
(About Michael Jackson) “What is a genius? What is a living legend? What is a mega star? Michael Jackson – that’s all. And when you think you know him, he gives you more . . . I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock and Soul.”
(on John Wayne) His image had as much impact in the world as many of our presidents have had, but Duke was a great actor, a great humanitarian, but always himself. To be a friend was a lifetime thing.”
(Tweet 7/23/2010) “Hold your horses world. I’ve been hearing all kinds of rumours about someone being cast to play me in a film about Richard and myself. No one is going to play Elizabeth Taylor, but Elizabeth Taylor herself.”
“I believe in mind over matter and doing anything you set your mind on. I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously.”
“Success is a great deodorant.”
“My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”
“Some of my best leading men have been dogs and horses.”
In 2009, during a hospital stay, Elizabeth Taylor tweeted to Kathy Ireland: “Thanks Darling for the beautiful flowers and all the prayers. Now can you just get my puppy past security?”
“Never let yourself think beyond your means…mental, emotional or any otherwise.”
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.
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
I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn, A Personal Biography
Steps in Time (Fred Astaire)
Enchantment (Audrey Hepburn)
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…
Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!
