Perfect Movies | Hollywood Yesterday

Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marion, The Adventures of Robin Hood (Beautifully ICONIC!)

July 26, 2023 By Joi

Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Robin Hood

One of my favorite actresses (since I began watching old movies) has always been the delightful, talented, and beautiful Olivia de Havilland. In fact, one of her most iconic films – The Adventures of Robin Hood – is one of the reasons I fell in love with classic movies in the first place.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) was directed by the wonderful Micahel Curtiz. The extraordinary cast includes Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Una O’Connor, Melville Cooper, and Ian Hunter.

How’s that for a stunningly talented cast?!?!

If you haven’t seen this perfect movie in a hot minute, I absolutely recommend revisiting it soon – it, somehow, gets better with each viewing.

You can buy the iconic The Adventures of Robin Hood on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

The Awful Truth: Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Mary Forbes, and Ralph Bellamy

May 4, 2023 By Joi

Mary Forbes, Irene Dunne, and Cary Grant

The Awful Truth is, in my opinion, a perfect comedy. Starring two of old Hollywood’s greatest stars, Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, it also boasts a wonderful director (Leo McCary) and very strong cast to support them.

The stellar cast includes Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Mary Forbes, Ralph Bellamy, Alexander D’Arcy, Esther Dale, and Joyce Compton.

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Ralph Bellamy, Cary Grant, and Irene Dunne

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play a married couple who have filed for divorce. However, seems the love isn’t so dead after all as they begin to undermine one another’s chances of finding romance. It’s just a lot of fun and I cannot imagine anyone in the lead roles besides these two comedic geniuses.

You can find The Awful Truth on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the fun and mayhem on Prime Video.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, The Awful Truth

Josephine Hull and James Stewart in the Wonderfully FUN Harvey (1950)

April 30, 2023 By Joi

Josephine Hull and James Stewart, Harvey

Josephine Hull and James Stewart were each nominated for an Emmy for their wonderful performances in Harvey (’50). Unfortunately Stewart lost to Jose Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac), but Hull deservedly won Best Actress, Supporting Role.

When she won, she even thanked Harvey!

Josephine Hull was always such a complete JOY to watch – Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, or The Lady from Texas. Problem is, that’s (literally) nearly all the films she made. She had a long, wonderful career on Broadway before making her first film and I know I’m not the only one who realizes that Broadway’s gain was Hollywood’s loss. The lady was MAGIC and I downright kind of grieve for all the movies she could have made had Hollywood been paying attention.

You can find Harvey on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the very entertaining film on Prime Video.

Harvey Lobby Card

Rio Bravo (1959): One of the Best Westerns Ever Made….

April 17, 2023 By Joi

On the Set of Rio Bravo

Pictured Above: John Russell, John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson, and Dean Martin on the set of Rio Bravo (1959)

Rio Bravo (1959, directed by Howard Hawks) airs on TCM tonight. We have at least one copy of the film on dvd and we’ve seen it twice a year (sometimes more than that) every year for as long as I can remember… but you’d better believe the dvr is set nonetheless!

My love for this Western is legendary. Westerns and Comedies are my favorite film genres and this perfect movie more or less combines the two – a great Western with a great deal of humor.

The director, Howard Hawks is one of my favorite directors of all time and was the PERFECT man for the job with Rio Bravo.

The extraordinary cast includes John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ricky Nelson, John Russell, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Claude Akins. After making The Searchers (1956), John Wayne took a brief hiatus from Westerns – Rio Bravo marked his triumphant return to the genre.

Sigh. I’m feeling dizzy from excitement just thinking about this movie.

You can find Rio Bravo on dvd (Amazon link), watch it on Prime Video, and/or catch it tonight on TCM!

City for Conquest: Absolute Movie Magic Packed with Outstanding Performances

April 16, 2023 By Joi

Anthony Quinn, Ann Sheridan, and James Cagney in City for Conquest

City for Conquest (1940) doesn’t just have one of my favorite Ann Sheridan performances… it has one of my favorite James Cagney performances AND one of my favorite Anthony Quinn performances. The film is honestly breathtaking in its magic. BRILLIANTLY directed by Anatole Litvak, the cast also includes Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, Elia Kazan, Joyce Compton (love her to the moon and back), Donald Crisp, and Frank McHugh.

It’s safe to say that the film is just loaded with talent!

If you’re a James Cagney fan and have yet to see this film, you now know the next film you desperately need to see.

If you think you aren’t a James Cagney fan, you now know the next film you desperately need to see.

You can find the excellent City for Conquest (Amazon link) on dvd or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden: Promotional Pictures for Sabrina (1954)

February 21, 2023 By Joi

Audrey Hepburn

One of my all-time favorite movies is the wonderful 1954 romantic comedy/drama Sabrina, directed by Billy Wilder. The work of perfection stars Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, John Williams, Walter Hampden, and Martha Hyer.

Anyone who knows me knows how persnickety I am about movie endings – not only do I insist on happy endings, I very, very, very much insist that they end the way I personally want them to! We only children have too many quirks to get into right now, so we’ll save that for another day. Anyway, this fixation on endings popped up about halfway through my first viewing of this extraordinary movie – I told my cats, “If this doesn’t end the way I want it to… and if she doesn’t end up with who I want her to, it will he catastrophic!”

I can be pretty dramatic… harkens back to those quirks we just spoke of.

Thankfully, the movie ended PRECISELY as I wanted… catastrophic drama averted!

You can order the 1954 film Sabrina on dvd (Amazon link) or enjoy it on Prime Video.

Gorgeous Olivia de Havilland Promotional Pictures for The Adventures of Robin Hood

February 6, 2023 By Joi

Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marion

I recently raved about the wonderful film The Adventures of Robin Hood, so I’ll keep it short and sweet today… with the focus entirely on the radiantly beautiful, sublime, and otherworldly talented Olivia de Havilland. When we think of actresses in iconic roles (roles in which they make the character larger than life with their performance), we often think of..

Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz
Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce
Bette Davis, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady
Maureen O’Hara, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde
Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones (she should have won the Emmy)
Barbara Stanwyck, Double Indemnity
Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind

… and (deservedly) Olivia de Havilland is often mentioned by film lovers for her performance in Gone with the Wind. I have zero problem with that – I simply think she deserves to ALSO be mentioned for her lovely performance in The Adventures of Robin Hood as well. Frankly, I don’t think the movie would work nearly as well with a different actress in the role – she was, in all ways, perfect for the role of Maid Marion and I don’t think another actress has even come close.

Okay, the Disney version’s Maid Marion rivaled her.. but other than that animated fox, no one else can touch her!

You can buy the iconic The Adventures of Robin Hood on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Robin Hood

Perfect Cast, Perfect Script, Perfect Director, Perfect Movie… The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

January 23, 2023 By Joi

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

Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and Ronald Reagan: Publicity Photo for King’s Row

December 27, 2022 By Joi

Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and Ronald Reagan

King’s Row is a film I don’t talk nearly enough about and, given how much I love Ann Sheridan, it’s shocking that I don’t! I’m also a huge fan of Ronald Reagan’s – I find his presence in films to be very agreeable and downright comforting. He always draws me in and makes me care very much about the character he portrays.

I love the chemistry he and Ann shared as well – as evidenced in both this one and Juke Girl (1942).

The wonderful cast of King’s Row also includes Robert Cummings, Claude Rains, Charles Coburn, Nancy Coleman, Betty Field, Judith Anderson, and Maria Ouspenskaya.

Maria Ouspenskaya is another star who is always welcome in my den. Love her!

You can find King’s Row on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video.

It’s a Wonderful Life: James Stewart and Donna Reed Publicity Still

December 8, 2022 By Joi

James Stewart and Donna Reed, It’s a Wonderful Life

Am I posting an absolute storm of It’s a Wonderful Life posts on Hollywood Yesterday?

I am absolutely posting an absolute storm of It’s a Wonderful Life posts on Hollywood Yesterday!

Will I be slowing down anytime soon?

Highly doubtful! Not until December 26th anyway and I can’t promise not to have a Christmas 2022 sendoff with a photo or two then.

What can I say, I am absolutely infatuated with everything about this movie… I have been for over half my life. Truth be told, I believe I fall more and more in love with it each year.

You can buy It’s a Wonderful Life on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the magic on Prime Video.