Old Movies, Actors and Actresses | Hollywood Yesterday

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, Behind the Scenes of Gilda (1946)

May 4, 2022 By Joi

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford

Some days I only have enough time to throw a picture in your direction and hope you love it. This is one of those days, so I’ve chosen a photo with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.

No way you can’t love it! That’s what we call hedging our bets, y’all.

This is a photo of the two fan-favorites behind the scenes of their 1946 film-noir Gilda, directed by Charles Vidor.

You can find Gilda (link to the dvd or blu-ray on Amazon) on dvd on Amazon or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Cyd Charisse Publicity Pictures for Sombrero (1953)

May 3, 2022 By Joi

Cyd Charisse

Beautiful Cyd Charisse was an absolute artist when it came to dancing and watching her is a great joy. She loved dancing more than she did acting, which is understandable. Great artists love what they do!

“If I had to give up either acting or dancing, I’d choose to keep dancing.” ~ Cyd Charisse

(Continued Below….)

Cyd Charisse

The stunning photographs in this post are publicity photos for her 1953 film Sombrero. The Musical Romance was directed by Norman Foster and also stars Ricardo Montalban, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman, Yvonne De Carlo, Rick Jason, and Nina Foch.

You can find Sombrero on dvd (Amazon link).

Cyd Charisse

Lana Turner: Beautiful Photo from the Set of The Postman Always Rings Twice

May 2, 2022 By Joi

Lana Turner and Director Tay Garnett

One of the most popular films of all time is The Postman Always Rings Twice (1932, directed by Tay Garnett). It’s an excellent film-noir with a stellar cast and the PERFECT director for the job in Tay Garnett.

Lana Turner and John Garfield give extraordinary performances and keep the viewer GLUED to each scene, each line, and each movement they make.

It’s such a dark film that the photo above, with a beautifully smiling Lana Turner and a light-hearted Garnett, is a very noticeable contrast. Funny that one of gorgeous Lana Turner’s best photos is a candid – but she’s absolutely stunning, here.

Talk about knock out smiles!

You can find The Postman Always Rings Twice on dvd (Amazon link).

Eve Arden, One of the Most-Loved Stars Of ALL Time Was BOTD in 1908

April 30, 2022 By Joi

Eve Arden

Eunice Mary Quedens was born on this date in Mill Valley, California in 1908. We, of course, know her today as one of the most talented and best-loved stars of all time, Eve Arden.

I love so many of Eve Arden’s movies and ALL of her performances. The film pictured here, Anatomy of a Murder (1939, directed by Otto Preminger) stands out as one of my very favorite Eve Arden films. The movie also stars James Stewart, Arthur O’Connell, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Brooks West, and George C. Scott.

Brooks West and Eve Arden were married from 1952 to his death in 1984. Remarkably enough, this is the only movie Brooks made… when you see just how good he was, it’s absolutely shocking!

Eve Arden is one of the most talented actresses to ever star on radio or the big (or small!) screen. She brought so much charisma and spark to every film… every scene. She truly was one in a million.

You can find Anatomy of a Murder on dvd (Amazon link) or watch it right away on Prime Video.

Arthur O’Connell, Eve Arden, and James Stewart

Marilyn Monroe, How to Marry a Millionaire Publicity Photo

April 29, 2022 By Joi

Marilyn Monroe, How to Marry a Millionaire

I love Marilyn Monroe to distraction… not just for her beauty, brains, style, and lasting legacy to my beloved old Hollywood. Heck, none of these are even the main reason I such a huge fan of hers. I love her for her film performances first and foremost. She has a truly wonderful filmography and gave one excellent performance after the other.

People often (bizarrely) try to compare her to Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, and other actresses. This is such a shame because it’d be like comparing Jerry Lewis to James Cagney… different roles call for different types of actors/actresses. She (same for Jerry Lewis) gave exactly what was needed from her for each and every role.

In the same way you may not be able to see her in, say, a Bette Davis role… you could also flip it and say you couldn’t really see Bette Davis in a Marilyn Monroe role. There’s room enough in old Hollywood for all types of stars and movies would be incredibly boring if they were all the same.

Marilyn Monroe’s performance in How to Marry a Millionaire is one of my favorite performances – of hers or anyone’s for that matter. She brings the perfect amount of vulnerability, humor, and genuine lovableness (I know, spellcheck, it isn’t a word… but I’m making it one) to the role of Pola. Truth be told, I think she’s the best thing about the movie – though all of the performances are wonderful.

The popular and fun comedy also includes Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Cameron Mitchell, Alexander D’Arcy, Fred Clark, and William Powell.

You can find How to Marry a Millionaire (Amazon link) on dvd for your collection or watch the movie on Prime Video.

How to Marry a Millionaire Movie Poster:

How to Marry a Millionaire Movie Poster (Amazon link)

Joseph Cotten, Loretta Young, Ethel Barrymore, and Charles Bickford: The Farmer’s Daughter

April 27, 2022 By Joi

Joseph Cotten and Loretta Young

When I first sat down to watch The Farmer’s Daughter, I was a little afraid that a blonde Loretta Young, faking a Swedish accent would be a great distraction. Although I love her to distraction, I honestly wondered, “Why didn’t they simply get a blonde Swedish actress WITH an accent already built in?!”

Inside of 10 minutes, I knew why… there’s simply no role Loretta Young could not play. In no time, I was completely buying everything she was selling. She managed the accent perfectly, never over or under doing it and she wore the blonde hair exquisitely.

The VERY entertaining film was directed by H.C. Potter and stars Loretta Young, Ethel Barrymore, Joseph Cotten, and the always wonderful Charles Bickford. It’s a wonderful story, brought to life by an outstanding cast. The entire cast had a magic-like rapport and the chemistry between Joseph Cotten & Loretta Young AND Ethel Barrymore & Charles Bickford is palpable.

The casting department struck gold with this cast.

You can find the wonderful The Farmer’s Daughter on dvd (Amazon link)… and if you love great movies, with wonderful storytelling and extraordinary casts, you should do just that!

Ethel Barrymore and Charles Bickford

Maureen O’Hara and Errol Flynn, Against All Flags (I Love this Swashbuckling Film so Much!)

April 26, 2022 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara

Against All Flags isn’t just one of my favorite Maureen O’Hara movies and favorite Swashbuckling films, it’s also one of my favorite of Errol Flynn’s performances. He’s wonderful in this role. He plays his character with wonderful layers and takes full advantage of the opportunity to show off his comedic skills.

Errol Flynn was one of those stars who was equally wonderful with drama and comedy. Many stars (in spite of possibly being great with both) were better with one of the other. For example, I think Cary Grant was better with comedy. I recently saw two Errol Flynn films (both re-watches) back-to-back, Silver River and Against All Flags and was struck by his brilliance in both genres.

Maureen O’Hara was, of course, also brilliant in all genres and she’s wonderful (as always) in this swashbuckler. She was such a beautiful actress, too, and it’s on full, colorful display in this film!

You can find Against All Flags on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).

Errol Flynn

Jennifer Jones, Duel in the Sun Promotional Pictures

April 25, 2022 By Joi

Jennifer Jones

The beautiful and talented Jennifer Jones is, sadly, nowhere near as well-known today as she should be. It’s baffling because she had it ALL going on for her. These publicity photos are from the 1946 Western Duel in the Sun, produced by her then-husband David O. Selznick. They were married from 1949 to his death in 1965.

Duel in the Sun is a wonderful film and co-stars Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Lilian Gish, Charles Bickford, Walter Huston, and Herbert Marshall.

You can find Duel in the Sun on dvd and Blu-ray (Amazon link).

Jennifer Jones

Marlene Dietrich: The Garden of Allah Promotional Pictures

April 22, 2022 By Joi

Marlene Dietrich, The Garden of Allah

The wonderful Marlene Dietrich simply doesn’t get enough attention these days. Beautiful, poised, stylish, unique, talented, and brilliant – she was the sort of star we should all be talking about on the daily, shouldn’t we?!

Frustratingly enough, most people tend to talk more about stars who were surrounded by controversy and drama, either in life or death (sometimes both). Marlene pretty much stayed in her own lane and didn’t invite a lot of drama into her life. She lived a long, colorful life and died at the grand age of 90.

Another thing that keeps Marlene Dietrich from being mentioned in the same breath as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Katharine Hepburn is the fact that her films aren’t shown nearly as often as the other actresses’ films are.

I would love to see her films shown more on television and to be more readily available for streaming. I’m convinced that the more we talk about a star, the more networks and streaming services will receive requests for their films. Marlene Dietrich is one of the ones I’m really focusing my energies on (along with Ann Dvorack and Ann Sheridan – a few of my other favorites).

You can find The Garden of Allah (Amazon link) on dvd and blu-ray. It isn’t available on Prime Video, unfortunately… yet!

Marlene Dietrich

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, The Lady from Shanghai

April 21, 2022 By Joi

Rita Hayworth, The Lady from Shanghai

I don’t post many photos from or information about The Lady from Shanghai and I honestly have no idea why! Rita Hayworth gives such a wonderful performance in the film – truth be told, I love her performance more than I do the movie, itself. She’s truly remarkable in it.

The 1947 film-noir was based on a novel by Sherwood King and was directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay and stars alongside Rita.

While Rita and Orson are most certainly the stars of the show, the drama also includes Everett Sloane, Ted de Corsia, and Glenn Anders.

You can find The Lady from Shanghai on dvd or Blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the drama unfold on Prime Video.