Claire Trevor | Hollywood Yesterday

Claire Trevor in Key Largo… One of the All-Time GREAT Performances

September 20, 2021 By Joi

Claire Trevor, Key Largo

I love it when a perfect movie meets a perfect performance, don’t you?! One such movie and performance is Key Largo with the wonderful Claire Trevor. Her portrayal of Gaye Dawn is absolutely breathtaking. In the scene where she’s forced to sing…. I mean, it’s nothing short of movie magic.

Claire Trevor VERY deservedly won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her portrayal.

The movie is filled with outstanding performances – how could it not be with a cast that also included Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore? And yet, as far as I’m concerned, Claire Trevor managed to stand out.

That tends to happen when you give a completely mesmerizing performance!

I also want to mention the generosity of her co-stars. Each time I watch this film (well over 20 times by now), I’m struck by the “room” given to Trevor by her co-stars. You can tell they knew something truly special was happening and not one tried to take the spotlight from her. So much professionalism!

Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor, and Lauren Bacall

You can find the brilliance that is Key Largo on dvd (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell in the Wonderful Film-Noir Murder, My Sweet

January 24, 2021 By Joi

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell: Murder My Sweet

Two of my favorite old Hollywood stars are Claire Trevor and Dick Powell. Love them both beyond distraction. So when it came time to watch a movie starring BOTH, I was a little nervous – I wondered how I’d feel if the movie was a total bomb (it’s happened a few times when favorites have teamed up).

I didn’t have to worry one bit about this movie, however, because it’s one of the best film-noirs made. Dick Powell plays Philip Marlowe and does so to perfection. As for Claire Trevor… come on, the lady is never anything but completely mesmerizing.

Someone once asked me why I didn’t post more Claire Trevor pictures on Twitter – my answer was as honest as it was logical… I don’t have very many Claire Trevor pictures in my collection! I am trying to buy some when I can and am in the process of taking screencaps from her movies. Believe me, nothing would give me greater joy than to help promote this extraordinary actress and keep her name and face alive and well!

You can watch Murder, My Sweet on Prime Video or buy the dvd (or blu-ray) on Amazon.

Dick Powell and Claire Trevor BURN Up the Screen in Murder, My Sweet

January 17, 2021 By Joi

Dick Powell and Claire Trevor

There are many famous old-Hollywood pairings (Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire…) and just as many “would have been famous” pairings – you know, the dynamic partners who would have achieved similar fame if only they’d had more than one or two films together (Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, Dick Powell and Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Claire Trevor, James Stewart and Donna Reed…).

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell worked together beautifully in Murder, My Sweet. In fact, they burned up the screen! How Hollywood neglected to pair them again and again is beyond me.

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell

You can watch Murder, My Sweet on Prime Video or buy the dvd (or blu-ray) on Amazon.

The Beautiful, FIERCELY Talented Claire Trevor

April 27, 2020 By Joi

Claire Trevor

When I think of my favorite stars from classic Hollywood, there are often a few adjectives that accompany their name and image in my thoughts.

A couple of examples:

In addition to very talented, these are a few words that I attach to these three –

Maureen O’Hara… beautiful, Irish, strong

Ann-Margret…. beautiful, charismatic, big personality

Melvyn Douglas… lovable, underrated, compelling

Lena Horne… beautiful, charismatic, strong presence

When Claire Trevor strolls into my thoughts, one of the phrases that accompanies her is “fiercely talented.” She had a commanding, yet also distinctly feminine, presence onscreen and, like Melvyn Douglas, was very compelling in each and every scene she was in. She’s one of those stars that when you say “talented,” alone, it doesn’t seem quite descriptive enough.

No… it must be fiercely talented for this lady.

Some of my favorite Claire Trevor films are Stagecoach, Key Largo, Murder My Sweet, The Stranger Wore a Gun, The Desperadoes, Johnny Angel, and Allegheny Uprising. She was always sheer perfection – not just in every role, but in each and every scene. She often stole scenes in which she never uttered a word!

I’m trying to work my way through her filmography (fun job!), so the list of favorites, above, will surely grow.

Fiercely talented people cause that sort of thing, you know.

Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe…. Outstanding!

January 27, 2020 By Joi

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell

Dick Powell is one of my favorite actors (and anyone who knows me knows how much I adore Claire Trevor), so I was pretty destined to love this movie. Funny thing is, I believe I’d love it just as much if other stars were playing the leads – the story is that good.

Dick Powell’s portrayal of Philip Marlowe earned the approval of author Raymond Chandler, himself. Dick Powell was an incredibly versatile actor. He was wonderful on radio, in musicals, in dramas, and in comedies. He could do anything given to him and do it exceptionally well.

Before I saw Murder, My Sweet, I was most familiar with Dick Powell from his June Allyson comedies and his musicals – so finding him in a film-noir was kind of unusual at first. Fortunately, his talent and versatility made the transition as smooth as it was sensational. He was outstanding in the role of Philip Marlowe.

Absolutely outstanding.

Claire Trevor and Dick Powell

You can watch Murder, My Sweet on Prime Video or buy the dvd (or blu-ray) on Amazon.

Stagecoach (1939): One of John Wayne’s Best Westerns and a Personal Favorite

November 20, 2019 By Joi

Claire Trevor and John Wayne, Stagecoach

One of my favorite genres of movies is Westerns. My dad was a huge Westerns fan and I watched them with him from the time I was old enough to walk. In fact, my first memories of Westerns involve horses, cowboys, and women in long dresses. John Wayne was one of his favorites and he is, most definitely, one of my own favorites.

Seriously, there aren’t many things better than grabbing raspberry tea, a big bowl of popcorn, and losing yourself in a John Wayne Western for a few hours… two Westerns if you have the time!

I recently re-watched one of my favorite Westerns of all time, Stagecoach, and wanted to take a few minutes to talk about it.

Plot: A group of colorful people are on what should be an uneventful stagecoach trip – two women, a doctor who likes… no, loves.. to drink, a banker, the drivers, and the famous Ringo Kid (John Wayne). The peaceful trip suddenly becomes very eventful when they learn that Geronimo is in the area and looking for big trouble.

The wonderful movie stars an absolutely perfect cast: John Wayne (Ringo Kid), Claire Trevor (Dallas), John Carradine (Hatfield), Andy Devine (Buck), Thomas Mitchell (Doc Josiah Boone), Donald Meek (Samuel Peacock), Louise Platt (Mrs. Lucy Mallory), Berton Churchill (Ellsworth Henry Gatewood), and George Bancroft (Marshal Curley Wilcox).

Continued below the cast photo!

Orson Welles (someone who knows a thing or two about film-making) stated that Stagecoach was the perfect textbook of film-making and said he watched the film more than forty times in preparation for the making of Citizen Kane (1941).

Smart man!

Although John Wayne had minor roles in John Ford’s Mother Machree (1927) and Salute (1929), Stagecoach truly marks the beginning of their partnership. It also, in my opinion, marked the beginning of Wayne’s legendary career.

If you’ve never seen this simply outstanding Western, I hope you’ll get your hands on a copy (or find it on television) as soon as possible. As a bona fide John Wayne fanatic and expert Westerns viewer, I guarantee you this – Stagecoach is one of the best ever made.