Old Hollywood: Movies, Actresses, and Actors
Lena Horne and Dean Martin performing a duet is almost too much goodness to handle, so brace yourself before watching and listening to this one. I absolutely love the way they harmonized together.
Beautiful Lena Horne was a guest on five episodes of The Dean Martin Show between 1967 and 1969.
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!
Raquel Welch, James Stewart, and Dean Martin
I don’t have a lot of Raquel Welch on the Old Hollywood blog, but it has nothing at all to do with how I feel about her. I adore her! Not only do I think she’s one of the most beautiful actresses of all time, I think she’s very underrated for her talent. She has always been so much more than just a beautiful face and great figure.
The reason I’ve never done photos or posts about her is a simple one… I’ve never thought of her as “old Hollywood!” Some of my all-time favorite actresses could actually (and should actually) be featured more on the blog – I just have to remind myself that Hollywood Yesterday is about all stars and all films from “yesterday,” whether the yesterday was 1930 or 1980.
SO, with that said, expect to see a lot more comparatively modern stars like Raquel Welch, Sophia Loren, Sally Field, Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman, James Garner…. stars I adore and am very excited to spotlight more frequently.
Raquel Welch, James Stewart, and Dean Martin star in the wonderful 1968 Western Bandolero! Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen (the wonderful actor Victor McLaglen’s son), the movie also stars George Kennedy, Denver Pyle, Clint Richie, Andrew Prine, and Will Geer.
You can find Bandolero! on dvd or blu-ray (Amazon link) or watch the movie on Prime Video.
Dean Martin, Lizabeth Scott, and Jerry Lewis in Scared Stiff
I don’t think you could find a bigger fan of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin films than me – I’m completely obsessed with them. Scared Stiff (1953, directed by George Marshall) is no exception. It’s great, great fun and… come on… what more could you ask from a movie?!
Plot: Running from murder charges they don’t deserve, a busboy and nightclub singer (bet you know which is which!) find themselves on a VERY spooky island with a VERY beautiful woman. Enter Lizabeth Scott!
Scared Stiff is available on Prime Video (Amazon link). Finding it on dvd is proving to be quite difficult… I need it for my Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin collection and it is nowhere to be found!
Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin Collection:
Dean MARTIN & Jerry LEWIS COLLECTION 7 DVD Set (13 movies!)
Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson
Rio Bravo isn’t just one of my favorite Westerns, it’s one of my favorite movies. Period. I simply love everything about it from start to finish. The cast, the story, the dialogue, the directing, the wardrobe… everything.
Angie Dickinson’s “Feathers” is one of my favorite movie characters – her portrayal is absolute perfection. Given that the actress was so young, it would have been easy for her to have been overwhelmed by being surrounded by such veteran talent, but she not only fit in beautifully, she stole more than a few scenes to boot!
John Wayne and Angie Dickinson
Rio Bravo is available on DVD (Amazon link) or you can watch it on Prime Video!
Dean Martin
Dino Paul Crocetti was BOTD in1917 in Steubenville, Ohio, to Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti, a barber who was an Italian immigrant, and his wife, Angela, who was born in Ohio.
We often talk about great singers and obviously name Dean Martin. We talk about great comedy teams and obviously name Lewis & Martin. We all talk about great entertainers and obviously name Dean Martin. However, when we talk about all-time great comedians, we don’t bring up the name Dean Martin nearly enough.
Yet, the man was absolutely hilarious. When you watch his comedy routines and his hilarious talk show appearances, you realize he had a wonderful gift for comedy. I think the reason many don’t realize it is they believed him to always be drunk off his butt. He wasn’t, of course, but he acted the part to absolute perfection.
(Continued Below Dude…)
Dean Martin as Dude, Rio Bravo (1959)
Another thing Dean Martin doesn’t’ get enough credit for (IMO) is his acting. He gave each and every one of his roles exactly what it needed. He was never too large for the scene and certainly never too small. Drama, comedy, and everything in between. I love his westerns, comedies, and most definitely his Matt Helm movies.
Delirious fun!
My personal favorite Dean Martin Movies:
Suffice to say, I’m a HUGE fan.
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Behind the Scenes of The Stooge
Howard Hawks With Crew and Cast Members, Rio Bravo
One of my absolute favorite directors, Howard Hawks, was BOTD (born on this day) in 1896 in Goshen, Indiana. This talented director was behind some of my personal favorite movies…
As I see more of his movies, I have NO doubt that other favorites will join the list.
Not only do we owe him a debt of gratitude for his wonderful films, he is responsible for discovering Lauren Bacall. That, alone, earns him my undying devotion!
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, To Have and Have Not
The Wrecking Crew Lobby Card
I am a huge, huge, huge, HUGE fan of Dean Martin’s Matt Helm movies. They’re almost TOO fun, if we’re being honest. They make you forget the troubles around you, the sickness, the madness… all of it. They’re downright therapeutic if you ask this Dean Martin fan.
The Wrecking Crew (1968) stars Dean Martin, Sharon Tate, and Elke Sommer. This was the only film in the Matt Helm series where James Gregory didn’t play MacDonald…. and, I’ll add, he was missed.
Although there was another Matt Helm movie in the works, this was the last one in the series. Dean Martin was so distraught over the murder of his co-star and friend Sharon Tate in August 1969 that he abandoned the series altogether.
You can watch The Wrecking Crew on Prime Video.
Elke Sommer and Dean Martin
Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Sailor Beware
I can assure you of certain things in life and this is one of them – there is NOT a bigger fan Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies on the planet than me. It is what it is and that’s how it is. I’d go so far as to say I’m the biggest fan of each actor as well, but given that each has family they have left behind, I’ll hold off on that claim.
See how reasonable I can be after my third cup of coffee?
My completely truthful answer to the question I’m often asked (“What’s your favorite Lewis and Martin film?“) is this: Whichever one I’m watching at the time or the one I saw last. That’s why the answer is often a different one.
Today it’s Sailor Beware (1952).
The fun movie stars Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, French actress Corinne Calvet, and the always wonderful Marion Marshall. Marshall co-starred in three of the dynamic duo’s “Paramount movies:” “That’s My Boy” (1951), “The Stooge” (1951) and, finally, “Sailor Beware” (1952).
Dean Martin, Corinne Calvet, and Jerry Lewis Sailor Beware
You can find a great selection of Lewis & Martin dvd collections on Amazon (some of the best are linked below). Some of their individual movies (they made 16 together… naturally I nickname them the Sweet Sixteen because why wouldn’t I?) can be really tough to find. Fortunately the collections are very reasonably priced.
Jerry Lewis and Marion Marshall, Sailor Beware
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, A Marshmallow World
There are many personal favorite stars who I am convinced DO NOT get the appreciation they deserve. Who knows, maybe one of the reasons I started this Golden Age of Hollywood blog, in the first place, was to remedy the oversights!
Example of the day…. Dean Martin. Okay, this is one I could really go on and on about. Seriously.
Is he a household name? Absolutely.
Do people realize that he was a hilarious comedian? Absolutely.
Do they realize how extraordinary his voice was? Absolutely.
But… somehow (in my opinion) he still doesn’t quite get the appreciation he deserves.
Dean Martin had a larger than life personality and a sense of humor that was staggering. These traits seem to be associated with him more than any other – which is fine, mind you… we should all have such a wonderful personality that it’s remembered long after we’re gone.
And yet…
If you’ve watched as many Dean Martin movies as I have and have listened to as many of his songs as I have, you know that this was an incredibly multi-talented star – the kind that do not come around often.
I think I actually had “Dean Martin fan” etched into my DNA. He was one of my mother’s favorite singers (he, Elvis, and The Oakridge Boys… what a soundtrack I had growing up!) and he was one of my dad’s absolute favorite actors. Like me, he’d go on and on about how effortless he made each role seem. Whether he was playing straight man to the wonderful Jerry Lewis or serving as a deputy to John Wayne’s character in Rio Bravo – he was never caught “acting,” he simply WAS the character you were enjoying at the moment.
My husband and I watch Rio Bravo several times a year and, yes, we do have the lines memorized at this point. We’ve seen it so often, we’ll often cue the characters…
Sometimes we’ll even laugh in anticipation of what Stumpy’s fixing to say.
A couple of things consistently occur to me EACH time we watch this favorite movie.
ONE. Angie Dickinson was (and is) impossibly and flawlessly beautiful. Her facial features master the concept of teamwork better than most. She was the perfect “Feathers” and there is no actress who could have brought the character to life as beautifully.
TWO. John Wayne was larger than life. His onscreen persona, to this day, stands out as being one of the most imposing of all stars. Whatever “it” is, he had “it” from the tip of his hat to the toes of his boots. Watching John Wayne movies is one of the funnest things in the world and he is the reason.
THREE. Walter Brennan is a national treasure. His Stumpy is one of the most adorable and hilarious movie characters of all time – like “Feathers”, the role was cast perfectly.
FOUR. Dean Martin was more than a performer and more than a personality… he was an actor… make that ACTOR. If he had chosen to, he could have carved out a career as a dramatic actor and gone on to make a slew of memorable dramas. Fortunately for us, however, he chose a diverse career and has left us with dramatic roles, comedic roles, and songs that are as memorizing as a flip of Feather’s feathers.
One of my favorite Christmas songs is also one of my favorite Dean Martin songs and I listen to it nonstop this time of year. A Marshmallow World is a seriously fun song – it sets the tone for the Christmas season deliciously.
At the top of the post is A Marshmallow World performed by Dean Martin and a friend of his… I’m sure you’ve heard of him.. Frank Sinatra. I love this duet! At the bottom of the post is the version of A Marshmallow World by Dean Martin all by himself. What. A. Voice. I couldn’t decide which version to include in this post, so I did the “totally me” thing and went with both.
What can I say? I hate decisions.
Dino Paul Crocetti will always be one of my favorites and, if you get a chance, I hope you’ll watch each of his movies and listen to each of his songs. If he isn’t already, he’ll quickly become one of your favorites, too.
My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!
Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!
Wait. What did I just admit to??
Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!
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
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…
