Rex Harrison | Hollywood Yesterday

Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn: My Fair Lady (1964)

September 6, 2021 By Joi

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison

I don’t just love My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison… I ADORE My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Every word spoken, every note hit, every thread of every costume, every… oh, you get the idea. I’m completely infatuated with it and with the performance of each star.

The wonderful George Cukor directed this iconic musical. The cast also includes Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jeremy Brett, and Gladys Cooper.

If it’s been a while since you’ve watched this absolute masterpiece, I hope you’ll revisit it soon. It’s even better than you remember.

You can find My Fair Lady on dvd (Amazon link) or watch on Prime Video.

The Foxes of Harrow: Starring Maureen O’Hara and Rex Harrison

May 19, 2021 By Joi

Maureen O’Hara and Rex Harrison

Ever see a movie that was, overall, pretty good but the ending pushed it higher to the realms of very good? I’ve seen several like that and I always get a big kick out of it.

It’s far, far better than a movie that’s excellent all the way through only to have an ending that pushes it down to “fair” or “okay.” I’ve seen that happen a lot too!

The Foxes of Harrow stars two of the best, Maureen O’Hara and Rex Harrison. I love them both to distraction, so I was very excited about seeing this one a few years ago. As I watched, I thought…

Maureen O’Hara was entirely too beautiful!
Rex Harrison truly was one of the all-time great leading men.
The clothes and sets are gorgeous.
This could… well… it could be a little better….

It was good, throughout, without finding its way to great.

And then the ending came and, suddenly, it became a movie I didn’t just “like” but “loved.” A great ending can do that for you – it wraps the story up and pulls everything together.

No, this isn’t one of Maureen O’Hara or Rex Harrison’s best films – I’d be lying if I said it was. However, it is very, very good and ever so much worth seeing.

Maureen O’Hara and Rex Harrison

Anna and the King of Siam

November 2, 2020 By Joi

Anna and the King of Siam with Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison

Rex Harrison is one of those stars who you can love one minute and feel all but indifferent about the next. Or maybe it’s just me. That’s always possible, but it seems his likability (as an actor) kind of switches gears from film to film.

Again, it could very well just be me, so don’t take it as the Gospel truth or anything, but he simply doesn’t strike me as an actor who maintains either a high opinion or a low one. That could actually work toward his benefit (she says, after recently rewatching The Foxes of Harrow to see if it was any better the second time… it wasn’t – and my beloved Maureen O’Hara’s in it, if anyone would love it, I would but, unfortunately, it’s pretty average).

Some stars can come out of a bad or average film unscathed, while others carry it with them like a stench. Rex Harrison, for me, is somewhere between the two.

Don’t get me wrong, I think he was a very, very fine actor and when he was given a role and a movie that showcased his talent, he was extraordinary (Anna and the King of Siam, My Fair Lady…). For me, however, in the lesser films, he was simply quite average. I wish he had avoided the films that brought his reputation as an actor down and had only done the ones that lived up to his talent.

Anna and the King of Siam is one of my favorite Rex Harrison films. You can tell that he took care with his speech and worked hard on the role. It shows. He is wonderful in this film.

Naturally Irene Dunne is also outstanding as Anna. This extraordinary actress was one of the greatest actresses of all time and so incredibly versatile.

She’s also one of the stars with an inexplicable lack of name-recognition that irks me most. Seriously, she should be a household name, yet it’s generally only those of us who spend most of our days in Old Hollywood who are familiar with her and her work. I simply hate it when stars don’t have the lasting recognition they deserve.

Hollywood Yesterday is, more than anything, my personal mission to bring attention to as many stars as I possibly can.

You can watch Anna and the King of Siam on Prime Video or buy the dvd on Amazon.

Gene Tierney: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Came Close to Being Entirely Different

August 20, 2020 By Joi

Gene Tierney, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Although it’s almost impossible to imagine, Gene Tierney’s first approach to the character of Lucy Muir in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) was light and more comedic than dramatic. After a meeting between (Twentieth Century Fox studio head) Darryl F. Zanuck and (Director) Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the first two days were reshot so the actress could give the character more depth and seriousness.

Thank goodness!

The role of Lucy is one of the wonderful actress’ signature roles and she played her to absolute perfection – her performance set the wonderful overall mood for the film. The result? One of the greatest movies ever made – and one that we Old Hollywood fans can proudly recommend to anyone.

You can find The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on Amazon (link to the dvd on Amazon) or watch it on Prime.