The Bill and Myrna New Year's Blogathon is Here!

Well I'm already off to a great start this blogging year as I post this a good twelve hours later than I intended. I came down with a bad cold Wednesday and last night I ended up going to bed early. But enough about that!

Welcome to the Bill and Myrna New Year's Blogathon!!! I can't wait to read all the entries on my favorite movie couple!

Already we have several posts up. I've linked them below and will continue to update over the course of the blogathon:

Maddy Loves Her Classic Films kicks of the blogathon with Why I Adore Powell and Loy.

The Midnite Drive-In takes a look at the first film in The Thin Man Series with In Like Thin.

Blog of the Darned checks out the third, and his personal favorite film of the series, Another Thin Man.

Love Letters to Old Hollywood discusses the "wonderfully goofy" I Love You Again.

Caftan Woman covers the second film in The Thin Man Series, After the Thin Man.

Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews takes a look at the rare non-comedic Powell/Loy film Evelyn Prentice.

Critica Retro finds Bill funny in drag for Love Crazy.

Hamlette's Soliloquy delves deep in to one of the best WWII films ever made, The Best Years of Our Lives.

Musings of a Classic Film Addict discovers the not-to-be-missed Double Wedding.

Love Letters to Old Hollywood finds an instant favorite in So Goes My Love.

Old Hollywood Films takes a look at the great Screwball comedy Libeled Lady.

Movies Meet Their Match wraps things up with The Great Ziegfeld.

Thanks to everyone for participating and for The Flapper Dame for agreeing to co-host!

ANNOUNCING The Bill & Myrna New Year's Blogathon!

For the past few years, TCM has shown the Thin Man films for a New Year's marathon. To celebrate our favorite fictional married couple, The Flapper Dame and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with Bill and Myrna in another way - with a blogathon!! Therefore, we are excited to announce The Bill and Myrna New Year's Blogathon 🍸 which will take place from January 1-3, 2018.

Bill and Myrna made fourteen films together and many, many more on their own, so there are lots of fabulous movies to talk about. They also had amazing friendships and lots of personal stories that would be fun to write about, so we ask that there be no duplicates so we can cover as much of these two amazing actors lives and careers as possible. Once you've decided on a topic, let one of us know in the comments section with the name and link to your blog. Finally, grab a banner (I'm pretty excited with how they turned out) and spread the word! Oh, and free martini's for everyone!! ;)

The Guest List:

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: TBA
The Flapper Dame: TBA
Love Letters to Old Hollywood: I Love You Again (1940) & So Goes My Love (1946)
The Midnite Drive-In: The Thin Man (1934)
Movies Meet Their Match: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Maddy Loves Her Classic Films: Powell and Loy as an on-screen couple
Caftan Woman: After the Thin Man (1936)
Musings of a Classic Film Addict: Double Wedding (1937)
Critica Retro: Love Crazy (1940)
Hamlette's Soliloquy: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Charlene's (Mostly) Classic Movie Reviews: Evelyn Prentice (1934)
Blog of the Darned: Another Thin Man (1939)
Old Hollywood Films: Libeled Lady (1936)

My Custom Hollywood Calendar from Shutterfly

For those of you who don't have Facebook or Twitter (or don't follow me *shakes head*) I thought I would share photos of my new calendar I designed on Shutterfly! (click photos to view larger)

Of course after I received it I noticed a few mistakes/omissions. I started making this calendar in 2015 so when I changed it to a 2017 calendar I forgot to move Mother's Day so now it's on a Monday... (btw, Shutterfly offers a free calendar about 4 - 5 times a year so this only cost me $8 shipping instead of $25+!! There's also a way to send projects to others on Shutterfly if anyone is interested. You could probably edit it to include your favorite photos).

I also left out Omar Shariff (*face palm) and Jean Simmons (*double face palm), whose birthday is the same as Tallulah Bankhead (who I fortunately like). Since this calendar is for my personal use I left off a few actors that I don't like or who I haven't seen any films of (or who shared a birthday with an actor/actress I liked better) and included some lesser known actors that I like (Richard Long, Michael Callan, etc.).

The cover of the calendar has my favorite person from each month, though in hindsight I wish I would have put Errol and Olivia on there instead of Vera-Ellen and Mary Tyler Moore, but Oh Well.

What do you think? Which month is your favorite? Who would you dedicate a month to?

I also got my Curious Pip "Nick & Nora" Christmas cards today. Order yours here! Limited supply!

Ten Movies on an Island: William Powell

William Powell is one of my top three actors, along with John Wayne and Cary Grant. However, unlike the other two who I grew up watching, Powell came along later.

The first films I saw of his were on a dvd from the dollar store, a double feature: My Man Godfrey (my first introduction to Carole Lombard) and Life with Father. I found Godfrey to be a bit too crazy for my tastes at the time, but my entire family loved Powell's Oscar-nominated performance in Life with Father. A couple years after that I saw the first four Thin Man films and I know I enjoyed them but I didn't go crazy over them. Then, a couple of years ago, I rewatched the Thin Man films and realized just how brilliant Powell and Loy were as a comedy team. It didn't take me long to try to get my hands on all of the other films they made together, as well as watch as many of Powell's films that I could find (thanks TCM and YouTube!). Since then I have watched almost all of Powell's "talkies." I think I just have around a dozen films left. I just discovered a couple of them here and keep hoping TCM will air some of the others.

Narrowing down my favorite ten William Powell films is pretty much next to impossible. Just presume that all the rest are Honorable Mentions ;)

1. The Thin Man (1934)

2. My Man Godfrey (1936) - Carole Lombard

3. Libeled Lady (1936) - Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy

4. After the Thin Man (1936)

5. Double Wedding (1937) - Myrna Loy

6. Another Thin Man (1939) - Myrna Loy

7. Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

8. The Thin Man Goes Home (1945) - Myrna Loy

9. Life with Father (1947) - Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor

10. Mister Roberts (1955) - Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney

When did you discover William Powell? Have you seen all of his pairings with Loy? What's your favorite Powell film outside of the Thin Man series?

The Film Career of Skippy aka Asta

 

Skippy, a wire-haired terrier, was born in 1931/1932 and enjoyed an illustrious Hollywood career until his retirement in 1941. One of the smartest dogs in Hollywood, enjoying a salary of $125 a week compared to $3.50 a day of other canine actors, Skippy began training at 3 months old. Soon he was able to respond to both verbal and hand cues.

 

His first film launched him to stardom, almost equal to that of his co-stars who had been in pictures for many years. It was The Thin Man (1934) and Skippy played the world's bravest (ok, not really) detective's dog, Asta. He often follows Nick (William Powell) on his investigations, covers his face with his paw when Nick and Nora kiss, run off with valuable clues, and hide under the furniture when he is scared. He is also a family man (with a not so faithful "wife"). After the success of the film, everyone wanted a wire-haired terrier.

 

 

Skippy was then cast in small roles in four films in the year 1935 (The Big Broadcast of 1936, Lottery Lover, It's a Small World, and The Daring Young Man) and the following year reprised his role as Asta in After the Thin Man (1936).

 

Skippy's two other big roles included his role as Mr. Smith in The Awful Truth (1937) starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne and as George in Bringing Up Baby (1938) starring Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

 

The Awful Truth

"Singing" with Grant

 

As George, running off with Grant's intercostal clavical.

 

An article about Skippy, titled "A Dog's Life in Hollywood," appeared in the August 1938 issue of The American Magazine:

 

Movie actresses stroke Skippy lovingly. They coo at him and murmur endearing terms in his ears. He takes it all in his stride, because, what with contracts, options, and exacting work before the movie cameras, he hasn't much time for the attentions of Hollywood's most beautiful stars. But if he's paid for it and given the proper cue he will snuggle in the arms of the loveliest of stars, gaze into her limpid eyes, and, if necessary—howl.

Skippy, a smart little wire-haired terrier, is one of the leading stars in pictures. He leads a glamorous life—a dog's life de luxe. He is rated as one of the smartest dogs in the world, and when contracts are signed for his appearance in a picture he gets $200 a week for putting his paw-print on the dotted line. His trainer gets a mere $60.

His owner is Mrs. Gale Henry East, once a prominent movie comedienne. ... "When Skippy has to drink water in a scene, the first time he does it he really drinks. If there are retakes and he's had all the water he can drink, he'll go through the scene just as enthusiastically as though his throat were parched, but he'll fake it. If you watch closely you'll see he's just going through the motions of lapping and isn't really picking up water at all. And, because he has a sense of humor, he loves it when you laugh and tell him you've caught him faking but that it's all right with you.

"Treat a dog kindly and he'll do anything in the world for you."

"Signing" his contract for Bringing Up Baby.

 

This post is part of The Animals in Film Blogathon hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood (and my upcoming co-host to the Olivia de Havilland Centenary Blogathon). Check out my other post on Trigger in Son of Paleface (1952) and be sure to read all of the other posts about Hollywood's most talented animals!

 

Ten Movies on an Island: 1930s Edition

The 1930s were a time of constant change in Hollywood as the movies made the transition to sound and had to find their feet all over again. Some stars were able to make the switch smoothly, many were not. It was a time where it had to be decided what could and could not be shown, of how far was too far. With the institution of the Hays Code came the birth of the Screwball comedy and with it a new kind of zaniness, perfect for coping with the Great Depression. Animation as we know it today took it's first big step with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney's first feature length animated picture. Then came 1939, the crème de la crème of motion pictures, with it's classics like Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Stagecoach.

The main question is, how can I choose a mere ten films from such a diverse and amazing decade? I have 95 titles from that decade on my movie list. That means I can't choose 85 of them. Yet choose I must. As in any film list, many were left off, but here are the ones I truly could not live without:

1930s:

1. The Thin Man (1934) - William Powell & Myrna Loy

2. It Happened One Night (1934) - Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert

3. Theodora Goes Wild (1936) - Irene Dunne & Melvyn Douglas

4. Libeled Lady (1936) - William Powell & Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy & Jean Harlow

5. Double Wedding (1937) - William Powell & Myrna Loy

6. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant

7. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland

8. Bachelor Mother (1939) - Ginger Rogers & David Niven, Charles Coburn

9. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Judy Garland

10. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - James Stewart & Jean Arthur

Honorable Mentions (aka didn't quite make it): Forsaking All Others (1934), Curly Top (1935), The Whole Town's Talking (1935), My Man Godfrey (1936), True Confession (1937), You Can't Take it With You (1938), Four Daughters (1938), Daughters Courageous (1939), and In Name Only (1939).

Tomorrow: My top ten from the 1940s!

Myrna Loy on Jean Harlow

Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow appeared to be very different, on-screen. One of them was the perfect wife and the other was a sex symbol. But they did have one thing in common: William Powell.

It was during a session for the Louella Parson's radio show (where Powell and Loy were performing some scenes from their popular film The Thin Man) that Powell introduced these two cinema queens to each other. Powell and Harlow were an 'item' at the time (a full post on that latter).

I thought, My God, I've never seen such beautiful skin. That creamy complexion and platinum hair really knocked you out. She was being very careful and shy, since this was her first time out in public with Bill. Jean was beautiful, but far from the raucous sexpot of her films (Being and Becoming, 124).

Shortly after their meeting the two co-starred in their first film together, Wife vs. Secretary (1936) with Clark Gable, followed shortly by Libeled Lady (1936) with Powell and Spencer Tracy. However, it wasn't during either of these films that these two legends of the silver screen really became friends but rather during the filming of After the Thin Man (193).

At the premiere of Libeled Lady (also in the photo is Arthur Hornblow, Myrna's husband).

They were shooting exteriors in San Francisco. Bill, Jean, and Myrna went up by train together. Upon arrival, Bill and Myrna were told by the management of the St. Francis Hotel that the Flyshaker Suite had been reserved for them. They had assumed that they were married, which isn't difficult to believe after seeing their on-screen chemistry (which was up to five films by now). The rest of the hotel was booked, except for a small hall bedroom. "There's nothing for you to do," Jean said, "We'll just have to put Bill downstairs."

That mix-up brought me one of my most cherished friendships. You would have thought Jean and I were in boarding school we had so much fun. We'd stay up half the night talking and sipping gin, sometimes laughing, sometimes discussing more serious things...  

Jean was always very cheerful, full of fun, but she also happened to be a sensitive woman with a great deal of self-respect. All that other stuff - that was all put on. She wasn't like that at all. She just happened to be a good actress who created a lively characterization that exuded sex appeal (143).

Arriving in San Francisco (note the book Jean is holding).

It was also during this trip that Myrna realized the extent of Jean's love for Bill.

... a total childlike love, full of the exuberance and wonder that characterized her. She wanted marriage but he was afraid to marry her [he was , she was 2]. He loved her, but he'd been married twice... and both marriages had gone bust (142).

When Jean died suddenly in 1937, Myrna was devastated. "It was horrible, an awful blow; I loved Jean deeply. I felt a sickening mixture of grief, guilt, and frustration because I hadn't been able to do what might have saved her: get her away rom her mother for an examination [Jean and her mother were Christian Scientists]. With proper treatment, the cerebral edema that killed her would never have developed in a twenty-six-year-old girl."

So as not to end on a sad note, Sarah Burford of Curious Pip has drawn several sketches of what she imagines Myrna and Jean did when they "hung out." She frequently creates dolls and draws sketches, postcards, and paper dolls of both Myrna and Jean (and other 1920s/30s actresses such as Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, and Claudette Colbert) to sell on Etsy - they go quick! If you are a fan of either of these actresses you will ADORE her creations! Check out her "Day in the Life of Jean Harlow" sketches as well as some of her Jean Harlow dolls and Myrna Loy/Nora Charles dolls.