Last February (the 18th when this post was originally published) I watched a movie written by Robert Riskin, best known for his "visions of an idealized America as represented in his collaborations with director Frank Capra."This one
wasn’t directed by Capra, but it certainly had that Capra ‘feel good’ quality.
It’s called Magic Town and was made
in 1947. Directed by William A. Wellman, it brings Capra’s favorite leading man,
Jimmy Stewart, together with Jane Wyman, a perfect match, or as the tagline goes, "the guy with the dynamite heart meets the girl with the firecracker eyes!" (IMDb) She’s an acting
newspaper editor for her late father’s paper and he is an undercover pollster.
He discovers that Grandview, the town where Mary (Wyman) lives mirror exactly
the nation’s views on everything, down to the decimal point – a mathematical
miracle. Rip (Stewart) is quickly accepted as part of the community - even coaching the school's basketball team - under the
guise of being an insurance salesman. However, Mary discovers his secret and uses her
position in the paper to unmask him. This causes a spiraling of events as
Grandview is hailed as the nation’s perfect town. Hundreds of families move in
every day and business is booming – but not for long. Now that the people are
conscious that they are being polled, the results no longer match the nation.
Its short-lived glory turns to embarrassment and the town quickly becomes
bankrupt and becomes a laughing-stock. Rip must now figure out how to undue the damage he caused and win Mary back.
Looking at Mary's model of the new Grandview
Coaching the boys
Romancing the editor
Reciting "Charge of the Light Brigade"
The scenes of the town at the beginning reminded me of the
town in Theodora Goes Wild (1936). The
way the town works together reminded me of several films. The school scenes
were reminiscent of The Bells of St.
Mary’s (1945). The part where it sweeps the country and pulls apart and then
reunites the town is very reminiscent of Meet
John Doe (1941). It even has Bert and his wife in it (renamed Ed)! All in all it
was an extremely enjoyable movie and one that I hope to add to my collection
one day. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a Frank Capra fan.
Stewart and Wyman with Director William A. Wellman
Lawrence “Rip” Smith (to the Town Council when he first arrives in Grandview): I've been searching for a town like
this for years. You know, when I got off that train this morning, I said to
myself "This is it." I've just walked through your town, folks, with
its shade trees and its lovely parks. I stood before your impressive buildings
mellowed with age, and I said to myself "Here is a sturdy challenge to the
evils of the modern era." I watched your people on the street, and I felt
their vitality and their sense of security. Your children are happy. They're
happy. You can see it in their dear little faces, and hear it in their
wholesome talk. There's beauty here. It's almost indescribable. You're used to
it, you're all a part of it, you take it for granted. But to me, it's a hope
and a dream of a lifetime. I too want to become a part of it. Please don't
change it.
All images (excluding title screen) found via Pinterest
I watched this fascinating documentary of silent star, Buster Keaton, on TCM a few days ago and found it on YouTube to share with you. It has a lot of cool facts in it. For example, did you know that when Keaton started making talkies he had to make each movie not once, but three to four times? That's because he had to make it in English, Spanish, French, and German!! And most of the time, it was a movie he didn't even like!!
Intro by Robert Osborne
So Funny It Hurt
Seven Chances (1925) is the only silent film I've seen so far (besides Mel Brook's Silent Movie, which is also very good). I highly recommend it. I have been wanting to watch more Keaton films. Several are on YouTube.
Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help!
You know I need someone! HELP!
The first time I watched Help! it instantly became one of my favorite and most quoted movies.
Hey, someone's got a hold of me finger.
Go to the window.
Take this hastily scribbled note, hastily.
Would you pick this up for me please?
Say no more... I will say no more.
I am moving my right leg. I am moving my left leg.
I'm going to miss the sacrifice!
Hey! Be-a-tle!
England. It's a cold place.
George: I'm always getting winked at these days. It used to be you didn't it Paul?
Typed out they don't sound so funny, unless you've seen the movie before. You have to say it the way the Beatles say it.
It goes without saying that the Beatles were clearly on something when they made this movie. Most of it is pointless but that is what makes it hilarious.
The plot of the film is equally ridiculous.
Ringo (whose birthday is tomorrow by the way) is sent a giant ring from a fan. What he doesn't know is, whoever wears the ring must be sacrificed to the great Kali within a short time of wearing the ring. The sacrificial victim also has to be painted red.
The ring.
Once Ringo finds out it is a sacrificial ring he is eager to give it back. The only problem: it's stuck on his finger. The rest of the movie shows the attempts made to sacrifice Ringo.
John finds glasses in his soup.
George needs his grass carpet cut.
At the pub.
Ringo is also being chased by a mad scientist, who wants the ring so he can, "Dare I say it, rule the world."
Trying to shrink Ringo's finger.
The film also has an amazing soundtrack. I love every song in the movie (my favorite is "I Need You"). Fun Fact: the song "Another Girl" was never performed in concert by the Beatles. Paul McCartney performed it for the first time in April of this year in Japan.
The film was released in the UK on 29 July 1965 and the USA on 25 Aug 1965. This year is the 50th anniversary of it's release. If you haven't seen, I suggest you do so immediately!
The official Beatles site has lots of video clips and photos. You can buy the Deluxe Collector's Edition DVD Boxed set for $95 here. It come with a lot of great memorabilia like lobby cards and a poster. It even has a reproduction script!!
So, you know those cool Q & A things you always see floating around in the blogosphere? I finally get to join in on the fun, thanks to my fellow blogger MarsMoonlight over at Back to Golden Days (a fabulous blog by the way). She nominated me for the Liebster Award! To participate I have to: answer the 11 awesome questions she came up with, share 11 facts about myself, nominate up to 11 other bloggers, and come up with 11 questions of my own for them to answer! Let the fun begin!
1. What was the first classic film you ever saw?
I have no idea. I grew up on classic films and the Three Stooges. The Wizard of Oz (which was my favorite), The Quiet Man, Rio Grande, White Christmas, Bells of St. Mary's, Miracle on 34th Street, Arsenic and Old Lace, Bright Eyes, The Littlest Rebel, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins... I don't remember these films ever NOT being in my life. If there's anyone out there wanting to know what classic films to start their kids on, I highly recommend these. Me and my brothers all love classic films because of these.
2. Favorite movie character (classic or otherwise)?
I would have to say pretty much any William Powell character (when he's with Loy), but especially as Nick Charles (The Thin Man). A modern character: Jude Law as John Watson.
3.How many films from AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies 2007 list have you seen?
31
4. Favorite Gene Kelly film?
Well... to be completely honest I've never been fond of Gene Kelly (please don't hurt me ;). I've seen Singing in the Rain, An American in Paris, Summer Stock, and For Me and My Gal. But out of those I pick Summer Stock. I did like the scene in For Me and My Gal where he and Judy suddenly realize they're in love though.
5.If you could spend a day with any classic actor/actress, who would you choose and why?
I would probably pick Judy Garland. She was my idol growing up. I would (and still do) try to sing like her all the time and she is such a legend.
6. Is there any book you wish was adapted into a film? If so, which one?
"Enemy Brothers" by Constance Savory. It's set in England during WWII. I have no idea who I would want to play the characters though. Probably Henry Cavill for the main guy...
7.Favorite song from a movie?
"Embraceable You" from Girl Crazy. Wait, scratch that. "Over the Rainbow", duh! Also all the songs in White Christmas.
8.Favorite film from the 1940s?
Ugh, so many... How about my favorite 20?? I guess Meet John Doe.
9.Black & white or Technicolor?
Definitely black and white.
10.What actor/actress/director do you think deserved an Oscar but never got one?
First of all, I think John Wayne should have been given one a lot sooner, for The Searchers let's say? William Powell is the next one to come to mind. And Carole Lombard should have won for My Man Godfrey. And of course Judy Garland. A Juvenile Oscar just doesn't cut it.
Lombard and Powell
11. If you could cast 5 actors from any decade/era in a film, who would you cast?
I would cast Michael Callan, Cliff Robertson, Patrick Wayne, John Gavin, and Aldo Ray. I play the leading lady and they're all trying to get me to marry them :) I would never be able to decide...
Michael Callan?
Cliff Robertson?
Patrick Wayne? (you get the Duke for a father-in-law)
John Gavin?
Aldo Ray?
UPDATE: I changed my mind. I would do a nursing movie (like the nursing books written in the 50s) with Joan Chandler as the main nurse. Other cast members would include Cliff Robertson as the main doctor, Aldo Ray as the intern, Priscilla Lane as her nurse friend and roomie, and Mary Wickes as head nurse. Additional characters would include Ruth Roman (she falls in love with a dying patient) and Patricia Hitchcock in a small role. Van Johnson would be another doctor in love with Roman but unable to tell her.
11 Facts About Me (I'm not good with these kind of things...):
1. I still haven't seen Gone With the Wind, Citizen Kane, Double Indemnity, an Astaire/Rogers movie, or anything with Harold Lloyd, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, either Douglas Fairbanks (scratch that, forgot about Gunga Din), Greta Garbo (and other silent film stars), Esther Williams, Ava Gardner, Rock Hudson, Richard Burton, Marlon Brando, or James Dean. Just this past month I saw my first movies with Orson Welles, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward (together and separate). Oh, and Robert Taylor and Janet Gaynor.
2. I wish I had eyebrows like Lauren Bacall.
3. My favorite movie is not from Hollywood's golden age. If fact, it's from the worst. It's Rocky (1976).
4. Movies I have/had an obsession with (in order of release): Cat People (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), Gidget (1959), Moonstruck (1987), Signs (2002), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).
5. Actors/actresses who mesmerized me with their performances: John Garfield and Ethel Barrymore.
6. My favorite classic actors are: John Wayne, William Powell, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Melvyn Douglas, James Cagney, John Garfield, Joseph Cotten, and Dennis Morgan.
7. My favorite classic actresses are: Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Olivia de Havilland, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Simone Simon, Priscilla Lane, and Janet Leigh.
Simone Simon
8. My favorite classic TV shows are: The Three Stooges (technically they're shorts...) The Honeymooners, Love That Bob (Robert Cummings), Life with Elizabeth (Betty White), Maverick (James Garner), My Three Sons (Fred MacMurray), The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched (first 5 seasons), and Gidget (Sally Field). I like a lot more than these but I don't want this to just be a list of all the classic TV shows lol. These are ones that I've been buying on DVD (if available) and watching in order. I just started M*A*S*H a few days ago.
9. My favorite food is spaghetti (it has to be made by my mom) with a piece of buttered toast (whole wheat). My favorite ice cream is Breyers black raspberry chocolate. Whenever I go out to eat I end up ordering off the appetizer menu: mozzarella sticks or nachos (bean and cheese).
10. I want to write children's books one day.
11. I watched 302 movies last year (as opposed to only about 100 the year before at 60/40). 245 of them I had never seen before.
Here are my questions (all apply to classic movies, actors and actress, pre-1970s):
1. If you could pick any film home to live in which one would it be? You can also pick a summer home if you need to ;)
2. Film you've discovered in the past year that you are obsessed with?
3. Name an actor/actress you've recently discovered that you've been "binge-watching", or in other words, watching and reading everything you can on them.
4. What film do you love all the costumes in?
5. What actor/actress do you wish you looked like?
6. If you could change the ending of a film, which film would it be and how would it end (here's your chance to help somebody live!)?
7. What classic movie set do you wish had been preserved (not the house you chose above)?
8. If you were stranded on an island (with a TV and DVD player that were solar-powered of course), what 10 movies would you want to have with you (any decade)?
9. What question would you like to ask Robert Osborne?
10. What decade would you have liked to be a movie star in and why?
11. Favorite movie quote.
Bonus question (in case one of the above questions is just TOO hard to answer)- Who's your favorite character actor/actress (ex. Thelma Ritter, Frank McHugh, etc.)?
Those should make you think for a while!! Anyone I didn't nominate, feel free to answer any and all questions in the comments.
When World War II struck the world, everyone reacted in different ways. Some tried to ignore it. Some couldn't ignore it. For everyone it changed their lives and careers. This is evident especially in Hollywood, that dream machine that seemed untouchable by the problems of the outside world. They rolled in wealth while the rest of the country starved. They were able to ignore what the average American could not. Their everyday life was completely different than that of the common man, at least, it appeared to be on the surface. But when the Axis Powers began to take over the world, the Stars of Hollywood and the common man came together for a common cause. They were being threatened the same as the rest of the world. The question is though, HOW did they react?
The British actors wanted to rush home to England. The German actors wanted to become American citizens. The Jews wanted to pretend they weren't Jewish. The Americans either wanted to stay out of it or wanted the country to wake up and fight this evil before it reached American soil.
David O. Selznick worried that his British stars Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard would leave in the middle of filming Gone With the Wind. Alfred Hitchcock worried not only about his family back in England but also that he would lose Laurence Olivier and George Sanders, as well as Joan Fontaine before Rebecca was finished. Arsenic and Old Lace had to be wrapped up in a hurry so that director Frank Capra could report for duty. Those who were overseas making movies finished them quickly and came home. The Bogart/Astor/Greenstreet film, Across the Pacific, meant to capitalize on the success of The Maltese Falcon, was scrapped because it's subject material, thwarting a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, hit too close to home. "It was a creepy feeling," said Mary Astor, "to have been talking about the 'plans of the Japanese' in the picture and then have them practically blueprint our script"(A Life on Film. Mary Astor). On the lighter side, RKO didn't have to worry about air strikes as they "hadn't had a hit for years" (When the Stars Went to War: Hollywood and World War Two. Roy Hoopes. 1994. 77).
Once the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, however, America did not have a choice. They went to war. And what did the Stars do?
They Served Their Country
James Stewart was turned down at first because he was too skinny. So, he gained weight and made it by one ounce. He turned down the usual celebrity jobs of making training films or selling bonds and became a fighter pilot. He flew twenty combat missions and worked up to the rank of Colonel. He was highly decorated but never bragged about it. He was just doing his part like any other American.
Fear of mistake was stronger than fear of my personal safety.
David Niven rushed home to England as soon as they declared war on Germany. He tried to enlist in the RAF (Royal Air Force) but was rejected. He joined the army and became a lieutenant in the rifle brigade. Later he was assigned to a motor training battalion. He also took part in the Normandy invasion, commanding a special reconnaissance unit called "The Phantom." He was awarded the Legion of Merit.
Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps after the death of his wife, Carole Lombard (more on her below). He was sent to officer candidate school in Miami. After he graduated, his first assignment was to shoot a film about aerial gunners(which was sadly never used). He flew some missions also but everyone was afraid he had a death wish and was awarded and Air Medal and sent home.
Soon we will wear the uniforms of officers. How we look in them is not very important. How we wear them is a lot more important.
Henry Fonda enlisted in the Navy and went to the Marshall Islands, where he got his first real taste of the war. He even manned a battle station a few times. He spent most of his time in the navigation room plotting Japanese sub positions. He received a presidential citation and a Bronze Star.
This is my country and I want to be where it's happening. I don't want to be in a fake war in a studio or on location. I'm not crazy about the idea of getting hurt, but I want to be on a real ocean, not the back lot. I want to be with real sailors, not extras.
Robert Montgomery joined the Navy and commanded PT boats in the Panama Canal and in the South Pacific. He was made a lieutenant commander (and came down with malaria). Later he became a deck officer on the USS Barton and received the Bronze Star for taking part in the Normandy Invasion. His first picture after the war was They Were Expendable.
You can read about many more actors who served overseas (some hadn't become actors yet) here.
They Served on the Home Front
The Hollywood Canteen was started by Bette Davis and John Garfield (he couldn't join the army because of a heart murmur). Their purpose was to entertain and feed the troops home on leave who were too far away from home. The stars jobs were to entertain, serve food, wash dishes, and dance or talk with the boys and men who came through. They even made a movie about it! The film ha an impressive list of stars (some of which are seen below).
Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, John Garfield, & Bette Davis
The USO Show was a way to bring the entertainment to the troops, whether it be the training camps across the country or near the front line across the ocean. The most famous entertainer of USO Shows was none other than Bob Hope.
Bob Hope giving the troops something to laugh about.
Other stars who performed tirelessly were ones who were too old to fight or had health problems that prevented them from active duty. Edward G. Robinson went to Normandy shortly after D-Day where he became Little Caesar for the troops. James Cagney went as his character George M. Cohan, a "song-and-dance man." Bing Crosby sang to the troops. The song most in demand: "White Christmas," which, according its composer, Irving Berlin "took on a meaning I never intended. It became a peace song." Remember the scene in White Christmas (1954)? Fred Astaire danced, Red Skelton did skits, Jack Benny joked. And as it says in another song from White Christmas: "Jolson, Hope, and Benny all for free!" (from the song "There's a lot to be said for the Army").
The woman did their part too (see Pin-ups below).
Danny Kaye and John Garfield signing autographs for the troops.
War Bond Drives were a way for the Stars to use their status to sell War Bonds. They could stay on American soil, keep making movies, and do their part for the war. Actresses traveled all over the country and gave out autographs, sold kisses, and made millions. Carole Lombard, Dorothy Lamour, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Myrna Loy, Hedy Lamarr (she sold kisses for $25,000 each), the list goes on.
Myrna Loy was very active. Here she is in her Red Cross Uniform.
Hattie McDaniel in her uniform.
Pin-Ups boosted morale. They posed in bathing suits and sarongs; next to turkeys, pumpkins, and Christmas trees.
Betty Grable, the most famous pin-up
Jane Russell standing next to a fighter plane with her picture on it.
Marlene Dietrich, who was practically in the army. She was on Hitler's death list.
Rita Hayworth was also a popular pin-up. She did more than pose for the war though.
Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, and Veronica Lake
They Served on the Screen
John Wayne wasn't able to serve in the war due to an old injury and the fact that he was married with four children. But to everyone who went to the movies (which was a lot), it appeared that John Wayne won the war single handed. Think of Flying Tigers, The Fighting Seabees, and Back to Bataan.
John Wayne turned World War II into the greatest gunfight of them all. ~ Henry Fonda
Humphrey Bogart, who was 43, also made several war movies: the classic Casablanca, Across the Pacific, Passage to Marseille, and To Have or Have Not.
Greer Garson was Mrs. Miniver and inspired more patriotism than any other film made during the war. Winston Churchill said it was "worth one hundred battleships." A story about a mother who keeps her family together during the trying time of the Blitz, it was the perfect message for the time. The sermon that is preached at the end of the film was even printed up into pamphlets and dropped over German-occupied countries. President Roosevelt said the film was "significant in establishing in America the ideas of self-sacrifice and of coming to the aid of England."
They Gave Their Lives
Carole Lombard was the first star casualty of the war. In January of 1942, a little over a month after Pearl Harbor, she had just finished up the first and very successful big bond tour (she sold two million dollars worth of bonds in one day). She then boarded a plane to head back to Hollywood and her husband, Clark Gable. Sadly, her plane crashed into a mountain, killing everyone aboard, which included Lombard's mother and fifteen army men. Gable was devastated and followed Carole's last words to him, "Pappy, you'd better get in this man's army."
Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind) also died in a plane crash. In 1943 his plane was shot down by German Fighters over the Bay of Biscay. He was on his way from Lisbon (where he was involved in intelligence-gathering activities) to England. He was 50 years old.
This post (which I know leaves out a lot of stars) is part of the Classic Movie History Project Blogathon. Be sure and check out each days entries. You'll learn a lot!
