Hollywood Auction Catalogs

 

This year I have discovered Auction Catalogs. Unfortunately - rather than being collected in one fabulous museum - costumes, jewelry, photos, and props from Classic Hollywood films are often owned by private collectors or consist of personal collections auctioned off by the actor or actress's family after their passing. Oftentimes the person who buys these items ends up selling them after a while and we end up with annual actions with catalogs featuring pages of fabulous items.

On Nov. 18, Julien's Auctions is having an auction consisting entirely of jewelry from the famous Joseff of Hollywood. The catalog, which you can view online, has over 400 pages of glittering jewels that once adorned the most beautiful of women and the most handsome of men. Here are a few of my favorite pages.

 

If you could own any of these pieces, or any of the other pieces in the catalog, which would you choose? Oh! To be fabulously wealthy at a time like this!

 

Update: Last night I started watching Rose-Marie (1936) and I noticed the bracelet Jeannette MacDonald wears on her left wrist appears to be the same one worn by Myrna Loy I shared above. As both films were made by MGM in 1936 and had their jewelry provided by Joseff of Hollywood I am almost certain it is the same piece.

 

Movies I Watched in May

I love the packaging of this set (except for the fact that there's a picture of Carole and Clark Gable on the back and on the menu for Hands Across the Table when it's supposed to be Fred MacMurray).

This month I finally pulled out my Carole Lombard Glamour Collection dvd set and watched the four films on it that I hadn't yet seen. I've had it for over two years but kept putting off watching any of the films because I felt that if I did I would have to write a blog post on it. Believe me, I put off watching movies I really want to see for this reason all the time. But I was in the mood for some Carole so I just went ahead and watched it.

I also caught quite a bit of Clark Gable, who is TCM's Star of the Month, as well as his frequent co-star Joan Crawford. I definitely got a little misty eyed watching the documentary Clark Gable: Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

Another thing I accomplished was to finally watch the entire Back to the Future trilogy. Before this month I had only seen the end of the first one and the entire third one (three times). I am now working my way through the hours of special features included on the 40th anniversary Blu-ray set.

1. Laughing Sinners (1931) - Clark Gable & Joan Crawford
2. Possessed (1931) - Clark Gable & Joan Crawford
3. Chained (1934) - Clark Gable & Joan Crawford
4. We're Not Dressing (1934) - Carole Lombard & Bing Crosby, George Burns & Gracie Allen
5. Hands Across the Table (1935) - Carole Lombard & Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy
6. After Office Hours (1935) - Clark Gable & Constance Bennett, Billie Burke
7. The Girl from 10th Avenue (1935) - Bette Davis & Ian Hunter
8. The Golden Arrow (1936) - Bette Davis & George Brent
9. The Princess Comes Across (1936) - Carole Lombard & Fred MacMurray, William Frawley 
10. Love Before Breakfast (1936) - Carole Lombard, Cesar Romero
11. And So They Were Married (1936) - Melvyn Douglas & Mary Astor
12. Cain and Mabel (1936) - Clark Gable & Marion Davies (my first of her films)
13. Varsity Show (1937) - Dick Powell, Priscilla & Rosemary Lane
14. Lucky Night (1939) - Myrna Loy & Robert Taylor
15. Strange Cargo (1940) - Clark Gable & Joan Crawford, Ian Hunter, Peter Lorre
16. Happy Land (1943) - Don Ameche, Harry Carey, Frances Dee
17. Adventure (1945) - Clark Gable & Greer Garson, Thomas Mitchell, Joan Blondell
18. Miranda (1948) - Glynis Johns, Margaret Rutherford
19. Pinky (1949) - Jeanne Crain, Ethel Waters, Ethel Barrymore 
20. Above and Beyond (1952) - Robert Taylor & Eleanor Parker
21. Mad About Men (1954) - Glynis Johns, Margaret Rutherford
22. *Smokey and the Bandit (1977) - Burt Reynolds & Sally Fields, Jackie Gleason (in theaters!!)
23. Back to the Future (1985) - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
24. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) - Rick Moranis
25. Back to the Future Part II (1989) - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
26. *Back to the Future Part III (1990) - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
27. *Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell
28. Ransom (1996) - Mel Gibson, Gary Sinise
29. Just My Luck (2006) - Lindsey Lohan & Chris Pine
30. *This Means War (2012) - Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy 
31. Hell or High Water (2016) - Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster

Favorite Film of the month: I watched a lot of great films this month but I have to say seeing Smokey and the Bandit on the big screen was a blast. I also really enjoyed Hands Across the Table.

Least favorite film: Although I love Carole Lombard, I'm going to have to say Love Before Breakfast. The Carole I know would not have put up with Preston Foster, whose character in the movie is a huge jerk. I'm pretty sure I had a look of disgust on my face whenever he showed up. Carole is gorgeous though and the Pekinese he gives her is absolutely the cutest thing ever (according to Carole and Co. it was Carole's best-known pet, Pushface).

Wrapping Up "Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel" Blogathon

Here are the final posts to this highly successful Blogathon. I know Carole would be honored to see the wealth of love and honor she has been given these past few days commemorating her amazing life and career that was cut shot by a tragic accident. And I know she will continue to live on in our hearts and in the hearts of countless new fans in the future.

Final Posts:

As you can see, Carole is very sad this Blogathon is over.

The Wonderful World of Cinema looks at The Contagious Dynamism of Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey.

 

Movie Rob covers two movies: To Be or Not To Be (1942) and Made For Each Other (1939).

My wonderful co-host In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood closes things out with her beautifully written Carole Lombard Tribute.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in this Blogathon!!!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I hope to see you all at my next Blogathon, John Garfield: The Original Rebel, running from March 3rd to 5th.

Carole Lombard's Star Sapphires

A while back while scrolling through photos of Carole Lombard, as one usually does, I noticed she was wearing a unique brooch and ring in many of them, whether they were shots from a film, publicity photos, or candids. Here is a sampling below (and an excuse to post a lot of photos of Carole):

My Man Godfrey (1936)

With Caeser Romero at the 1936 Mayfair Ball.

Fools for Scandal (1938)

 

   

After her divorce from William Powell, Carole treated herself to some magnificent star sapphires, the most notable one being the 152 carat brooch featured prominently in My Man Godfrey (1936).

I found this quite interesting as William Powell gave his girlfriend Jean Harlow a similarly sized star sapphire ring, as shown below:

I discovered a website which created a copy of the long-since-missing original for a display of the dress (which was itself lost and then found) worn in My Man Godfrey (1936).

The beaded dress from My Man Godfrey (1936) on display with replica star sapphire brooch. You can read how the brooch was made here.

The brooch apparently came apart to create a pendant and a ring (though you will notice in some photos she is wearing both the brooch and a ring so she had more than one).

 

 

Star sapphires, in addition to being Carole's birthstone, were in vogue at the time and popular with several movie stars, as mentioned in the articles above. However, a few years later, Carole was interested in selling her collection. We do not know if she ever did or if they went down on the plane with her. It is a mystery that will hopefully one day be solved. You can read more about her collection and theories here.

This post is part of the Carole Lombard: The Profane Angel Blogathon hosted by myself and Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Please check out all of the other posts celebrating this one-of-a-kind woman.