Category Archives: Movies

Classic Hollywood #162 – Ricardo Montalban & Audrey Totter

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Ricardo Montalban and Audrey Totter Dine At Romanoff’s – 1951

INSIDE HOLLYWOOD by Nat Dallinger (week ending July 13 1951)
Audrey Totter is an attentive listener as Ricardo Montalban related a story during a dinner at Romanoff’s, in Beverly Hills. A radio actress before embarking on a screen career, Audrey once worked as a door-to-door saleslady for a wax concern. After a highly successful career in radio, she received offers from the New York stage and Hollywood. Selecting the latter, this blue-eyed blonde has won top starring roles for herself in numerous motion pictures. Romantically she is expected to become the bride of film producer Armand Deutsch. photo: Nat Dallinger for King Features Syndicate

Nat Dallinger would capture Hollywood celebrities in candid moments for his syndicated photo column Inside Hollywood.

Audrey Totter (1917-2013) never became a Hollywood star of the first magnitude but appeared steadily in films throughout the 1940s and early 50s. Continue reading →

Ronald Reagan Talks About Getting A Pitching Lesson From Bob Lemon

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Cleveland Indians Star Bob Lemon Teaches Pitching To Ronald Reagan – 1952

Bob Lemon And Ronald Reagan Reminisce 30 Years After Making A Movie Together

Pitching For Pictures
Hollywood, Calif. – Bob Lemon, (left) star hurler of the Cleveland Indians, goes through some mound paces with actor Ronald Reagan, who’ll play the famed Grover Cleveland Alexander in a film now in production. Lemon, who also has a part in the film, was hired to give Reagan a few tips on pitching style. credit: United Press (1/28/52)

The subject has the makings of a fine dramatic movie. The Winning Team (1952) starring future President Ronald Reagan along with Doris Day is Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #161 – Eight Warner Bros. Bathing Beauty Starlets 1937

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Jane Wyman & Marie Wilson Among Warner Bros. Hopefuls

The Charge of The Powder Puff Brigade
These Warner starlets (L. to R.) Jane Wyman, Shirley Lloyd, Ann Nagel, Marie Wilson, Linda Perry, Jane Bryan, Rosalind Marquis and Carol Hughes, prepare to “fire” from their portable outdoor dressing table. photo: Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. 1937

The headline here is a spoof of the 1936 film The Charge of The Light Brigade starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Continue reading →

The Terrible Truth – Marijuana Use Leads To Being A Junkie 1951

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73 Years Ago American Teens Were Warned About The Dangers Of Pot

In the pantheon of anti-drug films The Terrible Truth (1951), a ten minute short, holds a special place in my heart.

Not because of its low production values. Not because its message is totally alarmist. But akin to many stag films of the same period, Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #160 – Virginia Bruce Wedding – 1937

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Virginia Bruce With Friends At Wedding Party 1937

At Reception Following Bruce-Ruben Nuptials
Beverly Hills, Calif. – Virginia Bruce is pictured above with three of her screenland friends at the reception following her marriage to director J. Walter Ruben. From left to right are; Dolores Del Rio, Virginia Bruce, Mrs. Jack Warner and Mrs. Gary (Sandra) Cooper. The newly wedded couple’s honeymoon has been delayed until sometime after Christmas when they will be able to take a respite from their screen duties. 12/20/1937 credit: International News Photos

The wedding itself was small by Hollywood standards Continue reading →

See Audrey Hepburn Genuinely Freak Out On Film

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How The Improvised Scene In Roman Holiday That Frightened Audrey Hepburn Was Conceived

Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday (1953)

When shooting a film there’s only one chance to get a genuine reaction for a scene that is not in the script.

In director Willy Wyler’s 1953 film Roman Holiday there is an improvised scene that star Audrey Hepburn was not told about.

Who came up with the idea to improvise is open to debate; director Wyler or co-star Gregory Peck.

In Jan Herman’s excellent biography A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood’s Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler (Putnam) 1995, two versions are given for the genesis of the famous scene: Continue reading →

Movie Tie-In Publicity Failure 1948

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Who Is This Woman Selected As “Miss Panic For 1948”?

If a bizarre pose, pointy brassiere and looking up somebody’s nostrils are considered sexy then this photo has the necessary boxes checked.

The caption on the rear of the photo says:

“Candis Leo age 19 from West McHenry (Illinois) is selected to be Miss Panic for 1948.” (credit: unidentified February 2, 1948)

Besides the unusual pose, why is this publicity photo a complete failure?

For one, the woman in the picture is identified as Candis Leo.

It is not. Continue reading →

Miss America Swimsuit Contestants -1926

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Those Racy Bathing Suits In The 1926 Miss America Beauty Pageant

Pick of Nation In Race For Nation’s Beauty Crown!
A staggering fascinating view of the cream of America’s beauty , gathered from all corners of the United States to vie for title of Miss America at Atlantic City. The beauties of all sorts and moods – are pictured as they appeared September 8, lined up for rehearsal of ceremony of picking of winner. photo: Pacific and Atlantic Photos 9/9/1926

The Miss America prize was awarded to “The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America” starting in 1921. As you can see in our photo, originally the competitors were from various cities around the United States and not representing individual states.

The irrelevant Miss America contest still takes place but without the bathing suit competition. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #159 – Humphrey Bogart Gets Married

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Humphrey Bogart Marries Wife Number Three, Mayo Methot – 1938

Few Hollywood duos are eternally associated with one another like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Bogie and Bacall. Bogie and Betty. Bogie’s baby. All phrases indicating the inexorable linking of the couple.

But Lauren Bacall was not Humphrey Bogart’s first wife.

Humphrey Bogart was married three times before meeting and falling in love with Lauren Bacall during the 1943 filming of To Have and Have Not. Bogart was 43, Bacall just 19.

Bogart’s first wife Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #158 – Ingrid Bergman Goes Skiing

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Ingrid Bergman Skis At Sun Valley Idaho – 1946

Well That Was Fun
Ingrid Bergman is ready for a rest now, following a ski trip down the slopes at Sun Valley, Idaho. The famous resort, taken over by the Navy during the war, will be open to the public this fall.  March 24, 1946 photo from Steve Hannagan, Public Relations

Ingrid Bergman and a handful of celebrities were special guests at Sun Valley to promote the fact that the resort would be re-opening.

Among the skiers with Bergman that week were Gary Cooper Continue reading →