It could have been a good movie.
Spencer Tracy portrays the complexities of the man that this film was based upon.
Now I’ll Tell was written by Mrs. Carolyn Rothstein, widow of New York gambler and crime boss Arnold Rothstein. Continue reading
Caption on rear of photograph: “Sylvia Sidney is appearing in Paramount Pictures.” photo: Paramount Pictures 1933
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) was born in the Bronx as Sophia Kosow. Sylvia’s father and mother divorced soon after her birth. Her mother married Sigmund Sidney and he adopted her. By the time she was 15 Sylvia had decided she wanted to be an actor and started taking lessons at Theater Guild’s School For Acting. Appearing on stage in an amateur production a New York Times critic who happened to catch the performance gave her rave reviews. More stage roles lead to Hollywood talent scouts knocking on her door.
By the 1930s Sylvia was starring in major films such as Fury (with Spencer Tracy), Sabotage (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) and Dead End (with Humphrey Bogart). Sylvia married Random House publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935. The marriage lasted less than seven months. In his autobiography, Cerf states Continue reading
William Holden & Veronica Lake in I Wanted Wings (1941) – photo: Paramount Pictures
If you hear people lament that today’s movie stars don’t stack up to the old stars, there are probably many reasons for the lack of charisma or star power today. Regardless of their approach to acting, the old-time Hollywood stars all had one thing in common: they came through the studio system, where they were trained and “groomed” to be and act like movie stars. How each actor accomplished that varied from actor to actor.
Whatever techniques they used to develop their acting style; “The Method,” “Chekhov,” or simply showing up and knowing your lines, movie stars usually could provide philosophy or insight into their craft when being interviewed by the press. Whether they had honed their skills on the legitimate stage or come straight from a farm, to be a star you had to learn and understand something about acting.
Here are twelve old time movie stars expressing their views, sometimes simply, other times with great insight about acting.
Veronica Lake – “I’m no great actress. I just had a movie job dumped into my lap, the public seemed to like me, and that’s all there was to it.” (Wide World Features May 3, 1942)
Rod Steiger – “Good acting is like good love-making. Leave yourself alone and explore. Do it. Don’t watch yourself do it. Don’t think about yourself doing it. You just go from moment to moment. But don’t take anything for granted either, especially not in acting. That’s when you get your ass kicked.” (Los Angeles Times September 15, 1994)
Yul Bryner – “I’m not of the can-kicking, shovel-carrying, ear-scratching, torn T-shirt school of acting. There are very few real men in the movies these days. Yet being a real man is the most important quality an actor can offer on the screen.” (Detroit Free Press April 27, 1958)
Paul Muni – “Acting is a scientific art. It’s a matter of trial and error. You try out your effects like a man who is experimenting on a new chemical formula. I enjoy the experimenting.” (Boston Globe Feb. 6, 1949)
Barbara Stanwyck on reluctantly accepting the role of the “no good” Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity – “Once I said yes I was awfully glad. During the making of it Fred (MacMurray) would go to the rushes. I remember once the next day he said, ‘You’re not acting, you’re enjoying it.’ And I remember saying ,’Fred, really, how was I?’ And very candidly he looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know about you- but I was wonderful!’ And that was such a true remark. Actors only look at themselves.” (Los Angeles Times April 5, 1987)
Spencer Tracy – “I’ve always played the same character. Larry Olivier says the way to act is learn your lines and get on with it. I’m Spencer Tracy with some deference to the character. When a person says he’s an actor – he’s a personality. The whole idea is to show your personality. There are people who are much better technically, but who cares? Nobody cares.” (Los Angeles Times November 18, 1962) Continue reading
There are a number of classic movie fans who like Katharine Hepburn as an actress but don’t care for her looks.
Looking at a photograph of Hepburn like this one taken in 1940 by Vandamm Studio, how could anyone say she doesn’t look absolutely beautiful?
The one feature Katharine Hepburn did not like about herself, especially as she aged, was her neck. She called it her “turkey neck.” By the end of the 1940s, wrinkles around her neck made her self conscious, and she would frequently cover up her neck both on screen and off. Continue reading