Thanks for the comments on my last post! It really encourages me to keep posting-(along with The Johnsonian, Winthrop University's student newspaper having my blog linked to their page mytjnow.com)
Have you ever seen a movie that is so similar to another one, yet you know it isn't a remake?
I'm not saying something like Disturbia (2007) and Rear Window (1954) which are so similar it might as well be a remake and there is indeed a court case over the fact that the screenwriter of Distrubia majorly knocked off Rear Window.
I'm talking about a two movies that people would not generally think about as similar unless you sit and consider the plots and characters.
The two movies I have in mind are Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940)and Elephant Walk (1954).
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Both have very similar plots. The odd thing is that both of these films were movies adapted from books. Elephant Walk was written by Robert Standish in 1948 and Rebecca was written by Daphne Du Maurier ten years prior to this in 1938.
It's possible that he might have gotten his idea from Rebecca, since most writers get their inspiration from other mediums. However, they are so similar that plagiarism should have been called.
Let's briefly over view the plots before we proceed with the comparison.
Rebecca (1940): A young woman (Joan Fontaine) meets a rich widower (Lawerence Oliver) and has a whirlwind romance. They fall in love and marry after not knowing each other for very long. Shortly after moving into her new home, the young bride finds that she is not in control of her own household. Mrs. Danvers the house keeper underminds everything the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter tries to do and constantly reminds her that she is not as good as the deceased wife, Rebecca.
Elephant Walk (1954): Rich plantation owner John Wiley (Peter Finch) from Ceylon comes to England specifically to find a bride who ends up being Ruth Wiley (Elizabeth Taylor). She marries him after only knowing him a brief time and finds plantation life in Africa very difficult. Not only is life in Africa strenuous, but also the fact that the head man servant, Appuhamy, won't let Ruth run her home. It also makes things difficult because everyone idolizes John's father, the late Mr. Wiley, and talks about him as if he is still alive.
If you don't see the similarities through the plot summaries, then this will help:
1.) Both movies have a creepy housekeeper that won't let our heroine live her life and run her home. It doesn't make things any better when their husbands are cold and don't stand up for them at all.
2.) Both have sketchy men who don't support their wives or help them out. They both flake around doing their own thing and let the wives flounder in these huge houses with insubordinate servants. Usually the wives' plea for support ends in an altercation of some sort.
3.) Both movies have party scenes that don't end well for the wife. In Rebecca it is the costume party where the 2nd Mrs. De Winter dresses in the same costume Rebecca wore on an occasion (this was suggested by Mrs. Danvers of course). This particular costume upsets Mr. De Winter a great deal. In Elephant Walk its a crazy dinner party consisting of all men and Ruth being the only woman. It gets out of hand when all the men are drunk and riding around on bicycles in doors. Ruth doesn't enjoy that her husband is continuing to act like a bachelor and keep late hours when she wants to go to bed.
4.)Both movies have servants who worship someone who is dead and continues to act as if they are alive. In Rebecca it is Mrs. Danvers constantly reminiscing about old times with Rebecca of when she would get ready for parties and brush her hair as Rebecca told her about her evening. In Elephant Walk it's Appuhamy still serving his late master and acting as if he is alive and giving orders.
Rebecca's address book and calenders still layed out like she is there to use them.
A ceremony was held every year on the old master's birthday.
5.) Both movies have forbidden rooms that belong to the idolized dead people. Naturally both women sneak in them and look around, not that I blame them; I would do the same.
6.) Both homes end up getting destroyed in the end of the films.
I don't blame the elephants for being angry, but who knew they could do so much damage? Sorry, I had to put two pictures from the house destruction part, because it's just too exciting.
7.) *Spoilers* Both of the sketch servants have their lives come to an end in gruesome ways.
Obviously, waving your hands around is going to stop oncoming elephants.
8.) In the end, both married couples end up happy and in love. Both men came through for their women eventually, but they sure took their time about it.
Ruth and John also enjoy watching their house burn.
However, one thing Elephant Walk had that Rebecca didn't was....the illicit lover in the form of Dana Andrews, one of my biggest actor crushes.
Those are the main comparisons I picked out. I can't find anything on how these are potentially connected.
If you know anything about why these are so similar, please let me know.
My blog is going to be revamped, or re-sheiked, which ever you prefer.
It isn't necessarily going to look different, even though I would love to have some awesome template instead of what Blogger provides.
I am going to keep the same Cyd Charisse picture from Party Girl, but as some of you might have noticed I have changed the title of my blog.
What was formally known as "Living on Velvet" (1935), based off the obscure George Brent and Kay Francis film, has now been changed to "Comet Over Hollywood."
Kay Francis and George Brent in Living on Velvet
The new blog title is based off yet another Kay Francis movie "Comet Over Broadway" (1938).
The reason for the change from to Broadway to Hollywood is simple, I am writing about classic film rather than the theater.
I will tell you the story behind the blog title change:I made this blog back in March 10, 2009 and named it "Living On Velvet" borrowing the title from the Kay Francis movie and using the same idea that they talk about in "Cimmaron" about how "Everything is just so much velvet."
I also chose the name Living On Velvet because it seemed original and obscure enough that no one else would choose it.
Apparently it was not original enough, for their seem to be other classic movie fans who payed attention to Kay Francis during her TCM Star of the Month spot in September 2008.Yes, there was another blog named Living On Velvet.
Kay Francis: long-suffering in her movies while wearing magnificent clothing and looking fabulous.
Though it was created eight days after mine, they had a larger following and more blog posts than I so I felt the need to change my name to Comet Over Hollywood.
I won't mince words when I saw it was pretty devastating because I really did like my old title haha.
Anyhow, I also want to change up my content in upcoming blog posts.
Besides maybe two of my blog posts, no one cares about long drawn out plot summaries with glorified pictures about movies like I did with "This is the Army" and "Susan Slade."
I want to make my blog more 'provocative' raising questions about film castings and try to do interesting comparisons between movies that are similar but not remakes.
Therefore, I hope everyone enjoys and finds some sort of new knowledge from the upcoming blog posts and is not too confused by the name change.
I leave you a picture of Van Johnson to brighten your day. Isn't he cute?
Last Friday I was hanging out with Books-A-Million coworkers, Markie and David. We went to David's house to watch a movie. (Don't worry this post isn't a dull account of my weekend or anything, it is still classic film related.)
Anyway, David had told me that his father was a huge classic film fan. I thought that was exciting (I always like to hear about or talk to other classic film lovers), but then at the same time I was a bit skeptical. Usually when people say they like old movies the only old movies they really like are either a.) Audrey Hepburn movies or b.) typical old movies that everyone has seen like Casablanca (1942) and Gone with the Wind (1939).
When I saw David's father's classic movie collection I was really, really pleasantly surprised! They had a ton of Esther Williams movies (and I am a huge Esther fan), Doris Day movies that aren't "Pillow Talk" (movies like the Moonlight Bay series) and they even owned Andy Hardy movies! Even though I do not enjoy Mickey Rooney's over the top acting, I really thought I was the only one who watched the series movies such as Dr. Kildare, Maisie or Andy Hardy. The series movies sometimes can be irritating-such as some of Dr. Kildare's questionable medical decisions and Andy Hardy's fickle girl situations-but they are wholesome fun and heartwarming.
Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) surrounded by Polly Benedict (Ann Rutherford), Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) and Cynthia Potter (Lana Turner).
David's father even owned movies that I thought no one else had ever seen since they were released like the movie Happy Go Lovely (1951) starring David Niven and Vera-Ellen and That Midnight Kiss (1949) starring Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson I was pretty much in heaven.
My little story leads us to the topic of this post: How I define a classic movie fan and my pet peeve of the old movie 'posers' . I know I am a little fanatical and old movies are my life, but if you are going to claim to like old movies you have to know your stuff.
Another thing that drives me crazy is what consumers and manufacturers consider when it comes to classic movie merchandise (not including books, there is an abundance of wonderful film books). Everywhere you go, you see mugs, purses, T-shirts, magnets, etc with four people on them 1.) Marilyn Monroe 2.) Audrey Hepburn 3.) James Dean 4.) John Wayne. Then I go to Los Angeles with high hopes of Doris Day and Esther Williams merchandise, but I was quickly dismayed. In Hollywood, the movie mecca of the world, they still carried the same crap that they sell in Greenville, South Carolina. (Don't get me wrong, I like Dean, Wayne and Hepburn but I want some variety.)
In my conversations with supposed old movie fans, there are typical answers that people give me that drive me up the wall. Here is a list which separates the men from the boys when it comes to classic films:
1.) When I ask which old movies they like they say they love all Audrey Hepburn films, which for many only includes Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Sabrina (1954) and Roman Holiday (1953). When I continue to question they basically say that the only old movies they have seen are Audrey Hepburn's. This does not qualify you as an old movie fanatic, but possibly an Audrey fanatic.
A picture that hangs in almost every sorority girl's dorm room.
2.) Some people say they are old movie fans and proceed to list classic movies that they have seen, but are the very typical classics that EVERYONE has seen like Casablanca (1942) , Gone With the Wind (1939), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and The Searchers (1956). These are all lovely movies, but they are certainly not the ONLY old movies out there.
3.) When you like the remake better than the original. I don't care what you say, saying You've Got Mail (1998) is way better than Shop Around the Corner (1940) is practically blasphemous! Ernst Lubitsch (director of Shop Around the Corner) was one of the best, most celebrated and most sought after directors in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Lubitsch has 74 director credits to his name. Whoever Nora Ephron is (director of You've Got Mail) is basically a nobody. She has directed all of 8 films and is not nearly the caliber that Lubitsch was or ever will be. I also don't particularly care for the 1949 remake of Shop Around the Corner, titled In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson. Even if it does have Van Johnson in it, the love me life, it is rather weak and features some really stupid songs like "I Don't Care" which seems to last for ten minutes. I say this to show that it is not because I dislike Meg Ryan or Tom Hanks, I am showing that I don't like any remake, Van Johnson or no Van Johnson.
James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in Shop Around the Corner.
And don't even get me started on The Women (2008) Eva Mendes as Crystal!? Robert Osborne even scoffed at the 2008 remake while he was introducing the 1939 version on Turner Classic Movies this month. How anyone can think that Meg Ryan, Annette Benning and Eva Mendes could ever be half the actresses that Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell and Joan Crawford were is laughable. The Women (1939) was also remade in 1956 as The Opposite Sex with one of my favorite actresses, June Allyson, but it stunk as well. The whole charm of The Women (1939) is that it is an all female cast, no men to be found, and shows the cattiness and hypocrisy of women who claim they are friends. The Opposite Sex had men in it, and the 2008 version of The Women celebrated women's friendship and togetherness. What? Again, I wanted to note that I disliked the 1956 version to show that it was not just recent remakes that I was prejudiced against, it is all remakes.
Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell in 1939 The Women Ann Sheridan and Dolories Grey in The Opposite Sex with men! Meg Ryan and Annette Bening in 2008 version of The Women
Other remakes that are sub par: Father of the Bride (1991)-Steve Martin reprising a Spencer Tracy role, are you kidding? Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)-another Steve Martin movie that had nothing to with the original movie which was about a real life family living in the early 1900's. You put the Gilbreth's to shame.
4.) I understand people might not know who Kay Francis and Constance Bennett are...but if you don't know very well-known, identifiable and easy actors like Bette Davis, Clark Gable or Cary Grant (oh yes, I know people who don't know who they are) then you have some studying to do before you come back and tell me that you like old movies.
5.) Orson Welles once was quoted as saying, "Keep Ted Turner and his damn crayolas away from my movies." Welles was perfectly correct. Watch any Shirley Temple movie or possibly A Miracle on 34th Street (1947) or It's a Wonderful Life (1946) on an old VHS tape or AMC and see the muddy colorization of these films. Colorization looks like crap. People have grey teeth and outfits are colored with terrible hosiptals greens and Barbie pinks. It completely takes the charm away from the movie when Shirley has grey teeth when she is singing "An Old Straw Hat" in Rebecca of Sunnybrooke Farms (1938). People complain until they are purple about being forced to watch a black and white movie, I'm sorry for your misfortune.
1935 movie She colorized She in the original black and white. Notice how in the color version they didn't even bother to color the walls.
It takes a lot more work and artistic lighting and direction to shoot a black and white movie. Any self respecting old movie fan would know that. Even from taking a simple film photography class in college, I realized that taking black and white pictures were alot more difficult depending on what time of day it was and how much light was available. It was very frustrating.
Here is a list I have created of what a fan of the Golden Era should or would know. Things a true classic movie fan should know: 1.) That TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is better than AMC (American Movie Classics). 2.) The significance of the year 1939. 3.) Basic actors like Cary Grant, Claudette Colbert, Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. 4.) Recognizable supporting and character actors like Keenan Wynn, William Frawley and Charles Coburn. 5.) The dawn of talkies. 6.) What talkies did to silent film actors. 7.) Who Rudolph Valentino is. 8.) Directors like John Ford, William Wyler, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and George Cukor. 9.) What the Arthur Freed Unit was at MGM 10.) Which studio the quote "More stars than there are in the heavens" refers to.
I write this blog not trying to convert you over to a classic movie fan. I don't care if you like them or not, I am just saying that the things I have listed are fairly basic and are known by not just film historians, Robert Osborne or myself. So next time you tell me you like old movies and I say, "What kind?" please never ever say "I like movies from the 1980's and 1990's." or "Well, I only just like Breakfast at Tiffany's" because you will have gotten my hopes up for nothing.
It has once again been another long absence from my blog. I didn't mean for it to be this way; I actually have several movies in mind to blog about, but I end up watching more movies instead of blogging. Movie watching is what I do, as lazy it may be-but sometimes I do exercise while watching movies!
Today's blog is the Ronald Reagan/Joan Leslie movie "This is the Army" (1943).
Now I can already hear some of you (especailly you liberals) groaning, "Ronaaald Reeeeaaaggan. Uggggggh." Well I don't know much about how he was politically, but I do know that he was a top notch actor for Warner Brothers back in the 1930's and 1940's.
Those politicians and late night talk show hosts just look like uneducated film boobs when they talk about Ronald Reagan's sub-par career, because they obviously know nothing about classic film or Warner Brothers in the late 1930's and early 1940's. Ronald Reagan was actually the star of the month for March on Turner Classic Movies-which is nothing to sneeze at. Usually it is someone like Spencer Tracey, Sean Connery or Bette Davis.
Robert Osborne writes about the star of the month at the beginning of every month in the Now Playing Guide (which I subscribe to of course) and wrote very glowing things about Reagan's career. He defended him against those mean talk show hosts who made it sound like he was only in three or four movies and talked about the movies he made famous. Ronald Reagan even has two very famous film quotes:
1.) "Go out there and win one for the Gipper" from Knute Rockne
2.) "Where is the rest of me?" from King's Row (probably his most famous movie)
Anyways, I'll get off of my Ronald Reagan tanget and talk about the movie after I say this-watch any Warner Brother's movie-whether it is with Bette Davis, Humphry Bogart or Priscilla Lane and you might just spot Ronald Reagan doing very well in his acting.
So let's discuss "This is the Army"
If you like a good sentimental World War II canteen homefront feel in a movie, this movie is for you. It is one of those movies (like Hollywood Canteen) that make you tear up when they sing patriotic songs because you think about the boys in World War II and how happy and patriotic everyone was during that very popular war-past and present. Maybe I'm the only one who gets teary eyed because I'm a sap.
This movie is also in surprising Technicolor! "This is the Army" was actually Warner Brothers first three-strip Technicolor film. Granted, the first two strip color film was released in 1934, but when the war began it was very unusual to see color films during this time-possibly the reason why there was such an explosion of color in the 1950's (not to mention the competition with the dawn of television).
The movie begins with George Murphy (as Jerry Jones)-one of the Golden Age of Hollywood's best dancers-doing a vaudeville show right before the start of World War I. During the show, Rosmary DeCamp (as Ethel Jones)-who seems to always get stuck with mother roles-is standing off stage and recieves a draft notice for Jerry. He opens the letter and after reading about his "command performance" proposes to Ethel and dubs her a war bride.
Here is a clip so you can see for youself the effortless dancing skills of George Murphy:
This is a wonderful film, but when I started watching it I was very concerned that it was going to go down hill with the entry of....Charles Butterworth. He is not a noteable actor today, he died very young in the 1940's in an automobile actress and was engaged at the time to Natalie Schaffer (the millionaire's wife on Gilligan's Island), but he usually plays an irritating, scatter-brained fellow who gets confused easily. His name also makes me think of syrup or popcorn too.
Charles Butterworth
Surprisingly though, Mr. Butterworth played a loving and sweet man with only a few irritating scenese. Butterworth (as Eddie Dibble) plays an inept trumpt player who struggles through Reveile every morning. Alan Hale-as Sgt. McGee) (father of Alan Hale, Jr. better known as the Skipper on Gilligan's Island) plays a loud mouthed drill sargent that is a thorn in everyone's side. McGee is exasperated with Jerry Jones when he says he wants to dance after McGree asked what he wants to do in the army. After some discussion with McGee's supieriors, it is decided that it would be good for the men to put on a show for their camp for moral. Now, I'm not positive how they would have time during basic training for singing, dancing and practices; let alone be allowed to, but it makes for a nice story.
Butterworth attempting to play the trumpet
The name of their show is "Yip Yip Yaphank" (odd, crazy name but it is refreshing to have something silly rather than vulgar), during their show they end up being shipped out to fight World War I overseas. They change the finale of the their show so they march out of the theater not to waste any time with their orders. The whole crowd stands up and cheers and claps as they leave and wives kiss their husbands. It is a very touching scene which brings tears to my eyes at least.
Flash forward to a battle montage of the men fighting in France. Finally we see a cave in of a roof and Jerry Jones is injured. He has injured his leg, which will ultimately hinder his career as a dancer. He laughs it off with his friends, but we all know it is killing him. We also find out that Jerry Jones is having a child with his wife Ethel. Jerry Jones and his friends all toast to The War That Ends All Wars and may their families live with peace.
We move forward about twenty years and hear a radio announcer talking about the trouble in Europe. Following this we have two musical guest performances of two of the great performers of the 1940's.
The first is Kate Smith singing "God Bless America." It is announced as a brand new song, which is funny since we all have known it forever. I have never been a huge fan of this song-probably one of my least favorite patriotic songs-but Smith's version is very moving. Kate Smith is not the a very beautiful woman, but she is a really great singer! The second performance is by the lovely Frances Langford singing "What Does He Look Like" talking about the soldier she will fall in love with.
Kate Smith
During the song, we see Charles Butterworth (Eddie Dibble) listening to the song on a radio outside of his music store and we also see his lovely daughter JOAN LESLIE. Now, I am not going to hold anything back. This is one reason I wanted to see this movie because I absolutley love Joan Leslie (Eileen Dibble). She is pretty, sweet and gracious with autographs and interviews. I plan on naming my daughter after her...no really I am.
We also see other men from the Yip Yip Yaphank show like George Tobias (Mr. Cravetts on Bewitched) with their families and businesses so we can see their lives as they are civilans now. This little montage is rather touching as well because it shows some of them preparing to go back to war and worrying about their sons going to war as well. We then see our hero, Jerry Jones, who now owns a music business and enters Ronald Reagan (Johnny Jones), looking very attractive!
Johnny (Ronald) enlists in the war and visits his girlfriend Eileen (Joan)to tell her, and she seems really excited that he enlisted. They go out and have fun that evening but it soon turns sour. Eileen is anxious to get married to him before he leaves so that they can have security while he is gone. Johnny wants to marry her, but tells her a soldier has nothing to offer a wife and would rather wait until he returns from the war. One of the major underlying reasons he doesn't want to get married before he leaves is that Johnny doesn't want Eileen to be a war widow.
What do you think ladies? Unfortuantely, I see both sides of this and I'm not sure who I agree with. Johnny is right when he worries about making Eileen a widow after a short marriage and leaving her with so much grief, but she will grieve regardless if they are married or not if she loves him. I believe I would want what Eileen wants and get married before he leaves. I have a feeling you somehow feel closer to them and get more news about their whereabouts than just being their girlfriend and having their family keep something from you. And this is the main conflict in the movie. Eileen is unsurprisingly upset and angry and leaves Johnny in a night club by himself.
We now flash to Johnny Jones in boot camp, just like his father was in WWI, being lead by Sgt. McGee (Alan Hale). The fathers' of the soldiers visit them on a day open to visiters and have a reunion together reminiscing about their time in WWI. They decide that their sons should have a show for morale just like "Yip Yip Yaphank."
We continue through a montage of tryouts and seeking out soldiers with unusual talents. The show is to be called "This is The Army" to show the men and their personalities and talents who are in the army. To be truthful, though "This is the Army" is probably bigger than "Yip Yip Yaphank," the latter seems like it was more entertaining. The songs in "This is the Army" that are entertaining, but there are a couple of comedy routines that could have been shortened or cut out.
There are several cute songs that they sing such as a very funny song called "Hostesses of the Stage Door Canteen" where all the soldiers are dressed as women (including big Alan Hale) and two other males dressed as Lynn Fontaine and Alfred Lunt, who were a husband and wife acting team who were huge on Broadway. Other songs include "This is the Army Mr. Jones" and "That's What a Well Dressed Man in Harlem Wears" (featuring boxer Joe Lewis).
The true highlight of the film, though, is Irving Berlin (writer of songs like White Christmas and other famous songs) singing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." For a man who writes such beautiful music, Berlin does not have the voice to match, but he has a very nice face and looks like a sweet man. This scene is really notable though because it was the only time he ever performed in a film, so if nothing else, you should watch this movie just to take a gander at Irving Berlin.
Interesting Trivia: When Mr. Berlin was singing "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," one of the stage hands, who didn't know it was Irving Berlin, said that the guy who wrote the song was probably spinning in his grave if he heard the man singing the song.
Anyways, after this show stopping performance, Eileen Dibble comes to say goodbye to Johnny, since the men are going to be shipped overseas and this is their last performance of "This is the Army." Eileen brings in a chaplain and tells Johnny what's what when she sees him basically saying that the reason they are fighting this war so that people like them can get married and raise a family so "Doggone-it, if we want to get married, let's get married." So they do.
After this, the movie ends with the song "This Time" with all the men to end the fight that was started with the Great War. It is rather moving. The End
What do I think of this movie:
I actually got this movie for Christmas in the Warner Brothers and the Home Front Collection. The set also included "Hollywood Canteen" and "Thank Your Lucky Stars." Our of all three movies, I had only seen "Hollywood Canteen" but I can now say I have seen them all and liked them alot.
No, "This is the Army" is no Oscar award winning film, but I think it really displays the sentiment that people felt for America and the soldiers during World War II. I think its important to remember how things were historically when you are watching a movie and not just think "this is stupid" and be thinking in terms of today.
People in 1943, obviously loved this movie as well because it was the top grossing picture of 1943.
I really love all the actors in this movie!
George Murphy wasn't always in very large budget films, but he is always has a huge presence. When we think of Hollywood dancers, most of us just think of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, but he was also one of he great dancers of Golden Hollywood.
It is really hard not to gush about Joan Leslie, I even want to name my daughter after her (when I have one). She is lovely, beautiful and seems like a genuinely lovely woman. Maybe I think favorably of her, because she returned an autograph picture of herself to me. She is actually in all three of the Homefront Collection films.
Rosemary DeCamp also seems like she most have been a wonderfully sweet woman. She has probably played everyone's mother in Warner Brothers films from Ronald Reagan to Doris Day.
Last but not least, Ronald Reagan, looking very handsome. This wasn't one of his best roles of course, but I still think he did a fine job in it. He was a very consistant presence in many of the Warner Brothers movies.
To wrap everything up, if you are a fan of World War II films, you should see this movie. I'm not here to promote the sales of a particular DVD, I'm just here to fight for old movies and try to exhibit the talents of the actors and the charm of the films.
I meant to write this last Monday on Memorial Day, but I didn't get around to it.
Since Memorial Day has to do with celebrating veterans, I was going to mention those that are celebrity veterans who fought.
Joan Blondell in Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) singing "Remember My Forgotten Man."
Many of us always hear about the stars that fought in World War II, like Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and Mickey Rooney. We also hear about those who couldn't fight in World War II, like Van Johnson (had a metal plate in his head) and John Garfield (heart problems). After hearing so much about the stars that fought in World War II, everybody's favorite war which includes me, I started wondering, what stars fought in World War I (aka the Great War). I started looking around on Google and found hardly anything! All that really came up was stuff about World War II vets. Thanks to my prior knowledge and some huge silent film fans on the IMDB message boards, I came up with a list of actors who fought in World War I.
Allies: Richard Arlen
Humphrey Bogart Walter Brennan Pat O'Brien Clive Brook Maurice Chevalier Ronald Colman George M. Cohan Walt Disney (He was too young to fight but was an ambulane driver) Richard Dix Victor McLaglen Claude Rains Ernest Thesiger Herbert Marshall Cedric Hardwicke Basil Rathbone George O'Brien Jack Pickford William Desmond Taylor Ken Maynard John Monk Saunders Adolphe Menjou
Axis: Fritz Lang Bela Lugosi Sig Ruman Ernst Udet
There are many people who say, such as my favorite history teacher Dr. Rounds, there are not any movies about World War I. That may be true about today's films, but there aren't even that many movies about World War II in theaters-besides "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima". I think war movies are not as big of a deal as they used to be. However, if you watch films made from the 1920's to the early 1940's, World War I is the main theme of many movies-since that was the only major war of that time...
One of the best World War I movies I have ever seen is "Wings" (1927) with Clara Bow, Richard Arlen and Charles Buddy Rogers. Of course it is silent, but the funny thing is that after you watch enough silent movies you forget that they aren't talking. I LOVE this film, I actually cried in it too. Sometimes people in silent films look semi-creepy with the heavy make-up around their eyes and wild-eyed exaggerated looks. Surprisingly, the actors in this movie looked almost like people you would see today. Clara Bow looked beautiful and Richard Arlen and Charles Buddy Rogers were major hotties. I never even use that term, that's how good-looking they were.
Another really good World War I movie is "The Eagle and the Hawk" (1933) with Fredric March and Cary Grant. They are flyers in WWI and it shows the emotional strain that is on Fredric March everytime he loses a partner that he flys with. It doesn't end well.
I digress. The point I was making is that there are indeed World War I films out there, you just have to look for them and be willing to watch movies that are silent or from the 1930's. It seems that Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien or James Cagney usually stared in these films-generally soldiers who turned to crime because of the poverty of the 'forgotten man'.
I also felt that the men who fought in World War I should be honored just as much as anyone else. The owner of the World War I museum in Kansas City was a special guest host with Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies on Memorial Day and said that there was only one World War I veteran left who is 108 years old. I thought that was terribly sad and wondered if he was lonely. For all we know, he could have even out lived his children.
That is all for now of my random ramblings. I hope to write tomorrow or soon. I have many movies I want to blog about, I just need to stop being lazy and write!
I have been meaning to write in my blog for about...2 weeks now. I watched several movies over spring break and I don't plan on talking about every single one of them, but I do think a few are worth mentioning.
The first one is: Susan Slade (1961)
Susan Slade is one of those deliciously trashy movies that came out in the late 1950's and early 1960's (i.e Peyton Place, A Summer Place, Imitation of Life, All the Fine Young Cannibals, etc). Some of them are pretty bad and there are serious moments where you will find yourself collapsing on the sofa in laughter. But each of those movies that has something about them that I just love: scandal and romance. It was originally a book, but I'm assuming it was one of those dime store trashy novels looking at the plot.
The movie begins with the narration of Susan's father,Roger Slade played by Lloyd Nolan. He made his fortune out in the desert of Chile from an oil drilling company he started, and if it wasn't oil it was some sort of natural resource. After living away from civilization for about 10 years, Roger is retiring and the Slade family is moving back to America, California to be specific.
While the family has been away, Susan Slade, played by the squinty eyed and baby voiced Connie Stevens, has turned into a beautiful young lady, of course. She doesn't look any older than 16 years-old, but I'm assuming we are supposed to believe that she is in her 20's. On the boat over to America, Mr. and Mrs. Slade express concern about Susan's shyness and are worried that their daughter is socially awkward.
But lo' and behold! Susan meets a man! But she is so attracted to him that she runs away every time he tries to talk to her.
The man she meets, Conn Williams played by Grant Williams, seems like a complete sleaze but Leah Slade, played by Dorothy McGuire, is in favor of the young and seemingly successful young man. With ole mom's consent Susan goes forth to get her man.
All of a sudden, socially awkward Susan Slade, is flirting with Conn and acting coy like we all forgot that she was supposed to be socially awkward. For someone who has been out in the desert for 10 years, she obviously didn't go without practice.
So Susan decides she is in love with Conn, though he seems mighty questionable if you ask me. Conn likes to mountain climbing, that is his "business." It is pretty dangerous stuff apparently, when he tells Susan that one of his best friends died on one of their trips. To me, he still seems like a creep playing on a young girl's emotions while he knows that she has no experience. He has a little party where everyone is necking and he asks her to stay a little longer when she says she has to leave. Susan later waltzes in at 4 a.m. and mommy is waiting. Leah Slade has all of a sudden decided that Conn is no good, after 12 hours earlier she was pushing her daughter on to him. Susan sticks out her little chin and proclaims that she loves him, and basically keeps screwing around with him against her mother's wishes.
The boat has to dock eventually and it does, the couple parts: Susan headed to California and Conn going to climb Mt. Mckinley in Alaska (foreshadowing). Oh, and Susan and Conn are secretly engaged so I'm assuming he does care something for her, but I'm still suspicious.
The Slade family is met at the boat by their family friends, Stanton Corbett (Brian Aherne), Marion Corbett (Natalie Schafer: better known as Mrs. Howell from Gilligan's Island) and their son, Wells (Bert Convey). Five minutes after Susan leaves Conn, Wells is flirting with her and making corny jokes about their childhood. I love how sheltered Susan is always surrounded by men.
The Corbett family takes the Slade's to their new home, an oriental style house by the sea in California. Mr. Corbett designed the home and the Millionaire's Wife was the interior decorator. It's cool and all that she saved Mrs. Slade the time, but if I was Dorothy McGuire and I had lived in the desert for 10 years, I would have wanted to decorate my own home. It was nice and all, but nothing spectacular like they made it out to be.
Mr. Slade also has his own lab in the house where he can work and still get paid. AND THEN we learn his big secret in a conversation between he and Brian Aherne. Roger Slade has a serious heart condition, which is the real reason why he retired from his job in Chili and went to California to relax. One thing though, his wife and daughter do not know because he doesn't want them to worry (noble and all, but pretty dumb if you ask me).
Fast forward, we see a trial of a man who apparently stole money from Mr. Corbett. The man is found guilty of embezzling the money from Corbett's business and is going to have to go to jail. His son, Troy Donahue (Hoyt Brecker)- what kind of names do these boys have? Wells, Hoyt, Conn?- runs to his father and shouts mean things to Mr. Corbett. Later we see that Troy's father hung himself in jail.
Troy cries and becomes the brooding young man with the chip on his shoulder in the film.
Alot of nothing stuff happens, Susan gets a horse for her birthday and meets Hoyt, because he works at the stables near by. He is rude to her and she gets an attitude with him telling him to lighten his load by brushing the chip of his shoulder. He is surprised that she would want to talk to him because all of the blue blood's moved their horses from his stable after the embezzlement scandal with his dad.
A little while later, Susan thinks she is pregnant with Conn's baby! Conn has not written or called her either, which deepens our suspicions about his motives. Susan in turn writes him everyday like a sucker. Oh, well Conn does call once, but no one picks up the phone because they are all out in the yard.
Susan goes to a doctor while she is supposed to be shopping for a dress for her birthday party. The doctor confirms it, and Susan has a bun in the oven! And so she tries to hide it from her parents until Conn comes to save the day.
At her birthday party, Leah Slade throws Susan at Wells, because he apparently REALLY likes her. He didn't really act like it though, if you ask me, I thought he was kind of a cold fish doing what his parents told him to do. Anyways, at the party (where Susan is wearing this weird dress that looks like just a see-through corset on top) she gets a phone call and excitedly runs in thinking it is Conn and she will tell him about the baby and everything will be honky-dory.
WRONG! Actually, it is Conn's father telling her that Conn died while climbing Mt. Mckinley (we saw that from a mile away after he said his friend died). He wrote to his parents about her, and since they knew that he cared so much about Susan, they called her. My question is, if he cared so much why did he only try to call once and never return her letters?
So Susan freaks out and rips of her clothes.
And then goes to get her horse and rides into the ocean trying to drown herself. Brooding Hoyt, who is secretly in love with her, saves her and notifies her parents who leave their guests and go to Hoyt's shack in their evening finery. While unconcious and under a seditive, Susan murmers that she is pregnant and to not tell daddy. Her mother hears this and is horrified. Troy got the gist of why she threw herself in the water while she was screaming at him for not letting her die and explains that the "chap" she was in love with (yes he said chap) had gotten her pregnant and now he is dead. Mother is devistated and upset that Susan didn't tell her sooner.
After feeling guilty about calling Conn and Susan's relationship a cheap, shipboard romance to Susan's face earlier in the film, mom and dad are heart broken for her and surprisingly understanding about the pregnancy (!). On a side note, after getting her horse Susan took a pretty bad tumble off of it-she was already pregnant at this time too. Don't you think she would have lost the baby?
Anyways, dad has been offered a job in Guatamala to do a similar mining job like he did in Chile. Orginally he turned it down since he was retired (and for his health as us viewers know). Roger and Leah Slade talk about the problem of the daughter and decide to take the Bree Hodge of Desperate Housewives way out of it. Roger will take the job in Guatamala-despite health risks-and Leah will pretend that she is pregnant. Since they will be away and in isolation for about two years, no one will know the difference. Susan demands that they can not do this because she feels bad about ruining everyone's lives (she shouldn't have thought about that before she had unprotected sex with Conn), but her parents demand that it is the only way.
Flash to a lunchion scene with Leah, the Millionaire's wife and another group of women. Leah casually slips in that she "lost her breakfast" and feels quisey. All the women give knowing glances to each other and suggest that she is pregnant. Leah feigns surprise at the idea and says she is too old, but she has successfully planted the seed among her high society friends.
So the family miserably leaves for Guatamala. Susan promises to write Hoyt and seems more sad about leaving her horse than leaving him.
While in Guatamala, we never see Susan big and pregnant but there are scenes of her in cute, Spanish peasant blouses and fiesta skirts writing to Hoyt about her alleged pregnant mother. My question is, why is she dressed in the Spanish garb? Mom isn't.
Anyways, we also see scenes of heart-problems dad climbing up high ladders to get to his office in the mining business in Guatamala, prespiring profusely and taking little pills.
The big day eventually comes and Susan has the baby. She talks about how she wants the whole world to know and how cute he is and how much she loves him. Leah wisks the baby out of her arms and reminds her that she has to start thinking of him like a baby brother and not her child to save the reputation of the family.
I don't get the feeling that Susan does this very well. Later the Corbetts come and visit them in Guatamala for Christmas and want to take Susan back to California with them. Susan clutches the baby as the Corbetts coo over him and says she can not leave her "baby brother" (words that she uncertantly stammers out) because it is his first Christmas.
So the Corbetts leave and Roger and Susan take a father daughter walk. Roger tells his little "Susie" how proud he is of her for becoming such a grown up woman (Proud? For getting pregnant?) and THEN Roger suddenly collapses. He gasps for her to run and get his pills out of his room or pocket but instead Susan just screams and hugs him. Roger dies as we should have probably all seen coming from the very beginning.
The Corbetts, who had just left the Slade home and were about to get on their plane back to America when this all occured, come to the resuce and are there to comfort them and read the will.
Now through out this movie there is a lot of weird and silly philisophical talk which doesn't make any sense. Sort of like the way the dad talks when you are watching the Brady Bunch. Roger Slade's will has some of this in it. He says something along the lines of "I know you are glad that it is me who died and you are the ones who have to bear the burden of mourning and sadness. I know that you would rather it be you who have to carry that weight than me." What? So basically he was saying, I'm glad I'm dead and don't have to be the one who is sad and depressed about ya'll.
Leah and Susan Slade return to California to their home by the sea. The Corbett's once again meddle in the interior decorating. Susan's room, which had been next to Mr. and Mrs. Slade's room has now been made into the baby nursury of little Rogie (that's the baby's name). Susan now wondering, well where the heck do I sleep? No worries little Susie, they have put you out in dad's old laboratory in the back of the house. It's not a bad room or anything. It's sort of like a little guest house out back, but Susan is furious that she won't be able to be near her baby.
Next blow, Susan goes to see her horse that she hasn't seen in years and finds that Hoyt has sold it! My question is, what right did he have to sell someone else's horse? He bought it back though, but wasn't back soon enough to beat Susan to the stables. Right when she is reunited with her old horse, Wells Corbett shows up with two fancy expensive horses for Susan to win her over. Hoyt and Wells glower with hatred towards each other, and the fact that Wells just hurt Hoyt's manhood by one uping him with two brand new horses after Hoyt just bought Susan a horse. Though Wells hates Hoyt, he wants to house the horses in those stables because they would be in walking distance from Susan's home.
Later that day Wells proposes to Susan and gives him a "I'll have to think about it" answer. She is in love with Hoyt, but knows he can not provide for her. At the same time, she doesn't think she can marry Wells and not tell him that she has a baby. Third, she also plain doesn't want to live little Rogie with Mommy Dearest, Leah.
Leah is pissed that Susan turned down a fine boy like Wells, since she insists that he is in love with her. I really don't think he is. When he proposed he wasn't brimming with love or anything, and he also made it seem like his family would be really happy to have her join their clan. It sounds to me their families just want them to marry, and Wells doesn't care one flying leap. When Susan tells Leah that she loves Hoyt and not Wells, Leah retorts with the "How will he support you" question and "Where will you live, in a stable?" remark. Susan then expresses guilt about marrying Wells without him knowing that she has a son, and Leah flips out again and insenuates that it will ruin their social standing to do something like that.
Hoyt shows up shortly after the mother-daughter fight, giddy with love for Susan. He has sold a story and is ready to get married. Fickle Susan, after just telling Leah that she doesn't want to marry Wells, tells Hoyt that she is marrying Wells. Hoyt is basically like "What? You sure have given me the run around then by pretending you like me."
While they are fighting, we turn to little Rogie climbing out of his crib and down to the floor. We early saw Susan and Leah putting Rogie to bed, and my mom was freaking out because they didn't pull up the sides of the crib and obviously she was freakig out for good reason. Rogie crawls in to Leah's room and grabs a very large cigarrette lighter off of her side table. About 20 minutes earlier in the movie, we saw Rogie playing with the same lighter and Leah grabs it away from him and shakes her head about how big the baby is getting. (If she thought this shouldn't she have moved the lighter to a higher place so that the baby wouldn't reach it? Stupid.)
So we flick from Hoyt and Susan fighting to Rogie playing with the lighter. All of a sudden we hear a scream and Susan and Hoyt run into Rogie's nursery and find him on fire! Crazy as it sounds, it really does happen and is probably the best and most laughable part of the movie.
Hoyt wraps the baby in a blanket to stop the fire and they rush it to the hospital. During all of this I'm wondering, where is mom? Apparently she went to the Corbett's for the evening, but we did not know this until the whole family showed up at the hospital.
Well the time comes when Susan asks to see the baby and the doctor tells her only the mother can go. Susan runs over to her stoic mother and pleads. Her mother discusses this with her through the side of her mouth so that the Corbett's won't know that her daughter is a whore. She tries to convince her not to but Susan takes a stand and basically says "I had this baby and I have the right to see it."
So when the doctor comes back out and asks the mother to come back with him she makes her confession in front of doctor, the Corbett family-including Wells, Hoyt and her mom who stands by and looks rather pissed if you ask me. Mr. Corbett hugs her and tells her how brave she has been, Mrs. Corbett is wide eyed and looks a bit disgusted and Wells looks like he is trying to find the nearest exit. Mr. Corbett tells her in a round about way that she is like their daughter, they love her, support her but they definately don't want a used product marrying their son. The doctor tells them all that the baby is going to be fine and was brought to the hospital in the nick of time. Susan wearily returns home after an evening of burning babies and ruined reputations. She doesn't care too much about Wells, but is depressed that she has lost Hoyt forever. When she goes back to her glorified guest house she finds Hoyt standing their awkwardly since he is about 10 feet tall compared to her 5'5'' self. They embrace and he says he doesn't care about her past and he loves her and move somewhere else. He will write and they will take the baby in be happy. So they kiss and everything ends happily ever after.
So what did I think of this film after I picked the plot apart scene by scene?
Frankly, I was a disappointed. Sure, it was trashy and romantic and all of the great elements that emulates Peyton Place and Summer Place, but that is just it, I was comparing it to Summer Place the whole time. Connie Stevens drove me nuts. She has this stupid little baby voice and I don't even find her that pretty. I think the movie would have been a lot better if it had been Sandra Dee in the lead, instead because then it would have been sort of a Summer Place reunion with Dorothy McGuire and Troy Donahue.
Also, who's parents are that understand when they find out that their daughter is pregnant? This was 1961, they would have been certainly as concerned about their reputation as Mr. and Mrs. Slade were, but not that understand. They probably would have sent her abroad or to one of those pregnant girl homes or something. Even in 2009, if I came home and said "Hey mom and dad, I'm pregnant" my hide would probably be a new pillow cover or something because I would be dead!
Speaking of babies, the burning baby....It was expected since we saw a random scene of him playing with the lighter and it being taken away, but it was pretty exciting. It was sort of funny too...it's just not something you see everyday in films. I love babies, don't worry I won't go lighting any on fire. I was reading about the burning baby on an IMDB message board and people were complaining about how fake it looked....I mean...it was 1961...did they want them to really light the baby on fire? Oh, and speaking of which, people always say there is no such thing as an ugly baby, only ugly toddlers. That is such a lie. This was one ugly baby. It was one fat baby too!
The movie also said alot of silly philosophical stuff that really didn't make any sense. Like I said earlier witht he dad's will. I wish I could remember it so I could put it on here for a good laugh.
I also really didn't like Dorothy McGuire in this movie. I looove her in everything else I've seen her (well not Till the End of Time, but that was a crappy movie not her). She's great in Swiss Family Robinsons, Old Yeller, Three Coins in a Fountain, Summer Place, Invitation, etc. but she acted like a royal you-know-what in this movie. Plus, who gave her that god awful hair cut?
I did like Lloyd Nolan. He is one of those actors that, good guy or bad guy, can never go wrong. I felt bad for him though, poor sucker. He should have told his family from the start about the heart problem. I know he didn't want them to worry and burden them and all, but I think in the long run he might have lived a little longer.
I never really felt that the Corbett's were very good friends though. Maybe rich people just act fake like that with their friends, but Mrs. Corbett just seemed gossipy and Wells seemed like a jerk who was just trying to climb to the top through his father's and Mr. Slade's connections. Mr. Corbett didn't seem so bad but I think he was just always stuck in corporate mode. I do like Brian Aherne. He used to be so attractive in his early films.
And last but not least, Conn. Do we know if he really loved Susan? At the beginning when he first sees her on the ship he just seems like a lech trying to get some. They got engaged and he told his parents about her, but why did he never contact her when he supposedly contacted his parents? We knew this because she went to go look for him at his home in San Fransisco and the butler told Susan that he had phoned his parents or something that he would be home shortly, but then he died. Maybe he was going to surprise her. I just wonder how it would have been if he hadn't died. I still think he was up to no good.
Well I finally jumped on the bandwagon and started blogging. I guess you can say I was blogging way back when in high school with the ole LJ, but I'm going to be a lot more serious about this than I was back sophomore/junior year of high school. I am going to attempt to actually make this semi-well written, not super whiney, and not one huge block of text that I know no one probably read.
I can't promise, though, that it's not going to be chock-full of old movie talk. I know that it's probably boring to some because a lot of people my age don't know a lot about old movies, but maybe this can be a learning situation :).
I made this blog primarily for the purpose of writing about my favorite movies and stars, as well as sharing my views on them, along with pictures and videos that I think are cute. I'm always finding great pictures because 1.) I'm looking for pictures to write fan mail to old movie stars that are still alive and 2.) I upload on the web site Who's Dated Who (basically like IMDB but not as clean, but people upload pictures and info about movies and stars).
I watch a ton of movies all the time. I get the Turner Classic Movie Now Playing Guide in the mail and write down at least 30 movies a month to tape (yes, some people do still use VHS tapes). I literally watch movies all day when I'm at home-I know, how lazy. I also have lists of my favorite actors and actresses because I am trying to see all of their movies. I sometimes forget what a movie is or what it is about, so hopefully this blog will be help me to remember what certain movies are and I can look back and remember.
I just thought it would be a good thing for me to start blogging since I'm a journalism major, and what is there better to blog about than my favorite thing in the whole wide world than movies!
P.S.) I decided to start the blog off with a picture of some of my favorite people. Betty Grable and her husband Harry James with their daughter Vicky.
I'm a journalism major at Winthrop University. I'm from Greenville, SC and I love that city. My favorite movies are old movies (silent-1967) and that is basically all I watch. Recently I've developed a passion for silent movies. I love dogs and I had a dachshund who died July 2008 :(. My music interests range from opera (specifically Deanna Durbin, Jeannette MacDonald and Jane Powell), oldies, indie music, and musical soundtracks). Shockingly enough, I'm a college student who loves her family and gets along with them-particularly my parents. We "hang out" alot- as in watching old movies together every night that I'm home :).
