The Lovers

They would be Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, the most popular movie singing duo of the 1930s, bar none.  You may find the title of this piece rather odd if you bought into the con job hatched by their boss, Louis B. Mayer of MGM, and circulated around Hollywood for decades that the pair, in fact, hated one another.  They not only didn't hate one another they were madly in love for as long as they knew one another.  What we were fed about them was one of the great Hollywood hoaxes.

REVIEW: Last Flag Flying

Directed by Richard Linklater
2017 Drama
2 hours 5 minutes
From Amazon Studios

Starring
Steve Carell
Bryan Cranston
Laurence Fishburne
J. Quinton Johnson
Deanna Reed-Foster
Yul Vazquez
Cicely Tyson

REVIEW: Lady Bird

Directed by Greta Gerwig
2017 Comedy Drama
1 hour 34 minutes
From A24

Starring
Saoirse Ronan
Laurie Metcalf
Tracy Letts
Timothée Chalamet
Lucas Hedges
Beanie Feldstein
Lois Smith

REVIEW: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Directed by Martin McDonagh
2017 Comedy Drama 
1 hour 55 minutes
From Fox Searchlight

Starring
Frances McDormand
Woody Harrelson
Sam Rockwell
Abbie Cornish
Lucas Hedges
Caleb Landry Jones
Zeljko Ivanek
Peter Dinklage
John Hawkes

The Garden of Allah

It wasn't long after our family moved to Los Angeles in 1956 that my movie-loving mother and I hopped in the family Oldsmobile and set out to discover all we could about the old days of Hollywood.  We checked out stars' homes but her big thrill was seeing where famous places were located or once located.  On several weekends we would look for where the famous Hollywood Canteen had been located or the Chateau Marmont Hotel, the Mocambo nightclub or the offices of Photoplay, Modern Screen or Screen Stories (the bibles of our lives) and The Garden of Allah.

Good 30s Films: Wife vs. Secretary

1936 Comedy
From MGM
Directed by Clarence Brown

Starring
Clark Gable
Jean Harlow
Myrna Loy
James Stewart
May Robson
George Barbier

Remakes: The Women

There have been three versions of The Women, the story of marriage, infidelity and gossip among a large circle of friends.  The most popular one was in 1939, certainly the template for the next two.  It was based on the Broadway smash by Claire Boothe Luce.  All three maintain the same basic story and have glittering casts.  One thing that made the play and the first and third movie versions particularly memorable is that there were no men.  In some circles these days, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Billy Haines: Run Out of the Movies

I don't think I've ever seen any of his 51 movies although I've glommed some clips from several of them and was flabbergasted at how femme he was on screen (and off).  I've always recalled him because of that and for one other thing.  His boss, Louis B. Mayer, fearsome head of MGM, told him to give up his live-in relationship (with boyfriend Jimmie Shields) or leave the movies.  William Haines left the movies.  How very admirable.