Guilty Pleasures: The Honey Pot

1967 Mystery Comedy

From United Artists

Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz

Starring

Rex Harrison

Susan Hayward

Cliff Robertson

Capucine

Edie Adams

Maggie Smith

Adolfo Celi

From the 1940s: Miracle on 34th Street

1947 Comedy

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by George Seaton

Starring

Maureen O'Hara

John Payne

Edmund Gwenn

Natalie Wood

Gene Lockhart

Porter Hall

William Frawley

Jerome Cowan

Philip Tonge

Jack Albertson

Thelma Ritter

From the 1990s: The Grass Harp

1995 Comedy Drama

From Fine Line Features

Directed by Charlie Matthau

Starring

Piper Laurie

Sissy Spacek

Walter Matthau

Edward Furlong

Mary Steenburgen

Roddy McDowall

Nell Carter

Sean Patrick Flanery

Charles Durning

Joe Don Baker

Scott Wilson

Bonnie Bartlett

Jack Lemmon

The Directors: Edmund Goulding

He is not so well-known today but in Hollywood of the 1920s and 30s he was an eccentric genius whose name was to be reckoned with.  He became well-known for directing a number of highly-polished movies with their well-crafted stories and compelling characters.  Friends and neighbors and coworkers and more than a few sailors and construction workers and European royalty knew him as the host of some of the greatest gay orgies Tinseltown was ever to know.  

From the 1950s: The Big Sky

1952 Western

From RKO

Directed by Howard Hawks

Starring

Kirk Douglas

Dewey Martin

Elizabeth Threatt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Buddy Baer

Steven Geray

Henri Letondal

Hank Worden

Jim Davis

Iron Eyes Cody

Visiting Film Noir: They Drive By Night

1940 Film Noir

From Warner Bros

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Starring

George Raft

Ann Sheridan

Ida Lupino

Humphrey Bogart

Alan Hale

Gale Page

Roscoe Karns

John Litel

George Tobias

From the 1940s: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1941 Horror-Drama

From MGM

Directed by Victor Fleming

Starring

Spencer Tracy

Ingrid Bergman

Lana Turner

Donald Crisp

Ian Hunter

C. Aubrey Smith

Peter Godfrey

From the 1940s: The Constant Nymph

1943 Romance Drama

From Warner Bros

Directed by Edmund Goulding

Starring

Charles Boyer

Joan Fontaine

Alexis Smith

Brenda Marshall

Charles Coburn

Dame May Whitty

Peter Lorre

Joyce Reynolds

Jean Muir

From the 1960s: The Cincinnati Kid

1965 Drama

From MGM

Directed by Norman Jewison

Starring

Steve McQueen

Edward G. Robinson

Ann-Margret

Karl Malden

Tuesday Weld

Joan Blondell

Rip Torn 

Jack Weston

Cab Calloway

Jeff Corey

Milton Selzer

From the 1960s: The Sundowners

1960 Drama

From Warner Bros

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Starring

Deborah Kerr

Robert Mitchum

Peter Ustinov

Glynis Johns

Dina Merrill

Michael Anderson Jr.

Chips Rafferty

John Meillon

Lola Brooks

Ronald Fraser

Visiting Film Noir: Key Largo

1948 Film Noir

From Warner Bros

Directed by John Huston

Starring 

Humphrey Bogart

Edward G. Robinson

Lauren Bacall

Lionel Barrymore

Claire Trevor

Thomas Gomez

Harry Lewis

William Haade

Dan Seymour

Monte Blue

John Rodney

Visiting Film Noir: Private Hell 36

1954 Film Noir

From: The Filmakers Releasing 

Directed by Don Siegel

Starring

Ida Lupino

Steve Cochran

Howard Duff

Dean Jagger

Dorothy Malone

Visiting Film Noir: The Man Who Cheated Himself

1950 Film Noir

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Felix Feist

Starring 

Lee J. Cobb

Jane Wyatt

John Dall

Lisa Howard

Marsha Hunt

A friend of the blog, Julie, requested that I write something about Marsha Hunt who died last month at the age of 104.  I had once briefly considered doing so but decided against it because not only did I know little about her but I was fairly certain the same applied to many of you.  Julie said Hunt was one of the most remarkable women who ever lived.  Well, that was compelling and so I decided to check out the actress and found that I would be hard-pressed to find fault with Julie's comment.  So here we are.

From the 1950s: The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

1958 War Biography

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Mark Robson

Starring

Ingrid Bergman

Curt Jurgens

Robert Donat

Athene Seyler

Peter Chong

Burt Kwouk

Tsai Chin

Moultrie Kelsall

Ronald Squire

From the 1950s: Mister Cory

1957 Drama

From Universal-International

Directed by Blake Edwards

Starring

Tony Curtis

Martha Hyer

Charles Bickford

Kathryn Grant

William Reynolds

Henry Daniell

Willis Bouchey

Cameron Mitchell

He was an occasional leading man in B pictures and a second lead in some A films and some good ones, too.  His tenure at 20th Century Fox produced his best work.  In two of his best films, he's a charming, warm-hearted good guy but there can be no doubt he made a career out of playing flotsam. 

From the 1950s: All that Heaven Allows

1955 Romantic Drama

From Universal-International

Directed by Douglas Sirk 

Starring

Jane Wyman

Rock Hudson

Agnes Moorehead

William Reynolds

Gloria Talbott

Virginia Grey

Charles Drake

Conrad Nagel

Hayden Rorke

Jacqueline deWit

From the 1990s: Mr. and Mrs. Bridge

1990 Family Drama

From Miramax

Directed by James Ivory

Starring

Paul Newman

Joanne Woodward

Blythe Danner

Kyra Sedgwick

Robert Sean Leonard

Margaret Welsh

Simon Callow

Saundra McClain

Austin Pendleton

The Directors: Rudolph Maté

I was aware of Rudolph Maté early in my moviegoing because I seemed to constantly see the movies he directed.  His specialties and mine were aligned... westerns and film noir.  Additionally both of those genres tended to be B films and B's were also my specialty, particularly back in the days of double (and sometimes triple) bills.

From the 1960s: The Prize

1963 Mystery Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Mark Robson

Starring

Paul Newman

Edward G. Robinson

Elke Sommer

Diane Baker

Micheline Presle

Gérard Oury

Sergio Fantoni

Kevin McCarthy

Leo G. Carroll

Sacha Pitoëff

Don Dubbins

John Wengraf

Jacqueline Beer

Happy 100th, Janis Paige

Regrets?  I've had a few.  Damn few actually.  But one of them is that I never saw or met Janis Paige.  I've met or seen more than my fair share of famous folks but I'd trade in a couple of them to have had a chance to meet this multi-talented, effervescent lady.  Oh, how I liked her.  I know there will be many who would say who's Janis Paige?  Of course most of that crowd would not be reading this blog in the first place.

From the 1970s: Buck and the Preacher

1972 Western

From Columbia Pictures

Directed by Sidney Poitier

Starring

Sidney Poitier

Harry Belafonte

Ruby Dee

Cameron Mitchell

Denny Miller

Nita Talbot

John Kelly

James McEachin

Clarence Muse

Enrique Lucero

Julie Robinson

Lynn Hamilton

Tony Brubaker

From the 1960s: Paris Blues

1961 Drama

From United Artists

Directed by Martin Ritt

Starring

Paul Newman

Joanne Woodward

Sidney Poitier

Diahann Carroll

Louis Armstrong

Barbara Laage

Serge Reggiani

Guilty Pleasures: Susan Slade

1961 Drama

From Warner Bros

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring

Troy Donahue

Connie Stevens

Dorothy McGuire

Lloyd Nolan

Brian Aherne

Grant Williams

Natalie Schaefer

Bert Convy

Kent Smith

From the 1950s: The Hanging Tree

1959 Western

From Warner Bros 

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring

Gary Cooper

Maria Schell

Karl Malden

George C. Scott

Ben Piazza

Karl Swenson

Virginia Gregg

John Dierkes

From the 1950s: 3:10 to Yuma

1957 Western

From Columbia Pictures

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring

Glenn Ford

Van Heflin

Felicia Farr

Leora Dana

Richard Jaeckel

Henry Jones

Robert Emhardt

Ford Rainey

From the 1950s: The Last Wagon

1956 Western

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring

Richard Widmark

Felicia Farr

Susan Kohner

Tommy Rettig

Stephanie Griffin

Nick Adams

Ray Stricklyn

Carl Benton Reid

George Mathews

Douglas Kennedy

James Drury

Ken Clark

From the 1950s: Broken Arrow

1950 Western

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring

James Stewart

Jeff Chandler

Debra Paget

Basil Ruysdael

Will Geer

Arthur Hunnicutt

Jay Silverheels

Guilty Pleasures: Blowing Wild

1953 Adventure

From Warner Bros

Directed by Hugo Fregonese

Starring

Gary Cooper

Barbara Stanwyck

Ruth Roman

Anthony Quinn

Ward Bond

Ian MacDonald

Juan Garcia Garza

From the 1950s: The Barefoot Contessa

1954 Drama

From United Artists

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring

Humphrey Bogart

Ava Gardner

Edmond O'Brien

Rossano Brazzi

Marius Goring

Valentina Cortese

Elizabeth Sellars

Warren Stevens

Mari Aldon

Stuart Whitman

Hunky and handsome and possessing a honey-coated speaking voice, Stuart Whitman was tucked in with Stephen Boyd, Don Murray, Anthony Franciosa, Bradford Dillman and a few others at 20th Century Fox in the late fifties, early 1960s.  The studio was hoping one or more of them would turn into a Tyrone Power from the 40s or at least a Robert Wagner from the 50s but it was not to be.  

From the 1950s: Monkey Business

1952 Comedy 

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Howard Hawks

Starring

Cary Grant

Ginger Rogers

Charles Coburn

Marilyn Monroe

Hugh Marlowe

Larry Keating

Henry Letondal

From the 1950s: The Bridges at Toko-Ri

1954 War Drama 

From Paramount Pictures

Directed by Mark Robson

Starring

William Holden

Grace Kelly

Fredric March

Mickey Rooney

Charles McGraw

Earl Holliman

Robert Strauss

Keiko Awaji

Oskar Werner

If the camera caught him just right Oskar Werner could be boyishly good-looking in a quiet, guarded sort of way.  His soulful eyes and gentle manner won him roles as sensitive, troubled men,  He rather intrigued me for some time because he was aloof, if not sometimes coldly remote, often morose and oh so temperamental.

From the 1960s: I Could Go on Singing

1963 Musical Drama

From United Artists

Directed by Ronald Neame

Starring

Judy Garland

Dirk Bogarde

Gregory Phillips

Jack Klugman

Aline MacMahon

From the 1950s: The Snows of Kilimanjaro

1952 Drama

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Henry King

Starring

Gregory Peck

Susan Hayward

Ava Gardner

Hildegard Knef

Leo G. Carroll

Torin Thatcher

Ava Norring

Helene Stanley

Marcel Dalio

Richard Allan

Visiting Film Noir: Undercurrent

1946 Film Noir

From MGM

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Starring

Katharine Hepburn

Robert Taylor

Robert Mitchum

Edmund Gwenn

Marjorie Main

Jayne Meadows

Leigh Whipper

From the 1960s: The Train

1964 War Drama

From United Artists

Directed by John Frankenheimer

Starring

Burt Lancaster

Paul Scofield

Jeanne Moreau

Suzanne Flon

Wolfgang Preiss

Albert Rémy

Michel Simon

Jacques Marin

A Glittering Cast: Executive Suite

1954 Drama

From MGM

Directed by Robert Wise

Starring

William Holden

June Allyson

Barbara Stanwyck

Fredric March

Walter Pidgeon

Shelley Winters

Paul Douglas

Louis Calhern

Dean Jagger

Nina Foch

Tim Considine

Golden Age Actors: My 4 Favorites

It was just an arbitrary thing to come up with four.  If it had been six I might have included Cary Grant or even Paul Newman who came in toward the end of the Golden Age.  Why these particular four when there are so very many to choose from?  No Tracy, Bogie, Cooper, Gable, Stewart?  I guess not.   

From the 1940s: The Secret Heart

1946 Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

Starring

Claudette Colbert

Walter Pidgeon

June Allyson

Robert Sterling

Marshall Thompson

Patricia Medina

Richard Derr

Elizabeth Patterson

Lionel Barrymore

From the 1950s: Young Bess

1953 Historical Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by George Sidney

Starring

Jean Simmons

Stewart Granger

Deborah Kerr

Charles Laughton

Kay Walsh

Guy Rolfe

Rex Thompson

Kathleen Byron

Cecil Kellaway

Robert Arthur

Leo G. Carroll

Elaine Stewart

Dawn Addams

Visiting Film Noir: The Letter

1940 Film Noir

From Warner Brothers

Directed by William Wyler

Starring

Bette Davis 

Herbert Marshall

James Stephenson

Gale Sondergaard

Frieda Inescourt

Victor Sen Yung

Bruce Lester

Cecil Kellaway

From the 1950s: The Swan

1956 Romance Comedy Drama
From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Charles Vidor

Starring

Grace Kelly

Alec Guinness

Louis Jourdan

Agnes Moorehead

Jessie Royce Landis

Brian Aherne

Leo G. Carroll

Estelle Winwood

Robert Coote

From the 1950s: Anastasia

1956 Drama
From 20th Century Fox
Directed by Anatole Litvak

Starring

Ingrid Bergman

Yul Brynner

Helen Hayes

Akim Tamiroff

Martita Hunt

Felix Aylmer

Sacha Pitoëff

Ivan Desney

Natalie Schaefer

From the 1940s: Orchestra Wives

1942 Musical Romance

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Archie Mayo

Starring

George Montgomery

Ann Rutherford

Glenn Miller and his Band

Lynn Bari

Carole Landis

Cesar Romero

Virginia Gilmore

Mary Beth Hughes

Marion Hutton

Tex Beneke

Ray Eberle

Nicholas Brothers

Jackie Gleason

Harry Morgan

The Modernaires

Dale Evans

From the 1960s: Where the Boys Are

1960 Romance Comedy Drama

From MGM

Directed by Henry Levin

Starring

Dolores Hart

George Hamilton

Yvette Mimieux

Jim Hutton

Paula Prentiss

Connie Francis

Barbara Nichols

Frank Gorshin

Chill Wills

Rory Harrity

John Brennan

Simone Signoret

She made a career on playing loose women, often prostitutes, but even when not collecting money she played kept women where her love was illicitly sought.  As she got older she had a field day playing bourgeois wives and girlfriends.  No matter the film or role, her characters were earthy, wise, opinionated, sensuous and unbeatable as a woman in love.  And yet there was always that vulnerability that made them so damned real.  If one were to name France's greatest stars of all time, Simone Signoret's name would be among them.

From the 1940s: Gaslight

1944 Psychological Thriller

From MGM

Directed by George Cukor

Starring

Charles Boyer

Ingrid Bergman

Joseph Cotten

Angela Lansbury

May Whitty

Barbara Everest

Golden Age Casting Choices

Here's some light-hearted fare for you.  Actually, at the last minute I decided not to publish something I wrote (a first for here) and I had nothing else of any real substance ready.  But I did have this and a couple more for just such occasions.  What we have is a number of films that could have looked a bit different had the actors who were first considered actually gotten the roles.  See what you think.  

From the 1950s: Bad Day at Black Rock

1955 Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by John Sturges

Starring

Spencer Tracy

Robert Ryan

Anne Francis

Dean Jagger

Walter Brennan

John Ericson

Ernest Borgnine

Lee Marvin

Russell Collins

Walter Sande

The Directors: Nicholas Ray

There's no denying here is a man who marched to his own tune.  His personal life more than matched what he put on the screen.  A former student of Nick Ray's, director Jim Jarmusch, said that Ray was my idol, a legend, the outcast Hollywood legend, white hair, black eye patch, and a head full of subversion and controlled substances.  French director François Truffaut called him the poet of nightfall.  We offer you this to get you in the best frame of mind for all that follows. 

Richard Todd

In Britain he is best remembered for playing a wide assortment of clean-cut heroes.  He was rather dour, as stiff-upper-lipped as they came.  Americans, as a rule, didn't warm to those traits and yet Richard Todd enjoyed success and fame for the 9-10 years he spent making films for 20th Century Fox.  What did put him in the forefront was a handsome face, a gorgeous voice and an easy, pleasing way.  I always enjoyed him.  He was even more fun when he played a villain, which wasn't often enough.

From the 1960s: The Pleasure of His Company

1961 Comedy 

From Paramount

Directed by George Seaton

Starring

Fred Astaire

Lilli Palmer

Debbie Reynolds

Tab Hunter

Gary Merrill

Charles Ruggles

Harold Fong

Judy Holliday

She had an IQ of 172 so it's no wonder she was considered an intellect.  She was also considered sweet, funny, talkative with a squeaky voice and often so adorable.   She could be enthusiastic (thanks to her father) and yet suffered with depression all her life.   She could display a fierce temper (thank Mom for this one) and was often fiery with her political rhetoric and her quest for personal freedom and free speech and a passion for those who suffered in life.  

From the 1950s: An Affair to Remember

1957 Romantic Drama

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Leo McCarey

Starring

Cary Grant

Deborah Kerr

Richard Denning

Cathleen Nesbitt

Neva Patterson

Movie Biography: A Man Called Peter

1955 Biography

From 20th Century Fox

Directed by Henry Koster

Starring

Richard Todd

Jean Peters

Marjorie Rambeau

Jill Esmond

Les Tremayne

Gladys Hurlbut

Robert Burton

Billy Chapin

Charles Boyer

In writing primarily about Hollywood's Golden Age I have attempted to include all the notables of that decades-long period.  It's taken me 11 years to do a piece on Charles Boyer and he certainly deserves inclusion here.  I admit, year by year, I have put it off.  With the exception of Fanny (1961), I have also never written about any of his films.  

From the 1950s: Mogambo

1953 Romance Adventure 

From MGM

Directed by John Ford

Starring

Clark Gable

Ava Gardner

Grace Kelly

Donald Sinden

Philip Stainton

Eric Pohlmann

Laurence Naismith

Denis O'Dea

A Glittering Cast: Ship of Fools

1965 Drama 

From Columbia Pictures

Directed by Stanley Kramer

Starring 

Vivien Leigh

Simone Signoret

José Ferrer

Lee Marvin

Oskar Werner

Elizabeth Ashley

George Segal

Michael Dunn

José Greco

Charles Korvin

Heinz Rühmann

Christiane Schmidtmer

Alf Kjellin

Barbara Luna

Gila Golan

Lilia Skala

Werner Klemperer

Dan Dailey

It's fair to say that his star didn't shine bright enough or long enough.  Of course, for any dancer, there is a shelf life.  There comes a time, too early I suspect, that the body simply does not cooperate as it used to.   But even when the body was young and supple... and we touched on this in pieces on Gene Nelson and Donald O'Connor-- if one's last name was not Astaire or Kelly, there was a need to have something else to fall back on.

Visiting Film Noir: The Damned Don't Cry

1950 Film Noir

From Warner Bros.

Directed by Vincent Sherman

Starring

Joan Crawford

David Brian

Steve Cochran

Kent Smith

Selena Royle

Hugh Sanders

Jacqueline deWit

Richard Egan

Movie Biography: Million Dollar Mermaid

1952 Biography

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Starring

Esther Williams

Victor Mature

Walter Pidgeon

David Brian

Jesse White

Donna Corcoran

Maria Tallchief