Esther Williams

Across town at 20th Century Fox Darryl F. Zanuck had a smashing success by hiring Norwegian Olympic ice skater Sonja Henie to his roster of stars and featuring her in 10 films where she twirled and romanced some of the studio's brightest stars.  MGM's Mister Big Deal, Louis B. Mayer, wanted his own cash cow so he had his talent scouts comb the Los Angeles area and one of them came up with a shapely swimmer by the name of Esther Williams.  Sonya and Darryl only wished for this kind of success. 

What If Kate Had Met Bette

Last week I had a long phone call with a Hollywood friend who clearly loves movies as much as I do and certainly knows his stuff.  We were chatting up those Golden Age stars when we got into a long discourse on Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn.  He
likes Bette just a teense more than Kate and it's arguably the reverse for me but we agree they are both a notch or two above most of the actresses of their time and most of whom have come since. 

Good 50's Films: The Big Heat

1953 Film Noir
From Columbia Pictures
Directed by Fritz Lang

Starring
Glenn Ford
Gloria Grahame
Lee Marvin
Alexander Scourby
Jocelyn Brando
Jeanette Nolan
Adam Williams
Willis Bouchey
Robert Burton