"Ray Milland was Christened Reginald Truscott-Jones in Wales. Barbra Stanwyck was Christened Ruby Stevens in Brooklyn, New York. They each starred in about one hundred feature films and ended their careers as TV stars, she with a hit series that still re-runs, 'Big Valley' (1965-69) and he with two series 'Meet Mr. McNutley' (1953) and 'Markham' (1959). Milland and Stanwyck were very good friends, great admirers of each other's work, and both were really a kick to be around. They called each other by their given names, 'Reggie,' and 'Ruby.' Milland, who had an extra dry sense of humour, explained this habit by saying, 'We use our real given names out in public, so that our adoring fans will not recognise us.' Despite Stanwyck's fame, she was rather reserved. After her marriage to Robert Taylor ended, she continued to live in their house on North Beverly Glen Boulevard in the Bel Air District of Los Angeles. The house was just a few doors south of Sunset Boulevard, on the southwest corner of which, as Beverly Glen, there was a fire station. On an assignment to photograph Stanwyck at home, I suggested that we create a photo opportunity by paying a call on the firefighters to bring some cookies and other treats. Her firm reply was, 'No, I'd rather not.' She didn't like the idea of PR as a 'set-up,' and she was uncomfortable at the thought of using firefighters as stage props. Her last words particularly startled me: 'I hate being on display. Attention embarrasses me.'"
Photo and exert from Hollywood Moments by Murray Garret.
Ray Milland (3 January 1905 – 10 March 1986) was an actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning performance in the film, The Lost Weekend (1945), the murder-plotting husband in, Dial M for Murder (1954) and as Oliver Barrett III, in the film, Love Story(1970).
"Now the stars walk around in supermarkets dressed in blue jeans. It's depressing. I really think the fault lies with that "Method" school of acting in New York. They want to be real natural, you know, real folk. Well, God, every street corner you go around has real folks. You don't look for that in world stars. The entertainment business is a fantasy world. I don't think any female star should be seen doing the laundry. Hollywood was built on glamour, and they'd better get it back as soon as they can".
The Uninvited(1944). Supernatural/ mystery/romance. film directed by Lewis Allen. It is based on the Dorothy Macardle novel Uneasy Freehold. It was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography. Cast: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Donald Crisp.
The movie begins with a narration by Ray Milland: They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland. Mists gather here and sea fog and ghost stories:
Rick Fitzgerald and his sister Pamela, discover a beautiful, empty, cliff side mansion while walking along the cliffs. They follow their little dog " Bobby" inside the mansion, while chasing a squirrel. Pamela loves the house and convinces her composer, brother Rick, to buy the house as it be a wonderful place for him to work. When they go to see the owner, his granddaughter, Stella Meredith, tells them that the Windward House, is not for sale. Beech, agrees to sell the house only after telling the Fitzgeralds, that there have been complaints about strange occurrences in the house. The next day, a shopkeeper tells Rick that years earlier, Beech's daughter, Mary Meredith, fell from a cliff and died. Later, when Rick runs into Stella, he invites her to go sailing. While out on the boat, Stella tells Rick about how her mother, Mary Meredith, wore mimosa perfume and lived at Windward for three years after Stella was born.
Before he leaves for London on business, Rick asks Stella to visit Pamela at the house for tea, but when Rick returns with his housekeeper, he finds out that Stella did not come over. That night, Rick is awakened by the sound of a woman sobbing and Pamela says that she has also heard crying every night. It soon becomes obvious that the house is haunted and they go on a super natural journey, to solve the mystery of house.
Fun Facts:
Helen Walker and Veronica Lake were tested for the lead roles.
Some of the interior sets of Windwood Manor, such as the main staircase and parlor, were re-dressed sets from the 1942 film, I Married a Witch (1942).
It is a movie you will not soon forget... the house, the sound of the cries and that cliff.... Even with no gore, it will give you the chills. The acting is great and the music helps set the mood. The house was beautiful. It maybe one of your favorite thrillers.
Ruth Hussey (October 30, 1914 – April 19, 2005). While performing in a play in Los Angeles, she was spotted by MGM talent scout, Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a players contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as, Elizabeth Imbrie, the girlfriend of Jimmy Stewart's character Macaulay Connor in the film, The Philadelphia Story(1940).
Hussey also worked with Robert Taylor in, Flight Command (1940), Robert Young in H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), Van Heflin in, Tennessee Johnson (1942), Ray Milland in The Uninvited (1944) and Alan Ladd in, The Great Gatsby (1949), The Facts of Life(1960) with Bob Hope.
Gail Russell (September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Pictures in 1942. Although she was almost clinically shy and had no acting experience, Paramount had great expectations for her and hired an acting coach to work with her.
At the age of 19 she performed in her first film, Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943). Russell performed in several more films in the early and mid 1940s, the most well known, The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland, and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944). Russell later performed in the more popular films, Calcutta (1947) with Alan Ladd, and two films with John Wayne, Angel and the Badman (1947) and Wake of the Red Witch (1948).
She continued working after 1947, and married actor Guy Madison in 1949, but by 1950, it was well known that she had become a victim of alcoholism and Paramount did not renew her contract. After a five-year absence, she returned to work co-starring with Randolph Scott, in the western, Seven Men from Now (1956) and in the film, The Tattered Dress (1957).
A Life of Her Own(1950). Directed by George Cukor. Cast: Lana Turner, Ray Milland and Ann Dvorak
Aspiring model Lily Brannel James, travels to New York City to apply to the Thomas Caraway Model Agency. After she is hired by Tom Caraway, Lily quickly become friends with former top model, Mary Ashlon, who shares with her the rules of the business. Mary plans a double date for her and Lily with advertising executive Lee Gorrance and lawyer Jim Leversoe. At the club, Mary drinks a little too much, Lily takes her home and Mary gives her a good-luck porcelain slipper. Later that same night, Mary takes her own life..
The following day, Lee visits Lily, but he shows no feeling over Mary's death. Lily goes on to become successful model continuing her a friendship with Jim, who introduces her to, Steve Harleigh, a Montana copper-mine owner on a business trip to New York. Although, Steve is married they begin seeing each other. When Steve is ready to head back to Montana, both he and Lily realize they have fallen in love, but know nothing can come of it .
Some time later, Steve returns to New York and against Jim's advice contacts Lily. Steve tells Lily he will be working almost full-time in New York, Lily rents a larger apartment where they can spend time together. Before long Steve says that his wife Nora is coming to visit him for his birthday. Lily wants him to tell Nora that he no longer loves her, but Steve confesses that Nora is an invalid because of a car accident for which he is responsible. Lily has to decide if her own happiness is worth destroying the life of another woman.
Lana Turner is excellent in this film and has some wonderful dramatic scenes. Margaret Phillips, as his wife, also does a wonderful performance.
Fun Fact:
Howard Keel, Cary Grant, George Murphy, and James Mason were among those considered for the role of Steve Harleigh, which eventually went to Wendell Corey, who worked on the production through mid-February 1950 but then allegedly asked to be released from the film because he felt he wasn't right for the role. Other sources claimed he was dismissed at the request of Turner and director George Cukor following an argument between the two stars. He was replaced by Ray Milland.
Ann Dvorak (August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979), she was raised in the business that would later make her a star. Her father, Edwin McKim worked as a director for the Lubin Studios and her mother, Anna Lehr, was a silent film star. The couple split when Ann was four, and she and her mother moved to Hollywood.
As a child, she appeared in several films. She began working for MGM in the late 1920s as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend Joan Crawford introduced her to Howard Hughes. She performed in the pre-Code films: Scarface (1932), Three on a Match (1932), with Joan Blondell and Bette Davis, Love Is a Racket (1932), and opposite Spencer Tracy in, Sky Devils (1932).
Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Brothers during the 1930s. She appeared with Perry Mason in, The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). She also acted on Broadway. With her then-husband, British actor Leslie Fenton, Dvorak travelled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver and continued to perform in many British films.
Ray Milland (3 January 1905 – 10 March). One of Ray Milland's first film performances was, I Wanted Wings(1941). Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Cast: Ray Milland and William Holden. It also stars Wayne Morris, Brian Donlevy, Constance Moore and Veronica Lake.
Production began in the summer of 1940 at Randolph Field near San Antonio, Texas. The United States Army Air Corps provided 1160 airplanes, 1050 cadets, 450 officers and instructors and 2543 enlisted men for the film.
The movie is also famous for being Veronica Lake's first major film role. The Story is about the training and personal lives of three recruits in the Army Air Corps: a wealthy playboy, a college jock and an auto mechanic. Love interest is a female photographer and a blonde.
When working on, I Wanted Wings, he went up with a pilot to test a plane for filming. While up in the air, Ray decided to do a parachute jump (being an avid amateur parachutist) but, when the plane began to sputter, the pilot told Milland not to jump as they needed to land. Once on the ground, the costume man told Ray that the parachute was "just a prop".
Part 1 of 12 videos.
Next he went on to film, Reap the Wild Wind (1942), a group of stories written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post. It was the basis for the 1942 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, his second to be filmed in color. The film was a swashbuckling adventure, set in the 1840s along the Florida coast.
While he based his film on Strabel's story, DeMille took liberties with details such as sibling relationships and sub-plots, while staying true to the spirit of the story, which centers on a independent woman, played by Paulette Goddard.
During the filming of, Reap the Wild Wind (1942), Milland's character was to have curly hair, so the studio used hot curling irons on his hair. Milland felt that it caused him to go prematurely bald and ruining his career.
The pinnacle of Milland's career came when he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, The Lost Weekend (1945).
Directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. The film was based on a novel of the same title by Charles R. Jackson about a writer who drinks heavily out of having doubts about his identity.
The film's musical score was among the first to use the theremin, which was used to create the pathos of the disease of alcoholism. This movie also made famous the "character walking toward the camera as neon signs pass by camera effect.
In 1951, he gave a wonderful performance in the film, Close to My Heart, starring with Gene Tierney as a couple trying to adopt a child.
The Story is about Midge Sheridan and her husband Brad, who can not have children of their own. Brad's gift of a puppy gives them the idea to adopt a child. After they learn from Mrs. Morrow at the adoption agency about the two-year waiting list, they look for other ways to find a baby. Midge reads in the newspaper about a newborn left on a police station doorstep and she convinces her husband to find him. He finds the baby at the foster home of Mrs. Barker, then he and Midge pretend they are writing an article for the newspaper. Midge falls in love with baby Danny at first sight. Brad writes about Danny in his column, looking for Danny's parents.
Midge, is secretly visiting Mrs. Barker and helping with Danny's care. When Mrs. Morrow drops by the Sheridans' house for an inspection, Brad learns that Midge has decorated the nursery for Danny. Mrs. Morrow tells them that they must accept that the background of any adopted child is concealed. Though the adoption is not final, Danny is given to the Sheridans.
Later, Dunne, a taxi driver who has read his article, contacts Brad at the office. Dunne remembers driving a woman with a baby to a police station and takes Brad to her apartment. There Brad finds the woman, who says that the child's mother, a neighbor who she barely knew, died three days after giving birth to her son. The woman gives Brad the child's mother wedding ring, which is inscribed with "ML--ECH." Brad writes asking his readers for any information about Danny's mother. He eventually finds Martha's former boardinghouse in Bakersfield, California. Through his search Brad learns that Danny's mother, was a schoolteacher, who eloped with a man named Edward Hewitt. Mrs. Morrow, has learned about Brad's investigation and takes it as a sign that Brad is still uncomfortable with the adoption. Brad is just about to sign the adoption papers when his city editor, "Frosty", tells him that Edward has been identified as Evarts Heilner, a convict on death row at San Quentin. Meanwhile Mrs. Madison has also learned the father's identity, and comes to the Sheridan home to take back Danny. When she arrives, she finds only Midge at home, as Brad is visiting San Quentin. Brad meets with Edward, who is guilty of killing a policeman and a prison guard. Will they win back Danny?
This is a very charming movie. Gene Tierney's character is very sweet, Ray Milland is also very good in his part. Fay Bainter the adoption agency supervisor comes over as heartless.
In 1954, he starred opposite Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's, Dial M for Murder.
The story begins when, Tony Wendice a professional tennis player, now retired lives in a London with his wealthy wife, Margot. Who is having an affair with crime-fiction writer, Mark Halliday. Needing money, Tony comes up with what he thinks is the perfect plan to have Margot murdered.
When Mark shows up at the apartment, Margot introduces her "old friend" to Tony. After sending them out to see a play, Tony makes an excuse to stay behind so he can meet with, Swann.
Tony has been following Swann, one of his old college friends, for quite sometime. He has learned that he has become a small time crook. He uses the information to blackmail him into committing the murder. Tony shows Swann a love letter from Mark to his wife. After tricking Swann into leaving his fingerprints on the letter, Tony offers to pay him £1,000 to kill Margot. If he refuses, Tony will turn him in to the police for trying to blackmail his wife.
After Swann agrees, Tony tells him his plan: First, He will take Mark for the evening, leaving Margot alone at home. Next, he tells him where he will hide her key. Then Swann, is to sneak into the apartment after Margot goes to bed and hide behind the curtains and wait for Tony to telephone. That will be the signal for the plan to go into motion. Swann is to kill her and leave signs of a failed burglary, then exit through the front door, again hiding the key under the staircase carpet. Will Swann complete their perfect plan for murder?
Dial M for Murder, is one of my favorite films. It is a wonderfully fast paced film. The ending, is very entertaining.
TCM is celebrating Ray Milands Birthday with the films featured below:
Life Of Her Own, A (1950) An innocent small-town girl climbs to the top of the modeling business man by man. Cast: Lana Turner, Ray Milland, Tom Ewell. Dir: George Cukor.
Safecracker, The (1958) . A reformed burglar calls on his criminal skills to aid the war effort. Cast: Ray Milland, Barry Jones, Jeanette Sterke. Dir: Ray Milland. BW-96 mins, TV-PG
The Gilded Lily(1935). Directed by Welsey Ruggles. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland and Aubrey Smith.
Lynn, and her best friend, reporter Peter Dawes, meet every Thursday night on a bench, where they share a bag of popcorn and talk about their life.. Lynn, soon, meets vacationing English aristocrat Charles Gray Granville, and they fall in love, although he keeps his royal identity a secret. Gray is already engaged to Helen Fergus and when he tells his father, Duke of Lomeshire, that he wants to marry Lynn, the duke insists they return to England and break off the engagement. Gray lies to Lynn about why he's leaving New York, but when Pete meets the Granvilles at the dock, Gray tells him that he is engaged to Helen. Pete writes an article about Lynn, who he calls "No Girl," leaving Gray at the altar. When the Granvilles, read that Helen has broken her engagement, the duke believes Lynn is trying to blackmail him. Gray then sends Lynn a telegram at work asking her price to forget him. Pete decides to make her a celebrity. He gets her a job as a singer and dancer at Nate's Cafe, despite the fact that she can neither sing nor dance. At her opening, Lynn's lack of talent wins laughs from the audience, and she becomes a hit.
After one publicity stunt after another, "No Girl" becomes a household name and as a nightclub star, she goes to London to perform. Gray is in the audience and Lynn, assuming they are still in love, goes out with him. Heartbroken, Pete returns to the states. Who will Lynn share her bag of popcorn with?
Fun Fact:
First of seven movies that Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray filmed together.
This is a wonderful little film I saw for the first time over the weekend. Claudette Colbert is wonderful as always. Fred MacMurray also does a fine job in his part, Ray Milland looks very young and handsome.
First video of 9.
Aubrey Smith(21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948), was an English cricketer and actor. He was knighted by King George VI in 1944 for services to the theatre. He appeared in early films for the nascent British film industry, starring in, The Bump in 1920. Smith later moved to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor playing either officer or gentleman roles.
Smith became infamous for expecting his fellow countrymen to report for regular duty at his Hollywood Cricket Club, and anyone who refused was known to "incur his displeasure". Fiercely patriotic, Smith became openly critical of the British actors of enlistment age who did not return to fight after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He starred alongside such screen legends as leading ladies Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh, and actors Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Ronald Colman, Maurice Chevalier and Gary Cooper. His films include such classics as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) mentioned above, The Four Feathers (1939), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), and And Then There Were None (1945).
Well, my piano exam went Ok. I think. It's hard to tell with them. There always seems to be some sort of trouble with something when the exam starts. We shall see, we shall see. A-N-Y-W-A-Y. I am really happy with this blog at the moment, I seem to be getting lots of positive feedback. Thanks to all those bloggers who did my survey, I am not particularly good at rounding up answers, but it looks like lots of people would have liked to see Erroll Flynn fight a dragon.... Hmmmmm. Here is a review about one of the best Hitchcock films (in my opinion) evah, Dial M For Murder.
Dial M For Murder
Cast:
Ray Milland as Tony Wendice, a retired professional tennis player
Tony Wendis and his Wife Margot are the perfect stereotypical British couple. So it seems. Tony used to be a professional tennis player but retired on Margot's request after she complained about his busy schedule. Bored by Tony's dull personality, Margot starts an affair with friend and crime writer Mark Halliday. Tony secretly follows them one night and discovers their affair. Instead of confronting his unfaithful wife, he spends years plotting her murder. One night when Mark is with them on a friendly visit, Tony tells them to go to the theatre alone on account of his "bad headache". He calls up a man about a used car he wants to buy and asks him to come over to talk money £. Upon arriving it becomes obvious that he has no intention of buying a car, and Tony starts to explain about how he found his wife and another man, and how he feels undermined by his wife's beauty and social skills. The stranger's name is Charles Alexander Swan, and after the long lecture Tony concludes with "I was going to go back and kill them both but I saw something that changed my mind." Bored by this tedious war and peace speech, Charles replies with "What did you see?" *Pause* "I saw you." Tony takes a photo off the wall and points a college version of Charles out to the aging present version (Hitchcock is sat next to him in the photo). Tony starts to interrogate him about several shady incidents that he has been a part of, and ends with asking him to kill his wife for him - as you do. Tony has a letter from Mark to Margot in his coat, and if Charles refuses to kill her, he will turn him in as the blackmailer. He tells him that tomorrow he and Mark will be at a party and she will be home, he is to take the latchkey from under the stair carpet.
Grace Reading The Times
He will then go in and hide behind the curtains until the phone rings and she stands behind the table (as she always does). He is then to murder her from behind. The plan goes wrong when the phone call is late because Tony's watch stopped, and Charles is about to leave but the phone rings and he jumps behind the curtain.
He tries to strangle her with a stocking but she finds some scissors and stabs him in the back. After Tony finds out that Margot couldn't be murdered, he does everything he can to get her beheaded for murder herself...
Review: This is one of my favourite Hitchcock films, (not as great as rear window, but...) and he does a great job with Grace Kelly. I sometimes find her slightly superficial, but whenever she is directed by Hitch, there are few other actresses I would rather watch. This was originally a play, and Alfred Hitchcock - being the genius that he was - said "We don't need to change a thing. Someone has written the script for us already. Lets play with it and make it a success." Or something like that. The film was filmed in 3D as you can see with the arm shot earlier, but by the time it came out the fad was over and the film was somewhat of a flop. Ray Milland is enchanting as Tony, his cold and calculating attitude (trying to big up my drama keywords) remind me a bit of the way Bette Davis plays Leslie Crosby in The Letter. The calmness building up to madness (Milland never gets quite that far, but you can see it in his eyes). Just another great thriller from the master! Is there anything he can do wrong? (Except The Trouble With Harry, but I've forgiven him now.) Do you find it disturbing that a twelve year old watches these movies? Yeah, me too.
Just come home from a rehearsal for the Christmas show, and my throat hurts even more than it did before (hardly possible) and I am very tired. She liked my monologue, so that it a positive.On the subject of shows, my family were having this conversation while watching All About Eve the other day, about when Anne Baxter (Eve) says "So little, so little did you say. Well if there's nothing else there's applause. I've listened backstage to people applaude. It's like waves of love coming over the footlights and wrapping you up. That alone is worth everything." It went like this:
Dad: So is that the main reason you act?
Mum: No, it's more the whole experience, and the feeling. Of course every actor likes to be appreciated.
Me: Yeah. For me it's also about being that other person, and... stuff. I think it's just because Eve has an elephantine ego.
My sister: Are we all agreed she is just and ego maniac?
All: Agreed.
As a performer myself, and from a family of them, I find it interesting to see how people feel about being on stage or acting. Must be the psychoanalyst deep... deep... deep... deep down in me.
~Bette
P.S. Found this picture of the lobby card for The Little Foxes, and I rarely see ones that say "Not suitable for general exhibition." It must be that murder scene. MUAHAHAHAHAHA...
A brother and sister (Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey) move into an old seaside house they find abandoned for many years on the English coast. Their original enchantment with the house diminishes as they hear stories of the previous owners and meet their daughter (Gail Russell, now a young woman) who now lives as a neighbor with her grandfather. Also heard are unexplained sounds during the night. It becomes obvious that the house is haunted. The reasons for the haunting and how they relate to the daughter whom the brother is falling in love with, prove to be a complex mystery. As they are compelled to solve it, the supernatural activity at the house increases to a frightening level.
Solid ghost thriller that ranks right up there with The Innocents and The Haunting.
Facts and trivia:
The beautiful song "Stella By Starlight" was written specifically for this movie and is featured several times. In the movie Roderick Fitzgerald "writes" it for Stella Meredith.
Gail Russell co-stars with author Cornelia Otis Skinner who portrayed "Miss Holloway". That same year (1944), Gail Russell portrayed Cornelia Otis Skinner in "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay", a film based on the real-life memoirs of Miss Skinner.
Some of the interior sets of Windwood Manor, such as the main staircase and parlor, were re-dressed sets from the 1942 film I Married a Witch (1942).
Helen Walker and Veronica Lake were tested for the lead roles.
The Big Clock(1948). Film noir thriller. Directed by John Farrow. The black-and-white film is set in New York City. cast: Ray Milland and Maureen O'Sullivan. Real-life married couple Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton perform in the film, along with Harry Morgan, in an early film role, as a hired thug.
The film begins with, George Stroud, editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, hiding from security guards, in the clock tower of the Janoth Publications building, in New York City. Just thirty-six hours before, was about to leave on his honeymoon after seven years of marriage, is ordered by his over baring boss, Earl Janoth, to go on assignment or be fired. Tired of jeopardizing his family life, George decides to quit his job at the magazine. Janoth's mistress Pauline York, follows him to the bar where he stopped in for a drink. Pauline, wants to help George humiliate Janoth by writing the truth about him in a biography. George tells Pauline that Janoth fired a man earlier in the day for using red ink instead of green. They go on a search for a green clock as a "present" for Janoth, who is obsessed with time. While in an antique shop, George and Pauline out-bid a woman for a Patterson painting, unaware that she is,Louise Patterson.
Later, they visit Burt's Sports Bar, where George introduces Pauline to McKinley, a radio actor friend. After finding the green clock, Burt gives George and Pauline a sundial. After which George takes Pauline home and falls asleep on her couch. Around one-thirty in the morning, Pauline sees Janoth arriving and pushes George out the door with his painting. Unfortunately, Janoth catches a glimpse of him waiting for the elevator and he and Pauline get into a fight about their infidelities. Pauline tells Janoth she spent the evening with a man named Jefferson Randolph. When Janoth insults her, Pauline says that women only go out with him for his power and position. Before he knows what he is doing, he snaps and hits her with the sundial, instantly killing her. He then calls one of his editors, Steve Hagen, for help. They quickly come up with a plan to shift the blame on, George Stroud.
I just saw The film, The Big Clock, for the first time. I thought it was a wonderful film noir, that turns out to be a exciting duel, of one man trying to out think the other.
Fun Facts:
Co-stars Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton were married, as were star Maureen O'Sullivan and director John Farrow.
A 'fin' is $5 in American slang.
This video has a couple of wonderful, Elsa Lanchester, scenes.
Maureen O'Sullivan's film career began when she met director Frank Borzage, who was doing location filming on. Song o' My Heart. He suggested she take a screen test. After she won the part in the movie, she moved to the United States.
O'Sullivan performed in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other movie studios. In 1932, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and at other movie studios, she was chosen to perform as, Jane Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man with Johnny Weissmuller.
In all, O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between (1932) and (1942). She did not mind doing the first two jungle movies, but was worried she would become typecast and quickly became bored with the role.
She also performed with William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty in Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo and Basil Rathbone. She performed as Molly Beaumont in A Yank at Oxford (1938). She played another Jane in Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and supported Ann Sothern in Maisie Was a Lady (1941).
After performing in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She then retired from show business, devoting her time to being a wife and mother.
The Major and the Minor (1942). Comedy. Director: Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett is based on the play Connie Goes Home by Edward Childs Carpenter. Cast: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland and Rita Johnson.
After living in New York for one year, Susan decides to return home, but.. learns at the train stations ticket window that the fare has gone up and she does not have enough for the fare. Susan quickly comes up with an idea when she sees a child buy the ticket at half-price. She runs into the women's bathroom and dresses as a little girl. She then pays a stranger to buy her a child's ticket on the train. When one of the conductors catches her smoking a cigarette, Susan hides in the sleeper cabin occupied by Major Philip Kirby. Philip, befriends "Su-su" and hides her from the conductors and lets her stay the night in the lower bunk. The following day, the train is delayed by flooding on the tracks, and Philip's fiancee Pamela and her father, Colonel Hill, drive up to meet him. When Pamela sees Susan, she become suspicious, and Philip brings Susan to the military school to prove that she is twelve year old girl. After the misunderstanding is cleared up, Philip insists that Susan stays until someone can take her home. Pamela's teenage sister Lucy sees through Susan, but because her sister is a thorn in her side, she befriends Susan. Lucy shares that Pamela claims she is helping Philip to get active duty, she actually has been using her connections to prevent him from enlisting. Susan decides to trick Pamela's connections into getting Philip reinstated, when Pamela hears the news, she calls off their engagement. Pamela learns of Susan's involvement and threatens to expose her and Philip in a scandal. Will Susan reveal her true age to Philip?
I enjoyed this fluffy comedy because of its two stars. Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland who had perfect on screen chemistry in the film. it was also interesting to watch Billy Wilder's directorial debut.
Fun Fact:
Wilder was driving home from the studio one evening and pulled up at a red light next to Ray Milland. He called out, "I'm doing a picture. Would you like to be in it?," and the actor said, "Sure." Wilder sent him the script. Three years later the two men would collaborate on The Lost Weekend, which would win Oscars for both of them.
GRACE KELLY'S performance in HIGH NOON(1952), caught the interest of director Alfred Hitchcock, who, with the help of Edith Head, transformed Grace Kelly, into his idea of a elegant, beautiful blond. She gave Hitchcock wonderful performances in DIAL M FOR MURDER(1954), REAR WINDOW(1954), and TO CATCH A THIEF(1955).
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954), begins as Margot (Grace Kelly) discusses with the other man in her life, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), that she had changed her mind about divorcing her husband. And is convinced, that her husband still cares for her and wants a fresh start in her marriage. She also informs him about a blackmailer who stole a letter that Mark wrote to her, but never picked up the money. When Tony (Ray Milland), comes home, he announces that he has unexpected business to take care of and has to change their evening plans. But insists that Mark and Margot to go on without him. After they leave,Tony makes a call to Lesgate, who has a car for sale. They make plans to meet at Tony's apartment. Tony informs him and that he is aware of illegal activities, in which he is involved and blackmails Lesgate, into agreeing to do the killing.Tony warns Lesgate that going to the police would only backfire.
Lesgate, is to watch the apartment and when Margot goes into the bedroom, he is to enter using Margot's house key.. At the agreed time, Tony will call, and when Margot answers, Lesgate, is to strangle her. When he has finished, Lesgate is to whistle into the phone and hang up. He is to leave the garden window open and put the key under the stairway.
Before Tony and Mark leave for the club, Tony gets the key from Margot's handbag and requests her to stay behind to clip articles for his scrapbook. At the club,Tony leaves the table, saying he must call his boss, but calls home. During this time Lesgate has unlocked the apartment door and put the key under the stairway, he waits inside the apartment. When Margot goes to answer the phone, Lesgate tries to strangle her, but things don't go as planned. Tony, on the other end of the phone line, has to quickly come up with a new plan. He talks into the phone and Margot, hearing his voice, tells him what happened. Later, when the police start to investigate they find all evidence points to Margot letting Lesgate in and killing him because he was blackmailing her. What is to happen to Margot?
Hitchcock arranged to have Grace Kelly dressed in bright colors at the start of the film and made them progressively darker as time goes on.
THE REAR WINDOW (1954) Jeff (Jimmy Stewart), a professional news photographer, stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg from an accident while on assignment. Spends his hot summer days watching his neighbors through the REAR WINDOW of his New York apartment. Dreaming up names for his new friends, like Miss Torso, the ballerina and Miss Lonely Heart, the old maid. One neighbor in particular, seems to have peaked Jeff's interest. A traveling salesman and his bed ridden, nagging wife, who lives in a apartment across the courtyard.
Everyday like clock work, Stella (Thelma Ritter) , his nurse, drops by to prepare his meals and to make his bed. She disapproves of his spying on his neighbors and encourages him to marry Lisa(Grace Kelly). Jeff, insists that Lisa is too "perfect", for his adventurous lifestyle.
In the middle of the night, Jeff hears a woman scream and glass break, but sees nothing outside. Jeff believes that he is a witness to the murder of Mrs Thorwald. Over the next few days they watch Thorwald's, suspicious behavior. Jeff comes up with a plan to write him an anonymous note, asking... "What have you done with her?" Lisa slips the note under his door. What is Thorwald's next move ?
The romance between war photographer Robert Capa and actress Ingrid Bergman is believed to be Hitchcock's inspiration for the movie, REAR WINDOW..
