Tag: Cinema

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Movies ‘48

Movies ‘48 #5

Movie News – January 29, 1948

Loretta Young’s comments, featured on 27 January about the British people starving and shivering, were criticised by a British tourist official.

Movie News – January 30, 1948

Films showing this week in British cinemas: You Can’t Have Everything starring Alice Faye, The Falcon in Hollywood starring Tom Conway, and Great Expectations starring John Mills.

Movie News – January 31, 1948

Bette Davis and her husband, William Grant Sherry. The couple divorced in 1950. Maybe Bette’s expression offered a hint of what was to follow…

Movie News – February 1, 1948

A film famine in Britain – no new shows this week.

Movie News – February 2, 1948

Joe E Howard (pictured), the composer of over 500 popular songs, including I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now, was injured when a car struck him while he was crossing a street in Hollywood. While in hospital, recovering from concussion, he sang some of his hits to the nurses, including I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now.

A footnote to this story. Harold Orlob sued Joe E Howard, claiming that he had penned I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now. Orlob won his suit. He sought no compensation, but asked that he should be recognised as the primary composer of the song.

Movie News – February 3, 1948

Beauty Spurns the Films

Miss America of 1947, brunette, beautiful Barbara Jo Walker, has now turned down fifteen offers to go to Hollywood. Barbara explained: “I have my ideals. I want to be the wife of a successful doctor.” Her wish was granted when her sweetheart, John Hummel, received his medical degree.

Footnote: Barbara Jo Walker was the last Miss America to be crowned in her bathing suit; all since 1947 have been crowned in their evening gowns. Her son, Andy Hummel, was a member of the power pop band Big Star.

Movie News – February 4, 1948

“Daughter of Darkness is a Jack the Ripper story in reverse. The heroine seduces then murders husky young men. A startling performance from Siobhan McKenna, who gives this monstrous young woman just the right proportion of chill and seduction. Outrageous nonsense, but never dull.”

*****

A culturally important movie, Storm Center starring Bette Davis was released in 1956. A noir drama directed by Daniel Taradash, the story focused on three controversial subjects – book banning, censorship and McCarthyism. Storm Center was the first overtly anti-McCarthyism film to be produced in Hollywood.

My research for Eve’s War, Heroines of SOE, and my Golden Age of Hollywood novels, has produced the following coincidence: I selected female SOE agents to research and actresses Blacklisted in the 1950s. Most of my selections, including Marsha Hunt, lived well into their nineties. I wasn’t aware of this before selecting them for research. Marsha Hunt actually lived to be 104. A theory: their fighting qualities aided their longevity.

My latest Golden Age of Hollywood article for the Seaside News appears on page 43 of the magazine

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Movies ‘48

Movies ‘48 #4

Movie News – January 22, 1948

Did you used to visit Saturday morning film clubs? What did you think of them?

Movie News – January 23, 1948

In a fire sequence for Secret Beyond the Door, Michael Redgrave refused to have a double. In the escape scene, blinded by smoke, the star hit the wrong window and ran into glass instead of the sugar product used for such occasions. While having his wounds treated, Redgrave said, “That’s the first British blood split in America since 1812!”

Movie News – January 24, 1948

Coming soon, Raymond Chandler’s The Lady in the Lake starring Robert Montgomery, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully and Audrey Totter (pictured), one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood. “She provides romance and excitement in a district and positive manner that sets her apart from the usual young screen player”.

The movie was unusual in that it was filmed in a first person, point of view style, with Marlowe only seen in reflections and when he directly addresses the audience.

Movie News – January 25, 1948

Patricia Roc (pictured) tells how new film faces are found.

“If an actress shows promise, the publicity department take her over. They decide on the best personality angle to project through stills and write-ups. Her rise to fame has begun. The real work begins with the starlet’s first big part. She is coached both on and off the set. She learns how to handle autograph sessions and buy clothes. She is given a reasonable contract.”

Movie News – January 26, 1948

Ex-Actress Sues Surgeon

Dr Franklyn Thorpe, Hollywood surgeon and former husband of actress Mary Astor, has filed an answer in the Los Angles Supreme Court denying charges made by former actress Anne Nagel (pictured) that she had been sterilised in an operation he performed in 1936.

He admitted performing an appendectomy with her specific consent, but denied other allegations in her $350,000 damage suit.

Movie News – January 27, 1948

Loretta Young’s Aid Britain Campaign

Loretta Young was a divisive figure in the Hollywood community. On the one hand, she presented herself as pious, and devoted a lot of her time to charity work, while on the other hand, aspects of her personal life and political views raised eyebrows. To some people she was known as “Attila the Nun”.

Movie News – January 28, 1948

An advertisement for Gay Red lipstick. The advertisement failed to mention that Mrs Alan Ladd was Sue Carol born Evelyn Jean Lederer, October 30, 1906 – February 4, 1982). After a spell as an actress, Sue became an agent. The fourth of her four marriages was to Alan Ladd, previously a client. The marriage lasted until his death in 1964.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 40 occasions.

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Movies ‘48

Movies ‘48 #3

Movie News – January 15, 1948

MGM suspended Lana Turner when she refused to play Lady de Winter in The Three Musketeers. The suspension was later lifted when she agreed to feature in the movie.

Movie News – January 16, 1948

Ann Sheridan plays “a fine dramatic role” in The Unfaithful, a movie about infidelity centred on a wife who cheats on her husband when he’s away in the services. While criticising the wife, the movie concludes that there should be more “give and take in such cases”.

Movie News – January 17, 1948

Film-star portraits, only 7d each, post free.

Movie News – January 18, 1948

Cinemas are to charge threepence extra a seat. The price rise will raise £300,000 a week, and no part will be sent back to Hollywood to add to the “dollar drain”.

The remarkable statistic in this report was that 25 million Britons visited the cinema each week, compared to 2.25 million now.

Movie News – January 19, 1948

As 500 cinema goers watched Murder is My Business at the Tottenham Court Road cinema last night, a man went up to the box office, smashed the thick glass with the butt-end of a revolver and told the two female cashiers to hand over the takings. However, the cashiers had other ideas. Mrs Harris screamed and pressed the alarm while Mrs Wilson shouted, “Don’t you dare!”

Three men rushed to the scene and, after a scuffle, overpowered the gunman, who was later detained at Tottenham Court Road police station.

Movie News – January 20, 1948

“Family Man” from Manchester was one of many outraged at the showing of “The Birth of a Baby”. It was beyond his comprehension that the authorities allowed this film to be viewed by “Tom, Dick and Harry”. Tom and Harry were not available for comment. Meanwhile, Dick said it had nothing to do with him…

Movie News – January 21, 1948

The Sketch featured Britain’s #1 money-making movie star, Anna Neagle.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 40 occasions.

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Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
Movies ‘48

Movies ‘48 #2

Movie News – January 8, 1948

Deanna Durbin, twenty-five-year-old film star, parted company with Felix Jackson, her forty-five-year-old film-producer second husband. The couple divorced in 1949.

After the divorce, Deanna Durbin was inundated with film and stage offers including a Broadway role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. However, she rejected them all, packed her bags and set off for France where, in 1950, she married producer-director Charles Henri David. The couple moved to a farmhouse near Paris and remained together for forty-nine years.

Movie News – January 9, 1948

Showing in British cinemas, Hedy Lamarr and John Loder in Dishonoured Lady, aka Sins of Madeleine, a noir drama. Lamarr and Loder were married when they made the film, but they divorced later in the year.

Movie News – January 10, 1948

Hollywood Ten Plead Not Guilty

Ten Hollywood writers and producers (not named in this report), accused of refusing to tell the House Committee on un-American activities whether they were members of the Communist Party, pleaded not guilty and were ordered to stand trial separately beginning on February 9th.

Members of the Hollywood Ten and their families in 1950, protesting the impending incarceration of the ten

Movie News – January 11, 1948

Secrets in Their Contracts

Ingrid Bergman uses an onion to produce tears in weepie scenes.

Bing Crosby wears a wig.

Peter Lawford agreed not to marry within the next three years.

The studios provide Greer Garson, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford with a maid, and a “first class drawing room” whenever they film on location.

Hedy Lamarr has a clause that states that “she must wear her own underwear, unless such underwear is to be filmed, then it will be provided by the producer.” She must also return all the dresses she wears in her films to the studio.

Movie News – January 12, 1948

Bangs are back in fashion. In unrelated news, Margaret Lockwood was mobbed in Glasgow. A large crowd gathered at Glasgow Central Station to cheer and present her with flowers on day one of her three-day visit. The crowd was so large that Miss Lockwood required a police escort and took ten minutes to travel the short distance from the railway station to the Central Station Hotel.

Movie News – January 13, 1948

Recommended by June Allyson and nine out of ten movie stars, the Lux massage technique “brings quick new loveliness”.

Movie News – January 14, 1948

Gene Autry receives more fan mail than any other star in Hollywood, over 100,000 letters a month. Most stars average “only” 30,000 letters a month. Autry has a private post office in Hollywood where five clerks handle his mail. He can expect more letters due to the release of his latest film, The Last Roundup.

Book News

Ten years after publication, I’m delighted to say that Sam’s Song is once again #1 on the Amazon Private Investigator charts.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 40 occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #220

Dear Reader,

Tula, my latest audiobook, featuring a wonderful narration by Amelia Mendez.

I never wanted to be a star. I just wanted to act in movies. I just wanted to get away from the impoverished streets of Brooklyn and live in relative comfort.

Now, at the close of the 1920s, I was the biggest name in Hollywood. My movies were the highest grossing in the business. Investors depended on me, producers depended on me, my fellow actors depended on me, and maybe the strain of that dependence triggered my emotional collapse.

Actually, I knew what trigged my emotional collapse—my father’s death. I found myself in an asylum, in the care of Dr. Brooks. Along with my fiancé, fellow actor Gregory Powell, Dr. Brooks was convinced that an underlying issue triggered my collapse, and he wanted me to record my life story, so that he could identify that issue.

Gregory had faith in me. He said he’d wait for me, and that he knew I’d make a full recovery. But to make that recovery, I had to address the underlying issue that had placed me in the asylum.

So, I offer you the notes that I prepared for Dr. Brooks. To the best of my ability and memory, I recorded the important events that made up the first 25 years of my life. And within these notes, I discovered the true reason for my emotional breakdown.

https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Tula-Golden-Age-Hollywood/dp/B0CN1PT2ZN/

My latest translation, the Dutch version of Operation Overlord, Eve’s War Heroines of SOE book nine.

From The World Film Encyclopaedia, 1933, a map of Hollywood movie studios and notable landmarks.

I’m delving into 1948, researching material for two novels scheduled for 2024 – Eve’s Peace, a sequel to my Eve’s War Heroines of SOE series, and Dana, book three in my Golden Age of Hollywood series.

On January 7, 1948, 25-year-old Captain Thomas F. Mantell died when his P-51 Mustang fighter chased a UFO. Due to Mantell’s death, this incident marked a sharp shift in both public and governmental perceptions of UFOs. Now they were seen as not only extraterrestrial, but potentially hostile as well.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was released in January 1948. The movie contained a number of scenes shot on location outside the United States – in the state of Durango with street scenes in Tampico, Mexico – which wasn’t common at that time.

Sue Carol and George O’Brien in The Lone Star Ranger, 1930. Sue Carol was a friend of Virgina Cherrill, who made City Lights with Charlie Chaplin. Later, Sue Carol became an agent and promoted Alan Ladd to stardom. Reader, she also married him.

The Film Daily’s annual critics poll of 1930 produced the following result:

  1. All Quiet on the Western Front 271 votes
  2. Abraham Lincoln 167
  3. Holiday 166
  4. Journey’s End 151
  5. = Anna Christie 141, The Big House 141

The votes were cast by 333 American film critics.

Columbo

Pilot Episode #2: “Ransom For a Dead Man”. This episode featured Lee Grant as the murderer. Lee Grant is a highly gifted and award-winning actress who was blacklisted for twelve years during the McCarthy period.

“Because Eddie Dmytryk named her husband, Lee Grant was blacklisted before her film career even had a chance to begin. Of course, she refused to testify about the man to whom she was married, and it took years before anyone would hire her for another picture.” – Kirk Douglas.

A Hollywood Murder

I’m pausing my investigation here while I pull together the various threads of the story. I reckon one of Charlotte Shelby, Carl Stockdale, or Mary Miles Minter murdered movie director William Desmond Taylor in February 1922, but which one? I will let you know when I find out…

I’m researching my family in 1921, starting with my ancestor Annie Noulton (1881 – 1963). In 1921, Annie was a widow. Her husband, Albert Charles Bick, died at the Battle of Loos, 25 September 1915 when the idiotic generals, using gas on the battlefield for the first time, gassed their own men. 

Annie and her seven children, five girls and two boys, lived in four rooms at 19 Springfield Place, Lambeth. The national demographics for 1921: 47.8% male, 52.2% female. In Lambeth: 46.6% male, 53.4% female. The carnage of the First World War obviously impacted on those figures.

📜 Annie’s signature 

May 1925, a taxi driver, a neighbour of my ancestor Annie Noulton, fined for reckless driving at 15mph.

Looking at the records and seeing my ancestor, First World War widow Annie Noulton, working as an office cleaner to provide for her five daughters and two sons, and I’m taken by how hard her life was. Yet, her mother, also known as Annie, but born Nancy (it’s a long story) lived on one of the poorest streets in London, so war widow Annie was actually moving her family forward in her own quiet way. Indeed, according to Charles Booth’s poverty map, she was living in a “fairly comfortable” – “well-to-do” neighbourhood – circled in yellow.

Social media https://toot.wales/@HannahHowe

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 38 occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂