John Barrymore: At first a reluctant actor, this member of the renowned Drew and Barrymore families made his stage debut at age 18 in an early 20th-century play starring his…
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Melvyn Douglas. Melvyn Douglas: From suave leading man to Hollywood’s top female stars to first-rate dramatic actor Unlike Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, or Gary Cooper, Melvyn Douglas couldn’t exactly be…
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How to be a Latin Lover: Ricardo Cortez, formerly known as Jacob Krantz from a working-class family of Austrian/Hungarian immigrants that had settled in New York City, succeeded in restyling…
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Ricardo Cortez biography The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez. Dan Van Neste’s book covers the life and career of Paramount’s “Latin Lover” threat to a recalcitrant…
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(See previous post: “Gay Pride Movie Series Comes to a Close: From Heterosexual Angst to Indonesian Coup.”) Ken Russell’s Valentino (1977) is notable for starring ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev as…
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The Doll with Ossi Oswalda and Hermann Thimig. Early Ernst Lubitsch satirical fantasy starring “the German Mary Pickford” has similar premise to that of the 1925 Buster Keaton comedy Seven…
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Olivia de Havilland in ‘The Heiress.’ Olivia de Havilland vs. Warner Bros. (See previous post: “Olivia de Havilland Turns 99: Warner Bros. Legal Fight Changed U.S. Labor Law.”) In 1942,…
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Ernst Lubitsch movies: Subtle, sophisticated ‘Touch’ all but gone from contemporary filmmaking. Ernst Lubitsch movies: The forgotten, passé ‘Touch’ Ernst Lubitsch and William Cameron Menzies were Turner Classic Movies’ “stars”…
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Sorrell and Son 1927 with H.B. Warner and Alice Joyce. Long-thought-lost ‘Sorrell and Son’: Surprisingly effective father-love melodrama stars a superlative H.B. Warner Partially shot on location in England and produced…
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Charles Brackett ca. 1945: Billy Wilder screenwriting partner (1936–1949), producer (1945–1949) and Hollywood diarist. Q&A with ‘Charles Brackett Diaries’ editor Anthony Slide: Billy Wilder’s screenwriter-producer partner in his own words…
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Greta Garbo movies: The Kiss was her final silent film. Greta Garbo movies: Rare silent era star on TCM Greta Garbo, a rarity among silent era movie stars, is Turner…
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Virginia Bruce: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer actress ca. 1935. Virginia Bruce movies on TCM: Actress was the cherry on ‘The Great Ziegfeld’ wedding cake Unfortunately, Turner Classic Movies has chosen not to feature…
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Vivien Leigh ca. late 1940s. Vivien Leigh movies: now controversial ‘Gone with the Wind,’ little-seen ’21 Days Together’ on TCM Vivien Leigh is Turner Classic Movies’ star today, Aug. 18,…
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Douglas Fairbanks Jr.: Although never as big a name as his father, Jr. did succeed in attaining Hollywood stardom. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was never as popular as his father, silent…
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Robert Mitchum ca. late 1940s. Robert Mitchum movies ‘The Yakuza’ & ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ on TCM On Aug. 12, Turner Classic Movies’ “Summer Under the Stars” series is highlighting the career…