In the late 1940s both Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx were in their slump years–the Marx Brothers were essentially over and Groucho’s attempts at movie-star solo work were met mostly with a shrug. He made two movies–‘Copacabana’ and ‘A Girl In Every Port’–that were disappointments and the final Marx Brothers
The word on the street (not my street but somebody’s street) is that the Scorcese/DiCaprio Sinatra biopic now in the planning stages is set during the legendary singer/actor/prick’s slump years–basically 1948-53. This is when he deserted his family for Ava Gardner, pissed off most of the world’s press and melted
‘3 Dumb Clucks’ (1937) was the 22nd short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Monday, February 1 through Friday, February 5th, 1937 and was released on Saturday, April 17th of that year. This is a neatly conceived and executed mistaken identity comedy with
Apropos of yesterday’s post which showed us Bogart as a working actor meticulously and professionally going through a series of wardrobe tests, here’s another example of Bogart out of character (more or less) as he blows his lines during takes. While blooper reels are fairly low hanging fruit in terms
On February 20th, 1956, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall reported for work at Warner Brothers to do costume tests for their upcoming movie ‘Melville Goodwin, USA’. Based on a John Marquand novel, the story had to do with a career military man who becomes a Major General thanks to the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvxwf1jxdaMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb1KndrrXsY Above I’ve posted two views of the infamous Paul Masson wine commercials which helped support Orson Welles and his filmmaking career throughout the 1970s. The first consists of outtakes and the second shows the finished commercial. Unfortunately, as the outtakes show, Welles is too drunk to perform. The director
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeCU0uaMURE In addition to booze and cigarettes, Humphrey Bogart’s great passion was sailing his yacht which was named ‘Santana’. Much as city kid James Cagney yearned for the wide open spaces of country life (see yesterday’s post) city kid Bogie yearned for the open air of the sea. Both men
For many years James Cagney divided his time between a country-esque retreat in Coldwater Canyon, high above Beverly Hills, and a Martha’s Vineyard spread that is nothing if not wildly appealing. But, with a fervor that only a once poor city kid (Cagney grew up in the Yorkville section of New York
‘Even As I.O.U.’ (1942) was the 65th comedy short subject made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Saturday, April 18th through Wednesday, April 22 1942 and was released on Friday, September 18th of that year (the 261st day on the Gregorian calendar). This top-notch Curly
Let’s close this week of 1970s Los Angeles heritage with this quite interesting news segment focusing on the then newly out gay community of West Hollywood. ‘Two on the Town,” was a local Los Angeles series broadcast by KCBS-TV hosted by Steve Edwards and Connie Chung. In this 1980 piece,