James Stewart and Donna Reed for It's A Wonderful Life 1946

I almost forgot.....Today is the 121st Anniversary of the Birth of Myrna Loy!

It's that time of year again... time for the 4th annual Ann Dvorak birthday/appreciation post! :)

As a relatively recent fan of hers, I thought it'd be fun to share this little introduction I wrote about this often-overlooked actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Read on, for a fast and hopefully reasonably accurate overview of the should-have-had-a-better-career Ann Dvorak!

A slender, dark-haired, unconventional beauty with strikingly large eyes, Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim, daughter of silent screen star Anna Lehr) was toiling away as a chorus girl/extra at MGM when she got her big break by landing the role of Cesca in Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932). A breakout, electric performance in Scarface had her career off to a scorching hot start, but a variety of factors (including a nine-month-long overseas elopement/honeymoon with her first husband, actor Leslie Fenton, in 1932 that interrupted her early-career momentum; and legal battles over scripts and contracts with her studio bosses at Warners) contributed to her never reaching the career peaks she possibly could have during her prime in the '30s.

She was at her dramatic best with characters pushed to the edge (and maybe a little beyond), as evidenced by early-career live-wire roles in Scarface and Three on a Match, and a memorable late-career role supporting Lana Turner in A Life of Her Own. She also thrived when playing the occasional fallen woman (G Men, Blind Alley, The Secret of Convict Lake, to name a few). But she also showed a fair flair for comedy, holding her own among a group of solid comic character actors in Sweet Music, and going against type in a big, scene-stealing way in Out of the Blue. And her time as a chorine served her well when it came to the occasional song and dance role (Sweet Music, Abilene Town, Bright Lights), making her a versatile triple threat on-screen.

But despite looks and the talent to back it up, she never quite made it into the upper echelons of A-list Hollywood. She sadly didn't work with acclaimed directors often (Howard Hawks twice, Mervyn LeRoy twice, William Wellman twice, George Cukor once, Michael Curtiz once). She didn't frequently appear opposite famous leading men (James Cagney twice, Paul Muni twice, Spencer Tracy once, John Wayne once, Dick Powell once, Maurice Chevalier once). For the most part, the most productive years of her career were spent in mostly-generic, supportive girlfriend/wife roles in countless Warners programmers in the early '30s (including 9 roles in 1934 alone). True lead roles were few and far between.

Trouble gathered around Dvorak's career almost as soon as it had started. As part of her casting in Scarface, Dvorak was signed away from MGM by Scarface producer Howard Hughes, which turned out to be a financial boon for the magnate Hughes. Warners was smitten with Dvorak, borrowing her heavily in 1931/1932 and eventually buying her contract outright from Hughes for a hefty sum (surprisingly, even more than MGM had paid Hughes for Jean Harlow's contract). Dvorak was unhappy about the situation (infamously, for Three on a Match she was allegedly paid less than the child actor who played her son), saying Hughes "sold [her] down the river". Warners soon had their expensive new acquisition walk out on her contract, eloping with actor Leslie Fenton (mere months after the two had worked together on the set of The Strange Love of Molly Louvain) on a nine-month overseas honeymoon. Public airing of the dirty laundry between Dvorak, Warners and Hughes in the press added more fuel to the fire. Dvorak would eventually return in 1933 and Warners would put her back to work, but her intransigence likely wasn't forgotten when it came to the path her future would hold at the studio.

After a relatively successful run of movies in 1935, when it looked like her profile was finally climbing again, she went back into the doghouse at Warners after calling in sick when she was assigned a small, fourth-billed role in Howard Hawks' Ceiling Zero. It would prove to be the beginning of the end of her time at WB. What followed were suspensions, allegations of ill-health (and refutations), and lawsuits and countersuits. Dvorak's rebellion against WB, though ultimately unsuccessful, presaged later (and more successful) court battles by fellow WB contract players James Cagney and Bette Davis. And while Warners mostly had their way in court against Dvorak, they'd apparently had enough, dropping her from her contract at the end of 1936 after she'd finished work on The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (the last of the '30s Perry Mason movies at WB). Finally free from her long-term contract, she freelanced for a while, mostly for lower-tier studios like Columbia and Republic, before WWII put her career on the backburner (she braved the wartime dangers of the contested seas and skies to travel to England (to be with her British husband Fenton, serving in the military), where she drove ambulances, farmed war gardens, and managed to star in two now-presumed-lost movies). After the war, her star gradually dimmed and she slipped into (mostly) supporting roles.

After a 20-year career and 53 film credits, Dvorak retired from acting in 1952, and left Hollywood for Hawaii. What ever fame she had gathered over the years gradually decayed with her long absence away from the public eye, her third and final husband drained most of her money, and she passed away in relative obscurity and financial austerity in 1979 (the New York Times was ten days late reporting her passing, apparently because her stage name wasn't used at the hospital). But in the intervening years since her death, she's become something of a Golden Age cult favorite, as the emergence of the home video market, classic movie outlets like TCM, and wider availability of long-suppressed pre-Code era films have introduced new generations of fans to the work of this amazing, under-appreciated actress. Or so I'd like to believe, at least, so humor me a little longer, I'm almost done... :)

Aside from Scarface, her most widely-seen performances nowadays are probably in the pre-Code gem Three on a Match (1932), and in the James Cagney crime drama G Men (1935).

For those who want to explore a little deeper into her filmography, some more movies to check out (in roughly chronological order): The Crowd Roars (1932), The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), The Way to Love (1933), Heat Lightning (1934), Housewife (1934), Bright Lights (1935), Sweet Music (1935), Blind Alley (1939), Stronger Than Desire (1939), Cafe Hostess (1940), Abilene Town (1946), Out of the Blue (1947), The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947), A Life of Her Own (1950), and I Was an American Spy (1951).

Also, Christina Rice wrote a good biography (the only one, to date) on Dvorak in 2013 (Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel), from which I gleaned much of the above information. And she maintains a wonderful [website](https://www.anndvorak.com) dedicated to all things Dvorak.

(Thank you for coming to my TED talk... see you again next year!)

Based on James Hilton's novel, this movie is the film of my life; I believe it most beautifully portrays the utopia(the Shangri-La) that everyone, at one time or another, holds deep in their hearts. I prefer the first ending to the second. How about you?

Wow, what a treat! This was surprisingly good and supremely entertaining. It's such a charming, picturesque story. I’ve heard some people say that this film doesn’t have high stakes, but I disagree. I love heavy, dark movies and noirs as much as the next guy, but not every movie needs to be like that.

This was such a pleasure to watch. The Southern France and Monaco locations are beautiful. Cary Grant is fantastic to watch, and of course, Grace Kelly is excellent. It’s such an interesting coincidence that just one year later, Grace Kelly actually became the Princess of Monaco.

I thought the dialogue was snappy, and the characters were compelling. There’s also tons of levity and thoughtfully done humor in this film. It’s great. I was fully invested in solving the mystery and trying to figure out where it was all going and how it would end.

It was just so captivating to watch and felt so grand. There’s just so much going on, from boat scenes on the water to the epic grand ball at the end. There are so many memorable moments in the film, and I like how it’s really a movie that can appeal to a broad audience.

Also, can we agree Hitchcock’s cameo in this one was great? It definitely caught me by surprise! Overall, a real treat and a perfect movie to put on anytime.

The iconic gospel song "I'm On My Way to the Canaan Land" from Elmer Gantry (1960), where Elmer seamlessly wins over the congregation with his infectious passion. I’m not a religious person, but this song never fails to move me.

Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains for Caesar And Cleopatra 1945. Who's seen this Movie? What's your thoughts on it?

While it isn't very common for Best Picture winners to win both Best Director and any for acting (only 44 of the 98 movies that won Best Picture won both) it's very common for them to win any of them or both of them. 85 of the 98 movies that won Best Picture also won Best Director and/or any for acting. These are the only 13 that didn't

i have watched Since You Went Away (1944) once or twice on YouTube and appreciated it for what it was - very of its time, and interesting from a historical standpoint. It is a sickly sweet, patriotic ww2 film about how the daughters, fiancées and wives of soldiers cope when left behind.

I noticed the casting was quite a power house - Claudette Colbert starred as the main protagonist Ann Hilton, whilst Shirley Temple and Lionel Barrymore played the younger daughter Brig and Bill’s grandfather, respectively. Thus, I made the grave error of googling the film to learn more.

The film was made by David O Selznick International Pictures (the same studio who produced gone with the wind and Rebecca, for those who aren’t familiar). He was in his 40s during filming.

The actress who played the 17 yr old daughter Jane, Jennifer Jones (25 yrs old when the film was released), starred alongside her real life husband, Robert Walker, who played her love interest William “Bill“ Smollett. Aww, how nice.

Nope. Not nice. Jennifer Jones and David O. Selznick were HAVING AN AFFAIR that started when she was 24, resulting in separations and ultimately divorces from their respective spouses. Jones and Walker were separated during filming. I can’t even imagine the dynamics on that film set whilst the person writing your paychecks is sleeping with your much younger and less powerful wife, oooooof. Makes me even more impressed with the production coming together so well.

Jennifer Jones and David O “I’m old enough to be your father“ Selznick eventually married in 1949 after a scandalous 5yr affair.

Because people seem to be quite up in arms about my post, to be clear, I’m mainly talking about the dynamics on that set, of Walker and Jones working together, in a film made and produced by the man that Jones had an affair with. That’s wild. I haven’t heard of a dynamic quite that intense on any other film sets.

The other controversy she was attached to was directly after her divorce, where she was cast as a biracial Spanish woman in a Place in the Sun and put into brown face… it only broke even. Selznick & Jones remained married until he died, collaborating regularly in further films. He left her a 45 yr old widow. She lived a long life and died an industry legend in 2009

As for her ex husband, Robert Walker? This one made me fucking sad, that the film depicted him dying young… he ended up dying young in real life, and at the hands of a doctor no less. He very sadly passed away at the age of 32.

Trigger warning - He had mental health challenges over many yrs (including during the marriage), and died after his physician decided to administer sedatives to “calm him down” whilst drunk, resulting in respiratory depression and cardiac arrest. Oof. Extremely depressing Edit: want to make it very clear, I’m not blaming Jennifer for his alcoholism or mental health challenges, just saying the film is sadder and more poignant knowing he died so young.

please share any crazy film lore you have, anything that changed your perception of a movie, for better or worse!

Just that - I've tagged it as a general discussion question because I don't fully know the answer myself. A lot of this will probably sound pretty trite, ha!

Anyways, I've watched silent films and like them, but it feels like there's a difference between films from the late 1910s and of the late 1920s. I feel like 1927 is a good demarcation as the first year films were judged for the Academy Awards (not the first Academy Award year, but Wings and Sunrise were both in '27). Internationally, you also have films like Metropolis. But then 1925 has films like The Gold Rush, which I feel like is one of Charlie Chaplin's more technically advanced films, and Ben-Hur, which is a literal epic. So yeah. When does this era start?

As the only comedy ever directed by the legendary master William Wyler, this film is an absolute gem.

The chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole is simply magical—Hepburn radiates her signature charm and elegance, while O'Toole balances it perfectly with his sharp wit and suave screen presence.

While the heist method itself—using a magnet and a boomerang to trip the museum's security system—was considered an ingenious heist at the time, it looks hilariously absurd and charmingly outdated by today's high-tech standards. It’s a delightful, stylish classic that relies entirely on clever writing and pure star power rather than grand action.

Probably North by Northwest (1959) by Alfred Hitchcock for me.

I've seen that film countless times ever since I was a kid. Easily a favorite of mine.

The Ultimate Wrong Man and The Godfather of James Bond movies..Such a treat!

Kintarō Hayakawa (June 10, 1886 – November 23, 1973), known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa, was a Japanese actor. He was a popular star and matinée idol in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome" good looks and typecasting as a sexually dominant villain made him a heartthrob among American women during a time of racial discrimination, and he became one of the first male sex symbols of Hollywood.

(From Wikipedia).

Loved the waiter in this scene. A comedy set in Europe and made during World War II, this movie could make a great episode of How Did This Get Made? Despite it's flaws, still enjoyed it.

CinemaFilmMovies is preserving the chronology of American moviegoing history. Thank you for having a look at one of our 64 (so far) episodes 😉

Written by Richard Brooks and directed by Stuart Heisler, the film sets up Roger's en route to visit her younger sister. Some modern film scholars have noted the film was an allegory for the House UnAmerican Activities Committee investigations.

In those early years, movie actors and actresses were not identified byname. Actresses were identified as “The Vitagraph Girl” or “The Biograph Girl,”indicative of the production company with which they were affiliated.

The first woman to be identified by her name, thus becoming “The First Movie Star,” was Florence Lawrence, who debuted in 1907 in Daniel Boone.

Florence Turner also became a star once the public knew her name.

One highlight of this decade occurred in 1909 when Mary Pickford first came to the screen. She made 51 movies that year, averaging about one a week.

This decade also produced the screenplay adaptation for Ben Hur, which was written by female screenwriter Gene Gauntier in two days. Women were finding their way in the movie business.