Myrna Loy
Muriel Evans
Buster Keaton
Iris Adrian
Marie Wilson
Bette Davis
Bela Lugosi
Boris Karloff
Bob Hope
Bob Hope and Lucille Ball
Rosemary and Priscilla Lane
Arlene Dahl
Debbie Reynolds
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A Blog For Thelma Todd Thelma Todd was a star of silent movies and later the talkies. She is remembered as much today for her mysterious death as she is for her films. In this blog, we take a look at Thelma Todd, her movies, and various commentaries.
Showing posts with label Bob Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Hope. Show all posts
Friday, December 22, 2017
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Bob Hope Christmas With The Troops
Bob Hope entertained the troops for many years, starting in the second World War and continuing on through a number of other wars. My little brother saw him when he was in the army.
Here we have a segment about Bob Hope's entertaining the troops that is related to Christmas.
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Saturday, May 25, 2013
Carole Landis Article - "Determined Lady"
Another period fan magazine article about Carole Landis.
Rosina Lawrence had also worked for both Hal Roach and Twentieth Century Fox. It didn't seem to work very well for her, either. Maybe somebody just didn't know who or what was good.
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Rosina Lawrence had also worked for both Hal Roach and Twentieth Century Fox. It didn't seem to work very well for her, either. Maybe somebody just didn't know who or what was good.
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Sunday, December 2, 2012
Paulette Goddard Fantasy
Dale thought that "Sherry Flippe" in this 1944 story might be Paulette Goddard.
This story was originally published in 1944. And in 1940, Paulette Goddard had made a movie called THE GHOST BREAKERS.
Along with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Hope's own The Cat and the Canary, it is cited as a prime example of the classic Hollywood horror-comedy.[2][3]
The film opens in a Manhattan radio studio during a broadcast by crime reporter Lawrence Lawrence (Bob Hope)—"Larry" to his friends, as well as his enemies, who are many in number among the local underworld.
Listening in on the broadcast is pretty brunette Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard), whose high-rise hotel room goes dark as a violent thunderstorm causes a city-wide blackout. In the near darkness, a knock comes at her door. It is Mr. Parada (Paul Lukas), a suave, vaguely sinister Cuban solicitor. He delivers the deed to her inherited plantation and mansion, "Castillo Maldito," on a small island off the coast of Cuba. Despite Parada's discouragement, she impulsively decides to travel to Cuba by ship to inspect her new property.
During Parada's visit, Mary receives a telephone call from Mr. Mederes (Anthony Quinn), an even more sinister gent who warns Mary not to sell the newly inherited property to Parada. Mary agrees to meet Mederes later.
Meanwhile, after Larry Lawrence has finished broadcasting the evening's exposé of a local crime boss, he receives a telephone call from the crime boss, Frenchy Duval (Paul Fix). Frenchy invites Larry to his hotel to discuss the broadcast so he can "give it" to him straight.
Coincidentally, Frenchy is living in the same hotel where Mary Carter lives. Mederes arrives on the same hotel floor as Larry. However, Mederes is looking for Parada. Mederes confronts Parada and Parada shoots and kills him. Larry hears the shot and fires his gun at random. In a mix-up in the still-darkened building, Larry sees the body and believes he's killed one of Duval's henchmen. In the confusion he finds himself in the rooms of Mary Carter, who is already busy packing for her journey. Believing that he is being pursued by Duval's men, Larry hides in Mary's large open trunk. Unaware of Larry's presence, Mary locks the trunk and arranges for its transport to the harbor.
Later at the dock, Larry's valet Alex (Willie Best) searches among the luggage bound for loading and finds Larry among them. Although not in time to prevent the trunk's transfer to the ship's hold, Alex manages to get on board, hoping to extricate his employer before the ship sails.
Once in her stateroom, Mary is surprised to unpack Larry along with the rest of her belongings. Larry and Alex decide to remain on board, partly to act as bodyguards to the plucky beauty, but also to keep out of reach of Frenchy Duval and the police.
As Larry and Mary strike up a flirtation, they run into an acquaintance of Mary's, Geoff Montgomery (Richard Carlson), a young professorial type who regales them with tales of the local superstitions of their destination, particularly voodoo, ghosts and zombies.
Upon reaching port in Havana, Mary, Larry, Alex go to the island. En route they find a shack occupied by an old woman (Virginia Brissac) and her catatonic son (Noble Johnson), whom they believe is a zombie. The imposing plantation manor proves to be a spooky edifice indeed. They begin to explore the long-abandoned, cobweb-ridden mansion, and discover a large portrait of a woman who is nearly an exact likeness of Mary—most certainly an ancestor.
Soon they are terrorized by the appearance of a ghost, and the reappearance of the zombie. Are these real, or are they a ruse to frighten Mary away from her inheritance?
George Marshall, director of the 1940 version, remade The Ghost Breakers as Scared Stiff (1953), featuring Martin and Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). The remake featured cameos not only from Hope, but also from Bing Crosby. A year before Scared Stiff, Martin and Lewis appeared in the Crosby/Hope film Road to Bali.
The film was adapted for radio on Screen Directors Playhouse on April 4, 1949 with Bob Hope re-creating his film role and Shirley Mitchell as Mary. Hope appeared again on the program for an hour-long version on June 14, 1951.
Cinematographer Charles Lang would go on to earn an Academy Award nomination for his work on another spook-filled Paramount release, The Uninvited (1944).
The Ghost Breakers, along with The Cat and the Canary, was an inspiration to Walt Disney for his Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland.[5]
Robert Ryan appears as an ambulance driver in the opening of the film.
"Sherry Flippe" at Four Color Shadows:
http://fourcolorshadows.blogspot.com/2012/02/sherry-flippe-suspense-1944.html
Who Created The Comic Books?
http://martinohearn.blogspot.com/2011/08/woolfolk-records-194502.html
This story was originally published in 1944. And in 1940, Paulette Goddard had made a movie called THE GHOST BREAKERS.
The Ghost Breakers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Ghost Breakers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | George Marshall |
| Produced by | Arthur Hornblow, Jr. |
| Written by | Walter DeLeon |
| Starring | Bob Hope Paulette Goddard Richard Carlson Paul Lukas |
| Music by | Ernst Toch |
| Cinematography | Charles B. Lang |
| Editing by | Ellsworth Hoagland |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 21, 1940 |
| Running time | 83 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
- See also The Ghost Breaker
Along with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Hope's own The Cat and the Canary, it is cited as a prime example of the classic Hollywood horror-comedy.[2][3]
Plot
Listening in on the broadcast is pretty brunette Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard), whose high-rise hotel room goes dark as a violent thunderstorm causes a city-wide blackout. In the near darkness, a knock comes at her door. It is Mr. Parada (Paul Lukas), a suave, vaguely sinister Cuban solicitor. He delivers the deed to her inherited plantation and mansion, "Castillo Maldito," on a small island off the coast of Cuba. Despite Parada's discouragement, she impulsively decides to travel to Cuba by ship to inspect her new property.
During Parada's visit, Mary receives a telephone call from Mr. Mederes (Anthony Quinn), an even more sinister gent who warns Mary not to sell the newly inherited property to Parada. Mary agrees to meet Mederes later.
Meanwhile, after Larry Lawrence has finished broadcasting the evening's exposé of a local crime boss, he receives a telephone call from the crime boss, Frenchy Duval (Paul Fix). Frenchy invites Larry to his hotel to discuss the broadcast so he can "give it" to him straight.
Coincidentally, Frenchy is living in the same hotel where Mary Carter lives. Mederes arrives on the same hotel floor as Larry. However, Mederes is looking for Parada. Mederes confronts Parada and Parada shoots and kills him. Larry hears the shot and fires his gun at random. In a mix-up in the still-darkened building, Larry sees the body and believes he's killed one of Duval's henchmen. In the confusion he finds himself in the rooms of Mary Carter, who is already busy packing for her journey. Believing that he is being pursued by Duval's men, Larry hides in Mary's large open trunk. Unaware of Larry's presence, Mary locks the trunk and arranges for its transport to the harbor.
Later at the dock, Larry's valet Alex (Willie Best) searches among the luggage bound for loading and finds Larry among them. Although not in time to prevent the trunk's transfer to the ship's hold, Alex manages to get on board, hoping to extricate his employer before the ship sails.
Once in her stateroom, Mary is surprised to unpack Larry along with the rest of her belongings. Larry and Alex decide to remain on board, partly to act as bodyguards to the plucky beauty, but also to keep out of reach of Frenchy Duval and the police.
As Larry and Mary strike up a flirtation, they run into an acquaintance of Mary's, Geoff Montgomery (Richard Carlson), a young professorial type who regales them with tales of the local superstitions of their destination, particularly voodoo, ghosts and zombies.
Upon reaching port in Havana, Mary, Larry, Alex go to the island. En route they find a shack occupied by an old woman (Virginia Brissac) and her catatonic son (Noble Johnson), whom they believe is a zombie. The imposing plantation manor proves to be a spooky edifice indeed. They begin to explore the long-abandoned, cobweb-ridden mansion, and discover a large portrait of a woman who is nearly an exact likeness of Mary—most certainly an ancestor.
Soon they are terrorized by the appearance of a ghost, and the reappearance of the zombie. Are these real, or are they a ruse to frighten Mary away from her inheritance?
Various versions
The Dickey and Goddard play The Ghost Breaker was filmed twice previously by Paramount, first in 1914 by Cecil B. DeMille, with stars H. B. Warner and Rita Stanwood. It was filmed again in 1922 by director Alfred E. Green, starring Wallace Reid and Lila Lee.[2] Both these silent film versions are now considered to be lost films.[4]George Marshall, director of the 1940 version, remade The Ghost Breakers as Scared Stiff (1953), featuring Martin and Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). The remake featured cameos not only from Hope, but also from Bing Crosby. A year before Scared Stiff, Martin and Lewis appeared in the Crosby/Hope film Road to Bali.
The film was adapted for radio on Screen Directors Playhouse on April 4, 1949 with Bob Hope re-creating his film role and Shirley Mitchell as Mary. Hope appeared again on the program for an hour-long version on June 14, 1951.
Notes
The Ghost Breakers was a sequel of sorts to Paramount's 1939 hit The Cat and the Canary, also starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Paramount teamed the pair again, along with costar Willie Best, in Nothing But the Truth (1941).[2]Cinematographer Charles Lang would go on to earn an Academy Award nomination for his work on another spook-filled Paramount release, The Uninvited (1944).
The Ghost Breakers, along with The Cat and the Canary, was an inspiration to Walt Disney for his Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland.[5]
Robert Ryan appears as an ambulance driver in the opening of the film.
Cast
- Bob Hope as Larry Lawrence
- Paulette Goddard as Mary Carter
- Richard Carlson as Geoff Montgomery
- Paul Lukas as Parada
- Willie Best as Alex
- Pedro de Cordoba as Havez (as Pedro De Cordoba)
- Virginia Brissac as Mother Zombie
- Noble Johnson as The Zombie
- Anthony Quinn as Ramon Mederes/Francisco Mederes
- Tom Dugan as Raspy Kelly
- Paul Fix as Frenchy Duval
- Lloyd Corrigan as Martin
See also
References
- ^ A History of Horror
- ^ a b c d Turner Classic Movies [1]
- ^ Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2010
- ^ SilentEra.com lost films index
- ^ Jim Hill Media
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Ghost Breakers (film) |
- The Ghost Breakers at the Internet Movie Database
- New York Times review of July 4, 1940 (requires registration) [2]
- Clip of Bob Hope and Richard Carlson from The Ghost Breakers.
- The Ghost Breakers at BlackHorrorMovies.com
- The Ghost Breakers at AllRovi
The ghosts on the posters do resemble the ghosts in the comic book, and the girl in the comic book could be Paulette Goddard. The story could also be seen as similar, although Bob Hope has been replaced by a comedy detective character.
And here's a fantasy poster Dale found for a movie that might have been, but never was, with Paulette Goddard as Lois Lane.
Somehow, I think I prefer Noel Neill ( who I have written about recently on my other blog ). It might be difficult for me to accept anybody else in that part.
"Sherry Flippe" at Four Color Shadows:
http://fourcolorshadows.blogspot.com/2012/02/sherry-flippe-suspense-1944.html
Who Created The Comic Books?
http://martinohearn.blogspot.com/2011/08/woolfolk-records-194502.html
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Dorothy Granger
Dorothy Granger was one of Thelma Todd's friends and costars at the Roach studio.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dorothy Granger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dorothy Karolyn Granger November 21, 1912 New London, Ohio U.S. |
| Died | January 4, 1995 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| Years active | 1929-1961 |
| Spouse | John Hilder (? - ?) |
Dorothy Granger (November 21, 1912—January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood.
Career
There is some confusion as to the year of Granger's birth. The Social Security Death Index lists it as 1911 as does her death certificate; most biographies say 1912, although at least one site lists the year as 1914. Nineteen twelve is the most likely. Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmother, Clara (Wilcox) Granger, moved to Los Angeles during the late 1920s.
Granger got her start in the entertainment industry when she won a beauty contest at the age of 13 at Silver Beach Summer Resort near Houston. Her budding figure and confident stage presence were perfect for studios that made comedy shorts. In 1930 her father took her to producer Hal Roach, who was then testing talent for his upcoming comedy series, The Boy Friends. Granger’s natural comedy timing got her the job immediately and she was placed under contract to Hal Roach Studios. She became a charter member of the two-reel-comedy community, appearing opposite many major comedians at Roach, Mack Sennett, Educational Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures. Among her famous credits are Hog Wild with Laurel & Hardy, The Dentist with W.C. Fields, Punch Drunks and Termites of 1938 with The Three Stooges. Granger also appeared with Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, Harry Langdon, Gus Schilling & Richard Lane, and Joe DeRita, as well as on live television with Abbott & Costello. Granger is best remembered as the sarcastic, suspicious wife in Leon Errol’s series of two-reelers for RKO.
Granger also appeared in occasional feature films, including North to the Klondike, Sunset in El Dorado, and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball.
Later years
Granger worked on a variety of television shows through the 1950s, including The Abbott and Costello Show, I Married Joan, Father Knows Best, Topper, Lassie, Death Valley Days and Wells Fargo. Her last television performance was a live show on Face The Facts in 1961. Granger left show business in 1963, calling it an “ulcer factory.”
Granger made her last public appearance in 1993 for the Screen Actors Guild’s 60th anniversary celebration. She was an honored guest at the celebration because she was one of SAG’s first members. In later years she helped her husband run an upholstery shop in Los Angeles.
Death
Granger died of cancer on January 4, 1995 in Los Angeles, California.
Partial filmography
- Hog Wild (1930)
- Honeymoon Trio (1931)
- One Good Turn (1931)
- One Quiet Night (1931)
- Temptation's Workshop (1932)
- Keep Laughing (1932)
- The Dentist (1932)
- Punch Drunks (1934)
- Chip Off the Old Block (1944)
- Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More (1944)
- Two Years Before the Mast (1946)
- Dangers of the Canadian Mounted (1948)
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dorothy Granger |
* * *
When Dorothy Granger was interviewed by Leonard Maltin, she had this to say about Thelma Todd: "She had a terriffic sense of humor, she always laughing, always breaking up. The only time I did get the giggles, I was doing a picture with Charley Chase called LOOSER THAN LOOSE with Dell Henderson, Thelma, and myself. Something tickled Thelma and me; we started laughing and we couldn't stop. She and Zasu used to look at each other and start to laugh. They'd have to do fifteen, twenty takes."
Thelma Todd and Dorothy Granger
Dorothy Granger and Charley Chase
Christmas
Dorothy Granger as jungle girl "Tarkana" in THROUGH THIN AND THICKET, OR WHO'S ZOO IN AFRICA
Dorothy Granger gives the Tarkana call!
How to get through thin and thicket, or perhaps other places.
Bye-bye!
Filmography
Actress (256 titles)
1957The Jack Benny Program (TV series)
Reunion Guest
Reunion Guest
– Mary Has May Co. Reunion(1957)… Reunion Guest
1953The Abbott and Costello Show (TV series)
Arguing Wife / Bit / Miss Smith--Nurse / …
Arguing Wife / Bit / Miss Smith--Nurse / …
– Little Old Lady(1953)… Woman
– Bingo(1953)… Bit
– The Wrestling Match(1953)… Arguing Wife
– Life Insurance(1953)… Miss Smith--Nurse
Soundtrack (3 titles)
Self (2 titles)
1974Omnibus (TV series documentary)
Herself
Herself
– Cuckoo: A Celebration of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy(1974)… Herself
Archive Footage (7 titles)
Alternate Names:
Dorothy GraingerHeight:
5' 4" (1.63 m)Did You Know?
Trivia:
She won a beauty contest in Texas at age 13.She played the wife of Leon Errol in a long-running two-reeler series for RKO.
Her last public appearance was in 1993 when the Screen Actors Guild honored its character members who had been issued SAG cards when SAG was founded sixty years earlier.
Once considered for the role of Belle Watling in "Gone With the Wind" by then-director George Cukor, but Cukor was replaced and the part went to actress Ona Munson
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