Zasu Pitts And Esther Muir In MOTHER'S HELPER

From "The Illegitimate Cousins Of El Brendel" on facebook:

This photo was taken on the set of the short MOTHER'S HELPER, which was made by Fox to help promote the National Recovery Act recently passed by President Franklin Roosevelt. We have director Hamilton MacFadden, ZaSu Pitts, El, and Esther Muir.

MOTHER'S HELPER:
http://www.elbrendel.com/2009/05/rare-film-1-mothers-helper-1933.html




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Esther Muir 1927

Esther Muir before she worked with the Marx Brothers.

 

 

 

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Esther Muir In The Fan Magazines

Esther Muir in the fan magazines of the thirties.


    
                                            HOLLYWOOD FILMOGRAPHY May 27, 1933

At top right there is an item about a radio program with Esther Muir and Harry Langdon. They would later costar in the movie MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS.

                                                                                  HOLLYWOOD March 1937

A picture of Esther Muir and her husband at bottom right. Fawcett published this magazine. 

 

HOLLYWOOD Oct.37

 At right we see a picture of Esther Muir and praise for A DAY AT THE RACES.

 

SILVER SCREEN May-Oct. 38

On the lower right is a picture of Esther Muir and Victor McLaglen in BATTLE OF BROADWAY.


                                                   HOLLYWOOD September 1939

At the lower left is a picture of Esther Muir with Mischa Auer, Dorothy Lamour, and Edgar Bergen, a famous ventriloquist who worked with a dummy named "Charlie McCarthy".

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The Marx Brothers - SCREEN THRILLS ILLUSTRATED #8

SCREEN THRILLS ILLUSTRATED was a Warren Magazine, somewhat similar to FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, only the emphasis was on action and adventure films. But issue #8 had an article about the Marx Brothers which had pictures of them with Esther Muir. Originally published May 1964.

 

 

 

Recently I've seen speculations about the wallpaper scene in A DAY AT THE RACES, based on publicity photos. They said that Esther Muir must have had a bucket dumped on her originally, but it got cut out.  Obviously there were some creative publicity photos that didn't follow the movie exactly, since the top one shows Groucho being wallpapered.  

 

SCREEN THRILLS ILLUSTRATED:
http://monstermagazinegalleries.blogspot.com/2010/03/screen-thrills-illustrated.html




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Esther Muir With The Marx Brothers

Another publicity photo for A DAY AT THE RACES ( 1937 ).

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Esther Muir Lobby Card

                                                      SAILOR'S LUCK ( 1933 )

Will Stanton, Sammy Cohen, Esther Muir and Frank Moran

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Esther Muir Autographed

Esther Muir and friend, autographed by Esther Muir, with a reference to you know who.

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A DAY AT THE RACES Comic With Esther Muir

A comic strip ad for A DAY AT THE RACES with a photo of Esther Muir, who is also depicted in the comics.

Reblogged from http://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-day-at-races.html

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Esther Muir worked with the Marx Brothers in A DAY AT THE RACES ( 1937 ). Some commentaries have referred to her as a substitute for Thelma Todd.

Esther Muir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    

Esther Muir
Esther Muir (1940), in Misbehaving Husbands
Born	(1903-03-11)March 11, 1903 Andes, New York, U.S.
Died	August 1, 1995(1995-08-01) (aged 92) Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
Years active	1931-1945
Spouse(s)	Sam Coslow (1933-1948) (divorced) 1 child Busby Berkeley (1929-1931) Richard Brown (?-?) (divorced)

Esther Muir (March 11, 1903 – August 1, 1995) was a character actress on Broadway and in Hollywood films.

• 1 Theatrical Reviews
• 2 Movie Actress
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Notes
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Theatrical Reviews

Muir was born in Andes, New York and began modeling in New York City while still a high school student. She soon won a role in a show called Greenwich Village Follies. She participated in the Earl Carroll Vanities and in the International Review. The latter show starred Gertrude Lawrence. Her major break as a theatrical performer came when she landed the title role in My Girl Friday!, in 1929. While in London, England performing in a musical Esther became a favorite dancing partner of Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales. She befriended Wallis Warfield.

Movie Actress

Muir is probably best known today for her appearance with the Marx Brothers in A Day At The Races (1937). Muir toured with the Marxes in a stage version where material was crafted and rehearsed prior to filming. Muir described the Marx Brothers as diligent comic actors who sometimes worked days and weeks on a scene to perfect it. Her other screen credits include parts in I'll Take Romance (1937), City Girl (1938), and The Girl and the Gambler (1939). She continued in motion pictures until 1942. Her final role is Bonnie in X Marks The Spot. Her first motion picture appearance was in A Dangerous Affair in 1931.

Personal life

Muir was introduced by columnist Walter Winchell to Hollywood director and choreographer Busby Berkeley, whom she married. They were divorced in 1931. In the 1950s the former actress became a real estate developer in southern California. She supervised the construction of more than 400 tract homes. Muir married composer/producer Sam Coslow in Mexicali, Mexico on November 1, 1934. The couple repeated their wedding vows a year later in Ventura, California. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. Her daughter, Jacqueline Coslow, became an actress and married actor Ted Sorel.^[1]
Esther Muir died in 1995 at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York, aged 92. She had lived in Somers, New York.

Notes

1. Jump up ^ "Theodore Eliopoulos obituary". San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2010-12-12. 

References

• Fresno Bee, Marriage of Song Writer, Esther Muir Revealed, Wednesday, September 25, 1935, Page 6A.
• The New York Times, Esther Muir, 92, Character Actress, August 9, 1995, Page D20.
• The Oshkosh Northwestern, Hollywood Roundup, May 22, 1937, Page 10.

External links

Biography portal

• Esther Muir at the Internet Movie Database
• Esther Muir at the Internet Broadway Database
• Esther Muir at Find a Grave

                                                 *                        *                      *


Esther Muir appeared in many comedy films, so comparisons to Thelma Todd were almost inevitable. She appeared in movies with Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Andy Clyde, and Wheeler and Woolsey as well as the Marx Brothers. But today she is best known for her film with the Marx Brothers.

 Glenn Mitchell's MARX BROTHERS ENCYCLOPEDIA states that "Her work in A DAY AT THE RACES included the pre-filming tour, during which she earned sufficient respect for the Marxes to insist on her being retained. She could take the knockabout gags and was even capable of bettering the comedians: she told FILMS IN REVIEW of having caught them asleep and bribing the chorus girls to paint the toenails red. The Marxes were left with the problem of explaining it to their wives".
They probably had to spend a lot of time explaining that one.



                                                         SAILOR'S LUCK ( 1933 )

 

 

 

SO THIS IS AFRICA ( 1933 ) with Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey

 

 

 

 

SO THIS IS AFRICA with Bert Wheeler. 

 

 

 

THE GREAT ZIEGFIELD ( 1936 ) with Fanny Brice

 

 

 

 

With William Powell and Fanny Brice.

 

                                    A DAY AT THE RACES ( 1937 ) with Groucho Marx

 

 

 

With the Marx Brothers.

 

 

Fun with wallpaper.

Watch a scene with Esther Muir from A DAY AT THE RACES.




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"Love And The Leading Ladies" - SILVER SCREEN, April 1936

A tale of woe.

Morgan Galloway was an actor with whom Dorothy Appleby had costarred in YOUNG SINNERS on Broadway, hence the character assassination pertaining to acting.  

 

 

 

 

 

This article was written by Ed Sullivan, an old-time reporter who later hosted a prime time variety show on television. There is a reference to ROBERTA early on.  Lyda Roberti starred in the original Broadway production of the JEROME KERN and OTTO HARBACH musical comedy ROBERTA at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. 

As for the individuals mentioned in this account, we have mentioned some of them before. I believe that Johnny Weissmuller was told to divorce his first wife by MGM because they thought marriage might affect his popularity, after which he married Lupe Velez while still in their employ. Esther Muir would work with the Marx Brothers in the 1937 movie A DAY AT THE RACES: she is thought of as being a replacement for Thelma Todd with the team. Morgan Galloway was an actor with whom Dorothy Appleby had costarred in YOUNG SINNERS on Broadway, hence the character assassination pertaining to acting. 

 

 

Ed Sullivan:
http://www.edsullivan.com/about-ed-sullivan/




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MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS ( 1940 )

MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS had Harry Langdon in it. And a blonde dummy named "Carole".

But which Carole was it?

Was it Carole Lombard?

Or Carole Landis?

Misbehaving Husbands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Misbehaving Husbands
Henry (Harry Langdon) and "Carole" (1940), in Misbehaving Husbands
Directed by	William Beaudine
Produced by	Jed Buell
Written by	Cea Sabin (story) Vernon Smith (screenplay) and Claire Parrish (screenplay)
Starring	Harry Langdon Betty Blythe Ralph Byrd Esther Muir
Cinematography	Arthur Reed
Editing by	Robert O. Crandall
Distributed by	Producers Releasing Corporation
Release date(s)	December 20, 1940 (1940-12-20)
Running time	65 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Misbehaving Husbands is a 1940 American film directed by William Beaudine.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Cast 3 Trivia 4 Quotes 5 References 6 External links

Plot summary

Absent-minded department store owner Henry Butler, Harry Langdon, ends up working late, and missing the surprise anniversary party thrown by his wife, Effie, Betty Blythe.

Trying to get away from work, he ends up being seen with a mannequin, which he is trying to get repaired. Their friends who see it, think it’s a blonde girl. Others call the police, reporting a murdered woman.

Henry gets picked up by the police; but, his troubles are just starting. Effie has overheard the gossip; and, files for a divorce, urged on by her friend, Grace Norman, Esther Muir, and her unscrupulous lawyer, Gilbert Wayne, Gayne Whitman.

When Effie decides to stop the divorce, a little scene staged by the lawyer, with his girlfriend, Nan, Florence Wright, posing as the blonde, Henry was supposedly seeing, convinces her otherwise.

It is only then, that her niece Jane, Luana Walters, and her friend, Bob Grant, Bob Byrd, notice that the shoe Henry brought back that night is about a size four. Henry drags the mannequin, Carole (for Carole Lombard), all over town; only to meet the police, and Effie, waiting for him; and, her lawyer, at Home.^[1]

Luana Walters and Ralph Byrd (1940), in Misbehaving Husbands

Cast

• Harry Langdon as Henry Butler
• Betty Blythe as Effie Butler
• Ralph Byrd as Bob Grant
• Esther Muir as Grace Norman
• Gayne Whitman as Gilbert Wayne
• Florence Wright as Nan Blake
• Luana Walters as Jane Forbes
• Frank Jaquet as Wilbur Drake
• Charlotte Treadway as Clara Drake
• Gig Young as Floor Walker
• Frank Hagney as Gooch Mulligan
• Hennie Brown as Opal
• Billy Mitchell as Memphis
• Fred Kelsey as Sergeant Murphy
• Mary MacLaren as Gossiping Friend
• Gertrude Astor as Gossiping Friend

Trivia

Harry Langdon, Betty Blythe, and Esther Muir, among others in the cast, were stars, in silent films; and, this is a fun chance to see them working.
Some of the material might be considered slapstick; and, dated; but, it’s still fun; and, these old pros know how to handle it.^[2]

Quotes

Effie to Jane: "I'm going to get tight!" ^[3]
Bob to Jane: "You've been reading too many detective stories." (Ralph Byrd played Detective Dick Tracy, in four movie serials and two feature films, from 1937 to 1947, and on television.)^[4]
Henry: "All this, fuss, over one, little shoe!"

References

1. ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/83590/Misbehaving-Husbands/
2. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/mobile/m/misbehaving_husbands/
3. ^ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tight
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032799/

External links

• Misbehaving Husbands at the Internet Movie Database
• Misbehaving Husbands is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

Esther Muir more or less replaced Thelma Todd with the Marx Brothers in the movie A DAY AT THE RACES. But she doesn't seem to have been in silent movies. Just a mess.

Esther Muir in frame enlargement from MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS.

                

                                                        

Ralph Byrd in MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS. Ralph Byrd is best known for playing "Dick Tracy" in movies and on television. Another element that might be related to mystery stories is the use of the name "Effie" for Betty Blythe's character. Sam Spade's secretary was named Effie.

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Betty Bythe was a star in the silent era and starred in SHE, based on H. Rider Haggard's classic story.

                                                                         

And I think the "Carole" business might be because of Carole Landis, rather than Carole Lombard. The dummy looks tall, and Carole Landis was taller than Carole Lombard.

 Harry Langdon had been working at the Roach studio as a writer, and Carole Landis was also at that same studio prior to the release of MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS.

So I would tend to associate Harry Langdon more with Carole Landis than Carole Lombard. Of course, calling the dummy "Carole" could have been somebody else's idea. But Harry Langdon did have a history of contributing ideas to other films prior to this one.

Harry Langdon's work as a writer in this period, mostly at the Roach studio:

Show

1941Road Show

1940Saps at Sea(original story and screenplay)

1940Goodness, a Ghost (short)

1940A Chump at Oxford(original story and screen play)

1939The Flying Deuces(original story and screen play)

1938Sue My Lawyer (short) (story)

1938Block-Heads(original story and screen play)

ROAD SHOW was actually a Carole Landis movie, but it wasn't made until after MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS.

There have been allegations that there was some sort of  rivalry between Carole Lombard and Carole Landis, one version having it that they were fighting over Clark Gable. A niece of Carole Landis had this to say:

No, they never met. Carole Landis was a huge Lombard fan and had her picture plastered all over her bedroom wall when she was a child. That’s why she chose the stage name Carole. Some sources say she actually chose Carol out of a phone book and then added the “e” to be like Lombard. There is a quote Carole gave when a reporter told her they looked alike – “If I look like Miss Lombard – and I don’t – please spare her the humiliation.”

SCREEN GUIDE, April 1941

Hide

Watch MISBEHAVING HUSBANDS on the internet:
http://archive.org/details/misbehaving_husbands


Official Site For Carole Landis:
http://carolelandisofficial.com/


Landis Versus Lombard ( Carole Lombard Site ):
http://carolelombard.org/landis-versus-lombard


My Fan Club For Carole Landis:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Carolers/


Official Harry Langdon Site:
http://www.silent-movies.com/Langdon/

Esther Muir at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Muir