Foreign Beauties # 3 - Fifi D'Orsay

"Fifi D'Orsay has graced these pages regularly of late, and why not? Letters continue to arrive, asking for more pix of this personable Parisian." (Film Fun, 1941)

Fifi D'Orsay (April 16, 1904 - December 2, 1983) was born Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Canada. Nicknamed "The French Bombshell", Fifi started out in The Greenwich Village Follies at age 20. Appearing on vaudeville and in 24 films, Fifi dies at age 79 of cancer. These clips of her are fantastic. I would love to see the full length films. Maybe they'll come out someday.

Fifi will be appearing on TCM:
September 23, 2010 - 6:15 am est - The Life of Jimmy Dolan
December 2, 2010 - 10:15 am est - The Life of Jimmy Dolan

Foreign Beauties #2 - Karen Verne

""How do you do?" from Sweden, we have this blond vision, Karen Verne, definitely a Hollywood prospect." (Film Fun, 1941)

I couldn't find anything about a Karen Verne from Sweden. The only actress I found named Karen Verne, was born in Berlin, Germany and married to Peter Lorre at one point in time. Many sources say that Karen's German heritage was disguised because of her debut during World War II. Perhaps they said she was from Sweden.

Foriegn Beauty #1

"This month's review of foreign beauties is headed by our comely charmer, one of the chorines in the Britisher, A Girl Must Live. In passing, she reflects, "The girl whose called a little dear often cheapens herself"" (Film Fun, 1941)

I have no idea who this girl is, except I loved this photo. All Film Fun will tell us is that she was a British Chorus girl in A Girl Must Live from 1939. The only person on the cast list that she even remotely resembles is Lilli Palmer, but Palmer is a main player in the film. Must be an uncredited actress in the photo.

Vintage Inspiration September 4th - Maria Montez

Maria Montez

Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga

I have to admit I don't think I've seen any of "Mexican Spitfire" Lupe Velez's films. She was obviously a stunner and died way too young. Here are some stills from her film Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga, released by Universal in 1941. Lupe is posing with one of her co-stars Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.

Barbara Stanwyck ages 100 years in only 1 film!

"Barbara Stanwyck plays the oldest heroine ever depicted on the screen, a 100-year-old granny in Pioneer Woman. That might have been a tough job yesterday, but not now. They all look alike in slacks on Hollywood Boul" (Film Fun, 1941)

I looked everywhere for the film Pioneer Woman, and couldn't find anything with that title starring Barbara Stanwyck - or even everything near the year of publication with that title. Either the film was never made, or the title was changed to The Great Man's Lady (1942). In it, Barbara plays Hannah Sempler, a 100-year-old woman who tells the story of her life through flashbacks. Star crossed lovers, the Gold Rush, and the fabulous Stanwyck aging 80 years - how can you go wrong? The Great Man's Lady is appearing September 8, 2010 on TCM at 8 pm est and is available on The Barbara Stanwyck Collection.

Rudy's New Musical

"Tentative title for Rudy Vallee's new musical for Universal, Too Many Blondes, sounds like Rudy's biography, edited by John Barrymore. Since Rudy has become prexy of Vis-o-graph (dime-in-slot movies) he's changed his theme song to "Your Dime is My Dime."" (Film Fun, 1941)

Wayne's Bubbles Pop

"Wayne Morris says emphatically that even though his mother-in-law desires it, he and "Bubbles" Schinasi will not reconcile." (Film Fun, 1941)

Wayne Morris (February 17, 1914 - September 14, 1969) started out playing college football and working as a forest ranger. He went back to school to study acting, and was discovered by Warner Brothers while acting at Pasadena Playhouse. Wayne loved flying and became a navy flier in the Pacific Theater of World War II in 1942, earning four Distinguished Flying Crosses. Playing mainly the boy-next-door, he appeared mainly in B Westerns. Some of his more well known films include: Kid Galahad, Brother Rat, and Paths of Glory.

Wayne married Leonora "Bubbles" Schinasi, stepdaughter of tobacco baron Leon Schinasi when she was 18 years old. Wayne and Leonora were married only a year (1939-1941), but had 1 son, Michael. Both would remarry. Wayne would marry Patricia O'Rourke on February 25, 1942 and would stay married to her until his death at age 45 from a heart attack. Leonora would marry producer Arthur Hornblow (former spouse of Myrna Loy) in 1945 and stay married to him until his death. Leonora also became an author, writing several children's books.

Nice Girl Needs 3 Endings

"THEY AIM TO PLEASE: In Deanna Durbin's Nice Girl, Universal had three different finales recorded - one for the United States, one for Great Britain, and the last for Latin-America. For the U.S., Deanna will sing "Thank You America"; for Britain: "There'll Always Be England"; and for Latin America, "Thank You America" will be sung in Spanish." (Film Fun, 1941)

Film Quiz 10

"Their ability to remember is remarkable"

If you need a hint:

• Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
• Was the official film debut of Lana Turner

Is Horace McNally the next Big Thing?

"There's a newcomer at M-G-M who's said to look like a combination Clark Gable and Cary Grant, but not like Taylor. His name is Horace McNally. But what we'd like to know is, is he good" (Film Fun, 1941)

Stephen "Horace" McNally (July 29, 1913 - June 4, 1994) gave a a career as an attorney to become a B player. Horace is probably best known for his role as Locky, the man who rapes Jane Wyman's character in Johnny Belinda. Horace was active as an actor from 1942 until 1980. Some of his better known films include: Johnny Belinda, Winchester 73, Now Way Out, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and The Harvey Girls.

On the personal side, he married Rita Winrich in 1941 and stayed married his entire life. They had a whopping (by today's standards) 8 children. As one of ten, this is normal to me :)

Title Quiz 9

"The merchandise on the boat was very unusual"

Some hints if you need them:

• Stars Clark Gable and Joan Crawford
• 1940
• This film is included on one of the Joan Crawford DVD collections
• Joan Crawford wore 3 ready to wear dresses in the film which cost less than $40
• It was condemned by the Legion of Decency because scripture was quoted incorrectly in the film and there was a lot of lust in the film
• According to IMDB: After Clark Gable and Joan Crawford shot a scene with a snake hanging from a tree, Joan realized that the snake was real. "That son-of-a-bitch is alive!". When informed that the snake's mouth had been tied shut with a rubber band, she said "And what happens if the f**king rubber band snaps!" and refused to shoot the scene again.

Screen Actor's Hight Point

"High point in a successful screen actor's career comes when he enters a yacht race to Honolulu, even if he does have to borrow the boat from his agent."

Henry Fonda's Eye

"Henry Fonda underwent an eye operation after finishing his stint on The Lady Eve" (Film Fun, 1941)

Title Quiz 8

"A Crescent"

Some Hints

• Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald
• 1940
• Same title as a recent massive hit
  

Artie Shaw VS Glen Gray

Artie Shaw and his band

When Artie Shaw was bandleader at the Hollywood Palladium ballroom cafe, the sign on his dressing room door read: "Stay Out."

Glen Gray

Now that Glen Gray has taken over, it reads: "Come On In."

Hollywood Palladium Ballroom

Film Title Quiz 7

"A couple of Paul Reveres"

If you need some hints:

• It was a 1940 film
• The film starred Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan and George Raft

Lana's Sweater Starts a Cat Fight

"MEOW: Said one gal to another as she watched Lana Turner go by: "Take away her sweaters, and what has she got?" Well, there are a lotta folks who'd rise up and say "Pu-lenty." (Film Fun, 1941)"

Police Commissioner Dishes Hollywood Secrets?

Hollywood Police and Fire Department 1930's

"IT SHOULD BE GOOD: Movietown's police commissioner has gone literary, a la Hollywood: he's writing a book on the town." (Film Fun, 1941)

The police commissioner at the time could have either been James R. Capeheart, who was commissioner from 1936-1940, and 1941-1943; or E. W. Christian who served as commissioner from 1940-1941. I could not find a book written by either gentleman, but can you imagine what dirt a police commissioner could dish on Hollywood?

Folsom Prison Before Johnny Cash

"Charles Chaplin has been presented with a scroll bearing the signatures of 3,000 prisoners at California's Folsom Prison for the free holiday showing there of The Great Dictator". (Film Fun, 1941)

Folsom Prison - 1952 (Source: My Folsom)

It's nice that prisoners would get some fun during the holidays. Jail can be very boring and scary. It's nice for them to have gotten a Chapliin film. I wonder what happened to the list of signatures? Wonder if anyone notorious was on the list? On a side note, it's next to impossible to find things on Folsom Prison that don't involve Johnny Cash.