Hedda Hopper

Elda Furry (Hedda Hopper) was born May 2, 1885, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. She is primarily remembered as one of the two most famous Hollywood gossip columnists ever, the other being rival Louella Parsons. However, Hedda began her career in Hollywood as an actress and had appeared in 121 films before beginning a string of radio shows and debuting her gossip column, "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" in the Los Angeles Times on February 14, 1938. Up until the time of her death in 1966 she continued to produce six daily columns and a Sunday column for the Chicago Tribune syndicate, as well as writing for various fan magazines.

Hedda was generally hated, or at the least feared by many in the Hollywood community because of the amount of "dirt" she was able to dig up and the innuendos she let drop. Her friendship with J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy, and her testimony at the House Un-American Activities Committee, didn’t help her popularity either.

Nevertheless, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and it’s not for her mostly forgettable, but workmanlike performances in film.

Some speculate her decided mean streak may have come from never breaking through to lead actress status. In any event, she preceded Perez Hilton and TMZ and would surely hold her own in today’s gossip heavy world.

All that said, this post presents Hedda in her film persona. Few if any of her early films, 1915 through 1930, are available. By the time sound came around, Hedda was 45 and most of her roles, and what you see in this post, have her playing wealthy, married socialites, and similar types. She made few appearances after the mid-thirties, but was in both Topper (1937) and The Women (1939), where she played a columnist.

Her son, actor William Hopper, became famous as investigator Paul Drake in the "Perry Mason" TV series.

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Mid to late Twenties publicity still.

Photoplay August 1931 - Hedda shares a fashion spread with Constance Bennett.

Movie Mirror February 1932
I guess Hedda was ok with the term matron, but that wouldn't fly with most 40 somethings I know.

Three MGM publicity stills from the early Thirties.

The Racketeer (1929) , Let Us Be Gay (1930), Rebound (1931)
The Racketeer is available here for download.

Downstairs (1932), Skyscraper Souls (1932)

John Gilbert married Virgina Bruce shortly after filming Downstairs, so ads for the movie proclaimed "starring Mr. and Mrs. John Gilbert".

Hedda Hopper - What do you think - Allure?

Asides - One Sheets, Half Sheets, Lobby Cards, Window Cards, Inserts

One (27 x 41 in.), two (41 x 54 in.) and three (41 x 81 in.) sheets, display sheets (22 x28 in.), lobby cards (11 x 14 in.), window cards (14 x 22 in.), and inserts (14 x 36 in.), all designed to get you intrigued and into the theater. Since the mid 80's, lobby cards, window cards, and inserts went down with the demise of the single or double feature movie house. However, in the 20's and 30's... This post has an assortment of promotional material for films with actresses we have featured on this blog. Some are lesser known films by well known actresses. Each film is linked to its IMDB page.

Double click on the images for a larger view.

The Big Brain (1933)
Fay made 11 films in 1933.
Lobby Card

Millie (1931) is perhaps the role for which Helen is best remembered - well worth seeing.

One Sheet

The Saturday Night Kid (1929)
Clara's forty-eighth film.
Lobby Card

My Past (1931)
Bebe entered film in 1917 and was one actress that successfully made the transition to sound.

Insert

Comet Over Broadway (1938)
Kay would liked to have forgotten this film.
Lobby Card

It Pays To Advertise (1931)
Carole's forty-second film appearance.
Lobby Card

High Flyers (1937)
Where Lupe's character is "Maria Juanita Rosita Anita Moreno del Valle"
Lobby Card

Laughter (1930)
This was Nancy's sixteenth film when she was at the height of her career.
One Sheet

Dance, Fools, Dance (1930)
This was recently released through the Warner Classic Archive series.
Lobby Card

The Garden Of Eden (1928)
Corinne only made six more films, before retiring, another casualty of sound.
However, she needn't have worried, becoming a multi-millionaire through her real estate business.
Modified One Sheet I believe.

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934)
Joan's twenty-fourth film.
One Sheet

The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
Mary Astor of course. This film is public domain and available here.
Lobby card

Danger Patrol (1937)
Sally made eleven more films before retiring in 1950.
Lobby Card

The Purchase Price (1932)
Barbara's tenth credited film.
Lobby Card

Slightly Scarlet (1930)
Evelyn's seventy-second film.
Lobby Card

Bette Davis

Bette Davis, 1908 -1989, needs no introduction and if you are looking for detailed biographical information there are sufficient resources on the web, including this one. This post gives us a glimpse of the 28(!) films she made from 1931, when she entered the business at age 23 to 1935, when she won her first Oscar. There is very little material for a few of the films, but they are all represented. They all have a link to their IMDB page.

Double-click on the images for a larger view.

Before film, Bette made her mark on Broadway. This is a still for the play Broken Dishes. It opened at the Ritz Theater on November 5, 1929 and ran 158 performances. It was one of two performances that got Bette noticed by Hollywood.

The Bad Sister (1931)
We can see here that Bette still had the Broken Dishes look, plain and mousy.

Seed (1931)
Bette is third from the left, though hard to distinguish.

Waterloo Bridge (1931)
We start to see Betty emerge with a more sophisticated look.

Way Back Home (1931)
Shown in these two stills with Frank Albertson.

The Menace (1932)

This is all I could find - Not sure it was ever on TCM, but if so, I missed it.

Hell's House (1932)
Available at Internet Archive.org

The Man Who Played God (1932)
Bette credited George Arliss with giving her a real break by choosing her for the role.

So Big (1932)
This is Stanwyck's picture, but note the review in Movie Mirror, July 1932

The Rich Are Always With Us (1932)
Bette's look is continuing to mature. Here she plays a "flirt" named Malbro.

The Dark Horse (1932)

Bette and Warren William, good enough for me.

The Cabin In The Cotton (1932)
The is the film where we get one of her classic lines,
"I'd like to kiss you but I just washed my hair."

Three On A Match (1932)
Bette looks great here, but this film also stars and has good performances by Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak, who is particularly strong. A film worth seeking out.

20,000 Years In Sing Sing (1932)
Bette stars with Spencer Tracy. A new, cleaner (I trust) print was just released on Warner Archive Classics.

Parachute Jumper (1933)
Patricia 'Alabama' Brent is Bette's character and she sports a southern accent.

The Working Man (1933)
Bette's second outing with George Arliss.

Ex-Lady (1933)

Bureau Of Missing Persons (1933)
Did she murder her husband? Pat O'Brien is on the case.

The Big Shakedown (1933)

Fashions Of 1934 (1934)

Not Nick and Nora, but a very good pairing with the same comedy/drama mix.

Jimmy The Gent (1934)
Hasn't yet seen release on VHS or DVD. Gagney and Davis, com'on.

Fog Over Frisco (1934)
She's got the wicked thing working well in the crime drama.

Of Human Bondage (1934)
Ok, so this is the one that screams major star on the horizon. Many feel this should have been her first Oscar performance, and I am in agreement, especially against the competition that year. The last frame grab is when Bette is giving Howard these manic, crazed and memorable lines:
"You cad!, you dirty swine! I never cared for you not once! I was always makin' a fool of ya! Ya bored me stiff, I hated ya! It made me SICK when I had to let ya kiss me. I only did it because ya begged me, ya hounded me and drove me crazy! And after ya kissed me, I always used to wipe my mouth! WIPE MY MOUTH!"

Housewife (1934)
Bette and George Brent

Bordertown (1935)
Three great publicity stills from Bordertown.

The Girl From 10th Avenue (1935)
Alison Skipworth is a hoot in a small role counseling Bette on getting someone's goat.

Front Page Woman (1935)

Special Agent (1935)

Bette as bookkeeper to a mobster.

Dangerous (1935)
Bette wins the Oscar for her performance as Joyce Heath, an actress with high highs, and low lows. This role may have presaged All About Eve (1950).
It's said Bette liked her performance and the Oscar, but felt this was a consolation prize for not being given the Oscar for Of Human Bondage.

To conclude:
Many people seem to think of Bette as always looking like Baby Jane Hudson, and are surprised to see how, dare I say, alluring, she was in her early films. I hope this post will open some eyes to the total package that was Bette Davis, one of America's great actresses.