Asides

Decided to move "Asides" section to the posts area on the off chance that someone may actually have a comment.

Feb 3 -
So I am perusing the June 1933 Issue of Movie Classic magazine and come across the letters column. It seems each month they rate the letters submitted and give $20 for the top letter and then $10 and $5 for the runner-ups. The letter below seemed appropriate for this blog and it gives one woman's opinion on how women should dress to enhance their allure (although she doesn't use the word) and sticks up for the poor beleaguered gentlemen of the time.

The $20.00 letter - Marlene's Pants
All this hullabaloo about Marlene Dietrich's pants gives me a pain in the neck. Nothing, say I, but a cheap bid for publicity, and believe me, she got her share. Her assertion that American women should not imitate her because they do not look good in trousers, is an insult to the symmetry of our American stars, and if they are foolish enough to follow her idiotic fashion, they will soon find they have lost plenty of their popularity. But there's no need to worry as this foolish fad won't last any longer than Eve's fig leaf. The lure of feminine finery is too strong for women, and what would the stars spend their money on, if they eliminated beautiful clothes? The more feminine women are, the more attraction they have for men. And we, the long suffering General Public, want our stars feminine. There is nothing in the world more charming than a beautiful girl in a shimmering dress, be it silk or organdie. Our poor men are having enough trouble these days, what with women having taken their jobs; their barber chairs; their cigarettes and choice swear words. The least they can do is leave the poor creatures their trousers. MRS. HANNAH FELDMAN, Atlanta, Ga.

Jan 30 -
I watched The Silver Horde (1930) this past weekend starring Evelyn Brent in her third talkie after about 75 silent outings. I must say she reminded me so much of a young Barbara Stanwyck (Barbara was seven years Evelyn's junior) in terms of her confident manner, worldly savvy and even her speech patterns. Check Ms. Brent out on this blog - 6/5/06, but if you get a chance, try to catch her when it comes around on TCM. Joel McCrea, Jean Arthur, Blanche Sweet, and Raymond Hatton also star.

Margaret Livingston

Margaret (Marguerite) Livingston was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and made her film debut in 1916. She made over 50 silent films before making a fairly successful move to sound. She occasionally dubbed voices for some actresses, including Louise Brooks in The Canary Murder Case (1929). Arguably her silent film highlight was in F.W. Murnau's 1927 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (aka Sunrise) . In Sunrise she was cast as "The Woman From the City", who disrupted the lives of a love/lust stricken farmer and his wife.

In 1931 Margaret married popular band leader Paul Whiteman and retired from film three years later.

Livingston is also known for being on William Randolph Hearst's yacht, The Oneida, during the weekend in November 1924 when film director and producer Thomas Ince died there under mysterious circumstances.

Margaret died in 1984.

Margaret Livingston - What do you think? Allure?

Jeanette Mac Donald

Jeanette Anna MacDonald was born on June 18, 1903, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She took dance lessons as a young girl, but she later turned to singing, landing several choice roles in Broadway musicals. She was screen-tested and signed by Paramount Pictures, and her first appearance was in The Love Parade (1929) with Maurice Chevalier. The film propelled Jeannette and Chevalier to stardom and started the Hollywood career of director Ernst Lubitsch. The second of her twenty-nine films was also a box-office hit, but even with those successes, for some reason the Paramount bosses never really liked her, and she was dropped by the studio. In 1934 she signed with MGM, and after a year began her teaming with Nelson Eddy, first in the film Naughty Marietta (1935). The two were to become as famous a singing team as Fred and Ginger were a dancing team. A year later she stared with Clark Gable in San Francisco. Jeanette died of heart failure in 1965, but there is still an active Jeanette fan club.

Jeanette Mac Donald - What do you think? Allure?

Mary Duncan

Mary Duncan was born in Lutrellville, Virginia in 1895 and went to Hollywood after critics praised her acting on Broadway. There is not a lot of readily available information about Mary, but I found this little bit of trivia in New Movie Magazine, September 1931, from the Hollywood Who's Who section - "Mary Duncan had just settled herself in Paris, France, for a holiday, when she received a cable from Howard Hughes to return at once for a role in a new picture. So home she came." Research tells me the film was The Age for Love, starring Billie Dove. It was the tenth of her sixteen films.

Mary had only one lead role, in Murnau's City Girl, produced in 1930 and considered to be one of his best films. Her last appearance was in Morning Glory, where Katherine Hepburn won her first Oscar.

While making her eleventh film, Five and Ten (1931), she became friends with the film's lead, Marion Davies. They attended a polo match, where Davies introduced Mary to Stephen "Laddie" Sanford. And a couple of years later, Time Magazine, Monday September 11, 1933, reported "Married. Stephen ("Laddie") Sanford, 34, carpet tycoon, international poloist; and Film Actress Mary Duncan, 28; in Manhattan."

After her marriage, Mary retired from films and moved with him to Palm Beach, Florida. For many years the former Mary Duncan reigned as the grande dame of Palm Beach society. She continued her charity work until very late in life, and in 1993 died quietly in her sleep at the age of 98.

Mary Duncan - What do you think? Allure?

Joan Crawford - The Cards - Second of two Postings

Here is the second posting of the Crawford cards in my collection. One of the things I find most interesting about Ms. Crawford is her ability to have so many different looks while always remaining true to her image. And it should also be noted that in 1999 Playboy listed Joan Crawford as one of the 100 Sexiest Women of the 20th century. She placed at 84.

Joan Crawford - What do you think? Allure?