4th Luso World Cinema Blogathon–Favorite Mary Astor Performances

The Luso World Cinema Blogathon is an annual event hosted by Spellbound with Beth Ann and Critica Retro. I’ll admit that I didn’t know anything about Luso cinema, in fact, I didn’t know what “Luso” meant. Research revealed that “Luso” is a prefix used in relation to Portugal and Portuguese culture. From reading through the list of actors/actresses of Portuguese heritage, I learned that one of my favorites, Mary Astor, fits this description.

Mary Astor was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois on May 3, 1906. Her father was German and her mother was American. Mary got her Portuguese heritage from her mother. Mary was homeschooled by her mother until 1919 when she sent a photo of herself to a beauty contest and became a semi-finalist. When she was 15, she began taking drama lessons and appearing in local productions. Mary submitted her photos to other beauty contests, eventually catching the attention of an employee at Famous Players-Lasky. She was then signed to a six-month contract at Paramount. Mary would eventually make her screen debut in 1921 at the age of 14.

Mary’s career in silent film had its ups and downs. In 1929, she briefly found herself out of work as her voice was deemed too deep for talkies. However, she appeared in a play with her friend Florence Eldridge (wife of Fredric March) which ended up getting her back into films. She started being cast in films again and was on her way to stardom. In 1935, Mary had an extra-marital affair and was later embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. In many cases, an adulteress’ career would be over, but the scandal seemed to have little effect on her career. Mary would eventually win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1941 for her role in The Great Lie.

Mary Astor’s career reached its peak in the 1940s with her Oscar win and appearance in the film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon, as Brigid O’Shaugnessy. As what happened with a lot of actresses back then, as soon as Mary hit 40 she was seen as a “mother” figure and was often cast in more matronly roles such as matriarch Anna Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Marmee in Little Women. Some of Astor’s best roles however come during this time when she took on against-type parts, such as playing a prostitute in Act of Violence or a madam in Desert Fury. Mary made her final appearance in 1964 in the small, but important role of Jewel Mayhew in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.

Mary Astor had a lot of great roles in her long career. Here are my top 5 favorite Mary Astor performances:

Walter Huston and Mary Astor in “Dodsworth.”

#1 Dodsworth (1936). In this film, Mary plays “the other woman,” a role which typically isn’t sympathetic and is usually villainous. However, in Dodsworth, Mary’s performance as Edith Cortright and relationship with Walter Huston’s Sam Dodsworth is so beautiful that she is seen as the woman that Sam deserves. In this film, Sam and his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton)’s daughter is all grown and married. Fran cannot accept being old enough to have a grown and married daughter. Sam retires and hopes to live a life of leisure with Fran. They’re planning on starting their retirement with an extended European vacation. While on the ocean liner, Sam meets Edith and Fran meets a young Englishman (David Niven) with whom she flirts. Sam ends up spending much of his time on the boat with Edith. While in Europe, Fran wants to be part of the jet set, spending her time living the high life while pretending to be much younger. Sam just wants to see the sights. As the Dodsworths find themselves growing apart, through a chance encounter, Sam reunites with Edith.

Mary’s performance in Dodsworth is very charming and sweet. She is what the film needs to offset the vain and materialistic Fran. While she is the “other woman” so to speak, Sam is such a nice guy and Fran is so awful, that we as the audience want Sam and Edith to be together.

Mary Astor and Joel McCrea in “The Palm Beach Story.”

#2 The Palm Beach Story (1942). Mary Astor’s performance in this film is unlike any other part that I’ve seen her play. While she doesn’t seem like the obvious choice to appear in a Preston Sturges screwball comedy, Mary is right at home. In this film, she plays the oft-married Princess Maud Centimillia. At the start of the film, she’s on her way home to Palm Beach, FL with her latest conquest, Toto. She pulls up to the dock in her yacht and immediately wants to drop Toto for Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea). Tom is in town looking for his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) who has traveled to Palm Beach from New York. While on the train to Florida, Gerry meets the Princess’ brother, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). John is instantly smitten with Gerry and takes her back to his home to give her a place to stay.

Mary Astor’s performance as the Princess is hysterical. Even though she’s taken Toto as her lover, she wants nothing to do with him as soon as she spots Joel McCrea. Her disdain for Toto is so clear and obvious, but he’s a dope and doesn’t pick up on it. The Princess constantly has to think of errands to send Toto on so she’ll go away. She’s also very funny when Gerry introduces her husband as “Captain McGlue” in an effort to hide the fact that he’s her husband. When Tom later reveals that he is not Captain McGlue, the Princess says: “Thank heaven for some things. That name!”

Clark Gable and Mary Astor in “Red Dust.”

#3 Red Dust (1933) In this film, Mary plays Barbara Willis, the wealthy wife of Gary (Gene Raymond) who is sent to oversee a rubber plantation in French Indochina. The manager of the rubber plantation is Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Another visitor to the plantation is Vantine (Jean Harlow), a young prostitute on the lam. Vantine is instantly smitten with Dennis and he seems interested in her until he sees Barbara. Barbara is the polar opposite of Vantine. She is brunette, more classy and ladylike. In contrast, Vantine is a bleached blonde, a brash, and outspoken. Gary ends up coming down with malaria, which puts him out of commission and more importantly, away from Barbara. Dennis spends the week of Barbara’s visit seducing her until she finally succumbs to his advances. Meanwhile, Vantine looks on with intense jealousy.

This is a very sexy part for Mary Astor. She is given the chance to have the hot and heavy affair with the hunky Clark Gable. The entire film is sweaty and it feels sweaty. At one point, Barbara is caught in the rain and is drenched. She then shares a sexy kiss with Gable.

Mary Astor and John Barrymore in “Midnight.”

#4 Midnight (1939) In this film, Mary plays the wealthy Helene Flammarion, the wife of Georges Flammrion (John Barrymore). She is very openly having an affair with ladies man, Jacques Picot (Frances Lederer). At the beginning of the film, Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) crashes a concert attended by members of the Parisian high society. She ends up running into Marcel Renaud (Rex O’Malley) who invites her to play bridge with himself, Helene, and Jacques. Eve introduces herself as “Madame Czerny.” Georges enters the room and sees Eve. He pretends to recognize Madame Czerny.

Georges comes up with a scheme to break up his wife and Jacques. He proposes to Eve that she try and break up Jacques and Helene. If she succeeds, Georges will give her a good payoff to reward her for her efforts. He will also give her 50,000 francs and invites her to his and Helene’s home in Versailles for the weekend. Georges also puts Eve up in a suite at the Ritz and buys her a new wardrobe, worthy of her persona as Madame Czerny. Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche) is looking for Eve, having fallen in love with her while her drove her around town. When he finally finds her, he is amused that she’s taken on his surname as her fake royalty name.

While Mary Astor is more of a side character in this film, she is very funny in her part as John Barrymore’s unfaithful wife. She has absolutely no discretion in her affair with Jacques. Mary excels in these parts playing a bit of a goody two shoes, but also classy and a bit rigid. She’s also great at delivering her lines with a bit of bitterness, cynicism, while also being very funny.

Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”

#5 The Maltese Falcon (1941). This is perhaps Mary Astor’s most famous role, that of femme fatale Brigid O’Shaugnessy in John Huston’s directorial debut and Humphrey Bogart’s breakout role. In this film, Brigid introduces herself to Bogart’s Sam Spade as “Miss Wonderly,” but he soon figures out that she’s lying about her identity. She comes to Sam wanting help in finding out the whereabouts of her missing sister. All Brigid can say is that she came to town (San Francisco) with Floyd Thursby. Sam puts his associate, Miles Archer, on the case. Miles is murdered while investigating Thursby’s whereabouts.

Sam sets out to investigate Archer’s death, but is soon thrust into an even larger (more interesting) mystery. He goes to Brigid, now calling herself Brigid having abandoned the “Miss Wonderly” moniker, to find out more information about Thursby. Brigid confesses that she made up the story about her sister and revealed that Thursby was her partner. She also puts forth the theory that Thursby probably killed Archer. When Sam returns to his office, he encounters Joe Cairo (Peter Lorre) who is wanting help looking for a statue of a black bird.

The black bird investigation proves to be a lot more interesting, especially when it turns out that Brigid is acquainted with Joe Cairo. Sam also learns that Cairo and Brigid are part of a gang led by Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet). Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.) is Kasper’s gunsel and eventual fall guy. The ending of the film where Sam calls Brigid out and says she was responsible for Archer’s death. This is Mary Astor’s time to shine. In the scene, she is heartbroken that Sam Spade, with whom she thought she was in love, sends her up the river. She pleads with him to not turn her over to the police, but to no avail. He “consoles” her stating that she’ll probably be out in twenty years. As she descends in the elevator, Brigid’s face is covered by the shadows of bars on the windows.

The Marathon Stars Blogathon–Paulette Goddard & Bob Hope

Paulette Goddard

When I saw this event announced, it took me a bit to decide who I wanted to marathon for this event. The no more than three films viewed requirement also caused further deliberation. No binging a favorite, I needed to pick a rarely viewed star whom I wanted to watch. As I thought more and more about some of my favorite performers, I thought about Paulette Goddard. I’d only seen her in three films: Modern Times (1936), The Women (1939), and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). I loved her in each film. Goddard’s films, with the exception of the ones I’d previously watched, rarely air on TCM. I believe this is most likely due to Goddard being under contract to David O. Selznick and later Paramount. Both of these studios’ output is outside of the Warner Brothers film library to which TCM has access. The film library is made up of the output of Warner Brothers, RKO, and pre-1985 MGM films. As a result, stars under contract with the aforementioned studios are more likely to have a stronger presence on TCM.

Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard

But I digress. I selected Paulette Goddard, as I had handful of her films available in my home library and had a couple of her films recorded. As I reviewed my choices for this marathon, I realized that 3/5 Goddard films also featured Bob Hope. Hope was another Paramount contract player with a long film career. As I thought about which of his films I’d watched, I realized that I’d only seen a couple of his films as well. I decided to add Hope to my entry for this blogathon event.

Paulette Goddard

Dramatic School (1938)

This film is reminiscent of Stage Door (1937) and Finishing School (1934). All three films are about a group of women either living or working together–all involved in the same pursuit, whether it’s living at the Footlights Club boarding house for aspiring actresses (Stage Door), attending the same finishing school (Finishing School) and in the case of Dramatic School, it’s a group of women attending the same, you guessed it, dramatic school. The humor and drama from the film comes from the women’s interactions with one another and their various rivalries when it comes to men and desired acting roles.

Luise Rainer plays the star student, Louise Mauban, who spends her evenings working in a factory to pay for her drama lessons. Due to burning the candle at both ends, Louise is constantly late. To avoid revealing her evening job to her classmates, Louise concocts a lie about spending her evenings being wined and dined by her boyfriend, the Marquis Andre D’Abbencourt. Louise’s classmates begin to suspect that she’s lying, as the stories seem a little too fantastic to be true. Paulette Goddard plays the ringleader, Nana, who comes up with a scheme to reveal Louise’s lie and embarrass her in front of her classmates. It is obvious that Nana and the other girls, one of whom is played by Lana Turner, want to knock Louise down a peg.

Nana’s scheme is to invite Andre and Louise to her birthday party, and bring up one of Louise’s stories in front of Andre. Nana assumes that Andre will inadvertently spill the beans about not dating Louise, which will expose Louise as well as embarrass her. However the plan backfires when Andre is somehow charmed by the stories about him and Louise’s dates, and decides to play along. Then they become a real couple.

Despite being second billed, Paulette really doesn’t have a huge role in the plot. This is more or less Rainer’s film. However, I don’t want to focus on Rainer, because frankly I would have much rather seen more Paulette. Her character is more or less the villain of the film, as she wants nothing more than to humble Louise. I wish her scheme had gone off as she’d planned, it would have made the movie a lot more interesting to watch. Dramatic School was pretty much a dud, but Paulette managed to breathe some life into it every time she was on screen. Her vivacious personality added some nice levity and livened things up, and believe me this film needed all the life it could get.

The Crystal Ball (1943)

This was a blind buy I’d actually purchased from Classic Flix during a previous sale. I’d never heard of this film before, but it sounded fun and I was intrigued by the cast: Goddard, Ray Milland, William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys George? I finally watched the film for this blogging event and I’m glad I did. It was a lot of fun.

In this film, Goddard plays Toni Gerard, a young woman who moves to New York from Texas. Homeless and desperate for a job, she reluctantly takes a job as a decoy for a local shooting gallery, run by Pop Tibbets (Kellaway). Having revealed in a conversation with Madame Zenobia (George) that she was a sharpshooter back home, Toni is referred to the shooting gallery for a job. After showing off her shooting skills, Pop hires her. Her job is to pretend to be a random passerby who chooses to try her luck at the shooting gallery. She’ll hit all the targets and attract other customers to try their luck. Then Toni leaves and comes back later when a new batch of potential customers are around.

Madame Zenobia is part of another scam with her colleague, a woman who obtains work as a maid at the homes of wealthy clients. After working for the client for awhile, she determines a piece of jewelry or something else of value that the client loves and would notice if it went missing–or she makes a point of making sure the client knows it’s missing. At the beginning of the film, the maid’s target is wealthy widow Jo Ainsley (Virginia Field). She takes one of Jo’s prized rings and drops it down the drain pipe. She then cries to Jo that her ring is missing and puts on the crocodile tears, feigning distress about her client’s lost property. The maid also cleverly deflects any sort of blame or suspicion. She then convinces Jo to visit a psychic who could tell her the location of her ring. Then of course, before Jo’s visit, the maid has gotten to Madame Zenobia to reveal the location. Jo’s confidence in psychics is affirmed when Madame Zenobia tells her the location and it turns out to be true.

Eventually, Madame Zenobia is injured and Toni has to fill in. She runs both the shooting gallery and psychic scams. Toni also lives at Madame Zenobia’s store. One evening, she spots Jo and her boyfriend, government lawyer Brad Cavanaugh (Milland) entering Madame Zenobia’s store. His chauffer, Biff Carter (Bendix), waits outside. Toni is instantly smitten with Brad and decides to use her new position as the psychic to break up Brad and Jo so she can have him for herself. This scheme is the start of a highly questionable impression that Toni does when she pretends to enter the spirit of Brad’s deceased Native American friend. Toni uses a lot of bad Native American stereotypes and the “injun” slur. This would NEVER go over today. It definitely goes on a bit long too, I think it could have been edited down a smidge.

Regardless, Goddard and Milland have fantastic chemistry–a chemistry that would carry them through four films together. She also has a lot of great comedic moments and gets to wear a few great dresses, including an one shouldered sequin gown that is reminiscent of the one she wears in The Women. Goddard looks absolutely gorgeous in this film and even though the ending kind of doesn’t make sense, we know that she and Milland will end up together.

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Paulette Goddard & Bob Hope

The Cat & the Canary (1939)

This was a really fun horror-comedy film starring Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. Goddard and Hope made three films together and I watched all three. ‘Canary’ starts with a familiar horror movie premise: a group of people are invited to come to a large estate. The guests are familiar with the host, but don’t know each other. Typically the guests are either offered an incentive to stay (House on Haunted Hill), or are stuck there due to circumstances (The Old Dark House), or in the case of The Cat and the Canary, the guests are there to witness the reading of the deceased homeowner’s will. In this film, the deceased Cyrus Norman’s will stipulated that the heir to his estate and fortune could not be revealed until 10 years after his death. 10 years is up and that is the start of our film.

Goddard plays Joyce Norman, the only actual direct relative of Cyrus’ and the sole heir. However, he has named a first runner-up heir, should the sole heir not be able to live up to the terms of the will–specifically not to go insane within the first 30 days. It’s a weird clause, but it’s well established that Cyrus was an eccentric individual. The runner-up heir’s name is not revealed, which sets up another typical horror film trope–the guests turning against one another. Bob Hope plays another relative of Cyrus’, Wally Campbell. He however, is not related to Joyce. Other guests include Cyrus’ aunt Susan (Elizabeth “Miss Trumbull” Patterson) and a mousy relative named Cicily. Then there are two men, Fred Blythe and Charles Wilder, who seem to resent not being named heirs.

It can be expected that a bulk of the film will involve the other potential runner-up heirs, save for Wally, trying to torment Joyce and drive her insane. Wally makes it a point to be on Joyce’s side and keep an eye on her and keep her safe from the other guests. When I got through Hope and Goddard’s other two films, I noticed that a common plot line was Hope being in love with Goddard. This film was no exception. Hope and Goddard have a nice rapport and chemistry with one another and I enjoyed their three films immensely.

The Ghost Breakers (1940)

This was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s second film together and ended up being my favorite of the three. In this film, Hope plays Lawrence “Larry” Lawrence Lawrence, a radio broadcaster who uses his show as a platform to expose the crimes of local gangster, Frenchy. Goddard plays Mary Carter, a woman staying at the same Manhattan hotel as Frenchy. During the broadcast, Mary is visited by Cuban solicitor Parada (Paul Lukas), who is delivering the deed to a plantation and mansion in Cuba that she’s inherited. Parada wants to take the property off her hands and buy it, but Mary refuses. Another Cuban, Ramon Mederos (Anthony Quinn), calls Mary and warns her not to sell her property. After the radio broadcast ends, Larry is invited by Frenchy (who heard the program) down to the hotel.

Larry arrives at the hotel with a gun, thinking that Frenchy inevitably will try to kill him. At the same time, Ramon arrives as Parada is leaving. Larry, Frenchy, Ramon and Parada all end up in a shootout with Ramon killed in the fracas. Larry thinks he may have accidentally killed Ramon. He ends up hiding in Mary’s steamer trunk, hoping to escape. The plan goes off and he ends up on an ocean liner to Havana with Mary. On board, Mary and Larry end up meeting Geoff (Richard Carlson), an acquaintance of Mary’s. Eventually, Mary and Larry make it to the property that she inherited.

This film was a lot of fun and I attribute its success to the wonderful rapport between Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. This was another film where Hope fell in love with Goddard. She has such a delightful presence in her films, as she brings some humor imbued with glamour and charm. Hope pretty much plays the same type of guy in a lot of his movies–the wisecracking everyman, but it works. I loved this film and actually found the ending to be surprising.

Nothing But the Truth (1941)

This film was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s last film together. In this film, Hope plays stockbroker, Steve Bennett, who moves to Miami to take a new position—working for TT Ralston (Edward Arnold). On his first day, TT’s niece, Gwen Saunders (Goddard) shows up, in need of money to cover a $40,000 pledge she’s made to a charity. TT promised Gwen that he’ll cover half of her pledge if she can come up with the other half. It either wasn’t clearly stated, or I missed this minor plot point, but it seems that the charity gave Gwen $10,000 and she promised to increase it to the $40,000. The charity’s manager, Mr. Bishop (Grant Mitchell) appears throughout the film trying to find out the status on his $10,000. Gwen appeals to Steve to invest her $10,000 and double it. The catch? She only has 24 hours to give Mr. Bishop the $40,000 pledge, or return the $10,000 otherwise he’ll have her arrested for embezzlement. It seems like it’d be easier to return the $10,000, but we wouldn’t have a movie if she did.

At the same time, Steve tells TT and his other colleagues that he doesn’t approve of their procedure to push bad stocks onto unsuspecting clients. He insists that they could be just as successful telling the truth versus lying. TT and the other men think Steve is crazy, but make a bet with him that he can’t tell the truth for 24 hours. TT puts up $10,000 and Steve puts up Gwen’s $10,000. With $20,000 on the line, we have the main plot of our film. There’s a very funny scene later in the film when Steve’s honesty is tested when he converses with a “mature” woman who insists she looks 30.

Again in this film, Bob Hope’s character is in love with Paulette’s. They have some very funny scenes together. Hope has some great scenes where due to circumstances, he has to try and sneak around on a yacht wearing a dressing robe, belonging to Linda, an exotic dancer.

Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Road to Singapore (1940)

Surprisingly, I had never seen one of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby’s “Road” movies. I decided to watch their first film together and enjoyed it very much. There was obviously some humor and situations very of their time, but overall it was an enjoyable film. Hope plays Ace Lannigan, the best friend of Crosby’s character, Josh Mallon. At the beginning of the film, the two men work on the same ship. Upon disembarking the ship, Ace and Josh notice the mistreatment their colleagues receive at the hands of their wives. Ace and Josh vow to never get involved with women. That vow lasts all of five minutes when they return to town and meet up with Josh’s father (Charles Coburn) and his apparent fiancée, Gloria (Judith Barrett). Mr. Mallon, a rich shipping magnate, wants his son to settle down, marry the right girl and assume a proper role in the family business.

Not wanting to settle down, Josh and Ace head for Hawaii, then later Singapore. In Singapore, they meet Mima (Dorothy Lamour), a local woman who is involved in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend and dance partner, Caesar (Anthony Quinn). Josh and Ace allow Mima stay with them. This sets off some funny scenes where Mima tries to clean the men’s home and cook them proper meals. She also decorates their shack to make it more homey. At first Ace and Josh resent Mima “feminizing” their space, but it is obvious that they secretly like it–and Mima. Eventually they run out of money and Ace comes up with a scheme selling a cleaning product. He assumes the role of snake oil salesmen when he tries to promote this product to the native population, but the sales pitch does not go well. Eventually, Mr. Mallon and Gloria find their way to Singapore to bring Josh back.

It’s obvious why Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were so successful in their road films. The two men were best friends in real life and their friendship extends on screen as well. Dorothy Lamour also co-starred in the “Road” films and she is a good extension to the team. Her character fits well without her seeming like she’s the third wheel, or just shoehorned in. Hope and Crosby’s characters play to their strengths, with Hope having a lot of comedic parts and Crosby singing. Lamour was a dancer and singer and her strengths are allowed to be showcased as well. I haven’t watched the other “Road” movies yet, but I look forward to seeing the next one.

Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number! (1966)

This movie is one of Bob Hope’s 1960s sex comedies. I am not sure how he ended up in these types of films, but for whatever reason they work for me. I quite enjoy his 1961 sex comedy, Bachelor in Paradise, co-starring Lana Turner. In ‘Number,’ Hope plays married man, Tom Meade, a California businessman who sinks a fortune into a remote lakeside cabin in Rocky Point, Oregon. He thinks that he’ll easily be able to resell it for a profit, but the cabin turns out to be a money pit. It also turns out that the cabin is too rural and not in a desirable place to live.

At the same time, French actress, Didi (Elke Sommer), is tired of playing a sexpot who is renowned for her sexy bathing scenes in her films. When her director/lover insists that she take yet another sexy bath, Didi protests, gets into her car and drives off. In a plot point that doesn’t really make sense, but we’re going with it, Tom makes a business call and is accidentally connected with Didi. She explains that she’s holed up in a nearby hotel and is in need of food and water. Tom tries to covertly sneak out of the house to deliver food and water to Didi’s hotel, but his housekeeper, Lily (Phyllis Diller), catches on and soon she’s involved in the scheme as well.

Seeing his opportunity to profit off this situation, Tom offers Didi the use of his Oregon cabin. Knowing that there’s an intense manhunt for her, Tom thinks that by allowing Didi to stay at his home, he can market it as the cabin in which she hid out. Didi takes Tom up on the offer and relocates to Southern Oregon. As a native Oregonian, when scenes at the the cabin were shown, I could tell from the landscaping that they were not in Oregon. I was right. The “Oregon” scenes were filmed at Lake Arrowhead in California. This film definitely was not the type of film where realism mattered, the extra expense to film on location in Oregon wouldn’t have made a difference.

The main conflict of the film comes when Tom’s wife, Martha (Marjorie Lord) wants to spend a romantic weekend at the cabin. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, as he obviously can’t tell Martha the truth. Tom and Lily arrive ahead of Martha and find Didi nearly unconscious from sleeping pills. They manage to move her to a bedroom just in time for Martha’s arrival. This sets off a comedy of errors with Tom needing to move Didi from room to room to keep his secret from Martha. Phyllis Diller has some very funny scenes, including multiple scenes with her driving a motorcycle. I particularly liked the scene when she mowed down all the Boy Scout tents. Hope and Diller had fantastic chemistry. Their chemistry was so good in fact, that it almost makes Martha and Didi secondary characters. As an aside, Marjorie Lord has the absolute worst hairstyle in this film. I know the 60s were about beehives and tall hair, but Lord’s hair is completely absurd. It looks like she placed Agnes Moorehead’s Endora wig on top of a dutch boy haircut.

What is this hair?

TCM Summer Under the Stars –Kayla’s Picks **WEEK 3**

I’m coming to you from the Bay Area after I had to take an unexpected emergency trip to help one of our warehouses. Thanks to a second laptop, an HDMI cord, and the Live Watch TCM feed, I was able to enjoy one of my most anticipated days–Alan Ladd day. Thankfully, I should be home in time for another of my most anticipated days–Carole Lombard day. I just ate the most delicious pan fried pork soup dumplings and am stuffed. Without further ado, here are my picks for week three.

Monday, August 14th- Greer Garson

Greer Garson is someone I’ve discovered in the last couple of years when I saw her in Random Harvest (1942). This film isn’t showing on Greer’s day, but is showing on co-star Ronald Colman’s day, the next day, August 15th. The film that really endeared her to me is the delightful Julia Misbehaves (1948) co-starring frequent co-star Walter Pidgeon and a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor. I just saw Greer’s Oscar-winning role as the titular character in Mrs. Miniver (1942). This film was so fantastic that I purchased my own copy while I was still watching the movie! I loved it so much. The Valley of Decision (1945) co-starring Gregory Peck is an interesting and compelling romantic film–a classic rich person falling in love with someone from the wrong side of the tracks-type story. That Forsyte Woman (1949) is more interesting for Errol Flynn, who co-stars with Greer. Flynn plays against type as the cold, domineering Soames Forsyte, whose course behavior is understandable when he seems to be the only member of the family interested in maintaining the family fortune. Another big Greer Garson role is Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939) which remarkably, I’ve never seen. I wish they were showing Desire Me (1947), an odd, but strangely compelling film noir with Robert Mitchum.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Julia Misbehaves (1948), The Valley of Decision (1945), and Mrs. Miniver (1942).

I’m Interested In: Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), Pride and Prejudice (1940), When Ladies Meet (1941), and Adventure (1945).

Tuesday, August 15th- Ronald Colman

I’ve only seen a handful of Ronald Colman films, the delightful Talk of the Town (1942), and his Oscar-winning role in The Double Life (1947), neither of which are featured. Random Harvest (1942) is a deeply romantic and heartbreaking film which co-stars Greer Garson. I cannot recommend Cynara (1932) co-starring the fantastic Kay Francis. This movie was such a slog to get through.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Random Harvest (1942)

I’m Interested In: The Story of Mankind (1957. Vincent Price? Peter Lorre? The Marx Brothers?)

Wednesday, August 16th- Katy Jurado

I am not familiar with Katy Jurado, only that she was married to Ernest Borgnine (who is featured later this month). I’ve only ever seen her in Trapeze (1956), which I can recommend solely for Burt Lancaster doing his own trapeze work! I haven’t seen any of her other films, yes, even High Noon (1952) which I should watch.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Trapeze (1956)

I’m Interested In: High Noon (1952); The Trial (1955); Stay Away Joe (1968. I do love an Elvis movie).

Thursday, August 17th- Bob Hope

While I’m familiar with Bob Hope (of course), all of the movies of his that I’ve seen aren’t being shown! I can recommend Bachelor in Paradise (1961) a delightful, corny rom com co-starring Lana Turner. This film is funny because it features Bob as a bachelor who is writing a book about the sexual proclivities of American men. He is also experiencing tax issues. To escape the IRS, he changes his name and seeks refuge in a rented home in the planned community of Paradise, CA. Critic’s Choice (1963) is an amusing film featuring Bob as a theater critic who finds himself having to review playwright wife, Lucille Ball’s new play. I’m interested in all the road movies and Bob’s films with Paulette Goddard. Of course the Hope/Goddard film that I’ve seen, The Cat and the Canary (1939) is not featured.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Bachelor in Paradise (1961), and Critic’s Choice (1963).

I’m Interested In: All the ‘Road’ movies with Bing Crosby, and his films with Paulette Goddard: Nothing but the Truth (1941) and The Ghost Breakers (1940).

Friday, August 18th- Carole Lombard

Woo! I should be home all day for Carole Lombard day! I recommend To Be or Not to Be (1942) which sadly was Carole’s last film before her tragic plane crash. Carole made quite a few films with Fred MacMurray, and of course, my favorite Hands Across the Table (1935), is not being shown. However, do not miss Princess Comes Across (1936) where Carole plays a wannabe actress pretending to be a princess in an effort to land a Broadway contract, and Fred as a concertina player. In True Confession (1937), Carole plays a chronic liar who confesses to a crime she didn’t commit to help her honest to a fault (but broke) lawyer husband. Then come the two screwball highlights of Carole’s career: My Man Godfrey (1936) and Twentieth Century (1934). Both ‘Godfrey’ and ‘Century’ are absolutely insane and hilarious.

My Don’t Miss Titles: To Be or Not to Be (1942); Princess Comes Across (1936); True Confession (1937); My Man Godfrey (1936) and Twentieth Century (1934)

I’m Interested In: The Lombard films I haven’t seen, No More Orchids (1932), The Gay Bride (1934), Fools for Scandal (1938), Swing High Swing Low (1937), No Man of Her Own (1932), Vigil in the Night (1940) and Lady by Choice (1934)

Saturday, August 19- Fred Astaire

Here’s another person of whom I’ve seen most of their work. The best Astaire films (imo) are in the middle of the day. Easter Parade (1948) the film that brought Astaire out of retirement to fill in for an ailing Gene Kelly and kickstarted the second half (and personally, my favorite) part of his career. The Band Wagon (1953), the film considered Fred’s best, though frankly I prefer Funny Face (1957) which isn’t being shown. Top Hat (1935) is a delight and probably my favorite of the Astaire/Rogers films (though I haven’t seen all of them). The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) which reteamed Astaire and Ginger Rogers after Judy Garland was fired, is a lot of fun and it’s nice to see the two together again.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Easter Parade (1948); The Band Wagon (1953); Top Hat (1935); The Barkleys of Broadway (1949).

I’m Interested In: Yolanda and the Thief (1945). I haven’t seen this one and it looks interesting.

Sunday, August 20- Barbara Stanwyck

Ah Stanny. I’m so happy that she’s featured on a weekend day. Every thing scheduled is worth watching, because Stanwyck always elevates the material she’s given. I recommend her precodes Baby Face (1933) and Night Nurse (1931). Her film noir like Double Indemnity (1944), and Cry Wolf (1947) co-starring Errol Flynn are both worth watching. Her comedies such as Christmas in Connecticut (1945), and Ball of Fire (1942) are excellent. She’s even good as part of an ensemble in a film such as Executive Suite (1954) where she plays a major stakeholder of the company looking for a new CEO. You can never go wrong with Stanwyck.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Baby Face (1933); Night Nurse (1931), Double Indemnity (1944); Cry Wolf (1947); Christmas in Connecticut (1945); Ball of Fire (1942); and Executive Suite (1954).

I’m Interested In: The Violent Men (1955) a Stanwyck film I’ve never seen!

TCM Summer Under the Stars–Kayla’s Picks **WEEK 2**

Monday, August 7th- Robert Ryan

Robert Ryan is awesome and I’m happy to see him featured. I’m also happy that my regular Monday night board game group won’t be meeting, so that I can watch some of the primetime programming! Unfortunately, a few of my favorite Robert Ryan films, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Caught (1949) and Beware, My Lovely (1952) are not being shown. However, some other excellent film noir, such as The Set-Up (1949), On Dangerous Ground (1952), and Act of Violence (1949) are being featured. If the music in ‘Dangerous’ sounds familiar, it’s because it was composed by Bernard Hermann who also composed the score for North by Northwest. Hermann borrowed some of the score from ‘Dangerous’ when doing ‘Northwest.’ The Naked Spur (1953) teams Ryan up with James Stewart, his ‘Violence’ co-star Janet Leigh, and Ralph Meeker. I also love The Secret Fury (1950) featuring Ryan in an atypical role. He plays the fiance to Claudette Colbert. At their wedding, a mysterious figure interrupts the ceremony to say that Colbert is still married! Look for a pre-I Love Lucy Vivian Vance in a small role.

My Don’t Miss Titles: The Set-Up (1949); On Dangerous Ground (1952); Act of Violence (1949); The Naked Spur (1953); and The Secret Fury (1950).

I’m Interested In: Berlin Express (1948); Best of the Badmen (1951) and The Woman on the Beach (1947).

Tuesday, August 8th- Joan Blondell

This is one of my most anticipated days of the Summer Under the Stars event. I love Joan Blondell. She deserved to be more well known than she is. Even if the film is not that great, Blondell is always awesome. Don’t miss her Busby Berkeley films like my personal favorite, Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), and Footlight Parade (1933) which I saw in the theater this year at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Blondell also stars in another pillar in the echelon of great pre-code films, Three on a Match (1932) co-starring Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. Don’t sleep on Blondell in another early precode appearance with frequent co-star, James Cagney, in Blonde Crazy (1931). I also loved her in the pre-code Union Depot (1932) with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. And if that isn’t enough pre-code, don’t miss Blondie Johnson (1933) where Blondell plays a lady gangster! Finally, I recommend The Traveling Saleslady (1935) where Blondell takes on the corporate world (and her father) by being a successful female salesperson.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933); Footlight Parade (1933); Three on a Match (1932); Blonde Crazy (1931); and Blondie Johnson (1933).

I’m Interested In: All the Blondell pre-code that I haven’t seen! The Famous Ferguson Case (1932); Lawyer Man (1933); I’ve Got Your Number (1934); and Make Me a Star (1932).

Wednesday, August 9th- The Nicholas Brothers

The Nicholas Brothers were a dance team comprised of brothers Harold and Fayard, whose insane athleticism and dance routines in various Classic Hollywood films have reignited a brand new audience’s interest in them. Unfortunately, due to the persistent racism that existed during the heyday of their career, the Nicholas Brothers’ are not as well known as they should be and were often featured as specialty dance acts. Like many films featuring African American artists at the time, The Nicholas Brothers’ dance routines were featured in sequences of the film that could be easily excised for the racist audiences that didn’t want to see white and African American performers dancing together. The first film that I saw The Nicholas Brothers in was The Pirate (1948) with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. The Nicholas Brothers are only featured in the dance routine for “Be a Clown” and are fantastic. It is said that Gene Kelly was frustrated that Fayard appeared to be just going through the motions of his choreography. Kelly accused Fayard of not knowing the routine. In response, Fayard performed the entire routine, solo, flawlessly–much to the shock and awe (and I’m sure annoyance) of Kelly. While I haven’t seen the entire film, the Nicholas Brothers’ most famous routine is featured in Stormy Weather (1943). In this film, they perform an absolutely mind blowing routine. Every time I see it, I cannot believe what I just saw. I also love the Nicholas Brothers’ dance in Down Argentine Way (1940) co-starring Betty Grable, Don Ameche, and Carmen Miranda.

My Don’t Miss Titles: The Pirate (1948); That’s Entertainment (1974); Stormy Weather (1943); and Down Argentine Way (1940).

I’m Interested In: Stormy Weather (1943); Uptown Saturday Night (1974); Orchestra Wives (1942); and Pie Pie Blackbird (1932).

Thursday, August 10th- Rhonda Fleming

I’m not entirely familiar with Rhonda Fleming’s filmography, but I do know that I like her from what I’ve seen and that she was gorgeous. We just lost Fleming in 2020 at the age of 97. One of the earliest film appearances of Fleming’s that I saw was when she appeared in The Spiral Staircase (1946), a fantastic film noir. I also loved her with Dick Powell in Cry Danger (1951) Unfortunately, neither film are being shown on this day. The film noir that are being featured however, are the excellent Out of the Past (1947), While the City Sleeps (1956), and The Killer is Loose (1956). ‘Killer’ is especially interesting as it features Wendell Corey in a very non-Wendell Corey type role. I also loved Fleming as Vincent Price’s wife in ‘Sleeps.’ The cast of ‘Sleeps’ is stacked. Aside from Fleming and Price, the film also features Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell and Sally Forrest.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Out of the Past (1947); While the City Sleeps (1956); The Killer is Loose (1956).

I’m Interested In: The Big Circus (1959); Home Before Dark (1958); and Serpent of the Nile (1953).

Friday, August 11th- Alan Ladd

Alan Ladd day was another day that I was excited about. I feel that Ladd’s films aren’t shown often, because he was under contract to a studio whose films aren’t within the Turner library. I love his films with Veronica Lake, This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). ‘Key’ is probably my favorite of the three. Believe it or not, I’ve never seen Shane (1953), so that is on the top of my list of Ladd films to see. I’m also excited that aside from the Lake/Ladd collaborations, TCM has filled the schedule with Alan Ladd films that I’ve never seen. He is a recent discovery of mine and I’d love to see more of his films. I’ll need to delete some stuff off the DVR to make room!

My Don’t Miss Titles: This Gun for Hire (1942); The Glass Key (1942); and The Blue Dahlia (1946.

I’m Interested In: Everything else, but especially Shane (1953); The McConnell Story (1955); Guns of the Timberland (1960); The Iron Mistress (1952); and The Big Land (1957).

Saturday, August 12th- Deborah Kerr

I’m not too familiar with Deborah Kerr’s filmography except From Here to Eternity (1953), Night of the Iguana (1964), and An Affair to Remember (1957). Neither ‘Eternity’ nor ‘Iguana’ are scheduled. ‘Remember’ is scheduled, and it is a good film, but I prefer the 1939 original (Love Affair) with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne. I have seen Dream Wife (1953) but I remember being extremely distracted by how thin and gaunt Cary Grant looked. I can’t remember anything else about the film. Kerr’s day might give me a chance to get to know her more.

My Don’t Miss Titles: An Affair to Remember (1957) one of the all-time classic romantic dramas.

I’m Interested In: Please Believe Me (1950); The Sundowners (1960); Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957); and Black Narcissus (1947).

Sunday, August 13th- Paul Newman

I think I am more familiar with Newman and his Sockarooni pasta sauce than anything else. I love him in Paris Blues (1961) which isn’t scheduled and he’s excellent in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). I’ve been wanting to see him in The Long Hot Summer (1958) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). I need to see more Newman films for sure.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

I’m Interested In: The Long Hot Summer (1958); Sweet Bird of Youth (1962); Cool Hand Luke (1967); and Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

TCM Summer Under the Stars–Kayla’s Picks **WEEK 1**

It’s a little late to release this, seeing that today is the first day of TCM’s annual Summer Under the Stars programming, but better late than never, right? This year, numerous personal favorites are featured, it was almost as if TCM asked me for suggestions!

August 1st- Lucille Ball

My absolute favorite actress is kicking off this year’s programming. I’ve seen everything scheduled. I will say that Forever Darling (1956) is one of my least favorites of Lucy’s films, only because her and Desi’s marriage was strained by the time this film came out. The stress of their relationship is evident in their performances and there is an uncomfortable vibe throughout the film. A scene in which Lucy and Desi bicker, which maybe a few years prior would have been funny, is not. You can’t help but feel like you walked into a scene you shouldn’t have. I do like the scene where Desi complains about Lucy’s relatives, Natalie Schafer and Louis Calhoun, always being around. With that said, TCM is showing my all-time favorite film, The Long Long Trailer (1954), which I’ve seen (no exaggeration) at least a hundred times. Other films of interest are Too Many Girls (1940) which is not a great film, but an important one for I Love Lucy fans–this is the film that brought Lucy and Desi together. Another film of note is Dance, Girl Dance (1940), which is what Lucy was filming when she met Desi. She was sporting a torn dress, mussed hair, and a fake black eye when she met him. Suffice it say, Desi was not impressed. A few hours later, Lucy was cleaned up, she met Desi again, and the rest is history.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Dance, Girl, Dance (1940); The Long, Long Trailer (1954); Meet the People (1944); and Lured (1947)

I’m Interested In: I’ve seen all the titles featured, so I’ll just catch whatever films I happen to see. As of the writing of this article, I did catch Dance Girl Dance, Too Many Girls, and The Long Long Trailer.

August 2nd- Anthony Perkins

I’ll admit that I don’t know much about Anthony Perkins’ film career other than Psycho (1960) and On the Beach (1959), which isn’t being shown this year. His performance in Psycho is truly terrifying and he should have won the Oscar. The key with Norman Bates is that while he’s odd, he doesn’t really seem scary at first, which is probably why Janet Leigh didn’t think much about him. The shower scene will forever remain an indelible part of American cinema. The scene at the end of the film where Mrs. Bates finally takes over Norman’s mind, and a skeleton face is superimposed over Norman’s is one of the creepiest moments of all time.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Psycho (1960)

I’m Interested In: Tall Story (1960); Goodbye Again (1961); and The Trial (1963)

August 3rd- Stella Stevens

Stella Stevens is another actress with whom I’m unfamiliar. She just passed away earlier this year at the age of 84, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. I am familiar with The Poseidon Adventure… which isn’t being shown. I have also seen The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), but I cannot remember her!

My Don’t Miss Titles: I don’t have any because I’ve barely seen her filmography!

I’m Interested In: Girls, Girls, Girls (1962) because I do love me an Elvis movie; How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968); and Rage (1966)

August 4th- Jackie Cooper

I’m not too familiar with Jackie Cooper, whom I always mix up with Jackie Coogan. I’m not big into child actors, so Cooper isn’t one I’ve sought out. With few exceptions, I find child actors annoying. I have seen Ziegfeld Girl (1941), but honestly I watched for Lana Turner and Judy Garland, I cannot remember Cooper.

My Don’t Miss Titles: Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

I’m Interested In: Broadway to Hollywood (1933) a pre-code with Alice Brady; The Navy Comes Through (1942) one of the rare non-Lucy co-starring film roles for Desi Arnaz.

August 5th- Errol Flynn

I love Errol Flynn, I’ve seen every film scheduled. Kim (1951) is my least favorite of the bunch, I just don’t find the story interesting. However, the rest of the films featured are excellent, even Flynn’s later films like Mara Maru (1952) and Montana (1950). My personal favorite Flynn film, Gentleman Jim (1942) is not being featured; but I do love The Sisters (1938) co-starring my queen, Bette Davis.

My Don’t Miss Titles: The Sisters (1938); The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938); The Sea Hawk (1940); and Edge of Darkness (1943)

I’m Interested In: I own all the films featured (except the aforementioned Kim); so I’ll just catch whatever titles I happen to see this day.

August 6th- Debbie Reynolds

I’m surprised that TCM didn’t schedule Lucy on this day, since this is her birthday and all; but I love Debbie so I’m happy to see her featured. Much like Lucy and Errol’s days, I’ve seen almost all of the films scheduled on Debbie’s day, except for The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) and Athena (1954). Even though the plot is highly questionable and odd, I do like Susan Slept Here (1954) solely for Debbie and Glenda Farrell. Debbie is adorable here and it’s fun seeing her as a juvenile delinquent. I do not like Bundle of Joy (1956) as I find Eddie Fisher a very off-putting onscreen presence. Unfortunately this film was trying to make Fisher a thing and it is not successful. Stick with the original, Bachelor Mother (1939) starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven. Of course Debbie’s star-making role as Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain (1952) is here, and this film never gets old. I also enjoy Debbie being paired up with Tony Randall in The Mating Game (1959). And let’s not forget about Debbie being dressed like a football and literally thrown around like a football in I Love Melvin (1953).

My Don’t Miss Titles: I Love Melvin (1953); Singin’ in the Rain (1952); The Mating Game (1959); The Gazebo (1960); and The Tender Trap (1955).

I’m Interested In: The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) and Athena (1954) the only two films featured this day that I haven’t seen.

#ClassicFilmReading. Book #1 “Veronica, The Autobiography of Veronica Lake”

This year, for a change of pace, I’m actually reading books for Raquel Stecher’s annual Classic Film Reading Challenge, instead of my usual MO of signing up and then not actually reading anything. For my first book, I read Veronica Lake’s autobiography, the aptly titled Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake. A very straightforward, no frills title, but I think that it fits its author. Throughout her memoir (co-written with Donald Bain), Lake very matter-of-factly tells her life story, without making any excuses and without being pretentious. She doesn’t dwell on the negative in her life, and just accepts everything as-is. While she seems very confident and certain as to who she is at some points, at other times she is lacking in self-awareness.

One of the main stories about Veronica Lake that swirls around is that her Hollywood career ended partly due to her alcoholism and unprofessionalism. In her memoir, Lake disagreed with these assessments and stated that she left Tinseltown on her own accord. She says:

“I decided it was time to make Hollywood a thing of the past. At this point, cynics will say that quite the reverse was true; Hollywood decided to make Veronica Lake a thing of the past.”

“I set foot in Hollywood again in June 1952, to obtain my final divorce from André [DeToth]. I’ve never been back since.”

Veronica’s memoir is conventional in format. It starts off with her birth in Brooklyn, NY on November 14, 1922. She was christened with the name Constance Frances Marie Ockleman. Veronica explains that she’s been juggling the Veronica/Connie dichotomy since she was given her stage name by producer Arthur Hornblow in 1940. For all intents and purposes, she says that she is writing her book from the viewpoint of “Constance Ockleman,” as she has lived her life, NOT Veronica Lake.

“Veronica Lake is a Hollywood creation. Hollywood is good at doing that sort of thing. Its proficiency at transforming little Connie Ockleman of Brooklyn into sultry, sensuous Veronica Lake was proved by the success of the venture. And the subject, me, was willing and in some small ways able. I don’t mean to imply that Veronica Lake is pure past tense. I still sign my checks Veronica Lake. My telephone is listed under that name. And, in general I am still Veronica Lake. But it would be spurious to write this book from Veronica’s point of view. Constance Ockleman has been the veracious liver of the life, and she’s the proper person to tell the story.”

Veronica Lake and her loathed peek-a-boo hair

The first half of the book is typical Hollywood celebrity fare. Veronica’s father passed away in 1932 when she was 10. Her mother remarried and eventually the family moved to Miami, FL where she spent her formative teen years, and also competed in some beauty pageants. In 1938, when she was 16, she and her family moved to Beverly Hills, CA. Veronica took acting classes and acted in plays and took on small roles in films, until she was cast in her first big film, Mitchell Leisen’s I Wanted Wings (1941). This turned out to be her breakthrough part.

Lake then discusses her Hollywood career as it fit in with her personal life. She was dating and soon married to her first husband, John S. Detlie. The couple soon had a daughter, Elaine. Curiously enough, Lake talks about how beautiful her child was and how proud she was to have her. This is an interesting juxtaposition to the end of the book, when Lake casually mentions that Elaine, now an adult, is married with three children. But she never sees her. Lake’s nonchalance about her lack of contact with her child is very telling. It’s hard not to see that her devotion to being apathetic about everything could also be viewed as selfish. As many of these stories go, as Lake’s star rises, her marriage to Detlie falls apart. He cannot handle her success.

Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd

One part of the book that I found interesting was her discussion about frequent co-star Alan Ladd. Lake and Ladd are one of the fabled on-screen Hollywood teams, often held up as one of the cream of the crop. I thought that the two stars might have been close, having worked together so often, but Lake only devotes a small paragraph to him in her book. She also stated that while Ladd was on the shorter side, he wasn’t as short as people seem to believe.

“Alan Ladd was a marvelous person in his simplicity. In so many ways we were kindred spirits. We were both professionally conceived through Hollywood’s search for box-office and the types to insure that box-office.”

Later, she writes:

“Alan Ladd was a superb psychopathic killer. He could be cool, placid, all-observing and knowing or just plain nasty. He was all these things in his career and a nation reacted enthusiastically. There is no actor with whom I’m more closely connected than Alan Ladd. And yet we had less to do with each other than most other acting teams…both of us were very aloof people. We were a good match for each other. “

Later, Veronica would casually comment that Alan Ladd died while her boyfriend/drinking buddy, Andy, was away. But there was no further reflection about working with him. She just matter-of-factly stated that he had passed. Coincidentally enough, both Ladd and Lake would die at the age of 50. Ladd in 1964 and Lake in 1973.

Veronica Lake towards the end of her life.

These little asides are a common motif throughout Veronica’s book. She would talk about her marriage to so-and-so and suddenly, she’s describing the sex they had together. After finishing the book, there is one thing for certain, Veronica Lake liked sex. She describes a few sexual encounters she had and they’re just randomly thrown in, to add some color I suppose. Another common theme is that Veronica Lake liked to drink. She seems to recognize that perhaps she imbibes a little too much, but doesn’t seem to really care. As she tells her life story, she will casually throw in little comments here and there, like talking about the cookbook she wants to write:

“Some day, I’m going to write ‘The Veronica Lake Cookbook.’ And with the glutted, totally confused cookbook market these days, my book will be a welcome addition. It will not be exotic. It will not be ethnic. It will not specialize in 1,000 chocolate chip recipes or what to do with leftover potato chips. It will be simple and fraught with easy dishes to whip up when you’re drunk or tired or both.”

The ending of Veronica’s life is somewhat depressing, but she doesn’t dwell on it. After Hollywood, she moved to New York and was making a living doing television and summer stock. Her summer stock career somewhat ended when she broke her ankle in a dancing accident, and forced her to lay low for a couple years. She always seems to be living paycheck to paycheck and having to take jobs, such as the infamous job as the bartender at the Martha Washington Hotel, or low-paying acting work. Lake spent her last decade drinking in bars with her sailor boyfriend Andy, until he died from multiple alcohol-caused ailments. I got the sense that Lake had more or less given up and didn’t really seem to care.

This was not the best autobiography I’ve ever read, it wasn’t hysterical like Errol Flynn’s, and wasn’t as fascinating as Desi Arnaz’s, but Veronica Lake’s book definitely gave more insight into a very interesting and unique on-screen persona. After finishing the book, the conclusion I came to was that despite trying to get away from Veronica Lake and her hair, Connie Ockleman really was “Veronica Lake.” She was aloof, seemed indifferent about everything, but with that tiny sense of danger lurking in the background.

“Veronica Lake, movie star, was a tiny but luminous beacon of sexiness and sass who shined bright and cool during the dark days of World War II.”

Eddie Muller

All quotes are taken from:

Lake, Veronica. Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake. 1969. Revised ed., Dean Street Press, 2020.

CMBA Spring Blogathon, “Big Stars on the Small Screen,” Vincent Price in “The Brady Bunch”

In support of National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, the members of the Classic Movie Blog Association (CMBA) were asked to write on the topic of “big stars on the small screen.” I decided to write about one of my favorite big stars who appeared on many small screens over his impressive 60+ year career–Vincent Price. Price is best known for his horror films, such as The House on Haunted Hill (1959), Theatre of Blood (1973), and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) to name just a few. He was also a known “foodie” and gourmet cook as well as a major art collector. Price’s love of acting and celebrity as an icon of horror films coincided nicely with his hobbies. Since obviously, he could pay for fancy food and artwork with the money earned from his acting.

Vincent Price shows Johnny Carson how to cook dinner in the dishwasher.

Vincent Price appeared on every type of television show under the sun. His voice made a very early television appearance in 1949 when he narrated a version of “The Christmas Carol.” In the 1950s, he appeared in numerous episodes of dramatic series, such as Robert Montgomery Presents and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Price’s great voice and presence definitely lent itself well to drama, however, he was also adept at comedy. He had a great sense of camp and the absurd, I never got the sense that he took himself too seriously. In 1966, Price appeared in seven episodes of the cult classic television series, Batman, as the villain, Dr. Egghead. He also appeared in multiple episodes of Laugh-In as a guest performer. In 1975, Vincent Price made a memorable appearance on Johnny Carson where he taught Johnny how to cook an entire dinner in the dishwasher. I recommend watching this clip on You Tube, you won’t regret it.

::Cue the Tiki music::

However, it was in 1972 when Vincent Price made his greatest television appearance–Professor Whitehead in the second and third episodes of the classic 3-part Hawaii episodes in The Brady Bunch. In the first episode of the fourth season, “Hawaii Bound,” Mike is sent by his architecture firm to check on the status of a construction project. And because Mike’s boss, Mr. Phillips, is apparently the greatest boss ever, he allows Mike to take all six of his kids, his wife, and his housekeeper with him to Hawaii for vacation. When the Bradys arrive in Hawaii, it doesn’t take long for hijinks to ensue. While accompanying Mike to the construction site, Bobby finds a cursed Tiki idol. ::cue Tiki music:: (You know you hear it). Bobby, Peter and Greg later take the Tiki ::cue Tiki music:: to a local man, Mr. Hanalei, who tells the boys that the idol is cursed and brings bad luck to whomever has it in their possession.

The boys are skeptical about the superstition but begin to believe the legend when multiple members of the family have bad luck wearing the tiki ::cue Tiki music:: . Bobby sits on his ukulele and crushes it. Later, a heavy wall decoration almost crushes Bobby when Greg accidentally hits it when throwing a pillow. The next day, Alice is wearing the idol and throws her back out during a hula lesson. Then, Bobby inexplicably gives the tiki ::cue Tiki music:: to Greg to wear during the surfing contest he’s entered. During the contest, Greg is doing well, until he’s not. He wipes out and is nowhere to be seen.

Greg will regret surfing with the tiki idol ::Cue Tiki music::

Oh no! Is Greg dead? No of course not, this is The Brady Bunch! In the second episode of the arc, “Pass the Tabu,” Mike finds Greg and helps him to shore. He recovers, though presumably lost the surfing contest. The tiki ::cue Tiki music:: has fallen off Greg during his wipe-out. But never fear, it washes up on shore and Jan finds it. She places it into her bag. Later, while out sightseeing, a giant spider crawls into Jan’s bag. Jan returns the tiki ::cue Tiki music:: to Bobby. The spider also ends up in the boys’ room. At this point, Bobby is completely creeped out by the idol, convinced of its unluckiness. Peter puts the idol on and says “bad luck come and get me.” Right at that point, the giant spider has made its way out of Jan’s bag and onto Peter’s chest.

Deciding that they’ve had enough, the boys decide they need to return the tiki ::cue Tiki music::. The boys return to Mr. Hanalei to find out how to dispose of the idol and absolve themselves of its curse. Mr. Hanalei tells them that they’ll need to return it to the ancient burial ground where the idol was originally found. Greg, Peter and Bobby confide in Marcia, Jan, and Cindy about the idol and where they need to go. The next morning, they board a bus and head to the other side of Oahu. At this point, one has to wonder how much free reign the kids have on this vacation that they can literally get up and get on a bus and not expect their parents to wonder where they are, but I digress. That is not important, because it is at this point where we meet the Special Guest Star–Vincent Price!

Professor Whitehead (Vincent Price) interrogates the Brady boys about the idol.

Price is only featured briefly at the end of the second episode, but is fully featured in the third and final part of the Hawaii trilogy, “The Tiki Caves.” Price plays Professor Whitehead, a disgruntled archaeologist who was cheated out of recognition a few years prior after finding a major treasure in Egypt. When he happened upon this ancient burial cave in Hawaii, he was determined to not let that happen again. However, his paranoia has led to him becoming a bit eccentric, as well as lonely. His only companion is an oversized tiki statue whom he has named “Oliver.” When the Professor first hears the boys walking about, he stalks them and tries to scare them out of the cave, but to no avail. There’s a funny scene where the Professor puts on some feathers and a mask and pops out of a casket in front of the boys, which startles them and they take off running. However, they run further into the cave, not out.

Eventually the Professor catches up with Greg, Peter and Bobby and captures them. He ties them to tikis to try and force them into explaining why they’re in the ancient burial ground. The boys explain that they were only in the cave to return the tiki idol ::cue Tiki music:: . Professor Whitehead accuses them of finding a find he didn’t find. Throughout all of this discussion, he continues to confide in Oliver who seemingly offers him advice and consolation. Greg finally manages to wriggle free; but their escape is thwarted by Professor Whitehead and his spear.

Professor Whitehead and Oliver.

At this point, Mike and Carol have finally realized that their children are missing and have managed to coax the truth out of the girls. While they close in on the cave, Greg, Peter and Bobby have managed to convince Professor Whitehead to free them, so that they can show him where they found the idol. Obviously this is just a ruse, and the Professor figures it out when the boys obviously do not know their way around. He finally believes their story and says that he will tie them back up and escape with all the treasure he can, so that his claim isn’t usurped. Being the nice guy that he is, the Professor says he’ll send someone back for them. Before he can finish tying up the boys, Mike and Carol walk in, understandably upset that their children were kidnapped and held hostage. The tiki idol ::cue Tiki music:: is returned to the cave and all is well again.

Despite Professor Whitehead kidnapping their children, the Bradys proudly attend a luau held in Whitehead’s honor.

THEN. Mike tells Professor Whitehead that not only does he forgive Professor Whitehead for kidnapping and holding his children hostage, but all five of them will serve as witnesses and corroborate the Professor’s claim on all the treasure. And if that wasn’t enough, ALL the Bradys attend a luau being held in Professor Whitehead’s honor. Unbelievable. Mike really lives by his advice, “a wise man forgets his anger before he lies down to sleep.”

Vincent Price warns Greg that his apartment is haunted in The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

However, this wasn’t the end for Vincent Price and the Bradys. In 1977, Price would make an appearance on what might be simultaneously the worst show and the greatest show I’ve ever seen–The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. In this episode, Greg (who has got to be in his early 20s at this point) decides that he needs to move out of the family home. The Brady Bunch’s house by the way is not their iconic home, it is this random house set constructed for the show. It is explained that Mike moved them closer to the beach after the family accepted the variety show offer. Yes. Anyway, Greg is trying to write a new song (unfortunately, it was not a reprise of his “clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew” song) and keeps being interrupted. He dramatically announces his intention to move and with the help of the Bradys’ neighbor, realtor Rip Taylor, Greg has a new pad.

Finally, I have an opportunity to post this image of Vincent Price from Theatre of Blood.

Unfortunately for Greg, his new apartment is really tacky and rundown. However, FORTUNATELY for Greg, one of his neighbors is none other than Vincent Price. It’s unclear whether Price is playing himself or playing a character named “Vincent Price,” but nonetheless he warns Greg about his apartment being haunted by the spirit of Kitty Sheehan. Despite the absurdity of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Vincent Price is awesome per usual. This only proves how great an actor and personality Vincent Price was. It doesn’t matter what the project is, whether it’s Shelby Carpenter in Laura, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, providing the voiceover in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” playing Dr. Egghead in Batman, acting as The Inventor in Edward Scissorhands, Edward Lionheart in Theatre of Blood, or cooking fish in the dishwasher, Vincent Price is always worth watching.

Even Vincent Price can’t believe that he’s on this show.

Favorite Stars in ‘B’ Movies Blogathon- Lucille Ball, “Queen of the Bs”

Today Lucille Ball is widely regarded as a legend and the Queen of Comedy. Prior to her legend-making role as Lucy Ricardo in the pioneering sitcom I Love Lucy, Lucy was considered royalty in a less esteemed field–Queen of the ‘B’ movies. A ‘B’ movie does not necessarily mean that it is bad or lesser, it is just a film not given the prestige of A-list above the title type stars, the big directors, and the big budgets. During the studio era, films were often shown on a double bill. A newsreel, cartoon, and short film or serial would be shown first, followed by the B movie, and ending with the headliner, or an A film. B movies were also known as “programmers.”

Lucille Ball, Queen of the Bs

Lucille Ball toiled away for a few years in uncredited and small bit roles at RKO before she was finally given a small supporting role in the A-list production, Stage Door (1937), starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. This film put Ball on the map and RKO started giving her leading roles in their B-list productions. Her first starring role was as Annabel Allison in The Affairs of Annabel (1938), co-starring Jack Oakie. In the film, Oakie plays Annabel’s agent who keeps getting her involved in one zany publicity scheme after another to promote her latest acting project. ‘Affairs’ was followed up by the sequel, Annabel Takes a Tour (1938). RKO originally intended to turn the Annabel films into a serial, but the project was aborted when Jack Oakie wanted more money.

After Annabel, Lucy starred in one B film after another, Go Chase Yourself (1938). In this film, Lucy plays the wife of a man who is mistaken for a bank robber and ends up in a high-speed police pursuit. In another film, The Next Time I Marry (1938), Lucy plays a woman who is set to inherit $20 million if she marries an American. She is in love however, with a Count from another country. Lucy meets an American man and convinces him to marry her. Eventually she ends up trapped in a trailer a la The Long Long Trailer (1954). In an excellent B film, Beauty for the Asking (1939), Lucy plays an entrepreneur who ends up inventing a new face cream after being dumped by her boyfriend, Patric Knowles. Lucy also appeared in another fantastic B-movie, Five Came Back. In this film, she plays a loose woman who ends up being a passenger on a plane that crashes in the jungle. After the plane is fixed, it is revealed that only 5/9 passengers can return home.

Lucille Ball in another B movie, Look Who’s Laughing (1941)

Lucy continued to appear in B films at RKO through the early 1940s. In fact, by the early 1940s, she had appeared in so many B movies, she earned the nickname, “Queen of the Bs.” One of the most pivotal B movies that she appeared in was Too Many Girls (1940), co-starring a young 23-year old Cuban named Desi Arnaz. Lucy and Desi met on set and it was love at first sight. She would later appear in the very charming A Girl, A Guy and A Gob (1941), co-starring a young and adorable (!) Edmond O’Brien, and George Murphy who plays a character named Coffee Cup. This is a great movie and I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, despite how awesome A Girl, A Guy and A Gob is, it was not a film that was going to elevate Lucy to A-list star status.

Despite appearing in dozens of starring roles by the early 1940s, Lucy had yet to get that one part that would change her career. There was no Morning Glory (1933; Katharine Hepburn’s first Oscar-winning role), or Of Human Bondage (1934; Bette Davis’ breakthrough part), or Captain Blood (1935; Errol Flynn’s breakthrough, star-making role) in her future. Lucy had proven herself a capable comedienne. She also had demonstrated excellent dramatic skills in films such as Dance Girl Dance (1940). This woman had “it.” She was gorgeous. She was talented. She had everything that any of her contemporaries had. So why couldn’t RKO make her a real star?

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Too Many Girls (1940). Lucy and Desi would marry and buy RKO in 1957.

In 1943, Lucy left RKO and moved to MGM. Despite the move, she continued to appear in one film after another that really didn’t do much for her career. The biggest impact MGM made was dying her hair its signature shade of red. Later, she worked at a variety of different studios and made a lot of great films: Lured (1947), The Dark Corner (1946), Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949); but nothing made her a star. It would take her CBS radio show, My Favorite Husband, where she portrayed the first incarnation of Lucy Ricardo (albeit with a different name, Liz Cooper) to finally give her the break she needed. The success of My Favorite Husband led to being offered a television show. And thanks to Lucy and Desi’s tenacity, that television show ended up being I Love Lucy–which finally gave her the break she wanted and deserved.

Fast forward to 1957, Lucy and Desi, now the owners of the highly successful Desilu Studios television production company, were able to purchase the failing RKO Studios–the very studio that couldn’t make Lucille Ball into a movie star. Thanks to the new medium of television, Lucille Ball, the former “Queen of the Bs” was now “The First Lady of Television” and the “Queen of Comedy.”

Buster Keaton Blogathon- Buster Keaton’s Influence on Lucille Ball

Lucy’s new red hair, given to her in the early 1940s at MGM.

By the late 1940s, Lucille Ball’s movie career was going nowhere. After a few years as “Queen of the Bs” at RKO, she moved to MGM. Despite being at the more glamorous studio known for “having more stars than there are in heaven,” Lucy wasn’t one of them. The biggest impact MGM had on Lucy’s career was setting Sydney Guilaroff up to do her hair for DuBarry Was a Lady (1943). He dyed her hair its signature shade of red. The red hair eventually became her trademark and she would wear it for the rest of her life. However, despite her new vivacious hair color, MGM was not giving her any roles that would catapult her into super stardom. Lucy was also in her late 30s, not old obviously, but definitely not the age of ingenue. After fifteen years in the business, it was looking like Lucy wasn’t going to make it as a movie star.

“The Great Stone Face.”

Also toiling away at MGM was silent comedy legend Buster Keaton. Buster had been a superstar back in the 1920s with his groundbreaking silent film classics such as The General (1926), Steamboat Bill Jr (1928), and Sherlock, Jr. (1924). He was known for his expert stunt work, impeccable timing, hilarious gags using props, and of course, being “The Great Stone Face.” In the late 1920s, MGM offered Buster a contract with their studio, which he signed despite the protests of colleagues such as Harold Lloyd and Charles Chaplin. Both men warned Buster that he’d be signing away all creative control if he were to sign a studio contract. Unfortunately for Buster, Lloyd and Chaplin were correct. Buster’s career was effectively ruined after signing on with MGM. The Cameraman (1928) is arguably his last, great film.

Buster ended up being tasked with making some truly terrible films in the 1930s. The direction of his career, along with pain emanating from a previously undiagnosed broken neck (broken during Sherlock, Jr.), and the breakup of his marriage to Natalie Talmadge led to him becoming an alcoholic. He languished for a while, but thankfully pulled it together by the 1940s. MGM also gave him a gig as a gag writer. He would write gags for the Marx Brothers’ last three films: At the Circus, Go West, and The Big Store. He also wrote gags for In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and Easy to Wed (1946) co-starring Lucille Ball.

Lucille Ball as “The Professor,” a comedy bit that got her “I Love Lucy” and a well-earned spot as a television legend.

It was during the 1940s when Buster, seeing Lucy’s potential for physical comedy, began coaching her on how to use props and how to do pratfalls without getting injured. Buster was an expert on the latter, having been literally thrown around the stage as a child during his parents’ vaudeville act. It was during one of these throws where Buster acquired his nickname, “Buster.” Buster also coached Lucy on how to keep a straight face during her comedic bits, a quality that suited her well as a key part of her “Lucy” character’s comedy is that she fully believes in any stunt she cooks up. Whether it’s Lucy Ricardo deciding to “soak up local color” in a wine vat in Rome, or pretending to be Ricky’s hillbilly date, one thing is for certain, when Lucy wants something, that woman does not screw around. She gives 110% percent each and every time.

Buster was known for his impeccable timing and he recognized this quality in Lucy as well. In the late 1940s, Buster was working at Columbia Studios starring in a series of comedic short films, and he recommended Lucy for a contract. She was given a three picture deal. Her first film under her new contract was Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1948) co-starring a then up-and-coming William Holden. He was two years away from his breakthrough, star-making role in Sunset Boulevard (1950). In ‘Richmond,’ Lucy was given the opportunity to show her physical comedy chops, including a scene where she deals with a typewriter ribbon that comes unspooled, and later a scene on a jackhammer. Her next film, The Fuller Brush Girl (1950), teamed Lucy with Eddie Albert. This film features a funny scene where Lucy and Eddie get drunk on wine while hiding in a wine barrel. Lucy’s last film in her picture deal was The Magic Carpet (1951), and the story behind that movie is stuff of legend and worth discussing in another blog entry.

Desi Arnaz, Buster Keaton, and Lucille Ball on the set of “I Love Lucy.”

At the same time Lucy was making films for Columbia, she was also appearing on CBS’ radio show, “My Favorite Husband.” This show had the same writing staff as I Love Lucy, and as a result, many of the season one I Love Lucy plots are re-hashed versions of some “My Favorite Husband” plotlines. Lucy’s radio show was very popular and successful. CBS, recognizing the potential in the new burgeoning medium of television, wanted to bring “My Favorite Husband” to the small screen, with Lucy and her radio show husband, Richard Denning, reprising their roles. However, Lucy wanted her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz to co-star with her. Desi was a bandleader with his Desi Arnaz Orchestra and as a result, was always on the road. Lucy wanted him closer to home and thought that a television show would be the perfect vehicle for both of them. However, CBS didn’t want the Cuban Arnaz playing All American Lucy’s husband, thinking that the audience wouldn’t “buy” it–despite them actually being married in real life.

To prove to CBS that the American public would accept them as a couple, Lucy and Desi decided to put together a vaudeville act and tour the country. The success of the tour would dictate whether Americans wanted to see Lucy and Desi together as a couple. Lucy and Desi enlisted the writers from “My Favorite Husband,” Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., and Jess Oppenheimer, to put together a couple comedy bits. In one of the bits, Lucy plays “The Professor,” a cellist who wants a job in Desi’s orchestra. Not seeing her potential, Desi insists that she audition. This act would later find its way into the sixth episode of I Love Lucy, titled “The Audition.”

The cello that Lucy used in her “Professor” bit. For more information about the cello, I highly recommend this link: https://cellomuseum.org/a-cello-helped-launch-one-of-the-most-popular-tv-shows-of-all-time/

While Lucy rehearsed the comedic cello bit, Buster coached her on how to use the cello prop to get as many jokes out of it as possible. The cello itself was over 90% of the comedy of the sketch. He worked with Lucy on how to handle the props, the timing, everything. Part of Buster’s advice to Lucy was that she needed to treat the cello as if it were a Stradivarius and guard it with her life when she’s not using it. She couldn’t risk anyone messing around with it, since the entire act is built around the cello. A friend of Desi’s, Pepito Perez, had customized the particular cello that Lucy was using. Lucy borrowed for it the vaudeville act, the eventual pilot episode, and for the aforementioned episode of I Love Lucy. The cello had a compartment in the back which held a stool, a plunger, and other props needed for the act. Without one of these props the act would have been ruined.

Buster’s coaching paid off, the vaudeville tour and subsequent pilot were a massive success and CBS bought I Love Lucy which went on to make megastars out the entire cast, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley, but especially Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball became a superstar. She took her stardom and built an entire 30+ year career on playing her “Lucy” character. Buster Keaton’s mentorship was a big factor in Lucy’s success and it’s not hard to see his influence. He would appear with Lucy on various television programs throughout the rest of his life. There is no doubt that Lucy and Buster had great mutual respect for one another. I Love Lucy was reported to be one of Buster’s favorite television programs.

Lucy and Buster in a sketch featured in a 1965 televised tribute to Stan Laurel.

What a Character! Blogathon–Allen Jenkins

Allen Jenkins has one of those mugs and voices that is instantly recognizable the second he’s on screen and opens his mouth. He’s never the lead, or even the major second lead, but he’s always there to provide ample support. My first introduction to Allen Jenkins was in his numerous appearances on I Love Lucy, often as a police officer. His most memorable appearance was in a late second season episode, “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans.” In this episode, Lucy and Ethel are upset about becoming boxing widows when Ricky and Fred settle in for the evening to watch “the big fight.” It is established that Ricky and Fred have spent a lot of evenings watching boxing on television and their wives are fed up with being ignored night after night. Lucy and Ethel decide to go down to the corner drug store and call Ricky on the phone. Lucy will disguise herself as one of her friends and ask Ricky to call Lucy to the phone, which should clue him in that Lucy and Ethel are gone. The plan doesn’t work however, as Ricky just answers the phone, calls Lucy to the phone, sets the receiver down, then returns to watching the fight. The entire crowd in the drug store is caught up in the fight, including Officer Jenkins (Allen Jenkins). Lucy unable to get the drugstore clerk’s attention (because he’s watching the fight on television), decides to make change for herself. The bell on the cash register gets Officer Jenkins’ attention and he accuses Lucy of trying to rob the drug store. Lucy and Ethel get away.

Officer Jenkins (Allen Jenkins) hauls in “Sticky Fingers Sal,” aka Lucy and “Pick Pocket Pearl” aka Ethel and presents them to his boss, Officer Nelson (Frank Nelson) in I Love Lucy, “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans.”

Later, Lucy and Ethel return to the Ricardos’ apartment only to see the phone still off the hook and Ricky and Fred still watching the fight–they didn’t even notice the women’s disappearance. Insulted, Lucy decides to climb up onto the roof to cut the electricity to the Ricardos’ apartment. It seems a little drastic, and she has no fear about being electrocuted, but that’s how Lucy works, she doesn’t screw around. Anyway, while Lucy and Ethel discuss which cord is running to the Ricardos’ apartment, Officer Jenkins finds them and brings them down to the precinct. Now at the police station, Officer Jenkins tells his superior, Officer Nelson (Frank Nelson), that he’s finally tracked down the infamous female robbers, “Pickpocket Pearl” and “Sticky Fingers Sal.” The women are identified based on their hair color. ‘Pearl’ is a blonde and ‘Sticky Fingers’ is a brunette, who must have dyed her hair red, deduces Officer Nelson.

LUCY: Dyed your hair. A lot you know. My hair is naturally red. Isn’t it Ethel?
ETHEL: Look Lucy, let’s not add perjury to our other charges.
LUCY: Well I might have expected something like that from you. Pick. Pocket. Pearl.

Lucille Ball as “Lucy Ricardo” and Vivian Vance as “Ethel Mertz” in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” in I Love Lucy. Originally aired June 22, 1953.

Allen Jenkins went all the way back to 1939 with Lucille Ball when he appeared with her in the RKO film, Five Came Back. In the film, nine passengers board a flight from Los Angeles to Panama City. During the flight, the plane flies directly into an intense nighttime storm, which ends with the plane crashing into a rainforest. The passengers and crew survive. Eventually the plane is repaired, but can now only support the weight of five passengers. The passengers and crew must decide which five people will get to return home. Lucy plays Peggy Nolan, a woman with a shady past and Allen plays Pete, a gunman who is tasked with escorting the son of a gangster back home.

Lucille Ball and Allen Jenkins in 1939’s Five Came Back

Eight years prior to Five Came Back, Allen had made his film debut in the 1931 short film, Straight and Narrow playing what else? An ex-convict. Allen played many unsavory characters throughout his career. He also appeared in many memorable pre-code films such as: Three on a Match (1932), Employees’ Entrance (1933), 42nd Street (1933), Blondie Johnson (1933), and Jimmy the Gent (1934). During the production code era, he played opposite big Warner Brothers stars like Errol Flynn (The Perfect Specimen (1937), Footsteps in the Dark (1941), and Dive Bomber (1941)) and Humphrey Bogart (Marked Woman (1938), Dead End (1937), and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) ).

Jenkins was born on April 9, 1900 in Staten Island, New York. Despite often being cast as the dimwitted thug or comic relief, Jenkins actually had a long pedigree when it came to show business training. His family earned their living in show business and he later trained at the reputable American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the 1920s, Jenkins was working steadily on Broadway, even replacing Spencer Tracy in the play, “The Last Mile.” Jenkins’ turn in Tracy’s role is what led to Darryl F. Zanuck discovering him and bringing him out to Hollywood to work for Paramount Pictures. His first major role was reprising his Broadway role of “Frankie Wells” in the 1932 film adaptation of Blessed Event, starring Lee Tracy. This role led to Jenkins receiving steady work, often in gangster films throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Allen Jenkins played Errol Flynn’s chauffer and cohort in Footsteps in the Dark (1941).

In Ball of Fire, Jenkins has a memorable role as the garbage man who rattles off one slang word after another, much to the bewilderment of the professors who are trying to write a comprehensive encyclopedia on American slang. He would later reprise his role in the film’s 1948 remake, A Song is Born.

GARBAGE MAN: I could use a bundle of scratch right now on account of I met me a mouse last week.
PROFESSOR ODDLY: Mouse?
GARBAGE MAN: What a pair of gams. A little in, a little out, and a little more out.
PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: I am still completely mystified.
GARBAGE MAN: Well, with this dish on me hands and them giving away 25 smackaroos on that quizzola.
PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Smackaroos?
PROFESSOR ODDLY: Smackaroos? What are smackaroos?
GARBAGE MAN: A smackaroo is a…
PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: No such word exists.
GARBAGE MAN: Oh, it don’t, huh? A smackaroo is a dollar, pal.
PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Well, the accepted vulgarism for a dollar is a buck.
GARBAGE MAN: The accepted vulgarism for a smackaroo is a dollar. That goes for a banger, a fish, a buck, or a rug.
PROFESSOR BERTRAM POTTS: Well, what about the mouse?
GARBAGE MAN: The mouse is a dish. That’s what I need the moolah for.
PROFESSOR ODDLY: Moolah?
GARBAGE MAN: Yeah. The dough. We’ll be stepping. Me and the smooch, I mean the dish. I mean the mouse. You know, hit the jiggles for a little drum boogie.

Allen Jenkins as “Garbage Man,” Richard Hadyn as “Professor Oddly” and Gary Cooper as “Professor Bertram Potts” in “Ball of Fire” (1941).

Pictured from left: Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins. Jenkins was part of the “Irish Mafia” with James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, and McHugh.

One of Jenkins’ last film roles was as the elevator operator who takes pity on the perpetually hungover Thelma Ritter in Pillow Talk (1959). Later, he moved to television, where he often played cops, or characters in blue-collared jobs. Aside from I Love Lucy, Jenkins also appeared in Adam 12, Bewitched, Batman, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He also made frequent appearances on Red Skelton’s show, The Red Skelton Hour, and also had a role in the 1950s sitcom, Hey Jeannie! (1956-1957). He is also remembered for voicing Officer Dribble on the cartoon series, Top Cat (1961-1962).

Allen Jenkins passed away on July 20, 1974 from lung cancer at the age of 74.

HUNK: Maybe I’m wrong. We all make mistakes, boss. That’s why they put the rubber on the ends of pencils.

Allen Jenkins as “Hunk” to Humphrey Bogart in Dead End, 1937.