Video Link: Say It with Firecrackers (From Holiday Inn (1942))

Honoring Eric Blore

 Eric Blore is one of the greatest character actors in the history of the movies. He is certainly one of my favorites. Whether appearing with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in such great musicals as Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937) or alongside Laurel and Hardy in Swiss Miss (1938), with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in Road to Zanzibar (1941), The Marx Brothers in Love Happy (1949), voicing Mr. Toad in the Disney animated feature The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) or in the Preston Sturges classics The Lady Eve (1941) and Sullivan's Travels (1941), he is always a delight to see (or hear) in any movie. 

The following is a page from a 1936 issue of Screenland magazine paying tribute to the wonderful character actor. If you have any trouble reading the following page simply click on it and use your touch screen to zoom in.

Fred Astaire on Radio

 Fred Astaire may be one of my favorite movie stars. His films still delight me no matter how many times I watch them. However, he did much more than just movies. One of the other endeavors he took part in was radio. This following article from a 1936 issue of Radio Stars magazine talks about his foray into radio. 

If you have trouble reading the following article, click on the pages below and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

He is a wonderful dance number Fred Astaire did with Cyd Charisse in the film, The Band Wagon (1953).

 

 

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: White Christmas (1954)

 

A simply wonderful musical. 

This film's storyline is incredibly simple. Two men (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) meet in the army and form a song in dance team. After leaving the army the two become major stars. One day they catch a sister act (Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen) and fall in love with these two girls and follow them to Vermont. In Vermont they meet their general (Dean Jagger) in the army. The general is running a struggling inn and the two men decide to put on a big Christmas Eve show at that inn to help him. All the while they have various romantic entanglements with the two sisters. 

Within this simple story is an incredible amount of charm. Everything about this film works beautifully. The most obvious praise to give this movie is the great musical numbers. All the songs used in this film were written by the great Irving Berlin and the songs chosen show off the songwriter's work to great advantage. There is not one song here that is not a delight to hear. Yet what is visually happening during these song numbers is just as delightful. Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen's wonderful dance numbers are a definitely highlight and make the two simply light up the screen during these scenes. Not only is their dancing amazing, but they also bring a wonderfully fun energy to each of these numbers that will even put a smile on the face of those who don't normally like musicals. Danny Kaye performing Choreography, especially puts a smile on my face every time I see it. His dancing there is equally parts comedic and impressive, showing off both his dancing and comedic talents to their fullest. The beautiful singing voices of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney don't hurt at all. The two are in great form and show off why both are such respected singers. To this day there is no one who can sing a Christmas song as well as Bing Crosby. His voice simply fits the season perfectly and when he croons the title song, one gets that unexplainably wonderful Christmas feeling. The final reprise of the title song may be one of the most perfect moments in Christmas movie history. The image of our four main stars in front of a giant Christmas tree decorated in wonderful Christmas outfits with a group of very talented kids dancing and a beautifully snowy backdrop simply feels as warm and cozy as a cup of hot chocolate at home on a Christmas Eve night.  Yet this movie is even delightful beyond just the musical numbers. The storyline may be simple and sentimental but it is the type of sentimentality that really works. We truly care about these characters and want to the romances work out and for the general to see how much he has meant to so many of his men. The humor is also fantastic and there are quite a few wonderfully funny moments. The banter between Bing and Danny Kaye's characters is especially fantastic and can still make audiences laugh to this day. However the biggest comedic highlight is the two main male characters doing their own kidding of the sisters' Sisters musical number. If you look at Bing Crosby's face during that scene, you can see Bing trying not to break into laughter. This film being directed by the legendary Michael Crutiz (Casablanca (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)), it is wonderfully paced, giving a warm nostalgic feel while never feeling too slow. 

To make a movie revolving around the song White Christmas was a natural idea. The song had been a major hit since it premiered in the movie, Holiday Inn (1942). In fact, that is in understatement. To this day Bing Crosby's version of the song is still considered to be the highest selling song of all time. In fact Bing Crosby had already reprised the song in another feature film, Blue Skies (1946). This movie was originally indented to not only reprise the most popular song from Holiday Inn but it was meant to be a reunion of the two stars of that film, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Both stars turned down the picture. Bing Crosby would change his mind though Fred Astaire did not. Fred's role was then given to Donald O'Connor (who would have been great in this movie). However Donald became very sick before production began so the role was given to Danny Kaye. Danny Kaye luckily was a wonderful choice for the role. Rosemary Clooney would later state that the Sisters number worked because she couldn't dance and Vera-Ellen couldn't sing, but together they could pull it off. Vera-Ellen's voice in this number is actually dubbed in by Rosemary Clooney.

This is simply a wonderful piece of old-fashioned entertainment that will simply put a smile on any movie fan's face. 

 The following is a 1955 article from TV Radio Mirror where Rosemary Clooney talks about Bing Crosby. If you have any trouble reading the following pages click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in.

Resources Used

Christmas in the Movies by Jeremy Arnold

https://mediahistoryproject.org/ 

Erik Rhodes: He Wanted to be Athletic

Even if you may not know his name if you are a fan of old movies, you will probably recognize Erik Rhodes. This is especially true if you are a fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, as he had very memorable roles in two of their films. In The Gay Divorcee (1934), he played the man who pretended to have an affair with Ginger Rogers to make her "husband" jealous. In Top Hat (1935), he played the dress maker, who would threaten Edward Everett Horton's life ("for the woman the kiss, for the man the sword"). Comedy fans might also know him for being in the Wheeler and Woolsey film, The Nitwits (1935). Considering these over-the-top and silly comedic characters he played, one would not exactly except him to have any athletic ambitions. However, this 1936 article from Movie Classic magazine reveals that he did have such ambitions. 

If you have trouble reading the following pages, click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

The Merry Eatons

 Though Mary Eaton appeared in only a few films, she is immortalized in movie history as the leading lady in The Marx Brothers' first feature film, The Cocoanuts (1929). Before her brief movie career, she had a much more successful career on stage. On stage she appeared with Fred and Adele Astaire and in three editions of The Ziegfeld Follies. She had what is said to be a very impressive dance number in her Ziegfeld Follies appearances. 

Now to take a look at the life of this often-overlooked stage and movie star with a 1929 article from Screenland Magazine. This article mentions her getting engaged to Millard Webb, who directed her in the film, Glorifying the American Girl (1929), which featured many Ziegfeld Follies performers and was produced by Flo Ziegfeld, himself. Though they would separate Mary and Millard would remain married until his death in 1935. If you have any trouble reading the pages below, click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Here she is singing Irving Berlin's When My Dreams Come True in The Marx Brothers movie, The Cocoanuts (1929).

 

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Holiday Inn (1942)

 

A near perfect movie musical comedy. 

Despite the fact that this movie has become a Christmas tradition for so many, Christmas is only one of the holidays featured in this film. The storyline revolves around an inn that is open only on holidays and each holiday features a live show with singing and dancing. This allows us to get 14 musical numbers that feature some of the great musical talents of the early 1940's. Though these songs are about holidays all over the calendar, two have become Christmas classics, White Christmas and Happy Holidays. With this in mind is it any wonder this has become considered a Christmas movie. 

This is the fourth film in which director Mark Sandrich, songwriter Irving Berlin and star Fred Astaire made together. They had previously all worked on the Astaire-Rogers pictures, Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), and Carefree (1938). The idea for this film had its birth with Irving Berlin. Berlin and playwright Moss Hart had had a major hit with the 1933 Broadway musical, As Thousands Cheer. They to follow this up with a musical play based on various holidays. However, this play never came to be. The idea stayed fresh in Berlin's mind though. When in 1941 he ran into Sandrich (who was now working at Paramount), he pitched this idea to the director as a vehicle for Paramount star, Bing Crosby. Sandrich loved the idea, and a story quickly began to take shape. Sandrich decided that the perfect person to play the second male lead was Fred Astaire. Paramount disagreed feeling that they already had one big star with Bing Crosby and the Astaire would cost too much money, However Sandrich was insistent and would get his way. He would tell the press, "I call this picture the A B C of American musical comedy. Astaire, Berlin, Crosby. Get it?" It is worth noting that the two main male stars of this movie would later star in a film with a song from this film as the title song. Bing Crosby would star in White Christmas (1954) and Fred Astaire would star in Easter Parade (1948). Both of those films would also be Irving Berlin songfests.  However, when it came to cast the female leads, the studio would have its way. Big name actresses were discussed for these roles (including Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth), but the studio insisted that lesser-known actresses should be used since they were already using Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Marjorie Renyolds had previously been working in B-westerns and when she got this role the Paramount publicity department dubbed her, "Saddle Cinderella."  Virginia Dale was a nightclub dancer who had only appeared in very tiny movie roles. However, both of them were perfect in their roles and I can't see how bigger stars could have improved upon their performances. 

Everything about this movie works beautifully. The musical numbers are all excellent. As mentioned before Irving Berlin has 14 songs used in this movie and there is not one song that misses the mark. Each musical number is also perfectly suited to the performers. Though White Christmas has been recorded by many artists, none ever come close to what Bing Crosby has done with the song. This song is just so perfectly suited to Bing Crosby's voice that no other singer could ever recapture the magic. Fred Astaire shows his magic in the Let's Say it With Firecrackers dance number. Despite the fact that he required 38 takes to get it just right, it comes off as so effortlessly perfect and natural that you can't help but get caught up in the pure charm of the dance. This is just as much pure magic as Bing Crosby singing White Christmas and something that could never be replicated. Both of their talents come together perfectly for Be Careful, It's My Heart. Bing Crosby is singing the song beautiful and doesn't notice Fred Astaire and Marjorie Renyolds doing an incredible dance behind him. This scene is perfectly choreographed but like the rest of this movie seems effortlessly so. The storyline may be mostly an excuse for the musical numbers, but it is fill of a sense of lighthearted fun that I find irresistible.

  

The Film Daily, 1942

The movie was not only a smash hit when released but remains just as delightful today. 

For more Michael's Christmas Movie Guide click here.

Resources Used

Christmas In the Movies by Jeremy Arnold

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78199/holiday-inn/#articles-reviews?articleId=29971

My Top Classic Comfort Movies

Hello my friends, The Classic Movie Blog Association is having a blogathon in which various bloggers are posting their top 5 classic comfort movies. I personally would like to weigh in on my personal comfort movies. Three things first. Since this is about classic movies, I will include nothing after the 1950’s here. Also since cartoons and two reel comedies are such easy go-to films for comfort movies and would take up too much of this list, I will be limiting this list to only feature films. Last since this is my blog and I can do whatever I want I will be making a top ten list instead of a top five. Keep in mind that these are comfort movies. They are not what I consider the best films ever made and how though provoking or how impressive the filmmaking techniques are will have nothing to do with this list. These are simply movies, I watch when I feeling down and want a quick simple lift me up.

10. The Yodeling Kid From Pine Ridge (1937)

This movie is everything you could want from a Gene Autry film and in my opinion is one of his finest works. The story is rather slight but of course all we want from a film like this is fast paced action and good old fashioned country music. This movie gives us both of those in spades. Gene Autry gets to show just why he was known as the singing cowboy, perfectly crooning these old school country songs, and the band The Tennessee Ramblers also delight with their few performances in this movie. Comic relief and singer, Smiley Burnette gets one of his finest roles here as well.

9. My Pal Trigger (1946)

Being a lover of both horses and old B westerns, a Roy Rogers movie where Trigger in in the titular role of course has great appeal to me. It doesn't hurt that this is one of Roy's best films with fast paced action, great songs and more heart than you'd find in any other Roy Rogers movie. This is a treat.

8.  Buck Privates (1941)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Hold That Ghost and The Time of Their Lives are in my opinion Abbott and Costello's finest films, but Buck Privates holds a special place in my heart that those don't. It was the movie that turned me on to classic film comedy. I was a small kid and watching Abbott and Costello perform some of their great routines with such great youthful energy was the funniest thing I had ever seen. If I hadn't fallen in love with this movie perhaps I wouldn't have discovered Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, The Marx Brothers, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Langdon and so many more. The Andrew Sisters' musical numbers also taught me how great music was around before rock and roll. Whenever I watch this film, it brings me back to childhood and discovering my love of classic film comedy.

7. Sherlock Jr. (1924)

If The General is Buster Keaton's best made film, than Sherlock Jr. is his funniest. This barely feature length movie moves at a brisk pace and brings us gag after gag. What is incredible with this break neck pace and never stopping gags is that all of them work. This is the definition of a laugh out loud funny comedy and it has me doing that for its whole length.

6. The Gay Divorcee (1934)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers never fail to brighten my mood. Their art is pure escapism at its finest and all of their movies put a smile on my face. These films exist in a world completely separate from ours. They do for urban life what Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies did for western life. They romanticize it to a point where the films exist in their own reality that all of us wish we could live in and for the length of their movies we do live in it. It is hard to pick for a favorite among these movies, but The Gay Divorcee might be mine.  

5. Duck Soup (1933)

What do you get when you combine one of the great film directors (Leo McCarey) and one of the great comedy teams (The Marx Brothers)? One of the all time classic comedies. If there is a movie I can quote from beginning to end and do so often, it is Duck Soup. The Marx Brothers are at their best here and I laugh through the entire film each time I watch it. This movie will pick me up every time I feel even slightly down.

4. A Chump at Oxford (1944)

There is something initially heartwarming about Laurel and Hardy films. The friendship between these two characters is honestly quite lovely and because of this their movies never need to try for pathos or touching moments because it is already there in the relationship. This movie highlights the friendship between the two and the ending always makes me feel all warm inside. Despite this the rest of the film is completely made of classic slapstick comedy of the highest order. This feature has Stan and Ollie at their funniest and is one of my favorite features from the duo.

3. Dumbo (1941)
This is by far my favorite Disney animated feature film. As a huge cartoon fan I love that this movie is completely and unashamedly a cartoon. This is like a feature length Silly Symphony and I love every second of it. The world is so bright and colorful, the gags and musical numbers are so much fun and the emotional moments are so incredible effective. This is perfect filmmaking (animated or otherwise) at its finest.

2. For Heaven's Sake (1926)
Out of all of the Harold Lloyd films, this is the one I have watched more than any other. Yet I never get tired of it. This to me is one of the finest feature length silent comedies ever made. The jokes come fast and furious and all of them hit home perfectly. This movie has so many perfect silent comedy moments, such as how Harold gets all the drunks into the church building and the fantastic race to the chapel at the end. This is a film that once you see you will never forget. 

1. Show People (1928)

One of my favorite movies and a perfect mixture of comedy and romance. Marion Davies and William Haines receive their best roles in this movie and have perfect chemistry together. King Vidor is one of the all time best movie directors and gets to perfectly show why here. The humor here is absolutely perfect and I laugh out loud often whenever I watch it. Scenes such as Peggy trying to cry as well as her showing her range of acting emotions are as funny as anything done in any of the great silent comedies. As well as one of the all time great romantic comedies this is also a lovely tribute to silent film, not long before the silent era would be over. As a silent movie fan there is so much in this film from the cameos to the view of the classic studios to the excellent tributes to Mack Sennett and Keystone. A movie as delightful and fun as this is something that should be celebrated and no matter how many times I watch this film, I am never going to get tired of it.


-Michael J. Ruhland 

Vintage Advertisements For Easter Parade: Get Your Vitamin MGM

For so many of us film buffs, Easter Parade (1948) is the must watch movie today. The film is as delightful as movie musicals get and I love every second of it. It features Fred Astaire and Judy Garland at the top of their game and it is hard not to wish the duo made more films together after watching it.

Here are some vintage advertisements for the film. Many of these show MGM tooting their own horn as they loved to do. 

Showman's Trade Review, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

The Film Daily, 1948

Showman's Trade Review, 1948

The Film Daily, 1948

Showman's Trade Review. 1948

When MGM's The Three Musketeers (1948) outperformed MGM's own Easter Parade, this just made Leo the Lion toot his own horn even more.

Boxoffice, 1948

Boxoffice, 1948

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Now as a bonus let us sing along to some of the songs from this delightful movie.

Happy Easter my friends.

-Michael J. Ruhland




  

Movie Music Monday: The Shorty George - You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

Welcome to the first Movie Music Monday. Each Monday I will post a video of a song I like being performed in a movie. Today's song is The Shorty George from the movie You Were Never Lovelier (1942). The song is performed by Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth and Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra and written by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Easter Songs From the Movies

With Easter just around the corner, I feel now is a good time to look at some Easter themed songs from classic movies. 

First up is the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. Though Gene is often more associated with his Christmas songs he did have a huge hit having to do with Easter, a fun little tune called Peter Cottontail. This song was written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, who wrote the famous Christmas song Frosty the Snowman. Because of Gene's success with Christmas songs the duo decided that he should be the one to record it. Gene recorded it in 1950 and it hit the number 3 spot on the country music chart. Gene would also sing the song in the feature film, The Hills of Utah (1951) and that is the version you will see here.  Next comes Judy Garland and Fred Astaire performing the classic Irving Berlin song, Easter Parade from the movie Easter Parade (1948). This song dated back to a 1933 Broadway play entitled Thousands Cheer. Before this movie version the song had already been used in at least two movies, Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) and Holiday Inn (1942). Last but not least is Doris Day and Jack Carson performing a tune called Freddie Get Ready. This scene combines live action and animation as our live action stars interact with animated characters, Bugs Bunny and Tweety. While the film's director was Michael Curtiz, this sequence was directed by Friz Freleng. This was appropriate as Friz was one of the most prolific Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. This movie also marked Doris Day's second film. So enjoy the music and have a great Easter. 








-Michael J. Ruhland 

       

Christmas at Old Town Music Hall Starts Tomorrow

Important news for old movies lovers in Southern California. Starting tomorrow the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California begins showing classic Christmas movies. Below are the dates.




November 30, December  1 & 2

Holiday Inn (1942)
Staring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire


Directed by Mark Sandrich


Friday, November 30: 8:15pm.
Saturday, December 1: 2:30 pm & 8:15 pm
Sunday, December 2: 2:30 pm




December 7, 8 & 9


The Bells of St. Mary (1945)

Staring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman


Director: Leo McCarey

Friday December 7: 8:15 pm
Saturday December 8: 2:30 pm and 8:15pm
Sunday December 9: 2:30pm




December 14, 15 & 16

Annual Christmas Festival
Will include Babes in Toyland (1933) with Laurel and Hardy as well as multiple Christmas themed short subjects.

Friday December 14: 8:15 pm
Saturday December 15: 2:30 pm and 8:15pm
Sunday December 16: 2:30pm


Each movie will feature live music on the Wurlitzer Organ, a sing-a-long of classic Christmas songs as well as a short subject. On November 30th, Jeremey Arnold, film historian and author of Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season and The Essentials: 52 Must See Movies and Why They Matter will introduce the film and sign copies of his books. Tickets are $10 and $8 for seniors.


I will be writing on this blog about each showing I attend, so stay tuned for that.

The address is 140 Richman Street, El Segundo California, 90245.

For more information click here.

-Michael J. Ruhland