Conway Tearle - A Merry Hamlet

 Conway Tearle is one of the many actors of Hollywood's golden age who had a massive career, yet whose name is well forgotten today even by many cinephiles. Yet during the silent era and the early talkie era, he had quite a career. It is believed that he appeared in 96 films and was once considered the highest paid movie actor. His movie career began with The Nightingale (1914) starring Ethel Barrymore (also in her film debut) and ended with Romeo and Juliet (1936) starring Leslie Howard, Norma Shearer and John Barrymore. In between this he appeared in such movies as Stella Maris (1918) (starring Mary Pickford), Atonement (1919), Lilies of the Field (1924), The Great Divide (1925), Dancing Mothers (1926) (featuring Clara Bow's screen debut), Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929),  Vanity Fair (1932), Stingaree (1934), Klondike Annie (1936) (starring Mae West) and The Preview Murder Mystery (1936). 

Like many film actors of the era, Tearle also starred in many plays. Here is a list of just some Broadway productions he was in. 

Abigail (Feb 21, 1905 - Apr 1905)

A Marriage of Reason (Apr 01, 1907 - Apr 1907)

The Smoldering Flame (Sep 23, 1913 - Sep 1913)

The Fugitive (Mar 19, 1917 - May 1917)

The Mad Dog (Nov 08, 1921 - Nov 1921)

Dinner at Eight (Oct 22, 1932 - May 1933)

Living Dangerously (Jan 12, 1935 - Jan 19, 1935)

Antony and Cleopatra (Nov 10, 1937 - Nov 13, 1937)

Here is an article from a 1918 issue of Photoplay magazine about Conway Tearle. If you have any trouble reading these pages, click on them and you your touch screen to zoom in. If you don't have a touch screen, click here.

Now enjoy a feature length movie featuring Conway Tearle, Sing Sing Nights (1934). 

Resources Used

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/conway-tearle-61984

https://www.nytimes.com/1938/10/02/archives/conway-tearle-60-dies-on-the-coast-stage-and-screen-actor-is-the.html

Classic Cartoons and Silent Movies on Blu-Ray

 Call me old fashioned but I am still a fan of physical media. I do stream films sometimes, but to me nothing is better than physically owning a film you love. Another aspect of physical media that I love is that it offers me a wider variety of choices than streaming those. Streaming is perfect for if I want to watch a big budget blockbuster or a well-established classic. However, it is less helpful, if I want to watch an obscure silent movie, some old B-Western, a lesser appreciated work by a great old Hollywood filmmakers or old short subjects. When painstaking work goes into restoring classic films though, this is when I am most adamant about buying physical media, as it helps support the people whose hard work has made me able to watch these films in great condition. With this in mind I would like to highlight three recent Blu-Ray sets, that I think are essential to own. One of these contains silent movies, while the other two are collections of classic cartoons. 

Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Vol.1

I am sure most people reading this post have already heard of this Blu-Ray set and have heard nothing but praise for it. I must join in by agreeing with every word of this praise. This set is a must own for any Looney Tunes fan. It contains 50 cartoons including many truly wonderful shorts (and Good Night Elmer (1940)). Many of these shorts include films that somehow have never been on Blu-Ray or DVD before. These include such masterpieces as Wild About Hurry (1959), Of Fox and Hounds (1940), The Dixie Fryer (1960) and Let it Be Me (1936). Also included is a personal favorite cartoon of mine (though probably no one else), Beauty and the Beast (1934), also making its debut on Blu-Ray (it hasn't appeared on DVD either). This short was made before the Warner cartoons found their own identities and most of the cartoons were imitations of Disney. While few of these imitations reached the heights of Disney, this film has a great charm to me through its great use of color and its catchy title song. It also wonderful to see new restorations of such cartoons as Bars and Stripes Forever (1939) and A Day at the Zoo (1939). Both of those films, I have become very used to seeing in very faded and worn prints. While neither of them is among my favorite Warner Brothers shorts, I still greatly enjoyed seeing them look this good. Also included in this set are such beloved cartoons as Ain't She Tweet (1952) (probably my all-time favorite Tweety cartoon), Daffy Duck and Egghead (1938), Hare Triggered (1945), Porky's Duck Hunt (1937) and Rabbit Punch (1948). This is a must have for any Looney Tunes fan. 

Clara Bow Double Feature: "Kid Boots" and "Get Your Man"

Known as the "It Girl," Clara Bow was one of the most popular actresses of the 1920's. Watching her movies today it is easy to see why. She is still just as charming and captivating to a modern audience as she was to movie fans of her time (if you ever get to see her movies with an audience this quickly becomes abundantly clear. She has the ability to make a good movie great and a weaker movie better. Her talents are fully on display in this new Blu-Ray from the Film Preservation Society. This Blu-Ray set includes two of her silent movies, both of which show her at the top of her game. The set starts with a new restoration of Kid Boots (1926). This is a delightful and incredibly funny comedy in which she co-stars with Eddie Cantor (in his first movie role). The new restoration is simply incredible, and this is the best this movie has probably looked since 1926. It is restorations like this that make you truly appreciate the hard work of those behind it. Get Your Man (1927) might not be as incredible of a restoration, but it is a really fun romantic comedy. Also included in this set is a very well made D.W. Griffith Biograph short, Decree of Destiny (1911), which stars Mary Pickford. 

Tom and Jerry: The Complete Cinemascope Collection

In the 1950's, the MGM cartoons went into the wide screen Cinemascope format with movie audiences now able to see Tom and Jerry (and others) in adventures with much wider and larger pictures. Sadly, when most of these theatrically released cartoons made it to TV, the picture was cropped to where cartoon fans were not able to see the whole picture. Even more sadly, those are still the versions that are shown on TV today, even on otherwise great cartoon channels. Many of us have grown up with these films in this horrendous format. As such being able to own all the Tom and Jerry Cinemascope shorts in the correct format is true treat for cartoon fans everywhere. Seeing these films in their correct format, you can see how visually pleasing many of these cartoons truly are in a way you can't on the cropped versions. Also included in this set are the two Spike and Tyke spin-off theatrical cartoons and Good Will to Men (1955). The latter is directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and is a remake of the Hugh Harmon directed short, Peace on Earth (1939).    

Silent Films on TCM for June 2024

 Hello my friends. Since I know many of you like me love both TCM and silent movies, here is a listing of the silent films that will be on TCM for June, 2024.

Sunday June 2nd

The Cossacks (1928) Director: George Hill. Starring John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. 9pm Pacific. 12am Eastern.

Friday, June 7th

Sherlock Jr. (1924) Director: Buster Keaton. Starring Buster Keaton and Kathryn Mcguire. 6am Pacific. 9am Eastern

City Lights (1931) Director: Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin and Virigina Cherrill. 7am Pacific 10am Eastern. 

Sunday, June 9th 

Our Modern Maidens (1929) Director: Jack Conway. Starring Joan Crawford and Rod La Rocque. 9pm Pacific. 12am Eastern. 

Wednesday June 11th

It (1927) Director: Clarence Badger. Starring Clara Bow and Antiono Moreno. 5pm Pacific. 8pm Eastern.

Thursday June 13th

Speedy (1928) Director: Ted Wilde. Starring Harold Lloyd and Ann Christe. 10am Pacific. 1pm Eastern. 

Sunday, June 16th

Wolf Lowry (1917) Director: William S. Hart. Starring William S. Hart and Margery Wilson. 9pm Pacific. 12am Eastern.

Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915) Director: William S. Hart. Starring William S. Hart and Bob Kortman. 10pm Pacific. 1am Eastern.

Sunday, June 23rd

The Red Lilly (1924) Director: Fred Niblo. Starring Enid Bennett and Ramon Novarro. 10:30pm Pacific. 1:30am Eastern. 

Sunday, June 30th

Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913) Director: Alice Guy-Blaché. Starring Fraunie Fraunholz and Marian Swayne. 9:15pm Pacific. 12:15am Eastern. 

The Crowd (1928) Director: King Vidor. Starring James Murray and Eleanor Boardman. 9:30pm Pacific. 12:30am Eastern. 

Merry Christmas From Hollywood

 

New Movie Magazine, 1930

A Letter to and a Reply From Clara Bow

 The following are two articles from Modern Screen magazine. The first was written as an open letter to Clara Bow in a 1930 issue of Modern Screen and the second is a reply from Clara herself in a 1931 issue. If you have any trouble reading these pages click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in.