Glamour of the Gods exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

Photography by Karl StrussGloria Swanson, 1919
Photography by Baron Adolph de MeyerMary Pickford, 1920
Photography by Nikolas MurrayClara Bow, 1925
Photography by George HurrellClark Gable and Joan Crawford, 1933
Photography by George HurrellJean Harlow, 1933
Photography by George HurrellMarlene Dietrich, 1937
Photography by Gene KornmanRita Hayworth, 1939
Photography by Robert CoburnRita

Seven quotes for a Thursday afternoon - Part forty nine

"I advocate glamour.  Every day.  Every minute"
Dita Von Teese(b. 1972)



"Glamour is something you can't bear to be withoutonce you're used to it"
Loretta Young(1913-2000)



"I was not beautiful.  When I went to Hollywood the beauties were people like Joan Crawford, Hedy Lamarr and Loretta Young.  They were incredibly glamorous.  I was always the girl next door"
Ingrid Bergman(1915-1982)

Claudette Colbert Speaks About "It Happened One Night"

"It Happened One Night": Still Entertaining Us Almost 80 Years After Its Initial Release

The second week of my class on Claudette Colbert (Down to Earth Sophisticaion: Claudette Colbert in Hollywood) was fun. Last night we screened Frank Capra's 1934 classic It Happened One Night. It's amazing how well this film holds up in the twenty-first century.

Still Fresh
The performances are natural, the chemistry between stars Colbert and Clark Gable is undeniable. The cinematography by Joseph Walker is nearly perfect. The set-ups, the lighting, all contrbute not only to the look of the movie, but to the narrative as well. Almost 80 years later, we still care about Ellie Andrews (Colbert) and Peter Warne (Clark Gable).

The Not So Simple Things
There are many wonderful things to point out in It Happened One Night that have been highlighted by better writers and film historians. But as someone who loves this movie, I can't help but admire the simple things (that technically aren't that simple).

A Walk to Remember
When Colbert leaves the cabin in the auto court and walks to the outdoor showers, it's a thing of beauty. She weaves in and out of adults, children, and auto court workers on her way. It's timed perfectly and it's all done in one beautiful tracking shot. The fact that this movie was shot in four weeks, makes one appreciate the genius of artists like Capra and Walker all the more.

If you've never seen this film, you're missing out not only on a real piece of film history, but also a great feel-good movie that will stay with you forever.

Every Cinderella Has Her Midnight

Next week it's the Colbert classic Midnight (1939). This great romantic comedy was directed by Michell Leisen and penned by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett.

Take My Class, Please!

There's still time to register for "Down To Earth Sophistication: Claudette Colbert in Hollywood," starting Wednesday July 28 at 7 p.m. Click on here to register online.

Frank Capra, Claudette Colbert, and Clark Gable on the set of It Happened One Night

It's a tie!

Barbara Stanwyck and Katharine Hepburn win movie star poll

Of the six actresses (Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Stanwyck, Hepburn, Carole Lombard, and Claudette Colbert), Stanwyck and Hepburn each received 30% of the vote. Davis received 15%; Lombard and Colbert both received 10%; and Crawford received 5% of the vote.

Oscar champ

Hepburn is the Academy Award champ, winning four competitive Oscars in the Best Actress category. Stanwyck never won a competitive Oscar, but was nominated for Best Actress four times, the last time in 1949 for Sorry Wrong Number. But the role that Stanwyck is most identified with is for her portrayal of the ultimate femme fatale, Phyllis Dietrichson In Double Indemnity.

Davis is "Dangerous"

Bette Davis won two competitive Oscars, and was nominated a total of 11 times for Best Actress (the first was a write-in nomination for Of Human Bondage). The award she won for Dangerous in 1935 was considered by many to be a consolation prize for losing the year before (Of Human Bondage was released in 1934).

Lombard and Colbert one-time neighbors

Before Carole Lombard married Clark Gable, she lived next door to Claudette Colbert. At the time, both were top stars at Paramount studios, often competing for the same roles. Colbert excelled at both comedy and drama, but received her only Best Actress award for It Happened One Night, costarring Lombard's future husband, Gable. Ironically, Lombard was offered the role of Ellen Andrews, wanted, but was committed to making a movie with George Raft. Lombard never won an Academy Award and was only nominated once for her breakout role as Irene Bullock in My Man Godfrey. At the time of her death in 1942, Lombard was the highest paid actress in Hollywood with a bright future ahead of her. It's impossible to know what awards might have come her way had she lived.

Crawford: The movie star's movie star

By all accounts, Joan Crawford loved being a movie star. For years, she answered her own fan mail and autographed her own photographs for distribution, when a lot of other stars allowed others to forge their signatures. A major movie star since the silent picture days, Crawford remained a major force in Hollywood until the early 1960s. She won her only Academy Award for her performance as a self-sacrificing mother in Mildred Pierce, a role that was supposed to go to Barbara Stanwyck. Director, Michael Curtiz didn't want to work with Crawford. Desperate for the role, Crawford agreed to a screen test, which was unheard of for a star of Crawford's caliber, but it won Curtiz over.

Who’s your favorite?
Did the poll overlook your favorite movie actress from the Hollywood's golden age? Who would you have included, voted for?

Wedding Day for Gable and Lombard

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard

Married March 29, 1939

On March 29, 1939,  Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married in Kingman, Arizona.

With the help of Gable's press agent and friend, Otto Winkler, Gable and Lombard managed to elope without the press getting wind of it. Gable had a brief break from the filming of Gone With The Wind so he took full advantage of the opportunity to marry Lombard.

The pair would buy a modest (by Hollywood standards) two-story home from director Raoul Walsh. The press comically dubbed it the house of the two Gables.

From all accounts Gable and Lombard were perfectly matched. Both were at the top of the heap as far as fame and popularity were concerned and their personalities, Gable shy and withdrawn, Lombard outgoing and boisterous, complimented each other. They called each other Ma and Pa and settled into life on their "ranch" until the day of Lombard's tragic death in January 1942.

Is Carole Lombard in love at last?

That was the title of an article that appeared in Liberty magazine in 1936. That was the year the world discovered what most of Hollywood already knew: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were in love.

Lombard and Gable 
The article is an interesting look back in time when the lives of Hollywood's rich and famous were followed and covered by the press as if they were royalty. The titillating, if overly long subtitle, "An Intimate Look at Hollywood's Newest Romance and--Most Discussed Question--Has the Screen's Blonde Venus Captured Clark Gable?" sets the reader up for a juicy read and it doesn't disappoint.

Most photographed movie star
Filled with plenty of 1930s name-dropping to satisfy die-hard movie fans, the article includes some insights into Lombard's previous high-profile romances, including her short marriage to William Powell. It also includes the fact that Gable was still married, although separated from wife Rhea. One interesting fact: Lombard, by 1936, had had her picture taken more than 200,000 times, putting her in such rarefied company with Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert.

For the complete Liberty article, click here.