(MOVIE TRIVIA AND STORIES OLD AND NEW)
One thing there is no shortage of in Hollywood, (or in the movies in general), is information about the making of the films and of the people who appear in them. This section of our site will be devoted to snippets of interesting items pertaining to the cinema and all those people who contribute to the production of the entertainment we see on our screens. Enjoy.
Try as I might, I find it extremely difficult to seriously dislike Marlene Dietrich. She was a hedonist, cheerfully bisexual, afraid of nothing and no-one, and she called a spade a spade. Almost without exception, she was friendly with her colleagues, heads of state, great writers and other famous […]
Peggy Lee was not only an extraordinary singer, she also had the makings of a fine dramatic actress as evidenced by her Oscar nomination for Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955). She later complained […]
A new batch of WAMPAS Baby Stars were named in 1929. Two went on to be big stars, three others enjoyed a modicum of fame and the remaining eight faded into oblivion. The 1929 group (top L to R): Loretta Young, Josephine Dunn, Jean Arthur, Doris Hill, Anita Page, (centre L to […]
It did not take Hollywood long to start altering World War Two history. Shooting began on Wake Island (1942) even before the battle for the island had ended. In all there were 449 military personnel on this tiny speck in the Pacific (plus 1221 civilian workers). By […]
It has been kindly brought to my attention that a piece of information I included in one of my books, concerning the disappearance of British actor Leslie Howard, was in error. Mr. Howard was aboard a civilian aircraft that was shot down by German Junkers over the Bay of […]
On February 14, I posted the first part of this article, featuring a selection of non-Native Americans who have portrayed Amerindians in movies over the past 100 years or so. It was not a comprehensive list. In part two the focus shifts to the genuine Native Americans who now […]
Until around about the eighties very few actual Native Americans were employed playing Indians in Hollywood movies. Thankfully, since then that has changed and there are numerous Native American actors making healthy livings in westerns and other genres. Over the next few days I shall examine some of those […]
Bette Davis was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in 1908. Fortunately, she did not hear her mother’s first words on her arrival: ‘Take it away! It’s horrible!’ she screamed. As a child little Ruth was a handful, cantankerous and precocious. She and her mentally unbalanced sister were raised by their […]
Christopher Reeve (1952 – 2004) The 6’4” Christopher Reeve won out over thousands of others for the lead in Superman (1978). Because he was decidedly slim he had to gain 30lbs in weight to portray the ‘Man of Steel’, a process that saw him spend hours each day in […]
LINA BASQUETTE (1907 – 1994) Californian Lina Basquette was born Lena Baskette. Obviously, someone thought the French spelling gave her something that the American spelling didn’t. Her screen career comprised just 48 credits, many of them when she was a child actress signed by Universal during the First […]
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