Darwin Porter – Believe him or not? PT 3

October 28, 2017 Alan Royle 4

The third and final segment regarding ‘Katharine the Great’, the controversial Darwin Porter biography of Katherine Hepburn. Eleanor Roosevelt *Eleanor Roosevelt had a heavy crush on Kate although it was not reciprocated. In the early 1940s the First Lady wrote her many passionate letters, but it was a one-way love […]

The many loves of Lana Turner.

August 1, 2017 Alan Royle 5

  LANA TURNER (1921-95)   1936:   Wayne Morris, who would become a fighter pilot hero in World War Two, was Lana’s first Hollywood crush.   1937:   Ronald Reagan was her first studio-arranged romance, although it is generally believed that their relationship did not go beyond a few horse-riding outings. However, […]

Did you know?

February 2, 2017 Alan Royle 0

  One wonders how many young movie fans of today have any idea why the intersection of Orange Drive and Hollywood Boulevard, just across from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, is now named ‘Carmen Miranda Square’. How many have even heard of her? Back in 1945 on ‘V-J Day’, at that very […]

Did you know?

December 6, 2016 Alan Royle 0

  RUBY KEELER I recently watched 42nd Street (1933) in its entirety, having only seen excerpts until then. The acting was very ordinary, the sound quality (as expected) was inferior, and the highlighted singers were mostly awful. And that includes Ruby Keeler. In fact, she not only couldn’t sing, she […]

‘The Seven Year Itch’ (1955) – not a good movie.

August 20, 2016 Alan Royle 2

  Some movies seem to take on a life of their own. Suddenly and often inexplicably, they are lauded as masterpieces, works of art, living statements of the times. Easy Rider (1969) is one such film. I have always thought it was an over-rated ‘nothing’ picture, inhabited by two ‘druggies’ […]

Gay Hollywood in the studio days.

December 16, 2015 admin 2

  I read recently that ‘gay-gossip is the newest and most clever form of homophobia’. Nice try, but I’m not buying it.  I am neither homosexual nor homophobic, but I am interested in subterfuge and in exposing old-time movie studios that made an art form out of gulling the public. […]

Did you know? Items of interest Part 2.

August 16, 2015 admin 9

  Mimi Rogers Until 1990 Tom Cruise was a Catholic. In fact, at 18 years of age he studied to become a priest, but changed his mind after one year. His first wife, actress Mimi Rogers, convinced him to renounce Catholicism and embrace the Church of Scientology. In 2003, he […]

SPENCER TRACY – A nightmare of a man.

August 6, 2015 admin 41

  As an actor Spencer Tracy had few peers and cinema-goers adored him. Off screen he was a very ordinary human being, a man beset with all kinds of problems. He was a violent alcoholic his entire life and a rampant womanizer who had almost as many conquests to his […]