LOUELLA PARSONS – A law unto herself.

July 24, 2015 admin 7

  When the studio system was at its peak in the thirties and forties, a ‘Gossip Columnist’ could wreck a career with just a couple of acid-laced lines. They did not even need to be true. Louella Parsons, the Hollywood mouthpiece for the Hearst empire of newspapers, became a most […]

Conspiracy or Cock-up?

April 21, 2015 admin 4

When asked for their opinion on why, for instance, America got caught with its pants down at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, historians tend to fall into one of two camps – conspiracy or cock-up. One school will argue that the US allowed the Japanese to attack, even pushed […]

The best female voices in movies?

March 30, 2015 admin 2

Finding ten great male voices in the movies was easy. In fact, I found many more than that and was forced to eliminate. Not so with the females, however. I discovered several truly pleasant voices and several distinctly unique ones. Sadly, most of the unique ones were quite irksome, so […]

Marilyn Monroe – who murdered her?

March 15, 2015 admin 2

  Ever since that day, August 5, 1962, speculation has raged over whether or not Marilyn Monroe committed suicide, accidentally overdosed, or was murdered. Such prolonged speculation merely demonstrates how few people bother to analyse events for themselves, and how many people are only too willing to accept whatever official […]

Marilyn Monroe – a gorgeous tramp?

February 24, 2015 admin 7

    Marilyn Monroe in the unfinished Something’s Got to Give ( 1962) Marilyn Monroe’s first appearance in a movie was in the 1948 picture Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!  She uttered just two words, ‘Hi, Rad’, as she walked down some church steps behind eight year-old Natalie Wood. Two years earlier she […]

THE MARX BROTHERS – Likeable scallywags.

February 19, 2015 admin 5

  Harpo Marx (1888 – 1964) Chico Marx (1887 – 1961) Groucho Marx (1890 – 1977) Individually they were very funny. Collectively they were even funnier, whether on stage, on the screen, or in real life. When MGM summoned them to Hollywood to discuss a movie contract, the brothers tired […]