Gone Too Soon: Robert Francis

Robert Francis' career was on the rise when he was killed at the very young age of 25. Robert Charles Francis was born on February 26th 1930 in Glendale, California. 25 years later on July 31st 1955 in Los Angeles, California, Robert's life would end.



The year of 1955 was a year of both happiness and sadness for Robert Francis. His career was beginning to rise and he was getting some really good roles opposite acting giants such as Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, and Maureen O' Hara. He also had the chance to star in two films titled "They Rode West"(1954) and "The Bamboo Prison"(1954).


During the afternoon of July 31st of 1955, Robert Francis was found dead in a private plane, that he was piloting. Two other passengers were also on the plane and they too died on the plane. What went wrong was, the power went out in midair, and without much time on Robert's hands, he veered the plane away from a church that had people coming out, instead the plane crashed in a vacant parking lot. He risked his own life by veering away from the church that had people in it. If he hadn't veered away, he could have easily killed the people in the church.



If Robert had lived, his career could have gotten bigger and better but sadly his life was cut short and we were unable to see the true talents of Robert Francis. Unlike many actors during the 1950's, Robert's approach to his characters were often of the quiet and reserved type, unlike James Dean and Marlon Brando, who would play quiet characters, they were often very rebellious in their approach.


Robert made just four films during his career in Hollywood, and they were->
"They Rode West"(1954)
"The Caine Mutiny"(1954)
"The Bamboo Prison"(1954)
"The Long Gray Line"(1955)


Rest in Peace Robert Francis


February 26th 1930 - July 31st 1955

A Very Happy Birthday to one of the loveliest actresses- Joan Fontaine

Today is Joan Fontaine's 92nd birthday and in honor of her birthday, I thought it was necessary to do a special birthday picspam for her. So Enjoy and make sure to watch one of her movies today, to celebrate her birthday!!!





Joan and Louis Jourdan in "Letter from an Unknown Woman"


From 1967 with Olivia De Havilland


Off set with Louis Jourdan



Cary Grant and Joan in "Suspicion"


Laurence Olivier and Joan in "Rebecca"

The Forgotten Starlet Series: Betty Field

For the second installment of Forgotten Starlet, I very much wanted to do a post on Betty Field. When Betty Field appeared on the screen, she always stole my attention away from the other actors. Take for instance, when Betty Field played the character 'Mae' in the 1939 classic film "Of Mice and Men"(which was just her 2nd film!), which also starred Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr, Betty nearly stole the entire movie away from everyone else. She was dirty, conniving, just the way the character should have been. You hated her and when things didn't turn out, quite the way the character wanted it to be, you weren't disappointed.




The sad thing was though, Betty was often known for roles like that. In "Blues in the Night"(1941), Betty again plays a dirty and conniving woman, who attempts to get her way but as typical, her way never wins out. Occasionally, Betty was given the chance to play a role that wasn't like the above mentioned characters, such as in "Kings Row"(1942), Betty plays a character that is terrified of what her Father could do to her, so in that you sympathize with her unlike those other films.



With Betty Field, you could get her to play any type of character. She was such a versatile actress but today her name is rather unknown to the public. Betty began her career in Hollywood in 1939 in the film "What a Life" in which she appeared alongside child star Jackie Cooper. Right after making that film, Betty went into "Of Mice and Men"(1939) portraying Mae and the film catapulted her career. She was a known name now and appeared in several hit films such as "Kings Row"(1942) and in a Preston Sturges' film "The Great Moment"(1944) with Joel McCrea as her leading man.


During the 1940's, Betty appeared in more than 11 films including "The Southerner" with Zachary Scott (1945) and in "The Great Gatsby" with Alan Ladd (1949). Her film career was quite short but her performances in each film, was memorable and worth the watch if Betty was in it. Besides her film career, Betty also was on television appearing on such shows as "Robert Montgomery Presents" and "Lux Video Theatre".

Her career in movies basically vanished in the 1950's, with occasional appearances in movies like "Bus Stop"(1956), "Picnic"(1955), and in "Peyton Place"(1957). Betty was seen more and more on television and less on the big screen, but even on the small screen, Betty was simply amazing.


I know that I didn't mention Betty's personal life but I wanted to talk about her career in films and in television beforehand. Betty was born on February 8th 1913 in Boston, Massachusetts and while still a young child, her parents divorced, leaving her with a broken family. Her Mother did remarry and they resided in Newton, Massachusetts, where she grew up.


At a very young age, it seemed that Betty had gotten the acting bug appearing in small bits on Broadway and in summer stock.




Betty was married three times -

-Elmer Rice -> Married from 1942 - 1956(had three children)

-Edwin J.Lukas -> Married from 1957 - 1967

- Raymond Olivere -> Married from 1968 - 1973(They remained together until her death)



On September 13th 1973 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Betty Field 60, died from a cerebral hemorrhage.


Betty didn't have many film credits to her name, but each film that she appeared in, she brought her A game to it. With every film, that I see of hers, I am constantly impressed with just how talented she was and it saddens me, that her career in movies was so short.


Films of Betty's that will be on TCM-
"Of Mice and Men"- October 22nd at 3:30am
"Of Mice and Men"- November 3rd at 12:15am
"Blues in the Night" - November 4th at 3:45am
"Birdman of Alcatraz" - December 22nd at 1:15pm
"Birdman of Alcatraz" - January 21st at 2:15am
"How to Save a Marriage-- And Ruin your Life" - January 22nd at 6pm


Next Up: Claire Trevor

The Forgotten Mavericks Series: Alan Curtis

After I did my first post on Forgotten Starlets, I knew I had to do one on forgotten actors, which I titled "Forgotten Mavericks". I knew immediately who I wanted to write about- Alan Curtis. I first discovered who he was, after I watched him in "High Sierra'' but it was ""Good Girls go to Paris", that really made me pay attention to him. So with no more delaying on this...



Alan Curtis was born on July 24th 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. His birth name was Harry Ueberroth but he would later change it to Alan Curtis.

Standing at 6"2, Alan was at the perfect height to be a male model and that's where his career took him first. While modeling, Alan was discovered by none other than Joan Crawford, who was looking for a man to appear with her and Spencer Tracy in the 1937 film "Mannequin".





Before making his big break in "Mannequin", Alan had appeared in several movies but nothing that got much attention but thanks to Joan Crawford, Alan's career was about to hit it big.



With his success in "Mannequin", Alan's roles became bigger and better and he appeared in such films as "Good Girls go to Paris"(1939), where he starred alongside big shots Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas and also appeared in "Hollywood Calvacade"(1939) with Don Ameche and Alice Faye. With the 1930's ending and the 1940's beginning, Alan's life in the movie world was better than it was ever before.




In 1941, Alan starred alongside Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino in Raoul Walsh's "High Sierra'', in which he appeared as 'Babe', a character who with the help of Humphrey's character Roy Earle, were going to pull off one last heist. As his name got to be more well known, his roles became lead instead of secondary. He would be best known during the 1940's as Philo Vance starting in 1947 with "Philo Vance's Gamble" and also in "Philo Vance's Secret Mission"(1947) and also for the 1944 film "The Phantom Lady" as Scott Henderson.


Not only was Alan successful during the 1940's with his movies, but he was also known as an impeccably dressed man who wooed the women's hearts such as Priscilla Lawson and Ilona Massey, which he was married to both women. Alan was married 5 times during his short life and none of his marriages would last for very long. His last marriage was to Massey, and they were just married for a year.


In 1945, while driving in his English roadster, Alan's car was struck by a milk truck resulting in several broken bones. With his accident pulling him aside from the movies, Alan had a lengthy recover, only making a few appearances on the screen during that time.

While recovering from the accident, Alan typically would get roles that we're secondary and he would appear in more B films such as "See My Lawyer"(1945) and "Inside Job"(1946).




The once brilliant career that Alan had had in the early and mid forties had now faded and now, Alan decided to make some Italian films such as I pirati di Capri(1949).


On February 2nd 1953, Alan had checked into St.Clare's Hospital for kidney surgery but things became complicated. While recovering from the surgery, Alan's heart stopped and doctors immediately cut into his chest to massage his heart back to life. They were able to bring him back but sadly he died a week later. From the moment, his heart stopped and when they began t0 massage his heart, he was technically dead for four minutes. Alan was just 43 years old when he died from complications from surgery.


Movies of Alan's that will be on TCM-
"High Sierra"- October 18th at 6:15pm
"High Sierra"- December 9th at 1:30am
"Buck Privates"- January 29th at 10:15pm


Thanks to an actress named Joan Crawford who discovered Alan Curtis, we were able to see his real potential in the movie world. The question always comes up, when an actor or actress dies too young, the question is always What if? What if Alan didn't crash his car, what if things went completely different for him. Would he have been remembered today? Or what if he didn't die from complications from surgery? It's a thought, that always carries a person when there life is cut so short. Next up is Patric Knowles

Ageless:Joel McCrea

I wanted to post this a few days ago, but I was both sidetracked and things were so hectic, that I just never got around to doing it. I'm sorry for that but today, I've got it posted.


Even if I had randomly chosen out of the comments, it would have been the same person- Joel McCrea. Nearly every one, who had posted comments wanted to see Joel, next as a candidate on Ageless, so now I shall give you some pictures of him, from his early days in Hollywood to his latter days. Joel McCrea was born on November 5th 1905 in South Pasadena, California and died 84 years later on October 20th 1990 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Joel's career spanned from 1927 in the film "The Fair Co-ed" as a student and ended his career in 1976 in the film "Mustang Country", after 49 years in the movie business. With Joel, the older he got, the more rugged and masculine he appeared.

For some reason, I had a very difficult time, trying to find pictures of Joel after 1962, so I'm giving you him from the early 1930's to the 1960's. I hope that you'll enjoy it, anyway even though I didn't deliver the best. ;)

Around 1924-1930





"Bird of Paradise"(1932) with Dolores Del Rio



"Barbary Coast"(1935)


Best Films of his from the 1930's-
"Bird of Paradise"(1932)
"The Most Dangerous Game"(1932)
"The Silver Cord"(1933)
"These Three"(1936)
"Come and Get It"(1936)
"Dead End"(1937)
"Union Pacific"(1939)




At a dinner in 1938 with Lili Damita




"Sullivan's Travels"(1941)


Best Films of his from the 1940's-
"Primrose Path"(1940)
"Foreign Correspondent"(1940)
"Sullivan's Travel"(1941)
"The Palm Beach Story"(1942)
"The More the Merrier"(1943)




From the film "The Virginian"(1946)



With his son Jody in 1955. Jody would became famous on his own, appearing in several beach films with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in the 1960's.


Best Films of his from the 1950's-
"Stars in My Crown"(1950)
"Fort Massacre"(1958)
"The Gunfight at Dodge City"(1959)


From 1959 to 1960, Joel and his son Jody appeared together on a television show called "Wichita Town". The show ran for 26 episodes.





At Cecil B. DeMille's funeral- 1959



From the film "Ride the High Country"(1962)


Best Films of his from the 1960's-
"Ride the High Country"(1962)



We've now had two rounds of men, so for the next installment of Ageless, it'll be a woman. The choices are-

*Myrna Loy
*Ava Gardner
* Sophia Loren
*Audrey Hepburn


The next installment of Ageless will be next Wednesday, so be sure to vote on who you would like to see next.

Tomorrow, I will be posting my new series "Forgotten Mavericks of Hollywood", where I'll showcase an actor that isn't often remembered today and putting some attention onto them. I'm also going to put up the next installment up of "Forgotten Starlets of Hollywood" on Friday with Betty Field. And finally, I will be posting my next installment of "Gone too Soon" on either Saturday or Sunday. More blog posts to be coming within a couple of days, so stay tuned!

Happy 21st Birthday Casey!!!

(If you want to view the picture larger, just click on it)

I couldn't decide which one to use, so I decided to put both of them up. Casey, I hope you have a wonderfully amazing birthday today! Happy Birthday!!!!

Classic Cinema Survey

Over at A Noodle in A Haystack, Amanda created a very cool survey in honor of her 50th blog post, so I thought I would join in on the fun.

1. What is your all-time favorite Clark Gable movie?



No Doubt about it, my favorite is "It Happened One Night"(1934)


2. Do you like Joan Crawford best as a comedienne or a drama-queen?



I think she did equally well in both comedy and drama but I prefer to see her as a drama queen. She was excellent in her 1930's dramas!


3. In your opinion, should Ginger Rogers have made more musicals post-Fred Astaire?



I think Ginger made the wise decision in staying clear of musicals(minus a few) in the 1940's and 50's and instead veering towards comedies and dramas. Personally I don't think I would have liked to have seen more of her in musicals during that period.


4. I promise not to cause you bodily (or any other serious) harm if you don't agree with me on this one. So please be honest: do you like Elizabeth Taylor? Hm?


I'm a bit backwards from everyone else, when I first found out who she was and I saw her in a few movies, I didn't like her at all. Now that I'm out of that phase, I'd say I like her but she isn't a favorite of mine.




5. Who is your favorite offscreen Hollywood couple?




I want to be different from everyone else, so I'm going to say Don Ameche and Honore Prendergast. They were so committed to one another and remained married until her death in 1986. They married in 1932 and had six children. They were such a lovely and adorable couple! Of course, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward(married for 50 years!), Karl Malden and Mona Greenberg(married for 70 years!!) would be my other favorite couples.


6. How about onscreen Hollywood couple?


This isn't a hard question to answer at all! Jeffrey Lynn and Priscilla Lane :D



7. Favorite Jean Arthur movie?


Jean was an excellent comedienne and actress and this is kind of difficult to choose but I would say my favorite is "The More the Merrier"(1943).



8. What was the first Gregory Peck movie you saw?
I'm pretty sure it was "Roman Holiday"(1953).





9. What film made you fall in love with Alfred Hitchcock? (And for those of you that say, "I don't like Hitchcock" -- what is wrong with you?!)
I believe it was "Psycho"(1960) and I remember after watching it, I was urging my Mom and younger brothers that they needed to watch it! I absolutely was in love with Hitchcock from there on.



10. What is your favorite book-to-movie adaption?



My two absolute favorites would have to be "Anna Karenina"(1935) and "Madame Bovary"(1949).



11. Do you prefer Shirley Temple as a little girl or as a teenager?
As a little girl, she was so darn adorable in "Heidi"(1937).



12. Favorite character actor?

Ohh this is a toughie! If I really went out there and chose my favorite character actors, it would take me all day to finish this, so I'll only list two. Spring Byington and Charles Coburn but if I had all day, it would be much more than just those two! Lol.




13. Favorite Barbara Stanwyck role?

She's in my favorite movie and she is absolute genius in it as well, in "The Lady Eve"(1941) as Eugenia 'Jean' Harrington.




14. Who is your favorite of Cary Grant's leading ladies?

Katharine Hepburn- Cary and Kate were magic together when they were in a movie together. :)




15. Bette Davis or Joan Crawford?

Bette Davis!





16. What actors and/or actresses do you think are underrated?
Another question, I could spend all day answering. I'm one of those people who loves the underrated actors and actresses, sometimes more so than A-listed actors. I'm really really going to narrow it down, with Jeffrey Lynn and Ida Lupino. Of course, you knew I had to include Jeffrey! Lol.



17. What actors and/or actresses do you think are overrated? I hope no tomatoes will be thrown at me for this but I'm going to say John Garfield. I'll give him credit, where credit is due for his performance in "Four Daughters"(1938) as Mickey Borden but basically after that his roles weren't very different from one another. The critics gave him way too much credit. I do think he was a good actor but I feel he's not as great as people claim him to be.



18. Do you watch movies made pre-1980 exclusively, or do you spice up your viewing-fare with newer films? Occasionally, I'll watch movies post 1965 but more often I'll stick with old movies.



19. Is there an actor/actress who you have seen in a film and immediately loved? If so, who? Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in "Gunga Din"(1939) and Joan Fontaine in "Rebecca"(1940).



20. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire?

Gene Kelly!





21. Favorite Ginger Rogers drama?

My favorite Ginger Rogers drama is "Kitty Foyle"(1940). When I first saw this, I absolutely detested it but I recently saw a couple of months ago and saw a new light in it. Now it's a favorite of mine!




22. If you wrote a screenplay, who would be in your dream cast and what roles would they play? (Mixing actors and actresses from different generations is allowed: any person from any point in their career.)


I would have Helen Burgess, Philip Reed, Jeffrey Lynn, and Ida Lupino in a film together. Ida Lupino plays the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who gets involved with Philip Reed, who's head is in too deep. Jeffrey Lynn plays Philip's friend and tries to pull him out of the mess but has Ida Lupino pulling him into the trouble too. Helen Burgess is Jeffrey Lynn's girlfriend and tries to help him but she soon falls for Philip and her heart is crossed between the two men. The film would be distributed by Warner Bros and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film would have been released in 1939(and Helen would have been alive!)


23. Favorite actress?

Myrna Loy




24. Favorite Actor?

Not a huge surprise here- Jeffrey Lynn



25. And now, the last question. What is your favorite movie from each of these genres:

Drama: "Four Daughters"(1938)

Romance: "Love with the Proper Stranger"(1963)

Musical: "Singin in the Rain"(1952)

Comedy: "The Lady Eve"(1941)

Western: "The Searchers"(1956)

Hitchcock (he has a genre all to himself): "Rebecca"(1940)