Well, I Saw Them All......Almost

Last summer, I wrote a piece on 13 classic movies I'd never seen, but wanted to. After watching about a third of the films listed, I wrote an update on the list, giving my opinion on my first viewing of these films. After several months of searching and watching, this blogger is happy to say that he has successfully watched all but two of the original 13 movies with one of the remaining two in my possession, waiting to be watched. Alas, one film continues to elude me. Hotel for Women (1939). Neither hide nor hair have I seen of this movie my many years on this planet. However, of the rest I wish to offer my take, humble as it may be.

The first four films were covered in the first update. If you haven't read that post, you can catch it here. For some of the movies listed I have written full blown posts and their links are listed below. Here goes.

Citizen Kane (1941) When I let it be known that this screen classic had eluded me the response was overwhelming. So I bit the bullet, snagged a copy and proceeded to watch.

Read Full Article

Meet John Doe (1941) I've always enjoyed both Cooper and Stanwyck and Capra's no slouch either. Put them all together and you've got a winning film. Read Full Article

Trade Winds (1938) More than lived up to my expectations, not one of the greatest films ever made, but fluffy entertainment and it indeed entertained. Read Full Article

House Across the Bay (1940) George Raft, Joan Bennett, Walter Pidgeon. A standard yarn of glamorous Bennett waiting for imprisoned Raft, who is in Alcatraz. Pidgeon comes along and, well, you get the picture.

Initial appeal for me: Joan Bennett! One of my favorite female stars of the silver screen, so any opportunity to see her in an obscure film (which this is) is a welcome one.

My opinion: Not the first candidate to win the Oscar for Best Picture for sure, but more than held my interest, especially since it had three good stars leading the cast.

They Won't Forget (1937) Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Lana Turner. Based on a novel called Murder in the Deep South, They Won't Forget is the tale of the murder of a young girl in a small southern town and the susequent trial of her accused attacker.

Initial appeal for me: Always a fan of the great Claude Rains, everything I'd read about this film was positive. Also it was an interesting novelty as the first substantial role for future superstar Lana Turner, as the murdered girl.

My opinion: Powerful drama, with Rains first rate as usual and as expected. Turner's not bad either, Southern accent and all.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene. Although several film versions of the infamous sleuth Sherlock Holmes were made both before and after this 1939 classic, Rathbone's Holmes is by far the definitive one. This was the first Rathbone/Bruce pairing in the roles of Holmes and his trusty companion Dr. Watson, and spurred an entire series based on the characters.

Initial appeal for me: I've always been a fan of the series but had never been able to see this first film until recently. Holmes will always be the best Holmes in my opinion and 20th Century-Fox gave this the full A picture treatment.

My opinion: Wonderful film with great atmosphere and superb performances from all involved, particularly Basil Rathbone. A follow-up, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was produced later the same year!

The Sign of the Cross (1932) Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton. Cecil B. DeMille's epic tale of Rome in the time of the Emperor Nero. A pre-Code spectacle as only DeMille could pull off.

Initial appeal for me: What's not to be intrigued about? Christians being eaten by lions, lesbian dances, baths in asses milk (yes, Miss Colbert is bathing in a gigantic pool of asses milk), orgies, lust, all set to a pace by master showman Cecil.

My opinion: It was quite a show for the eyes, but a little disappointing in script and performance. High camp at times, particularly Charles Laughton as Nero, I'm not sorry I watched The Sign of the Cross, but I expected more.

The final film, aside from Hotel for Women is All Through the Night (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart. I have Night and plan to catch it soon. So there you have it. Pretty good work after six months or so, to collect and watch several movies that I haven't had a chance to see over the years. As stated in the earlier, original post, these aren't the only films I haven't seen that intrigued me just a good example. In the future, I think I'll share a few films that I haven't seen that might surprise you.

Lana Turner, Birth of a Starlet, Part 1

Lana Turner became one of the most glamorous, most talked about, most married and most courted stars ever to hit Hollywood. The killing of her then boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato in 1958, by her daughter was one of the most sensational stories of the entire decade. It was the kind of story that fit perfectly into Lana Turner's very colorful and eventful life. Her persona was one of smouldering sex appeal, both on screen and off. But the life and career that exuded so much glamour and fame began quite differently.

It is Hollywood legend how Lana Turner was "discovered" by a talent scout inside Schwab's drugstore in Hollywood in the mid 1930's. As a matter of fact, Schwab's would become synonymous with Turner as a result of the famed fable. Although the legend is similar to the real events that led to Lana Turner's discovery, it was not Schwab's, but the Top Hat Cafe where the future star was sitting that fateful day.

Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner was born in Wallace, Idaho on February 8, 1921 (although many sources say 1920, Turner in her autobiography claims this is a mistake and she was actually born a year later). Her father was a gambler and sometimes bootlegger. Her mother, practically a child bride. The family moved to San Francisco when little Judy, as she was called, was still very young. In 1930, when she was nine, her father was murdered and robbed after winning big in a crap game. Her mother, Mildred, unable to give her daughter full time care, put her with several foster families. Mildred found work as a hairdresser and she and Judy eventually moved back in together. When Judy was fifteen, mother and daughter moved south to Los Angeles. There the already developed teenager enrolled at Hollywood High School, which was located across the street from the Top Hat Cafe and that was where fate smiled on young Judy Turner.

Cutting a typing class at Hollywood High, the precocious teen was sipping a Coke at the Top Hat soda fountain when she was spotted by Billy Wilkerson, publisher of the Hollywood Reporter, who noted her pretty face and shapely figure. He referred her to comedian cum agent Zeppo Marx (the fourth Marx Brother), which in turn led to a meeting with director Mervyn LeRoy. LeRoy signed Turner to a personal contract and placed his new protege in his upcoming film They Won't Forget (1937). at Warner Brothers. She had the small but pivotal role of Mary Clay, the young victim, who sashays down the street of a small southern town in a tight sweater which showcases her natural endowments. The role earned her the moniker of "The Sweater Girl", a title she kept well into the war years. She and LeRoy decided to change her name to the more glamorous Lana and the legend was born. She was loaned out to Samuel Goldwyn to play an Oriental handmaiden in the epic The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938), starring Gary Cooper. The role required that the starlet's eyebrows be shaved and a higher arch be drawn in by the makeup department. They never grew back and she would have to draw them in for the rest of her life.

When her mentor, LeRoy, moved from Warners to Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Turner followed, signing a contract with the top rate studio in early 1938 for $100 per week. Still a teenager, she joined fellow contract juveniles Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in Metro's famed Little Red School House where they were tutored on the set. Early on she was given the glamour build up, despite her young age. Even among her contemporaries in her first film at MGM, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), it is Lana who is given the role of the glamorous teen aged vamp. Under LeRoy's tutelage she thrived at her new studio. She also thrived socially. Besides Rooney and Garland, her circle included young MGM hopefuls Robert Stack and Ann Rutherford. It also included handsome young men aplenty. Columnist began calling her the "Nightclub Queen". Out late and up early on the set, the underage starlet was burning the candle at both ends. It got to the point that a concerned Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, called a meeting with Turner and her mother. The meeting climaxed with Mayer shouting, "The only thing you're interested in is....", as he pointed to his crotch.

The whirlwind of men and nightlife would finally culminate in the first of her seven marriages and numerous affairs. On February 8, 1940, her nineteenth birthday, she and bandleader Artie Shaw eloped on their first date. They would divorce four months later.