Back to Golden Days

The Golden Age of Hollywood was all about the glitz and glamour. Movie stars were fashion icons, western heroes, brooding outsiders, average Joes, and femme fatales. Some had careers that spanned decades, others were short-lived in their success, and most of them were no strangers to scandal. In such crazy times as these, there are bound to exist some wild facts about the stars and films that made Old Hollywood legendary. I've rounded up 10 of them. In all honesty, they're not really «wild» facts; they're more like random, useless tidbits. 1. When Clark Gable appeared without an undershirt in It Happened One Night (1934), women across the nation stopped buying the garment for their husbands. This caused a depression in undershirts in the United States in the 1930s. In 1957, Gable said, «I didn't know what I was doing to the undershirt people. That was just the way I lived. I hadn't worn an undershirt since I'd started school. They made me feel hemmed in and...

This week on «Film Friday» I bring you the first (and so far only) silent film I ever saw. It is highly implausible and overly melodramatic, but (surprisingly enough) I loved it. Directed by Clarence Brown, A Woman of Affairs (1928) tells the story of Diana Merrick (Greta Garbo), a young British aristocrat in love with Neville Holderness (John Gilbert), to whom she pledged herself when their were children. However, heir plans to marry are thwarted by Neville's father, Sir Morton (Hobart Bosworth), who disapproves of the Merrick family's lifestyle. Hoping to force his son to forget Diana, Sir Morton sends Neville on a business trip to Egypt. After waiting in vain for two years for Neville's return, Diana marries David Furness (John Mack Brown), who is also in love with her, and whom her alcoholic brother, Jeffry (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) worships. During their honeymoon in Paris, they receive a visit from police detectives, which ends with David committing suicide without e...

In honor of Greta Garbo's 110th birthday, whi ch is today, this week on "Film Friday" I bring you one of her most iconic films, one which is considered by many critics and film historians to be the finest performance of her short but stellar career. Original release poster Directed by George Cukor, Camille (1936) tells the story of Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo), a beautiful 19th century Parisian courtesan leading an avaracious life of frivolity and self-indulgence. Marguerite's bawdy neighbor, Prudence Duvernoy (Laura Hope Crews), suggests she find a rich man to take care of her extravagances and arranges for her to meet the wealthy, middle-aged Baron de Varville (Henry Daniell) one evening at the theater. During an intermission, Prudence points out the Baron to Marguerite, but she mistakes him for the handsome, much-younger Armand Duval (Robert Taylor), who has worshipped her from afar for over a year and a half. He makes his way to her box and she's...