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In the early 20th century, the rise of Germany and the decline of the Ottoman Empire disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, at the same time that unresolved territorial disputes and shifting alliances created rivalries and an arms race between the great powers. Growing tensions reached a breaking point on June 28, 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by an young Bosnian Serb revolutionary, who intended to free Bosnia and Herzegovina from Austro-Hungarian rule. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, as the assassination team was helped by a Serbian secret nationalist group, and declared war in the following month. Russia immediately mobilised its troops in Serbia's defense, prompting Germany, who had an alliance with Austria-Hungary, to declare war on both Russia and its ally, France. The United Kingdom subsequently marched against Germany, leading to a widespread conflict.   Although the United States was a major s...

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...

To celebrate Gary Cooper's 115th birthday, which is tomorrow, this week on «Film Friday» I have decided to write about the movie that gave him his first important screen role. This is also one of the few silent films I have seen so far.   Directed by Henry King, The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) begins with a woman (Vilma Bánky) burying her husband in the desert. She and her young daughter, Barbara (Carmencita Johnson), then get back in their covered wagon and continue to head West. At the same time, Jefferson Worth (Charles Lane) and his party — which includes Tex (Clyde Cook) and Pat Mooney (Erwin Connelly) — are also travelling West. They all run into a violent sandstorm and try to take cover. Once the storm clears, Mr. Worth and his companions find Barbara clinging to her dead mother in the sand. Mr. Worth adopts the girl and raises her as his own daughter. Fifteen years pass, and Barbara Worth (Vilma Bánky) is now a grown woman beloved by her childhood friend, Abe Lee (G...

This week on "Film Friday", I bring one of the most romantic films of all time and a personal favorite of mine. It's a proper tearjerker this one. Theatrical release poster Directed by Mervyn LeRoy , Random Harvest tells the story of Charles Rainier (Ronald Colman), a British officer confined to an asylum in the English countryside under the name of "John Smith", following a gas attack in the trenches during the First World War, which left him shell shocked and amnesiac. With the jubilation of Armistice Day, the asylum is left unguarded and he is able to escape. When he arrives in town, he meets a vivacious showgirl called Paula Ridgeway (Greer Garson), who nicknames him "Smithy" and nurses him back to health. The two soon fall in love and marry, settling in a cozy little cottage in the country where they live in blissful happiness for a few years. On a business trip to Liverpool, Smithy is hit by a taxicab and his early memory is re...