Back to Golden Days

I started this blog six years ago as a way to share my passion for classic films and the Old Hollywood era. I used to watch dozens of classic films every month, and every time I discovered a new star I liked I would go and watch their entire filmography. But somewhere along the way, that passion dimmed down. For instance, I watched 73 classic films in 2016, and only 10 in 2020. The other day, I found this film with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. that I had never heard of, and for some reason it made me really excited about Old Hollywood again. It made me really miss the magic of that era and all the wonderful actors and actresses that graced the silver screen. And it also made me think of all the reasons why I fell in love with classic films in the first place. I came up with 80 reasons, which I thought would be fun to share with you. Most of them are just random little scenes or quirky little quotes, but put them together and they spell Old Hollywood to me. This is part one of the 80 reasons w...

Theatrical release poster Directed by George Cukor, Dinner at Eight (1933) revolve s around the eminent dinner part hosted by Millic ent Jordan (Billie Burke), the s nobbish soci alite wife of shipping magnate Oliver Jordan (Lion el Barrymore). Millic ent is so aggrav ated about every thing going wrong that she is oblivious to Oliv er's impendin g bankrup t cy and serious heart condition, as well as her daug hter Paula 's (M ad ge Evans) preoccupa tion about the return of her fiancé, Ernest DeGraff (Phillips Holmes), from Europe. One of the invited g uests is Carlott a Vance ( Marie Dressler), a former sta ge s tar and Oliver's one -time flame. Also invited are corrupt mining t yco on Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), who is secretly consuming Oliver's business , and his brassy young wife Kitty (Jean Harlow). On the eve of the dinner, Millicen t, short of an extra man for Carlotta , in vites wash ed-up silent movie star Larry Renault (John Barrymore), compl...

The original «Blonde Bombshell» was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter on March 3, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. Her parents were Mont Clair Carpenter, a successful dentist from a working-class background, and his wife, Jean Poe (née Harlow), the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker. Nicknamed «Baby,» Harlean was afflicted by poor health throughout her childhood; she contracted meningitis at age five and suffered from scarlet fever when she was 15.   In September 1922, Jean divorced her husband and moved with her 11-year-old daughter to Hollywood, with hopes of pursuing a career as an actress. While in Los Angeles, Harlean attended the Hollywood School for Girls and met future movie stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joel McCrea, as well as Louis B. Mayer's daughter, Irene. In 1925, unable to find a single acting job, Jean returned in defeat to Kansas City with her daughter.   Jean Harlow at six months, five years old and ten years old, respectively. In order to be close to he...