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On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany signed the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht, thus ending World War II in Europe. The event came to be known as VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) and is celebrated every year in several European countries. Due to time differences, several former Soviet republics, including Russia and Belarus, celebrate VE Day on May 9. At the outbreak of the war, thousands of men from all Allied nations enlisted in the armed forces to join in the fight against the Axis Powers. Some of them were established Hollywood stars, who decided to put their careers on hold to serve their country in its time of need. Others were young men who became screen legends after the conflict. Here are 5 (more) male actors who served in World War II, before and after they were famous. Robert Montgomery (1904-1981) | U.S. Navy, 1941-1946 After World War II broke out in Europe in September 1939, Montgomery joined the American Field Service and drove ambulances in France until the evacuation o...

When I saw this film for the first time a few days ago, I found out it was one of the ten Best Picture nominees at the 14th Academy Awards. Since all "Film Fridays" this month center around an Oscar-winning or nominated picture, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about it. Theatrical release poster Directed by Alexander Hall, Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) tells the story of Joe Pend l eton (Robert Mont gomery), a boxer-pilot-music ian who crashes his plane while flying to a match and is escorted to heaven by Mes senger 7013 (Edward Ever ett Norton). Arriving at the Pearly Gates, the celest ial registrar , Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) , discovers that Joe ha s been called to his death 50 years too soon. 7013 returns Joe to the crash site only to find out that his manager, Ma x Corkle ( James Gleason), has had the body cremated. Mr. Jordan orders 7013 to find Joe another body and they end up at the mansion of Br uce Farnsworth, a dishonest businessman who has just...

This week on "Film Friday," I bring you a steamy little tale of divorce and infidelity that gave Miss Norma Shearer her only Academy Award for Best Actress. Theatrical release poster Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, The Divorcee (1930) tells the story of Jerry Bernard (Norma Shearer) and Ted Martin (Chester Morris), a young couple blissfully in love, much to the chagrin of their New York socialite friends, including Paul ( Conrad) and Don (Robert Montgomery) . Paul, who is in love with Jerry, is so distraught when the two announce their engagement that he gets drunk and ends up cr ashing his car, permanently disf iguring their friend Dorothy (Helen Johnson). Ou t of pit y, Pa ul marries Dorothy in her hospital bed, while Jerry and Ted spen d the next three years happily married. On the night of their third weddi ng anniversar y , however, Jerry discovers that Ted has had an aff a ir with a woman na med Janice Me redith ( Mary Doran). After Jerry confronts T...