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. Yesterday I posted part one ; here i...

This week on «Film Friday,» I am honoring Lauren Bacall's 92th birthday, which happens to be today, by telling you a little bit about the first films of hers that I saw. This not only marked her screen debut, but also remains her most iconic picture.   Directed by Howard Hawks, To Have and Have Not (1944) opens in the summer of 1940 in the Caribbean island of Martinique, a French colony which is now controlled by pro-German Vichy France. World-weary boat captain Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and his drunken friend Eddie (Walter Brennan) earn their living by taking wealthy tourists on fishing cruises. One day, Harry is approached by Gérard (Marcel Dario), a hotel owner and member of the French Resistance, commonly known as «Frenchy» to English speakers. He offers to pay Harry to smuggle important Resistance members Hélene (Dolores Moran) and Paul De Bursac (Walter Surovy) into Martinique, but he refuses to become involved in Frenchy's political activities.   Humphrey Bogar...

In 1943, Nancy Hawks spotted a 19-year-old model named Betty Bacall on the cover of the March editi on of Harper 's Bazaar . Fascin a ted by her sult ry looks and "scrubbed cl ean, healthy, shin ing and golden" appearance, Nancy urged her husband, director Howard Hawks, to screen test Betty for the new picture he was wor king on , To Have and Have Not (1944) , loosely based on the Ernest Hemingway 1937 novel of the same name. Hawks, too, was impressed with what he saw   — so much so that he immediately brought Be tty to Hollywood , where he began managing her career. There after, he changed her name to the se xier-sounding "Lauren " and as ked Na ncy to advise her on clothing, shoes and general demeanor. Hawks also sent Betty to a voice coach to lower her natu rally high-pitched, nasal voice to a deeper, sul trier tone. When both Hawk ses were sati sfied with their new protégée, Howard took Lauren to the set of To Have and Have Not and int roduced her ...

«You do know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow.» (Lauren Bacall, To Have and Have Not , 1944)