Pearl of the Army -- January 11, 2014

Actress Pearl White was the first serial queen, starring in The Perils of Pauline in 1914.  She made many more serials, including Pearl of the Army in 1916, which played on American concerns about preparedness for war.  I like the colors in this ad from Motion Picture World, 25-November-1916.  The background is probably a lock in the recently-opened Panama Canal. 

Tom Mix #13 -- January 10, 2014

Tom Mix was the biggest cowboy star in silent movies.  He and his horse Tony had many adventures in Fox films.  This photo is from the June, 1926 Motion Picture Classic. 

I moved this series over from my other blog, The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion.  Here are the entries from this series on that blog. 

Susannah York 75 -- January 9, 2014

Actress Susannah York was born 75years ago, on 09-January-1939.  She was wonderful in Tom Jones.  I was sad when she died a few years ago.

Stanford Theater #2 -- January 8, 2014

The Stanford Theater on University Avenue in Palo Alto is one of the few surviving repertory movie theaters left in Northern California.  In November and December 2013, they held a Preston Sturges and Marx Brothers festival with several interesting combinations, like The Lady Eve and Monkey Business. 

I moved this movie theater series over from my other blog, The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion.  Here are the entries from this series on that blog. 

Bessie Love #13 -- January 7, 2014

I have always been fascinated by the career of actress Bessie Love.  She was born in Texas.  Her name was Juanita Horton.  Her family moved to Los Angeles and she went to Los Angeles High School.  Looking for work, she met director  DW Griffith and got a small part in Intolerance.  She appeared in movies with William S Hart and Douglas Fairbanks.  She was a 1922 WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) Baby Star.  She played many leading roles, most famously in The Lost World, but never broke through until the talkies came, when she starred in The Broadway Melody.  Her career was hot for a few years, but then tailed off.  She continued to appear in small parts in movies until the early 1980s.

This image is from the April, 1929 Photoplay.  It illustrates her athletic tendencies and mentions that her singing and talking talents brought her back to the movies when the talkie era began. 

I moved this series over from my other blog, The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion.  Here are the entries from this series on that blog. 

Harry Langdon -- January 6, 2014

I saw Harry Langdon's "Saturday Afternoon" in one of the Robert Youngson comedy compilations, but I don't think I had seen any of his other movies before I read Frank Capra's The Name Above the Title.  Capra, who had worked on writing  team for some of Langdon's Mack Sennett comedies and directed his second and third First National features, had a grudge and it colored my view of Langdon.  I learned not to trust many statements in film industry memoirs. 

I still had not seen many Langdon movies before I read Walter Kerr's great book The Silent Clowns.  I managed to see his first three First National features (Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, The Strong Man and Long Pants) and a few of his Sennett shorts at the Avenue and other theaters.  It has only been in the last few years that I saw all of his surviving Sennett shorts, his Sennett feature (His First Flame) and his fourth and fifth First National features (Three's a Crowd and The Chaser) on DVD.  I still have not seen many of his sound shorts, especially the early talkies he made with Hal Roach. 

The image is from the 1929 Motion Picture News Blue Book. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

George Reeves 100 -- January 5, 2014

Actor George Reeves, who was most famous for playing Superman on television, was born 100 years ago, on 05-January-1914.  I grew up watching reruns of Superman. 

His first film was Gone With the Wind, where he played a small part.  He appeared in a variety of shorts and features until he was drafted in 1943.  The US Army Air Forces Broadway show Wings of Liberty earned him attention, but when the war was over and he was discharged, he found things slow in Hollywood.  He appeared in live television shows and had small parts in movies like From Here to Eternity. 

In 1951, he became Superman, first in a movie/television pilot Superman Vs the Mole Men, then in the half-hour series.  The Adventures of Superman premiered on ABC in 1952.  The show became popular, and Reeves was very good with the fans, trying to be a role model, but he became tired and felt restricted. 

In 1959, Reeves died of a gunshot wound.  The coroner ruled it was a suicide, but many people suspect he might have been murdered. 

The photo of George Reeves and Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane after the first season, is from the wonderful site LucyWho (http://www.lucywho.com).