Sunday, April 13, 2025

Rin-Tin-Tin -- The Wonder Dog of the Screen -- April 13, 2025

Seattle Star, 06-April-1925

Rin-Tin-Tin was the biggest dog star of all. During the last days of World War One, Lee Duncan, an American soldier who loved dogs, found Rinty and his sister with their dying mother in a damaged German kennel. Duncan tried to bring the puppies to America, but the female died. Duncan trained Rinty and got him into the movies, where he showed great natural talent.

Seattle Star, 06-April-1925

"Pretty Doggy Actor."

Seattle Star, 06-April-1925

Note that the name of the theater in Seattle is the "Blue Mouse." There was a chain of Blue Mouse Theaters.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

The Great Gatsby 100 -- April 10, 2025

Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, 25-April-1925

100 years ago today, F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was published. I used to read it every year or two. Gatsby was neglected for years, and then people called it The Great American Novel.

Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, 25-April-1925

"THE GREAT GATSBY is vital, glamorous, ironical, compassionate. It is a living thing as spontaneous as THIS SIDE OF PARADISE, yet mature."

Baltimore Sun, 18-April-1925

Motion Picture Magazine, September, 1926

The first film adaption of Gatsby was a 1927 silent starring Warner Baxter as Jay Gatsby. The caption for this image from the September, 1926 Moving Picture Magazine says "The Great Gatsby has been a successful character.  He was a best seller when he made his first public appearance between the covers of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  Then he made his stage debut and there was a continual line at the Broadway box-office.  And now he is to try his fortune on the screen.  Warner Baxter, judging from this photograph, will do well by Gatsby."  The movie is lost, but all accounts say that Baxter did not do well by Gatsby.


Motion Picture Magazine, February, 1927

Neil Hamilton, who later played Commissioner Gordon on the Batman television show, played Nick Carraway.  Lois Wilson played Daisy Buchanan.  Hale Hamilton played Tom Buchanan, Georgia Hale played Myrtle Wilson and William Powell played George Wilson. I find the latter hard to picture. 


Photoplay, February, 1927


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The second film adaption, made in 1949, starred Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby.  I have never seen this version, but most of the stills that I have seen make it look like a film noir. 

Betty Field played Daisy Buchanan, Barry Sullivan played Tom Buchanan, Macdonald Carey played Nick Carraway, Shelley Winters played Myrtle Wilson, and Howard Da Silva played George Wilson. 

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The third theatrical film version of the story came out in 1974.  The 18-March-1974 cover of  Time Magazine featured Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan, and referred to the "supersell" of the movie.  I thought the movie was ok, but rather slow.

Sam Waterston played Nick Carraway and one of my favorites, Bruce Dern, played Tom Buchanan.  Karen Black was very good as Myrtle Wilson. Scott Wilson played George Wilson. 

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The fourth theatrical film version of the story came out in 2013.  Baz Luhrmann directed and Leonardo DiCaprio played Gatsby and Carey Mulligan played Daisy. The movie didn't do anything for me. 

Tobey Maguire played Nick Carraway and Joel Edgerton played Tom Buchanan.  Isla Fisher played  Myrtle Wilson. Jason Clarke played George Wilson. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Educational Players Do Their Stuff on the Air -- April 9, 2025

Moving Picture World, 04-April-1925

Radio station KFWB went on the air in March, 1925. It was founded by Warner Brothers and served as a publicity arm for the studio. KFWB no longer belongs to Warner Brothers, but it is still on the air.

Educational Players Do
Their Stuff on the Air

JACK WHITE'S Mermaid Comedy Company, together with performers appearing in other units producing comedies for distribution through Educational Film Exchanges, Inc., last week staged a very successful exploitation tieup when stars of the various companies broadcast a program from the recently opened radio station KFWB at Los Angeles, operated by Warner Brothers.

The program was opened by Eddie Nelson, now starring in Mermaid Comedies, who delivered a monologue and some of the vaudeville chatter which he used on the Orpheum Circuit in the West, where he is known as "The Sunkist Kid." This was followed by the Mermaid Quartette which sang two numbers.

Following this came Clem Beauchamp, an assistant director and a promising lyric tenor, who delivered two songs. The O'Neal sisters, Zelma and Bernice, then sang two of their latest songs, "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," a la 1925, and "Log Cabin." Zelma O'Neil sang a special comedy number, "I'm a Pickford That Nobody Picked," one of her successes from Harry Carroll's "Pickings," the show in which she was appearing when Jack White discovered her. Miss O'Neal is a Cameo star.

Lige Conley, Mermaid star, followed with a display of his versatility in rendering a piano, banjo and saxophone solo. At this point the entire radio program was tied up with the showing of two Mermaid Comedies in Los Angeles, when it was announced that Conley could be seen at Loew's State in "Fast and Furious" and in "What a Night" at the California.

Joseph Diskay, the tenor, a favorite with radio fans, contributed his services to the program and sang two numbers, and Miss Hilda Goldman, operatic soprano, also popular with radio fans on the West Coast, obliged with selections.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

World's Finest Theater Organ -- April 8, 2025

Moving Picture World, 24-April-1925

During the silent era, big first run theaters often had orchestras. Little flea pits often had pianos. In between, many theaters used organs to accompany films. Some of the big theaters used them for matinees. Robert Morgan was one of the manufacturers.

Sunday, April 6, 2025

Richard Chamberlin, RIP -- April 6, 2025

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Richard Chamberlin died in late March. I never watched Doctor Kildare, but I read a reprint of the Mad Magazine version. I never saw Shogun or The Thornbirds. I loved Richard Lester's Three Musketeer movies, where he played Aramis.

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Peter Weir's The Last Wave was the first Australian New Wave (sorry) film that my fiancée attended. We saw it at the Bridge Theater. It made a deep impression on both of us.

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He seems to have had a propensity for the works of Alexandre Dumas, père.

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Spencer Tracy 125 -- April 5, 2025

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Actor Spencer Tracy was born 125 years ago today, on 05-April-1900. He was a great actor, but he was troubled by alcohol, infidelity, depression and guilt about his son's deafness. His relationship with Katherine Hepburn seems to have helped him.

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Friday, April 4, 2025

Film Rental $4 Per Week -- April 4, 2025

New York Clipper, 01-February-1908

L Hetz of 302 East 23rd Street in New York City offered to rent films out for $4 per reel per week, including three changes, "and good films at that." They offered better services for $5 or $6.