Memories of movies long ago somehow still linger after nearly 70 years. There are certain actors who, although not necessarily cast to type, did have a certain style which came out in the characters they portrayed. The second one saw them appear on screen you knew something was afoot. They would either be the faithful sidekick or best friend, not make it to the final reel, suffer some trauma or joke at the hand of the leading character, or simply provide a comic or dramatic interlude, but whatever scene they appeared in was theirs. I am speaking of the mind of a young boy between the ages of four and 12 who was taken to and went to the movies quite a lot. There was no TV in the house and the impressionable years I speak of are from 1945 through to 1955.
Most of those films were made by the big studios and during that time frame I saw films from the thirties through to the early fifties. By the time television arrived in the house in about 1958, many of those same films were being used as program fillers for late night “Movie Theatre” principally for sponsors to hawk their products with a familiar movie to attract an audience. The movie was shown between the commercials, which was the real reason for the show. Many car dealers became familiar faces and the various showrooms familiar landmarks. The buy one, get another, for practically nothing became a well practiced trope. “Come on down to Bla bla used cars, just a few hundred yards of the yata yata freeway…” Also on offer, huge new fridges stocked full of food, lots of soap powders and washing machines with supplies of soap powder.
You could get it all; but, between the hype something else was seeping into the brain besides the jingles, some wonderful as well as atrocious dialogue, some great as well as awful images, some brilliant as well as terrible performances and, if you paid close attention, you began to develop a sense of what was wonderful, great and brilliant as opposed to atrocious awful and terrible. You also couldn’t help but love those particular actors whose simple presence created that feeling of anticipation, interest and fun. Their faces stayed with you if not their names. Some still linger
John Carroll (54 credits) the tall handsome, full of himself, character ready to face any danger and always making a play for the girls. He made 26 of his 54 pictures in 10 years, between 1935 and 1945. “Only Angels Have Wings” “Congo Maisie” “Marx Brothers go West”, “Flying Tigers”, “A Letter for Evie”.
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| Only Angels Have Wings Congo Maisie |
Eve Arden (101 credits): “No.No Nanette”, “Ziegfeld Girl”, “Comrade X”, “Cover Girl”, “Mildred Pierce” and of course “Our Miss Brooks”, tall, gorgeous, very bright with a turn for smart alec dialogue like no one else, except maybe Thelma Ritter (43 credits) who made 27 films in the ten years between 1947 and 1957: “Miracle of 34th Street”, “Call Northside 777”, “A Letter to Three Wives”, “All About Eve”. Who can forget the exchange of looks between Bette Davis and Thelma Ritter when realisation begins to dawn about Eve?
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Eve Arden Our Miss Brooks Mildred Pierce |
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| Thelma Ritter with Bette Davis in All About Eve |
Elisha Cook Jr, (219 credits) “The Maltese Falcon”, “The
Big Sleep”, “Shane”.
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From: The Big Sleep Harry Jones: “I ain’t tried to pull anything, I came here with a straight proposition, take it or leave it, one right guy to another, you start waiving cops at me, you outa be ashamed of yourself” Marlowe: “I am” |
John Dierkes (95 credits) who was also in “Shane” as well as “The Red Badge of Courage”, “The Naked Jungle"
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| Red Badge of Coiurage Shane |
There were those who appeared in numerous productions: Una Merkel (115), Porter Hall (80), Nat Pendleton (114), Edward Brophy (147), Eric Blore (89), Fortunio Bonanova (103), Gus Schilling (78), Will Wright (229) , Ralph Dumke (90), Walter Burke (156). Walter Catlett (163), Regis Toomey (271), Sarah Haden (118), Louis Jean Heydt (173), S.Z.Sakall (108), Leonid Kinskey (129), John Qualen (219), Curt Bois (127), Vito Scotti (233), Eugene Pallette (262), Esther Howard (115), Helen Corby (265) who appeared in 36 films in three years between 1946-1949, including Forever Amber, I remember Mama, Little Women and Madame Bovary, Edith Evanson (121) who made 37 pictures between 1940 – 1949, Alan Mowbray (189) who had 123 film credits in the 18 years between 1931 and 1949 including a wonderful scene in My Darling Clementine, together with Victor Mature, Henry Fonda and Walter Brennan.
There are so many more, including actors who made few films, but whose presence was unforgettable, mainly due to the many repeat showings of classics such as The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat. The wonderful Eric Rhodes (38 credits) was in both films, along with the great Eric Blore (89 credits) and Helen Broderick (37 credits) whose was in Top Hat. Miss Broderick was the clever sharp tongued perennial friend or chaperone of the heroine delivering acidic wisecracks in her inimitable dead-pan manner. A role later associated with Eve Arden.
During the thirties and forties,
the studios provided work for an extraordinary number of actors, many of whom contributed
brilliant cameos and performances, enhancing films by their mere familiar presence.
The first known public exhibition of projected
sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but it was not until 1929, and after, that
synchronised sound became a regular feature of motion pictures. That’s a mere
92 years ago. In 1930, there were apparently 125 notable films released, and
probably many more. The third Academy Awards were held at the Cocoanut Grove
room at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California on the 5th November
1930. Best Picture was All Quiet on the Western Front. One of the great comic
actors Slim Summerville (216 credits) was in it. He did not win any awards,
save a star on the Hollywood walk of fame was made on the 6th
February 1960, fourteen years after his death at the age of 53 in 1946. On top
of his acting credits, he has 67 credits as a director between 1920 and 1930.
Mostly short comedies. He started in motion pictures in 1912.
Here is an early 1916 silent, called His Bread and Butter directed by Edward Cline and produced by Mack Sennett, with Hank Mann (464 credits) Peggy Pearce (74 credits) and Slim Summerville.
Hank Mann was in motion pictures from 1912 to 1960. Over a period of 52 years he was in an average of over 8 pictures a year, mostly uncredited. He was awarded a star on the walk of fame along side Slim Summerville. Mann’s last picture was as a townsman in Inherit the Wind released in August of 1960 staring Spencer Tracy, Frederic March and Gene Kelly. Mann died in 1971 aged 84.
Eve Arden in "Our Miss Brooks" is one of my all-time faves.
ReplyDeleteThelma Ritter also a fave.