From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

"FORGOTTEN LEADING LADIES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD" - 11/18/2024 A friend of mine once said that in Hollywood the toilet flushes every seven years. Meaning after about seven years, no one remembers who you are. Whether that’s true or not, there are many classic film stars who were once popular, who have faded away into obscurity. We covered men a few months go, and now we are giving the ladies their due. Join us as we talk about four fabulous actresses who deserve to be remembered — LIZABETH SCOTT, MARIE WINDSOR, ELLA RAINES, and GERALDINE FITZGERALD.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: “Biography of Lizabeth Scott,” August 1951, Paramount Pictures; “Liz Scott Slaps Libel Suit on Confidential Mag,” July 26, 1955, Variety; “Cut Actress Lizabeth Scott Out of Texan’s Will,” May 12, 1971, Variety; "Geraldine’s Long Journey,” June 13, 1971, New York Times; “Lizabeth Scott,” November 1971, by Don Stanke, Film Fan Magazine; Merv Griffin Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1977; Arlene Francis Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1985; Katie Kelly Interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald, 1985; “The Alluring Lizabeth Scott,” February 1993, by David M. Goodspeed, American Movie Classic magazine; “In Search of Lisabeth Scott: The Sphinx from Scranton,” Summer 2002, by Max Pierce, Films of the Golden Ages; “Marie Windsor A Shining Light,” piute.org; “Marie Windsor Tales of Noir and B Movies,” October 31. 1997, by Jerry Renshaw, The Austin Chronicle; “Marie Windsor, Femme Fatale And Queen of the B's, Dies at 80,” Dec. 14, 2000, New York  Times; “Geraldine Fitzgerald, 91, Star of Stage and Film, Dies,” July 19, 2005, New York Times; “Lizabeth Scott: Sultry Woman of Film Noir (Obit),” February 8, 2015, Los Angeles Times; “A Light In the Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noirs Working Girls,” Fall 2015, by Imogen Sara Smith, Noir City magazine; “A Centenary Celebration of Ella Raines: Radiant Film Stars Daughter Reflects on Her Mother’s Career,” August 6, 2020, by Leticia Magalhães, Cine Suffragette; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned:  LIZABETH SCOTT: You Came Along (1945); The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946); Dead Reckoning (1946); Desert Fury (1947); I Walk Alone (1947); Pitfall (1948); Too Late for Tears (1949); Paid In Full (1950); Dark City (1950); The Company She Keeps (1951); Red Mountain (1951); The Racket (1951); Stolen Face (1952); Bad For Each Other (1953); Scared Stiff (1953); Loving You (1957) Pulp (1972); MARIE WINDSOR: Unexpected Uncle (1941); Weekend For Three (1941); All American Co-ed (1941); The Hucksters (1947); Song of the Thin Man (1947); Three Musketeers (1948); The Kissing Bandit (1948); Force of Evil (1948);  Outpost in Morocco (1949); Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (1949); Hellfire (1949); The Fighting Kentuckian (1949); Dakota Lil (1950); Little Big Horn (1951); The Narrow Margin (1952); Cat Women of the Moon (1953); Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955);  The Killing (1956); ELLA RAINES: Corvette K-225 (1943); Cry Havoc (1943); The Phantom Lady (1944); Hail The Conquering Hero (1944); Tall In The Saddle (1944); The Suspect (1944);  The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945); White Tie and Tails (1945) Brute Force (1947); The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947); The Walking Hills (1949); Impact (1949); The Man In The Road (1956); GERALDINE FITZGERALD: Blind Justice (1934); Dark Victory (1939); Wuthering Heights (1939); The Gay Sisters (1942); Watch on the Rhine (1943); Wilson (1944); Nobody Lives Forever (1946); Three Strangers (1946); Ten North Frederick (1958); The Pawnbroker (1964); Rachel, Rachel (1968); Harry and Tonto (1974); Arthur (1981); Do You Remember Love (1985); Arthur 2: On The Rocks (1988); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 61 - “FAVORITE CLASSIC FILMS OF THE 1960s” - 11/11/2024 The decade of the 1960s was an exciting time in filmmaking. The stodgy studio contract system was starting to give way to a new crop of independent cinematic auteurs, often associated with the "New Hollywood" era, including Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Sam Peckinpah, Arthur Penn, John Cassavetes, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Peter Bogdanovich. These edgier films pushed the creative boundaries and social themes to reflect the changing times. In this episode, Steve and Nan discuss some of their favorite films of the decade and why they had such an impact!  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Some Like It Cool (2002), by Michael Freehand; Mike Nichols: A Life (2021), by Mark Harris; Jean Simmons: Her Life and Career (2022), by Michelangelo Capua; “Veronica Cartwright talks about ‘The Birds’,” February 8, 2008, YouTube; “Here’s to You, Mr. Nichols: The Making of ‘The Graduate’,” February 25, 2008, by Sam Kashner, Vanity Fair; “Tippi Hedren On Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’,” April 29, 2009, The American FIlm Institute; “The Revenge of Alfred Hitchcock’s Muse,” October 5, 2012, New York Magazine; “Tippi Hedren: Hitchcock Ruined My Career,” December 7, 2012, Huffington Post; “Throwback Thursday: Shirley MacLaine Recalls Filming Lesbian Drama ‘Children’s Hour’ in 1961,” June 4, 2015, Hollywood Reporter;  “The Underappreciated Genius of ‘Planet of the Apes’,” May 18, 2024, by Janelle Bouie, New York Times; “The Children’s Hour,” October 16, 2024, Episode 257, Feminist Frequency Podcast; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  The Graduate (1967), starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Elizabeth Wilson, Murray Hamilton, Buck Henry, Marion Lorne, Alice Ghostly, Brian Avery, William Brooke, and Norman Fell; The Birds (1963), Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Richard Deacon, and Elizabeth Wilson; Days of Wine and Roses (1962), starring Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman, Alan Hewitt, Maxine Stuart, Debbie Megowan, and Jack Albertson; Planet of the Apes (1968), starring Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Roddy McDowell, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, James Whitmore, and James Daly; The Happy Ending (1969), starring Jean Simmons, John Forsyth, Shirley Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Teresa Wright, Bobby Darin, Kathy Fields, Dick Shawn, Nanette Fabray, and Tina Louise; The Children’s Hour (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Faye Bainter, Karen Balkin, Veronica Cartwright, and Hope Summers; In The Heat Of the Night (1967), starring Rod Steiger, Sidney Poitier, Lee Grant, Warren Oats, Beah Richards, William Schallert, and Larry Gates; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 60 - "THELMA RITTER: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH" - 11/04/2024 There's a scene in the classic 1950 film All About Eve where Eve Harrington (ANNE BAXTER), a star-struck fan who has infiltrated the life of Broadway star Margo Channing (BETTE DAVIS), is telling the tragic story of her past to Margo and her friends. While Margo and company are drawn into the sad circumstances of Eve's life, Margo's acerbic dresser Birdie, played to perfection by the great THELMA RITTER, is not buying her sob story. After Eve finishes, Birdie mutters, "What a story! Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." This is probably the moment I fell in love with Ritter. With her heavy New York accent, diminutive size, working-class charm, and sarcastic zingers, she made a career of stealing scenes from big stars and making the most of her time on screen. She played characters wiser than most, and her characters certainly didn’t suffer fools gladly. She is a cinematic treasure, and we celebrate her as our Star of the Month. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: All About Eve: The Complete Behind-The-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made (2001), by Sam Staggs; All About Thelma and Eve: Sidekicks and Third Wheels (2002), by Judith Roof; Actresses of a Certain Character (2007) by Axel Nissen; “Thelma Ritter, Versatile Actress with Raspy Voice Dies at 63,” February 5, 1969, New York Times; “Ten Women that Changed the Face of Film Forever,” March 8, 2019, by Harry Fletcher, The Standard; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Miracle on 34th Street (1947), starring Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn, John Payne, and Natalie Wood; Call Northside 777 (1948), starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, and Helen Walker; A Letter To Three Wives (1949), starring Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, Connie Gilchrist, and Barbara Lawrence; Father Was a Fullback (1949), starring Fred MacMurray and Maureen O’Hara; All About Eve (1950), starring Bette Davis, Ann Baxter, Gary Merrill, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, George Sanders, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Ratoff, and Barbara Bates; The Mating Season (1951), starring John Lund and Gene Tierney; The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951), starring Jean Peters and Scott Brady; With a Song in My Heart (1952), starring Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Robert Wagner, and Helen Westcott; Titanic (1953), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Robert Wagner, and Brian Aherne; Pick Up On South Street (1953), starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Richard Kiley; As Young As You Feel (1951), starring Monty Woolley, David Wayne, Jean Peters, Constance Bennett, Marilyn Monroe, Allen Joslyn, and Albert Dekker; Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendel Corey, and Raymond Burr; Daddy Long Legs (1955), starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron; The Proud and Profane (1956), starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr; A Hole In The Head (1959), starring Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, and Eleanor Parker; Pillow Talk (1959), starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson The Misfits (1961), starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Eli Wallach; Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), starring Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Neville Brand, Betty Field, Telly Savalas, Edmond O’Brien, and Hugh Marlowe; How The West Was Won (1962), starring James Stewart, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Debbie Reynolds, Henry Fonda, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, and Richard Widmark; Move Over Darling (1963), starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen; Boeing, Boeing (1965), starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis; What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), starring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 59 - "POLITICS: THROUGH THE LENS OF CLASSIC CINEMA" - 10/28/2024 As we all get ready to go to the polls and vote in what might be the most important election of our lives, we wanted to take a look at politics in the films of old Hollywood. This week, we explore the movies that reflected the politics and the issues of the day and left an indelible mark on cinema. From labor wars in New Mexico to a mayor’s race in New England to the early years of Abraham Lincoln, join us as we take a look at some great political movies.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Hearst Over Hollywood (2002), by Louis Pizzitola; Pictures at A Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of a New Hollywood (2008), by Mark Harris;  Hollywood’s White House (2010), by Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor; The Great Depression on Film (2022), by David Luhrssen;   “The Best Man Took On Cutthroat Campaigning,” August 21, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter; “How Blacklisted Hollywood Artists Joined Forces to Make a Truly Subversive film,” June 6, 2024, forward.com; “Subversives: Salt of the Earth,” UCTV TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Gabriel Over the White House (1933), starring Walter Huston, Karen Morely, Franchot Tone, Dickie Moore, David Landau, Arthur Byron, Jean Parker, and C. Henry Gordon; Salt of the Earth (1954), starring Juan Chacón, Rosaura Revueltas, Mervin Williams, Henrietta Williams, and Virginia Jencks; The Great McGinty (1940), starring Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, William Demarest, Allyn Joslyn, Louis Jean Heydt, Thurston Hall, Jimmy Conlin, and Arthur Hoyt; The Best Man (1964), starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton, Ann Sothern, Lee Tracy, Shelley Berman, Kevin McCarthy, and Gene Raymond; The Last Hurrah (1958), starring Spencer Tracy, Jeffery Hunter, Dianne Foster, Pat O’Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Ricardo Cortez, Ken Curtis, Frank Albertson, Anna Lee, and Jane Darwell; The Parallax View (1974), starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn, and Hume Cronyn; Three Days of the Condor (1975), starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman, Addison Powell, Tina Chen, Walter McGinn, Michael Kane, Carlin Glynn, and Hank Garrett; Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), starring Raymond Massey, Ruth Gordon, Gene Lockhart, Mary Howard, Minor Watson, Howard Da Silva, and Alan Baxter; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 58 - "CLASSIC CINEMA'S HORROR HEROES: BELA LUGOSI & BORIS KARLOFF" - 10/21/2024 When you think of the classic Universal Studios monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s, the two names that come to mind are always BORIS KARLOFF and BELA LUGOSI. These two titans of the horror film genre gave us endless hours of chills and thrills in their portrayal of such iconic movie monsters as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and The Mummy. This week’s Halloween episode pays tribute to the films and lives of these two incredible actors.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Karloff: The Life of Boris Karloff (1972), by Peter Underwood; The Films of Boris Karloff (1974), by Richard Bojarski; Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1986), Documentary; Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster (2011), by Stephen Jacobs; No Traveler Returns: The Lost Years of Bela Lugosi (2916), by Gary D. Rhodes & Bill Kaffenberger; Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff (2017), by Gregory William Mank; Boris Karloff: A Gentleman’s Life (2018), by Scott Allen Nollen; Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula (2023), by Koren Shami; “Actor Bela Lugosi, Dracula of Screen, Succumbs After Heart Attack at 73, August 17, 1956, Los Angeles Times; “Boris Karloff Dead: Horror-Movie Star,” February 4. 1969, New York Times; “Boris Karloff Dies In London Hospital at 81,” February 4, 1969, Los Angeles Times; “In ‘The Black Cat,’ the Titans of Terror, Karloff and Lugosi, Face Off,” Oct. 26, 2018, New York Times; BelaLugosi.com RogerEbert.com TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  BELA LUGOSI: The Silent Command (1923); The Thirteenth Chair (1929); Dracula (1931);  Freaks (1932); Mark of the Vampire (1935); Murder In the Rue Morgue (1932); Island of Lost Souls (1932); The Black Cat (1934); The Raven (1935); Ninotchka (1939), starring Greta Garbo; Son of Frankenstein (1939), starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; Black Friday (1940); You’ll Find Out (1940); The Devil Bat (1940); The Saint’s Double Trouble (1940); The Wolf Man (1942); The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); The Corpse Vanishes (1942); Bowery At Midnight (1942); Ghosts on the Loose (1943); Zombie’s on Broadway (1945); The Body Snatcher (1945); Genius At Work (1946); Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948); Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957); BORIS KARLOFF: The Lightning Raider (1919); The Hope Diamond Mystery  (1920); The Deadlier Sex (1920); The Hellion (1923); Omar The Tentmaker (1922);  Dynamite Dan (1924); Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927); The Criminal Code (1930); Frankenstein (1931); Scarface (1932); The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932); The Mummy (1932); The Ghoul (1933); Gift of Gab (1934); The Invisible Ray (1935); The Raven (1935); The Bride of Frankenstein (1935); The Son of Frankenstein (1939); Mr. Wong, Detective (1938); Black Friday (1940); You’ll Find Out (1940); House of Frankenstein (1944); The Body Snatcher (1945); Isle of the Dead (1945); Bedlam (1946); The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947); Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1948); The Strange Door (1951); The Black Castle (1952); The Island Monster (1954); The Raven (1963); The Terror (1963); Die, Monster, Die! (1965); Caldron of Blood (1968); How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966); Targets (1968); The Crimson Cult (1968); Fear Chamber (1968); House of Evil (1968); Isle of the Snake People (1971); The Incredible Invasion (1971); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices