From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

“BESS FLOWERS & FRANKLYN FARNUM: QUEEN & KING OF THE EXTRAS” - 4/13/2026 (135) Actors BESS FLOWERS and FRANKLYN FARNUM were absolute legends of the “blink and you’ll miss them” world. They weren’t headliners — in fact, they often were not credited or even noticed, but honestly, that’s what makes them so fascinating—their careers quietly stitched together the fabric of classic cinema. They were Extras. Without them and other extras like them, all those iconic movie moments would feel a lot less alive. Their careers spanned decades and thousands of films. They became, in their own way, silent witnesses to the evolution of Hollywood from the silent era through the golden age and into the modern period. So this week, we’re going to explore the lives and careers of BESS FLOWERS and FRANKLYN FARNUM, examining not only their astonishing productivity but also their unique roles within the Hollywood system. By looking closely at the films in which they can best be seen, we gain a deeper appreciation for their contributions and the overlooked artistry of background performers. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: “This Actor Was in the Most Best Picture Winners over 1,100 Films, March 5, 2024, by Lloyd Farley, Collider.com; “Queen of the Extras: The Bess Flowers Story,” January 24, 2018, Neatora.com; “20 Feet From Movie Stardom: The Overlooked Story of Hollywood’s Greatest Extra,” February 20, 2014, by Scott Feinberg, Vanity Fair; “Scales of Presence: Bess Flowers and the Hollywood Extra,” 2011, by Will Straw, Screen magazine;  “Franklyn Farnum Actor, Dies,” July 6, 1961, New York Times; Wikipedia.com Playbill.com TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned: All About Eve (1950) The Awful Truth (1937) Torch Song (1953) The Life of Emile Zola (1936) Going My Way (1944) The Lost Weekend (1945) Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)  Around the World in 80 Days (1956) The Apartment (1960) Hollywood (1923) A Woman of Paris (1923) A Stranger From Somewhere (1916) The Clock (1917) The Fighting Grin (1918) The Desert Rat (1919) Vanishing Trails (1920)   Billy The Kid (1925) Cleopatra (1934) Hands Across The Border (1926) Laddie (1926) Glenister of the Mounted (1926) The Jazz Singer (1927) The Blue Angel (1930) Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) Hop-A -ong Cassidy (1935) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Gone With the Wind (1939) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Stagecoach (1939) The Lady Eve (1941) Meet John Doe (1941) My Darling Clementine (1946) I Remember Mama (1948) A Letter to Three Wives (1949) The Heiress (1949) White Christmas (1954) Guys and Dolls (1955) The Ten Commandments (1956) Grand Hotel (1932) Dinner at Eight (1933) It Happened One Night (1934) The Thin Man (1934) The Wizard of Oz (1939) Double Indemnity (1944) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)  A Place in the Sun (1951) Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Rear Window (1954) Imitation of Life (1959) The Parent Trap (1961) 4(1998) --------------------------------- 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

“MAGGIE McNAMARA: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” - 4/06/2026 (134) The history of Hollywood is filled with stories of actors who experienced meteoric rises and then faded into obscurity just as quickly. Among the most poignant examples of this is the life of MAGGIE McNAMARA, an actress whose career began with remarkable promise but ended in obscurity and tragedy. With her pixie haircut, big doe eyes, lithe frame, and graceful moves, MAGGIE McNAMARA was poised to join the likes of AUDREY HEPBURN and LESLIE CARON as the new stylish gamine that was fashionable in movies in the 1950s. McNamara, who had one of the most auspicious starts in Hollywood history, earning an Academy Award nomination for her very first film, The Moon Is Blue, was a talented, intelligent young woman who had a mind and opinions of her own. And it might have been her strong-willed nature that contributed to her downfall. Join us this week as we discuss her life and career, as we celebrate her as our Star of the Month.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Breaking the Code: Otto Preminger verses Hollywood’s Censors (2022), by Arnie Reisman & Nat Segaloff; Richard Burton: Prince of Players (2008), by Michael Munn; Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King (2007), by Foster Hirsh; Preminger (1977) by Otto Preminger; “The Ding-A-Ling Girl: the Deceptive Lightness of Maggie’s McNamara,” March 26, 2015, Sister Celluloid; “Maggie McNamara, Actress, Dies: In ‘Moon Is Blue’ on Stage, Screen,” March 16, 1978, New York Times; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned: The Moon is Blue (1953), starring William Holden, Maggie McNamara, & David Niven; King of the Khyber Rifles (1953), starring Tyrone Power & Terry Moore; Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), starring Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Maggie McNamara, Clifton Webb, Louis Jourdan, & Rosano Brazzi; Prince of Players (1955), starring Richard Burton, Maggie McNamara, John Derek, Raymond Massey & Charles Bickford; The Cardinal (1963), starring Tom Tyron, John Huston, Romy Scheider, Carol Lynley & Maggie McNamara; --------------------------------- 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

“BETTE vs MIRIAM: WHEN STARS COLLIDED” - 3/30/2026 (133) What would Hollywood be without a good, old fashioned rivalry. It’s well documented that BETTE DAVIS and JOAN CRAWFORD were not exactly besties. But did you know that Davis had another rivalry that was even uglier and more intense? That’s right, the rivalry between Davis and her co-star in The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943) was one for the ages. Completely different in upbringing, temperament, and acting styles, these two grand dames of the silver screen kept the gossip columnists’ tongues wagging with their petty, mean-spirited one-upmanship. And while Davis ended up the victor in the long run, as she had a longer and more successful career, Hopkins could give as good as she could take. This week, we explore the long-standing feud between these two great divas.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel (2018), by Allan R. Ellenberger; The Lonely Life, An Autobiography (1962), by Bette Davis; This’n That, An Autobiography (1987), by Bette Davis with Michael Herskowitz; “Whatever I Did, I Did: The Obstinate Life of Bette Davis,” November 6, 2020, by Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned: The Old Maid (1939), starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, & Jane Bryan; Jezebel (1938), starring Bette Davis, Henry Fonda,. George Brent, & fay Bainter; Dark Victory (1939), starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, & Humphrey Bogart; All This, and Heaven Too (1940), starring Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Barbara O’Neil, Jeffrey Lynn, & Virginia Weidler; The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Hale, & Vincent Price; We Are Not Alone (1939), starring Paul Muni & Jane Bryan; Virginia City (1940), starring Errol Flynn & Miriam Hopkins; The Little Foxes (1941), starring Bette Davis, Teresa Wright, Herbert Marshall, Patricia Collinge, & Dan Duryea; The Old Acquaintance (1943), starring Bette Davis & Miriam Hopkins; The Heiress (1949), starring Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, & Miriam Hopkins; The Children’s Hour (1961), starring Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, Karin Balkin, & Veronica Cartwright; --------------------------------- 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

“JAMES WONG HOWE: THE MAN WHO PAINTED WITH LIGHT” - 3/16/2026 (132) Today, we’re going to step behind the camera and shine a spotlight—quite literally—on one of the most brilliant craftsmen Hollywood has ever seen. A man who helped shape the way movies look. If you’ve ever admired the stark black-and-white photography in Hud, the shadowy nighttime streets of Sweet Smell of Success, or the striking boxing scenes in Body and Soul, then you’ve already seen the artistry of cinematographer JAMES WONG HOWE. And whether you realized it or not, you were looking at the work of someone who had a huge influence on the visual language of film. Join us as we examine the life and career of this technical master.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: James Wong Howe: The Camera Eye (2010), by Alain Silver; “Focusing In On James Wing Howe,” May 31, 2024, TriviaMafia.com; “James Wong Howe: Unsung Hero of Golden Age Hollywood,” April 27, 2022, by Nicholas Rapold, The Financial Times; “James Wong Howe: Master of Lights,” December 14, 2012, by Roger Ebert; RogerEbert.com; “James Wong Howe Dies; Noted Cinematographer,” July 16, 1976, by Robert Hanley, New York Times; Oscars.org Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned: Hud (1963), starring Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, and Melvyn Douglas; The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, & Susan Harrison; Body & Soul (1947)l starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Anne Revere, Hazel Scott, & Canda Lee; Male and Female (1919), starring Gloria Swanson; The Spanish Dancer (1923), starring Pola Negri; Peter Pan (1924); Shanghai Express (1932)l starring Marlene Dietrich & Anna May Wong; Manhattan Melodrama (1934), starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, William Powell, & Mickey Rooney; The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy;  Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), with Freddie Bartholomew; The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), starring Madeleine Carroll & Douglas Fairbanks Jr,;   Algiers (1938), starring Charles Boyer & Hedy Lamarr:   Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940), with Raymond Massey; Fantasia (1940); The Strawberry Blonde (1941), starring James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, & Rita Hayworth; King’s Row (1942), starring Ann Sheridan & Ronald Davis;  Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Garfield & Joan Leslie; The Hard Way (1943), starring Ida Lupino & Joan Leslie; The North Star (1943), starring Dana Andrews & Anne Baxter; Air Force (1943), with John Garfield; Confidential Agent (1945), starring Charles Boyer & Lauren Bacall;  Nora Prentiss (1947), starring Ann Sheridan:  He Ran All the Way (1951), with John Garfield & Shelley Winters; The Baron of Arizona (1950) starring Vincent Price & Ellen Drew; The Rose Tattoo (1955) starring Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster & Marisa Pavan; Seconds (1966), starring Rock Hudson; Go, Man, Go (1954), starring Dane Clark & Sidney Poitier; Funny Lady (1975), starring Barbra Streisand; --------------------------------- 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

What does HUMPHREY BOGART in “The Maltese Falcon,” INGRID BERGMAN in “Casablanca” (1942), and GARY GRANT & ROSALIND RUSSELL in “His Girl Friday” (1940), all have in common? They are all iconic screen performances that were not — clutch your pearls! — even nominated for an Academy Award. This week, in our annual Oscar episode, we take a look at some of the classic film performances that were completely ignored by the Academy when it came time to hand out the Oscar statues. Some will shock you, some will anger you, some will leave you scratching your head and wondering, “WHY?” SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Oscars.org; Movies Mentioned: M (1931), starring Peter Lorre; Picnic (1955) starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field, Rosalind Russell, Arthur O’Connell, Cliff Robertson, and Susan Strasberg; Shadow of a Doubt (1943), starring Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, MacDonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, & Hume Cronyn; Baby Face (1933), starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Theresa Harris, and Margaret Lindsay; White Heat (1949), starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Steve Cochran, Margaret Wycherly, & Fred Clark; It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), starring James Stewart. Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchel, Beulah Bondi, & Gloria Grahame: Night of the Hunter (1955), starring Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, Shelley Winters, James Gleason, Billy Chapin, & Sally Jane Bruce; Play Misty For Me (1971), satrring CLint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, & Don Siegel; Psycho (1960), starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, & Patricia Hitchock; The Sting (1973), starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Dimitri Arliss, & Harold Gould; --------------------------------- 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