Y is for Youth

Y is for Youth Hollywood during the Golden Age at times could seem like an adventure playground filled with children. Child stars were a staple of most of the studios; and a huge draw. At one point Shirley Temple was indisputably The Biggest Star in the World. And many of her peers were also highly […]

W is for Weissmuller

Others played the part, but Weissmuller is the only Tarzan I can recall from my childhood. I can still remember the command he gave the elephant (“Umgawa!”) and of course his patented yell.

T is for Tracy

He brought his gruff brand of charm and cunning to some of the century’s most memorable films, exuding authority, kindness and common decency,

N is for Nick and Nora

N is for Nick and Nora It’s really no surprise that Nick and Nora Charles captivated audiences when the sleuthing couple tipsily arrived on screen in 1934 in The Thin Man. Prohibition in America had just recently been repealed; the nation was in the mood for a drink, and Nick and Nora happily imbibed. A […]

M is for The Marx Brothers

There were five Marx Brothers, but the world conveniently only ever recalls three. Seriously, can you recall what Zeppo looked like?

I is for Ingram

I is for Ingram I was thinking I would continue my A to Z Challenge on Old Hollywood with a general post about Irish actors in movies: Barry Fitzgerald, Maureen O’Hara, George Brent, Una O’Connor, and so on. My good friend Beanmimo has already written two excellent articles on this subject, one about Irish Oscar […]

C is for Crawford

She was a silent star for many years, usually cast as a flighty party girl, and she was one of the few silent movie stars who successfully transitioned to talkies.

The Shop Around the Corner

“The Shop Around the Corner” has to be one of the most relaxed romantic comedies ever made. Made at a time when Hollywood comedies were getting faster and more screwy, the film opts for ease: it moves briskly but effortlessly through 97 minutes, and it’s so charmingly played you barely realise just how simple it is.

The MGM Birthday Photo, 1943

Louis B. Mayer ruled MGM with an iron fist, punishing actors who crossed him by refusing to loan them to other studios or deliberately putting them in stinkers.

Diasporational Part Eight: The Leading Lady

With her flaming red hair, alabaster skin and air of gracious gentility, Greer Garson reigned at MGM in the 1940s

The Fluff Is Raging

Flufferings on Arts, Culture and the Perpetual Allure of Uma Thurman by an Irish ex-pat currently at large in Canada

MGM