The Reader's Page

Arabella Speaks out…..

Fox Movie Channel has declared open season
on Chan films!

“Mind like parachute….only function when open”
Warner Oland in “Charlie Chan at the Circus”

After promising a summer program of classic Charlie Chan movies, Fox Movie Channel abruptly pulled the plug and cancelled the program. The reason…objections were raised by a small group of people decrying the “ethnic stereotyping” of Asian Americans and the use of Caucasians in Asian roles. This type of blacklisting poses a definite threat not only to the classic Chan movies but to our entire treasure of classic films. Where will it stop?

Arabella & Co. applauds the stand taken by Bob King, editor of “Films of the Golden Age” and its sister publication, “Classic Images”. “We plan to keep criticizing the ban until it is lifted. What may seem a minor problem to some, is to us a deadly threat to our film heritage. If a small group of politically motivated people can deprive the rest of us the chance to see films, then we are dealing with a threat that cannot be ignored. Just as important as freedom of speech is the freedom to be allowed to hear different ideas. Some people obviously want to infringe on that right”. Thanks, Bob, for alerting us to this very imminent danger.

Tyrants in the past have destroyed empires by just burning their books. Without protest and vigilance we could lose whole libraries of film history. We must speak out now before it is too late!

Thank Bob by writing to him….he promises to send a sample copy to everyone who writes him…

Bob King
301 E. Third Street,
Muscatine, IA 52761

Also protest this ban by e-mail to:
askfox@foxinc.com
FMC.contactus@foxcable.com

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A little mouse told me...

“Pin-up” was a word coined in WWII for those photos of curvaceous girls tacked up in military lockers from ship to shore. Jane Russell, Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable graced walls and wallets in every US post from here to Mandalay. Of all of them, possibly the most famous was that flirtatious “over-the-shoulder” pose Betty Grable did in 1941. Clad in a one piece bathing suit, Betty reportedly called in photographer Frank Powolny and told him “ Oh, Frank, you’ve got the camera and I’ve got the figure!” Well, that may have been the way the publicity dept. told it but there was another “side” to the story! You see, Betty had to turn her back to the camera because…she was pregnant!

On the Marquee….

In 1927 MGM was doing a remake of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” under a new title to exploit the re-teaming of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. The title suggested was “Heat” until scriptwriter Frances Marion nixed it . Studio honchos asked why. Frances told them it was a matter of how it would look on the billboards and marquee..”Garbo and Gilbert in Heat”. The title was changed.

Movie titles of more than three words were often reduced to initials in press releases. “Gone With The Wind” became GWTW, FWTBT was all that was left of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and “Girl of the Golden West” was just GGW. But the practice was changed when Jane Russell was slated to appear in “Tall in the Saddle”. Ella Raines eventually got the role.

“No Freebies” Fred…

Fred MacMurray may not have kept the first dollar he made but he kept a tight leash on all the rest. When friends borrowed his tennis court for night games, he assessed them the cost of the electricity down to their final minute!

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Ask Arabella...

 

From Mary Lou Carlisle, Bremerton, WA. Tell me about the French actor, Francis Lederer. What was the name of the movie he made with Ginger Rogers? What can you tell me about him?	Sorry, Mary Lou. Francis Lederer was not French, he was Czech. He was born Frantisek Lederer in Prague on November 6th, 1906. But he was quite the rage in Paris after his movies were shown there. The movie you are probably referring to was “Romance in Manhattan”(1936) when Ginger played a chorus girl who aids and then falls in love with an illegal alien (Lederer). Francis was married three times, once to actress Margo who later wed Eddie Albert. His third marriage lasted 59 years until his death May 25, 2000 at the age of 100! In all. Lederer made 39 films, at least 2/3 of them in the US.
From Mike Nutt, in the UK How many movies did Bogart and Cagney make together?	My count is only 3 films but great films. I would have expected these two fantastic actors would have been paired more often by Warner Brothers. They were part of Warner’s Murderers Row along with John Garfield and George Raft. The films they were in together were: 1938…”Angels With Dirty Faces” 1939….”The Oklahoma Kid” 1939….”The Roaring Twenties”
From Helaine Polanik, Bedford, Mass. Who was the actress who played Valentine de Villefort in “The Count of Monte Cristo” with Robert Donat. He is one of my favorite actors and I loved that movie.	That was Irene Hervey who made more than 60 movies but is probably known better as Allan Jones’ wife and Jack Jones’ mother! Irene sat around MGM for 8 months after her screen test but when she threatened to leave and get a “real” job. L. B. Mayer hurriedly cast her as Franchot Tone’s wife in “Stranger’s Return”(1933). She got a hefty $50 a week! Irene married Allan Jones in 1936 and left MGM for his home base Universal Studios. Jones later left her for the heiress to the Florsheim Shoes millions. Irene Hervey, who once won Jimmy Stewart away from Marlene Dietrich in “Destry Rides Again” (1939) died in 1998 at the age of 89.

 

Now Arabella Asks...

Arabella is looking for in-depth information on Dalies E. Frantz, a concert pianist who made three films between 1938-1940. Dalies (1908-1965) played himself in "Sweethearts" (1938), Dimitri Marakov in "Balalaika" (1939) and Dr. Joe Barnes in "I Take This Woman"(1940). Dalies Frantz died of a heart attack at age 56.