Out of the Past ~ A Classic Film Blog's Second Anniversary

On June 15th, 2007, I ventured out into the unknown with my very first post on this blog. It was an opening of sorts; a welcome to future readers. My first real post was on Dick Cavett's interview with Alfred Hitchcock. What followed was 2 years of faithful writing about classic movies and the stars that I love. It was slow at first, building up a readership and finding time to post in between full-time work and graduate school. Once I graduated last year, this blog really got into it's stride as I had more time to devote to it.

I'm very happy about the people I've met online and in person through my blog. I love all the comments and e-mails I've gotten. I have also loved seeing others start their own classic film blogs. This blog has really grown and I'm happy with everything I've been able to put into it.

I'm not sure what is in store for the future of this blog; whether I will continue it at the same pace, at a slower pace or even at all. Looking back though at the 2 years I am very happy that on that fateful day in 2007, I decided that all the words I had building up inside me about my love for classic movies could finally get a portal to be released into the world.

Here are some highlights of the past 2 years of blogging:

Sexiest Scenes in Film History ~ I still get lots of wayward Google searches land people here. I wish I could have continued the series, but I'm glad I at least got a few posts up.

Breaking the Code Boxed Set ~ I took a school project and tied it in with my blog. That's dedication.

Elia Kazan & You Otto See It ~ To prepare for Kevin's lectures on Kazan and Preminger, I wrote reviews for several films.

Partying Norma Shearer Style ~ I dressed up as Norma for Kevin's 30th Birthday party and he dressed up as James Dean!

I Saw Mickey Rooney with my Own Two Eyes ~ Seeing the legend in person.

The Friend Dynamic ~ I got a lot of compliments on this one. I dissect the dynamic of watching films with friends.

Work: My Classic Film Nest ~ Photographic tour of my classic film paraphenalia at work. Jonas @ All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing! starts his blog.

Brattle & Harvard Film Archive Posts ~ Wonderful memories

Out of the Past (1947) by the Numbers ~ Just happens to be my favorite post. Such a fun project!

Good Heavens ~ I try to make sense of all of those movies with "Heaven" in the title.

Norma Shearer Week ~ A whole week devoted to my favorite actress. It's the biggest project that I have taken on and the results made me very happy.

Hot Toddy/Hot Chick ~ Celebrating the best in hotness.

Guest Blogger Months ~ This one is already a success and it's only half-way through the month!

If you would like to tell me what your favorite post or series was on my blog, I'd love to hear from you! (Not asking for praise, but would love to hear feedback for sure).

And a special thank you to Frank who indirectly inspired me to start writing a blog. He doesn't know this and I'm sure will be surprised to find out that he was the impetus for Out of the Past!

Guest Blogger Nicole ~ Jeffrey Lynn

Nicole over at Classic Hollywood Nerd gives us the latest entry in the Guest Blogger series, a wonderful post on the life and career of Jeffrey Lynn. Nicole shows an incredible dedication to old Hollywood for someone so young (she's only 19). I'm already impressed. Enjoy!

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Jeffrey Lynn’s career spanned from 1938 to 1990 in films, television, plays, and radio, yet not much is known on the actor today.

Jeffrey Lynn was born Ragnar Godfrey Lind on February 16th 1909 in Auburn, Massachusetts. Though information is difficult to find on his family, he did grow up with a rather large family: three sisters and two brothers. After graduating from Bates College with B.A. Degree, Jeffrey started off a career in teaching high school speech, English, and drama. Somehow though, he always managed to put some acting into classes and that’s when the young man decided he wanted to go to Hollywood. Jeffrey began with summer stock companies but eventually he caught the eye of Warner Brothers. He began his film career with rather small and unimportant characters but as time went by, Jeffrey’s roles got better and better.

Warner Bros was planning on making the Fannie Hurst story “Sister Act” into a movie, and there hopes was to get an all-star cast but things didn’t turn quite the way they had planned. Michael Curtiz, director of the film wanted Errol Flynn and Bette Davis to star in the film but because of other film obligations, they were unable to play the roles. Going from an A-list cast of actors, Warner Bros made the film into a B-list cast of actors that would star Priscilla Lane and her sisters Rosemary and Lola, Claude Rains, May Robson, Dick Foran, newcomer John Garfield, and Jeffrey Lynn. Curtiz felt unhappy with the casting but went along with directing the film. The film’s title was no longer going to be “Sister Act” but it was to be “Four Daughters”. The film would center around Four Women who are growing up and really beginning to fall in love. Jeffrey Lynn would play the character of Felix Dietz, a man who all the girls fall head over heels for. Jeffrey’s Felix and Priscilla’s Ann were destined to be together but someone came between them- John Garfield’s Mickey. The film was much more than just a B-List Cast, the film had an amazing storyline that fit perfectly with the actors’ portrayal of their characters.

After the huge success of “Four Daughters”, Jeffrey had made into Hollywood and was now on the top of his game until something suddenly got into the way. World War II was right around the corner and many Americans would join in and sacrifice their lives for other Americans. Deciding it was time for him to help, Jeffrey Lynn joined the Army Air Force, where he had earned a bronze star. Jeffrey spent about 4 years in the Air Force and when he did come back from the War, he had hoped he could revitalize his career but life had different plans for him.

Shortly after coming back from fighting, Jeffrey married magazine editor, Robin Chandler with whom he would have two children with Jeffrey Jr (born in 1948) and Letitia (born in 1949). As his roles in movies became less important to him, Jeffrey did some television but eventually went into real estate. Aside from doing real estate and television, Jeffrey also did some plays such as “The Philadelphia Story" (in which he played C.K. Dexter Haven) and “Mister Roberts” (where he played the title character).

Though it seemed that Jeffrey had disappeared from Hollywood, Jeffrey was about to get a role that would bring him back into the spotlight for some time. The creators of the television show, “Murder She Wrote”, wanted Jeffrey to reprise his role from his 1949 film “Strange Bargain in which starred alongside Martha Scott. Jeffrey agreed and the episode was a hit. Years after making the episode, Jeffrey passed away on November 24th 1995 with his third wife, Helen by his side. Though he didn’t establish the same career as Humphrey Bogart or Clark Gable, Jeffrey did have a successful career.

From teaching, to acting, to fighting in the army, Jeffrey always was working. The particular reason I like him is because he often portrayed the everyday man, the guy next door, the one who could be your best friend and at the same time, be there for you. Even when the films weren’t that good, Jeffrey always did his best. One of his favorite films of his was 1941, Vincent Sherman film “Underground”, in which he had played a Nazi soldier who finally understands the wrong, that is being done in Germany and then retaliates. He wasn’t a one dimensional character either, he could play poet Joyce Kilmer or he could play gate swinging Felix Dietz. He had more talent than people gave him credit for.

8 Women (2002)

Now it's up! My guest post on Counting Down the Zeroes on 8 Women (2002). Check it out and let me know what you think. If you liked The Women (1939), this film will definitely interest you.