Guest Blogger Donna ~ June Mathis and Rudolph Valentino

Today's guest post comes from the talented Donna, who runs the blog Strictly Vintage Hollywood and is also curator of Falcon Lair, a website dedicated the silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino. The site is full of interesting information and media for Rudy enthusiasts and for the Rudy-curious like myself. It's with excitement that I present Donna's entry into the Guest Blogger series!
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The world was dancing.
Paris had succumbed to
the mad rhythm of the
Argentine tango.

– The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

The Argentine Tango came to American shores as early as 1911 and was considered quite shocking for the day. Vernon and Irene Castle did lend some respectability to the tango in their ballroom dance exhibitions. True Tango madness among the youth of America did not reach a zenith until 1920-1921 with the release of the film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had something that Vernon and Irene Castle did not, the pure, raw sensuality that was Rudolph Valentino. For this we must thank a woman who is relatively unknown today, June Mathis.

Hollywood history and legend has widely credited June Mathis with discovering Rudolph Valentino. Valentino landed the plum role of Julio in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because Mathis recommended him after she saw him in Clara Kimball Young’s film The Eyes of Youth. Rudolph Valentino’s star began its irrevocable ascent because of her foresight, her vision. It was the guiding hand of June Mathis and the sensitive direction of Rex Ingram that helped Valentino give a performance that stands firm to this day. Not only was it through her vision that Rudolph Valentino gained stardom, they developed a fond and lasting friendship until his untimely death. Their friendship was no romance, she was a matronly and wise figure that Valentino looked to for guidance on more than one occasion.

Vicente Blasco Ibañez's popular war novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1918), was considered by studios to be unsuitable for the screen. Mathis took it upon herself to prove otherwise. It was through her perseverance that in 1919, Richard Rowland, then head of Metro, purchased the rights to the novel for the then- huge sum of twenty thousand dollars. June took on the difficult task of writing the adaptation of the novel, a sweeping story of a family, separated and engulfed by the tragedy of World War I. Mathis also exercised her considerable sway in obtaining director Rex Ingram and pushing for--and getting--the relatively unknown Rudolph Valentino for the lead role of Julio.

Contrary to what the naysayers in the industry and within Metro had predicted, the film was a tremendous hit. Stock in Ingram, Valentino and Mathis went up 150%. The enormous success of the film meant that June Mathis became a voice to be reckoned with in Hollywood, a real player in every sense of the word. Both she and Valentino rose to great personal heights in careers that continued to cross paths until their untimely deaths.
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Tantalized? Are your classic film taste buds tingling? Get your satisfaction by consuming the full meal at Donna's blog. To learn more about Mathis and Valentino, click here. Bon apetit!

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.