How I Budget for the TCM Classic Film Festival

There are two common complaints about the TCM Classic Film Festival: 1) it's too expensive and 2) it's too far away. For those who live near L.A. the expense isn't nearly as great as it is for someone who is traveling internationally or from the east coast.

I made these same complaints online in 2012. My wallet was constantly being emptied due to the costs involved with my wedding and honeymoon and on top of that I was hit with many unexpected medical bills. I still really wanted to go to TCMFF but at that time I couldn't make it happen. However, I was determined to go in 2013. And not only did I make it to that festival, I went again in 2014 and am going again this year. It took some ingenuity, some work and a lot of penny pinching but I made it happen.

Now I share with you how I budgeted for my TCMFF trips. DISCLAIMER: Some of what I say may be useful to you but I know this won't be applicable to everybody. We all come from different financial backgrounds and have different financial responsibilities. These things worked for me but may not work for you.

Frugality – I've become very frugal over the past few years and my spending habits have changed drastically. I buy more so with intention and purpose than I do on impulse. I really began thinking and analyzing about what I was spending my money on and why. I began asking myself a lot of questions. Do I need this? Can it wait? Do I have the space for it? Is there something else I want more? Because of this I buy fewer clothes, accessories, movies, books and other things for personal use. When I do buy stuff I look for sales, coupon codes and deals wherever I can.

I started living by the motto "less stuff, more experiences." Money that I used to spend on physical things I started putting towards trips. And it's not just TCMFF. I want to travel to new places and my husband and I are in the process of buying a house. Being careful with my money has become a way of life. I've also become pickier about experiences. I used to go to as many local classic film screenings as I could. There are so many in my area and I became a lot more particular about what I chose to attend. My husband and I go out to eat a lot less and some weeks I find myself cooking meals 7 days a week. Buying and spending with intention, prioritizing and cutting corners where I can has helped me save money to put towards my TCMFF trips.

Line for Classic, Essential, Matinee (now defunct) and Media passes

Passes – We are realistic about our passes. Do we really need the Spotlight or Essential Pass or can we live with the lower level passes? In my opinion, the Classic pass is the best deal. It gets you into everything except for the Opening Night Gala. My husband has purchased the Matinee pass in the past but since it's been discontinued this year he went for the Palace Pass. This level pass gets him into all events at the TCL Chinese and Grauman's Egyptian Theatres. While he loves the festival, he knows he won't want to attend everything. He is happy with a lower level pass and getting in the standby lines and paying cash for other events. 90% of the time he gets into events with standby.

While the Spotlight Pass has many perks, I personally can live without it. I don't need to go to the gala and being first in line is not a priority for me. Every year I purchase a Classic pass and apply later for a Media pass. The past two years I was accepted for a Media pass (this year is still pending) which allowed me free access to the festival (and a full refund for the pass I purchased). This makes the festival a lot more affordable but I always come prepared to the festival to work to be worthy of that Media pass.

The Media pass gives me Classic level access plus one or two media-only events.  I don’t take this media pass for granted! I record audio and transcribe every discussion and special event. I take a lot of photographs and some video. I post live coverage on my social media and do daily re-cap posts while I'm at the festival. I follow those up with detailed posts about each individual event I attend. (Read my previous coverage here). I never know from year to year whether my Media application will be accepted, so I always set money aside for the Classic pass.

Gifts – Give the gift of the TCM Classic Film Festival! Think about your next birthday, anniversary or holiday. Does it make sense to encourage your family and loved ones pitch in to send you to the next festival? I've told my husband that if he ever wants to forego a birthday present and donate money to the "Get Raquel to TCMFF" fund he can and I would be perfectly happy. I know this has worked for other folks too.

Travel to the festival – I hoard frequent flyer miles using services like e-Rewards (surveys), e-Miles (offers, ads and surveys) and MyPoints (online shopping, surveys, newsletters and offers). I beef up my United MileagePlus account with these services and I've used them for years. I've been a member of MyPoints since 1998!. I also have a Delta SkyMiles credit card which I use for big purchases, including my expenses for TCMFF.  This year I was able to get a free flight from Boston to LA for both of us with my miles. We only have to pay for our flight back and it saved us quite a bit of money! There are other benefits to these loyalty programs including rewards for dining out, waived luggage fees, etc.

Travel at the festival – One of the biggest expenses is paying for a cab ride from the airport to the hotel and vice versa. You could easily spend up to $160 round trip on cab fare alone. We shaved off some of that by using a shuttle service like SuperShuttle. One way trip for both of us is just over $30. This saves us almost $50 one way! The shared shuttle takes a lot longer than a cab but since we are not on a deadline to get the hotel we can afford the time. We splurge on a cab ride back so we don't miss our flight.

All of the events at the TCMFF are relatively close to each other. We do a lot of walking to and fro which saves us money on transportation. We don't rent a car, we take the bus sometimes and take cabs only when absolutely necessary. I will share cabs with others or accept rides from friends when I can. People make fun of the public transportation in LA but I found the bus system to be decent and very inexpensive (last year it was $1.50 for a one way trip).

Why yes, this is a photo of me shaking Quentin Tarantinto's hand. (Source: Getty)

Itinerary – Every year I create a very detailed itinerary with all the times and places both Carlos and I intend to be at during our trip. I even list back up options in case we couldn't get into certain events. At the bottom of the itinerary is a key with names and addresses of each location and the distances between each location. This has proven to be very useful for us. We can coordinate schedules and meet after events. This helps us meet to share transportation, meals, etc. It saves us on cab rides if we know where we are going and how far away it is.

Food – TCMFF veterans will all tell you the same thing: there is no time to eat during the festival! Everyone goes hungry or they survive on lots of caffeine and energy bars. The hotel my husband and I love to stay at has a diner which is open early and closes late. We have a big breakfast in the morning and a late night dinner there in the evening. The meals are delicious, inexpensive and filling. During the festival, we have snacks we either brought from home or bought at a local supermarket. If our tummies are grumbling and we need to get some lunch, there are a few places at TCMFF to grab a quick meal. The Hollywood Roosevelt's restaurant 25 degrees is a nice sit-down restaurant with plenty of affordable options. It's also at the epicenter of the festival and convenience is key!

The breakfast burrito at my hotel's diner. Inexpensive, delicious and filling.
Avocado is cheap in California so eat plenty of it!

Accommodations - I'd love to stay at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt. It would be amazing. But can I afford it? Nope! Thanks to a friend's recommendation (thank you Jill) we found a wonderful chain hotel that's 1-1/4 miles away from the festival. We can walk to the festival, pay bus fare or grab a quick cab. There are several inexpensive hotels even closer to the festival too.

I signed up for hotel's reward program the first time I booked there and have been accumulating points ever since. I'm hoping to turn these into some free nights in the future. In my research I've found that booking through the hotel's site instead of a travel site saves me money. We also use AAA to get a discounted rate. The hotel was so grateful for our continued patronage they even tweeted me a discount code!

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Souvenirs – I'm perfectly happy with the following souvenirs: a TCMFF tote bag (complimentary with certain passes or for sale at the festival shop), a few books from Larry Edmund's bookshop and lots and lots of photos. I don't really need anything else. I buy a couple items for friends from the festival shop but most of the stuff they sell there (books, DVDs/Blu-Rays, non-festival TCM branded gear) you can buy online on sale at a later date. I keep in mind what makes sense for me to lug back home and what does not. I want to avoid paying overweight luggage fees or shipping costs when I can.

TCMFF souvenirs from 2013 and 2014. Books and tote bags.

There are also free souvenirs from the festival. The festival film guide comes with your pass (keep it and get an extra one if you can) and on occasion they give out free pins and buttons. But the best souvenirs of all are the memories you'll make at the festival!

I did splurge on this Conversations with Robert Osborne DVD because it came with Robert Osborne himself (or at least a couple of minutes to bask in his glory and a signature).

Autographed copy of Conversations with Robert Osborne!

Pair/Group Up - Don't go to the festival alone! Go with a family member or a friend. Share a hotel room and split some of the expenses. Not having to bear the full burden of all the bills makes the trip a lot more economical. My husband and I go together every year.

Carlos, Rob and I at Warner Bros.

Before and After the Festival - We tack on two days before and one day after the festival for recuperation but also to do other things while we are in L.A. We saved money by taking a bus from our hotel to the Warner Bros. for an awesome tour of the lot with our buddy Rob. I always book the red-eye on Monday night back to Boston from L.A. Our flight is after 9pm so we check out of our hotel, leave our luggage there and spend the whole day exploring. We save money on an extra night  because we sleep on the plane instead! There are lots of free and inexpensive things to do in Hollywood. You can go to live TV show tapings, find your favorite stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and more for free.

Visting Robert Mitchum's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

If attending the TCM Classic Film Festival is your dream and it's not absolutely impossible to go, make it happen! You won't regret it.

Upcoming Festival Coverage: Cinefest 35 and TCM Classic Film Festival

Next month I will be attending back-to-back film festivals. I’m starting with Cinefest 35 in upstate New York and then heading out almost immediately to Hollywood for the TCM Classic Film Festival. I’ll be reporting here on this blog about the events I attend at both festivals. I foresee a lot of caffeinated beverages in my future.

Cinefest is a yearly festival celebrating the early days of film history. Most of the films screened are silents or from the early talkie era. This is the last hurrah for Cinefest which is currently in it’s 35th and final year. I couldn’t pass up one final opportunity to attend this festival especially since I’ve heard only good things about it. However, the festival's biggest draw for me is the attendance of my good friend Jonas, aka the Talkie King from All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!. He is coming all the way from Sweden to attend the last Cinfest. It’ll be the first time I get to meet him in person and suffice to say I’m pretty stoked about it. Jonas has been very influential in my discovery of early cinema, especially those first talkie musicals, and thus meeting at Cinefest is very apropos.

Yours truly at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival
(Jerry Lewis Hand & Footprint Ceremony)

I'll have one single day of rest before we fly across the country to attend the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival. I've covered the 2013 and 2014 festivals on this blog (read previous coverage here). I can't help but pinch myself because I am so incredibly lucky to be attending the festival once again for this year. TCM's festival has been likened to the Disney World or Comic Con of classic film enthusiasts. And it's true. It's pure ecstasy for anyone who really loves old movies, Hollywood and TCM. Later this week I'll be sharing my methods for budgeting for this festival. It's expensive and for folks who live far away from Hollywood it's even more so. If you can make it happen, it's worth the effort.

Please stay tuned for Cinefest and TCMFF coverage in the coming weeks!

Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance by Brent Phillips

Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance
by Brent Phillips
Hardcover, 368 pages
ISBN: 9780813147215
November 2014
University Press of Kentucky

Barnes and Noble
Powell's
IndieBound

“He was born to dance.” – Brent Phillips on Chuck Walters

When I started my classic film education I spent very little time learning about the people behind-the-scenes: the directors, producers, costume designers, make-up artists, etc. It left a gaping hole in my film knowledge, one I’ve been trying to fill up ever since. I had never heard of director Charles Walters until I acquired Brent Phillip’s biography. This is an utter shame because Walters directed and choreographed my favorite musical of all time: Good News (1947). I was happy to have an opportunity to correct this egregious error and I dived right into the book.

Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance is an honest yet celebratory look at the life and career of a lesser known yet very important figure from film history. Walters was a born dancer and although he wasn’t classically trained, he came to the film industry with years of experience performing on stage. His background in dance and choreography made him the perfect director for musicals. He also directed numerous non-musical films and choreographed the movement of the camera and the actors. Walters’ had varied style. He was a veritable chameleon and could adapt himself to different scenarios.

“These prized celluloid moments, capturing nonpareil performers at their unqualified best, possess one thing in common each spring from the imaginative mind of Charles “Chuck “ Walters – dancer, choreographer, director.” – Brent Phillips (preface)

Charles Walters & Lena Horne - Photo Source Brent Phillips & WSJ

I was particularly struck by how Walters was a “teach-by-example” type of director. He would demonstrate the movements to the actor or actress right before they filmed a scene or sometimes even during the scenes as it was being shot. This fascinates me! There is a wonderful photo in the book of Charles Walters and Tony Martin filming a scene for Easy to Love (1953). Mirroring each other, Walters and Martin simultaneously do an open armed gesture as Martin sings and performs for the camera. This style of directing was definitely influenced by Walters’ background as a dancer. He was also a master of pacing and clever camera shots.

“Timing and pace are important in any film, whether it be comedy or drama. And how better to learn the fundamentals of these show show business ingredients than by dancing?” – Charles Walters

I very much admired Charles Walters’ work ethic. He was a very efficient filmmaker, often finishing a film on time and under budget. I was particularly inspired by this quote:

“I had to work harder. I couldn’t do the social thing, and play the game the others were playing. I had to work that much harder and handle the ‘evils’ by doing good work.” – Charles Walters

Walters was gay and while he didn't try to hide it he was discreet about it. He had a long romantic relationship with John Darrow, actor-turned-agent whose greatest success was Gene Kelly.

Relationships, both personal ones and working ones, really drove Walters' career. He collaborated with Helen Deutsch, Busby Berkeley, Vilma Ebsen (Buddy Ebsen’s sister) and Arthur Freed. If he worked well with someone he always tried to make sure he worked with them again in the near future. For example, Walters got along so well with assistant director Al Jennings that they worked on a total of 11 films together.

Many actresses found Walters a delight to work with. He had a long and fruitful creative partnership with troubled actress Judy Garland and had a good rapport with her. One could say he brought the best out of her performances. He worked with and became close friends with Gloria Swanson. Walters’ leading ladies included Grace Kelly, Joan Crawford, June Allyson, Doris Day, Leslie Caron, Esther Williams and Debbie Reynolds.

Phillips includes several quotes from different actresses praising Walters:

“For me Chuck was – besides Astaire – the best dancer in the world world. He was fantastic [and] knew exactly what to do with young people. He knew how to put them together and work with them, because he was so kind.” – June Allyson

“He was the greatest male dancer I had seen since Fred Astaire.” – Gloria Swanson

“He’s the first director who has ever helped me with my acting. It’s a whole new world. We rehearse, and then I do it in one take. Working with him is like going to drama school. It’s wonderful!” – Esther Williams

The book is filled with on-the-set anecdotes. Films discussed include:

Good News (1947) , his directorial debut
Easter Parade (1948)
Summer Stock (1950)
Torch Song (1953)
Lili (1953) , nominated for Best Director Oscar
Dangerous When Wet (1953)
Easy to Love (1953)
The Tender Trap (1955)
High Society (1956)
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960)
Billy Rose’s Jumbo (1962)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) , last film for MGM
Walk Don’t Run (1966)

This biography is full of fun facts. Did you know Charles Walters taught Ingrid Bergman how to waltz for Gaslight? He also directed the famous trolley scene in Meet Me in St. Louis. About the scene John Fricke said “everything seems simple, but it’s constant, pure storytelling – and an audience gets caught up in that.” Walters was good friends with Tyrone Power. They both got their start in Hollywood around the same time and were even roommates.


Worked with MGM for many years and Phillips noted that “he was a genuine company man” (p 76). His career at MGM was very successful and he made numerous box office hits. His track record wouldn't last for long.

“It’s an awful burden. You want the fame and fortune and you have this awful load to carry.” – Charles Walters

The end of his career is rather sad. His last films for MGM were flops and he missed an important resurgence of musicals in the mid 1960s. However in his last years he was appreciated and had a chance to teach and give lectures at a university.
It is clear that author Brent Phillips, a dancer himself, has a lot of admiration and appreciation for the life, work and legacy of Charles Walters. The book is beautifully assembled, filled with interesting facts and stories and is clear and concise in a way that makes the book approachable and informative. I really appreciated the book's structure, Phillips sticks to a strict chronological narrative. There is an insert of black-and-white photos in the center, many of the pictures are from the author's personal collection.

I used to dance so I have much appreciation for the art form and how Walters applied his skills as a dancer to his work as a director. I really enjoyed learning about Charles Walters and am glad to know a lot more about his work.

Classic film buffs, dancers and musical enthusiasts alike will enjoy this book! If you enjoyed the recent TCM Friday Night Spotlight series with the author introducing Walters films, then this book will be a must-read for you if you haven't checked it out already.

Thank you to University Press of Kentucky for sending me a copy of this book for review. I had so much fun reading it. It was a wonderful learning experience.

On Borrowed Time (1939)

Sometimes a film comes into your life at the exact moment you need it. And other times it's inconvenient or painful. My grandfather passed away Friday night. When I woke up Saturday morning I turned on the TV to watch TCM. Classic film as emotional therapy has always been a way for me to cope with what life throws at me, both good and bad. What I didn’t expect to see on TCM is exactly what appeared: a movie about a dying grandfather. It was the last 30 minutes of the movie and I wasn’t sure if I should watch it. In fact, I was pretty sure watching it was a bad idea. I watched it nonetheless and found a new set of tears streaming down my face. It helped me work through some more of my emotions and appreciate the meaning of “family”. After watching the ending, I went to Watch TCM to watch the whole thing. And I'm very glad I did.

On Borrowed Time (1939) stars Lionel Barrymore as Gramps (Julian Northrup). He's a lovable old curmudgeon who is taking care of his newly orphaned grandson Pud (Bobs Watson). What he doesn't know is that Mr. Brink (Cedric Hardwicke) is coming for the Northrup family. First he took Gramps' son and his daughter-in-law and Gramps is next on his list. Mr. Brink's name is a play on the term "brink of death". He's the personification of death and only people who are close to death or whose time to die has come can see him and hear him. You might ask, what's the difference? Some folks who are very ill can see Mr. Brink even though it's not their time to go. An example is given very early on when a coughing man stops to give Mr. Brink a ride in his car. He thought Mr. Brink was waving to him. This encounter is the personification of a near-death experience.

Mr. Brink's arrival is incredibly inconvenient for Gramps who is in the middle of sorting out things for his grandson Pud. Pud and Gramps are as thick as thieves. Despite the age difference, they both have youthful spirits and find much in common. Pud idolizes Gramps and his devotion to Gramps and Gramps' undying love for his grandson heightens the emotional drama of the story.  Things become even more painful when Aunt Demetria (Eily Malyon) threatens to take Pud away from invalid Gramps and Mr. Brink threatens to take Gramps away from them all.

Gramps recently made a magical wish that comes true: anyone who climbs up Gramps' apple tree won't be able to come down until he gives them permission to do so. This scenario adds a bit of magical realism to the story and a way for Gramps' to fend off death. He tricks Mr. Brink into climbing the tree. Anyone who touches the tree will die instantly however as long as Mr. Brink is stuck there he can't come for Gramps. This gives Gramps an opportunity to spend more time with Pud and to settle some issues.

Bobs Watson and Lionel Barrymore in a promotional photo for On Borrowed Time (1939)

A death always shakes up family dynamics. The true nature of certain family members comes to light and their actions betray underlying motivations. The best example of this is Aunt Demetria as played by Eily Malyon. She's Pud's aunt and the Northrup's in-law. Her motivations for taking Pud away from Gramps are selfish and dishonest. It's clear she's after her brother-in-law's inheritance. Gramps couldn't care less about money and only wants to protect young Pud. Demetria and Gramps are polar opposite and she serves to highlight Gramps' good character and genuine motivations.

Lionel Barrymore's performance is the best part of this film. Barrymore was quite ill at the time and confined to his wheelchair. Yet his physical hindrances did not affect his performance. Barrymore is simply charming and the Gramps character is the grandfather we all wish we could have.

Cedric Hardwicke, Lionel Barrymore and Bobs Watson in On Borrowed Time (1939)

Spoiler alert

In the end, Gramps can only keep death away for so long. Dr. Evans (Henry Travers) becomes the voice of reason and convinces Gramps that death is necessary for life to go on. It takes Gramps quite a while to convince others that he death is really stuck up in his apple tree. They think he's crazy and plan to take him away to the loony bin and put Pud into the care of Aunt Demetria. The film suffers at this point. Three-quarters of the way in, the plot line loses steam and doesn't pick up until events escalate in the last 20 minutes or so.

What's the solution to keep Pud and Gramps together forever? To have them both die. Mr. Brink tricks Pud into climbing the fence that protects the now poisonous apple tree. Pud suffers a fall and a near-death experience. He's paralyzed and in a lot of pain. Gramps takes Pud out to the tree and asks Mr. Brink to bring both of them to heaven. We see both Gramps and Pud come out of their paralysis and walk with Mr. Brink. A double was used for some of the shots of Gramps walking since Barrymore couldn't in real life. In one side shot of Barrymore, he seems to be walking but he's really just standing, propped up by something hidden his jacket with a moving background simulating motion.

In this story, death is seen as the reliever of pain. Mr. Brink is feared because he separates people from their loved ones. However, he's also seen as merciful, only after death though, because he relieves their physical and emotional pain and reunites them with lost loved ones. It's a tricky topic to cover. For those of us, like myself, who don't believe in an afterlife, the thought of death is especially grim. Why take Pud with Gramps? No matter what Gramps did in life, it was inevitable that Pud and Gramps would be separated. By dying together and going off to heaven, they'll be together for ever. This is a rather satisfying ending even though Pud is so young and hasn't experienced life yet. However, the accident he has qualifies the ending because we know if he had lived on it would have been a life filled with pain, suffering and lost opportunities.

Spoiler ends

On Borrowed Time was based on a novel and successful Broadway play by the same name. The opening credits refers to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The Pardoner's Tale, a story about the battle with death, is most likely the inspiration for the story.

Even with the main theme of death, the film is filled with funny and heart-warming moments. Gramps has some great lines, my favorite one is:

 "Well, I'll be dipped in gravy."

The film has a wonderful supporting cast including Beulah Bondi as Nellie (Granny), Una Merkel as Marcia Giles (the local girl they hire to help around the house), Nat Pendleton (Mr. Grimes, a representative from the state insane asylum) and Henry Travers, of It's a Wonderful Life fame, as Dr. Evans. However, none of these actors are given roles sufficient enough for their talents. For example, the normally spunky Una Merkel plays a quiet and meek character. She has one glorious moment in the film when she stands up for Gramps, however her talents are mostly wasted in the film. Cedric Hardwicke as Mr. Brink and Eily Malyon as Aunt Demetria are the only characters who have significant screen time, interesting story lines and several moments to shine.

On Borrowed Time is truly a Barrymore-Watson vehicle. You can tell there is a great bond between the Pud and Gramps characters. The more curmudgeonly Barrymore's representation of Gramps is, the more we know much Pud means to him because the child is truly his soft spot. Also, Bobs Watson, a child actor known for effectively turning on the water works, was meant for the role of Pud. He has all the enthusiasm and emotion necessary for such a role.

Beulah Bondi, Eily Maylon, Lionel Barrymore and Bobs Watson in On Borrowed Time (1939)

I really enjoyed watching On Borrowed Time. It was difficult at first because of what had happened in my life. My relationship with my grandfather wasn't as close or endearing as the one Gramps and Pud have with each other but it was still very painful to lose him.

The film reminded me of two similar stories: Make Way For Tomorrow and Punky Brewster. In Make Way for Tomorrow, an aging couple is forced apart because of family dynamics and in Punky Brewster, Punky is abandoned by her parents and taken in by an elderly man, Henry Warnimont. Both stories meant a lot to me. Punky Brewster was an important part of my childhood. Make Way For Tomorrow traumatized me. I've always thought one of the greatest injustices in life is when two people who love each other are kept apart; whether it be a familial love like Gramps and Pud, or a platonic love or a romantic love. All of these stories remind me of that injustice and the importance of valuing relationships.

On Borrowed Time is a new treasure for me and I'm so glad I gave it a chance. It's a delightful film which imparts to viewers the importance of family, to treasure your loved ones and the time you have on earth.

I watched On Borrowed Time on TCM and Watch TCM. It's also available on DVD-MOD through Warner Archive.

Rex Ingram: Visionary Director of the Silent Screen by Ruth Barton

Rex Ingram: Visionary Director of the Silent Screen
by Ruth Barton
Hardcover, 262 pages
ISBN: 9780813147093
October 2014
University Press of Kentucky

Barnes and Noble
Powell's
IndieBound

Rex Ingram was once a famous director from the silent film era and today is virtually unknown. His name was eclipsed in fame by another Rex Ingram, the actor and some of his films eclipsed in fame by remakes. According to legend, Rex Ingram, whose real name was Rex Hitchcock, once suggested to a young Alfred Hitchcock that a name change was crucial for future success.

"Changing his name was another statement of intent, not just an homage to his mother [Ingram was her maiden name] but a firm break with his father's ambitions for him." - Ruth Barton

Ingram's legacy, or lack thereof, is a complicated matter author Ruth Barton tackles in this new biography. Barton makes the case that Ingram was a talented director with a unique vision but whose career was often sidetracked by his independence, rebelliousness, perfectionism and temper.

"Fired by the idea that the movies might just be the "seventh art," they determined to test the boundaries of this new medium to create films that would be artistic masterpieces of their generation." - Ruth Barton

Rex Ingram was famous Hollywood figure in his day. He was a visionary whose imagination and artistic skill helped sculpt an industry in its early years. He was known for his trademark of open and unexpected endings. Ingram's filmography includes The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), Scaramouche (1923), The Arab (1924), Mare Nostrum (1926) and The Garden of Allah (1927).   Most of his films were re-made in his lifetime.

 "Rex was torn between the lure of mass entertainment... his own suspicion of mainstream culture, coupled with an embedded reluctance to conform." - Ruth Barton 

Ingram helped launch the careers of legendary actors Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro (note: it's stressed in the book that he didn't discover Valentino). The actress Alice Terry, who went on to become his second wife, was his muse, his leading lady and his travel companion. She was the most important person in his career and even co-directed Ingram's final film Love in Morocco (1933).

Alice Terry and Rex Ingram (Source)

Over the length of his career in film, Ingram bounced from studio to studio. Some of these include Biograph Studios, Vitagraph, Fox, Universal, Paralta Studios, MGM and more. He butted heads with movie moguls including Louis B. Mayer. He worked with D.W. Griffith, Carl Laemmle, Erich von Stroheim, Thomas Edison and was friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was particularly touched by an anecdote about how Ingram showed kindness to a yet unknown Merle Oberon. She was being neglected by the industry because of her ethnicity. Ingram thought her exotic look beautiful and hired her as an extra in one of his films.

"His refusal to kowtow to Louis B. Mayer or recognized the authority of MGM had made him powerful enemies and placed him outside the most influential film making system in the world." - Ruth Barton

Ingram was born in Ireland but once he left he never came back. Even though he made his home in the US, he fell in love with North Africa and the Middle East and converted to Islam. Ingram also loved the French Rivieria and made films at Victorine Studios. His distaste for Western culture grew over time. After retiring from film, Ingram concentrated on his passions for sculpting, writing and traveling.

Barton tries to rescue Rex Ingram from complete obscurity by piecing together his life story and sharing it with readers. Her book is not the first on Rex Ingram but is the only one in print and readily available. Barton also had access to Ingram's memoirs which gave her a lot of insight into his life and career.

I had difficulties both reading this book and writing the review. I didn't know much about Rex Ingram and I had only seen a couple of his films. Not knowing about a figure of film history has never been a barrier to prevent me from reading and enjoying a biography. However, in this case I felt that if I had more familiarity with Ingram's work I would have benefited from when reading the text. It's a double-edge sword because more familiarity with Rex Ingram will allow for his films to become more readily available to the public.

All fingers point to Ingram's story being interesting, especially since he was such a rebel, but it's really not. Ingram wanted to make art and film was just a medium for him. Had he real passion for film and continued to work in the field his story would have been a lot more interesting.

I recommend Rex Ingram: Visionary Director of the Silent Screen to serious film students and silent film buffs only. If you really want to dig deep and learn about early film history, this is a good pick. Otherwise, you may want to skip it.

Overview: A difficult read but worth the effort if your interest in the silent film era is strong.

Thank you to the University Press of Kentucky for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Lonesome (1928) at the Coolidge Corner Theatre with Alloy Orchestra

Coolidge Corner Theatre sign lit up at night is a beauty to behold.

Lonesome (1928) on the Coolidge Corner Theatre marquee.

Last night was simply magical. I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Pál Fejös’ Lonesome (1928) on the big screen. This event took place at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA and was the grand finale of their Sounds of Silents repertory series. It included live musical accompaniment by the acclaimed Alloy Orchestra. I had seen the Alloy Orchestra before at the Somerville Armory back in 2009 for a Halloween screening of The Phantom of the Opera (1925). But that was so long ago and I was over due for another of their fine performances!  The combination of a great silent film and a wonderful musical performance all in a glorious Art Deco theater made for an unforgettable evening.

Before things got started, a contributor to the Sounds of Silents series, Dr. Martin Norman*, spoke briefly about the film. There were about 200 people in attendance but it was fairly certain that most of them were not aware of this hidden gem. In fact Dr. Norman asked the audience to raise their hands if they had either seen Lonesome (1928) before that night or had at least heard of it. My hand shot up proudly. I was one of maybe 7 others in the audience who did so. My good friend Jonas, who has been so instrumental in my education of the early history of film, introduced me to Lonesome. I enjoyed it when I saw it the first time but I fell in love with it deeply on this night.

Coolidge Corner Theatre and Alloy Orchestra's set-up

Lonesome (1928) was a perfect choice for musical accompaniment. The chaos of those first scenes with the hustle and bustle of a busy New York City and the manic hurly burly of the carnival just begged for music and sound effects. Lonesome is a part talkie. It was originally intended to be a silent movie but given the growing popularity of talkies and the major shift in the industry, it was decided to shoot and add three talking scenes to the picture.

Pre-screening talk.

The presenter noted that several critics feel like the talking scenes distract from the picture and he agreed with them. I don't agree. The shift felt strange to some and caused audience members to laugh, but the part talkie element of the film suits it so well in my opinion. 1928 was a time of transition in Hollywood. The industry was moving away from silents and to talkies but was still trying to figure out how to get there and what audiences wanted. It was also a time when the Roaring Twenties were fading away and the Great Depression was just on the horizon. It's my favorite time in movie history because it's so unique. There will never be a time of such change in film history ever again and this film is a beautiful example of that historic shift.

What I find fascinating about the three talking scenes is the fact that they are some of the quietest scenes in the picture. The silent scenes are manic and loud and the talking scenes are of quieter and more reflective moments. Quite the opposite of what you’d expect! Lonesome (1928) is probably the loudest silent film I’ve ever seen.

Alloy Orchestra at the Coolidge Corner Theatre

The Alloy Orchestra entertained the crowd with their magnificent accompaniment. The three man orchestra plays with a variety of instruments. I always enjoy the sound effects in particular the whistle used to accompany the high striker in one of the carnival scenes. Irving Berlin’s Always is integral to the plot of the story and is featured twice in the movie. In the final scene, one of the members of the Orchestra sings the song through a cone which gave his voice the effect of sounding like an old record. It was my favorite moment of the performance!







Lonesome (1928) is a timeless masterpiece that is unfairly overlooked. It’s message is still relevant today: if we don't take the time to connect with our fellow man we can be lonesome even when surrounded by many. It's message is still relevant to audiences more than 80 years later. The hectic hustle and bustle of 1928 as depicted in the film is very similar to the chaos of 2014. Our technologies are more advanced and our culture is very different but at the root of it all we still suffer from the same disconnect that is a result of a life frantically lived.

It’s a short film but it makes quite an impact on anyone who watches it. The film's stars Barbara Kent and Glenn Tryon are not big names but are perfectly suited for their roles. I particularly love the scenes of every day life. Jim and Mary getting ready in the morning, having breakfast, commuting to their jobs, working and clocking out at the end of the day. This movie is a time capsule of the late 1920s.

I went to see Lonesome (1928) all by my lonesome. I always used to always have a friend, or two or something 10 along with me to see a classic film on the big screen. Nowadays I'm lucky if I can drag my husband to a screening. Otherwise I just don't go. This made me think about reaching out to old friends, making new friends and also not being afraid to be lonesome. Being alone and putting yourself out there opens you up to the opportunity of meeting new people. And as we all know the new person dynamic is life changing.

Alloy Orchestra takes a bow.

Thank you to the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Alloy Orchestra for a magical night!

*I'm not 100% of the presenter's name as I didn't write it down. If it's wrong, please let me know.

Why Be Good? (1929) by Jonas Nordin

The late silent film Why Be Good? (1929) was considered lost for many years. Not only has it been found but also restored and released on DVD much to the delight of classic film fans across the globe. The film stars Colleen Moore as Pert Kelly. She’s a shopgirl by day and a wild flapper by night. Pert’s reputation as as partier is all smoke and mirrors. She’s a good girl at heart and only wants the appeal the flapper lifestyle provides. Pert has caught the eye of Winthrop Peabody Jr. (Neil Hamilton). He’s mesmerized by her vivacity and beauty but equally perplexed by her reputation. Winthrop is now the head of staff at his father’s department store. Little do the pair know that Pert is a shop girl at the same store and it’s against the rules for him to date the staff. With added pressure from his father to seek out a virtuous girl, Winthrop sets a trap to find out of Pert is virtuous or if she’s just like all the other flappers.

The film is a morality tale but also a showcase of all the fun excesses of the flapper era. Fans of the 1920s will delight at all the party scenes, the dancing, the booze and the flapper dresses. Why Be Good? (1929) is in a very awkward spot in history. The film industry is transitioning to talkies and silent films are falling out of favor with the public. However, the silent films of the late 1920s have become more sophisticated in their story telling and their use of sound effects and music. It’s an often overlooked era in film but one that should be given plenty of attention. Also, the movie was released in early 1929 and serves as one big party before the stock market crash later that same year which sets off the Great Depression.

Below is a wonderful article by Jonas Nordin of All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!. He'll be posting it on his site but is giving me the pleasure of sharing it here first! His article gives a lot of background about actress Colleen Moore's career just before she made Why Be Good?, the making and critical reception of the film, details of the once lost film's discovery and restoration.

Why Be Good? (1929) by Jonas Nordin

On February 28, 1928 Colleen Moore signed what was going to be her last contract with First National. Moore had been the company’s prime money maker since her big break in Flaming Youth back in 1923. Her previous contract had included four films made 1927-28, Her Wild Oat, Happiness Ahead, Oh Kay!, and the blockbuster Lilac Time.

The Swedish poster for Lilac Time

Early 1928 Colleen Moore was in a very good position to renegotiate her contract. One could say that the contract she was to sign was quite favorable. It stipulated that Colleen was to have final say over scripts, continuity, directors, photographers, male leads and cutting. She was obliged to make four photoplays and receive $150,000 per film. This made her just about the best paid actress in Hollywood at the time. Her husband and producer John McCormick who also was included in her contract didn’t believe in the coming of talking pictures so there was no mention of any singing or talking in the contract. One must also keep in mind that in February of 1928 talking pictures were just The Jazz Singer and some vaudeville shorts, nothing else.

The first film to be produced within her new contract was Synthetic Sin, a script which she approved of in March 1928. The script itself had been under development for over six months and Colleen was eager to shoot it. She still had to finish work on the last two films in the old contract first, Happiness Ahead and the silent version of the Gershwin musical Oh Kay!. Both were made during spring 1928 and opened in May and August respectively. Lilac Time was already finished and waited for the fall season with an August premiere and a general release in October. With its enormous sets and multitude of extras, Lilac Time had cost more than the other three films together, so it was crucial it became a hit. By the end of its lengthy run it turned out to become the second most grossing film during the 1920’s. The biggest money maker until 1939 was The Singing Fool which coincidentally went up side by side with Lilac Time in the fall season of 1928.
Work on Synthetic Sin started in September 1928 but the other three films in the new contract were not yet decided. Normally the studio had a fair amount of forward planning, and when a four picture deal was settled it was often known which films were to be produced. Scripts were usually approved and directors appointed well in advance. Sometimes things didn't run as smoothly. McCormick had a script called The Richest Girl in the World which he thought suitable as Colleen’s next offering. William A. Seiter was to direct it. Even a starting date for it was set to November 5th.

Colleen Moore in Synthetic Sin (1929) - Film Poster

Hollywood movie making was quickly changing and with the thundering success of Warner’s second talkie, The Singing Fool in late September 1928, the other studios quickly had to reconsider their shooting schedules. First National decided that it would be favorable if Colleen agreed to do a talking picture since that was the new thing everyone was talking about. Colleen was the biggest star of the studio but her contract also granted her complete control and the possibility to refuse to talk on film if she felt like it, she had at least no contractual obligation to comply with this request. The studio cancelled The Richest Girl In The World because the script wasn't sufficiently developed (it was later revised into a 1934 Miriam Hopkins talkie, still with William A. Seiter directing it). First National suggested several titles to replace it, including When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Funny Face and Dangerous Nan McGrew, and it had to be a talkie. That was if Colleen would agree to renegotiate her contract.

In October 1928 Warner Brothers bought two thirds of First National and since Warner’s was the leading studio of the talkie craze the demand to release talking pictures grew day by day. Before renegotiating Colleen’s contract the studio wanted to make sure she had a voice. She recited the nursery rhyme Little Bo Peep as her voice test. Colleen’s voice recorded just fine and was indeed considered suitable for talkies. However, she still had to go to a voice coach and even take singing lessons like everyone else who wanted to be a star of talking pictures. The coming of talkies was clearly a way of the studios to clean out all sorts of disadvantages and put pressure on their stars.

By this time Synthetic Sin was almost finished and a script for a second silent comedy was quickly decided, probably to buy some time to prepare for Colleen’s first talkie. The script was initially called That’s A Bad Girl but the studio finally settled on Why Be Good? as the title. Mid November, just as shooting of Synthetic Sin wrapped, Colleen and McCormick took a week off and went through the heaps of suggested scripts to find the next film, Colleen’s first talkie. The choice fell on When Irish Eyes Are Smiling later renamed Smiling Irish Eyes, but it needed a lot of work to be turned into a working talking picture. Well home again, work on Why Be Good? started immediately. With the success of MGM’s Our Dancing Daughters that had been running since September, First National wanted a similar vehicle to cash in on the youthful shop girl movie fad.

In January 1929 Colleen agreed to renegotiate her contract with First National. The revision consisted in that the final two films left on her February 1928 contract were to be all-talking. She would get an additional $25,000 for each talking picture which meant she would get $175,000 per movie. McCormick who still was included in his wife’s contract was to get $35,000 per movie, a raise with $2,500. The contract more or less settled that the last silent picture Colleen was to appear in was Why Be Good?.

Magazine ad for Synthetic Sin

Magazine ad for Why Be Good?

Magazine ad for Why Be Good?

Synthetic Sin opened January 6th 1929 but wasn't a big success according to period reviews. However it wasn't exactly a bomb either as the public quite liked it, even more so with Why Be Good? that opened two months later. It was clearly considered the better of the two. Why Be Good? was basically an updated remake of Flaming Youth and was marketed as such. The press called it “peppy and entertaining”. None of the two films were seen as remarkable or outstanding by any sense, just typical Colleen Moore comedies.

Synthetic Sin and Why Be Good? were shot almost back to back late autumn 1928, both had a synchronized score and sound effects but no dialogue. They were no high budget melodramas but quickly produced rapid paced comedies. Like so many other of Colleen’s comedies they were directed by William A. Seiter. As silent pictures quickly were falling out of fashion, the fan magazines and the press in general mostly neglected this type of movies in favor of bigger productions and all talking extravaganzas. We should be grateful that these two films have survived at all. Both actually did very well at the box office, each earning more than $750,000 against an initial cost of about $325,000, which was outstanding for silents in 1929, especially considering not very favorable reviews.

At the time when Why Be Good? was released there were rumors running that Colleen would make one talkie and then end her career. This may very well have been her initial thought but to fulfill her contract she had to make two talkies before she could bow out. Smiling Irish Eyes and Footlights and Fools, shot during the spring and very hot summer of 1929. Both were lavish all-talking productions that included big production numbers and several Technicolor sequences. Sadly, neither of the two survives today. Colleen was not at all pleased with how she turned out in them. She later said that especially Smiling Irish Eyes was a frightfully dull film and she wasn't surprised it flopped. Looking back this may explain why both her 1929 talkies were unsuccessful. She was clearly uncomfortable with the new way of making movies even though she had a voice. After fulfilling the contract Colleen took a break from movie making concentrating on dollhouses, successful investments and personal matters. Her days as a movie star were over.

Colleen divorced John McCormick in 1930. She returned to the screen briefly in 1933 and made four films for four different studios of which the first film, The Power And The Glory (Fox) is the one she liked best according to her memoirs Silent Star (1968).

The Restoration
Until the late 1990s both Synthetic Sin and Why Be Good? were thought to be lost. There is an extremely high mortality rate for films released during the 1927-29 transition period. A large fire at Warner Bros. in the 1950s destroyed the then-known prints.

Fast forward to 2002 and New York's Film Forum. Prior to a screening, Ron Hutchinson of The Vitaphone Project updated the audience on the project’s latest activities. He casually mentioned that he recently acquired all the soundtrack disks for Colleen Moore's Why Be Good?, and said something to the effect that "unfortunately, this is a lost film."

Film historian Joe Yranski, who ran the film library at the Donnell Media Center, had been a longtime friend of Colleen Moore's and knew more about this film than probably anybody on the planet, yelled out "No it's not! I know where it is!" The full house at Film Forum cheered.

Ron Hutchinson of The Vitaphone Project

Ron immediately connected with Joe, and learned the sole known 35mm nitrate prints for both Why Be Good? and Synthetic Sin were in an Italian archive, donated to them decades before by actor Antonio Moreno. Thus began a decade long effort to negotiate the loan of both films for full restoration and synchronization with the existing Vitaphone disks. While the entire soundtrack to Why Be Good? survived in Ron’s collection, only the disk for the last reel and exit music was known for Synthetic Sin. Fortunately, a full list of Vitaphone music cues existed and was used to recreate the soundtrack.

Ned Price, Warner Bros. Chief Preservation Officer and the driving force behind the studio’s support of nearly 150 Vitaphone short restorations, personally interceded with the Cineteca di Bologna and negotiated a mutually agreeable arrangement to have both films restored and copies of both finished efforts given to the archive.

Work began late in 2012, with the professional transfer of Ron’s Why Be Good? disks and the lone disk for Synthetic Sin by sound engineer Seth Winner. The restoration effort represents a true partnership between Warner Bros., UCLA Film and Television Archive, Joe Yranski, and The Vitaphone Project, and was completed in June 2014.

Synthetic Sin and Why Be Good? were recently screened, for the first time in over 80 years, in 35mm and sound. The 2014 screenings in Bologna, Pordenone, London, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York were all literally packed to the last seat. One could assume that Colleen Moore's fan base is growing with these discoveries.

Seen today both films are definitely well budgeted, have strong First National art direction with a heavy art deco slant. In the case of Why Be Good?, there is the added attraction of Jean Harlow as a prominent dress extra (seen making out with a guy on a couch), and a super musical score with top jazz musicians of the period.

Jean Harlow in the background as an extra in Why Be Good? (1929)

Why Be Good? is available on DVD-MOD from Warner Archive Be sure to get a copy of it.

The preservation state of the movies discussed above:
Her Wild Oat (1927) - Survives complete
Happiness Ahead (1928) - Lost
Oh Kay! (1928) - Lost
Lilac Time (1928) – Survives complete

Synthetic Sin (1929) – Survives with sound fragment
Why Be Good (1929) – Survives complete
Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) – Lost, sound survives
Footlights And Fools (1929) - Lost, sound survives

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Why Be Good? (1929) from Warner Archive for review. I promptly mailed that copy off to Sweden to Jonas and bought a separate copy for myself. Thank you to Warner Archive for the review copy!

Wings of the Navy (1939)

Wings of the Navy (1939) shines a spotlight on U.S. naval aviation. This Warner Bros. film was directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Cosmopolitan Productions (a Hearst company). It stars George Brent as Cass Harrington. Cass and his younger brother Jerry (John Payne) have followed in their father's footsteps by pursuing careers in the Navy. Their rear admiral father, who recently passed away, has left them with the responsibility of carrying on the Harrington name in the Navy so that his legacy would continue. Pride, self-sacrifice and honor are all major themes in the story and the driving forces behind the actions of the various characters.

John Payne and George Brent in Wings of the Navy (1939)

Cass is an esteemed naval aviator with a reputation that has earned him respect and admiration among many of his colleagues. The younger Jerry is jealous of his older brother and seeks to surpass him. He abandoning his work with submarines and signs up to be a new naval aviation recruit, much to Cass' dismay.  Olivia de Havilland plays Irene Dale. With a father and a boyfriend (Cass) in the Navy, she's no stranger to the lifestyle. Jerry and Irene fall in love heightening Jerry's competitiveness towards his brother. What follows is a love triangle complicated by the dangers of aviation and the intricacies of a brotherly bond.

Olivia de Havilland and John Payne in Wings of the Navy (1939)

Providing some comic relief to this naval drama is Frank McHugh who plays Scat Allen. He's a farmer-turned-new-recruit who is blundering his way through the recruitment process. However, his character has the most personality and displays the most personal growth of all the characters. All of the other characterizations ultimately fall flat.

Frank McHugh in Wings of the Navy (1939)

The plot of Wings of the Navy (1939) is really secondary to the film's real purpose; to showcase the advancements in naval aviation and to entertain audiences with flying sequences both real and fake. Think of this film as a sandwich. You don't eat the sandwich for the bread, you eat it for the fillings. But without the bread it's not a sandwich. Without a plot Wings of the Navy wouldn't be a film. You need the plot to hold things together but really what you're after is the depiction of naval aviation.

As a story this film isn't very good. It's difficult not to compare Olivia de Havilland's very weak role as Irene Dale to her strong role as Melanie in Gone With the Wind which released the same year. Wings of the Navy was shot before Gone With the Wind but it's still a good example of how Warner Bros. didn't see de Havilland's true potential as an actress.

This film is worth watching especially if you are interested in military history. The planes and the aviation footage are the real stars of the movie. A New York Times review of the film reads:

"As a documentary study of the Pensacola Naval Air Training station, and its methods of turning raw recruits into seasoned pilots of combat and bombing planes, "Wings of the Navy" gets off the ground very nimbly, and has a good deal of value, interest and even excitement, of the purely mechanical sort, to offer to the curious."

Wings of the Navy was shot on location at the Pensacola and San Diego Naval Air Stations. The quality footage adds an authenticity to the film and gives it a lot of value as a historical piece.

The incredibly good looking cast of Wings of the Navy (1939). Olivia de Havilland, George Brent and John Payne.

Two of the characters head to Honolulu, Hawaii at the end of the film. I won't tell you which ones otherwise I'd spoil the ending. While Wings of the Navy is a WWII-era film, as of 1939 the United States was not yet involved with the war. However, in two years it would be when Japanese troops launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, Honolulu in 1941. After the film was over, I couldn't help wondering whether the two characters would have been victims or heroes of the Pearl Harbor attack or if they would have moved on to another base by then.

Wings of the Navy (1939) is available on DVD-MOD through Warner Archive . I usually feature Warner Archive movie reviews as part of my Warner Archive Wednesday feature. However, in honor of Veterans Day I'm posting this review early. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me a copy of Wings of the Navy (1939) to review.

Wings of the Navy marquee on the Hemet Theater in Hemet, CA circa 1939. Source

Classic Film Indiegogo Campaigns

Do you love classic films? Consider putting your money where your mouth is and support an Indiegogo campaign. Here are a few classic film related campaigns looking for donors.

Do you know of a campaign I missed? Let me know in the comments section below.

Happy 100th Birthday Norman Lloyd!

Happy Birthday to Norman Lloyd! He turns 100 today.

I had the pleasure of seeing Norman Lloyd at the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival. I shot a video of him in conversation with Leonard Maltin at the screening of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938). I'm sharing it here today in celebration of Lloyd's milestone birthday!

Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin

Hope: Entertainer of the Century
by Richard Zoglin
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover - ISBN: 9781439140277
576 pages
November 2014

Barnes and Noble
Powell's
IndieBound (your independent bookstore)

"He was the most popular entertainer of the twentieth century; the only one who achieved success... in every major genre of mass entertainment in the modern era." - Richard Zoglin

Bob Hope's life was his work. If ever there was a man who was born to entertain it was him. The medium didn't matter. As long as there were funny jokes and an audience to laugh at them Bob Hope was happy.

"He transcended comedy; he was the nation's designated mood-lifter." - Richard Zoglin

Hope was born in England in 1903 but was considered an all-American entertainer. He went on to live for a century and much of his 100 years on earth was dedicated to his career. Hope started off in vaudeville at the time when that medium of entertainment was starting to die off. He had luck on his side and was successful in vaudeville even with the Depression rearing it's ugly head. Always being on the road and performing for live audiences gave him the early training for his long stretch of military tours later on. After vaudeville, Hope went on to Broadway, radio, movies and TV. He was a success in all three, especially TV. Nielsen ratings of his shows and specials broke records and his work hosting the Oscars set standards for future ceremonies. Hope was the father of stand-up comedy and the modern stand-up monologue.

"To survive the vaudeville grind you had to be resourceful, vigilant, watchful of money, always on the move. These were qualities Hope would never lose." - Richard Zoglin

During WWII, Bob Hope found his calling entertaining the troops. It became his mission to bring entertainment to American military troops around the world during times of war and peace. He worked tirelessly through WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. That last war would prove to be the most damaging to his career. The patriotism of WWII that drove him was notably absent during the Vietnam War with a nation protesting our involvement. (Hat tip to the author for mentioning America's invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965. Bob Hope and Tuesday Weld went to the DR to perform for the troops. It's a little known piece of American and Caribbean history. My mother and her family lived through it and I was glad to see it at least get a mention somewhere).

"... no one else pursued his public-service mission so tirelessly or made it such an integral part of his image." - Richard Zoglin

Author Richard Zoglin is a journalist who writes for Time Magazine. He approaches this book very much as a journalist would and covers Hope's career in a very unbiased way. We see the good, the bad and the ugly. Altogether we see a complete portrait of Bob Hope, flaws and all.

Hope's biggest downfall was his longevity. Zoglin writes "Hope needed to keep performing because he couldn't stop believing that the audience needed him." Even when Hope was very old and frail he still wanted to work. And even when he was younger and in better health, he would still find himself working more than he should.

Did you know Bob Hope was loyal to NBC for over 50 years? It was a relationship that benefited both parties, Hope gave NBC great ratings and NBC in turn gave him many spotlights over the years.

This book truly is about Bob Hope's career more so than it is about a life of an entertainer. That's because you really can't separate Hope's career from his life. The two are inextricably intertwined. However, this means Hope as a person wasn't all that interesting. He didn't have a rich inner life and he had only one hobby: golf.

Zoglin does discuss Hope's relationship with his wife Dolores Hope. As you may have read elsewhere, it's revealed in the book that he and Dolores may not have been legally wed. This is despite the fact that Dolores Hope was very Catholic. Zoglin also reveals Hope's first very secret marriage to entertainer Louise Troxel which ended in divorce. There is some information about Hope's string of infidelities and a particularly lurid scene you will not be able to unread. No matter how hard you try! However, I wouldn't categorize this book as salacious. Dolores Hope is portrayed as the stabilizing influence in her husband's life. She sought affection from him but he was very distant. She couldn't conceive so they adopted several children. The Hope family always lived in the shadow of Hope's immense fame something that was more of a curse than a blessing.

So many entertainers are foolish with money. It's almost a cliche. Hope didn't drink, do drugs or gamble. He was frugal to a point and sometimes that meant he short-changed his employees. But overall, he made good investments in real estate, business ventures and in his production company Hope Enterprises.

The book is sprinkled with Hope's one-liners and dialogue from his skits and movies. We learn a lot about his comedy techniques (including some fascinating details about pacing), his staff of writers and his partnerships. Hope and Bing Crosby had chemistry on screen but off screen they weren't friends. Hope got a lot of flack for depending on cue cards and for not writing jokes himself. He always seemed to play the same character on screen what Zoglin refers to as "the wise-cracking, girl-chasing, blustering coward." However, no one can say Bob Hope didn't entertain. That he didn't make people laugh. Because he did and for a very long time.

Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin was a terrific read. It's a long one and there will be some trudging to do especially during the Vietnam War era which is covered extensively in the book. The 500+ pages are well-worth the effort. You'll learn a lot and will be glad you did.

And don't you think that cover is so striking? Bob Hope's profile and ski-slope nose was so iconic! I love this line from Bob Hope:

"It's not true my nose is the way it is as a result of having been broken in an accident. It came the way it is from the manufacturer."

Each chapter of the book represents a different phase of Bob Hope's life and career. The last one entitled "Legend" is particularly difficult to read because of Hope's decline. Grab a tissue because you'll get a good cry at the very end. Zoglin leaves you with a very touching account of Bob Hope entertaining troops during WWII. It's like a one-two punch that will leave you a bit emotional at the end.

Thank you so much to TCM and Simon & Schuster for sending me a galley of this book to read!