Hugh Hefner: The Ultimate Classic Movie Fan

Hugh Hefner with Vivian Blane and Rita Hayworth at the Hollywood Sign fundraiser, circa 1978
Photo source: AP and Another Mag

On a cold wintry day in 2015, I sat in a makeshift screening room of a Holiday Inn in upstate New York. It was the final Cinefest and one of the highlights of the show would be a screening of the once lost Me and the Boys (1929). This jazz short starring Estelle Brody and Ben Pollack's band clocks in at nine minutes. Discovered in 2013, it was restored by the UCLA Film & Television archive and presented at a few screenings including Cinefest. Only die-hard cinephiles, and maybe jazz nuts too, would be interested in this obscure gem. One of the most famous figures who fits into that category was Hugh Hefner. The media mogul was known around the world as the founder of Playboy magazine but to our small community was known as a patron of classic film restoration. Hefner contributed funds to restore Me and the Boys and many other shorts and feature-length films.

Hugh Hefner passed away last week at the age of 91. Over the past few decades Hefner has contributed much to the preservation and exhibition of classic film. His love of movies started as a child living in Chicago during the Great Depression. Hefner said,

“The movies, other than family, were the major influence of my childhood... I was in a very typical Midwestern, Methodist home with a lot of repression and not much demonstrative expression of emotion. My escape was the darkened theater." 

“The reality is because I was not shown affection, I escaped into an alternate universe, and it came right out of the movies. Love for me is defined almost exclusively in terms of romantic love as defined by the films of my childhood."

Hefner held onto that love for the classics throughout his life. Even his well-known fascination with blondes came from watching icons like Jean Harlow and Alice Faye on the big screen. When interviewed during the early naughts at the Playboy Mansion, Hefner proclaimed,

“My dreams came from movies of the 1930s and 40s. There in the dark, all dreams are possible.”

The Playboy Mansion boasted an enormous film collection accrued by Hefner over the years. His movies were organized by genre and color coded. Orange was comedy, blue was crime, green was musicals and so on. Within the genres, the films were arranged in chronological order. The mansion's living room converted into a full movie theater several times a week. One or two nights were devoted to new releases while Fridays and Saturdays were reserved for the classics. Hefner would devote what he referred to as "an afternoon I really can't afford" to writing up an introduction which he would then present to his guests before screening a classic movie.

Hefner's favorite movie? It was Casablanca (1942). Every year on his birthday he would host a Casablanca themed birthday party. Men were required to where cream colored tuxedo jackets like Humphrey Bogart does in the film. Women dressed up in their most glamorous gowns. The dining room was decorated to emulate Rick’s Cafe and the birthday cake was decorated with the Casablanca poster.

“Movies are my passion.” - Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner also adored movie stars. Not only were the celebrities of the moment invites to his many lavish parties hosted at the Playboy Mansion, he also befriended many classic film stars. Writer and critic Glenn Kenny shared this sweet story of Hefner meeting Alice Faye at Cinecon in 1993.

“My task was to keep the droolers (for lack of a better term) from getting too weirdly close to Ms. Faye. She was very game through each signing event. Hefner and his pal Chuck McCann made the pilgrimage on a Sunday morning. They waited on line like everyone else. Once Hefner met Alice, he was diffident, worshipful. He quietly rhapsodized to Alice of matinees spent gazing at her loveliness. Alice was moved, but not knocked out. She knew who Hefner was, but his world was not one she was conversant with. That didn't matter to him. He was there to meet his childhood silver screen crush. A relatively innocent and clearly precious thing. His real heart was in this past.” - Glenn Kelly

Hefner simply loved Hollywood. In 1978 when the landmark Hollywood sign was in disrepair, Hefner hosted a fundraiser selling each of the old letters to wealthy buyers. He raised enough to pay for a brand new sign. Three decades later in 2010, the sign was once again in trouble. The land around in danger of being developed. Trust for Public land was trying to raise the $12.5 million to save the surrounding property but were $900k short. Hefner stepped in and contributed the rest. When asked about the Hollywood sign, Hefner said, “it’s become something iconic and represents not only the town but represents Hollywood dreams, and I think that’s something worth preserving.”

In the last decades of his life, Hugh Hefner made many contributions to support classic film preservation and exhibition. Hefner frequently contributed to the UCLA Film and Television Archive and in 2005 he contributed $1 million to start their Hugh M. Hefner Classic American Film program. Over at USC, he contributed $1.5 million dollars in 1995 to endow the Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film and funded the Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive. For over a decade, he was a guest lecturer for a film censorship class which he also contributed financially to.

Hefner directly funded the restoration of numerous films including obscure musical shorts and feature-length silent and talking pictures. Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project had this story to share:

"When the long-lost Bing Crosby short TWO PLUS FOURS (Pathe, 1930) was found, I contacted Hef's (a huge Crosby and Al Bowlly fan) assistant Mary O'Connor to see if he'd fed its restoration. She called back to say he would. I then stupidly said I'd find out the cost and let her know. She said, nicely but recognizing my. cluelessness, "Ron, just send us the bill!".

Below is a list of film preservation projects that Hugh Hefner has been credited as funding. If you know of any ones I missed, please tell me in the comment section below (along with a creditable source) and I will add it to my list.

Hugh Hefner Film Preservation Projects
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)
The Lost World (1925)
Al Jolson in A Plantation Act (1926)
The Band Beautiful (1928)
Harry Wayman and His 'Debutantes' (1928)
Me and the Boys (1929)
The Opry House (1929)
Pandora’s Box (1929)
Tal Henry and His North Carolinians (1929)
Warner Oland Fu Manchu films (1929-1931)
The Benson Murder Case (1930)
Two Plus Fours (1930)
The Spider (1931)
The Big Broadcast (1932)
Too Much Harmony (1933)
Murder at the Vanities (1934)
14 Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films including...
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942), The Spider Woman (1944),
and The Scarlet Claw (1944)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Ruthless (1948)

Starting in the late 1990s, Hugh Hefner was executive producer on numerous documentaries about classic film. These include the following:

Documentaries produced by Hugh Hefner
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film (1997)
Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998)
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (1999)
Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood (2000)
Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001)
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)
Rita (2003)
Olive Thomas: Everybody's Sweetheart (2003)
The Woman with the Hungry Eyes (2006)
Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2017)

Those of us who love and support the arts know that the biggest obstacles are financial ones. The classic film community was lucky to have such a generous patron.

Sources:
Glenn Kenny Twitter
LA Times 
Hugh Hefner tour on MTV Cribs
Leonard Maltin
UCLA
Variety
The Hollywood Reporter
and others

Note: This article serves to inform my readers about Hefner's contributions to classic film preservation and exhibition, his love of movies and his work to save the Hollywood sign. It is not meant to be about any other aspect of his life. Please consider this when leaving a comment below. Any irrelevant or inappropriate comments will be deleted.

Beggars of Life (1928)

1928 is one of the most fascinating years in film history. Hollywood was in a state of transition, quickly trying to learn how to match visuals with sounds to deliver talking pictures to an eager public. The industry had already mastered the silent film making process and were churning out good quality movies. Many projects in the works were put on hold until talkie versions could be created. Other completed works were retrofitted with talking and singing sequences and synchronized sound to create part-talkies. Beggars of Life (1928) was one of those movies.

With all the other studios racing to create talkies, Paramount presented their first ever contribution with Beggars of Life. Synchronized sound of music, gun shots, moving trains, etc. added to the silent picture. A singing sequence filmed with Wallace Beery was added to the movie after it was completed. The retrofitted scene was used to market the movie. Advertisements proclaimed "come hear Wallace Beery sing!"

Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen and Wallace Beery in Beggars of Life (1928)

 "Even them people in feather beds ain't satisfied -- we're all beggars of life." - Jim, as played by Richard Arlen

Inspired by the popular memoir by Jim Tully, Beggars of Life follows the story of Jim and Nancy, two hoboes on the move. Nancy (Louise Brooks) is an orphan who killed her adoptive father when he tried to rape her. She encounters hobo Jim (Richard Arlen) and the two set off. They don't intend to stick together. It's only when Jim learns that Nancy is wanted for murder and there's a $1,000 reward for her capture that he feels protective of Nancy. They plan to train hop their way to Alberta, Canada to escape the police and find a better life for themselves. On the road, they meet a band of hoboes and Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery), a booze-loving member of the crew who takes a particular interest in Nancy who is dressed like a man but later revealed to the others to be a woman. With the cops on their tail, Nancy, Jim, Oklahoma Red and the rest of the hoboes set off on a train-hopping adventure complete with a spectacular crash.

Beggars of Life was directed by William Wellman for the then Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. Wellman once called the film " the best silent picture I ever made." Beggars of Life was considered lost until Kevin Brownlow discovered 16mm print in London during the 1960s. The original soundtrack for the film is still considered lost so while we see Wallace Beery singing and title cards with lyrics help us out, we can't hear him.

Richard Arlen and Louise Brooks in Beggars of Life (1928)

Beggars of Life displays the sophistication of silent filmmaking that was possible in that era. The quality would significantly change while studios were getting over the learning curve of making talking pictures. Beggars of Life teamed up Louise Brooks and Wallace Beery for a second time. They appeared in the 1927 film Now We're In the Air. Louise Brooks was reaching the peak of her fame and sports her trademark Lulu haircut in the film. I enjoyed her performance and that of Richard Arlen who plays her love interest Jim, based on the real life Jim Tully. The film suffers from some antiquated notions especially with Edgar Washington's stereotyped African-American character. This sort of thing is unfortunately part and parcel with movies of the era. Real life hoboes were hired to play themselves in the film and overall the film is given a very gritty realistic feel even with the glossiness of it's high production value.

Kino Lorber recently released the DVD and Blu-Ray as part of their line of Kino Classics. Their home video releaseis a digital reproduction of George Eastman Museum's 35mm restoration. The preservation was funded by The Film Foundation and the DVD and Blu-Ray release features a new score by The MontAlto Motion Picture Orchestra. The Blu-Ray includes audio commentary by William Wellman Jr. and Thomas Gladysz of the Louise Brooks Society. The Blu-Ray edition is of spectacular quality. I can only imagine what we have access to now looks even better than what was screened in 1928.

Many thanks to Kino Lorber for sending me this movie to review!




Sources:
Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel by William Wellman Jr.
Beggars of Life Huffington Post article by Thomas Gladysz
Today's Sounds for Yesterday's Films: Making Music for Silent Cinema by K.J. Donnelly and Ann-Kristin Wallengren

Hotel (1967)

"I'm an old-fashioned innkeeper. I take care of my employees and they take care of my guests. That's the way I want it to be. I don't want it to change." - Melvyn Douglas as Warren Trent

Hotel (1967) follows the story of the fictitious New Orleans hotel the St. Gregory. Pete McDermott (Rod Taylor) is at the heart of the business. As the hotel manager he oversees all staff, attends to any urgent needs of the hotel guests and conducts business with the owner Warren Trent (Melvyn Douglas). Although the St. Gregory is the destination for many illustrious guests, it's in serious financial trouble. Pete convinces Mr. Trent to entertain an offer by wealthy hotelier Curtis O'Keefe (Kevin McCarthy). However, O'Keefe threatens to transform the place into a cold moneymaker rather than an inviting hotel with hospitality as it's main focus. O'Keefe brings with him his girl of the moment, a young Parisian beauty Jeanne Rochefort (Catherine Spaak). Jeanne is tired of O'Keefe and soon falls for the charming hotel manager. O'Keefe uses Jeanne and his co-horts to try to seal the deal for the hotel while Pete and Mr. Trent quickly try to find another buyer.

Rod Taylor as Pete McDermott

Melvyn Douglas as Warren Trent in Hotel (1967)

Kevin McCarthy as Curtis O'Keefe

Catherine Spaak as Jeanne Rochefort

Then there are the hotel guests who prove to be an interesting bunch of characters, each with their own agenda. Merle Oberon plays Duchess Caroline whose husband Duke Geoffrey (Michael Rennie) killed a child in a drunken hit-and-run accident. The Duchess tries to cover it up but the hotel detective Dupere (Richard Conte) is on to them and tries to extort them. Then there is Karl Malden as Keycase Milne, the resident hotel thief with an impressive collection of room keys. He has his eye on the Duke and Duchess's room and the possible treasures inside. When a black couple book a stay at the hotel and Pete is not around, the hotel turns them away causing a scandal that's splashed across the newspapers. A business deal gone sour, an extortion, theft, a civil rights dilemma, a forbidden romance and an elevator on the fritz, everything comes to a crashing climax. The ending is one that I didn't expect but one that left me immensely satisfied and feeling good about the story's overall message: stay true to yourself.

Michael Rennie and Merle Oberon as the Duke and Duchess

Karl Malden as Keycase Milne

Richard Conte as Detective Dupere

Hotel (1967) is a gratifying film to watch on a rainy day. If you don't have any high expectations you'll be pleasantly surprised. It has it's flaws. It's terribly old-fashioned but that's what I liked about it. Taylor and Spaak lacked chemistry and Spaak quite one note to me. Another actresses would have livened up the film. I found everyone to be delightful to watch including Taylor, Melvyn Douglas, Karl Malden, Richard Conte and even Merle Oberon who I don't particularly care for. Jazz singer Carmen MacRae has a small role as the hotel lounge singer. Clinton Sundberg, a regular in 1940s collegiate movies, plays hotelier O'Keefe's personal assistant.

One could see Hotel (1967) as the 1960s answer to Grand Hotel (1932). The film was directed by Richard Quine, someone I have a keen interest in. Some exteriors and interiors were shot in New Orleans most notably in the French Quarter and in the New Orleans International Airport. Everything else was shot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. Gowns were designed by Edith Head and Merle Oberon wore her own jewelry including a piece that once belonged to Marie Antoinette. The story was based on the best-selling novel by Canadian writer Arthur Hailey. He's also known for his novel Airport which was adapted in 1970 and spawned a series and a spoof. Hotel became a TV series in the 1980s starring Anne Baxter and James Brolin.

I enjoyed Hotel (1967) for it's motley cast of characters, interesting plot lines and for that glorious ending. It also serves as a time capsule of the goings on of a 1960s era hotel. The movie makes me long for a time when morals and personal truths trump greed. I'm drawn to movies about workplaces and this one did not disappoint.

Hotel (1967) is available on DVD-MOD from the Warner Archive Collection. You can purchase the DVD from the WB Shop.

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me a copy of Hotel (1967) to review!