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Columbia marches on across the pond
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 17, 2019
As 1934 began, Columbia crossed its fingers that its two upcoming comedies, "Twentieth Century" and "It Happened One Night," might connect with audiences. Neither were surefire bets despite its star power (John Barrymore and the unproven Carole Lombard in the former, Clark Gable and Claudette Colber read more
'What A Character' blogathon: Hedda Hopper acted, too
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 16, 2019
"The Racketeer," released in autumn 1929, was the last of three talking features the up-and-coming Carole Lombard made at Pathe. Among her castmates was an actress well into her forties whose tall (5-foot-7) frame made her ideal playing dowagers and society types.Her name was Hedda Hopper, born Elda read more
A 'Confession' of another rarity
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 15, 2019
Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray are "jailed" in this promo pic for their April 13, 1941 performance of "True Confession" for the Gulf Screen Guild Theater. (The "CBS" above the mock bars gives things away.) Some 3 1/2 years earlier, the film -- Lombard's last at Paramount, and her fourth straight read more
Silver-screen old-school: Nitrate and noir this weekend
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 14, 2019
Imagine seeing Carole Lombard in that ethereal gown from "My Man Godfrey" in a downtown movie palace's huge screen in the fall of 1936. Now imagine that on original nitrate film stock, whose sparkling black-and-white images led to the term "silver screen." (It was also used for color film, including read more
A large souvenir of 'Lost Hollywood'
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 13, 2019
Carole Lombard's glamour and style, expressed so beautifully in this George Hurrell portrait from 1936, was an integral part of an obscure book from more than three decades ago.It's "Lost Hollywood," by Jack Woody, released in 1987. As part of the campaign, this Lombard poster was issued:Another vie read more
A 'Confession': She's in jail
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 12, 2019
Carole Lombard's "True Confession" alter ego, Helen Bartlett, is in big trouble, which is why she's currently in jail, or at least the 1937 Paramount version of such (the cinderblocks and faucet give it away). However, her exasperated husband Kenneth Bartlett (Fred MacMurray), tired of his wife's co read more
Yet another Columbia gem
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 11, 2019
On this Veterans Day (Carole Lombard, above, is shown with servicemen she met at the Salt Lake City railroad station in January 1942 en route to Chicago and then her bond rally in Indianapolis), we have a second new Lombard still from Columbia in as many days. Take a look:A gorgeous, pensive image o read more
Carole's Columbia curiosity
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 10, 2019
Columbia Pictures was never Carole Lombard's home studio, but Harry Cohn's one-time Poverty Row outfit played a crucial role in her career. Her five movies there included the pivotal early screwball classic "Twentieth Century" as well as "Virtue," arguably her best pure pre-Code. (The promotional st read more
Book-ing her forgotten Fox film
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 9, 2019
Carole Lombard's time at Fox Pictures normally is defined like this: 16-year-old actress signs with Fox, appears in a few 1925 films (mostly westerns), is dropped by the studio about the same time as her automobile accident, then returns for a one-shot in the 1930 oater "The Arizona Kid" (with Warne read more
One step closer to 'reviving' Carole?
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 8, 2019
Slightly more than a year ago, we noted there could be a way to have Carole Lombard perform more than three-quarters of a century after her death, as rock legend Roy Orbison -- who died in 1988 -- "toured" via hologram (https://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/941100.html). This year, Orbison repeated read more
An autograph, apparently the real deal
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 7, 2019
When it comes to Carole Lombard autographed items, whether on photos or as standalones, it's always good to enter with a dose of skepticism. So many charlatans are out there passing off phony material.But I felt pretty confident about this one, and such optimism was confirmed by comments from Lombar read more
A return of 'Girlish Laughter'
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 6, 2019
Long before the #MeToo movement, Carole Lombard had her own way of disarming the Harvey Weinsteins of her era. An assertive attitude, not to mention some of her trademark inventive invective, invariably did the trick.We've recently learned one of the moguls Lombard worked for, David O. Selznick (abo read more
Carole's forgotten fashion designer
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 5, 2019
When it comes to Carole Lombard and fashion, Travis Banton, her primary designer at Paramount, is usually the first name associated with them, followed by Irene Lentz Gibbons. But neither designed these Lombard cinematic outfits:This entry is about the man who did. His name was Robert Kalloch, and i read more
Meet '-935' from 1935
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 4, 2019
Discovering a previously unseen Carole Lombard Paramount p1202 portrait is always welcome, and so is this one, p1202-935. While the fur somewhat dates the image, it remains a stunning, stylish pic of Lombard. Even better, we know who photographed it... ...the studio's ace image-taker, Eugene Robert read more
Beating the 'Drums' for Sabu
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 3, 2019
Carole Lombard made an ideal ambassador for Hollywood when people from other cultures visited the film capital, as was the case here when some women from India dropped by the Paramount studio in the mid-1930s. Later in the decade, now at Selznick International, she did likewise with a young South As read more
Lombard and Lubitsch meet Bancroft and Brooks
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 2, 2019
While people complain about movie remakes, they're nothing new -- even several Carole Lombard films have underwent the process, including the pointless 1957 "My Man Godfrey." (David Niven, the new Godfrey, had a supporting role in a 1938 "Lux Radio Theater" adaptation of the original.) Another remak read more
A mother and daughter's special ties
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Nov 1, 2019
We've often discussed the bond between Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters) and her mother, Elizabeth "Bess" Peters. Mother not only infused her daughter with a confidence that paid off in the rough-and-tumble world of entertainment, but a feminist, I-can-do-anything sensibility that enabled Lomb read more
That other time Washington baseball won it all
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Oct 31, 2019
If you woke up this morning believing you've stumbled into some bizarre alternate universe, you have not. Washington is world champion of baseball. Actually. And it has nothing to do with Halloween. Today's Washington Post covers prove it:The only other time D.C. claimed major league baseball suprem read more
Learning more about an Olympian endeavor
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Oct 30, 2019
Less than a week ago, we reported an academically-oriented Carole Lombard book, "Becoming Carole Lombard," will be released in February (https://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/1040968.html). At the time, I noted that I was hoping for a response from author Olympia Kiriakou...but was unaware that near read more
No longer an 'Exclusive'
Carole & Co. Posted by carole_and_co on Oct 29, 2019
Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray had effective screen chemistry; in fact, from mid-1935 on, she would have no other leading man at Paramount (four films together). So it might be understood why the studio thought of them as a sort of team, possibly along the lines of what Lombard's ex, William Powe read more