Currently viewing the category: "Cinema"

Gangster Squad: Hunt for Blonde Rosie

By On January 11, 2012 · 6 Comments · In Carole Lombard Feature Films, Cinema

This post is not about the upcoming Ryan Gosling movie. Although I am looking forward to seeing Ryan in any movie these days. This is about an obscure 1928 film directed by Raoul Walsh called Me, Gangster. The films’ release coincided with the coming of sound and so a synchronized soundtrack was added to the [...]

This post is not about the upcoming Ryan Gosling movie. Although I am looking forward to seeing Ryan in any movie these days. This is about an obscure 1928 film directed by Raoul Walsh called Me, Gangster. The films’ release coincided with the coming of sound and so a synchronized soundtrack was added to the silent inter titles. Me, Gangster stars June Collyer and Don Terry. Carole is billed twelfth as “Carol Lombard” in the role of Blonde Rosie.

I’ve never seen Me, Gangster. Unless my memory fails me, I’ve never seen a photo of Carole in Me, Gangster. I’ve been unable to track down a print of the film in any major archive. I have however communicated with someone in Europe who has seen the film via an individual with a massive film collection. Unfortunately for us, this individual wishes to remain private and keep their collection to themselves.

A couple of weeks ago I made a great 99 cent purchase:

Me Gangster

Cheaper than a pack of gum is this photoplay edition of Me, Gangster. It contains the original story by Charles Francis Coe as well as photographs from the William Fox Studio production. Of course, following the pattern of this post- none of the seven images are of Carole. After a brief reading there isn’t even a mention of a Blonde Rosie.

I’m currently scanner-less so please excuse the quality of the photos.

Now for the random. The inside cover is signed in pencil: Dorothy Van Winkle.
Dorothy Van Winkle

A quick search shows that Dorothy Van Winkle was a costume designer during the 1930s and 1940s for Broadway and the Zeigfeld Follies. That’s all I’ve got. My brain isn’t making a major connections but give me time.

Aside from the odd course this post has taken, I’ve learned:

  • A photoplay edition can help shed some light on “lost films”.
  • Even in a tough economy, bargains can be found.
  • Europe has lots of films.
  • I need to make friends with a certain collector.
  • Following up on signatures can yield interesting stories. Or not.

And so the hunt continues. Have any of you seen this film or a even a picture of Carole in it?

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You Must See The Artisit

By On December 30, 2011 · 5 Comments · In Cinema



The film is silent, black and white, and is a masterpiece. It is the best film of 2011 and quite frankly, one of the best I’ve seen in my life.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a silent film would be made and that it would attract so much mainstream interest. [...]

The Artist

The film is silent, black and white, and is a masterpiece. It is the best film of 2011 and quite frankly, one of the best I’ve seen in my life.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a silent film would be made and that it would attract so much mainstream interest. If it wins on Oscar night it will be the first since 1929 when Wings took home Best Picture at the ceremony’s inception.

The film takes begins in the late twenties during the rise of talkies and the end of the silent film era and one of it’s greatest stars; George Valentin played by Jean Dujardin. The plot is reminiscent of Singing in the Rain with the transition to talkies, and A Star is Born, with the rise and fall of the two main characters. And yet- it is so much more. The love story is moving, the performances are captivating, the music is mesmerizing, and the cinematography is stunning.

The film is also a love letter to the Old Hollywood I love. Many historical Hollywood locations were used including:

Ebell Theatre | 743 S. Lucerne Blvd.
Kinograph’s office was filmed in the hall where Judy Garland was “discovered” in 1934.
Orpheum Theatre | 842 S. Broadway
The premiere was shot in the 1926 venue.
Los Angeles Theatre | 615 S. Broadway
Peppy’s film plays in the same theatre where Chaplin’s City Lights premiered in 1931.
Bradbury Building | 304 S. Broadway
Peppy meets George on a Blade Runner stairway.
Mary Pickford Residence | 56 Fremont Place
Peppy lives in star’s Hancock Park house.
RED Studios | 846 N Cahuenga Blvd
Kinograph studio scenes where shot at the studio that began as Metro Lot #3 in 1915.

The silent era’s biggest stars were used as inspiration for the characters. Berenice Bejo read Gloria Swanson’s biography to research her role saying, “To me, she represents the American way of life.” She also studied the performance styles of Joan Crawford and the dancing of Ginger Rogers. John Goodman plays a cigar-chomping studio boss resembling Cecil B. DeMille. Jean Dujardin based his character on Douglas Fairbanks saying Valentin “is like Douglas Fairbanks, with a Gene Kelly smile” (Hollywood Reporter, December 21, 2011).

Although Fairbanks was the model for George Valentin, Dujardin says it is Chaplin who set the standard for the transition from silents to talkies. “Chaplin was a genius. He was one of the few who knew how to make the bridge from silent movies to talkies. Other silent-movie actors, like John Gilbert, who had a very high voice, were immediately forgotten. It was very brutal” (WSJ, December, 16, 2011).

In the age of 3D blockbusters, it’s easy to forget the magic of the silent screen. Silent films are universal in language and appeal. They transform the audience into active participants. Silence is golden and The Artist is pure brilliance.

Works Cited:

Goodman, Lanie. The Wall Street Journal. Silence Is Golden in ‘The Artist, December 16, 2011. Web Access. 2011 December 31.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203501304577088053989368884.html

Timberg, Scott. The Making of The Artist, Hollywood Reporter, December 21, 2011. Web Acess. 2011 December 31.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/the-artist-behind-the-scenes-264565#1

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