Tag Archives: MGM

The Great Lionel Barrymore

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Barrymore

In my opinion, Lionel Barrymore was a really talent actor. I would definitely  consider him to be one of my favorite Old Hollywood actors of all time. Lionel  was absolutely magnificent in “Grand Hotel”; he played Mr. Kringelein-a gentle, kindhearted  and modest man that goes to the “Grand Hotel” to finally enjoy himself for once. From what I have read about Lionel, he really did possess the same kindhearted gentleness as his character, Mr. Kringelein.

Lionel was born in Philadelphia on April 12th, 1878 and began his career around the 1890′s on Broadway and started his film career in 1911 with D.W. Griffith.  I haven’t had the opportunity to see many of his silent pictures but I would l love to. I hear many of them are lost though.

In 1926, Lionel was pretty much exclusively working for MGM studios and in 1928 he worked opposite Gloria Swanson ( I heart her!) in Sadie Thompson.  It’s an amazing movie; I thought it was a very different yet interesting subject matter for its time.  In 1931, he won an Academy Award for his performance in “A Free Soul”. Yet another amazing performance as an alcoholic defense attorney  who defends his daughter’s  ex boyfriend on murder charges.  He gave this outstanding 14 minute monologue and I’ve read that that speech is primarily the reason why he won the Academy Award.

Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore in "Grand Hotel"

Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore in "Grand Hotel"

“You Can’t Take It With You” is another favorite of mine- my goodness, I could really go on and on about all of the movies I have enjoyed him in. He usually played the “grouchy but sweet loveable old man” & I love that!  Probably one of his best known roles is when he played Mr. Potter in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I didn’t even recognize him because he looked a lot older and played a really mean character.

Lionel Barrymore died in 1954 at the age of 76. I’m glad that I have gotten  familiar with his work because  he really was  a stunning actor.

The Great Anita Page

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anitapage1

With pretty much every day being either cloudy or raining, I have found myself in the house more-watching old movies. There is just something so fitting about it; it makes me think about those who have been forgotten. It’s pretty crazy to think that Doug & Mary were the Brad & Angelina of the ‘20’s but it’s true!! Who are Doug & Mary you ask? See, that’s what I mean. How can a person who was so famous back then be totally forgotten today? My generation has no clue who Mary Pickford was, what the Ziegfeld Follies were or know who creative, misunderstood geniuses such as Erich Von Strohiem were.

Anita Page is another one of those stars that have sadly been forgotten about. Anita was born in 1910 and reached her stardom at the end of the silent film era. One of my personal favorites is when she played “Kentucky” in ‘Our Modern Maidens’ (opposite Joan Crawford, another idol of mine). In fact, I really enjoyed her in most of her films. She has that girly charm & innocence. I love Joan Crawford but there is no way Ms. Crawford could express that same vulnerability as Anita; especially in her early career-she was too much of a firecracker, in my opinion!

our-dancing-daughters-1Left to right: Dorothy Sebastian, Joan Crawford, and Anita Page

Anita was leading lady to actors such as: Clark Gable, Buster Keaton and my personal favorite, Robert Montgomery (*swoon*). Around this time it was said that she was receiving more mail than any other actress at MGM. Anita pretty much shocked everyone when in 1933, at the age of 23, she decided to retire from films. She disappeared from the screen for 60 years!!! In an interview conducted in 2004 (yes, 2004! you do the math), she said that what truly ended her career was her refusal to meet sexual demands by MGM’s head of production, Irving Thalberg. That actually comes as a surprise to me; I could totally see LB Mayer requesting sexual favors but Irving Thalberg?! LB pretty much threatened ruined her reputation after that so she walked away.

She married a Lieutenant and eventually became a Navy wife. They were married until his death in 1991. Anita returned to the screen in 1996 and did some work in low budget horror films. Around this time, Anita gave several interviews and was listed as one of the last silent stars. Although she didn’t work for 60+ years, I really do consider her the last great silent star. Many actresses gave sexual favors in order to further their careers (the infamous Blue movie, Miss Crawford??). Anita chose not to do this and I totally respect her for that. Anita was THE LAST SURVIVING attendee of the 1st Academy Awards show in 1929! How awesome is that?? She died at the age of 98 on September 6, 2008. She was a beautiful person and I’m glad her work can still be enjoyed Old Hollywood fans, like myself.

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