To start off the month long Oscar celebration, I thought, I would write about how Oscar came to be, then finish off with a Video: Oscar's favorite moments. It is going to be a fun month..
The Oscar is made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in tall, weighs 8.5 lb, is a Art Deco style knight holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.
Cedric Gibbons and Dolores del Rio
In 1928, MGM's art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Academy members, supervised the design of the award trophy by printing the design on a scroll. In need of a model for his statuette, Gibbons was introduced by his future wife Dolores del Río to Mexican film director and actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Fernandez, was convinced to pose nude to create what today is known as the "Oscar".
Muse Fountain
Then, sculptor George Stanley (who also designed the Muse Fountain at the Hollywood Bowl, that was built in 1940. Standing 200-foot long, 22-foot high over the bowl's Highland Avenue entryway, depicts the muses of music, dance and drama).
George Stanley, sculpted Gibbons's design in clay and Sachin Smith cast the statuette in 92.5 percent tin and 7.5 percent copper and then gold-plated it.
The only addition to the Oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base. The original Oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the C.W. Shumway and Sons Foundry in Batavia, Illinois, which also contributed to casting the molds for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Emmy Awards statuettes.
Since 1983, approximately 50 Oscars are made each year in Chicago by Illinois manufacturer R.S. Owens & Company.
In support of the American effort in World War II, the statuettes were made of plaster and were traded in for gold ones after the war had ended.
How the name Oscar came to be:
1. Bette Davis claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson; one of the earliest mentions in print of the term Oscar dates back to a Time magazine article about the 1934 6th Academy Awards.
2. Another claimed story is.. that the Academy's Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and made reference to the statuette's reminding her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce).
3. Columnist Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick's naming and seized the name in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette 'Oscar'". The trophy was officially dubbed the "Oscar" in 1939 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
4. Another legend reports that the Norwegian-American Eleanor Lilleberg, executive secretary to Louis B. Mayer, saw the first statuette and exclaimed, "It looks like King Oscar II!".
Video: making an Oscar statuette:
Video: First of Oscars best moments. A collection of memorable moments of Academy Award winning legendary classic actors receiving their Oscars.. you can also hear a part of each actor's acceptance speech or a famous quote from one of his famous movies.. the music is from the movie (Conquest of Paradise) composed by Vangelis.
Featured actors are:
1. Gregory Peck (presented by Sophia Loren)
2. James Stewart (presented by Cary Grant)
3. Cary Grant (presented by Frank Sinatra)
4. John Wayne (presented by Barbara Streisand)
5. Henry Fonda (presented by Robert Redford).
Chester Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970), was born the son of Broadway stage actor William Morris and the performer Etta Hawkins.
He made his Broadway debut at 17 in Lionel Barrymore's The Copperhead. At 17, he billed himself as "the youngest leading man in the country".
His film career began in the film, An Amateur Orphan(1917). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film, Alibi (1929). He also starred in, The Bat Whispers (1930) and Corsair (1931).
He starred in the early prison film, The Big House (1930). After that his career faded, but made a come back with roles in B-movies: Smashing the Rackets(1938) and Five Came Back (1939).
From 1941 to 1949 he played the character Boston Blackie, in 14 low-budget movies produced by Columbia Pictures.
Before the screening of some of his films, Morris performed magic acts, with live animals and larger stage tricks such as nearly severing an audience volunteer's head in a prop guillotine.
During World War II he performed hundreds of free magic shows for the U.S.O. at army and navy camps, war bond drives and hospitals.
In 1944, a B-24 "Liberator" airplane was christened "The Chester and Lili Morris" in honor of him and his wife, and their contributions to the United States war effort.
Morris also contributed tricks to magician's journals and often added magic into his film performances, including: "Boston Blackie and The Law" (1946.)
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Morris worked mainly in television, with a recurring role as detective Lieutenant Max Ritter in the CBS summer replacement series, Diagnosis: Unknown, which aired from July to September 1960.
He also remembered for his performance in the science-fiction film, The She Creature, where he played Dr. Carlo Lombardi.
After his last Boston Blackie movie, he only performed in three more films, including his final role in, The Great White Hope (1970) which was released after his death.
Joaquin Phoenix (born October 28, 1974). Became well known for his performance as Commodus, in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as nominations for the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite Award, and BAFTA.
He is probably best known for playing the famous musician, Johnny Cash, in the 2005 biographical film, Walk the Line and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Phoenix, was once again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2012 film, The Master.
He also worked behind the camera, directing music videos as well as producing movies and television shows, and has recorded an album, the soundtrack to Walk the Line, for which he won a Grammy Award.
The Farmer's Daughter(1947). Cast: Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, and Charles Bickford. Directed by H.C. Potter.The film won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Loretta Young and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Charles Bickford. In 1963, a television series based on the film was produced, starring Inger Stevens, Cathleen Nesbitt and William Windom.
Katie Holstrom , a Swedish-American, leaves the family farm to follow her dream of becoming a nurse. Barn painter Adolph Petree, offers her a ride, but robs her of her money. Katie, now needing money to support herself, goes to work as a maid in the home of Agatha Morley and her son, U.S. Representative Glenn Morley.
She impresses Agatha and Joseph Clancey, with her down-to-earth way of thinking and Glenn, with her charms. Things become complicated when the Morleys and the other leaders of their political party pick a replacement for a deceased congressman.
Knowing of his bad reputation, Katie, attends a public meeting to ask Finley, some embarrassing questions. The leaders of the opposition party are impressed and offer to back her in the coming election.
When she accepts, Katie reluctantly has to quit her job and when it looks like she has a chance of winning. Finley resorts to smearing her reputation. He pays Petree to claim Katie spent the night with him when he gave her a ride.
Heartbroken and embarrassed, Katie goes home. Glenn, goes to her home to proposes to her.
After hearing the news of her son's engagement, Agatha and her butler, gets Finley drunk and tricks him into revealing that he bribed Petree, and that he has him hidden away. Will they be able to save her reputation, so she can continue on with her political career ?
The Stranger(1946). A film noir directed by Orson Welles. Cast: Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. Sam Spiegel was the film's producer, and the film's musical score is by Bronisław Kaper. It is believed that this is the first film released after World War II that showed footage of concentration camps.
In 1946, Mr. Wilson of the United Nations War Crimes Commission, is hunting for Nazi war criminal, Franz Kindler, who has assumed a new identity, Charles Rankin, and has become a school teacher in a small American town.
He is married to Mary Longstreet, daughter of Supreme Court Justice Adam Longstreet.
Wilson releases Kindler's former associate Meinike, hoping the man will lead him to Kindler. Wilson follows Meinike to the town of Harper, Connecticut, but loses him before he finds Kindler.
When Meinike finds him, he begs Kindler to confess his crimes. To keep his identity a secret Kindler strangles Meinike.
Eventually, Wilson realizes that Rankin is Kindler, but.. he has no proof.
Only Mrs. Rankin knows that Meinike came to meet her husband. Now, Rankin must kill her to keep her quiet.
Things become complicated for Rankin when Red, the family dog, discovers Meinike's body. To protect his secret, Rankin poisons Red.
Mrs. Rankin, begins to suspect her husband, but cant wrap her mind around the truth. Mr. Wilson shows her graphic footage of Nazi concentration camps, and explains how Kindler/Rankin developed the idea of genocide. She keeps quiet until Mary discovers Rankin in planning on killing her.
Rachel And The Stranger (1948). A western. Cast: Loretta Young, William Holden and Robert Mitchum. The Norman Foster-helmed film was one of the few to address the role of women in the pioneer west, as well as portray early America's servant trade. It was based on the Howard Fast short story "Rachel".
Despite its low budget, the film became RKO's most successful film that year, making over $350,000.
In colonial America, David Harvey, a recent widower living in the wilderness, decides that his son Davey, needs a woman around to help raise him. He goes to the nearest settlement and asks Parson Jackson to help him .
David gets talked into buying a bonds woman named Rachel and marrying her. Rachel serves more as a servant than a wife and Davey resents what he sees as an attempt to replace his dead mother Susan.
Jim Fairways, a family friend (and former suitor of Susan's), visits and falls in love with Rachel. When he offers to buy her, David discovers he is love with her.
Along Came Jones (1945). A Western/comedy. Cast: Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest, and Dan Duryea. The movie was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the novel Useless Cowboy by Alan Le May. Directed by Stuart Heisler.
The film's ironic title probably inspired the popular 1960s Coasters song "Along Came Jones" written by Leiber and Stoller; songwriter Mike Stoller had studied orchestration under Arthur Lange, the composer of the film's score.
Much of the movie was filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif. This was the only film produced by Cooper during his long movie career, and he had roots at Iverson, having worked there in, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) and other productions. Cooper had a Western town built at the movie ranch for Along Came Jones, which was then used in many other productions during the next 10-plus years and became a fixture in B-Westerns in particular.
Easygoing Melody Jones and his friend George Fury, travel into town. Jones, is mistaken for the wanted bandit Monte Jarrad, which causes him plenty of trouble.
The real Jarrad, is hiding out in the home of, Cherry de Longpre. At first, she tries to use Melody, to tick the townsfolk, into thinking that he is the real Jarrad, but.. as it goes... they fall for each other. Well, it is Gary Copper after all.
Key To The City (1950). A romantic/comedy. Cast: Clark Gable and Loretta Young. This was the second (and final) time that Gable and Young performed together in a film, the first being in the film, Call of the Wild(1935). The film was the final performance by character actor Frank Morgan, who died before the film was released.
Mayor Steve Fisk, is at a convention in San Francisco, he mistakes Clarissa Standish, the mayor of Wenonah, Maine, for a "balloon dancer". Steve feels that Clarissa might be too refined a woman for him, but he wants to get to know her better.
He needs to be careful, because a crooked city councilman would love to have something to use against Steve back home. Clarissa, is arrested twice, first after a brawl in a Chinatown restaurant, then on their way to a costume party.
A photographer takes a picture of Clarissa making it look like she's arrested for public drunkenness. She doesn't think it funny, but her uncle, Judge Standish, is happy thinking that she is finally having some fun.
The real balloon dancer, Sheila, shows up, causing Clarissa to think that Steve's going to see her. And she's angry when Steve disappears, unaware that he had to hurry home on business. Steve, is in love with her and can't wait to give her with the key to his city and his heart.
Cause For Alarm (1951). A film noir/suspense. Directed by Tay Garnett (The Postman Always Rings Twice). Cast: Loretta Young and Barry Sullivan.
Ellen narrates the tale of how she was taking care of her bedridden husband George Z. Jones when he suddenly dropped dead:
Ellen first meets George in a naval hospital during World War II while she was dating his best friend, Lieutenant Ranney Grahame, a military doctor who had little time for her.
George was a pilot, when Ellen fell in love with him and they soon married and moved to Los Angeles.
George, is now confined to his bed with a bad heart and Ellen, spends most her time caring for him. George's doctor is their old friend Ranney, with whom George thinks his wife is having an affair with. Ranney, thinks George may need psychological help.
George has written a letter to the district attorney in which he claims his wife and best friend are killing him with overdoses of heart medicine.
A little neighbor boy dressed as a cowboy becomes friends with Ellen, she gives him cookies. He hands her a toy television set and asks Ellen to give it to George.
George, asks her to mail a letter for him, thinking a letter has something to do with insurance, Ellen gives it to the postman, who sees George in the upstairs window.
When Ellen goes up to find out why he has gotten out of bed, George lets her know what the letter says and pulls a gun and is about to kill her when he drops dead.
Ellen panics over the letter and running from the house, she chases down the postman, to who she gave the letter, but.. he won't give it back to her without talking to George first. The postman says she can ask the supervisor at the downtown post office, who has more authority.
When she gets back to the house, she finds George's Aunt Clara walking up the stairs to see George and stops her. Clara, tries to go up the stairs again but, Ellen tells her, George told her not to let his aunt see him. Clara leaves in a huff.
Ellen goes back up to the bedroom to change her clothes and sees the gun still in George's hand, she grabs the gun from his hand, it fires. Leaveing the house, a notary rings the doorbell, telling her he has an appointment with George to go over some legal papers. She tells him that George is too sick to see anyone.
Ellen, drives to the post office to see the supervisor, who gives her a form for George to sign, but changes his mind, because of Ellen's odd behavior, then tells her he is going to allow the letter to be delivered.
After she returns to the house, Ranney shows up to check on George, by this time Ellen, has become hysterical. Ranney, tells her to be calm and goes up to the bedroom.
Showing no emotion for George, sees the bullet hole in the floor, finds the gun in a dresser drawer, moves George's body in the bed and pulls down the window shade.
Back downstairs with Ellen, she tells him what happened, saying "I did everything wrong, just like he said I would." The doorbell rings. She thinks the police have come to arrest her. Ranney tells Ellen, to answer the door.
When she does, it is the postman, returning the letter for insufficient postage. Ranney, rips up the letter and burns it in an ashtray along with a matchbook with the embossed names George and Ellen.
The Unguarded Hour(1936). Cast: Loretta Young and Franchot Tone. Director, Sam Wood. The prosecutor in a murder trial is unaware that his wife is involved.
Winnie Lightner was known as Broadway's "Song a Minute Girl" because she could belt out a song in less than 60 seconds. Her brassy outgoing style was perfect for Warner's Vitaphone shorts when sound became popular.
"Gold Diggers of Broadway" was a triumph for Lightner in 1929, and the all-technicolor "Life of the Parry" was an even bigger hit. Despite the huge success of her first few films, Warner Brothers began to give Winnie, smaller roles and by 1933 she was playing smaller roles. After, Lightner met Director Roy Del Ruth when he directed "Gold Diggers" they married.
Winnie had a son from a previous marriage named Richard Lightner (he legally changed his name to Lightner) when she married Del Ruth. They had a son named Thomas who is a cinematographer in Hollywood.
Winnie died in 1972 and is buried next to Roy at the Mission San Fernando in Southern California.
Esther Ralston (September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994), who at her peak, was called "The American Venus" by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. While performing as a dazzling beauty queen in the film, The American Venus. A decade later, Esther Ralston career, began to fade.
Video: A scene from the silent movie, WomanHanded (1925). With Esther Ralston and Richard Dix, who is mostly remembered for his Westerns. The film is about a New York City playboy, Bill Dana, who can not resist the the girls, so... he decides to head out west to his uncle's ranch in Wind River, Texas. But the gold-diggers follow close behind...
Dubbed “The American Venus,” Esther Ralston began her film
career as an extra in the late teens. Born Esther North in Bar Harbor, Maine on
September 17, 1902, her family can be traced back to the Mayflower. Around 1904
the Norths changed their name to Ralston and took to the stage. By the mid
1910’s, Esther, her four brothers, and her parents were touring the United
States.
The Ralstons arrived in California in 1917, and Esther spent
the next few years playing parts in films. Her first major role was in William
Desmond Taylor’s Huckleberry Finn (1920).
Esther appeared in twenty-four films before being signed to
a contract at Paramount to play Miss Darling in Peter Pan (1924). Esther was
twenty- two years old and co-starred with Betty Bronson and Mary Brian. During
the next six years, Esther rose in the Paramount ranks, starring or co-starring
in another twenty-five films.
Among the better known films were The Best People (1925)
with Warner Baxter, The American Venus (1926) with Louise Brooks, Old Ironsides
(1926) with Wallace Beery and Charles Farrell, A Kiss for Cinderella (1926)
with Betty Bronson, Children of Divorce (1927) with Gary Cooper and Clara Bow,
Betrayal (1929) with Emil Jannings, and her first talkie, The Wheel of Life
(1929).
Possibly Esther’s greatest film performance was in Josef von
Stenberg’s The Case of Lena Smith (1929).
Although she was one of Paramount’s top stars, Esther was
let go in 1929, at the dawn of the talkie era. The studio just couldn’t take
the chance to pay so much money without knowing if talkies will catch on.
Esther married a total of three times, but they all ended in
divorce. Esther did, however, come out of these marriages with two daughters
and one son.
Esther retained happy memories of her career and her costars.
Among her best friends were Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott and Warner Baxter.
However being beautiful and innocent had its pitfalls, especially in Hollywood.
When signed to MGM in 1934, Esther claimed to have refused the favors of Louis
B. Mayer several times, although she never reported it to the press. Mayer
threatened that she would never get another job. He sold Esther to Universal
for five or six pictures instead of paying her the MGM salary. The only major
studio that would take Esther was Paramount thanks to Randolph Scott.
Few of Esther’s talking films are classics, but she appeared
in an impressive twenty-seven films from 1931-1941. Sadie McKee (1934) with
Joan Crawford was one of her favorites because it was the first time they let
her sing, and she got along fine with Joan Crawford.
Esther also did TV commercials, soap operas, radio and
theater. Esther eventually gave up film-going, although she continued to enjoy
television till the end of her life. Esther ended her days in an upscale trailer
park in Ventura, California where one of her brothers also lived. Esther died
on January 14, 1994. She was 92 years old and was survived by her three
children, fifteen grandchildren and three great grand-children.
Agnes Ayres (April 4, 1898 – December 25, 1940), began her career in 1914 when she was cast as an extra in a crowd scene. After moving to New York City with her mother to follow her acting career, Ayres was spotted by actress Alice Joyce. Joyce noticed the physical resemblance the two shared which led to Ayres being cast in Richard the Brazen (1917), as Joyce's character's sister.
Alice Joyce
After Paramount Pictures founder Jesse Laksy, began to take an interest in her. Lasky gave her a starring role in the Civil War drama, Held by the Enemy (1920), after which she began performing in several of Cecil B. DeMille films.
It was during this time that Ayres married, and quickly divorced, Captain Frank P. Schuker, an army officer whom she had wed during World War I. She also began a romance with Lasky.
In 1921, Ayres shot to stardom when she was cast as Lady Diana Mayo, an English heiress opposite "Latin lover" Rudolph Valentino in, The Sheik. A silent romance film produced by Famous Players-Lasky, directed by George Melford. With Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres, and Adolphe Menjou. It was based on the bestselling romance novel The Sheik by Edith Maude Hull.
In the sequel, Son of the Sheik, Valentino played both the Sheik and his son, Ayres reprised her role. It was Valentino's final film.
Following the release of The Son of the Sheik, she went on to have major roles in the films:
The Affairs of Anatol (1921) A silent drama directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Print survival is at the Library of Congress and as with most surviving DeMille silents the, George Eastman House.
Socialite Anatol Spencer, becomes bored with his wife and goes in search of excitement. After bumping into old flame Emilie, he rents an apartment for her... only, to find that she cheats on him. After he is robbed and conned, he decides to return to his wife and discovers she has taken up with his best friend Max.
Forbidden Fruit (1921). Drama, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is a remake of the 1915 film The Golden Chance, which was also directed by DeMille. The film survives in prints at the George Eastman House and the Library of Congress.
Cecil B. DeMille's epic, The Ten Commandments (1923). Cast: Theodore Roberts as Moses, Charles de Rochefort as Pharaoh Ramesses, Estelle Taylor as Miriam the sister of Moses, and James Neill as Aaron, the brother of Moses.
The cast also included notable silent film actors: Nita Naldi, Leatrice Joy, Rod La Rocque, Richard Dix, Edythe Chapman and Agnes Ayres. The film is a woderful spectacle of early Hollywood filmmaking, with the Exodus scenes photographed in early Technicolor.
While the first half of the film tells the biblical story, the second half is set in modern times. The film is the first in DeMille's biblical trilogy followed by, The King of Kings (1927) and The Sign of the Cross (1932). The movie was released by Paramount Pictures and premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on December 4, 1923.
By 1923, Ayres' career began to fade following the end of her relationship with Jesse Lasky. She married Mexican diplomat S. Manuel Reachi in 1924. The couple had a daughter before divorcing in 1927.
In 1929, Ayres lost her fortune and real estate holdings in the Crash of ’29. That same year, she also appeared in her last major role in, The Donovan Affair. A comedic murder-mystery film directed by Frank Capra. After the lights go out at a fancy party, Jack Donovan turns up dead. Inspector Killian, is called to investigate. He sets up an re-enactment of the events leading up to the murder. The lights go out, and another person turns up dead. Inspector Killian again calls for a re-enactment....
She left acting and played the vaudeville circuit for a short time. She later returned to acting in 1936, but landed only uncredited parts. She retired from acting for good in 1937.
I was thrilled when I received this wonderful poem yesterday in my comments from... Dominic Campisi, and thought I would share it with all of you.. Thank you Dominic, for sharing your wonderful poem with all of us..
No other Actress worked with them all. Only actress in the silent era, the golden age of film and golden age of Television. First actress to win Oscar Emmy golden globe award. Should be in Television hall of fame. More famous on TV in 50's then Lucy. Total tragedy and unjust should have been there first three years. Also because of religious beliefs did not get more honors from Academy, Sag, Kennedy, Foreign press. No other actress had this kind of career. Not even the superstar actress's that are in living in there 90's: Olivia DeHavilland, Joan Fontaine, Eleanor Parker, Maureen O'Hara, Lauren Bacall, Eleanor Williams, Doris Day.
A poem I wrote for Ms. Young. Who told me it was the nicest thing a fan ever wrote to her.
My Favorite Star:
Here's a Story of a Screen Legend's Life
A Star Kept Shining through unlimited time
Just a young girl extra when Valentino shined
A Teenage Beauty when the Talkies arrived
Through Hollywood's golden era
Of Power, Grant, Cagney, Tracy, and Gable
Her good girl image was always her label
Her romantic aura that filled the screen
Brought out the best in men like these
Through the movie mogul's dynasty and the years of war
Her stardom never died
She gave us Ramona, Mabel Bell, Sister Margaret,xx
And Sweet Julia, from the Bishop's wife
Her sparkling eyes found your heart
In the Farmer's Daughter her award winning part
She had made her mark on the silver screen
Now it was time try TV
She entered the room in the most glamorous way
When she left she had something to say
The God giving Goodness that came out to reply
Our morals and values are important in Life With movies and Television her legend survives
God's gift of an angel by heaven's design
When you are mentioned in the great actress' club
We'll always remember you Loretta Young.
If I Were Free(1933). Director: Elliott Nugent. Cast: Irene Dunne, Clive Brook, Nils Asther, Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, Tempe Pigott, Lorraine MacLean, Laura Hope Crews, Halliwell Hobbes.
While in Paris,English lawyer Hector Stribling convinces Gordon Evers, also a lawyer, to forget about his divorce and join him and his wife Jewel for dinner with Tono Casanove and his wife Sarah. When Gordon and the Striblings arrive at the home of the Casanoves', they learn that Tono, is having an affair and planning a vacation in Cannes, with his new girl friend.
Heartbroken, Sarah thinks about committing suicide, but.. is stopped by Gordon, who suggests that she move to London. She agrees.. and after a short time in London, opens a little antique shop.
After a few months, Gordon asks Sarah if she would marry him if he "were free." Sarah meets Gordon's mother, Dame Evers, at her charity ball. Even though Dame Evers, likes her, she is concerned about the gossip surrounding their relationship..
Not having any of it, Gordon's wife Catherine, changes her mind about divorcing him, but... Sarah, stands her ground and refuses to end their relationship.
The trouble does not stop there, Sarah's ex- husband Tono, drops by her shop and threatens blackmail, unless Gordon buys some of his expensive antiques.
Hector, who is concerned over Gordon's failing health, convinces Sarah to end their relationship.
Unknown to Sarah and Hector, Gordon, who has a war-wound bullet lodged near his heart, has just learned that, unless he has a risky operation, he has only a year to live. When Gordon receives Sarah's "goodbye" note, he tells Hector about his condition, which causes Hector to confess that he was the one that talked Sarah into breaking it off with him.
Gordon decides to go ahead with the chancy operation and asks Hector not to tell Sarah. Just before the operation, Dame Evers, spills the beans to Sarah, who rushes to the hospital to be by Gordon's bedside. Will the operation be successful and will they live happily ever after?
Excellent acting performances by both Irene Dunne and Clive Brook. The quick dialogue keeps your interest in this soapy pre-code film. Wonderful performances are also given by the supporting performers: Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, Laura Hope, Crewsand Tempe Pigott. Also, Silent film star Nils Asther, plays the role of Dunne's bad boy husband. His celebrity had begun to fade with the arrival of talking pictures. Classic movie fans may recognize an uncredited Halliwell Hobbes as Brook's butler.
Video: First of 7.
Nils Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981). Asther was adopted shortly after birth by a wealthy couple in Malmo, Sweden.
As a young man he moved to Stockholm, where he received acting lessons from famous star Augusta Lindberg, who also became his mistress, who was almost 30 years older than him. Through her, he received his first theatrical engagement at Lorensbergsteatern in Gothenburg, and in 1916 Mauritz Stiller cast him in, The Wings.
In 1927 he left for Hollywood, where his first film was, Topsy and Eva. The film also featured the Duncan Sisters, and in 1930 he married, Vivian Duncan, who gave him a daughter, Evelyn. By 1928 his good looks had made him into a leading man, playing opposite: Pola Negri, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, with whom he made two films.
With the arrival of sound in movies, Asther took voice lessons so as to minimize his accent, and was generally cast in roles where an accent wasn't a problem, such as the role as Chinese General Yen in, The Bitter Tea of General Yen.
Between 1935 and 1940 he was forced work in England after an alleged breach of contract led to a studio-based blacklist. There he made six films. He returned to Hollywood in 1940, and although he made another 19 films back up to 1949, his career wasn't the same as it used to be.
In the early 1950s he landed a few roles in minor TV shows. In 1958 he returned to Sweden, almost destitute. He managed to get an engagement with a local theatre and had four film roles in Sweden and Denmark, before finally giving up on acting in 1963 and devoting his time to his love of painting.
