Cliff Aliperti's Blog: Immortal Ephemera, page 19

Image: Gary Cooper and Dane Clark in The Pride of the Yankees, 1942 Still Photo

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in an early scene of The Pride of the Yankees (1942) with Dane Clark.

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Image: Gary Cooper with Babe Ruth in The Pride of the Yankees, 1942 Still Photo

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Gary Cooper (as Lou Gehrig) dines with Walter Brennan while in the background Teresa Wright comes face to face with the great Babe Ruth (as himself) in The Pride of the Yankees (1942).

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Image: Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright in The Pride of the Yankees, 1942 Promotional Photo

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright in The Pride of the Yankees (1942).

Pick up The Pride of the Yankees on DVD at Amazon.com.

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6 Hours to Live (1932) for Warner Baxter in Rare Fox Film

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

While I was trying to decide on a topic for my next article Turner Classic Movies announced this Fox rarity for their 2016 Classic Film Festival (April 28-May 1). Seemed like a good fit for me too! I won’t be on hand for TCM’s Film Festival (#TCMFF), but I recommend you make time for 6 Hours to Live if you’re going to be in attendance.

Above: Six Hours to Live advertisement clipped from the Ogden Standard Examiner, Octobe...

Merna Kennedy – Chaplin Leading Lady; Also Star of Broadway

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Above: Merna Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin in The Circus (1928).

Merna Kennedy exploded on the movie scene as Charlie Chaplin’s hand-selected co-star in The Circus (1928). She transitioned from silent to sound film as the ingenue in Pál Fejös’s adaptation of Philip Dunning and George Abbott’s smash musical Broadway (1929), but from there she never caught on. An attractive little red-head with a lithe dancer’s body, Kennedy’...

The Vice Squad (1931) Starring Paul Lukas, Kay Francis, Judith Wood

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Society woman Alice Morrison (Kay Francis) begs downtrodden stool pigeon boyfriend Stephen Lucarno (Paul Lukas) not to disgrace himself to save an innocent woman: “Even if she’s innocent this time, I’ll bet she hasn’t been before and won’t be again.”

Above: Kay Francis and Paul Lukas.

This is what happens when you jump your contract, Kay. Paramount casts you as the cynic and gets the audience to root against you in favor...

Clipping: Juliette Compton’s Garbo Style in The Vice Squad

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Juliette Compton as the Ambassador's wife in The Vice Squad (1931):

When I saw her all I could think was Garbo, so I chuckled when I came upon the following in the September 1931 edition of Screenland magazine:

Here's another shot of Compton:

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Clipping: Chile Acuna Obituary, 1932

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Acuna was the real-life stool pigeon who was the basis of the Paul Lukas role in The Vice Squad (1931). He died a little over a year after the movie was released. Clipped from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 23, 1932, page 19.

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Babbitt (1934) Starring Guy Kibbee, Aline MacMahon

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Change the names—including the title—and the second screen version of Babbitt works better than you’d expect. In fact, a similar movie, minus such influential source material, had proved popular just a couple of months earlier when Babbitt director William Keighley and Babbitt stars Guy Kibbee and Aline MacMahon were teamed for Big Hearted Herbert. They’re both silly movies, folksy enough to justify elevating Guy Kibbee t...

Cliff’s Notes for Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Written by Cliff Aliperti and originally published on Immortal Ephemera

Today's email includes birthday images of Alan Hale, Lon Chaney Jr. (plus one of Lon Sr.), and an Olin Howland shot that I've posted before, but it's a great image!

Born on this date, February 10: in 1886; in 1890; in 1892; in 1893; in 1894; in 1897; in 1898; in 1901; in 1904; in 1906;