Images of Nancy Carroll

My good friend David Strebe has written his first book. IMAGES OF NANCY CARROLL. Coffee tables are crying out for this compendium. A Hollywood glamor girl who made 39 films between 1927 and 1935. These include delightful little romantic comedies such as Child of Manhattan (1933) and Hot Saturday (1931) with Cary Grant. She played opposite Phillip Holmes and Lionel Barrymore in the poignant and haunting 1932 film, Broken Lullaby (also known as The Man I Killed). That same year, she starred opposite Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Scarlet Dawn. During her career, she co-starred with George Raft, Frank Morgan and Jack Benny.

By 1935, her popularity started to fade. She was said to be temperamental and difficult to work with. She missed out on great roles that could have helped her career, often because with her red hair, beautiful blue eyes and round face, she was too "cute" to be considered for serious dramatic parts. It was rumored that the screen rights to A Farewell to Arms was bought with her in mind, but at the last minute the title role went to Helen Hayes.

After her screen career was over, she returned to the stage, where she enjoyed success throughout the 1940s. She was very active in entertaining the troops during World War II. In 1950, at the age of 45, she appeared in the early television series, The Aldrich Family.

As David points out, "The image of a young nancy Carroll will remain with us forever through the many vintage photographs that have survived." And David certainly pulled a large number of archival photographs from his personal collection to present a collection of 150 plus photo stills, sheet music, cigarette cards and post cards of Nancy Carroll for his book.

David makes no attempt to out-do Paul Nemcek's 1969 book, The Films of Nancy Carroll, published by Lyle Stuart. Instead, David wants us to act like men and glance over the photographs and treat the actress like eye candy. I cannot blame him. You should see my photo collection of Veronica Lake. Personally, I could build a shrine for the actress.

I first caught a glimpse of Nancy Carroll singing and dancing in the 1930 Paramount revue, Paramount on Parade (1930), when it was screened at the second annual Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention. She ultimately worked for all the major studios, but since most of her films were contracted through Paramount, and we all know how those early flicks are rarely seen except at film festivals, Nancy Carroll has been overlooked by a number of film buffs, and many reading this might question: "Who is Nancy Carroll?" Get a copy of this book and you'll soon know the answer to that question.

I am not saying this is a kick-butt reference guide, which some might expect because of my endorsement. It is clearly a coffee table book with beautiful reproductions of photographs on glossy (not cheap) paper. It's available exclusively from Cover Out (www.CoverOut.com) which has, over the past two months, begun offering hard cover editions of books available in paperback elsewhere (including a few of my books). So check out Cover Out and get your copy today. David is one of those people who deserves recognition, and besides, he's a great guy that makes the world a nicer place. Now if I can convince him to do the same for Veronica Lake...

Randolph Scott and Nancy Carroll in HOT SATURDAY.

Bastardizing the DVD Market

Over the past weekend I bought a copy of MISS SUSIE SLAGLES from 1946. Veronica Lake gets top billing and she's the main reason why I wanted to see the film. It's one of the few Veronica Lake films I have yet to see. It's never been released on VHS or DVD commercially. The vendor told me that the quality isn't going to be "remastered," but it was definitely good enough to watch with no complaints. A friend of mine, who stood next to me, swore I was going to get ripped off. He was wrong and I enjoyed every minute of the movie. And the eye candy with her peek-a-boo hair style. And was surprised to find the great silent screen actress Lillian Gish in a small role. My purchase, however, and my friend's caution, reminded me of the stuck-up surgeon who annually attends a couple Western Film Festivals and swears that he'll only buy DVDs that have been commercially released because (in his mind) he's ensured that he has the best picture quality and the films (or TV shows) are uncut. Then he spends part of the time insulting the vendors who offer high quality DVDs, because in his opinion the price is not cheap enough. And worse, brags out loud in front of others about how he copies commercial DVDs and how he can make a copy of any DVD better than anyone else. What he doesn't realize is that he (and many others like him) are one of the reasons why the DVD market is dropping.

Last week, I got a copy of the first season of WKRP IN CINCINNATI and was not surprised to discover that more than three-fourths of the rock music was replaced with no-name instrumental rock music. What? Can this be right? They actually replaced the original music for some generic notes? Don't they realize that the music went along with the jokes?
 

In one unfortunate regard, “WKRP” gets no respect. At one point Johnny Fever cues up Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”; instead, what we hear is a generic rock instrumental. And that is repeated throughout the DVD box. Thanks to the high cost of licensing oldies, the period rock, funk, new wave and soul records spun by Fever and Flytrap have been replaced... and not for the better.

This isn't the first time that's happened. The episode "The Stolen Costume" on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (starring George Reeves) obviously originated from a grainy 16mm master instead of a 35 archival print. Another episode from the same season box set no longer has the scene where the guy commits suicide by jumping out a window.

This is how they should have packaged it.

When Season Two of HAWAII FIVE-O came out, fans were shocked to learn that the episode, "Bored, She Hung Herself," was not included. Taking a second look at the cover art, the box states "The Second Season" ---- not "The Complete Second Season." In this particular episode, a person was found hung to death and it appeared they performed a stunt of Yoga so complicated, they they strangled themselves to death. In real life, a man who did Yoga wondered if that position would indeed strangle the breath out of himself. He tried it, he died, and the family sued. During the settlement, producer Leonard Freeman agreed not to re-air the episode in re-runs. And it seems CBS preferred not to include it that episode in the Second Season box set. Worse, Danny Williams was credited as "Danno" beginning with the Second Season but the episodes, instead, featured the First-Season Openers. (I'm pleased to announce, however, that with minor nit-picking, Season One and Three through Nine are much better.)

When MGM released THE ADDAMS FAMILY on DVD, the classic TV series with Carolyn Jones and John Astin, in one episode, the scene where Morticia sings at the harpsichord is not included. On the DVD release of THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932), while the previously-deleted scenes were replaced, the scenes where Fu Manchu is applying electricity to Genghis Khan's sword are deleted. I was told from an inside source (definitive) that the studio did not want to give the impression that they risked the life of a human being to create those scenes, so they deleted them from the DVD release.

So what the heck is going on? Simple. The studios don't want to pay the extra dollars and offer the fans what they want to watch. Allow me to explain. Back in the fifties, sixties and seventies, there was no such thing as VHS videos and DVDs. When actors and musicians signed contracts, it was standard to include a clause that stipulated that reruns could include the music. This clause was perpetual which means today, tomorrow and fifty years from now they'll remain intact on TV airings. This is why today you can watch an episode of WKRP IN CINCINNATI on television with the original music, but not on the DVD. In order for the companies to do this, they must track down the rights holders and acquire a new signed release, granting permission for the music to be included in the DVD release. If the studios cannot track down the license holder (which is extremely rare because I've personally seen studio paperwork on files and they know everything right down to who swept the floor after rehearsals), they are forced to delete the music or musical sequence. In some cases, the rights holders think they should be offered a million dollars -- for DVD sales that, realistically, don't stretch near 50,000.

Surprised? Don't be. When the Walt Disney Company released ZORRO with Guy Williams, Season One and Season Two individually, the tin sets included a certificate stating they were limited to a print run of 30,000. And six months after they were in the stores, companies like Best Buy were liquidating the stock they couldn't sell for as little as $15.95! That means classic TV shows don't sell like they used to. I mean, com'on! You mean the market is so dead that they couldn't even sell 30,000 of a DVD Zorro box set? As Little Beaver would say on Red Ryder, "you betchum'!" So if anyone believes there is a huge market for DVD box sets of classic TV shows, and wonders why shows like 77 SUNSET STRIP have yet to come out on DVD, there's a valid reason.

The movie studios have to pay a graphic designer to do the art work for the box sets. They have to pay for studio lab transfers to be made. They have to pay a studio (not a job in-house) to design the animated menu screens. They have to pay for glass masters for which the DVDs would be made. If they chose to add bonus material, that costs money too. Then they have to pay for advertising. And here's the worst part. Almost every company uses a distributor called Ingram. What doesn't sell in the stores, Ingram charges the movie studios a small fee for each item returned. So what doesn't get sold on store shelves after a few weeks, the studio has to pay... and then they still have stock they cannot sell (or they repackage it sometimes as a solution, or liquidate to warehouses and Wal-Mart). So why spend all that money for something that won't likely sell even 30,000 copies?

So who's fault is this? The studio? The music rights holders? The customers? Actually, all three. (gasp!) Why? Because the music rights holders, greedy for the extra buck, charge too much than the studios can afford. The studios should be ashamed of themselves for not paying the extra money or more importantly, spending time to work out a price that suits both parties. And the customers are at fault for sending a message to the studios when, a DVD set that retails $89.00, is considered too expensive to buy. Remember when the first season of LOST IN SPACE came out? Fans complained that it was too expensive for the entire box set. So the company came upon a solution. For the Second Season, they split it in half. Season Two, Volume One. The price was cut in half and the fans said they could afford that. Other studios followed their lead and began offering partial or half seasons. Of course, studios now like to split seasons in half just to stretch the money... ridiculous for shows that had such a short run that splitting a box set into two is needless.

When CBS put out Season Two and Three of THE FUGITIVE, fans were upset. The original theme music wasn't there. They started a campaign on Facebook and posted negative reviews on Amazon.com. As a result, CBS heard their cries and now have a specific address where customers can mail their sets to and receive a replacement set with the original theme music. (Remember the studios have deadlines for this kind of offer so don't delay when you take them up on this offer.)

When Classic Media heard the complaints from fans of ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, because Seasons One, Two, Three and Four were released individually, but the Fifth and Final Season was only available if you bought the complete series box set, because fans already bought Seasons One through Four, they agreed to make them happy and just recently released Season Five apart from the Complete Series Box Set. Thank you!

But there are still times when companies have excuse. I was disappointed when I discovered eight episodes from MISTER ED (Season One) were the syndicated edited versions (22 minutes instead of 26). Did I buy Seasons Two and Three? No. Why? The answer is obvious. When Shout Factory released THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET, licensed from the Nelson Estate, I thought to myself, "Finally, I'll be able to watch the series uncut and in beautiful quality without having to deal with the horrible dollar-store public domain crap." The quality was beautiful, but the episodes were cut to 22 minutes. And this was the licensed set? (They actually put out a second set and those were also edited.)

I'll stop here. Don't get me started on that episode of the First Season of WISEGUY with the Moody Blues' "Night in White Satin" replaced -- totally destroying the scene with Vinnie and Sonny's final heart-to-heart...

The examples I listed above are just a small sampling of the bastardizing. Have the studios not figured out that they cannot insult the intelligence of the fans? Apparently not. While some people are not versed in the programs they want to see and might not notice a thirty-second scene missing, or music replaced with some generic simulation, it only takes four or five negative reviews on Amazon to hamper a percentage of sales. So if and when the studios are listening... do it right or don't do it at all. I know bootlegs float about on the internet and are sold on vendor tables at horror, science fiction and comic conventions. But sometimes, for my money, I'll support the little fellow knowing what I am getting is far better than what the studios have to offer.

In closing: I have always believed in letter-writing. Tell the studios what you think of their product. It'll make them consider going the right direction. As for WKRP IN CINCINNATI, I'm returning it to the store tomorrow. That'll cost the studio a couple more bucks out of their pocket. And don't think I'm not putting a small note inside the box set for the studios to read when they get it back, "You replaced the original music with generic music. Now I can't trust any DVD released from your company and I'll think twice before considering another purchase." Maybe they'll get the idea...

Halloween, Hollywood Style

I love Halloween. The time of year when the seasons change, the leaves change colors and an excuse to watch the good ol' horror films with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. My favorite are the Universal monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, The Invisible Man... well, you get the idea. And of course, I like to browse through my collection of photographs (and photographs people sent me) of gorgeous Hollywood starlets who also love to celebrate Halloween. Here are a few of them!

Ann Savage

Nancy Carroll

Linda Christian

Virginia Welles

Clara Bow

Elaine Stewart

Jane Adams and Patricia Alphine

And we can't forget my favorite, Veronica Lake

Lux Radio Theater: A Most Unique Hollywood Prop

Many years ago, when I was in California, I was given a tour of Frank Bresee's house. Frank was a producer, actor, announcer and board game designer. Among his collection was a Hollywood prop known to historians as "The Oh S--t Bar." I was in awe of that prop. It was historical in nature. And I told Frank, "If you ever want to part with that, drop me a line." He gave me some reassurance that he would drop me a line. But years later it was donated to a museum and now being preserved. Good for him.

Never heard of the prop? Well, you are about to get a two-minute crash course on this unique prop. 

For two decades (1930s to the 1950s) one of the highest rated radio programs was The Lux Radio Theater. The weekly program had a huge budget. Practically everyone in Hollywood appeared on the program at one time or another. Adaptations of big screen movies were presented -- many with the original screen cast reprising their roles. But with high prestige came a sense of panic -- many of the Hollywood stars inadvertently grabbed the mike stand during the broadcast. This reaction could be carried over the radio broadcast. So someone on the technical side decided to create a bar that would keep the actors from grabbing the mike. Soon after, the microphones were arranged to be hung from above. The bar continued to give celebrities something to hold on to while at the same time, kept them the proper distance from the microphone.

When I say everyone in Hollywood, that is an understatement. Lana Turner, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, Debra Paget, Bette Davis, Wallace Beery, Van Heflin, Donna Reed, James Stewart, Henry Fonda... you name them, they were on the program. Which means almost everyone in Hollywood touched that prop.

When I returned to Hollywood to attend a SPERDVAC convention, a reenactment on stage for an episode of The Lux Radio Theater was performed on stage. The producers of that event arranged for the museum to loan them "The Oh S--t Bar" so they could feature it on stage. After the performance, and the dinner banquet, people rose from their chairs, applauded, and then adjourned to the hotel bar or chatted amongst themselves. I, on the other hand, went over to the bar (then placed in the corner off stage) to have my photo taken with the prop. I was amazed that when the event was over, no one had gone over to take a photo of the prop. Not surprisingly, my action must have been observed. A minute after I had my photo taken with the prop, there was a small line of people who gathered to have their photo taken with the same. 

The photo of me holding the prop is from that event. The photos that followed are with various celebrities and the same prop in the photos. 

Barbara Hale, Al Jolson, and William Demarest

Victor Mature

Barbara Stanwyck

Bette Davis and Glenn Ford

Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster

Cary Grant

Charlton Heston

Fred MacMurray

Glenn Ford

Greer Garson

Cary Grant

Joan Crawford

Kirk Douglas

Margaret O'Brien

Richard Conte

Veronica Lake

William Powell and Myrna Loy

   

Halloween, Hollywood Style

I love Halloween. The time of year when the seasons change, the leaves change colors and an excuse to watch the good ol' horror films with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. My favorite are the Universal monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, The Invisible Man... well, you get the idea. And of course, I like to browse through my collection of photographs (and photographs people sent me) of gorgeous Hollywood starlets who also love to celebrate Halloween. Here are a few of them!

Adele Jergens

Clara Bow

Dusty Anderson

Grace Bradley

Martha Vickers

Yvonne De Carlo

Ann Miller

And my favorite, Veronica Lake

Special thanks to David Tribble for a few of these photos.

A FREE ISSUE OF CLASSIC IMAGES

One of the two best nostalgia film magazines available are CLASSIC IMAGES and FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE. If you love Ronald Colman, Mary Pickford, Veronica Lake or Alan Ladd, then this is the type of magazine for you. CLASSIC IMAGES started in June of 1962 when Sam Rubin published the first issue of THE 8MM COLLECTOR. As years passed, the publication grew, along with circulation, serving an international readership of classic film buffs. With the dawn of the video revolution, most collectors switched from 8mm to 16mm, then to videotape. Sam realized the publication would have to charge its name to reflect the new realities of the hobby. Thus CLASSIC IMAGES was born.

Over the years, some of the best writers and historians contributed: Herb Fagen, Leonard Maltin, Anthony Slide, Eve Golden, Michael Ankerich and many more. Every issue features retrospective biographies of character actors and movie stars we have come to love. Exclusive interviews are also included. Book reviews, announcements of up-coming DVD releases and much more can be found within the pages. 

Despite the changes and challenges today, primarily the ignorance that occupies from people who believe the internet should be a permanent substitute paper magazines, CLASSIC IMAGES still firm with a strong circulation. There is nothing like receiving a monthly issue in the mailbox, something to physically hold in your hands at your leisure, and browse the rarely-seen unpublished photographs and read articles that provide deeper insight in the movies we have come to love. 

A sister publication, FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, was started more than a decade ago in order to better cover the vast subject of film history. As other film magazines have faded into obscurity, highly sought-after by the folks who attend film festivals and nostalgia conventions because of their scarcity, CLASSIC IMAGES and FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE have only grown in circulation, serving the better needs of the film buff community. The statement made popular today is that Millennials do not think of movies as art the way so many baby boomers did. They look at today's movies as fashionable pop culture. It's cool to wear a teeshirt with a Batman logo because Batman movies are cool. But the difference between masterful storytelling and a blockbuster is the limited use of explosions. Let the facial expressions, dialogue and subliminal and suggestive actions tell the story. Children today are no more interested in seeing their parents' movies than they are in wearing their parents' clothes. Little do they know that trivia about today's motion-pictures is just as cool as knowing trivia about the older movies. This is what makes such publications like CLASSIC IMAGES a necessity. If the magazine was to ever fold, a piece of nostalgia pop culture and appreciation for the art form dies with it. 

So now the good news: if you are not a subscriber of CLASSIC IMAGES, the editor of the paper, Bob King, wishes to extend to you a free complimentary issue. Simply print out the form below and fill it out (make sure your name and address is legible!!) and mail it promptly to the address on the bottom of the form. No obligation required but it is the hoped that you find the complimentary issue reflective of what you can expect 12 times a year and that you subscribe to the magazine. You can thank me later.

My Visit to Duffy's Tavern

There’s no secret about it. One of my favorite radio programs is Duffy's Tavern. Hoping to finish a book about the popular radio program, ten years in the works, I accepted an invitation to Ed Gardner Jr.’s residence. It was Eddie’s father who created the radio program, earning the nickname “Archie.”

Duffy's Tavern aired on CBS and NBC from 1940 to 1951, earning the reputation of making fun of Hollywood celebrities. From Veronica Lake, Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, Peter Lorre and well… you name them and they were probably a guest on the program at one time.

Spending a few days at Ed Gardner Jr.’s house was as delightful as I could have possibly imagined. We shared a number of talks during my visit, a more informal way of getting answers to questions I might otherwise forget. Yes, we could have talked over the phone and exchanged questions and answers in the form of an interview but this was more relaxed. Eddie (he preferred to be called) remembered doing an interview for someone once and after the phone call concluded, thought of stories he wished he could have told. Here, he recalled moments of his childhood two and three days after my arrival and by the time I went back home, he was satisfied that he did not overlook anything.

Autographed photo to Ed Gardner, one of many he collected.

Through our talks I learned about the intimate side of his father. Who knew that Ed Gardner never liked John Wayne? (Yes, he was never on the radio program). Who knew that Gardner purposely collected autographs on glossy photos while he was a producer of the Good News program from 1937 to 1940? Who knew that Gardner died almost penniless? And I finally learned how that famous apron, signed by a hundred celebrities, ended up in the hands of a private collector. It seems after Ed Gardner died in 1964, his widow, Simone, kept the apron. During the 1970s or early 80s, she had Christie’s auction it off and her only percentage totaled $15,000. She should have gotten more. Eddie recalled helping his father with Duffy's Tavern scripts by reading them and scratching out the jokes that were “corny.” Eddie was there when his father died in his arms at the hospital, and how he wished he had been a better son for his father (what son doesn’t wish that after their father passes on?).

Martin Grams and Edward Gardner Jr.

Walking on the same tightrope, but from the opposite direction, Eddie was surprised to learn things about his father he did not know. And he was quick to call his uncle and tell him the news. Eddie was surprised to learn how his father was once singled out on the floor of the U.S. Senate for a joke that one U.S. Senator did not find funny when it was brought to his attention. Eddie knew very little of Shirley Booth, his father’s first wife, and enjoyed learning a little more about her and their rocky relationship. Eddie did, however, share the romantic story of how his mother and father first met. “She was sun bathing on the beach at the Hamptons, Wyborg,” Eddie recalled. “It’s been decades now so if that was not the beach, at the Hamptons, where father rented a house a block away from Wyborg, it was a very desolate and romantic setting worthy of nothing. He saw her lying there and was taken by her beauty. He was a fast and smooth talker and she went out with him. That’s how Simone Hegeman met my father and you look at that photo and you can see how she caught his attention. They got married soon after and good-bye Shirley Booth.”

Ed Gardner and wife Simone.

Eddie was the oldest of two brothers. His younger brother, Stephen, was born four years later. They spent much of their childhood in Puerto Rico, where the Gardners lived. Discovering a tax loophole, Ed Gardner sold their home in Bel Air and moved to the islands. The last three years of Duffy's Tavern was recorded in Puerto Rico and shipped to NBC in the states. When they returned, they lived in a new home in Benedict Canyon.

But most important, scanning all those scripts and photographs will help preserve what Ed Gardner did for radio, including the Duffy's Tavern series. Time was not kind to many of the photographs, suffering both water damage, mold and other factors that age glossy paper of the time. A few were rolled up in the shape of tubes so we had to unravel them carefully and are now being restored digitally. Eddie now has restored copies on CD and DVD. And my copies, off-site backups, ensure they are preserved. (And yes, I sent a copy of the same discs to another friend so they are definitely backed up.) Radio scripts received the same treatment, now in jpg and pdf format (especially for the “lost” episodes for which recordings are not known to exist).

Example of a photo that needs restoration.

We also enjoyed a couple ballgames, toured the local scenery where folks have some beautiful log and stone homes, and soaked in a local hot spring to intake the beauty of nature. A refreshing trip indeed. After spending more than ten years researching Duffy's Tavern, I can state that the additional information not only filled in 90 percent of the blank spaces I had in my manuscript, but the book will be fantastic after one more trip for research next week.

Shameless plug for my up-coming Duffy's Tavern book? Yeah. But I’d be a fool not to use my blog to promote a book and the photos and trivia offered above are certain to be fascinating to any old-time radio fan.