Crooner is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, January 21st at 7:35 EST.

By the time she was cast in Crooner, Ann Dvorak had turned out stellar performances for Warner Bros. in the Crowd Roars, Strange Love of Molly Louvain, and Three on a Match. That the studio would give her a role as insignificant as the one in Crooner may be kind of a head scratcher, but this was actually quite typical of Warners. Top billing one day and fourth billed the next.

Despite Ann’s meager role, I actually like this goofy film in which David Manners becomes heartbreaking radio-darling of a crooner because his weak voice sounds silky smooth when he sings through a megaphone. Fame goes to his head and he becomes intolerable to his band mates and his lady love (Dvorak), and for some reason, his new-found popularity makes him really, really effeminate. The movie is so ridiculous, that it’s actually a lot of fun.

While Ann doesn’t have a whole lot to do in Crooner, she does get one big scene, telling off her prima dona boyfriend with more conviction than the film deserves. No matter how poor the role, she always gave it her all.

While Crooner had aired on TNT way back when, I don’t believe it has gotten much (if any) play on TCM, so this is a rare opportunity to check out this minor, but quirky film.

Here’s some good news to start off the New Year. There’s a Future in It, a little known film starring Ann Dvorak and directed by husband Leslie Fenton is going to be available on DVD in February, courtesy of the Discovery Channel UK and the British Film Institute (BFI).

This film was included in a series entitled “Home Front Britain” which aired on Discovery UK this past September. The series focused on WWII propaganda  films produced to support the British war effort and boost moral. As far as I can tell, all the films included are from the BFI’s archives and are shown in their entirety. An article about the series with a mention of the Dvorak film can be viewed here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/britains-world-war-ii-films-were-more-than-just-propaganda-1780730.html

Ann Dvorak left the U.S. for London in December 1940 in order to be near  Fenton, a British citizen by birth, who has enlisted in the Royal Navy. She was in the UK until mid-1943 and supported the effort by writing articles for a London-based periodical, driving an ambulance, performing for and visiting troops with Bebe Daniels, and planting victory gardens. While she favored the journalist endeavors, she was first and foremost a film actress, and was inevitably enlisted to go before the cameras.

Dvorak appeared in three feature length films during the War, starting with This Was Paris, produced by former nemesis Warner Bros and filmed at their Teddington Studios. She also made two films costarring Eric Portman which were distributed by RKO. Interestingly, both Squadron Leader X and Escape to Danger are now considered “lost” films. Dvorak’s last war-time title, There’s a Future in It, is actually a short film running around 36 minutes in length. Co-starring Berry Morse and sponsored by the Ministry of Information, the film was produced by the Strand Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures, though it does not appear that they film was circulated in the U.S.

There’s a Future in It is so obscure that as of this writing, it doesn’t even have an IMDb entry. Hats off to Discovery UK and the BFI for making this rare piece of Ann Dvorak and British film history available for those in the UK (or with region free DVD players). Home Front Britain can be pre-ordered here:

www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Front-Britain-Jim-Carter/dp/B002XLI9LG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1262665422&sr=8-1

Happy New Year!

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Ann Dvorak’s passing. The actress who had appeared in over fifty films, traveled the world, and risked her life contributing to the war effort in the UK, died in obscurity in Honolulu at the age of 68.

When I first became interested in Ann, over ten years ago, I was hard pressed to find others who had heard of her, let alone seen any of her films. While Ann is still unknown to many, as more and more of her movies become available on DVD, I have noticed a greater awareness of this amazing actress, which is encouraging. Ann was sensitive about her contributions to film being forgotten, and I think she would be pleased by the rediscovery of her talents, and appreciation of her pre-Code performances.

Take a break from the madness of the holidays today, pop on a Dvorak film, and pay tribute to this talented gal.

Hooray for the Warner Archive who are releasing Ann Dvorak films on DVD faster than I can write about them.

This week’s offering includes the Strange Love of Molly Louvain, directed by Michael Curtiz and co-starring Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, and Dvorak’s soon-to-be  husband, Leslie Fenton. It’s standard pre-code dealings with Dvorak  bearing a child out of wedlock, hooking up with a thug, getting  mixed up in shady dealings, and going on the lamb incognito as a bleached blonde. While it’s not quite as riveting as Three on a Match, the Strange Love of Molly Louvain is one of the few films where Ann is the focus of the film and, as usual, she makes the most of it.

As I discussed previously, the film contains one of my all time favorite Ann Dvorak scenes where she gets to do a scat version of “Penthouse Serenade” and briefly performs one of her own compositions, “Gold Digger Baby.” Molly Louvain is also an important film in the annals of Ann Dvorak history because it’s where she hooked up with Leslie Fenton. The two had met a few weeks earlier on New Years Eve, but the sparks flew on the set of this film and the pair would soon elope to Arizona.

I need to give a quick note of credit to the blog All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing! who caught this DVD release before I did.

In light of this unexpected release, I am really looking forward to what other 1930s Warner Bros flicks the Warner Archive has in store for 2010.

Two films from Ann Dvorak’s days as a hoofer at M-G-M are now available on DVD, courtesy of the Warner Archive.

I’ve discussed Hollywood Revue of 1929 previously on this site, which is a star studded wreck of an early talkie, and yet oddly mesmerizing. For Ann Dvorak fans, this film is a must see as the 17-year-old smiles big and dances her heart out in many of the movie’s musical numbers. Plus, she gets two words of dialog and slaps Jack Benny.

I have never seen It’s a Great Life in it’s entirety, so I am excited about this one. The film stars vaudeville darlings Vivian and Rosetta Duncan, popularly known as the Duncan Sisters in what is their only sound film. Production on this one started a couple of days after Ann Dvorak’s 18th birthday, right around the time she was elevated to the position of  assistant choreographer to Sammy Lee. Ann is especially prominent in a number called “The Hoosier Hop,” a dance step she supposedly came up with, and she sure  does she beam with pride while  performing it.

I’ll be wishing myself a Merry X-Mas with these two, and look forward to more of Ann’s M-G-M’s flicks to be made available from the Warner Archive.

Three On a Match is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, December 2, at 5:30am PST.

Click here to see previous comments on Three on a Match.

If you haven’t seen this one before, do yourself a favor and set aside the 63 minutes to watch it. You won’t be sorry.

It’s hard to believe, but it was seven years ago this month that I first launched the first (and still only) Ann Dvorak tribute site. Thanks to everyone over the years who has provided moral support as I make my way through writing Ann’s life story, and to those who have given me whatever info on Ann they have been able to share. Here’s to many more years of celebrating the talents of this amazing actress and to getting the book done (believe me, I want it to be out there just as much as you do)!

Happy Thanksgiving~

-Christina

A Life of Her Own is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, November 12, at 11:00am PST.

Click here to see previous comments on A Life of Her Own.

It’s been a few months since Progress Report #1 and I wish I could say I have a lot of progress to report, but I really don’t. In my defense, I was sidetracked by another ongoing project, and a promotion at work causes me to usually feel like a limp noodle by the time I get home.

I have gotten a tad bit more writing done, so without further ado…

Progress Report #2

I finally finished up Chapter 4, which takes us to mid-1931. Ann is still working at MGM, but is tired of extra-work and dance instruction and wants to actually act in films. The studio has no interest in doing anything else with her, and her pal Joan Crawford can’t even get her better parts. The chapter ends on the eve of Ann landing the role of Cesca in Scarface.

Even if the writing is slow going, the research never ends. As a result of the piece I wrote for Classic Images, a gal who interviewed Ann in New York when she was starring in the Respectful Prostitute contacted me. She didn’t have a tremendous amount of info, but supplied a couple of tidbits I found very interesting. I also got in touch with a lawyer who hung out with Ann and husband #3 in the early 1960s and gave me some great insight about their relationship and Ann’s attitude toward her career at that point.

My battle cry all along had been “once I get to her Warner Bros period, the words will fly off the keyboard!” Well, I am almost there and hope this proves to be true. Thanks to everyone who has been sending me words of encouragement and making it clear that there is a market for a full-length bio of the Divine Miz D.

-Christina

Merrily We Live is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, October 22,  at 6:15am PST.

Click here to see previous comments on Merrily We Live.