I finally got around to watching Love in Rough (M-G-M, 1930) last night, which I ordered from the Warner Archive a couple of weeks back. When I say “watched it,” I actually mean I fast-forwarded through the film looking for scenes with an uncredited Ann Dvorak in the background. Much to my disappointment, she was no where to be found.

I have a few stills from the movie confirming she was indeed on set, but it looks like she didn’t make the final cut, at least not in the print available through the Warner Archive.

The film opens up on a six typists in a department store office who can be seen at the top of  the above photo. They chant something in unison, which seems to be the opening of a musical number and then the camera starts to pan down. On the Warner Archive print, there is a weird cut and we find Robert Montgomery and Benny Rubin standing in the room depicted in these photos. They are not surrounded by young ladies, but instead are alone and commenting on how they should get back to work, which seems to indicate they have just finished up the missing musical.

I am not sure if Ann’s scene is something that had been excised from the film upon its initial release, or if it just disappeared from this print somewhere along the line. It’s quite possible I am the only person who ordered this film for the express purpose of seeing Ann Dvorak, but just in case there are any other nuts like me out there, consider yourself alerted.

So This is College on the other hand, also released through the Warner Archive last month, features plenty of front and center Ann who was only 17 when this starting shooting in April of 1929. She doesn’t appear to be wearing much make-up, is a bit awkward, and a far-cry from the beauty she would emerge as a couple of years later.

The Warner Archive has now released five of the films from Ann’s pre-credit M-G-M days. Let’s hope more releases are around the corner.

Heat Lightning is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Saturday, March 13th at 10:45pm PST.

Click here for previous comments about Heat Lightning.

Girls of the Road is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Saturday, March 6th at 1:15am PST

Click here to see previous comments about Girls of the Road.

This week, the Warner Archive releases two more films from Ann Dvorak’s chorus days at M-G-M: So This is College and Love in the Rough, both starring Robert Montgomery, a personal favorite of mine. I have not seen either one of these, so I cannot really comment on them, but judging from still photos, Ann is fairly prominent in the scenes she appears in.

A couple of months back, the Warner Archive released Politics, co-starring Marie Dressler and Polly Moran. I wanted to confirm that Ann was actually in the film before including it here, and even though it’s not a musical, the Divine Ms. D does appear in the crowd of a political rally and is easy to pick out. Politics is actually an early pro-feminist feature and was much more enjoyable than I expected. Marie Dressler is fabulous, as always.

Just a reminder that There’s a Future in It, was released last week through Amazon UK on the Home Front Britain set. My copy should be arriving any day now, and I’ll have a full report after the grand premiere at my place.

That’s all the Ann-D news for now.

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 the 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.