Posts in Category: This Day in History

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Signs on as “The Respectful Prostitute”

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 224

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On August 12, 1948, the New York Times reported that Ann Dvorak was sent an official contract to sign on for the lead role in the Broadway production of Jean Paul Sartre’s The Respectful Prostitute. Ann would be replacing Meg Mundy in the lead role and was scheduled to start on September 1st. Ann’s run at the Cort Theater would last a few months and was an overall success. Unfortunately, this first go at Broadway would end up being her last (for reasons to be explored in a certain book).

Happy Birthday Ann Dvorak!

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 214

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Today marks what would have been the 102nd birthday of Ann Dvorak, who was born on August 2, 1911 in New York City.

Over the years, Ann’s birth year has frequently been listed as 1912, but here is definitive proof that she was born one year earlier. I present – her birth certificate.

Those of you who have been following this blog for a least the last couple of months might recall that I recently happened upon some of Ann’s personal possessions. Included in that stash was a copy of her birth certificate, which is cool because I had not been able to get a copy previously. Please note that there is only a space here for Father’s Occupation, because, you know, no self respecting woman would have a career in those days. Had there been a place for Anna Lehr to fill in her occupation, it would have read “theatre,” the same as Edwin McKim.

If you’re able, pull up a chair, throw Three on a Match in the DVD player, and raise a glass to the Divine Ms. D!

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Loaned Out to RKO

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 212

On July 31, 1936, RKO closed a deal to borrow Ann Dvorak from Warner Bros. for the feature We Who Are About to Die, co-starring Preston Foster and John Beal. This was significant for Ann because she had not made a movie in over a year, having spent most of 1936 entangled in a legal battle over her contract with Warner Bros. Even though the courts had washed their hands of the matter weeks before, the two were still at an impasse, so the loan-out seems to have been a compromise each could live with.

For Ann’s services, RKO had to shell out $3,000 a week, half of which paid Ann’s contracted weekly salary. RKO would end up borrowing her again for Racing Lady, and even though she would end up making two more films for her home studio before the year was over, her days at Warner Bros. were numbered.

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Starts “Gentlemen Are Born”

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 207

On July 26, 1934, Warner workhorse Ann Dvorak reported to the set of Gentlemen Are Born. She had finished working on I Sell Anything the day before, which was thankless role in a quickie programmer. Unfortunately, Gentlemen Are Born would not give her much more to do.

When I first saw Gentlemen Are Born a number of years ago, I absolutely hated it, mainly because it is such a waste of Ann’s talents. I re-watched it 2011 when it ran on TCM as part of Ann’s “Summer Under the Stars” day, and enjoyed it much more. It still angers me for its under-utilization of Ann, but overall this tale of college graduates who have difficultly adjusting to the real world in the midst of the Great Depression is fairly engaging. It’s also very timely, considering what today’s graduates have been facing the last few years, and the film is a great example of Warner Bros. willingness to tackle topical issues of the day.

However, it’s still a minuscule role for Ann Dvorak  and therefore my job to complain about it.

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Finishes “I Sell Anything”

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 206

On July 25, 1934, Ann Dvorak finished her scenes on I Sell Anything, one of the most inconsequential films of her career. Her part in the movie serves very little purpose, other than to give Pat O’Brien someone to end up with by the closing credits. It feels like most of her lines had originally belonged to some of the male characters and that her part was added as an afterthought. Ann worked on I Sell Anything for less than two weeks, though it’s impressive her services were needed for more than a couple of days.

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Sold Down The River

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 199

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 Los Angeles Times headline

On July 18, 1932 Ann Dvorak and husband Leslie Fenton arrived in New York after two weeks aboard the SS Virginia, which had traveled east from Los Angeles via the Panama Canal. Ann had abruptly sailed at the beginning of the month, effectively breaching her contract with Warner Bros. Even though Jack Warner and her mother had sent telegrams urging Ann to turn around and come back to Hollywood, she had forged ahead. When she stepped off the ship, she and Fenton were on fire, proclaiming that producers were slave drivers and that Howard Hughes had sold Ann up the river by selling her contract with him to Warner Bros. Any hopes of reversing her actions of the previous two weeks quickly evaporated, and Ann and Leslie prepared to continue their defiant journey to Europe.

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Prepares to Throw Her Career Away

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 184

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On July 3, 1932, Ann Dvorak sent a handwritten note to the Warner Bros. accounting department asking that all forthcoming paychecks be sent directly to the First National Bank of Los Angeles in Hollywood, as, “I will be out of town for a few weeks.” Less than 24 hours later, Ann and her bridegroom, Leslie Fenton would be far from Hollywood as they made their way to New York via the Panama Canal. From there, they would head to Europe for an extended honeymoon. The trip would be one of the most memorable experiences of Ann’s life, but is also what arguably torpedoed her career at Warner Bros.

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Becomes the Property of Warner Bros.

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 169

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Image courtesy of Annyas.com

On June 18, 1932, Warner Bros. officially purchased Ann Dvorak’s contract from Howard Hughes. Ann had signed with Hughes’ Caddo Company in August 1931 after having been cast in Scarface. She only made one other film for Hughes, Sky Devils, before he agreed to loan her out to Warner Bros. exclusively for the first half of 1932. The Burbank studio soon decided they were done borrowing Ann and wanted to own her outright, and negotiations were finally completed in June. The final price was $40,000 which was $10,000 more than what MGM had paid for another Caddo contract player – Jean Harlow.

Warner Bros. immediate plans were to loan Ann out to another studio while their annual summer shut-down was taking place. Little did they know that Ann had her own plans that did not involve making movies…

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Starts Work on “Dr. Socrates”

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 168

On June 17, 1935, Ann reported for work at Warner Bros. on the feature Dr. Socrates. The film marked the second time Ann acted opposite Paul Muni, their first pairing having been for legendary gangster film, Scarface. And while this second go-around isn’t nearly as memorable as the first, Dr. Socrates is one of the higher budget films Ann made at Warner Bros., and is enjoyable enough.

 

This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Finally Gets a Warner Bros. Contract

Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 138

For the first five films Ann made for Warner Bros. in 1932, she was actually under contract to Howard Hughes and his Caddo Company, but on an exclusive loan-out to the Burbank studio. Three on a Match was the first film she made after Hughes had agreed to sell her contract. However, the deal had not been fully completed and Warner Bros. had not completed drafting one of their contracts for her.

Then, she made that mortal sin of skipping town for eight months and was still working under the conditions of the Caddo contract. This ultimately worked out in her favor, as the language regarding suspension time being tacked onto the end was vague so Warner chose not to add the many months on. Even though she returned in March of 1933, there was haggling to be done with her agent, Myron Selznick. Finally, all the kinks were hammered out and on May 18, 1933, Ann Dvorak signed the document and became Warner Bros.’ property.