Monthly Archives: November 2013
Silent Sunday – Photos of 4-Year-Old Ann Dvorak in “Ramona”
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 314
I am going to once again break my loose rule of only posting photos from my personal collection because these are too magnificent. In 1915 a 4-year-old Ann Dvorak was cast in the feature film Ramona directed by Donald Crisp and produced by William H. Clune. It was an epic undertaking and the result was a movie comprised of 10-12 reels. Ann, credited as “Baby Anna Lehr” only appears in the first reel, portraying the title character as a child, and sadly that is not the reel that has survived.
At least we still have these photos, courtesy of Marc Wanamaker and his Bison Archives. For those of you not familiar with Marc, he is an absolute gem of a man and a incredible source for early Hollywood history. I relied on him a few times while trying to piece together “Mama” Anna Lehr’s chronology for the bio. He has been amassing a crazy collection of Hollywood photos for decades for the sole purpose of advocating film scholarship which he has done through his own writings and by allowing his photos to be used in other projects. He sold a large chunk of his collection to the Motion Picture Academy recently, but still retained a big portion of the images and is always working on a new book about local history.
When I first asked Marc if he had any photos from Ramona, I had little hope that he could actually produce. Boy was I wrong! I used the top image in Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, which is a cropped close-up of one of the photos below.
I think this final photo looks freakishly like mini-Ann, but the shadows across her face were so pronounced that I thought it wouldn’t produce well in the book, so I went with that top photo.
Thanks again to Marc for giving me the thumbs up to share the images here.
Happy Sunday!
In Reverence of Research Libraries
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 313
Two more promo pieces went live yesterday, both focusing on how offline Los Angeles research collections aided in the quest to document the life and career of Ann Dvorak.
The first is kind of cheating because it was written by me for the Central Library blog where I work. My post focusing on the value of undigitized newspaper collections.
The second was written by Los Angeles historian extraordinaire Nathan Masters who blogs for KCET on behalf of the L.A. as Subject organization. Nathan’s focus goes a bit broader and extends to some of the other local institutions that I utilized which proved to be invaluable.
Both posts feature one of my all-time favorite images of Ann Dvorak which is from the Los Angeles Herald Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. The photo shows her entering the courthouse on February 14, 1936 for the first day in her lawsuit against Warner Bros. It’s a wonderfully dramatic shot and she looks like she’s ready to step before the cameras. I first saw this photo in 2004 when I was interning in the LAPL Photo Collection and the second I saw it I knew it was a must have for the book. Nine years later, it’s still one of the most striking photos I have even seen of the Divine Miz D.
Dvorak Love From Liz Smith
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 312
I’m not sure what I expected to feel once the book was released. I was hoping to experience a sense of accomplishment and relief, but instead I have been a nervous wreck. It honestly didn’t occur to me that books take time to read and feedback would not be immediately forthcoming. I have been on pins and needles all week, obsessively checking the Internet for any new mention of Ann Dvorak. I normally sleep like a rock, much to the irritation of my husband who has frequent bouts of insomnia. The tables have been turned and the last few nights have been brutally restless. Last night I had a dream that someone on Goodreads gave me a 3 star review, calling the book “trite compote.” What does that even mean??
Now, the feedback is slowly starting to filter in. The first Amazon review has been posted, which is not only 5 stars, but is an intelligent and thoughtful appraisal written by someone I do not know. Â The other bit of good news came through at around 2am yesterday when Liz Smith’s column was posted over at the New York Social Diary.
Liz Smith is an old school gossip columnist so to have her call Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel “recommended movie star reading of the moment” is pretty great. To top that off, Smith likens Ann to Gloria Swanson and posted a four minute clip of Ann and Lana Turner in A Life of Her Own, noting, “Not only does she wipe Lana off the screen, she practically burns a hole through it!”
After I finished the book and was waiting to receive the proofs, I went through I blue period where I wondered if I had devoted too much time to a subject no one cared about. Now that the feedback is starting to filter in, I am realizing more and more that Ann Dvorak was worth every moment.
Glass Lantern Slide From 1917’s “Man Hater” Featuring a 6-Year-Old Ann Dvorak
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 311
Now that the Ann Dvorak bio is finally out, I can start sharing some of the photos from the book which I have been keeping under wraps. Here is a glass lantern slide from the 1917 Triangle feature The Man Hater which is one of three known film appearances she made as a child. Amazingly, an unmistakeable Ann appears on the slide at the age of 6 alongside star Winifred Allen. Unlike in the book, I am able to post the slide in all its hand-tinted color glory.
This was a 2009 eBay purchase and I still cringe at the thought of how much I ended up paying for it. I am actually still surprised that I got into a bidding war over a glass side from a lost and forgotten silent films starring Winifred Allen. At any rate, I think it was worth the money since it got to make an appearance in Ann’s bio.
TCM On Air Promo for “Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel”
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 310
First off, I apologize for the quality of this video which a friend recorded by pointing his phone at the television. Despite this, isn’t it fantastic?? I imagine this is the first time so many Ann Dvorak clips have been edited together to promote her and the result is simply wonderful. I confess that I started crying the first time I watched it. After spending so many years with this project, it’s overwhelming to know that other people care about Ann enough to deem this book worthwhile.
I haven’t been able to locate a copy of this video on the TCM website, so if you uncover a better copy please let me know!
On a book ordering side note, it looks like Amazon is temporarily out of stock, but the University Press of Kentucky has copies at a 20% discount!
UPDATE 12/1: Special thanks to frequent commenter Dick who provided me with a perfect copy of the promo which is now posted above.Â
The First Review is In!
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 309
Well, the book is now out in the world and after the frenzied build up to the release date (well, frenzied for me), I now have to sit by and wait for people to read it. Fortunately, D(vorak)-Day provided some fulfillment with the first posted review of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel over at a website called The Edge.
Full disclosure, Tony Pinizzotto who wrote the review is a dear friend. I even wrote about him on this site a few months back. I knew he was planning on reviewing it, but I never expected something so in-depth and thoughtful. As many of you know, I am a librarian, so I rely heavily on book reviews for ordering. The critiques I encounter seldom provide this much insight into whether something is worth reading. I wish they did, because it would make my job much easier! I am sure many of you are thinking that it’s only a good review because he is a friend. Well, I know Tony to be a man of integrity and I am pretty sure if he thought the book stank he would have just not written it.
Thanks again to Tony for taking the time to read and review the book, and here’s hoping this is the first of many!
Biography Progress Report #34 – That’s All Folks!
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 308
When I posted the first Biography Progress Report back in June of 2009, I had no idea what lay ahead for me – becoming a parent, being treated for thyroid cancer while closing escrow, getting a major promotion at work. I also didn’t think it would be another four and a half years before I would get to write this, the 34th and final Biography Progress Report, but here we are and here it is.
As of today, Â Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel is officially released and will be making its way into mail boxes around the country, and hopefully around the world. It’s been a unexpectedly long journey to get to this point with a lot of craziness along the way, but in the end I honestly believe the book could not be more perfect (well, if those photos of Ann’s third husband had not gotten lost in the mail, that would have been cool).
There are many people who have been following this site for years and have been so encouraging and patient. Knowing that other people care about Ann Dvorak and want to know her story has always fueled me to keep going and see this through. I extend my sincere appreciation to each and every one of you and hope I haven’t let you down.
And now that my first book has been published, what am I going to do? I’m going to Disneyland! Seriously, we’re grabbing my daughter and leaving right now.
This may be the final Biography Progress Report, but I still have 57 more posts for The Year of Ann Dvorak so keep coming back!
Posters I Will Never Own: “Scarface” Half Sheet
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 307
When it comes to movie memorabilia collecting, I will fess up to being a kind of an obsessive snob. I seldom to never post anything on this website that is not part of my own Ann Dvorak collection. If I don’t own it, why would I bother with it?
I am going to make an exception today. Right now, the Heritage auction house has an original release Scarface half sheet available. I have never seen this before, and it is glorious. Fortunately, Ann Dvorak is not featured on the color center panel, so my heart only needs to break a little. Also of note is her fourth billing. In the actual film credits, she is billed second after Paul Muni.
The one-sheet and three-sheet for Scarface are not too visually appealing, so it never bothered me much to not own them. This half sheet on the other hand is gorgeous, but with a current bid of $14,000 and a final estimate set at $25,000 – $50,000, it will sadly never be part of my collection. Maybe I can become friends with the high bidder and visit it.
Spotlight on Ann Dvorak Over at Vienna’s Classic Hollywood
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 306
As we rapidly approach D(vorak)-Day, I am pleased to share an interview I did about Ann Dvorak over at Vienna’s Classic Hollywood. Some of you Dvorak faithful may recognize Vienna as a long-time commenter on this site. She has been a strong supporter of the Ann Dvorak biography, which I really appreciate and I want to give her a heartfelt thanks for devoting a nice chunk of her blog this week to Ann. She did however make my brain hurt by asking which 5 Dvorak movies I would save if I had to (don’t be upset if I didn’t save your favorite). Which ones did I choose? Find out here!
“Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel” is TCM’s Book of the Month!
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 305
It gives me great, great pleasure to officially announce that Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel has been selected for Turner Classic Movies November Book Corner! This means that it has a featured spot on their website, is highlighted in the November issue of their magazine Now Playing, and will get a nice shout out on air all month.
I have known about this since July and have been keeping it under wraps – partially because the fine folks at TCM requested that I stay mum, but also because I though it was too good to be true and that they would change their mind at the last minute. I’m still pinching myself!
I don’t think it’s possible to get a better endorsement than this, and I want to extended my sincere gratitude to Shannon Klute over at TCM for making this happen.
There just so happens to be a couple of Ann Dvorak movies playing in November, though I think this was a nice coincidence. Either way, hats off to Turner Classic Movies for throwing their considerable weight behind Ann Dvorak!
(Confession time: I don’t actually have cable – I would be watching cake shows on Food Network all the time if I did – which means I do not have TCM. If anyone is able to record the monthly news highlights in between films that will mention the Ann Dvorak book and send me a copy, I would really appreciate it!)