Posts in Category: News
Technical Difficulties
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So, I just realized today that when I relaunched the site last November, the christina@anndvorak.com email address stopped forwarding to my Gmail. Yes, I thought it was a little odd that I had not heard from other Ann fans for awhile, but apparently not odd enough to look into it. Now, I have around 900, mostly spam, emails to sort through, but it looks like a few admirers of Miss Dvorak have been kind enough to drop me a line.
For those of you who sent me an email sometime in the last six months, my apologies for being so lame, and you will be hearing from me in the next couple of days.
Ann Dvorak Birth Date Confirmed as August 2, 1911
In the ten years that I have been researching the life of Ann Dvorak, most sources give her birth date as 1912, including her application for a Social Security number. Ann’s death certificate gives 1911 as the year, but I just figured the informant gave an incorrect date.
This past weekend, I accompanied my husband, Josh, to New York City for Comic-Con and stopped by the library to take a quick look at the birth index which is on microfiche and not yet available online. Imagine my surprise when I found Anna McKim listed on the 1911 index, instead of 1912. One year is not a big deal, but it’s nice to be accurate.
While I was at it, I looked up Ann’s mom, Anna Lehr who tended to shave off a few years here and there. She is listed as Anna Lajer, born November 18, 1890.
During my short stay in the Big Apple I bought five new Ann photos at one of my favorite poster shops and actually found a gorgeous still from Dr. Socrates at Comic Con. Overall, a very successful weekend.
On a personal note, one of Josh’s college buddies is a member of the Players Club, which was the former home of Edwin Booth, the renowned actor and brother of Lincoln’s assassin. We had a wonderful time touring the club and sipping wine on the balcony overlooking Gramercy Park. I heart NY.
Ann Dvorak Featured in TCM Documentary
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I received my Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol 2 in the mail late last week and immediately viewed the original documentary Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood. In 2003, TCM produced another pre-code documentary, Complicated Women, which was excellent but did not mention Ann Dvorak other than flashing a quick film clip. I was expecting more of the same with this recent offering, and was pleasantly surprised when her performance as the doomed Vivian Revere in Three on a Match was singled out and commented on by author/photographer Mark Vieira and director John Landis. Also featured are a couple of clips from The Strange Love of Molly Louvain. Since the hits on my website more than doubled after Thou Shalt Not aired, it looks like this box set is going to introduce a lot more fans to Miss Dvorak.
The print of Three on a Match on the set is great. Looking forward to watching the rest of the films on this one.
“Three on a Match†on TCM & DVD
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Three on a Match is going to air on Tuesday, March 4th at 12:00am EST (Monday night/Tuesday morning).
Three on a Match was the first Ann Dvorak movie I ever saw and it is still my favorite. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and running slightly over an hour, it’s a tight, gritty, shocking film centering on the demise of Ann Dvorak’s character. With Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Warren William, Humphrey Bogart, Edward Arnold and Allen Jenkins, among others, it’s classic early 1930s Warner Bros. This midnight showing on TCM winds down an all day tribute to pre-code cinema, coinciding with the release of the second Forbidden Hollywood box set coming out on Tuesday.
In addition to Three on a Match, this pre-code set also features The Divorce and A Free Soul with MGM first lady Norma Shearer, Female starring Ruth Chatterton (I love this one), and Barbara Stanwyck in Night Nurse. Add on the new pre-code documentary and this one is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Looking forward to this baby arriving in the mail on Tuesday.
“Love is a Racket” on TCM
Love is a Racket is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, December 12 at 5:00am EST.
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It’s been a couple of years since I watched this 1932 William Wellman feature starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a fast talking newspaper man who gets more than he bargained for when he falls for an aspiring actress played by Frances Dee. As I recall, it’s not an earth shattering film, but it’s a lot of fun and worth watching.
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By the time Ann Dvorak started working on this picture, Warner Bros had already given her starring roles in The Strange Love of Molly Louvain and Three on a Match. Her part in Love is a Racket is small in comparison and kind of odd as she spends a lot of the movie hanging out at Fairbanks’ apartment (even if he’s not there or if he’s asleep), and lounging in his bathrobe (see photo). Apparently, in the James Rian novel this was based on, her character is a coked-up prostitute which would have been far more interesting, but I guess even pre-code cinema had its limits.
Ann started working on this one on February 20, 1932 and finished up on March 16th. The next day she and Leslie Fenton flew to Yuma, Arizona and were married.
Ann and Frances Dee’s characters are very catty towards each other and Fairbanks, Lee Tracy and Lyle Talbot are all good, so this one is worth setting the alarm or the Tivo for.
“College Coach” On TCM This Week
College Coach is going to air on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, December 6 at 7:45am EST.
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This 75 minute tale of corruption in college football was Ann Dvorak’s big Warner Bros “comeback” after being in Europe on a year-long honeymoon. The extended absence was not approved by the studio and while she came back to a desired pay increase, the studio began casting Ann in roles of little consequence, like her character in College Coach. After turning out impressive performances in strong films like Scarface and Three on a Match, this supporting role as Pat O’Brien’s neglected wife who falls for a conniving Lyle Talbot is a step back for her and she has very little to do. Ann aside, the movie itself is pretty mediocre and the most interesting thing about it is the brief appearance of a very young uncredited John Wayne as a student. For the sake of sounding like a girly-girl, I also like Ann’s pointy eyebrows which she was sporting for her role as a gypsy in Paramount’s The Way to Love which filmed around the same time. Very exotic.
If you are interested in seeing Ann cheat on a film-husband with Lyle Talbot, Three on a Match is a much better watch than College Coach. If college football corruption strikes your fancy, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers is what I recommend.
Welcome to the New Site!
I launched my Ann Dvorak tribute site in November 2002. After five years, I decided it was time to give the site a face-lift. All the old content is still here with some extras. The new format is much easier to work with and I will be able to update it on a regular basis. I will also be able to post news updates (because there is so much news on Ann Dvorak) and spotlight items in my collection. I fully acknowledge that the watermarks on the photos are pretty obnoxious, but after seeing cheap copies of my pics being sold on eBay and used on other sites without credit, I was a bit irritated.
The biggest news in the world of Ann Dvorak is that Three on a Match will be released March 4th on DVD. It is included in Volume 2 of the TCM Archives Forbidden Hollywood Collection, which will also have The Divorce, A Free Soul, Night Nurse and Female. All these movies are pretty great and Three on a Match is the reason I became and Ann Dvorak fan, so I am really looking forward to it.
The big news in my life is that I got married last month, and the ceremony/reception was held at Ann’s San Fernando Valley ranch home. Ann and husband Leslie Fenton built the place in 1934 in the middle of what was once a 30+ acre walnut ranch. The land was subdivided in the late 1940s, but her house and some of the grounds are still intact. Perfect day, perfect place, perfect guy. We posted 14 of the 600 photos here.
Again, I hope you enjoy the new layout. Let me know what you think.