Search Results for: three on a match
Love for Ann Dvorak Over at “Silent Locations”
If you’re a classic film fan and not aware of John Bengtson, there’s a big gaping hole in your life. John is a rock star film historian. I’d say he’s the David Lee Roth of film historians, and if you’ve seen one of his lectures, you know why. For the last couple of decades, John’s specialty has been identifying precise locations of movies shot outside of studio lots. This happened a lot in the early days of film, particularly in Los Angeles in the 1910s, 20s, and 30s. These movies now serve as amazing time capsules of a city that once was.
John focused his earliest efforts on Buster Keaton, which resulted in the book Silent Echoes (Santa Monica Press, 1999). I like to add that the research for that book was done in the dark pre-Internet days without the aid of such online marvels as Google Maps. Plus, his research was conducted largely from his home base in San Francisco! The guy doesn’t even live in Los Angeles and was able to pin-point locations and buildings that no longer exist with hard copy maps and photos, etc. Since then, he’s given the treatment to Charlie Chaplin in Silent Traces (Santa Monica Press, 2006) and Harold Lloyd in Silent Visions (Santa Monica Press, 2011).
Maybe I am not doing John’s projects justice, but trust me, they are incredible. I first saw him lecture at UCLA around 10 years ago and the audience was mesmerized by his weaving though all these different sources to give a visually dazzling presentation that traced the footsteps of these early film giants throughout Los Angeles. When he pieced together three screen captures from different films to create a panoramic image of Downtown Los Angeles, I think we have him a standing ovation. Yeah, it was that kind of crowd.
In the ensuing years I have gotten to know John through my work at the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection. Leave it to him to teach me a thing or two about Ann Dvorak movies that I did not know. The most recent post on his excellent  Silent Locations website focuses on location shots from Three on a Match and G Men. While I figured the kidnapping scene in Match was filmed at Hollenbeck Park, I never caught that the schoolyard scene was filmed at the long-departed Los Angeles High School. I also had no clue that G Men provided a great look at the interior of the long-gone Southern Pacific Depot (yes, there’s  a lot of “long gone” in John’s work).
A little birdy told me just this morning that John has another book in the works, and I certainly hope so. In the meantime, check out his books and website and run, don’t walk, if he comes to your town to do a lecture.
Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis – The Dueling Divas of “Housewife”
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I had started working on this post for what I thought was a week-long Dueling Divas blogathon. Turns out, it was only a day-long event and I stupidly missed it by a few days. Since I had already written most of it before I realized my faux pas, I figured I would post it anyway. Plus, it was an excuse to scan the dozen or so photos from the film that I have purchased over the years which can be perused here.
Here goes…
Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis arrived at Warner Bros. as contract players roughly around the same time, and when the pair appeared in Three on a Match in early 1932, it seemed that Ann was the one to keep an eye on. However, it was Bette who would go on to achieve world-wide fame and immortality as one of Hollywood’s greatest legends, while Ann became more of a cinema footnote.
Their diverging career paths can at least in part be attributed to Bette’s dogged determination to succeed in Tinsel Town, versus Ann’s ambivalence towards her career once she married Leslie Fenton. Both actresses were beautiful in an unconventional way and while each had markedly different acting styles, they were still suited for the same types dramatic roles. Had Ann paid more mind to her career in the beginning, she and Davis may have found themselves vying for the same parts. But, she jeopardized her relationship with Warner Bros. pretty early on by skipping town for an extended honeymoon, so we’ll never know what roles may have been in Ann Dvorak’s future.
Bette Davis had known feuds with actresses like Miriam Hopkins and Joan Crawford, but the few comments she made about Ann only expressed admiration for Dvorak’s skills and empathy for her troubles with Warner Bros. The only time Davis and Dvorak exchanged catty words and narrow glances, was in the 1934 drama Housewife.
Directed by Alfred Green, Housewife presents Ann as the consummate homemaker, George Brent as the wimpy husband who she loves despite his many shortcomings, and Bette as the evil career woman trying to destroy their marital bliss. As I discussed in Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, the casting is so on the nose with Ann as the elegant noble wife and Bette as the steamrolling bitch, that I think it would have been way more interesting if their roles were reversed.
In the film, George Brent is only able to succeed as the owner of a PR firm with Dvorak bank rolling him with money she’s been socking away and dolling out constant moral support, while Davis’s brilliant marketing ideas are the ace in his hole. As he achieves considerable success, Davis moves in for the kill and she and Ann become increasingly cooler with each other while battling over the same uninteresting) man.
There is plenty about Housewife to make modern audiences cringe including the notion that homemaker is the most noble endeavor a woman can aspire to while the career woman should beware. I’m not going to give away the ending for those who have not seen it, but I am usually tempted to through my shoe at the screen when the credits role. The most redeeming thing about Housewife are Ann and Bette sparring away, though I think the film would have been much better had they both ditched George Brent and gone into business for themselves.
The Encino-Tarzana Branch Library Salutes “Hometown Girl” Ann Dvorak
When I contacted the Senior Librarian over at the Encino-Tarzana Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library about doing a program devoted to Ann Dvorak’s Encino ranch house, I thought he would tell me I was an idiot for suggesting something so narrow and esoteric. Instead, he was totally on board and really excited about it. So, on February 6th at 6pm, I will be presenting “Walnuts, Sanka and a Cow Named Garbo: Ann Dvorak’s Encino Ranch.” It’ll be around an hour with a slide show packed full of every photo I have ever been able to find of that property, including ones of subsequent owners that I found in the LAPL Photo Collection. Of course, copies of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel will be available for purchase. Ann Dvorak never stayed put for too long. Even when living in the same general area (ie Los Angeles, Hawaii), she tended to switch residences often. Ann and husband Leslie Fenton purchased the Encino property in 1934, had the home built, and she resided on the 35 acre walnut ranch until 1946, making it the longest she ever lived in one place. The property has significance for me because it was where I got married in 2007.
The branch was so enthusiastic about the program that they also scheduled screenings of some of Ann’s films! The showed G Men yesterday and have Scarface scheduled for January 30th,  and Three on a Match sometime in the near future. They generously let me take up prime real estate near their entrance to promote the program.
If you’re in the L.A. area on February 6th, I hope you’ll come join us in Encino to pay tribute to their “hometown girl!”
Ann Dvorak & Max Factor
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 362
In the waning days of the Year of Ann Dvorak, I am really digging into the vaults for content.
Here are scans of four 8×10″ negatives of make-up man Max Factor applying product to our darling Ann. She was used on a handful of ads to endorse his products, though I would imagine it was a stipulation of her Warner Bros. contract rather than anything she received side money for.
Since she’s wearing an outfit from Three on a Match in these photos, I am assuming these were shot during the production of that film. That would place these around May/June of 1932, right before she walked out on her contract for that honeymoon we have talked about so often here.
Isn’t our girl just stunning in the capable hands of Mr. Factor?
Leonard Maltin on “Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel”
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 353
I am not too proud to admit that when I saw Leonard Maltin’s comments about Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, I started crying. And not just gently weeping, but full blown bawling.
When I first encountered Ann on that fateful day in the mid-1990’s while watching Three on a Match twice in one sitting, the first thing I did when the film ended (the second time) was to consult my Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide to find out who this Ann Dvorak person was. The book had gotten wet somehow and was an expanded mess with no cover, but I was loath to replace it because I had highlighted all the movies I had seen. To have the man himself deliver such high praise nearly two decades later is surreal and beyond cool. Talk about ending the year on a high note!
I should also point out that Maltin offers a Classic Movie Guide which has been around for a few years but I was unaware of. Looks like I may be getting myself a Christmas present.
Collection Spotlight: My First Ann Dvorak Photo
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 331
As you thumb through your copy of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel and come across this photo, some of you may be wondering why I did not select one of the more shocking ones  from Three on a Match showing a disheveled, drug-addicted Ann getting ready to throw herself through a window. Yes, one of the images from later on in the film may have been more visually arresting, but I felt very strongly about including this photo with Warren William because it was the first piece of Ann I ever owned. This photo is what got me started on this crazy journey.
A few months back I detailed how my friend Darin introduced me to the world of memorabilia collecting by giving me a photo of Ann Dvorak he just happened to have at home. This was that photo. At this time I was unaware that a working class kid like myself could own vintage movie memorabilia, so to be handed an original still of one of my favorite actresses in one of my favorite films was a revelation. Sixteen years later I have A LOT of Dvorak memorabilia to show for it and along with a published book about the lady herself.
I think including this photo in the book was a fitting homage to Darin, Ann, and that fateful date in 1997 that changed the course of my life.
Christina Interviewed About Ann Dvorak Over At Immortal Ephemera
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 286
Courtesy of Immortal Ephemera
The first of, hopefully, many interviews about Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel has been posted over at the Immortal Ephemera website. Cliff Aliperti runs the site, along with a fantastic tribute site to Ann’s Three on a Match co-star Warren William. Cliff has been a strong supporter and promoter of the Ann Dvorak project for a very long time now, and was a sounding board for my whining during the two-month negotiations for Ann’s personal possessions earlier in the year. I am thrilled to be given so much real estate on Immortal Ephemera today and truly appreciate Cliff’s enthusiasm for this book. One of these days he’s going to dig up a piece of Dvorak memorabilia I don’t have that I can buy from him!
The full interview can be read here.Â
Thanks Cliff!
Biography Progress Report #29 – The Blurbs Are In
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 243
I was visiting the listing for Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel on the University Press of Kentucky’s website yesterday (yes, I do that), and noticed that a couple more blurbs had been posted. They’re from two of four authors I had submitted earlier in the year who had received a copy of the manuscript about a month ago.
I am enormously grateful to these busy people for taking the time to read the book and write a blurb. I may have been cheating a bit with Mark Vieira who has been a friend for years, but I do admire him tremendously as an author and think his book Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince is one of the best Hollywood bios out there. If anyone can spot a pile of tripe, it’s Mark, so if the Dvorak book is not up to snuff I’d like to think he would not have sent in this blurb:
Ann Dvorak has always been an enigmatic figure, whether you’re looking at her electric vitality in the 1932 Scarface or her feline grace in 1947’s The Private Affairs of Bel Ami. Fifteen years separate these unique performances, and there’s no one like Ann Dvorak, yet the story of her career remains untold. In Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, Christina Rice corrects this oversight. We learn about the ambitious young dancer, how her unusual looks and singular intensity pulled her into acting, and how her path to stardom ended in regretful obscurity. This is a compelling story, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes sad, but Christina Rice tells it honestly and objectively. Her dedicated research makes it possible to see both Ann Dvorak and her milieu with clarity. Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel is a sensitive biography of a real talent.–Mark A. Vieira, author of George Hurrell’s Hollywood
Susan Doll is not someone I know personally, other than a couple of email exchanges, but I enjoy her posts on TCM’s Movie Morlocks immensely. Plus, she holds a Ph.D. in film studies, so her opinion carries a lot of weight with me.  I was relived to see what she had to say:
Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel is more than the biography of an overlooked movie star. Author Christina Rice has meticulously researched the life of Dvorak, whose strong, self-reliant characters made her an important presence in the pre-Code era. Written in a reader-friendly style, Ann Dvorak explores the highs and lows of the actress who dazzled viewers in the classics Scarface and Three on a Match. –Susan Doll, author of Florida on Film: The Essential Guide to Sunshine State Cinema
So, my baby is officially out in the world and so far the response has been positive. Fingers crossed it passes the litmus test with all of you.
Meet Darin Barnes
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 155
Me & D after scoring big at a London movie memorabilia show in 2005.
If it weren’t for Darin Barnes, there would be no Ann Dvorak book.
No, Darin didn’t know Ann and doesn’t have any particular connection to her. However, without him, I would have never even thought of writing a book on Ann.
I met Darin back in the fall of 1997. I was majoring in film as an undergrad and entering my last semester, so I needed to find an internship. I was interviewed by Darin at a Beverly Hill talent agency where he was the assistant. The interview was pretty routine until he asked me what I wanted to do for a living. At the time I was toying with film preservation as a career and said so, adding that I loved old movies. The interview abruptly ended with Darin asking when I could start. I had never landed a job so easy and thought it seemed a bit strange, but I was happy to have an internship and didn’t think twice about it.
As it turned out, Darin was a classic film buff – the likes of which I had never seen. I knew a thing or two about old Hollywood, but compared to Darin I was a hack. I quickly realized I was offered the position because I had said I love old movies and after working there a couple of weeks, felt like I was a disappointment. I was fine when it came to the tasks of the job, but when carrying on a conversation about 1930s Hollywood, I totally fell short – at least that’s how I felt. I should also mention I was unreasonably insecure at that age.
One day, I was feeling particularly desperate to impress Darin with my film knowledge and blurted out, “You know who I love, but just can’t find anything on – Ann Dvorak.”And this was true. I had seen her in 3 movies and was fascinated by her, but had not been able to find anything else. Immediately, I had stumped and impressed him. Ann had come though for me.
The next time I walked into the office, he handed me a still of Ann from Three on a Match. Darin was also a movie memorabilia collector and had been collecting on Norma Shearer since he was a teenager. Anyone who has been collecting long enough knows that you end up with a bunch of stuff you don’t actually want, which is why he had this photo of Ann and Warren William. I was amazed to own an actual piece of 1930s ephemera from an Ann Dvorak film, and soon learned the photo was barely the tip of the iceberg. This was in the pioneering days of eBay, so there were still a handful of memorabilia shops around town. On our lunch break, we would hit the shops and I soon realized I could collect, not only photos, but lobby cards and large posters. Because of Darin, I officially became an Ann Dvorak collector.
Amazingly, days after making my Dvorak confession to Darin, TCM actually did a tribute to her and spent an evening airing some of her movies. Darin recorded them all and when we weren’t trolling for posters, we were having Ann Dvorak Theatre on our lunch breaks and after the office closed. During those fall months, we totally bonded over Ann’s films. I remember us shrieking with outrage when she went blonde in Molly Louvain and watching all of A Life of Her Own, hoping Ann’s character survived the jump out a hi-rise building and would re-appear. Darin was also the one who introduced me to the Margaret Herrick Library whose clipping file started to give me an idea of who Ann Dvorak was off screen. It was during these months that I first contemplated writing her biography – something I would have never dreamed of had Darin not brought me into this world.
During these subsequent 15+ years, Darin has been along for the Ann Dvorak ride. We’ve traveled to London, Brussels, Amsterdam, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Columbus in search of Ann. He came with me to Hawaii, not to lay out in the sun, but to sit with me in the Honolulu City Archives and behind microfilm readers at the public library, along with trolling random antique shops hoping to find Ann’s personal possessions. He endured multiple trips and countless hours at the L.A. Recorder’s Office in Norwalk and the Downtown courthouse, all in the name of finding every last shred of documentation on Ann. When I first visited Ann’s Encino ranch home, where I would ultimately be married, Darin was with me. It was Darin who ended up brokering the recent deal to buy Ann’s personal belongings when I was at my wit’s end.
I may not have met Darin because of Ann, but I can thank her for forging one of my most cherished and lasting friendships. I can thank them both for impacting my life in a most excellent way.
This Day in Ann Dvorak History: Ann Finally Gets a Warner Bros. Contract
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 138
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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.