Young Mr. Lincoln

Henry Fonda wore specially made boots that made him appear taller.

The trial of William "Duff" Armstrong, on which the fictionalized defense of Matt and Adam Clay shown in this movie is based, actually took place in 1858, when Lincoln was a successful railroad attorney and soon to be a nominee for the Senate. The other person accused of murder had been convicted in a separate trial several months earlier.

Henry Fonda originally turned down the role of Lincoln, saying he didn't think he could play such a great man. He changed his mind after John Ford asked him to do a screen test in full makeup. After viewing himself as Lincoln in the test footage, Fonda liked what he saw, and accepted the part. He later told an interviewer, "I felt as if I were portraying Christ himself on film."

John Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought an extended battle over control of the film.

Ford even had unused takes of the film destroyed so the studio could not insert them into the movie. One scene that Ford insisted on cutting was a scene where Lincoln met his future assassin, a very young John Wilkes Booth.

Final film of Alice Brady.

Cast of Young Mr. Lincoln

Henry Fonda Abraham Lincoln

Alice Brady Abigail Clay

Marjorie Weaver Mary Todd

Arleen Whelan Sarah Clay

Eddie Collins Efe Turner

Pauline Moore Ann Rutledge

Richard Cromwell Matt Clay

Donald Meek Prosecutor John Felder

Judith Dickens Carrie Sue

Eddie Quillan Adam Clay

Spencer Charters Judge Herbert A. Bell

Ward Bond John Palmer Cass

You Can't Cheat An Honest Man

W. C. Fields and Edgar Bergan were paid $100,000 each. Fields was paid an additional $25,000 for writing the script.

W. C. Fields became a big hit on radio, especially on Edgar Bergan 's radio program, where he had a long-running "feud" with Charlie McCarthy. This film was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of that feud by having it carried on in a movie.

Legend has it that on the set of You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939), a stagehand was cleaning out W. C. Fields ' dressing room and accidentally bumped into a table on which Fields had placed a bottle of whiskey. He caught the bottle before it hit the floor, but the cork had popped out and he couldn't find it. He placed the bottle back on the table and left. Later Fields came back to the dressing room, and a few minutes after-wards stormed out, roaring "Who took the cork out of my lunch?"

Cast of You Can't Cheat An Honest Man

W.C. Fields - Larson E. Whipsnade
Edgar Bergen - Himself
Constance Moore - Vicky Whipsnade

Union Pacific

The world premiere in Omaha, Nebraska, was a three-day celebration that drew 250,000 people, doubling the population of the city and requiring the National Guard to help keep order. The special train en route from Hollywood to Omaha, carrying Cecil B. DeMille and stars Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea, took three days and made stops along the way, drawing large crowds.

The film was shown in three theaters simultaneously; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reported to have started the premiere proceedings by pressing a button in Washington, DC, which opened the civic auditorium. An ad stated that the premiere, which involved parades, radio broadcasts and a banquet, was the biggest in motion picture history. An antique train continued on a 15-day coast-to-coast promotional tour, stopping at 30 cities around the country.

According to a news item in the Hollywood Reporter, Cecil B. DeMille directed much of the film from a stretcher, because of an operation he had months earlier. However, studio records indicate DeMille collapsed from the strain of directing three units simultaneously, and used a stretcher for about two weeks.

The gold spike used at the ceremony to mark the end of the construction was the same spike actually used in the May 10, 1869 event, on loan from Stanford University.

For the Indian attack on the train, Paramount hired 100 Navajo Indian extras.

The company had rented many local pinto horses for the filming of the Indian attack on the train. During filming, however, local cowboys had to be hired to round up the horses, as they would scatter and sometimes stampede because of the noise and confusion of these scenes - all the shooting, yelling, and yards of unfamiliar cloth on the horses, along with kettles and other implements tied to their manes and tails, made them extremely nervous and uncomfortable, and it didn't require much to make them bolt.

In order to operate the number of trains required by the production, Paramount had to get a regulation railroad operating license from the Interstate Commerce Commission.

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by MCA ever since.

Dick Allen (Robert Preston) asks, "Where does he keep his 'Rule G'?", meaning a bottle of whiskey. This is a reference to Rule G: "The use of intoxicants or narcotics is prohibited", one of twelve 12 rules in standard code adopted by the Association of American Railroads.

Cast of Union Pacific

Barbara Stanwyck as Mollie Monahan
Joel McCrea as Captain Jeff Butler
Akim Tamiroff as Fiesta
Robert Preston as Dick Allen
Lynne Overman as Leach Overmile
Brian Donlevy as Sid Campeau
Robert Barrat as Duke Ring (Campeau henchman)
Anthony Quinn as Jack Cordray (Campeau henchman)
Stanley Ridges as General Casement
Henry Kolker as Asa M. Barrows (banker)
Francis McDonald as General Grenville M. Dodge
Willard Robertson as Oakes Ames
Harold Goodwin as E.E. Calvin (telegrapher)
Evelyn Keyes as Mrs. Calvin
Richard Lane as Sam Reed

The Women

There are over 130 roles in this movie, all played by women. Phyllis Povah, Majorie Main, Mary Cecil and Marjorie Wood originated their roles in the play, which opened on 7 September 1937 and had 666 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York. No doubles were used in the fight sequence where Rosalind Russand bites Paulette Goddard. Despite the permanent scar resulting from the bite, the actresses remained friends.

Though many people view Joan Crawford as the "bad girl" of the movie, Clare Boothe Luce, who wrote (as Clare Boothe) the play that the film was based on, sympathized most with Crystal Allen, Crawford's character.

In addition to its all-female cast, every animal that was used in the film (the many dogs and horses) was female as well. In addition, none of the works of art seen in the backgrounds were representative of the male form.

Sydney's, the beauty salon where the initial action takes place, was named after Sydney Guilaroff, the chief hairstylist at MGM from 1934 to the late 1970s. He was brought to MGM from New York at the request of Joan Crawford.

According to her autobiography, Rosalind Russell called in sick because Norma Shearer refused to share top billing. She stayed "sick" until Shearer finally relented.

Myrna Loy and Greta Garbo were the only top-tier female stars at MGM who did not star in this film, although Loy was considered for the role of Crystal Allen.

The lines Mary reads alone in bed are from "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran: "Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears," but MGM omitted the reference to "nakedness" to avoid offending the censors.

Although uncredited, F. Scott Fitzgerald contributed to the writing of the screenplay.

When Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford were called to shoot publicity stills, neither actress would enter the studio first. Instead, they remained in their limousines and circled the parking lot until director George Cukor summoned them and they instantly behaved like best friends.

In addition to those cast members already listed, Beatrice Cole and Beryl Wallace also appeared in the stage play.

George Cukor was fired as director of Gone With The Wind (1939) only a month before The Women (1939) was scheduled to begin filming. Producer Hunt Stromberg enlisted Cukor's services immediately upon his sudden availability.

Butterfly McQueen's film debut.

The stage actress who originated the role of Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell's role in the film) was Ilka Chase. She is probably best recognized by today's audiences as the Stepmother in the original Julie Andrews live TV musical production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's Cinderella (1957) (TV), the kinescope of which was recently rediscovered and released on DVD.

"The Women's" screenwriter Anita Loos who wrote this film's original 1939 screenplay, started her writing career in 1912 with her first full film screenplay The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) starring Lillian Gish and directed by D.W. Griffith for the American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. which is still in existence today. After writing many scripts for Biograph, Loos went on to write such other films such as Saratoga (1937), Another Thin Man (1939), San Francisco (1936), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

The beauty salon and spa featured in the film's opening sequence was based on cosmetics mogul Elizabeth Arden's parlor in New York City. At the premiere of the film, Arden scoffed that the film's salon was an exact copy of hers.

As of 2009, Joan Fontaine (Mrs. John Peggy Day) is the film's last surviving principal cast member.

Cast of The Women

Norma Shearer as Mary Haines
Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen
Rosalind Russell as Sylvia Fowler
Mary Boland as The Countess De Lave
Paulette Goddard as Miriam Aarons
Phyllis Povah as Edith Potter
Joan Fontaine as Peggy Day
Virginia Weidler as Little Mary
Muriel Hutchison as Jane, Mary Haines' maid
Lucile Watson as Mrs. Morehead
Marjorie Main as Lucy
Virginia Grey as Pat, Perfume Counter Clerk
Ruth Hussey as Miss Watson
Hedda Hopper as Dolly Dupuyster
Florence Nash as Nancy Blake
Cora Witherspoon as Mrs. Van Adams
Mary Beth Hughes as Miss Trimmerback
Margaret Dumont as Mrs. Wagstaff (uncredited)
Butterfly McQueen as Lulu, Perfume Counter Maid (uncredited)
Barbara Jo Allen as Receptionist (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor as Mud Bath Attendant (uncredited)
Marie Blake as Stockroom Girl (uncredited)
Barbara Pepper as Tough Woman (uncredited)
Flora Finch (uncredited)

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is an American biographical musical comedy, released in 1939 and directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan.

The movie is based on the stories My Husband and My Memories of Vernon Castle, by Irene Castle. The movie was adapted by Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Yost and Richard Sherman.

Irene Castle acted as advisor to this film, and constantly disagreed with the director as to details of costuming and liberties taken. When informed that white actor Walter Brennan was to play the part of faithful servant Walter, she was dumbfounded: the real Walter was black.

Cast of The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Fred Astaire as Vernon Castle
Ginger Rogers as Irene Castle (née Foote)
Edna May Oliver as Maggie Sutton
Walter Brennan as Walter Ash
Lew Fields as Himself
Etienne Girardot as Papa Aubel
Janet Beecher as Mrs. Foote
Rolfe Sedan as Emile Aubel
Leonid Kinskey as Artist
Robert Strange as Dr. Hubert Foote
Douglas Walton as Student Pilot
Clarence Derwent as Papa Louis
Sonny Lamont as Charlie, Tap Dancer
Frances Mercer as Claire Ford
Victor Varconi as Grand Duke

The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

After the film was released, the telephone was commonly called the "Ameche", a slang term referring to actor Done Ameche who played the telephone's inventor. This association is explained in the film Ball of Fire (1941), showing the term was still in use two years after the release of the original film.

Only film featuring all four of the "Young" sisters: Loretta Young, Sally Blane, Polly Ann Young and 'Georgiana Young'.

Alexander Graham Bell's daughter, Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor, had official script approval.

This film had its premiere at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.

Jack Kelly's film debut.

Don Ameche's brother, Jim Ameche, portrayed Alexander Graham Bell in The Story of Mankind (1957).

Cast of The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

Don Ameche Alexander Graham Bell

Loretta Young Mrs. Mabel Hubbard Bell

Henry Fonda Thomas Watson

Charles Coburn Gardner Hubbard

Gene Lockhart Thomas Sanders

Spring Byington Mrs. Hubbard

Sally Blane Gertrude Hubbard

Polly Ann Young Grace Hubbard

Georgiana Young Berta Hubbard

Bobs Watson George Sanders

Russell Hicks Mr. Barrows

Paul Stanton Chauncey Smith

Jonathan Hale President of Western Union

Harry Davenport Judge Rider

Beryl Mercer Queen Victoria

Elizabeth Patterson Mrs. Mac Gregor

Charles Trowbridge George Pollard

Jan Duggan Mrs. Winthrop

Claire Du Brey Landlady

Harry Tyler Joe Eliot

Ralph Remley D'Arcy - Singer

Zeffie Tilbury Mrs. Sanders

The Roaring Twenties

The character of Panama Smith was partially based on actress and nightclub hostess Texas Guinan.

Glenda Farrell was originally cast as Panama Smith. Both Ann Sheridan and Lee Patrick were also slotted for the role that was eventually perfectly played by Gladys George.

Based on the life and career of real-life bootlegger Larry Fay. Unlike James Cagney's Eddie Bartlett, however, Fay stood 6'3" inches tall, and was long-jawed and gangly.

Unlike the movie's Eddie Bartlett, Larry Fay died on New Year's Day of 1932. Dwindling finances had forced him to cut costs at his New York nightclub, the El Fay; after telling the doorman at the club that his pay was going to be reduced, the doorman pulled a revolver and shot Fay four times. Fay collapsed backward onto a sofa and died.

A montage features a shot of gangsters bombing a storefront. This shot is actually an alternate angle of the bombing of a store in The Public Enemy (1931), and the same shot is notably also used in a similar montage for Angels With Dirty Faces (1938).

This marked the end of James Cagney's cycle of gangster films for Warner Bros. Cagney wanted to diversify his roles and would not play a gangster again until White Heat (1949), ten years later.

Mark Hellinger was relatively new on staff at Warner Brothers and had been given various B-picture writing and producing assignments. According to Hellinger's biography, after initially reading Hellinger's story for this film, studio head Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis became so excited that they considered the project too good for Hellinger to produce. Hal B. Wallis became Executive Producer of the film and told Hellinger he would give him the title of Associate Producer. It wasn't until after the film was released that Hellinger saw that screen credit for Associate Producer had gone to Samual Bischoff. It didn't matter to Hellinger, however, as the film was unanimously praised by critics and was a financial success. (Source: Biography "The Mark Hellinger Story" by Jim Bishop)

This film started a nostalgia craze. Disk jockeys began to run Roaring Twenties music. Producer Mark Hellinger was an important guest on singer Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall radio show and singer Kate Smith promoted the film on all of her radio programs. Both Life and Look magazines published "Roaring Twenties" layouts.

After the release of this film, producer Mark Hellinger received a telegram from New York that read: "We are all sitting here in the Stork Club discussing your new picture. We are glad The Roaring Twenties (1939) rates four stars and we wish we could be present to give you the remaining four-four. We love you. Walter Winchell, Louis Sobol, Damon Runyon, Rudy Vallee, Eddie Dowling, George M. Cohan, Sam Harris, Frank Buck, Buddy G. DeSylva, James J. Walker, Ted Husing, Ricardo Cortez, Sidney Clare, Bert Wheeler, Bert Lahr, Marc Lachmann, Clem McCarthy, Mack Gordon, Curley Harris, Jay C. Flippen, Dan Parker, Murray Lewin.

Critics unanimously praised this film. James Francis Crow of the Hollywood Citizen-News opened his review with "This is not just another Warner Brothers gang war drama ..." Sidney Skolsky wrote: "A great hunk of entertainment ..." The Hollywood Reporter said: "The pace is furious ..." Boxoffice wrote: "It will roar its way across showmen's ledgers leaving a trail of black figures and satisfied customers."

The night of the premiere, producer Mark Hellinger received a telegram to help calm his nerves. The telegram read: From all the wonderful things I hear of The Roaring Twenties (1939). I don't need to wish you good luck. Hope you don't suffer too much. Joan Crawford.

The world premiere was a formal affair held at the Warner Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. on Oct. 23, 1939. Attendees included Harry M. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, Darryl F. Zanuck, Louis B. Mayer, Joseph Breen, Walter Wanger and Mark Hellinger.

James Cagney's character is introduced while the soundtrack is playing the song "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" - the same song that is playing at the end of his star-making film, The Public Enemy (1931) (made eight years earlier and also set in the 1920s), when his corpse is delivered to his family's home.

The final line of the movie spoken by the character, Panama Smith (Gladys George) has been ranked by AFI and others as the #1 last line of a gangster movie. In response to a police officers query, "What did he do...", Panama answers as she holds Eddie (James Cagney) on the stairs of the church. "He was a big shot."

The Cast of The Roaring Twenties

James Cagney as Eddie Bartlett
Priscilla Lane as Jean Sherman
Humphrey Bogart as George Hally
Gladys George as Panama Smith
Jeffrey Lynn as Lloyd Hart
Frank McHugh as Danny Green
George Meeker as Harold Masters
Paul Kelly as Nick Brown
Elisabeth Risdon as Mrs. Sherman
Ed Keane as Henderson
Joe Sawyer as The sergeant
Joseph Crehan as Michaels