Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Bitterly denounced by Washington insiders angry at its allegations of corruption, yet banned by fascist states in Europe who were afraid it showed that democracy works.

To make his voice hoarse for the filibuster scene, James Stewart dried out his throat with bicarbonate of soda. However, both Frank Capra and Stewart revealed in interviews that his throat was periodically swabbed with mercuric chloride.

The Washington press corps were highly indignant at the way they were portrayed in the film. Consequently a great deal of the initial reviews from the capitol were very negative. One of their chief objections was that the film made them all out to be drinking too much.

Frank Capra received many letters over the years from individuals who were inspired by the film to take up politics.

One of the real senators from Montana walked out of the screening he attended in disgust.

Ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time (2006).

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #26 Greatest Movie of All Time.

In 1942, when a ban on American films was imposed in German-occupied France, the title theaters chose Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) for their last movie before the ban went into effect. One Paris theater reportedly screened the film nonstop for thirty days prior to the ban.

The novel on which the movie was based was titled "The Gentleman from Montana", but the state is not specified in the movie

The film was banned in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Soviet Russia and Falangist Spain. According to Frank Capra, the film was also dubbed in certain European countries to alter the message of the film so it conformed with official ideology.

James Stewart knew this was the role of a lifetime, one that could place him near the top of the Hollywood heap. Jean Arthur later remembered his mood at the time: "He was so serious when he was working on that picture, he used to get up at five o'clock in the morning and drive himself to the studio. He was so terrified something was going to happen to him, he wouldn't go faster."

In Take Her, She's Mine (1963), James Stewart's character laments that people have confused him with "that, uh, actor, ever since Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) came out."

Frank Capra and his crew went to Washington, DC, to film background material and to study the Senate chamber, which was replicated, full scale, in precise detail on the Columbia lot. James D. Preston, who was Capra's technical advisor for the Senate set and political protocol, was a former superintendent of the Senate press gallery.

The screenplay was originally purchased by Columbia as a vehicle for Ralph Bellamy, with Harold Wilson slated to produce. Once Frank Capra became the director, the project, planned as a sequel to Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), was entitled "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington", and was to star Gary Cooper, reprising his role as Longfellow Deeds. Cooper was unavailable for the role, however, and James Stewart was borrowed from MGM. "I knew he would make a hell of a Mr. Smith," Capra said. "He looked like the country kid, the idealist. It was very close to him."

Information in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library indicates that in January 1938, both Paramount and MGM submitted copies of Lewis R. Foster's story to the PCA for approval. Responding to a Paramount official, PCA Director Joseph Breen cautioned, "We would urge most earnestly that you take serious counsel before embarking on the production of any motion picture based on this story. It looks to us like one that might well be loaded with dynamite, both for the motion picture industry and for the country at large." Breen especially objected to "the generally unflattering portrayal of our system of government, which might well lead to such a picture being considered, both here and more particularly abroad, as a covert attack on the democratic form of government." Breen warned Columbia that the picture needed to emphasize that "the Senate is made up of a group of fine, upstanding citizens, who labor long and tirelessly for the best interests of the nation," as opposed to "Senator Joseph Paine" and his cohorts. After the script had been rewritten, Breen wrote a letter to Will H. Hays in which he stated, "It is a grand yarn that will do a great deal of good for all those who see it and, in my judgment, it is particularly fortunate that this kind of story is to be made at this time. Out of all Senator Jeff's difficulties there has been evolved the importance of a democracy and there is splendidly emphasized the rich and glorious heritage which is ours and which comes when you have a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people.'"

In his autobiography, Frank Capra states that after the film's general release, he and Harry Cohn received a cablegram from Joseph P. Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, saying that the film would damage "America's prestige in Europe" and should therefore be withdrawn from European distribution. In response, they mailed favorable reviews of the film to Kennedy and, while in a letter to Capra. Kennedy stated that he maintained doubts about the film, he did not pursue the matter any further.

According to the New York Times, "the Boy Scouts of America objected to having any part in Mr. Capra's reform movement," and Capra therefore had to use the fictitious name of the Boy Rangers.

In 1941 Columbia was sued by Louis Ullman and Norman Houston, both of whom claimed that this film was plagiarized from their respective written works. Screenwriter Lewis R. Foster testified that he wrote the story specifically for Gary Cooper, and director Frank Capra testified that he had seen only the synopsis of Foster's story and had intended to use it as a sequel to "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington" (1936). Columbia won the case.

The scenes where James Stewart wanders around in amazement at the Washington monuments were "stolen", since the US Parks Service had denied the studio permission to film near them.

Neither the Republican nor Democratic parties are ever mentioned in the film.

One reason Frank Capra made this film was to help him get over the loss of his infant son, who had died following complications from a tonsillectomy. Initially Capra wanted to make a film about Frederic Chopin, but Columbia head Harry Cohn nixed that on the grounds that it would be too expensive. Capra and Cohn were constantly at loggerheads over budgets, despite Capra being Columbia's most successful director with - at the time - two Oscars under his belt.

Jean Arthur's left side was considered her best side, so the sets had to be constructed in a way that whenever she entered, she would be photographed on that side.

This was reportedly Jean Arthur's favorite film of her own.

Jean Arthur's did not get along with James Stewart during filming, possibly because she had wanted her Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) co-star Gary Cooper to be cast as Mr Smith. Arthur thought Stewart was being deliberately a bit too cute for his own good and that Cooper was more masculine and had a stronger screen presence.

This film is one of five times that Beulah Bondi portrayed James Stewart's mother. The others are: It's A Wonderful Life (1946), Of Human Hearts (1938) and Vivacious Lady (1938), and once on his television series, "The Jimmy Stewart Show" (1971).

Because H.V. Kaltenborn is credited onscreen in the opening cast, but not in the comprehensive end cast, IMDb policy dictates the opening cast be listed first and the rest of the credited cast filled in with the end credits.

Edmund Mortimer is in studio records/casting call lists playing "Senator Agnew," but that role was played by H.B. Warner; Mortimer is not seen in the movie.

The song "Auld Lang Syne" is sung towards the beginning of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" at the banquet honoring Jimmy Stewart's appointment to the Senate. The same song is sung at the end of It's A Wondeful Life (1946) when the townspeople have come to Jimmy Stewart's rescue.

The film premiere was sponsored by the National Press Club in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall and the 4,000+ person crowd included congressmen, supreme court justices, and Cabinet Officers. Frank Capra was seated next to Montana Senator Burton Wheeler who was one of many public officials who disliked the negative representation of Washingtonian politics and left the theater midway through in a huff. Capra described the aftermath as "the worst shellacking of my professional life".

The Boy Scouts of America did not allow their brand to be used from the film, so Jefferson Smith got changed from being a Boy Scout leader to being a "Boy Ranger" leader.

The set for the Senate chamber was constructed on two newly built adjoining stages at Columbia, stage 8 and 9. The set was built almost to scale, and was at that time, the largest set built on a Columbia sound stage.

>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<>

SPOILER: Originally, the ending was much, much longer. It included scenes such as Mr. Smith going back to his home state and given a parade (with Saunders); the Taylor machine being crushed; Smith on a motorcycle and stopping to see Senator Paine; forgiving him and everyone going to see Smith's mother. It was cut after a preview audience's response. Some of the footage can be seen in the theatrical trailer.

Cast of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington:

James Stewart Jefferson Smith
Jean Arthur Clarissa Saunders
Claude Rains Senator Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper
Thomas Mitchell Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi Ma Smith
H.B. Warner Senator Agnew
Harry Carey President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn Susan Paine

Ninotchka

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1990.
The tagline "Garbo laughs!" came before the screenplay was written; the film was built around that single, now legendary, slogan.

Greta Garbo did not wear any makeup for her scenes where she is the stern envoy.

According to published newspaper reports in the spring of 1939, Spencer Tracy was a leading contender for the role of Leon. William Powell, Robert Montgomery, and Cary Grant were also considered for the part.

Greta Garbo had her misgivings about appearing in a comedy and was particularly nervous about the drunk scene, which she considered to be highly vulgar.

The movie was banned in the Soviet Union and its satellite states.

Curiously enough, this was the very movie Arnold Schwarzenegger studied when he was trying to find his character for Red Heat (1988). The exercise - emulate Greta Garbo - was recommended to him by his director Walter Hill.

Ernst Lubitsch only signed on as director after George Cukor decamped for Gone With The Wind(1939). As part of his deal for directing, MGM agreed to make The Shop Around The Corner(1940) for Lubitsch afterwards.

Ernst Lubitsch disliked Gottfried Reinhardt (I)S.N. Behrman's original screenplay, so he commissioned a rewrite from Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch. Lubitsch himself made some significant uncredited contributions to the screenplay.

Although Greta Garbo's famous hat in the film was made by her regular costumier Adrian, it was actually based on a sketch by Garbo herself.

This was one of Ernst Lubitsch's personal favorite films. His other favorites were The Shop Around The Corner (1940) and Trouble in Paradise (1932).

The cast of Ninotchka:

Greta Garbo as Nina Ivanovna Yakushova, aka Ninotchka
Melvyn Douglas as Comte Léon d'Algout
Ina Claire as Grand Duchess Swana
Sig Ruman as Michael Simonavich Iranoff
Felix Bressart as Buljanoff
Alexander Granach as Kopalski
Bela Lugosi as Commissar Razinin
Tamara Shayne as Anna, Ninotchka's roommate in Moscow
Rolfe Sedan as Hotel Manager
Gregory Gaye as Rakonin
Edwin Maxwell as Mercier
Richard Carle as Gaston

Babes In Arms

The Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart songs "My Funny Valentine", "I Wish I Were in Love Again", "Way Out West", and "Johnny One Note" are songs from the original Broadway musical, but were eventually unused in the final film. "The Lady Is a Tramp" is used as part of the underscore in a dinner scene between Mickey Rooney and June Preisser.

MGM Studio's biggest money grosser of 1939, surpassing The Wizard of Oz (1939) for that production year.

The Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland-Busby Berkeley full-throttle production number, "God's Country" (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg), had been introduced on Broadway by Jack Whiting and The Five Reillys in the 1937 musical, "Hooray for What!" MGM bought the screen rights to the show, which never was filmed.

The parody sequence, "My Day," featuring Mickey Rooney as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Judy Garland as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, was removed from the negative after the president's death on April 12, 1945. The routine, for many years thought to be lost, was rediscovered on 16-millimeter film and now can be viewed on Warner Home Video's DVD, "The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection."

In two of her MGM musicals, Judy Garland preformed the classic rouser, "Broadway Rhythm" (music by Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed): in this film, as part of the Rodger Edens-created "Opera Vs. Jazz" routine, also featuring Betty Jaynes; and the last tune in a medley which closed Presenting Lily Mars (1943), the ditty used as a showcase for Judy to dance with Charles Walters (who went uncredited for choreographing and performing in the finale), and for the star to sing with the MGM Studio Chorus, backed by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.

Although Judy Garland re-created for Decca a contemporary version of the exuberant classic, "I'm Just Wild About Harry" (music and lyrics by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake), the first U.S. release would not appear until 1984 when MCA produced a Garland LP collection called "From the Decca Vaults." This cut was issued again as part of a Judy CD box set entitled "The Complete Decca Masters (Plus).
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The Broadway musical production of "Babes in Arms" opened at the Shubert Theater in New York on April 14, 1937 and ran for 289 performances. It had a large cast that included Mitzi Green, Dan Dailey, Alfred Drake, Ray McDonald, and the Nicholas Brothers.

The cast of Babes In Arms:

Mickey Rooney as Mickey Moran
Judy Garland as Patsy Barton
Charles Winninger as Joe Moran
Guy Kibbee as Judge John Black
June Preisser as Rosalie Essex
Grace Hayes as Florrie Moran
Betty Jaynes as Molly Moran
Douglas McPhail as Don Brice
Rand Brooks as Jeff Steele
Leni Lynn as Dody Martin
Cliff Edwards in a clip from The Hollywood Revue of 1929 of the song Singin' in the Rain
Charles King in a clip from The Broadway Melody
Margaret Hamilton as Martha
Lelah Tyler as Mrs. Brice

Wuthering Heights

In the final sequence, the spirits of Heathcliff and Cathy are seen walking their favorite pathway. This was added after filming was complete, and because Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon had already moved on to other projects, doubles had to be used.

The Mitchell Camera Corporation selected Gregg Toland and this picture to be the first to use their new Mitchell BNC camera. This camera model would become the studio standard.

Vivien Leigh wanted to play the lead role, alongside her then lover and future husband Laurence Olivier, but studio executives decided the role should go to Merle Oberon. They later offered Leigh the part of Isabelle Linton, but she declined and Geraldine Fitzgerald was cast.

The movie covers roughly the first 16 of the book's 34 chapters.

Samuel Godlwyn later claimed that this was his favorite production.

In a departure from the novel, there is an afterlife scene in which we see Heathcliff and Cathy walking hand in hand, visiting their favorite place, Penistone Crag. Wyler hated the scene and didn't want to do it but Samuel Goldwyn vetoed him on that score. Goldwyn subsequently claimed, "I made "Wuthering Heights", Wyler only directed it."

Laurence Olivier found himself becoming increasingly annoyed with William Wyler's exhausting style of film-making. After yet another take, he is said to have exclaimed, "For God's sake, I did it sitting down. I did it with a smile. I did it with a smirk. I did it scratching my ear. I did it with my back to the camera. How do you want me to do it?" Wyler's retort was, "I want it better."

Ronald Colman, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Robert Newton were all considered for the part of Heathcliff.

Los Angeles - April 5, 1939: Samuel Goldwyn has withdrawn "Wuthering Heights" from the entire province of Quebec. Quebec censors demanded deletions because certain sequences dealt with divorce and infidelity, situations long frowned upon by the Quebeck board. Goldwyn refused to make the cuts. Whether the picture will play in other provinces is not known.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-April 6, 1939: "Wuthering Heights" may be shown in Quebec Province if certain excisions are made, Arthur Laramee, censor chairman said yesterday. He denied that the film had been formally banned.

Real heather was imported from England and re-planted in California to help simulate the look of the moors.

The film was not a big financial success when first released. It had to be re-released years later to earn a profit.

The film only depicts sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters and is set in 19th century instead of 1771-1801.

Producer Samuel Godlwyn felt that script was too dark for a romance movie, so he asked several writers to do a rewrite on the script, including a young John Huston, who said that the script needed no rewrite, it was perfect as it was.

Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier apparently detested each other. Legend has it that when William Wyler yelled "Cut!" after a particularly romantic scene, Oberon shouted back to her director about her co-star "Tell him to stop spitting at me!"

Both of the leading players began work on the film miserable at having to leave their loved ones back in England. Olivier was missing his fiancée Vivien Leigh and Oberon had only recently fallen in love with film producer Alexander Korda.

Cast of Wuthering Heights:

Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff
Merle Oberon as Catherine Earnshaw Linton
David Niven as Edgar Linton
Flora Robson as Ellen Dean
Donald Crisp as Dr. Kenneth
Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabella Linton
Leo G. Carroll as Joseph
Hugh Williams as Hindley Earnshaw

Intermezzo: A Love Story

David O. Selznick bribed Leslie Howard into accepting the role of Ashley in Gone With The Wind (1939) by giving him the right to co-produce this film.

In a published memo, David O. Selznick stated the title "Intermezzo" was not used because he feared the obscurity of the word would confuse audiences.

First American film of 'Ingrid Bergman'.

Toscha Seidel dubbed the violin playing of Leslie Howard, while Norma Boleslawksi dubbed the piano playing of both Ingrid Bergman and John Halliday

When Selznick fired the cinematographer Harry Stradling Sr. and hired the great Gregg Toland to take over the photography of Selznick's remake of the 1936 Swedish version of "Intermezzo", he asked Toland how it was possible that Bergman looked so beautiful in the original European production and so ghastly in his Hollywood version. Toland replied, "In Sweden they don't make her wear all that makeup." Selznick immediately ordered retakes with the "natural look" which so dazzled the world a year later when he loaned her out to Warner Bros. for their production "Casablanca".

In both her first American film (Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939)) and her last feature film, (Hostsonaten (1978)), Ingrid Bergman played a concert pianist.

Cast of Intermezzo: A Love Story:

Leslie Howard
Ingrid Bergman
Edna Best
John Halliday
Cecil Kellaway

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The only movie screened at the very first Cannes Film Festival (the remainder of the festival was canceled when Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces invaded Poland on 1 September 1939).

Charles Laughton's makeup took two-and-a-half hours to apply each day.
The film required the use of 2,500 wigs.

At a cost of $1.8 million, this was one of the most expensive films ever made by RKO Pictures. The Notre Dame replica alone cost $250,000.

Irving Thalberg first presented the project to Charles Laughton in 1934. But plans didn't materialize until Laughton signed with RKO and chose this film as his first assignment at that studio.

Having worked with her in London, Charles Laughton insisted that 'Maureen O'Hara' would be the perfect Esmeralda for the film.

RKO specifically wanted to outdo the 1923 silent version of the story, so a vigorous campaign that spared no expense was undertaken. Much attention was given to advance publicity; no pictures of Charles Laughton in full Quasimodo makeup and costume were allowed to be seen so that a first-time viewing would be a guaranteed shock. Also, the studio hired (at Laughton's request) leading makeup artist Perc Westmore to supervise makeup. Unfortunately, Westmore and Laughton had heated quarrels before a final image for Quasimodo was agreed upon.

This was noted Shakespearean actor-manager Walter Hampden's first sound film.

This was RKO's last release for 1939 (and second costliest in its history, next to Gunga Din (1939)). Although it premiered about the same time as Gone With The Wind (1939), it held its own at the box office, grossing an impressive $3.155 million.

Pandro S. Berman offered Basil Rathbone a principal part in this film but Universal refused to release him.

'Edmund O'Brien''s movie debut.

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1939 includes Gail Patrick and Laura Hope Crews among the uncredited players, without role designations. Neither actress appears in the film in any role of prominence, which their status in the industry at that time would have dictated. It's possible, however, they participated anonymously as extras, just for the experience, as many of their contemporaries often did.

Sound from King Kong (1933) is used in the film: when Esmeralda is being tortured, some of her screams we hear belong to Fay Wray. Also, when Quasimodo is defending the cathedral, some of the screams of the wounded attackers belong to the sailors from King Kong; and when Frollo falls to his death, his scream belongs to one of the sailors as well.

Two actors in the film play two different roles, one credited, one not. Thomas Mitchell plays Clopin (credited) and also plays the deaf judge that sentences Quasimodo to the pillory. George Tobias plays the beggar who wants to hang Gringoire (credited as "Beggar"), and also plays one of the workmen in the cathedral who sees Quasimodo ringing the bells in his joy of Esmeralda.

Cast of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame:

Charles Laughton as Quasimodo
Cedric Hardwicke as Claude Frollo
Thomas Mitchell as Clopin Trouillefou
Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda
Edmond O'Brien as Pierre Gringoire
Alan Marshal as Captain Phoebus
Walter Hampden as Archdeacon
Harry Davenport as King Louis XI
Katharine Alexander as Madame de Lys
George Zucco as Procurator
Fritz Leiber as Old Nobleman
Etienne Girardot as Doctor
Helene Whitney as Fleur de Lys
Minna Gombell as Queen of Beggars
Arthur Hohl as Olivier
Curt Bois as Student
George Tobias as Beggar
Rod LaRacque as Phillippe
Spencer Charters as Court Clerk
Kathryn Adams as Fleur's Companion
Diane Hunter as Fleur's Companion
Sig Arno as Tailor

Dark Victory

Originally there was to have been a final scene where Judith Traherne's horse wins the Grand National, reducing Michael O'Leary (Humphrey Bogart) to tears. Preview audiences found it anticlimactic and it was cut.

Based on a play that opened at the Plymouth Theatre in New York on Nov. 9, 1934 and ran for 51 performances.

Bette Davis said that this was her favorite role to play.

Offscreen, Bette Davis suffered a nervous breakdown during filming as a result of her crumbling marriage to Harmon Nelson. This didn't prevent her from embarking on an affair with co-star George Brent.

On Broadway, Tallulah Bankhead originated the role of Judith Traherne.

Bette Davis pestered Warner Brothers to buy the rights to the story, thinking it a great vehicle for her. WB studio chief Jack L. Warner fought against it, arguing that no one wanted to see someone go blind. Of course, the film went on to become one of the studio's biggest successes of that year.

David O. Selznick had originally purchased the screen rights but gave up production plans so he could concentrate all his energies on Gone With The Wind (1939).

This was Bette Davis' third Oscar nomination in five years, and her second of five consecutive nominations.

The second of Bette Davis collaborations with director Edmund Goulding. They had previously worked together on That Certain Woman (1937) and would do so again on The Old Maid (1939) and The Great Lie (1941).

Gloria Swanson had tried and failed to get the movie made a few years earlier.

This was Bette Davis' biggest moneymaker up to that point in her career.

Bette Davis claims that Edmund Goulding worked on the script and added the character of Judith's best friend Ann so that Judith would never have to complain about her tragedy.

In 1938, Barbara Stanwyck and Melvyn Douglas starred in a Lux Radio Theatre version of the play, and in 1939 Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy starred in another radio version of the story.

In an interview with Dick Cavett in 1971, Bette Davis said that the movie took four weeks to shoot.

Greta Garbo was the original choice for Judith Traherne.

Cast of Dark Victory:

Bette Davis as Judith Traherne
George Brent as Dr. Frederick Steele
Geraldine Fitzgerald as Ann King
Humphrey Bogart as Michael O'Leary
Henry Travers as Dr. Parsons
Ronald Reagan as Alec Hamm
Cora Witherspoon as Carrie

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

To give the illusion of baldness, Bette Davis shaved her head two inches in front to show a high forehead under Elizabeth's red wigs.

This was an adaptation of the play "Elizabeth the Queen" by Maxwell Anderson. The title of the movie was to be the same, but Errol Flynn protested that he wanted his presence acknowledged in the title. The choice of "The Knight and the Lady" upset Bette Davis, and "Elizabeth and Essex" was a book title already copyrighted. Thus the final unwieldy title was used. The stage production opened at the Guild Theatre in New York on November 3, 1930 starring legendary married couple Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. The play ran for 147 performances.

For several years, from the time of Errol Flynn's death until the film was issued on videocassette and began to be shown on Turner Classic Movies, the title was changed to "Elizabeth the Queen", the title of Maxwell Anderson's original play on which the film is based.

As well as shaving two inches off her hairline at the forehead, Bette Davis also had her eyebrows removed. She later complained that they never grew back properly and that ever after she had to draw them in with an eyebrow pencil.

Bette Davis had originally wanted Laurence Olivier for the role of Lord Essex, claiming that Errol Flynn could not speak blank verse well. She remained extremely upset about this through the entire filming, and Flynn and Davis never worked again together in a film, but according to Olivia de Havilland, she and Davis screened the film again a short while before Davis's stroke. At film's end, Davis turned to de Havilland and declared that she had been wrong about Flynn, and that he gave a fine performance as Essex.

Errol Flynn and Bette Davis disliked each other, and when Elizabeth slaps Essex in front of the entire court, Davis hauled off and unexpectedly belted Flynn for real. The anger on Essex's face is quite genuine, as is Flynn's visible imposition of self-control to avoid hitting Davis back.

The real Robert Cecil was apparently a dwarf, and one of Queen Elizabeth's chief counselors, not the supercilious character portrayed in this film, or in Maxwell Anderson's original play. The queen would affectionately refer to him as "my dwarf". He is more accurately portrayed in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I" (2005).

Nanette Fabray's first film.

Bette Davis (31 at the time the movie was made) was less than half the actual age of Queen Elizabeth was at the time of the events of the film. Queen Elizabeth was 63 in 1596.

The sixth of nine movies made together by Warner Brothers' romantic couple Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn.

The cast of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex:

Bette Davis as Queen Elizabeth
Errol Flynn as Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Olivia de Havilland as Lady Penelope Gray
Donald Crisp as Francis Bacon
Alan Hale, Sr. as Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Henry Daniell as Sir Robert Cecil
Vincent Price as Sir Walter Raleigh
Henry Stephenson as Lord Burghley
James Stephenson as Sir Thomas Egerton
Nanette Fabray as Mistress Margaret Radcliffe (as Nanette Fabares)
Ralph Forbes as Lord Knollys
Robert Warwick as Lord Mountjoy
Leo G. Carroll as Sir Edward Coke

Stagecoach

Asked why, in the climactic chase scene, the Indians didn't simply shoot the horses to stop the stagecoach, director John Ford replied, "Because that would have been the end of the movie."

This was the first of many films that John Ford filmed in Monument Valley, Utah. Others were: My Darling Clementine (1946), Fort Apache (1948), She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949), Wagon Master (1950), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), Sergeant Rutledge (1960) and his last western, Cheyenne Autumn (1964).

The first of many collaborations between John Ford and John Wayne.

When the film was being cast John Ford lobbied hard for John Wayne but producer Walter Wanger kept saying no. It was only after constant persistence on Ford's part that Wanger finally gave in. Wanger's reservations were based on Wayne's string of B-movies, in which he came across as being a less than competent actor, and the box office failure of Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930) in 1930, Wayne's first serious starring role.

John Wayne's 80th film.

John Ford loved the Monument Valley location so much that the actual stagecoach journey traverses the valley three times.

In 1939 there was no paved road through Monument Valley, hence the reason why it hadn't been used as a movie location before (it wasn't paved until the 1950s). Harry Goulding, who ran a trading post there, had heard that John Ford was planning a big-budget Western so he traveled to Hollywood, armed with over 100 photographs, and threatened to camp out on Ford's doorstep until the director saw him. Ford saw him almost immediately and was instantly sold on the location, particularly when he realized that its remoteness would free him from studio interference.

The interior sets all have ceilings, an unusual practice at the time for studio filming. This was to create a claustrophobic effect in complete counterpoint to the wide open expanse of Monument Valley.

David O. Selznick was interested in making the film, but only if he could have Gary Cooper as the Ringo Kid and Marlene Dietrich as Dallas.

John Ford's first sound Western, and his first in that genre in 13 years. Westerns had fallen out favor with the coming of sound, as it was tricky to record on location.

Local Navajo Indians played the Apaches. The film's production was a huge economic boost to the local impoverished population, giving jobs to hundreds of locals as extras and handymen.

Hosteen Tso, a local shaman, promised John Ford the exact kind of cloud formations he wanted. They duly appeared.

John Ford gave John Wayne the script, asking him for any suggestions as to who could play the Ringo Kid. Wayne suggested Lloyd Nolan, not realizing that Ford was baiting him with the part. Once filming began, however, Ford was merciless to Wayne, constantly undermining him. This psychological tactic was designed to make Wayne start feeling some real emotions, and not to be intimidated by acting alongside the likes of such seasoned professionals as Thomas Mitchell.

In 1939 Claire Trevor was the film's biggest star, and thus commanded the highest salary.

The premise of Ernest Haycox's story comes from Guy de Maupassant's famous story 'Boule de Suif', which takes place in Normandy during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

Orson Welles privately watched this film about 40 times while he was making Citizen Kane
(1941).

Near the end of the movie, Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler) has a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights. This is the notorious "dead man's hand" supposed to have been held by Wild Bill Hickcock before he was killed.

John Ford originally wanted Ward Bond to play Buck the stage driver but gave the role to Andy Devine when he found that Bond couldn't drive a "six-up" stagecoach and there wasn't time to teach him.

John Wayne's salary was considerably less than all of his co-stars', apart from John Carradine.

It's believed by many that the famous line "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," widely attributed to a John Wayne Western character, is spoken by Wayne in this film, however, it isn't. His character, The Ringo Kid, instead says "There are some things a man just can't run away from," when asked why he intends to stay and avenge his family's murders rather than try to escape to Mexico.

Producer Walter Wanger wanted Gary Cooper for the role of Ringo but Cooper's fees were too high. Bruce Cabot unsuccessfully tested for it before John Ford got his wish and cast John Wayne.

Film debut of Mickey Simpson.

Although Louis Gruenberg receives screen credit for the musical score, his contribution was not used and his name was omitted for the Academy Award nomination.

The hat that John Wayne wears is his own. He would wear it in many westerns during the next two decades before retiring it after Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo (1959), because it was simply "falling apart." After that, the hat was displayed under glass in his home.

Ranked #9 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Western" in June 2008.

Cast of Stagecoach:

Claire Trevor as Dallas
John Wayne as The Ringo Kid
Andy Devine as Buck
John Carradine as Hatfield
Thomas Mitchell as Josiah Boone, M.D.
Louise Platt as Lucy Mallory
George Bancroft as Marshal Curly Wilcox
Donald Meek as Samuel Peacock
Berton Churchill as Henry Gatewood
Tim Holt as Lieutenant Blanchard
Tom Tyler as Luke Plummer
Yakima Canutt as Cavalry scout, uncredited stunt coordinator and second unit director
Chris-Pin Martin as Chris
Chief White Horse as Geronimo

The Wizard of Oz

Some facts about The Wizard of Oz.

The song, Over the Rainbow, was almost cut from the film.

Shirley Temple was originally considered for the part of Dorothy.

Buddy Ebsen was originally slated to play the Scarecrow, with Ray Bolger originally the Tin Woodsman; Bolger asked to switch places since his dancing style was much closer to how a scarecrow would dance than to a tin woodsman. Then, Buddy Ebsen developed a severe reaction to the silver make-up that was applied and had to leave the film. He was replaced by Jack Haley.

Speaking of Jack Haley, many years later, his son, Jack Haley, Jr. married Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland.

The title role was written with W.C. Fields in mind. Producer Mervyn LeRoy wanted Ed Wynn, who turned down the role. MGM executive Arthur Freed wanted Fields, and offered him $75,000. Fields supposedly wanted $100,000. According to a letter from Fields' agent (which he claimed was written by Fields) Fields turned down the role to devote his time to writing the script for You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939).

If you look very closely at the Wicked Witch that Miss Gulch transformed into while Dorothy looks out her bedroom window during the tornado, you will see a shimmer from her shoes-she's wearing the Ruby Slippers. That means that she is the Wicked Witch of the East, who is soon to be killed when Dorothy's house falls on her. Margaret Hamilton has never been credited for playing this role (which is practically a cameo). This shimmer from her shoes is even more obvious when watching a better-quality copy of the film, such as the 1989 50th anniversary laserdisc version or the 1999 60th anniversary Warner Bros. DVD restored version.

When the wardrobe department was looking for a coat for Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel / The Wizard), they decided they wanted one that looked like it had once been elegant but had since "gone to seed". They visited a second-hand store and purchased an entire rack of coats, from which Morgan, the head of the wardrobe department, and director Victor Fleming chose one they felt gave off the perfect appearance of "shabby gentility". One day, while he was on set in the coat, Morgan idly turned out one of the pockets and discovered a label indicating that the coat had been made for L. Frank Baum. Mary Mayer, a unit publicist for the film, contacted the tailor and Baum's widow, who both verified that the coat had at one time been owned by the author of the original "Wizard of Oz" books. After the filming was completed, the coat was presented to Mrs. Baum.

Cast of The Wizard Of Oz:

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale
Frank Morgan as The Wizard/Professor Marvel/Doorman/Cabbie/Guard
Ray Bolger as Hunk/the Scarecrow
Bert Lahr as Zeke/the Cowardly Lion
Jack Haley as Hickory/the Tin Man
Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch of the North
Margaret Hamilton as Miss Almira Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West
Charles Grapewin as Uncle Henry
Clara Blandick as Auntie Em
Terry the Dog as Toto
Singer's Midgets as the Munchkins

In the film credits, all actors with more than one role are listed only as playing their Kansas characters, not as their Oz characters. The dog Toto is listed as having been played by Toto, not by Terry. W. C. Fields was originally pencilled in for the role of The Wizard but the studio ran out of patience after protracted haggling over his fee. Buddy Ebsen, was chosen to play the scarecrow before Ray Bolger convinced the producers he was better for the part.[8] Ebsen was then chosen to play the Tin Man, but had a near-fatal reaction from inhaling the aluminum dust make-up and had to be replaced.

Gone With The Wind - Part Four

Some other facts about Gone With The Wind.

1) The infant who was cast as Melanie's son was Patrick Curtis - he was married to Raquel Welch from 1967 through 1972.

2) In the scene with Rhett Butler and Mammie, they are having a drink of scotch to celebrate the birth of Bonnie. In reality, iced tea was used. However, during one of the takes, Clark Gable, unbeknownst to Hattie McDaniel, substituted the real thing!! She was obviously caught off guard.

3) Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to receive an Academy Award. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in this movie.

4) Although Victor Fleming is credited with being the Director of GWTW, there were two directors involved.

The first was George Cukor, who was fired by Selznick. He was considered a woman's director and this upset both Vivien Leigh and Olivia DeHavilland - after he was fired, they still sought out his opinion on various scenes.

Then Victor Fleming was hired. During the filming, he fell ill.

During Fleming's absence, Sam Wood had the reigns of Directing.

5) Author F. Scott Fitzgerald did some uncredited writing for the movie, but the scene(s) was/were not filmed.

6) The scene where Scarlett makes her way through rows of thousands of wounded and dead Confederate soldiers was filmed using the largest known crane at the time.

Also, for this scene, the filmmakers were unable to get enough extras so for the injured soldiers lying in the distance they used dummies. The extras lay beside the dummies and by using strings, the filmmakers were able to move the arms and legs making it look like the dummy was moving.

Cast of Gone With The Wind:

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara
Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes
Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton
Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O'Hara
Barbara O'Neil as Ellen O'Hara
Evelyn Keyes as Suellen O'Hara
Ann Rutherford as Carreen O'Hara
George Reeves as Stuart Tarleton
Fred Crane as Brent Tarleton
Hattie McDaniel as Mammy
Oscar Polk as Pork
Butterfly McQueen as Prissy
Victor Jory as Jonas Wilkerson
Everett Brown as Big Sam
Howard Hickman as John Wilkes
Alicia Rhett as India Wilkes
Rand Brooks as Charles Hamilton
Carroll Nye as Frank Kennedy
Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat
Eddie Anderson as Uncle Peter
Harry Davenport as Dr. Meade
Leona Roberts as Mrs. Meade
Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriwether
Ona Munson as Belle Watling
Ward Bond as Tom, Yankee Captain
Cliff Edwards as Reminiscent Soldier
Cammie King as Bonnie Blue Butler

Gone With The Wind - Part Three

During the 1930's, there was a very stringent morality code in Hollywood.

Per Wikipedia:

The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry censorship guidelines which governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It was originally popularly known as the Hays Code, after its creator, Will H. Hays

The Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA), which later became the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), adopted the code in 1930, began effectively enforcing it in 1934, and abandoned it in 1968 in favor of the subsequent MPAA film rating system. The Production Code spelled out what was acceptable and what was unacceptable content for motion pictures produced for a public audience in the United States.
The office enforcing it was originally popularly called the Breen Office, named after its first administrator, Joseph I. Breen.

One famous instance in GWTW, was the last line delivered by Rhett Butler: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" (by the way, it was Selznick who added the word "Frankly"). The association tried valiantly to have the word "damn" removed. Selznick insisted on keeping it in.

Again, per Wikipedia:

Prior to the film's release, censors objected to the use of the word "damn" in the film, a word that had been prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Association's Production Code that began to be enforced in July 1934. However, before 1930 the word "damn" had been relatively common in films.[2] Although legend persists that the Hays Office fined producer David O. Selznick $5,000 for using the word "damn," in fact the MPA board passed an amendment to the Production Code on November 1, 1939, a month and a half before the film's release, that forbade use of the words "hell" or "damn" except when their use "shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore … or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste." With that amendment, the Production Code Administration had no further objection to Rhett's closing line.[3][4] It is actually the second use of "damn" in the film. The term "damn Yankees" is heard in the parlor scene at Twelve Oaks.

There were other, behind the scenes occurances of "Deceny" code being enforced.

At the beginning of the filming of GWTW, Clark Gable, who was still legally married to his 2nd wife, was being seen in public and private with actress Carole Lombard. Gable's wife, Ria Langham, refused to give The King (as he was referred by) a divorce. In order to get her to change her mind, Louis B. Mayer, offered Ria a substantial settlement to divorce Gable. She then willingly agreed. Clark Gable was then free to marry Carole Lombard, which he did in early 1939.

Another situation, was Paulette Goddard's marriage to Charlie Chaplin. She was asked to produce a marriage certificate, which either she never had in the first place or just refused to produce, period.

There was a bit of a double standard though. At the time of the filming, Vivien Leigh, who was legally married to another man, was having an affair with Laurence Olivier.

Gone With The Wind - Part Two

It seemed that all of Hollywood's Actresses, both Stars and Starlets alike, wanted to have the coveted role of Katie Scarlett O'Hara.

From Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis, to Paulette Goddard and Tallulah Bankhead, and even Lucille Ball.

All of the screen tests were filmed in black and white. Eventually, only two of the "final" contenders had screen tests filmed in color. They were of Paulette Goddard and Vivien Leigh.

The only actress who tested for the role of Scarlett who ended up with a role in GWTW was Alicia Keyes who was cast as India Wilkes, Ashley's sister.

The day that Lucille Ball went for her screen test, it was an extremely rainy day. She was let into David O Selznick's office before he arrived there. While waiting, she sat in front of the roaring fire that was lit in the fireplace, in order to try to dry herself off. Years later, Lucille Ball and husband, Desi Arnaz, purchased the studio, which became Desilu Studios and that very office became Lucille's office.

Bette Davis was under contract with Warner Brothers at the time of the casting call. Warner Brothers would only allow her to play the part of Scarlett O'Hara if Errol Flynn was cast to play the part of Rhett Butler. Because she held a great dislike for her former co-star of the movie "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" (1939), she decided not to even test for the part.

Gone With The Wind - Part One

Gone With The Wind (aka - GWTW), of course, won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1939. There's enough material about the making of GWTW, to make a movie (or at least part of one)!! Moviola (written by Garson Kanin) was made into a big budget, made for TV miniseries back in 1980. It was divided into three parts: (The Silent Lovers, about Garbo and John Gilbert and the coming of sound; The Scarlett O’Hara Wars, about the search for the perfect actress to star in Gone With The Wind; and This Year’s Blonde, about the rise of the movie icon, Marilyn Monroe).

The story of casting for the role of Scarlet started not long after David O Selznick bought the rights to the book. There have been stories circulating that soon after getting the rights for the movie, Selznick became aware of Vivien Leigh for the part of Scarlett O'Hara, but put off even testing her for a number reasons and all seem to be connected.

One reason was that Selznick (who was an Independent Producer) had just signed, in 1936, a 2 year contract with United Artist to release all of his films. The problem with this was that Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios (and Selznick's father-in-law) would only allow Clark Gable to play the part of Rhett Butler if MGM had distribution rights to GWTW. Selznick needed a stall tactic to keep the public's interest in the movie for 2 years. Thus the search!!

Also, Selznick thought it wise to test a number of American actresses, particularly those from the South, so as not to insult them by immediately casting a British actress.

Thirdly, Vivien Leigh was under contract to Alexander Korda, a noted Hungarian born, British producer and director. Initially, Korda was hesitant about lending out Miss Leigh, but eventually gave in.

David Selznick was well know for sending out memos on every thing. So much so, that a book was published in 1972 entitled "Memo from David O Selznick". The largest chapter of the book is devoted to memos sent and received on GWTW. There is note at one particular part of this chapter that several memos are missing and quite possibly are related to the finding of Vivien Leigh early on in the search.

It was was approaching the end of 1938 and Selznick needed to start some sort of filming (by this time MGM had distribution rights and Selznick had his Rhett Butler). It was decided to film the fire scene (often referred to as the Burning of Atlanta and Railroad station). This scene also provided the demolition of several old sets to make way for the replica of Tara. It was during the filming of this scene that David's brother, Myron, who was a talent agent, came with Vivien Leigh on his arm. He then said to his brother, "I'd like to present to you, Scarlett O'Hara (this is not a direct quote, but basically what transpired).

The Year is 1939

By now, most fans of classic movies are aware that 2009 is the 70th Anniversary of that golden year of Movies - 1939!!

Wikipedia's List is a rather detailed list of the movies that were released that year.

Four 25¢ US commemorative postage stamps were issued 23 March 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamps featured Stagecoach (1939), Beau Geste (1939), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Gone With The Wind (1939).

It is my hope to touch upon at least some of those Golden Movies from that year.