Sunday, November 21, 2010

Robert Montgomery (1904-1981)


The American born actor/director started out his career in New York on the stage in his early 20's after the tragic death of his father. (His father who once had a successful Rubber Co. jumped to his death from the Brooklyn Bridge).   His "in" to Hollywood came when he shared the stage with George Cukor who gave him a role in "So This Is College" 1929 at the advent of talkies.  Norma Shearer also took notice and requested him for her next two films "Private Lives" 1931 which also starred Reginald Denny and Una Merkel (see previous post on Una).  With his dashing good looks and well received comedic timing, starring roles would continue to come his way.  He married the actress Elizabeth Allan in 1928 and they remained married until their divorce in 1950.



Now thats a handsome bloke!

with Marion Davies in "Blondie of the Follies" 1932

Robert continued to star in comedic roles at MGM throughout the 1930's along side the top box office stars of the day.  He co-starred with Greta Garbo in "Inspiration" 1930 then his first appearance with Norma Shearer in the box office hit "The Divorcee" 1930.  He starred in the first adaptation of "When Ladies Meet" opposite Myrna Loy and Ann Harding in 1933.  Of course a few films opposite the great Joan Crawford we're an MGM must for any leading man so he appeared with La Joan on a few occasions during the 1930's. 

publicity still with Joan Crawford

with Joan Crawford and a young Clark Gable in "Forsaking All Others" 1935


One of his first starring roles with Joan was in "Our Blushing Brides" 1930 which was the follow-up to Joan's hit "Our Dancing Daughters" 1928.  (For more on this series and flappers you might enjoy my post on Anita Page who appeared with Joan in the first two of the sequels).  Robert starred opposite Norma Shearer again in 1934 in the melodrama "Their Own Desire". I really enjoyed this film and the chemistry of Norma and Robert playing off of one another.  Unfortunately the plot has been overdone and ruined by Hollywood in a few films as of late.  He teamed up with Tallulah Bankhead for "Faithless" in 1932, one of his early dramatic roles.  We all know Tallulah could sell drama better than anyone else.  (You can read all about the talented and outspoken Tallulah in a previous post).

with Norma Shearer in "The Divorcee" 1930

with Constance Bennett in "The Easiest Way" 1931 (The film and it's subject matter was considered quite scandalous for it's day).

Quite dapper for a game of tennis. You have to admire the creative geniuses behind early publicity stills. The ascot adds a nice touch.  : )

Robert starred opposite his wife Elizabeth in the psychological thriller "The Mystery of Mr. X" in 1934. Then under the direction of George Cukor, Robert starred in "No More Ladies" opposite Joan Crawford again in 1935.  Lead roles continued and finding his knack for dramatic acting Robert appeared opposite Rosalind Russell, Reginald Denny, Virginia Bruce, Clark Gable, Constance Bennett, William Powell and Marion Davies to name just a few of his co-stars during the 1930's.  Robert was nominated for his first Oscar for Best Actor in  1937 for his role in "Night Must Fall" co-starring Rosalind Russell. He lost out to Spencer Tracy for his role in "Captain Courageous".

with Joan Crawford

In 1941 Robert put his mark on Hollywood with the Hitchcock comedy and huge hit "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-starring the great comedic actress Carole Lombard.  I don't know anyone who loves this genre that doesn't list this movie as a must see.  And people are often surprised that it was directed by Hitchcock.  Throughout the 1940's Robert was still hot and leading roles continued to come his way with "Rage In Heaven" 1941 co-starring Ingrid Bergman and the lovely George Sanders.  (I could watch George Sanders and listen to his voice for hours on end).  

with Carole Lombard in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" 1941

The following year Robert starred in "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" opposite Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes.  Robert was nominated for his second Oscar for Best Actor for this role but he lost out to Gary Cooper for "Sergeant York" it was a tough year with Cary Grant being nominated for "Penny Serenade", Orson Welles for the great film "Citizen Kane" then there was Walter Huston for his role in "All That Money Can Buy".  "Here Comes Mrs. Jordan was also nominated for Best Picture but it lost out to "How Green Was My Valley".


Robert who had an interest in directing got his chance with the film "Lady In the Lake" 1947. This passion started a new creative turn in his career which continued into the 1960's.  Divorcing his first wife in 1950 he married Elizabeth Grant Harkness the same year and they remained married until his death  He had two children with his first wife Elizabeth one of which is the actress Elizabeth Montgomery. She was best known for playing Samantha in the television show "Bewitched"  Roberts last acting role was in the British drama "Your Witness" 1950.
click his autograph from my collection to enlarge

The talented Mr. Montgomery passed away from cancer at the age of 77 like his daughter Elizabeth and his son Robert Jr.  He was cremated and his ashes were spread by his family and friends in a private ceremony.  He appeared in over 60 films spanning over 4 decades.  For a view of Robert's Beverly Hills mansion click HERE.

back stamp of publicity still from MGM, click to enlarge
click MGM issued publicity still to enlarge

Interesting Robert Montgomery Facts:

He served in the US Navy during WWII rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

He was active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry, he was a friendly witness during the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.

In 1954 he took an unpaid position as a consultant and coach to President Eisenhower.  Advising him on how to look his best during his television appearances.  (Even though Robert was known for his stylish dress lets hope he didn't suggest an over sized ascot for President Eisenhower).

He was widely considered the best dressed man in Hollywood and for awhile he did not carry a wallet as it messed with the drape of his trousers.

He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1935-1938 and then again from 1946-1947.

His television series "Robert Montgomery Presents" won an Emmy in 1953.

He won a Best Director Tony for his stage play "The Desperate Hours" in 1955.


Thanks for coming back and for viewing my latest blog,
Page

11 comments:

  1. I really didn't know much about him, I just love "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", so this post was interesting to read. Since you mentioned "Private lives" here and in the post about Una, I think I will watch it. Cool you have a memorabilia collection!

    PS: It would be great if you could add a link each time you mention a previous post, that way it would be easier to go and read. I really hope you don't mind this suggestion :)

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  2. Clara,
    I add a link to the blog each time I add a new post via my twitter account. Is that what you are referring to because I can look into that if it's not pulling up the most recent post.
    Private Lives is with Norma Shearer as well and a movie I think you would enjoy. : ) Thanks for the suggestions.
    Page

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  3. Page,
    I'm soooo bad at trying to explain things, plus my English isn't veeery good, but here is my attempt: in this Robert Montgomery post you mentioned previous related entries (for instance, "For more on this series and flappers you might enjoy my post on Anita Page...")...so, if you link that phrase directly to that specific post it would be easier to go and read it, instead of looking for it in the list (yeah, I'm so lazy).
    But it's just a little thing, I've been enjoying your blog, and I think I already read like 70% of your entries :)
    Also, I was trying to find your e-mail address to ask you if you'd like to make a guest post in my blog, that way you could generate traffic to yours and I could introduce your site to my readers in a great way (I don't have maaany readers, but they are great people ^^). For example, you could write a general post about your memorabilia collection, your favorite items, how you got interested in Old Hollywood, etc, etc. If you think it's a good idea, send me an e-mail to coordinate this special post(the address is on my profile). Bests!

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  4. Oh I think your English is splendid! I have read your blog and I think it's fantastic and if I could figure out a blog roll through my own I would be more than happy to list your blog here as well. Theres a sidebar with a list of my previous posts to the right and I totally get the reference and as you suggest I should add the link to the post. My collection covers autographs, photos, telegraphs, letters, personal cheques etc and my first post goes into how I got started collecting as well as a few pics of my collection throughout the house. It's titled And So We Begin. What made you create your blog on Old Hollywood

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  5. About the blog roll: if you want to add it to your blog is really simple, just go to your Blogger Dashboard, click on "Design", then "Add a gadget" and look for "Blog List", click & save. There you can add any site you want (sorry if it was too detailed).

    About your collection: OMG, letters! You know what, I love creating fonts based on Classic Stars' Handwriting (I've uploaded two files, Grace Kelly's and Ingrid Bergman's,here), fonts that you can use in Microsoft Word for example. So I've used handwritten letters found on google images on the past, but sometimes some characters were missing and I just had to invent them :)

    About my post about your blog: Do you mind if I quote your text from 'And so we begin' to introduce you? Do you mind if I add some of your pictures (with proper credits of course) to my post? Do you mind providing me a short biography (2 lines if you want) of yourself to add in the introduction? (or maybe you want me to introduce you just as Page).. DON'T KICK ME, I know that's a lot to ask, but I like to do things properly :)

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  6. Sure I just posted to your site and a couple of blogs and its fine to share photos etc and my autographs have all been properly authenticated so if you need a proper signature reference I have over 200 signatures in my collection If you want to just do a post about me with reference and sure Page is fine or if you want added info I am more than happy to provide it for you. We all have the same passion and love for old Hollywood.

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  7. OK :) I just wanted to know what Science work do you do? (I checked your profile).

    In other post you asked if we got post suggestions: I'd love a post about Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Myrna Loy, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard...I could go on forever really :)

    Anyway, the post about your blog will be published in a few hours.

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  8. I only post on celebs that I have autographs for so out of those it will be Errol Flynn, Myrna Loy and Gary Cooper. I am still trying to secure a legit autograph of Cary Grant who is my favorite actor of all time. And Carole is a very hard autograph to get due to her tragic death it's quite collectible.

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  9. And Clara I think you might be pleased with my future posts and collection of Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Claudette Colbert, Vivien Leigh, Gloria Swanson and Elizabeth Taylor to name a few so please hang in there my dear. I shall post on Myrna Loy next at your request.

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  10. Hello,

    Thanks to Clara, I came to your blog. I love it, especially this post. I loved reading about Bob (I just love him) and boy, the photos are just gorgeous!! :)

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  11. Hi Desiree,
    Clara is fantastic and it was very nice of her to direct people to my little blog. Once I get settled this week on holiday I will be posting on Myrna Loy and either Mary Pickford or Errol Flynn.
    Thanks for showing your support and for stopping by. : )

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