Programming Note

[Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul (1931)]

A Free Soul to air on TCM Sunday, January 15, 2017, at 9:00 AM PST [Please check your local listings]

A Free Soul

[Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer
in A Free Soul, 1931]

Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in A Free Soul, Produced and Distributed by MGM, Precode 1931. Best Actor Nomination and Win: Lionel Barrymore. Best Actress Nomination: Norma Shearer. Best Directing Nomination: Clarence Brown.

A Free Soul went into the Guinness Book for the longest take in a movie at 14 minutes. Many believe it was this scene that was responsible for Lionel Barrymore's Best Actor win that year. The film also made Clark Gable a star. It seems the audience liked to see him push Norma Shearer around. The studio reportedly received thousands of letters asking to see more of "the guy who slapped Norma Shearer."

Lobby Cards

What is a lobby card?

Everyone knows what a movie poster is. You have seen them in theatre window displays and movie house lobbies to advertise upcoming and currently running films.

But what is a lobby card? A lobby card is an 11 x 14 or 8 x 10 inch (landscape orientated) "poster" printed on heavy stock featuring a scene from the film advertised designed for display in a theatre's lobby or foyer with the intention of promoting the movie and are highly collectible. In the UK they are referred to as "Front of House" cards which may also refer to 8 x 10 inch cards or black and white stills.

They briefly summarize the movie in a series of captioned scenes. Usually there are 8 cards in a set, however there are also sets that have more or fewer cards, depending on the film's budget. The number of cards in a set can vary from as few as three to as many as 22 or more.

Lobby cards first appeared in the early 1910's. During the silent-era lobby cards were often nothing more than black and white or duotone stills which were eventually replaced by hand-tinted scenes and in the 1920's by full-color lobby cards.

Studios stopped producing lobby card sets for the American market sometime in the mid-1980's. After the mid-1980's, the only lobby card sets produced were for international releases.

[Lobby Card for Devotion, 1931]

Subscribe to Leslie Howard by Email

A Little Flat in the Temple

"'Do you feel all right, my darling?' Mrs. Harrington came into the library and stood behind her son's chair. As she looked down at his head she wondered if there were any torture to equal the torture of a mother when she realizes that her son is thinking about some woman who, ten to one, will make him wretched if he marries her." ~ from A Little Flat in the Temple by Pamela Wynne

I haven't held an actual physical book in years because I read everything on my Nook, but I learned about this book which was the basis for one of my favorite Leslie Howard movies, Devotion.

It has been out of print for eons and I could only find it on Amazon, but I just had to read it. It has that smell and feel of an old library book that has been held and poured over by hundreds of girls, all of whom probably read it under the covers at night hoping their mothers wouldn't find it and take it away. It is pretty racy for 1930.

Leslie Howard and Ann Harding in Devotion, Produced and Distributed by RKO, Directed by Robert Milton, Precode 1931

[Leslie Howard and Ann Harding
in Devotion, 1931]

Subscribe to Leslie Howard by Email

Marion Davies, Producer

Leslie Howard and Marion Davies in Five and Ten, Precode 1931.

Leslie Howard was just beginning his film career when Marion Davies saw him perform on stage in Berkeley Square, a role he reprised in a film of the same name the following year. Davies' company, Cosmopolitan Pictures, which operated out of MGM, was producing the film and Davies requested Howard for the part of Berry Rhodes. MGM Production Head, Irving G. Thalberg, had wanted another newcomer, Clark Gable, to play the part but Davies insisted on Howard stating that Clark Gable did not have the sophistication that the role required.

Rehearsals were held at Hearst Castle (Davies was Hearst's mistress) where Howard frequently went skinny dipping in the pool leading to rumors of a Howard/Davies romance.

[Leslie Howard and Marion Davies
in Five and Ten, 1931]

Subscribe to Leslie Howard by Email