The "Phoney" War

[Leslie Howard by Fred Daniels,
National Portrait Gallery, c. 1942]

In the early days of WWII, Leslie Howard didn't have much to do. Even though Great Britain had declared war on Germany in early September, 1939, no real fighting began for months. Hitler was too busy invading and vanquishing Poland. Howard had planned to begin filming The Man Who Lost Himself as soon as he arrived in England in August, but due to

Howard Meets Davis - Part Two

Upon arriving in Hollywood in the fall of 1933 to begin filming Of Human Bondage (1934) Leslie Howard found that nothing was ready. Even though RKO had urged him to hurry up and return from England, Howard found himself sitting around waiting, as usual. The cast had not been selected and it appeared the studio was in no hurry. Howard sat through Christmas in California without his children who were old enough to decide where they wanted to be and they had opted to stay at home in Stowe Maries. He fumed. And bought horses.

The director of the film, John Cromwell, had noticed Bette Davis in The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) and thought she would be perfect for the role of Mildred Rogers. Pandro S. Berman, who was producing the film, agreed. Meantime, after Bette Davis was shown the screenplay by Wilson Mizner and Davis learned that RKO owned the rights to the film she petitioned Jack Warner to let her try for the part of Mildred Rogers. Other actresses had turned down the part, unwilling to be shown in such an unflattering light. But Davis was not afraid. After much back and forth and trade agreements Davis got the part.

Howard was shocked and dismayed.

To be continued...

[Leslie Howard and Bette Davis
in Of Human Bondage, 1934]

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Howard Meets Davis - Part One

[Leslie Howard on the set for Of Human Bondage, 1934]

Leslie Howard's initial experience with Bette Davis was one of disinterest and disapproval.

Howard was in England during the summer of 1933. Having completed Columbia's first film there, The Lady Is Willing (1934), Howard moved on to the Talbot Jennings play This Side Idolatry set in 1592 London with Howard acting as Shakespeare. According to Howard's daughter,

This Makes Me Love Him Even More!

I love this story. It just proves what an absolute gentleman Leslie Howard was. And how much he enjoyed a good prank.

Leslie Howard, sitting on a stool at the RKO lunch counter, was amazed to hear the two "extra" girls next to him talking about the Howards.

 "Oh, yes," one of them was saying, "Leslie and Ruth are very dear and old friends of mine. Why, I'm at their house often for the week-end."

Impressed, the other girl uttered sounds of admiration that died away in a gasp as she suddenly nudged her friend, pointing to their neighbor. Smallish, freckled, wearing big horn-rimmed glasses, Leslie Howard is not always recognized, but the hapless girl who "knew him so well" knew who he was, all right. Her face registered horror, which changed to relief as he leaned forward genially, nodded and said matter-of-factly, without a trace of facetious irony:

"Yes, indeed. But haven't you been neglecting us lately? Haven't seen you out at the house for some time!" 

Later, on the set, the girl came to Leslie and, with tears in her eyes, apologized and thanked him for not letting her down.

This is a special shoutout to When Hollywood was "Golden" and Clark Gable: When Hollywood was "Golden" for recommending my Facebook page. Thanks again!

Have a great weekend everybody!

[Leslie Howard - most likely a publicity
photo for Pygmalion, c. 1938]

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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]

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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]

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Leslie Howard, Director

Leslie Howard directing Spitfire (released in the US as The First of the Few), 1942

[Leslie Howard directing Spitfire, 1942]

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