Hello Chris, thanks for dropping in. I’m enjoying my Oasis visit and glad to know I’m providing some “new” information on these actresses. Ann Harding made approx. 44 appearances on TV from 1950-65. From some of her letters, I gather she took assignments for the money, or, as you put it, she “had to...

Leave to you Moira to come up with a question that I really had to ponder. Ultimately, I feel it is my obligation when writing about an individual’s life not to exploit or judge. We are all vulnerable when it comes to the “programming” we learn as children. There is the “programming” we learn at sch...

Moira – you bring up an essential ingredient to understanding Ann Harding: Dorothy Gatley—who grew up as an “army brat.” It is likely that Ann signed on for Prestige because of her personal ties to the military. The scenes with her on-screen father have a bittersweet edge to them that is both touchi...

Thanks Feaito for bringing up Ann’s Academy Award nominated performance in 1930’s Holiday . While it lacked the polished-look of the remake, it held together better as an ensemble piece, which Ann thrived in due to her lengthy background in theatre. She really shines as Linda and gives a very natura...

For intothenitrate – You bring up a good question. LaSalle mentions in the biography’s foreword, “the coming of the Production Code eliminated the sex drama, the genre in which [Ann Harding] thrived.” I’m glad you brought up LaSalle’s excellent Complicated Women (St. Martin’s Press, 2000), in which ...

For Feaito – Ann surrounded by sharks in mid-ocean was a fascinating and unexpected episode to research and piece together for her biography. Her affair with screenwriter Gene Fowler must have been well worth it. I can understand her attraction. Fowler was a witty, bright (and handsome) talent. In 1...

For Ann – I agree that the camerawork (Andriot) and performances in Prestige were excellent. The talented black actor Clarence Muse (who played Nham), the only real hero in the film, asked Ann to participate in a Christmas 1932 fund-raiser for poor black families. It is quite likely that Muse and fa...

Hello Feaito – Well, we’re on the same page as far as Peter Ibbetson . That is the film which sold me on Ann Harding. As one film critic observed, Ann’s performance in Ibbetson was a “complete and attractive revelation of her art.” The film was also among the favorites of filmmaker Luis Bunuel, who ...

For Theresa – I agree, as fascinating as Norma and Irene were, Ann's “delicate” touch was grounded in repertory theatre. Ann Harding was never about “being a star.” Ann Harding was all about creating an ensemble experience for audiences—to transport them into the lives and stories of other human bei...

Hi Joseph … nice to see a question about the fabulous Kay Francis. I had the generous support of actress Jetti Preminger Ames while researching Kay. Jetti was in the cast of Windy Hill (directed by Ruth Chatterton) in which Kay starred and toured during 1945-46. Jetti became a life-long friend of Ka...

Hello Ann … and thanks for the good question. And, thanks to Moira and Silver Screen Oasis for allowing me to get in “Double Harness” with Ms. Harding for this week-long session. Director E.H. Griffith was certainly “prolific”—not exactly a visionary when it came to cinematic art. Even so, Ann was c...

Hello Lisa I'm glad you mentioned Myrna Loy ... I had asked you in a previous post about her and your father. Just in case you missed it -- here it is: I always tell people that if I could invite any film actor to dinner it would be Robert Ryan. I respect his mind, heart, and talent. When I was in c...

Welcome Lisa I always tell people that if I could invite any film actor to dinner it would be Robert Ryan. I respect his mind, heart, and talent. When I was in college in the late 1960's, I read Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts . I made a point to see the film and was absolutely stunned by Ryan's ...

To all those who were on board the S.S. Maloa for a tribute to Kay Francis – I thank you! Your questions covered a good cross-section of Kay’s career and life. And, many thanks to our moderator Moira (aka Barrel House Betty)for keeping the whole thing afloat. I do have a message addressed to you fro...

MissGoddess of Manhattan (Kay’s old stomping grounds) Alas! I have heard no rumors of any DVD release of the films you mention. However , with Kay being Star of the Month in September, let us hope that Turner has at long last heard the collective pleas of Kay’s legion of fans, and that a "Kay F...