Since You Went Away(1944).

Since You Went Away(1944). Directed by John Cromwell. Produced by David O. Selznick from the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret Buell Wilder. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by Stanley Cortez, Lee Garmes, George Barnes (uncredited) and Robert Bruce (uncredited). Cast: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple and Joseph Cotten with Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Lionel Barrymore, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead, Guy Madison, Craig Stevens, Janelle Johnson, Keenan Wynn, Florence Bates, and Alla Nazimova.

Fun Fact:
At the time, the longest and most expensive Hollywood film since David O. Selznick's, Gone with the Wind (1939).

The story begins on January 12, 1943, when Anne questions her husband's decision to leave his family and his well paying job to fight in the war. Anne has to let Fidelia, the family's housekeeper go, as she can no longer afford to pay her wages. Because of the housing shortage they decide to take in a border by the name, Col. William G. Smollett, a retired army officer. Soon after, Fidelia asks to move back into the house, offering her housekeeping services as rent. To complicate matters even more, is the romance between Anne's daughter Jane and the Colonel's grandson.

This film captures perfectly the worry of those who with loved ones fighting in the war. Watch for the unforgettable scene when Mr. Mahoney leaves the movie theater. Also, one of my favorite Jennifer Jones performances. You will need a box of Kleenex for this film.

Robert Walker(October 13, 1918 – August 28, 1951). While attending the AADA, Walker met aspiring actress Phylis Isley, who later became the film star, Jennifer Jones. The couple were married in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 2, 1939 and moved to Hollywood to find work in films. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and they moved to New York. Walker soon found work in radio while Phylis stayed home and gave birth to two sons, actor Robert Walker, Jr., born April 15, 1940, and Michael Walker, born March 13, 1941. Soon after, Phylis was discovered in 1941 by producer David O. Selznick, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones. She landed the role in the film, The Song of Bernadette (1943).

The couple returned to Hollywood, where Walker started work on the war drama, Bataan (1943). Walker's charming demeanor won him roles as the "boy-next-door in films: See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) and Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945). He also appeared in the film, Since You Went Away (1944) in which he and his wife portrayed doomed young lovers. In real life, they divorced shortly after.

Also that year, Walker starred in the film, The Clock, opposite Judy Garland, in her first  dramatic film. Although Walker, continued to work steadily in Hollywood, he was distraught over the divorce and he suffered a nervous breakdown.

In 1946, Walker starred in, Till the Clouds Roll By, where he played the song writer Jerome Kern. He starred as composer Johannes Brahms in, Song of Love (1947), which co-starred Katharine Hepburn. Later, Walker starred with Ava Gardner in the film, One Touch of Venus(1948).

Soon after he was hired by director Alfred Hitchcock for one of his best performances, Strangers on a Train (1951).

It's a Wonderful World(1939).

It's a Wonderful World(1939). Romantic screwball comedy.Cast: Claudette Colbert and James Stewart, directed by W. S. Van Dyke.

Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood is framed for murder and while Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are caught by the police, tried and convicted .  Guy for a year, Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police...

Edwina Corday, accidentally gets involved in Guy's trying to hide from the cops, eventually becoming a runaway herself and falling in love with Guy, causing him a lot of trouble along the way.



This movie is  non-stop fun from start to finish, and Stewart plays a much rougher guy than his usual more like able personality.

Frances Drake (October 22, 1912 – January 18, 2000) . She was appearing as a nightclub dancer in London when she made her first film appearances: Meet My Sister (1933) and The Jewel (1933).

List of  Frances Drake films:
Bolero (1934)
The Trumpet Blows (1934)
Ladies Should Listen (1934)
Forsaking All Others (1934)
Mad Love (1935)
Les Miserables (1935 film)
The Invisible Ray (1936)
And Sudden Death (1936)
Midnight Taxi (1937)
Love Under Fire (1937)
There's Always a Woman (1938)
It's a Wonderful World (1939)
I Take This Woman (1940)
The Affairs of Martha (1942)

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Claudette Colbert.

Personal Quote:

Most of us don't know about happiness until it's over.

True Story: Three Came Home (1950).

Three Came Home(1950,) is a wartime film based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. Produced by Nunnally Johnson, directed by Jean Negulesco. The New York Times reviewer said, "It will shock you, disturb you, tear your heart out. But it will fill you fully with a great respect for a heroic soul." Cast: Claudette Colbert, Patric Knowles, Florence Desmond, Sessue Hayakawa, Sylvia Andrew, Mark Keuning, Phyllis Morris and Howard Chuman.



American-born Agnes Keith and her British husband live a very happy life in North Borneo with their young son in 1942. Until the Japanese invasion, they are taken to separate prison camps, one for men, the other for women and children. Living with brutality under the control of the camp commander Lieutenant-Colonel Suga. The Lieutenant takes a liking to Mrs Keith because of her work with his people. He is also kind to the children even though his own family was killed in Hiroshima.

This is a wonderful/powerful film if you can look past Claudette Colbert's perfect hairdo while living in a prison camp. Other films may look more realistic, but... the ending is one of the most moving you will ever see.

Fun Facts:

It was while filming this movie that Claudette Colbert hurt her back injury forcing her to give up the part of Margo Channing in, All About Eve (1950) to Bette Davis.

This film's opening prologue states: "This is a true story. Exterior scenes were photographed whenever possible in Borneo, in the exact locales associated with the events as related by Mrs. Keith."

This film was considered by this film's lead actress Claudette Colbert's as one of her best films by her. After filming was complete, Colbert said to this film's director Jean Negulesco: "You know I'm not given to exaggeration, so I hope you believe me when I say that working with you has been the most stimulating and happiest experience of my entire career."

Cameo: Agnes Newton Keith Agnes Newton Keith (1901–1982).

The novelist of whose book this film is based as an English Woman. Keith can be seen in one scene in a process shot standing behind Claudette Colbert who plays her in this film. The scene has Colbert walking along a pier to the Berhala Camp alongside another woman.

Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1889 – November 23, 1973). Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. He starred in over 80 movies. His international stardom transitioned both silent films and talkies. Of his English-language films, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role in the film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he received a nomination for Academy Award Best Supporting Actor in 1957. In addition to his film acting career, Hayakawa was a theatre actor, film and theatre producer, film director, screenwriter, novelist, martial artist, and an ordained Zen master

The Gilded Lily(1935)

The Gilded Lily(1935). Directed by Welsey Ruggles. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland and Aubrey Smith.

Lynn, and her best friend, reporter Peter Dawes, meet every Thursday night on a bench, where they share a bag of popcorn and talk about their life.. Lynn, soon, meets vacationing English aristocrat Charles Gray Granville, and they fall in love, although he keeps his royal identity a secret. Gray is already engaged to Helen Fergus and when he tells his father, Duke of Lomeshire, that he wants to marry Lynn, the duke insists they return to England and break off the engagement. Gray lies to Lynn about why he's leaving New York, but when Pete meets the Granvilles at the dock, Gray tells him that he is engaged to Helen. Pete writes an article about Lynn, who he calls "No Girl," leaving Gray at the altar. When the Granvilles, read that Helen has broken her engagement, the duke believes Lynn is trying to blackmail him. Gray then sends Lynn a telegram at work asking her price to forget him. Pete decides to make her a celebrity. He gets her a job as a singer and dancer at Nate's Cafe, despite the fact that she can neither sing nor dance. At her opening, Lynn's lack of talent wins laughs from the audience, and she becomes a hit.

After one publicity stunt after another, "No Girl" becomes a household name and as a nightclub star, she goes to London to perform. Gray is in the audience and Lynn, assuming they are still in love, goes out with him. Heartbroken, Pete returns to the states. Who will Lynn share her bag of popcorn with?

Fun Fact:

First of seven movies that Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray filmed together.

This is a wonderful little film I saw for the first time over the weekend. Claudette Colbert is wonderful as always. Fred MacMurray also does a fine job in his part, Ray Milland looks very young and handsome.

First video of 9.

Aubrey Smith(21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948), was an English cricketer and actor. He was knighted by King George VI in 1944 for services to the theatre. He appeared in early films for the nascent British film industry, starring in, The Bump in 1920. Smith later moved to Hollywood where he had a successful career as a character actor playing either officer or gentleman roles.

Smith became infamous for expecting his fellow countrymen to report for regular duty at his Hollywood Cricket Club, and anyone who refused was known to "incur his displeasure". Fiercely patriotic, Smith became openly critical of the British actors of enlistment age who did not return to fight after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He starred alongside such screen legends as leading ladies Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh, and actors Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Ronald Colman, Maurice Chevalier and Gary Cooper. His films include such classics as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) mentioned above, The Four Feathers (1939), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), and And Then There Were None (1945).

Happy Birthday: Claudette Colbert !

Claudette Colbert was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for three films, It Happened One Night (1934). Directed by Frank Capra. The story is about a pampered socialite who tries to get away from her father's control, and falls in love with a reporter (Clark Gable). The plot was based on the story, Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams. It Happened One Night was one of the last romantic comedies created before the MPAA began enforcing the 1930 production code in 1934.

The next film, Private Worlds (1936). Is a film about a woman psychiatrist and her colleague at a mental hospital who disapproves of her methods and the fact that she is a woman in a "man's field.".

Also the film, Since You Went Away (1945). While her husband is away during World War II, Anne Hilton copes with problems at home. Taking in a lodger, to help make ends meet and dealing with shortages and rationing are minor inconveniences compared to the love affair between her daughter Jane and the lodger's grandson.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, It Happened One Night. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role in The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1988), and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the same.

So far, Claudette Colbert is the only actress in the history of film, to star in three films in the same year, and to be nominated for Best Picture Academy Award. The first being: Cleopatra. The whole movie is filled with gorgeous scenes for those of us who love lavish sets.


The second film, Imitation of Life. Bea Pullman and her daughter Jessie hit hard times after Bea's husband died. Delilah Johnson, agrees to work as Bea's housekeeper in exchange for a room for herself and her daughter Peola. Bea comes up with a plan to market Delilah's pancake recipe. The two soon become rich and as time goes by, their friendship deepens. Their relationships with their daughters, become difficult. Peola is Ashamed of her mother and passes for white. Bea and Jessie fall for the same man.


The third film, It Happened One Night.

Happy Birthday, Claudette Colbert!

Born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin in Saint-Mandé, Seine, France, September 13, 1903, to Georges Cauchoin and his wife, her family emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. She had one brother, Charles, who later became her agent.

She began acting in high school and a few years later in 1923 performed on the Broadway stage in a bit parts. She soon gave up on her plans to be a fashion designer to follow a career in acting. She made her first film called, For the Love of Mike(1927) a silent film filmed in Paramount Studios. Soon, talking films were taking over and Colbert performed in her first talking film, The Hole in the Wall. TCM is celebrating Colbert's birthday by sharing these wonderful films with us:


It Happened One Night (1934). A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Walter Connolly. Dir: Frank Capra.

It's A Wonderful World (1939). A runaway poetess helps a fugitive prove himself innocent of murder charges. Cast: Claudette Colbert, James Stewart, Guy Kibbee. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II.

Midnight (1939) . An unemployed showgirl poses as Hungarian royalty to infiltrate Parisian society. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore. Dir: Mitchell Leisen.

Boom Town (1940) . Friends become rivals when they strike-it-rich in oil. Cast: Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert.

The Palm Beach Story (1942) .To finance her husband's career, a married woman courts an eccentric millionaire. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor. Dir: Preston Sturges.

The Secret Heart(1946). A recent widow tries to help her emotionally disturbed stepdaughter. Cast: Claudette Colbert, June Allyson, Walter Pidgeon. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard.

Three Came Home (1950) . A woman fights to survive as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Sessue Hayakawa, Patric Knowles. Dir: Jean Negulesco.


Secret Fury, The (1950). A mysterious figure tries to stop a woman's marriage by driving her mad. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Robert Ryan.

Please click on Claudette Colbert's name, in the tag line, located at the bottom if the post, to read movie reviews.