Movie Trivia: The Golden Age

I hope some of you enjoy hearing about this time period in movie history like I do. I can’t say that I watch classic movies all the time; I generally only watch ones I’ve heard are good, and only a handful every year. But the good ones are a lot of fun, and there are many of them I’m glad I’ve checked out.

The parameters of the golden age are defined differently depending on who you hear it from, but generally it spans from the 20’s (especially the late 20’s during the Great Depression) to the 60’s. So I’ve collected some little trivial stories from this era that I found interesting. Hopefully you will too. 🙂

• Cecil B. DeMille is known for many classic films, one of which is (1956) with Charlton Heston as Moses. But did you know that movie was a remake? The original, released in 1923, was also directed by Cecil B. DeMille. In fact, he remade 4 of his own movies.

• Grace Kelly famously married Prince Rainier of Monaco, officially becoming “Princess Grace.” He banned her movies in that country as he thought it was undignified for her in her new position. Which is funny… it was movies that brought them together. They met each other while she was filming (1955) in Monaco.

• The actor with the most leading parts is still John Wayne. He’s played the lead in 142 movies.

• Speaking of the Duke, he starred in in 1961. The director, Michael Curtiz had been diagnosed with cancer and was ill much of the time. As a result, John Wayne directed most of the movie, though he refused to be given directing credit.

• The term “gaslighting” comes from a 1944 movie, starring Ingrid Bergman. This was Angela Lansbury’s first movie. She left her job at a department store to be in it at just 18 years old. She was a good enough employee that her boss offered to match her new employer’s pay. At that time he was paying her $27 a week, so he was quite shocked when she informed him that she was going to be making $500 a week!

• was released almost exactly 64 years ago from the time of this post. But it was originally planned to be made months sooner. After Alfred Hitchcock told James Stewart about the idea for his new movie, he discovered that he inadvertently gave Stewart the idea that he would play the lead role. Not wanting to break the news to him that he actually wanted Cary Grant, he simply put off production until Stewart was committed to another project and wouldn’t be able to. I guess he didn’t want to hurt Jimmy’s feelings.

• One of Steve McQueen’s most iconic roles is Bullitt (in 1968). He often cited this as his favourite character. He turned down the starring role in both Dirty Harry (1971) and (1973) because he didn’t want to do any more police movies, presumably because he wanted to be remembered more by the Bullitt character.

• Speaking of Steve McQueen, he was the original actor for whom was written, 16 years before it eventually got made with Kevin Costner in the title role. He was also the actor who was supposed to play John Rambo, but after his death it eventually went to Sylvester Stallone.

• In 1928, Canadian actress Mary Pickford won Best Actress at the Oscars. And she would be the first of three Canadians who would win the award. That’s right, three in a row! Norma Shearer, and Marie Dressler were the other two. They won for and respectively.

• Many people can identify Hattie McDaniel as the first African-American to win an Oscar, but she still had to sit at the segregated table at the side of the room at the ceremony. She was also unable to attend the premiere as it was shown in a whites only theater. Before dying of cancer, her last wish was to be buried in a Hollywood cemetery, which was denied.

• Of all his movies, Charlie Chaplin has said that the one he wished to be remembered by most is This is the one where he acted out eating his own boot as well as doing a little dance with two forks and two dinner rolls.

• Speaking of Chaplin, he holds the record for the longest standing ovation in Oscar history at the 1972 ceremony: 12 minutes.

• 
  

• Marilyn Harris played the little girl in when she was just 7 years old. The director and others were worried she’d be afraid of the “monster.” But when she arrived where the cast met to travel together to the location of the shoot, she ran up to Boris Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, and asked if she could ride with him.

• Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy loved each other very much. It pained her to see him so gravely ill, as he was during the making of the film He struggled to make it through to the point where the studio didn’t think he was going to make it. This forced Hepburn to fund the production with her own money. Tracy died just two and half weeks after its completion. She never watched the film. For Hepburn, it was just too painful.

Congratulations Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actress:

Isabel Sanford as Tillie. Obviously no one can hold a candle to the great Katharine Hepburn, but I wanted to highlight this actress. I remember watching Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and getting super excited to see someone I loved watching on TV when I was a kid: she played Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons.

Best Actor: Cary Grant as C. K. Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story

Best Quote: “By the authority vested in me by Kaiser William the Second I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.” — Peter Bull as Captain of Louisa in The African Queen

My Top 10 Favourite Golden Age Movies (not counting animated)

• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

• The Wages of Fear (1953)

• Dial M for Murder

• Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

• 
  

• 12 Angry Men (1957)

• The Kid (1921)

• 
  

• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

•