We’ve got the holiday spirit here at Cladrite Radio, and if you do, too, you’ll be glad to know that we’re now sprinkling vintage recordings of classic Christmas songs into our usual mélange of toe-tapping tunes from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s.
Month: November 2014
It’s Beginning to
Happy Thanksgiving, 1939-style!
This 1939 home movie footage of the 1939 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has everything short of a soundtrack. It features Pinocchio, Donald Duck, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, Old King Cole, Uncle Sam and much more.
Here’s wishing all Cladrite Radio readers and listeners a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving; we’re thankful for each and every one of you.
Happy Birthday, Harpo Marx!
Today marks the 126th anniversary of the birth of the great Harpo Marx.
Born Adolph—he later changed his name to Arthur—Harpo was said by all who knew him to be the kindest and gentlest of men. When we first became fans of the Marx Brothers, it was Groucho to whom we were drawn, but over the years, the delightful film work of Harpo—and the very endearing stories of his life and career—have made Harpo a very close second favorite. If Groucho stills leads, it’s only by a nose.
Happy birthday, Harpo, wherever you may be!
Yawnzapoppin’ with Olsen and Johnson
We’re two-thirds of the way through Gold Dust Gertie, our first Olsen and Johnson movie, and we have to admit we’re underwhelmed. We’d been led to believe they were an over-the-top duo of the same school as the Marx Brothers, but from what we’ve seen, it’s difficult to believe they could ever have been featured in a long-running Broadway revue called Hellzapoppin’. Nothing’s popping in this 1931 feature.
Without prior knowledge, one would be hard-pressed to even recognize Ole and Chic as a comedy team; they come off as mere middling actors cast as a pair of put-upon husbands.
Here’s hoping this is their weakest effort, and that we’ve better things to look forward to from these two, if ever we can convince ourselves to give them another try.
Update: In the picture’s final ten minutes, we’re finally presented with some wackiness: A chase scene featuring motorboats, but unfortunately, it relies on speeded-up film, an effect that is never, ever funny.
sigh…
In Their Own Words: Happy Birthday, Dick Powell!
Few Hollywood stars have ever remade themselves quite so successfully as Dick Powell, whose 110th birthday is today. He began his career as a buoyant boy singer, first on record and then in movie musicals, before, beginning with his turn as Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet (1944), turning to tough guy roles in a series of films noir.
As evidenced by his quote below, Powell went on to became a successful director and producer. And to top it all off, he was married to Joan Blondell! (June Allyson, too.) Quite a versatile and varied life and career did our Mr. Powell enjoy.
Happy birthday, Mr. Powell, wherever you may be.
