Hollywoodnt – Hollywood'nt … Hollywood Declassified

Ramon Novarro never really reconciled with who he was and was troubled by his conflicted feelings he had for his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality. He hid being gay so he could keep working in Hollywood and the pressure lead to a life-long struggle with alcoholism. Fortunately, he had purchased a home with the […]

In 1935, when his contract with MGM Studios expired, the studio opted not to renew. Novarro struggled to find work, but occasionally found roles to earn an income. By the 1940s, he was working less frequently, but in 1949 he landed a supporting part in John Huston’s, We Were Strangers. In the 1950s his work […]

Ramon Novarro achieved his biggest success in 1925 with the silent film version of Ben-Hur. With revealing costumes he became a sex symbol with the film’s release and a Hollywood heartthrob overnight. After Rudolph Valentino’s death in 1926, Novarro became the top Latin actor in Hollywood and was known for his swashbuckler action roles. Considered […]

Born in 1899, Ramon Novarro was a Mexican-American actor who began his career in silent films in 1917. He worked his way up to a leading man and eventually became one of the top box-office stars of the silent film era. During the 1920s MGM named him its “Latin lover” and he took over the […]

Prosecutors surmised that in the murder case of Ramon Novarro, two young men – believing that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro’s house – entered his home on October 30, 1968, looking for the loot. Authorities believe the brothers tortured Novarro for hours to force him to reveal where he’d hidden his […]

Before our 2025 series kicks off we have a special holiday treat episode. In the past we used to do a podcast episode of our old series The Movie Files during the holidays of a film that takes place during the Christmas season that’s not really a Christmas movie. To revisit the tradition we offer […]

As we close out this series, the final episode offers some questions and some answers behind Bette Davis, Wicked Stepmother, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan Crawford and Wicked Becomes Her.

The filming of Wicked Stepmother would be a troubling experience for everyone involved, but more so for its star. As health troubles made it difficult to work, she would exit the production after little more than a week on the set. The director would face a decision as to what to do what his film […]

As Bette Davis ages, the roles grew fewer and farther between, but she managed to find the occasional film or TV project, as well as appearance on awards shows and talk shows. It was one of those appearances that gave Larry Cohen the idea to craft a film with Bette Davis in mind. The idea […]

As Bette Davis struggled to remain relevant past Baby Jane, she would take on a number of roles, but be largely trapped in the horror genre of the day. Similarly, Joan Crawford would also find herself starring in horror films. By the 1980s, Crawford was gone, but Bette was working more and more in TV. […]

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would forever tie Bette Davis with Joan Crawford. The iconic motion picture would inspire a host of films and keep both Crawford and Davis working through the 1960s. It would also be one of the stories that gave director Larry Cohen the drive to created Bette Davis’s final film, […]

As we revisit the career of Bette Davis, this episode looks at her highs and lows and how the actress, star and movie queen would struggle and thrive in Hollywood. All the challenges she faced in the 1950s and 60s would prepare her to do battle with her final director, Larry Cohen.

This time we dig deeper into the story behind how Wicked Stepmother came to life and how director Larry Cohen landed Bette Davis as the star of his film. Written with Davis in mind, Cohen’s film was inspired in part by the many film Davis made in her later years and would be a black […]

We kick off episode one with a look at the new book Wicked Becomes Her: Bette Davis and the Story Behind Wicked Stepmother and the filming of her final film. The 1989 film would go down as possibly her worst film, but when the star exited production she never thought the picture would be finished […]

We preview the next series of Hollywood’nt: Hollywood Declassified with a special look at the life and career of the legendary Bette Davis. With the release of a new book, Wicked Becomes Her, this 8 part series revisits some of the actress’ most memorable roles, but focuses on the fascinating story behind the making of […]

For the latest series we go back to the 1960s for a little known and rarely seen low-grade horror flick called Incubus. Starring a young William Shatner, the film has a dark and eerie past. A troubled film and a backstory that includes murder, suicide and tragedy.

As we wrap up our series on Incubus, we revisit the troubled film and how it was nearly lost for the ages until it was rediscovered. And the films bizarre history of horrific true events that followed many associated with the film have continued to make people interested in the story of Incubus.

What the filmmakers hoped would be a revolutionary and and thought-inspiring art film turned out to be a less-than-spectacular film that failed to find an audience and disappeared from the scene. However, tragedy would follow many associated with the film.

Author John William Law recently appeared on The Author Show to discuss the book Who Nuked the Duke? and the related film The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout. The interview is hosted here. The book helped inspire a film that had its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival in October 2023 and closed the Palm… Continue reading The Author Show – Who Nuked the Duke?

William Shatner was just beginning his career when he agreed to star in a low-budget horror film called Incubus. While the film had a bizarre story, a strange language and short production schedule, it would have a long path to finding a fan base and would be followed by a series of strange tragedies.

As we wrap up this series we wanted to talk a little more about the book and the upcoming feature film on the same topic. The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout will be released in late 2023 (estimated) and cover the filming of John Wayne’s The Conqueror and the tragedy that followed. The Poster for the movie,… Continue reading Hollywood Fallout

With Who Nuked the Duke? in print, a new documentary called Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout was released in 2023 on the big screen and digital platform. With Who Nuked the Duke? as part of the inspiration behind the film, we close out the series by discussing the new edition of the book, the current state of… Continue reading Hollywood Fallout

After The Conqueror was completed it would take several years before the film hit big screens. After the release, Hughes removed the film from circulation, but the trouble behind the film – and the filming on a radioactive film site – would begin to follow cast and crew.

John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz, Agnes Moorhead and a host of others gathers in St. George Utah to film Howard Hughes’ epic The Conqueror. Directed by Dick Powell, the film would be crucified by critics for bad casting, but would still make money thanks to John Wayne and his fans. What followed was a… Continue reading The Conqueror

John Wayne is back in 2023. With a new updated release of Who Nuked the Duke, in print, ebook and enhanced digital edition, and a new feature film documentary on the making of The Conqueror, we are revisiting the topic with a new series in Hollywood’nt. This first episode offers an introduction into the topic… Continue reading Who Nuked The Duke?

After her movie career ended, Crawford continued to work for a couple years into the 1970s, but found preparing to be “Joan Crawford” was becoming too much. She receded from public life and in her last few years alcoholism and illness were sometimes issues. We wrap up our series on Joan Crawford.

With the success of Strait-Jacket, Joan Crawford agreed to another role in Castle’s follow up film, I Saw What You Did. Though her character is killed in the first third of the picture, she got star billing, her usual salary and a chance to be a star again.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was a smash hit and it was followed with numerous offers of work for both Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. However, most of the work was in horror films. Joan Crawford picked up an axe for William Castle’s 1964 classic Strait-Jacket and Crawford saw dollar signs.

Joan Crawford found a way out of debt and a shot at a second – or third – act in Hollywood. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would become a smash, but working with Bette Davis was the price to pay.

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford met Alfred Steele in the mid 1950s when her career was going downhill. She decided to step away from Hollywood and become the wife of a Pepsi executive. All seemed rosy, but the marriage ended in his death and she found she had crushing debt. The only way out was to… Continue reading The Widow Steele

Joan Crawford died in 1977, but her career died around 1970 with her final film, Trog. Crawford’s body of work on film from 1960 until her death was primarily horror related. The success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? gave her career a boost, but put her on a course where nearly every film… Continue reading Crawford, Joan Crawford

With the fall of 2022 marking the 60th anniversary of the release of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the 1962 classic starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, this new series of Hollywood’nt – Hollywood Declassified looks back to the film and one of its stars, Joan Crawford. This episode introduces the topic and sets… Continue reading Baby Jane turns 60

As we wrap up this series on William Holden we take a brief look at the book that inspired the project. Hollywood’nt isn’t just the name of this podcast series, it’s the name of a new book about some of Tinseltown’s lost films and performances. The book discusses a number of films, but includes one… Continue reading Rediscovering Holden

After several days of not being heard from, some began to worry and their concerns would be validated when William Holden’s body was found in his apartment. In this episode we go back to 1981 and the circumstances surrounding the death of William Holden.

As we get closer to the death of William Holden he had one last film he was about to begin, so in this episode we discuss the film and some of the other things going on in his life in the final weeks. Listen in …

By the 1970s alcohol had become a limiting factor in his career, but William Holden still found work in some notable feature films and on TV. He also had a passion for several things outside of Hollywood that drove him. In this episode we look at his later years. Listen in …

With his big break coming in Sunset Boulevard in 1950 we look back at some of the key moments in William Holden’s career. With huge hits in the 1950s, his career faltered in the 60s when drinking became more of a problem for him. Listen in …

William Holden was a leading man who often found himself romancing his leading ladies. In addition to a long relationship at the end of his life with Stefanie Powers, Holden had a not-so-publicized romance with Audrey Hepburn and an a lengthy affair with Cappucine. In this episode we discuss some of the key romantic figures… Continue reading Holden Loves

As we look at the tragic circumstances around the death of William Holden it helps by getting an understanding into who he was and how we became one of Hollywood’s leading male stars of the 1950s. This episode looks back at his early years and the movie part turned down by another star that would… Continue reading Golden Holden

As we launch our new series on William Holden we thought it might be helpful to catch listeners up on some of the earlier shows by revisiting Series 1-4 of Hollywood Declassified. While the early shows are no longer available we can give you a sense of what was covered and how the evolution to… Continue reading Catching Up

William Holden was found dead on November 17, 1981.  At the age 63 years old, his body was found by an apartment manager inside his Santa Monica apartment. Police surmized that he died of natural causes after he tripped and hit his head and bled to death. In this series we look at the details… Continue reading William Holden – Preview

Welcome back. In 2019 we launched Hollywood Declassified to listeners interested in some of Tinseltown’s most fascinating backstories. After several series on topics like Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner and Montgomery Clift some organizational changes and sponsor changes caused us to go dark and reformat a bit. Now, we are back with an updated… Continue reading Hollywood Declassified

In the closing episode we talk about Montgomery Clift’s later years, his films, his struggles and his death.

After surgery and a rough recovery would Montgomery Clift be able to return to filming Raintree County and would the film be a hit? This is the topic of this episode.

The crash that nearly killed Montgomery Clift is discussed.

We are re-running the last series for users interested in catching up as we changed platforms and programs during the running. This episode talks about the making of Raintree County, Montgomery Clift and the car crash that nearly killed him and ended the movie.

We are re-running the last series for users interested in catching up as we changed platforms and programs during the running. This is episode 2 on Raintree County.

We are re-running the last series for users interested in catching up as we changed platforms and programs during the running. This is episode one of series 4.

The Longest Suicide in Hollywood – Preview episode. We are re-running the last series for users interested in catching up as we changed platforms and programs during the running.