Podcast appearances and mentions of Ann Blyth

“OLD HOLLYWOOD's TOXIC TRIANGLE” - 5/19/2025 (088) Hollywood in the mid-20th century was a world of glitz and glamour, a realm where dreams could be made or destroyed in an instant. It was an era when the silver screen crafted illusions of romance and perfection, yet behind the scenes, the personal lives of its stars often unraveled into chaos, scandal, and tragedy. Few stories exemplify this dark side of Hollywood better than the volatile love triangle involving actress BARBARA PEYTON and actors FRANCHOT TONE and TOM NEAL. What began as a passionate romance descended into obsession, violence, and ultimate ruin—forever marking the three as cautionary tales of unchecked desire and self-destruction. In this episode, we explore this explosive love triangle and its aftermath. SHOW NOTES:  AVA GARDNER MUSEUM: If you would like to make a donation to help support the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, N.C. (Ava'a hometown!), please click on the following link: https://ava-gardner-museum.myshopify.com/products/donations Sources: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story (2012), by John O'Dowd; I Am Not Ashamed (1963), by Barbara Payton; “Tone, Payton, & Neal: Hollywood's Most Toxic Triangle,” January 29, 2022, by Burt Kearns, legsville.com; “Blazing Blonde Bombshell: Barbara Payton's Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” January 6, 2021, by Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair; “The Bottle and Barbara Payton,” November 16, 2018, Travelanche.com; “Notes From The Unashamed,” May 19, 2016, by Kim Morgan, sunsetgun.com; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IBDB.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned:  Once More My Darling (1949), starring Robert Montgomery & Ann Blyth; Trapped (1949), starring Lloyd Bridges & Barbara Payton; Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950), starring James Cagney & Barbara Payton;  Dallas (1950), starring Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, & Barbara Payton; Only The Valiant (1951), starring Gregory Peck & Barbara Payton; Dancing Lady (1933), starring Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, & Franchot Tone; Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), starring Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, & Franchot Tone; Detour (1945), starring Tom Neal & Ann Savage; Another Thin Man (1939), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy; Crime, Inc (1945), starring Tom Neal & Martha Tilton; Blonde Alibi (1946), starring Tom Neal & Martha O'Driscoll; I Shot Billy The Kid (1950), starring Don “Red” Barry, Robert Lowery, & Tom Neal; The Great Jesse James Raid (1953), starring Tom Neal & Barbara Payton; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 78 - “FILM NOIR - Part 1 - WHAT IS NOIR?” - 3/10/2025 Have you ever wondered what exactly is film noir? TCM's EDDIE MULLER describes it this way: “Film Noir is all about treachery, deceit, and paranoia. You're never quite sure what is going on, who you can trust, or what dreadful pitfall waits around the corner.” This dark and twisted film genre popped up after WWII as a quiet cynicism began to creep into the national consciousness. In film noir, there is always an underbelly of darkness that comes out to play. And within the darkness, the shadows, and the neon lights, lie many stories of crime, dishonesty, adultery, murder, and mayhem. This week, we present the first in a special three-part series that delves into the darkest of genres where crooked cops, gangsters, torch singers, barflies, and other seedy character's live, love and kill. Join us as we discuss Film Noir!  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Film Noir (2017), by Alian Silver & James Ursini; Into the Darkness: The Hidden World of Film Noir 1941-1959 (2016), by Mark A. Viera; More than Night: film Noir in Its Contexts (2008), by James Naremore; Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (1998), by Eddie Muller; Voices in the Dark: The Narrative Patterns of Film Noir (1989), by J.P. Telotte; Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style (1979), edited by Alain Silver & Elizabeth Ward; Wikipedia.com; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Movies Mentioned:  Leave Her To Heaven (1945), starring Gene Tierney, Cornell Wilde, & Jeanne Crain; Desert Fury (1947), starring Burt Lancaster & Lizabeth Scott; Niagara (1953), starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, & Marilyn Monroe; Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, & Zachary Scott; Johnny O'Clock (1947), starring Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, & Ellen Drew; Double Indemnity (1944), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, & Edward G. Robinson; Strangers On A Train (1951), starring Farley Granger, Robert Walker, & Ruth Roman; The Big Heat (1953), starring Glenn Ford & Gloria Grahame; I Wake Up Screaming (1941), starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, & Laird Cregar; Out of the Past (1947), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, & Kirk Douglas; Phantom Lady (1944), starring Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, & Franchot Tone; The Killers (1946), starring Burt Lancaster & Ava Gardner; The Spiral Staircase (1946), starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, & Ethel Barrymore; Suspicion (1941), starring Cary Grant & Joan Fontaine; The Amazing Mr. X (1948), starring Turban Bay, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell, & Richard Carlson; Two O'Clock Courage (1945), starring Tom Conway & Ann Rutherford; The Letter (1940), starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, & Gale Sondergaard; The Third Man (1949), starring Jospeh Cotten, Orson Welles, & Alida Valle; Kiss Me Deadly (1955), starring Ralph Meeker & Cloris Leachman; The Narrow Margin (1952), starring Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, & Jacqueline White; The Dark Mirror (1946), starring Olivia de Haviland & Lew Ayres; The Woman In The Window (1944), starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, & Dan Duryea; The Lady In The Lake (1947), starring Robert Montgomery & Audrey Totter; The Lady From Shanghai (1947), starring Rita Hayworth & Orson Welles; Night of The Hunter (1955), starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, & Lillian Gish; The Naked City (1948), starring Howard Duff & Barry Fitzgerald; Pick Up On South Street (1953), starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, & Thelma Ritter; ‘ He Walked By Night (1948), starring Richard Basehart, Scott Brady & Jack Webb; Impact (1949), starring Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker, & Anna May Wong; The Asphalt Jungle (1950), starring Sterling Hayden & Jean Hagen; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our first round of Studios Year by Year comes to an end with these Universal 1948 movies: A Woman's Vengeance (directed by Zoltan Korda with a screenplay by Aldous Huxley, based on his short story "The Gioconda Smile") and Larceny (directed by George Sherman). Huxley's philosophical concerns add unexpected dimensions to familiar Gothic tropes and gives great material to Charles Boyer and Ann Blyth, while Cedric Hardwicke deals with Jessica Tandy. In the second half of our double bill, John Payne's con man tries his best to deal with Shelley Winters in honey badger mode (he's the honey and the bees).  Time Codes: 0h 00m 25s:      A WOMAN'S VENGEANCE [dir. Zoltan Korda] 0h 29m 24s:      LARCENY [dir. George Sherman]     Studio Film Capsules provided by The Universal Story by Clive Hirschhorn Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler               +++ * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the next two decades * Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating. * Check out Dave's new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com   We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join!   

Joan Crawford won her only Academy Award for her performance in this classic film noir about a single mother who starts her own business after her husband leaves her, which brings her financial success but further complications to her personal life.  Co-starring Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden and Ann Blyth.  Directed by Michael Curtiz.

EPISODE 49 - “Birthday Tribute to Classic Cinema Star Ann Blyth ” - 08/19/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** With her crystal clear soprano voice, porcelain doll face, and fierce acting talent, ANN BLYTH became a much in-demand star in the 1940s and 1950s. While known mostly as a romantic musical comedy star in film such as “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid” (1948), “Rose Marie” (1954), and “Kismet” (1955), she was also a deft dramatic actress when given the chance. Who can forget her as Veda, he daughter who made JOAN CRAWFORD's life a living hell, in “Mildred Pierce” (1945), or as the down-trodden alcoholic singer in “The Helen Morgan Story” (1957)? Blyth turns 96 on August 13th and is truly a living legend. Listen this week as we pay tribute with an episode about Ann Blyth's remarkable life and career. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Ann Blyth: Singer, Actress, Star (2018), by Jacqueline T. Lynch; “Ann Blyth: Official Biography,” July 1956, Paramount Pictures; “Film Actress Breaks Back in Accident,” March 10, 1945, LA Examiner; “Actress Ready to Work After Skiing Accident,” January 18, 1946, LA Examiner; “Ann Blyth's Mother Dies,' July 23, 1946, Los Angeles Times; “Bright Future Visioned For Youthful Ann Blyth,” September 10, 1949, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles Times; “Angelic Annie,” September 27, 1952, by Richard G. Hubler, Collier's Magazine; “The Blyth Spirit,” October 12, 1952, by William Brownell, New York Times; “Ann Blyth: Bride of the Year,” June 1953, Photoplay Magazine; “A Blyth Spirit From An Earlier Error,” February 28, 1985, by Jack Hawn, Los Angeles Times; “She's Still Singing Just As Beautifully,” March 19, 1989, by Mitchell Smyth, Toronto Daily Star; “Looking Back: Ann Blyth” June 5, 1990, by Ann Blyth, The Hollywood Reporter; “Playing Thier Songs,” October 14,1994, by Libby Slate, Los Angeles Times; “Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That,” September 29, 1997, by Candace A. Wedlan, Los Angeles Times;  “Not Like Veda,” August 12, 2013, by Susan King, Los Angeles Times; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Chip Off The Old Block (1944), starring Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan; Babes On Swing Street (1944), starring Peggy Ryan; Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, and Eve Arden; Swell Guy (1946), starring Sonny Tufts; Brute Force (1947), starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Ella Raines; Killer McCoy (1947), starring Mickey Rooney; A Woman's Vengeance (1948) starring Charles Boyer; Another Part of The Forest (1948), starring Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Edmond O'Brien, and Dan Duryea; Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), starring William Powell and Irene Hervey; Top O' The Morning (1949), starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald; Once More My Darling (1949), starring Robert Montgomery; Free For All (1949), starring Robert Cummings: Our Very Own (1950), starring Farley Granger; Katy Did It (1951), starring Mark Stevens; The Great Caruso (1951), starring Mario Lanza; Thunder On the Hill (1951), starring Claudette Colbert; All The Brother's Were Valiant (1953), starring Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger;  Rosie Marie (1954), starring Ann Blyth; The Student Prince (1954), starring Mario Lanza; Kismet (1955), starring Howard Keel; Slander (1957), starring Van Johnson and Steve Cochran; The Buster Keaton Story (1957), starring Donald O'Connor; The Helen Morgan Story (1957), starring Paul Newman; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 48 - “STEVE & NAN'S FAVORITE CLASSIC FILMS OF THE 1940s ” - 08/12/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** The 1940s was a phenomenal times for movies. Auteurs like ALFRED HITCHCOCK, GEORGE STEVENS, WILIAM WYLER, and BILLY WILDER were coming into their own with important and personal films that changes the landscape of cinemas. Also, stars like BETTE DAVIS, KATHARINE HEPBURN, CARY GRANT, and HENRY FONDA were defining the screen roles that would make them legends. This week, Nan and Steve will discuss and dissent a few of their very favorite films of the most golden of all decades in film.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Preston Sturges By Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words (1991), by Preston Sturges and Sandy Sturges; George Cukor: A Double Life (2013), by Patrick McGilligan; Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director (2013), by Marilyn Ann Moss; Robert Rossen: The Films and Politics of a Blacklisted Idealist (2013), by Alan Casty; Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film (2021), by Alan K. Rode; Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford (2010), by Donald Spoto; George Stevens: The Films of a Hollywood Giant (2019), by Neil Sinyard; Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel (2015), by Wiliam Wellman, Jr; Stanwyck (1994), by Axel Madsen; Fonda: My Life (1981), by Henry Fonda; Ingrid Bergman: My Story (1980), by Ingrid Bergman and Alan Burgess; Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (2020), by Scott Eyman; Ida Lupino: A Biography (1996), by William Donati; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Christmas In July (1940), starring Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, William Demarest, Raymond Walburn, Jimmy Conlin, Rod Cameron, and Franklin Pangborn; Penny Serenade (1941), starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan; The Lady Eve (1941), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, William Demarest, and Eugene Pallette; High Sierra (1941), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Cornel Wilde, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Travers, and Alan Curtis; The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, Jane Darwell, William Eythe, and Harry Davenport; Gaslight (1944), starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Angela Landbury, and Dame May Witty; Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, eve Arden, and Bruce Bennett; All The Kings Men (1949), starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dry, Anne Seymour, and John Derek; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of I Am The Wiz, Wiz reviews the 1942 noir/character drama Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson and Eve Arden, directed by Michael Curtiz

EPISODE 33 - “Zachary Scott: Star of the Month (May)” - 04/29/2024 Suave, debonaire, and effortlessly charming, ZACHARY SCOTT is best known for his role in MICHAEL CURTIZ's film noir classic Mildred Pierce (1945). As the duplicitous, silver-tongued charmer Monte Beragon, he romances Mildred, played by JOAN CRAWFORD (in her Oscar-winning role), and Mildred's daughter, Veda (ANN BLYTH). This became Scott's signature role: the sexy cad who was usually at his best swindling, seducing, or being a general scoundrel. It was always fun watching Scott's dastardly ways unfold. He could rock a tux, looked naked without a martini in his hand, and always had a cigarette close by. He was so magnetic that he could even make film-goers feel sorry for him. While he seldom got to play the good guy, when he did, as in what is perhaps one of his best roles in JEAN RENOIR's The Southerner (1945), you realize the versatility that he seldom had the opportunity to display. With a career that included over 40 films and dozens of television roles, ZACHARY SCOTT is our Star of the Month. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Zachary Scott: Hollywood's Sophisticated Cad (2009), by Ronald L. Davis; “Actor Zachary Scott, Leading Man for 3 Decades, Dies of Brain Tumor,” October 4, 1965, Akron Bacon Journal “Who Was Zachary Scott?” www.zachtheatre.org; “Zachary Scott's Guilded Cage,” Spring 2020, by Farren Smith Nehme, www.filmnoirfoundation.org; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, Eve Arden, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, and Butterfly McQueen; The Southerner (1945), starring Zachary Scott, Betty Field, Beulah Bondi, Norman Lloyd, J. Carroll Naish, Jay Gilpin, Jean Vanderwilt, Blanche Yurka, and Percy Kilbride; The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), starring Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet; Hollywood Canteen (1944), starring Bette Davis, John Garfield, Joan Crawford, Joan Leslie, Dane Clark, Joe E, Brown, Barbara Stanwyck, Id Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, and Jack Benny; Danger Signal (1945), starring Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Mona Freeman, Richard Erdman, Rosemary DeCamp, and Joyce Compton; Her Kind Of Man (1946), starring Zachary Scott, Dane Clark, Janis Page, and Faye Emerson; The Unfaithful (1947), starring Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden; Stallion Road (1947), starring Ronald Reagan, Alexis Smith, and Zachary Scott; Cass Timberlane (1947), starring Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Zachary Scott, Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Margaret Lindsay, and Albert Dekker; Ruthless (1948), starring Zachary Scott, Louis Hayward, Diana Lynn, Sydney Greenstreet, Lucille Bremer, and Martha Vickers; Whiplash (1948), staring Dane Clark, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, S.Z. Sakall, Jefferey Lynn, and Alan Hale Jr; Flamingo Road (1949), starring Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet, David Brian, Virginia Huston, Gladys George, and Fred Clark; Shadow On The Wall (1950), starring Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, John McIntire, Gigi Perreau, Kristine Miller, and Nancy Davis; Born To Be Bad (1950), starring Joan Fontaine, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie, Robert Ryan, and Mel Ferrer; Stronghold (1951), starring Veronica Lake, Zachary Scott, and Rita Meceda; The Secret of Convict Lake (1951), starring Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Zachary Scott, Ethel Barrymore, Ann Dvorak, Barbara Bates, and Janette Nolan; Dead On Course (1953), starring Zachary Scott and Kay Kendall; Flame of the Islands (1955), staring Yvonne DeCarlo, Howard Duff, and Zachary Scott; Violent Stranger (1957), starring Zachary Scott, and Faith Domergue; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director:  Michael Curtiz Producer:  Jerry Wald Screenplay:  Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner Photography:  Ernest Haller Music:  Max Steiner Cast:  Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden Rotten Tomatoes:  Critics: 88%/Audience: 90%

EPISODE 27 - “Dona Drake: What Price Fame” - 03/18/2024 Latina star DONA DRAKE, who signed a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1941, was many things — singer, dancer, actress, bandleader, musician — but one thing she wasn't, as it turned out, was Latin! While Paramount promoted their new discovery as a spitfire Latina born in Mexico City, Drake was, in fact, an African-American woman from Florida who pretended to be Latin, going so far as to learn Spanish fluently, in order to have a better chance at a Hollywood career. Listen to this fascinating story of one woman who went undercover just so she wouldn't have to play the maid.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Biography of Dona Drake (Paramount Contact Player), September 1942, Paramount Studios; “Dona Drake Tells Marriage,” September 9, 1944, by Hedda Hopper, The Los Angeles Times; “Daughter Born to Dona Drake,” August 8, 1951, The Hollywood Citizen-News; www.swingcityradio,com; www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Strike Me Pink (1936), starring Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, Sally Eilers, and William Frawley; Aloma Of The South Seas (1941), starring Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall; Louisiana Purchase (1941), starring Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, and Victor Moore; Road to Morocco (1942), starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour; Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, Dick Powell, Eddie Bracken, Alan Ladd, Mary Martin, Betty Hutton, Marjorie Reynolds, and Veronica Lake; Salute For Three (1943), starring Macdonald Carey and Betty Jane Rhodes; Let's Face It (1943), staring Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, and Eve Arden;  Hot Rhythm (1944), starring Robert Lowery, Tim Ryan, and Irene Ryan; Without Reservations (1946), starring John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, and Don DeFoe; Dangerous Millions (1946), starring Kent Taylor; Another Part of The Forest (1948), starring Fredric March, Dan Duryea, Edmond O'Brien, Ann Blyth, Florence Eldridge, John Dall, and Betsy Blair; So This Is New York (1948), starring Henry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, and Virginia Grey; Beyond The Forest (1949), starring Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian, Ruth Roman; The Girl From Jones Beach (1949), starring Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, and Eddie Bracken; Kansas City Confidential (1952), starring John Payne, Colleen Gray, and Preston Foster; The Bandits of Corsica (1953), starring Richard Greene, Paula Raymond, Raymond Burr; Son Of Belle Star (1953), starring Keith Larsen, Peggie Castle, and Regis Toomey; Down Laredo Way (1953) starring Rex Allen and Slim Pickens; Princess of the Nile (1954), starring Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, and Michael Rennie; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 23 - “I Coulda Been a Contender: Classic Casting That Almost Happened” - 02/19/2024 It is well documented that the film “Gone With The Wind” started filming before an actress was cast in the lead role of Scarlett O'Hara. Producer DAVID O. SELZNICK made a spectacle out of who would win the coveted role. It became a national obsession. He considered everyone from TALLULAH BANKHEAD to BETTE DAVIS to LUCILLE BALL. He eventually narrowed the field to three finalists: PAULETTE GODDARD, JOAN BENNETT, and JEAN ARTHUR. But in the eleventh hour, a new contender, an unknown Brit named VIVIEN LEIGH, swept in and won the role. Listen as we discuss, debate, and guffaw over other casting choices that almost happened in some of your favorite film classics.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Hollywood's First Choices: How The Greatest Casting Decisions Were Made (1994), by Jeff Burkhart and Bruce Stuart; Casting Might Have Beens (2005), by Eila Mell; Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew (2004), by John Oller; George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart (2015), by Stone Wallace; Life is a Banquet (1974), by Rosalind Russell; Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star (2009), by Peter Cowie; Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film (2021), by Alan Rode; Judy Holliday (1982), by Will Holtzman; Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream (2002), by Sam Staggs Montgomery Clift: Beautiful Loser (1992), by Barney Hoskyns; Mike Nichols: A Life (2021), by Mark Harris; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Scarface (1932), starring George Raft, Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, and Boris Karloff; Dead End (1937), starring Silvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, and Claire Trevor; The Maltese Falcon (1941), starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook, Jr, and Lee Patrick  The Maltese Falcon (1931), starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels; High Sierra (1941), starring Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Alan Curtis, Cornel Wilde, Arthur Kennedy, Willie Best, Elisabeth Risdon, and Henry Travers; His Girl Friday (1940), starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy; Twentieth Century (1934), starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard; Mildred Pierce (1945), starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Bruce Bennett, and Lee Patrick;  Sunset Boulevard (1950), starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, and Nancy Olson;    From Here To Eternity (1953); starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, and Ernest Borgnine; Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (1966), starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross;#023: "I COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER!" --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Jim Mahoney, Renowned Hollywood Press Agent About Harvey's guest: If you're a fan of the golden age of Hollywood, this episode of our show is most definitely for you.  For over 30 years our guest, Jim Mahoney, was one of Hollywood's most successful, respected and sought after press agents in show business history.   At the age of 19, he was hired by Howard Strickling, head of publicity at MGM studios, and was assigned to the legendary Clark Gable.   In those final years of MGM's heyday, he also handled publicity for other stars including Debbie Reynolds, Ann Blyth, Howard Keele and Roger Moore.   Then, after a stint with the iconic syndicated newspaper columnist, Harrison Carroll, at the Los Angeles Herald Express, he became a publicist at the prestigious firm of Rogers and Cowan in Hollywood.  And after 3 years, he opened his own immensely successful entertainment public relations business, where he acquired the most prestigious list of legendary clients in show business history, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Wagner, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Johnny Carson – and believe me, I'm just scratching the surface.   And when business partner Paul Wasserman joined the firm, they became THE premiere representatives for the greatest music acts of all time, including The Rolling Stones, U2, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Glen Campbell and dozens more.  Over the years he developed close friendships with many of his superstar clients, and he worked night and day managing their mercurial and fragile egos, keeping their secrets, suppressing their outrageous and scandalous behaviours, and pulling out all the stops to preserve their all-important public image.   He quickly became an expert not only in communications and media relations, but crisis management.   And NOW he's written a highly compelling, entertaining and incredibly eye-opening book entitled “Get Mahoney:  A Hollywood Insider's Memoir”, in which he FINALLY tells many of the stories that he's kept close to the vest all these years.   The book provides a unique perspective on the history of Hollywood, and some of its most notorious characters and events.  I absolutely loved this book and could not put down until the very last page.   For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/ To see more about Jim Mahoney, go to:https://getmahoney.com/https://www.facebook.com/people/Get-Mahoney/https://www.instagram.com/jimmahoneypr #JimMahoney   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

“Personally, Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young.” Break out the shoulder pads, because we finally got to Mildred Pierce  (1945) this week with our good friend Jackson Cooper. In the role of Joan Crawford's career, she's perfection. Going from a down on her luck housewife, to restaurateur, Mildred is the fierce working girl that we all strive to be. Crawford won her first and only Oscar for Mildred Pierce, and is regarded as one of the great leading lady performances of classical Hollywood cinema. This supporting cast is also a barnburner. First we get the brilliant sass of Eve Arden as no-nonsense front of the house restaurant manager Ida. Seriously how did Arden not end up with the best supporting actress Oscar here? It's the textbook defination of a scene stealing  performance! Ann Blyth is also perfectly cast as Milldred's Bad Seed daughter Veda. We too want to slap that rotten girl silly! And the handsome Zachary Scott's Monte Beragon fills out those old timey swim trunks nicely. We talk the changes from James M. Cain's novel to the big screen, fitting into more of a classic film noir story, as well as the 2011 HBO miniseries directed by Todd Haynes that follows the novel closer. We will never not be obsessed with how glamorous Joan looks in that stunning fur coat, and this movie will forever be iconic Slap Cinema! "The kind of women most men want - but shouldn't have!" It's Mildred Pierce!  Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

Welcome to It's A Wonderful Podcast!! The first prison movie in the show's history this week as Morgan and Jeannine delve into the dark Noir output of French director Jules Dassin, and discover more of Burt Lancaster's very early work in the hard hitting, unflinching and grimy riot and escape attempt in the superbly structured BRUTE FORCE (1947) starring Lancaster alongside Hume Cronyn as a ruthless prison guard, and a whole host of Universal Noir ladies outside the prison walls including Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth & Ella Raines! Our Youtube Channel for Monday Madness on video, Watchalongs, Live Discussions & more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvACMX8jX1qQ5ClrGW53vow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The It's A Wonderful Podcast Theme by David B. Music. Donate: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ItsAWonderful1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ItsAWonderful1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ IT'S A WONDERFUL PODCAST STORE:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://its-a-wonderful-podcast.creator-spring.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sub to the feed and download now on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Amazon Music & more and be sure to rate, review and SHARE AROUND!! Keep up with us on Twitter: Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ItsAWonderful1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Morgan: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Th3PurpleDon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jeannine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/JeannineDaBean⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Keep being wonderful!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itsawonderfulpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/itsawonderfulpodcast/support

Angélica e Marcos conversam sobre mais um ótimo episódio da série clássica The Twilight Zone, A Rainha do Nilo (Queen of the Nile) onde conheceremos um pouco mais sobre a atriz Ann Blyth que interpreta uma mulher predadora de vidas, no melhor estilo femme fatale. Este é o último episódio dirigido pelo excelente colaborador John Brahm. BORA DAR MORAL PRA GENTE NO SPOTIFY? Nos siga lá e também comente a sua opinião sobre o episódio na plataforma. Isso nos ajuda a ter relevância. Olha o link aqui https://open.spotify.com/show/4udjgXX3eE1lFDkRm4lkWl BLOG CRIADO PARA ALÉM DA IMAGINAÇÃO https://alemdaimaginacaopodcast.wordpress.com IMPORTANTE! NOSSA CAMPANHA E TODOS OS LINKS ESTÃO AQUI: https://linktr.ee/masmorracine ASSISTIR TODOS OS EPISÓDIOS NO TELEGRAM: https://t.me/alemdaimaginacaoonline/122 Scan da Arte do Marcos Noriega que iremos emoldurar O sorteio será depois do último podcast sobre a série Além da Imaginação e o prêmio é um linda ilustração emoldurada dessa série clássica. Acompanhe o episódio por aqui ou pelo nosso canal na Twitch, todos os links estão aqui. #podcast #thetwilightzone #AnnBlyth #twilightzone SIGA A GENTE NO NOSSO CANAL NA TWITCH @AngelMasmorra https://www.twitch.tv/angelmasmorra ACESSE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3zYc3DvX9I&t=13s

Angélica e Marcos conversam sobre mais um ótimo episódio da série clássica The Twilight Zone, A Rainha do Nilo (Queen of the Nile) onde conheceremos um pouco mais sobre a atriz Ann Blyth que interpreta uma mulher predadora de vidas, no melhor estilo femme fatale. Este é o último episódio dirigido pelo excelente colaborador John Brahm. BORA DAR MORAL PRA GENTE NO SPOTIFY? Nos siga lá e também comente a sua opinião sobre o episódio na plataforma. Isso nos ajuda a ter relevância. Olha o link aqui https://open.spotify.com/show/4udjgXX3eE1lFDkRm4lkWl BLOG CRIADO PARA ALÉM DA IMAGINAÇÃO https://alemdaimaginacaopodcast.wordpress.com IMPORTANTE! NOSSA CAMPANHA E TODOS OS LINKS ESTÃO AQUI: https://linktr.ee/masmorracine ASSISTIR TODOS OS EPISÓDIOS NO TELEGRAM: https://t.me/alemdaimaginacaoonline/122 Scan da Arte do Marcos Noriega que iremos emoldurar O sorteio será depois do último podcast sobre a série Além da Imaginação e o prêmio é um linda ilustração emoldurada dessa série clássica. Acompanhe o episódio por aqui ou pelo nosso canal na Twitch, todos os links estão aqui. #podcast #thetwilightzone #AnnBlyth #twilightzone SIGA A GENTE NO NOSSO CANAL NA TWITCH @AngelMasmorra https://www.twitch.tv/angelmasmorra ACESSE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3zYc3DvX9I&t=13s

The lads get locked up in the big house and review director Jules Dassin's violent, claustrophobic nightmare that is 1947's Brute Force, starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby and Art Smith! This one will grab you and it won't let go, so buckle up!! Questions, comments or prison newspaper scoops? therealoutofthepodcast@gmail.com SNAP SNAP: instagram.com/outofthepodcast TWEET TWEET: twitter.com/outofthecast

The biggest names in Hollywood and Broadway recorded for AFRS during the war years, The American Forces Network can trace its origins back to May 26, 1942, when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). The U.S. Army began broadcasting from London during World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. on July 4, 1943, and included less than five hours of recorded shows, a BBC news and sports broadcast. That day, Corporal Syl Binkin became the first U.S. Military broadcasters heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional transmitters to reach U.S. troops in the United Kingdom as they prepared for the inevitable invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Fearing competition for civilian audiences the BBC initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain (transmissions were only allowed from American Bases outside London and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless AFN programmes were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who could receive them and once AFN operations transferred to continental Europe (shortly after D-Day) AFN were able to broadcast with little restriction with programmes available to civilian audiences across most of Europe (including Britain) after dark. As D-Day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment, and a record library were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in London. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertainment Radio Stations Live 24/7 Sherlock Holmes/CBS Radio Mystery Theater https://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441 https://live365.com/station/CBS-Radio-Mystery-Theater-a57491 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The biggest names in Hollywood and Broadway recorded for AFRS during the war years, The American Forces Network can trace its origins back to May 26, 1942, when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). The U.S. Army began broadcasting from London during World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. on July 4, 1943, and included less than five hours of recorded shows, a BBC news and sports broadcast. That day, Corporal Syl Binkin became the first U.S. Military broadcasters heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional transmitters to reach U.S. troops in the United Kingdom as they prepared for the inevitable invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Fearing competition for civilian audiences the BBC initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain (transmissions were only allowed from American Bases outside London and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless AFN programmes were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who could receive them and once AFN operations transferred to continental Europe (shortly after D-Day) AFN were able to broadcast with little restriction with programmes available to civilian audiences across most of Europe (including Britain) after dark. As D-Day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment, and a record library were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in London. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entertainment Radio Stations Live 24/7 Sherlock Holmes/CBS Radio Mystery Theater https://live365.com/station/Sherlock-Holmes-Classic-Radio--a91441 https://live365.com/station/CBS-Radio-Mystery-Theater-a57491 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small recap of our CORA results. Discussion on the primaries in Colorado and a look to November. Our "Week In Review" audio, then our "Friday Homestretch Film Review" this week: "Mildred Pierce" starring Joan Crawford, Eve Arden and Ann Blyth. Steffan gives the black & white classic 10​ bottles of Danny Cash Hot Sauce (out of 10.) Have a great weekend, everyone, and celebrate our great country's INDEPENDENCE! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dennis Day hosts this episode of Family Theater Radio Show, starring Ann Blyth (Mildred Piece) and Philip Terry (Lost Weekend). The show was originally produced by Father Patrick Peyton and broadcast live on March 2, 1949. This restored version is introduced by Father David Guffey, CSC.

The lads head to their beach house to try and solve a murder mystery while tackling greedy dynamics in Michael Curtiz's 1945 familial noir classic Mildred Pierce, based on James M. Cain's seminal novel. Starring Joan Crawford in her Academy Award winning performance alongside Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden and Bruce Bennett - come grab a slice of franchised pie and join in our discussion of one of the all time greats! (Note: for those who want to get straight to the business, the movie talk starts at 11:23) Questions, comments or singing lessons? therealoutofthepodcast@gmail.com

You've seen the movie, now hear the radio version direct from the Vast Library of Sound to you. Bing Crosby & Ann Blyth get together to perform this movie on the Lux Radio Theater on September 26, 1949. Back in the good old days you couldn't buy the movie on video or disc if you wanted to experience the movie at home you'd have to find the radio adaptation being performed and hope you caught it when it was on. Hmm, no recordings of radio shows, no videos, no discs, no TV who said these were the good old days anyway? Here on the Sounds Like Radio Library of Sound Your Humble Host has come to the rescue! Hear the radio version now and then watch the movie or watch the movie then check out the radio version. Either way you're in for a good time with another great Bing Crosby edition from the Library of Sound! Ohh, I can't wait anymore...

In this classic from the "Golden Age of Radio" Gene Raymond stars as a jaded reporter in search of a story who meets a remarkably generous man, played by Gene Lockhart (Miracle on 34th Street). Is he for real? Originally broadcast in 1948, Family Theater Productions presents the story here with a new introduction from Father David Guffey, C.S.C.

Do you like cinematic suspense from the 1940's? Are you an entrepreneur building a successful business out of nothing to win over someone's unattainable affection? Are you the parent of a teenager who may or may not be a psychopath? Then Mildred Pierce is the movie for you! Check out this Oscar winning performance from Joan Crawford and a STELLAR Oscar Nominated turn from Ann Blyth who was only 17 at the time of filming. Eve Arden, Jack Carson, and Zachary Scott round out the cast in this entertaining and well-adapted noir/thriller directed by Michael Curtiz. Join Host, Sara Greenfield, and Special Guest, Cat Day, the Great-Niece of film legend Ann Blyth, as they get a sneak peak into the Golden Age of Hollywood and insider insight into the making of this film. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sara-greenfield/support

In Episode 30 we welcome our very special guest Andy Wolverton for our Mother’s Day episode about Mildred Pierce. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall based on the book by James M. Cain. Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden and Ann Blyth. Trigger warnings for this episode are gun violence, […]

Born on this Day: is a daily podcast hosted by Bil Antoniou, Amanda Barker & Marco Timpano. Celebrating the famous and sometimes infamous born on this day. Check out their other podcasts: Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men Eat & Drink Every Place is the Same My Criterions The Insomnia Project Marco's book: 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Podcast Celebrating birthday's on this day: Cristin Milioti, Taika Waititi, Steve Carell, Cameron Monaghan, James Cameron, Cam Gigandet, Lesley Ann Warren, Julie Newmar, Kathie Lee Gifford, Timothy Hutton , Madonna Louise Ciccone, Angela Bassett, Bob Balaban, Rumer Willis, Robert Culp, Fess Parker, Ann Blyth, Lorraine Gary --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/born-on-this-day-podcast/message

Here’s the film, based on James M. Cain’s story, that won Joan Crawford an Oscar, and began the Warner Brothers phase of her career, after MGM sent her packing. It tells the story of Mildred, who begins a new life when her marriage ends by building a restaurant empire. But her selfish daughter (Ann Blyth) and her lover (Zachary Scott) don’t make things easy for the proprietor of Mildred’s Fatburger. Bonus? Film noir with a female protagonist. Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman.

Here’s the film, based on James M. Cain’s story, that won Joan Crawford an Oscar, and began the Warner Brothers phase of her career, after MGM sent her packing. It tells the story of Mildred, who begins a new life when her marriage ends by building a restaurant empire. But her selfish daughter (Ann Blyth) and her lover (Zachary Scott) don’t make things easy for the proprietor of Mildred’s Fatburger. Bonus? Film noir with a female protagonist. Host Shelly Brisbin with Nathan Alderman.

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, it's “Lux Radio Theatre” with their adaptation of the 1949 film “Top o' the Morning.”  This tale of a singing insurance investigator – NOT Johnny Dollar – stars Dennis Day from “The Jack Benny Show.”  Academy Award-winner Barry Fitzgerald and nominee Ann Blyth reprise their roles as residents of the Emerald Isle caught up in Day's search for the stolen Blarney Stone. Lux Radio Theatre  March 17, 1952 “Top o' the Morning” 2:55

Today we discuss the 1945 film Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce is a 1945 American film noir crime-drama directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson and Zachary Scott, also featuring Eve Arden, Ann Blyth and Bruce Bennett. Based on a novel by James M. Cain, this was Crawford's first starring film for Warner Bros. after leaving Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Support us by subscribing and leaving a review! https://anchor.fm/speakeasy-noircast Call us at: ‪(818) 643-1441 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakeasynoircast Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakEasyNoir Website: http://resurrectionfilms.co.uk/home/index.php/speakeasy/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/speakeasy-noircast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/speakeasy-noircast/support

January 18, 1953 - Jack Benny goes with Mary to an auction and Dennis Day's brother, James McNulty, made plans to marry actress Ann Blyth. Plus references to Lady Godiva, the song Mademoiselle from Armentieres, Roy Rogers, and Bob Hope.

Sulphur Storms This past week has marked the start of pollen season in the mountain west. The white spruce, in particular, released vast amounts of yellowish-green pollen, coating every car, patio set, pond, and puddle. The railings alongside trails and even the surfaces of leaves have been covered in this fine powder. On my car, places I previously touched were dusted in a manner similar to fingerprint dust, leaving a yellowish outline of my fingerprint. Spruce are part of the Pine Family of trees, and all the members of this group reproduce in a similar fashion. Rather than using insects to pollinate the female flowers, they have evolved to use the wind. When a plant relies on something as random as a mountain breeze, it better produce a lot of pollen, and this past week we saw massive sulphur storms with clouds of yellowish pollen streaming from the trees and, in some cases, entire forests were blurred in a yellowish fog as the pollen spread its way across the landscape. Members of the pine family in the central Rockies include the white and Engelmann spruce, lodgepole, limber, and whitebark pines, Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, and the alpine larch. Every tree contains both the male and female cones with each taking a different role in the reproductive process. Male cones form on the lower branches while the female cones grow higher up. The male pollen cones grow at the base of the current year's new shoots in early spring, which in this part of the mountains is usually around the latter part of May. Different species produce different numbers of male cones, with a range between 15 and 140. Once the pollen has been dispersed by the wind, the male cones fall off the tree. Each male cone is a smooth, oval structure that contains dozens of spore-producing bodies called microsporophylls. When the cone is ripe, it releases tremendous numbers of tiny pollen spores. Each of these spores sport two tiny wings called sacci that help it stay airborne. When the sky turns yellow with this pollen, it's often referred to as a sulphur shower. Conversely, female cones grow very slowly and usually take several years to mature. This leaves cones in differing stages of maturation on the same branch with newer cones forming towards the tips. A first-year cone is soft and small, usually just a centimetre or two in size. Its main job is to collect the pollen and fertilize the cone. Second-year cones are much larger in size, more woody, but still green in colour. By the third year, the cones are hard and have turned brown and now contain fully-formed seeds ready for germination. Female cones are also much larger than their short-lived male counterparts. The cones form in either pairs or clusters along the branch and they vary dramatically in size. Lodgepole pine cones are only around 5 cm long, while the cones of limber pine can exceed 20 cm in length. Each cone is made up of alternating bracts and ovule-bearing scales. These scales accept the pollen and transform into winged seeds as the cone matures. Wind pollination is an ancient strategy and was utilized by the earliest of plants. It was the go-to strategy used by plants some 125 million years before flowering plants began to conscript insects to transport their pollen to other flowers. Even this was still 50 million years before the Cretaceous, the age of the dinosaurs, arrived. Almost all land-based non-flowering plants employ wind as their primary method of passing pollen from male cones to the ovaries hidden with the ovules of female cones. The randomness of wind as a transport mechanism means that if a grain of pollen lands on just the right spot, the female ovule needs to have some way to catch it before it blows away, They do this with a pollen droplet. This is a sugar-rich droplet exuded from the top of the ovule with the sole purpose of giving pollen grains a sticky surface to land on. For the pollen to maximize its airborne flight, it has to be extremely light. To do this, it's heavily dehydrated before it's released. When it lands, it needs water and nutrition in the form of sugars and proteins to help it develop further in preparation for pollination. The droplet offers just what a dehydrated pollen grain needs. There is some evidence that prior to the development of flowering plants that some insects adapted to seeking out these sugary pollen droplets. It may have been this attraction that prompted further diversification in plants to develop nectar-producing flowers. Some of the more ancient plant families, like the pines, continued to rely on wind for their pollination despite the success of insect-pollinated flowers. As you marvel at the amazing clouds of pollen released this year, while at the same time cursing the fact that every outdoor surface is covered with it, know that it is part of an age-old strategy that maintains the world's most ancient trees. Mismatching Colours Whenever any bright-eyed university student begins to study ecology, they're quickly introduced to the pepper moths of Manchester, England. These common moths can be found in two different forms, a lighter more salt and pepper-coloured variety as well as a sooty, almost black variety. Prior to the industrial revolution, the darker variety was unknown. It was only first described until 1811. A dark moth on a light tree meant that it was far more likely to be spotted by hungry birds and so they are estimated to have represented only 0.01% of the population. These light moths almost exclusively occupied their range in 1760 when England's industrial revolution first began to darken the skies with the soot from endless coal fires. Increasingly, in industrial towns like Manchester, surfaces of buildings and trees began to reflect this sooty character and gradually darkened in colour. By 1811 when the first dark variety of pepper moth was discovered, Manchester was beginning to look pretty dismal and dark with coal dust staining many of the trees. Coincidentally, pepper moths used those same trees to hide from predators. For centuries, the light-coloured pepper moths could perch on the bark of trees and effectively disappear into the patterns of the tree's bark. As these same trees became increasingly darkened by coal dust, the moths began to lose their camouflage. Prey that can't hide, attracts predators and the light-coloured moths increasingly became the meals of hungry birds. That was when something very interesting happened. A dark, sooty variety first made its appearance. Its dark appearance gave it a distinct advantage over the lighter variety, and by the end of the 1800s, industrial towns like Manchester and London were dominated by these dark varieties. By 1895 the dark variety had risen from 0.01% of the population in 1760 to 98%, eclipsing the more vulnerable light pepper moth variety. Why am I wandering down this ecological memory lane? Because the same situation is happening around us right now, not due to soot pollution, but rather human-caused changes to the climate. The mountain west is home to a large number of animals that take advantage of the seasonal changes by turning white to help them vanish into winter landscapes. These seasonal colour changes occur in a number of animals and birds including the willow and white-tailed ptarmigan; least, long-tailed and short-tailed weasel; and the snowshoe hare. These adaptations to the annual cycle of winter snows and summer foliage have evolved to maximize their camouflage throughout the year. Predator and prey alike have evolved similar strategies to help them to stay hidden. While weasels are voracious predators, they're also on the menus of other, larger predators. The same pressures that forced snowshoe hares and ptarmigan to change colours, also affect them. Changing your colour to take advantage of seasonal camouflage only works when the camouflage matches the season. Since historic weather trends varied only slightly from one year to the next, the timing of colour change for most of these diverse species was largely tied to the length of daylight in spring and fall. While in the past it may mean that a snowshoe hare, ptarmigan, or weasel might have a short period of mismatched colour, the majority of their season was ideally suited to the prevailing background colours. Brown weasels and hares, along with mottled ptarmigan, simply disappear in the summer landscapes of the Rockies while white animals offer similar protection in snow-covered landscapes. Many times I've been scared to death while cross-country skiing when a  covey of ptarmigan, also called an "invisibleness" of ptarmigan, suddenly flush at your feet. These tiny grouse-like birds allow themselves to be completely buried by snow for warmth, only flushing when you're almost on top of them. A quiet cross-country ski is suddenly interrupted by an explosion of feathers. Changing climates is wreaking havoc on many of these animals. A white ptarmigan against a snowless alpine meadow is just as dangerous as brown snowshoe hare against a snowy forest. If your colouration is in stark contrast to your environment, you are also far more visible to potential predators. Climate change is causing many challenges to plants, animals, and birds in the north country. Warming climates can cause mismatches in reproduction schedules, emergence from winter hibernation, migration, and even connection to key food sources. If a bird's migration is timed to allow it to nest just as certain insects emerge in the spring - and then those insects emerge several weeks earlier - than the bird's reproductive success is put at jeopardy. So many of nature's key events are timed to historically predictable connected events. Animals give birth when the maximum amount of food should be available. Birds migrate at the right time to take advantage of seasonal foods in their winter and summer ranges. Animals emerge from hibernation when new foods should be available to help them regain strength after a long winter sleep. Just like the colour change schedule of animals, if the schedule changes then how flexible are the animals in their response to this change? So many annual cycles are hard-wired into plants and animals that their ability to respond to rapid changes can be very limited. Back in episode 42, I talked about a discovery in Alaska where bears were choosing elderberries over salmon for the first time. Historically the berries ripened after the salmon run and offered grizzlies a nutritious food after a long period of feeding on salmon. With warming climates, the berries are now ripening at the same time the salmon are running. The bears have to choose one food and they picked the berries. This means they no longer have the same feeding period over the summer months. No longer do they have a long period of feeding on salmon, followed by time to munch down on elderberries. The foods are now out of sync with the bears historical feeding schedule. When all of these evolutionary behaviours emerged, climates were, more or less, relatively stable. Days with snow varied year after year within a reasonable margin of error. When the climate changes so fast that winter arrives later and later, and spring arrives earlier than unless the animals can respond quick enough they'll find themselves with a contrasting coat that makes them far more visible to their predators. Like the moths in 19th century England, they can't count on their colouration to help hide them from hungry hunters. These colour mismatches have prompted numerous studies to look at how individual species are able to respond to these rapid changes. A 2012 study looking at snowshoe hares looked at their response to fewer snow-covered days each year. It found that since the colour change of hares is most likely connected to the length of day, their vulnerability to shorter winters would be a factor of their flexibility to alter the timing of their autumn and spring moults where they grow a coat of a different colour. Any hare that is white when the landscape is not, has a target on their back. Conversely, a brown hare is in danger against a snowy backdrop. Populations of snowshoe hares, more so than most animals are absolutely tied to their level of predation. Lynx evolved to eat snowshoe hares almost exclusively while many other animals will also take a hare whenever possible. The simple fact that they were born delicious means they're on the menu of any carnivore lucky enough to see past their camouflage. In the mountain west, the population of hares rises and falls in concert with predation from lynx. As the hare population rises, lynx produce more kittens which means they need more hares. As lynx increase their predation on hares, the hare population drops. Fewer hares result in a subsequent drop in lynx numbers. These two animals are connected like few others. For an animal that lives and dies by its ability to hide, having the right match between colour and landscape provides huge advantages to appropriately coloured individuals. This means that, as climate changes, those hares who's pelts allow them to best hide will have the optimum opportunity to survive and, subsequently, pass those adaptations on to their young. This study looked at the hare's ability to vary its colour phase based on changing climate realities. If individual hares are able to adjust to rapidly changing seasonal realities than those changes would be quickly passed on through the population. This study found that the fall moult which turned their coat to white had little flexibility in terms of timing. This meant it was likely hard-wired to its connection to the length of daylight. The spring moult though showed some signs of adaptation with a slight ability to slow or increase colour change based on local conditions. Ptarmigan are in a particularly dangerous situation in the mountain west. Not only are climates warming, but these birds are specialized to live at the very highest elevations. As climates continue to warm, conditions will likely see them forced up higher and higher up the mountain until they literally run out of habitat. Ptarmigan are also experiencing a similar mismatch between seasonal colour. While physiology can take too long to adapt to rapid changes in their environment, out of season white ptarmigan are known to work to soil their feathers after breeding to try to minimize their contrast to the background landscape. Many weasels are experiencing similar challenges. Recent studies of the smallest predator in the country, the least weasel, have found that it's also finding itself moving from predator to prey due to its unexpected visibility caused by lack of snow. Almost all predators are also prey to larger animals and for this diminutive weasel, being visible means potentially being someone's dinner. In a Polish study looking two varieties of least weasel, one that changes colour during the winter and one that doesn’t, it shows that climate change, like the moths of England, is showing rapid changes to populations. In many colour changing animals, there are usually individuals who don't change colour. In northern climates, this usually means that the brown weasels have a lower chance of survival during snowy months. For many weasels, predation from largely, birds of prey,  can be the highest cause of mortality in a particular year. Like the moth study in England, this study found that camouflage was the most important factor determining predator detection in weasels. As climate changes and winter snows dwindle, weasels may find that white winter weasels are more heavily predated than weasels that don't change colour. Southern brown populations will likely shift north as white weasels find themselves falling to the talons of hawks.  Changing climates are changing everything. The news stories often talk about what WILL happen with changing climates but the changes are happening right before our eyes. Last fall I watched a red fox kill an arctic fox near Churchill Manitoba while working as a polar bear viewing guide. The red fox has migrated north and arctic fox are very vulnerable to invasive predators. Alpine animals like ptarmigan and pikas are being forced higher and higher up the mountains until they simply run out of mountain. This makes them some of our most vulnerable animals. The role of seasonal colour change will evolve over the next 50-100 years. Animals that are out of phase with the season will find themselves increasingly on the menu. Behavioural adaptations, like the ptarmigan soiling its white plumage, may help, but we may also see populations migrating, changing, and disappearing depending on each animals ability to react to unprecedented rates of change. For now, marvel at every sighting of ptarmigan, hare, and weasel. They're dealing with intense climate challenges and only time will tell how they succeed to changes, not of their making. Next up…Hollywood North Hollywood North The mountain west has long been the backdrop behind many successful movies. I get a kick out of the fact that the first silent movie filmed in the Rockies was called Cameron of the Royal Mounted, and Cameron is my last name. In this early film, a Scottish immigrant becomes a member of the Mounties only to be accused of forgery. To clear his name, he had to capture a gang of train robbers and stop a band of rogue natives. Yup, this is about as unlikely a story as you could imagine in Canada. However Hollywood fell in love with the landscape - not to mention the exchange rate on the dollar - and Hollywood has been returning every year since. Movies like Son of Lassie filmed in 1944 and Emperor Waltz in 1948. 1953 was a big year. That year Jimmy Stuart filmed the Far Country, Shelly Winters and Alan Ladd filed a movie called Saskatchewan…in Alberta, Howard Keel and Ann Blyth did a remake of the classic film Rose Marie, and Marilyn Monroe almost died on the Bow Falls in the town of Banff during the filming of The River of No Return. If you watch the movie, the characters portrayed by Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchem are fleeing from a group of renegade natives by taking a raft down the Bow River. While the movie is ostensibly set in the middle of nowhere Montana or Wyoming, it was filmed in and around the communities of Banff and Jasper. One of the pivotal scenes in the movie has them rafting over the Bow Falls while a hail of arrows falls around them from the cliffs above. Since movie effects weren't as advanced as they are today, it's pretty obvious that it's two mannequins on the raft but the effect is still a good one. Even though Marilyn was not actually on the raft, the crew had to do some close-ups of her near the actual falls so they could see the look of terror in her eyes. Unfortunately, while she was posing, she fell and almost did go over the falls. In the end, she was lucky to limp away with just a broken ankle. After this point, the bell staff at the Banff Springs Hotel got to draw lots to see who would get to push Marilyn around in her wheelchair. A quick google search will turn up numerous photos of Marilyn relaxing around the hotel and golf course with her crutches during filming. In one of the other classic films of 1953, Howard Keel and Ann Blyth did a remake of the classic Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald film Rose Marie. One of the biggest tourism myths in the Rockies is that the 1936 film with Eddy and MacDonald was also filmed in this area. At the Maligne Lake Chalet, they even have a canoe nailed to the ceiling with a carved wooden sign claiming to be the original canoe from the movie. Unfortunately, it’s a complete falsehood. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald never filmed in Canada. Their scenes were filmed in the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada. There were some scenes of Mounties training that were filmed in Canada but none of the major scenes was filmed here. Today, few movies come to Banff and Jasper to film. Scenes like Bow Falls are photographed several million times each year making many of the panoramas simply too recognizable to sell the illusion that they are in Montana or Alaska. They did continue to use the mountain parks in movies into the 1960's, including 1965's Doctor Zhivago. In that movie, one of the classic scenes takes place on the train to Yuriatin, ostensibly in Siberia, but it's actually filmed in the Spiral Tunnels in Yoho National Park. When the train emerges, a keen observer will recognize the distinctive peak of Cathedral Mountain rising above the valley. According to the IMDB movie database, this scene used stock footage and none of the actual production was done in Canada. The Wikipedia page does suggest the train scene was actually filmed here with the cast members. Another long-held myth was that the train station at Lake Louise was used in the movie. That's completely false, Almost all of the filming took place in Spain and Finland over a 10-month period. Regardless of whether the actors were actually here, the Spiral Tunnels will live on in one of the most classic films of the 20th century.  The film earned 111.7 million dollars in Canada and the U.S. and when adjusted for inflation, ranks it right up there with many of today's big screen blockbusters. After Doctor Zhivago, the area around the Stoney Reserve near Morley began to be the focus of film crews. The mountain panorama that includes Mount Yamnuska is a constant presence in some classic films. Films that represent this area include my favourite Dustin Hoffman film, 1970's Little Big Man, and 1975's Buffalo Bill and the Indians starring Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster. Before long, movies began to discover the wider Kananaskis Country landscape and it's now become one of the most filmed mountain locations in Canada. Films that kicked off the filming in this area include the 1980 film Death Hunt with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, and 1988's Dead Bang with Don Johnson and Penelope Ann Miller. Others include 1993's The Last of the Dogmen with Tom Berenger, which also included footage of Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park and the classic film Legends of the Fall with Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. This movie had locations in Calgary, Morley, and Vancouver. More recent films have included 2010's Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio as well as another DiCaprio film, 2015's The Revenent. The movies and TV series keep coming back to this amazing landscape. Popular TV shows like Hell on Wheels and Fargo were also filmed in and around Calgary. If you visit the mountain west this year, be sure to study the vistas around you. You may see them in your favourite movies. And with that, it's time to wrap this episode up. Don't forget to check the show notes at www.MountainNaturePodcast.com/ep061. As usual, if you'd like to reach out to me directly, you can comment on the show notes or hit me up on Twitter @wardcameron. And with that said, the sun's out and it's time to go hiking.

"Love me / Not your idea of me! / Release me / From your fantasy." - Silvia in the 1971 rock musical 'Two Gentlemen of Verona'   We explore the critical and popular history of 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' from the Elizabethan age to the 1970s counter-culture, by way of light opera, Machiavelli, and the British Invasion! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. We also have a brand spanking new Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography, Contents: 00:00 The play in Shakespeare's time 18:40 A critical history 40:05 Some literary moments 44:03 A stage history 1:07:23 Staging the final scene 1:13:48 Two Gentlemen: The Musical 1:22:36 A screen history 1:28:04 Music and art Links mentioned: Diana, pastoral romance by Jorge de Montemayor Ovid, Metamorphoses David Bergeron, "Wherefore Verona in ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’?", Comparative Drama vol. 41 (JSTOR access required) Two Gentlemen in the film Shakespeare in Love Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the Nurse (Imelda Staunton) discussing the play in Shakespeare in Love Elizabeth Rivlin, "Mimetic Service in The Two Gentlemen of Verona", ELH vol. 72 (Project Muse access required) W.E. Stephenson, "The Adolescent Dream-World of the Two Gentlemen of Verona", Shakespeare Quarterly vol. 17 (JSTOR access required) Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce, 1945 Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood in Mildred Pierce, 2011 Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare, 1807 Machiavelli on wolves and lions Henry Rowley Bishop's gorgeous music for Frederick Reynolds’ 1821 operatic version Stanley Wells’ 'Shakespeare For All Time', since I’m going to quote this super legend so often Peter Hall's 1960 RSC production Robin Phillips' 1970 RSC production David Thacker's 1991 RSC production Joe Dowling's 2009 Guthrie Theatre production Simon Godwin's 2014 RSC production on DVD A fantastic website on the 1971 rock musical China's A Spray of Plum Blossoms, 1931 The BBC production at the fantastic BBC Shakespeare blog Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Barbra Streisand - An Silvia A history of Sir Eglamour William Holman Hunt's Valentine Rescuing Silvia Miscellaneous artworks at Wikimedia   Clips: The Honeycombs, Who is Sylvia, 1966 Fionnuala Ward, Who is Sylvia (from 5 Shakespeare Songs), Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir  Mark Stone / Stephen Barlowe, performing Roger Quilter's Who is Silvia  Nino Rota's "Love theme from Romeo and Juliet" C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective performing Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's Who is Sylvia from More Shakespeare Songs (1997)   Elisabeth Schwarzkopf performing Schubert’s An Silvia The 1971 rock musical with Raúl Julia (Proteus), Jonelle Allen (Sylvia), Clifton Davis (Valentine), Diana Davila (Julia), Sheila Gibbs, Signa Joy, Kenneth Lowry, Sakinah Mahammud (Quartet)

Family Theatre. December 24, 1952.  "The Nativity". . The story of Jesus, produced in co-operation with the Catholic Daughters Of America. June Haver (hostes), Ann Blyth (narrator), Jeff Chandler, Nan Merriman,, Fred Niblo Jr. (writer), Harry Zimmerman (composer, conductor), Joseph Mansfield (director), George Crowell (? announcer).oldtimeradiodvd.com

Academy Award Theatre. October 9, 1946.  "It Happened Tomorrow". Sponsored by: Squibb. The delightful story about the newspaper reporter who had access to the next day's newspaper! Eddie Bracken, Ann Blyth, Hugh Brundage (announcer), Frank Wilson (adaptor), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director).oldtimeradiodvd.com

Bette Davis. Ann Blyth. Mary Tyler Moore. Three masterful portrayals of nasty women.

Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!THIS EPISODE:October 9, 1946. CBS network. "It Happened Tomorrow". Sponsored by: Squibb. The delightful story about the newspaper reporter who had access to the next day's newspaper! Eddie Bracken, Ann Blyth, Hugh Brundage (announcer), Frank Wilson (adaptor), Leith Stevens (composer, conductor), Dee Englebach (producer, director). 29:36.