Posts in Category: News
The First Review is In!
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 309
Well, the book is now out in the world and after the frenzied build up to the release date (well, frenzied for me), I now have to sit by and wait for people to read it. Fortunately, D(vorak)-Day provided some fulfillment with the first posted review of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel over at a website called The Edge.
Full disclosure, Tony Pinizzotto who wrote the review is a dear friend. I even wrote about him on this site a few months back. I knew he was planning on reviewing it, but I never expected something so in-depth and thoughtful. As many of you know, I am a librarian, so I rely heavily on book reviews for ordering. The critiques I encounter seldom provide this much insight into whether something is worth reading. I wish they did, because it would make my job much easier! I am sure many of you are thinking that it’s only a good review because he is a friend. Well, I know Tony to be a man of integrity and I am pretty sure if he thought the book stank he would have just not written it.
Thanks again to Tony for taking the time to read and review the book, and here’s hoping this is the first of many!
Posters I Will Never Own: “Scarface” Half Sheet
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 307
When it comes to movie memorabilia collecting, I will fess up to being a kind of an obsessive snob. I seldom to never post anything on this website that is not part of my own Ann Dvorak collection. If I don’t own it, why would I bother with it?
I am going to make an exception today. Right now, the Heritage auction house has an original release Scarface half sheet available. I have never seen this before, and it is glorious. Fortunately, Ann Dvorak is not featured on the color center panel, so my heart only needs to break a little. Also of note is her fourth billing. In the actual film credits, she is billed second after Paul Muni.
The one-sheet and three-sheet for Scarface are not too visually appealing, so it never bothered me much to not own them. This half sheet on the other hand is gorgeous, but with a current bid of $14,000 and a final estimate set at $25,000 – $50,000, it will sadly never be part of my collection. Maybe I can become friends with the high bidder and visit it.
Spotlight on Ann Dvorak Over at Vienna’s Classic Hollywood
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 306
As we rapidly approach D(vorak)-Day, I am pleased to share an interview I did about Ann Dvorak over at Vienna’s Classic Hollywood. Some of you Dvorak faithful may recognize Vienna as a long-time commenter on this site. She has been a strong supporter of the Ann Dvorak biography, which I really appreciate and I want to give her a heartfelt thanks for devoting a nice chunk of her blog this week to Ann. She did however make my brain hurt by asking which 5 Dvorak movies I would save if I had to (don’t be upset if I didn’t save your favorite). Which ones did I choose? Find out here!
“Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel” is TCM’s Book of the Month!
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 305
It gives me great, great pleasure to officially announce that Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel has been selected for Turner Classic Movies November Book Corner! This means that it has a featured spot on their website, is highlighted in the November issue of their magazine Now Playing, and will get a nice shout out on air all month.
I have known about this since July and have been keeping it under wraps – partially because the fine folks at TCM requested that I stay mum, but also because I though it was too good to be true and that they would change their mind at the last minute. I’m still pinching myself!
I don’t think it’s possible to get a better endorsement than this, and I want to extended my sincere gratitude to Shannon Klute over at TCM for making this happen.
There just so happens to be a couple of Ann Dvorak movies playing in November, though I think this was a nice coincidence. Either way, hats off to Turner Classic Movies for throwing their considerable weight behind Ann Dvorak!
(Confession time: I don’t actually have cable – I would be watching cake shows on Food Network all the time if I did – which means I do not have TCM. If anyone is able to record the monthly news highlights in between films that will mention the Ann Dvorak book and send me a copy, I would really appreciate it!)
Book Launch Party Prep – Ann Dvorak Fudge & Pralines
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 303
After researching Ann Dvorak for well over a decade, I accumulated a mountain of information. While most of my discoveries made their way into the book, there were other things that were left behind. Some items were tidbits that I could not seamlessly weave them into the narrative while others had that questionable scent of studio publicity. The handful of  “Ann Dvorak recipes” in my possession fell into that latter category, so they were left behind. However, some of them will be resurrected for the official book launch party, though I am assuming with varying results.
Guest blogger Mary McCoy previously discussed Ann’s New England Baked Beans, Salad Encino, and my favorite, Unprepared Walnuts. A popular consensus of friends and family agreed these all sounded like terrible party foods, so I went back into the piles of Dvorak papers and located a nice recipe for Bavarian  Crème Pudding and a very questionable one for Apple Chutney. My mom was kind enough to cook Ann’s chutney to specification – and the result was spectacularly revolting. Instead, she is going to use a more modern concoction which will be called “Ann Dvorak Tribute Apple Chutney.” Sorry Ann!
I was going to pass on the celery filled with Roquefort, but that has gotten many thumbs up, and I personally think crispy bacon & peanut butter on mini toasts sounds delightful. If I have the wherewithal, there may be deviled eggs though skipping the anchovies found in Ann’s recipe might be welcomed by guests.
Finally, we have the fudge and pralines, because “stars must eat!” Last week I did a test run and I think it was successful. The pralines turned out great and received rave reviews from co-workers. The fudge was well received by adults, though my daughter spit it out in my hand. Therefore, I think I will cut back on the amount of molasses Ann called for. This ingredient definitely gives it an old-timey taste  but apparently is not hip with today’s toddler set.
This menu may cause you to run to the party or run to the hills, but it will have the undeniable mark of our Divine Miz D (or the studio publicity people)!
All About Ann Dvorak Over at “Dear Old Hollywood”
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 302
Do you ever watch a movie filmed on location somewhere and wonder, “gee, I wonder where they shot that?” I do that frequently, and will sometimes even take the step of searching the web to see if someone has taken the time to figure it out. Fortunately, there are people like Robby Cress over at the Dear Old Hollywood blog who not only digs up the info on specific locations, but also take the time to share it with us. Â Robby, not only posts his findings on the blog, but illustrates them with then & now images and additional background info. And I thought blogging about Ann Dvorak took a lot of effort!
Robby was kind enough to give me and Ann Dvorak some major real estate over at Dear Old Hollywood this week, and he even cleverly found a way to indulge my love of Ann AND Los Angeles. So, go take a look at the interview but stick around for the marvelous location posts including one on the 1933 Dvorak feature College Coach.
More Ann Dvorak Love – Christina Interviewed By A TCM Movie Morlock
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 287
Today’s post is going up a bit later than usual, but I knew this interview would be popping up on the TCM Movie Morlocks blog and wanted to hold off and feature it.
Susan Doll is an author and  film scholar whose posts on the Morlocks blog are some of my favorites. She was kind enough to give me some advice when I was filling out the publisher’s marketing questionnaire, and then performed the extremely generous task of reading an advanced copy of the book and providing a pull quote.
I hope you enjoy the interview which features a largely different set of questions than yesterday’s piece over at Immortal Ephemera.
Christina Interviewed About Ann Dvorak Over At Immortal Ephemera
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 286
Courtesy of Immortal Ephemera
The first of, hopefully, many interviews about Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel has been posted over at the Immortal Ephemera website. Cliff Aliperti runs the site, along with a fantastic tribute site to Ann’s Three on a Match co-star Warren William. Cliff has been a strong supporter and promoter of the Ann Dvorak project for a very long time now, and was a sounding board for my whining during the two-month negotiations for Ann’s personal possessions earlier in the year. I am thrilled to be given so much real estate on Immortal Ephemera today and truly appreciate Cliff’s enthusiasm for this book. One of these days he’s going to dig up a piece of Dvorak memorabilia I don’t have that I can buy from him!
The full interview can be read here.Â
Thanks Cliff!
Cheap Librarian Thrills – The Ann Dvorak Book is in the Los Angeles Public Library’s Catalog
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 285
Around three weeks ago, I reported that Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel had an official record in the Library of Congress catalog, which is still viewable despite the government shutdown. Now, I am pleased to report that the book has it’s first public library record which is in the Los Angeles Public Library’s catalog. Just to add some icing to this cake, four people have placed a hold on it.
Full disclosure – I work for LAPL though I honestly did not hit up anyone in the Cataloging Department to create this record, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it pop up so soon. I am not sure if all authors are this thrilled to see their books in library catalogs, but as a librarian it is a pride inducing moment and I look forward to seeing the book show up in more institutions.
“Out of the Blue” Available for Streaming
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 283
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My husband is out of town for New York Comic Con, so I figured I would get some late night Ann Dvorak viewing in. I wasn’t able to find my Scarface dvd, so I started poking around at the various streaming services we subscribe to. I didn’t find Scarface, but I was surprised to see Out of the Blue available from Amazon. It was released on VHS years ago, but has yet to see a DVD release. The quality of the print is so-so, and the film itself isn’t exactly a masterpiece. However, it’s one of the few purely comedic roles Ann ever played and she is delightful in it.
Now, back to trying to find that Scarface disc.