Ann Dvorak Lecture Now Available to View
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 352
A few weeks back I did my first ever Ann Dvorak lecture for the Los Angeles Visionaries Association (LAVA). The fine folks with LAVA recorded the whole thing and have now posted it on YouTube and their website.
Even though I was wearing two pairs of Spanx that day, I cannot bring myself to watch it so I hope the quality is ok. The content is rough in a few spots and I will be making some adjustments, but otherwise this will probably be my standard talk about Ann and the book.
If you’re willing to sit in front of your computer for the next hour or so, I hope you enjoy it!
Love For Ann (and Christina) Over at the Daily Mirror
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 351
As we enter the home stretch of the Year of Ann Dvorak, it’s nice to know that the reviews and features on Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel continue to roll in and continue to be extremely positive. Today’s offering is courtesy of the The Daily Mirror blog run by Los Angeles Times editor and sometimes columnist Larry Harnisch who has a taste for all things relating to L.A. history. Larry is also a big fan of the Los Angeles Public Library, and even profiled guest blogger and map librarian Glen Creason in the newspaper last year. I was thrilled when he offered to do a write up on his blog about Ann (and even picked up the tab at lunch).
Harnish is a fellow research junkie, so the bulk of our conversation revolved around the quest to find Ann Dvorak. However, he also went that extra step of purchasing and reading the book, so the end result is part feature/part book review. I especially appreciate his comments about my writing not being too academic, and the book not containing superfluous information, which were a couple of things I was very conscious about and tried to avoid.
The full piece can be found here.
Also, even though there are only 14 posts left in the Year of Ann Dvorak, if anyone is still interested in being a guest blogger, please let me know!
This Day In Ann Dvorak History: Desperately Seeking Dad
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 350
By December of 1933, Ann Dvorak had become a known name around Hollywood for her acting as well as for walking out on her Warner Bros. contract for an 8-month honeymoon. She may not have been Jack Warner’s favorite person at the time, but many members of the press found Ann interesting enough to run her plea to find her father in their newspapers.
Edwin McKim was divorced from Ann’s mom, Anna Lehr, sometime in the early 1920s. Subsequent years were spent in Pittsburgh, New York, and Florida. All the while he had no contact with his only child even though he longed to and vice versa. Ann used her celebrity to her advantage, and on December 16, 1933 newspapers around the country ran her request to be reunited with her father. Countless false leads came through, but in early February of 1934, Edwin McKim finally reappeared in Philadelphia.
McKim was elated that his daughter had found him, but insisted on paying his own train fare. It took him six months, but he finally made it to Southern California in August 1934. The reunion was a successful one and Ann stayed in contact with her father until his death in 1942.
Collection Spotlight – “Hollywood Revue of 1929” Insert
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 349
How gorgeous is this poster from Hollywood Revue of 1929? A very generous friend of mine bought it for me a couple of years ago and he finally got around to having it framed. It was delivered last week and I even had some blank wall in the house waiting for it.
Unfortunately, Ann is not one of the beauties at the top of the poster but she is among the soldiers of the chorus at the bottom. And full disclosure, I lifted the image from Heritage Auctions so you would not have to view a lousy iPhone photo.
“Private Affairs of Bel Ami” on DVD & Blu-ray in 2014
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 348
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This week, Olive Films announced a roster of titles it has acquired and will be releasing on DVD and blu-ray in 2014. Among the films is Private Affairs of Bel Ami starring George Sanders and Angela Lansbury along with our dear Ann Dvorak. This is one of my personal favorite Ann-D films and probably my top post-War movie. An actual release date has not been confirmed and the list that’s been making the rounds on the message boards lists the title as Private Life of Bel Ami, but as long as the print is good they can call it anything they want!
Ann & Christina Go Metro
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 347
Those of you who have stuck around this site long enough already know that a big chunk of Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel was written during my subway commute from the Valley to Downtown Los Angeles. The folks at Metro who run the trains thought it was a pretty good story and put together, what I think, is a pretty elaborate piece for their show Metro Motion.
When I first spoke with one of their reps, I figured my story would warrant a blog post so I was really surprised when I ended up spending over 3 hours with them a couple of months back. I think the shot of me pretending to wait for the train is kind of silly, and it’s an brutal reminder that I am still a long ways off from my pre-pregnancy weight, but overall it’s pretty awesome. Plus, the hubby and daughter get to make a cameo.
The video should be kind of cued up to my segment, but if not it’s at 7:42 and runs about 4 minutes.
“Three on a Match” Revisited
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 346
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As some of you may already know, Three on a Match was the film that introduced me to Ann Dvorak back in the mid 1990s and got me started on this crazy journey. Since that first viewing, I have watched the film countless times, though I had never seen it on a big screen with an audience. This past weekend, I screened Three on a Match at Central Library where I work and preceded it with a brief lecture on pre-Code cinema. First off, I was happy to have around 50 people show up, which was pretty good considering it was a rare rainy day in Los Angeles which usually sends residents cowering inside (present company included). We even sold a few books after!
Of all the times I have watched this film in the past 18 or so years, I had never been moved to tears by it. Sure, I had always been blown away by Ann’s performance, but it never actually made me cry. That changed on Saturday and I was surprised to find myself choking back the tears during the movie’s climatic scenes. After the film ended, it dawned on me that this was the first time I had watched it since becoming a mother. I don’t know if that’s why Ann’s final scenes with her young child got to me, or if it were that much more dramatic watching it on a big screen. Either way, the fact remains that Three on a Match is a damn fine movie with one hell of a performance from Ann Dvorak.
The other thing I noticed while watching it is that a lot of scenes were ultimately cut from it. The above photo of Ann and Lyle Talbot which I recently purchased is from a scene in the film that is no where to be found. I have a couple of other Three on a Match stills from cut scenes and have seen a couple others in various places over the years. Talk about lost footage I would love to see!
Ann Dvorak Honeymoon Photos on the Huffington Post
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 345
For the last year and a half I have occasionally written articles for the Huffington Post on behalf of the Los Angeles Public Library (a list of my contributions can be found at the bottom of this page). Yesterday, they were good enough to indulge me by running a post about Ann Dvorak that I wrote. For the Dvorak faithful, it’s all pretty basic info that I am hoping will appeal to the casual reader. However, I did dive into the honeymoon scrapbook I acquired earlier in the year and scanned some of the photos. They are all unseen, including on this site or the in the book, so it’s worth checking out if just for the images which show a young and vibrant Ann with her whole life ahead of her.
Remembering Ann Dvorak
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 344
Well, I guess we remember Ann Dvorak here everyday, but on this particular day let’s take a moment to think about the Divine Miz D on the 34th anniversary of her passing. It was on December 10, 1979 that Ann succumbed to cancer at the Straub Clinic & Hospital in Honolulu. This photo was taken the previous July by her childhood friend Leona Cary who was visiting Ann and making plans to relocate to Hawaii from California. She looks much older than her 68 years, but she was already sick at the time and her body had endured years of alcohol abuse, along with the physical and mental abuse from her last husband. But, those Dvorak eyes are still there and big as ever, and for Ann to be clutching a kitty is definitely in character. Despite being on a very fixed income and residing in less than optimal living conditions, that always active mind of hers was still racing in many different directions and she didn’t seem defeated by her circumstances.
On this December 10th, let’s raise a glass and remember the woman who gave us many memorable performances and some great off screen stories as well.
“College Coach” on TCM
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 343
College Coach is going to be on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, December 11th at 5:30PST.
I usually post these film airings the day before, so please note that is is earlier than usual because tomorrow’s post is already spoken for.
Go here to see my previously posted thoughts on College Coach.Â