Stars With Pluck

Hedy Lamarr’s perfectly arched eyebrows emphasize her symmetrical features. Considered the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, Lamarr was also incredibly bright, co-inventing, in 1941, a “frequency-hopping device that now serves as the basis for modern spread-spectrum communication technology.” That quote is grabbed from Wikipedia. I have absolutely no idea what it means, but darn, I’m impressed. Anyhoo. Married six times, Lamarr gained and lost several fortunes. After her career was over she was arrested on shoplifting charges.

Screening movies from Hollywood’s Golden Age, I’ve noticed an interesting trend—in eyebrows.

During the early days of silent films, female stars appeared pretty normal. Which is to say, eyebrows were lightly plucked, but retained a recognizably human configuration. (more…)

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Tags: Alice Faye, Anna May Wong, audrey hepburn, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard
Posted Jul 29th 2009 at 8:44 am in Classic Hollywood | 19256665 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/07/29/stars-with-pluck/Stars+With+Pluck+2009-07-29+15%3A44%3A40Robert+J.+Avrech

Colleen Bobs Her Hair and The Stars and Stripes

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “I was the spark that lit up Flaming Youth, Colleen Moore was the torch. What little things we are to have caused all that trouble.”

In 1923, Colleen Moore’s starring vehicle, Flaming Youth was an international box office hit that ushered in the era of the Flapper. The Jazz crazy kids wore their galoshes unbuckled causing the rubber tongue to flap. Thus: Flappers.

 
Colleen Moore, studio portrait in the Stars and Stripes.

I’m waiting for that particular fashion statement to reappear.

Colleen Moore, born Kathleen Morrison, (1900-1988) and her husband John McCormick embarked on a grand tour of Europe to promote Flaming Youth, Colleen’s career, and enjoy a belated honeymoon.

Colleen’s look, specifically her Bobbed haircut, was a global fashion rage. Contrary to popular opinion it was Moore who pioneered the severe cut—not Louise Brooks. It is sad and certainly a skewed vision of film history that the current Louise Brooks cult has spread like a virus, whereas Moore, a far more important figure in motion pictures, is virtually forgotten.  George Cukor, a director who knew something about Hollywood stardom, was utterly baffled by the post-modern Brooks fever. When queried about the star of Pandora’s Box, Cukor forcefully exclaimed: “Louise Brooks? She was nothing!” (more…)

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Tags: anti-semitism, Charles Ray, Colleen Moore, flappers, George Cukor
Posted Apr 14th 2009 at 6:39 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment | 1045223 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/04/14/colleen-bobs-her-hair-and-the-stars-and-stripes/Colleen+Bobs+Her+Hair+and+The+Stars+and+Stripes2009-04-14+13%3A39%3A33Robert+J.+Avrech