CAROLE LOMBARD

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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CineMaven
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CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by CineMaven »

"I'll work a few more years, and then I want a family. I'll let Pa be the star,
and I'll stay home, darn the socks and look after the kids."
- CAROLE LOMBARD


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On this date of January 16th, my thoughts always go to CAROLE LOMBARD.

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She became a movie star, and a good actress. We've had the bombshells, volcanoes, weepers and vixens. There were glamor girls and fashion plates and drama queens and girls-next-door. The bench ran deep back then. And Carole Lombard had her special place among all that talent. She could do drama or comedy and I found her believable in both. And she could put over a screwball more deftly than your best baseball player. She owned it.

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She could ham it up, glam it up, or bring it casually down.

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( This is my favorite photo of her )

...But actually, how lucky can one girl get. Just go over the IMDB of your mind and think about the leading men she worked with: Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Fredric March, Robert Montgomery, George Raft, Fred MacMurray, Barrymore and probably the creme de la creme of the 1930's: William Powell. In her private life, it didn't work out with William Powell but geeez, it WAS William Powell...and I've read they remained friends. And then there was 'The King.' Now don't you think she was the envy of ev'ry gal in the country being married to Clark Gable? Think of being on his arm in Atlanta, in 1939, at the premiere of "Gone With The Wind." Nice work if you can get it, I say.

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For the 1930's, she was the IT Girl. We'll never know what the 1940's would have brought her, career-wise. I like to think she would have had a very happy life with Clark Gable. To make sure I didn't duplicate a thread I went through the Oasis' archives. I didn't see a thread dedicated specifically to her, but I did see a lot of great Candid photographs of her and read a lot of lovely comments about her too.

So I feel safe in saying people still have a great affection for Carole Lombard seventy-one years after her death. Count me as one of them.

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( October 6th, 1908 - January 16th, 1942 )
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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Vienna
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by Vienna »

Great star. Only wish she had done more dramas in late 30's, early 40's.
And that she and Cary grant had made more films together.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by RedRiver »

One of THE VERY BEST actors I've ever seen. From NOTHING SACRED to MADE FOR EACH OTHER, with MY MAN GODFREY and the unheralded VIGIL IN THE NIGHT, there was literally nothing this exceptional performer couldn't, and didn't, do. Yet most of her films, I haven't seen. Or even heard of. Maybe they're good. Maybe they're not. But watching this professional at work is always worth the time required.

Was TO BE OR NOT TO BE her final film? If so, it's a sharp, witty and memorable exit line. Ms. Lombard is wonderful in it. Ms. Lombard was never anything else.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by charliechaplinfan »

She was a beautiful girl but in To Be Or Not To Be she'd hit another level of beauty, she was breath taking then.

I love Carole Lombard, she never disappoints, she's one of the greats and I can't believe we didn't have a thread on her. Lovely pictures Theresa.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by RedRiver »

I don't know why I can't get into THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Great cast. Fast pace. I usually like a Hawks comedy. This one just doesn't make me laugh much. But this thread is about the actress, not one particular movie. Said actress, as always, is sensational.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by CineMaven »

[u]VIENNA[/u] wrote:Great star. Only wish she had done more dramas in late 30's, early 40's. And that she and Cary grant had made more films together.
I would have loved seeing her with Cary Grant a little more myself. I think they had great chemistry. Funny, both known for their light touch...and they wind up doing a drama. If I'm not mistaken, I think Lombard got her good friend Kay Francis that role in the film.
[u]RED RIVER[/u] wrote:Was TO BE OR NOT TO BE her final film? If so, it's a sharp, witty and memorable exit line. Ms. Lombard is wonderful in it. Ms. Lombard was never anything else.
I've never seen "Nothing Sacred" all the way through. Guess that goes on my list. Yes, "To Be 0r Not To Be" this was Lombard's last film, and a great satire it was too. It was released posthumously. She could handle Lubitsch's touch.
I don't know why I can't get into THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Great cast. Fast pace. I usually like a Hawks comedy. This one just doesn't make me laugh much. But this thread is about the actress, not one particular movie. Said actress, as always, is sensational.
This thread is about ALL LOMBARD! ALL THE TIME! so you're good. It actually took a little while for me to warm up to "TWENTIETH CENTURY." The last two times I saw it ( and that was a while ago ) something about it clicked with me. Egotistical producer discovers a girl, makes her a big star and she becomes a diva. They take a trip 'cross country on the Twentieth Century scheming and shrieking all the way; making each other miserable and loving every minute of their symbiotic insanity. A frenetic "A Star Is Born" on steroids. I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool fan of screwball...but I've come to really like this Hawks classic. But if it doesn't speak to you, no worries. You like her in other movies.
[u]CHARLIE CHAPLIN FAN[/u] wrote:She was a beautiful girl but in To Be Or Not To Be she'd hit another level of beauty, she was breath taking then. I love Carole Lombard, she never disappoints, she's one of the greats and I can't believe we didn't have a thread on her. Lovely pictures Theresa.
I agree with you Alison - always pretty, it looked like she was really coming into her look then. She really was beautiful in that movie. I'm thinking it had something to do with the look of the 1940's. I don't know fashion, but I love that period of time. Gone are those tight curls and marcelled hair and those pencil thin brows of the 30's. A lot of my 30's actresses look even better in the 40's. The 40's had a more luscious look.

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"I've lived by a man's code designed to fit a man's world, yet at the same time I never forget that a woman's first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick." - Carole Lombard.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Yes, particularly in Carole's case though, I think the defining change is the lengthing of her hair, it softened her features and had a beautiful wave to it.

I love Carole's character in the movie with Cary, it's a real fairy tale romance in the first scenes. They'd have been great in a screwball movie together, one of the things that's not to be.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by RedRiver »

As a teen, I had some priceless experiences watching classic movies at the library. Even if the movie was less than fantastic, simply being able to see it, in those pre-video days, was a treat. One such movie was NO MAN OF HER OWN. Not my favorite movie. Not Ms. Lombard's best work. But to this day, that's the only time I've seen it. Free of charge with no commercials! The Public Library provides a wonderful service.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by CineMaven »

I always feel wistful on this day, ever since I heard about her when I first started learning about 'old movies.' She was one of the gems of the 1930s - CAROLE LOMBARD.

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She never traded in on her beauty. She was just a talented gal! Click on foto to check out the nice video tribute to Lombard on YouTube.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by RedRiver »

She was just a talented gal!

Extremely talented! She had more depth than most actors. Some performers are SOMETIMES good; SOMETIMES a little off. This one was always at the top of her game. Never missed a note!
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by Lomm »

She was a remarkable person as well as a talented actress.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by movieman1957 »

I caught "Swing High, Swing Low" with Carole costarring yet again with Fred MacMurray. They do make a fine couple. The title is more descriptive than one might think at the outset. It also gave me a false sense of what was to come as I saw Mitchell Leisen directed.

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW.

The first half of the movie is a nice comfortable romantic comedy. Fred and Carole meet and fall in love and marry. Fred musters out of the Army and we discover he is a rather accomplished trumpet player. By the way this all happens in Panama. An agent gets the idea to send Fred to NY. That is when the trouble starts.

Then comes the "Swing Low" part. Devious people enter Fred's life and it begins to be a problem. Fred is desperate to get Carole to NY but Fred's partner (Dorothy Lamour) has other ideas. She frustrates every effort but Fred can't see it. Carole gets to NY and thinks Fred has been unfaithful and seeks to divorce him. Fred goes off the deep end and it nearly does him in. There is still love and finally it saves him and them.

It certainly is a different movie and certainly different than anything else they made. It is worth a look if only to see how Fred and Carole handle the drama which I think was fairly new for both in 1937. Also for not being a musical there is plenty to go around. Carole, I assume, sings. Fred mimes the trumpet well.

Anthony Quinn makes a short appearance. Jean Dixon who costarred with Lombard in "Godfrey" plays her friend.

Caught if from Amazon streaming. Not that good a print but it may be the only place you can find it. (No sign of it on Netflix.)
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by moira finnie »

Swing High, Swing Low (1937) used to be a public domain movie (it may still be), and I have never seen a good print of it (even on TCM, which usually gets the best available), so maybe it needs to be restored? It was made by Paramount, and, while far too many of their movies are not available for viewing, most of them that have been released look great still. Perhaps there is a pristine version of this movie somewhere in an archive. I have discovered that this is still in the public domain and can be seen here.

Despite the technical issues with this movie, I really liked the Lombard-MacMurray chemistry here, as in most Leisen films. Fred was such fun when he was a wise guy--I particularly like the patter he lays on a bemused Carole when he is walking his post on the Panama Canal and she is on the ship. You're right, the shift in tone in the script is not completely successful, (the scripts for the earlier Leisen-Lombard-MacMurray collaborations, Hands Across the Table & The Princess Comes Across, were more polished), but the role of a musician fit Fred like a glove, and Dorothy Lamour as "the bad girl" is a delight.
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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by CineMaven »

Can't think of a better excuse to bump up my thread on Carole Lombard, what with TCM having had it's LOMBARD day Sunday, August 10th.

Wasn't too crazy about "True Confession." I found her a little shrill and too dizzy and Fred MacMurray's mustache made me just about lose my lunch. Barrymore was in it and ooh boy, the decline is evident. I sort of liked the idea of a lawyer defending clients he believed in ( although that goes against our constitutional rights. ) But it's stretched...all in good fun. I can't say I really cared for this movie, but Lombard, her hair softly falling, is a knock out. Hey...here's insurance, add Una Merkel. I had a better time with....

“In Name Only.” Yeah yeah...it’s manipulative as all get out, I know.But I like it much better. Kay Francis is the Bad Guy. Dark. Beautiful. She looks like Mink. Out for money and prestige. Carole Lombard - the Good Girl. She falls in love. How can you regulate your feelings? She’s good and kind. Soft and very pretty. Cary Grant. Caught in the middle. He doesn’t have to be ( really. ) Just go to Reno, get the divorce, pay off the wife and live happily ever after. He's a tiny bit weak; should have taken the bull by the horns and initiate proceedings instead of leaving them up to The Wife. ( But I don't care...it's Cary Grant! He needs to be rescued! ) Yeah, all sorts of obstacles are thrown in Love’s way. That’s what makes a movie. But it's performance that makes an actor. All three leads play their part well. Since it’s Lombard’s day on TCM, she is my focus. She’s quiet. She doesn’t scream Dra-Ma-Tics. Sounds natural. Real. She gets close-ups where you can’t fake it. I believe her. I don’t have to tell you how skilled you have to be to handle Comedy and Drama. And she can do both. The 40’s look like they were going to suit her. But we'll never really know, will we.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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Re: CAROLE LOMBARD

Post by RedRiver »

Maven O'Cinema!

Lombard is as real and believable as they come. She has a level of sincerity few actors ever achieve. I've never seen her give less than a brilliant performance. How sad that we have so little of her work to enjoy.

Fred MacMurray with a moustache? That little man in my stomach doesn't like that!
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