To everyone at the Oasis: I've enjoyed this week immensely, and want to thank Moira in particular for the opportunity to visit. To have such a erudite, cordial, and warm group of movie lovers under one website is a rare treat. And you really put me through my paces. There's an amazing amount of coll...

Hi Joe, Oh, we finish up with a trick question! They became close when Claire was hired to be Marie's companion and nurse. Claire was much younger, and an aspiring actress. They were inseparable - they traveled and lived together. Claire kept a diary, but there is nothing that can be interpreted as ...

Hi Moira, Yes, I absolutely believe that Joan's childhood in vaudeville impacted her later relationships, marriages, and motherhood. I can't imagine being constantly on the move while growing up, and how unprepared she was for a "normal" life. Her parents fought, there was no place to call...

Dear Ann Harding (!), Goulding's Warner Bros. films form a lovely assortment of fine chocolates. His Fox films, in contast, are rather all over the place. <i>Razor's Edge</i> to <i>Nightmare Alley</i> to <i>Down Among the Sheltering Palms</i> to <i>Mardi Gras</i> (!?) <i>Nightmare Alley</i> does not...

Hi Donna, Thanks, as ever, for your encouragement. I can't wait for a gorgeous Valentino book to grace my coffee table. Funny thing about awards - I was just talking to the publicist about that. Neither of us know what awards are out there that suit this genre. Suggestions anyone?? Matthew Hello Mat...

Hello Birdy, Interesting approach to reading biographies, and a good remedy against the predictable cradle-to-grave arc. Yes, biographies do tend to have the same ending. :cry: Favorite of all Joan's characters? That's a hard one, but I guess they coincide with most of my favorite Blondell movies: <...

Hi Moira, According to Coleen Gray, who I was fortunate enough to interview for the Goulding book, the set of Nightmare Alley was quite amicable. I've always imagined Blondell saying "that nut" with affection, but gone forever is her expression and intonation at that moment. :( She spoke a...

Yeah, I went out on a limb on that one. Doris Day really tears it up with Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me . I haven't seen Hard to Handle , so now you've got me suuuppper curious. I like your reversal of the usual equation, that Cagney held his own against Blondell, not vice-versa. Matthew I agree wit...

Dear Catherine, Thanks for putting in a word about Marie at your local library. As she was a Canadian native, she should be in EVERY library in the country! :wink: I find Marie's autobiographies delightful to read. It's so easy to hear her speaking; they are full of her gently self-effacing humor. B...

Phillips Holmes appeared in Dinner at Eight with Dressler, and was directed by Goulding in The Devil's Holiday. He was also the son of Taylor Holmes, who appeared in Nightmare Alley, which starred Blondell and was directed by Goulding. Hollywood is such a small town. 8) Good suggestion Judith! I'm n...

Dear Judith, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Chester Morris - not exactly househouse names, but they were put through their paces at Warners' as was Joan. They may not have worked quite as much as she did, but they were definitely fellow hard laborers at the studio factory. I have only a v...

Charlie and Marie in Monsieur Verdoux. The mind reels. I agree with you wholeheartedly about Cagney and Blondell. In fact, I'd call them one of the great screen teams of all time. No other actress ever held her own against him as well. (My favorite Cagney-Blondell match-ups are Blonde Crazy and Foot...

Hi Scott, I was striving for a balance in reporting Joan's public and private lives, so your comments are appreciated and I thank you. Biography of Ann Harding? Terrific! There's someone who has not received enough attention. It's very perceptive of you to consider the autobiographical elements of G...

Dear Moira, Christopher Bean is worth a look for any Dressler fan, but it is very, very rare. The only copy I'm aware of is at the George Eastman House in Rochester. (It may be at UCLA or Library of Congress.) I made a special trip to Eastman to see it, and was glad I did. It's no masterpiece, mind ...

Her slower pace post-code seems to have been by her own design. She was having kids, and wanting very much to be at home. She was making good money, and had more clout at Warners by 1934, though she was hesitant to throw her weight around. And nobody could have kept up her early pace for long - 10 m...