THE OLD MOVIE MAVEN . . . The Website

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A TRIBUTE TO OUR MILITARY
A CAST OF CHARACTERS
A CALENDER OF MOVIES: What to Watch When
A CALENDAR OF MOVIES: Christmas - "The King of Kings" (1927)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
ABBOTT & COSTELLO
AMERICAN CLASSIC MOVIES INTRODUCTIONS
ANIMALS AND THE MOVIES
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Sets
ARCITECTURE: Ancient Egypt
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Bernheimer Residence
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: The Ennis-Brown House
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Evan Thompson's Bottle House
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Greystone Manor
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: The Hearst Castle
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: The Hollywood Sign
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Homes of the Stars
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Jean Harlow
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Maps and Floor Plans
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Pickfair
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: The Rispin Mansion
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Royal Hawaiian Hotel
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Scotty's Castle
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Shelby House
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: West Hollywood Historical Association
ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Whimsy
ARCHIVES: VOLUME 1
ARCHIVES: VOLUME 2
ARCHIVES: VOLUME 3
ASSORTED SHORT CLIPS
"B" MOVIES
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B - MOVIES: Television Series
THE BARRYMORE FAMILY
BIOGRAPHIES
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BUSTER KEATON
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CHARLIE CHAN ANNEX
CHARLIE CHAN: Asian Actors in Hollywood
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CHARLIE CHAN: The Books and Their Movies!
CHARLIE CHAN: Chang Apana
CHARLIE CHAN: Charlie's Sons
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CHARLIE CHAN: Chronology
CHARLIE CHAN: Criminal?!?!*
CHARLIE CHAN: Extras
CHARLIE CHAN: Gilbert Martines and Chang Apana
CHARLIE CHAN: Hawaii Steve
CHARLIE CHAN: Maps
CHARLIE CHAN: Maven and Rush Glick's Interview in . . . "Monster Bash"!
CHARLIE CHAN: Movie Eras
CHARLIE CHAN: Movie Notes
CHARLIE CHAN: Murder Rate
CHARLIE CHAN: On The Town
CHARLIE CHAN: Puzzles and Quizzes
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CHILDREN'S CORNER
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Holiday Crafts
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Boats and Planes and More
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Paper Dolls
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Fun Stuff to Read
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Boys' Town
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Colleen Moore's Castle
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Judy Bolton
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Nancy Drew
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Nancy Drew (For Older Fans!)
CHILDREN'S CORNER: Shirley Temple
COMEDIANS
COPPER CAPERS: FBI's and CIA's!
COSTUME DESIGNERS
DASHIELL HAMMETT
ETTA KIT
FASHIONS IN FILM
FILM NOIR
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HALLOWEEN FUN!
HALLOWEEN 2011: Movies to Watch
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HAROLD LLOYD
HAUNTS: Hollywood and Elsewhere
HAUNTS: Winchester House
HISTORY: Hollywood and Elsewhere
HOLLYWOOD'S SCANDALS AND CRIMES
HOLLYWOOD'S . . . CRIME: Greystone Mansion Murder
HOLLYWOOD'S . . . Crime: Jean Harlow and Paul Bern's Muder?
HOLLYWOOD'S . . . CRIME: Tate/LaBianca Murders
HOLLYWOOD'S . . .CRIME: William Desmond Taylor Murder
HOLLYWOOD'S MARRY-GO-ROUNDS
HORROR - SCIENCE FICTION
HORROR - SCI FI: Annex
HORROR - SCI FI: The Atomic Submarine (1959)
HORROR - SCI FI: Bela Lugosi
HORROR - SCI FI: Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
HORROR - SCI FI: Boris Karloff
HORROR - SCI FI: Dracula (1931)
HORROR - SCI FI: Frankenstein (1931)
HORROR - SCI FI: Gojira (1954) & Godzilla (1957)
HORROR - SCI FI: Invaders from Mars (1954)
HORROR - SCI FI: King Kong
HORROR - SCI FI: Lon Chaney
HORROR - SCI FI: Nifty Fifty's Creature Features
HORROR - SCI FI: Nightmare Theatre with Gorgon
HORROR - SCI FI: Ray Harryhausen
HORROR - SCI FI: Stephen King
HORROR - SCI FI: Universal Studios
HORROR - SCI FI: Universal Monster Genealogy
HORROR - SCI FI: Wes Davis
HORROR - SCI FI: The Witch's Dungeon
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
HUSTON FAMILY
I LOVE LUCY
INTERVIEWS
JOHN WAYNE
JONATHAN GEFFNER
JOSEPHINE BAKER
KAY LINAKER
LEI MAKING
LOCATIONS
MDs - RNs - RNBs - OH MY!
M.D.S . . . - The Crime Doctor Series
MAGIC IN MOVIES
MAKEUP ARTISTS
MAKEUP ARTISTS: The Westmore Family
MARX BROTHERS
MARY ASTOR
MARY PICKFORD AND DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS
MAVEN'S LIBRARY
MAVEN'S WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT
MUSIC
MUSIC: Dancers
MUSIC: The Lyrics
MYSTERIES
MYSTERIES: A Warning For Those Who Give Away The Endings!
MYSTERIES: Alfred Hitchcock
MYSTERIES: The Bat
MYSTERIES: D. W. Griffith vs. Mary Roberts Rinehart
MYSTERIES: Gum Shoes
MYSTERIES: Old Dark Houses
MYSTERIES: S.S. Van Dine
MYSTERIES: S.S. Van Dine - The Kidnap Murder Case
ORSON WELLES
PERRY MASON
QUIZZES AND PUZZLES
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QUOTES From Hollywood
QUOTES From Hollywood Movies
QUOTES From Dorothy Parker
QUOTES Dorothy Parkers' "The Waltz"
RADIO SHOWS: Vintage Series
RECIPES OF THE WEEK
RECIPES OF THE WEEK: More about the Recipes
RECIPES OF THE WEEK: A Rejuvenating Diet
REVIEWS
REVIEWS - Mini Mavens
RONALD REAGAN
RUDOLPH VALENTINO
SEX IN THE CINEMA
SHIRLEY TEMPLE
SILENT MOVIES
TAYLOR SCHULTZ: Hollywood Sculptor
TRANSPORTATION IN THE MOVIES: Aviation
VINCENT PRICE
VINCENT PRICE: Connoisseur
WHAT'S MY LINE?
THE WHISTLER
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
Orson Welles . . . . 
What was he: a genius who was . . . 
larger than life enfant terrible . . .
 overaged spoiled brat . . .
overweight spoiled brat . . .
or all of that 
. . . and maybe more?!
He certainly covered a lot of territory any way you look at  him!
     Maven came across a clip of Herb Alpert's Casino Royale which is great all by itself - but the notes attached are about Orson Welles and Peter Sellers, when they made the movie . . . together.  You should click on the link to understand the irony of their working "together" on the movie!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O5aA83GfYc&feature=related
 

Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich
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In His Magic Act

Maven has pulled some links to videos on youtube.com that includes:
 

An interview that Orson Welles did with Jennifer Ward in 1983, just two years before his death:

http://tannensmagic.blogspot.com/2008/02/orson-welles-interview.html

 

I Love Lucy where Orson Welles levitates Lucille Ball:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUNc3ASCoeM&feature=related

 

Orson Welles Magic Trick: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Qiiy6jJtg&feature=related

 

Orson Welles’ Magic Show (1985 – with Angie Dickenson):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxYCIEedoc4

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089744/fullcredits#cast

 

Orson Welles performs the Mummy’s Curse on The Muppets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F1TZALozjI&feature=related 

Orson Welles
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In "Return to Glennsacaul" (1951)

     About that picture at the top of the page . . . .  It's Orson Welles in a short film that he made in Ireland, Ghost of Glennascaul (1951) that Maven has enjoyed . . . . 

To help set the stage . . . the atmosphere . . . here is none other than Orson Welles with "a tale that is told in Dublin" . . . .

Orson Welles' Ghost Story

     Okay . . . so "enjoyed" isn't quite the word . . . watch it and judge for yourself . . . especially if it's on a dark and stormy night . . . and you're alone. . . .
 
      And . . . what . . . what's that noise . . . .
 
 
 

Orson Welles
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In His Mercury Theatre Days
     This is one of Maven's favorite stories about Orson Welles!  It includes fellow Mercury Theatre on the Air stars Ray Collins and Joseph Cotto(from Cotton's autobiography)!

Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton and Ray Collins "at work"

Shirley Temple
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Click for the Official Shirley Temple Web Site

     Shirley Temple Black brought a new perspective to Orson Well's reputation in her autobiography, Child Star (McGraw-Hill Publishing company, 1988).   She wrote about a croquet match that was part of a publicity layout on pages 284 - 285:

Shirley Temple and Orson Welles

Orson Welles
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In "Citizen Kane" (1941)

Xanadu
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"Citizen Kane" (1942)
Xanadu
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For More About Citizen Kane's Fabled Home . . . Scroll Down
CITIZEN KANE (1941)
 
     Citizen Kane (1941) was Orson Welles' first movie and what a pip it was!  It not only launched Welles' movie career but those of Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, and Everett Sloane, as well.
     There has been so much information out there about the movie that Maven won't retread it . . . but she will give some background. . . . 

Hearst Castle, aka La Cuesta Encantada, San Simeon
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Click for a Panoramic Castle Tour, courtesy of www.hearstcastle.org

    As Citizen Kane (1941) was based on William Randolph Hearst,
so his Castle was the inspiration for Kane's Xanadu . . .
That name, Xanadu, always makes Maven think of the Olivia Newton-John singing the song from the 1980 movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kERqL0fty50&feature=related)
. . . and vice versa!

     Xanadu, Charles Foster Kane's home that was said to be based on William Randolph Hearst's Castle, was inspired by the following poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Kubla Khan

OR, A VISION IN A DREAM.
A FRAGMENT.*

 

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding
sunny spots of greenery.

But oh ! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover !
A savage place ! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover !
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A
mighty fountain momently was forced :
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail :
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean :
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war !

The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves ;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.

It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice !

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw :
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me,

That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome ! those caves of ice !
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware ! Beware !
His flashing eyes, his floating hair !
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

 

*http://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Kubla_Khan.html.  This link is no longer available. 

Orson Welles
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In "Citizen Kane" (1941)

     There are those, including Maven, who wonder if the look for the older - MUCH older! - Charles Foster Kane may have been inspired by Peter Lorre's Doctor Gogol from Mad Love (1935).  Interesting idea, isn't it?!

Peter Lorre
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As Dr. Gogol in "Mad Love"

Peter Lorre
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"Mad Love" (1935)