Maven, Charly, Aunt Battie and Cousin Battie Belle
have decided that the home page at The Old Movie Maven sometimes needs trimming, hence the archives.
Lon Chaney, Sr., and His Makeup Kit
LON CHANEY, SR.’S
MINIATURE
DIARAMA DRESSING ROOM
I want to apologize to Brooklyn Jay from Rush’s Chat Room[1] for my taking so long to post this to my website.If what
is in the accompanying pictures are any indidaction, Brooklyn Jay is truly talented!
Be sure to take time to enjoy his note and pictures of the diaroma.That’s
the only way to appreciate them.
This is Charly, Maven's cousin, taking over the whole website for the time being . . . . Maven
stayed outside for just a few minutes and then took to her bed moaning about becoming a Baked Alaska from the sun . . . .
She must have really been ditzy because she asked me where I got MY sun block while she was mistakenly sending
the What's My Line? page into the outer limits of Shagundila on the other side of the universe.
So I have enlisted some interns to help rebuild our WHAT'S MY LINE? page. They are Website Willies. I'd love to show you their pictures
and names but they are very shy. They are even paler ghosts then I am and they can only work after the rest of us have
left.
They have found some new entries while rebuilding the page: From Trini Lopez (a fellow Texan) at
and an interview with the celebrated singer on our INTERVIEWS page!
Plus another more recent article Maven got tipped about by Friend Bill Lutters.
Oh, dear.
Maven is now calling for Battie Belle to take care of her.
Unfortunately Battie Belle is at her job as a R.N.B.: She runs the Bat Mobile
(aka the Traveling Triage Unit) as Head Registered Nursing Bat.
NOTICE:
Maven was doing some checking and checked
www.imdb.com for Donnie Dunagan, who played Basil Rathbone's son,
Peter, in The Son of Frankenstein (1939).
It has a note about what he's doing
now:
Where Are They Now
(March 2011) San Angelo, TX USA: Retired Maj, USMC,
but Dunagan has kept up a hectic schedule by doing interviews on the ABC morning show "The View," in addition to the British
Broadcasting Corp. in London, Disney Studios, NBC-TV in Chicago and CBS-TV in Houston, among others due to the recent Blu-Ray
release of Bambi. (http://www.imdb.com).
With summer winding down,
there are some new treats in the CHILDREN'S CORNER and a whole new section for fans of Valley of the Kings (1954 with Robert Taylor) and Charlie Chan in Egypt
(1935) at ARCITECTURE: Ancient Egypt!
Maven and Charly here with Aunt Battie.
She's brought a lot of things from
her trip home to Texas to from. The first one is long but you have to check out the whole thing . . . you'll never
know who're you're missing if you don't!
Plus there is a new recipe for Cheese Grits in the recipe sections:
And if it's too hot to do anything
else . . . go over to MYSTERIES: S.S. Van Dine with all his Philo Vance books! And one is all free and ready to read:
This is Charly, Maven's cousin, taking over the whole website for the time being . . . . Maven
stayed outside for just a few minutes and then took to her bed moaning about becoming a Baked Alaska from the sun . . . .
She must have really been ditzy because she asked me where I got MY sun block while she was mistakenly sending
the What's My Line? page into the outer limits of Shagundila on the other side of the universe.
So I have enlisted some interns to help rebuild our WHAT'S MY LINE? page. They are Website Willies. I'd love to show you their pictures
and names but they are very shy. They are even paler ghosts then I am and they can only work after the rest of us have
left.
They have found some new entries while rebuilding the page: From Trini Lopez (a fellow Texan) at
and an interview with the celebrated singer on our INTERVIEWS page!
Plus another more recent article Maven got tipped about by Friend Bill Lutters.
Oh, dear.
Maven is now calling for Battie Belle to take care of her.
Unfortunately Battie Belle is at her job as a R.N.B.: She runs the Bat Mobile
(aka the Traveling Triage Unit) as Head Registered Nursing Bat.
Everybody here at TOMM
have been getting into summer mode, starting with the heat getting up . . . and up . . . and up . . . and you get the idea!
So the RECIPES OF THE WEEK are reruns but worth knowing for summertime, especially
since several are "fixable" ahead of time and/or cold.
An Orphan (1929): A 1929 Shanghai Movie, about a
woman's hard life and subsequent heroic rescue. Silent, B&W, with original Chinese and English intertitles/ There
is some question as to what year it was made. There is no question that it is a Chinese silent!:
Maven is pleased to bring this interview with
author Yunte Huang talking about his Charlie Chan biography to Matt and Rush Glick over at www.charliechan.info.
Thanks, you all!
Hello
Everyone!
I just came across the following link which will allow you to watch Yunte Huang, author of "Charlie Chan:
The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History" on C-SPAN.
It's a one hour spot
and can be accessed on the right side of the screen. I haven't had a chance to view it yet, but thought our honorable family
here may be interested.
Yunte Huang talked about
the life and times of Hawaii detective Chang Apana (1871-1933) and cultural impact that the fictional character based on him
produced. He spoke at D.G. Wills Books in La Jolla, California.
And don't forget to check out RECIPES OF THE WEEK for a great Coney Island Hot Dog in honor of the
Texas Rangers making it to the World Series . . . !
Charly here to announce that we have
changed the Children's Corner to add a new page just for Holiday Crafts . . . just in time for Easter! So click on
Maven has
now added to the page for ARCHITECTURE IN HOLLYWOOD: Shelby House . . . how many movies have you seen with this house and you didn't notice it? The Shelby
House got through such films as Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) to Clint Eastwood in a bit part as a jet pilot in Tarantula
(1955)!
Doris Day . . . a name
long respected in Hollywood for a very talented lady . . . and usually thought of as being extra nice without a shadow of
a blemish.
What a lot of people don't know .
. . or don't remember . . . is that Ms. Day was indirectly involved in one of the most shocking murders in Hollywood history:
The murders of Sharon Tate and her friends at the former home of Day's son, Terry Melcher.
Read on for the details from Doris
Day and her son:
Gilbert Martines has an interesting new
addition to his Chan Blog at http://detectivecharliechan.blogspot.com/ about Chang Apana's family . . . family that I hadn't been aware of - or at least didn't
remember!
Need I say that Gilbert's continued book project
is one more indication that interest in all things Chan . . . up to and including Chang Apana . . . is still going strong?!
Maven (and family!) is out more
often out than in these days but is leaving a recipe for these cold days of winter at RECIPES OF THE WEEK. . . . Try it!
Well, Maven has added a Spicy Vegetarian Chili
. . . barely in time for the Super Bowl!
Maven is back and with something for
most everybody!
From the Real 1946 Crime Spree of the Phantom Killer in Texarkana, TX
There was a real-life crime spree in Texas
- Texarkana, to be specific - that was made into a movie . . . The Town That Feared Sundown (1976, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075342/) . . . .
Sixty-four years later the case still holds the imagination,
if not fears . . . of the unknown, of unidentifiable sounds, even being able to look over your shoulder . . . late at night
. . . while you are reading . . . :
Maven would like to keep up some of the haunts here in Texas
. . . they're too good not to, especially since some were articles from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram!
Maven,
Charly and all would like to thank a fellow Charlie Chan fan, hounder for a link to a commercial that Budweiser did in tribute
to 9/11.
The ad had their famous
Clydesdales walking through most of it until the end when New York City apears in the distance. The Clydesdales in the
lead can be seen bowing down in homage to those directly involved and those indirectly involved . . . family, friends and
their fellow citizens in New York City.
It's a review of a new book on Charlie
Chan, "Giving 'Charlie Chan’ A Second Chance" by Maureen Corrigan.
It's a rather long article but Maven
has something of a problem with it at the get go . . . a sentence in the first paragraph: “The actor who played
Charlie Chan in that and 40 other films was Warner Oland; like Sidney Toler, the actor who succeeded him in the role, Oland
was Caucasian — Swedish, in fact!”
To Maven’s count, there were
forty + films.Out of those forty + were sixteen made with Warner Oland, twelve
still available and four early ones considered to be among the Holy Grail of Lost Films.
Maven is no great shakes at math .
. . well . . . shaking numbers in frustration is about the only thing she can do well with them . . . but twelve plus four
does NOT add up to forty . . . unless you get certain political pundits in here for the math which would just muddle things
up BIG TIME!
Yunte Huang, the author, describes Chan as:But
to many Asian Americans, he remains a pernicious example of a racist stereotype, a Yellow Uncle Tom, if you will; the type
of Chinaman, passive and unsavory, who conveys himself in broken English.
Maven remembers 2003 when Fox Movie Channel had a Charlie Chan Festival which hailed wide
and far by Chan Fans everywhere.
It didn’t last long.
Why?Precisely because Asian Americans were
pretty much calling for the boycott because they said that to many Asian Americans, he remains a pernicious example of a racist
stereotype, a Yellow Uncle Tom, if you will; the type of Chinaman, passive and unsavory, who conveys himself in broken English.
For starters, a “chinaman” is a seller of China.Charlie Chan is Chinese.Now who’s the racist?!
Chan is “passive and unsavory.”
Right, with 14 kids and traveling all over the world by every conceivable mode of transportation
available at that time and standing up for – yes, the law – but to protect the innocent, bring down criminals
and put them away.One could make a case for Charlie that he’s like the
Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, Dudley Do-right . . . trying always to do right.
If Chan was doing anything “unsavory” then please explain exactly what it is
that he’s doing because “unsavory” smacks of underhanded and/or illegal activities and most people associate
Charlie Chan with anything BUT underhanded and/or illegal activities.
And to do “write” at that!
This “unsavory” business is on a par with Charlie speaking in “broken
English”.If this is the kind of stuff you’re arguing, Maven is wasting
her time – still – since she brought up in 2003 the fact that many Caucasians whose families have been in the
United States of America for generations STILL don’t speak as well as Charlie Chan does.
Maven recommends at least reading the review for yourself as she believes in informed censorship
. . . check out the book and the review and decide for yourself whether the book is worth paying your hard-earned for.
And thanks again to Diana at Rush’s Message Board!
Charly here for Cousin Maven!
Maven asked me to do some research for some Our
Gang shorts, specifically a follies from the the late thirties.
but . . . it was Alfalfa trying to sing opera
and getting the worst of thedeal while Spanky, Darla and the rest hit the bigtime in their own night club.
Which is no surpise to anyone around here!
They don't even have the right set of actors!
Our
Gang: School's Out
The schoolchildren lost their last teacher because she got married and quit her job. When the brother of their
teacher Miss Crabtree comes to visit, the children mistake him for a suitor. The children tell abominable lies about Miss
Crabtree to try to discourage the man. Meanwhile, one of the children is selling answers to the upcoming oral exam. Unfortunately
for the students, the young entrepreneur used a book of minstrels and blackface as his source for the `answers`. Director:
Robert F. McGowan Cast: Jackie Cooper...Jackie Allen 'Farina' Hoskins...Farina Norman 'Chubby' Chaney...Chubby Mary
Ann Jackson...Mary Ann Year: 1938
Chang Apana
As Played by Carey Tagawa
NEWS FLASH FOR
CHARLIE CHAN FANS!
There had been news some little while
ago about Jill Lepore writing about Chang Apana, said to be Earl Derr Biggers' insperation for his Charlie Chan.
Ms. Lepore is now in The New
Yorker about our honorable - and favorite! - Chinese detective, Charlie Chan, is now available in The New Yorker
magazine.
Thanks to fellow Chan Fan Bill Lutters
about the story, Maven has pulled all four parts together . . . all ready for the reading at this link that includes a video!
Maven is pleased
to announce a dream of a weekend . . . in Honolulu no less . . . for Charlie Chan fans everywhere.
Steve Fredrick
(http://stevestoursandfilms.vpweb.com/) has pulled together a weekend of a "interactive
tour [that] visits Chan-related crime sites, Chang Apana's former police station, coffee shops, gambling houses, movie theatres,
and the residence of "Number One Son"!"
For more information
on this incredible Charlie Chan chance just check out the flyer:
Godwinshelley (from Rush Glick's chat
room at http://charliechanfamily.tripod.com/id17.html) has gone and improved on perfection with
a Chan map of San Francisco, according to Earl Der Biggers' Behind That Curtain . . . with pictures!
Maven considers this a "shouldhave" for lovers of Biggers' books
and movies!
Many thanks to Godwinshelley from
Charlie Chan fans everywhere!
Please Let Maven Know at theoldmoviemaven@yahoo.com!
Maven can name some of these actors
and the parts that they are portraying
but not all. Anybody want
to help by sending in your suggestions to theoldmoviemaven@yahoo.com?
How well do you know the architecture in movies that you love watching?!
Take this test and then
go to QUIZ ANSWERS and find out how well you did!
Spider Baby; or, The Maddest Story
Ever Told (1964/1968) - This interesting little film had Lon Chaney (The Wolf Man), Mantan Moreland (the Monogram
Charlie Chans), and Carol Ohmart (The House on Haunted Hill -1959) and Maven frankly didn't hear about it
until lately!:
According to this website, the house has been stabilized
but will still need around $10,000,000 (2008 US dollars) to "rehabilitate" the landmark.
Looking at these pictures
makes you wonder what Vincent Price's House on Haunted Hill would have been like if they had used the actual interiors
of the house!
A new addition to the CHARLIE CHAN: Charlie Chan in the Wax Museum (1940) page is about how to make a wax figure and - surprise! - some very interesting information about the Mother of All Wax
Museums . . . Madame Toussaud's!
Maven came
across a clip from Honolulu (1939) that has Eleanor Powell dancing a number in honor of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
She did it in "black face" which was accepted practice then, however deplorable it seems now.
The comments posted indicate
a number of things:
Powell and Robinson
knew each other well and much of the texts posted with this clip give lots more information. . . . If anyone wonders,
the music is called "The Darktown Strutter's Ball."
Everybody here at The Old
Movie Maven would like to wish all of our Veterans and their families a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend! We hope you will take time to check out our salute to you at
No, it's a clip made by Rick Baker
. . . . Unfortunately!
But it sure had us going here at The
Old Movie Maven!
This clip did lead us to clip from
the old You Asked For It:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZDscvYrBgE - This clip has Art Baker talking
to Lon Chaney, Jr., about the senior Chaney's life and the making of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZDscvYrBgE - This isanother
You Asked For It clip with Bela Lugosi with an act from his stage performance as a "Master Illusionist" . . . !
Maven is happy to announce that she has begun a new Chan story: Charlie Chan, Inc.
Yes,
it has Charlie plus as many of the kids as Maven can manage including Lee, Tommy, Frances and . . . Gloria.
Yes, Gloria. She's
one of the younger Chans who is unnamed in the books and movies!
Maven continues
to post the New Advientures of Charlie Chan and Family so . . . check it out at CHARLIE CHAN, INC.!
This is from a friend, a very talented
lady out in Nevada, Eirianedd. Maven, Battie Belle and Charly would be out there now buying out the store themselves
if they could afford to!
Yarn - Reusable Fabric Gift Bags and Party Favor Bags
EclectiCollection's Shop Announcement
Reusable
gift bags for all occasions and party favor bags for birthdays too. All bags are handmade by
me and I love doing custom orders! I also carry novelty yarns, wool yarns, blended
yarns...it's all here!
Mother's Day is next month (May 9th)....You'll need a gift bag to package
up your lovely gift for Mom so why not get something that she can use again?! And it has so many possible uses besides just
a gift bag. They can be used as tote bags, lunch bags, to carry yarn projects, etc.
I
am happy to combine shipping on all items and also take customer orders.
*Bulk discounts available, please convo for
more information.
**Custom orders will require a 50% deposit before beginning and the balance will be due upon completion.
International
buyers please contact me for shipping quotes if your country is not listed.
Become a fan on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/aTHiana-Yarns-and-Crafts/256622131167
Maven has
come across a website that features old radio shows for free. Why old radio shows? For starters . . . they're
fun to listen to, not to mention that they usually would be or had been made into movies and television shows!
The lists
aren't complete but you'll find a plethora of shows so why not check them out now at RADIO SHOWS: Vintage Series?!
Maven has
come across some clips featuring Carla Laemmle, from Debbie Reynolds singing to her (on the occasion of Carla's 100th
birthday) to her thoughts on the Universal fire (that also burned Carla's former home) to being featured in Phantom
of the Opera (Lon Chaney's 1925 version):
Okay, so Anna May Wong
was never in a Charlie Chan movie but can Chan fans anywhere discuss Charlie's movies and/or Asians in films WITHOUT Wong's
name coming up at some point?!
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